Attack On Titan Changes (last two chapters coming soon!)

by Creative Tree

Telling this story has been a true healing process, my own personal therapy. Thank you for sticking around and reading it to the end! -Tree. This fan fiction takes AoT into a completely new direction throughout time. Introducing new characters and reintroducing forgotten storylines, Changes brings up new mysteries in a search to solve old ones. "I'll see you in 2000 years!"

21. Chapter Twenty: Fight! -1 of 5-

= No warnings needed, this chapter will be light and fun! Cheers! :) =

The Tree

Part Three: In Between

Chapter Twenty: "Fight!"

- Year 743 - Paradise Island - the Royal Palace, City of Mitras

[The Sealing of the Walls]

The Ackermann entered that dark, secret room, deep underneath the Palace. He previously hadn't been sure of what he would be looking for, but he immediately identified it once he arrived. There, at the centre of the room, laid a large glass vessel.

It was full of adornments, beautifully crafted. And for the unsuspecting bystander it could easily pass as just another overly decorated vase - quite fitting for a Royal Palace. But Lewis however, knew well that it was much more than that. The General carefully approached, analysing the glass. Lewis held the small torch towards it.

"Yep. This certainly isn't water, or wine," he joked. The Ackermann had found the serum. "Looks more like piss," he added and chuckled.

He could see how the glass vessel was hermetically sealed with only a small valve up top; which he correctly assumed served to pour more serum in, without the risk of all the rest of it evaporating. The 145th King had been collecting his precious concoction for the past two years.

"You should never put all your eggs in only one basket, Karl," the General let out. "This will be much easier than I thought," he added, under his breath.

This concoction was a mixture of Armin Tybur's spinal fluid with Karl Fritz's very own spinal fluid. A serum that would provide the King with the strongest Pure Titans possible, by mixing the Founding, the Colossal and the War-Hammer Titan powers. It was Karl's dream, to build this undefeatable Titan Army. And he believed to have been blessed with those revelations by the goddess Ymir herself.

And as the Eldians arrived in droves into Paradise, the King rejoiced, being glad to be able to accumulate so much bait. He felt even more blessed. Karl knew he and Armin would still live for a few more years. And he hoped to accumulate as much serum as to create enough Titans to cover the whole island. The whole plan had been executed to perfection and the King was sailing smoothly into victory. What he was not counting on, however, was Ezra.

The Attack Titan had arrived on that island, and had been quietly spying there for a while. Ezra was looking for his friend. Not only for the sake of friendship, but because he knew very well what Karl was up to. And he knew it had to be stopped. He eventually convinced the Ackermann siblings to help him in this quest. The plan was simple: he and Orla would rescue Armin and Lewis would destroy the serum.

That was it. The Ackermann knew very well that once he broke the glass, the serum would just evaporate. And Karl's plan would fail. He raised up his torch and extinguished it: so he could use that wooden stick as a bat. Lewis was now in full darkness and the Titan serum immediately started to glow, it looked as otherworldly as one would expect.

He lifted up the bat, ready to strike, and that was when King Fritz suddenly arrived with multiple soldiers.

"I knew you were up to no good," Karl noted, shaking his head in pure disappointment. And Lewis froze. The King stopped near his best friend. "Come on, El," Karl tilted his head. "Drop it," he ordered.

The General just looked at him, confused and unsure of what to do. His own soldiers started to surround him, all being very careful as they knew the importance and the fragility of that vessel.

Lewis only shook his head, slowly. "Kay," he softly let out, concerned. He then thought of all those people and it gave him the courage, so he lifted the bat again. He couldn't let them be doomed.

"I said drop it!" The King insisted once more, shouting, and the soldiers jumped on him.

The General finally dropped the makeshift weapon on the ground, as the soldiers tried to hold him down. First three, then five, then seven men. The Ackermann was a very difficult opponent to immobilise.

"I can't believe you would betray me like that. After all these years!" Karl complained, genuinely upset.

"I can't let you kill all those people, Kay," Lewis insisted as his own soldiers finally had gotten him down on his knees. The Ackermann had his hands behind his back and was being forced to keep his head down by the three strongest men in the group.

"They won't be killed," the King countered, full of himself. "They will be our guardians," he declared. "For all eternity. There's no honour greater than that."

Lewis looked up at him in full defiance, disgusted by all that ridiculous pompousness. He began to fight back again as the soldiers tried to take him out of the room. 'I can't lose,' the Ackermann thought. 'No, I can't lose!'

He was almost successful as one of his higher kicks in that scuffle almost hit the precious glass, it missed by very little. Lewis was struggling greatly against all those men and he even managed to elbow Fritz in the face.

"I'm gonna let you rot for that," Karl complained and spat on the floor, annoyed. "Take him away," the King shouted. "Now!"

He walked closer to his prize. Karl gently touched the glass vessel, glad that it was still intact. He then held the back of his neck, contemplative. Massaging his growing wound as he suddenly realised that Lewis was probably not working alone.

"Go check on the prisoner," Karl firmly ordered.

But that would be of no use, for Ezra and Armin were already far gone by the time the guards caught wind of it. The perfect plan that had held strong for two years had now been completely unravelled in only two days.

The King still had the serum that had been collected so far, but it wasn't nearly enough. Almost all of the concoction consisted of Armin Tybur's spinal fluid, as it was where the War-Hammer and Colossal Titan powers resided. Only a small amount of the concoction consisted of Karl Fritz's spinal fluid - only enough so he could be sure he would control those Pure Titans without fail. Now, with the Colossal War-Hammer Titan gone, there was no way for Fritz to continue producing this concoction on his own.

Karl regretted not having consumed the power when he could. At the time he had been well aware of how painful and terribly draining the whole experience would be. So he, of course, decided to manipulate his close friend into it instead. It would be less taxing this way. But, of course, Karl never expected that his golden goose would ever be taken away from him.

Now he had to act, and quickly.

He walked around the palace very contemplative, holding his small daughter in his arms. Princess Maria was a toddler now, and although quite young she could tell how her father was preoccupied. She gently rested her head on his chest as he walked aimlessly around the corridors. Karl was waiting for his men to arrive and finally give him his much needed confirmation to go ahead.

The father then caressed the girl's blond curls, lovingly. "My beautiful girl, I'll make sure of it," he gently declared, kissing her head. "I'll make sure that you will see only peace. You will grow up in this beautiful paradise. And as long as you live, no one will ever hurt you. No one."

The news finally arrived: the Founding Titan could go ahead with the plan. So Karl gave the girl for her mother to hold and went out to the garden. He took a beautiful dagger out from its nicely crafted wooden case. The dagger was exquisite. It was silver and gold, full of adornments and had a green stone encrusted in the handle. The King walked into the field of roses and held up the dagger, making a cut on his palm: he transformed. The Founding Titan emerged screaming.

It was a terrifying sight and even more terrifying for all those who knew what that scream meant. It was a scream that would change Paradise forever.

All around the Island, the cursed Eldians heard it.

-.-

The Ackermann was struggling. Lewis had no idea how long he had been underground, even if alive he felt as he were already rotting. The General had been imprisoned in that dark dungeon. And was being guarded by the same men he had once personally selected to guard that dangerous Titan Shifter. He had no escape, he had no hope of ever seeing the sun again.

It took a while for him to understand what was all that noise outside. All that metal swashing, clicking and clattering, the soldiers groaning - Lewis finally understood that something was making its way throughout those two hundred men.

Orla opened up the heavy door and rushed towards him with her sword and keys on hand, immediately opening up all the locks and taking him out of all those chains.

"How- how are you here?" he questioned with difficulty as she held him in her arms. The man was extremely emaciated.

"This is all my fault," Orla let out in tears, the state of her older brother was deplorable. She tried to help him keep his head up, Lewis was clearly confused, his eyes seemed lost.

"Haven't they given you food?" She asked him softly, still with tears in her eyes.

"I need sunlight," Lewis replied, "you and I both know that."

And Orla nodded. "Come on, let's get you out," she told him motherly as she helped him stand up. Embracing him and helping the weak man walk.

They walked out of the cell to see all those fresh corpses outside. The General couldn't help but feel uneasy as his sister helped him out of that dungeon, he could recognise all of his most trusted soldiers. All dead.

"You sure went all out," Lewis noted, under his breath. "Did you really kill all of them?" he firmly questioned as they made their way up the dark stairs, arriving closer to the crystal cave.

"They all deserved it, they all betrayed you," his sister angrily hissed, as she was forcing open the wooden hatch - underneath the chapel.

"Well, technically they are the King's soldiers, not my soldiers," The General countered his younger sister. "So you can understand where their loyalties lay," he gently explained as she helped him up through the hatch.

