Eren clutched Bertolt violently close, holding a razor sharp blade right to his neck, and growled as the quadruped Titan stopped in front of him. He noticed a blonde man strapped onto it's back, limbless with steam pouring from the stumps, so he could only hope that meant the other Scouts had fought them off. If so, then the blonde man was likely the Beast Titan.

Eren yelled viciously, baring his teeth like a wild animal. "Just try and come closer! If it means keeping him away from you, I'll kill him!"

Eren doubted they'd come near him. He could transform one more time, and the Titan in front of him didn't look like a combatant, whilst the Beast Titan was helpless with his limbs cut off. The smart move was obviously to flee, ideally with Bertolt, but his enemies were as unpredictable as they were dangerous.

For a moment everything was silent, but that was broken when the Beast Titan's expression turned into one of longing and his eyes softened. "So... you're Eren Yeager?"

Eren pressed his blade closer to Bertolt's neck, knowing that if nothing else it was best for the Colossal to-

"You look nothing like your father." The Beast Titan noted out loud, catching Eren by surprise when he noticed how... non-aggressively his enemy was looking at him. He just looked sympathetic and sad.

"What?" Eren's grip on his blade loosened, wondering how on earth a complete stranger would know about his father. It didn't add up.

"I get it Eren, truly. We're both victims of Grisha. I'm sorry, but he's brainwashed you." The Beast Titan spoke gravely, his eyes darkening when he spoke Grisha's name.

Eren felt his heart jump at those words, and he suddenly noticed how much the shifter resembled his father. The hair and eyes were different in colour, but the nose, the face shape, the chin were all strikingly familiar.

He could almost pass for his father's-

The familiar sound of hissing gas faintly caught Eren's attention, and when he quickly turned his head he could see Captain Levi descending on them at a rapid pace, eyes set with a terrifying glare directed at the Beast Titan, Levi's entire body drenched with steaming Titan blood.

The Beast Titan grit his teeth and cursed. "Shit, we need to go, Pieck! I'm sorry Bertolt, but I can't save you!"

The quadruped followed his orders, turning it's gaze away before jumping from house to house with impressive speed. After a few moments, Eren could vaguely make out the words. "Eren! Some day I'll come back and rescue you from this!"

Eren felt dazed at the Beast Titan's words, watching intently as they began to make their escape, only for his stupor to be shattered when Levi crashed down next to him, panting in exhaustion.

"Captain!" Eren yelled with concern, telling just by the short man's state that he must've had an intense battle, but was hastily cut off.

"My gas is all gone, give me yours so I can chase him!" Levi ordered, his steely eyes set on the retreating form of the quadruped Titan, who was being slowed down by the fragility of the district's houses.

Eren followed the order swiftly, his training coming back to him as he transferred his gas to Levi's gear with efficiency drilled into him by Shadis, only to pause midway when he heard a low gasp from behind.

Whipping his head backwards, Eren felt his heart tug when he was greeted to the view of Armin giving a few weak, dry coughs that sounded brittle and weak. Levi noticed this too, with his stoicism breaking for a second when he noticed their state.

Eren realised in that moment his friend had a chance at living. The Titan serum could bring Armin back. It didn't matter that he was nearly burnt to ash, as long as he was still breathing, he could be saved.

"Captain, the serum-"

Levi cut Eren off, reaching into his cloak. "I know, take it and feed him Bertolt! I'll go chase down those two pieces of shit!"

Levi all but threw the tiny box containing the Titan serum into Eren's hands, who held the syringe with deafening tightness, and shot his anchor off to give the distant Titan chase. Within moments, he was practically a blur shooting through the district.

Eren sighed in relief, his hands shaking as he opened the box and tried to calm himself. As a doctor's son, Eren had learned a sparce few things about medicine from his father. He never had any intention to be a doctor, but it was impossible not to learn a thing or two when you're father was one of the best medical practitioners in the Walls. He needed steady hands, or else he'd screw it up.

Picking out the syringe, Eren steeled his nerves and began to ready the Titan Serum. The process was simple, only taking a few seconds, and when it was finished Eren approached Armin with a small shot of liquid oozing from the syringes tip.

Eren was almost scared to touch Armin, being afraid he'd crumble away if touched, but allowed himself some relief as he closed in and the syringe started to press against Armin's skin-

The roof behind him vibrated, an exhausted gasp catching Eren's attention as a birds nest of red hair made it's way into his view. When Eren took a moment, he realised that it was Floch, one of their fellow 104th graduates... with Commander Erwin firmly wrapped over his back.

