Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, and Ymir were quietly eating what was in the bag of the horse Annie stole. It was early in the morning, and they were still pretty exhausted. They just needed to last a little longer and then they would be able to go home.
They failed their mission, but if they stayed any longer, they would be killed by the metal titans.
"So…do you know if this is permanent?" Reiner asked Annie, "The energon?"
Annie raised an eyebrow. "How do you know what it's called?"
"I couldn't gain enough information on Optimus Prime, but I know at the very least that's what his life force is called," Reiner explained.
"That doesn't explain what happened to me," Bertholdt retorted, "Whatever the flying titan did to me was a lot worse. I…I could hear voices in my head."
Annie noticed Bertholdt's distress and decided to shift focus. "I don't know if it's permanent. It's not hurting me in any way."
"Marley's going to want to know about that," Reiner remarked.
"I don't want them poking at my body again," Annie hissed.
"Your compliance isn't going to be a factor," Bertholdt retorted, "You know how they feel about us,"
"What are we going to say?" Annie questioned, "Would they even believe us?"
Before Reiner could give an answer, Ymir gasped as she looked up at the sky.
"What is it?" Reiner asked.
"Get down, now!" Ymir hissed as she flattened herself against the wall.
The titan trio followed suite and lowered themselves on the wall. Reiner and Bertholdt gasped as they heard the haunting engine noise they heard a few weeks ago. Annie stared in confusion at the two, but it soon went away as she saw the flying titan transform and land in the center of Shinganshina.
"Is that the flying titan?" Annie questioned.
Bertholdt kept on staring in horror as he held onto his damaged hand. Meanwhile Reiner clutched his chest as he began to tremble. Ymir turned to Annie and merely nodded her head.
Annie observed the titan as it began to survey the area. He truly looked like a monster. The claws, the red eyes, the demeanor, she could only imagine what he did to Bertholdt and Reiner.
"W-we need to move away from the wall," Reiner whispered.
The four slowly crawled away from the edge of the wall.
"What is he doing here?" Bertholdt questioned, "Is he here to plug the wall?"
"I don't know," Reiner admitted, "We can't do anything to give away our position."
They all froze as they heard the noise start up again before fading out. However, they remained where they were. They didn't want to see if the titan was still there. They were terrified the titan would spot them and kill them. They didn't want to die.
"Is he gone?" Ymir asked.
"I don't want to check," Reiner admitted.
Annie heard another engine noise and decided to lift her head over the wall. She gasped and quickly ducked as she saw Optimus drive in through the destroyed gate into Shinganshina.
"What is it?" Reiner asked.
"Optimus is here," Annie answered.
"Oh fuck everything," Ymir groaned, "This is what I get for being nice."
Annie looked over once more and saw in horror as Mikasa and Eren were walking beside Optimus' holoform.
"What else do you see?" Bertholdt asked.
"It's…it's Eren," Annie whispered.
"What?" Reiner exclaimed as he looked over the wall to see him, "What's he and Mikasa doing here?"
"I don't know," Annie admitted as she saw the three make their way through Shinganshina with a fourth person she couldn't identify, "There are no boulders around, why would they need to…?"
"Shit, they're here for the basement!" Reiner realized as they stopped at a destroyed house.
The two ducked when they noticed one of them looking in their direction.
"They're going to know the truth," Bertholdt declared, "We'll lose our element of surprise!"
"We can still try to grab Eren," Reiner declared.
"Reiner, are you insane?!" Ymir exclaimed.
"You so much as make a move towards him, I'm going to choke you to death!" Annie declared.
"This may be our only change to get him!" Reiner retorted.
"We made an agreement: we go back home to Liberio!" Annie nearly shouted, "Do you want us to die?!"
"We can't go back empty handed!" Reiner retorted.
"And how many of us are going to die before we go back empty handed?" Annie demanded.
Reiner grimaced at Annie before deciding to make a break for it. He made his way to jump off the wall, narrowly avoiding Annie's grip.
Megatron yelled as he threw the shelf containing Grisha's medicine to the ground, causing some of the contents to shatter on the ground.
"Megatron-"
"Not. Another. Word," Megatron ordered as he pointed at the Prime.
"Stop acting-"
Megatron cut Optimus off as he grabbed him by the collar. "Not! Another! WORD!"
