Chapter Text
I WATCHED WITH GLAZED-OVER EYES AS YOUR NIGHTMARE DESCENDED UPON THE WORLD.
I FELT THE GROUND RUMBLE WITH YOUR HATE.
I HEARD THE FOOTSTEPS ECHO LIKE AN UNENDING, CATACLYSMIC THUNDERSTORM.
I DID NOTHING.
BUT THEN I CAME HERE, AND THERE YOU WERE, AND THERE I WAS, AND I WILL NOT LET THIS END.
I WILL RIP YOUR LYING MOUTH FROM YOUR FACE AND SEARCH FOR TRUTH IN YOUR THROAT.
I WILL DECIDE THE END OF THIS STORY.
NOT YOU.
When Isaac McCarthy awoke from strange, fidgety dreams, he did not feel like he was looking through his own eyes.
It was like he was looking across from something at a great distance, only magnified and pressed so close to his actual eyes that he could 'see' nothing else. Isaac's body also did not feel right. It felt as if he was layered in dense, hot muscle, barely able to breath and yet shallow breaths came and kept him alive all the same. His vision adjusted and he looked down at a flowing river—a canal with bricked sides that ran to his left and right.
But it was not a canal. It couldn't have been; it was far, far too small. It would barely be enough to fit Isaac's whole foot into.
The water wasn't clear, but Isaac could see something staring back at him with pinprick eyes. It was a visored helmet, like the ones he had tried when he went to a Renaissance Fair a few years before. The sun was behind the creature in his reflection, causing shadow to hide everything except for the eyes. What was strange about the helmet was how organic it looked, almost like it had been constructed out of tooth enamel or bone.
Isaac reached his hand out, and the monster's hand followed.
Isaac clenched his fist, and the monster obeyed.
With every breath Isaac took, the monster's chest heaved, and a deep, rattling exhale followed.
Isaac turned his gaze from the—from his reflection and beheld the diorama-sized city that surrounded him. Messy structures surrounded him on all sides, like something out of an old European city. The buildings only seemed to go up to his chest, and he felt like he could crush them with his bare hands as easily as cardboard.
Isaac stood up. And a scream followed.
People in strange, old-fashioned clothing saw him and their faces grew pale and their voices shrieked so loud he had to resist the urge to cover his ears. He had been right; even the tallest of the buildings near him only reached up to his chin. Screams became shouts and muffled curses as the few miniature people who were near him ran as hard as their tiny legs could carry them.
When Isaac looked up, he finally noticed the wall—the Wall—and his heart sank into his stomach.
He remembered all of this. He had seen it somewhere. It was a show, a manga, that he had stopped following long ago. But it had never been that close, it had never stood before him like it was real—and his body. His titanic body. He looked down at his hands and could see their strange, white skin and bristling muscle and sinew underneath, powered by the sun itself. If he were to tear into his own flesh it would be reformed by Ymir in some desert far from the seeing eye.
It was a body granted to him that should not have been his. Could not have been his. He was not Eldian and it belonged to someone else.
It's a dream. It must be. It must…
But dreams were not like this, Isaac told himself, they weren't this real.
Looking to the wall, and hearing the muscles in his body move along with him, Isaac knew where he was—that was, if the universe had a sense of humor.
Year 845(?) Shiganshina(?). You are in the world of Attack on Titan. Shingeki no Kyoujin.
You're fucked, Isaac.
ONE DAY YOU WILL THANK ME.
Isaac knew he did not have much time, if what he suspected was true.
There was no evidence, of course, other than a hunch, but there was nothing else to go off of. Isaac had never read the manga and he only had distant memories of the anime, and all of the foreknowledge he possessed came from YouTube comments, idle wiki searches, and talks with actual fans. They would have loved to be in his position, no doubt, but he didn't want it.
If Bertholdt didn't transform into the Colossal Titan, then Isaac would need to abandon his Titan body quickly—he didn't know how, but he would need to learn. He might've been able to hold off a few stray soldiers but eventually they would overwhelm him.
Considering the face that looked at him in the water, though, perhaps he had a few advantages.
Still in that small alleyway near the canal, the screams of the people who had seen him long gone, Isaac held his hand out and concentrated.
His flesh felt malleable. His will manifested and it came to him with such precision that it was almost scary. A long shaft, with a serrated hammer head at the end. The Titan's namesake.
The War Hammer Titan.
