Chapter 56: Setting the Stage

Ed sits down onto the bench, a small gap in between both him and Eren; the two remained silent for a minute as they watched the people in front of them move by. "So Ed… how are you?" Eren asked calm and deadpan "I haven't been gone for too long but has anything happened recently that I don't know?"

Ed sighed "No and honestly I wouldn't know." Ed admitted "I've been here for while now."

"Still you would be getting letter from them, especially from Al." Eren replied, he turned his head slightly to look at Ed, as if gauging for a reaction.

Ed glared at Eren "Oh shut up…" he muttered.

"Still not on speaking terms with him?" Eren asked "I'm surprised, I know things have been rough but I thought you'd both would have moved on from it, I thought you would have loved him and that-"

"I know okay, I'll- I'll visit them when this is done." Ed said "I might have been an all round crap family member to have but I'll make it up to him." Ed looked away and back to the patients and nurses on the grass. "Also whats with the eye patch?" Ed asked "You think it's funny to mock the afflicted?" he said almost jokingly.

"I didn't think about that when losing my eye." Eren replied, the two chuckled together as Ed shook his head slightly before he became serious again.

Ed sighed "Eren, come home."

"I can't do that." Eren replied.

"Why not?" Ed questioned "What the hell do you hope to achieve by doing this, working with Zeke?"

"Let me ask you something, Ed." Eren countered "That meeting with Kiyomi, she showed us a future which could go one of four ways; three scenarios had us at war and one at peace; it's clear that Erwin, Pixis, Darius and the others are all gunning for the obvious scenario, the one you and Alphonse wanted." Eren said almost accusingly. "You could have left Paradis knowing that our future would have been 'settled.'"

"What kind of question is that?" Ed said a bit dumbfounded "We couldn't leave things unfinished."

"More than that, I think it's because the three other scenarios scared you both; you didn't want to leave it to chance… and you didn't want to leave knowing that your legacy might be a sea of blood." Eren stated. "You wanted to be sure that you got the outcome you wanted even if… the chances that Paradis live for one hundred years from now was as likely as the sun rising."

Ed turned to look at Eren, a stern frown on his face "So what?" Ed questioned in hushed grumble. "I'm not eager to leave this place knowing a world war is on the table."

"I understand the feeling is what I'm saying."Eren said as he turned away. "We can't be satisfied just knowing that things might be fine or that if things go wrong Paradis will likely to survive; walled humanity deserve better than the reassurance that most of us will still be here tomorrow." Eren looked towards the people wondering around; broken, sad and lost "More than that though… we could do more."

"What do you mean by more?" Ed asked.

Eren looked off onto the grass patch before them, the patients and nurses still occupying the area. The wounded still being cared for and still suffering. "Paradis will be free; the island, my home, our friends and family and the future for those still alive on the island will be there for generations because of what power we have and what we may yet get… we are free…" Eren said in a hushed and thoughtful manner "You and Alphonse always say 'Alchemy is for the people' for everyone to benefit from… freedom should be what is also enjoyed by all of Ymir's people."

"And how do you intend on doing that exactly?" Ed questioned "You planning on using Zeke and the colossals to do that; ruin any chance of this being as bloodless as possible?"

"We would need to get Zeke regardless of whether we really trusted him or not, the only path where we possibly win a mass war outright was using the colossals." Eren pointed out. "Peace or not."

"That doesn't answer my question." Ed said "You're talking about a lot of lofty goals but not how you're going to do it."

"I'll tell you what you once told Armin." Eren said "We'll find a way and win."

Ed twitched "How the hell did…"

"You're not the only one with allies, on Paradis or across the world keeping an eye on things." Eren replied "Using a child to help you unknowingly, I knew you were one for sneaky tactics but didn't think you'd do that."

"Oh go fuck yourself." Ed grumbled. "What you told us about you trusting Zeke, that's bullshit; you may have changed Eren but one thing I know is that you're still a stubborn bastard, you won't sacrifice Historia." Ed stated "I saw the look on your face; you couldn't accept using her and her children like that."

"Ironic that you should say this; we could have avoided this if we transferred the Female titan to Historia." Eren pointed out "Of course neither you nor Alphonse would allow that, inflicting a familiar pain to-"

"Shut it." Ed interrupted, he sighed "Damn it… Just, I need you to tell me what you're planning."

"It sounds like you know what I've planned already, so why are you asking me?" Eren asked.

"I just want to hear from your mouth." Ed said his tone was stern despite it wavering "I want to know that when we saw those numbers, the millions of people who'd die in any war between us and them, you realised we had to do everything we could to avoid that."

"I did see it." Eren replied, he looked back at Ed one more time "But I've also seen a lot of other things which made me sick to my core, the burning hatred that many nations have for us that can never be filled… no matter what we show or have we can enlighten them, they'll hate our guts."

