Creation began on 02-01-21
Creation ended on 02-08-21
Attack on Titan
The Princess and the Sword: The Hammer falls in the Night
People were screaming as they tried to run away from the danger. There was a series of small fires that were burning several of the buildings within the internment zone. The night sky was still clear; the carnage had only started just a few minutes ago, as she laid there on the roof of the building she crashed onto. But the sight of the fifteen-meter Titan that had appeared and trashed the hotel was a nightmare in her eyes.
Historia, resting after a chat with Ymir about another meeting with the heads of Marley being a necessary step towards solidifying the Mid-East Alliance's victory in the war and ending the discrimination and hatred against Eldians everywhere, rose up to look at the people that were either killed or trying to carry their injured or dead as far away from the scenes of destruction as possible as they saw the Titan raise its hammer again.
"This is the fate that must befall all Eldians, Queen of Eldia," the Titan uttered. "To ensure the future of the world, you must die. Marley will never submit to the Mid-East Alliance. Accept your defeat with dignity."
Please, thought Historia as she revived and the Witchblade generated armor that covered her from head to toe, resembling metallic skin of gold and silver with scale patterns similar to a reptile. Please…all that we fought for…all that we want to see happen… It can't end like this. It can't end with us losing because one side refuses to relent in their contempt.
That Titan isn't the enemy, Historia, the Witchblade informed her.
What do you mean by that? She asked, confused.
The War Hammer Titan, its body, is merely a construct, an automaton, a puppet, if you will; unlike the previous Titans you have encountered, its possessor isn't inside its nape.
Behind her on her back, the Witchblade generated armored wings (A/N: Think of the metallic wings Angel received from Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse, but were slender and without the talons on top of them) and the young queen took to the air with a pair of curved blades formed over her closed hands. She flew down towards the street and landed in front of Levi and Erwin, who were helping the civilians get away from the Titan and the burning buildings.
"Are there any civilian casualties?" She asked them.
"Yeah, eight so far," Levi told her. "Six elderly, four men and two women. The other two were just kids. Not even five years old yet."
Historia sighed and looked at the War Hammer Titan as it swung its hammer at the buildings beside it.
"Where's Ymir and Armin?" She questioned.
"Arlert is on the other side of the internment zone," Erwin informed her, "and we haven't seen Ymir yet. We think she never made it out of the hotel."
"If she was injured, she would've transformed to escape."
BLAST! An explosion occurred from afar and a Titan roar was heard.
A Titan, fifteen meters, with armor-like skin and a big head and arms.
"She's okay," Historia expressed and flew towards the Jaw Titan. "We have to deal with this Titan if we're going to stop Marley!"
"Grr…" Ymir's Titan growled.
"You can tear the Titan's head off, Ymir. The person controlling it is not in the nape. Try to keep it distracted while I search for the culprit."
"Grr!"
Then Ymir charged towards the War Hammer Titan, the streets clear of civilians and allies, and grabbed its hammer to keep it from slamming down on something else.
"Grrahh!" Ymir roared at the Titan. "This is madness! All we want is peace and freedom!"
"Eldians don't deserve such things," the Titan responded. "You should've never been born."
Chomp! Ymir bit the hammer shaft in half, breaking the weapon and causing the Titan to drop its signature namesake to the ground.
Historia flew around the two and observed the War Hammer Titan from behind, seeing something that wouldn't have been noticed by many in a panic. On the ground behind it was a long strand of what looked like flesh, connecting from the Titan's right leg and leading somewhere away from the scene of battle.
Bang! She then saw a signal flare had been shot into the air, and flew over to where it had been released, finding Mikasa and Armin on a rooftop.
"Historia, it's bad," Armin stated to the queen. "The Titan just appeared out of nowhere and started attacking the buildings. It took us by surprise. Our Thunder Spears, they don't seem to work on it at all."
"Even if we get close to its nape, our ODM blades don't make a cut in its hide, either," Mikasa added in, holding up one of hers, showing that it was broken.
