Power to Strive III

by ii-Phoenix-ii

The Survey Corps group returns one last time and watches Attack on Titan Season 3 Part II. [No Pairings]

9. The Attack Titan

Chapter 9: The Attack Titan

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: The group worries about the size of Marley's military and the technology of the world. They talk about needing a navy. They're skeptical of the "truths" of Ymir Fritz.

This chapter took so fucking long. I planned to update hours ago (but then I got hungry and had to make dinner). But the chapter kept getting bigger and bigger, jeez.

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A man in a blue uniform screamed as the Attack Titan lifted him. The Titan squeezed the soldier into a bloody pulp. "The soldiers had their lives squeezed out of them like fruit being juiced," Grisha narrated, "and their scraps cast into the water."

On his knee on one of the wharves, the Attack Titan tossed the remains behind him.

"What do you think Marley thought happened to this ship and its crew?" Mikasa asked. "Kruger is killing all the soldiers so none of them can run back and tell Marley about the Attack Titan."

"Maybe they thought Paradis caught them and sank the ship to defend themselves," Jean answered.

"You know what doesn't make sense to me?" Hange tapped her chin. "The king threatened to unleash the Colossal-type Titans on the world if the continent tried to disturb the island's peace. Yet based on the number of Pure Titans we've seen, it's clear Marley has been coming to our little island and turning Eldians for a very long time now. Weren't they afraid of retaliation? Of the king making good on his promise to send his army of behemoths as vengeance for flooding the island with mindless monsters?"

"I think it's like we just talked about," Petra responded. "We know the potential of the Founding Titan's true power. Though for some unknown reason the king didn't have the guts or he outright refused to bring his people in line as they fought each other after conquering the other nations. He instead decided to pack his shit and grab a small chunk of the Eldian population then move to this island. Clearly he was weak-willed if he couldn't handle the infighting. So Marley would send a ship now and then to punish the traitor Eldians cause they didn't think he'd retaliate. Maybe they were testing boundaries."

"I think you're right," Mikasa said. "They were sending Titans to roam the island but they weren't disrupting the peace of the Walls outright." She wondered if Marley might have stopped turning Eldians after this ship failed to return. And decades later they sent the four Warriors.

"Although it doesn't explain the kings and queens that followed after the first King of the Walls," Erwin countered. "Why wouldn't they do something? Surely not all of them agreed with this ideology."

"Was it because they decided it was convenient to use the Pure Titans to maintain their power?" Armin provided. "The royal family has been able to keep their power consolidated for over a century now."

"It is a good way to keep people in line by keeping everyone trapped in," Levi agreed. "It's why they didn't like us, the Corps, going outside the Walls and trying to break free of their control. Though they couldn't completely oppose us either for wanting to kill the monsters that would eat people left and right. So they tried using other excuses, like taxes."

Grisha stood atop the wall, hands still tied behind his back. "I suppose I should explain what the ocean is."

The sun was setting over the horizon as Grisha continued to stare at the Attack Titan.

Connie whistled. "Look at that view!"

Historia smiled longingly. "Oh, how beautiful it must look in real life! I want to see it in person!"

"There might be all kinds of delicious fish in there." Sasha's mouth watered at the thought of it. I bet they taste delicious!

"I never got the chance to, but it would be fun to build sandcastles on the beach," Ymir said. I'm adding that to my list of things to do before I bite the big one.

"The ocean a body of saltwater that covers 70% of our world's surface."

"Just like Grandpa's book said," Armin gushed in delight.

"Seventy percent water," Levi muttered in awe. He had a hard time wrapping his head around it. An endlessly open sky and water as far as the eye could see under a bright warm sun, it was almost magical. If I could have shared it with Farlan and Isabel, he thought wistfully. They would have been floored at the thought of it.

The Attack Titan's abandoned body steamed near the wall. Seagulls screeched as they flew through the air over the decaying corpse.

Kruger cut Grisha's binds with his knife. He pulled out a kerchief and wiped off the blood leaking from his nose.

"He got tired after only a single transformation?" Connie remarked, taken back.

"Maybe he's not used to transforming so his stamina is terrible," Petra offered. "Living in Marley, faking being a Marleyan by blood, he probably couldn't afford to practice transforming so he could improve. He had to keep his secret at all costs, especially someone in his job."

"But even the very first time Eren used his Titan powers," Sasha said, "back in Trost, he didn't get tired until after the second time he created that half-formed Titan."

Jean shrugged and said, "Maybe it's cause of his younger age."

Ymir, Erwin, Hange, and Levi remained silent, having a better guess as to another reason behind Kruger's nose bleed. Could he be nearing the end of his term? Erwin thought.

"Owl, just who are you?" Grisha asked.

"I am Eren Kruger."

"Oh!" Petra said in surprise. "It's the same name. He's Eren, too!"

Connie grinned. "No, I think Kruger's Eren One. Our Eren is Eren Two."

Jean's eyebrows twitched. "Connie, shut your damn piehole." Connie snickered as Jean muttered, "I swear, you and your stupid puns are killing me."

"So, I'm named after Kruger, huh," Eren commented, arms crossed, smiling slightly. "He must have left a strong impression on Dad." Eren himself admired the man quite a bit and was honored to have the same name as Kruger.

"As you just saw," Kruger said, "I possess one of the Nine Titans. In other words, I'm a Subject of Ymir, just like you."

"You pretended to be a Marleyan and infiltrated Public Security? How did you pass the blood tests?!"

"That was easy enough with the help of a doctor. Doctors make good spies."

Levi nodded. "That's why they recruited Eren's father. His history made it easy to bring him into the fold." As a former thief, he knew something about the importance of having a medical expert to go to and be treated without being traced. While it hadn't been much of an issue since the MPs didn't come down to the Underground City all that often—not to do their job, anyway—but he'd always been cautious and only dealt with off-the-books doctors.

"Who was the doctor that faked his blood tests?" Hange asked. "That person could be a useful source for us. We don't know anyone trustworthy on the continent."

Erwin shook his head. "This doctor might be dead for all we know. It's been almost two decades."

"It would have been nice if we had contacts in the outside world," Armin said wistfully. "But they all hate us."

"In all honesty," Kruger said, "you did very well. But in terms of results, Grice had every right to grieve like he did."

Erwin had wondered what Kruger's thoughts were on Grisha's rebellion. Grisha's plans were half-based at best and it stood to reason Kruger was desperate to help see the plans through anyway, nearing his expiration date as he appeared to be. He seems too intelligent not to think it all through to the end. But maybe he was just desperate. All the horrible things he probably did against his own people as a Marleyan Public Security officer, even if it was for the sake of the entire race, he just wants it to have meant something.

Grisha bowed his head. "You're absolutely right. I was a useless father, a useless husband, and a useless man."

A few gray clouds floated near the setting sun on the seemingly endless horizon.

Once again, they were taken in by the stunning sight. This time, the view was unblocked. Grisha and the Attack Titan weren't taking up parts of the frame.

Armin was totally giddy. "That is going to be our reward after we reclaim Wall Maria."

"That water does look really fun to play in," Mikasa said, eyeing the ocean longingly.

Eren was eager to explore the shores. "I wonder what kinds of cool animals we'll find there."

"I wonder what they'll taste like," Connie said, daydreaming about exotic fish.

Though Hange didn't want to put a damper on their mood, she said, "It's going to take some time for us to get there. The battle itself might not take that long, but we'll have to clean out all of the Pure Titans on the island, then get the cities and villages of Wall Maria cleaned up so people can move back in. Once they're settled, then we'll be able to see the ocean."

"It'll be worth the hard work, though," Jean said confidentially.

"And yet," Grisha said, looking at his bandaged hand, "why am I the only one who remains as a human? Dina was someone special, being a Subject of Ymir with royal blood. She would have brought out the true power of the Titans if you hadn't covered up her lineage. Dina was…" The Smiling Titan's transformation flashed on the screen. Grisha grabbed Kruger's collar. "Answer me! Why did you let only me live?!" Blood seeped into most of his bandages.

"Enough. Don't your fingers hurt?"

"Thanks so much for your concern!" Grisha smiled ironically at him. "You didn't seem to care so much when you were chopping them off! Well?! Why didn't you transform a few minutes earlier and save everyone else from becoming Titans? Why did you stand there and allow it to happen?"

"That's a fair point," Petra said, not sure why Kruger hadn't acted earlier. "If Kruger planned to wipe out all the Marleyan soldiers and destroy the ship, why not save more of the Eldians? Then there would have been more people, more allies to help."

Kruger fell to his one knee, breathing roughly.

"Looks like he's sick," Jean noted. "Maybe he couldn't easily work up the energy to transform earlier."

"It could be possible that the regeneration doesn't protect you from diseases," Armin theorized. "And that's why he got so winded and started bleeding from his nose after only one transformation."

"You think he's dying?" Sasha asked.

"It would explain why Eren's dad ended up in the Walls instead of Kruger even though he's more qualified," Historia pointed out.

It's coming. Ymir thought, feeling her stomach curl in dread. Should I have told them? Maybe I should have told them. Wouldn't it have been better coming from her? But a tiny part of her had been hoping, far deep inside, that maybe, just maybe, she was wrong. She hadn't wanted them to worry if it turned out to be nothing. And Erwin had wanted to wait for a good time. Guess it'll have to be now. Hopefully, Kruger might have some other insights he could offer. Though Ymir doubted he could pull a miracle out of his ass that would soften the blow of the Curse's reveal was about to deliver.

