I rode next to the wagon atop of Wisteria's saddle. Jean and Moblit were in front. Sasha and Connie were in the rear with two spare horses. Armin was driving the wagon while Hange, Levi and Mikasa sat in the wagon. Hange was having us travel to the outskirts of Wall Rose. It was still dark so each of us except for the ones in the wagon had torches lit.
"Hange, you said you have an idea where they are?" Mikasa questioned. My eyes glanced over to Hange. I was curious where she got this information myself.
"Oh yeah, guess I should probably explain how. Erwin gave me this Scout report when they investigated Lord Reiss' land. It details a certain incident that occurred five years ago on the Reiss' estate." Hange stated.
"Five years?" Armin clarified.
"Same time when Wall Maria was breached." I stated.
Hange nodded her head, "The very same. I'll summarize the most important parts from the beginning. So, as far as regional lords went, Lord Reiss was fair and accepted by the people. He had five children, the most well known of them was his eldest daughter Frieda. She was a down to earth girl who even the peasants adored. But five years ago on that night, disaster struck. With the fall of Wall Maria that plunged the world into chaos. Bandits raided and set fire to the only chapel around. Unfortunately for them, the entire Reiss family had gathered there to pray. And so, the entire family was massacred that night by bandits, save one. Only Rod Reiss managed to escape with his life. To top it all off this incident occurred just a few days before Historia's mother was killed by the interior police. So we know days after losing his family, Rod Reiss sought out Historia. And something tells me it wasn't out of a newfound paternal affection." Hange explained.
"He lost his legitimate children but something bigger was at play here. His only last resort was with his illegitimate child he had with his mistress. We all heard Historia's side of the story. Lord Reiss was desperate for Historia to live for a reason. We just don't know what that reason is yet." I stated my thoughts.
"She is of royal blood, or do you think that bloodline has other secrets?" Levi questioned Hange.
"It's possible but I'm not sure yet. What really stood out to me at least, is the fact that large parts of the chapel were destroyed. The chapel was built from stone. It would take a lot of time and effort to destroy it. If it was bandits, they would have taken what they could and made for a quick escape. Also, Lord Reiss was the only witness. No one confirmed his story. Then Lord Reiss had the chapel restored with his own personal funds almost immediately. What was his rush?" Hange made a valid point.
If this was a tragic accident as the report stated. Then you would think Lord Reiss would grieve his losses before rebuilding. Instead, the man that just lost everything sought out his illegitimate child and rebuilt the chapel in a matter of days. Something doesn't smell right here.
"When you think about it. The story only makes sense if it involves a Titan attack. It may turn out that I'm jumping to conclusions, but it's suspicious enough to merit an investigation. And it's the only lead we have." Hange stated.
"It's not that too far-fetched. If the report states the chapel built from stone was almost completely destroyed. A Titan would make sense. We've all seen the destruction that Titans have caused to buildings." The memory of watching Armo-no Reiner breaking through the inner gate of Wall Maria played in my head.
"I was just a kid but I remember seeing Reiner break through the inner gate of Wall Maria. He made it look like the gate was made of wet newspaper. A chapel made from stone wouldn't stand a chance against any Titan. We theorized earlier that the government has a Titan of their own. Could the Titan that caused that destruction possibly had been that very same one?" I questioned.
Hange put her chin on her fingers, "It's possible. We can't rule it out quite yet but if it happened five years ago. It could have been anyone that had the power to turn into a Titan at that time." Hange stated.
"But before the night is over, Reiss' land will be crawling with our soldiers. Unfortunately, we can't expect them to wait that long. We have to get there as soon as possible. Before Eren ends up in someone's stomach." My eyes glanced over to Mikasa. She had that look in her eyes again as she stared at the horizon. Yep, saw that one coming. She'll cut down anyone to get Eren back.
"One more thing, there's still the topic of Kenny." My eyes now glanced at Captain Levi, "You need to understand. Kenny the Ripper, if he's there then he's our biggest obstacle. In terms of his threat level, it'll be like you're fighting me. No wait, with those weapons of his he'll be stronger." Levi announced.
"Then he isn't beatable, at least for us." Sasha said from the back.
"Maybe we should wait for other soldiers." Connie suggested.
"Not a chance in hell." Mikasa quickly shot that down.
