Chapter 51: Stabilization

As per usual with catastrophes involving her boyfriend, nothing got in Annie's way as she stalked down the halls towards the infirmary. All she had to do was relay that he was in trouble to Levi Squad, and they wisely let her go. The last time she felt a surge of anger like that, his stupid father made the bright idea of betraying him. Either Carolyn magically appeared and said something to set him off, or this was something else. She really hoped it was the former. It would finally give her the chance to have a "chat" with the ex-scientist. Oh, the things she could do to her provided Dillon wasn't watching.

Once she saw a doctor exit the infirmary, Annie approached him. "Doctor, what happened to him?"

The man sighed, shaking his head. "He attacked a comrade of his and threatened to kill her."

"Her? Who?" she pressed.

The doctor knew who the girl was, and he knew leaving her in the dark would be unwise. "Her name is Historia Reiss."

Annie was taken aback. "Historia? Why would-?"

"Miss, I don't have time to answer your persistent queries," he interrupted. "If you wish to talk it out with him, do so. It should help. I need to speak to Captain Levi immediately." Without another word, he went to go find him.

She scoffed before slowly opening the door.

The first thing she noticed was that Keiji and Nifa were flanking both sides of the bed. The two were tense as if Dillon was about to explode into a ball of fire. Said blacksmith was sitting on the bed with his hands together and his head facing the floor. Glass littered the floor from a broken window with the wind whistling into the room. Next to the window was a sizable crack in the wall.

"Had a feeling you'd show up," Keiji said. "Nifa and I had to subdue him before things got worse."

Annie didn't speak to him as she slowly sat next to her boyfriend. She could feel the shame emanating from him. All she asked was one word: "Why?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Dillon responded with a hoarse voice. "It was… it was stupid."

"If it was stupid, I wouldn't be here," she told him, taking his hand into hers. "What happened?"

He couldn't bring himself to say it, so he relayed her the memory of what happened. From the deal he made with Ymir, to him attacking Historia. She saw it all.

Annie's eyes narrowed dangerously when he was through. "That dumb bitch doesn't know a damn thing."

"I still hurt her," Dillon said softly. "I'm supposed to better than this. Not like my..."

"You're not your father. Don't go there," Annie warned. "He was a messed-up Psion that bottled everything up to live a happy life."

"Annie, the comparisons are there and you know it," he shot back, glaring at her. There was a bruise on his cheek that was clearly created from a fist. Before she could even think of lashing out at his bodyguards, he said, "I launched an attack that barely missed them, and Keiji hit me hard enough to snap me out of it." He sighed. "My dad was messed up. I'm messed up. He attacked me. I attacked Historia. He was ready to kill my mom. I was ready to kill you. You can't deny what I'm turning into."

Annie looked completely loss on what to say to him. No matter what advice she or anyone else gave, it barely changed anything to the point he was becoming unreceptive. All she could do was wrap her arm around him in an attempt to comfort him.

He leaned into it slightly, but he didn't fully commit. "I need to fix this," he said.

"Dillon, how many times are we gonna go through this?" she asked with annoyance. "Trauma doesn't go away because you want it to. It takes time."

"I don't care!" Dillon shouted, making everyone in the room flinch. Even Annie's arm dropped. "I have to get all this out of me whatever it takes. You think any Scout worth their salt would be dumb enough to put their trust in me while I'm like this? What do you think that doctor is gonna say to Levi?"

Annie pursed her lips. She hadn't thought of that. If she was in the captain's shoes, Dillon would have been discharged a long time ago, and that was the best outcome.

"I need a solution. I can't bottle up these things or else I'll-" He froze, an epiphany hitting him square in the face. "Wait a minute. What if…?" He turned back to his girlfriend. "Annie, remember the psychic blocks I have?"

She nodded. "You removed one to become more equipped to fight Titans."

"Yeah, I did." He brightened up as the idea took hold. "If I remove another one at just the right spot, my mind will be forced to straighten all the crap going on."

Annie gave him a look of disbelief. "That's your plan? Put your mind in an even more vulnerable state on the off-chance this idea of yours works?"

