This chapter might contain some graphic imagery of violence and war injury. I would consider the writing is still fitted to a "Teens and Up" classification. I would also consider the graphic level in this chapter to be what an aot audience expects from an Attack On Titan story.
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- Year 871 - Paradise Island
The Harbour
The Hizurian ship arrived at the Eldian harbour, and from it, disembarked many passengers. The girl walked around and near other families, always trying to look as if accompanied but also avoiding any proper contact with the other passengers.
"Name?" the guard asked, from behind the desk.
"Valerie Smith," the girl answered.
"And who is your guardian?" he asked while trying to look further into the line.
The girl also looked back to the line behind her, then looked forward. "I am on my own," she said firmly. The soldier looked unconvinced. "I am twenty-one." she doubled down on it.
The man looked down to the desk again, he could tell the girl was no older than seventeen. "Your papers?" he extended his hand, without even looking up at the girl again. The man kept writing things down with one hand while he had the other extended. "Papers?!" he said again.
"I- I don't have any papers," the girl declared with some uncertainty and the guard looked up at her again, he stopped writing.
"Well, Miss Smith, without the proper documentation, I can't let you in," the man replied, gloating a little.
"My father is inside," the girl lied. "He is an Officer in the Army and he has prepared my documentation-"
And the man interrupted. "And in which branch does Officer Smith work?" he asked.
The girl thought fast. "The twenty-third." she answered quite quickly and with certainty.
"Your father works in Mitras?" The man was slightly impressed. "That is quite far, and I still can't let you in." he insisted.
They could both already hear the complaints of further back in the line. Many shouting for the girl to move on.
"He is bringing me the documents," the girl was thinking fast, "we've arranged to meet on shore, far west of the harbour. If I could only get a horse-"
"Do I look like your equerry, girl?" The guard asked very harshly.
"I am not a girl. I am a Lady." She replied firmly.
"Very well, m'lady. The stables are to the side," he pointed to the left and she gracefully nodded, leaving the crowded line.
"Next!" the guard shouted.
On the far west of the harbour.
The girl had been riding for hours, down the shores of Paradise. The horse was tired and so was she. But she could see the tower far away, so she kept riding. The giant construction slowly materialised itself in front of Sonnenblume's bright yellow eyes. The sixteen-year-old smiled, she felt at peace.
'I'm home,' the girl thought. This was a home her family had planned, built and loved. But she was never able to meet it - at least not until now.
"How gigantic," the girl whispered, she was mesmerised. The Azumabito house was enormous, but this was different. This house had been built by Titans, which gave it quite a different quality in architectural standards. Sunny smiled, she had never thought about her father that way. Oh, how much she missed him!
The teenager was ready for her own adventure, and she had already made her plans.
"I should be comfortable here… for now," Sunny said out loud, for only the horse to hear. There was no one around for acres, so, the 'acre-woman' was completely alone - and safeguarded- in that lighthouse.
The girl had to take a moment to rest, for the house was completely isolated. The Lighthouse was surrounded by old - and quite gigantic - trenches that had once stopped pure titans from reaching it. On three sides that is, further down into the ocean the trenches stopped. For only gravity could stop those gaps from being filled with water.
Sonnenblume certainly couldn't jump the distance of the giant trenches. She couldn't even tell how deep they were when she stared into the pure darkness down below. She had quickly realised the only way into the Lighthouse was through the water. So she had sat down to catch her breath and prepare for the swim. Sunny admired the house for quite a few minutes, dreaming about the life she could've had there. And reminiscing about her childhood in Hizuru; she thought of the days when her family was complete and happy.
Sunny then finally stood up. "That's the end of the line for us, Diamond," she told the horse, with her hands on her hips. "You can stay here and eat your wild grass, I am going for a swim!" Sunny said very cheerfully while running towards the wide ocean.
It took a couple of hours for the girl to properly cross towards the Lighthouse. Even for an Ackermann, it was utterly exhausting. But she remained cheerful, especially once she finally reached the shores of the old, giant house.
Sonnenblume walked up the hill slowly, catching her breath and admiring the view. She then finally reached the doorstep. The girl looked back and saw how high up she was now, and how beautiful was the view of the ocean below. Sunny then turned towards the house again and looked up. The house was gigantic and beautiful. And strangely coated in white Titan Crystal, something the girl had never seen before.
She took a deep breath and walked up the porch. Sonnen stopped in front of the door. She looked at her reflection on the embellished silver knob. Little did the young teenager know, but her favourite uncle: Levi Ackermann had put a bullet through that very same silver knob, to her father's dismay. This of course had happened four years before, and in a completely different life, in a world now forgotten.
Therefore in this world: the one Sonnenblume had found herself in now, the doorknob was intact.
Sunny was clever. She swiftly took out a similarly designed silver key - that she had 'borrowed' from her mother's things.
The key had long ago been labelled 'lighthouse' and the young girl had grown up very curious about it. Her mother had since removed any label, but Sunny was extremely familiar with how the key looked, the image of it was engraved in her memories. So when she had picked around her mother's endless keychains, she found the 'silver key' again in a heartbeat.
Sonnenblume turned the key inside the lock, and instantly heard the sound of the door click open. After all the trouble she had getting there, after years of curiosity about it. And into the pure silence of that place's solitude. That 'click' sound was so loud and satisfying, that it echoed in both the old, abandoned building and into Sunny's heart.
She turned the knob.
The girl then let the old, heavy door swing open. Sunny finally took a first step, and entered the Lighthouse.
-.-
≃2000 years ago
[Four Years after the first appearance of The Titan]
The Queen of Eldia had gathered all of her things: some jewels and precious dresses, many things she wouldn't want the wench to touch. She was now standing in the throne room, with the old King, to 'officialise' their separation and her exile. They swore a few oaths in front of the King's councillors. Tara had dead eyes. She looked cold, completely unemotional. The Queen avoided looking towards the thrones. She could tell from her peripheral vision, that the wench had arrived to watch her defeat. She could tell the stupid teenager was seating on her throne, taunting her from afar.
Ymir had walked in from behind some columns, with her thin white dress and all of her fancy bracelets and necklaces. And had unceremoniously sat on her new throne. She had crossed her legs and was swirling the crown around her fingers, over and over again. She checked the old, now demoted queen up and down, deeply gloating from up the throne.
She twirled the gold crown over and over, around and around. And observed the light hitting the many jewels encrusted on it, she looked up again - to continue her taunting - and her eyes met Torin's, who had just arrived to take away his mother. Torin's eyes were a very clear blue, slightly mauve but almost transparent. He stared deep into her soul as their eyes met, the prince was very angry and the witch could feel it. Ymir would never forget that moment, it would be forever encrusted in her memory.
As the doors had been opened for the prince to enter and that small, private ceremony had come to an end. The King's councillors then all made their way out of the giant, ancient room.
The atmosphere was heavy and no one dared to say a word. Torin had arrived with the servants, who were carrying the Queen's many belongings. It was time to leave.
Tara looked very coldly towards the wench and Ymir kept twilling the crown, giving the old queen quite the evil smile. The old woman then looked towards her side, turning to Fritz, still completely expressionless. Tara then tilted her head, and broke the silence in the room. "You foolish, greedy, old man. I hope she kills you." the old woman said very regally. She then leaned in, closer to her old husband's ear. "If she doesn't, I'm sure Torin will." Tara added, giving her old and treacherous husband two small slaps in the face, slightly affectionately - in consideration for the early years they had shared.
Those were better times, before greed had filled that old warrior's heart. The old couple had fought many battles together and had also built this village together. A once small village that was now a kingdom.
Fritz could never consider his firstborn would ever kill him to take the throne, even though that was quite common practice for the times they lived in. 'My son truly loves me,' the King thought; nor did he think Ymir was smart enough to ever betray him. 'She is too loyal, that one,' the King also thought. So he dismissed his old wife's threat completely.
The old Queen then turned to look at their firstborn, who was standing further away in the throne room, next to the giant doors. Tara gave the twenty-three-year-old a loving smile, then walked in his direction.
Torin bowed down and kissed his mother's hand and she kissed his forehead, very lovingly. The prince stood up: "I thought you might want some company for this last walk," he said.
They walked arm-in-arm, leaving the throne room.
The maids the Queen had selected then followed her, carrying her more precious items in smaller chests, while a few slaves walked further behind carrying the heavier chests with the Queen's belongings.
Ymir watched the whole affair unraveling, still sitting on Tara's throne, still twirling the gold and jewellery encrusted crown around her fingers. She stared at Torin once more, as the young man accompanied his mother out of the door. For some reason this made her think of her mother and her brother, and that made Ymir uneasy.
The heavy doors then closed.
"There you go," Fritz turned to address Ymir. "Don't ever say again that I don't do enough for you, my dear," the old man told the seventeen-year-old, with a slight grin. "Are you satisfied?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Ymir replied while fidgeting around, examining the crown.
"It's all yours now. You can put it on your head," Fritz added, quite calmly.
"It doesn't look very well crafted," the teenager complained, reminding herself of the much more beautiful crown her mother wore - in the future, of course. "And…" Ymir gently placed the crown on her own head. "The old bat's head was too big. I need a better- A proper crown for my own head," she demanded.
"Very well, I shall send for the goldsmith in the morning. Is there anything else?" Fritz asked.
