Dedicated Hearts made Fullmetal

by Justsomeone19

Two years after the Promise Day, Edward and Alphonse had believed they were now free to lead normal lives, until one day they were suddenly snatched from their home by the Truth and sent into another world. There they must help a group of people battle an enemy which they do not yet understand but who seek to annihilate them.

67. Chapter 67: Coalition of the Unwilling

Chapter 67: Coalition of the Unwilling

Lara's hand traces the rough cuts and dents in the wall to her side before she walks towards the large bars that separated her from the other side of her cell. The bars of her cell were perhaps more so scarred and dented, all from her attempts at breaking free from her prison.

But with each attempt the futility of it had only been made clear to her; each time her titan would be squashed in the crystal walls of her cell before it would disintegrate into nothing leaving only her, soaking wet in her prison clothes as she emerged from her crystal shell.

The first attempt she raged, screaming and pounding her own fists against the walls and then the bars of her cell, hoping that the extra force would be enough to set her free.

How could this happen! How can I be trapped here!

The second time she threw the furniture around her room, breaking it out of pure frustration. In the end she lay on a ground staring at the ceiling. She didn't know if above her was night or day, she couldn't remember what day it was, she only knew the time because her captors would give her food, telling her whether it was breakfast or dinner.

If there was one thing she was thankful for, it was that they didn't plan on starving her or making her existence miserable with horrid food. It was basic and uninspiring, sometimes soup and vegetables and sometimes meat and potatoes.

The attempts after that were futile and it had almost seem to break her more than her prison, each attempt hammering home that there could be no escape from this prison. Until one day she didn't try and instead waited for something to happen; maybe they'd question her, maybe they'd torture her or maybe they'd transfer her titan to another Eldian of theirs, increasing their power to bring the world to ruin once more.

No.. I can't let that happen… she resolved that should the day come when they came for her, she would fight, struggle and take down as many of them as she can. She will try to avenge Liberio, avenge those who died in the devils attack and avenge her own pride after suffering two defeats at their hands.

Then one of the Elrics visited her. She was almost surprised to hear that, though a part of her knew that one day they'd seek to drag answers from her, and the demon would no doubt be the best one to do it.

She wanted to berate him, defy him and stand tall in the face of the enemy, yet he took none of it and gave only patience, if also amusement from her display. But what stuck with her was what he had said to her.

"There's a difference between knowing about something and then actually seeing it."

Despite the Tybur family being Eldians they were afforded the luxury of living outside the walls, afforded the status of heroes and honour and afforded a life of never experiencing what the other Eldians had faced.

She had known about the persecution, the restrictions, the bad conditions and the trips to Paradis for those Eldians who had broken the law or tried to rebel against Marley. But she never saw the inside of the walls, she never saw the iron fist of Marley or the fear that ran through the veins of every Eldian in those walls. She would try and search the memories of each founder, but only found that their own experiences became more and more limited as the head of the Tybur and the holder of the Warhammer titan separated and the head of the Tybur family was the only one to go beyond their mansion and into the section off area of the city and the world beyond.

"I gotta wonder, if you could see how they suffered, would you have a change of heart?"

How could I have a change of heart? This is the cost for world peace, for the end of an empire than subjugated the whole of humanity, what sufferings who compare to what was done in the name of the Eldian empire?

Suddenly there was a noise at the end of the room, behind the door. The sound of commotion; loud yelling and then gunshots. Several gunshots rang and echoed in the hallway on the other side of the door.

She stood up from her bed facing the door, her hands clenched and her body tense, as she waited for the gunfight to end.

Have Marley come to rescue me?

She could feel herself hope for just a bit, she began to feel hope that maybe she could escape the clutches of the devils.

She heard the sound of people being shot, cries of pained agony as everything suddenly fell silent. Then the doors burst open as a group of soldiers ran into the room, pointing their guns at her. She looked at their uniform; recognising it from what the devils had wore in their attack of Libero.

She then ran towards a sharp edge of the dented bar, hoping to ram her hand through the spike. She wouldn't die at the hands of the enemy without a fight. Then another bag rang out in the cell and she felt something hit her neck. She falls to the floor and touches her neck, expecting to feel the blood running down her but instead she felt a dart.

Her body goes limp as her eyes felt heavy. She saw them move into her cell and towards her as she slips out of consciousness.

Lara opens her eyes once more, her eyelids heavy and all she wants to do is fall back into a slumber when a familiar figure stands before her. She recognises his face.

The Usurper!

Eren Yeager stands before her, an expression of calm and coldness etched onto his face as he stared at her. "Lara." Her name coming from his mouth made her sick, she wanted to scream and curse his name, but only muffled sounds escaped, realising that a hard metal object had been strapped to her face and shoved into her mouth.

"It's uncomfortable." He said pointing to his mouth "When the previous government had captured me they designed it to stop shifters from biting their tongue and turning." He inched the side of his face "I can't tell you how much it hurt to try and scatter by teeth on it, try and draw blood, but it never worked so I wouldn't bother."

She looked around, for the first time in God knew how long she could see light coming from windows. She tried to struggle, only to realise she was trapped in binds to a chair. The inside was a large hall surrounded by chairs and tables with trays, it looked to be a mess hall. Around Eren were other soldiers watching her.

"How much do you know about Paths?" he asked her, she didn't respond, she couldn't. she only watched as he took out a vial from his pocket. A vial of blood. "The founding titan with royal blood can command people to their wills or wipe their memories and so much more, but I do not have royal blood but I have it here." He took off the lid of the vial and poured the contents into his hand. "I could command you to my will, I could force you to fight for me." He raised up the bloody hand. "That would have been easier, no instead I want to join and fight with me freely." Lara tried to struggle as his hand was over her face "The Warhammer kept you in the dark, I'll show you the truth."

She tensed as his hand pressed against her face, the wet blood running down her cheek. She took in one deep breath through her nose as her eyes widen and rolled into the back of her head. A flood of images rushing into her mind; thousands upon thousands of images and scenes playing out before her.

An image of masses of people being pushed into the cramped confines of the Libero walls, the image of hundred of people weeping and pleading with the Marley soldiers as they are injected with the spinal serum before being pushed off the wall and turned into mindless titans, the image of a family being burned alive before her as she watched from a crack in a cupboard, the image of a little girl's manged and mauled corpse, the image of the day when the warriors launched their attack on the walls and a mother eaten in front of her son by a titan with a toothy smile and blond hair.

"I'll kill them all, every last one…"

A constant message echoing through her thoughts as the events played before her eyes, she wondered whether it was Eren's thoughts speaking to her or if they were her own.

The image of two children surrounded by Marleyans and the police, weeping as an officer aims his pistol at their temple.

Justice, I want justice….

When it was all over she never noticed she herself was weeping uncontrollably, struggling to breath from her tears, lurching forward she could feel the bile in her stomach almost threaten to leave her.

Eren placed a wet cloth over her head, pressing it down on her face and wiping away the blood. Cleaning her until every mark and drop was gone from her. She looked up at him, the calm and cold expression on his unchanging at he looked back at her.

"You saw it." It wasn't a question, he wasn't asking but she knew. He removed the rod from her mouth, spit dripping from her mouth as she struggled to speak for a couple of seconds before composing herself.

"I- I saw- I saw it, I saw it all." Lara said, the memories of the memories still playing her head.

"And how did it make you feel?" this time he asked.

"I- I never knew… Oh God all those people…" she almost felt herself choke on her own tears once more "What have I, what have I done? What have we done?"

"We need to make things right, we need to fix the wrongs of those before us." He began to untie the binds around her "I need your help, help me right these wrongs." He offered her his hand, she placed her hands in his and he lifted her up. "Help me get justice for all of them, will you help me?"

Lara looked into Eren's eyes, before the cold expression was something burning, an anger, a righteous fury that wanted to burn down the whole world and have something else rise from the ashes in its place.

She knew in her heart that what would rise from those ashes would the Eldian empire. But for the first time in her life, she felt different to that fact.

"Yes." She said "I will help you, what can I do?"

"Before we can go about freeing every Eldian around the world, we need to beat those who seek to stop us. We must beat those who have turned their backs on our people. We must beat those who still follow the old government, those who follow commander Erwin." Eren walked towards the window of the mess hall "We must beat those who follow Edward and Alphonse Elric."

"For Faye." Lara declared, a righteous vigour in her voice.

"For Faye."

---

Mina rolls to the side, the ground shaking and rumbling as her titan hits the ground and crushes some trees in her path. The large hammer of the Warhammer titan striking the spot where she stood. She quickly gets to her feet and takes up her fighting stance, her guard raised as she stares down the Warhammer.

All around her she could hear the sound of gunshots ring out as the firefight between the others raged on.

I need to be quick!

She pounced forward, looking to place her own hit against the Warhammer. Her fists hardening with the titan crystal around them. The Warhammer blocks the attack with the staff of her hammer as a colossal.

