Chapter Text
Across the battered rooftops of the Trost district, the titan that is Eren Yeager carries a giant boulder on his back. History is being made and Trost is a flurry of motion. Yet Marco can't bring himself to move.
“Yeah… If it comes to it, I’ll have to do something with my titan somehow.”
He feels a million things at once. Confusion. Alarm. Fear. The beginnings of something that feel distinctly like betrayal, coming right on the heels of a realization that hasn't taken hold quite yet, but lurks in the back of his mind, waiting to burst forth.
“But if their plan works, it’ll plug the hole we finally opened.”
Marco can barely breathe, but he knows that he can't afford to stand still and do nothing. None of them can, which means that he has to get Bertolt and Reiner to stop spouting nonsense and spur them into action. Yet even as the words slip by his disbelieving ears, he isn't sure that they are talking nonsense, which only makes the need to act that much more dire. He needs to figure out what's going on, he needs to do something about it, he needs to... he needs to make sure that they all get out of this okay.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ve been searching for a clue these past five years and we finally found it."
Marco moves to speak.
Before he can make a sound, someone rams into his side and slaps their hand over his mouth. Terror races through Marco, hot and overpowering, but he is tugged off the roof before he can even think of doing something about it. He screams, but the sound is muffled by the hand and the sound of the wind rushing around them as they tumble off the roof.
Then there's the whiz of the maneuver gear, the whoosh of grappling hooks, and they're being pulled up onto a nearby roof. It’s pure instinct that makes Marco kick his legs out to keep himself from skidding across the rooftop, and even then, he barely makes it in time. Their momentum still makes him trot several long paces. He is aware that he should slow down, try to assess the situation and get ahold of his wits, but the haze of frantic motion doesn't stop there. The second he starts to slow down, his assailant grabs his wrist and pulls him along behind them as they set off in a run.
"Come on!" they hiss.
Fear melts away into confusion as Marco takes in the person before him. He blinks, half expecting to realize that he’s imagining the sight before him, but it only grows clearer as he returns to his senses.
" Gabi?" he exclaims. "What-"
"Shhh!" Gabi's already running like their lives depend on it, but she still finds the energy to move a little faster. Marco, dazed, can't think of anything to do but follow her lead, even as his legs begin to ache from the abuse.
There is an overhang near the end of the rooftop they're on. As Gabi ducks behind it and yanks him down with her, Marco realizes that Bertolt and Reiner shouldn't be able to see past it from their vantage point. He doesn't say that right away though - doesn't know how much Gabi heard or what she thought about it. Instead, he watches as she presses herself up against the bricks, panting heavily and eyes darting from side to side.
His body is shaky with adrenaline from their sudden flight, but his mind is working on an entirely separate level. It is caught in the conversation he overheard, the dots connecting and drawing that waiting realization forward. Because Eren is currently a titan trying to plug up the hole in the wall. And if Eren is a titan, if Eren's titan is a human, then it's entirely possible that the colossal and armored titans are as well. That would mean that Bertolt and Reiner's conversation... well, it should be the number one priority right now to say the least.
But Gabi looks terrified. No, more than terrified. She looks hurt , even if not physically. And Marco can't bring himself to ignore that. So he pushes through the dread settling into his stomach, the betrayal starting to weigh on his heart, pretends that he isn't facing a possibility that would turn the whole world upside down, and asks, "Gabi, what-"
"Did they see us?" Gabi interrupts.
Marco blinks. "I don't... I don't think so." He moves to peek over the edge of the overhang, only for Gabi to grab his arm and tug him back down.
" Don't !" she hisses. "If they haven't seen us yet, we can't risk it happening now. We just..." Gabi sucks in a breath, jagged and heavy. "We need to stay here until the coast is clear."
Marco frowns and wonders if Gabi realizes just how many things that could mean when she won't let him check to see if the coast is clear. Does she just want them to wait long enough that Bertolt and Reiner are bound to have moved on? Or does she want them to wait there until they hear the call to retreat behind Wall Rose? Either plan could be interrupted by the arrival of a titan, but he has no doubt that she's aware of that.
