"We've got to kill 'em all at once," Annie suggests as the warriors and soldiers of the 104th and Pieck prepare for battle. "That's the only way to secure the flying boat. For this to work, we'll need all our Titans and all your weapons. Got it?"

I cross my arms. "Fair enough, but there's one problem with that."

"What?"

"If we go in recklessly," Mikasa adds. "the Azumabito will get caught up in it."

I nod. "Exactly."

"Why should we care about Mikasa's distant relatives? They attacked our homeland."

"No," Pieck counters. "The Azumabito dying will pose problems, Annie. Isn't that right?"

"It's true," Onyankopon answers. "I should be able to pilot the flying boat on my own, but without the Azumabito mechanics, it's just a boat without wings. Currently, the wings are folded up to make it easier to tow. And it's not just a matter of unfolding the wings. The original plan was to service it in the hangar and pilot it after some training."

"How long would that take?" I ask.

"...I don't know. It depends on the Azumabito."

Annie sighs. "I see. Sounds like you wanna protect the Azumabito while they service the boat. But not just that, without killing any of the Jaegerists who come to stop us, huh?"

"No, I don't want to kill them," Jean answers. "If possible. We've known 'em since we were cadets."

"So, what's your plan? Tell me. How do you plan on buying enough time for the Azumabito to service the flying boat without killing anyone?" Annie faces Armin. "let's hear it, Armin. Don't you have a grand plan like when you cornered me?"

"There's no such plan," Pieck responds. "We either wipe 'em out, or don't and lose that boat."

"Hold up!" Connie says. "We're here to save people! And yet, we've gotta murder some of our friends first?! What the hell?!"

"I only care about killing one in particular..." Everyone from the 104th looks at me in shock. "You all know that he burned my home to the ground with no shred of remorse or guilt. You're telling me that he's my 'friend'?"

"Elijah!" Jean shouts. "You're really considering this?! I know he hurt you, but come on!"

"He made his choice, Jean. The others may be different, but him? No. Floch has lost his humanity, he may claim to be fighting for our home, and I respect that, but slaughtering the people who helped us get this far is not the way to do it, let alone letting the entire world be flattened! I'm killing him. That's not an order for any of you...it's for me."

"...You guys shouldn't be expected to help out in this operation," Annie interrupts us. "And you're not expected to make the choice in the first place. Unlike us, you probably wouldn't have destroyed the wall that day."

"You guys don't have to fight," Reiner adds after a moment of silence. "Watch from a safe place with Gabi and Falco. If the Jaegerists spot you, you'll have no choice but to fight. So, stay out of it."

"...And just watch you guys slaughter each other?" Connie asks.

"...Is this even a situation that Titans alone can solve?" Jean adds.

"I have no intention of spectating," Hange says as she and Magath slide down the hill overlooking the harbor. "After all, I've killed four Jaegerists already. Besides, humanity doesn't have much time left. I saw Titans crossing the sea, giving off tons of steam. Judging by their speed, they've probably set foot on Marley. I'm sure the closest cities in the northeast are already destroyed. Who knew they'd cross the sea so quickly? Just how many have died thus far?"

Magath strolls past Hange and approaches Yelena, grabbing her face and pushing her down. Stepping on her left arm, he leans down above her. "Tell us where Eren Jaeger is headed! Talk or I'll give you another elbow to bend!" And that's just what he does, then the woman lets out a muffled yell.

"Magath!"

"Don't be scared. I won't kill you."

Yelena suddenly laughs. "That's a relief. I changed my mind. I don't wanna die till I see how this ends. If you take me with you, I might just say where Eren is headed."

"Securing the boat comes first," Hange says as she gently moves Magath away from Yelena. Sighing, the man turns around and faces us adults of Paradis.

"Connie, Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Elijah, Sasha, Your Highness... I want to apologize for my behavior last night. We...were wrong. I was foolish to bring up justice. Disgusting as it is, I was desperately trying to justify my actions. I feared to look at myself and see I've become as vile as Marley. None of you are to blame. It's wrong to make you bear the sins of the past due to your race," Magath turns to the Warriors. "Pieck, Annie, Reiner... You shouldn't have to endure the world's hatred for your whole lives, either. However, it's our duty to remember this stupid, bloodstained history and teach it to future generations," He turns back to us. "Eren Jaeger wants to eradicate everything, and that's unforgivable. This hell won't end until we turn away from all this senseless killing," Surprising everyone present, the man bows to the people of Paradis. "But...please... Just this once, look the other way until this senseless bloodshed is over."

