Attack on Prime - Chapter 86 - melishade (2024)

Chapter Text

Megatron barely made it back to the island before crashing into the waters. He transformed and crawled out of the water and onto the sand, sinking his servos into the shoreline to drag himself out. The former warlord trembled, coughing up sea water and groaning in pain. He looked down at his chest to see the glow of the dark energon returning to his chest, the purple veins slowly receding back to the center where the Decepticon emblem used to be. Megatron scrambled to the water to check his optics, and was immediately relieved to see that they went back to their red color.

Scrap…sh*t! Scrap! f*ck! Frag! The Colossal Titan has dark energon! It was still alive! The island was in trouble! He was in trouble! He wasn’t going to be under Unicron’s control again! By the Allspark, what the slag was he supposed to do now?!

“You cannot escape me, Megatron.”

Part of him, the coward in him, the part that remembered first hand Unicron’s torment on him that felt like an eternity, wanted to run. To go as far away from this dirt ball as possible and save himself!

“You will never be able to escape me.”

He never cared about the humans. But where would he even go?! And he would just be abandoning Optimus and the Survey Corps! The whole reason he even bothered to stay in the…first place…did he really just think about abandoning the people that were willing to give him a second chance? Not just Optimus, but the humans that had every right to hate his guts. And…does he really want to see a repeat of what happened on Cybertron all those years ago. With Eren’s mentality and the Colossal Titan being active, this world’s destruction was that more assured…For some reason, he couldn’t let that happen. But…why?

Megatron forced himself to stand on the sandy beaches, but stumbled a little from the pain and fatigue he was feeling. He needed to get to the neutral ship and get some repairs done.

==

The Next Day

Magath stared at the hollow dead eyes of Calvi as his body was covered by a beige tarp. The body was carried out on a mat by four soldiers. They moved around the scientists cleaning the bloodstains on the floor left by the former leader of Marley’s military. Magath walked down the halls of the underground compound, finding Pieck, Reiner, and Colt staring in horror at the slightly purple glow coming in through. Magath looked through the window and saw Porco throwing a table in anger. Porco looked like he was sick. His eyes and his veins were purple, and he was practically frothing at the mouth.

“He’s alive…I…I can’t believe that Porco is…,” Pieck trailed off.

“That’s not him,” Reiner proclaimed, “That…that can’t be him. He’s acting like…a…”

“A monster,” Colt finished for Reiner.

Magath agreed. That couldn’t have been Porco. He saw Porco’s dead body. He saw the bullet hole in his chest! How the hell was he still alive?! It wasn’t possible! And he was acting the same way Bertholdt did before he was transferred over! Did…did the dark energon have something to do with this? He needed access to Calvi’s files. He clearly kept this from everyone!

Magath moved his hand towards the door handle and gripped it tight. He jolted at the sound of something shattering in the room, but didn’t let go of the door.

“Sir,” Colt warned, “You shouldn’t do it.”

Magath felt his hand trembling, but he took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. Magath saw Porco pause his rampage at the sound of the creaking door. Porco turned around to see Magath, and the anger faded only a little.

“Porco Galliard.” Magath spoke his name.

“Sir…,” Porco began, “Commander…where is…?”

“He perished from his wounds,” Magath explained, “I am now the one leading Marley military.”

Porco’s anger returned. “It was those island devils! What happened?! Where did the Flying Titan go?! What about the Founder?!”

“It was an ambush. We failed. We were blinded by the help that Paradis had. They have more titans from beyond the stars,” Magath explained.

“What?!” Porco shouted, and Magath could see the purple veins growing.

“We will find a solution to this, and we will gain the support of the rest of the world,” Magath reassured.

“No! Those bastards destroyed our home! I won’t forgive them!” Magath yelped when Porco grabbed his shirt and those purple eyes burned brighter. The door slammed open and Pieck and Reiner stormed into the room. Colt tried to go in, but Pieck quickly shut the door on him. Reiner grabbed Porco and shoved him backwards into the wall. Porco growled, scaring all three of them. He looked ready to attack Reiner, but he started to gag. He covered his mouth and turned his gaze to Pieck and tried to back away from her even further, directly into a corner of the room.

“Porco?” Pieck reached out to him.

“S-stay away!” Porco yelled at her.

“Porco, it’s me,” Pieck reasoned as she took steps to him, “It’s me, please-!”

“Stay away from me, disciple!” Porco screamed out and swiped at her face, scratching at her cheek. Pieck yelled in pain and covered her cheek. Reiner and Magath grabbed her and quickly dragged her out of the room. Magath slammed the door shut and locked it. Magath jumped back as Porco slammed his fists on the door. Meanwhile, Pieck held her cheek, even though her wound had already healed. What…what happened to Porco?

“Pieck are you okay?!” Colt cried out in fear.

“C’mon.” Magath quickly helped Pieck and dragged her out of the underground facility with Reiner and Colt following close behind.

==

Annie couldn’t help but watch with concern from the edge of Falco’s bed. The boy’s side was wrapped in bandages, and he was out like a light, but he was still alive. She had to thank Arcee for her help. Apparently, she had some advanced knowledge in human medicine that wasn’t even available in Marley, and used that knowledge to help save Falco. However, he had lost a lot of blood, and the doctors weren’t sure if he was going to make it at all. They said that it was a high chance that he was in a coma, and that due to the blood loss, his chances of waking up were low.

But she didn’t understand? Why would Falco do this?! She thought that he had fled the area! Maybe he went after Gabi! That made sense. Gabi was always impulsive, but she didn’t think that she was dumb enough to jump onto an advanced aircraft to try and take her revenge! And now she was in prison for killing someone from the Survey Corps and injuring another. There wasn’t much she could even do about her situation because she’s still being met with some caution. She still had to regain the trust of the Survey Corps and the 104^th. She wasn’t sure how easy that was going to be.

“Annie,” A voice called out to her. Annie turned to see Armin standing by the door and beckoning her out the room, and she wordlessly complied.

“I’m sorry about Falco,” Armin apologized, “Even with all of our advancements, we don’t know how to help him out of this.”

“Do you think if that world is contacted in time, that the other world of humans would be able to help him?” Annie asked.

“I hope so,” Armin answered, “Hopefully the government won’t do something heinous to him. He didn’t kill anyone. But…the other one…Gabi…”

“I doubt there’s anything that I can do for her now,” Annie explained, “Even if I pleaded her case, she still believes in Marley’s propaganda. The only thing that I can advise is for you to not kill her. She’s a Warrior Candidate and so is he. And she’s Reiner’s cousin. Her being on the island is good leverage in case something does go wrong. Just be careful around her. She is trained to kill.”

Armin nodded his head at that.

“…what happened with Eren?” Annie asked, “I noticed he wasn’t there when I had to confront everyone in the 104^th. And now with this…did you know that he would do this?”

Annie grew tense when Armin paused in his step, not saying a word. Annie even noticed that his hands were trembling.

“…I don’t know what’s going on in his head,” Armin answered, “He’s…drifted so far from us.”

Annie grew tense at that. The fact that Armin, Eren’s closest friend, sounded so uncertain actually terrified her.

===

Meanwhile

Hanji dreaded the sight of the crowd of news reporters and public servants surrounding the gate of headquarters right now. They had read the newspaper earlier today about the assault on Marley and how the Survey Corps dealt a major blow to Marley’s military. However, it somehow got leaked that Eren was currently locked away! Whoever did it was going to suffer a serious world of pain from them, they could tell you that much. Hanji exited the carriage and waited for it to leave before walking towards the gate, and they were immediately hounded by reporters and merchants.

“What do you have to say about the latest attack on Marley?” Peaure asked.

“Was it premeditated?! Was it planned?!” Roy prodded.

“Hanji, what’s to stop Marley from coming to attack us now?!”

“How long will it take for the other titans to contact their home?!”

“Does the military have enough equipment to combat Marley in the event of an invasion?!”

“What about the military officials that were infected with Zeke’s spinal fluid?!”

Hanji paused as they were about to open the gate before turning to the crowd. “There’s not much that I can say right now. I can tell you that we are still working on contacting Optimus’ home. Some of the soldiers that were infected with Zeke’s spinal fluid are cleared, but there are still others that need to wait before being used for combat. I’m currently going to be meeting with the other Commanders of the military to discuss further action.”

“Where is Eren Jaeger now?!”

“That answers not good enough!”

“Where is Optimus Prime?!”

The people were practically roaring at them and demanding more answers, but Hanji had no choice but to slip inside the compound and shut the door behind them. As they walked inside, they noticed two guards blocking the entrance to prevent anyone from getting in. God, just looking at that made them feel awful. The whole point of the coup was to free the Walls of an oppressive government and to be more honest with the public. Now they were finding themselves keeping secrets from them. It wasn’t right.

Hanji opened the door to Zackley’s office and saw Nile, Zackley, and Anka waiting for them there.

“The public is not happy about what we’ve been doing,” Zackley remarked.

“Someone leaked information about Eren being in prison,” Hanji immediately said.

“I’ve been running an investigation on the matter,” Nile declared before handing Hanji his papers, “They’re people under you.”

Hanji took the papers and went over the files. “Louise Schulz?”

“She had an associate called Floch Forster,” Nile explained, “Their records were mostly clean, but through interrogation we discovered that they let Eren talk to Yelena. If you want to interrogate them further, you’re more than welcome to do so.”

“Believe me, I will,” Hanji declared in anger.

“…Optimus Prime had recommended using the Eldian Restorationists, excluding Yelena, to aid Wheeljack in repairing communications,” Anka began, “We’ve decided to approve it, but they would need to remain under constant watch to prevent sabotage.”

“R-really?” Hanji stuttered.

“Wheeljack says that he’s made progress with the ship that was found, but he needs extra hands, especially smaller ones to do the task,” Anka continued, “The fact that we’ve decided to do it given the situation…”

There was an uneasy silence that lingered through the air from an unspoken truth: the world was after them now, and they all needed to find a way out in order to survive.

“There’s been a call from the Military Police to transfer Zeke over to Historia, in the event that Cybertron isn’t contacted in time,” Nile confessed.

Hanji snapped their head at Nile. “The whole point of Optimus’ plan was to prevent Historia from being turned into a titan shifter!”

“If it wasn’t for Eren and his stupid plan to attack Marley, then this wouldn’t have been called for!” Nile shot up from his chair, “But Eren decided to go rouge, and now we could have less time before an invasion happens. You told us that the War Hammer Titan is still active in Marley while the Colossal Titan was somehow brought back from the dead?! We might have four powerful titans on our side, but how many lives will be lost before a solution is had!”

