"If humanity loses the Scouts, that means humanity loses its spear" Erwin bargains as he looks up at the King, "when an enemy closes in, you guard not with a shield, but with the spear that eliminates the threat. Suppose now, in this instant, Wall Rose were to be breached... the residents of Wall Rose would again flee and take refuge in Wall Sina. But the earlier evacuation left stockpiles with no more than a few days at best. In the blink of an eye, most residents would be forced to fight for survival. Wall Rose and Sina... humanity would be split into two factions and civil war would erupt. Even if the wall was not breached, Wall Rose is continually suffering a food shortage. It may not be the titans that breach Wall Sina... there's a chance the residents of Wall Rose will do it first. Reclaim Wall Maria. If humanity is to ever hope for a future, that is the only way".

"Are you implying that the Scouts are needed for such a cause?" one of the King's men asks as he sits in his chair.

"Our duty as Scouts has always been to charge forth at the enemy" Erwin continues, "cowering away will not solve anything. Or could it be... you have some kind of secret plan to overcome this ordeal?".

"Erwin, I don't think you understand" the same man says as he glances away, "the reason your here today is not to discuss our future within the walls, nor is it because of something as simple as murder. Clause Six, Charter of Humanity. 'Thou shalt not prioritise one's own gain over the longevity of humanity'. You're here for this grave offence. You've refused to hand over Eren and Evelyn Jaeger multiple times. In doing so, you violated the Charter".

"But Eren and Evelyn are vital for reclaiming Wall Maria!" Erwin says persistently.

"That is not for the Scouts to decide!" the man says, "Eren Jaeger is a titan who's powers are not understood, and Evelyn Jaeger is a mutant human who's power are also not understood! Sheltering them within the walls is a risk to humanity! It's absurd for a single Commander to have control of them alone. And yet, you stubbornly persisted in some plan of yours. Not only did you feign their abduction and seal the two of them... but you silenced Deemo Reeves since he knew of your plan. This is clearly treason. It is not a stretch to say that you are a threat to humanity as well. Commander Pixis. The Garrison and Scout Regiment both risk their lives on the front line. How are we to know that you're not his comrade?".

"I'm quite disturbed that you believe we'd align ourselves with the Scouts" Commander Pixis says as he stands near Erwin, "nothing is more senseless than killing human beings. In this cramped world that we humans have, one spark will engulf all in no time. When it came to defend Trost District, that's what I told my soldiers before sending many to their deaths. If the Scout Regiment is that one spark, it should be smothered at once. After all, if the titans do manage to break the wall and find hardly anyone left inside, those poor titan might go hungry".

"Very well. Allow us to discuss" the man says with a slight chuckle, "Your Majesty, may we?".

The four men start to discuss amongst themselves as Erwin kneels where he is, not bothered.

Erwin. Is this how you want things to end?

Nile asks as he looks at Erwin.

"In the name of the King, I will announce your judgement" the man says as he turns to look at Erwin, "Erwin Smith. For violating Clause Six of the Charter of Humanity, you are sentenced to death. Your execution will be carried out immediately. Take him".

Is this what you wanted, Erwin?

Nile asks as one of the guards goes to grab Erwin. Nile watches as Erwin stands up and sees the look on his face... a smirk. Just then, the doors the room burst open.

"Wall Rose has been breached!" a female member of the Garrison announces as she salutes, "the Colossal titan appeared out of nowhere! Along with the Armoured titan, they broke through both gates of Calaneth District! Currently, refugees from the East are flocking here for safety!".

"Establish a route for the evacuees!" Commander Pixis orders as he throws his arm out, "have all Garrison troops converge and defend the East! Get the evacuees safely to Wall Sina! Everyone, hurry! Saving the evacuees is the top priority!".

"No! Close up the gates to Wall Sina!" the man yells as he looks at everyone, "don't let a single refugee inside".

"But that means shutting out all of Wall Rose's residents" Nile says as he looks at the man, "your command is to sit down and watch as half of humanity is killed?".

"It's just like he said earlier! That's asking for civil war!" the man says worriedly, "we can't let the government lose control! If that happens, it's over!".

"But that's only a mere possibility" Nile says persistently.

"It's enough for that possibility to exist!" the man says as he balls his fists, "our authority is and will always be absolute! Now, get moving!".

Commander Pixis looks at the female member of the Garrison and nods as she bows before running out of the room.

"Shit. To think the wall would be breached at a time like this" the man says as he gathers with his comrades, "though, there is a silver lining. We've already found the power. All that's left is to bide our time until the vessel takes it. There's not need to be flustered by this little disaster. As long as Wall Sina holds up, we'll be fine. Once Lord Reiss comes back".

