The night is dusk and the moon within the dark sky was crescent. The time was around nine in the evening.
During the night of the festival within Liberio, many foreigners, politicians and generals from different lands across the world had came to visit Marley in order to hear Willy Tybur speak. Many soldiers and Eldian civilians that lived in the Liberio Internment Zone also watched the play from the buildings they were staying in.
Gabi Braun and her friends were excited to watch Willy Tybur's play. But before the play could begin, a mysterious tall soldier had led the Titan Shifters, such as Porco Galliard and Pieck Finger away from the play.
As soon as Willy Tybur walked out on stage, he was greeted with cheers, screams, applause and hundreds of flashing cameras. He dressed within blue robes and wore a fancy necklace around his neck and black boots.
Meanwhile, Eren Yeager, Reiner Braun and Falco Grice were currently inside a basement of a building within Liberio. Reiner and Eren were sitting in chairs, while Falco just stood and watched Reiner began to break down. While Eren looked totally calm.
"The show is about to start." Eren said as he glanced up at the ceiling. He heard hundreds of screams and screams from outside the building he was sitting in. He assumed that Willy Tybur had walked onto the stage.
"Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen. People of all nations. My name... is Willy Tybur." Willy Tybur introduced himself to the world while on stage.
Willy was once again met by loud cheers and positive shrieks from the large audience.
"Let's listen." Eren said as he begun listening from a basement.
In the next ten seconds, silhouettes of large and smaller people suddenly appeared behind the curtains of. The silhouettes of larger people represented Titans and the smaller people represented humans. The Titan silhouettes looked like they were beginning to eat the humans within their grasp.
"Once upon a time, about a century ago..." As Willy Tybur had begun his speech, the curtains had gotten darker in a shade of red. "The Eldian Empire had used the Power of the Titans to take over the world." Willy raised his hands by his side. Within the background, workers of the play begun playing large drums, representing large and loud thumps. "From the time of Ymir Fritz-to the current era, today... who knows how many lives were taken?"
A number of actors had begun entering the stage behind Willy Tybur, acting like victims of the Titans. They all wore blindfolds, covered in fake blood and danced, as if they were cowering for their lives.
"The latest research said that humanity could go extinct many times over, due to the current predicament. The Titans took many races, cultures and a large portion of our history.
As Willy Tybur was explaining the history of the Eldians of the past, Theo Magath stood on top of a building in his soldier outfit, patrolling and monitoring the play for any spies.
"Anything unusual?" Theo Magath asked a soldier, whom was working with a radio and telephone.
"No, sir. Nothing, yet." A soldier replied as he kept working.
"Keep working. I want everything reported. And I don't care how small it looks." Theo Magath said as he looked at Willy Tybur on stage through binoculars.
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, Porco Galliard and Pieck Finger followed the mysterious Marleyan soldier to to room, where they fell inside secret room under a trap door.
Zeke Yeager had suddenly walked off away from Liberio, looking at his watch.
Falco Grice continued watching a calm Eren and a shaken Reiner within the basement. He started to add thing sup in his mind and realized when Eren and Reiner met.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to get straight to the point." Willy Tybur continued to explain. "Everyone knows the story that I had just told. But, the truth is slightly different. I am referring to the memories that "we", the Tybur Family had passed down through many generations along with the Warhammer Titan. Today, I will reveal the secrets. For the first time ever, the truth concerning the Great Titan War will be revealed!"
Suddenly, two men had walked on stage behind Willy Tybur. One man was dressed in robes and in a blindfold had a hammer and the other man had wore a fancy hat and wielded a spear. They stood side by side and kept quiet.
"Was it Helos, a Marleyan Legend who ended the Great Titan War?" Willy Tybur asked as he pointed towards the man with the hat and spear. "Or was it one of our own, the Tybur Family?" he pointed towards the man with the blindfold and Warhammer.
People within the large audience was trying to decide who it was within their minds.
