Danger days :Titan Warfare

My brother's story

Once back at home we all headed to Erwin's office. It was the biggest. He sat behind his huge desk, Levi hopped into the window. Armin and dad took the seats facing the desk. Hange and I grabbed chairs from the table. I sat by Levi as Hange sat on the other side of the desk. We all looked to dad.
He appeared lost in thought. With a deep breath he lifted his head. He looked at me. "I was a little younger than you when, I met her. Only eighteen. Dina Fritz was smart, beautiful so full of life. We met in college at a frat party of all things." He took his glasses off to clean them.
"My roommate had dragged me off to this party. I didn't want to go, I had some experiments I wanted to test, but I went. Dina had been similarly dragged to the party as well. We found ourselves hiding from the larger part of the noise and antics. We began to talk. I told her of my experiments.
As they say one thing led to another and we began dating. Her father owned this big research facility and we got interns there. Although he liked my work ethic, he didn't care too much for me. I came from a working class family. I wasn't who they wanted their golden daughter to marry. Dina had her own mind and set them straight on what she wanted.
Needless to say I had to go through the proper channels, but I was hired on full time once I graduated. By that time Dina and I were engaged. We had a lovely wedding. The honeymoon was a cruise my parents paid for.
Four months after we got back Dina announced her pregnancy to me. We had a dinner to tell the soon to be grandparents. Dina and I were both only children." Grisha Yeager's voice drifted on as he remembered about his past. How Zeke was born happy and healthy.
"He was bright, talking in complete simple sentences by the time he was two. In preschool they thought he had a social disorder because he didn't talk to the other kids, or hardly played with them. Zeke was tested. It turned out he was advanced for his age. Those tasked with his schooling could hardly understand him as he was using words too large for the muscles in his mouth to pronounce properly.
Dina and I were thrilled with this news. Our son was above the charts on most things. He was taller than most children, he had brighter blue eyes, his golden hair was exactly like his mother's. In a word, he was perfect. To say he was dotted on was an understatement.
Both sets of grandparents spoiled him. Dina tried her best to keep his appetite for entitlement in check. She was a good mother. I spent all my free time with my son and wife. I had the perfect family." He paused here to look up at me. He turned away.
"When Zeke was four we decided to try for another child. We were still young, not even one to thirty." His voice grew whimsical once more. "Already Zeke had been exposed to so much above what a toddler should have. Dina's father loved to take him to the research labs. How Zeke began to read very young. It was like nothing could slow his need for more information.
Getting pregnant again didn't work out for us. We tried for years but nothing worked. We spent all our time with Zeke. We nourished his mind and gave him all our attention. Dina grew ill shortly after Zeke's sixth birthday. She never fully recovered." Once more Grisha paused. He looked out the opposite window than were Levi and I were.
"She didn't smile as much. Started having others look after Zeke. I didn't know what to do. When I was home I would keep Zeke with me. Dina would often leave the house during the evening.
Around this time, she started saying how there was something wrong with our son. She would say he didn't act like normal children. How he only smiled if he was around me or his grandfather. She thought Zeke didn't like her. I reassured her as much as possible. Got her a puppy, something her and Zeke could bond over. Oh she loved that dog. I think it must have had some birth defects or something. Things like that can happen in pure breads. The dog died before it was a year old. Dina was inconsolable. She pushed Zeke further away. Claiming he did something to the dog. She also said Zeke was the reason she couldn't have another child. I wanted her to see someone. Tried to get her to talk to her doctor. How she could be saying things like this about an innocent child, I wasn't sure.
Then, one day, Zeke was eight. It was winter, almost Christmas time. I had to work late finishing up an experiment. I still don't know why, but Dina bundled up Zeke and got in the car. It was in the middle of the night.
I didn't know where she was going. She called me very upset, crying. I could barely understand her. The last thing I heard was her screaming our sons name." Dad stopped talking. He looked haunted. Wringing his hands together, he watched the clouds go by outside the window. Drawing a deep breath, he let it out slowly.
"It wasn't until afternoon the next day that her car was found. She had slide off of the road and into a pond. For reasons, only she could tell us, Zeke had been in the front seat with her. His head had gone through the window. The glass cut his face so badly they had to use DNA and dental records to prove it was him..."
"How stupid!" Hange screeched. We jumped at her outburst.
"Yes, I see that now. But I was distraught from losing my family so suddenly that I didn't think about it then." Dad turned away from the window to bring himself back into the office with us.
"Her parents had them both cremated and entombed into the family mausoleum. I never saw the bodies. After that, I left. I went as far away as I could. Ending up here in the walls. I swore I would never marry again." A ghost of a smile touched his lips.
