A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here! Enjoy!

edited on june 23rd, 2022 @ 11:53am

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙴,
𝓢𝙰𝚅𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚁𝚈.

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THE SOUND OF THE CLOCK ticking in the room could be heard as Mikasa, Armin, and Gabi all had their hands on the table. Gabi had a horrified look on her face as no one spoke a word.

"I want to have a nice, calm talk." Eren finally spoke up. "We don't need to fight to solve Eldia's problems. Don't worry about Julian and your friends. We're just moving them somewhere else, that's all."

"Eren, we're the ones who wanted to talk to you. Why did you decide to attack Marley on your own?" Armin questioned. "Did Zeke and Yelena really convince you to join them?"

"I am free." Eren simply replied, getting Armin and Mikasa's attention. "No matter what I do or how I do it, I'm acting of my own free will."

"Even what you did after you met Yelena? Was that your own free will?" Armin asked.

"Yeah."

"No, you're being manipulated. You'd never get innocents or children involved, even those from an enemy nation. And you care about us more than anything else! Am I wrong? Back when you saved me in that cabin in the mountains, when you wrapped this scarf around me, that was your kindness—" Mikasa moved her hand up to touch her scarf.

"I said keep your hands on the table." Eren interrupted.

Mikasa says nothing as she sits back down. "When I was in Liberio, I spoke with Zeke. Just as brothers. Zeke knows even more about Titans than Marley does. Armin, you're still going to see Annie, right? Are you doing that of your own free will?" Eren asked.

"What are you—" Armin began to protest, shocked that his secret was exposed.

"If memories make us who we are, then part of you has turned into Bertholdt. An enemy soldier who's in love with another one of our enemies. Armin, Bertholdt has taken over your brain. You're the one being manipulated by the enemy." Eren finished.

"Eren, you're—" Mikasa started to say.

"That goes for you too, Mikasa." Eren interrupted once more. "The Ackerman family was formed to protect the King of Eldia. That day, you obeyed my orders in a life-or-death situation. 'Fight.' Just then, your instincts were awakened. Your hallucinations in that moment made you think I was the one you needed to protect."

"You're wrong." Mikasa denied.

"I am? About what?" Eren challenged.

"It wasn't by chance." Mikasa remembered when Eren wrapped his scarf around her. "I became strong because it was you. It was because of you!"

"When an Ackerman's powers awaken, they supposedly experience sudden headaches. It's a product of the original identity resisting the compulsion to protect the host. Sound familiar?" Eren asked as Mikasa widened her eyes and clenched her fist.

"No."

"In other words..."

"You're wrong. I..."

"You're a family that lost its original identity and now exists only to follow orders. You're a slave." Eren said.

"Stop it, Eren!" Armin shouted.

"You know what I hate the most in this world? People who aren't free. They're no more than cattle." Eren continued on.

"Eren!"

"Just looking at her used to piss me off like crazy. And now I finally know why. I couldn't stand looking at a slave who just faithfully obeyed orders without question. Ever since we were kids, I've always hated you, Mikasa."

Mikasa had tears in her eyes. "Eren!" Armin shouted, rushing forward to hit him. "How dare you—"

Mikasa sprang into action and pinned Armin down on the table. "Mikasa?" Armin questioned in shock.

"All your life, you've just been strung along by the whims of your Ackerman blood." Eren said.

"No..." Mikasa muttered, releasing Armin.

"That's all you are."

Tears fell down from Mikasa's face as Armin punched Eren in the face, making him fall back. Eren dodged Armin's incoming fist as they began fighting as a bunch of Yeagerists entered the room with guns.

"Mr. Yeager!"

"It's nothing." Eren told them as Armin got up weakly. "Hey, Armin, you know how we've never fought once despite knowing each other all our lives?"

Armin rushed forward to punch him. "You know why that is?" Eren asked as he repeatedly punched Armin. "Because the two of us could never have a fair fight!"

"Stop." Mikasa begged.

Armin soon collapses to the ground. "Just stop it." Mikasa muttered.

"All you have to do is tell me where Zeke is. Then we won't need to fight." Eren claimed as Mikasa kneeled down next to Armin.

"So shut up and come with me. Take them away." Eren ordered the two Yeagerists.

"Sir!"

"The kid who killed Sasha, too." Eren added on.

Mikasa helped Armin up. "What did you really come here to say? That the freedom you yearned for just amounts to hurting Mikasa? You're the real slave, and your master's a piece of shit." Armin claimed.

"Who are you calling a slave?" Eren questioned. "Let's go."

