Hey...it's been a while. More about my whereabouts would be on my conversations/announcement page. 

As the door shut behind you, your legs finally decided to give out on you. You fell to your knees, sweat dripping from your forehead as you tried to calm down your breathing. You could barely hear the words of the two Yeagerists ordering you to stand, your heart was beating fast and loud.

"What was that?" a question you asked yourself. You can't shake that feeling out of your head. It was too strong to ignore. This was why he kept his distance from you. He knew the second you felt his emotions; you would question him.

He made the mistake of touching you, which was what you wanted him to do. You managed to break him somehow, make him vulnerable enough to lay his hands on you. You could have gotten yourself hurt but it was worth the risk. It all makes sense now.

Eren's afraid of something. Something inevitable that is out of his control. This only rang more questions. Is this why he's separating himself from everyone? Pushing all of you away?

What's he planning to do?

"Oi! Can't you hear!? I said STAND–!"

"GIVE ME A MINUTE!" you ended up snapping. You didn't mean to, it was out instinct. You straighten your posture, looking up at the two unnamed Yeagerists. You let out a dry chuckle, feeling tired from today's events.

"I think I just lost another friend. The least humane thing you can do for me right now is let me grieve."

One of the Yeagerists opened his mouth to argue, but the other stopped him. He shook his head, seeing that there was a warning behind your words. Unlike the others, you weren't afraid to go down without a fight. You were not afraid of dying.

You finally stood up, the Yeagerists watching your every move carefully. You raised your arms up, indicating you were going to comply now. You nodded, giving them a deadpan expression.

"I'm ready..."

—-

"Y/N!" a voice called your name as soon as you entered the cell. It didn't take long for arms to be wrapped around your figure.

"...!" Armin's hug took you by surprise. Even after your whole dispute with Eren and your reality breaking as you know it, this simple gesture was enough to make your cheeks blush a bit.

"..." you said nothing as you slowly wrapped your arms around him. Armin's grip became tighter. You looked off to find Mikasa standing close by. The two of you locked eyes, your heart sank just looking at her expression. It pained you seeing her like this.

"Are you okay...? Did he hurt you?" she quietly asked. Her words were caught in her throat a bit when she said 'he.'

You shook your head in response, "No...not physically. I don't think he wanted to. But tried mentally, he really, really tried."

"But I think I know why now..." you kept this to yourself. You weren't sure of Eren's actions yet. Even if you did, it didn't feel right to tell. It was wrong but part of still valued Eren as a dear friend. The least you can do is give him respect for his privacy.

"What did he say? Did he tell you anything?" Mikasa asked, almost desperately wanting to know.

"Like I said, he tried to hurt me mentally. I wouldn't let him. Sorry, but I punched him and let loose on him. Our argument didn't escalate further than that. He didn't tell me why he was acting the way he did. Just wanted a reason to directly insult me." you explained. You tried your best to sound nonchalant.

"Y/N...you're shaking." Armin finally spoke. His chin tickled your shoulder a bit as he talked. You cursed at your body from giving you away.

You gently pulled away from the hug, getting a good look at Armin's face. His wounds healed for the most part, but he didn't look great either. You inhaled deeply, resting your hands on both Armin and Mikasa's shoulder.

"I think I'm just tired..."

"You should probably sit down then." Jean's voice made you jump a bit and it was then you realized everyone else was stuck in the cell.

"...It's probably stupid of me to ask this question I might already know the answer to but—are you all okay?" you asked as you pulled out a chair and sat down.

Nobody gave you a quick answer obviously, and you expected Connie to give you a harsh answer. But he surprised you.

"Things could be better, I guess. You think you can bust us out of here? Armin? Y/N?"

"If I do that, I'll destroy the whole city."

"Me transforming is also risky, I'm not sure if I can protect all of you and bring you out in one piece." You tried to make humor out of your reply. Jean seemed to notice.