"It was neither of them." Willy Tybur said, then looked over his left shoulder. "The man who saved the world from and put an end to the Great Titan War was actually... the One hundred and forty-fifth King, himself. Karl Fritz!"
A man dressed in royal clothing had a big red cape nearly covering his entire body and a crown over his face had walked on stage. He represented Karl Fritz.
The large within the audience remained dead silent after hearing Willy Tybur's words. Their minds were a bit confused.
For the next ten minutes, Willy Tybur explained the entire history of Karl Fritz, his bloodline and how the Walls within Paradis became to be.
As this is happening, a broken down Reiner Braun had groveled before Eren Yeager. Tears streamed down his face. His hands and forehead pressed down on the surface of the hard floor.
"Please, kill me, Eren! I can't take it, anymore!" Reiner begged as he crowd.
As Reiner had broken down, Eren just looked calm in front of Reiner and Falco and said nothing, while Falco, who was still in shock of learning that Mister Kruger was actually Eren Yeager. He was a little more shocked to learn that Reiner wanted to die.
"Now, before I continue on with my speech, I want to introduce you all to a special guest that I have personally invited to be here, tonight. This person knows about the history of the Eldian Empire and Great Titan War as much as I do. And also like me, he also shares Eldian blood."
Suddenly, a man had walked from behind the red curtains and onto the stage and into the light, revealing himself to a large crowd of people within Liberio. He wore a light gray suit with a black tie and black shoes.
"Everyone. Allow me to introduce you all... to the Commander of the Survey Corps... Erwin Smith!" Willy Tybur shouted as he introduced Erwin to the entire world. He then took a few steps to the side, giving Erwin space.
There was absolute silence from the crowd, as a majority of the large audience has never heard of the man or the Survey Corps. No cameras flashed their lights.
Theo Magath stood and caught a glimpse of Erwin in a white suit through binoculars, many miles away from the stage. He removed the binoculars from his eyes for a split second.
Eren looked upwards at the ceiling when he heard Erwin Smith's name called.
Erwin looked at the large crowd sitting before him. He had no fear, no stage fright whatsoever. The only thing he cared about was revealing the truth to the world. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Erwin Smith. And I am an Eldian from the island of Paradis!"
Many people within the audience paused, many were in shock and many were star struck. There was absolute silence from the audience, after learning that an Eldian from Paradis had infiltrated Marley. In the next minute, there were chattering within the large audience.
"Are you kidding me?
"Is this for real?"
"Did he just say... island of Paradis?"
"Good God. They did make it here."
"The devils actually made it here... after all this time."
As the large crowd was star struck for a moment, a young Gabi Braun was triggered by learning that there was a devil from Paradis in Liberio. She gripped her knees tightly and clinched her teeth. She then jumped from her seat and yelled, "Kill the devil!"
Many people that were sitting around and heard Gabi scream had turned and looked at her. Including her friends, such as Colt, Zofia and Udo.
"G-Gabi?" Udo stuttered as he looked up at Gabi, who was standing in her chair.
"That man is a devil from Paradis Island! You can't trust him! None of you can!
"Gabi, sit down!" Colt tried to demand.
"No! We're the good Eldians! That man is a bad one!" Gabi pointed her index finger directly at Erwin Smith from many miles away. "For thousands of years, their ancestors committed great sins and destroyed many lives! They wiped out many cultures, races, families and forced Non-Eldians to bear their children, even if they didn't want it! A century ago, their kind left many of our people here to rot in Marley, while they go and made their own paradise! How can we trust or forgive someone like that!" Gabi protested as she shouted.
"Yeah, she's right! They did do that." A rand man in the crowd yelled.
"She does have a point, though."
"We can't trust the Devils from Paradis not one bit!" Another man yelled.
"We need to do something about it, now."
Gabi happily gasped after hearing people agree with her testimony.
"The island devils have come to take revenge on us!" A random man within the large audience yelled.
"We need to rid these Devils of Paradis, once and for all!"
