AN: I apologize for the delay. Hopefully, this chapter will make up for it.

Chapter 3: Unraveled Secrets

(Scout Headquarters)

Eren Yeager felt like his entire world was unraveling at the seams. It was bad enough that yesterday, he suffered a humiliating defeat by the Female Titan. It was bad enough to learn that said Titan was a human working with the Titans to destroy humanity. Now, the commander pointed his finger at the last person he ever expected to be the Titan in question. The only way this situation could be worse is if Titans broke in and devoured everybody. At this point, it was a possibility.

"You… you think it's Annie?" he asked, looking around him. "Where's your evidence? Tell me!"

"Obviously, the Female Titan knew what you looked like before she attacked," Armin replied quietly. The truth was painful for him as well. "Plus, she reacted to my use of your 'Suicidal Maniac' nickname, something only our classmates would know. Another reason to suspect her is that I have a strong reason to believe she's the one who killed Sonny and Bean."

Eren vaguely remembered the two Titans the Scouts had captured for study, but it wasn't enough to sway him. "You're kind of going out on a limb there."

"Killing two Titans at once required a precision ODM strike. It only makes sense that the killer would've used the gear they were most familiar with."

"But there was that whole equipment inspection," he protested. "Annie's totally checked out."

"Except the gear she presented… well, it… it wasn't hers. It was Marco's."

Eren's breath hitched at that revelation and opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted.

"You son of a bitch."

Eyes widening, Armin found himself staring face-to-face with an angry Jean, who had murder in his eyes.

"You knew," he accused. "You knew this whole time… and you didn't say anything?"

"Jean, I didn't know what it meant at the time," Armin replied nervously.

"The hell you didn't!" Jean exclaimed, looking ready to strangle him. "If you said something sooner-!"

"Get a hold of yourself before I throw you out," Levi threatened coolly. "We get it. You're pissed off. We all are, but vent your anger somewhere else. There's no place for it here." Reluctantly, Jean backed down. "Yes, sir."

The captain's gaze traveled to Eren. "Since you're still trapped in doubt, allow me to free you: this morning, I went to Stohess and discovered Annie Leonhart was reported as MIA. Her roommate was questioned, and, as it turns out, Leonhart requested said roommate to cover her on the day of the Expedition, claiming to have a 'date with a fifteen-meter Titan."'

Eren desperately tried to find a hole in that evidence, but he couldn't see one.

Levi's eyes narrowed as he went in for the kill. "Dillon Amsdale was her romantic partner, Eren. Is it truly a coincidence that he went missing after the Female Titan ran away? Is it truly a coincidence that after killing his entire squad, she started sparing as many soldiers as she could? If you have a better theory that doesn't involve your emotions getting in the way, I'm all ears."

Nothing. There was nothing he could say to counter those statements. The evidence was overwhelming. All he could manage was a quiet, simple, "Why would she do this?"

"The only way we find that answer is if we capture her allies," Erwin answered. "Eyewitness reports of the Armored and Colossal Titans lead to a strong possibility of them being Titan Shifters as well. We're looking into possible candidates, but for now, our primary concern is the next step for the Scouting Regiment." His eyes met Eren's. "Handing you over to the Military Police is out of the question, so the only other option is to keep you out of their hands."

"But that means you'll be committing treason," Eren realized, his eyes widening further.

"And that is a step we are willing to take," he stated. "This action alone could lead to the annihilation of the Scouting Regiment, but your survival is far too important than that."

How could things have escalated so quickly? Eren asked himself, finding himself without a voice. This is my fault. If I had just defeated her, none of this would be happening.

"How much time do we have before they come after us?" Mikasa wondered.

"Until tomorrow, but there is a way to buy you some time," Erwin informed her. "The capital is expecting myself and Levi to be present at the hand-off, so we'll be there to keep up appearances. However, we will need someone to disguise himself as Eren Yeager to keep up the ruse. After careful consideration, we have selected Jean Kirstein to stand in for you."

All eyes went to the brown-haired teen, who was trying to keep a neutral expression. However, they could see in his eyes the weight that was going to be put on his shoulders.

"But we look nothing alike," Eren protested suddenly.

