Chapter 31: The Broken Psion

(A few minutes earlier)

Annie stared at the mirror, her eyes red and puffy. It had been quite some time since she cried as long and hard as she did. Her mission, her father, all the people she slaughtered, Dillon, Marco, Eren, the list went on and on. None of it would ever end no matter what she did. And now, she succeeded in causing the one person she gave up everything for to walk away. Damn him. Damn all of this.

The idea of escaping this wretched place grew more and more tempting by the second. All she had to do was keep running. The Scouts would be too surprised formulate an attack plan in time. She just needed to reach Wall Rose, climb the Wall, and she'd be safe in Titan territory. An odd paradox, all things considered, but she'd rather deal with mindless beasts than the only people capable of taking her on. Maybe she could get back to her father in time, find a way to protect him before the Marleyans knew of her betrayal. She'd never stop running, but she would live. At least she'd be out of one of the many hells she was in.

Slowly, she pulled out the boot knives, staring at them. A gift given to a girl that never existed. He just wanted to make her happy that day, and he did. She was truly touched by his gesture and always kept them with her even if she didn't need the knives. She only wished she had her falcata with her, but it was in the custody of the Military Police. On second thought, it was probably for the best. Last thing she needed was more reminders of the boy.

Then, Annie gasped as she felt something powerful and primal pulsating through the mental link. For a brief moment, she thought Dillon was able to figure out her plans and was starting to make good on his threat from the trial. However, she quickly realized that this wasn't an attack. This was raw emotion erupting from him. She could feel so much rage and despair pulsating through the link, and none of it was dying down.

Whatever plans Annie had were immediately tossed aside as she kicked open the door. She ignored the guards, ignored how this looked in the eyes of the Scouts, ignored everything. She already failed Dillon too many times to count, and she would be damned if she did it to him again. Unfortunately, she crashed into someone, both bodies hitting the ground. A quick look made Annie discover that it was the insane scientist herself, Hanji.

"Annie, what the hell are you doing?" the Section Commander demanded, slipping on her glasses that were knocked askew from the impact.

Clambering to her feet, Annie knew that every second would make the difference between life and death, but the last thing she needed was the wrath of the Scout Regiment coming for her. So, she took one of those seconds to say, "Dillon's in trouble," before running straight for the window. She nimbly dodged a Scout's attempt to grab her as she jumped through the glass. Her skin was lacerated by the shards, but for good measure, she sliced her hand open with the blade in her ring.

The castle shook as Annie was engulfed in light. Pieces of flesh swarmed her faster than they ever had before and by the time she landed, the Female Titan was fully formed. It was truly a miracle that she didn't land on anyone, but she had no time to dwell on that. She could feel the emotions coming from inside the forest, so that's where she ran. The trees that got in her way turned into giant splinters, her ears picking up the sounds of screams. His screams. She moved faster, every step leaving behind a crater that couldn't even be classified as a footprint.

In the distance, she could see three figures engaged in a fight. She recognized two of them as Matthew and Dillon, the latter punching the former, but the third one she didn't recognize. She could tell it was a woman, but she was more concerned with the fact that Dillon was attacking his own father. From what little she knew of him, Matthew parenting skills were about as good as the toilets found in the seediest bars, but it was beyond her why his son would be attacking him like that. Dillon's head, then, whipped in her direction, and Annie skidded to a halt in shock.

The only way to classify his appearance was feral. His body was covered in dirt and blood, tears in his clothes revealing quite a few scabs. However, her attention was focused on his face. It was dripping with blood coming from his eyes, ears, and nose. His glowing, silver, bleeding eyes were locked onto hers, and they were filled with such raw hatred. Annie had only seen that look on Eren, but seeing it on Dillon, of all people, was horrifying. Not even during the Expedition was he like this. She wanted to say his name, yet her voice lost all ability to be sounded.

He started towards her with malicious intent, but Matthew caught him in a headlock. Despite Dillon's struggles, his father clung to him.

"Stop fighting," the man yelled.

