Chapter 3 The Gateway to Hope

A young Reiner was laying in bed and his mother was sitting on his bed beside him. "We were abandoned." She told him while she stroked his forehead. "That's why we live within the walls of the internment zone. It's because we have the devil's blood in our veins. That's why your father left too. It's because he was a Marleyan."

Reiner looked at his mother with wide eyes. "And Marleyans can't be with Eldians." She hid her eyes behind her hand. "If only we'd been born Marleyans..."

Historia frowns, "How awful."

Jean has a surprised look on his face as he turns to Reiner. "So your father is a Marleyan? But I thought both people can't be together..."

Sasha says, "It's easy, she doesn't need to reveal to him that she's an Eldian. He may be found out about it after having Reiner."

Armin says, "But knowing Marley, won't she be punished for it?"

Reiner frowns, "Yeah... and that's why she's like this..."


Present Reiner was laying in his old bed, he looked at the ceiling. That's right. Back then, I wanted to be a warrior so I could become a Marleyan.

It's a rainy day, a young Reiner was running with a heavy bag and a rifle. He was panting heavily. Magath was yelling at the Warrior candidates, while he was sitting on a horse. "Who said you could walk? Run! You filthy swine! I guess you don't want to be honorary Marleyans after all!"

Everyone stares at the warrior training, they feel like they're watching themselves doing the training with Instructor Shadis.

Now that I think about it, no wonder why Reiner wanted to help me back then. Armin remembered how Reiner wanted to help him take the weapons.

A grasshopper was sitting on the ground. A young Zeke was talking to the other Warrior candidates: Marcel, Porco, Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, and Pieck. "Hey, have you heard? They've decided to launch the attack on Paradis Island in a few years."

"So we're seeing their past...just like how we saw Historia's past before..." Connie asks.

"That means we could learn more about them and their Titans." Erwin says.

"So there's Riener, Bertolt, Annie, Pieck, Galliard, Zeke, and I have to guess that one is Marcel, the one Ymir ate." Hange says as she stares at the screen.

"Yeah, it sure brings back old memories..." Bertolt says.

"Huh?" Porco asked.

"That means it's almost time for us to get our Titans." He threw his apple to Marcel, who took a bite. "Out of the seven of us, they're gonna pick six all at once."

Marcel handed the apple to Porco.

"Wow... We get to be Marleyans!" Reiner cheered.

"Really? You're getting all excited? You're the least likely to get picked, loser." Porco said and took a bite of the apple.

Reiner turned to him with a glare. "What'd you say?"

"What have you even got going for you?" Porco asked.

"Huh?" "Stamina? Brains? Marksmanship? Skill in martial arts?" Annie turned her attention to the ground, not listening anymore.

Reiner gritted his teeth. Porco mocks, "I don't think so. They only like you 'cause of the loyalty to Marley you crap out on the tests. 'Look at me, I'm gonna kill every last one of those island demons!' "

"Seriously? Never thought Reiner was acting like a suicide bastard..." Jean says.

"Yeah... Hey! What did you say?" Eren says with annoyance.

"Now that you mention it, I guess you might be right about that." Reiner says with a wry smile.

"It seems like they are brainwashed good..." Historia frowns.

"Yeah, they keep calling us devils, and I'm sick of it." Connie says.

"But I guess we have to get used to it. Considering if we're going to Marley in the future." Armin says.

Reiner grabbed his wrist and the apple fell to the ground. "Are you mocking our mission?" His glare deepened. "Or maybe you're secretly one of those Eldian restorationists?"

"What?!" "Yeah, you can't fool me! I'm reporting you to the captain!"

"Okay, asshole, get off me!" He punched Reiner in the face and he fell to the ground on his stomach, with Zeke wincing. "You got another thing coming..."

Marcel intervened and held Porco by his shoulders. "Stop it, Porco!"

"Anyone can spew hot air about hating the island!" Porco continued. "You'll be waiting here all alone for the next thirteen years!" Then he managed to get rid of Marcel's grab and walked away. "Tsk."

"Porco!" His brother called after him.

"Let's go, Pieck." Zeke said to her. He walked away with her while saying to Reiner, "Dry those tears and come along. If you're late, the captain's gonna give me hell."

