A/N - MNV stands for Marleyan Navy Vessel.

The scent of salt water, the ocean breeze, it was something he hadn't experienced in years. This was the first time he'd been back here at the sea wall since the original attack on Wall Maria five years ago. They'd already been seen on approach by the Marleyan spotters who were on lookout duty on top of the sea wall, who in turn signalled for the survey ship to come and dock at the small port to collect the warriors that had returned.

When Pieck had climbed on top of the sea wall, the scene in front of them was beautiful. The setting sun casting a warm backdrop over the rippling waves of the ocean, the water reflecting the orange light produced by the setting sun, and approaching the dock was one of Marley's survey ships, which would take them all home, three as heroes and one would vanish from the record books.

Out on the water, Captain Royce Modular of the MNV Unyielding Spirit had just been informed that the Warrior Unit had been sighted, and as such, he had contacted Captain Magath, who was in charge of the Warrior Unit.

"Yes Captain Magath, the Warrior Unit has just climbed onto the sea wall as we speak." Royce informed Magath, he held the telephone line to his chest as he mouthed to his XO 'how many came back', to which the answer was four. "There are four of them Sir, including the Cart Titan."

"That's troubling." Magath's rough voice came through the line of communication. "Tell me which ones came back. Identify them ASAP. We need to know which powers we lost."

"Yes Sir." Captain Modular responded, signalling for his XO to speed up with the identification process. Spread across the desk were six photographs, four were of ten to twelve years old, one was in his mid teens, while the other was in his early twenties.

The XO then handed two pictures over once he had gotten a good look at the four of the warriors in their human forms. "Captain, the two missing from the group are Bertholdt Hoover and Zeke Yeager." Which was followed by a very audible sigh of frustration from the other end of the line. "We have positive identification of the other four. Pieck Finger, Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart and Lukas Tybur."

"Well that's something at least." Magath let out a sigh of relief. "The Senate's been breathing down my neck about his return. Bring him into the bridge so I can talk to him."

"Right away Sir." The Captain put the line down for the moment. "Rodgers, go fetch the oldest one of the Warrior Unit." He said to one of the Seamen on the bridge. "Bring him up here to the bridge, on the double."

"Yes Sir." Rodgers saluted the Captain before exiting the bridge and down one of the stairwells towards the main deck of the ship.

"Excuse me Captain Magath." Captain Modular picked up the line once again, because his curiosity had gotten the best of him. "But if I may, why is there a Tybur on Paradis Island?"

"You may not." Magath sharply responded. "Just get him on the line as soon as you can."

After about ten minutes, the one Magath wanted had arrived on the bridge, though unlike the other three warriors who had been handed an armband before they stepped onto the ship, he was not wearing his, and for some of the crew, they didn't know who he was, and they didn't take too kindly to an Eldian not wearing their armband.

"Hey, no Eldians on the bridge without an armband on." Lukas was stopped at the door to the bridge by one of the Petty Officers. "Put your armband on scum, before I report you."

"Petty Officer Waylon!" Captain Modular shouted at the Officer. "He may have the blood of the Devil running through his veins, but the mission the Warrior Unit conscripted by the Marleyan Army was to unleash hell onto the Island Devils. So if they want to spend their time on my ship without their armbands on, I think we owe them that much."

With that said, the Captain of the ship gestured Lukas over with the telephone in hand, but before he handed it over, he leaned in to whisper in his ear. "I didn't do it for you or your demon friends, I did it so the Petty Office wouldn't do anything to you that he'd end up regretting... Tybur."

"Well that was a very good way for you to be put on my shit list." Lukas narrowed his eyes as he snatched the line of communication from him. "Unyielding Spirit, I'll be sure to remember that ship name, prick."

Lukas then put the telephone up to his ear to speak to Magath. "Theo Magath." He spoke through the line of communication. "I would say it's a pleasure, but sending four children to commit mass genocide really made me think about my stance on these kinds of things."

"What happened out there?" Magath did not have time to deal with his sarcasm. "You left us in the dark for five years. You had a perfectly good radio at the sea wall, yet you never used it. I almost felt bad for the Privates we had monitoring the radio twenty four seven."

"Well, I would tell you the full story Magath, but I've been up for over thirty hours by this point. I want to sleep, so how about I give you the short version now, and the long version once we meet in person, how does that sound?" He asked.

"Fine by me." Magath grunted. "Just tell me what happened to Zeke and Bertholdt. Your failure of a mission can wait, the rest we can go over later."

