"He's dead."

Floch's Glazed eyes stared into the hanger's ceiling no longer breathing, heartbeats turning infrequent, his ears failed him seconds ago though the Titans could still be felt. Tremendous as they are it would hardly matter for him as by the time they'd reach him he would already be dead. The afterimage of Jean and Hange left in the corners of his declining vision left him wondering why he hasn't died yet, perhaps too stubborn to let go of this cruel world, even with a gaping wound oozing blood from the neck.

He laid there in a pool of his blood, uncertain for when it'll all be over. Unable to lift a finger, or look around as Hange closed his eyes. This is the end, he thought to himself, though he clutched onto whatever sliver of life left in his crumbling body unwillingly. He feared not what death had in store, he fulfilled his sole purpose in this unforgiving world, now he entrusted the rest to Eren.

His only regret was never getting to witness the full extent of the new eldian empire, to earn a long and comfortable life without having to worry about those damned titans or the threat of extermination, without having it be an absolute necessity to take the lives of others. it'll be all over, they won. He could have easily allowed that ragtag group of desperate idealists to slip through the port and partake in their unfeasible attempt at saving a dying world. But no matter how insignificant the odds, gambling the future of Eldia and the people who live there was not a choice he was willing to make.

Who would consider peace an option now? After they have already trampled most of Marley, It wasn't realistic, not before and certainly not after. The bloody history they shared made it so that peace would never be considered, such prospects were purely naive. Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie were not sent away as emissaries for peace on that fateful day, they laid waste on Eldia with orders to retrieve the founding titan purely for the expansion of Marley's militaristic empire, with indifference to the thousands of lives that perished within the walls.

Floch had to wonder why the scouts had done it, why would they go out of their way to kill their own? To what end? To save Marley? The world? It was inconceivable to him. There wasn't right or wrong, there was kill or be killed. And now that the rumbling came to fruition, all they could do was finish each other off till only the strong remained. Fools, If they couldn't recognize that then he hoped that Eren would open their eyes to the truth. This world's bitter fate was sealed, as everything which unfolded now was merely a consequence for the world's arrogance.

Eren will make sure of that, Eren was their devil after all.

'What's...Happening?...'

He wouldn't know how to describe death precisely, it felt eerily similar to riding the locomotive, flashes of blurry neon colors whizzing past in a frantic manner, drowned out noises rushing around him and then following whatever reason ending pre-maturely as he reached the final station. An enormous foot came crashing down from the ceiling and flattened Floch Forster, turning him into a paste of blood and bone before unconsciousness could claim him, far away in the distant horizon, a flying boat soared in the skies to achieve an uncertain destiny.

"None of it matters as you lie, bleeding out, on the battlefield." - Erwin Smith 850 AD , addressing a crowd of terrified survey corps recruits, minutes before charging them into hell.

Laughter.

Floch Forster blinked, slowly coming to grips with the situation. Laugher, shook him out of his stupor. He looked to his left and right in utter befuddlement, surrounded by a familiar setting. This time and place used to be a hazy memory. Now, he was thrown right back in it. He frowned, immediately recognizing the old 104th training camp he graduated from.

'What's going on? this is...'

He caught sight of a familar blonde to his right, Ice rushed through Floch's veins as he realized who stood by his side. There on his right stood none other than Annie Leonhart, ever the ice queen, his heart pounded against his chest at the proximity to the female titan. He instincively flinched as he realized she'd caught him staring at her, causing him to avert his gaze and do his damndest to play it cool.

'Shit.' He inwardly cursed, aware that she was now staring at him. The blonde-haired girl took notice of the sudden change in behavior and shot him a curious glance from the corner of her eye, sending Floch into a frenzy as he tried his damndest to play it off.

"Hey..." She began, her tone making Floch jump in anxiousness. "What were you staring like that for?" she questioned, her lone blue eye boring a hole into the side of his head.

"Y-you look familiar, that's all!" He answered bashfully in the heat of the moment.

"Fucking moron." He heard her mutter under her breath as she went back to observing the helpless Eren Yeager struggle with the ODM training post, much to the amusement of the trainees around. Floch stood there mortified, doubtful that he would forget about what had just occured any time soon.

'That was too close.' Floch sighed.