Everyone in the room is surprised at how they were acting together. They thought they were supportive towards each other, not so cold. On the other hand, they were rivals. Not everyone would get a Titan.

Reiner was sobbing. Marco apologized and walked away. "Reiner, I'm sorry."

"Get up, Reiner." Bertolt said and helped him to stand. "C'mon."

"I have to hurry and become a Marleyan so my family can be together. I can't wait thirteen years. But he's right. I'm a loser."

"Porco doesn't get to decide who inherits the Titans." Bertolt said. "And besides, I think loyalty's important too. Right, Annie?"

She looked at them. "Huh? What? I wasn't listening." She ran away. They looked after her and turned back to where she was standing before. The grasshopper was dead, ripped apart.

"That poor grasshopper..." Armin frowns.

"Why are you doing that?" Mikasa asks with a dark tone.

Annie shrugs, "No reason..."

Bertolt and Reiner were jogging along the wall. "But are you sure this will help you with your goal?" Bertolt asked.

"Huh?" "You'll only have thirteen years."

"That's long enough to become a hero." He stopped and Bertolt turned to him. "I'll bring Marley's judgment down on those Paradis demons and save the world. And then I'll be the greatest son anyone could ask for."

Both of them looked at the sky, and the scene switched to Eren, who was doing the same thing. "I wish something interesting would happen..."

Armin rushed toward him, "Eren! There you are!"

Eren clenches his fist. Something did happen, I wished it never happened, then Mom would still be here and I could have apologized to her...

Mikasa notices Eren's tears in his eyes, and asks, "Eren, are you crying?"

Eren touches his face and says, "I'm fine." He quickly wipes his tears.

"Are you sure?" "It's okay, sorry to make you worried."


A destroyed area was shown and sirens howled. "Beautiful! They turned out even better than expected."

The foot of the female Titan slammed on the ground. Annie's files were shown. "The Female Titan. Its unparalleled versatility lets it adapt to any situation."

The female Titan was dodging bullets. It ran forward and destroyed the cannon with her hardened foot. "On top of its high mobility and speed, its capacity for localized hardening allows it to hit hard when it needs to. And it can call Pure Titans to its side, though only from a short distance."

If only we learned this sooner, Petra and the others wouldn't die so soon... Levi thinks while clenching his fist, while Hange is swiftly writing it.

"Wait, so they're showing our results back then?" Annie asks.

"Maybe we should see why we were chosen..." Reiner adds.

A photograph of Annie was shot. "Leonhardt is perfect for it."

Reiner was the second one. "The Armored Titan specializes in hardening." The Armored Titan had his arms crossed in front of its neck, while it got shot. "The layer of protection allows it to charge straight through any wall or gate."

A photograph of Reiner was shot. "For a Titan that must draw fire and act as Marley's shield, young Braun and his perseverance are a good match."

It wasn't supposed to be mine... Reiner frowns.

The third one was Marcel. "The Jaw Titan is all offense." The Jaw Titan ran zig-zag across the battlefield with a fast speed and destroyed cannons. "Its small size makes it especially agile, and its claws and arms have enough power to crush almost anything."

Hange gasps, "If it can crush almost anything, that means we can try to use it to break Annie's crystal!"

"But Ymir's already left with Reiner and Bertolt, and her Titan is giving back to Porco..." Historia frowns.

"And I'm sitting right here, you don't need to do that to free me." Annie says.

A photograph of Marcel was shot. "We'll give it to the quick-witted Marcel."

Zeke was the fourth one. "The Beast Titan is the same as always." Soldiers were killed by rocks. The Beast Titan stood there with rocks in its hands. "Who would have expected such a large Titan to be so terrifyingly good at long-range thrown attacks? And above all, there's a special power hidden in its blood." A photograph of Zeke was shot.

Pieck was the fifth one. "The Cart Titan is best suited to long-term assignments, with the longest sustained transformation time." The Cart in its armor appeared. "It's also easy to outfit with arms and armor, making it a strategic all-rounder."

A photograph of Pieck was shot. "The quick-thinking Pieck is the only one for the job."

The last one was Bertolt. "And then there's the Colossal Titan." Bertolt was sitting in a box, lightning crackled and huge explosion wiped everything nearby out. The Colossal Titan stood there, surrounded by flames.

