AUTHOR'S POV:
Rain came down and thick gray clouds moved in the sky.
Ripped red flags danced in the wind atop the Wall.
Scouts kept watch, using a spyglass.
Christa and Nifa knelt, looking down the Wall, Moblit standing nearby.
"Slowly! Bring it up slowly!" A Scout yelled.
Two soldiers were hanging off the Wall, escorting Ymir being pulled up the stretched.
"Raise it carefully now!" Moblit told them.
Steam rose from the unconscious Ymir. Christa eyed her worriedly.
"How's Ymir?" Eren said, kneeling on the edge of Wall, a small distance away from Christa and Nifa. "What sort of shape is she in?"
"Her right arm and leg were bitten off," Keiji responded, checking his gear. "And her insides are beaten like scrambled eggs. If she was normal, she'd be dead for sure."
'If she was normal, huh?' Eren thought.
Hearing grunts, he followed it to the source.
Reiner was attempted to pull himself up with one arm, sitting in a lift.
"Reiner! Grab on!" Eren said, holding oit an arm.
"Right!" Reiner replied and took his hand and Eren pulled him up, smiling slightly.
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"Please, believe me!" Christa begged Hange. "I'm telling the truth! Ymir transformed into a Titan to fight off the other Titans and save us! She did so with no regard for her own life, which proves her loyalty to us, her comrades!"
Hange listened to her silently, expression neutral.
"It's true that her judgment until now is unforgivable. After all, she may know things useful to humanity and yet she kept quiet about it! I imagine she didn't say anything in order to protect herself. But... now she's a changed person! Ymir is an ally of humanity!" Christa declared firmly. "I know Ymir better than anybody. She's a much simpler person than she looks!"
"I see." Hange replied. "Obviously, I hope we can build a trusting relationship with her." She watched two of her subordinates carry the stretcher holding Ymir. "Her judgment aside, the information she holds is a treasure for humanity. I hope we get along." Hange started walking, Christa following. "But you know, even if she is a simple person, this world becomes more of a confusing mess with every passing day."
Christa didn't reply.
"You said... your real name was Historia Reiss?" Hange asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Yes," Historia replied. "that's right."
"Reiss, as in that noble family?" Hange asked.
Christa stopped, eyes downcast. "Yes."
"I see." Hange said and stepped toward her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We are counting on you, Historia.
"Yeah..."
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"How's Ymir?" Hange asked, joining her squad and Christa ran to kneel by the stretcher.
"She's still in a coma," Moblit responded. "Her bleeding has stopped and we think steam is coming out of her wounds."
Christa brushed some of the hair out of Ymir's face, stroking her hair gently.
"For now, take her back to Trost so she can get some proper medical care. She's in your hands." Hange said.
"Understood," Nifa replied, looking to her squad leader.
"Now then..." Hange said and walked away from them, Moblit following after her. "Our original mission... was to seal this Wall."
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Reiner sat on the ground, rubbing his injured arm.
"Damn, it hurts." Reiner said.
"You alright, Reiner?" Eren asked, crouching by the Wall's edge.
"Not by a long shot." Reiner replied. "A Titan nearly gnawed off my arm. That was... pathetic. I thought I was done for."
Eren kept quiet, eyes shifting down. Armin reached the top of the Wall and Eren grabbed his arm, helping him come over.
"Even someone as strong as you gets this way sometimes." Eren said.
"What are you talking about?" Reiner said strongly. Behind him, Bertolt listened carefully. "This is the second time for me! Tell him, Armin."
"Huh?" Armin said with confusion.
"Remember the time I almost got crushed in that Titan's hand?" Reiner said.
"Oh..." Armin said. "Back then..."
"That makes twice I've nearly died." Reiner said and brought his fist to his face, distressed. "At this rate, I'll be dead before I know it. I picked this path on my own, but being a soldier is rough."
Bertolt stood silently behind him, a little nervous.
"It's like a soldier's spirit breaks down before their body. Though, until we plug up this Wall, there's no time to waste whining about it." Reiner said.
"Yeah." Eren replied and moved away from Armin, looking at Reiner from the corner of his eyes. "You two have been driven far enough away from your hometown." Reiner's breathing shuttered at his words. "I'm thinking... this is where we gotta draw the line."