"That'd be too risky, Connie. We waste any more time then there's the possibility that Eren gets devoured by whatever Titan they have." I stated while looking over my shoulder.
"Yeah, you're right." Connie muttered.
"You know, based on what the Captain just told us. The odds won't entirely be in Kenny's favor." Armin countered.
"You really think so?" Jean questioned from in front.
"Yeah, his squad is well trained but we have more combat experience." Armin explained.
"Fair point. They're still MPs. Back in Trost, the Captain and I were easily able to out maneuver them with our ODM Gear. They couldn't keep up. We were also easily outnumbered ten to one." I stated.
"Outnumbered? Yeah right." I heard Jean mutter.
"What was that?" I questioned him with an annoyed look.
"Nothing." Jean answered quickly and looked over at me. Smart ass.
My attention turned to Hange when she spoke, "Have to ask. How is it that you lived with Kenny the Ripper but know next to nothing about him? Did the two of you never talk?" Hange asked.
"Not much. I only just learned the man's last name. Don't know if you heard but it's Ackerman. Might be a relative of one of yours." Levi stated as he looked at Mikasa and I.
"I remember my parents saying that my dad's side, the Ackermans, were persecuted when they lived in the cities. My mom's side, they were Eastern, her family's appearance made it difficult for them to fit in. Both of them were chased deep in the mountains near the edge of the walls. That's how my parents met, but my parents never told me why the Ackermans were persecuted. He looked the same as all of you. He didn't look like another race." Mikasa stated.
"I'm as clueless as you all are. For the majority of my life, my mom hid me in a remote area located south of Wall Maria. She was so terrified that I'd suffer the same persecution as my father that she made me go by her last name, Grimason. She wasn't sure either why my father was persecuted because of his name. She kept us hidden out there with only our neighbor knowing why we were there. My parents were never married and had me out of wedlock. My father apparently didn't want my mom to be persecuted more than she already was. So they decided to split up when I was just a baby. It wasn't until I was about to join the cadet corp that I found out my true last name. It was also the same day I found out what my father looked like." I dug into the chest pocket of my shirt. I pulled out the folded paper mom had given me years ago.
"I've kept it around since it's the only thing I have of him. He didn't appear to be from another race either." I handed the folded paper to the Captain. He opened it and stared at the drawn pictures of my parents.
He looked up from the paper and stared at Mikasa and I, "Tell me this. Have either of you ever felt a power awaken inside of you?" Levi questioned.
My eyes widened as flashbacks to killing Mr. Becter entered my mind. The sense of calm I felt that day and knowing what to do.
"I have." My eyes darted over to Mikasa. Her too?
"Same here. How'd you know?" I asked hesitantly.
"Because the same thing happened to Kenny. Suddenly out of nowhere, he felt an absurd amount of strength surge through him. And in that moment, he knew just what he needed to do. It's happened to me too. It makes me wonder." Levi set down the drawing in his hand.
Mikasa casted her eyes down on the drawing. Her eyes widened as she quickly snatched the paper from the Captain's hands.
"Hey, take it easy there, Mikasa. That's the only thing I ha-"
"Vivien, you said that this man is your father?" Mikasa cut me off. I was taken back by the look on her face. She held up the picture and pointed to the drawing of my father.
"Y-yeah." I stumbled on my words.
"Did your mother describe what color his hair was? His eyes?" Mikasa further questioned.
"Uh yeah…she said he had the same blonde hair as mine but that my eyes were different from his. She said he had gold eyes. What's with all the questions all of sudden? Why are you so interested in what hair and eye color my father had?" I questioned her.
Her look of seriousness turned into one of disbelief, "Vivien, do you happen to know…what your father's name was?" I looked at her in confusion. The others remained silent and fixated on our conversation.
"Kaiden Ackerman." Mikasa's eyes widened and her mouth hung open as she stared at me. She lowered her hand and stared at the picture once more.
"My dad's name was also Kaiden Ackerman." Mikasa finally announced. My eyes widened in shock at the revelation. Everyone else had the same shocked expression, including Captain Levi.
"Hold on, does this mean that Viv and Mikasa are..?" Jean trailed off.
"They're half-siblings. Same father but different mothers." Armin finished Jean's sentence.
Mikasa and I paid no attention to the others as we stared at one another. We're…half-sisters? That meant mom was right about him. He had started another family after they separated. To think that this entire time, Mikasa and I fought side by side as comrades never knowing the truth. Until now that is.
