Kyra sat on a roof throwing a knife in the air. Her eyes glanced up at the sky before narrowing as she spotted three birds in the distance.
"You just try to steal some food, Sasha. I'll get Captain Levi to chop you up into nice bite-sized pieces." Jean threatened as he walked into the house.
"I won't! Probably..." Sasha said doubtful.
"Say what?"
"Hey! Did you guys wipe the dust and dirt off your shoes before you came in?" Eren asked.
Kyra rolled her eyes as she held three knives. "So damn noisy." She threw the knives as the three birds dropped to the ground dead.
Kyra jumped from the roof picking up the birds. She plucked the feathers roughly sighing as she heard the conversations.
"No, we didn't. Can't you see all the stuff we're carrying?" Jean said.
"Do you seriously think that attitude will satisfy Captain Levi? If I hadn't personally given your sheets hospital corners this morning--" Eren bickered.
"Quit nagging! Who are you, my mom?!" Jean exclaimed back with attitude.
Kyra nodded to Mikasa and Historia as they walked in.
"We're back." Historia greeted.
"Wait, were you just chopping firewood?" Jean asked.
"Gotta stay in shape." Mikasa said nonchalantly.
"You got grabbed by a Titan! You should be in bed." Armin lectured.
Kyra rolled her eyes hearing the bickering. Kyra rolled three birds in cloth tying them to keep pests away from the meat before walking in.
"It's almost like we're back in the Cadet Corps." Sasha
"Yeah...Why do you figure we were chosen for the new Levi Squad, though? Protecting Eren, Kyra, and Historia is such an important mission..." Armin pondered.
"Because we're talented, I assume." Sasha said quickly shoving bread into her bag.
"Sasha... what did you just put in your bag?" Armin asked catching her.
"It definitely wasn't bread." Sasha said.
"Why, you!" Jean shouted.
"Give it back." Connie ryelled.
"Hey, focus! We gotta finish cleaning before the captain gets back!" Eren shouted.
"Put back the bread." Jean demanded.
Sasha put the bread back having something else catch her eye.
"Meat!" Sasha exclaimed running to Kyra before a hand pushed her forehead away from the meat with a loud smack.
Sasha growled pushing forward as she gnashed her teeth together.
"Sasha, leave the meat alone." Jean shouted.
"Stop before Kyra kicks your ass." Connie warned.
"You know a little restraint goes a long way. Stop being a savage beast, Sasha." Kyra dully using her foot to keep Sasha away.
"What's this commotion about?" Captain Levi asked walking in.
"How many times have you done this now? Our food reserves are precious! We're grateful enough that Kyra can hunt and scavenge without eating it all before she gets here!"
"Cut the crap, Potato Girl!"
The group pulled Sasha away from Kyra. Kyra clicked her tongue rolling her eyes, "Tch. You know when I think of a house pet. This isn't what I pictured." Kyra walked to the kitchen putting the birds on the counter.
The ruckus stopped as they noticed Captain Levi. Kyra walked back in the room to see Captain Levi rub his hand under the table examining his hand.
"I'm quite sure I gave you enough time." Captain Levi commented causing Eren to groan as he face palmed.
"Anyways... We'll discuss your lax cleaning job another time. Eren. Hange is itching to get the experiment started." Captain Levi informed.
"R-Right." Eren said.
Captain Levi turned to Kyra, "Kyra. Hange needs more samples."
Kyra gave a huff, "Right. Another day of being her personal pin cushion."
...
Hange, Moblit, Levi, Armin Historia, and Kyra watched from a cliff. Kyra's feet dangled freely from the edge as she watched Eren transform.
Kyra glanced down in amusement seeing another half-assed Titan transformation.
"What's wrong, Eren?! Get up! The future of humanity is riding on you! Get up, damn it!" Hange screamed out.
"Third time, and his form's changed again. He's not even ten meters tall, and some of his body lacks muscle. Plus, Eren's scrawny ass is hanging out." Captain Levi commented.
"I can see that! Eren! Can you still move?! Give us a signal or something!" Hange retorted to Captain Levi before yelling down at Eren.
Kyra watched boredly as Mikasa ran to Eren and Jean called after her.
"Great. The brat's at it again. Off to the rescue. She never learns, does she?" Captain Levi said stoically.
"There's no response... We're done here! Eren!" Hange said before calling out to Eren as she dropped down.
"Hot! Think you can ease up on the steam a little?!" Hange exclaimed as she pulled Eren's body out.
"Hey be careful with him! Can't you see he's bleeding?" Mikasa shouted.