Ymir thought about it, still twilling the crown around her fingers. She leaned back, positioning herself more comfortably on the throne. "No. I think we're good for now." She responded and the King then nodded. Fritz then walked away from the room, leaving the girl on her own.
The teenager then looked at her reflection on the shiny gold of the crown, her green eyes shone even brighter. The lost princess was a queen now. The Queen of Eldia as she should have always been.
Ymir gloated for a while longer, sitting alone in the throne room.
Outside of Fritz Castle
Tara and her eldest met with her other children as she walked outside. She was leaving her home one last time - to never return. The siblings were stunned and saddened, all in line: from eldest to youngest, awaiting to say their goodbyes and for their mother to give them last blessings.
The slaves and the maids who accompanied the old woman started to place her belongings in the fancy carriage that had been prepared. For it should be a long journey, to the high mountains.
"I shall write to you every day." Torin said while still holding his mother's hand. "We all will," Elke complemented while holding back her tears.
The mother nodded silently, and gave them a half-smile. She knew she would never get any of those letters.
Tara then held her son's face affectionately. And leaned in closer, caressing the boy.
"When the time comes, don't be afraid to take your place," the Queen advised her firstborn.
"How will I know that it is time?" Torin asked back, confusedly.
"My precious boy," she smiled. "You were born to be a king. You will know." the mother stated quite regally. "I did not birth weaklings." Tara added. "None of you are weaklings." She raised her voice slightly to address all of her nine children.
One of the maids came closer with one of the chests, presenting it towards the eldest prince and princess. Tara opened it and took out a beautiful necklace from inside first. She then turned to Elke and placed the piece around her only daughter's neck.
This had been the Queen's wedding necklace and Elke understood that her mother had no need for the priceless thing anymore. She looked down and held the silver, embellished piece as her mother was putting it around her neck, Elke became quite reflective.
Tara fixed up her daughter's bright red hair and gave out her queenly advice: "Look after your brothers. They will need you." the Queen said. "More than anything now."
She then turned to the small chest again, the one the maid was still holding open, and took out the beautiful, bold and heavy ring that accompanied the necklace.
The King and Queen never had proper jewellery before, not when they were first wedded. But once the village grew and their eldest twins turned thirteen. The then Chief decided they should renew their vows. Fritz sold some land and quite a few slaves to gather enough gold and riches to prepare a proper feast and to craft the new wedding jewellery. All for Tara; in the surface it was to show his gratitude for their life together so far, and for the amount of heirs she had provided him - mostly males, which made the Chief the more happy.
They slaughtered many animals and had a great feast, with the whole village. Fritz considered it to be the wedding party they couldn't have when they were young, when they were poor. It was an immensely lavish party, only to keep up appearances.
This whole charade was in reality to appease his wife, Fritz hoped she would forget all of his concubines and the amount of children he kept gathering for himself outside of their marriage. The Chief was becoming richer and vainer. Tara could no longer recognise her husband. Her old and reliable friend was gone. They had fought many battles together, and had built all those riches. But amidst that lavish party and in seeing her husband's phoney, drunken ways, Tara knew it was over.
She never allowed her husband to lay with her again after that night. And in time the people of the village noted - how the Chieftess ceased to have children.
The fancy ring and necklace became a symbol of that for Tara: a symbol of losing the husband she once knew. And she also knew it was only a matter of time before Fritz betrayed her completely.
That time had finally arrived, so she decided to gift these cursed objects to her children and to give them a new meaning.
"I designed this myself," Tara noted with some disdain as she picked up the ring, analysing it. "I knew exactly how your father would've liked it, so I had it made perfectly for him." She told the children. "But he got old and too fat for the ring to fit his finger," she added the complaint, to perhaps justify to her children why their father never wore his wedding band.
She then took the heavy ring - made of pure silver and encrusted with jewels - and placed it in Torin's finger.
"Don't ever doubt yourself again, don't ever think you're not good enough. I didn't raise you that way." She told the prince. "And you may not think it. But you are already a king in my eyes," the mother added.
She then turned to her other, younger children. Tara gave them all bracelets, and gave them all advices.
Apart from Torr who was twenty-one years of age - and the twins who were twenty-three. All the younger boys were still teenagers, and the mother feared leaving them at such a young age.
Jari was nineteen and Osmond eighteen. 'They should be fine,' the mother thought. But Ralph and Raleigh were fifteen, Dorian only fourteen and small Tait was only twelve. Tara's heart ached with the thought of leaving them behind. She feared leaving all her children in the hands of that wicked witch, but there was nothing she could do about it. 'At least they don't know my fate completely,' the mother also thought.
Elke noticed how all those small chests the maids were carrying were where those possessions were: the necklace, the ring and bracelets. She had thought her mother was talking gold and jewellery with herself, to aid her expenses in the exile - which made sense why the maids were carrying those smaller chests and not the slaves. But now Tara was opening all of them and gifting her children with the jewellery inside. And all that made Elke quite confused. 'What is mother taking with her then?' she thought to herself.
Tara had asked for all her jewellery to be melted and for the goldsmith to make seven bracelets for the seven younger boys. All of them were unique and with unique stones encrusted in each of them. Except for the twins, those bracelets she asked to be made to fit together.
"You were born together, and you shall work together. Ever since you were born, you have given me quite the hassle-" the mother was saying.
"Not as much as Torin and Torr," Ralph interrupted with the complaint.
The mother sighed, she was tired of all the bickering of the twin brothers. "Torin and Torr fight due to their countless differences." Tara said and looked back to her eldest boys. She then pinched both Ralph's and Raleigh's noses. "You two have a bond that not even the other twins understand. You are the same," the mother explained to the teenagers. "So no more fighting." she ordered.
That was the moment of most levity in that entire ordeal. She didn't have the same light connection with Dorian however. The fourteen-year-old boy always felt dry and distant to her, even more so now. But Dorian loved his mother deeply, he just didn't allow himself to show it in those last moments together. And he regretted that forever.
Tait was already crying when she reached for the last bracelet, to give it to him. The mother then dried the twelve-year-old boy's tears. "Don't cry, my boy," she said.
"Please, take me with you!" the young boy pleaded and cried.
"Your place is here. You are a prince, my boy," the Queen reminded her youngest child. "And I'm sure you'll grow up to be a great man, even if I won't be around to see it-"
"I'll visit you! I'll make my way there!" Tait promised, quite emotionally.
"I don't believe your father will allow that." she replied firmly.
"I don't care if he disowns me-" the boy said defiantly and his mother became angry.
"Enough." Tara ordered her son to stop. "You are a prince and you belong in your kingdom."
She then turned to address all the nine children. "I am leaving; going away to never return. But I am also leaving behind my precious treasure. And I don't mean my gold and jewels. I mean you. Someone needs to care for these people, because your father certainly won't. I am putting my trust in all of you," the mother affirmed.
Tait couldn't contain himself, he hugged his mother very tight. And Dorian then looked to the side, to avoid his mother's eyes.
After all the harsh goodbyes, Tara then finally made her way to the fancy carriage; when a woman came rushing out of the building, crying like a maniac and dropped in front of the Queen's shoes.
"Your Majesty, please! Let me go with you!" the lady begged while crying over the Queen's feet.
"No," Tara simply responded, then entered the fancy carriage; with the help of the three maids she had hand picked to go with her. And one of the slaves then closed the door.
Tara did not like any of those maids, even if they thought she did - and felt quite honoured to be chosen to serve the Queen in her exile. Tara however knew her fate well, and she did like Maud, so she left her lady-in-waiting behind.
Deep into the night - Near the High Mountains
The carriage was moving fast, making its way up the mountainous terrain. Night had fallen and the region was quite deserted. The demoted Queen started to feel the weight of her fate, Tara felt like a stone had just been sat on top of her tired heart. She could hear horses galloping further down the mountain, making their way up fast. She knew.
"I do hope you will forgive me," The Queen told the three maids who accompanied her inside the carriage. "But I simply could not allow my children to witness my fall." Tara laughed. "He played me and I played him. If I only wished we didn't know each other as well as we do," the old woman declared.
The many years she had spent by the side of her old man made him incredibly predictable to her. Tara knew exactly what Fritz would do, and it was actually amusing to her, to see things unravel exactly as she predicted. 'At least I was able to maintain my honour and respect in front of my children,' the old Queen thought. 'I am glad to have spared them from this.'
Two knights were approaching the carriage fast. They unsheathed their swords and quickly cut the two front wheels free. The carriage immediately dropped and started to lose momentum; the horses were spooked, and immediately ran away and the coachman was stunned: he could not understand what was happening.
The horsemen continued to ride beside the carriage until it came to a halt. And as it came to a halt, there were two more knights right in front of it, blocking the road. And yet two more approaching fast from behind. The carriage was completely surrounded.
The maids were also stunned, they couldn't fathom what was going on. 'Are we being robbed? Ambushed?' The women thought.
"Well, ladies, this act is over. Thank you, for your immense contribution," Tara declared, almost ironically.
..
The coachman looked to the side and was in slight relief for a moment. He'd recognised the man near him, riding beside the carriage as it was stopping. "Oh, sire. Is there a problem? Why did you make us stop-"
The poor man couldn't finish his question. For Klaus had swiftly removed his head.
..
One of the maids screamed as she saw the blood spraying through the glass window.
