CHANGES
I see you in 2000 years
- Year 867, somewhere underground:
He is racing through the alleys, running for his life, is actually pretty fun, really. Cutting corners, jumping boxes, looking high and low for a better escape root, thinking on his feet. Those guards were actually in need of some exercise, it seems like the newer advancements implemented in the last thirteen years made them soft. He can count only five or so, so far, "I can lose them." He thought. Even the brand-new radio equipment seems not to be working, out of range so far underground. No response, no reinforcements. Maybe he can breathe safe now, and just keep going, but never underestimate you enemies. And don't forget the power of the good old vocal cords. It seems shouting is still effective, and not out of range, and so is the old police whistle, not to mention the commotion already made in the underground city streets.
That's when he sees that old friendly familiar face, the face says it all: "I told you so.", you don't even need the words, it's all deep with in the disappointment. There, deep inside the eye. As he gently slows down, almost stopping to meet the old man, breathless, but still smiling, enjoying himself, a young soul looking for danger, curious about life, still looking. "I told you not to go looking around, making noise, how many times do I have to explain to you the gravity situation that we are in? We've been made, now we need to mov-" "I'm already moving" he answers, still running, one more time, gaining speed again. He waves goodbye to the old man "See you soon!".
There's now fifteen soldiers or more, or at least that's what he can count, merchants watching, people gossiping, kids mesmerised and cheering. "Uncle is right, we've been made, been discovered, this people won't forget, we've been made, I'm calling too much attention to myself… if… if only they could see me now, what you they think? I guess we have to move again, I can't take it, sorry Uncle, there's no point in this, I'm done running." The boy thought to himself. He stops. Completely cornered, nowhere to go. Putting his hands up, he looks all those guards in their faces, some show up in the buildings around, two in the right building, one in the left, on his back there's a wall, right in from of him eight more guards and four more arriving, guns pointed, there's no escaping it now. The tall guard gestures so some can position around him, just to make sure he is completely surrounded.
They are way better dressed than the soldiers you would see underground, better equipment, better weapons.
"Her Majesty, The Queen has a quarrel with you." The tall man says while gesturing and coming with the hand down to properly position his gun.
"A quarrel?" He laughs.
On the top right corner two buildings down from his left, a flock of birds rises up rapidly, clumsily knocking on the tower bell. The haunting unexpected sound calls the attention of the guards. And as they come back to their senses, the boy is gone.
End of prologue - "The Chase"
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PS.: Before this story starts, I need you to know that I'll keep the original manga as it is, still as somewhat of a "basis" for this story, I'll be calling that "the darkest timeline" (unofficially) Officially I'll be calling it "The old World" which is also the name of Change's first overarching arc! [March, 19th, 2021]
2 PS.: I wrote this before Chapter 139, this chapter of my fanfic was written over a month ago, I did not make changes to my original plan after 139, the story will follow as planned, so consider this to be vaguely based on the final arc up to chapter 138. [April, 19th, 2021]
- Creative Tree
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The old World
Part One: What happened to them?
Chapter One: "The Field"
- Year 854
It was very difficult to notice the beauty surrounding them. High up in the sky, the wind, the clouds, the sunrise. That bright light was shining on a devastated world down below. No one said a word, for at least the first two hours, plain silence, which was an odd thing to hear after their ears were already accustomed to the loud noises of titans stomping the entire world. Just plain silence, there's all that was now.
"All I can see is red, it's getting pathetic." said Jean with a tired look in his face, "How long until we reach the ocean?"
"Well, this is not an airship, it's not like we can calculate his flying speed, does anyone have a timepiece?" Asked Onyankopon.
"Now, that's a stupid question. We should be glad we are still alive, here, flesh and bones, all limbs to count." Interrupted Connie.
"I'm sorry I-" Onyan tried to apologise but Connie continued - "Stop whining, Jean, Falco should be the one complaining, he's the one carrying our weight all this time- "
"There it is!" Gabi exclaimed, a first smile of hers in such a long time, as she pointed at the big blue strip of ocean they could just see in the horizon.