Unless she is so caught up in whatever's going on in her mind that she's forgotten about the titans completely. It doesn't seem like her, but he's never seen her this unnerved either. It's ultimately that thought that pushes him to ask, "What about the titans?"
Gabi's voice lowers. It does not sound like she is attempting to remain quiet. Rather, it is the distant, hollow voice of someone trying to pull information from an unpleasant memory. "There should be one coming along soon. But we're in a different area, and Reiner and Bertolt are still nearby, so it might not even notice us."
"What?" Marco asks.
Gabi shakes her head sharply. "I mean, if a titan shows up, I'll handle it."
Marco squints. That is a big jump from whatever she'd just been talking about. He supposes that he can't blame her though. She's obviously inches away from falling apart. And he has a feeling that he knows why.
"You heard them, too," he says.
"Something like that," Gabi mutters.
...'Something like that' is not the same thing as 'yes'. Marco can't tell if Gabi is aware of exactly what she just said, or even if she intended to say it. Her hands are steady and her eyes are sharp, but they are also darting from side to side, scanning the streets of Trost with a gleam of desperation that grows brighter with every passing second. She could very well be so caught up in her own thoughts that she accidentally said something that doesn't make sense. Even so, Marco cannot deny the possibility that this slip-up was something a little more meaningful, and before he knows it, his mind is making connections again, drawing him to conclusions that he really doesn't want to come to. Yet he cannot afford not to.
It would make sense for Gabi to be like this because she overheard Bertolt and Reiner and came to the same conclusion that he did. Except she swept in and grabbed him out of nowhere. She might be fast, but no one is fast enough to have stopped Marco in time, not if they were standing around listening to the conversation as well. But if she already suspected what was being discussed... if they didn't have any shock to absorb or realizations to work through... if she saw him and immediately knew that he was in trouble...
He can only think of one way that that can be possible. It leads him to an obvious question. That obvious question is not the one that he asks, and not just because he is suddenly acutely aware that asking it might cost him his life. Rather, he changes directions because it also might not. Because despite the nightmare that currently surrounds them, despite the implications of his theory, Bertolt and Reiner have been his comrades for three years now. He knows them. He knows that they are good people.
He's only known Gabi for a handful of weeks, but in a way, that makes her the perfect test subject. If he can ease her into the notion, get her on his side, then surely there's hope for his friends.
"We should try to talk to them," Marco says.
Gabi's gaze snaps back over to him. "What?" she asks, voice echoing with horror.
"We should talk to them," Marco repeats. "Bertolt and Reiner are our friends. If they're... if they did do this, I'm sure they had a good reason. Maybe we can reach an understanding and-"
"No!" Gabi exclaims. "That won't..." She swallows and shakes her head again. "It won't work. They won't listen to you no matter what you say."
"You can't know that," Marco says.
"I can. Marco, if they know what you heard, they will kill you. And I don't think I'd be able to stop them."
Gabi's words are saturated in a dark certainty that holds all of the weight of fate. They carry the two of them into a heavy silence. Marco allows it to linger over them as he looks his comrade over once again. Her stance is solid and her shoulders firm, but her hands are shaking and her breath is coming in rapid bursts. The wild, terrified, wounded gleam in her eyes has only grown stronger. He can only catch short glimpses of it, since she kept looking away from him and at the streets. Marco knows that he should probably be keeping a sharper eye on their surroundings as well, lest a titan catch them unaware. Yet he can't bring himself to look away from her.
She sounds so certain. Too certain to just be making a guess. That means that something more is happening here.
If she is sure that Bertolt and Reiner won't listen to him, then he will believe her for the time being. But all of her actions tell him that she will listen , and he isn't about to let that opportunity go to waste.
"Are you with them?" Marco asks.
Gabi blinks. "What?"
"Bertolt and Reiner. Are you with them?"
Gabi opens her mouth. Closes it. "I-" She closes her mouth again, swallows, and then forces herself to speak. "Why are you asking me that? I just saved you."
Her voice is incredulous, yet holds an almost hollow quality beneath it. Marco's chest aches with a pang of pity and regret at the sound, but he can't drop the subject. Not if the fate of Wall Rose is really on the line.