Hanji grimaced at that. The MP had a point. Despite all of their disagreements over the years, he had a point. “Historia deserves to have a say in this. She is the queen after all.”

“For the sake of all that she’s done, we’ll give her time to think,” Nile agreed, “But what about Eren? He cannot be trusted now. We need to feed him over to someone else.”

“…Eren might be brash, but he doesn’t do things without reason.” Hanji tried to argue.

“That’s not an excuse,” Zackley declared, “Eren might have cut our time with his stunt and limited our options entirely. You need to confirm whether or not he can be trusted with that power. If not, we will feed him to someone else.”

Hanji shut their eyes at that. “I’ll figure it out.”

Hanji left the room without another word. They walked down the halls and found an empty room, far away from any windows and without any people around. Hanji screamed in anger before punching the wall right next to them. sh*t! This was bad! Everything was slowly starting to fall apart and there wasn’t much that Hanji could really do! Damn it…it actually reminded them of the good old days with the expeditions outside the walls. First Megatron was saying that Eren couldn’t be trusted, but now the government was saying it too! They…they actually should have listened to Megatron in the first place. He actually helped out with detaining Zeke, and gaining intelligence. But it was all for a selfish benefit in the end, and he was doing other things behind everyone’s back. sh*t. They were certain he was going to gloat about it for days.

Hanji opened the door and left the empty room. First thing’s first, they were going to hunt down Floch and Louise and get an answer out of them.

==

Neutral Ship

“Wheeljack, please tell me that you’re close to contacting Cybertron?” Arcee begged her ally.

“I have multiple projects I need to work on, and while I did make a lot of progress on that, I still need some extra help,” Wheeljack explained. Optimus just sat in his chair in silence, keeping his optics on the floor. Meanwhile, Megatron winced as he placed the welder against his armor, doing his best to repair his own wounds.

“Scrap!” Arcee swore in anger.

“Can we talk about the elephant in the room?” Wheeljack asked, “The whole ‘dark energon in the equivalent of a tactical nuclear bomb’? Zeke said that the shifter was dead. You said the shifter was dead!”

“Porco was,” Megatron explained as he finished repairing one of his cuts, “It seems that dark energon brought him back to life and Zeke refrained from telling me.”

“It didn’t seem like anyone knew, according to Annie,” Arcee retorted, “But the issue is that we have no way of containing that kind of power!”

“You were able to contain Unicron,” Megatron retorted.

“Do you have another indestructible container lying around somewhere?” Arcee demanded in anger.

“What about you?” Wheeljack asked Megatron, “How does this affect you? You used to tamper with the slagging thing, right? Can you find a way to control the titan shifter or something?”

“Porco doesn’t have a strong mind like I do,” Megatron explained, “And his emotions have been heavily guiding his actions. But the titan transformation did affect me. I could very well be a danger to the island.”

All three Autobots froze at that. Having the Colossal Titan be infused with dark energon was one thing, but Megatron? Again? Megatron stopped repairing himself when he noticed the stares directed at him.

“Do what you must,” Megatron ordered them.

“What?” Arcee questioned.

“I refuse to be Unicron’s puppet once more,” Megatron explained as he returned to his repairs, “And I don’t have a contingency plan for the Colossal Titan. If you feel the need to end my life to prevent something worse, then do so.”

Arcee narrowed her optics at that. There…there was no way that Megatron was agreeing to that so easily.

“What about the kid?” Wheeljack asked Optimus, “It’s been months and he immediately decides to respond to the world’s declaration of war. Like he was waiting for them to say it. It feels like he’s ready to rush head first into danger without thinking about the consequences.”

“That should be praise, coming from a Wrecker,” Megatron added sarcastically.

“One of the options we have is destroying the world. I’m not liking our options,” Wheeljack proclaimed, “So do you have any idea what to do about him?”

Optimus spared a quick glance at Wheeljack, but he didn’t bother to respond as his gaze returned to the floor. Wheeljack turned to Arcee and Megatron, hoping for answers from the two of them. But Arcee looked just as lost as he was, while Megatron looked irritated with the Prime.

“Focus on repairs and improving the islands defenses,” Megatron commanded.

“I am not taking orders from you,” Arcee pointed at Megatron.

“We do not have time to be squabbling like this. It is the only reasonable plan that we have,” Megatron reminded.

Arcee crossed her arms at that. “I am going to go check on the human child that jumped on the Jackhammer and make sure that he’s alright.”

Arcee stormed out of the room, leaving Megatron a little confused. “What human child?” Megatron asked Wheeljack.

“Some kid named Falco,” Wheeljack answered, “He came in on the Jackhammer with some other girl that tried to kill as many people as she could. Arcee protected Sasha and the bullet ricochet off her armor and hit Falco in the side."

Megatron nearly crushed the welder in his servo. “I should’ve expected the girl to be this foolish and idiotic!”

“You know who they are?” Wheeljack asked in surprised.

“Warrior candidates that I was forced to train,” Megatron answered, “Gabi Braun and Falco Grice. The girl is the impulsive one and Falco most likely went after her to protect her. Where are they now?”

“I heard the kid’s in the hospital from the gun shot wound,” Wheeljack explained, “The girl’s in prison.”

Megatron slammed the welder on the table and stood up. “I will deal with the girl myself. As for you, get your projects done as quickly as possible.”

“Contacting Cybertron is a top priority,” Wheeljack reminded as Megatron passed him.

“There might be infighting soon enough, and we need to be prepared,” Megatron proclaimed.

“Then you have to help me,” Wheeljack practically ordered in a hushed tone.

“…fine,” Megatron relented as he left the room.

“Chief?” Wheeljack called out to Optimus, but there was no response, “Optimus?”

“…I need time to think,” Optimus declared as he stood up.

“Prime, we might need your help-,”

“Not right now,” The Prime cut him off, leaving the room without another word, leaving Wheeljack stunned…and a little worried.

==

Marley

Lara groaned as she slowly sat up from the bed she was lying on. She looked at her surroundings and was horrified at the sight of hospital beds filled with injured and crying patients. Lara quickly stood up and stumbled out of the room, pushing past some of the nurses in the process. They begged for her to come back, but she didn’t listen. How many people were killed?! How many people were injured?! What happened to the Founder?! What happened to the Colossal Titan?!

Lara leaned against the wall for support, trying not to collapse onto her knees. Her body was shot. She had never put that much energy into her power before. It practically made her weak.

“Lara?!” Lara snapped her head to the sound, and nearly burst into tears at the sight of her brother rushing to her aid. Willy managed to catch her before she fell to the floor out of exhaustion.

“W-willy,” Lara spoke.

“Save your strength, you still need to rest,” Willy insisted, “All the hospitals are packed, but you had to be given a bed due to your importance.”

“…I failed in my mission,” Lara retorted, “I didn’t stop the Flying Titan or the Founder…and now innocent lives were lost because I wasn’t strong enough.”

“Lara, you helped protect the people here from a blast from the Colossal Titan,” Willy retorted as he took her back to her assigned bed, “That’s more than what the entire family has done in the past century.”

“But our plan failed,” Lara reminded as she was set down on the bed, “You were supposed to…and instead…Matthew…”

Lara felt tears forming in her eyes at the memory of Matthew shoving Willy out of the way. “It’s a debt we can’t repay.”

“…time and time again, Matthew has saved us, and it has cost him his life now,” Willy said solemnly, “We need to return that favor. His sacrifice won’t be in vain.”

“But your death was supposed to unite the world,” Lara retorted, “And we revealed the truth about the Tybur’s. We’re not heroes.”

“There are some who would consider you a hero,” Willy insisted as he lowered his head, “But you are right. Some political leaders have refused to talk to me. They now spit in my face. Call me a demon. Demanding why their leaders had to die, but I somehow managed to live.”

Willy raised his head to face Lara. “But because you are the War Hammer, our status still remains, and we have some influence among other leaders. We have to help out in this crisis and aid Marley and the rest of the world in defeating Paradis island. When you feel better, we’re going to meet with General Magath and discuss a course of action. Right now.” Willy offered his sister some bread, “Eat and recover. The world still needs you.”

Lara took the loaf of bread and ate with small, slow, bites out of her meal. She felt so horrible for the fact that she failed so many people. She had failed her mentor and the people who relied on her. She had to make it. She had to do right by them all. Or else everything else they worked to protect would disappear in vain.

==

“They want to do what?!” Ymir yelled at Nile in his office. Historia could only stare at the MP, looking just as shocked as her wife was.

“People in the Military Police have been calling for Historia to devour Zeke as was stated in his plan,” Nile told them, “I told them to let Historia have time to come to a decision, but considering our current political climate, I doubt that you would be given the option to even decide.”

“This is insane!” Ymir yelled, “Optimus’ plan was supposed to prevent that! Wheeljack is supposed to be contact Cybertron right now!”

“Wheeljack says that he needs more time to make the connection,” Nile informed them.

“Is there anything else that you can do to stop them?” Historia asked Nile.

“No,” Nile answered with a shake of his head, “There’s nothing else I can do besides give you more time to make a decision.”

“Then…if that’s the case-!”

“No!” Ymir grabbed her wife and forced her to look her in the eye, “I am not letting you sacrifice yourself for someone else!”

“Ymir, if we don’t do this, everything that we worked for will be destroyed!” Historia retorted, “Those kids-!”

“I know, but we still have time we can just wait!” Ymir declared, “I just don’t want you sacrificing yourself for someone else because they made you or you want to be considered a good person!”

“Ymir, I genuinely want to protect what we have and I don’t want to use the Rumbling!” Historia retorted.

“Historia, I am practically counting down the days that I have left! I am not letting you share that same fate!” Ymir declared, “And what’s worse, you have to give birth to more kids who’s whole purpose is to carry a power and fight for the island! You’d be a weapon making more weapons for who knows how long! I do not want that existence for you!”

“Ymir-!”

“Do you want to live a life like that?!” Ymir asked her. “Is that a life you can truly be proud of?”

“I-…” Historia’s words got stuck in her throat, “I…”

Nile couldn’t help but feel guilty for the couple’s situation. It reminded him too much of when he and Marie argued about their safety. And Historia was still a young woman, who still had a long life ahead of her. He couldn’t imagine putting one of his daughters in that situation. He shouldn’t be doing this. He shouldn’t be offering his hand like this; he was certain that it was treason. But…it wasn’t the first time he went against the government like this.

