Rumbling

I want to give a special thanks to Gabi Xavier, whose videos and analysis of the AOT chapters helped and inspired me a lot to develop the dialogues, especially on this chapter and other inspirations, too. The soundtrack of this chapter is the song "Aura", by Thomas Bergersen (you can leave it on repeat, it's available on YouTube and Spotify). Hope it makes your reading experience a lot better! This is a pretty long chapter, so grab your popcorn and a hot chocolate (it's quite cold here where I live) and enjoy it! If you're willing, please leave a comment, I love to read what you're thinking about the story! Thank you so much for being here!

♦♦♦

"No, no, no, no!" Hange desperately stared at her hands covered in blood, "This is not happening!" Tears were already burning her cheeks.

Lara stood up in a jump, disoriented. She grabbed her own head.

"I-Is it the placental abruption that the doctors had said?!" asked Lara, her eyes wide and feeling her heart racing wildly. Her mind was very foggy.

Hange just stared back at her, her shoulders bouncing as she cried and ran her hands over her private part again, feeling more blood flow out.

Upon seeing her mother in that state, Lara's body tingled and trembled. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"Calm down," she said to herself. "This is no time to freak out! Your mother needs you right now!"

Lara took a few deep breaths and then opened her eyes.

"Come on!" she said, firmly. "You must lie down immediately and not get up by no means!" Lara looked around, "Hang on!" She dashed off.

Hange watched her daughter quickly walk around the camp, looking for something. Seconds later, Lara came back holding a sleeping bag and some clean clothes.

"We need to change your clothes. You're still a little wet from the river and all covered in blood."

Hange was so stunned and in such despair, that she just watched her daughter undress her and put on her clean clothes as if she did that every day. Lara took her mother's wrist and concentrated.

"Your heart's racing too fast. Your blood pressure must be sky high."

Hange pressed her lips together, shedding more tears. Lara held her face with both hands.

"You're gonna make it!" she said, gazing deeply at her, "You're having this baby!" Lara finished changing Hange's clothes and tucked her inside the sleeping bag in the most comfortable position possible. "Rest now. Don't worry about anything else, just you and Tiny-Human-Bean being quiet and well," she gave her a kind smile.

Hange still looked very scared. Lara crouched beside her.

"Mom," she tried to keep a calm tone, "let's remember what the doctors said? Talking will help you relax faster."

Hange nodded, meeting her daughter's eyes. Lara took off her mother's goggles and placed them aside.

"Right," said Lara. "First, I need you to take a deep breath," Hange did it. "Good, you're doing great," Lara stroked her mother's hair and Hange asked her to hold her hand, "Now, repeat to me what we would need to do if these bleedings happened."

Hange pressed her eyes together, letting a tear fall.

"Th-The doctors said that this bleeding could really happen, yeah... And that when they happened, we should look for them immediately, because it was not a good sign..."

"Exactly," agreed Lara, nodding. "But, we cannot do that now, 'cause we're practically fugitives and we'll be in danger of being captured by the Jaëgarists. So what's 'Plan B' if we couldn't make it to the infirmary?"

"To take the medicines your father had put in the kitchen cupboard," answered Hange, "And stay on bed rest."

"Good job, Mom," Lara gave her a kind smile. "I don't think it's wise to go home right now, for it could worsen your condition. Let's wait until you get a little better. For now, we're doing 'Plan C'."

"We have a 'Plan C'?!" asked Hange, surprised.

"I had to make it up now," Lara tried to smile. "You mustn't get up from here and you need to try to stay calm," she ran a hand over her own face, "I'm sure it was because of your high blood pressure and stress that you started bleeding." Lara squeezed Hange's hand, "Tell me, how's Tiny-Human-Bean doing?"

Hange concentrated, placing her other hand on her belly.

"It's moving around a little, but it seems fine," she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," replied Lara, blinking slowly. "That's it then. Let's take it one step at a time. You now need to rest and lower your blood pressure."

With a sad smile on her lips, Hange nodded. Before Lara could get up to get another blanket for her mother, she felt her wrist being grabbed by Hange.

"Baby..." she said, with another tear coming out of her eyes, "Thank you so much... I don't know what we would do without you..." Hange then got a dark expression, "Lara... Your father and I can't act on our own anymore," she gazed at Levi, sorrowful, "Please, I beg you... Take command!"

Lara straightened her back, astonished.

"C-Command?!" she stuttered, staring at her mother, "Of... The Survey Corps?!"

