Chapter 26: The Performance is Crashed

"Isn't she just so amazing?" Ai said happily.

Eren raised his eyebrow at his wife's crazy mood swing. One moment she pinned him in a hug and started crying her eyes out, now all her tears are gone, replaced with a starry-eyed look as she watched as Ruby finished her last song.

"Yes, the hundredth time." Eren said, slightly annoyed.

"Aren't you proud?" Ai asked Eren.

"Yes." Eren nodded simply.

Ai noticed a slight smirk on Eren's face. She could tell he was very proud of Ruby. Even if she wasn't his daughter by blood, Ai knew Eren saw her no different than Mikasa. Eren truly did love her and felt pride in her accomplishment as an idol.

However, Ai knew that Eren really had no care for idols. He was glad Ruby was living her dream and was proud she is doing what she set out to do, but he couldn't pretend to be interested in idols in general. He was proud of Ruby and showed support, but he couldn't pretend to love the concert.

Additionally, Eren was always one to not be overly animated. Based on what Reiner told her, Eren used to be so much more expressive. Ai found his seriousness and stoicism attractive, but there were times when she wished to see a more expressive Eren.

The subtle smirk he had right now, the one betraying his normally stoic expression, was probably the best she'd get.

"It's funny, seeing Ruby like this, it actually makes me jealous." Ai said honestly.

"Jealous?" Eren asked.

"Look at her smile." Ai said.

Eren looked up on stage as Ruby finished her pose. She started doing a double hand wave and addressing the audience, thanking them for coming and supporting them.

"She looks happy." Eren shrugged, not sure where Ai was going with this. "She looks like you did."

"I think it took me years before I could fake that look." Ai said.

"I remember. It always came off as weird." Eren said.

"My idol act was always that, an act. It was a job that I took seriously." Ai said. "I did enjoy being an idol, I really did. But the idol persona never really was who I was on the inside. At first, many fans noticed how fake it is."

"You don't act too differently." Eren said.

"That's because I have a family now." Ai said with a smile. "I am truly happy compared to my childhood, but the person I was as Ai from B-Komachi was a fake personality. But look at Ruby."

Eren looked up, Ruby still saying things and thanking the crowd.

"She's not faking it. Ruby never could fake her emotions or be disingenuous about who she is. She really is an idol. She enjoys it so much. She's so happy and the fans can subconsciously tell." She smiled.

"And that makes you jealous?" Eren asked.

"Yes." Ai said. "It makes me jealous how easy it is for her. I have no doubt she'll be better than I ever was. Because unlike me, she has a passion that's almost terrifying."

Ai looked down as she smiled, a small tear forming in her eyes.

Knowing the context of Ruby's past made Ai all the more proud. Ruby was a terminally ill child who spent her youth in a hospital. She slowly died a horrible death and the only thing that gave her hope was Ai's own performance. It made Ai happy and realize just how much of an impact she had on the young girl's lives.

"At the same time though, the jealousy is overshadowed by immense pride. To see her like this, dancing and singing with such a smile, to see her gain fans. It's an amazing feeling." She smiled. "I'm both jealous and proud of her."

Ai started to tear up again. These were tears of happiness, absolute bliss and joy as she watched her daughter excel at her dream.

"It's still just stupid dancing to me." Eren shrugged.

"Because you're boring darin." Ai shot back in a joking tone.

Eren gave a subtle smile. He won't argue with that. Despite not really caring for idols, he was still proud of Ruby and her dedication. Ruby's idol act never felt fake like Ai's. Even now, anytime Ai acted like an idol it still was weird for Eren. But since Ruby was so genuine it came off as less off putting.

It also helped that he knew Ruby since she was young.

Eren felt the hair on the back of his neck standup. He felt danger, like an animal being stalked by a predator. He suddenly looked around for the source of the danger.

Ai didn't notice, too busy watching as Ruby prepared to leave the stage. However, Armin, Reiner, and even Zeke had the same feeling of danger. Their years of combat experience as either Scouts or Warriors kicking in, warning them that something was in the crowd.

"Ai, get the kids." Eren said.

"Eh?" Ai asked.

BANG!

There was a moment of silence following the gunshot. The crowd went almost quiet as they began to process what happened. Thousands of fans immediately around them stopped dancing, cheering, or doing anything.

"EREN!" Ai screamed.

As soon as he did, panic took over.