"You're talking about it as if it's just going to happen." Ed said. "As if war is inevitable."

"This isn't about whether if it's inevitable or not" Eren stated as if speaking about something that he believed was just a fact "If we go to war, it will not be our fault but the fault of the nations that thought they could march over Eldia and not think we wouldn't fight back. I'm just making sure that should that happen, we win."

"What happened to you?" Ed said, his voice sounded disappointed and sad.

"I got some perspective." Eren said.

"Perspective…" Ed began to raise his fist, he wanted to knock Eren out and just drag him away from that bench.

"Don't try it." Eren stated opening the clenched fist resting on his lap to reveal a cut. "Unless you're fine having an all out battle right here in the middle of a hospital." Ed backed off "I'll be sending off one last letter to them today, after that don't come looking for me again until after the festival."Ed stood up from the bench as the two continued to look at each other.

"I'll be back for you." Ed said.

Eren's eyes then drifted to the side. "Ah Falco, you're here."

Ed turned around to see a young boy, probably about Udo's age, just behind him "Mr Kruger, sorry if I'm interrupting something I can come back another time."

"No Falco, my friend here is just leaving." Eren said, raising his hand to his face and itching it, reminding him.

"Tch." Ed said before walking off, as he walked past the entrance he looked back to see Falco sitting next to Eren

Magath knocked on the doors, the echo of the sound reverberating inside; he looked to his sides to see a long line of soldiers dressed in dark blue uniform with two black straps across their body and a white helmet with a spike at the tip on their heads.

"These aren't Marleyan soldiers…" his aide commented "They're the Tybur family guard." There was a click as one of the doors was pulled open, a giant dressed in the uniform of the Tybur stood by, inside the room a loud commotion of what sounded to be children inside first welcomed them.

"Come in." the guard said both Magath and his aide stepped inside the room; before him was a middle aged man with long blonde hair and light blue eyes, average height, dressed in a smart suit and tie with a rough beard on his face greeted them.

"Sorry for the unexpected visit." The man said "Hello I'm Willy, the head of the Tybur family." He extended his hand out towards Magath.

"Theo Magath, commander of the warrior unit." Magath said shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Colonel Magath." Willy said.

"It's an honour to make your acquaintance." Magath replied.

Willy turned to the side, his arm out stretch "And this is the rest of the Tybur family; a middle aged woman stood formally in front as five children either play fought on the sofa or helped themselves to the cakes and sweets on the small table as two elderly members of the family watched. Magath was almost about to turn away when just behind the family he spotted another individual, a woman dressed in a maid's attire just standing by.

"Magath, I would like to discuss with you in private." Willy said, his hand leisurely pointing towards the door. Magath turned to his aide, who nodded in response as both Willy and Magath walked towards the balcony door, Willy opened the door and the two of them stepped through onto the balcony overlooking the city of Liberio. Willy leaned forward onto the railing "You've done well with the warrior unit, Colonel Magath." He complemented "Its performed far better than when it was first created. Tell me, have you figured out which one of us possesses the war hammer titan?"

"No, I have no clue." Magath replied "This is the first time I've seen the faces of your family… the only time I had ever seen the person who possessed the war hammer was four years ago in your family's only intervention in matters."

"The battle of Paradis." Willy Tybur said in hushed tone, yet his disgust was all too clear "A stain on us; to make an intervention for the first time, a participant in a crucial battle no less, and end up losing, we could not have been more embarrassed and ashamed, defeated by the devils of Paradis and their new weapons, the Elrics who claim to have been sent from God himself."

"A horrid result which then led to the recent war we endured which further led to thousands more having to die." Magath replied.

"It's time like these; we need a hero like Helos." Willy said as he looked down at the statute at the front of the army HQ "Of course though, the enemy we face is no longer the Eldian Empire who possess the devil of all earth but now is supported by the strange sorcerers who can control the elements of earth to their benefit."

"It's called alchemy, there's nothing magical about it, it's a science taught and used by humans." Magath pointed out "And it's far more real than the history that the bronze statue there represents."

"How merciless, colonel." Willy commented "Tell me, what do you think of Marley's current predicament?" he asked.

"Marley's obsession with war would be disgusting if it weren't freighting given the self-destructive direction this country will be heading." Magath said "I would hope that if conscription was introduced that this country's lust for expansion would be stemmed. But… if I could tell the man who governs Marley from the shadows it would be this… it's already too late to change that."

Willy was silent as he looked out; he turned around to face Magath, his back leaning against the railing. "You bravely speak your mind, colonel." Willy remarked "As you might have suspected, the Tybur family controls Marley; but we are not the ones who had forced Marley down this path of war, the role of the Tyburs was to watch." Willy explained "We watched from comfort as other Eldians were placed in a cage and we watched in peace as Marley fell onto a dark and bloody path." Willy paused for second "But the time for that is now gone."

