Morning tea brewed on the kettle, and a whole plate of bread with an extra ration of butter and jam laid out ready for her, but the generous breakfast from Aunt Karina just didn't seem appealing like it used to, and Gabi didn't know why.

"Any new memories come to you at night, dear?" Aunt Karina asked. She suggested Gabi stay with her at nights more often to try to awaken any useful memories, something that had been once familiar to him. She poured some fresh tea into a teacup and added a spoon of honey. The sweet substance quickly dissolved as it came into contact with the hot, powerful liquid.

"No." Gabi replied vacantly. Maybe that's what happened at the ceremony. All of him just dissolved into her, except no taste of him remained. She took a sip of her tea. It raged against her tongue, but she was pretty used to feeling all kinds of pain by now as she sat through experiments and vigorous training to use what she inherited. The first days of that were tough, getting blades and bullets forced into her. It was all kinds of pain she had never felt before in her life. It took all of her strength to hold back tears, but now, it was no big deal, just a part of the prestigious title she held.

It would be no good to have this Titan if she couldn't handle what the enemies struck her with. After all, she was the Shield of Marley.

…

What had Reiner been like? Gabi often asked Aunt Karina during her family's weekly visits for information about her cousin who had been gone since she was three to a very scary place where devils lived and plotted the demise of the rest of the world. Why had he wanted to go there when he could just stay here?

"But it's a great honor," Aunt Karina explained. She pulled her red armband off of her arm to show the wide-eyed little girl.

"It doesn't look at all like mine." All of the armbands her family had were white ones. All she knew is that the nine-pointed star meant that they were Eldians and that they always had to wear them outside the house, or else Marley would be very, very mad.

"It means that Reiner and I are Honorary Marleyans. It's why I'm able to get nice things like sugar and better meats than other Eldians here. It shows Marleyans that we're good Eldians, unlike those dirty little piggies who ran away from this pen."

"I'm not a dirty little piggy, am I?" Gabi asked. She didn't think she was. She said "please" and "thank you" as her parents taught her, she did all her chores, and she certainly didn't make messes- except maybe when she splashed in puddles and mud when it rained. She gulped. Did that make her a piggy?

"No, of course not!" Aunt Karina laughed.

"All piggies who stay in their pens are much better than piggies outside the pen," Dad explained warmly. "But some piggies get to show that they're very special. They win a ribbon like they do at fairs that Marleyan children get to go to."

Gabi blinked. Eldian children didn't get to have fun things like this at all. It sure would be fun if she could go to fairs like Marleyan children could. They had lots of sugar and toys and everything she would have liked to have.

"I want to be a good piggy too." She declared.

"You know, you are old enough to join the training program when enrollment opens in a month. Would you like to go?" Her mom asked. She sounded rather excited.

"Yeah!" Gabi hugged her Mom. "I'm going to win! We're going to be Honorary Marleyans too!"

…

Training was really hard. Her body hurt every day after running and climbing so much. The rifles the military gave them were much heavier than they looked. Some kids tripped and fell into trenches while trying to hold them in proper position while running. If they fell too many times, they were disqualified. It was even worse when it was rainy and the ground became muddy. Her white uniform would be so dirty at the end of the day that she was always the first to make it to the showers to try to wash herself so the instructors didn't call her a devil-blooded pig.

Being first in line for the showers wasn't the only thing she got to be first in. She soon became the fastest runner in her class, and the fastest to get over the climbing net- with and without her rifle on hand. And as for her rifle, she also became the best at target practice. Bullseye after bullseye caught the eye of Commander Magath. A few kids came close, but she never missed a shot. They often rolled their eyes at her outbursts of joy, to which she openly scoffed at them.

"Don't you want to become Honorary Marleyans? Or are you going to cower in fear and side with the wild devils on that island?"

"I'm scared one infiltrated Liberio," said a girl with ashy hair as she polished her rifle.

"Where?"

The girl with ashy hair pointed the rifle at her.

Gabi stamped her foot. "Hey! That better be unloaded!"

