Annie relieves some stress. Some killing, some thinking, some ominous flashbacks of the Post-Rumbling world, and getting her steps in.

Annie lay at the bottom of the lake, surrounded by water but in no danger of drowning, staring up at the midday sun shining down on her second home.

It had been quite fortunate to find a body of water that was large enough and deep enough to house her. Honestly it was more than sufficient, Annie could stretch out her arms and legs as far as they could go and she wouldn't reach the shore, and laying down on the bottom like this nobody could see her. At least according to the Arlert's, they'd been kind enough to confirm she was completely hidden, and even kinder still hadn't made any comments about getting accidentally splashed.

It was really handy not having to breathe, nor experience cold. Annie would theoretically be safe even during the winter, and should she decide to brave the outside world, the ocean was not a barrier to her.

But that wasn't to say there weren't any barriers.

There was a real problem having a giant body that didn't need to eat, sleep, or experience feeling or pleasure like a humans could. It had only been a month and a half, but Annie had been getting restless within the first week of waking up like this. Being a Titan 24/7, it definitely had it's drawbacks.

Let's start with the obvious one, food. Annie could eat, and mercifully she could taste. Ellie Arlert's pies had been a welcome distraction, and the following visit to her abode (the lake that time, they had made good on their promise to find her, with Ellie sporting a noticeable baby bump now) had provided her some milk and bread, courtesy of a farmer friend they knew. Even if it was comparable to eating a jelly bean, Annie appreciated it.

The problem was the portion sizes. Part of enjoying eating was the sensation of one's belly getting filled, even just a little. Annie didn't experience that, for her to do that the Arlert's would have to waste a certified feast that could feed dozens to hundreds in Shinganshina, or themselves for months. There was no way they could afford to do that, even if they wanted to. So Annie was for all intents and purposes going eternally hungry. Not starving, the perk of being a Titan, but there was this constant nagging… emptiness that nested inside of Annie.

Also, there was the throwing up whatever she ate. A quick upchuck and coughing out of flem, and there were the crushed remains of her treats. Not even wrapped up in Titan stomach balls (and Annie did not want to discover if her body was capable of that, not now not ever!), just floating around soggy with her stomach juices, charming.

But enough about food, let's talk sleep. Annie enjoyed sleep, she enjoyed curling under warm covers next to a warm body, snuggling in, sleeping in, sleep was great! Dreams were great, sure she'd had plenty of nightmares and sleepless nights, but to never sleep again and avoid such things? Not even with the worst her mind could conjure.

Now though, Annie didn't have a choice. Her stupid Titan body didn't get tired, it didn't feel drowsy, it only needed to feel some rays from the sun and she'd be recharged! Even the reflection from the moon would do, and with that, she was good to go! She'd tried hiding in her cave and staying out of the sun for days (and yes, the thought she'd be paralyzed from lack of energy had occurred to her), the endless waking hours starting to make Annie desperate for a respite, but in the end it was pointless. Her brain was still active, her body was just groggy at best. All she could do to rest her mind was close her eyes and meditate, trying to let her active imagination pass the time in a simile of a dream.

'So, how were the pies? Better than Eld, I'm sure.'

As if to remind her how much her imagination was against her, Levi's voice rang in her mind. He spoke with the coldness and buried anger she was familiar with from him, it had never gone away, even when they'd… when they'd worked together, that one time…

Year 869, At What Used To Be The Liberio Internment Zone

Fire and destruction lay before her, bodies sprawled out on the ground and her left ear was still ringing. Slowly, Annie stepped out from the passenger's seat of the half-track, tentatively waiting for a shot to ring out signalling a survivor, but no, the front entrance to Liberio Tower was clear.

Beside her, Levi stepped out, even slower than her, his bad leg in a brace and holding himself up via a cane. He was dressed not for war, but in a nice suit, even taking the time to retrieve a hat to complete the look. He hobbled to the back, where the multi missile launcher that had cleared the way was still smoking, and retrieved a rifle and folding chair.

"Here, let me-" Annie offered, but the barrel of the of the gun staring her down shut down that idea.

"I'm good, thanks." He wasn't even looking at her, he had his bad eye facing her. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder and dragging the chair, he made for just off the side of the road. "I'll be down here, keeping an eye from outside. If you can get anyone near a window I'll take the shot."

"…Do you even know how to work that thing?"

"Gabi was teaching me, something about bonding time." A quick snap of the wrist and the chair was set down. "She even had this thing custom built for my fingers, no trigger, just squeeze round where it would be."

"…She'll pull through."

A "tch," was her reward for that attempt to offer any form of hope, and Levi got into position, still not looking at her. "Is Armin rubbing off on you? When were false platitudes part of your thing?" He sat down, and looked through the scope, taking in the gaping hole his rocket barrage had made, trying to spot any surviving Jeagerists.

Where he had gotten such armaments, including the half-track, Annie had no idea. When he'd gotten the time or technical skill to rig it all up, also no idea. Was just a week ago he was content to stay in his shop and tell her to go to hell, the Warriors hurting Gabi and Falco REALLY set him off.

Which made it all the more confusing he had called ahead.

"…Why did you tip them off?" Annie stared at the man who even in his crippled state and lacking his Ackerman abilities, was still very much capable of ending her. "Hoping someone will do the deed, finish me off?"

"I am hoping for that, yes, but that's not why I did it." Levi fiddled with the scope, adjusting it. "He knew we were coming, that was obvious to anyone. He's gotten all his men riled up, his defences prepped for an attack from any direction, and he's bunkered down. Telling him we were coming wasn't going to change anything, unless I told him how we were attacking and what time, which I didn't."

"So why then?"

"To give his men a chance to leave. To give him a chance to send the ones who aren't spurred on by their dead relatives memory a way out. I owe that much to a former subordinate, and my people."

His remains fingers suddenly tightened, and a shot rang out. Annie didn't even flinch, the gun wasn't pointed at her, but she did turn her head to catch a body falling from the sixth story of the massive hole in Liberio Tower.

"I'll circle around the back in ten minutes, try to make some noise there so they'll redirect their forces." Another shot, this time aimed at the top of the tower. "You have two hours, and then I'm leaving without you. Try not to fall to your death, I'm not scrapping your remains off the ground to take home."

"…See you in an hour." Annie made for the back of the truck, and loaded for bear. All stolen Paradis armaments, an automatic rifle, pistols, Thunder spear 2.0, and ODM gear, 3.0.

Levi couldn't quite keep the look of disgust off of his face at seeing her wearing it. The fact he tried at all, Annie would take as a sign he wasn't going to shoot her in the back.

With a burst of gas that was familiar no matter how much the design changed, Annie sped off to kill the 10th survivor of the Battle of Shinganshina.

…

…

The day did end in a fall.

'Still not sure how I survived that…' Annie finished reminiscing about the past (future?), and focused on the present, imaginary Levi saying one of the many things Annie figured the real one had wanted to say but didn't for the sake of peace.

It didn't help that pies did taste better. She could never escape the 57th, Paradis didn't let her, and her memory of the few times her Titan mouth had something inside it, was the only reference point to compare to Ellie's gift.

'Cherries definitely beat people meat and blood.' She ran a tongue over her lips subconsciously, and she could almost image Levi's glare with his one good eye.

She could take a glare from him. Better than a kick, if Armin's account of Eren's trial was any indicator.

But enough about the problems with food and rest, let's talk feeling. Before, Annie had been eternally thankful being in a Titan was comparable to wearing a rubber glove over her entire body, the sensations it felt were extremely muted, at least when transmitting them to her human body. The various cuts, stabs, and loss of limbs, it had been far more bearable than if she'd experienced it normally! Only the most extreme wounds had caused any sort of pain, and Levi would be proud, his Squad cutting her up so fast and blinding her had actually hurt that day.

'Oh, is that why you chased down little Petra? She had the gall to give you a boo boo, and you couldn't let her have that?'

A flinch that disturbed the fish that were swimming around her, as that smirking laughing voice that Annie hated rang through her mind. She drowned it out (no better time, she was under water), and resumed her original train of thought. Titan drawbacks, muted feeling, how is that bad?

Well, the problem was being in this state all the time… it started to wear down on a person. It was… well, not like her crystal prison, not quite, but it also felt… wrong. Not feeling the warmth of the sun like she should be, not feeling the water around her going from cold to warm as her body adjusted, not feeling a breeze through her hair… even her fall from the Walls (the recent one), the landing was the closest she'd come to feeling something, and she was honestly considering doing it again, just to provide a distraction.

And there was the final part of this. Annie needed a distraction.

The Arlert's were that distraction, they were wonderful at it, giving her something to look forward to, keeping her entertained and providing company (and treats). They also got rid of the voices, as soon as Annie saw or heard them, like a switch being flipped, she was free. In exchange she offered tidbits of the outside world, and gave them something to mull over for hours as she watched. As bizarre as it was to imagine for anyone who knew her, Annie was really looking forward to them coming by.

But they couldn't stay long, at most a couple of days for camping, and with Ellie's pregnancy progressing, the time was coming when they'd have to put these visits on hold. So Annie was left alone and with nothing to do to pass the time.

Which left her feeling frustrated. Emotionally and… sexually.

