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 852 - January 29, 11:33pm - Tybur Lake, near the Castle
It was pitch black that night, the moon was nowhere to be seen. And there was pure silence. When all of the sudden a small blue light appeared inside the lake, and with it, thousands and thousands, millions of bright speckles started to appear. The insides of the lake were lightened up completely as the small lights found each other and joined together. Forming that body again. In pure magic, the soul of the wanderer had been returned to himself. The young soul felt fresh, his first thought was that he was on that field once again, the feeling was eerily similar, but he wasn't. The man quickly realised he hadn't been reformed on the place where his life started, like usual, but rather where it had ended. And something was missing.
He felt like a ghost, like a shell of himself as he emerged from the waters and left the lake. That 'something' missing made him turn his attention to the castle in the distance.
- Year 852 - January 30, 04:13am - The Lighthouse - Paradise Island
"He is so light!" Jean commented. He was holding the small newborn in his hands, "look! I can hold him with just one arm, his head fits in my hand," he added with a smile, holding the little one with only his right arm.
"Oh, let me try!" Eren said excitedly, taking his nephew from Jean's hand and holding the boy with only his left arm. He looked at the sleeping newborn with wonder in his eyes.
"C-Can you guys be a little more careful?" Armin asked. Nervous and concerned, he didn't like the way the boys were carrying his small child, he felt they were being careless.
"It's fine, we're not gonna drop him," Eren said with a naive smile, the baby was sound asleep in his hand.
"Yeah, but you guys might be going a little overboard," Connie complained, crossing his arms.
The four friends were downstairs, in the lighthouse. The friends had been there in anticipation for the birth since early afternoon, and had stayed up all night afterwards. So they were all a little lightheaded and tired.
"We're not," Jean told Connie. "Let me hold him again!" he asked Eren with excitement.
"No, you had your turn," Eren replied. "This is so odd, he is breathing so deeply, and I can feel his heart beating!" he told the group.
"And he is warm, right? Like a hot bottle," Jean added.
"That's because he is alive," Armin said. "M-Maybe I should hold him," he added with concern.
"Ah, come on! He is having a good time here with me, he is sleeping super peacefully! He was crying with you before," Eren told him.
"Well you could at least hold him with both hands," Connie suggested.
"But he fits in one!" Jean interjected. "And he clearly likes it, maybe it feels more cosy."
"Why is he so tiny?" Eren wondered, looking at the boy.
"He is just premature," Armin explained.
"He has a lot more hair than we thought he would," Connie pointed out.
"And it is kind of blonde," Eren said, examining the boy's head. "Like yours!" he told Armin.
"It's more of a light auburn. Good colour," Jean commented while passing his hand through his own hair.
"I wonder what colour his eyes will be, he hasn't opened them yet," Eren commented.
"That is perfectly normal. He hasn't been in this world for more than a few hours, he will open them eventually," Armin explained. "Now, if you're not going to let me hold my son appropriately, then can you please use both your arms to hold him more carefully?" he asked Eren.
"Why are you being so annoying about that? We are being careful and I told you I am not going to drop him," Eren complained to him.
"My turn!" Jean told Eren with a smile, extending his right arm to hold the baby again.
Eren carelessly gave the boy for Jean to hold, both only using one arm, as Sasha was coming down the stairs.
"What do you think you're doing?" she scolded them both.
"I told you guys were overdoing it," Connie added and crossed his arms again.
"Stop horsing around!" she complained to the two as she carefully took the small newborn in her arms and enveloped him tight in one of the blankets. "It's okay, baby," she added in a soft tone. "Why would you give him to those clowns?" she scolded Armin as well.
"Ouch," Jean complained and crossed his arms.
Armin tried to find words as Eren scratched his head.
"He was crying when Armin was holding him," Connie explained.
"And he doesn't cry with me," Eren gloated and Armin rolled his eyes.
They were all very tired.
"He is probably just hungry," Sasha cogitated. "Are you hungry, tiny baby?" she asked softly.
"H-How is she?" Armin asked Sasha.
"She is fine, still sleeping. Tired. The doctor and the nuns are gathering their things to leave, they said all went well." Sasha explained while caressing the small baby and covering him with yet another blanket. She gazed at the small thing in a loving way, she then turned to go upstairs. Carrying the baby away and leaving the boys there.
Armin sighed and looked at his watch. "My son's been alive for almost five hours and I haven't held him for more than two minutes," he complained.
"That's because he kept crying when you held him," Jean remarked jokingly, trying to light up Armin's gloomy tone.
The three boys started to chat among themselves, they considered resting since they had spent the whole night awake, and it was almost morning. Armin left them there chatting away as he tiresome and gloomily walked towards the kitchen to get himself some coffee. He was feeling miserable.
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- Year 854 - Summer - The Orphanage - Paradise Island
[After the diplomatic mission, in Marley]
Azzy was cheerfully playing around in the field of the orphanage, away from the other children. The two-year-old wasn't very good at making friends and he wasn't very communicative. He'd rather chase small insects around the orphanage yard and observe them. The small boy was fascinated by everything in that new environment. He raised his head from the grass to see his parents in the distance, he could see them through a window, inside the building. Talking to one of their friends, 'the nice lady', is how he called the young blonde woman in his mind. Because she always smiled at him and caressed his hair whenever they saw each other.
Armin and Mikasa went to the Queen's farm not only to visit, but to confront Historia. They had just come back from a reconnaissance and diplomatic mission in the continent. And Eren was nowhere to be seen. He'd disappeared in Marley and they were all extremely worried.
They had been discussing the gravity of the situation for over half an hour with the Queen, but they were getting nowhere. Historia wouldn't budge and Armin was getting increasingly angry and frustrated.
"I'm worried because if they find him, they will kill him!" he yelled out in frustration. Armin was vexed. He was tired and the Queen wouldn't give them the information they sought. So he decided to attack. "They'll serve him as sacrifice to get the Founding. Do you want to happen to Eren the same thing that happened to Ymir?" Armin brought out the old wound and Historia slapped him across the face.
Mikasa sighed as Armin massaged his cheek, annoyed. "Historia," she said softly. "We care about Eren, you know that. Just tell us where he is so we can bring him home," she pleaded. "We know he's troubled, he shouldn't be alone."
"The problem here is: you don't know Eren like I do," Historia retaliated, and crossed her arms.
Mikasa changed her tone. "No one knows Eren like you do, sweetheart." she said bluntly.
"Maybe Armin does," Historia joked. "I've always wondered."
"No need to be so wicked, Your Majesty. Let us not forget that you are not his wife," Armin threw back at her.
"Well, neither are you." Historia retaliated. "Do you want to know what the real problem is here?" she angrily asked the pair. "You both think you are the only ones who care about Eren! You think you are the only ones who love him and are concerned with him. When in reality you don't have any idea what he is going through!" Historia shouted at Armin.
"You're glowing," Mikasa told her.
"Yes," the Queen mindlessly replied, then turned to Mikasa again. "What did you say?" she asked, confused. The Queen looked down at her hands and her body, she was in fact glowing slightly.
"Out!" Mikasa ordered Armin to leave and gestured to the door. She quickly escorted him towards it.
"What, why?" he asked, confused as Mikasa was about to shut the door in his face. "We still need for her to tell us where Eren is!" He told Mikasa while holding the door.
"I'll handle it," Mikasa replied. "But-" Armin tried to interject. Mikasa continued: "You are not very good at this," she said as she went to close the door again. "No, wait-" Armin protested once more. "Can you hear that?" Mikasa asked. "Azzy is calling for you."
"No he is not," Armin complained but she shut the door anyway.
Historia was quietly weeping in her chair, she had gone to sit in the corner of the room. "How far along are you?" Mikasa asked her softly. "I know he is coming back," the Queen replied. "He wouldn't leave me alone. He wouldn't leave us alone," Historia said, embracing her stomach.
"Why did he go? What is the plan? Is he still trying to settle a score with Reiner?" Mikasa asked.
Historia shook her head. "Not just Reiner. Everyone in that place," she responded softly. "He said it's not just about Shiganshina anymore."
"And you just let him go?" Mikasa asked.
"How was I supposed to stop him? Don't you know Eren at all?" Historia asked back annoyedly. "He thinks he can solve everything, that he can do it all alone."
"But you know he can't," Mikasa said and Historia nodded, with a sad expression on her face. The Queen was very concerned for Eren's life. He was all alone in a strange land, the enemy's land. And she was filled with fear and anxiety. All she wanted was to see him again, safe and unharmed.
Mikasa went in closer and held Historia's hand, "So let us help," she softly suggested.
Historia sighed. She finally decided to budge. "Just look for something big. He is looking for a way to embarrass the Tybur Family and the Warrior Program, he wants to leave a mark. And-" Historia stopped herself.
"And?" Mikasa asked her softly.
"And he is looking to consume the War-Hammer Titan." Historia said. "Or at least trying to know more about it."
"Why?" Mikasa asked, confused.
That's when they both heard a muffled voice reply. "Because he thinks it's possible for the War-Hammer to control the Walls. We actually talked about it before-" Armin explained from outside of the window.
"You are unbelievable!" Mikasa exclaimed and went over to shut the curtains. "I'm sorry about him," she told Historia.
"He's right," Historia replied. "Eren is looking for a way to control the Wall Titans without the need of Fritz blood."
"What about Zeke?" Mikasa asked.
"What about him?" Historia asked back.
"Aren't you worried he could get to Eren and take the power for himself?" Mikasa asked.
"If he is stronger than Eren. Which is not the case," Historia said, crossing her arms.
"Still, he can be a problem," Mikasa pointed out.
"I rather he be dead," the Queen let out.
"What about the plan? You're supposed to consume him," Mikasa reminded her.
"I don't want that beast in my head," Historia told her friend.
Mikasa was confused. "So is that why you and Eren decided for a child? To continue the Fritz line?" she asked.
Historia sighed, she held her stomach once more. She could feel the twins growing inside. It was an exhilarating and scary feeling for her. "We didn't decide exactly, it just happened," she told her friend.
"But even then, Historia, the child would be too young to receive a titan-" Mikasa tried to cogitate on the procedures and customs and on the plans Paradise had previously made, but Historia interrupted her.
"I don't want any of that." the Queen firmly declared. "I want it to be over," she said in anguish.
"What do you mean?" Mikasa asked, still confused.
"I told Eren I don't want this curse to fall to our children," Historia disclosed more softly. "I told him I wished they could be born free from it," she confessed.
"And what did he say?" Mikasa asked.
"That he would take care of it." Historia replied.
-.-
"You know the annoying thing is, he barely even talks to me anymore! What is he thinking? That he can just walk into the continent and get vengeance? Doesn't he know how strong the marlean army is? Why would he just go off on his own after we tirelessly discussed the impossibilities of what he wants to achieve?!" Armin was letting out his frustrations in the middle of the field. He was telling all this to his two-year-old son, but the boy was more interested in chasing small insects.
