Anastasya
Anya and Levi took their places next to Hange in the small meeting room while Jean, Conny and Floch sat on the other side of the wooden table. Anya watched the recruits keenly, noting their tense body language and efforts not to look at one another. It seemed Floch still hadn't been welcomed into the group. She pressed her lips together and decided to leave it for the time being. It was time to begin. Hange took a deep breath, and Anya could only wonder at what they were about to learn.
"As we now know, humanity exists freely beyond the walls, and it seems to be doing far better than us. Their technology is advanced, and they don't appear to have to worry about Titan invasions or food shortages. We are separated from them by the sea, meaning that our civilisation is confined to an island, which they call 'Paradis'."
"Some paradise," Levi muttered.
Hange ignored him and continued.
"Over 1,800 years ago, a girl called Ymir Fritz gained the Power of the Titans, though it's not specifically stated how. She was the Founding Titan, and the progenitor of all other Titans. She acted as a coordinate, the place where the minds of all her people, known as the Subjects of Ymir, met as one. Thirteen years after obtaining her power she died, and her soul was split between nine successors, who went on to build something known as the Eldian Empire. However, the successors all died after 13 years, under the 'Curse of Ymir'. Basically, whoever inherits one of the nine Titan powers only has 13 years to live from the day they receive that power."
Anya went cold. It meant that Eren, who had received his power when he was 10, only had 8 years left to live, while Armin had 13.
"That means...Eren...Armin..." said Floch.
"Yes," said Hange. "No-one in this room is to mention it to them. Not yet. Understood?"
"Understood," the recruits replied.
Hange nodded, apparently satisfied, and carried on.
"For hundreds of years, the Eldian Empire is said to have helped humanity to progress. Lands were cultivated, roads were built, technology developed, and other nations were conquered. However there was conflict within the empire, as the houses subservient to the royal family were constantly fighting amongst themselves for power over the other eight Titans. The only thing keeping the peace was the royal family itself, as whoever was the King or Queen possessed the power of the Founding Titan. However, eventually, the 145th Fritz King of Eldia decided he was tired of the conflict and refused to fight to keep the peace. This meant that civil war well and truly erupted. Amongst the chaos one of the nations that the Eldian Empire had oppressed, Marley, took advantage of the weakened Eldians and fought to become the new ruling power."
Hange paused to take a gulp of her water.
"They stole seven of the Nine Titan Powers, and the Great Titan War was waged. Marley emerged successful, but the King still refused to fight back. In the year 743, he sought to end the war without conflict. He took as many of his people as he could, including non-Subjects of Ymir, and fled East to the island of Paradis, where he established a new capital and, using his Founding Titan power, built the three walls that keep us here today. He then sent an ultimatum to the Marleyans; if anyone ever dared to make a hostile move against him and the people of the Walls, he would release all of the colossal Titans sealed within to 'flatten the entire earth'. Some Eldians stayed on the mainland, including members of the royal family, to whom the 145th King, or our 'First Reiss' King sent a message, saying that he had made a pact with the Founding Titan renouncing all war. Thus the Great Titan War ended. The First King used his power to erase the memories of all those in the walls, giving us our false history so that we might stay confined in order to keep the peace."
Anya had clasped her hands together so tightly that her knuckles were bone white. She glanced at Levi, whose eyes were wide with shock. Floch was stunned into some sort of stupor and, although they must have already known some of the details after helping Hange, Conny and Jean looked dumbfounded. Anya cleared her throat.
"Well. I wasn't expecting that."
"I don't think anybody was," Hange said, her voice ominous. "After the war, the Marleyans confined the remaining Eldians to live within internment zones, treating them as second-class citizens and claiming them to be devil-bloods from a people who practised eugenics and ethnic cleansing. Grisha Jaeger was from one of these zones. Angered by the Marleyan treatment of Eldians and their slander against the Subjects of Ymir a resistance was born, which Jaeger joined at the age of 18. When he was a child, his little sister was torn apart by dogs at the behest of a Marleyan security officer, just because they'd ventured beyond the internment zone to see something called an airship."
"For all their technological advancements, they sound like savages," Anya remarked dryly. "So, what of the resistance?"
"Members of the resistance are known as Restorationists, and they seek to take back the Titans that are in Marleyan possession and to restore the Eldian Empire. Marley have other conflicts beyond the Eldians and want to keep their global status as a world superpower, and they do this with the Titans. However, they've realised that this will not be enough in future years. Apparently, a huge wealth of fuel and resources lies under and upon Paradis Island. It's so great that they can no longer ignore it, and so their goal now is to take the Founding Titan and our natural resources in order to keep their advantage."
Anya ran a hand through her hair, thinking furiously.
"So that's where Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, and the guy Ymir ate came from."
"And the Beast Titan. And the Cart Titan," said Levi.
"Yes. They're all Eldians from the internment zones, sent by Marley to try and steal the Founding Titan's power. Once they have that, they'll come to overthrow us and take the resources. They might do it even before then, with the seven...no, six Titans they have, but they're afraid of the Founding Titan's power. Or at least, that's what I assume," said Hange. "That's why they haven't come already."
"How did Grisha Jaeger end up here?"
