- Year 867 - "The Void"
"Well done, baby girl! Look at this!" Mikasa was proud of the girl for learning all the stitches. Just like her mother had taught her, Mikasa was now teaching her daughter all the traditions she had learned about her people. It is funny how memories work: just there, exercising those things she was taught so long ago, was enough to bring back the good moments she'd had with her parents. The good days, quiet and peaceful times.
Mikasa looked at her daughter's concentration and determination to get all the steps right. "I guess I can't just keep calling you baby girl," Mikasa thought out loud. The girl was no longer just a toddler, she now looked between five and six years old. She didn't want to name the girl without Armin there; that was something they would do together, in different circumstances, of course. The girl didn't respond much, at least not with words. Mikasa still felt like she was just a ghost sometimes, but she was physically there; it was difficult, the laws of that world were unknown to her, but the girl felt real.
"Do you want me to read you another story?" She removed the curls from the girl's face so she could look at it better. The girl was like a small doll. A doll she'd dreamt about for so long.
"Are you going to leave me, mummy?" The girl no longer felt safe. The skies looked different now: there was a chill in the air, everything was very cold.
"I would never do that, baby girl," Mikasa assured the young child, and held her close. But she was already leaving, and there was nothing to be done. Mikasa was slowly disappearing into a very white light, contrary to the light tree at the very center of that universe that now burned a much darker light than before. Their world was changing.
"Listen to me." Mikasa held her daughter by the shoulders, her hands already fading. "Don't be scared, don't be worried. Be strong. I will find my way back to you, no matter what it takes." The young girl was crying. Just like that, she was alone. Her mother was no longer a part of that world. The girl looked up to the stars, pleading for help.
-.-
"I AM GOING TO END YOU."
That sound echoed throughout their whole universe, like a quiet threatening whisper.
-.-
"Azymondeus"
- Year 850 - Early Winter - The ruins of Shiganshina
"What?" Mikasa asked. Armin was holding a book in his hands, a children's book.
"Follow the adventures of this enigmatic traveller. The dashing knight-" Armin was, perhaps ironically, enjoying his out loud reading.
"Give me that, it's my book." Mikasa took the book from his hands. "How did you even find this?" She was going through the pages; the book was remarkably well preserved.
"Well..." They were in the ruins of the Yeager house. Armin proceeded to explain some vague calculations on how he could presume that they were closer to Mikasa's room at that point, but Mikasa wasn't buying it.
The house was completely destroyed. It looked even worse without the boulder on top, just piles of bent wood and debris. Eren couldn't stand being there; he'd protested against it, but the new commander had demanded his presence. His mother's shoe was there, left in the same place for over five years, it was like it would follow his eyes wherever he went. Right there in the corner, just waiting for a response, Eren needed to face his mother. He wanted to move on from that pain, but it felt impossible, and being there wasn't helping, it was making it worse.
Mikasa was following Armin's movements with her arms crossed, as he tried to describe what the house and her room looked like and what it was now. When she finally noticed her small chest under some rubble. Mikasa startled and asked: "You were going through my things?" as she noticed the chest was open.
Armin looked down, naively embarrassed. "I wasn't sure if it was yours or Eren's so I opened it... and then I saw the book!" he said excitedly.
"It has my name on it," she pointed out, annoyed.
"I can't read that!" Armin defended himself.
"Don't lie to me, you have seen me writing it a hundred times!" Her name was the only thing Mikasa knew how to write in her mother's language, and she enjoyed practising writing it.
"Okay, I'm sorry," Armin said in a more embarrassed tone while scratching his hair. "I guess I was a little curious, but I know, I know 'boundaries'... I'm glad you kept the book," he finished.
"Of course I did." She held the book closer to herself, as it was a cold afternoon. "You should go looking for that watch," she warned Armin.
"I will, don't worry." Armin was a little reluctant to go back to his family home. That was going to be difficult.
"It's a gold watch, Armin," she reminded him.
"Plated. It's gold plated, it's not that big of a deal," Armin responded, but Mikasa just stared at him. "Okay, okay!"
He was already moving away when Eren joined the conversation.
"Why don't you go to your house?" Eren asked Mikasa, pointing at her aggressively.
"This is my house!" Mikasa said defensively.
"No it's not. It's MY house. You barely lived here, that's why you are taking this so easily-" Eren wasn't thinking straight, he needed to lash out.
"Are you crying?" she asked, worriedly and innocently, but it just made him angrier.
"How dare you? Do you think it's easy? Coming back to all this?! Go to YOUR house and see how it feels. You haven't been there in six years!" he shouted at her.
"EREN!" Armin ordered him to stop, but it was too late, he'd already succeeded in hurting her.
Mikasa left the two there, wanting to be alone.
"Let her go." Eren told Armin. With only a few words he'd succeeded in making one of his friends sad and the other angry. But Armin still loved him a lot. He could see that his best friend was in pain. He looked up and in the direction of his own house; he could see the ruins in the distance. He took a deep breath and turned his head in Eren's direction again.
"I'm going to see my house. You can follow me if you want. This place is clearly not good for you," Armin told his friend.
-.-
- Year 859 - "The Field"
"HEY! HEY! Can you hear me? Are you okay over there?" the old woman shouted.
"There's no one there, Mary, that's just your imagination," her equally aged husband told her.
"I swear I can see someone in there! I think they need help!" The old woman squinted as hard as she could.
"That's impossible! That's just some freaky thing of nature. We should go back inside before lightning hits us too!" The old couple went back into their humble home, hoping the storm wouldn't destroy it this time.
It was pouring rain when Azzy woke up. He could hear those voices far away from him. The night was very dark, but he was surrounded by bright streaks of lightning, uncontrollable lightning. He was glad that the storm made the old couple think it was coming from the troubled skies, when in reality it was coming from him. He was hoping they wouldn't get close to him; it would probably kill them.
He could feel the pain all over his body. He couldn't remember how he got hurt, but he was very badly hurt. He had cuts all over his body, from his face to his feet. He raised his hands as the lightning kept following his movements; Azzy could see all the cuts around his arms, where the bleeding wouldn't stop, even with the amount of rain washing most of it away. He cried, knowing he had to concentrate, but he was so confused and in pain that he had no memory of how he got there, and why he was in that state.
"Concentrate. If I don't regenerate, I can't jump. If I can't jump, I can't stop the lightning. I can't afford to hurt anyone again. Not right now. Just concentrate." He closed his eyes and let his memories wash over him. He thought back to the first time he ever had to do this.
..
Back Home - Year 853
Azzy cried like it would never end; he had fallen from a great height. Even after the constant warnings of his parents, he could not stay still. He loved to run and jump, he had only learned how to walk a couple of months before but he couldn't help himself. The boy had a free spirit.
Armin was a little nervous. He'd asked Mikasa to leave the room, her worried state was making it worse. But that only made the boy cry even louder, as he was very attached to his mother. With his father on the other hand, it was a different story. Armin had to win him over and over again, every time.
Mikasa had all the reasons to be worried; they could see the bloody fractured bone poking out of his leg.
