A/N: Welcome to Part 5. This is probably one of my favorite Parts yet! In this Part, you will follow Reiner and Willow in the four years time frame in Marley, leading up to Season 4. I hope you enjoy this chapter and this part. Please let me know what you think in the comments!
Part 5: The False Warrior
Chapter 35
Willow's eyes land on the blonde across the room who does not dare look at her while the group of men gather and talk amongst themselves. Willow's attention is elsewhere as she looks onto the small blonde girl whom they argue over, knowing that Willow should pay attention to their words but finding it difficult. Willow takes in her features, seeing her dull blue eyes fixate on her fists placed atop her thighs.
Her profile displays her distinguished nose and sharp chin, as strands of white blonde hair act as a barricade to her expression from Willow. It is clear that she listens to the words of the men in the room as they speak of the two blondes' futures, but she does not dare to look at Willow as they discuss devouring her.
"I made the decision that I believed was in Marley's best intentions," Zeke explains himself as the group of men watch him with disappointed eyes. "With less than a week left of her term, Laylah gave us no choice to return to Marley and allow us to follow the proper succession path. So, in the interest of preserving Marley's control over the Nine, we imposed the Female Titan onto a member of the Island's military." Zeke informs them, unwilling to watch Willow and read her expression in this moment.
Theo surveys Zeke with conflicted eyes, understanding the impasse the Warchief was placed under, and finds himself thinking he too would have taken the same course of action. His dark eyes flash over to Willow's as she watches the room. He reads her body language to see that she is not scared or worried about the outcome of their decision with her life, understanding and possibly hoping for the conclusion.
General Calvi sighs exhaustively as he listens to Zeke explain the many failures of the mission. "Zeke, you come back to us after all these years with no Coordinate, no Colossal, and two husks of our fallen warriors," he says referring to Willow and Ymir. "Why was the Female not returned at the same time as the Jaws?"
"Willow was captured by their military," Zeke explains and the General visibly sneers at the use of her name, choosing to keep her personality out of it. "She was able to evade their capture and assisted us with our last mission on the Island," he explains to them. "Had she not intervened we would have lost the Armored as well," he informs them.
"Yes, well I am not too sure we are going to keep Mr. Braun's Armored for that matter," he says and Reiner stifles a gasp as he tightens his jaw. Willow glances over at him with tangled brows as the realization of their end hits her. "Colt will assume the Armored and Annie will assume the Female. Those are my orders."
"Sir," Theo speaks now before Zeke can, "Though they failed the mission miserably, with the knowledge that we have lost the Colossal, and the Jaws in training—as you are already aware—the middle eastern regions have waged war against Marley. We cannot afford to have the Female and Armored in training during this uprising."
The blonde at the end of the room looks up and Willow watches her with sad eyes, seeing the pain in hers as the General considers this. The balding General leans back in his chair, curling his fingers to pinch his chin. "We cannot trust the Female to fight for our homeland. Her host was an island devil."
"Respectfully, sir," Zeke begins, "Upon her turn, she agreed to assist our efforts. She eliminated an elite group of soldiers within their military ranks, as well as assisted in the slaughter of their ranks in our final battle. She alone is the reason their Commander fell."
Willow's eyes widen and her lips part a bit as she looks onto Zeke for an explanation. He knows as well as she does, that she was not the catalyst of Erwin's death, yet he allows her to have that win here in hopes to save her life, and she questions what his motives are.
"The girl has proven herself useful if anything. I believe that if we provide her with the proper educational material, she has the potential to reform her devilish ways. As for Reiner," he says shifting to the blonde and watches him with a hard gaze. "We have fractions of resistance from the middle eastern forces all throughout our frontlines. Allow these two to fight for their country and I promise you that you will not be disappointed. And if you are, then you can replace the Beast with the rest of them," he says with a respective bow of his head.
"You'd be willing to stake your hold on the Beast Titan on the trust that you have that these two can fight for the Marleyans, and win this war against the middle eastern forces?" the General asks skeptically.
"I do, Sir."
The General looks exhausted and unwilling to discuss the topic any further. "Very well," he says with a heavy sigh that deflates his bloated stomach. "Give the girl whatever materials we have to teach her of the Eldian's role within Marley," he begins glancing over at Theo. "You will be responsible for ensuring she is compliant. I want you deployed with them on the front and assess their capabilities as our Titans."
"Yes, Sir," the brunette speaks strongly.
