The truth of the world was made public by Historia's decree. Within 48 hours, every newspaper had the details of the finding of Dr. Jaeger's writings. As expected, chaos did ensue. Some people accepted others laughed it off, some deemed it a conspiracy. Whatever the people's reaction is, we can attest to the fact it is much better to tell the truth than to keep a secret like the old regime.

Now we gather in the audience hall, awaiting to be awarded our rightful accolades. I don't care much for them, but given the hell the Scouts been through the last four months, we deserve some praise. As my friends chat with each other, I lean against the wall and keep to myself, thinking about the previous two days. Something is bothering me, that I know, but its source is indeterminate. Why am I troubled? My friends are here, Sasha is finally out of bed, so what is my problem?

"Hey, you heroes of the wall." I look up, seeing Hitch stroll over to us. I haven't seen her in a while but seeing her without a taller, stern-face boy… It feels wrong. "I just came to see you guys receive your medals."

Jean nods. "I see… Marlo was...brave all the way to till the end."

"Yeah." Sadness rises on Hitch's face. The poor girl. Marlo, how dare you leave her alone without saying a damn word. Then again… I look to the empty throne in the room automatically. I don't know why I look that way.

"Right, Floch? Tell her."

"Sure. Marlo Freudenberg was an urgent recruit, just like me. But he managed to bring us recruits together. The situation was hopeless and the Scouts were on the verge of ruin. We thought all was lost and were stricken with fear. But he… Only he inspired us."

"Yeah?"

"He was an amazing person."

"I know. That's why… That's probably why he never listened to me."

"But in the end, I'm sure he regretted being there." Floch's words regain my attention. Hitch turns around, gives her thanks, and walks away. Jean, angry, turns around and asks FLoch why he did that, intentionally upsetting her. His reply shakes me to the very core. "Because… Someone has to tell the truth."

Floch begins to talk about the choice between Armin and Erwin, how Mikasa, Levi, and Eren let their emotions get in the way, how everyone knows Erwin should've been chosen, how Jean and Conny stood back, how "fodder" like him should have a choice to decide if they are dying for the right cause. As much as I hate to say it, he's right.

I pointed to the commander back then.

"Commander Erwin is the one who should've lived," Armin says. "I'm not the one who can turn this situation around."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Eren questions as he pats Armin's shoulder. "I really can't say if it was the right decision or not. None of us know what the future holds. For starters, have you ever seen beyond the walls? What is there beyond the walls?"

"The sea."

"That's right. The sea. You haven't seen it, right? None of us really know anything! Fiery water, lands of ice, sandy snowfields! The possibilities are endless out there! On the other side of the wall, freedom is-" Eren suddenly silences himself, his irises shrinking in some sudden realization. Whatever it is, it is never addressed. Levi comes for us and leads up to the throne.

Once we're there, we bow as Historia walks up with a case of ten medals. Slowly she makes her way around Hange and Levi, but there's a moment's pause between her and Eren. But not just any pause, no, I saw it again. The little flash of light around their hands.

Later that night

A quick glance at the silent hallway and three quiet knocks later, I'm ushered into the private chamber of Historia by the girl herself. She repeats my glances before closing the door facing me. "Hey. Thank you for coming."

I nod to her as I glance around the fancy living room. "You're welcome." As I take a seat on the plush couch, Historia comes over and hands me a cup of tea. I take it and stare at the dancing flames in the fireplace while she sits beside me. I cop a look at Historia out the corner of my eye. She looks deathly nervous, why I wonder but do not question as she breaks the silence between us.

"How is everyone?"

"They're...themselves. They definitely enjoyed the feast. I think the realization finally settled on our minds and we look to the future."

"Hmm." Historia sets her cup down on her lap and joins me in looking at the fireplace. "The future… When we were recruits, I will admit thinking of a future that doesn't have me in the jaws of a Titan was like a dream that disappears in the morning. But now, I don't know if I'm ready to accept it. It was easy to think of dying when the enemy was outside our walls. Now the enemy is beyond that. Our enemy is the entire world… What future is that?"

