The Titan's teeth came down on the man's body with a sickening crunch, severing his torso in half and spilling blood and gore out into the open air as most of the man's body disappeared from sight, while the rest tumbled down the Titan's chest and onto the paved road below, leaving crimson stains behind.

As he watched the last of his men get eaten, Commander Niles felt his legs give out, and he fell to his knees on the tiled roof. A small part of his brain told him he should get up and move, but he didn't pay it much attention. Deep down he'd known from the start this was how it was going to end. His men were all dead, he was utterly exhausted, and it was only a matter of time before the three nearby Titans finished their respective meals and came for him.

He'd often been told that when you're about to die, your life flashes before your eyes. Sometimes it's all in chronological order, detailing your life from start to finish right before the end. Other times it's random flashes from disparate points in your life.

For him, it was the latter. He found himself thinking back to his cadet days, back when he and Erwin were fairly close friends, before they'd gone their separate ways.

He'd often made fun of Erwin for his idealism, for his need to know more about the world. He'd thought Erwin was insane for joining the Scouts, for actively taking on the Titans instead of staying safe behind the walls.

And yet now, after all this time, Erwin had been proven completely correct. Not only had the Titans invaded Wall Maria, they'd struck at the very heart of humanity's last refuge.

He still didn't understand how it had happened. How had all these Titans appeared within Wall Sina? What were the Colossal, Armored, and other Titans? What did they want?

At the start of the disaster he'd hastily sent several couriers out to try to get help and raise the alarm, but if the Titans had already made it to Mitras it seemed unlikely that there would be anywhere else left that was safe. Odds were good that Wall Rose had already fallen, that no help was coming, and the Titans were simply closing the noose.

He'd been torn between guarding the King and protecting the civilians, but in the end he knew he couldn't expect his men to fight if he ran himself, and so had delegated the task of protecting the King to one of his subordinates while he went to the front lines to hold off the Titan incursion.

He thought he'd been trying to be brave, and he had been, but his decision had turned out to save his life. While the horde of regular Titans were running amok amongst the civilians, the special Titans with the Armored Titan ignored the civilians completely, instead charging right into the heart of the city and going after the King, and utterly slaughtered every soldier that got in their way.

The King and his officials had seemingly been killed by the special Titans, who had then disappeared without a trace amidst all the chaos. With them dead, and Zackly having been killed when the Titans began to reach the main streets of the city, Nile was left alone to try to take charge of the disaster. Seeing that they were being overwhelmed, Nile ordered the east and west gates to be closed while the civilians retreated through the north gate in an attempt to corral the Titans to one part of the city.

He'd then tried to convince the civilians to remain just outside of the northern gate so that the Titans would be drawn to the north of the city and therefore wouldn't wander out of the destroyed southern gate. But his words were less than successful. Some had heeded his warning, with many of the wealthier individuals using elevators to go up on top of the wall around the capital to wait out the disaster in the safest possible place. But many of the others ignored him, and kept moving north, determined to get as far away from the ruined city as possible.

When night came it gave them the chance they needed to prepare for the battle ahead without worrying about the Titans moving around. They'd taken care of the handful of stragglers that had left the city, and Niles was secretly grateful that he'd taken his ODM gear training seriously, as his muscle memory was serving him well.

But there was nothing they could do to seal the southern gate in a single night, nor was there much they could do to take out most of the horde gathered in the northern part of the city. All of the weapons and equipment that would have been necessary for such an operation, all of it was at the outer districts, where the Titans were more likely to break through, or so they had thought.

So with nothing more than their ODM gear and a handful of outdated cannons, all Niles and his men could do was stand guard near the southern gate, and take out any Titans that tried to leave the city, while praying fervently that most of the Titans stayed near the northern gate.

Their plan had worked at first, and they had managed to kill several Titans, but as the sun rose in the sky gradually more and more Titans showed up. Most of his men had little experience using ODM gear properly, and no experience fighting the Titans. And so, one by one, they had been taken out.

And now he was the only one left.

As the Titan closest to him peered at him with a sickening grin, Niles knew he should be feeling terrified.

But after more than 24 hours with no sleep, running himself ragged, watching his men die, and trying to mitigate the disaster as best as he could with his limited abilities, all he felt was tired. He could do nothing more, for himself, or for humanity.

