A/N
Okay, so this isn't an update to Exodus, my Nier Automata fic. And I haven't updated in 8 months... My bad, I honestly didn't forget about Exodus, I just couldn't write it and had life crop up, 2020 was pretty crappy. That being said. I hope you this is an enjoyable fic and let me know if you want more of it. I will be updating Exodus soon(tm), probably inside the month, a couple weeks. I do have inspiration and I do want to finish that story. I especially want to finish it in light of the Remastered Nier Replicant/Gestalt game! Anyways, this is an AoT fic... duh and I essentially want to do a story *after* the events of the main storyline, cause frankly I find it fascinating and the ending wasn't ideal. Without further ado.
Whoops!
Prologue Chapter
The sound of creaking wood and the rustle of of towels and blankets was broken by the agonized grunts of a woman and the wailing of a child. As the world shuddered and broke into thousands of fragments and the woman wept not only for her physical pain but for her spiritual agony. She felt a resonance through the energy that connects all Eldians and the star that shone brightest had been... Extinguished.
"It's a girl! Your Majesty!", cried the exhausted and beleaguered nursemaid, an excited underlying her tone and a lazy smile even as her voice rasped. It had been an incredibly difficult 36 hours.
Historia could only weep as she held her arms out and with the child secured in her grasp, the cries grew in intensity until her body wracked. The baby fussed and Historia came to the conclusion that she was hungry. 'Get a grip...' The monarch thought to herself as she grasped her child and let her have her very first meal. "Your name, will be Krista." Then she allowed herself a sorrowful smile, "Krista Frieda Reiss." Tears flowed but these were gentler.
Year 855
Historia was out in the field enjoying the sunshine for the first time in months, her meloncholia had improved dramatically and that was probably good as she had a nation to run. Completely turned on its head, the predominant political force and party was the Yaegerists, which worked somewhat well for her as she was noted as one of Eren's allies. Such thoughts though were distracting and as she brushed her hand over some stalks of rye a yelp sounded from right behind her.
"OH MY!" Historia blurted as she spun around and saw her small and proficient walker for her age sprawled over a board that had half buried itself in the soil next to the fence. She rushed over to tend to Krista as she saw a small little cut on her tiny hand. "Hold still my little wings." Historia softly uttered as she examined her daughter's delicate hand only to see... 'But... That shouldn't be', Historia thought to herself beginning to panic.
The little cut was steaming and two splinters were being shoved from her precious skin as her body healed itself in mere moments. Historia merely stared as her thoughts ran wild. The child began fidgeting and uttered a soft "mama" every other fidget as Historia knelt fearing the worse. She knew what Eren's goal had been. This shouldn't have been a possibility... The Titans had been wiped from existence, erased along with Ymir and the Paths. Her daughter finally broke free and began wandering in a new direction blazing a trail like a seasoned pathfinder. 'She has always been quite advanced for her age.' Historia thought with silent dread. 'Please don't be that.' She pleaded with the universe and gods until Kurt found her and shook her shoulder gently. Krista had wandered back to the house and Kurt had been concerned with her mother's absence.
"Oh... I must've dozed off, sorry Kurt..." She hesitantly apologized as she wandered back to the estate herself to catch up to her daughter. Kurt just blinked and shrugged, at least she wasn't despondent anymore, figures she wasn't fully 100% yet.
Year 856
Orange and red lightning flashed in brilliant arcs splitting the ozone and vaporizing water and nearby foliage in a massive radius. It was a balmy waning moon that night as screams filled a forest in Hizuru and the agonizing sound of bones snapping could be heard for some distance. The sheer terror of the individual as their limbs formed before being sliced off again with blood splashing across the grassy floor. 'Can't BREATHE! Uuuurrrgggghhhkkkkkkrrrrr!' The figure mentally screamed as blood poured from their throat and reformed only to slice open again, three times this happened before steam filled the entire clearing and the figure dropped blessedly silent as the pain finally overtook them. *thud* Steam rising from their limbs as they slowly reformed.