"And why now?" Magath asked "Why not steers the country's direction years ago?"

"Because Marley's historic enemy, the world's historic enemy, is threatening to rise once more." Willy stated. "The Eldian Empire is alive and has the power to rule the world once again in all its tyranny."

"Are you referring to Paradis controlling the four titans and alchemy?" Magath asked. "While I am concerned that any war with Paradis would be costly due to those factors; our own standing army outnumbered the last reported population on the island and coupled with the fact that no nation would ally themselves to the last vestige of the hated Eldian Empire means they aren't certain to win."

"An astute observation given what you know." Willy commented "But it is only based on what you know and there is much you do not; Paradis is not alone, we have reason to believe that multiple smaller nations have secretly been dealing with Paradis and forming a coalition on the world stage."

"How do you know this?" Magath asked extremely perplexed.

"Our spies have seen dealing in the dark with delegates and informants have leaked to us about Paradis using groups such as the 'association to protect the Subjects of Ymir' or Eldian revolutionaries as back channels to send messages." Willy explained as he stared at the ground, he then looked to Magath "Messages that the Tybur family have received." Magath breathed in deeply as he tried to process what he was told.

"This is a lot to take in." Magath said trying to maintain his composure "How can there be nations who are willing to work with Paradis?"

"Greed can outweigh hatred." Willy stated "Marley and other superpowers have sought to build their empires and territories through conquest; it was only natural that some smaller nations see opportunity with the devil."

"The messages you received, what were they?" Magath asked.

"They're strange; it's a mixed of different messages, some of them ask for cooperation and trading, offers of peace." Willy stated "But some of the messages are hostile; denouncing Marley's treatment of Eldians and talking about a coming retribution, calls for war."

"Sounds like a house divided in Paradis then." Magath commented. "But if Paradis, even if it's one side, is offering to talk then surely we must take it; at the very least use those back channels as a way of meeting with those who seek to defuse any conflict."

"The problem is we don't know who is the dominant force or the agenda of any possible faction." Willy explained "More than that; if we did entertain the idea of peace we only allow them to grow, using the alchemy and trading their resources and new tech, Marley's hegemony will be destroyed and Eldia will rise from our ashes."

Magath sighed "When I first heard of alchemy from Reiner and Bertholdt, when I learnt about the existence of the Elrics I couldn't believe it as it sounded so fantastical." Magath told Willy "Then I heard the stories from Zeke and the weapons they created; then I realised that there wouldn't be a point where both nations meet on equal footing, there was only a tipping point over whether we had the advantage over them or they on us."

"And if they have alchemy and if they know how to operate the founding titan, then we are completely at their mercy." Willy added to Magath's thoughts "The Elrics and Eren Yeager have taken a hammer to a peace just passed a century years old and may help repeat one thousand seven hundred years of history once more."

"Then what should we do?" Magath asked.

"We have to reveal what we know; those nations that sully themselves will be exposed and shamed as traitors to the world, then once Paradis and their allies are isolated then we will unite the world against the common foe while we still have a chance at beating them." Willy said "We will do this at the coming festival; my hopes will ride on this moment." Willy looked up to Magath and offered out his hand "Marley needs a Helos, Theo Magath, would you do me the honour of shaking this hand?"

In an office room at the military headquarters of Liberio, Reiner and the other warriors stood by a table covered in files, reports and maps as Magath and other Marley officers listen to Reiner's advice on a possible invasion of the island; Reiner pointed his finger at the southern side of the map, directing the eyes of those around the table.

"The southern side of the island may be the most fortified as that is where the titans come from and since we lost thirty two of our ships over the last four years then we should assume that they have made." Reiner mentioned "So it can be assumed that the north will be more sparsely defended than the south, although it will be harder to dock our ships and create a base of operations there."

"Yes, yes that all well and good." The officer said dismissively "What we want to know is their alchemy, is it true that they can just make things out thin air?"

"Everything I said about the Elrics capability of alchemy in the report I had written recently." Reiner replied "I have also written about it a few other times the higher ups have requested." He said in an empty deadpan tone "Im sure you can find those reports."

"We don't have time to read those report, you wrote it so you should be able to tell us." The officer replied.

"It sounds like a load of fantasy really, turning objects into different ones by just clapping your hands and touching it?" one officer commented "It sounds made it, like something straight from the words and drawings of author writing fiction."

Reiner inhaled deeply through her nose "Firstly their alchemy doesn't 'make things' from thin air." He explained "And secondly it's not fantasy, it's a science of moulding things into something different from my understanding, a science which they learnt from their world."

"You say that but I've read your report, said there that they claimed to have been sent from God." An officer said in bemused tone. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I've seen it with my own eyes and heard them explain it themselves to us before our cover was exposed." Reiner said.