Marco makes sure to meet Gabi's eyes as he says, "Because you're so sure that you did save my life. How could you know for sure that they won't listen if you don't know something that I don't? Why weren't you more surprised by what they said? Why- How were you so quick to react?"
"I- I just-"
"You can tell me, Gabi," Marco says, voice soft and non-threatening.
Gabi looks away just as a brown-haired titan rounds the corner. It is a fair distance away and doesn't seem to have noticed them yet, but Marco’s stomach lurches as Gabi jolts backward, eyes widening as her hands fly to her paring blades. "Is that...?" Her words are a whispered question that she allows to trail off.
She moves to stand, but Marco reaches out and grabs her by the elbow before her head can rise above the overhang.
"What are you doing?" He whispers. "You shouldn't- it hasn't noticed us yet, and I thought-" A lump forms in his throat, but he swallows it down and forces himself to press on. "I thought we couldn't risk them seeing us."
There's already so much going on, so much confusion and suspicion and doubt. If Gabi starts to contradict herself in the midst of it all, he doesn't know how he'll handle it.
But he also has no way to stop it.
"I know," Gabi whispers. "But I can't leave that titan alone. If it does come here-" She grits her teeth and draws in a shaky breath from between them. "It's better to get rid of it now. I'll be right back. I promise, Marco, you'll be okay."
Marco wants to protest. To say that it isn't her job or duty to protect him. He wants to point out that she looks like she's on the verge of breaking down and probably shouldn't be rushed in after a titan right now. He wants to say that he's ranked eighth in their class, that she should take a moment to calm down while he takes care of the titan, or at least let him help.
But Marco is scared. He’s scared, and for all that he wants to help Gabi, he doesn’t want to face a titan, not when so many of their comrades have already been eaten. That fear sinks into his bones and turns them into lead. He’s already the slowest of the top ten, and his fear slows him down further, whereas Gabi has a manic gleam lighting up her eyes. She yanks her arm out of his grasp and flies toward the titan before he can get a word out, let alone do anything to stop her.
Gabi may be fraying at the edges, but she still manages to compose herself enough to kill the titan quickly and efficiently. The sight of the titan falling to the ground, steam already terminating from the creature, only does a little to calm Marco. His heart is still trying to pound a hole in his ribcage when she flies back over to him. This time, she doesn't bother crouching down to hide beneath the overhang.
"They're gone," she says, and her voice is still shaken, but now he thinks he catches an inexplicable hint of awe caught in it. "You're safe."
Gabi extends her hand to him. Marco takes it and slowly stands up. His knees ache in protest after crouching behind the overhang for so long, but showing that he trusts his classmate is more important than his comfort right now. Although, he knows that the gesture may not mean much when paired with what he's about to say. But he can't not say it.
"Gabi, you still haven't answered my question."
"Oh," Gabi whispers, dropping her arm to her side and looking away. "I'm not. I'm not with them."
"Then how did you know all that?" Marco asks.
"It's... complicated," Gabi says.
"Complicated in what way?"
Gabi's breath hitches. "You wouldn't believe me."
Marco puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You don't know that."
" I do! " Gabi bats his hand away and takes a step back. In the process, she looks him in the face once again, revealing eyes glimmering with frustration and unshed tears. Her hands are held stiff at her side and her hands clenched into fists, yet he can still see them shaking a little. "I do know, because no one in their right mind would believe me, and I don't have any proof, and-"
"You're all alone, aren't you?"
"What?" Gabi croaks.
"Whatever you're going through, you're dealing with it all alone aren't you?" Marco repeats.
Gabi opens her mouth, but all that escapes is a sob. She grabs the side of the overhang with one hand, presses the other against her mouth, and squeezes her eyes shut. The motion disturbs the tears gathering in her eyes and makes them start falling down her face. Marco hesitantly starts to reach out a hand, and she blinks her eyes back open, tears now cascading down her face in a steady stream. One hand maintains a vice-grip on the overhang, but the other is shaking like a leaf as she lowers it from her mouth and chokes out, "I don't... I don't know what I'm doing, but I don't- I can't- you wouldn't believe me."
