Ymir tried not to look as Reiner restrained Eren. She understood Eren's anger, but he was too ignorant and naive.

She glanced at Bertolt. "Can you explain to me why we're leaving early?"

Instead of answering her, he responded with a question of his own. "Ymir, when you changed back into a human, did you have any memory of the person you ate?"

Ymir averted her gaze. "No, not really. We're talking about something that happened five years ago. But the way you're asking I'm guessing that it was someone you knew?"

Bertolt's silence was answer enough.

Her eyes became melancholy. "I see. Then I'm sorry for not remembering."

"Hey, it's not your fault that you don't. It was the same for Reiner and me."

"Yeah?"

Bertolt nodded. "Eren doesn't remember either."

"Is that how it works?"

Ymir glanced back at him. "You hold that against me?"

Bertolt frowned. "I don't think so. I mean, I don't know. I suppose I have to believe you didn't want to eat anyone. How long were you wandering outside the walls?"

"Oh, about sixty years. Hell on earth. Every day was like waking up into a nightmare."

While she knew Eren's anger toward the Warriors was justified, for her part she couldn't help but feel grateful to them, as it was thanks to their friend that her nightmare had finally come to an end. This gratitude, as well as regret for what she had taken from them, was another part of why she had sided with them.

Reiner had successfully strangled Eren until he passed out, and was now carrying him toward the edge of the branch.

As he walked by, Eren's stump brushed against Ymir's arm, and all at once she felt a spark of electricity shoot through her body.

Falco was standing in a dimly lit basement, feeling utterly confused and terrified.

On his left sat Mr. Braun, the man he had looked up to for years, while on his right sat Eren Yeager, the person who was supposedly their most dangerous enemy. And yet…

Eren looked at the ground with a somber expression. "I still remember the day the wall came down. On that day, my mother was eaten by a Titan right in front of me. So many people were devoured by the Titans. So many people lost their lives and homes. I didn't understand why this had happened."

Eren looked up. "So tell me Reiner, why was my mother eaten by a Titan?"

His voice contained no anger or resentment, just simple curiosity.

Reiner looked at the ground. "Because we broke down the wall."

Eren prompted him. "Why did you break down the wall?"

Reiner winced. "We broke down the wall so that we could infiltrate Wall Rose and monitor the movements of the King of the walls in order to complete our mission."

"And what was your mission?"

Reiner looked off to the side. "Our mission was to retrieve the Founding Titan. To save the world."

"I see." Eren said quietly. "So, you were on a mission to save the world. Well then, I guess you didn't have a choice."

Reiner closed his eyes. "Back then, you swore that you would make sure I died the most painful death possible. You...you came for that, right?"

Eren was silent for a moment before absently scratching his ear.

"Ah. Did I say that? Please, forget I said that."

Reiner looked at him sharply. "What?"

"It's true that I saw everyone on the other side of the ocean as an enemy. But then I crossed the ocean, and slept under the same roof as the enemy, and ate the same food as the enemy. Just like you did, Reiner."

Reiner's eyes were wide in shock and disbelief, not expecting to hear such understanding words from Eren.

Falco tilted his head in confusion. "Huh?"

Eren looked at him seriously. "All of us, all humans, on both sides of the ocean, we are all the same. But you had convinced yourselves that you were different, that you were special, and that those of us who lived behind the walls were evil devils that needed to be destroyed."

Falco looked away uncomfortably.

Eren returned his gaze to Reiner. "You were just ignorant children, and these falsehoods were beaten into you by ignorant adults. Under those circumstances, in that environment, during that time period, what else could you have done? How else could you have turned out? What other choice could you have made? Yes Reiner? This whole time, this has been so painful for you. I think I can finally understand…"

All at once Reiner fell off the chair and collapsed to the ground, prostrating himself before Eren.

"No! You're wrong Eren!"

Falco was stunned. He'd never seen Mr. Braun like this.

"On that day, on the day Marcel was eaten, Annie and Bertolt wanted to abort the mission, they wanted to go back! But I...I persuaded them not to! I persuade them to keep going! Yes, it was partly out of self preservation, but…"

Reiner screwed his eyes shut in anguish. "I wanted to be a hero! I wanted to be someone important! I wanted to be a big brother figure that others could look up to and count on!"

Reiner looked up at Eren, tears shining in his eyes. "And that, that has nothing to do with the circumstances or time period in which I was raised! I was wrong! It's my fault your mother was eaten by a Titan!"

Reiner shut his eyes once more. "I...I can't stand this anymore. Please...kill me...I just want to disappear."