Annie was taken aback when Dillon let loose a scream of agony. His own father was hurting him. Finally, she found her voice, and it was abundant in panic and fear. "Dillon!"

Dillon's body seized suddenly before hanging limply in his father's arms.

The Female Titan found herself unable to move, her eyes never leaving his body. She knew he wasn't dead, but he looked so lifeless.

"You overdid it, Matt," the mystery woman said with a sigh.

"I know, Elise," he replied, shaken up by what just happened. "We… we can find a way to fix this."

Elise. The Psion that had been pretending to be Kyler and kidnapped Dillon's mother. What was she doing here, and why wasn't Matthew pummeling her into the ground while demanding to know where his wife was? None of this was making sense to Annie. And then, an unsettling thought crossed her mind. Carolyn was nowhere to be seen, and Matthew was treating Elise as a friend and not an enemy. Those unbridled emotions that Dillon felt could've only happened if something terrible was going on. Finally, the conclusion hit her like a sack of bricks: Matthew betrayed Dillon. Matthew betrayed his son. Matthew hurt his son. Matthew hurt Her Boy.

That primal rage Dillon experienced was now seeking to consume her. His father was supposed to be better than this. He was supposed to care about Dillon, yet here he was, causing him pain. Hadn't he been through enough already? Was this whole week a contest to see who could make Dillon's life worse? Her low, dangerous growl was enough to catch their attention.

"He went ballistic, Leonhart," Elise explained. "We had to do something."

Very few people could cause Annie's anger to rise with every word, and Elise made that list.

Said Psion caught on quickly if her taking a step back was anything to go by. "Aw, shit."

The Female Titan slammed her foot down hard, causing a shockwave that toppled the Psions, including the unconscious Dillon. With Matthew unable to keep hold of him, snatching his body away was easy. Immediately, she rounded on Jean, who was just starting to get back up, and handed his body to him.

Jean was quite confused by this whole thing. "What the… Annie?" Clearly, the fall rattled a few things in his head.

Annie didn't have time for this and shoved Dillon's body into him and gestured for him to leave with a frustrated grunt.

Taking the hint, Jean hoisted Dillon onto his back and made a dash towards Headquarters.

The second that Dillon was out of harm's way, the Female Titan shot her fist towards the Psions. These people were made to replace the Titans. Annie would show them the futility of such a goal once she grinded them into mush.


Elise knew from the start that this was a bad idea. Walking into enemy territory was one thing. People did it all the time if they were shooting for a diplomatic approach or preparing to strike a critical blow. Running into Matthew's son on the way there was bad luck. Things happened that no one could predict. Telling Dillon that Matthew wasn't going to be rescuing his mother was utter stupidity, though she didn't expect his power to be that intensified. Combining that with the Female Titan currently trying to kill them, things were going to hell very fast.

So, yeah. She blamed Matthew for every single second of this.

The two had fought Titans before on their way to the Walls. Simple matter of making them lose focus so they would topple over like a bunch of drunkards. Fighting a Titan Shifter was going to be much more difficult than that, especially considering this was Annie Leonhart they were dealing with. Fast and deadly, a combination that spelled disaster for anyone going up against her.

They managed to split off, the massive fist creating a hole in the ground. The Female Titan's eyes zeroed in on Matthew and charged towards him. The Psion, however, used the Shifter's speed to his advantage. He used his powers to pull her forward, the momentum making Annie lose control as she crashed into several trees.

"We need to get out of here," Matthew said, looking around for the horse he rode here.

"Not until we disable big and blonde over there," Elise responded, tossing Matthew his sword. "Think of this as our audition for the Scout Regiment."

He would've snarked at that statement if he didn't see Annie slowly rising to her feet. "It's been a while since I fought a Titan," he muttered, focusing on the fight at hand.

Elise chuckled, an unsettling grin crossing her features briefly, as she levitated a couple of blades from the unconscious Scouts. "Who knows? This could be fun after all."