"Look at me, Az, listen. This will hurt a lot, but only for a second, then I'll make it all better, I promise." Armin told his son. The boy felt a little more comfortable and confident to endure the pain. His father pulled the bone back into place. The pain was less now, but the wound was still bleeding non stop. Armin knew what to do next.
"Okay, now, I need you to do what I do. Just watch me," Armin told the boy as he pulled his knife from his side holster. He made a small cut in his own arm so his son could see him bleeding too. "I know it's hard, and painful, but you need to concentrate on the area that is hurt. You need to calm down and let yourself heal. Like this."
Armin showed his son a process that he was used to going through for a while at that point. He slowly healed his arm to see if the boy would do the same. Azzy was still learning most of those words; although he was far too young, he could understand his father’s logic. Azzy allowed himself to heal. He stopped crying and started watching that faint steam rising from his wounded leg.
"See? You are all right now." Armin kissed his son's forehead. He couldn't understand why the boy had been born that way, but that didn't make Armin love his son any less.
..
"The Field" - Year 859
Azzy was slowly regenerating, and he was finally able to control the energy around him. He was calmer, thinking of better times, enjoying the memories. Until he thought of the girl. He had to go back for her... but he couldn't think about this now, it would just leave him in disarray again. He raised himself up; he could not be found there, so he made his way back home: to Shiganshina.
-.-
- Year 850 - Early Winter - The ruins outside of Shiganshina
"You don't have to be here. You can just go ask the Commander to give you something else to do." Jean had noticed that Floch was troubled, being in that place. They weren't close friends or anything, but Jean felt for him at that moment.
They were in the inner area of Wall Maria; their job was to collect the bones of their fellow comrades. It wasn't an easy task, but it was a very noble cause, because those heroes deserved a proper burial.
"Don't worry about me. This is our job, right? I'm just upset we had to leave them here in the first place," Floch told Jean.
Bodies decompose faster when left in the open. Not to mention the fact that predatory animals also scavenge the rotting flesh.
The job of trying to make sense of the parts and separating the corpses was a difficult challenge. It was very hard for all of them, to think that a little over a year ago they were all just a bunch of teenagers with so many dreams and perspectives. All members of the 104th Regiment. And now they stood there, respectfully sorting through the remains of their fellow cadets.
Sasha was up in the Wall, looking over them. She wished she could help more but she was still recovering from her wounds. Growing up as a hunter, she had a better stomach for a mission like this. The whole situation was very upsetting, she really wished she could help her friends in some way.
"At least this is less messy than Stohess," Hitch told the group. She was annoyed and the smell wasn't the best one, but she had endured worse than that with Marlo. And not very long ago. She was still angry inside: she hated that he'd tried to be a hero, but she was proud that he died a hero. She wanted to be the one to bring him back home, to his family. So when - what remained of - the Survey Corps asked for the MPs to help in this retrieval mission, she was the first to sign up.
They were organising the bones into body bags and placing them in the wagons. The MPs there were ticking off names on the list, as they checked the name and squad regiment in the Survey Corps emblems. It was all very grim and bleak. They were all being as respectful as they could.
"Damn it, what do we do now?" Connie moved over closer to Jean, to ask him. Floch was kneeling down for a few minutes, motionless; he had found Marlo's body, it was right in front of him.
"I'll take care of it," Jean told Connie and walked closer to Floch and the body, holding a bag in his hands.
"Why did I survive this? I don't understand," Floch told Jean as he approached, seeming completely lost.
"I'll deal with this, and I'll tell Hitch, so she can rest a little too. You should take a break, it's been a long day." Jean rested his hand on Floch's shoulder. And he finally understood that this wasn't healthy for him, so he used his ODM gear to climb up the Wall. He needed a walk and some time alone.
Hitch could see it all happening from a distance, she could see how upset they both were. She went to a small corner in one of the ruined houses, not wanting anyone to see her crying.
- Year 850 - Early Winter - The ruins inside of the city of Shiganshina
"I forgot how much crazy stuff there was in this place, do you know what this does?" Eren was picking up some of the gadgets in Mr. Arlert's hidden room. He was feeling like a six year old kid again; the anger had passed. Armin was happy to see him smile again.
"I have no idea," Armin responded to his friend. "There's a lot of stuff here that I have no idea what it was supposed to be for. My parents just had these crazy thoughts and then they tried to make them into inventions, I guess." He was more concerned with finding the golden watch, but he had finally realised that he was much older now, and he could use his parents' notes to try to understand them better... and he could probably learn what all those gadgets were supposed to be for. He wanted to take that whole room with him back to Trost.
"This place looks so much smaller than I remember." Armin said, with a charming smile and with his hands on his hips as he looked around the room.
There were so many artefacts, notebooks, inventions and memories he wanted to keep close to him in that small room. Armin could feel his parents' essence there and he didn't want to let go. He could probably carry that room, his whole house back to Trost in his own hands now, and he did consider it but he didn't know what the Commander would think of that.
"Do you remember how tiny we were back then? For me, this room was huge! My whole house was so big!" Armin considered, maintaining the wonder in his eyes. "Now everything is so... little," he concluded with a smile.
"Well, yes, if you put it in perspective," his friend considered. Eren was a little off guard. Armin hadn't joked about them being Titans at all, they never even talked about it. So, it took a little longer for him to realise that his friend was being genuine.
"I mean, can you believe it has only been five years?! So much has happened since then," Armin told his friend.
Eren considered their lives so far, and how joyous it once was.
"I remember sneaking in here without your grandpa noticing, it was always a rush!" Eren was enjoying the memory.
"Yeah, I guess he thought I was too young to figure out how to open this room," Armin joined in remembrance while shuffling through all the gadgets on the shelf.
"You were definitely smarter than the MPs," Eren joked as Armin looked around the many drawers.
"True. If they had ransacked this room, I would never have found this." Armin told Eren with relief as he pulled up the golden timepiece from inside one of the drawers.
"I had no idea your father had that," his friend said with wonder as he approached. "It looks cool, kinda fancy." Eren then held the pocket watch, analysing it.
"I think it's been in my family for a long time. I used to think it was just a gift from my grandpa to my dad, because of the inscription." Armin explained, pointing at the engraving on the golden watch.
"To you, my son.
Be the master of your time."
- Armin
"Right, you're named after your grandpa, I always forget that! When we were kids, I just thought his name was 'Grandpa'; I mean, that's what we always called him anyways," Eren told Armin, and they both laughed.
Armin said, "He told me, when I was a little older, how his grandpa was also Armin, and he was named after him, and I was named after my grandpa. It seems to be a tradition in my family, I believe. So I have no idea how long this watch has been around."
"It looks a little old." Eren was checking the timepiece around. "But it still works, and it seems very precise." He kept going but Armin wasn't paying attention any more; his eyes were locked on something else right at the top of the other shelf.
"Eren..." He moved away in the direction of it. "It's the book!" He took a small ladder and climbed up to grab it.
"No way!" Eren had lost interest in the watch too. They hadn't seen that book in so many years!
The two started flicking through the pages like they were small boys again. They had that magical feeling back in their hearts. The wonder about what lay beyond the Walls.
