Creation began on 10-22-23
Creation ended on 10-24-23
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan: Threat of Restoration and Spite
A/N: The actions of choices and their consequences are not so different from traveling through a labyrinth; there are many ways one can go…and there are many outcomes that can happen.
Nobody was happy to hear what Eren chose to say in this final conversation. It just made it seem like no matter what any of them tried to say to convince him to stop, his mind was already made up on what he was doing…and the only way to stop him was to kill him.
"If that's the way it has to be, Eren Yeager," a new voice spoke as everyone heard in the realm of the paths, "then I shall hope for your death in due time before I make my own actions known."
Armin Arlert turned around and saw a dark-skinned man sitting atop a large rock, looking at them all. It was the way he was looking at them, with different levels of emotion and judgment. To Armin, it was as though this man was not who he seemed to be.
"But I want you to know that there are many fates far worse than what you are willing to accept, and when this ends, I will not let you enjoy your rewards, however few there might be."
"And who are you?" Eren asks.
"I'm nobody of any concern to someone like you. I'm just one of those people that make their presence felt when people like you go too far and hide behind words of hollow promises. And I'm telling you that when it's all said and done, nothing's going to change for any of you."
"What do you mean by that?" Connie Springer asks him.
"I guess you could say that…when the Rumbling ceases because one of you kills him," the stranger says, "it will be like a nightmare for some, but a dream for others, and one that they will do whatever it takes to make sure it can never happen again. And when it does happen, I can only hope some of you get the gentler fate."
"What gentler fate?" Reiner Braun questions.
"I'll give you a glimpse of what I mean. A small taste of what is in store."
Flash! Levi, Armin, Connie, Mikasa, Reiner and Jean were shown a sight that was like a dream from too long ago, each one seeing what felt like something that was within reach.
"All the more reason to stop Eren," Jean says as the glimpse ends.
"It was beautiful," said Connie, tears falling from his eyes. "Better than what is happening now."
"What did he show you?" Eren demanded. "What did you see?!"
"What do you care?" Armin asks him. "It was a glimpse. It was nothing more or less than what will happen when all is said and done. If you want us to stop you by killing you, Eren, then that's the way you want it to be. But this man here, he sees things that you will never see. I'm looking forward to seeing it happen if I survive this."
Eren didn't like this, and neither did Ymir Fritz, for some reason that was unknown to Eren. Whoever this man was, he was some sort of threat to what they were doing, but for some reason, nothing about him was known to Eren; it was as though he didn't exist in what he had seen and known relating to the Eldians.
Why can't I see what he does? He wonders silently.
Because you can't see everything anyone does, boy, he heard his voice in his head. And since you have no intention of stopping, no matter how hard your so-called friends and allies try to talk you out of it, I see no reason to let you know of what is in store for the world. You're not going to be around for it, anyway. That's a good thing. The world doesn't need people like you in it if you can't stop when given a chance and only want people to fight over a belief that doesn't guarantee peace. And anyone that follows you is doomed to follow you.
Are you threatening me and the people of my home?
Believe me, if I wanted to threaten you, you'd be reduced to nothing more than a weak, little boy that has only a few days to put his affairs in order. And if I wanted to threaten the lives of the people of Paradis, they'd be dealt with in an instant. When I say something that is meant to be a threat, the person being threatened will know it.
Armin could see there was a bit of a conversation between Eren and the dark man that had appeared to given them actual hope that the former couldn't give them at all. As much as Armin wanted to tell Eren, he knew it wouldn't change what he had chosen to do. This was what he wanted in the end, regardless of what any of them tried to do to talk him out of it.
He doesn't treat our lives like a game, he thought, referring to the dark man, but he treats them as something he knows he can change when the opportunity presents itself. He will give hope to those that deserve it…and despair to those that choose not to do something the desperate offer them a chance to do only once. What he showed us is what he'll do when Eren is killed. He doesn't even need to promise to do it; if he says he'll do it, he's bound to do it. His only deception is to those that are condemned by their choices to spill blood and end lives of their own volition. Eren…I am sorry you won't get to have a happy ending…but I'm sorrier for the people you chose to kill. I'm sorrier for the friends and loved ones we lost because of you. I hope we see them all again when this is over.
The dark man then jumped off the rock and walked over to Levi, bowing to him.
"Second chances are rare, but they exist to those that seek them out, that truly want them in order to do better with their lives if given a choice nobody thinks to offer," he tells him. "I'll be waiting at the end of this. They will all be waiting at the end of this. Good luck."
Flash! They were back on the flying boat.
"Wow," Jean expresses. "Well, that was a waste of time to try and talk Eren out of it."
"Yeah," added Reiner.
"Captain Levi, sir," went Armin in a gasp, and everyone saw why.
Levi, once a disfigured and crippled soldier of the Survey Corps…was whole once more. He looked down at his hands and felt his face.
"How far are we from Fort Salta," he asks.
"Not too far now," answers Pieck, impressed that this man looked like he could actually take on an entire squadron of soldiers.
-x-
Even as he approached the base, Eren felt like he had a reason to worry about more than just those arriving to stop him. He felt like he needed to be afraid of that man that appeared in the paths and showed some of them something he wasn't privy to because of his choices. Whatever Armin and the others saw, they refused to say to him…and he couldn't see it, even with the Founding Titan's power, and that Titan power gave those with it the power to know the future in greater clarity than that of the Attack Titan.
