A New Ally (2)

Mina's POV

Her eyes, which were filled with malice earlier, are showing signs of wavering, one that I didn't ignore. To crack her hard shell even more, I continued. "It can't be inside the walls where everyone is scared as fuck just by hearing the word: titan. So, my guess is, what if we aren't the only humans left in this world? You're a person who can shift into a titan, so… where did you acquire such power? It will only make sense if I start thinking outside of the box and assume that somewhere out there,"

"There is another civilization aside from us." The commander finishes my statement. His eyes are wide and alive as his lips begin to curl in an upward motion. 

Having said that, unlike the commander, Captain Hange showed signs of both bewilderment and confusion, while Captain Levi could only widen his eyes, not knowing how to react. 

I've done it.

By planting this seed of information, my second step toward accomplishing my third goal has finally been achieved. With an anxious heart, I could only guess how they'd act from this point on after giving them an idea that somewhere out there, our enemy is sharpening their fangs. 

Among all the other gambles I've made, this is by far the riskiest I've done. It was tactless of me to throw such an idea at them, but as I had said, it's better than doing nothing.

"But what about Eren?" The captain asks, her expression crumbling to that of despair. "How do you explain his titan abilities?" 

Simple. "Their basement is the proof. In addition, I haven't heard anything about his father's whereabouts after the fall of Wall Maria. In my eyes, he's the most mysterious and suspicious citizen of this land."

Then, all of a sudden, Annie Leonhart began to laugh. Slowly but surely, her giggles began to echo in this dimly lit dungeon, where the four of us became even more alert than ever. 

But instead of giving her the expression that she wanted to see, I steeled my face and mindlessly gazed at how she continued to laugh in an attempt to hide her apprehensiveness.

Her eyes curved as she began to speak. "And here I thought you're simply a normal girl who wants to help change the world. Ahaha, Mina~" She then pulled her whole body even closer to my own as she taunted. "Even if you captured me, I would never let any information slip from my lips. Never."

I know. 

With a shrug, I too, began to goad her unfazed gaze. "Too bad. Guess I'll have to prioritize killing your father once we leave the walls." 

It was the second time I'd provoked her by uttering such a lie, and this time, I knew that within her silence, there was a storm brewing deep inside her heart. It's a pity that she can't ask how I even learned that she had a father since that would aid my point, so as if to assume that she already had nothing left to lose, a bright blue light once again began to radiate on her toes. 

She doesn't believe that I'll kill her father, huh? Am I that open? Guess I'll just have to succumb to her wish. 

Upon heaving a small and irritated sigh, I shifted my gaze to the captain and spoke words that had halted Annie's crystallization. "Captain Hange, she might harden herself at this point. Maybe we can grant her wish to speak to me?" 

I knew from how her expression changed to that of disapproval that she didn't want to leave me alone in a dungeon where a killing machine was held captive. However, after hearing all of my 'ideas' earlier, they would all need to rethink how to see this world not as it is but from how it should be. Running away from the truth won't help in saving humanity. So, as the people who are in charge of humanity's survival, they need to make a proper decision. 

The first to move was Captain Levi. He leans his head once our figures stand side-by-side and whispers his next words. "Run if she makes a move on you."

Seeing him worried caught me off guard. So, in the end, I could only nod my head as he finally left the room with a confused and depressed Hange in tow. 

"We'll talk more after this." Commander Erwin announces just when he, too, steps outside the dungeon, leaving the two of us to our own devices. He must be curious about the titan inside the wall. Figures.

When the door was finally shut, I wasted no time and stepped forward in Annie's direction.

The final piece to ignite the hope of keeping the commander alive is finally before me.

Disregarding the dirty look she gave me, I took a deep breath and whispered. "Ymir, it's time." 

"Took you long enough," Ymir replies as several scenarios begin to appear in my vision. There was war, famine, epidemic, betrayal, and death. These are my memories from the second world, which show what happens after the rumbling and how peace only lasts for a few years until another horror takes place.

"What are you doing?" Annie asks me while I start to unwrap the bandages from my right hand. There was no time to answer her question. I'd rather just show it to her than explain every single detail as to why I'm planning to recruit the person who killed my friend. "Answer me!"