"What's wrong?" Grisha's voice was tinged with worry. "Why did you suddenly go pale?"

"It wasn't just them. I've severed thousands of fingers from Subjects of Ymir and made them into Titans. Women and children, too. All while believing it was for the sake of Eldia."

Grisha listened in a daze.

"I don't have much time, Grisha. I'm entrusting you with the final task. Not anyone else. Only you."

"If only he wasn't dying." Historia sighed. "He could have gone to the Walls himself and shaken things up."

"How it would all have turned out if Kruger wasn't sick and he came to the Walls with Eren's dad?" Sasha thought out loud.

It's almost painful listening to them think he's sick. Levi thought. They couldn't even imagine it had anything to do with him being a Shifter. And why would they? One of the best perks of possessing one of the Nine Titans was the amazing healing factor that made it very hard to kill a Shifter and downright impossible to cripple one. But, of course, something immense like the amazing Titan powers came at a cost. Nothing in the world was free.

Grisha and Kruger sat together, Kruger holding a kerchief to his bleeding nose again. "That day… The day when I first met you, if none of that had happened, you wouldn't have festered enough hatred of Marley to come this far."

"Is that the reason you chose me?"

"That's part of it." Kruger recalled Gross breaking the news of Faye's death to her family. "The country, your father, yourself, the hate in your eyes was enough to burn the world to ashes."

A young Grisha listened to Gross with hatred in his eyes.

"I was once like that, too," Kruger said, looking down. "A group of Eldians loyal to the king had formed a resistance on the continent. My father was part of it. However, they accomplished nothing at all and were burned alive."

Three Marleyan officers stood and watched Kruger's father be consumed by large flames.

"That's just—" Historia was too choked up with horror to speak.

Petra couldn't help but shudder. "That must have messed him up so badly."

Through a small crack in the closet, Kruger watched them in fear.

Mikasa found herself sympathizing with Kruger—watching in fear, frozen in shock as their parents were murdered. A numbness had settled over her since and she'd never quite recovered, never been able to return to her previously freely happy and open-hearted self. That traumatic experience had done its damage and left a permeant mark.

"I was so young, all I could do was peek through the closet door and watch. Ever since then, I've sworn revenge on Marley and the revival of Eldia. But all I've managed to do," Kruger lamented, remembering his mournful younger version as he kicked an Eldian off the wall, "is cut the fingers off my fellow patriots, kick them off this wall, and turn them into Titans. It's because of the things I've done that my true identity was never discovered. I'm no different than when I was little. Perhaps I'm still looking at the world through a crack from the closet."

Mikasa felt sympathy well up in her chest for Kruger. "Shame he'll never know what a big part he played in our survival. If he never gave his Titan to Eren's dad, the Warriors probably would have won when they attacked us."

Grisha was quiet at first before speaking. "Tell me something, Owl. What mission do you want to give me?"

"I want you to infiltrate the society within the Walls and steal the power of the Founding Titan. You'll do it by inheriting my Titan."

"Wait, but that means you'll…"

"I'll have to be eaten by you as a Titan. You'll take the Founding Titan from its owner the same way."

"Why aren't you doing it?" Grisha inquired.

Kruger faced him. "Those who inherit the power of the Nine Titans perish in 13 years. I inherited this power 13 years ago."

"No way," Jean blurted in shock. "No fucking way. No." A familiar numbing shock spread through him. He stared at the TV, stunned. But…everything was going so well. How could this happen? The TV was helping them avoid so much unnecessary death and destruction. This is… How were Ymir and Eren going to get out of this one?

"Ymir," Historia said weakly, grabbing her arm. She was torn between crying and screaming.

"Unfortunately," Ymir sighed, shoulders slumping, "he's right."

"You knew?" Connie snapped his head toward her. "This entire time?!"

"She only found the last time we were here," Erwin quickly jumped in. "She told myself and Hange and I asked her to keep quiet. With the 57th Expedition coming up, I didn't want you all distracted. And we were hoping maybe the TV would either disprove the Curse or provide us a way to avoid it. But if something like that existed, Kruger would have mentioned it."

Sasha's shoulders slumped. "Eight years? That's all the time Eren and Ymir have left?" Her face became pale. "But that's…that's nothing." Five years had already flown by. They're almost in the middle of their remaining life! She felt sick to her stomach. Despite all the torment the TV caused them, it helped them save each other. This is something that can't be fixed.

Eren felt panic creep up his spine. "You are not becoming a Shifter," he all but snarled to Armin. "You're not getting almost killed, either." What had Armin said? That he'd be hard to kill now that he was Shifter? Bitter laughter bubbled in his chest and almost slipped past his lips. It curdled when a realization came to him. Mikasa's probably next. I'll fuck up her life someway too. And everyone else in this room. Before he could fall into a dark hole of misery again, convinced without a doubt he was cursed, he noticed his friends' faces. Suddenly, his pity-party took a backseat.

Mikasa barely registered Eren's hand on her shoulder or heard his concerned words. A helplessness had fallen over her, dulling down everything else. We got too pampered by the episodes, she thought. Faced with a situation they couldn't control or tweak to minimize the damage, with two of their own having an inescapable death sentence, it ripped the life out of her. A cold dread settled into her bones. Small trembles went up and down her body. Experiencing Eren's death once had been horrific enough. It may have been an eye-opening experience about her own inner strength but it wasn't something she wanted to feel again. I can't take this. Panic clawed at her chest. Her breathing shuddered, the trembles getting stronger.

"Snap out of it!" Eren tightened his hold on her, the pain pulling her out of her strangely lethargic state. "Are you okay?" He mentally slapped himself. Of course she wasn't okay. If he'd received the same news about Mikasa or Armin, he'd collapse to his knees, his legs failing him.

"I feel like the world just fell out from under my feet," Armin mumbled. He let out a small ironic laugh. "Huh, good thing I'm already sitting." He felt weak and dizzy and his heart pounding furiously and almost unevenly. His breathing came faster and shallower.

"Are you having a panic attack?" Mikasa fretted over Armin. She felt grateful in a way. The urge to take care of Armin overpowered her own need to curl up into a ball and drown in sorrow, steadfastly refusing to accept reality. Sitting between Armin and Eren, she wrapped her left arm around Armin's shoulders. Armin melted into her side. She couldn't bring herself to look at Eren. Not yet. It was a new kind of agony, knowing something was slowly choking the life of him but she couldn't beat it with her hands or slice it with her swords. If I look at him I'll fall apart. She'd sob uncontrollably, which would make Armin cry, and seeing them break down would make Eren cry and then the entire room would be filled with their tears.

"Your tears will only remind them it can't be changed," Levi warned Petra. "Don't make them feel shittier." She wiped her eyes and composed herself. "Good. Now don't go shooting them sad, pitying looks either. They'll only feel worse. You would too in their place."

Sadness overwhelmed Petra, watching Eren stare anxiously at his friends. He scanned the table before them frantically. Realizing his mind was scrambled and he couldn't find what he was looking for, she poured him a glass of water and handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said gratefully and carefully passed it to Armin.

"This isn't fair." Tears began falling from Historia's eyes. "This isn't fair!" She was aware she was sounding like a child but she couldn't give a flying fuck. "Wasn't the whole point of these episodes that we could avoid countless deaths and save as many people as we can?"

Connie felt an usually violent urge. He wanted to throw something. I've already had to sacrifice my parents. Why did he have to lose two more people? Haven't we suffered enough? He had already dared to imagine a long-term future for everyone, taken in by the power of the knowledge of the future. Now it felt like something had stomped on his chest, crushing his heart for daring to dream of a happy end for all of them.

Historia's head snapped in the direction of the TV, her expression that of pure hope and desperation all of a sudden. "Maybe Candy will have a solution!"

Simultaneously they stared at the TV, holding their breaths.

Kruger remained frozen on the screen. No cheerful voice greeted them.

"C'mon, Candy, anything?" Jean urged, hoping maybe she'd speak because he was her favorite.

The TV remained silent.

Their faces fell.

A sharp, piercing pain tore through Armin's chest like a serrated knife. He fell back against the couch. Historia's words had shot hope into him, reviving him temporarily. Shame on you, he chided himself. Eren deserves to fall apart. He couldn't be the one to come apart at the seams. "I'm alright," he assured his best friends. The weak smile he tried to muster came out as a frown.

"I wish we could do something." Erwin sighed heavily. After all this time and he still wasn't entirely used to losing people. It was so much easier to keep his composure maintained out in battle with blood and torn bodies scattered around. "But this isn't something I can outmaneuver or outthink."

"But maybe—" Historia started.

"It's out of our hands," Ymir interrupted her. "There's no avoiding this thing. Eren and I going to die in less than eight years and there's no changing it." Her voice softened. "Just gotta live every day to our best so we can go without any regrets. That's all we can do."

"We don't want to be sobbed over." Eren looked to Ymir, who nodded. "Let's just move on. There's nothing else we can do. I'm not going to cry about something that can't be changed." Thinking about the Curse would only make their friends sink further into depression.

Eren wondered if Ymir, like him, would let it all out once she was alone. She had mentioned the other day to him that she'd felt lucky to be given a second chance at life and wanted to do the most she could with it. But being given the privilege of seeing and changing the future had felt like a true blessing, forging deep friendships with the others. Eren had agreed with her. It shouldn't have surprised him that just when they'd begun to truly value their lives and wished to forge happy and long futures with each other, fate had decided to spit in their faces and laugh.

