The Colossal Titan's massive body was slumped against Wall Rose, steam pouring out from it as it slowly dissolved. At its feet the bodies of the Female and Attack Titans were also dissolving in a cloud of steam.
Erwin slowly approached the dissolving Titans. He had already confirmed that the enemy had fled, gotten things under control, and directed his men to have the wounded moved and ready for transport back to Trost.
Now, he intended to find out the identity of the Titan that had unexpectedly appeared and tried to help them.
As he drew closer, he could see around a dozen Scouts standing nearby, watching the dissolving form of the Attack Titan nervously.
Near the Attack Titan's body were two people. Lying on the ground was an unconscious young boy with black hair and strange markings on his face. Cradling him in her arms was a young girl who looked to be about the same age.
Erwin walked up to them, taking note of their uniforms.
"You're one of the southern cadets?"
The girl looked up at him. "Yes sir."
"What's your name?"
"Mikasa Ackerman." She returned her gaze down to the boy in her arms. "And this is…Eren. My…friend."
Erwin eyed Eren cautiously. "Were you aware that he had the ability to transform into a Titan?"
Mikasa shook her head slowly. "No, I…I had no idea."
From the shocked expression on her face and the disbelief in her voice, Erwin could tell she was telling the truth.
"Commander!"
Erwin turned around, and was surprised to see Eld and Petra arriving.
Eld stepped forward. "We went to Trost to find you, but by the time we arrived they said that you had left to confront the Armored Titan."
Petra looked up at the Colossal Titan's decaying body apprehensively "What happened here?"
Erwin grimaced. "In short, we were bested. They got away. But...there might still be hope."
He glanced back at Eren.
Petra looked at Erwin urgently. "There's something important we need to tell you sir."
"What is it?"
While Petra and Eld explained to Erwin what they and the other members of the Levi squad had found out at the Reiss chapel, Mikasa looked back down at Eren, conflicted feelings running through her.
I thought I'd lost him. Even though the feeling only lasted for a few seconds…I never want to feel that way again. But…how?
She spotted the key around Eren's neck, which she knew went to Dr. Yeager's basement. She wondered…
Eren began to stir, and slowly opened his eyes.
Mikasa smiled at him softly. "Hey."
"Mikasa." Eren whispered.
He looked at her sleepily for a few seconds, then all at once his eyes widened and he bolted upright.
"Armin! Krista! Where are they?!"
He looked around wildly, and spotted the decaying bodies of the Colossal, Female, and Attack Titans, all of which were now only skeletons.
Mikasa's eyes dimmed. "They're gone. The Titans…or Titan shifters, or whatever they are…they took them."
Eren looked at her in horror. "No! This can't be happening!"
He put his face in his hands. "Shit! I'm still just as useless as I was back then!"
Mikasa gently touched his shoulder. "Eren…what is the last thing you remember?"
Eren frowned. "Huh? I…the last thing I remember…was the Female Titan transforming, and killing the Scouts. I rushed in to attack her, and…nothing. I…I don't know."
Mikasa fiddled with her scarf.
"What happened?" Eren asked.
Mikasa glanced away. "I'm not sure how to explain…and it's going to sound crazy, but…after the Female Titan batted you aside with her hand…you transformed into a Titan."
Eren stared at her incredulously. "What? Are you crazy? That's impossible!"
"It's the truth."
Eren and Mikasa looked up as Erwin spoke, Petra and Eld flanking him on either side.
Erwin gazed down at Eren. "There were several dozen witnesses who all saw you change into a Titan and attack the Female Titan."
Eren's eyes widened, and he looked at his hands. "No way…how is that…what does that even mean?"
Erwin glanced at what was left of the Attack Titan. "I'm not certain, but I have an idea. Thanks to the information Petra and Eld just shared, I think I have a better idea of what's been going on. Apparently the four enemy Titans were after the Founding Titan, a power with practically God-like capabilities. It was used a hundred years ago to build the three walls and to erase humanity's memories about the world beyond the walls."