A woman has needs, alright?! If she was human she could… do something about it, put her experience of lonely nights to good use. But this body didn't come equipped with any holes below her waistline, so Annie was stuck!

'Probably for the best. I mean, can you imagine rubbing one out and the Arlert's arrive in the middle of the act? You'd kill them just to hide your shame!' More laughter, and more scowling from Annie. She huffed and blew out a burst of bubbles that scared away some fish that had wandered close to her mouth, probably wanting to feast on any flaking bits of her body.

(If she had any, Annie liked to think she wasn't leaving a bunch of dead tissue to float up to the surface of the lake, she'd have to check.)

So there it was. For all intents and purposes, Annie couldn't eat, sleep, or even experience pleasure or simple feeling, and it was driving her up the Walls!

Yes, the actual Walls. Annie had reached the point she was going to climb up and go outside. It wouldn't fill her stomach, it wouldn't help her sleep, and it definitely wouldn't get her off!…

But killing Titans and letting loose with all the power her Titan form possessed?

That would offer a much needed distraction. At least, for one day. And it wouldn't change anything, there would be plenty more Titans to replace any lost to her. No need to worry about affecting the timeline.

'Just need a storm. One storm, and then…' Annie sighed, letting loose more bubbles to pop on the surface of the lake. 'Well, then I make the Scouts next Expedition a little easier. Probably won't matter in the end, but maybe one or two of them will last a little longer. Maybe.'

When the rain came down, in buckets, Annie almost leapt for joy in the air in a manner that was more akin to Sasha or Connie, or had she gotten to know her, Section Commander Hange. She didn't, of course, but she did smile in jubilation, teeth on display as her lips curled up.

It wasn't nearly the same intensity that had the Alert's make their way into her cave, but it was coming down, enough that the clouds were blocking out the sun and no soldier would be willing to stay atop the Walls where there was no cover.

At least, that was what she hoped. Shadis had told them come hail or snow or lightning, if a soldier was posted up there, then up there they'd remain until their shift ended no exceptions! But the Garrison's reputation for slacking was infamous even to three outsiders who'd been there less than a year, and even with Wall Maria lost, Annie had noticed plenty of drunk and disorderly soldiers.

If they were that lax when Titans had taken one of their Walls, no doubt they'd be even worse having had nearly a century of peace and nothing more exciting than breaking up kids roughhousing gone wrong.

(Armin had told her about Mr. Hannes, both while she was in the crystal and outside. It was one of the topics he had to let her know, had to make sure another knew about the man.)

Annie stepped out of her cave, after an hour of watching the rain come down. Give anyone who was out in the road plenty of time to run for home, and any soldiers to hop off the Wall and fly to cover.

It would be real unfortunate if more "guests" arrived seeking shelter. The Arlert's were really a godsend, had anyone else discovered her Annie honestly doubted she could have remained within the Walls. Even if she was ruthless enough to eliminate witnesses, people would search for their missing friends or family, and eventually, someone would spot her and manage to warn someone.

But no, no new guests this time. The rain was pouring hard, and thunder was just starting to sound. She'd have no better time to make a run for it.

She took off as hard and fast as she could straight out of the gate, like she was a marathon runner! Bits of earth and dirt were either crushed into the ground and became miniature lakes, or were tossed into the air from her rapid steps. Possible evidence, but with the rain coming down any identifiable footprints would hopefully be wonky craters.

'I'll have to check when I come back, just to be safe.' Annie made a note to herself. 'Though really only people with a birds-eye view would be the most likely to notice.'

Continuing her sprint, choosing speed over subtlety (and banking on her moving so fast any possible remaining witnesses wouldn't get a clear look), Annie breezed through the landscape, a lightning strike landing a few miles away with a boom of thunder coming three seconds away.

'…Huh.' Levi spoke up. 'We always fought you on a clear day. Had no choice really, but would bad weather have given you or us the advantage? Rain, snow, mud, that could have thrown you off more than us.'

It just might have. Magath had conditioned them as both humans and Titans to withstand the elements and different terrain, but there had been a few near slips on hidden patches of ice, and the ground giving out from under Pieck once (forcing Reiner to pull her out of the mud, her nape submerged by the muck). Granted it had been their first month as Titans, but Annie wasn't too proud to pretend such things couldn't happen again.

Another lightning strike, this one was actually closer, enough Annie could see and hear it in the same second.

'Stick a steel rod in me, and we'd have an alternative Thunder spear.' Annie mused. That would certainly have been a creative way to deal a blow, using nature in such a way. There actually was an old Hizuran tale that mentioned such a thing, two sword masters duelling in a field of discarded swords during a storm, and a lightning strike ending the fight and one of the masters.

'If an actual lighting bolt managed to hit you, would that trigger a transformation or fry you?' Levi spoke up again.

…Annie honestly didn't know. It was both a morbid thought, and a faintly amusing one. She could almost envisioned such a thing happening, especially here on Paradis.

'Honestly kind of surprised I never heard of someone getting struck while zipping through the air. All that metal on a person…' Annie couldn't help but imagine…

A multitude of fresh burnt bodies as she looked Armin in the eye after cutting her hand with her ring. Her transformation killing even more Scouts, more people, as the flesh of her Titan surrounded her, changing her perspective once again, yet never breaking sight of him.

…

'There are the Walls. Time to get to work.'

With an act that was as natural to her as breathing, Annie coated her fingers in crystal and began to climb.

'I think the Captain was on to something.' The smug voice spoke up. 'If a lightning bolt hit you, maybe that would cure you.'

Annie shook her head in an effort to silence the voice, more focused on the Mindless pawing at the Walls below her. There were about eight of them that she could see right off the get go, and no Garrison in sight to observe her, so she could have her little fun with impunity.

'Fun, huh.' The voice colder than Levi's had something to say about that. 'Need I remind you your track record against other Titans is… pretty shit, actually. Aside from that one time you caught Eren off guard by revealing yourself…'

'Hey now, Eren beat Lara, Porco, and Reiner tw- three times. And he only beat Annie because she was deep in enemy territory and had support.' Armin spoke up in her defence. 'War Chief Zeke said it himself, he considered you the most dangerous Warrior, not Bertolt like Marley High Command declared.'

Annie did recall Armin coming by her crystal prison to mention that, one of the many conversation topics he'd brought up. She never did ask if Armin had learnt that from Zeke as part of a military interrogation, or he had just wanted to know more about her.

'Yes yes, it's very sweet Armin thinks you are every bit the killing machine you made yourself out to be and not a bully who only has her size going for her, moving on!' Smug voice waved away Annie's musings. 'Lightning strike, to your nape? That could just be the ticket to this mess. Get a nice piece of metal and jam it in the back of your nape, and let nature take its course! Come on, put Titan killing on the back burner for now!'

'How about we put any ideas that could go horribly wrong on the "back burner" instead, and focus on something that has less risk?' Armin suggested, which earned him a snort but no argument. 'Speaking of… are you sure you'll be okay doing this? I don't doubt you can take them, you know that, but things could go wrong in a heartbeat. Do you have an exit strategy, a back up in mind?'

Annie nodded, crouching down while simultaneously coating her left hand fingers, as well as her toes, ready to slide down. 'The storm isn't letting up any time soon, probably, so I can climb back up as long as it lasts. If it does end while I'm still "venting," I still have some time before the guards come back. But if I screw up and I can't climb back… I'll run to the beach.'

'…The full moon and drop off of new Titans… that's about a week away.' Armin surmised.

'Exactly. I can outrun and weave through the Mindless between here and there, and there's a nice big wall that would give me a break from them.'

'Can you climb it?'

'Be easier than climbing the Walls here. Might not even need my crystal.' At this Annie was only guessing, based on her one memory as a child arriving at Paradis's shore. But even if she was way off about it, like she said she had her crystal. Would leave some holes in the wall, but doubtful any Marleyan's would make a fuss, probably chalk it up to a feisty Mindless, somehow.

'They are stupid like that. You don't elect the best and brightest for prisoner drop off duty.' Levi agreed, which didn't surprise Annie. If there was one thing she and all her inner demons could agree on, it was Marley being colossal idiots.

'Alright, enough chit chat. Time to get to work.' Annie rolled her neck and loosened her shoulders, and entering the right mindset to unleash carnage, hopped off Wall Maria.

Midway down she plunged her fingers into the Wall, and transformed her free fall into a controlled descent. Even with her current body, dropping from this height could cause something to snap, and she was not in the mood to fight off Mindless while healing any broken limbs.

She was however, in the mood to get creative.

About midway down the Wall Annie released her hold and did a quick jump off the Wall, dropping straight down into the Mindless below. Specifically into the Mindless that had spotted her with rather beady eyes and was awaiting with open arms, it's abnormally wide mouth opening up as if expecting she would just slide right down its throat.

Maybe it was, it's eyes were rather beady.

Annie landed on its face with both feet, bringing it down to the ground without losing her balance, a great BOOM echoing throughout the area. Behind her, the Titans body flopped up from the sudden impact, its feet coming awful close to the back of her head before the inertia died and they dropped back down to the ground, bouncing once before settling.

