~*~

HQ IN SHIGANSHINA

This kind of pain felt like torture........

Walking through the cold eerie cells of the main headquarters, my breath was shallow feeling my lungs is ice cold. However the only pain I could feel, was that Levi could be dead for all I know. Why did hanji escape with him? She's gotta know something, or maybe she knew Levi could have a chance of survival. Clenching my jaw, my thoughts were interrupted when I was shoved forcefully into the cell. With my surroundings such a blur, I stumble a bit with my wounded leg as my breath hitches in my throat.

"Son of a--"

My breath was quickening finding myself spiralling, tears blurring my vision finding it was more than the injury. My throat thickens in response and ears ringing, finding it hard to breath properly as I held my chest. The light was so dim , it felt like i was sinking into the darkness of despair. Blinking my tears away I couldn't even stop gasping for air, realising I didn't have my life line with me. Fuck. I can't, I can't breath and he's not with me. What do I do? 

Blood seeps through my other hand, as I held my wounded leg tightly while the other claws at my shirt needing to breath.

"Shit.......shit......" Cursing under my hot breath, as my head spirals faster and faster and my body growing colder.

"Section Commander.......Section Commander........" A felt hands upon my shoulders, as I flinch in response meeting a familiar pair of eyes. "..........you're alright, your okay.........."

"Jean..........Armin?" My eyes trail around, finding my heart slowing down to a steady beat. "Connie.......Mikasa?"

Connie sighs, "....and also the Braus family too, and Niccolo....." he nudges his head to the family and chef, as turn my head to see the family confined behind bars with me.

"What happened to you?" Jean asks, in alarm. Judging by how he's looking at me, they all must think of the worst which has happened. Even now I still disorientated from the explosion, and my brain felt foggy with only darkness trying to swallow me whole entirely. 

"...."

"Section Commander, where is Commander Hanji?" Armin questions, firmly.

"Wait, where's Captain Levi.......wasn't he with you?" Connie asks.

Shaking my head I slowly tried pushing my body up, only to feel pain shoo through my wounded leg and hip as I inhale sharply. Stumbling over I felt arms catch me, before wrapping an arm around my shoulder keeping me up right. "Thanks Jean..........." I spoke softly, with a slight rasp. I could feel myself losing blood, as Mikasa gasps in shock rushing over.

Her eyes widen in horror, "You've been--"

"Shot? Yeah.........from Floch of all people," I reply, answering their questioning looks. However recalling the fact the thunderspear didn't kill Zeke, I felt my gut churning painfully. Refusing to cry anymore, all I felt was this rage that kept swelling inside me. "There was an explosion, I was caught in it along with.....Levi. We were caught in the blast, that's why I look shit........."

"Bring her over here, let me tend to her......." a soft voice spoke up, before feeling Jean guide me to a crate beside Mrs Braus. ".......we owe you that much, for looking after my daughter and our people."

My breath grew shaky and jaw clenched, "I don't deserve that much........I don't deserve it at all," I reply, with a strained voice. 

"We need you..........so please?" She whispers softly, placing a warm hand upon my shoulder. Her weary tired eyes meet mine with the same look. Exhaustion and suffering from loss. "Let me take care of you...."

With a reluctant sigh I soon nod, allowing her to roll my sleeve up where a deep gash was as it bled heavily. My head starts to space out allowing her to tend to all my wounds, hearing the kettle boiling on the small stove tucked in between bricks. The whistling sound invades my thoughts, grimacing slightly with every touch she made. I could feel the weight of my young soldiers staring at my sorry state, but this is the first they've seen me distraught. 

When she soon focuses on the bullet wound, she rolls up some material from the med kit that barely had enough to properly treat people. She instructs me to open my mouth and placed between my teeth, as I clamp down tightly knowing what was to come. Despite my Yamasaki blood running through my veins, I was still human. Some wounds healed faster, while the deeper and heavy ones still had time to heal. She rips my pants up to where my wound was, realising how infected it's gotten.

The flesh squelches to her touch, blood slowly oozing out while I grind my teeth on the material between my lips.

"Someone please hold her hand, or give an arm for support," Mrs Braus asks, directly to my young soldiers. With the offer hanging, Jean and Connie walk over to me as Connie gave me an arm and Jean gave me his hand. "Also can one of you grab spare pants from the pile, in the corner thankyou..."

