Hope from the Sky

by Traitor of All Traitors

Inspired by the works of other writers that took to it, this is my first attempt. Shinji and Unit-01, victims of the Twelfth Angel attack, find themselves in another world with giants that crave human flesh. Can Shinji offer his Eva's assistance in allowing mankind to cancel their extinction, or will he be joining them? Finally Finished. Be on the lookout for a bonus chapter.

90. Epirōgu

Creation began on 03-11-21

Creation ended on 05-06-21

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hope from the Sky: Epirōgu

A/N: In the words of a very wise and very intuitive program, "Everything that has a beginning has an end."

"…I could have never seen something of the sort happening," Shinji had told Yui before she left Paradis to return to her world. "I had accepted my fate here and was willing to go through with living among the people on this island…and make no mistake, I still intend to. I just didn't think about this before, not even once."

It'd make perfect, reasonable sense for him not to, thought Yui as she looked down at the world below the shuttle. But now that he has thought of it, he is willing to give it a try. He is all for peace between people from other parts of the world. Of both worlds. But he answers to Ms. Reiss. He dares not do anything that could endanger the lives of everyone on Paradis without her permission.

All Yui had suggested was that the two worlds try to coexist with one another, since there was a portal in space between this version of Earth and its moon, connecting their dimensions together. She wasn't really hoping for any changes, just an opportunity to continue building her relationship with Shinji. The visit had been, perhaps the best one in her life, being able to see her son and the people he was committed to. If she could visit him more often, she would, expanding their relationship that had only began being rebuilt from the years of absence from each other's life since the last time they ever saw each other.

"It was really amazing on that island," said Hikari to Toji and Kensuke.

"Yeah, it was," agreed Toji with her. "We gotta come back in the future one day.

"Totally," added Kensuke, holding his camera. "Shinji has a good life there. And Ms. Sogen, she's really, really impressive. If those two get married, I wanna be there for their wedding day."

Even Misato had to agree on that happening.

-x-

"…You've been very quiet for a while, Shinji," said Historia to the young man that had seen his visiting guests off just a little while ago as they, Kaede and Ymir were sitting under a tree in front of the orphans playing around. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he answered her. "Just thinking about the future."

"What about the future?" Kaede asked him.

"Where we'll all be."

Kaede then hugged him tightly and rested her head on his left shoulder.

"I already know where I want to be," she told him. "Where do you think we'll be, Shinji?"

"I think we'll be…exactly where we should be," he expressed.

After his mother, Misato, Rei, Asuka and the others left, Shinji became concerned about how the future would be like if their two worlds were able to coexist. It would have been too much to expect everyone being onboard with the idea, but if it was one day at a time, one carefully-planned event after another, with people just getting used to the idea… Then maybe…maybe things could turn out well for everyone. But the truth was that he couldn't see into the future to know for sure, not like Kaede could, and he wouldn't ask her to see just to be sure. He would have to take the future as it was, one day at a time.

Ymir yawned as she got up off the grass.

"Whatever the future brings," she uttered, "I just want to live without regrets."

"Yeah," added Historia.

"So, then…for the sake of cooperation between two worlds?" Kaede asked them.

"For the sake of cooperation between worlds," they agreed.

-x-

A week later

Armin Arlert was surprised to have been ordered by Erwin Smith to meet with Historia after a week had passed since Shinji's visiting friends and mother had left. What could the queen want with him? What could he possibly do for her? Did it have anything to do with his service in the Survey Corps? Or maybe it was something else?

"You got the order, too?" Jean had asked as Armin saw him walking to where the ATVs were outside the new base.

"What do you mean?" Armin asked him.

"I was ordered to head to the coastal city where Historia would be waiting. Five people from the Survey Corps and five people from the Garrison were instructed to meet with her and her advisors on something new that's meant to benefit the fact that there are two worlds in the foreseeable future. Word is that even people Marley and former lands that had been devastated by Marley are getting involved, too. You have any idea what this is about?"

"No."

Once they made it to the ATVs, they climbed on two of them and drove to Paradius City. Whatever the reason they were being told to go there and meet with Historia, it was probably a benevolent reason.

-x-

A month later

"…It's looking like we'll be able to move ahead in due time," said Fuyutsuki to Misato in the Geo-Front after a month had gone by.

"Why does every attempt to do something different that has everyone in mind require a meeting to be scheduled and then everyone that is to be met with have to be gathered in one place?" Misato questioned. "I know it's been that way since the very beginning, but it'd probably be easier if everyone just sat in front of a monitor and used one of those communication systems to converse with one another."

"Something like that replaces the convenience of actual social interaction. I think it was a miracle that Shinji actually made a decision to come back here to make sure that the people that were selected to represent the nations of the other Earth made it back home. I think most people were surprised that he was able to come back at all after being gone for so long."

"I know I was surprised. Even if it's only because he needs to safeguard the young queen…or rather, the young queens that represent Paradis Island and the Titans. Even the man that comes from a massive island with a massive tree protected by a storm wall was surprised to see our world…and he's supposed to be the next king after his father passes?"

"If anything, they're making headlines."

Misato looked down at a newspaper on the console beside herself and read the top page that was written in thick ink: "Young Queen of Paradis Pays a Visit to New World". The picture taken was one from a distance, showing Historia Reiss with Ymir, Shinji and Kaede walking past a crowd of paparazzi that were looking to take the next best photo.

"Only time will actually tell if people from two different versions of Earth will be able to coexist harmoniously," she sighed, "and I want to see such a future happen. With no more Angel attacks and no further need for the Evas, we should be able to focus of trying to save or restore what can be saved or restored. I'm tired of everything needing to be a militaristic point of view."

-x-

"Eren?" Eren heard Mikasa say his name as he sat under the tree on the hill in the land between Walls Maria and Rose, just thinking about the future. "I take it you've heard?"

"Yeah," he answered her. "Everyone's been talking about it."

"Everyone except you, it seems. Are you…fine with Armin's new position?"

"Yeah. It's not like he's even fit for the life of a soldier."

"And how about you? I'm surprised you didn't try to see if you could apply for the position."

"As much as I thought about it, I doubt anyone would follow my opinions. I remember everything that occurred in the previous future that can no longer happen…and now that everyone on Paradis is aware of it, it's only by the grace of Historia that I'm still alive."

"It's not just Historia that you owe your life to. It was Ms. Sogen and your parents, as well. Mostly Ms. Sogen. What is a person that can no longer become a Titan that can see into the future and act on it? Just someone that knows of a future and can't act on it because it no longer matters. That future is just a thing of the past. It's time for you to move on with the new future and plan ahead, for yourself and those in your life."

"And what if I can't?"

Mikasa sat beside him and then took off her scarf and gave it to him.

"Then…I guess I have to make the first move," she admitted, and then kissed him on his left cheek. "I won't let you out of my sight, Eren Yeager. Everyone that had something or someone important to them to lose because of either you, our former foes, or even people like Shinji's father, don't have to worry about what you'll do…because if you ever do something wrong because you just want to change what is out of some sense that it's the right thing to do…then I will make you pay with your life…and I will pay with my own life. So…can I trust you not to misbehave in the future?"

"I don't think I have a choice in the matter, do I?" Eren asked her, and then she held him in her warm embrace.

"Not if we want to see old age in this future, no, you don't," she answered him. "Can you handle that, Eren Yeager?"

Eren sighed as he just gave in. This was simply the way things were now. While in the future he saw, the power of the Titans was removed with his death at the hands of Mikasa, the power of the Titans was now entirely in the possession of a young woman of which the power was akin to her very birthright. The people that either died or were turned into Titans were alive and expected to live to die from old age or sickness. Even people that had nothing to do with the future he saw were suddenly up and involved in this one, and Ymir Fritz, as far as he could understand, had been released from the Eldian Paths by Kaede herself…and by giving her permission to leave…after discovering that the past as he came to understand it was different from what he and everyone else on Paradis and in Marley had been led to believe, indicating that everything they knew had changed, past and future.

"They got a name for what you said about killing yourself after killing me?" He asked Mikasa.

"Seppuku and hara-kiri," she answered, "but when you include murdering someone else, it's just another murder-suicide. If you cross the line, do something that makes people think that you haven't changed your behavior…and I will kill you, Eren. No one else is allowed to end your life except me."

Eren could see that she wasn't kidding. Not if she had the future memories of what did happen between them in the previous lifetime. She just wanted to be with him, and this new future gave her that opportunity to do so. And if this was the way things had to be, he would have to fight her and his parents just to get through each day.

-x-

"Do you really have to go back so soon?" Yui asked Shinji as they stood in front of the portal facility in Nevada.

"Yes, Mother," he answered her, looking at the ship that would take him, Kaede, Historia, and the others back to the other Earth. "It was great to come back here and see how much the world has started to move past the Angels, though."

"I really hope to see you again in the future, Shinji."

"Me, too, Mother."

They were still rebuilding their relationship, but they were already past what Gendo had done to get himself killed months ago. Not even Yui could make excuses for her husband and she couldn't apologize for what happened when his inability to let go of his hatred was what led him to cross the line after everything else came undone. All either could do was move past that time and look to a better future as best as they could.

"So…see you later," she told him.

"Yeah…see you later," he responded.

Shinji then got onto the shuttle and sat beside Kaede.

"I'll be honest, Shinji, I was expecting you to get weepy," she told him.

"No, no," he assured her. "That would be ridiculous of me to do so. I promised I'd be with you, the same as you promised you'd be with me."

Historia looked at the two and found their chatting quite humorous to her; the mere fact that they were able to make it seem like they were bickering was a sign of how much their relationship meant to them. It was just another sign that these two were meant to be together.

"Oh, that reminds me of something," Ymir spoke, getting their attention. "Armin, didn't you mention earlier that Sasha told you something serious?"

"Uh, yeah," Armin replied. "It turned out that her boyfriend, Niccolo, wanted to spend the rest of his life with her…and he asked for her hand."

"He proposed to her?" Shinji and Kaede asked at the same time.

"That's right."

"Heh-heh-heh!" Kaede chuckled. "That's great. I'm happy for her."

"I'm surprised that Sasha is the first person we know to tie their knot with someone," Historia admitted to them.

"Who's next?" Shinji wondered.

"Surprise me if you decide to propose to me, please," Kaede requested.

"Eh-heh-heh. Yes, Kaede."

Ymir had to wonder if she should probably do the same with Historia, proposing to her someday. Once Kaede had mastered the ability to manipulate the anatomy of Subjects of Ymir Fritz, she hoped that when the day came, she could make Historia happier than she was currently. In this new future, she wanted to continue living without any regrets, and this included being with the young queen till they succumbed to natural causes.

"…It'll still be another four or five months before Sumairu will be starting to walk on her own," she heard Kaede say about her sister.

-x-

I honestly don't know what is more likely to happen in the future, thought Yui one night as she wrote in her diary her thoughts on the new plan for coexistence between the two Earths. Everyone is still new to this whole thing, but people with much to gain and lose in this venture don't want to risk it being nothing more than a stopgap when it could be something that ensures prosperity to all. The UN representatives were introduced to the people that would be representing nations like Paradis and Marley, the rebuilding nations that Marley ruined in their long crusade of hatred against any that were either sympathetic to the Eldians or didn't hate them as much…and it seems like old wounds are beginning to mend. And Shinji and Kaede are… Some people at the UN were stunned to see a young girl with natural gray hair…because she seemed rather strange, and then being introduced to her Dark Titan. It's only a matter of time before coexistence is permanently established. All I can do is wait for hope to present itself to the future and show the way to a better state of life.

She then turned her attention to a recent photo of Shinji and Kaede with her. It was mainly due to the fact that her son had no pictures of her and since they were rebuilding their relationship, they should have as many pictures as possible. It had been as Ms. Sogen had told her once, that Shinji was happy now that there were few problems with people and that situations were getting resolved through proper solutions.

Who knows for certain? She thought as she smiled at the photo. The next time I see them, Kaede might have a ring on finger.

-x-

"…Did we miss anything today?" Kaede asked her mother as she and Shinji returned to the apartment.

"Just one thing," Christine revealed, holding Sumairu in her arms in the living room. "Sumairu here has picked up the habit of pulling my hair."

"Gah!" Sumairu babbled, reaching out to grab a lock of Christine's hair and tugged, pulling her mother's head a little. "Gah!"

