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. Bonus lemon chapter now uploaded.

82. Mending Relationships

Creation began on 11-04-20

Creation ended on 11-13-20

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Hope from the Sky: Mending Relationships

A/N: Marley is about to be on the waking end on a path to recovery.

Ymir was a woman of few secrets now that there was little reason to be suspicious or suspected of whatever there was to be suspicious or suspected of, but one of the fewer things she was known or suspected for…was regretful of certain things. Her relationships, in particular, were among some of her regrets. When they stemmed from memories of a future that could no longer happen, replaced by the present that was brighter now, she had this look on her face that made some of the orphans question if she was upset about something. In truth, she was upset, but it was mostly because her own faults, not those of others, even if theirs were, more or less, worse than her own.

It had been three days since the dismissal of Eren Yeager from the Survey Corps and his penance given by Historia and Kaede, made to be unable to become a Titan in any way possible unless undone by the latter girl, with or without permission from the former girl. And around that same time, Grausam Zanki was dealt with permanently by Kaede, as well, ensuring that he would never return, no matter what happened. The people had been informed and they could move on, but Ymir still had that lingering regret because of a recent nightmare she awoke from this morning. It was a memory that likely belonged to Historia, belonging to that undone future caused by Eren, and it was as though she felt herself in her place, in anguish with everything that was happening around her.

Ymir…Ymir… She could…hear her thoughts as she felt the unborn child in her womb struggling to get out of her, not thinking about the people, whether they were of Paradis or of Marley, but thinking about the former Titan Shifter that had left her to save her from the enemy. I wish you were here with me!

Sitting on the front porch of one of the houses, the bodyguard of the queen couldn't shake off that feeling, as though it were actually happening to her instead of her…her friend, her queen, her first love, her everything.

"You've been rather quiet since this morning," she heard Historia's voice behind her, seeing her on the porch, holding two cups of tea. "Are you alright?"

The young queen sat down beside her bodyguard and companion, setting the cups behind them…and waited for a response from the former Titan Shifter. It didn't take long for her to receive a response from Ymir…in the form of a hug and the sounds of sobbing.

"Ymir?" She questioned, confused.

"I saw you suffering," she heard her say. "I left you…and you suffered, years after."

Somehow, Historia got the impression…that she knew exactly what Ymir was speaking of.

"That can't happen, anymore, Ymir," she assured her. "That's…that's in the past now. It's just a memory, something we can choose to forget about. It can't happen…and won't happen…because you're here."

Ymir let go of her and nodded in agreement with her.

"There's still Marley," she reminded her.

"Shinji and Kaede are taking care of that with the Survey Corps right now," Historia informed her. "Armin, Annie and even Bertolt and Reiner volunteered to be among the Titans that would be used to restore their ravaged lands."

"You really believe that Titans can cultivate wastelands?"

"A Titan that can talk, move in ways that defy the laws of physics, reach heights that rival great buildings, regenerate from injuries in the blink of an eye, form hardened structures from its own body…and move through time and touch the hearts of everyone connected to it…is a Titan that can change things for the better."

Ymir chuckled at that belief, which was a truth. A Titan that could do all of that and more…was one that could change things for the better.

"And last I checked," Historia added, "Kaede is still brushing up on human anatomy, something that will come in handy later on."

"Oh! I can't believe you went there!" Ymir gasped.

-x-

In addition to the volunteers, the Survey Corps was overseeing the return of the Tybur women and several of the Marleyan military, including Clavi and Theo Magath, both of whom had to help ensure that the war ended when the carrier and Eva arrived in Marley. After losing the majority of their military forces, being captured, let out for a day pass, visiting the fabled Gigante Island that held the remarkable Titanus Yggdrasilus…and discovering that there was more to the royal family of Eldia than what Marley had been led to believe, including the revelation of self-loathing and deception that led to a major stagnation between the two nations that needed to cease, starting with the hatred.

"Are you looking forward to this war ending?" Erwin asked Calvi as the Eva activated and began to levitate the carrier.

"Yeah," he answered, even though he didn't sound excited as he should've been. "Can your Titans really restore life to desecrated lands?"

"That's what we're going to see. If it was done before in the past, then we'll be able to see it again for the first time in a long time."

"Forgive me if I seem uninterested, but if this feud can end because of your use of the power of the Titans in a different way… I wouldn't mind returning to my home and picking up my old chess set."

"You play chess?"

"I never really cared much for it, but my father used it as a teaching method regarding war and battles. I never really played it for anything less than that."

"I played Commander Pixis in the game. He still owes me a drink."

"You played chess…for just a drink?"

"It's not conflict. Chess can be played for fun, for a drink, for escapism…or something else."

Calvi found such a prize to be…just unusual and worth laughing at.

"Heh…heh-heh… Heh-ha-ha! That's hilarious! I wish I had done something like that."

Soon enough, the carrier was raised from the water and moving into the air.

Kaede, inside the island section of the carrier, sat in a small room reading a different version of the study of human anatomy. It was different from the previous book; it skipped the introductions and told you exactly what you needed to know about the human body, male and female. Now that she was getting a better insight on human anatomy, she could manipulate the bodies of any Subject of Ymir Fritz with better clarity in the future. She could change someone's eye color, hair color, give them an extra hand, regrow a lost limb or organ, or, unlike the initial attempt she made with Ymir, alter the physical and biological functions of a person to give them functions they didn't originally possess.