They were outside, in the orphanage fields. Armin had his hands on his pockets, he was reflecting about a few things as he watched the boy playing around, observing a butterfly. "Careful, son, butterflies let out dust when they fly, they can blind you-"
He was still talking when the boy smiled at him and jumped away. Completely disappearing from his sight - and so did the small blue butterfly.
Armin sighed, it was as usual, he took out his pocket watch to mark the time the boy would be on the other side. And also his small notebook to take a few notes. Armin had been studying the boy's unusual abilities from the moment they'd found out about them.
He looked over in the direction of the building to see Mikasa was coming to meet him, she looked quite miserable.
"I cannot believe we will have to go back to that place," she complained and crossed her arms, standing next to him.
"We already took a risk as it was going there in the first place," Armin added. "But at least we were able to get a glimpse of who they are and what they are capable of."
Mikasa stood there with arms crossed. "I heard they have these scientists who do all kinds of experiments on Eldians," she told him in a worried tone. "They're too curious of Shifters."
"Imagine if they ever got their hands on you or Levi," Armin shook his head. "Or Azzy?!" he added. "We can't take our enemies for granted." Armin said. He was already planning this next retrieving mission and it would be a careful and stealth one.
"I want my child as far away from that place as possible," she replied. Mikasa looked around, "where is Azzy?" she asked.
Armin showed her the watch and the notebook in his hands.
"Oh," Mikasa said. She then looked around again to see if any of the orphanage staff or the kids were near them. But they were quite far away.
"No one saw it," Armin let her know as he was still taking some notes. Their son was getting older and it was getting increasingly hard to keep what the boy could do a secret.
"Azzy! Come on, we are going home!" Mikasa cheerfully shouted to the air. "I'll give you a cookie!" she added.
Armin closed the book and put his hands in his pockets.
"We will have to go back there. And we need to be extra careful this time," Armin said.
"Do you think he is in danger?" Mikasa asked in a small voice.
"Of course he is in danger! What we don't know is the scale of the trouble he got himself in this time," Armin let out. "So foolish," he added under his breath.
She sighed, Mikasa looked down, thinking. "Yes, we should go and be extra careful this time, trying to grab him from wherever he is without marleans noticing… But you must concede the improbability of all that working," Mikasa cogitated.
"I know," Armin sighed.
"What then?" she asked.
"Then we will have to break their legs," Armin replied.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"We find their biggest military compound and destroy it completely," Armin explained in a cold tone. "I'd say the Navy, that's what they need most to get to our Island and retaliate," he added. "We find it, I'll destroy it, hence breaking their legs."
"Are you saying you'll set them ablaze?" Mikasa asked, concerned.
"What else am I supposed to do?" Armin asked back.
"Armin…" she trailed off, upset.
"He is the one causing all this, he is the one forcing my hand!" Armin said then took her hand to hold. "Our hand," he added more softly and Mikasa sighed. She looked around the field again, she just wanted to leave that farm.
"Azzy! I'll bake you your favourite pie!" Mikasa shouted to the air again.
"You need to stop offering him food," Armin complained with a small smile, then took out his watch to check the time again.
"The War-Hammer Titan and the Walls thing, where did you get it from?" Mikasa asked, curiously. While staring at his watch.
"What?" Armin asked. "Oh, it was from some of Dr. Yeager's notes," he said a little nervously. "Eren and I just put two and two together," he lied.
Mikasa turned to look at the field, she reflectively stared at the flowers dancing in the air.
"Azz-" she went to shout again and the boy reappeared in mid air, popping in her arms and hugging his mother with a laugh. Mikasa held him tight. She looked over to see the small blue butterfly had reappeared with him, she could see the small creature slightly glow and leave speckles of glowing blue dust as it flew away.
"Did he take that butterfly with him to the other side?" she asked, confused.
"Poor butterfly," Armin said and sighed.
They walked away from the fields of the orphanage as Historia watched them from inside her bedroom window. The Queen watched them go, walking in the distance.
≃2000 years ago
[Twelve Years after the first appearance of The Titan
- Less than a year before The Titan's death]
Before the battle of the merciless
Butterflies flew around the flowers of the garden, high up the castle's tower as the three small girls were playing around in that sweet and slightly cold morning. They were having much fun.
Down to the ground, in the castle's open area: the king and queen were sitting in their thrones, up the dais. They were receiving offerings from the poor villagers, prisoners of war.
"You must admit, there's something almost regal about her," the lady-in-waiting commented with the princess. They were in the corner, watching the procedures.
Elke had her arms crossed, she rolled her eyes and turned to leave, annoyed.
"Now get out of here before I cut your head off!" Fritz laughed at one of the poor villagers as the guards took away the man's offerings and the poor man himself from the king's presence. He then looked at Ymir with his evil smile, as if looking for her approval. And the queen smiled back at him. It was as usual.
Ymir would look up to the tower from time to time, wondering how her children were and what they were doing. She was often conflicted about where to be. For her, all the time she spent with the girls was precious, but she also thoroughly enjoyed her moments of glory in her throne. Either way she could trust that they were safe, for they were always supervised and cared for by their protector.
Up the tower the small two-year-old was playing around near the flowers, trying to catch one of the butterflies flying around it. Sina had a small basket on her hands and she successfully caught one, the small girl smiled in wonder and triumph.
"No, no," Az reprimanded the small child. He lifted the basket and took the girl in his arms so they could watch the small blue butterfly fly away, up to the sky. "Butterflies have wings," he explained to the girls. "Let them fly and be free," he added to the small child.
"Can you fly?" Rose asked in wonder. She was the second born. And she and her elder sister were playing around with chalks and papers, drawing over their picnic sheet.
Az thought for a moment. He couldn't help it, he was a show-off. He carefully removed the picnic sheet and looked around the forest in the distance. He came closer to Maria and Rose. "Can you see that tree over there, the tallest one?" he asked the two.
Maria looked into the distance for a moment, squinting slightly. "That one?!" she pointed and he nodded.
"Keep your eyes fitted above it," he told them and then disappeared from their sight. The girls looked at each other confused, then looked at the distance, waiting. Maria took her two-year-old sister in her arms so she could watch it too.
They all had their eyes full of wonder as they saw him reappear high above the tree and slowly descend towards it, using the sheet as a parachute. Az then jumped again, before he could reach the tall tree and reappeared upwards the balcony. Slowly landing in front of the girls with a smile, he then wore the sheet as a cape, showing off in triumph.
"Are your wings made from stars?" Maria asked in wonder. The girls could see the winged shape imprint he left after jumping, it was formed by bright bluish speckles.
"What?" he asked, scratching his head. Az had no idea about the imprint.
"Do it again!" Rose exclaimed in excitement.
"Maybe later," he replied. Az looked down the tower, concerned. There were a lot of people walking down there and he knew he shouldn't be calling attention to himself. Not to mention showing off his powers, that was extremely dangerous.
"How did you do it? How do you fly?" Maria asked excitedly.
"I didn't fly, I used gravity," he explained, laying the picnic sheet back on its place.
"Gravity?" The six-year-old asked back, confused.
Az smiled, he sat next to the girls and took one of Maria's chalks up and let it drop again over the paper. "Gravity is the force that always pulls us down. No matter where we are, we are always drawn back to Earth." he explained as the three girls looked at the chalk with wonder.
"But how did you get up there?" Maria questioned.
He smiled and brought them closer. "Magic," he whispered. They smiled.
"Are we magic too?" Rose asked excitedly.
He took Sina in his arms and smiled. "You are to me," he replied, smiling and caressing Rose's hair, he then kissed Sina's forehead. The small two-year-old rested her head on his chest, as if to sleep as the two elder ones went back to drawing.
On the ground, near the base of the tower, one of the younger princes looked up at his 'sisters' high up on the balcony.
"That one spends way too much time with those kids, don't you think?" Raleigh asked his brother and crossed his arms. He could vaguely see the figure of one of their high-ranking soldiers, up the tower, looking over the girls. Az acted as their personal guard whenever the army came back from battle.
"It's his 'job', at least while we're here," Tait reminded his brother.
"You must admit it looks weird for everyone else, specially our own subjects," Raleigh complained.
"Don't worry about it, we'll be back in battle soon," Tait replied. "Honestly I'm surprised they lasted this long, knowing our brothers," he added.
"Father always gets his way," Raleigh said. "We know he will die eventually," he added in a smaller voice.
"But they are useless, I don't understand why we are keeping up with that." Tait argued.
Raleigh thought for a moment. "The wench was also useless. She only became useful after she turned thirteen, so maybe that's what we're waiting for. If they get to that age and nothing happens, then we can end this whole damn circus for good." the prince told his brother.
- Year 854 - October - High up in the Skies
[Mid-Rumbling]
"Can you see that?" Onyankopon asked his copilot while pointing at the radar.
"There's something approaching," Armin said, observing the radar. "Coming in our direction."
Onyan smiled. "It's much lower in altitude than us. And at that speed, it must be an airship," he concluded.
"Good," Armin smiled, feeling a little bit of relief. "The plan is working," he added.
"Precisely," Onyan replied.
The stolen dirigible had changed its course, it was previously heading to the continent to aid Eren when the rumbling was over. Now the Yeagerists had changed their course. Which means they were aware of the happenings in the Island. Louise had to take charge, as Floch left them to go back to the Island without him. He stayed in Marley, riding fast between the wreckage and blood, in that destroyed land. For he had his own mission.
A few hours before, in the paradisian harbour
It was deep within the night as the Survey Corps and what was left of the Warriors arrived at the island's harbour. They expected the place to be crawling with Yeagerists, but they arrived to see a horrid sight.
Hundreds of soldiers, all dead, with sliced throats, heads cut off, and many other gruesome wounds. Torn apart into pieces. Mikasa looked around the harbour and at the dead bodies. She felt that eeriness again, the same she had felt that day, near that lake. She was holding back her tears, hoping no one would notice it.
They all felt very disturbed with the sight, who would be 'helping' them in such a violent way?
"Who did all this?" Hange asked to herself, solemnly.
"Not us," Shadis replied, coming to meet her with his troop of cadets. "We aren't capable of this brutality, but we are here to serve you on what is needed, Commander," he offered his services and the cadets all joined in formation to make their salute. Giving out their hearts.
"Good," Armin said quietly to himself as he watched a little further away. He was glad to see reinforcements.
Pieck had just come out of her Titan, as she walked around the darkness of the harbour, trying to avoid the funky smell of the corpses spread out on the ground.
She stopped near Armin, observing the Titans disappearing into the ocean. The tides were rocking and boiling with the heat. "We need a weakness, a great distraction, if we want to win this. You know him better than anyone, don't you? How do we break his legs?" She asked Armin.
"Not better than everyone," Armin replied, he looked at Mikasa and she looked back at him in disapproval and sadness. She went to attend to her cousin as Armin and Hange joined with the Warriors to plan their actions. She could tell what Armin was getting into and she didn't want to be a part of it, for she knew it could put their child in danger.
Mikasa sat down near the fire they'd made, to help Levi eat and to change his bandages.
