Chapter 25: Comfort

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: Petra clears up the inner gate. Eren II comes up with a plan and the Colossal Titan is defeated. Ymir and Historia reunite. Eren is revealed to have been kidnapped by Marley.


Levi threw down a weakened Bertolt, who was missing ends of all four of his limbs.

"Restrain him," Erwin ordered and a group immediately began to tie Bertolt up and gag him. "Keep him separate from the Beast Titan," he said as they took him away. He felt high on their success and wanted to run for the basement at once, but there were still some things to be taken care of first.

"So," Hange said, "we've got the Beast Titan AKA their war chief, we captured the Colossal Titan, we accomplished the first and biggest step in retaking Wall Maria by sealing the outer gate, and the basement is within our reach." She was smiling, looking satisfied. "Reiner and Pieck are still on the loose but Reiner should be out of commission. All in all, I think it's safe to say this mission was a resounding success."

"None of the scouts have reported anything suspicious." Erwin glanced at the soldiers patrolling the Wall. "Reiner and Pieck may have gone deeper into the Walls to hide and recover."

"Or they've retreated to their ship," Hange suggested. "If they ran far enough along the Wall they could have gone over it using Reiner's 3D gear without us even noticing. Then they would have headed straight for their ship. They might be long gone for all we know."

"Or," Levi proposed suspiciously, "they're planning to attack us from the opposite side from where we're expecting. Instead of going for their ship, they could be hanging around near the outer gate. That way they can grab Eren when they see an opportunity and immediately make their retreat."

Hange dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "I doubt they're stupid enough to attack us now. The Cart Titan isn't a fighting-type. That only leaves Reiner against us all. Those aren't good odds for them."

"We'll still see them coming," Erwin said, "no matter what direction they come from. We've got dozens of soldiers still alive. Most of that group can keep a lookout and stay here while the rest of us check the basement." Erwin turned to Levi. "Why don't you go check on Eren? See if he's rested enough to seal the inner gate. Also, I don't want Eren, Ymir, and Petra in one place so tell them to split up."

"Are we going to bring in all the horses?" Levi asked. "Reiner and Pieck could still be on the other side. What if they attack them?"

Majority of the horses were still in the destroyed down since they had wanted to take out the Colossal Titan first before exposing the animals to him. "We've got more horses than soldiers now," the commander said grimly. Over two-thirds of the Scouts had died and they still weren't safely behind Wall Rose yet. "We can afford to split the horses into two groups. One group will remain in the destroyed town, the other we'll keep here in Shinganshina. In case we need to make a break for it, we can climb over the Wall with the 3D gear and use the horses on that side to ride away. But if we need the horses here, we'll have half available on this side."

"If Eren seals the inner gate after we get half here, they'll be stuck," Levi pointed out. "We won't be able to ride them through the gate with Eren's Titan shell blocking the hole."

"It's not a problem. There's plenty of food and a water source to help the horses survive until we come back. I'd just rather not have them all in one place. They're our transportation back to safety. After our three Shifters, the horses' safety takes priority. Having them in two places makes it harder for our enemies to kill them all so they can strand us in Titan territory."

"Okay," Levi said, turning to leave. "I'll get Eren, then."

"Hange, go check on Ymir and Petra. Eren will be too exhausted after sealing the inner gate to move the rubble above his house."

"Ymir's still regrowing her arms," Hange reminded him. "I doubt she can transform just yet. She needs a little more time. I'll see if I can coax Petra into transforming again. But she might become unintelligible like Eren did when we first tried a third transformation—that's if she can manage it in the first place since this was her first time using her Titan in battle."

"That's fine," Erwin said. "If she can't do it, we'll have plenty of horses we can use to move the wreckage."

After Hange left, Erwin went to talk to the soldiers, ordering them to split the horses. Even as he spoke, his mind kept straying to the basement. He had some ideas on what they were going to find there. Despite the fact they refused to speculate on it, he had a feeling Levi, Hange, and even Historia—whom they'd shared all the information with—had thought about it, too. After becoming the Female Titan, Petra had made contact with Historia whenever possible and the few memories that had been triggered had painted a certain picture in his head. They'd learned of "Marley"—which they had thought was a person until Ymir implied it was a civilization—and bits about "Eldians," among other things. They'd learned of Annie's father and a poor town of some sort. No matter how much they searched for the town, though, they couldn't find a trace of it within the Walls.

Once all the little pieces were put together, his mind had started to tug in a shocking and unbelievable direction. Grisha had come over to the island on a ship. That meant the people of the Walls were on an isolated piece of land. The Warriors had shown up after a century of peace to destroy the gates and let Titans overrun human territory. Rigorous searching had revealed not even an urban legend of "warriors" inside the Walls aside from knights of old. Not to mention, why would the Warriors bring down Wall Maria and let mindless monsters overrun it? Wouldn't they also be hurting themselves?

Not unless they're not from around here, Erwin thought. If there was civilization beyond the island, it would certainly answer a lot of questions that had been rising in his mind over the past few months.

Confirmation and the whole truth were finally within reach but it was a bittersweet feeling. On one hand, they were finally about to accomplish what the Survey Corps had been trying to do for many decades. On the other hand, the truth would be a hard one, making them realize they had left one cage for a bigger, more terrifying one.

Reality might be a worse nightmare than they had previously believed it to be.

And if his guess was right, what of all those soldiers who had sacrificed themselves trying to free "humanity" from the Titans? They'd given up their lives in hopes it would bring their people closer to freedom and safety. Instead, it could just be more enemies waiting for the Walled people out there.