"Zeke and Bertholdt were left behind, both of them were defeated by the Island Devils, that's all there is to it." He told him. And as far as the 'failure' of a mission went, I'd like to think it was rather successful considering the impossibility of the mission you gave to me and those kids in the first place."

"Wait, do you mean to tell me that the objective was actually accomplished?" Magath carefully asked.

"Yes, it was." He confirmed to the Captain on the other end of the line. "But before you ask, we can't use it willingly, oh, and also, did you know that the Marley Public Security Authorities turned someone with Royal Blood into a Titan?"

"I was not aware of that." Magath answered his question first. "Are you sure about that? The Public Security Authorities wouldn't so something like that, unless they didn't know of course."

"How could they not know members of the Royal Family were still living on the mainland?" His question got the attention of everyone in the bridge, who were all looking at him strangely. "They really are useless, aren't they?"

"Enough about the Public Security's incompetence." Magath ended that part of the conversation. "The Founding Titan, which one of you has it? Captain Modular didn't mention a fifth person with you."

"Unfortunately for you and the Marleyan Army, it's me who possesses it, which means you can't get your grubby little hands on it unless I agree to help you from now on." He informed him. "This mission really took it's toll on me you know, it might be years before I've fully recovered."

"I'd prepare to be detained at the port of Liberio if I were you." Magath warned him.

"I doubt that will happen Theo. I assume the Senate, and the National Security Council in particular will be very interested in speaking to me when I return. Though of course as a Tybur, they can't force me to go, it would have to be of my own volition if I were to appear in front of them. And I'd suggest thinking about your future career before you try and put any sort of restraints on me when we return, it will be very harmful for you if you do."

"You arrogant-"

With that, Lukas put the line down, severing the connection between the ship and the mainland for now. "I'm going to sleep until we arrive in Liberio." He told the Captain of the ship. "Wake me thirty minutes before we arrive, and have a Marleyan Army uniform taken to my room."

"You don't have a room." The Captain pointed out. "You can sleep with the other Warriors."

"Now that's why you shouldn't have whispered that shit in my ear." Lukas had him right where he wanted him. "You know who I am, and I assume your XO does as well. So I'll be taking your room for the night." He informed him. "Goodnight Captain."

"...Arrogant bastard." Captain Modular shook his head in disgust before turning to one of the Seamen. "Get him what he wants."

"Aye Sir."

(Twenty hours later)

This was the most nerve wracking thing he'd ever done in his life. He'd fought Titans as a human, he'd fallen in love with a girl from an Island of Devils, he'd practically betrayed Marley back on Paradis, but gotten away with it because he held the power of the Founding Titan within him, but opening the set of doors before him, to where his family was waiting for him, he couldn't possibly imagine their reactions to seeing him.

Would they be happy? Would they be angry that he'd been away for so long? What would his mother think of him? What would uncle Willy think of him? He was a nervous wreck, the sole piece of comfort that he had was that he'd been informed that nobody in the family had died when he was away.

When they'd arrived back at the port in Liberio, he had a Marleyan Army uniform waiting for him just like he'd asked for. He slipped it on, and when the ship docked, he tried his best to slip away without the awaiting Magath being there to potentially take him into custody.

He was pointed out pretty much immediately, but before Magath could get a word in, the familiar crimson coated tunics with white spikes helmets brought a wide smirk to his face. The Personal Guard of the Tybur Family had swooped in just in time to save him from an embarrassing arrest, armed with rifles and an order from the National Security Council like he'd hoped would happen, he was escorted out of the harbour and into a car, a guard driving and one in the back with him while they made the long journey south west to where they lived.

That's how he ended up in this situation, afraid to push the doors open because of how they may perceive him. Usually he wouldn't care what others thought of him, but they were his family, so of course he cared about what they thought about him.

"Do you require assistance in opening the door my lord?" One of the guards spoke up.

"Shut up Williams." He spoke back to the smart ass who had a grin on his face, he definitely did not miss him. "Just give me a minute."

"Open it you coward!" His mind yelled at him. "Just do it!"

He closed his eyes and pushed forward, the doors swung open and when he opened his eyes, everyone was sat down in the large living room. His grandparents, his uncle and aunt, his cousin Fine, and some young children he'd never met before, obviously having been born after he'd left.

The first one to stand was his mother, wearing the same black and white uniform that she always wore, looking more like a maid than a member of the family. She had a teary look in her eyes, like she was fighting back tears, he was presuming that it was tears of joy she was holding back.