Under Annie's feet an absolutely ruined face of what was already a fairly ugly Titan squelched under her. One eye had been popped out and sent flying, while another was just barely hanging in the socket by its stalk. The mouth was broken and splayed in all directions, like a disturbing flower. A tooth actually managed to embed itself in Annie's foot, which she scrapped off the roof of its upper jaw. Her foot was already healing, and she took a minute to wriggle her toes in the gore underneath her. As disturbing as it was to do (and would be for one to witness), it actually was… not unpleasant, like having her feet in wet sand.

That muted sensation of feeling was coming in handy right now. There really was a difference in killing as a human and as a Titan.

Just as there was a difference in killing a human and killing a Titan. As the rest of the Mindless finally reacted to their slain brethren (and it was quite slain, Annie had definitely not missed the nape), Annie looked at them all with the same familiar cold detachment she did for all her enemies. It was a look that would cause grown men and women to piss themselves, maybe even flee in terror, but the Titans? They looked at her as if she was just another piece of meat, no fear, no terror, at best maybe anger, a lot of the times joy. They wouldn't retreat, they wouldn't cower, they would keep coming even if Annie slayed a hundred of them in less than an hour, it wouldn't matter to them.

The only thing that did matter to them was following the instinct to consume, in the hopes that at least one of their meals would be an Inheritor of the Nine, and the Titan curse could be broken for a little while.

Another Mindless, a ten meters, reached out as it's slow and steady pace brought it within arms reach of Annie.

It soon found itself deprived of a head as Annie lashed out with a perfectly delivered kick with her longer legs. The head went flying up into the sky as the neck was obliterated, and the body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Annie only briefly tracked the severed body part before turning to gaze at another Titan, this one on equal height with her, a smirk on its face and confidence in its eyes.

Annie held out a hand, palm upwards, and didn't break eye contact as her latest kills noggin landed perfectly in it. Clutching her fingers in it's not yet disintegrating skull, Annie leapt forwards and brought her makeshift weapon down on her next targets head. Both heads burst in explosions of blood, brain, and bone, and the still living Titan stumbled backwards, tongue hanging out of what remained of its mouth. Before it could regrow the top part of its head back and perhaps counter attack, Annie circled around to deliver a quick chop from a crystal coated hand to its nape.

Barely a minute in, and three Titans dead. 'I'll need to step it up.' Annie self assessed, watching the steam rise as the bodies disintegrated. She turned to face down the other immediate five, who were becoming ten with reinforcements detecting the commotion and coming to partake in the slaughter.

Worked for Annie. She'd rather they came to her than have to run out and hunt her prey down. Clenching a fist and entering her signature fighting stance, she moved on to the next one, a "puny" five meter that she sent flying with a viscous kick, into the Wall so hard it's body smooshed into it's oversized (now flattened) head.

Another five meter, she kicked out to have it land flat on its back, then proceeded to trade on it from groin to nape with crystallized feet, punching through the flesh to connect to the ground. One last stomp to get its head wrapped around her ankle, and she wiped it around as a crude projectile, in the most messed up game of kickball she'd played.

Annie really was enjoying herself. It was nice to be able to let loose, and not have any guilt about it.

Thirty. In the end Annie had capped off at thirty dead Titans. At least eight fifteen meters, three Abnormals (one of whom had come at Annie crab walking, she forgot how weird they could be), and the rain had still been going strong. Truthfully she could have kept going, there was no sense of fatigue and no close calls, but Annie wasn't one to take chances. She'd done enough for a first day, and she'd gotten some much needed stress relief. Time to take a breather, and get back before she was in actual danger of being spotted.

Just to play it safe, on the off chance the sounds of her fighting had been loud enough someone had braved the storm to take a look, Annie had circled around to the East side. She came across and subsequently eliminated eight more Titans along the way, bringing her kill count to thirty-eight, barely scraping the surface of the horde. Scanning the top of the Wall, and deeming it was clear, Annie climbed on up again.

She was fairly sure a village wasn't lying underneath her on the other side, but just in case she descended slow, counting her lucky stars no Garrison soldiers were in sight. With luck, the holes from her fingers would seal up before the storm was done. It varied depending on the size, the hole she made that revealed a Wall Titan's face to Stohess had evidently taken weeks to self heal, but the rest of the damage had been gone in a matter of hours.

Or so she had been told, courtesy of Hitch.

Touching down with a lessened but still noticeable THUD, Annie almost startled upon seeing a dog at her feet, a golden retriever that was thoroughly soaked and yet still wagging its tail. It evidently hadn't been bothered by being bounced in the air for a brief second, and looked at Annie with a stupid smile on its face.

Annie frowned, at both the fact this animal didn't have the sense to stay clear of her, and the fact the thing was left out in the rain. It didn't look like a stray, didn't look starving or scraggy, so then where were it's owners?

As if whatever deities exited in this world had made it their mission solely to ruin Annie's day, a voice called out, "RUTHERFORD! Where are you?!"

Annie immediately dropped down to lie flat on the ground, having run through all her available options in a half second and determining making a run for it was more likely to get her spotted than being completely still. The rain was still coming down, and the cloud cover had blocked out the sun. She'd avoided making any noise getting on the ground, at least nothing that the rain wouldn't drown out, and hadn't caused a mini earthquake either.

Now she just had to be completely still, and pray with all her might the dog heard it's owners call.

On instinct, Annie had positioned her head so that she was facing the direction the voice had come from. From the sound of things it was a little girl, probably no older than ten. She closed one eye completely and kept the other partially open, to gauge if she was about to be seen or not.

'If she does spot me, then I'll have to…' Annie considered, only to stop herself. '…I'll run. I'll go to the lake, and wait. If it is a little girl, people might think she's just telling tales. They won't believe a Titan is within the Walls, there's no reason to silence her.'

As far as reasons to leave loose ends went, this was one of Annie's better ones.

"Rutherford? Rutherford!" The voice called out, over and over again, and the faint image of a lit lantern was just within Annie's sight. She was a fair distance away, she could still think Annie was just a very large mound of earth. If only that damn dog would-

A bark rang out near Annie's prone foot, and the sound of wet paws running graced Annie's ears. Just as Annie was about to dare hope, the lantern suddenly increased its speed in coming closer!

"Rutherford! There you are!" A small girl dressed in overalls and getting drenched ran up to hug her dog with her free hand, her lantern being pelted by the rain but the glass covering protecting the flame inside.

"Geez, what were you thinking? Come on, let's get you inside before you get cold. Mom's made us a fire." The girl rubbed her dog's belly, then made to head home, expecting her dog to follow.

A bark behind her signalled otherwise, as the girl turned to face her dog who was running back and forth between her…

And Annie's prone form. A prone form that could only look like a small hill for so long.

Annie didn't flinch, didn't curse, but that damn dog was doing its best to get its owner killed! If the stupid mutt wouldn't behave then Annie was going to have to chance running!-

"Rutherford, heel!"

The dog stopped its latest attempt to bounce towards Annie, and sat down immediately at its owners feet.

"We don't have time to play anymore, alright? We're going home." The girl pointed, with force, from the direction she came. "Don't be a bad dog."

Rutherford whined, but didn't disobey, his head and tail lowered as he slinked back home. The girl didn't give in, she just stood there with her hand on her hips. It was only when Rutherford was ahead of her that she started to walk, not even sparing a glance towards Annie.

"What are you whining for? Mom's going to be mad at me for letting you outside." The girl shook her head, walking to stand side by side with Rutherford. She laid a hand down on his head, and patted him. He looked up, hopeful, his tail just beginning to wag.

His owner laughed, and patted him even more. "Silly boy." That got Rutherford's spring in his step back, and he bounced around the little girl, causing her to laugh some more, as she began to run herself to get back home faster. Annie stayed perfectly still, even when the both of them were out of sight, until she was sure no one else was around.

'That was too close.' Annie rose up like a golem of the earth, wanting to smack her forehead. But on the off chance that would make a noise someone could hear in the current downpour, decided to run for her cave and get dry there. That is, unless someone HAD taken shelter inside, then she supposed it was the longer sprint to her lake.

She would have to work out the kinks in her outside ventures. Next time, she'd risk just using the cover of night.

Another visit from the Arlert's, another round of information. This time Annie had given them a grisly but thorough demonstration of a Titans healing process, feeling that would be informative enough to satisfy their curiosity. Breaking off her own jaw, tearing open her gut, gouging out her eyes… fun. Issac had lost his lunch and politely begged for her NOT to do such things again, with an equally disturbed but managing-to-keep-her-stomach-contents-down Ellie agreeing with him. Though they had written it all down, and couldn't help the despair that came across their faces at witnessing a Titans near invincibility.

But, they also left feeling elated, at the fact their friendly Titan continued to share her secrets. No doubt they were wondering how they could share this information with someone where it could make a difference, but they kept their word to Annie (as far as she knew), and simply made polite inquires to the local Scout representatives, a lovely new recruit named Ilse Langnar who was happy to answer all questions asked. Nothing related to a Titans physiology was forbidden knowledge, and Ilse spent the following days confirming everything Annie had told them.

This gave Annie the free time to go to the outside and resume the slaughter, she was still a little antsy. Annie had been feeling a little bolder, and had decided to sneak out in the middle of a foggy day, feeling the thrill of using her speed and the reduced visibility to avoid any guards.