"He's right, Reiner!" Bertolt said and smiled, talking loudly, surprising them. "Our hometown! Let's return! Isn't it about time to go back?" He knelt before Reiner. "Compared to all the trouble we've been through, what's left to do is nothing!"
"That's right." Reiner replied. A desperate hope appeared on Reiner's face. "We're so close, it's just another few steps till the end."
"Huh?" Eren said with confusion. "What are you guys talking about?"
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A few yards down from them, Connie held up his arm, grunting as he came to the top of the Wall. Mikasa released his hand, crouching before him.
"Thanks, Mikasa." Connie said.
"Are you hurt?" Mikasa asked with Sasha standing behind her.
"I'm fine, but... Reiner got his arm bit and Ymir is as you can see." Connie replied.
The trio looked over to where Christa and Nifa watched over Ymir.
"Who would've thought Ymir was a Titan, too? Does that-" Sasha said.
"Sasha." Mikasa interrupted Shasa, standing in front of her.
"Is everyone clear?" Hange asked, approaching them. "We'll deal with Ymir later. And Connie... I'll arrange for a Scout squad to investigate your village later. For the time being, I want you to focus on the mission to fix the wall. Got it?" Hange placed her hand on Connie's shoulder.
"Got it!" Connie replied.
"Still..." Hange said and went to stand over the edge of the Wall. "I expected this place to be swarming with Titans."
Hearing horses, she looked down.
"Hannes?" Mikasa said, noticing Hannes and two other soldiers riding by.
"It's the Garrison's advance squad," Hange said, eyes wide like the others. "They came to tell us where the hole is."
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"There's no hole anywhere!" Hannes informed them as soon as he brought his head and shoulders over the Wall.
"Huh?" Eren halted, about to help him up.
Everyone had gathered around behind him.
"We spent all night looking for it but... at least between Trost and Krolva District, there's nothing wrong with the Wall." Hannes said.
"What'd you say?" Hange said, disbelieving.
Hannes stood before them. "We bumped into soldiers from Krolva and retraced our steps. We haven't seen any Titans the whole way here."
"But... We know for sure there's Titans on this side of the Wall." Armin said.
"Did you actually look?" Eren asked. "Are you sure you're not drunk?"
"I didn't drink!" Hannes replied heatedly. "Wait, why are all of you here anyways?"
Mikasa, Eren, and Armin only stared. The wind picked up speed.
After a moment, Hange turned around.
"If there's no hole in the Wall, so be it." Hange said and the Scouts began to move away. "For now, we're falling back to Trost District!"
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Mikasa, Eren, and Armin were the only ones still with Hannes.
"Whatever you do, don't let your guard down," Hannes warned them. "We're going back ahead of you." Jumping off the Wall, he flew away.
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"There's nothing wrong with the Wall?" Eren said.
"What could this mean?" Armin said, walking away, chin in hand. "There's been nothing like this in five years." Mikasa and Sasha followed him. "Why is it all happening now? This world is getting more and more out of hand."
"Eren." Reiner's voice stopped Eren. "Have a minute? We need to talk."
"What about?" Eren asked.
"Five years ago, we demolished the Wall and began our attack on humanity," Reiner told him nonchalantly.
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"Oh no... What if there's a Titan that dug a hole underneath the Wall?" Hange theorized, looking up.
"The hole will be hard to find in that case." Moblit said.
"We aren't even aware... what's going on..." Hange said, gasping.
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"I'm the Armored Titan and he's the Colossal Titan." Reiner said and jerked his thumb over to Bertolt.
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"Right now." Hange said. "we need to focus on getting Ymir back safely."
"Even with our horses," Moblit said, "we still have to worry about Titans."
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"Huh? What are you talking about?" Eren asked Reiner.
"Why are you telling him, Reiner?" Bertolt grabbed his bicep, voice quivering.
"Our primary goal was to ensure all of humanity was wiped out," Reiner stated conversely as Mikasa listened behind them. "But now there's no need for that," Reiner went on.
"Uh..." Eren remained clueless.
"Eren. If you agree to come with us, we won't have to destroy any more of the Walls." Reiner said. "Understand?"
"Huh? No, wait!" Eren snapped, annoyed. "I don't understand at all!"
"I'm saying... Why don't you just come with us?" Reiner suggested easily while Bertolt listened with enormous eyes. "I know this is sudden, but we need to go now."
"Right now?" Eren repeated, face reflecting in the puddle with blood staining its edges. "Where will you take me?"