CLANG!

The sound of crystal smashing and cracking thundering around them, drowning out the sound of gunfire for only a moment. The Warhammer swoops in with her own attack as she forms a dagger in her free hand, looking to stab it into the Female Titan's neck.

Mina ducks her head, the knife barely missing her as she strikes her fist at the Warhammer's side, Crystal striking around the armour of the Warhammer but still dealing damage to it.

The Cord!

She spotted the cord attached to its foot, Mina tries to reach out for it when the Warhammer titan grabs her hair and slams her head into the ruins of the prison. She could see the chunks of metal and concreate break from the skin of her titan as the Warhammer lifted up her head before slamming it down again.

The Warhammer lifts up her head again, slamming the hammer in her hand on the ground as a large spike sprouted from the ground, Mina struggled to break from the grip that it had over her head, trying to crush the Warhammer's wrist through its armour.

As the Warhammer was about to slam her face into the spike she grabs the Warhammer's arm and leg before using every bit of her titan's strength to move them both off balance, taking the Warhammer off its feet and slamming its own head into the ground to a deafening crash. In the debris and rocks she rolled to the side, trying to get to her feet once more.

The Warhammer quickly got back to her feet, only mere meters away from each other. Mina raised her guard once more and swung her fist at the titan, striking at its face with a harden fist; the Warhammer had the weapons to beat Mina, but Mina had the training and in close combat there would only be one victor.

He fist collided with the armour of the Warhammer, shattering the outer lay that protected the body of the titan. The Warhammer tries to swing back at Mina but she blocks the attack easily before countering with another attack in the same spot.

Mina grabs the Warhammer titan and bits down on its exposed neck, tearing off a massive chunk of its neck, her teeth carving into the spine of the titan. She pushed the titan back, the Warhammer's neck almost hanging off its body.

One more hit!

She could knock the head off the titan.

One more hit and I can go for the crystal!

She leans back and puts her leg in position, ready for the decisive strike to behead the Warhammer in one swift motion. But faster than she could lift her foot from the ground, she felt a large sharp pressure stab through her gut and lift her up into the air, impaling her.

She grabbed at the object as she was hauled up into the sky, the fighting almost distance from her as she dangled in the air. She struck her harden fists at the pillar hoping to break it and free herself. Yet as her knuckles were just about breaking through the crystal surface, the Warhammer had healed itself, holding its neck in place as a long war hammer is formed in its hand.

The Warhammer titan pulls back its strike and swings it towards her head. Mina wakes up from the eyes of her titan and finds herself in the neck of her titan as she quickly tries to free herself from the nerves that connected her body to the Female Titan's flesh.

Just as she breaks through the skin of the Female titan did the hammer strike at her titan's skull, the force of the impact sending chunks of flesh and hot blood splattering in her direction as she herself is pushed by the force of impact off her titan's neck and sent into a freefall to the ground.

As she fell she tried to fumble for the handles of her ODM gear that fluttered in the air, yet as she fell to the ground all she could think of was those closest to her.

This is it… this is how I'll die…

She thought of her friends, she hoped they were safe and had done their part.

She thought of her parents, she prayed they were safe underground in the cellar turned bunker as this was all going on. She knew it would break their heart for her to die now; they were hardly able to accept that she had only a few years left to live.

She thought of Alphonse, the last time they were together; the last time they had touched, they had kissed, the last time he had told her he loved her and her him and the last time they were with…

Emmanuel

Her son… her son was waiting for her with her parents, she imagined he was so scared, not understanding what was going on but that he needed her and Alphonse.

He needs me!

The ground was close now, a few more seconds and she'd collide with the ground. She shoved her hand into her mouth and bit into her skin. A bolt of lightening striking her before she struck the ground.

---

"Fallback!" Rico ordered, her horse galloped through the trees as the distance sound of gunshots echoed around or zipped by her. She looked around, she could see the other members of her squad through the treeline, all trying to escape with her.

But behind them she could her the stampede of other horses and vehicles; the traitors were chasing them, hunting them down, looking to finish them off.

There was a soft groan behind her, she looked down to see Mina slumped over her horse; When the only thing that had formed from Mina's second titan was a hand just large enough to stop her from falling to her death, Rico knew the battle was over. She had her men quickly recover the Mina as they made a retreat from the ambush while the Yeagerists began to push on them with the Warhammer crashing down on them.

It had taken the lives of three of her squad members, her men, to hold back the Warhammer for just a minute and allow their escape.

Forgive me…

She watched as one of the riders near her was shot through the chest, their body slumping down and falling off their horse. Then another taken out by an explosion from an enemy rocket. One by one they were picked off as the enemy gained more and more ground on them.

Then it wasn't long till it seemed like it was just her and Mina now trying to escape from their clutches.

I can't let them take her, I won't let them add another shifter to their ranks!

Her determination gripped her as she clenched her hands on the reins of her horse and whipped the animal to increase it's speed. If they transferred the Female to another traitor in their forces then it would be the end of them all, she doubted they could beat those odds.

Then she felt a immense pressure strike the left side of her back as it entered through her and then left from the space just below her collar bone. She let out a gasp, she didn't feel it with the adrenaline coursing through her veins powering her on. But she knew, she was shot.

She whipped the reins of her horse immediately as she tried to put more space between her and the Yeagerists, but soon enough the dull pain began to make itself known to her.

"Captain…" Mina muttered, Rico looked back to see Mina looking back at her, she could see the seeping hole in her back. Rico then tried to look at those chasing them; they weren't yet in view but she knew they were still there, on her tail.

Rico looked forward and breathed in deeply before pulling back the reins of her horse as it came to a sharp stop. She quickly got off her horse, jumping off it she felt the pain in her chest. She reflexively grasped at the gunshot wound, her teeth gritted as she took the rifle from the side.

"Mina…take the horse and get back to the commander." Rico said "Or find somewhere safe, just get back to the others." Mina tried to get up, Rico knew she wanted to help her. Rico lifted her hand to her "You're leaving, get moving, that's an order, I'll hold them off as long as I can." Mina grabbed at the reins as she strained herself to sit up.

The two looked at each other, a knowing look of respect and unspoken comradery between the two veterans of the battle of Shiganshina. "It was an honour, Captain." Mina said.

Rico placed a clenched fist to her chest "Dedicate your heart." Mina whipped the reins of the horse as it galloped off into the woods. Rico turned to face the coming enemy; she could hear them now, she could make out their shape and colour in the treeline. She crouched down, resting her rifle on a tree stump as she took aim at an incoming rider.

Her shot striking their chest as it sent them falling back from their horse, she quickly turned to the rider next to them and shot their horse, the creature pulling back injured as it's rider was thrown off in the panic.

Bullets began to fly around her as the Yeagerists returned fire back at her. She fired back at the brights lights and spots that appeared through the trees and bushes when the shots zipped around her.

Her vision began to blur, she was losing blood fast, she tried to keep one hand pressed up against the open wound as she tried to aim.

When her clip was empty she quickly took her hand off the wound to reload, the blood from her hand staining the metal container, she felt a strain in her body as she tried to pull back the cocking handle.

So the bullets came thick and fast, a rapid hail of them falling upon her. Yet she kept her cool; firing back at the yellow dots and moving blurs.

She feels another intense push strike her other side, knocking her on the ground. She tried to get back up but found her body almost too heavy to move, her energy was quickly failing her. She picked up her rifle.

How many bullets do I have left?

She crawled towards a nearby tree as bullets continued to rain down on her spot.

She pushed herself up and leaned against the truck of the tree as she used what was left of her strength to raise her rifle and fire off the remaining shots left. She didn't know what she was shooting at this point. But when the rifle clicked in her hand, empty, she dropped the gun on the ground and slumped into the tree sitting down.

As her life began to slip away her thoughts turned to her comrades.

Comrades… did I do the right thing…

Would you have been proud of me…

Rico knew she was immensely proud of them, it pained her to live without them.

I hope… I hope Mina got away… I hope the others succeed.

She tilted her head upwards, her vision clear she saw Ian and Mitabi walking towards her, smiles on their faces. They stopped in from of her as Ian offered her his hand to stand up.

Rico smiled as she raised her hand, taking his as she stood up and walked with them.

---

"Are we getting any closer?" asked one of the yeagerists from the back, Hange ignored him; she had learnt to ignore the whining and whingeing of the soldiers who held her captive. She had led them on her horse, the rain pouring down over them as she led them to where Levi and the other scouts should be holding Zeke Yeager hostage.

All the while Hange tried to imagine a way out; tried to imagine a way in which she could trick them, tried to imagine a way to alert Levi and the others of this attack, she tried to think of a way to beat them somehow. Yet every time she thought she had the plan, she'd look to her side and remember that she was one person surrounded by more than dozens of enemy soldiers armed to the teeth.