"...No," I step forward, then Magath looks up to see my hand held down towards him. "With all due respect, sir, but I refuse to sit idly by while the rest of the world goes to hell. My hands are already stained, what's a little more if it means a better future for the ones I love?" I raise him up, then I turn to the rest of the 104th. "It doesn't matter what you think of Marley or the rest of the world. It doesn't matter what you all think of our home. It doesn't matter what you think of Eren. What matters, right here, right now, is our mission right in front of us. The Jaegerists have already chosen to let the world go to hell just to preserve themselves and their followers, and if they succeed, the people of this island will inevitably destroy themselves over the power of the Titans. Only all of us here can save the world. For the first time in my life...I can say with pride...that I'm strong. But I'm only strong because of you. If you guys think I'm strong, then that means that all of you have the ability to be as strong as me or even Mikasa. We have the ability to kill anyone who blocks our path toward a better future. I know that most of you aren't proud that we'll have to kill those we consider comrades...and I'm not proud of it either, but in the end, they made their choice. So...for the sake of everyone who doesn't deserve to be flattened, please, fight with me."

Mikasa is the first to move, then salutes. "I'm always with you, Elijah."

Then Armin. "Me too."

Followed by Jean clicking his tongue. "Damn you and your speeches."

Connie is hesitant but ultimately follows suit. "...I got your back."

Then last, but certainly not least, Sasha. "No way in hell I'm letting you go out there without me."

I salute back to them all. "Give your heart."

Armin and Connie

"Floch! Where are you?!" Connie and Armin ride into the town on horseback, hoping to draw out the leader of the Jaegerists. The plan is bold, assuming they won't get shot on sight, but they've gotten this far, Armin assumed correctly. "Where are the Aumabito?!"

"Armin?!" Inside the building they ride past, the redhead peeks his head out the window. "Why all the commotion?! Where have you been?!"

"Chasing the Cart Titan!" Armin answers. "It's with the Armor! They're swimming away! Hurry or they'll escape! We need the flying boat! Order the Azumabito to get ready!"

Floch looks unconvinced by Armin's plea. "What are you-"

"What are you doing?! Why didn't you chase the Cart Titan?! It's obvious they'd run south! They...killed Jean and Onyankopon!"

"Armin!" Connie calls, pointing to the port. "There's the flying boat!"

Armin turns his horse around, following Connie. "Floch! Send the Azumabito mechanics out here, pronto!"

Floch

"Don't you think it's a little strange?" Floch addresses Ms. Azumabito and the mechanics. "If they knew the enemy fled south, a locomotive would get here faster. Much faster than using horses, at least. So why would they be sneaking around? No, there's no proof... But..." The mechanics cower as Floch points his pistol at them. "Trouble should be nipped in the bud-"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Surprising the Jaegersists guarding the room, the Azumabito mechanics, and even Floch himself, Kiyomi grapples Floch before he can shoot the mechanics, pinning him down on the floor.

"Floch!"

"Kill her, dammit!"

"I won't go down without a fight!"

CRASH!

"Huh?! Gah!-" In one swift sweeping through the windows, Mikasa and Elijah take down the two guards. Mikasa knocks out the first using his own pistol, while Elijah kicks the other guard in the face, causing him to be tossed across the room, hitting his head again in the process.

"Kiyomi!" Mikasa shouts.

"You got pinned down by Ms. Azumabito?" Floch could see the smirk behind Elijah's mask. "You never learn, asshole. Never underestimate your opponent."

"Gyah!" Using his ODM gear from his pinned down position, Floch shoots himself out of the window. "Enemy attack! Elijah, Mikasa, Armin, and Connie have betrayed Eldia! Kill them!"

Elijah

"Shit!" I look to Mikasa, hearing the Jaegerist outside ready to bombard this room. "Take them to the basement! I'm going for Armin and Connie!"

"Elijah! You'll get blown to bits!"

"That's the gamble!" I say as I shoot myself through the same window I came through, seeing the onslaught of Thunder Spears completely destroy the room. Thankfully, the blast covered my escape, now I just need to get to the flying boat and make sure those two are safe. Once I'm done, I join back into the fight. I make my way to the docks, as soon as I get there, I see Armin drop to the ground as a result of being shot. Enraged, I whip my pistols out at the man who shot Armin and now aims his gun at Connie.

The light-haired man keeps his trained gun on Connie as he glimpses at me. "Samuel... Blow up the flying boat. Hurry!"

Samuel...? I turn to my right, seeing him kneeling by the detonator. Something is off here... "Samuel, where's Daz? You two are always stationed together."