The girl giggled. She aimed her rifle at the target and hit just below the center. The instructor praised her for her near perfection. She didn't even get docked points for aiming a loaded rifle at another person! Then the boy next to her with a foreign accent and glasses took a shot and got a perfect bullseye.

"Nice hit, Udo," said the girl. "Now do the little dance you do when excited."

"What? What dance?" Udo scuttled backwards and flayed his arms. His face turned red while she let out another annoying girly laugh. "Zofia, you can't get too excited when you're in battle for real, or the enemy will take advantage of you."

"Maybe wars just don't excite me. That makes me perfect for the role."

Those two could prattle off all they wanted. Gabi just knew the instructors would love her more than them. Sadly, she quickly learned that those two kids had higher academic grades than her. How was that possible? Her parents and Aunt Karina helped her memorize the history of the Fall of Lago and so many more atrocities. She surely knew better than most kids here.

Well, it turned out that Udo had lots more knowledge about the world outside of Liberio since he was born in another internment zone in the Mideast. Zofia would study with him after training hours. Well, it wasn't a huge difference in score. Her instructors admired her for her extreme loyalty and courage. The other students were made to follow her example, not to mention they learned that her big cousin was the Armored Titan.

"Don't forget that since we're family, I have a high chance of getting it," Gabi boasted.

"That doesn't mean anything," said Falco, a rather quiet boy who was following her everywhere as of late. "It all depends on what Titans are needed to be passed when. My brother is going to get the Beast Titan one day, but we have all the others but the Attack, Founder, and Warhammer to consider too. I think you'd be better with the Jaw Titan, Gabi. It's better for attacking enemies more quickly than the Armored."

"Come on, Falco. Porco Galliard is lined up for it next. It's probably because he's Marcel Galliard's younger brother."

"It's because Porco was always next in line since he's from the upperclassmen. I hope the mission is going okay on the island. If they succeed, they might get to keep their Titans for a long time until they almost die. We're still younger than them when they first got their powers. It's nicer to get a Titan when you're a little older."

"Well, I want to make my parents and myself Honorary Marleyans now. It's not like your brother giving you citizenship by default. Aunts, uncles, and cousins don't count." Gabi jogged on, and Falco fell behind quickly.

…

The mission was over. It was a failure. Newspapers and bulletin boards expressed great melancholy. There was even a national day of mourning. Three of the four sent to the island were lost to the hands of island devils. Only Reiner walked out alive with a strange girl in tow who had stolen the Jaw.

He wasn't a hero at all. There was no celebration at Aunt Karina's house. Reiner wasn't allowed out to see his family; he was being held under arrest. Gabi begged her instructors to give her some information if they could through the grapevines, but they couldn't. Why were so many things classified? And why couldn't she learn what was happening to her own family?

Months went by, and training went on. The Commander seemed to be harsher on her. "Run faster, stupid sow! You gonna run like a coward like your big cousin if the devils attack?"

Aunt Karina got very sad whenever Gabi and her parents went to visit. She missed Reiner. "He was always such a sweet boy who never gave up," she wistfully recalled. "I blame those island devils for getting into his head." Gabi's parents agreed, and so did Gabi.

A faraway place called the Mideast declared war on Marley. Many Eldian soldiers were sent to fight for their country, and the Cart and the Beast were frequently deployed. Then one day, it was announced that Porco Galliard had inherited the Jaw Titan once lost to a mindless devil. He was quickly trained.

Then, one day, shortly after Gabi turned nine, her instructor called her out of training for a one-on-one meeting with Commander Magath. What had she done? She took a seat in his office and sat as straight as she could and saluted wholeheartedly without showing her fear.

"Braun, I need to have a talk with you. Do you know why Reiner is being imprisoned?"

"Yes, sir. He failed the mission and brought great shame upon Marley."

"Correct. But there's something that we have been withholding from the public that I am about to reveal to you. And only you get to know." He cleared his throat. "You see, Reiner has become wholly unreliable. He cannot seem to give a straight account to tell us the truth about what happened on the island. He mentioned having 'friends' on the island in one interview."

"What? That's horrid! Why would he call a bunch of dirty wild pigs his friends?"