They were now on the edge of the forest where Levi should be, she thought about making a bolt for the treeline and hoping to run into Levi but decided against it. She needed a way to alert Levi without making it obvious she was being held captive.

But what?

Then she saw it; smoke just up the road, she squinted her eyes as the wreckage of a cart came into view and something else.

What happened here?

They continued down the path, the close they got the more they were able to make out, a titan's body. Hange's breath was suddenly caught in her throat quickly realising the implication.

The wine, those soldiers with Levi must have drunk the wine.

"Eyes peeled!" Louise commanded "We have titans here!"

The rest of the yeagerists began to spread out, slinging their rifles over their shoulders as they pulled out their blades.

Hange looked around, by the wreckage was a rushing stream she spotted a body by the banks. She quickly jumped off her horse and rushed over to the person "There's a body here!" he called out, she had hoped the person was alive, maybe they could give them medical attention and save their live.

She lifted the body up, their hood covering the face "Hey, are you alive?" she called out. As she placed the person facing up, she removed their hood.

Her heart almost stopped when she saw their face.

Levi.

Blood stained his face, splinters had pierced his cheeks and the blood that had poured from his nose and mouth has covered his eyes. Hange looked around at his body; more splinters covered his body and one of his hands was missing some missing, he was limp in her arms also lifeless.

Almost.

She could barely feel it or see it but… He's breathing!

She almost shouted it out in relief when the sound of footsteps behind her stopped her, she could feel the looming presence of the yeagerists behind her.

"Holy shit, that Captain Levi." One of them said.

"Looks like we don't have to worry about him then." Another commented.

"Put one between his eyes, just to be certain."

"He's dead." Hange lied. "Looks like he was hit at close range with a thunder spear; I've seen a similar accident to this before, the external wounds are fatal enough but the internal damage done will have finished him off he had survived the initial blast.

"Eren will want to see his body." Louise said "They were comrades, even if he was a traitor in the end."

Hange glared at Louise before she could say anything a cascade of smoke poured out of the titan nearby as a massive hole began to emerge, the soldiers quickly took up their positions; some aimed their rifles while others readied their swords.

All at once the rain had stopped and the clouds began to open as rays of light shone through. And a person stepped out of the whole in the titan before collapsing onto the ground.

Hange felt a chill run down her spine as one had clenched at Levi's body when she recognised the person before them.

"Zeke Yeager." Louise said, walking towards him "We've come to retrieve you, sir." She looked back at the titan behind him "What happened here?"

"That I'm not too sure." Zeke admitted, standing before them all naked and dazed. "I awoke under a stary sky as a girl I didn't know was kneading sand to earth to remake my body."

Hange watched them closely as they continued to talk, not taking their eyes off them and making sure that they were not looking at her.

While her finger pressed into the soft wet soil and traced out a circle and the symbols of earth.

One chance. I have one chance.

If she got this right then she could kill Zeke, a quick strike to his vitals, a fatal shot and Eren's plan is ruined and the yeagerists defeated before they could strike back. She looked back at Levi, Hange knew that if it worked they'd be killed on sight but…

Levi would understand…

Suddenly the familiar sound of a bang was fired off nearby along the treeline, they all turned their heads towards it as a red trail of smoke flew into the parting sky. "Open fire!" came an order, not a second later the tree line was littered with flashing yellow lights as the Yeagerist forces were ambushed was an unknown force.

Hange placed her body over Levi as she ducked her head, bullets zipping past her; she peered up to see the yeagerists scrambling for cover as some were gunned down. In that moment, as she watched former scouts drop dead she felt immense sadness as she watched comrades die but anger at their betrayal.

She looked over to Zeke, both he and Louise were now taking cover behind the now disintegrating titan body which he had come from as the other Yeagerists began to pull back into the banks of the river. She looked over to the treeline as a group of plain clothes people armed with by military weapons, some Amestrian and some from Marley, began to advance on their position.

"For the Elrics!" one of the them cried out.

Hange watched them as they began to push forward Those are Heaven's followers! What the hell are they doing here?

As the group advanced, pushing the Yeagerists back, they quickly took their horses. One of them ran up to Hange, still holding Levi in her arm with one hand on the transmutation circle. "Squad Leader Hange?" it was a hooded figure with a makeshift webbing over his body carrying more ammunition.

But what got Hange at the moment was how familiar they sounded, the person quickly lowered their hood.

"Nifa!" Hange called out. She almost wanted to cry, the relief that she felt was overwhelming.

"Commander Erwin sent us a call, Moblit and Ed joining him back at the port, all forces are to fall back the port." She told her "We've been ordered to head to Holst district and catch the next train.

We're falling back to the port? Why?

Suddenly there was an explosion of light, a bolt of lightning struck the ground as a massive gust of wind also pushed them onto their back, the Beast titan was forming in front of them; the yeagerists were preparing their counter attack.

"We need to leave now!" the Nifa said as she grabbed onto her.

"Take the captain, I'll help hold them off!" Hange ordered. The Nifa picked up Levi as he waved his comrades to fall back into the tree line.

The Beast titan raised his fist into the air as he slammed it down, crushing some poor fighter into the dirt. "Cultists." The beast titan growled. "Ignorant children." Heaven's followers fired on the Beast titan to no avail; the bullets doing nothing to stop Zeke Yeager as he crushed another person at close range. Hange watched as the first group of people began to get on their horses and ride off, Levi among them, she turned to see the Beast titan grabbing as some broken trees and rocks on the ground, eyeing them.

NO!

Her hand still on the circle, the light around it glowed a bright sky blue as blue sparks danced around her. As the Beast titan was about to lean forward to launch the rock and dirt in her hand the ground slide underneath him, the Beast titan titled forward as it lost balance before falling flat on its face.

Hange placed her hands on the circle again as large hands sprung out of the ground and grasped at the Beast titan, holding it down. She wanted to smile and laugh at the call of the titan shifter when the yeagerists began to fire on her position. She ducked down quickly, Heaven's followers still laying down covering fire for her.

She quickly sprinted for the treeline, running through the hail of bullets before ducking behind a bush. "Get on!" yelled one of the followers as they reached out their hand. Nifa was on horseback among them.

"Go now, while the Beast is down!" she ordered. The remaining followers got on their horses as they galloped away from the battlefield.

---

Pieck didn't see it but she could hear it, even within the thick walls of her cell she could hear the commotion around her; feet running around, orders being given out and outside she could a constant moving, a coming and going, of cars and trucks from her prison.

What the hell is going on? Why are there so many people here now?

Oh she knew that being a shifter she was an asset to both Marley and the Paradisian government but it didn't take a genius to know that what was going on was far more than just a increase in her security detail.

It carried on for a few days; no one would talk to her, not a word mentioned or uttered, even when they came by to give her meals or books to read.

Perhaps I should thank Armin for allowing me that small mercy at least, it would have been torturously boring to not have someone to speak to.

But she could tell by the looks on the guards face, even when they tried to hide their faces from her or tried to hide how they were feeling with a calm and neutral expression; she could see the anxiety that was carved into the faces.

Something is going on, something that wasn't good for them.

Perhaps Marley has invaded, has my prison becomes a makeshift fortress for them? Are they making sure that if the others tried to free me they'd face stiffer resistance?

But Pieck was ready; ready to make a move, ready to escape them the time came or if they instead decided that it would be better if the Cart Titan was transferred to a more loyal Eldian instead.

But what had happened, she was not expecting at all.

The door at the end of the hallway had slammed open, she shot up from her seat, the sound of two sets of people running towards her caused her to tense up. But as Armin came into sight she almost let out the breath she was holding in, that air trapped in escaped her mouth "What the? Gabi?!"

"Ms Pieck!" Gabi exclaimed, she grabbed the bars of her cell. Pieck rushed to her and tried to embrace her through the bars.

"Are you okay?" Pieck asked, Gabi nodded her head. Pieck looked to Armin, there was a look on his face, one that he had never seen on his face even when they had battled both in Shiganshina and in Liberio. Fear. He was afraid. "What the hell is going on?"

Armin didn't reply instantly, he looked to still be trying to catch his breath or thinking of something before he could open his mouth to explain. "We need you help." He said simply.

Pieck narrowed her eyes in suspicion "What's going on?"

"Eren… he's escaped, he's… he ambushed us at Trost and tried to capture us." Armin said breathlessly as he tried to recount something, his hands shaking as he spoke "Oh God… he wants to use the Colossal titans, he wants to use them to bring the world to heel…"

Pieck's eyes widen as gasped loudly, holding the breath in her chest; she had always known that such a cataclysmic event could occur, Willy had tried to warn the world of such, but to know hear it confirmed from the mouth of Armin. She clenched her fists tightly as she looked away at him "Congratulations on your victory." She muttered harshly.

"I didn't want this." He spoke back. "You know how I feel about this." She did know, but in the war between those on the side of Marley and the side of Paradis, it was now a forgone conclusion.

