AN: In the two years I have written this story, I have never gotten quite the explosive reaction I received last week. Nearly all of you were commenting on Levi and Hanji's actions, how the Scouts need to compromise and soften themselves for Dillon and Annie's sakes. One problem: this is the Scout Regiment, not real-life military. They operate every single move out of desperation, and desperate people do dangerous things. That's why Eren, Levi, Mikasa, etc, are always on the front lines with little to no regard of their mental state, because they don't give a damn as long as the mission is completed. That's one of the many reasons the Stohess Operation was a tremendous flop. As for giving Annie the benefit the doubt? I sure as hell wouldn't, especially considering the recent betrayal of Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir. Annie getting grilled like this is the only way they can ensure that she wouldn't stab them in the back like Ymir did.

I think that covers it. Onto the story.


Chapter 44: Intervention of the Divine

He was standing in the middle of darkness. As far as the eye could see, not a single color outside of black welcomed. With every step he took, there was a splash like he walked onto a puddle. Looking down, he could see the faint ripples of water beneath him. Then, there was light streaming all around him like teardrops as if the sky itself was crying. He dared to reach his hand towards the light, yet it passed through his palm, briefly filling it with warmth.

"What is this place?" the young Psion asked, transfixed at the wonders before him.

"A place of rest for the weary souls, young one." The distinctly feminine voice had spoken once more, echoing all around him and inside his mind. He could not see the source, but he knew the voice could see him.

"Who are you?" Dillon demanded, his trepidation as clear as the water beneath him.

"I mean you no harm, Dillon Amsdale," the ethereal voice said in a voice that could soothe even the largest monsters. "I seek only to give you guidance in your world."

"Well, forgive me if I don't take your word for it," the teen replied, his caution up at full strength. "Too many betrayals ensured that."

Barely decipherable, melancholy pierced into the gentle tone. "You have been through so much."

The sky crackled with bright-colored energy, the Psion jumping in surprise of the unnatural event. Above, shapes began to take form, almost like waves merging into clouds. The colors helped morph the thick, disorganized shapes into images. Familiar images. Before him, a man with silver eyes choking the life out of a young boy. Across from that, a short, angry man with a look that spelled disaster for any unfortunate soul that dared to cross him. Nearby, a horrific Titan with its jaw open seemed to be coming for him, yet it was frozen in time. He would not get eaten twice. And in between, the image that completed it all. A blonde girl looking down at him in pity, but behind her, a gigantic monster with a petrifying grin awaited.

Goosebumps covered Dillon's skin as he averted his gaze from those horrors. "How am I seeing these things? How do you know all this?" A theory crossed his mind, gaining more and more traction until it was voiced. "Is this my mind?"

"Yes and no." There was a touch of mirth now, almost as if she had been waiting years to say that. "You are in your mind, but you are much deeper than ever before, a place you never knew existed."

A scowl distorted his face. "Do you have to be so cryptic, lady?"

"When people understand my words, is it still cryptic, or just common reasoning? And if it is the latter, then what does that make you?"

Dillon glared skywards, hoping that the voice could see his expression. "I'm not in the mood for games, whoever you are. Either give me answers or release me from this place."

"The answers you seek about my identity and this place pales in comparison to your desire to solve your plight within the military," she responded firmly.

The images shifted once more, forming the faces of three people.

"The mad scientist who would mutilate and torture live specimens if it meant furthering research and knowledge," the voice went on in a neutral tone. "The rage-filled captain who seeks to solve problems with the blade or his hands. And the commander who sends soldier after soldier to perish all for the greater good. Apt descriptions, are they not?"

"You took the words right out of mouth," Dillon replied with a nod.

"These three are your greatest adversaries in this world," she said as the images floated to Dillon's level, surrounding him. "Titans, Marleyans, you can kill them, but these three? Compared to you, they are invincible. They carry the weight of humanity on their shoulders. Every action made by them or against them can change everything that you know. Soldiers are powerless to resist their will. The Female Titan is no different, and you are no different."

