Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A roar ripped through the building as it exploded into a cloud of steam and bright light and emerged from the steam like the devil he was, the Attack Titan. It’s roar silenced the crowd as the stone of the building rained down around them. In its hand was clasp Willy Tybur who was quickly eaten whole before it turned it’s milky white eyes on the crowd, slamming its body immediately into them. Once they were crushed like fine wine, it crushed and swiped at as much of the crowd as it could, before lightning struck nearby and another Titan began to form.

“Where are the Warriors?!”

“We don’t know, we can’t find them!”

“It’s the Warhammer!”

“Usurper Eren Jaeger! Any final words?”

“...If you’re going to show yourself… now would be the time… Reiner…”

Suddenly there was another bolt of bright yellow lightning that crashed down and a giant armoured fist slammed into the Warhammer Titan, sending it spinning backwards into a building.

The Marleyan military watched on in horror, they had believed the Armoured Titan to be dead; they must have stolen it! Which presumably meant…

Soon the harbour and navy were engulfed in a bright flash of heat and death. Three Titans, they had three.

The cart unleashed her panzer unit, blasts and hail of bullets shredding through anyone that got close. Only for the panzer canons themselves to get torn open by a fourth Titan, the Jaw Titan.

The booming footsteps of Zeke Jaeger slowly arrived as he stepped into the courtyard. Observing Reiner Braun, Eren Jaeger, Ymir Reiss, Armin Arlert in the distance.

“Only four? Interesting. We were under the impression that you were behind the abduction of Annie Leonhart. You should have bought her, she would have been far more useful to you.” He flung rocks all around the area, repelling most scouts from getting close but also preventing the Marleyan’s from firing either. “But before we begin, know this. Eren Jaeger is not my enemy, someone comes first. Come out Levi.”

The blimp flew overhead and Reiner stood out the nape of his Titan, watching the blood run down the front of Eren’s Titan. His face was clad in a scruffy beard and his face was shrunken and less full of life, this was Reiner; though Eren wasn’t much better looking. Eren too became exposed via the nape and the two locked eyes.

“Eren… please come home…”

Eren didn’t object, and soon he was lifted into the sky as they used the new ODM gear to ascend. Armin and Mikasa were waiting there. Levi was waiting. Hange was waiting. Ymir was recovering. Yelena, Onyankopon. Hell even Floch. Reiner turned back towards the door. In came Sasha, Connie, and Jean. And he let out air he hadn’t even realised he’d been holding in. Somehow… they’d pulled it off. 

He was pulled to the front, to the captured Zeke, to pull Levi off of Eren before he broke something. To run his hands through his short blonde hair and sigh. The new uniform was sleek and black, with armoured segments and a modified control unit allowing guns, blades, and thunder spears to be used. Reiner didn’t have thunder spears, they felt too uncomfortable to have, considering they were designed to kill him. 

“Braun, are you okay?” Hange’s words shocked him back to the present.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, thought we were losing you for a second.”

Blood was dripping down his nose.

“Just… haven’t transformed in almost three years…”

There was a bang, and a hail of shouting.

“What the hell are they doing?” Levi growled.

“I’ll go check it out, don’t let Zeke out of your sight.”

“Hey, don’t go ordering me around, brat.”

“Technically I outrank you now, Captain.” He smirked and opened the door to see his soldiers… beating up two children?! And then on the ground with Medics trying to stop the bleeding from a bullet wound, Sasha.

“Section Commander Braun, these two killed one of our own and boarded using his ODM gear attached corpse, then they shot Sasha, what should we do with them?”

“THROW THEM OVERBOARD!” Someone yelled.

“Braun…?” The girl with brown hair said softly before looking up at the man towering over her. “R-Reiner…?”

“Gabi…”

“Sasha’s dead.”

What the…fuck had happened?

It was all going so well.

Not the mission, but life. It finally felt like he was living and then… Eren vanished. Since then every single day had been a waking nightmare. The other Eren wouldn’t talk to him, and the threat that Marley posed loomed over them all every day.

Sasha’s ring still glittered as the light left her eyes, matching the one on Connie’s hand as he held her when she died. Mikasa and Armin screamed and sobbed. Hange visibly held back tears. Levi began to shake. And Eren… he laughed. He asked what her final words were, and laughed. No. Whoever this was… wasn’t his Eren. They couldn’t, no they shouldn’t let this… devil back into Paradise…

Where was his Eren…?

Where did he go?

Rain poured down, the fog was thick and the air stale. The battleship’s foglight spun in the far distance. The scout ship rolled forward deeper and closer to the island, until it hit something. Or rather, something hit it. A Titan rising from the sea beneath it to slam it down onto the rocky coastline.

“Hello Marleyans!” Hange greeted, their face a wide smile. “Welcome to Paradise! Now listen, there’s no need for hostilities! Everything is fine! Right, Niccolo?”

“Captain! Don’t listen to these Devils shoot!”

“Quiet you.”

“All men, fire! We will not submit to these beasts.”

“I’d be careful if I were you, don’t you see the Titan looming over you?”

“We do, but my men do not fear death! FIRE!”

He pointed his gun directly at Hange, but when the bang came, it was his own head which exploded. All the soldiers on the coast watched as a blonde woman lowered her gun.

“By Ymir… you’re an annoyance.” She growled before taking off her helmet, letting her shoulder length blonde hair fall down. Other soldiers turned on each other, pointing their weapons at those who didn’t side with them. Including a dark skinned man, and a very uncomfortably tall woman. “Hey everyone!” Called a smiling… Annie?! Annie Leonhart?! 

“Soldiers of Paradise, Captain Levi, Commander Hange, it’s truly an honour.” The blonde woman bowed low, which was even more uncomfortable to look at. Hard to imagine where the spine ended and legs began, everything about her was… long. Honestly he was never sure if she was human or just a small Titan. “Mind if we dock here? It’s rather wet and I’d like to discuss somewhere dry.”

“I think we can agree to that.”

The soldiers began to unload off the ship, those that weren’t turncoats taken off to one area and disarmed. The others were also disarmed but treated a little better. Reiner couldn’t believe it was Annie, and… trailing behind her… her father no less.

Reiner basically tackled her into a bear hug when he saw her,

“Annie!”

Annie blushed softly but hugged him back.

“Reiner…”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE?! I RISKED EVERYTHING TO GET YOU OFF THIS DAMN ISLAND!” He yelled as soon as he put her down. And she laughed, it started as a chuckle but grew stronger.

“Sorry… I know you went through a lot… When I got back to Marley, the first few weeks were good, but quickly I started to notice that… Marley wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I was never the biggest fan of it anyway, but luckily enough we lived in the forests outside the city, rather than inside it. But everything felt sick and rotten, and being an honorary Marleyan, it meant nothing. To real Marelyans I was just… a tolerable monster… I found myself fantasising about Paradise at night, my father said I should just go back, but I couldn’t just leave him there… then Yelena found us.”

“Scary lady?” He asked, gesturing to her, still standing on the ship, staring up at Eren’s Titan form.

“Oh good I’m not the only one…” She gave an exasperated sigh. “She was planning this coup upon arriving here and offered us passage and safety.”

“Didn’t they inspect the ship, how did you get on?”

“Who do you think inspected the crew? After they passed we pretended to go home and then boarded the ship in the supply crates. Home looks like it was ransacked and I might have taken a saw to myself to make it look like I’m… not around anymore.” Her voice trailed off as she spotted him, Armin. Taller now than when they last saw each other, and visibly more muscular, even through his uniform. Reiner watched as pink filled her cheeks.

A scout kindly offered to guide Mr Leonhart to shelter.

Reiner smiled.

“Hey Armin! Come say hi!”

Armin blushed and squeaked.

“REINER?!” Annie snapped, displaying some of that old Annie fire. 

“Payback.”

Armin slowly walked over and neither blonde could look at each other.

“H-Hey Armin…”
“H-Hello A-Annie…”

Reiner could barely hold in his laughter, this had to be the most pathetic display he’d ever seen.

“Calling the kettle black, I see…” Ymir smirked, noticing his look as they made their way over to the coastal military base once the ship had been fully unloaded.

“What the hell do you mean?”
“Oh come on Reiner, you hardly strike me as the kind of guy that's overly fond of women. I’ve seen how you look at Eren.”

“E-Eren?!”

“Exactly the same, wow… is this just a warrior thing?”

“S-Shut up, why are you even here? You’re the Queen Consort, shouldn’t you be like in the capital?”

“Consort, I’m not actually Queen so I have to fill my time with doing something.”

“Real noble…” Reiner scoffed and then paused. He could see the Colossal Titan awkwardly talking or trying to talk to the Adaptive Titan, he was the Armoured Titan, and next to him was the Jaw Titan. It felt… almost perfect. Like a dream. The family, back together again… Oh how he wished that it would last…

This world… is so cruel.

Chapter Text

Yelena had come on behalf of Zeke Jaeger, Reiner’s least favourite person.

He had a grand plan and design to ensure Eldia’s future and freedom, the buzzword which always got Eren’s attention. Though it wasn’t just him, the concept of freedom appealed to so many. Yelena’s plan was to make Paradise a more developed and civilised nation via teaching them about the outside world, and it’s technology, this would make it more appealing to less racist nations in the hope that they’d put money towards the island’s development. But with this came the need to defend the island. 

The rumbling.

Oh how he’d wished he’d could have never heard that word again for his entire life.

“What is this, Rumbling?”

“It’s the threat issued by the first king to the outside world…” Reiner explained grimly. “That should the peace within the walls be distrubed by those outside, the founding Titan would unleash its army of Colossal Titans within the walls.”

A silence rested over the military council.

“Why the hell did you come to test that?!” Someone in the military police exclaimed, unable to control themselves. And Reiner offered a weak smile.

“Honestly… I couldn’t tell you… but it would only work if the king wanted to, which as we know, he didn’t. But, because Zeke has no doubt told the outside world that Eren is the founder, we now pose a much, much bigger threat.”

Eren sighed.

“I can’t use the power of the founder though, it requires someone of royal blood to activate?”
“Bullshit.” Reiner objected, looking over at him. “What about that time you nearly killed me with Titans you were controlling?”

“Ignoring the crassness of the wording, but Reiner’s right, Eren, you’ve already used the power before.” Armin said.

“That was a one time thing…”

“Well… Zeke’s letter also explains this issue. So long as we have a Titan of royal blood, we can use the founding via two people.”

All they fell on Historia, and Eren paled, he’d been trying to keep this a secret. He knew?

“So if I was to become a Titan… then I could activate the power with Eren.”

“Yes, but then we’d just be restarting the cycle of having as many children as possible and eating our parents again every 13 years, you know, that thing you guys stopped when you deposed the false king?!” Reiner objected, loudly. He cared deeply for Historia and did not want her suffering that way.

“Braun makes an excellent point.” Pixis stated dryly. “It’s the same argument we had over the books from Grisha Jaeger’s basement, at what point do we separate ourselves from the old regime?”

“I don’t know if we ever truly can. Not while we live in a world with the same threats that necessitated it’s creation, not while people who remember the old ways live. This sadly isn’t a choice, for the safety of Paradise we need a Royal Titan, if only to look like we pose a threat. A solid deterrence.”

