-E-

Eren lies on a dungeon bed, his wrists wrapped in shackles. He held his hands up as he observed two items wrapped in both hands. In one hand, he held a golden key attached to a string that his father gave him on the day before he left for the interior. The day everything went to hell. He remembered what his father told him before he left.

"Eren, keep this safe for me. When I come back, I'll show you what I've been keeping in the basement."

But he didn't come back. After Wall Maria fell, his father never returned to him. And after Armin's grandfather died in battle, he, Mikasa, and Armin really only had eachother to rely on.

In his other hand, he held the very thing that got him into this mess in the first place. The metal cylinder which he used to transform into Ultraman. Despite the guards' many attempts to get it away from him, all they did was discover the hard way that it was impossible to keep it out of his possession. Eren found their attempts to take it from him humorous, providing him with a brief moment of levity in this dank, depressing dungeon.

With little else to do, Eren began to doze off to sleep. The cylindrical capsule rolled out of his hand and onto the ground. Upon impacting the ground, Eren stirred in his sleep as he felt the cylinder enter his pocket, deforming the fabric and pressing gently against his thigh. As Eren lie there, he began thinking about everything that happened. He was relieved that his friends and comrades weren't afraid of him and wondered what they were doing now. He rolled onto his side as he continued to ponder what's been happening outside of his cage.

CLANG!

Suddenly, Eren's eyes snapped open and he shot up into a sitting position. He pressed his back against the wall behind him as he saw a woman gripping the bars of his cell and staring in at him. Her eyes looked manic, the look only intensified by her glasses and her messy locks of hair tied into a ponytail. Suddenly, her manic expression shifted to a calm smile as she spoke to him in a… not "gentle," but soothing tone of voice.

"So then, you must be Ultraman!" She said, surprising Eren. He didn't realize that name would catch on so quickly. "Or do you prefer I just call you Eren? Well, either way, this is your lucky day! You finally have a chance to get out of here!"

Eren sighed softly, relieved that she was helping him out of there. Though her asking him to put on handcuffs did make him a bit more uncomfortable, he followed her, along with the two guards who were standing in front of his cell, and another soldier that came with her. A blonde man with stubble on his face who was constantly sniffing Eren as they headed toward their destination. The woman introduced herself as section commander Hange Zoe, and her partner as another section commander, Mike Zacharius. Mike stopped sniffing Eren and pulled away. Eren didn't know why, but Mike seemed to have a bit of a perplexed look on his face. The group kept walking before they eventually stopped at a set of double doors.

"Oh, poo!" Hange shouted. "I've just been prattling on, and we're already here!" she sighed. "Oh well, I guess it's better if I don't explain."

Suddenly, the two Military Police officers began pushing Eren through. Eren tried to protest, but Hange simply shut the doors on him. Turning around, Eren gasped as he realized that he was in a massive courthouse. The front of it was lined with rows and rows of desks, with citizens of the walls lined up behind them. To the left were stands that contained all of the 104th cadets that had seen Eren as Ultraman, as well as most of the members of the scout regiment, a few members of the garrison, and a handful of members of the cult of the walls. To the right, Eren saw almost double the amount of people, from military police officers to merchants, and even some other members of the cult of the walls.

One of the officers jabbed him forwards to the center area, where a pedestal awaited him. He then knelt down and felt a metal column being slid down between his handcuffed arms and kneeling legs, before locking into a hole in the ground, thus preventing him from standing up. One of the MP officers then took the cylinder out of his pocket and walked away with it in his hand. As the officer walked away, Eren began counting down in his head.

'Three… two… one…'

And then the cylinder reappeared in Eren's hand.

"W-what?!" The officer said, flabbergasted. He then rounded on Eren angrily. "How the hell did you do tha-"

"I didn't do anything," Eren interrupted incredulously. "That's just a thing that it does."