Floch had a helpless expression on his face, dirt stuck under his nails and on his clothes, and his voice was filled with desperation. "Eren, it's the Commander. He's hurt, really badly. His insides are a mess, and the blood won't stop! Where is Captain Levi?! We need the... wait, is that the serum?"

Eren's face was blank, with him not able to stop staring at Erwin's injured form with his heart sinking when he realised what it meant.

Floch stood onto the roof, noticing the charred body lying next to Bertolt, and understandably couldn't identify the body. "Who is that?"

Eren grit his teeth as his eyes filled to the brim with hateful tears and he spat out. "It's Armin. This piece of shit-" He directed his hate-filled gaze at Bertolt, sneering at the traitor and murderer. "Burnt him to a crisp. Now, we're gonna feed him to Armin, and bring him back."

Eren knew, logically, Erwin was the better choice, but he didn't care. Armin was his best friend. They promised they'd see the ocean together, and he wouldn't let his best friend die. Logic could go screw itself, Armin was-

Surprisingly, Floch glared in defiance with zero hesitation. "No! I won't let you do that Eren, we need Erwin! He's the only reason we've made it this far!"

Eren felt his blood boil, him glaring back unflinchingly. "You don't know anything about Armin! He's important too, and I'm not going to sit here and let him die!"

Floch glanced down, his fists tight enough to turn his skin white. "You're just being selfish. Erwin is our leader."

"Shut up!" Eren yelled back, only for Floch to look back up and scream right back.

"I will not shut up! Are you really blind enough to think that you're the only one suffering in all this!" Floch paused, pointing behind him. "I doubt you care, but the Beast Titan killed every other soldier on the other side of that Wall. He threw crushed boulders at us, we were all smashed to bits in a suicide charge to strike back at the Beast Titan."

Eren actually faltered for a brief moment, with Floch's expression turning traumatised. "I had my own Armin, and my own Mikasa you know. Their names were Sandra and Gordon, both of them have been my friends since I could walk. I urged them to join the Survey Corps with me, and they ended up dead because of it. Worst of all, I'm certain they died wishing they'd never followed me to begin with."

Floch looked up, his amber eyes set ablaze as he pulled Erwin over his back and placed him on the rooftops. "Erwin is the only one I could find, the rest are gone. Still though, even if he was a devil, he made riding through that hell worth something. We need him, Eren. We need a devil if we want to escape this hell."

Eren gritted his teeth, trying not to let Floch's words affect him as he stared at the syringe. He still wanted to pick Armin, and would fight for it if he had to, but Floch wasn't wrong when he said losing Erwin would screw them over. If only there was a way to-

Eren opened his eyes and was met with nothing but darkness as far as he could see.

Looking down, he noticed that he was on top of one of the Walls, and to his right were two people. Armin, and Commander Erwin.

Sparks flew off both of them as they jumped off the Wall and into the void below, and Eren watched in fascination as they exploded with light and transformed into two familiar, yet still unfamiliar, Titans.

The first was the Colossal Titan, though it looked vastly different from Bertolt's. It was nearly entirely skeletal, with a slimmer, smaller, and less muscular body and no ears to be seen on it's head. Yet, what made Eren recognise this giant as Armin was the saddened expression it held.

The second was definitely the Armoured Titan, though it was certainly not Reiner. The Commander's Titan was coated in a layer of almost golden armour that covered his whole body, with a short, neat, head of blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that stared up at Eren expectantly.

Eren wanted to ask something, but his mind went numb and his thoughts became jumbled.

Eren gasped in distress as his senses returned, his anger vanishing as he registered the vision he just experience, and what it could mean for them.

He'd seen them, Armin and Erwin with the two Titans who'd started this nightmare. It felt so vivid, and there's no way that was just a hallucination.

What did it mean though?

Eren held the syringe up to his face, inspecting it as a memory came to him. Back in that cavern, whilst at his lowest point and begging to die for his failures, Rod Reiss had turned into a Titan with just-

Floch yelled out, lunging for Eren with rabid eyes. "If you won't cooperate, then I'll just have to take it by force!"