"Glad your humor hasn't changed. We were worried something might have happened when Armin and Mikasa told us Eren had you stay behind. Did he say anything to you?" Jean asked. As he was talking, Sasha's dad poured you some tea and placed it in front of you on the table.

"Thank you..." you spoke quietly before taking a sip. You recollected your thoughts before answering Jean's question.

"He told me that my efforts in writing Eldia's history were meaningless. That nobody is going to believe the words spoken by the very same devils the whole world sees us. Also, that I'm a traitor and a cowardly liar. I'm just writing the book to feel better about myself. Basically, the gist of it." you explained nonchalantly.

"He said that to you...?" He asked, there was a venomous edge to his voice. He then turned his attention to Armin.

"What happened there? It's about time you told us why you got beaten into a pulp, Armin."

"...He said some hurtful things to Mikasa. I swung at him, and he hit back. Y/N tried to stop the fight, but he ended up swinging at her too. Eren only stopped when Y/N fired a gun on him."

"Huh? And also, since when did you have a gun on you, Y/N?" Connie asked. You averted your gaze, mentally cursing.

"We'll come back to that later. What do you mean he hurt Mikasa? How?" Jean asked again. Armin opened his mouth to explain but Mikasa cut him off.

"Stop. It's fine..."

"No, it's not. If he said those words to Y/N and hurt her, what did he say to you?"

"Forget it, Jean. We already think he's a total piece of shit. Now he's lost his mind and hurt the three people he cared about the most." Connie spoke.

"If he was sane, he wouldn't do it without a good reason. Do you think there's some sort of reason behind it?" Jean asked.

You physically flinched at Jean's words, you averted your eyes and took a sip of your tea. You had an idea, but would it be right to tell? Would they even believe you if it was just a hunch.

"...!" Just as you were about to say something, all of you heard footsteps approaching the cell.

"Long time no see, heroes of Shiganshina." Yelena's voice greeted you all. You weren't surprised she somehow had a role in all of this. She was clear about what she wanted in the beginning.

"It pains me to reunite in a place like this."

"Hey! You're on their side, too! Let us out!" Connie yelled, grabbing onto the cell bars.

"That's a lot to ask, considering you guys put me on house arrest. Just sit here quietly until Zeke and Eren meet." Onyankopon instructed.

"You must be proud, Yelena. In the end, everything is working out in your favor. Eren's moving how Zeke wanted. Raiding Marley, getting people's support using wine over the military. Now Eldia and the Founding Titan are yours. You can crush Marley and avenge your homelands. That's the real reason why you came to this island, right?" Jean asked.

You don't know why but the things Jean just listed hit you for a second. It's pretty obvious that Zeke is trying to manipulate Eren into achieving something. Something big enough to put an end to the grips of Marley and save the rest of the world. But you've known Eren long enough, he's not easy to fall play to such manipulation.

No...he knows something, and you felt like he might have hinted it to you during one of your interviews. Without warning, you began to flip through the pages. There has to be something, anything!

As you were flipping through the pages, everyone else realized they had just been tricked. Through Zeke, Yelena and the others were able to infiltrate into Eldia and morph it to their liking. People you thought you could trust had joined forces with them. You tried your best to ignore the anger you were feeling, you just needed to find one clue. A clue as to why Eren is doing all of this.

"You had the hots for some devil-spawn who reeked of potatoes." Griez, the snitch who apparently ratted you all out (according to Niccolo) spoke out.

You stopped what you were doing, you didn't need a name to know who he was talking about. Your mind flashed to Sasha's cold and lifeless body as you desperately tried to save her life.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Niccolo yelled out, Jean held him back, but you secretly wished Niccolo let the bastard have it.

"Chill Niccolo!"

"You talked about her day and night. Stupid me thought you'd get a grip when the bitch died." You stood up from your chair, you heard enough.

"Y/N! Stop!" Armin grabbed ahold of your arm, knowing what you were about to do.