"The Ocean." Armin had found his favourite page again. "I understand why we had to stop here first, and how much we still have to do, but I can't wait to get there! I'm going to prove to you that it's there! I'm going to show everybody how it truly exists! And how I'm not crazy!" Armin told Eren in pure passion, with his eyes full of joy.
"You know I believe you." Eren tried to mask the sadness in his voice. He had seen the ocean before, in his father's memories, but he didn't want to bring that up now, because Armin was happy. He didn't want to spoil his friend's joy.
-.-
"Thank you for helping us with reinforcements, Commander Dok," Hange told her fellow Commander.
Nile responded, "This is the least we could have done in a situation like this. I'm sure you will rebuild the Survey Corps, Commander. We can discuss transferring some of the very best from the Military Police to aid you in this time of need." He wanted to help the best he could. The two of them were still grieving the loss of their dear friend.
"We can discuss this further when we get back, but just know I much prefer it if your soldiers decide to transfer to the Survey Corps of their own accord. I don't want anyone feeling obliged to join us. This whole operation is a good attestment of what it's like for the Scouts, so I'm sure they will be able to make their decision after this," Hange asserted with the grace deserved of her new post: she was now the Commander of the Survey Corps.
"Agreed. This operation is a good test of character, for all of us," Nile responded.
The two Commanders stood there on top of Wall Maria, as they observed the ruins of that ghost town. They both turned to check the other side of the Wall.
"Should we worry about a counterattack?" Nile asked while looking through the optical-instrument.
"For now, it all seems quiet. We lost a lot in that battle. Many lives. But they lost a lot too: they couldn't take the coordinator back with them and they also lost their biggest weapon," Hange said while signalling with her head: pointing towards the two teenagers coming their way.
Eren and Armin were coming to join them. They knew the most important part of their mission was the training Hange had prepared.
Armin kneeled down to place some of the things he brought from his parents' house in his bag, when he remembered they'd left Mikasa to wander off. He knew where to look for her: this corner next to the river where she used to hide when they were little.
"I'll be right back," he told Eren. "I'm sure you and Hange can start without me." He gave Eren the book, and climbed down the Wall with his ODM gear.
"Where is he going?" Hange asked, observing the situation from further away.
"Teenagers," Nile said. "Don't worry about it, they grow up eventually. Where's Captain Levi?" he asked. "I haven't seen him in a while."
"He is dealing with a personal matter," Hange told him and Nile realised what she was talking about.
..
Levi was walking around the ghost town; he knew the house he had marked down all those months ago. But he was stalling, he knew how difficult it would be once he got there. He had the task to retrieve Commander Erwin's bones. Hange wouldn't trust anyone else with that assignment. The two of them needed to lay their friend to rest, it was the main objective of that mission.
He looked up and saw Armin zipping around the town. Happy and youthful. Alive.
Levi had no regrets about his decision. He kept walking.
..
Mikasa was in her small hidden corner, reading the Azymondeus book like she used to, when she was a child. Listening to the waters flowing down the river and feeling the cold winter breeze.
The city of Shiganshina had been so full of life; it was strange now, compared to how loud and full of people it once was. Now everything was so quiet, too quiet. It felt peaceful but at the same time it felt upsetting. The city was now just a completely abandoned ghost town, full of tragedy and sad memories. Mikasa was concentrated on her book when Armin came down and sat next to her, in silence.
"So, are you enjoying the read?" He finally broke the silence, not purposely trying to be ironic, but still sounding very playful. The book was a picture book, aimed at children.
"I can't believe I never noticed before..." She looked up from the book straight at her old friend. "You based your own self in a stupid book! It all makes sense now, how you wanted to join the Survey Corps in the first place! You thought you'd find all these adventures outside of The Walls!" Mikasa finished her point with a clever smile.
"Not entirely." Armin felt the need to defend himself. He gently picked up the old book from Mikasa's hands and flicked through it. "You can see clearly, all those nice paintings here are from places within the Walls. Whoever made this never went to the outside world, maybe just dreamt of it." As he was making his defence, Armin noticed how pretty and well made that book was. He was older now; he noticed things his child self wouldn't have.
"There are no mentions of Walls in the book, and how could you tell these places are all within the Walls when you were a kid, if we'd never left Shiganshina before?" Mikasa kept arguing. They were discussing a very silly thing, but they both enjoyed doing that from time to time, especially when they wanted to avoid more serious conversations.
"They don't look like the ones in the Book..." He was very clear, Armin knew his subjects well. "You know? The one about the outside world! These images are very different, and now we can actually tell where these places are, after our military training." Armin was still analysing the Azymondeus book and showing Mikasa where he thought those places were supposed to be. They had travelled all over in those three years as cadets, as a part of the 104th Regiment training program.
"You are right, this knight never left the Walls, even with all those fantastic adventures," Mikasa admitted.
"But I think whoever wrote this wanted to leave. You are right about that. I definitely share my curiosity with this author, and all these people who read it and are fascinated by these adventure stories. You are not wrong, this book definitely inspired me, even if I forgot about it," Armin admitted.
"And I really love it. Even if I forgot about it." Mikasa held the book close; it reminded her of her mother, of her parents and the happy life they'd had up in the mountain.
"Do you think it's a good book to read to our future child?" She finally decided to bring up a more serious topic, the playfulness had been fun but now it was all done with.
Armin was caught off guard, his natural answer for something like that would be: "In a very distant future." But he knew very well now how he couldn't afford to play with those things any more. Even if he refused to believe in the curse, deep down he knew that he didn't have many years left. Still, he felt very embarrassed and a little scared whenever Mikasa brought up those conversations.
Mikasa rested her head on his shoulder.
Armin gently kissed her forehead and said: "Whatever feels best for you, I'll agree with. If you think this is a good idea then I think it's a good idea too."
"Well, I think he'll love it!" She held the book up.
"He? Do you think we'll have a boy? Why not a girl?" Armin asked, playfully.
"We can have both, and then some. Only time will tell!" Mikasa was excited about their prospects. She turned and rested her back on Armin's back and looked up at the snowy sky as the small flakes fell on her face.
Armin rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. The more children they had, and the longer they waited to have them, meant he would have less time with them. That if he died after the thirteen years, like the curse said, he could die before that. The rumours and fears of war were all over their lives, but they couldn't live only under that fear and they couldn't waste time. They'd both wanted a family since a very young age, and they had found love in each other; so they wouldn't waste life because of fear.
-.-
- Year 850 - Autumn - The Medals Ceremony
"Eren?"
Queen Historia seemed a little discomposed, and the whole room felt silent.
Eren seemed very perplexed and no one could understand why. He'd been on edge since they got back from the Battle of Shiganshina, sleepless and paranoid; all his friends feared he was going insane.
The Queen quickly composed herself and removed her hand from his. She kept going with the awarding to the last members of the Survey Corps and finished all with a summarised speech, much quicker than what had been prepared from her. Historia kept looking up front, possibly to the decorations on the walls; she could not face anyone. Like Eren, she was nervous and uneasy as she finished what she had to say and asked her Military to go on with their daily activities. Historia swiftly went to her dressing quarters then; she didn't want to meet anyone, and just needed to leave that place.