People started running as panic ensued. Eren was pushed around but barely moved. His head had a hole in it that was leaking blood, but he remained standing. He was able to keep his body upright despite the severe damage to his head.

Eren managed to look around with his one good eye, his consciousness moved to the decent part of his brain that was still intact. He saw the Cart Titan in her regular human form, holding a pistol that was still pointed at him. She attempted to shoot him again but the crowd pushed her out of the way.

"Damn!" Eren heard her say. "You can do that!?"

Eren grew a mastery of his Titan abilities years ago. Arguably he had a better ability with it than the Marleyans since he could train without needing constant supervision by oppressive higher ups. So when he learned that moving you consciousness was possible, it was easy for him to adapt and get good at it.

"Eren!" Zeke yelled.

Zeke pushed through the crowd to try and attack Pieck. She turned and managed to fire a few shots, hoping to at least slow her former War Chief down. Zeke grunted as he was shot but it did little to slow him down. He reached Pieck and went to grapple her.

"Papa! Mama!" Eren heard his youngest daughter yell in fear.

"Ai! Get the kids!" Eren yelled, his head nearly fully healed.

"Y-you were s-shot..." Ai said in shock.

"Get them and go!" Eren commanded.

Ai broke out of her stupor and ran to grab the kids, however as she did a few members of the audience bumped into her, taking her eyes off of Kawachi and Mikasa.

"Kawachi! Mikasa!" Ai yelled, but they were gone, lost in the panicking crowd.

"We need to get to safety." Aqua yelled, grabbing Ai and pulling her away.

"Your brother and sister!" Ai tried to argue.

"We'll find them!" Aqua yelled.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light by the stage as a Titan appeared. Ruby and the girls were still on stage, in fear from what they knew were gunshots. A massive, skinned woman appeared and attacked the stage.

"Reiner, you go with them and save Ruby!" Armin yelled, taking command of the situation. "I'll stay with Eren and Zeke and help!"

"Gotcha!" Reiner yelled back. "Aqua, Ai, let's move!" Reiner said, following Armin's orders.

"Who is that!?" Ai asked as she pointed to the woman.

"It's Annie!" Reiner yelled. "I'll try to talk her down! You focus on saving Ruby and the girls!" Reiner said to Aqua.

"Right!" Aqua nodded.

It wasn't easy to push through the crowd, but they managed to navigate through the panicking people. They knew Mikasa and Kawachi were separated, but right now they needed to focus on the attack.

As they got close to the stage, they saw Annie standing over the damaged stage. The half roof over the stage collapsed around where the members of B-Komachi were. Reiner had a sickening feeling in his stomach as he saw the devastation. He hoped Ruby and the girls were ok.

"Annie! Stop!" Reine yelled towards the massive woman.

Annie turned to Reiner. Even as a Titan she had a bored and neutral expression, clearly only going through the motions of this attack and not letting herself feel any remorse.

Annie moved to attack them. Reiner pushed Aqua and Ai away as Annie swiped at them. Reiner didn't want to transform, not with the family so close to him. The transformation very well could burn them to death.

Luckily, it was a halfhearted kick and Reiner managed to duck as the massive foot went right over him. It wasn't an actual attack, just a warning from Annie to force Reiner to stay away. Even after all these years, Annie didn't want to kill him.

"Annie! Don't make me fight!" Reiner yelled. "Just leave, all I care about is Ruby!"

Reiner looked out to the corner of his eye. Aqua and his mother were running around Annie, trying to get at Ruby and the girls. They were far enough away that Reiner could transform if he needed to.

Annie looked back towards the collapsed stage. As far as she was concerned, her job was done. She attacked B-Komachi and unfortunately, it didn't draw Eren. So, Annie knew that staying here would be pointless.

Instead, Annie walked past Reiner and moved towards Eren and Zeke. She would go with their backup plan and strike Eren from all sides, now that Reiner was without a doubt out of the fight.

When Annie moved over him, Reiner quickly ran over to the stage, hoping that Ruby was alright.

He wasn't prepared for what he saw.

As Zeke attacked Pieck, the Jaws transformed from his vantage point on a building. He ran down the building and made his way to attack Eren. Eren also heard a transformation behind him. By now his head was completely healed and he saw Annie collapsing the stage.

He didn't see if Ruby was still there, but he knew what was happening. It's a simultaneous attack from all sides. Once again, they hoped to blow his brains out and eat him before he completely perished. Since that didn't work, they now surrounded him.

