Eren slowly turned around, feeling slightly apprehensive as he did so, unsure of who or what he was about to see.
As his eyes landed on the person who had spoken, however, he felt slightly surprised.
Instead of the vast or God-like being he was expecting, he found himself looking at a young woman dressed in plain white robes. She was rather pretty, and her appearance somewhat reminded him of Historia.
But the most noteworthy thing about her was her eyes. They sparkled and shone with the experience of someone who had lived for a very, very long time, and despite the kind expression on her face he found himself feeling somewhat frightened by her gaze.
"Who...who are you?" Eren stammered.
She smiled softly. "We met once before, when you were at a crossroads, and ended up making one of the most important decisions of your life."
As Eren's eyes roamed the sandy landscape, he recalled the last time he had been there, before he had leapt back in time, when he had first kissed Historia's hand at that ceremony.
He remembered the river he'd followed, and he remembered the strange young girl he had briefly seen on the other side of the river.
He looked back at her. "You are the Founder Ymir."
"Very good."
Eren swallowed nervously. "Why...why did you summon me back then? And why have you brought me here now?"
"You've heard conflicting stories and ideas about exactly who and what I am. According to Eldian legends I was a benevolent Goddess. According to Marleyan propaganda I was a wicked demon. But the truth, as is often the case, is much more grounded and human."
She looked up at the sky, and her expression became sad.
"I was born into a small village in a remote region, and from a very young age I was conditioned to do one thing above all others: obey. My parents were incredibly strict, and even small acts of rebellion were harshly punished, and so I learned to simply do what I was told. Then, when I was six years old my village was attacked and burned to the ground. Most of the people, including my parents, were killed, and those of us who were spared were taken away as slaves. The one who did this was the first king of Eldia."
"What?" Eren exclaimed.
"While my life became much harder after I was made into a slave, the same basic principle still applied: obey. So I kept my head down and did as I was told, faithfully serving my new master, because that was all I had ever known."
She looked over at the vast pillar of light that could be seen in the distance, her gaze hardening slightly. "When I was ten years old I came into contact with some sort of entity. What it was I do not know, even now. All I can say is that whatever it was it was very powerful, and so ancient as to make the entirety of human history look like the blink of an eye. It was connecting with this entity that gave me the power of the Titans, and thus I became the progenitor shifter."
She smiled bitterly. "You would think that after gaining such power I would have avenged myself against the man who had burned down my village and enslaved me. But alas, any independent or rebellious thoughts I may have once had had long since been wiped away, and there was only one thought in my mind: obey. And so I allowed the Eldian king to use me and my power however he saw fit. He made me destroy the old Marleyan Empire, bear his children, and build up Eldia into a powerful kingdom. I obeyed him without fail because that was all I knew how to do. But a tiny part of me hoped that I might someday receive at least a small amount of genuine affection from him in acknowledgment of my humanity."
"When I was twenty three years old, thirteen years after I gained the power of the Titans, I saved the king from an assassination attempt by a disgruntled Marleyan soldier, taking a spear through the nape of my neck that was meant for him. And as I lay there dying, I looked up and hoped that at last, at long last, I would be given some real love or gratitude from the man who I had dedicated my life to. But even as I was dying he still only saw me as a slave. The only comfort I had to look forward to was the merciful release of death. However, I was denied even this. The king didn't want to lose my power, and so he desecrated my corpse, forcing the three daughters I'd had with him to cannibalize me until nothing was left."
Eren looked rather sick.
"My power lived on in them, and whenever they called on this power I was there to sculpt and build the Titan bodies they would use, lending them my strength. I could have said no. I could have stopped. But the mental chains that had bound me in life remained even in death, and so I did what I had always done: obey. Following the king's orders, my three daughters shared the same fate as me, and each of their corpses were cannibalized by their three eldest children. And thus, the Nine Titans were born. After that, for two thousand years I remained here, in this realm. Every time one of the Nine transformed, every time an Eldian was turned into a pure Titan, I was there to lend my strength. Not because I wanted to, but because I felt that I had no choice but to obey the commands that were given to my fractured soul. Few knew about this place, and even fewer knew about me. The only ones who ever directly interacted with me were the holders of the Founding Titan. They always either revered me as a God, or treated me as a slave, much like the first Eldian king had. Either way, none of them ever tried to get me to change my behavior, nor did they take any interest in me as a person. And given how closed off my mind had become over the millennia I can't entirely blame them for that."
