* Meanwhile*

"...!" Lara Tybur's eyes widened as she felt a strong sensation. A rumbling pulse sound that echoed in her ears. It was faint and short, yet it was strong enough to send shivers down her spine.

What was this? That feeling felt surreal, unfamiliar to her. She looked around subtly, wondering if anyone else had felt it. But she was surprised as the people around her didn't even stop in their tracks. No one questioned it.

Was she going mad? Why was she the only one who sensed that vibration? Unless...could this be the work of a titan shifter?

"A titan shifter powerful enough to send an echoing pulse. Only shifters such as myself can sense it." she thought. She immediately knew something wasn't right.

All the Marleyan titan holders don't have this ability. And even so, why would they have transformed? No, this was the work of another titan. An enemy!

"They're already here and that call just now, was a warning." her eyes flickered towards her brother.

"I must inform Willy." her once motionless body then made her way towards her brother.

Willy was finishing up the last of conversations before his big speech. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed his younger sister approaching him. Knowing this could be important, he wrapped up his current conversation.

"Something the matter, Lara?" Willy asked.

"Willy, I sensed something. A strong pulse, rumbling through my body." Lara continued.

"I can't explain it. But it sounded like it was coming from beneath us. Within the waters. Something is lurking below, and I believe it's another titan shifter." Lara explained, her voice shifting as she spoke.

Willy listened carefully, noticing a change in demeanor in his sister. She was trembling a bit; she was stuttering in her words. Her hand was on her chest, and she was gripping it tightly.

"It was so faint yet strong enough for it to rumble in my body. It was so low and...surreal." She looked at her brother.

"I believe the enemies that we could be facing, I might not be able to handle them." she finished.

Willy stayed silent, already having a guess on who the threat was.

"Y/N L/N..." Willy whispered.

"The traitor is making herself known," he added.

The two remained silent, not knowing what to say. Marley's greatest mistake was letting the Root Titan user go on a mission that was never meant to happen. Furthering their mistake was the holder had a strong sense of willpower. 

What's more terrifying than facing a human who has nothing left to lose? There's nothing they can do now, they expected something like this would happen.

"We'll carry on with the speech." Willy said.

Lara nodded her head before making her way off the stage. Willy watched her for a bit before opening his mouth again.

"Lara...if you happen to see her. Do what you must to keep her at bay. At all costs, keep her away from Eren Yeager. Her connection with the founder makes her all the more dangerous."

"I will..." With that his sister left. Willy let out a sigh, preparing himself for his possible final moments. 

"Ah, Mr. Tybur!" a voice spoke. Willy turned his head, his eyes landing on a familiar looking woman. 

"Mind if we have a chat?"

"...Ms. L/N?" 

-----

"Oh, it's begun!" Gabi said as the loud banging of the drums signaled the start of the speech.

"But Mr. Braun and Falco are still not back yet." Udo mentioned.

"They probably went to go meet with Miss Weber, Falco seemed pretty fond of her." Zofia suggested.

"Huh, really? If that were the case, I should have followed them. I liked Miss Weber." Udo replied.

"'Course Falco would be clingy like that, but Miss Weber was nice to talk to so I'll give him a pass."

"Miss Weber? Who's that?" Porco asked.

"She's the last lady we ran into during the festival. Apparently Falco met her before, she was really nice. She invited us to the docks too. But we can't really make it." Gabi replied.

Zeke said nothing as he listened to them converse. He glanced off to the side when Gabi mentioned the last part.

"Had second thoughts about killing them, huh kid? Was your plan to rescue them in time?" he thought.

"Oh, I just remembered." Zeke spoke, his voice was quiet against the loud banging of the drums. But those who knew him turned towards him, upon seeing his mouth move.

"Commander Magath wanted to meet with us," he added, looking towards Porco and Pieck.

"Right now?" Porco asked.

"Yes, something important. But it shouldn't take long." he got up from his seat.

"Sure then." Pieck stood up as well, Porco decided not to argue and followed the two of them out.

The three of them got farther and farther away from the stage, Zeke was strangely quiet. Pieck took notice of that.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"...Everything's fine," he replied. That only made Pieck more suspicious. 

-----

Meanwhile, tension filled the air of the room. 

"Ummm...huh?" Falco asked, oblivious to what was going on.

"I thought you said you two were old friends! That he'd be surprised...right, Mr. Kruger?" he then asked.

"Yes...thank you, Falco. For making this happen." Eren replied.

"There's a lot we need to talk about...it's just hard to figure out where to start..." he added.

"....This...this can't be real..." Reiner was still in disbelief.

"?" Falco was beyond confused.