The large audience started getting louder and louder. Then they started booing, yelling racial slurs and yelling out death threats before Erwin Smith could continue on.
"Hang him! Hang him! Hang him!" The large crowd chanted, repeatedly, as many people wanted to see Erwin Smith be hanged.
As the crowd kept booing and giving Erwin Smith negative reactions, there were people staring at the crowd from behind the red curtains-such as Captain Levi, whom was dressed in the latest design of Survey Corp. gear and next to him was Willy Tybur's sister, Lara Tybur, the Warhammer Titan. The held a piece of glass in her hand, in case something goes wrong.
'This isn't looking good. Come on, Erwin.' Levi thought.
While on stage, Willy Tybur tried to calm the large crowd down. "Now, now, everyone. Calm down. Before things get rash, why don't we all hear what this gentlemen have to say?" Willy Tybur insisted on letting Erwin speak before any riots in the audience break out.
A majority of people the audience trusted Willy Tybur and decided to calm down a bit and listen what Erwin had to say Not right away, though. And and a minority of the crowd-such as Gabi Braun and others kept booing, as their hatred for Eldians on Paradis was too blind, that they didn't want to listen to Willy Tybur.
"Thank you, Willy. For setting this up. I will be able to take it from here." Erwin told Willy Tybur, while grasping his hand.
"Very well." Willy Tybur had taken a few steps back.
Erwin then faced the large crowd, which was booing him. "As you all know, I am an Eldian that lived on Paradis Island. "
"How many of you Island Devils are here within Marley?" A random woman in the crowd screamed, while a minority of people kept booing.
Erwin did not respond to that question. "We Eldians from Paradis came here, tonight, not to cause harm or take any lives. We came here tonight, because we come in peace."
"If that's true, why don't you atone, right now, by surrendering and let us execute you from where you stand?" A Marleyan man with a mustache within the audience yelled. The crowd had gotten a bit louder as people agreed.
"Because, our lives are as just as important as yours." Erwin responded to a Marleyan man's question without looking at him.
Some people within the crowd start to calm down a bit.
"Everything that girl over said there was true." Erwin looked in the direction of Gabi Braun. "We Eldians could never atone for the horrendous crimes that our ancestors had taken for over the past two millennia."
Gabi gasped after hearing Erwin mention her.
"The only thing that we Eldians could do now is move forward and hope to ensure a better future Paradis. A better future for Marley. And a better future for the entire world." Erwin said.
"For many generations, Non-Eldian races had been taught that every single Eldian were nothing but heartless devils. Especially, the ones who are currently living on Paradis Island. But in truth, we Eldians of Paradis Island are the exact same as you all. We eat the same food. We shed the same colored blood as you all do. We Eldians have dreams, just like you all have dreams."
"Now, from what Willy Tybur had told you all about King Karl Fritz, his Vow of Pacifism and how the walls were formed are entirely true. But, there's one thing that he had no knowledge of about the one hundred and forty-fifth King... After settling down within Paradis a century ago, King Karl Fritz used the Power of the Founder to erase every Eldian's memory on the island." Erwin explained.
A few Marleyan politicians in black suits begun chatting to one another.
"Wait, Karl Fritz stole his own people's memories?"
"That doesn't make any sense at all..."
"Why in the world we he do that?"
"Because he wanted to create a paradise. A paradise, so that no one on the island could worry about the outside world." Erwin shouted.
The politicians gasped after Erwin answered their question.
"We Eldians had lived mostly peacefully on Paradis Island for the past hundred years." Erwin closed his eyes, momentarily. "But, that was until..." Erwin suddenly thought about the attack on Wall Maria, when Bertoldt Hoover breached Wall Maria and Titans swarmed in. "The Warrior Unit, sent by the Marleyean military... breached the walls and hundreds of thousands of innocent Eldian lives were lost, due to the Titan Scourge on the island, nine years ago."
Many people within the audience gasped as they had no knowledge of this happening.