"Let's do it. Close the gates" a man from the Military Police says as he looks at Nile, "if we wait, it'll be too late".

"What are you doing?" the man asks as he looks at Nile, "hurry up! It'll be treason if you don't!".

"I will not!" Nile rejects, "I am a human of Wall Rose. I will not allow the gates to be closed!".

"I will stand behind him" Zachery says as he walks into the room, troops lined up behind him, rifles in hand.

"Are you surprised at all by their reaction, Premier Zachery?" Commander Pixis asks as he looks at Zachery.

"No. Not a bit" Zachery says as he adjusts his glasses.

"Zachery, what's the meaning of this?" the man asks, stunned by Zachery's presence.

"This report just now was a false alarm" Zachery reveals, "rest assured. At the moment, there has been no report of a titan attack".

"If you want the mastermind, it's me" Commander Pixis says as he stands between Nile and Erwin, "it seems most of the Interior Police are off somewhere or other. I suppose that's quite fortunate. Earlier, I declared to you that the Garrison Regiment isn't aligned with the Scout Regiment. But I did forget to mention one thing. I'm not aligned with any of your either. While I do possess some of the same feelings as Erwin here, I considered leaving things up to your government if that were the better choice for the sake of humanity. You are, after all, much wiser than us when it comes to titans and the walls. Supposing you actually cared about saving as many people as possible, I would have been fine sending Erwin to the gallows. Of course, depending on your decisions, all of us were prepared to forfeit our heads. However, the answer you've given us is very clear! We may be ignorant about the titans and their powers, but I daresay, we in our ignorance can save far more people than you ever could!".

"You're a fool! What do you think undermining us will accomplish?" the man asks angrily, "the citizens will never listen to you. They'll obey whatever the crown says. The regional lords will have none of this!".

"It seems you don't quite understand" Commander Pixis says as he glares at the man, "this is no mere threat. It's a coup d'état".

"We've successfully restrained the Military Police!" the female member of the Garrison announces as she runs up to Zachery, saluting to him.

"The thing with soldiers, they'll obey their superior officer over the King" Zachery says as he looks forward.

"Especially when the King in question is a fraud" Commander Pixis says as he stares directly at the King, "we will put in place a new ruler of our own".

"Don't think you can get away with this hoax!" the man says as he takes a few steps forward.

"If that disaster had in fact happened, the decision that all of you made violates Clause Six of the Charter of Humanity" Erwin says as he glares at everyone in front of him, "furthermore, is installing a fake King to personally control and run the government not punishable by death?".

"Shit! Wake up, dotard!" the man shouts as he goes to the King and kicks his throne.

"What? Time to eat?" the King asks as he looks at the man.

"Shut up, you useless oaf!" the man shouts as he looks at the King.

Everyone is restrained as Erwin's handcuff is taken off.

"Erwin, this is your victory" Nile says as he looks at Erwin, "aren't you happy?".

"Nile. Humanity has just begun down a new path. One far more dangerous than before" Erwin says as he looks at Nile.

--- at the temporary camp of Evelyn and Levi squad ---

The two people continue to approach the squad as they all do their best to hide themselves. Levi sighs as the two people reveal themselves to be Hange and Moblit. Everyone relaxes as Hange passes Levi a letter. The squad gathers around as they all read the letter.

"And there you have it. The coup d'état was successful" Hange says as the younger members of the squad gasp, "Premier Zachery has control of the Capital and administrative district. For the time being, the nobility hasn't rebelled".

"But what about the Boss Reeves incident?" Armin asks as he looks at Hange.

"We got a confession that proved the charges unfounded" Hange says with a smile, "his son Flegel really pulled through big time. Just like it's written right there, it shows the charges were bogus, they abused their power and that King Fritz was a total fake. All our actions were justified self-defence. In other words, we're free people now".

They all look at each other as Levi moves out of the way as they all cheer and hug each other.

"Looks like the gamble paid off" Levi says as Hange walks over to him.

"Yeah. It wasn't just Erwin though" Hange says as they look at the squad celebrating, "the lone choices of many managed to change the world".

"And I managed to kill the three people you loaned me" Levi says as he stands next to Hange, "I'm sorry. The thing is, part of the Interior Police, their leader, Evelyn, Eren and Historia are somewhere else. If we don't find them soon...".

"I may have a clue about that" Hange says as they pass a book to Levi, "let's get there and put an end to this battle".