"Once they have proven themselves with a victory against the middle eastern forces, they may return to Marley as honorary members of society. Dismissed."
The room erupts in noises as everyone shuffles out of their chairs. Reiner, Willow, and Annie all find themselves lingering back in their chairs, waiting for the group to depart before they make a move of their own.
Willow watches the girl stiffly as she continues to hold her closed fists pressed against her thighs with tight shoulders. Reiner sits next to Willow, eyes wide and empty as he thinks about the decision that has just been agreed upon. Her eyes transfer to his, and she cannot help but see the disappointment in his eyes with the knowledge that he has been bought more time.
Reiner stiffly shifts over to Annie, watching her with tense shoulders when he finally says, "Annie, I'm sorry," his deep voice carries in the room.
The small blonde girl looks up at him for the first time since the meeting began, eyes bloodshot and red. "Fuck you, Reiner," she tells him between clenched teeth, seething in hatred. She lifts herself from her seat—the chair scratching against the ground with a deafening screech—and rigidly stomps out of the room, leaving no one but Willow and Reiner in the room.
Willow slumps down in her chair, resting the back of her neck on the chair's back, while she rests her body on the edge of the seat. She looks up at the ceiling as her arms fall limp on each side of her. She exhales deeply as her blue eyes focus on the beams above her.
She cannot help but helplessly smile to herself at the realization that it will never truly end. For a moment, she foolishly believed they would have Annie consume her, and she could finally join her fallen comrades, but fate seems to always have other plans for her. Even Erwin found his peace in the end.
Reiner places his elbows on the table, combing his fingers through his hair as he pushes out a built-up sigh.
"You still haven't shown me the Sea," she tells him. "They didn't let me on the deck of the boat when we came here."
Reiner glances over at her as her eyes remain on the beams above them. "The middle eastern forces have a powerful navy," he begins, moving his eyes back to the table. "We are going to have to travel by train."
"Of course," Willow says with a defeated sigh.
Willow glances over at Reiner, seeing the look in his wide desolate eyes. She frowns at the sight of him, seeing him breaking before her. "I am sorry, Reiner," she tells him with a soft genuine tone. The blonde glances over at her with confused eyes. "I liked Bertolt. He was my favorite. I'm sorry for what happened to him."
He turns away from her, stiffening at her words as he feels a heaviness collapse his chest. "Yeah," he says looking at his hands on the table.
"You'll see your mother soon," she promises him, moving her eyes towards the beams above her. "And then you'll show me the Sea," she says more to herself than to him.
They stay there for a moment in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Willow is unsure what plagues Reiner's mind in this moment, but hers is fixated on the Scouts. She didn't get to see Levi before she left. She never expected to make her peace with Erwin of all people, but they departed one another with no regrets and no unspoken words. But Levi…
So much has been left unsaid. So many apologies, so many regrets, so many explanations never to be heard. Will she ever see him again? Will she ever be able to tell him that she never meant for it to end this way? That she's riddled with regret about his Squad? That speaking with Erwin and forgiving him for everything has made her realize that this was never the path she wanted to tread down?
Why did she come here? Why did she come to Marley with Reiner when she could have explained everything to Levi? The answer lumps in her throat as she struggles to breathe past it. Because I don't belong there. Because you can never forgive me for what I've done. Because I don't deserve your forgiveness, Levi.
Theo comes in, breaking the internal battles between Reiner and Willow and prepares them for their transfer to the middle eastern front. They are seated in the cabin of the train with Theo and a few other high-ranking military officers.
Reiner sits next to Willow as they sit across from Theo. He watches her with dark eyes and arms crossed over his chest. He does not seem to be distrusting of her like the other Marleyans, and he seems to be the only one who does not outwardly sneer at her.
"How are the other warriors?" Reiner speaks up, arms also crossed over his chest.
"Pieck has been training with Porco to improve his connection with the Jaws," he begins. "For now, we are keeping them off of the front forces, and are focusing our offensive measures with Eldian support and Warrior Candidates," he says and Reiner nods once at his response. "Your cousin Gabi has become a War Candidate," Theo informs him and Reiner stiffens. "She's become a very promising contender and hopes to assume the Armored Titan once your term is up."
Willow glances over at Reiner, noticing the subtle tension in his jaw as the muscles protrude to the surface of his cheeks. She keeps her expression flat, knowing that she cannot outwardly express what she is thinking, but she can tell that he thinks the same; another person being dragged towards their premature death.