"Annie, I have to do something," he protested.

"And what guarantee do you have that this will work? None. For all you know, this will make things worse." She grabbed his shoulders, jerking him towards her. "Dillon, listen. I know you're going through so much, and I'm sorry I made things worse, but this isn't the answer. You have to take your time when working through this."

For a moment, it seemed like he would listen to reason, but his bowed head sent a different message. "I can't."

"Why not?" Annie's patience was at her limit.

"Because if I don't do this, Levi will kill me."

The Shifter dropped her jaw, eyes widening with shock. "What? When did he-?"

"While I was in prison, he came to my cell and said if I don't get my act together and grow up, I'll be a liability he won't hesitate to kill." He could still feel the punch to his gut from the illustrious captain. "My life is on the line."

Annie clenched her fist. "If that bastard even thinks he can get away with-"

Nifa sharply cleared her throat, getting their attention. "We're still here, you know," she said with a look of disapproval. "I suggest you refrain from threatening the captain's life."

"They probably just told Hanji to keep an eye on you now. I never did sever their links with her." Dillon shook his head. "I have no choice."

The blonde was millimeters away from screaming at the heavens. Every single time she had a glimpse of things settling down, something would come up to threaten those moments. She desperately needed stability before she would do something she would regret.

Without a single move of affection, Annie stood up and walked out the door as a functional mute. She heard Dillon's voice in her head, but she ignored it. Talking to him was a waste of time and energy with everything that was on the line. She had a more… constructive matter to attend to.


For the fifth time, Historia splashed water into her face in an effort to calm herself down. It did little to erase the redness that came from crying. Right now, she needed to be somewhere safe where no one could hurt her. The last time she felt like this was...

Don't think about her. She rebuked herself. She was out of that gilded hell. Granted, this was a different hell, but at least no one pretended it was any different.

"If you're trying to drown yourself, you're doing it wrong."

A chill ran down Historia's spine as she whirled around to see the blonde demon herself locking the door. They were alone. "Stay away from me!" she yelled, backing up against the wall.

"What are you afraid of, Krista?" Annie asked, walking slowly and carefully towards her. "Or Historia. I really don't care what your name is." She flicked open the blade on her ring. "Look at you: waiting on me to make the scratch that ends that pitiful life of yours."

The smaller of the two attempted regain some sense of a backbone. She even dared to glare at her. "No. You won't do it. Whatever leash they have you on is also a noose, guaranteeing your death if you do anything stupid."

Annie was on her in seconds, throwing her to the ground. She jammed her knee into the girl's stomach to prevent her from getting up. "Do you even have the slightest clue to what you've done?" she hissed.

The girl cried out in pain. "Annie, please. Stop." She managed to cough, forcing her body still, so as not to exacerbate the situation.

"Quit mewling like a pathetic animal and listen, you stupid bitch." Annie grabbed her by the collar and pulled her head up, ignoring how painful the position was for Historia. "I destroyed his life piece by fucking piece. He watched his family get torn apart right in front of his eyes. His own father tried to kill him. He was eaten by your parasite of a girlfriend. You tell me right now what a guy like him would be going through."

Historia was shaking, attempting to struggle to break free, but the Shifter's strength easily outclassed hers.

"Because of you, he's now on the verge of becoming a liability, something Levi kills." Annie brought the blade close to Historia's eyes, clamping down on her chin to keep her still. "The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because Dillon is alive, but if that changes for any reason, I will make it my mission in life to smear your body all over the castle. Is that understood, Goddess?"

Tearfully, Historia nodded quickly. "I understand. Annie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-."

"Shut up." Disgusted, Annie released her and stood up, putting the blade back in the ring. "You can go back to wallowing in your self-pity now." She unlocked the door and left, slamming the door shut.

With nothing and no one to hold onto, Historia curled into herself, crying softly. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.


The sun was beginning to set behind the forest as it marked the end of a long day. At least, it normally would were it not for the fact that Dillon, Annie, Levi, and Hanji were all outside, preparing themselves for what was to come. The blonde of the group wanted to be anywhere else, but with her boyfriend's stubbornness, she knew he would need her.