"That was very careless of you," she said as she examined his wounds.
"You are not my mother," he hissed at her, then thought about it, Levi sighed. "It was selfish and idiotic, I'll admit," he confessed. He then looked down at his hands, missing fingers, he could still faintly feel them.
"We didn't do very well in our end either," Mikasa looked over the raging tides of a once peaceful ocean. "It should have ended here, we should have stopped this in Shiganshina," she confessed, mourning for the losses of so many lives, already being trampled by those monsters.
-.-
"You will lose in the end," Hange declared. She had walked down the prisoner to one of the cells in the basement of the Survey Corps building. They had retrieved all the information they could from Yelena, and no longer had use for the traitor.
"But we already won!" Yelena argued back as Hange closed the cell's door, locking her inside. "I trust the War Chief. Marley will be destroyed, completely. Look around you! It's all already happening!" she added with a laugh as they could both hear the thunderous stomps of the Colossal Titans walking outside.
"I'll be back for you," Hange warned, and left Yelena there, alone in the jail.
"I still can help!" The mad woman shouted and laughed from the distance as the Commander walked up the stairs.
-.-
Down the harbour, the hizurian engineers were confusingly arguing among themselves. Some of them were commenting how the plane was not the same, that it looked the same but had different parts, better parts. They were all very confused, with some of them thinking the other engineers were just mistaken. The whole group kept arguing and contradicting each other.
"What are they arguing about?" Armin asked Onyan, who was walking away from the confusion and towards him.
"Some nonsenses about the plane's motor," he replied.
"Well, will it fly?" Armin asked, apprehensively.
"Apparently better than ever," Onyan replied. "According to some of them," he added, scratching his head.
"Can you get it off the ground?" Armin asked.
"Hopefully," Onyan replied. "If you help me," he added, smiling.
Armin gave back a half-smile, he was extremely apprehensive as they watched the millions of Pure Colossal Titans walking to cross the bay. Making their way to the continent. Armin knew they couldn't waste time but he also knew they couldn't leave before they'd tested the plane and made sure of Falco's powers.
-.-
"Okay, that is a little different than expected," Reiner commented. He and the other Warriors were supervising Falco's transformation.
"He has wings! How does he have wings?!" Annie questioned, baffled.
"He is not the Beast Titan, it's not like he could have chosen to be a winged beast," Pieck pointed out.
Reiner scratched his head confusedly, "his Pure Titan spawned from Zeke's spinal fluid. Maybe the royal blood awakened some ancient Jaw Titan capability," he considered as Falco's Titan clumsily flew back in their direction.
He wasn't very good at it, and the Shifters had no idea if he could carry any weight or how long he could actually fly.
The Jaw Titan landed and the boy immediately came out of it. He was feeling stressed and terrified with his new-found abilities. Gabi rushed to help Falco get out of his Titan. "Good job!" Reiner congratulated him, while walking a little closer.
"Do you remember anything?" Annie asked him and Falco only shook his head in negative motion. "We can't afford to trust in him," she told the others.
"True, the right thing would be for him to transform at least a couple more times," Pieck added.
"That would be ideal, yes. But we are out of time," Reiner pointed out. He came over and offered his hand for the boy to stand up. "You'll just have to trust your instincts," he told Falco with a swag smile, trying to give him some confidence.
The Shifters walked away in the direction of the plane and of the members of the Survey Corps.
The two young warriors stayed behind and Gabi stared at Falco worriedly.
"I wish you could come with me, but I know it's too dangerous out there," Falco told her.
"Just make sure that monster is dead this time," she asked of him. "For Colt," Gabi added and the boy looked down to the ground, deeply upset. "All he wanted to do was to protect me, and now he's gone," Falco said in a small, broken voice.
"Then use that," Gabi replied. "Protect us. Protect them," she gestured to the group next to the plane and Falco nodded, solemnly.
She held up her rifle, ready to follow Hange's team. She pondered for a moment and then came back towards the young Titan Shifter, and kissed him on the cheek.
-.-
"You know he will be safe, right?" Armin asked Mikasa softly. "He is good at hiding, you know that." he added and Mikasa ignored him, she kept adjusting her gear. They were preparing for war. "I asked Hitch to make sure he was safe and to protect him if necessary," he kept talking but with no effect. "You know you can't ask me to go back with Hange's team, right? We need you out there with us-"
"I wasn't going to ask that," Mikasa interrupted him. "I know my orders and my duty," she added. In a moment of distress Mikasa was a soldier above all else. "But I don't understand why you would make me leave him there," she said in a more broken voice. "Promising me that it would be the safest place our child could be! Because Eren would never let the Yeagerists attack there. Just to then decide to attack the building yourself!"
"We didn't know things would escalate to this degree did we?" Armin argued back.
It was very difficult for both of them; Their trust in one another had been shaken ever since Eren'd put doubts in their minds, in the last time the trio had spoke. And now Armin was deliberately putting their own child as well as other children in danger. For the sake of his wicked plan.
He sighed. "I have my hands tied here. All we can do is end this as quickly as possible, and hope he will be safe," Armin told her. "You can blame Eren after that," he bitterly added.
"You want me to blame Eren if OUR child, or any of those poor children in that orphanage are accidentally shot by Survey Corps weapons?" she angrily argued.
"Yes," Armin responded bluntly, he then took a deep breath. "You can blame him for all of this! Look out there!" Armin pointed out towards the ocean, to the distant continent. "Millions of people are about to die because of how stupid and absurdly stubborn Eren can be! And all we can do is end this as soon as possible to see if that makes a dent in the casualties." Armin let out.
Mikasa asked sternly but also softly: "Are you sure you are mentally fit for this?" She was tired of Armin yelling at her. He was throwing his frustration over Eren at the wrong person. And they both knew it.
"I am," Armin affirmed and finished strapping his gear. "And Azzy will be fine, you know that," he added, walking towards the plane. Mikasa looked back at the dreadful state of the harbour. All the dead bodies, it was a true horrid sight. She took a deep breath, Mikasa was feeling miserable and broken as she joined the team inside the plane.
-.-
"Don't die out there, four-eyes," Levi asked of his oldest comrade and closest friend.
Hange gave out a small laugh. "You are the one going to a lion's den. I only have to take out the lioness, she replied, adjusting her weapon.
"I owe you my life," Levi told her, giving his commander the heart salute.
"Then come back with the lion's head." Hange said, giving him the heart salute as well and Levi nodded.
Hange and Shadis were leading a troop of young cadets, their mission was inside the Island, while Armin's team was preparing to board the aircraft. It was important for both missions to be perfectly synchronised, it had all been timed very carefully.
"What are we doing up here, man..?" Connie commented with Jean, with an insecure smile on his face, as they both walked up the plane.
"We will make sure to blow the hell out of that thing," Jean replied. "Before it blows all of us all the way to hell." he added in trepidation.
-.-
"Be careful out there," Annie worriedly told Hitch.
"You know I'm a soldier too, right?" she replied with a smile.
"Just don't try to be a hero," Annie insisted with a broken voice. "Be smart," she advised.
"But I am smart," Hitch said with a smile and Annie rushed to hug her. 'Okay,' Hitch though, it is not everyday one gets that amount of affection from such a cold lady. "I'll survive, you'll survive and we'll go out for drinks," Hitch suggested, it was a promise they both agreed on.
"All right," Annie replied, she then extended her hand for a pinky swear. "For Marlo," she said with a timid smile.
Hitch smiled and reached out her hand to join in the promise. "For Marlo," she repeated.
They all had said their goodbyes, hoping to see their fellow soldiers after all was over. But they all knew they could be seeing each other for the very last time.
Hitch waved back at the rest of the 104th again as she joined Hange's team, together with Shadis and the young cadets. The young Gabi was also included in that team. She gave Falco a last half-smile as Hitch helped her climb up the horse. Hange's team was ready to go, so they galloped away, riding pretty fast on their Survey Corps horses and carriages.
It was the ultimate mission, for both teams, and they all knew they couldn't fail it.
Levi was slowly walking towards the plane as he passed Annie, he gave her a quick stare with his one working eye.
"I just want to say I'm sorry," she told him in a low voice, almost whispering. "About everything."
"No you're not," Levi swiftly replied. "And it doesn't matter, do you wanna know why? These things, it's just business for people like us. There's always a mission, and then the next one. This is our mission now, so focus on it." He advised her sternly and kept walking.
Annie sighed, she looked at the other team, riding in the distance. She thought for a moment, still undecided. Annie then followed the Captain and walked towards the aircraft.
-.-
Armin joined Onyankopon in the cockpit. He took out his pocket watch and put it on the console, then sat on his chair. "We need to time it all perfectly," he told the pilot.
"We will," Onyan replied. "Is everyone ready back there?" he asked the cabin and they all gave back thumbs up, half-smiles or simple nods as Reiner was closing the rear door.
The Female Titan had previously transformed to delicately take the fragile, brand-new aircraft from the docked ship on the harbour all the way out to a flat field. For the engineers had explained that the plane needed speed and thrust to get up in the air, otherwise it wouldn't fly.
Onyankopon turned on the motor, "strap in," he said as the propeller started to roll, gaining speed. "We're about to save the world."
'Or at least what is left of it,' they all thought.
- Year 867 - Before dawn - October 31, Mitras, in the Royal Palace
It was dark, in the middle of the night. And the moon had hid itself between the leaves of trees in the dense forest. The forest was small. It was just a patch of land the Fritzs kept near the Palace for hunting purposes, many centuries before.
The prince walked on his own in the darkness of the forest, he had his eyes closed for most of the time as he mumbled things under his breath. Ezra was about to turn thirteen that very day, and his soul was deeply troubled.
"Master Yeager!" One of the servants yelled but he was ignored by the prince. For the boy was in a complete dream state.
"Ymir…" he would mumble sometimes under his breath. Ezra would sometimes open his eyes, they were the darkest black, instead of their natural purplish-blue colour. Completely dark, the sclera, the iris and pupils, the entirety of both eyes. And they trembled like ones of a brain in deep sleep.
He could hear his twin calling for him inside his mind, it was faint, very very far away. "I'm here… where are you?" He kept mumbling under his breath. Searching.
"Ymir…" he continued.
≃2000 years ago
The girl had fallen into the pond, inside that mysterious cave, under that mysterious tree. Ymir was drowning, she sank and sank deep into the water. She pleaded for help inside her mind. She was slowly fading away and even in her subconscious, Ymir knew no one could hear her.
She couldn't breathe. Ymir felt like she was sinking and sinking into the water. Until the water started to feel like sand. Like the sand surrounding the Castle. It was like she could hear her twin and she pictured she was there, in the Castle: the playground where she played with her imaginary friends, and with her brother.
Ymir suddenly felt a hand reaching out for her, coming through the sand and holding her hand, pulling her up to the surface again, where she could finally breathe once more.
The princess opened up her eyes, she was in a strange land. Ymir looked around, the sky was full of stars, and she could see a beautiful tree made of pure light with its branches reaching out the distances of the vast skies.