Nile groaned as he stood up. “Queen Historia, if you do decide to change your mind, and you don’t want to inherit the Beast Titan and wait for Wheeljack to hopefully come up with something…I have a place you might be able to stay.”

“You mean…his place,” Ymir emphasized.

“Yes, his place,” Nile repeated, “I owe you for helping stop Yelena. No one will even suspect you’re there. They think he’s retired.”

“What about the asshole?” Ymir raised an eyebrow.

“Ymir, who are you talking about?” Historia demanded.

“He won’t try anything stupid. He’s actually more compliant in helping out. Believe it or not,” Nile explained.

“I thought this whole group thing of yours was disbanded after the wine situation was settled,” Ymir recalled.

“We…we found out something else and I can’t tell you unless you agree to come with,” Nile explained.

“Ymir, what is going on? What aren’t you telling me?” Historia demanded.

“When I found out about the wine, I got help from Nile and a group of his that were trying to figure out what Zeke wanted in the first place,” Ymir explained, “They can protect you if you really don’t want to become a titan shifter.”

Historia mouth formed a thin line, contemplating her choice in the situation. It was either become a titan shifter, or run and wait until Wheeljack contacted Cybertron. It wasn’t a guarantee that it would work. There was a chance the island could be attacked, and the two of them would be in trouble for deserting. Hell, Ymir could lose her powers or be locked away. She didn’t want that to happen to her. But…she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be a titan shifter if there were still options on the table.

“Let me think about it,” Historia decided, “I…I really need to think about it.”

Ymir seemed disappointed in that answer, but didn’t voice her thoughts on it. “…I get it. Okay, Historia.”

==

Floch grew tense when he was brought into an empty room with a few MPs and Louise at his side. The MPs forced the two of them to sit down in two of the chairs that were next to each other, right in front of a lone chair. The two heard the door open once more and saw Hanji step into the room, looking both annoyed and exhausted as they sat down in the chair and stared at them.

“Floch Forster and Louise Schultz,” Hanji began, “You let Eren Jaeger talk to Yelena, and you also leaked to the public that we had placed Eren in prison. Why?”

“Eren Jaeger was doing his job in protecting our home and the Eldian Empire,” Louise answered them.

“It’s just Eldia,” Hanji insisted, “And you know for a fact that Eren leaving the Survey Corps was outside of protocol. Not to mention that Yelena had been poisoning the military with Zeke’s spinal fluid, making a good portion of the military hostages to his whims.”

Hanji leaned forward. “If you did that, then you must know something that I don’t. So what is it?”

“Even if we did, why would we ever tell you?” Louise challenged.

“Commander,” Floch began, “The world was becoming more and more aggressive with wanting to wipe us out. Eren Jaeger was acting and trying to help us forge a path forward, making sure that the world would know our might.”

“Eren gave us less time to contact Cybertron because of you,” Hanji accused.

“The risk to wait was too high,” Louise declared.

“But the reward would have been worth it,” Hanji reminded, “They would have been able to transport every single person on the island to another world in just a matter seconds. That power, could have helped save the island in case if things got too serious. But now we’re on a time crunch because the two of you got too paranoid.”

Floch grew tense at that, while Louise was trying her best to process those words.

“So whether or not the two of you know something that I don’t, it will be forcibly taken from you one way or another. You have my word on that,” Hanji declared before turning to the MPs, “Take them to their cells.”

The MPs grabbed Floch and Louise’s arms before dragging them out the room, allowing Hanji to sit alone in silence. They grit their teeth in anger and threw their hands up in the air, wanting to scream, but they quickly calmed down. They decided to take out their comm. link and press the button on the side four times.

“I’m busy,” Megatron proclaimed.

“You’re not spying in Marley anymore. I’m sure you have more time,” Hanji retorted, “Any idea how Optimus is doing?”

“He refuses to talk to me, if that’s what you desire to know,” Megatron informed.

Hanji covered their face with their hands. “This is all going to sh*t.”

“I don’t understand why you’re talking to me about it,” Megatron admitted, “Why not talk to the Wrecker?”

“Wheeljack’s actually busy and you know this,” Hanji proclaimed, “Do you just want me to say it? Is that it?”

“What?”

“To say that you were right about Eren and that he can’t be trusted!” Hanji exclaimed, “I’m sure there’s some part of you right now that just wants to gloat in my face about it!”

“I have more pressing matters to attend to than to gloat in your face,” Megatron declared.

“Then I’m sure you’ll do it later.” Hanji slouched in their chair.

“…scientist, I don’t fault you for not trusting me,” Megatron confessed.

Hanji shot straight up. “What?”

“I’m not a trustworthy person, and I was asking you to not trust someone who had been under your command for years,” Megatron explained, “I have also been a ‘grade-a asshole’ as some have described. But you were doing your job. Anyone else in your position would have done the same.”

Hanji thought it over. “Do you think that with his power, he’ll be able to outsmart us and find some kind of loop hole? How would we even be able to stop someone that can see the future as you say?”

“The only advice I can give now is to not allow him to leave,” Megatron advised, “But in the event that he does something drastic, I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

Hanji took a deep breath and sighed. “Do what you have to do.” They then disconnected the line before standing up and leaving the room.

==

That night

“I don’t know if it’s good that I put my input regarding Eren,” Annie proclaimed as she and Armin arrived at his and Mikasa’s shared home.

“We need insight in how long we have against Marley,” Armin explained, “And it’s better than having you locked away in some cell.”

“So you’re my guard now?” Annie assumed.

“Sorry if it seems that way,” Armin apologized.

Annie sighed. “Better you than someone else who wants me dead, right?”

Armin smiled at that as he moved to open the door. Armin and Annie stepped inside before Armin shut the door behind him. They made their way into the living room. Jean was sitting in one of the arm rests while Connie was staring out the window. Sasha was sitting next to Mikasa on the couch, and the Ackerman looked absolutely miserable, wrapping herself up in a light blanket and staring down at her hands.

Jean noticed both Armin and Annie and straightened himself out. “Hey.”

“How is everyone?” Armin asked.

“How do you think?” Connie challenged coldly.

“…how’s your dad?” Jean asked, surprising Annie.

“Safe,” Annie replied, “Thank you for providing that safe house for him. I really appreciate it.”

“Hm.” Jean hummed in response.

“Did anyone get a chance to talk to Eren?” Sasha asked.

“No,” Armin answered, “No one is allowed to see him.”

“That’s not fair,” Mikasa mumbled, “We should be allowed to see him. We should be allowed to talk to him. If we do, then maybe we can get a clear answer as to why he’s doing all of these things.”

“He left us without a word,” Connie reminded, “He dragged into a battle where we could’ve died. And the Colossal Titan is still alive and filled with that blood from Megatron. We were told that blood could bring back the dead. And now Marley has it?”

“How fast do you think Marley and the rest of the world are going to attack?” Sasha asked Annie.

“It’s hard to tell,” Annie admitted, “Marley wanted to gain help from the rest of the world, but Eren destroyed the entire chain of command in Marley. It could take a few months for Marley to launch a counter attack.”

“Do you think that would be enough time to figure out our next course of action, Armin?” Jean asked him.

“I don’t know…,” Armin confessed, “Wheeljack is still working on contacting Cybertron, and there’s been a healthy amount of civil unrest since we came back. I’ve even heard rumors that the Military Police want to feed Historia Zeke.”

“He can’t be trusted,” Jean agreed, “We don’t know what he even wants to do in the first place.”

“But Ymir’s not going to agree to that!” Sasha exclaimed, “Optimus’ plan was supposed to prevent Historia from becoming a titan shifter!”

“Maybe if Eren didn’t try to get us killed, then this wouldn’t be a problem,” Connie proclaimed.

“There has to be a way to determine where his head’s at, and whether or not he can be trusted now,” Jean proclaimed.

“He can be trusted!” Mikasa insisted, “He said that he wanted to protect us, and have us live long lives! Maybe that’s why he did what he did! It has to be!”

“Yet he dragged you into a fight where there was a chance you could be killed?” Annie questioned.

Mikasa wanted to retort that, but she couldn’t find the words and stewed in her anger.

“Reiner dragged me into his mess in order to fix his own mistake,” Annie said, crossing her arms, “To get what he wanted. You don’t think that Eren wouldn’t do that same thing.”

“You don’t know Eren like I do,” Mikasa declared.

“I know I’ve seen his rage and bloodlust,” Annie reminded her, “I know that he’s seen me as an enemy, and how terrifying that can be.”

“Not as terrifying as Buckethead, I’m guessing,” Connie commented.

“Let’s just try to talk to him,” Armin insisted, “Maybe if we can do that, we could create a case for him, and maybe the military won’t try to do something drastic.”

“Armin, you better hope that you’re right,” Jean told him, “Because he just started laughing when that kid got hurt.”

“He did?” Sasha asked in surprise.

“Yeah, it’s like he thought that what he caused was funny,” Connie declared.

Mikasa didn’t like what she was hearing at all, but didn’t have the energy to argue. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t lose her family again. Not again.

==

Gabi found herself sitting on the bed in that cell for…days. Maybe a week at best. But there was nothing she could do right now. She didn’t know what was happening on the outside. She had tried breaking out of here herself, but without a key or the strength, she could only sit in this cell and wait. And stew in her hatred. She hated this. She hated this so much. But she knew that she had to find Falco, but the guards wouldn’t bother to talk to her. Gabi scoffed at that. That was for the best! She wouldn’t say a word to these devils!

Gabi raised her hand to her ear, where the remnants of dried blood remained from her bullet wound. It was a minor one. She didn’t care about that. She needed to get to Falco and know if he was okay. Then she was going to hunt down Eren and kill him.

Gabi lifted her head when she heard the sounds of metal doors opening. They were no doubt coming from outside the prison. The guard outside her cell seemed confused at that as he stood up and walked to the door, away from her peripheral view. She stood up and walked over to the cell bars, trying to listen in. The guard was clearly talking to someone, but it was an unfamiliar voice.

“Leave us.” The command sent chills down her spine, causing her to back away from the bars. Who the hell was that? Gabi’s legs began to tremble as slow, heavy, footsteps grew louder and louder. Gabi let out a whimper of fear as a figure came into view. She gasped in surprised when she saw that it was Matthew! He was alive! She could’ve sworn he died during the chaos! She didn’t see him! What was he doing here?!

“Mat-!” Gabi’s words died in her throat when she noticed how…angry Matthew looked. Those red eyes practically burned holes into her skull. She even noticed how he held himself. Matthew had an appearance that mirrored apathy, arguably carelessness. But now…now he looked like he commanded respect through fear. His arms were crossed, his back was straight and aligned, and he looked ready to take his anger out on her.

