AUTHOR'S POV:
Gabi and Falco were in their cell.
Gabi laid on her bed, jerking around with wide eyes while she let out audible noises.
"Gabi! Hey! What's wrong?!" Falco asked, running over to her. "Hey! Get hold of yourself!"
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A guard rushed over to their cell. "What's wrong? What happened?" He unlocked the cell.
"She suddenly started wailing in pain." Falco said and stepped to the side as the guard went to Gabi concerned.
"Hey. Young miss, are you okay?" The guard asked.
Suddenly, Gabi hit the man with her jacket against his head.
A brick was wrapped in it.
The guard fell to the ground, his eyes were wide of shock.
Gabi hit him again and again until Falco ran to her. "Gabi, that's enough!"
Her jacket fell to the ground, revealing a brick.
The guard laid dead on the ground while she was panting heavily.
Gabi and Falco ran away from the prison.
"What are you planning to do running away from here?" Falco asked.
"They would've killed us eventually." Gabi replied.
"That person was worried about you." Falco said.
"Are you really going to believe those devils?" Gabi asked. "We can't believe in Zeke either. We can't believe in anyone!"
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Reiner woke up in his bed with a gasp.
He stared for a moment at the ceiling before he sat up, panting.
"Got bad dreams or something?" Porco asked, sitting on a chair with a bottle in his hand, beside him and Pieck was sitting on the other bed. Porco held up the bottle. "If only it had all been just a dream."
"I heard Gabi and Falco's voices." Reiner told them. "Where are they now?"
.
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Gabi and Falco were by a river.
Gabi was washing her face as Falco stood behind her and looked around.
His armband was gone.
"We've made it pretty far. We ran all night after all." Falco said and turned to Gabi. "Hey. You should take off your armband. It stands out."
Gabi stared at the river in front of her. "Regular citizen won't know what this armband means anyway."
"But the soldiers would." Falco told her. "Just take it off already."
"No soldiers are walking around in a rural country side like this." Gabi said.
"If you keep it on, people will find out eventually." Falco said. "We don't have any clue on how to get back to Marley."
"I'm not going back." Gabi said. "I just want to find Zeke and ask him before I'm captured and killed. Did he really betray us? Did he betray Marley? And why did he do that? You can do whatever you want." She stood up. "You don't have to go along with me."
Falco looked down. "Is that so." He walked up to Gabi. "I'll accept the offer, then." He grabbed her armband and pulled it off. "I will toss this away for you."
Gabi grabbed him by his collar and pushed him to the ground. "Give it back!"
"Ugh!" Falco said looked up at her. "Why? What good will this thing even do for you?"
"I'm a good Eldian!" Gabi screamed at him. "Without that, I'm no different from these island devils!"
"What's wrong with you? Have you gone crazy?!" Falco yelled.
Gabi let go off him and took her armband back from him. "Then let me alone!" It was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Why.. did you follow me? There is no reason for you to die, too."
Falco gasped slightly before they were interrupted by Kaya, who stood by a tree.
"What are you two doing?" Kaya asked.
They looked at her, shocked that someone was actually there.
"It's so early in the morning. Where did you two come from?" Kaya asked.
They glanced at each other, their breaths hitching.
Gabi spoke up. "I-I don't want to say it. We... don't like living in our home. We finally managed to ran away." She discreetly picked up a rock by her leg which Falco noticed while Gabi glared at Kaya. "That's why.. We can't go back now."
Kaya stared blankly at them for a moment. "I see. You must be hungry." She turned to leave. "My house is nearby, so follow me."
Gabi and Falco looked at each other in disbelief.
.
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They were now on a farm, multiple horses were behind fences.
Beside the fence were two farm houses and a barn.
Kaya stopped and turned to them. "Please, wait here."
"Yes." Falco said.
Gabi placed her hands on the fence and looked at the horses. Falco joined her.
"We can use that horse to escape." Gabi said.
Falco looked at her. "What the heck are you saying?"