Hange gave her another sad smile and felt a sob coming from her throat.

"No," she replied, convinced, "I'm asking you to take command of our lives." Hange squeezed her daughter's wrist a bit more, "Look at me, and your father... He can't make any decisions right now, and my thoughts are so troubled, I'm so distressed, that I can't think clearly either… And if I really need to be completely on bed rest now, I cannot do anything else... Please... Tell us what to do!"

Lara's eyes widened, swallowing hard. Hange looked down, sad.

"You do know that I didn't want to be the Commander... Erwin should've never chosen me…" She sighed and gazed at Lara, "Sweetheart, you know very well who should take on this role right now, don't you?" Hange pressed her lips together, "I can see now that he's the ideal person for it. He has always been."

Only one name came to Lara's mind: Armin.

She narrowed her eyes and nodded in agreement.

"You're right, Mom. I always knew he was an excellent leader. In fact, one of the best I've ever met." Lara smiled and took a deep breath, "Alright then. Let it be done as you wish."

Hange smiled in thanks, squeezing her daughter's wrist lightly.

"Okay," said Lara, tucking her mother, "Now, please try to sleep. I need to think, and pray."

Hange agreed and said that she would do the same. Moments later, her daughter placed another blanket on her. Lara changed her own clothes, which were also wet, and she couldn't believe it when she found some of the little pots of tea she had prepared for Levi in one of the tents. She made some tea and sat on the other side of the campfire, wrapped in a blanket. Only the firelight was lightening her face and a little bit of moonlight was coming into the clearing.

Everything was dark and in complete silence. Even the animals weren't making any noises.

She contemplated her father and mother lying beside the campfire. Hange was already fast asleep, with a light expression of pain still on her face. Lara looked down at her mug of tea and felt her jaw tremble, with great anguish growing inside her chest.

She looked at the engagement ring in her right hand. Slowly, Lara brought it close to her mouth and gave it a soft kiss.

"How I wish you were here, babe..." she thought, downcast. "I wonder where you are..."

Taking a deep breath, she took off the blanket and placed the mug on the grass.

Lara knelt down, prostrating her head on the ground.

"Please..." she whispered, now gazing up at the sky, "What should I do? If I make the wrong decision, it could be fatal for my family..." The stars flashed above, "I really need Your guidance... Please..."

Lara closed her eyes, resting her hands on her knees.

And then it began.

A gentle breeze passed over her face.

Lara smiled.

She had already felt that feeling at some moments during her life. One of them was when Levi came to comfort her on that stormy day when they had ended their research on Armin's Titan curse.

Slowly, her body began to tingle, from head to toe. Lara felt a welcoming ember slowly burn, first in her chest and then, spreading to every part of her body. Her heart began to beat at a very cozy pace.

Lara felt as if a flame was burning inside her, stronger than the fire right next to her, but it didn't hurt at all, on the contrary, it seemed to heal every wound and affliction she was feeling at that moment.

In silence, Lara shed heavy tears, as warm as the heat inside her body. A feeling of deep love grew so immensely within her heart, that she thought it was going to explode. Lara felt embraced. She began to chuckle softly, pressing her hands to her chest.

I can't tell you how long she stayed there, enjoying every second of that presence. What I can say is that when it was done, Lara gazed at her parents with a very determined expression.

She already knew what to do.

♦♦♦

Lara woke up feeling the ground shake beneath her.

She had been lying next to her mother. Now, Hange was the filling of the Ackerman Family's sandwich.

Lara looked up at the sky and noticed the sun rising through the giant trees. She guessed it must be around eight o'clock in the morning. She looked at her parents, who were still asleep.

Apparently, neither of them had noticed the strange shake in the ground. In silence, Lara got up and gently placed her hand on Hange's belly and thanked at feeling the baby moving slowly. She washed her face with water and ate some mint tea leaves from Levi's little pots to get rid of her bad breath. When she went to check on her parents again, she heard the sound of some branches breaking in the distance, in the direction they had come from the river.

In a furtive way, Lara picked up the rifle and began to walk slowly in that direction. She walked a few meters through the trees, her weapon ready in case there were any enemies nearby.

CREC! Another branch broke. This time, the sound seemed to be closer.

Lara turned quickly, feeling her breath become nervous. She walked a little further and then saw a large silhouette ahead of her. In fact, it looked like two silhouettes, hidden by the shadows of the pines.