After several more failed attempts to take it from Eren, even throwing it across the room, they ultimately conceded and stopped trying to take it from him, and just in time for Premier Zackly to enter the room and step up to the podium at the front of the room. After getting the opening statements out of the way, Zackly explained that because of the difficulty of covering up Eren's existence as Ultraman, they had to decide how to handle him and disclose his existence. Both the Military Police and the Scout Regiment had a stake in taking him into their custody. He then allowed the Military Police to give their opening case.

The commander of the MPs cleared his throat. "Thank you, sir! My name is Nile Dok, and I am the commander of the Military Police! Our proposal is that after a thorough examination of both his physiology and the device he carries, subject Eren Jaeger should be disposed of immediately! We acknowledge that Jaeger's ability played a part in turning back the latest Titan incursion, however, his mere existence is creating a swell of rebellious sentiment! For the greater good, after learning what we can about him, we would see him made a fallen warrior of humanity!"

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Two wall cultists, both on opposite sides of the room cried.

"This heathen has defiled the sanctity of the walls," the one next to Nile shouted. "We need to dispose of him now!"

"YOU FOOL!" The other shouted. "Can you not see that he is the chosen savior of mankind?! He bares the blessing of the gods! He is the chosen one!"

"Pater Nick, paster Marcus, please remain silent," Zackly said.

After the two competing cultists fell silent, Zackly turned and allowed Erwin to give his speech.

"Thank you," Erwin replied. "As the commander of the Survey Corps, I, Erwin Smith, propose the following; let Eren join our ranks, be reinstated as a full member of the Scouts, and we will utilize his power to retake Wall Maria."

"Is that all?" The premier asked.

"Yes sir," Erwin said. "With his assistance sir, I'm certain we can reclaim Wall Maria. Ergo, I believe our top priority is clear."

"Quite bold. But assuming you are given clearance, where do you intend to launch this operation from? The wall in Trost district has been completely sealed, correct?"

"Quite right," Erwin said. "So we shall depart from Colonith district instead. A new route can be established as we proceed-"

"BUT THAT'S RIDICULOUS!" One of the merchants shouted. "OUR TIME AND MONEY WOULD BE BETTER SPENT SEALING UP ALL THE DISTRICTS! They're the only parts the Colossal and Armored Titans can break, right? Let's just seal the blasted things and wash our hands of it all!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU SPINELESS MERCHANT DOG!" A Scout shouted. "THAT POWER OF HIS COULD EASILY RETAKE WALL MARIA!"

Eren looked back and forth as the constant shouting match continued on and on until Zackly finally slammed his hand on his desk to silence everyone.

"ORDER!" Zackly shouted. "I ask that you save your personal sentiments for a more appropriate venue. Now then, Mister Jaeger, you have given the pledge to answer humanity's call. Can you still serve by controlling your ability?"

"Of course sir!" Eren replied.

"Ah I see," he said. "But there are reports that tell a much different story."

Eren's eyes widened in shock and confusion, as did the rest of the cadets. Suddenly, Darius Zackly turned his attention over to the podium to his left. "Nile, you were the one that brought these reports to my attention. Care to explain them to me?"

"Yes, your honor." Nile then pulled out a note and began to read from it. "According to eyewitness accounts, two years ago, an entity baring a very similar description to Ultraman began attacking random settlements in the wilderness of Trost, burning them down while slaughtering their citizens of them. The Military Police initially wrote these testimonies off as wildfires or cries for attention, however in light of these recent events, it would be safe to conclude that there is more to these stories than meets the eye."

Eren's eyes widened, not surprised at the stories, but that they would tell such an obvious lie. And clearly he wasn't the only one who felt this way.

"Pretty convenient that you'd hide that from the public until today of all times," Levi interjected. "It's also pretty damn convenient that despite Eren's Ultraman form being reported as being comparable in height to the Colossal Titan, no one noticed a giant, metal man was stomping around trost, smashing towns like an angry toddler. It's almost as if you're pulling shit out of your ass to make your side seem more credible."

Nile began to sweat a bit.

"Captain Levi, there is no need for such accusations," Darius said, before quietly mumbling "not yet at least," to himself. "Nile Dok, do you have any further evidence for these claims?"