"I don't know," I answer honestly. "I have gotten so used to being part of the last of humanity that knowing we're not is...well, it doesn't bring comfort, I'll tell you that. This 'Marley,' it wants us gone. Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, they...sided with the enemy for reasons I bet were out of their control. Their people live in the same fear we do, but with a different face."

"Why didn't you kill him?"

"I...couldn't." I raise my head up and stare at Historia. "At the moment, I just couldn't. Damn Jean talked me out of it, but if he hadn't, I would've. But even before Jean said a word, I couldn't end Reiner immediately. But I don't think it was because I was being merciful, no. I think… I thought death was too easy for him. No, I want him to know my pain."

My final words to Reiner bubble back up in my head. "I let you live. You once said you didn't have much of a choice back then when you and Bertholdt sacked this town, but I choose to spare you for now. But you...you have already taken my parents from me, and you almost took away my girlfriend. So you should be thanking me, for it'll be hell to pay the day I let a Braus take away someone I love ever again! When that day comes, I won't just kill you. No, I'll hunt down everyone you care about. Your mother, your father, your sisters and brothers, your uncles and aunties, your cousins, your friends back in your 'hometown,' I will fucking kill them all! Everything you have taken from me, I will take from you tenfold!"

"Do to him what he has done to you?"

"Yes."

Historia nods. "Ymir would call you insane if she heard you say that. Once upon a time, I would have talked you out of it. But… I cannot. I believe Reiner deserves it, for all he's done." I turn to Historia shocked to hear those very words come from her mouth. She's...not the kind girl I remember her as, but why should I be surprised? She voluntarily killed her own father and so much more has happened to change her. Which one of us is the same since that day in Trost? She turns to me. "This time, don't hesitate."

I finish my cup of tea and nod. She didn't have to say it for me to think about it. Setting the cup on the table in front of us, I think about another subject. "The letter… I read it before we gave it to you, in case Ymir had some secrets to share. It is a sweet letter, in any case. Excuse me for saying it, but I think in her own way she loved you."

Historia smiles. "I know. How much, I don't know, but for me, she was the big sister I never had...or, in her case, the one I remember having. I do miss her dearly. I'm sure you miss her too."

I snort, yet Historia is right. I never understood Ymir, but she was never one to be understood in the first place. "I wish she joined us instead of them, but in the end, only Ymir knows what she was doing."

"You think she's…"

"Yes." Seeing Historia's eyes well up, I scoot over and take her in my arms. Had this not been private and in the dead of night, I would be arrested for being with the queen like this while she's in her nightclothes and her hair is down. Is that lavender in her hair? I...catch myself before I do anything wrong. So I keep talking. "She wouldn't want you to cry over her, the stubborn gal she is. Yet she told you to move forward and you did. I think, in her own way, she's happy for you."

Historia sniffs before she rises up, but not exiting my arms. She stares at me with wet, troubled eyes. "There's only one thing...but if I do it, I...am a bad person. I would hate myself for it. But I fear that if I do nothing, I haven't lived up to the path Ymir set for me."

I don't know what she speaks of, but whatever makes her "bad" probably isn't as bad as she thinks. "Do it, deal with the consequences later."

"Are you...sure?"

I nod. Releasing her, I rise up and decide to leave. "It's getting late. I should get out before I do get caught. And I don't think you can-oof!" Before I know what's even happening, I'm back on the couch, Historia weighing me down by sitting on me. The realization of why she did it hits me hard, but for some reason, I do not attempt to move. But that's as far as she goes, for a moment later she's off of me, stepping away in horror.

"Joshua, I…am so sorry."

I wave it off as I stand back up. "I knew already. Even before now, I knew...and I must admit, a part of me wishes I could. But as of now… Let's just keep this between us, okay?"

I turn away, heading for the door. As I twist the knob, I hear Historia's voice once again. "It'll always be Sasha?"

