Reiner is walking through the town when he bumps into Falco.
"Falco, where are you heading this late?" Reiner asks as he looks at Falco.
"I forgot something at the HQ, so I'm going back to get it" Falco says as he looks at Reiner, "see you later!".
--- a few minutes ago ---
"Falco, could you do me a favour?" the woman asks as she crouches down to Falco.
"What is that, Mrs Smith?" Falco asks as he looks at her.
"I want to send a letter to my husband, but if it's sent from the internment zone, they'll check it" the woman says as she pulls out a letter, "they might find out that I'm not really sick, so could you send it from the outside?".
"Sure thing. How long have you been married to you husband?" Falco asks as he takes the letter from her.
"It's nearly been a year now" the woman says with a small smile, "I just want to make sure they that know my brother and I are here and we're okay now".
--- present time ---
Falco smiles at the letter in his hands as he posts it through the letterbox.
--- the next day ---
"Hey, why all the commotion?" Commander Magath asks as he walks up to Koslow.
"The whole Tybur family has come to visit!" Koslow says panicked.
"Excuse me?" Commander Magath asks in shock.
The two of them walk up to the meeting room where the Tybur family is as Commander Magath knocks on the door as he looks at all the guards around them.
"It's the Tyburs' personal guards. They're not part of our military" Koslow says as he looks at Commander Magath.
"Come in" one of the guards says as he opens the door.
"Sorry to drop in on you. I'm Willy, the head of the Tybur family" Willy says as he approaches Commander Magath and Koslow.
"Commander of the Warrior unit, Commander Magath" Commander Magath says as the two of them shake hands, "it's an honour to meet you, Lord Tybur".
"Nice to meet you, Commander Magath. Let me introduce you to my family" Willy says as he gestures to his family.
Commander Magath watches as the grandparents sit quietly, Willy's wife standing, just watching things go down, whilst the children run rampant and knock over the furniture.
"Having mastered the warrior unit from the outset, are you able to tell which of us is the War Hammer titan?" Willy asks as he and Commander Magath exit the room to the balcony.
"No, I haven't a clue. On might wonder if it's even here at all" Commander Magath says as he opens the door to the balcony for Willy.
"You're very astute, just as I've heard" Willy says with a small chuckle, "but it is here. The War Hammer titan is among us" he says as he walks onto the balcony, Commander Magath shutting the door behind them, "I came here to see the status of Helos. A century ago, a mere humans slayer the devil of all Earth and became the renowned Marleyan hero who saved the world: Helos. How marvellous. So brave and beautiful, with not a scratch. Truly, the spirit of Marley".
"The spirit, indeed. For within, it's empty inside" Commander Magath says in agreement.
"You're a tough critic, Commander Magath" Willy says as he turns to look at Commander Magath, "I hear you're working to reinstate Marleyan conscription?".
"War, for Marleyans, exists solely inside their newspapers" Commander Magath says as he looks ahead, "they're content to just read about our lands expanding. If our tamed devils or conquered armies are eating the bullets, all the better. One hopes letting Marleyans hear the sound of bullets whizzing by their ears, will be enough to stop our self-destructive march towards war. If someone controlled Marley from the shadows, I'd tell them: it's already too late".
"You truly don't hold back, Commander. What can I say?" Willy asks as he turns back around to look at the view from the balcony, "as you noticed, this nation is controlled by the Tyburs. But this path of warmongering was one that Marley chose on its own. We gave Marley both freedom and power in hopes of atonement. But in the end, Eldia and Marley were thrown into darkness. The Tyburs are responsible for that. I intend to reveal the truth to the world at the upcoming festival. My coming to see the statue was no lie. Marley is in need of a hero once more. Theo Magath, will you not join hands with me?".
--- the next day ---
Galliard yawns as he walks up the steps of the warrior mansion when he sees Pieck crawling around on the ground as he jumps, falling to the ground.
"Morning, Porco!" Pieck says kindly as she looks at him.
"Pieck, what are you doing?" Galliard asks as he holds onto the banister.
"This way's more natural to me. Did I scare you?" Pieck asks worriedly.
"Can you just walk upright?" Galliard questions as he pulls himself up.
Reiner meets with one of the soldiers to discuss how the walls work within Paradis Island.
"Titans come from the South. The wall will be less defended you get to these mountains up North" Reiner explains as he points to the spot on the map laid out in front of them.
"Then, should we attack from the North?" the soldier asks as he looks at Reiner.
"That's one option" Reiner continues on, "however, the wharf is the only place where our large ships can dock. We could press our advantage".
"So, the South?" the soldier says.
"But the South is where our scout ships were lost" Reiner says frustrated, "it's where they're most focused. The wharf might even be destroyed".
"So, what are you trying to say?" the soldier asks as he looks at Reiner.
"I'm merely trying to share the information I gathered" Reiner says as he looks at the soldier.