“Matthew?” Gabi whispered.

“That is not my name, girl,” Matthew growled in a different voice, causing her to straighten out her back. Gabi felt her legs trembling once more, but she kept her mouth wired shut out of fear.

“I should have expected you’d do something as idiotic as this,” he continued, “Fly in to your death over some propaganda. What I didn’t expect was that Falco would be dumb enough to jump after you!”

“Falco?!” Gabi exclaimed, “Matthew, where-?!”

“Do not call me Matthew!” he ordered, “I thought that you were ‘one of the best’ so you should have put it together by now as to why I’m not behind bars and you are!”

“You…” Gabi’s expression of fear, quickly morphed into one of anger, “Bastard!” She lunged for Matthew, but the man merely took a step back from the back. She flailed her arm widely, trying everything in her power to reach him. “Traitor! Demon! We trusted you! I’ll kill you where you stand!”

Gabi yelped in fear as Matthew grabbed her collar.

“You still don’t understand,” Matthew stated as he took a step forward, “I was never an ally to begin with.” The hand on Gabi’s collar began to change as Matthew took another step forward. “I infiltrated your military, just like your cousin did all those years ago.” Gabi’s voice trembled as Matthew’s arm lost its familiar shape. “The only difference.” Gabi gasped in horror as Matthew’s hand turned into gray claws. Her gaze drifted towards the rest of his arm as it practically turned into armor. Armored that mirrored that of the Flying Titan.

“I wasn’t foolish enough to attack first and then make friends with the people I had mercilessly slaughtered,” Matthew finished. He then dropped Gabi onto the floor, away from the metal bars. Gabi stared that the claws that only just held her moments ago. It began to change shape as Matthew pulled it back through the bars. It returned to its human form, allowing him to flex his fingers with ease.

“You’re…the Flying Titan?” Gabi realized.

“Surprise,” Megatron mocked her.

“I’ve been looking up to…the Flying Titan,” Gabi glared at him, “We looked up to you and you lied to us!”

“Like I haven’t heard that one before.” Megatron rolled his eyes.

“Where’s Falco?!” Gabi yelled at him, “What have you devils done with him?!”

“You should be asking what have ‘you’ done.” Megatron pointed at her.

“Me?!” Gabi screeched, “You attacked our home! Zofia is dead because of you devils! Do you not care at all?!”

“At least Zofia’s death was caused by an enemy! Falco may very well be dead because of you!” Megatron shouted at her.

“W-what?” Gabi stumbled.

“You might have hated me as Matthew; I genuinely do not care. Whether you live or die matters little to me,” Megatron declared, “But at the very least after Udo’s death, I would have expected you to have some sense! Instead, your lack of self-preservation and impulsive nature led to Falco getting injured, losing blood, and into a coma! And because Paradis lacks the proper medical equipment, he might as well be considered dead!”

“No!”

“You could have stayed in Marley! Aided Magath in coming up with a plan! Instead, your heart was so full of revenge that not once did you think about the consequences of your actions! You dragged someone into your plan! Someone who was actually kind and considerate, and took my teachings to heart! Meanwhile, you just wanted praise and to kill the ‘island devils’ in a naïve attempt to prove to the world that you’re good!” Megatron yelled at her, “It wasn’t even Eldia that attacked your home first! It was the enemy from the Middle Eastern Nations trying to get their own land back from Marley because Marley was the one abusing the power of the titans! Not Eldia! I thought maybe after Udo’s death that you would actually have learned something! But you don’t! Because of your one track mind, I always considered you the weakest out of the Eldian Warriors! You only think about your selfish needs and wants, and not for the needs of your comrades! It should have killed you, but for some reason, you keep killing the people around you!”

“You’re wrong!” Gabi screamed as she shot up to her feet, “You’re wrong! I’m a Warrior Candidate set to inherit the Armored Titan! You’re just feeding me lies like you always have!”

“I may have lied to you about my identity, but I was trying to teach you to be wise and to actually this for yourself,” Megatron declared, “But you will never learn. You’re just a child, trapped in her old ways and refusing the take the opportunity to actually change. And now Falco will die, because of you.”

Megatron couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony of it all. “Reiner had asked me constantly to protect you from inheriting the Armored Titan. Even if I wanted to prevent that from happening, you somehow manage to screw yourself over and get yourself in something far worse than he could imagine.” Megatron took a step forward and gripped the bar of her cell. “The only reason you will remain in this cell alive, because of your status as a Warrior Candidate, and as Reiner Braun’s cousin. If it wasn’t for those two things, you would have been killed for your actions. You better hope that the island decides to have some continued use for you.”

“No…” Gabi watched as Megatron stepped away from her cell. “No!” She bolted towards the door and shook it as hard as she could. “You can’t leave me in here! You devil! Let me out!” She couldn’t have gotten Falco killed! He was still alive! She had to save him! She couldn’t have gotten her remaining friend killed! She couldn’t let her last words to him be insults! No!

Megatron did his best to ignore Gabi’s continued screaming as he approached the soldier meant to guard Gabi. “Stay alert when you are around this one. She is dangerous.”

“Yes, sir.” The guard couldn’t help but jolt as Megatron deactivated the holoform before flying off towards the neutral ship.

==

This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening again.

Optimus drove towards the Walls, feeling nothing but confusion and fear. Eren had left. He had been on the mainland for months, and now he was responsible for the attack on Liberio and the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians. Men, woman, and children were dead by his hands. And for what? Could Eren be actually trying to accomplish the Rumbling? He didn’t want that to be true. All Eren had to do was wait. Just wait until Wheeljack had contacted Cybertron and they would have had a much more permanent solution. But now everything was in disarray. Everything was slowly falling apart, and once again…he was helpless to do a thing about it.

He needed answers. He needed some form of answer out of Eren and fast.

==

In Marley

“No one was prepared for this type of assault,” Magath began in his office. The weaponry from one of the dead Eldians was laid out on the table, along with the small device that resided in the Eldian’s ear. Reiner, Pieck, and Colt sat on Magath’s left side, while Willy and Lara sat on the right side of the table. “Not only does Paradis have additional titans on their side, but they have clearly utilized their technology and weaponry to aid in their fight. The metals on the 3D gear mirror the thorn that Annie had cut off of the Flying Titan four years ago. They know where to find the material and how to use it.”

Magath picked up the device that was in the Eldian’s ear. “This device alone, allowed for easier communication between comrades. Far more advanced than the radios on the Marleyan ships.”

“Do we even stand a fighting chance against the island?” Colt asked.

“Our chances dropped once the other two titans have made themselves known,” Magath explained, “But also, it is clear that Paradis had some inside knowledge, and traitors in our mist. Zeke’s titan nape may have been blown off, but the only remnants of his body were clearly only limbs. On top of that, I’ve seen with my own eyes the nape of the Female Titan being cut before the Flying Titan crushed it. There were no remnants of Leonhart’s actual body. In addition, Leonhart’s father was nowhere to be found at the ceremony or in his home. It’s clear that Zeke Jaeger and Annie Leonhart have betrayed us all.”

Reiner was horrified at Magath’s explanation. “Sir, I can understand Annie, but Zeke?”

“Zeke has had his own ulterior motive. That much is clear,” Magath continued, “But…those two are not the only traitors in our mists.”

“Annie’s betrayal may have happened more recently, but it was clear Zeke Jaeger’s betrayal was long planned, and he had assistance in doing it, from Matthew Hayes.” Pieck declared.

Silence radiated in the room, which was broken when Willy started laughing in disbelief. “Matthew? Are you mad? Matthew hates authority of any kind.”

“That actually would be a reason for him to disrupt Marley military,” Pieck retorted, “But Matthew Hayes is not just a traitor. He’s a spy for Paradis island. He’s the Flying Titan.”

Everyone stared at Pieck in horror, while Magath kept a composed expression. Willy gritted his teeth in anger before shooting up from his chair.

“How dare you sully Matthew’s good name and accuse him of such a crime?!” Willy demanded, “He’s saved my life and the life of my family over and over again! He has actively refused to participate in anything important in Marley! All he wanted to do was leave! He helped Lara become stronger! He helped saved some of you!”

“Matthew Hayes was already suspicious enough because he had little to no record to speak of in the first place,” Pieck reminded, “He never disclosed his parents, or the location of some underground fighting arenas. The fact that he was kinder to us Eldians than most should have been the clearest sign that he was not who he said he was. He’s never eaten in front of us-!”

“Because he’s justified it as a near death experience!” Willy cut her off.

“Which is now, very clearly, because of the dark energon!” Pieck raised her voice, “The dark energon brought Porco Galliard back to life! That same thing could have happened to the Flying Titan! Have you heard of anyone being dead and coming back to life without medical attention?! And with the injuries he’s had?!” Pieck began to count her fingers. “Matthew managed to create a cure for an energon infection when none of the scientist we had no clue on what to do! Matthew has never been to school! He’s stated he has no formal education! But all he did was read a few books and make a cure for Colt?! Matthew is highly skilled in combat that he managed to take out a third of the Middle Easterners when they broke into the compound! On top of all of that, Matthew actually looked like a human version of the Flying Titan, so much so that Annie attacked him the first time that she was let out! It was even reported that the human form of Optimus Prime mirrored that of his titan form! Down to the eyes!”

Willy absorbed Pieck’s words, trying to process it as best as he could before shaking his head. “No! M-matthew may have been crude and insubordinate, but I doubt that-!”

“I saw the Flying Titan,” Lara spoke up. Willy turned to his sister, and saw the mortification etched in her face as she clutched her dress in her hands, “And his eyes, looked so much similar to that of Matthew.”

Willy shook his head. “No-,”

“Willy, we let the Flying Titan into our home!” Lara exclaimed.

“No!”

“We let him near the children!” Lara realized.

“NO!” Willy slammed his hands on the table. “No! I refuse to believe that! Matthew saved my life! He didn’t see me as a savior! He just saw me as a human being! He was a good person and Eren Jaeger killed him!”

“Lord Tybur-!”

“Just Tybur!” Willy yelled at Magath. The general took a deep breath and stared with sympathy before continuing.

“I need you to think,” Magath requested, “I need you to think about some of the extended interactions you’ve had with him. Anything that would be considered out of the ordinary.”

“No! Nothing comes to mind!” Willy waved off, “Nothing expect-! Except…”

“Except what?” Magath prompted.