"Where?" Mikasa asked.

"To where it all began. Shiganshina District."

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"I'm not laughing. Eren's not the only one to have an appointment with a Titan's mouth." Levi spoke.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll give Zeke's Beast to someone else. Grab one of those Yeagerists or whatever and turn them into a Titan. We'll have them eat Zeke." Levi replied. "I don't know if Eren's really being manipulated, but if they lose Zeke, it's all over for them. Tell Pixis, too. Go."

"Are you sure about this, Captain?"

"Rip his arms and legs off if you have to. He'll accept it sooner or later." Levi responded as he used his gear to move out of the tree, followed by Lyon.

The two landed onto the ground. "Enjoying your book?" Levi asked.

"It got a lot better after the sixth time I read it." Zeke replied.

"I'm sure our conversation up there made it hard for you to focus."

"How am I supposed to get absorbed in a book I've read seven times?" Zeke asked. "By the way, have you got any wine left?"

"We've been out here for a month. There's not a drop left." Levi answered.

"Good grief." Zeke complained as he sighed. "This has to be some new form of torture."

"Keep reading." Levi told him.

"You're the boss, boss." Zeke said.

"I don't care what Pixis says. I'm killing him. We have thirty fully-armed soldiers surrounding the forest from above. Beast Titan or not, he's got nowhere to run to. Beardo there isn't on our side after all. And now that we know that, there's no sense letting him keep his limbs. It's been so long." Levi has a flashback of his talk with Erwin.

"Erwin, I'll finally be able to keep the promise I made back then. Your deaths will have had meaning. Finally, I can prove it."

"Levi."

Levi turned around when Lyon called his name as the two saw Zeke running away as he then let out a scream.

The forest soon lit up in multiple yellow balls of light as Levi and Lyon looked up. Titans soon began dropping on the ground.

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The Garrison soldiers suddenly dropped what they were working on.

"What was that?"

"My whole body went numb for a second..."

"I felt it too!"

"Huh? I didn't feel a thing."

"Neither did I." Maya thinks to herself from her place on the other side of Pixis.

Outside, the Military Police officers felt the same thing as the Garrison as Marcus felt his whole body go numb.

"What's going on?" Marcus wondered.

Inside the carriage, Falco was moving around harshly, getting Julian and Hange's attention.

"What's wrong?" Hange asked.

"It's like electricity just coursed through my body..." Falco replied.

Both Julian and Hange widened their eyes, sharing a look with one another.

"Could it be..." Julian trailed off.

"You've done it now, Zeke." Pixis spoke.

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"This is goodbye, Captain. I know how much you care about your men. They might have had a little growth spurt, but you wouldn't slice up your innocent subordinates over that, would you?" Zeke asked as both Levi and Lyon moved out of the way.

Lyon suddenly gasped, remembering a memory from Zach and William.

"Look what came for us!" Zach cheered, holding up a bottle of wine.

"Ooh, lucky!" William exclaimed, grabbing a wine bottle from the strawberry-blonde's hand.

"Are you two seriously going to drink that on duty? What would Julian think?!" Lyon scolded his two friends.

"You always have a stick up your ass, Ly. Live a little! Julian's been so busy with his new position, he doesn't give a shit about how we're doing." William said.

"Th-That's not true! Even with his position as Commander, he still cares about us! We're his friends!"

"And you're his 'best friend,' right?" William countered. "If you were that, then why did he pick Hange as his second-in-command instead of you?"

Lyon was taken aback by William's statement. "Hange has more knowledge than I do! They can help him more than I can!" He defended.

"Don't make excuses for him. Julian turned a blind eye once he was named Erwin's successor. Give it up, Ly. He doesn't care about his former squad members anymore." William said, taking a sip of the wine.

Zach just looked down, saying nothing as Lyon just huffed and walked away.

"Shit!" Levi exclaimed. "Zeke's spinal fluid was in the wine? How long ago did he set that up? Their bodies never froze up, though. Was that a lie?"

Levi sees that the Titan was chasing him. "Damn, they're fast! These movements aren't normal. Is that because of Zeke, too?" He wondered.

Meanwhile, Lyon got out his blades and sliced a Titan's hand. He looked back, seeing familiar strawberry-blonde hair.

"Zach..." Lyon thinks to himself before he say another Titan — This one had black hair. "Will..."

"I'm sorry... This is farewell."

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Zeke soon heard the sounds of ODM gear, making him look in shock.

"Go!"

Levi soon sliced up the arm of the Titan as he was carrying Thunder Spears.

