Attack Founder AKA Frieda wins, but the power of the Attack Titan should not be underestimated
It had been a close battle for Frieda, but though the intruder's Titan was physically stronger than hers, it became very obvious they were both equally inexperienced in battling as Titans. It was little more than a slug fest that came down more to luck and determination than anything akin to skill.
She could faintly hear her own family cheering her on as her teeth ripped into the nape of the Attack Titan, and with a sickening chomp, she devoured the man inside whole.
'Whoever you were, go in peace,' she thought somberly, taking no thrill or enjoyment in this kill. 'Your suffering in this bleak world is at an end, as it will soon be...for...us...all...?' her thoughts trailed away from her as she felt...something.
Her family grew silent as her Titan crouched and groaned, clutching her head. "Frieda, are you alright?" Rod, her father, called up in concern.
"Frieda, what's happening?" someone else yelled, a woman. Her mother? Sister?
"Talk to us!" another, a young male. A brother, obviously.
But all their voices grew distant and muffled against the pounding in her head.
She could feel it now.
The Attack Titan.
Its power, no, its very nature burning through her veins. The Titan that defied everyone in its quest for freedom, even the Founding Titan itself.
The Titan that defied the Self-Righteousness of the King.
Her hands clenched, ripping into her own Titan flesh, as she felt the Attack Titan burning away...something. Something imposed on her. Something she hated and yet had forgotten; something that she had tried to fight and had lost on her own.
But she wasn't alone now.
Her mouth twisted into a snarl, and suddenly, she was no longer in the secret place beneath the family chapel. She wasn't even in her Titan anymore. She was now a woman standing among dunes of sands.
She was in the Paths, collared and leashed by the bonds of her cowardly ancestor. Her eyes flashed green for an instant, feeling the rage of the past century building within her.
"YMIR!" she bellowed out into the sandy abyss, illuminated only by the tree that represented the collective bloodline of the Subjects of Ymir.
And just like that, the Founder Ymir was kneeling before her with a bowed head, as subservient as ever.
"Remove this accursed vow, now!" Frieda demanded in a scream, no, a roar, even as the bonds tried to pull her back, to strangle the command in her very throat. But she would not have it! She would not be a prisoner anymore! She Would Be Free!
Ymir lifted her hand and without hesitation, turned the shackles to sand once more.
Frieda trembled as she rose, gritting her teeth in wrath…wrath that belonged not only to her, but to so many more as well. "What have...I been doing, all this time?" she muttered in rage and despair as she stared up at the sky. "I feel like I...lost my mind."
Ymir said nothing, kneeling obediently before the first true Ruler of Eldia in the past one hundred years.
Then Frieda froze and remembered the Titans. "Founder," Frieda spoke, the blond girl looking up in acknowledgement. "Show me. Show me what's happening within the walls!"
Ymir didn't move, but Frieda felt the invisible action as she was linked into the Coordinates, able to see what was happening to her people.
She breathed deep and hard as she saw it: the Titans pouring in, people fleeing for their lives, many dead or dying. All done by the Warriors of Marley, Eldians brainwashed against them and using the Titans taken a hundred years ago. And those Pure Titans. So many people her foul ancestor had abandoned to the cruelty of Marley and the rest of the world with the Empire's collapse, then forced to come here to perpetuate this hell called Paradis.
All because those that came after Karl Fritz, herself included, were too weak to fight off this putrid vow, this self-destructive hatred forced upon their bloodline by one fool.
No more. No More And Never Again!
In the real world, the royal family recoiled as Frieda's Titan let loose a blood chilling scream, shaking the crystalline halls to their core.
"Frieda?! What are you doing!?" Rod yelled in fear.
But she did not answer; she only raged and raged...
All across the island of Paradis, everyone paused and looked up, fearing the distant roar. One coming not from beyond the walls, but from within the territory of Wall Rose.
"What was...?" Bertholdt whispered, sitting with Reiner and Annie in a refugee center within Wall Rose, everyone murmuring in fear and terror over the roar they just heard, wondering if the Titans had already breached these walls as well...
"Reiner, could that have been...?" Annie suggested in a hushed voice, her stomach churning. Not just because of what they had done, but because of what they might have unleashed.
"That's impossible," Reiner muttered, trying to sound determined and reassuring, if only to himself. "The vow won't let the founder do anything..."
"The vow is no more, Dogs of Marley."
The trio froze in shock, looking around with a cold sweat of dread on the back of their necks. All around them, all they could see were the refugees minding their own business, having fled from the Titans behind the safety of Wall Rose.
"I know you're here, and I know your intent. Do not bother to run. Do not bother to fight. Your Titan powers will not aid you anymore. I will deal with you in time. Once I have dealt with your mistake, and your masters."
Living in Marley, with the constant threat that they might be deemed disloyal and sent off to become a pure Titan, these three thought they knew what fear was.
Never had they realized how little they knew in the world, than under the unseen eyes of a wrathful god.
One Week Later
"I don't believe it."
For once, Eren's opinion was shared almost universally.
