Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 49: The New Normal

Dillon thought the worst was behind him. After all the crap he had to put up with for the past few days, one would think he would get some sort of reprieve. Instead, he was dealing with the eccentric, human-formed thing known as Hanji grilling him as he laid on the infirmary bed. Then again, it was more bearable than adding more of Annie's traumatic memories into his life. "The mind links are permanent unless you decide to sever them. Just concentrate on where you feel the link and sever."

"Why would I do that?" Hanji asked. That stupid grin of hers was back with a vengeance. "The uses it can have on the field are limitless. Talking with people far away without having to go to them. You know how much time that can save, Dillon? Hours! Full-blown hours. Is there a limit to how many you can set up? Please tell me there isn't!"

Still, this was a very nice distraction from the bombshells of yesterday. The last thing he needed was to dwell on Annie's revelation of her limited lifespan until he was ready to talk it out with her. He wasn't ready, and neither was she since she hadn't approached him about it. So, they gave each other privacy even with the mind link. Unless something severe happened, they couldn't tell what the other felt for the time being.

For now, all the Psion had to do was try to keep with Hanji's quick pace of words. "It's, uh, just the matter of me opening the parts of the mind and making the connection. I haven't tested how many connections I can make, or how much the brain can handle."

"But how exactly does it work?" she pressed, moving closer to him. "Think hard, Dillon. This could be vital."

He gulped, hoping that whatever he had to share would get her face out of his. "I need to borrow your notes."

She shoved it into his hands, eyes locking onto the paper and bouncing like an overexcited puppy. "Show me, show me, show me!"

Dear God, woman, get a grip. He rolled his eyes and drew two circles across from each other."Okay, pretend these are our minds," he began as he added a line that connected the two. "This is the mind link. They are connected to these parts of the brain, and only these parts. Now, if we added another person that wanted to talk to me mentally..." He added a third circle and drew a line that hit the circle on the left in the exact same spot as the first line. "...same spot, but it's blocked off from you."

"Why would they talk to you and not me?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes at him.

Dillon refused to be honest with his answer and just drew another line connecting the right circle. "There. Now you're part of the group. Now, if you wanted to just have a conversation with me or that guy, you'd need to concentrate on my link or his. When it comes to both of us, you'd have to focus on both. Takes a bit more effort, but it's not that hard. Just try not to talk over each other, and you shouldn't be overwhelmed." He had a feeling Hanji would be the "overwhelmer," and he didn't care if that wasn't a word. "At least, that's how my dad explained it to me." And just like that, his mood considerably dropped.

Hanji didn't seem to notice, even when she snatched her notebook back, jotting down some added notes. "Now, we're getting somewhere. Tell me about your ability to move objects."

He knew he should've stayed on topic, but he needed to know. "Hanji, what happened to my dad's body?"

The Section Commander paused, slowly closing the book. She let out a sigh and responded, "He and Elise were cremated. Bodies lying out in the street can spread disease, so they had to be disposed of fast."

"I see." Of course there was no body. He couldn't even bury the man. So much for that.

"That's why I saved you this." Hanji reached into her jacket pocket and handed him a small, rectangular box. "Well, technically, the ones who did the cremating did. I just retrieved this after we got back from the mission."