“Then inherit my Titan.” Ymir stood up firmly. “We all know I’ve only got four or so years left, spend those four years finding an alternative, peace if we can, but I don’t want to go out quietly in some fluffed up bed. If I die, it has to mean something.”

“Ymir… you’re asking me to eat you…?”
“Hey, what’s a better way of telling someone you love them than by becoming one with them?”

“Then I suppose it’s decided… but what about Zeke Jaeger…”

“Perhaps the Queen should eat him instead, after all that prevents him from being used against us, and frees up the military applications of the Jaw Titan to a scout inheritor.” Zackary offered grimly. 

Eren slammed his hands down on the table, drawing all eyes to him.

“I believe that to be a mistake.” Reiner announced, distracting everyone from Eren who was streaming slightly, partly trying to make up for exposing what Eren was trying to hide. “Right now Paradise is unable to perform the rumbling, that is our greatest weapon. The threat of an unloaded gun. There’s a game back in Marley, Odiha Roulette. You take a gun, revolver, six bullets, and unload five. A group of you sit around and point the gun to your head, and each takes turns pulling the trigger after spinning the barrel so nobody knows where the bullet is, it’s a game of nerves. If you give up without firing the gun, you lose, if you get shot, you die. But the threat of the game is the mystery, where is the bullet?”

“Yes, but the person who loaded the gun can shoot themselves.” Pixis hummed.

“Exactly.” Hange caught on. “The walls are a literal protection. Marley cannot launch a ground offensive easily, so they’d need to fly over the walls, but with wall mounted cannons, we can defend ourselves. The rumbling destroys the walls, and everything else. But if it looks like we might do the rumbling at any point… then it might persuade them not to invade. Giving us time for diplomacy.”

“Braun, perhaps you and Leonhart could be diplomats.”

“Forgive me, Minister, but according to records myself and Annie are dead; that’s kind of hard. Our best efforts would probably be one of the captured Marleyans.”

“And how exactly would we convince them?”

“Indoctrinate them, same as you did to me. Show them the length and breadth of the island, bring them a life of peace that they might want to protect.”

“But that will take time, and what do we do until then? Just sit here? Eating, breeding? We’re being cattle again, letting other people control us. Make Historia a Titan, make Historia pass on royal blood? Either way you’re sacrificing her, because of someone we don’t know if we can trust! None of you know the outside world!”

“And you do?”

Historia sighed.

“Your father… isn’t it?” Her words were measured and gentle, Eren looked up, Reiner inhaled sharply, for the briefest second Eren’s usually beautifully sea green eyes were a misty purple, but they were constantly brimming with tears. “Titans can see the memories of their previous inheritors. I’ve experienced the previous founder’s memories via my royal blood, Reiner’s memories caused his conflict years ago, Eren has experienced the memories of his father before. Eren has experienced the suffering of Eldians as if he has lived it himself. Yet, Eren, you forget; that’s just his view, his memories, his influence. Eren you know his version of the world. … I will now make a decree.”

All eyes fell on their Queen.

“We will agree to the terms of Zeke Jaeger, we will develop the island with the help of the volunteers and Marleyans we have, we will indoctrinate them into our society, we will seek diplomacy, and once our island is in a state of reasonable development, we will launch a scouting mission beyond the shores of the island, Levi Squad only, and they will experience six months beyond the walls in various countries and report their findings. I will also request that we plant spies in Marley, in various sections. Through them and other allies of Yelena we may make contact with Zeke. I will inherit the Beast Titan should it come to it, and… I am with child already, should this fact be of concern. Ymir is the mother.”

Everyone looked confused at the two female queens and Ymir smirked.

“Yeah, and it's probably bigger than yours. Beyond the walls has some pretty good stuff.”

Armin squirmed softly.

“Well…” Coughed Zackary. “On to our final discussion point, the Female Titan has returned to Paradise, with the volunteers however she does not align herself with them, Braun, your statement of character?”

“I risked everything to get her off this island, and yet she was far more attached to it than I ever was… when… when we… killed Marco Bolt during the siege of Trost… she was the only one who said no, she wanted to run, even stop me, but I made her take off his ODM gear.”
“She ran away in fear during Stohess.” Mikasa added.

“Precisely, she doesn’t want to fight, which is why she’s come here, rather than being a slave to Marley, she’s seeking asylum. I simply suggest giving her and her father a home in Shiganshina and letting them live out their lives. However, she has asked the court if her oath could be reinstated?”

“Rejoin the military police?” Nile. “I believe that to be far too risky. We still don’t know if we can trust her.”

“I’d vouch for her.” Armin said formally. “I believe that she offers no threat, and if she does, remember that we have four Titans, one who has beaten her in the past and is much stronger now.”

Zackary nodded. “Then it’s decided, her position in the military police shall be restored.”

And so discussions were open, learning about the military landscape of the world beyond the walls. Numbers of soldiers even Reiner didn’t know about. Hange did a poor job of hiding how weak they were against such numbers. But over the following months the soldiers and volunteers got a strange joy out of watching the innocent glee that people showed and even the most simple of technology they had outside the walls, and became more eager to share. Their helpfulness helped them land decent jobs in a variety of positions and soon enough the island had a decent basis for development. Which was when the Azumbitos came. The Azumbitos were a people that Reiner knew about. Money grubbing and wicked with negotiation. But the ace was in Paradise’s sleeve this time, Mikasa Ackerman. Hizuru was the only nation which did not vilify Eldians, in fact they had equality and fairness. The Azumbitos were one of the clans of this land. Mikasa was Hizurian by her mother’s side. But the importance of her mother was far more than anyone had expected. Mikasa was, in a sense, the Princess of Hizuru. Historia got great joy out of it. And for the first time in years the fate of the island didn’t rest on a Titan. This whole build up took two years.

The following year began the development of the island. Engines and electricity, coal mines and advanced application of iceburst stone and opening trade with Hizuru on limited terms. The coastline that Marley once used to send their Titans had been occupied and evolved by the island, becoming a military and trade station on the coast and would be where the Eldian fleet would eventually rest. Though training a navy would take a lot longer. 

“You sure like it up here don’t you?” Eren asked.

Reiner sat on the edge of Shiganshina  staring out at the sunrise.

“It’s the view, there isn’t a better one on there island, it’s the only one where there isn’t a wall in sight. I’m sick and tired of walls.”

“Liberio had a wall around it right?”

“Yeah, but that one was far more oppressive.”

“What’s more oppressive than thousands of titans ready to trample the world?”

He chuckled

“You’re right about that I guess.”

Go on Reiner… tell him. 

The voice within his head was screaming.

Tell him.

This might be the last change you get…

He paused. What?

He was still sitting atop the wall. Eren sat next to him, watching the sunrise. What had his mind just said…?

“Hey Reiner… how are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Have you… switched…?”

“Oh… no… I’ve been stable for around a year now. Though I always get a little unstable around the Marleyans.”

“I can understand why… hey… what’s your opinion on the Rumbling?”

Reiner sat in silence for a little while, just thinking about what he’s just asked.

“Honestly… I think we should do it. There’s not much good in the world, least of all in Marley. But… not everywhere is as corrupt as them, some countries are more; like Hizuru.” He joked and Eren shook his head with a smile.

“In my father’s memories I’ve only seen corrupt and evil people and a world that deserves nothing but death.”

“Your enemies?”

Eren looked at him in confusion

“Back then, at the sea, you said ‘if we kill all our enemies over there, will we finally be free?’. That’s why you’re asking about the rumbling, right? You’re thinking about it.”

Eren looked away.

“What if I told you that the future was predetermined, and that eventually I would have to choose whether to give up my freedom, or take the world’s.”

“Eren, if there’s a choice, the future isn’t predetermined.” He placed one of his big hands on Eren’s shoulder. “If you want my opinion… This world is cruel, but people aren’t inherently. I think you should push it out of your mind until you see beyond the sea with your own eyes. We’re a sum of the people who came before us, as much as we might hope we aren’t. Puppets tangled up in our own strings. Some parade around on the stage calling themselves warriors, others hide away and try to deny what they are, but at the end of the day we’ve always bee one thing from the moment we’re born.”

“From the moment we’re born…”

“We always are who we are. Situation or rank be damned. I’ve always been an Eldian despite where I was born, that’s a fact I can never escape.”

The two men fell silent and just watched the golden orb rise high above the mountains and valleys.

“Miss Leonhart, you have news from the Queen’s retreat?”

Annie’s rank had been restored as per the Queen’s request. She helped reform the Military Police under Nile and with (reluctant) help from a girl named Hitch. It was a long and tedious process as the corrupt nature of the branch clung to it like a foul odour and still perverted how cadets viewed it. Once a week she could be seen visiting Armin at the scouting headquarters, a near radiant golden glow of life surrounding her. Reiner couldn’t help but smile ear to ear when she explained so many little details about Armin she liked, and how she freaked out when he suggested she ask him out. Annie had allowed herself to open up, being close to her father, being safe, and being around people who cared about her simply because she existed had helped her crack open her shell. And as Historia retreated to a private residence during the later months of her labour, Annie had been made the back and forth between the council and her.

“Yes, her pregnancy is going well.”

“Two children already, Lady Ymir must be pleased. Though with two already I believe it would be best if the Queen returned to court soon, preventing bad rumours and all that.”

“Of course. I’ll pass those sentiments on during my next visit.” And with a swift turn she left the royal court and sighed, running a hand through her long blonde hair with a sigh. “I hate this…”

“Well you’ve only got yourself to blame.” Hitch sighed, slumping next to the wall next to her. “Trying to remove the lazy life the MPs got…”

“Well it’s what Marlo would have wanted, right?”

“...Yeah…”

Marlo was still a sore subject.

“Ah- sorry… I…”

“It’s fine… I know your shit at conversation, but I wonder if you’re this awful around AAAArmiiinnn~” She purred with a teasing look.

Annie’s cheeks turned pink then a deep raw crimson.

“W-What?” She stammered, her lower lip trembling.

Hitch threw her head back to laugh but only got the first ‘ha’ out before her head cracked against the wall and she crouched down clutching it, making Annie chuckle. 

She left the court out of uniform, a simple white shirt and black trousers, making her way through the cobbled streets of Stohess. Children waving at her and playing in the street without fear, people openly talking and wearing nice clothing. A sense of wealth in the air but also modesty. She sighed happily, pushing her hair back out of her face with a smile. This was freedom.

Chapter Text

“Gabi…?”

“You know her?”

“Your name is Gabi Braun, correct?” Reiner crouched down in front of her, momentarily distracted from Sasha’s bleeding out body, gasping weakly for air.

“Y…Yes…”

“...Shackle them and chain them up somewhere but nobody else is to lay a hand on them, or I’ll inflict what’s done to them on you.” He growled and Floch dragged the children away, the girl in a state of shock. The boy he recognised… and he felt incredibly uncomfortable looking at him.

“Sit down, Reiner. They're good seats, right? You can hear everything on stage. The building above us is all housing. It's behind the stage, but it's full of people waiting for the curtains to rise. Directly above us.” 

“Huh? Kruger? Did you hurt your hand?” 

