A soldier awakens in an endless nothingness. There is no beginning or end, no walls or floor. Yet the soldier stands none the less, floating weightlessly in the darkness.

The soldier is afraid and cries out into the void

'Hello?! Is anyone there? Where am I?'

Their voice echoes on for an instant and an eternity until silence once again reigns.

Then another voice slowly fills the void, coming from every direction at once. It's cold and dark but unmistakably theirs.

'You're in paradise, of course. Don't tell me you've forgotten?'

The soldier flinches at the voice, unsure where to look.

'W...who are you? What is this!?'

The voice was beside him this time, whispering in his ear.

'Oh dear, you've really lost it this time, haven't you? Well, it's not surprising, you've always been weak. You just couldn't stand it anymore; the guilt, the lies, the deaths. So, you decided to run away and hide from it. Pathetic.'

The voice moved around, now coming from in front of the soldier. If it had a physical form, it would be looming over them.

'How many people have you killed now? Hundreds? Thousands? You slaughtered countless innocent people; men, women, even children.'

'You're a monster.' The voice spat, fury and disgust mixed in every word.

Fear rises from deep within the soldier at the voice's words, so they shout out, denying the accusation.

'No! I'm not a killer; I've never hurt anyone!'

The denial dies in their throat as a solitary drip resonates through the void. Hesitantly the soldier looks down at their hands and lets out a terrible scream.

Blood. So much blood.

Deep mocking laughter echoed in the darkness.

'Think on your sins, Reiner. You'll pay for them soon enough.'

Reiner's eyes snapped open, and he lurches up, breathing heavily. His head felt like someone had shoved a red-hot poker into his brain. The pain was unbearable.

'Fuck, my head.'

Bertholdt was in front of him, looking alarmed. His mouth was moving, but Reiner couldn't make out anything he was saying through the haze of pain.

Through his blurry vision, Reiner sees that he is high above the ground, surrounded by leaves and branches.

'Am I in a tree?'

He didn't know how he had got here, and the last thing he remembered was that they were heading towards Shiganshina to retake Wall Maria and secure Eren's basement. The painful throbbing of his head grew even worse as he tried to piece what happened back together.

His jaw clenches tight, his teeth grinding together, preventing him from crying out. Just as his skull feels like it was about to crack like an egg, the blinding agony suddenly ends. Reiner let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Shakily, he brought his hand up to his head, expecting to find some horrendous injury to explain the pain, but when he pulled it away there wasn't a drop of blood to be seen.

'What the…'

He stares at the bloodless hand. The pain that had moments ago threatened to consume him had disappeared entirely, leaving him confused and shaken.

'I must have fallen asleep and had a nightmare. That makes sense.' Reiner reasoned, unnerved by what had happened. He tried to think back about what the voice had said, but like a dream, the memories had already withered away.

"Just a dream." He mumbled to himself, pushing away his worries. He was embarrassed at how worked up he had been about it.

'I hope no one got hurt because I was asleep.'

"Oi! Didn't you two see the withdrawal signal? Get on a horse, we're heading home!" A grizzled scout shouted up from the forest floor. "You fall behind, you're left behind!"

"Oh shit. Come on, Bert, we gotta go!" Reiner jumped to his feet, wanting to kick himself. He must have been fast asleep to miss that.

"Reiner wait!" Bertholdt grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving. "What happened to the mission?"

"What do you mean? The commander gave the signal to retreat, so it must be over."

Bert shook his head, "Not that mission, our mission, Reiner. The one we got from…" he looked around for a second before whispering "Marley."

"Marley? Who's that?" Reiner racked his brain but couldn't recall any squad leader by that name.

"Reiner, this isn't a joke! Can't you remember what Commander Magath and Zeke asked us to do?"

"Don't you mean Commander Erwin? Did you bump your head or something man, you're acting crazy?" He worried about his friend and swore to himself he would make Bertie get a check-up from the medic when they got back.

But for now, Reiner just gave him a firm pat on the back and a broad grin. "Come on, let's get going. If we get back to Wall Rose soon, I could ask Krista if she wants to have dinner with me."

If Reiner hadn't jumped down to the forest floor with his gear, he might have seen Bertholdt looking close to tears.

Bertholdt wanted to scream and shout, he wanted to punch something until his fists were bloody and broken to the point were not even his Titan abilities could heal. He knew letting Reiner go after Eren was a risk, but this had turned into a catastrophe.

Reiner, his Reiner, was gone. His whole identity had been completed consumed by this 'soldier' personality Reiner had developed, and there was nothing he could do to bring back the warrior. In his desperation he had even whispered a dozen words he hadn't spoken in years to try and bring him back; Marley, Magath and even War-chief Zeke but Reiner only gave him a queer look and asked if he had hit his head.