I pause there. I look back at the girl behind me. My heart beats slowly, No, Historia, there's a part of me that...feels for you. I've felt it many times now, but no, I cannot. The girl changes to a different one, a taller, redheaded, amber-eyed girl from the woods. My heart thumps a little quicker. "Yes, at this point, Sasha will always be my choice. I like you, Historia, but I love her. She's...everything to me."

Surprisingly, a chuckle comes from Historia. It's weak, but it manages to be a laugh. "Very well then. I cannot say I never tried. But Joshua...despite this, please still be my friend and confidant."

I smile. "Of course, else Ymir will kill me from her grave." I turn around and walk out of her chambers. I continue walking until I'm out of the building and heading down the dark streets of Trost. I continue walking until I get to the barracks and walk inside, heading up to a that I'm sure isn't leading into my room.

I knock on it three times, and moments later, that tall, redheaded, amber-eyed girl appears. She yawns with a mighty roar that dictates she might've been close to sleeping. "Joshua?"

"I love you." I almost slap myself for saying it like an idiot. But in any case, it temporarily rouses Sasha from her drowsiness. She only looks at me with some surprise.

"Well, about time you do, dummy."

8 months later...

Sasha leans on my chest as we frolick like animals underneath the noonday sun. "Do we have to go?"

I smile. "Yes, love, we do. Why wouldn't you, though?"

"Because this is so nice. Yes, we can go see an ocean, but look at what's here. Grass, trees, sunlight. This is home. You, me, we made Dauper Village our peace and I don't want to leave it." She leans up, pecking my lips with very persuasive kisses. "You aren't...going to...make me move...like this."

A year has passed since the Battle of Trost, eight months since the retake of Wall Maria. As of now, refugees from Wall Maria are ready to return home now that the Titans are confirmed to be eliminated. In that time, Commander Hange has been preparing for the next expedition, the one that'll lead us outside of Wall Maria. Taking on the role that Moblit once held, she required much work from me as I helped her complete this project, but it didn't come without reward; I am now the highest-ranked soldier from the 104th, as Section Commander. Though I really don't commander a section of the Scouts since...well we're still low on numbers, but much to my enjoyment, I am above Lieutenant Levi in rank.

Yes, I did take the opportunity to get a free punch in and, just to see how much power my rank truly has, I made fun of his height. He did nothing...but for a week I slept with everything locked.

So as Hange takes care of the remaining logistics, I decided to go with Sasha on a mini-vacation to Dauper Village. As she said, we made it my home away from home, and to be honest, I do love it here. But I do want to see what the hype is about with this ocean. Eren and Armin have been drooling over it for years. "Sasha, no amount of kisses is going to stop us from going."

Sasha advances from my cheek to the underside of my jaw and neck. "Are you saying that as Section Commander or as my boyfriend?"

"B-Both." Nearly losing myself in her seductions, I flip her over in the grassy field. Thank the heavens we're outside the village, a little upstream along the river, or else this would be weird for the villagers and us. Ignoring my hormones for the basket of food we brought, I reach inside and take out a fresh, still hot potato. Breaking it in half, I hand Sasha a piece. "Here."

She just stares at it with a frown. "C'mon, when are you going to let this go?"

"When you stop reminding me how I almost died."

Sasha shrugs and takes the potato. "I could come up with other things, mind you. Like the time you failed to get on your horse correctly and were hanging upside down while she galloped. 'Horse Fucker', heh. Good times. Too bad we never paired that joke with Jean's. That would've been gold."

I scowl as I turn towards the river. A safe, out of earshot (and hopefully out of their sight) distance away is Kaya and the other village kids playing by the river. Since we're the oldest young people there and national heroes, it is hard to sneak out without the kids tagging along. It was annoying at first, but Sasha made it work like she did today. She's much better with the little devils than I could ever be.

"I want at least two." Sasha leans on my shoulder as she munches on the potato and looks at the kids. "One boy, one girl. We get that, I'll be happy. If we get more, no more than four."