"Truly. From the bottom of my heart-" Tara continued, very calmly, as Erik swung the carriage door wide open. "You avoided much of my children's suffering." She said, holding her heart, a bit theatrically as Axl pulled one of the maids by the hairs.
The Ackermann boys pulled the maids one by one and cut all their heads clean off.
Klaus and Erik had been the ones who cut the wheels free and spooked the horses, while Axl and Tyr were riding behind the carriage. Ivar stood in front of it, blocking the passage, together with their father: the General.
Ludvík felt the young boy should only accompany him for now, since he was only sixteen and still learning the family 'craft'.
The corpses of the maids and of the coachman laid dead, headless, spilling out much blood over the ground as the Queen stepped out of the carriage; quite graceful and calm.
"Stay here," Lud told his youngest as he came down his own horse and walked towards the carnage.
The Queen tutted. "Oh, Ludvík, look what your boys have done to my maids," she joked, and slightly kicked one of the women's head out of the way as she looked towards the Eldian General approaching the scene. "What a shame," she added.
The four eldest boys sheathed back their swords and stood to attention as their father approached the Queen. Tara looked the soldiers up and down, evaluating the young men. They were all at the same age as the Queen's children; Axl was twenty-four years of age and Klaus was twenty-two, Erik nineteen, Tyr eighteen and Ivar was sixteen.
"My boys will need companionship. Reliable and truthful companionship. Unlike what you are witnessing here tonight," the demoted Queen told the Ackermann boys. "I hope you can provide that," she asked. "Have that as my dying wish."
"Yes, ma'am." the eldest, Axl, replied. And all the boys nodded solemnly to their Queen.
"Now, what are you standing there for?" Tara turned her attention to Ludvík, in a challenging way. The old General took out his sword slowly, the man was still questioning himself: if he would be able to fulfil this act of treason to completion. "How long have we known each other? For how many years have we fought together? I don't think I can count," the Queen told him, quite regally and Lud's eyes dropped to the ground. He was starting to feel ashamed.
"Don't go soft on me, old fool," Tara said. "Do you want to look like a coward in front of your children? Because I made sure I wouldn't be defeated in front of mine."
Ludvík stayed motionless a while longer, still, with his sword raised. The boys looked at each other, confused, both the four standing to attention and Ivar, on his horse, further away.
"Unless, of course, you prefer this to be a fair fight," the woman regally proposed and quickly lounged towards the General, she swiftly pulled Lud's spare sword out of its scabbard.
But before she could raise the sword and begin her attack, Lud took advantage - of the angle of her head in that moment - and cut it clean off.
It was fairly quick. The Queen was dead.
Her blood mixed with the blood of the commoners who were accompanying her, Tara was now lifeless. The Queen had been beheaded, just like the coachman and the three maids; that was said to be the Ackermanns' favourite move.
Ludvík cleaned the Queen's blood from his face and arms, and from his sword. He then threw his handkerchief over the Queen's dead eyes, covering her face. The General then addressed his youngest boy.
"Go back to Fritz Castle and tell the King: 'it is done'," Lud ordered the boy. "And don't use any more than the three words I just told ya," the father added.
Ivar nodded and left with his horse.
"You two, go around the area and make sure there weren't any witnesses," he told Erik and Axl. The boys nodded and swiftly climbed back on their horses. Erik then turned back for a moment.
"If we do find anyone… Do we kill them?" he asked.
"Do you even have to ask me, boy?" Ludvík retorted.
"I apologise, father," the boy said and then left with his brother.
They wouldn't find any poor villagers wandering near those mountains that night, fortunately.
Beyond the bright, full moon up in the sky, the only other witnesses of the Queen's murder, were the murderers themselves.
"And you," Lud then addressed Klaus and Tyr. "Burn everything down. The carriage and the bodies, all of it. I don't want anything left here beyond ashes. Do I make myself understood?" the old General demanded.
"Yes, father," both boys replied.
And as the boys piled everything up to start the burning, Ludvík decided to climb the mountain further. He found a nice spot underneath the bright moonlight, and laid down for a nap. The heat of the flames would eventually reach him, and that warmth made the cold night more pleasant.
Ludvík slept with no weights in his mind, not a single bit of remorse. Once the ordeal was done, it was done. That was the old Ackermann's philosophy.
The throne room - in Fritz Castle
"I've been looking everywhere for you," Az said. He was walking down along the corridor, in the direction of the thrones.
Ymir woke up with the sound of his voice. She had slept in that very same place she had been while watching the old Queen being demoted: she was clumsily seated on Tara's throne.
"I went to the tower and you weren't there, then I jumped to the river, to our garden; I even went around some of the Castle's rooms - including the kitchen - and I still could not find you anywhere until now," the marlean soldier complained while munching on a loaf of bread he had found unattended in the Castle's kitchens.
"Don't be so loud," Ymir complained back. She still had her eyes slightly closed. "Someone can hear you."
"Hear me?" Az laughed and stopped in the middle of the aisle. He finished his unpretentious snack - still laughing - and in the haunting silence of the night Azzy continued: "Ymir, it's past midnight. You know how these old-timey people sleep as soon as the sun goes down. 'A world without electricity' is kinda depressing when you think about it." he shook his head.
"Can't you provide them some of your energy then?" She joked back and Azzy crossed his arms, which made his garments more clear to her. "Why do you come here completely dressed in marlean propaganda?" Ymir complained about the amount of enemy emblems in his clothes.
"This is genuinely the only thing I own, for now," Az explained and Ymir squinted slightly. "Ah-" she was about to ask, and he interrupted her. "I wash it," he clarified. "Constantly."
Ymir then gave him a bit of a sexy smirk. She took the crown - that had been sitting on her lap - and started to spin it around her arm again. She uncrossed her legs, spreading them a bit wider, still smirking. "And what do you wear while they are washing?" She flirted, thinking of his naked body.
"Were you really sleeping in there?" he asked, with a small smile.
"I may have fallen asleep here, yes," she answered, leaning back more comfortably on her new throne.
Azzy started to walk forward into the corridor, coming closer to the thrones. "And no one thought to wake you? There are hundreds of people in this castle," Az pointed out.
"I suppose no one walked into this room after this afternoon's ordeal," Ymir considered.
"What about the Queen? You're going to get some smacking from old Tara again if she sees you here. Caressing her crown nonetheless," Azzy warned.
Ymir smiled quite evilly, she then threw him the crown and he swiftly caught it. "I'm the Queen now," Ymir declared, still smiling and gloating. She crossed her legs again and straightened her spine: to look more regal on her new throne.
Az looked at the crown, turning it around, analysing it. "What about the old bat?" he asked, walking in closer.
"Oh, she went to live up in the mountains," Ymir replied quite victoriously. "Or so her children believe," she sighed a bit and looked up to the windows, to the full moon. "But I'm sure Lud has taken care of her by now."
"Oh, wow," Azzy said, a bit sarcastically.
"She had it coming and you know it," Ymir replied, a little child-like. He gave her a small smile.
Azzy walked up the dais, he gently placed the crown over Ymir's head. "Her head was too big," he pointed out after the thing fell over Ymir's forehead. "That's what I said!" Ymir replied, laughing and trying to hold the crown up in her head.
He was standing over her as she sat on the throne, Ymir looked up at him with her bright green eyes and they both took the crown down and away. Az smelled her hair quite affectionately, Ymir's hair smelled of many roses. He leaned down, closer to her lips and almost kissed her, but then didn't.
Az smiled quite charmingly and caressed her hair. He gently leaned away and sat on the other throne's arm, taking some of the hair with him. The extent of Ymir's long blonde locks was impressive. Az then let go, and her hairs fell down and back into position again.
"That is not how one sits on a throne," she complained, teasing him.
Further down and behind some columns, someone was listening to their conversation. Normally the Ackermann should have noticed the loud breathing right away, but Azzy was completely blind of any sense whenever he was around Ymir, especially when she flirted with him. In those moments, other senses inside his body would light up.
"Do I look like I care about that?" he teased back.
"Perhaps you do," Ymir proposed, maintaining the game.
Az was still seated on the King's throne's arm, he seemed to have no intention to seat on it properly. And the old King watched from behind the columns. Fritz wanted to know if the marlean spy had any intentions of seating on that throne 'properly'.
"I certainly don't," Az replied firmly. "I don't really see the point or why you care so much about that stuff," he complained. Az had noted how she wouldn't let go of the old and dented crown: Ymir was still holding it. Not to mention the fact that she had slept in that throne, that's how long she had remained just sitting there.
He could not understand her obsession over that system.
"Urgh!" Ymir complained. "You're only a Tybur. I suppose you don't understand these things."
"And because you are a Fritz you deserve to be seated there?" He questioned. Azzy sighed. "I'll never understand monarchies, truly," he let out while leaning over and seating even more radically over Fritz's throne: with one leg over the throne's arm and with his hand reaching up to one of the fancy wooden ornaments.
"Because you're a communist?" she joked and Azzy looked at her funny. "And don't even come and say I only know that word because you taught me. I'm sick of hearing you gloat as if the only schooling I've ever had has been from you."
"Well, I'm sorry for trying to help you a little!" He joked while positioning himself even more wildly on the big wooden chair. "I went to school and you didn't, I just want to help," Azzy complained, feeling a little hurt.