She looked at her hands, she looked like a four-year-old again. Ymir took the sand in her hands to examine it and it crumbled, the sand was quickly dissipated from her hands and carried by the winds. It was all very confusing and the sand dunes would go on forever. 'What is that place?' she asked only in her mind.
Ymir then turned her attention to the woman beside her, she had been the one to rescue the small girl from underneath the sand. "Hello, Ymir, it's good to finally meet you," the woman said, "in person," she added.
"Do-do I know you?" The princess asked, with her childish voice, which made the teenager feel odd about her own self.
"Oh, we go way back," the woman said with a smile.
The small princess stood up to analyse the woman's figure: she was tall and slim, had dark auburn hair and many freckles on her cheeks, caramel skin and was wearing a white ceremonial gown.
Ymir thought hard, but she was sure she had never seen that woman before in her life.
"What is this place? Who are you?" The girl asked, confused.
"Good question," the older woman said. "I believe you are the one to have the answers to all that," the other Ymir replied with a soft smile and a wise look on her face.
The apparition then went away, leaving the young princess on her own there. Ymir looked around the infinity of that strange dimension, she focused her attention on the beautiful tree of light, at the center of it all.
Ymir started to walk towards it, to run towards it. And as she got close to it, she started to feel her heart burning and this strange energy flowing in her spine, it started to hurt and she started to feel like she was drowning again. She kept running as it kept hurting. Ymir felt like she needed to scream, and scream she did.
-.-
There was a thunderous noise that could be heard all over that area and beyond. A giant explosion, an inexplicable explosion arising from the heart of the forest.
The villagers were in awe as they saw it in the distance. It was like the forest had given birth to a monster.
- Year 867 - October 31, Mitras, in the Royal Palace's Private Garden
The prince had walked for hours in the night, and it was only a couple of hours short before dawn. Still, the Palace's Garden was completely dark. A couple of servants observed his movements in the distance, quite concerned and a little frightened.
"Hey, Clive, did you hear the noises too?" the old woman asked. "I thought I was imagining things."
"I'm worried about the boy," the soldier explained. "He is just sitting there," he pointed.
Ezra was sitting somewhere in the garden, near the prettiest flowers. Unbeknown to the ones living in that time, the boy was laying where his body had once rested, in another reality. When he had been only a stillborn. That very spot had once been his grave.
"Do you think he is unwell?" the maid said. "Should we ask?"
"I think he is sleepwalking," the soldier replied. "At least that is what it seems."
As they were whispering the boy caught a glimpse of the talk, it was a dark and very noiseless night. Ezra turned his head to their direction and opened his eyes slightly. He stared at them with his partially opened blackened eyes. Like a ghost or better even: a dead man.
"M-Maybe we should just go, he is old enough, I'm sure he can take care of himself," the maid stuttered in her whisper.
"Quite right," the man replied, also in a low whisper and they both walked back into the Palace. Both extremely frightened.
The boy stayed wandering around the forest until the early hours, before dawn, he then returned to his quarters, still sleepwalking.
Ezra woke up in his Royal bed, in his Royal quarters, in the late hours of the morning. Completely unaware of what had happened. The prince couldn't even remember what he had dreamed about that night. He knew one thing: it was his birthday. Ezra sighed and went down for breakfast.
The prince had noticed some of the palace staff acting strangely around him, but he thought it was not unusual. After all, he was their future king, and some people never knew how to behave around him, ever since he was a child. That was just how things were.
"Good morning, mother," Ezra said as he kissed Historia in the head and took his seat at the table for breakfast.
"Happy birthday, love," she replied with a smile and Ezra sighed. "What's wrong, baby?" the mother asked.
"Nothing," he replied, sounding a little gloomy.
"It's your special day! Aren't you happy?" the Queen asked.
"What's special about today?" Ezra complained. "I feel incapable of feeling happy," he declared.
"Oh, son. Cheer up! It's your birthday!" Historia said.
"It's just a reminder of how much I miss her. It seems wrong to celebrate, even if it has been years… And it seems everyone forgot," the now thirteen-year-old solemnly replied.
"Of course we didn't forget. I will never forget, and you know very well that I too miss her," the Queen sighed. "I miss her every hour of every day," Historia declared. "But this is your birthday. And I want this occasion to be about you," she smiled and held his hand. "A moment to celebrate your life and how happy you make me, and your father and all of our people."
"Well, I only seem to mourn." the boy maintained, softly removing his hand from his mother's hand.
"What's this about mourning?" Eren said, entering the room. "Happy birthday," he told his son, firmly holding both Ezra's shoulders and then ruffling his hair. Eren then joined them at the breakfast table. "Is this about your bizarre episode last night?" he carelessly asked the boy while sitting down.
"What?" the prince asked. "Who told you?"
"Everyone knows about it," Eren replied with a teasing smile. "There are no secrets in this place."
The Queen was very concerned about the episode but she didn't let it show. Historia chose to concentrate on her morning tea.
"Nothing happened last night," Ezra said firmly. "These people love to pull pranks and invent all kinds of stories about me," the boy complained.
"Sure. Just 'stories'," Eren said, gesturing in air quotes.
"Let him be," Historia complained to her husband.
She didn't like whenever Eren teased him, and how they both seemed to spat even more as the prince got older. It was clear to her Ymir had been Eren's favourite. But Ezra was her favourite and she would always want to protect him, even from Eren.
"I have a birthday surprise for you," Eren told the boy.
"Oh, really? What kind of surprise?" the prince curiously asked his father.
"A trip," Eren replied.
"A trip?" Ezra asked.
"Just the two of us," his father added, smiling.
"Not even I know to where," Historia told the teenager with a smile.
Ezra still looked confused, he knew his father was up to something.
"We are going to the Wall Rose Region," Eren revealed.
"To Rose? That seems far," the prince noted. "To do what?" he asked.
"I'm sure your father has something nice planned, and I think it will be good for you," the Queen interjected. "For the both of you," she sternly added.
"We'll have some fun," Eren said smiling.
"I think we both know you and I have very different ideas of 'fun'," Ezra bluntly pointed out.
"Ezra!" Historia quietly admonished the teenager as one of the staff entered the room.
A military adviser had walked in the room, he required Eren's attention to a matter that seemed urgent. "Sir-"
"Not now, Martin," Eren interrupted, quite irritated. "Can't you see we are in the middle of breakfast?"
"This is important, Sir," the man said. "Very important," he insisted.
Eren angrily sighed as he stood up to leave the breakfast table. He followed his military adviser to another private room.
Historia waited a moment. But she was curious about it, so she stood up as well, to see what was this urgent matter.
Both parents had left the prince alone at the breakfast table.
"What happened?" She asked as she entered the next room.
"Ma'am," the military man gave his salute to the Queen and left the room. She noticed Eren was troubled.
"Armin's plane is missing. He is missing," Eren told her. "We should expect the worst."
"That's upsetting," Historia commented.
"And badly timed," Eren said.
"What do you mean?" Historia asked.
Eren sighed, annoyedly. "Well, with today being 'today' and how things were left between us, who do you think they'll blame for it?" he asked his wife.
"You?" Ezra said defiantly as he walked in the room. The prince stopped near his parents and crossed his arms.
Eren looked at him in disappointment. "I need a walk," he said to Historia, walking to the outside garden, Eren had a lot to think about.
"What about breakfast?" Historia naively asked.
"I'm not hungry anymore," he said as he walked towards the outside.
"But-" Historia started to follow him outside.
The prince had been left once again alone by his parents, "Happy birthday to me," Ezra said, sarcastically.
≃2000 years ago
[Twelve Years after the first appearance of The Titan
- Less than a year before The Titan's death]
In the battle of the merciless
It was just another battle, just as usual. It had been over twelve years since the Eldian Kingdom had started to make a dent in the Marlean Empire. And now, they thought, it was just a matter of maybe twelve more for Eldia to destroy the marlean glory completely. Their Empire was falling and the Marleans knew. But they needed to make a last attempt, a bold one, to destroy the beast that had made the Empire lose so many battles. One precise final blow on the Titan was all they needed. They had looked for resources, and they'd found them with old friends of war.
"Shenzhou sends their regards," the marlean soldier said with an evil smile, right before Azymondeus cut his head clean off. 'Shenzhou?' Azzy thought. It took a couple of seconds for him to fully realise what that meant: "gunpowder," he said to himself, under his breath. "Gunpowder!" He started to shout from the top of his lungs. "Gunpowder!" But it was too late. "They have gunp-"
Before he could finish speaking there was a large explosion right near him, followed by hundreds and hundreds of explosions. Az couldn't tell where they were coming from. He couldn't hear anything and his vision was impaired. Azymondeus finally realised some of his face was missing. The explosion had been too close to him. 'Ymir…' he thought to himself, trying to walk, trying to run. 'Where is Ymir?' his thoughts were desperate. 'I need to find her.'
His four limbs were there, accounted for. He could tell that. One of his legs was bleeding profusely, he knew that too. 'I'll start to regenerate soon,' he thought and he kept running through the explosions and destruction, trying to avoid most of it. His arms were both bleeding as well, with small pieces missing, burnt away by the explosion and so was most of his side.
He could tell his ribs on the left side were exposed and so were some of his vital organs. But he didn't care. He kept running. Rushing to find out what had happened to the Titan, he could see from the distance that it had fallen. Ymir was the only thing in his mind.
A great part of his face had been blown off, and some of his brain was exposed. His senses were debilitated as he stopped to rest for a second. Az kneeled down, he could barely hold his sword and his armour was feeling a little heavy. He finally saw the Titan, its face had been completely blown off. Az immediately turned to the direction of the neck, to the nape, trying to locate his love. But he couldn't see anything as the whole area was on fire and the Titan was releasing too much steam.
As he concentrated, his body finally started to regenerate. He didn't care that his insides were glowing, that his brains and his organs were glowing that blue light. He couldn't care less if the enemy would see he wasn't from that world. All he cared was for her.
"Please be alive," he wished quietly to himself. "Please don't leave me," he pleaded under his breath as he slowly made his way towards the burning area and the steaming Titan. He was using all the strength he had, he needed to see her.
It was a secret Azymondeus carried with himself - he had never told anyone, not even her - that ever since he had learned that the girl could heal herself, that she continued to live in spite of anything, he thought he had found his match. Azymondeus thought he had found someone he could love for all eternity. Someone who Time could never take away from him.
But what if she was gone? What if he was all alone now? He couldn't bear to think of it.
Ymir had been torn to pieces by the explosions. She didn't see it coming, no one did. Some of her torso was there, her head was still joined to it, but her entire face was missing.
He reached for her like a wounded animal. As he desperately tried to hold her, he could faintly hear her heart beating. As he hugged her close, he could feel the steam rising. She had begun to heal herself and Azzy cried in relief. He cried with only one working eye, as most of his face was still healing. Glowing blue in regeneration.
