Attack On Titan: Wings Of Crystal
Chapter 78: The Return
A shocking revelation occurred in the dark vault of Ludwig Oppenheimer's lab, one Lazarus was still unable to acknowledge. His memories were still slowly coming back to him. He has yet to understand the magnitude of it all. Armin Arlert, the young Scout he believed he'd killed, is alive. All this time Ludwig had been keeping his Pure Titan locked up in the vault, chained to the wall until they could feed a Titan Shifter to him.
But he was no longer a Titan. Somehow, he'd managed to transform back into his human self, the same as how he was four years ago. He remained 15 years old whilst everyone he knew had aged four years. He wasn't even aware that it had been four years since the Battle of Shiganshina ended.
Armin gazes down at Lazarus and tilts his head with a look of confusion on his face. He didn't seem to recognise him. A side effect of being a Pure Titan for so long.
"Who's Armin?" He finally spoke, stuttering between words just as the albino Eldian was.
"That's your name, isn't it?" Lazarus replied.
"I don't know… I'm having a hard time remembering… Why do you have horns?" He asked in a more confused manner rather than the expected surprised one most people use whenever they see them.
Lazarus feels the top of his head and traces his fingertips up the side of his horns up to the pointed tips. He acted more shocked than Armin did in response.
"What is this?! Am I a devil or something?!" He panicked.
"Argh!" Before Armin could respond, he grabbed the sides of his head, reacting to the pounding headache he was receiving. "My head! It feels like it's gonna explode!"
Lazarus starts to pick himself up for the first time since he'd been down here. He grunts in pain as his stiff body slowly loosens up with every movement. He could feel the joints in his bones crack with every flex. His legs felt the stiffest as they hadn't been used since his body had grown back. The simple act of standing up was too much for him. Like a newborn learning how to walk for the first time.
Eventually, he loosens his body enough to be able to move properly again and walks over towards Armin, who is slightly smaller in height to him now compared to their equal size four years ago.
"Are you alright?" He asked concernedly, placing a hand atop his back.
Armin turns around when his headache finally begins to subside. Upon facing Lazarus, he only just now realises that he is standing naked in front of him and backs away in a panic.
"Ahh! Why are you naked?!"
Lazarus looks down and comes to the same sudden realisation as he did. He quickly covers his crotch and backs away just as fast.
"It's not just me!" Lazarus pointed at Armin's nakedness. Armin curls up into a ball and hides in the corner in shame.
Hoping to fix this embarrassing issue, Lazarus scans the vault for something/anything they can wear. They were in luck, for there were some clothes. The issue was they were still clinging to the two dead Yeagerists Michael dispatched when he rescued Bertolt.
He slowly inches closer to the dead bodies and cringes as he removes their boots, shirts and trousers while apologising the whole time. He hated the thought of desecrating these random corpses just to cover himself and Armin up, but there was no other option. There were no conveniently placed clean spare clothes for two that happened to be their exact size lying around this time.
Once he'd put on their shirt, trousers and boots from one Yeagerist, he did the same for the other and tossed them over to Armin, who was sitting in the corner curled up into a ball.
"Here, put these on. They may be too big for you, but it's better than nothing."
Armin nods and puts on the clothes. Lazarus was right, they were too big for him. Hopefully, this was only a temporary solution until they could get some proper clothing. The two of them sat in silence far apart from one another. They weren't ignoring each other but focussing on remembering everything they'd lost up until this point. Lazarus was getting closer to recapping everything. The most recent memories he'd gotten back were the events of Annie's capture in Stohess District. And Armin's were of him and the rest of the 104th joining the Scout Regiment.
"… I think you're right."
Lazarus turns around and quirks an eyebrow at the young farm boy.
"My name is Armin. Armin Arlert… And you are Lazarus, I think. We worked together in the military."
"Y-yeah, you're right! I'm starting to remember now!" Lazarus exclaimed excitedly. "We're soldiers of the Scout Regiment. We fight Titans. And you and I are part of the same unit… I remember standing atop a wall that stretches high above towns. So high you could see so much of the land… A couple of others were standing around me. They looked… scared. But why? And why are you running at me? Why…
Lazarus' eyes widened the hardest they've ever gone as his healing factor had finally repaired all the damage to his brain, filling in all the gaps in his memory in an instant. Everything that transpired from the last thing he remembered to the point the explosion occurred came back to him all at once.
"Lazarus… Are you alright?" Armin asked worriedly. But he didn't get a response. Lazarus just stood there frozen in place with his mouth and eyes open all the way. He looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
He wanted to get closer to try and snap him out of the trance he was in. But he was startled by the tiny specs of dust falling from the ceiling. He stops to look up, which proves to be a big mistake. What followed was the ceiling cracking enough for a big chunk of the roof to fall out of place and land right on Armin's head, knocking him unconscious. The constant tremors of The Rumbling had finally weakened the ceiling enough to the point where it was about to start caving in.