"Do you…need a volunteer?" Shinji offered, and Christine smiled as she carefully handed her younger daughter to him, and watched as she reached out and grabbed his nose. "Ah! She has a quite a grip on her."

"Apparently, most of the women in our family have a habit of grabbing people at an early age."

"But, Mother, that's a habit everyone does at an early age," Kaede clarified; she had seen various women with small children that would grab onto things and people. "Who knows, maybe ours will do the same…when we're older."

"Keeping an open mind, are we?" Sig asked as he had his left hand over his left eye.

"What happened to you?" She asked, and he removed his hand, revealing a small bruise. "Oh, don't tell me…"

"Your sister doesn't like funny faces with the tongue sticking out."

"Ouch," Shinji reacted. "That's awful."

"Not entirely unexpected, though."

About an hour later, after dinner and more talking about the people from Shinji's world and how there would be more visits between the two planets, Kaede sat down on her bed and sighed.

Are you feeling okay, Kaede? She heard her Titan speak to her. You seem tense about something.

It's nothing, really, Kaede responded, finding herself in the Eldian Paths once more, standing in front of the Dark Titan, who stood as tall as herself right now. People are starting to try and get along with people from afar. I'm just curious as to how life will change. I'm willing to do all that I can to ensure a good future for everyone, but I…I don't want for Shinji and I to be left with nothing for ourselves…and I want us to be able to enjoy our lives enjoy our lives together…when we're together for the rest of our lives. You know what I mean, right?

I do. I know every thought you have inside your head. You fear the unknown, but you still face the next day with a heart full of conviction to not let the bad things in the present weigh down on your future. your future. Even though you have the power to see into the future yet to come, you prefer not to know because you don't have it in you to do anything that will place the people you love, the people you would put your life on the line to protect, in danger. And you feel content with not knowing what will or could happen in the future far from now. With the minor exception of the vision you each received of your shared presence to the people that know you, you get by with dealing with the small things. What is it that makes you content with this fact? I know it already, but I want to hear it from you, Kaede.

Before I realized that the Attack Titan, the Rogue Titan, could act on memories from people yet to possess it, I didn't let the future haunt me as it probably did those that came before me. I care about the freedom of the people, but I also care about their right to a life of peace and prosperity. I was able to get through fourteen years of my life without knowing anything about the future…and I want to be able to get through the rest of my life, however long it may be, without having to be concerned about the people that may or may not do anything wrong to anyone else for one reason or another. I sleep better not knowing what tomorrow brings. To know what tomorrow brings is to no longer see reason to enjoy its possibilities. If you see something that may be a problem, then it could be a problem resolved before it happens, like…if someone is sick and needs medical treatment sooner than later, that's a future crisis averted. Can you see anything wrong in the future, Dark Titan?

All I can see…is that you have a long life ahead of you. You, Shinji, the people of the Survey Corps, the Garrison, the former Warrior Unit and their loved ones, Historia and Ymir, Sumairu, your parents, and…even Mrs. Ikari…because you will tolerate her presence. Just never lose hope in yourself and those around you.

Thank you, Dark Titan.

For you, I would do anything to see you happy, Kaede.

Then, Kaede was back in her room, just in time to be greeted by Shinji.

"Hey, there," he said to her.

"Hey, Shinji," she replied. "Hey, tell me something. Are there any units in this building you like for later in the future?"

"Huh? Well, yes, there is…but why?"

"Just…needing to plan ahead. We're fifteen now, but we'll need to be independent as we near our adult lives."

"I don't want you to be too far from your family, Kaede. If we moved in together, it would be one of the units just down the hall…or on another floor."

"They're your family, too, Shinji. I certainly know that Sumairu loves you a lot. My mother's impressed by a guy that likes cooking, something that most had considered to be a woman's job, you make me smile more than I've ever been able to in the five years after Wall Maria fell. I've smiled more in the past year than I've ever done in five years. You're the reason I can look up at the sky and feel like I'm able to face the day."

Shinji chuckled and appreciated her praise. Maybe when they were of the legal age to live on their own (or even after he proposed to her, something that he really wanted to do, eventually), he wanted to live with her. He wanted to be able to come home to her after a long or short day outside, to see her come home after a day outside, to wake up beside her after a night of sleep, to have dinner with her, all that stuff that couples did when they were married that they took for granted. Days where they could embrace things like that would be days that they could reflect upon everything they went through to get where they were.

I should start looking tomorrow, he thought, thinking of something else that he didn't want to put off for too long; even if they were putting it off until the day came to tie their own knot, Shinji did feel like he needed to get a ring for Kaede. I want to get her finger size, but how do I go about it without her knowing?

Either an engagement ring, a promise ring or a wedding ring, Shinji just wanted to get a ring for Kaede to solidify his relationship with her further. He should probably ask her mother or Sig to cleverly find out her ring size so he could get it later.

"Hey, Shinji," went Kaede as she laid her head back on her bed, "what's your ring size?"

"Huh?!" He gasped. "My ring size?"

"Yeah. I read something once about people getting each other promise rings before engagement or wedding rings."

"And I thought it was mostly men that did that."

"Nope. Gender equality, Shinji; everyone is equal, no matter what people believe. If a man can get a woman a ring, a woman can do the same for a man."

-x-

"What is this?" Eren asked his father, looking down at a small device with a stack of strange, rectangular flat blocks beside it on the table.

"It's called a tape recorder, Eren," Grisha explained; about a week ago, when he went to the coastal city, he came across an electronics shop that had made its living restoring old devices to be used further. "People may be using phones and tablets, but that's old tech right there. People just recorded their thoughts onto tapes when they couldn't write them down on paper. You should use it to record your thoughts on tape when you feel you need to talk about something you can't say to others."

"There are many things I want to say that I can't say to anyone."

Grisha gestured to the tape recorder and suggested he give it a try.

Eren sighed and picked up the ancient device, making sure it had a tape in its slot before hitting the record button.

"My name is Eren Yeager," he uttered into the microphone on the side, "and I remember a future that was different from the future that is now. Except the future I saw was one born of pain and suffering, with heavy losses on all sides, not just the people I had wanted to protect, but in the end…I find that most people that also have recollection of that future prefer the new future because there hasn't been any suffering so massive that it's drove people to levels of despair. People that were known…people that were originally lost to the initial enemy that we knew as the Titans…have either returned to life or died from natural causes instead of being eaten or trampled to death by the Titans. Everyone on the island of Paradis have adjusted to the new normal that is life outside the Walls that they once lived within because of the actions of a previous Titan Shifter that held the Founding Titan, but there still exist a handful of people that live within the ruins of Wall Sina, the wealthy elitists or whatever, that don't believe that the world beyond the Walls is a world meant for any of us. However, things have gotten better as time went by. More than a year has gone by, and people have recovered since then. But it was mostly because of two people that everyone has a future, and neither one had any previous affiliation with the Survey Corps, one of the three military factions that governed the order on the island. The first one to save the people was something of an unintentional and accidental hero of sorts. Kaede Sogen, the Dark Titan. She saved my mother from being eaten by a Titan with a twisted smile, the same Titan I didn't realize until just recently was because of a future I had seen in bits and pieces. I never imagined her to be any type of hero for anybody within the Walls. She was just some girl that was content with life behind the Walls like every other person that wanted nothing to do with the Titans or going beyond the Walls, but a strange girl because she has gray hair, like someone elderly would possess after a few decades of old age. The second person to save us was the person we later came to view as Paradis' Hope from the Sky. Shinji Ikari, an Asian boy from a different Earth where Titans don't exist. He just showed up after the Colossal Titan appeared for the third time in five years since the breach in Wall Maria…and he used his Evangelion, a giant, biomechanical creature that people built to fight against other monsters different from the Titans, and he defeated the Colossal Titan, giving hope to the people. And just a few days later…he carried people to Wall Maria and reclaimed Shiganshina District…and further beyond the Walls to a coastal city that was like a time capsule waiting to be unearthed. These two teens changed everything for everyone. They changed our fates…changed our lives…and changed our future."

-x-

As the sunset disappeared over the horizon, Armin found himself walking down the beach sidewalk with Annie, contemplating what they needed to do now that they were assigned their new jobs, something their respective nations viewed them as the ones best suited to handle. At first, Armin had suggested someone like Connie or Jean, while Annie had suggested Reiner or Bertolt, but nobody else was actually lining up for the job, something that didn't seem to be all that important to them. At least not yet, anyway.

"Why did we get picked?" Annie asked him again. "Why couldn't they find someone else to do this for the two nations? What do we know?"

"That's what I've been trying to understand," Armin responded. "All I'd really do is speak my mind on things and look for the path of least resistance."

"I joined the Marleyan military in order to get a better life for my father and I, only that turned to crap when the leaders decided to let a lunatic try and kill my father. After that, I wanted nothing to do with any other military factions again. What do I know about being a…representative for Marley, anyway? I lived my whole life in an internment zone before I came here to obtain something that is no longer capable of being obtained."

"All we know is…what we do know," he told her. "Who knows anything about Paradis other than the people that live on Paradis? Who knows anything about Marley than the people that live or lived in Marley?"

Then, they walked onto the sand.

"No more wars," Annie sighed.

"I can live with that," Armin agreed with her; they had washed their hands of one war and weren't interested in participating within another one. "Just common sense…and peace."

Annie stopped near some benches and sat down.

"What is peace to those that don't seek it?" She asked him as he sat beside her.

"A stopgap?" Armin suggested. "I've never met a person that wasn't interested in peace over tyranny. Well…at least not in this life."

"A world, any world, without peace…is just Hell."

"We don't want that, Annie. Nobody with common sense would want that."

"But just how many people are there with common sense?"

"More than you think."

-x-

It took her more time than she had expected it to, but Kaede had finished reading the anatomy book she was studying in order to master the ability she now possessed to manipulate the anatomy of any Subject of Ymir Fritz she chose. With that in mind, she contacted Historia and Ymir and went with Shinji to the orphanage village.

"You know, I really do enjoy flying now," Kaede told Shinji as he drove the ATV across the terrain towards the village.

"If we got around all the time because of you, Kaede, what good would I be?" Shinji responded.

"You don't take advantage of people, Shinji. Last time I ever checked, it was just positive and negative exploitation going on. Depending on the past situation, you were asked to do something for a cause. There's the village now."

She was still harnessing her Titan power, but the individual powers, particularly the former Cart Titan, was among the greater benefits due to never tiring after using her power to generate her Dark Titan. Kaede had her doubts that she would ever feel tired now, unless she probably ran a mile or two and didn't catch her breath or have a drink of water. Still, they weren't really in any hurry to get anywhere, so they could enjoy the drive to the village. And whether it was riding on a four-wheeler or flying in the air in plane or on her Dark Titan, Kaede enjoyed her time spent with Shinji.

"So…you really know everything about the human anatomy now?" Shinji asked her as he slowed down on the road.

"That's right," she answered back. "I can alter the way any Subject of Ymir Fritz's body functions or looks. I can remove features or add them. Ymir's the first volunteer in my attempt to alter the body. Practice makes perfect, right?"

"That's right."

They came to a stop and got off the ATV. The people living in the village to help with the orphans greeted them as they walked by.

"It's strange how everyone is feeling at ease after everything that happened not too long ago," Shinji expressed, relieved that the people were relieved, but just finding the peace a little odd.

"It's because nobody's out to get them, anymore," Kaede explained. "The Titans are no longer a threat to them, we're not at war with anyone, and they no longer have to live behind the Walls. There's nothing wrong with the way things are now."

"Yeah."

The sight of some of the children running around the young queen and her bodyguard companion was quite a scene to observe for the two advisers to the queen. And then the kids ran over to greet them.

"You two missed something with Historia and Ymir!" A girl told them.

"Oh, really?" Kaede questioned.

"We saw them kiss," a boy added in.

"Ooh," Shinji responded, "nothing wrong with smooching."

"You and the Queen of the Titans smooch, too?" Another girl asked them.

"Yeah, we do," said Kaede to him. "Jealous?"

"Un-uh!"

Shinji and Kaede looked at each other and thought back to the days where they had to babysit the children of Sig and Christine's friends, and how they were always waiting for the two to kiss.

"You two may need to advise me on how to handle children when it comes to people's personal lives," Historia suggested to them.