“Yeah. It's just a scratch. Reiner, sit down.” 

“Well, I think I'll head back.”

“No, Falco.” 

“You should stay here and listen.” 

“Huh?”

“Falco... Just do as he says. Okay. Eren... How? Why did you come here?” 

“Same reason you did. Don't you get it? The same reason you did. Because I had no other choice. Sounds like it started. Let's listen.”

“To eliminate this threat, our motherland Marley sent four Titans to the island, but they were beaten back and only the Armoured Titan returned. The darkest blot on humanity's history, the Eldian Empire, is alive and well.” 

“You hear that, Reiner? Isn't that why you destroyed the wall? You guys were trying to save the world. Weren't you?”

“I will now reveal the truths we learned for the first time ever. Some 100 years ago, it was neither Helos nor the Tyburs who ended the Great Titan War. The one who ended the fighting and saved the world... was King Fritz. He anguished over the Eldian Empire's vicious history, tired from the endless infighting, and above all, he was pained by the endless oppression of Marley. When he inherited the Founding Titan, he schemed with the Tybur family and they fabricated a Marleyan hero. His name: Helos. The King moved as many Eldians as he could to the island and closed the gates. He claimed that if they were threatened, thousands of Titans would be unleashed as revenge. However, this was never his intention. King Fritz made a vow renouncing war so his ideology would be inherited. Because of this, Karl Fritz's ideology has been passed down, and the Titans have never left the island to attack. That is, the one keeping our world safe is the ‘vile’ King of the walls... Karl Fritz, and his desire for peace. Peace was all he wanted. But if Marley grew strong and came to take the Founding Titan or his life, he would accept it. He believed the sins of the Eldians were so grave, they could never be atoned for. ‘However, until that day of retribution, let me savour a brief paradise, free of conflict within the walls. That is all I ask of you.’ That was his last request. Stand there and watch. This is my atonement. Using the power of the Founding Titan, Karl Fritz erected three walls. These walls, formed by tens of millions of Colossal Titans, have served as a shield and spear, safeguarding peace. But recently, an uprising took place on Paradise Island. King Fritz's peace was undermined by a person who stole the Founding Titan. Once again, there's a threat to our world... a rebel against peace! His name: Eren Jaeger!”

“You tricked me... And here I respected you... But you tricked me!”

“I'm sorry, Falco. I needed your help.” 

“Huh? The letters! The ones you had me send! What were they?!” 

“They didn't reach my family, but they did reach my comrades.”

“No way! You're kidding! Y-Your comrades?” 

“The threat of Paradise Island is the stampede of millions of Colossal Titans... a rumbling. As I mentioned, the vow renouncing war prevents the King's bloodline from fully using the Founding Titan. But currently, this ‘Eren Jaeger’ who possesses the Founding Titan may begin this rumbling at any moment. Once the rumbling is set into motion, there is nothing that we can do. Nothing but tremble at the footsteps of doom, fleeing in vain. All lands and civilizations will be trampled, literally razed to the ground.” 

“That's right. Huh? It's like Willy says... I'm the bad guy. I might just destroy the world. But to me, you were the bad guys, too. That day, when the wall was destroyed and Titans invaded my hometown, I watched my mom get eaten. I couldn't understand. Why, Reiner? Why was my mom eaten by a Titan?”

“Because... on that day, we broke the wall.” 

“Why did you break the wall?” 

“To sneak in during the chaos and see how the King would react.” 

“What was your mission? To retake the Founding Titan and save the world.” 

“I see... If it was to save the world, you didn't have much choice.” 

“Back then, you told me: ‘I'll make you guys suffer and die in the worst way possible.’ Isn't that why you came?”

“Oh, I vaguely remember saying that.” 

“Huh?” 

“Just forget it. True, I saw everyone on the other side of the sea as my enemy. But then, I crossed the sea, slept under the same roof as them, ate the same food... Reiner, I'm the same as you. Sure, there are jerks here, but good people, too. Across the sea, within the walls... It's the same. But you guys were taught everyone in the walls was a devil. You were children who knew nothing, but it was drilled into you. You were just kids. What could you even do? Right, Reiner? Hasn't that been eating away at you?”

“No! You're wrong, Eren! That day, when Marcel was eaten, Annie and Bertholdt tried to turn back and end the mission. But I... I talked them into it and made them go on! I wanted to be a hero! I wanted people's respect! It's my fault! Your mom was eaten by a Titan because of me! I'm sick of this... of myself! Just kill me!” 

“Like I thought, I'm the same as you.” 

“Huh?” 

“I want you to join me in the fight against the devils of Paradise Island!” 

“I think we were born this way.” 

“Here and now, as representative of the Marleyan government, I proclaim…” 

“I keep moving forward.” 

“Huh?” 

“Until I destroy my enemies.” 

“...to the enemy forces of Paradise... a declaration of war!”

A roar ripped through the building as it exploded into a cloud of steam and bright light and emerged from the steam like the devil he was, the Attack Titan. It’s roar silenced the crowd as the stone of the building rained down around them. In its hand was clasped Willy Tybur who was quickly eaten whole before it turned it’s milky white eyes on the crowd, slamming its body immediately into them.

“Reiner? What’s all the commotion?” Hange asked when Reiner grimly entered the section of the airship, closing the door behind him. His face was ashen, and he was steaming. Within a second he’d launched himself onto Zeke, pinning him to the ground and punching him in the face repeatedly, knocking the glasses off his face, breaking his nose, bloodying his fist, just screaming the entire time.

“Reiner stop!” Armin and Hange yelled, but Levi held Hange back, partly enjoying watching Zeke get the snot beaten out of him.

“YOU BASTARD! This is your fault! You and your damn plan!”

“Reiner what happened?” Armin gently pulled him off of Zeke who chuckled.

“You’ve gotten stronger Braun.”

“Stowaways. Falco Grice… and… Gabi Braun.”

Zeke’s eyes widened in shock.

“They shot… they shot Sasha… she’s getting treated at the moment.”

Mikasa and Armin bolted out of the room, Levi’s eyes widened in shock and Hange clasped hands to their mouth. Levi spun around and slammed his foot into Eren’s face, knocking him to the ground.

“How’s this fit into your master plan?”

“We’ve had a couple of bumps in the road, but only minor ones.” Zeke muttered as the bloodied Gabi and Falco were dragged in. “Now we have the Founding Titan and a Titan of Royal Blood. The Armoured, The Warhammer, The Attack, The Adaptive, The Jaw, The Beast, and The Colossal. The Eldian Empire is now the most powerful nation in the world.”

“Yeah and we’ll need that power, because you two idiots declared war on the ENTIRE WORLD!” Reiner screamed. “God did you even think before you acted?! Even could have discreetly stolen the Warhammer by breaking into the Tybur family home, but no, you had to wait until the world united.”

“We needed a demonstration, and to cripple Marley’s navy. We have done both those things, and besides, we only lost six people?”

“No, we slaughtered hundreds, and six people. Or did you forget that the people in the interment zone are Eldians too? I only agreed to this plan because I wanted to liberate all Eldians, that’s the only reason I put the armour back on. Well you can forget it now, consider this my resignation from the military. You can have the armour back when I die.” Reiner snarled and stormed out the room to be with Sasha and his friends. Sasha… died shortly afterwards. Her last words sounded almost like ‘meat’. But in reality… they were something different. Connie and Sasha were two birds of a feather, nearly identical in self and personality, and very much attached, so one day he suggested they just get married. That way they won’t die alone. Their wedding was set to be in a month, Sasha already had her wedding dress ready. It wasn’t a romance, it was a bond. That way their life would be complete, considering they were already planning to spend the rest of it together anyway. But then there was the Marleyan Chef Niccolo, his cooking drove her hysterics. It was obvious he loved her and while she probably was mostly in love with the cooking, that no doubt extended to him. Her last words weren’t meat, no they were the nickname she gave him, since she always butchered his name when she had food in her mouth, Meaccolo.

“M…Mea….”

“SASHA!!”

“Sasha!” Armin yelled, chasing her across the dusty ground as she drained a bucket of water, the majority of it spilling down her shirt. 

Jean rolled his eyes at their antics and continued slamming the pickaxe into the ground, readying the tracks. Eren and Annie were also on pick duty at the moment, while Mikasa and Reiner lugged the metal over, Reiner carrying one beam under each arm, and Mikasa a stack of three over her shoulder. Now, Reiner has seen Mikasa naked; don’t ask, and she’s ripped. But she’s not buff. Annie is buff. Her muscles come out, they are not necessarily part of her body. But Mikasa’s body was etched in stone, or rather flesh. Which frankly horrified Reiner. He simply couldn’t understand how this petite woman was so… Mikasa. The same could be said about Captain Levi, who was also digging, his form was nearly two dimensional and shorter than Connie, yet he was nearly as strong as Mikasa, nearly.

“What are you all doing out here?” Called a familiarly friendly voice in the form of Hange, riding a small passenger and transportation train. Train was going too far, it was a minecart attached to a steam engine. 

This was a year before Eren vanished.

“Well this idiot wanted us to play more of a role in building up the island, said we could build up our muscles too, turns out Ymir overheard us.” Jean jammed a thumb in Eren’s direction.

“Hey… when did you all get so tall?” Groaned Levi, having to look up at everyone here.

“Well you’ve all done a pretty good job, I’ve got extra supplies and your way back here, I’m taking the horses with me. Eren, here.” And they passed Eren a letter. He turned it over in his hands and narrowed his eyes, before pushing it into his pocket.

“Who’s it from?” Mikasa asked.

“Zeke. Came through the secret channels, we’ve already read over it, we recreated the envelope for you. There’s nothing helpful in it, just him wanting to get to know his brother.”

“Pen pals with the monkey now?” Levi scoffed.

“Also the Azumabitos sent their reply.” 

“And?” 

“No good. Looks like we can't turn to Hizuru. It seems they want to monopolize Paradis Island's resources. They won't help us trade with others.”

“The world wants Paradise Island to be the root of all evil. It helps to unite all nations and brings stability to the world.” Annie sighed

“So, we've got no choice but to rely on the rumbling and sacrifice Historia?” 

“That's right.” 

“You're kidding!” 

“They decided we're devils without knowing our intentions? Why won't they consider a path of peace?” 

“I think... because they don't know. They fear us because they don't know what we are. That's right. They won't trust people whose faces they haven't seen.” Armin muttered.

“So let's meet 'em! If you don't understand something, go figure it out! Isn't that what we Scouts do?” Hange beamed wildly and Reiner and Annie exchanged a nervous laugh.

The sun dropped from midday to evening and Armin piloted the train back along the tracks, Levi had abandoned them to join Hange, and somehow Ymir had joined them. These labour days were honestly a blur to Reiner.

“Make a base in Marley and infiltrate, huh? Hange sure has a plan for everything.” 

“I'll be able to chow down on real Marleyan cuisine!” 

“Yeah? What should I bring? It would stink to get the runs. Stomach medicine, toothbrush, a taste of home…” 

“Did you even hear Hange's plan?” 