"Still, this will be your world to see now, to the victor goes the spoils." Pieck said, turning her back to him "Do me a favour, make sure you don't accidently kill my father when your men take over Libero from Marley."

She heard a fist slam into the bars, she turned to see Armin's clenched fist pressing against it as his head faced towards the floor "I… we all did everything we could to stop Eren, I… this is all my fault…" his voice breaking as his legs wobbled "I should have tried to be there for him, I should have known, he was my friend and I didn't know what he was thinking…" Pieck turned to face him. "I don't want this conflict, I don't want to fight a war against humanity, for years I trained and then fought believing that we were the last humans, that we were fighting for humanity."

Pieck knew Armin was being truthful.

"I want to explore the world not take from others."

"It was Eren! He wanted to use the titans, the others didn't!" Gabi spoke up this time "It's Eren Yeager and his followers, Alphonse Elric had fought him and Armin helped our escape, they fought each other; soldiers and people killing each other."

A civil war, going on within the walls right now?

"What's happening, why do you need my help?"

"For years we tried to reach out to the world, we tried to do things peacefully and convince people we just wanted to live and work with them, but it all went wrong; there were others who wanted something different… they thought we could achieve peace through conquering everyone… I- we rejected this but Eren… he- I don't know what he saw in paths or why he's doing it but he thought there wasn't another way…" Armin still couldn't look at her as he poured everything out "I'm so sorry Pieck, about your homes and those people in the internment zones, about those soldiers I…"

"Armin, what is going on?" Pieck could tell there was something he wasn't telling her.

"Just recently… we had gotten a signal of the coast of Paradis, it wasn't near the southern port but we still picked it up. It's the Marleyans, they've come to strike back; we need you and Gabi's help, we can't handle Eren and also have to battle the warriors again, we need you to talk to them and tell them to stand down."

"Why should I help you with that?" Pieck questioned quickly "For all I know you could have set up a trap for them, why should I lead my comrades into an ambush?"

Armin looked up and stared at her, she could tell by his face that he was considering something, he looked back down and reached into his pocket. Pulling out a small box of matches with the alchemy symbols she had seen on his gloves. Pieck flinched, thinking that he would use them on her, the fear matched with a sense of betrayal.

Armin crushed the box in his hand, dropping the box on the floor before stamping on it and kicking it away. "Everything…" he said "Everything I've done, everything I've learnt, every act of courage, idea and horrible thing I did for my friends and for humanity." He stared at the crumpled box, the matches scattered "I learned flame alchemy so I could be more useful, so I could protect my friends." He looked back at her "Today I burned my best friend to save someone who killed someone dear to me."

Pieck's eyes turned to Gabi who was looking at the floor, almost ashamed "I saw it, he offered them a chance to join his side, they protected me and Falco and stood against Eren." Gabi looked up at Pieck with desperate eyes "They have Falco." She said with a trembling voice "Eren has Falco."

Pieck mouth dropped at the thought of Falco know being in the hands of Eren and his followers; she feared for his safety, of what those with a vengeance against Marley would do to a Warrior candidate.

The cell door screeched open as Armin, unarmed and completely vulnerable, stood by the open door.

"Help us."

---

Reiner stood by the open door to the blimp, feeling the wind brush against his face and the rush of air and the hum of the airship fill his ears. He looked back towards the men in the back; Marley soldiers, most of the were like him, Eldians but all of whom had a bone to pick with Paradis after the raid on Libero and those Marleyan officers wanting to avenge their defeat against their historic enemy on Paradis soil.

Perhaps a couple years ago… I would have relished this.

Now as they approached the island his thoughts were consumed with two things; whether Gabi and Falco were safe and well, and his friends. When they had collected the dead soldiers of Paradis from the rubble, Reiner felt relief when he couldn't recognise their faces; he didn't know if he could keep up appearances of the warrior who despised the devils had he broken down and wept for them.

Still… if they try to stop me from rescuing Gabi and Falco… what will I do…?

Footsteps behind him caught his attention, he turned around to see a Marley soldier behind him. "Warrior Chief Braun." He saluted Reiner. "You're needed on the command deck, sir."

"Thank you, private." Reiner replied, the soldier escorting him to the front of the airship, pass the door and to the front room. Inside was an array of control panels, radios and a steering wheel being operated by the pilot. "General Magath." Reiner saluted him.

Standing next to Magath was Colt and Porco along with the other officers of the Marley army. Reiner quickly glanced at the windows; outside he could see the other airships around them carrying more men and equipment, a small fleet of them for a surprise attack.

"War chief Reiner, at ease." Magath replied, he looked to the radio station "We'll be approaching the coastline of Paradis soon, what could we expect?"

"I wouldn't know sir." Reiner replied apologetically "As I've told the officers before the weapons that Paradis had used were generations before us, if the weapons they've used are anything to go by… the one thing I can say is that the majority of their defences would be placed around the walls itself."

"Interesting." Magath looked out of the window "The loss of the ships during our war with the Mid-East alliance patrolling their coastline suggests they have bases outside the wall." He turned to face Reiner "We had gotten a signal from an outside radio, it was located somewhere close to the centre of the island, likely we may have intercepted a signal from one of their command centres to positions outsides the walls."

"An open signal this far?" Colt asked.

Reiner pondered on this, his fingers pinching his bottom lip An open signal? They would be too confident or incompetent to do that, the Garrison or MPs maybe but the scouts under Erwin?

He remembered the traps and secrets that Erwin had when dealing with them, if anyone had bases outside the walls then it would be the scouts and Erwin wouldn't allow something like this, unless…

"Change the frequency." Magath ordered, the radio operator tuned the nobs on the machine as static gave way to a voice, as the static cleared the voice grew more and more familiar.

"Hello" it said "Hello can you hear me." It was calm, a woman's voice, it sounded almost like-

"Pieck?" Porco mumbled.

"This is Pieck Finger, warrior and holder of the Cart titan." She called out onto the radio "Calling to any Marley vessel or transport in the region."

"Holy shit." The radio operator responded as he tried to get a better connection with the signal.

Magath rushed over to the empty seat next to him as he switched on the microphone "This is general Magath speaking, Pieck, is that you?"

"General, good to hear your voice again." Pieck replied. Both Reiner and Colt smiled as she confirmed their hopes.

"Pieck, where are you located, are you beyond the walls?" Magath asked.

"No General, I'm still in walls, I'm currently based somewhere in a undisclosed location." Pieck said. Everyone in the room looked at each other puzzled; yes Pieck was behind enemy lines but if she's talking to them then she should have captured a radio tower or equipment, she should know what layer of the walls she's in.

"Undisclosed how?" Magath asked, this time his voice was hesitant.

Pieck was silent for a few seconds "I was asked to establish contact with you." She said, her tone was guarded.

Before Magath or anyone could say anything, another voice came on the end "This is commander Erwin Smith of the Scout Regiment." In an instant all the air had been sucked out of the room as everyone fell deathly silent. "We have asked Pieck Finger to initiate contact with you in good faith."

Magath breathed in deeply "Pieck." He asked, ignoring Erwin "Are you being held hostage?"

"We are not being held hostage." Pieck said "I'm here with the commander, myself and Gabi." Reiner almost bolted to the radio.

"Gabi!" he yelled out.

"I'm here!" she yelled back, her voice muffled from the radio, there was some shuffling on the other end "General I'm here too!" she said, her voice now clearer.

Colt moved passed them all "Gabi!" he yelled back "Pieck, is Falco with you? Is he there? Please let me speak to him!"

There was an uncomfortable silence on the other end "Falco isn't here." Both Reiner and Porco had to intervene as Colt's legs almost gave way. "He's alive but-" Gabi's voice waivered "We got separated during an attack… Eren Yeager, he has him, he has Falco."

Reiner heart almost stopped, remembering their confrontation they had in the basement during the raid on Liberio. He could feel Colt almost go limp in his arms when he heard that.

He wouldn't harm Falco, Eren wouldn't do that?

"Commander Erwin, do you believe you could use our own men as hostages to stop us?" he questioned.

"Rest assured they are not our hostages or our prisoners, we have asked them to speak freely and verify our claims when we say that I do not want to engage in a fight." Erwin said "I'm willing to establish dialogue and discuss possible terms."

All eyes glanced at each other before turning to Magath again "Terms…" he said "You wish to discuss terms, a peace?"

"The only terms we should accept are your surrender." Porco replied harshly from the back.

"I'm afraid I'm not offering that, but what I am offering is the chance for us do what none of our forefather had done in the over hundred years we've been confined to these walls. Talk." Erwin replied. "I am willing to meet with you, face to face, and have an open conversations about the situation at hand. There is no need for further bloodshed."

"Like how you killed thousands in your raid in Liberio?" Magath questioned.

"Our hands were tied." Erwin replied "We acted solely to secure the founding titan."

Reiner thought back to that basement again; remembering how Ed's only mission was to get Eren out of there and leave before anything could happen, remembering how he had given Reiner and Falco an out if they only turned their heads and looked away.