Eren wasn't scared of dying, though. What truly terrified him was thinking of what would happen to his friends and Paradis Island once he was gone. The threat of the entire world had been intimidating before, but he'd been confident with his friends and the future knowledge on their side. Now it left him frightened like nothing else ever had, knowing how alone they were against the entire world. I have to do something. So much of my time has already run out! Within eight years he had to find a permanent solution to ensure the island was safe long after he was gone. His hands curled into fists. I have to make it happen no matter what. He might die but his friends would grow to be old and wrinkly and die with smiles on their faces as they were surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

---

"The Owl called it 'The Curse of Ymir,'" Eren reported, sitting cross-legged on his bed in his cell. Armin sat at a desk by the bed, writing down what he said. "The founder Ymir lived that long after her powers awakened, so it's only appropriate we live that long, too."

But why? Hange bit back the many questions on her tongue.

"I've got 13 years left." Armin stopped writing to look up. "And you…"

"Eight years left…" Eren finished in a stoic voice. "Not even."

Connie felt sick. That's nothing. There were so many crazy adventures he wanted to go on with them. So many milestones they had to reach.

Sasha dug her elbow into Connie's ribs. She mouthed "Fix your face" and gave him a pointed look. She fought the urge to look in Ymir's direction. Seeing you upset will only make her feel sadder, she told herself. Look happy. That was a tall order at the moment, though. Never mind. Just don't look like you're going to cry. It was hard and she had to bite the insides of her cheeks.

In a white shift and hair still a mess, Mikasa sat at the edge of her cell. "No. This has to be a mistake."

Eren and Armin listened to her in silence.

Mikasa pressed her lips together, trying not to cry. She knew it would only make Eren—and Ymir—feel worse. If she were in their place, she also wouldn't want to have it thrown in her face again and again that her time was limited. She vowed to do many of the things she, Eren, and Armin had talked about. She wouldn't allow Eren to leave without any wishes unfulfilled.

Once when they were kids they had picked what they'd like to spend an entire day doing, promising to do it all together when they were older. Mikasa wanted to sample every single desert in the Walls. Eren wanted to play in the ocean. Armin wanted to lose himself in a massive library. Eren will nap the whole day while me and Armin read, she thought, imagining Eren passed out with a book on his face.

Eren didn't know what Mikasa was thinking about but he was happy it brought a smile to her face.

"It's wrong," Mikasa said quietly, her gaze sad.

Historia bit her lip to stop from agreeing with Mikasa. It would lead to the temptation of wanting to pitch a temper tantrum and yell and curse at the sky about how messed up it all was. That would make her feel so much better. But it'll make them feel bad. She'd save her fury for when they left the room and take her frustration out on the Titan dummies they used to practice maneuvers.

Peeking at Ymir through the corners of her eyes, Historia swore to cause chaos with her and go on crazy adventures with her. If Ymir can't live up to eighty, we'll live eighty years' worth of memories in less than a decade. But along with the fun and wild experiences, there would also be long, lazy days where they could just drink hot, sweet tea and eat cookies and talk about anything and everything or simply enjoy each other's company. We'll go shopping and bake sweets and prank people and do it all together, she thought, nodding to herself.

I know that look. Ymir wondered what kinds of kooky plans Historia was cooking up in her head.

After a few moments of silence, Eren continued in the same monotone voice. "If one possessing the power of the Nine Titans dies without passing it on, the power is inherited by a baby yet to be born by a Subject of Ymir."

Eren was glad to see this new reveal helping get their minds of the Curse of Ymir. He tried not to think about it himself.

"So that's what happens." Hange wrote it down, underlining it several times. "How does it even work? The whole transferring to unborn babies? What happens if there're no more Eldians? If we all died like the rest of the world wants us to, would Titans cease to exist?"

"Probably," Levi said with a shrug. "That's my guess."

"The only explanation is that all the Subjects of Ymir are connected by something we can't see. Some with Titan powers spoke about seeing some kind of paths. The blood and bones that form a Titan, and at times, even memories and thoughts are sent through those paths."

"That explains so much," Armin said in fascination. "Where the flesh and blood keep coming from, no matter how much we hack at it. But how did our people get connected? What made it happen? I doubt it was a supernatural evil entity but something preternatural must have taken place. How did Ymir Fritz become the first Shifter?"

"It's something to do with genetics, that's all I can guess. Something in our bodies connects us all." Jean was happy at the distraction pulling Historia, Mikasa, and Armin out of their heads. He'd always been closer to Connie and Sasha himself and didn't feel the wretched feeling the three probably were. But he knew all too well what it was like, remembering Marco's half-eaten body.

Streaks of bluish-green light ripped across a massive expanse of stars.

Connie watched the stunningly beautiful landscape in awe. "Whoa, Ymir, isn't that the place you woke up in?"

Ymir was equally astonished. "It is! I thought it was a desert near the edge of the island. It was weird cause I thought for sure I was deeper inland. To think I woke up in that…place where it's all connected." Why, she wondered. Why was I pulled there?

"All the paths cross at a single coordinate. That coordinate…is the Founding Titan," Eren told his father.

"Eren said only some with Titan powers experience this paths," Hange said. "I wonder what makes our Ymir and those people special."

Mikasa nodded. "Even Eren hasn't been shown to be in that place and he has the Founding Titan."

"Wait, did none of you guys see that?" Petra asked when none of them mentioned it. "Wasn't that Eren just now talking to his dad?"

"No, it was Kruger," Sasha replied.

"But I swear it looked like Eren," Petra said, wondering if her eyes had tricked her.

Armin frowned, tilting his head. "I think I saw Eren too."

"Really?" Connie asked. "I think I saw Kruger. But now I'm not so sure."

"Easy enough to check." Erwin rewound and paused. "That's definitely Eren."

"Does his dad not see the difference?" Ymir wondered. "Or is it just internal? It's Kruger on the outside but on the inside, Eren is also present through this paths thing that's connecting them."

Historia's eyes widened. "You think Eren's eavesdropping on that conversation right as he's telling Armin?"

"It certainly looks to be that way," Erwin said. "And what Eren's saying about the Founding Titan being the point where all Eldians of the past and future are connected, it explains why the Founding Titan can control Pure Titans and the royal family could use it to mindwipe the population."

Levi clicked his tongue. It continued to bother him all the members of the royal family were all too greedy or cowardly to do anything when they had so much power at their fingertips. Shitty assholes. But it was also frightening to think one person could hold so much power over an entire race of people.

"Every single Subject of Ymir is connected to that coordinate," Kruger explained.

"Who exactly was the founder Ymir?" Grisha held up his bloodied, bandaged hands.

"Under Marley authority, she's a pawn of the devil." An illustration of a little girl with an apple stood before a demon. "During the Eldian Empire era, she was a miracle of the gods." The illustration showed Ymir as an angelic-looking figure. "And some merely think of her as a young woman who made contact with the source of all living matter. Who's to say they're wrong?"

"What?"

"It's like we were thinking," Eren said. "The accounts are biased. The 'truth' changes depending on whose side of history you're looking at."

"Kruger is probably right." Jean himself was more leaning toward the theory of her just being a random young woman that stumbled upon something extraordinary. "Both sides of the story about the founder Ymir are probably a little bit right and a little bit wrong."

Hange sighed longingly. "I just wanna find this source of all living matter and touch it."

"Of course you do, Four-Eyes."

"There is no absolute truth in this world," Kruger said. "That's the reality of things. Anyone can become a god or a devil. All it takes is for people to believe it."

"You're the one who said that Dina had royal blood in her. Was that a 'truth' of yours?" Grisha asked.

"Unfortunately, Dina having royal blood was true."

"Then why abandon her?"

"Precisely because she had royal blood," Kruger replied. "She can't be allowed to fall into enemy hands. It had to be done before Zeke told Marley everything."

"I'm surprised Zeke didn't tell Marley everything," Historia confessed. "Maybe he held some affection for his mother and had an idea of what they'd do to her. So he tried to spare her that indignity."

"Or," Jean said, having a lower opinion of Zeke, "he didn't want to end up used himself so keeping his mouth shut about his mother's royal heritage was just him protecting his own ass."

"Even so…" Grisha trailed off.

"Even so? Would she be better off giving birth to children for the enemy her entire life?" Kruger challenged and Grisha looked away. "I've done my duty." Kruger pressed a hand to his mouth. "You do yours. Only someone with the power of the Titans is capable of reaching the Walls."

"To be perfectly honest, I don't think I'm fit for the job."

"You will do it."

"Look down there. He was eaten alive by a Titan," Grisha said as Gross's half-eaten corpse was shown, his expression frozen in terror. "And you asked if watching that was interesting? It wasn't interesting at all. His screams of agony were unbearable to hear."

"Not to me." Eren did not feel the least bit of regret about enjoying Gross's suffering.

"Your father was a doctor," Mikasa said, remembering Grisha's caring nature. "By nature, he's not someone who can bear to see anyone suffer. Not even the despicable bastard who fed his sister to dogs. But we chose to be soldiers in the Corps. We chose violence and bloodshed. Your father is a better man than us, clearly."

"He can keep his moral high ground." Eren didn't care. "I'll keep my less than ethical self." He felt quite happy about Gross's death and he wasn't going to regret not being sad about it. I'm just not that good a person.

Grisha stared at his bloodied hands. "I didn't know any better. If I had known this was the price of freedom, I wouldn't have paid it."

"Stand." Kruger stood and commanded Grisha. "Fight! For the sake of restoring freedom and dignity to Eldia. Rise!"

