Attack On Titan Changes

by Creative Tree

Attack On Titan Changes starts in the year 867, in a world devastated by the Rumbling. This Alternate fan fiction is a Journey around time and characters perspectives in the SnK Universe, with some twists, new characters and exploration of plots that were neglected and forgotten in the original story. Is as darker, fantastic and realistic as Attack on Titan once was.

4. Chapter Four: Promise -867-

The old World

Part Two: Where did you go?

Chapter Four: "Promise [867]"

"Ok, so, pay attention, this is important. Can you see that curved thing over there, right there-" He points. "That's the city we grew up in, actually, your father and I, your mom…" He was thinking a little harder. "I would say is around that area over there, next to that mountain. Oh! And there's the river, you can see some new huts around there… It's great, people are finally coming back and starting new lives here. And, now, when we turn this way, look at that view! It's amazing isn't it? We can't really see it but beyond the horizon is the ocean. I'm sure you will love that." Eren smiled.

- Summer of 852 - On Top of Wall Maria

The boy was following his eyes, and smiling, it was a lovely day, Eren kept pointing at locations around the southern region of Wall Maria and telling Azzy stories. The small six months old boy wasn't very trusting even for his age, but he loved early Sunday strollings with his uncle, he trusted Eren a lot. He felt safe. Eren was so focused on his tales while the boy played with his hair and his shirt, neither of them noticed the elevator slowly starting to move. Someone was coming up.

"Mikasa will kill you." Armin had his arms crossed as he slowly materialised on the side of the Wall.

"What? It's not like I'm going to drop him." Eren argumented while making the gesture.

"I- I wasn't even considering that possibility." Armin laughed, a little worried, as parents do.

Azzy laughed too, he thought it was time to play, he reached out for Armin to hold him.

Eren gave the boy to his father. "You should've said something." Armin complained. "We were worried sick."

"I left a note, you guys are always so busy with Hange now, it's a nice day today we don't know how many more of those we will get." Eren made his point.

"Yeah, I saw that note, you should be more focused on our Survey Corps meetings. Especially now we are working on rebuilding Shiganshina, what are you running away from? You know what? I don't wanna know. But please don't use my son as your excuse to skip out on your responsibilities." Armin said it with an angry tone. He was mad, Azzy got a little scared, he didn't like to hear that tone from his father, he felt he was the one in trouble. He buried his face on his father's coat.

"Armin-" Eren looked down and then looked further away, in the direction of Shiganshina. "I don't have much time left, and neither do you, we both know that. You should be focusing on making good memories for Az, not on stupid Survey Corps meetings-"

"Stupid?" Armin cut him off- "First of all, you are not in any position to tell me how I need to raise my son. Second, we finally have the chance to rebuild the place we grew up in, and of course I want to be a part of that. Third, we don't even know if that curse is even real, you get too caught up on your fathe-"

"It's real. And you know it is." Eren was the one cutting him off now. "Otherwise, why is this one even here?" He pointed at Azzy. "I get it, you guys want to make the most of this life, but he's not a token you know? Or a doll to play with whenever you have time or feel like it. If you knew from the start you would only have eleven years with him, why are you wasting them now?" There was a moment of silence as Armin was sizing his words, he hated fighting with Eren, but was they grew older they were drifting more and more a part. They were adults now, so Armin had to give him the proper response.

He looked at his son in a way to assure Az he was okay, not in trouble, and fixed up his hair while holding him more properly in his arms.

"When you have your kid, you do what if feels best for them."

Armin positioned the mechanism so the elevator went down. He left his friend there, perplexed, thinking, remembering.

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- Year 867 - undisclosed location - Somewhere in the Colonies:

"Are you sure we all have to go?" Reiner asked Jean while they were preparing things to set sail.

"You heard Onyan over the radio, it seems Levi is pretty desperate." Jean responded.

"Maybe he's overreacting." Annie had her arms crossed. "We all have things to do here, we shouldn't all leave at once like that, also, this could be a trap. Have you even considered that?" She asked.

"Good point." Pieck complemented. "What if we all get captured by Eldia because of this? What then?"

"We are not going to get captured, I trust that old man with my life, if he says we all should go, then we all should go." Connie assured.

"It will be dangerous, but it's not like we haven't dealt with even more dangerous missions than this before. I understand why Levi wants us all there, we can cover more ground and find him faster." Jean added.

"I just don't understand why he's so desperate about the kid, so what? Maybe he just ran away. It seems like a waste. I get the plans Kiyomi made, but that's all politics, we agreed we wouldn't get involved with that stuff, I just don't understand why we have to get involved now." Annie was not convinced.

"It's not about politics. We need to make sure the boy is not in danger, for everyone's sake." Connie said it without thinking, Jean gave him a look.

"Everyone?" Reiner repeated it. He sighed, he dropped his face on the wheel. "Please don't tell this kid inherited The Founding." He said.

"That wouldn't make any sense." Connie replied.

"Right, and it's not like after all these years you two would keep something like that from us." Pieck said, looking straight at Jean.

"It's a little more complicated-" Jean was looking for the words, it's not that he wanted to lie, but it's difficult to explain something you don't understand yourself.

"Just know that, if he's in danger, we all are." Jean said.

"You don't know do you?" Annie asked him- "Neither of you do." She turned to Connie. "Well I hope it's worth it. Reiner, it's your call." She was waiting for orders. She trusted his judgment.

"Well, I trust the Captain." Reiner responded. "I know we haven't been in the Island in so long, but if this is important as they are saying, then we should go." He concluded.

"Ok, so we go." Pieck said, she was curious to know why they were being deceiving, unlike Annie she could tell they weren't being straightforward. "What are we waiting for?" She asked.

"Coordinates, Onyankopon is supposed to send them, but he doesn't know the place Levi is taking him, yet." Reiner told them.

[Still] - Year 867 - Arriving at the Lighthouse:

"Ok, do your thing, like you said, tell the others where we are. Quick! We can't waste time." Levi told Onyankopon. He snapped out of it.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I got distracted for a moment, I'll send them now-"

Onyankopon was appreciating the architecture of this amazing building, it was a lighthouse, far west from the actual harbour of the Island. It was strategically placed, hidden, but graceful. He looked it up the high tower. "I bet you can see everything from up there." He didn't even noticed he said it out loud.

"I believe that is the point of a lighthouse." Levi wasn't in the mood for Onyan's enthusiasm. "Come on, let's dock it here, you can drool all over the construction once we get close to it." He told Onyan.

…

"Okay, we have a location." Reiner announced.

"Are we all ready to go?" He asked. They nodded.

"I can't believe I'm actually leaving Falco in charge here." He joked.

"Better him than Gabi." Connie joined in.

"Gabi will probably take over, he won't even notice." Pieck told them, she was right. They knew.

The old friends set sail, back to Paradise.

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- Year 867 - "The Void"

"Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"What do you mean?" Armin could see Mikasa was worried, she feared for something, he wasn't sure why, but he wasn't used to her neglecting his affection. They were always as one, even in their new found 'life'.

"Not today." Mikasa looked to the side at the window. Armin rolled over to his side of the bed. She stood up and went to look at her reflection in the mirror.

"It's not like we can tell day from night in this place." Armin replied. The dream looked exactly like their bedroom, at their home, it almost felt real, but it was gone. They weren't concentrating enough to maintain the illusion anymore. Armin was counting the stars again.

"They shifted again, I don't understand. Where are we? It looks nothing like our night sky." He was puzzled by that.

"You are not going to get anywhere by looking at them." Mikasa was annoyed. He didn't know why.

"Well, it would be good if I could chart the skies, but I don't have anything to help me here." He grabbed the sand and it quickly felt apart on his hand. He had to resort to memorising the skies variations, it was confusing, even after all the time they were there, the stars shifted too many times. He couldn't find a pattern. Mikasa was right, he should probably dropped it.