A Royal Guard told her, "Your Majesty, one of the Survey Corps honourees is here: Eren Yeager, ma'am. I believe he's here to give his goodbyes." Historia sighed; she let Eren in and asked her maids to leave the room. They weren't used to that kind of behaviour: the whole Court still called her The Bastard Queen.
"Only a daughter of the help would let herself be alone with a foot soldier in her own dressing room. Pitiful!" one of the maids whispered to the other, as they went past Eren. He could hear them, they knew.
"What do you want, Eren? I don't have time," Historia told Eren as she looked away from him. She placed Ymir's letter on her things; she couldn't lose that, it was all Historia had left of her now. Historia had opened the letter to read again, to look for answers, she had too much in her head now and a lot of thinking to do.
Eren noticed she was avoiding looking at him. "I need to know what you saw." He asked. Straight to the point.
"I have no idea what you are talking about." Historia decided to look straight into his face, it was a better way to deceive him and to have him leave the room faster. She made herself look angry, but in truth, she was upset and confused.
The Queen knew what Eren meant; she was lying, of course. Eren and Historia hadn't seen memories triggered by physical contact since her father had taught her how to retrieve The Founder's memories from the holder, a few months ago, in the crystal cave. They had tried holding hands before, but it was never the same as it should be.
Eren knew the memories he had triggered wouldn't be the same as hers, but he wondered if they could complement each other. This time he had seen past memories of his father and others he couldn't recognise; he needed to know what Historia saw, but he could tell it was upsetting to her. Maybe she would tell him in her own time. "I'm sorry, I just thought you would want to tell me, but it's okay-" Eren was apologising but Historia interrupted him.
"Eren, I don't have time for your shenanigans. I have to go to Mitras for various important meetings, including with Zackly. After that I have to see how things are in the Orphanage in my absence, to then go to some inaugurations. So please move on with your day. Don't make me regret asking the Commander to release you and Mikasa from jail before time." She stopped herself; maybe she was going a little overboard. "I..." She sighed. "I just think you need some sleep. You need to allow yourself to rest. Do that for me, will you?" the Queen told Eren as she moved in the direction of the door. She opened it, to allow him to go.
Eren slowly moved to leave the room. He was troubled and puzzled to know why Historia's triggered memories were so upsetting to her. "I thought we were friends, you and I." He looked back in for a moment.
"Friends?" Historia questioned Eren. "Is that what we are?"
"No," Eren corrected himself. "Allies. We are allies. And we will always be." Eren reminded himself what they had promised to each other.
"Good. You are my only ally now, so don't forget that," she told him frankly with a whisper as she held herself on the door.
Eren smiled at her. "I never will," he told her as he finally left the room. Their conversation wasn't over, but he understood she needed time.
Historia watched him go. She couldn't think of a way to explain to him what she'd seen. She didn't understand it herself. She could only explain what she'd felt: she felt the most miserable and sad she had ever been. Sad for something that hadn't happened, but she knew it would somehow, someday, and she was dreading it.
-.-
- Year 850 - Early Winter - The ruins of Shiganshina
Levi finally arrived in the house where he had left his good friend to rest, all those months ago. It was peaceful. Levi had endured a lot in his life, especially being a part of the Survey Corps. He had buried many friends; he was used to dead bodies. That was the reason that Hange gave him the order, first to be the one to lay Erwin to rest momentarily in that house, since he was the only one mentality equipped to do so, in that time. And now, even with all senior members of the Military Police there to aid them, she knew she could only trust Levi with such a task. It was just the two of them now; they should help each other. Erwin was their Commander but above that, he was their close friend. He stood there for a couple of minutes as a sign of respect. Levi moved closer and sat on the bed next to the corpse.
Levi had a few things to say. He had thought about it, a lot. He told Erwin how Hange was doing well, how they found what had been the mystery in that basement, and how the people of the Walls praised the Survey Corps now. How Levi was taking him from there to be honoured as a hero. And more importantly, how worried he was about the future. He was worried about all those nations outside of The Walls who hated their kind. He told Erwin he knew war was coming again, but that he had faith in that kid, just like Erwin had. Levi knew Armin and Hange could do a lot of damage, no matter how big the outside threat was. He was worried about the future, yes, but he was confident in his friends. He told Erwin he would keep Eren in check like he promised. And finally, he reaffirmed how he was going to kill that beast who'd taken his friend's life, and so many other lives. Levi was going to kill the beast. He couldn't rest until he fulfilled that.
He gently placed Erwin's remains inside the bag and left the house to meet Hange.
-.-
Mikasa and Armin were there, sitting back to back, in that small corner, as the snow was slowly falling from the sky. The day was becoming a little darker. Hange was up the Wall; she asked Connie to call for Armin, as they were wasting time. Eren was standing right next to her, watching the thin snow falling over the town of Shiganshina.
"I'm sorry, I understand it is difficult for you to be here. But I need you to understand it isn't difficult only for you. We all here have troubling memories in this place and we all need to live with them. The sooner we could come back for this retrieval mission the better, and I needed to make sure we didn't miss or forget anything the last time we left this town."
Hange kept talking, but Eren was silent. He didn't agree with any of that. He didn't want to be in his hometown and he was really upset Hange did not respect his wishes.
"I know you don't agree with my assessment. And quite frankly, I don't mind. But Eren, listen to me." Hange grabbed Eren by the shoulders. "There are worse things coming in the very near future. Worse than what happened with your hometown. The Survey Corps was almost all wiped out in one single battle, and our military is not nearly as prepared as the ones mentioned in your father's books. So when the time comes, I need to know if I can count on you. To protect us. Can I count on you, Eren?"
Eren pondered Hange's words for a moment. He could see her desperation in what she had inherited from Commander Erwin, and how what was revealed in his father's basement troubled her, like it had troubled himself. They could understand one another and see eye to eye in that one thing.
"Yes," Eren told his new Commander.
Hange smiled, like she used to, and gently punched Eren in the shoulder. She turned and yelled cheerfully, "Connie! Go find Armin, we are wasting time! The snow is starting to fall."
"You already told him to go, and he left," Eren told Hange awkwardly.
"Oh, right!" Hange realised with an embarrassed smile.
Connie had left their company and was going up and down around the old city looking for Armin, following his Commander's orders. While Levi climbed up the Wall to join Hange and Eren.
"Hange, I have dealt with what you have asked of me. Now, isn't it better to finish this mission early? The snow is starting to fall-" Levi was looking around the town and up to the sky. "-The MPs are not used to Scout missions, and the last thing we need is to be trapped because of snow in this forsaken place," he told her.
"For now we keep things as planned. If the snowfall gets more severe we will retreat." Hange gave her orders.
Levi leaned over and asked Eren, "Where's Armin?"
In response Eren only shrugged his shoulders.
-.-
Mikasa leaned on Armin's shoulder, as he was concentrating on the picture book.
He was avoiding things, she could tell.
Armin didn't enjoy transforming very much. It had only been a few months, and he wasn't used to it yet. And he didn't want to get used to it. He was beginning to get tired and annoyed with Hange's countless experiments; and the military, including his friends, were starting more and more to treat him like a tool instead of a human person. Armin felt he'd been wronged. And, at that moment, he much preferred avoiding all of that and thinking back to his childhood. Things were simpler then.