Isaac had no idea why, or how, or who did all of this to him, but he was not going to let all of this go to waste.
I could kill him.
Killing Eren Yeager was certainly one way to go about things, but it became abundantly clear that he had no idea where to go; Shiganshina wasn't exactly his hometown. And for as much as Eren was a monster by the end (or so Isaac thought from half-remembered debates), he didn't feel up to child murder just yet.
But the Warriors…
With luck, Marcel had already been devoured by Ymir. Bertholdt would be transforming into the Colossal soon, god-willing, which left Annie and Reiner.
Kill them? Feed on them? Take their power? For what purpose?
…
Feed them to somebody else…?
Isaac shuffled those thoughts for later.
Bringing one of his hands to the nape of his neck, Isaac felt the skin around it. He then looked to his foot—there was no fleshy cord. He was inside the Titan's body unlike the original wielder in the snippets he had seen. Good, he thought. He didn't want to be planted in one place.
Taking a deep breath, and inwardly cringing at the sound his Titan body made, Isaac stood up tall as the sun began to set. Had it been sunset when the Warriors committed genocide? He couldn't quite remember. He had no chance of stopping them, he knew. People were going to die whether he wished it or not. But perhaps he could stop them at the gates to Wall Maria itself.
Isaac could stop it there, and see where the world ended up—a frightening amount of power to give to a man who had only been awake for five minutes.
The Warriors could also kill him, Isaac knew. And if not them, then the military. In fact, there were many things that could kill him, but what else was there to do? Hide in a cave somewhere for a decade and some change? See what a post-Rumbling world looked like in first-person?
In the end, the world decided for him. There was a brilliant flash of yellow light, and the world nearly crumbled before Isaac's very eyes.
It's time.
THE RIGHT MAN IN THE WRONG PLACE CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Walking as a Titan was like trying to learn how to control a human-shaped bike.
Intuitively, Isaac knew what to do. His legs moved and his free arm swayed like a normal human's would, but his weight was off. He grew used to it, but it was something that he needed to remain cognizant of.
That, and falling debris from Bertholdt kicking Shiganshina's gate open. Pebbles and pulverized stone fell from the sky like he was in the final hours of Pompeii, pelting his thick skin but otherwise doing nothing—until a boulder nearly turned him into a gigantic pile of gore.
Isaac saw it before it squashed him, and he raised his free arm up, and almost without thinking, Titan-flesh thickened around his forearm into a shield, and the boulder crashed against him. His feet remained firmly on the ground, only moving him a meter or so as the boulder shattered into pebbles no longer than his fingers.
He kept moving after that, dropping the shield as it faded into steam.
Isaac would not be able to do much for the people fleeing, or much for Eren and his family. Armin. Mikasa—they would need to fend for themselves. But perhaps a few stopped hammers would keep the coffin from being sealed.
He was heading towards the gate into Wall Maria proper, outlined by the difference in material all the way up to the top. That was when he was stopped by the first pure Titan he had ever seen.
It was an ugly thing, grinning stupidly at him with a mouth full of far too many incisors. A mop of dark blonde hair sat atop its head like a crown, and its pale skin and awkward proportions made Isaac wince.
Like looking at a human designed by someone who had only ever had humans described to them in passing.
It walked towards him without missing a beat. Its eyes, though like that of a dead fish, were focused entirely on him. Isaac grunted—his Titan body growled—and he did the same, hefting his warhammer of hardened flesh.
When Isaac got closer, he realized what he was looking at.
…Dina Fritz?
The Titan raised its hand, and Isaac wasted no time in swinging his hammer as hard as he could. It crushed the flesh of the Titan like it was made of jelly. The Titan was carried off its feet by the force of his blow, and it tumbled to the ground in a messy heap. The battered arm went sailing into the distance, crashing into a far-off building.
If I stop you here—but if I save you for later—you could help. You have it. Royal blood. I know that much.
Quickly, Isaac raised his hammer and brought it down. His Titan body snarled and snapped like a feral animal. With each hit, he severed one of the Titan's limbs, until it was nothing but a squirming torso with a broken jaw. Steam rose from the blood and gore on the ground, and Isaac picked up the Titan by its hair and raised its head to his own.
There was no recognition in its eyes. But perhaps there would be soon.
Congratulations, Miss Fritz. Today is the luckiest day of your unlife. Do not resist.
The sun was low on the horizon that he could see—in fact, by the time Isaac reached the gates of Wall Maria, the sun was no longer visible. The sky was a dark orange, and soon, the end would be at hand.