"The Marleyan Military's objective was to reclaim the Founding Titan! So that they could use its power to control all Eldians." Erwin Smith started thinking about the Titan Shifters. "The Colossus Titan..." Erwin thought about when Bertolt had transformed in Shiganshina, taking Hange's squad.
Theo Magath paused.
"The Armored Titan..." Erwin thought about meeting the Armored Titan, while attempting to reclaim Shiganshina.
Reiner's mother paused.
"The Female Titan..." Erwin thought back when they attempted to capture Annie Leonhardt in a tall thick forest.
Annie's father paused.
"The Beast Titan..." Erwin thought about the time when he led a charge towards Zeke Yeager, leading to the death of his platoon and nearly his own.
Colt paused.
"And the Cart Titan all had a hand in this destruction." Erwin told the large audience.
Pieck's father paused.
"I currently do not harbor any sort of hatred or resentment towards Marley... as I understand that Marley did what it had to do in order to gain power. And I understand that the entire world wish for our demise..."
Levi grunted. 'Tch. How long is he gonna go on?'
"I do not wish harm or death upon my enemies. Nor, do I wish to die. Because like you all, I was born into this world!"
Eren's eyes froze after hearing Erwin's last sentence. Reiner was still tearfully groveling on the ground and Falco still leaned on the wall, listening to Erwin Smith's speech. Suddenly, a few light knocks were heard on the door, where all three Eren, Reiner and Falco could hear it.
Suddenly, the door which led to the basement had opened up, which caught their attention.
Falco gasped as he spotted people unknown to him.
Reiner sat up and gasped as he spotted his former Survey Corp. companions dressed in darker uniforms.
Eren looked towards the door and spotted dark silhouettes at the doorway. "You..."
Five Minutes Later
Levi and Lara Tybur continued looking from behind the stage curtains and listening to Erwin's speech. They noticed that Erwin was slowly convincing the large audience. Sudenly, a Survey Corp. member had approached Levi with a message.
"Captain Levi. We have news." The soldier approached Levi.
Levi temporarily looked at the soldier, who's dressed in Servey Corp. gear. "What is it?"
"I just received word that Squad Leader Hange had located and secured both Eren Yeager and the Armored Titan." The soldier informed Levi.
Levi's eyes widened a tiny bit, then turned towards the soldier. "Take me to him."
"Yessir." The soldier responded, then led Levi away from the stage, leaving Lara Tybur alone to continue listening to Erwin Smith's speech.
Meanwhile, while Erwin continued with his speech, many more people begin to clap for him. "In order for us all to coexist and ensure a brighter future... as humans... we all must dedicate our hearts and push forward to world peace and look past the cycle of hatred, now!" Erwin screamed as he placed one right fist on his heart and a left fist behind his back, soluting to the audience.
More and more of the audience begun to cheer for Erwin Smith as he protested about peace. Many cameras begun flashing in Erwin's face.
"I want you all to dedicate your hearts and fight with me against this cycle of hatred!" Erwin screamed again.
Many people of the crowd cheered, but not everyone cheered.
Willy Tybur walked towards the front of the stage next to Erwin, than raised his right arm in the air. "Ladies and gentlemen! Erwin Smith!"
A majority of the crowd begun chanting Erwin Smith's name, while some people in the large audience still felt that Eldians from Paradis were still untrustworthy. Such as Gabi Braun and more than a dozen Marleyans as they frowned.
Theo Magath sighed in relief. Deep down, he had assumed that the worst would happen. He thought that Eren Yeager would would come out and many people would die. He then thought about the conversation he had with Willy Tybur, earlier, within a horse carriage.
Five Minutes Later
Erwin Smith and Willy Tybur walked away from the stage towards the curtains, where they were first met by Willy's sister, Lara Tybur.
"You fulfilled your duty admirably, brother." Lara Tybur greeted Willy Tybur.
"Thank you. In all honesty, I was hoping to lure out the usurper as well." Willy Tybur whispered, then turned towards Erwin. "Erwin. I shall get the documents so we could finally sign the peace treaty."
