Creation began on 03-18-16
Creation ended on 07-26-16
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Hope from the Sky: Heart of Darkness and Light
As the Titans he force-fed the salvaged remains of the Dark Titan were forced to back away, Shinji saw them fall as the remnants of spinal fluid laced in the flesh took effect and began turning them back into humans. So far, the strategy to contain the Titans to the beach was working, despite the number of them rising from the ocean being more than the first time.
If I can ration the remains until they stop, we'll be done before anything bad happens, he thought, hoping these Titans weren't as smart as any of the other Titans weren't; as powerful as they were to regular humans, even though with ODM gear, the giant humanoids demonstrated no higher intelligence other than walking around and grabbing at people to try and consume them, something which Shinji could describe as being dumb or retarded in many ways. Thank God they're not actually people able to turn into Titans.
-x-
Asuka had the people of this place running as she approached in her Eva. The buildings and everything in this settlement were completely primitive, which made her wonder how they could've chosen to live here when there was a salvageable city not far from here.
"May I have your attention, please?" She called to the people that were outside, running towards a building that may have been a church. "I'm not here to harm anyone. I just need to know where to find more of these…Titans as they're called."
-x-
Shinji lost count at twenty Titans that he force-fed Dark Titan flesh with to return them to humanity. But so far, the Titans had ignored the people on the hills, despite the fact that Titans were supposed to be drawn to large masses of people. Shinji had suspected that this was likely due to the fact that he was using Titan flesh saturated with spinal fluid, which aroused the Titans to come near Unit-01 instead of the civilians. As he ran back to where the rest of the remains were gathered for another helping to use against the Titans, he guessed that he had taken out at least twenty-six of them.
-x-
The people of the city couldn't believe their eyes. Or their ears, for that matter. The discovery that the return of the Dark Titan had sparked further hope in their future to be rid of the Titans for good, that the giant that seemed uninterested in human flesh possessed flesh that could turn the Titans back into people once they consumed it.
"That boy must've taken out at least thirty of them this way now," a woman in the crowd expressed.
"He's truly a gift from the heavens," added a man.
But, as much as she wanted to speak her mind about the good Shinji was doing, Kaede felt pained by what he was doing…and not because of some misplaced sense of doubt or hatred. No, she was pained because of something else that troubled her…and it felt like someone grabbing at her heart and not letting go.
"Kaede?" Her mother asked her, noticing that she was grabbing at her chest. "Are you alright?"
But Kaede didn't answer her. She was too wrapped in her emotions and memories.
Why? She thought, not feeling that her right hand was piercing her left breast beneath her top. Why?!
-x-
He didn't see any more Titans emerging from the water, and the ones that did were evaporating as the Dark Titan remains took effect with the spinal fluid, forcing them to return to human form. As they fell and shrank, Shinji felt like another calm between this great storm of the Titans from underwater was upon the people now, and that they could enjoy the reprieve from the fear of death.
This has got to end, eventually, he thought.
-x-
They stood in fear of the red giant that was larger than the Colossal Titan and almost like the Armored Titan…and capable of speech. It wasn't a Titan, but they knew it seemed impossible to beat, even if they tried.
-x-
"…You," the man that was the Beast Titan uttered, looking at Bertolt Hoover, escorted by several guards wielding rifles. "I was told you had died."
Bertolt then responded, "That's what I thought. This may not sound easy for you to accept, but we should just cooperate with the people of the Walls."
"You're right, that isn't easy to accept. You do realize the penalty for treason is death."
"I told them all that I know," Bertolt revealed to them. "Who you are, the mission, the homeland, everything. They could've executed me when I told them I was the Colossal Titan, too, but they haven't. At least not yet."
"You could transform and break me out of here."
"No, I couldn't. Even if I could, I've seen that purple giant in action, what it's capable of, and believe it's the reason I'm the way I am now."
"What are you talking about?"
"My Titan powers are gone, Zeke."
"That's not possible. You were turned and you ate someone that could turn into a Titan in order to gain their power. Once you did that, the power becomes yours for life…or until you're devoured by another Titan in order to regain human form."
"Then I guess the purple giant took that power when it beat me, because I've been unable to turn into a Titan, no matter how many times I injure myself."
"Traitor to your own cause."
"It was never my cause to begin with. I only did what I was told. But I hated what I was doing, wanting only to go home."
"We get the Coordinate and eliminate the people of the Walls first! Then, we go home!"
"If you try to change, they will kill you on the spot…and I won't try to stop them."
-x-
"…Other than the minor burns around their eyes, disorientation and the minor malnutrition, they're all perfectly fine," a woman told Levi, referring to the people that used to be Titans that Shinji force-fed Dark Titan scraps.
As the Survey Corps helped the former Titans get their bearings, Shinji, able to enjoy the moment of peace, went looking for Kaede. He felt like he had to assure her that he was fine, but the fact that he was in a city he barely recognized and was occupied by people he didn't even know made finding a girl that he…liked very much very difficult.
"I wish I knew where she lived," he told himself, stopping by a street with a snake-like road leading up and down. "Come on, Shinji, think. Where would you want to meet her at?"