Everyone can only watch with wide eyes. "Oh my gosh..." Sasha gasps.

"This is even worse compared to Shiganshina..." Jean whispers shocked.

So he controlled how big the destruction is. We can't allow him to transform when we fight them this time around. Erwin thinks.

The rest of the teens were too shocked to say anything. Bertolt also frowns as it is not a good memory.

"A god of destruction." A photograph of Bertolt was shot. "Hoover can surely make good use of it."

Marleyans were watching the Colossal Titan from a safe distance. "I almost feel sorry for those island devils." One of them said. "One day, that thing's going to appear out of nowhere to kill them."

"You're right. This group of warriors is far stronger than the last. But I'm not sure I like the military's plans." Magath said. "They're insane to entrust the reclamation of the Founder to a bunch of kids."

The other man watched the Colossal Titan through a binocular. "You think so? Those very same kids just wiped an entire country off the map."

"They wiped out a whole nation?!" "Oh my god..." "I think I'm gonna be sick."

They must be stopped. The Marleyans are the devils here. They killed so many innocent lives. They had to pay for that. Eren thinks furiously.

Historia frowns, All those people are dead because of them...


Reiner leaned against a wall and Porco slammed his hand beside Reiner's head with anger. "This doesn't make sense! Why'd they chosen a loser like you, huh? How'd you pull it off?"

Reiner smirked at him. "The loser was you all along. That's all it is, Pock."

Porco gritted his teeth and took his hand off the wall. He went to punch him. "Fuck you!" Marcel intervened and held him back.

That's why Porco doesn't like him. Armin thinks. First Reiner got the Titan and then he came back without his brother.

"Porco! You know questioning the military is insubordination!"

"Huh?" He fell to his knees and sobbed. Reiner tugged at his collar while he looked down at Porco.

"Reiner... I'm sorry." Marcel apologized.

The four Warriors were in coach, on the way through the streets of a cheering crowd.

"They must be on the way to destroy the wall Maria." Armin says.

"You're right about that..." Reiner says.

They waved at them. Reiner's mom was watching him proudly. He smiled at her. He saw a man entering a building. It was his dad. His eyes widened. He imagined how they would meet.

He slammed the door open. "Father! It's you, isn't it? My Mom said she worked at these barracks before she had me. That's where you met her. Karina Braun, remember?" He walked towards him. "See, look! My mom and I are honorary Marleyans now! Now we can live-" He was cut off.

"Get out of here!" Reiner's father yelled at him. "That woman put you up to this, didn't she? As some kind of revenge! Shit! She made her brat a warrior, of all things! If they find out I'm your father, my family's done for! You want me to be hanged, do you? Well, you won't catch me! I'll run! I'll get far away from you Eldians - you devils!"

Historia frowns since it reminds her of her mother. How she was killed in front of her... She shakes her head and looks at the TV. It's in the past don't think about it.

As for Reiner, he is not sure if he should be happy to see his father in screen, or if he should be angry for how he abandoned him and his mother.

Reiner's wide eyes were shown again.

"Reiner!"

"Reiner!"

His attention was back on his mother, who waved and called after him. "I'll be waiting for you!" They were now on a ship that was on the way to Paradis Island.

Right. Reiner thought. Father or no father, I'm a chosen warrior, entrusted with the Armored Titan. The whole world will know me as a hero who saved them from the island devils.

The full moon shone brightly in the night, they were riding on horses. They had lit up a campfire and were sitting around it. "Guess we couldn't travel very far tonight." Marcel stated.

"Yeah, thanks to this cloudy weather." Reiner answered.

"Even if we manage to destroy the wall, how can we know for sure that the king won't use the Founding Titan?" Bertolt asked.

"He should have done something." Eren says. "But he didn't because he was a coward. I wish I could change that."

"We can't change the past, Eren." Armin says. "But we can change the future and do it better."

"Yeah, you're right. We'll do it better and no innocent people will die this time." Eren says as he stares at Erwin and then thinks of everyone who was killed by the attack in Shiganshina and Trost.

"What do you mean a coward?" Reiner asks.

"You'll know eventually. Just wait for a few episodes." Ray says as Reiner nods.

"What're you talking about? Have a little faith in Marley's research." Reiner said.

