A/N: Thank you all for reading this story! This chapter will have bits from the Anime as well as my own parts. This will follow Reiner's POV during their escape from the Scouts. Hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think!

Chapter 31

Present Day – The Armored and Colossal Escape

Reiner growls to himself as he looks forward towards the horizon, seeing a horde of Titans running towards them, on the tails of Commander Erwin luring them in. Reiner comes to the realization that maybe this too will not go his way, though he will make damn sure that he will arrive to his home, one way or another.

He tightens his grip on his neck, holding Eren and Bertolt tightly to his collar as he quickens his pace towards the horde. The team of Scouts jump from him as he begins charging, directing his elbow towards the group of Titans as he tackles past them. Ymir flails behind him, holding onto his back for dear life as he charges through the bodies. The Armored is held down by the hordes of Titan and Reiner begins to panic as they claw at him.

He pushes out a loud frantic roar as he calls for Zeke, hoping he will hear him somehow. He needs his help in this instance and there is no way he is going to get out of here alone. His arms are wasted shielding Bertolt and Eren, and he knows that he will soon be Titan fodder if he does not act now.

He loosens his grip on his neck, hoping that Bertolt can hold his own for once, while he fights off the hordes.

The Armored begins punching at the Titans that advance on them, quickly dispatching them as he presses forward. Bertolt holds on tightly as he continues to move against the Titans. Mikasa begins charging towards the Armored now that they have a clear view of Eren.

Commander Erwin calls out an advance, however, before he can finish his command, a Titan pulls his arm into his mouth and swipes him away. The other Scouts watch in crippling shock as the Titan swipes up the Commander. But Erwin does not halt his commands, as he continues to shot out orders for them to advance, knowing that if he dies in this moment, he dies as the Commander that led the Scouts to victory.

Mikasa cries out as she runs past the hordes of Titans, with the singular purpose in mind to reach Eren. She weaves through the dead eyes, the bloodied mouths, and the outstretched arms as she reaches the Armored Titan. She jumps from her horse and launches herself with her ODM gear, looping around the back of the Armored and attacking his neck, expecting Bertolt to be there, but he jumps from her at the last possible moment.

She looks down with a snarl on her face, as Eren's frantic cries muffle under his gag. She looks behind to see a Titan reaching out to her. It is too fast, and she is too late to notice as the Titan grabs for her with vicious force, crushing her back in its grip. Jean cries out to Mikasa as tears threaten his lashes. He jumps towards her, without regard of the other Titans and slashes at the Titan's face as it releases its grip on the girl. Jean quickly snatches her up and holds her closely to his chest as he expertly extracts her from the action.

Two other Soldiers from the MPs take this time to stun the Armored, crying out as they attempt an attack, but he strikes them down with ease. The Armored lifts his hand for Bertolt to climb onto, as the chaos settles.

Bertolt carefully steps onto the Titan's outreached hand. "We've come too far to give up now," he tells Reiner. "We are going home, and Eren is coming with us!" he promises the blonde.

"Bertolt, Reiner!" Armin cries out as he stands atop the Armored's head. He thinks for a moment, wondering what to say to them to get them flustered and react rashly. He thinks about Levi and how he spoke with Willow before she turned into the Female Titan. Armin remembers how he reminded her that they called a retreat, and the deaths they faced that day were no fault of his and his squad. The mention of the retreat had her responding rashly. She became angry and unreasonable, resulting in her actions to become quick and predictable.

Eren was able to gain the upper hand on her because she was no longer in the proper headspace to strategize. He was able to break her down emotionally until she was backed into a corner and only knew to react.

He wonders what he can do to Reiner and Bertolt, when it finally clicks in his mind. He remembers the look on their faces when they saw Eren almost kill Willow. They were willing to risk compromising their identities to rescue her before she secured herself in the cocoon. He figures there must be some feelings of admiration for her, or at minimum for her Titan form. They can't leave without her, and he needs to exploit that.

"So, you're okay with this? Leaving your friend behind to face the music?" Bertolt and Reiner gasp as Armin continues. "I would have thought you two cared more about her with the way you watched Eren attack her," he says in a low and collected voice. "She doesn't seem like the easiest person to get along with, but I am sure she has her moments. Plus, she is the Female Titan; she has to be important to you somehow."