For certain, there was at least one antagonistic group after them: Marley.

New questions had been buzzing in Erwin's head since he started thinking there could be humans outside the Walls. Who were they going to reveal this information to? How much of the truth would be shared? Erwin had already decided if he was right about this, then all the people of the Walls deserved to know. If we keep quiet about this, we won't be all that different from the previous government.

In fact, they'd already tricked the people once by messing with what had actually happened with the uprising, trying to paint Rod Reiss as a victim of the greedy Assembly that had tried to take the throne from him. If they stuck to the path of keeping the populace in the dark, they would continue to become more and more like the regime they'd fought to replace. I won't allow that to happen, Erwin thought.

The soldiers around him, comprising mostly of recruits, hurried about to see to their duties. Almost all of Erwin's friends and close acquaintances were gone. Some had been killed earlier today and many had died in the 57th Expedition almost three months ago. Others had perished due to his own orders over the years. But their friends, families, and loved ones were still alive.

The number of soldiers that had died under his reign as commander may have been much lower compared to the previous twelve commanders, but Erwin felt too many soldiers had been sacrificed still. Even if what he'd wanted matched what those men and women had given up their lives for, it weighed on his conscience. The safety of the people those soldiers had left behind was his responsibility.

Once he learned of the basement's contents, confirmed it was what he was thinking, he knew it would be his new calling. Erwin could feel it in his bones already. It was the least he owed the phantoms who haunted him that he devote the remainder of his life in service to the Walled people.

And that meant sharing everything they found in the basement. How else will we properly prepare for this threat? For war? Marley had sent the Armored, Colossal, Female, and Jaw Titans to attack the Walls. Three of those Titans had destroyed Wall Maria, making the Walled people lose one-third of their territory and resulting in hundreds of thousands of lives being lost. Majority of the survivors had ended up destitute, living in horrible poverty. And the enemies were still after the Founding Titan. Far as Erwin was concerned, Marley was at war with his people.

But if the enemy wanted to take Paradis Island down, they'd have to step over his cold, dead body first.


"I'm sorry, Hange," Petra apologized, exhaustion clear in her voice. "I don't think I can transform. I'm pretty sure I'll turn into an unintelligent Titan."

"That's alright," Hange said in understanding. "It's better for you to rest anyway." She pointed to Connie, Jean, and Mikasa. "I want you three to grab two horses each so we can head for Eren's basement. Eren should be done recovering from sealing the inner gate so we'll leave soon."

"Are we not using the 3D gear to get there?" Connie asked, climbing to his feet.

"We'll need the horses to help clear the rubble from Eren's house anyway so we'll ride them there and conserve gas. I'm gonna head to the supply wagons and grab some ropes and hooks."

Only Ymir and Sasha remained behind with Petra, the former healing and the latter sustaining some burns, which had yellowish-green ointment on them. Petra had taken over Connie's job and finished rubbing the salve on the burns.

Sasha sighed, a blissful smile on her face. "That's so much better. Thanks!"

"Where's the commander? I gotta talk to him about something." Ymir looked around before sitting up with Sasha's help. She went off toward Erwin when she spotted him.

Petra stood as well. "If you'll excuse me, I need a bath. Or find a body of water to jump into." She found the wagon her squad had escorted while she pretended to be Annie. In it were a spare change of clothes she'd brought along.

A recruit with long dark hair joined her. "Would you like some help?"

She debated if she wanted assistance in getting cleaned and dressed. She was almost certain she would, but she didn't feel like accepting. "Er, thanks, but I'm okay. Actually, can you do me a favor?"

"Of course!" The recruit beamed, staring at her with bright eyes.

It felt odd to be looked at which such a gaze. Being stared at wasn't that unusual for a member of Levi's squad. But it was out now that she was Shifter like Eren, which brought a different kind of notoriety. This is going to take some getting used to, Petra thought. "A friend of mine was injured while fighting the Armored Titan and the Cart Titan. Can you please check up on him for me? His name is Eld Gin."

The young woman accepted the request eagerly and hurried off to check all the wagons.

Maybe it won't be all that bad, Petra thought in amusement.

Her arms and legs—and really, her entire body—felt weak. She had been hoping to wash up by herself but that didn't seem like such an easy task. Maybe she should have ignored her discomfort and accepted the recruit's offer. I knew I was going to need help. Why did I turn her down? Petra groaned. And here I thought the military had beaten any sense of shame out of me.

Hange came across her once but didn't have the time to help, though she did have new orders.

Petra returned to Sasha. "I hate to be a bother, but can you please help me?"

Sasha sprang to her feet at once. "Anything you need!"

"I need someone to pretty much dump a bucket of water over my head as I wash up. And just be with me in case I pass out."

They found the least dilapidated-looking house around and went in. Petra wanted to leave as soon as possible. Who knew if the occupants were dead or if they'd made it to Wall Rose five years ago? It felt invasive either way, going into someone's home without permission. After cleaning up, she changed into white pants, a button-up shirt, and pulled on her boots. Finally, feeling fresh, she rolled up the sleeves of her blouse and left the house with Sasha.

She noticed the drool at the corner of the girl's mouth. "Thinking about food?" Petra guessed. That was always a safe question with Sasha.

Sasha nodded enthusiastically. "We've got step one done in reclaiming Wall Maria. Once we get rid of the Titans and clean up the cities and villages, the people can move back to their homes and we'll be able to farm the land and grow more animals and get more meat." She sighed dreamily. "I was just thinking about having a huge breakfast with everyone! We'd have warm bread straight from the oven, scrambled eggs, spicy sausages, and a big glass of fresh, sweet juice!"

