Creation began on 06-27-19

Creation ended on 07-17-19

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hope from the Sky: The Strength of Forgiveness

A/N: The showdown between Marco Bott and Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover and Annie Leonhart begins here!

Marco was uncomfortable with this meeting between him and the three members of the former Warrior Unit. It was only because he'd been putting it off for as long as he could out of his fear and anger towards Reiner, Bertolt and Annie. The whole fact that they jumped him and then left him for dead in Trost was something that led to them being outed when it was discovered how Marco was still alive and had been saved by a person they couldn't find, presumably eaten by one of the Titans prior to Eren using the boulder to seal the breach made by Bertolt when he was the Colossal Titan. But here he was, getting set to meet with these three that nearly killed him through a mindless Titan, trying to move past this matter for good.

"Well, sit down," he told Reiner, Bertolt and Annie as he sat at the table in front of them.

Bertolt was the first to sit down; ever since he lost his Titan powers, he lost any ideas of rebelling against the Survey Corps or any of these people that lived on the island. Even after learning that his father had been exsanguinated almost to death by Grausam Zanki, he had no intention of laying any further violent hands against them; since the man that turned himself into a Titan Shifter and exhibited behavior that befitted most Marleyans that hated Eldians had been exiled and buried alive at the bottom of Titania's abyss, his father's attempted murder had been avenged along with those of the other family members of the obsolete Warrior Unit.

"So," Marco uttered, "how's life on Paradis been for you three?"

"Different from what we used to know," said Annie to him.

"Cars that can run of electricity," went Reiner, "body armor that be made light and not hamper your mobility, small planes that can fly faster than a train can run and buildings made with hardened Titan flesh. This island is… It's a stronghold, haven and marvel all in one. And we had no idea that this city existed here because we never bothered to look at it."

"It's a one-eighty," added Bertolt. "We used to be primitive. Now we're modern. My father's trying to find employment as a connoisseur, something he couldn't have done so long as he lived in the Liberio internment zone."

"What's a connoisseur?" Marco asked him.

"An expert on taste, someone whose opinion on how a food dish or a beverage tastes makes a big impact on how others see them."

"I don't think we used to have any of those here. What about you, Annie? What is your father up to on Paradis?"

"He's not in any condition to do anything beyond what a veteran usually does, which is whatever," Annie stated, implying that she didn't know what a man her father's age was likely to do with his free time since she'd been here for over five years.

"Reiner?"

"My mother spends her time at the community garden," he explained. "My aunt and uncle found employment at a pastry shop, and Gabi… Gabi just spends her time at the park and at a swimming pool. It's still a shock to not be needing to fight anyone for citizenship here…or how there are no walls to isolate people. If I had known this was going to happen one day in the future and I'd be around to see it, I would've… I wouldn't have done what I did back then just to get out of the internment zone."

"Not many people can say for certain if we were ever going to end up finding a city by the water or getting helped by a young man that fell from the sky with a giant of his own. All we really know is that…we're here now…and we can only move forward to keep from going back to our days in walled cages."

"Yeah… Marco, about that day in Trost… It was my fault you almost got killed. I was focused solely on the mission to retake the Founding Titan as soon as possible so we could leave the island and return to the continent. I was trying my hardest not to care about the people here due to being taught the people of Paradis being loyal to the rule of King Fritz, willing to throw their lives away to protect him. But I didn't care about any of that, just getting the Founding Titan and going home. I thought that the breach in Wall Rose would force the king to act up and protect his people. Still…none of that changes what I did to you."

"The whole 'leave no witnesses' method is just cruel, especially when the witness in question has no idea what's really going on. After you three left with my ODM gear, I thought I was dead, but then a stranger wearing our uniform appeared out of nowhere and saved me. I haven't seen the guy since then, but he was right about changing everything by letting the others know who you were. He never said anything about whether or not I should forgive you, but forgiveness is something that only people can do to be free from their hatred of the ones that hurt them, however minor or major their crimes are or were. Those that can't forgive…can't escape their hate that spreads like a poison in their souls. The only thing my mother ever told me about forgiveness being a strength…is just having the strength to forgive, to be released from all hate. So…I'll forgive your transgression towards me that day. There's too much hate in the world to think about wanting to get even or revenge, neither of which settles nothing in the end."

