Reiner glanced around the underground banquet hall nervously. The food near the front of the room gave off a pleasing aroma, and the overall atmosphere was cheerful and happy. But being underground made Reiner nervous, as he wouldn't be able to transform if something were to go truly wrong.

That wasn't too likely, however, and refusing to join the other new recruits for the unexpected feast would be more suspicious, so he pushed his uneasiness aside.

After getting a plate of food, he walked over to one of the long tables in the center of the room. Before long he spotted some familiar faces.

Connie waved at him. "Hey Reiner!"

Reiner sat down next to him. "Hello Connie."

On Connie's other side, Sasha was already digging in with an elated expression on her face. "The food's amazing!"

Across from her, Nic scowled. "Can't you ever think about anything other than your stomach?"

Mina smiled. "She is right, though. The food is really good."

Mylius tilted his head thoughtfully. "It's strange though. They never really said what the occasion was, and I talked to some of the Scout veterans, and they said that this is the first time this kind of dinner has ever been held for newer recruits."

Sasha shook her head. "Who cares?! It's free food!"

Connie looked down at his plate grimly. "Yeah. And I suppose we should enjoy this while we can. Because eventually we'll have to participate in the expeditions outside of the wall."

Nic took a sip of water. "Although, I haven't seen anything about that in the posted schedule. I know the attack on Trost kind of messed up their plans, but it's been more than a month now."

Mylius frowned. "Come to think of it, during the choosing ceremony Erwin made a big deal out of trying to find the Rogue Titan, but I haven't heard anything about it since then, have you?"

Mina shook her head. "No."

Reiner shrugged. "Perhaps they're working on it, and are keeping their progress confidential until they can find some leads."

Nic nodded. "That makes sense."

While the others chatted, Reiner found his thoughts wandering.

Hopefully they don't find any leads. I just hope they resume their expeditions soon. The sooner I can get in contact with Marley, the better. They may be disappointed by our progress, but they'll be grateful for the intel, and they can't just leave Annie and Bertolt where they are. Hopefully with Zeke's help, we'll be able to finish this mission.

Reiner looked at the others sadly. If only you guys really were devils. That would make this so much easier. As much as I hate to admit it, Annie's right. If push came to shove, could I really…

Reiner jumped as he felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around, and saw that Eren was right behind him.

Eren raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

Reiner chuckled nervously. "Yeah, you just startled me, that's all."

Eren's face became serious. "Reiner, can I speak to you about something?"

Reiner blinked. "Sure."

Eren led him away from the dining area and down one of the side hallways, and before long the chatter of the recruits faded to be replaced by silence, the only sound being their footsteps on the floor.

Reiner looked at Eren uncertainly. "What's up?"

Eren's face was neutral. "I remember, when we first started training, you said that you wanted to return to your home town no matter what."

Reiner frowned. "I don't remember saying that, but it's true. I do want to return home, no matter what."

Eren nodded. "And I want to return to my hometown, no matter what. It seems like we have similar goals. It'd be nice if we could help each other out."

Eren extended his right hand.

Reiner slowly accepted it, unsure of what Eren wanted.

Reiner smiled as they shook hands. "Yeah. That would be nice."

Eren nodded, and then abruptly pressed his left hand onto the back of Reiner's hand.

Reiner winced as he felt a prick of pain, like he had just been stung by a hornet.

Eren's gaze had become cold. "It's such a shame, that our goals aren't mutually compatible."

Reiner pulled his hand away, and saw that Eren had jabbed a needle into his hand.

Reiner's eyes widened in shock. "What are you…"

He tried to reach forward to pull the needle out, but all at once his vision began to blur. He stumbled, and suddenly he couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down, his senses no longer able to provide him with accurate information about his surroundings.

He collapsed to the ground, his head swimming, and the last thing he heard before everything went black was Eren's voice somewhere above him.

"Sorry Reiner."


The first thing Reiner was aware of was pain. A dull throb that seemed to echo throughout his body. Something was wrong, very wrong…

He slowly regained consciousness, and forced his eyes open. He saw that he was inside of an isolated cell, with an iron door being the only way in and out.

