AUTHOR'S POV:
It was morning when the Scouts, Warrior units, Magath and the Azumabitos arrived at an empty Odhia.
All of them were standing at the edge, looking at the port.
"It's quite. Odhia's citizens must have fled south." Hange said, observing. "I guess I will ask the Azumabitos before the Collosals cross the mountain."
Kiyomi and an Engineer stopped beside her.
"Yes... I will try to launch the flying boat into the sky." The Engeneer said. "It was mostly done when we brought it to Paradise. So, I believe it will take a few hours."
"So far for our hometown... Please save Hizru." Kiyomi pleaded, looking at Hange.
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Reiner, Armin, Jean, Connie and three Engeneers used a rope to pull it inside the repairing house.
After bringing inside, they removed the cloth away to find the explosive beside it.
"What should we do with it?" Jean asked, pointing at the explosive.
"Just throw it away." Reiner said.
"Wait!" Armin said, holding out his hand. "Somehow, we might be able to send them towards Eren."
"Huh? Towards Eren?" Reiner asked, looking at him.
"Armin looked down. "I'm not sure..."
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Inside the ship, Pieck and Gabi were comforting a grieving Falco.
"I can't take this anymore!" Falco said between cries, holding his head. "Everyone is dead already! Liberio! And my family too!"
"The Collosals have already rumbled half of the Marleyan continent..." Pieck said, looking down.
"Then, what should I do?!" Falco asked. "What should I do from now on?! It's only only us left!"
Pieck held her forehead. "I'm sorry... I don't know."
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The Engeneers and Onyankopon started repairing the flyingboat.
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Eren was in a room, discussing with Yelena while Floch was guarding him.
A map of Marley was placed before him on the table.
Yelena pointed at the coast of Marley. "If the world were to exterminate the island of Paradise, I will assemble the ships at the Military port. After raiding Liberio, you'll go to prison for one month and we'll gather the allies here. The two titans who contacted Zeke were dealt with. There is a limit to the Rumbling. Later on, with the Collosals of Shiganshina, the world will be able to revolt without any issues."
"Will that be the only target for the enemy?" Eren asked. "Wouldn't that attack Paradise for decades?"
Yelena looked at him. "Nations that have lost their battleships will be driven to collapse. If all major nations collapse, that is more than enough for us." She pointed at the shoutern Marley mountain. "Although, the Aerospace lab in the southern Marleyan mountain is somewhat concerning..."
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"That is probably Eren's second target." Yelena said, sitting on a bed, surrounded by Armin, Levi, Pieck, Magath, Kiyomi and Hange.
"Satrayose." Pieck said with a defeated look. "Surely, if he knew about the existence of any weapon that could take down the Founding Titan-"
"He would go to Karifa airbase to destroy the planes." Yelena said, looking down.
"You're so obedient." Levi said.
"I have a favor to ask in return." Yelena said and looked up at them. "Admit it. Zeke lost. But, he wasn't wrong. The only solution to 2000 years of Eldian prob-"
Suddenly, Falco and Gabi barged into the room, panting heavily.
"Falco? Are you ok?" Magath asked, walking towards him.
"Everyone! I just came back from the paths!" Falco said with wide eyes.
Everyone in the room gasped.
"Paths? What did you see there?" Hange asked, curious.
"I met the Founder, who is none other than Eren Yeager!" Falco exclaimed.
"Founder? You mean the one who make titan bodies?" Armin asked.
"Yeah. That Founder. And he was Eren Yeager but not our Eren." Falco said.
"What are you talking about?" Pieck asked.
"That's besides the point." Magath said. "Did he say anything?"
"Ye-Yeah. He basically connected me with the Attacking Titan and I got to know Eren's location.!" Falco said.
Everyone again gasped.
Magath grabbed his shoulders. "Can you tell us where is he now?"
"Surprisingly... The Rumbling haven't arrived on the land yet!" Falco said and everyone except Hange, Levi and Armin gasped.
"Are you sure about that?" Magath asked.
"Yeah. The Founder Eren basically told me Eren Yeager's plan." Falco said. "The Rumbling is heading towards northern Marleyan coast only! Not anywhere else!"
"What?!" Pieck exclaimed with wide eyes.
"That's right. I basically saw it from the Attacking Titan's perspective." Falco said. "The Rumbling is heading towards northern Marleyan coast in a slow pace."
"That means we still have a chance to save everyone!" Hange said.
Magath turned to her. "We have to hurry now."
"General Magath, the Founder also told me that me, you and Gabi have to stay behind." Falco said.
"What!" Gabi exclaimed.
"That's what he said. He told me that we three will help the others, later." Falco said.
"But-" Magath said.
"General Magath, we should listen to the Founder." Hange said. "May be, he is right."
"But-" Gabi said.
"Gabi, we have to do as Founder says." Pieck said, putting her hand on Gabi's shoulder. "If the Founder gave away Eren's location then he is onto something too. So, stay here with Lady Kiyomi."