Lazarus finally manages to snap out of his trance and grasp the side of his head in shock. He couldn't believe it. Armin was alive. How was that possible? He saw his Titan body explode into pieces when he burst out of him. There shouldn't be any part of him big enough to regenerate from. And Armin wasn't a special case like him.
He had so many questions but so little time to answer them as the whole vault was on the brink of collapse. He needed to get himself, and Armin, out of here before they got buried alive.
He quickly picks up the passed-out farm boy and lugs him over his shoulder before racing up the stairs from whence he came. The cracks on the ceiling spread outwards until they've covered every corner before finally giving way and coming down on the entire chamber, flooding it with dirt, dust, and rock.
Lazarus barely had enough time to jump through the vault door before slamming it shut behind him. But it wasn't just the vault. The whole basement was unstable.
"Are you kidding me?!" He mentally raged as he once again picked up Armin and charged down the hallway and up the spiral staircase to Ludwig's main lab. But he didn't stop there. He kept on running until they were both back on the surface.
The whole area where Eren's house stood ended up getting swallowed up by the ground, sinking into the earth and burying the entire lab. The duo hid inside an abandoned bakery a good few feet away from the lab in case the sinkhole grew wider. Lazarus watched as Eren's old house crumbled up and collapsed in on itself as it slowly submerged into the sinkhole. He was fortunate to have gotten himself and Armin out of there in time, as well as the fact that whatever research Ludwig left behind down there had been swallowed up and destroyed.
Lazarus carries Armin upstairs to the living quarters of the bakery and gently lies him down on a single bed. He pulls the covers up over him and drags a chair to the side of the bed for him to sit on. Now that things have calmed down, aside from the tremors of the Wall Titans, Lazarus feels Armin's forehead, checking for a fever.
"Aside from a head injury he seems fine, thank God… Still, I can't believe you're here. I've been living with the guilt of killing you for four years. But you didn't die, Ludwig just kept you locked up in that basement all this time… No, this couldn't have been him. This was Hange's idea. Possibly Eren's too… They must've discovered his Pure Titan had survived when I broke free. The nape might've been intact enough to allow him to grow his body back. And they captured Bertolt in the hopes of changing him." He speculated to himself.
Thinking back to The Battle of Shiganshina, Lazarus recalls the moment when Armin's Pure Titan grabbed his helpless body and ate him whilst the surviving Scouts watched. They'd hoped Armin would inherit The Winged Titan and gain a powerful weapon. But instead, they'd lost a valuable ally and learned a terrifying truth. It didn't take a genius to piece together how Armin emerged from his Titan body.
"My spinal fluid! When he chewed my body, it must've gotten into his system. It was still inside him in a dormant state until my body landed in the labs. I was screaming from the pain of feeling my body growing back. I must've triggered the spinal fluid and reversed his transformation… But he couldn't remember anything. He's been a Titan for four years. Ymir said she'd been one for sixty years. I don't think she mentioned suffering from memory loss. Then again, she didn't share much about her past with anyone apart from Historia… Hopefully, when he wakes up, he'll tell me."
Lazarus remains by Armin's side patiently waiting for him to awaken. Every now and then he'd look out the window and despairingly stare at the almost endless number of Colossal Titans marching out of Shiganshina. He wonders how Armin will respond to this and how horrified he'll be when he learns it is Eren who is causing this.
Four years ago, when The Battle of Shiganshina had concluded, the surviving members of the Scout Regiment had finally caught their breath. They'd taken the Warriors' best shot and come out standing. But the number of casualties they'd sustained was dangerously high. They started this mission to retake Wall Maria with over two hundred of Paradis' finest men and women. Only eight survived to the very end. They hadn't even received any form of victory for their losses. The Omega Unit sustained no losses and returned home with The Crystal Titan and Commander Erwin as a consolation prize.
The only good that came out of this horrific defeat was the long-awaited unveiling of Grisha's basement and whatever secrets lay within. They discovered the horrifying truth of the outside world. It wasn't ruled by Titans, it never was. Their homeland of Paradis was but a tiny island in a vast open world where all who inhabit the other continents view them as evil devils and the Titans were just members of their race transformed by Marley to keep them trapped in their walls.
Understandably, it wasn't easy for Eren to accept, especially after he'd presumably lost Armin moments ago. It was nothing at all like Armin had told him in his grandfather's books. It was much worse.
When he, Mikasa, Levi, and Hange all returned to the surface they were all beyond shocked by what was lying a few feet in front of the basement entrance. The head and neck of Armin's Pure Titan were lying in the street a few feet in front of them and moving. It landed there after The Winged Titan exploded out of him, flinging its body parts all across Shiganshina. It was just staying there motionless when they arrived. They assumed it would start decaying once they'd found what they were looking for.