He took a moment to soak in everything around him as he walked away from her side, only to be greeted with the faces of old friends and comrades, which only added to his confusion, what on earth was happening? He looked down at his hands, opening and closing them, fully conscious of his flesh and all of his body parts, this wasn't a dream, that much he knew.

'Am I dead? Is this... Heaven? ...or... Hell? Here of all places?'

Never in a million years could he have anticipated this, to be back here once more. To stand out in this scalding heat, to feel the rush of the wind on his smooth skin, to be reborn anew into this world. Him of all people, Floch Forster. It was outrageous, a cruel joke played on him by some higher power, at any moment he'll be snatched away from this dream and shoved into that cold void once more.

No, there must be more to this, this could be something else entirely! He had a theory in mind and he rushed to test it.

"EREN! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" He shouted at the sky, startling those around him.

"WHAT!?" Eren called out in frustration from his position, upside down and flailing desperately.

Floch blinked, everyone's eyes now on him. "You're terrible at this!" he hastly deflected. The trainees burst into laughter as Eren ground his teeth begrudgingly.

"Nice one, Floch! serves him right for that shitty tough guy act he put on yesterday!" Jean patted him on the back from behind, wheezing. Floch winced at the physical contact as his most recent memory of the boy was using his last breath to beg him not to bring ruin upon their people. Floch gave a half-hearted smile at him and nodded, trying his best to conceal his confusion.

'Yesterday? I barely remember any of this.'

"Of course." Floch hummed in response, tracing his gaze over towards a less than pleased Mikasa Ackermann. He frowned, somewhat uncomfortable being around so many people who in his previous life had set out to make it as difficult as possible. From the boy who betrayed him, the girl who killed him, and the three that started all of this standing around him like it was nothing.

'It's so strange... These are the same people, yet so much different...' Floch noted. 'I have no choice but to go along with it, there's no point in dwelling on who was what."

He carried on with a restless mind. Instructor Shadis called him out for his turn at the training post, he successfully managed it like second nature, impressing the man and his peers. He took notice of the several eyes on him, including Shadis and some other officers. He didn't even realize that this was an impressive feat, but now that he thought about it, he was supposed to be a trainee not a veteran scout. He sighed, he didn't want so much attention, not with him nearly reaching his limit inwardly.

"Woah! Floch, that was amazing!" A girl called out.

He froze, eyes wide in shock as he let out a shaky breath. He turned to the source of the speaker in disbelief, eyes nearly brimming with tears. She looked slightly younger than what he remembered, but all her details that were nearly gone from his memory were there. "Sandra..." He breathed out in a low tone, his mind flashing with images of her mangled and torn body laying among the dead after Erwin's suicide charge.

"Yeah, wherein the hell did you learn that!?" Another ghost asked him. He gaped as he turned towards his second childhood friend, barely able to keep his composure as they both stood before him excitedly.

"G-Gordon?" He stuttered, before he composed himself. "I- I guess I'm a natural." He shakily replied, averting their gaze.

"My ass, you were so nervous not even half an hour ago! How did you do you it? C'mon man!" Gordon smirked as he nudged him with his elbow teasingly.

Tears pricked his canthus as he fought to restrain himself from crying, he shouldn't be crying. It was too much to bear, it was too sudden, how was he supposed to react? The two were taken aback by his reaction as they shared a concerned look, Gordon looked back at him and reached out, frowning as Floch took a step back.

"Woah, I- you okay?" Gordon asked with concern.

"Floch?" Sandra asked as she closed the gap between them. He stiffed at her touch and backed away, much to their confusion.

"Sorry, Don't worry. It's just..." He trailed, before he shook his head. "Forget it, It's nothing." He dismissed at them as he met the borwn-haired girl's gaze.

He sucked in a breath as he suddenly recalled.

'Floch.' she whimpered, her voice trembling in fear.

'Y-yeah?' He replied, equally as frightened.

'I'm scared to die.' she confessed, tears spilling out of her eye.

Floch frowned but before he could say anything their commander Erwin released a battle cry and all hell broke loose.

"Okay, whatever." She lamely replied before all three fell in line with the rest of the recruits. Floch looked on unaware that she kept shooting him curious glances from time to time.

'Why am I back here?' He thought to himself as a frown marred his features, knuckles turning white as his hands clenched with an intense torrent of emotions.