Commander Magath nodded. "Exactly. And he cannot seem to remember telling us these things later. It's like he becomes a different person. And most of the time, he has no will to move around or do anything but lay down in bed. He's not eating or drinking."

"Did you try giving him any medicine?"

The Commander rolled his eyes. Oh no, did she say something stupid? But he didn't reprimand her for speaking out of turn. "Oh, we've tried, but nothing can bring him back to a state where he would be healthy. You see, we believe the island devils did something to him to put him into this state, and we can't figure out why without any account of his comrades who were with him the whole time. It's unlike anything we've ever seen. And worst of all, he can't seem to find the will to do a transformation anymore. We brought him out to an open field, and we had to give him a blood transfusion after trying so many methods of wounding him. It's like he's become a sick dog. Do you know what happens to sick dogs?"

"They die."

"Correct. But if he dies, his Armored Titan will go to a random Eldian baby, and that could be anywhere in the world with Eldians, including enemy territory. But here, we can put him down safely and make sure that power doesn't escape from our hands."

Gabi's heart thumped in her chest. Was the Commander saying what she thought he was?

"We're not taking this consideration lightly as we do not like doing inheritance ceremonies before a term is near completed, but Braun, we would like you to be the next inheritor of the Armored Titan. You are close in blood relation to Reiner, and with your bravery, strength, and loyalty, we believe that you have the will in you to carry on his duty."

The world around her seemed to vibrate. She was being chosen. She jumped out of her chair, and she gleefully saluted the Commander. "It is my HONOR to serve Marley!"

"I knew you would be. We will be giving you yellow armbands to take home to your family tonight along with a military escort. We will explain everything to your parents. Hopefully, the preparations will be made in the next few weeks."

Gabi was barely listening at this point. Honorary Marleyan. That's all she could focus on. She didn't even notice the Commander rubbing his temples at his desk and his eyes turning red.

…

All the other kids in the class looked upon her with some inspiration and some jealousy when they saw Gabi strut around the training grounds with a bright yellow armband. None of them except Falco had older relatives in the family who would be inheriting or already had a relative with a Titan.

"I knew I could do it," was all Gabi could reply. Although soon enough, Udo, Zofia, and Falco joined her in wearing yellow armbands. They were worthy candidates as well.

"I wonder if the ceremony is painful," Udo worried.

"It is if you're being eaten alive," said Zofia.

Falco didn't seem to be excited about inheriting a Titan or discussing the finer points of just how it was done.

"Aren't you scared?" he asked her during lunch.

"No," Gabi said between bites. "I've wanted this since I was really little. I'm a prize winning pig. Nobody will ever look down on me when I wear the red armband. Ugh, did you suck on a lemon? Your face is all droopy."

Falco didn't say another word.

…

So many members of the military were viewing her from a distance in this underground chamber. The entire Warrior Unit was watching her from afar. She was dressed in a pure white gown that flowed. Her focus was on her target in front of her who was also dressed in white but chained and gagged to prevent movement. This was really Reiner? He looked so pathetic, looking all scraggly and emaciated. He really did look like a mangy dog about to die.

Gabi shook her head. She couldn't feel great pity for him even if he was her relative. He had failed his mission and so many Eldians here by joining with the naughty piggies. This was a great mercy to him, and he would be proud knowing she was going to bear his Armor, wouldn't he? So many people cast their hopes onto her now as they became silent when Commander Magath handed her a syringe filled with serum.

They had rehearsed this many times with saline injections. It was time. The Commander cleared his voice, and counted down.

"Three, two, one…."

She plunged the needle into the back of her neck. Quickly, she felt a great hot energy envelop her, and….

…. And then she heard faint voices and something being strapped to her arm. People were clapping.

"Congratulations, Gabi. From this day on, you and your parents are Honorary Marleyans." Was that the Commander's voice? No matter whom the voice belonged to, Gabi couldn't tell. She was so weak and tired. But the cheering made her warm. It made her strong. It made her proud.

She was an Honorary Marleyan.