Daylight broke through the canopy of the clearing with dried blood all around and the stench of both sickly death and the sweet smell of new life as a young boy ran across the bizarre sight on his daily trip to get water for his camp. "Oh no..." He thought and dropped his bucket before shaking the figure. "HEY MISTER! WAKE UP!" The child near shouted in hysterics as the man flopped to and fro. "OH NO HE'S DEAD!" The little tyke panicked and ran back the way he came, bucket completely forgotten.
'What... Is this...' The figure in the clearing with newly grown limbs rolled over as the sunlight poured on him before slamming his eyes shut and rolling back to his original position with a now pounding headache. He heard something, felt a presence, a small one, wait... how did he know that? 'Where am I...' He thought to himself before simply relaxing and focusing on his pounding head... He was extremely thirsty and ravenously hungry. He rolled over again this time bracing himself and sitting up... before his head felt light and his vision blacked out and he fell back down. 'Goddammit, this is pathetic...' The figure thought to itself with some disdain before slowly getting up this time, must've been the hunger.
He felt his instinct guiding him to in a direction as he slowly got up and began limping through the forest with heavy steps. Oblivious to the bucket and his blood littering the forest floor, he was lucky the predators had been so terrified within 100 km that they all simply fled to new climes. The babbling of a decently sized flowing body of water could be heard and he quickened his pace. Headless of the sanitation of the river the man fell to his knees and drank deeply of the cool and soothing water. After getting his fill and standing, he tried to remember the way back to the clearing with a much clearer head though still noticeably hungry and a peculiar tingling and warm feeling in his gut.
"COME QUICK, A MAN IS BADLY HURT! I THINK HE'S DEAD! OH LORD!" The hysterically panicking child came stampeding his little legs through the camp shouting to the top of his impressive lungs until his father poked his head out and scolded the child for making such a racket when people were still asleep from the hard days of living and labour in the refugee camps.
"Yusef! Do not shout, child. Now, what is it that happened?" The father not unkindly grasped his son's shoulder and looked into his eyes with firm but kindly eyes. The boy hugged his father tight and the man widened his eyes feeling his son shake. "Yusef, what happened? Are you okay?!" The man himself began to fear the worst, 'The bandits, how could he be so careless?!' He cursed himself as the boy stopped shaking and spoke softly.
"Papa, a man in the forest was really hurt and he wasn't moving when I shook him... I think he might be dead." Well, that wasn't a worst case scenario at least... He took a sigh and looked the boy in the eyes before telling him to go to his mother and help his sisters with their chores and get some breakfast as the boy sharply nodded and scampered off. The man got a group of volunteers and they set off to go see if the stranger was dead or a threat.
"This might be a problem", the figure in the clearing had finally gotten back to his waking spot and saw the dried blood as he spoke to himself. Thinking about it, he looked down and noticed he was completely naked... "EH!" He grunted in surprise and shock before thinking 'That's an even more annoying problem!' Shaking his head and sitting down with his head in his hands. Pondering what happened, how he was here, where he was and how the hell he could eat... couldn't think while this hungry...
*Snap*
He leapt to his feet just as five men all holding wood cutting axes came into the clearing with tattered clothes. They spotted the man and then the blood and his appearance... They didn't lower their axes.
"H-h-hey... Guys, ummm... I'm a bit lost and I don't know where I am... hehehe." The man said haltingly before mentally chastising himself, how absolutely pathetic.
By perhaps his first real luck in a while they spoke whatever he spoke, 'Actually, what do I speak... I know I'm human but what am I?!' He thought in silent distress as they finished their sentence... Which he missed. "... ket" was all he heard.
"Ummm, sorry, I spaced out. Could you please repeat yourself?" He closed his eyes in embarassment before that reminded him his dick was swinging free and promptly covered it with his hands while blushing bright red.
"Sureeee... Ummm, what's your name and have you seen a bucket?" The man who seemed to be in charge asked, none of them had lowered their axes but they had all noticeably relaxed, no way this guy was some psycho.
"Ohhh, name... Right, I don't actually know." The man said before going and using one of his hands to grab the bucket while trying to save his dignity with the other. "You guys wouldn't happen to have some food and clothes, would you? I'd work for it of course!" And at that the group finally lowered their axes and the leader scratched the back of his head while tossing him his jacket and holding his other hand out for the bucket.