The warm glow of the evening sun struck him directly through the windows of the barracks as he laid in bed sprawled out, his thoughts drowning out the chatter of cadets leaking from the outside. Try as he might, Floch could not overcome the overwhelming absurdity of this situation. One moment he was bleeding out far away from home, and then in the blink of an eye he was back on his second day as a trainee.

'Seven years ago, that's how far I'm back to the past. I find it absurd that Eren would make me live some founding titan fantasy, so that's out of the question. I'm simply dead, and now I'm here again, whether I'll be able to figure out the reason or not remains to be seen but as of now...' Floch mused in his head, a sound from the outside prompted him to sit up and glance through the window.

Weary eyes were glued to the back of one Eren Yeager as he walked into the distance acompanied by Armin and Mikasa. From the looks of things, the trio will be attempting to aid Eren in completing the ODM excercise, or else the green-eyed boy would be dropped from the program and thrust back into the fields.

Floch dropped back on the bed with a heavy sigh.

'July, 847, three years before the battle of Trost, two months till the assault on Shiganshina after that and finally four years until the rumbling.' He told himself. 'Seven years to alter the course of history, seven years to save Eldia.'

He briefly recalled the events leading up to his death, grimacing at the unsavory images of the battle at the southern port replaying in his mind, including the moments leading up to his death.

'Dragged through the ocean to die in some old rusty hangar.' He shuddered as he remembered the sharp pain of the ODM hook latching onto his neck, though by that point, his body had gone numb after spending an excrutiating amount of time attached to that steam ship. The bleeding, the hunger, the searing salt water in his wounds, all leading to that single moment where the fate of Eldia rested on his shoulders.

The memories flooded his mind from every battle he fought in,the images of the fallen burned into his brain. Those who were decimated by rocks, crushed, mangled, eaten, shot, sliced ,and exploded. Trost, Shiganshina, Liberio, the day of the rumbling, the southern port, all of it came crashing down on him. And among the dead, Sandra and Gordon's bodies stood out the most to him.

He ran a cold finger along his neck where the wound used to be, his desperate pleas with Hange and jean echoing in his mind, the troubled looks they gave him as they willfully ignored the desperate words of a dying man. His eyes narrowed with contempt, those pleas fell on deaf ears, Hange was far too drunk on her morality to entertain logic and reason. His eyes suddenly widened with terror as a chill ran down his spine, had Eren failed? Was this the reason for him to be here? Was their paradise doomed?

He paled with horror at the implications, every man, woman, and child back on the island would get slaughtered without mercy. If their future was safe and secure then there wouldn't be a need for him back here. Tears built up in his eyes, it all made sense now, it was up to him from this point forward. He owed Eldia and It's people everything, to die at any given moment in the forseable future without ensuring Eldia's survival would be a waste of a precious gift.

The world had chosen him, and his mission began now.

He grit his teeth. "Eldia, wait for me."

"Who's Eldia?" Gordon asked from the bed underneath him, startling the former yeagerist leader.

"Shit, you scared me." A startled Floch hasilty replied.

"Ahahaha!"

"W-What are you laughing at, bastard?" Floch glared at him, unknowingly slipping back into the way he used to behave around the boy.

"Sorry, It's just that you changed so much in the blink of an eye. Are you having regrets or did I miss something? You've been acting really strange today, Sandra wouldn't shut up about it." Gordon questioned, much to Floch's unease. "I can't put my finger on it, but something about you feels different now." The boy in question furrowed his brows in thought before he sighed in resignation as his features relaxed, no harm in telling half-truths.

"I'm sorry for making you guys worry, I guess I just realized that everything feels too sudden." He denied it.

Gordon smirked as he climbed up the bunk bed.

"Are you sure It's not because of that Annie girl? You looked white as a sheet standing next to her, did she break your heart or something?" He teased. Floch gaped at him like a fish out of water.

"W-What?" He stuttered, scandalizied by the thought of being attracted to that unremorseful murderer in any capacity.

"Ha! That look on your face says everything! Poor boy! Wait till Sandra hears, you won't hear the end of it!" He laughed as he tugged on Floch's leg.

"Stop it, idiot!" Floch glared as he yanked his leg away from his teasing friend.

"She'll be so heartbroken!" He feigned anguish, dramatically covering his eyes with his arm and looking away from the gaping Floch.

"H-hey! You better not go around spreading rumors!" Floch spluttered, remembering full well how he'd manage to associate him with numerous frustrating nicknames during their training in the 104th.