"Alright, enough. It was dumb to let an Eldian talk" the solider says as he throws his hand up in front of Reiner's face.
After the meeting, Reiner gathers outside with Colt, Zeke, Pieck and Galliard.
"The Paradis Island planning is going just swell" Galliard says as he sits down or a crate, "the brass in charge is oh so intelligent. Can't wait to hear what they come up with".
"Like entrusting the whole thing to four kids?" Pieck says as she leans over the balcony, looking at Falco, Gabi, Udo and Sofia who all train below them.
"He's ahead. Falco passed Gabi" Reiner says proudly as he, Pieck and Colt all watch them.
Udo and Sofia cheer with Falco whilst Gabi looks down.
"Look at them celebrate one little win. Jeez. They've got no idea" Galliard says as he looks at them.
"No matter how well Falco does at this point, he will never surpass Gabi" Colt says as he watches his brother.
"Did you see him run off at the end?" Falco asks as he looks at Udo and Sofia whilst the three of them and Gabi walk through town.
"Hey, runts. What's the big deal?" the guard at the gate asks as he looks at the four of them.
"Falco finally beat Gabi!" Udo says happily.
"In grades? Really?" the guard asks happily.
"No, just in a race!" Sofia says as she shakes her head.
"This is a historic feat!" Udo says as he shakes Falco by his shoulders.
"Could you cut it out? You're embarrassing me" Falco says as he takes Udo's hands off his shoulders.
"That's pretty awesome. Maybe you'll be the next Armoured titan" the guard says as he leans down to Falco.
"It's way too late to compete against me!" Gabi says as she hits her head against Falco's, "I made our motherland proud in the war!".
"I know" Falco says as he holds his head, "but they still haven't announced a successor yet. Until then, I'll do everything I can".
"Man, talk about showing off" the guard says as Falco walks off.
"Your brother's already inheriting the Beast! You'll be an Honourary Marleyan!" Gabi yells after him, "what's the point of trying so hard?".
"I'm doing it for you!" Falco yells as he turns to look at Gabi.
"Whoa" Sofia says in disbelief.
"He totally said it!" the guard says as he looks at Sofia.
"You're getting in the way, but you're doing it for me?" Gabi asks confused, "that doesn't make any damn sense!".
"Guess it didn't get through" the guard says as he runs away.
"What's his problem? What gives?" Gabi asks as she puts her hands on her hips.
Falco returns to the hospital where he sees Mr Kruger and Mrs Smith again.
"Nice work, Falco" Mr Kruger says happily.
"It's all thanks to you, Mr Kruger!" Falco says as he looks at Mr Kruger, "but at this point, I honestly doubt I can pass up Gabi. Even so, I'm going to keep on moving forward".
"I see. We're the ones who should be thank you though" Mrs Smith says as she looks forward, "I'm grateful you've been sending all our letters for us. You're been a big help".
"Yeah" Falco says as he notices a baseball glove next to Mr Kruger, "did your family send you that?".
"They thought it would make hospital life less boring for my sister and I" Mr Kruger says as he looks down at the glove, "hard to do much in this shape, though. I need to move forward, too. When the festival's over, we're going back to our hometown".
"I see" Falco says as he looks at Mr Kruger, "a doctor's coming. I'll get going".
"May a sit with you?" the man asks as he comes over to the two people, Falco running off.
"Yeah, sure" Mr Kruger says as he looks at the man.
"I appreciate it" the man says as he takes a seat, "I'm Jaeger, a physician for the zone. I come here to drink tea sometimes".
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kruger" Mr Kruger says.
"And I'm his sister, Mrs Smith" Mrs Smith says.
"Nice to meet you, Kruger, Smith. You both seem to get along with that boy" the man says as he looks at the two of them. I think I could get along with him too. I sit here on this bench looking for people to talk to. His Uncle was a leader of the Eldian Restorationists. Restorationists are sent to paradise and not even their family is spared. To protect their family, he and his brother became warriors, and when his brother was chosen to inherit the Beast titan, the Grice family knew they were finally safe".
"Why are you telling us this?" Mrs Smith asks as she looks at the man.
"Stop asking the boy to do favours for you" the man says as he looks at Mrs Smith, "if he comes under suspicion, all their effort will have been for nothing. And if you're truly healthy, you should go back to your family. Someday, you won't see them anymore. Don't wait and live with regret".
"Regret, huh?" Mrs Smith says with a small chuckle, "you have regrets about your own family?".
"There's not a day that I don't" the man says as he looks down, "that day, my son took my daughter outside of the walls. It's because I was too strict on him about becoming a doctor. It's my fault! Everything's my fault!".