He looked at his love. He was glad they were there together, that was the one redeeming thing in their condition. He finally noticed, Mikasa was holding her lower stomach, as she looked at nothing. She did that sometimes after they were intimate. How haven't he notice this before? "Is everything okay?" He finally asked her. Mikasa put her hand to the side. "Are you in pain?" He was worried now.

"Pain?" Mikasa made herself look confused. "We can't feel physical pain in here. What are you talking about?"

"I didn't mean physical. I just wished you would tell me what bothers you so much." He sighed.

…

"Do you feel pain? …In there, I mean." Mikasa never actually asked that before, she didn't want to know the answer to that. But in this moment she really wanted to change the conversation.

"I did, at the beginning, but I think, whatever it was… I've healed since then." Armin started to explain. "I don't know, I don't think much about my body in there. I don't want to accidentally open my eyes, I could lose you. I could be just trap-"

"I know you can get out." Mikasa stopped him, she didn't want to hear more lies. "I know you can leave the wall, you can break that crystal. It was made by you."

"How can you possibly know something like that? I've cogitated that, yes, but it came from memories I don't trust very much-" He didn't want to leave, even though he could. He was fine where he was. He was happy.

"You shouldn't talk out loud next to me things you don't want me to know." Mikasa told him. "Even if you think I'm sleeping."

"When did that happen?" Armin couldn't remember the last time he thought of all that, it had been years! He didn't understand why Mikasa was bringing it up now.

"Years ago, probably." Time was a strange thing in that place. Seeing Azzy growing up, by the pool was the only thing that help them track time, in some way, but they knew it wasn't the same in that place.

"I was waiting for you to tell me, but you never did." Armin couldn't understand why she wanted to bring all to the surface all of the sudden.

"Do you want me to leave?" He asked sadly.

"Of course not. I don't want you to ever leave me!" She exclaimed. "I just want you to tell me everything, and not hide things from me." Mikasa was hiding something vastly important. But she couldn't talk to him about it. It would make it real. She didn't want that.

"You know, even if I did get out… It's not like it would change anything. I would just die again. In that wall, surrounded by other walls, it's a labyrinth! And it is in the middle of the desert. I would die before I can reach any civilisation to aid me." Armin tried to make a point.

Mikasa was thinking.

"…What if you …did? Don't you care about our son at all?" She held her stomach again, in the same way as before, she was a mother. "You could see him again."

"Of course I want to see him again. How can you even suggest that?" Armin did care about Azzy a great deal, but their bond wasn't as strong as the one the boy has with his mother. He always felt Azzy was able to make his own way in life. He would never admit it, but he did put Mikasa over their child. He couldn't help it, that's just how he felt.

"So a walk in the desert is the only thing in between you two and you never even considered going back? All those years?" She could not understand, she would do anything to have their son back, to be able to hold him.

"Mikasa, I am sixty meters up in the air, I would die for sure." That was a gamble he didn't want to take.

"We don't know how this place works." He continued. "It seems like it's infinite." He looked at the sand dunes, they would go forever. "If I die, actually die, I'll probably end up in a completely different version of this." Armin was afraid his nightmares would finally catch up with him, he was at peace there, with Mikasa, he didn't know, he was also keeping her nightmares at bay.

"I would never see you again."

Neither of them could bear to think that.

They stopped arguing about it.

"He is fine, we know he's finally going to Hizuru. No more running. He will be better protected there." He wanted Mikasa to feel at ease.

Mikasa and Armin sat to see their son, he was there, at the harbour. They could tell he was safe. He was sitting on the sidelines, he was reading a note. They could see the note too.

"Oh no." Armin feared for the worse now. "Damn it, Eren, you could at least have tried a little harder to mask your handwriting." He thought.

They couldn't believe Azzy took the bait. But it's not like they were there to advise him. Armin knew Levi wouldn't be able to find him in time, he won't be able to stop it. They both knew.

"It's amazing how you can sense these things." Armin finally concluded why Mikasa was so fearful lately. Or at least that's what he thought. It was a good reason.

"You are right, and I can't depend in other people to take care of him. I need to go, I need to look for him. I need to find him." Armin knew the level of danger they were all under. Mikasa was extremely upset now, hypotheticals are one thing. She wasn't ready for Armin to actually leave.

"I'm sure I'll find away, somehow I'll leave this maze and go meet him." The situation was unusual and they both knew it was important, but Mikasa didn't say a word.

"Please say something." Armin asked.

"I don't want you to go." She told him. And she saw the boy in the reflection, running. Mikasa sighed.

"Please take care of him. Please, keep him safe."

They kissed, one last time. The held each other for a moment. They both hoped it would be forever.

Armin looked at her eyes, and just like that, he was gone. He faded away.

Mikasa was all alone now. "Don't leave me." She thought, but it was too late.

Armin opened his eyes, in the real world, for the first time in twelve years.

- Year 867 - The Lighthouse

Levi was annoyed, he tried this and that, shifting the knob, he tried to break the lock. Nothing was working. Onyan was looking around for a mat or a fake rock, because that's what people do, normal people. "You won't find anything, these are not the kinds of people who hide keys under mats." Levi informed him as he was pushing into the door with his shoulder as hard as he could. "There's a LOT of anger in that." Onyan thought to himself as he observed the fascinating phenomenon of Levi Ackermann's 'I'm am done with all of this' mode. "I don't think this is going to work-" Onyankopon said as Levi was frantically kicking the door, nothing happened. "DAMN IT! What is this door made of?" He furiously asked. It seemed to be a Levi-prof material. "Calm down!" Onyan was worried he was going to be kicked too, he raised his hands in a defensive manner. Levi crouched down and started observing the lock, "Do you have a gun?" He turned to Onyankopon. "Yes," He placed his right hand on his head, it was barely sunrise and this had already been a stressful day. And he knew it was barely starting. "It's in the boat." They went down to grab it.

As they were walking down the marina Onyan looked back to the amazing construction, he noticed the ring of water enveloping the lighthouse, it wasn't like a regular river, it completely separated the lighthouse from the rest of the Island. "Was this man-made? Why is there a circle of water surrounding the house?" He wondered out loud. "If it's just for aesthetic purposes, it seems like a lot of trouble to go to, just to have that." He thought to himself. The waters reflected the building, the sky and the surrounding vegetation, it was a beautiful multitude of colours in the sunrise.

"That was a trench, when the owners of the house came to live here we still had a titan problem outside of the Walls."

'The Walls' - Levi hadn't used that kind of phrasing in a log time. It took him back for a second. "But it was dealt with, completely. After that, the trench wasn't needed anymore, so they decided to let the ocean fill it in with water. Be careful though, it's very deep. If you are thinking of going for a swim." He joked.

"I wasn't-" Onyan was a little embarrassed. But he was too fascinated by all that construction. "There's no way you could dig a trench as wide as this and also deep-" He looked up the lighthouse tower. "Oh." He finally realised it. Looking up he could tell, that tower, in addition to being made by a white crystal he never seen before, was around fifty to sixty meters tall.

"This is Armin's house." He concluded.

"Yes." Levi cocked the handgun he finally found midst the boat things. They went back up to the house.

"I'm sorry, Arlert. But is not like you are here to complain about the damage." Levi shrugged his shoulders. He shot the lock.

[Still] - Year 867 - The Maze of the Dead near Fort Salta:

"X1 to tower, X1 to tower, over."

"Tower here, X1, I hear you, over."

"We have a code thirteen sir, what are the orders? Over."

The operator took some time to respond, they never had a code thirteen before. The New Mid-Eastern Forces were one of the strongest parts of the New World Alliance. Their Operations were in plain sight, they didn't need to hide like Marleans in the colonies. Eldia had no interest at that point, of invading that region. For some reason, they left the Maze of the Dead alone. The NME had one of the best squadrons in the world. Second only to Hizuru. One of their missions was guard the maze, and observe if it ever had any changes. There were people living near by, it was just a precaution. They had everyday check ins, but in all those years nothing ever happened. The labyrinth remained.