"Uh, there's no advice on how to do that," Shinji told her. "Children are curious by nature. Everyone gets curious, poking their faces in the personal spaces of other people, for better or for worse. We can tell children not to go intruding, but whether they listen or not is up to them."

"That sounds like advice," Ymir told him.

"Experience," Kaede expressed.

"Huh?"

"Ymir?" Historia spoke to her, and the older girl had to excuse herself for a minute and left back to the primary house. "Um, Kaede, were you subtle?"

"I thought I was being subtle," she responded; when she was talking to Ymir, she was putting her ability to manipulate the bodily functions of Subjects of Ymir Fritz to work, just trying to affect Ymir as painlessly as possible. "I mean, I hope I was being subtle."

It was three minutes later when Ymir came out again, wearing a different pair of pants.

"Sorry about that," she told them. "I need to go up a size in my pants for the time being."

"Are you in any pain, Ymir?" Shinji asked her.

"Only when I moved around in the previous pair of pants. This…is going to take some getting used to."

"Question," Kaede had to know, "is everything exactly the way it should be?"

"If by that, you mean nothing looks like an extra finger or a toe, then…as far as I know…yes, everything looks exactly the way it's supposed to. Thank you."

"That's good."

"Very good," added Shinji and Historia.

-x-

"…So, I heard that there's some ceremony happening on Paradis Island in a week now," Asuka told Yui as they were in the Geo-Front, about a few months later after the establishment of the other Earth's Senate and UN was made with handpicked people representing their countries. "Is this true?"

"That's right," Yui replied, setting the newspaper down beside her in Central Dogma. "It's just a ceremony to show the world that the Eldian nation has three rulers instead of one or two."

"What happened to make this so?" Asuka asked her.

"The previous monarch of Gigante Island, Voight Fritz, passed away. It was natural causes; he had a heart attack in his sleep. His son, Draven Fritz, has been made the new king."

Asuka looked at the newspaper and saw the picture of the Titan carving that had been taken while on Gigante Island, depicting three rulers representing the nation of Eldia's three embodiments: Gigante Island, Paradis Island, and the Titans. As she understood it, out the two islands, Gigante was the larger of the two, and by far the largest of any island on the other Earth, almost on part with a small continent, and had a tree that surpassed the ones on Paradis due to being much greater in height and in an ecosystem that put people in a bind where they had to coexist with the wilderness and lived in an underground city. And after meeting with Shinji a few times and learning where he stood in all of this, Asuka could clearly see that he was more affiliated with the Queen of the Titans, the third ruler; Historia was the Queen of Paradis and this Draven Fritz was the King of Gigante. Two queens and a king, all affiliated with Eldia and each governing over a different aspect of its interests.

"Who would you support more than the other two?" She asked Yui. "If you had to, that is?"

"Miss Sogen," she answered her, "or Ms. Reiss. They both represent Paradis more so than Gigante, which seems to be governed solely by the king. You?"

"I'd support the Reiss girl; as much as I can tolerate Shinji's girlfriend and his devotion to her, I can't forgive the fact that she still put her foot down on me."

"You're still holding grudges?"

"It's not something you can forgive and forget about."

"Only if you choose to."

"Sumairu is almost nine months old now. Have you met her yet?"

"No. I'm not much of a baby person."

"Maybe you haven't met the right person yet."

"No. I just don't see myself having children at all."

Yui had to give the girl her personal space; she was fourteen years old and was still going through life without having the Eva or the Angels being a major involvement in her life. The girl still had to go through the proper channels of being just a regular person. Even Shinji had gone through the channels, but he adjusted faster than the Soryu and Ayanami girls because he preferred a regular life over a life of warfare. It was not simple for everyone; readjustment was not the same for most after a prolonged experience.

"What do you want to do with your life?" Yui asked Asuka.

"Still working on that," the redhead responded. "Without returning to Germany, probably something in computers or the film industry. Either of those, or I'll just write a book about my time spent as an Eva pilot."

Anything to be seen and heard by the world, Yui thought, wondering exactly how Kyoko's daughter ever ended up the way she did today.

"…When do you think those two are going to tie the knot?" She heard Asuka say to her.

"What?"

"Shinji and his girlfriend. When do you think they'll get married?"

"Oh. That's, uh…probably not until they're of legal age, whichever age that is on Paradis Island. Maybe it's sixteen or seventeen. Probably eighteen."

"Maybe you should ask them what the legal age is."

"Why so curious?"

"I'm not curious."

Yet Yui was convinced that Asuka was curious; if she was asking about her son, it was a sign of curiosity. Trying to pass it off as asking her if she was curious was still the same thing. She wasn't sure what Asuka was trying to get at, though.

"I take it you've heard, too?" They turned to see Misato as she, Rei and Fuyutsuki walked into the room they were in. "About the ceremony on Paradis Island, I mean?"

"Yeah," Asuka responded. "The Three Rulers of Eldia."

"Some officials from here are going to attend," Rei informed. "Is anyone from here going?"

"It's the school break, so there's classes going on," Yui expressed. "It only depends on people's individual motivation for wanting to go there."

"People that apply to go through the portal just to see the ceremony are the ones that have reasons for wanting to go there, political, financial or otherwise," Fuyutsuki stated.

-x-

It was a period of sadness for Draven as he and a handful of people from Gigante came to visit for the ceremony. The look of hurt on his face as he greeted Historia and the others a sign that he was pained by his recent loss.

"My condolences, Draven Fritz," Historia expressed to her distant relative as they sat on the front porch of the primary house in the orphanage village.

"Thank you," he responded as Frenzia placed her left hand on his right shoulder. "When he heard that peace and coexistence had been established between Paradis and Marley, and that Marley was returning the lands taken from the survivors of other nations from over the years, he was very happy to know about this. He was even happy to hear that Grausam Zanki had been defeated and disposed of to prevent him from causing trouble in the future."

"Yeah," Kaede sighed as she sat beside Shinji on the porch across from Draven and Frenzia. "It's been so long since that day."

"You seem to have something on your mind, Ms. Sogen," said Frenzia as she set down her cup of lemonade. "Boulder in your river?"

"You remember that shared vision we all had on Gigante? Recently, I saw it again, despite not having desire to look into the future at all. I don't like knowing what's going to happen before it even happens, unless it's to prevent something awful from happening."

"You're not the only one that saw that vision a second time," Draven admitted. "I saw it late in the night while I was asleep. It ended up making me walk in the underground city all night."

"An all-night walk? Those feel like the longest of nights ever experienced," Shinji expressed.

"Yeah," agreed Frenzia with him, "they do."

"So…what else has happened since we last saw each other?" Draven asked them. "Anything at all? It doesn't matter how small or insignificant."

"Well, young Kaede here has mastered the ancient Founding Titan power of bodily manipulation," Ymir told him.

"Is that so? What has she done with this power since mastering it?"

"Uh…"

"Don't tell me. Her first attempt was a personal service, wasn't it? Something for much later?"

"That's right," Historia stated.

"Hey, nothing wrong with that. Wasn't there a man on this island or in Marley that suffered from a soft bone condition?"

"Oh! Vega Howl!" Shinji gasped, and Kaede recalled him, as well.

"How could I forget about him?" She wondered.

"If you can affect the anatomy of Eldian Subjects of Ymir Fritz, you're not bound by something as trivial as distance. All Subjects of Ymir Fritz are connected to the Dark Titan now, the nexus of all things Eldian. If he still suffers from a soft bone condition, just reach out to him with your will and give him regular bones that don't break like soft bones do."

Kaede closed her eyes and thought of Vega, the former research assistant of Grausam Zanki, a man free from the ravages of war and death, and found him in the most unlikely place she didn't expect him to be in. It looked like a recovery ward in the Liberio Memorial Hospital, and he was being rehabilitated from a recent injury on his left leg. Looking further into his past, she found that Vega had an accident going up a flight of stairs to his apartment, missing a step and falling, causing four of his bones to fracture or break.

Vega Howl, she thought, imagining herself beside him in the ward, placing her left hand on his right shoulder. Stand up proud and walk with bones no different from others.

"Huh?" Vega went, looking around the room he and a female Marleyan doctor were using to rehab him. "Miss Sogen?"

Then, he felt a tingling sensation in his mended leg, and felt the sensation surge through the rest of his body. It felt like a spark of fire or a jolt of electricity, just under his skin, over his skeleton, in his nerves, in his blood, behind his eyes, even under his tongue. Then, he felt like he was able to stand up on his bandaged leg better than he had before he fell down the stairs.

"Are you alright, Mr. Howl?" The doctor asked him.

"Yes, ma'am," he answered her. "I just heard the voice of Ms. Sogen in my head, telling me to stand up. She just gave me bones that won't break easily like before. I am grateful."

Then, he walked away from the walking bars. He smiled happily as he was able to lay down the crutches he used to need just to walk while his leg mended. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was like everyone around him. Even as he flexed his fingers in his left hand, he knew that if something just as bad happened in the future, he'd be back in the hospital, day after day, recovering from something as trivial as a broken leg once more.

"Kaede…Kaede…" Kaede heard Shinji's voice as she was pulled away from Vega and back to the porch with everyone else.

"Heh. I was able to take away his soft bone condition," she told them.

"Bravo," Historia praised her.

"I know he's feeling very happy about that," added Ymir.

"You helped two different people with such a power," Shinji praised.

"Two people…and a few others to go," Kaede stated; there were other Eldians, other people that were suffering from ailments that were treatable by science or the power of the Titans, and the people here could help them live to see old age or their first or next child enter the world. Soft bones, weak organs, frail skin, poor eyesight or hearing. We can help people with these issues so that they're rid of them for years to come.

"…Say, whatever happened with this young man that caused a ruckus a while back when he possessed the Attack Titan?" Draven questioned.

"You mean Eren Yeager," Historia responded. "He's still around, but he's been cut off from becoming a Titan in the future."

"You were able to take away his ability to become a Titan?" Frenzia asked them. "Did he really do something that was so terrible that he was a threat to everyone around him?"

"Once upon a time in a different time," said Kaede. "He was obsessed with being free that he would cross lines that were so unethical that people that thought they knew him best would question every single one of his actions or intentions. But in the end, because everything that has changed is now the new future, he has to live with the way things are and move on, whether he can agree with others or not. The Attack Titan, the only Titan that represented Ymir Fritz's promise to ensure the people's freedom to live in this world, can't function well for those that don't see a difference between freedom and peace…if all they're interested in obtaining is freedom. If you obsess over freedom, then you're never truly free, no matter what you say or do. You're no different from a puppet someone manipulates to entertain others. You have strings, therefore, you're not free."

"But even a puppet without strings is not free if they can't move around," Draven stated. "And yet…we have no strings to hold us down, make us fret…or make us frown."

"In the past," went Ymir, holding Historia's left hand, "one way or another, we all had strings…but we don't, anymore."

"We're free from whatever troubles we had weighing us down," Historia added.

"Yeah," Shinji agreed with them, holding Kaede's left hand.

-x-

"… I didn't expect to see so many people from other parts of the world here," went Toji as he, Kensuke, Hikari, Rei, Asuka and Misato were gathered in the meadow where there were three thrones positioned atop a small stand, each representing a different aspect of Eldia; the throne on the far right represented Paradis Island, the center throne represented Gigante Island, and the one on the left was for the Titans. "How many nations do you suppose are here?"

"Because of the return of the nations," said Misato, "there's probably twenty or thirty nations that are rebuilding with a representative here to witness the ceremony."

"That is true," they heard the Survey Corps leader Erwin Smith say to them as he and a handful of his corps members were present alongside Dot Pixis and his Garrison members. "I take it Shinji is aware that you're here?"

"Yes," said Rei to him.

Meanwhile, safely hidden in a small tent from the large gathering of people, Historia, Kaede and Draven were nervous about being seen by so many people. It was different from when Historia had to assume the position of the Queen of Paradis over a year ago; it was to keep order after her father had been removed from command. But this time, it was to show the people of the world that Eldia was under a new order that promised peace and prosperity for everyone.

"This is so embarrassing," went Historia, pacing around the tent as Draven sat in his chair while Kaede was trying to take her mind off the ceremony by reading a book. "I don't know if I can do this. I can handle being the queen, I can handle looking after children, but I don't think I can do something like this."

"You think you can't do this?" Draven questioned. "I didn't think I could propose to Frenzia the week before my father passed, and I was constantly thinking about it. I was happy she accepted my ring."