"You have similar mannerisms," Erwin pointed out. "He won't hold under scrutiny, but it will be enough for you to get away."

Armin dreaded the question that was desperately wanting to exit his mouth, but he allowed it through. "What's going to happen to you three?"

"It doesn't matter," the commander answered bluntly. "From here on out, the three of us will not be your concern. We'll adapt to whatever situation befalls us. Section Commander Hanji will be in charge for the time being. Don't let her excitement over Titans throw you. She is capable of handling things while we are gone."

Eren shook his head, overwhelmed by this entire situation. Jean was going to be sacrificed to the Military Police, Erwin and Levi would probably be arrested if not outright executed, and the entire Scout Regiment would be hunted. All because of him. Briefly glancing over at Mikasa and Armin, it was apparent they felt the same way: that things were spiraling so quickly.

Seeing the turmoil, Erwin finally decided to give them what they needed. "This meeting is concluded. I wish you all the best of luck."

Silently, the four cadets exited the meeting room, and proceeded to their quarters. It was an awkward silence between them all, mostly because Jean was there. What could the say to him after all that?

Surprisingly, Jean broke the silence. "They didn't tell me any details of where you guys are going, so you don't have to worry about me talking."

"That's not what we're worried about," Armin stated, looking over at him. "The minute they find out you're not Eren, they're going to kill you."

"It has to be done, Armin," he replied gravely. "I'm not crazy about this, either, but it's either my ass gets handed over to them, or we'll all screwed."

"Why are you doing this?" Eren asked. "The Jean I knew wouldn't even think of giving himself up for me."

"The Jean you knew died in Trost. I don't want everyone to die, so I have to do this." He stopped in his tracks, looking down. "But… son of a bitch, I don't want to do this."

The last time Eren had heard Jean this scared was in Trost, when the Titans got in. He could only imagine how badly he was really doing. It made him truly sympathize with him and... grateful that he was doing this for him.

Not wanting to show his weaknesses, Jean stalked past them towards his quarters without looking back once.

"All I wanted to do was protect humanity," Eren said quietly. "I thought that since I had this power, I could do that… and now, they want me dead."

"Eren, don't blame yourself," Mikasa chided, walking over to him. "It's not your fault this is happening."

"In the end, humanity will know the truth about you," Armin hoped. "You are the best hope we have of surviving."

"I couldn't beat Annie," he replied with a clenched fist. "How the hell am I going to beat the others?"

"Do what we were trained to do," Mikasa answered. "Find their weaknesses and destroy them." She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, guiding him down the corridor. "Come on. You need to eat."

Eren rolled his eyes at her concern, but for once, he couldn't bring himself to protest it.

There were things in life Dillon knew he would have to deal with that he wouldn't like. A drill instructor that labeled him Sina Brat and broke his nose on the first day was one such example. Another one was the corrupt Military Police that bended and broke the law just for their own pleasures. All of that paled in comparison to having to stand on the shoulder of the Female Titan as she made her run for Shiganshina, holding onto her hair in order not to fall off.

Obviously, this was the only way they could make it there quickly. Annie had given him the ODM gear she had stolen for his sake as well as the fact she didn't need it anymore. Not when she could easily run there. Naturally, he had threatened to give her hell if she tried putting him in her mouth again. That was an experience that he would never repeat if he could help it. So, her shoulder was where he ended up in order for her to run as fast as she could without any interference.

Every now and then, he would look to her, a tinge of hatred in his eyes. The Female Titan. This horrible creature that dared to exist. How effortless it was for her to slaughter humans. How much delight she took when his friend begged for his life. She was sickening, and he wanted to rip her apart for all the terrible things she had done. Unfortunately for him, Annie was the Female Titan, so he would end up killing her.

That line of thought briefly took him to a dark place. It would be so easy to kill her once he made it back home, back to the people who truly cared about him. There was no reason to follow through with the deal once his own terms were met. A brain blast here, a cut nape there, and a dead traitor as a result. Then, he could finally live his life the way he needed to, as a soldier for humanity, not as the possession of a sadistic, selfish bitch. It was so tempting, so enticing, and so… messed up.