"Look at you." She spoke as she slowly approached him, each step feeling like a mile for the both of them. "You've grown up so much, I... I can't believe it..."

"Yeah..." He didn't know what else to say as she stood before him, reaching out to touch his face, checking to make sure he was still in one piece, just like a mother should. "I... I'm sorry it took me so long to come back." He apologised as he began to cry just like she was.

"It's okay." She tried to assure him, attempting to wipe the tears away, but more kept falling so it was useless. "You're back now, that's all that matters."

Closing his eyes, he wrapped his arms around his mother in the tightest and biggest hug he had ever given in his life, and she too reciprocated the hug just as tight before they were joined by the others. First came his uncle Willy, then his aunt, his remaining grandparents and his cousin Fine, who had to settle with hugging his side.

This was the best feeling in the world, returning home to a family that loved him. He couldn't stop himself from crying, and neither could the others, they had all missed him so much, so it was very overwhelming for everyone in the room, especially considering how young he was when he left, and how old he was now.

He had went from only having his arms around his mother, to his arms around everyone in the group hug. When they finally separated, he had to wipe the tears from his eyes using his sleeve before noticing that Fine was still attached to his side.

"Hey Fine, have you gotten smaller since the last time I saw you." He teased, which made the young girl pout. "Are you sure you're eleven years old?"

"Yeah, I am!" Fine responded with a proudness in her voice. "Father says I'm going to be taller than him if I keep growing like this!"

Lukas gave her a skeptical look. "I'm not too sure about that, you might start shrinking before you reach his height." He patted the top of her head.

"I will not start shrinking!" Fine puffed her cheeks out in brazen defiance, seeing her put a smile on his face, a real one for the first time in months, hopefully he'd be able to smile a lot more often now that he was home.

"Lukas." His uncle Willy clasped a hand to his shoulder. "I speak for us all when I say how glad we are that you've returned home safely. Your presence has been requested before the National Security Council, but that is tomorrow." He told him. "Tonight, we celebrate!"

Despite the late night, Lukas was up bright and early at six in the morning for a trip to the Capital, where he'd be put in front of the National Security Council to testify about what had happened on Paradis Island. It wasn't just him that was going to be there, Reiner and Annie would be there too because it was originally their mission.

However, his mother had decided that he needed a haircut before he went anywhere in public. His hair wasn't bad per say, but it was messy, and the lack of clean razors on Paradis were very apparent when you took a look at his face, the unevenness of the hair on his chin and upper lip became much more apparent when you took a much closer look at him.

Despite the fact that any wound or cut on his face would heal seconds after it had been done, she took great care to not cut his face, he was still her baby boy after all, no matter what age he was, and now that she had cut his hair for him and shaved off that monstrosity he called 'stubble', he looked much better and smarter with a clean face and sharp haircut.

He was accompanied by his uncle Willy, and they had arrived in the Capital at around eight thirty, with the hearing in the Helos Building starting at nine fifteen. The room they were in was the chamber that the Senate used for their regular meetings. Annie and Reiner were already there with their red warrior armbands, both wearing the warrior uniform as they both sat with Magath.

Sitting down away from the warriors and the other military personnel in attendance, he was curious as to who they all were. "Who is everyone here?" He asked. "I thought this would be a small, classified meeting, not a parade for the military."

"What you and the warriors did was hugely important for Marley." Willy informed him. "It keeps them right at the top of the food chain in terms of power over other nations." Lukas couldn't help but scoff at that answer. "As for the ones in attendance, on the council itself, you have, the State Secretary, the National Defence Secretary, the head of the Public Security Authorities, General Calvi, and the only woman here is the head of the Treasury." Willy pointed them all out for them.

"As for the others in attendance, you already know Commander Magath, then there are the three Fleet Admirals." He pointed to a group of three men wearing the navy uniform. "I believe the two behind Magath are the other Generals below General Calvi."

"No Senators?" He asked in response. "Not even the house leader or the speaker?"

"They'll be informed in due time." Willy answered. "The Senate are not important in these kinds of matters, you should know that by now."

The first one called down was Reiner, who was asked about various things, from the death of the original Jaw Titan sent, the number of deaths they caused to the Devils, why they'd spent five years gathering intelligence rather than acting sooner. He'd also been asked about Lukas in particular, what he thought of him and his contributions to the mission, and whether or not he thought he would be valuable to the Warrior Unit if there was a possibility he'd agree to participate in future missions.