And perhaps the deciding factor is the surreality of seeing someone as strong as Gabi break down so completely. Maybe it is how lost she seems. Maybe he just can't bear to see someone in so much pain and do nothing. Whatever the case, when Marco feels the sudden compulsion to hug Gabi, he does not fight it. He steps forward and wraps the girl in his arms. The way she lets go of the roof and all but collapses into his arms, the way she wraps her arms around his neck and sobs , tells him that he made the right choice.
Marco and Gabi have never been close. He's spent a fair time with her since she joined the 104th, has wanted to get to know her, but has never really had the opportunity. It seemed like she was always preoccupied with someone else, and he didn't feel right bothering her just because he was curious or wanted to make friends. It honestly felt like their paths were never meant to cross. Yet right now, he can't help but feel like she's the only thing she has. And that leaves him only able to think of one thing to do.
"I'll believe you," Marco whispers. "Whatever you say, no matter how insane it is - I promise I'll believe you, Gabi. So please, trust me."
Gabi's grip tightens, and as she buries her face into his neck, he isn't sure that she'll respond. Then she whispers, "Are you sure?"
Marco nods. "I wouldn't say it if I wasn't."
Gabi lets Marco go and takes a step back. She pulls herself together slowly, first just staring at him through watering eyes, then taking in a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. Finally, she says, "My name is Gabi Braun, and I'm from the year 857."
Marco stares. First because it takes a while for him to absorb what they said and process the implications. Then he stares because it's too much. Gabi Magnolia - Gabi Braun - isn't just revealing herself to be a liar, she's saying something utterly unbelieva-
I promised that I'd believe her.
The year is 850. Names aside, it is impossible for Gabi to be from 857.
But a few hours ago, he also would have said that it is impossible for a human to turn into a titan. He would have called it unbelievable that Bertolt and Reiner, his comrades, his friends, could be the titans that destroyed Wall Maria.
It doesn't matter that Marco has no way of knowing if Gabi's telling the truth. As he stares her down, he realizes that her face carries the desperate honesty of someone who believes that they are. Whether she's delusional or a third impossible thing has happened, the fact remains that she needs someone to believe her, and he made a promise.
He has to try.
He has to give her a chance.
Because even if she's wrong, it's all he can do to help him. And if she isn't , if a third impossible thing is about to happen today, then this might be the most important thing that he ever does. So with ice-cold dread licking at his fingers and toes, Marco forces himself to ask, "You're from the future?"
"Yes," Gabi says. "I- I know how it sounds. And I won't blame you if you don't believe me. But I am." She raises a hand to run it through her hair, and suddenly, Marco is reminded of Reiner. His classmate doesn't often show outward signs of stress, but on the few times that he has, he's caught him making a similar gesture.
He never noticed before, but Gabi actually looks a little like him.
Marco can feel a million questions struggling to make their way out into the open. He pushes them all back and says, "I promised I'd believe you, and I'm going to try. I mean, today I found out that people can turn into titans, and that isn't even the worst of it. When you look at it that way, who's to say that time travel is impossible?"
Marco forces a smile. It's thin and shaky, weighed down by fear and stress and a thousand other unpleasant things, but it still does its job. Gabi smiles back, fragile and strained, yet bright with relief. Her eyes still glisten bright with tears, but new ones aren't forming anymore.
"Thank you," she whispers.
Don't thank me yet, he wants to say. He believes that she believes what she's saying, is trying to believe that it might be true, but he also hasn't disregarded the possibility that she may be delusional. In the face of her relief, so genuine and pure, it makes him feel a pang of guilt. It makes him feel like he's lying. But he isn't. He does want to help Gabi through whatever's going on. For now, that means listen to what she has to say and see if she has lost her mind... or maybe, maybe, he's in way over his head.
He isn't sure which option terrifies him more.
"I... I hope you don't mind me asking," Marco tentatively begins, "But Gabi... if you're from the future, how did you get back here?"
