Armin's blue eyes slowly scanned around the room, taking in every detail, every pair of eyes trained on him, and briefly wondered how many were wishing him to cease existence. How many of them would replace Armin Arlert with Erwin Smith in a heartbeat. Too many for his comfort.

Well, he wasn't even Armin. He was just an imposter who ended up in his body. Who could say why. Maybe it was something to do with the fact he'd inherited the Colossal Titan, perhaps he was having a fever dream, a cosmic fluke? Either way, for better or for worst, Armin was gone and he was here.

Armin briefly pondered on the fate of his old body. Had it perished when he was transferred into a fictional character? Were his acquaintances going to miss him now that he was gone? Did his old world even exist at this point? These were things he didn't know; and probably would never know.

Whatever the reason, he was here now and needed to do something about it. Why exactly, he couldn't say. He didn't really feel any patriotism towards Paradis, due to him not growing up there, but the conflict he'd watched just felt so very pointless. Marley, Eldia, the world, it was all one big cycle fuelled by human stupidity.

Eren's actions were unjustifiable, but not incomprehensible. The world had backed Paradis into a corner, they'd had hundreds of thousands of the island's people slaughtered, and they were fully ready to murder them for nothing other than mindless prejudice.

In response, Paradis had understandably given up hope that the rest of humanity would ever willingly accept their offerings of peace. That, no matter how hard they tried, the world would reject them. And they weren't wrong.

This cycle of violence, ignorance, and hatred is what destroyed most of humanity. Nobody truly won in the end, the lucky few had simply survived.

The actions of Armin and Hange didn't help matters. The both of them were smart, and good leaders, but they weren't the right people for the task they'd been given. The two simply didn't know what to do, and they were indecisive to the point where they did little to nothing to act against Marley in the four years they had. So much time was wasted due to lack of initiative.

He looked down as he contemplated his options. The island's government weren't any better. Pixis, Nile, and Zackly had reduced Eren to their weapon, a dog meant to obey it's master, and that led to him going rogue along with a huge chunk of their military. They'd allowed themselves to become divided and the Yeagerists took control of the island with laughable ease as a result.

Armin couldn't say he even blamed the group for their line of thought. Their government was failing to deal with the situation, and when they'd tried to kill Eren without anyone being the wiser that was the final straw.

It could have been avoided if the government was more active. The situation was difficult, but the way Paradis military handled everything was simply incompetent.

He could do a better job than them.

Armin glanced to his left to catch Eren's green eye and he briefly wondered what he could do about Eren. Armin was his best friend, so that would make Eren more inclined to take his words well, but he had the emotional stability of a child with anger issues. Actually, that was exactly what he was. No matter what, Eren was only fifteen currently, and nineteen when he ended the world. He himself was mentally older than that, even discounting the extra years he'd lived through Armin's memories.

Eren was impulsive, quick to anger, and checked nearly all the boxes for the equivalent of a loose cannon. That wouldn't do, he needed to rein Eren in some, make sure he wouldn't go native or act unpredictably, and then prevent him from gaining too much influence. That was what made the coup so easy.

There was also the matter of the Rumbling, something which he had a complicated opinion on. On the one hand, although an extreme measure, there was no denying the cold-hearted logic in killing everything outside Paradis. The island would be safe, the people of the Walls wouldn't need to live in fear and paranoia of the outside world, and Eldia would be free.

But, there's also the fact that letting two billion people die is morally unforgiveable. There's the question about if the island's people even deserve to live if that is the choice they made. And finally, there was the reality that violence wouldn't end if the Rumbling was activated and completed. The world would simply become a lot smaller; the violence would continue until humans destroyed themselves.

Armin was pulled out of his thoughts when a door opened up, and in walked Darius Zackly. He was an old man, smart looking glasses, and neat hair that went well with a large beard. Zackly had a regal presence, but he wasn't fooled. Knowing one of his hobbies was torturing nobles made him seem less... commanding. Or maybe respectable was the right word.