"So how does their tech development factor into this?" another officer asked.

"I do not know." Reiner confessed "I am not a scientist or 'alchemist' nor do I know how technological development can factor into that." He explained "If I had to guess because it is a science which helps their understanding and development."

"Already sounds more useful than the power of the titans." Came an offhand remark by one of the staff taking down notes sitting to the side.

"How would we go about capturing them?" asked one of the officers.

"Capturing them is difficult." Reiner replied "While they are human their use of alchemy makes them opponents almost impossible if you don't have the element of surprise on them, and even then their own resourcefulness, athleticism and combat experience would make capture for any Marley soldier impossible." He explained "Honestly, I would recommend you kill on sight." Reiner looked at Magath, unimpressed at the last comment.

"Then why don't we just blow their hands off since that's how they use their alchemy?" asked a different officer.

"Then that might defeat the purpose of capturing them if they can't demonstrate their alchemy for us to learn it." Reiner stated, they all looked at him disappointed. "I'm sorry if that answer is displeasing to you, I am only telling you what I have experienced."

"No no I understand." Said one of the officers "It was useless to talk to Eldians about a subject like this." He raised his hand "You may leave now." He said waving them away. Reiner turns to Magath who shuts his eyes and sighs.

"I apologise." Reiner said before he walked the door, the other warriors following him out of the room.

Porco walks up to the balcony railing and leans against it "Hey, Reiner." He said getting his attention "I wouldn't take what they said to heart, they are after all a bunch of stable geniuses." Porco didn't smile or express any kind of encouragement to him but Reiner appreciated it all the same.

"Thank you." he said.

"They clearly are a bunch of clever individuals, who else who have thought up the brilliant strategy of sending four kids alone on an island with a complex mission." Pieck commented, they turned their heads to look down towards the four warrior cadets racing each other.

Kiyomi sat on a small red cushion stool as she sipped on some of the Marleyan wine; around her were her bodyguards and large barrels of red wine stacked upon each other inside the cellar of a safe house within the Marleyan area of Liberio. The cellar was lined with barrels taking up the space while a few gaslight lanterns illuminated the room.

She turned her head to the side to see Armin; a young Eldian man and former apprentice to the Elrics pacing around the room with his head down as if deep in thought about something with his arms folded and his fingers tapping on his arm.

"Nervous are we?" Kiyomi asked.

"Yes, I'm sorry lady Kiyomi." Armin apologised as he stopped to look at her.

"Don't apologise, it's only natural to worry about the people you care about." Kiyomi stated.

"I know, I am worried about them, it's just- there's a lot at stake here." Armin said.

"That no one is in doubt about." Kiyomi said as she took another sip. There was a knock on the door which echoed down the staircase and into the cellar; one of the bodyguards walked up the stairs, there was a clicking of metal as locks were turned and a door was open with a shrill creak.

"This way." Said the guard, there was a clapping of footsteps onto the cold rock stairs as Edward Elric came into view before them.

"Hello Corporal Edward." Kiyomi greeted "I hope you're doing well, how has your stay in Liberio, pleasant I hope?"

"Yeah, it's been fine." Edward said as he joined the small circle. "Also you don't have to use my rank, just Edward is fine."

"Of course, would you like a seat?" Kiyomi asked, she pointed towards a small stack of chairs to the side.

"No thanks, let's make this quick I still have work that needs to be done." Ed said. "Is this place secure?" Ed asked as he looked around.

"Yes, we went over place making sure there wasn't any wires anywhere." One of the guards said "No one is listening in on us."

"Very well, a report on the situation then." Kiyomi said as she leaned back a bit. "Lieutenant Arlert, what have you and your team found out?"

"There's a larger network in Liberio than what was anticipated." Armin said "Eren's isn't just working with a few defectors and insiders from the military." He explained "If I had to guess, he may be using the existing networks the scout regiment helped create over the last four years but we don't know who they are."

"Armin, someone was listening in on our conversation." Ed said, Armin snapped his head to him and gasped slightly. "I found Eren, he was at a psychological hospital going by the name Kruger, I tried to talk him out whatever he was planning." Ed stated "But… he quoted back what I said to him and what I've been doing…, he told me that we weren't the only ones with allies keeping an eye on things."

"Hmmm, interesting." Kiyomi commented in quizzical tone.

Ed turned his head back to her, a cold and stern look on his face "You got something to say?"

"Well it's just... I could have told you that was going to happen when you and commander Erwin went around promising resources and technology to other countries and groups, some of whom hate Marley with a passion." Kiyomi stated.