"You are being childish!" Optimus exclaimed.
"I'm being childish?!" Megatron shouted, "What I expected when I came here was a way to destroy the titans! Instead, I get some pathetic nonsense about 'humanity not being extinct!'"
"Megatron-"
"How are you not reacting to this?!" Megatron demanded, "You've been on this twisted planet longer then I have!"
"We can discuss this later! We need to move!" Optimus declared.
"No! We're discussing this now!" Megatron declared, "Because I did not sign up for this! I signed up to fight giant, naked, humans that for some reason lack reproductive organs! I barely accepted the fact that humans can turn into these creature! I accepted we overthrew the government and placed in the hands of a child! I cannot accept this-Ackerman, what the word you humans use?"
"Bullshit?" Mikasa answered in confusion.
"BULLSHIT!" Megatron shouted.
Mikasa stared at Optimus and Megatron as they continued yelling at each other while Eren stared at the picture. Humanity wasn't extinct? Everything he knew was a lie? What did that mean for everyone? What did that mean for him? Who was the woman, and why did she look familiar? Who was the child?
How much was his father hiding from him?
Eren shook his head as he saw Optimus and Megatron were still fighting. They needed to go back.
"I looked inside myself-"
"Megatron-"
"I really looked inside myself and wondered 'How much of the humans' pathetic nonsense am I willing to put up with?'"
"Megatron!"
"Not! Slagging! This!"
"Both of you, shut up!" Eren shouted.
Eren felt really uncomfortable as he felt all three eyes on him. Megatron looked ready to kill him, while Optimus and Mikasa were merely startled by his outburst.
"We-we need to get this information back to the Corps," Eren said with a timid voice.
"He's right, we can't stay here," Mikasa agreed.
Megatron was about to say something else but merely groaned in irritation and deactivated the holoform.
"Megatron will meet us back at Wall Sina," Optimus explained, before hearing a faint scream from the sky, "He might meet with us later."
"Optimus, what are we going to do?" Mikasa asked, "How are we-? What do you-?"
Optimus kneeled down and placed a hand on both of their shoulders. "I promise both of you: we will get to the bottom of this and figure out a solution."
Eren glanced at the picture one more time and placed it in the notebook he found it in. "Let's go."
Eren carried the notebooks as the three of them walked of the stairs and out of their old home. He was now even more confused than before. He didn't know what to do.
"Eren!" Mikasa shouted as she pulled him to the ground. Before Eren could react, he saw Reiner in his titan form lunging for him. The titan shifter shielded his face as Optimus tackled Reiner in his bipedal mode. The two rolled away from the children before landing on their feet. Reiner threw a punch Optimus, but the titan caught it and twisted the arm.
Eren then looked up at the sky to see Megatron transform and cut off Reiner's arm with his sword before he landed on the ground. Megatron kicked Reiner in the throat, sending him flying backwards into many of the houses.
"Go! Now!" Megatron shouted.
Optimus dashed Eren and Mikasa, grabbing them before transforming into his bipedal mode. The two grunted in pain as Optimus clicked their seat belts before Optimus drove towards the destroyed gate. Eren saw Annie in her titan form running across the wall towards them, but Annie nearly stumbled off the wall as pieces of debris were thrown at her face.
The two watched as Wall Maria faded from their sights.
"We have to go back," Eren declared.
"We need to get that information back to the Survey Corps," Optimus retorted, "I also need to get you two to safety."
"But the enemy!" Eren retorted, "Optimus, we-"
"-had a deal," Optimus cut off, "If there were any signs of danger, we leave immediately. Reiner is still after you, and he will take you away to wherever his hometown is. I cannot let that happen."
"Eren, listen to Optimus," Mikasa said.
Eren looked at Mikasa before staring at the notebooks in his hands. Damn it all. He was still so useless.
Annie jumped down the wall after recovering from the debris thrown at her face. She then stared in horror as Reiner charged at the flying titan, only for the titan to grab Reiner by the neck and hoist him in the air.
Damn it all! If only Reiner didn't move, if only she was able to catch him in time, none of this would be happening. They would be able to escape this place with their lives. Now there's a chance that all of them would die. She had to intervene somehow, but what could she do? She knew nothing of this titan!