'School?' Fritz questioned in his mind. The old King had no idea what that word meant. He couldn't understand most of the words being said by those two. Their accent now sounded much heavier as they talked to each other - much different than Ymir usually talked, it was like a whole other eldian dialect. Those people were truly aliens in the King's mind.
"You had tutors, you did not go to school," she crossed her arms with the affirmation.
"Oh, so you do listen when I talk about my childhood?" He asked while leaning over, much closer to her again. That was how they flirted, to entice each other before more intimate moments. "And it's the same thing really. Even better since I don't have to deal with boring classmates." Az pointed out, slightly ruffling his own honey coloured hair.
"Is that your excuse for not having any friends?" she joked, looking up at him as he leaned closer and closer.
"Come on now," he complained and gently pushed the crown to the side, but Ymir kept holding it.
He hovered over her face once more, closer to kissing her but not close enough. That was usually part of their play.
"What were you doing here again?" she asked her spy.
"Oh," Azzy reminded himself. "Severus is almost at the curb. I'll give you better perimeters once I know more. He is bringing a legion with him this time," the spy informed.
"I can take a legion," Ymir shrugged. "Easily," she added. "I'm sure we will start a new campaign soon enough…" Ymir trailed off as her eyes dropped towards his lips once again.
"Good," he replied. Az then stood up slowly from the old man's throne and finally dropped himself completely over his beloved. They held each other close and started to kiss. He brought her closer, holding her head, torso, neck and hairs while they kissed wildly. She held him close too, pulling him closer and closer; but still, Ymir wouldn't let go of the crown. She was still holding it.
"Urgh! These wood chairs are so uncomfortable!" Az complained, raising himself up again slightly. Ymir didn't even have time to compose herself or to think, he swiftly held her again and built up his customary energy: Azzy jumped away from the throne room, taking Ymir with him.
Fritz came out from behind the columns extremely confused. Where had they gone?
High up the Tower - Ymir's quarters - Fritz Castle
They reappeared again, in a flash of blue light, and dropped over her bed.
Ymir hit him in the shoulder.
"How many times have I told you not to do that?!" she admonished her lover. "What if we end up in some other universe?!"
She looked a bit uncomfortable, Ymir always felt sick whenever Azzy took her in one of his 'jumps', but he knew it would pass, so he didn't really worry.
"There is a difference between a time-jump and a space-jump," he calmly explained while pushing the covers over their bodies, for it was a cold night - especially that high up in the tower. "I can tell the difference." He affirmed.
"You clearly couldn't when we ended up in this hell-hole," Ymir complained while crossing her arms. She then looked down to see her hands empty.
"That was then. I've had plenty of time to learn since those days," Az insisted with confidence.
She noticed how the crown was no longer in her possession.
"Where's my crown?" she asked. Thinking it had been left in the throne room.
"Oh," Azzy scuffled under the covers. "Here," he had taken out the old crown from under him and then offered it to Ymir.
"H-How can you bring objects with you, I wonder," she said, a bit confused.
"I travel with clothes don't I? Of course I can bring objects with me," he stated.
"Still, this is metal… I don't know, aren't there rules..?" Ymir considered, sitting upright and examining the crown once again.
"Does that really matter now?" He asked, leaning over her again. They kissed and kissed, wildly once more. Az gently took the crown away from Ymir's hands, he wanted her to stop fixating on it.
Az threw the crown across the room. "You don't need a crown," he said softly, "especially one that doesn't fit you." he told her very softly.
Ymir looked at the old and dented thing lying on the cold, stone ground and crossed her arms with a clever smile. "Sure, I'll leave it there. If you take off that stupid outfit with those stupid marlean emblems everywhere," she proposed.
Az smiled at her quite charmingly, "with pleasure," he said and then removed his shirt and threw it on the cold, stone ground as well; so he could go back to kissing his beloved.
They kissed passionately and then looked into each other's eyes.
Az and Ymir both smiled and laughed quite naively - like children, for their love was very pure.
The Titan Realm
Somewhere, sometime, in that cursed dimension
"There's something different in the air," Porco said. "Don't you think?" he asked.
"You are quite new here, brother," Marcel answered, holding him by the shoulder.
It was as if they were in a small picnic, sitting over grass and enjoying a sunny day - perhaps as a mixture of happy and calm memories - but in reality, they were of course in that cursed dimension.
"Still, he is not wrong," Ymir, the older, added to the conversation.
This trio shared a common Titan form, and Marcel had made acquaintance with Ymir, the older for quite some time before his brother came to join them.
She stood up, with her white, ceremonial gown and looked upon the stars. "There is something out there... and it does feel a little... different than usual," she said and they all looked up.
"Maybe 'you know who' is no longer among us," Marcel considered. "It feels... more peaceful here after all."
"She cannot 'not' be here," Ymir, the older refuted. "Otherwise this place wouldn't even exist, I can assure you."
"I know you can," Marcel responded. "You sure know a lot about her."
"Who are you talking about?" Porco intervened, a little confused.
"The witch, of course," Marcel swiftly replied. "The one our friend here shares her name with," he explained charmingly, as he held his brother by the shoulder and pointed at Ymir. "But were you named after her or was she named after you?" he asked, teasing Ymir a little.
"That is complicated, to say the least," Ymir, the older replied, crossing her arms.
Porco scratched his head. "Right! You were named after the old witch by those cultists that took you in when you were orphaned," he remembered.
"How do you know all that?" Ymir asked, astonished, confused and upset.
"It's all in your memories, dummy, of course I know," he answered, pointing at his head with a charming smile.
Ymir then kicked some sand in his direction, she still had her arms crossed. "Still, that level of retention is... incredible," she admitted, looking to the side.
"It still isn't your name though, it's just the name those fanatics gave you," he pointed out.
Ymir then sat down next to them once again. She still had her arms crossed, still very defensively, perhaps to shield herself from everything else.
"Do you know what my parents called me then?" she asked more softly. "Can you reach that?"
Porco tilted his head slightly and sighed. "I don't think I can go that far back," he confessed, "and even if I could, I don't believe you have that memory. Otherwise you wouldn't have forgotten it."
He then looked up to the stars. "That kind of thing: your own name, that your parents gave you, that's the kind of thing we never forget," Porco told her with a kind smile.
"I can barely remember them," Ymir sighed. "I wish I could have known. Perhaps they didn't live long enough to tell me my name," she expressed, feeling confused. "I don't know, really, all of those early memories feel like a dense fog to me," she confessed.
"I wish I could have this closeness with my predecessor," Marcel pointed out, looking around the empty void of sand and stars. "But I can never seem to find older Jaws around here," he joked as his voice echoed in the nothingness.
"Your predecessor is from a different generation, besides, is not everyone who can walk this void without getting lost," Ymir, the older pointed out.
Porco laughed. "'A different generation'?" he repeated. "You lived eighty years ago," he pointed out, still laughing.
"My situation is hardly ideal, and it wasn't eighty, it was sixty," Ymir said then doubted herself. "Was it eighty?" she asked out loud.
"Must be the old age," Porco joked and she pushed him, not hard, but he lost balance and fell backwards in the sand. They both laughed as she tried to help him compose himself, and Marcel decided to stand up.
He looked at his brother and Ymir playing around and felt a little confused. "You know we are all dead right?" he asked and they both looked up at him. "So maybe you two should stop whatever this is before it goes too far," he advised, a little disconcerted.
Ymir, the older laughed out loud. "Oh, Marcel, my dear, you died too young," she said.
"Nothing is going on here," Porco told him. "She's just teasing me, she likes to tease," he said very calmly to his brother.
"Or is it?" Ymir, the older questioned Porco quite charmingly, looking very intensely into his eyes.
"See?" Porco added as he turned to his brother and Marcel looked to the side, disapprovingly.
"Are you jealous, love?" she teased.
"And now she's gonna tease you," Porco said in a smaller voice as Ymir stood up.
She walked slowly in Marcel's direction. "Don't forget that I have your memories, love," she said very softly. "And I seem to remember a petite blonde girl swirling around there all the time," Ymir, the older teased him. "What was her name again?"
"Don't," he replied firmly and turned to the side. Marcel wasn't as joyful or playful as his brother.
"I also seem to remember a petite blonde woman around your head too, Ymir," Porco told her in a challenging way as he stood up, showing her he too could tease.
"That is different," she replied, more seriously now.
"How is it different?" Porco kept the tease.
"As I said, my situation is hardly ideal," Ymir, the older explained.
"I don't understand," Porco replied.
"Huh, must be my old age," Ymir, the older joked. "Let's take a walk, gentlemen," she suggested, and started to walk around the sand.
"You just said is not everyone who can walk around this void without getting lost," Marcel pointed out as the two brothers followed her.
"Exactly, gentlemen," Ymir turned back towards them. "I am not 'everyone'," she told them, raising her eyebrows quite charmingly.
"Are you taking us to see her?" Marcel teased in a small voice as he walked closer to Ymir, the older; while Porco walked further behind.
"Who?" she asked back confused.
"The petite blonde that hanged around your memories," Marcel explained with a smile.
"Oh," Ymir, the older stopped. "She's not here," she explained.
Marcel looked confused. "You just said if she's not here this place wouldn't exist," he replied, stopping too.
"I wasn't teasing her about the witch," Porco added from further behind as he came closer and stopped near the two, to join in the conversation. "Wait. How do you know the witch is blonde? Have you seen her before?" he asked curiously.