Mikasa frowned. Despite how surprising this information should have been, somehow it seemed to fit. She remembered how Armin had once commented that, though he didn't agree with the wall cult, there was something odd about the walls, something unnatural…
"Ever since then it was kept and guarded by the Reiss family, which was the true royal family that hid in the shadows, while the Fritz family served as figureheads for the general population to consider the monarchy. However, two years ago this power was stolen from the Reiss family by an unknown man who also had the power of a Titan, and ended up killing every member of the royal family except for Rod Reiss, who managed to flee, and Historia Reiss, who wasn't present during the attack."
Seeing that Eren and Mikasa had no reaction to the name Historia, Erwin clarified.
"Historia Reiss was given a false name to go by. You would have known her as Krista Lenz."
Mikasa's eyes widened. Now that was a surprise.
"What?!" Eren exclaimed. "So that's why the Titans kidnapped her? But why? What do they want with the royal family?"
"Apparently the Reiss family is the only bloodline that is capable of harnessing the full power of the Founding Titan, and since the four enemy Titans were unable to find the Founding Titan, they settled for capturing all of the remaining members of the bloodline able to use it."
Mikasa grimaced. "And Armin got dragged into it because he tried to protect Kris…I mean, Historia."
Erwin nodded. "So it would seem. However, I think it's safe to say that the mystery of where the Founding Titan went has been solved."
He glanced back at Eren.
Eren looked puzzled. "What…you think it's me?"
Erwin eyed him curiously. "You can transform into a Titan, which is an ability very few have, so it seems logical. Obviously you couldn't have been the man that stole the Founding Titan, but you must have some sort of connection to him."
Mikasa gasped. "Dr. Yeager!"
Eren looked at her sharply. "What?! You think it was dad?"
"It's got to be! I mean…we know that he did a lot of work in the interior, right? And he left for the interior the day Shiganshina was attacked…"
Erwin rubbed his chin. "And that was right around the time when the Reiss family was attacked."
Eren looked at the ground, his head spinning. "But…why? Why did he do it? Where did he get his Titan power from? And how did he transfer this power to me? For that matter, why did he transfer it? And where the hell has he been for the last two years?"
Erwin shook his head. "I don't know. But with a Titan on our side we'll have a better chance against our enemies. Unfortunately, they also now know that you possess the Founding Titan, so it's only a matter of time before they return. We'll need to prepare, and quickly. Can I count on you, Eren Yeager?"
Eren's eyes widened, and he hastily snapped into a salute even though he was still sitting on the ground. "Yes sir! I'll do whatever I can to aid humanity!"
Erwin smiled. "Good."
As Erwin turned to leave, Eren interjected.
"Wait! What about Armin and Kris-I mean, Historia? It hasn't been that long since they left, right? We've got to rescue them!"
Erwin's smile faded. "No. I'm sorry, but we can't."
"Why not?!" Eren shouted.
Erwin glanced at him stoically. "Because we still don't fully know what we're up against, and we've just suffered a severe loss. Hundreds of people have died over the past few days to the Titan attacks, and I'm not going to blindly send hundreds more to their deaths for the sake of two people. There's too much at stake for humanity for us to rush into things. We need to regroup, rebuild, and come up with an actual plan, and that's going to take time. I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do."
Eren looked like he wanted to protest further, but Mikasa grabbed him by the shoulder. She gently shook her head, and Eren slumped in defeat, knowing that Erwin was right.
Erwin turned to Petra and Eld. "Escort them to Trost, we'll need to discuss our next move with Commander Pixis."
Petra saluted. "Sir!"
Eld looked surprised. "You want to take her too sir?"
"Yes." Erwin glanced back at Mikasa. "She proved to be surprisingly effective against the Jaw Titan, and can be counted on to protect Eren. Despite her youth I think she'll be useful."