The last word his Reiner had spoken, after his failed attempt to capture Eren was a whimpered "Annie…".

Rumours were already spreading like wildfire as they rode back towards Wall Rose. The special operation squad had been nearly wiped out, and a whole new Titan had been discovered.

Bertholdt felt physically sick when he heard the word Female Titan being thrown about. Suddenly Reiner's last word made more sense. Annie had either turned on them… or someone had taken her Titan.

Was he the last warrior left?

'I hate this. I hate this island; I hate these people for being so harmless, I hate Marcel for sacrificing himself. I hate Annie for leaving us, I hate Reiner for losing his mind. I hate Marley for send us here to wipe them out…'

'And I hate myself for doing it.'

His eyes burned with unshed tears. He was alone, surrounded by people he'd been ordered to slaughter for the crime of merely existing, by a nation who despised him and his very existence.

'I don't even care if Marley will kill me for failing, I just want to go home.'

Scout Headquarters – Wall Rose

20:45pm

The basement room was dim and quiet, the flickering candle on the table was all that held back the darkness that wanted to swallow them whole.

Since Captain Levi had been summoned to Erwin's office, no words had passed between the two remaining members of the special operation squad. Petra had just finished off her mug of ale disturbingly fast and was reaching to pour out another when Eren broke the silence.

"I'm sorry." He blurts out before he could stop himself. Petra freezes mid-reach but doesn't turn to look at him.

'She hates me.' Eren believed with all his heart. Three of her friends had been killed while he was running away, despite having the power to stop it. If he had been in her position and had lost Armin and Mikasa in the same way, he would never forgive the person.

Eren isn't sure if it's the thought of losing his friends or being hated by Petra that is like an icy hand around his throat, nearly suffocating him.

"I should have done something; I could have stopped it. I could have saved them."

He tried to swallow down the lump forming in his throat. "I know you must hate me for letting them die, but next time I won't hesitate. I promise you. I won't fail again."

The words taste bitter and hollow, like ash in his mouth. 'How can I promise that? I couldn't save them, just like I couldn't save mum. The only thing I've done with my power is move a rock and attack Mikasa.'

'Why did dad give me this power? How can I help anyone if I'm so useless?'

He didn't realise he had started to cry until a tear hit the table and was followed by another. Eren went to brush them away when he saw movement out the corner of his eye.

He expected a smack or a punch, followed by Petra screaming and shouting at him, demanding to know why he was crying, and why he let her friends die.

He wouldn't blame her if she did.

But instead of anger and violence, Petra did something Eren didn't expect.

She hugged him.

"Shhh, shhh." She whispered, the faint smell of alcohol on her breath. "It's going to be alright."

She ran one of her hands down the back of his head, brushing his hair like his mother used to do.

"I don't hate you, Eren. You did what we asked, you mustn't blame yourself for what happened."

A sob ripped its way from Eren's throat, and with it came the rest of his sorrow.

'Fucking useless.'

Shame. Unspeakable shame burned through Eren. He hadn't cried since losing his mother, and now here he was, sobbing on the shoulder of someone he had utterly failed.

"How can you say that?!" he choked out, "They're gone! They all died because of me."

Petra pulled him in closer and Eren felt her shaking slightly in her own grief. But when she spoke again, her voice was firm and resolute.

"No. The Armoured Titan killed them, but they died for us. For me, for you, for all of humanity. They were Scouts, and they gave their lives for their comrades. It will be hard, but the best way we can honour them is to keep moving forward, to keep fighting. And I promise you Eren, next time we find that monster, we'll kill it together. For them."

Eren replied by slowly wrapping his arms around Petra, allowing the tears to fall on her shoulder as he squeezed back.

Levi's hand hovered above the door handle, as he listened in on his two remaining squad members.

For all the power Yeager had, Levi had almost forgotten the brat was only 14. Still a kid.

A kid who had been lost both his parents, survived as a refugee for two years living off what little rations the government provided and any scraps that could be scrounged up, then joined the military only to lose most of his teammates in his first expedition beyond the walls.

Eren had been through hell, something Levi knew all too well.

He wasn't a fool, he knew what he was like and how others saw him; cold, abrasive, rude and dismissive. It was a product of his upbringing, an orphan in the underground city surrounded by thugs and raised, then abandoned, by a serial killer.

But he wasn't heartless.

Never heartless.

He would mourn his fallen squad members. Their names and faces would be burnt into his mind for the rest of his life, however long or short that may be. Just like Isabel and Farlan, and everyone else he had lost. But he would do so alone, as was his way.

Eren needed someone to be there for him, to support him, and he couldn't think of anyone better than Petra to do so.