"And if we did things like your family had wanted then Paradis would be isolated and we'd be threatened by the entire world without any way of speaking up." Ed retorted "But I guess that's what you would have wanted-"

"Ed, stop." Armin said lifting his hand at him. "Lady Kiyomi, as Erwin, Darius and Historia has said the Azumabito and Hizuru will always have priority over any future trade deals and teachings of alchemy, that won't change." Armin told her. "We shouldn't argue about the past, the only thing we can do now is keep to the plan."

"Well spoken, Lieutenant Arlert." Kiyomi said "I should tell you what we've heard from our side; you both should know that our informants have been reporting something similar to what you have been saying; the current communications lines have been compromised by those working in it." She explained "Our attempts at reaching the Marley officials, specifically the Tybur family are being impeded, they're either throwing them out or someone's killing them."

"Did the messages Al and I sent through get to them?" Ed asked.

"No, they don't appear to have gotten through." Kiyomi responded "However the earlier messages from the Paradis officials have reached them that much we know until a few months ago but what could have replaced them now we don't know."

"This is awful…" Armin commented.

"I'm afraid that's not the end of it; from our eyes in other countries weapons are being smuggled across nations, most of it is old Marley or other countries' but some of them are Paradis made weapons." Kiyomi told them "The parts for those weapons are being brought through your networks."

"Where are they going?" Ed asked.

"To the internment zones and to some disaffected communities in Marley's colonies, someone is gearing up for war; they expect uprisings across Marley and other nations." Kiyomi said "You should also know that it seems that the Tybur family are aware of your international allies; in fact he's planning on telling the world who they are during his performance at the festival."

Both Ed and Armin flinched as Armin gasped "Ho- how did- did he find out about you?"

"No, they don't know that Hizuru has established relations with Paradis." Kiyomi said "Our communications are being carried out through my family and our resources not through the Hizuru foreign office."

Ed began to squeeze his temples "Oh my God…" he muttered "This is just getting worst, if things keep going this way then…"

"Then all the work done to creating a path to peace will be for nothing." Kiyomi finished "But I guess you can take comfort knowing that your chances of winning a war are more likely than defeat."

"That's not good enough." Ed said sternly as he shook his head "Is this the future we should just accept, mountains of corpses across the sea just for us to feel safe? No way, we have to stop this… we have to stop whatever Eren and those others are planning."

"Even if we do stop him, whats stopping the Tyburs from declaring war on us?" Armin stated.

"That I do not know." Kiyomi said. "However I do have a message from your commander." She hands Armin a letter.

Armin takes a look at the not as Ed moves in to see "This is an extraction plan." Armin said "If we can't get Eren back before the festival starts then we'll have to enact an attack on the city; the commander talks about some of the details but tells us that all personnel and our allies operating in Liberio will be evacuated, including the defectors."

"Did anyone else see this?" Ed asks Kiyomi, she shakes her head gently. "Good." He turned to Armin who nodded at him before placing the note inside his pocket.

"Lady Kiyomi, while we will try our best to make sure this doesn't happen, you and the other delegates from our allies should prepare to leave Liberio should we fail." Armin recommended. "We'll inform you of if we are successful as soon as possible and if they are using our backchannels then we could send a message to the defectors that way…"

"Of course, Lieutenant, we wish for your success." Kiyomi replied, she stood up from her seat "We should get going, wouldn't want things to get too suspicious now." Ed nodded at her before then walking towards a blank wall in the cellar, he clapped his hands together; a blue flicker of electricity flashed and illuminated the wall blue before the walls were pulled back and a tunnel was revealed. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Armin and as they walked through the tunnel, the walls closing back up.

Udo walked through the familiar street, he searched through the crowd a bit before he spotted a familiar figure wearing a familiar coat waving at him, he smiled before jogging towards him "Mr Hohenheim!" he yelled out, as he came close to him he slowed down to a walk.

"Udo, how have you been?" Hohenheim said as he put his hand out in front of him.

"It's been good, sir." Udo replied as he shook his hand.

"It's good to hear." Hohenheim said with a smile "C'mon let's find something to eat, I'm starving." He remarked as the two walked down the street together, as they walked by reached a small park and an empty bench facing the small river which passed through the internment zone. "There's a food cart there." They walked up to the cart on large wheels with an umbrella over it; a middle aged woman was organizing the items in the cart before looking up at them with a smile.

"Hello, what can I…" she then spotted that Hohenheim wasn't wearing an armband, she looked confused for a second before gasping slightly and bowing her head "I'm- I'm sorry sir, I should have been more thoughtful."

Hohenheim raised his hand up slightly "No please don't worry about it." He said trying to reassure him "I just want to get some food for me and my friend."

"Are you sure, I wouldn't want to dirty your food." The woman said "I am an Eldian after all…"

"That doesn't matter to me; to me you're just a person." Hohenheim said. "And I'm going to treat you as such." Udo saw the look on the woman's face, it was the same expression he had when he first met Hohenheim. Confusion. "Seriously its fine, there no trick, this is how I really feel." He gave a light smile while placing a hand on his heart.