But now that they had, they were awestruck to see Armin's head was not only still alive, but the nape was somewhat still intact enough for his body to grow back. All it was able to regenerate so far was the skeletal structure of its shoulders. The arms were growing back but they appeared much smaller than how they were before. In its current bony state, Armin could not grab them. All Armin's Titan could do was lay still and stare at his two closest friends.
"Ar- Armin?" Eren stuttered, still unable to grasp the concept in front of him.
Tears of joy quickly built up and leaked out of Mikasa's eyes, flabbergasted to see Armin still alive by some miracle. "He's… alive."
The two of them started approaching the Titan without thinking, prompting Levi to pull them both back before Armin's Pure Titan could bite their heads off. He then draws his blades and starts going in for the kill.
"Captain, what are you doing?!" Eren intervened, grabbing Levi's shoulder.
"Not this again." He muttered under his breath as he pulled himself free. "You and Mikasa are already in enough trouble for earlier. Don't make it worse on yourselves."
"But… Armin's still alive!"
"As a Titan." He clarified without a second thought. "Without an enemy shifter to feed him, he's just another Titan that wants to eat us. Best to put him down now before we lose anyone else… Too many lives have been lost today. Do you wanna be responsible for more?"
Eren and Mikasa briefly look at each other without uttering a response. They then glare at Armin's Pure Titan just lying on its front with no proper upper body. Mikasa was starting to think maybe, for once in her life, the captain was in the right. With no captured Titan Shifters to feed him, Armin is just a danger to the eight remaining Scouts. She wondered if Armin was even still in there. If it was possible that the boy she grew up with in this very town still existed in this deformed monster's body, the honourable thing to do would be to put him out of his misery. He can die as the hero who allowed himself to burn to death to give Eren a chance to grab Bertolt, rather than live as a Titan. Though she hoped he didn't know that his sacrifice was in vain thanks to Michael's interference.
But Eren scowled at Mikasa for even considering agreeing to Levi's proposal. Titan or not, Armin was still their friend. He would never agree to execute him, not when the solution to change him back was still an option. They'll just have to wait for another opportunity to capture one of the Warriors and feed them to him.
Whilst they were arguing over the fate of their fallen friend, Hange was examining Armin's Pure Titan like she would any other she'd come across for research. She looked him over from head to slowly regenerating his upper torso with fascination.
"What are you doing ogling him? You wanna give him a kiss or something?" Levi bluntly mocked.
Slightly embarrassed, Hange backs away and addresses her comrades with flushed red cheeks. She was about to tell him off for joking about something like that, but her scientific mind started going to work, wondering if maybe, just maybe, it could change him back.
"I mean, it worked in some of those old stories my father read me when I was a little girl. Titans are no different from being turned into frogs. Maybe-
"This isn't a fairytale, Four Eyes! Titans can't be changed back with a simple kiss. Get your mind out of the gutter." Levi said to her as she stared off into space, lost in her thoughts while looking at Armin.
His response only worsened Hange's embarrassment. The redness in her cheeks grew brighter, forcing her to look away to regain her composure. Eren was enraged with the way those two were acting. Armin is suffering as a Pure Titan and they're making jokes. He feels the urge to go up to them and vent his frustration again. But last time he did that Mikasa almost slit Levi's throat and they're already in trouble for that. As soon as they return to Wall Rose they are to be confined.
All four Scouts were too focused on arguing that they seemed to have forgotten about Armin's Pure Titan. In the fifteen minutes since they'd returned to the surface, he'd managed to regenerate his arms, muscle and skin, allowing him to move them again. His arms were smaller compared to the rest of his body. A possible side effect of being brutally blown apart from the inside.
Armin's Titan summons all the strength it can muster and channels it into its small arms. It launches itself off the ground and makes a dive for them headfirst and mouth open wide. Mikasa and Levi's Ackerman instincts kick in and they tackle Eren and Hange, pushing them out of the trajectory of Armin's jaws, barely dodging his huge teeth.
Armin's Titan ends up crashing into the remains of Eren's house, burying its head through the floorboards and sticking out the basement's ceiling. It took some time for it to pull itself free and slowly turn itself around to face the four Scouts. Its eyes were fixed on its prey, ready to pounce yet again. Levi holds his blades up to the sides, readying himself to strike first before the Titan could make a second leap. He's not letting that thing that used to be Armin claim any more lives. Too many have died already.
Eren is about to plead with the captain, but Mikasa holds him back. There is nothing more they can do to help Armin now other than ensure he doesn't kill anyone.
But all parties, including Armin's Titan, froze in response to the noticeable sounds of the floor buckling and cracking underneath the Pure Titan's regrowing torso. Before they could react, the floor gave in under the Titan's weight and collapsed in on itself, allowing Armin's Pure Titan and the remnants of Eren's house to fall into the hole in the ground that was the basement.