"I can't do it…"

Kruger pulled out a photo from his pocket and gave it to Grisha. "Look. I brought this from your home."

"So that's how it ended up in the basement," Erwin said, nodding. "I was wondering how Grisha brought it with him."

"Can you imagine if Eren's mom accidentally found her husband's journals?" Connie asked, smiling when it earned him a snort from Ymir.

Grisha gasped then squeezed his eyes shut again. "I can't look."

"Can't look. Can't stand. Can't fight. Have you no balls, either?" Kruger challenged the downtrodden Grisha. "Did Marley cut them off?"

"You can awaken my old hatred of Marley like that. The only thing I can feel now," Grisha said as he wept, "is my guilt."

"That's more than enough. The main reason I picked you was because you left the walls that day."

A young Grisha and Faye stood looking at the gate leading out of the internment zone.

"That day, if you hadn't taken your little sister and gone past the walls, you would've taken over your father's clinic, your sister may have grown up, married, and even had children. But you did go outside the walls."

Grisha listened, his breath shuddering.

"Since the day I first sentenced my own people off this wall, since the day you took your sister outside the wall, until the day comes when the two of us get what we deserve, we can only move forward. Until death. Even after death."

Finally, Grisha swirled his head toward the photo Kruger held.

"This is…a story that you began, is it not?" Kruger asked.

Little Grisha pulled his sister's hand, leading her toward the gate.

Yes, that's how it began. Eren thought. The pressure of the eight years was already weighing on him. Dad started it. And I'll be the one to end it.

Grisha clutched the photograph and stood. The two men stared silently at each other as the breeze ruffled their hair.

"There are names given to each of the Nine Titans," Kruger said. "That includes the Titan you will inherit. No matter which era this Titan has found itself in, it has pushed ever forward, seeking out freedom."

"Eren, didn't you say something like that once?" Armin asked.

"I must have been quoting Kruger without realizing it." Eren touched his head, wondering if Candy had triggered it on purpose on the ninth episode of last season, seeing as Kruger said the quote in the ninth episode now. Hopefully, she'll awaken more memories in me and Ymir.

Sunlight hit Grisha's face and he stared with wide eyes at a Survey Corps soldier.

"For the sake of freedom, it fights."

Keith Shadis brought his horse under control and stared at Grisha in shock, the Wings of Freedom cloak prominent on his back.

"Its name is…" Kruger began.

"The Attack Titan," Eren finished, holding a hand to his chin.

Jean crossed his arms. "Anyone else find this weird? First, they're sitting the same way and it looks like Eren's talking to his dad on the wall in Kruger's place. Now Eren's mimicking Kruger's gestures and method of speaking. It's almost like Kruger is talking through him or at the same time as him."

"I don't think it's a coincidence, either," Erwin said. He had a feeling something more was happening. Let's see there will be more clues.

"What are you doing?" Hange asked, standing outside Eren's cell as he spaced off. Levi and Armin stood beside her. Hange leaned against the wall and imitated Eren's posture and grim tone. "The Attack Titan," she said. "Didn't you just do that?" Hange asked as Levi began to unlock the cell.

"No."

"What?! He did that, right? Didn't you two see it just now?"

"Yeah," Armin replied, "but that's not really—"

"See?!" Hange exclaimed. "What was that all about, Eren?"

Eren continued to stare down with a detached expression. "No, it's nothing."

"It's the name of your Titan, isn't it? What were you doing talking to yourself?"

"Enough, Hange," Levi cut in. "He's 15 years old. Everyone goes through a phase."

"What?" Hange said as Levi finished unlocking the cell. "What kind of phase are we talking about?"

Oh just stop it TV-me. Hange thought. He just found out he has an unchangeable expiration date. But she knew herself. Once something got her attention or made her curious, she wouldn't stop poking at it until she had a satisfactory answer.

"Hange," Armin started while Eren rubbed his hair in growing irritation, "I'll explain to you later. It's not right with him here."

Armin felt so guilty. He could avoid becoming a Shifter and have the chance to grow up to be old and gray. It was already too late for Eren and Ymir. He could feel the time ticking down slowly and couldn't imagine how they had to be feeling. Who'll end up cursed in my place, he thought, another thing adding to his guilt. Erwin had said he had some candidates in mind he wanted to approach about becoming Shifters. Most of them had died originally and would now get the chance to live longer, but it still didn't make Armin feel better.

"What?" Hange continued obliviously. "What do you mean by that?"

"What the hell did you come for?!" Eren demanded, losing patience with her yammering.

"Get out," Levi told Eren.

"I'm supposed to be disciplined for ten more days."

"It's over. Hange just now was punishment enough."

Hange pouted when they laughed, though internally she was grateful they didn't get sucked into why Armin was trying to get her to shut up.

"We had a talk with Chief Zackly," Hange explained while Armin released Mikasa, "so don't worry about it. If we jail the heroes who toppled the Armored and Colossal Titan, it kinda sends a bad message, you know?" Eren followed Levi out. "And apparently," she said, "your superiors are just dimwits who let the Beast and Armored Titan get away."

"That's not true," Eren said to her.

Mikasa stepped out of her cell. Bags were under her eyes and she appeared slighter, an air of tiredness hanging around her.

"You look terrible." Concern shone on Petra's face. "I'm tempted to feed you and fatten you up."

Mikasa smiled at her. "If it helps, I'm not a picky eater. I'll eat whatever you make."

Sasha raised her hand. "Feel free to feed me, too, please!"

"Did you lose some weight?" Eren came closer to Mikasa. "We had plenty to eat, though."

Mikasa touched her hair, letting her hand drop before asking, "Do you feel alright, Eren?"

"I guess," he responded, bringing his hand to his chest.

"Let's go." Levi walked away, leading Hange and Armin. "Get dressed quick."

"Where are we going?" Eren asked.

"To an audience. Her Majesty has come to Trost."

Levi grunted. "Did that old man Fritz bite the big one?"

Jean smirked and said, "You think the new queen is hot?"

"Really, Jean?" Connie teased. "Isn't that my line first?"

"What can I say, you've corrupted me."

Hange noticed Erwin's eager expression. "What's with that look?"

"You'll understand in a second."

---

A large building in Trost appeared. Inside, Historia sat by a window, dressed in formal military attire.

"She must have come to see the queen too," Sasha said.

Erwin's lips twitched. She is the queen. He was sure. The others were assuming Historia was dressed up for a royal audience, not realizing she was the one holding the royal audience.

"I guess we'll see what you've been up to." Connie's eyes lit up. "Maybe the queen had you assigned to a special mission or something."

"That would be so cool!" Historia said excitedly.

Historia read the papers in her hands sadly.

"To my dear Historia, as I'm writing this, Reiner stands next to me."

In a dark brick room lit by a candle, Ymir sat scribbling on paper as Reiner stood beside the desk, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He watched as she wrote the letter.

"It's pretty obvious he's sneaking peeks at my love letter to you. He can be such a creep. No wonder he's single. However, he did promise me he'd deliver this letter to you."

"Say what you will about him," Ymir said, "but Reiner does keep his promises and is loyal—if you're on his side."

"He's also a fucking cockroach that refuses to die," Levi mumbled in disdain. The survivalist in him was rather impressed by Reiner's tenacity.

The Jaw Titan saved the Armored Titan from a group of Pure Titans as they piled on him.

"He says it's payback for saving them that one time. I'm sorry about then."

The Jaw Titan gently wrapped her fingers around Historia's stunned face in farewell, then she turned and ran.

"I never imagined I would end up choosing them over you."

"Very poor taste on your part, Ymir," Historia chided her lightly.

"Good thing I didn't make the same mistake twice."

On horseback, fleeing with Connie's horse next to hers, Historia held out her arm in an attempt to reach the Jaw Titan.

Back in the present, Historia stared at the words sadly.

"I'm going to die very soon. But I have no regrets….or so I'd like to say," Ymir narrated, wrapping up her letter, "but there is one thing that still bothers me: I never did get to marry you. Sincerely, Ymir."

We were supposed to become parents and grandparents together. Sasha thought, her face falling. Our kids were supposed to be friends and grow up together.

"You've always gotta sound cool, don't you, Ymir?" Connie said quickly to distract her.

"Damn straight."

"If I knew I was about to be eaten, I hope I can remain half as composed and sassy," Historia joked, willing her eyes not to water.

Ymir could tell by the strain around their eyes they were trying not to get her mind to go to her limited lifespan. It was touching, really. So she laughed and joked along with them. And their smiles became more genuine. It was what she wanted to do most, along with securing their futures, to leave countless happy memories behind.

Historia placed her hand on the letter.

Sparks of golden lightning crackled and she gasped.

Images of Ymir's life raced through Historia's mind, from being a street orphan to getting sentenced and turned into a Pure Titan to grabbing Marcel, then ending at waking up before an endless sky of stars with bluish-green streaks cutting through the sky.

"Did you just use that paths thing?!" Jean said, wondering if Historia could read anyone's memories. Nah, it's probably just a one-time thing.

Hange perked up. "Ooh, maybe you're special in a way like Ymir."

Not quite in the same way. Erwin thought.

Admittedly Historia thought it was rather neat. And it brought a smile to her face, thinking their bond was strong enough to flow through this strange phenomenon.

"All the paths cross at a single coordinate," Eren's voice narrated. "In other words, that Coordinate is…"

Ymir smiled joyously at the beauty before her, tears in her eyes.

"…the Founding Titan."

