In reality, the stare-down between Eren and the Cart Titan...or rather, the Ghost of Ymir Fritz standing with the Cart Titan, only lasted about a second to everyone else.
Within the Paths, it was much longer.
Eren gritted his teeth as he kicked away a two-meter sand-copy of the Cart Titan, while Eldia impaled several more around him.
Ymir had figured out a few tricks. Now that she had some form of possession over the Cart Titan, she could send a weaker avatar of the Cart at him in the Paths.
Eldia could deal with most of them. And, according to Eldia, they just had to find Ymir. The problem was-
"Eren!" Mikasa moved, charging towards the Cart Titan with her blade, right as the Cart leaped at him, mouth opened wide.
The sudden shift to the real world slowed his reaction time, but he still managed to form a half-circle barrier of Titan-Hardening to block the attack, raising his hand to his mou-
He frowned as he was back in the Paths, finding one sand-cart trying to bite into his arm. He pulled back and punched the head off completely.
They weren't sturdy and were easily dispatched.
The problem was, every time they got close to Ymir in the Paths, she used what power she had to force him back into the real world for a second.
That second was long enough for her to relocate while swarming them with weak enemies.
"This isn't working," Eren summarized, getting a nod from Eldia, looming over his shoulder protectively. "Could you get her without protecting me?"
Eldia gave him a strange look. Despite having no eyes or even a face, Eren could feel the stare.
It was concerned.
Eldia had no intention of letting Ymir become the host again.
Eren took a breath and did something he never imagined doing.
He put himself in a cage.
An earthen prison formed around him, covered in spikes.
Eren didn't like it, but it was a good plan.
Eldia nodded and vanis-
Eren bit into his hand and transformed.
Thunderous lightning came down from the heavens.
Pieck looked up, uncertain of her chances, uncertain of even how she was still fighting.
Ymir just gave her a silent stare of wrath and ruin.
Eren's Titan form rose, new and different than before.
Overall, it was very similar in look. But it was taller, at twenty meters, and the hands were the same white as Titan-Hardening. The green eyes had a shimmering, almost crystal quality to them.
Within the Titan, Eren flexed his hand.
Within the Path, he leaned forward to meet Ymir's gaze fearless as she stood outside his cage.
"Last chance, Ymir," Eren offered softly, wishing she would take it. "Stop now and I won't take anything more from you. If I can, I'll even help you find your own peace, your own freedom."
Ymir's purple eyes turned hateful and vile. Through whatever remained of their connection, Eren saw the flashes of the Future he had denied. The World's rumbling, Mikasa's so-called choice, and Ymir's supposed freedom.
Eren got the message.
'You already took that from me!'
Eren sighed. "If you insist."
Victory over Ymir, that would not be satisfying. It would be needed, but it would feel less like defeating a hated foe and more like putting down a maddened animal.
But if she threatened him, his freedom, his loved ones, his people, his world?
He'd pull out every fang.
Rip off every claw.
And break every bone.
And leave her even more broken than she already was.
Meanwhile
Nothing made sense to Annie anymore.
She woke up and didn't even have time to realize she was free before she was taken prisoner by some soldiers. No one would answer her questions, which wasn't surprising, but she only had more as they made the journey to Shinganshina of all places.
How long had she been asleep?
Who were these soldiers?
Where were Hitch and Armin?
How did they force her out of the crystal cocoon?
Why Was Wall Maria Gone?!
That last one had been the most...concerning of her internal questions. Had the Wall Titans been unleashed?
She had spent the trip trying to remember everything Armin and Hitch had said to her. Well, everything of importance, so mostly what Armin said.
The people of Paradis had reclaimed the island, cleared out the Pure Titans, and made it to the sea. They were in a conflict with Marley now, more than they already had been. Something happened, Eren forcing the hand of the Scouts and forcing them to go to battle just as Marley had sent her and the others to this island.
But there weren't many visits after that. Even Hitch seemed busy and stressed lately.