Hange gave a screech as she saw Eren's face.
"You see his face, Moblit?" Hange shouted.
Sketch it, quick! We gotta get this!" Hange exclaimed.
"Section Commander! Have you no compassion at all?!" Moblit scolded.
Mikasa cut Eren free causing Hange to fall back with Eren
"Um, sorry about that." Hange apologized.
"Not the outcome we'd hoped for. We're still a long way from being able to use Eren's Titan to seal the wall." Captain Levi said looking to Armin.
"Yes. We've known all along this would be like grasping at proverbial straws." Armin agreed.
"The plan's strategically sound. And simple in theory. All we need is to get Eren there. This could still work, but it's going to depend on him." Captain Levi informed.
"Experiment's over! All troops, withdraw at once!" Hange shouted.
"Withdrawing! Go! Make sure we weren't seen!" A soldier ordered.
"Right!" Jean shouted.
"Kyra, my beautiful storm cloud! Are you ready to make new friends?" Hange called out looking up at her.
Kyra sighed, "Dear god, another one. Is she pulling these names out of a hat?" Kyra muttered standing up.
"You ride back to the house with Eren." Captain Levi instructed Historia.
"I'm headed for Trost District with Hange's group. Kyra you're coming with." Captain Levi instructed.
...
Hange, Moblit, Captain Levi, and Kyra stood on top of the wall. They looked down to see a few Titans lingering around.
Hange drew blood from Kyra's arm and placed it in a vial.
"Based on what happened in Ehrmich, something about you drew all the Titans' attention to you. The only thing that was different that time around was that you were bleeding." Hange theorized.
She held the vial of blood up before tossing it. The glass shattered on the ground as they watched in curiosity.
Then Titans stopped clawing at the wall turning their heads before heading to where the vial broke on the ground. The silence was filled with gasps at this discovery.
Hange gasped, "So it is your blood. Hmm. So my theory is that something in your blood composition entices them. There might be a chemical reaction that happens once your blood is exposed to air. Because that's the only time they react."
"So, what your saying is that I somehow attract Titans?" Kyra asked dully.
"Yes, think of it this way among a buffet of appetizers your blood is like the entrée or dessert." Hange said.
Kyra sighed, "Yeah, describing it like that doesn't make it any better."
"But think of it this way, Kyra. If we can find what it is that makes them attracted to your blood we should be able to replicate it. We can then use it to lead Titans away from the walls. It's not a bad thing. Plus back in Ehrmich, once you had them distracted they paid no attention to us, they were quick and easy to take down. With less than twenty Scouts we were able to take down over forty Titans within minutes! Absolutely record breaking!" Hange exclaimed eccentricly.
"That's a great plan in theory, but are you able to actually recreate it before then? I'm sure we can use it for Shiganshina, but it's unwise to use her as actual bait." Captain Levi commented glancing to Hange.
Hange took a moment to think before nodding, "Yes, I'll start working on it as soon as possible. Kyra I'm going need quite a few more samples of your blood, if you don't mind."
Kyra sighed as she brought her arm forward, "Knock yourself out." She said dully.
"Hange watch over her and Moblit watch over Hange just in case she goes overboard. I have to go." Captain Levi said before leaving.
...
Everyone had gathered around the main room standing around a table.
"Now, what's this about?" Captain Levi asked.
"I'm sorry. Pastor Nick...He was murdered." Hange informed with a solemn expression.
"Today, in the Trost District barracks. I figured the Church would want to deal with Nick since he was cooperating with the Scouts. That's why I hid his identity and had him stay in the barracks, but... To think they would use soldiers to kill him... I was too careless. It's entirely my fault." Hange said remorsefully.
"They tortured him. Presumably for information. Did they just want to know what exactly he'd passed on to us?" Armin questioned.
"Most likely. But these are the Interior MPs we're dealing with, so you can bet there's something deeper at work here. So, how many nails was the good pastor missing?" Captain Levi said before glancing at Hange.
"Uh?"
"How many? You saw, right?" Captain Levi asked.
"I only caught a glimpse of him, but all the nail beds I saw were empty." Hange informed.
Kyra's eyes narrowed. Then they don't know yet.
"People that talk, talk after one. If they don't, peeling more won't make a difference. I'm impressed. I didn't think highly of Pastor Nick. But whatever his faults, he stuck by his beliefs until the end." Captain Levi commented.
He glanced back at Historia, "Which means... they have no idea we know about the Reiss family. But the government is up to something. And we've got a target on our backs." Captain Levi informed.