"I can't say that yet. But... Well, it's something like our hometown." Reiner explained.
Mikasa had yet to move from her spot and further behind her, Armin and the other Scouts kept walking.
"So?" Reiner said and shifted closer to him. "What will it be, Eren?"
"Uh..."
"It's not a bad deal, right? You can easily avert this crisis." Reiner said.
"I wonder about that..." Eren replied.
His eyes flitted over to Mikasa, who appeared rather murderous.
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Armin waved his arm, Sasha next to him, and called out.
"Hey! We're leaving!" Armin said.
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'What the hell?' Eren folded his arms, eyes closed, face lifted up to the sky. He opened his eyes, tired, watching the rainfall. 'And here I thought I had enough to think about yesterday...'
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[12 Hours Earlier - Ehrmich District]
Scouts were loading supplies in to a cart in a courtyard.
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"Eren?" Hange called out.
"What is it, Squad Leader?" Eren replied.
"Oh, well... I was finally able to get my hands on the background report for Annie Leonhart." Hange said, holding up the papers.
"Annie's?" Eren asked.
"Yeah." Hange replied.
"It's taken so long to get it because managing these reports is such a mess right now." Hange said. "According to this, there were two others belonging to the 104th Cadet Corps who came from the same area as her. And those two are... Reiner Braun... and Bertoltolt Hoover."
Sasha, Eren, and Armin reacted visibly but Mikasa remaining her cool self as Levi watched without an expression.
"Thanks to the chaos five years ago, pretty much all of their family records are spotty or missing. However..." Hange said.
Hange placed the documents on the table.
"During the long-range scouting formation, their unit was given false information. They were among those purposely told that Eren was in the right wing." Hange explained.
"The Female Titan attacked from the right wing!" Armin said.
"Huh?" Sasha said, turning to Armin. "What does that mean?"
"Then it's possible..." Armin's voice slowed and trailed off at the end. "...they passed on that information to Annie..."
"Why? Why would they tell Annie?" Sasha asked him.
"Hey, hold on a minute, Armin. You are saying-" Eren said.
"I know that, Eren," Hange cut in. "By itself, that's not enough to prove anything. So just in case, I'd like to hear from you how these three interacted during training. Know anything?"
"I knew Reiner and Bertoltolt were from the same place, but... they didn't seem close to Annie." Armin replied.
"I agree. I don't recall ever seeing the pair talking to Annie that much." Eren said, head tilted down. "Well, Annie didn't talk much in the first place."
"When we ate, Annie would always sit alone and munch on food by herself. Oh!" Sasha said and slapped her fist into her hand. "I've got something! I heard a rumor she liked sweets, even though she looks so grouchy!"
"I... don't remember." Mikasa said slowly.
"But... As their comrade, I'd find it hard to believe. Set aside Bertolt, who doesn't say much." Eren said. "Reiner is like everyone's big brother and he's not devious enough to deceive all of us."
"I agree. Reiner gave everything he had fighting the Female Titan with me. He would have gotten crushed in her hand if he hadn't-" Armin stopped abruptly.
"What's wrong?" Eren asked.
"Reiner managed to escape, but..." Armin said, flashing back to the Female Titan staring at her hand before running off as Reiner carried him away. "Annie suddenly changed her course... and ran in the direction of Eren. I..." He thought about him, Faye and Reiner chasing after the Female Titan. "I did mention that Eren might be at the rear of the center rank. But Annie was too far away to hear..."
"Did Reiner seem overly interested in Eren's location?" Hange questioned after pondering it over.
Then realisation hit Armin.
"It can't be..." Armin said with wide eyes, remembering Reiner escaping from the Female Titan's grasp. "I only started talking about Eren's position... because Reiner was the one who asked about it first."
Eren looked at him, stunned.
"Furthermore... when that happened, the Female Titan was staring at her palm. He might have written a message with his blades in her hand. Reiner could've..." Armin said.
Silence fell at his words.
"Really?" Eren asked, breaking the silence, holding his head. "Now, there are 2 more traitors..." He closed his eyes. "I am now afraid to trust my close friends too..."
After a moment, Haneg spoke up.
"Everyone, listen up!" At Hange's words, the soldiers around the table straightened. "Supposing that we find Reiner or Bertolt, act in such a way as to not reveal any suspicions. Of course, do not make any mention of Annie Leonhart either. Regardless if they're Annie's accomplices or not, we need to lead them deep underground and confine them." She placed her hands on the table. "Does everyone understand?"