…

Soon the public became aware, and the people in the streets became much kinder to her than before. They were certainly jealous of her that she was the prize-winning pig in the pen. Her parents were so proud of her too, and they benefitted well from their armbands as they strolled in public together for the first time after Gabi received the Armored Titan and learned to control it after weeks of testing in a wasteland.

"Good morning, Mrs. Braun," greeted the merchant at the vegetable stand. "Take some extras here, no extra charge. He nodded his head at Gabi and pulled some sweets from his pocket. "For the savior of Eldia. Two great Warriors from the same family is a great blessing."

Gabi smiled, but she gripped her mother's hand tightly. This was certainly more attention than she thought she would get. Lots of strangers gave her flowers and sweets. Ms. Pieck never got a lot of sweets, but she did often have groups of young men surrounding her for some reason. Maybe she'd give her some after she returned from the latest battle for Marleyan control of the Mideast.

The real test would come soon for her first deployment. She was younger than the now lost Annie Leonhardt when she first fought in a war. There was no doubt it was possible she would succeed, but this would also be the first deployment for Porco Galliard. He endured the same experiments as she did, getting injected with liquids and having fingers cut off. It hurt so much the first time that Gabi cried for an hour as she was made to focus her energy on healing the severed limb. But it was just like exercising so much that a muscle would no longer ache. And it was worth it if her family could be one day free from the pigpen. Unlike Reiner, she was going to do even better.

Reiner. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about him. It wasn't just because Aunt Karina still missed him dearly and spoke of how she only wished she could have said goodbye to him. And it wasn't because she had any fond memories from her own mind of him. The only trouble she had with the Titan was that she hadn't seen any of his memories yet. The doctors and scientists weren't too worried yet- they had said it could take months or over a year before anything came to her. She just wanted to know just what those island devils did to him that drove him to the point of madness.

When practicing in the wasteland, she imagined that the pretend artillery and barriers set up sheltered those wild pigs which she had to prevent from going after the Jaw Titan on its assault. It made her feel elated when the Commander allowed her to smash them from time to time. The Armored Titan made her so much bigger and powerful than them. One day, when the war with the Mideast ended, she hoped she would be deployed back to that place to get revenge for all the Titans that they stole. She'd smash them to pulp.

…

The Mideastern soldiers on the enemy line gasped in horror as the little girl who lay wounded with a missing arm suddenly transformed into a fifteen-meter tall bronze and finely chiseled Titan who let out a deafening roar to signal an advance to the Eldian army. Porco's Jaw Titan was the first to pounce. He ripped the frontline artillery to shreds as Gabi provided protection from the few standing canons and bullets which did not penetrate her Titan skin. She was glad he got to do the slaughtering here. There were so many dead bodies. It was rather gross to have to look at them all and the blood that pooled.

At least Zeke's Beast Titan was even quicker at turning them to dust as he pitched boulders at them. Gabi wished she knew why he seemed to almost have fun doing it. Maybe it was because it was like playing catch, except he was always winning at an advantage.

One battle after another, and still no new memories from Reiner appeared. At the encampment after dinner one night with the rest of the unit, Gabi tapped Porco on the shoulder. He was difficult to approach, but only he may have had some answers that would be useful.

"Porco?"

"Galliard, Gabi."

Well, he didn't need to sound so rude. "Galliard, sir. Do you have any memories from when the island devil thief had the Jaw?"

Galliard snorted and crossed his arms. "A few, but Commander says I can't share them."

"Why not?"

"You know very well why. If you've started having any from Reiner, you need to let him know and not tell anybody else. Could be classified information. Have you?"

"No. I want one though."

"Well, I haven't had any from my brother, and a cousin is a further blood relation, so don't get too disappointed." Galliard walked off to smoke a cigar with Zeke while Colt trailed them. Pieck put a hand on her shoulder, startling her.

"Don't worry, Gabi. He just misses his brother a lot," she warmly explained. "And the Jaw had another… user, so that separates their memories even more." Pieck had briefly been on the island with Zeke to bring Reiner home. Why didn't she just call them devils? That's what they were.