The premier took a seat next to Historia, who held a serious expression, and took a deep breath before speaking. "'The early life of Grisha Yeager', 'The extent of our knowledge of Titans and their history', and 'Information about the world beyond the Walls'. These three books were obtained by the nine survivors of the Scout Regiment's latest expedition, and through the sacrifice of nearly two hundred more who didn't return home. The only people who know of these books existence are in this room now. In the presence of her majesty, Queen Historia, I would like all of us to assess our situation and come to an agreement regarding our next course of action."

As the premier spoke words he'd already heard, Armin couldn't help but notice the way Historia held herself. Whilst certainly confident and unafraid, there was a hint of nervousness in her body language. Maybe the reality of the situation had shook her, not that he had room to talk considering how he felt, but it felt like something was off with her.

Historia met his gaze for a moment, and it held some sympathy, before the two of them refocused. He'd inherited the Colossal Titan afterall, it wouldn't do him good to appear unprofessional.

Zackly turned his gaze to the new Commander of the Scouts. "Scout regiment Commander, Hange Zoe."

Hange stood up when called, deadly serious. "Sir, the Scouts have felt tremendous loss obtaining this information. one hundred and ninety-nine Scouts, including Erwin Smith, met their end in order to reclaim Wall Maria. We've also ceased control of the Colossal Titan's power."

Armin felt some eyes lock onto him, though did his best to ignore it. Many people would inevitably oppose the situation to revive him and not Erwin, which was reasonable, and when they came at him he needed to have a backbone. He couldn't be some doormat they could just trample over.

Hange continued grimly. "However, we humans living within the Walls have come to learn how terrible a situation we are in. There are humans living out there, ones who wish nothing but death and misery upon us. To put it simply, it's us against the world."

Feeling the pressure of those words hit him, his mind began racing on the possibilities on how to beat a whole civilisation, before he stopped and decided to save them for a later date. Well, most of them. He might end up mentioning one or two in this meeting; but that depended on how everything went.

"According to these books, we people of the Walls are part of a race known as the Subjects of Ymir, also known as Eldians. We Eldians are the only ones who can transform into Titans, and as a result, the world view us as monsters who need to be eradicated."

Noticing Eren, who appeared to be losing focus, he chose not to point it out. Disrupting his inheritance of memories could be dangerous, and nearly everyone in the room had eyes on him. It was probably best to leave it.

Pixis spoke frankly. "Marley will return to finish what they started eventually, and when they do our Walls will burn once again. We will need to prepare to fight them off."

Deciding it was time to step in, he was quick cut Hange off. "Premier, might I be so bold as to add my input?" Speaking so formally didn't suit him, but he would have to put up with it. That didn't make him cringe any less though.

The older man nodded, adjusting his glasses. "Of course you can speak, he who holds the Colossal Titan."

His friends looked at him weirdly, as though he'd acted out of character, though Armin would have to deal with any consequences of his actions later. After he was finished showing he could be of some use.

"As all of you know, I've recently inherited the power of a Titan. Titan shifters are able to inherit the memories of their predecessors, and because of that I've seen a few memories of Bertolt Hoover. Whilst not a well informed member of their military, I have learned some interesting information which I would like to share, as well as my own thoughts on the matter." That first part was a lie, though not a harmful one.

Armin took a breath as he recalled some information about the Marleyan Military from the anime. "For a starter, I don't believe that fighting off a full on invasion from Marley is even possible for us to do."

Those words earned him some narrowed eyes and quiet murmurs, with the Premier asking curiously. "Oh, and why might that be?"

"Simple, the Marleyan army consists of around one million battle ready troops. Meanwhile, our army consists of around thirty thousand troops, only around a third of which being battle ready. Marley also possess far superior weaponry. We cannot beat them in a full blown war."

Armin's declaration earned many wide eyes, gasps, and even Captain Levi showed a visibey reaction to how ridiculously outclassed they were in pure numbers. The murmurs from military officers he didn't recognise got louder, forcing him to pause as they dissolved into panic.

"You've gotta be kidding me, how the hell are we supposed to beat that?!"

"As if things weren't bad enough already!"

"Goddammit! How are we meant to-"

As the whispers became louder and more abundant Armin grew more disappointed and irritated. Part of him was wondering how the Paradis military was meant to overcome Marley if these were their leaders, whilst another part was starting to feel irritated by how easily they'd devolved into a crowd of nervous children.