-x-
Kaede awoke, finding herself in her room, recalling only the vaguest bits of what had transpired earlier in the day.
"Ah," she groaned as she got up. "Of all the days, I had to think about him of all people."
She stood in front of her mirror and examined her chest, barely seeing any scars from a self-inflicted injury made earlier.
"What happened, Shinji?" She wondered, and grabbed her shawl to go outside; she had some freedom to go outside now that there were greater methods of dealing with the Titans, particularly the purple giant that Shinji used.
-x-
Asuka had made it very clear what she demanded of these people…and didn't expect them to oblige her so quickly. And all she had to was explain that she had nothing to do with their problems, but wanted the means to have the Titans at her disposal.
After she had returned with a trio of the men that came with her to reclaim Unit-01, the people of this dwelling gave them a case of what would give them all the Titans they could want.
"Give these to a few people, and you'll have your own Titans," a man told them.
Of course, Asuka informed NERV of the discovery, but she would still search for at least two more Titans before making a return trip.
Commander Ikari, however, still wanted Unit-01 returned, as well, as it was still a top priority; whether or not the Third Child was brought back in one piece was up to how the Second Child chose to handle the situation.
As she held up one of the small vials of the Titan Serum, Asuka was curious as to how these could turn ordinary people into Titans.
-x-
Flicker! Shinji looked up and saw a streetlight flickering to life; he suspected that the Survey Corps had found out how to generate electrical energy to restore power to much of the city.
"It feels like a dream to see a city light up," he sighed, and started hearing the murmurs of many people within the buildings that had lights on.
Looking further down the street, he saw more streetlights turn on. He walked under them down the road, hoping he would find Kaede soon.
-x-
Kaede covered her mouth in surprise! She hadn't expected the streetlights to turn on as she walked down the street.
Amazing, she thought, looking towards a hillside and then running towards it. The lights are so bright, they turn half the night into daylight.
Something in her heart told her to come this way, seeing a roadway curving left and right down the hill instead of a straight line. Down at the bottom, she saw a person, but she somehow saw his face from a distance she would've needed binoculars to see, and recognized them for who they were.
"Shinji!" She called out to him.
-x-
"Shinji!" He heard his name being called out to him, and he looked up the snake-like roadway, seeing a person.
"Kaede?" He questioned, running up the hillside now.
Kaede ran down the hill, going the long way instead of staying on the sides where there were stairs located; she didn't know why, but just wanted to get to him at her own pace.
"Kaede!" Shinji called out to her, happy to see her as he ran up the curved road. "Kaede!"
They met up somewhere in the middle, embraced and collapsed on the road.
"I missed you," Kaede told him, crying over his right shoulder.
"I missed you, too," he responded, and then helped her up. "I tried to find you, but I didn't know where to look. I had no clue where you lived in this city."
"I wasn't sure how to find you, either," she expressed, wiping her tears away from her face. "I'm glad we found each other when we did."
-x-
"…So, in addition to at least one of these…Titans she managed to capture without much difficulty," went Ritsuko to Misato, "the Second Child located a community that she made hand over a case of vials that are said to be able to turn people into Titans."
"That sounds crazy," Misato expressed her opinion to her as they walked down the hall back to Central Dogma. "Who'd want anything that can turn people into Titans? From what was seen when we looked at Unit-01's internal cameras and recorded footage, the Titans that attacked Shinji or were devoured by him seemed rather…like mindless animals."
-x-
"…My mother said that there were some friends of hers that called you a harbinger of hope," Kaede told Shinji as they walked down the street. "To be honest, I think they're right. You brought the people hope when you fell from the sky."
"Thank you, Kaede," Shinji told her, and soon realized that they had stopped by a beach.
"What is this place?" She asked him, seeing the waves rush up against the sand.
"It's called a beach," he answered.
"Are there more like this one around the world?"
"Yeah. Some bigger or smaller than this one."
Kaede stopped by the edge of the wet sand and watched the next wave reach up to her ankles.
"It's my first time at a beach, Shinji," she told him.
"It's my first time at a beach with someone I like, Kaede," he told her.
"Do you…think there aren't any Titans around?"
"I just hope to see the Dark Titan again. But…to answer your question, I hope there aren't any Titans for at least a few days. Two or three days at the most."
"Why the Dark Titan?"
"Whoever they are… Whoever they truly are…they may be a harbinger of hope, too. I've heard from some of those that claimed to have seen it over five years ago in Wall Maria when the Colossal and Armored Titans attacked Shiganshina, it appeared and attacked the Titans that got inside. Eren Yeager says that the Dark Titan saved his mother's life from another Titan that was going to kill her before devouring her. They didn't even try to eat anyone, instead focusing on the Titans. I don't know if there is such a Titan capable of defeating over eighty of them, but that's what those that saw it claimed. It's true, Eren's mother still died from internal injuries caused by the Titan that tried to kill her, but he still seems to have some admiration of the Dark Titan, and there's something about it, about them, that allows it to turn Titans back into people again. Whoever they are, they have a power that can help rather than harm. Somehow, there's something about them that can…undo the Titans, turn the clock back for those that were turned. They're a hero in a way, and they may not know it. And…if I should meet them…I'd just want to thank them for what they did for everyone."