"Wait, Floch! Stop! What if we could save both of them!" Eren was quick to drop his hostility, holding both his hands up in surrender. He couldn't believe he was the one trying to calm the situation down, but Armin's life was worth more to him than a pointless fight.

Floch paused at that, but still questioned with judgemental eyes. "How?"

Eren breathed out, walking over to Erwin, the syringe he was holding closing in on the Commander's skin as he said. "Well, I don't know how exactly. But I do know that we can't lose either of them."

Eren pressed the syringe down slightly, letting some of the fluid pour into Erwin's veins, before pulling it out prematurely and kicking the Commander off the roof as sparks flew off his skin and he exploded with light.

"Hange wait!" Jean called out instinctively when his superior officer dug her blade into Reiner's throat. She did as he asked, sending a questioning glance his way.

"We- we need him alive. There's still the chance we can get the Armoured Titan." Jean spoke that last part weakly, knowing that his argument, whilst valid, was likely not the smart move. They only had a single syringe, and Eren had definitely caught Bertolt, so ending Reiner to ensure he wouldn't come back was the correct move strategically.

Still though...

"We don't have confirmation that Levi is even alive." Hange dug her blade deeper, making Reiner cough blood, dismissing his words as she continued. "Or the situation with the Colossal and Beast. These Titan powers, our lack of foresight, our lack of caution, and our dull wit has caught us off-guard too many times for me to count. He had his head blown off, but he still got back up, I refuse to underestimate him again!"

Jean nearly flinched when she dug the blade deeper, making Reiner give out a pathetic sound as he spat out more blood. Hange yelled. "Taking off his head isn't enough! At this point, I wouldn't be satisfied unless he was sliced to pieces!"

Silence was heavy, until Jean finally uttered out. "We need to learn everything we can about the enemy, Hange. You're right when you say we don't have the knowledge, and that's exactly why we can't just kill him. If there's a chance we can cure our ignorance, even just a little, then we have to take it."

Hange paused, as though considering his words, though she didn't withdraw her blade. "Mikasa, how much gas do you have?"

Mikasa glanced at Hange in surprise, then answered. "Not enough to put up a good fight. I could reach Eren over there, but nothing more."

Hange sighed, her one remaining eye looking down in defeat. "Go to him. If you can retrieve your syringe, then come back and we'll take Reiner's power. If not, fire off a smoke signal. That will be my cue to end him for good."

Jean felt a wrong sense of relief when Hange pulled her blade out of Reiner's throat, choosing to remain silent for a moment as he looked down in shame.

Reiner was a piece of shit, the one who'd just tried to kill them all. He was the Armoured Titan, a mass murdering psychopath, so why did he even- no. That's wrong, he knew the reason. Deep down, he still couldn't stop thinking of Reiner as-

"Look out!" Mikasa's yell from behind caught his attention, and when Jean turned around his heart dropped.

Hange was stood in the middle of the street, looking behind helplessly as a Titan lunged for her. It was a quadruped, with a strangely shaped mouth, and a blonde man was strapped to the cart on it's back.

Jean didn't know who they were, but one thing was for certain. They were enemies.

The blonde man glared down as the Titan opened it's mouth to devour Hange, only for Jean to swoop in last second and pull Hange out of the way, the sound of snapping jaws vibrating uncomfortably close to his ears.

Hange was the first to react, standing up, bewildered with a blade in her hands. "What the hell?!"

Jean heard her gasp, and when he stood up he realised what it was. Reiner was in the Titan's mouth, steaming and still bound, and the Titan was turning to run.

Jean felt his heart drop, and suddenly he felt like crawling under a rock. The Armoured Titan was about to escape, Reiner was about to get away and definitely come back later. How many of their soldiers would be killed by the Armoured Titan's hands? How many of his comrades would die because-

A flash shot through the air, and before Jean could register what happened the quadruped Titan was missing a limb. It stumbled slightly, dropping Reiner in the process, and was about to pick him up, only for it to jump away on it's remaining legs when Captain Levi slashed at the area where it hopped from.

Levi glared at the blonde man riding on the Titan with enough hatred to make him flinch, and when he did Zeke spoke with disbelief. "Oh come on- not Reiner too! We need to go, Pieck get running!"

The Titan hesitated for a brief moment, but that passed as it started to run away with it's three remaining limbs.

Levi, interestingly enough, didn't choose to chase them. In fact, having hit his physical limit, Levi kneeled as his legs gave out. "Shit, those bastards are getting away. I need to..."