Dillon let out a frustrated sigh. It was all getting to him, making him consider going down a road he would never come back from. And yet, it seemed like the logical option. Why deprive his people of a valuable asset? Then again, Annie was clever, and she probably had a backup plan in case he did try something, and it was very possible a lot of people would get killed as a result. Not to mention the fact that he made a deal with her. If he broke it, he'd be no better than she was. With all this in mind, the dark thoughts of killing her started to ebb. Normally, he would be worried that she would detect his lingering thoughts, but his mental shields were up as high as he could manage.

Of course, something he was concerned about was the danger of Titans. He was still recovering from his fight with Annie, so he was far from being in a good enough condition to fight. Naturally, his warden had told him earlier if there was an encounter, grapple to a high point and watch her tear them apart. So far, there hadn't been any sign of the monsters, which was good for the moment, but it was highly possible for a horde to swarm them.

For two hours, outside the loud stomping her running made, there was silence between the two. Dillon had considered questioning the Female Titan about the country that wanted him and his people dead, who the other Shifters were, and a whole slew of things that were bubbling up in his mind. However, he decided to wait until they got to the basement. There would be plenty of time to get the truth out of her, especially once they found what Grisha Yeager had been hiding from humanity this whole time.

As the sun began to dip in the horizon (where had the time gone, he wondered), the sparse villages began turning into towns, giving Dillon a good look at the abandoned buildings. He noticed more than a few homes had gigantic holes in them, with no mystery as to why that was the case. To his left, there was a canal that led straight to the wall that surrounded Shiganshina. Even the Female Titan began slowing down the moment she saw it. There was a giant hole where a gate once stood courtesy of the Armored Titan, debris practically fading into the grass.

Just looking at it made Dillon's blood boil. These monsters destroyed so much, killed so many innocent people all because of a mission they undertook. By choice or not, he could never forgive them for that. They did this, and they would face the consequences.

This was the last place Annie wanted to be, back where it all began. She called the Titans here with her power, and even though she had passed out from overexertion, she saw the results of her actions in the refugee camps. Brokenness surrounded her. From the children to the elderly, their lives had been unfairly destroyed. Despite the pain she saw, though, it wasn't enough to deter her or her comrades from their mission. Wishing she could take it all back was meaningless. All that mattered was fulfilling her end of the bargain and going home.

She approached the hole in the wall, sniffing carefully. "Titans are still here," she observed.

"How close?" Dillon questioned with a growl in his tone.

"A few blocks away," she inferred, stepping through the opening slowly.

For the first time in their lives, they finally saw Shiganshina. What was once a bustling district for people to live in was now a desolate ghost town. The buildings around them, large and small, were destroyed by the Titans looking for a meal, and slowly rotting away with time. Even after five years, the smell of death still filled the air, making Annie certain that there were bodies, or what was left of them, still there.

For a brief moment, Annie glanced over at Dillon, who's expression went from anger to horror at the sight. Trost was nothing compared to the destruction of Shiganshina. Unlike Trost, there wasn't a Titan Shifter that came to help them. All anyone could've done that day was run or die. They were alone with the monsters who showed not a single shred of mercy as they devoured man, woman, and child. He was unable to look away from the destruction, almost as if he was in a trance.

She couldn't blame him for his reaction, but there was no time for this. "Dillon!" she called out to him firmly, snapping him out of it. "Stay focused."

He slowly faced her, and, along with his usual glare, there was murder in his eyes. He saw the true devastation the Titans had caused, and he was staring at one of the three people who caused this to happen. Her own eyes narrowed into a warning look. Like Eren, Dillon had the tendency to act out emotionally, and she knew the direction he was starting to head in. If he wanted to fight her, she was prepared to beat him into the ground once more.

For the second time in her life, Annie found herself thankful for the sounds of footsteps approaching them.

Rounding a corner were three Titans in the twelve-meter to fifteen range, looking at her with dead eyes and frozen smiles, each one a different shape of fat or thin that would look absolutely disgusting were they human. Despite looking like one of them, they could sense that she was a human in a Titan's body. It wouldn't bode well if she came this far just to get eaten by these mindless beasts.