"Did anyone notice the thread at its legs?" She asked them.
"What thread?" Armin asked her.
"There's a thread or something leading away from its legs to somewhere else. Armin, do you still have that syringe for the Titan Serum?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Come with me while Ymir's keeping it distracted, and get ready to use it."
-x-
Within her protective shell, Lara Tybur watched as her War Hammer Time continued to rampage across Liberio. It wasn't really personal, but this was a move that needed to be made. By attacking Liberio while the Eldians from Paradis Island were still there, they would be able to defeat the primary edge that the Mid-East Alliance had against Marley and its allies in this war. The three Titans that Paradis had taken from Marley, along with the current ruler, if she was in actuality the Founding Titan, then they would be assured victory against their foes. The peace treaties that Paradis had with other nations that were starting to see Eldians differently after more than a century of hatred, the goals that had been set in mind after the fall of Karl Fritz when he fled and took the handfuls of Eldians that he could to Paradis, they would all come undone and the remnants of Eldia would return to being seen as the enemy to the future of the world. While she would regret the lives lost to ensure Marley's point got across the land, the end result would be worth the effort put in.
Crush. Something outside her shell was heard and she saw two people standing in front of her.
Huh?! Lara mentally gasped as she saw Historia Reiss and a member of this Survey Corps in front of her. How'd they find me?!
Outside her shell, she saw the young queen covered in strange armor with wings sinking into her back and the boy beside her looking as though he was about to stick himself with something.
Shine! She saw the young queen produce a large, glistening object…and suddenly, her connection with the Titan body was severed.
What are they doing?! She demanded; with the connection severed, her current Titan body would cease all activity on the streets and if these people were to attack her right now, she was in danger so long as she was unable to defend herself against anything that could.
The queen placed her right hand against Lara's shell and the War Hammer Titan's current possessor felt her personal space being intruded upon.
My name is Historia Reiss, she heard the girl's voice in her head. I know you can hear me, Ms. Tybur. I know you can understand me. Please…why? Why are you doing this?
Because you Eldians are the enemy, she responded. So long as you live, nobody is safe. As long as you continue to persist, the rest of the world will live in fear of what you could do if you so desired. You could unleash the Titans inside the Walls and lay waste to the world if you chose to! Marley has to stop you, here and now!
Except I only brought the Jaw, Armored and Beast Titans with me when we left Paradis, Ms. Tybur. I left Paradis with a goal of peace and coexistence in mind, not death and destruction. The Founding Titan resides on the island still…because I don't want to implement something like the Rumbling unless all else fails. Only if war is inevitable and my home is threatened, when peace treaties are rendered pointless…that's when the Rumbling becomes something that will be implemented…but I pray that day never comes. I pray that it never becomes a reality that ends up bad for everyone that doesn't deserve it, because…despite the ugliness I've seen, that we've seen since we joined the Mid-East Alliance, the people that hate us…simply for the atrocities that our ancestors committed…because the first king, this Fritz guy that enslaved various groups of people decided to exploit a young girl that became the first Titan who had no other choice because she only knew pain and suffering because of that man…there are still good people out there in the world. Decent, moral people that don't see us as devils or being less than animals. What's more, I've seen too many people suffer because of secrets being kept, lies being spewed. Worse than this? The person that has the Founding Titan right now, I fear can't be trusted because he has a temperament that he can't let go of and may know more than even he's currently aware of…and still chooses to move forward on the one path that he sees, different from the one I'm striving for.
The Founding Titan isn't in your possession? It's in someone else's?
-x-
Ymir watched as the War Hammer Titan went limp and fell against her Jaw Titan. Whatever Historia had done, it must've stopped the Titan momentarily. She couldn't have been any prouder of her than she was right now.
"Haar…haurgh…haurgh…" She panted as she threw the Titan body off onto the street. Historia, I hope you and Armin are finishing this matter now.