"Did you find your father's watch?" Mikasa asked him.
"Yes. It is safely placed inside my bag. Don't worry about it," he answered, raising his hand slightly upwards, pointing in the general direction of the Wall.
"How was it for you? Going back into your house?" She turned her head up again, to face the sky.
"I was unwilling at first, scared." He turned his body to face her. Mikasa gazed into his blue eyes. "But it was a good thing. It was cathartic," he told her.
Mikasa thought for a moment; maybe she needed to be a little braver and stop avoiding things herself.
"Eren is right. I need to do this." Mikasa told him. Armin looked into her bright dark eyes. "I need to go back there, to my house too," she insisted.
"A-Are you sure?" Armin asked her, but Mikasa was already standing up. "Wait, are you going now?" Mikasa nodded and started climbing the old buildings.
"Wait!" Armin yelled, but she was going fast.
Connie climbed down to meet him. "Finally! I thought I was never gonna find you. Hange-" Connie was barely on the ground when Armin started to follow Mikasa with his ODM gear.
"Not now, Connie," he told his friend.
"What do you mean, not now?" Connie yelled at Armin in the distance.
"Tell Hange I'll be back soon!" Armin yelled back, to Connie's confusion.
Hange could see the situation from a distance. She was not amused, she hadn't expected to have this much trouble with Armin, of all people, but it was happening more and more.
Levi wasn't amused either. 'This girl has a lot to learn,' he annoyedly thought to himself. He often felt embarrassment on behalf of his young cousin.
"Mikasa, wait!" Armin was yelling at her, but she was getting further and further away, very fast.
Mikasa thought Armin was trying to stop her, but she felt strong enough to finally deal with all her trauma, so she was ignoring him. She didn't want the risk of Armin convincing her to change her mind and give up. He was very good at that.
"You are going the wrong way!" Armin said under his breath, panting. Mikasa was very hard to chase.
..
"Hi, Sasha!" Mikasa patted her best friend's head lovingly as she rushed by.
"Oh, hey! Do you want lunch-" Sasha was surprised at how fast Mikasa had gone. "Wait, where are you going?!" Sasha asked her as she climbed down the Wall with her ODM gear. Mikasa just smiled back at her. Sasha was confused.
"Hi, Sasha!" Armin rushed by too, dripping with sweat.
"Wait, where are you guys going?" Sasha asked.
Armin came back in her direction. "Can you hold this for me, please?" He gave her the Azymondeus book.
"Oh, I used to love this book when I was a kid! Is it for me?" Sasha yelled at Armin from afar.
"No." Armin firmly yelled back. Mikasa had made her way to the horses, and he was trying to keep up.
"Okay then." Sasha was trying not to get even more confused, so she went back to her meat sandwich.
..
Floch had been walking on top of the Wall for a while now. He had managed to avoid the entire retrieving operation; it seemed they were already revising the list and the retrieved remains. He didn't even notice the small running commotion near him. Looking over the ruins outside of Shiganshina had brought back all those horrid memories to the front of his mind. He couldn't believe how fast all that had happened, how fast all those people died, and yet how in that moment it felt endless, like they were all in a living hell.
He sat next to Sasha.
"Aren't you gonna eat anything?" she asked him as the snow fell.
"No, thank you, I'm not hungry," Floch told her.
They stayed there in silence for a moment.
"Why me?" he asked, looking into the distance. "Why did I survive this?" He turned to face Sasha; he'd been puzzled with that since the day of that horrid battle.
"I don't think I have an answer for that." Sasha held her healing wound. "I don't know why I survived either. Only the nine of us did, out of a couple hundred. But I'm glad for my life, and my friends. I'm glad I'm still here." She smiled, looking inside herself. "Maybe you are still here for a reason, maybe we all are. And even so, you can make a reason. You can make your life mean something," she told him as she thought of Kaya, and her parents, her family, and her village.
"Wow." Floch stared at Sasha. "I honestly wasn't expecting all that," he told her.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, pointing at him with her sandwich.
"Nothing, it's just... ever since I've known you, you only seemed to enjoy talking about food." Floch was sincere with her.
"What's wrong with food? Is there anything better to talk about?" she asked him.
"Good point," he said. "What's this book about? Is it a good read?" Floch asked.
"Oh-" Sasha looked to the side and picked up the book.
"Wait, is that a children's book?" Floch asked, looking at the cover.
"Yeah, it's Armin's, he gave it to me for safekeeping," Sasha told him while shoving the book in her bag.
"That kid is a very weird kid," Floch told her, a little dramatically. He wasn't very fond of Armin but Sasha took it lightly.
"Yeah, he is kinda weird." She laughed a little.
"And so is his crazy girlfriend," Floch mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" Sasha wasn't going to take it lightly that he was mistreating her best friend.
"Nothing." Floch decided to eat his lunch.
'I thought you weren't hungry.' Sasha thought mockingly. Floch was clearly avoiding more conversation.
-.-
"Mikasa!" Armin was already losing his voice, but it was useless. The snow was falling in and their horses were going very fast. They were nearing her house. Maybe it was better for her to find out this way, he thought.
Mikasa had already prepared her heart to revisit all the trauma she had lived through on the last day she was in that place. But she wasn't prepared to see what she actually saw once she got close enough to the field where her house used to be. There were three recently built houses around their field. Her house was nowhere to be seen. She was riding fast but she instantly pulled the horse to come to a halt.
She just stood there, confused. She knew exactly where she was: that was the place she was born and grew up in, and for most of her life she lived there. There was no way she'd taken a wrong turn or forgot her way home. She could recognise the area; those houses didn't make sense there.
Armin finally caught up and stopped with his horse in front of hers. "I'm sorry about this." He looked over the new houses. "Your house was torn down some time after..." He stopped himself. "...after you moved in with the Yeagers. Uncle Grisha and Aunt Carla thought it was a better idea to sell it," he explained with difficulty, as he could see the sadness in Mikasa's eyes.
"You knew about this?!" she snapped at him.
"Yes." Armin said firmly and continued, "All your family's belongings are kept in a safe place, and I can take you there," he solemnly offered. "I promised Grandpa I would, if we ever made it back to Shiganshina." Armin's grandfather had thought it was very unlikely they would ever be able to return there, but still, before he'd been sent to his death he'd confided in his grandson.
Mikasa was feeling very lost, she was paralysed.
Armin took her hand. "Come on, it will make you feel better," he told her. She trusted him.
[Still] Year 850 - Early Winter - The Hangar - Southern Wall Maria Area
Mikasa could see the dome in the distance; it was a very odd construction, the best thing she could guess it as would be a barn, a big rounded barn. They were on the other side of the mountains, in a very hidden area.
"You parents sure didn't want this place to be found!" Mikasa yelled at Armin. They were both riding very fast, trying to beat the snow.
"That was the point." He smiled back at her.
Armin was hiding his grief. He was trying to place his mindset in the remembered excitement that was going into that hangar when he was little. Before his world changed forever. Going into his home earlier that day hadn't been easy, but this would be impossible. He hadn't been in there since he was seven years old. Still, he wanted to give Mikasa relief and he was glad they were doing it together.
