AN: Okay! Chapter XXIV! Second chapter of the Future Arc! Thank you to those who reviewed to the previous chapters and I hope you people enjoy this. Because I love you all and you guys make me happy, I've decided to make this a long chapter. At least, I hope it's longer than the 3000 something words Chapter. This chapter has some brief mentions of Armin x Annie. I ship them so please don't kill me! Without further ado, let's start!

CHAPTER XXIV:

GAMES AND MEETING THE FAMILY

Celeste arrived back in HQ and parked her car in the stables. It was 10 in the morning so they got more time to kill. They leave at 8 in the evening anyways. Maybe she can show Eren, Armin and Mikasa a game from the future too. She entered the HQ afterwards.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" She yelled for them but no one was responding.

"Armin! Eren! Mikasa! Anybody?" She called once more but no one responded. Heading upstairs, she saw that no one was around even then.

"Maybe they went to town or something." She muttered as she went to her room. Plopping on her bed, she fell asleep despite the 8 cups of coffee she had that morning.

When the squad arrived back at HQ, they were surprised to see the hunk of metal Celeste came in parked by the stables.

"Celeste's back, already?" Mikasa asked as they headed inside.

"Celeste?" Petra called around. Receiving no response, Petra headed for the girl's room. When she got there, she saw Celeste curled up into a ball while she slept. She resisted the urge to squeal and declare how cute the 19 year old is while she's sleeping.

"Celeste, wake up. It's 11 in the morning." She whispered.

"I'll wake up at 5 and we leave at 8 so leave me alone." She grumbled in reply as she curled up even more. Petra was about to try and wake her up again but suddenly remembered what she and Levi did the previous night. Deciding she deserved the rest, Petra kissed her forehead and left the room.

About 5 hours later, Celeste woke up an hour early. Checking the time, she stood up, changed her shirt and took the belts around her body off. Heading outside, she saw Eren, Armin and Mikasa talking and walking back to the HQ. Celeste paid them no heed and instead grabbed a red box in her car.

"Where have you guys been?" Celeste asked.

"Oh, trying to kill some time. We just played hide and seek." Eren answered. She raised an eyebrow at them.

"Hide and Seek with three people?" She asked and they simply nodded.

"Well, I guess I can show Eren and Mikasa a game since it's something only couples can play. Armin, you might want to look away if you don't want to feel awkward. I'll show you a game all three of you can play later." Celeste said as she pulled the red box out from her back pocket. She opened it and the packet inside, revealing rows of chocolate covered sticks.

That's right; Celeste Ral brought back some Pocky from the future. Armin went to stand beside her.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Pocky. Chocolate covered biscuit sticks."

She pulled a stick out and with a sly smile, walked towards Eren.

"Close your eyes. Open your mouth and when I put this in close it." She ordered him. Eren, frightened by her resemblance to the Captain when giving orders, complied. Once the biscuit stick was in his mouth, he closed it immediately.

"I want you to face Mikasa and Mikasa, bite the other end of the stick." Celeste explained. Eren faced Mikasa and she bit the other end of the stick.

"Now keep biting and no matter what you guys do, do not break the stick." She explained as she handed the box to Armin and pulled her phone out. Putting it on video mode, she pointed it in Eren and Mikasa's direction.

"So, what's this game called?" Armin asked her as he ate a piece of Pocky.

"It's called the Pocky game. The reason that only couples can play this is because when the stick is completely eaten, their lips are supposed to meet and they're supposed to make out. Whoever pulls away first, loses." Celeste explained with a sly smile on her face. Looking at Armin, she saw that he had a look of longing in his eyes.

'Oh, he was in love with someone.' She thought before focusing back on Eren and Mikasa. They were almost to the middle and no one was breaking the stick. Eventually, their lips met and Armin was blushing from embarrassment while Celeste was squealing as she took a video of the moment. It seemed like no one was going to pull back so they just walked away and back to HQ.

"So, who was she?" Celeste asked as they walked back.

"Eh?"

"I saw the look in your eyes when you watched them. You long for someone don't you? So, who is she?" Celeste asked once again. Armin sighed before answering.

"Annie."

Celeste looked at him with her eyebrows raised. Did he just say Annie? Annie Leonhardt? The Female Titan?

"The Female Titan? The woman who robbed soldiers of their lives and their families the chance of seeing them again? The woman who killed half this squad and almost killed my mother and by extension, me? The Annie Leonhardt who took Gunter from his parents, took Auruo from his brothers and Erd from his lover and mother?"

"Yes. That Annie. You didn't know her like I did, Celeste. I don't know what made her betray us but I tried to forget her but I just can't." Armin answered her. Deciding not to argue anymore, she walked to her car and grabbed the baseball bat, mitt and ball.