Historia mostly kept herself together, though her eyes were wide with surprise like many others, but when she stared Armin's eyes he tried his best to look certain as he sent her a firm nod. She smiled at him for that, and in return his lips curled up for her.

"Everybody be quiet!" Zackly eventually yelled, making the rest of the brass pause momentarily to listen in on their chief. "This is no time to be bickering, this is time for important decisions. So, if any more of you wish to continue your jabbering then please leave the room now."

After a brief pause nobody got up. Zackly saw this as a sign they'd calmed down, and addressed Armin once again. "I apologise for the interruption. Please continue, our Titan."

Armin nodded, regaining his composure as he stated. "As I said, in a war against Marley we'd certainly lose. What's worse is that they've developed, and are making progress in, aerial weaponry that can come down from the sky and attack from above. These render our Walls useless against them, even if they're good for keeping out troops and Titans, they're useless if the enemy comes from above. That's not even mentioning naval forces, which we'll need to develop given the fact we're surrounded by the sea."

Armin took notice of the way his words got the brass down, so he decided to raise morale by saying something positive. "However, not everything I've learned is bad news. For instance, Marley won't be able to retaliate against us immediately for two main reasons. The first is the Titans that are surrounding our Walls. Even with the latest weaponry, only one of the nine Titans can run past them all. Obviously, since we're going to cull them all out, that won't be an obstacle for them forever, but Marley won't be aware of that fact. At least not immediately."

Commander Pixis mused out loud. "Ah, that truly is irony. Though, what might the second reason be?" After he said that, the rest of the brass leaned in a bit closer to hear him out.

Armin allowed a slight smile to slip through as he began. "Marley is by no means a friendly nation. Over the past century, Marley has indulged in colonialism by annexing countries using Titans as their unique weapons, as a result the rest of the nations view Marley as their bitter rivals. However, so long as Marley's military held six of the Titan power in their hands, the other nations wouldn't dare oppose them. But, now they've lost both the Female and, more importantly, the Colossal Titans. Marley won't be able to keep this a secret for long, and when it gets out multiple nations will most likely join hands and declare war against them. So long as they remain at war, Marley won't be able to focus on us too much."

There was a sea of murmurs amongst the military officials, with a lot of them looking less defeated than before. Though the atmosphere was still heavy, the majority had raised their slumped shoulders upwards, and Armin tried not to smirk at the fact he'd gotten their full attention.

Armin felt his nerves fade as he spoke with more confidence to the rest of the military. "Marley is powerful, due to their Titans and manpower, but they'll be perceived as weak for their defeat and be occupied for at least a few years. So, we'll need to do everything we can to prepare for their inevitable return. A good start to that would be to adapt to fight humans and not just Titans."

Zackly stroked his beard with intrigue and wariness. "What exactly are you suggesting, Arlert?" Many around the room seemed to share his confusion. "Are you saying we should reform our military?"

Armin gave a firm nod as he explained his reasoning. "Most of our enemies will be humans going forward, especially with the Titan guillotine chipping away at the Pure Titans throughout the Walls. I'm not suggesting we abandon ODM training, since it's our only true edge over the rest of the world, but fighting humans should be our priority. Perhaps we could even modify our gear to fight against people."

Many in the room showed hesitation at the idea, probably thanks to them only having fought Titans as their main enemy their whole lives, though nobody challenged his point out loud. He hoped that meant they agreed, though he wouldn't hold his breath.

Zackly took a moment, but he did answer. "Your input will be taken into account, our Titan. Now please-"

"It can't be!" Eren suddenly shot up, yelling right into Armin's ear and making him flinch away. The attention of the room shifted to him, however, once he realised his actions he turned around to see all of his friends looking at him strangely. The only one who didn't look questioning was Armin.

Zackly didn't show much of an outwards reaction, except for a raised eyebrow. "Is something wrong, Mr Yeager? If you've seen something, then feel free to share it with the rest of us."

Hange was about to speak, though Armin felt like sparing his friend the embarrassment and hastily explained. "Recently me and Eren have been seeing a lot of memories from our predecessors, him in particular due to blood relation with his father, and they can appear suddenly and unexpectedly. That's probably what just happened to him, right?" Armin cast Eren a look that said 'just go with it' and he immediately understood.

