God of Hate
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Godzilla or Attack on Titan
AN : As a reminder:
[Eins/Right Head]
[[Zwei/Middle Head]]
[[[Drei/Left Head]]]
[[[[All Three/Eren]]]]
I felt like I should repost that. Anyway, on with the show!
[[[We haven't changed back.]]]
They slowly wandered through the streets of Trost, their steps slow and deliberate as their gazes looked all about. Sometimes they crossed paths with a human, but most moved inside buildings before he came near. Some even waved to him.
[Maybe we can't.]
Eins sniffed the air as they paused, turning their gaze to the window of the second floor of a house. Drei let out a low roar while glancing behind. This had become a routine somehow, some soldier venturing out and ascending to the building in question. The female soldier was a little stiff from his presence, landing on the roof just below the window. She opened the window and peered inside before sighing loudly. "Damn bastard killed himself," she remarked before turning back to the three heads. "Thanks," she said awkwardly.
Eins grunted, Zwei nodded, and Drei made a short chirp of a roar. His way of saying, you're welcome. With that, they moved on, making sure not to venture down any roads with too much traffic.
[[Maybe it's better this way.]]
Eins seemed thoughtful at that, but Drei glared at the middle head, a small snarl on his maw.
[[[You want to abandon Mikasa and Armin?! Everyone else?!]]]
Their memories were mostly back now. Mostly. Their name was still fuzzy, but they remembered everything else: Their mother, the years living on their own, training, all the enjoyable annoyances of his fellow soldiers in training, and...his failure of a first battle.
[[We can protect them like this.]]
[We ripped Titans apart yesterday!]
Eins certainly saw the appeal points of Zwei's logic. As a human, they died without making any difference. As...this thing, they turned the entire tide, almost on their own. They saved their friends. And Armin, as usual, had a plan or two to help save the day. And it was nice being able to fight with Mikasa instead of her doing all the work. Sure, they were trapped in here for the moment, but there were a few ideas in Zwei's head if the humans couldn't figure anything out.
Still, Drei was unmoved, glaring at the other two defiantly.
[[[Titans aren't the only monsters.]]]
[[...]]
[...]
Eins looked away, pretending to be looking for another dead body while Zwei contemplated that point. They could destroy any regular Titan, but what could they do if a human became an enemy of their friends and comrades? They couldn't get into Wall Rose without breaking the gate, and he doubted the humans would let them. And all they could really do was kill and terrify people, probably making a situation worse.
"Trips! Hey, Trips!"
They were pulled out of their mental debate by a familiar voice, turning to see Connie of all people zipping towards them with ODM gear.
Zipping a bit too fast, as Eins and Zwei craned their heads down and up respectively to avoid the human impacting with them. Drei, however, didn't move, resulting in Connie slamming into his snout.
"Oooooo, that hurt," Connie groaned, climbing on top of the snout, Drei crossing his eyes to stare at the amusing boy's antics. "Okay, not the best way to say hello," Connie said apologetically as he sat up, looking to the highly unamused heads of Eins and Zwei. "Sorry, sorry. I um, I'm on watch duty. As in, watching you," Connie explained.
Now all three were unamused.
"Hey, don't give me that look, it wasn't my idea," Connie said defensively before sighing as he stood, carefully given he was on Drei's snout still. ""Look, I just wanted to say hi, and that you were really awesome yesterday," Connie said with a grin, giving them a thumbs up.
Drei looked rather proud of that, while Eins was more smug than anything. Zwei accepted the praise patiently.
"And, well...I heard you were finding bodies," Connie said awkwardly. "It's...kind of morbid, but I'm hoping I can find...something of some friends of mine," Connie said with a shudder. "Lot of them got eaten before you showed up. Not that that's your fault, obviOUSLY!" Connie said correctly, his voice raising as he nearly lost his balance but caught himself. He pointedly pretended like nothing happened, and the trio of heads were willing to ignore it. "Just really stinks. There was this one guy, he always went on about killing Titans. He'd have liked you," Connie said wistfully, "Just hard to believe that suicidal bastard of ours is actually dead."