She heard a slight rumble and saw someone rise out of the ground nearby, carrying a…a six-meter Titan with blond hair with a shiny rock in its mouth and arms. It was Historia, with a now-Titan Armin, possibly trying to devour the current War Hammer Titan.
"Aaahh!" She heard a woman's scream as Historia landed the Titan on a roof nearby. "Aaah!"
The screaming ceased when Ymir got closer to the building, seeing that they were coming from a woman that had been inside the rock in Armin's Titan's mouth, partially ensnared with threads emanating from the Witchblade armor on Historia, no doubt guiding the Titan's actions enough to keep from killing the woman that possessed the War Hammer.
"Historia," she uttered to the queen as Armin's Titan started to evaporate, pulling the woman out of its mouth. "Did you do it?"
"We did it," Historia responded and began healing the woman's back injuries. "Ymir, meet Lara Tybur of the Tybur family…and the former War Hammer Titan. Marley was hoping to retrigger the discord most of the world feels towards Eldians and Paradis Island by getting rid of us. But maybe now that the Tybur family has lost their Titan, we can try and mitigate some of what happened here tonight."
"This…" They heard Lara say as she balled her fists, what remained of the crystal casing evaporating. "This changes nothing. We will never surrender. Marley will never admit defeat."
Historia had a disappointing expression on her face and just continued healing the woman's injuries with the Witchblade.
"Ahh…" Armin went as he fell to the ground, his skin and hair sweaty and his uniform damp from the heat his Titan transformation gave off. "Please…please, tell me…we can still end this war…without the Rumbling, Your Majesty."
"We're not going to give up due to this major setback. Whatever it takes to keep from having to ever implement the Rumbling."
He smiled, but he was exhausted. It was his hope that the list of casualties would be low and they would be able to explain what happened…and that it wouldn't happen again. Not as long as he now had something to say about it; the power of the Titans was now his to unleash, as now he was the War Hammer Titan, the ninth and final member of the Nine Titans created after Ymir Fritz's passing.
-x-
"What is the meaning of this?" Calvi demanded, seeing Lara Tybur tied up and sitting in a chair the following morning.
"It would seem that you and Willy Tybur have some explaining to do, sir," Erwin Smith told the Marleyan in front of Historia, Ymir and Levi. "Like, why you had Ms. Tybur attack Liberio's internment zone in an attempt to discredit Paradis' attempts at a peaceful coexistence."
"We did no such thing."
The Witchblade on Historia's wrist glowed bright red with subtlety, and the queen sighed.
"Are you aware that you just perjured yourself in front of me?" She asked him.
"What?"
"You lied about what happened last night. You really should tell the truth."
"What would you know about the truth?" Calvi demanded to hear from her.
"She's not the Founding Titan," Lara revealed to him. "She's just a young girl trying to end a hundred years of hatred to prevent a catastrophe from ever happening."
"What is she saying?" Calvi demanded.
Erwin and Levi looked at Historia, wondering what was going on now. And the queen looked back at them.
"We had a few words during the transfer of the War Hammer Titan," she expressed. "Even if her family refuses to acknowledge the truth, it will be heard, one way or another."
"As it seems, there's more of a sound reason to seek peace rather destroying the world," went Ymir. "Marley doesn't want the Rumbling to happen any more than we do, which is why we should really be seeking peace instead of trying to kill one another."
This was a bad situation Calvi was currently in. Not only was he standing in a room with the Queen of Eldia, he was standing in a room with at least three Titan Shifters and a member of the Ackerman clan, any of whom could kill him at any time and cause great devastation to the military factions of Marley. All Nine Titans of Eldia had been reclaimed…or so he believed; if this Historia wasn't the Founding Titan, then she probably had a trying time with whoever had possession of that coveted Titan. But he had to consider the alternative of their situation in other respects; Marley's forces were unable to fight against Titans without Titans of their own, and that meant Titans with intelligence, something they no longer possessed.
"Damn you Eldians," he uttered. "Damn you."
