"You're going to tell us everything. From the beginning." Commander Erwin's voice was stern, unyielding. Despite the physical trauma of losing his arm, he had wanted to get this meeting done with as soon as he was able. Reiner had expected to have a bit more time before this meeting was to happen, but he supposed it was better to get it out of the way now.

'Yes, sir." Reiner replied as firmly as he could, trying to maintain a respectable amount of eye contact. It was hard. He wanted to wilt under the weight of all of the stares aimed at him.

Reiner sat at a table with four others, and nervously took a drink of water from the glass in front of him. Commander Erwin, Levi, Hange, and Eren all looked on at him, waiting to hear what he would say. Some had looks of malice, while others seemed to appear almost purely curious.

It had been five days - only five days since Eren had activated the Coordinate for the first time. Five days since Reiner first woke up in the underground room that was serving as his jail cell. In those five days, he hadn't been outside or seen the sun even once. Aside from that, he couldn't really complain about the way he was being treated. He was being fed and kept moderately comfortable.

Until today, he had only interacted with a small number of people, and almost none of those were his former comrades from the 104th. He had seen Ymir the most, given she was his neighbor and fellow prisoner for the moment. Historia has visited them both frequently, too.

No one else had come to see him, but it wasn't as if he expected them to. Was Eren supposed to be concerned for him, now that he knew Reiner had been responsible for the death of his mother and the destruction of his home? Was Connie supposed to want to cheer Reiner up, after his dishonesty had been made clear for everyone to see? No. None of them would come. Thanks to Historia, he at least knew they were all still alive. Mikasa, Sasha, and Jean were all injured, but they were alive and would recover.

"Leave nothing out," finished Hange.

Reiner had already been over this multiple times. First with Ymir, and then with Historia. He had told them almost everything. The things he left out were relatively minor – and didn't have any real significance in the big scheme of things. They were things he simply was not ready to tell... things he wasn't ready for them to know about him... not yet. One of those things was Marco. Another was the Curse. He would tell them about the Curse of Ymir, but Eren needed to know first. Reiner owed him that at least. Eren deserved to know that his time was limited.

"Despite what the people here have been led to believe, humanity outside the walls was never wiped out," he began, just like Historia had coached him. Everyone at the table already knew this, he was sure. Historia would have told them. They listened intently now to see that he told the same story he had given her. He changed nothing.

Aside from the five of them sitting at the table, there were also three members of the Survey Corps positioned behind Reiner. They were to serve as a safeguard, in the event That Reiner made any sudden movements or acted suspiciously. They would be his executioners if he made a wrong move. All three faces behind him were unfamiliar. He supposed he preferred it that way.

"Your walls are positioned on a large island, called Paradis," he continued. "The walls form the border of a nation in isolation – formerly known as Eldia. There are other civilizations that make up the larger portion of the world, outside of your island. I come from the largest and most powerful of those nations: Marley."

No one at the table interrupted him as he recounted for them the history of Eldia, as he had been taught. He shared with them Marley's version of the story of Ymir Fritz, and the pact she had allegedly made with the devil... The Great Titan War. They just let him keep talking.

The entire time he spoke, Reiner tried to avoid making eye contact with Eren. Of everyone in the room, Eren was the most visibly hostile, the most angry. He had a right to be. Eren was the one who had the biggest reason to hate him. While she was recovering from her injuries surprisingly fast, Mikasa was still stuck in bed most of the time while her broken ribs healed. Eren had spent most of the last five days by her side.

In contrast to Eren's heated glare, Erwin listened to Reiner while wearing a very different expression. The Commander watched Reiner with an almost ravenous glare – like a child, being given a present to unwrap. He was the only one in the room with no malice in his eyes. Reiner was giving him answers that he had sought after for his entire life.

Levi and Hange were their usual selves – stoic and careful not to give anything away. Reiner could read neither of them. Levi never said a word, but Hange occasionally asked Reiner to clarify something, or to go into further detail on a topic.

"So... what you're saying," Hange interrupted Reiner, lifting her pen up to indicate she had a question. "There are nine titan powers that are possessed by humans. You have one... the Armored Titan. Bertholdt and Annie each have one as well. There are six others, including whichever one Eren has. Is that accurate?"

"Yes," Reiner nodded, and Hange jotted something down in her notebook.

"Can you list each of those titans for me, and what is unique about each of them?" Hange continued to scribble hastily in her notebook as Reiner listed of each of the nine titan abilities, and whatever he knew about them.

Reiner had only learned a couple days ago that Annie had been captured as well. He hadn't been given any details but he knew she was alive. It happened in the days before the Survey Corps rescued the group of them at Utgarde. Reiner paused for a moment when describing what he knew about the Female titan, wondering if they had already gotten this same information from Annie herself.

Reiner did just as she asked, also noting which titans Marley was likely still in possession of: the Beast, Cart, and Colossal. He mentioned the Warhammer, although he knew very little about that titan, its holder, or abilities.