“Well, imagine this.” Reiner smiled, reclining in the carriage.“Pretty much all of us back together again. The 104th.” Everyone looked around, minus Historia and the deceased, it was everyone. All their friends, all their comrades. Together in one spot. 

“Feels like ages since we’ve all been in one spot…”

Silence passed over the group for a time, more or less just… looking at each other, taking in the situation, but… then the situation became the thoughts of the moment.

“If the world knows that we want peace, maybe something will change. If only we had more time.” Armin sighed

“I've got just over five years left. We're gonna have to decide who inherits my Titan soon.” Eren sighed.

“Five years? Gee what a luxury.” Ymir scoffed.

“Me too… and Annie…” Reiner grumbled. “Five years left… honestly I thought I’d be scared by now-”

“I will.” Mikasa said bluntly. “I’ll inherit Eren’s Titan.” Mikasa loved Eren, and the idea of becoming one with him obviously drove her, but also that it would be her that said goodbye to him and not having to see someone else be him. A way of easing her suffering perhaps?

“Not you. We still don't know what the Ackermanns are. And won't it hurt any plans with Hizuru if you become a Titan? No, for so many reasons.” Jean explained, almost aggressively, but he loved her, so it was obvious that he wouldn’t want her shortening her life.

“Then who will?”

“Me.” Jean continued. “First of all, I'm way smarter than Eren. Instead of a suicidal maniac, you'll have a gifted leader who shows good judgment in all situations. In other words, me. I hate getting an Eren hand-me-down, but who better than me?” Great job stroking your own ego.

“Someone that amazing we don't wanna lose in 13 years, moron.” Connie blurted out.

“Huh?!” 

“You should aim to be a regiment leader. I'll inherit Eren's Titan. It works out good, right?” 

“Connie... That's not good at all. You're an idiot.” Sasha sighed.

“Eh?” 

“Don't "eh" me. We can't leave such an important role up to an idiot.” All the while the smile on Reiner’s face grew

“Eh?”

“Doggone it... I'll inherit it. I've got combat experience... I'm someone you can trust... By process of elimination, it's gotta be me.” Reiner actually felt that she’d be better as the Jaw or Beast Titan, given her experience as a hunter and understanding of animals. 

“You guys…” Eren muttered. 

“I dun wanna. I sure dun wanna though.” 

“Wait, huh? Isn't that weird?” Connie sat up, having slumped over after Sasha’s insults. 

“What?” 

“Well, you know... You said an idiot's not fit for the role.” 

“Hmm?” 

“You're more of an idiot than I am, so you're contradicting yourself.” 

“Huh?” 

“Huh...?” 

At that moment the entire cart burst out laughing, except for the two morons who started laughing because everyone else did. It was truly a heartwarming sound.

“I don't want any of you to inherit it.” Eren eventually sighed. 

“Why not?” 

“Because you're important to me. More than anyone else. So, I want you to have long lives. Even you two, Reiner, Annie.”

“Huh?! What are you turning red for?!” Jean, crimson in the face pointed at Eren wildly and then looked around the cart, everyone was awkwardly blushing. “The hell kinda mood is this?!”

“Sorry. Jean, it's sunset. It's making our faces red.” Armin chuckled, diverting the mood.

Jean slumped back into his seat. “Oh. Nothing we can do about the sun.”

The train trundled on.

With a hiss it pulled up into the makeshift station, Hange was talking with Levi there. Their voices hushed. Everyone hopped out of the train and began to head off in their own directions. Reiner reached out and grabbed Eren’s arm to stop him from leaving.

“Eren. Have a minute? We need to talk.” 

“What about? Gonna tell me you’re the Armoured Titan?”

Reiner chuckled.

“No, this is more serious.”

“Hey… you guys… did that sound like Eren to you?” Connie muttered, staring out of the window as rain smashed against it.

“What do you mean?”

“Well… the guy that said we were the most important thing in the world to us a year ago… Why would he risk our lives like that? Hell he was expecting Reiner and Mikasa to just turn up.”

“Why wouldn’t he, it’s a basic assumption that we’d come and rescue the founder.” Armin muttered.

“Yeah… but did you see his reaction to Sasha? Do you know what he did when I told him she’d died?”

Silence.

“He laughed! Like the whole thing was one big fucking comedy!”

“No.” Reiner objected quietly, lifting his eyes from the book he was reading, and taking off his glasses. “When Eren laughs, it's a different noise. Whoever laughed then, wasn’t Eren.”

Everyone’s eyes rose to look at him.

“You mean…?” Armin’s eyes widened in shock.

“Chances are… that was a previous inheritor, maybe even Grisha Jaeger.”

“Grisha hated Marleyans enough to do something like that perhaps.” Jean agreed.

Connie rubbed his head. “This is all too damn complicated. But until he tells me otherwise I’m gonna blame him.”

“Connie…”

Reiner closed his book and left the room without another word, glasses back on his face. He’d assumed his eyesight must be deteriorating, since he couldn’t see Eren when he looked at the husk they’d picked up in Liberio.

Tomorrow he’d go and see Eren, with, or without permission. But first…

He made his way home.

Reiner had left the military around a year prior, just after Eren vanished. However his place was reinstated when he was drafted into the Liberio invasion. He’d received an honourable discharge and been paid handsomely for his efforts. He had a home in Shiganshina. It was quiet, being a family home with one resident. He had imagined a place in there for other people, maybe adopting an orphan or…

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes as he closed the door behind him.

“Eren… EREN. EREN!” He yelled into the dark of the empty house. “I know you’re there! Stop ignoring me!”

…

No response.

“PLEASE!”

…

“WHY? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?! YOU PROMISED THIS WOULDN’T HAPPEN! EREN?! EREN! I did everything you asked… so… so why? Why is everything still happening the same way? I became a soldier, just like you asked…”

“Reiner… you’re not a soldier… you’re a warrior.”

Chapter Text

“Braun! Braun!”

“Any comments on the situation with Eren Jaeger?!”

“Sir, comments?!”

“Why has Eren been locked up?!”
“What Eren did was for the good of Eldia, right?!”

“You’re one of his closest friends right?! What’s your opinion on the matter of his arrest?!”

“Who the hell told the media?!” Reiner growled as he stormed into the meeting room. Making some of the cadets serving wine and coffee jump

“What?” Nile blinked. 

The assembly was a small response meeting following the arrest of Eren and the assault on Liberio.

“Reporters have been hounding me all the way here, there’s crowds outside every military installation. Someone leaked.”

The assembly exchanged worried glances.

“Only the scouts and higher ups in this room knew. Did you tell the media anything?!”

“No sir.”

“Good. Commander Hange is currently with Eren Jaeger at the moment, then we’ll convien an extra meeting about this new situation.”

“On that matter-” Reiner interjected. “I want to meet with Eren.”

“Pardon?”

“Something about what he did, I need to speak directly to him, and I know he will speak to me.”

“Just like how you asked me to let you speak to Yelena? Absolutely not. Certainly not while this situation is currently going on.” Zackery muttered.

Speak to Yelena? What was he talking about?

“Not that we assume you to be the mole, however it is a precautionary measure. Surely you understand.”

“I understand that you can’t stop me.”

“You don’t know where Eren is, soldier, and I don’t appreciate that tone.”

“We are balancing! On the edge of a conflict with the world and with ourselves. Keeping Eren’s imprisonment a secret was wrong! Has Historia-”

“Queen Historia has been informed.”

“You… met without her?”

“Quite frankly, Marleyan-” A vulgar looking MP muttered guzzling on wine spat. “-The whore-Queen isn’t in a state to rule a country. Too busy getting herself knocked up by her filthy whore wife.”

“Drunk alr-”

Reiner’s fist had never moved faster in his life. Punching through the bottle and into the man’s skull, breaking his nose and definitely part of his face, glass pierced his knuckles, making them steam.

“Her name is Queen Historia and you will refer to her as such and only as such.” Reiner kicked downwards and broke his leg, other MPs rushed forward to restrain the Titan. “And I’ve done more for this country than you ever will!”

The MPs dragged him out of the room, and then tossed him out onto the street.

“Honestly…” Zackery sighed. “He deserved that but still… that wasn’t like the Braun I am used to… I fear we may be losing control of our Titans.” He mused.

Nile, helping the injured man up into the arms of other MPs, sighed audibly. “That’s your first mistake Premier, assuming that we control them, and not the other way around.”

Floch helped Reiner to his feet. 

“Been a while since I’ve seen you on your ass.” Floch smirked.

“Well don’t get used to it.” Reiner pushed him away softly.

“So, did they tell you where Eren is?”
“No… they suspect me of being the leak.”

“Did they already know?”
“They do now. Floch… you leaked it didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Floch smiled widely. “It’s all part of the plan.”

“There’s a plan now?”

“Yes, Eren has a plan, and he’s filled me in on the finer details.”

“If Eren has a plan, then we don’t need his location. He’ll free himself using the Warhammer. I’ll speak to him once he gets out. You just keep your head down and out of trouble, they can’t kill Eren, but they can kill you.”

And the two men headed their separate ways. Floch’s words burned in his mind. Reiner didn’t understand a word he’d said, and yet knew the exact responses to give him. He gripped his head and stumbled out of the alleyway. The sun burnt his eyes so he slunk back into the dark between the military building and the houses and sat down, keeping his eyes shut. He brought his knees up to his chest and gripped his head. Trying to silence the burning in his mind.

“Reiner.”

“Reiner!”

“What are you doing? Get up.”

“No… No… shut up…”

It was him.

“Go away! I’m not you anymore! Please! Let me be… me! For just a little longer…”

“Reiner. The fight isn’t over yet.”

“Yes. It is! For me it’s over! So please- LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Reiner, your thoughts?”

“H-Huh?”

He blinked, they were in a meeting. Levi Squad, minus Levi himself, and Hange were there.

“Oh who the leak could be?”

“I don’t exactly agree with him being here, he could assault one of us at any moment.”

“While I don’t agree with his actions I agree with the reason. I’m not Erwin, I will criticise you for the lack of control you exercise over your men. Letting them drink that Marleyan wine all day.”

“Wait… what?” Reiner blinked and then grabbed Hange’s shoulder. “What do you mean Marleyan Wine?!”

The door flung open as someone ran in in a panic, their face pale and their eyes wide.

“Eren Jaeger has escaped!!”

The meeting had been called over the situation with the public. Zachery had been killed in an explosion which only whipped the public into more action against the military. The group was highly radical and were being called Jaegerists. Floch and several other scouts had been arrested over leaking information about Eren to her public. The majority were scouts but some MPs, some Garrison. They truly were balancing on a rope above the flames.

Ymir slumped into her chair as everyone began shouting and barking orders over the arrest of Eren. Her skin was looking pale and very withered now. Her term was dripping away like the grains of sand. Her hourglass cracked and was ready to shatter. First Gabi and Falco, now Eren, Ymir. Everything right now, all of it weighed on him.

“Reiner…” Hange ripped him from his thoughts with a gentle muttering of his nap, holding his arm. “You mentioned the wine, why?”

“It… it wouldn’t be the same wine but… it’s a tactic we’ve used in the past. Wine infused with Zeke’s spinal fluid.”

“Spinal fluid?! But nobody has seized up yet, we would have noticed if it was in the wine.”

