Credits to the Artist
Eren's pov
"Minister Nick is dead."
Said Squad Leader Hanji.
Currently, we are in a meeting with my squad and Squad Hanji. This meeting included the plan to seal Wall Maria, and Hanji told me to lay low for a while even though that will be kinda hard for her, since she loves to experiment on me.
We had a plan that can make us retrieve Wall Maria in 24 Hours. But, all of that depends on me. So much responsibility on my shoulders as 'humanities last hope' while there are a lot of problems surrounding us here and there.
And now a new problem has risen, Minister Nick is dead, someone who is supposed to be a source of our information.....
is dead
"Minister Nick was found dead this morning inside the Trost district barracks" She continued.
"I don't know the cause of death...."
"But I know he was murdered."
She then told us about the day she heard the news and rushed there. Upon seeing the state of Minister Nick, it was clear that he was tortured then killed due to the fact that his face looked like he was beaten up badly and his hands were missing it's nails.
She already had a clear suspect of whom the murderer is when she finished 'talking' with the military police.
"Djel Sannes, Military Police Brigade, interior first squad. The skin on his fist had been stripped off." She said
"Nick was tortured by the interior first squad of the Military Police....."
"Then killed."
"I had thought that the church would try to get their hands on Nick once they learned that he was helping the Survey Corps."
"That's why I hid his identity and put him in the barracks but...."
"I'd never imagined they'd use soldiers to kill him...."
"I was Naive......It was my fault that he was killed."
He got killed and tortured by the MPS
Trying to get information maybe?
Unfortunately
Minister Nick most probably didn't tell them anything due to the fact of him 'not being allowed to share information even though it's important'
To think that those Unicorn Sh*ts would go that far to learn the secret of the walls
Yet
Kill him when they didn't get any information
Oh wow
What a 'nice' representation of disposing things they couldn't benefit of
Real 'nice'
The room went silent as Captain Levi sipped his tea casually. It was silent for a few minutes until Armin spoke up.
"Torture?" He asked...?
"So the MPS tortured Minister Nick...."
".....To find out how much he told us?"
The Captain then spoke up.
"Probably....They'd want to know of the connection between the Reiss family and the church had gotten out....."
".....And they'd want to know where Eren and Historia are." The Captain finished as me and Historia glanced at each other. Might be out of instinct or worry for the two of us in the thought of getting kidnapped.
"Of course, we shared this information with Commander Erwin, Commander Pixis, and the entire Survey Corps." Said Moblit.
"So now the tables have turned on the interior MPS."
Oh how the turn tables.....
I mean-
Oh how the tables have turned....
"We're watching them... so they shouldn't be able to do anything to extreme. Still, if they changed our methods, there are plenty of ways for them to find us....we don't know who is a friend or who is an enemy right now."
"Even coming here today, we split into two groups and assigned shadows to look for anyone who's tailing us."
"Though I don't believe this location is compromised yet." Moblit finished
"And so.....that's why you want to hold off on experimenting on Eren, Hanji?" Asked Captain Levi.
"Yeah.....from the time Eren's titan power were revealed, someone from the interior has been trying desperately to get their hands on them." Explained Hanji.
"But, since the recent termoil, the level of pressure has clearly changed. They're trampling through territory they used to see as off-limits. They may have split the military into two factions. Everything inside the walls has become unstable too..."
"If you think about this calmly....it becomes clear that 'outside enemies' like Reiner and Bertolt had allies in the interior the whole time."
"In other words, what we need to be worried about is being fatally stabbed in the back while our attention is diverted outside the walls."
Is that possible?
That Reiner and Bertolt have more allies?
Especially in the interior?
We found Annie
But.....
If there were more allies in the interior....
Then...
They would be harder to find
Since one got captured and two got captured and on the run
Yet again,
This is just a possibility
"So? You're saying we should just sit here and have tea parties instead?" Asked Captain Levi with a bit of irritation in his tone.
"There's still a lot we can do like knitting...." Said Hanji
"Please...."
"Just for now...."
"'Just for now?'"
"No." Said The Captain as he stood up from his seat.
"It's the complete opposite."
"Do you think these people are going to give up quickly?"
"They'll find us here eventually."
"If we do nothing but run, then all we can do is get caught."
"Hanji, you're normally clear-headed."
"But right now, you feel responsible for Nick's death. That's what made you timid."
"How many of Nick's fingernail's were torn off?"
