FOUND YOU.
The words remained suspended before Daniel's eyes.
He blinked.
They disappeared.
For several seconds, he stood perfectly still, listening to the sound of his own breathing.
Then he looked at Captain Weiss.
"Say that again."
The captain frowned. "Say what?"
"What you just told me about Eren."
Weiss studied him.
"I said the Devourer was designed to consume a specific organism. According to the records, that organism is Eren Jaeger."
Daniel waited for the system to react.
Nothing happened.
No warning.
No explanation.
Not even one of its infuriatingly vague messages about evolutionary potential.
"Right," Daniel muttered. "Because that makes perfect sense."
Weiss folded his arms.
"You seem remarkably calm."
"I'm not calm. I'm experiencing a level of disbelief that has temporarily disabled my ability to scream."
"Do you know something about the project?"
"No."
"Then explain your reaction."
Daniel stared at him.
"Captain, a few hours ago, my biggest concern was getting eaten by a Titan. Since then, I've discovered that I can turn into one, that something beneath this city knows my name, and that a dead man who looks exactly like me apparently designed my existence around eating a boy I've known for approximately five minutes."
He took a breath.
"So forgive me if my reaction isn't particularly military."
Weiss said nothing.
Daniel lowered his voice.
"If these records are real, somebody knew about me before I existed. Somebody knew about Eren. And somebody decided that the most reasonable solution was to turn me into a biological weapon."
"That is one interpretation."
"Do you have a better one?"
"No."
"Then we're making excellent progress."
The captain's expression remained grim.
"There's something else."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Naturally."
Weiss placed another document on the table.
It was older than the photograph, its edges browned with age. Most of the writing had faded, but several lines remained legible.
Daniel leaned forward.
SUBJECT E-01: DEVELOPMENTAL STATUS UNCONFIRMED.
SUBJECT D-01: PREDATORY ADAPTATION SUCCESSFUL.
PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: REUNIFICATION.
SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: CONSUMPTION.
Below those lines was a handwritten annotation.
"Separation has delayed the process. If the subjects encounter one another, the original instinct may reactivate."
Daniel read it twice.
"Reunification," he said.
Weiss nodded.
"The word appears throughout the documents. We don't know what it means."
Daniel did.
Or at least, he had a terrible feeling he did.
He remembered the sensation of transforming in the courtyard.
The hunger.
The way his instincts had changed when Eren stood nearby.
At the time, he'd assumed the transformation was responding to the immediate threat.
But what if the system had been responding to Eren?
What if his presence had awakened something that had been dormant inside Daniel all along?
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Where is Eren?"
"Being questioned."
"By whom?"
"Another officer."
"Which officer?"
Weiss's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Because if somebody has been waiting for us to meet, I'd rather know who else is aware of that fact."
The captain studied him.
Then he opened the door.
"Come with me."
***
Eren Jaeger was not particularly good at being interrogated.
This was understandable.
Most seventeen-year-olds were not trained to sit in a military office while strangers asked questions about their childhood, their family, and the circumstances surrounding an invasion by man-eating giants.
Unfortunately, Eren's preferred response to discomfort was to become louder.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" he demanded. "I don't know anything about a laboratory!"
The officer sitting across from him remained patient.
His name was Lieutenant Hannes Krüger, and he had the unpleasantly composed expression of a man who had spent years dealing with people who thought shouting made them correct.
"You were brought here because your name appears in a classified military record."
"I didn't write the record!"
"Nobody accused you of writing it."
"Then why am I here?"
"Because I am trying to determine whether you represent a security risk."
Eren leaned forward.
"I'm a person!"
"Those things aren't mutually exclusive."
Eren opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
For once, he had no immediate response.
Hannes almost smiled.
"Good. We may yet have a productive conversation."
The door opened.
Daniel entered with Captain Weiss.
Eren immediately stood.
"Daniel!"
"Still alive, unfortunately."
"What happened? They wouldn't tell me anything."
Daniel glanced at Hannes.
"That's because the military has apparently decided that communication is a dangerous luxury."
Hannes rose.
"Lieutenant Hannes Krüger."
"Daniel Cross. Professional disappointment."
The lieutenant looked at Weiss.
"Is he always like this?"
"Apparently."
"How unfortunate."
Daniel pointed at him.
"I like this one. He's honest."
Eren looked between them.
"Can somebody explain what's happening?"
Daniel's expression changed.
He looked at the boy.
For a moment, he considered telling him everything.
The photographs.
The project.
The possibility that his own existence had been designed around consuming Eren.
But the information was incomplete, and Eren was already dealing with enough.
He chose his words carefully.
"Somebody conducted experiments involving us before either of us knew what was happening. We don't yet understand the purpose."
Eren stared at him.
"Experiments?"
"That's what the documents suggest."
"On me?"
"Yes."
Eren's hands curled into fists.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
"Why?"
Daniel hesitated.
"We're working on that."
Eren's expression hardened.