Reiner grits his teeth as Armin speaks, knowing that no matter how infuriating she has been to him, he understood where she was coming from. She loved her friends and she missed them; he could not fault her for that.

"Do you know where she is right now?" Armin teases them, "She's way up north in the Utopia district... Being tortured," Reiner grunts at this, looking onto Armin as he thinks about her at the hands of Hange or Levi. Their personal connection with her can only add more to their acts against her. His heart flutters at the idea of what they could be doing to her.

"The silent treatment can only go so far," Armin promises them, "The body may heal, but her screams are an object lesson on the limits of endurance. Oh, don't worry, they are taking special care she doesn't die, or get a moment's rest. Mustn't waste a prized specimen like Willow, she's far too precious."

"You're lying!" Bertolt cries out as tears fill his eyes. "If they laid a finger on her, she would have turned and killed you all!"

"Would she?" Armin counters. "How well do you truly know her?" he challenges them. "She was quick to sell you two out to Hange and Levi. You have to remember, they have a past that outdates yours," he reminds them, making them both gasp at the idea. "Oh yeah, she told us all about you two. You never thought to question why Eren was not so surprised when you mentioned you were Titans, Reiner?"

Armin bluffs, remembering the conversation they had the night they believed Wall Rose had fallen. They figured Reiner and Bertolt were Titans due to their copies of the Scouting mission having the Right Wing as Eren's location, as well as Reiner's cut to her hand that undoubtedly had the true location of Eren carved into it. He does not know how they found each other, but it does not matter. What he needs is to plant the seeds of doubt as Levi did to Willow to ensure they don't escape.

"She told us everything," Armin smiles to himself, seeing the doubt in Bertolt's eyes. "She has no affiliation with you, she only used you to get to Levi Squad. They brokered a deal when she was captured; she would give them information about you two in exchange for exoneration of her crimes against Levi's Squad, and discharge from the Military and any obligations," he says knowing Willow's driving factor was to be relieved of Erwin's continuous pressure on her. "Erwin agreed and you should have seen how quick she was to sell you two out!"

Reiner boils over, feeling hot rage fill his chest as Armin's words sink in. He cannot be telling the truth; he saw the red-hot rage inside her eyes towards Erwin. She would not have given up so easily.

He thinks back on the image of her in the room after she killed the Levi Squad. He could see in her posture that she was not happy with herself, but rather exhausted. The vengeance didn't give her retribution, it filled her with sorrow. Did she really sell us out because she fucking felt bad? Reiner grunts to himself.

"Shut your mouth, Hell spawn! I'll kill you!" Bertolt cries out, not allowing the words to fall onto his ears.

He moves towards Armin, holding his sword tightly in his grip as he launches an attack towards the blonde, however, before he can reach him, in a flash Commander Erwin appears and slashes at the brunette's chest. Bertolt looks down at the superficial cut that was not intended for any damage, but rather release the restrains on Eren. He looks down in wide panic as the boy freefalls down the Armored.

Mikasa appears, snatching Eren before he can fall to the ground as Erwin falls to his horse's back. The Armored cries out another roar, pained with what has been said to him and he begins fighting back the Titans that encroach on him.

Erwin calls a retreat and Reiner feels hot tears of frustration burn his cheeks. He knows Armin must be messing with him, trying to back him into a corner or something; using the same tactics that Zeke used on Willow to turn the narrative to fit their needs.

Reiner was never at risk for being killed, but allowed Willow to think he was, so she would turn her vendetta towards the Scouts and not him. Willow never gave Levi and Erwin the information on them. Armin just needs them believing so they will drop their guard. They retrieved Eren. It's all they wanted. And they played right into their foolish trick.

Reiner growls to himself as he begins tossing Titans towards the retreating Scouts. He doesn't know if he needs Eren alive or not, and he frankly does not care. If he cannot have Eren, then he will make damn sure that they won't get away with him either.