Connie didn't notice the minute widening of the eyes, or the tensing of muscles beneath his feet.
"Sorry for unloading on you. Guess I just need to say that," Connie said as he zipped line off to a nearby building. "I'll be nearby for a couple hours!"
They didn't respond, didn't even watch him go.
[We need to find a way to turn back.]
Zwei looked to Eins and his abrupt change of opinion with a confused look, while Drei looked pleased with this development..
[[Why?]]
[They think we're dead!]
[[And?]]
[Armin and Mikasa think we're DEAD!]
[[I don't...oh.]]
[[[They think we already left them behind.]]]
[They need to at least know we're here.]
Eins's thoughts were more angry than concerned. Angry at himself, all three of himself for not realizing this problem. He could only imagine what Mikasa and Armin were going through.
[[Agreed. But if we change back, we might not be able to do this again.]]
[[[Then we'll find a way to do it again!]]]
[That is a fair point.]
Drei was annoyed with Eins being the one on the fence.
[[There's more than one way to communicate.]]
Drei was unmoved and Eins was still troubled.
They paused in their wandering again, realizing where their travels had brought them: the building they had helped Mikasa and the others get to, and slaughtered a lot of Titans around it. Despite their literal internal argument, they found this place pleasant. This place had a open area they could walk around more freely, and there shouldn't be any dead bodies around here.
There shouldn't be, that is.
"What are you up to, Trips?" Connie asked to himself as he watched the dragon's aimless wandering shift as it moved intently towards the building.
A low rumble of displeasure emanated from their throats. There was a familiar scent in the air, but not one they could place easily. Probably because they hadn't paid much attention to how people smelled as a human, for obvious reasons.
Still, it riled them, knowing they might lay their gaze on the corpse of a friend at any moment.
Eins's eyes narrowed as they circled around the building and found a hole in the side, where some Titans had tore into it before they arrived to slaughter the mindless creatures. All three heads craned up to peer inside it, not sure what to expect. A broke corpse, crushed by the wall being smashed in? The partially eaten remains of a Titan meal? Another suicide?
All three stopped short as they caught sight of their query. It was a man, a soldier, limply seated in a chair. His right leg was missing, bitten off, and he had clearly bled out.
"Oh man," Connie said solemnly, having arrived through the hole to see the same sight. "Captain Woermann? What the hell was he doing over here?"
[[[That's the one that asked us to help first.]]]
[Damn. A Titan must have taken a bite of him and he managed to get here.]
[[...Where is his ODM gear?]]
Eins and Drei scowled as they realized Zwei was right.
[[[Maybe it was damaged?]]]
[Maybe he tried to stop the bleeding with the straps?]
[[Maybe.]]
The distinctive sound of ODM gear drew their attention away from the corpse as a very familiar female soldier appeared and landed on the wall next to them, watching him pointedly. "Everything okay in there?"
"Annie? What the hell are you doing here?" Connie called out.
"Hello to you too," Annie drawled. "Your friend here has been finding random corpses. They sent me over to see if they missed one over here."
"Yeah. A damn captain too," Connie answered with a sigh.
"Oh?" Annie asked, still watching the beast in front of her.
Eins, Zwei, and Drei stared at Annie idly as the conversation continued.
[She wasn't this worried about us when she helped us fight off that...]
[[Shifter. And no, she wasn't.]]
[[[Probably just a long day.]]]
When they considered the amount of bodies Annie might have helped clean up today, that made sense.
[[[[Yeah, that's probably it.]]]]
"You need me to help with move his...body?" Connie asked awkwardly. Collecting bodies was one things, but talking about it made it more so.
"No, Reiner and Bertholt will help me," Annie replied neutrally
"If you say so," Connie answered idly, coming back to the hole and looking towards Trips. "So, what, you going to lay down for another nap?"
Nap, no. Sitting down for a moment?
Annie tensed as she watched and felt the reptilian giant tilt back and fall onto its rear as gently as possible with its legs sliding forward.
[[...I don't think this body is build for sitting.]]