"He has a son with Dina Fritz, who was the last known member of the royal family back on the mainland. His name is Zeke Jaeger, and it seems that Grisha and Dina were preparing him to become the next leader of the Restorationists. They'd planned for him to sign up to be one of what the Marleyans call 'Warriors'; those from the internment zones that they turn into Titans to come here, as only Eldians can become Titans. They then wanted him to betray them and take back the other Titans that're under Marleyan control. Zeke, however, informed the Marleyan police. The Restorationists were dissolved and Grisha, Dina, and the others were all sent here to die."
Hange looked down at the table and sighed. There was more.
"The Marleyans have a way to turn anyone they want into a Titan; they have what seems to be an infinite supply of Titan serum but of course, only those who eat someone with one of the Nine Powers will become an Intelligent Titan. Therefore in order to get rid of their criminals, the Marleyans bring them here, inject them with serum, and let them come to us."
"So they're the reason that we've lost so many people?" Anya asked, doing her best to contain the rage that had bubbled within her.
Hange nodded sadly. Anya hissed her disgust and realised that they'd already met Zeke Jaeger.
"The Beast Titan... Could it be Zeke Jaeger? Eren's half-brother?"
"Shit," Levi murmured.
"I think so," said Hange. "Back in Shiganshina, he apparently told Eren that he'd come back to rescue him. That he'd been brainwashed by Grisha, just like him."
"How did Grisha become an Intelligent Titan?" asked Anya.
"The guard that beat him up the day he and his sister went to see the airship was the secret informant of the Restorationists. He possessed the power of an Intelligent Titan, and he was nearing the end of his 13 years when Grisha was sent here. He killed all of the Marleyan guards and then injected Grisha with serum, having him transform and consume him."
Anya stood from her seat, still doing her best to stay calm.
"Sounds like we've got a hell of a fight on the way."
***
Levi
Hours later, Levi and Anya were still reeling from the revelations. Levi felt sick to the stomach, and he knew that Anya, who sat in the armchair by the window in their room, glaring out at the city in a brooding silence, felt the same. Everything they'd believed in all their lives had been a lie. Everything they'd been through had been caused not by mindless beasts, but by malicious, cowardly bastards from across the sea who they'd had no idea even existed. He was furious and, truth be told, he was afraid. He sipped his tea, wondering what Erwin would make of all this. As though she'd read his mind, Anya sighed.
"In a way," she said softly, keeping her gaze trained outside, "I'm glad he's not here for this. I don't really know what we expected to find, other than 'humans exist beyond the walls'. We never really had a theory as to why that might be, or what we'd do if that were the case. I thought I'd be happy, finally discovering the truth but... I'm not. Instead, I feel... Hell, I don't know how I feel, but it's certainly not happy."
She was withdrawing again, as she stared into space and nibbled the tip of her thumb. Levi was afraid she'd slip away completely.
"Hey. Talk to me."
She looked up, startled.
"Apart from anger, I feel...empty," she confessed.
He rested a forearm on the table, leaning closer to her.
"Anya. Don't forget that it was your dream, too. Your father died trying to expose the whole rotten system and the real reason we're in these walls. You and Erwin held onto the dream for over twenty years. That's a hell of a long time, and you lost a hell of a lot of loved ones and friends along the way."
She put her elbows on the table and supported her head with both hands. He almost couldn't stand to see the anguish in her face.
"I... I don't know what to do anymore. Why...am I in the Scouts?"
"Don't you want to help humanity?" he asked.
"I don't care," she whispered. "And that scares me."
A chill ran down his spine.
"It must mean something to you, if not caring makes you afraid," he reasoned. "Redefine your goals. Find something to keep reaching for."
"I don't know if I can. I think rather than me reaching you might have to push me, at least for a while. I'm sorry. I know it's not fair."
Her tears plopped onto the wooden surface, and he gently encircled one of her wrists, brushing his thumb across her pale blue veins.
"What do you want most in life, right now?"
"I... I don't know. I want Erwin back. I want the four of us - you, me, him and Hange - to...to live happily ever after. Like they do in the books." She huffed a laugh, then. "How ridiculous."
"We can't get him back," he said quietly. "But maybe we can still achieve the second part. You want to be safe and you want to be free, with the people you love. I know you're tired, I know you don't want to have to fight to do that, but no-one else is going to do it for us."
"What if even that isn't enough to keep me going?"
"You have to make it enough. And in the meantime, I will keep you going."
"What's your dream?" she asked suddenly. "What keeps you going?"
"You keep me going," he said. "You, and what I have planned for us."
"What's that?"
"When all this shit is over, we're going to live in a spotlessly clean house above our own shop."
She blinked at him.
"A shop? Selling what?"
"Tea."
Just like that she smiled, without any ridicule or judgement, and went over to perch on his lap.
"I like that idea. We'll have two bedrooms, and an office and a library, and an open-plan living-kitchen-diner."
"Mm," he said, unable to stop the corner of his mouth turning up, despite their current misery. "And a garden to grow some of the tea in, and where you can sit in the summer and read."
"And where we can look up at the moon together."
He kissed her, and he was both anchored and swept adrift by the raw emotion it contained. Some of it, he prayed, was hope.
YOU ARE READING
The Path Back to You | Levi x OC
Fanfiction"Reveal yourself," Erwin ordered, though Mikasa detected uncertainty in the commander's voice. It was almost as though he were afraid of who lay beneath the cloak. The entire regiment held its breath as the rider reached up with pale hands and lowe...