"W-well, you can go and see for yourself that these villages were burned down! What more proof do you need?"

"But you yourself said that these tragedies were reported as forest fires. How are we to know that these villages were not simply burned down because of that?"

Nile had no response, as his entire argument fell apart. He wasn't even able to get to his point about how Mikasa and Eren killed three human traffickers at eight years old before Darius made his decision. And with Nile's failed attempt to smear Eren's name using faulty evidence causing some people to lose support for his cause, Darius' decision was quick, easy, and in favor of the Scouts.

-E-

A few days after the trial, Eren had been escorted by the Levi squad toward the Scouts' old base of operations, a castle out in the woods of Trost where they would be keeping a close eye on Eren. Even despite Eren being clear in the eyes of the court, the Scouts were still cautious about his abilities. If the reports were true, that the Titans chewing on him in that form did absolutely nothing, then they would need to keep a close eye on him to make sure he didn't fall out of line, even to the point where, once again, Eren had to sleep in the basement.

After a full day of cleaning up the old castle at the behest of Captain Levi, he, Eren, and his squad comprised of Petra Rall, Oruo Bozarde, Gunther Schultz, and Eld Gin sat at a dining room table together, each discussing things over tea. It was mostly about a mission they were gearing up for, and about any cadets that would be recruited to the scouts joining them. However, the conversation quickly turned towards Eren, who froze up as all eyes were pointed at him.

"Most of us still find it hard to believe," Eld said. "So how does this Ultraman thing work?"

"I-I don't know…" Eren said. "There's a lot about this power I still don't understand. But I do know that when I press this button on the metal cylinder, I immediately transform into that form and that I only have a limited time before I have to turn back, and my power has to recharge."

"You're not gonna get anything out of him that we don't already know," Levi said. "Of course, that won't stop Hange from trying."

Suddenly, as if on command, they heard someone slam into the door, followed by a loud "OW!" On the other side. Unfortunately for whoever was running headlong into the door, it was locked before they could get in. Petra unlocked the door, and it opened up, revealing it to be Hange, who was currently rubbing her sore forehead.

"Sorry about that," she groaned, before regaining her enthusiastic attitude. "Good evening team Levi!"

"Section commander Hange?" Eren gasped.

"Oh, Eren, there's no need for the formalities. Just Hange will do," she said. "In the event that you haven't pieced it together yet, I spearhead the Scout Regiment's research efforts. Essentially, I poke and prod at our test subjects to get whatever juicy information we can out of them, and I'd like you to help me with that."

"U-uh, okay, but what would I have to do?" Eren asked.

"Jon me of course! On a quest of scientific discovery~!"

"W-well, I'd be happy to help, but it's not up to me. I'm still under the orders of the higherups."

Hange turned to Levi and asked him what Eren was scheduled to do tomorrow.

"Clear out the weeds?"

"Perfect! Nothing important then!" Hange replied. She then grasped his hands and looked into Eren's eyes with excitement. "Young man, tomorrow will be grand!"

Eren, blissfully still unaware of what he was getting himself into, asked her what they would be doing tomorrow. Hange let out an ominous giggle, prompting Levi and the rest of the squad to leave. She then took the seat that Gunther was previously using.

"Well, my inquisitive friend, if you insist~" She cooed. "But where to start? Oh, I know! I'll start by getting you better acquainted with the Titans we lucked upon in Trost."

Hange proceeded to explain in gruesome detail about two abnormal titans that the Scouts were able to capture for study. She left not a single detail unmentioned. From the names she gave them and how she came up with said names, to the various experiments she did on the two, and even the odd grief she felt from harming them. That last bit was what confused Eren the most, and caused him to speak up.

"Commander, all due respect, but how can you be so lighthearted about them?" Eren asked. "You act like they're just badly behaved pets."

Hange was silent and gave Eren a stern look, prompting him to continue.

"It's just… they're the single greatest threat mankind's ever faced. They've nearly driven us to extinction! You're a scout. You know that. You've seen them in action countless times."