I stood inside the chapel as the others prepared and planned for our entrance down below. Armin readied the traps while Hange and Levi discussed the plan. Mikasa stood next to me, neither of us saying a word to each other. We couldn't, not yet anyway. Not until we rescued Eren and Historia. We can discuss familial ties at a later time.
"Okay, we should be ready to go now." Armin announced.
"Alright then, is everyone here ready? Because you're all about to dirty your hands." None of us spoke a word. We all knew what was to come. We're fighting humans down there once again. This time, we're all prepared for it.
"I'll take that as a yes." Levi stated after a moment in silence. Hange took that as the signal to open up the hatch. It revealed stairs going down to another level beneath the chapel.
We made our downstairs with the barrels filled with gunpowder and oil. We came up to a large wooden door in front of us. This is it.
"Ready?" Levi whispered to us. We all gave a nod. Armin lit a torch and Sasha set her arrow tip on fire. I drew my blades and Mikasa followed the same.
Levi kicked open the door and Jean, Hange, and Connie threw the barrels down the stairs. We rushed out with weapons ready and drawn. The place hidden under the chapel was massive. It was incredibly bright down here with the crystals. You'd never be able to tell it was night outside.
Sasha fired her arrow at one of the barrels. The arrow exploded one of the barrels. Gunpowder and smoke covered the chamber. Myself, Levi and Mikasa shot our ODM Gear forward. We flew through the air as more smoke filled the chamber. Smoke signals were being shot to provide more cover. My eyes scanned as I looked at all of the MPs around us with the new gear. This is a lot.
"Thirty-five total! In the upper parts of the pillars!" Levi loudly announced.
"Continue the plan! We take them all out right here!" Levi ordered.
"Split up! They're spread out right now!" I heard one of them yell.
I disappeared into the smoke and kept my eyes on two of the MPs in front of me.
"Damnit, the smoke is too thick!" I fired my hooks in between them and flew towards them.
"What the? Behind us!" One of them tried to warn, but it was too late. I sliced through both men with ease and continued onto the next.
"There's one!" I looked up to see one man aiming his gun at me. A green smoke signal suddenly flew in front of me. I took that time to send myself around a pillar as the man shot.
"What?! Where'd she go?!" The man yelled looking back and forth. His question was soon answered when I had my hook pierce him. He let out a cry in pain before I silenced him by cutting his throat. My eyes glanced over towards Armin and Sasha. Armin's quick with those smoke signals. Providing cover when we need it.
I shot my hooks back and continued the onslaught. I sliced through several MP's as I weaved in and out of the smoke.
"Woohoo!" My eyes narrowed as I recognized that voice. Kenny's here. The Captain said he would be the one to take on Kenny. He's got the best shot against him anyway. We just need to make sure the other MPs don't get in the Captain's way. I fired my hooks to the next pillar and sliced through two more MPs.
"Agh!" I looked back as I heard Hange's scream in pain. My eyes widened seeing Hange laying on the ground with a trail of blood coming from her.
"Hange!" Jean yelled out. I landed on a pillar and watched as the MPs went ahead and out of the smoke. I let out a growl as I glared daggers at them. They're retreating further into the chamber.
I followed behind Captain Levi as we ran through the tunnel inside the chamber. Armin and Moblit were carrying Hange behind us. We came to a stop seeing a net was hung at the exit. I looked around for other openings but all of them were blocked off. Damn, they really thought this through.
My thoughts were interrupted as a bright yellow light began to light up the chamber. That's not good.
"Damnit, no." Levi muttered.
"Eren!" Mikasa cried out.
The wind picked up causing us to bunker down so as to not fly off. I felt rocks hit my shoulder. I looked up to see cracks beginning to form along the pillars and ceiling. Well shit.
"Hey guys, this place is about to collapse." Sasha stated.
"Captain! It opened up!" Armin yelled and pointed. I looked up to see the once blocked way in the ceiling was now opened from the Titan transforming.
"Aright, Armin and Moblit you two take Hange and find a way out of here! The rest of you, follow me!" Levi ordered.
"Sir!"
We split into the groups assigned as we headed through the gap in the ceiling. I flew through the air with my ODM Gear and resisted the wind being blown. My eyes widened seeing the giant Titan skeleton forming. I don't like the size of that Titan forming.