"You know what? I'm done talking about this. Let me show you another game that you can play with Eren and Mikasa. This competitive game is called Baseball but since there isn't a baseball diamond in these times you can just play it for fun and not competition." She explained to him as she handed him the baseball mitt and the ball. Just then, Petra and Levi came out of the HQ while Eren and Mikasa were coming towards them once more.

"What are you guys doing?" Petra asked them curiously.

"Mom, get the fuck out of the way or get hit by a ball or a bat." Celeste answered. "Armin, throw the ball as hard as you could. Scratch that. Throw the ball hard."

With a sigh, Armin threw the ball as hard as he could. Once the time was right, Celeste swung the bat and hit the ball making it fly back to Armin, which hit him square in the face. They all ran towards him and Celeste slapped him to wake him up.

"Yo, how many fingers am I holding up?" She asked him as she held up five fingers.

"Five." He answered. Celeste straightened up and grabbed the ball and the mitt.

"He's fine. That's enough baseball for now." She decided as she went inside. Heading up to her room, she grabbed a new set of clothes from her pack and took a bath. After that, they had an early dinner and Petra, Levi and Celeste started preparing their things. Celeste dumped her duffel bag in the back of her car and walked back inside the HQ.

"Mom! Dad! It's 6:30! We're leaving! Come on!" She announced. Just then, Levi and Petra came down with a bag of their things. Levi didn't have his Legion jacket on but he did have the cravat, which Celeste pulled off of him. Petra, meanwhile, was wearing a black shirt and the Scouting Legion jacket. Both didn't have belts around them. Good. At least, she doesn't have to tell them. Taking their bags, she dumped them at the back of the car as well. Eren, Mikasa and Armin met up with them outside.

"Okay, we're going. Mikasa, hold the fort while we're gone. Armin, tell Commander Irvin we're going on a trip. We don't know how long we'll be gone but we'll be back either before or once our month leave is up. Okay, see you guys." Celeste said. The three nodded and headed back inside while the other three headed for the car.

"Get in." Celeste ordered them. Levi called shotgun, unfortunately, so Petra was stuck in the back seat. Celeste put a seatbelt on both of them immediately.

"It's a bumpy ride so this'll keep you from hitting your head in case something happens to us." She explained. Then she got in the driver's side and started the car.

"Just so you know, when you get in a car with me, it's a 50-50 chance that you'll live. Oh and you don't have to worry about covering up the fact that we're from the past. They know anyways." Celeste explained before gunning it. Petra was having a panic attack from the back seat. She's never been in something this fast and this bumpy before. Finally, after a while they found an anomaly and went through it. When they got there, it was morning.

"What the fuck? I thought it was 7 in the evening?" Levi asked her.

"There's a 12 hour difference when you cross over. If it's 7 in the evening there, it's 7 in the morning here." Celeste answered as she drove. She noticed that Petra hasn't talked in a while.

"Yo, mom? Still alive? Or did you piss your pants like your first Expedition thanks to my driving?" She jokingly asked. Petra grumbled before answering.

"Stop bringing that up and I'm fine."

"If you say so. Hey, when we got time, I'll take you guys to the ocean later." Celeste offered. They both looked at her with questioning looks on their faces.

"Oh, yeah. I can take you to the ocean. You can swim in it too. But I suggest you don't. It's too salty."

"That would be wonderful." Petra said with a bright smile in her face. Celeste smiled in return as she drove on. After about an hour, they finally arrived at the Knight Mansion.

"There it is. That's the house I grew up in." She said as she pointed to the mansion.

"Whoa." Levi said. They were both amazed at the size of the house. Celeste parked in the driveway and took her seatbelt off.

"You both stay here for a while. I'll just go settle some things, alright." She told them and they nodded. Celeste got off from the car and entered the house.

"Anyone? I'm back." She announced. Just then, Aunt Natalie and Uncle Damon came downstairs and so did Rex and Duncan.

"Are they here? Where are they?" Duncan asked.

"Hold your horses, they're in the car. Two rules; don't make too much of a mess. My dad's a clean freak like me. Another is don't bring up how short he is and how taller I am than him. I got the height from my grandpa apparently." She explained and they all nodded.

"Where are the kids?" Celeste asked.

"Sleeping." Rex answered. Celeste nodded and headed outside again. Opening the car door, she took their seatbelts off.

"Alright. Be nice, dad and wipe that stupid frown off your face." She told him as they got off the car. The three of them walked to the house. Just then, something forced Celeste to the floor. It was the family's Tibetan Mastiff.

"Erasmus, get off me." She struggled to say as Erasmus laid on her. After a few seconds, Erasmus moved. She sat up and patted his head as he sniffed Petra and Levi.