Knock-knock! She looked over at the door to the room and saw Sasha with Connie, holding a small bowl.

"Hey," greeted Connie to her. "Armin said you'd be here."

"Yeah," she responded, holding up her book. "Needed some privacy to wrap my head around human anatomy better."

"I hope you have an appetite," went Sasha, holding the bowl. "Shinji had this prepared for you before we took off. He called these chicken dumplings wrapped in seaweed."

Kaede chuckled as she got up from the table and walked over to them and accepted the bowl of dumplings. She hadn't eaten since breakfast this morning and had done something in her sleep that affected life on the island, simply because she could do it…and because Historia had asked her to try, which ended up affecting her appetite. Prior to waking up, she had dreamt of that day Bertolt Hoover, Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhart had attacked Shiganshina, allowing the Titans to get inside and turn their lives into a living Hell. In it, she was separate from her Dark Titan, seeing her emerging from near the houses beside the wall, just in time to watch the Smiling Titan, Dina Fritz, attack the Yeager house, about to pick up Carla Yeager…and affected time once more.

By forcing Dina to slow down in her actions, her Dark Titan could grab her Titan and break its limbs and throw it down the road. This had enabled Carla to be rescued while Kaede stayed hidden by the fact that the fleeing people weren't paying attention to the breach. The Titans still coming through ignored the girl as she approached the Smiling Titan.

Dina Fritz, she thought as she raised her left hand to the Titan's face. Regrow your limbs, dig a hole and bury yourself in it, and wait for me to call you.

She stood back while the Smiling Titan regrew her limbs and got up…and began to dig a hole.

It was also this very morning that Kaede learned from Mikasa that, just like with Grisha Yeager and his sister, Faye Yeager, Carla Yeager was alive again, recalling events that were now different due to her involvement, explaining how she had been saved by a Titan that had dark skin and hair, and she could now keep Eren in check with his negative behavior now that he was relieved of his ability to become a Titan and discharged from the Survey Corps. With Historia's permission, she would use the power of the Titans to change the fates of as many people from the past as she could, before and after the breach, but because it was limited to the people that originally possessed it before she did, Kaede was bound to moving through the memories of members of the Reiss family, Grisha and his sons, the former Warrior Unit, and members of the Tybur family, as they were closest to the times they were used to before she brought the Walls down and their entire culture was restored, piece by piece. Although the power of the former Attack Titan played a significant role in this action, it was still her methods employed that enabled a greater use of its ability to transcend time.

As she placed a dumpling into her mouth, Kaede sighed at how the flavor was remarkable. Once again, Shinji was a master at his culinary skills that made those of the Survey Corps appreciate his abilities.

"Hey, Kaede, is it true about what you can do now?" Sasha asked her.

"What is true?" She responded, confused; until she knew what anyone was talking about, the girl didn't know how to answer whatever question she was asked.

"You know, that you can…walk through time?" Sasha reiterated.

"Oh," Kaede reacted, "to a degree, and only through those that had the Titan power before I came into possession of them."

"That's amazing," Armin stated; while each former member of the Nine Titans had remarkable abilities, because they were all possessed by the Dark Titan, it just made these different abilities more potent than they were when divided. "But wait a minute, doesn't it ever hurt, being able to move through time the way you do? I know that you were able to bring back Dr. Yeager and Eren's mother and even his aunt, who's now younger than most of her family due to the twenty-plus gap, but do you feel pain when you change events like that?"

"No, I feel fine," she answered him. "I know people are concerned, but I promise, I'm fine. It's not…affecting my judgment or anything."

"It's not your judgment we're worried about," he explained. "You're still young…and you should live a long life when we're through with Marley. You and Shinji must have your own plans for the future, right?"

"Yeah…we do. What about you two? Any plans for your futures?"

"After receiving more memories of the other lifetime," Sasha expressed, "I really want to meet that guy I met from the Marleyan military. Niccolo. Even if nothing better happens, I want to see where we're likely to go if we have nothing else to make us fight any further."

Kaede smiled at Sasha's desire to see this man that, in the other lifetime, had once been a soldier…and then a chef…and maybe something more to the passionate carnivore with the bow and arrow.

"What about you, Armin?" She asked the petite boy.

"Based on what is, what was…and what won't be," he responded, "I still want to travel the world, to see everything from the eyes of someone that walk away from the life of a soldier, to know what's out there…and who's out there."

Somehow, Kaede had the impression that Armin was thinking about something more than just the thought of traveling around the world. If anything, and it was probably because of the collective memories she could access that belonged to every Subject of Ymir Fritz, past, present and future, she suspected that Armin was thinking about Ms. Leonhart. It wouldn't have been a bad thing…if such feelings were mutual. She had to believe that it was possible that the pair, as with any other pair, whoever they are or were, could get together and talk about their relationship, whatever it was or could be.

"Here, you two, have some," she offered the two some of the dumplings. "Today's supposed to be a good day."