Gritting his teeth in anger, he shoved passed the images, which dissipated when his hand touched them. "What is the point of all this?"

"You desperately want to fix this problem, don't you?"

Lightning shot across the sky with the roar of thunder booming from all around. Dillon recoiled, expecting a Titan to emerge from the ground, but no such danger attacked him. The sky changed again as a light blue stream of cloud began to circle above like a serpent, giving birth to a new brightness that filled the never-ending land around. Dillon couldn't help but close his eyes as energy began to fill within his body. This was but a taste that he was being offered, and he wanted more.

The voice continued as if this was just an everyday occurrence. "You doubt yourself as much as you breathe, but I have seen your power. It is but a fraction of what you could do if you just allow yourself to push past your insecurities, your vulnerabilities. Then, you can truly have what you desire: belonging."

Dillon was dumbstruck, eyes wide as the truth came to light from an unseen stranger.

"Why did you join the Scout Regiment, Dillon?" she finally asked, giving him the chance to speak.

"I… I wanted to help people," he stuttered, his ages-old dream returning to the forefront of his mind. "Sure, I was terrified of the Titans, but I really did want to save as many lives as I could with my powers."

"And these leaders are preventing you from achieving that dream, aren't they?"

His hand turned into a fist, his eyes flashing for the briefest of moments. "They don't understand. They don't realize what they're doing could destroy everything we've worked so hard to get to."

"Then make them understand," the voice suggested simply.

"I can't find the right words to say," Dillon protested. "No matter how hard I try, I can't pull it off."

"Don't use your words; use your mind, Dillon."

His eyes widened further as he staggered back. "What? You want me to-?"

"Think about it," she interrupted as the land seemed to get brighter with every passing second. "You risked your life time and time again for the noblest of dreams, yet here these people stand to stop you and the Female Titan with these backwards tactics and actions. You two have suffered so much, and they keep making you endure it with every, passing day, but you can alleviate it. The minds of these people are in the palm of your hands. All it takes is the resolve to do what must be done."

How many times did Levi throttle him with threats to kill him if he didn't fall in line? How often was Annie treated like the devil after everything she had done for these people? Why couldn't Hanji be sympathetic for once in her life instead of putting the blame on him? They didn't understand. They needed to understand."You… You're right," Dillon agreed, staring at his hands. "I could do it if I tried. I know how to dive into their minds. All it takes is planting seeds in the right places. The seeds take root and they grow into what I need the most."

"So, what are you waiting for?" the voice asked. "Go back and fix this."

A smile graced Dillon's face as his plan began to form. For once, he was in control.


The red haze that engulfed Levi simmered down to a dull roar as he sat at his desk, cracks formed from repeated assaults. His hand was stinging, but it didn't bleed, which was good enough for him. It felt good to give the damn Shifter exactly what she had coming. Who the hell did she think she was, comparing him to that monster? She betrayed the oaths she swore to uphold, and he never abandoned the loyalty he showed towards Erwin. They couldn't be further apart.

The door creaked open as the glasses-wearing nutjob of the Scouts came into view, closing the door behind her. She wasn't exploding with happiness that, if weaponized, could destroy half of the Titan army. The serious expression looked so wrong on her. "Levi, what were you thinking?" she demanded.

"If you came in here to wag your finger at me like some rabid animal, get out," Levi growled. "I don't need it from you."

"Who else are you going to listen to? Erwin? He's in a coma. Mike? He's busy overseeing the Scouts while we deal with the problems at hand." Hanji took her glasses off, rubbing her forehead. "Levi, I know you're upset-."

"You don't know jackshit," Levi snarled, glaring up at the woman. "You think you know what I'm feeling right now? You know nothing about me, Four-Eyes. I see reality for what it is, and you see a dreamworld only deluded pricks can see. Just get the hell out before I throw you out."

Hanji looked down at her captain, giving him a glare. "What are you trying to gain, Levi?"

The captain glared back, but he couldn't find the words to say.