“The answer he gave about Optimus and the Flying Titan,” Willy continued, “It was so detailed and thought out…almost like he knew what he was talking about…or what was even out there. He asked me personally about medical books. He…he was on the same train I was on the first day we met. How did he know about the Middle Easterner’s attack for Lara?!”

“The truth of the matter is this: Matthew Hayes is the Flying Titan, and he and Zeke worked together in order to sabotage Marley,” Pieck declared.

Willy slumped down in his chair and gripped his hair. “Oh my god…this is all my fault. I let him in. I…shared information. I let him train Lara. That’s how he was able to combat her in the first place. He…he knew her weaknesses. He helped plan the attack on Liberio with my information! Did he save me in order to mess up my plans?! The world is doomed because of me! Because I was a naïve fool!”

Willy began outright sobbing as Lara hugged him tight. Magath felt pity for the Tyburs. They had been played for fools. Magath turned his attention to Colt, and he looked terrified and betrayed, but…he also looked like he was contemplating something. He then turned his attention to Reiner, and was stunned to see that Reiner looked just as horrified as Willy dead.

“Reiner-,”

“I let him in,” Reiner began, clutching his own head, “He saw my weakness. He…I even asked for his help because I was scared. He…oh my god, he knows what I’ve done.”

“What you’ve done?” Magath questioned.

“Marcel didn’t die by the Flying Titan’s hand. He died because of me,” Reiner confessed, “Marcel saved my life from getting eaten by a titan the second we stepped foot on the island. We only continued with the mission because we were terrified of losing our status. So when the Flying Titan took the new host, we panicked and pinned all blame on him.”

“How…how could you?!” Magath yelled at him, “You lied to your own motherland! Do you have any idea what you’ve done?!”

“What else were we supposed to do?!” Reiner begged him, “We were kids! And we barely escaped with our lives from that island! You all saw just how brutal those titans and the island can be! We did what we had to in order to survive!”

“You’ve committed treason Reiner! And once this conflict is over and we somehow make it out alive, you will be stripped of your titan as soon as possible!” Magath declared.

“Wait!” Colt exclaimed, “Reiner has still been extremely loyal and dedicated to Marley! You can’t-!”

“I can!” Magath cut Colt off, “That information could have been used as blackmail!”

“But why didn’t Matthew bring it up?!” Colt demanded.

“What?!” Matthew exclaimed.

“Why didn’t Matthew bring up the fact that he knew of Reiner’s lie?!” Colt explained, “Why didn’t Matthew sabotage the Warriors when you all got the energon?! Why did he save my life?!”

Magath was genuinely at a loss of words for Colt’s words and his bravery.

“I could argue Zeke and Annie had reasons to betray us and leave Marley! I can also say that Matthew had all the reason to attack us! But all evidence points to the fact that Matthew should have let me die!” Colt retorted, “It would have saved him the trouble of dealing with a Warrior prepared to become a titan shifter! It would have taken time to find someone else to replace Zeke! But he chose to make a cure and save my life! Why would Matthew do that?!”

“…Just because one act of kindness existed doesn’t excuse all of the other actions,” Pieck retorted, “He could have very well used you to get closer to Calvi and Marley secrets to later exploit.”

“I can't believe that! They had other titans!” Colt retorted, “What more could we offer them?!”

“I suppose nothing,” Pieck agreed, “If that is the case, then it should be important to try and attack Paradis before they try anything drastic.”

“We would need to wait for the World Alliance!” Magath reminded.

“We need to move now!” Reiner declared.

“And why should I listen to you?!” Magath demanded.

“Because they have the ability to come back at any time and launch another attack!” Reiner answered, “More lives will be lost unless we do something now!”

“Sir, we do not have time for in fighting, especially when our numbers are so few,” Pieck retorted, “There is also the matter of Gabi and Falco. Reports state they were on the flying ship to Paradis, and we need to get them back. We can deal with Reiner’s situation later, but right now we need to come up with a plan.”

“Reiner needs to be punished for his crimes,” Magath retorted.

“You’ve seen what the Flying Titan was capable of, and how he fooled us all for years,” Pieck reminded, “We are no better.”

Magath wanted to retort, but glanced back at Willy and Lara’s tearful faces and grimaced. “Even if we launch an attack, we would need to consider Porco’s involvement.”

“Sir,” Reiner began.

“Quiet.” Magath immediately shut down.

“What we saw with Porco is not mental stability?” Pieck retorted, “It’s too dangerous for us.”

“Pieck is right. He hurt her!” Colt reminded.

“If we are going up against something like those titans, then we need him,” Magath declared. No matter how mentally unstable he had become. Magath knew that this was wrong, but sh*t, they were desperate now. They needed a chance at survival.

==

Eren didn’t know how long he was locked away underground. Days? Weeks? He wasn’t sure at all. He just…couldn’t help but be so…angry with himself! He was supposed to get the War Hammer Titan! Deep down in his gut, he knew that! Distorted memories of the future even showed him! So why…why wasn’t he able to get it in the first place?!

Eren glared at his reflection in the mirror before washing his face. This was a problem! Without that power, he wouldn’t be able to fight against Marley, or even escape this prison cell. The military probably has orders to shoot him on sight if he so much as left his cell. He thought that this was going to be simple, physically. But…maybe this was going to be just as hard physically like it was mentally. He still didn’t have all the answers. And months ago, he would’ve considered the Rumbling and using it full force without caring about the lives across the sea. But now that he had seen the outside world, and saw that they were people like Optimus and Megatron have said, the decision has become slightly harder. Even if it was all the same, on this world or another, and nothing really mattered anymore. The consequences shouldn’t either, in the grand scheme of things. But…

“Eren.” The titan shifter stopped washing his face, freezing at the sound of that familiar voice. He slowly lowered his hands, and turned his gaze to Optimus Prime’s holoform standing outside of his cell. His still stood tall and proud, but his eyes told a different story. It was a mix of anger, confusion, disappointment, and confliction. And it was all directed at him. He…he didn’t want that. He hated the fact that the person he looked up to was looking at him this way. Even though Eren was the one responsible for making that happen.

“We need to talk,” Optimus declared.

Eren forced himself to turn his attention back to the mirror. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Nothing to talk about?” Eren found himself gripping the edges of the sink so tight. God, he sounded so furious, “You have been gone for months on a continent where everyone wanted to kill you and take your power. Then you remerge, only to attack Liberio and cause the death of innocent humans. Men, women, and children that had nothing to do with our fight, are now dead by your hand.”

“The Tybur declared war,” Eren found himself saying coldly, “And I only reciprocated their declaration. I attacked after war was declared. It should at least make some difference, right?”

“Do not act flippant with me Eren and face me!” Optimus ordered.

Eren forced himself to let go of the table and turned his gaze to Optimus’ angry expression once more.

“Your actions made no difference,” Optimus declared, “In fact, they have made our situation worse. You have placed everyone on the island at risk now. It is only a matter of time before an aerial attack happens from all corners of the world. People on the island will die because of your brash actions.”

“And if we sat here doing nothing, the exact same thing would have happened regardless,” Eren proclaimed.

“Did you even consider the amount of progress Wheeljack made into contacting Cybertron while you were gone?” Eren froze at that question, “We found another ship and have using its resources to create a stronger signal. If we had more time, Wheeljack would have been able to perfect the technology and contact Cybertron! Technology, weaponry, medical assistance would have been at the fingertips of the island! But now because of your actions, the entire island is on high alert and Wheeljack has to divert more of his resources so the island can be ready for the oncoming assault! If you had remembered what I had told you about our technology, you would have know that we could have transported all civilians away from this world to a safe location so they would not be captured or killed! Our time is limited now because of you!”

“Fine! What if it is?!” Eren yelled at him, “What if our time is limited now because of what I did?! What if the Rumbling would have been null and void if your home was contacted?! What about Historia?! What about the power of the titans?! Huh?! Historia still would have been fed the Beast Titan and forced to have children so we could use the Founding Titan!”

“And now the military will be more urgent into giving Historia that power! You put her in danger! How do you think Historia will feel because of that?! How do you think Ymir feels?!” Optimus demanded.

“At least I was doing something!” Eren proclaimed.

“You did not help us!” Optimus declared, “There is little to no chance of peace now!”

“It’s not like there would have been peace even if Cybertron was contacted!” Eren told him, “The world still hates us because we’re Eldians! And majority of us didn’t do anything wrong! Meanwhile, you have no idea on how to end the power of the titans anyway! Do you Optimus?!”

“Cybertron had the resources to figure it out!” Optimus declared, “I have been doing everything to protect you and everyone else here! Now I am uncertain of what I can do now!”

“There’s nothing you can do! Because it’s all the same!” Eren shouted at him as he slammed his fists into the wall, “It doesn’t matter what you do, the world will still hate us, call us ‘devils’, and want us dead! And you think that somehow we can make peace with the people who curse and spit on our name! The same people that called you a lifeless husk, and for some reason, you still want to protect them! You would rather be complacent to try and make peace inside of actually taking action to do what’s right for Paradis to survive!”

“Eren-!”

“It’s amazing how Wheeljack and Arcee still managed to follow you even after all this time!” Eren added.

“Eren!”

“I mean, your leadership is what caused your whole race to almost go extinct and get another world destroyed!” Eren continued, “Your people died because you didn’t want to do sh*t!”

“Choose your next words carefully,” Optimus warned in an ominous tone.

Eren scoffed in response. “It’s why you couldn’t kill Megatron to save everyone.”

Eren felt terrified. His heart practically stopped when Optimus looked at him with anger, but the expression faded into one he couldn’t read.

“We are not done,” Optimus declared, “If you will not explain yourself to me, then you will explain yourself to the Survey Corps. They have been demanding answers, and you will provide it to them.”

Eren watched as the holoform disappeared from his sights, causing Eren to let out a breath he didn’t know that he was holding. He felt his body trembling and gripped the bars of his cell. He…he can’t believe he just did that. He…what was he doing? Eren shook his head. No. No he had to move forward no matter what. It was the only option afforded to him now. He’s come too far now. He couldn’t turn back. He was going to get what he wanted.

==

Gabi was on the floor now, spasming her muscles and frothing at the mouth to fake some sort of medical condition. Maybe a seizure! Anything! She held her jacket tightly in her hand, covering up a brick that she had pulled out of the wall. She could hear the guard opening the door and coming into her cell, asking if she was alright. She snapped her eyes to him before swinging her weapon and breaking the man’s skull. His body collapsed to the floor and blood seeped out of his open head. Gabi quickly pushed the body under the bed as best as she could before bolting out of there. She wasn’t going to listen to that devil! That demon! That liar! She was going to go and rescue Falco no matter what it took!