Sasha helped herself to two of the dumplings while Armin helped himself to one.

"Mmm… Shinji's a master of what he cooks," Sasha stated.

"Yes, he is," Armin added.

-x-

"…So, in the end, neither of you made any attempt to let him know that his mother was alive," went Misato to Asuka and Rei after they returned to the Geo-Front, "even though neither of you was ordered not to say anything?"

"He was happy," Rei explained. "He is happy. Even if he was told about his mother, he just watched his father commit a suicidal move against him out of spite. He should be allowed to adjust to the reality that his father is no longer around before anyone decides to spring the revelation that his mother has returned."

For once, Asuka had to agree with the albino girl; they did see a bunch of people die, either by their own hands or because of their own foolishness. It had been a small-scale war, full of people from this world that were on the run by the world governments, seeking power and vengeance against anyone that betrayed them or was seen as an annoyance, and Shinji was just another cog in the machine that couldn't be manipulated any further and had to be removed from the system, even though he was already removed from the system in a different sense. And when she had asked him prior to their departure back to this world about how he was really feeling about his father's demise, she was almost bothered by the fact that his response was very to the point and that he wasn't completely over the fact that his father was now dead…but would get there in his own time. In truth, she had expected Shinji to be an emotional wreck after witnessing his old man get reduced to a smear on his AT-Field, but he just focused on what he felt mattered more than himself, and that was protecting the people of Paradis who these rogue men and women could've harmed for their resources.

"What do you think?" She asked Misato.

"Personally…as much as I feel he should know…I don't want to be the one to have to tell him," the woman expressed.

"I don't think it matters who tells him. Eventually, he's gonna be told the truth."

"But will he strong enough to accept it?" Rei asked them.

Neither woman answered; neither was sure how to answer.

"What was he doing last before you two left?" Misato asked instead.

"Keeping the peace," Asuka answered.

-x-

The Marleyan port of Acier had seen little activity due to the lack of military personnel and loss of it Eldian population in the internment zones after they had been taken by the Eldians of Paradis Island. There weren't even people with small boats to fish on let alone people fishing on the docks.

"Hey," went a woman on one of the docks with her husband, just sitting there, staring at the ocean, "what is that?!"

They could all see it. It was a large ship, much larger than the ones Marley had built years ago, with a large being behind it, floating in the air.

"It's those people from that island again!" A man yelled, dropping his knapsack and running away. "They're gonna destroy us!"

The people dropped what they were doing and fled the port; nobody wanted to be at the mercy of the scourge of Paradis now that the military might of Marley had been severely crippled beyond recognition. If the Eldians decided that they needed to dispose of their erstwhile adversaries, just to ensure that nobody would ever try to echo what happened in the years before, they wanted to get away from the potential mayhem.

The large carrier and Eva stopped progressing further and landed in the water, several meters away from the port.

"Well, that's quite a way to make an entrance," said Jean as he and the Survey Corps looked down the flight deck at the people fleeing from them.

"The sooner they're informed of what we're here to do," went Armin, "the better and they can relax. But will they listen?"

"They will if we tell them," expressed Theo Magath; he just wanted to get this over with so that they could put this war behind them.

As the Eva waded over to the other side of the carrier, Kaede had grabbed a rope and repelled down from the ship onto a nearby rowboat, followed by Bertolt and Reiner.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Reiner asked Kaede.

"I am up for this," she responded. "The question is: Are you up for this?"

"I wouldn't have volunteered if I wasn't, Ms. Sogen."

Dropping into the rowboat, the three rowed over to the nearest dock and climbed up the steps. The rest of everyone else on the carrier released a boarding platform that attached to the ground beside it and stepped off.

Inside the Eva, Shinji noticed the civilians still running down the street, fearful of their presence.

I hope they'll listen to us, he thought as he stopped in front the port.

Kaede walked out onto the street and got the attention of many Marleyan men.

"Are you an Eldian?!" One of them demanded from her.

"I am!" She answered, and they backed away.

"Go away! You already destroyed our military! What more do you want?!" Another man told her. "Are you here to trigger the Rumbling?!"

"The Rumbling? No, that's not even necessary! We're not here to fight!"

"Then what do you want?!" A third man yelled.

"They're just here to help!" They heard Calvi's voice over a megaphone, getting their attention. "The war is over! Marley has lost! This hatred against Eldians and any nation that associates with them cannot progress any further! It has to end!"

"How did the war end in favor of Paradis winning?!" A woman demanded.

"They're not bound by a feud that was instigated generations ago by our ancestors…and don't live with desires of global warfare or domination! Our shared history with the nation of Eldia goes deeper than we realize!"

One of the Marleyan men slowly approached Kaede and looked more closely at her.

"I don't understand how you Eldians think you can control anything," he told her, still clearly full of animosity.

"We're not trying to control anyone," she defended. "We just want peace between the two nations. Peace has been long overdue."

"What can you possibly offer to seek peace?" Another Marleyan man questioned her.

"How much of the wars do you know about? How much do you really know about?"

"We know that Marley has been the greatest of all the nations in the world," another woman expressed. "Marley's military was unrivaled…before going up against you Paradis folk."