Orla remained silent, they had finally made it to the surface, her brother was free.

They both walked through the chapel, silently.

Lewis tilted his head, he could tell his sister's heart had been hardened. "I don't remember you being this violent, Father didn't teach us that-" he tried to softly argue, but it just made her mad.

Orla turned to him in full annoyance, interrupting him. "Well they killed him. And mum!" she revealed to him in anger. "That coward is going after everyone in our family!"

And Lewis only looked down, extremely upset with those news.

"He intends to exterminate us," Orla added more quietly as her brother was still processing all that information. "We shouldn't have gotten involved, it served us nothing," she let out in a broken complaint. Crossing her arms, she gently leaned on one of the wooden columns.

Lewis looked up at the beautiful sun rays shining through the stained glass of the high windows, contemplative.

"Did the Shifter make it out?" he inquired.

"Yes, I believe so," his sister replied, still with arms crossed. Orla was clearly upset with it all.

"So I was the one who failed, not you," her brother argued. "You fulfilled your part. All that has happened has been my fault, solely my fault," Lewis declared, broken.

"You didn't cut our parents' throats," Orla countered, uncrossing her arms. She pointed upwards and to the outside, vexed. "This is all Fritz's fault!" she angrily declared.

"I assume he proceeded with the plan," Lewis considered.

"Yes," Orla replied, walking closer to him. "It was in the water. He had the serum distributed and poured into all the water fountains all over the island. In the darkness of the night," the younger Ackermann explained, clearly upset.

She continued, "and he waited to make sure enough Eldians would drink it."

The fact that the King's precious concoction was poured into the only available sources of drinking water in the island deeply upset Orla. For it meant that people were unknowingly drinking that poison and would have no control over the outcome.

"So it has already happened?" Lewis questioned. "He has transformed them?"

"Yes," Orla confirmed, upset.

"What has he done with this new Titan Army?" The General inquired.

"What he said he would do," she explained. "They were hardened around the island." Orla continued, more saddened. "People of all ages, even young children! He got what he wanted, all for his personal protection. It's sickening."

The Eldians had gone to Paradise to escape that never-ending world war. They went there seeking refuge, after the King had promised that there would be a safe haven. And they truly believed it. The Eldians were sure they were safe there. Now, over ninety percent of the population had been transformed into those Pure Titans, and were formed into those three 'sacred' walls. Karl Fritz had completely betrayed his subjects, his own people. They were now his eternal slaves.

"Which also means we are all trapped here," Orla added, crossing her arms again. "The ones who are left, I mean."

"Why go after our family..? And not just kill me?" Lewis questioned, confused and upset as he considered all that had happened. "The others had nothing to do with it," he added.

The Ackermanns and the Fritzs had been close families for many generations, he couldn't understand why the King would just turn on all of them like that.

"I suppose he wanted you to rot in here," Orla theorised. "And take revenge on everyone else after we unravelled his plan." She then continued more hopefully. "But we got the word out, anyone who is an Ackermann is in hiding."

"You should disappear completely," Lewis firmly suggested. "Karl will be even more enraged when he finds out what you have just done here."

"I know. And so should you," she replied. "I just wanted to send him a clear message. He can't just get away with massacring our family after all this time. And he can't treat you like that, leaving you here to rot. I hope he rots in hell," she let out.

Lewis sighed, trying to organise his thoughts. "Just, take care of yourself, don't go getting into trouble," the brother advised.

"I won't." She replied firmly. "I'll disappear, and so should you," Orla reiterated.

The two siblings found their way out of the chapel and just stood there for a moment, contemplating those vasts, empty fields.

"Thank you," Lewis softly said, finally thanking his little sister for rescuing him.

He considered it all for a moment. "After Karl dies we should meet," he suggested.

"I'll send you a letter," Orla replied. "What will you do now? Where are you going? she questioned her brother.

"Oh, I'll disappear for sure, just like we said. But not just now," he explained. "There's something I need to take care first."

-.-

A hundred and eleven years later

Paradise was in flames and the Walls Fritz had built all those years ago had now fallen. The Wall Titans were loose, walking aimlessly all over the island - until sundown when they finally stopped. Now it was time for the paradisians to count the dead and make plans to hide, as they knew the Wall Titans would rise again in the morning.

Ymir too had fallen, the fight with those strange airplanes had drained her, and she eventually fell somewhere in the east side of Paradise. The enormous Titan was clearly in a deep sleep, recovering to fight again.

"It's funny how time works isn't it?" Sunny asked, tilting her head. And Ymir startled.

She opened her eyes in that cursed dimension, Ymir had fallen unconscious over the sand. The thirteen-year-old woke up again and sat upright, confused but also annoyed. "How are you here?" Ymir asked in annoyance, "again?" she added.

The twelve-year-old just looked extremely amused. Sonnenblume was sitting in front of her in the sand, cross-legged and very childlike. "That's a good question," the young Ackermann replied, looking to the horizon. "I don't know really. I've been here for as long as I can remember…" she trailed off.

"What do you want from me?" Ymir asked, aggressively.

"You're glowing, and not in a good way," Sunny joked.

The young apparition was made of many speckles of light, like trillions of stars; while Ymir was glowing from all the roots that had attached themselves to her, the roots from the light tree.

Ymir was clearly not amused by her cousin's humour. She was still waiting for Sonnenblume to answer her question.

"I'm here to remind you that it is of no use," Sunny explained, in a slightly threatening tone. "Time is set and it won't ever change," she declared. "So why don't you give up on all this nonsense already?" she questioned.

"Time has changed, I am proof," Ymir countered.

And Sunny tilted her head again. She began to explain, reminding the Fritz princess. "If the General at the time the Walls were made, the Ackermann General," she added as an important reminder and continued: "hadn't gone after, hadn't saved and looked after that young Tybur boy. If Ode and his mother had been killed like Karl had ordered; well then my father would have never been born. And neither would have I," Sunny told her with a smile. "Nor my brother," she added more somberly.

Sunny rose up and began to hover, like a small fairy made of stardust. "If the Ackermanns hadn't persisted and fought back so strongly through these past decades, after you made the Fritzs turn on then-" Sonnenblume continued more angrily. "And the Azumabito, which I am surprised you went after," she shook her head negatively. "You play dirty," Sonnen complained, disappointed.

"Get to your point," Ymir hissed back.

"You know what my point is: you were going after my parents," Sunny let out, annoyed, crossing her arms. "Did you really think you could stop my brother from existing?" she questioned, baffled.

She flew closer to the witch. "Time is set, you can't bend it your way," Sonnen threatened. "You can never stop what has already happened, it will always happen," she firmly affirmed.

Ymir looked away, reflective. "It seems you know very little, if you truly knew this story you would be on my side, not his," she observed, stoically.

"I know enough," Sunny hissed back, confidently.

"He killed me," Ymir pointed out, brokenly.

"Oh, if he had been successful in that we wouldn't be having this conversation now, would we?" Sunny countered, mockingly.

Ymir became mad, she threw the light roots towards the apparition - with only her mind. And they lunged forward violently, like snakes, attacking it. The apparition reactively flew backwards and away from her. But the light roots couldn't grab Sunny, the thin roots just passed through all that stardust and fell on the ground again.

So the apparition flew closer to the witch again, extremely vexed after that failed attack. "I won't let you destroy my island. Much less my entire world," Sunny gravely threatened. "Ever," she maintained.

"You should have never been born, you shouldn't exist!" Ymir shouted angrily.

"Well here I am," Sonnenblume replied regally, flying backwards and opening her arms wide. The apparition then flew closer to her again. "Stay away from Ezra," Sunny gravely threatened.

Ymir only tilted her head. "No," she replied very playfully.

Sonnenblume looked up, quickly observing that odd purple energy moving across the starry sky. It seemed her time was up. "I'm coming back again," she firmly promised.

"You can't stop me," Ymir hissed very threateningly.

"Oh, I will destroy you," Sonnenblume threatened once again, full of certainty.

And she opened her eyes, waking up quite startled.

The Forest Lodge

[ Year 874 ]

Sonnenblume woke up very startled indeed. She raised up hers and Ezra's hands, as they were interlocked together. And she immediately let go once she saw those faint sparkles all around their interlocked hands. Sonnen then sat upright quite agitated.

The small, wooden lodge was quite dark at night. But the moonlight was shining through their balcony, which made his face appear more clear to her as she turned towards him. Ezra's eyes were partially opened, even though he was clearly in deep sleep. His eyes were completely blackened, which made Sonnenblume startle even more. It was a very eerie sight.

