Marcel and Zeke froze.

One moment they had been on the top of the wall, reaching out towards each other. But as soon as their hands made contact they suddenly found themselves in a very different place.

They were lying on a sandy patch of ground, and as they looked around them they could see that the sand stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. Above them the night sky shone brightly, with countless stars glowing with an unnatural ethereal beauty.

The two warriors hesitantly let their hands go and slowly stood up.

Marcel looked around warily. "What the…where are we?"

Zeke rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "This place…it feels…eerily familiar. It must be the Paths."

"Is that…"

They turned around, and in the distance saw what appeared to be an enormous glowing tree, stretching high into the sky with countless branches coming off of it and mingling with the stars above.

"That must be the coordinate." Zeke breathed. "We did it."

"Welcome, descendants of mine."

The unexpected voice caused both of them to freeze in shock before slowly turning around to see another strange sight.

A plain but regal wooden throne had appeared seemingly out of nowhere while they weren't looking, and sitting on the throne was a woman. At first glance she appeared to be in her early twenties, but that idea quickly fell apart when they saw her eyes, which reflected those of a being of great age, one who had seen much.

The woman stared at them, her arms resting on the arms of her throne, her face emotionless. "You have done well to make it here."

Marcel stared back at her nervously.

Zeke swallowed. "Are you…the Founder Ymir?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she shifted her gaze onto him. "I am."

Trying not to buckle under the weight of her ancient gaze, Zeke forced himself to continue speaking.

"Founder Ymir…it is an honor to meet you. Please, grant us your power."

She tilted her head. "And why should I do that?"

Zeke took an involuntary step backwards. "Well…because we need it, to save Eldia, and the world."

He lowered his eyes. "Of course, you are under no obligation to do as we say, but…we hope that our goal is noble enough in your eyes that you would see fit to bestow your power upon us."

Ymir's eyes softened slightly. "Curious. You're far more polite now than you were the first time you came here. But I suppose my appearance is much more intimidating now than it was back then."

Zeke looked back at her with a frown. "Forgive me, I'm not sure what you mean."

Ymir leaned back. "No, of course you wouldn't know. We've never met before…in this timeline, that is."

Marcel stiffened. "This timeline? There are others?"

Ymir leaned her head against her right fist. "Yes. I suppose you've earned a basic explanation of exactly who I am. In life I was a slave, in body and mind, to the King of Eldia, and even after my death my enslavement continued. Until he came."

Her eyes drifted off to the side, as though recalling a fond memory, and the ghost of a smile twitched on her lips.

"He broke my slave mentality and set me free. No words could adequately express my gratitude toward him for what he had done, and I was more than happy to grant him the full power of the Founding Titan to do whatever he wished. After it was all over, though, I was alone again. But I finally knew freedom, and realized that though I had existed for countless eons, I hadn't truly lived. So I used the coordinate, and lived vicariously through the memories of my descendants."

Her eyes mellowed, and though she didn't say anything, Zeke and Marcel could sense that she was reliving further experiences she had been through while living in her descendants' memories.

Experiences of joy, sorrow, laughter, anger, embarrassment, playfulness, impatience, ecstasy…

She returned her gaze to them, lifting her head off of her fist. "Eventually, though, my curiosity got the better of me, and I began playing around with the timeline, changing minor things around just to see how the resulting branch of time would play out. In one I gave a soldier the subconscious hint he needed to save two of his comrades instead of just one, altering the destinies of both survivors, as well as those around them. In another I sent the consciousness of three people back in time in order to give their people another chance at victory."

Her gaze became serious. "In this timeline, the main change I made…was you."

Marcel looked uneasy as her gaze on him intensified. "Me?"

She nodded. "Do you recall the abnormal Titan that attacked you and your fellow Warriors on your way to the walls?"

"Yes." He said, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"In the original timeline, that was where you died. The abnormal was simply too quick, and it all happened too fast for you to save yourself before you were devoured. I changed it so that your reaction time was ever so slightly faster, giving you enough time to save yourself, because I wanted to see how things would play out had you survived. And the results have been most…fascinating, to say the least."