He tosses a smaller Titan their way, crushing a group of fleeing Scouts as its body rolls them into the ground. He spots Eren and Mikasa and he lets out a woeful roar, tossing the Titan right at them. He continues to toss Titans towards Jean, Connie, and Armin as they scatter from each assault. After everything he did to make sure they were safe from Willow's attack—from any Titan's attack—they were so quick to turn their backs on him. He will not allow his petty emotions for them get in the way of what needs to be done.

The Armored lifts himself from his knees and continues to toss Titans towards the group of people he once believed were his friends. He begins walking towards them, knowing that once the last Titan has been ripped off of his body, he can finally escape this hell he's placed himself in.

He tosses another Titan towards Jean, and this one strikes the brunette boy, tearing him off of his horse. The Armored watches as Armin comes running towards his bleeding friend, and in this moment, Reiner believes him dead.

The Armored ends up throwing all the Titans from him, and once he is free of all their grasps, he begins running full speed towards the Scouts where he will mow them down one by one. But he does not get far as he stops dead in his tracks, hearing a deafening wail from Eren.

His entire body ignites with electricity that flows through him and he gasps at the sensation. His head turns to Bertolt and he can see in the widened look in his eyes that he felt it too. He glances back over to Eren seeing that the boy is undoubtedly the Founding Titan.

Reiner and Bertolt watch in horror as all the Pure Titans come running full speed towards Eren and the Titan he was attempting to fight. He commanded each of them to attack it, and with a swift motion, all the Pure Titans begin devouring the Titan. Reiner realizes now that he cannot allow Eren to die. He was willing to let him die, but with him being the Founding Titan, Reiner cannot allow him to stay within these walls and release the Rumbling. That power needs to go to Marley.

Reiner grits his teeth as he lurches for the boy. Of all the people the power could have gone to, it had to have gone to one of the worst people. His drive to kill all Titans will soon lead to killing all of Marley if he finds out about what lies beyond the walls. There is no hope for any of them unless Reiner gets him out of here.

He begins charging towards the boy as he turns to them. Eren bellows out a command with as much force as he can, "Get away from us!" he cries out wildly, "Rat bastards, I'll kill you where you stand!" Reiner and Bertolt widen their eyes at his intent as the electricity crashes through their bodies. He wants them dead, truly and deeply.

In an instant, hordes of Pure Titans begin chasing after the two of them, blindly devoted to the Founding Titan's command. They begin swarming them and Reiner panics, knowing that he cannot protect Bertolt and hold off the hordes as well. Reiner decides his best course of action is to leave Bertolt open for an attack, while he remains on the offence. He begins punching away the Titans as Bertolt frantically swings his swords at the ones that reach out to him.

The Pure Titans begin swarming them and Reiner starts to panic. One of these ugly fuckers is going to devour me and take the Armored. I'm a goner, he thinks to himself as the terror kicks in.

Bertolt feels the same as he frantically waves his sword at the swarming Titans, however, the tables turn as Reiner feels a tug on its back. He turns to see Ymir roaring and scratching them away.

Reiner and Bertolt gasp at her decision to turn around and come back to their aid. She could have left with the Scouts and agreed to help them in exchange for her life. Why would she turn back now?

Ymir gives Reiner a window and he begins tossing the Titans away from him, grabbing at them and viciously throwing them from him. It is not long until he has them all off of him. He turns to Bertolt, securing him to his neck and starts running from the horde towards the wall where they will be safe, while Ymir holds onto the back of the Armored as they retreat.

Reiner decides he will bide his time with Eren. They have yet to know he is the Founding Titan or about the Rumbling. Eren does not pose as severe of a threat as Reiner may believe. So until Eren learns of his true power, Reiner will have to recuperate and bring Zeke into this battle. He cannot do this alone, and he knows that he needs the Beast's help.

The Armored scales Wall Maria and places Bertolt carefully atop the structure. Ymir's Titan jumps from his back and she lifts herself from her Titan as tendons detach from her face. Reiner is quick to pull out of his Armored Titan in a cloud of steam, falling to his hands and knees as he breathes heavily from the fight. He watches as Ymir lays atop the wall, breathing heavily as well while she looks up at the stars.

"I don't get it," Reiner says between pants. "What the hell possessed you to come back?"

