Did You See It?
Summary: Gabi has returned from the Mid-East a hero, but she knows something still weighs heavy on Reiner. Given a chance to learn what happened on Paradis, Gabi finds herself in a land of endless sand. Here, she shall witness everything: From the Fall of Maria to the failure of the mission. But how will she handle seeing it through the eyes of the Devils? AKA, Gabi Watches AoT in the Paths
Gabi should be happy.
The war with the Mid-East Alliance had ended in a Marleyan victory. She had returned home a war hero and one step closer to becoming the next warrior to inherit the Armor Titan. And as noble as a death on the battlefield would be for Eldians like herself, none of her close friends had died. She was often praised for her feats and practically had adults eating out of her hands sometimes.
She should be more than happy. She should be ecstatic!
But...
She had been so happy when Reiner returned home from Paradis, even if it was in defeat. She didn't remember him, having only been three years old when he left on the mission that sent him to the Island of Devils for half a decade. When he came back, she was eight and already starting her training to one day join the Warrior division. She didn't mind that he didn't seem happy about that. After all, he had just lost to the Devils of Paradis, even with the Warchief and Pieck's help! And he lost two of his comrades who had survived five years in that hell with him. Plus another that died at the beginning, but at least they managed to get the Jaw Titan back in the end.
But her point was, it made sense why he didn't have time to acknowledge her for trying to follow in his footsteps. He had plenty else weighing on him at time. Then the war with the Mid-East Alliance happened and that ate away another four years of all their lives. Still, it gave her time to prove to Reiner, and everyone, that she would one day be a worthy successor to the Armor Titan.
Yet, something was up with Reiner. Nothing really bad, she didn't think. He wasn't a traitor or anything like that. But something was bothering her cousin immensely. It had to be something about what happened on Paradis. It couldn't just be his failure eating at him, not with how Zeke and Pieck didn't seem to hold any grudges towards him on that front. Was it that he felt guilty for surviving when his fellow warriors didn't? He was the only survivor of the four that left.
She groaned in frustration as she made her way up to the gates of the Interment Zone after another day of training. "Hey, Mist-" she started to greet, only to blink as she realized that instead of the two usual guards, it was one female. "Eh? You're not one of the normal guards. Are they okay?" she asked in concern.
"No, I'm not," the member of the Public Security Authority said with a benign smile. "I was asked to cover for Hurb and Mull after they came down with a small illness," she supplied, tilting her head in interest as she took in Gabi's appearance. "Ohh, you are Gabi Braun, correct?"
Gabi, happy that this guard wasn't one of the ones to get angry with Eldians for just talking to them, smiled proudly. "Yes, Ma'am, the one and only!"
"Good, I was worried I'd have to disappoint Magath," the guard said, reaching into her vest to pull out a rather thick envelope.
"The Commander?" Gabi repeated, taking the item curiously.
"I'm also a friend of his. He and the Warchief thought it might help if Reiner Braun had someone close to him that knew happened during his mission," she explained meaningfully.
Gabi's eyes went wide, trying not to look suspicious. "This is...confidential?" she realized, both intrigued and worried. If she took this, and someone caught her with it, would her and her family be sent to that island of devils? But it was from Magath, so it should be fine, right?
She nodded, her smile turning reassuring. "This is unofficial and off the records, of course. Besides, I think they believe it will help you learn from Reiner's examples, and his mistakes. After all, you want to inherit the Armor Titan, no?"
Gabi froze before nodding sharply, putting the letter into her pocket discretely. "Thank you, Ma'am! Send my thanks to the Commander," she requested with determination.
The warrior candidate made her way home quickly, paying greetings to her parents and aunt while trying to be indiscrete as she retired to her own room.
Closing and locking the door behind her, she pulled out the thick letter, staring at it carefully. This was it. This could provide the answers to what was wrong with Reiner. Maybe she could even help him get over it now that he was home? She wasn't good with emotions all the time, but he was family, so she had to try.
Also important, it could give her insight into how to properly use the Armor Titan when it came time for her to inherit it.
Swallowing thickly, she wondered how much of this was abridged or simplified. It was still just an envelope, no matter how thick. And it had been a mission that spanned five years, so there was no way everything could be included. Still, if the Commander and Warchief sent it, the information must be important.
With that in mind, she brought her fingers to tear open the envel-
Gabi's eyes went wide, the entire world shifting around her. Something was very, very wrong.
It was only thanks to her training that she didn't fall over and into the sand. That said, she did instantly crouch low, turning all about to survey her surrounding for enemies and, ideally, to find cover. But what she found instead was a vast land of white desert and a night sky of beautiful stars.
Night sky? That didn't make sense. The sun hadn't even touched the horizon yet when she got home. How could it be night time? Even if she accepted the impossible notion that she had been transported to another place on earth...she would have to be on an entirely different continent for this kind of change in time.
Had...had she been dreaming this whole time? Was she still in the Mid-East?! Was the war not over, and she had just imagined coming home a hero?!