Annie stopped herself from trembling. She had to try something.
Megatron chuckled as he placed his sword at his side. "I never thought that you would foolishly attack me. Especially after how our first encounter went."
Reiner continued to struggle as the grip around his neck got tighter.
"Tell me something creature," Megatron began as he showed his claws to Reiner, "Would you live or die if I ripped out your real heart?"
Reiner struggled even more as he began slamming his hands on the titan's arm, causing him to laugh.
"I suppose I will find some sort of amusement after what I've learned today," Megatron grinned sadistically as he aimed his claws.
Before Megatron made his moved, he used his arm to shield himself from a rock that was thrown at him. He turned his head slightly to see Annie's titan form take a few steps forward.
"So this is your titan form, Lionheart," the flying titan remarked, "I must say, I am not that impressed."
Bertholdt and Ymir peaked their heads over the wall to see the situation.
Annie was about to throw another rock, but stopped when she saw the flying titan's grip tighten even further, causing Reiner to cry out in pain. Annie began to tremble as blood started pouring down Reiner's neck.
"I suppose you would say me killing your friend wouldn't matter to you, but you humans always seem to care about something," the flying titan remarked, "Or someone."
Annie took a step back, but it didn't go unnoticed by the titan as he began to laugh.
"And what will running do?" the flying titan asked as he gave a sinister smile, "No matter what you do, I will make sure that you and your friend will die horrible deaths. Maybe the Colossal one did too. Dark energon is a lot more volatile than regular energon. I'd say you probably wouldn't even find a body."
Bertholdt trembled as he looked down at his infected hand.
"So tell me, Lionheart: what will you do?" the flying titan challenged, "Will you run away like a coward, proving to me humanity has more courage than you? Or will you die here?"
Annie turned her attention to Reiner, who was trying his best to shake his head. He wanted her to run and hide, but she didn't have that option. The flying titan would hunt her down like a dog. Optimus was fast, but this titan was most likely faster than he was. And if he found Bertholdt and Ymir, he would probably kill them too. It seemed the only option that would give them a slight chance at survival would be to fight.
Annie calmed her nerves as she raised her fists and got into the fighting stance her father taught her. The titan smirked as he dropped Reiner to the ground.
"It seems you made your choice," the flying titan declared as he unsheathed his sword. Annie expected the titan to use that against her, but she flinched as he used it to stab Reiner in the chest, pinning him to the ground. Reiner cried out in pain from the blade, but was silenced when the titan stepped on his face.
"Don't worry," the flying titan mockingly reassured, "Once I'm done with Lionheart, you'll be begging that I ended your life on the first day we met."
Reiner grunted as he took his foot off of his face and walked towards Annie. The titan shifter began to scream and kick, but it was no use. The sword kept him in place.
"Ann-" Bertholdt grunted as Ymir covered his mouth and forced him down on the wall.
"Are you trying to get us killed?!" Ymir exclaimed as Bertholdt kept on struggling.
"Understand this," the flying titan began, "I will kill you, but if you give me a good show, I may make your death a quick one."
Annie raised an eyebrow in confusion, causing the titan to elaborate.
"I am fully aware that you are children," the flying titan declared, "And while Optimus may have problem with fighting you, I do not. You chose this path, and I will not give you the option to live."
The flying titan showed his claws to Annie. "I am not Optimus Prime."
Annie was distracted by her own fear that she didn't realize the flying titan rushed her. Annie shielded her face and crystallized her hands and arms as he kicked her in that area. The female titan was sent flying backwards, almost losing her balance as she slowed to a stop. Annie looked down at her arms to see that her crystallized armor wasn't destroyed. It merely had a few cracks in it from the force.
Annie heard footsteps and saw the flying titan coming towards her. Annie forced the crystals off her body and got into her original fighting stance.
The flying titan threw a punch at her, but Annie dodged the attack at the last second before hooking her arms around his shoulder. She tried pulling him to the ground and pinning him there, but she found that he was managing to force himself to stay upright. The ground gave way and began to shatter under both of their feet.
'Come on!' Annie internally screamed.
The flying titan chuckled. "Did you think it would be that easy?"
Annie coughed up blood as she felt the titan's claws sink into her back. Before the titan could rip out her spine, she crystallized her foot and kicked him in his knee. The titan let go of her spine, allowing Annie to let go of the titan and punch him in the face with a crystallized fist.