"Yeah, I just saw something pretty intense. It's nothing important, forget I said anything." Armin had to stop himself from laughing at that blatant lie as he sat down. Mikasa was watching them both strangely, and Armin didn't fail to notice the nervous way Eren was looking at Historia. Though most would have dismissed it, he knew the reason why.

Hange began once more, regaining her composure. "Right, well as Armin so helpfully stated, fighting Marley on our own would be an uphill battle to say the least, But if Marley are truly as bloodthirsty as we've heard, then it would do us good to join hands with their enemies."

Zackly agreed. "That would be ideal. Though the world wants to wipe us all out, does it not? Could we really bet all our lives on the goodwill of those we know nothing about?" His question was reasonable, smart even, though Hange answered him back firmly.

"Perhaps that is true, but I wouldn't count the entire outside world out. Maybe they do have prejudice against us, though Marley is supposedly a nation with many enemies. If we can make contact with them, I'm certain we could find at least a few allies who have more hatred for Marley than us." She stated adamantly, though Armin's memories of her actions begged to differ. They might have made an alliance with Hizuru, though it was brittle, and one nation alone wasn't enough to do anything against Marley.

Zackly swiftly changed the subject. "What of the Founding Titan's power? Eren Yeager is in possession of the Founder, and he has accessed it before, so it sounds plausible that under the right conditions he can use it's power despite his lack of royal blood. Do you have any idea as to what these conditions might be?"

Armin's narrowed eyes zoned onto Eren, though he kept his mouth shut. Historia would be in danger if they had that conversation in front of so many higher ups. He'd have to confront Eren on that matter later though. With Historia there ideally.

Hange regained his attention as she spoke. "Eren has been able to access the Founder's power once, this allowed him to escape a dire situation, however the exact circumstances surrounding this event are unknown. For now at least, we don't know how to access the power of the Founding Titan. We'll have to do without it."

Armin glanced at Historia, who looked on ahead, and felt a pang of sympathy for her. She was a teenager for a queen, even if only a figurehead used to placate the people, and the military would undoubtedly turn her into a Titan shifter if they knew it would unlock the Founder's powers. She had to marry a random farmer, one who she probably didn't even like much less love, and be forced into having children for the island to sacrifice. It was a messed up situation, and he'd rather spare her the indignity of being turned into a baby factory.

He would also admit there was other concerns. Whilst they lacked any Titan serum, it wasn't outlandish to assume that there was more scattered about the island somewhere. Besides, even if they didn't manage to find any, they would have the serum eventually and when they did who knew what they'd do. His own safety was also a worry. As a Titan shifter they might feed him to Historia if it meant they could use the Founding Titan. He had plans to crack Annie out of her shell, but if those failed- which was a real possibility- then they wouldn't have a spare shifter on hand.

There were too many risks when it came to the military, relying on them was a bad idea. He'd have to act on his own; and make sure he was the one making the big decisions.

Choosing not to disrupt any more of the meeting, Armin allowed himself to slowly smile as a plan began to take form in his head.


The meeting had just ended, with the military coming to an agreement that the information they'd learned about the outside world would be made public, but Armin wasn't quite finished.

"Hey Eren, can you stick back for a moment?" Armin asked, causing his best friend to go still and send him a questioning glance that was momentarily ignored as he got up from his seat.

Most of the military had left, luckily Historia wasn't among them, and Armin didn't shy away from asking her quite openly. "Historia, would it be alright if you stayed behind for a few minutes. It's something involving you, and it won't take very long." Historia looked surprised, though nodded as she walked down off her throne.

A random soldier from the MP's stirred and growled, overhearing his words, and stepped forward aggressively. "Don't address the queen so casually, Titan. You think that just because you-"

"I forgot the part where this involved you." Armin interrupted the fool, surprising those listening with how bored he sounded. "Listen, this is a conversation between people who are actually really important, so why don't you just take you leave?" In response, the random soldier sputtered as Armin waved his hand to exemplify his point.

Historia's lips curled up slightly, though she hid it well, and the soldier's expression shifted to one of anger as he clenched his fist and was about to take a swing, only for the queen to step in. "This is just a request between friends. Leave us alone, soldier."