She looked at him, her eyes softening. "It seemed that this nightmarish half existence would never end, and I had long since grown numb to the subconscious feelings of horror and despair that occasionally tried to shake me out of my mental shackles. But then, something extraordinary happened. You."
Eren blinked. "Me?"
"You remember those rivers you saw when you first came here? Those rivers represented different timelines, alternative branches, deviations, variations, all manners of different events and outcomes. In the original timeline, the progenitor timeline, you had made your way here on your own. After much struggle and hardship you had unlocked the full power of the Founding Titan, and came to me. And when you found me, you did not treat me as a slave or a God. You saw me as a person, and sought to help me instead of controlling me. In showing me compassion, you ended up seeing all of my memories, and I yours. Your memories, words, and actions set me free, and finally broke the slave mentality that had kept me chained down for so long. In my gratitude, I lent you my power, and used it to save your people."
She turned back toward the coordinate. "After that timeline came to an end, I became curious. Your memories hadn't only freed me, they'd given me a taste of what life really had to offer, as I had felt all of your joys and sorrows as vividly as if they had been my own. For two thousand years I had existed, but I hadn't truly lived, and I had long ago lost my ability to appreciate life or empathize with other people. Now that I had regained both, I wanted to see and experience all the things I had missed."
She waved her hand in the air. "In this realm, every last memory and thought of the Eldian race can be found. I began to live vicariously through the memories of my descendants, starting with my daughters and moving forward from there, seeing life through the eyes of countless people. These experiences were enriching and eye opening, but eventually I became unsatisfied with simply watching the echoes of what had already happened. And then it occurred to me that every time a person makes a decision, there's always an unfulfilled path, another chain of events that would have occurred if they had chosen differently. I began to wonder what these alternatives would look like, and the futures that would result from them. And so I used the coordinate to make these branching timelines a reality, to see where they would go and to live vicariously through these new memories and experiences."
She glanced back at him. "And one of the first things I thought of after I created this myriad of timelines was you, Eren."
"Me?"
"While you had more or less achieved your goal in the original timeline, it had been a long and hard road, and you had lost many of those dearest to you. You had suffered greatly, and I wanted to help you, to repay you for setting me free. And so I created this alternate timeline, giving you the chance to go back to the beginning, armed with your future knowledge, and do things over again."
Eren's eyes widened in awe. "I see. Thank you."
"I have been watching over you, seeing your memories and the memories of those around you, including Mikasa."
She gave him a teasing smile. "And I must say, you're very good in bed Eren."
Eren blushed.
"I-I...thank...you…?" He stammered, unsure of what on earth to say to that.
Her smile became kind. "And I'm glad that you've managed to save more lives, and to make things better for your people. Most of all I'm glad you've managed to find real happiness, something you sadly weren't able to in the progenitor timeline. But regrettably, despite all your efforts, in many ways things haven't changed. The outside world is still seeking your destruction. And your brother is still trying to bring about the extinction of the Eldians."
Eren stiffened. "He what?"
"He believes that the world will never know peace until the Titans have ceased to exist, and in order to make this happen he intends to use the Founding Titan to sterilize all Eldians, robbing them of their ability to reproduce so that they will eventually die off, and take the power of the Titans with them."
Eren shook his head in disbelief. "That's…"
A dreadful thought occurred to him. "He said that Mikasa was safe, and I briefly heard her through the paths, so I know she's okay. But what about the others?"
"Levi is fine. But the others are dead."
Eren took a step back. "Petra...Eld…"
"There's also about to be a big battle near Port Dina. Commander Erwin and Pixis have prepared their forces, and they have Historia and the other Ymir there to help them with the Armored and Jaws Titans. But the enemy slightly outnumbers them, and they have on their side the Cart, Colossal, and Warhammer Titans. No matter who wins, the casualties will be enormous. And just outside of this chapel, Mikasa, Levi, and many of your comrades are getting themselves ready to rescue you. But between Kenny and Zeke, it's very likely that some of them will perish during this attack."
Eren's eyes widened in horror. "No. No! I can't allow that to happen. I'll have to free myself from the crystal and try to touch Zeke to activate the Founding Titan now. It's risky, but there's no other choice."