Eren reached up to bite his hand. Zeke was in the way, but he'd live from a few burns. The crowd dispersed enough so that there was at least a few food feet of space for him to transform. Some people may have minor burns from the steam, but nothing major.

Eren felt the familiar power rush through him. Due to their close proximity, the Cart and Zeke were severely burned. For the Cart it was enough damage for her to transform, but for Zeke he chose not to for some reason.

As Eren stood, prepared to fight the three shifters, he got into a fighting pose with his hardened knuckled prepared.

"Thanks for the warning baby brother." Zeke said sarcastically as he got up, his body badly burned. "Keep them busy!" He said as he started running.

The Cart made a move for him but Eren hardened his shin and kicked the Cart in the face as she moved, destroying her enlongated mouth. She jumped back, letting herself wait a moment until her comrades circled him.

By now the area was free of any people, minus Zeke and Armin that moved to reposition. Eren knew that Armin would be useless since any full transformation would be big enough to destroy the whole area, including the stage and causing it to collapse more and put Eren's family in danger.

PSHT!

Eren heard the familiar sound of ODM gear. Five ODM gear using Yakuza from Hokkaido all attacked simultaneously from all sides. Eren knew this was bad. He was against three Titans and five ODM soldiers. This would be a tough fight.

Eren moved to swat one of the ODM men, but another one fired an RPG at him. Right as he did, Eren hardened his arm and tried to block it, but it still blew a large part of his forearm off. Annie moved to do a low kick, but Eren lifted his leg to prevent it from behind broken off.

The Cart and Jaws attacked simultaneously but Eren managed to reach out with both hands and grab their faces. He tried to throw them, but another RPG hit him in the back of the knee, causing him to fall down to his knees.

All three Titans grabbed him from all sides. Annie opened her mouth since she was at the rear and went to devour Eren. Luckily, even without the Warhammer's power, Eren could still do a full harden. Even as they grabbed him, Eren forced his whole body to harden and had some of the material wrap around the three shifters, trapping them to his body.

In the last moment, Eren ejected himself from the hardened nape and fel fifteen meters to the ground. He landed on his legs, causing them to fracture, but he was still able to run. He focused on quickly healing as he ran, the healing significantly reduced since he just finished a transformation.

The three shifters struggled as they managed to break pieces of his hardened Titan, freeing themselves.

Just before they did, a large number of rocks flew over Eren's head and slammed into the three Titans, smashing them back. Eren looked in the direction towards the stage and saw Zeke in his Titan form standing there in his usual post throw position.

"Sorry I had to displace, but I'm much better at distance." He said.

Eren bit his hand again for his second transformation. He had maybe one more after this so he needed to be smarter. After he was done, he stood near Zeke, prepared for another fight against the Marleyans.

A Few Minutes Ago

"Ruby!" Reiner and Ai yelled as they saw Ruby's condition.

Mem-Cho, Akane, and Kana were all ok, aside from a few developing bruises. They were far enough forward that the collapsed debris missed them by a few feet.

Ruby wasn't so lucky.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, unsure of what's happening.

"Ruby! Baby!" Ai yelled, running right next to her hurt daughter.

Ruby looked towards her leg, which was currently hidden by a large steel beam that was blocking her view.

"There's this thing on my leg." Ruby said absentmindedly.

"Calm down Ruby." Reiner said as he checked the beam.

"Ruby... oh know..." Mem-Cho said in horror.

"Y-you're leg..." Kana added.

Akane was lost in shock, realizing that she was nearly the one who was crushed if she was even a foot back towards Ruby.

"Why are you guys worried?" Ruby asked.

"R-Ruby, you're leg is crushed." Akane said.

"So?" Ruby asked, confused. "Oh, it is." She said with very little concern.

"Ruby-Chan... what's happening to her?" Ai asked as she got down and held Ruby.

"She's in shock, she doesn't realize whats going on." Reiner explained.

He was used to situations like this. Sometimes he'd see Soldiers get their limbs blown off, only to show apathy or even not realize it due to the sheer psychological shock it would put the under.

"We need to remove her leg." Reiner said grimly.

"W-what?" Ai asked in horror.

"Don't do that." Ruby said in a mildly annoyed tone. "I need that to dance."

Reiner ignored her as he looked at the leg. It was completely and totally crushed. The bone is probably powder now. They'll need to cut blood flow off in her remaining good leg and cut the skin attached near the beam to get her to safety.