"Very well, then. I look forward to signing those documents." Erwin nodded.
Afterwards, Willy and Lara Tybur walked elsewhere off the stage. As there were leaving Lara Tybur sneaks a small blush towards Erwin as she slightly turns her head.
Erwin replied with a mild smile to her, then was met by Levi Ackerman and a few Survey Corp. soldiers such as Hange Zoe, Mikasa Ackerman, Connie Springer, Jean Kierstein, Sasha Blouse and a three other soldiers dressed in dark gear.
"You put on a hell of a show out there." Levi told Erwin after watching the Tybur siblings leave.
"Yes. I couldn't say that I managed to convince everyone in the audience to dedicate their hearts towards the path of peace..."
"Don't worry. It'll take time. I'd say give them a year." Hange said, with a little optimism in her voice.
"Were you able to locate Eren Yeager?" Erwin asked.
"Yes. We managed to find him hiding within a basement behind the stage." Hange said as she turned her direction south. "And once we did, we used tranquilizer darts on him, so he wouldn't escape or transform." she stated as she held a tranquilizer gun in her left hand.
Mikasa sadly glances down at the ground.
"I see... were anyone else with him?"
"There were. We found two other people in the basement with him." Hange raised a single index finger. "One was a small blonde-haired boy named Falco Grice. By looking at the color his armband, we assumed that he was a warrior candidate. We let him go-but before we did, we made him promise never to tell anyone." Hange cracked a smile.
"And who else was with him?"
Hange frowned. "Reiner."
Erwin did not give Hange any facial expressions whatsoever.
"When we saw him, he looked really upset. We didn't know why he was upset, nor could we trust Reiner one bit. After everything he did in the past. So we quickly used tranquilizer darts on him, as well and put him to sleep."
"I understand." Erwin said as when he thought back of seeing the Armored Titan in Shiganshina.
"We're quickly loading Eren Yeager back onto the ship with us to Paradis before anything could happen." Hange said.
"And what of Reiner Braun?" Erwin asked.
"We're leaving him here with Marley." Hange answered.
"Good. If anyone noticed or realized that the Armored Titan was missing, they would quickly assume it was the actions of Paradis." Erwin stated.
"So, Commander? What's our next move?" Levi asked.
Erwin blinked. "After the treaty between nations have been signed, we pack up and head back to Paradis Island. Afterwards, we tell everyone the news. That Paradis will no longer be the world's enemy.
"Yessir!" the soldiers replied.
Meanwhile, Zeke Yeager hid himself behind a building and was spying on a blimp, which landed on a grassy field within Marley. It was what the Survey had used to arrive on Marley. On one side of the blimp had a large Survey Corp. insignia painted on it.
'So that's how they got here. I don't understand, how they were able to catch one of those?' Zeke thought as he referred to the Survey Corps. Something then caught Zeke's attention as he saw something or someone move, kilometers away. "Hm?" He checked his glasses, then looked as far as his eyes could see. Zeke's eyes zoomed in to see two people using a long utility dolly, escorting a person onto the transporting blimp. 'Who are they transpor-' he silently gasped as he realized that someone he knows was on the utility dolly.
Zeke saw his half-brother on the utility dolly, being restrained. He had a muzzle to cover up his entire mouth, a white straightjacket wrapped around his upper body and Eren seemed to be barely conscious.
Zeke was shocked and almost speechless as he watched Eren being transported. He then quickly got it together and thought of a plan. 'Don't worry, Eren. I'm coming to save you. Big brother has your back.'
Author's Note: Apologies for the late chapter. I had to think of a way for it to make sense. With Erwin Smith's brilliant mind, he managed to convince many people from different Nations that not all Eldians were bad. There were no casualties on that night. Which means, Eren never kills a number of people, he never eats the Warhammer Titan and Sasha never dies.
With Eren captured, what will Zeke do, next?
The next chapter will be about how Erwin Smith met Willy Tybur.