The flying titan stumbled back while Annie managed to gain some distance from him before collapsing on the ground. She groaned in pain as she felt her spine correcting itself, fully regenerated back into her body. She stared at the flying titan, seeing that he was not fazed by her attack. He merely looked down at the knee she attacked him on.
"Not bad," the flying titan remarked as he stood up, "You use defensive strategies in order to turn opponent's moves against them. It would have worked, but,"
Annie tensed up as the titan walked towards her before kneeling down in front of her.
"I have more experience and more strength than you," Megatron declared, "Tell me something Lionheart: how does it feel to have energon coursing through your body?"
Before Annie could react, Megatron kicked her in the face, sending her flying across the town.
Reiner watched in horror from his position as Annie is thrown around like a rag doll. He turned his attention to the sword impaled in his chest and tried to pull it out of his body. It wouldn't come out; however, as the sword was stuck in the ground. The position he was in would allow him to come out of his titan body, or take the sword out.
Reiner growled as he thought of another idea. It was going to be painful, but he needed to do it in order to save Annie. The titan shifter grunted in pain as he angled his body and pushed on the sword, allowing it to cut through his armor and flesh.
Annie crashed into multiple houses while her face finished regenerating. She gasped and rolled out of the way as the titan slammed his feet into the ground from where she was. Annie tried to get up, but the flying titan grabbed her neck and began to choke her. She tried to knee him in the gut, but the titan blocked it using his other hand. Annie then used her free hand and crystallized it to punch him in the face. The force she added causing the crystals to break upon contact.
The flying titan let go of her as he took a step back. Annie looked down at the ground to see something purple drip on the ground. The titan turned and merely stared at her, his gaze paralyzed her very soul. He then wiped the purple substance from his mouth and stared intently at it. Annie felt chills go up her spine as the titan began laughing.
"Well, congratulations Lionheart," the flying titan grinned sadistically, "You are the first of these creatures that I've come across that has actually managed to cause damage."
Annie tried to punch him again, but he merely caught the fist and twisted her arm.
"Do you honestly think I would let you have that opportunity again?" the flying titan cackled before ripping her arm off.
Annie coughed up blood as the titan sunk his claws into her stomach.
"Do you honestly think you can beat me with that flimsy form?" the titan questioned as he dragged his claws out of her stomach. Annie cried out as she held her stomach while blood fell to the ground.
"You're not even a human!" the titan exclaimed as he punched Annie in the face, sending her crashing into the wall.
Annie gasped as her face regenerated, allowing her to look down at her injuries that were quickly fading away. She looked in fear as the flying titan walked towards her.
She was going to die. She was going to die without returning home. No matter what she did or what would happen, no matter how fast her wounds would heal, she was no match for the titan. She was going to die, and so was Reiner.
She prayed the titan wouldn't find Bertholdt or Ymir.
Megatron stopped in his tracks and looked down at the child, noticing her defeated spirit. She merely flinched at he stepped on her leg.
"You never stood a chance at winning," Megatron declared, "Or even survival. I'll give you quick death, but I will kill the Armored titan, and whatever titan shifter that is left on this world. Once I'm done, I might even go after your father."
Megatron smirked as he noticed Lionheart reacting. "That's right. I know about your creator, and that you care about him. I also know where he is, and when I find him, I'll be the one to tell him I killed his creation, before slaughtering him in the most painful way possible for all to see!"
Annie cried out in anger as she tried to attack him, but Megatron merely pressed his pede against her throat. He noticed Lionheart created a coat of armor around her neck while using her hands to try and push the foot away from her neck. She continued to cry out in desperation, but Megatron merely stared in amusement.
"Struggling only makes it worse," Megatron remarked, "It doesn't matter anyway. Whatever you say or do your father's death is on your hands."
Annie continued screaming as tears began to well up in her eyes. Her father was going to die! He was going to die and it's her fault! She had to break free!
"Annie!" a voice shouted.
Megatron stopped what he was doing and turned his attention to the other side of the wall. He gave a sickening grin as he saw Bertholdt paralyzed with fear as he realized his mistake. Meanwhile, Ymir kept her head low to avoid the titan noticing her. She was not going to die today.