"Over there!" I looked where Jean was pointing. I could see Eren tied up to chains and Historia trying to free him. My eyes narrowed seeing Historia get flung by the wind. I quickened my speed and slid against the crystal ground and caught Historia.
"Gotcha!" I yelled out as I held Historia in my arms.
"Vivien!" Historia said in shock. She clutched a key ring to her chest. Mikasa and Levi were the next to land.
"Give me the keys!" Levi ordered Historia. I grabbed the key ring from Historia and tossed it at Levi.
"Captain…all of you…" Eren managed to say. He had blood down his face from a cut along his forehead.
Levi caught the keys and hurried over to Eren. He unlocked one before passing it off to Connie.
"Just leave me here! Just forget about me, hurry and escape!" Eren pleaded.
"Stop whining, you half naked weirdo! We got a Titan and gunmen coming at us so pipe down!" Jean yelled back at him.
I stood up and helped Historia up to her feet. I put my arm in front of her and had her stand behind me. I could withstand the winds much better than she could. Mikasa walked up on the other side of her, doing the same thing I was.
"Stay behind us, alright Historia?" I told her as I looked over my shoulder. Her blue eyes looked at us in shock before she nodded her head. The chamber began to crumble more as the skeleton continued to grow.
"Whoa, it looks bigger than the Colossal Titan. Crazy." Sasha stated. I looked up as the ribcage dislodged more debris from the ceiling.
"The ceiling! Look out!" Mikasa called out to the others.
"Get back!" Levi ordered as they dragged Eren away. A large piece of the ceiling came crashing down on the platform. We hugged the wall we were up against. The chamber shook as the Titan continued to grow.
"Damnit, we'll be buried alive!" Jean cursed.
I heard weeping come from the right of me. "I'm sorry…I can't." I turned my head to see Eren slide to the ground.
"I'm in the way in every step of the way. This power should have never been given to me. I can't be humanity's hope. I'm just too weak." He muttered.
"Come on, stop playing the tragic hero. Of course you'll never accomplish feats by yourself. No one expects you to." Jean scolded him.
"Yeah, calm it down. We've been through a lot worse than this man." Connie chastised him.
"Not that I really want to get use to it." Sasha argued.
"We're a team, Eren. No one has to do anything alone." Eren glanced at me as I spoke. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at us in amazement.
"Still, it's gonna suck trying to fly through that." Connie iterated.
"I'll take Eren." Mikasa stated.
"I've got Historia." I followed up.
"It's going to take everything we've got to not get hit. So hold on for you life." Jean advised Historia. We would have to dodge the fallen debris and not to mention the scorching hot steam the Titan is letting off. The last time I felt this amount of heat was from Bertholdt transforming.
"It's useless. No one will make it." Eren argued. He's really given up, hasn't he?
"So we should do nothing?! You wanna sit here and hold hands until we're crushed?! Or until we're burned to death?! You know dying here won't make anything better!" Historia scolded him.
"Listen, I really hate that I do this to you all the time, but…" Levi turned to Eren, "You've gotta make a choice here." What Levi said seemed to finally get through to Eren. Before he had clearly given up, but now he looks like he's ready to fight.
He grabbed something from the ground before charging forward. He bit down on some kind of vial before shielding my eyes from the bright yellow light. I watched as Eren in his Titan form now kneeled where Eren was moments before. I watched in amazement as the same material the chamber was made of came out of Eren.
"Whoa, what the?" Connie stated.
"Come on! Get under Eren!" Levi ordered. The others fired their hooks to glide safely down the platform.
I lowered myself with my back facing Historia, "Get on!" I ordered. She nodded and jumped onto my back. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I stood up and fired my hooks to what remained of the platform.
She held on tight as I swung down to the others. I retracted my hooks and landed hard on my feet. I stumbled forward but Jean caught me before losing my balance.
"Thanks." I thanked him as Historia let go of me. Jean gave a slight smirk, "Don't mention it. You've saved my ass plenty of times." He countered.
Eren let out a roar as the shell around us began to grow more. I looked up to see the debris getting caught on top of what Eren was building. How exactly is he doing this right now? My eyes widened as Eren's Titan form began to crystallize itself as well.
"The hell?" I muttered under my breath.