"Do you know where the basement is?" she questioned, steeling herself for a fight.

"I'll know the area when I see it," Dillon answered.

"Go," she commanded, placing him on a rooftop. "I'll keep these bastards busy."

"Fine by me." Without even a glance back, he took off, staying out of the Titans' reach. Taking a deep breath, the Female Titan took her stance, fists raised.

The trio of Titans lunged at her, moving as if they were puppets attached to strings. Once the first one was in range, Annie hardened her foot and performed a lunging kick to the Titans chest, nearly busting through its weak flesh. The Titan flew backwards, tripping up the other two in the process, but she refused to give them time to recover. Her hand hardening next, she bent down and tore the nape out of the skinnier one, tossing the disgusting flesh aside. The second Titan, however, managed to sink its jaws into her arm, eliciting a roar of pain from her. He was fat and heavy, and pulled on her with all of his massive weight. Still, it didn't stop Annie from unhinging her own jaw and sinking it into its nape. The taste buds of her Titan form ignited, making her almost dizzy with elation. It had been far too long since the last time she tasted the blood of a Titan. Sweet, yet sickening. She yanked the lifeless Titan off her arm, dropping it to the ground as she moved to her final opponent, whose chest was nearly healed.

Just as she was about to advance on the Titan, another roar caught her attention. Listening carefully, she heard more stomps heading towards her position. Her eyes widened when she came to a horrifying conclusion: this place was still infested with Titan hordes. Sure enough, a seven-meter plowed through a building and tackled her to the ground, mouth watering with anticipation. A hardened fist to the skull sent it flying, but that was the least of her worries. From all sides, she was surrounded by at least seven Titans, all of which were converging on her. Getting to her feet, Annie readied herself for the attack. Just like the humans, they were insignificant compared to the might of the Female Titan.

Where is it? Dillon asked himself repeatedly as he glided through the city. The buildings he saw looked alike, making it nearly impossible to find what he was looking for. Coming to a stop on a rooftop, he closed his eyes as he searched his own memories for Eren's. It wasn't hard to find, given the traumatizing nature of it. The problem was having to see those dreadful images, though he knew he had no choice. The memory gained accidentally all those years ago was proving invaluable.

Ignoring the Smiling Titan, no matter how hard that task was, he focused solely on the house and its surroundings. For starters, there were stairs leading up to it, so that was something. That being said, stairs were coming in the Shiganshina district. Then, he caught something that would narrow down his options: a large piece of debris had fallen on the house. He had a feeling that was thanks to the Colossal Titan's efforts.

A growl brought him out of his thoughts as he spotted a ten-meter and a fifteen-meter looking at him with hungry, soulless eyes. Instantly, he grappled away from the beasts, but fate had it out for him once more as the tanks ran out of gas. He let out a gasp as the momentum propelled him onto a wooden rooftop that nearly broke upon impact. A pained groan left his lips as he sported new injuries, however he had thankfully landed on his back.

Dillon had little time to recover as the Titans came for him once more. The fifteen-meter attempted a body slam and he barely jumped onto the ground in time as the house was completely demolished. Drawing his swords, he slashed the hand of the ten-meter that reached out for him, cutting off its fingers. He dove through the gap between his legs before going at the Achilles' Heel, slashing it apart. As expected, the Titan fell, giving Dillon the chance to climb on and run for its nape after replenishing his blades. It started to get up, but the blacksmith delivered two, precise strikes on the back of its neck, killing it. The blood that erupted from its fatal wound hit him in the face, leaving him temporarily blind.

Suddenly, before he could rectify the issue, the fifteen-meter's hand wrapped around him, trapping him in its iron grip. It squeezed so tightly, Dillon thought his insides were going to burst. As the blood turned into steam, allowing him to see again (albeit it a bit painfully), the teen found himself staring at the open jaw of the Titan. Panic nearly overtook him as he was pulled closer to its mouth, reminding him when the Female Titan did the same thing to him. Pleas falling on depth ears, nearly being drowned in saliva, trapped behind giant teeth, it was a nightmare.