Marcel looked down, shivering slightly at the thought that he had been that close to death, and that had it not been for literal divine intervention, that would have been the end for him. He'd thought it had been down to his own skill. But instead…

Zeke cleared his throat. "So, what happens now?"

Ymir glanced at him, her face once again emotionless. "Since you've managed to make it here, I will grant you my power. However, there is a price."

Zeke inclined his head. "Name it."

Ymir pointed at him. "You must remain here, and take my place in the paths. Marcel will wield the power of the Founding Titan in the real world, while you will maintain the power of the Titans in this realm until your goal is achieved."

Zeke looked mildly surprised, but agreed. "Okay."

Ymir looked at him carefully. "Are you certain? You do realize what this means? Time works differently in this place than it does out in the real world. What might take a matter of seconds in the real world could last years or even centuries here. You could be here for a very long time indeed if you agree."

Zeke paused, thinking it over, before shaking his head.

"I see. Even so, I still accept."

Ymir let out a soft sigh. "Your resolve is strong, even if it is misguided."

Zeke frowned. "Misguided?"

"Do you not approve of our euthanasia plan?" Marcel asked.

Ymir closed her eyes. "I am indifferent to it. There have been many timelines where your plan has already succeeded, and even more where it has failed. And there are many more timelines left for me to explore, so your victory or failure in this particular timeline is entirely inconsequential to me."

She opened her eyes. "But I suppose it is consequential to you."

She stood up and walked toward them, extending her arms.

"Take my hands, and do what you feel is best."

Zeke and Marcel hesitated, still slightly intimidated by the godlike being before them. But after a moment, they reached out their hands. Zeke touched her right hand, and Marcel touched her left.

The second Marcel and Zeke made contact, Marcel's body was engulfed in a massive pillar of light, which gave off an intensely bright glare, forcing Erwin to shield his eyes.

The pillar of light shot so high into the sky that it was able to be seen from Trost, and many of the Garrison soldiers there, including Hannes, Rico, Ian, and others watched it with trepidation.

But the pillar of light didn't last very long, and faded away almost as soon as it had appeared.

Erwin lowered his hand, and was surprised at what he saw.

Marcel was still lying on the surface of the wall, but Zeke was nowhere to be seen.

What? Where did the other one go?

Erwin suddenly felt the walls shaking beneath his feet, and hastily dove down the side of the wall where most of the Scouts were, just outside of the inner gate.

From inside Shiganshina, Levi could see the walls beginning to crack, and hastily swooped up and grabbed Mikasa, pulling her away from the danger.

She shrieked indignantly, her mind still focused on killing Marcel and avenging Eren. "What are you-"

Mikasa gasped as she saw why Levi was pulling her away from the wall.

After retreating away from the wall a fair distance, Levi set her down. Petra, Nanaba, and Nifa caught up with them, the crystallized body of the Colossal Titan still looming in the distance. But none of them paid it any mind, their attention focused on the cascading cracks appearing in the walls.

Then, chunks of the wall began to break off, revealing the massive Titans within.

Mikasa and the others stared up in terror as one by one the Titans were revealed as more and more of the walls collapsed, causing huge amounts of debris and rubble to fall to the ground and kicking up tons of dust into the air.

As the Titans were facing the inside of Shiganshina, it took longer for Erwin and the other Scouts to realize what was happening, but as the heads and backs of the Wall Titans became clear, they were also filled with terror.

The shaking and noise caused by the collapse of the wall also caused the horses to scream in terror, with many of them bolting away as fast as they could, and as distracted as they were the Scouts couldn't do much to stop them.

Before long all the walls of Shiganshina had collapsed, though Wall Maria continued to collapse segment by segment, and the Titans began to march, circling around the abandoned district, causing the ground to shake and quake with their footsteps.

Mikasa found her mind flashing back to the day this had all begun, the day when she, Eren, and Armin saw the Colossal Titan peering over the wall. But now, in her mind she imagined the many Titans that had been hidden inside of the wall during that time, with only a thin layer of material concealing the terrifying truth.

She stared down at the ground, her eyes wide.

No way. This whole time…Titans…were protecting us…from Titans?

Erwin stared in terror and awe as the Wall Titans marched away.