He could hear familiar steps as Lud came close to him. Az looked around to see the destroyed battlefield. He saw the fires the explosions had caused. And how Marleans were thriving, they had been wearing special armour, to better protect themselves from the explosions they had planned. The Titan had fallen, and now their army could advance into battle. They were feeling the glory of winners once more.
"Please, make sure she's safe," he asked Ludvík.
Azymondeus felt deep anger inside. An anger that would never leave him. 'How dare they,' he thought. He decided to finally let go, as he didn't want to be in control anymore. He had felt that energy inside of him from the moment he was born. And he always knew how to contain it. But he let go, for he was angry.
As the energy filled him, he could mindlessly focus on every sharp object around the battlefield. A trick he had learnt very early in his life: displacement. He started to dematerialise swords, arrows, axes, spears, anything sharp enough around the battlefield was good for him. The weapons began to be rematerialised inside the marlean soldiers. Without even moving, he was able to injure hundreds and more hundreds of soldiers. They all started to fall to the ground, dead.
Azymondeus just stayed there, kneeled, where his love had been hit by an almost fatal blow. He was flowing pure energy and anger.
The weapons reformed themselves in pure blue light, like they were coming out of a mist. Surprising countless marleans soldiers with fatal blows. On their heads, through their heart, or where it would hurt more. That's what he wanted. They would surprise the eldian soldiers as well, for they had no idea how their enemies were being killed right in front of them. It was a gruesome and eerie sight, all very confusing for the humans involved.
One of the younger princes came rushing towards his elder brother. "We need to stop this madness! Or he will kill us too!" Ralph told his brother.
Torin was very reflective, they were very surprised with the alien and what he was capable of under such distress. 'And what a power to have,' the prince thought to himself. He wanted that power.
The elder prince went back to his senses and turned to his general. Ludvík had taken Ymir's regenerating body to be guarded by his sons in their convoy. And was now walking towards him.
"Do something!" Torin shouted at him. He was arrogant as always but he also sounded desperate in his tone.
Lud stopped and took a deep breath. He then slowly walked towards the creature, he had a great bond with Azzy and he hoped the 'boy from the woods' wouldn't hurt him.
"She's alive," he said softly, near Az's ear. The one he still had, as the other side of his face was still regenerating. "You need to stop this, or you'll start attacking our allies," Lud pleaded.
"I don't have allies," Azymondeus bluntly told him.
It was as if he was under a spell, or under a curse. As if the energy inside him was an entity of its own, and it had taken over him.
Lud looked at him concerned. He stood up as if to leave, but he thought for a moment and quickly turned back for a surprise blow. He wanted to hit the creature unexpectedly. And so he did. He swiftly hit Az on the back of the head with the handle of his hizurian sword.
The broken man fell unconscious to the ground.
And everything else stopped. Who had been hit by displaced weapons was dead, and that accounted for most of the Marlean Army. Eldians had won, in only a few minutes, and even with the fallen Titan. It appears that another uncontrollable force had revealed itself.
And that became known as the Battle of the Merciless.
"You could have died, he could have killed you," Tait, the younger prince told his general.
Lud kneeled near the regenerating man to check and Az was in fact completely unconscious. "I had to take a chance," the general told the princes. "He wouldn't stop," he added.
"How long are we going to keep up with this?" Raleigh asked his older brother, confronting him.
"As long as they keep giving us victory," Torin replied.
"But how far are we going to push these creatures? Until they kill us?" Ralph said, adding to his twin's argument.
"That's a good point. We need to discuss this with Father," Torr considered, crossing his arms.
"It will be of no effect. Father won't budge." Torin told his younger brothers. "He will drain those creatures completely, if that makes him win." he added and turned to leave the field.
Osmond stopped him, holding his brother by the shoulder. "But sooner or later they will turn to attack us," he warned with much logic. Torin shrugged his brother's hand off and walked away.
The General gathered what remained of the Eldian Army, so they could go back to the safety of the Kingdom. He and his sons carried the unconscious creatures near them as they slowly regenerated. For the Ackermann was worried about the princes, he didn't trust them. Lud had told his sons to not let anyone get close to 'the children of the woods'.
In the tower
[Three days later]
Ymir was slowly opening her eyes for the first time. Those were brand-new eyes she had regrown for herself; as the previous ones had been lost with the rest of her face, and a great deal of her human body, in that almost fatal explosion.
"How are you feeling?" Az asked, gently passing his fingers through her hair. The knight had stayed by her side since they'd come back from the battle. He was deeply concerned as he waited for her to complete her regeneration. Ymir was still steaming slightly.
"The stars look so bright from up here," she commented in a weak voice as she gazed at them, looking outside the windows.
"There are no city lights in this time, that's why," he softly replied and kissed her forehead.
"One good thing about this time then…" Ymir trailed off as she fell asleep again, gently resting her head in his hand.
It had taken over three days for her to fully recover since the explosion. And it had been the first time The Titan had been so close to death. Ymir was left to recover up in her tower, as usual, for her protection. And her sole protector had requested that her children did not see her before she woke up. Az didn't want the girls to see their mother without a face. With bones, organs and tissues missing.
After a couple of hours some of the ladies and servants walked into the room with the girls. One of the maids gave Sina, the small one, for the Queen to hold and the toddler hugged her mother tightly. Rose, the second born, cheerfully sat on the bed next to her mother.
The knight watched it all from a dark corner in the room, very solemnly. He was starting to question once again what was the point of being there. All Az wanted was to grab the four women he loved most in his life and take them as far away from Eldia as possible. But that was a point of contention between him and the girls' mother, and he didn't want to fight with Ymir again, not while she was still in that state.
Az left the room without acknowledging the girls or the servants. The women started to quietly gossip under their breath how they didn't see him going past the stairs and questioning how long he was in the Queen's room. 'Watching over her.' They said sardonically.
Maria followed her father and hero outside the Queen's quarters. She felt the look on his face was odd, her hero usually looked more cheerful and charmingly happy when playing with her and her sisters.
"Where are you going?" she timidly asked.
"Stay there with your mother," he firmly told her.
The girl watched him walk down the countless stairs, which was unusual. She knew he would always jump in and out of the tower, she'd seen that since she was a toddler. That was actually the first time ever Azymondeus was stepping on those stairs, but he needed a walk and he had been drained out of his otherworldly energy.
- Year 854 - October 31, flying in the direction of the Marlean Continent
[Mid-Rumbling]
"Precisely," Onyankopon replied to his copilot.
They were in the middle of the journey, and so far all the pieces were falling into place.
Down to the ground Floch was galloping as fast as he could through the destroyed land. He had only a map on his hands and a location to follow up with his mission. He'd had to relinquish their dirigible, for it had been sent back to Paradise, for the Queen's protection. So he had to do the best he could to arrive at the location in the map as soon as possible, while relying only on his horse.
Until he saw the herd of Pure Colossal Titans only a few kilometers ahead of him. He was finally catching up to the monsters. 'This will be much faster,' he thought. He had decided to use the giant creatures as a method of transport, so he could get to the castle quicker.
As he got near the herd, he used his ODM gear to strap himself and started to trapeze around the monsters, to get closer to the front of the line. There were thousands and thousands of the creatures, but he was determined to fulfil his mission.
High up in the skies, the small Survey Corps team was doing the journey in good time. They were all very apprehensive of course, because they had no idea what to expect. All they knew completely was the small part of the plan they needed to know and fulfil. Beyond that they knew only bits and pieces, and what they could put together on their own. For only Armin and Hange knew the plan to its fullest extent.
Annie was still undecided. She was anxious and conflicted for being there. "I shouldn't have come, I shouldn't be here," she would say sometimes under her breath. She had given up on her life as a Warrior and Titan Shifter long before Eren had woken her up from her slumber and she hated him for it.
Pieck was annoyed. She stood up and went to stand near the side door. "Do you want to leave? I'll open this and drop you down below," she threatened. "If you have no intention of being helpful in this mission, if you rather 'be dead' than be here, then you better go," she firmly added, pointing at the plane's window.
But Annie only looked at her confused, so Pieck started to walk closer to her. "So wasteful," she complained while crossing her arms and Annie looked to the side.
Pieck decided to scold her fellow Warrior: "For four years! You wasted your Titan powers. You froze yourself and left your comrades to fight without you. To die without you. Maybe the others were right, you were never fit to be a Warrior in the first place."
She had hit Annie's nerves. And so the younger Warrior stood up in spite, ready to punch Pieck in the face. But Reiner held her fist before it could hit its target.
"Enough of this you two," he said, standing in between them.
"Aren't you tired?" Annie asked him, then turned to Pieck. "Of being a thing? To be used over and over again?" the Female Titan asked her fellow Shifters. "We don't have our own volition," she declared. "We are just weapons of war. For hundreds and hundreds of years, that's all we have been. We are just tools in other people's games."
Pieck just looked at her very sternly and with arms crossed. "You should eat her," she told Reiner.
"What?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"
"These powers are clearly wasted on her so they should be passed to someone else," Pieck replied in spite.
"Then you should eat her, not me," Reiner suggested more humorously. "It would have to be you, she's the Female Titan. I can't access that, her powers would be useless on me."
"They are already useless on her," Pieck said, walking again towards the door. "And I wouldn't want someone whining in my head for the rest of my cursed years."
Pieck looked at her defiantly. "Are you going to stay and help or do you want to go?" she asked and slightly turned the heavy door handle. Unlocking it, which started to depressurise the airplane.
"Woah, woah!" Onyankopon said worriedly as he looked at the panel. "What is happening back there?" he asked and Armin looked towards the back confused. The noise in the cockpit was too loud and they couldn't hear the others in the cabin.
Mikasa was solemnly looking out of the window throughout the flight. But she could hear everything. She slowly turned to look at her cousin as if to say: 'Aren't you going to do anything?' and Levi looked back at her and grunted. He stood up.
"You are all giving me a headache," the Captain scolded the group. "Sit," he ordered to Reiner. "Sit," also to Pieck. The broken man walked over and locked the plane's side door again.
"Are you aware of your mission, soldier?" the Captain firmly asked Annie.
"Yes…" she replied softly, looking at him with mistrust.
"Are you going to fulfil your mission, soldier?" Levi firmly asked her again.
Annie thought for a second. "Yes," she replied quietly again.
"What did you say?" Levi asked, leaning over. He wanted for her to repeat it more firmly, like a soldier should.
"Yes, sir," Annie replied.
"Then sit down. And I don't want to hear any more yapping from now on. I am tired of all of you." The Captain scolded them and went towards the cockpit. "How long until we get there?" he asked Armin.
"I'll tell you when it's time," Armin replied. He still wanted to keep the plan compartmentalised.
Levi grabbed him by the collar. "How long until we can end this?" he asked again, in a very threatening way.
But Armin only stared back at him in defiance. "Don't make me kill you, Arlert," Levi added to the threat.
They were all very tired. And it hadn't even started yet.
"Fifteen minutes," Onyankopon replied and Armin looked at him disappointed. "I rather we all arrive at our destination in one piece," the pilot justified himself.
