Chapter Twelve
The Final Battle Part III
Aer's P.O.V.
Fatigue weighed down on my arms and legs, making it feel like I was trudging through cement. In short, I was exhausted. Luckily, I only had one more shift left. Wall Sina had been broken through, despite Eren's fierce battle with the Ape Titan. They slowly came into my line of vision.
The Ape Titan looked like he was losing badly. The shifters and normal Titans that were originally on backup couldn't get there due to the fact I had sealed the surrounding Walls, trapping them in.
Of course, that also meant that humanity could be extinguished here without any means of escape as well.
Eren was still keeping it up though. It must have been…what, an hour since he shifted? That was pretty good for someone who only read a book about how to learn everything to becoming a Titan.
Shikaze had killed his human side. If that was possible, I would have to kill Eren's Titan side. But relying on 'ifs' weren't giving me any confidence of surviving the battle. Already, my eyes had started to fuzz up.
I crouched in the small hole. Lightning flew out and struck as the hardened skin hit its mark and sealed the last wall. I limped toward where Eren and the Ape Titan were fighting. All of a sudden, the Ape Titan was knocked down.
He stayed down.
Humanity won? I thought dimly as a Titan spotted me and started walking in my direction. That's great. Another wave of exhaustion hit my legs, and I collapsed, my eyes slowly closing.
"Aer!" Lilli complained. "Are we there yet?"
"Almost," I replied, trying to hold my patience. Lilli and I were meeting Onyx at the base of a willow tree. He had submitted a form to be part of a Trainees Squad when he grew older. Father even told him he would put in a good word or two about him.
"Almost? I'm hungry," she mumbled. "Can we buy a cookie later?"
I sighed. "Alright."
"Yay!" She cheered, jumping up and down excitedly. "Let's hurry then!" She grabbed my hand, and together, we ran to the base of the willow tree. The branches swayed gently back and forth. "Let's meet here again!"
Lilli. I needed to find Lilli. I picked myself up and weakly threw a sword at the Titan. It blinded him and I trudged away. The willow tree was close by. I could probably find it. And Lilli would be there, waiting for me.
I walked slowly, my footsteps echoing in the dirt. The shifters had channeled their anger into power. Even though the Ape Titan was dead, I wasn't too sure about the outcome of this battle anymore. It was unexpected that they would be angry that Shikaze had died. I personally thought they would surrender instead.
The willow tree was older and taller now. At the base, there was a small grave. Lilies had been planted around the small grave, and I kneeled in front of it, my eyes scrutinizing the small letters.
Here lies the girl
Who brought joy to many
Lilli Monica Zakarius
Daughter of Mike and Layla Zakarius
Sister to Aerellia Jaeger and Onyx Zakarius
Friend to All
Rest in Peace, my beloved
I smiled feebly at the tomb. She had died. Lilli had died? Impossible. She couldn't have died. Onyx. Onyx would be able to tell me, right?
For a split second, the haze and blurriness was lifted over my eyes, and I could see clearly again.
She had died.
She had died, and I had watched her die.
She was crying and calling out my name.
I faintly walked away. For my actions, she had died. Once again, the fatigue rushed to my head, and I swayed back and forth, not even knowing where I was going anymore. I saw Rivaille. He looked wounded though.
There was a Titan reaching for him. Without thinking, I flipped up my hood and sped past right in front of the Titan, drawing its attention away from him to me. I looked back and saw him looking at me with a confused expression.
I ran away from that area. If no one was going to punish me for what I did, I guess I would have to do it myself. I would die with no one watching. I won't let anyone cry over my death. Because this is my way of apologizing.
I killed that Titan. No way was I going to die at the hands of a mindless Titan. I leaned against the ruined wall of a house, breathing in and out. My breaths were slowing down, and I couldn't even see anything anymore.
The day I ask for your forgiveness is the day I say goodbye forevermore.
Forgive me, Eren, Rivaille.
I'm coming, Lilli.
Third Person P.O.V.
Humanity had won. Dallis Zacklay had deemed Wall Sina and Rose fit for humans to reside in, but Wall Maria needed more cleanup. Titans had been locked in there and aimlessly walked around.
It was enough hassle doing cleanup in Wall Sina and Rose. The Special Operations Squad were congratulated very often and gifts from rich nobles were often delivered to them, as thanks for killing humanity's enemy.
In the eyes of the people, they were heroes, having saved all of humanity from complete extinction.
Little did everyone know that once cleanup finished, they would find a dead girl leaning against a house, eyes glassy and smiling. But she was also crying.
"Life is short. And nobody wants to die too fast."
"When the day comes, a Coordinate will die, be it that kid or Aerellia."
"Then we're almost like sisters! I'm Asian as well."
"And you're the girl who survived a few years in Titan territory."
"Aerellia Jaeger is dead because of the Titans."
"Her existence can't possibly be human or Titan."
"It always seemed like the better choice. To fly."
Aer's P.O.V.
I sat in a wooden chair, playing with a piece of thread. All around me were picture frames that held my memories. I was bored. This was probably what they called Purgatory. After all, the picture frames only held my negative memories.
"Aer." I turned and saw a girl. She held an uncanny resemblance to me, face and all. "Why are you here?"
"Obviously, I died," I retorted. "Who are you?"
She looked at me sadly. "I'm Aerellia Shikaze. You are Aer Zakarius. We are both Aerellia Jaeger. But now all three are dead. "
"That made no sense whatsoever."
