Chapter 44 Setting Plans
Flashing lights, glimpses of a world not known, the strange sensations of a waking perpetual slumber. A nightmare, of pain and suffering. The cold, the feeling of being a puppet, strings pulling her body towards violence and horror. The faces of panicked, scared people, desperately trying to survive and flee. Men, women, children…
For the first time in eighteen years, Dina Fritz opened her eyes to the real world.
The air was cold, the smell of medical supplies stinging her nostrils. It was the best sensation she'd felt in her life. Her throat was scratchy and dry, only a groan escaping her lips, but it was enough. A moment later and a nurse was by her side, seeing she was awake and calling for a doctor.
"Can you hear me? Can you tell me your name?"
Her brain was a foggy mess, but she managed to nod back.
"Dina… Dina Fr-" She froze. She didn't know these people, and the last thing she remembered was being arrested and then transformed. She tried to think of a false name, but her mind was so muddled only one name came to her.
"Dina Leonhart."
She frowned. That made no sense, where had that come from? She'd never known anyone by that name, and yet there was this sense of… familiarity with it.
The nurse frowned as well, and stood up as the doctor arrived, taking him aside before he could ask her any questions and whispering to him. He nodded in understanding, watching Dina carefully as she took the chance to survey the room she was in. It was simple wood and stone with one window and a door. All she had been able to assess was that it was some kind of medical recovery room, and that it was daylight outside.
"I see." The doctor finally spoke. "We were told this might happen, go have a message sent requesting Ymir from the Scout Regiment. Commander Erwin told me she may be able to help."
The nurse nodded and left the room, allowing the woman to glimpse out into the rest of the building. She saw only a hallway, and three uniformed soldiers. The uniform was unfamiliar to her, but she began to breath heavily anyway as panic was settling in.
"Miss Dina, I need you to look at me." The doctor pulled up a chair and sat by the side of her bed, he held out a placating hand as she instinctively pulled away. "I'm about to tell you something that will be quite hard for you to hear…"
"…so yeah, that's about everything." Gohan finished his explanations, watching Mrs Jaeger and Hannes' reactions carefully.
They were quiet at first, absorbing in what he had told them just as they had for the whole speech, despite how long it had taken. When Mrs Jaeger finally reacted, it was to unlock her wheelchair and push herself forwards, around the dining room table they were all sat at and stop herself by Gohans side.
"You poor boy." She reached out and pulled him into a hug, warm and tight in a way that mothers had years of experience in doing so. Gently, she brushed a hand over his hair, caressing him softly as she continued to speak. "You poor poor boy. You shouldn't have had to go through all of that, any of that, and so young…"
Her heart broke at hearing all of the violence that he had been through. The news of some kind of other world and that he had travelled between them, or that this young boy had been powerful enough to blow up entire planets had seemed secondary to his suffering. His lifetime of fighting, his loss of his family, the blame he placed on himself for failing. Gohan said nothing in response, only leaning in to savour the motherly affection that he had been missing so much.
"You can't blame yourself for what happened Gohan." She shushed him gently as he tried to speak. "You were just a child, you still are, none of that should have been your responsibility. Just… just as all of this shouldn't be. Not yours, or Eren's, or Mikasa's. But you have still done so much for us, and you still saved your family, I'm sure of it. I don't know your parents, or where they are now, but I know they would be so proud of you. Just like I am Gohan."
She squeezed him tighter, and soon another set of arms wrapped around the two of them. "We're both so proud of you Gohan." Hannes' voice was sombre, still processing all that had been revealed to him, not only about Gohan but also the Titans.
Two other sets of arms joined them in their group hug, as Eren and Mikasa embraced him. "We're all so proud of you."
"T-… Thank you guys, thank you."
The hug eased off, and the little pseudo family relaxed. All with the exception of Eren, who after a shared glance with Gohan took his seat. He, Gohan, and Mikasa had all discussed how they would breach their topics with Mrs Jaeger before they had arrived. It had been agreed that Gohan would explain his past first, before it came time for Eren to reveal his side.