"..." He doesn't answer me...but he stops fiddling with the detonator.

"You betrayed us, all of you!" My attention goes back to the other Jaegerist. "To think I once thought you were admirable, Elijah. Floch was right, a weak man like you has no place in the Eldian Empire. Neither did that bitch of yours. Tell me, Elijah. What was it like to watch her die? Seeing the light fade away from her precious eyes? Does it eat you alive that you couldn't save her? Just like you couldn't save your pa-"

BANG!

To mine, Connie's, and I don't know for sure but Armin's surprise, Samuel stood from the detonator and shot his Jaegerist comrade in the head. I point my gun at him out of sheer shock. "Samuel..."

"..." He looks down at is gun...his eyes darkening at what he's done. But instead of aiming his weapon at me like i thought he would...he tosses it away. "...Floch...murdered all my friends. After you left, Elijah...after your words, Daz realized that what were doing is...horrible. Saying that all he's done since Trost was his way of trying to make up for his mistake...to you, Elijah. So he wanted to leave to see his family before more damage could be done...and many others followed him. But..." Samuel drops to his knees, lowering his gaze to the ground. "He killed them all... All of them... All of our friends we promised to share a meal with..."

"..." I holster my pistols and help Samuel to his feet.

"Elijah... You were right."

I shake my head. "Get yourself home, Samuel. Go to your family."

"..." He nods, running off, but not before looking back to me, saluting. "Do what you have to do...Section Commander."

"...Connie," I say as he helps Armin to his feet. "Keep Armin safe and stay here with the ship."

"Are you all right, Elijah?" He asks as I turn away.

"...No. I'm about to join Mikasa and the Titans that killed my family to protect our one chance to stop one of my best friends from destroying the world. So I'm about to kill people whose ideals were once my own... So no, Connie, I am not okay."

Floch

"Damn it!" Floch exclaims as he sees the Titans continue to slaughter his comrades. "Where the hell is reinforcements?!"

He looks back to his comrades on the rooftop, preparing for battle.

"Bring all the Thunder Spears! They're taking the ship to kill Eren! We've gotta sink it at all costs! If Eren dies, Paradis will drown in a sea of blood! The world will seek revenge and butcher your parents, siblings, and children!" he salutes. "Give your hearts!"

...But not a single one saluted back immediately. Until...

BANG!

Floch shoots one shaking Jeagerist in the shoulder. The others look at him, either more terrified or slightly more motivated. The weak have no place in his Empire.

"I said...GIVE YOUR HEARTS!"

Elijah

"Elijah!" Sasha flies down in front of me, and then faces the ship. "Change of plans. We're taking the boat to the Marleyan coastal city of Odiha. The engineers can prepare the flying boat there."

I watch as Reiner and Annie take hits from Thunder Spears to protect the Azumabito, Historia, and Magath. As the foreigners board the ship, Connie comes up with the wounded Armin and hands him over to Magath. "He's hit in the chest and stomach."

"And the jaw," I add. "He'll heal soon enough. You should-"

"I'm defending the ship," Connie says as he walks up to me and Sasha.

"You sure, Connie? You too, Sasha?"

She nods. "I'm not going anywhere without you. Mikasa, Reiner, and Anie can't do this on their own. We will fight and defend this ship."

"As will I," Coming up behind us is Historia, the young queen equipped to fight. But before anyone could voice their concerns, she spoke up. "Before any of you say anything, let me remind you that while I wasn't in the top ten of our class, but I was eleventh. And let me also remind you that I'm the Queen of this island, so no matter what you say, I outrank you. And...I won't do anything stupid. I promise."

I sigh and look forward. "Ymir is going to kill me... You three, defend this ship, I'm going to find Hange and Mikasa. Defend this ship at all-" An explosion in front of us gains our attention. The Female and Armored Titans just took an enormous amount of damage. The Female is headless and armless, while the Armored is armless and barely has his head. The Jaegerists are prepared to finish the two off. "Forget that, move!" We dash forward, launching ourselves over Annie and Reiner. Using the cloud of steam as cover, we exit to the surprise of the Jaegerists honing in on the Titans and kill them with ease. The others on the rooftops try to shoot us down, but Mikasa, Hange, and Jean back us up.

Landing on the roof, I switch my right blade for my pistol as I trade gunfire with the Jaegerists while getting Sasha to cover. Historia and Connie continue to fly around, I lost track of Hange, Jean, and Mikasa, and I wish I had eyes on Floch, who probably is surrounded with his soldiers like the coward he is. Some leader he claims he is, he'd rather send all these cadets to die than put himself on the front lines. As bullets whiz past us as we take cover behind a chimney, I drop my sight down and look at Sasha's face. "This isn't how I imagined our first date would be after you woke up."