"Yeesh! lighten up Flochy! It's but a simple rejection, not the end of the world or anything." Gordon grinned before hopping down.

Floch sat up from his position and stared at his retreating form with a somber gaze.

"Come on! It's getting close to dinner! wouldn't wanna miss the good seats!" He called out to the boy as he exited the barracks, with a few others following behind after his reminder.

"End of the world huh?" Floch whispered as he dropped to the ground with clenched fists, He turned to look at the previously mentioned trio from the window.

Yeah, something like that.

"I have to be the one to do this! I've got to settle this!" -Eren Yeager 850 AD , urging Mikasa to untie him as Hannes fought Dina Fritz's pure titan form.

'The enemy is back amongst our ranks. Sandra, Gordon, Marlowe and Louise are alive. Eldia has regressed Four years, And I have to be careful. Otherwise...' He peered out of the corner of his eyes towards one of the guard towers where the warrior trio sat, undoubtedly discussing their own mission details. Floch couldn't resist the hate the coursed through him, he forced himself to look away before his sour expressions could bring unwanted attention.

He walked at a brisk pace towards Eren. It would do him good to make good friends with the boy again, he had quiet the advantage being from the future and all, and he fully intended to abuse it. However, Floch reasoned that he should withhold most of his knowledge from him until things were properly established between the both of them and Historia. He saw Eren nod towards Arlert but before he could be raised and possibly injure himself, he intervened.

"Stop it!" He barked. The trio paused their exercise and turned to face him.

"What the hell do you want Forster?!" Eren demanded in agitation, Mikasa shielding the boy with a cold and apprehensive glare. Floch sneered at the Oriental girl without a single ounce of fear. He stood his ground against her in the past under far worse circumstances, this was child's play in comparison. "I'm not in the mood for more of your stupid jokes!" He added.

"Armin, right? Don't raise him, he'll hurt himself." Floch advised the blonde-haired boy who in question raised an eyebrow at him.

"Could you fuck off? I don't have the time to deal with you right now." Eren growled at him.

Armin looked sheepish but Floch knew the gears were turning in his head, he turned to Eren, "Let's talk things out first, who knows? He might be able to help us." He enthusiastically reasoned with the stubborn boy who gritted his teeth in frustration before ultimately relenting.

"Fine, but nothing is stopping me from kicking his ass if he does something stupid." he warned fixing Floch a glare.

"Great, I'm glad you can be reasoned with." Floch spoke as he removed his ODM belt. "Take this, put it on instead." Floch spoke, before tossing the belt towards the trio. Mikasa intercepted it mid-air and gave him a curious look.

"Your belt?" Armin questioned before a spark lit up in his mind. "That's right! We didn't stop to consider if it wasn't your fault! Eren! Your belt could have been faulty!" He beamed as he turned to his friend, who looked perplexed.

"What the hell's the meaning of this?!" Eren puzzled, "You had everyone laugh at me earlier, so why do this now?" He added.

Floch was in the middle of leaving before he stopped and turned to face them, smirking. "Are you seriously complaining? I just felt bad for you that's all, if that fat ass Lucas could do it then something must have been very wrong for you not to be able to." He replied, before shrugging. "Besides, I've seen the way you tried to balance yourself, it didn't look natural so It made me suspicious that something else was going on." He concluded, stunning the three into silence.

"That's..." Eren trailed, unsure of what to say.

"Well? Aren't you going to try it?" Floch asked.

The three blinked, snapping out of their stupor before Mikasa moved in to help Eren remove the wires attached to his malfunctioning belt, but Floch left before he could see him pull it off. By the time he reached the mess hall he heard Eren's faint cheers from far away as a smirk tugged on his lips.

'That's the first step, in time Eren, we'll do things right.'

Floch Forster made his way into the dining area, having set up the foundation of what would be the most crucial alliance in all of Eldia's history. The devil and his righthand man shall reunite soon, and when that happens, Eldia shall once again know true freedom.

'Dedicate your heart.'

The mess hall reeked of that pleasant smell of fresh stew and bread, lively with chatter — it stimulated his senses. Bringing about a sense of nostalgia and melancholy for when he used to be deep in that blissful ignorance of the world around him, caught up in his mundane way of life. He sat by the edge of the room far from it, feeling somewhat underserving of being part of it. Today marked a new beginning to a journey towards a higher purpose, and until that day came along, Floch would continue to move forward with the blood of the fallen staining his soul. Til justice is brought forth for all their pain and sacrifice. After all, he was the chosen one for this task.

