Ymir's Legacy

Ch. 35; Retaliation

Minutes after the crash was heard, footsteps were heard racing down the steps to the cell. Onyonkapon showed, he pulled keys from behind him as he stared all of us in the eyes, warning us silently to follow the rules. Jean rushes to the bars, "Onyonkapon! What's going on outside?!" "The Marleyan army is attacking from the sky using airships! About five hundred soldiers, along with the armor and cart, Eren's taking them all on by himself!", he shouted as he unlocked the cell door. Everyone but Aila and Annie was shocked, Onyonkapon was at a panic, "He's fighting hard... but he can't fight forever! Marley will steal the founder from us! Please, you've all got to help! Let's defend Eren together!", everyone stood in silence, waiting for the door to open. Once it did, Connie charged at Onyonkapon, grabbing him by his collar and pinning him against the wall. Connie's eyes were filled with rage, "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! FIGHT TOGETHER?! AFTER ALL YOU'VE DONE?! THIS IS YOUR BATTLE! DID YOU REALLY THINK WE'D TAKE ORDERS FROM A TRAITOR LIKE YOU?!", Sasha and Jean ran to pull him off of him. Onyonkapon looked at him with sorrowed eyes, "I... I'm sorry, but disobeying Yelena would only mean getting my head blown off..." "HUNH?! YOU WERE THE ONE ACTING ALL NICE TO US, WHILE YOU WERE REALLY JUST PLOTTING TO TAKE OVER PARADIS WITH THAT WINE! YOU KNOW WHAT?! I'M TIRED OF BEING BETRAYED, BY REINER, BY BERTHOLDT, EREN! I'M SICK AND TIRED DAMNIT! WHY?! WHY SHOULD WE HAVE TO HELP EREN, JUST SO NONE OF US CAN NEVER HAVE KIDS?!", Connie retorted. Armin ran over, finally getting Connie to let go of him, convincing him to hear him out. Onyonkapon caught his breath, he looked down at the floor with a horrified look, "I honestly didn't know about it... the wine.. or this euthanization plan, just like all the other volunteers", Niccolo stepped forward, "I think he's telling the truth. Yelena told us to keep it a secret, she said never to tell the volunteers about the wine". Onyonkapon stood, "Above all, I don't want to participate in the euthanization of the Eldian people! We wanted to help Paradis develop so that we could destroy Marley together! That's why I abandoned everything to come here, everything we did, we did for the sake of the people of this island. And that was only possible... because we believed that this island had a future! CHILDREN are that future! If the euthanization plan were to be carried out.. what would all our efforts have been for?!", everyone stood silent, finally feeling the remorse the honest volunteers felt.

Onyonkapon was holding back tears, "Please believe me" "I do", Armin replied. Connie shouted at him, "You said something before, all of us exist because someone meant for us to exist, even the subjects of Ymir. Because the more kinds of people are around, the more interesting it would be right? You've shown me that your philosophy is nearly the opposite of Zeke's, that's who you've always been, stand up Onyonkapon", Armin said as he reached down and helped him up. Marco let out a sigh, "I'll believe you too but... what now? Helping Eren and Zeke, means abetting their euthanization plan you know", he said with a concerned look. "No, we can stop their plan! But without those two, we may have no way of defending this island from the world", Onyonkapon said with a look of ideas. Connie leapt at him, shouting in his face, "THEN WHAT'RE YOU SAYING WE SHOULD DO?!" "We must show the world the power of the rumbling at least one time!", Onyonkapon shouted back. Sasha looked over at Mikasa, resting her hand on her shoulder, "What do you think Mika... do you want to save Eren?" "... I do, but, I think it's like Eren said.. it's only because... I'm an Ackerman, this isn't my own will", Sasha grabbed Mikasa and pulled her into a kiss, taking her by surprise. When they broke, she rested her forehead onto hers, "Mikasa, you are NOT a machine, you have your own will, the will to love who you love and fight for what you think is right, we wouldn't be married if that wasn't true", Mikasa began to tear up, she leaned into Sasha's touch on her cheek. Armin spoke up, "I think... that's a lie Eren came up with, I mean, making it so that no Eldian can have another child, did you seriously think Eren would want that?", the room went silent. Annie stepped up next to Mikasa and Sasha, "Armin's right, in the end Eren is the one who decides how he uses the founders power regardless of what Zeke and Yelena have to say" "Exactly! There's no telling what Yelena would've done to get her way if he refused, but if he could make her think he was on their side by saying he agreed, he could protect this island with the rumbling! And... the time for him to activate the rumbling is NOW. When the major military forced from around the world are allied under Marley! He just needs to follow the plan and awaken the hundreds of titans inside Shiganshina's wall, if he can annihilate the most powerful military force this world has to offer, NO ONE will DARE to touch Paradis for the next fifty years", Armin added on. The others new they were right, and were not contemplating everything.