"Ah." Her smile falls, and the expression that takes her place is that of someone who is truly and utterly lost. "That's the thing. I don't know. I know that I was at his grave, so it was probably something to do with, but... Fuck!" Gabi's face twists into frustration. She reaches out to slap the top of the overhang as she exclaims, "There's so much I'd have to tell you for that to even make sense, and I don't... I don't even know where to begin!"
"Well, we can't stay here for much longer." As he speaks, Marco tears his gaze away from Gabi and casts a wary glance around. There aren't any titans approaching, but that could change at any moment. They could also be called back, at which point they'll have no option but to get moving. Looking back at Gabi, he eventually suggests, "Why don't you just tell me the basics for now?"
Gabi shoots him a flat look. "I'm a time traveler who knows the truth about the world. What even are the basics in this situation?"
Marco takes a step back, eyes widening. It hadn't even occurred to him that, if Gabi is telling the truth, she might know... He can't even begin to imagine. Humanity knows so little about the rest of the world, about the titans, and she's making it sound like she does. It takes his breath away. It makes him want to demand that she tell him exactly what she's talking about, that she explain everything that she knows. It might just be the ramblings of one delusional girl, but if it isn't, if it isn't ...
If it isn't, then it will definitely take a long time for her to explain. Longer than they can afford right now.
Marco eventually settles on saying, "Start by telling me who you are. That is, you said that your name is Gabi Braun. Are you related to...?"
"He's my cousin," Gabi says. She is clearly trying to sound strong, but her voice is hoarse and wavering "He doesn't recognize me because his Gabi is only eight, and he hasn't seen her since she was three."
"I see," Marco says. "Were you... Are you close?" It sounds absurd. From what he's seen, Gabi and Reiner barely get along. They're reluctant comrades who tolerate each other at best. But there's pain in Gabi's voice, the sort that Marco can't imagine hearing from anyone talking to a distant relative who they don't care about.
"Very," Gabi says. "And I know how that must sound, but he's not... He isn't evil." She blinks a few times, which only serves to make Marco notice that tears have started gathering in her eyes once again. "Him and all the other titans shifters from Marley... that is, beyond the Walls, they're child soldiers. They were basically brainwashed, and it's... You guys have started getting through to them, but if they don't go through with their mission, they could be executed and their families punished."
Marco doesn't know how to process what is beyond said beyond just feeling horrible. Part of that horribleness, maybe even the worst of it, is that he has a haunting feeling that he knows that Gabi is getting at. Even so, he asks, "Punished..."
Gabi smiles bitterly. "It's worse than you're thinking, probably. But still, that isn't... We aren't worth..." She trails off as her breathing grows rough. Marco takes a step forward, but Gabi just takes a step back, shaking her head violently, and wraps her arms around herself.
"I don't care what happens to the other Gabi," she declares. "I won't let him make the same decisions this time. I won't... I won't let him make the same mistakes. I promise, I won't..." She looks back up at him, but only maintains eye contact for a few seconds before her gaze slides away. "I won't let Reiner hurt anyone. I'll find a way to save you both."
In that instant, Marco is hit by a revelation with sickening certainty. He doesn't want to say it, yet finds that he has to. He has to know that he's right, that this really is something that's happening, that it did happen. "In your time... Reiner killed me in your time, didn't he."
Gabi's gaze falls down to her feet. She doesn't look up, and as the seconds pass, a fresh tear drips down her face. It spurs Marco into action, even though he feels like an outsider puppeteering his own body. He gently places a hand on her upper arm, and she allows it.
Another few seconds pass. Finally, Gabi whispers, "He regretted it, you know. It's actually the reason I knew to stop them. Reiner and the others - they don't really like to talk about the past, so there's a lot I don't know about what happens this year. But I was there when Reiner and Jean... talked... about your death. And I know..." She paused to suck in a breath, her entire body shuddering as she did. "I know it probably doesn't mean much, but he regretted it like nothing else."
Marco swallows down the rock trying to lodge itself in his throat. He doesn't know if Reiner's regret means anything to him. It's something that he would need time to think about, and right now he can barely get past the realization that Reiner really would have killed him. In turn, the knowledge that Reiner would have killed him pales in comparison to the fact that it suddenly makes sense that Gabi was able to get to him in time. If she knew where to be and when, if she was planning to save him before he even stumbled into danger... If she really is from the future...