"Great!" Onyan smiled. "According to our start direction, this should be the shortest sea path between Marley and Hizuru, It shouldn't be long now."
The scenario had changed completely from the one before, now in just a few minutes they became completely enveloped by the blue of the sky and the ocean, a very peaceful feeling none of them had felt since all of this started, weeks ago. Just the six of them, the blue sky, the even bluer ocean. Peace at last. But not completely. If they looked closely they could see debris and ship wreckage. Onyankopon looked at the waves intensely and impatiently.
"You won't find them, it's useless, we are too high up, we can barely make anything of those waves down below" Levi finally broke his silence.
Falco was feeling guilty, sure, a lot more people are dead, they are just amongst the others, but those other deaths, they weren't caused by him, those people in that ship were safe, they could probably make it somehow… Maybe, or maybe they would just die later, but still, their deaths as they were, in the ocean, that was in his hands, that was his fault.
"I know, maybe I'm hopeful they made it back to Hizuru, or another smaller island nearby, the ship had lifeboats, so maybe, maybe they are still out there, somewhere." Onyankopon said trying to be hopeful, but failing miserably at it.
"I guess we will know when we get there." Said Levi, ending the conversation.
Somewhere within the Island:
"She looks so beautiful! Just look at her! She's … Perfect!" Said one of the nuns in the orphanage holding the small baby girl. "She needs you, your Majesty." The nun gestured as if to give the baby to the Queen.
Historia looks over the window calm, attentively, contemplative. Completely ignoring the words of the old woman.
"Is it over?" She asks.
"Well," says the nun, "you are well rested and the baby is clean-"
"I wasn't asking about the labour." She interrupts, annoyed. "I can't hear the noises anymore, I still could before, even if it was faintly, everything seems calm now. What were the news the messenger brought us last?"
"Last we heard, there was some struggle down the docks, but nothing has been confirmed about it. The place is completely destroyed, but by human hands, not by your titans, Your Majesty. Unfortunately there isn't much we know, no surviving witnesses." Says the nun nervously while rocking the small baby the queen refused to hold.
"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Historia responds angrily.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. The information only arrived when Your Majesty was already in labour, I apologise." The nun tries to justify the mistake hoping to be o the queen's good side once more.
"Tell them to send a troop to investigate the situation. And I want the new information do be delivered to me as soon as possible, it doesn't matter the situation I am in." Historia gave out the order.
Outside the room, the nun arrives still rocking the baby in her hands. Before she can speak with the guards, the doctor quietly asks her aside:
"How is she doing?" Asks the doctor.
"She is still rejecting the girl." The nun answered quietly, almost as a whisper, "She is still in shock, I wonder how long this will last, she needs to feed the girl, the baby she's so small and fragile,I don't want to think of the worst-" She continues, while looking at the baby's sleeping face, worryingly.
"Let's not then, besides babies are resilient, she's probably stronger than she looks. I'm sure she will be a great Princess! And our great sovereign someday!" The doctor says it, gradually increasing his tone just to assure the faith of his fellow patriots.
The nun gives the Queen's message about the harbour inquiry and the Yeagerists start discussing amongst themselves, after all, their mission was to keep the queen safe, make sure there wasn't any attempt on her life in such a delicate situation, and they were in strict others, until their unproclaimed King came back, to defend the orphanage at all costs.
"If we send even a small troop, we are still making ourselves vulnerable, it's too risky." Said one of the soldiers.
"We could send someone as a messenger to deliver this mission to another squad." Said another one.
"But we don't know what is happening out there, it's dangerous to leave the Queen with even less protection than what we have here." Said the third one.