So this…is the power of the Founding Titan.

The shaking caused by the Titans was loud enough that the surviving scouts had to shout to be heard.

"What the hell is going on?" Nanaba shouted.

"Captain!" Petra yelled.

She pointed, and in the distance they could see that Marcel was on the shoulder of one of the Colossal Titans.

"Should we go after him?" Petra yelled.

"No." Levi shouted. "If these Titans are anything like the Colossal Titan, they'll just use steam to blow us away before we can get close. Besides…if he's the one controlling all these Titans…"

The Wall Titans, along with the surviving normal Titans, continued to march south, around and away from Shiganshina.

Erwin noted that the Titans were ignoring them. He frowned in confusion.

After the Titans had moved out of the way, Levi, Mikasa, Petra, Nanaba, and Nifa used their ODM gear to regroup with the rest of the Scouts.

"What now?" Levi asked, the Titans now just distant enough that they didn't need to shout.

Erwin shook his head. "I don't know."

Levi looked at him sharply. "What?"

Erwin looked back at the Titans, trying and failing to hide his fear. "I don't know. This…all of this…"

"We can't win." Nifa said despairingly. "We're doomed."

Erwin grimaced. "Perhaps. But I don't think it's that simple. I assumed that this was a conflict between humanity, and whatever force beyond the walls that wants us dead. But now, I'm not so sure."

Petra looked at him uncertainly. "What do you mean?"

"If they considered us an enemy, the first thing they should have done as soon as they gained control over all these Titans was use them to kill us all. But instead, they're ignoring us. You don't wake up this many Titans unless you're planning to use them for something."

Erwin frowned. "Perhaps there's some sort of external conflict going on in the outside world, a conflict we're completely ignorant of because we've been stuck behind these walls for the past century. And perhaps the enemy's goal was to seize the Founding Titan so that they could win this external conflict. In that case…all of this…it was never about us at all. We were just caught in the middle."

Nanaba's eyes widened. "But wait a minute. Doesn't that…it must mean…there have to be other humans out there?"

Then, without warning, all of them suddenly found themselves in the paths.

They all looked around in alarm.

"What the hell?" Levi exclaimed.

But before they could panic, a voice emanated from the coordinate, distant yet perfectly audible to all of them.

"Hear me, people of the walls. My name is Marcel Galliard. The power of the Founding Titan is mine, and every Titan in the world is now under my command. I have only two goals, to free my people, and to bring the era of the Titans to an end. With the power of the Founding Titan these goals are now within reach. I apologize that you were caught in the middle of all this, and I know no amount of atonement can ever make up for the sins I have committed against you. But it's over now, and hopefully in the near future all this bloodshed will stop, and humanity will finally know peace."

Mrs. Grice smiled kindly. "Good morning."

Armin ducked his head shyly. "Good morning."

Historia returned the smile. "Morning."

It was early in the morning, and the Grice family had invited the two of them over for breakfast. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Grice, as well as their two children, Colt and Falco. Colt was around their age, while Falco was only six.

Mr. Grice looked at them curiously. "So, how are you adjusting to life in Liberio?"

Armin shrugged. "Fairly well. It's…a lot different from where we grew up."

"Good different, or bad different?"

"Both, I guess. There seem to be a lot more rules here. But there are some nice things, like electricity, and tap water."

"What?" Falco exclaimed. "You didn't have those? But how?"

"Falco, be quiet, it's rude to ask questions like that." Mrs. Grice chided him.

"But why?"

Armin chuckled. "It's fine."

He looked down at his plate. "Like I said before, the place where we grew up was…pretty isolated, and so lacked a lot of modern conveniences."

Mr. Grice frowned. "Hmm. Well, at least the transfer wasn't all bad for you. Still, it seems a little cruel, forcing two young children to leave their homes and abandon everything they knew."

Mrs. Grice shook her head. "I'm sure they must have had a good reason."

Armin and Historia glanced at each other, blushed, then looked away.

Mr. Grice glanced at the radio on a nearby desk. "Anyways, I wonder what this big radio announcement is going to be about?"

"Do you think the Warriors captured the Founding Titan?" Colt asked.

