Chapter 44

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-Reiner POV-

4 years had passed since I had left Paradis Island. 4 years since everything went to hell.
And we were fighting another war... with people we didn't know...
After the people who were injected with Zeke's spinal fluid jumped out of the ship and they transformed into Titans, I jumped out of the airship.

'The bombardment was effective. But due to the height they were dropped from, roughly half of the Titans deployed were killed on impact. The enemy still has a number of anti-Titan cannons. 28, 29... I know how many and where they are now. Still... another wall... I'm sick and tired of all these walls...'

I cut my hand with the knife and remembered the time I spent inside the walls with the people on Paradis.
With Nora...

-Nora POV-
-Meanwhile on Paradis-

"Eren did what now?" I said when we were gathered at the port.
It was mine and Armin's favourite place...
"He went to Marley undercover..." said Armin and I kicked a chair away.

"Damn it!" I shouted. "That stupid idiotic... idiot!"
"We'll have to get him back" said Hanji.
"No shit, genius!" I said and my father laid his hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Elly. It's not Hanji's fault" he said and I sighed.
"Mikasa, don't be angry when I kick Eren's ass when we have him back" I said and she looked away.

Even she didn't know what was going on in Eren's head these days... he had become a stranger. Everything had changed in these past 4 years...

New discoveries, people who changed, people we lost,...
"Let's get the brat back. Everybody, get ready to go to Marley. Hanji, prepare the airship with Onyonkapon" said dad.

"Yes, sir" said everybody and we began to prepare for a battle we knew was coming.
Because Eren didn't give us any choice...

-Reiner POV-

We returned back home, back to Libero.
Where my mom and aunt were waiting for us.
I was worried about Gabi... the way she was going, she was going to inherit my Titan...

"Reiner" it was my mother. "You must be exhausted. Let's get you home so you can rest"
"Hey, mom. A little rest sounds good" I said and followed her home.
I touched the necklace where I had put some hair from Nora in it. I had cut a little piece from her hair when I tried to get her to Marley.
And one day, I'll bring her here.

Gabi told the story of how she was the hero of the ending of the war.
"And it landed exactly where I aimed it! And blew the train right off its tracks! I actually pulled it off! But as I was running back to the trenches, the enemy shot a machine gun at me and just when I was about to eat lead, Mr. Galliard jumped out of nowhere and protected me with his Jaw Titan" she said proudly.

"That's amazing, Gabi" said Aunt.
"Sounds like a lot of soldiers owe their lives to your bravery" said Uncle. "Our little girl has grown into an Eldian hero"
"We couldn't be more prouder of you, dear" said Aunt.

"Reiner" said mom. "Do you think Gabi will become a warrior like you?"
"Yeah, after what she pulled off in the last mission, she's all but guaranteed to inherit my armour" I said.

"That's wonderful to hear" said mom. "To think that our family will be blessed with 2 warriors. It's such a rare honour. I just hope you'll find to rid the world of Island devils. After that, our people will be able to live good lives"

"How could I hate someone I don't even know?" I remembered the first time Nora said that to me, the hope in her eyes, her smile...
"Say, Reiner" said Uncle and I snapped out of the memory. "Not to pry, but I hear you barely escaped from those devils with your life"

"Leave Reiner alone, dad" said Gabi. "His time on that island isn't some light hearted war story. Those devils put him through hell"
'Not all of them'

"So even if it wasn't classified, there's no way it would be something he would want to talk about" she said.
"You're right" said Uncle. "Sorry, nephew. Forgive me"

"No. I can tell you some things" I said. "As you know I infiltrated their military. As expected, they acted like devils. Almost each of them was savage and cruel. During our induction, one devil started eating a potato, when the instructor yelled at her, she told him without hesitation that she stole it 'cause it looked good. She knew she'd crossed the line, so she bribed the instructor. By offering half of the potato. However, the half she offered him was visibly smaller than her half. They don't even know what compromise means there. Each of them was more hopeless than the last. There was one guy so stupid he'd forget why he had gotten into the bathroom, an insincere jerk who only thought about himself, a soft hearted oaf who only thought about others, a strange haired girl with the purest heart who looked for her father who abandoned her, a brave but single minded fool and a bunch of chumps who followed his lead. Alongside those different people, stood me and my comrades. The time that we spent there was truly hell"

I noticed that I had gone too far when I saw my mother's face.
"I said way too much. Forget it" I said and my mother walked away from the table to close the window.
"What do you mean by different people?" asked Gabi. "They're bad people, right?"

"Of course they are, Gabi" said mom. "They're all devils and they're holding this whole world by the throat. They could unleash their army of huge Titans at any moment, and crush us all beneath their feet. They aren't anything like you and me. We are good Eldians and we have to stop them. We have to punch the wicked Eldians who abandoned us. Who fled and built themselves a paradise. On top of a mountain of corpses"

"There was one girl" I began and they all looked at me. "The girl with the strangest hair. It was grey. Her name is Nora. She was the one person who wasn't a devil. She was the only one who kept me sane in that place. She wasn't like the other devils. She was a good Eldian. And before you think she tricked me, she didn't. Even after she found out that we weren't from Paradis, she looked at me with care in her eyes. One of her birthparents must've been from Marley"

"Then you were lucky to have encountered her" said Aunt.
"Yes, I had hoped to bring her here with me. But the people on Paradis wouldn't let her leave" I said, it wasn't a total lie. As long as Nora her family was on that island, she'll never come here willingly.

Which is why I searched through every file I could that Marley had about missing people or people that Marley had sent out with strange hair.
And I found her mother...
"Sarah Silva"

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