Armin stood up in response grabbing spare clothing, before placing upon the table while watching me with a look of concern and worry for me.

Without warning I felt absolute pain running through my flesh, as I tried to hold in my muffled cries. My body trembles as my hand tightens around Jean's calloused and warm hand, and gripping down on Connie's arm. This agonising pain felt so endless, I felt like I was gonna pass out from exhaustion itself. After a few minutes of Mrs Braus digging into my flesh to get the bullet out, she finds a few shards which gave me awful memories when I was carrying my first born. My child I was unable to have in this world, but maybe it was for the best.

"Alright one of you boy apply pressure to her wound," Mrs Braus says, hastily.

Jean immediately releases my hand and applied pressure to my heavily bleeding wound, while I inhale sharply trying to not let pain get to me. Then we repeat the same process with stitches, which wouldn't require many before she gauzed my thigh tightly but comfortably. The material falls from my mouth upon my lap, as I take a moment to process the quick and steady procedure Mrs Braus performed just now.

"Here.........some tea," Mr Braus approaches me, as he placed a white tea cup in front of me. "You'll feel better soon........"

"Thankyou," I reply, gratefully before taking a gentle sip. 

Mrs Braus cleans my bloody temple while I sit there healing, while wondering what was going on above the cellar. Distant yells and chattering from many soldiers above, ones who used to be allies and some who have turned against us. Specifically the Survey Corps. Years ago it was only titans, and now? We're up against humans, our own damn kind. Knowing my son was safe in Ingrid's bakery, was enough to put me at ease. Wait, wheres......?

"Lena.......where's Lena?" I question, my eyes widen looking around. To no avail, she wasn't even present within the cellar. Standing up to head towards the bars, my legs give out only for Jean to sit me back down carefully. 

"She's with Yelena........but....." Armin replies, uneasily. Something didn't settle well with me, when there's a pause in the way of his words were going. "......she was forced........to drink the spinal fluid for lying about your whereabouts, but she remains in Yelena's surveillance. 

My eyes slowly widen as my breath hitches, my blood running colder than before. Turning to him fully, "What? What do you mean, 'forced'?" I question, my anger simmering beneath the surface. "What did i miss, while I was gone? Don't tell there is more, who already drank that damn wine? Please tell me, I need to kno--"

"You're acting as if it's already happened," Mikasa spoke up, her eyes searching in my dangerous ones. 

Finally deciding to explain the whole story, I quickly summarised the story down a bit about how the men stationed around Zeke drank all the wine that was supposed to last a month or so. With all of them transformed all simultaneously, as I had to end each of their lives. Their own blood was on Levi and I's hands, and we had to carry that forever on. Finally concluding to now after the explosion, I couldn't help but felt that knot tightening in my stomach about Lena. Once Zeke activates his power, that's the end of her. My partner, best friend.......a sister.

"So.....what?" Connie spoke up. "Is there really nothing we can do, but sit here and wait for things to play out?..."

Arthur offered Armin some tea and placed it delicately on the table, while I sat there registering everything I'm trying to catch myself up on. 

"Hey Armin......do you think you could bust us out of here by turning titan?" Connie jokingly suggests; yet in a serious manner.

"'Fraid not," Armin admits, honestly. "I'd blow up half the town if I tried. The colossal titan is powerful, but it's far from precise. Unlike Eren's titan."

Silence falls between us all, as I sip my tea while allowing my body to rest for the time being. Even right now, with how fast I can heal with blood running through my veins, I'm still a liability. 

"So, how did Eren end up beating you to a pulp, Armin?" Jean breaks the silence, making me lift my head in surprise. Turning around i notice a heavy steady glare from Mikasa, as if trying to seal Armin's mouth in absolute silence. "I think it's about time you told us, especially with the Section Commander here.....and all..."

"What?" I utter out.

Armin sat there in silence before, "Eren was hurting Mikasa with his words," He simply replies. "So I hit him and he responded in kind...."

Connie was confused, "Huh?"

"Wait, what do you mean, 'he was hurting her'? What'd he say?" Jean questions, his interest piqued and anger slowly bubbling inside.

"Well he--" Armin began, only to be cut off by Mikasa.