"That was before I started frequenting a certain restaurant where Carla worked as a waitress. She was the one to ask me out. We talked about my genetics background. She told me of her illness. I promised her I would find a cure for her. The more time I spent with her, well she fell in love. It took me far longer to fall for her, but her illness was so unpredictable.
She told me she wanted to be married since she didn't know how long her life would be. I granted that request. We fought often about children. I told her about my family, but she insisted she wanted a child. With her illness I doubted she would get pregnant. I didn't deny her, but I didn't go out of my way to help her either. That was until she lost the fifth pregnancy. I feared her mind wouldn't take another loss like that.
I broke down and promised her a child. We did all we could I used all my knowledge to help her get pregnant and keep the baby to fruition. That was how you got here, Eren. My greatest experiment." He gave me a weak smile.
"Let me get this straight." Hange began. "Your wife's family drove her insane, kidnapped your son, after, what killing another boy that resembled him?" She looked thunderous.
"I suppose so. Or they cloned him." Dad stated. We sat there shocked by that statement.
"If they could clone someone..." I whispered.
"No, they can't!" Hange exploded up out of her seat. She began to pace around. "That's what the Titans are? Maybe? He is trying to clone someone or something. Possibly building his own army? What was his childhood like after he died?" We watched her, but we knew she wasn't talking to us.
"You said, his grandfather took him to the lab?" I asked.
"Yes. That's why I think he may have been cloned." Dad's eyes watched Hange as she prowled the limited space.
"No, definitely not cloned." She stated pointing a finger at dad.
"Would his maternal grandparents kill their own daughter and kidnap their grandson?" Levi asked the horror of it reflective in his tone. Dad blinked.
"She was saying awful things about Zeke. She was the one with him most of the time." Dad looked perplexed.
"What happened to the grandparents?" Hange asked.
"My parents passed away about two years before Eren was born. There was a mud slide..." He swallowed. "Um, Dina's parents well her mother died a few months after she did. They were really close. Many thought it was over her being so distraught over Dina's death." He quickly went on.
"And the grandfather?" Hange pressed.
"I, I'm not sure." Dad looked shocked. It was obvious he hadn't thought about any of this in some time.
"Zeke liked his grandfather?" Hange questioned.
"Yes, very much so. He would follow him around whenever he could."
"Interesting." Hange stated. She suddenly spun to face Erwin. "May I go to my lab?" She asked.
"Yeah go." Erwin knew, as we all did, we wouldn't get anything out of her until she was ready to tell us.
"Eren, you have a few new recruits to send through the training brat tomorrow." Erwin reminded me.
"Right." I stood, saluting him he returned it. Levi followed me out the door.
"What did we miss?" he asked slipping his hand into mine.
"I'm not sure. Maybe that my brother's grandfather killed his mother just to kidnap him?" I asked.
"No, there was something shitty glasses saw. Something that has her very worried." He stated.
"That's terrifying." I muttered. I paused by my office door. If Hange wanted to be alone she would lock down the lab.
"Go, learn about your recruits. I think I might go out on the gear for a bit." He kissed me. I pulled him tighter to press our lips fully together. He wanted time to think. He did that better while flying through the air.
"Stay safe. See you at dinner." I told him.
"Let her worry about this, Eren. You have your recruits to look after." He warned me. Yet, I still couldn't get that story out of my head. What was I missing? The bearded face of my brother flashed before my eyes. I shrugged stepping into my office.
It was just a typical office space. Desk, filing cabinets, some art work on the wall and my awards. The Titan award sitting proudly on the bookshelf. I walked over to take it down. We called them titans now. So why did it feel like I was somehow connected to them?
Apart of me wanted to smash the crystal award, but I placed it back on the shelf. It had been there when they brought me back. Judging by how high it sat, I was certain Erwin had put it there. Turning I went to my desk. Sitting in the center were five new folders. The first one opened up to show a blonde girl who looked nearly identical to Historia.
Krista Lenz, just a year younger than her cousin. A duchess at that, huh. She had some skills training. Most of the royalty did. She was handy with a sword, that would help Levi out. Small and agile she would do well on the wires. Yet, I had promised I would try her out in the brat.
I closed the folder the next one was her body guard and personal assistant. Ymir, no other name, odd. I read her file. It was sketchy at best. She sounded so much like Annie. I think she would do well in my unit. The next was a fiery looking red head. Her cap on crooked she defied the camera guy. I chuckled. Isabel Magnolia. She too was small. I placed her file on top of Krista's. Moblit Berner. His record showed he was a promising recruit. Smart, versatile. I added him to Ymir's pile. The last one was Furlan Church. He was tall, slender looked to have many issues with other commanders. Huh, well Levi and I worked well to fix that. I added him to the Ymir pile. If they worked out I should have three new pilots, maybe four. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes. Levi woke me with a kiss, in time for dinner.