[[[It's not too bad.]]]
[At least we don't have to worry about sitting on our balls.]
Drei and Zwei gave Eins strange looks. It was true, technically, but still.
"Guess the big man is taking a break," Connie mused. "I'll be on the roof if you guys need help."
"Right," Annie said with a frown as she leapt off the building to return to her comrades. But she couldn't fight off the growing suspicion in her mind. 'The way it stared at me, and it chose to stay. Does it know what we are? Can it sense us? Smell us?'
Eins's maw formed a snarl of distaste.
[I swear I still feel Titans nearby.]
[[Maybe it takes some time to fade after they die.]]
[[[Maybe it's just because they're keeping the Shifter nearby?]]]
[[Depends on where they're keeping her.]]
[Would they leave her on this side of the wall with how fast she is?]
[[Perhaps, if they want to leave her on the same side of the wall as us.]]
[[[...Who was that, anyway?]]]
The three grew silent in mind. They had avoided musing on that topic so far.
[[Ymir.]]
[..?]
[[[Are you sure?]]]
[[The Shifter attacked us after we saved Krista.]]
[[[And Krista was the only one Ymir cared about.]]]
[Most of the other boys were in love with her too.]
[[[Like Ymir was?]]]
[[[[Definitely not.]]]]
That conclusion reached led to the other implications. If someone he trained beside for years was a Titan Shifter, than any of the others could be too. And, as much as Eins and Drei hated it, Zwei knew it made sense. They could have slipped in easy with the chaos after the Walls fell.
[[There's just one problem.]]
[There are a LOT of problems with this!]
[[[Not what we meant.]]]
[[If the Armor and Colossal Titans are about the same age as Ymir, they'd be children five years ago, same as us.]]
Eins stopped at that while concern went through Drei.
[Maybe they can just change how old they look?]
[[[That's not too crazy.]]]
[[Not as crazy as finding out Shifters exist at all, no. But if they can't, these years of hell were unleashed by a couple of children.]]
[I don't care. We'll still kill them.]
[[[[Agreed!]]]]
[[But something about this reeks.]]
Eins and Drei conceded that. The more they chipped away at the implications of the situation, of the Titans Shifters, the more strange the bigger picture became.
It didn't take long before Annie returned with Reiner and Bertholt. "You guys go ahead, I think I'll say hello real quick," Reiner said with a smile.
"Wait, R-" Bertholt called after, but the blond male was already changing course.
"Idiot," Annie muttered to herself, hoping he didn't do anything stupid or, more importantly, crazy.
"Well, you're looking better, Scales," Reiner called as he landed down on the ground, a short distance from where the golden figure sat.
[[[Reiner.]]]]
[Crazy bastard, landing on my head in the middle of a fight.]
[[He's crazier standing there. Our tails might take his head off on accident.]]
The trio of heads regarded their friend with various degrees of fondness.
"Glad you remember me," Reiner said with a chuckle. "Don't know what anyone told you, but we got that biting bitch locked up."
They had guessed as much, but it was nice to be kept in the loop.
"We're not suppose to be talking about her, but I think you can keep a secret," Reiner said with a smirk.
[[[[Asshole.]]]]
They snorted their agreement.
Reiner laughed a bit at that. "A sense of humor too!" Reiner said in amusement. "Anyway, it's good to see you, Scales. And thanks for the help. I...also don't know what the hell you even eat, but given your fangs, I think we should be happy you're not munching on the dead."
Reiner zipped off back to the building before the trio could compute that last part.
Eat humans, even dead ones? Drei shuddered in disgust while Eins looked both shocked and offended. But Zwei looked curious.
[[Now that I think about it...]]
[[[No.]]]
[Hell no! Unless it's a Shifter.]
[[[Maybe!]]]
[[Not what I meant!]]
Zwei glared at the two accusing heads on either side of him.
[[But what do we eat?]]
[[[...?]]]
[Titans?]
[[You know that doesn't count.]]
[[[Maybe it does? We haven't eaten anything in almost a full day now.]]]