"But if I can see Reiner's memories, maybe I can learn the truth about what happened there and what the devils did to him so that he couldn't tell his story correctly and made him sick. They didn't get to you, did they? So what did they do to him?"

Pieck shook her head. "I don't know, dear. I wish I could know." She sounded like she was hiding something. "Now, come on. You need rest. Maybe we can go home and get a break from this war soon. You've been doing wonderfully."

…

Gabi munched on her butter-soaked bread with a touch of jam as she walked through the streets of Marley to the training grounds. The locals waved at her, praising her. It was part of her routine nowadays. It seemed like a gray cloud had overcast the joyful sun above.

She passed by a mother holding the hand of her daughter who was about a year younger than Gabi. What was that girl's life like? Was she happy just being a piggy in the pen without any ribbons to show off? Gabi tried to ignore that thought. It was a great honor to be the Shield of Marley, an Honorary Marleyan.

The older members of the unit had some briefings to attend to this morning, so she joined her classmates in running laps and teaching them what it was like to be a Titan Shifter. But Udo had something on his mind he was worried about. Of course he did. He always did.

"I was reading over the newspaper, and there's news that Hizuru has struck a deal with the Mideastern Alliance to finance new weaponry that focuses on taking down Titans. If they can really develop weapons that can kill a Pure Titan before it can regenerate its limbs or strike its nape from a distance like a sniper can kill a person, will we be able to keep fighting without the rest of our Titans? Nobody can replicate a weapon as strong as the blasts the Colossal Titan can emit. Yet. But if they do, what are we going to do?"

"Udo, that's going to take a long time to do. It took years and years to get aircraft up and running, and they aren't that fast," Gabi argued. And thirteen years was a long time to make a difference and win freedom for Eldia. Wasn't it?

"But aircraft can cover long distances in the sky without worrying about mines, and unless you have a very powerful weapon, you can't shoot them down. Titans are only good on land."

"Titans can fly," said Zofia, watching a bug crawl on her leg. "You just take them to a really high place and push them."

Falco hugged his legs. "We'll find a way to protect you on the frontlines, Gabi. It would be too great of a loss if we didn't find use for the Titans. I just need to practice my aim better and-"

"Just me? Falco, I'm the Armored Titan. I can protect a whole army with just my arm." Gabi made a fist. Zofia giggled. "You've never won a single foot race against any of us. What makes you think you can protect me, the Shield of Marley?

While Gabi got into a fistfight with Falco to prove her strength against his weaker build, the older unit members came out to check on them. Gabi waved at them. Colt seemed rather happy to see her having the advantage over his younger brother. Why did he want him to lose so much? Did he want to turn out like his uncle had? But what stood out to her was that instead of their military uniforms, they had dressed down to their combat uniforms worn by the Eldian unit.

"Alright, candidates," Zeke announced. The play fighting came to a halt, and the candidates and Gabi stood at full attention. "Magath needs us to gauge your strength against larger opponents in hand-to-hand combat. Grice, you're with Porco. Reitsch, you're with Pieck. Boch, you're with Porco. And Gabi, how about you be the first to demonstrate to your classmates with me?" Zeke's expression was rather playful. Gabi grinned.

"I got this." She put her hands on her hips and smirked at Falco. He frowned at her.

Zeke didn't hesitate to make a strike toward Gabi's head, which she dodged easily. The balls of her feet were quick and bouncy. She didn't retreat from her formidable opponent, but rather squared in closer. As she made her move, Zeke lectured.

"Do any of you remember from training what you should never do when being attacked?"

Udo raised his hand. "Let your guard down."

"Exactly-" and Gabi knocked him to the ground with a swift kick to the upper inner thigh and a quick clock to the face. Zeke took a moment to sit up. "As I demonstrated, you must never get too cocky at the size of your opponent. Remember that they too are human and that they have the same strengths and weaknesses as you and- Ms. Gabi?"

Zeke's Beast Titan punched her. She didn't remember this. This wasn't her memory.

Her mind felt like it was buzzing, as if she had received a shock. Moving pictures displayed in front of her eyes as if a book's pages were flipped rapidly. The pictures were real though. There were other people dressed in strange clothing. They were laughing, walking, running, and training in some kind of military camp. Then they were flying with odd equipment. It seemed almost like fun. She felt a serene sense of happiness. There was no sense to these. Then….