"Mom…" Carla saw her son looking beyond anxious and turned her full focus onto him, reassuring him to continue. "I have something to tell you. A-about Dad…"
When Ymir walked into the room, she wasn't surprised to see the woman supposedly named Dina staring off into nothingness as she tangled with her own thoughts.
"Crazy to think about isn't it?"
Her words snapped the woman out of it, her eyes locking onto Ymir with momentary terror before she relaxed.
"You still feel like a Titan don't you?" The question would have made no sense to anyone else, but Ymir could see the brief recognition in her eyes. "Like your body is a puppet, or that you're missing something. You feel…"
"Naked." Dina finished.
Ymir laughed and took up a chair by the woman's side. "Unlike you, when I awoke I actually was naked. Staring up at the starry night sky for the first time in more years than I had ever known before. I remember it well. Like I was in a dream."
"A dream come true." Dina agreed. "Yearning to be free the prison. Yet when it finally happens, I still can't believe it."
"Believe it lady. Welcome to the real world again."
Dina smiled softly, amused by Ymir's attitude more than anything else. "Not exactly, not my world. I can't believe I'm on Paradis, this is all so..."
"Yeah, took me a while to come to grips with it as well. It'll feel like you're stepping back in time for a while. The food isn't as nice, there's not as much of it, the heating isn't as good, and we have a little Titan problem at the moment." Ymir smiled. "But you're free. Relatively speaking."
"Relatively?" Dina's eyes narrowed, her body tensing once again.
"Yeah, the walls around this place do a pretty good job at keeping the Titans out. But the Titans are keeping everyone here in. Not to mention this place might not make us wear a marker, but nobles are still the ruling class and they'll make sure you know it."
"Right…" Dina did not look at all relieved and closed in around herself again.
"But hey, don't let all that get you down." Ymir slapped the woman on the shoulder and tried to put on a more positive spin of things. "You're much safer now than you were before, and things here are changing quickly. Changing like you wouldn't believe. There's this kid Gohan, and hoo boy…" Ymir trailed off, letting the good mood set for a while before she spoke up again. "Are you missing someone?"
Dina nodded, hesitating before she finally answered. "My friends, all gone… my- my husband, is there any chance-… do you know if someone by the name of Grisha Jaeger is here? I promised him I'd see him again."
Dina looked over at her new friend to see her eyes wide and disbelieving. Ymir was dead silent, before letting out a guttural curse and slapping her forehead. "That little fucking brat…"
"So what's the plan?"
The words bounced off the crystalline walls of the cave, Kenny's question echoing through the minds of everyone present. Still, the Queen sat silent, contemplating as she often did.
Her family were still present, none of them having returned to the surface despite the confirmation that the Wall was clear. It was not fear that kept them there, but instead it had been doubt. Doubt about what would happen now, now that the earliest reports had come in about the events outside of the wall.
Two of the invaders' dead, a woman dredged out from the inside of a Titan. The news was already having shockwaves throughout the land undoubtedly, but the Queen had sat deliberating for quite some time without a word. They needed to do something, the entire Reiss family knew it, but the Queen would give no such order.
"How goes the training?" Rod asked Kenny, knowing the man's question to the Queen would go unanswered.
Kenny simply shrugged in response, knowing it seemed fruitless to push for an answer. "First squad is learning well, especially with Caven and Kuno as teachers. The new recruits we've brought into the folder are behind, but they're still doing better than the regulars. They'll be a match for the more experienced Scouts."
"It's not the veteran Scouts that I'm worried about." Rod was already building a sweat just thinking about it, but Kenny didn't exactly blame him.
"Our best can take on Levi's squad, I'll take the brat himself. Little Jaeger we have plans for dealing with him and his girlfriend."
"And what about Gohan?" The two turned to look at Frieda, who had seemed to barely move from the throne. She had her head laid idly on one hand as she eyed them both. "What will you do when he gets involved? The strongest man in world… what will you do?"
Her eyes narrowed at Kenny, before suddenly she was standing and marching towards him as he had the good sense to break eye contact and look away. "Will you fight him? He'll kill you. Should I fight him? He'll kill me. So tell me Kenny, since you won't stop talking about how we need to deal with this problem, you tell me. What. Will. You. Do?"