"But did you know about the attrition as a result of the conflicts?" Kaede asked them. "The dwindling of resources as a result of the increase in military propaganda and imperialism?"

"What?! What are you talking about?!"

"It probably hasn't affected you yet, but in twenty years or so, everyone in Marley will be facing a crisis caused by the military powers that exhausted your resources or destroyed the resources of other nations."

"What?! But that's ridiculous! After the defeat of the Mid-East Alliance, we obtained plenty of resources to last us a lifetime!"

"For a few thousands of people, maybe, but not everyone. War causes death and destruction, and both reduce resources by means of attrition. Uh, reduction through destruction. You have a farm or forest where you harvest food, but when a fire starts and spreads, it consumes the space and everything in it. The fire gets taken care of, but there's not much left to harvest, and then something else happens that reduces what you have left further."

Kaede wasn't sure if her attempt to explain the situation their country had was even having any intended effect on the people. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain it to them in a way they could understand.

"You people are sending yourselves into another war!" They heard Shinji's voice from the Eva as it loomed over the buildings by the port. "Your military's consumed the majority of your resources to attack Paradis and other nations sympathetic to the people that live on the island! In a few decades, twenty years, at least, you're all gonna run out of food and fight each other!"

Well, if that didn't get their attention, I don't know what will, thought Kaede as she sighed.

"That thing's lying, isn't it?" Another woman asked Kaede, and she nodded in the negative.

"That's what we're here to prevent," she explained.

"Hey, it's members of the Tybur family, over there!" Another man shouted as Anastasia and Agnes Tybur walked into full view of the public with the Survey Corps.

-x-

Sometimes, Yui wasn't sure how to go about with her days now. NERV was now maintaining control over the dimensional portal in Nevada to prevent unauthorized travel and causing disorder between the order structures that existed. What remained of SEELE was, more or less, dead when they were dealt with by the Evas. Her husband, dead as a result of trying to get revenge on their son simply because he made a choice to reject any possibility to return to this world in favor of protecting the people there. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with her family being broken.

Maybe if she had simply spoken with Gendo about their Shinji's refusal to return, convinced him that it was better this way to let him pursue his own future instead of being treated as some kind of messiah for the human race, but she wasn't sure how any conversation would've gone. Most people didn't understand Gendo, and those that did had a hard time trying to convince others that he wasn't such a bad person, which consisted of just herself, and she wasn't really able to convince anyone that he was a good man. And then, there was Shinji, who really only seemed to see his father as a monster and not as a person, and their relationship just deteriorated until there was only contempt on the son's side…and disappointment on the father's side…that grew into spite towards how the son was able to just walk away from what NERV was tasked with doing. She couldn't hold Shinji responsible for Gendo taking his own life; their son chose the people of Paradis of his own volition and her husband was upset that he was affiliated with a group of people that were originally seen as primitive and, over the following months, became more modern and somewhat better than they were because they were trying to get back in touch with the world that had gone on without them.

There really was nothing left for them to say to each other, she thought as she walked through the Geo-Front, reminiscing of the years past. There was nothing left for either to say to each other…and Gendo didn't even tell him I was back. Why didn't he tell him?

"I take it you're having a hard time processing all of this?" She heard Fuyutsuki's voice behind her as she turned to face him.

"Shinji doesn't know I'm alive," she told him. "Will he ever?"

"Do you…want him to know?"

"I…I don't know how he'd react to that."

"He is helping people, just not here…and he's having a greater impact with Ms. Sogen."

"Yeah, Ms. Sogen… She's still not what I expected from a girl of her status."

"The fact that she can become a Titan at will…or that Shinji discovered she was related to the same family as Ms. Reiss?"

"I don't know, anymore."

Yui seemed to be at a crossroads with her feelings regarding Shinji's relationship with Kaede. Was she to leave it alone and allow the two teens to pursue their future together…or dare she intervene out of some misplaced sense of protecting her son from his own girlfriend? It wasn't even that she disliked the Sogen girl; they didn't even have one conversation together. She was just…fearful of her Titan and its abilities. How do you disregard the fact that your son was involved with a girl that had powers that made her a god among mortals?

-x-

With the influence of the Tybur family after Anastasia and Agnes were able to get in contact with Willy Tybur, the Marleyan military was able to spread the word that the war against Paradis was over in favor of the people associated with the island winning due to their combination of the Titan powers and their ally that came to their rescue…along with other factors that led to their victory. While some of the civilians were inclined to just accept their loss, most had no choice when it was revealed that the war against other nations and people that either had different opinions about Eldians or just lost much contempt towards them had cost much in resources, threatening to spell doom against the whole nation in twenty years due to exhausting their own to produce their weapons against their enemies. And now, here they were with the aftermath of their hatred against Paradis' people, who have come not to boast of their victory, but to help save them from the end they had unknowingly brought upon themselves, using their very power to restore their lands, starting with the places ravaged by warfare. Differences had to be set aside, new bonds needed to be forged…and the hatred had to end.

"My God," Kaede sighed, looking at the large patch of land that existed on Marley that had been abandoned early on in their path to global domination. "This is just awful. It's just awful."