"Yes!" All of them replied in unison.
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Later Eren rode with the caravan heading for Castle Utgard, expression serious.
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"You're just tired, aren't you?" Eren said, placing his hand on Reiner's shoulder roughly. "Right, Bertolt? You've been through so much, it's making you crazy."
"Y-Yeah," Bertolt stuttered, sweating. "Reiner's just really tired."
"Besides, if you were really the Armored Titan that wants to destroy humanity why would you be asking me this in the first place? What did you think would happen? That I'd nod and say 'Sure, let's go?'" Eren said.
Reiner looked horrified and Bertolt continued to look uneasy.
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The wind pushed the dark gray clouds fiercely.
Mikasa had yet to move as Armin and the others kept moving.
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"Oh, right." Reiner finally spoke. "That's right." Beads of sweat covered his face. "What the hell was I thinking? Have I really gone crazy?"
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Suddenly, the wind picked up speed. The flagpole broke and noisily fell down the Wall, hitting it and shattering the silence. Eren gasped, looking over his shoulder.
Sunlight broke through the thick clouds in several places. Mikasa's hand clutched the handle of her sword, still sheathed, but ready to strike.
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"I see... That's it. I've been here too long for my own good." Reiner spoke, back to Eren. "It's been three long years... surrounded by nothing but idiots. We were just kids... We didn't know anything. If only I never knew that there were people like this... I... wouldn't have become...such a half-assed piece of shit" Tears were gathered in his eyes.
Eren's eyes were focused on Reiner's hurt arm.
"It's too late now..." Reiner said and removed the sling. "I don't know what's right anymore. But the only choice for me now... is to face the consequences of my actions..."
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Hange and Moblit turned to them in surprise, hearing the hissing of steam.
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"...and as a warrior... fulfill my duty to the bitter end!" Reiner finished and held up his arm.
The wound was healing rapidly. Little flecks of embers flew as it closed completely.
"It's about to go down now?!" Bertolt asked.
Eren's eyes widened.
"Reiner! Are we doing it?!" Bertolt asked, panicked. "Now?! Right here?!"
"Yeah. We settle this... right here," Reiner said as he went for Eren. "Right now!" He screamed as he charged.
Mikasa appeared from behind Eren and swung at Reiner, cutting his arm and part of his throat but he caught with his other hand.
Spinning, Mikasa struck Bertolt. Time seemed to slow as the three boys fell and she went for Bertolt.
"Eren!" Mikasa yelled.
Mikasa pinned Bertolt under her boot as he gurgled, clutching his neck. She pointed her sword straight down, ready to run him through with it.
"Run!" Mikasa said.
Reiner shoved Mikasa off the Wall with his shoulder but she quickly deployed her 3D gear.
"Bertolt!" Reiner said.
Eren continued to stand by idly.
Blue lightning crackled around Reiner as he stood protectively in front of Bertolt.
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"Eren!" Armin yelled, running for them with Hange, Sasha, Moblit, and the others on his heels. "Get out of there!"
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Blue lightning erupted and the force of the gales threw them off their feet.
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Christa was sent rolling and she tried to clutch the Wall for support.
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Bones began to form, digging into the sides of the Wall.
Eren held himself at the edge of the Wall but was swept off. Still stunned, he watched the Armored and Colossal Titans appear among the steam. The
Armored Titan grabbed him, pulling him close.
The Colossal Titan reached out with his long arm and Armin and the others under it braced themselves.
The Colossal Titan caught the stretcher Ymir was in as it flew through the air.
"Ymir!" Christa screamed, still holding on.
The Armored Titan jumped, sliding down the Wall.
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"Eren!" Armin yelled.
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Eren, still in the Armored Titan's hand, had tears in his eyes, his expression sad.
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The memories of Reiner, Eren, Bertolt, and Armin standing at a cliff flashed, overlooking a pond in the moonlight.
"I'm going to return to the hometown we lost," Reiner said. "That's all I care about now."
More memories of Reiner and Bertolt helping them flashed on the screen.
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'Bertolt... Reiner...' Tears flew from Eren's eyes. He glared angrily, biting his hand.
"You damn traitors!" Eren yelled.
The attacking Titan appeared. Roaring furiously, he took a swing at Reiner.
'I will revenge Mom!'
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