"Sure, every man deserves food and clothing and a working man is an honest man. I'm Naadir, and I suppose we can call you... Sisyphus until you can remember your real name." The now identified Naadir said as he smiled awkwardly and the Stranger cocked his head before sighing.
"Okay... Sisyphus I guess." He said before remembering his manners, which was annoying since he couldn't remember anything remotely useful and shaking Naadir's hand. They all began walking back to the camp as the Stranger thought to himself. 'What the hell is a Sisyphus?'
Year 856 – Mithras, Paradis, New Eldian Empire
"Eat your greens, Little Wing." Historia gently chided her child in their royal apartments as they enjoyed their dinner. It had a stressful day of negotiations, the status of the provisional Yaegerist government and the authority of the Royal Family were still tenuous and while the Yaegerists believed in the restoration of the Monarchy, they refused to hand over any military powers and demanded political authority. She bent her fork as her thoughts wandered and her daughter frowned at her.
"Mama, what wrong? Are you sad?" Krista asked in a solemn and serious, for a two-year-old, voice which caused her mother to smile brilliantly. Much to the confusion of the two-year-old, afterall this was serious business.
"Of course, not Krista, just sometimes mommy gets a little upset." Historia answered in a gentle and kind voice, her previous anger dissipated in the wake of such reckless innocent care. "And the cure to that bad upset is of course my precious little wings!" She flashed a heartfelt smile at her only child... With green eyes... and her smile faltered.
"Mama! Doing it agen..." Krista asserted as her mother seemed to be upset all over again despite that pure happiness she showed for that moment.
"Oh baby, sometimes I think about your father. I'm a bit lonely sometimes without him but never truly because I have you." She stood up and circled over to her child and rested her hand on her tyke's tiny ones. "I love you so much Krista!" Historia said with conviction and hugged the little girl.
Krista was super confused; she had a daddy and he wasn't missing... Though compared to her friends that she sometimes had playdates with, their dads didn't seem to have so much distance to their moms... Not like her mom and dad, her dad was always attentive and tended to her mom's and her every need but it never felt like he was really close to her mom. Always standing at a distance, face shrouded in the background of their little family, maybe that's what her mom meant but that didn't make sense. Krista was so confused but she felt a tingling in her spine as she made a heartfelt wish. 'I want my daddy to come back so mom won't be so sad!' And just like that... Ymir had the last laugh it would seem... Whooops
From that day Krista never again called Kurt, dad, which did seem to mildly upset him and Historia did feel guilty about her minor slip but Krista would surely grow out of it right? She never knew... Eren...
"All of my kingdom
For your return
I will let it burn!
I will let it burn!
Dear departed"
- Before Lights Out
Year 856 – 6 months after Sisyphus woke up
The Stranger sneezed as he helped saw the last log for the new cabin in the new Continental Resettlement Zone. "Gesundheit!" Naadir said heartily to him, "So Sisyphus, we love having you here but surely you have your own family to get to" Naadir continued, it seemed like he brought this up every month but it was only out of kindness. The Stranger had been nothing but a boon to them, selfless really and an absolute machine of physical feats and most importantly, he was a good friend. So, it was with absolute gratitude in his heart that he pestered the mysterious friend about his memories and the family that must surely miss him.
The Stranger sighed and looked askance at his friend, "Stop trying to get rid of me." He growled as Naadir's wife came up and chuckled at her husband's expense.
"Naadir, honey, please stop trying to drive away our pack mule, sweetie." She said with absolute innocence and mocking in her voice as Sisyphus's eye twitched and Naadir gave a resounding laugh. "Now if you boys are done, I've made dinner!" She happily announced.
Yusef, Naadir and their family along with The Stranger all sat around a raised platform while kneeling on cushions and praying a traditional blessing before tucking into Saphron's world... maybe not world... but famous fresh bread, curry and potatoes. Though The Stranger had an odd melancholy and shudder when he thought of potatoes and bread rolls... Probably something important but he could never remember. He saw a scary but attractive girl with a red scarf and raven bangs shoving a bread roll down his throat... aaaaaaaaand he'd rather not remember... "Soooo Yusef, you learning anything good?" he asked to get his mind off the unpleasant half-memory.