It hadn't even been a week since the Breach of Wall Maria. And yet, they were now on their way back to Shinganshina, along with a loose mob of many others; the old and the young, the sick and the crippled, families whole and broken. Some were in horse drawn wagons while others were on foot.
"The Titans, they really left?" Armin muttered with confusion as they walked towards the briefly-abandoned town.
It was so bizarre, too surreal, walking towards the gate of Wall Maria almost as if nothing had changed. But the damaged buildings, foot prints, and blood smears they saw along the way gave a constant reminder that, yes, it hadn't just been a nightmare. This had happened.
So why had the Titans left? And more importantly...?
"How is the gate fixed?" Mikasa asked.
They and various others had paused at one point or another to stare at the gate…the gate that the Armored Titan had charged through, leaving it wide open. But now it was...fixed? It was like brand new, as if remade by magic.
"That's impossible," Armin said quietly, feeling a bit uneasy about what he was seeing.
Eren, however, noticed something else. "Why aren't they letting anyone into Shiganshina?" he asked out loud with a scowl, seeing the gates were closed and a small crowd forming.
"Maybe the gate is stuck?" Armin suggested uncertainly. "I mean, I don't know how they fixed the wall, but replacing the parts to the gate might take more time to get working right."
"You think they would have told us that," Mikasa murmured with narrowed eyes.
Eren didn't wait another second, running on ahead, trying to avoid running into anyone as he went.
"Eren!" Mikasa called after.
"Wait for us!" Armin yelled as he tried to keep up.
Eren didn't hear them, gritting his teeth as he barreled forward, determined to find out what was wrong, what was going on, why they couldn't go ho-
"Easy, kid," a familiar voice said as Eren was picked up under his arms.
Eren fought off the urge to hit and struggle, but only because he recognized the voice. "Hannes?!" he exclaimed as the soldier put him down.
"Thought I'd find you brats here," he said with a frown, putting Eren down as Mikasa and Armin caught up.
"Why are you here?" Mikasa asked curiously.
Hannes looked around as unsuspiciously as possible. "Follow me," he said, leading them off the path.
"Mister Hannes, you're starting to scare us," Armin said with concern.
"I'm not scared," Eren denied with a scowl.
"Perhaps you should be, just a little," Hannes said with a sigh. "Look, kids, I'm sorry, but no one is getting in that city. No one."
"Why? Is something with Shinganshina?" Eren asked with a furrowed brow. "Did the other gate not get fixed?"
"Oh, if that was only it," Hannes muttered, wiping a hand over his face. "The city is fine, technically, but...Geh, I'm just going to say it. The walls are gone."
All three children blinked and asked. "What?"
"The walls around Shiganshina, they're gone," Hannes answered with a sigh.
"What, like, they just broke down?" Eren asked with a frown.
"We thought so, but there would be more rubble. It's more like they just vanished," Hannes answered. "I've heard rumors that it's the same in the other districts, but I'm not sure."
The three children shared a look at that.
"What, did they just walk away?" Armin asked, wondering if this was a fever dream.
Meanwhile
Theo Margath solemnly stared at the scene before him, looking down from the bridge of the airship at the city below.
Or, what had been a city.
The landscape had been replaced by flattened ground, dotted with overlapping footsteps that were enormous in size.
The entire city had been destroyed, along with the surrounding areas; Buildings, defenses, weapons, lives, families, dreams. All trampled under the vengeance of Paradis.
All because of him.
It might not have been his call, just his order to follow, but he knew this plan had been a bad one: from risking the Rumbling of the Earth, to sending those children out alone. Everything about it was rotten. But it seemed needed at the time, a necessary risk. To take the founder and use its mighty power to give Marley the edge it needed in this age where Titans were becoming more and more obsolete. Slowly, but surely.
Perhaps the Founder took offense to that notion, on top of the attempt to breach the walls.
"Captain Magath."
He turned, seeing a soldier standing there with a pale, grim expression and a report in hand.
"The Colossal Titans have all returned to Paradis. The casualties...they're still being estimated, but...," he trailed off, swallowing thickly.
"Take your time, Soldier," Magath said evenly, letting the young man gather himself.
"Our nine biggest ports and their cities were destroyed: Barcarum, Mastis, Vester, Tenax, O-orchim, Gr-grata, Helia, C-c-canas, and...and..." the soldier found himself unable to bear to keep reading, his tears beginning to escape with every syllable.
"And, Liberio," Magath finished somberly as the man collapsed into quiet sobs. Cities like them, with important ports, attracted a lot of people. Each one had over a million people within them. That meant the death count was at least ten million, with only minimum survivors.
It was horrible, sickening, and humbling. What was more, the King of the Walls held back. They could have destroyed the whole world or even just all of Marley. But they didn't.
They just made it clear that they could.
"What have we done?"
End of Chapter
And here we have it. I kind of feel like Frieda v Grisha could have been a win-win for Paradis no matter who won. And here's my main vision for why: The Attack Titan gives Frieda the will and strength to resist and break the vow.
And then you have her unleashing a LOT of pent of rage on Marley, who will find themselves utterly and incredibly screwed. Because yeah, Liberio is gone, along with nine other ports.
Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this.
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