--- the exit of Capital Mitras ---

"As far as humanity's concerned, we should have let the government do as they please" Erwin says from inside the carriage with Premier Zachery, "like Commander Pixis was saying, they've somehow devised a means of keeping humanity alive until now. Even if they watch as half of humanity dies, it's better than us going extinct. Should I have let Evelyn and Eren go, risk my comrade's lives, given up both my life and my duty, and entrust it all to the government? If humanity is more precious than one single life...".

"Your duty is as painful as ever" Zachery says as he looks at Erwin, "dying seems a far easier option. In that case, why didn't you do as you said? Should I tell you my reason? For a long time, I've hated those bastards! They piss me off! Those pompous pricks and pigs who think they're important. No... maybe I actually liked them. I've been dreaming for this day to come for ages. That is... even if you hadn't done it, I would've given it a shot before I kicked the bucket. I couldn't care less if this coup d'état is good or bad for humanity. I'm quite the scoundrel, right? But you're no different than me. You didn't want to die. Just like me, you prioritise yourself over the fate of humanity".

"I must be very conceited to think that" Erwin says as he looks forward.

"What's your reason?" Zachery asks as he glances at Erwin, "now it's your turn to answer".

"I have a dream" Erwin reveals, "one I've had since I was a child.

--- Evelyn and Levi squad ---

The squad continues forward on their venture to find their missing comrades as Levi, Hange and Mikasa ride in the carriage pulled by horses which Armin is driving.

"Hange. Did you say you might know where they are?" Mikasa asks as she looks at Hange.

"Yeah, I'll explain" Hange says they look at Mikasa, "Erwin gave me this Scout investigation report regarding Lord Reiss' land. Most of it has to do with the incident five years ago that shook up the Reiss family. On the day Wall Maria was breached. I'll summarise the important bits from the beginning. As the Lord of his territory, popular opinion of Rod Reiss wasn't all that bad. He had five children, and his oldest daughter, Frieda, was a down to earth girl that even the peasants adored. But that night, five years ago, disaster struck. With the world having plunged into pure chaos, some bandits raided and set fire to the only chapel around. Unfortunately, that night, the entire Reiss family was there praying together. And so, the whole family, save for the head of the house, Rod Reiss, was massacred that night by the bandits. To top it off, this whole incident occurred a few says before Historia's mother was killed by the Interior Police. In other words, immediately after losing his family, Rod Reiss sought out Historia. There must be a reason he and his lackeys are after Historia".

"The same bloodline?" Levi questions as he glances at Hange, "is there some secret to their blood?".

"I don't know for sure yet" Hange says as they look at Levi, "but what really makes me curious is that parts of the chapel are completely wrecked. The chapel itself is stone. It would takes tonnes of time and effort to destroy. Bandits would take what they can and make a quick escape. Plus, the one who saw those bandits was Rod Reiss himself. Soon after, he used his own fortune to rebuild the chapel. But why? If you think about it, it's even stranger that there were no traces of titans. Even if I'm jumping to conclusions, something this suspicious deserves us checking it out".

--- the Reiss Chapel ---

Eren finally starts to wake up as he sees a woman with black hair and blue eyes brushing through her hair in some kind of vision. He wakes up fully as he opens his eyes and realises he's in some kind of cave made out of the crystallisation Annie can use.

"Eren, are you awake?" Evelyn asks from next to him as he looks to his left and sees Evelyn next to him dressed in nothing but a white dress, her arms suspended by silver chains.

Eren looks around as he realises he's in the same situation, shirtless and his arms suspended in the air by silver chains, the only different between the two of them being he's gagged.

What the hell?

Eren asks as he looks around.

--- Trost District ---

Erwin overlooks all of the preparations to join Levi's temp squad on the search for Evelyn, Eren and Historia, as people prepare horses, carts and rations.

--- Levi's squad ---

"Before the night is over, we'll have soldiers all over Reiss' land" Hange explains, "unfortunately, I doubt he'll be waiting that long. If we don't hurry up and get there, Eren might be eaten and God only knows what'll happen to Evelyn".

If a titan eats a person who can change into a titan and thus takes their powers, if that's actually true, when and how did Eren become a titan, and who did he eat in order to gain his powers?

Armin questions as he looks ahead.

--- the Reiss Chapel ---

Eren fights against his restraints as he tries his best to pull them down from the wall.

"Eren! It's no use, I already tried that" Evelyn says as Eren spots how badly her wrists are bleeding.

Shit!

Eren says as he looks down and he spots Historia walking towards them, below them on the ground.

"Historia?" Evelyn says as she looks at the girl.