He tried to move, but found himself unable to. He glanced down, and saw to his horror the source of his pain. His arms and legs were gone. Several iron bands were placed over the stumps, and a series of chains were the only things keeping him upright. The only clothing left on him was his pants, most of which appeared to have been removed along with his legs. Small clouds of steam were emanating from each of the stumps.

Confused and terrified, Reiner let out an involuntary scream.

A voice echoed from outside the iron door. "Ah, he's finally awake. Go get Commander Erwin and the others."

Reiner jerked his head up. Commander Erwin? What…

A few minutes later, the iron door opened, and Erwin stepped inside the cell, with Levi and Hange right behind him.

Reiner cried out. "What the hell is going on?

Erwin looked at him seriously. "Surely you must have realized by now? We know that you were one of the Titans responsible for the attacks on Wall Maria and Trost."

Erwin glanced behind him. "And we know this, because Eren is the Titan who stopped the attack on Trost."

Reiner's eyes widened as he watched the last person enter the cell. "Eren…"

Eren walked over and knelt down in front of Reiner so that he was on eye level with him.

Hange coughed. "I'm guessing you're the armored Titan. And Bertolt's the Colossal. Which one is Annie?"

Reiner looked at her in alarm. "You...you've captured them too?"

Levi looked at him disdainfully. "No, not yet. But we will soon."

Eren looked at him calmly. "Like I said, Reiner, I'm going to return home no matter what. And unfortunately for you, in order for me to make it back home, you can't."

Reiner whispered. "How…"

Eren closed his eyes. "My father came from outside the walls, and shortly after the breach gave me the power of the Attack Titan."

Reiner's eyes widened.

Eren tapped the side of his head. "I also inherited his memories. You may have fooled the others, and under other circumstances you may have fooled me as well, but your act, while impressive, wasn't enough to hide your true colors from me.

Reiner slumped back, feeling numb. "You knew? This whole time, you knew, and yet…"

Eren nodded. "Based on your reaction, I'm guessing my act was successful in fooling you. That's good. Hopefully it was enough to fool Bertolt and Annie as well."

Eren's expression became serious. "In some ways I pity you, Reiner. Raised in an environment where you were taught to think less of yourself, and that we, the people on the island, were filthy devils. What else could you have done, not knowing any better? I probably would have done the same things if I had been in your position."

Reiner gazed at Eren in disbelief, and the hopelessness of his situation became even more apparent. While he had been blindsided by Eren's true nature, it was clear that Eren had known of his true nature for a long time, and had already come to terms with it.

Reiner swallowed. The whole time...the whole time, during training, you knew, or at least suspected, what I really was. But I never...ever suspected him...how could I have not noticed anything…

Eren's face darkened. "At least, up until you broke through Wall Maria. After that, though, you saw for yourself that the people of the Walls were not devils, but human, no different from the people you knew back home. And yet, you still planned to exterminate them all, even knowing, deep down, that the propaganda you'd been fed since birth was complete horseshit. Worse still, you befriended many of them, spent years alongside them, all the while plotting to destroy them."

Reiner felt like a deep, dark hole was opening up inside him, and he didn't know where it ended. All the excuses, all the justifications he'd told Annie, Bertolt, and himself over the years, all of it seemed feeble and pathetic in the face of Eren's justified anger. He wanted to flee, to get away, to avoid having to look at his sins straight on, but that was no longer an option.

Eren smiled grimly. "Unfortunately for you, one of the people you befriended was me, someone who knows what's really going on, and has the power to do something about it."

Eren's smile became cold. "You and your friends are the reason my mother was eaten alive. But of course, I understand it wasn't personal, you were just following orders. So when we capture your friends and go to war against your homeland, I'm sure you can understand that it's not personal, we're just following orders, and, in our case, fighting for our survival."

Reiner felt tears leaking out of his eyes. He had failed as a Warrior. He was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to save himself or his friends.

Eren continued. "Naturally we cannot allow you to live. Nor can we allow Bertolt to live, as you two are the ones who broke down the wall, and could do it again if given the chance. But we may spare Annie, if you tell us what we want to know."