Hange sighed, her voice now more melancholy. "True. In fact, I've seen my fair share of friends die at their hands. When I first joined the Scouts, I fought them out of little more than hot-blooded hatred… but then one day, I came to a realization. I kicked the severed head of a three-meter titan, and it weighed next to nothing. It might as well have been a feather."

Eren gasped in shock at this. Hange then faced him once again.

"In the realm of improbabilities, this one ranks almost as high as that of your Ultraman power. Their sheer strength argues the opposite. And yet, such was the case for every other titan. Contrary to the appearance of density and mass, the severed limbs were light as tree bark. It's so bizarre. The only way I can think to describe it is that their appearance doesn't tell the full story, and in fact stands in contrast to their true appearance."

Hange poured herself a new cup of tea. "This is why we need a new strategy, one based on knowledge, instead of fear and hatred. It could of course be a waste of time, but even still… nothing ventured nothing gained."

Eren took a sip of his tea as he contemplated Hange's words. 'Joining the Scouts has been an eye-opener. Shock after shock. And it's not just section commander Hange. Everyone here is a little off. It's like a sanctuary for crackpots. But still, they're striving for change! That's been the appeal of the Scouts all along!'

Suddenly, Hange spoke up again. "But all of that leads me back to why I came here in the first place. You."

Eren stuttered. "Pardon?"

"You and your powers provide a wealth of knowledge the likes of which we've never seen before! And I want to start doing tests with you as soon as possible! In fact," Hange leaned against the table, her glasses foggy and her face flushed. "I want to start right now!"

"R-right now?! But I thought we were starting tomorrow!"

"Who said anything about that?"

"When you asked-"

Hange cut Eren off. "Oh, that! I was just asking Levi so I'd know if you needed rest before tomorrow. But now I know that I'll have you all to myself! Oh, I can't wait to find out what makes you tick!"

Eren gulped nervously as Hange took his hands and led him outside. Once outside, Hange squealed with glee as she hopped in place.

"Well, don't just stand there!" She said. "Transform already!"

"W-wait, but I can't transform without Levi's permission."

Hange continued to beg Eren to transform for her. However, in the middle of their banter, the two suddenly heard the agonized screams of two titans being killed nearby. Hange and Eren both looked to see a nearby enclosure with steam rising from it.

"NOOOOOOO!" Hange screamed as she sprinted towards the enclosure. However, when she arrived, it was too late.

She screamed in emotional agony, tears streaming down her cheeks as she saw the bodies of Sonny and Bean, the napes of their necks completely severed. Hange ran up to them and leaned against Bean's face while sobbing.

"MY SWEET BABIES! WHO DID THIS TO YOU!?" Hange cried.

As Eren approached, he looked up and saw three hooded figures up above them. "Hey! You three! What do you think you're doing?!" They heard Eren call out to them and immediately tried to flee. "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

Eren reached up his cylinder to transform but paused. He could get in serious trouble for using his powers without authorization from Captain Levi. But then, Hange stood up, her back still turned to him.

"Eren, turn into Ultraman and stop them," she growled.

"B-but I can't do it unless-"

Hange swung around, an enraged and mournful expression on her face. "TO HELL WITH LEVI! I'M GIVING YOU PERMISSION! NOW GO AVENGE SONNIE AND BEAN ALREADY!"

Eren relented and exited the enclosure before transforming into Ultraman. As Ultraman, Eren started flying just a few meters over the land, easily able to outfly the figures' ODM gear. Eren landed in front of them and grabbed one of the perpetrators while the other two zipped around him. Eren then dangled the cloaked man by his cables to get a good look at him. His eyes widened when he saw who was beneath he cloak.

"B-Bertholdt?!" Eren stuttered.

Berthold gasped and hyperventilated, eventually screaming in terror as he suddenly chomped down into his own hand. Eren wondered what the purpose of this was, until suddenly, Bertholdt was enveloped in a bright light, and a massive explosion of steam enveloped the two of them. The explosion was so loud that it woke up all the other members of the Survey Corps. Levi, his squad, and Erwin all exited the building and found Hange sobbing before the corpses of Sonnie and Bean. In the distance, they could see an enormous cloud in the shape of a mushroom.