Instead of charging them again, Annie grabbed a couple of trees and lobbed them at her opponents. It forced the Psions to dive forward to escape the projectiles, but it put them right in the path of the Female Titan. Elise rolled out of the way just as her foot came down, launching her blades in the process. One created a shallow cut in the Achilles Heel and the other impaled her eye. Annie yanked the blade out of her eye and performed a sweep kick. The attack kicked up the ground which sent Elise tumbling across the ground. Matthew took a few steps back as he was the next target. Before Annie could do anything to him, he tossed the sword at her, making it spin inhumanly fast. She expected her eyes to be the target, but what she didn't count on was the sword slicing her throat open. On instinct, she covered the wound just as one of the fallen trees crashed into the side of her head courtesy of Elise.

All of this served to piss the Female Titan off, her angry snarl the dead giveaway. She tossed the blood from her slit throat at Matthew, blinding him. She reared her foot back and like a pendulum, it came back hard. Unfortunately, Elise just had to psychically push Matthew out of the way. Having enough, Annie threw a fast punch at the Psion only for the fist to barely stop in front of her opponent thanks to her powers. Annie would not be deterred as she pushed harder against this invisible force, making Elise's knees buckle under the strain. The Psion's eyes were wide with fear as the fist drew closer to her. One hit was all Annie needed to kill her, and if her own bloody nose was any indication, she'd succeed any moment.

Then, Annie roared in pain as blood poured from her face. It seemed that Matthew was launching mental attacks on her.

"Get the nape!" Elise ordered with gritted teeth.

Annie didn't need to be a Psion to know where they would target next, so she covered her nape with her hand. Unfortunately for her, Matthew's attacks disrupted her focus greatly, preventing her from crystalizing her hand. A sword slash severed her fingers completely, leaving her nape wide open, though the sword finally broke from the constant usage. All Matthew had to do was get a few extra blades and cut her open.

Suddenly, the temperature in the area started to increase exponentially. The source was obvious, but Elise was shocked that it was even occurring. The steam that emanated from the Female Titan's wounds was getting thicker and the body itself was starting to decompose. Large droplets of sweat poured down Elise's face, which had begun to dangerously heat up. The grass beneath started turning brown and black, catching aflame. Any second now, Elise would pass out from heatstroke before being burned alive. And here she thought the Colossal Titan was the only one capable of this.

She felt herself getting pulled away telekinetically, removing whatever separated her from Annie. The massive body hit the ground hard, created a geyser of steam that covered the area. Unintentionally, it created the perfect cloud cover for them to escape.

"Come on," Matthew urged, guiding her back to the horse.

Elise would've said something smart-aleck at a time like this, but she lacked the cognition to do so. She barely remembered being lifted onto the horse before fading into unconsciousness.


When Erwin stepped outside, the fresh, crisp air that he breathed was replaced with smoke, fire, and blood. A large plume of smoke was coming out of the forest, the wind driving it to Headquarters. There was no time to lose. "Eld, take a squad and put out any fires before the whole forest goes aflame."

"Yes, sir," Eld responded, ushering five Scouts to come with him.

"The rest of you with me." Erwin pulled out a blade. "The enemy could still be here."

No one was quite sure what enemy they would be facing. It could be Annie, it could be Elise, it could be anyone. However, according to Hanji, whatever Annie had done was in an effort to save Dillon, provided the Shifter was telling the truth. At this point, Erwin wasn't quite ready to give her complete trust.

As they ventured into the fog, a lone figure started to limp towards them. A human-sized figure, to be precise.

"Identify yourself," Erwin ordered, the Scouts around him ready to attack if need be.

There was a gurgling sound coming from the person, almost as choking on their own fluids, before a voice managed to rasp out, "Ann…ie…"

As the plume of steam began to dissipate, Annie's appearance became clear enough for several of the Scouts to recoil in horror. Her skin was charred off, leaving behind a skinless and black form that had steam pouring out of it. Her hair and clothes were singed, and she was even missing her boots. Her face took the brunt of it, gaps in her face revealing a permanent smile, and yet her eyes were still blue and piercing. It was as if the Female Titan managed to shrink to a human-sized, but it was far worse.