[We're not hungry either.]
[[Point, I suppose? Maybe we just don't need to eat?]]
[Wait, don't Titans need sunlight?]
[[That was what we were taught, yes?]]
[Maybe it's the same for us?]
[[That would explain it. We did sleep through the night and most of the morning.]]
They decided to end their inner conversation there, rising to their feet once more, their tails swinging about to get the circulation going properly. They froze as the end of their tail scrapped a building, tearing into the side.
"Everything alright out there?!" Bertholt yelled, suddenly rushing to the hole to look out.
"Yeah, it's good!" Connie called down from the ceiling. "Trips just nipped a building with one of his tails."
"If that's the first time he's done that, I'm impressed," Annie murmured, helping Reiner carry the body out of the room.
The three heads gave a collective grunt before trotting on. They eventually began walking around the streets nearest Wall Rose. There were few bodies here, but there were plenty of craters in the ground from when the cannons had been shooting into the Titans. Titan corpses might vanish, but the damage certainly didn't.
Just as before, soldiers reacted to his passing in various ways. But it was more positive here, many outright cheering from the walls as they passed. Drei watched, giving a roar of appreciation, and even saw Commander Pixis giving him a salute.
Cannons were also aimed in his general direction wherever he went, though he was amused to see some of the soldiers giving the ones manning the cannons a hard time about it.
"Do you really want to be the one that shot the Golden Titankiller?!" one, possibly drunken soldier called with a laugh.
[...Golden Titankiller...]
[[[I will take Trips over that.]]]
[[I'll take Scales, thank you.]]
[[[...Couldn't we spell out what to call us?]]]
They paused in their stride, all three heads glancing at one another curiously before continuing on.
[[It's possible. Not easy, but possible.]]
[Be easier if we remembered our damn name.]
[[[Why is that blanking out on us still!?]]]
[[We're a giant lizard with three heads, that is the least surprising part of this.]]
[Agre- What is that?]
Eins was already snarling a bit while Drei cocked his head, trying to make out the sound. It sounded like...groaning. But it was much too loud to be a human.
[[[[Titans!]]]]
All at once, their stride became quicker, more intent. They followed the roads in the western corner in the back of Trost. Low and behold, there they were: two Titans.
But they were bound in heavy bindings, and giant nails were impaled through their bodies to keep them pinned and unable to attack anyone.
They were also surrounded by soldiers, all with the green cloaks bearing the Wings of Freedom.
"Oh, shit, there it is," Gunther said in shock, paling as he saw the massive beast coming towards them with many fangs showing. "And he doesn't look happy."
"What do we do?" Petra asked, voicing the concern of everyone else here. "We were not to engage that thing under any circumstances."
"It's only here for these two," Eld pointed out, keeping his limbs tense and ready while nodding to the two captured titans. "It's probably just here to finish the clean up."
"Yeah, but we need these two alive for Section Commander Four-Eyes," Olou said, trying to look cool and aloof. "Just don't back down, and we should be fine."
"Acting like the Captain will not help here!" Petra said pointedly.
"Oh, you sure?" Olou asked, forcing himself to smirk as he walked forward, trying to radiate confidence. "Hey, you! With the scaly ass!"
They stopped, glancing down at the rather brazen soldier.
"I hear you're a bit of the bite-first, ask question later type," Olou said, keeping himself from shaking as best he could. "But I can't have...you...munching...on..."
The Scout trailed off as all three heads craned down, until the middle one's snout was mere meters from himself. A burst of hot, very hot air burst from the nostrils, knocking Olou back on his rear.
And making him bite his tongue. "Ahh, fuck!"
Petra sighed as her comrades shook their heads.
Zwei jerked back in surprise, watching the man hold his bleeding mouth.
[[[I want to feel bad, but I can't]]]
[I don't want to, and I still don't.]
[[Should they be worried about him bleeding out?]]
"Don't worry, he does that a lot."
The three heads craned over to find Hange sitting atop of a nearby roof, smiling brightly at him.
"Having a nice stroll, Gorgeous?"
