Red Swan

Haunted by the Past

Suddenly I found myself deep in the forest, and it was daytime. All my friends had gone; I was alone.

"Guys?" I called out, searching for my comrades.

After getting up from the grassy hill, I looked around. As a precaution, I prepared to become a Titan just in case there were others around, but I didn't see a single one.

"This is strange," I observed. A woman walked out of the distance. In addition to her pale blonde hair and piercing steel gray eyes, she was wearing a white tunic and wearing a headband around her head.

I was standing in front of Ymir Fritz. There was no other explanation for this than a dream, vision, or hallucination.

Turning her head slowly to me, she whispered, "I've been waiting for you, Greta Jaeger." Her voice was low and misty.

"How do you know my name?" I cautiously approached her. "I know every one of my subjects, especially those who take on the power of the Titans."

With confusion, I replied, "My Titan isn't one of the Nine." 'That's right, you're the Cloaked Titan. I thought that was just a myth." she mumbled to herself, and somehow, it was scaring me.

"Lady Ymir?" I wanted to be respectful, because I knew how lethal she was. After all, she had the power of all Nine Titans.

"The Cloaked Titan was something King Fritz wanted to keep hidden, and that power was left to my descendant, Dina Fritz, but she didn't want to use it. She couldn't bring herself to, and it was left abandoned." her grey eyes bore into my soul.

"It was later found by Zeke Jaeger, and then he realized its true power." she put her hand over my eyes and we were transported back in time

We were in Marley when Zeke was about twenty years old. He was looking around in the abandoned basement of his childhood home, and he found a vial of the familiar bright purple liquid.

This Titan Serum was different than the others, and it was otherworldly.

Our father's notes were in a leather-bound notebook that Zeke flipped through. "The Cloaked Titan's power equals, if not exceeds, the Founding Titan."

"The receiver of the power doesn't have to eat those who previously had the power, and it can move around at night unlike other Titans."

I was taking slow, deep, breaths to stay calm, because all of this was overwhelming.

"The Founding Titan has the power to start the Rumbling, but you can counter it, Greta." Ymir told me.

"Lady Ymir, why did Zeke give me that power? What could possibly have been his motive?" I needed to know why my half-brother cursed me with the Titan's power. I needed to know why I had to go through all that pain.

"He wanted to see how you would react to the Serum, he was able to see the memories of his father, Grisha, and he knew you and Eren would be born. Zeke wanted to use your bloodline to rid the world of Eldians."

Deep down, I had a feeling this would be the case. Ymir's answer told me how twisted my half-brother actually was.

"Why are you telling me all of this? I thought those with royal blood could communicate with you," I referred to the stories I heard about her. Eldian slaves who survived the raid on their people had their tongues cut out, and Ymir was one of those people. Turns out, Ymir was able to regain her ability to speak before she died, because she had used her regeneration abilities due to her being a Shifter.

"You're right, but I can sense you have a trustworthy aura. That's why I felt I could communicate with you."

"I can understand the terror you feel for your friends, husband, and your brother." she turned to face me again, she covered my eyes, and then we were back in the forest.

I looked down at the grass and then back up at her, because it was eerie that she knew exactly what I was thinking.

"What should I do to help Eren?" I wanted to gain as much information as possible to help spare as many people as possible from the impending destruction.

"Use your abilities to bring Zeke Jaeger down. Unfortunately, the only way to stop him is to start the Rumbling." she informed me, her grey eyes not breaking contact.

"I'll need your help, I don't think I can do this by myself." I was getting more overwhelmed at the pressure that was being placed on my shoulders.

"I will help you," she vowed.

I woke up and I was back in our campsite with my friends. It was nightfall and the weather was chilly.

I used my green Survey Corps cloak as a blanket and snuggled closer to Jean. I saw him smile in his sleep as he put his arms around me, giving me warmth.

The next morning, I would talk to Eren about what I saw in my dream. If what Ymir told me was valid, then mine and my brother's powers would be unstoppable in saving the world.