Despite this, Erwin remained impassive despite the Scouts gagging from the smell emanating from her. "What happened here?"

"Give me… a second." Annie stumbled and fell to her hands and knees, eliciting a pained scream from her along with many expletives that made half the Scouts blush. Gritting her teeth, she managed to stand, though more screams busted out of her throat.

Feeling an ounce of compassion for her, Gunther and Petra went to her aide.

"Don't touch me," Annie demanded quickly. "Nothing… you can do."

"Leonhart, what happened here?" Erwin asked once more, fixing her with a stern gaze.

"Elise was here," she answered, her flickering with hatred. "Matthew… switched sides. Hurt his son. I tried to kill them." Her eyes scanned the area, trying to see if she could find the bodies of her opponents. "Did you… find them?"

"We haven't cased the area yet," Erwin responded. "Get yourself to the infirmary. Petra, Gunther, make sure she gets there."

"Yes, sir," the two members of Levi Squad said.

As Erwin led the Scouts into the foggy mess, Gunther finally asked, "How the hell are you still alive?"

Annie let out a harsh chuckle that turned into coughs. "Too… stubborn to die."

"You never mentioned you could do this," Petra said, her tone slightly accusatory.

For once, Annie was glad they were asking these questions. Gave her something to distract her while her body was being put back together. "Look at me, Petra. Do you think… it's worth bragging about? Colossal Titan's the only one who can do it naturally. Anyone else gets turned into tenderized meat." Some color was beginning to form as her skin started to return.

"Annie!" a voice shouted nearby. "We have a—holy shit!"

The Shifter looked left, her unsettling grin making a comeback. "See something you like, Jean?"

Jean was sure he would be adding that to the nightmares he already had about her, but he shook off that thought. "It's Dillon. Something's wrong."

The grin instantly vanished. "Take me to him," Annie said as clearly as she could.

Petra shook her head in disbelief. "Annie, you're in no condition to—"

"I can persevere."

Seeing as how they weren't gonna win this argument, Petra and Gunther simply followed the limping Shifter as they were taken to Dillon.

"I tried getting him to the infirmary, but he started going nuts," Jean explained. "It's like he's being possessed."

Before Annie could ask for clarification, they came upon a clearing where Dillon's body laid, the Shiganshina Trio already there. He was twitching, almost as if he was having a seizure. His face was bleeding and his expression was twisted with agony. Mikasa was trying to reach him, but every time she got close, she was blasted onto her back.

"I don't think that's gonna work, Mikasa," Armin said, helping her up.

"We can't sit here and do nothing," she spat back before her gray eyes landed on Annie. "You. You did this."

"His bastard of a father did this," Annie snarled back.

"It's true, Mikasa," Jean confirmed before Mikasa could protest. "I was there."

"There's gotta be something we can do," Eren said, his feeling of helplessness felt by everyone.

Annie decided to take a stab at reaching her boyfriend, but she got as far as Mikasa before she flew back, landing harshly on her back.

"Annie," Armin exclaimed, rushing to her side.

Annie let out a strangled cry halfway between a groan and scream as she sat up. She gave Armin the murderous glare she became infamous for, causing him to back away. Her eyes had been the first thing she healed and now they gazed upon Dillon's spasming and bloodied body. She shook her head back and forth. The motion hurt so much she screamed again and started to punch the ground. She wanted to release the anger and felt so powerless to do so.

The others, wisely, kept their distance from the enraged Shifter while they tried to figure this whole thing out.

"If he keeps bleeding like that, whatever mental damage he has could get worse," Gunther said gravely. "Hell, he could even die."

"Don't say that," Mikasa demanded, glaring at him. "He's not going to die."

"You don't know that, Mikasa," he replied. "None of us are experts on this."

"If we were Psions, we could fix whatever's going on in his head," Armin pointed out. "When Eren knocked himself out in Trost—"

Said Shifter looked away in embarrassment.

