"Mmmgh.." you let out a tired groan. Today was exhausting, not to mention hot too. At least it was free time now. You managed to slip away from the others and find a quiet place under a tree.

The shade was helping and there was a tiny breeze blowing every now and then. You can feel the creases of your frown soften, the ambient noises of your environment drifting you almost into a peaceful slumber.

Maybe hearing this is what you've needed. You can dream of this moment instead of the nightmares of your past. You were just about to fall asleep when–

"Boo!" A voice said in your ear. Your eyes snapped open as you flinched, your body recoiling to the side. The sound of laughter played in your ears as you rubbed your eyes.

Pieck was at your side, laughing at your reaction. You frowned and let out a small huff. Great, so much for peace and quiet.

"Sorry, didn't mean to spook you. You were out like a light, nearly toppled over. It was cute." She gave you a sweet smile, which made you grimace.

You didn't mind Pieck at all, but you wondered if she ever takes you seriously. Out of everyone, she's one of the friends that tends to baby you. Always calling you cute, keeping you out of disputes, and–

"Taking a little nap, sprout? It's been a long day so I don't blame you."

...and calling you that stupid nickname.

"I wasn't napping." you lied. You didn't know why, but maybe acting like this will get her to leave.

"You were drooling all over your arm and I could have sworn I heard you snoring. If that's not napping, then what was it?" She gave you a teasing smile, you felt your eyelid twitch.

"I was photosynthesizing..." you mumbled. This earned another amused laugh from Pieck as you rolled your eyes and scooted away from her slightly.

"What are you even doing here, Pieck? Shouldn't you be with Zeke or someone who actually enjoys your company?" You asked. Pieck huffed a bit, bumping her shoulder with yours.

"I came here to check on you. I saw you were getting picked on and wanted to make sure you were doing okay." She replied. You cursed under your breath.

"If you saw that, then did the others too?" You asked. Pieck glanced away before slowly nodding. You groaned and buried your head into your knees.

"But don't take it to heart. The reason why they're hard on you is because they see your potential."

"More like just following my mother's requests. If I come home and she sees I'm not prepared to take on the family titan, I'll be seen as a disgrace to the family."

"...Why do you think that?" She asked. You lifted your head up a bit, glancing at your hands.

"Look at me. I'm tiny compared to the rest of me. From the moment I was born, I've always been small and struggled to grow normally. My mother thinks I'm weak and I'm better off not being the next holder. But my grandfather picked me anyway and my mother's been hard on me ever since." Your voice began to raise.

"Ever since I got here, everyone's been treating me like I'm some puny child! Even you! It's frustrating because even after all this time, nothing has changed! Yeah, I'm getting stronger but that doesn't stop everyone from picking on me!" You could feel tears prick at your eyes.

"Dammit, Y/N! Don't cry! That's the last thing you want right now." You thought. Pieck remained quiet for a moment, allowing you to let your feelings out.

Then, she wrapped an arm around you and pulled you closer. You let out a small noise, surprised by the sudden action.

"Y/n..." she says your name.

"Y-yeah?" You didn't like how serious she sounded.

"Do you know why we call you sprout?" You frowned, not wanting her to bring it up.

"Because I'm tiny like a sprout, at least that's what Porco said..." Pieck laughed a bit and ruffled your hair.

"True, but do you know what a sprout is?" She asked. You glanced away, the corner of your lips twitching upward a bit.

"Because sprouts eventually grow up to become big things..." You answered. Pieck gave you an affectionate squeeze.

"That's right. It might not be now, but someday it will happen." As immature as that sounded, those words stuck with you.

You found yourself smiling a bit as you stared up at the sky. Feeling somewhat a little better about yourself. You and Pieck enjoyed the silence.

"...I'm going to punch whoever came up with that nickname for me." You spoke. Pieck laughed nervously.

"I can't remember. It was either me or Zeke. Sorry about that..."

—

You quickly shook your head. Why are you remembering that now!? This wasn't the time to be thinking of the past!

"It's over! It's already over for all of you!" Porco shouted from within her titan. You remained at Mikasa's side, those words got you thinking of your current situation.

Was it really over?

Eren from the looks of it is in no condition nor as the energy left to keep fighting. And Zeke remained out of commission as soon as he was shot down. Everything went to shit in a matter of minutes.

"RAAAAAAHHH!" You heard a roar from the Armored Titan in the distance. You froze in your tracks.

"What was that!? Did something happen!?" You thought. It was enough to distract you from an upcoming attack of Pieck in your direction.

"Watch out!" Armin called from above. You reacted quickly and zipped out of the way. Then you felt a sharp pain through your neck.

"GRK!" You nearly lost balance, you hurled towards the ground but managed to catch yourself. You coughed as you held onto your throat. The sharp pain tingling at your neck was a strong sign that your titan abilities were activate.