-x-

"…So, he just forgave you three for almost killing him," Gabi asked Reiner during dinner with the family, "just like that?"

"He said that those who can't forgive can't escape their hate," he explained to them.

"He's right," said his uncle to him. "Earlier this afternoon, we looked at this…film about a man that was bitten by a spider and gained powers…and there were three scenes relating to hate and forgiveness. The man was a hero to atone for his failure in letting a criminal escape which led to his uncle's death, and he was carrying this anger that drew an alien goo to him in the night, turning his costume black and making him more aggressive than normal. In the end, he forgave this other man that was responsible for his uncle's murder when he realized that he wasn't intent on murdering him; he only wanted the man's car and was trying to save his dying daughter. The scene was beautiful when the sandman dissolved and floated away; there was no indication that he died, but it showed that he himself had been freed from the hatred he'd been carrying towards himself ever since that day."

"That does seem beautiful," Reiner agreed with his uncle.

-x-

"Tell me, Annie," Arnold Leonhart spoke to his daughter as they ate dinner together, "how does it feel to have Mr. Bott's forgiveness?"

Setting down her taco, the former Female Titan responded, "It feels like I have one less person that hates me. One less person, one less regret."

"Yeah," he agreed with her.

"I'm glad you're still alive."

"Likewise. I'm glad we're not in the internment zone, anymore."

"It's not what I had expected Paradis to be…but it's actually better than life in the internment zone. No walls, no prejudice, and we can go wherever we want on the island without a permit."

"This coastal city is much larger than the districts that make up the former Walls. Most of the population relocated here while several others built coastal villages across the other side of the island. If we can get Marley to agree to real peace between us and themselves, then…we can go anywhere without being persecuted or discriminated."

-x-

As he was getting his blood drawn for preservation for later use, Bertolt sighed as the nurse stuck his left arm with the needle and filled the empty bag.

"How was your day today?" She asked him.

"Not bad," he answered.

"Just another day in Paradius City?"

"Yeah, helping around with either the Garrison or Survey Corps, learning about what was once the advancement of technology and seeing my father more."

"Sounds like a very active day."

"Not that active…but I'll take this over what I used to do anytime."

-x-

Marco could've spent his entire time going through the list of people that either joined the Survey Corps or Garrison, and there was still doubt that he'd ever find the guy that saved his life from the Titans that came upon him in Trost. So far, nobody had even met a person with dark skin before; some people didn't even think it was possible for people to have different skin colors before they knew about other people from the rediscovery of the existence of other ethnicities and the discovery of the Mix-fits' village on the edge of the island. It was a bizarre occurrence to have met anyone with skin that was any shade other than the ones on Paradis, and there were hardly any moments when they were gathering the Eldians from the internment zones across the world did they see anyone that was of a different ethnicity that wasn't an Eldian.

The man saved my life…and I don't know who he was, he thought as he felt he exhausted all possibilities in finding the guy.

There was no other way he could believe that he'd still be here to this very day were it not for the man showing up. Maybe a ghost come back to save one person or just an act of God, but Marco felt indebted to the man.

"Who are you?" He asked himself as he looked down at the sketch he had made of the stranger's face. "Who were you?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," he remembered the man saying to him after he saved his life and gave him a spare ODM gear for him to defend himself and expose the former Titan Shifter enemies. "It doesn't matter who I am."

Even if it didn't matter who the man was, Marco really just wanted to see the guy again and give his thanks. It probably wouldn't have meant things had changed if he hadn't had his life saved or that the Walls would come down, but he just would've felt better if he met the guy just to express his gratitude at being able to see the next day.

To be continued…

A/N: Probably not what many of you were expecting, but surely some of you could get what was being stated through the Spider-Man reference that aided in this chapter. Now, there's a clean slate for Reiner, Bertolt and Annie. Let's hope that they can keep it that way. I don't believe I ever took it into consideration before, but how are the people that are saved by my Brother Correction character affected by their anonymity of his identity; some people know who and what he is, but others are kept ignorant of him. I didn't mean to do this to Marco intentionally, but I was more concerned with saving his life than explaining who saved his life. Maybe one day, I'll revisit the scene and resolve this matter, but only after the current matter at large is resolved for good. Peace.