...Hiding...
You slammed your hands down on the table. "What?! They're planning to eat him?!"
Mikasa was leaning against the wall beside you. She didn't look pleased either. None of your friends did.
Hange explained a conversation that Eren remembered between Ymir and Bertholdt. It turned out that titans can turn back into humans by eating a human that has the power to turn into a titan. A bit confusing but easy to keep up with.
"In the battle the other day, Reiner threw titans at Eren and Y/n as they tried to run away. He must've known that Eren had the power to take command of feral titans with his scream. I think he was hoping that one of those titans would eat Eren and take his power to make things easier."
"Thank God for Y/n, then," said Connie, patting you on the back. "Eren would've let himself get eaten if she never kissed him."
"WHAT?!" Hange lurched forward, shaking the table. "Eren and Y/n kissed already?!"
You smacked Connie on the head. "Quiet!"
"Stay on topic," muttered Levi, glancing at you disgustingly.
"My point is if the government has a titan of their own, they'll use it to eat Eren."
You scoffed. "Like he'll let them. I'll kiss him a second time if it means he'd fight back and win."
"Nobody's kissing nobody," said Levi, tiresomely. "Everyone, we're headed for Rod Reiss's Estate. Prepare to leave at once."
As you headed for the door, Hange put a hand on your shoulder. "If Rod Reiss wants you dead, then you should probably come with me and Moblit."
"Sorry, Hange, but hell no. I'm going with Levi to get Eren back."
"Y/n, if all three of you die, then this all would be for nothing-"
"Glasses," spoke Levi. "She'll be fine with me. Y/n, get suited up."
"Yes, sir." You followed the rest of them out to grab your ODM Gear.
. * . *
By morning, the Levi Squad was split in half. Armin, Mikasa, and Jean entered Stohess. You, Sasha, and Connie stayed behind with Levi in the woods.
Strapped to your thigh was the very knife that Bertholdt had stabbed you with. You had kept it as a souvenir, giving it the name "Bolt." Maybe one day you would get the chance to return the favor.
Along with the hood over your head, Levi also tied around a white cloth, covering your nose and mouth. The masks that you and Eren used to have to clean up the old HQ. That felt like such a long time ago when it had been barely a few months.
"Captain, we bought the supplies," said Jean as they returned from town.
"The MPs were handing out these flyers," said Armin, handing Levi the paper.
You peered over his shoulder and frowned at the poor sketch of him. "Don't worry, Levi, that looks nothing like you."
"Tch."
"If this is true, the Scouts will be disbanded," continued Armin. "They say they'll be hunting for us in the mountains tonight. Guards will be on all vital roads. No one can get through them without a pass. So what now, Captain?"
"We've still got time. They're taking Eren on a wagon. That gives us one day before they reach the Reiss Estate. In the meantime, we'll hatch up a plan."
"Captain, I hear footsteps," whispered Sasha. "Sounds like they're approaching."
"Someone hide Y/n right now."
Mikasa and Armin grabbed your arms and accidentally pulled you in opposite ways. "Ow!" You wrenched yourself out of their grasp. "The hell? I can hide myself." You went behind the trees as the rest got ready.
Capturing the two MPs strolling around was a piece of cake for Mikasa and Levi. Once they ensured these two were only rookies, Connie went to get you from your hiding place.
A girl with short hair and a guy with a bowl cut, Hitch and Marlo, kneeled on the ground. Walking up to them, you heard Annie's name from Hitch's mouth. "She's officially listed as missing. You know why? It's because one of your titans probably turned her into an ugly red stain on the street!"
Levi glanced at you. "Seems like you weren't the only friend she kept in the dark, Y/n."
Hitch turned to you, anger striking in her gaze. You furrowed your eyebrows. "The hell you looking at me for?"
"You're Y/n? Annie told us about you."
"Did she?"
"Yeah. A lot. The bad things too. She said that-"
"That she's the Female Titan herself?" you plopped the news, utterly uninterested in keeping up this conversation. Both of them froze in shock. "Mhm, thought so. Keep running your mouth about things you don't understand, and I'll kick you both into the river.
"But sheâshe couldn't be! We're her friends! How could she-"
"She called me her friend once, too. Don't feel special. The friendship was probably fake, to begin with."