"That's right." Marcel said. "There's no going back. Tomorrow, we attack the wall."

Just then, all they receive is a moment of silence.

"You guys don't want to do it, right?" Hange frowns slightly, and the three teens just lower their head.

"But you still do it anyway." Connie says.

"Huh? What's the matter?" Reiner asked them. "You do all want to kill the island devils, don't you? Don't you remember what they've done?"

Reiner stood up. "We are warriors chosen to bring the world's judgment down on those devils!"

Connie groans. I can't hear it anymore.

Sasha pats his shoulder in comfort, and she takes a sandwich from the table and eats it.

Marcel looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Reiner looked confused.

"Reiner, I'm sorry." They looked at Marcel while he spoke. "You weren't supposed to be chosen as a warrior. I tried to make you look good to the army while making Porco look worse."

They didn't expect that. "Wow... that is..." Sasha doesn't find the words for that.

"That sucks." Connie says. "Imagine you thought you were good enough for the top 10, only to realize someone was influencing Shadis."

"Good thing Instructor Shadis won't do that, he will just kill the person on the spot." Erwin says.

"What?" "I wanted to protect my brother." His voice cracked and he began to cry. "I'm sorry. Reiner, I'm sorry!"

Behind Reiner the sun rose. "Why..." The earth rumbled. "...are you apologising?" Ymir's Pure Titan rose up behind him.

"Was that Ymir?" Historia asks as everyone is shocked.

Reiner feels sick after seeing the same thing happen again.

He turned around and the Titan went to grab him. Marcel pushed him aside and was eaten.

Panting, Reiner leaned against a tree. He vomited and fell to his knees. He was alone. "Bertolt... Annie... Marcel..." His eyes widened and he held his head, he was terrified. "It ate him! It's my fault. It at him. It'll eat me too. I'm gonna die here."

"You left them there?" Jean asks with wide eyes.

"And I'm still angry about that." Annie glares at Reiner.

"But if he didn't, he couldn't do anything. He obviously didn't think about transforming and helping them, he was in a panic." Armin says.

"Yeah, but still..."

Suddenly he was kicked and he rolled away. Scared, he screamed and tried to defend himself thinking he will be eaten.

"I'm impressed." Annie said panting, Bertolt was behind her. "This is the first time... you've beaten me... in a long-distance race."

He looked up. "Huh?"

"If we'd been able to take out that Titan right away, we wouldn't have lost the Jaw." Annie continued. "Damn it! Marcel's never coming back."

"They said there wouldn't be any Titans this close to the walls." Reiner said.

"Who cares? Let's go home." Annie said.

"You want to break up the mission?" Eren asks Annie.

"There's no point, we lost Marcel and the Jaws." Annie says. "All I want is to get back home."

"Huh?" "We'll find the Jaw and take it back with us. It should be back in human form somewhere around here." Annie turned around. "At any rate, we can't finish the mission without Marcel's leadership."

Bertolt and Annie began to walk away. "Wait... we can't." Reiner whispered, then called after them. "We can't!"

They turned around and looked at him. "We can't go home! We have to finish the mission."

"Sure." Annie said. "Because if we go home like this, they'll feed you and your Armor to the next warrior for sure."

Levi nods grimly. That would be the case.

Reiner gulped. "But that's your problem." Annie finished.

"Are you sure it'll just be me?" He asked her.

"Huh?" "You think that even if all three of us run away, they'll single out me to punish? How certain can you be that you won't be purged too?"

They didn't have a choice... Armin frowns. They had to do it or else they would be the ones eaten. This is so fucked up.

"We won't be able to recover the Jaw. If they run away in Titan form, none of our Titans will be able to catch up!"

"But learning to use the power takes a long-" Bertolt began to argue, but Reiner cut him off.

"Says the guy who could use the Colossal right away! Don't you get it? There's no hope left for us! If we don't retrieve the Founder, we can't go home!"

Annie closed her eyes. "You know, if you'd been even one percent this composed last night, we wouldn't have lost Marcel and the Jaw." She went towards Reiner. "You're threatening us just to save your own skin, is that it?" She kicked him in the face.

Everyone is surprised to see Annie doing that, and Annie winces as the TV has to show that. Connie turns to Annie and asks, "Why would you do that?"

"Because he could heal his wounds in the end." Mikasa sarcastically remarks.