"Probably. I mean, if they had failed, I doubt they would want to make such a big deal out of it."

Armin and Historia glanced at each other anxiously, worried about their friends back on the island, but of course knew they couldn't say anything about it now.

Armin looked over at the clock on the wall, and realized that it was almost time.

At the Marleyan military headquarters all of the important leaders and officials of the military were gathered. In addition, Willy Tybur was also present, as he along with the military was going to have a special radio announcement for the whole world, declaring that the final remnants of the Eldian Empire had finally been eliminated, and the Founding Titan was no longer in the hands of the treacherous royal family.

And yet despite the victory, Magath couldn't help but feel uneasy. He'd long felt that Marley needed to back off on its militaristic path if it wanted to have a long term future. But instead of easing off, their plans going forward would double down.

For the moment they would simply hold onto the Founding Titan and keep it secure from the rest of the world. But once Armin and Historia had children, as soon as their children were born they would be taken away from them, and raised and groomed to believe and do exactly what Marley wanted, and once they were old enough they would be given the Founding Titan, and with their royal blood they would be able to wield it's full power.

They'd avoided discussing exactly what they would do with the Founding Titan's power once that day came, but Magath knew that whatever it was, it was unlikely to be good for the Eldian people, or for the rest of the world, and likely it would be bad for Marley too in the long run. But Marley was too committed to its path of conquest, and the Tybur family seemed unwilling to interfere given how much blood Eldia had on its hands.

Magath shook his head. While he would offer his input, in the end he knew there was little he could do to affect the future of Marley.

Just then the doors to the conference room opened up, and Yelena along with several dozen Eldian soldiers walked in.

Admiral Calvi frowned. "What's this? Where's Marcel?"

Yelena smiled coldly. "He'll be here in a moment. But first…"

She pulled out a gun and pointed it at the military leaders, as did every Eldian soldier with her.

"What the hell?!" Magath exclaimed.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?!"

Yelena smirked. "I thought that would have been obvious. We're staging a coup d'etat."

Admiral Calvi stared at her in disbelief. "Are you mad? Once Marcel gets here-"

"Marcel is one of the ring leaders behind the coup." She responded.

All of the military leaders froze in shock.

Yelena walked over to the radio at the head of the table, holding the gun in her hand casually. "You know, it's probably not the best idea to make the majority of your armed forces consist of Eldians and conscripted soldiers from conquered nations. After all, they have every reason to hate and resent you, and will turn on you the first chance they get."

Magath paled. "It can't be. The Founding Titan."

Yelena nodded. "Yes. Marcel and Zeke planned to obtain the Founding Titan not for Marley, but for Eldia, and the world. And now that Marcel has the full power of the Founder, there is nothing you can do to stop him. So yes. There will be a radio announcement to the world. Just not the one you were expecting."

Magath felt his heart sink as he realized the trap that they had walked into. The Warriors weren't stupid, and it was definitely not out of the question for one or more of them to come to the conclusion that Marley couldn't be trusted. And if Marley couldn't be trusted, why should they hand over the Founding Titan without a fight?

One of the key factors keeping the Warriors and Eldians in general in line was the fear of what would happen to them or their families if they disobeyed. But once they had the Founding Titan in their hands, and if they had found a way to use it, the holder of the Founding Titan could easily have communicated through the paths with every Eldian in Marley, including every Eldian in the military, which would make a widespread coup not only possible, but trivial to pull off.

Several of the Eldian soldiers stood aside, and Marcel strode into the room.

Magath found himself taken aback. Physically Marcel looked the same, but his eyes looked much older, and they glowed with a newfound power.

With the guns still pointed at them, the Marleyan leaders had no choice but to stay where they were and do nothing, and when the time came for the announcement which was supposed to be given by Willy Tybur, it was instead Marcel who grabbed the radio microphone.