It felt like forever until the shaking stopped. A hole had opened above us and Levi had sent Connie and Sasha ahead. Mikasa and Jean were struggling to break Eren free from his Titan form. Eren had completely turned into the same crystallized form as the chamber.
"Eren!" Mikasa yelled out.
I watched from the ground as Mikasa and Jean finally freed Eren from his Titan form. I furrowed my brows in confusion as I didn't see any evaporation begin.
"It's not starting to disappear." I muttered out loud.
"No, it's not. I'm guessing whatever Eren just did is preventing that." Levi agreed. Mikasa and Jean brought Eren down to us.
"Not too shabby, Eren. Even after we cut you out of it. Your Titan hasn't disappeared. This could be a game changer." Levi informed Eren.
Eren looked shocked himself. He didn't even know what really happened it seemed.
"Listen, before I transformed I drank a bottle that said "Armor" on it." Eren stated.
"Gotcha. Guess that's all you needed to pull it off. Cause this time you did it easily. You saved all our lives. You created all of this in a blink of an eye. It's not exactly pretty but I can see its potential. I bet this is how the walls were made too. Guess what?" Levi leaned down to eye level with him.
"This means we have a real shot in plugging the hole in Wall Maria. We had a hell of a time getting here. Took long detours, watched friends die. As ugly as it's been, look at the position we're in now." Levi stated.
"We can't let their deaths be in vain. Not after coming this far." I commented. The others nodded their heads in agreeance.
"Captain! We've secured an exit, sir!" Sasha stated.
"Hange's fine! Armin and Moblit too!" Connie followed up.
"Glad to hear it." Levi responded. Sasha and Connie landed on the ground and came running over to us.
"Eren!"
"You okay?" I raised a brow as Sasha got on her hands and knees in front of Eren. That's a bit much then again this is Sasha we're talking about.
"We're all safe thanks to you! But to be completely honest, when I saw you run off to the light like a stumbling drunk and wailing like a baby. I thought we were screwed! You looked like an idiot and my fate was in your hands! It was awful! Quit your balling, have some dignity! That's what I was thinking anyway." I stared at Sasha with a deadpan look.
"That's all huh? Also, you of all people need to watch who you call an idiot, idiot." I muttered under my breath.
"Huh?!" My lips went down to a frown and gave an annoying look at Sasha. She was currently tugging on my cloak, "Why did you say something so mean, Vivien?" She questioned me with tears in her eyes. And what you said to Eren wasn't?
"Relax." Connie scolded Sasha. Mikasa walked up to Sasha and grabbed the back of her cloak.
"Let's go." I turned my attention to Levi as Mikasa pulled Sasha off of me, "We have a big ass Titan to catch." Levi ordered.
"Right. Historia, climb on." I instructed and pointed my thumb to my back. Historia nodded and walked over to me. I knelt down and she climbed onto my back again.
"I'm not too heavy right?" Historia asked concerned.
I gave a chuckle, "Nah, you're a featherweight compared to others I've helped carry." I said as I stood up. I had to do something similar during training. Unlike the lightweight Historia, my partner for that was Reiner. He is uh…much heavier than her. By a lot, lot more.
"Compared to Reiner, everyone here is a featherweight." Jean joked. He immediately knew who I was referring to.
"Hey!" Connie harshly whispered and elbowed Jean in his side. Jean's smirk disappeared as he stared at me.
"Right, I forgot about not mentioning him too much. Sorry, Viv." Jean apologized.
I gave a sad smile, "It's alright. Let's get out of here. We have more important things to worry about right now. See you guys at the top." I shot my hooks up and took off.
"Are you really alright, Vivien?" Historia asked softly. My eyes glanced at her as I used the gear to scale the hole.
I could see the concern in her blue eyes. I gave a small smile to her, "Yeah. I'm okay. Don't worry about me." I assured her. She had a look on her face like she didn't believe me but let it slide.
We made it to the surface and Armin helped hoist Historia up. Moblit gave me his hand and I took it. He hoisted me up to the surface. My eyes widened seeing the massive Titan in the distance. The trail it was leaving was bigger than I'd ever seen.
"That thing is twice the size of the Colossal." I muttered under my breath. To think a Titan could get that big. The amount of steam it was letting off was immense. I heard ODM Gear behind me as the rest of our squad made it up. One by one we all stopped and stared at the behemoth of a Titan up ahead.