An attempt to revise chapter 139 of Attack on Titan.
The situation was not looking good for Reiner, Annie, and Pieck. They were surrounded from every direction by the Titanized Eldians who were attempting to maul them to death. Reiner believes that he has never been in such a stressful situation in his life. Not even the Battle of Shinganshina was this dire. And all while attempting to destroy the mysterious organism that Reiner deduced as the Source of the Power of the Titans. Several Titans wrestled Reiner to the ground, and began to tear pieces of armor off of his Titan's body. Reiner looked aside to see that Annie and Pieck weren't doing any better. One Titan, who Reiner recognized as Gabi, was biting down on the throat of Pieck's Titan, while Annie was desperately trying to pry another Titan attempting to tear into her nape, that Reiner realized was Connie, off of her back.
'So this is it', Reiner thought to himself. 'This is how it all ends? Torn apart by our family and friends? In the end, we failed'. Reiner felt tears beginning to spring from his eyes. He thought back to his childhood. To all the times that he would hang out with Bertolt after their Warrior training. To the time he was a trainee in the 104th. And to the times that he would watch over Gabi, Falco, Udo, and Zofia training, and praying that they could just have a normal life. 'I suppose it makes sense after all. It was foolish to think that we could take on the Founder and win. I'm sorry, mom. I'm sorry, Gabi. I'm sorry, Annie. I'm sorry, Pieck. I'm sorry, all of you'. Reiner prepared himself for his inevitable doom, when all the sudden, something happened...
A wild inhuman shriek echoed across the desert. Reiner, Annie, and Pieck looked towards the direction of the otherworldly wails, and found that it was the centipede-like organism that they were previously trying to kill. It appeared to be writhing in pain and agony, but none of the Warriors currently had their hands on it. None of the three Shifters understood what was going on, and then they all widened their eyes in shock as the organism began to dissolve. After letting out one last wailing shriek, the organism disappeared completely.
The physical manifestation of the Power of the Titans itself, and the ultimate source of a plague that has brought forth unspeakable suffering and horror upon the world for 2,000 years, was finally gone forever.
'But wait, if that thing is now dead, then that can only mean...' Reiner's thought process was interrupted as the Titans that have previously tried to devour him and his two friends suddenly dropped to the ground. This confirmed the conclusion that Reiner came to:
Eren Yeager, the last inheritor of the Attack Titan, has been killed.
Before Reiner could bask in the feeling of victory, Reiner heard two loud thudding sounds. Reiner turned and saw that Annie and Pieck had both fallen unconscious. 'What.. What's happening?'
Suddenly, Reiner's vision turned completely white.
"Hey, I get it... you did it for the sake of the future you saw using the Attack Titan's power" Armin began. "But did you really have to beat me to a pulp...? Why? Why was kneeing me that important?" he asked Eren. "...I was so desperate to push you all away... even I found myself wondering what I was doing... I just let the moment take over. I'm really sorry" Eren apologized. Armin then scowled at Eren. "You should be saying that to Mikasa, not me. All that nonsense you spewed hurt her really bad..." Eren nodded in agreement. "Yeah... you're right." The two friends had the appearance of when they were both 10 years old, and were currently in the Paths Realm, which Eren had warped to resemble the canal in Shinganshina that he and Armin would sit by before Wall Maria fell.
Eren and Armin both stared into the flowing water with somber faces. "So all this... was just to make us hate you... and motivate us into hunting you down and become the heroes who saved humanity from extinction?" Armin questioned, though it was more of a summary of the plan that Eren had revealed to him. "That's right" Eren confirmed. He then went on. "How could you not be seen as the saviors by every surviving member of society? You chose to save humanity from me in spite of being despised as "island devils", and that my victory would ensure that Paradis would remain unharmed. They would practically worship the ground you stand on."