Before long Eren was given a new horse, while Mikasa's had managed to survive the chaos, and they were following Petra and Eld to Trost.
As they processed everything that had happened that day, the two Shiganshina survivors found their thoughts turning to Armin, hoping that he was safe, and lamenting that they couldn't help him.
Annie's eyes shot open, and almost instantly regretted waking up.
From the light she could see in the sky it appeared as though it were early morning, but she didn't even notice this, drowned out as it was by the relentless pounding in her skull.
"Fuuuuucccckkk. My head…"
"Annie!"
Annie winced at the noise, and looked over to see Bertolt crouched next to her, his expression concerned.
"Huh?"
Annie glanced around and saw Reiner and Marcel resting on the surface of the wall, looking exhausted, while Armin and Historia were sitting a short distance away.
Annie cradled her head in her hands in a vain attempt to make the pain go away.
"The fuck happened?" She whispered harshly.
Bertolt shifted nervously. "Um, well, you know those two cadets that were chasing us? Well, turns out one of them was the Founding Titan."
Annie let out a long sigh through her teeth. "Seriously?"
Bertolt nodded. "Yeah, and he transformed and beat the shit out of you. Marcel stopped him and saved you, but reinforcements were arriving for the enemy, so we had to leave before we could capture him."
Based on the pounding in her head, Annie suspected that the Founding Titan's attack must have fractured her skull. She'd never been more grateful for her healing abilities, though she wished they would hurry up and finish the job.
Annie smiled grimly. "Small world, eh? Ugghh…where are we?"
Bertolt glanced toward the sunrise. "We're on Wall Maria. You were supposed to handle the first leg of the journey, but since you were…knocked out, Marcel and Reiner had to rotate. We made it, but they're pretty exhausted."
Annie rubbed her face. "Shit…do we know who the Founding Titan is?"
"Yeah…it's Eren. Eren Yeager."
Annie's gaze became cold. "Eren Yeager, huh? I'll remember that name, because right now my head is fucking killing me, and I will return the favor if it's the last thing I do."
Marcel stared out into the lands of Wall Maria, contemplating their next move.
We now know the identity and rough location of the Founding Titan. However, trying to go back immediately and take him would be pushing our luck. We have limited supplies and stamina, and considering how quickly the enemy adapted to our movements it's unlikely that they'll be caught by surprise by any of our tricks again. So the smartest choice would be to go back to the harbor and regroup, trusting that the intel we've gathered and the capture of the last of the royal family should be enough to make up for the fact that we didn't retrieve the Founding Titan yet.
Marcel glanced at Armin and Historia. On that note, there's one little problem that needs to be taken care of first…
Marcel shifted so that he was closer to their two captives, who looked at him warily.
Marcel smiled apologetically. "Hey. Sorry about all this, but we're just following orders. Since you two were training to be soldiers I'm sure that's something you can understand at least a little."
Armin swallowed nervously. "R-right."
"I guess." Historia said uncertainly.
Marcel glanced at Historia, then at Armin. "So, I couldn't help but notice that you two seem to be very close. Is that correct?"
Armin blushed. "Um…"
"Yes." Historia grasped Armin's hand and stared at Marcel seriously. "We are."
"I see. My name is Marcel Galliard. I'm sorry for not introducing myself properly earlier, but we were in kind of a hurry. Your name is Historia Reiss, right?"
Historia frowned. "Yes."
Marcel shifted his gaze. "And what was your name?"
"Armin Arlert." He said softly.
"Right. Well, can the two of you tell me about your pasts?"
Historia blinked. "Huh?"
Armin looked confused. "Why?"
Marcel sighed. "Well, as you've probably figured out, we need Historia alive, and she shouldn't be harmed once we arrive back at home."