She managed to make it outside and run through the tall grass towards a river. A river! Maybe it would lead to a water source! Maybe it would lead to the ocean or something! As Gabi continued running along the river, she ended up stepping on a wet rock and slipping into the water. She tried to get out, but she ended up hitting her head against a rock. Her unconscious body ended up floating down the river, her armband coming off in the process.

==

Zeke grunted in pain as he was kicked in the face, knocking him onto the grass below him. Zeke shot up and took a look at his surroundings, finding only large pine trees in his vision. He gasped when he saw blue streaks of smoke fly above him and land on the branches above. He tried to speak, but found his tongue tasting metal. He touched his face, and found a metal gag was in his mouth and wrapped around his face. He then took notice of his wrists and ankles and found that they were also bound as well.

“Like your new home?” Levi asked Zeke, causing the titan shifter to turn his attention to the Ackerman. He was fully equipped with the updated 3D gear, and he looked absolutely furious. Zeke tried to move, but was quickly met with a blade to his face.

“Don’t try it, sh*t head,” Levi warned as he kneeled down. “There’s about 20 members of the Survey Corps hear that haven’t taken a sip of your spinal fluid, armed with energon weapons that will blow you up and leave nothing.”

Zeke internally swore as the Ackerman stood up fully before grabbing a handful of Zeke’s hair and dragging him to one of the tents on the ground. Zeke grunted as Levi threw him in there with so ease.

“You made a big mistake trying to double cross us,” Levi proclaimed, “So now, you’re going to sit here, until we get the preparations to feed your sorry ass to someone else.”

No! NO! Zeke tried to crawl, but it was no use as he could barely move. How heavy were these chains?!

“You lost, Zeke,” Levi declared before leaving the tent, ignoring the sounds of Zeke’s screams. Levi took a deep breath before flying up to one of the branches above. He didn’t want to feed Zeke to Historia, but in the event Cybertron wasn’t contacted in time, they still needed to use the power of the Founding Titan to buy more time. However, he wasn’t sure how long that process would even take.

==

Meanwhile

Magath stared at the door leading to Porco’s cell in fear. He was afraid of what he was going to confront. What mood that Porco was going to be in. Whether or not Porco would just straight up kill him. He actually tried to kill Pieck. The two had grown considerably closer during the four years Reiner, Annie, and Bertholdt were gone. But for him to actually harm her…made Magath fear for everyone else’s safety.

Magath opened the door once more, and was both relieved and terrified to find Porco in such a calm state, hunched over in the corner of a wall. But those purple veins still wouldn’t go away. Porco slowly turned his head, and Magath could see the purple that was still in his eyes.

“Sir,” Porco spoke.

“Porco Galliard.” Magath addressed him by full name, “We need to discuss an important matter.”

Porco turned his body from his corner in the wall and faced Magath, but he didn’t straighten out his back or even show an inkling of respect to him. Magatg, for the sake of his own life, chose to leave it alone.

“Falco and Gabi have been captured by the island devils,” Magath explained, “We intend to launch an assault on the island to retrieve the Founger and to get the two of them back.”

“I need to join you,” Porco declared as he stood up.

“Porco, this is a very delicate mission,” Magath reminded him, “The Rumbling could very well be activated if we fail. I need to know your mental state before we proceed.”

Porco stared at Magath as if he had grown a third eye. “My mental state? I’ve been a loyal follower to Marley for years! Any task that you’d given me, I’d do! Are you questioning my devotion to the motherland?!”

“That is not what I said!” Magath forced himself to not take a step back, “In your actions to try and get the Flying Titan and the people of Paradis island, you nearly took out Liberio in the process! If it wasn’t for the War Hammer, you could have killed innocent civilians! I need to guarantee that something like that won’t happen again if I put you on this mission.”

Porco glared at Magath in contempt. “You mean when.” Magath felt his heart stop when he saw Porco take a shard of glass out of his pocket and pointed it at the palm of his hand. “You know, general, I have all of this power at my fingertips, and nothing left to lose. My brother is gone because of the Flying Titan. I’ve been considered dead for months now. I’ve seen what waits for me on the other side, and it’s nothing but hell. I have nothing left to lose because I already know where I’m going to end up once I’m dead.”

Porco slowly approached Magath. “So I could, if I wanted to, transform and destroy Liberio in the process before marching over to Paradis and crushing those devils without a second thought. And I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to expend the energy for that. What I want is to be taken there, or I’ll just kill everyone that gets in my way. Including you.”

“P-porco, this isn’t you.” Magath tried to plead with Porco and get him to see reason.

“Not me?” Porco nearly laughed, “I’m an Eldian. A devil. This has always been me. The only difference was that you thought that I wouldn’t turn against you. Now do what I say.”

Magath saw the glass inching closer and closer to Porco’s palm and had no choice. “Fine. You can come.”

“Good.” Porco tossed the glass shard away from his palm before returning to his corner, “You better tell me when we’re leaving, or I will destroy Liberio.”

Magath took quick steps back and grabbed the door handle before opening the door and shutting it behind him. He locked the door and jiggled the handle twice to to check that it was. Magath then released a breath he didn’t know he was holding as sweat started dripping down his face. That…that was not Porco. Not anymore. Whatever that demon was needed to be put down somehow. But would that even work? Porco was shot, yet he came back to life. He still didn’t understand how! And how could Calvi keep this from him?! This was dangerous and life-threatening! Life they knew could be over from a simple drop of blood!

Magath straightened himself out. He had no choice. He had to redirect Porco’s anger towards Paradis, or let Marley suffer the consequences of Porco’s actions.

As Magath continued walking, he paused when he noticed the thorn of the Flying Titan still in the containment room, being studied by the scientists. All that time and effort studying the damn thing was wasted. They weren’t able to find out anything. But…a thought occurred. The metal from these titans have been shown to be quite resilient against titan shifters. Even though the titan shifters have been able to do some damage, it took some effort and quite a lot of force. Could this…could this be used as a weapon to kill titans and titan shifters? Could a dense metal like this at high velocity penentrate titan armor? Could they mold this into something that could kill even the metal titans that walk?

Magath immediately ran inside the room, stunning a few of the scientists still working. “I have an idea on how to use this metal.”

“But sir, we still-!”

“I can have one of the warriors mold it into something new,” Magath interrupted, “We are going to fight fire with fire against these titans.”

==

Optimus was horrified. He couldn’t believe that Eren had said that. What was Eren becoming?! What was he missing?! How was history repeating itself again?! Megatron was right. He had been coddling him. He’d been ignoring the signs, thinking that he had changed for the better and wouldn’t do something so drastic and now…now he…would he have to go against Eren? Would he actually have to hurt him? Like he did with Megatron.

Optimus continued driving along the river in Wall Rose towards the port. His spark couldn’t take it. He just wanted this to stop. As the Prime continued heading towards the area, he noticed something floating in the river…or rather someone! Optimus quickly transformed into his bipedal mode and saw the body of a human girl floating along the stream. He quickly picked her up as gently as possible with his servos and pulled her out of the water before setting her on the ground. Was she still breathing? He couldn’t exactly tell. He ended up poking her in her side by mistake, but it was enough to get the girl coughing. She expelled the water that was in her lungs and rolled onto her side to help ease her pain. He could see blood from a head wound and even a hole in her ear. Wait…who was this girl?

Gabi continued coughing up the water that was in her lungs, feeling some sense of relief when she realized that she was touching grass. She was still alive. Now she needed to get up and find Falco. She forced herself onto her hands, but noticed the lack of color on her right jacket sleeve. She looked over in horror and realized that her armband was missing. No. No! Where did it go?!

“Are you alright, young one?” a voice asked from above.

She gasped and slowly careened her head to see a titan marked with red and blue, looking down at her with piercing blue eyes. She screamed in fear as she tried to crawl back away from the titan. She kept tripping over herself, her irrationality and fear taking over. Optimus began panicking as the girl kept screaming and trying to run away. He quickly transformed into his alt mode and activated his holoform.

“I am sorry,” Optimus apologized as calmly as possible, “I did not mean to frighten you.”

The girl backed herself into a tree. She gripped the branch as she stared at him, clearly afraid that he would hurt her. She breathed heavily as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Are you…alright?” Optimus asked as he slowly reached for her. She used her arm and tried to reach for something. She grabbed a rock and chucked it at him. Optimus dodged the attacked and backed away from her. She ducked her head and covered her head to protect herself.

“I understand my presence may frighten you,” Optimus began as he got down on his knees, “You must have been through much, young one. I can help you. You do look like you need medical attention.”

Gabi slightly shifted her head to look at the titan. She still watched with caution and fear.

“My name is Optimus Prime,” he introduced himself, “What is your name, young one?”

“…Mia,” she lied. She couldn’t reveal her real name. She needed to get out of here, and this titan was a demon. He would kill her without a second thought. He was a demon. No matter how much she hated Matthew, she had to use his methods to survive.

“That is a nice name,” the titan, Optimus, said, “What happened to your ear? Who did this to you?”

“…a…it was…the orphanage,” she lied, “They abused me. I ran, and they shot me in the ear.”

The titan was surprised at the answer. “I was not aware that the orphanages were treating children this way. I will inform the queen later.”

Gabi tensed when the titan stood up and held out his hand towards her. “For now, you should come with me.”

“W-why?” Gabi asked.

“I can keep you safe from the humans at the orphanage,” he answered, “I can ensure you get medical attention and I can get you to a safer home. I know you have been through much, and that you are scared, but I ask that you trust me.”

Gabi debated her options as she lifted her head to look at the Prime. She was out of options. If she ran, she could get caught. If she stayed with him, someone could recognize her. But her best way off the island, was through this devil.

Gabi’s hand was shaking as she reached out her hand and held his. Optimus helped her to her feet before taking her to his alt mode.

“Wait-,”

“It is completely safe,” Optimus reassured, “You have my word.”

Gabi stiffened as the door to the passenger opened. Optimus carried her and placed her in the passenger side before closing the door and deactivating the holoform. Gabi grew tense as Optimus drove towards the port, curling in on herself and trembling.

“Mia, are you sure you are alright?” he asked.

“I-I’m f-fine,” she stuttered before she began violently coughing. She tensed when Optimus activated the holoform again and placed a hand on her forehead.

“You are sick,” he proclaimed, “Luckily, there are medics down at the port. I will make sure to take you to them.”