Her father cleared his throat, and she turned her focus towards him.
"Your majesty, I think you're looking at this problem a little too directly." His head was bowed as he spoke to his daughter, his hands wringing anxiously. "Gohan is powerful, certainly, but he like all has a weakness."
"His tail? The last report says it's gone." The report from the military had been very detailed and passed directly onto them as well as the copy that had been sent for Premier Zachly's eyes only.
"Not his tail your highness. His attachments." He beckoned one of their guards forwards, who passed over another small folder that Rod opened and held up a single drawing. It was one that had been made of Eren's day in court, where they had attempted to take him out of the picture subtly instead of so obviously.
The drawing showed all those who were present, however only a few figures were coloured in. "Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Carla Jaeger, Ilse Langnar, Petra Rall. Family, friends, and lovers. Some will need to be removed, they will not cooperate and it will prove our intent. Carla Jaeger, the mother, we will hold her as leverage over him and ensure he won't take any action against us."
"Holding a disabled mother as a warning to behave. Is this truly what we are?" Not for the first time, Frieda had been expressing her doubts as regrets about what they did. Kenny and his MP's were a product of her father, but she could have stopped it if she gave the order. She wanted to, and yet…
"This is what we must do." Her father spoke, like a devil hanging over her shoulder and speaking the words he knew would force her back into inaction. "These people will upset the balance, force the government and nobles out to see people let loose from the walls. We must not let that happen. It is here we must stay, where we must all stay."
She wanted to argue. It was a despicable course of action, they would be killing and hurting innocent people. Carla Jaeger was by everything she had heard, a kind and loving mother who had done her best to save her children. What they were planning was horrific, but it would ensure the peace. It would ensure that none would leave, that they would pay their debt for their past sins, and because of that they would have to do it.
She wanted to object, to be disgusted, to use her authority as Queen to put a stop to it all.
She wanted to, and yet she didn't.
As the will of the king flowed through her, her desire to stop faded away. Her sympathy for Mrs Jaeger shifted, no longer was she a poor mother, but the mother of a rebel, one who sought to throw their peaceful land into chaos and not repent for their sins.
Sympathy, to hatred. Regret, to acceptance.
For Frieda was not herself anymore since she had inherited the Founding Titan. Now, she was Queen. The Queen of Paradis and the Eldians, bound to pacifism against the outside world, and bound to ensure her people paid the price of their ancestors' crimes.
"And what of the people? The Scout Regiment is beloved, as is Gohan. Murmurings of the truth is already spreading. They will riot."
"Then we'll put them down." Kenny answered, arms crossed as if his answer was the simplest in the world. Rod held up a hand to tell the man to quiet before he continued.
"There will not be a riot if we are careful. The rumours are just lies being spread by the Scout Regiment to increase their funding, taking advantage of the goodwill and faith of the people. Gohan himself will attest to this when his surrogate mother has been made safe from the threat posed by the Scout regiments more sinister elements." Rod was always much more of a speaker than Kenny, and he was beginning to fall fully into the swing of things as he continued on, hands no longer ringing and nervous but held proudly behind his back.
"The evidence they have is superficial and flimsy, it will easily fall apart under closer scrutiny. After which point, the enraged commander will attack and kill our beloved Nile Dawk. His life horrifically taken by the Scout Regiment, when all he had wished to do was to protect our people from continued and needless suffering."
"How very tragic." Kenny spoke up, a wicked grin beginning to spread across his lips as he realised what was suggested. "How very fortunate then that my team and I will be able to avenge our poor commander. The Military Police are a cowardly lot, but enough anger and they'll be willing to cross blades with the Scouts for a bit of justice."
"What of the Garrison?" It was a woman's words, one who had been otherwise silent as she let her husband espouse his great plan. Marti Reiss stood by the side of her eldest daughter, eyes narrowed on her husband with doubt and scorn. She had never forgiven him upon discovering his infidelity.
