"We die trusting the living who follow to find meaning in our lives! Because my soldiers do not buckle or yield when faced with the cruelty of this world!"

"My soldiers, rage! My soldiers, scream! My soldiers, fight!" The rocks come, shredding the advancing Scouts apart. Erwin grits his teeth as one rips through his lower left abdomen, dropping off his horse to the ground.

"The Commander!" The redhead boy, Floch, screams.

"Don't look back!" Marlo shouts. "Charge!" The screams continue as the survivors of the volley continue riding on.

Zeke

"How pitiful… To never learn from the mistakes of history. It's a tragedy how King Reiss stole their memories of the world. That's why they're repeating the same mistake. In the end, they'll send every last person in the walls, down to the children and the elderly, on a suicide charge. Saying that if they're going to die, they might as well die proud...it's bullshit!" In his anger, Zeke mismanages his strength, crushing the rock into fine dust. "I crushed it into dust? Ha ha. What's gotten into me? Why are you getting worked up? You're not like your father, right? You've gotta try to enjoy things. So let's turn them all into proud little chunks of meat!" Zeke prepares to throw another volley, in which more green smoke comes from the humans.

"It's coming… Is this how I die? I wonder what Hitch's doing… Wait, I bet she's still in bed. Sounds nice. I don't get it… Why am I, at a time like this…"

"Yeah!" Zeke roars victoriously. "Game over! You like that? I changed how I threw the pitch. Now you're done for-" Scouts appear from the debris, firing their flares past Zeke, angering him. "Like I said… How is firing those things going to help you? All that screaming… What good is it going to do you?" More Scouts fall to the next volley, in which Zeke immediately determines to be game over.

"Aww, you poor things…" As he looks around, he notices through the green smoke the Titans closest to him have fallen on the ground. "Hmm? What's that? My Titans have fallen…" A hook attaches to his clavicle through the smoke, where a lone Scout reels himself through. Zeke tries to grab him, but the Scout detaches his hook and dodges the arm, spiraling around it while cutting with his blades.

"I need to watch out for a single soldier?"

"Yes. Captain Levi is dangerous."

"Is this Levi?" Zeke says as Beast Titan's left arm falls apart. Feeling a hook reach close to his nape. "My nape!" Zeke protects it with his remaining hand, losing the Beast Titan's eyes to Levi in the process. "What the? I can't see a thing! Did he take out my eyes?" Blinded, he doesn't see Levi slash his ankles until he's dropping to the ground. "My legs!"

"What happened to all that fun you were having?!"

Hearing Levi's voice above him, Zeke desperately tries to counter. "Tsk! I'll harden!" Crystal formed on his nape, but the speed of Levi is greater than the production of the hardening. "Shit! I won't make it in time!"

"Come on, let's try to enjoy this!" Cutting off the Titan's remaining hand, Levi lands and unleashes a sword barrage that forces Zeke's amputated body out. Screaming as he erupts from his Titan, Zeke's face is stuffed with a sword as he lands on the Beast's decaying back. Levi looks down, doing his best or worst not to kill the man. "After transforming, if your body's severely damaged, it's too busy healing to let you transform. Isn't that right?" The blade slips into Zeke's mouth, partially cutting his tongue. "Hey, answer me. Learn some manners."

"I can't kill him yet... Isn't anyone out there still alive? If they are, even on the brink of death, this injection will make them a Titan. We can have them eat this guy and steal the Beast Titan's power. Someone, just one...I can bring back to life."

Zeke wonders as to why Levi hasn't killed him, but all worries are left behind as the Cart Titan appears. Levi leaps out of the way, allowing Pieck to grab Zeke and head towards the wall.

"Hey... Where are you going? Stop..."

Coughing up blood, Zeke angrily shouts to the remaining Large Titans, "All of you! Go kill him!" In response, they run back to Levi.

"Agh! It hurts! You've done it now, Levi! It hurts! But your weapons have to be all used up. With this, you'll all be wiped out! That might've been a close one, but victory is ours!"

"Wait... I made a promise to him...that I'd kill you no matter what. I promised!" Levi angrily kills every Titan coming for him at Zeke's command.

Meanwhile...a lone soldier sits on his feet.

"Why...am I...alive? The others... Hey! Is anyone else alive?!"

Elijah

"That bastard. To think he's seriously alive. Why won't he just stay dead? What the hell do we do...against something like that? Hey, Armin, I think having Eren escape is the best we can do. Wouldn't you agree, Elijah?"

My eyes are so concentrated on Reiner that I almost ignore Jean completely. I instead look to Armin, who stands silently with his back to us and Mikasa. He's too quiet for someone who was just whimpering a moment ago. "Armin."

"He's thinner. The Colossal Titan has gotten a little skinnier. It's just like Hange said! The Colossal Titan is weak in a battle of attrition!"

I'm sure we look pretty dumbfounded to him. "Yes, I do recall that. We went over this though. We cannot retreat to engage in a battle of attrition."

"Remember Eren's experiments! He could only transform up to three times. If that's the case for a 15-meter Titan, a 60-meter one might be less efficient! And there's his steam attack too! I bet it's consuming everything except his skeleton to produce that steam!"