Reiner raised a confused eyebrow.

“What are you talking about? That’s not a thing… oh no…”

Realisation dawned on them all.

“But we don’t know that yet!” Jean objected. “It could just be wine!”

“It could be, but we need to check! There’s a restaurant in the city which is run by a captured Marleyan right?”

“Niccolo.” Connie corrected. “They serve that fancy wine there too.”

“Shit… Shit…”

“Go without me… I’ve not got the energy for all this.” Ymir ordered.

“Reiner, help Ymir back to the palace and then make your way to the restaurant to join us.” Hange said before rushing out of the room with the rest of the squad rushing after them. Leaving him alone with Ymir. He lifted the Queen’s arm over his shoulder and helped her up to her feet and shuffled slowly towards the door.

“Heh… guess I’ll be leaving Historia open to you soon…” She coughed and chuckled dryly. “But that’s no excuse. I’ll come back to life to kick your ass if you try it.”

Reiner smiled and chuckled.

“I don’t know if a corpse would win that fight.”

“Then I’ll have my inheritor do it.”

“...”

“...”

“Do you want someone to inherit your power?”
“Well it’s what we should do right?”

“Surely you’d prefer to die at home with Historia right? Not in some cave…”

“Ha… as far as I’m concerned, I ain’t dying. Just going on to the next place.”

“Heaven?”

“Nah… that place I saw when I was reborn, it’s calling to me.”

Reiner smiled as he helped her through the crowded streets. Men in fancy suits and women in poofy dresses contrasted heavily with their simple suits.

“Remind me.”

“It was a land of endless sand, hills and valleys of dirt and dust, stretching off for mines, but I know the rest of the world is out there. Off in the distance there were a thousand statues being built out of the mud, but the greatest thing was the cloudless sky of stars, and the glowing tree in the centre.”

“Glowing tree?”
“Yeah… Like a great column of blue and white light.”

Reiner paused. He knew that. He knew exactly what she was talking about. That place, he’d been there, once before. The day of the scouting expedition when Annie attacked. Eren took him there to make him choose, and through it he saw a possible future he might have attained had he not been such a coward, as well as the future he was supposed to follow. Now he was in neither of those futures. Who knew what path he was on.

“Seen that place too, haven’t you?” Ymir cut through his thoughts.

“Huh?”

“Yeah you have. I wasn’t alone, there was this figure off in the distance. For a while, I thought it might have been Historia.”
Again, he knew exactly what she meant. Sat in the dirt watching a blonde girl construct his future body, for decades in a moment.

“Reiner, drop me off at the Station.”

“What?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m supposed to take you home.”

“I’m not going home, not yet. I’m gonna head to Shiganshina.”

“Why?”

“...I need to be there.” Something in her voice sounded… different. Regardless, he obeyed her orders and diverted from their previous path.

As they walked, his mind drifted to the glowing tree. The nine major branches which branched off into their own paths. Paths. It was said that all subjects of Ymir were linked to the founding titan by paths; it's why the founder was known as the coordinate, since all paths led to it. He remembered waking up there, a lifetime ago, feeling the sand upon his body as he rose up and looked at the stars. He was scared, a scared child that learned just how big the world really was. He watched as a new branch formed on the many armed trees. His branch. He could see where it intersected with other fresh branches. Bertholdt’s branch. Annie’s branch. Pieck’s branch. Marcel’s-

How long had it been since he thought about Marcel? It used to be all that consumed him. An image replaying over and over in his mind, until he snapped. Until he ceased to be who he knew he was and became two different men. Reiner and Marcel; traumaborn introject. But those words, to which did they apply? Because Reiner knew he was a different man now, perhaps Marcel was the man he used to be. The boy who woke up in that sandy place. He wasn’t himself anymore. He could feel it again, those empty spaces in his memory, finding himself dressing differently to how he used to, people acting differently around him; Floch for example. Marcel was undoubtedly back.

Ymir noticed his grim expression.

“What’s up big guy?”

“Why would the guy who broke the wall risk his life to save Connie? Everything he does is contradictory, but he doesn't realise it himself. I don't know why he ended up like this, but probably... He was originally a warrior whose goal was to break the wall, but… after pretending to be a soldier for so long, he lost sight of who he was and couldn't tell which one was real. No... Unable to bear the weight of his sins, he convinced himself he was a soldier protecting the wall to maintain emotional balance within his own heart. And in the end, he believed it. As a result, his heart was split and his memories broken. This must not be the first time Reiner's talked and made no sense… judging by Bertholdt's grim expression. I think we’re not talking about one person, but possibly upwards of three.” Those had been Ymir’s words years ago. She might have been wrong about the numbers, but she was right about everything else.

“I…I don’t know who I am anymore…” 

He trailed off, before swallowing. Ymir was someone he could trust with this, she had an act that she hated him but they were deep friends since the tower. The only person he was closer to was Eren; though he doubted that now.

“R-Remember the forest of giant trees? How…How you said that I’m broken? Well for a time I was fixed, but now? Now I just don’t know…”

“Who am I speaking to right now?”

“Reiner Braun.”

“Who else is in there?” Ymir pulled him to a stop in an alleyway and sat down on a crate.

“Marcel… maybe others?”

“Hm… it’s not unheard of… but these multiple personality things… they aren’t well respected or known about… so…” She coughed, wiping blood from her lips. Her hair was thinning and bleaching grey. “Thanks for trusting me. Honestly I don’t know how it works, but I think you need to get it under control, get yourself under control. Be the person you want to be, not the person the situation requires.”
“Who I want to be?”

“I’ll ask you again, who are you?”

“Who do you want to be?”

“BRAUN! You’re a mockery to this program! Who do you want to be?”

“I want to be a warrior!” It was his voice… but younger.

“I can’t hear you?”

“I WANT TO BE A WARRIOR AND MAKE THE MOTHERLAND PROUD!”

“Reiner… I lied about my brother, I ruined his reputation so you’d get the Armour, so that my brother wouldn’t die. I’m sorry. You were never supposed to be a warrior.”

“You need Marcel? Then I’ll be Marcel!”

“Who do you want to be, Reiner?”

“A coward?”

“Ready to be a hero?”

“Reiner, sit down.” Eren said calmly.

“Why did you pull me aside like this, we’re busy.” Reiner raised an eyebrow but obeyed, sitting down in the chair in Eren’s residence.

“I’ll speak plainly, I plan to depose the government and use the rumbling to wipe out the world.”

Reiner was stunned into silence.

“Doing so would require someone of royal blood, and so I plan to go to Marley’s mainland to meet with Zeke, there I’ll trick him and use him until I can become the rumbling. He is powerless due to his royal blood, so I’d be in complete control.”

“Eren…”

“Of course I can’t do it alone. I need your help, Reiner, to avenge the fallen, to liberate Eldia.”

“Eren that’s… that’s genocide! You’d judge everyone outside the walls as criminals?! What about children? Azumabito? Our fellow Eldians?”

“Reiner, don’t play games, you’ve lived in that world, you and you alone understand that this must happen.”

Reiner had seen him, the man with the same eyes as him, the man who worked in the same barracks his mother had. It was his father. Yet despite his rank making him equal to a Marleyan, the man wanted nothing to do with him. He left that day. All his life he’d been spat at in the streets. Openly been called filthy, even with permission to leave the walls of the interment zone he’d been beaten for being outside his zone. Even with the red armband on, he was still treated like scum. As long as labels exist, nobody can see past them.

His face darkened, his voice deepened.

“I understand. This world is cruel. It doesn’t deserve the chance to repent. What do you need me to do?”

“Gather allies, those we can trust.”
“The new recruits who joined after seeing you be a hero, they’d be the most pliable. Floch is particularly xenophobic after Shiganshina, he might work.”
“And, I need an audience with Yelena.”

“I don’t know if I can arrange that, even with my rank in the military.”

“I don’t need you to arrange it, just get her in a room with me and make her talk.”

“Why did you assault Yelena?!” Hange demanded, he felt everyone’s eyes on him.

“It was the only way to get information out of her, I now have a good picture of her and Zeke’s motives, a picture we didn’t have before. Any means necessary.”

Many of the younger soldiers and recruits nodded in agreement.

“Reiner, we aren’t bloodthirsty monsters.”
“Yet we are devils, are we not?”

“Reiner...” They said it like a disappointed mother.

“It’s fine. I’ll take the fall for it. Honorary discharge. Not like I could go to Marley with the rest of you, I’m too recognisable.”

“Eren-” Marcel grabbed Eren’s hand before he boarded the boat. “For Reiner’s sake, can you at least try to pursue a more peaceful path? If one doesn’t exist, then go ahead, but exhaust every method until then.”

“If the world gives me an alternative, then I will look for alternatives. I’ll try to not let the memories of the former Attack Titan’s influence me.”

Marcel knew how to lie, and he knew Eren was lying.

“Eren. Tell me the truth. What’s the end goal of all of this? You aren’t the type of person to wipe out all of humankind.”

“Didn’t you hear me?”
“On the other side of the wall, there's a sea. On the other side of the sea is freedom. That's what I always believed. But I was wrong. On the other side of the sea are enemies. Every part of this is exactly how I saw in my dad's memories…… Hey, if we kill all our enemies over there, will we finally be free?”

“Yeah? So what? You aren’t living your own life, you're living in your father’s shadow. I know what it’s like to not be yourself. See the world through your own eyes. Please.” He pleaded, tears welling to his eyes. Who was speaking now, neither could tell.

“Fine… but the future is already written, nobody can escape their destiny.”

“It’s not written, we have a chance to change it if only we choose who we want to be!”

Eren’s eyes widened.

“We still have a choice, to sever our past, to forge our future! But that only begins if we leave it, if we resign ourselves to thinking we’ve been robbed of a choice, then we lose. Eren, I know you’ve seen what’s to come. So have I.” Reiner now. “I know what’s coming and I can’t let you do it. I have to… I have to stop it. But I can’t fight you, you know why, so I’m begging you; look for a different path, if you try you can find it.”

The ship left the harbour, carrying away the future. Reiner spent almost a week at the dock, waiting for it to come back, and when it did; Eren wasn’t with them. He’d left them once he learned that the Eldian liberation front were anti-Paradis. Reiner the hypocrite. He had allowed himself to fall into destiny instead of defying it. Sure things were different, but not to the extreme Eren had shown him years ago. It was too late for him, but maybe not for Eren. He hoped desperately that Eren’s journey would bring him closure.

And Eren… he laughed. He asked what her final words were, and laughed.

He remembered from his memories of his previous life that Eren had changed visibly upon hearing Willy Tybur’s speech. Perhaps that was the moment that Eren had decided to give up? Or maybe…?

He’d been told before, the day that Eren awoke the founding titan’s power inside him, that he’d laughed. Hannes had been like a father to him and was killed the same way his mother was, in front of him, while he was powerless to stop it. He’d laughed.

It’s what he did, it’s how he responded to trauma. 

Reiner had believed that they’d brought a devil back, not Eren, but in actuality, Eren had been back, for the briefest moment. But not anymore, the Eren they were facing was no longer their friend. Like Reiner, he’d become someone else. Someone lost to the path that they had to walk. Lost to fate. Lost to destiny. In other words, a slave.