Jean wasn't ashamed to admit that seeing the Captain in such a state of exhaustion was... unnerving. He wasn't even sure if Levi could get tired, so just what had he done to end up in such a state.

Hange noticed this too, but instead of checking on him, her eyes flickered to Reiner as she asked. "Levi, do you still have that syringe?"

"I gave it to Eren. Armin was in critical condition, and they'd captured Bertolt, so he's probably used it to take the Colossal by now."

Jean no longer felt panicked, in fact, he could only feel relief in knowing that Reiner wouldn't be able to hurt them anymore than he already has. Some deep part of him still considered the two friends, but he needed to cut that part out like a cancer.

Jean could admit it hurt, but world would be better for all of them if he just died.

Hange pulled out a blade, stalking over to Reiner with killing intent, and Jean didn't say anything this time.

But, just as she was about to kill the Armoured Titan.

"Wait! Don't kill him yet!" A familiar voice yelled from a distance away, and Jean turned his head to see Floch flying towards them on ODM gear, with Eren hitching a ride on the redheads back.

The two landed, Mikasa trailing behind them with an unconscious Bertolt hung over her shoulder, and Eren didn't waste a second in telling them. "We need to feed Reiner to the Commander, I turned him into a Titan, so we need to get back and give him the Armoured!"

Levi perked up from the ground, and Hange raised a confused eyebrow but didn't put her sword away. "What do you mean? Also, why is Bertolt still with you? Weren't you going to feed him to Armin?"

Eren nodded, but was still hasty in his tone. "I am, believe me, but Floch managed to carry the Commander all the way back here from the field. He was injured, so I acted assuming you guys had managed to capture Reiner. I split the serum and turned them both into Titans, they're over there somewhere in the distance."

Jean caught his words, and prodded. "Wait, hold on, you split the serum?"

Floch nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, he did. Now, let's hurry up, we shouldn't leave them just to wander like that any longer than necessary."

For a moment, Jean allowed himself to feel some satisfaction knowing his decision to spare Reiner had actually been the right one, and moments later he felt sorrow knowing what it meant for the two of them. He was a bit disappointed in himself, but resigned himself to the fact that he couldn't bring himself to completely despise them.

No matter what happened, Jean couldn't shut off his emotions. Reiner and Bertolt might have been a couple of bastards, but when it came down to it they were still his friends. He hated it, but it was the truth.

Levi managed to stand, grunting out as he did so. "They're right. I don't know what you two were thinking, but if we can save the both of them then I'm all for it. You can explain later, but right now we save our comrades. Let's go."

Jean picked up Reiner, slugged the limbless traitor over his shoulder, and followed Eren on his way to the Titan forms of Erwin and Armin. He tried to ignore how much it hurt, but didn't let that feeling control him.

He was done with traitors.

Reiner fluttered his eyelids open, and was greeted with the sight of the clear blue sky. For a second, he forgot who he was and where he was, only for that to come crashing down when the cold face of Jean filled his vision.

"So, you woke up. I guess you'll get to experience the same pain you put so many others through. How fitting." Jean spat out, and Reiner did his best not to let how the island devil perceived him affect his heart, instead he glared back... only for that to fall when his ears caught the sound of terrified screams.

With immense difficulty, Reiner turned his head and felt the breath leave his throat when he saw Bertolt in the hands of an eight meter Titan, one with a hollow face, and he looked absolutely terrified as he wept his heart out.

"Save me! Annie! Reiner-" Bertolt was silenced forever when the Titan bit down, blood splattering everywhere like in a painting of gore, and Reiner felt himself lose his mind a little more than he already had.

A migraine made his brain throb with pain, and Reiner felt his throat dry up as breathing became impossible.

A single tear trailed down Jean's face at the sight, but he quickly wiped it away as he bitterly rasped out. "He got what he deserved, and you will too. But, before you die, tell me what you did."

Reiner didn't respond, still feeling shocked at Bertolt's bloody death, and it made Jean furious as he grabbed Reiner by the collar and screamed hysterically. "TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO MARCO YOU SICK BASTARD!"

This shocked Reiner out of his daze, and he muttered deliriously. "No. I- I don't have to say anything to you... you're just a filthy devil-"

A fist harsh fist met his face, making him taste iron. It took a moment for Reiner to process what had happened, but before he could even speak, another punch landed on his face. Followed by another, all the while Jean was screaming his lungs out.