Jean tapped the arm of the couch. "You know, it does explain how Dina found Eren's house immediately after entering Shinganshina. She's of royal descent and maybe this paths connection led her to where her husband lived. It wasn't just a coincidence that she found the Yeager resident out of all the houses in Shinganshina. The last thing Dina wished for was to find her husband and she was somehow pulled to his home."

"I wonder if that's how Eren found Mikasa, too, by using this paths thing," Petra said suddenly. "Way back in season one, remember? That time in Trost when Eren turned and went to save Mikasa after killing SanTitan."

Except Eren doesn't have royal blood. Erwin thought to himself. So how could he use this phenomenon that connected all of them and realize Mikasa needed help? How did he know exactly where to find her? Was it just dumb luck? Or was there something else at play?

On a stone pillar with brick stairs leading up to it, a bedraggled Ymir was tied with chains. A man stood down before her.

"At least I'll last longer this time." Ymir meant it as a joke though it came out genuine.

"We'll do all the fun things our TV-selves didn't get to," Sasha promised.

"What was that?" Historia mumbled to herself, holding up the paper. She tilted her head, studying it.

"Something wrong?" Hange's voice interrupted her search.

"Uh, no." Historia glanced to her left. "Is that all there was?"

"Yes," Hange confirmed, Jean sitting in the chair beside her with his left arm in a splint. A large, dark wooden meeting table with papers was before them. "Of course, I doubt she was able to write anything beneficial to us."

"You think Historia remembered what she just saw?" Armin asked. He doubted it.

"I'd like to hope so," Ymir replied. "Cause I would have wanted you to know," she said to Historia, "and understand me better. But I think like Eren in the first episode, you might have forgotten what you saw, only having a vague sensation something happened."

"Was there any secret message only you would know?" Jean asked. "Like a code?"

An armed guard stood against the wall near Historia.

"I don't know. But I doubt she would do something like that." Historia paused then sighed heavily. "Ymir was such an idiot. A true idiot." She looked out the window. "She would always try to hide her embarrassment."

We were supposed to have all of the time in the world. Sasha clenched her fists. Strangely she didn't feel upset. It was relief and luck she felt instead. At least we have eight more years this time around. It was more time now than they originally got. No squandering it being sulky. She and Connie were the clowns among them. We'll keep them smiling.

Historia's voice shook. "I just never know with you…" Tears fell down her cheeks as they watched.

"Don't you worry. I'll be wildly and totally honest about my feelings," Ymir promised with a grin. "So much so I'll make you regret it."

Connie groaned. "I feel like I'm going to be made fun of a lot."

"It's your punishment for all those puns."

A knock came from the door.

"We're here," Levi said from the other side.

The man guarding the door answered, "Come in."

Historia turned her head away from the window, wiping her tears. She went up to the three teens beside Levi.

Armin bowed first and said, "Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty," Mikasa said respectfully.

Eren followed suit and spoke in a rush. "Your Majesty."

Erwin nodded, satisfied, and watched in amusement as the group collectively lost their cool.

"Historia is the QUEEN?!"

"You're royalty?! What?!"

"Dude, that explains SO much! That's why Reiner and Bertolt wanted her!"

"Hey Jean, that answers your question then, huh?"

"Yup. The new queen is totally hot."

"…Does that mean the time I stole bread from you is considered treason?"

Historia herself could only gape open-mouthed at the revelation.

"You look like you saw this coming, Commander Erwin," Petra said, taking in his entertained expression. "Did you already guess about this?"

"I started having suspicions there was more to the story since the third episode of the second season," Erwin told them. "Remember, Hange? How we thought it was weird the way Pastor Nick spoke about Historia."

"I remember." Hange nodded. "I thought something was off too. You mentioned the way Nick spoke about Historia it was like he considered her to be above him in rank."

"The feeling continued to grow stronger and I thought the Reiss family must have connections to the Church of the Walls. No way the Church could grow so strong without influential backers like a few noble families. Ymir also learned about Historia by eavesdropping on members of the Church so there was an obvious connection there."

Eren stared at Erwin with an impressed look. "So you figured about Historia since last season?"

"No, that's just when I started getting a gut feeling about her family. It wasn't until episode five that I thought Historia was not only of royal blood but that she'd also become queen. We were trying to figure out why we only brought one injection when we knew we'd be facing at least three Shifters. Because the Curse of Ymir takes a Shifter's life after thirteen years, the royal family would need an injection with Titan serum. I'm assuming we got it from them."

"Except we should have made and brought more." Hange crossed her arms and looked up. "So either we didn't have enough supplies due to some restriction we're unaware of, or they didn't share the formula with us."

Levi recalled the conversation the veterans had a while back. "Nile, the chief, Pixis, and some of the other military bigwigs were also openly discussing a treasonous subject. I guess this explains it."

"That was another thing that stuck out to me," Erwin said. "Nile was sharing my father's theories with them freely, a subject that as an MP, especially the head of the Brigade, he would have been obligated to arrest someone for."

"Oh!" Connie gasped. "That one time when the TV showed us Historia on the farm! Remember?"

Erwin nodded. "Yes, she was being watched by the MPs. But they weren't keeping her under house arrest or anything like that. They were there to guard the Queen of the Walls."

"Eren must have had to practice a lot to master hardening," Jean said, latching on to another discrepancy he hadn't noticed earlier. "Remember how surprised Reiner was by it? The Royal Government is dragging their feet with us here, but we've been winning and doing pretty well. On the TV, though, we're in much worse shape yet they somehow allowed Eren to practice Shifting over and over so he could master that skill? I find that hard to believe."

"Unless of course one of our own was sitting on the throne and we'd shaken up the government," Ymir finished, giving Historia an amazed look.

Hange held up a finger. "There's also that guillotine-like weapon on Wall Rose. No way would even we, with our current winning streak, will be able to get that alteration made to the Walls. Not with the Church of the Walls holding so much power and thwarting our efforts to get the request passed. Yet on the TV, they had it built so fast—that is if we're correct in our guess it's only been months between the 57th Expedition and the mission to reclaim Wall Maria."

"We've made some vast improvements to our weapons, too," Erwin added. "Despite the fact we haven't made any notable inventions in regards to the military—aside from almost useless cannon upgrades—we've suddenly got Thunder Spears. Where did that technology come from? How did the designs pass inspection and the weapons were manufactured so fast? We'd have needed a lot of funding and support to make that happen."

"Damn, we really need to get Historia on the throne," Jean said. "Our life will get so much easier."

"It'll be hard to defend ourselves properly if our government keeps fighting against us," Mikasa said. "This will open a lot of doors for us."

Historia tried not to show her nervousness. I can do it. I am doing it already. It's no problem. Surely it couldn't be that hard if her TV-self, who was about as experienced at ruling—that is to say: no at all—was in charge and the Walls hadn't fallen yet. That's something. She probably had advisors she delegated everything to. I doubt I do everything. That made her feel better. And I could always harass the commander into helping me.

Erwin was extremely excited but held on sharing any more of his thoughts regarding how he wanted to shake up their system. They'd end up in a long discussion lasting hours if they didn't move on now. "Let's keep watching. We can have a meeting later to discuss all the details more thoroughly."

"S-Stop it." Historia held up her hands. "It's not an official position yet."

The three straightened.

"So much has happened, hasn't it?" Historia said. "But all I did was stare at the southern sky from within the Walls."

Historia decided that was probably going to be the worst part of her job as queen.

"It's an important duty of yours just to stay alive," Armin assured her.

"Yeah," Eren said, "that's right."

Mikasa grunted in affirmation.

I'll have to quit being a soldier. Historia tried to console herself with the fact she would contribute much more as the queen than as a simple grunt in the military.

"I'm glad to see you're all acting like usual," Historia said.

Mikasa and Armin shifted their heads toward Eren. "I think it's just because it hasn't sunk in for us yet," Eren replied.

Hange and Jean straightened the papers on the table before them. "Shall we get this going?" Hange asked.

Elsewhere, Sasha sat in a bed by the window, eating an apple.

---

In a large formal military meeting room, the highest ranking soldiers sat facing the group in the middle. Three tables seating three people were placed before the large desk up at the front of the room. Historia sat in the middle with Zackly to her left and another military official to her right. Two men with rifles stood by the wall behind them.

"The Early Life of Grisha Yeager," Zackly began. "The Extent of Our Knowledge of Titans and Their History. Information About the World Beyond the Walls." The three journals as well as the photograph were on the desk. "The only people who know about the existence of these books are those here in this very room."

Levi and Hange sat at the first table. Mikasa, Eren, and Armin were sitting at the second table. The last table held Connie, Jean, and Floch.

"These were gained by the efforts of nine living Scouts and the 199 others who are not here today. Today, and in the queen's presence, I would like to assess our situation and establish an agreement in terms of our course of action. Survey Corps Commander Hange Zoe."

Hange stood. "Sir."

"The Scouts have lost a great deal, including Erwin Smith. But in exchange for the many heroes that we lost, we have retaken Wall Maria and stolen the Colossal Titan's powers. However, humanity that lives within the Walls remains in a precarious situation. It would be a relief were Titans the only monsters we had for enemies."

Levi wasn't one for laughing but if he could talk to his past self and tell him he'd miss having Titans as enemies and his life was going pretty well, his past self would have laughed.

Eren listened to Hange without reacting, remembering when he and Ymir had been kidnapped and were healing in the trees.

"But instead," Hange said, "our true enemies are civilized humans…"

"Then who's the enemy?!" Eren asked Ymir angrily.

"…or to be more accurate…"

"Enemy?" Ymir asked. "If you want my opinion, it's—"

"…the whole world," Hange said to the courtroom.