"Stop, it's fine," She assures him, with a grim look within her dull eyes. Clearly was bothered by Eren's words, and even I was slowly getting angry the more I learn about what's happening to my soldiers. 

"No, it isn't fine," Jean brushes her dismissal. "Seriously, tell me what he said to you."

"May as well just let it go, Jean," Connie sighs, in defeat. "We already knew that he'd turned into an absolute piece of shit. But now he's lost his mind so completely,  that he went out of his way to hurt the two people he used to care about the most. He didn't even do a damn thing, when Floch forced Captain Lena with that wine......."

My jaw tightens more, while feeling pathetic just sitting here and doing nothing but listening to the shortcomings to my people.

"Assuming he hasn't just lost it, I don't see him doing that without having some kind of reason," Jean replies, denying the fact Eren was pushing all of us away one by one. "I wonder....could he have some sort of hidden motive?"

Soon footsteps started to approach the cell from the exit of the cellar, as my eyes finally fall upon Onyankopon, Yelena, Lena and Greiz. Lena looked like hell with her hair disheveled, her clothes were in full uniform with a red armband secured around her left bicep. 

Lena's eyes meet mine in surprise, as her breath hitches in response.

She steps forward towards me, "Section Commander, You're oka--!"

"Shut the hell up!" Greiz yanks her back, holding her arm tightly. "You are under no authority to say anything!"

She grimaces in response, when Yelena shoots a warning glare towards Greiz sharply before returning her gaze upon us.

"Heroes of Shiganshina, it's always an honor to see you," Yelena greets us, with her hand against her left chest. "It pains me that our reunion must take place across these bars."

Connie growls in disbelief, "No way, you're on their side, too?" he rushes towards her, grasping at the bars forcefully. "Let us out!"

"Seems like more than you have the right to ask for, considering how you guys kept me as a prisoner," Onyankopon counters, blatantly. His eyes glance over meeting my eyes, as he seems intimidated by my glare knowing Hanji admired his work, "Just sit here and wait....Zeke and Eren will meet soon."

Connie seethes through his teeth, "Why you....."

Jean approaches Yelena, "You must be proud, Yelena," he assumes, with a mocking tone. "It seems like everything's happening, exactly as you planned. First, you get Eren dancing to Zeke's tune. Then, the raid on Marley won you the Eldian people's support. Which gave you free reign to use your poisoned wine, to take over the military. Eldia's yours. As is the Founding Titan."

He gives her a moment to process what we know now, while I slowly push myself to my feet ignoring the pain.

"Now, you can crush Marley and avenge your homelands. That's it, right? The real reason that you volunteers came to this island?" Jean raises a brow, summarising everything up in a nutshell.

"We brought your country out of the past," Onyankopon states. "When we got here, this island was downright primitive."

"Huh?!" Connie yells, with a scoff.

"But you were really just setting it up for yourself, right?" Niccolo spoke up, approaching the bars that cut us off from the others. My eyes kept meeting Lena's tired eyes, and seeing a few faint bruises blemish on her fair skin. "Making sure the place was worth ruling."

"You were played for fools and defeated," Greiz comments, gruffly. "What else is there to be said?"

"Hey Greiz. Did you seriously betray us, just so that Yelena would make you one of her lackeys?" Niccolo accuses angrily, gripping the bars tightly. "You little rat."

Greiz sneers, "Are you stupid? I didn't take the side of these devils," he scoffs, with a mocking expression. "You did. you're the real traitor."

"Say what?" Niccolo breaths out.

Greiz draws closer with his face nearing towards Niccolo, "You fell for some filth-blooded, potato-grubbing devil just because she liked your food," He reminds him, as my blood boiled. 

Niccolo growls angrily and lunges his arm through the bar, "Get over here, I'll kill you!!!!!"

Jean immediately steps in trying to calm him down, "Stop, Niccolo! Calm down!"

"The way you would blather about her day and night was sickening," Greiz continues on. "Can't believe i was stupid enough think that you'd get a grip once that bitch died. I'll make it easy to understand. That spawn-of-the-devil-whore deserved ex--"

Without warning I stood up and grabbed the collar with swiftness through the bars, and slammed his skull against the bars, "Don't you fucking disrespect my pupil, let alone a child who was only trying to live like every one of us," I growl, with a dangerous glare into his eyes. His voice strains while I held him tightly with every fibre. "I've trained that woman since she was only a child, I watched her grow with no ounce of evil inside of her......so explain to me! Who is really the devil here.....huh?! She's just a child!"