Reiner's eyes widened. "If you give me your word that you won't harm Annie...I'll...I'll tell you some of what I know."

Eren shook his head. "No. You can speak, and hope for a mercy that you do not deserve. I will not bargain with you."

Reiner closed his eyes and bowed his head, feeling truly broken as he felt the eyes of his enemies on him, waiting for his response..


A few days later, Eren was escorting Historia to Erwin's office.

Historia looked at him uncertainly. "So, what is this meeting about?"

Eren shook his head. "You'll see."

When they arrived, Historia saw that in addition to Commander Erwin, Levi, Hange, Mike, and Nanaba were also present.

Eren closed the door while Erwin walked over to her.

Erwin shook her hand. "Ah, good. You must be Krista Lenz. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Historia smiled. "Likewise."

After everyone had taken their seats around the table, Erwin leaned forward. "So, the reason you are here is because Eren believes you could be an important key to retaking Wall Maria."

Historia frowned. "What? How?"

Historia looked at Eren sharply. "What did you tell them?"

Erwin clasped his hands together. "He told us a great many things. One of the things he told us was your real name and heritage."

Historia froze. "What?"

Hange tried to reassure her. "Relax. We mean you no harm. The reason Eren told us about your secret is, well, because he has a lot of secrets of his own that he also disclosed to us."

Historia frowned. "Secrets? Like what?"

Eren looked at her, and then proceeded to tell her everything that he had told the others.

After processing it for a few minutes in silence, Historia spoke.

"I see. In order for us to retake Wall Maria, we need to recapture the Founding Titan. And in order to use it, we need someone of royal blood to inherit one of the other Titan powers, which in this case would be me."

Erwin nodded. "Precisely."

Levi grimaced. "But if you inherit one of the Titan powers, you'll only live for thirteen more years. If you aren't comfortable with this…"

"I'll do it."

The others looked at her in surprise.

Historia smiled grimly. "I'll admit, I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything you just told me, Eren. And if I'm honest, the idea of only living for thirteen more years is a little frightening. But then, I'm sure it was the same way for you, Eren. And yet, you've been brave, and done what needs to be done in order to protect the people of the walls. If it ensures our survival, I will accept the power of the Titans."

Erwin nodded in satisfaction.

Hange frowned. "There's one problem though. While we can use the full power of the Founding Titan while the two of you are alive, and we can pass the Titan powers on once your time is up, Historia is the last living person aside from Rod Reiss who has royal blood."

Eren glanced to the side. "Actually, that's not entirely true."

The others looked at him sharply.

Mike's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Eren cleared his throat. "She's the last living person of royal blood within the walls. But outside the walls there are a few descendents of the royal family left. One of them should be relatively easy to find, thanks to the information we got from Reiner."

Historia gasped. "Wait, what did you do to Reiner?"

Levi frowned darkly. "After confirming that he was a Titan shifter, we've confined him, and with Eren's help we were able to get a little information from him. As we suspected, he is the Armored Titan, while Bertolt is the Colossal, and Annie has the power of the Female Titan. However, it seems that there were originally four of them who were supposed to carry out the attack on Wall Maria. But the fourth member, Marcel, who had the Jaws Titan, was attacked and killed by an abnormal while they were traveling to the walls."

Historia looked curious. "What happened to the Jaws Titan?"

Erwin shook his head. "We're not sure. The Titan that ate Marcel would have regained their human form, and would have been able to use the power of the Jaws Titan to sneak inside the walls. If they didn't, then odds are they were eaten by another Titan, whose human form was able to use the power in such a way."

Hange scowled. "So the Jaws Titan is probably somewhere within the walls, but the the odds of us being able to find them are pretty low."

Nanaba continued. "While he wouldn't give us too many details, he also gave us some basic information about the remaining Titans. The Beast Titan is a larger Titan covered in fur and is currently in the possession of a man named Zeke. The Cart Titan is a quadruped Titan that is in the possession of a woman named Pieck. And finally the Warhammer Titan is a rather mysterious Titan in possession of the Tybur family, the same family that helped Marley destroy the Eldian Empire one hundred years ago."