"This could be a trap for all I know, why should I trust your word." Magath replied.

"Do not trust my word, general, but trust in the words of your soldiers; they will tell you that we are being honest."

"It's true, general." Pieck spoke this time "I could kill them all right now if I wanted to by transforming but they're desperate enough to gamble on this." Her truth was blunt, many listening was taken aback by how brazen she could speak next to the enemy's commander.

"They're trying to stop Eren Yeager, General, they saved me from getting captured." Gabi called out "I saw one of the Elrics fight Eren and another one burn him before we could escape; they're trying to help us!"

"What more can I say?" Erwin asked "An operator will dial in the coordinates for a meeting point, a stretch of land will be marked for your airships and I promise that you and your men will be treated with respect." A code of numbers began to play on another machine "It's a harbour on the coastline, meet us there, the fate of our two nations and the world may rest of what you decide, you have four days." The signal on the other end died as the static quickly returned.

"We can't seriously believe that." Porco said "Any of it, they must be holding them at gunpoint, she must have threatened Gabi to get Pieck to speak."

"Gabi isn't the type to sell out her comrades, if this was a trap then she would have told us." Reiner said.

"What if, what if they're telling the truth?" Colt mumbled "What if- what if they are being genuine."

Magath sighed "Colt, I know you want to save your brother but we can't-"

"She said that Eren Yeager has him, if they're fighting Eren then we have a better chance at beating them with the Elrics on our side." He turned to Reiner "You agree with me Reiner?" there was desperation in his voice.

Reiner stared at Colt before turning to Magath "General… back in Liberio, I had come face to face with both Eren Yeager and Edward Elric."

"Yes, I heard, Falco had told me they incapacitated you."

"Before I had to transform to save Falco, Edward tried to offer us a chance to join them." Reiner said, there was a few gasps in the room as they all turned to him "Edward talked about trying to achieve a peaceful solution to it all… it was Eren who then started a fight, he had planned the bomb to go off."

Magath was silent "This would confirm a suspicion we had." He commented looking at the ground "For a while Willy and I theorised if there were two factions in Paradis; one trying to communicate through peaceful means and the other calling for war and retribution, we had gotten mixed messages from the communication networks we intercepted and had gotten personally."

"Then the Elrics and the scouts are working against Eren." Reiner finished Magath thought.

"Then they'll be easier to beat divided than united." Porco said "We can't let either of them win out, we need to take out both Eren and the Elrics."

"For all we know general, they could use the colossal titan on our airships the moment we land, wiping out our counterattack before its even begun." An officer added.

"Reiner, you lived among these people, fought with them and observed them." Magath said "What do you think we should do? Should we trust this commander Erwin?"

---

"Miss Kyomi!" one of the men from her envoy had called out for her by the door to the hall, she had been sitting by the window staring out into the port front and to the wide ocean, though in her mind she knew that on the other side of the water was Marley, ever lurking and no doubt sharpening their swords for revenge.

Yet they were not her concern at the moment, now something else had come up.

"Yes?" she said, turning her head to the man, he stood by the door dressed in his suit, she could tell that despite his calm demeanour, the tremble in his voice betrayed him.

"It's Commander Erwin." The man said "He's arrived back at the port, he's at the station."

"Has he now? Well if he wants to talk send him in when he arrives."

"Of course, but you should know, he's brought a large envoy with him." The man said, he stepped forward "It looks more like an army, the men saw possible over a hundred people dressed in regular clothes but carrying rifles and equipment with them."

Kyomi raised her eyebrow at that "Has he? Well then when he arrives I'll be sure to ask him." She replied "Make sure the others are safe, secure our wing of the building and make sure not a single person other than our own goes in or out."

"Yes Ambassador." The man quickly rushed out the door.

For possibly the next couple of minutes, Kyomi watched from her window as a steady stream of people flooded the streets and buildings of the port; they carried with them boxes, weapons, items and material as they stacked them high. Over the sound of people moving were the shouts of commands and orders as this new wave of people worked in tandem, preparing for something.

This is more akin to an army… Erwin, what are you up to?

She had saw the occasional scout, dressed in their uniform but the vast majority of them looked to be ordinary people, more similar to the workers at the port who were now being put to use to.

"Madam." A woman said softly, in her hand was a pot of hot tea, she leaned over to pour some into her cup.

"Thank you, dear. Please leave the pot here, I imagine our visitor will be here soon and I would like to serve him some." Kyomi smiled. The woman bowed her head and placed the pot down on the table, with two small cups next to it, one full and the other empty.

Kyomi picked up the cup and sipped on it "Madam Ambassador." A voice said by the door, it was one of her detail "Commander Erwin is here to speak to you."

"Excellent, right on time." She said "Bring him in." the man bowed his head, a few minutes later Erwin walked through the door. He still had that same neutral expression on his face, never trying to give anything away yet and his properly tailored ceremonial uniform, she could tell from the outline of bags under his eyes that something was wrong. "Commander Erwin, long time no see." She said, standing to her feet.

"Indeed, it has been a bit." Erwin replied as the two shook hands. They both sat down, on opposite sides of the small table facing each other as the sunset spilled through the window. "I had seen Onkayapon earlier and some of the other Marley POWs in the port, how have they been?"

"Onkayapon has been a great help and trusted person." Kyomi eyed him "When word got out about the plan Zeke's plan for the Eldians, he was the first to denounce them, along with others."

"So you have an idea of what has been happening?"

"A good picture, but some areas are hazy."

"I apologise for the commotion, Ambassador." He said, as if trying to change the subject "No doubt, this sudden change to the port will be strange but I am willing to answer your questions."

"Ever the honest man, Erwin." Kyomi teased. Do you really have a choice not to? Kyomi had known what was going on inside the walls; she had her men keep contacts with those inside the government and with friendly officials, when word got out about the sudden rise of riots and skirmishes between the factions in the walls, Kyomi knew it was a matter of time before this place had become a strategic hub. She was only glad that it was Erwin who had the mind to go here first. "Will more arrive?"

"Hopefully yes, I've ordered our allies in the walls to head to the train stations or roads leading here from the other districts, train or truck, I need every hand I can get." Erwin said

"I'm sure you're aware that the situation in the Walls has been precarious; as of now, there is an attempt by the government and our army to stabilize the situation and regain some control from rebellious groups."

"Come now, Erwin, I think we both know we're passed this flowery language; the situation is God awful, it appears you're on the brink of a civil war while a global war may be about to erupt." Kyomi remarked.

"A civil war over whether we should initiate a global war." Erwin clarified.

"Everyone wants to rule the world." Kyomi sipped on her tea.

"Is that what you want?" Erwin asked, leaning forward in his seat. "What exactly do you want?"

Kyomi was silent for a bit before a smile came upon her face "To put it simply, yes commander, I do want to rule the world." She said in an almost joking manner "I want the resources that this island has, rest assured I won't go to war for it I'm more than happy to trade." She joked before her smiled turned serious "But I want what every nation, empire and alliance want the moment they heard about it, alchemy; I want what it can bring, I want what it can do and I want for Hizuru, and specifically, my family to be the first to acquire it." She put her cup down "And I want Mikasa, safe at least, she is a distant member of my family but family she remains and even if she wants to remain here, her children may be future political players, but we could only do that with power."

"I see." Erwin looks out of the window "I won't begrudge you for that, you are an ambitious woman and to seek power and influence for yourselves makes sense." He turned back to her "But what I'm hoping is that you'd agree that this interest aligns with ours than with Eren."

"Ah yes, the so called "Yeagerists" the jumped up rebel group launching their own coup; I imagine that they wish to proceed with the plan for a total Paradis victory?" Erwin nodded his head "While I could see Hizuru thrive in a new global leadership under Paradis and being one of Paradis allies will see our own sphere of influence become a formal empire. But I imagine that doing trade, commerce and business with new nations whose only priority will be to set the record straight in the aftermath of a devastating war will be costly in the long run."

"So you're content with how things are now?"

"Oh don't get me wrong, world could do with a good shakeup once in a while, but you don't have to burn the house down to make renovations." She raised her hand and lifted her finger "Lets take your uprising for example, you and the military overthrew the government yes, but still the main structure remained but others did have to go, even Darius had confided in me that he had resisted pressure for democratic reforms even from the Elrics. But enough about that, if you want my support then yes."

"So you would chose a world where you have influence over matters over one where Hizuru and the Azumabito clan have formal control?"

"Erwin, who wants to be the ruler of ashes?"

"Fair point."

"What do you plan on doing, Erwin? If we're being open and honest with each other." Kyomi picked up the pot and poured tea into the empty cup before handing it to Erwin.

Erwin accepted the cup and leaned back in his chair "About a few days ago we had gotten a signal from a Marley airship, it seems as though they were planning an attack on our shores. However hopefully with the help of the warrior Pieck finger and the cadet Gabi Braun, those Marley soldiers will hold off their attacks for talks held here."