Armin turned towards Eren. "So you want us to be like the Tybur family after the Great Titan War? We're supposed to protect Paradis from reprisal from humanity beyond the Walls?" He asked him. "They won't be able to retaliate immediately." Eren replied. Armin was confused at this. "Huh?" Eren then elaborated. "The Rumbling will kill eighty percent of humanity. They won't be able to wage war." The news horrified Armin, his eyes full of disbelief. He didn't want to believe it, but Armin knew that his best friend wasn't wrong. Everything that Eren had predicted in his visions had come true. Hizuru forsaking Paradis, the Eldians outside of the Walls condemning the "island devils", Mikasa withholding her true feelings, Willy Tybur declaring war on the island, Sasha's death, and of course, the Rumbling itself. All of them, Eren foresaw in his visions, and not a single detail was out of place.
Armin held his face down in dismay. "Did you... did you really need to go this far? Was this all for our sake?" Eren did not give an answer. Instead, he stood up and turned around. "Where're you.." Armin began but Eren was quick to speak. "Where we wanted to go. Let's talk while we walk. About our Founder Ymir." Armin stared at Eren for a couple seconds in contemplation, but got up and followed Eren.
After a while of walking and conversing, the environment of the Paths Realm changed from the town of Shinganshina, to a volcano in the distance, with lava flowing down in rivers. The two boys stared at the lava in amazement. "So this is the flaming water from your textbook" Eren stated. "It really does flow like a river" Armin said ecstatically. They stared at the smoldering lava for a couple minutes before Eren decided to continue the conversation. "So how far did I get?" he asked. Armin then turned towards Eren. "Hm? Oh, right. You said that the Power of the Titans continued to exist because Ymir has been obeying King Fritz for 2,000 years."
Eren nodded in affirmation. "Right. He burned her hometown, killed her parents, and pulled out her tongue. But even when she attained divine powers, she continued to obey him." Armin found this curious, so he asked him what could have possibly caused her to do that. "When I made contact with her in the Paths, I felt something. I couldn't believe it, but... Ymir, the Founder, loved Karl Fritz. That's what kept her bound for 2,000 years" If Armin wasn't confused before, he certainly was now.
"W-WHAT! What do you mean she loved him!? After everything he put her through, how could she ever love that monster!?" Armin asked incredulously. Eren looked at Armin and gave his explanation. "I was just as shocked as you were when I first learned it. Ymir had more right than anyone else to hate Fritz, but she didn't. Then I tried to look at it from her perspective, and I can kind of understand it. All her life, Ymir wanted to love and to be loved. Her parents were killed before she was old enough to remember them, and she would always see men and women come together in marriage, and she would be filled with envy. The closest she ever came to getting what she always wanted was with Fritz. She never knew what real love felt like." As the two walked through the Paths Realm, the environment changed again into a frozen tundra, the night sky filled with bright, shining stars. The two boys had also aged significantly, now appearing to be in their teens. "I believe.." Eren continued "That somewhere down the line, she realized that the love she coveted brought her nothing but agony, and she wanted to escape from it. For 2,000 years she sought someone who would free her from her agony. Then someone appeared." The two friends looked up into the sky and gazed upon the beautiful sight of the auroras. "That someone was Mikasa" Eren finished.
It took Armin a while to process what Eren had just said, as he was too busy looking at the auroras. Once he made himself turn away from the lights, and back towards Eren, he asked Eren if he had just heard him right. "Huh? Did you just say Mikasa?" Eren confirms it. "I did. So you weren't listening to me after all." Armin fumed for the briefest moment. "I was listening!" After calming down, Armin questioned Eren. "Why Mikasa of all people." Eren thought for a second before he gave his answer. "I think it might have something to do with her love for me. In all my life, I've never seen anyone so devoted to someone before. Ymir is connected to all Eldians, viewing our story from the Paths, so she must have seen how far Mikasa was willing to go for my sake and decided that she would be the one to free her. As for me, even I still don't know what Mikasa will do." While Eren was saying this, he remembered the day he first used the Founding Titan's power when Hannes was killed by the Titanized Dina Yeager. When Mikasa thanked him for everything, it was at that moment that Eren started to realize that his feelings for her went deeper then friendship. Looking back, he believes that the feelings have always subconsciously been there even since childhood, but he was too caught up with his thirst for vengeance and desire for freedom to ever truly think about how he felt towards her.