A code thirteen meant 'disturbance on the Maze', the operator never had to deal with something like this before, he had to ask his superiors.

"X1, stand by." He was waiting for a decision and so was the pilot.

"X1 do you copy? Over."

"I copy. Over."

"Proceed and investigate."

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that? Over."

"Investigate the disturbance, and bring back to the base a full report. Those are you orders. Over."

The pilot took a moment. There were so many legends about that place. Horrible ones. But this was his job, it was his duty.

"Understood.

Over."

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"You weren't at the meeting."

- Year 86? - Hizuru?

The boy was sitting over the balcony sill, in between the huge marble columns he was playing with a small ball, hitting it in the marble wall.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Armin told his son. He hated when Azzy acted obliviously like that.

"I forgot all about it." Azzy found those meetings extremely uninteresting.

"What we are doing is important." Armin affirmed.

"Building weapons?" Az never understood how that could be considered 'peace'.

"We are protecting ourselves, Az you need to know how this place runs. You'll have to take over someday." The boy was getting older, Armin hoped his growing wasn't just in stature.

"Why?" He asked.

Armin set down next to him, he placed his hand over his son's shoulder:

"Son, I won't be here forever, I need to know, that when I'm gone, you will be able to find your way."

He started hearing noises, like in a very busy street, it was faint at first but it kept getting louder. He couldn't hear his father anymore. He was losing the image too. Fading. Even with his eyelids closed he could feel the sun starting to shine over his face.

"Hey!" A voice shouted at him. "What do you think you're doing boy?"

- Year 867 - Southern Rose Region - Trost

The man couldn't believe it. This stupid teenager was restfully taking a nap over his stand.

Azzy stood up. He was a little dizzy, but he managed with style.

"Aren't you going to buy anything?" The man wanted him to inadvertently pay for that nap.

"Sure." Azzy wasn't a big fan of pomegranates, but he picked one up. "Here you go." He gave the man some of the change he had.

The man could see the shining object coming out of his pocket.

"I believe you'll find you are a couple of cents short, boy." 'Those rich kids' he thought. He concluded by the boy's appearance and possessions that he was from one of the old noble families.

Azzy gave him more money. "I need to hide this watch better" He thought while burying it further down his pocket.

"Okay, now let's see." Azzy looked around the town looking for plaque signs. He sighed. He was still in the middle of the Journey, this was taking forever.

- Year 867 - The Lighthouse shores:

"Woah" Reiner was amazed as they reached the Lighthouse. Jean thought it made sense Levi was meeting them there, that place was full of weapons and maps, it was a perfect base to start organising their search. They got closer to the marina, it was a beautiful morning, but they had more concerning matters to deal with.

"So I gather this is the weapons vault." Onyankopon said with his arms crossed as he watched as Levi turned a hundred different combinations, he couldn't figured out the code. "I hate you, Armin." He said. Onyan couldn't help to be a little entertained, but at the same time, we shouldn't talk ill of the dead. They were underground, but that place was so serene and so empty, they could hear the others arriving.

"Urg!" Levi was beyond frustrated with this whole situation they were in. "I hope they brought weapons. Coming to this place was a waste." He raised himself up and went with Onyankopon outside to greet the others.

It wasn't a complete waste, they need a place in the Island to meet, and that spot was incredibly abandoned.

"This could make an amazing military base." Reiner was appreciating the tactical potential of that construction.

"Still, why would we have a base on this Island? We should built our operations as far away from here as possible." Annie told him, she had a point.

"Unless we have another war, then this would be a perfect spot. It seems it's neglected by their Forces-" Pieck realised they were all staring at her, as if she said something wrong. "If you think this is an unlikely possibility you are all very naive." She told their group. "We could be starting one right now, we've already discussed the risks of simply being here-" Pieck was the only person in their troop that wasn't attached in anyway to that Island. Even after everything the 104th had been through, they still had a blind spot when it came to that place.

"Guys-" Connie interrupted the war talk. He raised his hand up to the sky, Pointing at something materialising on the distance. "I believe we have company."

By the time Levi and Onyankopon reached the door, they could see the airplane perfectly. They didn't have much time to decide what to do.

"Do we hide?" Connie asked.

"Our boats are docked, there's no way the pilot will miss that. And it's not like we have time to cover them or even sink them." Jean as thinking fast.

"We fight." Reiner told them. "Whatever it is. Be ready."

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- Year 867 - "The Void"

The pain was unbearable.

Mikasa was alone now, somehow, that place seemed darker, no one out there could hear her scream. She had her head in the sand, she was kneeled with both her hands pressing against her stomach.

"Please leave me alone." She thought.

She could hear a young voice around her, in the wind, she always pretended she didn't. This was her nightmare. If only she knew the voice was calling for her, not out of harm, but for help, she wanted to be heard, loved, she wanted to meet Mikasa.

It was all an illusion, but Mikasa could feel the blood running down her legs. It started to rain, as she cried, the pain was too strong, she was almost passed out. The water overflowed the pond, the blood quickly mixed with the water. The small being was rocking against the waves, it was no bigger than a marble when they both died, but that didn't mean it didn't have a soul. Mikasa was horrified, she couldn't help herself. The rain water slowly turned into blood too. She sat against the tree with her head on her knees embracing herself. She just wanted it to stop.

It finally did.

"I'm sorry if you feel this way." She recognised the voice immediately, she hadn't heard it in over twelve years and it made her angry. "I'm a mother too, I understand your pain… But you need to stop blaming yourself for your deaths… if you don't, this place can really destroy your mind." Ymir told her. She was there a very long time, she was wise about those things.

"You!" Mikasa quickly raise up to attack her. "You are doing this to me." Her lunge was unsuccessful. Ymir was like a ghost, Mikasa couldn't reach her, she felt hard on the sand. "I am not doing anything. This is all you- Well, both of you. If you want to live in harmony with your daughter for eternity here. You two need to find balance." Ymir advised Mikasa.

"Daughter." It echoed on Mikasa's mind. She never gave herself room to think about that pregnancy, she never even considered it could be a girl before.

"Young souls have a hard time in this place, they are not well developed yet. This can be very damaging in this Realm, but she doesn't want to hurt you and you don't want to hurt her. Just calm down, invite her in, she just wants to meet you." Ymir said it and quickly faded away, she needed to give them some space. She didn't use to go down to visit the lost souls in her kingdom, but she had a soft spot for Mikasa. She cared for her.

Mikasa crawled in the direction of the pond, she picked up the small shiny marble from the water and held her child in her hands. She wanted to say "Hello", and she did in the most soft way possible, like she did to her son, when he was born. The shiny marble turned into dust and started to be taken by the wind. Mikasa looked down, maybe she should have said good bye, just one more soul going away and leaving her all alone in that place, she thought. She didn't see what the stardust was forming into.

"Hello?" The small girl tilted her head, she was right in front of Mikasa.

She raised her head up and looked at the girl, She didn't hesitate for a second to hold her small child. Mikasa looked at her innocent face, she was like small doll, Mikasa raised her daughter's chin and played with her wavy caramel hair. She looked straight into the girls eyes, they were a yellow as bright as the sun.

"I wonder if this is just how I imagine you." Mikasa said.

"Imagine?" The girl responded.

She looked around three years old, 'that was a quick development for just two gestational months', Mikasa thought. She was wearing a summer dress and a pretty hat, like as if Mikasa had dressed her for a stroll on the beach. Mikasa held her daughter and sat with her under the tree, the girl leaned against her chest, she finally felt safe in her mother's arms. Her mother presented her a book, a children's book.