Kyomi was stunned at the admission from him "You're planning on holding talks with Marley?"

"With General Magath and his officers to be precise."

Kyomi almost scoffed "After the raid on Libero that man may very well be the most powerful person in all of Marley, you sure know who to pick your adversaries and I admire you confidence in that silver tongue of yours." Erwin sipped on the tea not answering "You are an ambitious person yourself."

"I'm afraid you have the wrong idea about me." Erwin admitted. "Maybe I was that person years ago, maybe I would have been willing to sacrifice everything and everyone to achieve what I wanted, to know what I know now." He placed the cup down on the table "But now, now I have a duty; a duty to the people of the walls, to humanity beyond it and to my soldiers."

"We all have a duty, commander, but what is it that you want or wanted?"

Erwin looked to the ground, as if almost ashamed to answer "My father, before we had overthrown the government, they had went to great lengths to keep walled humanity from learning about the existence of the world outside our island. My father was a teacher… he theorised that the history we were taught was false and that something was out there. I had told my classmates and that had alerted the Military police who then tortured and executed him." Erwin looked at Kyomi, staring into her eyes from the other side of the table. "Since then, I worked to prove him right, everything I did was for that goal; I joined the scout regiment, became a squad leader and then the regiment's commander all for that. I've sacrificed countless numbers of people, my own comrades who entrusted their lives to the cause of humanity for my personal goal."

"It sounds as though this weights heavily on you, Erwin." Kyomi observed as she placed her cup down, focusing on him.

"After we discovered the secret that was hidden from us all those years, after I managed to prove my father right I… I had nothing left. Nothing but my duty to my soldiers and to walled humanity, to leave a better world for those who will come after me."

"And you believe that the best way to fulfil this is to trust the Marleyans?" she asked "You plan to partly entrust those who wish to destroy this island?"

"No, how could I? but I can't let the situation fall out of control; thousands could die and then millions more if worse comes to worse. I will be not do nothing, I will make sure we'll have as much say in this as possible." Erwin stated. "Thousands of my men will die in the wars to come."

"With the colossal titans, you'd never need to conquer a nation with a single boot on the ground." Kyomi pointed out "You says your men need to die to win?"

"It won't just be this war though, it will be the wars of rebels across the globe who want revenge or freedom from us that will cost the lives of those in the regiment." Erwin pointed out "I sacrificed the men under my command for my own goal, I owe it to the men under my command now to guard their lives and I will not see scouts die for wars of an Eldian Empire."

Kyomi smiled at him softly "I see." She picked up her cup and sipped on the warm tea "I hope you win."

"Madam Ambassador, if you wish we can hide both you and your delegation out of sight from the Marleyans when they arrive."

"I appreciate that, Erwin." Kyomi smiled "But I have to ask, should Eren Yeager access the colossal titans and start the rumbling, how do you intend to stop him."

This time, for the first time in the conversation, Erwin smiled. "That, I am entrusting to the Elrics."

---

For Reiner, this had to have been the longest week of his life; when Magath had asked for his advice on what they should do, on if they could really trust the word of Erwin Smith he knew that one wrong answer could decide the fate of him and those around him.

The Commander is a tricky man, traps and tricks come to that man naturally but… would he really have Pieck and Gabi of all people play along with them to ambush them.

That thought had constantly come to his mind; as they made camp in the meeting spot that the commander had provided, Magath must have had the area swept over countless times for an ambush or a trap when they arrived. Both he and Porco had roamed the area in their titan forms ready to face a barrage of artillery or guns but instead were met with nothing.

The blimps lowered the ground and the Marley soldiers and officers made their camp, Reiner looked around at them. At any time, waiting could be dull and tedious, even anxiety inducing as you waited for the next battle.

Instead, even after the few days of nothing, everyone was still on edge; there must have been more guards than men sleeping on night patrols and even the barbwire they placed around themselves didn't make them feel safer.

For them, this is the Devil's territory, the old enemy. The true enemy of Marley and its people. Many of them had expected that a titan would come and pick them off even if they were told numerous times that the people of Paradis had wiped them all out by now.

But all Reiner could think about was Gabi and Falco, he needed to get them back home and he needed to protect his home and family from the conflict to come.

"Contacts!" yelled one of the watch men on makeshift watch tower. Reiner sprung into action as dozens and dozens of Marley soldiers rushed over to the one side of the camp. Rifles in hand as they pointed it onto an empty field. In the distance, what looked to be trucks could be seen heading towards them.

Magath rushed over to the front of them with both Reiner and Porco next to him.

"You better be right about this, Reiner." Porco said, glancing at him, a knife in hand pressed against the palm of the other.

I hope so too.

Magath was silent as the trucks came to a stop, just a couple meters away from the barbwire perimeter they had set up. A tense silence in the air, the only sound was the slow breathing of those around them, the fiddling of their guns and people jumping out from the trucks.

"You think this is the trap?" Colt asked.

"In the broad daylight? They're either idiots or very confident." Magath said. Reiner recognised the uniform, scouts approached them with their own rifles and guns in hand. "Hold." He ordered.

"General Magath?" one of the scouts asked, Magath nodded his head "Welcome to Paradis." The scout soldier stepped back suddenly the patter of smaller feet caught their attention, Reiner broke all composure as he spotted Gabi running to them.

"Gabi!" he called out, hopping over the barbwire, the two almost crashed into each other as he picked her up in his arms and hugged her tightly. "You're okay, you're okay."

"Reiner, it's good to see you." Another voice spoke to him, he turned to see Pieck waving at him and Armin next to her.

"Armin." He muttered, Armin offered his hand out to Reiner. He grabbed at it and shook it as he still held Gabi. He let go of Armin's hand and lowered Gabi down and walked towards both her as she went to Magath and the others. "General."

"Pieck, its good to see you." Magath replied, already the tension around them died down a little, the guns on both sides lowering. "And who are you?"

"Lieutenant Armin Arlert of the scout regiment, sir." Armin replied. "Better known to the men around me as the Arsonist or the Flame alchemist." Suddenly all the tension that had dissolved quickly reappeared as the Marley soldiers pointed their guns at him.

"Hold!" Magath ordered. "Is Commander Erwin with you?" he asked.

"No, he's waiting for you arrival at the harbour." Pieck said. "There's a transport truck waiting to bring us there." They looked at each other, wondering if anyone was going to address the elephant in the room "Its not a trap." Pieck said "If it was then I would have said, if you can't trust them then trust that I wouldn't betray you."

"Pieck, what is going on?" Porco asked.

"Eren Yeager and his followers did the attack on Libero, they're planning on using the colossal titans to conquer the outside world." Gabi spoke up this time "They're fighting against them, they're on our side!"

"I'm not on your side." One of the scouts remarked out loud. "You killed Squad Leader Ral"

"Quiet." Armin ordered, raising his hand up.

"Still though, I can't trust that this won't be an ambush." Magath said.

"He knows, that's why I'm here." Armin said "I'm one of the army's most valuable assets, the first and… only flame alchemist." He admitted "They can't afford to lose someone like me, now at a time like this. So to ensure your safety, I'm going to be here until you can confirm to your men that you're safe and set up camp closer to the harbour."

Both Reiner and Magath looked at each other, Reiner nodded his head. "You can trust him, General, I've known him for years, he's being truthful."

"Porco, I'm placing you in charge of our guest, make sure nothing happens to him." Magath ordered "Or we all might die here if it does, Officers on me, War chief Braun you too, it's time we meet with this Commander Erwin."

The ride to the harbour location was long, perhaps an hour or so from where they had set up camp. All the while, Reiner couldn't help but wonder at the truck he was in; it was almost similar to the ones Marley had but clearly a different model. It had only been less than a decade that the walls were using carts and horses to get around.

"We should be almost there." Gabi commented. Reiner could make out the sound of other people just beneath the hum of the trucks when the wheels hit a smooth surface and rocky dirt gave way to flat concrete. As he looked out he stared at the buildings around them, as the trucks stopped and they got out he continued to marvel at the sight; it was almost as if he was back at a port city in Marley, a far cry from the streets and buildings of the district. And all around there were people, all of whom stared at them with hateful glances or angry glares.

"They're in the ambassador's mansion." Pieck said.

"Ambassador's mansion?" Magath asked "So they've been entertaining diplomats from across the world, I guess Willy was telling the truth on that." The march to the mansion was tense, Reiner noticed that everyone around them was carrying a weapon, even those dressed in regular clothes. He was thankful when they reached the doors to the mansion and quickly walked inside.

"You're men will have to wait here." One of the staff said "Two can accompany you if you wish."

"We do." Magath said. The staff bowed their head and lead them up the stairs, the Marley soldiers who accompanied remaining downstairs them as the guards placed in the mansion stared them down. The inside of the mansion was large and grand looking. Everything around Reiner left alien to him with what he had seen of Paradis before. They came to a long corridor with a dozen guards dressed in the formal dress of the Paradis army.