"So, these blocks in your mind keep you from getting overwhelmed by your powers," Hanji reiterated, writing it down. "Very interesting."

Dillon nodded to confirm her statements. "I still don't know much about them, but there's a build-up of tension in my mind. If I can center the tension on a block and remove it, I should finally be able to regulate my emotions a lot better than I have lately."

"You really think this is gonna work?" Hanji asked, debating between being excited or concerned for the teen's wellbeing.

"It's either this, or I remain in the state I'm in now," Dillon responded apprehensively. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we don't want that to be the status quo."

"You know what's at stake, then," Levi said.

Dillon's jaw tightened ever so slightly. "Yeah, I do."

"You can't force this, Dillon," Annie pointed out, making a final attempt to get through to him. "You try, and you'll be lucky if there's even a shred of sanity left in you."

"Annie, there's no other way. We've been over this," he shot back with annoyance. "As long as I'm like this, no one is safe. I have to do this."

The Shifter glowered at him, tempted to punch him out if it meant saving his life. "You are such a thick-headed bastard."

"As much I enjoy two kids having a lover's spat, shut up and get on with it," Levi cut in.

"Right." Dillon closed his eyes and concentrated on the trauma. He didn't need to see the memories; all he had to do was focus on where it was located. He grunted in discomfort when he stumbled upon it. It was like a small tornado had infected his mind, latching onto him. Carefully, he began to move it towards a Psion block that was nearby, doing his best not to disturb the trauma too much.

He took a deep breath once the two were together. This was it. Only he shattered the block, there was no going back. He felt a surge of doubt within him. So many ways this could go wrong. If things went south, he'd either be dead or less of a human being. Annie's strong disapproval didn't help him, but it reminded him why he was doing this. He had been such a mental case for too long, draining the life out of her. It was time to end it.

With a deep breath, he shattered the block and everything went dark.


Pain. That was the only sensation Dillon could feel. His mind felt like it was about to explode with the amount of fire being shoved into it. Being battered around by unseen forces didn't help matters. He couldn't see, nor could he focus on anything other than the agony he was going through.

Then, he was submerged in boiling liquid. This felt familiar, but he couldn't place it initially. He quickly surfaced, gasping for breath and spitting out the foul, acidic substance. The second he saw the flesh-covered walls, he realized where he was: in the stomach of a Titan. Ymir's Titan. Panicking, he swam to one end of this pit and attempted to tear through, but the flesh was too thick. One small piece broke off, yet a simple steaming in a matter a seconds regenerated the broken flesh.

"Help!" Dillon shouted, just like he did the first time he was in here. "Someone help me! Annie!"

There was no one to answer his calls. He was all alone, doomed to a fate of digestion. Already, his legs were starting to dissolve, the yellow, stomach fluids turning slightly red. He gritted his teeth in pain, unable to find the power needed to scream. It hurt so much. It always did.

Suddenly, a black mass appeared into the middle of pool. It distracted him momentarily and he drew closer. On closer inspection, he discovered it was a human laying face down in the fluids. Curiosity got the better of him and he turned the body over.

A hand shot from the body and wrapped around Dillon's neck. He attempted to break the grip, but it was far too strong. However, that wasn't truly what kept the teen frozen. This was a man with his skin slowly peeling off due to the fluids, and he had an empty socket for one of his eyes. It was Matthew.

Before Dillon could try to speak, Matthew shoved him deep into the pool, slamming his foot down on his head to keep him pinned. Combining the weight of his father, the pressure from being submerged, and the temperature rising much faster, Dillon couldn't escaped. He lungs nearly burst from holding his breath so long and he was forced to open his mouth. His insides were roasted as if he was being cooked up to be served on a platter.

He couldn't help but open his eyes as he saw a new world began to take shape. Fire surrounded him like Hell itself came to pay him a visit. He couldn't move and he certainly couldn't look away from a grotesque shape forming before him. It was another humanoid being, but one he recognized immediately. Even now, after all this time, his terror skyrocketed, especially as the shape got bigger. Then, the face was formed along with the wretched smile that haunted his every night. A giant hand came down for him and he screamed.