“T-Tell me who! Who the hell would want to kill people by their own choice?! Who the hell would like doing this sort of thing?! Do you think I wanted to do this?! People hate and despise us... We've done such terrible things, we deserve to die. Things we'll never be able to take back... But... we just... couldn't come to terms with our sins. The only time we had some respite... was when we pretended to be soldiers. That's not a lie! Connie! Jean! It's true we may have deceived everyone, but it's not all a lie! We really considered you comrades! Neither of us have any right to even apologise. But... someone... Please... Someone, please... Someone find us!”

Bertholdt.

“Reiner?” Ymir asked weakly.

“No.” Marcel responded coldly.

“Oh… I think I can make it from here on my own. Just, promise me one thing? Historia… she’ll be safe, right?”

“Eren plans to keep her safe.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

The Jaw and the Armour went their separate ways. Ymir headed to the Shiganshina-bound train station and Reiner headed to Niccolo’s restaurant. There he met up with the rest of the Jaegerists and Eren himself, neither man responding to the other’s presence. The scouts were arrested and the group headed to where the story began so long ago, Shiganshina.

Chapter Text

“REINER!” Gabi screamed as Marcel walked calmly into the room with Eren.

“The brat who killed Sasha. You’ll be coming with us.”

“REINER WHY DID YOU BETRAY US?! YOU WERE MY HERO!”

“...”

“Grab her.” Eren commanded the soldier who stood in the room only for the soldier to give a muffled cry. Pieck Finger, the cart titan had slit his throat. She raised a gun at Eren calmly.

“Gabi, grab his gun. Neither of you two move.”

“I was wondering how long it would take you to get here.” Marcel mused. “I found your footprints, assumed you’d come straight for Eren.”

“Silence, or I’ll pull the trigger.” Pieck said, with full intention of doing. Neither man responded for almost a minute.

“You won’t.” Eren finally said calmly, walking towards the cart until his head was touching the barrel. “You can’t kill me, you have to eat me, and to do that you have to transform.”

Soon enough they were walking up the stone stairs. Men rushing about to strap on ODM gear and ready themselves for the coming fight. As if they knew what was about to happen. Pieck pointed back at Eren and fire rained from the clouds. Marleyan blimps descended from the sky and began dropping bombs on Shiganshina, turning the town into a sea of flames. Soldiers raised their guns at Pieck and Gabi and Pieck smiled, not afraid to die. But Eren raised a hand calmly, not looking at her but at the airships descending from the sky. Marcel could see it, Eren was confused. As if this was something which wasn’t supposed to happen.

Suddenly Reiner felt a pulling sensation in his chest and he was face to face with Eren, a different Eren, older, and calmer. No rage bubbling beneath the surface, but calm and calculated. Eyes which looked ancient.

“This is it? Isn’t it?”
“The final choice.”

Reiner looked to his left and saw… himself. Beard and all. Glaring at Eren. He was taller than himself, and as he looked down he noticed he was wearing the old scout’s uniform. How old was he now? The age he was at when he betrayed the world for Eren. Could he do that again? Could he sit by knowing all that was about to happen would be his fault.

“W…What do you want me to do?” Reiner begged.

“No. You have to make the choice.”

“How can I?! How can I choose?! I’ve never been able to make choices myself! I’m a soldier, I follow orders! I’m a slave to those above me.”

He knew that this was different. This was all in his head. The city around him burned. A sniper had hit Pieck in the hand allowing him to transform without killing Gabi. Paratroopers descended into the burning city, armed with anti-titan weapons. ODM gear soldiers shot about. His world was crumbling around him. Burning to ash and filling his lungs.

“You have to make the choice. I’ve been telling you this all along. It isn’t up to me, or anyone else, Reiner. Only you can resolve the conflict inside yourself. Soldier? Warrior? Who are you?”

“But the only choice for me now… is to face the consequences of my actions… and as a warrior… fulfil my duty to the bitter end!”

He had said those words on top of the wall. To Eren. Years ago. It was the truth he had forgotten after so long. Duty. As a warrior, he had a duty to defend the world. As a soldier he had the duty to defend his people. What was armour if not something to protect people? He was armour. He was a shield. He was the one to make the choice.

“Oh... I see... You guys... You guys... are neither soldiers nor warriors. You're just murderers. You're psychotic mass-murderers who've killed countless innocent people who never did anything wrong!”

He was right. But this meant that he would have to side against Eren.

He couldn’t let Eren and Zeke meet, because then Eren would destroy the world. But he couldn’t let Eren be killed.

Reiner turned and ran, he and Yelena were the only ones on the roof by now. Reiner sprinted down into prison cells where his friends awaIted.

“REINER!” Armin ran to the bars. “WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
“Eren plans to use the rumbling to wipe out the entire world.” Reiner blurted out, knowing it wasn’t the answer to Armin’s question. “Also we’re under attack by Marley.” He didn’t have the keys to their cell. So he grabbed onto the bars and let out a roar as he bent them wide enough for everyone to pass through. Connie’s fist collided with his jaw almost immediately.

“CONNIE!”

“Floch said you were on his side! How the hell can we trust you now?! That makes twice you’ve betrayed us!”
“I know, I’m not looking for forgiveness. I have my reasons for siding with Eren, but I don’t agree with that goal.”

“You’re going to fight Eren?”

“Zeke isn’t here, so… I’ll have to.”
“Eren’s a stubborn bastard.” Jean said calmly. “Are you sure you can take him on? I know exactly how you feel, Reiner.”

“Reiner, how can you be sure that’s Eren’s actual goal? He could have just told that to the other Jaegerists to win them over?” Armin argued hopefully. 

“Because he told me himself.” Reiner slumped against the wall. “When he asked me to found the Jaegerists.”

Everyone looked at him in shock.

“You guys need to defend Eren from Marley. They have anti-titan weapons which will shred him. I’ll fight him as much as I can and if Marley can kill Zeke, then all we need to do is win the fight.”

“I don’t believe you.” Armin said, to everyone’s surprise. “This is the same guy who told us that the things he cares about most in the world was us. Why would he wipe out the world in our names?”

“It’s not your name he’s doing it in. Everyone is a sum of their past. Eren’s past is tangled with his father’s. In many ways he’s more Grisha than Eren now. Grisha hated Marley and the outside world.”

“When then?!” Armin demanded. “When did he cease to be Eren Jaeger?!”

“At the award ceremony after the Battle of Shiganshina. You all said it yourself, after kissing Historia’s hand he… changed. Like he’d just seen something horrible. I think… I think he saw what was to come. I think he’s been trying to find a way to prevent it, and when Sasha died, he gave up. Let Girsha take over.

“I don’t think we have the time to argue anymore.” Jean muttered. “Let’s just… each do what we think is right.”

Silently, Reiner slipped away, walking to the roof. Yelena watched the devastation unfold before her eyes, unmovingly. Orange flames and heat danced around the city. Soldiers on either side were reduced to rest mist and Reiner inhaled. If he did this. There was truly no coming back. He saw Eren’s titan form marching towards the gate calmly. Zeke must be on his way as well. 

Lightning struck and the Armoured Titan appeared, leaping off of the roof of the military headquarters and landing on the ground. The impact took Eren’s attention as Reiner slammed his fist into Eren’s face, sending him flying into a building. Reiner’s mouth opened and he let out an anguished cry and hardened his fingers into claws. Eren rose to his feet and roared backwards. The ground crackled and glowed with energy as Reiner narrowly dodged the white spikes which shot from the earth. Eren opened his hand and a blade as white as bone formed in it, an ODM gear sword. He gripped the hilt with both hands and brought it down on the still dodging Reiner. The impact made a deafening sound as it bounced off of his armour. Reiner kicked upwards, knocking Eren away as he pulled himself to his feet. The blade had left a gash in his plates. A few hits like that and Eren could kill him. Anything he could imagine would form, meaning it was very likely that Eren could form ODM gear that functioned. If Eren had movablity like that… then?

Eren took another swing at Reiner who grabbed hold of Eren’s sword hand and clawed at his face with the other, blood and flesh tore out of the wound as Reiner kept a tight grip on Eren’s offensive hand. His free hand pummelling Reiner’s face. Eren slammed his foot into the ground and Reiner felt a sudden agony as the ground erupted into spikes, peeling the armour from his legs and severing the hand which held Eren in place. Then he brought the sword down to cleave off Reiner’s other arm. Reiner bellowed in anger and fell to the ground outside of the grip of the spikes.

All of a sudden there was an impossible deafening boom and Eren’s skull exploded into blood and sinew. Reiner looked back to see Pieck’s titan form with a massive cannon mounted on its back. He spotted four ODM gear users surging towards it. Connie, Jean, Mikasa, Armin. In quick succession there were two more bolts of lightning. One resulting in a small titan with large claws clambering onto the roof of a building. The other resulted in a deafening crash above them. Sections of the wall ripped through the Marleyan blimps, sending them spiralling into the wasteland of flames. Reiner focused hard, putting all his energy into regenerating his hands without their armour. Eren’s skull was already knitting itself back together as he started to move towards Zeke, now mounted in his Beast form upon the top of the wall.

“NO!” Growled Reiner as his arms finished healing. He pulled himself to his feet only for another bang to rip right through Zeke’s neck. The beast titan fell from the wall to the ground and Reiner seized his opportunity. Charging forward to grab Eren and pin him to the ground. Eren’s legs flailed beneath Reiner’s grip as his arms tried desperately to claw at him. With Eren’s brain still half formed, Reiner was willing to bet he couldn’t use the Warhammer’s power. Reiner used his other hand to rip one of Eren’s off. Showering them both in blood as he simply pinned the other one down. There was another cannon blast as Pieck took another shot. But not at him. Not at Eren. Not as Zeke. Reiner looked up and saw the small form, half intact, flying off of the wall. Ymir. She had charged Pieck and taken a blast straight to her small torso. Reiner couldn’t see where she landed. But he could feel the sting and burn of tears forming in his eyes and evaporating. Eren didn’t even look phased. Still focused on freeing himself.

“Enough Eren. You’ve lost. Give up. With you dead, making peace would be much easier. Please. Just give up and die.” He begged, knowing Eren couldn’t hear him. Eren’s body stalled however, as if Eren was listening. Then Reiner saw it, seconds before the hardened fist collided with his face. Eren had been focusing all his energy not into heading his head, but healing his arm, which slammed into Reiner with enough force to loosen his grip.

“It is time to call the titans.” Zeke’s voice boomed. Reiner looked up at the ape, confused, and horrified. His spinal fluid… it was in the wine!

“No!” Eren cried out, reaching his arm out towards Zeke.

Wait… Eren… didn’t want this?!

He spotted three figures. Humans pleading with Zeke. Falco, the boy who had been with Gabi. Another blonde boy he couldn’t recognise. He spotted Gabi on a horse. What were they doing?