But Hitch reluctantly shook her head. "I don't think so. Not with you," she said, much quieter. "She said her bunk-mate was the only friend she made back in the Training Corps. Someone she respected and respected her. Someone who cut off other girls' hair and clipped off their eyelashes because they said something bad about her friends. Made us realize why she didn't bother with ever getting to know any of us. Because none of us were you."
Perhaps under different circumstances, you would've smiled. Instead, you turned your back on them. "Don't mention her in front of me ever again," you said and headed for Mikasa and Armin.
In the end, they were convinced to help you all out. Probably because they got a taste of what being betrayed by Annie felt like. They led you all to one of the posts where many MPs blocked the road. Then, they bid farewell.
Sasha, Jean, and Connie took a wagon and ran over all those MPs. Levi caught an Interior Police and dragged him with you all.
By night, Levi was trying to beat the information out of this MP. "Where'd they take Eren and Krista?"
"You bastards. You think you're so brave. That post was manned by recruits! They barely even know how to work a gun. Who's going to think you're heroes after beating them up?"
"Yeah, the guilt's tearing me apart." Levi shoved his entire foot into that man's mouth, knocking out his teeth. You glanced at Levi from the side of your eyes. I get it. We share blood, but I'll never be caught putting my foot in anyone's mouth. "What really gets me is this mouth of yours. So start talking while you're still able to use it. Now, where are Eren and Krista?"
Once the MP got a chance to breathe, blood trickled down his lips. "You cannot win. All that's left you now is to find some filthy corner to hide in. If you don't turn yourselves in, then every last Scout we captured will get the noose! Starting with the guiltiest one of all, Erwin Smith! And then, now that the fight's out in the open, they'll make an example out of the mixed-blood in front of all people!"
Levi flipped him over and twisted his arm, making him wail out in pain. "You didn't answer my question. Want me to ask it again, or you want an eye cut out? Y/n here will do the honors since you all want her dead so bad."
"Oh, say less." You pulled out your knife, Bolt, ready anytime.
"I-I don't know where they are! Nobody told me, I swear! Kenny Ackerman doesn't like to make his business known! We didn't even know he had a daughter until recently!"
You, Mikasa, and Levi shared looks. The MP just officially confirmed Kenny was indeed an Ackerman and your father.
"You don't know? Then you best try to remember. Because you still have plenty of bones left for me to break."
"Damn it! Are you insane?!"
"Maybe."
"Somebody's coming towards us," whispered Sasha, pulling out her bow. "And there's more than one."
You pulled your hood over and crouched next to Mikasa behind the tree. Two figures rustled through the towering grass.
"Psst! It's us!"
You all got out of hiding once Hange and Moblit came out. She handed Levi a flier, and all of you tried to cram in behind him, peeking at the paper.
"There you have it. The coup was successful," said Hange. "Premier Zachary now has full control of the Capital and government. For the time being, the nobles are all staying in line."
"What about the incident with Mr. Reeves?" asked Armin.
"We got a public confession out of one of the Interior Police. Reeves' son Flegel pulled through for us. It's all written right there. The abuse of power, the bogus charges against the Scouts, and that King Fritz was both a puppet and a fraud. We officially have acted in self-defense. In short, we're no longer criminals."
All of you sprung up into the air, cheering for your hard-earned freedom. You and Mikasa hoisted Sasha on your shoulders as she hollered and shook her fist.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Armin held up his hands. "If Fritz is being removed, and if the Premier is taking control of the government, will true royalty still exist?"
"It's likely that they'll become figureheads at most."
"So either Historia or Y/n have to take the throne?!"
"What?!" You held the sides of your head in your hands. "Me?! On a throne?!"
Sasha wrapped her arms around you, pouncing up and down. "I can already imagine it! Queen Y/n!"
"What?! No, no, Historia should be the Queen! She fits it more!"
"No one's being Queen yet," said Hange with a small smile. "Let's get Eren and Historia first before we get that far. I may have an idea of where they are."
Everyone got on their horses, holding torches. You were with Mikasa, Hange, and Levi in the cart Armin was driving.
"Erwin gave me this Scout report from an investigation on Lord Reiss's land," explained Hange. "It details a certain incident that occurred five years ago on the Reiss Estate. The day Wall Maria was breached. I'll only summarize the important parts."