[[[[Annnnd she's back.]]]]
"Section Commander?!" Gunther called up.
"It's okay, I'll take it from here," Hange called back in assurance before bringing her full attention back to, in her mind, the greatest discovery of mankind.
They were of one mind about Hange. On one hand, it was nice to have someone talking to them without fear or worry, even enjoying talking to him. On the other, she was a bit...intense.
"Mind taking a walk with me, Big Boy?" Hange requested playfully.
They felt that, if they were human, they'd be even more off put by this. But they decided to indulge her, following alongside Hange as she led them away from the corner of Trost.
"I understand you're eager to kill Titans," Hange started off, taking long strides, while her companion took the slowest steps possible to keep pace with her. "Believe me, I get it. I used to be like that too."
[[[[Used to be?]]]]
Hange contained a squeal of excitement as she saw the three heads peer at her with obvious curiosity and interest. "However, I have to ask you not to attack my new friends back there."
They both stopped walking, the three heads giving her their undivided attention, which she returned in kind.
"Humans are weak, pathetic, fragile creatures," Hange said without hesitation, her tone level and stern. "I'm sure something like you can't understand how pitiful we are compared to the Titans, or you obviously. Even without your intellect, I would still stake a guess on you being superior even to the Armored or Colossal Titans."
Drei preened at that while Eins gained a touch of smugness at the ego stroke. Zwei just stared, waiting for the explanation.
"But we humans have only our brains. Our only chance to stand against the Titans is to learn more about them, understand them. And to that end, I need them alive to study," Hange explained, staring him intently in the eye. "So please, my friend, leave them to my care."
Zwei looked amused, nodding his consent on behalf of all three of them. There was no debate, nothing to discuss. If it was to help humans against Titans, then he would suffer those two to live, for now.
Hange instantly traded in her serious expression for a wide grin as she flushed and...was definitely, definitely drooling now. "Oh, I wish I could know what was going on in those heads of yours! The stories you could tell."
[[[She's going to be a bit disappointed if she finds out we were just a cadet before this.]]]
[[I don't think she can be disappointed by us.]]
[I almost feel bad for the shifter.]
[[[[Almost.]]]]
With that, the Titan-Slayer turned to retrace his path and put distance between him and the Titans. He had no desire to be near Titans he wasn't going to kill.
"T-thanks for the save, Section Commander," Olou said, a quiver of fear still in his breath as Hange descended to join the Levi Squad.
Hange took one look at him and had one thing to say. "Olou, go change your pants before Levi sees, or Titans forbid, smells you."
The rest of the day went rather uneventfully for the behemoth. Connie switched out for Sasha, Sasha for Annie. After her, the higher ups apparently decided they didn't need someone watching them all the time. The one thing that troubled all three of his heads was, eventually, who they didn't see.
[[[[Mikasa and Armin.]]]]
[[[We've seen everyone else.]]]
[Even Horseface.]
[[[Except Christa]]]
[[Perhaps they're just helping in the areas we've avoided?]]
That was more likely than it seemed at first. There was a good third of Trost they didn't go into, where most of the soldiers were finding and collecting bodies. They stayed out of the way, not wanting to disturb or worsen the already grim task these soldiers were dealing with.
[[[Maybe they're working on the other side of the wall?]]]
[[Maybe?]]
Zwei was the brains of the three, but he wasn't sure what else they would be doing on the other side of the wall after beating back the Titans for the first time.
He glanced to the western length of Trost's wall, Eins and Drei doing so as well.
[[[[The sun will be setting soon.]]]]
Indeed, it wasn't long before the sun began to fall behind the great structure. And yet, as shadows fell over the city, they did not find themselves growing tired or weary. Not only did that put a dent in their theory about their body being powered by sunlight, it also meant that the night could become incredibly boring.
More importantly...
"So, he can see in the dark?" Erwin asked idly as he stood on the wall, Hange seated near a torch with her notebook in hand. They both stared down into Trost, the darkness of night broken by the lights of torches and fires. There was just enough light to make out the great shadow moving about the city.