-.-
"You have been very quiet," Jean softly noted to Mikasa. She had been reflectively staring out of the window throughout all of this.
Mikasa was remembering the better days. The good days they'd had in the Lighthouse, with her family and friends. All those precious times were gone now, gone forever. She wondered if she would ever see her son again. Mikasa remembered the boy running around the beach, so happy. He would show her every little thing at his sight: the small creatures and the sand, the sun and the waves. He was impressed by all that nature had to offer and would show it to his mother with wonder in his eyes.
"The world is being destroyed and Eren thinks he is right in doing this," she replied in a soft voice. "I could have stopped this before it even started, but I was blind to it all. I love him too much and I didn't want to see it," Mikasa declared.
Jean felt deep sorrow while looking at her defeated face, at all of their faces. He looked around the cabin, to his fellow comrades: his friends. They looked defeated, saddened and anxious. He decided to stand up and give a passionate speech. He talked about what they were trained to do, and how they couldn't stand by and watch that traitor destroy millions of lives. That they needed to be strong to be victorious in the end. He asked them to give out their hearts.
They all just stared at each other, still apprehensive. Levi was checking his weapons, as that was the way he kept himself calm. Falco stared out the window, looking at the clouds. To the immensity of the skies, just like Mikasa was. They all fell very silent as Jean finished his words.
"Five minutes!" Armin shouted from the cockpit in traditional military fashion. "Be ready." he added. Arlert then grabbed his watch from the control panel and attached safely to his pocket, and sighed. This would all be very difficult and it had to be perfect.
Levi and Reiner forced open the side door. None of them had parachutes but they were flying low enough for the Survey Corps to use their ODM gear and trapeze around the Pure Colossal Titans and for the Warriors to simply transform.
"Stay with me," Connie told the young Falco. "We will go out together and then you know your steps," he said. "Or better yet your wings," he added. Falco held the small wristwatch hidden under his sleeve with his other hand and took a deep breath. He was very apprehensive.
"Did you get it all out of your system?" Levi asked Annie. "I'd rather you have your head in the right place when working for me."
"You mean working with you," Annie replied.
"I outrank all of you here. Don't forget that, soldier." the Captain reminded her.
"Careful, he might pretend not but he does have a score to settle with you," Connie warned her in a small voice. "I mean it, look out for yourself."
"Great. Why would Armin pair me with him?" Annie complained.
"You are the one who'd rather be dead than here, we just paired you with someone who can actually deliver that. Some incentive, don't you agree?" Pieck told her.
"Are you two gonna start again?" Reiner interjected.
"I thought Jean's speech had melted all of our hearts," Connie joked.
"Don't worry, we'll settle this once this is all over," Annie said smiling.
"Are you saying you'll fight me? You always lose," Pieck replied in a more sporting way.
"I'm much older now, and it seems you forgot to grow," Annie joked and hovered her hand over Pieck's head. "I can beat Reiner pretty easily," she added. Pieck moved her hand away. "Oh, please. Anyone can beat Reiner." She replied, boasting.
"Are they bonding over ragging you?" Jean asked Reiner.
"It seems so," Reiner replied, scratching his head.
Levi looked down at the Colossal Titans marching in unison. He was looking for an opportunity to jump. "Come on!" he told Annie.
"Same place?" Annie asked Pieck before jumping.
"Sure, if it hasn't been destroyed yet," Pieck replied, it was a date. They both went their separate ways, falling in the sky. Pieck on her own, turning into the Cart Titan. And Annie following the Captain, both using ODM gear.
Earlier that day
The Survey Corps and the Warriors had joined together to discuss what they could do with the resources they had. The Yeagerist situation in the harbour was an unexpected blessing and they didn't have time to investigate what had killed them. No one knew what had happened and they were out of time to discuss about it.
They knew they had the new airplane as a method of transport and they also knew they had a great deal of dynamite, to be used carefully and in the right time. They had the extra forces of Shadis' team of cadets, extra horses and equipment; and beyond all that: they had all of the remaining Titan Shifters ready to fight the Beast and destroy the Founder.
They knew their target pretty clearly: they were going to kill the Yeager brothers. But there was a secondary plan arising, with the purpose of distracting their main target.
"A distraction?" Reiner asked.
"We need to be very careful even in what we speak," Armin quietly explained. "As we don't understand the extent of this connection Eldians have to Paths, specially us Shifters."
"Are you saying you think Eren can hear us?" Annie asked in disbelief.
"Eren can get confused when talking to other people," Armin said smiling. "I've known him a long time and he would often have trouble with following basic conversations. I imagine he has a lot in his mind now, so even if he is listening-" he looked up to the skies. "I bet he can't keep up!" Armin shouted in a challenging way.
All his friends looked up to the skies and then to each other, confused.
"He is really losing it at this point," Jean quietly commented with Reiner and Connie.
Armin was in fact slightly looking like a crazy person. He tried to recompose himself to continue to explain what he could about the plan. "I need to get him out of his mind," Armin said. He then continued in a cold tone: "We need to catch him off guard to destabilise him. And we all know the one thing that can take Eren out of his mind the most: putting Historia in danger." he reminded the rest of the 104th.
"You evil little rascal," Reiner said, crossing his arms. "Don't you think that's playing a little dirty?" he asked.
"You like chess right, Reiner?" Armin asked back. "We are simply going to take his queen," he explained.
"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with all this. But if it works, I'm all for it," Reiner said, he was a little impressed but also felt conflicted. "You're evil," he added.
"It was Pieck's idea," Jean told him.
"With the amount of deaths we are dealing with here, it's not playing dirty at this point. It's beyond playing fair." Pieck was firm when justifying her point of view.
"We've already talked to the Commander and she agreed," Armin said and showed them how Shadis and the cadets were already preparing for their mission.
"Hange and Shadis are fine, but do we think those cadets can fight Royal Guards?" Jean questioned.
"I've helped to make the protection plan for the Queen's final months in the farm and her labour. And we didn't see necessary to have many guards sent to that farm. Even if the Yeagerists changed the plans and added more guards in the last minute, they couldn't have added many," Armin explained and extended his arms. "Look around you, for some reason a great deal of the Yeagerists has just been brutally murdered."
Armin had a vague idea of what the reason for those deaths could be, and so did Mikasa.
"So you think Shadis' cadets will be enough?" Connie asked.
"For a distraction they are more than enough," Armin affirmed.
"I just hope the kids will be safe," Annie added, crossing her arms.
"They will be fine," Armin responded. "The team is instructed not to kill anyone. To not even draw weapons if isn't necessary. They are there just for the noise. They won't shoot to kill," he affirmed.
"And what about Historia?" Jean asked him.
"That's on Hange," Armin replied.
-.-
"You can stay here with Kiyomi and the engineers and wait until all this is over or-" Hange was still talking when the twelve-year-old interrupted her.
"I want to join your team," Gabi said, eagerly.
"-Or you can come with me," Hange finished her sentence and Gabi nodded. She continued: "If you want to be on this mission you will have to be brave."
"I'll be brave," Gabi confirmed.
"And you can't commit any mistakes," Hange told her sternly.
"I won't," Gabi affirmed.
"All right then," Hange replied.
-.-
Mikasa took out her own small watch from her wrist and strapped it to Falco's.
"It's perfectly synced with the pocket watch," she told him as she attached the small watch firmly to the boy's arm.
Falco knew his part in the plan and he was very anxious about it all. He had only transformed once and he knew now the lives of others were depending on him.
She looked at the young boy in a loving way. Mikasa caressed his hair and held the side of his face. "You will be just fine," she assured him in a motherly tone.
-.-
"What about the dirigible?" Onyankopon asked.
"That's right," Jean said. "We know the Yeagerists took it to follow the Founder and the Colossal Titans. I guess Floch wanted to watch the parade."
Onyankopon continued his point: "Even if your eldian theory is not completely right, and the Yeagers can't hear our plan. The Royal Guards can still radio them for support. Have you thought about that?" he asked Armin.
"We don't know exactly the time they left the harbour," Armin conceded. "But even if they turn back this way, we both know how slow dirigibles fly. I trust Hange's team will have surrendered the area by then and we will have successfully surrendered the Yeagers as well."
All the rising doubts about the overall plan seemed to have been solved. And they all went about their tasks before they could set off. Reiner stopped Armin for a moment, holding him by the shoulder. "You haven't explained our bit completely," he complained.
"Because that's the one Eren should know less about," Armin replied.
"But do you think I know enough? I barely know what to do!" Reiner retaliated.
"You have your target. That is more than enough," Armin reminded him.
"But what's the timeline? When am I supposed to transform?" he asked.
"Just know when the time comes you will have to take cover," Armin explained to him again.
"How will I know?" Reiner asked.
Armin smiled at him. "You will know, when the time comes."
Back in the airplane, flying over the The Pure Colossal Titans
[nearing the Founding Titan structure]
"You know your play?" Jean asked Reiner, just to confirm.
"Sure, I'm the distraction," He replied with a swag smile. Reiner looked down below reflectively, before they jumped. "Hey, do you think your commander would actually kill the Queen?" he asked Jean.
"We are not in that troop, we should worry about our mission," Jean replied.
"I'm just saying, Christa didn't do anything wrong." Reiner pointed out a little timidly.
"You don't know her," Jean told him. "She is as crazy as Eren and she likes him! From that you should take what Historia is actually like."
"I thought you liked him," Reiner teased and Jean looked at him annoyed.
"Well, I'm just saying if the choice is to sacrifice one person to save millions of lives, I wouldn't mind pulling the trigger and I know our commander is a stronger person than I am, so I don't expect anything less." Jean declared.
"Even if that person is your friend?" Reiner asked.
"I've seen my friends die for much less," Jean replied bluntly. That silenced Reiner. "I'm sure you have too," Jean added while looking down below, to soften the blow.
"I'm sorry about your island, we were just kids, you know? We didn't know any better." Reiner said solemnly.
"I never thought I'd hear you apologise for that," Jean noted. He thought for a moment. "Maybe you still are a kid," he added. That made Reiner look confused. Jean continued: "Still catering a crush to a girl who doesn't even know you exist. Someone who is not the person you think you know her to be."
Jean then held Reiner's shoulder in a fraternal way. "She is as deviant as they come. Let it go, my friend," he advised.
"At least my crush is not married," Reiner jokingly whispered. "-and has a kid," he reminded Jean. "-with one of my closest friends," he added.
"Are you sure? Really?" Jean retaliated with a smirk. "Even about the kid part?"
Reiner smirked and then laughed. "Eren is not my friend." he said as they both jumped off the plane.
"All right, it's our turn," Connie told Falco and they followed behind.
Armin said his goodbyes to Onyankopon and stood up from his seat. He entered the cabin to prepare for the jump and Mikasa held his hand. "Don't die out there," she said firmly. "Don't you even dare."
He held her hand tighter. "I won't," he promised, then let go.
Armin jumped off the airplane as well and Mikasa went to take his place in the cockpit.