Right?

He couldn't resist the eerie sensation that crawled up his spine. His body had gone stiff and hollow. His heart thundered as a sinking feeling festered in his chest. His skin warmed, and the floodgates opened as sweat dripped from every pore. No matter how many times he affirmed to himself, none of it would go away. He felt weak, knowing that he had to go through everything again. The prospect of saving Eldia was one to look forward to, but the scorching hell he must endure attaining that goal was not something he was sure he could pull off once more.

His breath hitched, fearful eyes widening in panic. There in front of him, it stood, tall and menacing. In its hands a cluster of rubble which it hurled in his direction, and from behind that curtain of debris, he could still see blood red rubies. Mocking him for thinking he stood a chance. He shut his eyes and braced himself for that shower of death, but nothing but a gentle breeze touched his pale skin. A deep sigh of resignation passed his lips, and a frown settled upon his miens.

He wearily continued to scan the room for those familiar faces, young and bright, laughably naive. It felt surreal, as if dining in a graveyard, breaking bread, and sharing stories with the ghosts of the past. More than two hundred of them graduated in his original time. He knew that throughout the years, only eleven from the one hundred and fourth southern division survived to witness the day their sacrifices came to fruition in the form of the rumbling. Hundreds of lives were snuffed out at an absurd age, plucked from this world and swept away like blades of grass caught in the harsh winds.

Floch tore himself away from his surroundings and focused on his bowl of vegetable stew, this was much easier to look at. he took hold of his spoon and stirred the contents of the bowl then segregated the vegetables in different corners. The carrots, potatoes, onions, all held different qualities and textures but under the weight of his spoon they were all rendered into mush all the same.

His reflection bounced off the pair of grey hooded eyes that scrutinized him from across the table, burning his image in the back of the mind, studying him down to the last detail.

Sandra scowled at the boy, puzzled by the drastic shift in character that seemingly occurred out of the blue. What used to be an open book with words written down in bold, has now shut in her face. Floch Forster doesn't get lost in thought. The most pressing of his concerns was the scalding sun on a hot summer day or the chiming bells of Trost ripping him from his cozy dreams early in the morning. Whatever weighed on his mind now, She had to know.

Sandra huffed. A full day of overthinking and worrying had finally caught up with her. Her foot hammered against the wooden boards with impatient tapping. Something festered inside her, urged her to latch onto his ear and force him to spill. She continued to bore holes into his head. Floch may be a book sealed under lock and key, but she knew the cover well. The crinkle of his eyes, the way his lower lip would quiver, the constant drumming of his fingers on the table, and the frequent sighing were clear signs.

She hated that Gordon wasn't nearly as concerned with his strange behavior as she had been. Their Floch was carefree and unbothered, not whoever this impostor was. Maybe Gordon was more used to seeing this side of him than she was. After all, childhood friends or not, the boys always had their own time together.

"I don't like this, he's never been like this before." She began, unable to hold back any longer. "It's annoying."

Gordon spared her a glance from the corner of his eyes and shifted towards the Auburn-haired mystery impassively. "Look at you all bothered, what are you his mother?"

Sandra blinked, unamused by this.

He sighed. "Look, he said he felt things were going a little fast but to be honest I think that's bull. I don't know what's got him acting this way."

"You don't know?!" She hissed. "You're his best friend!"

"And so are you. Believe me I tried to snap him out of it, tickling and pinching too. But It's like he's not here at all, wouldn't budge a single bit."

She watched him break a small piece of bread, not comprehending exactly what he was playing at until the moment he placed it atop the ginger's head. She blinked twice, not trusting her own vision before realising what he has been doing this entire time, there on the bird's nest Floch called hair sat a handful of bread crumbs.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked feeling scandalized.

"Putting bread on his hair."

"Why?"

"I just felt like it, It's funny, you think he'll notice." He shrugged while nonchalantly admiring his handiwork. "Probably not."

"You idiot! If Shadis sees, He'll make us clean the crumbs off the floor with our tongues!" She fretted. Her eyes nearly bulged out in fear. She looked from her left and right in search of their intimidating instructor. His features darkened as a crippling anxiety took hold, he hastily swiped the crumbs off the boy's greasy head before proceeding to swallow them much to her disgust but it was better now than under Shadis' menacing gaze.

