Aila groaned, sitting up and rubbing her head, she looked up at Annie, her eyes were filled with tears. "Aila you're crying...", Annie stated, grasping onto her hand, Aila lifted her other hand, rubbing the tears off her eyes. She swallowed her fear, ready to speak up about everything she had just seen, it felt like a dream, but she knew that it was real. She looked over at Sasha and Marco as they sat down next to her, "I-... I don't know how it's possible, but I'm a descendant of Ymir, yet I don't have royal blood at all" "Are you sure? It could've been a dream.. right?", Marco stated nervously. Aila shook her head no, "No, it was real, I saw past titan shifters where I was... including Bertholdt and Marcel. They all resided in this odd area filled with nothing but sand and a strange light that spread throughout the sky, it looked like a tree. When I woke up, there was a girl standing in front of my, holding out her hand, she said her name was Ymir. When I took it, she walked me down the path of her life, showing me everything, the truth behind her life and not just what happened with the king. She had an affair with a man, a childhood friend, and ended up becoming pregnant in secret, however, the king ended up finding out about her affair in the end, but not about her pregnancy. He killed her lover, and threatened that he would kill even more innocent if she tried anything again. She ended up giving birth in secret, in a barn, she gave the child to her parents who ended up taking care of them, raising them while teaching them of their mother's cruel past, and who she descended from. But, when Ymir had passed, her daughters Maria, Sina, and Rose all visited her in secrecy, telling her of her passing and what the king had forced them to do. They predicted 'the great titan war', telling of how they had to pass down the powers of the titans to their children, dividing them into nine titans. But Ymir had told them of her secret child's existence when they learned to understand to speak and listen, telling them that if she were to die prematurely, to find the child at her parents home to tell them of the news. However, when they ate Ymir's body, they knew their mother would want them to pass one titan down to her, so they saved pieces of her body and had her eat them, thus the existence of the tenth titan, the guard titan, the second most powerful being on this earth", everyone sat in shock, they were horrified at what they had just heard, but knew she was telling the truth, because everything she had just said was connected with real history.
Annie sat with her mouth agape, she gulped, shocked and scared at what these sudden revelations could mean. "I know you're telling the truth, and it's good that you now know where you come from and how the guard came to be. It makes sense that your family would keep your titan a secret, but, how did the royal family come to find out about your titan? Did she show you anything on that?", Annie asked shakily, nervous to ask any questions. Aila nodded, "Yes, when Carl Fritz took as many Eldians as he could to Paradis, the predecessor who held the titan at the time revealed themselves and our family secret. Since the king only wanted peace, he and my predecessor agreed to keep the titan hidden from the world until it was needed to protect it, that's why Rod gave me free will of my titan, he knew something was coming, and now is the time to use it", Sasha, Marco and Annie sat wide eyed in shock, they were so shocked at what they were hearing, but after everything that had happened, with Eren attacking Marley and starting a war, and Zeke having a plan to use the rumbling, they knew everything has led to this moment. Aila snapped out of her trance of memories, facing the others, "We need to tell everyone else, where's everyone?" "In a meeting with the Azumabito's and the upper military brass to discuss Eren's escape, they said they'd catch us up on everything after the meeting since you needed to be watched and protected since we aren't exactly sure what Eren is going to do now", Sasha said. Annie frowned, looking down at the floor, "If he knows about this too... what if he tries to take your power too?" "If he does, then I'll have no choice but to kill him. He can't use the founder's power without Zeke, and he doesn't know where he is right now, so his only upper hand is his newfound abilities with the war hammer, but I could easily beat him", Aila retorted, furrowing her brows as she pictured Eren's thoughts in her mind, trying to think of where he might be, and what he may do next.
For the next hour, they sat in discussion of what Eren's true motives for breaking out of prison may be, and if obtaining the war hammer was truly his only motive. Aila's headache had faded, she drank some water and felt more awake and energized, they just needed to wait for everyone else. CREEEEEAK! The door to their room opened, Mikasa gasped, she ran to Aila, embracing her, "Thank god, are you ok? You're heart nearly stopped when you passed out, I kept compressing for ten minutes straight, I thought I was gonna lose you!", she cried into her shoulder, Aila looked down, she felt guilty and sorry that she had worried her friends so much. "I- I'm sorry Mika, I didn't mean for any of that to happen. But listen, we have A LOT to talk about", Aila said as she looked up at Hange and the others. She told them everything that had happened, and how she and Eren may be the only one's to stop the world from going up in the flames of war. Hange's eyes were wide, for the first time ever, she had no idea what to say, "Hange, are you ok?", Moblit asked as he rested his hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the contact, frightened for a moment, "Oh, y-yeah just stunned is all, everything is beginning to make sense now. How Rod seemed to randomly choose a successor to the guard when really he chose with full intention and knowledge of who he was passing it onto, meaning that the person who had it before you was related to you directly", Aila clenched her fists together, "Yeah, it seems that way, I just don't understand why Rod didn't bother to tell me anything and left me scared and alone in what I was going through". Aila felt a hand rest on her own, looking over to see Annie smiling at her, "Well, for all he knew I was alone, he had no way in knowing that Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt had infiltrated the military and met me" "True, I'm not sure why he would keep you in the dark, but we can't focus on that right now. This information is greatly appreciated and helped us understand our world better. Now, time to catch you all up on what's going on with Eren", Hange responded as she looked up from her thinking, ready to explain what was going to happen from here on out.