"That is great to hear," Reiner says in an unconvincing tone that even Theo catches. "She will be a suitable replacement for the Armored. Hard to believe she's old enough. She was just a baby when I left," he says with a slowly growing frown.
"Yes," Theo says with no inflection in his voice. "She will do great things for Marley." Theo's eyes transfer over to Willow, "These are for you," he says handing her a pile of books that sit on the empty seat next to him. She takes them into her hands, looking down at the texts that read on the history of Marley and the Eldian tyranny. "We've had them translated so you can read them."
"Thank you, Sir," she says softly as she places the texts in her lap.
"You two should get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us. Your sleeping quarters are down the cab."
They bow their heads to him as he lifts himself from his seat, making his way to his own room. Willow follows behind Reiner who leads the way to their sleeping cabins. They are placed across from one another, with the hallway of the train separating them.
He opens the door to her cabin and holds the door open for her while she walks in, noticing that it is small, with nothing but a bed and a small desk with a chair inside. She places the books on the desk and moves towards the bed, turning to see Reiner surveying the room.
"Nice room," he mentions with a grunt. "They usually just had us sleep on the ground with a sheet. Must be because we are the only ones on the train, so they have room to provide us with actual accommodations." Willow nods, unsure how else to respond to him. "Good night," he tells her, bowing his head slightly as he leaves the room and closes the door behind him.
She lies down in her bed after a moment and grabs for one of the books she has been assigned to read. She brushes her fingers against the etching of the title on the cover. The History of the Eldian Devil.
She opens the books and wonders how Hange would like this book and if it will provide anything on the anatomy of a Titan that she would find useful. She cannot help but wonder if the girl is still alive, or if her hit to the head was the end of her; she had already sustained so many injuries that day, that a simple hit to the head would have been enough.
Willow's hands shake as she places the book down, figuring she should focus on her sleep rather than reading. She closes her eyes and takes in a deep breath, allowing her body to fall limp into the uncomfortable bed. She never imagined anything would be worse than the beds at the Survey Corps, but the Marleyans managed to make a bed worse for her.
One Week Later
Willow holds onto the handle of the aircraft tightly as her eyes fixate out the window at the world below her. Her eyes are slightly widened at the vast expanse that she is to lay waste to. Everything seems so small and meaningless from up here.
Her eyes glance behind her to see Reiner sitting in the middle of the airship, his elbows placed on his knees as his fingers lace together. His eyes are shut, with the line between his brows growing prominent. He is not as interested as Willow is to look out the window at the view below him, and it is clear to her that he is either nervous about the height in which they fly at, or the mission they are to fight in. But whichever it is, Willow wishes in this moment that she could read his mind and see where his head is at.
"Alright, we are within position!" Theo calls out over the sound of the wind rushing in as the door to the craft opens up. "The Female and Armored Titan will depart from here, transforming just before you land," he informs them, and the small group of Eldian fighters that accompany them. "We have less than a dozen men down there, so casualties will be at a minimum from the shockwaves," he tells them and Willow frowns as she looks out the window, knowing their own men will die when they land, and no one seems to care.
"Once the two have taken out the forces, we can move further north," Theo continues. "Be mindful that since your return, the Middle Eastern forces have developed Anti-Titan cannons that we believe can puncture even the Armored's skin," he warns Reiner who nods once at him. "We have no other Titans here to assist, so this all hinges on you two."
"We are ready, Sir," Reiner reassures him and the man nods at him.
They suit up in their parachutes and goggles. Willow looks out the opening of the aircraft, feeling the thumping of her heart in her chest and throat as she prepares herself for the fall. She has not assumed her Titan form since her fight with Eren.
They did not give her time to prepare for this battle, and a part of her believes they hope she fails so they can force the Female on Annie. She swallows hard, knowing that she can give them what they want. She can allow herself to plummet to her death and end it all here, allowing them to use Annie, while also giving herself final release. She contemplates it for a moment, thinking she will, but a part of her shivers at the idea.
Reiner places his hand strongly on her shoulder and she glances up at him. He hands her a knife with his free hand, and she takes it with shaking hands. "It will be quick," he tells her as his eyes fixate on her shaking hands. "We have each other's backs," he says turning from her.
She looks back at him, fixating on the back of his head as he prepares himself. She never thought she would hear those words from him, nor did she ever think that she would be fighting with the Armored Titan. She wonders what her Squad thinks of her. Can they see her? Are they watching down on her? Would they be proud of her?