"This was my favourite book when I was a child, my mother read it to me, I asked her to read me multiple times, it even made her mad." Mikasa laughed, the girl laughed with her. "Your father loved it two, that was the first thing we talked about when we met, he had that book in his hands as he walked over to talk to me." She missed Armin a lot, but she tried to mask it, she didn't want her baby girl to be upset. "That's why we named your brother after him." She pointed at the character in the book. The girl followed her mother's hand with her bright yellow eyes. It was incredible. Mikasa new those pages so well, she could picture it perfectly.

"I would dream about him you know? Your brother. When I was waiting for him to arrive. It started when I was three months in," She sighed. "It terrified me at first, they were like premonitions-" The girl had no idea what most of the words being said meant. She would definitely not know what premonition meant. "I knew what he looked like before he was even born." She pinched the daughter's nose. "I knew how handsome he would be.' She told the girl with a playful tone, in a lower voice, next to the girl's small ear.

"I wish I had had more time with you. I wished I could have dreamt about you, baby girl. I'm glad that you are here now." Mikasa held her child close. The girl felt safe.

- Year 867 - The Maze of the Dead

The Pilot was flying over the Maze, he was trying to get a closer look in the demanded area, he followed the direction of the village, he could see form variations that weren't there before, he had to look at a map properly, maybe he was just tired. The mountainous shapes kept getting lower and lower until they were very near the ground.

"Maybe one of those titans was crystallised laying down." He thought it was a good theory. But he was scared nonetheless.

He could see very far away a small figure in the sand. It seemed odd, but not very threatening, also, if it was a person, he should aid them. He decided to touch down. But he didn't radio first, for some reason, he felt best to keep it to himself.

Armin was running in the middle of nowhere he was concentrating on the direction that he thought he could see a village, from up there. But it could all be a dream. He's mind was still getting accustomed to the land of the living again. He heard a noise he wasn't used to. High up in the sky, he looked up. There was a plane coming in his direction. That was definitely an illusion. He thought as he collapsed on the ground.

"Hey! Put your hands up!" The soldier was coming in his direction he pointed his gun at the assailant. Armin did his best, but he couldn't stand up properly, he couldn't regenerate properly either, his whole face was bleeding. The soldier look to the Maze. If he is one of those things, it meant they were all in trouble, he thought it, but he didn't want to think about it too much. The man was clearly dying in front of his eyes. The young pilot put his gun to the side and rushed to help.

"Tell me your name." Armin didn't respond, "Where did you come from?" Armin didn't respond. "Tell me! Why are you here? What are your intentions?" He was trying to raise the stranger up. "Eldia-" Armin responded with a weak voice. "I need to get to Eldia, I need to find my son." Armin collapsed on the soldier's arms.

He woke up, they were inside the plane. The soldier took him closer to the village, so he could gather some supplies to help the stranger. That was not the right thing to do, he should have taken the alien back with him to the base.

He gave Armin water, and watched as the man drank the whole gallon. Armin was slowly getting back his senses and understands the situation he was in.

"So, what is your son's name?" He asked the pilot as he offered Armin some food.

"How do you know I have a son?" The pilot asked.

"I remember the last thing I said to you before I passed out. And for some reason you brought me to the village instead of an Army base. The only reason you would help me is if this is personal for you." Armin deducted.

"Rafik." The man said. There was sadness in his eyes. "He passed away a few years ago-" The man explained, "Typhoid Fever, there was nothing we could do, he was two."

"I'm sorry to hear about your lost." Armin was sincere, the man was handing him bandages, he was slowly bleeding still. "My son was two as well, in the last time I saw him. That was almost thirteen years ago." He added. "I'm looking for him, he was captured, by Eldia."

The soldier felt for him. He knew in situations like that the New Alliance had no interest in helping, those diplomatic negotiations weren't worth it for them, they had more pressing matters to deal with.

He offered back his sympathies. They shook hands.

"Is it okay if you tell me your name? I'm not writing this in any report or anything-" The pilot asked.

"I'm -Erwin." Armin responded.

"Nice to meet you mr. Erwin. My name is Ramzi."

"Nice to meet you, Ramzi, you saved my life today. Thank you."

Armin stood up and checked around the brand-new plane. Technology had evolved so much in the last few years. He was trying to recognise all the controls. Onyankopon gave him a quick course but he was studying those machines for years too, and he needed to get back to the Island fast.

"Are you a pilot too?" Ramzi asked.

"Copilot" Armin responded, he wasn't going to add he only had piloted a plane once. He was hoping he could do it, he had to try. But if he failed is not like he could regenerate. It was a gamble. "Well the first one payed off, maybe this will too." Armin thought.

"I need to borrow your plane, Ramzi." Armin told the young soldier, "But don't worry, I'll bring it back!"

Ramzi didn't know how to answer, but for some reason, he trusted Armin. He could see how bent he was, and how desperate to see his son. He thought for a moment. It's not like he could report any of this, he had no idea what to do. But he wanted to help. Armin noticed he was undecided.

"So, is it your Job? To patrol the walls?" Armin asked him.

"Yes." Ramzi responded, "No one really wants it to do it. It's my main job."

Armin reached for his hands and held Ramzi palms inside of his. He presented Ramzi with a rose. It looked like a rose and it was the size of a rose, but it was made entirely by Titan Crystal. He had no words.

"Where I come from, a rose is the symbol of those who guard the wall, maintain it. And keep everybody safe." Armin looked at the village through the plane window.

"I can't accept this." Ramzi exclaimed. Titan crystal was a hot commodity and more expensive than diamonds. A rock that size as beautiful as it was, it would be worth a fortune, probably three times his entire life earnings.

"Please keep it, you saved me. This is the least I could do to pay you."

Ramzi gave Armin a quick course on how to operate that new machinery. New clothes and food and water. He knew Erwin was in a hurry. He left this fascinating stranger to follow his Journey. He wasn't even worried of not getting that plane back. With that rose he could start a whole new life with his wife, out of the military. Just peace with his family.

The pilot walked into the village, he passed the statues he had passed many times before in his life, right at the entrance of the village, like it was protecting it. This time, something caught his eye. He went back to check. There it was. Right in the center, the man he had just met and helped, the man who just gave him a gift of a lifetime. He stared at it, he looked at the bottom. The description said: "To our true hero, Commander Arlert".

- Year 867 - The Lighthouse"

"Are you really going to shoot a plane?" Onyankopon said it with disbelief. He really regretted giving Levi his favourite gun.

"Watch me." Levi was pointing at the moving target, they were all apprehensive and somehow frozen, it took them by surprise.

Reiner thought the best idea would be to barricade themselves inside the house and fight from there, but he didn't have time to speak.

"Wait!" Onyan exclaimed. He could see the craft more clearly now. "It's an NME Forces craft! They are on our side! Don't shoot!"

"How can we tell it hasn't being hijacked?" Annie positioned herself, she was ready for a fight. "It could be a trap."

"What is it with you and traps lately?" Reiner gave her a look. "May I?" He gestured asking Levi for the gun. Levi was a little reluctant.

"I go first and checked it out, you guys can get the rest of our ammunition on the boat." Reiner told the others.

"I'll go with you." Levi responded. Reiner nodded at him.

The plane had crash landed on the far east side of the property, a few meters away from the water ring limit. It's not like Armin had experience, he was just glad both him and the plane seemed to still be in good condition, but he was checking his limbs and the plane motor, just to make sure, because he could neither fix the flying ship or fix himself. Armin was still slowly regenerating since he left his titan for the first time in over twelve years, and also for the very last. He knew as soon as he was finished regenerating he would lose his powers for good. Just like it happened to all the others. He leaned back in the seat, he closed his eyes and thought of his son. He could see Azzy walking around the familiar streets of Trost, he burned a bright blue colour in Armin's mind. Armin could see he was a little confused, not sure of what he was doing. "Stay there Azzy, don't move. I'm coming." He thought. But it's not like Azzy could hear him.