His answers were... acceptable to the Council, because even though he had honorary Marleyan status, they still looked down upon both him and Annie like they were scum of the earth. This must've been what it was like to be an Eldian, and he had no idea.

Annie's questions were mostly the same, except for the fact that she straight up blamed Reiner for Marcel's death, and when the topic of her capture and escape came up, she did not drag the answer out.

"The found out what I was, tried to capture me, but I encased myself in a cocoon of Titan hardening so they couldn't interrogate me." She had answered with.

"And what about your escape?" The State Secretary asked. "How did that come about? Was it planned beforehand, or were you helped?"

"I didn't open the crystal Mr Secretary." Annie answered the next question with. "It just happened, like someone else had opened it for me."

"I see." The Secretary wrote something down. "And do you have any idea who it was that did this?"

"Yeah, it was him." She nodded behind her to where Lukas was sitting. "Told me himself while we were fighting the Islanders."

"That will be all Miss Leonhart." The Secretary wrote something else down, his fellow members of the Council also doing the same. "Now, Mr Tybur, would you please take the seat before us?"

Standing up from where he was seated next to his uncle, he made his way down the aisle to the desk facing the council before he took his seat. "Actually Mr Secretary, would you mind if I just spoke, rather than answering your questions? I know you'll all want to hear what I have to say."

"I don't see why not." The Secretary of State shrugged his shoulders. "You may proceed Mr Tybur."

"Right, so, I was debating whether or not to tell you all what you wanted to hear, part of the truth, or the blunt truth about everything." His opening statement did everything to garner the attention of the council, but did little to actually ease their worried, which had actually begun to rise.

"The first six years of my mission are irrelevant to be honest, aside from the short time where I fought against the lost Attack Titan, which caused me to lose the Founding Titan." He explained. "About four months ago give or take, the warriors decided to destroy the second wall, which I advised against, because despite the renunciation of war by King Fritz, the Founding Titan had still fought back to protect her family when under threat."

"During the chaos, the Attack Titan re-emerged, having been passed on to a different user. They went after him, while I fought to protect him from their clutches, to use him as bait to draw out the Founding Titan." He continued on. "Like Annie, I was exposed as a Titan, but because they hadn't seen or heard about me killing anyone as a Titan, with some seeing me fight Annie as Titans, they were... somewhat willing to accept my offer of help."

Behind him, Willy had a far away look in his eyes, and in front of him, the council looked horrified that he'd even consider working with the Devils of Paradis.

"However, unlike their other Titan shifter, they wouldn't accept me telling them that I just magically became a Titan one day, so I had to divulge some truths about the world. You see, their memories had been wiped, so they knew nothing of the Titans or about the outside world, so I enabled them to fight and overthrow the Queen of the Walls."

"I told them that humanity hadn't died out, that the rest of the world wanted them dead." He revealed. "I made a deal with them, I would give them freedom from the oppressive regime keeping them in line, and that I'd help them retake the outer wall when the time came. In return, they let me take the power of the Founding Titan for myself."

"What? They just let you have it?"

"The Queen could've erased their memories, mine included with a snap of her fingers, once I made that abundantly clear that their revolution would fail unless she died, they became a lot more receptive to the idea." He told them. "So, when the time came, I defeated her with my War Hammer Titan, and ate her."

The National Defence Secretary in particular perked up once he confirmed what they'd heard from Magath, that Marley had successfully gained control over the Founding Titan. Now their global conquests could continue with little resistance.

"This is certainly some very good news." The State Secretary spoke up. "Despite you working with Devils, and helping them retake the outer wall, that can easily be overlooked. We all have to make deals with people we don't like to get what we want after all."

"I'm not finished Mr Secretary." He cut the man off from making any further comments. "I was able to use the power because Marleyan Public Security turned a member of the Royal Family living on the mainland into a Titan." All eyes in the room shifted to the head of Public Security on the Council. "That Titan is now dead. I can't use the power without Royal Blood. Any user of the Founding Titan without Royal Blood needs to come into contact with a Titan of Royal Blood, shifters probably included in that."

"That would mean, with the loss of Zeke because of my actions, Marley no longer has a way to control pure Titans." He summarised. "How long do you think it will be before the countries in the Middle East learn about this and declare war on Marley?"