Letting out a yell that was a mixture of rage and terror, Dillon launched a strong, mental attack on the monster's mind. Blood gushed out from its ears and eyes as it roared in pain. The Titan's grip loosening, the teen pulled himself out and jumped onto another rooftop. With the Titan's back turned to him, it gave Dillon the opportunity he needed. With a flash of his eyes, his blades detached from the hilts and zoomed towards a nape. A single slash from them ended its life as it fell backwards in a lifeless heap.

Panting heavily, Dillon nearly collapsed, but he knew he couldn't. Not when he needed to find the house. For once, a stroke of good fortune hit him as, from his vantage point, he could see a house a few blocks away with a large piece of debris on it. For all he knew, it was another house, but he had to know for sure. Ignoring his body's protests, Dillon slowly made his way towards it.

Every cell of The Female's body felt like it was on fire. She had honestly expected the town to be desolate, as there were no people around for the Titans to devour. But these Titans, they were a persistent bunch of bastards. One died, another came to fight her. And now, after nearly using all the skills that she had, after what felt like hours, their numbers were finally starting to dwindle, and the decomposing bodies rose in numbers. She suppressed the urge to tell Dillon to hurry up. She highly doubted his reply would be a kind one.

"Annie, I made it to the house. Come on!" Dillon stated finally.

"Give me a moment," she replied, just as curtly as his words. No, not words. Orders. She had enough of those to last her a lifetime. The anger that filtered through her seeped into her muscles, giving her strength, and she attacked.

Surging forward, she ducked under the groping hand of a thirteen meter and clasped its right shoulder with her hand. She spun it around, the Titan now in front of her and bending forward, and her hand reached out to tear its nape out. Throwing the dead beast away, she raised her leg and gave the next Titan a front kick, sending it to its back. Acting fast, she rolled it into its front before leaning down to rip its nape away with her mouth. Its blood boiled in her mouth, giving her that taste one last time.

As her final victim begun to dissolve away under her, Annie rose and made her way to Eren's home, which wasn't too far away. A light jog brought her there quickly as she came upon the ruined home of Eren Yeager. This was where he had lost his mother thanks to them, and where he watched her die. A pang of guilt coursed through her body, but that vanished when she saw Dillon, who was sitting in front of the house. There were new injuries on his body along with blood that was turning into steam.

"Dillon, are you all right?" she asked worriedly as she knelt to his level.

"Yeah," he replied as he managed to stand. "I just needed a moment."

Annie sighed in annoyance at his stubbornness, but there was no point in trying address it. They had a job to do. Glancing to her left, she saw the basement entrance covered in large pieces of wreckage that human hands couldn't move. With little effort, she lifted the wreckage and tossed it to the side with a loud smash.

"…Thanks," Dillon said.

For a moment, she thought she imagined it, but her ears didn't lie. "No problem," she decided to respond with.

Silently, she hardened and sharpened the fingers of her right hand into claws and raised them to her nape. They cut through her flesh easily, encircling her human form before she bristly tugged herself free. Forceful disconnection from her Titan form was never a pleasant experience, especially with the headaches such detachments caused, but years of training made such pain easy to overcome. Annie was aware of The Female Titan's body toppling to the side, her right-hand landing on the ground with her inside a cocoon of scalding flesh.

The words that came out of Dillon's mouth took her off guard further. "Annie, are you okay?" he asked as he approached her cautiously.

Though her tongue felt thick, heavy and useless in her mouth, she managed to get out and through her surprise, "I'm fine." She felt rather than saw him come to a halt and gave herself a reminder of her human body. She remembered the muscles in her arms, in her legs and her chest. With an inhale, she threw her arms aside and her cocoon split apart and The Female's fingers shattered. She got to her feet, stretching.

Shielding himself from the flying gore, Dillon was nauseated by the sight, but then he noticed something. "Annie, your face."

Ah, yes, the scars. The facial markings left when leaving her Titan form, flame like patterns around her eyes. She rolled her shoulders, saying blankly, "I get them whenever I leave my Titan form. Don't worry, it's normal among Shifters."

He sighed, shaking his head and descending into the basement. "Let's find out what Grisha was hiding."

Annie followed him, keeping a small distance between them. She gave a near inaudible sigh through her nose. "My comrades and I planned to come here, once we had Eren, to see just what kind of secrets his father had.