Then she really did save his life.
The fact that she saved him doesn't seem to be doing her any good right now though. He can see the tears flowing down her face once again, can feel her shaking beneath his hand. It makes him want to hug her again, but he isn't sure that it will be received well right now. Instead, he says, "I'm sorry. This is... I can't imagine how hard this is for you."
Gabi doesn't respond.
"So you're... trying to get Reiner to make better choices this time?" Marco prompts. The words feel wrong, since it sounds like by making sure Reiner doesn't do anything more to harm his comrades, she might well be asking him to condemn the rest of their family and her own past self to death. But it's the only thing he can think of to say right now, so he goes with it.
It also manages to bring Gabi back to the present. Yet her reaction is far from reassuring.
Gabi shakes her head. She raises her head to look at him, and there is something dark and heavy in her eyes. "There's more to it than that. I'm not just trying to save Reiner. I'm trying to save the world."
“You’re trying to…” Marco allows his hand to fall from Gabi’s arm. “Save it from what? And how?”
Gabi's breathing grows a little louder and more ragged. It isn't quite to the point that it seems like she's going to hyperventilate, but it definitely sounds like it must be difficult to speak. Even so, she manages to find her voice, tired and unsteady though it is, and says, "There are nine people with the ability to turn into a titan."
"Nine?" Marco echoes, sounding just as faint as he suddenly feels.
Gabi nods, her gaze settled somewhere off in the distance. "Nine. The Armored, Colossal, Female, Cart, Jaw, Warhammer, Beast, Attack, and Founding Titans. Each titan has its own ability. One of them, the Founding Titan..." Gabi's voice cracks. She hasn't shed any more tears since her last bought, but for a moment, it looks like she is going to start up again. Instead, she grits her jaw and meets Marco's gaze. Her eyes still glimmer with tears, but none of them fall this time, held in place by something that is equal parts fury and unshakeable resolve.
It isn't enough to completely block out the pain. In that second, Marco knows that he is about to hear something truly horrible.
He is not disappointed.
"The Founding Titan had the ability to control titans. Three years ago - a little over four and a half years from now, for you- the person with the Founding Titan used that ability to make an army of over a million Colossal Titans to trample the world."
"Trample... the... world...?" Marco echoes.
"There's a whole world out there, Marco," Gabi says, the fury in her voice dying off in favor of something sad and remorseful. Sad and remorseful, but not soft . Any softness has been replaced by something distant and haunted, something that he hasn't noticed the entire time he's known her, but seems all too apparent now. "This place - these walls and everyone behind them - is just one island. Beyond it, there's an entire world. Nations, kingdoms, islands - billions of people. People who are innocent from everything Marley's done. And right now, they're all safe. But back then...
"It was called The Rumbling. The remnants of the Survey Corps and the Warrior Unit - those are the shifters who are being sent to destroy the walls - teamed up to kill the Founding Titan and stop The Rumbling. And they did, but not before it flattened eighty percent of the world. More people died than you could even imagine. It was... it was this. It was Trost, but a million times over and all at once. And because I know who's going to do it, I have a chance to stop it."
Now it's Marco's turn to stagger backward and grab the side of the overhang. Just like he had moments ago, Gabi takes a step forward and reaches a hand out toward his arm. Unlike him, she hesitates just before she can make contact. "I know that this is a lot to take in," she whispers.
Marco shakes his head. "It's..." Too much to take in all at once. Too many revelations wrapped up in a package of despair. It's horrible, it's unthinkable, it...
...It makes certain things connect in his head, no matter how much he doesn't want them to.
There are three cadets with whom Gabi has particularly noteworthy relationships. Her relationship with Reiner has seemed fraught and negative from day one. He hadn't been able to understand it before, but now, he can recognize it as the frustration of watching a loved one make the wrong choices, completely oblivious to your efforts to save him. Later, he knows that he will probably feel sorry for Gabi and what she must be going through. Probably even soon. For now, however, his brain continues down the path it has started in, plowing toward the inevitable destination.