"I've been back on the mainland for just over twenty four hours, and I already know that the Navy is still outdated by a decade, and that the Army is still not equipped in winning a war all on their own." He spoke just like Willy did when he was giving a speech. "Zeke's ability to control and turn Eldians into pure Titans was the only reason you haven't been at war with the Mid-East Alliance for the last five years."

"Now hold on just a minute." General Calvi spoke up this time. "You have no clue about the Marleyan Army or Navy's capabilities, we have the largest army in the world, along with the power of the Titans. We are more than capable of fighting the Mid-East Alliance if they were to declare war on us. We could still use Eldian criminals and turn them into pure Titans, we'd just have to be a lot more precise with their usage than before."

"And what would happen if the use of pure Titans were banned in warfare?" Lukas asked. "You can't control them anymore, that is a very big change."

"Mr Tybur." The State Secretary interrupted before he could go any further. "You are here to testify before the council, not to speculate about the Marleyan Army's strength if the use of pure Titans in war were outlawed."

"... Of course Mr Secretary, forgive my rudeness, I was just worried about the potential war our nation could become embroiled in." Lukas responded. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"There are many things we'd like to know now that you have acquired the Founding Titan." The head of Public Security spoke up. "We'll need you to work with the Titan Biology Research Society, perhaps there's potential for your spinal fluid to have similar properties to Zeke Yeager's. You may be able to control Titans created from your spinal fluid like he was."

"I'd also like to put forward a proposition to you." The head of the Treasury finally decided to speak. "If we were to go to war, regardless of the nation, we will most definitely have a budget deficit. My proposal is that you use your Titan powers to help us create new naval ports if the time comes. I've read that your power lets you create whatever you can imagine, so why not a shovel to dredge a new port? Maybe even three?" She glanced over to where Reiner and Annie were sitting. "It would save hundreds of hours, and potentially millions in resources and labour costs."

"That's... a very practical way of using Titan powers Madam Secretary." He conceded that was a very good idea in terms of practicality. He could do it in hours, when it could take weeks or months normally. "I wouldn't be opposed to that idea."

"I have a suggestion." General Calvi spoke up once again. "Since Mr Tybur here has already fought alongside the warriors, why doesn't he join the Warrior Unit? That way our enemies can see what it is like first hand to face the War Hammer in battle."

"I thought one of you would ask that, but I have a condition before I'm prepared to fight in your global conquests." He responded to the General's suggestion. "If you want me to fight as part of the Warrior Unit, then I want the Senate to propose and pass a bill that restricts the legality of Marleyan military members and officers of Public Security killing Eldians to legitimate self defence claims."

"Lukas." Willy hissed from behind. "What are you doing? Just say no."

He ignored his uncle's attempts to get his attention. Instead, he was fully focused on the council, who were all having a good chuckle at his outlandish request, as were the other Marleyans sat in attendance.

"I was being serious." He spoke up to get their attention. "I will not fight for you again unless it is passed into law. If you think your tin can Navy and Army of rusty weapons can win a war, then go right ahead. Don't come crawling back to me when you get your ass kicked in battle unless you're willing to agree to my conditions."

"Lord Tybur, I was under the impression you could keep the War Hammer under control." General Calvi spoke to Willy. "This is not the sort of behaviour we tolerate in such a prestigious building. Eldians already have enough rights in Marley as it is, giving them more would only cause distress to the good people of Marley."

"Forgive my nephew for speaking out of turn just then." Willy was quick to jump up to Lukas' side and defuse the situation. "He's been on a mission for six long years, once he has some proper rest, he'll be right as rain."

"I am fine uncle Willy." Lukas whispered so that nobody else could hear them. "You are the real ruler of this country, do something about them."

"Yes, and that is precisely why you should've came to me first instead of acting on your own accord." Willy sure was glad the chamber was very big, meaning that no one could hear what was being said. "You could've done irreparable damage by opening your mouth without thinking it through. We'll talk about this later."

He realised that uncle Willy was right, he'd just said the first thing that came to his mind. The implications of him doing that could've been astronomical, especially in front of other Marleyans, who probably thought that he was either incredibly arrogant, or incredibly stupid to say something like that.

"It's obvious that you have the best intentions for Eldians." Willy told him. "But you need to work on that mouth of yours, it's worse than when you left. If anything, that will be your downfall, rather than anything you do without thinking. The wrong words to the wrong person could spell disaster for us if they're bad enough."

"Right... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Willy gave him a reassuring smile. "When we get back, I'll see what I can do about your request."

Now, things were just getting started.