Gabi couldn’t respond due to her shivering. She felt it grow warm and her exhaustion began to hit her hard. She tried to stay awake, but her body failed her as she shut her eyes and fell asleep.

==

Paradis Hospital

Arcee couldn’t stop staring at this human child in the hospital with her holoform. She knew that she had to see him. She couldn’t leave him alone. She had to see if he was alright. He looked like he was the same age as Raf…when he was poisoned with dark energon by Megatron.

But he wasn’t in a coma because of Megatron. No. He was in a coma because of her. All she wanted to do was protect Sasha, just like her father had asked her to. She was only trying to keep her safe. But she ended up harming an innocent young boy in the process. She…she helped attack his home. She caused collateral damage. She…by the Allspark, she was acting like a-

“’Cee, you have to stop beating yourself up like this.” Wheeljack had contacted her through the comm. link.

“How can I not?” Arcee rhetorically asked him, “This kid is in the hospital because of me.”

“You didn’t know he was going to get on the Jackhammer,” Wheeljack reasoned.

“But he did, and I just wanted to protect Sasha, but instead, I ended up causing more harm than good,” Arcee declared, “We really are the bad guys in this story. It’s like we’ve become the Decepticons. All this death and destruction for a greater good. I wish I could take it back. I wish we’d never come here in the first place.”

“Arcee, you reacted like any other soldier did,” Wheeljack proclaimed, “And that doesn’t make you a ‘Con. The fact that you’re still feeling remorse about it shows you still have a sense of morality.”

“He’s in a coma now, and even with what I did to help him, they don’t know if he’ll make it,” Arcee explained.

“All the more reason to contact home. We can get in contact with Earth and that doctor can help him. June, right?” Wheeljack asked.

“Yeah,” Arcee answered.

“But Arcee, it wasn’t your fault okay?” Wheeljack reassured.

“…I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Arcee said before deactivating the comm. link. She turned attention back to the boy’s pale face before deactivating the holoform. They were really the bad guys in this story.

==

Marley

Willy had isolated himself in a spare room in Marley’s military compound. He was curled in on himself, holding his knees to his chest on the bed. He felt like a little kid again. He felt so guilty and ashamed for what he had done. What he had caused in his massacre. The only thing he could really do was reflect on every single conversation that he had with Matthew and over-analyze it. How each sentence must’ve had a separate meaning, and how he warned him about lying to the public, about suggesting to talk to Optimus Prime and…he didn’t even know if what Matthew said was sincere or not. He was certain that it wasn’t. He was played like a fool because he was so desperate to have someone look at him like he was a human being, and now he might as well have doomed humanity.

Willy heard a knock on the door and raised his head to see Lara entering the room with a tray of food in her hands.

“I’m not hungry,” Willy declared.

“Please eat something,” Lara begged.

“No,” Willy said, “I don’t deserve being treated like someone that’s to be respected. I deserve to have food thrown in my face and people spitting on my shoes.”

Lara set the tray of food down on the table next to Willy and sat down on the bed next to him. “Willy, you did nothing wrong. You couldn’t have known. You were always so busy.”

“I should’ve known,” Willy insisted, “Matthew treated Eldians with kindness, but treated me with and you with some form of contempt. But he still wanted to be around us. We let him into our home because we were being selfish and didn’t think. And now the world may very well pay for our actions. We failed as Tyburs. We have no honor.”

Lara looked down at her hands solemnly. These hands that held the hammer she wields. These hands that care for her nieces and nephew. She still lives. She still breathes, and as long as she can do that, her duty as a Tybur is not done.

“We need to redeem ourselves and actually earn our honor,” Lara declared, “We will fix our mistakes and we won’t let the world pay for it. This I swear. As long as I am the War Hammer Titan, I swear this.”

“…I’m glad you still have a sense of purpose, sister,” Willy began, “But the thing I think I want more than anything right now is to understand why Matthew did what he did? Why he lied to us in the first place? And if he even cared at all?”

Lara’s eyes widened in realization. “I…I think he does.”

“Didn’t he brutally attack you?” Willy asked him.

“Matthew warned everyone to take cover before the Colossal Titan was activated,” Lara explained, “He even threw the Armored out of the range of the blast that would have taken place. He…even as an enemy, he was protecting us.”

“W-what?” Willy raised his head, “Why would he do that? The island wants to destroy us. Why would an ally to the island protect us?”

“…Maybe things aren’t what they seem,” Lara declared, “Just like we’ve been holding secrets, maybe there’s still a secret to be had that needs to be discovered.”

==

Meanwhile

"Reiner," Colt began as he approached the titan shifter who was sitting in the mess hall by himself.

"You shouldn't converse yourself with me," Reiner proclaimed, "I'm a traitor."

"You're my friend," Colt insisted as he sat across from him.

"Colt, you will lose your position as the Warrior Cadet-!"

"f*ck the Warrior Cadet system," Colt cut Reiner off, "f*ck the Warriors, and f*ck Marley. I only did any of this to keep my brother safe. You lied about Marcel to keep yourself and possibly your family safe from Marley. Who knows what could have happened to you?"

"...I know that I'll be dead by the end of this," Reiner mumbled, "And I know that my mother will probably die too."

"Gabi-!"

"I have more faith that she'll be fine," Reiner declared, "Once she finds out about how much of a liar and a traitor her cousin has been, she'll disavow me," Reiner declared, "She loves Marley too much, and that will keep her alive."

"...We shouldn't," Colt insisted, "We shouldn't love Marley. They've been nothing but cruel to us."

"Colt, keep your voice down," Reiner warned.

"So much so that receiving compassion from Paradis has made us feel more human than anything else!" Colt exclaimed with confidence.

Reiner could only stare in disbelief. Colt's brainwashing was practically undone, or it was never that strong to begin with. "Matthew betrayed us."

"Yet he still saved me when he didn't have to," Colt retorted, "I don't believe that he hates us."

Reiner slammed his hands against the table. "Do you know how f*cking terrifying it was to have my heart ripped out and crushed?! Or have a sword rammed through my body?! Matthew wascruel to me!"

"That was then!" Colt exclaimed, "What about now?! I saw what he did! He warned everyone about Porco before throwing you out of the line of fire! He protected you!"

Reiner wanted to retort, but...he remembered that clear as day. And even before then, when he tried to end his life, Matthew was the one who stopped him, when he had every benefit to let him die. Why didn't he just let him die? Damn it he hated this. He hated doing this type of sh*t on Paradis, when he was the one instigating the trouble. It felt like karma being on the receiving end of that betrayal. Being the one fed lies and deceit when treachery was happening in the shadows. "I still...I can't...It was still a lie!"

"No it wasn't!" Colt insisted, "Not all of it!"

"Why are you still defending a traitor?!" Reiner demanded.

"Because I still believe that he cares!" Colt declared, "Because if he didn't, then we would all be dead!"

Reiner couldn't help but swallow at that. What was he supposed to say to that? What was he supposed to say about someone who proclaimed to understand how he felt? Was that even the truth?

...He didn't know anymore.

==

Pieck stared solemnly at the ruins and destruction of Liberio. Homes and apartments were shattered. Lives were destroyed. People were weeping and grieving in the streets as the Marleyans cleaned up the bodies in the area. Even some of the Marleyans who despised the Eldians felt hints of remorse.

Pieck felt tears well up in her eyes. Everything was in ruins. She tried to keep it together for the sake of it, but how could she. Matthew was…is the Flying Titan. Zeke and Annie had betrayed Marley. She had a sinking feeling that something was off about Zeke, but she hoped that Annie wouldn’t have. Pieck sighed to herself. She should’ve known better. The way that Marley treated Annie made her miserable, and Zeke had always felt dishonest. But…it didn’t hurt any less to know that she was played for a fool by people she thought were her comrades.

Pieck wiped her tears on her sleeve, seeing that they were a bright blue once more. She took a quite breath and saw the shadow walk next to her side, staring on in horror at the devastation before it.

“I am sorry that I did not do more to prevent this carnage,” the shadow apologized.

“…whatever you did…whatever you told me…helped save the lives of thousands of others that would have been lost,” Pieck explained, “The Colossal Titan is an immense power, but this dark energon has made it more unpredictable and terrifying. I do not know what is happening to Porco, but is there a way that I can save him?”

Pieck stared at it with pleading eyes. “Please…there has to be a way to save him.”

Pieck gasped when the shadow’s blue eyes turned into a golden pair for a brief moment. It looked like it was searching for something before it turned back into that familiar blue.

“It is…uncertain,” the shadow replied. Pieck grew angry and began to walk away from the shadow.

“Pieck, wait!” the shadow reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Why do you do this to me?” Pieck demanded as she yanked her arm out of the shadow’s grip, “It seems like you want to help. In fact, you have, multiple times! But when I really need you here, when I need and answer about who you are and why you know all these things, you refuse to answer me! Why are you keeping secrets, but also helping me?! Why do you care so much but you’re doing so little to stop this?!”

“I...everything that I have been experiencing for so many years has been out of order,” the shadow explained, “Everything that I have been experiencing has been distorted and chaotic that even now I am trying to find sense in all of it. And when I try to help, I am either removed from the situation or called somewhere else. I have tried to help and end this conflict, but I have no idea if my presence has caused it or even made it worse.”

Pieck was stunned when the shadow gripped her shoulder. “And I have seen visions of a future that devastates this world and I am trying so hard to prevent it because I do not want anyone else to die. But…” The shadow hung its head. “The future has now become inevitable. I cannot stop it from happening. No one can. But there are ways to prevent its damage and finally put an end to the power of the titans.”

“What do you mean by that?” Pieck’s eyes widened in horror.

“…You have every right to not trust me because of my actions in the past. I understand.” The shadow continued, “But if you want to save this world, I need you to fulfill one final request before I leave.”

“Where are you going?” Pieck asked it.

“Somewhere…everywhere…I never really know,” The shadow confessed, “But I know that I will not be seeing you for some time. We may meet again…I do not know. But please…please fulfill my request.”

Pieck’s mouth formed a thin line. “What could you even want me to do that would prevent a devastating future that you’re talking about?”

The shadow raised its head. “I need you to put your complete and total faith in Optimus Prime.”

Pieck was mortified. What…what did this being just say? “Optimus Prime? Are you out of your mind?”

“Pieck-,”

“He is an enemy to Marley and the entire world!” Pieck yelled.

“Pieck-,”

“The island that he aligned with attacked my home! And his ally, the Flying Titan, Megatron, manipulated us all and made us fools!” Pieck continued, “Why should I put my faith in someone like that?!”