"That sounds so good you're making my mouth water."

Sasha patted her stomach. "I can't wait to return home and chow down!"

Petra lifted her head in the direction of the inner gate, though she couldn't see the sealed hole with all the buildings around them. They'd moved further into the city where their gear was of more use in case they were attacked. "Eren and the others should have made it to the basement by now," Petra said. "Once they come back, we can go home and you can eat until you're ready to burst. I'm sure the queen will throw a feast in celebration of our success."

"Why didn't you go with them?" Sasha asked curiously. "Didn't you want to see what's in there?"

"Hange said Ymir and I were to stay here to keep an eye on Zeke and Bertolt," Petra explained. "But if the Armored and Cart Titans do show back up, they'll go for Eren first for sure. Those two know they can't beat us. Ymir should be done healing soon and she can handle the Armored Titan with help from some soldiers. There're three or four Thunder Spears left, enough to really hurt him if the soldiers are careful, giving the rest of us time to escape. As for the Cart Titan, she isn't the offensive type and swords work on her just fine."

"She shouldn't be too much trouble in a fight," Sasha said.

"Hange thinks if the two show their faces again they'll start by going after Eren. He'll be weak now, too. They'll prioritize the Founding Titan over getting their friends back. It's why Eren was being kept separate from our prisoners. But if Reiner and Pieck try to make a grab for Zeke or Bertolt instead, we'll get a heads-up and stash Eren away so they can't find him."

"I don't think they'll be a problem anymore," Sasha said cheerfully. "I know Reiner's not stupid. If the two of them come looking for a fight, they know we'll be able to chase them off or capture them. We should be in the clear now."


"Well, that's one way to open a door," Eren commented when Levi kicked down the basement door.

A couple of minutes of searching and they found the secret compartment with three journals inside it.

The photograph with its message on the back they found in the first journal was the biggest shock to Mikasa only.

I saw this coming from a mile away, Eren thought, not the least bit surprised.

Eren II, having experienced just how big the world was through Eren's memories, wasn't surprised either. Neither was he shocked by his father's previous wife and his firstborn son, again because of Eren's memories. "Looks like they were expecting something like this, too," he said, seeing the looks on Erwin, Levi, and Hange's faces.

Once they got into the journals, neither he nor the others could contain their incredulity and horror. Of all the fantasies Eren had had about the outside world, none of them had been quite as merciless as the world portrayed in the journals.

Aunt Faye, Eren II thought, growing sick. From Eren's memories, he'd grown fond of his father's kind sister who used to constantly dote on her adorable nephew.

A terrible thought occurred to Eren. This means the Beast Titan really is my brother. He felt like throwing up. How could his older brother be such a complete and utter bastard? Connie's village. The Utgard Castle soldiers. All those soldiers just now. How could his brother destroy all those lives? Not only that but from what he'd heard his brother seemed to enjoy doing it.

"Because this a cruel world," Eren II told him gloomily. "Not at all like your happy world." The modern world he saw in his doppelgänger's memories wasn't perfect by any means, but it was leaps and bounds better than his.

Eren was torn between finding Zeke and demanding he explain himself vs. never wanting to see his face. It would mess with his head to see his older brother act like an asshole and be the villain. "But he was brainwashed, right? Dad and Dina only ever saw and used him as a tool for their own benefits and beliefs."

"It doesn't stop Connie's mom from being any less of a Titan or magically make those dead soldiers alive again," Eren II said harshly, making Eren flinch. He stopped and tried to be nicer. To see it from his twin's perspective—which wasn't hard to. "Don't fret. He's my brother. Not yours. The two Zekes aren't the same."

Eren saw the flash of an image. Eren II had been picturing their aunt's mutilated body as a child. How it would have looked after it was mauled by dogs. He was revolted. "Those fucking animals," he snarled.

His reaction took Eren II back. He wasn't expecting the surge of fury and loathing Eren felt spring up against Marley. He's not really one for rage and hate. That was more Eren II's style.

A sad, hopeless air slung heavily in the underground room after they finished going through all of the journals. Maybe they shouldn't have wasted so much time with Reiner and Pieck still running freely, but they were relatively safe now and it was strangely too nightmarish to pull away from the journals until they reached the end.

"I wanna talk to my brother," Eren said, just as Eren II spoke the same words to Erwin.

"You will. But not until we're home safe. We may have won this battle but there's still danger lurking around. We're in Titan territory still. And we're not going to put too many of our assets in one place out here. Otherwise you might as well be carrying a gigantic bullseye, begging to be targeted."

"It'll be too temping for Reiner and Pieck if they're watching," Hange agreed.

"Not that Zeke's in any condition to talk," Levi informed him. "I knocked him out good. He's still unconscious."

Erwin picked up the three journals after Eren II refused to touch them. "Let's go. There's still two enemies running around. We'll go through these again and more slowly and thoroughly once we're in Karanes."

"You aren't surprised," Mikasa noted, watching the three veterans. "That there's civilization out there."

"No, we're not," Erwin admitted. "We had more success with Historia and Petra making contact to trigger memories than her and Eren. Petra saw some interesting things in Annie's memories and we began to put the pieces together months ago. But I never imagined it was this bad. Ymir even gave me a heads-up just before we left so I, at least, could keep my head. But it's still beyond unbelievable to me."

"Let's hurry home," Eren II said urgently, wanting to question Zeke as soon as possible.

Outside, they were met with faces full of dying curiosity yet the soldiers remained professional.

Eren II felt too ashamed to meet Connie's eyes and hurried for his horse.


"I think he's awake," Petra said, riding on a horse beside Levi.