She shook her head. "You're wrong. There is another option."
"There is?"
She nodded. "I can guarantee your victory today. I can ensure that you won't have to lose anyone else close to you. And I can give you and your loved ones long and happy futures."
"Really? But how?"
"You must trust me. Give up your Titan powers, and leave the rest to me, and I will grant your people the freedom they deserve."
Eren frowned. "Give up my powers? But then I won't be able to defend myself. But...you said you'd take care of everything...are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes. Without a doubt."
She held out her hand.
He looked at it uncertainly. "Wait. If I lose my Titan abilities…"
She smiled warmly. "The curse of Ymir will also leave your body. You'll be able to live to a ripe old age instead of dying before reaching your twenty fifth birthday."
Eren stared at her hand for a moment. He wasn't sure exactly what she had in mind, but she was the one who had set everything in motion, she was the one who had given him this second chance. And it was clear that she did care about him.
So if she said she could guarantee a safe and long future for himself and his loved ones, then in all likelihood he could probably trust her.
"Alright. I'll...I'll leave it in your hands."
He reached out and shook her hand.
As he did so, a spark of light traveled between them, and Eren felt something leaving his body.
She stepped back. "Very well. Goodbye Eren. We will not meet again, at least not in this timeline."
She turned around and began to walk toward the coordinate.
As she left, Eren began to feel slightly concerned, wondering exactly what he had agreed to.
Ymir's face was blank as she made her way toward the coordinate.
In the long term this will ensure his survival and happiness. But in the short term it will hurt. He is a good person after all. So I suppose it's best for the sake of his sanity that I didn't tell him that what I'm about to do was originally his idea.
And as she neared the coordinate, she found her thoughts already turning to other possible timelines she could create.
Let's see, I wonder how things might play out if the battle at Shiganshina had gone ever so slightly better for the Scouts. Or perhaps I'll nudge the thoughts of my namesake into making different decisions early on and seeing the effects that would have from there. And maybe at some point I'll try sending Armin and Mikasa back in time, kind of like what I did for Eren in this timeline. That could be quite interesting. Well, I've got all the time in the world to explore a myriad of possibilities.
She stepped into the coordinate, and used her power to seal the fate of that world.
HEAR ME MY SUBJECTS. YOU ARE FREE.
Armin and Annie looked up sharply.
"What…" Armin gasped.
"Did you just hear that?" She asked.
"Yeah."
She looked around wildly. "That...was that Eren?"
"No...it sounded like a woman's voice. And it said...my subjects. Another name for Eldians is subjects of Ymir. So that means…"
Annie's eyes widened. "That was...Ymir? The Founder Ymir? But I thought she died two thousand years ago."
Armin shook his head. "We don't really have much accurate information about Ymir. Everything we do know about her has been obfuscated and distorted by myths and propaganda, so we really have no way of knowing who she really was."
"But if she's still alive after all this time…"
"She said...we were free. But what does that mean?"
They fell into silence. Annie had a troubled look on her face, and Armin felt a sinking sense of foreboding.
Zeke jerked his head in shock, the message interrupting his attempts to break open Eren's crystal.
He looked up at the ceiling in confusion.
What was that?
Suddenly, the crystal shattered, depositing Eren onto the floor of the cavern.
Zeke's eyes lit up. "Finally!"
But before he could do anything else, the Beast Titan abruptly collapsed and fell to the ground with a thunderous boom.
What? What's happening?
Zeke hastily exited his Titan, and sliced open his hand in order to try to transform again.
Nothing happened.
He looked at his bleeding hand in disbelief. "What? Why isn't this working?"
Eren stood up, and noticed that Zeke's wound wasn't healing.
Zeke looked at him sharply. "What did you do?"
Eren frowned darkly. "I didn't do anything. But…"
Zeke's eyes widened in understanding. "Ymir…"
Without warning, an acoustic round was fired in the distance. Realizing that this meant that enemy forces had entered the caverns, Zeke screamed.
But instead of the distant glow of light from the telltale explosions of Titan transformations that he had expected, nothing happened.
Eren glared at his brother. "Looks like your pack of abnormal Titans aren't going to be making an appearance."
Eren ran forward and punched Zeke in the face, breaking his nose.
Zeke fell to the ground, a despairing look on his face.