Brushing off the memories, Eren decided to get back to the topic at hand. "The only thing I know for sure was the result of Mikasa's choice. That's why I moved forward. I murdered four-fifths of the world. I made you kill each other in Paradis. I got all of you, the very people I'm doing this for, involved in this." Armin stared at Eren in sympathy. He understood him now. After all the things that Eren did that just didn't seem like him, it was because he was hiding his true feelings for the sake of his goals. Armin couldn't even begin to imagine the weight that Eren must have felt on his shoulders during the past four years. "That's the future you saw at the medal ceremony. You'd been on your own ever since. God, I can't imagine the pain." For the first time in a long time, Eren felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Armin, I didn't want it to come to this, I truly didn't. I won't try to justify what I've done. There's no excuse for my actions." Armin grasped Eren's hand in comfort. "You don't have to think about it right now, let's continue forward." Eren stared at Armin with an utterly broken expression. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he agreed. "Yeah."
The environment of the Realm change once more into the oceanside of Paradis Island that Eren and Armin first saw three years ago. They now had the appearances of their adult selves. "So. What were you thinking?" Armin asked. "About who?" Eren replied. "About Mikasa. Do you think she can forget about you and live a happy life with someone else? Just like you wanted?" Eren stared blankly across the ocean. "Well... who knows."
Eren then felt Armin's fist collide to the left side of his face, causing him to stumble down in the water. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY 'WHO KNOWS'!?" Armin roared out. "I don't remember ever forgiving you! What are you thinking, disregarding Mikasa's love for you like that!? A woman who valued your sorry ass over everything, even her own life! Do you really think you can tell her about you and be done with it!?" Eren sighed and looked up at Armin. "Well, I guess I might as well tell you the truth. Yes, I do love her. In fact, she's the only one I'll ever love." Armin's breath caught in his throat when he heard this. Mikasa's feelings have always been obvious to say the least, but Eren has always been a bit ambiguous, so hearing it straight from his mouth was quite shocking. "I.. uh.. wow. I wasn't expecting you to say that." Eren, for the first time in months, gave a small smile, but there was hardly any joy to be found in it. "Frankly, the idea of her being with anyone else but me really irks me, but don't tell her I said that. She's her own person, free to make her own choices. Whether or not she chooses to be with anyone else isn't up to me."
The smile then dropped, replaced with a depressed frown. "I'll be honest with you Armin, I don't want to die. I just want to take Mikasa and get away from it all, but I can't." Armin started to tear up when he realized what he meant. He got down next to Eren and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Eren, don't give up! We can find another away!" he tried to tell him. Eren could only whisper out a little "no" in response. "I'm sure none of them never wanted to die either. Tell me Armin, how could I ever be forgiven?" Eren than glanced forward.
Armin followed his gaze and saw that the ocean had been replaced by thousands of gigantic footprints, stretching across the horizon as far as the eye could see. In the footprints were splattered blood and debris. Armin knew that it was in vain, but he wasn't about to let go of his closest and oldest friend just yet. "No, they won't have to forgive you! I'll cover for you. I can tell them all that you died, while you and Mikasa can run away and find a secluded place to live together!" Eren gave a humorless chuckle in response. He looked up to Armin with a face of defeated resignation and spoke. "Armin, you and I both know that is just wishful thinking. Believe me, every fiber of my being wants nothing more than to take up your offer, but it just wouldn't feel right, you know? All the innocent people I've slaughtered. The lives I stole. The futures I've robbed. It just wouldn't be fair to them Armin. Me living a happy life now would just be wrong."
Armin lowered his eyes in defeat. He didn't want to accept it, but he knew that Eren was right. Something then caught his eye. It was the seashell he found when he looked upon the sea for the first time. He grabbed the seashell and pulled it out of the sand. "It's time Armin. I'll be erasing all of your memories of our conversation. The next time we meet, is when you kill me. I've designed it so that at the moment of my death, all of the memories will come back to you." Armin looked at Eren. "How certain are you that we'll win?" Eren then smiled at him, this time much more genuine. "Because you, Mikasa, Levi, Jean, and Connie are among the best soldiers that the Survey Corps ever had. If there's anyone who can beat the Founding Titan, it's you." The two friends then gave their last hug to each other. "I have faith in you Armin. If there is one thing I'm certain of, is that you are the one will save humanity." Armin felt the tears streaming down his face. "Goodbye... Armin." Armin then found himself on a boat. 'What was that feeling I had just now? Why did I suddenly see Eren?' Armin's train of thought was interrupted by Annie, who was sitting by the ship's railings. "Healed up already?" she asked.