"Dillon used his powers to get us both inside his head so we could revive him."

"If anyone is hiding secret mental abilities, now's the time to come clean," Jean said.

"This isn't a time for jokes, Jean," Petra rebuked.

"You think I'm joking?" he asked back, the desperation he'd been hiding revealing itself. "My best friend is dying, and I can't do a damn thing about it."

"Maybe I can," Annie interrupted, getting their attention. "Armin, all someone has to do is get inside his head?"

"In theory," the blonde boy answered. "I don't have a lot of experience in this field."

"Neither have I, but it's the only shot we have." She took a deep breath and let it out. "The mental link between myself and Dillon should be enough for me to get there."

"You don't know that will work," Eren protested.

"No, I don't, but I'd rather try it than stand around looking useless," Annie spat. "Armin, how'd you get Eren to wake up?"

"Well, we had to find Eren in the center of his mind," Armin explained quickly. "It'll probably be a location that has a lot of meaning to Dillon, but you'll be dealing with whatever mental defenses he conjures up. If they kill you, there's no telling what could happen."

"Then I won't let them kill me," Annie said, determined. "Keep your distance just in case." She didn't even wait for them do so as she got to work.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the link itself. This was all new to her, so it would take some trial and error. After telling herself a few times to go inside his mind and nothing coming from that angle, she had to think a little outside the box. She decided to treat the link as some sort of bridge she had to walk across in order to reach her destination. At first, nothing happened, but then she felt this weird sensation, almost as if she was beginning to be pulled into something. She concentrated as hard as she could on that feeling, making it intensify in the process.

Then, everything went dark.


Annie was blinded for a while, and once she was able to open her eyes, she wished she still was. The entire mindscape was fragmented, parts of the ground floating in the air and the sky itself looking cracked to hell. Her jaw dropped as she looked around, awestruck by the tornadoes and lightning that tore up the landscape, memories like floating rivers flowing by them. She saw flashes: their first time, the dinner with his family, and so much more.

So, this was how Psions perceived the mind. Being on the receiving end of an intrusion was one thing; this was another. Annie tore her eyes away from the strange sights around her, reminding herself she was on a mission, but she had no idea where to start. What were the rules of this reality? Could Matthew have done more than just damaged his mind? She reminded herself to find Dillon's center, something that was probably linked to her. That thought seemed egocentric, but given who she was dealing with, it was a good possibility. After that, she'd have to wing it.

As she walked around, Annie found herself clutching her head as a memory hit her. There was a little boy screaming in pain as blood flowed from his ears and nose, and then it vanished as quickly as it came. It was easy to guess that it was Dillon, and the voices she heard next confirmed it.

"Papa, I don't want this." It sounded like the boy was crying.

"I know you don't." She recognized that voice as Matthew's, stiffening on instinct. "But I promise you that I will help you through it."

"Can't you make it go away?"

"I can't. I'm sorry."

Annie let out a saddened sigh. "You didn't want something that hurt you," she said quietly. She doubted Dillon could hear her, though.

Seeing through the many memories that were passing by, she spotted a city in the distance. It was the only landmark she could see amidst all the madness around her. Hoping that it wouldn't be a waste of time, she started running for the city.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, causing her to stumble. Her eyes darted around, looking for the source, when a five-foot tall snake busted out of the ground, hissing with its fangs bared. Annie barely jumped out the way as it snapped at her, grazing her heels. Of course, she just had to jump right in the path another one that bit her arm, latching on tightly. Annie cried out in pain as the other snake wrapped its body around her, constricting her. With no weapons on hand, Annie went to the only thing she knew as she bit her lip hard enough for the coppery taste of blood to fill her mouth. The two snakes were incinerated by the explosion as the Female Titan got to her feet. In retrospect, she should've done this first. She started running again, closing in on the city much faster than before.