"I suppose I have another target to kill," Megatron muttered to himself as he removed his pede from Lionheart's neck.
Annie took the opportunity and quickly got to her feet. She crystallized her right hand stretched outwards in order to make it look like they were claws. She let out a battle cry, earning the titan's attention, but it didn't give him much time to react as she struck.
Annie fell to the ground as the crystals on her hand fell away. Whatever she did took a lot of the energy out of her. She needed to remove herself from her titan form, but she was struggling to push herself off the ground. She lifted her head and stared in shock as she saw the rusted thorn from the flying titan's shoulder on the ground. Did she…do that?
Annie gasped as she was grabbed by her face and lifted into the air. She trembled as she saw the flying titan had a serious and calm expression. However, his eyes told a different story, as they screamed of rage and death. Annie heard Bertholdt scream as the flying titan stabbed Annie through her throat, piercing through her real stomach along the way and almost tearing her in half.
Megatron stared in disgust as he dropped Annie to the ground. He lifted his pede, ready to stomp down on her neck for good measure, but the titan was tackled from behind by someone else. Megatron skidded to a stop and saw the Armored Titan standing in front of Annie. He gripped the handle of his sword in one hand while his arm and shoulder were threatening to fall off from the injury he inflicted on himself to get out of the ground.
Megatron didn't speak as he rushed the Armored one. He tried to swing the sword, but Megatron caught the blade with one hand while punching him in the face with the other. Megatron took his sword and held it by the handle before slicing off his injured side completely.
Reiner saw the arm fall to the ground as Megatron drew his blade back. He grabbed the blade with his other hand, but it wasn't enough as the blade was starting to pierce his neck. Reiner roared as the blade almost reached his actual body, but the titan stopped when a bright light blinded them both. Reiner looked in horror as he saw Bertholdt in his titan form stomping towards the both of them.
Megatron growled as he removed his blade from Reiner's throat and kicked him to the ground. Megatron stepped on and crushed the titan's head, incapacitating him from fighting. The titan then turned his attention to the Colossal Titan before letting out a battle cry and transforming into his alt mode.
Optimus arrived at Wall Rose, earning the attention of the Scouts there. Optimus transformed and held Eren and Mikasa in his hand. Two of the scouts went down and grabbed the two of them and pulled them up the wall.
"What happened?!" Hanji shouted, "Where's Megatron?!"
"He's engaging the enemy as we speak!" Optimus answered before activating his comm. link, "Megatron, I'm on my way to your position."
"Stay there!" Megatron shouted on the other end.
"But Megatron-"
"I need this," Megatron hissed before disconnecting the comm. link.
Optimus was startled by Megatron's response, but understood he did not want to be bothered. "Megatron will return later! For we must get the information to Wall Sina!"
Megatron dodged a swipe from Bertholdt's hand before transforming and chopping it off. Bertholdt scream in pain as Megatron transformed into his alt mode and flew around the titan. Megatron flew behind his neck and fired, but the titan was smart enough to block it with his injured hand. Megatron noticed the body was slowly regenerating before flying back around and cutting off the Colossal Titan's jaw muscles.
Bertholdt screamed as Megatron landed on the wall behind him. He could slaughter him right now, and all the others. Especially Lionheart. She did actual damage to him form. Who knows what other capabilities she possessed.
Megatron stared at his left shoulder to see where the brown and gray thorn was cut off. Slag everything to the pits.
The ex con noticed something else in his line of sight and looked over to see a female human on top of the walls. She noticed that he was looking at her, causing her to crawl back in fear.
"I need you to find Ymir," he recalled Historia telling him.
'That must be her,' Megatron realized as the girl tried to run away. The titan made a move for her, but had to dodge a hand swipe from the Colossal Titan. Megatron jumped off the wall and flew towards the titan. He transformed and let out a battle cry before punching Bertholdt in the face. The force destroyed the bones in the titan's body, causing it to fall backwards and collapse on the ground.
Ymir trembled in horror at the sight. The Colossal Titan was beaten in one attack? Oh god! She was the only one left!
Ymir yelped as the flying titan landed in front of her and stood up in full height.
"A-are you…going to kill me?" Ymir asked.