Reiner didn’t have the time to think. Zeke roared, a golden light and intense wave of force escaped his open maw. Falco began to glow and lightning struck him and almost 100 people across the city. When the smoke cleared, there were countless titans now tearing into the Marleyan soldiers. Completely ignoring the Eldians. Falco’s titan locked eyes with Reiner and charged towards him. Reiner used his free hand to grip onto Falco’s elongated neck and hold him down. The vile looking creature struggled and growled. But with Eren’s two arms now free, he could struggle much harder, and regenerate his head. Reiner couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t fight back. He couldn’t beat them both. If he focused on Eren, Falco would kill him. If he focused on Falco, he would easily kill him. It was then when he locked eyes with Gabi, looking up at his, her face a mess of dirt, sweat and blood. Tears ran down her face as she wailed in grief. Could he kill him? Right in front of her? She loved him, it was clear. He looked down at Eren, could he kill him? It was the only way now.

Falco freed himself while Reiner was distracted and used his powerful jaws to bite down on Reiner’s nape. Chipping the armour and cracking it. If it continued, he’d eat Reiner. But then… then he’d live and Gabi could live with the boy she loved. Why was he thinking like this? Why did he care so much that she was happy? He barely knew her… 

Perhaps… It was because they were the same. Falco and he. Chasing after the person they had fallen in love with, oblivious to their feelings.

A crack rang out and Zeke’s nape was obliterated, his titan rapidly dissolving.

It was over.

Zeke was dead.

Reiner relaxed. His grip on Eren’s neck releasing, his nape’s hardening vanishing.

But the tension on his nape vanished too. Falco’s titan pulled away. It had spotted something. He turned and caught eyes with her. Limping forward. Ymir. Drenched in blood, half dead, and missing a foot.

“Heh… guess I’ll be leaving Historia open to you soon…” She coughed and chuckled dryly. “But that’s no excuse. I’ll come back to life to kick your ass if you try it.”

Reiner smiled and chuckled.

“I don’t know if a corpse would win that fight.”

“Then I’ll have my inheritor do it.”

“...”

“...”

“Do you want someone to inherit your power?”
“Well it’s what we should do right?”

“Surely you’d prefer to die at home with Historia right? Not in some cave…”

“Ha… as far as I’m concerned, I ain’t dying. Just going on to the next place.”

“Reiner, drop me off at the Station.”

“What?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m supposed to take you home.”

“I’m not going home, not yet. I’m gonna head to Shiganshina.”

“Why?”

“...I need to be there.”

“Called it.” Ymir smirked as she limped forward. “You always were a useless asshole, Reiner. But I’m glad you finally made your choice. I’m glad for a lot of things. My kids. Historia. All my friends. Being reborn was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I don’t know who I was supposed to be, but being Ymir, was the greatest decision I never made.”

“YMIR RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!” Reiner begged and screamed. He knew what was coming, but he couldn’t stop it.

“And hey, it was fun being a goddess, while it lasted.” She smiled, the wings of freedom visible on her military attire. Queen-Consort Ymir Reiss. Born a slave, reborn a titan, died free. She died with a smile on her face as Falco’s titan swallowed her whole.

“YMIRRRR!!!!!” He roared so hard the words escaped his titan form. With nothing to hold him back from pummeling Eren he brought his fist down right onto Eren’s skull. But Eren caught him in between his teeth and hardened his body into crystal, trapping Reiner. Eren appeared out of the back and began sprinting towards Zeke’s corpse. Why? Why was he still struggling? Was Zeke…

He caught sight of the blonde hair and roared, pulling himself free and surged forward only for his arm to be hit by a thunderspear. He felt the pain shoot through him as the javelin embedded itself into his flesh. Then, his arm exploded into blood and bone. They truly were weapons designed to kill him, because they tore his arm apart like it was nothing. Eren was almost there, there was no hope now. The Eren stalled and he caught sight of the small girl holding the oversized rifle. Gabi. She fired and the blast shot straight through Eren’s neck, causing his head to come spinning off. The whole world froze and Eren’s life seemed to end before his eyes. Eren’s severed head landed in Zeke’s hand and he felt a bolt of electricity rip through his body. A feeling he’d felt once before. When Eren controlled the titans years ago.

An impossible flash of light lit up the city and the earth began to shake, Reiner’s armour broke into fragments, and his energy failed him as he collapsed to the ground, his vision fading as Eren and Zeke were engulfed in light. A great serpent of bone emerged from the light, growing bigger and bigger as the human skull upon the end of it roared. Larger, larger, larger. Bigger than the colossal, perhaps bigger than the Reiss titan. 220 metres to 420 metres tall. A size too large to calculate. Giant ribs shooting out of the spin and colliding with the ground as two long and thin legs grew and began shuffling forward. The spine grew larger and larger, getting thicker and thicker as it did. A ribcage and arms formed towards the end while the back only grew larger and larger. A head of long black hair grew out of the skull and the calls around them collapsed and crumbled to dust. Red raw flesh exposed itself as the horde of colossal titans appeared, and Reiner knew, he just knew, he’d lost.

Chapter Text

Reiner sighed happily as he pulled the bottle from his lips. The group around him erupted into cheers.

“How can you drink like that, man?!” Connie demanded. “Can you even get drunk?!”

“Oh I can feel it and won’t have a good morning, but being a section commander has its benefits.”

“How the hell did you make section commander and I only made captain.” Jean snarled, bottle in hand.

“Hange likes their titans.” Reiner smirked.

The waves lapped against the coast as the group enjoyed the warmth. Levi sat on a wooden chair, his entire body in it to avoid getting sand in his shoes. Hange and Armin were running across the beach, almost like children, competing to see how many seashells they could collect. Reiner couldn’t help but love their naivety. This experience was so new to them. But a Marleyan summer at what little coast the internment zone had, was so much more than this. Magath had once let the warriors enjoy the Marleyan beaches as a reward; probably for flattening a nation, but it had been a good memory. Bertholdt staring slack jawed at Annie in a swimsuit. It wasn’t even anything sexual, it was a child’s red and white striped bathing suit, but to him it was a gift from the founder himself. He elected a glance over to Annie. A simple cloth bra on her chest, her shoulder length hair loose and free, sat on a strip of cloth they had for towels, reading a book. Everything about her was strikingly different now. Loose. Free. Smiling. She’d repaired her relationship with her father, she’d found herself a home, she’d found herself friends, she’d found herself. The other women wore much of a similar outfit to Annie. Lacking the material for more water appropriate attire, they chose to match how Onyonkapon had described the beachwear of his home nation. Which lined up nicely with simple underwear. It was much the same for the men, though Armin kept his normal white shirt on, only unbuttoned, and his trousers on, but rolled up the knees. Hange had matching attire on, but Levi made them button up. Doing a rather good impression of Moblit’s whines. Reiner had long suspected that there was something between the two, but to him it never felt like a romantic love, but it was definitely love all the same. Reiner glanced away from his drinking buddies and Annie to glance at Eren. He was staring off to the sea, Mikasa knitting repairs to her scarf at his side. Of course, in glorious sunshine, she brought her scarf.

Reiner had always been curious about her scarf. He knew they grew up together like brother and sister, at least to his knowledge, but the obsessive way she wore the scarf made him think about their relationship… differently. It stung. Almost made him jealous. He’d heard the story, of course, and couldn’t help but wish that he had a red scarf…

Niccolo’s face burned scarlet when he saw Sasha in such little clothes, his shock caused him to drop the food; luckily Levi caught it, and then smacked the back of the blonde idiot’s head. This was a celebration of two things. Hange’s permission for a Marleyan expedition had been approved, and Reiner would be receiving honourable discharge. He didn’t have long left after all. Maybe what? Four years? Less? He thought about his mother. She didn’t often come into his mind. He didn’t really feel much for her. She had worked in a barracks, and a Marleyan had gotten her pregnant without consent, and from that came Reiner. But rather than just raise her child or get rid of it, she turned him into a weapon for her revenge. She made him a warrior so that she could be an honorary Marleyan, and meet him again. Reiner didn’t matter to her, she didn’t care, he was just a tool, for her vengeance. 

Steam hissed up around him as he stood at the train station. The elite scouts of Levi squad departed. Each of them had a grim look on their face, Jean wasn’t with them, and neither was Eren.

“You what?!”

“There was nothing we could do, Reiner…”

“Yes there was! You could have stopped him!”

“Even if we did, wouldn’t this have happened anyway? His sanity hasn’t been the best since we found the basement.”

“Can you blame him? He’s a kid who’s entire world was crushed, after watching his friend burn to a crisp - what - six hours prior?”

“None of us blame him, we know something was off… just not… what.”

“If there weren’t people like this here… maybe I wouldn’t have become such a half-ass piece of shit!”

“Reiner, you ready?” Jean asked, kneeling on the rooftop while Reiner checked his ODM2. 

“As I’ll ever be.” He narrowed his eyes, everyone from the top brass of the military to lowly reporters from across the world were gathered in the crowd, facing the stage. All in silence as a man reveals the true history of the world. He had a chance, an opportunity, to end Eldian hatred right here, right now, by telling the truth. But instead he pushed his narrative that the island Eldian’s were the spawn of the devil. Hearing that, Reiner’s heart sank. The courtyard lit up with golden light as Eren burst from the back wall, with a great and terrible roar.

Everything was happening as he saw.

“Eren, focus.” Reiner commanded, watching Eren wobble on his ODM gear tethers. “Loose and rigid.”

“Saying that isn’t help-iiiiiiiiinnnng-“ Eren fell forward and smacked his head onto the rocky ground, again.

Reiner chuckled and unclasped him, before pulling the smaller man to his feet.

“It’s a state of mind. You have to be rigid in your conviction, but loose enough to adapt to change. Your hips, keep em straight and rigid, but the rest of you is fluid.”

“Easy for you to say… I have to pass this, otherwise I can’t join the scouts…”

“Why do you want to join the scouts so badly? Surely you can avenge your home as the garrison, preventing another home from being lost?”

“Maybe, but…. I guess being a scout is what I’ve wanted, since I was little. I’ve always wanted to see the world beyond the wall.”

His eyes looked off, even in the distance they could see the shadow of the wall on the horizon.

“Noble goal, but what will you do if it doesn’t live up to your explanations?”

“I… don’t know…”

Reiner had destroyed the wall. That fact was indisputable. But then he had live side by side with the people he victimised, hearing them scream and mourn, while he didn’t even have the time to mourn Marcel. The stress and fear of being found out just built and built. This wasn’t like a normal mission where they knew the brass would rescue them. All they had was each other. Silent out of fear Annie. And anxious Bertholdt. And Reiner? He couldn’t cave to fear. He had to be there for the two, or everything would collapse. He wasn’t allowed fear, or pain, or grief or sadness. He had to focus on his duty as a warrior. He had to forsake everything, for them. Because they were his family, and he would do anything for those he loved. Perhaps that pressure was why his mind broke? The fragments of who he was muddled and manipulated, and all wound up in the roots of the Paths. 

Was that why Eren did it? For the sake of those he loved. Is that why the ground shook unendingly? Is that they Reiner slumped in an alleyway, vomiting? Is that why Ymir died?

He knew all of this. He knew how it went, he knew how it ended, he’d just pretended otherwise, pretended he had freedom, pretended he had a choice. Reiner wasn’t the main character, this wasn’t his story. It was his. This world belong to

“EREN!” He roared, and the space around him faded to black, he was in the paths. Eren standing nearby, expressionless. “WHY?!”