The second wave of mental defenses came in the form of Crystal Titans that were about her current height. Clearly, Dillon was inspired by his journey into her mind. She ignored them, focused completely on the city. One tried to get in her way, but when the Female Titan rammed into it, the whole thing shattered into pieces. Dillon was adapting, but not fast enough to keep up with her. She could only hope that she wasn't hurting him with every mental defense she took down. Once she got inside the city, the defenses disappeared almost immediately. She hoped that meant she was very close to the center.

As she walked through the city to find whatever she was looking for, she couldn't help but feel like she had been here before. At first, she couldn't place it until she saw the destroyed chapel with the bodies of the Wall Worshippers crushed under debris. Her eyes widened, realizing that this place was Stohess. It was just as she remembered it; bodies strewn everywhere from the battle, buildings either on fire or crumbling, and, of course, the distant sounds of screams. Seeing this in front of her now that she wasn't fighting caused the guilt to return with a vengeance.

That feeling was short-lived when a black, shadowy arm wrapped around her throat tightly.

"Leave," whatever the thing was snarled.

Annie's response was to harden the back of her skull and headbutt the creature, forcing it to remove its grip. She turned around, eyes narrowing to see that it was the Female Titan, though a much more feral version of it. The thing had claws and sharper teeth, looking more animal than human. So, this was how Dillon truly saw her.

The Phantom Titan, as she chose to dub, charged with inhuman speed, tackling her to the ground. Annie punched it off her, rolling to her feet as it charged again. This time, she grabbed the creature and tossed it through a building. However, the thing dissipated before reappearing too quickly for Annie to react. Its foot smashed into her skull, sending her to the ground in a heap. She wiped the blood off her face and took her stance, hands raised. The Phantom Titan responded by taking its own stance; Dillon's stance. The two collided, throwing punches and kicks in a desperate effort to somehow come on top. She could feel such negative emotions pulsating off the creature, too strong to identify at the moment. The world they were in shook violently and the creature seemed to get bigger as a result. A punch to Annie's gut sent her flying and coughing up blood upon landing.

"I said get out!" it ordered.

How the hell do I beat this thing? She asked herself as she struggled to stand. However, when she looked at it, she realized that the Phantom Titan was shifting to something else, something just as familiar. Then, it dawned on her that the voice it was speaking with, the stance that it took, the District they will battling in, it all pointed to one conclusion. This wasn't a simple mental defense; it was Dillon himself trying to keep her out!

She could feel it so clearly now. The terror that coursed through his veins when she drew near. Even after everything, he was still afraid of her, believed her to be a monster that was coming to torture him, to kill him. She was suddenly there, watching the Female Titan spin that man to death with that horrible smile, watching her crush another as though he were an insect. She imagined her hands around her. Capturing her. Trapping her. She was more scared of the Female Titan than anything else there was. Elise, Matthew, the other Titans, the Armored Titan, even the Colossal Titan could never hope to compare. She needed to reach him more than ever, but she was so afraid. Her arms were shaking even inside of her own Titan. Her mind was clouding with Dillon's fear, now her fear.

Then, a sliver of a notion cut through the fear. If she could feel what Dillon felt, there was a connection. Maybe she could tap into that, connect to him somehow. The thought wasn't appealing though. Making that connection meant diving straight into the fear that was eating away at him, connecting to whatever was left of his shattered consciousness, the baser, primal things in a person's mind that were at the core. But she had to try. She would try.

The Titan and the girl inside and closed their eyes together. When she touched the emotions themselves, she attempted to connect to it as she did with the link Dillon left in her mind. "Dillon, are you there?"

She felt him. Then, she was somewhere else.

Her muscles went through the memory with ease. She was spinning something in her hand. The thing, whatever it was, was screaming. She felt powerful, in control for one of the few times in her life. The thing stopped screaming abruptly right before she slammed it right into a horse, catapulting the rider into the ground. The Female Titan, Annie, rounded on the rider. A boy. It was Dillon, his head bloody from the impact, looking terrified as ever. She remembered how this played out, how he carved into her mind in a fit of unbridled fury.