"Currently, I won't," Megatron stated, "And not because you wouldn't stand a chance against me, we both already know that. The reason you are not dead is because Historia Reiss has requested that I bring you back."
"Historia…?" Ymir breathed, "Wait, you just slaughtered humanity's greatest threats. Why are you listening to a regular human?"
"We've made a compact," Megatron explained, "If she does anything unjustly to her subjects, then I kill her."
"Subjects?"
"She is the queen of this walled world," Megatron explained.
Before Ymir could react to the shocking revelation, a boulder was hurdled towards the flying titan. The titan blocked the attack as debris fell to the ground. The titan growled and looked down to see Annie back on her feet with her wound fully gone.
"You are coming with me!" Megatron ordered.
"Like hell I will!" Ymir shot back.
"Your compliance isn't a factor," Megatron hissed in response.
Ymir yelped as Megatron grabbed her and transformed into his alt mode. The titan flew into the sky, but Annie began to give chase. She jumped into the air, fifty meters over the wall and tried to grab the alt mode, but it was too fast for her as it flew high into the sky.
Annie landed on the wall, stumbling a little with her footing. She took deep breaths, shaking as she collapsed on her knees. She lightly touched her throat, over thinking her near death experience. She nearly died. Bertholdt and Reiner nearly died, and now, the titan knew about her father.
Tears poured out of her eyes as she let out a scream of anguish. The situation was hopeless.
"You son of a bitch let me go!" Ymir yelled as she began kicking around the cockpit. Megatron responded by twirling in the air, causing Ymir to roll around and land in a cramped position.
"Either you behave or we're going to have a problem!" Megatron exclaimed.
"Says the bastard who kidnapped me!" Ymir retorted as she tried to move.
"I already have my misgivings about you," Megatron declared.
"You don't even know me!" Ymir retorted.
"I know you had the opportunity to escape the Armored Titan, since you were not aligned with him before," Megatron explained, "Instead, I see you choose saving the enemy over someone you claim to care about."
"You don't know me," Ymir quietly said.
"Then explain it to me," Megatron ordered, "Because I'm not going to bring back someone who might kill the queen."
Ymir didn't say anything, causing Megatron to growl and stop in his tracks.
"Alright then, we'll do this my way," Megatron hissed.
Ymir yelped as Megatron flew upwards into the sky. The force overwhelming her to no end. When Megatron was high enough for Ymir to still breathe, he transformed and let her go. Ymir screamed as she and Megatron plummeted to the ground below.
"So…when is Megatron coming back?" Hanji asked as Optimus sat by the castle in his bipedal mode.
Optimus responded by turning on his comm. link. "Megatron, where are you?"
"A little busy," Megatron answered, "Give me a few minutes and I will return."
"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"
Optimus winced and turned off the comm. before turning to Hanji. "He is…busy."
Ymir continued screaming as Megatron transformed and flew next to her. As she fell, Megatron noticed that the land before him didn't stretch out that far. In fact, this place…looked like an island.
"You BASTARD!" Ymir shouted.
"Calling me names won't help your situation," Megatron retorted, "Neither with your regenerative power or turning into a titan. I started at a high position. It's a very low chance you'll survive the fall. Now tell me why you helped the enemy."
"No!"
"Alright then, say your final words," Megatron declared.
Ymir saw the ground coming in faster than she would have liked. She didn't want to say it, but she didn't want to die.
"Time is running out," Megatron taunted.
Ymir's lips trembling before telling the ex-con the truth. "It's because I still have a habit of being selfless!"
Megatron transformed and grabbed Ymir, causing her to look at the titan dead in the eye.
"What are you talking about?" Megatron demanded, "There was no end game, and you just wanted to help the enemy that wanted to kill your people?"
"I never cared about the wall world!" Ymir yelled.
"Then why help them?!" Megatron demanded.
"Because if it wasn't for them, I would've still been wandering around this place as a titan!" Ymir shouted.
Megatron was slightly startled by her response, but Ymir continued.
"Before I was turned into a titan, I was self sacrificing," Ymir explained, "I took the name 'Ymir' because it meant I would have food and a warm place to sleep, but…it felt good for people to need me. Even when I was caught, I still kept playing that part because I thought it would save everyone. It didn't and everyone, including myself, from that stupid cult got turned into titans. I wandered this place for sixty years! Sixty years of an endless nightmare! And…"
Megatron saw lubricant coming out of her eyes before being swept up into the air.