"Oh, come on! Not again!" Zeke exclaimed as he bit his hand and a yellow light soon appeared. The light faded as the Beast Titan landed on the ground.

The Beast Titan ripped the Pure Titan that was with him in half. "Where are you? Come out and face me, Levi!" Zeke shouted as Levi soon appeared in his line of vision.

"There you are!" Zeke exclaimed as he crushed the Titan's head, throwing the remains at Levi as he continued ripping the Pure Titan apart.

"What happened to your cute little subordinates? You didn't kill them, did you?" Zeke taunted. "The poor things!"

Zeke threw the remains of the Titan at Levi once more, but ended up hitting a branch.

"You're getting desperate, beardo. All you had to do was be a good boy and read your book." Levi spoke as he continued cutting the branches. "Whatever gave you the idea that you could get away from me? You think I'd hesitate to kill Titans just because they were my own men? Do you have any idea how many of our own people we've had to kill already?"

Zeke lets out a roar as Levi dodged his attacks before thrusting the Thunder Spears towards him. He then activated them, causing the Beast Titan to collapse.

Levi walked forward and grabbed onto Zeke's hair. "Short time no see, beardo." He leaned closer. "You filthy, reeking, ugly son of a bitch."

Levi then releases drags Zeke by his head. "Don't worry, I won't kill you. Not yet." He informed.

"It seems Julian is attracted to short men with anger issues..." Lyon snorted to himself before following Levi.

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"As you know, after Premier Zachary was killed, the situation within the walls has become unstable. However, this doesn't concern you cadets. Which is why the 109th Cadet Corps will be training to defend Shiganshina from Titan attack!" Shadis then looked over at a cadet. "You hear me?!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"Why do we care how to cut a Titan's nape? Not like they'll attack again. Our enemies are people now."

"My old man thinks we should be training with firearms and form an Eldian army."

"The times have changed, yet Commander Shadis is stuck in the past."

"Eldia's only hope is for the Yeagerists to seize full control."

"Surma, he can hear you!"

"Isn't that what everyone's thinking? Everyone wants Eren Yeager to lead Eldia. We need a leader capable of making tough decisions." Surma announced as Shadis narrowed his eyes.

The doors soon opened as Julian and Hange entered with Floch and the other Yeagerists.

"Wha—?! Julian?! Hange?!" Shadis said, turning around to face them.

"Long time no see, Commandant. Just so you know, this branch is under new management. We 'Yeagerists' are the ones in charge now." Floch announced as him and the other Yeagerists pointed their guns at him. "From now on, you take orders from us."

"The Yeagerists..." Surma muttered.

"Looks like you finally figured it out, Floch. Unless you point guns at people, nobody cares what your little gang of asswipes says, and that's a fact." Shadis said as Floch shot at the ground near Shadis' foot.

"Floch!" Julian exclaimed.

"I missed. I thought shooting his foot might speed things up." Floch commented.

"Speed what up?" Shadis asked.

"No, it has nothing to do with you. We have little need for hard-headed geezers like you." Floch walked by Shadis and stood in front of the cadets. "From now on, this is your time, cadets! We Yeagerists have sworn to give our hearts to save Eldia from this crisis! Not for the sake of our obsolete military, but for the people of this island! By obeying the military's archaic mindset, you're allowing us to be trampled by enemies from outside! Therefore, I ask you: Who are you?! Someone who wants to live alongside our leader, Eren Yeager?! Or will you die here with Keith Shadis and his old ways?"

One by one, the cadets started stepping forward and saluted.

"We dedicate our hearts for the future of Eldia!"

"Excellent! Now show me your resolve!" Floch gestured over towards Shadis. "Beat Commandant Shadis until he can no longer stand!"

This shocked the cadets as Floch pounded his fist on Shadis' chest. "He embodies all of the old, evil ways that need to be culled! Purge him! Any who can't will be thrown into a cell!" Floch announced.

"Enough of this, Floch! This madness has gone on for too long!" Julian exclaimed as the Yeagerist who was behind him grabbed his shoulder.

"Julian." Shadis spoke, getting his attention. "No matter how many of these greenhorns come together, they're no match for me!"

All of the cadets clenched their fists. The next thing Julian knew, the cadets fists were bloody and Shadis was knocked unconscious.

"Well done. Welcome to our ranks, all of you." Floch turned to look at Julian. "Now, why don't you take us to Zeke's meeting place?"

Floch turned around and left, noticing that he wasn't being followed.

"Commander Julian. Come on, let's go." Floch told him.

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A/N: Another chapter is done! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2554 words.