Certainly not.
She takes in a deep breath and looks out the opening of the aircraft at the small city that waits below them, clearly aware of the impending attack that looms above them.
Willow watches as in an instant, Reiner jumps from the craft and into the air, plummeting towards his death. She takes in another breath, closing her eyes and remembering the first time she strapped into her ODM gear and flew through the sky. She tries to remind herself that this is the same. Only back then, she was flying, and this time she is falling.
She leans into the air as she begins falling towards the ground. Her heart races as her hair flies around her face. She closes her eyes and allows herself a moment of peace while she contemplates if she should just let herself fall to her death. She wonders if they will even be able to retrieve the Female from her body if she dies before Annie can consume her.
Willow shakes the ideas out of her head when she hears the sound of Reiner's parachute being deployed. She watches as he steers the parachute towards his intended direction and figures he wants to live after all of this.
She can see in his eyes that something has changed in him since they left the island. His shoulders are slugged downwards and his eyes are sunken in. There is clear self-loathing weighing him down, and it reminds her of Malik in the days after Derrek's suicide. It's clear that Reiner doesn't care to live anymore, and she is curious why he carries on with this mission if he desires his own death so much.
She questions if she is reading him wrong, but from what she knows, it's clear that he does not have much light left in his eyes. She wonders what the Marleyans would do to Reiner if she allowed herself to die here. They would undeniably have someone else consume the Armored from him, as well as the Beast from Zeke. Would the same go for her if Reiner decided to die today? Would they strip her of the Female? She inhales at the revolting realization that both she and Reiner's lives hinge on the other surviving. So, in a sick way, she needs to protect the Armored Titan if she wishes to stay alive.
After a moment of contemplating, her self-preservation eventually wins the battle over her actions and she deploys the parachute, tugging her body uncomfortably as she takes in air. She watches Reiner just below her, waiting for him to assume his Titan form before she does.
She jumps at the sound of crackling lightning, and instinctively, she cuts her own palm. To her dismay, pain seeps through her palm, but lightning does not strike and she is not assuming her Titan form. She begins to panic as she slices herself once more, this time with more conviction to change, but her body remains her own.
She groans to herself as the ground comes closer to her. She takes in another deep breath, trying to change again, wondering what is causing her to stay human. She thinks about Erwin and her final words to him.
After finding out about his death, she felt betrayal. He was supposed to live with her. They were supposed to suffer in this life together, and outlive everyone around them. He didn't deserve death. She doesn't deserve death. And yet, here she is—alive and fighting—while he is dead with the rest of them.
Willow shakes the idea out of her head and abandons her attempts at transforming in favor of landing safely. She lands harshly on the ground in the middle of a warzone of artillery fire from both sides. She looks up wide-eyed and frozen when a machine gun turns towards her.
A wall of bullets descends at the ground as dirt flies in the air towards her. She stays frozen, waiting for the showering shells to make their way into her body, but she is instead shielded by the hands of the Armored Titan.
He takes hold of her in his hands while she grasps onto him as he lifts her to his shoulder. She grabs onto the back of his ear as he places her down. "I can't transform," she informs him as his golden eyes stare blankly at her, making her wonder what Reiner is thinking inside. "Put me down near the ground forces. I will help them there," she commands him and he turns from the Middle Eastern forces to the Eldian ones.
The Armored places her down carefully as the Eldians within the trenches look onto them with shocked and confused eyes. She jumps off of his hand as he moves to fight the opposing forces. She moves quickly, tugging a gun from a shell-shocked soldier's hands and takes it tightly into her own. She licks her lips and presses them into a flat and determined line as she runs from the trenches, tuning out the wild cries of the soldiers that try to stop her from entering the death zone.
She no longer hears the sound of people crying, or the sounds of cannons exploding around her; she can only hear the sound of her labored breaths as she runs as fast as her legs can carry her towards the artillery cannons that shoot at the Armored Titan while he takes out the other cannons.
She feels a heat rush her cheeks as she gets winded from her running. She is not in the best shape since she was trapped in the cocoon for so long, or being on the boat to Marley for weeks. She needs to focus building her body back to when she was in the Scouts, remembering all the times she ran on the open field with death around her at every corner. Not a lot has changed, so it seems.
Willow hears someone calling out as the gunners notice her running towards them. She watches as they begin cranking the turret towards her. She stops running for a moment to point her gun in their direction. She looks through the scope of the rifle, lining up her shot and taking in a deep breath before shooting.