In one swift movement, Lara jumped in front of those two silhouettes, her rifle ready to fire.

"Stop right there!" she exclaimed, frowning. However, her face soon turned to one of perplexity, as Lara recognized who those silhouettes were.

It was Armin and a horse. He was holding it by the reins.

Without even thinking, Armin already had his hands in the air, surrendering. When he realized that the person threatening him was his fiancée, he too opened his mouth in surprise. At the same time, they both exclaimed:

"Babe?!"

They stared at each other in amazement for a few seconds, not believing that the other was there in front of them. Then, like lightning, Lara slung the rifle across her back and Armin let go of the horse's reins, and they ran to meet each other.

They gave themselves a very strong and tight hug. When they realized that they were both safe and sound, they began to cry. Their shoulders bounced as one's face was buried in the other's neck.

"I was so afraid of not finding you and your parents!" said Armin, holding behind his fiancée's head.

They drew apart and held their faces with their hands, analyzing the details of each other's faces. Tears streamed down their cheeks.

"I-I still can't believe you're here…" said Lara, as she ran her fingers over Armin's face. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming!"

To show her that this was the purest reality, Armin grabbed her waist with one hand and the back of her head with the other, pulling her in for a kiss. Lara wrapped her arms around his neck. Their hearts pounded as they tasted each other, while their heads moved.

When they were done, each wiped the other's tears. Armin ran his hands all over Lara's face as if he wanted to make sure she didn't have any injuries.

"Are you okay, my love?!" he asked, worried. "What happened to you and your mom?!" He got an angry expression, "Tell me if that Floch bastard did you any harm!"

"No, no..." replied Lara, shaking her head, "Don't worry about that. Floch didn't dare lay another finger on me."

He sighed in relief, huffing. Armin then took his fiancée's hands, kissing them.

"But what happened?!" he was wide-eyed. "Zeke is in Shiganshina, turned into the Beast Titan! I thought the worst could've happened to you, Hange, and Levi!" Armin pressed his eyes together in affliction.

Quickly, Lara told him everything that had happened, since she had found her father almost dead, until now. In the end, Armin had an expression of pure astonishment on his face.

"B-But, how are they now?!" he asked in anguish. "Levi and Hange?! And the baby?!"

"I can't tell you if they're fine or not..." answered Lara, sighing with sadness. "Both are completely weakened. I'm really scared my father has a crippled leg now. My mother needs her medicine with extreme urgency! From what I could see, I believe Tiny-Human-Bean is holding on tight, but my mother can't make any effort, she needs to stay on bed rest. Her pregnancy condition is very critical!"

Armin looked down at his feet, stunned.

"God..." he whispered. Armin raised his head, gazing worriedly at his fiancée, "Well, I don't think the three of you will be able to come fight with us, then...

Lara straightened her back, frowning.

"Fight?!" she asked, confused. "What do you mean?" Lara then got an expression of fear, "B-Babe, please don't tell me these ground shakes have something to do with it?"

"You were able to feel them from here?!" asked Armin in surprise.

"You didn't feel them?!"

"I was so distressed to find you all, that I couldn't notice," he replied, with an expression of pain. "Besides, I was mounted on the horse too..."

Lara shook her head and hands.

"But wait, Armin! Tell me what on earth is going on!"

He ran a hand over his face, anguished. Then, Armin gripped his fiancée's arms, shaking them lightly.

"We're being attacked right now!" he widened his eyes, "Armed Forces from different parts of the world are now with their ships docked in our port, invading our island to attack us! Dozens of Marley's airships are flying over Shiganshina, and Eren is fighting the Armored Titan and the Jaw Titan! Those ground shakes must be from their fight! Shiganshina's turned into hell!"

Lara covered her mouth, terrified.

"Mikasa, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Niccolo, and I were trapped when the battle started. Onyankopon came to release us to help Eren and Zeke! I left everything in Jean's charge and came here as fast as I could to look for the three of you, and then return. Your help would be of great value."

"Wh-What?!" asked Lara, astonished. "But, Onyankopon hadn't been arrested along with you?!"

"He had to pretend he was on Yelena's side," Armin lowered his head, "Onyankopon told us he was afraid to die…" He looked back at his fiancée, "But he apologized for his failure."

Lara stared worriedly at Armin.

"But why do you guys need to help Eren and Zeke?!" she raised her hands in indignation, "I don't understand!"

Armin took a deep breath, organizing the thoughts in his mind.