Suddenly the sound of a gunshot echoes loudly, with warm spray of red on my face, before seeing Greiz's pupils shrunk into nothingness. Slowly falling down at my feet on the other side of the bars, my eyes widen in surprise, turning my head to see Yelena standing there nonchalantly with her gun.

"Yelena!"

Standing in front of my young soldier's warily, my eyes harden in response to her sudden fire. 

She bows apologetically, "I apologise for his rudeness," She says, in a calm manner. "This island no longer has any need for those who would curse you as devils. Please believe me when I tell you, that the goal we've been working towards is not so petty or hollow as taking revenge on Marley. It is to sever the chains of hate from this world, and in doing so, to save both Eldia and Marley. We're done with secrets. It's high-time you learned the truth. Let me lay out the plan that will save the world. Zeke's so-called 'Euthanization' plan."

~*~

"They'll change our bodies, so we stop producing children?"

Yelena nods, "Correct, that is the heart of Zeke's euthanization plan," she replies, with herself sat upon a chair. Onyankopon tries to get rid of the body of Griez, meanwhile Yelena explains Zeke's plan. "Once the Founder's power has done all it's work, all suffering related to titans will slowly come to an end. You'll fade away. Peacefully."

Scoffing lightly at the plan, I roll my eyes averting my eyes from her to see Lena leaning against the wall. 

Seems she new to the information as well....

"Wait, how is that gonna be peaceful?" Jean questions, sarcastically. "If the population of Eldians withers until we've all died out, then in this country's final years...it'll be nothing but old geezers. How can we be sure we won't get massacred then? You think the world's just gonna leave us alone?"

"The rumbling can remain as deterrent," Yelena answers. "As long as your people retain control of the Founder, whilst ensuring that the royal bloodline doesn't die out. Fortunately, it seems Queen Historia has already been blessed with an heir. So assuming her child lives a long life, you just need to pass on the Founder every thirteen years."

"You talk as if that's an absolute certainty, but it isn't," Jean utters out, his brows furrowed in irritation.

"'Certainties'...'Sure things' aren't real," Yelena lists out, dismissing those assumptions. "Our world is full of risk and doubt. There isn't a nation in it that doesn't have it's share of troubles. if there's one thing that is certain, it's that this era of tears and bloodshed is almost over. The age of titans will soon be put to an end by Zeke and Eren. There may be countless millennia of human history that've yet to pass, but even given that much time, will anyone ever accomplish an equal feat? The Yeager brothers will be spoken of as legendary symbols for thousands of years to come. Just as we speak today of ancient gods. Long after they're dead, they'll shine in mankind's memory. They'll be know as saviours who lit a path--"

Suddenly Armins sobbing cuts Yelena off in response, as she was surprised by this while he sobs into his hand.

"Is something the matter?" She questions, in confusion.

"No, but to think that your cause was so noble," Armin admits, revealing his teary face. "It just touched my heart!"

Yelena's eyes glistens with fresh tears, "That's wonderful to hear," She breaths out in relief. "I'm so glad that you're able to understand--"

"Bad news, Yelena!!!!" A soldier rushes into the cell, causing lena to turn to the sudden intrusion of our short meeting. "We need you to come quick, please! We're being invaded!!!"

Without even giving her goodbyes as usual, she rushes off in response along with Onyankopon while Lena remains with us. Seems they didn't need her after all, as lena quickly rushes towards me reaching her arms through the bars with tears in relief. Standing up I held her in my arms through the bars, standing stronger on my better leg to prevent further discomfort. She held onto me, like I was her lifeline. Her rock.

"Is it true........the explosion, you getting shot and.......Captain....." She utters out, through tears. She glances over my wounds as her breath hitches, "I did it.......I tried to not tell them where you were......and--"

"Hey....hey...." my hands reach up to cup her face, soothing her worries. "....I know you tried.......but at what cost? Your life? Lena please........not you too,"

My voice strains slightly trying to hold back my tears, while she leans into my hands looking for something to ground her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry........" She utters beneath her shaky breath, as I lower my hands to grip the