Kaede felt like there was some measure of suspicion directed towards the person behind the Dark Titan and expressed, "I'm sure they know you'd want to thank them, Shinji."
-x-
So far, Asuka hadn't found any other Titans within the last two hours (this long feat in the search was achieved through the Eva's improved N² reactor). It irritated her that the only Titan she had managed to capture looked like the Suzuhara jerk. One Titan was not enough…and she believed she knew where to find more.
That Third Child won't know what hit him, she thought, making a return trip to the city Unit-01 was now protecting.
-x-
The sunrise was pleasant for Shinji, but not as much as who he woke up beside on the beach.
"Hmm?" He went, seeing Kaede on his right side, holding his arm and asleep on his shoulder.
Kaede awoke and realized she had been using Shinji's arm as a pillow, and quickly let go of him.
"I'm sorry about that," she apologized.
"It's okay, really."
They got up and walked away from the beach. The morning had only just begun and they needed to eat.
"Hey, Shinji," Kaede spoke up as they walked up a hill that led to the street she lived on with her parents. "You like me, right?"
"Huh?" Shinji responded. "Yeah. Of course, I do like you."
"And…if I were to tell you something that's…very difficult for me to talk about myself…would you still like me?"
This caught Shinji off guard. He knew everyone had every entitlement to keep whatever secrets that they were uncomfortable with sharing about themselves, but Shinji had just assumed that whatever she was talking about that she wasn't talking about had something to do with her parents. Sometimes, he felt it wasn't easy for anyone around his age to speak of their relatives because of something that was just too difficult to share.
"Whatever it is you want to tell me, I promise to accept you, all the same," he assured her.
"After breakfast, then. You should meet my parents, too. They're…probably wondering where I've been for hours."
Shinji then remembered something about how Kaede seemed very defensive about talking about her family. It always seemed like there was something off that she didn't want to reveal to anyone.
Whatever it is, it seems to bother her immensely, he thought, wondering what happened to her that made her so hesitant to share more of her past with him or others.
-x-
"…When we flew over, we saw this location," one of the men told Asuka, showing her a makeshift map of a location several miles away from both the mysterious town and the city the Third Child was using Unit-01 to protect. "If we can find some of these Titans there, we can take them."
"Okay, then," Asuka agreed with him. "Let's go to this place."
-x-
"Hello, Mother, Father," Kaede greeted her parents, introducing them to Shinji. "This is Shinji Ikari. He's the young man I told you I met back in Shiganshina."
Shinji looked at Kaede's mother, seeing that she looked, somewhat, like an older, sterner Kaede, but lacking her hair color and the feeling of repression. Then at her stepfather, who seemed like a nice man, despite Kaede saying that they were never close. He then bowed his head to them.
"Sir, ma'am," he greeted.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. Ikari," her mother responded. "Kaede here has been thinking about you ever since she met you within the Walls."
"Welcome," her stepfather added in. "She's just kidding about that last part."
"Heh… I was with Kaede, along with others of the Survey Corps, on a Naval carrier for several weeks. There wasn't much to do but talk as we made our ways towards an island that had no Titans on it." Shinji explained.
"She also explained that she helped you find out there were Titans living underwater," her mother expressed. "She was the first to see them?"
"Yes, that is true. In fact, it's only because of her assistance that we were able to be forewarned of the Titans underwater."
"Yet, you have no idea just how many of these Titans are left down in the ocean, do you?"
"Unfortunately, no, but we're not likely to see any for a short while."
"Not since that Dark Titan appeared after five years of absence," Kaede's stepfather expressed. "It's strange that it returns so soon after you appeared with your purple giant. I do hope to see it again, though. They did what you do, which is give hope back to the world."
Shinji momentarily flinched when he felt Kaede's left hand grip his wrist.
"Um, would it be alright if Shinji joined us for breakfast?" She asked her parents, and released Shinji's wrist. "We were both out on the beach last night and we haven't eaten anything."
"Yes, of course," her mother answered. 'Please, join us, Mr. Ikari."
Shinji rubbed his wrist mildly and responded, "Thank you very much. And it's okay to call me Shinji."
Kaede looked down at her hand and sighed in dislike of what she did to Shinji just then. She didn't mean to hurt him; she just didn't like much of the talk about the Dark Titan. It was like wishing for something that seemed like too much of a bad thing to be considered good.
-x-
"Not bad," Asuka expressed, looking at the large wall that stood between her and the Titans that had to be inside the lands behind it. "A pity, though."
Within her Unit-02, she made the Eva raise its arms…and bring them back down on the wall, causing extensive damage to its structure.
Unfortunately, what she didn't anticipate from destroying a portion of the wall…was what was under it. A massive being that looked like a skinned human, which then fell to the ground beside her, bathed in the sunlight.
That must be a Titan! She suspected, and believed the rest of the wall was concealing more of them. I think I just hit the jackpot!
To be continued…
A/N: Oh, no! Asuka has discovered the Wall Titans. What could happen next?