Risky, and perhaps a little dumb, but nearly two months of being here without any trouble had made Annie just a little confident in her stealth abilities.

'You were found by my parents on your first night here.' Armin so helpfully pointed out, the traitor. 'It worked out great, but still…'

Annie showed him by once again making the climb, and dropping down to the outside with no one the wiser. If any Garrison soldiers heard her at any point, good luck trying to make sense of the noise.

There were none immediately trying to scale the Walls, trying to get to the meat inside, so Annie took a chance to get a little farther away from her makeshift sanctuary. The fog was thick still, but she could make out the sounds and blurry shapes of her prey, off in the distance and no doubt picking up on her scent.

For anyone else venturing outside, anyone who couldn't become a giant monster to even the playing field, these conditions would be nerve wracking. Fighting Titans when you could see them in the distance and had time to prepare was bad enough, but to not know where they were and when they could strike? No one could claim they weren't wracked with mind numbing terror.

Honestly, even as powerful and capable as she was now, Annie still felt just a smidge of fear. Being mobbed by an enemy that could take chunks out of your body with its hand or mouth, human sized or Titan sized, wasn't something to look forward to.

A blurry figure and the sound of approaching giant feet, and Annie briefly stopped to let it come to her. A ten meter, lumbering over bald and fat and grinning, it had unusually pale skin for a Titan, almost the same colour as the Walls. It's belly actually extended past it's waist, and it's lack of a proper neck combined with it's pulled back lips made it particularly horrifying.

Annie brought down a crystallized heel and killed it right then and there. The Titan's split open head flopped to rest on both shoulders, and its feet slide out from under it, landing on its ass and sitting there. Doubtful the fog would clear up and anyone would get a look before it finished disintegrating, but if they did it would be an amusing death pose to witness.

Moving on, Annie resumed her jog, while keeping an ear and an eye out. Left and right and straight ahead, she came across mostly individual Titans, but there were occasionally groups of them that had clustered together. A combination of speed and the Titans being spread out all over Paradis saved Annie from encountering the bulk of the Mindless all at once.

Gripping the shoulders of one ten meter and delivering a kick to it's groin to hard she actually managed to cleave it in half, Annie held the two half's of her latest kill before whipping them around to strike the other Titans gathering around her. One was sent falling to the ground, but the other stood there with its comrades remains draped over its face like a towel. Just as the Titan was bringing its hands up to remove the obstruction to its sight, Annie was on it and delivering strikes to its face, punching through the dead flesh to get to the living flesh underneath. Inefficient, yes, but very cathartic.

The Titan was soon without a head, and Annie delivered a quick stomp to its nape once it collapsed to the ground. Behind her, it's partner was just rolling around on its front, and beginning to rise up when Annie did a quick jump to land with both feet on its neck.

'10 points for that landing!' Armin cheered, and Annie had to fight the urge to give a little bow. Had he actually been here and shouted such praise, she honestly might have done that.

The fog was starting to clear up, but Annie had been consistently moving south, pushed on by victory after victory. She estimated she'd killed around forty this time, an encounter every five minutes to ten minutes of running. Probably had come… about a third of the way between the Walls and Paradis shore.

… It wouldn't take much more to go there…

'…I could make it to the shoreline. No prisoner delivery today, it would spare me the hassle of climbing back in, and I wouldn't have to worry about anyone seeing me…' Annie's thought all leaned towards committing to the act, the temptation too strong, to "be free" of Paradis, just for a day…

'…I'm going for it.'

Resuming her run, it wasn't even five more minutes before the fog had completely dissipated, and the aftermath of her work was visible.

Steaming bodies in various states of evaporating to nothingness littered the landscape, in a path that lead almost all the way to the Walls themselves. A pity no one would get to see it, the nearest bodies having finished disintegrating already, the people might have experienced the faintest feelings of hope their mortal enemy had met their match. At best, the next Scout Expedition would suffer fewer casualties, but that was doubtful. There were still plenty of Titans to pick up the slack.

Annie wasn't thinking about any of that. She wanted to reach the shoreline and that was what she was going to do. She could spot Titans left and right, some barely a mile away, but she paid them no mind. Unless any Abnormals spotted her and gave chase, she honestly had a pretty clear path to her destination right now. Entering her running stance, she sped off with all the power her Titan legs could give her!

How often had she dreamed of this moment? How many times had she pictured in her head? Probably before she'd even touched down on the sandy beaches, her father's words fresh in her mind, her new found purpose in life pushing her to actually live for a change. Something she could only do once the mission was over, once the Founder was captured. Once that was done, she'd transform and run all the way back, and finally have a father.

The dreams had become more crystal clear, with her initial run towards the Walls and the Mindless chasing her a great reference. She could easily picture the reverse happening, it was so easy.

Sometimes she pictured Reiner running behind her, not chasing her (even on the worst days the people of the Walls were winning her over, she didn't ever entertain being labeled a traitor), but running after her in a mad sprint with Paradis's forces managing to chase them. Sometimes she pictured herself running alone, Reiner or Bertolt having turned traitor, or just dead. She very rarely imagined a different Warrior making the run, but the idea of Pieck carrying her as she looked back to see the Walls disappear behind had crossed Annie's mind.

Once, she had imagined taking Armin with her.

Not treason, not really. Just a passing thought after one particular hang out after training together, about… two years into Cadet training? They'd just been sitting there, Armin talking and Annie listening (she'd enjoyed his talks, even then), occasionally she'd chime in, a conversation about morals and philosophy…

And all of a sudden she found herself wondering if she could take Armin with her, back home to Liberio. Just imagining how she'd transform and pick him up, and run to the ocean he so desperately wanted to see. How she'd introduce him to her father, how she'd be the best Warrior possible to earn Armin citizenship, how he could be safe and wouldn't have to die like everyone else…

Suffice to say Annie hadn't gone much further than that, but the fact she'd considered it at all…

'You really were dangerous.'

Speaking of danger, she was coming close to where Ymir was sleeping.

A quick sudden stop had Annie skirting across the ground, before she stood tall and took in the sight around her.

This was it. This was were Marcel would die. One minute, telling Reiner the truth and apologizing, the next, gone before he could even bring out his Titan, saving Reiner's hide. Their first day here, and their leader, their friend, was dead.

Honestly, Annie still didn't know how she felt about that. Marcel had been… well, she hadn't considered him a friend, she didn't have those. But he had been a fellow Warrior, a teammate, and a monster in human flesh, like her. He'd been reliable in battle, he'd known what not and what to say around her, and honestly Annie didn't have any bad memories of him. Everyone liked him, he'd always come in with a positive attitude, but not so positive it was annoying, or appear like he was lying to himself. Marcel had known the score, had… well, evidently not made peace with it, but he didn't shy away or drag anyone down with him. He'd become a Warrior for his family, and he'd wanted to complete the mission so they could all go home.

He'd cared about them, his fellow Warriors.

Annie raised a hand to her eyes, and wiped away some non existent grime that was there. Suddenly thinking about Marcel for the first time in over twenty years was actually making Annie more depressed than she thought it would.

She was lying when she said Marcel hadn't been a friend. While Annie would testify she hadn't had any, the truth was Marcel had been there for her, like he'd been for everyone. He had this maturity about him that Annie appreciated, that had let him empathize and understand nearly every kid in the Warriors. He'd become the designated big brother of the Warriors, and while Annie hadn't deliberately sought him out, he'd been there for her. Always helpful and always playing peacemaker when needed, when one of the others was about to drop out and couldn't hold back their anger that Annie was just breezing through the training. He'd protected her, not just in the occasional fight where it honestly hadn't been needed, but stepping in when Annie was about to do something stupid.

Like letting the snide remarks of a Marleyan adult get to her and finding her feet making for the exit to the Internment Zone to physically shut them up.

Not one of her best moments. It had honestly been the usual insult thrown at the collective group of Warrior candidates passing by, she'd heard it a hundred times that year alone. But something about it had set her off, and she had been about to condemn herself to either remedial lessons (i.e. the beating of a life time from both the instructors AND her father), or a one stop trip to Paradis.

But before she could do that, Marcel had stepped in, his back to her as he smiled and thanked the Marleyan for reminding them about their place in the world, and preventing Annie from passing him. He'd kept doing that right up until Pieck and Bertolt had come around, and guided her away.

"…Are you okay?" Marcel had asked, genuinely concerned for her feelings. "I… I don't think I've ever seen you react like that before. If you… if you need to vent, I'm here."

"You want to die?" Annie didn't threaten, just genuinely asked. Marcel had to know if she vented proper, it would be physical and he would be turned into ground meat.

And yet, Marcel didn't back down. "I'd rather not, but better that than you getting into trouble."

"Yeah Annie, don't ruin things now when you are so close to the finish line!" Pieck had tried to join in. "Just six months more, and you'll be a Warrior! Picture the food, the house, the nice clean bathrooms! Don't lose that now that you're so close."

"Y-yeah." Bertolt had stammered. "Forget what that guy said, you… you're a-amazing, not a devil."

Annie had looked between them, confused as to what they were doing, seeing no reason they'd want to ruin their own chances by keeping Annie around…

"…Whatever." Annie had turned and headed back to headquarters, her anger gone. She still sparred with Marcel, out of curiosity if his offer to be her punching bag was sincere, and he'd taken it all in stride, even looking happy that she wasn't angry.