Annie catapulted backwards, hitting a tree hard enough that it cracked her spine. She cried out from the injury and watched Levi and Hanji land on the ground from the blast. Since they were further from the blacksmith, nothing was broken. Only bruises and scrapes. Her ears were assaulted by the sounds of Dillon's uncontrollable screams, like an insane patient that escaped from a mental institute.

"This bullshit again?" Levi growled once he was on his feet.

The answer came when Dillon stood up, eyes glowing so brightly, his irises were gone. He began launching several blasts all around him, trees crashing to the ground in broken heaps. It was like he was now possessed. One sent Levi back, but he dug his feet into the ground to keep himself from falling.

Even Hanji was annoyed by the outcome as she put back on her dislodged glasses. "He made things worse for himself. Damn it!"

"Leonhart, subdue him," Levi ordered.

Annie gasped as she felt her fracture heal itself. Broken bones were much more painful to regenerate than severed limbs.

Levi was quickly running out of patience. "Do it before I save us all the trouble and cut off his head." From the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was seconds away from doing that, especially when the Psion turned his attention on them fully.

Eyes narrowing, Annie sliced her hand open, though the result was quite different. A much smaller explosion erupted from the Shifter, pieces of flesh surrounding her arm only. Hanji and Levi watched as only the Female Titan's arm was formed, its hand grabbing Dillon and pinning him to a tree. For good measure, the skin crystallized, trapping him in a temporary prison. He thrashed violently, desperate to break free. Not even his powers could move the unmovable hand.

"He shouldn't be able to break through for a while," Annie said, panting a bit. Inwardly, she was pissed. Damn you, you fucking idiot! Why couldn't you just listen to me?

"You can do partial transformations at will?" The mad scientist was bouncing again. "You are my favorite person ever, Annie!"

The blonde didn't know how to feel about that declaration and decided to ignore her in favor of trying to rescue her boyfriend. "Dillon, can you hear me?" Not only did she speak verbally, but mentally as well.

For the briefest of moments, she was hit by a spike of Dillon's power, breaking her concentration. Images flashed in her mind which allowed her a sample of what he was going through. That was all she needed to understand. She was stunned, feeling the things he was feeling. The hand started to crack, and that sound brought her back to reality. She gritted her teeth and forced the cracks to seal themselves up.

"What happened?" Hanji asked, running to her.

"I can't reach him," Annie answered, shaken up. "I don't know if he's blocking me on purpose or not. Hanji… he's in a living hell. All of his traumas are trying to kill him."

The Section Commander shook her head. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"He was thinking that he was going to be headed towards the firing squad if he didn't do this," Annie responded angrily. "If you didn't threaten him in the first place-"

"Shut up, Leonhart," Levi commanded, glaring at her. "He made his choice. If you want to blame me, go ahead. I don't care, but you'd damn well better keep him there if you want to ensure his survival."

Annie was sorely tempted to form another arm for the sole purpose of punching Levi's head clean off.

He kept talking. "You can't get to him? We'll have to wait it out, then."

Hanji nodded in agreement. "Wait until he breaks out or returns to normal."

Helplessness. It had been a while since Annie had truly felt that. Granted, going with the flow with Marley's mission was its own form, but not being able to help the person she loved the most was excruciating. Her resolve tightened as she concentrated solely on her Titan arm. She needed to have faith in him, even if it was the size of a hair strand. It was the only thing keeping her own emotions at bay.


How many times had he gone through this? Five? Ten? Twenty? Kicked around by the Female Titan as if he was her favorite ball, slashed apart by Ymir's freaky Titan, and, of course, his father giving him a beatdown that left his face disfigured by bruises. Stohess. The Expedition. Trost. Home. Locations varied, but the amount of abuse he suffered remained the same. Currently, he was back in the village that started it all. He could hear Jensen begging for his life once again. He was getting used to it.