"Planning our future?"

"Distant future. When we're adults and the world is safe for us. I have a home. I have someone who loves me. I have plenty of food. Now I just need a future worth fighting for. So kids...our kids, hopefully."

I nod. "Alright then. For our kids, then."

Sasha shuffles herself to my lap, blocking my view of the children below with her crummy face and half-closed bosom. "When we have a girl, I know what I want to name her. But you can say no."

"Oh really? You've thought this through."

She reaches for my neck, finding the wooden carving that I have now worn religiously for a year. "One of us had to. I haven't been as busy as you. Anyway... I want to name her Mina."

Sasha's serious. Getting over the surprise of hearing that name, I wrap my arms around Sasha's waist. "Why?"

"Because she meant a lot to you. I mean, she was a friend of mine but she must've meant a lot to you that you continue to wear this. At first, I was jealous but then you gave it to me back then. It wasn't just a symbol of how she felt for you anymore, but a symbol of your motivation. She's a reminder of what you dedicated your heart to, so I want to honor that myself."

I raise a hand to Sasha's cheek. "Thank you. Alright, Mina is the girl's name. The boy's?"

"I'm sure Jean has a claim to Marco, so... Erwin. How about that?"

"I love it," I say happily. My arms bring my body closer to hers as I begin to pepper her lower neck with kisses. "And I love you."

"I love you too." Sasha giggles and places a finger between our lips as she leans down. "Hold on, sir. There are kids nearby who look up to us and are probably hungry right now. Do you want to scare them by doing this?"

"I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong now?"

Sasha giggles as she rises off me and buttons up her shirt. "Set the food up, I'll go get them." Watching my girlfriend walk down to the riverbank, I hold the carving in my hand. Sasha is right, this is more than a gift from Mina Carolina, but no matter what the meaning is, I carry her with me. Not just her, but everyone else who died, to remind me of their sacrifice. In one of my pockets is the notebook from Thomas, almost full, possibly enough for one final entry.

I'll write it when we get to the sea.

Days later…

"It's just as you thought, Hange. The Titans inside Wall Maria were pretty much all of them. We thinned out the majority in just a single year."

"In that case, let's head straight to our target as planned." Hange turns to me with her single good eye expressing some humor. "Don't get bored, Joshua."
I chuckle as my eyes wander. This is the land that I lived beside for a decade of my life. Now I understand Armin. "I'll try not to."

Moments later, a red signal flare is spotted. We prepared for a fight, but as we spotted the Titan, I can say I was disappointed to see it wasn't worth it. It was a huge one, reminding me of the Reiss Titan, but unlike that one, the limbs on this guy are tiny. How he made it anywhere (there's a trail with grass growing behind him, so he hasn't moved in a while) is beyond me. Eren walks up to it and touches it. "It was shipped to paradise. It's a fellow patriot. Let's go. It's close." Floch is the only one against leaving it alive, but we do so anyway.

Sometime later, we come across a sandy plain, with more sand than I have ever seen in one place. As we continue traveling, we see an enormous wall structure. "What is that?"

"I'm sure of it," Eren answers. "This is the place where Eldians were made into Titans. And beyond that…" We spot a path pass the structure that leads up to the other side. Following Levi and Hange, we rise up on the hill.

The sight is unbelievable. I have never seen so much blue in my life. The sky stretches forever just like the sea below it, their only meeting point being the sun at the horizon. Is this what we were fighting to see? Yes. Is it worth it? Hell yes. I turn to the rest of the 104th, a smirk growing on my face. "The last one to the beach, you're my personal assistant for the week." We race down to the lower beach and enter the water. Jean tastes it, remarking on its saltiness. Conny and Sasha splash each other. Hange is...Hange and Levi is Levi.

I stand on the beach in my bare feet, making my account of the sea as promised in the journal. "If you guys were here, I think you'll be entranced by it as we are. I just expected a large lake, but for as far as I can see, there's nothing but water. it is amazing...and we're finally here, at freedom. The Titans are gone, and we're free of them."