Huh?
Why would we need to know about that?
"I don't know, I only saw for a moment but, all the ones I could see were torn off...." She answered
"Ah...."
"If you're going to talk, talk after one. If you're not going to talk, it doesn't matter how many nails they ripped off." Said The Captain as he sat back down on his seat.
"While I do think Minister Nick was an idiot....."
"It looks like he held onto his fate until the end."
Oh...
So that's why Captain Levi wanted to know about the fingernails
I'm not an expert at torture so I wouldn't know
And I'd want to stay it that way thankyouverymuch
"If there's a strong chance that Nick didn't talk....it's possible that the 'someone' in the interior haven't noticed yet that the Survey Corps is watching the Reiss Family."
"Anyway...."
"The way I see it..."
"There's two paths we can go down."
"We go outside before we're stabbed in the back."
"or...."
"We exterminate our 'would-be' killers first."
"Which do you choose Hanji?"
"Go before we're stabbed?"
The Squad Leader had a look of stress evident on her face as she thought of her decision. As she was about to answer, she expressed a look of determination.
"Both."
"We'll do both at the same time." She said.
".....huh....."
"I guess that's exactly what Erwin would say" Said The Captain
After that we were now in the kitchen and I was helping Connie peel the potatoes while wearing casual clothing. He told us how he didn't understand the situation, his anger to the Beast Titan, and how Ymir made fun of him even though she knew what was going on.
"I never imagined she could be so cruel." Said Connie
"No."
"When Ymir did that, it was because it would hurt you if you learned the truth about your village." Said Historia.
"She was doing her best to distract you."
"She wouldn't do something like that, right?" Asked Connie
"I know her." Replied Historia
She's been like this ever since we returned.
Back then, the first night we spent here.....I guess that was the only time she really talked to us.
Historia....
A girl who grew up in a farm
The other children would throw rocks at her
Her grandparents only talked to her if she needed help with her work
Her mother never helped her nor talked to her, she only read books
Her only friends were the animals of the farm
Her Mother got killed in front of her one night when she met her father
She was forced to be given a fake name, a fake identity, just to keep her safe
She just helped out in the farm to distract her from loneliness
Helped out in the farm....
The Farm.....
Farm....
.....
.........
Emma
Why do we keep meeting in dreams and visions?
It may be not all the time I have a dream about 'your world'
It may be not all the time you have a dream of 'my world'
But
What does it mean if we kept meeting in dreams?
Are you someone I knew before?
Like....
A reincarnation?
Of course you're not going to answer, we can only talk to each other in dreams....
"I'm so stupid." I subconsciously muttered under my breath
"Huh?" Asked Connie
"Nothing." I said
Later at night, I wasn't able to sleep at my regular time. So I planned to get a glass of water. But before I was going to stand from my bed. An idea popped up in my mind.
The mask
Maybe I should bring the mask with me
And study it
That's Armin's thing
But
I didn't tell anyone about this.
So maybe it's for the best.....?
Unsure with my answer I just went with taking the mask getting out of my room and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Once I have the glass of water I sat down on where I usually sit. I took a sip of water and put the glass down on the side, then I placed the mask on the table and began to think.
This mask
Is....
Oddly familiar
Like.....what do you call it....
Deja vu?
Maybe?
Maybe I lived in the past and reincarnated
But do I have proof for that?
I don't know
I guess I'll never find out.
I touched the 'hair' that was on the mask with my fingers
The thing that represents hair
Feels like....
Fur?
I wonder how did someone manage to sew in fur here....
This mask.....
Why do I feel like
It's something important to me-
My thoughts were cut off when I heard a familiar irritated voice.
"Oi."
I flinched.
It was the Captain.
Well sh*t
I'm screwed.
I slowly looked up to see The Captain with a bored look on his face, leaning on the wall like he's there for a few minutes already. I was trembling because I might be forced to clean the whole house to his standards just because I stayed up late.
"O-Oh, H-Hey Captain, What brings you here?" I asked, trying to hide the fear in my voice but I stuttered which makes things worse for me.
"I was standing here for a few minutes brat. You were staring at that thing like it was the last thing you see before you die. The f*ck is that thing anyway?" He asked.
"Oh this? It's a mask I was given to a long time ago. I don't really know what creature it looks like......you're the first to know about this, Captain...." I said, speaking the truth.
Captain Levi didn't seem to buy my answer but didn't pry me anyway.