"What the hell is going on?!" Gunther shouted.

"Did Jaeger go rogue?!" Oruo cried out.

"No," Hange replied, wiping away her tears. "I made him go after them."

"After who?" Levi asked.

"The bastards who did this…" Hange pointed to the evaporating corpses of Sonny and Bean.

Before Levi could ask any further questions though, his squad gasped in shock, prompting Levi to look up. His eyes widened as the mushroom cloud cleared, and at the center of it stood the Colossal Titan himself, steam billowing off of his body, as well as Eren in his Ultraman form.

"Holy shit…" Levi said.

"Indeed," Erwin responded. "It seems that we've managed to lure the Colossal Titan out," Erwin called out to the others. "All troops! Equip your ODM gear at once! We can not waste this chance to defeat the Colossal Titan! If we win here, it will be the greatest victory we've had against the Titans in all of mankind's history! NOW, MOVE OUT!"

-B-

Bertholdt's hands were trembling with fear. Never did he have to face something even close to his own size before. Never could he have imagined that there even existed any entity in this world that could meet the Colossal Titan at eye level. And what made it all the more horrifying to Bertholdt was that this thing was completely unscathed by his nuke ability, the Colossal Titan's strongest attack. If that wasn't enough to beat Eren, then what was?

Still, regardless, Bertholdt raised up his fists defensively. If nothing else, the nuke seemed to have at least stunned Eren. Bertholdt never used the Colossal Titan for combat before, but he had to this time. Reiner and Annie were depending on him to protect them. So, he raised his fists and took a swing at Eren. The punch was so powerful that Bertholdt broke his hand against Eren's face.

Nothing happened to Eren.

"You…" Eren gasped.

Berthodt's eyes widened as he realized the truth. The explosion truly did nothing to Eren. He wasn't stunned with pain or anything. He was stunned with rage. He then looked back at Reiner and Annie. They were a good distance away, but not quite far enough. They needed more time.

Bertholdt threw another bone-shattering punch at Eren's face. Again, nothing.

"You…" Eren snarled.

Berthold began weeping within his titan's nape, the tears instantly evaporating as he thought about all the many things he had done, and how many regrets he's be taking with him to the grave. However, seeing Reiner and Annie had managed to escape, Bertholdt was at the very least able to accept his death, knowing he at least did something with his miserable, worthless life.

"YOU TRAITOR!" Eren screamed as he landed a punch on Bertholdt's face.

-E-

That one punch was the most devastating thing the island of Paradis had ever seen. It wiped out everything in its path. The trees, the hills, the grass, the ground, everything was gone. Reduced to dust. And the Colossal Titan? Or Bertholdt within?

Gone.

Completely and utterly vaporized.

The Scouts were beneath him on horses. They thought this would be an epic battle that may cost them many lives, but their sacrifices would ultimately be in service of bringing humanity to a brighter future. But instead, it was little more than a horrifying demonstration of Eren's insurmountable power.

But that wasn't the end of it. Bertholdt may have thought Reiner and Annie were safe now, but he was wrong. Using his extended vision, Eren was able to pinpoint Reiner and Annie from a distance and flew straight toward them. Reiner transformed into the Armored Titan to try and outrun Eren, but all that did was make him easier for Eren to grab. Eren then blasted upwards while screaming furiously, carrying the Armored Titan in the palm of his hand while Annie was left gasping in shock. That could have been her. And she was infinitely fortunate that it wasn't.

Eren eventually found himself crash-landing on the moon. However, his fury was so intense that he didn't even notice where they were. He lifted the fist that held the Armored Titan, about to slam down his other fist onto him, but then he finally stopped. He slowly turned around and saw a vast, blue ball, covered in green spots, with white splashes slowly gliding across it. The top and bottom of it were dashed with snow. As Eren gazed upon the planet, he slowly came to realize what he was seeing.