"You're right. Everything is your fault" Mrs Smith says as she grabs the man by his collar as he stops and looks at her, "do you remember me, Grandfather? I'm your granddaughter. The granddaughter who you sold over to the military. You, Grandmother and Zeke all pointed your fingers at my Father, my Mother and myself and never looked back at us. The three of us were sent to paradise, you know. You said Falco's family managed to escape the fate of suffering that Grice's family did, but did you ever suffer? Did you serve the same fate my Mother did? Did you suffer as I did? I don't think you did. I think you live inside these walls ignoring what you did those years ago, pretending that you didn't sell out your own family".
"Stop! Stop it!" the man yells as he throws himself on the ground, "it's not you. You can't be. You're dead".
"No Grandfather. I'm quite alive and well" Mrs Smith says as she glares at the man.
"Mr Jaeger. Please don't go around on your own!" a doctor says as he runs over.
"He seemed fine. He was just sitting with us and started to freak out. I hope he can recover soon" Mrs Smith says as she helps the man up, holding his hands, giving them a tight squeeze as the man starts to freak out more.
"I'm sorry. I looked away for a second" the nurse says as she looks at the two of them, "this way, Mr Jaeger".
"Everything will be okay" the doctor says as he and the nurse walk the man away.
"You nearly blew out cover, Evelyn" Mr Kruger says as he looks at Evelyn.
"It's fine, Eren. He's a nut job now. It's not like anyone will believe him" Evelyn says as she sits back down on the bench.
"Are you happy now? You got your revenge" Eren says as he looks at her.
"When he's dead, when Grandmother's dead, and I've wounded Zeke's pride more than ever, then I'll be happy" Evelyn says as she looks at him.
--- that night ---
The warrior candidates, the warriors and other members of the Marleyan military gather in the main hall of the two alongside the Tybur family in order to honour their arrival.
"Whoa!" Udo says as he looks around.
"I've seen them in the paper" Falco says, not that impressed.
"Cut the chitchat. We've got to be waiters, like we trained" Gabi says as she walks over, "look, there's empty glasses. Get them".
They all run around as they collect everything they can as they weave in out of the people. Udo runs around with the wine as he fills everyone's glasses.
"Hmm? Oh, there's filthy blood touching the plates" a man says as he looks down at Udo as he just does his job.
"That explains why the food stinks" another man jokes.
Udo stops in his tracks and turns to talk to them when he accidently spills a drink on a woman in the hall.
"I'm terribly sorry" Udo apologises as he panics.
"Shh! Don't make a fuss" the woman says as she puts her hand on Udo's shoulder.
"But you fancy clothes" Udo says as he looks up at her.
"Is everything alright, ma'am?" a man asks as he peers over at the two of them.
"How embarrassing!" the woman says as she takes the glass of wine from Udo, "I spilled wine on kimono and was asking for help! Thank you, young boy".
"I'm sorry to hear that. Please come this way" the man says as he gestures away from everyone.
"Why?" Udo asks shocked by the woman's actions.
"Who knows what would have happened to you" the woman whispers.
"Are you okay?" Falco asks as he comes up to Udo as the woman walks away.
"Yeah, she saved me" Udo says as he starts to calm down, "she knew I was Eldian".
"That woman" Gabi says as she walks over to the two of them, "I think she's an Easterner from Hizuru".
--- the next day ---
Gabi wakes up to the sound of music from outside her bedroom window as she rushes out of bed and throws open the curtains, only to the festival has already started. Gabi smiles happily as she rushes to get changed, running down the stairs and out the house, into the street.
"What in the world?" Gabi wonders as she looks around at all the different kinds of entertainment and food.
"Gabi, you're finally up!" Falco says happily as he, Sofia and Udo all come over.
"What's happening?" Gabi asks as she looks at them all.
"The festival!" Udo says as he looks at her.
"People from outside came pouring in and opened all these stalls!" Falco says as he passes Gabi one of the two ice creams he has in his hands, "try this!" he says as he forces the ice cream into Gabi's face.
"This is a festival?" Gabi asks as she holds the ice cream.
"Let's go!" Falco yells as they all start to run around.
Pieck, Reiner and Galliard all meet up with the four of them as the four all spend their money on different kinds of food and games. When the four of them run out of money, they all turn to look at the three of them, their eyes sparkling. Reiner gives in as he starts to buy every food, even Pieck and Galliard. Reiner, who is about to start regretting spending his money so freely turn around to look at the six of them as he sees how happy the younger ones are, a soft smile appearing on his face. It slowly becomes night time as Gabi throws herself into a food coma.
"It hurts!" Gabi complains as she holds her stomach.
"It's because you stuffed your face" Reiner says as he drags her behind him by her wrist.
"I wish we had festivals everyday!" Udo says happily as he points ahead of him.
"Lately it seems like a lot of new things have been happening" Gabi says as she looks up at the sky.
"It does" Reiner says as he looks ahead.
"It feels like something's about to change" Gabi says happily.