"I shall hope for your death in due time before I make my own actions known," he remembers him saying when he told the others that there was no point in talking any further, which indicated that he was waiting for Eren to be killed by them…and worse than waiting.
He was hoping for it. But why? Why was he hoping for it? What did he show them that was worth them refusing to tell him?
"What do you care?" He remembers Armin saying to him when he demanded to know what they had seen. "It was a glimpse. It was nothing more or less than what will happen when all is said and done. If you want us to stop you by killing you, Eren, then that's the way you want it to be. But this man here, he sees things that you will never see. I'm looking forward to seeing it happen if I survive this."
He sees things I will never see? He thought as the airship base came into view. Is he a god of some kind?
Assuming you even believe in the existence of gods, Eren Yeager, he heard his voice as he appeared in front of his head, his expression one of grim disappointment. Do you believe in any beings beyond yourself? Do you believe in those that can do the impossible, that are unseen, unheard from, but known to those that choose to believe in them?
But Eren didn't say anything to him. There was no trust, only suspicion.
I don't blame you for suspecting me of anything, Yeager, he heard him say to him. You don't make friends easy. Not that you ever could be what any would consider friendly.
Eren's face contorted into an expression of contempt, but the man didn't show any sign of concern. Was this man without any fear?
Everyone has a fear of something. Nobody is exempt from having a fear. Fear takes on many forms. Fear is shapeless. A vapor of deception. It is a feeling which, when acted upon, can only result in the bloodshed and pain of others.
Who the Hell are you? Eren finally questioned.
I told you before, I'm nobody of any concern to someone like you. Who do you think I am?
I think you're a devil.
Well, you'd be only less than half right.
What?
You heard me, except I don't have horns or wings or a spiked tail. Devils depicted that way are just too stereotypical, such as everything else is about beings of greater status. Devils are merely angels that fell from God's favor. They can either stay out of his grace…or rise back into his grace…or something else of their choosing.
Then what are you?
That's a question that has many an answer. Any and every question asked has many answers given to those that ask. But any and every answer I give you would just raise more and more questions to the answers…because you're judgmental of people you choose not to trust for reasons that endanger yourself and your home. So…your question shall remain unanswered.
You refuse to answer me because you've deemed me judgmental?
Honestly, a lot of them have deemed you judgmental. You're unfriendly, you're always looking for a fight you think needs to be resolved with a fist or a blade or a gun instead of simple words and common sense. There is a difference between warriors of the sword and warriors of the word within the realms of our mortality. But you…who are neither, am not worth even this conversation that offers no solution if you're not looking for one you're willing to accept. So…yeah, you're literally up a creek. You…and any that choose to follow you.
What do you mean, any that follow me?
That…would be telling you of something that is meaningless.
Why, you little…
You wanna threaten me? You wanna threaten someone that is beyond yourself? Okay, then. I shall threaten you, Eren Yeager. You're a lost cause. You're going to get your ass handed to you.
-x-
"…But do you really believe this man?" Gabi Braun asks Annie Leonhart; just a few minutes ago, she, the Female Titan Shifter and Falco Grice were met by this dark stranger that told them something serious…and showed them something even more serious…because he meant every single word of it.
"If he meant what he said," said Annie, "then he was no liar. A liar can't promise things like that. Eren can't promise any of that because he and Ymir Fritz are the ones taking everything from everyone. This stranger, whoever he is, is waiting for Eren to be dealt with before he carries out his word. For him, his word is his bond. He won't lie about what he says he's going to do."
"And this dark stranger," went Kiyomi Azumabito to the three, "what did he show you three?"
"A dream that can become a reality far better than what is right now," Falco answers. "All that needs to be done, what has to be done…is for Eren to be stopped. Once he's stopped, the promise will be honored. Everyone whose life was ruined because of his actions or the actions of other people that followed him…comes undone."
"Was there…any hope for Hizuru?"
"Your country, Marley, Paradis," Gabi expressed, indicating that once Eren was stopped, this dark stranger meant to spite the boy and all his bad acts. "It might not seem like an even trade, but Eren is the one that made it so. For the world to be free, he has to be stopped. He chose to be the reckoning…and he has to face the consequences for doing so."
"Even so, we're miles away from land…and we can't move any faster."
"I can get there," Falco reveals. "Courtesy of Zeke Yeager's spinal fluid, my Jaw Titan has the ability to fly like the Beast Titans of the past."
"What?"
"It is true," went Annie. "His Jaw Titan does look like a large bird. That can't be a coincidence."
-x-
Standing several feet away from a small house on a farm, the dark stranger frowns as he waits for the final battle to begin.
"Unlike you, Eren Yeager," he utters to himself, "everyone gets to choose for themselves what they'll do with their lives. You no longer have the option to decide what becomes of people. Your fate has already been sealed and you accepted it. Maybe there are still old wounds, maybe there will be days where hope seems lost, but that's on you and those like you. Because in the end, people will be able to choose for themselves this time. It's time to get your face shoved into the crap you dropped so you can smell your foulness for all that it is."
To be continued…
A/N: It's basically the same scenario as any other scenario, but the outcome is twisted on many levels. In this case, the end still has to come, but once it's over, the change happens soon after. Everyone is allowed to suspect what they think is going to happen. What do you believe will happen before it happens, people? You have the right to ask.