It was Earth. It was his world, in all its beautiful glory.

Eren shed a single tear as he suddenly felt all the rage, hatred, and pain coursing through his body melt away. He threw Reiner's titan down to Earth and then took a seat on a rock as he silently gazed at the Earth.

'This must be what true freedom feels like,' Eren thought. He reached out a hand to the planet and smiled. 'It's so beautiful… Mikasa, Armin, I can't wait for you two to experience this.'

-L-

The scouts eventually arrived at the spot where Eren took off with Reiner. However, when they got there, they were too late. Whoever the third person was, they were already long gone. Hange cursed loudly and stomped on the ground while Mike sniffed around the area.

"Any idea where they went?" Levi asked.

"Not a clue," Mike replied. "The smell of the Armored Titan and Ultraman is masking their sent."

"Damn it," Levi hissed before his eyes widened slightly. "Wait, the Armored was here too?"

"Yeah. By my guess, it appeared just as Eren reached the other two."

As Levi and Mike continued investigating, Petra looked up at the moon, wondering what was going to happen now that their two biggest threats were probably dead, both by the hands of Eren, and both probably in one shot. This whole situation was absolutely mind-boggling to her. However, as she thought about this, she suddenly saw a little black spot on the moon, and it was slowly expanding. But then she realized that spot was actually a figure in the sky approaching them. It was Eren, flying down toward them, seeming a lot more calm than before.

As he landed before them, they saw that his chest light was flashing red, and he quickly transformed back to normal. And as soon as he did, he saw Captain Levi there and saluted him.

"S-sir, I'm sorry for transforming without your authorization," Eren said. "I didn't-"

"It's fine, Jaeger," Levi sighed. "Four eyes already explained everything to me. The real pain in the ass is that we just lost our chance to learn anything useful about the Colossal and Armored Titans."

Eren suddenly had a downcast look on his face. His time spent on the moon was so wonderful that he almost forgot the reason he was up there in the first place.

"A-actually captain, there was something I did learn about them… b-before they died…" Eren said, feeling the urge to vomit just thinking about it.

Levi said nothing. He, Erwin, and Hange all listened intently.

"Th-the Colos-" Eren choked up. "...The Colossal… a-and the Armored… they were the cadets Bertholdt Hoover… and R-Reiner Braun."

-R-

The waves gently crashed against the beaches of Paradis Island, the water glistening beneath the pale moonlight. On the beach, several massive, wet footprints lead into the forest. Slowly, the Armored Titan lumbered forwards, now having been rid of most of his armor so that he wouldn't sink to the bottom of the ocean when Eren threw him from the moon back to Earth. It was a miracle in and of itself that the titan body was able to insulate Reiner from the intense heat upon re-entry.

Any sane person at this point would have just given up and gone home, cutting their losses and counting their blessings. However, Reiner just kept moving forwards. He had to keep moving forwards, in spite of all logic, in spite of all reason. He had to prove that Marcel and now Bertholdt's sacrifices were not in vain. Besides that, Annie was still on the island, and she needed his help now more than ever.

However, as steam billowed off of the body of his titan, he knew he wouldn't be able to sustain it for much longer. So, the Un-armored Titan collapsed somewhere in the woods, steam billowing off of his body. Eventually, Reiner rose from his Titan's nape, the strands of muscle still in his cheeks. Reiner didn't have the strength to even pull them out. He barely had any strength left at all.

He didn't even have the strength to try and move out of the way as he saw a figure approaching him. The figure eventually climbed up onto the Titan body and crouched down next to him. Their blue eyes gave off an ominous glow as they stared into his.

"Greetings, Reiner Braun," they said. "Good to see Ultraman failed to dispose of you. I would have preferred all three of you be together, but you will still be useful to me."

Reiner groaned softly. "Who are you…?" He mumbled weakly.

"Me? I am a friend." They then lifted Reiner out of his Titan body and began to carry him back toward the walls on their back. "You may call me… Bemular."