Blue then jumped into the armchair nearby. She grabbed her robes and covered herself, sitting with arms and knees held together, for it was a cold night. The young Ackermann was suddenly very reflective, she looked up towards her beautiful wedding dress hanging in the corner. Sonnenblume then looked down at her hand. 'There's no going back now, I need to figure this out,' she thought.

The prince began to pass his hand around the mattress, looking for her. He too was awake now and he had immediately noticed that she wasn't there. Ezra opened his eyes to see Blue sitting in the armchair, she looked very small, all crumpled up.

"What are you doing all the way over there?" he mumbled, confused. "Just come back to bed."

But she didn't reply, she only looked vaguely to the windows, Blue seemed paralysed and lost.

"Sonnenblume, the night is too cold, I don't want you to get sick," he continued more seriously as he sat upright, inviting her back into the thick covers. For he could see how she was shivering. "Why are you even out there anyway?" he asked, concerned and confused. "What woke you up?"

"I don't think we should be touching," Blue replied very quietly, with her chin on her knees.

Ezra let out a small chuckle. "We've done a lot more than just touching already, Blue," he replied, quite amused.

"I mean while we're sleeping," she explained.

He looked up at the clock while scratching his head. "It's four in the morning," he complained, "come back to bed."

Blue tilted her head. "What were you dreaming about?" she questioned.

"I never dream," he replied.

"Everyone dreams, some people just don't remember," she argued.

"You were using your powers on me accidentally, weren't you?" he theorised. "That's why you don't want us to touch."

"No, you were the one using your powers on me," she countered, frightened.

"I would have to be awake to do that," he argued back, trying to go back to sleep again. "And also, you know, be turned into a Titan..?" he continued, from under the pillows. "You know I can't use my powers in human form," he added with a muffled voice. "You are the one with the weird mind powers."

"What were you dreaming about?" Sonnen insisted.

Ezra raised his head again. "Nothing, I already said," he maintained. "I never dream."

"Are you a sleepwalker?" she questioned, tilting her head.

"What do you mean? Was I moving in my sleep?" he asked back, concerned.

"No," she replied.

"Was I talking?" he asked.

"I don't really know, I was sleeping very deeply," Blue explained, sincerely.

"So you had a nightmare? Is that what all this is about?" the prince asked, theorising. "And you think I caused your nightmare."

"No, it wasn't a nightmare," Blue countered. She then stood up and came closer to him, she leaned in and began to touch his arms and hands, his shoulders and even his forehead. No sparkles.

Ezra was slightly amused and also very confused by all this behaviour.

Blue sat on the bed. "I suppose it only happens if we're in deep sleep," she confirmed, a little frustrated.

"Otherwise it would have happened before," he cleverly and softly pointed out.

This had been the first ever time they slept together on the same bed. The prince didn't really understand her powers very well and neither of them expected that something could be triggered while in deep sleep.

Ezra looked at her very lovingly, he could tell she was quite bothered by the ordeal. "You're not suggesting we should sleep apart, are you?" he asked, upset. The young husband began to gently cover her up with the heavy sheets, as he didn't want her to be in the cold.

"No, I- I should figure out a way to control this," she replied, Blue held her head. "This has never happened before," she continued and looked at his eyes more deeply. "I don't understand exactly why being near and touching you would make my mind go to Paths," she let out, confused.

"Paths? What?" he asked back, even more confused.

"The cursed dimension," she explained.

"I don't know what that is," Ezra maintained his confusion.

"That dimension that connects all Eldians, and where Titan Shifters go after they die," Blue explained further. "You're a Titan Shifter, surely you have been there."

Ezra only shook his head, trying and failing to think about it. He then dropped his head down and began to rub his eyes, trying to stay awake. "Wait, yes. I think I remember Dad talking about this place, isn't it like a beach but with lots of sand and no ocean?" he asked.

"I think that would classify as a desert," Blue pointed out.

"Good point," Ezra concurred.

"Are you saying you've never seen it?" she asked, baffled.

"Nope." He replied, strangely proud.

"That is a little odd," Blue commented, holding her right arm with her left hand, reflecting about it.

"And I didn't even think it was real," the prince continued, slightly annoyed. " I just thought it was part of Dad's little bullshit routine," he complained.

"Then how do you know how to use your powers?" she questioned.

"Well, I don't know very well, do I?" he argued back. "Otherwise I wouldn't have to be constantly training."

"You should have the memories of the previous Titans and access to that dimension, it doesn't make any sense," Blue pointed out.

"You're starting to sound like Dad," the prince complained jokingly. "Next you're gonna conclude I'm lying about all this just to upset and annoy you. And that he should have never lost his powers to me in the first place, blah blah blah," Ezra continued the mockery with his hand as a little puppet.

Blue smiled, "I'm not your Dad and I believe you," she affirmed.

"Good," Ezra replied, and leaned in, giving her a small kiss on the lips.

The young Ackermann became reflective again, she wondered if Ymir had kept him away from that dimension for a reason. 'Why don't you want him there?' she asked, only in her mind.

-.-

The Royal Palace

[ a couple of weeks later ]

The now royal princess walked through the corridors of the palace, she eventually arrived at the open library. Sonnenblume had been looking for her uncle.

"Do you want to continue with the book research, my dear?" Eren asked as she walked in, uncrossing his legs and putting a few documents to the side. He then gestured, inviting her to take a seat.

"That's alright," she excused herself and remained standing, and proceeded. "Uncle Eren, Ezra told me how you taught him about Paths…" she trailed off, playing with her own fingers, a little nervously.

"You can call me father now, if you'd like," Eren told her with a smile.

"I prefer uncle if you don't mind," Sonnen replied.

"It's fine either way," he nodded. "What do you want to know about Paths?" Yeager asked, sitting more conformably on his favourite armchair. He crossed his legs again in a four lock, clearly curious.

"Why do you think Ezra's relation to Paths is so different from the Shifters that came before him?" she asked.

"And by relation you mean the lack thereof?" Eren corrected her.

"You think he's lying about that?" Sonnen inquired.

"No," Eren replied and sighed. "Only because I haven't been able to reach it for many years myself," the Titan Shifter explained. "So I wonder if it just doesn't exist anymore," Eren cogitated.

"How would that be possible? A whole dimension couldn't just cease to exist," Sonnen countered.

"Well, sometimes I wonder if it all has just changed," Eren considered, he became more reflective. "If the rules of the game have just shifted, I mean."

"Shifted to what?" Sunny questioned.

"For once, I survived and was still able to pass my powers down to him, my own son," Eren began to argue. "And I hope the same thing happens to him and his powers. I don't want for Ezra to die so young, he doesn't deserve that. No one does," the father added more brokenly.

"Contrary to what you might think, considering his many complaints about me and how I raised him: I love him very much," Eren told her very seriously.

"I know, I can tell that," Sonnen affirmed. "I don't want for him to die either. And it's relieving, as you said, to know how you and the other Shifters are still alive."

Sunny thought about it some more. "But what do you mean by him passing the power down?" she questioned her uncle. Sunny knew very well how Ezra hoped fervently that those cursed powers would die with him.

"Well I hope and expect that this will be the way," Eren told her with a nice smile. "I dream that Ezra will pass his power down to his own child, freeing himself from certain death and still keeping our legacy; just as it happened to me and him on the day he was born," the father told her very proudly.

"It would certainly be less gruesome than say, what happened between me and my father," Eren added.

Sonnen stood there very quietly, trying to process her uncle's beliefs. 'What did I get myself into?' she complained, only in her mind.

"The Founding Titan will never die," Eren continued. "And, who knows? You might be already carrying the next one right now," he cheerfully considered with a lovely smile and Sonnen only raised her eyebrows quite high.

Sunny turned to leave, a little embarrassed, but returned for a moment.

"You do know I'm an Ackermann and that any kid I would ever have wouldn't be able to become a Titan, right? It's not possible," she pointed out, reminding him.

But Eren kept his smile. The aspiring grandfather leaned back on his armchair, full of confidence. "There's a lot we don't know about your family and your blood, about Titans and all these powers in general. Who knows? Maybe you and Ezra could end up having the more powerful of all Titans," he hoped very grandiosely.

"Rules that have existed for millennia can't just be broken like that," the new princess countered, certain.

"It's true, it is a fact that any Eldian child with Ackermann blood can't be turned into a Pure Titan," Eren considered, but proceeded with his argument. "And that is precisely the reason why the nine Titan families, in particular the Fritzs, never married and had children with Ackermanns; as they believed those children would be no use to them in their ceremonies," he explained, about the cannibalistic rituals the Eldians had to pass down the Titan powers.

