Crystallized (Aruani)

Chapter 31: Age is just a Number

C h a p t e r  3 1  : A g e  i s  j u st  a  N u m b e r

"You...You told Erwin?" Annie had a dumbfounded look on her face as she stood there, bewildered. She hadn't expected Reiner and Bertolt to just...share everything. They had just joined! Even Annie had been too reluctant to share that. "You?"

"Erwin asked for everything. If we're truly siding with humanity, they need to know everything," Reiner said firmly. "They need to know what they're up against."

"...And-and you're not locked up right now?" Annie was at a loss of words. It only made sense for Erwin to lock them in the deepest, darkest dungeon after finding out that he could control them at any point in time. So...Why weren't they in danger? "...What?"

"You don't have to be scared. We're not in danger anymore. Not when we're on Humanity's side. We have everything we need to beat him!" Reiner said boisterously before lowering his voice. "...You wouldn't have joined humanity and told us to join unless you thought that. Right?"

"...Well, honestly...I don't know if we can beat him," Annie said bluntly. She wasn't going to fake confidence when she knew the possibility of winning was slim to none. "He's going to be able to control us and turn us against our allies if we're in our titan form. We're just normal soldiers then."

"Well...We're not just normal soldiers. We're pretty good soldiers. Second, third, and fourth in our class, may I remind you," Reiner folded his arms over his chest. "...And we have our healing factor, so...That's another thing. That's not counting Kaira, Saiko, Levi, Mikasa..."

"Yeah. And he can control every single Titan in the universe to break through our forces," Annie replied dryly. "We may be good, but the Titans are endless. What do you plan to do when there are too many for us to defeat?"

"We'll keep fighting," Bertolt spoke up for the very first time, a nervous look on his long face. "Until we can get to him."

"So you want us all to throw our lives away? You want our shifting powers to go to some other person who has no idea what's going on? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea."

"Annie...We'll think of something," Armin said. "I'm sure Erwin or I will think of something. Does he have to be a certain distance to control the Titans? And...why hasn't he attacked with you guys yet? Does he not have his own Titan?"

"He doesn't have a distance. He could be anywhere in the world," Reiner answered reluctantly. "He's only dropped by Nanitorakin Village a couple of times...to scare us, really. To stop us from doing...this. I mean, he failed, but...We have absolutely no idea where he could be."

"H...He hasn't attacked with us before, but that's because he'd rather stay safe back at his own hideaway," Bertolt continued. "...None of us know if he has his own Titan. If he does, we haven't seen it before. Actually, for all we know, we could have seen him at one of these fights, and just not known..."

"That's impossible. Titan shifters are easier to spot than others," Armin said pensively before pausing.
"Well, not necessarily. He might have just looked like any other abnormal..."

"So we're back to square one," Annie said. "How are we supposed to defeat him when we literally know nothing about him?"

"Well, he has to have a Titan, right? There's no way any human could control Titans," Armin narrowed his eyes in concentration.

"Don't rule anything out. The possibilities are endless," Reiner warned. "I think the last time we saw him was four years ago..."

"What did he look like?"

"Brunette. Ten years older than us, maximum, to be honest," Bertolt frowned. "...Even that is pushing it. I remember wondering how someone barely older than us could be so threatening..."

"If he's so young, how come you and everyone in Nanitorakin didn't use your Titan powers for good?"

"His mother was just as crazy. When she passed, she gave her power to him," Reiner explained. "...Sorry, I know it's a lot to take in right now."

"It's okay," Armin's voice lowered. "...What's his name?"

"...We don't know," Annie answered bitterly. Her icy blue eyes were focused on the ground. "But he's a nightmare. Trust me. We don't stand a chance."

She stood, abruptly leaving the area. Armin went to follow her, but Reiner simply shook his head.

"Her mind is set," Reiner closed his eyes. "It's better to give her time. I can try to help you think of a solution...it's the least Bertolt and I can do."

"...Okay. We'll think of something...we have to. At least we're safe. He can't break a wall unless he has you two, so we have all the time in the world."

"Yeah. We have time..."

But Armin couldn't help but feel uneasy.