Having been inspired by the Warriors' coy plan of hiding Bertolt in a barrel, Levi had suggested stuffing Zeke, then Bertolt after they'd caught him, in separate barrels. Their enemies would likely expect the prisoners to be in a covered wagon, not in an open one half full of supply barrels. The barrel they'd shoved Zeke into was knocked over from his struggling. Stumps tied in front of him and mouth gagged, he wiggled out.

"Go knock his ass out," Levi said, taking the reins of Petra's horse to keep him running parallel to his own.

She nodded and jumped into the wagon. Zeke was trying to worm away from her as she crouched over him.

Levi scanned the empty, flat area around him. Thanks to Eren sending the Colossal Titan to the ground here, there was no way for Reiner or Pieck to sneak up on them. If the Scouts were being watched, though, their enemies would now know where Zeke was being kept.

A surprised gasp came from the wagon.

"Petra, what's wrong?" Levi asked, concern on his face at the strange way her expression shifted.

"He's..." She stared at Zeke, who seemed to be eyeing her warily. "I just remembered," Petra mumbled, touching her head. "Bits of her memories. Annie's memories. Like it is with Her Highness."

Levi's mind spun at her words. It couldn't be. Does he have royal blood? No wait, of course he does. According to Grisha's journals, Zeke's mother Dina had been the last descendant of the royal family on the continent. They'd been almost certain it was the same Zeke and now it was confirmed. But Petra didn't know that yet.

Zeke began to thrash all of a sudden.

"Hey, Erwin," Levi called out. "I think he wants to say something." The commander slowed, his horse on the other side of the wagon. "Is he having a seizure?" Levi wondered. What was Zeke trying to yell? Fleck?

Zeke kept screaming, his voice muffled by the gag. He was jerking his head to the side and the motion from the moving wagon sent him to the floor.

"Remove his gag carefully," Erwin told Petra.

Petra sat Zeke up and began to untie the cloth around his mouth.

"Don't try anything funny, monkey breath." Levi pulled out one of his blades. "Or I'll introduce you to my boot again."

"STOP HER!" Zeke screamed at the top of his lungs, panicked. "She's going for—"

A familiar explosion of lightning erupted not far behind them.

Expletives flew from Levi's mouth as his horse became frightened at the loud noise and bright light. Blinking quickly to clear his vision, he searched wildly to see what had happened while trying to soothe his horse.

The Cart Titan rammed into a few of the horses, sending them flying into each other. Many of the animals freaked out even more, crashing into each other in a mad dash to get away.

Levi's mind sorted out the chaos of horses neighing, humans screaming—he noticed a bloody pair of legs but there wasn't a body attached to them—and wagons being toppled.

"EREN!" Armin was on the ground after being tossed from his horse, looking at the Cart Titan bolting south.

"She's getting away with Eren!" Jean shouted, kneeling by his injured horse.

I can't catch the Cart Titan with my horse even if I can get my horse to calm down. Levi whipped his head around. They were in the crater that had been made from the Colossal Titan's fall. Sneaky bitch waited until we were on flat ground before pouncing. The 3D maneuver gear was useless and the horses were scared shitless, leaving them in no condition to give chase. Petra was also exhausted and her third Titan body might not be strong enough.

"Where's Ymir?!" Levi demanded, trying to find the one person who could chase down the Cart Titan.

In a matter of seconds, worries and fears and decisions raced through his head. If Pieck got away with Eren, it would be a crippling blow to Paradis Island. But what if there was a second ambush and as soon as he was lured away, the Armored Titan attacked? Mikasa was unconscious on the ground with Armin hovering over her. Erwin, he was sure, was also down. Levi couldn't spot Hange, either. And the recruits were in a panic. Reiner could take Zeke and Petra with ease, he thought. With Eren getting further and further away, should he try to mitigate the damage here instead of going after Eren and recovering the Founding Titan?

He spotted Ymir, running out of the tangle of horses and soldiers.

Levi jumped off his horse and ran after her, weaving between the fallen obstacles and jumping over them. "Get this to Hange," he shouted, throwing the box with Titan serum at Jean.

Ymir transformed and shot after the Cart Titan at high speed.

Levi fired off an anchor before she got too far outside the wire's range. Immediately he was propelled forward, lifted a few feet off the ground. Ymir kept running as Levi landed in her mess of hair. "Ymir, if Reiner's with her then keep him distracted long enough for me to grab Eren," he said. "Don't engage him in a full fight."

Ymir had told them the Jaw Titan had the power to rip the Armored Titan a new one. But while she was a trained soldier, Reiner was a trained Warrior. Unlike her, he'd been taught to use his Titan to its full power. Levi didn't want them getting into a prolonged battle. That's only if Reiner's even over there in the first place. He glanced back at the chaos he left behind. Hopefully, Hange was alright and would handle the scared soldiers. As for Erwin, he could only hope the commander was okay.

As they got further and further from the Scouts and there was no sign of the Armored Titan, Levi began to relax. If Reiner was around the Scouts he would have acted by now since he and Ymir were far enough away.

Levi turned his focus ahead. All he could do was pray they'd be fast enough. As they got closer, he spotted movement near the outer gate. Levi's stomach roiled. He couldn't see it clearly but it looked like Reiner was taking someone over the Wall. Levi squinted, trying to see better. It looked like he had one arm around Pieck and a legless Eren was slung over his other shoulder. "Can't you go any faster?!" Levi yelled, his voice taking on a tinge of panic.