..
"Why would Dr. Yeager sell my house?" Mikasa had many questions, but Armin was trying to focus on unlocking the Hangar door.
"He didn't sell the house, he sold the area. Apparently for a very good amount, according to Grandpa. You know? Considering everything." Armin was trying to be as kind as he could; he wasn't going to tell Mikasa that people didn't usually buy houses in which the owners had been murdered inside.
"I'm sorry about all this, it must be a nuisance having all these things here." Mikasa was apologising; she knew opening up that place would be difficult for the both of them.
"Don't worry about it, it's not like we were using it." Armin was struggling a little with the locks. "Damn it, why did Mum and Dad think everything had to be some elaborate puzzle? Oh-" He was still complaining when the door clicked open.
Outside of the city of Shiganshina:
Hitch was standing next to the wagon where Marlo's remains were; she was watching over him, even with the cold. She wanted to make sure he would arrive home safely. Levi had placed Commander Erwin's remains in that wagon too, earlier that day, so he was carefully watching it as well.
They were all miserable: the psychological weight of this mission combined with the cold they felt made it even more bleak than it was before. They all wanted to rush home, but maybe this snow was heaven sent. To calm them down and oblige them all to rest, confine and entertain each other, while they waited for the snow to pass. Jean, Sasha, and Connie were sitting around the fire, telling jokes and making friends with the equally young soldiers from the Military Police. Hitch could see them having some fun around that bonfire. She stared back at the wagon and considered it for a while; and she eventually decided to join them. She needed some distraction.
Eren never socialised. He didn't feel like it any more; he was drifting more and more apart from his friends. The younger Yeager now had bigger concerns on his mind. He stayed further away, watching over the corpses. Just as Levi was.
"It seems we have all the soldiers accounted for. Some of the remains are incomplete but all names in this list seemed to have been found. Our part here is done, Commander," Nile told Hange. The snow was settling in. He continued, "But there's no way we can move out now."
"Agreed. I'm glad we were able to collect everything before this snowfall. These results are actually better than most Scouts missions. Not that we had much time to go back and recover the dead when Titans were chasing us," Hange responded with a humorous tone. She was looking through the clipboard, all names she recognised. None of them were from her platoon of course; those members of the Survey Corps had been completely pulverised. "For now, we seek shelter and protect ourselves from the cold," she continued. "As soon as the sky clears we'll move back in the direction of Wall Rose."
"Good call," he said. "It would be of some help to have the Colossal Titan here with us. It could protect the troops from the cold and the snow. Should we send some soldiers to look for them?" Nile asked her.
"No, that won't be necessary. They can take care of themselves and they know this region well. Sending others out in this weather would just complicate this situation even further. We'll wait for their return. And when they do return-" Hange looked at Nile and continued, with a low and firm tone: "-they will be hearing from me."
-.-
- Year 859 - The outskirts of the city of Shiganshina
Shiganshina looked like a whole different city, it had seen a lot in the last few years. From the first Marlean invasion fourteen years ago, and the Battle of Shiganshina nine years ago, to the apocalyptic event, only five years ago. The city had lost its Walls, which gave it a different architectural perspective, and the new buildings had grown and bled out of the once-limited space. The Empire was prosperous and that city had grown like any other in Paradise: the population was three times bigger that the ones once lost, fourteen years ago. Like in any big city, so had grown the suburbs and also ghettos and slums. With the high population count and the fast city dynamic, it was the perfect place to not be noticed, the perfect place to hide.
"I knew you would walk through that door eventually. I was counting on it." Levi was relieved to see his nephew finally arriving home.
The rain was pouring outside; Azzy was soaking wet and full of scars. "Come on." Levi gestured with a blanket to cover the boy, Azzy rapidly moved back while his uncle was covering him up, but not fast enough. With the water and his body still surging small quantities of energy, Levi got a small shock. He complained about it while shaking his hand off.
"Dry yourself up and stand next to the fire, will you. I'll make us some hot tea," Levi told the boy. Azzy sat next to the fireplace; he hadn't said a word yet, but he did start sneezing.
"What's wrong with you? What happened?" Levi asked him in disbelief, but still trying to be kind and not too alarming. Azzy didn't get sick, and he shouldn't have scars.
"I don't know, I don't remember." The young boy finally spoke. "I'm having trouble healing and I don't even know how I got hurt." He sounded very broken and confused.
"It's okay, it will come to you," Levi reassured the boy. "And your regeneration seems to be slow, but I'm sure you'll be fine tomorrow."
Levi was checking his wounds and moved closer to check his temperature, but Azzy moved away again. The boy was afraid he would give his uncle yet another shock.
"You won't hurt me, and if you do, I don't mind. I'm sorry, I just got startled the first time." Levi reassured the young boy. He then held his nephew's forehead and looked into his eyes; Azzy seemed very sad. "You missed your birthday," Levi told his nephew.
"I did?" The boy was surprised. He had no idea what day or month it was, as his mind was still adjusting.
"It's already February." His uncle pointed at the calendar on the wall.
"I missed a whole month?" Azzy asked, frightened. He'd never jumped that far before.
"Seventeen days, actually." Levi explained. He was worried about the wounds and how his nephew had gotten them, but this was not the time to ask.
"Does that mean that I'm seven now?" the boy asked and stood up with a look of excitement and confusion at the same time.
"You do look a bit older." Levi smiled and hovered his hand over the boy's head as if to measure his height.
He had no idea where Azzy had ended up or how long he was there for, but he did look the same as when they last saw each other. Levi had advised him many times not to jump around places, but it never worked, he wouldn't listen. It was an ability he was born with, and it was his nature; no one knew why. As he was getting older he became more and more difficult to control, and Levi kept fearing for the worst. But he hadn't expected it would get this far.
"Let's get you some dry clothes and some tea to warm you up," Levi said in a more cheerful tone. He walked again towards the kitchen. "Then you can tell me about the girl," he said from a distance.
Azzy opened his eyes wide, and his heart started beating fast. His uncle knew it! Uncle Levi knew the bad thing he had done.
- Year 850 - Early Winter - The Hangar:
[Southern Wall Maria Area]
Mikasa could recognise the furniture from her house, and her parents' possessions. Going into that place was like walking back into her old life again, and she missed them dearly. She avoided looking at the badly scorched structure hidden under giant sheets at the center of the Hangar, it frightened her. Armin was upstairs, dealing with yet another puzzle-hidden lock, for the safe this time. He had been eleven years old when his grandfather told him the codes, and a lot had happened since then. He was just glad he had a good memory. Mikasa climbed up the stairs to meet him.
"Here you go." He had opened the safe, and he handed Mikasa some documents.
"Why are you closing your eyes?" Mikasa asked him with a laugh.
"Boundaries. There's no need for me to know how much you inherited," he answered, still with his eyes closed. "Also, those words in that box I actually can't read." He gestured with his head toward the safe.
"My mother's jewellery box!" Mikasa said with excitement. She hadn't seen that box in a long time. She shoved the papers into Armin's arms. Mikasa didn't mind him knowing about those things; she did enjoy him being so respectful about it. But that box was the only thing in her mind now.