"Eeehhh, yeah... hehe." Yusef elusively answered to which The Stranger knew immediately meant he'd been out with his friends playing in the square instead of studying. Well, a square, more like a rough plaza for the newly risen village. He glanced over to Naadir with a side eyed look and saw the twitching. 'Oh boy.' He morosely thought, he'd need to make it up Yusef later.
"You better not have been running around with those little bandits!" Naadir made his displeasure known and Yusef looked down and quietly retorted. "What was that?" Naadir said with probably more bravado than necessary.
"I said... They aren't bandits! They're my friends!" Yusef wasn't pleased at all and Sisyphus felt a drop of sweat slide down his temple.
A tense meal later and twenty minutes of Yusef doing the dishes alone, and The Stranger snuck some candy to the kid. "Sorry about that bud..." He said.
"No, it's okay, it happens, not like you knew I was skipping lessons with that boring arithma-whatever guy." The child sighed into his hand as he popped the sweet rice treat in his mouth. "Thanks!"
"Yeah, no problem, so any interesting news while you were hanging out in the Square?" He conversationally asked as he leaned against the wall of the cabin that had been risen the month prior for the Nazim family... plus one.
"Not really, just something about a fiery Queen and that place that unleashed... the Rumbling..." Yusef shivered and tucked himself into a ball, a few of his close friends died when all that happened. Sisyphus though, he felt something... a jolt, a prod, a... purpose... but it was so confusing. He glanced over to Yusef and saw that he was upset.
"Oh, well, I hear that Eren Yaegar guy died in the end. Good riddance, scum like that killing so many and for power probably. What a creep." He said as he rubbed Yusef's hair, "Cheer up, I'll always protect you! And you got your dad and sisters and mom too!" The Stranger reassured the kid.
Yusef smiled at him happily and ate another treat, "Yeah, I guess the Queen of that place wants to make peace and address the whole thing. I don't really know how she plans to fix nearly everyone dying but she sure sounds intense. Hehe." The boy recounted the news more readily as he started feeling better and eating his last treat he jumped up and ran back inside as he thanked his 'Big Bro' one last time for that evening leaving The Stranger alone with an itch to go to that land.
A memory or not a memory flashed briefly of golden hair and the purest blue eyes as they waved gently in giant rye fields and animal pastures. The Stranger shook his head and went to bed, two flashes in a single day must've been a bad omen.
Year 857 – Hizuru escort cruiser bound for Paradis
"In a world without Titans..." A well-groomed and relatively lanky man with straw-blonde hair said aloud. Before he could continue however, another much more well-built blonde man snatched the correspondence and sniffed the paper. "Hey..." The reader started to say in quiet surprise.
"Historia's handwriting is so beautiful... I can't stop looking and it smellllsss so nice!" Everyone in earshot merely stopped what they were doing and stared at him.
"How many times should I tell you to stop lusting after a married friggin woman!? You disgust me, Reiner!" A light brunette-haired man mid-way combing his hairdo into shape uttered.
"You say all that... but you've been fussing on your hair for the last hour and a half for the imminent presence of Her Highness." A slender and pretty ravenette woman muttered aloud with a carefree tone.
"Oh well, it might be for you Pieck, I know you're still single, how about it?" The hair obsessed man cockily asked her with a wink.
"Wasn't aware I was your type Kirstein, I thought you were more into broody and bookish types. Not cheery rays of sunshine like myself." Pieck winked back.
Before Jean Kirstein could respond, the original lanky blonde reader spoke up with a firm and unamused tone. "Don't you mean picture books of horses, Jean? And Reiner, honestly, I'm a bit disappointed that you get to live a nice long life, afterall."
Before either could respond, a tall blonde woman walked into the cabin and announced towards the lanky blonde youth. "Armin, Paradis Island is now within sight. Do you really think things will actually go well?"
Armin looked considerate as Pieck spoke up, "Honestly Annie, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to sink this ship with long range artillery inside the next ten minutes..."
Another man, short with a cropped buzzcut spoke up. "Trust in Historia, Her Majesty the Queen who without hesitation took in Jean's family and my mother under her protection. She will surely protect us too, we're family afterall."
Annie decided to interject with a decidedly dejected expression, "Or in our weakened state, they just might..."