"When we were in prison, Yelena finally told us what Zeke's real plan is. He wants to use the power of the Coordinate with Eren, so they can do a sort of a 'sterilization' on all Eldians."

"What do you mean?!" asked Lara, confused.

"Zeke wants to make sure that no more Eldian can have children," answered Armin, seriously. "That way, in a matter of about a century, no Eldian will exist anymore, and no Titan either, consequently..."

Lara felt chills.

"B-But that's absurd!" she exclaimed. "He cannot just decide to wipe out an entire People like that! That's not how you solve things! In fact, this plan doesn't even make sense in the long run. Will the Eldians just stay here, waiting to die? If we don't have young people among us, what future will we have? Who will protect the island, for example? Or does Zeke think a bunch of old men will join our Armed Forces and defend their country from any possible attacks? Our horses will be wheelchairs and our swords will be walking sticks for the elderly!"

"Exactly!" replied Armin, his eyebrows raised. "We agreed with Onyankopon that we would only cooperate with Zeke and Eren because they're fighting against Marley, who is attacking Shiganshina with full force at this very moment! But we also do not agree with the 'sterilization' plan. Children are the future!" He pressed his lips together, "Oh, by the way... If anyone says anything about me crying when Yelena told us about Zeke's plan, I only did that to try to gain her trust, okay? Please don't think I was agreeing with her." Armin blushed, looking away, "I-I still wanna have those four kids with you..." He looked back at her, shyly.

Lara blushed as well, but couldn't hold back a little smile. She stroked his face.

"It's alright, babe. Don't worry. I also want it, very much," she then got back into having an apprehensive expression, squeezing her fiancé's hand, "But, Armin, do you think this is also Eren's true intention? Does he agree with Zeke?"

"To be honest, I don't know..." Armin pressed his lips together, holding his head, "Baby... I-I'm so confused about Eren..." He gazed at her with tears in his eyes, "I don't say anything to Mikasa, but… I confess that I have a certain fear inside me…" Lara stroked his face once more, with compassion.

Then, Armin got a firm gaze.

"But, I still have faith that Eren is on our side and will help us with a good plan! I believe he had to go along with Zeke's strategy because he had no other choice," Armin again gripped her arms and squeezed them lightly, "Think about it, Lara. Right now, Eren needs to use the Rumbling, because Armed Forces from around the world are literally here, on our beach, ready to destroy us! If he releases the Colossal Titans that only dwell inside the Walls surrounding Shiganshina, that's enough for us to defeat these enemies! There's no need for more than that! And then, we'll be safe, and I doubt anyone else will want to attack us again, for many years to come! This attack will simply be in our self-defense, nothing more!"

Lara felt her entire body tremble with that great amount of information and her eyes watered. Armin was gazing at her with hope, and she couldn't help but feel a tightness in her chest at the sight of her fiancé's state. Then, slowly, she held his face.

"Babe..." said Lara, trying to be as kind as possible, "I understand what you mean and, if Eren uses the Rumbling just to defend us from this attack that's happening now, it makes perfect sense. However…" she pressed her lips together and tried to hold back her tears, but she didn't stop gazing at him steadily, "I'm sorry to tell you, but I don't believe that's Eren's plan."

He straightened his back, eyes widening.

"Wh-What do you mean?" asked Armin, swallowing hard.

Lara ran a hand over her face, trying to choose her words, and took a deep breath. She gripped her fiancé's hands.

"Armin, listen to me..." she gazed at him with those big blue eyes, "Eren is a vindictive person. He acts a lot out of emotion, even if it harms other people. Look at the massacre he's done in Liberio! That's why we're being attacked now, and you haven't even turned into the Colossal Titan back then, imagine if you had! Again, I'm so sorry... And it's with a heavy heart that I tell you that I do not believe Eren will use the Rumbling to release just a few Colossal Titans to defend us from this attack..."

"Why?" asked Armin in affliction, "What do you think Eren will do?"

Lara looked down at her feet and felt a tightness in her chest. Then, she raised her eyes to gaze at her fiancé.

"In my opinion - and I hope I'm very wrong - Eren will do whatever he wants to put an end to all threats against our Eldian People and the island of Paradis. I say that Eren is capable of even exterminating everything that exists beyond our land," Lara felt a shiver through her body and grimaced, "I don't even like to imagine that possibility. I confess that I'm exaggerating, a lot... But, I have a bad feeling..."