The uncle continued, "they simply couldn't risk it," he then looked back at the endless library behind them and Sonnen followed his eyes. "You can look it up if you'd like. No royal marriage between a Fritz and an Ackermann has ever been recorded in the past two thousand years. You and Ezra are the first," he revealed with a smile.

"Your child surely will be very special," Eren continued with his high hopes. "There's a first time for everything."

Sunny was a little staggered. She only excused herself quietly and left the room. She went looking for Ezra.

-.-

The new princess eventually found her young husband in one of the many corridors of the palace. Ezra immediately smiled when seeing her.

"Yellow in Blue, you are as beautiful as ever, my love," he complimented her as she walked towards him. But soon noticed how she was not in the mood and was particularly agitated as she approached.

Blue stopped in front of him, slightly vexed. Although she could never be too mad at him; and he clearly thought she looked even more beautiful when mad, which made him smile even wider.

"So, you haven't told your parents we are not having any kids?" she whispered, clearly baffled.

They began to walk side by side, in the direction of the open gardens.

"Of course not," he whispered back.

"What do you mean 'of course not'? They are already hoping that I'm pregnant," Blue complained.

"That's their problem, not ours," Ezra replied nonchalantly, which made her look at him even more mad. "Well, have you told your mother?" He then cleverly questioned.

"That's different," Blue tried to argue.

"I knew it," he replied, laughing out loud.

Blue continued. "She is just going to berate me for the rest of my life and I'd rather delay that as much as I can," she argued. "Now your parents are the ones hoping for an heir to the monarchy and rightfully so."

"Not rightfully so," Ezra argued back, stopping them for a moment. He continued more gravely. "I'm the King, whatever I choose to do with this country is my decision. I'm not running anything by them," he affirmed.

"You're not King yet," she reminded him. "Not officially, the coronation is only in three months."

"Well then, let's wait three months to let them know there will be no grandkids," he joked.

Sonnenblume looked away as they kept walking. They were passing now through that ancient hallway and he could tell she was deeply concerned about it all. Ezra stopped them again and held both of her hands.

"And you will be my queen regardless," he softly promised. "We don't want children and that is our private business, besides, I won't need an heir," the prince considered and looked back into that ancient corridor. They had just walked through the Hall of Kings, a large corridor with many portraits of the past Fritzs monarchs, forming a very long Eldian timeline.

The prince continued, cheerfully. "I know my people will approve the idea of a Republic," he passionately let out. "It's time to end this two-thousand-year-old dynasty. The world has had enough of the Fritzs, more than enough."

"What will your father think of that?" Blue questioned. "Something tells me he won't like it a bit," she added with a small chuckle.

"It doesn't matter, he's not blood," Ezra argued while still holding her hand firmly, as they walked towards the outside gardens. "Not in this family," he continued, "as much as he hates to be called that word: he is an outsider," Ezra said with raised eyebrows and a smile.

"Why does it seem like you enjoy calling him that?" Blue asked with a small smile as they walked hand-in-hand.

"All I'm saying is that certain matters in this family are not fully of his concern. Not when it comes to our dynasty. He's not a blood royal," Ezra maintained his argument.

"Don't be such a snob," Blue let out in slight admonishment.

"I'm not. I'm just saying this is just between Mother and I," Ezra affirmed. "And I know her well enough to be sure she'll support me fully," he explained.

"Right, it's just you and her and-" Blue was about to start counting when she realised. "Oh, there's only the two of you left, isn't there? I had forgotten about that," she noted.

"There was uncle Zeke, who would have a proper say in the matter, to Father's dismay. And a part of me would love to have seen that. But he's dead," Ezra explained, jokingly.

"Yes, true," Blue confirmed, and smiled again.

She was enjoying seeing him so cheerful and jokey as always, but she was surprised to see his face change suddenly. Ezra became more reflective, he looked down.

"And Ymir is gone too…" he noted, trailing off.

Blue stopped. "Huh," she casually let out.

And Ezra looked up "What 'huh'?" he asked, suspiciously, he could see the wheels quickly turning behind her eyes.

Blue only shrugged and kept walking.

"How is your book research going by the way?" he asked.

"Funny you should ask," she replied. "I've made some progress. When I have a full transcript I'll share it with you," Blue promised.

-.-

- Year 854 - October 31, the Queen's farm

Queen Historia was already feeling the intense pains of labour in the darkness of that room. A new day was starting and at its first hour, countless people walked fast all over that building as the Queen cried in pain.

Servants and nuns quickly lit up the corridors and some of the rooms with candles and torches as the crystal lights seemed very weak and not being able to work properly. The doctor and the nurses rushed all over, beginning to prepare everything. Historia breathed heavily, she could feel how the pain increased more and more with each contraction and she knew it would only get stronger. This was only the beginning.

Paradise Harbour

Hange walked into the Communications' Room and was immediately staggered to see Levi just standing there, fully recovered.

He gently walked closer towards her. "We can talk about it later," he quietly said.

Reiner waved, calling the Commander over as he was speaking on the radio and Hange approached.

"Sir, this is Hange Zoe, the Commander in charge here," Reiner introduced her through the radio.

"This is Sir Magnus Tremblay," the pompous man spoke on the other end of the line. "I am in command of these air troops," he explained. Tremblay was talking from the main dirigible.

"I hope it's good to meet you Sir Tremblay," Hange replied, picking up a chair and swiftly sitting next to Reiner - in front of the large radio.

"That's quite a party you're having down there," Tremblay pointed out, jokingly.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a party, Sir," Hange replied in a serious tone.

"Well it's good to know our troops are welcomed to join," Tremblay expressed, more professionally.

"I assume we all want the same thing here," Hange said.

"We certainly don't want your infestation to spread out to the world," the Marlean Chief explained. "Especially to our great continent."

"Indeed," Hange concurred.

"We are dispatching most of these airships and our bombs to the location of the squadron," the man proceeded, "as they have signalled us informing where the giant beast has fallen."

"And you intend to launch all your bombs into the creature?" Hange asked.

"Not all of them," Tremblay replied.

And Reiner decided to interject. "Sir, you surely have been informed by the pilots that they have bombarded the nape of the creature and there was nothing in it," the Warrior explained. "I don't think just bombarding it again will work."

"Oh, we'll make it work," Tremblay sternly replied. "We have quite a lot of ammunition as you well know, Braun," he pointed out.

"You said not all of them," Hange noted. "Sir, are you threatening to bomb my island?" she gravely asked.

"Well, ma'am, I won't let millions of man-eating monsters loose to threaten humanity's existence," the Marlean Chief argued back. "I'm sure you understand. There's no guarantee that slaying this one giant monster will be enough," he added, "but there's one thing we've been told that will do the trick."

"What will do the trick?" Hange asked, warily.

"Braun, haven't you told your new allies the entirety of the Warriors' mission in this operation?" Tremblay asked the Warrior.

"No, sir," Reiner replied.

And Tremblay informed the Commander. "The ground mission is solely to eliminate the Fritzs, what should have been done years ago," he revealed and proceeded, "Braun has informed me that Finger has fulfilled their half of the mission."

"Yes, sir," Reiner replied. "Zeke Yeager is confirmed dead."

"So the Queen is next?" Hange concluded, baffled. "Are you threatening to kill our sovereign?" she questioned, bewildered.

"Come on, Zoe, you and I know this will be better for everyone," the army man appealed, hoping to bring her into his mindset. "That family has too much blood in their hands, it's about time we end this curse, once and for all."

"Reiner, are you in charge of that mission?" Hange turned and abruptly asked the Warrior in pure admonishment - just as a mother would. She was vexed and Reiner had no words.

"Oh, no," Tremblay countered from over the radio. "Braun, Finger and Galliard were sent to kill Zeke Yeager," he explained, nonchalantly. "I've sent our best operative to kill the Fritz queen."

"Don't you know she's with child?" Hange asked Reiner, still completely bewildered.

"Yes, we are well aware of that," Tremblay again interjected from the radio. "The order is to kill her and her little demon child - effectively ending the bloodline. Tybur is ruthless and I know he won't fail in that," the army man added in pure confidence.

"Who is Tybur?" Hange questioned Reiner once more.

"It was the soldier dispatched for that job," Reiner explained, shrugging with uncertainty. "There was an airship designated just for that. It should be arriving at the Queen's location in the early morning," he finished informing the Commander.

Hange became silent for a moment, already beginning to calculate things in her head. The Commander's eyes were focused deep into her utmost concerns.

Tremblay proceeded gravely. "Reiner, gather together the other Warriors and come to this east point to help us kill this beast," he ordered. "You have the coordinates. We are already heading to that location. And, Commander Zoe, we have no intention to bomb this island and harm any of your civilians," he promised, vaguely.