"Sit down, Reiner." Eren said.

"This is a good seat. You'll hear all the commotion on stage from here. Above us is a regular apartment building. It's behind the stage but...a lot of its residents are looking out their windows, excited for the curtain to rise."

"Right above our heads." Eren pointed up at the ceiling.

"Huh...? Mr. Kruger, did you hurt your hand?" Falco asked.

"Yes...it's just a scratch," Eren replied.

"Reiner...sit down..." Eren said harshly.

Reiner tensed up and immediately sat down. I could feel the atmosphere tensing up even more.

"Uh...I guess I'll see you later..." Falco began to say.

"No, Falco. You'll stay here and listen to our story too." Eren said without taking his eyes off Reiner.

"Falco...do as he says..." Reiner said.

"...Okay..." Falco replied.

They all stayed silent, loud music began to play. 

"It sounds like it's about to start..." Falco pointed out.

"...Eren...how did you get here?"

"That's the first thing you want to ask us?"

"What did...you come here to do?" he asked.

"The same thing as you." Eren bluntly replied.

"Wuh....wuh..." Reiner slowly began to break down.

"' Why?' Really? You don't get it?" Eren asked.

"We're the same as you. We have no other choice. That's why."

"...I-..." Reiner began to speak.

 Loud claps and cheers came from the audience up above.

"Hold on. I think the curtain has risen. Let's listen."

They all proceeded to listen to Willy's story as he talks about the history of Eldia and King Fritz. The more they listened, the more intense his speech got.

"Hear that, Reiner? That is...why you breached the wall, right?" Eren suddenly asked.

"You were trying to save the world, isn't that right? Four clueless kids sent off to that island. Without knowing a thing..."

Reiner continued to lose himself in his seat, while Falco continued to put the pieces together. 

Suddenly, Reiner's blood turned cold. He felt a vibration go through him, ratting his insides. He felt this sensation, moments before Falco took him down here. This sensation was much stronger than before.

"Did you feel that too?" Eren asked, he didn't even look fazed.

"Feel what? What is he talking about?" Falco asked. Reiner grasped his chest, his heart beating fast as his body trembled.

"Mr. Braun!?" Falco asked. Eren raised his hand, it was slightly shaking. Even though he was unfazed, it was still a strong pulse.

"That pulse...enough to turn your blood cold. Tell me, Reiner. Who do you know that can make you feel like that? Someone you missed so dearly you went as far as to cut off her fingers just to make her remember..."

"...!" Reiner's eyes widened. He slumped down in his chair, his trembling hand going to hold his other. He held his fingers tightly together, vividly remembering his actions 4 years ago.

"Y/N..." he spoke softly.

"That was her...wasn't it?" he asked. Eren said nothing as he stared blankly at him, he slightly leaned back.

"Why else would Miss Weber leave so suddenly?"

Falco's eyes widened while Reiner bowed down his head. Realization hit them both, Reiner becoming more distraught while Falco began to realize how dire the situation just turned.

"Miss Weber...miss Weber was—"

"Y/N...she was here. She was right there...She—She—" Reiner covered his face with his hands. How could he have not known!? How did he not realize sooner!?

The topic about being Marley's traitor! You were hinting it ever so slightly and he didn't even notice!

"Why would she go to the docks? What is she planning to do!?" Falco asked.

"Reiner might have an idea. He's known Y/N longer than I have." Although his voice was monotone, it was clear he was mocking Reiner. 

-----

At the same time that pulse was felt by Eren and Reiner, the three other titan shifters that walked away from the stage felt the very same thing.

They all stopped in their tracks, Pieck and Porco's blood ran cold. Pieck stumbled in her steps as her eyes widened.

"What the hell was that!?" Porco asked.

"You felt that too?"

"Yeah I did. Did the ground rumble or something?" Zeke asked. They all looked around and found no commotion. The people were still going about their night like nothing happened.

"No, everyone would have felt that then."

"Then what was that!? That was way too strong for it to just be nothing!"

"...unless it's a titan shifter." Pieck suggested.

"...What!?" Porco asked.

"Think about it! Only we were able to feel that pulse, no one else did. That has to be the work of a titan shifter."

"Pieck could be onto something." Zeke replied.

"Wait...are you saying that could be from an enemy titan!" Porco suggested.

They all went silent, tension feeling the air as they all thought about their next course of actions.

"It came from the docks..." Porco began stepping away from the group.

"Wait! Porco!" Pieck shouted.

"I'm not standing around and waiting for that thing to attack!" he shouted. No, that pulse was way too strong. Whatever titan that could produce something so strong meant trouble.

"Porco! We can't just—! We have to follow him!" Pieck turned to Zeke.