"Then what did you imagine?"

"You. Me. Hunting in the woods, maybe cuddle by the fireplace."

Sasha pecks my cheek. "It's a date." She reaches for my waist and grabs my other gun. "May I borrow this?"

"Go get 'em, girl," As gunfire ceases for the moment, we lean away from the chimney and quickly fire shots before taking cover again. Now back face to face with bullets trying to get rid of our lives, I look down to the harbor, where a Titan-shaped boat floats towards the ship. Sasha does the same. "I think that's Pieck-"

The world flashes again in the presence of another Titan transformation, but who could… Falco... Pieck told us that he ran off on his own earlier. Hearing the roar of the third Jaw Titan I've encountered, the Jaegerists are thrown into a confused state.

"Now!" I hear Jean shout. "They broke formation! It's now or never!"

"Sasha, let's go!" We run out of cover, shooting down any Jaegerist in our way. As the Cart and bird-like Jaw Titan wreak havoc, I see that Floch manages to fly away. He's heading for the ship...with a Thunder Spear in his hand. "Not today you son of a bitch!"

"Elijah!" Sasha calls for me as I swiftly maneuver over to the bastard. I kill another few Jaegerists on my way over, leaving me with only a few shots of my pistol left. But I'm making this personal...so I switch to my blade.

"The one who will save Eldia...is me-"

I thrust my blade into his side, causing him to lose his aim on the ship as the Thunder Spear completely misses it. We fall, exchanging bloodthirsty punches as we descend to the earth.

"DIE YOU FILTHY MONST-" Leaning back, I headbutt him square in the face right before a pair of petite arms pull me away as Floch falls into the water like the sad sack of shit that he is. His defeat demoralizes the Jaegerists so much that they are now resorted to easy pickings. Now knowing they're beaten, some run away, some drop their weapons and try to surrender, and some still try to fight, only to be killed.

I land on the boat, seeing the one who pulled me away from a watery fight. "Thanks, Historia."

My Queen smiles. "Told you."

"We all need to go," I hear Jean say as I get to my feet. "We drove them off, but they could come ba- Huh?!" We look to where Jean is looking, surprised as he is seeing a rampaging Jaw Titan appear. Right... This is Falco's first transformation, and like Eren at first, he is unable to tell his enemies from his friends.

"Falco!" Pieck calls out, "Our enemies have retreated! Come out- Aahh!" Falco ignores the call and bites down on Pieck's neck, now rolling back to the ground. Concerned, we look over to see Pieck holding Falco down as Magath cuts the Jaw Titan's nape. With Falco recovered, our attention turned to the senior shifters. I leap off the boat, dashing over to Reiner. I cut him open and retrieve him while Mikasa handles Annie. As quickly as we can, we make our way back to the ship. As I had Reiner over to Hange, I go to take Falco from Magath.

"Take him."

"Right." I take the unconscious Falco in my arms, Gabi looks at him with tears in her eyes as she joins me.

"All of you leave at once."

"Huh?" I look to Magath, confused. "What about you, sir?"

"I'll hold the rear."

"..." As he runs away from the boat. I can't help but feel...some admiration. Because I know better than most, that this is a soldier's way of saying, 'Go on without me.'

"...Thank you, General." I hear Gabi say under her breath. With Falco in my arms, I lead Gabi back to the ship.

"...Come on. We have to go."

As the ship pulls out, I stand on the rear deck, watching as the harbor diminishes in size. I hear several footsteps approach me and a shoulder brush up against mine. "You did good today, Elijah."

"You did too, Mikasa... All of you."

"We got lucky, too," Jean adds. "I heard them say something about reinforcements, but they never showed up and I never heard any locomotive. Even if one did, someone blew up the tracks. But...who?"

I cross my arms. "I don't know who would side against the Jeagerists...even if I somehow managed to convince some. But...I do know one with a grudge against them."

"Who?" Sasha asks.

"The same man who trained us, and the twelfth Commander of the Scouts, Keith Shadis." I sigh, dropping my left arm, and leaving my right arm up as I perform a salute. After a moment of inaction, Mikasa, Sasha, Jean, Connie, and Historia join me as we stare out to the harbor, saluting the man who trained us of the 104th. While everyone else is saluting him, I alone salute to another. One who is risking his life for the ones he called devils most of his life.