-.-
"What is he doing?" Jean asked while getting close to Connie with his ODM gear. They were doing their best to hold onto the trembling, giant bone structure. For it was moving. The Founding Titan was slowly walking.
"I have no idea," Connie replied, anxiously. "Falco! Come on! You can do this!" he shouted at the top of his lungs from the distance.
The twelve-year-old boy was holding on one of the bones of the giant skeleton. Holding on for dear life as unlike the others, he wasn't wearing any ODM gear. He was in the same place Connie had left him. Looking down below with anxiety, they were a few hundred meters up in the air, so he couldn't even see the ground. He only saw pure darkness.
"Don't look down!" Jean shouted. "You can fly, remember? Just do it!"
"We're gonna die here, man," Connie told Jean in a concerned tone.
"No we won't," Jean said defiantly, ready to go after the boy.
"Don't," Connie stopped him. "He needs space for the transformation," he reminded Jean.
"Then he better transform!" Jean complained. "Come on!" he shouted. "Falco, we need you!"
"Falco!" Connie shouted desperately.
-.-
"Hey! You need help down there?" Reiner asked Armin, who was dangling from his ODM gear much further below him. He'd seemed to have fallen the wrong way.
"I-I'm fine!" Armin shouted back with a little uncertainty. As he gently swang upside down, trying to avoid the bones.
"Arrg!" Reiner complained as the Founding's bones seemed to produce makeshift arrows and rapidly shoot at them. They were like fast flying spikes. And he was doing his best to avoid them.
"How are the others?" Armin shouted while hanging upside down, still avoiding the bones.
"I don't know!" Reiner shouted back. "But it seems Falco hasn't transformed!" he added, slightly in distress. He could see Jean and Connie were trying to avoid the bone-arrows as well, in the distance.
"I'm sure he will be fine!" Armin shouted from down below.
"Are you sure you are fine?" Reiner shouted back, asking with much doubt.
The plan seemed to have derailed completely from the get-go. They had landed nowhere near the Founder's head. How was he supposed to get to Eren? Reiner thought. They were in fact in the very middle of the giant structure and he knew Armin could only transform after Falco's Titan had successfully taken Jean and Connie out of there. And at this rate, he wasn't sure Armin was actually fit to do anything at all! As he looked slightly crazy and completely unconcerned. 'This has been a mistake,' Reiner thought.
Armin ignored him. He looked at the depths of the abyss very reflectively. Calculating.
Back at the orphanage
"It won't be long now," the doctor told the Queen while passing a warm towel over her forehead. Historia was sweating in delirium and pain as she prepared for labour.
She had her eyes closed and would mumble things under her breath, in complete distress.
"What-What is that?" she asked softly, still with eyes closed.
"You'll be just fine, ma'am," the doctor replied, ignoring her question.
"The noise. What is that noise outside?" the Queen asked, slightly delirious.
"There's no noise outside, ma'am," the doctor lied.
The Survey Corps team had arrived and was fighting the Royal Guards outside in the orphanage fields, getting closer to the building.
Hange stopped for a moment and looked at her watch. 'Perfect,' she thought.
-.-
"Falco! What are you waiting for?" Connie shouted again.
"Come on!" Jean added. "Or we're gonna die here!"
They looked over at Reiner in the distance and saw also how confused he was. Jean and Connie had no idea where Armin had landed and they felt things were completely out of control.
That's when they started hearing noises, like the bones were breaking, cracking. They could see these odd creatures starting to emerge from the spinal bones. They looked like other Titan Shifters. Hundreds and more hundreds of them. Titan Shifters from different points in time, reforming themselves once again. Coming from the past.
Those were completely mindless titans. Imprints of the lost and cursed souls who had once embodied these creatures. Just imprints with no soul to inhabit them, just ghosts. Husks.
"Falco!" they both shouted at the top of their lungs. For the creatures were running fast towards them.
The small boy removed his sleeve slightly to check the time again.
"Armin! They are going straight for you!" Reiner warned in much alarm as Armin still dangled from his ODM gear.
He was patiently checking his golden pocket watch.
"Armin!" Reiner shouted again, he then heard an explosion. He turned to look. Falco had transformed in the distance.
The majestic new Jaw Titan unravelled its wings and immediately took his friends out of peril. He flew high and high up in the skies carrying Jean and Connie away.
Reiner looked down again and Armin smiled back at him, very charmingly. He was pretending all along. Still dangling, Arlert finally let go, retrieving his ODM gear and jumping away in a free-fall, as the ghost titans rushed to follow him.
'Just know when the time comes you will have to take cover,' Reiner remembered his words.
It was finally time.
"Damn it," Reiner thought as he clumsily retrieved his small knife to cut himself before the Colossal Titan could explode in transformation.
Jean and Connie were already high up in the skies, on the Jaw's back. They all looked down below. Waiting.
The airplane with Onyankopon and Mikasa had already reached a great distance as well, even if flying very slowly. They looked at each other sternly, preparing themselves for the slight turbulence the fallout of the colossal explosion would cause.
Levi was further away, over a kilometer behind the giant bone structure of the Founder; hanging on the shoulders of one of the mindless Colossals. He looked at his own pocket watch. "Come on, blondie, it's your time to shine," he told Annie, who was standing near him.
He then left with his ODM gear, giving her space. Annie took out her ring and dropped from the height, transforming.
Pieck watched all from even further behind, already in her Titan form. The Cart stood on one of the mindless Colossals' head, for a better view.
Armin was free-falling towards the ground. He was gaining speed and avoiding hitting any of the Founding's bones.
He planned to use his fall as a counter-force to add to the immensity of his transformation. He wanted to increase the power of the explosion as much as he could. To completely destroy the Founder's structure. For Arlert knew the speed he gained in the fall and the proximity to the ground would act as impulse to launch him up to the air again mid-transformation which in turn would greater the level of his explosion.
Armin smiled and held his bleeding fist tightly as he was about to hit the ground. He had energy flowing all around him and he successfully began his transformation; being launched again high up in the air and creating a massive crater on the ground.
Reiner started to transform at the same time and was able to protect himself from the blast with his crystal armour. Even so, the Armoured Titan was launched into the air as well. He flew right in the direction of the Founder's head. He'd been wondering how to get there faster anyway.
And he immediately started looking for Eren.
Armin was successful. The Colossal Titan's explosion completely destroyed the entire outwards bone structure of the Founding Titan. And also completely obliterated the ghost titans coming after him and his friends.
That was the first step of the plan: the noise. Now to the 'shock'.
Levi watched the explosion come their way, and kneeled down, protecting himself from the hot air and debris. They were far away enough. He then stood up again on the shoulder of the Female Titan.
"That's our cue," Levi said, strapping his ODM gear tight to its shoulder. He leaned on the Titan's neck. "I hope you have a good eye," he told Annie.
They were at the very end of the now destroyed structure of the Founding. And the Female Titan started to run towards the front.
Amidst of the heavy fog, only the red eyes of the Cart Titan could be seen. Pieck watched from further behind, waiting until Levi and the Female Titan made their way to the front to fulfil their mission.
The Cart Titan then started sprinting between what was left of the Colossal Titans near her, after the immense explosion. She sprinted in a semicircle, avoiding the crater and most of the heavy and heated fog. Going around the destruction, making her way to the front.
Jean and Connie safely watch the whole thing unrevealing on top of the Jaw Titan. Flying high over the explosion. Falco started to slowly descend again, looking very concentrated to down below.
As the heavy and heated fog started to die down slightly, the Armoured Titan started to roar. Reiner was still steaming out in transformation. Walking in the fog. Bellowing extremely loudly as he walked towards the Founder's head. Looking for Eren.
Further away to the left of the crater, the airplane started to descend again. For the turbulence had ended and they could tell the heavy blast of the explosion had passed.
Both Mikasa and Onyankopon could see the walls and the ancient castle at the very center of it, far down below. They noticed the castle was still there, still standing. For all the Colossal Titans who had been marching, had avoided the castle and had walked around it.
The Tybur Castle was the only thing standing in an otherwise completely flattened land. Mikasa saw the giant lake inside the castle walls, and she avoided looking at it, she didn't want to feel saddened again.
She sighed in disappointment. "Do you want to know why I was left here?" she asked Onyan as the pilot concentrated on the controls. He said nothing.
"Because he thinks I can't bring myself to it," she continued. "He thinks I'm not capable of killing my own brother," Mikasa complained about Armin's judgement while crossing her arms.
Onyankopon stopped, then asked, confused: "Why would you kill your own brother?"
She uncrossed her arms, puzzled.
"I mean, hasn't he been through enough?" he asked and Mikasa looked at him even more confused.
Onyankopon continued: "The poor man is injured and even then he's still fighting-"
Mikasa grunted and rolled her eyes.
She interrupted him. "Levi is not my brother," she said, looking a little annoyed.
"He's not?" Onyan asked, genuinely confused. "You two are always together and you look very similar. You even sound the same to me. And you walk the same way…" he stopped himself, Mikasa had gotten his point.
She crossed her arms again and they both fell silent for a moment.
"Right," the pilot spoke again. "Now for the fun part: let's turn this bird around," Onyan said and gestured for Mikasa to start adjusting the controls and they angled the airplane the right way to make their return.
His copilot still seemed upset as she turned the knobs and flipped the switches. "Have you considered that perhaps Armin left you here because he trusted you would know how to help me? You clearly know how it all works." Onyan pointed out to her with a charming smile.
Mikasa stopped for a moment and gave her pilot a half-smile.
"I guess that's true," she conceded. "Airplanes is the only thing he talks about. It was impossible for me not to grab some of the knowledge on the way," she smiled as they turned the plane around. And continued: "He is completely obsessed with them and with the idea of flying," she said looking at the beauty of the skies.
She reflected on it. "He's been obsessed since we were kids, all his family was. And he's still a little mad I gave his priceless airplane models for Azzy to play with," she remembered her son very cheerfully. "But he'd become obsessed with flying as well and those things do look like toys-"
"That's all very lovely," Onyan softly interrupted her. "Can you just…" he pointed at some of the switches.
"Oh. Right," she apologised and went back to concentrating on flying the plane.
After the airplane made the turn, the Jaw Titan started to catch up to it, flying below it as Onyankopon slowed the machine down.
Mikasa stood up from her seat and went to open the rear door. It was quite heavy, but not for the Ackermann. She confirmed that the Jaw Titan was finally close enough and Jean and Connie gave her the thumbs up. Mikasa then threw down the dynamite and they caught it very carefully.
The Jaw Titan flew down and away from the airplane again and Mikasa closed the rear door.
"All right, copilot," Onyan said as she sat down again. "Now it's time to land this bird somewhere safe. What do you think about storming the castle?" he joked.
Falco looked down below very concentrated, he was looking for the Cart Titan. Pieck was already hidden in the debris quite near the enormous head of the Founding Titan, just waiting for the time when she could make an explosion of her own.