Ymir presses out a labored chuckle, "Can't say really," she says glancing over at the blonde and inhaling deeply. "Probably wasn't the smartest thing. Seemed a little unfair to send you guys empty handed," she says with a wry chuckle, knowing that they would be detained and stripped of their Titans on the spot if they returned in the state they were headed. "Just think of me as a consolation prize."

"Are you serious?" Bertolt exhales with shock lacing his tone as to why she would sacrifice her life in favor of theirs.

"Look at it this way," Ymir says in a soft tone that neither have heard from her. "If you hadn't come to bust up the wall, who knows when my nightmare would have ended? I owed quite a debt. This is me giving back what I took from you," she says looking up at the stars while the two men watch her. "At least someone knows the shit you've been through. Even if it is only me."

"Yeah well, thank you," Bertolt says before he quickly grabs his lips, realizing he is thanking her for dying. "Sorry," he apologizes for sounding so grateful.

"No worries," Ymir smiles, reaching up for the stars. "Being a goddess had its perks while it lasted."

Reiner looks up at the stars with her, thinking of Willow's words once spoken to him. He swallows hard knowing that no matter what happens, it is all so small in the grand scheme.

The following day, Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir awaken to a booming crash on the other side of the Wall. Reiner is first to lift himself from his slumber, running to the edge of the wall to look down at the source of the noise. His heart flutters and his chest lifts with air as he feels like for the first time since he landed on this island, he can breathe.

"It's Zeke!" he announces happily as Bertolt and Ymir lift themselves from their rest. Reiner looks down with a smile on his face as the Beast begins scaling the structure towards them. Bertolt joins Reiner as he watches the hairy Titan approach them, with a less enthusiastic look on his face. Bertolt is more cautious of the man's appearance, knowing that he will not be keen to see they have lost Eren.

The Beast lands atop Wall Maria, looking down curiously at the three bodies that stand before him, knowing far well that Ymir is not the Founding Titan, and wondering where he is.

The Beast's red eyes scan the three of them, waiting for one of them to speak up with an explanation for why the Coordinate is not here with them.

"Where is the Coordinate?" the Beast asks them, knowing that neither will speak up.

Reiner's smile wipes from his face, realizing that he is not as pleased with them as he thought he would be, though he cannot expect him to be with the loss of Eren. The blonde drops his head to the ground, gritting his teeth at the memory, "We lost him, Warchief Zeke," he tells him with gritted teeth.

"Lost him?" The Beast responds, not pleased with the predicaments.

"I have a plan," he tries to remedy, "Eren will attempt to plug up Wall Maria," he begins. "Life inside the two walls is not sustainable and they are facing overpopulation. They need the territories within Wall Maria, so their next logical plan of action will be to plug up the wall and retake this area. We can retrieve him there."

"You write to me telling me that you lost the Female Titan, and now you tell me you lost the Founding Titan too?" the Beast responds with a grumbling tone at their incompetence. "What have you done, Reiner?"

"We have retrieved the Jaws," Reiner says with wide fearful eyes at his Warchief, pointing back at Ymir. "She is willing to give herself as a sacrifice to one of our Warriors. Maybe Porco can—"

"You expect to return to Marley after five years with no Coordinate, no Female, and a fallen Warrior's killer?" the Beast speaks over him. "With this pitiful return, the Marleyans are sure to strip you of your Titan for someone more suitable." Reiner and Bertolt gasp at the comment, fearing the same as everything has come crashing before them. "You will not return until the Coordinate has been captured," the Beast continues. "The Jaws will return with Pieck."

"Pieck is here?" Reiner asks with widening eyes.

"You two have made a real mess of things, the Marleyans had no choice but to deploy all their forces." The Beast turns from Reiner and looks onto the brunette girl that stares up at him with wide shocked eyes. "So, you must be the one then," he asks her, "Thank you for not making this as difficult as these two have."

"What about Willow?" Reiner asks, looking up at the Beast with wide eyes.

"The Female Titan will be retrieved after the Coordinate," the Beast says, reminding Reiner she is just a vessel to get the Titan back to its rightful inheritor.

Reiner gasps at his response. "She can help us get the Coordinate. Her fighting style against mine can—"

"The Coordinate is our main priority," the Beast roars at him.