To her amazement the redhead continued in his own musings as if nothing happened, too immersed in his own world to notice the one surrounding him. She couldn't resist the pull at the corners of her mouth as a soft smile set in place, she admired that about him. Always setting his mind on a task and never allowing any distractions to get in the way of achieving it.

The bells outside chimed, Signaling bedtime for the cadets. They all stood up and picked after themselves as they vacated the mess hall. They left one after the other, including Gordon who hurried out of fear of Shadis. Floch absentmindedly took his spoon and bowl with him, Sandra followed behind him quietly, biting her lips and inwardly screaming at herself for not confronting him.

"Sandra." He suddenly spoke, startling the girl as she bumped into his back.

He turned to face her, her breath hitched in awe. His eyes looked heavy and burdened, these weren't the eyes of a young and carefree boy. She could see the pain in them as clear as she could see the moon shining in the night's sky.

"Can we talk?" He said.

"Yeah, Is everything okay? You've been acting strange this entire day, Gordon and I were worried about you... Well, not so much for Gordon." She rambled. Inching closer towards him and taking his stiff hand in hers.

"Everything is fine, for now at least."

She raised a brow in question. "...For now?"

"Do you remember long ago when we'd used to run out to the fields, because of the river? How we'd pick fights with the boys from Müller's farm? Then we'd run to the hills and spend the rest of the day gazing at the sky?" He asked as he reminisced about the past, his voice low and broken.

'Long ago?' She was puzzled but shook her head regardless. "Y-yeah, and every time, I scolded you two idiots for fighting so much," she replied, still perplexed by his random question.

"Yeah, you and your nagging." He chuckled weakly, in his eyes a faraway look.

"Was I wrong?" She pouted.

"Not at all, Sandra." He looked down at his feet.

"Floch, what's going on with you today? And why are you bringing this up?" She squeezed his hand.

His eyes are downcast as he spoke. "It's better if you don't know. Say, why did you join the military?"

The brown-haired girl was rooted to the ground, his intense gaze melting her to the bone as she felt the heat of the Trost factories once more, That thick industrial smoke filling her lungs and clouding her mind as a million thoughts rushed through, but she drew blanks nonetheless. Feeling like that helpless girl that used to stand on the side and bawl her eyes out while her friends fought.

"What do you hope to gain out of joining this shit hole?" He continued to hammer her with his impossible questions with desperation dripping from the tongue.

"O-our promise, the garri-" She finally spoke. Tripping over every word as her face flushed from embarrassment. His features hardened, he sneered at her and she felt like crying but controlled herself.

"The garrison, right. Sandra, I think you should leave. You don't belong here." He spoke Harshly in a tone of finality, she was taken back as she let go of his hand.

'Leave?'

'You don't belong here.'

He faintly remembered his mother nagging him about the proper ways of dealing with a lady, his father's warnings of never making one cry ringing loudly in his mind. But the echoes of thunderspears and the cries of dead men ringed heaps louder. He never wished to see tears ruining Sandra's face ever again but if it meant protecting her from the horrors that lay beyond these walls and within them then so be it.

"Goodnight." She weakly muttered, tears prickling the edge of her eyes.

Sandra looked defeated, her knees wobbled as she barely held herself together. The dam that held her together broke, as tears streamed down her cheeks. She frowned, never expecting today to turn out like this. In her haste, she dropped her bowl and spoon and fled. Floch watched her retreating form without a single word, the more she shrank the more the pain that stabbed at him intensified, and when she disappeared into the barracks he felt the weight of his words crushing his shoulders.

He picked up her discarded items before leaving under the cover of the dark, Mikasa Ackerman watched him pensively after overhearing their exchange. Recalling the way he helped them earlier, it seemed like they both shared more in common than previously thought. She wrapped her scarf around her neck and quietly left, in her mind images of a boy with green eyes and reckless ambitions.

"I don't want to lose what little family I have left." - Mikasa Ackerman 850 AD, speaking to Eren yeager and Armin arlert after celebrating their graduation.

As a young boy, he remembered chasing after the steam boats floating along the Trost district river, remembering the distinct clicking of his shoes resounding from the concrete pavement. Once, he attempted to swim in said river while out playing, which lead to his parents biting his head off for setting foot in those murky contaminated waters. Especially when he barely knew how to swim, but he didn't know any better. The water, while pleasant on the surface, was deceptively ordinary. It would turn and darken at the tiniest disturbance, revealing its true nature, dark, muddy and foul.

