Hey guys, I'm finally back! First off, let me apologize to all of you for going silent for 8 months. I tried my best to be consistent, but I failed, and since I'm graduating I had no time to write whatsoever. Now though, I am back, and hopefully, I can continue to upload a chapter a month. :) As always, enjoy! ^^
''Titans!'' Speech
''Titans!'' Thoughts
Roughly six months had passed since Eren had told his story to his family. A lot had changed in that time. Eren eventually had managed to convince both Reiner and Bertolt to join his side too, with some help from Annie, of course. While both boys were very reluctant at first, they quickly grew in their new roles.
Annie had been teaching Mikasa how to fight and defend herself, while Bertolt taught her how to handle rifles. She was a natural at both, which wasn't surprising whatsoever—she was an Ackerman, after all. Mikasa wanted to accompany Eren to the interior, and while both Grisha and Carla had flat out refused at first, there was no changing her mind.
And so, Annie and Bertolt were preparing her as best as they could. Meanwhile, Reiner was teaching Dina how to control her female titan while Eren still focused his efforts on teaching Ymir.
While a lot did change, one thing had stayed the same and even grew exponentially over these past months, and that was the close bond Eren had with his family. Needless to say, his story was shocking and hard to believe, but the amount of proof he had made it undeniable.
It resulted in an environment where everybody was looking out for each other. Carla had grown so fond of the three warriors of Marley and Ymir that she almost saw them as her own children, while Dina was like a sister she never had. As a result, the household was always busy with so many residents living there now.
Another thing that had grown was Mikasa's affections. She was the first to believe Eren's story and it had brought her that much closer to the boy who she liked so much. Eren had left out the detail they had married each other in the future, since he knew it would be inevitable that it was going to happen again. This time around, though, he was going to reciprocate her feelings a lot sooner.
At the moment, Eren, Grisha, Annie, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir, Dina and Mikasa had all met in the basement to discuss their plan of attack tomorrow. They all knew the mission and how important it was.
''Everyone, this is the moment we have been training for,'' Eren began, eyeing each member of his group individually. ''Our mission is to get the founding titan from Frieda Reiss, take down the faulty government and install a new one under the leadership of Historia Reiss. We'll split up in two when we've reached the interior around here,'' Eren explained, pointing to an entry point inside wall Sina.
''From there,'' he continued, ''Grisha, Dina, Annie and Reiner will locate Historia and ensure her safety. She'll be on one of the estates the Reiss family owns and administers; either here, here or here,'' Eren explained, pointing at the locations on the map, which were all deep inside wall Rose.
''Once that's done,'' he continued, ''they will provide the main defense against the Military Police Brigade once they'll inevitably find out a coup is happening. Dina will only shift when is necessary and focus her efforts on destroying their weaponry, though you don't have to be afraid for any opposition. The military is very corrupt and they are a bunch of lazy slacks who have never seen a titan before in their life.''
The four of them nodded their heads, indicating that they understood.
''Meanwhile, Bertolt, Ymir, Mikasa and I will focus on Frieda and her founding titan. We'll try to reason with her first and only shift when Frieda is hostile and tries to kill us. I'll keep her occupied while Ymir gives the necessary protection to Bertolt and Mikasa.
''Once our mission is complete, we've one last step to achieve. In order for the military to be on our side when the coup is done, we have to expose the king and the higher ups as frauds. We'll use an influential newspaper to spread the truth of Paradis and crown Historia the new, legitimate ruler.'' Eren took a deep breath and then gave an encouraging smile. ''Once this is over, we can start the slow process of getting Paradis titan free and prepare for the arrival of the cart and beast titan. Now, are there any questions?''
As he had expected, almost everybody had something on their mind. This was going to be an arduous and pretty dangerous task for everybody involved, hence why Eren wasn't surprised a lot of questions still remained.
''Reiner?'' he offered gently.
''I'm wondering, Eren. You've got the attack, colossus and armored titan all sitting pretty in a couple of flasks. While we can't inherit the titans anymore, why not use them on Mikasa or Carla? Surely that would be more beneficial for us, right?''
Eren nodded his head. Reiner had a good point and Eren had thought about it a lot, but eventually decided it wasn't worth it. Mikasa was an exceptionally good fighter on her own and while his mom was a strong woman, she wasn't a fighter whatsoever.
''I believe with the current set-up we have it'll be more than enough to accomplish our goal. Moreover, more titans so deep in the heart of wall Rose and Sina would only cause unnecessary damage, commotion and maybe even innocent lives. We want to avoid those as much as possible,'' Eren explained.