"Only from afar, once," Marcel replied.
"You are correct, she is in fact blonde, but she is not petite," Ymir, the older explained. "Her mother however: What a small, tiny woman," she joked softly. "A tiny blonde that you shouldn't underestimate," Ymir smiled.
"You knew the witch's mother?!" Porco asked. "How long ago did you live?"
"She's always saying weird stuff like that," Marcel added in a small voice.
Ymir, the older started to walk again. "This place is a lot more complicated than you think, gentlemen," she gave out her wisdom. And then stopped and turned to them again: "And so is Time." she concluded.
She kept walking.
"Where are we going?" Marcel asked as the brothers followed behind. The dimension was starting to become quite dark.
"I don't know really, I just fancied a walk," Ymir, the older admitted.
"Maybe we should go back," Porco suggested, but Ymir kept walking.
"Who is that?" Marcel asked as they could see a lost soul in the distance.
Porco squinted slightly. "Oh, that's Bert!" he said excitedly. "Bertholdt!" he shouted and waved, but had no reply.
Marcel looked to his brother with much concern, then started to sprint towards their old friend.
"Don't just go running blindly in the void! It could be an illusion!" Ymir, the older shouted to Marcel. "Do I have to teach these children everything?" she mumbled and Porco looked at her with a little disapproval, but with a smile nonetheless. "Come on," he said, and they both followed behind.
Marcel stood in front of his old friend, who seemed completely motionless and unresponsive.
"What's wrong with him?" Ymir, the older said as she and Porco approached.
"I believe his state is called 'perturbed'," Lady Tybur replied from not further away, as she approached the Jaw group. "It's a sad affliction," she explained while shaking her head. "Some people can have a very difficult time in this place."
"We should get Torr to sort him out," Ymir, the older suggested while analysing the comatose boy.
And Lady Tybur analysed her as the Galliard brothers stared at both women. "You are quite knowledgeable of this place, more than I expected someone like you to be," the Lady pointed out, somewhat condescendingly.
"Someone like me?" Ymir, the older questioned her.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Porco interrupted with his own question, he was feeling puzzled by the woman's appearance.
Lady Tybur exhaled. "I don't commonly deal with commoners, my dear," she replied to him, still condescendingly.
"Death makes no difference of rich and poor. We are on the same boat here, lady," Ymir, the older told her very boldly.
"Hm…" the woman looked around, analysing the situation. "Are you three wandering aimlessly around the sands? You could do that forever, you know?" she pointed out, wisely.
"We are investigating," Marcel joked.
"Really?" Lady Tybur asked. "How curious."
"Do you have this feeling too? That there's something different in this place..?" Porco asked her.
"Oh, I don't know, really," she replied while holding both hands together, very lady-like. "You should ask the old witch. She should know if our 'living', or better yet: 'undead' situation changes," Lady Tybur advised.
"Whenever she wants to talk to me, she just summons me and I'm there. How do I reach her on my own? I never tried that," Ymir, the older considered and Lady Tybur started to think again. "Hm…" she looked inside her head, considering the possibilities.
She raised her hand and they could feel the skies moving, and suddenly they were transported to some place else in the void.
"What a neat little trick you have learned." Ymir, the older told the lady.
"That's as far as I go," the woman told the Jaw group. She wouldn't dare go any further.
They could see a dashing fellow in the distance, and the Lady walked the trio towards him.
The man was young, but still felt somewhat old, and he was wearing clothes from a previous period.
"You should talk to my great- Great uncle Armin, I'm sure he would be happy to assist you," Lady Tybur told them smiling and then disappeared in many stars.
"How did she do that?" Porco asked, astonished.
"She could have been an illusion, or maybe she has just really mastered this place," Marcel considered as they walked alongside each other.
"Armin?" Ymir, the older laughed as they approached one another. "How interesting… Is not a very common name is it?" she asked.
"Neither is 'Ymir'," he replied sharply and with a charming smile. "Are you really looking for the witch?" Armin Tybur asked the group.
"Maybe," Ymir, the older replied, mistrustfully.
"I have a feeling you won't find her here, but you can ask someone else," Armin proposed. "Much further back and much closer to her."
Ymir, the older thought about it. "You two should go back, I'll reach you once all this is over," she told the brothers.
"Once what is over?" Marcel asked.
"This 'investigation'," she joked and gave them a half-smile, and the brothers understood. So, they parted ways.
She then looked at the old Tybur again, looking for guidance.
"Just follow that constellation, and you should be there in no time," Armin Tybur said, pointing up to the stars with his fancy cane. He smiled at Ymir and then disappeared into the stars.
Ymir, the older walked in the immensity of nothingness for quite some time. But she could not tell for how long, or perhaps, it was for no time at all.
After that while, she started to see a figure in the distance: a man very broken, completely crouched down in the sand, holding his own knees. The old man looked like a pauper, but Ymir knew who he was, she recognised him immediately. And he looked up towards her, with his very white blue eyes. They were almost transparent, but the man wasn't blind. He could see more than he cared for.
Ymir gave out a small laugh as she approached him. "Oh, I wasn't expecting to meet you at the end of this trail. I am acquainted with some of your brothers - especially Raleigh - but I never thought I would get to meet you," she told him in a tease, Ymir then crossed her arms. "What a mess have you made, Your Majesty," she told old Torin.
The man looked up at her and then turned his head away.
"Peasant," he mumbled.
"What?!" Ymir, the older challenged his ill manners.
"He won't talk to you," she heard a soft voice saying from further away. Ymir, the older looked up to see a very sweet girl approach her, she seemed a little familiar, and Ymir didn't know why. The princess stopped right in front of her.
"And who are you?" Ymir, the older questioned the Reiss girl, very mistrustfully.
"I believe you and I have somethings in common," she said while interlocking both her hands together, quite lady-like. "But mainly my dear little sister's affection." Frieda told her with a sweet smile, a smile Ymir, the older immediately recognised.
Frieda and Historia were similar in many ways, perhaps not much in facial features, but their smile was the same.
"Do you know who I am?" Ymir, the older asked the princess with some alarm and Frieda nodded solemnly. "H-how?!" Ymir continued her questioning. "You were long gone before I ever met Historia-"
"And I believed she recognised much of me in you, even from behind the many curtains I placed to shield her memory. I am glad she was able to find someone to protect her when I no longer could. So, thank you." Frieda said, very genuinely.
"How can you know all that? I've never even seen you here… ever since I came to this dimension… I… I don't understand," Ymir told her, sounding very confused.
"I was once cursed with the Founding Titan's abilities," Frieda told her while glancing at Torin from the corner of her eyes. "It is a tremendous power to have and it made me very knowledgeable about this dimension and its cursed souls… But it also severely disturbs one's mind," she explained. "I am glad to be free from it, in a way, I can thank Dr. Yeager for that," the princess said with a half-smile. Frieda couldn't hide the sadness she felt for her family's many curses. "If you allow yourself, this place can be quite peaceful and candid," she added while admiring the stars. "And you can make many friends."
"You know every cursed soul in this place?" Ymir, the older asked and Frieda nodded solemnly. "What else do you know? Do you know how to defeat the witch?" She became very curious.
The princess smiled.
"I know it is not long before the end," Frieda replied and looked up to the stars again. "As my dear mama used to say: 'everything will be better in the morning'."
- Year 845 - Shiganshina
A boy was lying on a field
Eren was sound asleep. He slept quite peacefully, underneath the shadow of a small tree. He dreamt peacefully, he had had nightmares before, yes, but not this time. This time he felt pure serenity in his slumber. The young boy could feel the breeze gently touch his face, he could faintly hear the sound of this wind also shaking the leaves. Eren felt that he could lay in that peaceful field forever.
He suddenly heard steps, small steps. A tiny girl was approaching him in his slumber. She was climbing up the hill, to meet him under that tree.
-Year 859 - near the many trees of the Palace's garden
The father opened his arms wide and kneeled slightly to meet the charming girl running in his direction. Eren held his daughter tightly and Ymir retributed the hug with much force, almost breaking his ribs.
"All right," the father said as she hugged him tight. "All right, my darling, that's it - or else I won't breathe," Eren joked, slightly gasping for air. He held the tiny girl up in his arms and stood up. The father then looked at her quite lovingly, fixing up her hair.
They stayed there, hearing the tranquillity of the wind in the tree leaves for some time.
"Will you leave me?" the small girl asked, a little frightened.
"Of course not," Eren said firmly. "I will never leave you."
The small girl looked down, very reflective.
"They hurt me," she said very quietly.
"Ymir," the father said while holding her chin up, so the princess could look at her father's eyes. He continued: "I will never let anyone hurt you. Never." Eren declared.
"But they have," the tiny four-year-old girl responded, still resting in her father's arms.
She then looked towards the beautiful garden, and pointed very coldly towards her small grave.
"Am I there?" Ymir asked.
Eren shed a small tear. He kissed his daughter's hair very emotionally. Ymir's hair smelled of many roses.
He'd thought this would be a sweet dream, but once again, it was just another nightmare.
And it was over.
The girl faded away, disappearing from his arms and the father found himself hopeless. He had found himself quite lost.
Somewhere, sometime, in that cursed dimension
Eren had found himself in that cursed dimension. He gazed at the beauty of that bright tree, it was made completely of light and he felt at peace while admiring its beauty.