He stared at Armin pointedly. "However, since you aren't a member of the royal family, I really can't guarantee your safety. So I'd like the two of you to tell me a bit about yourselves and your backgrounds, so that way I can think of some sort of cover story that will, hopefully, make them leave you alone. The more I know, the closer I can make the cover story to the truth."
Armin looked surprised. "Oh. Okay. But…why are you protecting me?"
"I have my reasons, but that's not really important. So, let's start with you Armin. Where were you born?"
Two days later, the six children reached the ocean.
While the Warriors had seen the ocean plenty of times before, for Historia and Armin it was a brand new experience, and they spent some time playing in the water. The Warriors were content to stay back and just enjoy the cool breeze and the sounds of the waves, while still keeping a close eye on their prisoners.
Armin stared out at the horizon softly, letting the waves hit his feet before they receded again. "So, it really is real. The sea."
Historia smiled sadly. "Yeah."
Armin glanced at her. "Are you okay?"
Historia rubbed her arm. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…seeing my dad die…what was it like when your parents died?"
Armin's eyes dimmed. "It was…horrible. Like an important piece of my world had just been ripped away. If my grandfather hadn't been there…"
He trailed away, remembering what had happened to his grandfather.
He glanced over his shoulder at the four Warriors, uncomfortably aware that they were the ones who were responsible for his grandfather's death. Indirectly perhaps, and they said they were just following orders, so whoever they served was the real culprit. Even so…
"I see." Historia said quietly. "To be honest…I'm not sure how to feel. I never really knew my father, and considering the things he did I doubt he really cared about me. But…he was still my father. Not feeling sad about his passing…I feel like there's something wrong with me."
Armin gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Family members are supposed to love one another. But if your family didn't love you, you aren't obligated to give them a gift they denied you."
Historian's eyes widened.
Armin smiled. "Besides, blood only means so much, and you can choose a new family, one that actually cares about you. Like how Eren and Mikasa are…"
His smile faded.
"Armin?"
Armin sighed. "I'm worried about them. Since Eren has the Founding Titan, I'm sure they'll try to go after him again. But I can't think of anything we can do to stop them."
Historia shook her head. "We just have to focus on staying alive. If we figure out a way to get back, I'm sure our knowledge of the outside world will be helpful. But for now we should just do what we're told. We won't do anybody any good if we get ourselves killed."
Armin nodded. "Yeah. We just need to make sure we stick with Marcel's story. That shouldn't be too hard, since it's almost the truth."
"Yeah."
Historia paused, because she had just spotted an empty shell in the water. She knelt down and picked it up.
"Wow." She said softly.
Armin stared at it in awe. "It's beautiful!"
Historia handed it to him. "Here."
Armin looked surprised. "For me?"
Historia smiled warmly. "I have a feeling we're going to be facing some difficult times. But hopefully this will help serve as a reminder that it wasn't all bad."
Armin hugged her, careful to not poke her with the shell. "No. Not bad at all."
Historia returned the hug, a few tears leaking out of her eyes.
After washing off the shell, the two of them dried themselves off and he placed the shell in his pocket.
Late in the day a ship arrived at the wharf, and several Marleyan officers emerged.
Magath looked at the four of them fondly. "Greetings Warriors. I'm glad to see that you're all still in one piece."
Marcel saluted. "It's good to see you too sir."
Magath coughed. "So, were you able to retrieve the Founding Titan?"
He glanced at Armin and Historia, who were nervously holding hands. Marcel had given them orders to keep their mouths shut as much as possible.
Marcel stepped forward. "The short version is no, but we have gathered a lot of intel that should make capturing it easier going forward. The long version is…well, long."
Magath frowned. "I see. I take it these are prisoners?"
"Yes sir, but make sure they aren't harmed, as they're quite valuable."
Magath gestured for them to follow him. "Well, let's get on board, shall we? It sounds like you have a lot to tell me."
They all boarded the ship, and before long it was headed back to the mainland.