Reiner seemed satisfied with the answer. He nodded his head in contentment.
''Annie?'' he continued gently.
''Maybe the most important detail of our mission.'' She motioned to Grisha, Dina and Reiner. ''What does Historia look like?''
Eren grinned. Annie was always the one with attention to detail; calculated as ever. While Reiner's leadership was unmatched, Annie had to be one of the best strategists he ever met. Even at such a young age, she could probably match Dot or Erwin.
''I've thought about that. Since photo cameras are unheard of inside the walls, most people use composition drawings. Luckily, my father here had to master it for his profession as a doctor. He was kind enough to draw some with my help,'' Eren revealed and nodded to his father.
''I've drawn multiple head shots from the frontal and sagittal plane. Historia has blonde hair, blue eyes and is very short,'' Grisha explained while he grabbed a few drawings and showed them to everybody. ''She'll furthermore act and speak sophisticated and may or may not react to the name Krista. Obviously, since she's only twelve, getting her good and trustworthy leads-men are necessities in the first years that she'll rule. Eren has provided us with two names, and I've also made drawings of them.''
Grisha grabbed a few more pictures and showed them off. ''The older gentleman is called Dot Pixis. He's a reliable general of the Garrison that will actively support our cause—assuming we can convince him—and is therefore essential to get on our side as quickly as possible. Most men in the army respect him, so that makes him a valuable asset to us.'' He paused for a moment to make sure everybody had gotten a good look at the general.
''The other gentleman is named Erwin Smith and he's commander of an elite unit of warriors who're extremely dangerous. You can guess why want him on our side as well,'' Grisha finished.
The group nodded their head. A successful coup didn't just mean crowning another ruler; it also meant having the army and the citizens on your side. Like with all massive changes, that needed careful planning and a lot of time.
''Mikasa?'' Eren continued.
She gave him a small smile. ''Are there any dangerous opponents we need to know of before we engage in battle?'' she asked him curiously. ''I don't doubt that the government has spies and assassins at the ready for people with loose lips that might cause an uproar.''
Eren nodded his head, his widening smile matching Mikasa's. Just like Annie, she was a very smart girl at a young age. Two names appeared in his head, and not coincidentally, both had the last name Ackerman. ''You're right, Mikasa. There are two guys to look out for, one even more lethal than the other. Again, my dad has been kind enough to draw them for us.''
Just like before, Grisha grabbed a couple of sheets of paper and showed them to everybody while Eren explained. ''The older looking fellow with the bowler hat is Kenny Ackerman,'' Eren saw Mikasa's eyes widen for a moment, but then they immediately turned neutral again as he continued, ''and he's the guy who cleans up all the loose ends inside the walls. At the moment, he works as the crown's personal assassin, but later he becomes a commander for the Military Police Brigade.''
A few murmurs were heard when Eren revealed this information, but everybody went silent again as he went on. ''Kenny is notorious for slitting the throats of his victims. Furthermore, he's an excellent strategist, highly intelligent and a cunning individual. His accuracy with his guns rival Bertolt's and Mikasa's, so don't ever engage him out in the open.
''However, his downfall is his quest for power. He'll do whatever it takes to get the 'power of the Gods' to himself, as he calls the ability to shift into a titan. Reasoning is out of the question with him. He's a bloody psychopath, so kill him if you can.'' Eren's voice was resolute, leaving no room for argument. Everybody understood the world was better off with some people off of it.
''The younger fellow,'' Eren continued, ''is called Levi Ackerman.'' This time, Mikasa didn't move an inch as Eren revealed the matching last name. ''This guy is extremely dangerous. We most likely won't see him since he leads the operations outside of wall Maria under Erwin's command, so he most likely won't be present, but on the off chance that he is, do not—under no circumstance—engage him.'' Eren's voice was stern and dead serious here. ''If I'm being honest, I don't even know if I can take him on in my titan form, so flee when you see him.''
Eren saw everybody tensing at what he revealed. They couldn't believe there was a guy who was even stronger than Eren with all of his knowledge and experience combined. ''He's extremely fast, agile and level-headed,'' he continued, ''you'll be down before you know it, and that's something I want to avoid, because once you're captured, you will be tortured and executed.'' Eren sighed. ''But, he's not a bad guy. We'll need to have convinced Erwin before he gets the wrong idea and sends his elite squad after us.''