"Thank you, sir." The woman replied, she looked down in her cart "What can I get you?"

Hohenheim clapped his hands together holding them "Whatever your speciality is, I'm pretty hungry." He chuckled.

"Sure thing and you honey?" she said looking at Udo.

"Just a simple sandwich please." Udo said.

"Alright love." The woman said as she rustled through the items in her cart.

"Udo, go to that bench, I'll wait here." Hohenheim said, Udo nodded and quickly walked towards the bench and sat on the bench, he turned his head to see Hohenheim still talking to the woman before she handed him the sandwiches.

Hohenheim unclasped his hand and took the sandwiches, Udo blinked a few times. For a split second he thought he saw something flicker, like a spark of light in one hand just flash by. Udo shook his head a bit.

I'm seeing things…

"You alright, Udo?" Hohenheim asked as he handed him his food.

"Yes sir, I just might be tired or something." Udo said as he took it, he looked at the sandwich for a second, he turned to Hohenheim who had already begun eating his food.

Its fine… I'm just imagining things…

Udo bit into his food. The two talked about their day, Udo told Hohenheim about the race he and his friends had, despite coming third he beamed over the fact he almost reached second and how he Gabi came second place to Falco for the first time ever, Hohenheim listen to him as they finished their food.

"We have to serve the delegates coming into the internment zone tomorrow; the festival is going to happen in a few days." Udo said.

"You excited?" Hohenheim asked.

"It's all to declare war on Paradis; the Tybur family thinks it will unify everyone against threat of the Eldian Empire." Udo said, he slumped slightly "It's too idealistic to think that somehow just having a common enemy will put our problems past us… but we were killing each other just a month ago and the fact that these delegates are being invited here, my family came from an internment zone in another country, one of the Mid-east nations, and to be invited here is something of a national disgrace."

"How do you feel about Paradis, those 'devils' on that island?" Hohenheim asked.

Udo looked up, silent for a few seconds "I can't say I don't hate them, the whole reason the world hates us is because of what the Eldian Empire did, it all stemmed back to them." He said "But… the constant use of us as weapons just keeps reminding people of what we can't control, of the thing that people hate us for."

"I see, I understand your position." Hohenheim replied.

"What do you think?" Udo asked.

"I'm sure there are bad people there." He said in a low tone "But I'm sure there are good people there too, everywhere I've gone it's always been that way." He looked at Udo "But I guess we'll never know unless can meet each other." He was silent for a couple seconds "Udo, this might probably be the last time we see each other; after the festival I'm going to leave the city, head back home and see my family soon."

Udo felt a small pit in his stomach as his face slumped a bit "I see, thank Mr Hohenheim for everything." Udo said "You saved me from those people and taught be to keep pushing myself; it really helped me."

Hohenheim placed his hand on Udo's head "Take care of yourself, Udo and please stay safe will you?" Hohenheim removed his hand as he stood up "Don't take it this the wrong way; I hope you don't inherit any of the titan's, you deserve to live a long life."

Udo didn't reply, he didn't know what to say. "Than- Thank you, goodbye sir." Udo stood up and offered his hand towards Hohenheim confidently.

Hohenheim smiled as he shook Udo's hand. The two then parted ways as Ed walked down one path heading somewhere while Udo left back for home as he thought back to their first meeting up to their last.

Thank you sir, I hope I'll see you again…

The rest of the day was normal as Udo prepared for tomorrow; he laid out his formal clothes over a chair ready for the banquet tomorrow, his father continued to encourage him while his mother worried over him.

He felt excited and nervous for it; it was enough to make him ignore that growing stomach ache he had since he got home.

Armin walked down the street, a newspaper in front of him as he made his approach towards the hospital. He peered up from the paper and scanned around him; the street was almost empty with just handfuls of people walking around heading back from work as the sun was almost down. He came up to the large walls that surrounded the hospital; he rolled up the newspaper and placed it under his arm, across the road he saw a group of four people dressed in long brown coats look at him, he crossed the road over to them.

"Lieutenant, is this the place?" one of them asked.

"Yeah" Armin said as he reached into his pocket, pulling out two pairs of gloves and placing them on as they approached the entrance. "Are the rest of the squad ready?"

"Hange and the others are standing by at the safe house ready to move if anything happens." said one of his subordinates.

"Alright, you all had a look at the hospital outline?" Armin asked, they all nodded "Is the tunnel in the basement ready?" the others began to reach into their pockets.

"Yes Lieutenant." One replied.

"Good." Armin said as they passed through the wide entrance. "One person guard the entrance, two cover our exit path and one person with me." He ordered. "Four minutes, in and out" the space outside the hospital, the grass, was lightly occupied as they walked up to the door and passed through to a hospital's reception; a sterile atmosphere of white floors and walls, nurses and doctors and wiped surfaces greeted them.