"Captain Levi. Sir. I got a message from Commander Erwin. I went to tell him about Pastor Nick, but he sent me off with this." Nifa came in handing him a message. Captain Levi read it as his eyes narrowed before looking at everyone.
"Get your gear, now! We're leaving. Make it look like we were never here." Captain Levi ordered.
...
The group stood on a cliff watching as Interior MPs barged into the house with guns.
"That was close...What if they caught us? Would they rip our nail off?" Connie asked.
"How did Commander Erwin know they'd be here?" Armin asked.
"New orders came from the government. There's been a freeze on all Scout Regiment activity outside the wall. They're telling us to hand over Eren, Kyra, and Historia.
"Captain. I didn't have time to tell you, but a couple of MPs came for the Commander right after I left him." Nifa informed.
"What? Like he's some kind of criminal?" Hange questioned.
"They're bringing this fight out into the open. No more working in the shadows." Captain Levi commented.
"They're going to protect the walls' secrets at any cost. But why? And what exactly are they after Eren, Kyra, and Historia for? They don't want them dead, so what are they planning?" Hange pondered.
"Who knows? But they want these three and they're not being subtle about it. Which makes lingering here dangerous. We need to hide until night and then we're moving Eren, Kyra, and Historia to Trost." Captain Levi stated.
"We're taking them to the same district where Pastor Nick was murdered?" Moblit asked.
"Heading toward the Interior would be worse. With Trost in a panic, it should be easy to slip in at nightfall. And if things do go all to hell, we can use these in the city." Captain Levi informed.
"That's true." Armin said.
"Well first thing's first we need to find a place to hide until night fall." Hange said.
Kyra sighed, "I suppose it kills two birds with one stone. I know one and it's not too far away. And we won't have to stay there long until night fall." Kyra said starting to walk as they followed.
...
After thirty minutes Kyra pushed a bush aside to reveal a staircase leading down. "Here. Thankfully we don't have to stay down here for too long." Kyra said softly.
"A secret passage leading underground?" Armin asked.
Kyra nodded walking as she lit the torches hung on the wall with her own.
"Where does it lead? An underground city?" Eren asked.
"Remember how you always interrogated me half-assed, about life before I met you?" Kyra said stoically causing Eren, Mikasa, and Armin to gasp.
"It reeks of death!" Sasha yelled only for Kyra to hum in reply. She got to the last stair before walking to a clearing.
Everyone followed glancing around before gasping in horror at the sight. Small shacks had been lined up on top of each other barely enough to fit six people side-by-side. There were hundreds of skeleton heads on stakes, almost displayed proudly like some sick and twisted trophy collection.
A large pile of ashes and skeletons sit as blood stained the ground everywhere they looked. "U-Uh. This is really creepy. I think I'd rather take my chances with the MPs." Sasha said with shivers.
"A-Agreed." Connie muttered.
Kyra walked up to two skeleton heads staring up at them. She closed her eyes exhaling softly.
"My real name is Kyra Drosera. I am the sole survivor of the Drosera Clan. What you're looking at right now is where everyone from my clan was forced to live. This is where I spent most of my life as a child." Kyra informed emotionlessly as shock gasped were heard.
"W-What?"
"N-No way!"
Kyra ignored it and continued, "At a very young age, I found myself working as a slave. My entire clan, the Dorsera Clan, had been pursued and forced to work by nobles who took over the land we lived on. Those who could not work were immediately slaughtered. You stop working you died, gave a wrong look you died. A mutiny was hopeless and faced grave consequences. Resistance was futile, punishment was guaranteed, torture was expected, and death was inevitable." Kyra paused as her lips pressed in a straight line clenching her fists.
"Elderly and infants were the first to go. Next, were women bearing children. The unborn baby, cut from the womb to be used for experiments until dissected, still living, only to be hung on walls like the hide of an animal. My family was forced in to labor, forced to do their bidding. Personally it started with my grandparents, then my two youngest siblings not even 4 years of age. My eldest sister was next, seeing as she was with child. The father of the child had turned her and his own unborn baby in, in hopes of receiving mercy. He, too, shared the same fate and the son of bitch deserved it. After years of managing to live-- no-- living is not the right term. It it was more like evading the grasp of death, and running from whatever cruel fate awaited us all inevitably. But, eventually everything catches up to you in the end. It's a continuous cycle that viciously spins until you are left empty." Kyra spoke out darkly.
No one dared to speak, they listened to every single detail as the aloof and apathetic girl spoke about her past. Something they never thought they would hear even after the years of knowing her as comrades and companions.