Armin couldn't fully withhold the smirk he was feeling as the soldier looked down in frustration, settling on a tiny smile that only made the fool angrier. He couldn't lie and say this wasn't fun.

The soldier walked away with his face twisted in anger, leaving the two of them to talk things over.

Historia gave him a curious look. "What exactly was that, Armin?"

"What was what?" Armin answered her question with another question, earning him a raised eyebrow. He gave a small sigh. "Well, I'm the Colossal Titan now. I can't just let people push me around, especially because of Levi's decision to let Erwin die. It's not something I enjoy, but I can't exactly act like some doormat." A partial lie, he totally loved messing with idiots, though he knew when to stop himself.

Historia smiled a little. "Well, good for you. Just try not to step on too many toes." She added that last part as though the idea were funny.

Armin gave her a small grin. "I'm a Titan, anyone tries something too nasty, I'll just take it a step further and literally step on them. Problem solved." That earned a few giggles out of her, and he mentally high fived himself for making the hot queen laugh.

Choosing to move on, he walked over to Eren and Mikasa who were both waiting for him. Mikasa glanced back at Historia with a frown, before she asked in a questioning tone. "Why is Historia here?"

Armin briefly wondered what he could say to make her fuck off, and ended up telling her. "Me, Eren and Historia need to have a few minutes of chat. Just the three of us, and before you ask, I can't tell you what it is. In fact, until we have further evidence, it's purely a hunch of mine." He glanced at Eren, meeting his eyes and trying to silently tell him to go along with it.

Mikasa looked uncertain. "But, if it's so important, then why can't I know, Armin? I won't tell anyone, so what's the problem? Don't you trust me?"

Armin quickly cut that line of thinking off. "It's not that I don't trust you, but rather that you don't need to know. At least not for now. This is something that should stay between just us three until further notice, and I need you to trust me on that. In all our years of knowing each other, have I ever acted without your interest in mind?" He felt like a grade A cock for using her loyalties to Armin, ones he hadn't earned, to get what he wanted but it was necessary.

Mikasa still looked conflicted, though Eren touched her shoulder and put the final nail in the coffin. "Mikasa, we need to trust Armin. Please, go join with the others, we'll be back before you know it."

Mikasa didn't look entirely convinced, but did give them a hesitant nod before walking away to re-join with the surviving Scouts. This left the three of them alone once Historia ushered her MP guards to wait outside.

With the door shut, Armin decided not to waste any time. "Alright, before we start, I want you two to know that I won't make you do anything that you don't agree with, and this conversation is really just to confirm something since it'll involve the island's future."

"If this is really so important, then why not involve Hange?" Historia asked, and Armin had to resist the urge to scowl at the idea. In the anime, though hesitant, Hange would definitely have been fine with making Historia a Titan if it would avoid war. She couldn't be trusted with this.

"I don't trust Hange with this information, since she'll probably share it with the rest of the military, and if that happens they'll force our hand. Whatever we discuss should stay between us, understood?" Armin got two nods; with Eren's being more hesitant than Historia's.

He decided to cut right to the chase. "Eren, you figured out that you need a royal blooded Titan to use the Founder's powers didn't you?"

Historia looked confused, though Eren looked shocked and nearly screamed. "How did you know?!"

Armin had to resist the urge to smirk, instead he merely said. "I didn't... but you've confirmed that hunch for me."

Those words seemed to catch Eren off-guard, making him appear bewildered at the fact he'd been tricked into revealing information.

Well, it wasn't like he didn't know already, but he needed an excuse to know about the royal blood.

Historia glanced with burrowed brows at the two of us, noticing our reactions as she asked. "What do you mean, Armin?"

"I mean exactly what it sounds like. To unlock the power of the Founding Titan, Eren needs to touch a Titan who was created using a member of the royal family." Armin glanced at Eren knowingly. "Back in that field, on the day we were about to die, it was Dina Fritz's Pure Titan which you made contact with, wasn't it?" That earned him a hesitant nod, so Armin continued. "After Eren did so, he could control the Pure Titans for a limited amount of time. In other words, if we wanted to use the Founding Titan freely, we'd need to have a member of the royal family become a Titan shifter."

