Ymir's Legacy

Ch. 34; Plan

The room sat silent, eeriness spread through the cracks of wind. CLACK CLACK! A knock was heard at the door, Aila and Annie glanced at each other, frowns spread across their brows. A voice was heard talking from the other side, "We're going ahead" "Very well", Eren responded, Mikasa and Armin's faces remained shocked and uneasy. Armin swallowed his nerves, "You... came here with a force?" "Yes", Eren answered without hesitation, Gabi was shaking with fear, Annie reached her hand under the table, grabbing onto Gabi's knee, grabbing her attention. Annie looked her in the eyes, telling her silently to remain calm or things would only get worse, Gabi gulped, nodding slowly and trying her best to calm down. Eren stared off with emptiness in his eyes, "I wanted to speak with you, just a quiet chat... conflict is not necessary to solve Eldia's problems. Hange and the others will be fine, we're just relocating them", for the first time ever, Mikasa was infuriated with Eren. She clenched her fist, letting out a low growl, "If your men so much as lay a finger on Sasha, it'll be your fault Eren" "Don't worry, me and my men have no intention of hurting anyone of you... so long as you cooperate", Eren replied as he tapped his finger on the table, reminding Mikasa that he could turn the tables at any moment. Mikasa swallowed her pride, holding her tongue, Armin looked up at Eren, "We were the ones who wanted to talk to you, we just wanted to know what you were thinking Eren. Why did you decide to attack Marley on your own? Have Zeke and Yelena really won you over to their side?", Armin asked, Eren sat leaning back in his chair, looking down at his hands. Seconds felt like hours, until he finally said something, "I am free. Whatever I do, whatever I decide, I do it out of my own free will", Armin's face twisted in a sad way.

Aila clenched her teeth, "Eren... you met with Yelena in secret the night the railway opened right? Even after that this has all been what you wanted?" "Yes", Eren snapped. Mikasa shook her head, "No, you're being controlled", Eren looked over at her, remaining silent staring with empty eyes. She looked down at the table, "The real Eren would never involve civilians and children, even if they lived in an enemy state. You've always cared and thought about us more than anyone...", Mikasa shot up from her chair, pulling on her scarf and staring at Eren with pained eyes. "Aren't I right? You saved me from those kidnappers, and wrapped this scarf around me... because you're a kind person.. right?" "I said keep your hands on the table", Eren snapped at her, staring at her with hostile eyes. Mikasa let go of her scarf, sitting back down with a pained look, remaining silent, "I hid myself in Liberio and spoke with Zeke, brother to brother. I learned a lot then, Zeke knows more than Marley does", he looked back up at Armin. "Armin, if memories play a major role in forming who a person is, that means part of you has become Bertholdt. You, an advisor of Eldia, holder of one of the nine titans, you weren't soft like this before, you never backed the enemy. Your judgement always led us to an answer, but now, all you can say is 'let's talk'... you're absolutely useless", Eren told Armin, staring into his eyes with a frown on his brow. Hate only in his eyes, Annie clenched her fist, "Eren..." "Armin, Bertholdt's gotten into your brain, YOU'RE the one being controlled by the enemy", Eren said, cutting her off, ignoring her. Annie slammed her hands on the table, shooting up out of her seat, "THAT'S ENOUGH DAMN IT!", she shouted as she flicked her ring out. Anger and frustration filled her, Eren stared at her, silent with empty eyes, Aila grabbed onto her hand, "Annie... sit down, we don't want to start a titan fight in the middle of town", Annie stared down at her wife, huffing with anger, she calmed down and put her ring away, sitting back down on the table. Aila seemed calm and collected, but in reality, a burning anger mixed with heartbreak was sending sparks inside her, getting closer to sparking a flame.

Mikasa frowned, "Eren, what are you trying to do?" "I'm saying that there's nothing further removed from freedom than ignorance, I learned about the Ackermans there too, the reason you're strong Mikasa. For all their efforts, Marley's scholars barely know a thing about the titans, but they did discover there was an accidental byproduct of Eldia's experiments with the subjects of Ymir over the centuries, a bloodline that could partly manifest the strength of a titan while i n human form, the Ackerman clan. The Ackerman clan was DESIGNED to protect Eldia's king, traces of that instinct still remain so when Ackermans sense the presence of a certain host, traits that are inherent in their blood will activate. In other words, you only cling to me because of your instincts as an Ackerman", Eren told them all as he frowned, staring at Mikasa's shocked being. "In that moment, when you were facing death, you obeyed my order, to FIGHT. All of the conditions were met to awaken the instincts hidden in your Ackerman blood. Not only did this heighten your physical abilities to an extreme, you gained the battle experiences of all past Ackermans by way of a path, all because your blood mistakenly thought I was the host you had to protect", Eren stated without stutter, Mikasa sat in shock, her face began to drip with sweat. Aila and Annie's anger began to rise, "That can't be...", Mikasa said shakily, Eren frowned deeper, "It can't? Why not?", he asked. Mikasa began to shake, "It wasn't... a mistake. It's because it was YOU, because of YOU Eren.. I was able to become strong, it was all because of you" "According to the research, once an Ackerman awakens, they often suffer from sudden headaches. They say this happens out of the true self trying to resist being forced to protect the host, sound familiar?", Eren said bluntly. Mikasa's face twisted in pain, "No..", she said shakily, "What I'm saying is that the REAL Mikasa disappeared in that mountain cabin at nine years old, leaving only you behind, ever faithful to your Ackerman instincts" "No... I..", Mikasa stuttered, shaking more than before. Eren frowned, "A clan created to follow orders at the cost of losing their true selves, in other words, slaves" "Stop it Eren!", Annie shouted, but Eren ignored her, "Do you know what I hate most in this world? Anyone who isn't free, they're no better than livestock" "EREN!", Aila screamed, trying to get him to stop. He ignored her, "Just looking at her made me so angry, now I finally understand why. I couldn't stand to look at a slave who always followed orders without question, ever since I was a kid, Mikasa, I've always hated you", Mikasa's eyes filled with tears, Eren had broken her heart.