Armin cut her off with a firm resolve, "Annie, conflict between people will of course never end... But if they see us all together like this, united and in solidarity. Everyone would surely want to know, what we experienced. Why the very same people who were at each other's throats not long ago at all are now coming together to Paradis, to appeal for peace? It's our duty to tell them the truth and be honest in our story which unfolded before our very eyes!"
Annie patted Armin's arm affectionately, "Of course." She simply said to everyone's agreement with a faint smile.
Mikasa Ackerman having come before the rest of the group, a beautiful woman with scars on her porcelain face and a faded red scarf, and sat against a tree with a simple tombstone and two neatly cut roses. "Eren, everyone will soon be here... to meet you. You're happy here, right?" The woman silently wept tears of sorrow as she continued, "I wish... I could see you again." She sat there for some time just staring at the birds in the sky and smiled at the city in the distance as it grew vibrant once more... No cage in sight, free of any obstructions. "Yeah, you gave us this chance." She wiped her tears and stood.
"You gave me this scarf, thank you so much Eren." Mikasa would say as she unwound the red ribbon of fabric and carefully placed it next to the tombstone and weighted it with a solid rock. "Look after it for me, I'll be back with the others soon." And with that she sauntered off.
Year 857 – 2 month before the peace conference
"Stupid no for good lowlife said it was near here..." A man said as he looked around the Hizuru port town of Osaka. The busiest port in the world with the refugee and resettlement crisis. Naadir and his family had given him some supplies and money, all they could spare when he finally took them up on their offer to help him find his family. He didn't know if it was family or his doom but he had an unquenchable mental itch to get to Paradis Island. The most sure-fire way would be to get accommodations on a Merchant Clipper inevitably going with the peace delegation as a sign of opening up trade with the New Eldian Empire as a show of good faith.
'So far though, it's been a goose chase of lot after lot and no goddamn merchant clippers...' So lost in his thoughts he ran right into an irritable and scary looking light brunette man who he immediately tried to apologize too, "Oh my lord! I'm so sorry, please excuse me, I'm lost and I can't find the merchant lots..."
The man slowly cranked his head around and glared at The Stranger, "You some kind of pickpocket or maybe you just want to fi.. Huh?" The light brunette man had turned white a sheet of parchment and stared straight through Sisyphus. This served to make Sisyphus even more nervous.
"Like I said, I'm so sorry and no, I'm not some scumbag who steals another's purse or desperate enough to need too. I really dislike fighting too, I just need to find the Merchant lots." He continued to ramble at the clearly stricken man, if he actually wanted to pickpocket him, he was an incredibly easy mark right now.
"What's your name?" The other man asked him before he shook his head, "No, you're not at all like that Suicidal Moron... So, you looking for a Merchant Ship? Pretty sure only ones going to Paradis are scheduled today and there's only 2, fully booked. Better luck next time."
The man started to turn to walk away before Sisyphus grabbed the man's shoulder in an iron grip of desperation that made the other man grit his teeth. "Please, I really need to get to Paradis, my name's Sisyphus and I have... umm family on Paradis that I haven't seen since before the Rumbling sooo... Can you maybe make space for me, I swear, I'll work hard!"
The man was still struggling with the sheer force of this 'Sisyphus's' grip before he could actually comprehend what he'd said. Apparently the man was desperate and he did remind him of Eren, that stupid earnestness and relentless drive to achieve his goals... What harm could it be? "Okay, okay, okay, just please, maybe let go..." As the man squinted his eyes slightly and looked away.
Sisyphus seeing the request and demure nature of the request immediately let go, "Oh lord, I'm so sorry, sometimes I get carried away... hehehe, but you can find a spot on your ship? Are you a merchant?"
Jean was getting tired of this encounter so he started walking while motioning for the strange man to follow, "Name's Jean, Jean Kirstein, I'm not a merchant. I'm apart of the diplomatic envoy and yes, if you can actually promise to pull your weight, an extra deckhand couldn't hurt." Sheesh, what was it with Jean and attracting Suicidal Morons and Earnest Weirdos.