He was preparing himself, this wouldn't be easy. Being at his house after all this time, this tragedy. Seeing all his friends again, it was a little too much, but he needed to keep going, their lives were depending on it. He left the plane to meet the others.

Reiner froze at the sight. He was actually seeing a ghost. Levi kept walking as he was processing all of this, he needed to get close to make sure that ghost was real. Armin looked the same as when he was twenty years old.

"You-" Armin didn't say anything. "You are ALIVE?" Levi was very close now, but Armin didn't see it coming, it was very fast.

Levi punched Armin straight in the face, the strength was enough to dislocate Armin's jaw.

Reiner tried to hold Levi back, but that was not the best idea. The others were coming in fast, they had no idea what was going on and seeing that ghost for the first time in so long made them agitated and worried.

Armin felt to the floor, down on his knees, he was trying to put his jaw back into place as he heard Levi's angry words. Reiner had no idea what to do. None of them did, they were just hoping Levi didn't kill him.

"All this time!" He had a lot to say. "ALL THIS TIME?!" He kneeled close to Armin, he had a point to make.

"Do you have any idea how much of a little shit your kid is? How much trouble he gets himself into? How crazy he makes me feel?

"I have an idea-" Armin was trying to speak, it wasn't very easy.

"I feel like an idiot now." He stood up looking to the sides, with his hand in his head. "I feel like a complete idiot." Levi was pacing.

Reiner hid the gun, the others should probably have done the same. He rushed to help Armin, he could see the markings on his face.

"Did you just got out of your Titan? Only now?" He asked Armin in a lower voice, Armin nodded at him, he stood up, with Reiner's help, clumsily.

"I know I can't even say sorry to you, Levi. I can't possible describe my gratitude to you. You took care of my son for all these years. I can never repay you that." Armin was a little grateful for the punching too, it gave him more time. Now it would take longer for him to regenerate.

"Spare me the bullshit." Levi turned back to face him. "Why did you come back now? Why only now?" He asked.

"I can explain to you in depth once we find Azzy, for now, that's the priority." Armin walked right through all his old acquaintances. He didn't properly great everyone. He had no time or emotional stability to do so. He moved into the house. Walking in was very difficult, he knew it would be. Everything would still look the same as the last time they were there, all together, his family.

"Nice shot." He looked into the destroyed embellished silver knob Mikasa had hand-picked. He opened the door, trying not to think about her. It would be impossible.

No one said a word. They just followed him. Armin went straight to the underground weapons vault. Levi and Onyan followed him, the others were too busy admiring the house.

Armin swiftly removed a few books on his shelf and opened the fake back wall, the real vault lock was there.

"I absolutely hate you, with all my heart." Levi was angry about so many things, and they were trying to open the other lock for a good couple of hours, but he still couldn't help but admire the cleverness.

"What, did you thought this was the real one?" He pointed at the fake lock as the whole wall was moving. "I'm sorry about that, I should have told you a long time ago." He gave an embarrassed smile while scratching his head.

There were different rooms inside it ran for most of the house's underground area, it was a true bunker. Armin was prepared for war.

"You had all this here?" Onyan asked.

"We lived in constant threat of being attack by Marley, I was just making sure I was ready." Armin replied.

….

"Did you grab everything you'll need?" Armin asked Jean, he was shuffling through some of his stuff at his office when Jean walked into the room.

"I can't believe you had all this under your house, I should have known really-" Jean told him.

"We sank a lot of ships, I was just gathering some goods, just in case… And to study as well. There's a lot of potential in those machines outside." Jean looked out of the door as the others were gathering what they felt interested in there.

"I was wrong. This already IS a military base." Reiner told them, he was smiling picking up some great weapons.

"Nothing too big." Pieck told him. "We need to blend in."

Annie said nothing, she was annoyed for being dragged into that Island again. But she did want to help Armin so she didn't complain.

…

Connie was still upstairs, he was walking through the house, he looked through the window watched the oceans waves far down, for a while. Then he moved to kitchen, they had so many late nights there, just talking like it would never end. He could see on his memories, himself, Jean, Armin, playing games and annoying each other with silly jokes they had since training days, Sasha was always hovering around the food and chatting with Mikasa on the corner of the room, they murmured and laughed together. He could see Eren, he was always holding Azzy and playing with him, he gave the boy so much affection, Eren clearly loved the boy, like he was his own child.

"Hey! What are you doing here, come on we have no time to waste!" Levi showed up under the outside kitchen arch.

"Is Eren going to kill him?" Connie turned back into Levi's direction. "I mean, no one is saying anything, but it's pretty obvious who are we dealing with here. Even for me. I can't think of anything else that could wake up Armin from his sleep, unless his son was in danger and Eren was the cause."

Levi took some time to respond. He sighed.

"I don't know. I know it comes from the Palace-"

"Palace?" Onyan showed up with a bunch of maps. "Armin said something about going to Trost-" He was supposed to trace and calculate the Journey.

…

"A lot of potential." Jean said it in a sarcastic way. "Most of this machines are weapons. Don't you think this is dangerous?" Jean was a father too now. "What if Azzy found this place?"

"He wouldn't, that's the reason it's well hidden." Armin was confident about it.

"What if he just jumped here? Just like that? What then?" Jean couldn't believe the recklessness.

Armin looked at him and sighed, this had been a long day, and it hadn't ended yet. They had a long day ahead.

"Azzy can only go to places he has been before. Don't worry, I'm counting on that." Armin might have been a little too confident about that, he forgot his son wasn't two anymore and he also didn't know he had been to Mitras before.

Jean put his hand over his head, Armin was there now, as a father and in this particular situation, he was the right person to talk to. He was looking for ways to phrase his words.

"About that… When did you know… You know… that Azzy was like that." He raised up his shoulders a little.

"What do you mean?" Armin inquired.

"It's just, I remember you said something about dreams, an- and I have these dreams…"

Armin was intrigued. "Are you talking about your children?" Armin was blunt. Straight to the point.

"I didn't even tell you I have children, but yes." Jean responded.

"You just complained about my weapons under my house and the danger to my son, old bachelor Jean would never put two and two together." Armin smirked at his friend.

"True, true." Jean got a little embarrassed. "We should talk more about this once we are back though, don't worry about it now…" he told his friend.

"Okay." Armin said. "I look forward to meeting them." They both smiled at each other, the moment passed.

"So, are you going to change or what?" Jean asked him looking his friend up and down, judgingly. Armin was wearing an orange overall spare uniform he borrowed from Ramzi.

"Right," he looked down. "Not really blending in." They laughed.

...

Armin was dreading going upstairs, to their bedroom, but he knew he had to, at some point. The place they shared in their minds, when he had a different body, in a different dimension, it was very special, they could both picture it perfectly, exactly as it was. He went looking through all of their things, he passed his hands through Mikasa's vanity, the thin white layer of dust made him sad, that entire room was making him feel miserable. But he still laughed when he saw the forest outside, Mikasa wanted that orchard so bad, she made him bring her all those trees from all kinds of places within the island, and now the small orchard had become a forest, it covered the entire backyard. "I guess I have to trim this, right, sweetheart?" He thought. He smiled.

…

"It's this an elevator..? I wasn't expecting this-" Reiner was already preparing himself to climb those stairs all the way up to the tower.

"We already had that kind of technology, you know?" Jean crossed his arms. "I think you've just forgotten."

"You guys really enjoyed taking pictures." Picked was looking through the massive wall in the landing area.

"Yeah, those were like, all taken in just a couple of days, when we got one of those cameras, it was a pretty great day." Connie told her, as they both looked at the table in front of them, he was reminding himself of that fun day, pictures of all of them together, some other proper portraits, similar to the drawings already done in the Island. He gently took Sasha's portrait. He was happy to see that smile again. He decided to keep the picture, he wanted a snippet of those good memories. Those days were precious.