"When's your wedding?" Kaede wanted to know.

"Two months from now."

"Please, send me and Shinji an invitation. I've always wanted to see another wedding. We're still waiting for Sasha and Niccolo's wedding day to happen."

"Sure."

"Does anyone else feel like they need to hit something?" Historia asked them.

"Nope," they answered; Draven and Kaede were calmer than Historia wasn't at the moment, but they felt the unsettling sense of being seen by everyone out there waiting for them.

Until Kaede set her book down and got up from the table in the tent.

"Historia," she stopped her friend and fellow queen from pacing any further, grabbing her hands and bringing them up in front of each other. "Breathe."

Historia did as she was instructed to, taking deep breaths, feeling a little better than earlier.

"How do you feel now?" Kaede asked her.

"Terrified," she uttered.

"Because of all of the people out there?"

"It is different from over a year ago. When I asked for you and Shinji to be my advisors, I could handle being around everyone that day. But this is different. This isn't just for the people here. It's for everyone everywhere. And it's not just political. It's… How can we be expected to do right by everyone?"

"We're not alone in this," Kaede explained. "We have each other, and we have the people we love the most in our lives. You have Ymir and Frieda, I have Shinji and my family, and Draven has Frenzia and their friends. We can handle this."

"How is it that you're not so nervous about making a wrong move out there?"

"Ever since I discovered that I could become a Titan at will, all I've ever been is afraid of making a wrong move. After meeting Shinji, after learning about the power of the Titans, that because the curse of Ymir Fritz no longer exists, I won't die because of a negative that was believed by many to befall any that possessed the Titans, I'm not afraid to speak up or make a slip going somewhere. And…people just feel better when they're in love with someone that loves them back."

"Yeah, that's true," went Draven.

At around the same time, in a different tent, separate from their love interests, Shinji, Ymir and Frenzia were worried about how the ceremony was going to go.

"I wish I had a fortune cookie to know how well today was going to be," went Frenzia as she found it difficult to sit down at the table.

"I try not to think about anything," Shinji told her, wishing he had some music to listen to right now. "The less there is to worry about, the better."

"I used to sit in front of a small group of people that needed me to be a figurehead for their beliefs," said Ymir. "This is the same thing, just with more people watching."

"Wait, Frenzia, you have fortune cookies on Gigante?" Shinji asked.

"Even though we're past the petty crimes and needs to possess things, we still like a good hint of fortune every once in a while," Frenzia explained. "I care about what happens to Draven and the people of Gigante, but I want them to be happy and able to enjoy the time they have."

"Same here on Paradis."

"Is there anything that doesn't make us worry more for the people we love?" Ymir asked.

"Just being with them?" Shinji and Frenzia suggested.

"That works, too," she accepted.

Suddenly, a woman stepped into the tent and greeted them.

"It's time, you three," she informed them.

"Thank you," Shinji praised.

-x-

She really wanted to say that none of this really mattered, that she was here to help the people that lived on Paradis because she knew in her heart and soul that it was the right thing to do with the power she possessed. But Kaede couldn't right now. Not when she, Historia and Draven were sitting in front of the people of the world that would know what they stood for in the name of Eldia. The King of Gigante, the Queen of Paradis…and the Queen of the Titans. The praise of the people that saw them, that came to see them, for one reason or another, it was a silent promise between them that they would serve the people to the best of their abilities, regardless of whether they were viewed as incarnate deities or as regular people.

"The King of Gigante Island, Draven Fritz," announced Frieda Reiss to the people bearing witness to this moment. "The Queen of Paradis Island, Historia Reiss."

She could see her family, friends and neighbors and people that were here to support them all, Eren and Mikasa, Reiner and Bertolt, even Agnes Tybur and her mother.

"And the Queen of the Titans!" Frieda had introduced Kaede to the people, and the praise and cheers were louder.

"Nervous?" Shinji had asked her as she turned to face him on the stage as he stood beside her.

"Very nervous," she tells him. "Did you ever think a day like this would ever happen?"

"No, never," he responds. "It feels like a dream."

"It's better than a dream, Shinji. It's real."

Then, just for a moment, within the crowd of people, Kaede saw her father beside her mother and stepfather, smiling at her and supporting her.

"Hey, Shinji," she utters to her boyfriend, "I want to ask you something later this evening."

"Sure," he responds, now curious about what she wanted to ask him.

-x-

"…I don't have any doubt in my mind that they'll make the front page," said Asuka as she and the others were in Shiganshina District late that night.

"I don't think Shinji has ever been in front of so many people a day before in his life like today," Toji suspected as he and Hikari were sharing a drink.

"Do you think he saw us there?" She asked.

"He knows we were there," Rei explained. "Did anyone notice how Ms. Sogen was while sitting on her throne?"

"In what way was this, Rei?" Yui questioned.

"She looks like an ordinary, young woman thrust into a position of power and authority due to an ability or set of abilities at her disposal, and she knows nothing about how to do her job right."

"She has Shinji at her side, and he'll do all that he can to help her when she's in a jam," Misato uttered. "Also, it's be crazy if she and her fellow monarchs didn't know what to do and didn't have the assistance of their friends, families or allies. Everyone needs help sometimes, even the ones that were put in charge by other people that needed them to do the job nobody else could do without making trouble."

"Where did those two run off to after the ceremony, anyway?" Kensuke wondered, referring to Shinji and Kaede, as they went missing when the ceremony ended.

"Probably just needed to be by themselves for the rest of the day," Yui suggested.

"The Queen of Paradis and her bodyguard left at around the same time, leaving the King of Gigante and his lady friend to speak with the people that wanted to talk about what was likely to happen in the future."

"The queens are young, still wanting some time for themselves before they have to be who the people need them to be," Hikari stated.

"Kaede's the youngest out of the three, isn't she?" Toji asked. "I mean, she's Shinji's age, with Historia being a year or two older and Draven being the eldest of them. Maybe she wanted to be alone with Shinji, or they had a dinner date with her parents."

"No, that can't be where they disappeared to," Asuka told him; she saw the gray-haired girl's mother and stepfather with her half-sister, and they didn't know where she and Shinji went off to, either. "As far as I could figure, they don't know anything."

But Yui could probably suspect what her son was up to with the Queen of the Titans, assuming that he was even the one in control of whatever it was they were up to this evening. However, their personal lives were meant to be just that: Personal. If she tried to trespass on Shinji and Kaede's time spent alone together, she would be crossing a line that would risk her relationship with him, and she didn't want to do anything that would risk severing their ties. She needed to respect their personal lives and keep a good distance.

"Missus Ikari," went Misato to Yui, "where do you think they ran off to this evening?"

"I honestly don't know where they could be tonight," she answered her. "I just hope they're having a good time."

-x-

It was strange to be in a hotel in the coastal city, just to hide from everyone for a little while, and it was just that she needed to talk with Shinji about their future. The only problem with being in a hotel room with a view of the ocean was that Kaede hadn't said a word to Shinji after they checked into the hotel. She was sitting in the room with him, trying to find her words to say to him. It was like she was afraid to say anything about anything to him.

Shinji, sitting on the right side of the couch in the suite, was wondering what Kaede wanted to say to him. It was an unpleasant silence between them because neither said anything after checking into the building under the guise of needing privacy from the people. Today had been a great day for the world and he was happy to have been sharing this with Kaede, no matter anyone thought or said. But it was starting to feel like there was something wrong with their relationship because one of them wanted to say something and the other was just waiting for them to speak.

"…Kaede," he started, just wanting to say something to her.

"I saw my father with my mother and Sig in the crowd today," she uttered, finally breaking her part of the silence. "I saw so many people that needed hope out there and reassurances that their future was in good hands. But then, I just felt like needing to get away from them all…just to spend time with you here…and I don't know what we should be doing here."

"We can do…whatever you want right now," he told her. "You wanna talk?"

"I do, but…at the same time…I don't."

"That's pretty confusing."

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't be."

Maybe it her emotions…or even just her hormones (not that she let those make her make a reckless choice on her part), but Kaede just felt like she needed to do something with Shinji.

"Shinji…can I ask you something personal?" She asked him.

"You can ask me anything, Kaede," he responded.

"What did you feel last year when you decided to face the Colossal Titan after you fell from the sky? What were your feelings when you made the choice to protect the people that lived behind the Walls?"

"I… When the Colossal Titan approached me that day, my feelings were…less concern for myself and more for the people that were being attacked by it and the lesser Titans. Back when the Eva only had three minutes of power, I had to put every second into stopping it and protecting the people behind the Walls."

"So…you weren't afraid that you were likely going to die against a Titan?"

"Of course I was afraid of dying, but…I was more afraid for everyone in the Walls if the Colossal Titan had enabled the lesser Titans a way inside like I had been informed it did twice before after I woke up in Trost District later on. Why?"

"It could've been the last day you had alive, Shinji. It could've been the last day any of us had alive. Any time a member of the Survey Corps goes up against a Titan, it could be their last day alive. Every time we go up against someone or something that may be a threat to the people we know and cherish, it could be the last time we get to be alive, to enjoy the things we take for granted, the people we want to see later. I know that risk used to be a part of the job of the Survey Corps before you started helping them, practically eliminating the high mortality rate and now more people were interested in joining the group, but…"

"There's no guarantee that the mortality rate will not return in the future."

"Yeah. And…there's even a chance I wouldn't have met you like I did that night in Shiganshina. There wasn't even a guarantee that we'd meet again here in Paradius City…and that I'd be developing romantic feelings for you. I love you…and I don't ever want to lose you."

Shinji then hugged Kaede and told her, "I don't want to lose you, either. I love you very much."

"Again, I have absolutely no experience in this kind of relationship."

"Me, neither…but that's okay."

Letting go of her, Shinji watched as Kaede got up and walked away from the sofa, leading him towards the bedroom. They might've had no experience, but he was fine with that. He loved her and was willing to go to wherever he had to go in order to be with her, no matter what. There was no right or wrong way to say or do anything when they were both serious about each other.

"Hey, Shinji?" Kaede asked. "Could you place this 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on the front door, please? We don't want to be…interrupted by anyone."

She handed him the sign to hang on the door, and he smiled.

"No, we don't want that," he agreed with her, and walked away to put the sign on the door.

Kaede sighed and took off her boots; even after a year of being outside the Walls and expanding her own wardrobe, she didn't outgrow her passion for wearing boots. Although, after trying to switch to more-regular footwear that weren't so primitive, she became accustomed to this brand of boots referred to as Doc Martens, finding them just as comfortable as her old leather boots. When Shinji returned to the bedroom, she was already in the bed on the left side, waiting for him, dressed in her undershirt.

"I guess we're both restless," he told her.

"Restless," she echoed, "and needing to vent."

Shinji then closed the door behind himself and sat on the right side of the bed…and took off his shoes and socks.

-x-

The sunrise of the next morning was very beautiful, and the people that were up to see it found it soothing to their souls. Especially by the coastal city, as Christine awoke to the sound of Sumairu crying for her breakfast.

"Ah…" She yawned as she got up from her slumber.

"Morning, Christine," went Sig as he stirred from his slumber.

"Morning, Sig. Do you know if Kaede and Shinji returned from wherever it is they went off to last night?"

"No, they didn't come back last night. I checked with our friends, and all they knew was that they disappeared in the city. But I'm sure they're fine."

"That doesn't stop me from worrying about them."

Christine picked up Sumairu from her crib and sat down in her rocking chair, looking out at the ocean and sunlight.

-x-

"…Ah…" Ymir yawned as she found Historia in the kitchen. "What a day yesterday."

"Yeah," the young queen agreed with her as she set down the pot of coffee for them. "Say, do you know where Shinji and Kaede went after the ceremony? I started to worry about them after it got dark out."

"No, I don't know where they went. But knowing them a little, they probably just wanted some time to themselves."

"Yeah, that's true."

The two sat down at the table and helped themselves to a cup of the caffeinated beverage.

"Huh. It's morning, the day has yet to begin," Historia stated, "and I'm worried about my advisors as well as the children. What does that say about me?"

"That you're a concerned person," Ymir told her, setting her cup down. "You care about the people and that concern comes from a compassionate place."

Soon enough, the children came in from their rooms and sat at the table, greeting the ladies that looked after them.

"Good morning, Historia and Ymir," they greeted them.