Jean stands up. "So what are you saying?"

"Armin?"

"I have a plan. You all need to drive Reiner away. Eren and I will defeat Bertholdt ourselves. The two of us can win and I'm going to prove it."

That look of determination and resolve… When that is on Armin's face, he truly has a plan. They've worked before in the past, I believe he will pull through again. I heave an amused sigh and turn towards Reiner. "You don't have to ask me twice."

"All right," Mikasa says. "Leave Reiner to the rest of us."

"Took you long enough, dummy. I really thought we were goners."

I pat Jean on the shoulder. "Let's go, horse face. I'm not dying until I make sure Reiner is dead." I signal for Sasha, Connie, and Petra to come to join us as we head to my adversary. This is it. This is the final stand of the 104th Cadet Corps. This is the final stand of me and my friends. I do not plan to die. But nobody does.

But I plan on bringing Reiner Braun with me.

Armin

"I don't know why, but when it comes to taking back freedom, strength flows through me."

Eren's words flow through Armin's head as he lands on Eren's Titan. He looks at his friend with a solemn smile, for the plan he had created cycles in his brain. "If this plan goes well, I won't get to look at the sea. For some reason, when I think of the outside world, courage flows through me." He stabs the lower right side of the Titan's neck, just where Eren's shoulder would be. "Eren, wake up! Let's go look at the sea!" Once he's sure Eren is conscious, Armin begins to relay his plan, adjusting himself as the Titan rises.

"Eren, that sums up my plan. As long as we properly execute it and manage to trick Bertholdt, this battle...is ours for the taking.

Elijah

"Got it? We've gotta trust that Eren and Armin can handle Bertholdt! We just need to keep Reiner away from them if we can! Let's keep him occupied from a safe distance!"

"Roger!" We say to Jean as we dash in front of the Armored Titan. In response, he makes a mad dash towards us, ignoring us completely as he rounds a corner in the direction of Bertholdt. I sigh as we already begin to fail our end of the plan.

"Shit!"

"He ignored us?"

"That jerk! He's changing his focus to Eren!"

I grit my teeth. "Fuck that! He does today!" I dash away, ignoring my name being called. I have one Thunder Spear myself, so I'll have to make the shot count. Attaching myself to Reiner, I fire the spear at his left leg and pull the trigger, causing the Armored Titan to tumble and fall as the spear destroys the back of his knee. He tries to steady himself by holding on to buildings, but he does nothing but causes aerial debris and destruction as he lands on his anterior side on the road.

"Hey!"

"Jean, if we cannot hold his attention, we have to finish him off! This is more than just revenge, it's up to us to protect Eren and Armin!"

He sighs. "Yeah, I know."

"How many Thunder Spears do we have left?"

"We've only got three Thunder Spears left," Connie responds. "Shit. But…"

"We've gotta try anyway! 'Cuz unless we fight, we can't win." Sasha shouts. I nod in thought. Not enough to make a mistake, but she's right. Connie, Sasha, and Jean have the last spears.

"Alright. Connie, give Mikasa your spear. Jean, give me yours. You play decoy. He should attack you and in that moment, Sasha, Mikasa, you two hit the muscles at the corners of his mouth. If it works, and it should, I'm gonna shove my spear down the bastard's throat.

Armin

"Reiner must be facing the five who went that way. Strange… Only Eren and those guys in the 104th survived the explosion? To be perfectly honest, I hoped to blow everyone up. But I'm used to these sort of trials, Armin. What's the point of waking Eren when he's all battered like that? I want you to show me. What will you leave behind in your final moments?"

"I know it's a plan I thought up myself, but its success mostly depends on how long I can hold out for."

"Armin, don't tell me you're…"

"Eren… Sorry, but I can't die till I look at the sea. So i'll have to call it quits before it gets out of hand. The rest is up to you. Y-You know, because I'm not just a hero."

"No, you're wrong… The Armin I know…"

"Eren, you should know… We promised to go to the sea together, right? Have I ever lied to you in my life?" Armin stands up, facing Bertholdt. "So no matter what happens, stick to my plan till the end!" Leaping off of Eren, Armin waits for Eren to make his move. Eren tries to stand up, but the wall gives way, causing the Titan to drop fifty feet to the surface. "Eren!" Armin's concern for his friend's prone form at the interior gate is replaced by Bertholdt's arm coming for him. With a scream Armin dodges out of the way and hooks onto the Colossal Titan, rising up from the waist to the shoulder.

"Armin… All the way to the very end, you fought well."

Elijah

"Roger." Spears are traded and we assume our positions behind Reiner. Jean and Sasha on his right, Mikasa and I on the left. We wait for Jean to be ready himself. No rush...but timing is everything. At that moment, the sky flashes as Bertholdt begins to burn with energy.

Mikasa gasps worriedly. "Eren! Armin!"

I grip her shoulder firmly. "Mikasa."

She turns away nodding her head. "You're right. We left it to them. We're going to kill Reiner." We turn to Jean, waiting on his signal. He takes a deep breath and begins running.

