DISCLAIMER: Attack on Titan belongs to Hajime Isayama. Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Hideaki Anno.
A/N: Yes, the title is just the two series' Japanese titles mashed together, because "Shingeki" and "Shinseiki" are one syllable off from each other and I like puns.
~ Shinseiki no Kyojin ~
(From the Back of Beyond)
A figured emerged from the back of the titan's neck. On second glance, he saw that it was a woman. Pretty. Blonde. Her clothing was in a style he'd never seen before.
She blinked, looked around.
Crap, she spotted me.
She rubbed her eyes with the back of one hand and squinted in his direction.
"Shinji...?" she called out uncertainly, before collapsing.
Eren wasn't sure what to do with her.
Oh, well. I'll let Corporal Levi figure it out, he thought as he lifted the unconscious woman into his arms.
She woke up in a strange room. Unfamiliar, yes, but that isn't the only strange thing about it. She couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly about the room struck her as odd, though. Maybe it was just an aftereffect of the long, strange dream she'd had.
She was laying on a bed, crisp white sheets beneath her, covered with a blanket of rough brown cloth.
Her limbs felt heavy and she didn't quite trust herself to sit up yet. Wondering idly what caused her to be in this state of exhaustion, she continued to take stock of her surroundings.
Oil lamps, she realized suddenly. And candles. Why are there no electric lights? What is this place?
The door creaked open and two people entered the room. Shinji and-
No. Not Shinji.
"This is her," not-Shinji said to the man beside him.
She noticed that their outfits were exactly the same. Some kind of uniform? Were they military? Seele? Something else entirely?
"Looks like she's awake," the man replied, stepping toward the bed. "Hey, you. What's your name?"
At first she'd thought he was another teenager, but apparently he was just short. He had an air of command about him. Probably a superior officer in whatever organization the wing-and-shield crest represented.
"Rit-" The sound got stuck in her throat, and she coughed. "Ritsuko Akagi." She coughed again, wincing at the dry feeling in her throat. "You?" she asked, hoping for - but not really expecting - an answer.
"Levi," the man answered.
She noticed he neglected to mention his last name.
"I'm Eren Jaeger," the boy piped up.
"Ritsuko," Levi repeated slowly. "Where are you from?"
She was about to say Tokyo, but the insignia on the man's jacket caught her eye again and she thought, That's probably not what he means.
"NERV," she answered.
"Where's that?" Levi inquired, frowning.
He had never heard of NERV? Odd. How far away from home was she?
"Our headquarters is in Tokyo."
"Tokyo...?" Levi repeated, nonplussed. "Where is that?"
What, he doesn't even know basic geography? Out loud, she said only, "Japan."
Levi's brow furrowed further. The boy - Eren - looked equally as confused.
Saliva pooled in Ritsuko's mouth and she swallowed. Talking felt a bit easier now.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions, as well," she said.
Letting her ask wouldn't hurt anything, Levi figured. He didn't have to answer even if he let her ask questions, and maybe he would get some actual information out of her this way.
"Go ahead," he said.
Her first question was "Where am I?"
"Slightly outside of Wall Maria, a technically unnamed castle whose official designation is Survey Corps Outpost Number Seven." Belatedly he added, "In the infirmary." She had probably already realized that the room was an infirmary, but he figured full disclosure was the best answer for now.
The woman took a moment to digest this information, before saying, "What city? What country?"
What did she mean, what city? There was only one city in existence anymore. Unless you counted the titan shifter colony, wherever that was. Did that mean she was from there? Was there more than one of them?
Levi glanced at Eren beside him. The boy had a look of deep concentration on his face and seemed to have tuned out the current conversation entirely.
When the man hesitated over her follow-up questions, Ritsuko wasn't sure whether it was because he didn't want to give her the information or because he was actually confused by them.
"Nevermind. That's not important right now," she said. "I suppose I should I ask what you plan to do with me, and if I could possibly have something to eat, or at least some water, but before we get into matters of my possible continued survival, there is one more thing I'd really like to know."
She paused, and Levi nodded, signalling her to continue.
"What year is it?"
"850."
"Eight... fifty?" she said slowly, brows furrowed. "850 what?"
"What?" Levi repeated, nonplussed.
"850 what? What are you counting from?"
"I don't know, the beginning of history?"
The uncertainty of his answer disturbed her.
Eight hundred and fifty years... since the Third Impact? Or since the Human Instrumentality Project was successful?
And for the first time since she woke up, she realized that more was wrong here than she had first thought. If either of those things had happened, and if so much time had passed, how was she even alive right now?
~to be continued~