Her words were met with deafening silence.

If we can only figure out how to use the Founding Titan's power, Hange thought. It would give them a fighting chance even against the entire world.

"You know, watching this makes me feel kind of glad," Eren said, feeling strangely relaxed. "We're in much better shape than our TV versions." He was still stressed about doing something to ensure the island was safe after he died, but he was sure the mental strain his TV-version had to be feeling was ten times worse.

"That's why I always remind myself," Sasha said. "As bad as we might think things are, they could have been so much worse."

"According to these," Hange started once more, "we're a special race called Subjects of Ymir who can turn into Titans. There's also a belief that we may rule the world again. That's why the world wishes to eradicate us Subjects of Ymir for good."

---

"If the Founding Titan falls into Marley hands," Kruger told Grisha, "Eldians are done for."

"The king in the Walls wouldn't allow that to happen."

"The king in the Walls won't fight."

"Why not?" Connie blurted out almost in a whine.

"Cause he's a wimp," Historia retorted.

"What?" Grisha asked, confused.

"'If once again Eldia is driven to sin, we will perish as it's meant to be. I have made a vow renouncing war with the Founding Titan.' He said that to the royal family on the continent and then closed the Walls."

"That son of a bitch!" Eren gasped, glaring at the screen.

Levi frowned in irritation. "No wonder the kings and queens following the first king didn't do shit about the Pure Titans, or when Wall Maria was attacked. They couldn't because of that chicken-shit."

"But why not?" Hange was overcome with the urge to learn and know more. "How? I don't understand how the vow he made could affect his children and their children. Is it cause they're his descendants? And it's like a contract that anyone sharing his blood must obey?"

"One thing is for sure," Armin said, glancing at Historia, "the royal family might be of the right bloodline to fully use the Founding Titan's power, but it doesn't matter because they're restricted because of the vow. So they can't have the Founding Titan back."

Historia shrugged, not caring. "Works for me. I'm not interested in getting the Founding Titan."

"And what does he mean if 'Eldians are driven to sin we'll die like we're meant to' or something?" Jean huffed, feeling indignation. "What kind of utter bullshit is that? That's why he sat around his lazy ass and let Pure Titans kill us? Why couldn't he just control his own warmongering subjects?"

"Obviously," Petra explained, a sardonic hint to her voice, "it was easier to deem the whole race a lost cause. Seems he decided all the Eldians should be punished cause he couldn't be bothered to do the hard task of straightening some of his people out."

Levi rolled his eyes. "How convenient that he thinks Eldians should be punished but he, the fucking the king of the Eldians, isn't to be counted among them. Hypocritical bastard."

"Did he not warn that the Titans of the Walls would flatten the earth?" Grisha pointed out.

Flatten the earth, huh? Eren thought. Certainly would solve all our problems. But we can't do that, obviously. There had to be other ways. Commander Erwin will figure something out. Though on the chance Erwin couldn't, and maybe if the Corps figured out how to unlock the Founding Titan's full power, then maybe… It could be a last resort. Some part of him recoiled at the thought. Not that I'll do it, he said to himself. Just something to keep in mind…

"Those words were meant to deter an attack," Kruger explained. "It allowed for a brief time of peace. The king of the Walls stole his people's memories and made them believe humanity perished beyond the Walls."

How odd. Erwin quirked his brows. Kruger knows about the mindwipe? Supposedly he'd never even set foot behind the Walls. Reiner and his group don't show up inside the Walls until decades after this point. There was no reason for Kruger to conclude the king of the Walls had erased the Walled people's memories of the outside world and made them think they were the last of humanity. Which raises the question: How does Kruger know what the first king did and the specificities of the lie he made everyone believe?

"He surrounded himself with the ignorant and babbled about paradise."

Again Erwin thought: How does he know that? Kruger wasn't of royal blood like Dina, Zeke, and Historia so that it might have given him some insight about the king through the paths. Kruger and the king did not have a connection. But on the other hand… His mind began to race, linking together scattered bits of information.

Their backs to the screen, Kenny stood beside Uri, who sat holding his cane. Uri looked off into the water, his hair gray.

"Is that supposed to be the true king?" Hange asked in interest, leaning forward. "The one before Historia?"

"I last saw my father five years ago." A crease appeared between Historia's brows. "He didn't look like that. He looked healthy and had a head of dark hair."

"Five years ago is when Wall Maria fell," Armin pointed out. "Maybe Eren's dad ate that old man who's on TV. He must be a relative of your dad's. Uncle Grisha got the Founding Titan from him and then your dad became King of the Walls. Meanwhile, King Fritz remained the puppet on the throne."

Was that Kenny? Levi thought. No, it couldn't be. Why would Kenny, of all people, work for the king? Why would the king even want a serial killer, a loose cannon like Kenny Ackerman? Wait, come to think of it, he thought, recalling the flashback from a few episodes ago with Kenny lying injured against a tree, if he is an associate of the king then that's how we must cross paths again. Because for Historia to be queen, it meant the previous king, her father, was dead. And as Armin said, for Grisha to have the Founding Titan to pass on to Eren, he must have killed the old man. Did Kenny go on to serve Rod Reiss then? Historia was a bastard child. Rod's other children, if he had any, must have taken priority. Did we fight to put her on the throne?

Erwin stared between the man who was standing and Levi. "Is he the man you said was your mentor?" Kenny had been shown three episodes ago and Erwin thought it was him. But Levi would recognize him better.

"It is. I'm almost positive."

"Everyone thinks that fraud we've seen sitting on the throne is the king. How did Eren's dad find the real king and take the Founding Titan?" Petra asked.

"You said he was a doctor and he went into the interior all the time, right?" Hange asked and Eren nodded. "Only thing I can think of is maybe he found some clients who knew the truth. We know certain members of the Church of the Walls know some of the truth—the highest and most devoted members at least. Perhaps through them, he found the real royal family."

"Something wrong, Historia?" Sasha asked, noticing her troubled expression.

"That man with the hat…" Historia felt somewhat unsettled. "He kind of reminds me of someone. I think it might have been the same man we saw in the other episode. He was bleeding by a tree."

"I know him," Levi spoke up. "I'm pretty sure it's the same person. His name's Kenny."

"Who is he, Captain?" Historia asked in an odd voice.

"He was my mentor. Why?"

Heads swirled left and right as they looked between Levi and Historia.

"I didn't recognize him a few episodes ago. But now, that height, his frame, and his hat, I think he's the same man who killed my mother."

The group gaped between them.

"Wouldn't surprise me if he cut her throat," Levi said, familiar with Kenny's preferred method of killing.

"H-He did." Historia's face paled. "How did you know that?"

"He was a notorious serial killer once," Levi admitted and their eyes became round. "They called him Kenny the Ripper."

"I've never heard of that name before," Jean said, trying to recall it.

"He was active before you brats were even born. And his hunting grounds were mostly Mitras or the Underground City. Hell, nowadays he's only just a myth even there. So it's not surprising none of you know of him. To be honest, I'm more shocked he's working with the royal family."

"With?" Hange repeated. "Don't you mean for the royal family?"

"Kenny doesn't work for anyone. He got infamous for killing over a hundred MPs." Levi wondered vaguely how much he was tarnishing his image in their eyes, having confessed this violent man had been his teacher. "So you can understand why I'm confused that he'd be helping the royal family and cleaning up their mess." Petra and Hange dug their elbows in his sides. "No offense," he said to Historia. "I just meant—"

"It's fine. I know what you meant."

"Is he as good as you, Captain Levi?" Eren asked curiously.

"I'm sure that old goat can probably still kick my ass. He's the one who taught me everything I know."

As the others shifted uncomfortably in their seats at Levi's admission of Kenny's possible superiority, Sasha laughed nervously. "But we must have beaten him and won. He looked like he was close to death. And Historia is the one on the throne."

Ymir sighed, pinching her nose. "I get the feeling we'll have some shit to deal with between the months leading up to the mission to reclaim Wall Maria."

"We'll have you by our side this time," Connie said, smiling. "And many more allies."

If Kenny worked with the royal family, Erwin thought, why would he try to kill Historia? Who sent him? Maybe he was sent to get rid of a potential problem in the future. Historia's blood would make her a contender to the throne. If so, then why did Rod Reiss stop Kenny that day? It didn't make sense to him.

Grisha listened without a word as a Kruger said. "A king who can't protect his people is no king."

"That asshat wasn't even willing to protect his people and made it so his descendants couldn't either," Jean grumbled under his breath.

---

Grisha's face transitioned to Eren's.

"You must find that cowardly king and strip him of the Founding Titan. That is our mission."

It's almost like Kruger was speaking to Eren. Petra thought.

Hange glanced back to look at Eren. "Dr. Yeager later achieved his mission and entrusted the Founding Titan to his son Eren. In order to wield the Founding Titan's full power, it must be possessed by someone with royal blood."

Historia remembered Freida sitting by the fence, clutching her hair. Eyes glowing purple, Frieda had tears in her eyes, her teeth gritted.

"However," Hange said, "even if that person possesses the Founding Titan, they're enslaved by the king's ideals, which only leads them down the path to humanity's downfall. That is the vow renouncing war."

"Who's that woman?" Sasha couldn't recall the purple-eyed woman though her face seemed vaguely familiar. "And what's with her eyes?"

She appears to be someone Historia knows. Mikasa thought. "Do you know her, Historia? The TV seems to be implying she's someone with royal blood."