"W-we can't." Ai said in horror as she started to shake.

"We have to." Reiner said. "We need to get her away from the battle and this will be the only way."

Aqua was in a state of shock, tears threatening to spill out. True, he always loved Ruby as a sister. You don't grow up with someone like her without forming a familial bond for sixteen years. But now he knew the truth. This was Sarina, the same girl he watched die in that hospital almost two decades ago.

He tried so hard to keep her alive and happy. And it was happening all over again. He can imagine Ruby crying in a hospital bed as the doctor explained her missing leg. e could imagine her having terrible memories or maybe even panic attacks at being in that position again.

All because of those damned Marleyan bastards, who decided to drag an innocent girl into a war that she had no business being in. For the first time, Aqua truly began to hate them. Truly began to want them to suffer and pay.

The last time he felt this anger and rage was against Hikaru, and he swore then to protect Ai and Ruby from any threat, no matter what.

"No..." Aqua said, his mind racing from the events that went by in a blur.

Another transformation happened, this time it was a giant monkey, but he was facing away from them in an almost protective manner. Eren gave them a brief description of all the Titans, so they knew this was Zeke.

He began taking debris from the stage and throwing it towards the Titans. They saw another transformation and saw Eren transform again, prepared to fight the monsters.

Zeke got another few bits of debris ready to throw. The Marleyans and ODM Yakuza spread out, making sure that he couldn't throw in one move. Eren stood off to Zeke's left, his knuckles hardened again and prepared to fight.

"Stay near me and protect me from them, I'll attack from a distance." Zeke said.

He wound up and threw the debris directly at Annie. Annie braced herself but was knocked down from the multiple hits from the flying debris. She was hurt, but still able to get back up.

The Jaws ran in a zig zag pattern to throw Zeke off, moving fast while the Cart ried to circle around. Zeke took more debris and prepared a throw towards Pieck. As he did, Eren moved towards the Jaws and attacked in hand to hand.

The Jaws tried to jump over Eren to take out Zeke, but Eren grabbed his legs as he did and threw him back. The Jaws flipped over and landed on all fours, moving back to try another angle.

The sound of explosions behind Eren let him know that the Cart was destroyed by Zeke, followed by a lightning bolt as the Cart once again ejected and transformed.

"Brings back good memories of Shiganshina." Zeke said with a smirk. "Us fighting together."

Eren gave him a sideways look. He didn't at all think fondly on either battle of Shiganshina.

One of the ODM Yakuza landed on Annies head as she stood up, her body steaming to heal the damage from Zeke. Eren noticed he looked like a teenager, close to Ruby's and Aqua's age maybe. He wondered if it was maybe Lara Tyber at first, but he could clearly see it was a Japanese boy.

The boy drew his swords and jumped off Annies's head. He used the thruster to get him close to Zeke before using his grapples to grab onto Zeke's face and pull himself closer.

"I got this." Zeke said in a bored tone.

These Yakuza were good, but they weren't scouts. Only an inexperienced fool would grapple right onto a Titan. Now Zeke could grab the lines and slam him into the ground.

Right when Zeke reached up to grab the line, he retracted them, letting his momentum carry him the rest of the way as the lines went out of Zeke's reach. The he grappled towards the ground and flew right between Zeke's fight.

What? Zeke thought to himself as his legs collapsed out from under him. The familiar pain of his Achilles tendon being severed. The boy moved fast, much faster than even a normal scout. It was a level of skill he only ever saw in two people.

The boy used the gas to go up behind Zeke, ready to attack the nape. Eren moved quick, trying to intercept. Right as he got close, the boy pivoted in the air using his thruster and spun around Eren's hand, slicing it as he did. It was a move very reminiscent of Captain Levi.

The boy went for Eren's eyes to blind him, but Eren managed to back away and dodge the attack. The boy went past him, missing his face by inches. He then turned the thruster, putting his body through a lot of stress, to slash at Eren's arms, cutting the muscles that allowed him to move his arms.

Zeke managed to get up after healing his Achilles tendons but was attacked from behind by the Cart. Luckily, he made a hardened patch of skin at the nape, preventing the Cart from killing him.

Eren tried to fight the boy off, but it was like fighting Captain Levi and Mikasa at once. It's like he was flipping between the two distinct styles that they used in an unpredictable way that made it impossible to counter or anticipate his next move.