"We should follow orders, do what Her Majesty told us to. The threat of a Marlean attack seems less likely now, and the baby was born, the queen is healthy. You heard the last messenger, the people are rejoicing outside, our people. The plan worked! We will be in peace now. Eldia will be great again! Thanks to your Savior and King. Now designate a squad to do what your Queen asks, don't second guess Her Majesty, let's keep putting our trust on them and everything will be fine. Trust me." Said the doctor in the most pompous way possible as he walked back into the Queen's quarters with the nun, and the small newborn.
As they walk away the nun asks the doctor: "I suppose they don't know-"
"No one is supposed to know. The Queen gave her orders." He answered firmly but noiselessly.
"What a speech" Says Historia as they walk into her room. "But don't be so cheerful, it's not over yet." She continues as the doctor looks embarrassed. "The walls in this building are pretty thin, and you are all very loud." As she finishes, her baby starts to cry, she looks away.
The good doctor looks at the little thing in the nun's arms. "You need to feed her, I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but hear my advice, she needs you warmth and care." He pleads.
"We know how difficult this has been for you, the labour-" The nun tries to help with the pleading but it's interrupted by Historia:
"The good doctor took care of it. I don't want to hear a single word about this. This story dies here. Do I make myself clear?" The doctor and the nun nod their heads respectfully.
It takes a couple of minutes of silence, Historia still staring at the window as they can all hear the baby's faint, sad, miserable cry. Finally, she moves her head in the direction of the nun, and extends her hands to hold her newborn child.
Flying over Hizuru:
They finally arrived on Hizuru's shores, looking down the destruction, the place is in a much worse state than when they left there, not even 2 days ago, a flatten land filled with debris and red stains, it seems, like in Marley, the rain hasn't come down yet to wash off the blood.
"There's nothing left here. Everything is completely destroyed." Says Jean in a disappointed tone. "Everyone is already dead here too, I don't know why we hoped they wouldn't be." He continued. "Is there anything down there that we can use?"
"There has to be, I refuse to believe those titans sank all of Hizuru's ships! Let's just keep looking." Onyan responds. Still trying not to let go of hope.
Levi sighs, he's done thinking of the ones he lost, but looking down below was not very easy.
"We are pressed for time, we need a ship that can fit all those people, and we also need enough coal, at this point it would be a miracle to find anything. Maybe we should consider a new plan. Those people are depending on us." Concluded Connie.
It would take a miracle.
It took a few more minutes of flying up the shoreline looking for any sign, of anything they could use, at that point, all of then were questioning if this was the best course of action, maybe they really should consider something else… What a waste of time then. But that's when it happened. They could see a faint outline of a massive ship, down there, in the distance. Falco flew closer in its direction. The closer they got they could see the ship wasn't in the best shape, it looked like it had been underwater and it was in need of repairs. "It's better than nothing." Affirmed Levi.
As they grew closer, they could see little figures going up and down the docks, human figures, which it seemed impossible at the time. Getting even closer, they started to recognise those figures.
"What a sight for sore eyes!" Kiyomi exclaimed happily as the group landed on the docks. "I gather is finally finished, the destruction has stopped, the tremors are gone. Well done, you are all humanity's heroes." She praised them.
"It's not over for us, not yet there's a group of people stranded in Fort Slava, we need a way to rescue them." Levi responded.
"How did you find yourselves a ship? I'm relieved, but I am not going to lie, this seems like a tremendous stroke of luck!" Onyan asks.
"It just presented itself to us. The thing seems to have been risen back up from the depths after a storm, it still needs repairs, we were lucky we made to this harbour. We need some time to repair it, but when it's done we probably have enough coal to go to Slava." Kiyomi continued. "If there are any humans alive out there, we need to make sure they receive the proper care, I sent a group to look for survivors here in Hizuru as well, seems unlikely but we need to be sure. The engineers mending the ship can help you with the rescue, I need to see the state of my country."
"It will take forever to count and know how many people are still alive, and to evaluate the state of the whole world right now." Added Jean.
"For now, Paradise Island is mostly likely the place with the majority of survivors, but we don't now much about what is happening there either." Replied Onyankopon.