Ymir pushed herself more and he switched over to his 3D gear. Finally, they arrived at the base of the Wall. Levi spotted a horse to his right, about a block away. But the Warriors had gone over the Wall long enough for them to have had a good head start. He flew parallel to the Wall. Next to him, the Jaw Titan crawled up with freakish speed.

Levi knew it in his gut that it was too late before they even reached the top.

On the Wall, Ymir pulled partially out of her Titan body as they stood near the edge. "Fuck, I hate to say it but she's too far. I'll never catch up to her. If it was a forest I would have. But on flat ground, the Cart Titan will beat my Titan in a footrace every time."

Levi watched as the four-legged Titan carried off their greatest hope.

The Founding Titan was their best weapon. And with him in their clutches, Marley had lost the biggest thing stopping them from attacking the island. Levi wanted to destroy something. What the fuck are we going to do now?


"I want eight of you to create a circle around us facing all cardinal and inter-cardinal directions." Jean singled out eight of the least freaked out recruits, making eye contact with each as he pointed them out to ensure they followed his directions.

To his surprise, they obeyed without question.

The next group his eyes landed on snapped to attention without him yelling at them first. "Go secure Bertolt! Make sure to keep him hidden and away from Zeke! And if the situation arises," he said grimly, "I need you to kill him. We can't allow the Colossal Titan to be set free. Can you do that?"

They froze.

"Yes, sir," one recruit finally said, her face set in somber determination.

Jean hurried through the soldiers and horses, snapping at someone to stop crying or ordering someone to do some menial task. It seemed enough to smother their fear, giving them something to do or just seeing someone bark orders. The chaos began to die to a manageable level.

"You, get a spyglass and keep an eye on Captain Levi and Ymir. Let me know when you see them coming back."

"Yes, sir!" The recruit saluted before running off.

When did they start calling him sir?

When did I start responding to sir?

After the Cart Titan's surprise attack, the recruits had fallen into chaos. More so because Erwin had been severely injured and Levi had taken off after Eren, hitching a ride on Ymir's Titan. Hange had also been knocked unconscious—Jean still held on to the Titan serum Levi had thrown at him—but she seemed otherwise whole and unhurt. He approached Moblit, hovering over the woman in question. Next to them, Armin was taking care of Mikasa. She had been sent hard to the ground right in front of his eyes. Jean shuddered at how Mikasa's body had impacted with the ground and the way her head had bounced off it.

The group had been almost defenseless and without leadership and Jean had found himself barking orders about moving all injured soldiers to one side, then assigning a group to handle the frightened horses so they wouldn't trample the injured Scouts.

During the entire mess, he only had one consolation. At least Reiner didn't show his stupid mug. That was all they would have needed.

Jean spotted Petra babysitting Zeke. Zeke was ignoring everyone around him, staring intently in the direction of the outer gate. Petra's not strong enough to fight off an opponent if we're attacked. But they only needed to give the illusion she could, so hopefully, the sight of her alone was enough to seep doubt and keep Reiner away.

"Jean!" Eyes wild and face bloody, Sasha hobbled up to him just as he was about to go check on the rest of the injured soldiers. "It's Connie! He's hurt really badly!"

"W-What?" Jean felt a wave of fear come over him.

"Captain Levi gave you the Titan serum, right? You have to give it to Connie!"

Jean began to panic. With Erwin and Hange out, this was for Levi to decide. He did not want this kind of choice placed in his hands. What if he made the wrong decision and the military higher-ups got pissed off? Erwin had told them any injured soldier was allowed to inherit a Titan if the situation was pressing enough. Does this count? Jean wondered. Or would the brass disagree and claim there was no imminent danger and he shouldn't have made a random soldier into a Shifter?

And what about the other injured soldiers? How should he decide who got to be saved? I can't just pick Connie because he's my friend. No matter how great the temptation, this decision had to be purely rational and logical. Should he pick based on severity of injury? Rank? Skills? Could he make it random somehow? Random might be fair but not very smart.

Silently, Jean cursed Eren for getting kidnapped and putting him in this position. Wait till Captain Levi drags his ass back!

"But what about the commander?" Sandra asked hesitantly when she joined them. "He's in really bad shape. He takes priority. Everyone else should make it to Karanes to receive medical attention."

"But Connie's worse." Sasha turned her pleading eyes to him. "We need to give the serum to him right away!"

Why me? Jean thought, distraught at the dilemma. Why do I have to decide? I didn't sign up for this. All he did was get the recruits to stop running around like headless chickens. He didn't want to be the one to make a decision this important. And definitely not when it involved picking between the commander and Connie. The choice might be obvious but it came with a heavy emotional toll. Why did Captain Levi have to leave? Jean thought, distraught. Why did Hange have to hit her head?

Desperate, his eyes sought Petra. He'd let her decide. She was a veteran. She outranked him. He was fully justified in laying the decision at her feet and taking a step back.

"What's going on?" Petra asked, yanking Zeke along. She'd tied a rope around his shoulders, probably to make sure he couldn't escape her.

"We have to decide between giving the Titan serum to Commander Erwin or Connie," Jean said, eager to dump the responsibility on her. From Sasha's face, he could tell she knew who Petra would pick without hesitation.

"Can't we split it? We have two Shifters!" Sasha pointed at Zeke. "One for Connie, one for the commander, everyone wins!"

I didn't even think about that. Jean felt hope rise in his chest. It was quickly crushed.

"It doesn't work like that," Zeke finally spoke, turning his attention to them. He'd still been focused in the direction the Cart Titan had run off in, looking distracted and worried.

"You're lying!" Sasha accused. "Of course you'd say that. You don't want to die."