Inside his Eva, Shinji agreed with her at the horrid sight of this ravaged land that they were told was due to infighting between rival factions that resulted in a fire spreading across the former city that, to him, had to have been the size of the land behind Wall Sina. This was where they would begin their reforestation operations and enable Marley to cease whatever hate they still possessed for Eldians.

"The damage caused by the destruction of this place was so bad that not even weeds could grow here," went Hange as she examined the soil in front of the Eva. "It's completely contaminated. Are we even sure we can restore it all with Titan flesh?"

"That's what we're going to find out," said Erwin as their Titan volunteers began to spread out across the ruined land, and then he raised a flare gun up into the air ten minutes later, once Shinji had confirmed that everyone was spaced out a good distance from each other.

Bang! He fired the flare, and Kaede saw the green smoke that was the signal to begin the operation to aid.

Her Titan markings formed on her face and she reached out to the volunteers spread across the land, feeling them connect with her.

"Become Titans," she uttered, "larger than the Colossal, your flesh full of vigor that will replenish the life in the ground around you as you fall."

In front of them, there were several dozens of explosions from over one-hundred-eighty volunteers, be they members of the Survey Corps, the former Warrior Unit of Marley…or even regular civilians that weren't affiliated with either military. As smoke clouds dissipated, there were countless, brown-colored Titans that were each seventy meters in height, much larger than the Colossal had ever been. Each member bore absolutely no resemblance to the people they were deep down.

"Walk around the ruins and shed your flesh," Kaede ordered them. "Restore life to the ground."

At her command, the Titans began to walk around the ground, their flesh shedding bits at a time, falling to their footsteps as they covered every inch of ruins.

From a safe distance outside of the ruins, Marleyan citizens watched in awe as the massive Titans they feared for decades that resided somewhere on Paradis walking on their land, but not to destroy them, but to help them. It was a scary, fearsome…and at the same time, a remarkable sight, watching these giants repeatedly trample the grounds of the ruins that they couldn't resettle on because the foundations were useless. Even the sight of the Eva standing by was a fearsome display of potential brutality.

"And now we wait," went Erwin as the Titans continued to walk around the ruins, looking less fleshy and thinner.

"Yeah," agreed Hange, raising up her phone and taking a picture of the Titans.

-x-

"…Oh, Mrs. Sogen," went Karina Braun to Christine as they were both out on the street, carrying a bag of groceries. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing fine, Ms. Braun," she responded as she turned to face her on the sidewalk. "I heard your son was heading back to Marley to volunteer for the operation to restore the ravaged lands."

"Yes, that's true. Your daughter, she went with him, yes?"

"That's right. You must be proud of him."

"Yeah…I am proud of him. Oh, look at you, you're starting to show a little."

"Yeah, that's… It's my second after my daughter."

"Do you know what you're having yet?"

"No. I'd rather be surprised, just like when I found out with Kaede."

"I… Is it alright if I ask you one thing about your daughter?"

"Feel free."

"Is she…going to be alright when this is all over? I mean… I don't know if she's not bound by what was stated to be the drawback of the Titan power when it's possessed by people, but…"

"You mean, the Curse of Ymir?"

"Yeah."

"There's no Curse of Ymir, anymore. Kaede can be expected to live a long life, just like everyone else that had the power before her. Provided they all just do what everyone else to stay in shape."

"Oh, thank goodness. I never really asked Reiner about it, so I was worried."

"I don't think there's anything to worry about…except how we choose to face the next day and how we think about the previous day."

"Any…weird cravings?"

"Just bagels…and the occasional sauerkraut."

"Heh-heh! I don't think I can stomach that."

"Yeah…everyone has their strange craving that isn't for others."

"So…um…have a good day."

"Yeah, you, too."

The two parted ways and Christine took a turn towards the beach, just to watch the waves again. She had to believe that Kaede and Shinji were doing fine over in Marley; there was no way that she could just believe that they were having some measure of difficulty with the people there if they were informed by the remains of their disgraced military along with the Tybur family, the Eldians that had conspired with Karl Fritz back then to instigate the failed slow-motion genocide of their people, which wasn't going to succeed after what her daughter revealed to her. If anything, they were probably facing a minor stopgap at best…and she had to believe in her daughter's ability to do what the people from the past had done with the Titan power, which was amazing. To build bridges and cultivate wastelands, such things would've been seen as a dream that was beyond mere mortals.

Except we are mere mortals, she thought as she listened to the waves crash against the sand. We're seeing things beyond ourselves happen every day.

Suddenly, Christine saw a pod of humpback whales swim by, with three of them splashing around. She was in awe of them as they were still around, and hoping that they would still be around in the years to come.

"Maybe one day, you'll get to see them, too," she said to the small bulge in her belly.

-x-

"…Are you sure you're feeling alright?" Kaede asked Bertolt as he, Reiner and Annie were among the volunteers that were restored to human form after six hours walking around the whole place, dropping bits of their Titan flesh all over to reinvigorate the ruins, handing him a bottle of water.

"I'm fine," Bertolt responded, "just thirsty. Were we really large Titans for over six hours?"

"I think if we were doing the Rumbling, we might've trampled this whole section of Marley in less than six hours," Hange told them, passing another bottle of water to Annie.