And that something just happened.

"Eren...?" You asked yourself. That felt like a gunshot going through your neck. Did Eren get shot!?

"Y/N! WE HAVE TO MOVE!" Mikasa called to you. You tried to get up, but the pain made it impossible to move.

"Give me a minute! Something just happened!" You called out.

"What!?" Armin asked.

"Eren! Something happened–!" A strong electrical pulse went through your head. Shit! This wasn't good!

*BOOOM*

A bright yellow flash appeared from far away. Right in the direction Eren and Zeke were. Then to your horror, the walls began to crack and crumble from your knees. You gasped in horror.

"Y/N! MOVE!" Armin shouted, you tried to move but you were already falling. You screamed and began to panic.

"Y/N!!!" Armin shouted. Mikasa wasted no time zipping towards you. Once she was close, she quickly grabbed a hold of you. You acted fast and used your ODM gear to help zip to safety.

Your eyes made contact with Pieck, who was hurling towards the ground.

"Pieck...!" But there was no time to mourn. The whole wall was coming apart. You all needed to get to safety, quick!

"Y/N! Are you okay!?" Armin called out.

"I'm fine! LOOK!" You shouted. Your attention was directed at the horde of wall titans that have now been freed from the walls.

"Eren...don't tell me–" You heard a loud titan roar from the distance. It was when you, Mikasa, and Armin landed somewhere safe that your fears amplified.

There stood in the distance a large skeletal-like titan. That skeletal titan once being a dear friend of yours. Amongst the heavy mist of smoke and heat, the wall titans began marching their way towards him.

You could only hold onto Mikasa and Armin, they were the lifeline you needed to know if what you were seeing was real. All of this happened in a matter of minutes. What the hell happened within the paths to result in such chaos like this.

Words cannot describe the emotions and anguish you were feeling. It was numbing the actual pain in your head from the result of your connection to the Founder. Eren has succeeded, but at what cost?

"What's this?" Mikasa was the first to break the deafening silence.

"It looked like it appeared from where Eren was standing."

"That is Eren." You answered her.

"That means...he did it! Eren did it!"

"AND THIS IS THE RESULT OF THAT!?" You shouted.

"But we won!" Armin argued.

"What!?" Mikasa asked, unable to hear Armin through the chaos that was happening.

"Eren has taken control of the Founding! It started rumbling right away! Only Eren would do that! He intends to crush the Allied Forces that are gathering in Marley! Eren is our ally! It has to be!"

"Armin! LOOK AT THE STATE OF OUR CURRENT SITUATION RIGHT NOW!" You gestured to the chaos surrounding you.

"How is this a good thing for us!? Yeah, Eren is on our side but look at the state of everything! We don't even know where Connie and Jean are! If everyone else is safe!!" Once you said that, your two friends then slowly began to digest the situation.

"Eren...back on our side?" Mikasa asked softly.

"Wait...this is odd...could this be...? Mikasa! Y/N! Look!" Armin got your attention.

"Wall Maria's collapsing too!" He pointed out. Your eyes widened.

"Wall Maria too!? Wait a minute, is he awakening ALL OF THEM!? All the Titans from each wall!?" You asked.

"We don't need this many Titans just to fight off the Allied Forces!" Armin continued.

"Shiganshina district's outer wall should be more than enough! Why would he attack using the walls that should protect us? If it's just to crush the Allied Forces massing in Marley, if that's his goal he won't need that many!"

"Then what if it's just not the Allied Forces in Marley! What if it's—!?" Your words were cut short when a bright flash of white light blinded you.

You blinked and suddenly you were no longer in chaos. The whole thing gave you whiplash, causing you to flinch.

"To all Subjects of Ymir..." Eren's voice called out to you in your head. Then in a flash, you were back in reality.

"Eren...!?" You called out.

"I heard Eren's voice just now!" Mikasa said. Then in a flash, everything went quiet and you were in that same place again.

"Is this...the paths?" You thought.

"My name is Eren Yeager. I'm using the power of the Founding Titan to address all Subjects of Ymir." He continued.

"I've undone the hardening of all the Walls on Paradis Island, and all Titans entrapped within them have started marching. My goal is to protect the people of Paradis, the place I was born and raised."

"However, the world...wishes for the annihilation of the people of Paradis. Not just the people of this island, but until all of the Subjects of Ymir have been eliminated. I reject that wish...the wall Titans shall trample all surfaces of the land outside of this island. Until all lives existing there...have been exterminated from this world."

Once that last sentence was said, it was then you realized the reality of Eren's actions. Why your last conversation with him really felt like the last time. Why such strong emotions were felt when you touched him.

This was Eren's real plan all along...