That was Marcel. The guy who could be friends with anyone, who no one, not even Annie, could hate. Even when he'd gone to tend to the prisoners from their first deployment, being a hypocrite trying to heal the people he'd torn to pieces literally an hour ago, Annie hadn't hated him. He was genuine in his desire to help, he took no pleasure in the slaughter. He struck hard and true to end the fighting quickly, and never went after fleeing targets who were beaten. Annie honestly felt… comfortable, with him as their designated leader.

And then he died screaming.

Annie stared at where it had happened, literally right there, she could perfectly picture it. The angle was different of course, but Annie could see a Mindless Ymir picking Marcel up and biting down on him. She could see Reiner turning tail and running, he'd go right by her feet, and Bertolt and herself right after him. And Ymir… she'd come out of her Titan for the first time in sixty years, and get to live once more, however briefly. End the endless nightmare and live more in five years than Annie did in nineteen.

'…If I wake or dig her up, it wouldn't take much to finish her off.' Annie's fingers twitched. 'Marcel wouldn't die here.'

… How terrible was she that Annie didn't know if she should do that.

So many times Annie had blamed Reiner for everything, for proceeding with the mission (even though he'd been right, Marley would have punished them severely for abandoning it, it had been the "right" call). So often she'd thought if Marcel was there, things would be better. Marcel could lead them, Marcel could come up with a plan to find the Founder better, Marcel would figure out how to do that without killing even more innocent people…

But really, she had no idea if Marcel would do better, or if he'd somehow make things worse. He had died, and Ymir had taken his place.

Ymir… the freckled idiot who Annie had never cared for that much. The girl was crude, annoying, childish, came across as a bit dumb, and deliberately tried to rile Annie up on several occasions. She'd loved to push Annie's buttons, but always reined it in before Annie snapped and tried to shove the brunette's head up her own ass. Always coming just to the edge of an ass-kicking, definitely not one of Annie's favourite people.

And yet, everyone else remembered her fondly. Reiner had practically put her on a pedestal for Falco and Gabi, proclaiming the Jaw before Porco was a hero who saved his life (and himself as the villain who killed her). Connie had visited her grave on Paradis, a memorial made by Historia, and rubbed his head on her tombstone, good luck she could hopefully use in the afterlife. Jean and Armin, they honestly recalled Ymir's jokes with fondness, even it had been at their expense it had been more funny than cruel.

Imagine Annie's surprise when Armin told her Ymir had asked if they were a couple. Evidently the false goddess had seen something there well before Annie did. That, or she was just trying to make Armin flustered, seems like Ymir always targeted the blondes for her pranks the most.

Speaking of which, Historia.

Queen Historia Reiss. Formerly Krista Lenz, even when Armin had told her the whole story, actually seeing the contrast between the facade Annie knew and the real version had thrown her for a loop. To think the mousey girl who was all about hugs and smiles and puppies was actually such a manipulative witch.

Just thinking how she had the gall to sit in her royal throne and claim Paradis's Warriors didn't exist, that the attacks weren't at all on her authority, that they were just three disgruntled citizens and nothing more, disgruntled citizens who stole advances in technology and picked off individual settlements to keep the world in A RUINED STATE!-

Annie took a deep breath, and exhaled. She unclenched her fist, and willed the two fingers that had actually snapped to heal.

It was obvious what had happened. From the subtle not-so-subtle barbs Historia made in reference to Reiner, how she smiled at him in a way that harboured no joy but hate and malice, Historia blamed them for taking the love of her life away. Blamed the fact Reiner had delivered Ymir nice and neat to be eaten by Porco, even though the girl hadn't resisted in the slightest. Any kindness Historia still possessed was not for the Warriors to experience. Even her "generous" acts were a thinly veiled cover to further Paradis's interests, her interests. The Queen of Paradis had become quite the leader, managing to both strike at her love's killers while simultaneously protecting her nation.

It was only because Annie understood that, and the fact she primarily hated Historia's puppets over their master, that she didn't just plunge her hand into the ground to kill Ymir right then and there. Deny Historia the one kindness that had given her life meaning, just as Annie's father used to be for her. Annie couldn't do that.

After all, both of them had enacted bloody revenge against the world over losing someone they cared about. Historia just had the benefit of other people doing it for her.

But still, would she really sacrifice someone she'd actually known for a girl she could barely recall? It was Marcel who got Annie feeling something akin to grief, not Ymir. Annie didn't care about Ymir.

Reiner had cared about Ymir.

Reiner had wished he could have done things different, and let Ymir be free.

Reiner had wanted to do so many things different.

…

…

… She'd put that on the back burner for now, as some might say. She had time to consider if it should be Marcel this time, or Ymir again. Decide if four Warriors making it to the Walls would make things worse or better, same for Historia never experiencing love/salvation. Ten years, that left a lot of wiggle room to decide who should live and who should die.

'Or you could go the distance and come up with a plan to save both of them. Feed someone you or anyone important won't miss to her, or just dig her up and pin her down, like Connie's mother." Levi offered. 'Come on, you can do better than this.'

'…I really can't.'

Annie resumed her run, circling around the patch of earth she'd been staring at for what felt like hours, but really had only been a few minutes.

It wasn't much further to the beach now.

A combination of parkour and speed had allowed Annie to jump off the surrounding mountains and hop over the Wall, though her landing was a little rough. She'd aimed to land on the terrain that hadn't been converted into a dock, which required a larger jump than just landing in the concrete. To avoid leaving two giant footprints and possibly alerting Marley to something being wrong, the rocky terrain off to the side it would have to be.

Unfortunately, her speed, the strength behind her limbs, the distance, and the angle of her landing… it resulted in Annie skidding across the ground and off the edge.

The splash of water wasn't as grand as it could have been, but a Titan body made it pretty big even if the drop in was rather brief. Had anyone been around, Annie would have died of shame. The laughing in her head didn't help, but fortunately it was just the one voice. Still, she couldn't help but imagine how Armin would be had he witnessed that. Probably being both overly concerned for her well-being, and simultaneously trying to hold in some snickers.

'My incredibly awesome perfect wife who was always so cool and confident and never made mistakes sliding off the ground to make a splash like she's at a giant water park?' Annie looked up through the water, where she could almost see him looking down at her, smiling. 'Nope, definitely can't see anything funny here.'

Annie thrust her hand out of the (surprisingly deep straight off the bat) water, and brought it down with just enough force not to crack the foundation. Pulling her head up, she made to glare at her imaginary love…

But of course, he wasn't there. No one was here, she was alone.

With a resigned sigh, Annie hoisted herself out, just as she would a pool were she human. Running her hands through her hair, she turned around to take in the expanse of ocean before her.

'Just beyond that horizon is Marley. The whole world just a swim away, and I could actually make it there.'

Naturally should she do that she could only expect hostilities. Even if Marley deemed a second Female (assuming Annie's presence here hadn't erased her predecessor from existence somehow, she'd work on the assumption that wasn't the case) appearing on their shore something worth capturing to understand rather than destroy outright, it was still Marley. They'd poke and prod her until they learnt all they could, and unless they determined they could control Annie (unlikely) and use her, they'd most likely chance feeding Annie to a Mindless to pass on her power.

Now Annie felt pretty good about her chances of not getting killed or captured straight away, she knew her former homeland even if she hadn't been allowed to see most of it, she knew where the population was thinnest and she could hide, recuperate. But the one thing Marley could take pride in was their ability to counter Titans, not only on building weapons and techniques to restrain them, but also how to track them. They'd managed to keep seven of the Nine in their possession for a hundred years, and that wasn't just from holding a gun to their Warriors families heads.

'So no Marley then? Shame, I was about to suggest you throw caution to the wind and just wreck the place. Free your father and… I hesitate to say friends, but anyone you might have gotten attached to in that pit stain you called home.' Levi spoke up. 'Bring everyone over here, eat or kill the other Nine, leave Marley to suffer the consequences of their own actions, and hope whoever takes over actually LISTENS to the threat about the Rumbling.'

'You know that won't work.' Armin interrupted. 'Even if they don't launch an attack in our lifetimes, technology would reach the point Titans would be completely obsolete. The moment they are confident they can kill all the Colossal's from afar before they can stomp the world flat, it's either forcing us to surrender or immediate extermination.'

'I know, but the thought was nice. As was the thought Marley couldn't use us as a scapegoat to draw attention away from their own crimes.'

'It really was impressive, the collective memory of the world being so… selective.' Smug voice joined in. 'Marley used Titans for a century to repeat the crimes of the Eldian Empire, minus forced childbirths, sort of. That's a literal lifetime of seeing the Marley flag flying high over the Warriors coming to kill everyone you know and love, and yet they hated us even more… fascinating. Our ancestors must have been something else.'

'Or, and this is just a working theory… maybe the outside world was comprised solely of idiots?' Cold voice added her two cents. 'You hear an island, a tiny island not even a third of the size of the Marley Empire, managed to beat SIX of the SEVEN Warriors, take two of them off the board permanently and send the rest packing, and they still hedged their bets on Marley wiping us out?'