Dillon started to see his world fade away. By now, he was growing numb to the assaults. They always sought to break him into pieces, and he had enough. He was arrogant to believe he would be strong enough to fight back. Now, the price was being paid.

Then, he saw a face looking out the window of one of the houses. It was too far to identify, but there was a deep sense of familiarity with it. While the Female Titan was having her fun, Dillon slowly rose to his feet, a sense of urgency filling him. Before that monster could stop him, he ran to the house and kicked open the door, confronting the person inside.

It was a brown-haired teen with brown eyes, ordained in soldier's uniform, that turned to face him. The expression on its face was completely neutral, but there was no mistaking it. Dillon's jaw dropped as he realized he was looking at himself. At least, a self that had no visible injuries on him.

"I… I don't understand," the real Dillon confessed.

The apparition approached him slowly before placing a hand on his head. Dillon was bombarded by memories, though these were far less brutal. He saw the moments where he had dinner with parents, shooting the breeze. He saw the day he enlisted in the military. The day he made friends. The day he met Annie. Their first kiss. Fighting alongside his comrades. Joining a squad in the Scouts. All moments that had been buried underneath so much suffering.

Dillon opened his eyes and smiled just a bit. This is what he needed. A return back to his normal, confident, strange self. As long as he could be that way, things would change for the better. He had finally found his soul.

A giant foot caved in the roof, though Dillon managed to dodge it in time. He stared at the Titan and blasted it back with a single attack. His resolve had returned.

"Cone on!" Dillon urged, grabbing the soul's hand and dragging him away from the mess. He needed to return to the surface as fast as he could. His sanity depended on it.

Unfortunately, the soul was tackled to the ground by his father, who was trying to choke it. Was his mind now confusing who the real Dillon was? The Psion chose not to question it as he summoned a sword that stabbed Matthew in the chest. Kicking off his lifeless body, the Psion stood to face Ymir's charge. He timed the slash just right, cutting out her eyes. He took the apparition's hand again and started to run with the demons hot on their trail. He would not let them destroy his only chance at a better life.


Annie gritted her teeth so hard, they were ready to break. Dillon's body had started to slump a bit, but a couple minutes later, he was thrashing even harder, large cracks appearing in her hand. At this rate, he would break free. First day in the Scouts, and this bullshit was happening. Come on, Dillon. Don't you dare give Levi an excuse to kill you. Get it together.


Dillon charged at the three and attacked with everything he had. Matthew was the easiest to kill over and over. He was only human after all. He psychically slammed Ymir into the Female Titan's face, knocking them both to the ground. He continued to drag his soul deeper into the darkness. He didn't know how long they had been running, but time didn't really mean much in this place anyways.

Ahead, his spirit was lifted further when a door of light appeared in the distance. He was so close now.

Then, the apparition crashed to the ground, screaming mutely in pain. Its legs were cut off with the sword responsible spinning towards it. He deflected it back at Matthew, cutting his head clean off. Unfortunately, it was a distraction as Ymir swooped in and grabbed the soul's body, trying to carry it away. Enraged, Dillon targeted the Titan's leg with his mind, breaking it. The monster went down, and with a proper slash to the nape, it was dead again. Two down, but where was the Female Titan?

A skinless foot stomping directly on the Psion answered that question. There were cracks and snaps as every bone in his body gave into the massive weight of the Titan. Even when she lifted her foot up, he unable to move a damn thing. She walked past him, moving onto her next target. She never stopped trying to take things away from him: his life, his sanity, his hopes, and so much more. And now, she was going to take away his soul. His eyes began to glow as he concentrated on his enemy. This was his world, not hers. With a scream of fury, he launched his attack. The Female Titan's head exploded, gore raining down upon the dark land. The headless body slumped over and fell, shaking the ground upon impact.

Panting heavily, Dillon managed to roll onto his back. He was slowly gaining more control over his mental state; at least, that's what he hoped, but that last attack took so much power from him. He was dizzy, ready to pass out. If that happened… it was best not to think about it.