After a few moments of cutting, Eren fell in a seated position, functionally paralyzed by the boy. His skill with ODM really was something else. Even though he had Japanese swords, he was able to still cut him without getting the blades stuck.

"Got him down, now one of you, do what you came here to do!" The boy yelled as he stood on Eren's head.

Eren got out of the nape and stood up on the neck of his own Titan. Eren looked up at the boy, no older than Ruby and covered in a set of tattoos that Eren was unfamiliar with. They weren't the normal Yakuza tattoos he's seen.

"Who are you?" Eren asked the boy who was currently standing on the head of his Titan.

"The name is Reinkawa, nice to meet you Yeager." He said in a serious and mature voice.

"Are you an Ackerman?" Eren asked.

Eren vaguely wondered if maybe he had some connection to Levi or Mikasa. Eren knew that only Titan Shifters were reborn, so Mikasa and Levi shouldn't be here. Additionally, he knew that they weren't his old comrades because he acted nothing like them.

"Ackerman?" The boy asked, confused. "I told you, I'm Reinkawa." He said.

As Eren was talking, he saw the Jaws rushing towards him, ready to pounce. Eren knew he was in a bad situation. This Reinkawa guy was unreal, capable of easily defeating him and Zeke together. He didn't have the normal level of skill, no, he was much better.

Eren turned to look at Zeke, who was still fighting with the Cart on his back. Annie was staying back, ready to offer support if the Jaws ran into any issues. The ODM Yakuza, minus Reinkawa, were all standing back at a distance in a circle, ready to move in to assist.

Eren prepared to transform again, but the battlefield halted as two lightning bolts struck the stage.

"Guys, what's- oh no." Armin said as he got on the stage.

"They think my leg is hurt." Ruby said in a serious voice.

"Armin, we need to remove the leg." Reiner said.

"I said I need that!" Ruby yelled, trying to struggle in Ai's arms.

"Ruby, please calm down." Ai said. "Please baby."

Ai couldn't help but let he tears start flowing. She knew how important this was to Ruby, and now her one and only opportunity was gone. No one would care about an idol with a missing leg.

Reiner reached down to grab Ruby's leg, prepared to pull it free since he couldn't cut it. It may cause more damage, but right now they needed to get to-

Reiner felt a shock run through his hand the moment his hand came in contact with her leg.

"RUN!" Reiner said.

Operating on instinct, everyone ran off the stage. Everyone except Aqua, who only ran towards Ruby as he saw her begin to glow. He wasn't going to lose Sarina a second time, no matter what happened. He didn't care what Reiner said, he was saving Sarina.

Two lightning bolts struck, one slightly after the other, as a blast of heat and steam pushed Reiner off the stage and severely burned his left , everyone else got far enough away in time, but Reiner was badly injured. He didn't mind since it made it easy to transform if he needed to, and based on what he saw, he might need to.

The two Titans he saw standing up from the wreckage were unfamiliar to him. One he recognized due to the familiar white hardened skin that covered every inch of it. However, unlike Lara Tyber's Warhammer Titan, which had vertical slits so she could see, this one had two six-pointed star holes right where the eyes are. It looked more like cracks than actual eye slits.

The other one had a feminine body but was again, unrecognizable. The Titan had long blonde hair and generally looked like any other Titan you'd see. The face has flesh and skin and she looked like a typical Titan, aside from of course the fact that this Titan had feminine features.

However, one odd thing was her ribs barely poking out. It looked as if her chest was skinny and you could see her ribs, however the bone barely broke the surface of the skin so you could see the white part of the bone through the skin.

Both Titans got up to a standing position and roared to life, as if they just woke up from a long nap. The battlefield went silent as the warriors, Soldiers, and civilians all looked at the two newcomers.

"The warhammer?" Eren whispered to himself.

"Eren!" Reiner yelled from below him. Eren looked down, slightly surprised to see Reiner's injury but barely registering it. "It's Ruby and Aqua!" He yelled.

What!? How was that possible!? Neither of them should have Titan powers in anyway. Eren assumed the Warhammer would be Lara, but he hasn't seen her yet. Additionally, what Titan was that female one? Annie was here, so there's no way it could be the female.

"Wait... two females?" Reinkawa said to himself in thought. "Those Warriors said only one Titan Shifter took female features, and that's Annie."

He stabbed his sword into Eren's Titan skull as it dissolved and used it to lean on. He was deep in thought, trying to think of the information the Warriors gave him.