"Give your heart, Theo Magath and Keith Shadis."

Magath

Theo holds his rifle up at the man who lands in front of him, wary of his position. "...Are you the one who blew up the railroad?"

"That's right," Shadis says as he rises up. "Why didn't you board the ship?"

Magath drops the question as he looks to the familiar ship behind him. "That there's a captured Marleyan cruiser. It's fast enough to catch their ship and sink it, so I can't just leave it here. Even with the few stragglers they have, they could get it up and working."

"...Then I'll give you a hand."

"Here they come," Shadis says as he hears the clinking footsteps from the boarders.

"I don't care," Magath replies. "I'm lighting up the magazine. Now's your last chance to take a swim."

"No thanks. I've been looking for a good time to die."

Theo turns to the hard-faced man. "Why did you side with us? It might be the island's downfall."

"...After I saw some Jaegerists shooting each other, I saw some old students of mine heading south of Shiganshina...with Annie Leonhart. And when I realized their plan, my heart was moved...by how much they've grown."

"Shooting each other?"

Shadis nods. "Yes. By some miracle, one of them survived. Told me that their leader murdered all of them after the reality hit them of what they were doing. Had something to do with Everett's 'speech'. That kid did have a dumbass way with words...just like his old man."

"So what will become of the Jaegerists now?"

"The runt who survived said he'd rally more people to overthrow the Jaegerists... Seems like my home is going into civil war."

"...If your people have resolve like yours, they'll be fine. But as for the rest of the world, even if reinforcements had come, we would've been goners. You'll soon be known as one of the heroes who saved the world."

Shadis chuckles at that remark. "Then... That makes two of us."

"...I refuse to pat myself on the back. Ignoring my conscience, I ordered around children to serve the country's interests and commanded them to destroy the wall. But I finally realized: If those kids can live normal lives...how happy that would make me."

"Hey!" A Jaegerist shouts as he bangs on the locked door. "Open this door!"

"Just forget it! Floch is dead now let's get the fuck out of here!"

"That's treasonist talk!"

"It was treasonist when he murdered all of our friends!"

"Well..." Shadis continued as the Jaegerists outside the room argued. "You might not pat yourself on the back, but I'm proud of you. And I'm sure those kids would be too." Shadis hands Magath the rifle, and the Marleyan general lowers it down to a small pile of gunpowder.

"Thank you. By the way, what's your name?"

"Keith Shadis. And you?"

"Theo Magath..."

BANG!

BOOM!

Elijah

BOOM!

My head turns back to the harbor...and my eyes are met with a cloud of black smoke and the roaring flames of the Marleyan cruiser. There's no way the Jaegerists messed up like that, so what... No, they didn't...did they?

"General Magath!"

From my left, I heard Gabi shout in grief. The poor girl is crying her heart out at the loss of someone I believe she highly respected. She grips the railing of the ship firmly while simultaneously trying to get her crying under control.

"..." I want to offer her comfort, but I know someone like me has no place-

"...He's gone." Gabi's muffled voice comes from my stomach as she clings to me. Not sure if it's my mind, my heart, or my mother's influence, regardless of what it is, I offer her a hug in return. letting her find some sort of comfort...because I know exactly what she feels right now.

Their sacrifice will not be in vain...

"We decided with Magath to head for Odiha. Rather, we had no other choice," Hange looks to the still recovering Annie. "There's nothing we can do to save your hometown, Liberio."

The Female Titan shifter drops to the floor on her hands and knees. "...If that's true, my entire reason for fighting is gone. I'm...getting off the ship."

"Even if the rumbling stopped in its tracks, Liberio and Marley's destruction was inevitable. Magath understood that, but he gave his life so we could push ahead. He didn't do it for Liberio or Marley. He did it entrusting us to save people whose names he'd never know."

"...In that case, I'll ask you again," Annie looks to Mikasa as she was helping her to her feet. "Can you kill Eren? If I...try to kill Eren...can you..." The girl stands. "...stand by and watch?" Annie looks around...at Hange, to me, to Connie carrying a healing Armin, Sasha, Historia, and Jean...with tears filling her blue eyes. "I'm sick of fighting each other. I don't want to fight with you anymore. Not you guys..." She looks down in defeat. "Not even Eren."

"..." This is...for the first time ever...that I've seen Annie cry. I didn't even think she'd be capable of something like this...no, she's human just like the rest of us on this boat. We've all done horrible things that no normal human would even think of doing unless it was absolutely necessary...but even then, our sins would be unforgivable in most people's eyes.

Even so...we still must move forward and do what's right.