When he noticed a soft shadow near him, someone was approaching.
"I've been waiting all this time to see you again," Ymir told her father.
They ran towards each other and Eren held his daughter very tight. Ymir retributed the hug with much strength, she couldn't believe he was there. Her father was actually there!
"Any more of this, my darling, and you will break my ribs," Eren joked again, gasping for air.
"I don't believe that would be possible in a dream," she joked back, looking up at him with her bright green eyes.
Eren looked around that dimension once again.
"Is that what this is?" The father questioned. "A very long dream?"
"I suppose so," Ymir answered, looking down. "I never quite understood it myself." Her reply sounded very lonely.
Eren held her chin up, and admired her beauty.
"You are as beautiful as your mother," he told the girl and Ymir smiled. "I'm sure she will revel in seeing you again," he added with a smile.
Ymir looked at her father, quite confused and Eren caressed her hair very affectionately.
"It has been long enough, my darling," the father said softly. "Now it's time to come home."
"H-how?" Ymir stuttered, she looked down with one tear running down her face. "It- it is impossible," she declared in a small voice.
Eren dried her tear. "Don't you want to see your mother again? Your brother? Don't you want to see me again?! In flesh and blood, I mean," the father told her with a wide smile. He was feeling very excited with his prospects.
"Of course I do!" she said. Ymir hugged him close once more. "I miss my family more than anything! I love you all so much!" she declared.
"Then, my darling, let me tell you a secret: nothing is impossible," the father told her quite softly.
Ymir cried in his arms. "It's all my fault. I deserve this. All of this is my fault!" she declared in a small voice as she sobbed.
Eren shook his head, he then held hers and looked the girl in the eye. He kissed Ymir's forehead very lovingly. "No, my darling," he said softly. "Sweet child of mine," Eren smiled at her, quite brokenly. "None of this is your fault. And I mean to correct it." he declared.
There was silence.
An eerie silence and Eren started to hear the noises of Shiganshina once more: he was waking up.
Ymir looked up at him, in the same cold and sad eyes as she had moments before - when she looked only like a little girl and had pointed at her grave in the garden - that made Eren feel as if he was inside a nightmare once more.
"But will you remember?" She asked with those cold, dry eyes and a haunting voice; and he woke up.
"Or will you forget?"
.
Nine years later or Four years before - Year 854 - Shiganshina
- Before the Crumbling of the Walls
Eren was completely out, he was dead.
And Gabi could see it, as she stared into his cold, dead eyes. But that only lasted the entirety of two seconds. The younger Yeager suddenly found himself alive again. Eren had regained consciousness and his eyes turned to stare straight into Gabi's. The girl startled. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
His entire body then started to emit and sparkle its signature Titan energy. Eren was about to transform.
The explosion was tremendous and launched the girl quite a distance as she tried to hold onto the rifle in her hands. This new War-Hammer-Attack Titan transformation also eclipsed the older Yeager. The Beast Titan completely vanished: the Titan was carbonised.
Reiner couldn't believe what he was seeing as he watched Eren's transformation. The warrior genuinely thought - and hoped - Eren had died from that shot. He watched the explosion unfold as he tried to recover his own Armoured Titan and also see what had been his cousin's fate, in the distance. He couldn't be sure if Gabi would survive this.
Connie swiftly jumped in with his ODM gear, closer to the ground. He quickly grabbed the brand-new Jaw Titan Shifter, as Falco emerged from his now scorching pure titan form. He held the boy in his arms and jumped away fairly quickly as well, to avoid being noticed by the other pure titans all around them, so they could have a head-start. Springer then looked around, for a place where he and the comatose boy could hide.
Jean was distracted, but unlike Reiner, who was worried about Eren and about Gabi's whereabouts. Kirstein was focusing on something else. Something only he had noticed happening on the Wall; right in front of everybody, but unnoticed by others, due to Eren's shot and subsequent transformation.
On top of Wall Maria
Armin stepped on the Wall, quite firmly. For the Titan Crystal was intact: the Wall Titans were undisturbed, so far. He fixed his thunder spears into place while looking around, making sure none of the enemy soldiers Mikasa had just slaughtered would move: making sure they were all dead; as the young Ackermann herself came falling in with her ODM gear and stepped on the firm Wall as well.
Mikasa and Armin then looked at each other firmly, confirming to one another that they were both fine - uninjured.
When they both heard the shot. And the subsequent explosion: Eren had transformed again. And it seemed he had killed his half-brother in the process. That was what Armin could observe from afar - and it would be fitting, considering what had just happened to Falco and Colt.
Arlert was so stunned and now focused on Eren's transformation that he completely forgot what he had been concentrating on moments before: he was looking for the Cart Titan, for it was nowhere to be seen. It appears Pieck had fled and had left her comrades behind.
The new War-Hammer-Attack Titan finally showed itself from under all that titan steam and lightning. Eren had lost his Founding Titan's abilities in that near-death experience, and that helped him concentrate on his old Attack Titan powers and his new-found War-Hammer Titan powers. His Titan looked better protected: coated in light Titan Crystal, and despite maintaining much of the Attack Titan's characteristics, it still looked otherworldly and unrecognisable.
"Is that Eren?" Armin asked, confused.
"We should-" Mikasa almost said. '-help him,' she completed the sentence only in her mind. For she had just heard yet another shot. This one now much closer to her ears.
General Magath was still very much alive. And he took advantage of their distraction to take out at least this one Titan before his injuries overtook him. To honour his fellow soldiers lying dead, headless, next to him and all the lives taken days before: when the Colossal Titan destroyed the Marlean Harbour.
Mikasa watched as Armin fell violently backwards, with an immense whole on his chest. The abrasion went from down his spleen upwards towards his neck and it was still burning. She was in complete shock. But the Ackermann quickly composed herself and crawled towards him to check the state of his injuries.
Armin stared at her, very much awake, gasping for air. He raised his hand trying to reach her, she could see in his pupils that he was in pure shock. Mikasa could see in his eyes as he was trying to process everything that had just happened in that split second and tried to reason as to why he couldn't breathe properly and why he was in that much pain.
"Breathe," Mikasa told him softly as she held his trembling hand. "Just breathe," she said as he gasped for air. 'You can't die right now. Not like this,' she thought.
Breathing was difficult, as Armin had lost his left lung completely and had only pieces of his right lung still trying to function, not to mention the insides of his neck were partially exposed; and the edges of the giant abrasion were still in flames as Mikasa tried not to inhale the awful smell of that burning flesh.
Dying was also unlikely, as Armin could feel his body preparing to do what any Titan Shifter body instinctively does when threatened and damaged to such an extent: he could feel his nervous system and his spine reaching for that otherworldly energy.
Armin was trying to remain conscious and just summon a simple regeneration for his lungs so he could spare Mikasa and the others down the Wall from any harm. That was his wish, but it wasn't easy.
The man moved again slightly, a little further down, still holding onto his weapon. Magath was very injured himself and he was struggling as the Ackermann turned her attention towards him. Mikasa looked at the old marlean general with pure fire in her eyes. She was angry, she was very, very angry. So she started to stand up again, drawing her sword in pure rage.
He was going to pay for that.
But Mikasa couldn't stand up completely, for tremors started to happen: coming from deep, deep inside the Earth.
As the earthquake started Mikasa fell down again, completely out of balance and Armin tried to help her. Still lying down, amidst the tremors, he leaned and reached for her with one hand; trying to bring her closer, to keep her secure next to him as Magath also held onto his gun and onto one of the corpses near him.
Mikasa let go of one her swords and crawled back slowly next to Armin, holding his hand as the Earth shook violently. She did her best to keep him secure and to protect him; holding him close as the tremors kept going, but being also very delicate, so she would not worsen the condition of the giant wound across his chest.
Armin's giant open wound or Magath's still loaded gun were the least of their concerns. The earthquake was making everything unbalanced and it wouldn't stop.
The cracks on the Wall started from the bottom, from where the Titan Crystal met with the shaking Earth itself. And those giant cracks started to spread all over: The Walls of Shiganshina were about to fall.
The Wall was quickly splitting open when the earthquake ceased. The creature had finally reached the surface.
Magath looked up to the skies to see that immense Titan flying up and up: he had played the game and he had lost. And the old general dreaded this realisation.
He had truly lost; it was over.
His eyes met Mikasa's again as they both could feel the ground breaking apart under them. She was holding Armin very close to her as he gasped for air and looked up to see that giant otherworldly monster in the sky - he could not compute any of what was happening. Mikasa looked to the old general, she could see desperation and sadness in Magath's eyes.
"I made a deal with the devil to end this," the old general told her. "But it wasn't enough," he said and that made Mikasa perplexed.
She watched as Magath and the corpses near him dropped in the middle of the cracks. It was like the Wall was dissolving itself and, at the same time, giving birth to these giant, reddish, flesh-and-bones creatures that hadn't seen the sun in over one hundred years.
The general was falling to his death, and so was she.
Mikasa could feel when the cracks split open completely, and she had no longer any grounds to hold her up. So, gravity pulled her downwards towards Earth. She tried to hold Armin, but they quickly became separated and she started to fall first and faster than him. She also tried to throw her ODM grappling hooks but they latched onto nothing.