Pieck picked up the baby's photo, in the center of the table. He was no longer than ten months in it. "He's cute. Seems like a good child. I can't see the whole nightmare of a boy that Levi described."

"Well, Levi can sometimes be a little… well, Levi." Connie couldn't think of a better word.

"He's just a baby in that, we have no idea what we are getting into." Annie joined the conversation. "Babies are always cute, or whatever people say." She added.

They were waiting for the elevator to reach the base, it was a swift system, but it hadn't been used in almost thirteen years.

"I know, I know- I remember the elevators to go up the wall." Reiner correct himself with an awkward laugh.

"Yeah, is not like this place is completely stuck in the dark ages-" Jean told the others.

"Nah, this place is a shithole." Annie correct him. She couldn't see amusement in their conversation or any reason to praise that Island that was origin of so much suffering. She crossed her arms, they all went silent.

- The Lighthouse - On the top of the Tower

Reiner was admiring the view, he forgot how beautiful that Island was. "How such a beautiful world can have so many terrible people in it." He thought.

"Are you sure taking the plane is the best option?" Levi asked Armin when he finally joined the group up the tower. Onyankopon was checking maps and drawing the course.

"It's the fastest." Armin replied while turning to check Onyan's plans.

"We can be spotted." Reiner added. "What then?"

"It doesn't matter, as soon as he have him, we will fly off this place as fast as possible." Armin replied. "We will get to Trost-" He was interrupted.

"How do you know he is in Trost?" Pieck was curious.

It took a couple of seconds for Armin to properly find a response.

"I could see it… in Paths, I could see where he was… right be before I left…" He told the group. They didn't ask more questions, as they moved into learning everything about the plan, enjoying the breeze and the ocean sounds, they took the greatness of being there, sixty meters up in the air.

- Trost - in the Train Station

Annie could recognise the walk, she noticed a few meters in front of her. Not the hair, or clothing, or even physical appearance - at least not from behind - but she had seeing that way of walking before, many years before. "I have him." She send her message though her handheld transceiver and kept tailing the young figure. "Finally." She could hear faintly a voice in the radio responding to her.

Azzy was a little confused, he was wondering about taking that train or not, he ran away anyways, he is curious about things… That place should have the answers or whoever person he'd find in that address, He thought about it while staring at that piece of paper, but something was slowing him down. He didn't know what the problem was or why he was so undecided, he could have gotten there ages ago, but he was stalling. The young boy was scared. He was afraid about what he would find and he didn't want to admit it.

She was quietly telling his position through their radio system so the other could join in and corner the boy when he started to walk a little faster. "Damn it." Annie thought. She was going to lose him in the middle of the crowd. The train was boarding. "Don't let him board the train." Reiner was joining her, they were losing sight but they kept going. The young Ackermann noticed instantly he was being followed. The problem is that he didn't know it was his rescue, Azzy thought the Guards had recognised him. He had a very short time window to act. No more indecisions, no more wondering about. He need to decide if he wanted to know the truth or not, he a a split second to figure it out. He kept walking, until he saw a familiar figure, Jean was standing right in front of him, only a few meters away, he was coming in Azzy's direction. Az knew that face, but he had no idea where from, he thought it might be one of the Guards he had met before, he turned left, he was starting to get anxious, and that's when your instincts come out.

"He saw me, and he turned the wrong way-" Jean said it over the radio, was signalling the others to follow, Azzy had moved in the opposite direction from the train. Perfectly, they could catch him before he left the station.

"Where is him?" Pieck was joining in, so was Connie, Levi and Armin. Armin's heart was almost beating out of his chest from the moment he heard over the radio that they had found the boy.

They were going in different directions, the train was leaving now, not many people around, the place was slowly becoming empty. A couple of them were guarding the doors so there was no way he could have left. "How did we lose him? He was so close!" Jean was frustrated, they all were. Armin turned around, he closed his eyes. He was concentrating in his son's presence.

"We need to look around, find every hidden spot in this place, if we can find him- then we should start a search in the surrounding area-" Reiner was organising the team. Armin decided to take action.

"Onyankopon are you there? Over." He said through his radio. "I need you to turn around, we are going to Mitras."

…

They were already nearing the edge of town, Onyan hoped he was far enough so people in Trost couldn't see the small plane landing. They were all a little annoyed and frantically demanding some explanation.

"So are you basically telling us you can track your kid?" Pieck wanted to know. "Yes." Armin simply responded. "In that case, what is the point of all of us being here then?" She replied. "Can't you find the kid on your own?"

"You are here because I don't know how long this will last!" Armin pointed at his slowly healing scarred face.

"So it has to do with your shifter abilities then? It's not some weird paths thing you got when you were in there..?" Annie asked.

"No," Armin sighed, he had more pressing matters, but he decided to explain it all as the plane was landing in this big abandoned field. "I've had this since I got my powers-" He closed his eyes, "I can see all of you, the light inside of all of you is still there." He was talking to his fellow shifters "But it's faded. I could track you before, throughout paths and its correlation with our world, but now, it's like your powers are dormant." He told his friends. "Dormant?" They all thought. They always believed their powers were gone for good, this was an interesting new development.

"But that's not a part of the Colossal Abilities." Reiner crossed his arms.

"Of course, because Marley knows everything about Titans." Armin threw back at him.

"Still. It doesn't explain how you can track the boy. He is not a shifter." Pieck was not sold.

Armin turned his head in Levi's direction. He burned a scarlet red, complete opposite to the bright blue that filled up Azzy's spirit. "I can see their kind too." Armin pointed at the old Ackermann as they were boarding the plane.

…

- Mitras - [Still 867]

Azzy was staring at that piece of paper. He knew he was in the right street, but no one was there, no clue what he was supposed to do next. He finally saw it. Someone carrying a bag with the same symbols as the oranges stand from the harbour. He had found the messenger. He didn't even think twice before he started following the figure. Mitras was the most developed city, the heart of the island. Big buildings, lots of people, commerce was booming, after all, Eldia profited a lot with the destruction of the rest of the World. Mitras didn't have many dark corners be he was finding himself at one. The sun was going down, night was falling upon the city and Azzy was still following the hooded figure.

He lost the man for a moment. But he noticed the bag was laying next to a door of an old, abandoned building. He rushed to grab it. Inside there was only one small key. The key didn't fit the lock, they whole place was sealed with old wooden boards, it was a haunting image, but Azzy got in anyway, he didn't even think twice.

In that abandoned shop there was a clear fake floor boarding, inside of it the door, the lock, where the key was supposed to go. He smiled, he thought it was clever. It really wasn't, but he was young. The floor hatch led to an underground tunnel, even in the sunset and in the darkness of the room the slim beam of light from outside was enough to make the walls of the tunnel glow, like it was made of diamonds. He was fascinated. He walked down, he need to know where all that beauty would lead him in the end. He started walking through the tunnel.

Azzy left the hatch unlocked, even with the key, he was afraid of being trapped, and it's not like any dumb Royal Guard would find him in that old building. He just wanted the safety of going back that way, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. That effort was worthless, if he only knew, if he could see the future, he would know he was never going back through that hatch again, he was already a lost cause.

…

"You should have told me he had come to Mitras before. That was a major oversight." Armin was angry with Levi, they were walking fast alongside one another. Armin was extremely upset, he finished his regeneration on the way there, in the plane. There was nothing supernatural he could rely on to find his son now, he had to depend on his own wits.

"It's not like he knows the place outside of the palace, and that was a long time ago. The problem is getting inside those gates." Levi was nervous, he should be more angry with Armin but he was more worried about the young naive boy inside that hell hole, and what would happen if those horrible people laid their hands on the boy. Azzy was more his son than Armin's at that point, he truly cared for the boy.