Seeing Frieda's face brought back a rush of memories. "Oh," Historia said, touching her head. "Oh!" She gasped, eyes wide when it hit her. "That's my sister!"

"You have a sister?" Ymir asked. "Why didn't you mention her before?"

"I'd forgotten…all about her. I can't believe I never remembered her in five years since I last saw her!"

"She must have used the Founding Titan to erase your memories of her." Connie shuddered. "Creepy."

"Hold on," Historia said, squinting as she thought, "I don't understand how I became queen. I'm pretty sure Frieda mentioned having younger siblings. They'd be the legitimate heirs."

"Considering the thirteen years expiration date," Armin said, "it would stand to reason someone of royal blood needed to have several children."

"Hey, wait," Jean said, startled, "so does that mean the person Eren's dad ate wasn't that old man but this Frieda woman? Cause with Hange's words, it's like the TV is telling us Frieda is a Shifter and she's controlled by her Founding Titan."

Levi did some quick math. "If she was alive until five years ago," he said, "and we saw her struggling with the first king's ideology, it means the previous inheritor of the Founding Titan, the old man with Kenny, must have been eaten and Frieda was the one who possessed the Founding Titan when Wall Maria was breached."

"The Reiss children are all dead." Eren stared at his hands, ashen-faced. "My dad killed them all after eating Frieda." The nauseating feeling of tiny bodies being crushed under his Titan's hands sent a shiver down his spine.

Thick awkwardness filled the room at his confession.

Guilt squirmed in Eren's stomach. "I'm sorry, Historia. My dad, he…he tried to plead with Frieda to save his family and Wall Maria but she refused to help. He didn't think he had another choice."

"It's not your fault." Armin came to his defense. "Your father knew there was no other choice considering what Kruger told him about the vow."

"Armin's right," Historia said to Eren, struggling to hold in her feelings at the news of Freida's demise. Not the time, not the place, she thought. "I don't blame you either. The only person at fault here is that rat bastard who made the vow that bound his descendants," she growled. Her heart ached at the kind woman her sister used to be before the first king corrupted her. "Otherwise Frieda would have saved everyone, I know it."

Petra frowned as something occurred to her. "Why did Frieda inherit the Founding Titan? Shouldn't it go to her father first? I'm guessing the old man was his brother or his uncle. Rod Reiss should have gotten the Founding Titan after the previous king died then passed it on to his daughter. She shouldn't have been in possession of the Founding Titan this decade."

Jean made a disgusted face. "What a pathetic father. If he had taken the Founding Titan it would have given his daughter thirteen more years to live. What kind of a shitty-ass parent is okay with outliving their own kid?"

Not that she'd be alive today. Eren thought. My old man would have seen to it that day. Eren understood the logic behind his father's actions, uncomfortable and shameful though it made him feel. The royal family had to be wiped out. Else if the Founding Titan fell into their hands again and the Walled people were being slaughtered, the Reiss family would have stood on the sidelines twiddling their thumbs.

"If that's the case, Eren," Erwin said after thinking on it for a minute, "and your father killed all the Reiss heirs, that means Historia is the only one left. What I don't understand is, who was sent to kill Historia five years ago? Her mother I'd understand. But killing the last of the two remaining royals, where's the logic in that? Who ordered it? Obviously not Rod Reiss because he stopped Kenny."

Historia wrinkled her nose. "I'm sure him saving me had less to do with any paternal feelings for me and more about saving his own ass. If he was willing to let Frieda take on the Curse so he'd have more time—because I can't think of any other reason not to inherit the Founding Titan than him fearing a guaranteed 13-year expiration date—then it's more than likely he's pushing off his responsibility to me to save himself more time."

Eren snorted. "Rod turned tail and bolted when my dad was attacking the Reiss family. He's a pathetic coward who was afraid of dying. I'm sure that's why Frieda ended up jumping the line of succession and got the Founding Titan first."

Levi glanced to his right. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"Yes." Erwin nodded. "Rod will come for Historia eventually. It's why he spared her. So if he found Grisha he'd feed him to Historia. With the Founding Titan back in royal hands, the status quo would return and he could avoid inheriting the Curse of Ymir for thirteen more years."

"Why not just have another kid?" Sasha wondered. "Unless he can't."

"That's one possibility. But consider this, creating a new heir and waiting for its birth will take a long time. And there's waiting for the child to grow to an appropriate age to inherit and behave responsibly with something extraordinary like Titan powers. A royal inheritor of the Founding Titan could even erase memories of another royal so Rod would have to take precautions and make the time to mold the child's mind to how he sees fit. That all would take far too long. Hence sending Historia to live under a new name and hiding her from whoever tried to have her killed."

Hange tapped the pen thoughtfully on her notebook. "Rod Reiss must have learned Eren has the Founding Titan when Ymir was taken. The MPs and the Scouts all saw him using the Coordinate's power to direct the Pure Titans."

"Then we have the advantage, don't we?" Petra asked. "This time we didn't run into Dina so Rod and the Warriors can't be sure if Eren's the Founding Titan or another of the Nine Titans. The Warriors at least must consider Eren might be the long lost Attack Titan."

Armin crossed his arms, thinking. "The Warriors could think maybe Eren's family had the Attack Titan and were secretly hiding out on the island the entire time. Rod Reiss might not know the man who attacked his family and ate Frieda is Eren's dad. Otherwise he would have come after Eren years ago. It was originally reported that Eren got his Titan powers from the injection his father gave him. So if Reiss dug into Uncle Grisha, he might have learned he's from outside the Walls. So he can't be sure if Eren's dad's just a defector Shifter from Marley who came to hide out here or if he's also the man who ate the Founding Titan. Because he doesn't know how many Warriors came to the island five years ago."

"But still," Connie said skeptically, "shouldn't they have come after Eren anyway? Why would they need to be sure he's the Founding Titan before nabbing him? Why risk it? I'd just go for it."

"They did try to sneakily take him," Erwin spoke up. "People might have been skeptical about Eren in Wall Sina, but in Wall Rose he was already seen as the hero who saved Trost. He led to humanity's first victory against the Titans and had become a public and popular figure so Rod couldn't act too rashly. He had a safe option available anyway. If Chief Zackly had handed Eren over to the MPs, who wanted to do experiments on him, the Royal Government could have claimed Eren died during some procedure to hide the fact Rod probably had Historia cannibalize Eren. By some chance Eren turned out not to have the Founding Titan, it was no big loss for Rod. Eldians can hold more than one of the Nine Titans concurrently. And the royal family having the wrong Titan was better than having no Titan at all."

"I suppose that means we can safely assume Chief Zackly is not an ally of Reiss's since he gave us custody of Eren." Hange already had Zackly listened under Possible Allies and put a star next to his name.

"I think we've spent enough time on this," Levi said hurriedly before they went off on another topic. "Let's finish this episode."

"But even so, Eren was able to control Pure Titans in the past to escape a dire situation. So it may be possible even without royal blood for Eren to wield that power as well."

That's right. Eren thought. In a flashback, he stood before Mikasa and punched the Smiling Titan. Back then for that split second, it felt like everything connected. Why? Eren wondered, remembering how lightning had sparked when his fist met the Smiling Titan's palm. Why did it only last an instant?

His eyes began to widen as the realization hit him.

Instinctively they leaned forward, pulled by his expression.

"My name is Dina Fritz," Dina introduced herself. "I'm a descendant of the royal family."

"It can't be!" Eren screamed, shooting to his feet and hitting his hands on the table, causing Hange to jump.

Connie squawked and hid his face. "I'm embarrassed from over here," he groaned.

"I'm not sure I follow," Jean said. "Did it have something to do with Dina's Titan?"

"Is it about—" Armin started but Hange shushed him.

"Shh!" Hange stared intently at the TV. "I'm sure he'll mention it."

Armin stared at Eren. Floch, Jean, and Connie also gaped with open mouths.

Levi and Hange turned to look at Eren.

"You scared me. What was that about?" Hange asked.

"U-Uh…" Eren stuttered, unable to answer. "I-I…"

Historia watched curiously.

"I just…" Eren fell quiet, Mikasa and Armin looking at him in surprise.

Petra was puzzled by Eren's stuttering. "Why isn't he telling them?" Obviously he had put something together.

Hange's mind raced, putting together the clues. "Just wait," she said grimly. "I think I know why." But she wanted to see if Eren was thinking the same thing. If I'm right…

"Please continue, Titan of ours," Zackly encouraged him.

Eren looked at Mikasa, glancing away when she met his gaze. "It's nothing," he said and sat back down.

"Huh?" Levi said, confused by his behavior.

"I'm sorry for interrupting the meeting," Eren apologized.

Everyone was quiet until Hange finally spoke, observing Eren glaring down at the table. "Ah, I see. Okay."

Eren lifted his head.

Hange addressed the desk up at the front of the room. "He seems to be going through a phase where he thinks it's cool to suddenly shout or talk to himself out of the blue."

"Ah, is that so?" Zackly commented lightly. "That's unfortunate. He's that age, I guess."

"I'm still feeling the effect of that secondhand embarrassment," Connie said, his cheeks tingling.

Whatever he realized, Jean thought, unease rolling through him, must be severe enough to warrant no shame at his sudden outburst, about what everyone must think of it.

"Eren," Armin said quietly.

I didn't tell anyone, even these two… Eren thought, glancing at Mikasa again. Mikasa stared back at him. …that the Titan who killed my mom and Hannes was actually someone my dad was married to before. Eren looked at Historia. After all, if I were to tell them… Eren frowned at the table. If I were to touch a Titan that carries the blood of the royal family, there's a possibility that I'd be able to use the Founding Titan's powers. But it's just that. A possibility. Eren stared at Hange's back. But if I told everyone about it, what would they do to Historia?