"That's one way to say about it." Annie says.

"You can be the one to explain this to Magath! 'It was all my fault!'" She continued to kick him in his face, while she spoke. "Tell him! Screw your 'honorary Marleyan' bullshit! You're a Chosen warrior? Marleyans and Eldians are both liars! All they think about is themselves! And I'm no different. I have to go back home alive! If you're really sorry, then die for me! Own up to your mistakes and die!" She was panting and began to walk away.

The teens are stunned, Annie was usually calm compared to the other two, but they never saw her so angry and loud. Not to mention she didn't speak a lot either in the trainee days.

Reiner was laying on his face, he didn't move. Annie stopped walking, Reiner stood behind her, face all bloody. She turned around and he lunged at her and began to choke her. "Reiner is dead." he said to her. "If you need Marcel, I'll be Marcel."

Tears rolled down Bertolt's face. "Stop it already."

"This is the only way for us to go home." Annie's head turned red. "We'll all have to go home..."

Now everyone is thinking of their perspective, they know they didn't have a choice or they would have died. Maybe they would do the same thing if they were in their shoes.


The citizens of Shiganshina were shown above. Young Armin, Eren, and Mikasa were staring at the wall. The Colossal Titan kicked down the gate.

Please don't show this again...Eren frowns, he doesn't want to see the same thing happen once more.

Bertolt was outside of his Titan form. He turned around and saw a Titan walking towards him. Thinking it was coming for him, he froze and looked scared. The Titan was Dina, who ignored and passed him. He looked after her confused.

"Wait, why?" Eren asks.

"How is that even possible? She's a pure Titan, and why did she ignore Bertolt?" Hange asks.

"I have been thinking the same thing too." Bertolt says.

Ray sighs. Because of Eren. But she knows she can't say it out loud.

I wanted to be a warrior. I wanted to realize my mother's dream of a happy family. The Armored Titan turned around the corner. But my father wants nothing to do with us. He began to run to the inner gate. My mother knew her wish was never going to come true. I was never supposed to be a warrior. I should've died today.

He remembered Marcel. Why did he apologize? Why did he save me? He was close to the gate. No. It can't end yet! Not while I still don't understand a thing! He went to break through and the screen turned white.

Connie thinks, They didn't have a choice. They wanted to survive and have a better life for their families. They were just kids, if I lived there, maybe my mother would want me to do the same thing as well...

The others don't feel any different. Now that they know the circumstances, they don't know if they could still blame or hate them anymore.

Annie woke up. Reiner and Bertolt sat beside her. She sat up. "Where am I?"

"Inside Wall Rose." Bertolt answered.

In the distance were Mikasa, Armin, and Eren, sitting together.

The three of them widened their eyes.

"I didn't know we were so nearby." Armin says.

"Now that I think about it, you guys were also there as well." Reiner says.

Mikasa hides her face in her scarf. It feels as if it was yesterday. I want to forget this day.

Reiner put his arms around them. "Annie. Bertolt. I'm sorry. Marcel, I'm going to be a real warrior.

When the day of the training camp started, Shadis asked Reiner. "Answer me! Why have you come here, maggot?"

"To save humanity!" he answered.

For him, it had a different meaning at that time. Jean thought. And we thought he was fighting for us.

A body was dangling in the air.

Historia puts her hand on her mouth. "Oh my..." she looks away.

Horror is written on the faces of the teens. Who was that?

A man was telling the kids his story. "My village was in the mountainous southeast part of Wall Maria. It was around dawn. The animals started making noise, and I heard a strange rumbling sound that kept getting louder. When I realized I was hearing footsteps, I threw the window open, and..." A Titan was standing before him.

"Isn't that the story you told us?" Armin asks.

"It was a real story, I just used his story to cover up..." Bertolt says.

"I don't remember the rest clearly, but I got on my horse and rode away. I... left behind my three kids they were about your age."

Someone was walking in a dark alley. Around the corner was standing a person. It's Annie, her hair was in pigtails and she wore round glasses. She turned around the corner and the person was gone.

Suddenly Kenny was standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder. "Hey there, missy. You must have good taste in men if you're tailing me."

Levi widens his eyes. Kenny? He is glad to see him on the screen again after his death. Why is Annie tailing Kenny? Did she know that Kenny was working with the Reiss?