Armin almost jumped back, so startled he got.

"No way!" he exclaimed in complete indignancy. "I-I don't believe Eren's capable of that! Come on, baby... He's Eren! I know him!"

In the calmest possible way, Lara held Armin's face, gazing deeply at him.

"Are you sure you really know him, babe? Don't you remember what he said when we saw the Ocean for the first time?" She looked at him with sadness, "I remember pretty well. He pointed to the horizon and said: 'There... If we kill all our enemies on the other side, will we finally be free?'. If we're going to consider that a good part of the world hates us, don't you think Eren would do something like that to finally be able to have that freedom he craves so much?!"

Armin widened his eyes and felt a bitter taste in his mouth, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. He started shaking his head in denial, with tears in his eyes.

"No... No..." he said, waving his hands. Armin gripped his hair and turned around, completely stunned. "I'm sorry, baby. But you're wrong! Eren wouldn't do that!"

Lara gazed at him with compassion.

"I do hope I'm wrong," she blinked slowly. "Really."

Armin's chest rose and fell in nervousness and he clasped his hands in front of his mouth, biting his own fingers. His foot tapped wildly on the grass. He seemed to be experiencing a great internal conflict. In a sudden movement, Armin turned to Lara, gripping her shoulders.

"Baby, come on!" he exclaimed, with an expression of agony, "Eren--"

At that second, they both got a big fright at seeing a flock of birds fly off and chirp loudly above their heads.

Then, the ground began to shake intensely and a loud noise was heard. Lara and Armin grasped each other, completely confused. The ground was shaking so much that they nearly fell. Even the horse next to them was startled.

"Wh-What's going on?!" exclaimed Lara, frightened.

"I-I don't know!" replied Armin, raising his voice above the noise. "Is it some special kind of Marleyan bomb?!"

"Let's go to the river!" said Lara, holding him by the arms. "We can have a better view from there and see Shiganshina from afar!"

Armin nodded and staggering, they ran through the tall pines until they reached the river. When they narrowed their eyes to see into the distance, they couldn't believe what they saw.

The Colossal Titans that were within the Walls had been released. They were walking slowly in a certain direction. Lara and Armin almost felt their hearts stop when they saw that, between them, a creature was rising up, three or four times bigger than all the Colossal Titans, completely made of bones and that walked grotesquely, looking like a gigantic sea urchin. Gray smoke rose to the skies everywhere.

It was a terrible creature. Worthy of the worst possible nightmares.

"Wh-Wh-What is th-th-that thing?!" stuttered Lara, taking Armin's hand, who squeezed it back. Both were completely colorless and seemed to no longer feel the ground under their feet.

"I-I don't know..." whispered Armin, eyes wide. He then put his hand on his forehead, "W-Wait... I-Is that what I'm th-thinking?!"

Lara turned to him.

"What are you thinking?!" she asked in agony.

"Th-That thing..." Armin pointed to the huge creature, "Can only be... Eren!"

Lara couldn't reply to him at first. She was totally speechless. Her eyes stared at that terrifying sight in front of her: several Colossal Titans walking slowly beside that creature.

"Wh-What?!" Lara was shaking all over, "E-Eren?! How come?"

Armin slowly nodded in confirmation, also staring in horror at all those huge beings.

"Yeah..." he replied, almost in a whisper, "It can only be him..."

Lara was startled to see Armin jump as if he had been shocked. He quickly turned to her.

"Baby!!! Now I get it! Eren got the Coordinate! That thing over there is really him! Those Colossal Titans... This is the Rumbling!" Armin gripped his fiancée's shoulder, giving her a hopeful smile, "He's going to fight the Armed Forces on the beach! He's going to defend us! See, he released the Titans from the Wall of Shiganshina! Eren is on our side!!! He didn't use Zeke's plan!"

Lara was being shaken by a completely desperate Armin and she just stared at him, with an expression of pure terror on her face.

"Right, baby?!" asked Armin, his eyes red with tears.

Lara then started looking around and, to her utter desperation, she realized that there were far more Colossal Titans than just the amount that was inside the Walls of Shiganshina.

"A-Armin..." she stuttered, pale, pointing to the Colossal Titans, "Look at that... I don't think Eren only released the ones from Shiganshina..."

Now that he paid close attention, Armin felt like his heart was going to stop right there. When he opened his mouth to reply to her, they both felt as if they had been hit by an electric current in their bodies, and they both put their hands on their heads, staring at a fixed point.