"Let me be clearer: you throttled Dillon, you bashed Annie's skull open. What are you trying to gain?"

"What part of 'get out' do you not understand?" he shot back.

"Not until you answer the fucking question, Levi," Hanji responded, standing her ground. "If you can answer it, I'll leave."

The captain clenched his fists, playing around with the idea of kicking his desk into her. That'd be a sight to see. "You don't understand. You have no fucking clue."

"You feel powerless," she said without moving an inch. "That's what this whole thing is about. Annie, Dillon, the revelations, Elise, they've all affected you. You haven't felt like this since you lost Isabel and Farlan all those years ago."

"Don't you dare talk about them!" Levi commanded, eyes blazing with fury.

"No one has, Levi, not even you. You didn't move on from your regrets. You bottled them up, and now, they're fueling you into someone I can barely recognize. Elise reopened the wounds, and Annie set a fire to them."

He grinded his teeth together so hard, he believed they would shatter. "Damn you..."

"You're the captain of the Scouting Regiment. You're Humanity's Strongest Soldier. You're the one everyone looks up to for a man who can face the odds and win. But no one talks about what you really are: you're human. And humans are weak."

Levi slammed his fist into his desk so hard, he created a hole into it. Splinters pierced his hand, causing blood to slowly trickle down. He dared not look at her anymore. She couldn't see this. No one could.

"Levi… you're afraid, aren't you?" Hanji asked quietly. "You're afraid to sympathize with Annie."

He didn't want to answer her. Every fiber of his being commanded him not to, and yet, he couldn't prevent the soft, "Yes," from leaving his throat.

"You're angry that we have to work with her instead of making her pay."

"Yes."

"You're upset that we've all suffered so much, that everyone keeps taking from us until there's nothing left but the lifeless eyes of our comrades and friends."

Against all odds, against everything he tried so hard to be, a single tear drifted down Levi's face. "Yes."

"Then be that way, and move on," Hanji said. "No one has to see you like this, but we still need you, Levi. We need you to be Humanity's Strongest Soldier for everyone's sake. Out of all the people in these Walls, you are a beacon in these dark times. We need to be able to have faith in you."

Despite his better judgment telling him not to, another tear creased down the opposite side of his face. "I don't want this burden," he confessed, his voice remaining composed even when his face wouldn't.

"I know." Hanji took a seat next to him. She was willing to sit in silence with him if it meant he would get some form of release from all this madness.

"If you hug me, I will deck you," he threatened without sparing her a glance.

She chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it."


It was so simple. It only took one step.

So, why wasn't he doing anything?

"What's wrong?" the voice asked with concern, noticing his motionless form.

"I… I..." Dillon stared at the water, expecting to see his reflection. Instead, there was a blonde girl staring back with a small, but beautiful, smile. "It would have been meaningless," he said. "Every action I took with Annie, good and bad, if I distorted her mind into the way I wanted it to be, it would be nothing more than a lie. I would be loving what I want her to be, not who she is."

"But this isn't Annie you're doing it to," she pointed out. "It's just a simple matter of getting those three to back off."

"It's far more than that, and you know it," Dillon shot back, falling to his knees. "Years ago, I asked my Dad why he wouldn't use his powers on the people Mom was trying to get arrested to make them confess. After all, they were obviously guilty, so getting them to confess would be easy. But, he wouldn't because… to take away someone's free will is an unforgivable sin no matter what the reason is."

"Dillon, you are in the right, and they are in the wrong," the voice responded simply. "That's all that matters."

"No, it doesn't!" His shout caused the colors to recede back into the darkness, leaving him alone in the world he began in. "Everyone, no matter who they are or what they've done, has the will to make their own choices. Whether to help or to kill, whether to be honest or lie until the bitter end, to take the left road or the right, everyone has a choice. It's what we were born with. If I take that away, then I make that person nothing more than my mouthpiece. How arrogant do you have to be to presume your will is greater than that of anyone else? I can't do it. I… I just can't do it."