Mikasa comes to me and tugs on my arm. "Joshua, c'mon!" Putting the journal in one of my boots, I enter the water with Mikasa behind Armin and Eren and hear a small but remarkably cute squeal from Mikasa as the water rushes above our knees. Armin and I look at her as we share a smile with each other, then gaze out along with Eren to the rest of the sea.

"Look. I told you, Eren! A salt lake so big that merchants could spend their whole lives and still not get all the salt. The stuff I talked about wasn't wrong after all!"

"Yeah. It's so damn big."

I nod. "I must admit Armin, I thought this was just some fairy tale. But if the last year proved anything, fairy tales can be real."

"Yeah. Look, Eren! On the other side of the wall-"

"There's a sea," Eren callously interrupts. The three of us stand behind him, wondering why his attitude is so dark. As a matter of fact, this entire trip, no, for most of the past eight months, Eren has been different. Cold, keeps to himself, a completely different Eren. I managed to ignore it with my duties but now, at the place in which he and Armin dreamed to be, nothing has changed about him. "On the other side of the sea...is freedom. That's what I always believed. But I was wrong. On the other side of the sea are enemies."

"Eren."

He turns to us. "Every part of this is exactly how I saw in my dad's memories." Turning away, he points out to this horizon. "Hey… Armin, Mikasa, Joshua...If we kill all our enemies…over there...will we finally...be free?"

"Eren." I step up to him, gazing at where he points. He has a point. We might have defeated them here on Paradis, but we are not truly free yet. We must defeat the world...the world beyond the sea. I frown as a single thought crosses my mind. "Yes. I hope so. You are right, we aren't free until all our enemies are dead." I look back to Sasha, seeing her and the others looking to us. I know the future she wants and I want it too, with her. But until I see him dead at my feet…I will not be free. "We will have our vengeance on those who are truly responsible for all we have lost...and for those who have suffered on both sides of the sea. So let's go together, Eren, and exact it...the vengeance of the Eldians."

And scene.

This is the end of Vengeance Of A Human, but not the end of this story. The Marley Arc will proceed soon, once I figure out how I'll like to write it. As of right now, the arc will proceed as written officially, so... I gotta prepare myself. I do not have a timetable of when I'll begin, but if I had to choose, probably around March, making it a year since this story began.

To all 126 followers, most of you have favorited the story, and to those reading now from the beginning, thank you all. I didn't expect this story to do such numbers, which is not why I wrote this anyway, but it is still amazing. I just had an idea with my favorite anime and somehow I'm here. Today (or yesterday for most of you) is a special day, as it marks the fifth anniversary of me uploading my first story, so how fitting I end my fifth complete story on this date.

Now I'm sure you see that there's more to this chapter, but I warn you if you are not reading the manga...well, there's nothing spoiler-heavy below in my opinion, but if you are not reading the manga I would suggest ending here. Now if you don't care or have already read past chapter 102 at least, then you're fine to continue. In any case, this is just a small taste of the next story which I do not have a title for.

Once again, thank you all, and hopefully, you'll read more of my stories, even if it is just the upcoming sequel.

"Oh my, it's good to see you again. You came, Mr. Leonhart." Leonhart? I tune my ears to the man on the bench below me and the woman who takes the seat in the space below me. Annie's father...so this is the man who made his daughter into a fighting machine. A mighty one, at that.

"Miss Braun. I suppose we haven't met since the day we welcomed your son home." My breath stalls. Reiner's mother...sits right beside me? I still my hand from receding from my lap and keep my eyes at the stage straight ahead, forcing myself to not do anything stupid. "It would have been a shame to turn down the honor we're been given."

"Yes, they went through all the trouble of giving us our own seats, after all. What an incredible honor."

"By the way, I knew Old Hoover was bedridden, but I heard he up and died?"