She reminded herself of the one time she'd had the opportunity to kill that monster before and she didn't. 'I'll blow up your head this time, Yeager,' Pieck thought.
Up on the Jaw Titan's back, the two soldiers were readying the explosives. Rapidly connecting all the fuses.
"You know we still need to decide on one of us to push the lever, right?" Connie reminded his friend.
"I'll do it," Jean replied eagerly.
"Why? Because you think I won't be able to?" Connie asked, annoyed.
"No." Jean firmly said. "Because I want to be the one to do it."
The Armoured Titan was scavenging the rotting remains of the giant Founder's head. He was screaming, bellowing extremely loudly. Looking for his enemy and destroying the head in the process. When the creature started to defend itself with disgusting, fleshy muscular tendons. Coming out of the back of the head, from what was left of the spine.
The tendons started to attach themselves to the Armoured Titan like vicious snakes, tangling themselves on the Titan's body, trying to stop Reiner from moving.
The Cart Titan saw it all from the distance. Pieck was very concerned for her friend and anxious as she waited for the Jaw Titan to come down with her explosives. Falco was flying as fast as he could.
On the orphanage
The Queen was a little delirious as the Commander entered the room. "Are you going to shoot the Queen? Are you going to shoot a woman in labour?" Historia could faintly hear the doctor's voice amid her tired delirium.
Hange is surprised. She wasn't expecting to find all the commotion inside the Queen's quarters. All those nurses and that doctor shouldn't be there. The Commander knew the Queen's child wasn't due until the next month. She hadn't expected Historia would already be in labour.
But this was a life or death situation and millions, maybe billions of lives were at stake. The Commander knew she couldn't back down now. Hange looked up to the clock on top of the bed, she only had to hold 'the noise' for a little longer. So she kept her gun firmly pointed at the pregnant woman, with her finger on the trigger.
"Don't move," Hange told the doctor and the nurses, who were holding their hands up, completely desperate.
"How dare you?" Historia challenged her with a weak voice. The Queen had finally opened her eyes and was staring Hange down. "How dare you even come here?" she said more aggressively.
Hange came in closer with the gun and Historia startled slightly. She noted the Commander was serious and wouldn't back down. Hange stood right before the Queen's bed and was aiming straight at her head.
Historia had tears coming down her face as she leaned back on the headboard again. Closing her eyes and going back to her delirium. She was feeling the pains of labour.
"Eren," Historia quietly said in her mind. The Queen's voice could be heard throughout Paths.
Ymir was staring into the tree of light once again. She looked like a thirteen-year-old once more.
When she heard Historia's voice.
The lost soul felt like her entire world was fading away. She started to feel dizzy and empty. Ymir looked up at the stars and down to the sand. She looked around the whole world she had created for herself. She then looked down her own ghostly body, she felt like she was about to crumble away completely, and be taken by the sand winds.
She turned her head to the side and looked at Eren with desperation. "Father," Ymir said in a small, timid voice, asking for help.
"Help me," they could both hear Historia's voice echoing throughout Paths once again.
It seemed that the 'shock' was successful, now it was time to finalise the plan.
The Cart Titan was ready and Jean held the lever with much determination as the Titan started to sprint towards the Founder's head. Connie'd stayed with Falco and the Jaw Titan rose up in the air again, to stay away from the blast.
All the children were very apprehensive inside the orphanage's basement. They had been taken there by the nuns from the moment the threat arose outside. They had been very frightened with all the noise. But now everything was silent, they couldn't hear anything. There was something eerie in that silence as all the children looked at each other, one could see the fear in their eyes.
Until all the children startled. They heard a single gunshot. A gunshot that could be heard all over the Queen's farm and over the fields beyond.
In that moment the Cart Titan came close enough and Jean pushed the lever: exploding the dynamite.
There instantly was a giant explosion and it destroyed the Founder's head completely.
'When the time comes you will have to take cover,' Reiner remembered once more.
The Armoured Titan rushed to protect Jean and the Cart. Reiner had to quickly realise that this was his job too, not just the distraction, but protecting his friends from the second explosion.
Inside Tybur Castle
Floch had no idea of the commotion outside. He'd gotten accustomed to the loud noise of the Colossal Titans stomping out there. And he was pretty focused on his mission and a little dazed while walking around that castle. As if there was something cursed inside its walls.
He was looking for the vault as there was something in there that interested Eren. He had told Floch he'd seen in that Tybur woman's memories and it was something he wanted for himself. Floch believed it to be some sort of Titan Crystal, and one thing Eren had omitted from him was that it had to do with the Ackermann family.
Floch walked freely around the castle as all the servants and what remained of the family had clearly fled from the area. He was completely alone in that immense castle. He knew that, but still, he avoided looking at the paintings on the walls, as he had this horrible feeling he was being watched.
He could hear his own steps loud and clearly and even his breath loud and clearly, for the place was completely empty. He even started to hear his thoughts louder. Floch finally found the door full of nails, it was very old and he knew it would be the one to lead down to the vault. So he walked through it and closed it behind him. Walking down the Tybur vault.
There was this blue light around the vault and a strange energy, he felt a lot of eeriness but he walked forward anyway. Floch knew his mission was to get whatever was inside that vault.
"How did you get here? Who told you to come?" he heard a voice behind him.
Floch immediately turned around, very frightened but still bravely, or as brave as he could.
He saw a tall figure standing next to the door. He was dressed in armour, completely black armour and his face was covered to the point only his eyes could be seen.
The man took out his sword from his scabbard and pointed at him in a threatening way. "I won't ask again," he said.
Floch had no idea what to do. He felt like he was being visited by one of the ghosts of that haunted castle. And he wasn't sure whether to take out his own sword and attack or to surrender. When he accidentally dropped the map Eren had made for him on the floor and they both looked at it.
The man in black looked at him again, he stared at Floch with deep mistrust in his dark blue eyes.
Floch didn't see it coming, he only felt a sharp pain in his heart as his entire nervous system shut down. The Ackermann had swiftly cut him in half.
≃2000 years ago
[after The Titan's death]
Tyr Ackermann walked up the hill followed by two of his brothers: Erik and Ivar. They were still mourning the loss of their father, Ludvík, who hadn't been able to withstand their cannibalistic ritual the night before. Their elder brothers: Axl and Klaus had stayed behind, downhill, near the lake. In vigil over the old Ackermann's body.
The lake had been the place where they'd buried their mother many years before and so it was a special place for their family.
Erik and Ivar carried with them a small wooden box as they followed their brother up the hill. Tyr was seeking for the help of his childhood friend, Osmond. He and the Eldian prince were the same age and had grown up together.
Osmond Fritz had recently built a small castle for himself near that very lake, and Tyr hoped he could help him and advise him on what they should do.
"Maybe he isn't home," Erik told his brother after they had insistently knocked on the giant wooden door.
"Yes, maybe all of their family is still back in the city," Ivar concurred. "After everything that happened," he added.
Tyr sighed and turned to look downhill where he saw his friend coming up, galloping on a horse. "Good," he thought.
Osmond came riding fast, then stopped before the gate. He whistled in a high and loud pitch to let his servants know he'd arrived, so they could let the giant door down. "What are you doing here?" He asked the others while coming down from his horse.
The three Ackermanns looked at each other, concerned.
"You all still reek of blood," Osmond said as he got closer to them, for he could tell they had eaten human flesh. "Where is Ludvík?" he asked.
"Our father is gone," Ivar said solemnly. "He died," Erik added in grief.
"That's funny," the prince noted with a small laugh.
"What is funny about that?" Tyr asked, as he didn't like Osmond's tone.
Osmond smiled. "My father is dead too," he told his friends very ominously.
The three siblings were very silent and they looked unsettled and disturbed. "You all look like a mess," the prince said. "What happened to the interrogation?" he asked as the giant door of his castle started to come down. "Let me guess: Azymondeus killed Ludvík?"
The brothers looked at each other again. "Well…" they all said. Tyr went over and opened the small wooden chest.
The curious prince went over to take a look. "Fascinating," he said. There was a human heart inside of it and the prince reached to grab it, he could tell it was fresh and full of energy, an otherworldly blue energy. The organ was no longer alive but it still felt slightly undead.
"You are the smartest person I know, Osmond. What should we do?" Tyr asked his longtime friend.
The prince thought for a moment. That energy around the undead heart felt familiar to him. As he now had the same otherworldly energy flowing inside himself, for the prince had consumed one of those creatures' flesh and he now possessed powers of his own.
"We should preserve it, before it can start to decay. With everything that has happened and with the power change, we won't have time for this now. I shall study it later," he told the Ackermann brothers while holding the heart.
Osmond's eyes started to glow slightly and he began to produce Titan Crystal from his own hands. He enveloped the heart completely in the crystal, encasing it forever inside an indestructible cage.
"How-How did you do that?" Tyr asked, very frightened.
"Oh, just a small trick I learned quite recently," the prince replied very carelessly. He then turned to leave.
"What happens now?" Tyr asked, quite concerned.
"Torin is in charge now so you boys better prepare for war," Osmond said as he walked to his castle staring at the crystallised heart in his hand, observing it. "Fascinating," he said again.
- Year 852 - January 30, early morning - The Lighthouse
The sun was almost rising as Armin walked around the quarters of the lighthouse, his three friends: Eren, Connie and Jean were sleeping soundly, spread out on the living room floor. It had been a long night for all of them.
"Do you want breakfast?" Sasha asked with a smile as Armin walked past the kitchen.
"No," he answered. "I'll just check how they are upstairs," he added and smiled back at Sasha.
Armin walked up the stairs to see Mikasa still sleeping very deeply. Next to the bed was the small crib, with the small baby inside. Armin walked softly, trying his best not to make a noise. He stood next to the crib to watch his small child.
The baby was breathing heavily, completely enwrapped in blankets. He still hadn't opened his eyes, but he started to make small noises, which made Armin realise he was awake.
Armin took a deep breath, he then slowly reached out to grab the small baby. "Please don't cry this time," he pleaded softly under his breath.
He took the baby in his arms. The tiny child was very warm and Armin could feel his heart beating very avidly. The baby opened up his mouth with a yawn, which made Armin immediately smile. The tiny child then made his best to position himself better in his father's arms. Azzy was feeling very comfortable there. He felt safe.
Armin smiled again, he gave out a small laugh which made the boy open his eyes for the very first time. His big blue eyes stared at Armin for a moment and the baby then smiled as well.
When he smiled, the tiny baby shone a bright blue light from his eyes and from his entire nervous system. Lighting up the dim room for a second.
Armin became paralysed as he was trying to process what had just happened. Azzy just closed his eyes again, like it was nothing, he then started to fall asleep in his father's hands. Armin looked over to the bed and confirmed Mikasa was still sleeping soundly. He then looked around the room to confirm no one else was there, that no one besides him had seen his small child glow that otherworldly light.
The father became very worried, for he couldn't understand what that light meant. He held his tiny child with much concern. "That was… unusual," Armin said.
End of Chapter Twelve: "god of war"