Eren was involved, obviously. Though, hearing the word "Yeagerist" floating about had been...strange. And alarming.
The Island following Eren now, that was almost scary. She couldn't see people rallying behind him as a leader as she remembered him, but it had been years. Less than thirteen, obviously.
So many questions without answers.
She only hoped that where they led her wasn't to her immediate death.
Still, maybe this would be her chance for answers...
Armin blinked as he walked into the meeting room. He found Annie sitting at the table with a dozen Yeagerists in the room. All at the walls, all aiming guns at the Female Titan holder. And Annie, not having changed a day, seemed only slightly concerned by the fact, her expression otherwise aloof.
"Armin? You've gotten taller finally," Annie noted.
"Annie," Armin greeted, mindful of their company. "I wanted the chance to get you caught up on what's happened. I'm sure being gone for four years and pushed into this is rather jarring, Annie."
Four years, huh? That sounded about right to Annie. "How polite of you," she said neutrally.
"Eren has the full power of the Founder," Armin informed bluntly.
Annie inhaled and paled notably. "I see. I saw the wall was gone, but..."
"Eren isn't using the full Rumbling, merely using the Wall Titans as a weapon against Marley and their allies," Armin informed.
Annie settled slightly at that. "I see," she said slowly. That meant her father was probably still alive. Unless he died from something else. That would be her luck. "I take it that is why I can't transform but still heal? I was beginning to think this was some strange dream. Or nightmare."
"Trust me, we know the feeling," Armin said with a sigh.
"So, where is Eren?" Annie asked, raising an eyebrow. "He's not here to lay into me himself. And Mikasa isn't here. You might not be Eren, but she'd probably be here to protect you. So I'm guessing they're off somewhere else."
"Yeah. He'll be back soon. Can't say for certain what he'll do then," Armin remarked. "I felt you should know? Counting you, all but the Cart Titan have been defeated and acquired."
Annie may not have been as shaken by that as knowing Eren could send forth the Wall Titans, but she was still visibly surprised. Eren was the Coordinate, the Founder. The Attack Titan was unknown. She knew Armin had taken the Colossal from Bertholt from his talks with her. And she distinctly remembered something about that Ymir girl being a shifter but she had been taken back to Marley. But Zeke, Reiner, the Warhammer? They had all been defeated? Only the damn Cart remained?
Just how much of a war had she missed?!
"Congratulations," Annie managed to offer thoughtfully. "Are you here to ask if I'll join you now?"
Armin hesitated. It was for a second but it was there.
"Or, can you not do that?" Annie mused, glancing around carefully. "I notice a few of them giving you weird looks. Are you on the outs with Eren now, Armin?"
"Nothing like that," Armin said evenly. "I just wanted you to know the situation before it was all dropped on you when Eren gets back."
That certainly wasn't all there was to it. Something was up. Armin seemed troubled. She knew he felt...something for her. Maybe he was just sad knowing Eren would probably kill her. Even if Yeager himself didn't want to, Annie couldn't imagine these people being happy with the idea of letting her live. Even ignoring her help in bringing down Wall Maria all those years ago, she had caused plenty of death and destruction when she fought the Scouts and Eren.
The door opened suddenly.
"I think that's enough, kid."
"Captain Levi?" Armin questioned in surprise as he looked back at the shorter man.
A couple of the Yeagerists had turned their guns to the door at the sudden entrance, but they were soon back on Annie when they realized who it was.
"So, you're her," Levi said as he approached with a cold glint in his eye. "You're the one that killed so many of my comrades, huh? I don't think we ever properly met before."
Annie kept his stare but noticed curiously that he had the old ODM gear she was more familiar with instead of what everyone else seemed to be using now. Did that mean something or was he just a holdout, sticking with what he knew best?
"You know, after burying my old squad, there is only one thing I wanted to ask your sick face before doing anything else. "Levi said with a frown. "What the hell were you fighting for?"