"Good morning, kids," Historia replied.

"The six of you were really incredible yesterday," one of the boys informed them. "You were like a painting brought to life."

"Really? Why, thank you."

-x-

Eren woke up and walked downstairs to the kitchen where his parents and Mikasa were.

"Morning, Eren," Carla greeted her son, setting a plate of pancakes down on the table.

"Morning, everyone," he replied as he sat down.

"Anyone have anything interesting planned for today?" Grisha asked them.

"I was thinking of going to the nearby lake this afternoon," Mikasa spoke up. "Eren, you care to come with me?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," he answered her. "I have nothing to do today."

-x-

It was a strange feeling, waking up after a night like that, but Kaede found everything different from the previous day. Looking up at the ceiling above them, she recalled everything from last night, up to the point where she passed out. There was pain, not unlike the monthly menstrual cycle she experienced for just a brief period, but unlike the previous times she had recovered due to her Titan power, this pain lingered for a time. It and a pressure or tightness did make her uneasy for a while, but as she turned to see a sleeping Shinji, she was reminded of how it must've been unsettling for him, as well. Neither wanted to hurt the other, but needed to in order to become closer…and being closer, not just physically, but romantically, emotionally… There was nothing wrong with that.

I don't need to see into the future to see us together, she thought as she got up. I just need to be with you, Shinji. For you, I would give my all to ensure us a happy life together.

Putting back on her undershirt from last night, she walked into the bathroom, examining herself in the mirror. She didn't look all that different from yesterday or the day before. Maybe a little taller, her hair slightly disorganized because of last night due to having bed head everyday, but she was still the same. No…she wasn't the same, anymore, and she knew it.

"Huh?" She gasped, noticing a small mark on her neck, right where Shinji had kissed her. My first hickey! Eh-heh. Shinji is very good.

"Kaede?" She heard his voice in the bedroom.

"Over here, Shinji," she called out as she returned, seeing him get up. "Good morning."

"Good morning. Are you… I mean…are you feeling okay?"

"I'm okay, Shinji. How about you? Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Yes, I'm feeling fine."

Until they both heard a growling noise from Shinji.

"Eh-heh-heh!" Kaede chuckled, followed by a similar growling from herself. "We need to eat."

Of course, Kaede didn't have to have them worry about anything they weren't prepared for just yet; her time of the month had stopped affecting her after four days and she told Shinji of this. They were involved on one of her safe days, so there was nothing to worry about. At least not until they were ready for such a responsibility in the future. Still, she could've just daydreamed about such events happening.

-x-

It felt like such a long time since he had ever known despair. But he hadn't known despair until after he was condemned to spend eternity lost in the Eldian Paths. The worst feeling was not being able to see, hear, smell, taste or feel anything around him in this dark place. Not even the sensation of his hands holding the pales of sand registered in his mind, anymore.

I can't hear anything, Grausam thought, no longer recognizing his voice; his speech had long since deteriorated after the imprisonment by Kaede. I can't see anything. I don't even remember the taste of food, anymore.

He tried to move his arms, but the nerves were so numb that he couldn't even feel his fingers. There was even doubt that he could move his legs. If there was light in this dark place, he would probably feel blinded by its radiance. He was losing himself to the isolation of his condemnation.

Defeated by the one person he used to obtain his chance to escape from Paradis, the one person he grew to hate more than anyone else in the world, and he couldn't even remember why he hated her so much. His memories were fading away.

Don't forget, he tried to remind himself with what little sense he had left. Don't ever forget yourself. You're Grausam Zanki. You're Grausam Zanki…Grausam Zanki…

And in the darkness, he faded ever so more, trying as hard as he could to keep his recollection of his name. There was no sense to his diminished perception. He couldn't tell up from right, left from backwards, Hell from Heaven, anything. All he knew, all he could still recall…was that he was lost in the darkness, alone…and wasting away in the abyss.

…Grausam Zanki…

-x-

"Hey, where did you two disappear off to yesterday?" Asuka asked as they saw Shinji and Kaede in the park in the afternoon. "You had most of us worried."

"We just…needed to be alone for a while," Shinji explained, keeping it as simple as he could; nobody really needed to know where they were.

"You'd be surprised at how much better you feel after a few hours away from everyone," Kaede told them.

"You seem different," said Misato, noticing that the gray-haired girl seemed a little different from the previous day. "Did you do something with your hair?"

"Nope."

Yui looked at the young couple, suspecting that something did happen last night, but she decided to keep her suspicions to herself. There was no need to embarrass her son or his girlfriend in front of anyone. It was just a suspicion, anyway, nothing to really raise trouble on. But one that she couldn't help but wonder about.

It's a completely different future for them, she thought, noticing a ring on Kaede's ring finger on her left hand. "Hey, where'd you get that ring?"

"Oh, Shinji got it for me."

"Oh?"

"What?" Shinji questioned. "I'm serious about her."

Hikari smiled, Rei merely bowed her head, but Asuka gave a slight frown; the redhead was slightly jealous of the fact that Shinji went and got his girlfriend a ring.

"Nice, Shinji," Misato praised him.

"Thank you," he replied.

They were all sitting under a large tree, out of the sunlight, just enjoying each other's company before the visiting group had to return to the other dimension.

"Tell me one thing, Ms. Sogen," Hikari asked Kaede, "are your parents okay with you being out late at night with Shinji?"

"Oh, they're fine with us out late so long as we're together," she answered her, "and…it's not a habit that we really do unless there's an emergency that requires our attention."

"Do you think you can give me some advice on how to get Toji to notice me a bit more?"

"Why? I thought you two were…doing well."

"We are, I just… I just want a little spice in our relationship. Some excitement, you know?"

"Like what, exactly?"

"Like…what was usually done in the old days of romance, like spending time in a rowboat."

"Why not do that? I find a rowboat ride to be quite romantic…when romance is the desired intention, that is."

"Have you and Shinji done it before?"

"It's one of the few things we both enjoy in the water. He's relearning how to swim, but he's not so much for swimming as he is for rowing. Either way, I get to spend time with him."

"Hmm!" Hikari grunted.

"Oh, come on, Shinji," they heard Kensuke say to Shinji. "There's gotta be something you can share with Toji to make sure he doesn't blow what he has with the Class Rep!"

"Uh, you do realize that you raised your voice for everyone to hear?" Shinji asked him, and the freckled boy looked at the women.

"Oops."

"Yeah. If I can offer some minor advice, listen to her more. Don't like everything to be impressive. Like what you enjoy, what you'll try for a change, to see her smile at your efforts to be involved in her life."

Shinji was speaking from experience; while he and Kaede had similar interests, they had some interests that were different, but they both were willing to try new things to see how far they could enjoy being out of their comfort zones for each other. He found that he liked rowing, just like she liked hiking, two different activities.

"Okay," Toji accepted; he was willing to try anything to make his relationship with Hikari stronger. "How do you know what to do or say and not what to do or say?"

"There's no manual, Toji. There's no cheat sheet or anything of the sort. It's just trial and error. You just…be attentive. You pay attention to everything, even the things you may not pay attention to. If you're committed to your relationship, everything matters."

And Toji wanted to be committed to his and Hikari's relationship. He wanted it to be a long-term thing, not just a fling or affair. He really loved her.

Yui was impressed by Shinji's understanding of how relationships developed. He hadn't been in school since he ended up here in this world, and yet he was able to understand things just as well as those that were in school. Maybe he had less of an education due to being involved in violence and intolerance towards people of different races or nations, but he didn't let this limit his future here. That was a good thing for him.

He's so different from what had been expected of him to be, she thought, smiling. If you hadn't been so upset with him for refusing to return, if I hadn't left that day, you'd probably be proud of him, too, Gendo.

Shinji turned to face Kaede, and she smiled at him. He smiled back.

-x-

"…The day the Rumbling was intended to happen, the day I made a conscious decision to destroy the world beyond Paradis Island, and the day I lost everything in my pursuit of freedom for everyone by erasing the hatred and discrimination against Eldians, including my own life…came and went…and nothing much happened," said Eren as he sat on a bench in the park in Paradius City, recording his thoughts into another tape on his recorder. "Sasha and Niccolo had their second child. There was no end of the world. People, whether they were from Paradis, Marley, or even just a smaller or larger country, went to work like they always did, building homes, tearing down old buildings, got married, had children, got sick, got better, found reasons to move on. Despite everything that could've happened, everything that I had felt was inevitable because of how things were, I just wanted to run out into the streets, to grab them all and tell them…that every day after this one is a gift that should be embraced and cherished. Instead, I went out with Mikasa to see a movie. That was over ten years ago. But the hurtful future I had originally seen, the one that never echoed itself in the here and now, continues to exist for me…and always will for others that can't forget about it, like the remnants of a terrible dream. But people are moving on, putting the painful wounds of the past behind them, even if it's not in the way I hadn't expected them to."

Eren Yeager, older and calmer, looking at the people around him, recognizing some of them, didn't think some of them would have futures different from what he had anticipated for them. In front of him, at a swing set, he could see Armin and Annie with a little girl with blond hair smiling at them and patting Annie's swollen belly; the two had one child and were preparing for another. It put a smile on his face to see his best friend with such a life.

"Armin helps to resolve conflicts differently than what anyone had expected," Eren continued to record his thoughts into the tape. "He and his wife, Annie, on the battlefield of the New World Senate…where their weapons of choice are simple, understandable common sense…and ideas of hope for everyone."

Further down the park, Eren could see Sasha and Niccolo with their four children, two boy and two girls…and a fifth child on the way, since the woman was obviously expecting again.

"Despite the previous animosity between the two countries, Sasha and a man from Marley, Niccolo, who preferred cooking over conflict, ended up getting married and having a family together. I'm happy for them. I'm happy that Sasha's alive and able to have a family with someone that loves her. And Jean and Connie and Hange, even Levi have settled down with people in their lives. And then, there's the six people that have had more influence from a distance than anyone else in the history of Eldia are the people that ended up keeping the peace for all of us. Historia and Ymir Reiss, Draven and Frenzia Fritz, and Shinji and Kaede Ikari-Sogen. It's impossible to see any other future being as peaceful and prosperous without them being involved in some way."

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" Eren heard a little girl yell to him as she ran over to him, giving him a sunflower, resembling a younger, carefree version of her mother, and he accepted the sunflower.

"Thank you, Rika," he praised her, and looked up at his wife, Mikasa, who had a smile on her face. "I love it."

Because the world as they knew it didn't end because of his actions, after the date it was supposed to happen came and went, Eren and Mikasa had gotten married a month later. It had been a small wedding; not that many people they knew came, but Eren had been surprised when Kaede came to give her blessing to the couple.

"I don't wish for suffering onto anyone," she had explained to him. "If people can feel hope for a better tomorrow, then it's all the more reason to wish them happiness."

"Come play with me, Daddy," Rika begged her father, and he obliged her, turning off his tape recorder to play with her.

The luxury of hope for a better future…was actually granted to me by a young woman that wanted nothing to do with the fighting that I was constantly seeking to get involved in, he thought as he helped his daughter onto another swing. If someone like that can be open to days where people don't have to do anything that endangers those around them when others will try to commit to options that have no potential for hope…then maybe there's truly hope for us all.

-x-

"…Still nothing new with you two?" And older Draven asked an older Shinji and Ymir as he communicated with them on a tablet as they sat in the waiting room of the hospital.

"No," went Ymir as she paced in the room while Shinji sat in a chair, trying to refrain from misbehaving due to his own concerns. "What could be taking them so long?"

"Uh, Ymir? This is the way of nature. Even with science and technology, we can't control everything. Am I the only one still puzzled by the fact that less than a year ago, all three of our wives got pregnant at the same time?"

"Apparently, you are, Draven," said Shinji to him; Draven and Frenzia were set for their third child while Historia, Ymir, Kaede and Shinji were getting ready for their first children. "It's hardly a mystery here. People are happy."

"Ymir Reiss?" A male nurse called out as he came into the room. "Your wife is ready and calling for you."

"Good luck in there," Shinji congratulated her as she left him alone with Draven.

"Draven Fritz, your wife is demanding that you come and hold her hand now," he heard a woman's voice on the tablet as Draven looked away.

"Thank you," he uttered, and turned back to face Shinji. "Give Kaede my praise, will ya?"