The box wasn't very fancy, but it was pretty. There wasn't too much jewellery in it, but they were all very well crafted and seemed a little old.
"Your family crest is all over it." Armin pointed at some of the pieces with the Azumabito symbol on them.
"I know, that's probably why mother never wore any of them," Mikasa said with wonder and sadness. She looked down at the safe again and laughed a little.
"You must've really loved those toys for your parents to keep them safe here, did you lose them often?" Mikasa asked with a smile as she took out the two small objects from inside the safe.
"Careful! Those aren't toys, those are airplane models." Armin carefully took them from her hands.
"They look like toys." She looked at them closely. "How are we supposed to fly in these?" Mikasa wondered, analysing the tiny models.
"Like birds do. See?" He swiftly gestured around the wings. "They have wings."
"Okay," she answered, quite unsure; that whole concept seemed otherworldly.
Armin was very excited to see the plane models. It was the one thing that had survived his parents demise. It seemed the Military Police hadn't known about the safe. Now he could try to pick up the pieces and study his parents' work. That gave him tremendous joy.
"I used to dream I was up there. It was as if I was flying and watching the world below," he said, wondering.
"I know, you told me," she answered, moving back downstairs. She wanted to look through all those things.
Armin thought how those young dreams he had were probably future memories. Now, thinking back on it, he understood the high-up-in-the-sky view he'd wondered about growing up was a view that he was used to now. 'And sixty meters is not that high up,' he thought. 'These airplanes are supposed to go much higher.' He pondered on it; really excited to start studying more about it.
"There's a blizzard out there." Armin finally noticed how the weather had turned.
"I know." Mikasa turned her head towards the windows. "What a shame. It seems we will have to stay here longer," she said ironically. She was concentrating on her parents' belongings, and she didn't want to leave.
"Those things will still be here after we go back, you know that, right?" Armin asked her.
"Yes, it's a shame to leave them here though. I don't even see a point in going back to Trost now," she told him sincerely.
"I know, but they stayed undisturbed for over six years, so I'm sure they will be fine for a couple more months. I think we might have a bad winter this year." Armin was trying to ease her mind, for Mikasa had found a treasure that she didn't wish to abandon.
"I'm glad it's all here," Mikasa confessed. "I thought for a moment I had lost everything. My heart dropped when I saw those houses where mine should be."
"I did try to warn you. Repeatedly," Armin joked with her.
"Dr. Yeager, Aunt Carla, your grandpa... They helped me. They took me in. They did all this for me. I don't even know what to think about it," she told him, looking around the Hangar.
"Some people are just good, they naturally help one another. If only the world was made only by those people. What a world that would be," Armin wondered.
"You all brought me in, you became my family." She was feeling blessed. "You and Eren too."
"We know," he told her, smiling.
Family. Mikasa decided to go through one of her father's old boxes; she was looking for some memories. Portraits she had seen before. "Found them." She placed the portraits in order. Then picked her father's drawing up and shed a small tear. She hadn't seen his face in a long time.
"Kenny..." Armin mumbled, trying not to sound too disgusted. It was hard, but such would be disrespectful.
That was the first portrait in the sequence. He was the oldest. "They all look so young," Armin continued. "I'm assuming this is the Captain's mother," he guessed, pointing at the second portrait.
"Yes. Aunt Kuchel. I think Levi looks just like her. Doesn't he?" she asked Armin.
"No way! She's so pretty!" Armin said with some trepidation as he looked around. For a moment he thought the Captain was there or could hear him: one never knows. Mikasa laughed.
"And what about him?" He pointed at the last picture, changing the subject. Moving away from pretty Aunt Kuchel.
"That's uncle Collin. Father talked about him a lot, they were the youngest and were always together," she remembered.
"He looks very young," Armin complemented.
"He died very young," Mikasa explained. I don't know how it happened, my father wouldn't talk more of it. I think he was born sick. It was very difficult for the family. Whatever happened, it split them apart for good. It was the reason my father left the Underground."
"Maybe Levi knows, you two never talk about anything," Armin suggested.
"That's just how we are. Also he knows less than I do," she remarked.
"Still, you two could talk a little more. You Ackermanns need to work on your conversation skills." Armin was brave enough to say it, even with Mikasa giving him the stern and customary Ackermann stare. "Of course, your family has countless other qualities..." Armin said, squinting as he was trying to think of something that didn't involve fighting, cutting flesh, or general violence.
"Talking is not always considered as a quality," Mikasa replied, and he took the hint.
They stayed there throughout the day, while the snow fell. Looking through the past, the happiest moments of their lives, back in those childhood days. Armin decided to light up the fire; it was getting colder and darker. Mikasa looked around the room, she then finally decided to sit down.
"That was my mother's favourite chair," Armin told her.
"Oh, I'm sorry-" Mikasa said, while making a small motion to stand up.
And he raised his hand with a smile, so she would sit down again. "It's fine, really. She's not going to use it," he joked. Armin noticed how Mikasa had avoided her own house's furniture, which seemed fair.
"Now, let's make fire!" Armin theatrically said. He held up one of the wooden blocks and gave it a small spark to catch it on fire. Mikasa startled.
"Don't worry about it," he said with a small laugh, the wooden block was in flames now. "I'm not going to transform." Armin justified himself while carefully putting the block in the fireplace.
"You need to stop being so careless about it," Mikasa admonished him.
"I can control it, you know that. This is just a cheap trick I learned myself." Armin replied, he was feeling a little offended.
"Well... Thank you for lighting the fire," she told him soothingly. Mikasa looked around the Hangar and thought how unusual their life was, and all the sequences of tragedies that had brought them together.
Armin stared at the fire, thinking of how it had been a part of his life, and how it had become a part of him. Despite all the suffering it had brought his parents in their last moments, and the pain it brought him.
'You didn't kill me, like you were supposed to,' he thought.
He had been born again for some reason, and his life would be shorter this time, so he should make the best out of it. He looked at his love.
"The seventh hill down river," Mikasa told him. "It's around the same distance between this building and where my parents' house was. It's far away from both," she explained.
"Do you think it's where we should live?" he asked. Armin understood what she meant. A new life far enough away from a tragic past.
"Yes. What do you think about that?" she asked him.
"I think it's a brilliant idea," he answered.
Armin stood up. He'd noticed Mikasa was starting to shiver, the cold was getting to her. The blizzard was strong and it had been going for a long time now. He walked in her direction to hold her, and warm her up. It was one of his 'new qualities' after all. Mikasa made him room and they sat together in the chair, he held her very close. Armin had hated what he had become when he first learned of it. But, slowly, he was getting used to it; trying to understand himself better and how to adapt to this new reality, and make good use of it. He had finally accepted what he had become.
"You're warm," Mikasa softly noted and held him even closer. "Very warm."
"I know," he replied and kissed her forehead.
They stayed there, embracing each other near that fireplace. Looking at the snowstorm through the high windows. Waiting for the sun to rise again.