Historia approached him and extended her right hand to him.
"If we wanted to kill you," she told him, "we would've done that months ago, forgoing the attempts at peace and waging all-out war until one side prevailed over the other, regardless of the casualties. But I don't want to end this hatred with more hatred. You see me as an Eldian…and I see you as a Marleyan…but can you let go of your hatred, as I have let go of mine…and see me as simply another person?"
The way she spoke, the way she looked at him, and the way she wore that strange bracelet on her wrist… It was like he wasn't in the presence of a demon in the guise of a young woman or even a queen. It was as though…he were in the presence of an angel, a goddess, even, someone to be feared, adored, respected and everything else. And then…he saw something too crazy to believe to be true; he was in front of a large field of flowers, the sky bathed in colors unlike what he was familiar with, and in front of nine Titans that had to be the ones he had always feared and respected for their power, all kneeling to the girl that held authority over them. Was this a dream…or a vision?
-x-
Two weeks later
Every two or three days, Eren Yeager kept trying to get to his half-brother's cell to speak with him, and every time, Hange had to set him straight by telling him that he had been moved to a different cell and refused to tell him where he was. Of course, this was a mere lie due to even Hange herself not knowing where Zeke Yeager currently was; her job in this case was to keep tabs on Eren's whereabouts to keep him in check. She was hoping that wherever it was Commander Erwin and Queen Historia were keeping him was as far from Eren as possible. Now that she had considerable time to think about it, she had to hope the same for Rod Reiss, too; if the Founding Titan could only be controlled through the use of royal blood, this made him a priority target, as well, giving Eren at least four targets to go after, one of which was just not as likely to be sought after because it was among a bunch of Titans that were in the ground and kept from the sunlight and from people as much as possible.
Historia Reiss, Rod Reiss, Zeke Yeager and the Smiling Titan, she thought as she had Eren transferred from Trost District back to Shiganshina District and received a falsified report that Zeke Yeager was transferred to a prison cell in the Yarckel District, far from Eren's reach until Historia and the others returned from Marley. If Eren made contact with any one of them, he could trigger the Rumbling and awaken the Titans within the Walls without hesitation. That was what Historia fears could happen if he crossed the line and decided to destroy the world, if the other Titan he possesses, the one his father possessed, the Attack Titan, truly does operate on memories of events yet to transpire. But Historia, due to the Witchblade, could give us a different future that could be better than whatever it is Eren could see with the Attack Titan. If she's right from the last time she made contact with Eren to have the Witchblade obtain further knowledge to be used at her discretion, then the Attack Titan is flawed in the way it behaves, no matter who has it and what it fights for.
"The Attack Titan constantly moves forward," Historia had informed her, Erwin and Levi a year ago. "It fights for Eldia's freedom, but no matter what the people want, it only understands freedom above all else, including peace and the potential for coexistence. It's only for the sake of freedom that it fights. A Titan that can only concern itself with going forward, never looking back, never looking…at another way…"
It acts like there's only one choice, she thought as she found Eren standing atop the wall. Except anyone behaving like there's only one choice is incapable of seeing that there are other choices.
But Eren didn't enjoy the fact that he was constantly being watched over by the Survey Corps and prohibited from seeing his brother.
"What's the big idea of prohibiting me from talking to him?" He asked her.
"We don't even know your brother," she stated. "We don't know him, and he turned an entire village into Titans and attacked a dozen of us at Utgard Castle with them. I don't trust Zeke Yeager as far as I can tolerate him. And Commander Smith explored his memories and knows he can't be trusted, either. He was going to use the Founding Titan to sterilize us all. We can't trust that he won't try to do something like that if we let him near you. And worse, it's not just Marley we're trying to deal with peacefully. It's the rest of the world, which is why Historia sought to seek peace with those nations after we learned that we're not the last remnants of the human race at all. If siding with the Mid-East Alliance works out for us, we won't need the Rumbling at all."
"I wish I could believe that."
"When they return from Marley, I hope you will."