But, no one knew just how deep and dark her past stems. Of course, they had assumed she had been abandoned in the streets like she told them, but they weren't even close to the truth.
"A resistance group formed and more than 80% of the Drosera Clan that were still alive at the time were beheaded... Their heads' rot on stakes like trophies as a reminder to us of what happens when we try to fight with fate. I watched the heads of my eldest brother and father every single god damn day, as the flesh rotted and decayed from it, leaving nothing, but a hollow skull. At the age of seven years old, I was alone, no one from my family remained besides me. I was forced to live a life of silent solitude, because people lived in fear and terror. Not wanting to risk their own lives to help a child that was not theirs. And one day, they grew tired of our labor...no they grew bored of our existence and planned to kill every last one of us. I watched numbly as the remaining members of my clan burned alive. Their haunting screams that echoed, as the smell of their bodies burned in an inferno. A sickening smell that covered the air thickly. And in that moment, whether it be fear of dying, a fear of not being able to see beyond my prision, a fear of not being able to experience life like my family wished and prayed for...I snapped. I mercilessly slaughtered every last one of those fucking monsters. In one night I had come to slaughter more than three hundred of 'em. I held no regrets, tch, why should I? They deserved it...they had it coming." She paused looking up to the two skulls.
"Ironic, we're all practically slaves trapped within a wall, a tool of the system, but at least I was able to free myself from this wretched hell. And that night as I ran through the streets of Shiganshina covered in blood, I swore to myself that I would run far away. I swore to leave and never come back. That I would renounce every single aspect of my lineage and move forward. That way, I wouldn't have to think of my family's faces when I watched them being slaughtered like animals." Kyra said with bitterness before pausing with a sigh.
"But here I am now, because I finally realized what it is that these people sought. Power. They murdered close to seven hundred people for power." She said giving a dry heartless chuckle.
"O-Oh god." Christa gasped out with teary eyes.
"That's so cruel." Jean muttered sadly.
Their eyes were fixated on the girl before they looked around the place. Not one area had been free of death. It was a haunting revelation. The anguish and sorrow she must've felt. The torture she had been through. It was sinister and diabolical.
This was a stark contrast to her typical demeanor. The white haired girl's normal stoic and apathetic attitude had switched to something far darker then any of them knew existed. She had lived a dark past and kept it to herself. Not telling a single soul until now.
"For power? Why?" Armin asked solemnly.
"That's why I'm here." Kyra said stoically.
Kyra walked to a shack kicking a wooden step off before grabbing a book and handing it over to Armin.
"They slaughtered this many people for a damn book?" Jean shouted in anger.
"It's empty?" Armin said in confusion swiping through page after page.
Kyra pulled a knife out of her boot slicing her hand open allowing the blood to drip onto the pages before sinking into the pages as they turned back to a crusty white. Gasps were heard as words began to appear out of thin air.
"This is a book written in the blood of my clan. A book dated well over five centuries ago. Only those with Drosera blood can access its knowledge...well unless you have their blood." Kyra informed.
They stood looking at the pages in curiosity as Kyra glanced up at the two heads once again. She could hardly remember what her her family was like or how they looked. Being here was like reliving the nightmares all over again.
Everywhere she looked, flashbacks of someone from her clan being murdered, tortured, or dead appeared in her mind.
She stared lifelessly around the entire area in a trance as the faces etched into her head, the cries and screams pierced through her ears echoing.
She clenched her jaw tightly as she glanced back at the skulls. Her eyes were wide and hollow as she relived the horror of watching as a knife sliced through her brother's neck until his head was held up high into the air. The same with her father as the sounds of gurgling were heard as he tried to breathe only to choke on his own blood.
Eren stopped glancing from the page as he looked at Kyra. She just stared motionlessly at the skulls. His eyes sunk as he looked at her with a sullen expression.
"Kyra?" He asked in concern. He walked forward stepping in front of her blocking her view. The others glanced over in concern seeing her trance like state.
"Kyra? Hey, Ky." He said shaking her shoulder slightly.
The girl blinked as she glanced back at Eren. She shook her head as she was pulled from her stupor. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?" She asked softly.
Eren shook his head as he turned her around and moved her over to Armin keeping her eyes away from the remains of her clan.
They knew that being down here was detrimental to her. She was probably reliving everything all over again and Eren didn't want her to face that again. So the best thing he could do was distract her momentarily.
"Have you ever read this book?" Eren asked softly.
Kyra shook her head, "No."
"Kyra, how long were you down here for?" Hange asked holding a piece of paper as Captain Levi looked over her shoulder with interest.