Eren stared down at Reiner for a long time before slowly rising up out of the chair.

"Stand up Reiner."

"I can't."

Eren extended his hand, which was bleeding from a small cut.

Reiner looked up at him in shock. "Eren…"

Eren pulled Reiner to his feet, and Falco hesitantly took a few steps back as the two men clasped hands.

Eren looked off to the side, his expression resigned.

"You and I are the same Reiner. I think we've both been this way ever since we were born."

"What?" Reiner whispered.

Eren's eyes began to glow. "I'll just keep moving forward until all my enemies are destroyed."

A spark emanated from Eren's hand, and the next second the room was engulfed in light.

Ymir's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in shock at the scene she'd just seen.

"Ymir? Something wrong?"

Bertolt was looking at her in concern.

"N-no." She stammered. "It's nothing."

Reiner readied his ODM gear, Eren secured on his back. "Let's go."

A moment later Reiner had jumped off and was using his ODM gear to propel himself through the forest, while Bertolt was close behind him with Ymir clinging to his back.

Reiner was saying something, but Ymir wasn't paying any attention, still rattled by what she had just seen.

Was that...was that the future? Or was it just an echo of what might be? Was it a memory? I don't know what it was, but I saw it after touching Eren. It must have something to do with the Titan powers. He's a naive idiot...but if what I saw was true, or at least possible...then maybe there's still hope for him once he understands the true nature of this world.

Ymir noticed the swarm of Titans below them, and once again wondered why they hadn't waited until sundown to leave.

Then she spotted the smoke signals behind them through the trees.

Her eyes widened. The Scouts have come to rescue us?

As she faced forward, she realized she had a decision she needed to make. She could either stick with Reiner and Bertolt, or she could throw in her lot with Eren and the Scouts.

Either way is a gamble. But…

As she thought it through, she recalled how Reiner was losing his mind because of the guilt of what he'd done, while Eren was firm in his anger. And as she thought of that, she remembered two key moments of that strange vision she'd seen.

I just want to disappear.

I'll just keep moving forward until all my enemies are destroyed.

In that moment, she realized that, when push came to shove, Eren had more resolve than Reiner. Eren was capable of sympathizing with the enemy without letting it cloud his judgment, and he would do whatever it took to win. This was not the case with Reiner.

So when it came to deciding who to trust Historia's future with…

Ymir whispered into Bertolt's ear. "I'm sorry."

She then raised up her arm and hit him on the head with her elbow as hard as she could.

The Scouts were charging directly at the forest on horseback, doing their best to avoid the Titans right in front of them.

Somewhere within the forest, a bolt of lightning erupted.

Mikasa gasped. "That light."

Armin nodded grimly. "You saw it too, huh? It's coming from the forest. I think someone's transforming into a Titan!"

Erwin frowned. "We're out of time. Soldiers disperse! The enemy have assumed Titan form! Find Eren and get him out of there!"

The Scouts scattered to avoid the line of Titans, while several of the MPs that had come with them were not so lucky.

Jean grimaced as he saw a soldier get eaten. "Another MP…"

"Battle is not our objective!" Erwin shouted. "Locate, recover, and retreat!"

As they entered the forest, Hannes called to his subordinate. "Round up the horses!"

"Right away sir!"

The Scout and Garrison soldiers then used their ODM gear to launch into the air and began to soar through the trees.

Hannes raised his voice. "First thing we do is pinpoint the enemy and tell the others! They're fleeing through the woods so stay sharp! Break!"

They then dispersed, trying to cover as much ground as possible.

Mikasa looked around desperately. Eren!

Where are you?! Armin said to himself.

Suddenly, the soldiers heard in the distance a furious voice bellowing two words at the top of their lungs.

"YOU BITCH!"

"That's Reiner!" Jean exclaimed. "This way!"

As the Scouts got closer to the source of the sound, they were abruptly greeted with an unexpected sight.

One of the veterans brought out their blades. "Shit, a Titan! I'll take care of it!"

"No, wait a second!" Connie protested. "It's actually Ymir! This is her Titan form, she's one of the people they took!"

Connie landed next to her on the tree. "What happened? Is Eren okay?"

In response, Ymir opened her mouth, revealing Eren inside.

"Eren!" Mikasa cried, swooping over and retrieving him.

"He's okay!" Armin exclaimed in relief.

As soon as Mikasa extracted Eren, Ymir closed her mouth and partially emerged from the nape. Connie, Jean, Sasha, and the others were slightly taken aback by the sight of her real body merged with the Titan flesh.