As Falco's Titan descended onto the ground, the remains of Eren and Armin's Titan bodies were dissolving into smoke. Armin opened his eyes, and quickly got up. The memories of his talk with Eren in the Paths coming back to him. "Now I remember. This is..." Before he could finish what he was going to say, he heard Mikasa call his name. He turned to meet her, and what he saw broke him.
Mikasa cradling Eren's head in her arms."
Armin cried out as he hugged what was left of Eren's body close to him. It's true he couldn't condone what he did, and he came to accept that death was the only option for him, but that that didn't make the loss any less painful. Mikasa hugged Armin close to her in an attempt to comfort him, despite reeling from the pain herself. "Armin" she spoke. "You remember now too, don't you? When Eren came to visit us." Armin nodded shakily as he sniffled, and responded to her. "Yeah. I heard. The result of your choice... would make the Power of the Titans vanish from this world." As Armin said this, all the Eldians that were forcibly transformed into Titans by the Source, and even Reiner, Annie, and Pieck, have all returned to their human selves. Finally, they were free.
Jean felt the memories surging through head. "Now I remember... you conscientious piece of shit" he said as he began to well up. Reiner couldn't believe it either. "Eren... all this time, this is what you were fighting for?" Connie felt a sense of relief. "Eren... he said my mom would go back to being human." Annie, despite cursing Eren minutes prior for using Bertolt's Colossal Titan against them was also feeling from the loss. They may have been enemies, but he was still one of the few people to have ever made her smile. "He said for us to live long... but what about you? I never asked for this you suicidal idiot!" Pieck was the only one who wasn't sad at Eren's death, as the two of them have never at any point of time been friends, but Pieck would admit that she found Eren to be an interesting person. "Huh... wish I could've talked to him."
Annie ran towards her father and the two were finally able to embrace each other, free of interruption this time. "Welcome back" her father said lovingly. "Dad. I'm home."
Meanwhile, Falco was running around in search of Gabi, hollering out her name. He passed by Levi, who was resting by a rock. He noticed a bunch of figures standing before him, and looked up to them. "Hey guys" he said. "Did you see that." Levi wasn't sure if what he saw in front of him were hallucinations induced by the stress, or actually were the spirits of his dead comrades, but he didn't really care. He was just happy to see them, even if they weren't real. "Guess this is the result. Of all of your devoted hearts." The deceased members of the Survey Corpse did the salute, which Levi returned, a single tear dropping from his eye. Jean and Connie also saw one of their dead comrades, Sasha Blouse, who was giving a salute along with a heartfelt smile. Neither of them knew if they were going crazy or not, but just like Levi, they didn't care. Just happy to see her one more time.
Falco finally found Gabi and jumped at her, sending them both rocketing to the ground while he hugged her for dear life. Reiner went up to greet his mother. "Hey mom. Guess what? I'm not the Armored Titan anymore." Karina smiled at this. "Is that so? That's great." Karina then gave a tearful embrace to Reiner and apologized for the way that she raised him. "This was all I've ever needed."
Back with Mikasa and Armin, Mikasa decided that is was time for her to go. "Why?" Armin asked her. "If I stayed here, I doubt I would be able to give Eren a proper buriel" She said. "You're right" he agreed. "Let him rest somewhere quiet." Mikasa, still holding Eren's head close to her chest, began to walk off, taking off her Vertical Maneuvering Equipment while doing so. "Eren always liked to nap there" she recalled, referring to the tree in Wall Maria. "Yeah. I think that's a good place" Armin said. Mikasa turned back to Armin to give him one last smile and walked off. After wiping his eyes, Armin than had a face of resolution. The Titans may be gone, but it wasn't over yet. There was still over more issue to resolve.