Armin's Titan crashes through the basement ceiling and ends up destroying everything within. Soon he and Grisha's research wound up getting buried by the collapsing debris. When the destruction subsided, and the dust cleared, the four Scouts bore witness to the results. There was not a trace of Armin's Titan or the contents of Grisha's basement anywhere to be found.
"ARMIN!" Eren rushes over to the pile of debris and starts removing pieces of rubble from the wreckage, desperate to dig him out. "Mikasa, help me dig him out! We gotta get him outta there!"
"Eren…"
"What are you doing standing there?!" He shouted back at her. "Help me already!"
"Stop." She catches Eren's arm and pulls him back up onto his feet with her Ackerman strength, dragging him away from the remains of his home. "He's gone, Eren… I don't wanna believe it, but… He's gone."
"She's right." Hange butted in, hoping to take some of the edge off. "There was nothing we could do for him. You saw what happened with Lazarus. We took a chance and we lost the bet." She reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out three notebooks. A red one, a black one, and a green one. "Good thing I grabbed these before we left. At least we didn't lose all of the evidence, right?"
Eren said nothing. He didn't even look in her direction. At this point who cares about evidence? They'd just lost Armin twice now. It was painful enough the first time. Poor Armin didn't deserve any of this. He should've become The Winged Titan, Eren thought. Why did have to come to this? Is the world they live in really that cruel?
A year later when the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers first arrived on Paradis, Hange was working with Doctor Oppenheimer on some of the new weapons the military can use in their upcoming attack on Marley. When the mention of Grisha's basement came into the discussion, the Marleyan scientist demanded to see it.
His and Hange's team of researchers unearthed the rubble atop Eren's old house hoping to find any old research that had survived the burial. Instead, they found something unbelievable. Armin's Pure Titan was pinned under a massive rock further below the basement level. And he was still alive.
The depths made from the collapsing weight of Armin's Pure Titan were much further down than Hange had previously calculated. The basement was nowhere to be found. The weight of Armin's Titan combined with the basement seemed to have broken through the ceiling to one of the crystal tunnels under Shiganshina Michael had been using to get around. Ludwig's scientists slightly panicked at the sight of Armin's Titan reaching its deformed arm up in a vain attempt to grab them.
"There's a Titan down there!"
"Yes, I can see that." Ludwig sarcastically replied. He turns to Hange on his right. "You don't seem shocked. Did you know this was here?"
"I-I did, but I'd assumed he died when the whole thing came crashing down on top of him." Ludwig notices a look of regret on his new ally's face when looking at that Titan. Initially, it didn't make sense for her to show sympathy for a Titan unless she knew them personally.
"This is someone you used to know perchance?"
"Armin Arlert. A member of the 104th Cadet Corps and Eren's closest friend. The two of them and Mikasa grew up here in Shiganshina." She explained, her eyes still fixed on the helpless Pure Titan.
"Armin you say. Yes, I recall Eren mentioning an individual by that name. Said that he was a genius." Hange gives a simple nod in response. "Poor unfortunate soul. If only you'd managed to capture one of the Omega Warriors. You could've saved him."
"We did. But it turns out Lazarus somehow managed to survive. No doubt your handiwork." Hange scorned in his direction. "Care to explain yourself, Doctor?"
Ludwig sighs. "… I designed The Winged Titan to be forever bound to its current host to prevent enemy nations from ceasing the power for themselves. It was a direct order from my former employers. They also asked for a weapon that can never die. Never be beaten. At the time I wasn't in a position to refuse them, so I had to do as they said. The Odiha explosion was my only window of escape. But Marley had already moulded Subject 14 and his Titan into one of their Warriors. It was out of my hands… Hange, the fault for what's happened to this young man falls on me. I am sorry."
Hange's eyes shift in the old man's direction. She wondered if he was being genuine or if this was just some form of manipulation. Although he is a scientist with a passion for Titans like she is, he is still a Marleyan. He cannot be trusted.
"Commander, should we dispatch the Titan before construction of the lab can commence?" One of the new Scout recruits asked.
Ludwig ended up responding faster than Hange could and instilled his suggestion. "That will be unnecessary, soldier. The Scout Regiment will be needing a new Titan power once we capture one of Marley's Warriors."
"What are you-
"You said it yourself, Hange. If the Scout Regiment is to have a major advantage over Marley, we must pick off their Warriors one by one. Capturing at least one of them will provide that advantage. On top of receiving another one of the Ten, you'll be saving this boy's life. Eren would be grateful. The boy is a genius. He'd be a great help to your cause." Ludwig explained.
All eyes fell on Armin's Pure Titan still struggling to lift the giant rock off of its body. Hange didn't want to admit it to his face, but Ludwig was right. Eren had been going rogue since the Scouts reached the island's beach and the sea for the first time. The hope of feeding one of the Warriors to him should be enough to get him to cooperate again. Maybe Armin could talk some sense into him as a bonus. Eren always relied on his wisdom to get through the toughest of times.