"Look out!" A boy with dark hair screamed as a terrible monster grabbed him and bit his head off. Then there was running. Then the picture got blurry. And it changed.

Who were these two people? A tall brunette boy and a short blonde girl were walking away from her.

"We can't go back! We'll continue the plan!" Whose voice was that?

"If you go back to Marley now, they'll strip you of the Armor for this disgrace," the blonde girl replied.

The words buzzed, and the voice that played over these images grew louder and louder. Then, a strong emotion buzzed too. She felt it in her veins as her heart pounded. Angry determination. Then, the girl kicked her in the face. It hurt so much. She screamed at the person being kicked in Gabi's place.

"Honorary Marleyan? Chosen Warrior? Who gives a damn? Marley, Eldia, they can all go to hell! They're all liars, every one of them! They only ever think about themselves!"

"Gabi, can you hear me?" Pieck's voice faintly interrupted this sequence.

"You were supposed to die a minute ago! If you're feeling bad about it, die now! Take the blame and die!" Gabi felt the sting of every single blow. "Die! Die! Die!"

"Reiner's dead," the voice rasped. "If you need Marcel, I'll be Marcel."

"Is she getting a memory? Zofia, go calm Udo," Porco's voice cut in.

A giant wall's gate was knocked down. Hundreds of Titans swarmed her and then advanced inside a hole in the wall. Hundreds of people below got crushed like ants. Blood splattered everywhere. Then, the tall boy and blonde girl were huddled with her in some kind of a shelter with some other people around them.

Wait, she was now in some kind of training program. A bald man screamed at her to state her name and purpose. "Reiner Braun. To save humanity."

Gabi stood frozen. These were Reiner's memories? Those memories of being with people who were those island devils? Why was he acting like nothing was amiss with becoming friends with wild pigs who wanted them all dead? Why did he say that he was dead and that he was now Marcel? Her fist clenched tightly.

"Reiner… was… a traitor," she voice shook. "He was friends… with the devils of Paradis."

"Ms. Gabi, you need to stop talking right now," Zeke ordered. He motioned Colt to take away the three candidates.

But Gabi didn't react to Zeke's warning. The memories continued.

Reiner body slammed another boy in that unusual military uniform while in mid flight with the tall boy behind him. Gabi recognized him from some of the happy training memories. He tightly restrained him as the boy cried in fear and pain. Then, the blonde girl showed up and started yelling at Reiner about who was going to help kill him. All three of them were crying.

"Have you started feeling compassion for this evil race, Annie?" Reiner yelled. That was Annie? She soon listened to him and cut away the flight gear from the crying boy. "That's what makes us warriors." Reiner retreated with the others, and from a distance, the crying boy was scooped up by a Titan and quickly bitten into.

Wait, it looked just like the one where Marcel was eaten. But one was just a devil, wasn't he?

"Hey… why is Marco being eaten?"

What? That island devil had a name? Why did an overwhelming feeling of confusion and grief overwhelm her?

"Gabi, why are you crying?" Falco tried to get close but was held back by Colt.

There was a blur of memories. He was fighting against the island devils dressed in military uniforms. They attacked him with swords and some type of spears that blew up when they hit him. Things went black for a while, but then the worst memories of all flashed before her eyes.

"Transform, damn it!" Reiner's arm was slashed with a thick blade as he was kicked and spit on by a man who looked like Commander Magath in an open field as people watched, including Zeke, Pieck, and Porco. "Do you want your family to die?" The Commander looked like he was holding back tears.

But Reiner didn't just not want to move. It was as if he physically couldn't. Just breathing felt so… heavy. Blood watered the grassy field. He had felt dizzy and despaired.

"Want… to die?" He repeated. "I don't want my friends to die."

"Then why didn't you succeed at your mission? And your comrades are dead! Why are your comrades dead, stupid son of a whore?" Another slash of the knife hit dangerously close to his neck. Reiner fell to the ground.