"Tell me. Why did you die? You could have let Eren Jaeger die. That would be the easiest option to survive the battle with your life." She sat down in another chair. Where she got it I had no clue. "I'm intrigued in your particular situation."
"What are you, a therapist?" I asked. She shook her head and I sighed. "I knew I was always fated to die. Even when I lost my memory, I knew I had to die. It's always been like that. From the beginning, I resolved to make sure Eren would survive the war despite being a Coordinate. For god's sake, he just got married. I'm not that cruel of a person to rip apart a newlywed couple a day after their wedding."
"It seems like you hated yourself from the beginning." She observed. "Why didn't you try to avoid that fate though? Our future is not engraved in stone. We can change it. To be more accurate, it's almost like clay. Based on our actions, we can change the future."
"Why would I?' I asked harshly. "I let my younger sister die. My older brother has a wound that will never heal. He's on the verge of committing suicide too, if not for the fact I hadn't remembered I had let Lilli die at the time. Eren and Mikasa don't understand why I didn't shift before to save Carla Jaeger. And Rivaille doesn't know what to do with me."
"You weren't directly related to your sister. Your older brother was there as well and has no reason to blame you for his sister's death. Both are at fault for going to the Scouting Corps in the first place. Eren and Mikasa never knew you had no choice but to go to the Zakarius family." Aerellia Shikaze pointed out all of the faults. "And Rivaille could have told you, but chose not to. You're avoiding the question, Aer. Why didn't you try to survive?"
"I don't know!" I exploded. "Maybe it was the fact that everyone depended on me too much!"
"Bingo," she smiled softly. She took my hand and started drawing on my wrist with her fingers, making long, curling strokes. "I will do you a favor. You are my twin. There are no twins in the world who hate each other. I will kill your Titan side. Your human side will be free."
"What?" My arm started to tingle. "How?"
She only smiled. "Fly with these wings, Aer. Aerellia Jaeger will die. I will die. The Wings of Freedom have always been on your back. In this illusion you have created, you can fly in freedom. But if you never try, your wings will be bound to the earth."
Where had I heard those words before?
The book. I reached out to her, about to say something before my vision went completely dark.
Third Person P.O.V.
The squad was eating dinner at the main cafeteria. Though humanity had won, the aura woven over this particular team was dark and gloomy. "Anyone else think that this is the best meal we've had so far?" Onyx unconvincingly tried to make conversation.
"We did capture back a lot of land," Eren said, "So there's more meat than usual." Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder, worried. "Mikasa, I'm fine." She shook her head and hugged him, scarf dangling over her shoulder.
"What's with the negative-ish feelings around here?" A new voice broke the silence. "One would think you would be at least a little bit happier now that you don't have to put your life on the line anymore."
Aer stood over them, smiling, even as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm back, everyone."
Five Years Later…
Aer's P.O.V.
I watched Lilli go on her toes to try to clean the upper window with a small washcloth. She was five years old now. Rivaille was right next to her, watching as she trembled in her attempt to clean the high window. He had stripped off his traveling cloak, jacket, and sash and had instead replaced them with a cloth tied around his hair. He always did that whenever he cleaned. Nowadays, not many people were given permission to use 3DMG, so Rivaille's was on the kitchen table, just waiting to be used again after five years.
"Rivaille, just help her already," I said, giggling. She had tears forming at the corners of her eyes. The art of impeccable cleaning had been introduced to her at an early age.
I blame Rivaille for that.
He was watching her with an amused expression, arms folded, and boots tapping the wooden cabin floor, but when I spoke, he lifted her up in his arms and she successfully reached the window. "I know that."
"Of course you do," I replied. The door burst open, and Hanji, Eren, and Mikasa marched through it.
Hanji immediately went on to teasing Rivaille. "What a good father you are, Ri-chan!" She smiled at Lilli. "But I still don't know why you didn't want me to name her..," she muttered, having a dark aura around her.
I watched Eren and Mikasa lead their son into the cabin. He was a few months older than Lilli, and the duo were great playmates. "How's Onyx?" I asked.
"He's the head of the Military Police now," Mikasa said, "He told us to send you his regards." She smiled as she watched the two children play together.
Later on, I watched as Rivaille put down flowers at four graves. Petra Ral, Auruo Bossard, Erd Gin, and Gunter Shulz. He watched them for a long time. Lilli tugged at my shirt. "Why does Daddy look so sad?"
"He misses some friends of his." I whispered, patting her hair. I walked up to Rivaille. "It never gets easier. But everyone would want us to move on. Right?" Though the first Special Operations Squad had died over five years ago, we had made a habit of visiting every year.
I couldn't complain; I did the same with Lilli's grave. He nodded, but I could see his mask breaking. Gently, I hugged him, his face pressed into my shoulder. I figured out that whenever he cried, he preferred for people not to see.
As I patted his back, I saw four figures. They were smiling. A girl with amber hair and eyes waved at me. Then, as I watched them, bloodstained and cloaked in the Scouting Legion gear, they turned around and walked away, fading into the air.
"Daddy?" Lilli tugged on his shirt too. Without saying anything, Rivaille lifted her up in his arms. She laughed, obviously delighted.
He met my gaze, and I smiled. He smiled back, which was kind of weird, but cute all the same. "You can fly in freedom now."
Phew! We're finally at the ending! I would like to thank everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! You guys gave me so much inspiration! Anyway, if you liked this story, check out my new Rivaille x OC fanfic, called Till This Nightmare Ends. Thanks for reading! Please review!