"Sure thing," Shinji responded, and the digital connection between Paradis and Gigante ended and Shinji put the tablet back in his bag. Kaede, what's going on in there?

I'm only five centimeters along, Shinji, he heard her voice in his head; despite the years that came and went, their relationship still accounted for a telepathic link, enabling them to keep in touch with each other like how she could track or talk with all other Eldians. Ugh…hold on a minute, Shinji.

Contractions?

No, a cramp in my right foot. The doctors won't let me walk in here.

I should come in there and help you walk around if it helps you, even if only a little.

Shinji, they won't let you back here until after I'm ready to be taken into the delivery room. Even if I told them to, they have strict rules for labor and delivery…until the rules are changed, that is. You know what, I'm risking it. I need to stand on my feet and walk around for a minute.

Are you alone in your room?

Yeah. The nurse left two minutes ago; she'll be back in twenty minutes or less if I dilate any further than one or two centimeters every couple of minutes. So, I think I'm lucky enough to avoid being found out.

I won't tell if you won't, Kaede. Give it a try.

Okay. Here goes.

There was a short period of silence between them as Shinji continued to sit in the waiting room, waiting for when he'd be allowed to come be with his wife to meet their baby. All he could assume was that she hadn't been caught yet and was able to walk freely in the room she was in for just a little while. Hoping that she was doing fine for the time being as he sat there, Shinji just sighed as he looked up at the television displaying the current news on Gigante Island; the storm wall that served as a barrier to protect the island from the rest of the world had diminished in intensity over the last four years, allowing trade ships from other parts of the world to travel to and from the island, even to enable people to see the great tree that was among the oldest known to human history.

Titanus Yggdrasilus had become akin to the Eighth Wonder of the Ancient World and the Sixth Wonder of the Modern World. However, even though it had to be protected against harm, something that was now challenging due to some people that were too curious for their own good always trying to climb up the tree when the vines that served to protect it tended to tangle them and leave them hanging upside-down until the security teams found them later and got them free. Still, it made people from other countries, like the recovering lands of Hizuru, happy to be able to visit a new place and establish new relationships with the locals like their ancestors had centuries ago. And people from the ravaged lands of Shinji's world over time had relocated to these familiar or similar lands in this world to build a new life, something that actually helped with people that couldn't get to places like the States due to their immigration status.

It'll probably be another two years before Hizuru has re-established themselves as a superpower like Eldia and Marley, Shinji thought.

Shinji! Kaede cried out to her husband. It hurts! I think someone wants to meet us now!

Now? As in right now?

Yes! Right now!

Another nurse came into the room and Shinji looked at her.

"Let's get a move on it, sir," she told him.

"Yes, ma'am," he responded.

-x-

"…Aaaurgh!" Frenzia grunted as she bore down again, probably crushing half the bones in Draven's left hand in the process. "Aaurgh!"

"Almost there, Mrs. Fritz," the doctor told them, seeing the head of the child. "One more."

"Aaaurgh!" Frenzia groaned as she pushed again.

-x-

Even without the memories of the previous lifetime as a sort of reference or whatever, Historia, older and not bound to any crazy plans or deprived of her right to refuse any involvement in them, not to mention married to the love of her life, didn't enjoy the pains of childbirth at all. She told Ymir that when they were ready for a second child, she would have it instead of her.

"I see the head," the doctor informed the two parents-to-be.

"Aaaurgh! Ohhhh!" Historia groaned as she pushed again.

There was a silence in her head that was too long for her tastes. In fact, the silence felt more than long; it was like she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

"Wha…" She uttered, finding herself sitting on the front porch of one of the homes in the orphanage village. "What? How?"

"You, too, Historia?" She heard Frenzia say to her, seeing her sitting beside her on her left.

Both women were still dressed in their hospital gowns, but their abdomens, which had been swollen due to their respective pregnancies, were slim.

"Where are we?" Historia asked her.

"My best guess is that we're in the Eldian Paths again," Frenzia suggested.

"Yeah, we are," both women heard Kaede's voice as the third mother-to-be was standing by the front door of the house, wearing the same, pink hospital gown as they were, and her abdomen was also slim as theirs were. "Maybe we just ended up here for a brief moment, letting our bodies take a break from the stress, even if it's only for a second or two."

"Hey, the next time Ymir and I have our second child, I want to be the one to get her pregnant," Historia informed her, meaning it.

"Uh…okay," she responded, unsure of how to react to her fellow queen's reaction to childbirth. "The last thing I remember before I got here was the doctor telling me to push. I find it easier after walking for a bit."

"It's easier after the first time," Frenzia told them, "but walking around helps with the contractions. The doctors wouldn't let you two walk around?"

"They think walking around isn't good for the babies," Historia explained.

"Oh, that's bull. Walking is perfectly healthy for a mother-to-be with contractions. Plus, you two are older, not teenagers, and you have access to medical technology, so there's not so much of a risk of complications arising from labor and delivery. The only risk I have is just bleeding out."

"Why?" Kaede asked her, concerned.

"It's a hereditary issue; my mother and grandmother had it, so it's a risk for me, but I can live with that if it means having a family with Draven."

"I hope that you don't bleed to death, Frenzia," Historia expressed to the older woman.

"Thank you."

"I think we should head back to meet our children now," Kaede told them. "I really want to hold my baby and hear Shinji say whatever he has to say about what it looks like."

"You don't know what you're having?" Frenzia asked her.

"No. But we decided on gender-neutral names; people from Japan have names that are gender-neutral, meaning they're good for boys and girls."

"What names did you pick?" Historia asked.

"Sora, meaning 'sky'…or Rengō, meaning 'union'."

"I…can see people walking around with those names," Frenzia admitted.

Kaede opened the door behind herself to walk into the house…and return to the world.

"What names did you two pick for your kids?" She asked them.

"Draven and I chose 'Adam' for a boy and 'Allison' for a girl," Frenzia revealed. "Historia? What about you and Ymir?"

"Since Ymir and I are certain that we're having a girl, we settled on 'Abigail'," Historia explained; because Ymir was still a girl, just having a male body part necessary for having a family with her, they were positive on the belief that they were having a girl, since it seemed unlikely that they could have boys unless Ymir had done a complete one-eighty, something Kaede needed to do for them.

"You never know for sure," Kaede told them as they got up off the porch. "See y'all back on the other side."

They disappeared and there was the silence again.

-x-

"…It's a girl," the doctor announced to Historia and Ymir as she held up the wailing newborn to the new parents.

The Queen of Paradis smiled with tears in her eyes as Ymir did the same.

After the child was cleaned and wrapped in a blanket and given to the parents, Ymir was stunned by their daughter's looks. The girl had freckles just like her, and strands of brownish hair with bits of blond, like salt and pepper hair.

-x-

"…Adam Fritz," the nurse uttered as she wrote the name of the newborn son of Draven and Frenzia as the new mother cradled him beside her husband.

"How does he look to you, Draven?" Frenzia asked the new father.

"He's just like you," he responded. "He's perfect."

-x-

It was decided by a coin toss…and Kaede won. Their daughter's name would be Rengō; in many respects, she was the result of their love for each other, and she had their features. She definitely had her mother's eyes, but, surprisingly, had her father's hair.

"I think she's got your nose, Shinji," Kaede told her husband, holding their daughter.

"Maybe your ears," he responded, smiling. "I love you, Kaede. I love you and Rengō."

"I love you, too, Shinji."

-x-

"…Really, a girl?" An older Yui expressed as she was on her cell phone with her son. "Congratulations, Shinji."

"Thank you, Mother," Shinji's voice responded over the phone. "Today's been a great day. It's been a great year, too."

Yui had to agree with him. It had been a good year for a lot of people. Looking over at her mantle of pictures she had accumulated since she mended her relationship with Shinji, Yui sighed at the pictures she had of Shinji and Kaede on their wedding day, when it was either one's birthday, or the anniversary dates of Kaede's parents, or even Sumairu's birthday, or some other holiday or event that came and went. It was a life well lived, and she couldn't have asked for more than that. Things had been different from what she had initially anticipated, but so long as Shinji was really happy, being where he was with those he let into his life, Yui was content with how things turned out.

One of the other pictures was of Shinji, Kaede and herself during a dinner party at Misato and Kaji's place after hearing that the two had twins three years ago.

"He has a family of his own now," she uttered, looking at the photo she had received from Shinji of his daughter. "My first grandchild. Precious."

-x-

"Hey, big sis," greeted a teenage Sumairu to her sister as she and their parents stopped by her and Shinji's apartment. "Is that Rengō?"

Pointing over to a small bassinet on the living room floor nearby where Shinji was sitting, Sumairu got a glimpse of her little niece.

"Yeah," Kaede answered her as she let her relatives inside. "You three do know that it's only been two days since we left the hospital."

"We know," went Sig, "but Sumairu wanted to meet her niece…and your mother wanted to meet her granddaughter."

"What about you?"

"You honestly think I can argue with either of them? They always win."

"Yeah, it's no use fighting," said Shinji in agreement with his stepfather-in-law. "The ones we love always win."

Kaede sighed as she shut the door and sat down on the floor beside Shinji.

"Only if we let them win, Shinji," she told him. "Only if we let them."

Christine smiled at the pair and looked at their daughter…but then had to ask a personal and serious question.

"Say, Kaede," she started, "before and after your pregnancy, even during the whole pregnancy…did you ever use your Titan power?"

Kaede looked at her mother and knew she was asking because she was concerned about her; there hadn't been that many women that possessed the power of the Titans that had children during their tenure of being one of the Nine Titans, not even a record of them ever using their power during a pregnancy.

"No," she answered, "not in any major sense, Mother. I could summon the Dark Titan to engage in conversations, but never a full-on transformation or even a partial transformation into a Titan form of any considerable size or mobility. Not even she would permit me to do anything that could harm Rengō."

"Really? Your Titan wouldn't let you do anything that could put you two at risk?"

Suddenly, the Dark Titan emerged from behind Kaede's neck and formed its head to engage in conversation with them.

"I refused to let her endanger the life of their daughter," she uttered. "Even if the risk was minor, I was unwilling to let her go through with any transformation, even if it was to escape a sense of boredom or to help the people."

"Uh, I take it you two have disagreed on that many times?" Sumairu asked her sister and the Dark Titan.

"Oh, we've had our disagreements," they both expressed. "The reasons that were given, even if they didn't make any sense at all."

Christine looked at Shinji, who simply rocked the bassinet and tried to stay out of what was going on here.

"Ugh," he suddenly reacted.

"What?" Kaede and Dark Titan questioned.

"Rengō needs her diaper changed," he explained, and Sumairu got a whiff of the foul odor.

"Ahh," she covered her nose. "I love my niece, but I don't like this bad smell."

Shinji got up and picked up Rengō, taking her down the hall to change her diaper.

"I'll go help him," Kaede told them, and left the Dark Titan in full manifestation at seven feet tall and sitting where she had sat, still connected to each other by a cable of Titan flesh.

Entering their child's room, she shut the door halfway and turned to look at her husband, who had just started removing the stinky diaper, looking at her.

"What?" She asked him. "You know how I feel right now?"

"Yes, I do," he responded, and she passed him the baby wipes. "More than half the time, I was worried about the mood swings; even the smallest things had you feeling agitated, and half of those small things were what you enjoy."

"I haven't been able to fully embrace myself for nine months, and it's partially your fault. I thought the mood swings would stop after we had Rengō. I still feel like I'm upset with you of all people half the time."

"Hormones?"

"I should probably see Hange about them if they're the reason."

"Still, you're the most miraculous person alive today, Kaede."

"Why is that?"

After he cleaned Rengō's bottom and sprinkled baby powder on her, Shinji reminded his wife, "It's been over thirteen years. The Curse of Ymir Fritz no longer exists…and you still possess the power of the Titans. You really have surpassed her."

He was right about that; everyone else in the past only possessed the Titan power for thirteen-fifteen years, having either been eaten or lived the remainder of their lives with fatigue, but not Kaede. No, she had possessed the Titan power for over fifteen years, ever since she was given the original Jaeger Titan Serum by her step-grandfather and became the Dark Titan. While she might've been the only Titan Shifter left alive, she was also the only one to have eliminated the Curse of Ymir by having lived this long and still in possession of her powers. And not only that, but she had a child of her own…and her greatest fear in the beginning…was that any children she did end up having would be Titans like herself, which hadn't been the case here.