“Why what?”

“Why me? Why all of this? Tell me! Tell me what is going on?!”

Eren took a long sigh.

“I became the founding titan. I crushed the world with the rumbling. Wiped out all life on Earth, but Eldia. Freedom! But… it felt empty. But I had all the power in the world now, and the ability to look at the memories of my past, and the past users of the Attack Titan; and if I used the power of the founder to control them… I could influence the past. So I began doing that, and for over two thousand years, I have been making minute changes to history, mostly in the years following the fall of Shignashina. Everything in aid of finding an alternative. I had the one thing we never had, time. That’s what you are, Reiner, an alternative. A big change. Instead of letting you rot as a half assed piece of shit, I gave you the choice. And yet you still failed to change destiny, everything is a failure, I have yet to find the right person to influence to make a change, the cycle never ends…”

“What cycle?”

“The cycle of hatred. Eldia hated another tribe so they made them slaves, Marley hated Eldia so they made them slaves, Eldia hated Marley so they killed them with titans, Marley hated Eldia so they killed them with titans. Year after year it grows and changes, nobody is willing to learn or talk. So long as there exists a reason to hate or fear eldians, they always will fear and hate us. It’s the one thing that if I change it, we may have a shot at a future.”

“What do you need to change?”

There was no way to describe how he spoke. There was gravity in every syllable. But in this impossible space, everything echoed and vibrated. Everything had weight, but nothing did. His words were hollow and empty.

He raised a hand, and pointed. Off in the distant horizon, like at the sea, stood a little girl.

“She needs to change, and the only way to change her is with love. Is to show her what true love is. My death needs to be done out of love, not hatred. Only then, will I be able to alter her past and prevent the creation of titans in the first place. Then, if they can’t fear us, we can be free.”

Reiner slumped to his knees, caught under the weight of it all. He was nothing. He was meaningless. Just a piece in Eren’s game.

He had dedicated everything to him. Lived in mind splitting agony with the images and moments Eren shared from his future. He had maimed and killed people he cared about. He had tortured Yelena. Founded the Yaegerists. He had… he had… become the half-hearted piece of shit he knew himself to be. And Eren? Felt he was a failure.

With a hiss it pulled up into the makeshift station, Hange was talking with Levi there. Their voices hushed. Everyone hopped out of the train and began to head off in their own directions. Reiner reached out and grabbed Eren’s arm to stop him from leaving.

“Eren. Have a minute? We need to talk.” 

“What about? Gonna tell me you’re the Armoured Titan?”

Reiner chuckled.

“No, this is more serious.”

Chapter Text

Birds chirped overhead. The warm yellow sun was in the sky still, but definitely dropping. It would be gone over the horizon soon. Gone from the endless fields. Paradise. The fields looked golden, in the glow. Leaves cascaded from the tree slowly down. It was dying. About time. That tree had stood for a long time. It deserved rest.

“Seriously?! All the way up here?!” Connie whined. His sympathies were shared by Annie, who was yet again pausing for a breather, with the ever tall Bertholdt watching over her.

“Eren you idiot don’t run off like that!” Jean yelled, trying his best to jog up the hills. His reaction and effort made Marco laugh.

Sasha wasn’t nearly as bothered as her friends, happily jogging in her new clothes. Historia lingered at the back, holding hands with Ymir, making the older girl blush.

Reiner glanced away from their friends, and up towards the tree, it sat at the top of a small hill. Eren was leaning against it. Mikasa was slowly walking over to it, her scarf swayed to life under the gentle breeze. Armin was running to catch up, a big smile on his face.

“Guys come on! Hurry up or you’ll miss it!” Eren called to his friends, who were each still climbing. Reiner’s smile was wide. He couldn’t contain his excitement.

The sun was starting to set. They were running to the tree on the hill. They wanted to see which of them would get there first. Eren shouted that it was a race and took off out of nowhere. Mikasa ran too, but stayed behind him on purpose. Then came everyone else, with Armin in last place. But the breeze was nice and warm. It felt good just to run. Leaves fluttered everywhere, and one could easily think that the reason they were born was so that they could run that race, on that day.

“The end of a lifetime being manipulated, all in the name of growth, without ever knowing it means anything at all. That sounds like freedom to me.”

When Reiner Braun thought of Eren… he thought of questions.

Where are you at? Where have you been? Where are we headed? What did you mean? A bird, a butterfly and her red scarf. Don't make a mess of memories. Just let me heal your scars. The wall, the owl, and forgotten wharf. We're getting older; second, by second, by second. Why, oh, why? Why, oh, why? Don't you wanna stay with me? Why, oh, why? Why, oh, why? Are you giving up on me?

Either way…

He’ll be waiting, waiting for you, to let him hold you under the tree.

When Reiner thought of Eren’s death… he imagined… many things. Steam, smoke and the agony of dozens of titans clawing at his body wasn’t one of them. Spears of hardened flesh embedded in his body, his armour cracked and ripped off. Annie’s screams and yells from behind him. The hideous faces of Gabi, Jean, and Connie. The looming, booming footsteps of the two colossal titans facing off. Reiner was stuck. He had to hold back Life. Otherwise, everything would be for naught. He would block it. Like a true shield. He would protect, like a true set of armour. Eren had called him Humanity’s Armour. The Yaegerists called him Eldia’s Armour. But Reiner was Reiner. With his faults, his fragmented mind, his memories of other lives. He could be half-hearted, he could be Marcel, he could be anything and he’d still be Reiner. That kid, running up the hill to the tree. Not to see the sunset like everyone else, but to see Eren, to see the smile on his face. It stung. It hurt. To know that what he felt, would never be felt back. Part of him hoped that the manipulation of Eren had deliberately caused his heart to get his way.

But no.

This was a fundamental fact of being Reiner Braun.

With a hiss it pulled up into the makeshift station, Hange was talking with Levi there. Their voices hushed. Everyone hopped out of the train and began to head off in their own directions. Reiner reached out and grabbed Eren’s arm to stop him from leaving.

“Eren. Have a minute? We need to talk.” 

“What about? Gonna tell me you’re the Armoured Titan?”

Reiner chuckled, it was reminiscent of that moment, wasn’t it? That felt like a lifetime ago.

“No, this is more serious.”

Eren raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Must be pretty earth shattering.”

“Eren… ever since we met… for the longest time… I… I…” Shit. Best laid plans? Reiner had been up all night memorising his lines too!! Should he pull out his notes and check? No, that would look terrible! His face was beat red.

“Everything okay?” Eren let out a nervous chuckle.

“O-Of course!” Reiner snapped.

Eren only laughed more. That hurt the most.

But that pain quickly subsided as Eren stood on his tip toes and held Reiner’s ears.

“Your ears are red, that means you're lying.”

…

Fuck the script.

“Eren… for a long time now, I’ve felt like only half a man. I’ve felt broken and alone. Yet you’ve always been able to alleviate those feelings. You’re the voice I hear in my head when I’m worried… I… I love you, Eren Jaeger.” 

Mikasa jumped from the back of the winged titan. A thunder spear blasted a hole in Eren’s teeth and she shot inside like a bullet. And the world erupted into steam, and everyone learned what he had learned. He waded through the steam to where Mikasa stood with Armin. Their eyes read with tears. She held his head. Withered and grey, it didn’t even bleed. He knelt and kissed its forehead, and whispered his goodbyes.

“I should go.” Mikasa concluded.

“Go where?”

“If I stayed here… I doubt they’d give Eren a proper burial.”

Armin slowly nodded.

“You’re right. Let him rest somewhere quiet.”

Mikasa was out of tears.

Armin was still crying, though in the steam, they were quickly evaporating. Reiner looked around, at the shadows and ghosts that flitted through the gas. Yellow sunlight sparkled through.

“Eren always liked to nap there, right?” He suggested, not looking at the two; he knew if he looked, he’d cry.

“Yeah… I think it’s a good place.” Armin nodded, his voice barely above a whisper, as the last of his tears flowed. Armin never cried again after today.

Mikasa removed her ODM gear and walked off into the steam, taking Eren’s head with her. 

Reiner walked back towards the others, barely visible through the steam. For a second, he thought he saw Sasha, waving at him.

“I hope the meat is nice, wherever you are.”

He waved back, even if it was just a trick of the light.

He saw Falco tackle Gabi into a hug, which somehow turned into a suplex. 

And he saw his mother.

Her grim, sad expression. In truth, he hadn’t missed it. Or her. This would be the first time they looked at each other in almost eight years. She said goodbye to her son, a boy, and now saw him as a man. Muscular, bearded, and in need of a good long nap, and bath. 

Neither knew what to say, so Reiner just spoke.

“Mom. I… I guess I’m not the armoured titan anymore…”

“Is that so? That’s wonderful.”

She walked close, and slowly put her arms around the stranger claiming to be her son.

“I’m sorry… for everything, Reiner, this is all I ever needed.”

Reiner… wrapped his arms around her, and allowed himself to cry.

Though time passed on, Reiner never returned to Paradise. He felt that his role in the story was over, and he let the others continue it. He went with Gabi, and Falco, and Levi and Onyonkapon to his homeland, which became the seat of power for the Allied Nations, as the least destroyed country. There, they found a field, and carved gravestones. One for Floch, who had died trying to prevent them from leaving Paradise and stop the rumbling. One of Hange, who had died taking out Rumbling Titans so they could launch the flying boat. And one for Eren. Who’d died trying to fight for freedom. Eren’s goal had not been to free all of Eldia. But just one Eldian, trapped by her own childlike, warped understanding of love. Eren predicted that if she saw true love, she’d use the power of the founding titan on her own memories, and have her body not take the spear destined for King Fritz, and the power of the titans would die with her. While that surely made another time where everything was perfect, the power of the titans vanished from this world the moment Mikasa’s blade cut all the way through, even if Eren didn’t die until a few moments later. They say that if you love something, you have to let it go. Reiner was willing to let go of Eren, to let what had to happen, happen. Perhaps that had been what convinced Ymir? Or perhaps it was Mikasa’s feelings? Either way… it was over. Reiner lived a quiet life, in a small village. People treated him like a hero, but he was no warrior, no soldier, he was just their armour. The World’s Armour. Reiner worked in labour, building railroads, since he was surprisingly good at that, and farming. He grew potatoes in a big field by his house; his mother, until her death, sold them in her store. Connie always made fun of him for it, mostly because he suggested the misshapen brown lumps looked like titans; implying he missed the good old days. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Reiner had spent so many years as a broken man, as someone else, as Marcel, as Eren’s puppet. But now he was free to choose and to act. Truly free. One day, he bumped into a man. He had short brown hair, bright eyes, and a white smile. He helped Reiner gather his dropped vegetables, and introduced himself. Reiner felt a slight… flutter in his heart. This was what he lived for now. Because of Eren, he knew the future, but now that Eren was gone, each day came as an entirely new experience. He found himself excited by life and each coming day, and he finally knew for certain, that he knew who he was. There was no doubt that this was freedom.

So there was absolutely no doubt, that Reiner Braun, was free.