"There's no time." Once I successfully unwrapped the part where blood wasn't gushing out, I slowly reached out to her head, something that the ancient being taught me in the second world. "Don't be alarmed. This will probably sting."

Probably.

But before I could finally touch her temple, what came next left me aghast. 

I must have provoked her too much because the next thing I knew, she had successfully freed herself from the shackles that bound her and pushed me to the nearby wall as one of her hands began to wrap around my neck, choking me in the process. The other, however, was used to pin my right hand on the wall, preventing me from continuing with my plan.

Who left a fucking hairpin with her?! 

How funny, Ymir is probably laughing her ass right now. 

"Die," She mumbles as the air I breathe is slowly beginning to lessen. "I don't care how you learned about us, but your very existence is a threat."

"What a true warrior," I gasped just when her grip tightened even more. "I wonder how R-Reiner would act if he's in y-your position."

Like how insane the world is, it must have already affected her because she's giggling once more. "You knew, from the very start, you knew about us. That explains your hostility when we were still in the Training Corps, yet why didn't you speak up? I don't… I don't get you, Mina!" 

"Yeah, me either." Ymir suddenly butts in as her tone openly shows how amused she is by my current predicament. 

"S-Shut your trap, Y-Ymir." As I continued to gasp for air, I slowly began to push my right hand away from the wall as I reached out to touch Annie's temple. My other hand, however, is still preventing her from fully crushing my throat. "D-do it." 

With one final push before my vision started to darken, I instead prioritized reaching out to her as I used my left hand to push my wounded hand towards her temple. By doing so, she has successfully blocked any air from entering my trachea. 

However, unbeknownst to her, once I successfully placed a finger over her temple, it was over.

Her gaze, which only contained remorse and anger, is now replaced with confusion and horror as different scenarios are being forcibly played inside her mind, leaving her with no choice but to let me go finally. 

"What are these?" She tumbles back as the war is reflected in her glassy blue eyes. "What have you done?"

After coughing a few more times while looking at my complexion in a nearby shackle and noticing a bruise forming around my neck, I heaved a long and regretful sigh. How will I even start to explain how I got these? But, more than that, will Annie be able to endure this pain that I've forced upon her?

Regret, guilt, and sorrow. Seeing her grip tightening around her head, I could only watch in pain as she watched my memories of what the future would hold. Famine, drought, war, disease, and countless deaths are being played inside her head in a fast motion. What came as a surprise, however, is that her eyes were reflecting the scenarios being played, one that I'd failed to notice back in the previous world.

Upon seeing her face becoming pale, I sighed. "Stop, Ymir. She's seen enough." 

"Eh?" Ymir's voice eventually became loud, prompting me to pull my head away. "I've only shown her one-tenth of your memories."

I growled. "That's more than what I wanted to show her."

"Party pooper."

"…"

Just where is she learning these terms? 

After realizing that Ymir had finally left us to our own devices, I took it as my chance to properly gaze at the fallen warrior in front of me, who was currently gasping for air. She was so pale and distraught as sweat continued to drip on her shirt. Annie's whole façade has finally crumbled, and it was all because of me.

"Those are my memories." I start whispering my words while kneeling on one knee to level our eye contact. "Memories of the future." 

She was petrified and confused, but more than that, curiosity was starting to kick in. "Who are you?" 

With a smile, I replied. "Just someone who wants to give this world a happy ending." An ending filled with peace and progression, allowing everyone to attain freedom. "When something must be done, it must be done, no matter what. Don't you agree, Annie?"

Those were her lines, thoughts, and way of living as a warrior.

It was thanks to Ymir that I got to see it, so Annie must have realized by now that what I've shown her is not a hallucination. Her eyes, which were once filled with fatigue and purpose, widened upon witnessing the future, one that she couldn't ignore.

I've got her. "I apologize for showing you those… horrible things, but it's my way of persuading you."

She frowns. "Persuade me to do what?" 

"To help me," As I stood, I eventually offered my hand as a way of showing both my assistance and offer. "Work with me, Annie, and I promise to give you and your father a promising future, unlike what destiny has condemned us to suffer from."

*****