She clutched her chest to quell her panic. No, no, that was impossible. She had surreal dreams before; this didn't feel like waking up from those. Even if she considered that notion, she didn't recall fighting anywhere in the Mid-East having deserts with pure white sand like this. And if she had been dreaming, why was she out here? The sand wasn't disturbed, so she hadn't been laying here. And in that situation, she should have woken up in a military camp or something, not all out on her own.
Okay, then what was going on? Where was she? Why...
Why was there a giant glowing tree made of pure light?
"How did I miss that!?" Gabi exclaimed in disbelief, feeling a strange sense of...familiarity wash over her as she stared up at the tree, or whatever it was; like she had seen it before, long ago. But she had definitely NOT seen anything like this before.
Still, it was as good a landmark as any. With that, she took off towards it, having no idea how far or close it was from her. If nothing else, she might risk climbing it to get a better view for any sign of civilization.
And she prayed she spoke whatever language said civilization had. She'd worry about their reaction to her being being an Eldian and from Marley after that.
Time became strange to her. Seconds slowed to hours yet miles passed in what felt like mere steps. Once reaching the crest of a dune, she stopped to catch her breath. The tree wasn't getting any bigger. What was going on? It couldn't be that massive, could it? Something like that would be known throughout the world.
Something moved, and her eyes fixated on it instantly.
There, traveling over another distant dune was a person.
A child's first instinct would be to yell for help. A warrior's was to run closer and ascertain if it was an enemy or not first.
With that, she began running as the figure disappeared over the sand. In what felt like no time at all, she cross the sand landscape and reached the new peak.
She became disappointed, frustrated and then very, very confused.
The first two emotions were caused by the fact that whoever she had seen somehow vanished, not even leaving footprints. She would have screamed to the heavens, if not for one other detail.
While not a person, there was something...manmade down past the bottom of this sand dune. It looked like a sand sculpture of some sort.
Curious yet wary, she trudged down to the descending slope and approached the anomaly. It was some kind of...box? Made of sand? It was large, larger than her, and there was a slightly smaller rectangle within the box on one side, like a picture was meant to go there.
"Does someone out here have too much free time or something?" she murmured. She recalled seeing children playing on beaches and building sandcastles, both abroad during the war and at home when she outside the interment zone. It wasn't something she thought about trying.
But going through the effort to make something like this was a bit mu-
[Gabi Braun.]
Gabi was not afraid to admit she literally jumped away when the rectangle turned black and her own name appeared on it in huge letters. "Who...what...?"
[Be not afraid. You are in the Paths, the Realm that links all Subjects of Ymir together.]
Once her shock died, Gabi's eyes narrowed as her mouth turned into a snarl, even as she felt a touch of panic trying to emerge from her chest. "The Devils brought me here?"
[Calm, Child. I am not of Paradis. This realm is merely how you will learn the truth.]
"Truth?" Gabi repeated cautiously, not wanting to trust these words she read.
[This realm connects your people in all ways, even memories. With this, you shall witness the events through the collect memories of the ones you called Devils.]
"Why would I want that? Why not just show me Reiner's memories then, or the other warriors that were with him?" Gabi asked before her face twisted into something foul. "And why should I trust that this isn't the work of the damn Island Devils!? You're probably trying to brainwash me, make just like the rest of your twisted kind."
[You have no choice.]
"..." Gabi merely stared in defiance.
[You may not leave this realm until you have witnessed everything. Since the day it began, to the day it ended.]
Gabi didn't say anything, turning to march towards the tree once more. She pushed all thoughts of what that...thing had said, or rather written, out of her head and marched on in determination.
Until she ventured over the next dune and saw, before her very eyes, the same sandy box.
She looked back in alarm, seeing it was also where it had been previously. Alarmed, and wary, she walked over to the second box, and saw the exact same words.
[You have no choice.]
Gabi stared angrily, balling her fists.
[I am not trying to brainwash you.]
"Then what is that?! Why don't I have a choice?!" Gabi yelled.
[You wished to know what happened. The cost is simple: If you wish to know, you will know it all.]
Gabi grimaced, glaring at the dunes in the distance...and running off to climb over one at random, finding yet another box.
She growled and groaned all at once, walking to the front of the box once more.
[The sooner you begin, the sooner it ends.]
Gabi glared before taking a deep breath, trying to look at the positives. If nothing else, she might get another perspective on the Devils and how to prepare against them, maybe see something even Reiner failed to notice. Maybe she could even find crucial information Marley didn't even know about yet.
"Fine," she said, taking a seat in the sand. "I still don't trust anything about this."
[That is your choice. It is only important that you know the past. What you do with that knowledge, is for you to decide.]
Gabi sat sourly as the..."screen" she supposed, went black entirely.
[Horses galloped through mud and water as rain poured, their riders calling for more speed]
Gabi blinked as she witnessed the green cloaked men riding through the rain. "Right, Reiner did mutter a few times about how glad he was to not have saddle-sores anymore," she recalled. She was surprised that the Devils' military used horses so much. Perhaps to use their resources less?
All she knew was that cavalry would be eaten up by modern guns, let alone titans.
["Moment of truth people!" A man called, the image focusing on a metal device.]
"What are those? They...almost look like blades without handles," Gabi observed to herself with a thoughtful scowl.