Levi allowed his hand to drop from the handle and come to rest at his side. Erwin had been adamant that Eren is sent to his office as soon as possible, but Levi decides that just this once, Erwin can wait for a bit.

Scout Headquarters – Wall Rose

22:37 pm

"I'm sorry for calling you here at such a late hour and under these circumstances, Eren. But there is something I need to discuss with you." Erwin gestured to the chair opposite him, before picking up one of the many files covering his desk.

Eren sat down, avoiding the commander's eyes. Captain Levi hadn't explained anything as they walked to the commander's office, and his feeling of relief at Petra's forgiveness and acceptance had evaporated away with every step.

The government would call for his execution for this failure, and the Commander might be the only person who could prevent that.

"I assume you are familiar with a personnel file, right? One is created for everyone who joins the military and is consistently updated through their training years. Once they graduate, it is passed on to their new regiment's commanders, who are expected to record a soldier's moments of valour and shame, their promotions or demotions, accolades and reprimands."

Eren gave a bewildered nod, he expected to be grilled about the expedition or questioned about his Titan ability, not to receive a lesson in military bureaucracy.

"I've been reading through the files for your classmates and noticed several discrepancies. I have a file here whose personal details page contains only the cadet's first name, with no family name. I have another which is practically overflowing with paperwork verifying their identity, to an excessive degree. Your file has been censored so much by the MPs it's practically unreadable."

Erwin stacked the files on top of each other and reached for some more.

"These two contain very little information before the breach, only a date birth and where they use to live. This one has multiple references to potatoes in the disciplinary section, and this one has nothing but praise for the cadet, not a single bad mark or complaint. If I didn't know Instructor Shadis personally, I might take this as a poor practical joke or lazy administration work. But he is not a man to do either."

"I was hoping you would be able to shine a light on all this."

'What the hell? Is this some kind of weird test?'

"Oh… okay, Sir. What is it you want to know about them?"

"Let's start with those you are close with or at least spent the most time with. Tell me about them." Erwin leaned forward, clasping his hands in front of him.

'Seriously? Is this a joke?'

The dead serious look on Erwin's face told Eren this was anything but.

So, with slight trepidation, Eren started to tell the Commander everything he knew about his fellow cadets. He spoke for what seemed like hours, telling the Commander all about his friends while the man sat quietly and listened, only occasionally interjecting to ask for more details or clarity on a certain topic.

When Eren eventually ran out of things to say, Erwin started to bombard him with questions.

Most seemed benign or completely random; Did Connie's family come to visit him on visitation days? Did Bertholdt talk much about his village? What regiment did Jean want to join before Trost? What made Reiner's seem like an older brother to you all? Why did she eat it right then and there?

This whole situation didn't make any sense to Eren, but he answered them anyway.

"I have one last question for you Eren. I was reading through Private Arlert's file earlier, and Instructor Shadis noted an almost overnight change in his abilities during his first six months of training. Do you know anything about that?"

That threw Eren for a loop, as he had wondered about that many times, yet never figured it out. When he had mentioned it to Mikasa once, she had just shrugged her shoulders and said he had been doing extra practise, yet Eren hadn't seen him do more than anyone else.

Maybe he snuck out at night and did it.

"Errm, I'm not exactly sure, Sir. When we were kids Armin was never really a fighter, but I guess he just adapted to military life really well. He's always been good at stuff when he puts his mind to it."

"I see… well thank you Eren, this has been very informative." Erwin stood and gestured toward the door, "Go get some sleep. We'll probably be summoned to the Capital soon."

No longer about to contain his curiosity Eren finally asked the Commander the question which had been on his mind since Erwin brought this up.

"If I may, Sir, can I ask why you wanted to know?"

Without missing a beat, Erwin smoothly replied. "I like to know the soldiers who serve beside me. It's the least I can do for those who have dedicated themselves to humanity."

Bull. Shit.

Commander Erwin was a great man; he was a natural leader, a brave warrior and a tactical genius, but Eren seriously doubted the Commander would spend his precious time asking about the quirks of his newest recruits, especially just after a failed expedition. There had to be something more to this.

But it wasn't his place to question or call his superior officer a liar, so he bit his tongue (figuratively, of course, turning into a titan in the middle of the scout HQ would not end well for anyone).

"That's very kind of you, Sir. Well, good night, Commander." Eren gave a salute and quickly exited the room, pondering what that had all been about.

After the door clicked shut, Erwin sat back down onto his chair and began separating some of the files into a separate pile. The information Eren had provided had been just what Erwin needed, and now the final results were staring him in the face.

Six files, six names, six potential suspects. One of these six was the Armoured Titan, Erwin was sure of it.

Now he just had to find which one it was.

'So… which one of you is the real enemy?'