Keeping Dina Fritz from regenerating her limbs was a pain, especially when he had to fend off pure Titans at every corner. He hit them where he could—and their flesh gave way to his hammer when he did, their remains turning into steaming husks. Perhaps he was saving a few lives, perhaps not. It wasn't like the military was doing much. The Garrison was practically useless it felt like, with how many jackets he saw in the mouths of Titans.
You cannot blame them. They never expected this.
Isaac settled his Titan's body near one of the streets next to the main one leading into the Wall. He could hear the cannons like thunder in the air, and the sound of impacted flesh as a Titan was blown off its feet. He could hear soldiers barking orders as volley after volley came to give civilians a chance to flee, though the street was completely deserted.
Dina Fritz's Titan gurgled beside him, and Isaac nudged it to keep it quiet. It tried to bite his fingers, but a quick tap to the head made it behave.
Perhaps this is enough to keep Eren's mother alive.
Anything was possible.
The sound of distant, heavy footsteps let Isaac know that it was time. The cannons stopped firing. The world became silent.
It didn't take long for the sound of footsteps, louder than the cannon balls from moments before, reached Isaac's ears. He prepared himself.
When the sound of shattering stone felt as if it was about to burst his eardrums, Isaac revealed himself.
The Armored Titan was a grotesque monstrosity of thickened plates and white eyes. That was all Isaac could see as he held his hammer back. If Reiner could see him, he made no indication he did—or perhaps it was simply too late to stop. When the Armored Titan was within spitting distance, Isaac swung.
The spiked head of the warhammer struck the Armored Titan square in the face.
FROM HELL'S HEART I STAB AT THEE.
If it had been a straight fight, Isaac's warhammer would have cracked the Armored Titan's plates, but not broken them. If the Armored Titan had been a little faster, the warhammer's mark would have been off, and it would have been a glancing blow. But none of these things happened. When the Armored Titan met Isaac's warhammer, it was like a bomb had gone off.
Isaac's warhammer shattered, and he was blown back into a nearby building. The Armored Titan's head exploded like a giant cherry bomb, with hardened Titan-flesh like shrapnel, turning nearby buildings into swiss cheese. Fire and steam came from the Armored Titan's neck stump as it kept its momentum. Reiner was torn off the ground by the force of the impact, his limbs flailing wildly before his Titan's body slammed into the ground like a sheet of useless scrap metal.
The Armored Titan's body came to a rest several dozen meters away, and did not stir.
Grumbling to himself, his Titan gurgling as steam rose from his body where hardened Titan-flesh had punctured it, Isaac got back to his feet and moved forward. He could see the soldiers of the Garrison, watching him. There was no cannon fire, no barked orders, nothing. They merely watched him as if he was the most interesting thing they had ever seen.
I probably am, funnily enough.
Not wasting any time, Isaac knelt by the Armored Titan's body, steam rising from its wounds but not reforming its body. Growling, Isaac's fingers grabbed the edge of the Armored Titan's neck stump and pulled at the plates. It was like peeling a crab's shell, but hardened skin gave way to soft flesh, and before long, Isaac saw him.
…I'd forgotten how young he was by this point.
Reiner's eyes were closed, and his body was covered in burns, such that he almost couldn't recognize him. Except for a few strands of blonde hair on his head, it was like he was holding a chunk of red flesh like any other in a Titan. The parts Isaac could make out, though, showed nothing more than a boy.
Grasping him tightly in his hands, Isaac stood up and looked to the soldiers. They all still looked gobsmacked—he half-expected them to have taken a shot by that point, but nothing came.
Isaac tilted his head, and an idea came to mind. Half for his own amusement, and half because he really wanted them to close the gate.
Isaac pointed at the frozen gate, only half closed, and forced his hand down—a pantomime, but one they hopefully understood. As if knocked from a trance, the soldiers did exactly that, barking orders that Isaac couldn't quite hear. One soldier still stared at him, his eyes still wide and his legs visibly shaking, if Isaac's Titan eyes weren't deceiving him.
Making eye contact with the soldier, and pressing a finger to where he thought his lips were, Isaac made a hissing noise, and walked away.
I GIVE YOU YOUR LIFE BACK. DO NOT RESIST.
Dina Fritz had nearly regenerated her Titan's limbs when Isaac returned to her. Reiner hadn't stirred yet, but that didn't mean the other two Warriors weren't wondering where their comrade had gone, or why the gates of Wall Maria hadn't been breached yet.