"No...I was so close…"
Further back in the cavern, the Scouts, Garrison, and MP soldier had begun their attack on the enemy squad.
"Alright!" Kenny grinned gleefully. "Now this is more like it!"
Levi immediately clashed with his former mentor, while Mikasa and the others got to work slaughtering Kenny's squad. Despite having been trained by Kenny himself, they lacked the necessary skills to stand a chance against ODM users with years of experience behind them, and they quickly dropped like flies one by one.
One of them almost managed to get a shot at Mikasa, but before he could take advantage of this opening he was shot dead by Varis.
Mikasa looked at him in surprise, but nodded her head in appreciation. He looked away in shame.
As she was fairly certain that Varis had likely been poisoned by Zeke's spinal fluid and subsequently blackmailed into helping him kidnap Eren, Mikasa decided that holding a grudge against him was not warranted, as the real target of her anger was Zeke himself.
Varis surrendered, and the rest of Kenny's squad was quickly taken care of, with only a few casualties among the Garrison soldiers.
The only one left was Kenny, but he alone was proving to be quite a tough opponent even when Mikasa and Levi began to work together to take him down. A few of the MP soldiers tried to help, and were almost instantly cut down for their trouble by the laughing killer.
Further back in the cavern, Jean, Marco, and Marlowe managed to reach Eren and Zeke.
"Eren!" Jean cried in relief.
"You rat bastard." Marlowe growled as he looked down at Zeke.
While Marco and Marlowe restrained Zeke, Jean walked up to Eren.
"What happened? What was that message?"
Eren shook his head. "I'm not sure. I spoke with the Founder Ymir."
Jean's mouth fell open in shock. "What?"
Eren waved his hand vaguely in the air. "I found myself...in this strange place...and she told me she could guarantee Paradis's safety if I gave up my Titan powers. But it looks like my powers weren't the only ones affected."
Jean glanced back at Zeke. "Well, that's a relief. But what did she mean when she said we are free?"
Eren frowned. "I don't know."
Off in one corner, two of the surviving Garrison soldiers were restraining a struggling Yelena.
Satisfied that the enemy had been neutralized, they began to make their way back toward the entrance of the caverns.
As they entered the main chamber, they found Mikasa and Levi standing over Kenny's dead body. From the looks of things, it had been a brutal fight, but in the end the two Ackermans of the Scouts had managed to defeat him.
"Mikasa!" Eren cried.
She turned around sharply, and her eyes lit up. "Eren!"
They ran toward each other and embraced. Mikasa kissed him, not caring who saw.
She pulled back and looked at him anxiously. "I was so worried about you."
Eren smiled sadly. "I know. I'm sorry."
Levi scoffed. "If anyone should be sorry, it's this piece of shit."
Levi walked over and kicked Zeke in the head, knocking out a bunch of his teeth in the process.
Levi glared down at his former friend. "Oh quit your crying, they'll grow right back."
Marco smiled sheepishly. "Yeah...about that…"
Hange froze in shock, and from the expressions of those around her, they'd also heard the same cryptic message.
"What...what was that?"
Erwin frowned. "I don't know."
"Look!" Nanaba cried.
The Scouts looked toward the plateau in the distance, and could see it breaking apart, the Wall Titans trapped within beginning to march toward the shore.
A cheer rose up from the forces gathered in the city near port Dina, knowing that they were saved.
"They must have done it!" Hange exclaimed.
Nanaba let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god."
Upon seeing the Wall Titans, and realizing that their plan must have failed, the ships and airships of Marley immediately began to retreat.
At the port, a cheer rose from the soldiers there as well, and Ymir felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment as she watched the enemy retreat.
Well that was a little anticlimactic. And I was just getting ready to be a Titan shark. Still, I guess that means I can heal this cut.
Ymir looked down at her hand, and was surprised when no steam began to rise from the injury.
It's...it's not healing...what's going on?
Pixis walked up to Erwin. "Well, all's well that ends well."
Erwin nodded reluctantly. "Perhaps. But what did that message mean?"
Pixis rubbed his mustache thoughtfully. "The only one who could send a message to everyone like that would have to be the Founding Titan, so one would assume that it was Eren. However…"
"That wasn't Eren's voice." Erwin remarked. "And it called us their subjects. As in, subjects of Ymir. Which means…"
Pixis placed his hands behind his back. "That must have been the Founder Ymir. And she said that we are free. I'm not sure what that means, but given that the Colossal Titans have been released, it seems safe to say that she's on our side."