'They hated us more than they hated Marley, and wiping us out was easier than taking them on.' Levi answered. '…Boy, the deck is really stacked against us here. Almost forgot how bad it was, I almost don't think if Titans managed to disappear right now we'd be any better off…'

Annie did too. The whole time her inner voices had been chatting, her shoulders had become more and more slumped. She needed to sit down, so that's what she did, moving to lay her back up against the wall and stare out across the sea.

'… Is it really so hopeless?' Annie didn't want to consider it, but looking back, it really looked like the Rumbling HAD been the only option. 'Am I just doomed to let things play out the same?'

'…I wish I could help.' Armin's voice graced her ear, and she imagined tiny human hands petting it. 'I wish I, the real me, was here with you now to bounce ideas and take some of this burden off of your shoulders. If I could just actually give you a different perspective, that could help!'

It would. Armin was smart, he could analyze and come up with a plan, see something there that Annie didn't, and realize there was some way Annie could make the future brighter without making things worse.

'You could just wait for him to be born and drop all this on him before the breach happens.' Smug voice tried. 'It'll mean depriving him of his childhood innocence, but if he turns out as brainy as he did the first time… what do we think, when he's eight, maybe nine?'

Annie REALLY hated she was actually considering that. To distract herself and avoid considering putting the fate of the world once again on his shoulder's, she instead focused on her Armin's words.

'If you were here, would that be as yourself or as the Colossal?' She could almost picture it, him an even greater skinless giant roaming Paradis, Mindless nipping at his feet, spooking the people of Paradis by peering over the Wall like Bertolt had done. Two friendly Titans on Paradis, wouldn't that be a hoot?

'Aww, can you imagine?' Dammit, Smug again. 'Him picking you up under your armpits like a big angry cat, doting on you? Certainly would grant you that change in perspective all right!'

The thump of her head against the wall in an effort to silence the unwanted commentary didn't leave a dent, thankfully, but it did manage to grant Annie some peace and quiet. She'd take that over that one's chatter. Shuffling herself around, Annie contented herself to sit here and wait for nightfall. She'd sneak back in, maybe run around the permitter to check where the guards were the thinnest, and head to one of her hiding spots.

Seeing the Arlert's again would do her some good. Maybe if she worked at it, they could actually communicate, and she could bounce idea's off of them and not their unborn son.

Worth a shot.

As she sat there and waited, she could almost imagine Armin at her side. Patting her hand, sitting atop her knee, her shoulder, her head, rubbing her jaw soothingly.

…She really wished she could have taken him here the first time.

Annie really felt like an idiot. And that feeling internalized as a voice berating her, loudly.

'You do have a brain in that giant head of yours, right? It's to scale?' Levi's snark rang clear and true. 'So, with enough grey matter to crush a horse, you couldn't realize that killing Titans when they're near motionless at night would be way easier than fighting them during the day?'

'Shut up.' Annie bit back, with no real bite. Had she really not considered there was an infinitely easier way to killing Titans before today?

Now, to be fair, she wasn't looking to be efficient or rid the whole island of Titans, she had wanted to blow off steam. Sure, maybe she could have done that by smashing in the heads of practically frozen targets, pick them off before they would have a chance to "wake up" and defend themselves… but she had wanted a fight. She wanted the thrill of a battle, not a quick easy extermination.

'Really?' Cold voice spoke up, and the disbelief was very apparent. 'Because your specialty is definitely mass slaughter of defenceless targets, I'm surprised you didn't try this approach sooner…'

'You can shut the HELL up, thank you.' This time, there was bite. 'And really, you're one to talk about killing "defenceless" targets.'

'Well I try, but I really feel like I was trailing behind compared to you. What I could do in a day was nothing to what you did in an hour.'

Annie grit her teeth, but didn't respond, and thankfully the voice didn't either. The night had fallen, and she was ready to carve up some Titans on her way back home.

'…Oh wow, have I really started considering my little hovels home? Just when I thought I couldn't sink any lower…'

Ignoring the depressing thought, Annie hoisted herself over the wall (much easier from this side), and was once again on Paradis land. Almost immediately a feeling of deja vu overcame her, that first day she and the other Warriors set out towards the Walls. The sun just starting to set as they hiked as far as their little legs could, keeping their Titans in reserve, desperately believing in Marley intelligence that all the Mindless were further inland.

'What the fuck was Marley thinking, sending four children to this hellhole?' Annie clenched her fist. They hadn't even lasted 24 hours before Marcel had died, and Reiner was the only one who made it back. If the Rumbling and Paradis hadn't wiped them out, someone else would definitely have ended the century old empire in the next decade or so.

Racing forward, but deliberately making sure to avoid Ymir (the tree in the area was an excellent marker), Annie kept her pace steady while keeping an eye out for any Mindless that had taken root. The moon was almost full so they wouldn't be entirely still, but the cloud cover was doing a great job blocking it out, and even then they'd be running on reserves. They'd only really be active when Annie managed to disturb them, and by then, they'd be dead.

'If I wait for when the moon is new, that would make things even easier. Gather them all up at one spot with my scream, wait for nightfall… if I decide to let the people of the Walls roam free and completely fuck up the Warriors mission ten years from now, that would be how to do it.'

'Kill every Titan on Paradis.'

But of course, if she was to do that, what would be the consequences?

'Over 250,000 people not dying horrible horrible deaths.'

'Eren not losing his mom and starting the path that led to him genociding the planet!'

'You or a version of you not resigning herself to being an irredeemable monster, Reiner not suffering a split personality and craving death, Bertolt and Marcel possibly not dying alone and afraid.'

'Marley notices when someone inevitably reaches the shore, launches a full scale attack with no Titans to worry about.'

'The Scout's love you and hail you as a hero for ending the slaughter. I actually hold you in high regards.'

'The Founder possibly wiping everyone's minds and sealing the gates, doubling down on keeping people in?' Armin's voice interrupted. 'I don't know, it's kind of hard to know what the Will of Fritz would allow. But I could see the King getting desperate to keep us from leaving or discovering the truth.'

…

'…Thanks for giving me something to think about. Again.' Nothing was ever going to be clear cut, was it?

Well, at the very least she could pick off a few more Titans right now. The King of the Walls wouldn't notice or throw a fit about that, would he?

'Actually, would he just sit back and let me do that? The Will of Fritz allowed the Fall of the Walls to happen, would he be okay with the opposite happening? Just sit back and let Marley's judgment come down on his people, who's to say that judgement wouldn't be ending their punishment?'

Again, nothing was going to be clear cut.

A much needed reprieve presented itself when Annie finally spotted a Titan, hunched down and resting its back against a tree. Its eyes were glassy and unfocused, but it's posture… something about it wasn't quite limp, more like… it was almost ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

It wouldn't get even a second.

Annie locked on and ran forward like a homing projectile, and had her foot crystallized and ready to strike straight a true as she did a quick jump forward! The Titan just started to widen its eyes when Annie's foot cut through its jaw right to its nape, connecting with the bark!

She retracted her foot, not even bothering to glance back at her kill, and kept on moving. A quick exhale of breath left her, and she felt the cold night air enter her throat as she inhaled. The Walls weren't in sight yet, she had to keep moving.

Soon, another Titan was in sight, this time lying on the ground. She barely had to change course before she killed it too, didn't even slow down. Annie exhaled again.

More running, two more Titans near comatose, two more Titans dead on Annie's arrival.

Her running became more of a jog.

She passed by a small hill, where on the other side three Titans waited, staring at her with wide open eyes. All three were Abnormals, as they sprinted after her. Annie leapt forward, then leapt back, bringing up her knee to smash in the face of the middle one pursuing her. She rolled forward and landed in a crouch, before following up with a sweeping kick that took off the other two's legs. Another sweeping kick, this time taking off their heads.

She almost stumbled getting to her feet, actually putting a hand on her knee to steady herself.

Annie continued to run, coming across more Titans. One she grabbed by the face and carried until she could slam its back into a large rock, another she brought her elbow down on its head. Just her elbow, no crystal.

For some reason it hadn't come out.

Before Annie could ponder that, or why her legs suddenly felt heavy for the first time since she woke up like this, a Titan tackled her around her middle! It didn't manage bring her down to the ground, it was only a five meter, but it did manage to hold her in place long enough for another five to grab her leg!

And another to grab onto her forearm, pulling her down.

And another for the other forearm!

For anyone watching from the safety of a blimp, one might think the sight was funny, like a mother being bogged down by her children! Most likely they'd find it horrifying, four Titans working in tandem to bring a larger one down. Annie for her oart was simply annoyed, specially as these five meters were a LOT heavier than the ones she'd been punting and killing earlier no problem. Just as she was mustering the strength to bash the two holding her arms against each other, a hand suddenly gripped her hair.

A fifteen meter had joined the fun.

And it had easy access to her nape.

Annie suddenly found herself flailing her arms as if she'd been swarmed by a horde of wasps! She tried to summon some crystal to protect her nape, as she could feel hot steaming breath right there! The ones on her arms flopped and their legs kicked in the air, but they still held on tight!-

There! Her free leg! She was able to lift it off the ground, tearing her hair out of her attackers grasp and bring her body down! It was a move that honestly would most likely make things much worse, but the brief moment in free fall let her fight back.

She kicked down with her raised unrestrained leg, and crushed the head of the Titan holding the other one.