"I was born in an inn." She answered, she didn't turn around. "My mother worked there. She used to tell me stories about my father all the time. One look, and I knew."

"Well, ain't that touching. If you want a hug from daddy, put your hands up."

"Are you that sure I'm wrong?"

"Yeah, I swear to my sister. That's the last joke anyone should ever tell me."

Levi is still thinking about the promise that Kenny made to his mother, and he frowns.

"You're so mean. Papa!" Suddenly she kicked the wall right beside his head. She ran away from him.

"Come on, are you rebelling against your dear old dad already?" Kenny asked while running after her.

Levi narrows his eyes. What was the point of that? What did she do that for?

Connie tilts his head. "I'm confused. What was the point in that?"

"Just to gather information about the King?" Historia asks, "Considering that Kenny was working with my father."

Crossed legs leaned against a wall. "Wow, this is a good one."

It was Bertolt, he was sleeping with his arms behind his back. "His legs are telling me it's gonna snow today."

"No, look at his torso. It'll be clear all day."

Connie says, "Ah, I remember that. It sure brings back memories."

"Yeah... and how much money we have lost..." Jean mutters.

"Wait, you guys have been doing this to me this whole time?" Bertolt asks.

"It's fun." Eren replies.

Reiner walked towards Connie, Marco, and Thomas, who were watching Bertolt. "Let's just call it hail. Come on, you'll miss roll call. Wake up, Bertolt!"

Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt were meeting together outside of the training camp that night.

"While you were playing with your friends and sleeping like logs, I was crawling around the capital's sewers." Annie told them. "But thanks to that guy, I can't risk it again."

"This is it, huh?" Reiner asked.

"Let's just go back to Marley with what we've learned. They'll be happy we have any information at all."

"Are you sure about that? After five years, Marley will be expecting more than information."

"Then what do you want us to do?"

"We'll destroy Wall Rose. It's our only shot at luring out the Founding Titan."

"Because of it, you destroyed Wall Rose and caused Thomas, Mina, and even Marco..." Eren mutters as everyone remembers what happened. Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie are speechless because they were right.

"In a way, the Founding Titan came out." Erwin says. "You only didn't know this at the moment."

"That's gonna get most of your friends killed." Annie said.

Reiner kneeled in front of her. "How many times do I have to tell you? They're not our friends. They're devils. But it doesn't hurt to gain their trust. In fact, your lone-wolf act is more suspicious-"

"Damn... that hurt..." Connie states. "Still thinking of us as devils even then, huh?"

She cut him off. "You're making me sick. How about you keep your face away from mine?"

He sighed and stood up. "You must be tired. For what it's worth, I am sorry for making you do all the work." He walked away. "Let's call it a day."

She stood up and walked away, too. Bertolt sighed. "All this time, I've been having the same dream."

They stopped and looked at him. "About that man who hanged himself at the farm." The man who told them his story was hanging from a tree.

Historia looked away again. He felt guilty and killed himself for that.

The kids and other people were standing around it. "I can't help but wonder why he told us that story before he tied the noose."

The sun was setting. The trainees were practicing with their gear. Eren fell to the ground and Reiner went to him. Eren was panting heavily. "Eren, you should take a break. You're gonna kill yourself."

"Damn it... Reiner, how do you do it? How can I be more like you and Mikasa? At this rate, everything will be over before I can accomplish anything." He began sobbing.

Reiner remembered himself laying on the ground.

Is that the reason, he helped me on that day? Eren thinks. Did I remember him of himself? Would he do it, if it wasn't the case?

A bullet holding in a hand appeared before the scene changed back to Reiner and Eren. "You do what you have to do."

Then the rifle was filled with bullets. "Just keep moving." Eren looked at him.

Reiner loaded the rifle.

"What is he going to do?" Armin asks.

"No idea." Jean says.

"Maybe he is going to shoot all the Marleyans?" Mikasa asks.

"He would be crazy if he tried to do that." Sasha gasps.

Reiner is also sweating if he is going to do that, it will cause him a lot of trouble.

"That's how it works, right?" He took Eren's hand.

"Yeah, you're right..."

He shoved the rifle in his mouth. His thumb was on the trigger.

