Hi All,

I have something slightly different for you all today, my friend and fellow AoT writer Isil'zha BLZ has written a small chapter for NTT showing what happened to Annie and Bert after death. It's amazing and I think it fits really well with the theme of the story.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did and ask you all go and give BLZ some love on AO3 and try out all their stories if you love time travel, fix its or what-ifs just as much as I do!

Armin and Mikasa were talking quietly with each other, but Bertolt found himself unable to concentrate on their words, his mind still in a whirl of panic, a cold clammy feeling all over his body.

He wasn't sure if what he was feeling was the effects of the poison Armin had slipped him, or if it was the grim certainty that he was being carried to his death.

It was funny, really. He'd known that his life would be short, with the curse of Ymir reducing it down to a measly 13 years. But that had seemed so far away, and anyways he would be practically indestructible until then.

Or so he had thought. But the past four years had forced him to reassess that assumption. First Marcel had been eaten by an abnormal right before their very eyes. Despite their powers, it had all happened too fast, and they had been unable to stop their friend from dying like any other fragile human between a Titan's incisors.

Then Annie had disappeared after her mission to the inner city, and they assumed that she had either been captured or killed, only further reminding them of their mortality.

And then Reiner had started to lose his mind, showing that not only were they vulnerable to physical threats, but they were just as susceptible to mental deterioration as anyone else.

Now here he was, the God of destruction, arguably the most powerful Titan after the Founder, completely limp and helpless, being carried away to certain doom.

He didn't understand most of what Armin had been talking about, but it was clear that Armin had known about their true identities for a long time. And since Mikasa was helping him, it was safe to assume that she knew as well.

Were they the ones who had killed Annie and taken her Titan? Were they about to do the same to him as well?

It looked like he would soon find out.

The idea that his death was close sent him into further panic. In truth he'd never really come to terms with his own mortality, and instead just tried to ignore it, to put it out of his mind. But that wasn't really an option anymore, not with it being here, now, about to happen.

Would it hurt? Was there some sort of afterlife, as many faiths had taught? Or was it just nothingness? The idea of just not existing anymore, of being gone forever…it terrified him. A lot.

But on the other hand, it did mean an end to his suffering. After all, hadn't he been stressing out about how he would complete their mission, with two shifters gone and the third out of their mind? Hadn't he been driven to the brink of despair by the impossibility of his task?

But if he died, he wouldn't have to worry about any of that anymore. It was out of his hands, and there was nothing more he could do.

He tried to relax. It wasn't so bad. His life was going to end with him in a Titan's mouth one way or another. And if he was honest with himself, he did have it coming.

That thought didn't make him feel any better.

He was suddenly aware that his body was being placed on the ground, much more slowly and gently than he would have expected. But then, if they dumped him on the ground roughly there was a chance, however slim, that the impact could open a tiny cut on his rigid body.

And they couldn't have that, now could they?

"I'm ready."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I promised you that we would do this together. And I meant it."

With his own mind a mess of fear and dread, he tried to focus on their words, to concentrate on something other than his own predicament. Unfortunately that was all they said, and a moment later a massive gust of wind roared through the area, violently ruffling his hair and clothing, and even through his closed eyes he could see a bright flash of light.

He began to sweat all over, his worst fear confirmed. Part of him had been hoping that maybe they would just kill him, but it seemed that was a mercy he would not have.

As he felt a giant hand pick him up, he tried to scream, to relieve some of his pent up terror, but his jaw remained unresponsive, and he could do nothing as he was lifted into the air.

The Titan's horrible breath filled his nostrils, and involuntary tears began to leak out of the corners of his eyes. He desperately hoped that it would go for the head and end things quickly.

He felt a crushing pressure on his neck…

And suddenly he fell to the ground on his back. His eyes shot open, and he saw the Titan's looming form above him. Now that his eyes were open he could see that it had a hollow, disturbing face that bore a very vague resemblance to Armin's.

He didn't know how it was possible, but the Titan must have somehow dropped him.

Aware that he could now move, he awkwardly crab walked backwards in a desperate attempt to get away from the Titan, trying to put as much distance between himself and the monster as quickly possible.