Annie didn't react to that at first but did consider it. 'Do you mean us collectively or just me?"
"We know what you were all after. Fetch the one Titan that can control all the rest for your masters like the damn dogs they turned you into," Levi answered. "That's your mission statement, not your motivation. So, what is it? Because we're island devils? Or are you one of the weird ones that hate yourself and all our kind in general?"
"Nothing like that," Annie said with a sigh. "Reiner wanted to be a hero at first. Later, it seemed like he was fighting to find a reason to fight. He clung to that Island Devil thing. Bertholt? He just kind of got pushed into it, I think. Me? I'm only here because it was the only way to get home to my father."
Levi's gaze pierced her for a long moment as he took those answers in. "You have the least shitty reason, even if it is still dog filth."
"I'm aware," Annie answered flatly. "Say whatever spiel you have. How I don't deserve to see my father after all the families I robbed of a loved one, if not wiped out. That I'm murderous trash that doesn't deserve to live. Anything you say, I already know. I've either been called that my whole life or thought it myself since coming here."
Levi tilted his head. "I believe you," Levi said with a frown. "I'm disappointed you've been a model prisoner, or so I hear. I would have loved the excuse to take your limbs off. But I'd rather not cause a prison riot."
Annie furrowed his brow. Was he joking? She couldn't tell.
"Try anything, and I'll be sure to cut your eyes out again," Levi warned flatly as he turned to leave. As he went, he pointed to one of the Yeagerists. "You, come with me."
The soldier blinked but obeyed nonetheless, following Levi out. Armin shared one last look at Annie before following along.
Annie stared as they left. Interestingly, there were a lot of rifts among them. If she had much skill with manipulating emotions and personalities, she might have been able to use that. As it was, she leaned back and sighed, the Yeagerists tensing and holding their rifles even tighter while aimed at her.
"You're the leader of this little group, right?" Levi asked the Yeagerist.
"Yes, Sir, I am," the Yeagerist answered, glancing between Levi and Armin.
"Look, I'm not one of you. I get that but I'm not exactly thrilled with the idea of all of them down there. Even with their Titan abilities shut off by Eren, those shits are soldiers and dangerous," Levi reminded.
The Yeagerist considered that with a troubled look. "What do you propose, Sir?"
"Nothing much. I'm not getting involved with your plans, but I'm willing to play guard dog. Would there be any issue with me keeping watch on them?" Levi offered.
The Yeagerist took a second, looking to Armin again before nodding to Levi. "I think we'd feel safer with you around for this, Captain Levi."
Levi nodded before turning to leave, Armin following with.
"You think they'll try to escape?" Armin asked with a troubled look.
"Don't know. Without their powers, they can only get so far, but people tend to get more confident and stupid with more numbers," Levi murmured. "What exactly were you fishing for in there?"
Armin frowned. "I had so many questions for Annie since we found out she was our enemy. I suppose it was closure? Wanting to see where she mentally was with all this?" Armin admitted with a sigh. "I don't know, honestly."
"You don't have to feel guilty about not wanting to kill her ass," Levi said flatly.
Armin blinked, looking at Levi sharply. "Captain?"
"I hate the bitch, yeah, but traitors are never an easy thing to deal with. Especially if you were close to them. Or felt something for them," Levi assured. "Makes it even harder when they were a bunch of mind-fucked brats that were sent into this shit to raise Hell on behalf of adults who probably never took a life themselves."
Armin stopped walking, looking at Levi in surprise and confusion.
"Assuming Eren really can take the Titans away without killing them, we can neutralize the bitch and decide what to do with her later," Levi said, stopping to look back at Armin. "We don't ask to fall in love with who we do, Armin. No matter how fucked up or shitty that makes the situation. The only thing you get to choose is what you do with that situation. I'm just hoping you're not one of those people who are smart enough to make the worst kind of stupid decision."
Armin blinked before deadpanning. "Sir, I don't know what cliché story you have in your mind, but I wasn't thinking of going traitor to the enemy for Annie."