"What do we do?" She finally asked.
"Well, first we'll need to clear out all this debris and construct a vault. It can act as the sacrificial chamber for the captured Titan Shifter whilst also cutting off this section of The Crystal Titan's tunnels. On top of it, we shall build our lab. As promised, I will share my secrets with your military and provide you with better weaponry to give you an edge against Marley for when the time of the attack begins."
"And Eren?" She asked.
"Tell him he will have his friend back soon." Ludwig smiles as he stares down at Armin's Pure Titan. The Titan was staring back at him. From Armin's perspective, he'd heard and seen everything that had transpired. Though his Titan psyche was mindless, his instincts told him that there was something suspicious about this Ludwig Oppenheimer.
Through the eyes of his Titan, he watched as the volunteers constructed the vault around him while he was chained to the far end of the chamber out of reach of the others. And his ears often heard the construction of the laboratory above. He would often receive a visit from Ludwig, Hange, Eren, Mikasa, and others from time to time, but he did not recognise them as his friends, only as food.
For four years he remained trapped underground until moments ago when he heard the sounds of Lazarus' screams. After that, his Titan body froze up and went limp. Armin's consciousness was dragged back into his mortal body, which was growing back within the nape. As his Titan body died, his grip on life grew stronger.
All these years the only thing he could focus on were the sounds of various people calling out his name. "Armin".
Back in the bakery bedroom, Armin started to stir and mutter in his sleep, triggering a response from Lazarus. "Finally, he's starting to regain consciousness", he thought. Maybe now he can get some answers. The albino gently shakes the farm boy's shoulders, whispering his name in a soothing tone to help wake him calmly.
"Armin … Armin?"
He slowly opens his eyes and groans as the brightness of the room overwhelms his eyesight. It felt like he'd spent forever in darkness and was suddenly basking in the light for the first time in ages. He had difficulty readjusting for some time.
"It's okay, Armin. You're safe. Your eyesight will return to normal momentarily. Take your time." Lazarus whispered.
That voice. He recognises it yet he's having a hard time remembering. That bonk on the head must've worsened his amnesia. At least that's what Lazarus assumed.
But when Armin's eyesight finally allowed him to see his surroundings, he was able to get a good look at the albino Warrior sitting on his right bedside. Before he couldn't remember who he was, but that bump on the head allowed all the memories leading up to his supposed death to come rushing back all at once. He remembered everything. Although he looks much older than how he was four years ago, there was no mistaking this was Lazarus. The Winged Titan and traitor to his home. He had breadcrumbs stuck around his mouth, evidence that he'd been eating recently.
Armin responded as how any sensible person would when face to face with the one who instigated the fall of Wall Maria. Panicked, he held his arms up to his face and attempted to scurry away from him.
"Hey, shhhh, I know, I know. I'm not going to hurt you. Hell, I never would've if I had any other choice." The white-haired Eldian attempted to calm him down.
"La-Lazarus! What are you doing here?! Where's Eren?! What did you do with him?!" He angrily demanded, convinced that he was still in the moment of The Battle of Shiganshina's aftermath.
"Armin, please calm down. Eren's not here. He's-
"You captured him, didn't you?! He's back wherever you, Reiner, and Bertolt are from. You came back to finish us off, huh? Too many people have died today! Was that not enough for you?!"
Just as he'd feared. Armin had no idea that he'd woken up four years into the future. His mind was still back in the year 850. He had no recollection of being turned into a Titan by Levi, failing to inherit The Winged Titan nor what occurred afterwards. He didn't even remember his sacrifice at the hands of The Colossal Titan.
Lazarus places his hand over Armin's mouth and shushes him. "Listen, Armin, The Battle of Shiganshina ended. Circumstances have changed since then… There's no way to sugarcoat it, but you died, Armin. You were burned almost to death by The Colossal Titan's steam."
Armin stops fighting Lazarus' hold and relaxes against the pillow. Now that he mentions it, he does recall coming up with a plan to get Bertolt to use up all his steam on him so that Eren could sneak up and take out his nape. Everything after that he still couldn't remember. But Lazarus knew. He doesn't trust him one bit, but he needs to know what happened.
When Lazarus removed his hand from his mouth, he calmly asked him some questions. "I remember. I sacrificed myself so Eren could defeat Bertolt. You were there. You managed to rescue Annie in the end?" Lazarus answered with a nod.
"I've met some people who were really good liars. But you… You're the best of them all. You do it in a way that makes it look like you believe it yourself… How can I trust that everything you say is true?"