But after moving a short distance he froze as he saw what the Titan was holding in its hand, what was embedded in its teeth.

The Titan was chewing on his dead body.

And as this realization hit him, Bertolt looked down at his body, and saw that it was translucent.

"No way." He whispered.

He clumsily got to his feet, feeling cold all over, the sound of the Titan's chewing making him feel…not sick to his stomach, since that was one of many sensations it seemed he couldn't feel anymore, but something approximating it.

He looked at his hands, feeling unnerved that he could see through them and look at the grass below.

"Hey."

Bertolt nearly jumped out of his skin in fright at the unexpected voice, and turned around to see who had spoken.

He choked, tears filling his eyes. "Annie."

Standing a short distance away was the late Female Titan, her body just as translucent and pale as his. She looked at him sadly, her face filled with more emotion than he had ever seen.

And then, she did something she had never done before.

She walked forward, and hugged him.

Bertolt was rooted to the spot, still struggling to process everything that had just happened, but after a moment he reached out his arms and clumsily hugged her back, aware that she was also crying.

He didn't know what they were going to do, but at least they could figure it out together.

They ended up not talking again until after Mikasa had carried Armin back to the Scout's camp, and the two of them had gone to sleep.

Annie and Bertolt sat near the dying campfire. The silence continued for a few more moments.

Bertolt cleared his throat. "So…um…how long have you been dead?"

Annie sighed. "Ever since I disappeared."

Bertolt looked down. "Do you know what's going on?"

Annie let out a bitter laugh. "I don't even know where to begin."

She nudged her foot against a nearby stick, but since she was a spirit the stick didn't move.

"Apparently this is a part of Ymir's curse. When you die, you have to spend the next thirteen years watching over your successor."

Bertolt looked at her in surprise. "R-really? But why didn't they tell us about that?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "Because the only people who would know are dead, and they can't exactly share things with the living, now can they?"

"Ah, right."

Bertolt stiffened. "Wait…so does that mean…this entire time…"

Annie rubbed the back of her neck. "After Mikasa killed me and took my Titan, I tried everything I could to warn you and Reiner, since I knew she and Armin would be after you guys next. I pleaded, shouted, screamed, even tried physically hitting you guys, anything to get your attention. But no matter what I did, you never noticed."

Bertolt felt a shiver go down his spine. The idea that Annie had been there, all along, trying to help them, trying to warn them of the danger they were in, and they'd never heard her…

"I'm sorry." Bertolt whispered.

Annie shook her head. "It's not your fault."

"Even so…it must have been so lonely. Being around so many people, but none of them being able to see or hear you…"

Annie chuckled. "Well, I wasn't quite alone. You and Reiner's predecessors kept me company."

Her eyes softened. "Marcel was also there."

Bertolt stared at her in shock. "What?! You mean..."

Annie nodded. "Apparently Ymir was the one who ate Marcel. Not that it was a choice on her part, of course."

"Was...how is he?"

Annie shrugged. "Under the circumstances, overall fine. He never really went into much detail about what happened before Ymir joined the cadets, and it sounds like it wasn't all that interesting anyway. He was definitely glad to see us again, and while he wasn't happy that I got killed too, I think at a certain level he appreciated having a friend back, since obviously we couldn't hear him while we were still alive."

Bertolt looked down at the ground, not sure how he was feeling.

Annie tilted her head. "Oh, there was also Eren's dad."

"Huh? Oh, right." Bertolt frowned. "Did he tell you anything about what's going on?"

Annie snorted. "No. I didn't even know he was Eren's father until recently. While he was polite enough and sympathized with our situation, he was very careful to never tell me or Marcel anything that might be useful to our mission. Not that we would have been able to pass it on if he had, but I suppose I can understand him being cautious. But after months of listening in on Armin and Mikasa's conversations, I've mostly pieced together what's happening."

She sighed. "Of course I don't have the complete picture, since they didn't always clarify things."

Bertolt waved a hand. "That's okay. What did they say?"

Annie grimaced. "Well, you know about the paths, right?"

