Chapter 48
Reiner is now sitting alone on his bed, as he remembers everything that happened in the last four years. Deep down inside, he has been regretting a lot of his actions towards Paradis, he keeps trying to tell himself that they are devils, but are they really devils?"
"Vice Chief Braun." Magath comes into the room and says, "You are required for our meeting today."
Reiner stands up as he follows Magath to the room, but when he gets there, his eyes are shining with fear. Aya Neumann is sitting among them.
"What... but... how... I..." Reiner stutters with fear, and Magath says, "I'm sure you already know about her. This is Aya Neumann, and she has come to assist us in this war."
Aya says, "Don't worry Commander. Reiner and I are good friends, isn't that right?"
Reiner is scared when Aya gives her a stare, and he says, "Yes. We are... but why?"
"You probably have some questions, but we will answer that later." Magath says, "Now we'll continue our meeting."
After the meeting is over, Aya is now alone as she is going back to the Warrior unit to find Eren and the others, but she is stopped by Reiner.
"What are you doing here?" Reiner asks with a scared tone.
"What do you mean? Aren't you trying to kidnap me and bring me here in the first place? Zeke did the job and brought me here." Aya says.
"Is he here as well..." Reiner asks.
"He? If you're talking about Eren, then you should forget about that. As suicidal as he is, I doubt that he will risk his life to go over the ocean and find me here..." Aya says. "Though I can't believe we are working together again. Isn't that great, Reiner?"
"Well yeah..." Reiner is still skeptical, and Porco comes and says, "Hey, Reiner. You should treat Lady Neumann well, after all, Zeke has been having a hard time trying to have her abandon everything in Paradis and join us."
"Uh...right..." Reiner mutters. Aya says, "If you excuse me, Commander Magath wants me to continue training Gabi and the others. After all, I wonder who will become the next Armored Titan."
Reiner watches Aya leave, and Porco says, "Let's go back, we have a war to fight."
Back in the Warrior's room, they see Eren watching over a fallen Gabi. Gabi is struggling to get up and she says, "Damn it... fight me again! I'm not going to lose this time!"
"When are you going to give up?" Eren sighs. "You do realize that it is not even a fair fight, to begin with."
"If I can't win against you, how am I supposed to become the next Armored Titan? How am I supposed to bring glory to my family?" Gabi says.
"But Gabi, you've already fought him a lot of times, and you lose all the time." Falco says.
"Yeah, we all lost against him, and what if you wasted all your strength before the battle begins?" Udo asks.
"Fine..." Gabi mutters in defeat.
Seeing Aya watching, Eren bows at her and says, "Mistress."
"Grey, thank you for taking care of these kids for me." Aya says. "I hope they aren't giving you any trouble?"
"Not at all, Mistress." Eren says. "What about you? I'll punish if anyone dares hurt my mistress."
"Calm down, everything is going fine." Aya says with a slight frown.
"Ms. Neumann, are you okay?" Falco asks.
"No need to worry, it is just that... before I came here, I was in a labor." Aya says. "And I just left my two children to my husband and came here..."
Everyone gasps in surprise as they feel sorry for her. "Lady Neumann. That's why we have to end this war as quickly as possible, you're too kind..."
The children are trying to assure them, and Colt walks up to Eren and says, "Grey, can we talk?"
Eren nods as he follows Colt into a corner. Colt asks, "Grey, how long have you been Lady Neumann's guard?"
Eren says, "I have been her guard for 3 years. Why do you ask?"
Colt says, "It is just... Lady Neumann is from that devil island, right? Does that mean you're also from that island as well?"
Eren sighs, "You could say so."
"How was Lady Neumann treated in Paradis? You know... are they bad people who have been mistreating her?" Colt asks, "I'm sorry if I offend you, it's just..."
"It's fine, Colt. Before I become her bodyguard, she seemed to be suffering a lot. And that's why I was chosen to be her bodyguard so I could lessen her suffering from war and conflict." Eren says.
"That's good to know..." Colt says.
"Why do you want to know about Mistress Aya?" Eren asks.
"It is just... all those times we have heard about the Neumann family, but it is our first time seeing it in person..." Colt says.
"I see... all I can tell you is that make sure not to get on her bad side." Eren says as they all head back to Aya and the others.
Four months later, Eren and Aya are getting close to the other Eldian soldiers and they have been the motivation for everyone to win against the Mideast Forces. During the fight, Eren lost a leg during the battle, but he still wants to stay by Aya's side.
Gabi volunteers to throw the bomb by herself and destroy the armored train, and this is also the signal to have Zeke Jaeger use his Titan power to transform Eldians into Pure Titans, creating a powerful airstrike. The Armored Titan joins the battle, destroying the remaining anti-Titan artillery with the Jaw. With the fort secure, Zeke uses his Beast Titan's pitching to sink the naval fleet stationed nearby, however, artillery fire from the ships heavily damages the Armored Titan.
In the meeting, the general says, "Four years we wasted squabbling over a peninsula's sovereignty. And our two main battle Titans were nearly shredded by the enemy fleet. 'Human ingenuity surpasses and shatters Marley's Armor at last.' The press from other nations is commending the Mid-East Forces. Does this sound like a victory for Marley to you? And we also have Lady Neumann here, instead of getting her to the front lines, you just let her stay in the back. Do you know we could've ended the war sooner if she goes to the frontlines?