He could only hope that he had done enough to ensure that his wife and daughters were safe.

He closed his eyes.

Marie, I'm sorry.

The Titan reached out its hand to grab him, but suddenly jerked and fell forward, it's hand crushing the spot next to Niles instead of hitting him directly before the Titan collapsed to the ground.

Niles stared at it in confusion.

What?

A few seconds later, a quick spray of blood emanated from the necks of both of the other nearby Titans before they too collapsed on the ground next to their compatriot.

The sound of ODM gear filled the air, and a Scout landed skillfully on the roof next to Niles.

Niles gasped, tears of relief filling his eyes. "Captain Levi!"

Levi looked at him, his expression uncharacteristically gentle. "You have fought well. Leave the rest to us."

Suddenly the sound of hooves against pavement filled the air as countless Scouts charged past the dissolving Titans.

With Erwin at the helm, the Scouts quickly made their way to the horde gathered near the northern gate. They leaped off of their horses, switched to ODM gear, and went head to head with humanity's greatest foe.

The citizens who were on top of the wall watched in astonishment as the Scouts tore their way through the Titans, using the environment and the Titan's stupidity to their advantage, and quickly carved their way through the monsters that had devastated the capital. Many of those who had previously thought of the Scouts as a waste of tax money were quickly reevaluating their stance.

Before long the Titans were all dead, and the wings of freedom flashed victoriously in the morning sunlight.


The battle may have been over, but the disaster was not.

The city lay in ruins, and between putting out fires, removing dangerous debris, burying the dead, and the many tasks that would be required to begin the slow, painful process of rebuilding, the survivors had a lot of work on their hands.

As he surveyed the once great city, Erwin found his thoughts drawn to one question that had been bothering him since the previous night.

How had the Titans gotten to Mitras without being seen?

Hange had come up with the hypothesis that the Colossal Titan could transform at will between a pure Titan form and it's true form. They didn't have any proof, but it was the only suitable explanation any of them could come up with for why it was able to seemingly appear and disappear at will. If this was the case, and if it was indeed intelligent, then it was possible then it could climb over the walls when not in its Colossal form. This would also explain how the Armored Titan and the two new special variants, the Female and Jaw Titans, could have appeared in Mitras.

But it didn't explain the horde of normal Titans. Four special and intelligent Titans could conceivably climb over the wall and sneak into the interior without being seen. But there was no way an entire horde of ordinary Titans could have done the same without attracting attention ahead of the attack. Even if the special Titans were somehow able to control the normal Titans, it was simply not possible for them all to have snuck past Wall Rose and Wall Sina and made it all the way to Mitras without someone noticing.

And then there was the fact that the four special Titans were nowhere to be seen. In some ways Erwin was grateful, as it meant the only opponents they had to face were the typical unintelligent monsters that they had spent years killing. But in other ways it made him uneasy, not knowing where they were. Had they already completed their objective at the capital? Or had they simply brought the Titans to Mitras in order to cause enough chaos as a distraction so that they could complete their true objective elsewhere in the walls without interference?

If it was the latter, Erwin had to admit that they had done a superb job. While they had managed to bring the crisis under control, the Titans had a more than 24 hour head start, and humanity was still in the dark about their intentions.

But while they were at a severe disadvantage, Erwin wasn't going to give up so easily.

Erwin approached his old friend. "It's good to see you, Niles."

Niles shook his hand. "I can honestly say I've never been more glad to see you in my life. Thank you…"

"Just doing my job." Erwin's expression turned serious. "Can you tell me what happened here?"

Niles sighed. "I doubt I know much more than you. The Titans appeared yesterday morning, and all hell broke loose."

Niles looked at him gravely. "Is Wall Rose still secure?"

"Yes."

Niles frowned. "So...it was just Mitras that was attacked? The rest of the walls are fine?"

Erwin nodded. "Apart from Trost, yes."

"That's...good." Niles said uncertainly.

"What about the four special Titans? The Colossal and Armored, and the two new ones?"

Niles grimaced. "I'm not sure about the Colossal. It disappeared after destroying the southern gate. As for the others, well, unlike the normal Titans, they ignored the civilians and went after the King."

Erwin looked at him sharply. "What?"

