AUTHOR'S POV:
One year had passed since the battle of Heaven and Earth.
A lot of things had changed.
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As Magath promised, all nations signed a peace treaty with Paradise.
Some nations including Hizuru and Marley helped Paradise in Military growth.
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After Magath took control of Marley, the first thing he did was to remove the walls of Liberio. He also removed the Eldian Arm bands policy.
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As per Historia's order, the Survey Corps converted into the official defence force of Paradise.
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After a month of battle of Heaven and Earth, Eren took down the rest of the Walls but kept the Wall titans at the ocean floor.
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After Erwin got the power of the Beast titan, his hand grew back. So, he joined the Survey Corps again.
His Beast titan was an eagle.
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Since Hange got the Jaw Titan, her eye healed too. So, Levi resumed calling her 'Four-eyes'.
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Jean got the Armoured titan.
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Levi left his post of captain and started training new recruits in Survey Crops.
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Pieck, Annie Reiner, Falco, Gabi, Udo and Zofia would sometimes visit Paradise.
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As time went by, Jean and Pieck fell for eachother and started dating so Pieck moved to Paradise with her father to stay closer to Jean.
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Eren and Mikasa's relationship grew stronger with time so do Faye and Armin's.
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The four of them were currently standing outside of Hange's office.
Armin knocked on the door.
"Come in!" Hange said from the other side.
Armin opened the door and the four of them entered.
Hange, who was sitting at her table, holding a stack of papers, looked up at them with a smile. "Hey! Do you guys need something?"
"No... But, we are here to ask for a leave from the Survey Corps for a few days." Faye said. "We haven't taken rest since Survey Corps turned in to the official defence force."
Hange smiled. "That's it?"
"Yeah, Commander Hange." Armin said. "Just for a few days."
"I see." Hange said and put her chin on her palm. "Are you guys secretly getting married or something?"
The four of them blushed and looked away.
"No, not this sooner." Eren said with a smile.
"Sooner? Aren't you guys 20 already?" Hange asked.
"Yeah... But still..." Mikasa said.
"I see. Ok. You guys can take the leave for a few days." Hange said. "And don't forget to invite me to your marriage."
"We definitely will." Eren said.
"Yeah." Faye said. "So, we are leaving, Hange-san."
Hange nodded and resumed her work.
The four of them left her office and headed towards the stable.
"So, where do you think we should go?" Faye asked.
"What about the ocean?" Armin suggested with a big smile.
"You never get tired of visiting ocean. Huh?" Mikasa said with a smile.
"Yeah. I can never get enough of it." Armin said.
"Nice to see you haven't lost your spirit, Armin." Eren said with a smile.
"Yeah. Afterall, it was our childhood dream." Armin said.
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They mounted on their horses and left for the ocean.
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Since the Survey Corps branch office was near the ocean, it took them only half an hour to get there.
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The four of them were currently standing at the ocean, letting the cold breeze hit their faces.
All of them had a smile on their faces except for Eren, who seemed a bit distant and conflicted.
They choose to not say anything at that time and continued to play.
Eren just stood there with a blank expression while his hair ruffled in the air.
Mikasa approached him with a worried look. "Eren?" She stood beside him. "Are you ok? Is something bothering you?"
"It's nothing, Mikasa." Eren replied, not looking at her. "You'll soon get it..."
"Huh?" Mikasa said, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You should enjoy your free time now, Mikasa." Eren said, looking at her. "It's not everyday we get breaks like this."
"How can I enjoy when you clearly not ok?" Mikasa asked. "I will stay with you here."
Eren sighed and turned to the ocean. "Fine..."
Mikasa just looked at her with concern while Faye and Armin enjoyed their day in the background.
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It turned to evening when the group started to leave.
"So, where should we go now?" Armin asked, riding his horse.
"Let's go to that place where I used to nap years ago." Eren said in a monotonous voice.
"That's a good idea." Faye said. "We haven't been there in a while."
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It was night time when they arrived at the small hill with a lone tree in the middle with flowers everywhere.
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Stars sparkled in the night sky and the moon shone brightly.
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They dismounted from their horses and tied them to a nearby tree.
"Hey! Let's race!" Faye yelled and took off, laughing.
"Alright then!" Armin shouted and took off behind her.
Eren just stood there, admiring his surroundings with Mikasa by his side.
Mikasa took his hand and held it. "Let's go, Eren."
Eren nodded and they started walking towards the tree.
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"Hey Eren! Why didn't you race?" Faye asked, standing under the tree.
"I am just tired. That's all." Eren replied.
"No. That's not it." Faye said with a serious expression. She stepped forward and held Eren's shoulder. "I think you are hiding something from us. You can tell us, Eren. May be we could help you."
It was silence for a few moment.
"Eren?" Mikasa called out with concern.