Hearing his words, Eren's shock and confusion turned to anger as he glared forward with a look of betrayal. "You- so you'd just let her become a shifter just like that?! After everything we-"

Armin cut him off, not wanting Eren to jump to conclusions. "No, I did say that I wouldn't make anyone do anything they didn't want to, also can you please lower your voice? I'm sure Historia's guards are standing outside, and if they heard us yelling and screaming like this they'll interrupt our little meeting."

Eren gritted his teeth, though did as he was told and asked in a more controlled tone. "So, what will we do with this information? Historia can't become a shifter. I won't allow it." His adamant tone gave the message he wasn't going to budge, which was fine with Armin, though his stubbornness could be a problem in the future.

Historia understanding what that meant, looked at the ground in uncertainty. "Well... it would ensure the island's safety. If we had the Founder then the outside world wouldn't be able to act against us. Besides, as a queen it's my job to protect my people." But, from the way she was saying it, it was obvious she didn't want to.

Eren was about to refute her, but Armin beat him to the punch. "That's not necessary, Historia. There's a far better solution here. One that doesn't require the Founding Titan."

Historia looked up hopefully, staring at him with gratitude. "Really?"

"Really." He reassured with certainty. "Though Marley is powerful, they're also reliant on the Power of the Titans. Marley think we're helpless, that we're ignorant and backwards, so naturally they'll underestimate us and when they do that's when we'll make our move."

Eren, having calmed down, pressed further. "But I thought you said we couldn't beat them in a war?"

Armin snorted. "Who said anything about going to a long drawn out war with them? We can't beat them like that, so we'll have to beat them just like we usually do all our enemies. In a quick and decisive battle that wipes them out before they can even fully react. We'll take the rest of the nine Titans, make whatever allies we can, and that will be enough to deter the world from killing us all."

Eren looked surprised by the answer, as though his best friend was a stranger, and even asking with worry in his voice. "What happened to you, Armin? Ever since you came back to life you've changed. The old you would have never suggested something like this."

Armin froze, briefly wondering if his change in demeanour had been that blatantly obvious, but answered with as casual a shrug as he could muster. "I need to change Eren, we all do for what's to come. The world is far different that we'd thought, or wanted, but all we can do now is adapt to fight this problem. It's like you always say, fighting is the only way we can beat them."

Eren and Historia looked at him in surprise, though Armin didn't give them time to linger. "We don't have a lot of time, in fact, trying to waste our time and energy on looking for a diplomatic solution is a mistake we can't afford to make."

Those words seemed to stun the two in front of him even further, though Armin still didn't stop. "Marley might be evil, but we're still the island devils to the world. We're the ultimate evil that overshadows even Marley, at least to them, and when they finish up in whatever war they're fighting the world will unite against us and eradicate Paradis. Betting on their goodwill is like asking a bear not to maul you, so we'll ensure peace by making the prospect of war seem hopeless."

Armin briefly wondered if he was being a bit extreme, but quickly cast those thoughts aside. He'd seen how Hange's and the old Armin's way of doing things had panned out; and the results were disappointing. If worse came to worse, then he'd need to stop Eren, but until then he'd do everything in his power to ensure that Eren didn't activate the rumbling. That meant defeating Marley.

"Do you really think that we have no choice but war, Armin?" Historia asked, seeming hesitant, though Eren seemed more accepting of the idea. "Is peace really not an option?"

Armin sighed, shaking his head. War wasn't anyone's first option, but then again it was a screwed up situation. Maybe peace was an option if they worked harder, but could they really afford to take that chance? Especially when he knew how that turned out before?

"Maybe it is, maybe not." Armin answered with certainty. "But whilst war might be bad, there are things that are worse. So much worse."

Like the rumbling.


If you want to support me, then look towards The Magician 565 in the place of patrons. I am a pretty broke student all things considered, so if you want to read additional works of mine then the donations would be much appreciated. I hope to write for you all, and if you could show your support more openly then I'd be happy to crack down!

Additional chapters:

Rising To the Top - 5

Now It's My Turn - 1

An Outlier - 5

The All Mighty Earth - 5

Power Grasping - 3

Dealing With Darkness - 2

God of Destruction - 5

Counterattack - 5

Total - 31