"Dillon," she said instinctively, then stopped. She was in her Titan. She shouldn't be speaking, but she was. Side effect of the mind, probably. She found herself reaching out to him.

"Get away from me!" he shouted, slashing off her fingers again while scrambling back. Just like last time.

Annie looked at the mangled hand. It wasn't the pain that struck her but rather his terror and revulsion. She could feel it as though it were her own. It was so powerful it physically hurt. The Female Titan fell to her knees, clutching her chest with said hand.

"Why?" he raged. "Why did it have to be you?" The voice did not match his lips, and it seemed to come from everywhere around her. The memory flickered, going from the village memory to the Phantom Titan and back. His deepest thoughts were finally pouring out after all this time. So much he had hidden from her, but now he was letting it out.

She wanted to explain, to offer some excuse, anything to get this to stop.

Then they were in another moment. To her horror, it was one from her own memories. How was he doing this? She stood beside Bertholdt and Reiner as they argued with each other viciously. They were younger then. Dillon couldn't be allowed to see this. Annie desperately tried to move the scene on, but she couldn't. He was in control.

"You want us to waste what time we have left playing soldier?" Annie shouted at Reiner. "Are you crazy? I just want to go home. Let's just destroy the other two walls and be done with it. We'll find the Coordinate and we can go."

"This is the better option." Reiner crossed his arms. "We get into the military, get the access we need. Then we can find the Coordinate."

"You're not Marcel. You're not in charge. I don't know why you act like you are."

"Annie." Bertholdt reached out for her.

"Don't." Annie stepped away from him, shaking her head. "We can find the Coordinate quicker if we just destroy the gates!"

"No,"Annie whispered. "I was wrong. I was wrong to say that. I was just afraid and tired. Everywhere I looked I was surrounded by the carnage I started."

"It's always been about you." The flickering continued as Dillon's voice echoed. She was unable to escape his rage. "It only mattered what you wanted, even during training where you played soldier. Do you have any idea how much I wanted to make you happy, give you a reason to smile in this life?"

Scenes flashed to him giving her those knives, spending time with her as much as he could without being creepy, confessing how much he liked her. All wonderful memories pouring salt in the wounds.

"And you threw it all away because you were homesick!" Right back to the Expedition as she stained her hands and feet with the blood of soldiers. She could feel every crunch, hear every scream. "Was it worth it, Annie? Was it?"

"Dillon, please," Annie begged. It was becoming too much to bear.

There was another scream as her perspective changed once more. Her legs were gone, blood spurting out from the sockets. Massive fingers were constricting her body, her bones creaking and on the verge of breaking. A sobbing, pleading voice was being made. "Please! Please stop. I'll do anything. Just stop!" She looked forward to see the horrible face of the Female Titan lean in and rip off her arm with her teeth, grinning as she did so.

Annie was horrified, her body shaking. "No, no! I could never do that. Dillon, I couldn't…."

The nightmare ended as the images changed once more.She was fighting Eren in the Stohess District, smashing through buildings and killing innocent civilians as they went. It wasn't supposed to happen this way, but it did. So many dead because of her.She watched the struggle unfold. Then, of course, came Dillon's arrival. There was her shock and fury. Then, she had seized. He was helpless and in her hand. She could crush him like so many others. She'd destroyed everything else to go home, so why not?

"Stop," Annie yelled, tears running down her face. "Please."

"I wanted you to stop!" he shouted as her sins continued to play out in front of her. "Jensen wanted you to stop, but you didn't. You just won't stop. They'll never go away because of you. You betrayed me, you killed so many people, you left me to die in that village, and you have the audacity to feel betrayed by my actions?"

The scene shifted again to a motionless Dillon lying on the ground in that village. Her guilt dug deep into her soul as she saw it from a different perspective. He was surrounded by the bodies of his friends. The people Dillon was excited to introduce her to. The people she mercilessly killed.

"You had the chance to end it all that day, Annie. Why couldn't you just kill me instead of forcing me to live through this hell!?"