"Yes. He passed peacefully in Marley's caring hands until the very end. He always spoke of how proud he was that his son devoted to Marley and I'm sure that your daughter was just as splendid when she-"

"She's not dead," Leonhart interrupts. "Annie's alive. She promised me she'd come back."

"I wouldn't count on it." My lips move before my brain, but I manage to catch the attention of the two parents. I look to Mister Leonhart first. "Annie is alive, as far as we can tell. She evaded capture by crystallizing her body. She was smart, taught me how to fight with my hands. I liked her a lot."

"Who… Who are you? What do you mean?"

"But you, Miss Braun. You and me have a little history. You probably don't know it, why would you, but I knew Reiner as I once knew Annie. We all met seven years ago as cadets for the military. For three years, we trained together, forming a brotherhood with each other and the other boys. He once asked me what was my goal, and I replied that I wanted to kill the Armored Titan." I look away from their mortified faces to the stage. A man stands there and begins to present what is most likely Marley's history of the world. I ignore it and continue to recite mine. "Nine years ago, my hometown was destroyed by the efforts of Bertholdt and Reiner, though as I learned from my friend Armin, who, if you must know, ate Bertholdt and took the Colossal, it was by accident. They were running for their lives...but didn't care for those they took. That includes my parents and my friends' families."

Miss Braun, Mister Leonhart, and the Eldians around me shudder as I tap my waist, feeling one of the two pistols there. She looks at me with fear, a face I recall quite well. "You're...one of them...the devil's spawn from Paradis."

"Four years ago. I had Reiner at the end of my Sword, but I decided to spare him, leading to him being able to return here. To you. To Marley. To you two being hailed as heroes for sacrificing your children for your oppressors. Tell me, did you think your son and daughter were saving the world as they killed your people? Or what about the Titans? You know how they're created, yet you sit here, happy that your son is a hero? Hmm." A commotion occurs as the man on the stage, Tybur, confesses that his family's secret is that King Fritz renounced war as he found Paradis. I chuckle as the Eldians and the rest of the crowd breaks into shock. "Imagine our surprise when we found out. We overthrew the government and installed a new queen."

"But," Tybur continues, "in recent years, a rebellion has occurred within Paradis, suppressing King Fritz's peaceful ideology. Someone has stolen away the Founding Titan. The world is in danger once more. A man has appeared who opposes King Fritz's peaceful world. This man is a rebel against peace and his name is Eren Jaeger."

I chuckle as Tybur keeps talking. "Hmm, Eren should be done any moment now. Miss Braun, let me tell you about myself. My name is Joshua Hardin. My parents and I lived in the Shiganshina district on Wall Maria. I was ten years old when your warriors destroyed that town. I swore to Reiner, after I spared him, that I wouldn't let another Braun harm me, that I would let him suffer as I did all these years. You see, me and him, we're not so different. We're both victims of ignorance. He lived in my world for five years, lived amongst my people, and he saw us as devils still. I remember what he said about that. 'If only I never knew that there were people like this, I wouldn't have become a half-naked piece of shit.' Bertholdt regretted that he considered us comrades too. I bet Annie felt the same. Maybe when she comes out of her cocoon, we'll know." I scoff as Tybur asks the world to join him and fight against us, the 'Devils on Paradis.' "I guess your son is right. We are devils...but we weren't born this way. No devil is born, they are only created. The moment my mother and father were crushed under a boulder, the devil inside me was born. I wish to recreate that moment with Reiner. Will you help me, Miss Braun?"

"What?"

I stand up as Tybur makes his proclamation to the crowd. "At this moment, your son is meeting with the 'rebel against peace.' At any moment, my friend is going to destroy your world. At any moment, some...no, many of you are going to die. My plan is just to see this through...oh, and this." I whip out a pistol and point it as Miss Braun's face, firing immediately at her face. The woman's face is destroyed as her body falls limp on the ground, but no one does anything about it as a monstrous roar echoes from the stage. Looking to Mister Leonhart, I smile venomously. "I suggest you get running. The devils are coming."