"They said you had the Warhammer power, but clearly you don't." Reinkawa said. "Maybe having three Titans is too much for a universal jump. So, if he took the Warhammer, that must mean-" Reinkawa trailed off.

Eren's eyes widened, putting the pieces together. It was unlikely, but the proof was right there in front of him.

Eren pulled out his pistol and shot towards the Yakuza boy. A gun may be useless against Shifters, but humans are completely fair game. However, Reinkawa acted fast and jumped away, propelling himself away from Eren. Eren jumped off the nape, bit his hand again, and transformed back into his Attack Titan form.

"We should leave!" Reinkawa said to the Warriors as he landed on the Jaws shoulder.

Pieck ran back away from Zeke as they regrouped. All the warriors, plus Reinkawa, stood near each other in a defensive formation.

"What?" The Jaws partially left his nape. "Now?" Galliard asked.

"Clearly, Eren no longer has the power. Killing him will mean nothing." Reinkawa said.

"After everything we've planned?" Annie asked as she too partially got out of the nape.

"The plan was to get Eren, clearly things changed." Reinkawa said.

"We're in charge here!" Galliard yelled.

"I'm aware." Reinkawa said. "But right now, we should rethink our goal here. The girl has the power of the founder."

"So? It would be easier to take it." Galliard said.

"And kill an innocent girl?" Pieck asked in her Titan form.

"After what Annie did?" Rein asked.

"I didn't intend to hurt her like that." Annie said. "That was an accident."

"Regardless, you're missing the big picture here." Rein said. "You all want to go home, right?"

There was a moment of silence as the Marleyan's looked down in thought.

"Annie, you keep talking about your father." Rein said. "You want to save my world." He said to Pieck. "And you want revenge." He said to Galliard. "All I'm saying is that right now, taking Eren down isn't going to be in our best interests."

"How?" Galliard asked. "Getting the girl will be easier with Eren dead."

"And who's going to teacher her to use the Founders power, you?" Rein asked.

Again, silence.

"Fact is, only Eren knows how to use it. If we simply let him teach Ruby, then move in, we can get what we want. Annie can go home, Pieck can be a hero, and you can have your revenge." Rein said.

Rein's plan made sense. There was always the concern that even if they did steal the Founder, they wouldn't know how to use it. Sure, there was the caveat that Pieck discovered about Zeke's abilities, but they didn't know how to use it.

In their old world, stealing the Founder was more about preventing the Rumbling than actually using it. Now, they needed to actually learn how to use it, something only Eren had experience with. Even if they took the power, it's a coin flip if they actually would see memories specific to that event since only the Beast Titan had clear memories of its predecessor.

"Fine, you win." Galliard said. "We'll wait for now."

"Of course I win." Rein said arrogantly.

Rein motioned for his ODM team to move out and return back to their safehouse. The Shifters also followed, needing to find a spot to get out of their Titan form before blending in to avoid being tailed.

"Who are they?" Ai asked Reiner, looking up at the new Titans.

"That's Ruby and Aqua." Reiner said.

"B-but how is that possible?" Ai asked.

"We can figure that out later." Reiner said.

"Agreed." Armin said. "I'll get them to safety. Reiner, you'll need to subdue them."

"Subdue?" Akane asked.

"First transformations are usually instinctual and violent. We'll need to calm them down or they could go on a rampage." Armin explained.

"B-but Ruby's leg-" Ai said in worry.

"If she can shift it'll have healed instantly." Reiner said. "Trust me, I promise I'll protect Ruby."

Ai looked at Reiner's determined face and chose to believe him. She knew that she was basically useless in this situation. The best course of action would be to get to safety so she's out of everyone's way.

As they left, Reiner began walking towards the stage where the two new Shifters were. Both of them looked to be operating entirely on instinct. Reiner imagined himself once upon a time like that, not that he could remember since it happened in a closed off underground facility to prevent damage.

Reiner reached up and for the first time in years, he shifted.

The Armor wrapped around his body like putting on an old suit that still fits perfectly. The feeling of flesh forming around him, simultaneously warm but comfortable. His armor and power returned to him.

He stood next to Eren and Zeke, prepared to subdue the twins before they could hurt themselves. Aqua noticed and in a moment of primal instinct, put himself between the Titans and Ruby.