Eren looked away and took a deep breath. "We all have been through everything together." He turned to the them. "We have never kept anything from eachother. So, it's unfair if I won't tell you guys."
Faye and Armin shared a look.
"What secret, Eren?" Faye said.
"You guys will probably hate me after I tell you that." Eren said with a dull expression.
Mikasa, Armin and Faye's eyes widened.
"Why would we hate you, Eren?" Armin asked.
"It's an incident that happened after I gained the full control of the Founding Titan." Eren said. "After I got control, the past, present and the future felt same for me."
They looked eager to know.
"The day Bertolt breached Shiganshina, he was about to get eaten by Dina's Titan." Eren said. "But, since that day wasn't his time to die, I... commanded Dina's Titan to... go straight to our home. That's how she ended up... Killing Mom..." He looked down.
Faye, Armin and Mikasa gasped.
Tears filled Faye's eyes and she grabbed Eren's shoulder. "Please tell me this is a joke! Please tell me this isn't true!"
Eren looked away. "I wish it was... Unfortunately, that's what I did..."
Faye gritted her teeth as tears rolled down her face.
Suddenly, she threw a punch at Eren's jaw, making him fall to the ground.
Mikasa was too stunned to do anything.
"Faye!" Amrin called out.
Faye ignored him and grabbed Eren by his collar, stood him up and pinned him to the tree. "It was you who killed my mom!" She threw another punch on his face. "What did you get by doing that?" She punched again.
Eren's face was covered in blood but he didn't use his healing ability and took the hits.
Armin stepped forward to intervene but Eren gestured him to stop.
"I was ready to do anything for you, thinking you are my dear brother. But, that's how you repay me?!" She threw another punch and grabbed his collar. "What more terrible things have you done behind our back?!" She shook him. "Tell me!"
"Faye! Sto-" Armin said, holding her shoulder.
"No I won't!" Faye said. "Not until he tells me his reasoning for killing my mom!" She shook Eren again. "Tell me! Tell me what more horrible things you did?!"
"That day... Dad hesitated to kill the Reiss family." Eren said. "He even fell to his knees and accepted his fate. But, I pushed him into killing them..."
The three of them grew even more shocked.
Faye again furrowed her eyebrows and gritted her teeth. "Did you feel satisfaction by that?" She slapped Eren accross his face. "Tell me, Eren!"
Mikasa composed herself and held Faye back.
Eren fell to his knees and coughed up blood. Armin kneeled beside him and patted his back.
"Let me go, Mikasa!" Faye shouted, trying to break free from Mikasa's hold. "We went through everything together so that at the end he could kill my mom?!"
"Faye, he must've a reason for that." Mikasa said. "He must be hurting too."
"I don't believe this heartless bastard can even be hurt!" Faye shouted, crying. "If he has the gut to kill everyone outside of Paradise then this is nothing for him!"
Mikasa furrowed her eyebrows. "Faye! Calm down!"
"But how?!" Faye said. "How can I calm down knowing that my own twin brother got my Mom killed?!"
"Let's hear him out first!" Mikasa said and Faye's protest died down.
Faye fell to her knees, softly crying.
Mikasa approached Eren. She kneeled beside him and wiped his blood with a handkerchief. "Eren?" She softly called out.
Eren looked at her with a dull expression, face covered in blood.
"Why did you do that?" Mikasa softly asked with teary eyes.
"To preserve the present." Eren replied.
"What do you mean?" Armin asked with a surprised expression.
"It's Mom's death that kept me going for all those years." Eren said. "That day, if she had survived, then she wouldn't have let us join the Survey Corps. And we couldn't have been here where we are right now."
Faye gapsed and looked at him at the realisation.
"It's not like I had a choice." Eren said, looking away. "To think that the incident that kept me moving forward was actually caused by me is..." He sighed and stood up.
"Eren?" Mikasa called out, standing up.
"And talking about Dad, I did that so that he could entrust me with titan powers." Eren said and turned to them. "I know I am a horrible brother, a friend and a lover. I am sorry for that... I know I broke you guys trust." He turned around. "I am sorry for hurting you, Faye..." He walked away.
Mikasa held out her hand. "Where are you going, Eren?"
Eren didn't reply and left without turning around.
Faye cried again in regret as she realised Eren's reasoning. "What... Did... I... Do...?" She grabbed her head. "Why did I do that? Why did I not realise that he was hurt more than me?!"
Armin stood Faye up and hugged her. "You did that in the heat of the moment, Faye."
Faye hugged Armin back and cried in his chest. "But still... I hurt him even more than he already is!"
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Mikasa didn't say anything. She just started blankly at the distance. 'Eren...'
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Eren stood in the distance, far away from them, looking up at the night sky.
A single tear rolled down his face.
'I lost my only family today...'
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