''How are we going to do that? And what if the scenario does happen that he's coming after us?'' Bertolt questioned, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. He doubted they would stand a chance if Levi truly was as terrifying as Eren made him out to be.
''That's something my father and I will work on. He's an excellent speaker and voice of reason—as you may know—and combined with my knowledge, we should be able to convince him sooner than later,'' Eren answered confidently. ''And if the scenario happens that the Levi squad will attack, I'll be the most suited to deal with them. They'll focus their attack on the main perpetrator anyway—which is me—so don't bother try to defend me then. They don't know Historia is important either, so flee with her while you can. Levi will surely stay behind and fight me, and maybe you'll have to deal with two or three extremely good fighters, but they're not invincible by any means…''
The pause that Eren made was noticeable, but nobody commented on it. Annie assumed he probably had experienced that they were defeated in some way or the other. She wondered who could bring down such experienced fighters, but didn't think too long on the subject. She instead focused on the final question being asked by Dina.
''I was wondering what kind of weaponry we're dealing with, Eren,'' she spoke. ''You mentioned guns and canons. What kind of guns are they? Are there any other weapons we should know about?'' Dina smiled at her stepson as he nodded.
''Paradis doesn't have any machine guns or long distance rifles,'' he explained. ''We're talking about semi-automatic with a maximum effective distance of around two-hundred meters. Their cannons are old and inaccurate; those take a lot of time to reload as well. It'll give you plenty of opportunity to dismantle them.'' It seemed defeating the army wasn't going to be very hard. Still, Dina knew there was going to be a 'but' if she looked at Eren, and her assumptions were always very accurate.
''However,'' he continued, confirming Dina's suspicions, ''they have a very unique and successful weapon that'll make them extremely agile and lethal in the air, and that's the vertical maneuvering equipment. It's basically a harness that will allow a soldier to fight in a 3D space as opposed to a 2D one. It works with grappling hooks that'll shoot the user into the air, powered by gas and armed with a set of extremely sharp plug-in blades. Designed to bring down titans first and foremost, they can be used very effectively in normal combat as well.''
''Those sound like it'll be very hard to deal with,'' Ymir muttered. ''What's our plan of attack against them?''
Eren smiled. Since he had a lot of experience with them, he knew exactly what the weaknesses were as well. ''Since they run on gas, there's only a limited time they can be used before they need to be refilled. It's the same with the blades, really. They break easily and need to be replaced. Stall long enough and they'll run out of resources eventually.''
''I hope that's not the only way to defeat them,'' Reiner said. ''You can't possibly expect us to exhaust their gas and blades.'' The others in the room nodded their head. If they were to rely on stalling alone, they might put each other in unnecessary danger.
Fortunately, Eren had thought about that too. Of course Reiner was the one who expressed his concerns regarding the stalling tactic; Eren expected nothing less. ''Luckily, there's another way. The grappling hooks, while durable, are extremely prone to attacks. If you happen to find yourself facing the Military Police Brigade and they use the vertical maneuvering equipment, don't hesitate to shift.'' Eren paused his explanation and looked at both Dina and Ymir, whose stern expressions indicated that they understood.
Satisfied, he continued. ''Just grab the hooks or kick them out of the wall; with the strength you possess they should break, rendering the equipment useless.'' Eren gave both females a reassuring glance. ''But don't worry; since you'll be on the countryside, Dina, the equipment can't be used anyway. And you are with me, Ymir. As long as you cover me and protect the nape of your neck, nothing can happen.''
Both women seemed to be relieved about that. ''All right, Eren, I think with Grisha, Reiner and Annie at my side I'll be able to succeed,'' Dina replied. She eyed Grisha lovingly while Reiner and Annie gave a small smirk.
''I'll be able to succeed too!'' Ymir chimed in. ''You have prepared me well for this moment, Eren, I won't let you down!''
''Me neither, Eren,'' Mikasa stated just as passionately. ''I'll make sure to give you cover as long as necessary!''
Everybody agreed and gave similar cries of encouragement. Eren closed his eyes, unable to hold in a chuckle that escaped from his mouth. The coup d'état they'd planned was going to be a major operation; there were a lot of things that could go wrong, Eren knew. Even so, he had an elite team of fighters at his side who believed in him through and through. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he found the notion ridiculous, but here he was; all the people in this room were willing to risks their lives for Paradis and Eldia under his command. If they believed in him, then so would he; failing was not an option.
''Now then, if there are no other questions, I suggest we get our sleep,'' Grisha advised sagely while looking at his son. He couldn't have been prouder when he saw the resolute look in his eyes. ''We need our rest if we leave for the interior early in the morning.''