"Look at me, Armin." Lazarus pointed to his face, pointing out the evidence that he's aged slightly in the past four years. He even lifts his shirt to show off his skinny body, slightly unnerving Armin. "In my current condition, I'm not a threat to anyone. I couldn't even through a punch right now." He holds up a piece of mouldy bread with a couple of bite marks on the edges. "I've had to eat mouldy bread just to get some of my strength back after I carried you out of the basement."
"Basement? You mean Eren's basement?"
"That's the one. The Scouts were able to find whatever it was Eren's father had hidden down there… That was four years ago though… When the battle ended the Scouts captured me so that they could feed me to you, hoping you'd inherit my powers."
Armin's eyes widen with shock. "Captain Levi chose me? But how? If I ate you, how are you still here?"
Lazarus takes a really deep breath before finishing off the last of the bread. He then gives the second piece he picked up to Armin to help satisfy his hunger. He looked just as skinny as he did when he emerged from the Pure Titan. He had a lot to tell him. Though their reunion was off to a rocky start, Armin paid close attention to Lazarus' explanation.
Some time passes as Lazarus explains the events that occurred after The Battle of Shiganshina ended. Armin was horrified to learn that he was immortal, and he wound up living as a Pure Titan for four whole years, buried under the remains of Eren's old home. But the story only got worse from there. He learns about Marley and what the outside world is really like compared to the stories in his grandfather's books.
The harsh reality of it all shattered his dreams like glass. He was surprised to learn that Lazarus once had a chance to accomplish their mission and took Eren back to Marley. But he chose to save the life of their commander instead. Lazarus explained his reasoning behind it. It was generous that he put what matters most to his friends before what Marley wants. He can kind of see why Erwin agreed to go with them.
Of all the reality-crushing truths he'd discovered, the most horrifying of them all was the existence of The Rumbling, and it had already been unleashed on the unsuspecting world by the same Eren Yeager he grew up and shared his dreams of exploring the outside world with.
He wanted to believe Lazarus was lying to him again, but when he saw the army of Colossal Titans marching out to war, there was no denying the truth. Eren is going to destroy the very world he'd hoped to one day explore. This was beyond evil. Far worse than anything the Warriors did nine years ago.
Until today life was mostly black, white, and easy to understand. Lazarus, Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, and anyone else who threatened the peace within the walls were the villains. And those who were fighting back against the Titans were the heroes. His mind couldn't comprehend how grey the world had become. He couldn't imagine how things would've played out had he inherited one of the Nine. Would his being there have made a difference? Could he have talked Eren out of it? Come up with a better solution to their problems.
Lazarus gives Armin as much space as possible to help him process everything he'd just told him. He felt he did the right thing telling him instead of showing him through his memories. His brain had already suffered enough from the memory loss and sudden recollection of it. All he can do now is stand by the window and watch the death of the world stroll across the land to their targets.
As he gazed out the window, he managed to spot Annie and Bertolt entering a house across the street further down towards the inner gate. He was beyond pleased to see they were still alive. Once he and Armin regain their strength, they will join them. Lazarus turns back to Armin and slowly breaks the silence.
"Armin… are you alright?"
For about 20 minutes Armin had been staring at the piece of mouldy bread in his hands thinking over everything he'd been told. He didn't react to Lazarus's question and remained still. The WOC co-founder stayed quiet until he got a response. It would be best if he didn't push him.
"Eren… He's really going to destroy the whole world because they're against us… There's no way! He would never-
"You've already seen The Colossal Titans outside. You've been feeling the quakes caused by their footsteps since you regained consciousness. There's no point in denying it. You know Eren better than I do. Can you look me in the eye and tell me he isn't capable of genocide?" Lazarus sternly responded, shaking the denial out of the resurrected farm boy.
Armin thought back to one of the more memorable moments he's had with Eren. The day Wall Maria fell. They were on the boat carrying the survivors down the river to safety behind Wall Rose. What he said that day had stuck with him for the rest of his life.
"I'm gonna put a stop to this! I'll kill them all! Every. Last. One!"
Eren always had a vengeful streak. He once killed three grown men who murdered Mikasa's parents and kidnapped her for human trafficking. It was easy for him to look past that because they deserved it in his mind. But this was different. Many people across the world were just as deserving of getting everything they knew trampled. But most of those people were innocent and had done nothing wrong. Eren must know this too. So why would he go through with this plan anyway? If Marley was the island's only threat, why not just eliminate them and call it even?
He turned to Lazarus, hoping he would have the answer given how smart he was. But he didn't. At first, he thought it was revenge against him personally. But everyone he cares about is on Paradis, the one continent The Rumbling would never defile.
"Could it be that he's doing this to crush the global military alliance you mentioned?" Armin guessed.
"No. The Global Alliance are all stationed in Marley. To do that he would only have to use the Titans stationed around Shiganshina. That would've been more than enough… No, Eren doesn't believe that destroying the alliance would be enough to stop all threats to Paradis. More leaders would just replace the ones lost and retaliate. For Paradis to become truly free of threats, all other civilisations need to burn."