Sisyphus had grown a beard in his time away from the village and the Nazim family but it couldn't be helped, no razors and his resources were thin. Not to mention he had been travelling relentlessly for weeks and now he was on the home stretch as he bent his back to stretch and work out the kinks. Three weeks on this cruiser and he'd been shovelling coal and wiping down the deck, not that it even phased him since he seemed to have an absurd amount of energy compared to most people. That Jean guy was nice enough to give him extra commissary food since he had a ferocious appetite and he also stopped staring at him like some kind of freak after the first week. Things were looking up.
Sisyphus left his cot and searched for something interesting to do on his off hours in the night shift, two-hour break and then back to work before sleeping six hours to midday. He spotted a lanky blonde man staring out at the sea with a sort of melancholy. For some reason he felt compelled to go stand next to him. "Hey what's up? Why so down?" He started jovially.
The man jumped slightly but it was obvious that it was more a honed danger sense than any real uncontrollable surprise, must've been a soldier... How'd he know that... and his head hurt now. Sisyphus rubbed his nose as the other guy stared at him for a few moments longer than was polite.
"I don't bite, I promise, hehe." What was it with people staring at him lately, did he smell? He'd be sure to take an extra shower as soon as possible. "So, what's got you so down?"
The other man shook his head and smiled wryly, "Just thinking about the past and the expanse of the vast ocean."
"Must make you think of something right? Something bittersweet? Though I think the ocean is pretty spectacular myself too." Sisyphus added in his ever-friendly candour.
"Yeah, makes me think of my brother, he was truly the strongest person I knew but his resolve and strength are what killed him in the end. We vowed to see the ocean together and I just associate it with him. I'm Armin by the way." Armin turned to shake the man's hand when he noticed that he was dazed and dropped his hand, everyone had their own skeletons.
"... Oh sorry, I think I spaced out, that's rude of me. Armin? Sounds familiar, sounds nice. I'm Sisyphus, pleased to meet you!" He held his hand out and Armin shook it gladly. He almost looked like Eren and his presence was soothing but Eren was dead.
"Glad to meet you too Sisyphus." Armin said sincerely and looked out to the ocean with This Stranger.
Year 857 – Disembarkation to Yaegargrad for peace conference
"Yaegargrad... Why does that absolute Suicidal Asshat get to have the most important freakin port of Paradis named after him?" Jean muttered violently under his breath and he and his compatriots shuffled off the Escort Cruiser in the busy and rapidly growing port city. A procession of soldiers sporting the Yaegarist coat of arms and Royal coat of arms approached the group with two columns forming a corridor with bolt action rifles held high and bayonets ready. "They're all sporting ODMG..." Jean said quietly to the group as they began to march down the corridor. A few passengers and other arrivals to Paradis followed in their wake including Sisyphus who stared in awe at the impressive equipment of the Eldian troops.
"Welcome to Yaegargrad... Though if I had it my way, you'd all be shot." Sisyphus was no longer admiring the troops, now he was scared...
"Hehe, Rico, I guess ranks climb fast when you coup d'état the government and kill all the general staff..." A hand clasped Jean's shoulder as Armin came forward.
"Forgive Jean, he's just irritable being on a boat for 2 months. We're honoured to be here of course and thank you for your welcome Rico."
"General Brzenska to you traitors." At that the woman with glasses did a picture-perfect pivot and walked away as the corridor of troops and diplomatic procession followed leaving Sisyphus behind to check in with immigration... 'Goodie me' He thought sourly after that awful reception.
In line he saw three people in front as the customs officer asked for papers. The man frowned and snapped his fingers as imposing soldiers emerged from their posts and dragged the man off as he pleaded for his innocence. 'Fuck a duck, these people don't fuck around.' He nervously thought as he sorted his Hizuru papers with his Eldian ethnicity and asylum status confirmed. Green eyes and his general build were enough to convince the Hizuru authorities of his descent. The line finally got to him with no more scary police actions and he happily showed his paperwork in a flick of his wrist that caught the customs officer off guard and the soldiers flinched. Whooops.
"..." The customs officer eyed him for twenty seconds before looking down at his papers and running his thumb across it before handing it back and telling him to enjoy his new status as an Eldian of the New Eldian Empire. Yippee. Next stop the currency exchange and then probably depression as he barely had enough for a few days of food and a train ride to Mithras. Well, no matter, he could probably find a job here in Yaegargrad.