Reiner noticed that even as a berserk Titan, his instincts to protect his family was still there. Ruby's Titan even instinctually hid behind Aqua, clearly not wanting or willing to fight. It didn't surprise Reiner, since if there were rare moments when a non-warrior would take the power, their first transformation could actually be relaxed, such as the researchers who normally took the Beast Titan before Zekes abilities manifested.

"Getting through the Warhammer's shell will be hard." Zeke said to Eren and Reiner. "I'd recommend taking down Ruby first, then pinning Aqua."

Eren and REiner shared a brief glance before nodding. It was funny, this would be the first time they ever fought together in Titan form. Every other time they were in Titan form together, they would try to kill each other.

Eren charged first. His hardened fists would be able to damage the Warhammer, at least a bit. Plus, since Aqua was so new, the skin won't be as hard as someone experienced. It was similar to how Eren's hands would be destroyed when he first would punch something.

Eren grabbed Aqua and subdued him relatively easily. Aqua reacted violently, trying to throw Eren off of him and protect Ruby, however he was no match. Aqua may have learned some things from Eren, but in this aggressive state he acted more like a cornered animal than a trained fighter.

Ruby screamed as Reiner grabbed her and wrestled her to the ground. Getting her subdued was easy. She was even less experienced and had no strength compared to Reiner.

Reiner hardened his nails and dug into the nape of Ruby's neck, ripping the flesh that surrounded her until she was easily freed from the nape. Her Titan went limp instantly once she was fully removed.

Eren began to struggle a bit as the animalistic side of Aqua began to percieve Ruby's death, not knowing what was going on. Eren tried to rip the flesh of the nape off but it was too difficult. He would have to smash his way through. It would hurt, but Eren needed to subdue him.

Eren curled his hand into a hammer fist and slammed it repeatadly against Aqua's nape. He had to be careful. Too soft and he wouldn't break through, too hard and he risked crushing Aqua. New shifters can't survive as much abuse as experienced ones.

After the nape was in pieces, Eren scooped out the mangled flesh that had Aqua. Predictably, his body was broken and his limbs were crushed. He was bleeding heavily, but as far as Shifters go, it would take a night of rest to recover from.

After they set them down, everyone exited their Shifter bodies and stood around the two. Ai and B-Komachi ran over once it was safe, only for Ai to-

"AHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as she saw her baby boy's body shattered and unrecognizable.

"A-Aqua!" Kana yelled.

Both women ran up to him. Ai felt herself having flashbacks to when he was a child and got hurt repeatedly. She was always afraid of what would happen if he got hurt more. Ai was no doctor, but she could tell there was no recovering fro this without permenant damage.

"Don't worry, he's fine." Eren said.

"Fine!?" Ai yelled.

"Normally I'd be concerned about his health, but right now I'm more concerned about how him and Ruby are Shifters." Eren said.

"B-but Aqua-" Kana began.

"He's fine." Eren said. "Shifters heal fast. After a night of rest, he'll be back to normal, probably the scar on his forearm will go away too."

"I just... I can't believe that he'd be ok." Ai knelt down.

However, she looked at Ruby's single naked leg. It was back, completely healed. She saw it crushed and yet it was completely fine. If course missing her sock and heel, but that was normal since it wouldn't grow back.

Kawa-Chan would probably call her going lizar-

"Where's Kawachi and Mikasa!?" Ai yelled.

What the hell kind of okaasan was she!? It didn't matter if she was in a life and death situation. How could she lose her babies in a crowd like that.

Eren's eyes widened as well, so preoccupied that he didn't even realize his youngest were missing. He was so hyper-fixated on protecting his family from the Marleyan's that he didn't do a headcount.

"MIKASA! KAWACHI!" Eren yelled in fear, hoping they were hiding.

Eren started to hyperventilate. Where were they!? Were they crushed in the crowd, kidnapped, killed?

"We'll find them Eren." Armin said. "Let's not panic and start looking."

As they started to look, they heard sirens in the distance as the police finally began to arrive.

"K-kawachi, where are we?" Mikasa asked her niisan as she held onto the back of his shirt.

"I don't know." He said, trying to navigate back to where their parents were.

"I-I'm sorry I ran." Mikasa said in a small voice.

"It's ok." Kawachi said to his twin. "You were just scared of the lion looking one, I understand."

The moment Mikasa saw the one with the bone face, she instantly panicked. Memories of the mall triggered her, and she started to hyperventilate and panic. Before she could even react or think, she ran away in any direction she could, hoping to get away from the monster.