"About that-" Said Levi, going back into Falco's direction. "It seems you have things under control now. Do you think you still have energy for a trip to the Island?" He asked the young titan shifter. Falco nodded back at him.
"Are you sure, Falco?" Asked Gabi worriedly. He nodded again, gently trying to pat her head. "I am going with you then." She told Levi.
"I am going too." Added Connie.
"I'll stay and help with the Fort Slava rescue." Jean told his friend. "Please tell my parents I am alive if you see them. And Connie." He held his friend on the shoulder. "If the nightmare is over for us, it probably is for her too-"
"Don't give me too much hope, I have a lot to think as it is, besides, you saw what happened to the Colossals, I'm trying my best not to worry too much." Connie answered.
"Well, don't ponder too much on it then, you'll be home soon." Said Jean trying to comfort his friend.
Arriving in Paradise:
Falco can barely hold up his wings by the time they reach the destroyed harbour. As they touch the ground he quickly removes himself from the titan and passes out in Gabi's arms, and Connie rushes to help. Levi approaches the soldiers he sees conversing amongst themselves and taking notes.
"Captain Levi!?" Exclaims one of the soldiers. "Where did that flying monster come from? And were you here when all this happened? We don't see to have any witnesses… Is it done? Was the rumbling successful? Are we the winners?" He showers the Captain with questions. Levi stares at him.
"Did you saw what happened or not?" Asks another soldier, more impatiently.
"Barely." Levi answered. "Can you help them get to Ragako?" He pointed at the other three. "I need to go somewhere else, I made a promise."
"We could spare a couple of soldiers to aid them. Since the rumbling was done and we are not expecting any counterattacks any time soon. But the rest of us need to finish this inquiry. The Queen wants to know what happened here." Answered the first soldier.
"Take me to her." Levi answered back quickly. "I can tell her everything she wants to know."
Under the scalding sun in Fort Slava:
"It will be ironic, to die here of starvation, after surviving everything else we went through." Said Reiner as he was sitting down in the sand, contemplating their situation.
"Thirst will kill us first." Added Pieck, sitting down next to him.
"We can't afford to stand around waiting for rescue, Pieck is right. We need to look for a well and organise rations. Work with what we have. We survived this far. Let's not waste it." Said Mr. Leonhart, taking charge.
"And what about him?" Annie asked her father.
She was pointing at Eren's crystallised body there, laid on the ground on a safe distance for them. She was watching carefully since it had revealed itself, emerging from the insides of the worm-like creature after it completely steamed out, it had been over half a day since then but the crystal was still emitting a faint steam.
"I can't believe he was inside that disgusting creature this entire time." Says Reiner.
"Well, it's not like it would make much of a difference knowing. That thing seemed invincible up until the very end, if it hadn't steamed out on it's own, we would never find him there." Arguments Pieck.
"Do you think Mikasa is still somewhere in that maze?" Reiner said turning to look at the oddly shaped maze that was made out of Colossal Titans after they were hardened again.
"Last I saw she was next Levi, he didn't say a word before he left, she was probably killed on Eren's second transformation." Annie said sternly, but with a hidden sad tone in her voice.
"I could climb up that thing and have a better look at our surroundings, maybe there's a near by town that is still standing. And if I find any signs of her out there it would be just a bonus." Suggested Reiner.
"There's nothing out there." Annie snapped back at him. "Weren't you flying on Falco's back long enough to see it? Everything around us is dead. The few people here are probably the last survivors of all of this." She remarked.
Silence falls upon them after that. Annie's father stares at Eren's crystal like she was staring before.
"How was it for you, dear? How does it feel? Can we even be sure if he's alive in there?" Mr. Leonhart asked.
"It's like a never ending dream-" Annie answered. "and he mostly certainly is alive. It just remains to show how long he'll be hiding in there."
Back at the Orphanage:
Historia seemed happier now, the wondering eyes of the innocent child looking at her won her over and made her smile again. She was pacing back and forth around the room, humming to a lullaby, rocking her baby girl to sleep as the maids were cleaning up the room.