Magath says, "Lady Neumann might've been able to give us our victory sooner, but we still couldn't afford to lose her in a fight like this. I'm afraid the time has come. That is, humanity has eclipsed the Power of the Titans. While we've been relying heavily on Titans, the power of Neumanns, and colonial expansion, other nations have been developing weapons to counter us. As a result, our strategy has come back to bite us in the ass. However, if aircraft keep advancing at this rate, bombs will soon fall like rain. All while Titans, the devils of the earth, can do nothing but look up and watch."
Zeke suggests that they resume the Paradis Island Operation to recover the Founding Titan as a way to buy time for Marley to restructure and develop better weaponry. And with the help of the Founding Titan, the Neumann clan will be able to activate her real power considering it had been centuries since the two would work together.
After the meeting, Colt and Zeke are talking to each other until Magath comes and asks them a question.
"You can conquer Paradis in a year?" Magath asks.
"It's more like I have only one year left to try." Zeke says.
"These past three years, every scout ship we've sent to Paradis hasn't returned. Zeke, what do you think of that?" Magath asks.
"Considering 32 ships were sunk, and there are a number of 6 Titans in Paradis, including Eren Yeager." Zeke says, "Especially the power of the Sky, Ocean, and Weather gives them a huge advantage to create a big damage to our ships."
"If we attack the island, our ships will need support." Magath says.
"Yes. But it's more than their Titans that pose a threat." Zeke says.
"And you said that Aya Neumann used to work with those devils." Magath asks, "Are you sure she isn't being pushed any blame on?"
Zeke says, "She was brainwashed to believe their devilish thoughts and was brought up into their ideals so it will take time to show her the truth."
"That's a lot of time we don't have, make sure she knows the truth you hear?" Magath says.
Zeke nods and Magath leaves, and Colt says, "But I can tell Aya Neumann must have been worried about her children...they are what? 6 months old..."
"Indeed." Zeke says. "Well, let's leave."
Eren is now standing on top of a house as Aya approaches him. Aya says, "Eren...I'm sorry that you have to continue to suffer like this."
Eren is now having a bandage tied to his head and his leg is cut off. "It's fine... I couldn't show others that I can heal. Though I'm glad that we'll be able to get back to our kids."
"Yeah... I missed them even though it has been 4 months." Aya says.
As they walked downstairs, the children and Reiner noticed them. "It's Aya and Grey!"
They rush towards them and Falco asks, "Mr. Kruger, is your leg still fine?"
"Yeah... I'm getting used to it." Eren says. "No need to worry."
Gabi says, "We're finally getting home. What are you going to do after getting back to Marley?"
Aya says, "I want to see my children, they are living with Zeke's family."
During the time of the war, Gabi, Falco, Udo, and Zofia are excited to see the children that Aya has, and Aya also promised to have them see the children. As for Reiner, he has been staring at Eren, he knows that this man is Grey Kruger, and he seemed to be chosen as her bodyguard after their attack in Shiganshina. But he still thinks about what Eren said back in the past and he shivers.
"Maybe I should have gone with the future that was set in stone. 4 years later, I'll join the Marleyan Military just like how you joined the Training Corps, and then wait for the right moment to strike, killing the people who are already dear to you. You will suffer and die in the worst way possible."
"There is no way that Grey is Eren, right? If it's the case, Zeke would've recognized him already..." Reiner thinks.
That night, on the train ride back to Liberio, a drunken Colt and the surviving Eldian soldiers praise Gabi for her hand in destroying the armored train during the battle at Fort Slava. As Reiner and Falco watch the festivities unfold, Reiner notes that Gabi will likely inherit the Armored Titan from him. Falco, dejected, notes that this will mean that Gabi will live to be only twenty-seven years old, assuming that she is not killed by cannons first. He asks if Reiner is fine with that.
Reiner harshly reminds Falco that it is an honor to inherit one of the Nine Titans and what the consequences would be if his dissatisfaction is reported. Falco, terrified, quickly reaffirms his commitment to Marley, and his desire to inherit the Armored Titan over Gabi. Reiner, satisfied, asks Falco to work hard to inherit his Titan so that Gabi will not have to.
Aya and Eren are sitting with Zeke, Porco, Pieck, and the other Commanders from Marley, even though it is just a friendly conversation, but Eren, Aya, and Zeke know that they are trying to gather information.
Once they are back at Liberio, Eren, Aya, and Zeke are now back at Fritz's estate hidden in the woods, and they also inform them about what they've learned.
"Looks like you're getting close to the new Warrior Candidates." Zeke says to Eren and Aya.
"If anything, I want them to live." Aya says, "When they are talking about who to inherit the Armored Titan, it was really heartbreaking to know the Ymir Curse."
"It sure is." Peter says.
"But what about you? Why didn't you tell us that you are dating the Cart Titan?" Eren says to his big brother.
Zeke blushes a little and says, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on, no need to be shy." Eren teases a little. "If you really care about her, maybe you should try to convince her to join our side as well."
"It won't be that easy." Zeke sighs. "But she also desires to free the Eldians in Liberio and Marley, that's why she joins the Warrior Program and gets the Cart."
"I see... for the Eldia to success, I want you to convince her to join us." Dina says, then she shakes her head and says, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't do that to you anymore, Zeke..."
"It's fine, Mother. I don't blame you for what happened, it is also my fault as well." Zeke says.
And here is a new chapter, which concludes the end of Marley and the Mideast War. The next chapter will be the events before the declaration of war.