For a while, silence was the answer. All alone Dillon stood in this murky world of the unknown. The stars were gone, the beauty having vanished to the winds. Perhaps he had been abandoned, left to rot in this prison.

"Then my hope in you has not been unfounded."

A bright light exploded in front of Dillon's face, blinding him. He shielded his eyes so he wouldn't lose his sight permanently, but when he finally lowered his hand, he was greeted with an unexpected sight.

Hills of green surrounded him, the lush grass soft to the touch. Down below, a river flowed into a lake where a waterfall cascaded down upon the lands. The forest teeming with leaves and life. He could even hear birds sing their songs. He couldn't remember the last time he heard such noises. The sun bore down on him, filling him with the warmth he desperately needed, and the soft wind that blew around him balanced the temperature. This had to be what heaven was like.

A shimmering sound caught his attention, and to his left, a small, bright orb of light floated in front of him. Before he could even utter a word, the orb began to expand to great heights, shifting into some sort of humanoid figure as tall as a Titan. As the light faded, the distinctly female form came into focus. She stood at twenty meters tall, her long, wavy, blonde falling nearly to her hips. Unlike all the other Titans that he'd seen, she was covered fully in skin from head to toe, and she had the detailed physique of a woman, including definition on her breasts and genitals. Her violet eyes were filled with kindness and warmth, and she knelt to greet Dillon. "My name is Ymir Fritz. I have waited a long time to meet you."

Dillon, once again, found himself at a loss for words, his jaw falling open at the abnormal sight in front of him. His thoughts repeated the same thing over and over again: Don't stare. He tried to speak, but instead of actual words, sounds that seemed to want to be words came out of his throat.

Ymir let out a chuckle, a noise akin to that of wind chimes. "Over a thousand years, and yet some things about humanity never changes." Gently, she wrapped her hand around his body and carefully lifted him up to her face. She opened her palm so he could stand or sit. Whatever he felt comfortable with.

Finally, Dillon managed to form sentences that came out in blurts, his voice cracking. "Why are you a Titan, and why is your… stuff there?"

She looked so amused at his obvious discomfort. "Consider this an exercise for you to get used to talking with Titans, especially the Female Titan."

"Can't you get rid of those… things?" he pleaded, his face becoming redder by the second.

"No. If you want this to work, you will have to take me as I am. Otherwise, what chance do you have with the Female Titan?"

Dillon buried his face in his hands. "I'm in Hell. This has to be Hell."

Ymir prodded him with her finger as if to comfort him. "There, there. It's not the end of the world today. I do wish to help you, Dillon, if you will let me. I have been watching you for some time now."

Slowly, he lowered his hands, staring at her with surprise etched on his face. "How? How is that possible? How are you possible? You died thousands of years ago."

She took a seat on the grassy ground, the world rumbling slightly at that movement. "My body did die, but my soul lived on through the Nine Titans in nine pieces. Within the Coordinate, the largest fragment of me slumbered, ignorant of the changing world around me. It was only when the Attack Titan merged that I awakened. When I accessed the memories of the previous Coordinates, I was… devastated."

As she spoke, vivid images appeared in Dillon's mind matching her words as if they were happening in front of him. Gleeful Titans and Titan Shifters rampaged through the streets, killing and eating everyone that came their way. A king stood tall on a hill watching the massacre with a pleased look on his face.

Her tone became sorrowful as she bowed her head. "My people became conquerors. Slave-drivers. Murderers. Blood-hungry monsters that sought to dominate this world. This was not meant to happen. It shouldn't have happened." There was a faint trace of her voice breaking, and yet, she remained steady. "But it did, and there was nothing I could do. I hoped for another fragment to merge with my current host. Perhaps, I could speak to the bearer of the Coordinate, help him along his journey. And then, you showed up in a way I could not fathom."

Dillon drifted back to the moment in Trost where he and Armin entered Eren's mind. He remembered a voice. Her voice. "It was you. You were the one that said, 'Such power.'"