One of the nuns announces the Captain's arrival, she signs to let him in.
"Congratulations on the birth. I believe the monarchy is safe now." Says Levi in an ironic tone while crossing his arms and leaning against one of the decorated walls, waiting for the maids to leave the room.
"Captain, I'm glad to see you are alive." Responded Historia with her dead eyes.
"Are you? I don't buy that. I can't believe you went along with this, supporting Eren's stupid plan. But now to think of it, you're probably crazier than he is." Levi added.
"It was either us or them, we had to move quickly. To protect our own." Historia responded with grace and a hiss of anger.
"Spare me your bullshit. I'm not one of your brainless followers." Levi snapped back it her, raising himself up again and walking forward.
"There was nothing else we could have done. We needed to get rid of our enemies, for good. Otherwise our people would never stop being hunted." She firmly maintained her argument.
"Really? Are all those people outside this Island our enemies then? All the peaceful nations? The civilians going about their day? The children?! How would you like if that little one in your arms right now was trampled down by a gigantic monster and turned into red jelly? You're a mother now so tell me, how would you feel if it was your child? He exclaimed pointing at the small baby in her hands.
Historia looked at her daughter with care and worry. "Why don't you go outside of this comfy room and see what's left of the world out there. It isn't a pretty sight." Levi continued scolding his once squad pupil.
"What is done. Is done. There's no going back now. The past will never change. We can only move forward." She remarked to him with a reprimanding look and a stronger tone to remind him of her status now. She is the Queen.
Levi didn't care.
There was silence.
"So, is that what you came here for? To reprimand me about things I already know? It won't work. I made my mind about this a long time ago. I am in peace." Historia broke the silence in the room.
"I am not here for you and you know that. I made a promise." Levi responded and continued- "I have to admit, that's a bold strategy, using the children as human shield. It fits you perverted ideals." He said.
"They are not shield, You were there when I took a vow of raising the orphans, you supported me. I have royal guards here for their protection as much of my own." Historia responded.
"If I knew you were going to brainwash those poor kids into joining your cult I would never have endorsed any of this. Now where are you keeping the children 'safe' is it in a room as pompous as this? I doubt it." Levi justified himself while looking around the royal quarters.
…
"Did you come to take him with you?" Historia asked.
"Of course I did. I am the only family he has." Affirmed Levi.
"The boy was left in my care-" She was saying as Levi interrupted her.
"I am not leaving my nephew with you. He is my own blood and you are dreaming if you think I am leaving him here to become a brainless moron like those guards outside." Levi said, and as he was leaving to room: "Oh, and I almost forgot. Consider this now as my resignation. There's no point in a Survey Corps if there's no world left outside to explore."
He left the room.
Somewhere near Shiganshina:
"This is weird." Said Gabi. "The bleeding doesn't seem to stop-" She continued while cleaning up Falco's wounds.
"He is at his limit, it might take sometime for the regeneration to kick in." Said Connie.
"He's losing too much blood at this rate- I'm worried for his life." She said.
"Let's take him to a hospital then, you are right, we could be losing him." Connie suggested.
"But what about Ragako? And your mother? I know you are eager to see if she's ok… Maybe I should take him to the hospital on my own." Gabi said.
"No way! Ragako can wait. I'm taking care of you both. If my mother knew I refused to help the boy who saved my life so many times. She would scold me nonstop." He said laughing to ease up Gabi's mind.
Back at Fort Slava:
The sun was going down, some water and rations were expertly divided amongst the last survivors of the rumbling, but night was arriving and darkness is a dangerous thing. They were expecting Falco to comeback with news of a ship, or some other method of transport. Also since Eren had revealed himself crystallised, they were hoping for the Jaw Titan's return, after all, there's nothing else that could break that crystal, and they knew it.
"We should just start walking." Said Mr. Leonhart.