"Why? So you could destroy them?" he questioned.

"So we could bring them to our superiors," she answered evenly.

He let out a snort, but he pressed onwards.

They reached the end of the stairs and went down a dirt tunnel, lined with wooden support beams. Annie had to give Mr. Yeager credit; he chose a suitable house to keep secrets in. It wasn't long before they came upon a large door that was rotting away like the rest of the house.

A quick psychic blast to the lock and the door was open, dislodging any of the spider webs attached to it. Inside had three things that immediately came to sight. A desk consisting of a lamp, a scale, and a few drawers, a bookcase filled to the brim with books, and a cabinet area with many vials and labels for several types of medicine.

"No question about it," Dillon said as he stepped inside. "Definitely a place for a doctor."

Annie gave the room a quick one over. "I was expecting something a bit more interesting," she murmured, eying the bookcase with disdain.

"You think he would be stupid enough to leave the secrets out in the open?"

"If his son was anything to go by..." She trailed off deliberately.

"If you recall, Grisha cured an epidemic that was in Shiganshina," he told her, staring at the medicines. "He's not an idiot by any means."

She'd admit, she had forgotten that. She looked around the place, trying to logically think where one would hide something. Her blue eyes fell to the desk. It wouldn't hurt to examine the obvious. "Try the desk."

"Right." He examined the desk very carefully. Three of the drawers were empty, but the top one had a flintlock that was more than likely too rusty to be used. He looked around the desk and found what he was looking for: a keyhole on the side. "I found it."

She stepped forward and took a look for herself. The moment had finally arrived, after all this time. "This is it," was the only thing that she could think to say.

Concentrating, he unlocked the secret drawer with his mind, carefully pulling it out. At first glance, it was empty, but the two knew better. Immediately, Dillon removed the false bottom and came upon three books with a peculiar smell. "Charcoal and peppermint oil," he identified.

"Only way to preserve the books." Annie reached down and picked up the first book. As she did, something thin slipped through the pages and fell to the ground.

Dillon quickly picked it up, but what he saw had his eyes widen. "What the hell? How is this possible?"

It was a picture, but unlike anything the people in the Walls had ever seen. Whereas the pictures here were made by paint or the pen, this one looked completely accurate to how people were supposed to look like in real life despite being in black and white. The picture in question consisted of three people, a family. The father, clearly a younger Grisha, stood with a neutral expression and a well-designed suit. The mother was a blonde-haired woman Annie didn't recognize sitting in a chair. Her dress was descent and she at least tried to smile. The toddler in her lap, on the other hand, caught Annie by surprise. Blonde hair and piercing eyes. Very young, but the piercing stare was unmistakable.

"War Chief Zeke," she identified quietly.

"Who?"

She pointed at the child. "I know him. He's one of my superiors." Zeke had always put on a brotherly front, of pretending to care about the young warriors in the program. He often asked questions, made sure everyone was alright. He had tried talking to her a few times, before he understood that she didn't like people. But from the interactions she had observed, the man was always quiet about his own family. She felt no shame in saying, "I'm such a fool for not realizing it."

Dillon thought that he couldn't be hit with any more surprises that topped Annie being a traitor and the fact humanity wasn't on the brink of extinction, but this was another thing entirely. "Eren's brother."

"A half-brother, with a few years on him." Annie felt compelled to say. "That woman... she almost looks like Krista."

Dillon didn't know what to think as he stared at the life-like portrait. There were so many questions, but he didn't know where to start.

Annie noticed, and decided to answer what she presumed to be one of them. "It's called a photograph. They're common place where I come from."

"So Grisha came from that place, too," he reasoned quietly.

"So it seems," Annie muttered. "That would explain, somewhat, how Eren got the Attack Titan."

"How? How does one even become a Titan Shifter?"

Annie grimaced, suddenly picturing a locked door in her head. "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes," he answered, staring at her.

"...No."

"No?" he repeated, surprised.

"You don't." She gave him a hard stare. "You really, really don't want to know."

"There's nothing you can say that will make me more disgusted," he stated coldly. "Trust me."

