"Oh no, oh no! My device can only take one child away! Eren… Mikasa…"
Hannes's voice trembled. He looked between the two children in his arms, torn by an impossible choice.
Which life to save?
Before he could decide, Zeke had already acted. He gently lowered Carla to the ground, turned, and hefted the massive anti-Titan rifle once more.
Ahead of them, the Titan—his Titan, his mother—squatted low, eyes glinting with that grotesque smile.
The air itself seemed to thrum with menace. Everyone trapped in the narrow alley felt the pressure, their breath catching in terror.
Hannes panicked, fired his maneuver gear—and missed the anchor point completely. The hook clattered uselessly against the stone.
His shoulders slumped. "So sad…"
Zeke ignored him. His gaze stayed fixed on Dina Fritz.
The familiar face, once warm with love, now frozen in a mindless leer, cut through him. His chest ached with memory—her gentle touch, her voice, her care. A mother's love that had once been as steady as the sun.
He whispered under his breath, as if to anchor himself: She used to be kind… passionate… careful.
Just like Carla is to Eren. She was a mother too.
But now that mother had become the monster threatening them all.
For a fleeting second, he remembered his childhood, whispering to his grandfather as the sun dipped low
"This candy is for Dana. I want to bring my father and mother back…"
That dream had followed him all his life. He had even thought of stealing the Titans from the young Warriors, one by one, just to return her humanity.
Would he have chosen Reiner? The Armored Titan was strong, invincible in his plated hide. But to give that to his mother? It felt cruel. She would be trapped in a body that broke against walls and teeth.
Bertolt?
The Colossal Titan loomed too high, a tower above the world. But his mother was afraid of heights. That curse would have been unbearable.
Annie? The Female Titan at least matched her form. That might have worked. Yet Annie's power required agility, speed—qualities his mother never possessed. But what did that matter, if it meant she could come back to him?
He had considered them all, endless excuses spinning in his mind.
But none of those fantasies mattered anymore.
Because here she was, before him, and the only way to protect Carla—Eren—everyone—was to pull the trigger.
Tears stung his eyes, blurring his vision. His finger shook on the trigger.
"Bang!"
The gun roared.
That terrible smile vanished in the explosion, along with the fragile dream he had nursed for years. The "layout for the future" shattered in the smoke of his own rifle.
If he couldn't wake Aeida's conscience by shouting, then he would destroy it outright.
He had promised: "No matter what means, I will stop you."
The rifle cracked again. "Bang!"
This time he aimed not at Dina's body, but at the open ground beside her. The bullet struck exactly where he remembered—the place where the unseen Aeida always lingered, giving orders from the shadows.
Whether Eren's older self was there or not, the message was clear.
I will fight you. No matter what it costs.
Even if it means sniping my own mother.
Even if it means killing the very future you built.
As Dina's Titan collapsed, the path forward changed. The cycle had broken.
And yet—Zeke felt no triumph.
Only emptiness.
The cheers that followed stabbed at his ears.
"So awesome! Brother Zeke killed the giant!" little Eren shouted, joy bursting out of him.
"The gun that kills Titans… you're the hero the Survey Corps spoke of!" Hannes's voice cracked with hope, awe shining in his eyes.
None of them knew what it had cost him. None of them could.
Zeke bit down his grief, wiped the tears from his cheeks, and stood tall. His voice was cold, steady:
"Let's go."
"Yeah!" Relief swept through the survivors. They rushed after him, eager to escape.
Then they froze.
"Ah!" Mikasa gasped, covering her eyes.
Carla blushed furiously, spinning her head away.
And Eren—never subtle—pointed straight at him and shouted, "Brother Zeke isn't wearing pants!"
Zeke stiffened.
Slowly, dreadfully, he looked down.
The truth hit him like lightning.
No wonder the cold air bit at his legs—he really was naked from the waist down. His regeneration had mended his body, but clothing never returned.
Half his body had been crushed earlier, and with it, his pants.
Now he was running bare through Shiganshina with Carla in his arms.
"Do you have to say it out loud?!" Zeke snapped, clutching at his shirt and yanking it down to cover himself. His face burned with shame.
Eren crossed his arms. "You were loud enough when you scolded me!"
Zeke gaped, speechless. That was for your older self, idiot!
Before he could retort, Hannes coughed into his fist, blushing. With sudden determination, he stripped off his own trousers—revealing ridiculous yellow chicken-print shorts underneath—and handed the pants over.
"Hero or not, it's indecent to parade around like that," Hannes muttered, red-faced.
Zeke yanked them on without hesitation, adjusting the waistband. They fit poorly. He glanced down with disdain.
"Small."
"You little brat!" Hannes roared. "If you hate them, give them back! And don't spread rumors about size!"
For once, Zeke held his tongue. The fury radiating from Hannes almost made him smile. Strange as it was, letting the man stew in anger eased his own pain.
Zeke exhaled, steadied himself, and reached for little Eren's hand. His voice was calm again: "Let's go."
Without looking back, he led Carla, Eren, Mikasa, and Hannes out of the alley. Step by step, away from the nightmare.
He wondered if the older Eren—the Aeida who haunted these moments—was still here, still watching.
But deep in his gut, Zeke knew the truth.
The future had already changed.
..
Far behind them, where they dared not look, the Eren Titan stirred.
The body lay broken, head severed… yet the eyes rolled faintly, still following their retreating forms.
And from that ruined mouth, a whisper almost too soft to hear:
"Zeke…"
...
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