Had he paid close attention to the edges of the cobblestone, He would have seen the corrupted moss sticking onto the surface, halfway submerged in that body of diseased water. In the summer, under the intense heat of the sun, it exuded a putrid smell that would reek of rotten eggs and dampened coal for days on end, forcing him, Gordon, and Sandra to flee far away to play somewhere else. During the evenings, the mosquitoes would come at large demanding fresh blood, Even with the efforts of his father and the oil lamps set to repel them, one would find its way underneath his thin covers to bite him.

The Trost river was at the back of his mind as he fought, desperately attempting to repel their attackers. He ran around helplessly watching his subordinates, comrades, brothers and sisters falling victim one after the other. He should have known that a band of inexperienced teens and reservists were no match for veterans and titans, and yet it was their duty to fight for Eldia. Everywhere he looked, countless lives were being snuffed out, their blood soaking the roofs around him as he watched on with growing desperation.

His teeth clenched tightly, as his eyes fixated on yet another life mercilessly snuffed out before him, the newly arrived titan screeching in his face ready to pounce. The port, once a place of bustling activity, now lay strewn with remnants of horror—mangled flesh, shattered bones, and the ghastly aftermath of violence laid bare for all to witness.

His features tightened with grim realization, his veins pulsed with a newfound intensity of hatred and rage. It became clear, with an unwavering clarity, that the fate of countless lives rested solely upon his shoulders now. The realization ignited a fire within him, his heart and mind converged upon a singular purpose—to push forward, no matter the cost. The words of Erwin Smith echoed within the depths of his consciousness, as he readied himself for what he knew was the final push.

It was now or never.

A primal roar erupted from the depths of his being, reverberating through the air, grabbing the attention of everyone around as he launched forward armed solely with thunderspears and an unyielding determination. His nimble form weaved through their sharp claws, their merciless blades, bullets grazing past him, before soaring high in the air. He surged forward, and descended upon the ship.

In a fleeting moment, he allowed himself to bask in the exhilaration of the wind caressing his skin, his hair billowing like an untamed banner in the air. Bringing him back to a time when he swung without a care in the world inside through the dense Eldia canopy, accepting the bitter truth that this fleeting encounter with the wind would mark his final embrace of such freedom. His gaze locked onto the ship looming before him as he squeezed on the trigger. The thunderspear nestled close to him built up It's searing heat, this was it, the reassuring thought that this single action will secure Eldia's future made him feel an immense power.

"ELDIA WILL BE SAVED!"

The thunderspear sizzled.

"...BY ME!"

He was struck, and as he fell, he noted that the missile missed.

He failed.

As he fell from the heavens, He could do nothing but watch in despair as his world crumbled around him. Crimson gushing from the shoulder and the sky becoming farther and farther. He plunged into the sea and only then it had been revealed to him that the azure waters of the harbor had thickened with Eldian blood. In his desperate attempts to breathe he swallowed much of that tainted water, understanding the true cost of Eldia's freedom.

He sunk deeper and deeper into that hell, until eventually the light stopped shining through the surface. Large and ominous red eyes bore into his soul as a maddening cackle boomed in the darkness, A giant hand reached out for him-

Floch woke up in a cold sweat, the scream that threatened to escape muted in his throat. He heard nothing but his frantic gasps for air and the drumming of a heart that threatened to burst. He searched for the giant furry hand in wild motions, finding nothing but the peaceful unconscious forms of his fellow cadets. The aftertaste of metallic red lingered on his tongue but there was nothing there.

The boy effortlessly leaped off the bed, careful not to stir a single soul, seamlessly melding into the obscure embrace of the shadows. He swiftly slipped out of the barracks, and kept walking until he was swallowed by the darkness. A vigilant gaze fixated upon his every move from afar, akin to a predator observing its prey, yet they refrained from giving chase as he gradually vanished from sight.

Hello, thank you for taking the time to read this, here's some words jumbled together below this, enjoy.

This story will be told mostly through Floch's point of view as we go through the ripples of what his actions could lead to in the future, with that said this is the first fanfic story I made for attack on titan and i'm excited for it, valid and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Edited (10/04/2022) Story title changed, previous title was 'For king and country.'