She looked at them anxiously. "We need to go. I think I managed to knock Bertolt out, but I'm not entirely sure, and Reiner is really pissed off."

High above the forest floor, on one of the highest branches of one of the taller trees, Reiner was holding Bertolt's unconscious form.

His face was twisted in anger. Damn you Ymir! Did she change her mind? Or was she lying from the start?

If he wasn't holding Bertolt he would have punched the tree in frustration.

Shit!

He desperately wanted to chase after Ymir and get Eren back, but he knew that under the circumstances that was a bad idea. While Ymir most likely didn't know about it, the Jaw Titan had the power to tear right through the Armored Titan's armor, and the forest environment would bolster its speed and agility, putting him at a severe disadvantage in a fight. Add in the Scouts to the equation, and trying to go after Ymir to get Eren back would be tantamount to suicide.

Plus, in order to do it he would have to leave Bertolt unguarded, something he really didn't want to do. And even if he was reckless enough to do it anyway, if he fought and lost, then either Bertolt would be captured too, or he would be stranded with no way of getting back home.

As he thought it through, Reiner realized that at this point, they had no choice but to concede that they had lost this round.

Damn it. I just hope Annie is okay. Hopefully she'll have gotten word of what happened and gone into hiding before they can figure out her connection to us.

He gritted his teeth. Ymir…

The journey back to the wall was fairly uneventful, and thanks to Ymir's Titan they were able to cut down the Titans that got in their way with relative ease.

As soon as they reached the wall, the elevators got to work hauling up the horses and soldiers.

Hannes called out. "Get the doctors, we've got some injured here!"

Mikasa and Armin were watching Eren closely as he was placed onto the wall.

He let out a low groan. "Ugh…"

Armin smiled. "He's awake."

Mikasa squeezed his hand. "Eren."

Eren looked at them in confusion. "Armin? Mikasa? What happened? We're back on the wall?"

Armin nodded. "Ymir rescued you. I guess she caught Reiner and Bertolt by surprise."

Eren blinked in surprise. "She did?"

As he took in this information, and thought back to what had happened in the forest, he realized that her joining them must have been a ruse. As he realized this, he immediately felt bad for doubting her.

Historia hugged the taller girl tightly. "Thank goodness you're okay."

Ymir returned the hug with a smile, the Titan markings still on her face. "Yeah. Sorry for worrying you."

Erwin stepped toward them, his eyes fixed on Ymir. "Thank you for your help. I doubt we would have been able to rescue Eren so quickly and with relatively few casualties without your assistance. We're in your debt."

Ymir smiled cautiously. "You're welcome."

His eyes narrowed. "Having said that, you've got some explaining to do."

She averted her gaze "Yes, I suppose I do."

"It's too late for any major questioning tonight, but there is one question I need answered. Are there other humans out there beyond the walls?"

Erwin's expression betrayed nothing, but Ymir could tell that he understood the significance of this question. She could also tell that her other friends in the 104th were listening in, waiting to hear what the answer would be.

Historia looked up at her anxiously.

Ymir took a deep breath before responding with a single but unfathomably important word.

"Yes."

Author's Note: And here's another Ymir centered story I've had rattling around in my head for a while. Now I know some people wanted me to do a story where at the end of Season 2 Ymir sided with the Scouts instead of Reiner and Bertolt. The problem is that I don't think it would really make sense. Despite her abrasive and rude personality (which I think is at least partially her overcompensating for having been extremely submissive and polite during her time with the cult) she is at heart an incredibly selfless person. And after Bertolt's confession I think her siding with them was inevitable given her selfless nature. She knew that Historia, Eren, and the others would be okay, while Reiner and Bertolt were about to die, and that almost nobody was on their side, which coupled with her guilt over Marcel made the outcome pretty clear.

So yeah, I think if Ymir was going to side with the Scouts and ditch Reiner and Bertolt, it would have to be at an earlier point in order for it to be plausible. And in this scenario, where she saw a glimpse of a future with a more mature Eren and a Reiner who wants to die, that was enough to push her to side with the Scouts. Plus that moment is one of my absolute favorites in all of AoT, as I think it does an excellent job of showcasing Eren and Reiner's true nature, and the depth of the unusual bond they share.

This story is obviously being left open, and maybe I'll expand on it more someday, though I can't make any promises. Though it would make for an interesting story, I can see why Isayama didn't go for this route. After all, if Ymir was there to help them the Scouts would have had a much easier time, and we can't have that now can we?

Anyways, be sure to let me know what you think. Not sure what the next story will be, but I have a few ideas I'm considering. Though I think it's safe to say that this will be the last of the Ymir centered stories for now.