Ymir nodded, her smile returning. "It was incredible for a human without the powers of the Titans to be able to walk into minds with the ease you have. When I saw what you did for your friend, I needed to know who you were. Before you left, I implanted a part of myself into your mind, so I could watch, observe, and understand who you are."

The Psion staggered back, though her other hand kept him from falling off. "You've been spying on me this whole time? Why? I'm not the Coordinate."

"The current holder of the Coordinate is blinded by his own hatred toward Titans. Even if I could,attempting to speak to him in such a manner would benefit me nothing, and it could cause irreparable harm to his mind. But you? I saw great power and potential, further than you had even dreamed of. Recent events, however, needed my intervention sooner than I anticipated."

"You mean the fact that I'm a screwed-up wimp who can't handle reality," Dillon muttered to himself. "I already know that much."

"Then you know nothing at all." She surprised him with her sternness. "You have been through so much, Dillon. Your lover, your family, your friends, they all had a hand in it, but in this cruel and unjust world, you are viewed as too weak and a liability. If you cannot find an outlet for your emotions and find a way to cope with what life has thrown at you, you will keep traveling to those dark places and never come back."

The blacksmith looked away, shame creasing his face. "I don't know what to do. I've been betrayed, beaten, devoured, and pushed beyond my limitations. They want so much of me and I can barely give anything to them. I just want to rest. I need… I don't know what I need."

Ymir gave him a sympathetic look, lifting his chin. "I know what you're feeling. I couldn't do anything to stop the atrocities my people committed in my name as if I was their Goddess. I was a human that was given a gift. Nothing more. It aches my heart to no end, but eventually, it wastes time to dwell on those matters, especially now that there is something I can do. Dillon, your trauma will keep holding onto you for possibly the rest of your life, but in this place, I can teach you how to lessen the pain without shutting yourself away. Three issues to work through that are causing you this strife: the Female Titan and how she makes you feel, the commanders and how you have to deal with them, and your father.

He looked crestfallen at the fact he would have to face those demons once again.

She would not abandon him without hope. "If you can do that, then doors will open unlike any you have seen. Dillon, the potential you have… it could be limitless. All you have to do is open your eyes."

Ymir held him out towards the sky, allowing him to see the vast array of colors above. They crackled and shifted with pure energy. He could feel it even from where he stood. It was closer than he could have ever fathomed. He wanted this within him, to become stronger for the sake of his everything and everyone he cared about. This is what he truly needed.

"Go back to the real world, Dillon," Ymir urged softly. "You know what needs to be done. I'll be waiting for you."

The Psion turned back to the First Titan and smiled. "Thank you, Ymir."

She smiled back. "We've only just begun."

Suddenly, everything turned black as if someone blew out a candle. Dillon felt something pulling him away as he began to feel fatigued again. He was returning back to reality. When he opened his real eyes, he let out a loud gasp and coughed harshly.

Sure enough, Annie was there waiting for him and she immediately was standing over him with worry. "Dillon, what happened? Are you alright?"

His brown eyes met her beautiful, blue ones and he said, "Wait until you hear this."


AN: Well, that was a chapter. Special thanks to MickeyTaco for letting me walk through this chapter with her. Let me start off by addressing the elephant in the room: Ymir's appearance. I'm going off by what the Eldians and Marleyans depicted her as in regards to her Titan form. I know that her appearance alone is fanservice (I will not give explicit descriptions), but there is a reason for it.

Also, I want to assure you that I will not let this take over Annie's backstory moments. I will do my best to balance the two appropriately.

There are a lot of things I'm hoping for with this. I'm hoping none of you, save for a certain two people, saw the inclusion of Ymir Fritz coming. I'm hoping you all were satisfied with how this whole thing played out. I'm REALLY hoping this doesn't make Dillon a Gary Stu with the fact that Ymir has taken such an interest in him.

Last, but certainly not least, I'm hoping you all enjoyed this chapter, I look forward to your reviews, and I'll see you all in the next one.