"What about the Attack titan?" Hange asked. "You've told us very little about that one."

"That's because I know nothing about that specific titan," Reiner stated calmly. "I'm not sure if it was ever in Marley's possession, or where it might be now."

"And the Founding Titan..." Hange chewed on her pen for a moment. "That's the one that you think Eren has. Why?"

"Because of what happened five days ago." Reiner answered. "The Founding titan has a supposed connection with all other titans. In that moment when the titans obeyed Eren's commands, I felt something, despite being miles away. Ymir felt it too."

"Okay," she sighed. "Now please continue from where you left off before I interrupted you.

Reiner continued to the topic of the Eldians - specifically, the mainland Eldians. While the Eldians living on Paradis have enjoyed relative peace for the last hundred years, the Eldians on the mainland were being persecuted and oppressed. "Descendants of the devil is what they are called," he elaborated.

Talking of the persecution of Eldians led to an explanation of Marley's Warrior program. Naturally, Hange and Erwin were both interested in information about the other Warriors – strengths to be cautious of, and weaknesses to potentially exploit. Reiner began listing the names of his fellow Warriors, as well as the reason they were selected for that role.

"You've told us about the Jaw, Cart, Beast, Colossal, and Female," Hange listed the titans she had written down in her notebook, "but why were you selected for the Armored Titan?"

Reiner knew this question would be asked. He answered honestly. "I was selected because of my loyalty and devotion that I showed Marley as a Warrior candidate."

Eren erupted into laughter.

Everyone else in the room watched in silence as Eren laughed so hard that he cried. And then he just cried.

"Your loyalty," Eren hissed, as he slowly regained his composure. "...your fucking loyalty."

"I think..." Hange said, looking at Eren sadly, "that we've talked enough for today."

"I agree," Levi agreed, speaking up for the first time.

"You're right," Erwin looked down, disappointed. "We've been at this all day. We're all tired."

Reiner hadn't noticed before, but Erwin had gotten pale. Hange glanced at her commander with a look of concern, and then turned her gaze back to Reiner. "Thank you for all that you have shared with us today," she exhaled. "We will definitely be speaking again soon."

With that, the day was done. A whole day spent in that room. Reiner was exhausted, despite not physically exerting himself in the slightest.

The three guards responsible for keeping an eye on Reiner escorted him back to the room that he was being kept in. It was all in the same underground compound, so it wasn't a long walk.

From what Reiner could tell, the Survey Corps hadn't yet involved any of the other military branches in what was happening. Everywhere Reiner looked, he only saw Survey Corps emblems. He wondered why they kept it a secret, and then he remembered all of the drama that had occurred when Eren was revealed to be a titan shifter. The Survey Corps would likely try to get every bit of information they could from him before informing the other branches. There was a good chance they would need to turn custody of him over to the Military Police when that happened. Reiner shuddered at the reminder that his future was so uncertain. For now, all he could do was accept what was thrown at him, and take it as well as possible.

Certain things were easier to take than others.

When Reiner got back to his room, Historia was there waiting for him. She had her nose buried in a book, and was sitting at the end of the bed with her back to the wall. She didn't react when he entered the room, but when he stepped closer to her he realized she had actually dozed off.

Historia had kept herself busy for the last five days. She appeared to be completely exhausted every time Reiner saw her, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She had been attending a lot of meetings, too. She didn't talk about them, but Reiner didn't ask.

Historia suddenly snored loudly, waking herself up.

"Why don't you go get some sleep?" Reiner asked, sitting at the other end of the bed. He was tired, so he knew she had to be exhausted too. All he had to do was sit in a room all day and be questioned. She had probably been exerting herself far more than he had.

"I wanted to see how it went today," Historia yawned, marking her place in her book and closing it.

"It went about as well as could be expected," Reiner told her. "Eren loathes me."

Historia already knew that, of course. She had undoubtedly spoken with Eren over the course of the last five days.

"Eren..." she sighed, closing her eyes briefly. " Well... he's having a hard time right now. For a lot of reasons."

"And I'm one of them," Reiner finished for her, no emotion in his voice.

"Yeah..." she responded quietly. "Give him time."

Reiner couldn't help but feel like that was a silly thing for her to say. Eren had every right to hate him. If their roles were reversed, Reiner would probably hate Eren with every fiber of his being.

"I'm not sure time is going to make much of a difference here," he said quietly.

"But I'm sure - "

"No, Historia," he cut her off. "You can't be sure because you don't know." Reiner's voice broke. He normally accepted her kindness, and even admitted to enjoying it. Today though, it was harder. Eren's laughter had been so broken, so empty. That laughter was a harsh reminder of the horrible things Reiner had done. There were so many... He didn't deserve Historia's sympathy. She didn't even know everything.