"I'd rather not go there, thank you very much," Annie expressed, sounding upset as she drank the water in front of them. "I felt I was in a hot spring for a long time."

"Well, with the exception of minor dehydration and irritation, you're all gonna be alright," a civilian volunteer from Paradis with medical knowledge informed them after checking several of the people that had been Titans for six hours to walk around the ruins. "They just need to drink more fluids and get rest later."

"Yo!" They heard Connie's voice as he and Jean returned from a recon survey of the area. "You're not going to believe this! The ruins where the Titans walked around and shed their flesh over… Grass and other types of plants are starting to sprout from the ground."

Shinji, who was also present in the tent with them when they were informed, looked over at Kaede and then went out with them to see the results of the operation while there was still sunlight in the sky.

"Whoa," he went as they saw bits of grass growing everywhere, even on the sides of destroyed buildings that still managed to stand at least one story from all the walking the Titans did. "I like what I see!"

Kaede bent down to scoop up a handful of the dirt and grass, smiling at how beautiful it all seemed right now.

"This is amazing," said Hange as she picked up a handful of the dirt and grass. "This dead ground has been revitalized and is already showing signs of life returning to it."

Putting the handful of dirt back on the ground, Kaede dusted her hands off and looked up ahead at the rest of the ruins of this former city that was now germinating with new life. But this was still only the first step out of many more that had to be taken. There were other parts of the world that were ruined by Marley that needed to be salvaged through the power of the Titans, but Kaede was now confident that they could heal these places, too.

"I don't think I've ever seen anything green grow on anything that was ruined since before we left the Walls," she expressed with a small smile.

"I don't think anyone has," added Shinji.

-x-

Eren knew Kaede had affected the past once more after changing the fate of his father, but he couldn't hate her for this. Not when her actions had more benevolent outcomes than any his could've ever had. And with his future memories of the other lifetime, he found that many of his decisions were not as promising as his older self probably hoped they would be; he was having a difficult time adjusting to everything that was going to happen, so angry at what was going to happen, regardless of what anyone else tried to do, and that he was going to try and echo those choices in this new lifetime that was a blessing, a clean slate…simply because he was too stubborn to let go of his rage. Even with the power of the Titans, he never tried to influence events for the purpose of protecting the people, not even to prevent the death of his mother once he realized that the Titan his father had possessed could receive memories of events yet to transpire, something Kaede could do with less hatred.

His mother was alive and well, no longer a memory, no longer a ghost. And the craziest of all…was how disappointed she was in both he and his father after the truth of what their actions had nearly led to, breaking their family up. It wasn't every day you find your mother upset about you joining the Survey Corps and then getting discharged due to a poor sense of judgment and an attitude problem that wasn't resolved for years even before joining. And it was not a happy reunion when your mother expressed disappointment in your lack of restraint and nearly getting killed by a madman that was just as temperamental as you were.

She is never going to let me hear the end of it, he thought as he walked down the streets of Paradius City after excusing himself from the hospital where his father was recovering from his five-year-long coma as a result of being chewed into instead of simply devoured by him. But she's alive again, and that's a good thing.

As he walked beside a shop with several mirrors, he stopped and saw his reflection. Or rather, what used to be his reflection. In place of his teenage self was his adult self, full of spite and malice towards the world that he let consume him, his hair longer and almost at his shoulders, dressed in a black coat and white shirt, his eyes cold and distant.

I can't believe I look so…so inhuman, he thought as he turned away from the mirrors. But my future has been rewritten, so I can't do anything like that ever again.

His dismissal from the Survey Corps was not dishonorable, instead just being a general discharge due to his misbehavior. If he could refrain from any further misbehavior, he'd be permitted to rejoin the corps in under two years. During this time, he had to do something else with that branch of the island's military closed off for the time being.

"You know, you can always talk to me, Eren," he heard Mikasa say behind him, reminding himself that he wasn't walking alone on the street.

"Do you think my sentence was a good thing?" He asked her, wanting her opinion.

"Yes," she answered. "People feel safe this way…and they know you're not a threat to them."

"But I wasn't even going to…"

"It doesn't matter. So long as you were still able to become a Titan or Titan Shifter, that made you susceptible to being a threat to the people. Still, Ms. Sogen can change that if she chose to or was asked to by Historia. But…sometimes…just knowing the truth isn't enough to quell people's fears of what could've befallen them or not. Your status as a former Titan Shifter, unable to become a Titan again…puts everyone at ease…including me."

"You, too, Mikasa?"

"You have no idea how much your previous status as a Titan Shifter had me concerned when it was revealed you were the Rogue Titan that appeared in Trost District, when Armin told us you were eaten by a Titan. And then you turned up in one piece. Because even if you hadn't survived that day, I can't imagine the thought of burying you. To this day, I still can't. Even if by some miracle, Ms. Sogen continues to change the past to better the present, I can't envision a day where you do end up getting buried. So…embrace that you get to see each day while you're alive. I don't need to worry about a day where you end up upsetting the wrong people and causing problems all over again. Accept your freedom here…and be content with it. Stop being in a rush to die."