Somewhere on the vast estate of the Reiss family, under a thick oak tree, a girl with golden blonde locks was looking up idly at the sky. The tree provided excellent shade against the morning heat while the wind played with its branches, making the leaves rustle.
The clouds were non-existent today. Usually, Historia would see if she could make any shapes out of them to ease her boredom. Even the kids who usually would be throwing rocks at her were not present today. At least that gave her some sort of distraction. She honestly preferred that over being ignored all day.
In the distance, Historia could hear her maternal grandparents going about their usual chores in and around the estate. Her mother wasn't present, of course. Historia had no idea what she did all day long, but the excuses her maternal grandparents fetched her became more obvious the more she asked. Eventually, she decided to let it rest, simply because she knew she was being lied to anyway. Not that it mattered to Historia; her mother hadn't said a single word to her ever in her entire life.
Honestly, the only reason she was here, playing with her hair and staring at the endless sky, was because she expected big sister to come around, like she would do very often. Historia couldn't remember much about her; she only knew she was her big sister and that she would feel extremely happy and content whenever she was around, but the memories of her get foggy afterwards.
It frustrated Historia to no end, but she trusted on her feelings and intuition that her big sister would show up today, and this time, she was not going to forget the experience. She was going to write it down right after she would leave again. After all, big sister had been the one to teach her how to write and read.
Just when she was starting to get a bit sleepy, a woman she didn't recognize appeared in her point of view. She was pretty with the same beautiful blonde hair that she had. Normally if the estate got visitors, they would completely ignore her, yet this woman gave her a sweet, motherly smile. ''Hi there. You must be Historia Reiss, am I right?''
The way how Historia's eyes lit up was almost comical. ''You know my name?'' she squeaked, her voice cracking with surprise. This was the first time in her life anybody outside the estate had given her attention, excluding her big sister, of course.
''Of course I do, sweetie,'' the woman cooed, bending through her knees to get on eye level with her. ''After all, I came all the way from Shiganshina to see you.''
If it was possible, Historia's eyes would've rolled out of her skull right then and there. Somebody she didn't know came to see her? She'd never heard of Shiganshina before, but it sounded like it was far away. ''Who are you?'' she asked, cocking her head. Conflicting emotions ran through Historia's body: on one hand she was extremely confused, but on the other she felt incredible excitement well up that this woman came specially for her. For what reason, she could only guess.
''My name is Dina,'' the woman introduced herself warmly, holding out her hand, ''it's very nice to meet you, Historia.''
Historia shook Dina's hand dumbly, unable to comprehend what was happening yet. ''Are you a friend of big sister?'' she guessed, having no reason to believe otherwise.
Dina laughed and shook her head. ''I am not, though I am somewhat familiar with your big sister,'' she revealed with a wink. Dina stood up and stretched her body lazily. ''It's so hot today, wouldn't you agree? How about we go for a little stroll?''
''You mean off the estate?'' Historia whispered, her excitement only building. Leaving the estate was one of her biggest dreams, even if it was just to explore the countryside a bit.
''Exactly, sweetie!'' Dina replied jovially. ''Don't worry, I'm a friend of your father, Rod Reiss. He told me to come visit you and show you around the area a bit. He knows you've been dying to see something other than this boring estate. So, what do you say? You wanna come along with me?''
The offer was too tempting to refuse for Historia. Having learnt ample social skills up until this point, she completely trusted Dina to bring her back once the stroll was over. ''Would I?'' she squeaked with excitement, a genuine smile spreading on her face while her blue eyes twinkled with life. Historia was so eager that she felt like jumping up and down; and that's exactly what she did.
Dina giggled at her adorable antics and offered her a hand. ''Let's go then!'' she chirped.
Not thinking twice, Historia took Dina's hand as they moved away from the oak tree she'd sat under for hours on end, to one of the many exits on the estate in a leisurely tempo. So many times, Historia had dreamed of leaving the estate, and it seemed her dad—even though she had never met him in person—had finally let his voice be heard and sent Dina to show her around.
She was so happy that she almost failed to hear the gunshot that went off behind her and the scream of anguish coming from Dina herself. Of course, that was a little hard to ignore when warm blood splattered in her face. Historia's eyes widened in shock, her heart skipped a beat as she felt Dina's hand go limb in hers. She looked at Dina with horror and the gaping wound in her upper arm; part of it was completely blown off.