She rotated her body so the one pining her middle would land under her. It's body flattened and burst like an overripe squash, splattering red in all directions with Annie at the centre.

She slammed the Titan's holding her arms into the head of the one who'd been attempting to eat her. The fifteen meters head caved in from the jaw up, and while the five meter's skulls remained intact, the impact had stunned them. They released Annie, were just starting to fall to the ground when their stubby misshapen were grabbed by her now free hands. She swung them down on either side of her with all her might, successfully crushing their skulls this time and spreading the gore out even more vertically.

Annie blinked rapidly, she shook her head, she tried to draw breath. She… she actually felt tired! Her body, her Titan body which she could run for hours in at full speed and not feel fatigued at all, specially now!… she felt like she would as a human. She was spent.

'But… but I've moved like this under the cover of night before!' Annie tried to lift herself up. 'I moved with no moonlight whatsoever, FOUGHT with no moonlight whatsoever! So why?! Why am I suddenly?!-'

Two hands grabbed her shoulders. A look of horror was the Female Titan's expression as she gazed up at a toothy maw, and only that. The fifteen meter's head above the jawline was a steaming mess of gore and bone, muscle tissue and gray matter dribbled and bubbled as it healed. But despite its brain being turned to mush, it still was able to carry on with its goal of making Annie a meal.

It lifted her limp body off the ground, and slammed her against the earth, hard. Again, her torso started to rise, before being slammed again. Once more, and a puddle of drool poured out to dribble on Annie's face. She couldn't help but since in disgust, even as she tried not to pass out.

The Titan evidently figured the best way to eating Annie wasn't to start chewing through her noggin or flip her over and bite down on her nape immediately, no, it deemed softening her up the better solution. An instinct that came from its former life as a human, as before being captured when the Eldian Empire collapsed, this Titan had been a man who tended to three separate Females. A simple manservant of the Noble house who possessed the power, but much beloved, and very privy to the Female Titans strengths and weaknesses. He knew the in's and out's of the Copycat ability, and when one had to heal AND harden, the ability to call forth crystal became difficult, a matter of stamina.

Now of course, Annie had no way of knowing this, nor would she care. Nor would the Titan, in it's limited ability to form a coherent thought beyond "eat and kill," realize Annie was already low on stamina, and it honestly might succeed if it decided to bite down now. Succeed in killing Annie that is, for becoming human again, not so much. The Female Titan was notorious for only gracing the fairer sex after all, the end result would be… messy.

Annie was brought down again. It was getting harder to stay conscious, and she was beginning to worry of her nape would get crushed with one particular hard slam. The Titan's nose had just returned, and its grip hadn't loosened.

'Just need… one clean shot…' Annie tried to focus, tried to will her healing to any of her limbs, rejuvenate them. One solid strike and she could be free, she just needed-

Another slam. Annie could swear she felt something rattle in her skull. Her Titan skull.

'Come on! Work dammit!' Annie screamed in frustration (not verbally, the last thing she wanted was to summon more), as she found she could barely lift a finger. 'Argh! There has to be something! Come on Leonhart, use your head!'

'…!' Annie's eyes popped open, and then immediately closed in self loathing as the solution came to her.

'Goddammit.' Annie groaned as she was being lifted for one last time, and diverted all her energy to her neck muscles and head. 'If this works, I'm never telling anyone I took a page out of Eren Jeager's book.'

The Titan raised Annie higher this time, closer to its own face. The eye sockets were just returning, and soon it would see Annie broken and helpless under it, just waiting to be devoured. Soon, it's nightmare would end.

Indeed it would. Just not the way it had expected.

With a speed and force that would have hurt just to watch, Annie's head snapped up, encased in as much crystal as she could possibly summon, and head-butted the Titans face so hard she took it clean off!

Well, not entirely clean off. The jaw cracked in two and was sent flying in two directions, everything that would have been in its cranium shot out backwards, and its nape folded in on itself and snapped in half. Annie fell backwards, and the now dead Titan fell with her, draped over her form and pining her under its weight. Blood seeped from its neck stump and flowed down Annie's chest to land on both sides of her neck, adding to the blood already steaming there.

Had anyone witnessed the sight from on high, they would have been fooled into thinking they were looking at a bloody Angel, with red wings spread out on the ground, cradling another being to her person.

Annie wouldn't know that. She wouldn't even be mildly curious what state she was in. Blood was pouring out of her ears and nose and she could feel herself about to fall asleep any minute now. She could only hope that had been the last Titan, and come morning she'd wake up.

She lay in the afterglow of her slaughter, and the steam rose around her, enveloping her like a comforting blanket. Closing her eyes, Annie truly fell asleep for the first time as a Titan.

A soft hand was running through her hair. Not pulling on it, not pinning her down so as to better get a good angle from which to bite her nape, but gently, carefully, running it's finger through her hair, so delicately it was like being soothed by a gentle breeze.

Naturally Annie sat up, grabbed the offending limb, and made to simultaneously twist while delivering a neck chop with her free hand!

Only to immediately wane upon seeing Armin. Blonde hair, blue eyes, his mature features and yet still retaining that boyish innocence… he was just how Annie last remembered him. He wasn't even bothered by Annie crushing his wrist or just an inch away from crushing his larynx. He simply smiled that warm smile, and used his free hand to caress her cheek.

"… Armin?" She dared to ask, wanted to lean into his touch, but the part of her mind that was paranoid and alert was screaming at her not to let her guard down.

"You look like you've had it rough." His smile didn't waver, though there was a hint of sadness in his eyes, sadness for her, seeing her clearly not at her best. "It's been a lot to go through alone, hasn't it?"

The disappointment was immeasurable. Honestly Annie shouldn't have expected different, but was it any more absurd to wake up back in the present as a human again then it was in the past as a permanent Titan? Her body slumped, her expression conveyed her disappointment, she made no effort to hide how she felt. Even if this wasn't a dream, she'd always been honest with Armin.

"I'm dreaming." Annie sighed. "Or I'm dead and this is… something, but most likely it's a dream."

"You're not dead. And this isn't a dream, not quite."

Annie blinked at that. "…What do you mean, "not quite?""

"Well, it's… sort of a bunch of things, right now." Armin looked around, and scratched the back of his head. "A dream, your subconscious, your imagination… and maybe, something else?"

"Something else?"

"Something else. I can't really explain it, but… well, I'll just say it. Do I feel like a dream to you?" Armin tried. "Does it feel at all like your typical dream? The part where you realize it's a dream and now you're about to wake up, right now? Or the fact I'm talking to you like this, doesn't it feel… too real?"

…Well now that he mentioned it, yeah, it did. Annie looked around, trying to get a sense for where she was, how real it felt.

It was their house. This was their bed, they were sitting in their bed and surrounded by bookshelves and the desk was right there and there was the door leading to the living room which lead to the front door… This was their house, and it felt as real as when Annie had left it for the last time.

Armin felt as real as when she'd held him for the last time. When she'd held him in her arms in this bed, waking up before him, getting dressed and planting a kiss on his brow, and leaving a letter on the desk.

(She told him she'd be back. Instead she was in the past, trapped as a Titan.)

Shaking her head, Annie focused on Armin, looking him up and down.

"…You're not going to tell me you are the real Armin, are you?"

"No. But I'm also not going to say I'm just a figment of your imagination." Not-Armin shook his head. "I can't explain it, but… I'm as real as you want me to be. I can be an actual person for you, here."

"…How?" Annie scrutinized her gaze, piercing Not-Armin with her eyes alone.

"…Titan magic?"

A look that the real Armin was MORE than familiar with had him waving a hand in front of him.

"I'm serious! I feel-"

"You feel?"

"…I do. Huh." Armin actually looked surprised at that. "…I feel like whatever has happened, sending you back in time, making you a Titan permanently, and having you here… it's all connected. Connected through something that… could allow this to happen. Something that you've experienced at least once before."

An endless night sky, an endless sea of sand. Brilliant light, so many lights, so many branches, a tree of light. Around her, so many people.

Every one of them, Annie knew, they were all Eldians.

All of them hearing it, hearing Eren's voice, hearing him announce the Rumbling had begun.

Eren looked at her, and she looked at him. He looked… so young, his hair short and wearing his Scout uniform, just like when she had last seen him, the actual him. The only difference were his eyes, they looked so much older, he looked so tired, defeated. They were on the training grounds of the Cadets, that same field where she had knocked him on his ass years ago, where he'd come begging for tutoring.

How much that had come to bite her in the ass, along with everything else in her life.

"…Did you ever wish you had followed us down those stairs?"

Suddenly Annie found herself in Stohess, looking down said steps with Eren by her side.

"It was a trap, and we were going to bring you in… but even knowing that, do you wish you had followed Armin?"

"…The Paths."

Armin nodded, and he held her hands, giving her strength that she badly needed right now. Her mind was racing, trying to understand just how the Paths could be involved, what it meant if they were involved… and how that could mean Armin was actually here.

As if sensing her thoughts, Armin continued. "I can't explain it, I really can't. But… I'm real. Maybe I'm Armin's soul summoned here? Maybe I'm your impression of him given life, filled in by the Paths? Or maybe you really do have a fantastic imagination and this really is nothing more than your overworked mind."