And continued. "We will help you deal with the Titan plague. But don't think of interfering with our plans, the Fritzs must be exterminated, it's about time this Titan era ends." The army man solemnly declared, in his slightly threatening and condescending tone, and he then cut off the communication.

There was pure silence in the room.

"Do they know the Queen's true location?" Hange swiftly asked Reiner, lunging closer to him as Captain Levi only grunted in the corner.

"Yes, unfortunately," Reiner replied, a little afraid of the woman. "Don't ask me how, I have no idea," he continued, "they know she's in the orphanage. And they even think it's a cheap ploy, her surrounding herself with children like that."

"Who this guy thinks he is to boss us around like that?" Levi complained with arms crossed and grunted again.

Hange was quiet, leaning over the table and tapping around with her fingers, thinking; forming the ideas in her head. She finally turned to Reiner again. "You better be ready if you want to keep that makeshift bed here," she warned him. "Because they won't take you back after this."

The Warrior only nodded, solemnly. And Hange stood up.

"Alright, let's organise this," she let out, and walked out of the room as the others followed her.

-.-

Shadis and some of the cadets were fixing up their own airship, waiting as it filled up and making sure it would be ready to fly. Louise had volunteered to help fly the big thing, and so did other young cadets that had been following the now arrested Yeagerists. The old Commandant was glad to see all his pupils working together again, just as it was in training. But he was still wary, even if they needed the help, he was still making sure to keep an eye on all of them.

And he was right to, as Louise herself had only joined with the intent to kill her old disciplinarian, in revenge for what he had done to Floch.

Commander Hange and Captain Levi were walking around the harbour, supervising the others as the teams gathered together. They were all waiting for this new airplane to arrive, and for the airship to be full, so they could go ahead with their plan. All while the hundreds of Marlean airships were still making their way into the island, slowly passing above them in that dark sky. It was past midnight, and the 31st of October had arrived.

-.-

"How would they know that?!" Mikasa asked very nervously, as Reiner explained to their team how the Marleans knew where the Queen was and that they were going to attack there.

"Maybe it was that doctor," Jean cogitated, with arms crossed. "Why would they trust a Marlean Physician is beyond me, he is probably a spy," the soldier complained.

"But isn't he Eldian?" Connie asked, sitting a little further away, closer to the still comatose Falco.

"Still, from the continent," Jean maintained. He turned to the Warriors again, still with arms crossed. "Why didn't you tell us that was your mission from the start?" he questioned, annoyed.

"Because our mission was to kill Zeke, and that has been dealt with," Pieck firmly explained, from the back of her Titan. She hadn't removed herself completely, as she didn't want to have to transform again.

And Reiner only nodded, crossing his arms.

Mikasa was still a little distracted in the middle of that discussion. She was looking towards the airship, as it was inflating into the air.

"Well, now we have to split the team," Jean pointed out to Reiner as the two of them stared each other down, both a little annoyed at one another.

Mikasa finally turned towards their conversation. "I'll go with them," she immediately decided and began to walk away. But Reiner stood in front of her, still with arms crossed.

"No-no, you're coming with me," he firmly said, and then chuckled. "You're going to slay that dragon," he declared, pointing at her crystal swords.

"My son is in there!" Mikasa hissed back at him as he blocked her way.

"Why would he be there?" Jean questioned, baffled, and they both turned towards him.

"Where else should I have taken him?" Mikasa questioned back.

"An orphanage is not a good omen," Connie pointed out, still sitting a little further away.

"You have a kid?" Reiner asked, bewildered. "When I met you, you didn't even have boobs," he added, with another small chuckle.

"Settle down, Reiner," Jean admonished.

"Weird comment, man," Connie added.

"You know what I mean," Reiner protested.

"When we met I was twelve," Mikasa clarified, stoically.

"You joined the army when you were twelve?" Pieck asked, from her Titan.

"Don't you guys join when you're in diapers?" Connie questioned the Warriors.

"It was either that or starve here," Mikasa explained to Pieck.

"Yes, good point," Connie concurred.

"Didn't you join just to show off?" Jean confronted Connie, jokingly.

"I joined to prove-" Connie stopped himself. "Well, it doesn't matter anymore," he let out, and became a little saddened.

Reiner then turned to Jean. "You joined to be in the cushy Military Police," the Warrior reminded him. "Oh, right you changed your mind to follow Yeager, how is that going for you?" he asked and laughed.

"I don't follow him," Jean complained, annoyed.

"And you joined to be a hero," Pieck reminded Reiner, from up her Titan. Braun stopped laughing and became more serious again.

"Why did you join?" Jean then asked Pieck.

"Good dental plan," she joked as Commander Hange and Captain Levi were walking over to speak to them.

"Right, Armin hasn't come back, so Reiner is in charge of this team," Hange determined.

"Reiner?" Pieck complained, jokingly.

"Yes," Reiner confirmed, and turned to Hange. "What's the procedure?" he asked.

"Meet with Armin at the crater and go to the east side," Hange explained. "You Shifters can then decide your plan of attack, and I'll make sure that this airplane arrives with the petals on time."

Reiner nodded.

"What if something happened to Armin at this weird crater you talked about?" Connie questioned. "I mean, why hasn't he come back?"

"Let's hope not," Hange replied. "The last thing I need now is to lose my Colossal Titan," she let out.

"Mikasa, we are just talking about how Armin could be in peril, in what world are you at?" Jean questioned as the Ackermann was visibly lost in thought, looking to the ground intently.

She looked up and then walked forward, about to say something to Hange but the Commander stopped her in her tracks. Mikasa was going to offer to join her team and Hange already knew it. She could see how trepidatious and concerned the young mother was.

Hange only raised her hand before Mikasa could talk. "I know what you're going to say," she let out and pointed at the Captain. "Levi is coming with me, don't worry about it."

The Commander then turned to address the team, she looked at her watch. "You can all leave, the sooner you can find Armin the better. And let's hope the kid wakes up," she added, talking about Falco, and walked back in the direction of the dirigible.

Levi walked closer to Mikasa. "I'll take care of the little brat, don't worry," he whispered. "I owe you one."

Mikasa then hugged her cousin very tightly. "Don't go dying on me," she whispered back. And Levi nodded and walked away, following Hange.

"Great. Now we lost the other Ackermann," Reiner complained as Levi walked off.

"Well, we still need to protect our Queen," Jean interjected. "We can't just let the Marleans dance around this island like clowns," the soldier complained, he then looked around the dock. "I assume we need to gather all our supplies so we can go?" Jean asked Reiner, their new team leader.

"And I assume I'll have to carry all of our supplies," Pieck let out, since Falco was still in deep sleep.

And Connie then looked to the side, checking on the small boy. "Let's hope he wakes up," the soldier said.

They then all began to organise themselves to leave.

Reiner was tightening up the ropes as they all prepared the Phoenix's makeshift saddle when Mikasa walked over to him. "Please don't make comments about my breasts again," she firmly warned.

"Noted," Reiner agreed. He then laughed but Mikasa remained serious. "I'm sorry," he apologised, still chuckling. "It just caught me by surprise." The Warrior then smiled, thinking of their training days. "You must be a good mom, you were always bossing us around anyway," he joked.

Mikasa finally smiled back at him, sweetly. "Let's slay that dragon," she complied, holding his shoulder affectionately, before they left.

-.-

It wasn't long after Reiner's team left when the remaining soldiers looked up to see that beautiful, futuristic air machine finally arriving. They were all mesmerised as it landed on the water.

Onyankopon went over towards it, extremely excited and still mesmerised. He waited as the large cargo door opened up automatically, which he didn't expect; as it finished opening he walked up into the belly of the airplane.

"An automated door, how impressive," he excitedly noted as he walked into the futuristic machine. Danso, the pilot, stayed seated for a moment - emotionally preparing himself; then he finally stood up and walked over to greet him.

"Very nice to meet you, I'm Onyank-" Onyan, stumbled on his words as the pilot removed his helmet. "Onyankopon," he then reiterated.

"I'm Agent O-7," the pilot replied, and became a little uncomfortable as Onyankopon stared at him.

"I imagine 'Agent O-7' is not your real name," young Onyan awkwardly joked.

"Of course not," Danso replied, removing his gloves and putting his helmet aside. "That would be ridiculous," he added as he shook Onyan's hand.

"I'm sorry, I know I'm staring," Onyankopon admitted.

"Yes, you are," Agent O-7 concurred.

"I've just never seen someone quite like you before," young Onyan explained. He looked up, thinking. "Actually, I haven't seen someone who looks like me in a long time," he revealed.