"I think it's best if we split up. The titan could be moving below us. Follow Porco and make sure he doesn't get into trouble."

Pieck wasted no time questioning the plan and ran after Porco. But in the back of her mind, something wasn't right. Why would the titan make itself known? Why do it now since they were separated from the other shifters? This could be a trap!

Which was exactly what it was.

----- 

Back to Eren's confrontation with Reiner, Willy's speech continued, selling himself and his family out for all their wrongdoings. Claiming that the Tybur family were never heroes.

"The world is in danger once more. A man has appeared who opposes King Fritze's powerful world. Along with a woman who has been confirmed alive and has joined the sides of our enemy! This man and woman are rebels against peace. Their names are Eren Yeager and Y/n L/n."

The speech became more intense as Willy began to proclaim a declaration of war on Paradis Island.

Eren began to roll up his pants on his supposedly missing leg, which he actually did to slow down his regeneration.

"...You tricked me..." Falco said.

"And Y/n...! She lied to me! She knew about this all along! She knew this was going to happen and played us all like a fool!" Falco asked.

"WHY!? She was so kind to me! When I told her about my worries, she understood! Was that all just a lie! To wrap me around her finger like she did to the people in Paradis Island!?"

"Hey...! Don't speak about her that way. She has nothing to do about this! She's just going with my plan, it's me you should be mad with." Eren was quick to defend you. 

"She liked you Falco. To her, you were one of the people who she could relate to. Knowing her, she might have wanted to save her. She may be a traitor, but what other choice did she have?"

Falco remained silent, thinking back to what you said. Come and see you by the docks. Was that a message? You were planning on somehow getting them to safety from the events that were about to unfold. 

But this wasn't the time to think about this! The man who he once knew as Mr. Kruger has betrayed and fooled them all! 

"After you encouraged me...I...I respected you...but this whole time..."

"Sorry, Falco. But you saved me." Eren replied.

"How...? Wait...those letters you gave me! The letters I delivered for you! Where did they go to!? You told me they were going to your family!"

"Those letters weren't for my family. But...they got to Y/n and our friends." At this point, Eren's leg was almost healed.

Falco fell down to the ground, shaking and slowly breaking down.

"Wait...friends...?" Reiner asked.

 Willy's speech was nearing the end.

"He's right. Willy Tybur is right. I'm the bad guy. I might destroy the world. As well as Y/n, once she unlocks her true power."

Eren then proceeded to ask Reiner why his mother was eaten by a titan that day.

"Because...we breached the Wall that day..." Reiner replied.

"Why did you breach the wall?" Eren asked.

"My mission...was to use the chaos to sneak inside the walls to see what the King would do next..." Reiner explained.

"What was your goal?"

"To retake the Founder and find whereabouts of the Root Titan. Our goal was to save the world." Reiner continued to explain.

"Oh...to save the world, huh? If it was the save the world...then you didn't have a choice...right?"

"I remember that day...the day you said your mission was to see us die the most painful deaths. Is that why you two are here!?"

"Oh...did I say that? Well...let's forget about that..."

"It's true, I saw everyone beyond the sea as my enemy. I shared the same roof with them and shared the same meals with them. Just the same as you, Reiner."

"Sure there were people who pissed me off, but there were good people too." Eren then proceeded to mentally break Reiner down until he fell to his knees in front of Eren.

"NO!!" He cried.

"That's all wrong, Eren...! That day...when Marcel was eaten...Annie and Bertolt wanted to abort the mission. They tried to turn back but...I convinced them and made them keep going! Yes, I just wanted to survive but...also...I wanted to be a hero! I wanted people to respect me! That's why I acted like I was everyone's big brother! It..it was my fault! Your mother was eaten by a titan because of me!"

"And Y/n! Herr grandparents were killed because of me! I can't stand this anymore...please...just kill me...I beg of you...I want to vanish."

....

"I WANT YOU TO FIGHT WITH ME AGAINST THE DEVILS OF PARADIS!!!" Willy yelled.

Finally, Willy ended his speech with a proclamation of war. It was too late to turn back now.

Eren stood up from his seat.

"Y/N...even now you continue to be compassionate when you want to be. It's no wonder Reiner never had it in him to forget about you." he thought. 

"Stand up, Reiner. I...get it now."

Eren held out his hand towards Reiner.

"I was right...we are the same as you. I think...we were born this way." Eren helped Reiner up.

"Huh?" Reiner asked.

"I just keep moving forward...until our enemies are destroyed..." Eren's hand started glowing as electricity surrounded it.

Reiner's eyes widened.

And with that...Eren transformed and all hell broke loose.