"HEAR ME, ALL SUBJECTS OF YMIR."

Lara and Armin stared at each other, completely terrified.

"Wh-What?!" asked Armin, getting closer to Lara, wrapping her in his arms, "Did you hear that?!"

"I-Is this... Eren's voice?!" she exclaimed, staring at her fiancé in astonishment.

As they faced each other in terror, the voice echoed in their minds once more:

"MY NAME IS EREN JAËGER. I NOW SPEAK TO ALL THE SUBJECTS OF YMIR THROUGH THE POWER OF THE FOUNDING TITAN."

Armin and Lara squeezed themselves even tighter. Their bodies were shaking uncontrollably.

"EVERY WALL ON THE ISLAND OF PARADIS HAS BEEN UNHARDENED. ALL OF THE TITANS THAT DWELL WITHIN THEM HAVE BEGUN TO WALK. I REPEAT, ALL WALLS, NO EXCEPTION."

Lara and Armin opened their mouths in complete terror. They lost the color in their faces.

"MY GOAL," continued Eren's voice, "IS TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF PARADIS, WHERE I WAS BORN AND RAISED. BUT THE WORLD DESIRES OUR EXTINCTION. OVER COUNTLESS YEARS, THEIR HATRED HAS GROWN BEYOND THIS ISLAND. THEY SURELY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THEY HAVE KILLED EVERY ONE OF THE SUBJECTS OF YMIR. I REJECT THEIR DESIRE."

Armin and Lara stared at each other, their eyes watering with fear. They could feel their hearts pounding in their ears.

"THE TITANS OF THE WALLS WILL TRAMPLE AND RUMBLE ALL THE LANDS BEYOND THIS ISLAND. UNTIL THE LIVES THERE ARE ELIMINATED FROM THIS WORLD."

Silence.

The only thing that could be heard was the light flow of the river and the distant footsteps of the Colossal Titans.

Staring at a fixed point and still embracing each other, slowly, Lara and Armin fell to the ground. They had no more strength in their legs. They remained quiet for a few seconds until Armin began to whisper:

"No, no, no... It can't be true... I don't believe it..." He turned to Lara, squeezing her lightly, "Please tell me I'm just going nuts... That I did not hear Eren say those things..."

Lara stared at him in perplexity.

"N-No..." she replied, almost in a whisper, "You're not going nuts… I heard everything clearly too…"

They both stared at each other for a few more seconds, with an expression of intense horror. They got a big fright when they heard a voice shout from inside the forest:

"LARA! Baby, where are you?!"

"It's my mother's voice!" exclaimed Lara, squeezing Armin's hand, "Let's go!"

She had to pull him, because Armin looked to be in a trance, staring at a fixed point, completely pale. Lara also had to guide him through the trees, for his mind no longer seemed to be there.

When they arrived at the camp, she noticed that Hange was propped up on her elbow, but still lying down.

"Mom!" exclaimed Lara, running towards her. Then, as she approached, she saw that Levi was also awake, trying to sit up, "DADDY!!!"

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she knelt beside him and pulled him into a tight hug, making him grunt in pain, as he couldn't speak, due to practically his entire face being bandaged and with stitches in his mouth.

"Oh! Forgive me!" exclaimed Lara, inspecting every inch of Levi. "I was so terrified, scared of losing you--" she couldn't finish her words and burst into tears, lowering her head.

With his good hand, Levi affectionately took his daughter's face and lifted it up, wiping her tears away. He did his best to give her a smile, which was only visible to Lara by seeing his one apparent eye squint a little. She gently held his face.

"Daddy... Tell me, how are you doing?"

Levi got a painful expression and made a negative sign with his good hand, then straightened his back as he noticed his son-in-law standing behind his daughter. Hange's mouth dropped open.

"A-Armin?!" she exclaimed in surprise. "Y-You found us!"

Now that he saw the real state of his in-laws, Armin seemed to come to his senses. He crouched on the ground beside Lara, gently squeezing Levi's arm and giving his other hand to Hange, who leaned over to take it. Armin felt a big lump in his throat and his eyes watered.

"I heard what happened to you…" he said, pressing his lips together. "I was so worried!"

While Hange thanked her son-in-law for his affection, Lara gave another painkiller to Levi, who seemed to be in a lot of pain and a little feverish, and returned to crouch beside Armin. Hange gripped her daughter's arm, lightly shaking it.