"Something like that," Hange answered thoughtfully. "Perhaps he can see heat, or something else."
"Good. Our friend has been mindful around humans, so we hopefully won't have any accidental deaths to report," Erwin remarked.
Indeed, Zwei had initially assumed they just saw better as this...creature than as a human, but the later it grew, the more they realized their vision should be growing dark with the lack of light. Instead, they could still see. Mostly. Colors had largely faded or dulled away entirely to black and white, but they could see...something else.
A strange color they didn't know how to describe, one that surrounded the humans, giving them a strange glow of sorts.
[Why do we only have this now?]
[[We might not have noticed in the light.]]
[[[And we were kind of busy yesterday.]]]
Still, this was a rather helpful boon for them. At least they weren't likely to step on some unlucky soul in the dark.
Their eyes traveled to a large light burning in the city. They were no fool, they knew that was where the bodies were being burned. They had planned to stay away, to let those souls be put to rest in what little peace a mass bonfire could give.
But...they told themselves it was just to see if the light of the fires affected their vision, but they knew they wanted to go anyway. Even if no one knew who they were, it felt wrong to be absent. After all, his teammates were in that fire too.
So, with careful steps, he treaded to the pyres as softly as possible.
It didn't take long for them to reach the street, peering down at the fires with soldiers standing about to pay their respects.
[[The glow is fainter around the fire.]]
[[[Shut up.]]]
[[...]]
[There they are.]
Zwei and Drei followed Eins's gaze and saw who he meant, their friends: Sasha, Connie, Jean, Marco, Reiner, Annie, and...
[[[[Armin.]]]]
"What the hell is he doing here?" Jean asked, frowning at the shadowed figure of their scaled ally, green eyes glinting in the darkness.
"Calm down, he probably just wanted to see what the fire was about," Marco assured placatingly. "See, it's not like he's coming closer."
"Give him a break guys," Sasha said with a sigh. "Trips was saving us all day yesterday. He's probably sad too, that they died."
"You think Scales cares about people he's never even met before?" Reiner asked with a distant tone to his voice.
"Guys, can we just...shut up about Trips for a moment," Connie said, sitting down with a hand to his head. "This is...suppose to be about them tonight," he said, looking to the flames solemnly.
"Yeah," Armin said under his breath, staring aimlessly at the flames.
[...!]
[[[...]]]
Oh, what they would give at the moment just to be able to speak, to call out to his first friend that he was still here, right here. For all his bluster, Eins felt closer to tears than Drei. Tears of frustration, but still. They weren't even sure if they could cry in this body.
They froze as another figure approached the pyres.
"You came," Armin greeted with a small, sad smile.
Mikasa just nodded mutely, eyes transfixed on the fires, even as everyone stared at her.
Everyone.
[She's been crying.]
[[She looks exhausted.]]
[[[...]]]
Drei let out a low, sorrowful groan that briefly echoed across the streets.
The young soldiers looked on in surprise, but didn't react beyond that. It was strange to accept that this great creature was in mourning with them, but it became easier to believe by the minute.
Mikasa looked to those eyes, gleaming in the night, their color so much like Eren's that it almost hurt. She pulled the scarf close to her face, savoring everything about it: its warmth, its texture, all of it.
"Thank you, Eren, for everything," Mikasa whispered. So softly that no one could hear her over the cackling of the flames. No one save Armin, who looked to her with empathy. "You can rest now. You're free."
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.
[What is she doing?]
[[She's walking to the fire.]]
[[[Why?]]]
[[[[Mikasa?]]]]
For a rare time, the three heads were in perfect unison of being for more than a single instance or decision. For there were no thoughts, only a strange numbness as they watched Mikasa stop in front of the fires, completely ignoring the heat, and slowly unwrapping her scarf, everyone staring in silent shock.
Everyone.
She folded it neatly in her hands, reaching it towards the flames, ready to throw it into the fire.
[[[[Mikasa!]]]]
All at once, a wind rushed through the streets, the flames nearly going horizontal. And in that instance, the gust had ripped away the scarf into the air before Mikasa could close her hands.