Isaac was running out of time, and so, he shoved Reiner's body into Dina Fritz's gullet. He grabbed her jaw and snapped it shut for her as forcefully as he could manage, like he was trying to force-feed a dog or a cat. A brief spray of blood splattered Isaac's hands, and then it was over. He watched as the Titan visibly swallowed.
I am a murderer. But so were they.
Dina Fritz did not move for a few seconds. Isaac couldn't even pretend to understand the mechanisms that her ancestor worked on, or how any of what he was doing was altering the timeline, or if the timeline had been altered to such a point that from then on, he was on his own completely.
Half of what Isaac had already done felt like it was being done on pure instinct anyway. What was one more change to an already unstable, unsustainable world?
The pure Titan went limp and slack jawed, blood oozing from the bottom of its mouth as steam began to rise from all around it. It was a far faster dissipation than he had seen so far, and before long, only bloodied bones remained, and a woman laid in the desiccated carcass, near the nape of the neck.
She had dark blond hair, almost orange in the fading light, and her eyes were closed and encircled by deep impressions in the skin of her face—the same all Titanshifters shared when they left their generated body. She was also completely naked, and Isaac looked away.
I did not do this out of the goodness of my heart.
Isaac recalled the power that Zeke held when he was a Titan. It wasn't the full power of the Founder, but it would be enough, perhaps, to—
To do what?
A flash of gold-yellow light interrupted whatever thought Isaac had as he stood up and turned. There was no earth-shattering quake, so it could not have been the Colossal, which meant it had to have been her.
Isaac was proven right when he saw the Female Titan, many years before she was supposed to reveal herself.
Blue eyes stared at Isaac, almost accusingly from the main street. The Female Titan was nothing but muscle and sinew with little, if anything, resembling skin, with a head of light blonde hair.
If Annie was there, Bertholdt was not far behind. If he turned into the Colossal then and there, it would not matter that Isaac had stopped Reiner.
A distraction, then? Very well.
Isaac lifted a hand to his visor and flipped it over, revealing his face. He willed his face to smile, and he could feel strange muscles contorting. Then, he spoke.
It was and was not his voice. It was a deep rumbling thing that sounded strained yet powerful.
"You will DIE behIND these MISerable WALLS."
THERE ARE SOME BATTLES THAT CANNOT BE WON.
BUT A LOST BATTLE CAN LEAD TO A WAR WELL FOUGHT.
Isaac knew that he would be fighting a losing battle the moment Annie appeared. He didn't know how much he had seen in the anime would translate to the Titan he saw before him—whether she would have the same skill as she did when she first appeared, or if she would be weaker, it didn't matter.
In the end, Isaac could feel the exhaustion in the massive body he inhabited.
Whether it was the pure Titans Isaac had killed on the way, the damage caused by killing Reiner, or just the simple fact that he'd been in the Titan so long, he did not know. But Annie was freshly generated, and had the advantage from that alone.
Isaac still had to keep an eye out for the potential of the Colossal reappearing, the Titan in front of him, and make sure Dina Fritz wasn't munched on by a roving pure Titan.
The only thing that Isaac had going for him was that Annie seemed visibly disturbed by his words. Or, at least, he thought she was. She was watching him closely, as if she expected him to suddenly pull out something she hadn't thought of.
Maybe I can use that— nah, just hit her with a giant sword. That always works.
Isaac charged, generating a long slab of hardened Titan-flesh into a greatsword, and swung with all of his might. The Female Titan deftly moved to the side, but the sword struck the ground with such force that she was pushed back, unable to counterattack. Isaac, his sword still planted in the ground, swung it across the ground, sending broken pieces of road and dirt straight at his opponent.
The Female Titan jumped back, landing on her feet several dozen meters away. For a moment, Isaac wondered if he'd overestimated her. She was strong in the anime, yes, but that was years away, and he knew that the Warriors were all ragged and scared during the events he was living.
Isaac was proven wrong when the Female Titan buried her hand in a nearby building before tearing through it, sending chunks of debris his way at surprising speed. He held his sword's blade against him to block the debris, only to stumble back as a quick kick to the stomach sent him reeling. Saliva spilled from his mouth and onto the ground as he stumbled back.
Clever girl. Or maybe I'm just stupid. Both?