"We must run further away." Gabi said. "They will investigate this place eventually." She turned her head to look at him. "Also, I can't eat alongside those damn devils."
"You really-" Falco said.
"Sorry for the wait." Kaya said and they turned around and saw Kaya at the entrance of her home. "Come in."
Falco waved back at her. "Ah, thanks. We will." He turned to Gabi again. "I will talk for you too, so don't say anything stupid."
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Artur Braus looked down at the two. "So y' kids ran away from home? Who might ya be?"
The Braus family stared at them, the three kids, who sat at the table, looked at them with curiosity in their eyes.
Gabi stared at him. 'A south Marleyan accent?'
"Nice to meet you." Falco exclaimed. "We're siblings. I'm Ben and she's Mia. A lot happened and we ran away from our parents. If there's something we can do to help, we will gladly do it! That's why please let us stay here for a few days!" He placed his hand at the back of Gabi's head and forced her to bow while he does the same. "We beg you!"
Artur looked at them for a moment. "Y' kid shouldn't lower your head like that." He walked up to them. "Welcome to Braus stables." He placed his hand on Falco's shoulder. "Stay's many days as y' need. C' mere an eat sum breakfast."
The family smiled warmly at them.
They sat down at the table as Sasha's mother, Lisa, brought them breakfast.
Lisa and Artur, smiled at Gabi, who stared ahead with fear on her face.
"Y' must be tired. Y' may lie down after finishin' thet." Lisa said and placed her hand on Gabi's head but she slapped her hand away.
Falco looked at her in horror while the others stared at her surprised.
"Lisa... the kids..." Artur said and looked sadly at Lisa.
"Sorry." Lisa apologized to Gabi. "Y' must've gone trough a lot."
Falco placed his hand on Gabi's shoulder and formed a closed-eyed smile up at the adults.
"No..." Gabi stuttered while Falco shrieked.
"I'm sorry for my sister's behavior." Falco said and turned back to the food in front of him. "Thanks for the meal!" He grabbed the wooden spoon and started eating. "Delicious! This tastes great! It's really good!" He complimented while the family looked at them with sadness. He turned to Gabi. "C'mon, you eat too, Mia." should
Gabi's hand shook as she scooped up a small portion on the spoon and brought it to her mouth all.
Kaya stared at her with a blank face.
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At the port, Kiyomi stood, with a few guards behind her, in front of Zachary, behind him stood a few soldiers.
"I would like to congratulate you on the success of your campaign against Marley." Kiyomi said. "The leaders of Hizuru have nothing but praise for the bravery shown by the nation of Eldia."
Zachary frowned. "I'm honored by your words. Welcome to the most dangerous island in the world."
"Yes. Our objective today is to see that danger in person after all." Kiyomi said.
Zachary looked past Kiyomi at something that was behind her. "Then would that be the observation unit I've heard so much about?"
Kiyomi turned around. "Yes."
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Something big was hidden under a big cloth.
It was on a wooden floater, which floated on the water behind the ship.
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"It's the world's first flying boat, using the iceburst stone as its fuel." Kiyomi said. "We shall take a good look at the power of the rumbling on it."
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At the gate of the military HQ were a crowd of people talking to someone.
"According to the rumor, Eren Yeager is in prison and all the volunteers has been arrested Is that true? Please, Hange, explain it to us." Flegel begged her. "Forced evacuation order to all residents in Shiganshina district? Wasn't it the Corps who made Reeves company responsible for its reconstruction?"
"Consult the Police Brigade." Hange said and walked towards the gate.
The young reporter from the newspaper stepped in her way. "Hange! Yeager's victory has opened a path to our future! Eldians now have a future where we can live! That means the relationship between him and the Corps matters to all Eldian!"
The other reporter from the newspaper frowned at her. "Hange. You once said you would give information to the taxpayer. Have you changed your stance on that?"
Hange gritted her teeth and walked forward and put her right hand on the reporter's arm. "The situation has changed! Information has a different meaning now that we're connected to the world!" She pushed the reporter carefully to the side.