"Maybe you were right about climbing up that maze." Annie remarked at Reiner. "We could transform and try it. Upthere we can get a better view, see if help is still coming, if not, see what's the best way we could start walking towards." She proposed.
"Do you think you still can?" Asked Pieck look at her own blooded bandaged arms.
"What do you mean?" Says Reiner.
"My wounds are not healing properly, and I feel… I don't know… Don't you guys feel … strange?" She wondered.
"Are you suggesting we lost our shifter abilities?" Asked Annie confused.
"There's no way!" Reiner said it in a humorous tone. "I feel the same. You are probably just tired. I'm sure your healing will work better once you are rested, don't worry about it-"
As Reiner was jovially talking, a familiar sound unnerved him. They all look down on their side. The crystal was slowly breaking.
Eren was awake.
- Year 867 - The boy was laying on a field
He had to open his eyes, whenever he closed them, he was back there, or nowhere, blood, a rose, a strange man, a castle, toys, a tree, a statue, a burning building, pain. The sky. The sky? He woke up from a nightmare. Or was it? It was already gone, completely wiped again.
The boy stared at the flying birds in the sky, the clouds, the wind, the grass. It was a nice day. But which day was it again? He looked around. It took a couple of seconds for him to realise where he was. There again, he had been on that field once before.
"Why am I here again? How did I end up here?" As the boy was looking into his fading memories, trying to make sense of what had happened.
He startled.
He could hear steps coming towards him. He knew it. He was in danger. That primeval instinct kicked in, adrenaline rushing, he slowly reached for his small blade, he was ready for whoever was coming. His uncle taught him well.
The boy quickly made a move on his assumed assailant. Knife right to the throat. In a split second. He was inhumanly fast. But with superior speed, and clearly more technique than the young boy - the kind you only get with years of experience - the old man blocked the boy's attack and quickly disarmed him. Make no mistake. Just because the man had whiter than white hair and only one working eye doesn't mean he was useless. Appearances are deceiving.
"I knew I would find you here." Said Levi.
- Year 854 - Among the lost children in the orphanage
Levi slowly walked into the room, all the children were there, some guards, some nuns as well, supervising the orphans. Most of them were joyfully playing, running, chatting, being happy children, like children, completely unaware of the situation in the world outside. Innocent. Pure.
He scanned the room looking, his eye stopped right on the corner of the room, a small boy playing on his own, away from the others. On his own little world. Levi didn't recognise the toddler right away, he was taller and a little older, of course, but there was something else. The boy was sad, he himself didn't know why, he was too young to understand anything, but you could see it in his face as he tried to distract himself with a couple of toys he gathered.
"He didn't make any friends since his mother left him here. Poor thing. He's not very communicative." The nun told Levi.
"He doesn't actually speak yet, not to strangers anyway. I'm the only one, beside his parents, who has actually heard him speak. But he was always smiling, he's a happy child, maybe this is not a great environment. He was taught not to trust strangers." Levi told the nun.
"Tell me about it!? He was crying from the moment he noticed his mother leaving, he has been crying all day ever since!" The nun said annoyed. "But yesterday, he stopped, and he's been like this, just quiet, he seems to cry only for himself." She finished.
Levi walked towards the boy, he looked up and smiled, a sad half smile, but a smile nonetheless. Levi smiled back at him in a similar way. The child look at the door, he was expecting Levi not to come alone. Where were his parents? He kept waiting for the door to open again. Nothing happened. The boy turn his head down again and concentrated on his toys. Levi crouched down, standing on his eye sight, putting his mutilated bandaged hand on the boy's shoulder:
"Hello, Azzy." He said to his nephew. "I know I'm not the one you were expecting. I promised your mother I would take care of you, if something were to happen-" He continued trying to hide the broken tones in his voice.
The boy looked up at him. His big blue eyes could stare at Levi's soul. Levi knew those eyes. "He knew it. Since yesterday, he knew they weren't coming back." Levi thought.
He held the boy on his arms:
"Come on. Let's go home."
End of Chapter One: "The Field"