"Sasha, what're you doing?" Armin came over and asked in an odd voice.

Jean wondered why he was looking at Sasha like that.

"Yes, I have reason to lie," Zeke conceded. "But I'm not lying. Let's just set aside the fact I'm the most valuable prisoner you have and your side will suffer a devastating loss if I died."

Jean flinched. Much as he hated to admit, even to himself, Zeke might be the enemy but his life was worth more than Connie's at the moment. Guilt and shame squirmed in his stomach at the thought. But he couldn't deny Zeke's words. The higher-ups definitely won't be happy if we kill a valuable source of information like the enemy's war chief. They couldn't sacrifice Zeke without interrogating him first. Royal blood sometimes helped trigger memories in Shifters but it wasn't very reliable. Only Bertolt's life can be used to save one person, he thought in resignation.

"Think of the serum like a vaccine," Zeke continued. "You can't give someone half a dose and expect it to work. Although, factors such as the amount of Titan serum used, method of delivery, the potency of the ingredients, and even the recipient's own biology can have an impact on if it'll work or not, so I suppose there's a chance that splitting the serum might work. But I'm almost certain it won't. Only a full dose will guarantee the receiver becomes a Pure Titan. Otherwise you're making a dangerous gamble. Are you willing to risk both lives on pure chance?"

Jean remembered what Hange had told them about the serum. If it dissipates when it comes into contact with air, why would they keep more than the necessary amount in one vial? It was unnecessarily wasteful to risk some of the serum disappearing anytime they had to take a little bit out. Logically, you'd only keep the desired amount in a vial.

"I'm sorry, Sasha." Petra gave her a saddened look. "We can't risk it. Or both could end up dead. At least with the full dose, we can save one person for sure."

"You don't have to decide between them," Zeke interjected quickly. "I'm sure my spinal fluid is much more potent than what is used to create the serum you have. Perhaps if you gave them both some of my spinal fluid first before splitting your Titan serum, then—"

"Armin, what the hell?!" Jean exclaimed when the normally unassertive boy stepped up and punched Zeke in the gut. Next he slammed his fist into Zeke's face, rendering him unconscious.

Petra didn't bother to catch Zeke and let him fall to the ground. "Why did you do that, Armin?"

"He could have helped Connie!" Sasha wailed, grabbing Armin's arm. "Maybe his way could have worked and we could have saved them both!"

Armin gave her a pitying look. "Sasha, Connie's already dead. You know that."

No, no, no, no. Jean felt the world shift under his feet. Not again. Marco's face flashed before his eyes. Not this again. Nausea crawled up his throat and he felt weak enough to fall.

"He was crushed by his horse when the Cart Titan attacked," Armin went on.

"But—"

"The serum can't bring a dead person back to life. And you don't know yet what they found in the basement but Eren and Mikasa told me." Armin glanced at the unconscious man. "This man is Eren's half-brother, Zeke Yeager. He's loyal to Marley—our enemy. He's a traitor who stabbed even his own mother and father in the back. They may not have been ideal parents but he threw them to the wolves without mercy. This man does not deserve an ounce of our trust."

"Eren's brother?" Petra stared at Zeke like she was trying to find the family resemblance.

"And that's not all. Don't forget he's the one who turned Connie's village." Armin's words made Sasha flinch.

"He can control the Titans he creates," Sandra added. "I saw it for myself."

Armin nodded. "Exactly. He wasn't trying to be kind or helpful. Even if his suggestion somehow managed to work, he just wanted to see if he could maybe create pawns to help him escape. Not that it mattered because it was already too late for Connie. He probably died right when his horse fell on him."

Sasha walked away and broke down sobbing, and Armin went to comfort her.

Jean noticed a few soldiers were starting to gather and watch. "Don't you have anything useful you can be doing?!"

They scattered immediately.

"Why didn't you stop Armin from hitting Zeke?" Jean asked Petra. "Not that I'm complaining."

She sat cross-legged beside her charge. "My job is to make sure he doesn't escape, and kill him if it comes to it. It's not to keep him from being punched. Anyway, if he was conscious I'd keep worrying he was cooking up something in his head. Seeing how he pounced at the first opening he saw and started trying to manipulate us, Armin only saved me the trouble of knocking him out myself." Petra frowned at Zeke. "He's too dangerous even when he's only talking. Best to keep him unconscious until he's safely locked up somewhere deep underground."

"Captain Levi and Ymir are coming back!" The recruit Jean had put in charge of observing the two came up to him.

His words had a noticeably calmer effect on everyone.

"Is Eren with them?" Armin asked desperately.

He shook his head.

Great Goddesses above, Jean thought, feeling overwhelmed. Eren...


When they returned, Levi, who was on a horse, dismounted and looked to the Jaw Titan. "Stay in your Titan form. We still have to journey back to Karanes and we might encounter Titans along the way." She nodded and went to where Armin and Sasha sat, holding each other as the girl wept.

"Levi, what happened to Eren?" Petra knew the answer but she refused to believe it.

"The Cart Titan took him," he replied with a grimace. "Reiner was waiting for her near the outer gate and flew them over the Wall. We couldn't keep up. I found this horse wandering near there."

"Didn't you give chase? Maybe you could have caught them!"

Levi sighed tiredly. "Petra, it's flat ground outside Wall Maria. The Cart Titan is the fastest there. No one could have caught her. I'm sure that in a fight, I could have taken her out while Ymir fended off Reiner and bought me time. But they had what they wanted and either didn't want to or just couldn't risk losing the Founding Titan. So she ran as hard as she could and left this bastard" —he kicked the unconscious Zeke— "and Bertolt behind."