Annie wasn't sure what hurt more. His loathing or the pounding from the other side of the door that contained her emotions. She looked away, face set.

He scoffed. "Of course, you go quiet. Why should I have expected anything more from you?"

She glared at him, ignoring the ghost emotions of maternal love and morbid pride before nothingness. Damn it, the door to her emotions was becoming frail. "Has it even occurred to you that maybe there are something I don't want to talk about? Painful things that I don't even want to tell you, even if none of this had happened?"

Dillon wanted to shoot back, to continue his trend of making Annie sink lower and lower in life, but his conscious stopped him, telling him that enough was enough. He got what he wanted with Annie, making her feel like a wretched human being. Now, he was just beating a dead horse. However, he didn't expect this to come out of his mouth. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

She should be the one saying that, but apologies were meaningless. They wouldn't sponge the blood off her hands. "Forget it." She walked past him, to the entrance. "Let's get this to the Scouts. Yeager's reaction just might make the trip worth it."

"We're not leaving," Dillon stated.

She stopped. "What?"

"You're tired," he explained, closing the door. "It'll be a few hours before nightfall. We'll leave when the Titans can't move."

Annie couldn't deny that she could do with a few hours rest. So, she nodded stiffly. "Alright then."

"Besides, I have other questions that need answering before we go through these books," he added, sitting down in the nearest chair. "Like who the other Titan Shifters are."

She remained standing, staring down at him with a touch of incredulousness. "Seriously? We've just uncovered a major discovery and you're asking me that now?"

"Where there are no distractions or other pressing matters? Yes," he stated, doing his best to control his temper. "Who are they, Annie?"

Annie weighed her options. How much she could lose by telling him the truth? By telling him, she would only be putting them at risk. However, she then remembered that she had abandoned the mission, so their lives were already forfeit. And one of them had it coming, so... "The Armored Titan is Reiner, and the Colossal Titan is Bertholdt."

"Those two?" he growled, remembering the interactions he had with them. Reiner had been friendly and like a big brother to the team, while Bertholdt was more reserved. However, it began to make sense when he remembered the Colossal Titan targeted him specifically, mostly because he also remembered the tall boy being a jealous prick. Dillon let out a mirthless chuckle. "Of course. It just had to be more of our comrades that happen to be them." He looked up at Annie, depressed and feeling like another segment of his soul was gone. "Are there anymore Titan Shifters in our squad pretending to be on our side, pretending to be our friends secretly planning the destruction of everyone here that I don't know about? Jean? Krista? Sasha? Who else, Annie?"

"I told you there were four of us."

He had forgotten about that detail. "And where's the fourth?"

Annie's smile was sad and tired. "He's dead."

Dillon couldn't believe that she was smiling at that statement. "The hell are you smiling about?"

Of course, he'd see it as something morbid. He really did hate her, didn't he? "His name was Marcel Galliard. He was our leader. He was... a good person. He didn't deserve to die the way he did."

"How?"

A heavy sigh left Annie and she sat down before him, head hung slightly. "He was eaten by a Titan, whilst saving Reiner." Anger creased the space between her thin brows. "Not that the little shit was worth saving. Everything Marcel did, he did for a complete coward."

"Reiner? A coward?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Everything you think you know about Reiner is a lie, a fabrication," she explained.

"I kind of got that when you told me he was the Armored Titan."

She shook her head. "No, Dillon. I'm saying the person he acts like is a lie."

He raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "Annie, that doesn't make any sense."

"I know, it's-" A frustrated breath left her, a hand running through her hair. "It's difficult to explain, even I don't understand it much myself. It would require me talking about everything that happened. From our training to the moments before and after Marcel died."

Dillon held his hand up. "All right. All right. We'll save that for later." He took one of the other books and opened it up, trying to see if he could find anything useful or interesting. They had time to kill. A couple of page turnings later, he recoiled when he saw something.

She noticed. "What is it?"

A blush came on his face, handing the book to her. "Apparently, Grisha had some free time on his hands."

"So?"

"Maybe you should check that book, and I'll check this one," Dillon suggested, taking another one.

Annie eyed him oddly before looking herself.