-.-
- Year 851 - Mid-Summer - Wall Rose - Survey Corps Headquarters:
"No, no, no." Levi was pushing Hange back outside. "None of you are entering this kitchen with those dirty boots," he ordered. The Captain didn't know if they were coming from the stables or wherever else - he didn't care; he had just finished cleaning everything up.
"B-But..." Hange didn't even have time to come up with an argument.
"This floor is impeccably cleaned. You could eat off this floor." He proceeded to push his squad and the Commander outside to make sure they were properly cleaned before entering the building.
"I'm going to make him lick this floor then," Mikasa said, as monotonically as Ackermanns do sound when they joke.
"He probably will. Just to prove you his point," Armin told her with a laugh.
They were stacking some goods up in the cabinets in that very same kitchen.
"When do you think the next mission will be?" Armin asked excitedly.
"We barely got back from the last- Oh," Mikasa had noticed Armin's eyes were shining. 'Here we go,' she thought.
"It's so much more beautiful than I imagined and it's so gigantic! It goes on forever! We need to get back out there!" He set off on that same speech again; it was getting annoying. Mikasa had been already involuntarily annoyed with her new husband for the past few weeks; yes, she was aware how amazing the outside of the Walls was but he wouldn't shut up about all that since they'd gotten back. Still, she thought it was endearing, and tried to focus on that.
"I'm starting to think you love the ocean more than me. Come to think of it, you've always loved this ocean a little too much," she joked.
"You know it's not like that..." Armin said as he scratched his hair with embarrassment. He then noticed Mikasa smirking at him. It was difficult to understand her sense of humour sometimes. She liked to make him nervous and confused.
She smiled. "I know, I think it's very beautiful too," Mikasa stated, giving him a little relief.
"Woah! What are you doing?" Armin asked as Mikasa pulled up one of the chairs and climbed it to reach some of the top shelves. "Be careful!" he told her, trying to hold her and the chair so she would not fall.
"Armin, I'm pregnant. I'm not dead," she told him firmly.
Mikasa stood firmly on the chair to reach the higher shelves. But as she raised her hand, she failed to notice some of the old cutlery that was sitting at the top shelf, and accidentally dropped it all over them.
One of the sharpest knives fell, slicing through her palm as she reflexively tried to grab it. The blood sprayed all over them and the kitchen, as the cut that old knife had made on her hand was very deep. Mikasa was completely stunned. But the blood all over them and the pain of the deep cut wasn't what had paralysed her.
The young mother had never felt that before in her life: she couldn't move as the strange and warm energy flowed through her hand. Mikasa just stared at the wide but rapidly healing cut, completely motionless.
The wound had immediately started to heal; they could see that signature 'otherworldly' steam coming out of it.
The regeneration was much faster than with Titan Shifters. She was terrified watching that process. Armin on the other hand, was surprised too, yes, but he quickly processed what was going on. And that wasn't something strange to him, on the contrary, it was very familiar.
They both could tell this was their unborn child's doing. However, Armin wasn't nearly as horrified as Mikasa was. He was actually a bit more curious about this fetus now.
Mikasa couldn't handle it. That strange situation made her feel sick, mentally and physically. She threw up all over the kitchen floor. Armin went over closer to her, trying to comfort her, but she immediately pushed him away.
"You!" she said nervously. "You did this to me!" Her voice was trembling. She then raced up the stairs, crying and locked herself in their room.
"Mikasa! Wait!" Armin was about to chase after her - as he tried to fully realise in his mind what had just happened, when he turned to notice the Captain.
Levi was standing on the other side of the kitchen, with his arms crossed. Armin had no idea how long he'd been there for.
"You better clean all this up," Levi said, quite firmly, as he'd noticed all that vomit.
Armin was relieved to see that Levi was focusing on that, 'maybe he didn't see anything,' he considered. "I will, in a second." Armin told the Captain and then raced up the stairs, after Mikasa.
Levi went over to the sink and looked at the knife and the amount of blood around the area. He thought for a moment. Levi then looked over the window to see other members of the Survey Corps outside. 'They could come in at any moment,' he thought. He decided to clean the whole thing off, and make sure it was erased before Hange and the others could know of it. Levi had an idea of what had just happened; he trusted his guts and he knew this wasn't information to be shared. He felt that child would never be safe because of it. Azzy was still in the first weeks of his life at that point, and his uncle was already keeping him safe. Levi would always protect him.
-.-
"Ymir!
Ymir!
Ymir!"
Historia yelled helplessly into the wind. It was a cold night, and it was like the wind was hissing back: "You will never find her!"
The trees seemed to be laughing at her, that forest felt so haunted at night. Still, Historia kept shouting and shouting.
- Year 851 - Mid-Summer - Wall Rose - The Queen's Farm:
"Ymir!"
Historia woke herself up from that same nightmare again. She couldn't take it any more, and it terrified her.
She looked at the time. It felt like the middle of the night but she realised it was almost dawn. The perfect time between night and day, when one could still see the bright stars before the sun came out. The Queen decided to go outside; it was like something was calling her. She needed some air and she wanted to see those stars and the sun rising.
Historia stood there, with the wind in her hair, a friendlier wind than the one from her nightmares. A brisk pleasant wind. She was looking for peace, she just wanted her mind to rest, so she stood there looking at the stars. After a while she started to feel half asleep - half awake. It was like a dream again; she was just hoping it wouldn't turn into a nightmare. Historia didn't want for her worries to reach her.
In the comfort of the light breeze in her fields, she gazed at the beautiful morning stars. And due to her concentration, it took some time for Historia to notice that there was a figure coming to meet her. She wasn't expecting it, or perhaps she was, either way, she was extremely happy to see him again.
Eren made her feel safe.
Her first and natural reaction would be to ask why he was there, arriving so early at her house to see her, but Historia knew.
"We need to talk. We really do," he told her as he came closer.
She rushed to hug him. Eren held her with care and love, and kissed her forehead. They stayed there for a moment, watching the sun rise.
It was a new day. She forgot the nightmare. Eren gave her what she wanted with that kiss: no more bad memories.
.
- Year ? - The Void a.k.a "Paths"
"Are you done frightening your mother?" the beautiful woman said to the small figure coming into her presence.
Ymir was staring at the bright blue light at the center of everything. The girl stopped and stood a few meters behind her. Ymir turned to look at the young girl.
"She is gone," the young teenager said, with her left hand holding her right arm, confused and wondering. The daughter missed Mikasa a lot already. The time they had spent together had been beautiful and joyful to her, a shining light in the eternity of darkness and nothingness she'd felt before. But her mother was gone now. The girl was frightened herself, worried about things that she could not understand.
"Can you explain to me what is happening?" she asked softly. There was a lot of anguish and confusion in her broken voice as she spoke to Ymir.
Ymir looked up to the skies. "The stars are changing," she said, and then looked at the girl with an evil smile. Ymir then raised her arm and waved her farewell. "Goodbye!" she said in pure gloat and triumph.
The girl looked down at her body. Her molecules were turning a bright white; she was checking her arms and hands as she felt the world fading away. She felt empty. The girl gave Ymir one last look of desperation as she was being completely erased from existence.
And just like that, Sonnen was gone.
End of Chapter Five: "A Young Dream"