"Then we'll find out."
Daniel almost smiled.
There it was again.
That stubborn refusal to accept the world as it was.
In another life, Daniel might have admired it without reservation.
Here, it was both inspiring and deeply concerning.
Because the system had identified Eren as a target.
And Daniel had no idea how much of his own body could be trusted.
Hannes interrupted.
"Before anybody starts planning a military investigation, I have a question."
Daniel looked at him.
"Go ahead."
"Have either of you experienced unusual symptoms since entering the quarantine building?"
Daniel's stomach tightened.
Eren shook his head.
"No."
Daniel glanced at the boy.
Then at the lieutenant.
"Define unusual."
"Changes in appetite. Sudden aggression. Memory disturbances. Unexplained pain."
Daniel said nothing.
Hannes noticed.
"Cross?"
"I've had a difficult day."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the answer you're getting until I know whether this room has more secrets than people."
Hannes sighed.
Captain Weiss moved toward the table.
"We have a more immediate problem."
He spread a map across the wooden surface.
The map showed the district surrounding the outer gate, including the major roads and the evacuation routes leading toward the inner territory.
Several locations had been marked in red.
Daniel recognized the southern quarantine facility.
Another marker sat near the gate.
A third lay in the middle of the district.
"What are these?" Eren asked.
"Reports of unusual Titan activity," Weiss replied.
Hannes pointed at the central marker.
"This one concerns us most."
"Why?" Daniel asked.
"Because three witnesses independently reported a Titan behaving differently from the others. It attacked another Titan, protected a group of civilians, and then disappeared."
Daniel looked away.
Hannes noticed.
"Something to add?"
"Only that witnesses aren't always reliable."
"Agreed. Which is why we have three."
Daniel stared at the map.
The system appeared.
[WORLD EVENT: SHIGANSHINA BREACH.]
[Casualty projection: INCREASING.]
[Devourer-related anomaly: ACTIVE.]
[New objective available.]
[OBJECTIVE: PREVENT TARGET ACQUISITION.]
[TARGET: EREN JAEGER.]
[Threat source: UNKNOWN.]
[Failure consequence: IRREVERSIBLE BIOLOGICAL REUNIFICATION.]
Daniel's blood ran cold.
He read the final line twice.
Reunification.
Not consumption.
Not evolution.
Reunification.
He thought about the two identity structures mentioned in the earlier warning.
The original Daniel Cross.
The current Daniel Cross.
What if the system wasn't simply trying to make him stronger?
What if it was trying to restore something that had been divided?
And what role did Eren play in that process?
"Daniel?"
Eren's voice brought him back.
Daniel looked up.
"What?"
"You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Technically, I may have seen several."
Eren frowned.
Daniel pointed at the map.
"We need to move."
Weiss folded his arms.
"Move where?"
"Somewhere that isn't on a list of places connected to a secret experiment."
"That would require leaving the district."
"Excellent. I've always wanted to travel."
"We cannot simply abandon our post."
Daniel stared at him.
"Captain, with respect, your post is currently surrounded by giant monsters, your military records suggest that somebody has been conducting illegal experiments on children, and your intelligence reports are incomplete."
He tapped the map.
"If I were you, I'd be reconsidering the definition of a secure location."
Weiss's jaw tightened.
Before he could respond, a soldier burst into the room.
"Captain!"
Weiss turned.
"What is it?"
"The eastern evacuation route has collapsed. We've lost contact with the forward unit."
"How many civilians?"
"Unknown, sir."
"Titans?"
"At least four confirmed."
The captain swore.
Hannes moved toward the door.
"We need to organize another route."
Weiss nodded.
"Krüger, take a squad and secure the western passage."
"Understood."
The lieutenant turned toward Eren.
"You stay here."
Eren immediately protested.
"What? Why?"
"Because I'm not taking an untrained civilian into a Titan-infested street."
"I'm not helpless!"
"No," Hannes replied. "You're inexperienced, emotional, and apparently incapable of obeying simple instructions. Those are different problems."
Daniel coughed to conceal a laugh.
Eren glared at him.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were thinking it."
"Unfortunately, I do that a lot."
Hannes turned to Daniel.
"And you stay here too."
Daniel's smile vanished.
"Absolutely not."
"That wasn't a request."
"Then I'm afraid my refusal won't be a surprise."
Captain Weiss stepped between them.
"Cross, if you possess an ability that could help us fight the Titans, I need to know its limits before I authorize its use."
Daniel looked at the captain.
"And if I lose control?"
Weiss didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, "We contain you."
Daniel laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
"With what?"
The captain's silence answered the question.
Daniel glanced at Eren.
Then at the map.
He was tired.
Injured.
Hungry.
And trapped inside a world that had apparently decided he was either a weapon or a meal.
But there were people outside who needed help.
He couldn't ignore them.
Not anymore.
"Fine," he said. "I'll help secure the evacuation route."
Weiss nodded.