She was falling fast and her head hit one of the many loose crystal stones floating around. Mikasa became unconscious and she kept falling fast as the Wall broke apart.
Armin was trying to control his fall so he could reach her. He became even more desperate as he saw her head hitting the rock and his beloved falling unconscious.
He tried to get some impulse with his ODM equipment and he finally reached her.
Armin held her in his arms. He hugged her very close, completely staining Mikasa's white shirt with the blood of his open chest. She slightly opened her eyes again, coming back into consciousness. She could faintly feel his soft, squishy and exposed insides and the more uncomfortable piercing feeling of his broken ribs pressing against her own chest. But she wasn't conscious enough to understand what was happening, and they were still falling very fast.
He was trying his best to control their fall and avoid hitting any rocks as he watched the Wall dissolve itself and give birth to those immense creatures.
The Wall Titans seemed confused as they woke up from their slumber, but those near the Colossal Titan Shifter immediately turned to stare at him. And Armin looked up at them, it was almost as if those immense things were acknowledging those two small creatures holding on to each other as they plummeted fast towards the ground.
Mikasa looked at Armin's big blue eyes for one last time, then closed hers again.
All happened in a split second; and they were still falling. Armin had to act fast, or they would both die.
He had to make a decision. If he just gave in and transformed - as his brains, his spine, his entire body was aching to do - that would guarantee his survival, yes. But the tremendous explosion would also kill Mikasa. He could not bear it: the thought of killing his beloved.
Armin was out of time and there was nothing else he could do. His injuries were too great and the situation - the shot, his giant wound, the Wall crumbling away and now: their fall - it all made him filled with anxiety and adrenaline: a very dangerous combination.
His spine was aching to reach for the tremendous energy that could save him.
So, he gave in.
His entire body was shivering in result of that sequence of immense shocks and he could feel his eyes watering up. Armin smelled her hair and held Mikasa even closer. 'This will be a gamble,' he thought. He sadly smiled with only one tear running down his face. "Hold on," he said, close to her ear. Mikasa opened her eyes again and the Colossal Titan exploded in transformation.
-.-
- Year 871 - undisclosed location - Somewhere in Paradise Island
The prince had been training for some time, for over those past three years.
As was customary for the previous Founding Titan inheritors in the Royal Family, he was training in secret, to test out his limits and to be prepared for when he would eventually need those powers. Ezra was often confused when inside his Titan. He had no guidance from anyone for he could not reach that strange dimension - or 'Titan Realm' as his father called it - to develop his powers properly under Torin's guidance.
He also did not enjoy that training, even with the royal advisers telling him it was 'good for morale' for the high-ranking special forces who accompanied him in that secret training, in that very secret location. His advisers constantly reminded the prince how he would eventually succeed his mother and be a king, so he should already build his foundations with the people around him. Especially with the Army, if he wanted to follow through with his father's vision for the prince's future reign. Ezra, however, didn't seem to care for 'his father's vision' very much.
The special forces' soldiers were the very best the Military Police could offer. They had been handpicked by Queen Historia, for she knew her son would be very vulnerable while training, the Queen and her husband wanted to make sure their child was safe, completely away from any harm. Historia and Eren loved their son very much.
The sixteen-year-old stood there, inside his fifteen meters tall Founding Titan's form, in that open - but quite secret - field. He could hear noises and he started noticing that his men were being defeated. He couldn't know by what, for his mind was always very foggy when he was in his titan form. But he could tell there was something out there and it was taking out his entire 'special forces' fairly quickly.
It was as if those highly trained men were nothing as they dropped hard on the grass. The prince looked around, but he saw nothing. Who or what was out there? And the noise, he had never heard the noise of ODM equipment before. Ezra was stunned and completely confused by this bizarre attack, he was very dazed as he felt something land on the back of his Titan's neck. He really couldn't tell what that was in that split second, but it almost felt like two very, very tiny and very, very soft feet.
The Founding Titan's nape was sliced through and Ezra fell unconscious.
He opened his eyes again and saw the clear blue sky. The prince was laying over the grass, his mind was still foggy and he felt very weak. His body was lacerated all over with titan marks. He raised his torso up too fast and immediately became dizzy. He slowly looked up to see the teenage girl standing in front of him, not further away.
"You killed my men," the prince said, in a tired but strong voice.
"Oh, they are not dead," Sonnenblume cheerfully replied. She checked her 'vintage' swords around and then sheathed them back into those strange-looking scabbards. "I'd have no use for that," she explained, maintaining her charming smile.
Ezra looked up at her, confused. They hadn't seen each other in many years, and they both had grown a lot since then. Sunny stopped to admire how her childhood playmate had matured. She thought him quite handsome, but she didn't let it show. The eldian prince just kept staring at her and at his fallen 'protectors', he hadn't woken up properly yet, and this whole bizarre situation was just getting more and more confusing.
"It's just knockout gas," Sunny justified what had caused his soldiers to fall unconscious. "It truly knocked them right out, they will be fine in a few hours, I think."
"You are a long way from Hizuru," the prince pointed out, with one of his hands supporting his head. He was still tired and dizzy from being removed from his Titan so suddenly.
Sonnen couldn't help but to give out a small smile, for the prince had recognised her. She hadn't been sure if he would, but he did.
"Well, I wanted to get out of there. And explore the world a little on my own," she told him.
Ezra smiled. "I'm sure your mother was thrilled," he joked. "How did you do it? How did you even know how to remove me from my titan? And what are you wearing?" he questioned her.
"Oh, You know… I did some research," she replied very casually.
Sunny had been travelling all around Paradise Island for a few months at this point, and she had found the eldian people to be very receptive - and talkative. She had quickly found out many things that should be 'Army' and even 'Crown' secrets, but were very well known by the people. Especially about the prince.
"This equipment is pretty good to handle Titan Shifters, even if it's not used anymore," Sunny kept talking as she sat down next to him. She sighed, a little dramatically. "After all, why would it still be used? If the Eldian Curse was broken all those years ago… and Titans no longer exist?" she questioned him ironically. Sonnenblume looked into his purplish-blue eyes very intensely, with her bright yellow ones.
"I remember your hair being a lot more messy than this," he pointed out while looking around her head, to change the subject. Sonnenblume had styled her wavy caramel hair in a braid.
"That was thirteen years ago. And I was three," she reminded him and grabbed her braid to the side. "Besides, the last thing I want is for my hair to get tangled around this thing. I don't want my scalp to be ripped off." Sunny held her forehead and opened her eyes wide for dramatic effect.
"Urgh," the prince complained. "What an image."
"You are welcome," she replied.
They both smiled, timidly.
"Why are you doing all this? Why go through all this trouble?" the prince questioned her motives while looking around the field of unconscious men once again.
"I wanted to talk to you," Sunny replied, quite charmingly.
"You could have come to the palace. We would have gladly received you, why do all this?" he pointed at all the soldiers scattered around the ground.
"I wanted a more private conversation," she explained. "Just you and me," Sunny added, giving him an affectionate side bump and smiling.
He was speechless.
"You are a strange one, Sonnenblume." the prince said.
"Am I?" she questioned. "I am not the one hiding away, training my powers," she pointed out in a whisper.
"So is that why you are here? To spy?" Ezra asked with a smile, teasing the girl.
He couldn't help but noticing how beautiful she looked in that orange sunset.
"Not exactly, I-" she noticed he was staring. "What's wrong with you?"
The boy would be red in the cheeks, but his cheeks were regenerating, so she couldn't really tell.
"Nothing! ...It's just-" he felt embarrassed. "It's been a long time since I last saw you, that's all…" he tried to explain why he couldn't stop staring.
"We were kids back then," she pointed out with a laugh. "And quite small. I remember you were particularly fond of a stuffed dinosaur," she reminisced. "So I had to take it from you of course. I think I wanted you to chase me," she looked towards him while still laughing and noted his eyes were still fitted on her face. "You are still staring," Sonnenblume whispered.
"Sorry," he apologised, coming back to his senses. "You look…"
"Older?" she pointed out the obvious.
"Nothing like your brother," Ezra concluded. It hadn't been very long since Azzy had paid him a visit - in the Royal Library - and the young boy's appearance was fresh in the prince's memory.
Sunny laughed out loud. "Are you calling my brother ugly and calling me pretty or is it the other way around?" she teased him.
"No, it's just- You look…" Ezra was searching for the right word. "You look kind."
'Kind?' Sonnen thought.
She didn't know what to say, that was the weirdest compliment she'd ever gotten. And the pretty girl was used to boys being very awkward around her.
"Okay…" she trailed off in some confusion.
"You spared my men," Ezra explained. "I mean, you are an Ackermann and yet you decided to gas my protectors, instead of killing them," the prince pointed out his logic.
"True," she gave him another side bump. "I could have just slit all of their throats if I wanted to," Sunny blatantly stated. "It would be easier, yes, but it would also raise too many questions. And I don't want that kind of attention," she explained. "One has to be smart about those things," she wisely said while pointing at her own head.
"Right. And what does 'one' want to talk about? So privately with me?" he questioned her with slight humour.
"I just needed to be sure, to know my suspicions were correct," she explained, then moved closer to his ear. "I wanted to confirm what I've heard: that you inherited the Founding Titan." she whispered.
"And as you can see: that is a secret," Ezra pointed out while looking around the secluded field and to his titan form steaming a little further away from them.