"Who looks like you?" Danso questioned his word choice.

"Are you from the south?" Onyan asked.

"The south of what?" Danso asked back and crossed his arms.

"Of the continent," Onyan explained. "I'm from Ninua, where are you from? I mean you're not Marlean," he concluded, wrongly.

"I am actually," Danso revealed. "And I'm even a bit Eldian as well, if you can believe it," he explained, playing with his gloves. "I'm a little bit of everything," the pilot added.

Onyankopon chuckled, awkwardly. "I'm sorry I've just never seen a black person with blue eyes before," he explained, astounded.

"What? Are you lost in my gaze?" Danso joked back at him. The pilot was relieved, this encounter was going much better than he had imagined.

"Well, I guess it makes sense since you said you're a little bit of everything," Onyan concurred. "I mean, your skin is clearly lighter than mine," he noted and they both smiled. "Where did you get all these people to mingle so much?" Onyan asked, jokingly.

"Earth?" Danso replied, also chuckling a little.

Onyankopon then put his hands on his hips, looking around the airplane, admiring it. "This is a beauty. Where did Marley get all this technology?" he questioned.

"That is classified," Agent O-7 replied.

"You're certainly very mysterious," young Onyan noted. "Your name is classified, where you're from is classified, this plane is classified…" he trailed off with his argument.

"I'm Special Ops," Danso clarified, "that's just the norm," he shrugged his shoulders. "So, I was told we are supposed to pick up a cargo, what is it?" the pilot asked.

"That is classified," Onyankopon replied with a charming smile.

-.-

The Titan Realm

Somewhere, sometime, in that cursed dimension

"How is this kid here?" Maria asked, leaning down and poking the young Shifter's chest. The former Jaw Titans were huddled together around Falco, all confused with his sudden appearance in that realm.

"Are you dead?" Marcel asked.

"No, I'm not," the boy promptly replied, and looked around at that sea of people, extremely confused.

They were all incarcerated into those thin light cords, it bounded their wrists and it seemed attached deep into the sand somehow.

"Who did you pass the Titan to?" Porco asked, slightly annoyed but also very curious.

"I'm not dead," Falco said again.

"I bet it's gonna be born into some random kid," Porco added, bumping his brother shoulder to shoulder and Marcel nodded in confirmation.

The twelve year old became a little annoyed. "I'm telling you I'm alive, I just ended up here somehow," Falco tried to explain, looking around that strange dimension.

The former Jaw Titans were silent for a moment.

"Are you sure you're not dead?" Marcel asked again, really confused.

"He probably doesn't know, he couldn't just be here otherwise," Maria pointed out. "Well, not physically here," she added.

"Maybe he is not physically here," Porco supposed.

And Maria bent over to poke Falco again. "I'm not dead!" the boy exclaimed, a little more annoyed. He reached towards her, trying to grab her arm before she could poke him and inadvertently pulled the thin light cord instead - breaking it immediately.

All the former Jaws Titans were completely stunned.

Maria looked down as that magical thin root just faded away from her arms - freeing her completely.

"How did you do that?" Marcel asked.

"Maybe it's because he's a kid, pure heart and all?" Porco cogitated.

Falco tilted his head, he walked forward and also easily broke off Marcel's and Porco's cords as well, also freeing them. The boy smiled. "Only the Jaw can break the crystal," he reminded his predecessors.

They all observed the cords' dust flying through the air and quickly disappearing. It was indeed Titan Crystal.

"You are correct," the apparition pointed out. "Quite clever," she added.

"What are you?" Falco asked as he turned, completely startled. "You look like a fairy," he pointed out in amazement at that creature made purely of stardust.

"Fairy?" Maria asked, and the brothers also looked confused.

"Who are you talking to?" Porco questioned.

"Consider me your fairy then, young Grice, you've done very well so far," Sonnenblume praised the young boy.

"Why can't they see you?" Falco asked.

"Because they are no longer alive," the apparition explained. "They can't see me now, but they will once they come back into the real world."

"You can bring them back?" Falco asked her more excitedly.

"It's probably Ymir messing with his mind," Maria commented with the brothers, very mistrustfully.

And Falco turned towards them. "She said she can see you and hear you, and that no, she is not Ymir. And that you need to trust her," the boy relayed.

The boy stopped again, paying attention and turned once more. "And she said she is not the one that can bring you back, but the creature," he relayed.

"Creature?" Porco asked.

"The otherworldly creature who gave us our powers," Falco relayed. "She said it is pure evil and it will use the fallen Titans again. Only the ones it wants, to do its bidding. The ones as evil as the creature itself."

"Who is this creature?" Marcel questioned.

"The Devil," the young boy explained.

Falco then turned again to hear more instructions. "I brought you here to free the Titans who could fight the creature. Go ahead and choose the right ones," Sonnenblume told the boy. And then proceeded with more detail.

"Falco?" Porco asked as he was still very attentive into getting those instructions.

The boy turned to them again. "She told me to choose who to free. Once the creature decides to bring the Titans back, it will only choose to bring the ones it trusts to protect it. The others will stay here, trapped as they already are," Falco carefully explained, talking about those thin light cords.

"That's why this fairy brought me here, so I can free those who want to kill the Devil and will fight strongly against it, to protect the island and the world," the young boy declared.

"So are you saying we can come back to the real world?" Marcel asked, baffled.

"Only as Titans," Falco clarified. "To fight."

"And what will happen to us after that?" Porco questioned as Maria seemed perplexed and stunned besides him.

Falco turned his head again, waiting as the apparition replied, and he then turned to relay to them. "You will be free," the boy said.

That got the attention of the other Titan Shifters all around them even more; most that were in close range had already been listening quite intently into this whole conversation.

Maria, Porco and Marcel could then finally see that apparition, she was truly made of pure stardust.

"So you better say goodbye to this cursed dimension, you won't be seeing it again," Sonnenblume added, with a nice smile.

"We-we can see you?" Porco exclaimed, confused.

"Welcome back to the real world, enjoy the fight," the apparition said. "You won't have very long on this Earth."

Sonnenblume then continued, hovering closer to them. "Your Titan bodies are still forming again, underneath the Earth. You are technically alive now, but you still have some time here," she pointed forward. "So go ahead, pick and choose," she gestured to all the other Shifters near them, and the former Jaw Titans looked back at all those people, trapped.

The apparition then disappeared, leaving them all stunned.

The Original Coordinator was crouching, not far from them. He had heard it all, Torin began to contort himself, standing up with some difficulty. "What's this about us being freed?" he asked, intrigued.

"Real world again? Sounds fun, doesn't it?" his twin sister added. Elke smiled at all her brothers, all the Original Titans were incredibly intrigued.

"I've been waiting for a real fight for ages," Torr gravely noted, extremely excited.

"No-no," Maria firmly told Falco. "Those will be the Devil's first pick, believe me," she swiftly explained to the young boy.

"Don't you think we can fight a real monster to show our worth?" Torr questioned, indignant.

"We have a sea of people far better than you here," Maria replied, ushering Falco the other way.

-.-

Maria Region - Somewhere deep underneath the odd crater

ϟ "Who are you?" ϟ the Colossal Titan questioned, warily. The giant creature stood up, staring intently at the stranger up in that tree.

"You know, mum recognised me right away," Azzy noted as he stood up again and crossed his arms. "Both times," he added, quickly tilting his head, realising it.

He then jumped out of that giant tree branch and reappeared on top of a large crystal structure, closer to the Colossal Titan, and his father smiled. He could recognise that signature blue energy anywhere.

Armin slightly removed himself from the Titan and appeared on the nape. "How are the 880s?" he cheerfully asked. "Or the 870s? I can't really tell your age," the father noted, squinting a little.

Azzy then jumped closer to him, he reappeared on the Colossal Titan's shoulder.

"I knew you would be able to do that eventually," Armin continued very cheerfully. "How does it feel?" he asked.

"How does what feel?" Azzy asked back, sitting on the Titan's shoulder.

"Travelling through time," Armin reiterated.

"Huh," Azzy let out. "I never thought about it like that before."

"It's so odd to see you like that," his father noted.

"Thank you," Azzy replied jokingly, with his signature charming smile.

"And to think the image I actually have of you in my mind is so different," Armin continued. "You were- you are very little," he sweetly said, smiling.

"I know, I know, I was very cute," Azzy interjected, still maintaining his charm.

"I mean just a couple of months ago you were pooping all over me," the father continued, "and you still do it," he added.

"Thank you for that image," his son replied, ironically.

Armin tilted his head. "What was it like travelling back here?" he asked, curiously. "Wait, and why are you here?"