"Baby! Your father and I woke up with Eren's voice in our head!" She widened her eyes, stunned, "I-Is it true what we heard?! Please tell us it was just a nightmare..."

Lara and Armin lowered their heads, extremely sad.

"Yes..." confirmed Lara, in a whisper, "We heard it too… In fact, I believe every Eldian heard it…"

Hange covered her mouth and even Levi rubbed his hand on his forehead.

"S-So it means that..." Hange felt her body shake and held her belly, "Eren is literally going to... Kill... Everybody?"

Armin didn't say anything. Now that they were back on that matter, he seemed to return to his trance-like state, staring at a fixed point. Lara slowly nodded.

"It seems that..." she said, anguished, "Eren wanted to exterminate all our enemies, but now it seems that he wants to exterminate the entire human race..."

Levi rested his forehead on his hand, downcast.

"B-But..." continued Hange, stuttering, "Th-That's... Genocide!"

Everyone was silent, trying to process that information.

"E-Excuse me..." whispered Armin, looking at the three of them, with a dreary expression. "I-I... I need some time..." He stood up, turning his back and walking away.

Lara, Hange, and Levi looked at each other, quite worried.

"I'll talk to him," said Lara. "Poor Armin..." she sniffled in sadness.

"Yes, baby..." agreed Hange, squeezing her lightly, "Go there... I'll stay here with your father." Hange stroked her husband's hair, who blinked slowly with his good eye.

Before Lara stood up, Levi took her by the arm, facing her. He nodded and with his eye, he said, "Thank you so much for taking care of me."

Lara gave him a sad smile and kissed his forehead, which was very hot.

"I'm glad and relieved that you woke up, Daddy. Now, rest. And Mom... You too. Try to stay calm and keep lying down."

Levi and Hange nodded. They obviously would not be able to sleep under the circumstances they were in, because until to that moment, they were feeling the ground shaking violently underneath them, due to the big and strong steps of the Colossal Titans, who were now walking around the island. But at least they both went back to lying down, facing each other.

Lara walked over to Armin, who was standing at the edge of the clearing, his face buried in his hands. As she approached, Lara noticed his shoulders bouncing. Slowly, she wrapped him in her arms and he cried, a lot. Armin sobbed and Lara gently stroked his back and hair.

"I feel so sorry that you're going through this, babe..." she whispered, "I cannot imagine your pain..."

"I-I'm feeling betrayed!" exclaimed Armin. "You were right! I thought I knew Eren! But I did not!" He gripped Lara's arms, "Baby, he wants to kill all humanity! What madness is this?!?!"

"And to think I was exaggerating when I said that…" muttered Lara, her eyes widening. Then, she took her fiancé's face, wiping his tears with her thumbs, "Babe... Forgive me for saying that, but... Maybe Eren has always been like that. We just didn't see it... Or rather, we didn't want to see..."

Armin let out a lament from his throat, covering his face and slowly nodding.

"Mikasa once told me that..." he suddenly raised his head, frowning, "Why do Titans exist, after all?!" asked Armin, irritated and his eyes red. He rested his forehead on Lara's shoulder and began to cry softly again. She embraced him and wet her lips. Lara was thoughtful for a few seconds, and then she made him look at her.

"Imagine that..." began Lara, taking her fiance's chin, "The power of the Titans is like an... Axe."

Armin was frowning, trying to follow Lara's line of thought.

"An axe?!" he asked, confused, Why?!"

"That's right. See... When we have an ax in our hands, we have the power to choose what to do with it, don't we? We can use the axe to cut down some trees and make a beautiful house, just like the one we want to build for when we get married, or…" Lara pressed her lips together, "We can use it to cut someone's head off."

Armin was gazing at her, his chest rising and falling.

"In this very weird comparison, the power of the Titans is like this axe." She sighed, "Look, we don't know how our ancestor Ymir got her powers and under what circumstances... But, she or even the people who acted behind her, dunno, they could have chosen to use this incredible power for good, like building wonderful cities, bridges, anyway... Helping other people, for real. But as far as we know, that's not what our ancestors chose to do."

Armin looked down at his feet and pressed his eyes together.

"Remember," added Lara, squeezing his shoulder, "We can receive the tools, but it's up to us to decide what to do with them. Now, if people have used the power of the Titans for evil, that says a lot about who we are. If our Creator really gave the power of the Titans to Ymir, it was to show us how needy we are for redemption, because it was right there that we showed our true nature. Or He just had nothing to do with it, and Ymir got her powers by pure coincidence…" Lara sighed, looking tired, "In one way or another, the ones who used the power for evil were the human beings."