While Armin and Historia were being closely watched by several Marleyan officers, and Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie had dispersed to either rest or stare out at the sea, Magath, Marcel, and another soldier whose job was to transcribe things settled into one of the cabins below.
Magath stared at Marcel seriously. "So, the long version then."
"Right."
Marcel then explained in detail what had happened. He went over their journey to the walls, the attack on Wall Maria, the two years they'd spent gathering intel, the attacks on Trost and Mitras, their discovery that the Founding Titan had been stolen by an unknown party, changing their plans accordingly, abducting the cadets at the training ground, confronting the military head on, discovering that a boy named Eren Yeager was the one who held the Founding and Attack Titans, and fleeing over the wall rather than risk being captured or killed.
The only details he altered were those regarding Armin. Instead of admitting that Armin was just an ordinary Eldian, he claimed that Armin was a part of a family that was an offshoot of the royal family, but who had defied the government on multiple occasions. For their transgressions they had been discreetly executed, though officially their deaths were an accident. Since Armin had been fairly young at the time he had been spared, and grew up in Shiganshina before eventually joining the southern cadets after the fall of Wall Maria.
Marcel had several reasons for lying and pretending that Armin and Historia were cousins. Part of it was that he felt sympathy for Armin, and knew that he would likely be killed if they told the truth, and part of it was for his sake and that of the other warriors. After all, successfully retrieving two out of three of the remaining members of the royal family sounded a bit better than what had actually happened in light of Rod's unfortunate demise, and he knew he could count on the other three Warriors to stick to his story.
It was also out of sympathy for Historia, but he tried not to think about that part too much, about what would have happened to her if Armin wasn't there…
Seeing that he was finished, Magath was silent for a few moments, looking over the detailed maps of the walls that Marcel had handed over.
He set them down and looked at Marcel seriously.
"Well, I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed that you didn't retrieve the Founding Titan, since that was the whole point of the mission. However, under the circumstances I think you've done incredibly well. You've shed a great deal of light on the situation inside the walls, something we've been ignorant of for the past century, and you've provided us with some solid leads for the Founding Titan. More importantly, by capturing the remaining members of the royal family you've made it impossible for the Rumbling to be carried out, something which will let all of us sleep easier at night. And you did all of this while not getting yourself or any of your comrades killed. That's quite impressive. The death of Rod Reiss was unfortunate, but in the grand scheme of things not that big of a deal."
Magath paused. "You said that Armin and Historia were in love?"
Marcel nodded. "Yes sir. Both seemed quite shocked to discover that they were not only royal blood, but also cousins, though the latter discovery doesn't appear to have changed their feelings for each other."
"Hmm. Well, I suppose that will make things a bit easier. It's not ideal, but I suppose it's better than if they were siblings. Cousins at least are distant enough to usually not cause problems."
Marcel tried not to think too hard about the implications of what Historia and Armin would be forced to do. At least it was better than the alternative…
Marcel leaned forward. "I know we'll have to return to the island to finish our mission, but if it's not too much to ask I would like to see my family again, and I'm sure the others would as well."
Magath waved a hand. "Of course. After everything you've been through the past two and a half years you all deserve a break. I can't promise it will be a long one, but you will get a chance to rest and recuperate."
"Thank you sir."
After leaving the room Marcel felt lighter, relieved that Magath had appeared to believe his story, including the minor fabrications he had included.
It was unlikely his deception would ever be discovered, and even if it was it would likely be years later. It was a worthwhile risk.
Marcel's thoughts turned to the people waiting for him back at home.
It certainly hadn't been the first time he had lied to protect someone, nor would it be the last.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. The outline for this chapter has been done for a while, and I just didn't get around to fleshing it out until now.
As I was writing this chapter, it hit me that most of the characters are still only around twelve in this scenario, which is pretty messed up for a variety of reasons. But that's war for you I suppose.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'd really appreciate it if you left a review letting me know what you thought. I'll try not to take as long on the next chapter, but I can't make any promises.