Slowly, he glanced to his right and saw the apparition just standing there as if his legs were never removed. It wasn't helping him up. It just stood there waiting for him to do it on his own. Dillon kept getting ripped apart by his demons. The least this punk could do was give him a hand. Wasn't his own soul supposed to be a bit more helpful?

Adding to the irritation, once Dillon sat up, he saw the three demons standing in front of the exit. There were waiting for him to make the first move. No matter how hard he tried to fight them, they would always come back. At this point, his body was ready to give out from it all. Still, he knew he had a mission. If he could hold them back long enough to get his soul into the light, he would be free from all this.

Would he?

Those simple words planted a seed that was too small to shake off. Why was he starting to have a doubt now, of all times? He came too far to question his choices. This needed to happen. It was the only way.

Was it?

"Stop it!" Dillon shouted, his voice echoing in this chasm. "I want my life back."

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder and those happy moments came floating back. It helped him stand back up as he prepared to fight tooth and nail against his demons once and for all, even if it meant… if it meant…

He hesitated, the doubt blooming throughout his thoughts. He was on the brink of sacrificing himself to the monsters if it meant a chance for his soul to get out. Was it worth it?

"Of course it's worth it," he told himself. Again, this was his soul he was trying to save.

Was it?

Dillon forced himself to face the apparition as it touched him again. The same set of memories flowed through him, but there were key moments missing. Where was the kiss between him and Annie in Stohess? His reconciliation with her by the lake? Where were the recent memories that weren't bad?

The Psion carefully took the apparition's hand off him and looked it over. "You're not my soul," he said, forcing himself to admit the truth. "You're my past."

The expressionless visage vanished and in its place was fear as if it was caught trying to steal a cookie out of a jar.

"Not many blemishes, more good than bad, you're what I used to be," he went on before gazing at the monsters. "Those three corrupted you, made you into someone completely different. That someone… is me." He stared at his hands and saw the blood on them. Whether it was his own or someone else's, it didn't matter. What did was the step he had to take, and it grieved him. "It's not fair, damn it. I want to be who I was, not this malformed human struggling to sleep every night. I can't!"

Dillon punched the floor as hard as he could, the thump making a loud echo but nothing more. Tears fell down his face as he spoke barely above a whisper. "You carry so much good, some of my best memories. You had such a good life, but…" He willed himself to stare at the past in its eyes. "...that's not me anymore. Too much has happened. You're just a foundation now. Nothing more. I can't go back. I have to move forward without you."

The past looked so crestfallen, bowing its head in defeat.

Drying his eyes, Dillon got his feet and took a deep breath. On his exhale, he felt the tiniest weight lift from his heart. Still, the three demons waited for him like they always did. He readied himself for what he was about to do. "Do your worst," he said. He started to walk towards him.

First up was Matthew, who immediately impaled him in the chest with a sword. Dillon gritted his teeth in pain, but he stared into his father's face. This was the man who helped conceive him, who taught him how to use his powers, who taught him how to fight, who he mutilated and killed that fateful day. Trying to rationalize the situation as self-defense did little to ease Dillon's conscious. A different way to look at it might.

"I tried to save you so many times, but you hurt me instead," Dillon said somberly. "Things aren't the way I want them to be, but one thing hasn't changed. I love you, Dad."

Enraged, the demon brought his sword up, splitting the top half of Dillon in two.

Quickly, his body put itself back together again, and once he managed to speak again, he gasped in pain. "Son of a bitch!" he swore.

These things take time. Annie's words echoed in his mind. Of course it wasn't going to be an instant fix, but he noticed that the pain was a little less now. That, in itself, was a victory.

Next up was Ymir. Being a recent terror, this one was substantially harder as she clawed up his body, leaving deep, bleeding gashes over his body. She tossed him up in the air and swallowed him whole, gulping him with satisfaction. He landed in the burning, stomach fluids again, and he started to panic a bit. This was a flesh cage that he couldn't escape from.

Except… he did get out. Annie saved his life. He wasn't here anymore. He was free to not let this horror happen to him again. With that logic calming him down, the burns on his body started to fade and the fluids stung a little less. Concentrating, he blasted a hole big enough for him to be washed out back into the open. Maybe he'd get lucky and give the real Ymir the same treatment, but one thing at a time.