"Can I help you?" asked a nurse walking up to them.

"We're looking for someone, his name is Kruger?" Armin asked. "We're friends of his and we've come to visit."

The nurse gave them a perplexed look "Oh, he has more friends visiting him?" she said.

"More friends?" Armin asked.

"Well a small group just arrived a few minutes before you." The nurse said. "They said they were here to see Mr Kruger."

Armin felt a chill race down his spine as adrenaline began flood his body "Move now!" he ordered to his team, they pulled out their handguns, those in the room quickly dropped to the floor or ran out, there bursts of screams and cries as the scouts began to enact the plan. "What floor is he on?" he asked the nurse, who knelt down onto the ground, as calmly as he could.

"Sec- second floor." She said with her head on the floor and her hands up slightly.

Armin and his team rushed towards the entrance to the hallway; one standing by the door with the gun held out pointing to the entrance door, one stood by in the hallway, as they moved up to the staircase one stood by the stairs as the last one ran with Armin towards the second floor.

"Check the rooms!" Armin ordered, his subordinate began kicking down doors pointing their gun inside as they checked. Armin scanned the rooms that lined the hallway, those distressed nurses and patients.

"Stay in your rooms!" the subordinate yelled as they continued to search.

Armin came up to a room at the end of the hallway, he pushed out the door and was greeted to an empty room; a bed stripped bare of its sheets and covers and an open window with a long strand of tied bedding wrapped around the leg of a bed and hanging outside the window.

Armin rushed to the window and looked out to an empty street.

He looked around; there was a desk next to the door with a single piece of paper and a pen on it. Armin walked up to it.

'I'll see you soon.'

Ed walked through the streets of the internment zone, the streets were beginning to be lined with stalls filled with baskets of food, shelves full of items and wares or carnival games; those on the street walking by talked to the stall owners, some buying their items and food before they went off on their way. Ed's eyes caught sight of a small stall full of some toys, teddy bears and figures lying on the table with a young man standing behind the stall unpacking the rest of the items.

Ed walked up to the stall looking at the toys; wooden soldiers, ships and cars, stuff bears and animals and other kid contraptions. Ed stopped looking when his eyes came upon a wooden knight in a full suit of armour, he picked up the toy. "Hey, how much for this?" he asked looking at the stall owner.

"Oh the wooden knight?" the young man behind the stall said "That's five Marley mark." Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, taking out a single note and handing it to the owner. "Thank you sir, have a great night."

"You too." Ed said as he looked at the wooden toy knight in his hand before placing it in his pocket. He kept walking down the street, heading into a more residential area full of houses and apartments.

The sun began to set and bathe the area in a warm orange as Ed walked up to a door and knocked on it three times, looking around the neighbourhood, before the door before him and reveal an elderly woman wearing homely clothes with grey hair and wrinkles on their face. "Oh hello?"

"Hello Madam, sorry this is a bit late but I'm a journalist for a newspaper in Marley and we wanted to ask some questions about him." Ed lied "We're writing about the warriors of Marley and their work."

The old woman looked at him for a few seconds before looking at his arm and the lack of an armband "Please come in." she opened the door wider letting him.

Edward stepped inside the house; the door led straight into a small hallway and into a kitchen with a simple wooden table and chair at the centre, a stove filled with wood with grey tiles on the top and kitchen wares sitting on it. The walls were a dirty white with wooden beams and the floors were a cold grey pattern of large tiles. "Can I?" he asked, pointing his hand to the wooden chair.

"Of course, would you like something to drink?" the woman asked.

"No thank you." Ed replied "I'm sure you'd want me out of your hair quickly so I'll just ask a couple questions and that's it." He said as he sat down at the table. The woman sat down at the other side. "How was Zeke as a child?" Ed asked.

"As a boy, he was always well behaved." The woman said "We taught him all about the history of our people, the mistakes they made and the crimes they committed. We gave him the best Eldian upbringing that we could."

"Of course, of course." Ed said as he scribbled this down into a notebook "But I asked more about how he was as a child."

"Oh right, as a child Zeke was…" the old woman placed her hands together almost protectively "He was brave." She said, her voice croaking a bit. "He liked playing with his toys, reading books and playing catch, he-"

"Mrs Yeager is there something wrong." Ed asked as he noticed her eyes welling up slightly.

"No no… its fine…" she said quickly wiping her eye and putting on a smile.

"Ed put the notebook away "Mrs Yeager, I do know about Zeke's parents and… about what had happened…" her face dropped into a frown. "I'm so sorry about your son and… I know you did what you could for your grandson."