Kyra shrugged, "I don't really know. I can vaguely recall life before it happened, but I was small. Probably two or three at the time. And then when I left, I met Eren a year later on the streets. We looked to be a similar age so I just assumed I was the same age as him."
"Is Calliope Drosera, your mother and Finnick Drosera, your father?" Captain Levi questiond.
"Yes."
"And there's no other Kyra Drosera's?" Captain Levi asked glancing over at her.
Kyra shook her head, "No."
"How, is this possible?" Hange asked in confusion.
Kyra raised in eyebrow. "Kyra you're twenty-four years old. You were born in January of the year, 826. In the year of 829 your clan was forced here." Hange informed causing everyone to gasp besides a few.
Kyra's eyes widened slightly in realization, "But that would mean-- I spent almost eighteen years of my life..." Kyra closed her eyes as her jaw clenched at the thought.
"Sadly, yes." Hange informed solemnly with a frown.
"Depressing. And to top it off not only am I short, I'm old." Kyra said stoically.
"Is that the only thing you can think of?!" Jean yelled.
Kyra sighed heavily, "Frankly, yes. I told you I renounced my lineage. I may not forget, but just like each day, I move on."
"I don't know, I would just be pissed. You went through this thinking it was only five years of your life, only to find out you've been tormented for eighteen years instead." Jean argued.
Kyra sighed shaking her head, "And do what exactly? Exact vengeance, take my aggressions out on other people, vow to destroy the world? What good would that do me or anyone else? I already got revenge. I disposed of every last son of bitch that ever stepped foot in this shit hole and took part. And the other two-hundred that weren't present at the time and partook, I hunted them down after I escaped. What's left for me to be angry about? There was nothing else I could do. No one to be angry at. Don't get me wrong, I hold a deep grudge and I'll never forgive even if they begged and pleaded with me for forgiveness. But at the end of the day there is no one left to be angry at when I killed them all, so I cut the past loose and let it go." Kyra explained causing Jean to look down at the blood stained ground.
Even after all this, her words held irrefutable reason. Even after experiencing all of this she had kept in control of herself and gave a whole new perspective on the situation that many would struggle to see.
Armin gasped as he continued to flip through the book. This caught Mikasa and Eren's attention as their eyes widened.
"No way!" Eren said in shock.
"Kyra, you said this is over five hundred years ago, right?" Armin asked.
"Yeah." Kyra said stoically.
"This books depicts how life was long before the walls or Titans appeared. Your clan wasn't just any clan, your clan was the natives that inhabited this land. Wait--" Armin paused rereading the page before his eyes widened in shock. He glanced up at Kyra with wide eyes as realization dawned on him.
"That's why Pastor Nick was calling you Priestess. Your bloodline consists of Druids and Bandruí. That's how your bloodline survived outside the walls when the Titans appeared. They lived in peace with the Titans!" Armin exclaimed.
Kyra's eyes widened as everyone stopped stunned as some gasps broke through the silence.
"Is that even posible? Peace with Titans?" Mikasa asked.
"I don't know." Armin said shaking his head.
Kyra pushed this discovery aside as she glanced at Captain Levi not wanting to stay here any longer. She's relived enough of this and she doesn't want to spend another moment here. She wants to leave, run, flee whatever the hell you want to call it, and she never wants to return here ever again. And this time she means it, never again, never!
"It should be just about nightfall, sir." Kyra said to Captain Levi.
Captain Levi glanced at Kyra in understanding. He walked forward, "Kyra, I'm starting to understand why they are after you. Until we clear this up, Hange will hold on to the book and other documents. Understood?" He said handing the items to Hange.
"Yes, sir." Kyra said.
They walked out of the underground passage to be met with fresh air of the evening.
"We don't know the identity of our enemy yet. I have an idea of how we can change that. Hange, I'll need you to lend me some of your squad." Captain Levi stated.
"No problem. All right, I'm going after Commander Erwin. Moblit's with me. The rest of you will go with Levi." Hange instructed.
"Roger!"
"Hange! Here...I remembered a conversation between Ymir and Bertholdt. I wrote it down for you. It's all there." Erin said handing a folded piece of paper to her.
"Thank you. I'll take a look at it later." Hange said.
Kyra felt relief wash over her as she left the place. The one thing that made her a coward in her own mind, running from her past. Unequivocally, no one else saw it that way. They didn't blame her. Would it have been nice to know...Well that one was debatable. But did they feel like they have gained a sense of understanding to why she is the way she is...undoubtedly.