The Guardian's Tale (AOT fanfiction)

-That Day-

A boy and a young girl who I assumed were siblings stood in a strange looking city. They both bumped into a man who called them 'Devil Bloods' and commented on how Eldians were crawling around as they pleased. The little girl, Fay, seemed uneasy but Grisha, the boy, comforted her, saying that they had heard worst and distracted her by showing her where something they called an 'airship' would land.

As they both admired a strange looking structure which I assumed was the 'airship', 2 men who kind of looked like MPs asked them whether they had their exit permits. Grisha seemed panicked before admitting that they didn't have them and one man made him choose between hard labor or a quick beating as a punishment. Grisha chose the beating to avoid getting his parents in trouble and offered to take his little sister's punishment as well. 

As the man, who's name was apparently Kruger, started beating Grisha as the other man led his little sister away and as I tried to stop him, I realized that this was Eren's fathers's memories and that I was helpless. 

After his punishment, Kruger sat on the grass as Grisha laid on the floor, visibly unable to move. Kruger told Grisha that he and his sister were wise to have kept their armbands on and that Eldians who didn't have them would be sent to 'Paradise' regardless of whether they were children or not.

"Paradise ? " I asked myself. "What's Paradise ? "

The memories then switched to Grisha's little sister's mutilated body, washed up in the river then switched to somewhere I assumed to be Grisha's house. The officer who had escorted her was sitting in front of Grisha and his parents, telling them how he had brought her back to the Liberio Internment Zone and went on his way as he was apparently busy. As I looked at the little boy's face, I could tell that he didn't believe a word the man had just spoken.

The man then blamed Fay's fate on the kids, claiming that they should not have entered the city without permits and blames Grisha's parents for not having taught them correctly. Though the woman who appeared to be the mother seemed devastated, the father thanked the man for his guidance and promised to do better with his son. After the officers had left, his father opened a book and began to read him a story.

1820 years ago, their ancestor Ymir Fritz made a contract with the Devil of All Earth and obtained the power of the Titans. Upon her death, Ymir's spirit was split into the 10 Titans who formed the Eldian empire, one which was never to be seen or heard of again. These Titans defeated Marley and ruled over the continent, thus beginning the Dark Ages, when the Subjects of Ymir violently oppressed the other races. They stole wealth and land, forced other people to bear their children and wiped out some bloodlines entirely. This ethic cleansing continued for about 1700 years.

However, Marley was able to steal seven of the 10 Titans and bring them under their control, emerging victorious in the Great Titan War. The Eldian King at that time retreated to the island of Paradise where he erected the Three Walls, taking many of his people with him. But Grisha's ancestors were abandoned on the continent, and were only able to live there by the grace of Marley.

"This story sounds like some made up crap." I thought. "This man sure talked alot for someone who just lost his daughter. Hell, he was even shaming his ancestors and idolizing his oppressors. Makes me sick to my stomach. "

Suddenly, Grisha spoke up and I turned my head towards him, intrigued. He claimed that the officer was telling lies and said that the truth was inconvenient for him so he told lies instead. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. If only Eren had inherited his dad's sharp mind. His dad tried to warn him that the walls of their house was paper thin but when Grisha tried to keep going, his father stood up and yelled for him to be quiet. 

He tried to reinforce that their ancestors did horrible things but Grisha exclaimed that he and Fay had done nothing of that themselves. His father, clearly exhausted, asked what was wrong with him and if Grisha wanted to get them shipped off to Paradise. This caused Grisha to hesitate and his father begged him not to do anything that would make them share Fay's fate.

"Is this...So Commander Erwin was right." I realized. "There ARE people beyond the Walls."

The memories switched to a medical clinic as Grisha examined a patient before he noticed an odd scar on his shoulder. When he asked what that scar was, the man called it proof that he was a Patriot and he revealed that he knew Grisha's history and how Fay died. He then explained that the Patriots had an informant in the government and that there were some things that Grisha should hear.

The memories switched again, this time to what seemed to be a basement. Grisha learnt the truth about his sister's death and how she was torn apart by dogs. After a few moments, he joint the resistance, apparently in order to correct the world and restore Eldia. 

Not wanting to see any more, I bit my lip but instead of the pain releasing me from the memories, they just flickered through until they stopped on one scene. Grisha was holding a young blonde boy he called Zeke, saying he was going to lead them to victory. I don't know how but I immediately recognized the boy to be the Beast Titan.

I tried freeing myself again but instead, another memory came before my eyes. Patriots were lined up on a wall and officers injected some strange liquid into them. They kicked them off the wall and when  the prisoners hit the ground and turned into Titans. Then came the turn of a young blonde woman who I recognized to be Zeke's mother and Grisha's wife. When she fell from the wall, she turned into an all too familiar Titan, the one who had killed Hannes.

Suddenly, I woke up, screaming and when I tried to get up, I realized that my hands had been chained to the wall and fire filled my cell. I struggled for a moment when I realized that I'd been placed in there because I often had nightmares that would cause me to burn things down.

Armin put out the fire and unlocked my restraints before I realized that when I woke up, Eren was screaming as well. Armin and I rushed over to his cell and he was looking around, clearly confused. 

"Calm down. You're still in the stockades, you AND Mikasa." Armin reassured him. "Because of your insubordination."

"Where you having a nightmare or..." Mikasa asked.

"Yeah...I guess I was." Eren simply replied. 

"When you woke up...you asked WHO you were..." Armin pointed out. "And you're crying."

"I feel strange...like I just woke up from the longest dream of my life." Eren said, sitting against the bars. "Hold on...that was no dream...it was real. Just now...I was somehow reliving my dad's memories. That Titan...it was you...poor Dina."

"I know Eren..." I placed a shaking hand through the bars and placed it on his shoulder. "I saw it too...I'm connected to the Titans's memories remember ? It's alright...you're back in your cell. It's all gonna be okay."

TO BE CONTINUED !