As the Marleyan soldiers pointed their guns to the Eldians, Annie's father stood his ground. "Please, Secretary Muller" he begged. Eren Yeager is dead. The Power of the Titans is gone. We are nothing more than people now." Muller looked at Mr. Leonhart for a few seconds, a look of obvious fear and uncertainty in his eyes, before responding. "Can you prove that to me? Right here and now? Please prove it. Are you people... or are you Titans?" he asked them. The tension in the air was clear. One wrong move, and all hell would break loose.
Removing his Vertical Maneuvering Equipment, Armin came to dissolve the situation. "If we still had the Power of the Titans wouldn't we be using it against you?" he asked. The soldiers looked prepared to shoot Armin down, but Muller raised his hand to prevent them from firing. "The fact that that we continue to be powerless even as you point your guns at us is the greatest possible proof of our humanity." Muller thought his words over before he asked him. "Who are you?"
"I am Armin Arlert sir. An Eldian from the Island of Paradis, and the man who killed Eren Yeager, the Founding Titan. Armin did feel bad about taking the credit for killing Eren, but he knew it would be better this way. Mikasa would never want to go down in history as the woman who was forced to kill the love of her life.
Three Years Later
Three years have passed since the day known as the "Battle of Heaven and Earth."
Those who have survived after an unfathomable number of lives were taken still seem to be tormented by their unhealing scars. As the world suffers through this loss, their fears have come true. The Nation of Eldia has formed a so-called army controlled the Yeagerists and now focus their efforts on building their military. Fearful of retaliation from what is left of humanity from the other side of the sea the island yells out as one.
If we win, we live. If we lose, we die. If you don't fight, we can't win. So fight. Fight.
This fight will not end until either Eldia or the world is wiped out. That is what Eren said, and he may be right. Even so, he chose to leave the world in our hands. This place we now live in.
A world without Titans.
- Historia Reiss, Queen of the Nation of Eldia
Armin finished his letter to his comrades which consisted Reiner and Pieck who were both sitting with him, Connie who was staring out of the window, and Jean who combing his hair in front of the mirror.
As the Alliance members all thought over the contents of the letter, Reiner glanced over to Jean, and decided to upheave the heavy tension of the room by joking around with him. "So what are you getting all prettied up for Jean?" he smirked. "Thinking about sweeping Mikasa off her feet?" he quipped. Jean scowled. "For the twelfth time Reiner, I'm passed that. Y'know, I'm really starting to regret that you have a new lease on life" he said as he continued combing. Now if his fifteen year old self was provided with that situation, he would've taken advantage of the scenario in a heartbeat. But alas, he was not the same person he was seven years ago. He knew that Mikasa's heart belonged only to Eren, and it would be dirty of him to do so. Besides, he's pretty sure that he's grown out of what was nothing more than a teenage crush. Once he's satisfied with his hair, Jean turns around and his eyes are locked onto Pieck. He always found Pieck to be beautiful, but looking at her now, she seems to be more stunning then ever. She notices her looking at him, and glares at him. "What?" she questions. Jean stammers for a bit, saying that it just nothing, but the red tint on his face says otherwise.
Annie walks into the cabin to inform that Paradis is now within sight. "Armin" She says. "Do you really think this going to work? We destroyed the Walls. We betrayed the Island. We killed Eren, a man revered by the people of Eldia. And we're the Allied Nation's ambassadors for peace talks?" The other Alliance members though over her words, clearly anxious. "Personally, I wouldn't be shocked if they sunk our ship right here" Pieck stated. Connie stood up from leaning by the window and spoke to reassure them. "Believe in Historia. Her Majesty's first move was to protect Jean's relatives and my mom. I know she'll defend us too." Annie still didn't seem convinced. "I just have the feeling that this is going to end in disaster."
"Annie" Armin spoke. "If there is one thing I've learned from this, is that human conflict will never end. But.. when they see us all together like this they'll have to want to know about our story. Why those who tried to kill each other for so long have appeared to Paradis to advocate for peace. They'll want to know what we saw. So let's tell them everything" he finished as he stood up. The Alliance then left the cabin, and went up to the front deck to await Paradis. As Armin leans over the railing, he notices a bird flying over him, a feather falling down. He catches the feather with his palm. He smiles, a warm nostalgic feeling overcomes him.