"We understand that you're in a difficult position, Hange." Flegel told her. "So please, look at us in the eye and say it's okay for us to believe in you."
Hange opened the gate and looked over her left shoulder at them. "Everything we do is for the sake of the Eldian people." She walked in and closed the gate while the crowd watched her leave.
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Hange sighed before she entered the room in front of her.
Floch and three others sat on chairs with Scouts guarding them.
"You're the ones who leaked info about Eren." Hange said. "Holger, Wim, Louise... You three recruits and Floch."
They all stared blank faced as Hange took a seat in front of them. "Why did you do it?"
Floch spoke up. "Because Eren should be freed. He hasn't done anything wrong. We've faced countless colossal enemies and grasped victory. Victory in the form of the rumbling, which secures our right to live. Eren saved the lives of everyone in the New Eldian Empire."
"There's no guarantee the rumblings works as planned and can save us." Hange said. "At this point it's no more than a myth."
"Only because you're keeping Eren locked up." Floch said. It was quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "Do we really have the luxury of wasting time?"
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Scouts started whispering to each other.
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Floch continued. "At this rate our victory will be for nothing. Eren Yeager will lead our country. Please release him at once."
"Hmm.. Yeah, you might just be right about that." Hange said. "One way or another, I made the decision to carry out Zeke's plan. The full responsibility is mine. Therefore, I won't tolerate disobedience. You all will be prosecuted for the crime of leaking information about Eren. Bring these four to the detention room."
Floch closed his eyes. "If it's for the sake of humanity so be it."
They were escorted out of the room by Jean, Faye, Mikasa, Armin and Connie.
The other Scouts left the room, too, leaving Hange alone.
"Damn you, Eren." Hange muttered.
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A bird was behind the metal bars of a window.
"Ten months ago, there was an opening celebration for the Trost railway. The guard watching you suddenly changed... to Floch Forster." Pixis read off a paper to Yelena, who looked boredly out of the window. "While the party was in full swing, Floch escorted you to your lodgings. A man, who's detained for leaking info. Furthermore, your lodgings were a few dozen kilometers from Eren's home." Yelena turned her head to Pixis. "It just so, happens that around this time Eren began moving on his own. Anyway, I'm pleased to have an excuse to speak with such a beautiful woman today." He closed his eyes as Yelena still stared at him.
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Gabi was sweeping the floor in front of its stall.
The horse stared at Gabi's head.
She threw water on the floor from her bucket as she heard the horse and turned to her left to look at it, which had its mouth wide open.
Falco was cleaning the floor as he heard Gabi screaming and turned around and saw the horse biting Gabi's head while she screamed.
"Gabi?!" Falco exclaimed.
Gabi slipped and fell in the mud as the bucket flew in the air and landed on her head. She laid down on the ground defeated.
"Gabiii!" Falco yelled.
Gabi laid there with the bucket on her head. "Why is this happening to me?" The horse neighed evilly. "This is the devils doing."
Falco lifted the bucket off her head as Gabi stared off into space. "No, I think it's the horse doing." Falco cleaned the horse as Gabi sat on the ground with a rake in her hand and closed eyes. "There's not a single horse that would let you ride it, huh?"
"Well, I wasn't trained to ride one." Gabi stated and turned her head to look at Falco. "We can't get any information in a countryside like this."
"I think it's better to hunker down here than room around." Falco said.
"What are you talking about?" Gabi asked, confused.
"We can stay here wait for help. Eventually the world will attack the island. I bet Reiner and my brother will come, too." Falco said as he looked at her.
"Aren't you pissed at Zeke?! There was a traitor right among us!" Gabi exclaimed as she stood up.
Falco looked surprised. "There was nothing we could do." He kneeled down to his bucket with water he used to clean the horse.
Gabi continued to clean the floor as she spoke again. "And what the is 'Mia'? Why am I your little sister?!"
"Does is matter?" Falco asked.
Kaya walked in. "Hey, guys, let's have lunch."