Armin continued to stare at Eren as he frowned at the table.

"I wouldn't mind being a Shifter," Historia admitted honestly. "And no," she said to Ymir when Ymir opened her mouth, "like I've said before, this isn't me being nice so everyone will think I'm such a good girl and how useful I was. I mean it genuinely. I love you all and I want to protect you. This is something only I can do and I'm willing to do it."

"Eren," Levi said, "I can't believe you're holding back information that could change everything for us. Besides, shouldn't you let Historia decide for herself if she wants Titan powers or not?"

Eren shrugged. "Look, if Historia wants to become a Shifter, that's her choice. I'd rather she didn't, obviously, cause I want all you guys here to live long lives. But it's my TV version's choice to share his theory that would ruin her life. The only real option the military will think they have is to make Historia become a Shifter and shorten her lifespan so they'll pressure her to do it. Even if it is something she'd choose freely for herself, it won't stop there. Her children will also be used as sacrifices because of the Curse. Giving birth to children only to have them inherit the 13-year death sentence is too fucked up. That'll be on me. So I'm keeping my mouth shut."

"And it was only a theory," Jean said. "What if he was wrong and Historia ended up with a slow death sentence because Eren blabbed too causally?"

"Eren's right, Historia," Ymir began somberly. "You can choose to be a Shifter, but then your children might get swept up in the mess too. The Curse of Ymir kills Shifters in thirteen years, which means you'll have to constantly have children, only for many of them to die after inheriting the Founding Titan."

"Unfortunately, it's pure and simple logic." Petra held up her hand. "A handful of royal lives vs. hundreds of thousands of people living in the Walls. It'll be easy math for the higher-ups." Historia was a person to the group present in the room but to the top the military brass, it was a numbers game.

"What are you all being so serious for?" Erwin asked, calm and amused in face of their uneasy mood. "You do realize there's already a Shifter with royal blood we can use so Eren can activate and use the Founding Titan's full power?"

"Zeke, that stupid, beautiful monkey!" Sasha slapped her forehead. "I completely forgot about him!"

Jean exhaled in relief. "Our TV-selves are screwed cause Zeke got away but we can capture him. There's no need to turn Historia into a Shifter with him still around."

"Wow, I can't believe I'm actually feeling happy about that asshole right now," Connie said, half shocked.

"And there's Dina Fritz too," Armin reminded them. "She might be the safer option. She's still out there somewhere." Unfortunately, they'd yet to find her Titan. Maybe we should halt any further expeditions until Historia is queen. Then they could leave and focus their missions only on finding Dina's Titan until they caught her.

"We can feed Annie to Dina and that way," Erwin said, "not only do we get a royal Shifter on our side, but we'll be able to save the injection with Titan serum for Reiner or Bertolt to take one of their Titan powers. Zeke, I think we should capture so we can interrogate him. He is their war chief so he's bound to have good information that may prove to be of use to us."

"He should have updated information about Marley and the rest of the world," Mikasa agreed. "He can't be the man in charge of the Shifters, Marley's best weapons, and not know about the standing of the rest of the world. Even without that, he should know more about Marley's strengths and weakness, their enemies and allies. And all the important people and who they are."

"Zeke has a soft spot for me," Eren added. "I might be able to use it against him. I do have a better idea of his personality and know his history. I know how and why he thinks the way he does. It'll help me to try and get information out of him."

"Ah, so many ideas and good pieces of information," Hange said, writing it all down. "I can't even imagine how we managed without the TV. I feel so spoiled!"

---

On his feet, Kruger inserted a needle through the stopper of a small glass bottle. "Have a family," he said, filling up the syringe.

Grisha was kneeling on one knee by Kruger. "What?"

"After you enter the Walls, build a family."

"What are you talking about? I have Dina… Won't I forget the things you tell me just before I become a Titan anyways?"

"That's not always the case. And someone may see it later."

"Eh?"

"Whether it's a wife, a child, or one of your neighbors. Love someone inside the Walls. If you can't do that, it'll only repeat." Kruger stepped closer to him. "The same history. The same mistakes. Over and over. To save Mikasa, Armin, and everyone else, you must see it through."

"Huh? Wait a second!"

"What? WHAT?"

"He said Mikasa and Armin!"

"Oh, I don't get this…"

"Why does Kruger know their names?!"

"Fucking hell all the reveals are killing me."

"This is just…I don't even…I'm so lost…"

Grisha turned his head back. "Mikasa? Armin? Who are they?"

Kruger stared into the setting sun. "Who knows? I'm not sure… Whose memories are those?"

Connie clutched his head. "I'm so confused. Somebody explain what's going on!"

"I wonder if the Attack Titan can see into the future."

Eleven pairs of stunned eyes flew to Erwin.

Eren's eyes bulged out of their sockets. "It can what?"

"Some things have been bugging me and it got me thinking. It's more of a guess than anything."

"What things, Commander?" Petra asked.

"For one, how does Kruger know the first King of the Walls erased the memories of the people living here? At that point, no one from the outside world had set foot behind the Walls. It was Marley's desperation to grab at our precious resources that made them send the four Warriors in 845. But that happens much later. And Kruger seemed to know how the current king was babbling about a fake paradise and what the current king was supposedly thinking. What he was deluding himself with. How does Kruger know what Kenny and the old king looked like?"

Eren nodded slowly, already starting to believe it. "It's been driving me, Armin, and Mikasa crazy what we saw in the first episode. We couldn't figure it out. Some of the memories must have been from my dad's childhood. There was an image of a fly in a human eye. It could have been my aunt's dead body. And there was my mom's death. I saw it happen before the Colossal Titan showed up." It had to be the influence of the Attack Titan, didn't it? What else could it be?

"We've got two people who saw things that hadn't taken place or possessed knowledge of individuals not even born yet. Eren and Kruger, what do they have in common?" Erwin asked. "Aside from their first names, Connie."

Connie chuckled sheepishly, called out before he could make his joke.

"The Attack Titan," Mikasa answered. "They both possess the Attack Titan."

"Huh. Remember how it looked like Eren was sitting and talking with his dad for a second?" Armin asked. "And how Eren was imitating Kruger's body language and tone in the cell? It's like they were swapped. Or both existed in two places at once—the past and the present—in their own bodies and each other's bodies."

"My head is spinning," Sasha groaned, unable to keep up with their fast-paced thinking.

"Same here," Connie said. "I'll just leave the thinking to them."

"When he was about to inject me with the Titan serum," Eren said, "my dad said to me that to save Mikasa, Armin, and everyone else, I had to learn how to use the powers. But my dad's met them. Yet Kruger told him the same thing just now and he doesn't even who they are. He must have seen into my memories."

Ymir brought her hand up to her chin. "He said that phrase without thinking. It's just like when Eren and I sometimes babble things, then realize we've said something that we shouldn't have known or doesn't make sense until later. But whereas we get random information popping up in our heads from previous Shifters, with Eren and Kruger they're getting knowledge from an inheritor in the future."

Mikasa frowned, still confused about something. "But in the first episode, Eren wasn't a Shifter yet."

"That," Hange said, "might have something to do with him being the eventual inheritor of the Founding Titan also. Though I'm just wildly guessing here. I mean we know the Founding Titan is the Coordinate where everything is connected. That Coordinate is inside Eren, who also has a Titan that can maybe see into the future. Maybe some…mumbo-jumbo happened and Eren received memories from the future."

"Mumbo-jumbo?" Levi repeated, his tone indicating exactly what he thought of that. "That's awfully dumb for a scientist."

"Well, I did say I was throwing out a wild guess."

"I might be thinking too deeply into this," Petra started, "but I swear it almost seemed like when Kruger was telling Grisha to find and take the Founding Titan from the king it was almost like he was talking to Eren in a way too. Of course, it might just be because of the way the TV changed from Grisha's face to Eren's. So it could be me overanalyzing nothing. But, I don't know, maybe it supports what Commander Erwin was saying about the Attack Titan's special ability? Kruger may have accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation from the future but forgot it and then he doesn't know why he knows something."

"When we were talking about paths earlier," Erwin said, "you mentioned how in Trost Eren seemed to one, know Mikasa was in trouble, and two, just happened to show up at her exact location when she needed him. But without royal blood, Eren couldn't have used this paths method to locate her. Was it possible Eren knew where to go because through his Titan he knew from his future self's knowledge he had to find Mikasa and where to find her?"

"It's official," Historia declared. "I'm lost. Someone write everything down and make a clear diagram for me."

Several people spoke at once, "Yes, Your Highness!"

They laughed when Historia started blushing.

"Oh, stop it, you guys!"

Ymir elbowed her. "Better get used to it, Princess."

Historia covered her face and shook her head.

Hange opened her mouth, a gleam in her eyes, but Levi waved a hand. "We'll have time to speculate later. What do you say, Erwin?"

The commander nodded. "Let's finish this and see if there's any more insights or information left. I brought it up but since I'm not all that convinced of it, let's also keep an eye out for anything that supports or destroys my theory."

---

AO3 Username: ii_Phoenix_ii

I just made the account the other day so I'm still figuring out how the site works. I'll probably start uploading in a couple of days with PTS and try to put up a chapter each day. I'll be able to go through all the chapters one by one and edit them to clean up errors, fix any plot holes that might have formed, or tweak any reactions.

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