The Female Titan went for another strike against his head, but Isaac raised his sword just in time for the blow to become glancing. The thin flesh of his 'helmet' cracked under the blow, but it wasn't crippling.
Isaac let go of his sword as it followed the Female Titan's attack, quickly generated a sharpened spike in his left hand and jabbed it into his enemy's torso. He did so several times, cutting and stabbing and slicing before pushing the Female Titan away into a nearby building.
I need to piss her off. Make her lose her cool.
Isaac tilted his Titan's head to the side, letting out a deep chuckle.
"You will NEVER see your FATHER AGAIN."
Whatever strategy the Female Titan had come up with quickly went out the window, Isaac knew, because the moment he said those words, her eyes widened and she lunged even as her Titan's body was recovering from its wounds.
That was when a cannonball nearly struck her. It missed, careening into a building and pulverizing its top floor. Isaac looked up in the direction it had come from—the very top of Wall Maria. And a moment later, another came down and struck the Female Titan in the arm.
Isaac watched with bewilderment. The Female Titan had hardened her arm just in time, but there were dozens of cannons lining the Wall, and he could see other soldiers gathering around the ones near the closed gate. With them on his side…
Breathing heavily, Isaac only said one word to the Female Titan.
"RUN."
And so she did, but not before letting out a scream that nearly deafened him. It was as if the sound itself was scratching his eardrums. It made his teeth rattle and his bones itch. Isaac knew what she had done, and he quickly returned to where he had left Dina Fritz.
She was just where Isaac had left her, although much of the remaining gore of her pure Titan form had melted away, leaving only her naked human body behind. Gently, he picked her up.
And that was when the earth quaked again.
ONE LIFE SAVED. A DOZEN LIVES SAVED. WHAT DOES IT MATTER WHEN HE LETS THE GIANTS LOOSE FROM THEIR BRICKED PRISON?
THERE WAS NEVER A PLAN. ONLY A FEELING.
AND NOW I AM POWERLESS TO STOP IT.
Isaac wanted to stop him, but he could feel the exhaustion growing stronger. The damage he sustained to his torso and head were not regenerating as they had, and the new ones granted by Bertholdt using the Colossal Titan's power again made it difficult to even stand up.
Even so, he watched as the military threw volley after volley of cannonfire at the Colossal Titan. Bertholdt was noticeably smaller, and walked with an exhausted gait, but his sheer size was still enough to swipe the cannons off Wall Maria before raising his leg, and kicking the gate wide open.
The pure Titans, which had seemed content to mill around and go after stragglers, all converged on the broken gates then, whether it was because of Annie's scream or because of the massive commotion caused by the Colossal, it didn't matter.
The Colossal Titan stepped away from the Wall, and fell to steam a second time. Bertholdt would be lucky to survive that, Isaac thought—calling upon the power of the Colossal Titan twice in such a short span of time was no doubt a massive strain on the young boy.
Isaac didn't care. He had a job to do, or so he told himself. He got himself to his feet, pushing rock and debris off his body as he hobbled forward, ignoring the smaller Titans biting at his legs. Holding Dina Fritz's body close to his chest, he pushed through the broken remnants of the gates, mindful not to step on the bodies of the soldiers who had been guarding it.
On the other side, he was greeted by very much alive soldiers instead, sweating and swearing, with their 3-D Gear at the ready.
The fact they had not attacked Isaac already spoke volumes about the situation.
There were only around a dozen of them left. The evacuation ships were already away, but before he continued, Isaac looked among them.
It didn't take long to see Eren Yeager's tiny form huddled in the crowd. Isaac had no idea how he even saw the young boy—he was barely a blip in the crowd leaning against the side of the ship. And yet, there he was. Far away yet it almost seemed like he was right in front of him.
Dark hair, bright eyes—scared and angry. And Isaac felt guilt for having even considered killing him. And then Reiner's face flashed in his mind, and he realized he already crossed that bridge on what felt like pure instinct.
…Why did I do that?
Isaac turned away and looked down at the soldiers. Even with their small size he could see their large, terrified eyes and their hands on their swords. Whatever grace he had been afforded by their shock was about to expire.
"Do NOT kill. But LISTEN," Isaac croaked, his Titan's voice hoarse and exhausted. "Your foes are MINE. Take HER."
Isaac knelt and held out his hand, Dina Fritz cradled inside.
"Refugee. Last. All of you. RUN." Isaac continued. Dina Fritz. "LIVE ANOTHER DAY. Will HOLD them off. Kill MANY. Go."