Bertolt tilted his head. "The paths? Aren't those the invisible pathways that connect all Eldians together?"

"Right. Well, these paths transcend time and space, and things can be sent through them, including memories. From what I heard, it seems that Armin and Mikasa's memories from a future timeline were sent back to now, what to them is the past. Don't ask me how, I don't know, and it seems that they have no idea either. So functionally, about six months after training started, the Mikasa and Armin we knew were replaced by future versions of themselves."

Bertolt's eyes widened. "So that's why Armin seemed to improve so drastically overnight."

"Exactly. And I guess Mikasa improved too, but with her it was less noticeable because I guess she was always brilliant. Anyway, their knowledge of the future is why they knew the three of us were spies, and how they knew how to take our powers."

"I see…" Bertolt looked at Annie anxiously. "So…does that mean in that future timeline the Scouts won?"

Annie shook her head. "Not exactly. It seems they managed to defeat and drive us off, and were able to reach the basement and discovered the truth about the world, and their position in it. And apparently…Eren ended up going off the deep end, and led an unauthorized attack against Marley."

Bertolt gasped. "What?!"

"And…" Annie's voice lowered. "It seems that Zeke betrayed Marley and was helping Eren."

Bertolt sputtered. "What?! But why?!"

Annie shook her head in exasperation. "I don't know. Mikasa and Armin didn't say, and of course I couldn't ask them about it. Reading between the lines of what they did say, it seems like Zeke had his own plans for the Founding Titan, and convinced Eren to go along with these plans. But I don't know what these plans were, or when Zeke came up with them. Maybe he was a traitor all along, or maybe he only turned on us toward the end of his term. I just don't know."

Bertolt was silent for a moment.

"So…what do we do now?"

Annie shrugged. "Nothing."

Bertolt looked at her in surprise. "Nothing? But shouldn't we at least try to warn Reiner? I know you said-"

"Haven't you been paying attention dumbass?!" Annie flew to her feet in anger. "I spent almost a year doing everything in my power to communicate with you, and nothing worked! NOTHING! And Marcel was trying to communicate with us for even longer, and nothing he did worked either! So what the fuck makes you think that'll change now?!"

Bertolt recoiled. "I-I'm sorry."

Annie sank back down, looking ashamed for her outburst. "No, I-I was out of line. I'm…"

She trailed off.

Bertolt smiled weakly. "Shouldn't…shouldn't we at least try and go see Reiner? Maybe with the three of us we can make it work somehow, and even if we can't…"

Annie glanced at the tent where Armin and Mikasa were sleeping. "Even if we wanted to leave, we can't. We're bound to our successors until the day they die. I don't know the exact distance, but from some rough measurements and experiments I tried, it seems we're not allowed to be any further away from our successor than one thousand meters. Every time I tried to go beyond that, I would stop like I had just hit an invisible wall, and if Mikasa moved in the opposite direction I would end up being dragged with her."

"Oh…I see."

Annie sighed. "Well, I suppose it could be worse. With Armin and Mikasa joined at the hip, at least we'll have each other for company."

Bertolt felt a flush creep onto his face. "Um, yeah."

His face turned serious. "What do you think will happen with Reiner?"

"Dunno. Either he'll be caught like us, or he'll find a way to escape. But either way, it's out of our hands. The empathetic side of me hopes he escapes. But at the same time it would be nice to give him a good hard ass kicking for dragging us into this mess, and holding it over him for the next few years."

Bertolt glanced at the tent where Armin and Mikasa were sleeping, unsure of how he felt about them.

The following day, as Armin and Mikasa joined the group that was to rendezvous with Commander Erwin, Annie and Bertolt had no choice but to follow along.

But when they reached their destination, the former Warriors were met with some welcome news.

Reiner had gotten away.

While the Scouts were distressed by this development, Annie and Bertolt were relieved.

At least one of them had made it out alive.

How great was that! I still can't believe NTT has generated both fan art and fan writing as well, it's crazy!

Oh also I graduated uni yesterday. Took 5 long years but it's finally over. Thank god for that!