"Yeah. They killed the King and all of his officials, and then disappeared amidst all the anarchy. Fortunately, my subordinates managed to find a survivor who witnessed what happened. I assume you want to speak to her?"

"Yes, of course."

A short while later, Niles brought Erwin to Elizabeth, a woman in her mid 60s with a large bandage on her leg.

Erwin eyed her curiously. "I was told that you know what happened to the King?"

She nodded shakily. "Yes. I hope you'll believe me…although, I must admit, I have a hard time believing it myself…"


Elizabeth lay sprawled in the now deserted alleyway. Her leg, which had already been killing her all week, had decided now of all times to stop working. The crowds of panicking people had long since disappeared, leaving her alone in the shadow of the alley, doing her best to remain unseen and unheard.

Just outside of the alley she could see the wreckage of an ornate carriage. Based on the symbols adorning its surface she knew it belonged to the King.

Standing on either side of the carriage were the Armored and Female Titans. Crouched directly in front of the carriage was a third Titan with a wicked Jaw and sharp claws.

She pressed her hands against her mouth, willing herself not to scream, not to make a sound. She'd seen the Titans slaughter the MPs guarding the carriage, and knew that if the Titans discovered her she would be next.

The Jaw Titan leaned forward, and used its powerful jaws to rip the top of the carriage off, exposing the King and several other nobles and officials. With the exception of the King, who seemed just slightly dazed, the rest of them looked as terrified as Elizabeth felt.

She pressed her hands harder against her lips, forcing herself to hold her breath.

A column of steam emanated from the back of the Jaw Titan's neck, and a moment later a voice spoke.

"Where is the true king of the walls? And don't waste my time or insult my intelligence by pretending you don't know what I'm talking about."

Elizabeth stared at the Titan in shock. To think that she would not only see a Titan within the walls, but see one capable of speech…

What was odd was that the voice sounded much higher in pitch and quieter in volume than she would have expected a Titan's voice to sound. Moreover, the Titan's mouth hadn't moved at all.

What was happening?

"What do you mean? I'm the king of the walls, why would you-"

Without warning the Jaw Titan pierced the King's head with its middle claw, killing him instantly.

Elizabeth began to shake like a leaf, willing herself to remain quiet, more terrified than ever before.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

"Rod Reiss!" One of the officials sputtered. "Rod Reiss is the real king!"

The Titan turned toward him. "Where is he?"

"He owns several tracts of land northeast of Orvud, including a large chapel! As far as I know that's where he is! The Reiss family is the true royal family, if you want them you can have them, just please spare us!"

The Titan's eye narrowed. "Sniveling cowards. That's all it took for you to betray your king? How pathetic. Of course, maybe you're just following his example. We were told that devils lived behind the walls, and now I can see that was at least partially true. Self serving worms who don't give a damn about anyone else. We may have broken down the wall, but the vast majority of the people who died were murdered because you were unwilling to give up your pampered decadent lives and share more of your resources with those who needed help, finding it preferable to throw them to the Titans."

The Titan's voice, which had already been cold, grew icy. "You are scum, even lower than monsters like us. It seems only fitting that you should suffer the same fate you condemned countless others to."

Then, without warning, the Jaw Titan snatched up the nobles, and devoured them alive.

Elizabeth screwed her eyes shut, but was unable to drown out their terrified screams followed by the grisly sound of their bodies being torn apart.

After the screams died down she warily opened one eye to see what was going on.

The Armored and Female Titans almost looked taken aback by the Jaw Titan's savagery. After a moment of silence the Jaw Titan crawled away from the ruins of the carriage and spoke one last time.

"Warriors, let's go. We've got an appointment with the Reiss family."


As Elizabeth finished her story, Erwin and Niles were left stunned.

Niles took a step back. "This whole time...king Fritz was a figurehead…"

Erwin frowned. "And the reason the enemy Titans came was to track down the true royal family."

"But why?" Niles whispered. "Why would...how does that justify this?"

He gestured helplessly out toward the ruined city.

"I don't know." Erwin replied quietly.

Erwin rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his mind turning.

The implications of what Elizabeth had revealed were equal parts intriguing and troubling. It confirmed that the special Titans were intelligent, something they'd already suspected, and it also indicated that their goal was not to wipe out humanity. Instead, they appeared to have some kind of grudge against the royal family.