Rengō was just a normal, healthy little girl. Ten fingers, ten toes, all her bones and organs where they were supposed to be, and a round tummy.

Tears fell from Kaede's eyes as they put on a clean diaper on their daughter.

"Tell me one thing," she uttered as she closed their daughter's pink onesie up, "can we wait until Rengō here is three before we have more kids?"

"I can wait five years," Shinji told her. "Plus, Rengō here will have us busy until she can walk and talk on her own."

"Ahh…" Rengō yawned, and Kaede picked her up.

"We've been blessed for a long time," she told her, hugging closely.

-x-

"…Oh, my… Whose turn is it?" Historia asked as she and Ymir heard Abigail crying late in the night.

"Mine," Ymir uttered as she got up to see what the problem was.

Eventually, in a month from now, they would need someone to help watch their little girl when they needed just a little time to themselves.

Historia thought about asking Frieda, but her sister already had twins for the last ten years, and she didn't want to burden her with their daughter.

Ding. She looked over at her phone and was reminded that she had gotten a text from Frieda earlier in the day that she hadn't looked at, and took a look at.

"I'm always here whenever you need help," the text read, and Historia smiled.

"Thank you, big sis," she texted back, and Abigail's crying ceased. "What was wrong?"

"She just needed to be burped," Ymir told her as she came back to bed.

"How could I forget to burp her?"

"We're both just getting into this. Nobody's perfect, not even those that are believed to be perfect. We'll get the hang of it."

"Just so you, my boobs are still sore."

"We might need a breast pump later."

"Yeah."

-x-

The Dark Titan, unseen, but ever present in the Eldian Paths, wandered the streets of Paradius City, Shiganshina District, the orphanage village and Yggdrasilus City, checking into the sleeping lives of various people that had futures different from how they had lived in a former timeline. She looked down at Eren and Mikasa, seeing that the woman slept with a knife under her pillow, indicating that she still stood by her promise to deal with her husband if he did something wrong before she turned the knife on herself; it was anyone's hope that Eren would continue to live content with their lives now, especially after his wife told him some very important news earlier. It was still difficult for him to just relax and accept the world the way it was now, recording his memoirs on tapes or just wandering around the island or visiting somewhere now that he wasn't considered a threat to anyone else…but he was adjusting, learning to accept the future that was over the one he originally saw…that wasn't so much of a future fit for anyone.

Then, she looked over at Draven and Frenzia, sleeping peacefully until their son awoke and needed to be tended to. Neither felt more at east than with each other, and in their dreams…was nothing but a peaceful belief that in the future, once the Tree of the Titans that resided on their island home was back to be a friendly location, they would be able to return to the settlement above ground and rebuild. And for a little while, the Titan could see that Frenzia was holding their second child; she was already thinking of having more children in the future with Draven.

Nothing wrong with dreaming about a big family with the one you love, she thought, leaving the little family of three alone to look into the present state of Historia, Ymir and Abigail, seeing that the pretty blond and freckled brunette were almost light sleepers, just waiting for their daughter to wake them up. She's not going to be up for at least another four hours. They should have a blissful sleep for now…until they need to be the parents again.

And then, she walked down the streets of Paradius City, where she saw something that was unusual, even for a Titan. There was another Titan of human size, lying crouched on the ground, flesh and hair shriveled up and its entire body looking like it was ready for cremation…and being looked at by a young woman with gray hair. It was Kaede…and the Akuma Titan, the latter of whom was past its prime.

"I wonder what happened to you?" Kaede wondered as she bent down to examine the Titan.

"You can't help it," Dark Titan told her, "even if you wanted to from the depths of your heart and soul, you couldn't help it."

Of course, the Dark Titan knew what happened to the Akuma Titan, and walked down the street with Kaede.

"Dark Titan…what is wrong with the Akuma Titan?" Kaede asked her, looking back to her step-grandfather's inhuman side that became trapped within the Eldian Paths as he had been by them.

"Grausam's imprisonment here, cut off from the past, present and future…along with having nobody to talk to, even for just a little while…has echoed his own downfall in the form of his Titan. In a way, what has become of the Akuma Titan…is a representation of how both man and Titan…are now beyond anyone's ability to help in any way possible."

"Immortality…and a fate worse than dying."

"Yeah."

Kaede, as much as she wanted to admit feeling sorry for the Akuma Titan, couldn't help but feel revulsion towards it because it was just an extension of Grausam…and turned away from it.

"It feels like it's been a long time since we were here to talk," she told the Dark Titan.

"Yes, it has," the Dark Titan responded. "You look better all grown up. The whole maternity aura around you makes you more mature. You and Shinji really go well together."

"Thank you. The easiest part of maternity were the Lamaze courses Shinji and I went through. The hard part was the childbirth itself. I never thought I'd feel grateful for an epidural to lessen the pain of my contractions."

"Heh-heh… Still, if it weren't for your involvement with Shinji, you wouldn't have Rengō."

"Yeah. You know, I do love Shinji for more than just…that necessary fact of life."

"Eh-heh-heh! I know, you're very expressive and emotional about your feelings for him. You'd do anything for him…and he'd do anything for you."

"Hey, be honest with me, Dark Titan. You've been looking into my future, haven't you?"

"Yes…but nothing that far into the unknown. Even if I wanted to tell you, you wouldn't let me. You like not knowing about what tomorrow brings. To know the future before it even happens, you live in fear of what tomorrow brings. But when I focus only on the events where you get to smile, to embrace life, to be with the people you love…I can't see anything else beyond that. I can't see…agony…or despair… Plus, I've been focusing more on the knowledge of the past than the actions of the world beyond tomorrow. Are you aware of a story called The Last Trial?"

"Sparingly. Why that story?"

"It made me think about the people that were bestowed chances to turn their lives around and how their free will ability to make their own choices decided how their fates were dealt. Those that sought love were granted companions, others that let go of their desires for vengeance were granted peace, and the few that chose to persist in something they know that can end badly for them…can't turn back the clock unless granted forgiveness by those they harmed…because in the end, forgiveness is all they can receive. When I think about it based on individuals in the here and now, I can see how every person that had anything to do with the power of the Titans before you came to possess the fragments of Ymir Fritz's soul split into the Nine Titans were rewarded in their own way."

"Like?"

"Ymir, who gained the Jaw Titan after being a regular Titan for decades, sought love in her new life's future…and was granted Historia. Reiner, Bertolt and Annie, who had the Armored, Colossal and Female Titans, let go of their past feud with Paradis when Grausam endangered their families…and were given peace."

"And Eren Yeager, who possessed the Attack and Founding Titans, felt he needed to persist a little, even after everything that happened…and everything else that didn't happen…faced repercussions that left him almost paying a price for his contempt and misdeeds, but at least he got to live."

"Exactly."

"Can you tell me about his future, at least? It should be a rule to not know my own future, but it's probably okay to know a little about someone else's, even if it's only one thing to avoid knowing everything."

The Dark Titan nodded in understanding and told the woman just one thing worth knowing about the man that was forced to mellow out after he nearly lost his life in his teens.

"He's just going to pass away…after he achieves a great age," she told Kaede, "but I won't say when that will be."

"I can live with that," Kaede replied; that was a scarce bit of intel that lacked any details, so while it was a future revelation, it was an incomplete one. "Do you think I'll need another epidural at the end of my next pregnancy?"

"Only if you want to have as little discomfort as possible."

"I thought as much. Yeah, I'm definitely sticking with the epidural."

But there was something else the Dark Titan knew that didn't need to be expressed…because they both already knew it was bound to happen. When all was said and done, when everyone Kaede knew and loved was gone, she was going to go with them when it was her time to depart this life she had…and all that would be left…was her Titan legacy…to ensure that the people left behind had a future long after.

I will always be around to ensure that the people of the revived Eldian nation have a future of peace and prosperity, the Titan thought as the two continued to walk down the street, heading towards the beach, until the last drop of Eldian blood vanishes from the face of existence. When Kaede, Shinji, their children, Historia and Ymir's children, even Eren's great-grandchildren are all gone, I'll still be around to watch and protect the people from any threat to their lives.

-x-

Epilogue

The future was different after the Evangelion program was shut down and NERV reduced to just a research institute. The Earth with the primary UN where the Evas had been built, through aid from Paradis and Gigante, was able to restore the South Pole and reclaim lost, coastal areas and could rebuild their world. It took a decade, but the results were worth it.

Misato and Kaji, after the trouble with the Angels had been officially ended, along with mending their relationship and moving on with their lives, passed away at the respective ages of seventy-two and seventy-four, survived by two sons, a daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren. They had lived a fulfilling life once the matter with the fear of Third Impact was averted.

Pen-Pen, against all odds due to the average lifespan of a penguin, lived to be twenty-three years old before dying of natural causes, passing away in his sleep. His funeral had been small and attended by everyone that had something to say about him, including Kaede, who admitted to finding the warm-water bird to be an impressive feat of people's attempt to adapt animals to a different climate.

Rei, after a cover story was made to explain herself as being a distant relative of Yui's and therefore a relative of Shinji's, lived to the age of forty-three before passing away due to a genetic disorder she had for a long time that tied into her albinism. This, along with the secret destruction of the Dummy System after the disposal of Lilith and Adam, made it so that she couldn't be brought back for any reason, malevolent or benevolent. She didn't have any regrets or complaints, having lived a life that was longer than piloting the Eva, and got to see a world that was different from the one she knew from a wounded, angry man's perspective. She had enjoyed being invited to Shinji's wedding and only had one thing to say to Kaede that day.

"So long as he is happy with you," she told the gray-haired woman, "I can look past what you are capable of doing that his father desired you for that led him to his death. Ikari-Kun cares about you more than anyone else he has ever cared about, and he will never tarnish your memory or let anyone else tarnish it. All I can say is that whatever it is you do to put a smile on his face…please, keep making him smile…and he do all that he can to make you smile."

One of the things she had enjoyed during her visits to Paradis was eating at Shinji's little diner, something that Shinji enjoyed after deciding what he was going to do with his life after he obtained more capacity to find his own way. If there was one thing she could've regretted on her last day was not being able to taste a meal made by Shinji.

Toji and Hikari had been blessed with twins, a boy and a girl, five years after they had gotten married and settled down. They had a peaceful life in the reclaimed lands of old Tokyo's coastal areas where Toji became a gym teacher while Hikari found employment at a small restaurant.

Kensuke had eventually met with a fellow military otaku like himself and ended up asking her off, a young lady by the name of Ummi Sakuraba, who was studying abroad and was a year older than the freckled geek. It was anyone's guess if they would eventually tie the knot.

Ritsuko Akagi had managed to achieve replication of the Dirac Sea portal that opened to the second universe and enabled further research into traveling between alternate universes. But one day, upon researching the possibility of other universes besides the Titan one, she just walked away from the project, claiming that there were some universes that weren't worth trying to attempt traveling to. If anyone had pressured her into explaining why, they would've gotten a bizarre explanation: She saw someone that frightened her beyond rationale; someone that, to her, looked like Shinji did when he was fourteen, but he had gray hair and dark bags under his eyes…and the worst expression imaginable, one of utter discontent. She just wanted to avoid ever having to meet anyone like that for as long as she lived.

"Some places are better off not being sought after to visit," that was what was written on a note when she left.

Kozo Fuyutsuki passed away at the age of eighty after visiting the other dimension for the tenth time. It was shortly after visiting Gigante and seeing the Tree of the Titans that everyone else had seen over the years. After having seen the world be restored to its previous state without having to be ruined further by the arrogance of people with delusions of divinity, he had a good life. A life worth living, with people and everything.

Asuka, after she had gotten taller and her picture in the media, went on to be a model that was among the top twenty in the world. In both worlds in fact; after the peace treaties and loss of need to go to war with other countries, people from Paradis and Marley had at least two pictures of Asuka to ogle in their free time. Whenever she made time to visit Paradis, she always found time to say something about Shinji and Kaede's family, which was rather odd because she liked their kids more than she liked them.

Eren Yeager, despite the long life he had after being deprived of his ability to access the power of the Titans, passed away at the age of eighty years old, about three years after Mikasa had passed away due to heart failure. They were survived by their three children and two grandchildren; their only daughter had the decency to find someone to spend the rest of her life with after everything that happened. In the end, one of Eren's fears was that he'd be overlooked after he died, that he'd be ignored for crimes he committed in one lifetime and were prevented from happening in the new lifetime, thereby redeeming his soul…but he was wrong. People that knew him and were still alive had attended his funeral and memorial, including Levi and Armin.