She misses the first shot, but hits the man in the head with her second. He falls limp, while the other frantically cranks the turret to face her. She takes in another breath, pointing the gun at the man as she tilts her head to look out the scope of the rifle.
The shot rings out and she hits the man in the ear. He begins crying out, but he continues to crank the turret to face her. Before she can shoot at the man again, he turns the turret on her and begins raining bullets towards her. She jumps out of the direction of fire, running as fast as her legs will take her, groaning as she accidentally drops the gun in the panic of evading the rainfall of bullets.
She begins running towards the Armored to shield her from the shower of bullets, but she is too far from him to rely on his aid. "Reiner!" she shrieks out to him, hoping that he will hear her.
As she calls out his name, a train outfitted with cannons and steel armor begins approaching the Armored Titan. She watches as he turns towards the train, launching himself at the weapon when it shoots at him with a deafening blow, causing him to stagger back.
Willow freezes when she watches another round of munition strike him, penetrating through his armor as if it were paper, and sending him flying back. The Armored falls back to his knees, trying to stabilize himself as the wave of ammunition strike him to the ground and tears through his armor effortlessly.
Her heart drops when she sees him fall back. "Reiner!" she calls out as she begins running towards him when something strikes her body. She stops and looks down at her stomach as blood begins spilling from her shirt. She touches her stomach, saturating her fingers in hot red liquid as her hands confirm that she's been shot. She feels her heart stop and her surroundings blur. She thinks for a moment if she is dying, hoping it is so.
No, I have to do something.
She begins feeling the electricity flow through her body and she begins running towards the turret that starts shooting at her. The crackling of lightening deafens the area as she's consumed by the yellow electricity. She releases a war cry as she assumes the Female Titan's form, and before she is even fully formed, her leg smashes into the turret and splays the man's body with a single crushing blow.
The Female Titan releases a woeful roar with the intention to wake the Armored. She runs towards him, expertly dodging the train's cannons with nimble agility that the Armored lacks. Within seconds, she's arrived at the train, kicking a roundhouse hit that sends the locomotive flying off its tracks. She lifts the train, twisting and crushing it in her grip as she tosses the remaining scraps of metal crashing against the barrier walls of the city.
She runs towards a group of soldiers that frantically jump atop a gun turret situated on the wall above them. The Female Titan reaches them swiftly, punching them with a force that sends them hurling off towards the walls to their death if the impact of her fists did not kill them initially. She crushes the turret in her grip so not to allow anyone else to take it.
She notices a group of Eldian soldiers hiding out in a small trench within the middle of the warzone as they shake and cry in fear at the booming noises around them. She kneels down at them, looking onto them as they stare up at her with crippling fear. She places her hand down softly, communicating to them without words to climb onto her hand. They do so after a moment's hesitation and she turns back to the Eldian forces that fall back in the safety of the bunkers that Reiner initially dropped her in.
The Female Titan reaches the trenches quickly as she shields the three Eldian soldiers from enemy fire in her hands. Their locomotive has been destroyed as well as their turrets, so they only fight back with their rifles that do little damage to her Titan form.
She kneels down, placing her hand on the ground and allowing the soldiers to join their comrades in the trenches. They look up at her with grateful eyes as some of them still cry from the shock of their situation. She turns away from trio and continues her fight, knowing that she needs to take out the last of their forces.
Once she is on the enemies' side, the Female Titan finds a bunker where the remaining forces persist, and she approaches them with steady strides. The soldiers in the trenches panic as they frantically retrieve any pitiful weapons they can find to fight back.
She notices that other than their clothing, the men in these trenches look painfully similar to the men in the trenches she just saved. They all share the same shellshocked fear in their eyes, the same trembling terror that shakes their bodies, and the same driving force to kill the opposing side.
Before they can even consider to make a shot at the approaching Titan, she forgets the similarities between them and lifts her leg to the sky. She launches it down with heavy force at their bunker and crushes them all under debris with the weight of her foot as she kills the remaining forces.
She turns from them, moving towards the Armored as he lifts himself to his feet while a pile of steam emanates from the healing holes in his body. He watches her, and it is the first time the Armored and the Female look onto one another as equals rather than dueling adversaries.
Willow feels a twisting in her chest at the strange realization, and as she looks down at the carnage around her, she wonders if this sickening feeling bubbling in her stomach was the same feeling Reiner felt when he was killing her Squad.