["It's on us! Either we secure this ground as mankind's first stronghold beyond the walls or we die!"]
"Mankind?" Gabi repeated with a scowl. "Are they...actually pretending they're the humans, and the rest of the world isn't?" she asked in disgust before scowling. "Wait, first? Even for them?"
[Another man's eyes went wide, spotting something. "Target approaching!"
The image change to show the obscured form of a large, naked, humanoid entity.]
"A Titan," Gabi said grimly, a dark smirk on her face. "Well, it's good to know the ones sent to Paradis as punishment serve the world well by taking out some of their own twisted kind."
She was sure a lot of the Eldians sent to Paradis didn't deserve it. Many did, maybe even most, but all it took was one asshole on an unlucky day to get someone sent to Paradis. But even the ones that didn't deserve it at least could rest easy knowing they were keeping the Devils of Paradis at bay, somewhat.
[The man, the leader, raised his arm as a signal to the others. "Split into five groups, now!" he shouted in determination. "Group One will act as the bait! All squadrons engage Omni-directional mobility gear!"]
"Omni-What?" Gab said in complete confusion and utmost interest as the soldiers leaped off their horsed, propelled by...something attached to their waists and guided by cables shot from the hips. "What!? How can...That is..." Gabi choked on her words, gritting her teeth. "Why do the devils get something that amazing?"
["Hit him from every angle!" The leader yelled as the soldiers zipped around the titan, drawing their blades.
One launched himself towards the nape of the Titan, letting loose a battle scream. "For my brothers! For humanity!"]
"I hope you get eat- wait, why'd it stop?" Gabi asked with a bewildered scowl, hands on her hips while staring at the blank, black square. "Did this thing break?" she asked, before falling silent as it faded to reveal a patch of blue flowers, in the midst of the sun and a gentle bree-
Gabi nearly jumped out of her skin as the flowers were suddenly bloody and scenes began to flash on the screen, seemingly at random: A gaping mouth, blood flying, a man's face, a windmill with titans suddenly around it, a fire place, an eye with a bug on it, a creepy smile, someone being picked up by a Titan.
"What...the hell, is this?" Gabi asked with deep breaths, unnerved by the onslaught of disturbing images, which suddenly faded to reveal...
[A girl with a red scarf stood there, with her eyes out of sight. "See you later...Eren."
A boy suddenly awoke with a gasp, birds cawing as they suddenly flew away.]
"...Okay, I have no idea what's going on anymore. Why did I see this Devil-brat's creepy dreams?" Gabi asked with a scoff. "Of course they have such disturbing minds that their spawn would dream about that stuff."
[A girl stood over him, wearing a red scarf, watching him.
"Mikasa?" the boy mumbled drowsily.
"We should get back," she stated softly.]
Gabi quirked a head at the girl. Definitely the girl from the dream, but more importantly? "She's an Oriental?" Gabi said in surprise. "Is she his slave or something? Or is she a Devil too?" she asked herself, completely unsure. Both ideas sounded typical of what the Island Devils might do: Either keep a stock of slaves to oppress and torment, or force themselves onto the few non-Eldians that had the misfortunate to be on that island before the Eldian Empire fell. What was Paradis even used for before a hundred years ago?
She dismissed that line of thought as unimportant for now. If there were enslaved non-Eldians behind the walls, she was sure Reiner had already reported it.
["When did your hair get so long?" the boy muttered in a daze. "Where are we exactly?"
"Try asking me again when you are awake," Mikasa said in amusement.
Eren sat up and rubbed his head. "I'm up, I just...I don't know," he said as he sat up and rubbed his head. "It's like the dream I was having went on forever. It's gone now, what was it about?"]
Gabi rose an eyebrow as this Oriental girl, Mikasa, now had a something on her back. It was like a primitive backpack or something, used for holding sticks. "Was she collecting the wood while he dozed off? Might be a slave after all," she murmured with a frown.
[Mikasa turned to the boy and looked at him in surprise. "Eren, have...have you been crying?"
Eren looked shocked as he touched his tear-eyed face.]
Gabi frowned, wondering just why she was watching these kids instead of Reiner and his fellow warriors? Why show her this possible-slave girl getting worried over a Devil-boy, crying over some freaky dream he didn't even remember?
She didn't know why, but she felt like she wouldn't like the answer when it became obvious.
End of Chapter
There we go. You know, for all of the "Characters Watch the Series" fics I've seen in AoT, its a wonder I've never seen anyone use the PATHs as a convient in-universe way of doing so.
So, yes, this is before the Raid on Liberio and Gabi is getting almost 24 hours worth of mindfuckery. I personally don't like canon Gabi that much, but the idea of her sitting through THIS is wonderful. And I'm trying to catch this really twist mentality of her as a "Good" Eldian, and how that'll clash and change with watching this.
Also, yes, I included the "See you Later" dream scene from the manga and removed the opening scene spoiling the Colossal Titan. These aren't literal episodes, so recap and other stuff like that gets removed. And I felt like including the See You Later thing.
Hope you enjoyed the start of this ride!
p a treon . com (slash) akumakami64