They had things, both good and bad, to say about Eren, but they were the truth.

One of the things that had been the most unbelievable things Eren had done…was choosing not to re-enlist in the Survey Corps after his suspension and discharge period ended…and his reason for not returning was that he was just trying to reevaluate his life after everything that happened to him…and everything that didn't happen to him. What Kaede had to say about Eren, also a truth, was that…if they had met once in their childhood…and actually had a conversation about something that had nothing to do with the Walls, the Titans, the Survey Corps or anything beyond the trivialities of their lives…she might've considered him a friend.

"People with different beliefs, opinions or goals will often find themselves in some measure of conflict because they don't see eye-to-eye," she added, "but if they can find a way to meet on equal ground, then maybe they can see a better outcome than the sum of their interests."

Sasha and Niccolo Blouse had five children and ended up living to the insane age of one-hundred before dying peacefully in their sleep. They had a happy and long life together. Sure, Niccolo had been questioned every once in a while why he would want to be with a girl like Sasha…and his answer would always be the same: Sasha liked his cooking and believed in him as a chef and not as a soldier…and he simply loved her. When Sasha had been asked what she saw in her husband, her only response was that she had never eaten food from another place prepared by a chef that knew how to make them…and really wanted a future with a man like Niccolo. They both made it into the history books of Paradis and Marley as centenarians, the latest in people that lived to be a century old (minus those restored to their human form after living extended periods as either Wall Titans or regular Titans), which made them among the eternal to be remembered long after their passing.

Armin and Annie continued to represent Paradis and Marley as senators until their terms ended after six years of service, and their successors had to ask for their opinions in order to do just as good a job as they had. They had settled into their family of four and became closer after the passing of Annie's father. It was odd how they managed to get along after being on opposing sides for such a long time when their countries were at war, and then everything changed when their enemies became blurred by all that anger and hatred. But if they could change one thing from all of that, it would've been to never initiate the attack on Paradis that the disbanded Warrior Unit did in the beginning…and seek a better outcome.

Bertolt settled down with a girl visiting from the recovering nation of Hizuru and left Paradis a year after he got married, so nobody really heard much from him, but those from the Warrior Unit got the impression that Bertolt just wanted to forget about his past after the war ended and everyone was getting along now. Since there were no more enemies for the time being and nations were learning to tolerate one another, there was no need to worry about anything Bertolt might've done. The young man had walked away from conflict and was content to keep away from further violence. When his father was asked if his son had any regrets, his answer was, "Bertolt's one greatest regret was learning that his mother died a year after he left for Paradis to natural causes. What almost became his second greatest regret was losing me to unnatural causes. After hearing that he lost the Colossal Titan, one of my great reliefs was that he wouldn't die because of a drawback of possessing one of the former Nine Titan powers. When he was a baby, he was tiny, below the average height and weight…but he was a fighter. He's still a fighter, just…not like a soldier or a warrior. He's a survivor. He's just trying to survive in a new world that has let go of its hatred and desires for conflict."

Those were truer words from a man that had regretted sending his only son into a conflict with people that they didn't know were just as imprisoned as they themselves had been once upon a time, and truer words for a young man that left to find his own place in the new world.

Hange Zoe became one of the twenty smartest minds on Paradis due to the distribution of lost knowledge after Kaede's usurpation of the Founding Titan from Eren, and was the leading expert on Titans that Marley's former Titan Biology Research Society couldn't compare to due to her fascination with Titans and having a greater clarity on them because of continued assistance from Kaede and her Dark Titan over the years. In addition to this, she became a researcher in the study of treating diseases through the use of Eldian blood, since they were the best likely to develop an immunity to new strains of disease after being exposed when in tandem with the Dark Titan. By the time she had passed away, she was already eighty-four, survived by a son that had inherited her fascination with the Titans. The only thing that was considered a negative with their relationship was how Hange had a child after turning fifty years old, making her son a late-in-life child, but that didn't stop Hange from still doing her job until she was no longer able to.

Kenny Ackerman and Rod Reiss, along with the majority of everyone else that represented the old order of Paradis and Eldia, died in prison from natural causes, between the ages of seventy and eighty. The only positive outcomes from their prison sentences was that they got to live that long, despite the inhumanity of their own crimes of trying to keep the people behind the Walls and ignorant of the world beyond the island.

Frieda Reiss met a man after she had turned thirty and settled down with him in the orphanage village. He was just one of the volunteers that her sister knew, but he was not a troublemaker or a criminal, just a farmer making his daily living helping around the village after the Walls were partially destroyed and Historia was crowned queen. Three years later, after adopting two boys, they had a daughter. Despite being tired by her family every now and then, she still made time to chat with Historia about their respective families and day-to-day routines.

"Is this how motherhood is supposed to make us feel every now and then?" She had asked Historia during a second visit to her house and seeing a pregnant Ymir sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch.

"Tired, stressed, feeling overwhelmed and every other feeling that means you just want a few minutes to yourself and forget that you have children to look after?" Historia responded, handing Ymir a glass of lemonade. "Yes…but it reminds you that this is the life we chose…and I wouldn't change any of this for another do-over."

"That would make it a third do-over," Ymir had added in. "I still have dreams where I cannot believe Historia has me having our second child."

"Heh! You got her pregnant, it's only even that she got you pregnant," Frieda told her, chuckling at these two were in the history books alongside other people that did the impossible or unlikely feats that others believed were either impossible or a sin against nature.

One of the things that they never had to worry about when it came to the structure and order of Paradis' governing body was the royal family's safety and security, since nobody was foolish, suicidal or even interested in going after any members of the Fritz, Reiss or Sogen families; people were more self-preservative and not looking to make power grabs that they would risk inciting another war. Plus, there were already so many with royal blood in their veins that they were enough to fill thirty families, give or take.

As for Shinji and Kaede, of all the people on Paradis, past and future, despite their different backgrounds, the mere fact that they were from different dimensions, their relationship endured all the way to the end of their days. They had three children (Kaede had twins, another girl and a boy, during her second pregnancy, which was a surprise for both parents when they took the sonogram), and later had four grandchildren when their children grew up and left home. It was the day after Shinji's seventy-ninth birthday…that he and Kaede were found in their apartment after falling to sleep for the last time…and while apparently dying from natural causes, the craziest surprise was who answered the door for their children when they returned to see their parents the following day. It had been the Dark Titan, who was now separate from Kaede, disheartened over the death of the two.

Rengō, who had taken over her father's diner after he couldn't cook like he used to, met with the Dark Titan on the beach a week after her parents were buried and had to ask the serious question that her brother and sister, Danketsu and Hoshi, had been wondering how to ask themselves.

"What will you do without Mother?" She had asked the Titan.

"I will do…what I promised Kaede I'd do when she pass into the unknown," she responded. "So long as even one Eldian remains alive, I will be around, ensuring that there is a future for them. I will be around, watching, waiting. When she found out about me, your mother's greatest fear was that she couldn't have a future of her choosing after everyone around her discovered her power. Your father found out that my existence didn't prevent her for having whatever future she desired, which was the future they had when they settled down."

"Yeah, they told me this when I was twelve. I was their miracle."

"You were their first blessing, yes."

"So, you're like, immortal now?"

"It's complicated, but yes…and no."

"You're, what, a decade younger than my mother?"

"Kaede was almost ten when I was born for the first time. Actually, she was nine at the time. I'm practically seventy years old."

"In a way, you're the big sister, Dark Titan."

"When you look at it from such a perspective, but I'm the Titan child. The scariest Titan that could traumatize anybody is a Titan that was once an infant."

"Please, tell me that nobody ever did anything that cruel to any child?"

"No, if anyone was ever found out to have done something that cruel to someone that can't resist or even voice their refusal, they would've faced a fate far worse than death. If they were Eldian, they would be turned into Titans and serve a life sentence. If they were anyone else, they would live to regret such a cruel choice. There is such a thing as a cruel mercy."

"Yeah, being forced to share a room with a Titan that won't let you escape, but won't let you die, either. What makes someone like that do something so inhuman?"

"Those who are heartless…and soulless."

"How will you be able to ensure that people here or…wherever they are…have a future?"

"That's something that only a humane Titan can understand as time goes on."

"Well, I trust you to be decisive and show restraint as you watch over the people."

"If I ever behaved in a barbaric way, I'd be completely different from how I was with Kaede."

"Heh. I think you'll be just fine, Dark Titan."

After that conversation, the Dark Titan relocated to living in one of the Titan Forests on Paradis. She kept watch over everyone no matter where they were through the Eldian Paths; she had eyes and ears everywhere…because she was everywhere there were Eldians, all connected to her as she was to them.

A Titan that cares for the people…is a Titan that will do all in their power to fight for their future, she thought, sitting against one of the large trees, now in her initial form when Kaede was nine, between fifteen and eighteen meters; it was her choice to return to this state as a way of reminding herself that she started to live because of the girl. When it's my time to join you on the other side of this vast existence…we'll meet again, Kaede. You, Shinji, Sumairu, your parents, the Blouses, the Survey Corps, the Garrison, Historia and Ymir, Draven and Frenzia, everyone. I know it in my heart and my soul that we'll meet again. But until that day, I will live for the people that represent Eldia.

Then, just for a moment, in front of her, exactly as she had been when she was fourteen and met with Shinji for the first time, Kaede Sogen stood before the Dark Titan with a smile.

For years, decades, the world has known you as the Dark Titan, she heard her thoughts in her head, but that was just they gave you to identify you when you first appeared. And since then, it was all I ever called you. I never once gave you a name of your own…and I feel I should.

"You don't have to," she told her back.

I do, really. But I could never think of the right name for you. Shinji and I basically settled for Japanese names because they work for everyone, no matter who they were. Man, woman, animal, ghost, angel or demon. Just as a smile holds power, a name also holds power in everything associated to it, who that person is and what they have meant or still mean to those around them. So…what do I call you that has a meaning between us and the rest of the world? You decide.

The Titan smiled and uttered, "Epirōgu. Call me…Epirōgu."

Epirōgu? Why that?

"Where one's tale ends…another's can begin…and carry on into the future. My life…no matter what happens…I will always feel you with me. I will always carry you with me, Mother."

Kaede smiled; for the first time in their relationship, her Titan, her other side that helped to protect the people that she swore an oath to serve when she became Historia's co-ruling advisor…addressed her as a parent. In a way, that was how their relationship started. Whenever she thought about how to comprehend their relationship, Kaede had to consider all of the above; her Titan was her…her daughter, her sister, her friend, her protector, the one thing she thought would mean the end of her life…and later became one of the best parts of her life…even after it was over.

Epirōgu…Sogen, she told her, and the Titan smiled and nodded in acceptance of her new name. We'll meet again one day.

"See you around," the Dark Titan, now going by her chosen name of Epirōgu responded, and Kaede disappeared from her sight. "We will meet again. It may not be for a few generations of so…but we will meet again. We'll all meet again."

Until then, she would be here, among the people she now had to look after to ensure they had a future in this world. She was the Titan legacy of the Queen of the Titans, and such a legacy had big shoes to fill.

Among the graves on Paradis, two stood out because of their significance. These were the graves of Shinji and Kaede. Even in death, people that still recalled their exploits had their memories of what they did to make their lives better. On Kaede's grave marker, etched into the marble were the words, "Kaede Ikari-Sogen. She walked a path in search of hope." And on Shinji's grave marker were the words, "Shinji Ikari. He became the people's Hope from the Sky…and gave Kaede the most hope."

Owari

A/N: What a long journey it has been, everyone. In the beginning, the canon series wasn't going to affect how this story progressed…and later, what became canon only occurred in one other lifetime while in another, different things happened. Different events, different situations, different beginnings and different endings. I hope y'all enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. And don't be surprised if something occurs in another story and you see familiar characters; just because this story has reached its conclusion doesn't mean that it's truly over. We'll see Shinji again, and Kaede and the others, as well, in some form or another.

Until then, keep on searching for alternate takes on what we see as canon…and give solutions that make the characters or the story itself a better one. Give hope to the hopeless, carry light in the darkness, remake the past and future. See ya in the next story.