"Your men must stay here." The staff member said "The Commander is waiting." Magath turned his head to his two men and nodded. The double doors open leading to large hall with a table in the centre; on one side were scout officers whom Reiner had recognised from his time during the army but in the centre was commander Erwin and beside him, Edward and Alphonse Elric.

As the Marley officers entered the room, a choking silence held the room which no one wanted to break. The two sides instead staring each other down.

"Welcome." Erwin said, finally breaking the silence. "Please, sit down." He said as his side began to take their seats at the table, jugs of water and some biscuits were laid out on the table, in front of them was a note pad and pen. The Marley officers had taken their places hesitantly. "I take it you are General Magath? It is good to place a face to your name and voice."

"I wish I could say likewise." Magath said.

"I can understand the hesitancy for entering talks, I understand that the stories against us have painted an image of vile people who seek to destroy or conquer the world."

"They are not stories, we have our own proof and experiences with your attacks, commander." One of the officers "Was it not your men who led the attack on the city? While world diplomats were present?"

"The battle of Libero was not of our making, we had to act to bring back the Founding titan after it an issue-" Erwin was interrupted.

"Eren Yeager was one of your soldiers too wasn't it?" another officer questioned "We had been informed as much, he was present during the battle in one of your cities, would you say you have failed to reign in your own soldiers?"

"Eren Yeager's break from the chain of command was more than regrettable, all we can do now is adapt our strategies and-" he was interrupted again.

"Your failure has now resulted in the destruction of a city and now a terrorist has control over the Founding Titan and possibly the colossal titans, how do we know that you aren't simply stalling us for Eren Yeager to allow him to join with the traitor Zeke Yeager."

"You would doubt the honesty of your own warriors?" Erwin questioned. Reiner's eyes turned to Pieck who own eyes narrowed slightly at that officer. "Do you trust the men under your command? Was the defection of Zeke Yeager something you had anticipated when I failed to anticipate my own soldier's defection?"

"Zeke is a traitor, but had he had been in our hands now he would have been executed for his treason." The officer called out "He fled to you and worked with you, the deaths of innocent people is on all of your hands."

One of the scouts slammed their fist on the table "You want to talk about death? Of innocent people dying? It was Marley who help trap us inside the walls turning people into titans and sending the warriors to breakdown the gates and let thousands of titans devour whole towns and cities!" Reiner thought she recognised the officer, a woman with short blond hair as she stood up from her seat "I lost so many of my friends fighting the titans, good people being eaten alive!"

"That is the history of Marley! You cry of hordes of titans eating your towns and cities but we Marleyans had to suffer that at the hands of the Eldian Empire, at the hands of your ancestors!"

"You're a goddamn empire yourself! How did you get all that land exactly? You go around using just soldiers and guns, you manage to convince people they'd be better off living under your boot? Or did you use innocent Eldians?" another scout officer argued.

"It will be better than what your devil comrade will do, Eren Yeager will crush everyone under the feet of the colossal hordes when the world unites against you all, you Eldians… the one hundred and fifth king had the right idea, every Eldian is heavy with sin."

This time Alphonse stood up from his seat "Those people have done nothing against you…" he spoke, Reiner almost felt terrified as the other officers on both sides of the table fell silent "Is my son… is he guilty of my crimes or his mother's? Eren was just a child when the warriors breached the gate of his hometown, his own mother killed in front of him… was he or his mother guilty? Everything that's happened now could have been avoided if they had been left alone." Alphonse then pointed his finger at them "And enough with this crap; we know why you invaded, because you wanted its resources, at least have the guts to admit that."

"Alphonse." Edward spoke this time, standing from his seat "Nanaba." He looked to the scout officer "Please." The two both sit down as Edward stared at them, he looked to Reiner; it was the same look he had given him when he offered to Reiner that they could make this right.

I befriended people who have tried to kill me before and I can do it again.

Ed looked towards one of the guards in the room "Private, your rifle please." The soldier handed Edward the gun, Ed took out the magazine and emptied the gun, the bullet flying onto the table. "I'm sure you are familiar with this weapon? Its better than any rifle from Marley the Anti-Marley volunteers gave us, the same can be said for all the weapons we've made… that I've made." Even Reiner could hear the shame in his voice as he admitted that. "I've only ever fired a gun once; I've served in the army of my country for years and then the scouts for more. And only once have I fired a gun. And killed someone. A Marley soldier."

"Is this a threat?" Magath questioned.

"No General." Ed replied calmly "I vowed never to take another person's life once and I've broken it. I had broken it even before I knew when I killed dozens of titans, then I killed a soldier because he threaten my brother's life… but the truth is I've killed hundreds of people, maybe even thousands; I made the weapons we use and now their blood is on my hands and I can't change that." He stared at the officers "I am the devil you say I am, I am guilty and so are you all for the actions against those behind the walls. But that doesn't mean we have to continue this forever, we must end this. We can set things right and this time." He handed the rifle back to the soldier, picking up the loose round and handing it back to him. "This time we can do this without ever firing a shot at each other."

"Thank you, Edward." Erwin said as Ed sat back down in his seat "As I have said before we do not share the goals or desire of Eren or Zeke Yeager, we had all hoped that one day we would come to the mainland as visitors and diplomats and not invaders." Erwin took the jug of water, poured some into a glass and passed it to Magath "No one from Paradis or Marley has ever sat down and spoken to each other in this capacity, let us make the most of it."

---

Porco watched the Flame alchemist, the one who had set fire to an entire of battalion of Marley soldiers in what had been called "The gate of hell" when they discovered the charred bodies. In that moment Porco could only feel hatred for him. He looked at the tent that they had placed him in; Magath had thought it best that he be kept from prying eyes.

Porco couldn't lie, he wanted the flame alchemist to try something; he wanted an excuse to cut him down, to crush his body underneath the palm of his hand. He walked up to the tent, two guards standing inside watching him. The flame alchemist was sitting on a log, his hands tied behind his back though Porco could tell that even with that they were afraid of him.

Yet the alchemist didn't look scared, instead he was watching them all, trying to avoid eye contact with any of those watching him.

Is he… is he ashamed?

That had pissed off Porco even more; what right did the flame alchemist, a devil of Paradis and friend of Eren Yeager.

He remembered that Reiner had known him for years and said they could trust him, he wondered how Reiner could have any kind of sympathy of someone who had inflicted so much damage to their homes and to the people of this city. "You two, leave us, I have some questions I need to ask our guest." The two soldiers nodded their head as they left the tent, leaving them both alone.

The two of them locked eyes with each other as the flame alchemist looked at him before breaking away. "Hey." Porco called out "I don't know how you tricked Pieck into trusting you, but you won't get the same from me or any of us."

"I understand." He replied.

"I don't think you do, murderer." He noticed him flinch at that "You don't think you're a murderer? After what you did?"

"I know what I am and I know what I've done."

"You're lucky the general ordered us to keep you alive."

"I know." He looked at him "You must be Porco." Porco almost flinched when he had said his name "Pieck would talk about you sometimes, you and the other warriors."

"Was this while you were torturing her?" Porco questioned.

This time, the flame alchemist shot him a glare "I never tortured Pieck, I would never torture anyone."

"How noble of you to just cook them instead." Porco snared at him.

"And how many people have you killed? Dozens? Hundreds? Maybe even more?"

"I served my country, my people." Porco told him.

The flame alchemist smiled at him almost mockingly and shook his head "We both know that's a lie, Pieck was right, you do wear your emotions on your sleeve and that makes you a bad liar."

"Fuck you."

"Why did you and your brother want to become warriors?" he asked.

"Why should I tell you?"

"You don't have to, I joined the military when I was twelve, I only joined because of my friends; they were the only family I had after my mother and father were killed by our government and my grandfather eaten by a titan." Porco watched him as the flame alchemist looked at the ground, the cocky smile now wiped away "It's why I learned alchemy, to protect them." He glanced up at him "Pieck had said she only joined because of her father, he needed the medicine for his condition and the only way to get it was to become an honorary Marleyan. She didn't deserve that, to have her life shorten just so her father could live."

"No… she didn't." Porco admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Pieck told me you had a brother… Marcel." Porco almost wanted to slap him for daring to utter his brother's name "She said he was a good person, that he was like a big brother to everyone… I'm sorry for your lost."

"Did you know the titan that ate him?" Porco questioned him "That woman who stole his power."

That took him from me…

"Yes… her name was Ymir, she… she was a close friend of ours and was a close friend of our Queen."

Porco squinted his eyes as if trying to gage whether he was trying to trick him "Bullshit."

"No I'm telling the truth, you get titan memories? You ever see into Ymir's memory and see a short blond girl with big blue eyes? That our queen when she was a young teenage."