Slowly, Armin raised his eyes to his fiancée and nodded. After a few seconds, he replied:

"You're right, my love..." Armin paused and sighed. "I wonder how Mikasa is doing..."

"I'm sure she needs you a lot right now," replied Lara, squeezing his hands. "Look at me... I say this from the bottom of my heart… I don't believe Eren has stopped loving you two. He may be making the worst decision ever right now, but I feel that, deep down, he just wanted to give a good future to you, Mikasa, and all of us, his friends and the Eldian People. But unfortunately, Eren had chosen the worst way to give us that." Lara held Armin's face, "All I wanted most was to see him and Mikasa together and happy, just as we both are, despite the circumstances in which we're going through… Who knows, we might even have had a double wedding!" They couldn't help but chuckle and gradually stopped, "However, Eren didn't choose this path..."

Armin let his face be held by his fiancée's hands, looking very downcast. Lara then took his chin and gazed deeply at him.

"Babe, you know what you gotta do."

Armin lowered his head again, pressing his lips together.

"Just think about it," continued Lara in affliction, "Eren said he'll make the Colossal Titans trample the whole world. Do you really think these Titans will deflect the Eldians who live as refugees in other countries? What about the other nations that simply have nothing to do with our war? The ones that don't hate us? They are a few, but they're still out there, about to be wiped out just the same! Besides, we here on the island can also be trampled to death, because I don't think the Colossal Titans will also deflect the people who live here inside the Walls. They'll simply step on everything on their way!"

Armin felt a chill down his spine as he realized those details. He suddenly lifted his head.

"I gotta stop him, don't I?" asked Armin, with tears in his eyes. "I gotta kill him..."

Lara set her jaw and swallowed hard.

"Yes. And I'm very sorry for that. Like it or not, I lived with Eren for many years and I can't help but feel great pain in my heart. I also have affection for him, despite everything he's done and is doing… I so wish everything had been different…" she sighed in melancholy.

Grimacing as in pain, Armin looked down at his feet. Then, he felt Lara grip both his shoulders tightly.

"Raise your head, Commander!"

He stared at her, astonished.

"Wh-What did you say? Commander?!"

To his surprise, Lara gave him a bold little smile.

"I know how much you suffered for being chosen in Erwin's place, don't you? That Floch bastard insisted on spitting that in your face when we got back from Shiganshina, remember? I saw in your eyes how unworthy you felt to have lived instead of him, isn't it?"

Armin felt his eyes burn and his chest tighten. With his head down, he nodded in agreement.

"But you're wrong!" Lara deeply gazed at him with firmness. "You're not unworthy! On the contrary, you're an honorable man! If there is anyone who deserved to take that serum, it was you!"

He gazed at her in complete bewilderment. Lara took his chin and lifted it, causing Armin to look at her from above.

"That's how I wanna see you. With your head up!"

Armin was so stunned that he couldn't help but give a little shy smile. Lara pointed at her parents by the campfire. The couple was lying facing each other, caressing their faces. You could see that Hange had tears running down her cheeks, gazing at her husband with the purest expression of affection.

"My parents are totally dependent on me right now. My mother is no longer able to be the Commander." Lara took Armin's face with both hands and got closer, "From now on, Armin Arlert, you are the Commander of the Survey Corps. Go and do what has to be done! Save humanity from Eren's extermination!"

He widened his eyes, mouth agape. At first, Armin was very tense, but gradually, his limbs relaxed and a new shy smile formed on his face. He blushed.

"My love..." said Armin, now holding his fiancée's face with both hands and slowly getting closer, "Thank you so much."

Armin pulled her up and pressed his lips against hers in a long, soft peck kiss.

"I love you," he whispered, their foreheads touching.

"I love you too," Lara gave a little smile, feeling the warmth of her fiancé.

"But..." said Armin, both of them with their eyes closed, "I think you're the one who should be the Commander..."

"Excuse me?!" Lara straightened up, her hands on her hips, "God forbid! I want peace in my life, no freaking way!"

They both chuckled. Armin took her hands.

"But, what about you? What are you gonna do?"

Lara turned and looked at her parents once more, who were now watching them. She gave a sad smile and looked back into Armin's blue eyes.

"The time has come for me to repay everything my parents have done for me."