"Do you know how you are going to help us?" Levi asked.
Falco looked down. "I don't know..." Then the realisation hit him and he looked up. "May be it's something related to my titan powers!"
"May be it's the case but it's risky to transform now." Magath said. "You will lose control."
"But I have a feeling that it's definitely related to his titan power." Armin said. "So, he must test it."
.
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The repairing of the flyingboat was done.
The scouts were near it, getting ready with their gears.
"Hange-san! We take off in an hour!" Onyankopon said.
"Got it!" Hange replied and turned to the group. "You heard him?"
"Check if you have got everything." Levi said.
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In a distance, Pieck and Reiner were talking with Magath, Gabi and Falco.
"Take care, Reiner and Miss Pieck." Gabi said in a worried tone.
Pieck held Gabi's shoulders. "I will. Don't worry. We'll definitely stop Eren before he kill anyone." She turned to Falco. "Falco, you have to master the ability to be a titan."
"Right." Falco said.
"I am sorry you two have to be a part of this." Magath said, sadly.
"It's not a time to regret, General." Reiner said. "We signed up for this ourselves. Just hope for the best."
Magath nodded.
Reiner and Pieck approached the others.
"So, we are working together, huh?" Hange said with a smile, looking at Pieck.
"Yeah. We have to work together otherwise there won't be any future for humanity."
"Pieck." Hange said with a craze look. "Next time, I want to ride your Cart titan and feel the temp-"
"No. It makes me feel crappy." Pieck said and walked away.
"You're still a titan romantic, four-eyes." Levi said, standing beside her.
"We'll be friends soon." Hange and, looking at Pieck. She then turned to Levi. "So far, Eren has done as he said... Let's see how this battle plays off."
"Yeah... We have to deal with Commander Pixis and Nile too once we return." Levi said.
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"Pour the fuel in!" One Engeneer said to Onyankopon.
"Got it!" Onyankopon said and began to pour fuel. "We made it before the Rumbling."
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After fuelling, the group hopped into the airboat.
"Goodbye, heros of the world." Yelena said, standing beside the others.
"Wish you luck!" Kiyomi said.
The group waved their hands and sat down.
At the end of the plane, they had tied up the explosive.
"We're taking off!" Onyankopon declared, looking over his shoulder.
"Yeah." Hange said. "Let's go."
The plane took off.
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The plane was in mid-air.
Hange stood behind Onyankopon to discuss.
"We have enough fuel to reach northern coast of Marley." Onyankopon said. "So please, stop the Rumbling."
"We will, onyankopon." Hange said and left to join the others. "Shall we discuss our plan?" She sat down on the floor and began to draw the Founding Titan's body. "You guys have a good picture of Eren's titan form, right?"
"Yeah." Armin replied.
"Well, Eren's founding Titan looks like an insect with a lots of bones." Hange said.
"If you think about it, the body is in front of the spine." Pieck said.
"We can use ODM gears but I doubt it'll be successful." Levi said.
"Since we know Eren's location, it's a bit easier to stop his now." Hange said, looking up at them.
"It's possible that we can blow his body with the Collosal titan." Pieck said, looking at Armin.
Armin looked down. "That's our best option. But I still want to talk to Eren..."
"Since Eren activated the Rumbling through Zeke, it will probably be stopped once we kill Zeke." Hange said. "But, there is no confirmation."
"Even if it works, we have to locate Zeke first." Faye said.
"Yeah. We must find where that dog shit is hiding the titan." Levi said.
Jean looked down. "We have come a long way here. And now, we are betraying our own people to save the world. It can't be meaningless... I'll do everything to stop the Rumbling."
"Jean..." Reiner trailed off, looking at him.
"Same... It feels like we are traitors to our people and also we are doing this in the name of saving the world." Connie said and looked up at Reiner. "Ah. Reiner. You, Bertolt and Annie... It must have hurt."
Everyone were looking down.
"It's already a sin that can't be atoned." Reiner said, holding his chest. "Even if we save humanity, we can never forgive ourselves." Connie looked down and Reiner put his hand on Connie's shoulder. "So, atleast, we can save the rest of humanity."
Connie put his hand on Reiner's. "Sure, Reiner. We can't atone but we have to try."
"Yeah. We are the same, Reiner." Jean said.
Reiner gasped slightly.
"I can't condemn you." Jean said. "I also killed to save other people."
"Ah. I heard the same thing from Eren..." Reiner said. "On the night of the raid..." He turned to the others. "I think I understand Eren. May be Eren wants us to stop him."
"What do you mean?" Pieck asked.
"No... I just thought-" Reiner said.
"I wondered too." Jean said. "Eren can influence all Eldians and titans." He looked at Pieck. "Yet you guys can use your powers without an issue."
"Eren could have potentially leave us alone?" Pieck asked.
Armin turned to Pieck. "Yeah. He is leaving us alone. Like he is testing us."