"What are you doing here?" Jean asked his wife. Pieck was following the other two closely, she was tired of being lied to, she didn't want half-truths, she knew Levi or Armin would give out something at some point. She quickly picked up one of the dresses in the stand. "This isn't your route- Are you shopping?" Jean was bewildered.

"Do you think this looks nice?" She gave him a smirk.

"This is serious, you know? We can't waste time-" Jean was saying the same thing again.

"Oh, really? Is it serious? Then tell me why. We are following this kid like a bunch of dizzy idiots, with a guy that was supposed to be dead and a half blind old man that I'm pretty sure doesn't fully ratiocinates anymore. We ended in the WORST place we could ever be in this war, and you are still lying to me." She pointed firmly at his chest. "Tell me why this is so important or I will just quit and go home."

"Do you think we could ever do it?" Jean was looking at Armin and Levi in the distance. "Do you think we could leave our kids with strangers knowing we might never go back…. and set off to fight a doomed war… and…-" His voice was a little broken now- "and never see them again….?" Jeans asked Pieck.

"We might have done just that." She told him, she was right.

Jean looked down at her worryingly. "Okay." He sighed. He decided to tell her everything.

….

Azzy kept walking inside that tunnel, he could see a bright light at the very end of it, and he could hear birds, the wind, he had know idea where he would emerge, but it felt very peaceful.

"Where am I? How is there a forest in the middle of the city?" Azzy was astonished.

"Beautiful isn't it?" A voice came from beyond the trees. It was the hooded figure he was following.

It took Az a second to realise where the voice was coming from.

"You… you are the gardener…" Azzy finally recognised the man. "You were there that day." He looked at the paper, "Were you who sent me this note?"

"Yes." Eren responded. "You look worried." He added.

"I don't want to be here. There's something wrong with this place." Azzy looked around, checking the area.

"Why? Do you have bad memories of this place? No need to worry, it's just you and me." Eren assured him. "The last thing I need now is for you to run away. We can never know where you would end up. Probably not even you, but I can't be sure of that." He wanted to be sure of a few things before handing him over.

"I don't understand." Azzy was nervous.

"Yes you do." Eren wasn't interested in games. "I know you do. I know you Azzy, and I know how it all works."

"I'm confused, I thought you had information about my parents, that's why I'm here. Any other mind games you want to try on me, it won't work. I can just leave." He wasn't interested in playing either.

"I know that, I know that very well. I can give you any information you want, like I told you that day, I knew your parents very well. But before I need you to answer one question." Eren was firm with the boy.

"Where did you go?" He asked. "Where did you take her?" He added.

"Her? I don't know what you are talking about, sir-" Az trying to move on, but Eren interrupted him.

"Did you kill her?" Eren finally asked what he really wanted to know.

"NO!" Azzy's eyes were a little brighter for a second, right in the enter of the iris. A very bright blue. That happened sometimes, when he was angry.

"Now we are getting somewhere." Eren stepped back, he continued: "You are a very good liar, you know? Either that or you lie to yourself. It must make things easier… It makes you sound pure, it's a very good talent." He told the boy.

"I never killed anyone." That was probably not true, but it was one of the things Az chose to believe.

"Then… Was it… an accident?" Eren was still on his questioning.

"No. I mean, I don't know, I have no idea who or what are you talking about." Azzy was confused. Or at least, he seemed that way.

Eren sighed.

"Just tell me where you took her, that's all I need to know." You could hear Eren's sorrow in his voice.

Azzy looked away, he saw the graves, he remembered seeing only one before. "Maybe they found her body." He thought. "I'm glad you can rest now." He was finally relieved.

"I can't remember. That's the only truth, I tried, many times. But it's like it never happened. I swear!" He finally responded Eren in a more truthful way.

"Let me guess, you woke up on a field… in the southern Maria Region, somewhere near Shiganshina." He extrapolated while looking at a golden watch he had retrieved from his own pocket.

Azzy open his eyes wide, he looked around his own person, checking all his own pockets. "How- did you-" He said frantically.

"You should be more careful with your things" Eren was holding the watch by the golden chain.

"Give me that back." There was that light in his eyes again. "NOW." He was furious.

"And there it is again," Eren pointed at him with the watch still in his hand. "I like when you show your true colours. It suits you better."

"Don't make me take it from you." He was serious. Eren smirked.

"I will, I'm just checking something." Eren looked at the watch.

"You've been busy, shame. - Just one slip up" Eren was moving his head in a negative motion, a little disappointed. "That's how they get you." He smiled. An evil smile.

"Please, that's the only thing I have left." The boy changed his tactics. He was going for emotions now.

"You forgot to set the time again." Eren threw the watch back at him. "The date is wrong. You should be more careful about that, whenever you jump."

Azzy held the watch and looked straight at him, he wasn't expecting that. He said nothing.

"I told you, I know you. I know you very well. I was there when you were born, remember?" Eren was still smiling, but there was sadness in his eyes.

The boy didn't reply, he was thinking.

"You were never missing for two months, not for your point of view anyways. You can lie to everyone, even yourself. But the watch tells the truth. Time didn't pass." Eren was very upset, he had been all those years, but still, all that power, he was fascinated by it.

"Why bring me here? What do you want?" The boy asked. He placed the timepiece on a safer spot now.

"I want my daughter back. I need you to fix this." Eren told the boy.

"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do about that… ..How did you know about the field?" He wondered.

"I have some witnesses, I know whenever you have trouble with you powers you end up there. You can make quite an entrance. Or so I heard." Eren responded.

The boy held himself, he felt small. "Powers." He thought. He never had anyone openly talk about anything like this to him before, specially related to the way he was, he always knew there's something wrong about him, but at the same time, he didn't have much of a concept to what normal was, he just knew he wasn't that.

"Do- " He was always afraid to talk about that. "Do you know why? Why I'm always in that field?" He asked.

Eren scratched his head for a moment. "Well, I know what that place was, years ago." It was uncomfortable to talk about those things with his young nephew.

"It was you parents house, many years ago… It seems to be the place your life started."

Azzy was confused.

"No it wasn't, we lived in a big house, near the ocean, I don't remember much about those years, but I remember that place, I was born there." Azzy was sure of that.

"That is not what I meant." Eren realised the boy was even more naive than he expected.

"What did you mean?" The boy inquired.

"You should get your other uncle to explain it to you." Eren laughed.

Azzy still was confused.

He thought about the house, he though about the ocean, he loved that place! He remembered the girl, he promised he would take her there. He never did. He felt extremely upset in that moment, there was a chill running up and down his spine. He could remember some nightmares he had, constantly. He had to make notion of all those broken memories, he owed Eren that.

"I tried, I tried so many times, I really did. But I could never go back there-" He looked up the trees, "I'm sorry, I know I let her down." He looked to the grave. He had a tear in his eye. "I'm sorry I let you all down." He rested his back in one of the trees, he kept looking up the sun rays in between the leaves. He couldn't bear to look Eren in the face. Ymir was dead and it was all his fault.

"You can't change anything son, you might think it works that way but it doesn't. Time rules over all of us. You are not above that. -" Armin told his son.

There he was again, in the same dream, looking over Hizuru, hitting that small ball over the marble wall. How was he there? It felt so real. Armin held the ball midair, he stopped the game. His son looked straight at him, he was finally listening. "Time will find a way to put everything back into place, don't underestimate its power. It can ruin you. Stay where you are. The now, that's what is important." Armin hoped that advice was going through. He hoped that his son would finally listen to him. The boy didn't like his father's advices, especially when they meant his own convictions were wrong. He felt powerless. But he knew his father was right. And that would echo in his mind throughout his life.

"Hey-" Eren was worried. "Are you okay? I thought I lost you for a second."