"I finally got my freedom," Ymir laughed, "I opened my eyes and saw that I was finally free! I wanted to be selfish, and live the way I wanted! And then I met that stupid bitch Historia! I knew she was like me from the start, and I did everything I could to protect her! I nearly blew my cover by turning into a titan to save form that snowstorm! I didn't try hard in the academy because I wanted to make sure she got a spot in the top ten and join the military police! I joined the Survey Corps because I wanted to protect her! Even when I acted like a total bitch she still looked at me and smiled!"
"You fell in love with her," Megatron spoke, earning a nod from the titan shifter, "Then why did you choose the enemy?"
"Because I'm an idiot," Ymir answered, "Because I still had a need to be selfless. Because it felt like I owed them for allowing me to turn back into a human."
"You have no debt to repay them," Megatron declared, "If they are from the place that forced you to become a titan, why would you continue to help them? Now be honest to yourself: what is it that you truly want?"
"I…," Ymir trailed off, "I want to see Historia again. Even if it kills me! Even if I'm hated by everyone! Even if I'm locked away, I want to see Historia again! IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?!"
Megatron didn't respond right away as the echo of her words rang through the air, but the girl continued to cry. Why did…why was he feeling sentimental about this?
"You want to make amends. You want to set things right with someone you still care about, and that's not as selfish as you might think. That's…actually a pretty humane thing to do."
It was because he understood.
"No," Megatron answered Ymir, "Not at all."
Megatron held Ymir close to him before transforming back into alt mode before flying towards Wall Sina.
"I am taking you back to Wall Sina, but I wouldn't expect a warm welcome," Megatron informed.
"…Thank you," Ymir said as she wiped away her tears.
Optimus patiently waited in Wall Sina while Hanji was looking at the picture left behind by Grisha in the notebook. The other members decided to wait outside as well while Eren and Mikasa sat with Hanji.
"This is the information that you found," Hanji said.
"Yes," Eren answered.
"God sake," Hanji sighed as she rested her head on her hand.
"Should we tell Commander Erwin?" Mikasa asked.
"Levi already told him," Hanji explained, "Let's just say Erwin is…surprised."
Optimus heard Megatron's bipedal mode and stood up as Megatron landed in front of them all. Optimus then looked in surprise as Megatron threw a human to the ground. The human landed on the ground with a rough 'thud'.
"Holy shit, is that Ymir?!" Connie exclaimed.
"You motherfucker!" Ymir shouted at Megatron.
"Yeah, that's her," Sasha agreed as she, Connie, and Jean ran towards the titan shifter.
"I bring you back and this is the thanks I get," Megatron said.
"You kidnapped me and dropped me from the sky!" Ymir retorted.
"Ymir, stop!" Jean exclaimed as the three of them pulled Ymir back, "You don't want to mess with him!"
"Give me something to throw at him!" Ymir requested.
Optimus watched Ymir continue to struggle before noticing something off. He turned his attention to Megatron and saw that the thorn on his left shoulder was cut off.
"Megatron, what happened?" Optimus asked, earning the attention of everyone else.
Megatron stared at his shoulder and grimaced. "That was the result of keeping Lionheart alive."
"Oh shit," Hanji breathed.
"Are they going to come back here?" Mikasa asked.
"I made sure they'd be too terrified to try," Megatron answered.
Ymir began to calm down as she got out of Jean and Sasha's grip. She began to dust herself, but stopped when she heard footsteps from behind her. She turned and felt her heart get caught in her throat as she saw Historia standing in front of her.
"Ymir…," Historia said in a hushed tone.
"Chris- I mean…Historia," Ymir corrected herself, "Historia, I-"
Ymir didn't have time to react as Historia punched Ymir in the face, knocking her to the ground. Historia yelled as she tackled her to the ground and kept on hitting her.
"You stupid bitch; I hate you!" Historia shouted as Ymir tried to protect her face.
"Historia!" Jean cried out as he and Connie tried to pry Historia off of her.
Optimus was startled by Historia's reaction while Megatron chuckled.
"She kept her word," Megatron smirked.