"Aside from that thing, Why the hell are you awake and here? You should be dozing off to dreamland like your friends." He said
"I......couldn't sleep, sorry Captain, I'll go to bed now." I said running to my room with the mask.
As I reached my room, I let out my breath that I didn't know I was holding. I put the mask in my backpack of my stuff, plopped on to bed and let sleep engulf me.
Levi's pov
I watched as the brat run off to his room while I was standing at the same spot on where I talked to the titan brat.
The brat better be asleep this time.
They're lucky to not be an insomniac
Unlike me
Speaking of that brat
That mask he was holding
Was a little familiar
Meh, might be a waste of my time trying to remember something I didn't see before.
I looked at where the brat sat down a while ago and saw something that slightly irritated me.
The f*ck Eren?
You didn't even finish the glass of water
B*tch didn't even put the chair to it's place before he sat
Why do I have to be the one to clean up your mess
I did what I needed to do as a clean freak and went back to my room, as an insomniac, I didn't sleep that much or easily. But I was able to sleep after a few minutes or hours of staring at the ceiling.
Eren's pov
The next day came and Hanji ran some experiments. She told me the results but in the end, I failed to harden myself as a titan. I was out for a whole day so Hanji was able to tell me the results when I woke up in my bed. They talked to me about it, about how the experiments that were conducted weren't actually a failure, instead, we obtained some more information about my transformation. We're going to try and try until I was able to harden my body.
But.....
What if I was unable to harden my body even after countless experiments......
What if the operation fails.....
What if.....
Wait....
Why was I the one given this role....?
It could've been someone else...
At this rate....
Savung humanity, repaying Hannes and the others-
I won't be able to do it.
But....
Learning the fact might be the beginning of something new
For now,
I'm ignorant and powerless....
For now.....
But
Why did I think of my father during the experiments?
Would I have been able to control my titan for longer if that hadn't happened?
Father....
Where are you living right now?
Or are you already....
My mind then flashed a scene. A young girl was brushing her long dark hair in front of a mirror. Her room gave out the fact that she is from a noble family.
Historia?
No....
That's not her....
Is this a memory?
When is it from?
My head began to ache as that memory appeared in my head. I held my head with one hand while the other supports my weight on the bed.
I can't......not again
Any more and....
"You're still weak, don't push yourself." Said Mikasa as my head still hurts.
"Ah.....yeah....."
Hm?
What was I just thinking....
Hanji continued explaining what our next step will be knowing that I am unable to harden my titan body. She told us that we will go after the wallist and whoever there ally might be. She explained that they might know about something, especially about the walls.
She told us that now Commander Erwin is in the royal capital, he might've obtained some information why the Reiss family and not the ruler of humanity, are the ones allowed to learn those secrets.
>Time Skip<
Instructions from the Commander came and we were told to leave the place we were residing immediately. Also making it look like we were never there. We are now on top of a hill over viewing the place we used to hide. Military police were searching all around the house while we were on the hill with guns and our things in our backpacks, the mask included, we have our ODM gear as well, The Captain told us that it was part of some plan.
"That was close." Said Connie
"What would have happened to us.....if we stayed in one more night in there?" He said.
"Captain, are those interior MPS?" Asked Armin.
"Beats me. I can't imagine they'd act directly all the way out here, but they didn't take me too seriously, either..." Replied The Captain.
"Hurry to the Rendezvous point. Good thing the moon's out tonight." He ordered.
We started walking towards then rendezvous point which is Trost District. Careful to not make any noise just incase someone was near. And then I heard a faint thump in the ground.
"Jean?" Connie asked.
We looked behind us and the horseface was on the ground, unconscious and not moving.
"Jean!" Connie exclaimed in horror
"Quiet" said the Captain
His body, on the ground, peacefully, without making any sound, not even light snores.
It's almost like he was.....
Dead
Huh-
How-
What the-
Is someone here?
Is he dead?
Yeah I hate him but he didn't deserve to die
"Be on your guard." Said The Captain
The Captain checked his body to see if there were any proof if he was knocked out unconscious or shot with some kind of bullet that can tranquilize him.
But...
He found nothing
"No signs of being knocked out, shot by a bullet, or a tranquilizer, he isn't sick but, what the f*ck happened?" Said Captain Levi
"I don't know.....when I heard a thump sound, that was the only time I found Jean on the ground." Connie said
"What the....he was fine moments ago....is he keeping something from us...?" Said Armin
"Sasha!" We heard Mikasa call her name but with a hint of fear in her tone.