"You psychopathic, murderous, traitorous piece of shit!" Jean roared, his fists coated with blood. "I asked you a question, so you better answer me! You're about to die anyway, so be honest for once in your life! What did you do to Marco? Annie already said she was involved, but what about you?"

The bones in Reiner's face felt like they'd shifted, but he still answered after a moment. "I killed him. I made Annie remove... gear, then he was eaten."

The simple explanation did no justice to what Reiner was feeling, not wanting to recall the horrifying event, but like with everything else he didn't have a choice. Marco was crying, begging for his life, but it went ignored and cast aside as though it meant nothing.

But Marco deserved it, didn't he? He was just another dangerous island devil, one he needed to slaughter as a Warrior of Marley. He did nothing wrong. He was just-

"Did he have any final words?" Jean asked, his voice so delicate it sounded like it might shatter at any moment.

"He said... that we hadn't even tried to talk things out." Reiner spoke, suddenly feeling a suppressed guilt flourish in his chest at the confession, with him suddenly realising how badly he'd failed at everything he's ever done.

Reiner felt empty when he realised how little his life had amounted to. His shortcomings, his regrets, his lack of strength both mentally and physically. It was frightening, and he couldn't stop himself from reflecting on all his goals.

Reiner wanted to become a hero, instead he became a monster. He wanted to avenge Marcel, instead he killed Bertolt and Annie. He craved gratification, even though he deserved none, so he manipulated his victims. He befriended them, slept next to them, laughed with them, all whilst he plotted to kill them all.

Reiner hated it, but Jean was right. He really was a piece of shit.

Jean gave out a laugh, but it was hollow and bitter. "Makes sense." Jean began. "Even with monsters like you, Marco still wanted to hear you out. He was a better man than me... because right now I want nothing more than to see you dead."

Jean proceeded to grab him roughly by the collar, dragging him over to the edge of the house they were on top of, and when Reiner was flipped over to look over the edge his eyes went wide.

Clawing up at them with hungry eyes, was a ten meter Titan that bore a great resemblance to Erwin Smith. It lacked the ghoulish grin most Titans had stuck on their faces, instead it held a serious expression with narrowed eyes he'd seen etched on the Commander's face before, yet it still had it's mouth opened wide for a feast like all the others.

Reiner tried to struggle away desperately, realising what Jean was doing. The only reason Hange hadn't killed him before was because they wanted to pass his power on, and now the Scouts were going to let him be devoured by a Titan to take the Armoured Titan from him!

"No, please NO! Jean, don't do it! I'm sorry, I need- I need to return home!" Reiner felt tears spill out of his eyes as he begged for him life, and he was met with a disgusted expression from Jean.

Reiner didn't want to die, there was no point to everything he did otherwise. All those people he killed, the countless more he'd tortured, the weight of his sins.

If he died then it was all pointless! It couldn't all have been for nothing!

"Unbelievable. To beg your victims for mercy... I can't believe I gave you my pity." Jean muttered. "After everything you've done, you don't deserve pity. You're not going home."

Jean whispered with finality before throwing Reiner off the roof and into the hands of Erwin's Titan, who greedily eyed the shifter as it opened it's saliva filled mouth to bite down.

Reiner struggled in vain, screaming as the Titan bit down and crushed his body to paste between it's teeth.

Jean thought he'd feel a sense of satisfaction at the sight of Reiner dying, instead he could only flinch and look away, unable to savour the sight of the traitor being eaten even a little bit.

Blood was smeared over the Titan's lips as it finished, only for the blonde Titan's muscles to grow weak as it collapsed to the ground, constantly emitting steam as it returned to it's human form.

This is actually one I might consider doing an actual fic on, if I can be bothered to add another one to the list of things I need to update. I just feel like in season 4 the Scouts were indecisive. For example, they had four years to act against Marley and plan an attack to hinder the military. Marley were at war with the middle east for four years, so wouldn't it make sense to take advantage of their occupied situation to do a surprise attack? Maybe even take a few more Titans for their side? Hell, even if Zeke wasn't loyal to them, they still could have used him make a plan to take the other Warriors off guard and take their powers. Marley were reliant on the nine Titans, and even if it wouldn't have outright beaten them, losing them all would have been crippling.