“He wants peace, Pieck!” the shadow declared, its eyes showing desperation, “All he has ever wanted was peace! He does not want to take human life but to protect it! He would risk his life for this world no matter how many of the people here hate him!”

“Even if I believed you, he is still a threat!” Pieck retorted, “I refuse to-!”

“I am begging you!” Pieck took steps back as the shadow fell to its knees, holding her hands now, “I can ask no one else! You are the only one who can do anything at all! If you cannot, then this world is doomed!”

Pieck gasped when the black of the entity began to fade to reveal pale skin. “There is only so much that I can do, and I do not want to sit back once more and let another world be ruined because of fate or pre-destination. I refuse.”

The shadow careened its head to reveal his hair, and his face, but those piercing blue eyes remained the same. “So please, I beg of you, Pieck Finger. Put your faith in Optimus Prime. He will be the one to end the power of the titans. You have my word. Just put your faith in him.”

The shadow looked down at his body to see that it was fading out of existence, starting with his arms, but he still kept going. “I’m sorry for putting this burden on your shoulders, but I have nothing else.”

“I…,” Pieck trailed off. What else was she supposed to say? What could she even say? Should she lie? Should she refuse his request? Pieck glanced over at Liberio. Her home was destroyed, but because of it…him…there was still something she could come back to.

Pieck closed her eyes. “I can only promise to try.” The titan shifter opened her eyes and saw relief plastered on the shadow’s face before he disappeared completely from her sights. She felt warmth lingering on her fingers and flexed them a little. She had…no idea what she just agreed to. What she agreed to was no doubt treasonous, but her options were becoming so limited now, she had no choice but to try.

“Pieck,” she heard a voice call out. She looked behind her to see Magath walking up to her. She noticed a remorseful look in Magath’s eyes as he looked at the destruction before him before regaining his composure.

“I have an assignment for you,” Magath declared.

==

“Ymir,” the titan shifter heard a voice tremble as she felt someone shake her shoulders. She opened her eyes to see Historia staring at her with tears in her eyes.

“You okay?” Ymir asked as she shot up from the bed, the moonlight providing some visibility in the room, “What’s wrong?”

“I…I don’t want to do it,” Historia declared, “I don’t want to be a titan shifter. I don’t want to be forced to do things for others and be made into a weapon.”

Ymir was more alert now, letting out a heavy sigh of relief before smiling. “Oh thank god.” She quickly shot up from the bed and ran to their shared closet, “Being a titan shifter is not fun. Your life is constantly in danger, and there might be a real chance of being captured and experimented on. I don’t want that life for you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before?!” Historia demanded as she stood up from the bed. She grunted as Ymir threw a coat with a hood at her face.

“Because I wanted it to be your choice, and I didn’t want my input to affect your decision because I know me being your wife would’ve done so,” Ymir declared as she put on a coat of her own.

“So then where are we going now?” Historia asked, putting her arms through the sleeves, “The military will be searching for the both of us like crazy.”

“I know a place that they wouldn’t even think to look,” Ymir declared.

“Okay, where’s that?” Historia asked.

“Remember Commander Erwin?” Ymir smirked.

Historia’s mouth dropped. “The former commander?! And he’ll be okay with this?!”

“Judging by what Nile told me, the two of them are still working together with Buckethead of all people,” Ymir declared as she grabbed a bag and placed both of their essentials in them.

“They’re working together with Megatron?!” Historia practically yelled.

“Keep your voice down,” Ymir whispered, placing a finger against her lips, “They were the ones that knew something was up with the wine first and used me as evidence to make it stick. Now we have to go before anyone else wakes up and notices that you’re gone.”

“But what about you?” Historia asked, “Won’t you get in trouble for helping me?”

“If you want me to desert, just say the word,” Ymir declared, holding out her hand to Historia, “We do this together and we live for ourselves. I don’t care how many people we end up pissing off. As long as I’m with you, I can never be afraid.”

Historia couldn’t help but smile at such sweet words. She looked down at Ymir’s outstretched hand, doubt filling her mind once more, but the want to live a life that she could be proud of outweighed her fear. She didn’t want the Rumbling to be activated, but she didn’t want to be someone’s slave like her sister was. She was going to put her hope in her wife, and her comrades, and pray that their third option still existed.

Historia took Ymir’s hand, eyes full of determination. “Let’s do it.”

Ymir grinned as the two quickly rushed out of the room to get to the horses.

==

Eren waited. He had no choice but to wait patiently for the right moment to strike. If he stayed in here any longer, he was going to get eaten. He knew that much. And without the War Hammer Titan, he couldn’t tunnel his way out of here. Support was growing from the outside. He knows that Floch and Louise are leading that support. He’s seen them by his side in his memories. He knows for a fact that he could use them. He just needed to wait.

Eren noticed one of the guards coming in to bring him food. He could see that this one had the key to his cell, right around his waist. He waited until the guard got close. He waited until the guard placed the food through the slot at the bottom, and waited until his arm was a good ways into his cell. And then…he pounced.

Eren lunged for the soldier and yanked the rest of his arm through the bars. He pulled him up to stand and twisted his arm behind his back and behind the bars. The second soldier that was meant to guard him quickly aimed his rifle at Eren, but Eren used the soldier as a shield, and let him take the full force of the gun shots. The soldier still alive was horrified that he had shot his comrade, and Eren quickly grabbed the key on the corpse’s side before dropping it to the floor. Eren turned the key into the lock and kicked the door open before rushing the second guard. He took the rifle from his hand and smacked him across the face with it, knocking him out cold. Eren looked back at the now dead guard and…felt sick to his stomach. Did he…did he just get one of his own killed? He…he killed one of his own.

Eren shook his head. He needed to calm down. Don’t think about it. If he had the War Hammer Titan he wouldn’t have…had to do that. Eren quickly dragged the body into his cell and placed it on the bed. He used the blanket to clean up the blood stains on the ground before covering the body with it. Eren dragged the unconscious body inside the cell and placed it under the bed, but not before taking his shirt and the jacket that displayed the Garrison sigil. Eren put both items on his person and tied his hair into a bun before walking down the hall and up the stairs. Eren kept his head down as he passed some other guards. But they didn’t bother to talk to him, thankfully.

The titan shifter managed to step outside of the underground cell, and was met with the moonlight and the quiet streets of Sina. Instead of running, he continued to walk at a normal pace towards Sina’s gate. He got rid of the Garrison jacket and stole a plain hat from a vendor before putting it on his head. He didn’t know how much time he had until the alarm was sounded and his escape would be announced throughout the entire military. He hoped that it was enough time for him to find out Zeke’s location and get the powers of the Founding Titan.

But he knew that he was going to need to get some help.

==

Deleted Scene

Mr. Leonhart rubbed his eyes as he slowly got up from the bed he was laying on. He couldn’t help but notice…how much softer it felt. He looked around his room and was stunned to find it so furnished and clean. He spotted his cane at the edge of the bed and grabbed it before walking over to the window. He gasped in shock at the sight. Instead of being met with the filth and grime of the sewers of Liberio, he was surrounded by grass and trees. It almost looked like his homeland as a child. Was…this a dream? Was he dead or something? Was he a titan?

Mr. Leonhart turned his head to the sound of the door opening, and gasped at the sight of a worried Annie entering the room. “Annie!”

“Dad!” Annie gasped as she realized her father was awake. She ran over to him and hugged him tight, causing him to drop his cane.

“What is going on?!” Mr. Leonhart asked, “Where are we?!”

“We’re in the Walls,” Annie answered as she let him go.

“The Walls!” Mr. Leonhart couldn’t help but be terrified, “Annie, the world may very well be reigning hell on Earth on this island! Why have you brought us here?!”

“Because there’s a chance that we don’t even have to be on this world anymore!” Annie declared.

“What?” Mr. Leonhart was confused.

“The titans that come from beyond the stars, they have ways of traveling to different worlds and different stars,” Annie explained, a smile forming on her face, “There’s a world full of humans where titans don’t exist. If I help the island, then they can help us go to that world once they can reach there’s. We don’t have to be Eldians anymore. We can just be human! We can take you to a doctor that can fix your leg! We could go anywhere that we could ever dream of without being cursed at or vilified! We…we could actually be free.”

Mr. Leonhart did his best to absorb the information. Another world? A world without titans? Was she absolutely sure that this was real? Did her mind break due to the torture that Marley had put her through? And what he had put her through? “Are…are you sure this is real?”

“Yes, it’s completely real,” Annie answered, “Do you…do you not believe me?”

“I don’t know if I believe you or if you’ve finally gone mad from what I put you through,” Mr. Leonhart confessed.

“Please believe me, I’m telling you the truth,” Annie pleaded.

“Then why would you still fight for me after what I’ve done?!” Mr. Leonhart demanded, “You’ve been isolating me in the past?! Was it because of this?!”

“…yes,” Annie answered, but Mr. Leonhart could hear the hesitance in his voice.

“You’ve been resenting me long before you knew about this,” Mr. Leonhart declared, “So I don’t understand why you would still continue to fight for me.”

“…It was because of that day before I left,” Annie explained, “Despite what you put me through, you gave me a reason to actually fight and live. A promise. Maybe I was a bit naïve in thinking that things would be perfect between us. I certainly haven’t made it easier these past few years. But…I still want to fight for you, because even though the world may become my enemy, you said you’d always be by my side.”

“…I did say that didn’t I?” Mr. Leonhart chuckled, “But…what if you’re wrong?”

“I’m right,” Annie declared.

“Okay, then what if this world isn’t contacted in time before an invasion happens on the island?” Mr. Leonhart corrected.

“Then…at the very least, you don’t have to die within the Walls of Liberio,” Annie answered.

Mr. Leonhart looked out the window once more. “The scenery does remind me of home…do I have to stay here?”

“It is safer if you stay within the area,” Annie answered, “But once we can get a chance to leave this world, I’m coming right back to get you. I promise.”

“I know.” Mr. Leonhart nodded, “And I swear that whatever time we have left together. I will treat you better, like an actual father.”

Annie couldn’t help but hug her dad, and this time, he reciprocated.

“I’m sorry for everything,” Annie apologized.

“I’m sorry too,” Mr. Leonhart apologized as well.

The titan shifter had let him go before walking towards the door. “The house is yours for the time being, okay?”

“Okay,” Mr. Leonhart said.

“I’ll be back.” Annie waved goodbye to her father before leaving the room. Mr. Leonhart could help but be so shocked…and so content. This was the most hopeful and happiest that he had seen his daughter in a long time. Maybe there was hope for the two of them after all.