Sasha?
Her too...?
We looked at her direction to see that Sasha, too, was unconscious, but she was in Mikasa's arms. Mikasa was wide eyed to see that Sasha collapsed in her arms. Mikasa slowly put her down to the ground beside Jean as Captain Levi began his inspection like what he did to Jean.
Levi found nothing.
"What happened Cadet?" He asked
"She was perfectly fine until she held her head like it was aching, she then collapsed like Jean after swaying side to side for a few times." She said with a straight face as she managed to calm herself down.
"She might've been poisoned through her food, but that would be impossible since all of us ate the same thing at the same time, if it was food poisoning then it would happen to all of us at the same time but not one by one. She doesn't even show any signs of poisoning like Jean" Informed Armin
"Then what could be the cause....?" I asked
"Connie!" Exclaimed Historia
We turned to their direction as Connie was also laying on the ground.
What the–
"Him too?!" I said
"Damn, we can't afford to lose more soldiers here, now is not the time..." I heard Captain Levi mutter to himself
"Mikasa!" Armin screamed as I heard another thud that signifies someone landed to the ground. Upon hearing my adoptive sister's name, I snapped my head to where Mikasa is, but I find her laying to the ground as well.
"Mikasa!" I yelled as I approach her body. She was still breathing, that's good, but to lose one of the closest people I have in my life is something I don't want to happen.
Especially when we have a promise to keep that mother made.
Mikasa....
Please don't leave me and Armin alone in this world...
I hugged her body as tears threatened to fall. But I didn't let it have the chance to let it slide down my cheek as I quickly wiped it away.
"Historia!" The Captain yelled.
What's happening...?
Why is everyone fainting?
Is there some kind of disease?
"Sh*t. If only we knew what was happening then it wouldn't have to be like this." The Captain said to himself as he managed to catch Historia's body and lay her down.
I noticed that The Captain's eyes then began to be cloudy and dull, like his consciousness was fading. He then began swaying side to side, losing his energy, and fell.
No....
Nononononono....
Not the Captain too!
"Captain!!!" Me and Armin yelled as his body hit the ground with a thud.
"Eren......" I heard Armin say as I rushed to him and hugged him
"No....no.....Armin stay with me please! We need to get help!" I said, trying to keep Armin awake.
Armin....
Please!
Stay awake!
"I'm sorry...." He said as he fell limp in my arms
"Armin.....Mikasa.....Captain....Historia......Sasha....Connie....Jean...." I whispered to myself as tears began to form in my eyes
Why.....
"Why does everyone need to leave me...."
"Why does everyone fade away from my life...."
Huh?
Suddenly, my head got hit with a wave of pain and my ears began ringing loudly.
I screamed in pain as I let go of Armin's body and clutched my head trying to stop the pain.
I screamed and screamed and tried to make the ringing stop.
"MAKE IT STOP!!!!" I screamed
"PLEASE!!!!"
"IT HURTS SO BAD!!!"
But it was no use.
It hurts.....
It hurts so bad...
I can't stop it...
Pain
Too much pain
It feels like
I want....
To die...
I then blacked out and felt my body land on the ground with a thump.
The last thing I saw was a blur of blonde hair fading away.
I'm sorry....
-----------------------------------
I woke up.
I felt my body again as I opened my eyes
The first thing I saw was the moon and the clear sky
Wait....
Wasn't I in the forest with everyone else?
Then everyone began to black out....
Oh no...
Where are they?!
I looked to my right and saw Armin laying on the ground, still unconscious.
The ground
Is concrete
Where....
Are we...?
Where's the rest of Squad Levi?
I looked behind to me to see a forest and.....
Fire?
Why is there a fire?
I heard a gasp that snapped me out of my trance. The gasp came from my left, so I looked there.
When I did
I was shocked to the bone
My eyes were wide
Because the person standing there is....
...........
........
....
Emma
Her hand on her mouth from shock as well
She had a backpack on
And behind her where children
Zip lining across the cliff that I now noticed and landing to another forest
The green eyed girl opened her mouth to speak
Whilst the other hand that was covering her mouth was removed and on her side
Both of us were wide eyed seeing each other now in person
She then said
"You're......"
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"Real.....?"
Next Chapter: Chapter 8.5- Where did you go?