"I couldn't," Annie sobbed, his grief quite literally her own in this moment. She could feel everything. It was too much to take. She curled up on the ground, crying. "I couldn't, I couldn't, I couldn't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

The images finally shattered, returning her back to where she was, still in Titan form. Then it was on her; the Phantom Titan—no, Dillon-had her pinned to the ground.

"You deserve this," he hissed. It was so strong now, and she was still tethered by Dillon's terror and hatred.

"Dillon, please," she thought desperately. She reached out for any part of him she could. "I know you hate me. I know you fear me more than anything, but please, if there is anything in you that feels something for me, help me! Dillon, I'm begging you. You said you wanted me to smile. I have to live to do that. Dillon, please, help me!"

Dillon stared down at her, watching the terrible Female Titan breaking down, begging for mercy. It was something he had never seen before. He finally broke her down after all this time, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. He couldn't understand why this was happening. Mikasa's words echoed in his mind, demanding to know why he stood by her side after everything, the confusion from Jean, and being ostracized by his comrades for his decision.

Then, a memory pierced through it all. A warm, gentle kiss that ended a day of violence and death. A moment where the fighting come to a stop once and for all. The action that changed everything. All the terrible things that Annie did failed to change one thing despite the anger, hatred, and fear: he still loved her.

The Phantom Titan finally released its grip on Annie's throat and it began to fade away, revealing the host inside the chest. Wounds from many battles covered his naked body as he fell to his hands and knees, panting heavily. His face was covered in blood like he was in the real world, but he was still alive.

Gasping for breath, Annie mentally reached out to him, that part of him still willing to connect to her. "Dillon, reach out to me. I'm here. I'm not going to hurt you. You have no reason to believe me when I say it, but I promise, I won't." She slowly began to stand. She thought about divesting her Titan form, throwing it away, but that wouldn't change anything. She was not a separate being from the Female Titan anymore. It was her that he was afraid of. She slowly walked towards him. So far, no pushback. However, she could feel the mixture of emotions pulsating through him. Fear. Shame. Anger. Sadness.

"Dillon," she said, still able to speak in this Titan form due to the nature of the mind. "I'm going to keep you safe." She eased her fingers towards him. "These hands… they will never be used to hurt you again." She kept a firm mental hold on the part of his mind drawn to her, the part that couldn't stop being hers.Then she touched him.

He flinched, moving back for a second, but he stopped. He stared at the hand and slowly looked up until he reached her face. He saw her brokenness, her shame, and the fact she was on the verge of her own breakdown. Finding the courage he had when he stood up to her in Stohess, he reached his hand out and touched her fingers.

"I'm sorry, Annie," he whispered brokenly. "I'm… so sorry." That did it.

Warm fingers enveloped him gently as Annie picked up like he was the most fragile thing in the world. She brought him to her collarbone, pressing him there. Tears fell down her face as she said, "Rest, Dillon. Just rest."

Annie didn't know how to describe what she felt. It was like things were beginning to balance out a little more, like a cloud slowly being pierced by a ray of sunlight. She refused to let Dillon go now or ever again. While they were bent, they were never broken.


Remastered Edits: …Yeah… I've got a lot of explaining to do.

Let's start with the simple one. The fight between Annie and Elise in the original was terrible. Back then, I thought it was a good idea to show how powerful Elise was against a Titan Shifter, but I made her overpowered on top of everything else I did with her. Here, it's a two-on-one scenario. It would stand to reason they would have a better chance at working together, and Annie, never dealing with such a foe before (Dillon attacking her during the Expedition doesn't count) forced her to improvise a victory.

But let's talk about one of the biggest changes I made in this arc: the mindscape sequence. Back in the original, I had Dillon be fixated on the guilt he had on what happened in Stohess to an unreasonable point. I completely missed the opportunity that needed to be explored here. Props, yet again, to my co-writer for helping me construct this scene. To us, this is far more powerful and emotionally gripping than the original, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

As usual, I look forward to your reviews, and I'll see you all in the next one.