"Where did that come from?" Connie said in surprise. "It wasn't from Trips' side of the street..."
"Oh no, I think it might rain," Sasha said with a frown as she looked up.
Mikasa ignored them, running to the edge off the light, looking frantically for her scarf.
"Mikasa, I'll grab a torch!" Armin called, looking around for a piece of wood he could use.
"Here, I got-" Jean said, having turned to fetch one when the scarf had left Mikasa's hands. He stopped, and all grew silent at the soft shaking of the ground.
The figure of the three headed beast loomed ever closer now, but its eyes were low to the ground. Or as low as they could be.
Armin inhaled sharply, and his comrades were left speechless as the heads creeped out of the darkness and brought themselves into the light.
And from the middle head, a long tongue stuck out. A tongue that was curled and holding a red scarf rather awkwardly.
"No way..." Marco breathed.
"Wow. I...just wow," Sasha summarized.
"Wait..." Armin said with a shuddering breath, eyes dilating as he looked at the green-eyed beast, holding the scarf while all three heads starred at Mikasa, and only Mikasa. "It can't be..."
Mikasa's disbelief melted away into a soft, stoic expression. "Thank you," she said quietly, but she was sure she was heard. Carefully, she reached out to retake the scarf.
Zwei pulled back, barely, making her blink. She looked to either side in confusion as Eins and Drei crooned at her with shrill voices.
"What the hell is this about?" Annie asked, trying to keep the nervousness off her face.
"Armin? You okay?" Jean asked, seeing the boy's shoulders shaking.
"I...I don't understand," Mikasa said, feeling at a loss for what was going on.
Eins and Drei looked to Zwei imploringly, who closed his eyes in...
Anger? Frustration? What was that look on the reptile's face, Mikasa wondered.
Zwei's eyes opened, and inched closer to Mikasa. She was about to reach out again, when the tongue brought the scarf beyond her hand, and-
Mikasa felt lightning crawling up her spine as the tongue began to move the scarf around her.
It was slow, sloppy, and a bit wet. The tongue all but threw the last end of the scarf on her head.
"The hell...?" Jean said under his breath in disbelief. "There's...there's no way."'
"It's him. I don't know how, but it's him," Armin said, tears running down his eyes.
Mikasa stood there silently, numbly while gazing up at the eyes. Those too-familiar, green eyes. Eyes that held such anger, such hate, but something softer and more beautiful as well. Eyes now filled with a longing, sadness, as if begging her to understand what they...he was trying to say to her.
Her voice almost died in her throat, as if saying it aloud might just choke her to utter it. Her eyes welled with renewed tears, and one word left her lips. One name.
"Eren?"
Eins, Zwei, and Drei all crooned around her in happiness, relief, remorse, and a thousand other emotions.
[[[[We remember now. Our name. My name. Eren.]]]]
"Did she just...call him...?" Marco said quietly.
"That suicidal bastard," Jean said, gritting his teeth as he held back his own tears.
"Wait...what?" Connie said with a frown. "I don't..."
Mikasa ignored them all as she clutched onto the middle nose, sobbing into the snout.
All three heads let out noises. Hearing his name made him feel like he had truly reclaimed his memories, and all the emotions that they inspired. And as Mikasa cried into him, Eren had only one thought.
[[[[I need to change back.]]]]
End of Chapter
There you are, a day in the life of Erendorah. I didn't go into this planning on the chapter JUST showing what life is like for Erendorah, but I liked it too much to not do it. Naturally, some people are weary of Eren, but most are apprecitive. Hange is Hange, as always. But instead of Marco, its fucking Kitz that died suspiciously. I hinted this a chapter or two ago, but I don't think anyone picked up on it.
And yes, the Kaiju is out of the bag. Could I have dragged this out a bit longer? Eh, yeah, but it wouldn't have added anything to the story. So, they know that Trips is actually Eren now. However, while Eren has resolved to get his human form back, how he gets it is still an issue. We'll be exploraing that next chapter, among other things.
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64