"Falco, where did you get that scarf?" Eren asked him. Gabi was terrified as Eren started walking towards Falco. "Tell me." He asked.

"Stop." Gabi intercepted him, shielding Falco behind her. "I gave him the scarf; he was getting cold. Punish me if you want, but he is innocent."

Eren stopped hearing that. Punish her? He stared at her before remembering the fight they had before. Eren took a step back. "I am not going to punish you."

"Mr. Yeager, why are you asking about this scarf?" Falco asked him.

"That scarf belonged to Mikasa. I kept it to remember her."

Falco looked at the scarf. He knew that Eren and Mikasa were close, but it was so close that he was keeping her scarf. He was now feeling bad for wearing it. Falco pulled the scarf off and extended it to Eren. "Mr. Yeager, I am sorry; please take it back."

Eren walked up to him, and Gabi reluctantly gave way. He kneeled down before taking the scarf away, looking at it. He sighed before wrapping it around Falco again.

"You should keep it. It would have been eating dust with me anyway."

"Okay, as you wish." Falco said.

"It suits you." He complimented. Now that he looked at him with the scarf, Eren realized how familiar Falco was to Mikasa. Trailing behind Gabi, standing with her no matter what was against them, caring for her. Eren was satisfied to give the scarf away.

He then grabbed his bag and gave it to the children. "Help yourself; we will leave in an hour."

Three hours later, Gabi peered down from Falco's titan, trying to find any sign of green. To her dismay, however, only flat land was left with an occasional pool of red blood. She finally looked away, disgusted from watching the carnage.

"We will land near the Marleyian coast and rest. Next day, we will finally reach home." Eren announced before turning his head to Gabi. "What are your plans?"

"Huh?"

"What will you do after you reach paradise?"

"I don't know; I don't want to live with the Braus family. I would only pour salt on their wounds."

"As far as I know, they are very forgiving in nature."

"Still, I guess we may live somewhere else on the island. We can do odd jobs."

"like"

"I don't know about him, but I can do anything." Gabi said before starting to make a list mentally, "I can work in the stables, tend to the gardens, dig the ground, and..."

"Well, it looks like you are quite talented, but there is no need." he smiles "I will talk to her; you both will live in the orphanage. I guess she might need some older children to take care of toddlers. They create nuance anyway."

"Yeah, I can take care of the toddlers." Gabi said.

For another hour, they remained in flight till the coast was visible, even though it was desecrated by the footsteps. Falco landed near a relatively unharmed boulder, sitting on the beach. Falco got out of the titan with Gabi's help. Eren simply went to the boulder, sitting under its shade. Both kids walked to him.

"I think this is your first time at the beach. Go and play; just remain near me."

"Okay." Both said it in unison before taking off their shoes and tossing them beside Eren. Both started walking towards the sea, feeling the sand beneath their feet for the first time.

"I always wanted to go to a beach." She said this before looking around the footprints. "Only if there were none of these stupid footprints, this place would have been beautiful."

"At least we have this beach." He says he is smiling. Both looked back as Eren lay on the ground, asleep. Gabi gave a mischievous smile to Falco.

"Hey, let's play in the sea."

"No, we don't have extra clothes, and there is no wood to burn to keep us warm. I don't want to ruin this scarf either." He says he is touching the red scarf.

"Aw, you are so boring." She made faces. "At least we can walk on the beach and feel the sea." She grabbed Falco's hand before starting to drag him to the sea. He did not resist.

The warm water brushed through their toes as both were in awe of the new sensation. "Let's walk." She said.

They walked along the shoreline, away from their landing spot. There was silence—not eerie but a positive one—only broken by waves crashing on the ground. Gabi's fingers were locked with Falco as both were looking around.

"Hey, do you have any memories of Mr. Braun?" Falco finally broke the silence. Gabi looked at him for a second before opening her mouth.

"No, maybe they come only after the first transformation. Why are you asking, though?"

"Gabi, I didn't really want to talk about this, but I don't really remember what happened during the final moments of our fight." Falco's other hand came up to his forehead, massaging it. "I don't think I remember how we lost."

"Falco, what do you mean?" Gabi asked him. "He killed them."

"Yeah, but I have this hazy dream. Mr. Braun was fighting the worm, but then he let it go." Gabi raised an eyebrow. "It is true."

Gabi looked down at the ground. If this was even true, what was the reason that Reiner let it go? There was only one way to know.

"I will transform."

"What!" Falco shouted.

"If I transform, there would be a greater chance for me to have his memories. Also, I want to see my armored titan."

"But Gabi, it is dangerous. The first transformation rarely goes well."

"This is an open space; nothing will happen. I am confident that this is a rare chance. Now give me that knife." She joins her hands and looks at him with pleading eyes. "Please."

"Fine. Just let me go far away."

"Ok, I promise I will control my titan."

"I hope so." He gave the knife but had a worried look on his face. "Gabi, reconsider," Falco was worried, he was too exhausted to transform again. What if she lost control, there was nothing stopping her from eating him.

"I have." She reassured him. She then places the blade on her palm as she looks upon him. "Hey, can you give me some advice?"

"Just cut and think you want to transform," Falco said as he took a few more steps back.

Falco moved away from her; she slashed her hand as she transformed. Her titan was similar to that of her cousin, except the hair was longer and was of the same color as hers.

"Woah!" Falco says as he starts to back off from her.

Her titan's head suddenly turns towards him as she starts to walk towards him with her pace increasing. She roared at him, fulfilling the doomed prophecy.

"Shit," he thought as he started to simply back off, before turning around and running away from her. Just as distance between them started to decrease, he tripped and fell. "No," he said, looking over to see her titan staring at him. "Gabi, stop; it's me." He held the scarf. "Remember, you gave it to me." There was no reaction from Gabi except her urge to eat him grew. She roared again, drowning Falco's screams.

She extended her hand toward him. He closed his eyes, defeated, waiting for his death. Instead, he heard a large thud. He opened his eyes to find the titan fallen on the ground, on its face as a massive cloud of steam was bursting out of its nape.

"You two!" He turned his head to see Eren running towards them with anger all over his face. His eyes blazed in purple. "Who the hell told her to transform?" He grabbed Falco by his shoulder, violently shaking him. Falco felt disoriented as he saw in Eren's eyes, there was unadulterated fear in it, trying to mask itself as anger.

"I-she.." Eren let him go, Falco's head falling on the ground. He felt nausea taking over him.

"Leave it." Falco raised his head as much as he could, Eren was now on the titan's nape, pulling Gabi out. "Playtime is over; now sleep." He grabbed Gabi and loaded her over one of his shoulders. Falco's head slumped back, looking at the blue sky before he felt his body levitating. Eren easily picked the twelve years old like a rag doll and loaded him over his other shoulder. Eren carried them back to the landing spot before laying them on the coarse sand. "Sleep now."

Falco's eyes grew heavier and heavier before finally he fell asleep. Eren sat next to them, looking at them. "Why does everything have to happen?" Fear started growing over him. "I cannot even prevent her from knowing what happened there." He lamented before facing his face forward, he saw black figures standing in front of him, millions all the way to the horizon. "I don't want to relive those moments. Please, I don't want to."