When she walked away, Eren wanted to argue that there was a difference between freedom and being in a cage, but saw the Dark Titan in place of Mikasa…and the Attack Titan when it was possessed by his father, standing at human size.

"You don't enjoy anything unless you're the one making an impact on others," the Dark Titan stated to him. "But the impacts you wished to have on others were not benevolent. Not with anger…and not with violence."

"But subtlety never pans out with peace talks!" Eren defended.

"They never pan out…because you don't put in the effort or faith," the Attack Titan supported the Dark Titan, sounding like his father. "You have read the old story about the people that unleashed a great fire upon the world during an unjust war that was before the rise of Eldia. The great fire was unleashed in anger…in order to ensure that another great fire could never be unleashed in anger again. Those that hold onto their anger…have their judgment forever clouded. There's a reason why the Attack Titan failed with you."

"Failed with me?"

"You were unwilling to let go of your anger, even when it was unnecessary," the Dark Titan explained to him. "You held onto it for years after the fall of Wall Maria, you refused to let yourself embrace change, the possibility of peace without the need for conflict…and thus made the Titan representing Ymir Fritz's promise of freedom to the people of Eldia, regardless of who they were affiliated with, unable to embrace its full potential to ensure peace to go with freedom. There is no freedom without peace…and there is no peace without freedom. If you feel you must take other's freedom to ensure your own will not be taken, that makes you the aggressor, not the victim, and you weren't the only one that was being manipulated by people that sought to take what was on Paradis. Look around you…and tell us what you see."

"What is that supposed to…"

"Look around you, Eren Yeager!" The Attack Titan yelled at him. "What do you see?!"

Eren looked around him and saw a city by the water.

"You should take the time to look around the island and then reevaluate what is here," the Dark Titan told him, "because even if things had been echoed because of your actions, I wouldn't let your temperament endanger Kaede and all she holds dear."

"But you're a Titan," he countered. "It makes no sense for you to value individuals over the whole race."

"Not to you, but to those that can see with more clarity, that aren't afraid to embrace their emotions, I can make sense pretty clearly. Kaede Sogen is my primary concern. Always has been…and always will be. Everything I do to ensure that the people of this island have a future, including you…is because she deserves a future, as well, free from all these foul attitudes and hateful hearts that see each of you as a threat. If she can smile without it being forced, if I can use these powers that have been reunited after generations of separation and being wielded by thousands of Eldian men and women to help her help the people, then how I feel…is based on how Kaede feels. If she's happy, I'm happy. If she's depressed, then I'm depressed. And if she's worried about the people she wants to protect, fearing for their safety…"

"…Then you worry about her because she's worried about others. You know, you're not her mother, if that's how you think."

"No. In a way, she's mine, and I'm just the kid protective of her because she needs to live a full life. Any life that has fear of the unknown and is deprived of the social bonds is not a life that is embraced to its extent. You should take this time to find out what is important to you besides freedom. The last time Kaede was ever informed, you seemed to have Ms. Ackerman and Mr. Arlert in your court, and both still want to believe in you being worth more than your temperament. When was the last time the three of you even took a day off to just be a bunch of kids and wander around? I don't believe the three of you even enjoyed time off after Shiganshina District was reclaimed and rebuilt after Shinji aided in getting y'all back there in less than a day, something you three were thoroughly impressed by because of his Eva, the first sign of hope you people felt in years because it was a being that couldn't be harmed by the Titans…and could eat them as an energy source to extend its power reserves. Even Shinji and Kaede enjoy their off days to reflect upon the good things that have transpired. And one of them…is their relief that you were fortunate enough to survive what Grausam Zanki tried to do to you. It's not every day you get thrown by a Titan with intelligence that intended to murder you because of what another version of you chose to do in a future that is no longer possible. By all accounts, you should've died that day. But many claim it was a miracle that you didn't, including Mikasa and Armin."

"How do you know about that?" Eren questioned.

"She's connected to all Subjects of Ymir Fritz," the Attack Titan told him. "She knows enough about everyone."

Then, the Attack Titan walked past Eren.

"Take a step back," it continued to tell him. "Reflect upon what is and cherish what you have and who is involved in your life."

The Dark Titan turned around and walked away, too.

"As this is a time for trying to build bridges instead of walls…or trying to tear them down," she told him, "you should try and build relationships further. Adjust to life, enjoy it. You have your whole life ahead of you now to just throw it away for something unnecessary."

Before he could say anything to her, the Dark Titan had vanished, and all he could see was Mikasa walking away from him.

"You have your whole life ahead of you now to just throw it away for something unnecessary," her voice repeated in his mind.

-x-

"…Do you really believe in these people?" Another Marleyan general in the military asked Calvi and Theo, regarding the revelation that their country had lost the war against Paradis Island and now had to accept their aid in order to prevent a different war from breaking out, as they were engaged in a private conversation between all the military officials and the Tybur family. "I mean, if they're capable of turning the places we can't use because they're too far damaged into new forms of land that we can grow more food on, I'd appreciate it, but…do any of you believe in them?"

"They could've killed us when they met us after the battles ended and they gathered up the survivors," went Agnes to them, "but they chose not to. I mean, even when they had every right to finish us off because they found out about how much Marley despises them, they chose not to drag the war any further."