"I'm sorry, I genuinely am. But there's nothing I can do-" Azzy was apologising even though he knew it wouldn't mean anything.

"You can always go back." Eren said.

"I don't even know how." Azzy replied.

"I'm sure you can find a way-" Eren had his plans, but the boy interrupted him.

"What happened to them?" Az finally asked a question he wondered all his life. Even before he could understand the concept of death.

Eren stopped, this wouldn't be easy.

"They died protecting something they both believed in. In the end it was worthless. It was just their undoing. Well, your mother is dead, I know that for sure, but I believe you father is still alive and well-" Eren explained, Azzy was perplexed.

- Outside of the Palace Gates [Mitras]

"Annie," Armin was walking through the streets near the Palace, "This city is pretty big, right? Well developed… tons of buildings, commerce flowing… So why would there be a building empty?" He asked. Annie joined him in from of the old abandoned site. "I don't know, maybe the owner didn't want to sell it." She wondered.

"Exactly." Armin started to pull off the old wooden boards from the door.

"What are you doing?" She couldn't understand.

"Why wouldn't someone sell or rent a precious spot like this?" He was forcing in the door. "Unless what you have inside is more important-" He looked around the old store. He stopped his eyes at the carpet in the middle of the room.

He sighed. "You were never very smart, Eren." He moved away the carpet, there it was, the hatch.

"Call out the others." He was going down the hatch.

"Are you going in alone?" Annie asked him.

"He is my son." Armin responded. "Get backup, and guard the spot, I think I know where this leads." He went down the tunnel.

Annie radioed the team.

"What the hell is he doing?" Reiner thought, he was meeting with Connie to go to the location Annie had just informed.

"But I remember you! I know where- You are one of the young boys! The soldiers!" An old lady had stopped Connie on his tracks and he couldn't get rid of her.

"I'm sorry, but you've mistaken me for someone else." He was trying to walk away.

"Excuse me-" Reiner took Connie into a different direction.

"Are you out of your mind?" Reiner scolded his friend.

"Come on, you heard Annie over the radio." Jean had to pull Pieck by the arm, she was distracted, she felt sick to her stomach ever since Jean told her everything about it. What their true mission was, what was actually at stake at the very moment. They were all supposed to rendezvous in the old building.

"Hey we might finally have something, signal me when you are close, make sure you are not spotted." Levi radioed Onyankopon.

"I was trying to shake her off, but she kept budging me." Connie explained to his friend.

"Too late." Said Reiner. They could both see the old lady talking to some of the guards.

"Yes, I remember him, he is one of the traitors-" The old lady was mumbling to the guards.

"What now?" Connie asked Reiner.

"Just walk away-" Reiner said, they started to walk when they heard it, it was pretty quick.

I couple of swings and punches, some leg sweeping and voilà, Annie was standing there with two unconscious Royal Guards.

"What are you looking at?" Connie told the crowd. "Just move on with your day."

"We are wasting time!" Annie told the two. "Come on, let's go."

- Inside the Palace Gates - In the Private Garden

"See? I always knew they didn't care about you, they didn't fight for you, they fought to protect useless beings that have been a plague to this world for far too long. At the end, your father didn't have the decency to raise you. That's to show he doesn't love you." Eren was passionate about his beliefs, as a childless parent he couldn't understand how Azzy was neglected like that.

"You are wrong, they fought to save humanity from monsters, and they succeeded, they both died as heroes. That whole Maze of the Dead story is not real, my father is not a monster, why would he be cursed into that. You are lying to me." Azzy continued. ""My father would never abandon me if he was alive."

"But he did, I'm not lying about anything. And if you believe all that, what are you searching for?" Eren asked him.

"I want to know who made the monsters." Az asked.

"Why?" Eren replied.

"I need to know who was responsible for their deaths." Az explained.

"I could tell you I'm guilty about that, as I said, I have no intention of lying here. The cleansing of the Earth was my life long dream. And it was going to be perfect. They shouldn't have meddled with that." Azzy could not compute what he was hearing. "But that wouldn't be completely true, as I also said, your father is alive and well, I can sense that-"

"You killed them!" Azzy was crying now, Eren went too far. "I don't think you are fully listening to me. Your father-"

"What about my mother?" Azzy interrupted Eren. "How did she die?"

"Just like I said, she was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. She should have been home with you-"

"Were you there?" The boy wanted to know how did it happen.

"Yes. Unfortunately, she deluded herself thinking she couldn't kill me, she was almost successful, I'll give her that. But at the end, I had to transform quickly to guarantee my own survival, and she was caught on that explosion. I'm sorry, there was nothing I could've done, I wasn't going to let myself be killed, It's a shame she was caught in that. But as I said, she shouldn't have been there in the first place."

"An explosion?" Azzy asked with sorrow in his eyes.

"Yes, burnt away, into a million little pieces, just like that. I bet it was painless." Eren didn't know if he wanted to hurt the boy or not, but he couldn't help himself. That was his biggest mistake. We don't play with the devil.

He held his fists tight, he was looking straight at the floor. "A million little pieces." He thought. A million thoughts were going to his mind at that point. "Power" What was the point of have that and never using it, he also thought. He was tired of running, of hiding, of lying, he was tired of his own life. He was going to fix everything. He knew how now. The last piece that was missing, he had just found. He looked up straight at Eren, straight into his eyes.

Eren could see that light again, shining even brighter, and brighter. He could see his spine, his entire nervous system lighting up. The boy's eyes were completely filled with that bright blue light now.

"I AM GOING TO END YOU."

Az Promised.

And disappeared into the light.

Just like that, he was gone.

.

.

"Levi, can you hear me? Levi?" Onyan sounded distressed over the radio.

"Yes, I'm here." He responded.

"I am moving towards your direction, but the sky- -There's this bright light and- " The light engulfed the plane, like it was nothing, it truly was now. It never existed.

They all hear the radio signal cut off.

Levi already knew what was going on, there was nothing to be done now. They looked around, the night sky was turning as bright as day, they could see their world fading away all around them. Pieck started to cry, she held Jean very close. "No! No! I don't want this to happen! I didn't get to say goodbye!" She whispered in his ear. "It's okay." He wanted to comfort her. "We will meet again, whatever this leads us. I will dream about you."

The streets were empty now, the every atom in every cell was being erased.

Connie took Sasha's photo from his coat, he looked at her, "Maybe it would be different now." He thought. He looked up to his friends, all of the desperation the human mind goes through when their own existence is being threatened. It was all over their faces.

Reiner and Annie didn't know exactly what was causing all that, but they knew what was happening and what it meant. They left their families without even saying goodbye.

"I'm sorry everyone, we tried our best, but we failed, I failed. We were too late, I'm sorry." Levi told his squad.

They all disappeared in the bright white light.

…

"I knew you would show up." Armin finally made his was thought the tunnel, Eren was surprised to see his good old friend, but he didn't want to let it show. "You look so young, how is any of this possible?"

Armin was looking around the forest, he was also surprised to see all that green in the middle of the city. But that wasn't important right now. The sky was bright as day. He was late, it was all over.

"Eren, do you have any idea what you have done?" Armin asked him.

He looked to the side, so he wouldn't meet Armin's eyes. This went out of control, it shouldn't have ended this way.

"I have a guess." He answered.

Those were his last words before he disappeared into nothingness, he was gone and so was Armin, engulfed into the brightness, so was the forest, the palace, all the people, the entire city, island, WORLD. All became inexistent.

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866

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861

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859

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857

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855

854

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- Year 854 - Mid Rumbling - Near Fort Salta

He arrived. He immediately saw those bones, all that flesh, thousands of monsters, way bigger than he have ever seem. All those people, fighting for their lives. A small plane arriving in the horizon. He looked over and sized his situation.

"What a mess."

Azzy said.

End of Chapter Four: "Promise [867]"