Erwin returned his gaze to the retreating enemy ships. "So it would seem. But it seems odd for her to interfere now, after all this time. The only reasons I can think of for her to step in would be if they failed to rescue Eren and she wanted to protect us in his place, or if she's going to do something that Eren can't."
"And what would that be?" Pixis asked.
"I don't know." Erwin admitted.
Erwin watched the Wall Titans reach sea with narrowed eyes, wondering what was really going on.
The naval ships tried to get away, but the Wall Titans were able to quickly catch up to them and seal their fate.
Lara Tybur watched the approaching mass of Titans with a resigned expression.
Forgive me brother. I couldn't avenge your death. But at least we can now be reunited.
The ships were all destroyed by the Titans.
The airships continued to retreat, the soldiers onboard quite subdued.
Magath frowned as he looked down at the Titans in the sea. "Well, it seems Zeke and the others have failed. It was a good plan, but…"
Bertolt bowed his head sadly, knowing that Annie was probably dead. If only he'd had the courage to say something sooner…
Pieck looked down at her finger, where she had put a small nick so that she would be ready to transform at a moment's notice. Since they were retreating, this was no longer necessary.
But when she tried to let the injury heal, nothing happened.
Her eyes widened.
"Bertolt…"
He looked up at her. "What is it?"
She handed him a pocket knife. "Try making a small wound."
Bertolt felt puzzled, but did what she asked, putting a small cut on the back of his hand.
He gasped. "It...it's not healing."
Pieck nodded grimly. "I had a feeling."
They went to Magath and told him what had happened.
"It looks like our Titan powers are, at least for the moment, gone."
Magath folded his arms. "Hmm. And you Eldians said that you all heard a voice right before the Wall Titans were released, correct?"
Pieck nodded. "Yes. 'Hear me my subjects. You are free.' But what does that mean?"
"I don't know." Magath sighed. "But if your Titans aren't working, we'll be at an even bigger disadvantage when it comes time to defend Marley against the Wall Titans. The only bright side is that based on the intel we got from Zeke there are only around 80,000 Wall Titans available to Paradis to use in war at the moment. That's still not good, but it's not quite as daunting as the millions that the 145th king claimed."
Bertolt grimaced. "Even so, we'll be hard pressed to stop an army of Colossal Titans. At this point we can only hope that Eren will be content with destroying part of Marley, and not all of it. Otherwise…"
Pieck frowned. "Though...was that Eren? That voice...didn't it sound female to you?"
Bertolt glanced at her uncertainly. "I...yeah, I guess it did. But…"
They were interrupted by one of the soldiers.
"Um, sir, we have a bit of a problem." Koslow said nervously.
"What is it?" Magath asked.
"We've been trying to contact our forces stationed in Liberio with the radio, but there's been no response. We tried some other frequencies and locations, but still no response."
Magath frowned. "That's odd. We should definitely be within range by now. There must be something wrong with our equipment. Have the other airships been able to get through?"
Koslow shook his head. "No, that's the thing. We can talk to each other, but when it comes to the continent, nothing."
"Hmm. Well that must mean that the radio equipment on all of our airships must be defective. So either it's sabotage or someone is going to be fired when we get back due to their incompetence. I mean, the only other alternative would be if everyone we're trying to communicate with had suddenly vanished, and that's just absurd."
An uneasy feeling permeated the airship, and Pieck had a sinking sensation in her stomach.
Through the back window Bertolt could see the steam from the ocean behind them, and knew that the Wall Titans weren't too far behind them.
Several hours passed in relative silence, the few conversations between the defeated soldiers being subdued and short lived.
Koslow smiled in relief. "Land in sight sir."
Magath nodded. "Very good."
The airships approached the shoreline, grateful to be back in familiar territory. But as they got closer…
"What the hell…" Koslow exclaimed.
Magath's eyes widened. "That's impossible."
Bertolt and Pieck were stunned and horrified by what they were seeing.
The entirety of the city of Liberio was gone. Everything had been leveled. There were giant footprints all over the ground, and they could see a cloud of steam on the horizon further inland.
"No way!" Bertolt yelled. "Did the Wall Titans beat us here?! But, no, that can't be. But what else is there?"