"Attention entire world. I am Marcel Galliard, and the power of the Founding Titan is mine. But I have no intention of handing it over to Marley, for I know exactly what they would do with it. They would use it to turn every Eldian into a Titan that they could control at will, and use these Titans to conquer the entire world. They would damn all Eldians to be living weapons, hollow vessels of death and destruction, while the rest of humanity would be enslaved. I will never allow this twisted vision of theirs to be realized. Instead, I will use the Founding Titan to make Marley pay for what it has done. The Eldian Empire was a cruel and bloodthirsty nation that used the power of the Titans to terrorize the world. For the past century, Marley has turned around and done the exact same thing, becoming the very thing it swore to destroy. But no more."

Magath winced slightly. None of the Marleyan leaders had fully articulated what the plan was for the Eldian race once they had the Founding Titan, but what Marcel described was likely not far off from the truth.

"The Eldian people will no longer be required to stay in the internment zones. Instead, they must be given the right to choose whether they stay, or whether they leave. Similarly, every nation that has been annexed by Marley in the past century must be given the right to decide whether they want to remain a part of the Marleyan Empire, or if they want to regain their independence. If Marley refuses to obey these commands, I will use the Wall Titans hidden deep within the ocean to trample all of Marley's military bases, harbors, and industrial centers. The era of the Titans will come to an end soon, but on our terms, not Marley's, and in the meantime the Titans will be used to protect the Eldian people and the many other victims of Marley's greed. Yes. From this day on, from this moment forward, the world no longer belongs to Marley, but to the people."

Marcel set the microphone down.

Marcel gestured at the nearby soldiers. "Escort all of these gentlemen out except for Commander Magath and Willy Tybur."

"Yes sir." Yelena said, looking at him as though he were a god.

At gunpoint, the Marleyan leaders were one by one led out of the door, until the only people left in the room were Marcel, Magath, and Willy Tybur.

Marcel looked at them carefully, his gaze almost apologetic. "I know this day isn't going how you expected. I apologize for strong arming Marley into compliance. But I can't just sit back and watch my people be exploited any longer."

Marcel shifted his gaze to his former commander. "I know at heart you are a good and intelligent man, Magath, and so you would be ideal for building a new government, one that won't be quite so imperialistic and militaristic. Can I count on your cooperation?"

"Yes." Magath nodded stiffly, knowing it would be unwise to refuse.

Marcel glanced over at the head of the Tybur family. "Willy Tybur. The Tybur family has a lot of influence, and so your support would lend a great deal of credibility to the new government."

Willy Tybur frowned grimly, beads of sweat on his forehead. "And if I refuse?"

Marcel's eyes narrowed. "I'll use the power of the Founding Titan to rewrite your memories so that you will agree to help. Since you're going to cooperate either way, I'm assuming you would prefer to keep your memories as they are?"

"…yes."

"Good. Today marks a new day in history."

Marcel then left the room, leaving the two men alone.

After being told they were allowed to leave, Magath and Willy made their way down the hall, utterly stunned by what had just happened.

Magath stared absently out a nearby window. He'd wanted the chance to change Marley's future, but this wasn't at all what he'd had in mind.

In the distance they could hear gunshots, and after a moment realized that the other military leaders were being executed.

Historia sat up in bed, her eyes wide.

It was the middle of the night, and at first she wasn't sure what had awoken her.

Her first thought was that it must just have been thoughts about the radio announcement they'd heard earlier in the day. The announcement had stunned the Grice family, and presumably the rest of Marley and the world as well, and it had caught her and Armin by surprise as well. Their feelings on it had been mixed, as on the one had it meant that Eren was almost certainly dead if Marcel had obtained the Founding Titan. But on the other hand Marcel's coup meant that Marley wouldn't be attacking Paradis or anywhere else ever again, and so the rest of their friends were likely safe. It also meant that they might be able to find a way back to the island without having to plan some kind of elaborate escape that probably wouldn't work.

But as a harsh pain rippled through her abdomen, she quickly realized what must have woken her.

Doubling over from the pain, she clumsily got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, crying as the cramps became worse and worse.

She barely made it to the toilet and got her underwear off before a large amount of blood gushed out of her. The sight was a bit horrifying, but as soon as the blood was out the pain lessened, and almost immediately began to fade away.

She leaned back, a sigh of relief escaping her lips.

"Historia! What-"

Historia looked up. She'd hoped to avoid waking Armin, but apparently she had been unsuccessful.