"What would people out there think?" she questioned. "So many countries have received Eldians with open arms, no more internment zones, no more walls. Because they believe our people are no longer a threat to others. Everyone believes the curse is done with. And yet, the Eldian Prince was still born with it. And the Founding Titan nonetheless!" Sunny stated. "One scream and you can turn all your subjects into monsters. And have them do whatever you want."
Ezra looked very small, he held his knees with his hands and turned his head down, away from her. The prince felt ashamed of his curse.
"The world out there, as it is now, would destroy this island in a split second. They wouldn't spare one eldian. They wouldn't spare anyone if they found out our people are still a threat." Sunny said very solemnly.
"I know all of that." Ezra replied in a small but firm voice.
She noticed her comments had made him upset and a little disturbed. The boy hadn't asked to be born the way he was, he had been cursed from birth and it wasn't his fault.
"When did you find out? What triggered it?" she asked more softly.
He gave out a small laugh. "I was terrified," he confessed, raising his head again. He gave her a small, broken smile, "Three years ago… with a paper cut, literally."
"Where was it?" she asked. "It mustn't have been pretty."
"Inside the palace, and no, it wasn't. It was a mess. The whole explosion, the transformation, it frightened me a lot…" he trailed off, looking upset. "And I destroyed some of my mother's favourite rooms," he joked, to lighten the mood.
"You were thirteen," Sunny considered. "Does that mean you will only live until twenty-six?" she timidly asked, with her left hand holding her right shoulder.
"I don't know, but I hope not. The last Shifters are still alive, even your father-" he stopped himself. "Even your father lived beyond his years… I guess I will only know when I get there," he joked with a timid smile.
They both stayed in silence for a while, admiring the sunset.
"Do you want to know what my mission really is?" Sunny asked.
"Tell me," the prince said with a small smile.
"I'm here to kill you," she told him, smiling back at the prince.
Ezra laughed out loud. "We have something in common then," he told her.
"What do you mean?" Sunny asked, confused.
"I wished to kill you once, so your brother could know how it felt. How I feel." he confessed. "Oh-" Sunny was surprised by his declaration, and it made her a little uncomfortable.
"But I changed my mind," he said, to ease her mind. "And it seems you are still undecided." Ezra pointed out with some charm.
Sunny sighed. "I still have a few pieces loose, to fit on my puzzle," she told him.
"And what are those pieces?" he became curious.
Sunny proceeded to explain. "Ever since I got to this island, and pieced together that you had inherited the Founding, from birth - that is not a well kept secret from your subjects let me tell you-"
Ezra laughed, a little nervously. "We just shrug it off and try to pass it off as gossip and urban legend," he joked, scratching his hair.
"That won't last very long," she advised, and continued. "Anyway. Ever since then, something has been bugging me."
"What is bugging you?" he asked.
"You are an Eldian," she said, "of Royal Blood," Sunny continued. "Born as a Founding Titan Holder."
"Yes…" Ezra was watching as she formed her argument.
"And… with your father being… well, your father," Sunny pointed out.
"So?" he asked.
"Why haven't you finished what he started then? That's what's been bugging me." she concluded.
"You mean what he failed to do." Ezra corrected her.
"All those Colossal Titans out there, I just wonder," Sunny looked towards the sunset. "It must be a constant topic of conversation."
"Oh, it is. Believe me." The teenage prince complained.
"That puzzled me a lot, so I went out to investigate. And here you are: training," Sunny continued with much logic.
"And?" the prince asked. "What is your conclusion?" he teased her slightly.
"Either you can not properly access your powers, at least not completely, OR you are lying to your father about it," she smiled cheekily. "Come on, which one is it?" she asked in complete curiosity.
"Now why would I tell you that?" Ezra cheekily asked back.
"Ezra Fritz, are you having doubts about destroying the world?" Sonnenblume maintained the humorous tone.
"We don't go by that name. Would you like it if I called you Tybur?" he questioned her, still playing the same game.
"I genuinely don't care." she frankly responded.
The prince sighed, he did care. "Just call me Ezra," he asked of her. "Not even Reiss - definitely not Yeager - Just Ezra. It will make things easier."
It was clear to her that his family issues were very troubling to him, so she decided to lighten the mood again.
"And what will you call me?" she asked, quite flirtatiously.
"Hm…" he thought about it. "Can I call you… Blue?" the teenager asked, sounding very soft and naive.
"Sure, I don't mind," she shrugged a little and blushed.
"Well, Blue. You see, I don't think like my father does," Ezra decided to open up a little, he was enjoying the company of his newfound friend. And for some reason, he trusted her. The prince continued: "I will be the King someday. And when that day comes, I will do things my own way. My decisions are and will be my own decisions. He has no power over me," he told her very firmly: in pure confidence.
Sunny reflected on his words. "So, you don't agree with him? Even knowing how the whole world will turn against our kind in a second if they find out the curse was never broken? That we still are what we are; and that you can do what you can do? Humanity will destroy this Island! And our people." She made her argument.
"Nah, ah, ah!" he gestured negatively with his head and his finger. "I didn't say what I can or can not do. I didn't agree with anything. Don't put words in my mouth."
"You can't access those powers, can you?" she concluded, he said nothing. "Come on! You can't access those powers. Otherwise you wouldn't be training, trying to understand your abilities here, in the middle of nowhere."
Sunny maintained her theory, but still, Ezra gave her no answer. So she changed tactics. "Okay, let's say, hypothetically, you could fully access your Founding Titan abilities. What would you do, really? Be sincere with me, I need to know."
The prince became reflective and looked towards the sunset.
He finally spoke. "I would free the Wall Titans." he said softly while staring into that orange sun and the sky. "There are millions and millions of people there, trapped. What has been done to them, all those years ago… it feels… very cruel." Ezra told her with pain and anger in his voice. The prince was clearly very affected by his family's sins. "I would find a way to give those people their lives back."
"You mean turn them back into humans? Is that even possible?" she questioned.
"You said if, hypothetically, I could reach my Founding Titan powers to completion and I say, hypothetically, that yes, it is possible." The prince made his argument.
Sunny became perplexed, that wasn't something she expected to hear. "There are millions of them," she said, sounding very confused. "Are you sure this would be a good idea? It sounds a little crazy to me…"
"They are not to blame. Like many titans before them, they were forced into that horrible, cursed situation. Can you imagine being trapped inside a wall for over one hundred years?" Ezra questioned her and she just stared at the prince.
Sunny couldn't really imagine such a horrible fate. She felt bad.
"They are people." he proceeded in his argument. "All those titans my family has created for these past two thousand years, all of them were just people." Ezra told her with much passion and pain. "People forced into killing and eating others." he sighed. "It's a very shameful history."
She smiled, blushing a little.
"What?" he asked.
"You are the strange one, Ezra." She told him. 'And you are the one who is kind,' she thought.
"So, you came here to kill me. Let me guess," the prince proceeded to unfold her logic. "Since I'm the Founding Titan holder, you killing me would insure another eldian kid being born with my powers, away from the Royal Family. So there it is: your job done. No more royal blooded titans equals no more chances of the world being threatened with destruction by a possible 'Rumbling' caused by the Wall Titans. Did I get that right?"
"That is exactly right." Sunny confirmed.
"But will it though?" he then questioned her. "What if there are more people out there with royal blood, beyond my mother and I? Suppose my mother decides to have more children? Suppose the curse changes in some other way, and others can access the Founding Titan powers?"
"What is your point?" Sunny became a little annoyed with him showing off his cleverness.
"Can't you guess my point?" Ezra asked with a smile.
Sunny exhaled as he stared into her eyes, awaiting her response. "If you turn the Wall Titans into humans again, the threat is averted."
"And that means, you have two options here, Blue: You can either kill me or trust me." The prince suggested, still smiling quite charmingly and Sunny looked away from him.
She stayed there, quite reflective for a moment, as they both watched the sun setting in that gigantic field.
The girl decided to leave.
"Well, you gave me a great deal to think about," she said while standing up again. "Thank you for your time."
"The sun is setting, it will be dark soon. Don't you want to come back with me to the palace?" he invited her. Ezra didn't want to part ways.
"No need. I'll just go home." Sunny replied.
"Home?" he asked. "You have a house here in the island?"
"What do you think?" she asked back in amusement. "That I've been living on the street? I've been here for months!"
"I wasn't sure… maybe? You seem like someone who would do that," he naively considered while shrugging.
"Good bye, Ezra." she said sternly but also with a smirk. The girl then started to walk away.
"Wait!" he stood up, a little clumsily. "How- Will I see you again?" the prince asked, timidly. He didn't want for Blue to leave.
She looked back, considering. "Maybe," she answered while shrugging her shoulders very charmingly. Sonnenblume kept walking away.
The prince stood there, confused, as he watched the girl walking away. He looked around his 'special forces' men, all in complete slumber on the ground.
"And what about them?!" he shouted to her in the distance.
"They will wake up in a few hours!" she shouted back. "Probably," Sunny added.
Ezra looked around his 'best' MPs, all lying unconscious, scattered around the field.
"What do you mean 'probably'?" He shouted again with concern.
Sunny smiled quite charmingly and waved him goodbye in the distance.
The prince was stunned, he just stood there and watched the girl walking away in the distant fields.
The sunflower eventually disappeared, into the sunset.
End of Chapter Fifteen: "Blue"