"You would think some classy Marleyan bastard would have any shame! Speaking ill about the dead in front of her family! If these bars weren't here right now, I would have hauled your ass out of here and cut your filthy tongue out!"

"Stay out of this you two-faced bitch–!" Without warning, Yelena aimed a gun to Griez's face.

*BANG*

The gun went off with a startling bang, you could hear the children of Sasha's family scream from what just transpired. Meanwhile, all of you were rightfully shocked. You did not see that coming...

"Yelena!?" Onyankopon exclaimed.

"I apologize for his disrespect. This island has no need for those who would call you devils." Yelena apologized with a bow.

"Believe me, our goal is nothing as hollow as getting revenge on Marley. Our goal is to end the cycle of hatred to save Eldia and even Marley. I'll tell you everything—about Zeke's plan to save the world: His "euthanization" plan."

And she did, she explained everything. All you could do was sit in silence and stomach every word she was telling you.

The rumbling. A potential way to bring the world together. It was then you realized why Eren felt so afraid...

—

"Stop children from being born?" Armin asked.

"Correct. That's Zeke's euthanization plan. All suffering brought by Titans will disappear from the world. Gradually. Peacefully." Yelena replied.

"How is that peaceful? If all subjects of Ymir slowly die out, we'll only have geezers to defend in the end. How do we protect ourselves? You think they'll leave us alone!?" Jean asked.

"He's right. How would that change anything? At least for the long run?" You added.

"The rumbling can serve as a deterrent as long as the Founding Titan and the royal bloodline are preserved. Fortunately for us, Queen Historia blessed us with an heir. As long as Subjects of Ymir inherit the Founder until her child passes away..."

"You claim as if you're sure about all of this." Jean spoke.

"Sure things, certainties. No nation can claim to have them. Each one has its own share of problems. But there is one certainty and that's the threat of Titans. Their history of tears and bloodshed will be put to an end...by Zeke and Eren." Yelena's eyes became misty.

"I don't know how long humanity will last, but it's hard to think of a greater feat will ever come to pass. People will speak of the brothers as legends for millennia to come. Like gods of the past. Even after their deaths, they'll be seen as saviors who shone over humanity."

Armin couldn't help but sob at Yelena's words. You looked over at him in concern.

"To think your cause was so noble...! It touched my heart!"

"I'm glad you understand." Yelena replied. While Armin felt touched, you felt sick.

"Saviors...?" You asked. Your mind went back to the words Eren told you.

"The world will always see us as devils. History will just repeat itself even if we win."

"No...they wouldn't be seen as saviors. They'll be viewed as monsters to the whole world..." you thought.

"Yelena! Come quick! There are invaders!" a random soldier came running in.

"Invaders!? Is it Marley!?" you exclaimed as your heart dropped. That was to be expected they'll come to attack, but you didn't think it would be so soon!

Yelena and Onyankopon quickly left the run, leaving you all in the dark of what was happening.

"Hey, wait! What's going on!?" You called out to them, gripping on the cell bars to try to hear anything of importance. But they were already gone.

"Dammit–!" You cursed, giving the bars a firm shake before letting go and pacing about.

"Woah, calm down!" Jean told you.

"Don't tell me to calm down! They could be—! Eren could be in trouble!" you exclaimed.

"If Marley's infiltration is one thing, they're good at lowering their enemy's guard down before striking. It happened before with Bertholdt and Reiner..." you explained. The room fell deathly quiet when you mentioned their names.

"Then that must mean the invader's a titan shifter..." Connie replied. But who could it be? Someone who knows how to talk their way out of things.

"Pieck..." you muttered her name.

*BOOM*

Just then the whole room began to shake as commotion was heard from above. You all stared wide-eyed as debris from the ceiling started to fall.

"What the–!?" Connie exclaimed.

"It's begun...the Titans have started to move." Armin spoke.