"And that city that has been empty since before the Great Titan War has been repopulated," Theo stated. "Paradius City… The whole place looks like new after several months."

"We stayed away from that city because we were told it was unsafe to be around," another official from what remained of Marley's naval forces stated. "The closest we ever go to there is just to cast off Eldians we turn into Titans at that coastal wall we throw them off of."

"After they left their walled domains, they destroyed that wall," Calvi told them. "It just represented a dark piece of their past they wanted to erase and build over with something else."

"So many things to worry about," Willy expressed. "Whatever happened to that Grausam Zanki guy that revolutionized the monopoly of Eldians in the internment zones?"

"He was disposed of a second time after he was disposed of the first time," Calvi and Theo explained at the same time.

"He was disposed of two times?"

"It turns out the Asian boy, the one that is associated with the girl with gray hair, is from beyond the sky…and there were people that he defected from that were angry with him because he defected from their control by, apparently, ending up stranded here by accident," Calvi explained. "One of the people involved was the boy's father, who had suggested dredging up Grausam from Titania's Abyss, where he had been condemned to isolation after his own crimes against the people of Paradis and for personally harming his step-granddaughter, who he used as his initial test subject."

"Titania's Abyss?" Several other officials gasped; that location was such a cold spot that they couldn't travel up there because it was always cold.

"Yeah, the large ship they have, this carrier…is a lot better than any of our own ships due to having hardened Titan flesh incorporated into its design," Theo stated. "They took Grausam there, encased him in a prison weighted down, and threw him into the frozen water and let him sink to the bottom where we couldn't reach him. The boy's father and these other people from beyond the sky where they're from, they went to the abyss and fished him out for his ability to create his Jaeger Serum."

"But I thought he couldn't make a variation of his Jaeger Serum to use on non-Subjects of Ymir unless he had blood samples of Subjects of Ymir," Willy spoke. "How could he have reproduced his serum without access to any Subjects of Ymir to harvest blood from?"

"He's a Subject of Ymir himself," Agnes reminded her brother. "He could've used his own blood to recreate his serum. If he was salvaged from a frozen tomb barely alive and then nursed back to health, all he could offer was his services to whoever these people were that sought him out if they wanted to get revenge on someone they hated."

"And worse, Grausam desired only one thing after being buried there," added Anastasia to the conversation. "Revenge against his step-granddaughter…which ended up being his undoing."

"This Kaede Sogen," one of the officials questioned, "did she kill him?"

"No, killing him was proven to be…very difficult, even for the Eldians of Paradis. So, they had to do the next best thing, which was to contain him," Calvi revealed. "Unfortunately, the first attempt only lasted as long as there were people that couldn't get to him. They knew that even if they buried him there again, there was a chance that someone in the future, even after we're all gone, would explore there and find him there, risking the possibility that he would be dredged up again. So, the second time, the young lady disposed of him by leaving wherever it was these Titans come from, cut off from everyone else. In such a way, he'll be around forever…but unable to hurt or threaten anyone."

"She sounds like a pretty powerful person now," Willy confessed.

"She is…but she's also very morally-driven," Theo explained. "She doesn't believe in violence being the answer to every conflict and that if we're all to survive, we should be seeking coexistence, not conquering other races of people for their resources or land because we hate another race of people for something we don't truly know about. Even when fighting against an army, she doesn't enjoy causing death and destruction in the slightest."

Willy sighed as he asked, "You said there were three members of this Survey Corps from Paradis Island that you brought over to speak with us?"

"Yes," Calvi answered him, and got up to open the door to the room they were using. "You can come in now."

He stepped aside to introduce the three members that came from the Survey Corps.

"This Commander Erwin Smith, Captain Levi Ackerman and Hange Zoe," he introduced them.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Erwin greeted kindly.

There was no denying that there was some mild tension from the Marleyan officials meeting these three for the first time wanting to cause them harm, but knew that if they did so, they would risk instigating another conflict between Marley and Paradis again when they should be moving forward instead of backwards.

"Welcome," Willy responded to the trio. "It is nice to make your acquaintance."

"How goes your progress in cultivating the ruins of the former city of Zangai?" Anastasia asked.

"That's why we're here," Erwin responded. "It is progressing well. We're still monitoring, but you may end up with a large garden within a few days."

"That's not possible," one of the officials declared. "Zangai has been nothing but scorched earth for over a century! Not even weeds could grow there in those ruins!"

"If you wish to see proof, sir," went Levi to him, "you can come down to the ruins and have a look for yourself."

"Yes, I think we should all see," said Willy to them. "Anyone?"

To be continued…

A/N: Again, the manga update has had a hand in where this story is deviating. And now, we got to see how Titan flesh could be used to help in cultivating wastelands by starting with the ruins of a city. Yui is slightly upset that Shinji doesn't know she's alive, Ymir became a bit more emotional about how she feels for Historia, and Eren's trying to move on with how different his life has become now that he's no longer a member of the Survey Corps or capable of becoming a Titan, in addition to having his parents back in his life. What has impressed you the most with this chapter update so far?