He was soon startled by the sudden loud bang of Armin's fist smashing into the wall beside him. He was baring his teeth and grumbling with rage. This time he wasn't staring at Lazarus. This time he was angry at Eren.
"I won't let him do this!" Armin's body stood up immediately and walked over to the window. He slams his palms onto the windowsill and angrily glares at the Colossal Titans. His fingers gripping the edges tightly. "I'm gonna put a stop to this! I'll stop Eren and put an end to this madness!"
"Even if it means killing him?" Lazarus asked, wondering how serious he was about stopping him.
"Even if it means killing him." He declared after a moment, still staring at the marching Titans.
"I already told you about the Wings of Crystal movement, so you know where we stand… At least where me and Erwin stand".
"What about Michael?" That was the moment Armin decided to direct his attention back to the War Chief.
"Moments after Eren and Zeke made contact, Michael and I were transported to this plain of existence called The Paths. It is where all Subjects of Ymir are connected to the Founder herself. Turns out Michael had been scheming against us as much as he did the Scouts. He only joined us so that I could bring him there so he could kill the Founder Ymir… Killing her would've erased all Titans except the Winged and Crystal. He believed if we still had our powers Marley wouldn't think to go back on our deal. I understand where he's coming from, but it was selfish of him to decide I should remain like this." He motions his hands up and down his body.
"This is MY life! I should decide how to live it and when I want it to end. I already let Marley take control of my life and my powers the day we attacked the walls. I won't let anyone control me again!"
"That's exactly what Eren is thinking now." Armin reminded him. "We've got to stop him… I never thought I would say this. But Lazarus, we have to work together."
Armin holds out his hand. Lazarus smiles a little and reaches out to accept his handshake, only to be stopped by Armin who pulls away inches from sealing the deal. "This doesn't take back everything you and your friends have done, and I still don't trust you. But I do trust Commander Erwin. And if he believes your plan is the best way to end this then I will do my part to help you carry it out. Is that clear?"
"Crystal clear, Armin." He moves his hand towards him once more. This time he takes his hand and shakes it. "Let's find the others. They won't be easy to win over like you. But maybe saving you will at least let them hear me out."
"Mikasa, Jean, Connie, and Sasha are alive?"
"I don't know. But I have a strong gut feeling they are, as are Hange and Levi… Follow me, I know where to find Annie and Bertolt. Hopefully, we'll find Michael, Erwin, and Reiner on the way."
Armin nods and starts to walk over to the bedroom door. But the strength in his legs hadn't fully recovered yet and he stumbles forward. Lazarus manages to catch him before he can faceplant.
"Here, lean on me." Lazarus lugs his right arm over his shoulders and holds him upwards. "We're both still recovering. We'll have to depend on each other until our strength is back fully."
"How can you be exhausted and weak when you can't die?" Armin questioned him.
"Technically, I don't need to eat, drink, or sleep to stay alive. But when I don't do any of those things for long periods it really shows on my body. At least death would be a relief when the suffering you endure from starvation ends. When the Marleyans locked me in that hole I went without food or water for weeks. My body was just skin and bones when Lucia pulled me out of there. I was so weak I couldn't even move a single muscle for days afterwards. And if I'm too tired my regeneration works much slower than usual, Still faster than regular Titan Shifters but slower than an instant."
"Can you even age?"
"I can, though Lucia believes it'll get slower the older I get. I'm still too young to determine if it's true or not, but I don't intend to remain immortal long enough to find out." Lazarus explained.
Armin continued to flood his mind with questions about how his Titan powers worked and how human science was able to tamper with the mystical forces behind Titans. It was the only way he could take his mind off of his churning stomachache. They're both still half-starved after eating nothing but disgusting mouldy bread. Hopefully, there will be a delicious hot meal waiting for them when they reunite with the others.
When the walls crumbled to the ground and the Titans buried within began their march, Willy Tybur was quickly escorted out of Shiganshina by the four remaining soldiers within the Wings of Crystal, who were carrying out their instinctive duties as the Tybur Family's former personal guards.
They retreated into the wood within the lands of Wall Maria where The Rumbling didn't traverse and kept on going until they could find a safe place to lay low. The few airships that had survived The Beast Titan's hailstorm of stone were also retreating to Marley to warn everyone about the approaching doomsday. They were all alone. Or were they?
The soldier up front parts the bushes and unveils a clearing. Within that clearing was The Cart Titan lying under a tree. Pieck was sticking out of the nape talking to General Magath. Willy was relieved to see they'd both survived. He saw them fall when the walls gave out underneath them. All the smoke kicked up from the battle masked their escape. Willy waved to them, and they responded in kind.
"Thank God you're alright, Willy. When we saw your airship go down, we were starting to lose hope." Magath greeted him.