In some ways it was a relief, knowing that humanity's extinction wasn't a priority of their enemy. But it also raised further questions. What did they want from the royal family? What could be so important that it was still worth fighting over after a century?

We were told that devils lived behind the walls

Erwin frowned. If what Elizabeth had said was accurate, then their true enemy was not actually the Titans themselves, but rather whoever had sent them.

But who? Who could have sent them? And why?

Erwin didn't know, but he planned to find out.

He glanced at Niles. "Well, with the fake King dead, the real King likely about to follow, and Zackly and all the other government officials all dead, there's a vacuum of power. If it's not filled soon, humanity risks falling apart. In light of that, and given the state of emergency we're in, I will assume full command of humanity's forces until the present crisis has been resolved. We can worry about the politics later when we don't have enemies running amok within the walls."

Niles looked at Erwin in astonishment before giving a shaky nod. "R-right."

"Very good." Erwin clapped Niles on the shoulder. "I'll leave you in charge of the capital and Wall Sina. I need to speak to my officers. We need to act quickly if we want to strike back at our enemies."

Erwin walked away, leaving behind a stunned looking Niles.

A short while later, Erwin had gathered his officers, and after briefing them on what he had learned began issuing orders.

"Captain Levi, I'm sending you and your squad to investigate the Reiss estate. While you will probably arrive too late to stop the enemy, you might still be able to find out what they were after."

Levi nodded. "Understood."

"Hange, I'm leaving you and several other squads here in the capital to help Niles with rebuilding and protecting the city. As unlikely as it seems, we can't rule out the possibility that there could still be other pure Titans lurking about, so be on your guard. Also, I'd like you to do your best to figure out where the Titans came from, and how they managed to reach the capital without being seen."

"Right, you can count on me."

Erwin smiled grimly. "Meanwhile, I will take the rest of the Scouts back south to coordinate with Commander Pixis on manning and defending Wall Rose. The enemy seems to have come from the south, and once their mission is complete, whatever it is, they will likely try to return to the south. But we're not going to let them leave the walls so easily. Not without a fight."

He looked at them all seriously. "Any questions? Good. Let's get moving. The fate of humanity may well depend on what we do in the next few days."


Author's Note: Shout out to Marcel for literally eating the rich. If only it were that simple in real life. I was originally going to wait until February 1st to upload, but eh, whatever.

So this gives a general sense of where things stand. Erwin is a smarter and more experienced leader than Marcel, but he's handicapped by the fact that he doesn't really know what's going on. As for Marcel, well, the fact is we don't really know that much about him since he was in canon so briefly, so in many ways he's a blank slate. With characters like Eren and Reiner they have very clearly defined histories, personalities, and motivations. Marcel doesn't, since his main role in the canon was to be a guilt trip for Reiner and a snack for Ymir, so in this scenario there's more room to play around.

The bit where the Scouts come in and save the day was largely inspired by the bit in Season 2 where the Scouts come and save the day and rescue Historia and the others after the tower collapsed. It was nice to show that the Scouts are in fact very skilled and effective Titan killing machines when up against normal Titans, especially after the Female Titan arc where they got their asses kicked in every way possible. And given what the Scouts are going to be put through in this story I figured they deserved a win this time.

Be sure to leave a review and let me know what you thought. See you next month. I won't give away what happens next, but I will say that I am looking forward to seeing people's reactions to chapter 4. Mostly because it has an incredibly evil cliffhanger.

Edit: Okay, I've seen several comments about this, and I got similar comments on Darkest Before the Dawn, and it's bugging me, so I'll say something I've said before and probably will say again

Based on everything presented in the manga, Titan spinal fluid only turns an Eldian into a Titan instantly if it's directly injected into the body. If it's diluted in a liquid or gas first it will settle into the Eldian's body and lie dormant until the shifter screams. And based on what was shown the only thing unique about Zeke is his ability to control the Titans he creates. Everything indicates that any other shifter could do everything Zeke did with his spinal fluid except control the resulting Titans. Plus, I find it very hard to believe that Marley would have even discovered Zeke's unique ability in the first place unless they had already been doing experiments with shifter spinal fluid for years.