Gabi and Sasha's friendship both is and isn't a mystery. Before, he had assumed that the two just got along very well. Now... Now, that is still possible, but he also has to face the probability that there's something more going on. He doesn't know what, but he knows what it isn't. Sasha isn't the Founding Titan. She can't be - he can't imagine any world where she would kill billions of people, even if some of those people were the ones responsible for the fall of Wall Maria.
He knows who would though. Horrible though it is to think, he knows someone who desires freedom above all else, someone who he could picture doing almost anything to accomplish that goal. Someone who he already knows can turn into a titan.
"Eren," Marco whispers. "It's Eren, isn't it."
Gabi lowers her hand and looks down. "I'm sorry," she whispers.
Marco shakes his head again. He wants to backtrack and deny his own observation, to say that Gabi can't be going after Eren, that they're friends. But if friendship wouldn't have saved him from Reiner, why would it save Eren from Gabi? Besides, it becomes a lot easier to kill someone if they trust you.
He's friends with Eren. Because he's friends with Eren, he wants to defend him, to say that he would never do something as horrible as what Gabi described, even though he arrived at the conclusion because he knows that he would. He would because there is an outside world, and if Wall Maria is any indication, someone in that outside world wants them dead. But who? How many people? If there were enough people... if he felt like it had to be the walls or the rest of the world...
Eren would burn the world and call it freedom.
"Do you believe me?" Gabi whispers.
Marco forces himself to look back up. In the time that it's taken him to think, some of Gabi's fire and fury has faded away, leaving behind echoes of heartache and exhaustion. The desperate need to be believed combined with a resigned acceptance that she won't be. Except now there's a bit of fear too, because she's said enough that if he doesn't believe her, he could get her in a lot of trouble and they both know it.
If he doesn't believe her.
It would be so much easier if he didn't believe her. Yet when she asks that question, he finds that he does . Somewhere over the course of their conversation, as dots connected and little details lined up, he went from trying to believe her because he made a promise to accepting what she said as truth. He doesn't even have any solid proof, he just can't deny all of the tiny mysteries that suddenly make so much more sense.
Besides, if she is delusional and he believes her, then some damage may be done, but it won't be the end of the world. If she's telling the truth and he doesn't ...
He can't afford to take that risk. That is why, when he makes his decision, he doesn't allow himself to second-guess or hesitate.
"I believe you, Gabi," Marco says. "And I want to help you."
The world seems to freeze for a moment. An expression of pure shock creeps across Gabi's face, slow and delicate as frost over a windowpane. "You... do...?" she whispers.
Marco nods. "Yeah. I'm... I'm not sure I'd be willing to help you kill Eren for something he hasn't even done yet, but... maybe I can help you in other ways? Like with Reiner, or anything else that you know about and want to avoid."
"Why?" Gabi asks. "Marco, this is going to be dangerous and you only just avoided death and... and we're practically strangers! Why would you help me?"
Marco tries to smile. It ends up being easier than he expected. Not because he's happy, but because after what she's gone through, everything that she's lost, and everything she's risking to try and make a future better than her own, he figures that Gabi needs it. For saving his life, he owes her that much as well.
He doesn't say that he owes her though, not when there is so much else he can say that is also true. "Because you're lost, and I can't do anything about that, but I can't keep you from being alone as well. Besides..." Marco feels his smile grow a little strained, but does not let it fall. "I don't want eighty percent of the world to die either."
Even if it is a world that wants him dead.
Confusion flickers across Gabi's face. "But you just said..."
"I don't want to kill Eren," Marco clarifies. "I think we should try something else first." Anything else. "But if there's a way to keep The Rumbling from happening, we should."
And if killing Eren is the only way to stop The Rumbling...
...He doesn't want to think about that quite yet.
Thankfully, instead of pressing the subject, Gabi asks, "Are you sure?"
Marco holds out his hand.
Gabi takes it, and as they shake, the bells to retreat begin to sound.
The breach has been sealed.
The battle for Trost is over.