He took her chin in his hand, and looked into her eyes.

"But I don't think it's that last one."

For some reason, Annie didn't either. Not just because she had all the creativity of a rock, but because… she just wanted to believe she could have this. Just this little respite, for one moment.

"…Why am I here? Why are you?"

"To help you. Like I said at the docks, I want to help. You've been running around trying to figure this all out by yourself, I'd like to change that. Bounce ideas, come up with a plan."

"…If you're really just a dream or my mind playing tricks…" Annie considered, really considered, "…Is it really a problem if I come up with a good idea this way? Just by listening to my imaginary friend?"

She would take any help she could get at this point.

She would take any form of help she could get at this point.

"Well, I would say that might be a cause for concern regarding your mental health…" Armin looked at her with worry, causing her to snort.

"My mental health was never great Armin, you know that." Annie found herself settling in, seeing this Armin as real as could be.

"Now that's not-"

Armin found a finger pressed to his lips, and Annie actually smiling.

"Shhhhhhhhhhh." She leaned in, withdrawing her finger as she touched her nose to his. "This is my dream-mind-Paths-place, don't argue."

"…Okay." He caved, in that way that Annie found adorable. She tiled her head to press her lips to his, it had been so long since she'd felt them-

"Having fun?"

Annie jumped back, and Armin did too, with less grace but still managing to land on his feet off the bed. The new unwelcome and familiar voice came from their doorway, and it's owner did not look impressed.

"Much as I'd love to sit this out and let the two of you… relieve stress, I'd rather use this time to be productive, thank you."

"…Levi." Annie managed to get out, taking in the shorter but still very much intimidating man. He looked exactly the same as when Annie had last seen him, same scars, same suit, same scowl. Only thing missing was his hat, and his cane.

"Yeah, I'm here too. Going to go out on a limb here and say it's because you called us to keep you company in your head this whole time, short and easy explanation that relatively makes sense?" Levi shrugged, and made to head outside. "Regardless, if lover boy over there has managed to clear things up, could you come outside? We've got a lot to discuss."

"Wait, Captain! She just got here, we should really ease her into things-"

"Who knows if this can happen again?" Levi cut Armin off. "Now that we can actually voice our thoughts and not just what she thinks we'll say, we should use this to give her some semblance of a plan. If we let her figure things out herself, chances are she won't change a damn thing."

"Captain!" Armin called out, indignant, but Levi was gone, out the door and expecting them to follow.

'Wait…' A sickening realization came to Annie, and she jumped to her feet, eye wide. 'If he's here, then that means…'

Armin seemed to notice her look of… Annie didn't know what her expression was. Hate? Revulsion? Horror?… Whatever it was, he tried to approach her, but Annie had run past him to stomp outside and came to a screeching halt at the sight of Levi sitting on her swinging chair out on the deck, who offered her one look before staring straight ahead.

Annie followed his gaze, her eyes sailing past the front deck of her house, the trees out on her lawn, the view of the ocean, to land on the other two voices that had been haunting her, now given form.

They stood there, and one of them had the fucking gall to actually wave at her! His teeth shining in the sun, looking at Annie like she was an old friend, in contrast to his companion who had nothing but contempt.

Zoe Caven. Killa Harkan.

Two of Paradis's three "Warriors."

The replacement monsters of the world.

Self proclaimed last Scout's of the Walls.

And in Annie's eyes, an absolute irredeemable evil.

The train was burning. The train was overturned. Annie was barely able to register that before a rough jerking of her arm saw a pair of handcuffs slapped on her wrists, pining her arms behind her. She was forced on her front, only able to take in the others, Reiner, Connie, and the Hizurans, all pinned down by big armoured men not less than fifteen feet from the wreckage.

"So long since I've had a chance to practice Hizuran… ah, it's a dying tongue." A deceptively sweet voice lamented in a language Annie had been taught to know but never had a chance to put into practice. A pair of boots, of a familiar leather and design, strode into view, the end of a raggedy green Paradis military coat whisking over her face. The boots stopped, and rotated, to crouch down and reveal their owner. A suitcase was placed down on the ground, a bandaged burnt face sporting a mop of black hair came into view…

…and four gold teeth, peeking through charred lips.

"…You again!" The lips crinkled up into a smile, absolute joy bordering on childlike coming across that ruined face, the visible scarring on the left cheek making the grin seem even wider. "The Female Titan… still alive! Ooooooh, it just doesn't go away, this feeling… you really are the perfect monster! From you I can learn so many things…"

Heavy breathing, practically salivating, almost laughing…

It was like starring up at a Mindless coming to devour her.

The smile briefly faded, with a deep inhale through the nose to collect himself. He slowly backed away to stand between Connie and Reiner, case in hand, before kneeling down again.

"Forgive me, where are my manners?" The case was set down, and the smile returned. Bandaged fingers withdrew both a scalpel, and a long cylindrical tube. "Killa Harkan, of the 100th Cadet Corp, Scout Regiment."

"Proud Warrior… of Paradis."

The rain was starting to come down, but Annie's escorts didn't slow down, and nor did she. This day had been coming for a long time now, over fourteen years since it had all started, in a supply depot at Fort Salta. The worst night of Annie's life, only to be surpassed over and over with pain that made her father dying seem pleasant by comparison.

All because of her. Zoe Caven.

Fort Salta. The shores of Marley. The capital of Osea. The Belka Mountains. The Black Forest of Estovakia. Gracemaria, all of Gracemaria… They'd done this dance for so long, tried to kill each other for so long. Always losing something to the other, always coming so close to death, to the point their war against each other had become a world wide known event.

"The Female Titans: Who Will Triumph?" Had been one such headline, even if it had been describing two completely human opponents, now. From a third party that could watch the violence from a safe distance, not bothered at all by the corpses at Zoe's feet, yet another round of victims from "Paradis's Warrior."

…How sad was it Annie still didn't know if the Scout turned Paradis's second biggest mass murderer had surpassed the former Titan Shifter's kill count. Reiner had claimed full responsibility for the Fall of Wall Maria (and had tried to do the same for the 57th Expedition, saying he pulled the trigger in unleashing the Female Titan), but no, nobody was having that, least of all Annie. She led the Mindless to the Walls, the 10,000 that initially died, and the 250,000 after from the purge, they were on her hands.

As was everything else. Annie accepted that, she had made… some kind of peace with it.

And now she was going to put an end to it.

The Queen, the Mother Superior, about a dozen members of the Church, they all stood together in attendance at the edge of what was to be the make shift arena, making no move to stop Annie. Why would they? This was a show, they were the audience.

Annie's escorts, two top of the line soldiers of Paradis, looked like they wanted to make a move, to gun Annie down right now to save their beloved Warrior, their teacher…

But they too, stopped at the edge of the arena.

At the edge of a red circle, the largest of three, the only one coloured.

Annie barely noticed any of this. She just wanted things to end, for good.

A feeling evidently shared by Zoe Caven.

"Did you ever stop to think that, eventually… there's a point where your name gets mentioned for the very last time?" Zoe turned around, standing barefoot in the middle of the three circles, facing away from the tree she had been staring at to lock eyes with Annie. She shrugged out of her old Scout jacket, the Wings of Freedom still there despite all the punishment it had taken. Gently she folded it up, the burnt blackened leather flaking, the tarnished emblem on the back displayed as she set it down on the ground between them.

"Well, here it is. I'm going to kill you, Annie Leonhart."

"…So," Killa walked up the porch, and sat himself down at the deck table like he was a guest, and not an absolute blight on all mankind, "What say we discuss your future here, Annie Leonhart?"

A Titan sized skinless hand came crashing down on him almost immediately. A magnificent crunch and a splatter of blood on her fist, and for good measure she brought down again and ground it into the dirt and the wrecked remains of the front of her home.

"…Well, off to a great start then." Levi plucked a gold tooth that had embedded itself in his cheek. Across from him, Zoe simply shrugged, just before Annie's foot came down on her.

I picture being a Titan 24/7, and still having your intelligence, as something similar to the Curse of the Black Pearl. Not quite as bad, food isn't turning to ash in her mouth and wine won't fail to satisfy (drunk Titan Annie, gonna be a heck of thing making that scenario happen), but it isn't exactly easy either. She's kind of just… existing, but not living, if that makes sense.

And yaaaaay, the OC's have names… well, here's hoping I can make them intriguing instead of annoying. I really want to explore the concept of "Annie and the Warriors actions have consequences," and survivors who'd hold a grudge/changed their worldview after witnessing all their friends being slaughtered seemed like a natural starting point.

I actually had more to this chapter, had Annie having a full conversation in her dream, coming up with a plan, discussing all the many, MANY horrible things she could try and stop… but it was taking too long and I figured I left everyone hanging long enough, so I've moved that to the next chapter. The good news is that I have a third of the next chapter done because of that, so it should come out sooner rather than later, hopefully. I plan to work on my other fic too and get it updated soon too, after all.

Don't worry, Annie WILL be proactive and strive to make great changes to the timeline. She just needs that push, and that's coming in about three more chapters or so. She's going to do a LOT to make things better.

Next chapter: Annie has a chat with her inner demons, the Arlert's introduce more of their family to Annie, and hey let's check how baby Annie is doing right about now!