"Pixis is a lecherous drunk but he is also a keeper of the peace. He knows what will happen if he does not support us, and he will not risk a civil war."
"Unless he was ordered to." She shot back. "Zackly despises the nobility, and neither I nor the assembly have any desire to see what plans he would have for us all should we fail. Make sure he is dealt with too."
Rod glanced at Kenny with a silent question, to which the man nodded back. There would be no problem in removing him as well.
"Very well, then all we need to do is-"
"And one more." Marti cut in. "There's another transformer, Ymir. She's always seen in the arms of the bastard of your whore." Venom laced her words as her eyes bore into her husbands' soul.
He gulped and nodded in acceptance. "Very well, we shall deal with the two of them-"
"No." Frieda cut the two of them off as she spoke. "Historia will not be harmed in any way. Have her brought here, the two of them if need be."
Marti hid her snarl as she turned her head, composing herself before she turned back to her daughter. "Frieda, I know you liked to entertain her when she was young, but she is not your family. You cannot-"
"She is," Frieda hissed, "my sister. I will not forget that, just as you will not forget that I am Queen." She rounded on her mother. "I am the Queen of this land, I am the Founding Titan, and my will shall be done. Historia will not be harmed, this is my will."
Her mother nodded in apology. "Yes, your highness."
Frieda looked back over her shoulders at her father and Kenny. "When will we begin?"
"Soon." Rod spoke up, his head dipped slightly in subservience. "We need only await the arrival of Commander Erwin to the interior. He has already begun his travels."
"So Petra, you and Gohan huh? I guess it's time I move on then, find another lovely lady to woo." Oluo sighed dramatically as they trotted along on their horses towards the interior.
The first leg of their ride had taken them at a good pace through Wall Rose and up towards Ehrmich. With the ride being quick and having started in the early hours, not much conversation had passed. Now that they were through Ehrmich and trotting along at a more reasonable pace to allow their mounts to rest, a casual chatter had picked up amongst the team.
"Yes Oluo, we're a thing. But I was already telling you to stop even before then so forgive me if I don't hold out hope."
Oluo frowned but couldn't exactly rebuke it. Fortunately, Gunther rode up between the two of them and interrupted. "Don't worry about any of that Petra. The captain has been extra quiet lately, so Oluo is running out of fresh inspiration."
"Hey I'm not-"
"Besides, the important thing now is that Eld finally has someone else to talk relationships with." The others shared a good laugh. Eld had been head over heels with one particular girl for a while, but didn't get to talk much about her to others before people accused him of simply showing off given that the rest were single and that Levi was… Levi.
"Come on though, seriously, what's the plan for the two of you?"
Petra blushed. "You sound like my dad… We've had one kiss, and we haven't even had a chance to go on a proper date yet. We got to briefly talk this morning before we left but, we haven't exactly had much time. Maybe if we actually get some leave soon we'll be able to do something nice."
"Well you should be careful." Eld shouted back from over his shoulder. "If you don't lock him down quickly, there's plenty of others who look like they want him."
"You mean one of the ones from his bandana fan club?" Oluo asked, all knowing who he was talking about.
"I saw a few more of them as we rode through Ehrmich." Petra remembered. "It's spreading around a lot, he's really become an inspiration to a lot of people. I guess wearing the headband makes them feel safe too."
Petra was lost briefly as she thought of Gohan with pride, blushing after the others broke into laughter at her far off dreamy eyed look.
"Haha. Actually, I meant more like that Mina girl. That girl watches him every second she gets, like some lovesick puppy." Eld knew the look well having spotted it in his own partner many times in the past.
"Or that hick one, uhhh… Sasha." Oluo had completely failed to notice how Petra's eyes had in fact begun to narrow. "Hearing Gohan was actually raised in the woods had her eyes lighting up. And did you see the way her eyes watched him when he was telling us about his past? She had that look like she wanted to take him aside and lay his head down in her lap, tell him everything's gonna be okay."