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"You guys are quick learners and hard-working, too." Kaya complimented them.
"You think? Thank you." Falco said.
Gabi dried her hair as Falco continued to talk to Kaya while eating a sandwich.
"By the way, Kaya. I noticed all the workers here are pretty young." Falco said.
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The workers were petting the horses.
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"Yeah, everyone here is an orphan." Kaya said.
"Oh, really." Falco said.
"The Queen's policies give support to kids without families." Kaya explained as Gabi stared at her intensely. "All of us here lost our parents four years ago."
Gabi removed the towel off her head as she stated angrily. "You haven't accepted your guilt." Falco and Kaya were startled and looked at her in surprised. "Have you forgotten the horrible crime the people of this island committed? Only when an Eldian accepts the dephts of their sin can they begin to atore."
Falco looked at her in alarm.
"Is that related to our parents dying?" Kaya asked.
"Of course." Gabi replied. "Even if you act like a saint, your sins are too great to escape."
"Is that what they teach you in Marley?" Kaya asked.
"We're in their debt, you know!" Falco told Gabi.
"These are indisputable truth!" Gabi argued.
"Would you just..." Falco trailed off.
They stopped arguing when they realised what Kaya just said.
They turned around and looked shocked at Kaya.
"What did you just say?" Falco asked her in shock.
Kaya looked at them blankly. "You two came from Marley, right?"
"How did you...?" Falco trailed off, staring at her dumbfounded.
"You have to ask? You yelled it out loud." Kaya simply stated.
Falco raised his arms startled. "Huh? Uh... You knew from the get-go? Really from the start? I'm so embarrassed!"
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Gavi walked away from them.
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"Why didn't you say something? You're so sneaky!" Falco said.
Gabi stared at the pitch fork before grabbing it.
Falco stopped talking and turned to look at Gabi startled as heard her grab it. "Huh."
Gabi charged at her but Falco stopped her.
They both struggled with the pitch fork.
"What are you doing?" Falco asked her as Kaya watched them in alarm.
Gabi and Falco stared at each other still struggling.
"The devil revealed her true colors!" Gabi yelled. "I knew something was up! Island devils can't be this kind!"
"Stop, you idiot!" Falco yelled.
"Hey!" A voice interrupted them.
"What's all the fuss about?" Another voice asked.
Two of the other kids asked them as they watched them struggling.
Falco and Gabi stopped moving in alarm.
"Mia's jealous and thinks I'm stealing her brother!" Kaya shouted at them.
"Kaya is actually getting along with people? She is cheered up a bit." One of them exclaimed, surprised.
"Good grief... Don't horse around or you'll get hurt!" The other one told them.
Falco snatched the pitch fork from Gabi and she stared at him in shock.
"Sorry." Falco apologized to them.
Gabi and Falco turned to Kaya and looked at her confused.
"Why?" Falco asked.
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"This used to be my old village." Kaya said, standing at the entrance of her old village. "Four years ago, a Titan showed up here. The villagers ran when they saw it and left behind my mom, who couldn't run." She moved grass out of the way to show Falco and Gabi the village.
They started walking through the village.
"There was nothing I could do so I sat down." Kaya said. "From right here, I sat and listened to my mom get eaten." They stared at the house. "She was alive the whole time it happened. Eventually she went silent. I think she screamed until she lost her voice."
Gabi and Falco's eyes widened.
"They say humanity outside the walls thinks that were devils." Kaya said.
Falco looked at Gabi as they listened to Kaya.
"But I don't understand why we're hated so much." Kaya said. "Mia, Ben. Tell me. What exactly did my mom do? What did she do to be hated so much?"
Gabi looked at her intensely as her eyes widened. "Your kind slaughtered people of thousands of years."
"Thousand of years?" Kaya asked her.
"Don't tell me you forgot it!" Gabi yelled.
Falco stared between the two back and forth in a slight panic.
Gabi stared at her angrily as she continued. "Eldians used the Power of the Titans to trample the world for a millennia! They wiped out other cultures, forced them to bear their children and murdered endless droves of people! Stop playing the victim!"