Petra wanted to fall to the ground and mourn, losing more friends yet again. But they were still in hostile territory and she wasn't in a position to show distress. It would freak the recruits out if they saw her cry. "Here," she said, returning the box with Titan serum to Levi. Jean had all but shoved it in her hands before going off to face the fact he'd lost two close friends today. "Commander Erwin is really hurt. But the other soldiers don't have life-threatening injuries, only broken bones and burns."

"Let's go see him."

Petra started to drag Zeke but Levi stopped her.

"No need. No one's gonna try to steal him now." Levi pointed to the first soldier he saw. "Get this asshole squared away. Keep him in a different wagon than Bertolt Hoover. We'll probably encounter Titans on the way back home so we still need to keep him protected."

Petra followed him to where the injured soldiers were laid out. Levi crouched by Erwin, inspecting his wounds.

"I think he might have punctured a lung," one of the recruits, who Petra recognized as Floch, said hesitantly. "His ribs are broken, among other injuries."

"We'll give him the serum," Levi decided, looking conflicted before nodding firmly. "Go get Bertolt and three horses," he told Floch, telling him in which wagon they were keeping the Shifter. Levi stood and pulled out the injection, handing it back to Petra. "Jean, get over here. Grab Erwin's legs and let's move him away. Everyone," Levi said, raising his voice so the soldiers gathering around could hear, "get ready to leave."

Petra followed after them as they carried Erwin carefully. "I should be able to transform but I won't be of much use."

"That's fine. Long as you can sit on him to restrain him, that should do."

"So I'll be a glorified Titan paperweight, huh?"

"Pretty much. Ymir will be able to reach you quickly if something goes wrong and disable Erwin. You probably won't even need to transform." Levi and Jean set the commander down. Bertolt and three horses were delivered next. "Let's go, Jean."

Jean kept his eyes focused on their prisoner. "If you don't mind, Captain Levi, I'd like to stay. I want to ask him something."

Levi was skeptical but mounted his horse. "Be careful," he said and left.

"Stay behind the commander so he doesn't see you when he becomes a Titan," Petra advised Jean, crouching by Erwin. She wanted to wait until the retreating soldiers were packed up and at a safe distance before injecting the commander.

Jean removed the cloth that was around Bertolt's mouth before returning to her and Erwin's side.

"J-Jean, what's going on?" Bertolt watched them fearfully. The way he was eyeing the syringe in her hands, Petra had a feeling he could guess what was about to happen.

"You're going to die," Jean told him bluntly. "But before we feed you to Commander Erwin, I have to ask: why did Annie have Marco's gear? At the inspection, after Sonny and Bean were killed, Armin said Annie brought Marco's 3D gear."

Dull grief and resignation came over the other boy's face.

"Did you kill him?" Jean asked, fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Bertolt flinched. "Not directly," he answered vaguely.

"Don't play around with words!" Jean snapped. "Just give it to me straight."

"He overheard me and Reiner when we were talking about bringing down Wall Rose," Bertolt confessed, shoulders slumped. "Marco was smart. We knew he'd figure it out eventually. He'd seen Eren emerge from his Titan. It wouldn't take him long to make the connection between that and what we were saying. So we had to kill him to keep him quiet."

"And how does Annie figure into it?"

"She found us trying to restrain Marco. Reiner made her remove Marco's gear. She probably went back for it at some point and used it to pass the inspection."

"So it is all your fault!"

"We never wanted to hurt him, Jean! Believe me when I say it was the last thing we ever wanted," Bertolt said desperately. "He was our friend too and it killed us to do it!"

Petra believed him. The raw pain in his voice and the anguish on his face were too genuine to be an act.

"Stop it! Annie! Don't do this! Why?!" Marco screamed at her, his face close to hers, tears running down his cheeks. "Why?! Why?! Why do this?! Annie!"

Petra flinched, feeling her heart break, tears filling her eyes as Annie's emotions came over her, mixing with her own. Fortunately, Jean didn't seem to have noticed. She wasn't sure how she could have explained that his friend had died screaming and sobbing, terrified out of his mind as he begged for an explanation. For the first time, she found herself sympathizing with Annie, being forced to take part in their friend's murder when she had nothing to do with him finding out the Warriors' truth.

"If you fucking clowns had really cared you shouldn't have been blabbering your secrets where anyone could overhear you!" Jean raged at Bertolt. "Marco finding out and what you did to him is all on you! It's bad enough you murdered him but you had to feed him to a Titan? You couldn't even do him the decency of giving him a quick death yourself?!"

"We couldn't risk the military looking for a murderer." Bertolt hung his head in shame. "No one would bat an eyelash if he was killed by a mindless Titan."

Jean turned away in disgust.

"Please, Jean, you have to understand, we never wanted any of this! We didn't know. We were just kids. We had no idea what we were getting into. You think anyone wants to be a mass murderer?!"

Petra could feel her heart wavering. Stop it, she told herself. Not that it worked. Enemies they might be but seeing a person, especially one so young, break down like that wasn't an easy sight to bear. It distressed her to see someone in so much pain. How could it not? She wouldn't feel human if it didn't.

"For someone so guilt-ridden about killing countless lives you sure slept like a log during our Trainee years," Jean accused, eyes narrowed.

Petra noticed the Scouts had gotten a safe distance away. Only the Jaw Titan was halfway between them, ready to intervene if necessary. "It's time," she said.

Jean started toward Bertolt. "At least you can see your precious Annie again."

Bertolt's eyes widened. "Annie?"