"Hey, they're back!" A Survey Corps member yelled from a yard away from as he pointed up at the sky, spotting a large Titan with an animal-like appearance and large wings.
It was Erwin Smith's Beast Titan, which, unlike Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan, possessed the characteristics of both a wolf and a bird combined with the ape-like traits that his had exhibited. In addition, the Titan was not seventeen meters, but rather twenty meters, a surprise to many people that saw when he transformed for the first time. It landed on the ground several feet from the Shiganshina District gate and several people could be seen getting off its body.
One of them then sprouted wings and flew up to the top of the wall, revealing themselves to be Historia, landing in front of Eren and Hange.
"Welcome back," Hange greeted the young queen. "Were your efforts bountiful?"
Historia looked at Eren, who looked as though he was being distrusted, and she responded, "Marley agreed to an unconditional surrender after losing the War Hammer Titan. The Tybur family has to uphold all that we agreed to when they accepted that Marley was defeated. Their military and imperialistic views will end and the Eldians can no longer be confined to internment zones and treated like second or third-class citizens. The war's over and it ended in our favor."
"For real?" Eren asked her.
"Erwin, Ymir and I were very persuasive and we got our thoughts across the table to the military leaders left after the war was not going well for them. Marley has no choice but to abide by the conditions of the surrender. The Rumbling is no longer necessary."
"Then I guess…all that's really left to do regarding our relationship with Marley…is to return the captured soldiers," said Hange.
"That's among what I promised the Eldians of Marley when we met them."
"When do we release the prisoners?"
"Three days from now."
"Great."
"But what if they lied?" Eren suggested. "What if they go back on their word? What then?"
"We'll know," Historia told him. "Paradis will know. Hizuru, Talafatai, Bohoja, Passione and every other nation that coalited into an alliance to fight back against Marley and their allies. What affects one of us affects all of us."
Except the Witchblade was telling Historia to still be weary of Eren. Just because the war was over with Marley, it didn't mean that everyone was just going to forgive and forget, and Eren Yeager might've been among those that didn't know how to forgive and forget. It was a reminder of another issue that had Marley and several others uncomfortable with about Paradis; the Rumbling would still be kept as a nuclear deterrent against a potential threat on Paradis, but the rest of the world needed assurances that the Rumbling wouldn't be triggered without a justifiable cause. To ensure this, Historia needed to make it so that Eren understood where they were in this path to peace.
-x-
Marley was currently dealing with some minor changes before they did any major changes, but due to their unconditional surrender to the Mid-East Alliance, they had to comply with the conditions of what the other nations they had been at war against demanded, and the Tyburs had to honor these conditions. The first of which among the minor changes was the removal of the walled gates that segregated the Eldians from the Marleyans in their towns and cities. Another of which was to permit the Eldians to walk freely outside the internment zones.
"I don't like this," a man told Calvi in a meeting between the military leaders. "We should gather what forces remain and retaliate against these enemies."
"We don't have the resources to wage any measure of attack against anyone, anymore," another man informed. "Marley relied heavily on the Titans, and now we no longer have them."
"We don't have a choice but to accept our defeat with dignity," a third man sighed. "I don't even want to have to look my wife in the eye and tell her that we have to learn to coexist with Eldians in a different way."
"It's all one step at a time," Calvi uttered. "We're fortunate that we still have our lives and that the queen was not interested in destroying the world with Paradis' legion of Titans. The only person I'm afraid of because she didn't have revenge on the mind, instead desiring peace and tolerance with the rest of the world."
"How could we lose to Paradis?" A fourth military official questioned.
Even if they knew the answer, they couldn't bear to hear it all over again. They just had to grin and bear the aftermath of their defeat as best they could.
To be continued…
A/N: And that's it for this chapter. I apologize if the battle seemed short, but I wanted to cut to the chase. The next chapter will be based on the final result of the current poll, and it might include an epilogue. I hope you enjoy the chapter until the next chapter. Peace.