There was another rumble of laughter, albeit much smaller as Oluo quickly sobered up in remembrance of what he had been told. "Do you think it's true what he said? About the power he had? I mean, I know he's strong but…"
"It's unimaginable to think about." Gunther finished. "He could blow up mountains, blow up planets if he wanted to. That kind of strength it's… if he'd had even a shred of that he could have wiped every Titan from the island without even breaking a sweat. All our years of training and experience, just so… insignificant."
They all wore a heavy heart as they pondered the implications of Gohans' supposed past strength. He had been detailed about his life, his adventures, as well as the power behind his Super Saiyan transformation. It had been detailed, consistent, and that had helped them all believe it. Though most of all Gohan just hadn't been the kind of person to lie about such a thing.
"It's true." Petra said finally. "I believe it, every word. And I believe we could trust someone like Gohan with it. That's why we need to help him bring it back out."
"Any idea how?"
To Gunthers' question, Petra was silent. They all were until Eld finally spoke up again.
"If only Hange were still here. She would have loved this, it would have blown her mind."
They murmured in acknowledgement, before dropping back into silence as they remembered their fallen comrade.
Up at the front, Levi too had a moment of silence for his compatriot. He may not have liked her on a personal level, their personalities were just too different to work together, but he had held a lot of damn respect for her. As the moment passed, he turned to ask the question that had been on his mind for quite some time.
"Are we really not going to do anything about him?"
"What would you suggest we do?" Asked Commander Erwin in response.
"I don't know, but what he told us changes a lot. It feels wrong to continue on as normal."
"What he told us changes very little actually." Erwin didn't turn to look at the confused face of his subordinate. "Gohan is and has always been, a strong and trustworthy member of the Scouts. All that he has shown us is where we could reach. The power he has begun to teach us will reach heights we could never have dreamed of. And with the knowledge he has begun to pass along, we can transform this land into something new."
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking, that for the first time in the last hundred years at least, our people will be able to ask the question. What will we do after we have defeated the Titans? I no longer believe such a question to be only a hypothetical, the Titans will be defeated, and soon. We shall pass the knowledge and training to the rest of the Scout regiment, and the Garrison and everyone else. We will reclaim Wall Maria and beyond, ridding this whole land of them. And then… then we will be able to ask ourselves what is next."
"Quite a lot of hopes there Erwin, I didn't take you as being so optimistic."
The man smiled, admitting without shame that his hopes had risen quite a lot in recent weeks. "That young man is incredible. With him, it would seem there is nothing we can't do."
"If it's all true." Levi shot back.
Erwin looked at him sceptically. "You don't believe it?"
"It's a lot to believe." Levi admitted. "The power to blow up a planet. Travelling through space. Aliens. Different realities or universes. It sounds like something from a children's book."
Erwin nodded, it was a fair assessment of it all. Erwin had always considered himself well educated as the son of a teacher, but even he had been left clueless by Gohan's description and explanation of space. The sun, stars, their life cycle, the solar system… it most certainly had all been Hange's field of expertise, not his.
"I think what will prove his story, is if his family ever arrives."
"Huh!?" Levi looked at him with utter bemusement. "Gohans' family doesn't know where he is, if they're even alive. Even if they did, you can't honestly think they would find him? It's been five years since Gohan came here."
"I think there's a lot of impossibilities that seem to be broken around Gohan, and I think any family would stop at nothing to try and find their son if they had even the slightest chance. As a matter of fact, I don't think there's anything that could stop them. And if Gohan's stories of wish granting dragons and time machines are real, I think they'll find a way. There's nothing that would keep loving parents from their child."
Levi grunted. "I'll take your word for it then, I wouldn't know."
Despite his words, Erwin knew that Levi held no anger in his words. Still, he winced all the same. "Sorry."
Erwin leaned over his shoulder to the others. "Our rest is over. Time to pick up the pace people! Onwards! To Mitras!"
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
Trusty_McGoodGuy
Trusty_McGoodGuy AN: Hello all, it is nice to be back. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and that the break wasn't too long for you all. As always, please let me know what you thought with a review, I love to read each and every one of them. I have also now set up a P at reon so for anyone wishing to support me, simply go to;
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Next chapter due: 08/05/23
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