Over a hundred soldiers including the ones who leaked information to the public about Eren had disappeared from their cells along with the guards watching over them. According to Nile, it's believed that these soldiers helped Eren escape and deserted in the process, they're also one hundred percent guilty for the assassination of premier Zackly. This organization was to be known as the Jaegerists, and their only suspected goal is to get Zeke into contact with Eren and remake the military by putting Eren at the top, assassinating the premier was to show an example of their resolve. Zeke and Historia are Eren's likely targets and are to be protected by any means necessary, Historia's location is only known to the people in the building and Ymir along with thirty other military police personal will be guarding her at all times. Zeke is currently being guarded by Levi himself and thirty other survey corps members, being watched at every move he makes. Commander Dot Pixis is now the chief in command, he has decided to negotiate, or at least try to, with the Jaegerists by putting Zeke's location on the table. He also ruled that the the rumbling experiments will still be in play as they have been and be carefully guarded as such. Along as the premier's death, he ordered that no one is to discuss it any longer outside of military supervision as well as the Azumabito's current residency near the port. After catching Sasha, Annie, Aila and Marco up on the details of the current situation, they left the building and are to prepare for what's next. "Working with Eren after killing the commander in chief is-" "We don't know for sure if Eren did it yet", Mikasa said, cutting Connie off. "Keep your voice down Mikasa" "Yeah, we're already being suspected as Jaegerists", Marco and Jean stated, cautioning her to be careful. Connie frowned, "Yeah, whose side are you on really Mikasa?", Sasha clenched her teeth, growling a bit, "Watch it Connie, Mikasa and Armin were nearly caught in the explosion too, so cut it out before I have to do it for you" "Stop it, like the commander said, infighting will only lead to our downfall", Hange snapped. Connie and Sasha stopped, glaring at each other from the sides of their eyes, the civil war between everyone had only just begun.
As they walked in silence, Jean had a question, "So, commander... are you saying you have no problem trusting Eren and Zeke?" "No, that's no good. No matter how well Zeke and Yelena's plan went, they knew that they'd never be free of suspicion. So they concocted an insurance policy, and now it's playing out", Hange said as she mounted onto her horse. "This probably goes beyond winning soldiers over, if we want to be absolutely sure, we should assume their insurance doesn't end there. We need to figure out Zeke's intentions before they make even bigger fools out of us", Hange stated as she looked out at her comrades, "Do you have any leads?", Armin asked. Nanaba put her hand on her chin, "Well, the Marleyan pows she oversaw, their work places just don't add up. For example, restaurants", everyone had mounted onto their horses, knowing exactly where they had to go now. With the click of their heels on their horses sides, whoosh! Off they went to try and find a lead and see if their suspicions were right, before it was too late. They galloped into the city, heading to a restaurant where the Marleyan chef and captive Niccolo currently worked to ask some questions. Once they arrived, they hooked their horses onto posts and headed inside where they were met by Niccolo, "It's you, but why have you come? I'm busy with serving Sasha's family right now" "Wait my family is here?", Sasha asked, jumping at the news. Niccolo nodded, "Yes, I offered to serve them my food since you love it so much, free of charge of course", Sasha smiled, nodding in thanks to him. Hange stepped up, "That's alright, you can go back to work, we just want to talk to you later" "Talk to me? About what?", Niccolo asked nervously, frowning in confusion. "You must have some concerns right?", Hange asked, "About the detained volunteers, we'd like to ask you some questions", Onyonkapon intervened, Niccolo seemed to relax a little, agreeing to talk once he's finished serving Sasha's family. Niccolo escorted them all to an empty hall to wait in, it was fancier than the others, "Huh, never knew about this room", Hange stated, "Probably reserved for mps right?", Connie asked as he looked around. Niccolo nodded, Jean ended up heading to the wine cabinet, "That wine that all the soldiers talk about? Apparently only officers get to drink it but still..." "What's that about? Aren't we survey corps officers too?", Connie asked, slight irritation plagued his voice. Jean smirked, "Yeah, we deserve a treat every now and then, just a sip", just as Jean was about to open the bottle, Niccolo snapped around, snatching the bottle from Jean, but no one knew why.