Eren nodded. "And the Beast Titan is one of the remaining members of the royal family."

Hange gasped. "What?"

Erwin frowned. "How do you know this?"

Eren grimaced. "Because the man who has the Beast Titan, Zeke...he's my half brother. At least, according to my Father's memories I have a half brother named Zeke, and while its possible the name is just a coincidence, I don't think that's too likely."

Levi looked at Eren carefully. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

Eren lowered his eyes. "Because he was the one who betrayed my Father and the other rebels."

Mike frowned. "If he's the one who turned them over, doesn't that mean he's on the side of the enemy?"

Eren sighed. "Most likely. But he was only seven when he turned them in. He most likely was brainwashed by the Marleyan propaganda around him, but if we can capture him, we might be able to undo it and get him to help us. It's a long shot, but it's a possibility."

Nanaba spoke up. "You said there were several descendents outside the walls."

Eren nodded, looking solemn. "Yes. The other will be more difficult to find, but would probably be more willing to cooperate with us. My father's first wife, Dina Fritz, was of royal blood. She, along with the rest of the Eldian Restorationists, was turned into a Titan. Once Historia and I access the full power of the Founding Titan, we should be able to control the Titans, and sort through them until we find her Titan."

Levi blinked. "But how would you know which Titan is hers?"

Eren closed his eyes. "Because my memories of her Titan are very vivid. First, my father witnessed her turning into a Titan, which is how I know it's her. Second...her Titan is the one that killed my mother."

Historia's eyes widened, and there was a moment of silence after this revelation.

Eren smiled half heartedly. "So yeah...I'm pretty sure I'll be able to recognize her."

Historia looked at him sympathetically. "Eren…"

Hange looked thoughtful. "Can the Founding Titan return Titans to their human form?"

Eren shrugged. "I don't know. But if it can be used to create three enormous walls and erase the memories of thousands of people, I'd say it doesn't seem that far fetched."

Erwin shook his head. "Well, we can worry about that later. Now that we've captured Reiner, our next step is to capture Bertolt and Annie as well. However, because they're outside of our jurisdiction, we'll need to think carefully about how to do it. We'll meet to discuss this tomorrow."

Erwin's gaze softened. "Historia, you have my respect."

Historia nodded shyly. "Thank you."

Eren looked at her carefully. "Oh, one more thing. Historia, while we hope to disclose the truth to the people at some point, for now everything we've talked about here must remain a secret. So do not discuss this with anyone, not even Ymir. Understand?"

Historia nodded reluctantly. "Understood."

A few minutes later, they all dispersed.

As they walked back down to the ground level, Historia found herself still reeling over everything she had just learned. The meeting had been a few hours, but it felt like several weeks had passed between the time she had arrived and the time she had left.

After walking in silence for some time, Historia glance at Eren.

"Hey Eren?"

Eren looked at her. "Hmm?"

"Have you told Mikasa?"

Eren looked away. "No. I...I know I'll have to tell her eventually. But I don't want to break her heart with the knowledge that I only have eight years left to live any sooner than I need to."

Historia nodded. "Yeah."

Historia frowned sadly. While we actually have hope for the future, there are still sacrifices that will need to be made. Eren has made his, and soon I will need to make mine. I just hope it will be enough. I wonder how Ymir will react...


Author's Note: Sorry about the delay again, life's been a little crazy lately. And AoT has been crazy lately too. I'm trying to avoid watching Season 3 until it's finished airing, but I've seen some clips, and HOLY SHIT Rod Reiss's Titan looks awesome. And chapter 110 just came out, and HOLY SHIT Eren breaks out of jail, so he wasn't bluffing when he talked to Hange. I just hope they reveal Zeke's secret plan before long.

So things are moving along. Will their attempt to capture Annie and Bertolt go according to plan? Spoilers, no it won't, because that would make for a really boring story. But what will happen when they try to capture them? And who will get caught up in it? Find out next time, which hopefully shouldn't be too long.