"Reiner!" He hooks on to Reiner and feints an attack. Reiner notices and scraps his fingers on the rooftops on his right, causing a cloud of debris. I can't see what happens on the other side, but I watch as Mikasa takes flight and fires her spear at Reiner's left jaw. In the explosion, I fly around to a building in front of Reiner to see how I should tackle my part, yet I see that Reiner's right jaw is still intact. Did Sasha miss? Where is she?

"Elijah!" To my far left, I see Connie holding Sasha. She's out cold and bleeding, possibly injured by Reiner's attack. No...this was my fault. My stupid plan got her hurt! Dammit! All this time, ever since we got here...I have only wanted one thing, and that's to see Reiner die. But there's no way we can win now. Even if I hit the jaw, nothing else will get through his armor...

Armin

"Why? I can't blow Armin away. Why won't his anchor come loose? He shouldn't be able to get close!"

Armin, with his arms covering most of his face, opens an eye to look at Bertholdt's teeth, where his ODM wires are connected to. "I knew it… His bones aren't being consumed! The anchors stay put if they're not in muscle! But most importantly, he can;t move his body while he's emitting steam!"

"But Armin… Is this how you go out? In all your wisdom, the best plan you could come up with was to get scorched to death like this?"

"I can't breathe! I have to let go… No! Not yet! It's not enough! I gotta buy more time!"

"What's he trying to accomplish? A diversion? But Eren's still beat to a pulp over there. Mikasa and them have their hands full with Reiner. There isn't anything else to it? If this really is the end for you… All right, I'll make it quick for you."

The heat intensifies, disintegrating most of Armin's clothing and the upper layers of his skin and hair. Despite the searing pain, Armin wills himself to endure. "Hold on! Don't let go! I entrust it to Eren! My dreams… My life… Everything! This is the only and only thing I have to give! I'm sure… Eren will...reach...the sea! He'll look at...the sea for me!" Unable to hold on any longer, Armin releases the handles and falls.

Elijah

"Elijah! It's too risky!" Connie, you're right. Is it risky? Yes. Call it a foolish grudge, a self-centered desire, a death-wishing ideal. I've waited five long years to avenge my family and everyone who died here. I've waited four long months to avenge Mina, Thomas, Marco, and the others who fell at Trost. I've waited a long time to avenge Gregor, Nanaba, and Miche. There are those who died trying to rescue Eren from them. We prepared for months for this one moment... Even if this will kill me, I'm done waiting, I have to protect them all. This ends now!

"No, it's perfect!" That voice… I look away from Reiner to see a Thunder Spear dart towards his mouth, hitting its mark. Reiner's mouth hangs open, so I look up to see who fired that shot. I almost cannot believe my eyes.

"Hange?!"

She looks down at me. "Now's your chance, Elijah!" I leap off the roof and head to Reiner. He reaches out for me but I dodge and use his arm as a platform to jump off as I head for his mouth. Landing on his tongue, I take in the situation.

Mom, Dad, Thomas, Mina, Marco, I've waited a long time for this, and it's finally time. I'm taking back what you stole from me, I'm protecting those I still have. This moment...is finally forged by not only myself, but also those who've carried me all this way!

"Reiner! Get out here!" I shoot the spear down his throat and pull back. In a big flash of light and force, Reiner is expelled from the Titan. I fly around, grabbing him by his shirt.

I land on the street, throwing Reiner on the ground. I point my sword at him as the ground shakes. Above the row of houses, I see the Colossal Titan falling.

Armin, Eren, Mikasa...we crazy bastards did it. We won and took back our home. We beat them. Our mortal enemy, the Titans, we have beaten them once and for all. I look up to the sky and sigh in relief, releasing a single tear of happiness.

"Mom...Dad... It's over..."

Bertholdt...moments before...

"It's over... Next is Eren and the horses..." Bertholdt glances down to the inner gate, but instead of seeing Eren, he sees... "Is that...hardening?"

From behind, before he has the chance to react...a lone Scout rises from the dissipating steam. Taking back his home after five long years, and seconds away from making his second Titan kill...the Colossal Titan.

"Gotcha!"

Tearing through an abundance of flesh, muscle, and blood, Eren Pulls Bertholdt out of his Titan, leaving the tall boy limbless...and completely confounded. A Diversion?! Which means...Eren tricking me into thinking he couldn't move...and all Armin's stalling...was just to buy Eren enough time to make a replica hardened Titan! They did it...to make me think there weren't any enemies nearby...to make me...lower my guard.

Eren

"Have I ever lied to you in my life?"

Eren drags the severed torso of Bertholdt along a rooftop as Armin's words replay in his head. "Dammit, I should've known."

"Hey, why don't you fight back?"

"Huh?"

"They pick on you 'cause you don't hit back. Are you fine with losing forever?"

"I'm...not losing."

"Huh?"

"...Because I don't run."

"...Hey, what's your name?"

Stopping by the charred body of his best friend, brother, and the only few he considers family, Eren fights back tears as he kneels down.

"I knew...you were more of a hero...than anyone else..."