"I still have a promise to keep. My death is inevitable, but not on this day… How are you both holding up?" He asked concernedly.
"We failed to stop Yeager, what do you think?" The general harshly and sarcastically replied, only to immediately regret doing so. "Forgive me. I let that lying bastard, Zeke, get to me."
"This is a dire situation we're in, your reaction is relatable." He raises his head towards the retreating airships. "At least some of the fleet survived."
"Judging from their speed and heading, it seems likely that the airships are withdrawing to Marley," Pieck spoke up. "I guess once they saw The Rumbling start they panicked and decided to save themselves, leaving the rest of us for dead."
"No, they did the right thing." Magath defended them. "Our forces in Marley need to be informed as quickly as possible. If the ships had waited for stragglers they'd have been crushed."
"Fair, but even with warning what will our forces be able to do?" Pieck looks at the four soldiers with Willy. "Are there any more Wings of Crystal soldiers?"
"As far as I know, these four may be all that's left." Willy regretfully answered. "They haven't seen any sign of their commander either. But I doubt Michael would just let him die."
Pieck sighs with defeat. "Is there any real hope? Can these Titans be stopped?"
Everyone turns their heads to the Wall Titans and watches them march off in the direction of Paradis's shoreline. Neither of them has much hope left to stop The Rumbling. The only thing they can do is struggle against the inevitable for as long as they can.
"Um, excuse me?"
Like a bat out of hell, all eyes dart in the direction of the new voice that made itself heard to their ears. They were not alone. Scout Commander, Hange, was standing a few feet to the right of their position. She was unarmed and appeared to be waving at them, not at all worried about giving herself away. Behind her was a wagon containing a seriously injured Captain Levi who was struggling even to breathe.
The WOC all draw their ODM gear firearms and aim at her whilst keeping Willy behind them. And The Cart Titan started springing into action, moments away from devouring her.
"WHOA WHOA, WAIT!
The Cart Titan froze in place as it was mere inches away from biting her head off. Hange quickly held her hands up now that Magath was pointing his pistol at her.
"No need to eat me, ok? I'm not a threat. I didn't even bring any weapons." She fearfully pleaded, shaken up from The Cart Titan's approach. She then points her thumb behind her where the cart lay. "If you're wondering who I've got over there, he's not a threat either, honest. He's just a poor bastard who refuses to die."
Magath motions the four WOC soldiers to temporarily leave Tybur's side and check it out. Two of them keep their guns trained on Hange while the other two examine the cart and find the wounded Levi lying there helplessly.
"Sir, it's Levi Ackerman! The one who took down The Beast Titan with ease." One of them informed the general. Magath wasn't all that surprised he survived given what heard about him.
"Is that so? Then what's keeping you from killing him?" He coldly asked the soldier.
Hange's eyes widen. "Please wait! I just said we weren't a threat! We just wanna talk!"
"You expect us to believe that after the massacre you people caused in Liberio? I know who you are, Zoe Hange. You're either too stupid to show yourselves or think you're too smart. I won't make the mistake of underestimating you Island Devils a second time! Open fire!"
"STOP!"
All parties from both sides stopped what they were about to do in response to the new, louder, authoritative voice that sounded off west of their and Hange's position. They all turned around just in time to see another hooded Wings of Crystal soldier land perfectly on one knee, pick himself up and approach them.
"All of you stand down now! And that includes you, General!"
"You cannot issue a command here! Know your place, Eldian!" Magath angrily retorted.
"When it comes to them my authority is greater than yours!" The soldier responded just as intensely, asserting dominance over the Marleyan. It sparked a strong sense of deja vu between Levi and Hange. They recognised the soldier's voice all too well but were having a hard time coming to terms with who they thought it was.
Before Hange was about to question if she was hearing ghosts, the soldier lowered his hood, revealing his identity as Erwin Smith. Suddenly her whole world came crashing down. This was no illusion. Everyone else can see him as well as her. He was really here in the flesh.
Erwin draws his Cloud Zero blades and points one of them at General Magath and The Cart Titan.
"You will not lay a finger on my comrades. You will let her speak her mind, and you WILL listen!" Erwin demanded of the general, addressing him as if he outranked him, something Hange took notice of. She was even more shocked to see the general and the WOC soldiers lower their weapons and do as they were instructed.
Levi fights the overwhelming pain in his whole body to position himself upright, desperate to see Erwin's face again after all these years. He was just as mortified as Hange. Their most faithful leader is back from the dead and bearing the mark of the enemy. His definitive poise was enough to force a Marleyan soldier to back off. It was magnificent.
Erwin glances over at his two old comrades and smiles slightly. It was great to see them again, but he can't help but wonder what's going through their minds right now. There was only one way he could kick off this reunion without making it awkward.
"I've missed you both. Hange. Levi… We've got a lot to talk about."
To Be Continued