"You know I can't really answer your questions," Azzy pointed out, crossing his arms.

"And you also should know I have a million questions," his father informed.

"Yes I expected that," Azzy replied.

"So why did you come?" Armin asked.

"Here? Well I saw you coming inside this odd thing," Azzy replied while looking around the cave. "I could see the ground glowing from the sky, that immense crater, when I was up there on my way-" he stopped himself as he was pointing upwards. "I mean I was in an airship, I can't fly," he loosely explained.

"An airship? See? You're already answering my questions," Armin cleverly noted. "Now why would you be in an airship?" he questioned, thinking.

"Ok, I'm gonna stop you right there," Azzy interjected, raising his hands. "Don't- don't try to figure this out," he warned and his father smiled. Azzy continued. "So I saw you coming into this weird place and I just thought I should come after you," he explained, "this whole thing is… is new…" he trailed off.

"See? Again you are telling me things," Armin pointed out. "So you are saying in your version of reality this didn't happen?" he questioned.

"This- this place. I didn't specify the situation, I didn't say this whole situation didn't happen before," Azzy clumsily tried to argue back. "And I'm not sure. I've never heard of this appearing here, it certainly doesn't belong on Earth," he firmly said while looking around the area.

"So you followed me here, were you following me the whole time?" his father questioned.

"Well with your size it's very difficult for me to keep up," Azzy let out in slight complaint. "Even with how slow your Titan walks; and I'm trying to save up my jumps," he explained.

"Why would you be trying to 'save up' your jumps?" Armin questioned.

"Well, for once, they drain me," Azzy began to explain, charmingly. "I don't want to be low on energy, it doesn't feel very good…"

"Yes, I expected that would be the case," Armin cleverly noted. He tilted his head. "And the way you're talking makes me think you used up a lot of energy so far; and are planning to use even more in the recent future," he theorised.

"Ok, just stop doing that," Azzy warned. "You can't just try to figure me out."

"Oh, I just want to know what you are doing here," Armin continued. "You must have imagined that it would immediately intrigue me and yet you still came to see me, why?"

"I just don't like this," Azzy maintained, about that strange place. "We should get out of here."

"Have you ever seen anything like it before? You said you think it doesn't belong on Earth, have you travelled places outside of Earth before? I've wondered if you could," his father questioned.

"Maybe," Azzy replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Maybe? When?" Armin asked.

"When I was a kid," Azzy tried to explain, vaguely.

"How old?" Armin persisted.

"It was after this, I was much older than two," Azzy continued, still vaguely.

"But you don't want to tell me the year? Or don't you remember it?" Armin continued questioning.

"The important thing is that I accidentally ended up in this weird dimension and it looked just like this," Azzy explained. "Well it looked much prettier, this just looks creepy," he added, looking up and around.

"How did you end up there? And how did you get out?" Armin continued to shower him with questions.

"I just jumped there, then jumped out," Azzy replied, shrugging.

"Just like that?" Armin asked and was met with silence. "You don't want to tell me, do you?" the father concluded.

Azzy came closer, and began to explain. "The oddest thing about it was this eerie feeling that there's someone watching you. I can almost feel it here too, can you feel it?" he asked his father, concerned.

Armin looked around that strange cave. "Well, there are a lot of odd overgrown creatures all around here," he pointed out.

"No, it's different, these are just animals. I can sense a conscious being," Azzy insisted and looked up, "lurking around," he added.

Armin tilted his head slightly. "Maybe being on this different dimension when you were so young just did a number on you," the father cogitated. "You seem traumatised."

"Oh, I'm not denying that," Azzy firmly agreed. "We should just leave," he insisted.

But Armin was distracted, curious to find out more. He only wished he had his notes with him, the father had been curiously researching his son's odd abilities since the day he'd been born. Armin turned to him again. "What about Paths?" he asked. "How does it feel being in there? That's certainly a crucial dimension for you."

"Crucial? How do you even know I've been there?" Azzy questioned.

"Because it was the first place you ever jumped to," the father informed. "Not long ago, when you first started. Not long for me, that is, it first happened when you were less than one. Almost two years ago."

Azzy scratched his head. "I don't really remember going there when I was little, I don't really remember any of my early jumps at all. How do you even know that's where I went?" he questioned.

"Because I can see it, I can track you, wherever you go," Armin explained. "Like a little bright blue light in my head," he added with a smile, briefly closing his eyes. "Every time you jump anywhere you first stop there," he revealed.

"Well, I'm not sure if I still do that," Azzy expressed with genuine uncertainty. 'And I certainly can't stay there for very long,' he thought, looking to the side.

He then looked at his father again. "Can you really see wherever I go?" Azzy asked.

"Well, yes, if I focus on you specifically," Armin explained.

Azzy raised his eyebrows. "So you can tell where everyone is?" he questioned.

"Not everyone, just Shifters, and the Ackermanns, and any royals, even some of only noble blood. I can see them through paths, they all light up in different colours in my mind," Armin revealed.

"That's interesting, can you tell where all the Shifters are? Right now?" his son questioned, intrigued.

And Armin closed his eyes, concentrating. "At the moment they are all on this island. I can also tell where your mother is, and your uncle Levi," Armin relayed.

"You can tell where mum is at all times?" Azzy asked, jokingly.

"Only when I concentrate," Armin explained, with a small smile.

Azzy became a little reflective. "Huh…" he let out. "Do you think my powers developed from that? From you?" he cogitated.

"Definitely not." Armin replied with certainty. "But there could be a correlation," he conceded. The father tried to draw a conclusion. "Considering your connection to the Titan Realm, it makes sense that you use it for your jumps. I can't believe you never noticed it before."

Azzy crossed his arms. "Just because I did that as a kid, doesn't mean I still do it," he countered.

Armin just tilted his head again. "Go ahead, jump," he proposed to his son.

Azzy then jumped from one side of the Colossal Titan's back into the other. Armin moved his face to the right, knowing exactly where he was going to appear.

"You just did it," the father noted, cleverly, once his son reappeared. "I was right," he chuckled. "You use that dimension as a mode of transport," Armin finally concluded, quite proud of his discovery. "I can't believe you don't even notice it," he added.

"Maybe it has become just second nature to me," Azzy joked, scratching the back of his head, a little embarrassed. The time traveller was surprised to finally realise this deep connection to that cursed dimension.

He then looked down at his hand, thinking about how his body quickly started to dissolve every single time he spent too long in that cursed dimension. 'That might be the only place that can kill me,' Azzy cogitated.

"I wonder what else has become second nature to you," the father lightly questioned, observing his boy.

"Oh, you don't want to know," the Original Ackermann swiftly replied, with a small grin.

"I hope you have used these powers wisely," Armin sternly told him.

"Ah, Dad, I'm not you. I never had my Mikasa," Azzy joked and his father tilted his head in light confusion.

"Sometimes I wonder how you'd have turned out if it wasn't for her," the son continued, coming a little closer to his father. "I just have an enabler," he added, venting a little.

"Enabler?" his father asked, worriedly.

Azzy sighed, sitting closer to his father. "I should have seen it for what it was, a long time ago. But I was just very young. And quite frankly, just stupid," he confessed. "And that cost me a lot."

'It's costing the whole world a lot,' the time traveller thought.

"Are you saying you never fell in love?" his father asked more softly.

Azzy awkwardly chuckled. "That's a much more complicated question," he replied. "The short answer would be: yes."

The man continued, a little broken. "But my love was not as breezy, as simple or as sweet as yours," he leaned back for a moment. "I wish I had what you and mum have. I really needed someone like that, someone to stop me when I'm going too far," Azzy confessed. "But there you have it, to each one their own," he let out.

"When have you gone too far?" his father swiftly questioned.

"Multiple times," the man chuckled.

That made Armin even more intrigued, suspicious and even slightly upset. "What are you doing here?" he questioned more firmly, with his suspicious but clever eyes.

"Rescuing you," Azzy replied, simply.

"You know that wasn't my question," the father told him firmly.

Armin was again met with strong silence, his son wouldn't budge.

The father looked down, thinking. He was beginning to cogitate if he and his son were not on the same side in this war.

Azzy stood up. "Alright, let's carry you out of here," he said.

He then approached and held his father's shoulder.

"Wait, can you carry me with the whole thing?" the Titan Shifter abruptly asked.

Azzy then looked down to all that flesh.

"The whole Titan?!" he exclaimed. "Certainly not. I've carried big objects with me before, but this is way too much," he explained, scratching his head.

Armin looked down and sighed. "That's fine then. I can't afford to disconnect, I don't know if I would be able to transform again and I'm not taking this risk," the father explained, to his own dismay. "You go ahead," Armin looked up, "I think I can make my way back on my own."