"Why? We could stop the Rumbling-" Faye said.
"Even he must be hurting." Reiner said with a sad expression. "No-one can fathom global genoside. Atleast not me. Now, he might want to pass on the Founder. If he could... He would want it all to end..." He looked at the others. "By someone..."
"Huh?" Mikasa said.
Suddenly, all of them teleported to the Paths.
They looked around in surprise.
"Again?" Connie said.
"What?" Levi said.
"Was he listening to us?" Hange said, looking around. "It's beautiful here, to be honest."
"Eren! Please listen!" Armin shouted. "Stop now! No-one will touch Paradise for centuries after this! It's enough now! We can sign a neutrality pact with this! No-one has to die anymore! The island is safe! We're at fault here! We drove Eren to this end!"
"Eren! Please leave the rest to us!" Jean shouted. "Please don't murder for our sake!"
"Eren please!" Faye shouted. "Please listen to us! Do you not care about us anymore!"
"I... Want to share your burden." Mikasa said. "I committed the same crimes as you. So please stop ignoring us. So please, come back!"
"Yeah Eren." Levi said. "I'll only kick your ass if you don't stop now."
"Please Eren! Come back!" Hange shouted. "We will talk about the Wall titans all night as we did before!"
"Hey! Say something..." Levi said.
"I CAN'T STOP THE RUMBLING." Eren declared. "I CAN'T GAMBLE PARADISE'S FUTURE. I AM GOING TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD."
"What..." Armin trailed off.
"There!" Levi exclaimed, pointing at the paths.
All of them looked at the Coordinates to see 10 years old Eren standing there.
"Ereh!" Mikasa shouted and took off along with the others.
"What?! He is a kid?!" Jean said in surprise while running.
"Even so, that's Eren!" Faye said.
"Ereh!" Mikasa shouted.
"What do you mean you can't?!" Jean asked. "You don't trust us?!"
"Why did you let us use our titans?!" Faye asked.
"We can talk here, Eren!" Armin exclaimed.
"Tell us! We were always together!" Faye shouted. "I don't want to be further apart!"
"Eren!" Armin shouted.
"I AM GOING TO TAKE THE WORLD'S FREEDOM TO ACHIVE MY OWN." Eren declared. "BUT I WON'T STEAL YOURS. YOU ARE FREE."
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All of them stopped running.
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"YOUR FREEDOM TO SAVE THE WORLD..." Eren declared. "MY FREEDOM TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD."
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The Founder Eren appeared beside him.
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Everyone looked at them with with eyes.
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"IF NEITHER STEPS DOWN, WE WOULD COLLIDE." Eren said. "THERE IS ONLY... THE OPTION... TO FIGHT."
"Why did you bring us here then?" Faye asked.
"TO TELL YOU THAT THERE IS NO NEED TO TALK." Eren said. "THE ONLY WAY TO STOP ME IS BY ENDING MY LIFE. YOU ARE FREE TO DO SO."
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All of them teleported back to the plane, exhausted.
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Reiner was sweating profusely.
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Mikasa was on her knees.
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Faye was holding her head.
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Onyankopon looked at them from his shoulder. "Huh? What happened?"
"I think I was right..." Reiner said.
Jean grabbed his face in frustration. "Is this over?"
"Seems like we can't negotiate anymore..." Hange said, looking down.
"What now?" Levi asked.
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Magath and Kiyomi were at the edge of the ship, heading towards Hizru.
"How do you feel now, knowing Hizuru is safe from the Rumbling?" Magath asked.
"It is assuring but..." Kiyomi said and looked down. "I helped Zeke and Eren meet. There is probably no way to atone for the slaughter."
"Marley is no exception to this." Magath said. "Only if Willy Tybur hadn't declared war on Paradise on that day..." He looked down. "We have turned so many innocents into Titans... Our sins are probably biting us back."
Gabi and Falco approached them.
"General Magath." Falco called out. "I had a dream."
Magath looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean you saw Galliard's memories or you came back from paths again?"
"Zeke's dream or memories." Falco replied.
"Zeke's memories?" Magath asked, confused.
"Yeah. Probably because I became a titan with Zeke's spinal fluid. So, I inherited some of the Beast titan's part." Falco said.
"So what is the memory about?" Magath asked.
"The memory I recall the best is flying above the clouds and I can do that too. I feel it deep within me." Falco replied.
"What's the matter?" Kiyomi asked, turning to them.
"So, there was a winged Beast titan in the past." Falco said. "So, we will go."
"Even if it's true, you can't transform here." Magath said. "And you might lose control too."
"No, I won't." Falco said. "If I recall correctly, a mysterious voice that resembles the Founder Eren's, told me that I would be able to do it in one go."
"But this ship will be-" Magath said.
"General Magath." Kiyomi said. "I don't care if the ship sinks." She looked ahead.
"I don't want to deepen my regrets..."
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