"Reiner," she started, clearly surprised by this outburst. Her eyebrows furrowed with concern as she looked at him. She had such a big heart, and he reminded himself that he adored this girl. She and Ymir had been his only friends since he had been down here. As much as he appreciated it, he knew that he didn't deserve any of it.

"Reiner," Historia repeated his name. "We've talked about this... you were just a kid."

"Do you really think," he started slowly, trembling. "Do you really think I just stopped doing monstrous things after I came here?" Reiner leaned back against the wall, sitting at the opposite end of the bed from Historia.

"What?" she asked. "But what are you talking about?" His words were confusing her. She really had no idea. "But... are you talking about Trost? You weren't there... or at least you didn't do anything. The colossal was the only one that attacked that day."

"Did you ever wonder..." Reiner hesitated. No sense in stopping now. She should know. "Did you ever wonder what happened to Marco?"

It was all he needed to say. He watched as Historia's face transitioned between several different emotions. He saw her eyes get wide as she began to comprehend the implications of what he said, and he saw her comforting smile become something else entirely.

"No..." she whispered.

"Marco is dead because of me," Reiner added, hoping to make it as clear as possible for her. He couldn't look her in the eye as he said it, the shame of this confession on top of everything else was just too much.

"Marco was killed by a titan..." Historia breathed. Reiner wondered if her words were meant for him, or if they were solely for herself. "How... how... how were you responsible?"

"Bertholdt and I were talking," he began, without really knowing why he was explaining himself to her. "Too loudly. It was after... he created the whole in Trost's outer gate."

For a moment, Reiner dared to look up. Historia was staring at him with her mouth open. Tears welled up in her eyes. As far as she had known, Marco's death was caused by titans. No one person was to blame. That illusion was being shattered with every word he uttered. Looking at her was a mistake, he decided. He had to look away before he lost his nerve. She needed to hear the rest. He continued, focusing his gaze on his hands, clenched on his knees.

"Marco heard us. We didn't hear him come up behind us... but he heard too much... He... he wanted to talk it through..." Reiner shuddered, remembering. They had needed to act quickly. There was no way he would keep their secret, or pretend he hadn't heard anything. They couldn't take that risk.

Historia was silent. Reiner couldn't bring himself to look at her, but he had a good idea of what he would see if he did. She should be disgusted, hurt, angry.

"We took his ODM gear," this last bit caused Reiner's voice to crack. "And then we... we watched as a titan walked toward him." Tears were coming now, and caused his vision to blur as he forced himself to continue speaking. "We stood there and ... we watched as he was torn apart."

Reiner choked out a sob. This was all too much. The last five days, the encounter on the wall... all of it was just too much. He brought his palms to his eyes and almost forgot that Historia was sitting there, watching him.

At least now she knew. She would stop giving him the pity and comfort that he knew he didn't deserve. He was a monster, and now she knew that. He would be left to himself now. Perhaps Ymir would still want his company, but surely no one else. They would all hate him now, as they should.

Reiner had been so busy wallowing in his own self-loathing that he didn't notice when the weight shifted on the bed where he sat. He didn't hear the creak of the mattress over his own sobs. The first thing he had any awareness of was the feeling of hands, touching his cheek and neck, running through his hairline at his nape. Before he knew what was happening, he was being pulled into Historia. Lacking the will to resist, he buried his face in her shoulder, as the tears forced themselves out of him.

Historia wrapped her arms around him and held him like that for several minutes as he cried, stroking his hair soothingly. His own arms wrapped around her and his fingers clenched the fabric of her shirt.

"Reiner," Historia whispered gently. Her own voice cracked as she said his name, and for the first time Reiner realized that she was crying too. "You did what you had to do... to survive."

Reiner felt Historia's own hands tighten into fists in his hair.

"The things you've done... they are horrible... and it breaks my heart to hear about... about Marco," she shuddered with that last bit. "But those actions weren't you. If they were, you wouldn't be here right now. I might not be here right now... or Connie... or any of the others that you have risked your own life to save."

He needed every word that came out of her mouth, and clung to each one as if he were drowning and they were his only hope for survival.

"You aren't a monster, despite the things you've done," she continued in the same soft, comforting voice, and rested her chin on the top of his head. "You aren't a bad person. You aren't a villain. The things you have done are tearing you apart. If you were really a bad person, you wouldn't be hurting like this."

"I'm not going to shush you and tell you it's okay... it's not... but I'm on your side," she cooed into his hair, still stroking one of her hands through it while her other arm wrapped around his shoulder and held him tightly. "Just... for the time being... I don't think you should tell anyone else about Marco." Reiner felt Historia shudder slightly, with her words. "The others don't need to know. They wouldn't know how to react right now. It would be too hard."

Reiner said nothing else, crying into her shoulder until there weren't any tears left in him. Historia let him, and stayed with Reiner until they both succumbed to the exhaustion of the day and sleep finally came.