"Oh, that's right. You don't know. We killed Annie to take the Female Titan's power. Petra ate her over a month ago."

Anguish came over Bertolt's face and he let out a pained moan, full of grief and regret. Sobs wracked his chest. He was gutted. Petra felt pity and sorrow rise in her chest again.

"N-No, wait!" Bertolt begged, noticing Jean too late and trying to lean away. "Jean, please just listen—"

"Don't bother." Jean retied the gag around his mouth. "I'm sure Marco must have begged and cried when you assholes left him to be eaten alive. But you obviously didn't take any mercy on him. Why should I listen to you?"

Petra noticed the trembling of his lips when his back was to Bertolt, the lump Jean had trouble swallowing. Despite his words, he was more affected than he wanted his former friend to see. After mounting his horse, he moved a short distance away.

Bertolt stared at her with large, frightened eyes. His chest rose and fell visibly as he tried to keep himself calm, blinking back tears. The blood drained from his face, leaving it chalky white. His whimpers and tears pierced her heart deeper than she cared to admit.

"For what it's worth," Petra found herself saying, "Annie knew how you felt about her. She just didn't know how to react. But it was mutual." Could he tell she was lying to give him some comfort? Why am I even doing this? She thought to herself. But she knew why. If she were dying and terrified out of her mind, she'd want someone to make her feel better, to be there for her and offer any words of solace. The lie about Annie reciprocating his feelings wasn't much but it was all she had to offer him.

Either he couldn't tell she was lying or he was desperate to believe her. A shudder ran through him. Slowly, his breathing came under control. Bertolt seemed to calm down, resigning himself to his fate but without regret.

"I was going to inject the commander and take the horse and go over to Jean. But if you want, I can stay with you. I can't help you, obviously, but I'll be here if you want, for you."

Bertolt nodded.

Once, her squad had discussed what the worst ways to die were. Freezing to death. Burning to death. Getting buried alive. Being chewed up and eaten. But she'd always thought the worst way to go was to die alone.

It's Annie's emotions influencing me, she told herself. It was a blatant lie. She knew she would have done this even if she hadn't devoured the other girl. It just wasn't in her nature to ignore someone who was suffering, especially if they were at death's door. What harm could a little kindness do here? Though she still refused to acknowledge it wasn't Annie's influence without feeling guilty for taking pity on the person responsible for Wall Maria's breach.

She injected Erwin and moved a safe distance back, holding her horse's reins in case she needed to flee. Petra shielded her face when Erwin turned. Seconds later, a 15-meter Titan stood before her. Predictably, he went straight for Bertolt.

The boy didn't react, keeping his eyes anchored on her. She didn't look away and returned his stare with as much a comforting look as she could manage. She moved to the Pure Titan's side, still a safe distance away, and watched Bertolt latch on to her again. He closed his eyes with a look of acceptance when the Titan brought him to its mouth.

Jean's horse trotted over to Erwin's steaming body after the commander returned to human form.

Petra didn't say anything when Jean glanced away and wiped his eyes, not wanting her to notice he was shedding tears for the enemy, his jaw trembling.

The Jaw Titan came over and stared at Erwin before grabbing him, nodding at them before going to drop the commander off at one of the wagons half a mile away.

"They were all devastated about it." Petra brought her hand to her heart as she and Jean rode back to the group. "I can say for sure the guilt gnawed at Annie." Usually she felt a hot rush of anger any time she thought of the girl but in this instance, she had to admit Annie had shown some humanity and felt torn up over at least one person whose death she'd had a hand in. Ironically, Petra thought Annie had the smallest culpability this time. "It gave her nightmares," she said to Jean. It hadn't been fair of Reiner to punish Annie, forcing her to participate in Marco's murder when it had been his and Bertolt's mess to clean up.

"Far as I'm concerned the bitch fucking deserved them. Annie could have shoved the guilt up her ass for all I care. Marco isn't any less dead," Jean said bitterly, tears shining in his eyes again.

He's just too angry and hurt right now. Petra imagined he felt guilty too. Bertolt's death was harder on him than Jean wanted it to be and he was feeling shame over it. The death of his friend's murderer shouldn't be so hard and break his heart, but it was. And it was killing him to feel sorrow for Bertolt.

"I hope she died screaming and in terror when you ate her."

Petra didn't correct him. It would have only made him furious to know Annie had been fully unconscious and blissfully unaware of what was happening when she was eaten. She had gone out rather peacefully while Marco... The memories from touching Zeke in the wagon came back to her, making more sense now.

"Wait..." Marco called after them.

Bertolt looked over his shoulder at the crying boy as he flew away.

"Why? What are you in such a hurry for?! We haven't...even...had a chance to talk this through!"

This time, Jean noticed her reaction.

"What? Did you remember something from Annie's memories? Tell me."

"It doesn't really matter—"

"It matters to me! Please. Tell me what happened."

Petra relented and shared with him Marco's last moments.

Jean let out a pained laugh. "That's Marco. He was always such a good guy. Of course he'd want to give them a chance to sit down and talk it out even after they stabbed him in the back."

While he retreated into his mind to brood, Petra's thoughts turned to Eren. His goofy smile and his mischievous streak. How he used to follow her around like a lost puppy. The way he gushed about his friends and fawned over his beloved Mikasa. All the outrageous and strange things he said and did, and the sheer stubbornness and willfulness that he possessed.

Suddenly, Eren was all she could think about. Petra felt a lump in her throat, her vision blurring slightly. How alone and scared he'll be, about to be eaten while surrounded by enemies in a foreign and hostile land. The thought made her want to cry.

Who was going to comfort him when he was about to be killed?


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