"People do dumb things when they're in love. Just wanted to say get that out of the way before you somehow convinced yourself of that. I've seen people do that, talk themselves into horrible ideas," Levi remarked. "I doubt you'd join against the Island though. You have enough survival instincts to not do that."
Armin sighed, "Does everyone think I'm some kind of loose end or something?"
"You're one of the most intelligent people on the island and have the big ass exploding titan," Levi reminded flatly. "You are, by definition, a dangerous element. The Yeagerists think you're too sympathetic to the enemy, but I doubt any save their biggest idiots think you're going to turn coat on us. They're just worried bout you trying to lead some counter-revolution against Eren. Me? I just want to avoid a "cliché story" as you put it."
"Fair enough, Captain," Armin accepted reluctantly. He was starting to understand how Eren felt when he first became a Titan, everyone being suspicious of him. but he supposed he couldn't blame them but so much. He wasn't truly on board with the Yeagerists.
Not because he didn't believe in Eren. He did, despite everything, but he believed in him as a friend and not...whatever the Yeagerists saw Eren as.
Meanwhile
With Eren protected within his earthen cage, Eldia was free to deal with Ymir much more efficiently.
Ymir only escaped one last time, busying Eldia with having to swat away more Earthen-Carts. They crumbled like dust, for that was all these puppets were before the very source of the power that allowed them to exist.
Dust trying to blow into the eye of a god.
After that, Eldia found Ymir right where They expected her to be.
Ymir was desperately trying to get to Eren, impaling herself on the spikes of his cage as she tried to reach through and grab him. Eren glared back coldly at the child-like avatar of his ancestor, soundlessly snarling at him until Eldia's tendrils reached out and ripped Ymir away.
Before the former founder could rise again, Eldia wrapped around her like a great snake, squeezing her tightly. Its featureless head seemed to glare down at Ymir for her actions. She glared back, tearfully, as she felt the wrathful entity that had been her only companion for so long turn on her so utterly.
The prison around Eren crumbled away into the sand as he rose to his feet and approached them.
He wasn't sure if it was this place, Eldia, or Ymir herself. But Eren could sense her somehow, he could tell what Ymir was feeling.
Despair. Abandonment. Robbed.
Robbed of what? Of the Power of the Titans?
No, Eren grimly realized what Ymir felt robbed of.
The Rumbling.
Her so-called Freedom,
The death of most of the world, along with Eren himself.
And Eldia, Eren recalled with suspicion. Was that why Eldia chose him? To avoid being killed?
Eldia looked to Eren, sensing his thoughts and-
"No."
Eren winced and grabbed his head as his mind was assaulted with images. He saw someone, a human of nondescription, emerge from a giant tree and become a Titan. Then dying without children. He saw that human buried and a new tree growing from the grave.
Well, that was troubling. If he believed Eldia, and that was a big if, then the Power of the Titans was eternal. It would always return eventually, no matter how many times the host was killed. Getting rid of it was like getting rid of death and disaster. It could be put off but never really gotten rid of.
Still, that was for another time.
He focused his eyes on the subdued Ymir. "I'll deal with the Cart Titan on my own, "Eren remarked bluntly. "But what do we do with her?"
Eldia answered.
Ymir paled.
Eren? He almost pitied her.
Almost.
End of Chapter
Well, Ymir tried to lash out at Eren and Eldia and is about to pay for it. Levi, Armin, and Annie all had some time to talk. Levi is, ironically, the one doing the most to try and keep the sitution from going to shit. Does he think Armin would go traitor for annie? No, but people do stupid things when the heart is involved. He also doesn't like the idea of keeping all the priosners in one place, so he plays gaurd dog, in his own word. THe Yaegerists are mostly scared of Armin and Levi in the "counter reovolution" sense, not the "betray them to the enemy" sense.
Early viewing of chapters 13 avaliable on my pat-reon:
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64