He stared at the blood and then at her, his face full of concern. Neither of them were embarrassed, as by this point they had seen each other naked numerous times.

Armin grabbed a towel and knelt down next to her, still looking concerned. "Was it your period?"

Historia was about to say yes when she looked down at the blood in the toilet. As she looked it over, she realized that the volume of the blood was too high, and she could see fleshy chunks mixed in with the blood. On top of that, the cramps and abdominal pain had been far worse than her period symptoms.

She felt a cold shudder run through her as she realized what had just happened.

"I…I think…I think I just miscarried."

As she said the words out loud, she realized the full weight of what she was saying, and tears began to leak down her face.

Armin's face melted. "Oh."

Armin set the towel down and gently hugged her as she began to sob.

She didn't want to get pregnant yet, she wasn't ready to have a kid. But knowing that there had been a new life growing inside of her, and that it was now gone, she suddenly felt grief, despite not even knowing she had been pregnant.

After she had calmed down, Armin helped her clean up, and a short while later they both went back to bed.

Armin wrapped his arms around her, and she took comfort in his presence. She also took comfort in the knowledge that, despite what had happened, they might still be able to have kids someday.

Over the next few days more and more reports came in of a sudden spike in miscarriages among Eldian women. People weren't sure why, but many suspected that the Founding Titan had something to do with it.

With the old regime gone, and a new more peaceful government now in charge of Marley, Armin and Historia were allowed to return to Paradis, which was now Titan free, allowing the Paradisians to leave the walls and venture out into the rest of the island.

Over the next few years, things changed. Marley shrank as it was forced to cede territory it had taken by force. Eldians were given more rights, Paradis opened up to the outside world, and the island became a refuge for Eldians who wanted to go somewhere safe where they wouldn't be judged as devils, with many new towns and cities springing up along the coast of the island.

It didn't take long for the world to notice that no more Eldians were being born, and realized the Founding Titan's plan for bringing an end to the Titan era. Most of the world thought it was a good thing, though not everyone agreed, and the reaction among Eldians was mixed, with some thinking it was a good thing, since it would mean an end to the Titans, while others thought it was a bad thing, as without children they knew the Eldian race had no future.

But with the threat of the rumbling and the Titans on everyone's mind, the various nations of the world were forced to play nice, and the number of wars in the world was greatly reduced.

Gradually, the Eldians grew old and died out. Then, one day, Marcel, as an old man, who had been living in a cabin in a remote part of Paradis by himself, could sense through the paths that he was the final Eldian left in the world.

He let out a weary sigh. "It is done."

He fell to the ground and died, and the Titans vanished from the world.

Author's note: And it's finally done. I apologize for the long delay, but after the lukewarm reception the previous chapter got I found it hard to stay motivated. Also real life stuff has been keeping me busy. But I didn't want to leave this story dangling forever, so I pushed through and finished it, even if I was rushing a bit toward the end. Sorry that this wasn't as fleshed out as it probably should have been, but at least the story has concluded.

I'm guessing people will be less than thrilled with this ending, since it's one where Zeke's plan succeeds. But honestly I've never fully understood the animosity toward it. Yes, if such a plan were implemented in the real world it would be horrible, because wiping out an entire ethnic group by forced sterilization would be bad. But Eldians are different from other ethnic groups, they have the ability to turn into Titans. And as long as this ability exists, Eldians will be exploited and the rest of humanity will be terrorized. Even if the power of the Titans was taken away from all Eldians by the Founding Titan, there's always a chance that in the future the Titan powers could be reactivated. So Zeke's plan really was the only way to guarantee the disappearance of the Titans.

I don't know. I guess the prospect of not having kids just doesn't seem that bad to me considering I got a vasectomy last year for a variety of reasons, so Zeke's plan never bothered me. But I suppose for people who do want kids it would be pretty horrible, even if the plan was for the best in the long run. I'll admit this is probably one of my blind spots.

Anyways, I can't think of much to say. I think this story started off reasonably well, but toward the end I kind of lost steam. I'll try to do better next time, though considering how busy and stressful real life has become I have no idea when next time will be. Bye.