As he snatched it, he began to shout, "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF THAT!", everyone sat stunned, it was unusual for him to be acting this way. Sasha walked over to him, "Hey come on, he was just joking, no need to be so serious", Annie frowned, she knew something wasn't right, it was out of character for Niccolo to act so rashly. Niccolo noticed her staring, he gulped, "This.. would be wasted on Eldians", the room went silent. Jean growled, he grabbed Niccolo by the collar, "Are you still going on about that stuff Niccolo? Does booze care what race you are?" "Don't touch me Eldian, just because I was kind doesn't mean we're buddies", Niccolo retorted as sweat dripped from his brow. Marco ran over to him, "Jean that's enough!", Jean hesitated at first, but ultimately put him down, Ymir turned to face him, "Niccolo, who do you think you are? You do realize that you're-" "In the presence of one of the queens? Why do you think that would matter to me?, Niccolo interrupted, glaring from the side of his eyes at Ymir. Ymir huffed, she decided to let it go since he didn't mention Historia. Niccolo ended up leaving shortly after, leaving everyone with mixed thoughts on why he may have reacted the way he did. "What's his deal?", Aila asked slightly irritated, Annie sat down in the chair Aila had pulled out for her, "Hell if I know", she responded not amused. They ended up sitting around a table, discussing some clues about where else they may find some kind of evidence to find out what Yelena and Zeke's motives really are. Sasha suddenly jumped up, "I just heard a crash right now", everyone snapped their heads to the door, Armin was the first to get up, "We should check it out just in case", he said as he ran out of the door, peaking through the crack of the door that led to the room next to theirs, his face became covered in horror, he turned back to the others in the room, "IT'S BAD! EVERYONE GET OVER HERE!", everyone shot up, sprinting over to the next room and bursting through the door, their faces quickly grew with shock and horror. Niccolo was holding a knife to Gabi's throat, his face was covered in anger, he held Falco in his left arm, he was unconscious and wine mixed with blood poured from his head.
As everyone stood cautious of what their next move would be, Sasha's family also stood unsure of what was happening. Sasha and Mikasa gasped, "Gabi!", they cried, her face was bloodied, Niccolo had punched her square in the face, Aila and Annie noticed Falco unconscious in Niccolo's arm, "Falco! Niccolo what the hell are you doing?!", Aila shouted. Niccolo's face crumbled into an anger, he pulled Falco up, holding the knife to his throat, "STAY AWAY! GET BACK! DON'T MOVE! THIS KID NEARLY SHOT SASHA AND SHOT AILA WHILE PROTECTING HER!", Gabi's eyes filled with tears, she reached her hand up for Falco, "No, not Falco!" "WHAT'S THIS KID TO YOU?! THIS IS BECAUSE HE TRIED TO PROTECT YOU! IS HE SPECIAL TO YOU?!", Niccolo shouted as he turned his attention to Gabi. Sasha was furious, she ran and tackled Niccolo, throwing the knife out of his hand and pinning him to the ground, pulling his hands behind his back. She growled, "And?! You think killin' a kid who made a mistake is gonna do somethin'?! She's on our side now, both kids are! They apologized to both me 'nd Aila! If Mikasa, my WIFE, and Annie, Aila's WIFE can forgive such a thing, you can too! No one died! And even if I had died, what good would killing these innocent kids do?!", Sasha's eyes were filled with tears and anger, she was angry, but not at Niccolo, but at the world. Mikasa walked over to her, gently pulling Sasha off of him, bringing her into her embrace, letting her cry into her chest. Jean and Marco leapt at Niccolo, restraining him, Hange and Sasha's parents took care of Falco, and Annie walked over to Gabi, kneeling down to her. She reached her hand out, gently touching her cheek, "I'm so sorry Gabi... " "I-It's alright, I understand why he was so angry but... now I feel even worse than I did before", Gabi responded as she looked down at her hands. Annie pulled her into a hug, holding her gently and stroking her head, she knew how it felt to be a child used only for war, she felt remorse and pain for her. Annie wiped Gabi's tears, she examined her wounds and was relieved when she saw it was only a minor one, she wiped Gabi's bloody nose with a napkin, apologizing once more for what happened. Niccolo collapsed to the ground, he spoke up, "Hange... rinse that kid's mouth out for me, some of that wine got in it...", Hange turned to face him, she began to sweat, "Huh?" "But... it's probably too late", Niccolo said as he looked at the ground. Hange's face twisted in horror, "Is there something in that wine?", she asked as her blood began to run cold, "I think... it's Zeke's spinal fluid", the room went silent, their thoughts thought of one thing only. Who else consumed the wine?
Aila, Mikasa, Armin, and Annie had already taken Gabi to another room away from Niccolo for her own safety, tending to her nose and calming her down. Mikasa pressed her hand to Gabi's forehead, "How are you feeling?" "Better, thank you", Gabi responded, sounding sad and somber. Aila stood up, "I'll go see how the situation is with Falco, I'll be back" "I'll come with you", Annie responded as she stood up to leave with her. But as she got to the door, it opened on its own, Aila jumped back, "Eren!", she shouted as in came Eren. As he entered, he raised his hand, showing his palm had been cut, "Sit down... all of you", they had no choice, if he were to transform now, everyone in the building would be crushed. They all sat back down, he had ordered them to keep their hands on the table so they wouldn't try anything, "I wanted... to talk to you guys", he said in a monotone voice. The room was tense, filled with unease and uncertainty of what would happen next.
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here's some bonus stuff for ya!
Time Skip Marlo Freudenberg
Time Skip Moblit Berner
Time Skip Gelgar
Time Skip Marco Bodt
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And here's Aila's height in season 4 compared to everyone else's with a bonus of how tall Aila's titan really is