"Good."
"On one condition."
The captain looked suspicious.
"What condition?"
"Eren comes with me."
"No."
"Then neither do I."
Weiss stared at him.
Daniel stared back.
For several seconds, the room became a contest of stubbornness.
Finally, Hannes sighed.
"Captain, perhaps we should keep the boy within sight. If the records are genuine, leaving him alone could be dangerous."
Weiss considered this.
Then he nodded reluctantly.
"Very well. But if either of you disobeys an order, I will personally ensure you regret it."
Daniel stood.
"That sounds fair."
Eren frowned.
"Why does everyone keep threatening us?"
"Because," Daniel said, heading for the door, "we have terrible personalities."
***
The western passage was a narrow street bordered by damaged buildings.
Soldiers had established a temporary barricade at its entrance, using carts, timber, and overturned barrels to create a barrier against approaching Titans.
Beyond it, civilians crowded into the road.
Some carried bags.
Others carried children.
Most carried nothing at all.
Daniel watched them for a moment.
He had never been particularly comfortable with crowds, but this was different.
Every face carried the same expression.
Fear.
Not the dramatic fear of people who believed something bad might happen.
The exhausted fear of people who had already seen it happen.
A little girl clutched a wooden rabbit against her chest.
An old man sat beside a wall, staring at his hands.
Two brothers argued over a piece of bread while their mother attempted to calm them.
Daniel felt something tighten in his chest.
He looked away.
"Daniel?"
Eren stood beside him.
"What?"
"You okay?"
Daniel almost said yes.
Then he remembered the promise he had made in the holding room.
He wasn't going to become something that ate people.
He had no idea how to guarantee that.
But lying to himself wouldn't help.
"No," he said. "Not particularly."
Eren nodded.
"Me neither."
They stood in silence.
Then a soldier shouted from the barricade.
"Movement!"
Daniel turned.
A Titan appeared at the far end of the street.
It was roughly eight meters tall, with a broad chest and a strangely narrow head. Its arms hung almost to its knees.
It walked without hurrying.
That was what made it frightening.
The ordinary Titans Daniel had seen moved with erratic curiosity. They wandered, stumbled, and occasionally broke into sudden bursts of speed.
This one seemed to know exactly where it was going.
Its head turned toward the barricade.
Then toward the civilians.
Then toward Daniel.
The system appeared.
[UNKNOWN TITAN VARIANT DETECTED.]
[Biological signature: NONSTANDARD.]
[Threat classification: INCOMPLETE.]
[Warning: Target displays directed attention toward the host.]
Daniel's mouth went dry.
The Titan smiled.
Not the familiar, empty grin of a mindless monster.
This expression was smaller.
Almost restrained.
As if the creature were pleased to have found something it had been searching for.
Daniel stepped forward.
The soldiers raised their weapons.
"Hold the line!"
The Titan continued walking.
A soldier launched a grappling hook toward a nearby roof.
Another began shouting for civilians to retreat.
Daniel barely heard them.
He was staring at the creature's eyes.
For one brief instant, something flickered behind them.
Recognition.
Then the Titan spoke.
Its voice was broken and wet, as if the words had been dragged through a throat that was never meant to produce them.
"Found..."
Daniel froze.
The Titan's mouth twitched.
"...you."
The system flashed violently.
[CRITICAL ALERT.]
[FOREIGN MEMORY STRUCTURE DETECTED.]
[Identity match: 98.7%.]
[Source: UNKNOWN TITAN VARIANT.]
[Warning: Neural contamination imminent.]
Daniel staggered.
Images flooded his mind.
A white room.
A child crying.
A hand pressed against glass.
A young man wearing a white coat.
And a voice saying, "Separate the subjects before the bond stabilizes."
Daniel grabbed his head.
"Stop!"
Eren caught his arm.
"Daniel!"
The Titan took another step.
Its jaw opened.
"Come..."
Daniel felt the hunger awaken.
Not the ordinary craving he had struggled with in the holding room.
Something deeper.
Something that seemed to recognize the creature as a missing part of itself.
His fingers curled.
His teeth clenched.
The system's interface filled with warnings.
[REUNIFICATION RESPONSE ACTIVATED.]
[Host resistance: 71%.]
[Host resistance: 54%.]
[Host resistance: 32%.]
Daniel dropped to one knee.
Eren shouted his name.
The Titan reached toward the barricade.
Its fingers brushed the wooden beams.
Then it spoke again.
"Come home."
Something inside Daniel answered.
Not in words.
In instinct.
In recognition.
In a terrible, overwhelming certainty that the creature before him was not merely another Titan.
It was connected to him.
Perhaps more closely than anything else in this world.
Daniel looked up.
The Titan smiled.
And for the first time since acquiring the Devourer System, Daniel heard a voice that did not come from the interface.
It came from somewhere deep inside his own mind.
A voice that sounded exactly like his own.
"Finally," it whispered.
"We can become whole again."