"Wait, you want to kill himself?" Eren asks.

"Damn you... if you think you can just do it to escape your mistakes, then you're wrong!" Jean yells while grabbing Reiner's collar.

"Jean, stop it." Mikasa says as Jean let go.

"Yeah, Reiner is already suffering." Historia adds.

As for the others, they are conflicted. On one hand, they want him to do it. On the other hand, they don't want to. They don't know what to think. Levi can only stare at the others and sigh.

"You still want to kill every last Titan, right?" Reiner asked. "If anyone can do it, it's you."

Reiner was sitting in a small room, with the rifle in his mouth. He was about to pull the trigger when suddenly someone punched the wall outside, who turned out to be Falco. "Damn it! At this rate, I won't make the cut..."

Reiner removed the rifle from his mouth and coughed. He looked outside and saw Falco walking away. That's right. I still have... them.

He cares deeply for those kids. Historia thinks.

Falco was walking along the sidewalk. He looked at a big building. "The hospital.."

"Hey!"

"Huh?" Falco turned around and saw the man, he helped another day with his armband, sitting on a bench waving at him.

"Hey, that's the guy from the last episode, right?" Connie asks.

Ray says, "Yes, the guy who I mentioned is one of you."

Falco sat beside the man. "Um, it looks like you're recovering pretty well. At least well enough to talk."

"I guess." Eren answered. "People come here to get treated for PTSD, but I'm faking it."

Armin notices that Ray is staring at Eren with a frown, and then he realizes something. That has to be Eren! But why wouldn't his wounds heal? What is he planning?

"Huh?" "I've been acting like I have amnesia, but really...I just don't want to go home. I don't think I can face my family anymore. You gonna tell the doctors?"

Now with the clear view and the louder voice, everyone notices who he is.

"Eren... Is that you?" Mikasa asks.

"Judging by the voice and the hair color, I think it was me. But why am I faking my injuries and alone in Marley?" Eren asks.

"Maybe you're spying Marley for us, considering I was also there. But seriously, you look like a homeless man after four years." Jean says.

"I hope that's the case." Historia says.

Or maybe he is going to do the same thing as us? Annie thinks. Would he do that?

Falco looked down. "No, I wouldn't do that."

The man looked at him. "You're hurt. Did that happen in warrior training?"

"Yes. But I don't think I'll make the cut." Falco muttered. "There's this other candidate who's good at everything."

"That's a good thing." The man looked away from him.

"Huh?" Falco looked at him.

"You're a good person. I'm glad you'll be able to live a full life."

Falco looked down again. "But I don't want the other candidate to become a warrior."

The man looked at him again. "Why not? Is this person a girl?"

"She's famous around here. She even played a big part in ending the war. Everyone knows she's the best pick for the next Armored Titan. But I'm too weak, I won't be able to change anything before it's too late."

It was silent for a while before the man spoke up again. "Every day since I came here, I've been thinking. Why did things end up this way?" A man was in a wheelchair, a nurse took care of a man with bandages around his eyes and a man was sitting on the ground. "Having your body and mind rot away, losing your sense of self..."

A man banged his head against a wall. "Anyone who knew they'd end up this way would never set foot on a battlefield." It zoomed into his missing leg. "But something pushes them onward. And they all walk into hell anyway. Usually, that something isn't their own will. The conditions and people around them leave them with no choice." Falco looked at him.

"But people who push themselves onward see a different sort of hell. They're looking at something past that hell. It might be hope, or it might be yet another hell." It zoomed into the face of the man. His visible eye was green and dull with almost no emotions.

Mikasa is also frowning as she worries about him. He changed so much. Eren... What happened to you?

Did something happen during these four years that causes him to act like this? Armin asks.

Eren is silent, his eyes are the same green and dull with no emotions.

"Only the people who keep moving forward can know for sure."

Ray says, "And this is the third episode, we'll be taking a break for now."

"So we know the whole truth about Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner. It's just..." Connie frowns.

"Now that Historia is the queen, do we really need to fight together? Why don't you guys just bring your family to Paradis? That way, we don't even need to fight." Armin asks.

"Easier said than done. And I don't think my mother would agree to come with us." Reiner frowns.

"I guess so... let's see the next chapter."


And here is the third chapter and I hope you like it.