"Let go of me!" Historia ordered as Jean and Connie managed to remove her from Ymir. She was still struggling to get out of their grasp as Ymir sat up.
"Historia-"
"You don't get to say anything!" Historia shouted, "How could you?! You said we would live for ourselves! Instead you left me behind! How could you?!"
Ymir looked heartbroken as Historia wiped her eyes. Jean and Connie let her go, and she walked away from Ymir. Meanwhile Ymir looked guilty as she stood up and rubbed her face from Historia's punches.
"Ymir," Hanji began as she walked up to the titan shifter, "I am sorry for what happened, but we are going to have to interrogate you. Please come quietly."
Optimus watched with slight sorrow while Megatron didn't say a word as Ymir was escorted back to the castle with the others.
Reiner opened his eyes and came to as he realized he was lying under the night sky. He sat up and rubbed his head while Bertholdt walked over to him.
"Reiner, are you okay?" Bertholdt asked as he kneeled down.
"I think so," Reiner answered, "What happened?"
"We nearly lost our lives," Annie answered as she walked up to Reiner, "Because of you."
Reiner noticed Annie looking down on him with such hatred. He also noticed Annie's eyes resembled that of Optimus Prime's.
"A-annie," Reiner stuttered, "I just wanted to get Eren,so this mission wouldn't be a total lost."
Annie scoffed. "Get Eren? GET EREN?!"
Annie tackled Reiner to the floor before pinning him down and choking him.
"I'm going to kill you!" Annie shouted, "And then I'm going to feed you to some random titan!"
"Annie, wait," Bertholdt pleaded.
"Shut up Bertholdt!" Annie shouted before continuing, "I told you not to fight! I told you not to fight them, but you go in because you think you can get Eren! But no! We nearly died because of you, and we lost the Jaws Titan again!
"You knew how strong they were but you went in any way! Do you know how terrifying it was to fight him?! He played with me! He kept on taunting me because he knew that he would win! He nearly killed us all! He…he knows where my father is!"
Annie stopped choking Reiner and stood up as she began crying. "He's knows where my father is! He's going to go find my father and kill him! For all to see! I don't want to lose him! Reiner, I'm going to lose my father! He's going to kill everyone!"
Reiner and Bertholdt watched as Annie collapsed and sobbed openly. Reiner rubbed his neck before looking down at his hands in shame while Bertholdt walked over to the girl and began to comfort her.
"Annie, I'm so sorry," Reiner apologized.
"No you're not," Annie shot back.
Reiner stared down at the town and noticed the thorn from the titan sitting there on the ground. No matter what they said, Marley wouldn't believe them unless they brought proof.
"Alright, here's what will do," Reiner began, "The full moon is tomorrow night, meaning there will be a ship to come and get us. We leave this island and take the piece from the flying titan with us. They won't believe us unless we have proof."
"What will we do then?" Bertholdt asked, "We failed the mission. What's going to stop them from revoking our powers?"
Reiner turned his attention to Annie. "They won't. Whatever is inside of you, did damage to the flying titan. We can use that to make a strong case for them to keep us alive. Annie we will get through this I promise you."
"It's not going to matter in the end," Annie wept, "No matter what we try, we'll lose."
Eren and Mikasa opened the door to the council room, seeing Optimus, Pixis, and Levi sitting on one side while Erwin and Hanji were sitting on another. Historia merely sat on the far end of the table while Megatron stood by the window with his arms crossed, staring out into the city.
"Eren, Mikasa, please sit down," Hanji requested as she gestured to two open seats.
Eren sat down in a seat next to Hanji, while Mikasa sat across from him next to Levi. Eren took a quick glance to see Megatron hadn't moved an inch from his position, before looking back down on the table in front of him.
"The truth about the outside lies in these three notebooks," Hanji began, "'The Early Life of Grisha Jaeger', 'Information about the Titans,' and 'Information regarding the World outside of the Walls.'"
"So far no one know of the information presented except for the ones in this room," Erwin explained, "We'll have a meeting tomorrow with the other branches of military to determine what our next move should be regarding the information."
Optimus took the book regarding Grisha's early life and opened it to the first page. "I pray that whoever finds this book is a fellow patriot. As I consider where I ought to begin, that day came unbidden into my mind: The day in my youth when I was forced to face the truth of this world."