"We can't just leave her here!" Reiner cries out angrily, feeling the need to get Willow out of there with a strange desire in his chest to show her his home as he had once promised.

"I have made my decision."

"No," Reiner shakes his head. "We need to get her. We need to return with everyone. I need to make good on that promise," he says nodding to himself, feeling the hate in his chest for being the reason Marcel will not return. "Fight me for it," he says looking up at him through his lashes. "I win, we get Willow back. You win, and we wait here for Eren," he says narrowing his eyes at the Beast.

The Beast sighs, scratching at his ear, "I suppose that seems fair," he states.

Reiner smiles to himself, lifting his hand and slashing his palm with Marcel's knife. He will not leave her here to rot as he did Marcel. He was not strong when Marcel was here and sacrificed his life for him. But he is strong now, and he will not stand idly by, allowing the Scouts to keep her captive. He will set her free and he will show her what he promised her.

The Armored roars as he assumes form of the hardened giant. He quickly moves to swing at the hairy ape, who is swift to launch himself from the wall and kick the Armored in the face and knocking him to the ground.

The Armored gets up, knowing that his Titan is intended for battle, whereas the Beast is not. With slower movements, Reiner knows he has the upper hand on the Titan. The Armored moves in for a punch as the Beast dodges the attack.

The Beast is quick to counter attack and swipes the ground from under the Titan, making him crash to the ground. The Armored attempts to kick the Beast to the ground, but the hairy giant pulls on his leg, lifting him up and punching him in the back. He sends the hardened giant flying as he crashes into the desolate homes left of Shiganshina.

Before the Armored can lift himself up, the Beast swipes up debris from the decaying homes, crushing them in his grip as he prepares his pitch. The Armored lifts its arms and crosses them over its face to shield him from the attack as the Beast launches the debris at him. Once the air is clear, the Armored begins charging.

The Beast smiles to himself as he dodges the heavy Titan's attack, grabbing his arm and pulling it behind his back as he begins slamming his head into the wall. The Armored screeches in pain as the Beast continues to beat his head into the wall in a hold that the Armored cannot escape from.

The Beast bends the arm of the Armored behind its back, cracking the hardened skin of the Titan as it begins to break past its shield.

He twists the Armored from him, tossing him into the homes with vicious force. The Armored crashes into the homes as he lies there for a moment, trying to regain his composure. He lifts himself to his feet, ready to strike the Beast head on. He begins charging at the hairy Titan when the Beast begins bellowing a deafening roar. Reiner's heart races as he staggers away from the Beast at his roar, feeling the intent behind his command.

Kill the Armored Titan.

Ymir and Bertolt look down with wide eyes as a horde of Pure Titans begin swarming the Armored Titan. He attempts to throw the Titans from him as they begin crawling atop him. Reiner begins panicking as the Titans start chomping down on him. Is this his plan? Get one of these mindless idiots to eat me and return to Marley with no arguments? Reiner thinks to himself. He shakes at the idea, not putting it past the Warchief. It is clear that since Laylah snuck onto the ship and he picked Willow to be his successor, Zeke has not been in the favors of the Marleyan government. Reiner can understand now that Zeke is in just as much danger of losing his Titan as Bertolt and Reiner are, causing him to act rashly.

Reiner stops struggling, showing the Beast that he will concede to his wishes. If he believes it best to leave Willow for now, he will not fight him. He knows that they will return for her one day, and he promises her that.

The Beast sees this submission and calls off the masses of Pure Titans. Immediately, Bertolt begins running towards Reiner, calling out his name as he approaches the steaming pile. Bertolt pulls at the blonde with a grunt as the tendons tear from under the blonde's eyes. The fatigued blonde looks up at the Beast with a lidded exhausted gaze.

"I won," the Beast calls down to him. "Which means that we will wait to rescue the Female Titan. Retrieving the Coordinate is our priority, as it should be," he says as a hiss of steam comes from the nape of his neck. Reiner looks up as Zeke appears from his Titan form. "And if we wait right here," Zeke begins, pulling his glasses off of his head and cleaning the smudge from them, "Well, it will come to us on its own."