Kawachi always remembered his otosan's lessons. Protect the family, no matter what. That's what real men do, and he wanted to be like his otosan. So even though he knew it was a bad idea, he chased Mikasa so he could protect her. Because that's what a man does.

But now, they were lost and alone. He tried to go through an alley to avoid all the panicking people since they almost got knocked over and trampled. It might not be the best course of action, but he couldn't be in a crowd like that.

PSHT!

The sound of gas above him made Kawachi look up. A flying Yakuza that attacked them came down, his dual Katana's drawn and ready to fight. He landed in front of the young twins. Mikasa made a scared noise and hid behind her niisan, grabbing the back of his shirt in fear.

"There you kids are." The Yakuza guy said. "Look, the Titan's don't want to involve you, but Reinkawa said he has plans for you. So, just come with me peacefully. I don't want to hurt kids."

Kawachi bent down and picked up a lead pipe on the ground. He was fully ready and prepared to fight to protect his twin. He knew the odds of winning were slim, but he had to try.

His body shook violently though. This wasn't a schoolyard fight, he knew that. This was a criminal that very well could and would hurt them. He was terrified. So very scared of the fight because he knew he couldn't win.

But he had to try. Because his otosan always fought to protect them. Like when he beat up that stalker when he tried to hurt them. Like when he rescued okaasan, Ruby, and Aqua from those Yakuza. Like when he protected Mikasa at the mall.

Because Kawachi wanted to be just like his otosan. And that means fighting.

So please, please stop shaking, he said to himself.

"Come on kid, that's cute but you won't be able to beat me." The Yakuza said. "I really don't want to hurt you."

"K-kawachi." Mikasa cried from behind him.

Kawachi felt his own tears about to fall from the fear. But he had to remain strong. He had to fight. He had to be like his otosan.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Kawachi dropped the pipe and covered his ears from the loud noise. A moment later the Yakuza guy collapsed and bled from his chest. He twitched for a moment, tried to move, but he was unable to. Not even a moment after that, he went still.

"Fucking asshole involving kids." A voice said behind him.

Kawachi felt completely frozen as he saw the dead Yakuza man bleeding on the ground. Transfixed by the sight. He never saw someone die before. It was a weird thing to see, something that paralyzed him. The only thing he felt was Mikasa trembling behind him, her face buried in his back.

He noticed a presence walk next to him but didn't look. Instead, he kept staring at the dead man.

He felt the man next to him grab his arm and forcefully turn him around so he was no longer looking at the body. Mikasa turned around as well, but still kept her head buried.

Kawachi looked to his right and saw an old man with white hair that was slicked back and a neatly trimmed beard. He had a large wool trench coat and had a pistol in his hand. Kawachi was frightened but to paralyzed to do anything.

"Are you ok kid?" He asked in a bad guy accent.

"Y-yea." Kawachi said as he tried to turn to look at the body again.

The man held onto his arm, preventing him from looking at the body and keeping his gave away from it.

"A kid shouldn't see something like that." The man said softly.

"He wasgoing to-" Kawachi began.

"I know, but still, you shouldn't see that." He said.

Mikasa peaked her head up to look at the old man. She felt scared around him with that bad guy accent. Plus, he had a gun and didn't look like a police or even the guys her papa works with.

"Let's get you someplace safe." The man said.

"W-who are you?" Mikasa asked quietly.

"My name is Sergei, I knew your father." The old man said.

"I know you." Mikasa said.

"You do?" Sergei asked.

"Mama said if anyone named Sergei talked to us, we should run." She said to which Kawachi nodded in agreement.

"Ahahahaha!" Sergei laughed. "Under normal circumstances that would be smart, but for now, you'll need to trust me." He said, his bad guy accent sounding more jovial from his humorous tone. "Come on, I'll get you someplace safe and I'll contact your parents."

Sergei led them to a car. He opened the back door and let the kids get in. Once he made sure their seatbelts were on, Sergei went to the driver seat and got in. He started up the car and started to drive.

"I know a safe spot. Don't worry." He said with a small smile.

Big reveal on this one lol. Obviously, a lot of people kind of saw Ruby being the founder, but I don't think anyone saw Aqua being the Warhammer. There is a reason and I tried my best to make it make sense in both magic systems, but the how and why will come later lol.

As always, hope you guys enjoy.