The soldiers looked among themselves. One of them gently approached and took Dina in his arms before backing away quickly, bowing his head to the others.
Isaac nodded his Titan's head.
"Run."
The soldiers went into action. Isaac didn't know or remember how the Maneauver Gear worked, but they zipped about like bugs. Some went back up the walls—it was likely safer than the ground, while the others got farther away, towards either the refugee ships or into the nearby wilderness.
Isaac stood up. He looked down at the discoloration of his torso and felt the broken pieces of his 'helmet'. The sound of footsteps echoed down the broken gate's corridor, quickly gaining speed.
Dying already? Did you really want it to end this way? Didn't you have some grand plan?
THERE IS NO PLAN.
The first Titan, an Abnormal judging by the speed and strange gait, rammed straight into Isaac. It bit into his neck, but its jaws weren't large enough to reach the nape. Isaac wrestled it to the ground, forming a knife of flesh and cutting into the creature's neck. He quickly sliced through its flesh, snarling as he ripped off its head. He got to his feet to see several more Titans emerging from the gate, their dull eyes trained directly on him.
Roaring, Isaac threw the head he'd just cut off. It struck a Titan directly in the jaw, sending it crashing into the Wall. Even Isaac's generated weapons were becoming cruder, duller, and softer, but it would be enough. A blunted club formed in his hands, and he struck the first Titan to get close. Blood blossoms burst in the air as it was sent to the ground in a heap of broken bones and skin.
What the pure Titans lacked in strength and intelligence, they made up for in numbers. Isaac killed as many as he could, with his limbs or his weapons, but it would have never been enough. A Titan bit into his left arm, tearing into the flesh and breaking the bone. It rolled its hands until the limb was torn from his Titan's body. Others quickly took the initiative, pinning him against Wall Maria, biting and tearing away at his flesh. And all Isaac could do was snarl like a dying animal.
A yellow light erupted from somewhere nearby, and he thought he was doomed.
Would've liked to see what all those changes would've done. Why don't I feel more terrified right now?
A sense of serene calm pervaded his being. Isaac could feel the Titans tearing away at him, but all he felt was peace.
It vanished when he saw a head of dark hair and the flash of sharp teeth. His heart began to beat faster as he saw a Titan fall, a giant chunk torn out of its neck. The new arrival zipped across the Titan's assaulting Isaac, giving him the chance to finally fight back. He reached out with his remaining arm and grabbed a Titan's face, before planting its head in the ground. He stomped on it before looking up.
AN UNEXPECTED ALLY. THE OTHER YMIR. THE MAW OF DEATH.
There were too many. They were pouring out like a waterfall. Slow-moving normal ones, but it was only a matter of time before an Abnormal caught onto the scent and ran at them. Isaac heard the sound of the Jaw Titan landing beside him. He turned, seeing her staring down the pure Titans with beady eyes. A moment later, she looked up at him.
Without thinking, Isaac extended his remaining hand. The Jaw Titan looked it up and down for a moment, before taking it, and climbing onto his shoulders.
With the last remnants of his strength, Isaac turned heel, and ran.
Isaac's Titan body collapsed along the canal that the refugee ships had gone down not long before. Steam rose from his corpse as he felt his body disentangle from the connective flesh. He reached his hand out of the Titan's body, not expecting anyone to take it.
Feeling a thin, but strong hand grab his, Isaac sputtered as he was torn from the fleshy chamber he had been inside since the late afternoon. His eyes adjusted to the dark, and he looked around wildly before his eyes landed on a dark-haired woman with suspicious eyes.
"You're not who I was expecting," she said simply.
Isaac barked a laugh, coughing a bit as Ymir tilted her head.
"Neither are you! Neither are…" Isaac trailed off. His own voice sounded strange to his ears.
Ymir let go of him. Isaac looked to see her Titan's body dissipating nearby. Struggling to his feet, he jumped down from his Titan's body, nearly stumbling to the ground. Even his sense of touch felt off.
The moon allowed long shadows to spread across the landscape. Isaac looked up to see Ymir again. He realized then that she was dressed in barely-fitting rags like a street urchin. She turned and raised a brow at him.
"You fought all of those Titans. Why?" she asked.
Isaac blinked, rubbing at the strange markings around his eyes.
"I…" Isaac began, swallowing the lump in his throat. Reiner's young face flashed in his head. "I don't know."