"My mom was born and raised here." Kaya argued back. "She never did anything like that."
"But a century ago, the sins of your ancestors were terrible and great!" Gabi yelled.
"A century ago? What about the people who live now? How have we sinned?" Kaya asked her, full of emotion.
"Not long ago, you guys trampled my home." Gabi exclaimed.
"My mom was killed four years ago, so it's not her fault." Kaya said.
Gabi's resolve began to break as she tried to explain it to Kaya. "I'm telling you, your ancestors killed people all over the-"
"My mom didn't kill anyone!" Kaya screamed despreatly and grabbed Gabi's shoulders and continued to scream at her. "Answer me, Mia! Why did my mom have to suffer like that?!" Gabi stared at her emotionally as Kaya shook her shoulders. "There has to be a reason! It's crazy if there's not!" Tears were in Kaya's eyes. "Why was my mom eaten alive, huh?! Why was she killed?! Huh, why?!" She continued to shake her as Gabi stared at her in anger, confusion and shock.
"It was recon-in-force. The invasion of Paradis four years ago was staging for a larger attack." Falco stated sadly as he looked down, then he looked up at her and continued. "You and your mother were caught up in it. Your mom didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry."
After that Kaya sat down on the ground, griefing.
Gabi looked at him angrily. "You're leaking secrets to the enemy and why apologize?"
"Thanks for letting me know, Ben." Kaya thanked him. "But it's weird for you to apologize for Marley. You were just born there." She started to walk out of the house.
"So how did you manage to escape and survive?" Falco asked her.
Kaya stopped and turned to them. "A girl a bit older than I am now grabbed a hatchet and started hitting the Titan."
"No way, that's crazy!" Falco exclaimed surprised.
"But I did save her in the end." She said proudly.
"Yeah. She put herself between me and the Titan and allowed me to escape." Kaya said.
The three stared at the sunset.
"I know she wouldn't abandon people like you with nowhere to go. Just like she didn't abandon me." Kaya said. "We were invited to a restaurant where a Marleyan is working at. If you come along, you might find a way to go back home." She turned around to face them.
"Why?" Gabi asked her confused.
"I want to become a person like her." Kaya told them with resolution.
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Back in Marley where the Attacking and the War Hammer Titan fought, were soldiers removing bodies from the rubble.
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"After investigating the remains of the Beast Titan, we found parts of Zeke's body that was exploded into pieces." Magath told the warriors and Colt, who sat at a table with Odm gear on the table between them. "However, it's not enough. All we found were his limbs. He made it look like he died to deveive us. We believe Zeke has allied with enemy forces on Paradis and escaped on their airship." He looked down at the table in front of them. "This modified anti-personnel vertical maneuvering gear uses marleyan technology. And the airship they stole for their escape required military training to pilot, especially at such high degree of proficiency. He must've snuck them onto the survey ship to Paradis four years ago. His comrades in the Eldian restorationists, that is."
Porco grabbed his head with his right hand. "Dammit! We fought together all these time. But he's actually a traitor?"
"Of course we have no intention to let this end here." Magath told them. "Within the next six months, the global military alliance will conduct mopping-up operation against Paradis!"
Colt stood up. "S-six months?! Is that how long we have to wait to rescue Gabi and Falco?"
"These two are the best warrior candidates we have now." Porco exclaimed. "I believe losing them will be a great loss to Marley."
"It will also take a lot of time to train the next batch of warrior candidates." Pieck explained.
"But the chance of winning is slim if Marley attacks Paradis on its own." Magath argued. "We must wait for the allied forces to gather."
"Zeke must be thinking the same thing." Reiner told him. "That the Marley army won't attack immediately after taking such a massive blow. And he's not the kind of person who just going to wait with no plan for six months. We can't wait for the global allied forces to be ready!" He stood up. "We must attack Paradis island right away!"
All of them were shown with determined faces.
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'We must save the world now...'
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