''My, my, what do we have here? Where are the pretty ladies off to?'' a deep, rumbling voice asked. Historia was petrified on the spot; her hands were shaking as Dina's blood dripped from her face to the ground below. Behind her she could see a man sneering at them. He wore shady black clothing and was accompanied by four other men. The smoking barrel in his hand indicated he was the perpetrator of firing the shot. Furthermore, what stood out about him was what Historia recognized as a cowboy hat that rested neatly on top of his head.
The man continued to grin savagely while Dina cried in pain. ''Here I was doing my usual rounds on the estates of the Reiss family, expecting another boring day, when my little eye spotted a woman I didn't recognize talking to Historia and trying to take her away. What do you say, boys? Shall I teach Historia a lesson why she should never leave this estate by slitting this woman's throat right in front of her?''
''Oh, I think that's a very good idea!'' one of them agreed, chuckling like mad.
''All right then, let's get the fun started!''
Deep inside the heart of wall Sina, Frieda Reiss was calmly drinking a cup of tea. She was dressed up neatly, her white dress and matching straw hat giving her the allure of a proper lady. Long black hair flowed to her waist and she spoke with eloquence and poise fit for a queen.
Her father, Rod Reiss, was sitting opposite of her. Usually very calm and level-headed, today, he seemed very nervous about something. ''Are you sure about this, Frieda?'' he whispered in disbelief, holding his handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face. ''What if this is the wrong decision?''
''It is not, father,'' she spoke with finality that made it seem it was an everyday fact. ''We're in for war sooner or later. The first king made it clear he wanted to safe Eldia by shutting it off completely from the rest of the world. The threat of trampling the earth with all the wall titans should any nation be foolish enough to attack us has kept us protected for one hundred years, but it won't work forever.''
Rod didn't understand. Frieda's personality had completely shifted about six months ago. He wondered if it had to do something with inheriting the first king's thoughts and opinions, but why they were so different now from a half year ago, he still couldn't fathom.
''So, what do you propose we do then? Sit back and wait? We've done that for six months!'' Rod cried out in disbelief.
Frieda was unfazed by her father's sudden outburst and continued to sip her tea gently. ''Yes, father. And we continue to wait until I say otherwise. Something is set into motion. I don't know what, but we're going to experience it sooner than later.'' Frieda was clear that she wasn't going anywhere. For six months, she hadn't been out of the estate, and that worried Rod more than anything. It meant she was waiting for something to happen or somebody to show up, but what or whom that was she had no idea about, and that frustrated Rod more than anything. He didn't like uncertainty whatsoever.
She even skipped her monthly visit to Historia today; something that was unheard of. That confirmed to Rod that this wasn't Frieda's own doing but more so the will of the first king.
Rod muttered something under his breath when he failed to convince Frieda otherwise yet again. He'd tried for the past four months or so and he honestly didn't know why he still put effort into it. Nonetheless, he respected Frieda's decision and would always fall silent afterwards.
''Very well then,'' Rod said, nodding his head in agreement to his daughter. He poured himself some tea as well and continued to accompany Frieda in complete silence. He took this time to recollect his thoughts and to think about the future. He knew it was an uncertain one, but he believed the path they'd chosen was ultimately the best. This way, the remaining Eldians stayed safe and oblivious to the dangers of the outside world.
When Rod had finished his tea, commotion was heard inside the estate. He grumbled and opened the doors to the living room to see what all the fuss was about. In the middle of the room stood four kids; they couldn't have been older than twelve, yet when Rod saw them panic gripped him right around the throat. They were surrounded by men of the Military Police Brigade—his personal body guards—who looked absolutely pissed. He saw how one of them was tending himself to minor wounds the kids inflicted upon him; he likely got punched square in the face when they were denied entry to the estate and forced themselves in.
''Sir,'' one of his bodyguards stated professionally, ''these four rebellious kids attacked Maxwell and then stormed inside the living room like they were playing a game of tag. What are you orders, sir? Should we dispose of them?''
Rod wanted to scream yes at the top of his lungs, but before he could do so, Frieda appeared at his side. She put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly, before giving the Military Police Brigade a warm smile. ''That won't be necessary, gentlemen. These four individuals are our prized guests.'' She paused and eyed Eren with confidence. ''After all, they are the reason why I have been waiting all this time.''
That's it for now, people. Did you like it, love it, hate it? Please leave a review! I love to read and to respond to them. ;3 Next time the continuation. Until then! ^^
~Syrup-Waffle