Magath looked through the back window. "No, the Titans are still behind us. But then...how did this...what is this…"
"Fuck."
Magath, Koslow, and Bertolt looked at Pieck in shock. In all the time they'd known her, they'd never heard her use profanity before.
She gripped the sides of her head, a look of utter despair on her face.
"Fuck."
Magath looked at her in concern. "Pieck?"
"We're...we're too late." Pieck whispered. "That message...the Wall Titans waking up...our powers not working...and now this...this isn't Eren's doing. It must be Ymir's."
"The Founder?" Bertolt asked.
Pieck slowly nodded. "Yes. We know that the Founding Titan was sealed away because of the vow renouncing war that the royal family had made, and it has been dormant for the past century. The 145th King said he was tired of the constant infighting among the Eldian race, and perhaps the Founder Ymir feels the same way. Eren is the current holder of the Founding Titan, so it's possible that Ymir became attached and sympathetic toward him and his people, and when Marley chose to continue to make war with Paradis, she lost all patience and decided to bring it all to an end in a way that benefits Eren and the rest of Paradis."
Numb horror shot through Bertolt. "You mean…"
"She removed the nine Titans from this world. She woke up all the spare Wall Titans on the island. And she turned every Eldian outside of Paradis into a Colossal Titan."
All of them looked at the flattened land below them in horror.
Pieck swallowed, her throat very dry. "And now, she's using all of these Titans to purge the world of every human outside of the island, taking their hatred and prejudices with them, and ensuring the safety of Paradis in the short and long term."
A stunned silence followed.
"What...what can we do?" Bertolt whispered.
Pieck leaned against a nearby wall. "Nothing...there is no stopping this."
Koslow glanced at Magath. "We...we don't have a lot of fuel left. And…"
He trailed off.
Magath walked stiffly toward the front of the airship. "I'll...I'll tell the pilot to just...just keeping moving straight ahead."
And so they kept moving forward, the airships flying slowly over the ruins below, going as far as they could before they inevitably ran out of fuel and were forced to land and meet the same fate that had swallowed the rest of the continent.
Author's Note: Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?
Hello everyone, it's been a while. As I said, I wanted to wait until the manga ended before I finished this story, as I wanted to take any last minute lore revelations into account. Of course, if I had known that the last three chapters of the manga would be a dumpster fire of bad writing and terrible ideas I wouldn't have bothered waiting so long, but oh well. At least some good has come out of the shitshow that is the canon ending.
For one, it's made me feel a lot better about my own writing decisions. Despite it being very popular, I've had rather mixed feelings about A Second Chance, but while it's a bit of a mess, at least it's not a complete dumpster fire. And I ended up making my own version of how I think the manga should have ended. If you were also dissatisfied with the canon ending, be sure to check it out, you can find it in chapter 12 of my story What If. And if you haven't read the rest of What If, I would recommend you go do that too, as I think it's quite good.
Anyways, I know that the way things played out in this chapter were a bit anticlimactic, as well as incredibly dark, but for the kind of story ASC is I think it works. Originally I'd planned on having the big battle happening, and then midway through it all Ymir stepping in and helping Eren and the others. But then it hit me, if Ymir cares about Eren, why would she wait to interfere until after the battle has started and people have begun to die? So I just had her step in and resolve things a bit sooner.
Next chapter will of course be wrapping things up and exploring the aftermath of what happened. Eren will come clean to his friends about his time traveling, and of course he'll have to come to terms with the fact that he inadvertently doomed the rest of the world by trusting Ymir, and while her actions will indeed ensure their safety and prosperity in the long run, he'll be torn up with guilt about it for a while. Naturally Mikasa and Armin will do their best to help him.
I have an overall outline ready for the final chapter, but I don't know when the chapter will be finished. I'll try to have it out by the end of April, but no promises. And if there's anything you'd like to see in this au before the story ends feel free to let me know. I can't promise I'll include it, but I will take your suggestions into account.
Oh, and since I got several requests for it I made a discord server for my various stories. If you're interested the link for it is on my AO3 profile.
Anyways, be sure to let me know what you thought, and I can promise that the wait for the last chapter will be significantly shorter than the wait for this chapter. Unless I get hit by a car and die or something. Hopefully that won't happen, but you never know.