Lord Reiss was fair and well-respected by the people. He had five children, the oldest being his daughter Frieda, a well-known girl in the villages. But on the day of the Fall of Wall Maria, bandits raided and set fire to the only chapel around. The entire Reiss family just happened to be in there, praying. So all of them were murdered except for Rod.
"But to top it all off, this incident occurred just a few days before Historia's mother was killed by the Interior Police. So we know that immediately after losing his family, Rod sought out Historia. And something tells me it wasn't out of a newfound paternal affection."
"Well, she is of royal blood," said Levi. "But why are they so eager to want Historia, and why would they want Y/n dead just because she's part Ackerman? Do you think this royal bloodline has some other secret?"
"Not sure about that yet, but it could be possible," said Hange. "What really stood out to me was that large parts of the chapel were destroyed. The chapel was built from stone, so destroying it would take time and effort. If it were bandits, they'd have taken what they could and quickly escaped. And it's not like there were other witnesses besides Rod to confirm his story. Then, he had the chapel rebuilt almost immediately. What was the rush?"
Since nobody was talking, you broke the silence, suggesting, "Maybe he was just...really religious? I don't know. Why'd you stop, Hange?"
"For dramatic effect of course," she said with a grin. "Anyway. The story could only make sense if it involved a titan attack. Perhaps I'm just jumping to conclusions, but it's suspicious to believe it's the only lead we have. By night, Reiss's land will be crawling with our soldiers. We must get there as soon as possible before Eren ends up in someone's stomach."
"And you should all understand, this is Kenny the Ripper," said Levi. "Y/n's father or not, if he's there, he's our biggest obstacle. In terms of his threat level, it's like you'll be fighting me. And with those weapons of his, he'll only be stronger."
"Then he's unbeatable. At least for us," said Sasha. "He hesitated for Y/n once, right? Maybe if he does it again, then she, Mikasa, and the Captain can bring him down together."
"Or maybe we should just wait and meet up with other soldiers," suggested Connie.
"You want to wait, Connie?" you asked. "Go wait by the side of the road. I can take your horse for you, no problem."
"Sorry! Forget I said anything!"
"Based on what the Captain just told us, the odds won't be entirely in Kenny's favor," said Armin. "His squad is well-trained, but we have way more combat experience. Not to mention, we've got three Ackermans with us. He's only one Ackerman."
"Yeah, this family is absolutely insane," added Jean.
"I have to ask, Levi," started Hange. "How is it that you lived with Kenny the Ripper but knew next to nothing about him? Did the two of you just never talk?"
"Not much. I only put together the pieces of that man's identity when he kept on dropping hints that he was Y/n's father. And that she and I are cousins." He turned to Mikasa. "Is he a relative of yours? At this point, we could all just be a group of cousins. I wouldn't be surprised."
Mikasa then told him the story she once told you, Eren, and Armin. Her dad was an Ackerman, and her mom was an Eastern woman, both driven out of society. "But my dad never told me why the Ackermans were persecuted."
Levi nodded. "Have either of you ever suddenly felt a 'power' awaken inside you?"
She gasped. "I have. It happened when the kidnappers almost killed Eren and me. It was either kill or be killed."
"Me too," you said. "On the way back from Eren's house to the orphanage at night, a drunk man kept on following me. Almost tried something funny, so I killed him with a garden shovel and buried him under one of the bullies' houses."
"You didn't share with us that story before," said Armin.
"Yeah, only Eren knew."
"Shocker," he mumbled.
"No wonder that guy's dad got arrested for murder," said Mikasa. "You framed him."
"Two birds with one stone, right?"
"This happened to Kenny as well," said Levi. "Out of nowhere, he felt an absurd amount of strength surging through him. And in that moment, he knew what he needed to do. And it's happened to me, too. Makes me wonder just what is so special about our blood, so much so that our ancestors were persecuted. And how the Ackerman bloodline mixed with the royal bloodline makes Y/n such an important target."
As the others conversed about the grand plan, you pulled out Bolt, twirling it around in your hand as you swam through the thoughts of your mind.
The enemies probably haven't given up on killing you yet. But that wasn't your biggest priority. Getting Eren and Historia back was. And you would stop at nothing to get them, getting him back. Even if it meant killing that man they called your father.