"You could just be describing yourself." This time the flame alchemist squinted his eyes at him, almost in annoyance. The two stared at each other before he snickered, as if holding in a laugh. Porco couldn't help it, as the alchemist began to laugh so did Porco as he imagined the scary flame alchemist in the clothing of a Queen, Porco continued to laugh as the alchemist told him that he did have to disguise himself as her once for a mission.

When Porco wiped away a tear from his eye, he almost forgot that he was laughing with a person he had hated not long ago.

---

Jean stumbled forward as the Yeagerist soldier pushed in forward down the corridor, he almost felt to the ground but just manage to catch himself. "Keep moving, traitor." The person behind him demanded.

Jean grimaced Traitor? I've been a scout longer than you. He wanted to tell them, but he knew they'd only slam the butt of their rifle in his face and unlike Eren, he didn't have the healing properties of a titan shifter.

Eren… that damn hot head idiot. Though in truth Jean had felt like the fool when they were captured in the ambush at the restaurant I lead my team into a trap… Petra would be disappointed. He could imagine her shaking her head at him before then smiling reassuringly and telling him they'll get through this.

"We'll get through this, Lieutenant."

"You'll be a great Squad Leader someday, Jean."

If there was one comfort Jean could take, it was that Petra wasn't around to see all this unfold, he knew it would have broke her heart to see her comrades at each other throats, to see Levi squad divided after everything they all went through. A small comfort, but Jean wished she was here.

She'd know what to do…

The Yeagerists led him to some stairs leading up "Start climbing." This time the guy behind Jean slammed the butt of his rifle into his back and Jean fell painfully onto the hard surface.

"Gah!" Jean tried to push himself up before the Yeagerist pulled him up to his feet roughly and shoved him forward up the stairs.

"One of the Heroes of Shiganshina, and yet you fight for the Elrics? For the traitors of Paradis?" the Yeagerist questioned.

"Oh I forgot, those two weren't there too either." Jean commented deadpan. That earned Jean another shove onto the stairs, thankful the guy had stopped Jean before he could fall down the stairs.

"Anyone, and that includes those illusionists, who thinks they can grovel to the world and be made to heel is a traitor."

Are all of you so narrow minded?

When they reached the top the double doors opened before him as he was led up to wards the balcony; from that view he could see the whole of Shiganshina; the place had looked so different from the last time he was here. The buildings were now all repaired and refurbished with a new look, new lights were placed on the streets, turbines on the river and even cars and trucks driving down the new roads. A modern city that had been sculpted with the help of the Elrics. Now held by those who despise them.

They even use their weapons… Jean looked at each on of the Yeagerists who stared and glared at him. It turned his stomach when he recognised some of the faces among them, comrades from other squads he had worked with and some fresh faced recruits that he had help induct into the regiment.

Among them were the anti-Marley volunteers, those who were loyal to Zeke with the tall woman Yelena among them, almost looking down on him with a self-satisfied smirk.

But before them all was someone with his back turned to him, a black hooded cloak over him, as if trying to cover himself but Jean knew exactly who that was. "Eren." He called out. The hooded figure said nothing. "Eren, I know that's you, Armin must have done a number on you to be still healing."

One of the Yeagerists marched up to Jean, ready to strike him with his rifle "Stop." Eren commanded, raising his hand. The Yeagerist stopped just before Jean had braced himself for the attack. Eren flicked his hand and just like that his minion had backed off and away. "You always had something to say, Jean. That what pissed me off about you. But it was also that I had come to admire about you, even in the darkness time you could encourage us to keep going or make jokes." He turned around, revealing a plain mask "Yes, Armin did mess me up, I didn't expect he'd still have his old box of matches on him but I should have."

"You should probably thank him, that mask makes you a lot more prettier than you were before."

"It will take me a while to heal from this, but I'll be back to myself soon." Eren walked towards Jean "When I confronted them at the restaurant in Trost, I gave them a choice; join or fight me. I want my friends by my side for when the time comes."

"For what exactly?" Jean questioned "The plan to kill all Eldians? Isn't that what you're working towards?" he looked around at all the Yeagerists who stood on the roof with them. "Did any of you know that? That Zeke is planning on using the coordinate to stop Eldians from having children, he wants to wipe us all out!"

Yet as he shouted that out, none of them reacted. It was like they were all in on it.

He then felt a hand on his shoulder as someone shoved him to his knees roughly. "Shut up, squad leader." He recognised that voice.

Jean looked up to the figure looming over him "Holger…"

"How the tables have turned." Holger smiled at him. "It wasn't that long ago you had us in custody."

"Is that what you want, Holger?" Jean questioned him "You want for Zeke to wipe us all out?" Holger rolled his eyes.

"And where did you hear that from?" Holger asked incredulously "Who would have told you something so ridiculous?"

Jean stared at him stunned before coming to a startling realisation they're all just playing each other along, they knew all along. He looked at Yelena now standing next to Eren. Even she knows they're bullshitting.

But why are they all playing along then?

"Where's Floch?" he asked Holger before then looking to Eren "I would have thought he'd be here too."

"I had another task for him, helping to secure our victory." Eren replied "It will be over soon."

"You would never agree with this, Eren!" Jean shouted at him "I know you! You suicidal bastard, what do you want?"

Eren stared through his mask and at Jean "What I want is your help." Suddenly Jean could hear the sound of feet moving and shuffling along as more people moved past him more people in handcuffs but this time they had black bags over their heads.

"What's going on?" Jean questioned, glancing over to the prisoners and Eren.

"I need to know what Ed and Alphonse are planning." Eren said "You were with the officers that day, tell me if they've got anything up their sleeve."

"I wouldn't know." Jean replied.

Jean could feel Eren's eye bore into him through the mask "Liar." The black bags were removed from their heads, Jean gasped in breathless shock as he recognised the faces of some of his squad members, gagged and looking at him terrified. "Tell me what Ed and Alphonse are planning or I force them off the edge of the balcony."

"I swear, I don't know anything."

Eren turned to Jean's squad members "Push up to the edge." The Yeagerists pulled out their rifles and aimed in towards the prisoners "Ten paces forward." The Yeagerist soldiers marched forward as his own men were forced closer to the edge.

"Stop! This is between you and me, they don't know anything, they aren't a part of this!"

"But you know something and you are a part of this." Eren told him, he looked back to them "Ten more paces." Ten more steps forward for the Yeagerists as his men were now pressed up the edge."

"Don't do this, please!" Jean was now pleading, he looked around hoping that someone would stop this. In this moment he had never felt so powerless; not even the battle of Trost had he felt so weak as people who trusted him were now going to die because of him.

In that moment, he wondered what Petra would do; who she keep her mouth shut, stay true to the cause and let her squad members die… or would she try to save them.

"My responsibility is to you, its my job to make sure we succeed and I get you all home." He remembered Petra telling them when all had seemed lost in the battle of this very city "I've failed the first one but I won't fail you…"

"One pace forward." They were standing on the ledge now. One more step and they'd all fall to their deaths. Eren looked back at Jean, stared at him for a few seconds as he waited for an answer. The Yeagerists had their guns pointed at them still. "One step for-"

"Wait!" Jean called out, all eyes were on him now. "Wait, please. I'll tell you."

"Go on." Yelena spoke this time.

"Its- they've- Ed and Al said they could make this thing." Jean tried to explain, his heart was racing and his mind a mush of thoughts "They said it was a stone, a philosopher stone or something."

"A philosopher stone?" Holger spoke this time "What a stupid name, he's clearly lying."

"I'm not! They said it could by pass the rule or law of alchemy." Jean explained breathlessly "They- they could make anything they could thing of with it, they didn't want to and were adamant on not doing it but Erwin, Erwin made them make one."

"A philosopher stone, an alchemic enhancer." Yelena said "How do you make one?"

"I don't know, they just didn't want to do it."

"Weak, they could have the power to crush Marley under their own boot but refuse to do so." Holger commented "Cowards."

"That's everything, I swear just- please." Jean looked at Eren, hoping that the person he had grown up with was still there.

Eren looked to the soldiers standing on the edge "You can stop now." Almost immediately the then scared members of Jean's squad straighten up and walked back onto the roof almost as if nothing had happened.

"What the-" Jean watched confused.

"They were on our side, we didn't capture them, they came to us willingly."

Jean stood up from his knees and looked to his squad mates as the yeagerists unbound their hands "How- How could you!" he was then quickly forced back to his knees, his former squad mates staring at him with contempt.

"Thank you, Jean." Eren said walking up to him, looking down at him "I'll be ready to Ed and Alphonse, with whatever this stone is, but whatever they have planned won't work…. I'm happy you, Sasha and Connie are here Jean and I hope the others come to their senses too. If not, then this will end with either us or them being buried."

---

Hi all,

When I said last time that that was the longest chapter I had written, well now its this one. Hopefully the next one doesn't take up too much time.

Thanks for your patience and not long left to go.