Of course, the Female Titan was saved for last, and why wouldn't it be this way? She started the whole damn thing at the Expedition, turned his life into a living hell. She betrayed him, tortured him, killed his friends, made him feel so weak and vulnerable compared to her. Those feelings still remained even after all this time, and he would never condone the things she had done, but there was one thing that he could never deny.

Taking another deep breath, he said, "You're still the woman I love. Good luck trying to get me to stop."

Narrowing her eyes, she stomped on him again, but this time, he phased through it. Still hurt like hell, though.

As he continued to make his way towards the light, he felt all three attacking him, doing their best to stop him from getting out. When they drew blood, he kept going. With they crushed him, he kept going. When they cut off his legs, he stopped to get them back before walking again. These demons, these terrible memories, they would always haunt him, but they wouldn't hurt him as much anymore. When the light took hold, he let out a sigh of relief. He was finally moving on.


Weakly, Dillon opened his eyes with a groan. He felt like someone took a hammer to his skull repeatedly, so nothing new there. He was surprised, though, of a giant, hardened hand wrapped around his body. His eyes followed the hand and the arm straight to the source. Unsurprisingly, it was Annie, though the fact it was just her arm and nothing more made him raise his eyebrow.

"Well, Amsdale?" the stern voice of the captain asked, staring into his eyes to search for any lie.

"I'm not a liability anymore, Captain," Dillon said, his voice still hoarse from screaming.

Levi continued the uncomfortable staring contest for almost a full minute before nodding. "Let him go, Leonhart."

Instantly, the fingers shed the crystal and opened up, allowing Dillon to fall to the ground with a muffled, "Ow."

Annie ran to his aid and hoisted him up. She looked torn between being angry with him or relieved. "You are such an idiot, Dillon." That was all she could think of saying.

Dillon wrapped his arms around her in a firm embrace.

She was taken aback by the affectionate gesture, but she gingerly returned it. "Don't do that again," she whispered in his ear.

"I won't," he promised as he added mentally, "I promise we'll talk."

"Dillon!" Hanji interrupted their moment, gleeful as ever. "You almost shattered Annie's crystal when our swords can't even make a dent in it. You can break Reiner's armor now, can't you?" She rubbed her hands together. "Oh, the possibilities have gotten so much bigger now! This was a fantastic idea. Think of all the things you can-"

Dillon had never been happier to pass out than this very moment.


AN: And so, after 33 chapters of ups, downs, twists, and turns ever since Chapter 18, we finally come to the conclusion of Dillon dealing with his demons. There are probably some of you who are dissatisfied with how long I spent on Dillon's issues, how they always reared their ugly heads and took the focus away from the main story. The thing is… that's what trauma does. Think of it like the ocean tides. Sometimes, the tides are low and weak, but other times, they are large and powerful. A person's trauma can become someone's focus so much so that their entire life revolves around it. I know this because I went through my own demons, my own set of traumas. I'm still recovering to this day thanks to the help of a wonderful therapist. It's a long road, but it's one that can be traveled down. This doesn't mean that Dillon's problems are over. No, no, no, he is in for more wild rides in the future, but he is better equipped to deal with them when the time comes.

Does his actions render his sessions with Ymir Fritz completely moot? No, it doesn't. She gave him good advice, and gave him temporary relief from certain things. However, as someone who has had multiple therapists in my life, I know that not all of them hit the nail on the head. Not even the so-called Goddess can get it right all the time. Besides, if you all recall, she has more to offer to Dillon besides advice. That's right. You're gonna start seeing new powers from our favorite Psion, especially now that another block has been removed.

Does that mean we can move right into the Uprising Arc? Unfortunately, not yet. I still have a few more things I need to set up before we can go into that arc, and the next chapter is very crucial to that. Why? Because next chapter is gonna feature the moment I've been waiting a long time to give you guys: the confrontation between Eren and Annie. Grab your popcorn because it's gonna be quite the moment.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews, and I'll see you all in the next one.