"I needed to get back to my family. My friends on the island don't know what's going on here and-"

A boot struck him in the face. "The devils are not your friends! They were supposed to die like the grotesque bugs they are!"

A low groan. "Why would I kill them? They'll fight me back." His eyes shut.

"Medic, get him off the field to clean him up. We need to consider our options."

Things went black.

Then, Gabi saw herself through Reiner's eyes. It was the day of the ceremony when she was all dressed in white. Reiner felt like he had heavy stones on him that were choking him. He had no strength left in him. Just as Gabi saw herself inject herself with serum, his last thought flowed into her. It was all that filled her head as her Titan approached him, ravenous to take everything from him.

No. Gabi. She can't see this. She can't learn the truth.

A Titan bit his torso clean off. The mightiest pain. But it wasn't simply that Gabi felt along with Reiner. It was the realization of the truth.

Gabi fell to her knees and screamed.

…

She wasn't sure how long she had been in the infirmary, but the rest of the Warrior Unit sat with her as she laid in bed, unable to feel anything but confusion and sadness. Pieck gently stroked her hair in attempts to soothe her. Matters didn't help when Commander Magath walked in along with a scientist or medic donning a white coat. They spoke with the older Warriors.

"It's odd how Titan Shifters making contact with other Titan Shifters rarely triggers memories in of itself, but we were not such a lucky case today." Zeke explained. "I don't think she blurted anything that would cause her classmates to question their loyalty to Marley, but it's going to take some conditioning to ensure she is able to continue to tenure as the Armored. It would be quite tragic to prematurely end it twice in a row within the same family."

"War Chief, we have no plans to strip Braun of her Armor. We need her to keep it if we're ever going to learn the truth about Reiner's treason."

"I'm glad to see you have reason, Commander. But do you think this little girl looks willing to speak about those memories? And how is she processing what happened?"

Gabi clenched the bedsheet tightly. Pieck took her hand and coaxingly massaged it.

"They were sad," Gabi said, not turning over to look at the Commander. "They were confusing, sir."

"See?" Zeke chided. "You know how the Titan Research Society conducted research from the remnants of the Eldian Houses of old. Memories were far more detailed among blood relatives than the thieves who stole the Titans for themselves. Much higher emotional impact as well. We can't entirely gauge what she's seen, but it appears to correspond to some classified information regarding the final state of dear Reiner." The white coat man took down notes.

Gabi sniffled. Everything hurt so much. The moving pictures from Reiner's mind stopped but now they clashed in her own memories. All she could see was Marcel and the Marco boy- or devil, maybe, or friend- screaming as Titans devoured them alive.

Porco hovered nearby as he got himself a drink of water. "Maybe you shouldn't be touching her, Pieck. She could give you traumatic memories too."

"I don't care, Pock. We're suffering this with her."

Colt kept giving nervous glances from where he was standing with Zeke. Gabi now understood his happiness when she saw him having the clear advantage over Falco.

The world seemed so much dimmer than it had been that morning. Nothing made any sense. Why did Reiner have to die and become whatever the memories showed her? The island devils had to have been playing tricks on him since they eventually attacked him and tried to kill him. But why was Reiner defending them as friends? He hadn't wanted her to see them this way, but his will hadn't been strong enough to block this out. But why? Why?

"Pieck," Gabi whimpered. "I don't understand."

"I'm sorry it had to happen this way, Gabi," Pieck sighed. But she had no advice to give her to help her through this shock.

How was she going to handle these memories? She couldn't just brush them aside and act like nothing happened, not if she was going to be sent to the island in a few years in a second attempt to retake the Founder. She turned and looked at Magath, who was deep in conversation with Zeke. He caught a glimpse of her and shook his head and rubbed his temples. Just what was he going to do with her?

He was just like a farmer who raised piggies in this pigpen. He chose who won prized ribbons. He also chose when to slaughter the piggies to give the next piggies a chance to win. He also put down the runts and sickly ones who didn't have a chance at success. He was going to watch her like a hawk.

She was going to have to choose what to do about these memories and handle them, or she would be prepared to be butchered next.