In the area of what used to be the interior of Wall Maria, sitting by a tree, is Mikasa Ackerman, wearing civilian clothing and her hear much longer.
"Eren. Everyone will be coming to visit you soon."
She looks down to Eren's gravestone which has three flowers place in front of it. Inscribe on the gravestone are the words:
835-854
Resting here peacefully
My most beloved
My dear
Mikasa places her hand on the gravestone. "Aren't you happy?" she asks.
She looks over the fields, the Walls no longer being there. She remembers the morning of the day everything changed, when she stood over the sleeping boy, smiling at his face.
Her eyes begin to tear up at the memory. Her scarf begins to come loose. "I just wish... I could see you one more time."
Suddenly, a bird swoops down to her, much to her shock, and readjusts her scarf with its beak before flying off. She stand up to watch the bird flying away, a look of pure amazement upon her face. A familiar feeling comes to her, and she gives a tearful smile. No matter what happens, she and Eren will always find a way to be together.
"Thank you for wrapping this scarf around me. Eren."
The end.
There you go.
As you can see, it does closely follow the story of the initial chapter 139. The reason being that I actually do like the general outline of the chapter, but I will admit that it wasn't perfect. There things that were either not explained enough, or just completely unnecessary. This was attempt to revise the chapter into something that I personally find satisfying.
If you don't like that then that's fine. I don't claim to be a better writer than Isayama.
The changes I made include: showing what happened to the Source of the Power of the Titans; Eren acting much more mature and not throwing a tantrum; Ymir's love for Fritz being given an explanation; Why Ymir chose Mikasa; Armin not excusing Eren's genocide; and Eren's involvement in his mother's death being scrapped completely (that was the only detail about chapter 139 that I truly did not like).
You may have also noticed another change in that there is a distinct lack of the 8 additional pages that were recently leaked to the public, and you see, there is a very good reason for that:
Those extra pages can fuck off.
Like I said, I did actually liked chapter 139 despite its flaws, but these new pages have took a flawed ending, and turned it into a trash ending. I truly can not put into words how much I utterly despise those pages. Mikasa getting together with Jean/Farmer-kun 2.0 is literally the least of the pages problems, but is still a problem nonetheless. Disregarding the fact that it is wholly unnecessary, and kind of dampens the value of Eren and Mikasa's relationship, Jeankasa has barely any development other than Jean's unrequited teenage crush, which never comes up post-timeskip. Why Isayama felt the need to have Mikasa pair up with someone else, I have no idea.
The other problems are of course Paradis getting carpet-bombed, and this was the thing that pissed me off the most as it pretty much makes all the sacrifices completely fucking pointless. Erwin? The original Levi squad? Sasha? Carla? Hange? And Eren himself? All of them died for fucking nothing, and it gives Eren's character a massive middle-finger which pisses me off to an extreme degree. All he ended up accomplishing in the end was delaying the inevitable.
And of course there is the last page where that boy who may or may not be a descendent of Mikasa stumbles across the tree. While it's not outright confirmed if the Power of the Titans still exists, this last page does heavily imply that that is the case, and the boy will become the next Ymir Fritz. This is also pretty bad as it is basically another middle-finger to Eren's character as that means that he didn't even get rid of the Titans which has always been his overarching goal since day fucking 1.
I've seen people attempt to defend the extra pages by saying that it illustrates Isayama's message that human conflict never ends.
I'll be blunt; I don't give a rat's ASS whatever message Isayama was trying to convey, the way he chose going about it is complete dogshit.
I can only hope that the backlash of these pages gets loud enough for Mappa to cut them out in the anime adpatation, but I don't think we'll be that lucky.
So in conclusion, the 8 extra pages suck. They do not enhance the story in anyway. It provides more plotholes and unanswered questions, and it makes a complete joke of all of the characters for the sake of its shitty message. If you actually like these pages, that's fine, but don't EVER come to me to defend them. Whatever you have to say about them, I've probably already heard, and it won't change my mind.
Rant aside, I hope you found some enjoyment in this, and that you appreciate some of the changes I've made.