Mrs Yeager lowered her head as she shut her eyes "It… it was a difficult time for us." She said "We tried so hard to bring them up properly, we tried to make sure that Grisha knew about what was right and proper… but we didn't think he and Dina would do that… that they were be…"

Ed placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to reassure her "It's alright, I believe you, and parents… a lot of them always try to do right to their children."

"Thank you, it's just…" she lifted up her head, tears running down her face "My poor Zeke, his father and mother was the one who made him join the warriors, I should be proud but I want him to live a long life and have children of his own... my son, he tried to fill his head full of ideas about revenge and restoring the Eldian empire, just a boy being used like that."

"I understand." Ed said softly.

"Grisha and Dina tried to get him involved in their whole plan and tried to get into the army… using their own son… Zeke hated having to do it…."

"What do you mean?" Ed asked.

"A mother can tell and so can a grandmother, the boy hated being a warrior cadet when he first started; I could see the bruises and the scabs that the training left on his body when I bathed him." Mrs Yeager told "Is it any wonder why he told on his parents, who put him through such a thing? And if he hadn't then we'd all be sent to Paradise and turned into titans... but what had happened, all of it… it still hurts, my husband we had to place him in a hospital because he couldn't cope with the pain." She began to sob.

"I understand, it must have been a horrible chose for him to make." Ed said, as he looked at the old woman before her as she retold this story he really couldn't help but feel sorry for her; even if he had nothing but a deep hatred and suspicion of her grandson. "Mrs Yeager, I'm sorry I made you go through that, I'll be leaving." He got up from the chair.

"Its fine…" she replied as she did the same, wiping away her tears as she walked up to the door with him. "I'm sorry for being so emotional."

"Please, you shouldn't apologise for that." He said "Please take care of yourself." Ed walked out of the door giving her a polite wave before she closed it.

Ed turned away and began to walk away from the door, just as he left the path to her house he turned around towards the main road. He froze in place, his breath caught in his throat and his body tensing as he looked upon a horribly familiar person just a meter away from him with a cigarette in their mouth

"You and your brother will die in this world too, Ed, you'll have come here for nothing!"

"Hello there, didn't expect to see you-" Zeke said, he took the cigarette from his mouth.

"Shut it." Ed interrupted him.

"Visiting my dear grandmother's house… you didn't…?" Zeke's word trailed off.

Ed looked at him confused for a second before he scowled at him as if disgusted by the suggestion "No." Ed replied "I'm not a monster."

"True, you and your brother seem to keep to a high moral standard." Zeke remarked "Though I'm sure that doesn't stop you from wanting to kill me."

Ed walked up to him, even if Zeke was a few inches taller than him, Ed still scared him as Zeke stepped back as he walked forward "Maybe, but that won't stop me from doing it if you try anything to hurt us." Ed walked passed Zeke, bumping his arm into him and pushing him to the side a bit.

"Ooff" Zeke said "Still mad about what happened huh?" he remarked "I can understand, I'll see you soon. Von Hohenheim."

Eren hobbled through the tunnels of the underground complex, the walls of the hallway were very familiar to him with its dirt and rock walls held only by wooden beams. The hallway was ill lit with candles dotted around to illuminate the path. To the side of each was a man or woman dressed in plain clothes holding a rifle, so Marleyan made and some Paradis ,Ed looked at each person as they bowed their head at him, on each of them was a pin over their heart; a Tree with eight branches leading into the truck of the tree.

He came onto an opening at the side guarded by two people, as he approached them they placed a clenched fist over their chest as he walked past them and into the room, inside were a row of benches filled with others who quickly fell into silence as he walked inside. Those sitting on the benches were people dressed in plain clothes with a pin over the left side, they were of different ages; some were middle aged or had graying hair and some were just children possibly young teenagers like he was when he joined the scouts.

The room was brightly lit with lanterns around, Eren hobbled into the room on his crutches as those on the rows of benches watched him, he looked at their faces filled with wonder and anticipation as he stopped at the front and stood in front of them next to two hooded figures.

"Louise, Wim." Eren said to the hooded figures, they lowered their hoods to revel both a man and a woman; both were young, maybe even younger than Eren, the woman had shoulder length blond hair and large eyes on a round face while the man had dark hair in a short crew cut and a rectangular shaped face. "We're you successful?"

"Everything is in place." Louise said "Nothing will stop this."

"Eren, we got a message from Armin." He handed Eren a letter "It looks like they're aware of how we've been operating so far."

Eren opened the letter and read through it "Commander Erwin is organizing our evacuation for the city "A trip back home is coming, all of us." The room was filled with smiles and cheers at the news. Eren waited for the room to quieten down as they took their seats and settled down "The dream we shared, shared by those before us and our children, will happen." He declared with a clenched fist placed over his heart "The sun will never set on what we will create; we will all be free by guns, by titans or by alchemy."

"Our people across the world will be free." He said "For the world we create, we will never let go."