"Don't worry. He doesn't bite. He's playful, actually." Celeste explained.

"Erasmus, come." Uncle Damon said. Erasmus immediately ran away. Damon and Natalie approached them.

"So, you're Celeste's real parents. We've heard so much about you." Aunt Natalie said with a friendly smile as she and Petra shook hands.

"I'm Petra Ral. This is my husband, Levi. Celeste has told us a lot about you as well."

"I'm Damon Knight. This is my wife, Natalie. Please, come into the living room so we can talk."

They walked to the living room where Rex and Duncan greeted them. Celeste immediately joined them in firing up the old XBOX 360.

"So, Celeste told us where she's really from. I'm surprised she adjusted so well in the past." Natalie remarked.

"I'm taking that as an insult." Celeste answered as she sat on the floor with her own controller and shot at the enemies.

"Well, let us clear up our reasons for coming here then; My husband and I wanted to thank your family for caring for our daughter for 15 years." Petra said.

"Oh, credit should go to my older brother and his wife. Speaking of which, Celeste, do you remember what day it is?" Damon asked. Celeste paused the game and thought about it. She remembered that it was her parents' death anniversary. She really hated going to their graves. While she was happy that she found her real parents, a part of her still hasn't accepted that the people who raised and loved her for 15 years were gone. Just like that.

"I'll visit them later." She said emotionlessly as she continued their game.

"It seems she's still not over their deaths." Natalie pointed out.

"How did she grow up here?" Levi asked them as he observed Celeste and the boys switch to another game console and pushing a racing game cockpit to the middle of the room.

"Well, she was happy whenever she was at home, miserable at school. Whenever Celeste was racing at the tracks, however, it's like she's in paradise." Damon answered as they watched Celeste play a racing game.

"She dropped out of school to find you guys when she was 15." Duncan added as he sat beside his uncle.

"Celeste, what year were you in when you dropped?" Natalie asked.

"I just got out of Middle School. 9th Grade." She answered as she played her racing game.

"You should be proud of her. Your daughter, in the height of her entire racing career was very popular with the guys as well as the ladies and the kids." Rex explained to them. "Even know, people are still searching for her whenever a big race is going on."

"We are. We're very proud of her." Levi answered.

"Celeste?" They heard someone say. They all looked at the staircase and saw Janine in her pajamas, hugging the teddy bear Celeste bought for her. She sleepwalked to Celeste and sat on her before falling asleep again.

"Oh come on! Don't sleep on me." She complained. When Janine didn't move, Celeste picked her up and walked to the couch.

"Rex, Duncan, help us out make some refreshments." Damon barked out at them. They immediately moved to the kitchen while Celeste sat beside Petra and Levi.

"Who's this little girl?" Petra asked her curiously as she brushed some hair off the little girl's face.

"This is Janine. She's Uncle Damon and Aunt Natalie's daughter. Rex and Duncan's dad, Uncle Federico, is in another country but their mom died when their younger siblings were born." Celeste explained. Just then, Janine's eyes opened.

"Celeste? Why is there two of you?" She asked them.

"Oh, hey, buddy. These people are my real parents, Petra and Levi." Celeste answered.

"Hello. You're very pretty. I see where Celeste gets her looks." Janine pointed out as she rubbed her eyes.

"Thank you." Petra said with a smile.

"Your daddy looks scary, Celeste but I see where you get your eyes and your glares." Janine added. Celeste winced at her remark.

"Janine, we don't tell people out of the blue that they're scary." Celeste gently scolded her.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. It's not the first time someone's told me that." Levi answered in reply. Levi watched as Celeste held Janine in her arms. At that moment, he and Petra wondered again what it would've been like raising Celeste. Levi immediately thought of the dream he had once; the dream where Celeste was never separated from them. He dreamt of Petra holding her, the same way Celeste was holding Janine now, while he watched and held her hand, letting him know that he was there.

"Celeste!" Two pairs of voices greeted. Celeste turned around and saw Andrew and Andrea jump on her and hug her.

"Good Morning. Hey, these are my real parents, Petra and Levi." Celeste introduced them.

"Hello." They greeted and shook hands. "I'm Andrew, this is my twin, Andrea."

"My, my, it seems like you're all getting along already." Rex pointed out as he walked in.

"Yes. Yes, we are." Petra said with a radiant smile. Celeste and even Levi smiled a bit as well.

'This is great. They're off to a good start. Now, let's see how the month passes by.' Celeste thought happily. Hopefully, everything would be just fine.

AN: And that is Chapter XXIV and the second chapter of the Future Arc! I hope this was long enough for you guys and that you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and please review; it would be very much appreciated! Until next time! Ciao!