It was a sketch of woman. She was in what looked like a battlefield, fire framing her and warriors before her, and she was beautiful. The sketched involved the woman roughly as big as The Female Titan, maybe taller, though looking completely normal. She had long hair that she believed was meant to be blonde, judging by the lack of shading. Her cheeks were thin, and her lips were full, the face of a woman who'd catch every man's heart. And she was utterly nude. Her breasts were supple, her thighs firm, and she was drawn in a crouch. There was enough space between the men before her, and between her crouched legs, that it was impossible for anyone to miss the… obvious.

Annie looked to Dillon and she felt her lips curl into a smile. The same smile he had worn when she had teased Eren about talking to girls. This was just too good to pass up.

"What?" he asked

"It's a pretty good drawing, isn't it?" Her voice was light with mirth.

"It's a giant, naked woman, Annie," he said, his blush increasing with every word. "Look, I don't know what kind of stuff Grisha was into, but that was something I didn't need to know about." And he left that for his own son to find? The hell was wrong with him?

She continued as though he hadn't said anything. "He clearly did this after he had sex with his wife. I mean, the detail is phenomenal." She let a small pause grow, before flatly adding: "Especially for her vagina."

His eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as he gave her the most hilarious, 'What the hell?' expression she had ever seen.

Annie couldn't help herself, a light laughter leaving her lips. She knew it totally ruined her image, but she didn't care.

In response,Dillon narrowed his eyes, mumbling, "You're too funny."

"What?" She spread her hands innocently. "Come on, Dillon, all girls have them." Her smile became impish and her voice suggestive. "I do, in case you've forgotten."

He knew that all too well. A fond memory, tarnished like the others. It made him feel dirty and unclean thinking about the night. "Yeah, I remember," he growled, stalking towards her and snatching the book out of her hands. "Thanks for the reminder."

And just like that, the humor shriveled up and died. In an attempt to get back at him a little bit for being an asshole to her, it backfired as her mind drifted to that night. So vulnerable they were when they made love. Dillon had no idea what he was doing, and he was even anxious. Annie was anxious as well, but she was at least there to guide and calm him down when he needed it. No matter how much they wished it right now, they could never take back that night.

"You recognized her," he stated once the silence had gone on long enough.

"Yes. That's Ymir Fritz," she identified.

"So, I guess Grisha believed in this First Titan, too?"

"Most likely. What do his books say?"

"Let me see." Averting his eyes from the drawing, he muttered to himself about the contradictory details surrounding the legend of Ymir Fritz as he turned the pages, but then his eyes widened when he got to a certain detail. "The Curse of Ymir?"

Instantly,Annie's heart froze in her chest. Why didn't she keep that away from him? Of course it would be in that book.

He began reading the passage carefully, shocked by what he found.

"…And in order for the power to be passed on to another, a pure Titan must devour one of the Nine. Once digested, the Titan receives the power and can return to their human state, but after thirteen years, the Curse of Ymir will claim their lives. If one of the Nine dies without being eaten, the power will fall upon an Eldian child. Thus, the cycle continues…"

"How much time do you have?" he asked quietly, closing the book.

And there it was. "Six years."

What could be said after that revelation? That Annie actually ate a human being, that she was going to die? And that she didn't have a choice in the matter? It put more into perspective at how horrible her life was. She really was forced into it, and there was no way out for her. It made sense to why she was so possessive of her father, of him. She was running out of time.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Say again?" Annie asked, unable to hide the surprise in her tone. Of all the things she was expecting, him apologizing wasn't one of them.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you, what will happen to you," he elaborated.

"Thank you," she replied softly.

He sighed, sitting down against the wall. "Why couldn't Ymir have just died with the Titan power?"

Annie remained where she was, deciding that was the best course of action. " If it were that easy, no one in this world would suffer."

So much truth in those words. He shook his head, deciding to call it quits for a while. Enough was enough. "Get some rest, Annie. We'll leave before the sun comes back."

Tomorrow would be a new day with all new troubles. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he prayed that things would go smoothly between them and the Scouts. For once, he was glad that his parents wouldn't be there when he returned. They would make it nearly impossible to leave, and defying Annie would be a grave mistake.