"Are you sure?" Azzy asked.

And his father nodded. "It's a shame though," he commented, raising his eyebrows. "I haven't been on such a trip with you, yet." Armin told him with a smile.

"Then let's make sure to remind my younger self to take you on a trip someday," Azzy replied, smiling as well.

"I would love to know the experience," the father added, extremely curious.

"Something tells me you wouldn't throw up like most people," Azzy commented. He then stopped to pay more attention to his father's appearance.

Armin was quite emaciated and even deformed. Something that was difficult to notice under all those Titan fibres, but quite visible now that he was standing so close to him.

"How long have you been in this Titan?" Azzy asked, concerned.

"Since this morning, so the whole day," his father replied.

Azzy shook his head. "This can't be good," he let out.

"Actually, I was even injured," Armin began to remember. He looked down to his torso, the Titan fibres made it impossible to see his chest. "I'm not sure if I have regenerated yet, I haven't really been focusing on that."

"Dad!" Azzy admonished him, concerned.

"That's fine," Armin shrugged off, unwisely. "The longest I've spent in the Titan were two whole weeks," he justified.

"Two weeks?" Azzy asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It was an experiment," Armin commented, shaking his head and chuckling. "And it wasn't good, it ended quite badly. It almost ended me! And your mother-" the father stopped himself.

"Why am I telling you this?" he questioned himself, then proceeded. "Let's just say you were born not long after that," he revealed, with a small laugh.

His son squinted a little. "Were you going to say she was happy to see you?" Azzy questioned, crossing his arms.

"Well, I almost died," Armin let out, raising his eyebrows, jokingly.

"Urgh, Dad!" Azzy complained, disgusted, sounding like a teenager.

"Ah, come on, you're an adult," the father noted in light admonishment. "I bet you already have kids of your own," Armin let out. "Do you have kids of your own?" he then asked.

His son became a little staggered, his facial expression slowly changed and he looked away. "You know I can't talk about that," Azzy told him, very quietly.

"Well, I wish I could have met them," Armin expressed and that made his son a little teary.

Armin sighed, he looked for his son's eyes. "Was I good to you when you were growing up?" he gently asked. "Right, you can't talk about that either," Armin rapidly concluded.

"We have many good memories together," Azzy told him, with a teary smile.

Armin smiled back at him. "I suppose I died when you were eleven," the father said, quite brokenly. "You know, it always makes me upset to think I would never see you grown up, so this is actually very nice," he expressed, happily.

Azzy smiled back more hopefully, he then looked up. "Can you really make your way up on your own?" he asked.

"I believe so-" Armin began to reply, but stopped suddenly. The Titan Shifter became motionless and his eyes turned completely white, which scared his son a great deal.

"Dad?" Azzy asked. "Dad?" he asked again, full of concern. But the man remained unresponsive. Armin was in a trance.

Azzy reached down to shake him awake but as soon as he touched his father's shoulders he received quite a strong shock.

"What's wrong with you?" Azzy asked, starting to feel a little desperate, and very confused.

-.-

The Reiss Lands

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," Hitch cheerfully told Yeager, with a hint of mockery.

Eren slowly opened his eyes. He had been completely unconscious for quite a few hours and it took a while for his mind to adjust. He raised himself up to see Annie staring at him through the high flames of their makeshift bonfire and Hitch leaning in much closer to where he was. Eren held his head as he sat upright, confused.

The sun hadn't risen yet, it was only four-thirty in the morning. But the moon was shining very bright up in the sky.

"It's impressive how you can regenerate so rapidly with only the moonlight," Annie observed. Eren had almost completely recovered from the emaciated state they had found him in.

That deplorable state had actually frightened her. So, in a sense, Annie was glad to see him recover. But she was still very unsure about him, and very wary of what had brought them together.

Yeager was still very lost, he was trying to remember what had happened, and trying to situate himself.

"What's that in your hand?" Annie asked, intrigued, as Eren put his hand down from his head. She had never seen anything like it. "What a strange scar," Hitch added as Eren held up his hand.

"A promise," Eren replied, bringing up his hand closer to him and analysing that crystal scar, passing his other hand over it.

Hitch stood up. "Well it's good that you're awake, we should get moving," she noted. "Those things will wake up soon."

"Eren can control them," Annie replied unconcerned, talking about the Wall Titans.

"I can't," Eren countered.

And Annie raised her eyebrows. "I thought you were the Coordinator," she noted. "And the Attack Titan," Annie added.

"How would you know that?" Eren questioned, mistrustfully.

"We had a bet, the boys and I. They thought you were either one or the other but I could tell you were both," Annie explained. "Have I won that bet?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Well, in a sense, yes. You were right," Eren replied. "But I don't have royal blood. And even if I did, I kinda lost those powers, the Coordinator powers I mean. So I couldn't control them even if I wanted to," he clumsily explained while scratching his neck.

"Wonderful," Annie let out, ironically. She began to stand up.

"So is that why those big things are walking around aimlessly like- like… ?" Hitch was searching for a word to finish her question as she helped a weak Eren to stand up.

"Like Pure Titans?" Annie helped her. "They are Pure Titans, Hitch. That's how they walk, they have no mind," the Shifter explained.

"They have minds," Eren interjected, already up on his feet. "They're just dormant. Talking about dormant, I'm glad you finally came out to play," he joked. "Welcome back to the real world."

"I assume you still had those powers when you dragged me out," Annie let out in complaint as she and Hitch extinguished their bonfire.

"What are you talking about? I didn't release you, I wouldn't even know how," Eren replied, confused.

"Then who did?" Annie asked, walking closer to him.

"Or what did," Eren suggested. It made him think about the otherworldly creature that had just entered their realm.

The three of them began to walk, preparing themselves to cross through the ancient Reiss lands and all its ruins.

"Aren't you gonna ask what brought us to you?" Hitch asked Eren as he walked further ahead while she and Annie walked slower behind.

Eren turned nonchalantly. "What did?" he asked and kept walking.

"Certainly noth-" Annie was about to say when Hitch interrupted with some excitement. "A ghost!" the MP said.

And Eren turned with a smile as they all kept walking.

"Do you know who the dead child is?" Annie questioned, slightly freaked out.

"I do," Eren turned with the reply. "It's someone from my future," he said. 'And from everyone's past,' he thought.

"Who?" Hitch asked, also finding it all very freakish.

"One of my granddaughters," Eren replied, smiling. And kept walking.

Hitch just turned towards Annie, looking extremely confused.

"He's the Attack Titan, they are all weird like that," Annie explained, slightly annoyed.

-.-

Paradise Harbour

Agent O-7 had just given young Onyankopon a very quick but quite comprehensive tutorial about this new air machine, before they could set off on their mission.

Of course, this was quite a bewildering situation for the pilot, as Onyankopon was the man who had taught him how to fly in the first place. But he kept his cool, Danso was a very stoic man, even in such a bizarre situation.

"This is pretty much it, think you can do it?" he asked.

Onyan scratched his head, "I think so, it's certainly not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. And not that different from the airships, actually, very similar to what the air machine was going to be," he pointed out. "And much less complicated."

"Technology evolves to make things easier," Danso cleverly noted. But this pilot from the future immediately regretted choosing the word 'evolves'. Fortunately Onyankopon didn't really catch on to that.

"And it seems Marley secretly had the most advanced technology there is," Onyan noted, looking around the fancy airplane. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Right," Danso awkwardly agreed and let out a small smile. He held Onyan's shoulder. "It's nice to have a copilot," he expressed, and then suggested. "I might even let you take off, but not land, landing is harder."

Onyan smiled, he then passed his hands through the modern control panel, quite impressed.

"Would you genuinely trust me with that?" he asked.

"I'm sure you're ready," Danso replied, clasping his new friend's shoulder. The pilot even let a little more emotion show, he couldn't help it, this encounter was heavier than he'd expected.

It was indeed fairly easy to fly that futuristic jet, as an unwelcome passenger was also discovering. The two men were so focused in that sweet bonding moment, that they hadn't even noticed how a stowaway had entered the craft and had also learned all of those commands. Danso and Onyankopon were setting up to take off, and they weren't about to fly alone.

"So," young Onyan put his hands on his hips, quite excited and relaxed. "How long until we get to Mitras?" he asked his new pilot friend.

Danso smiled. "Oh, less than an hour," he swiftly explained.

"Really?" Onyankopon asked in pure confusion.

And Danso let out a small chuckle. "This is a supersonic jet," he clarified.

But that didn't help. "I don't know what that means," Onyan replied, sincerely, he also laughed.

"It means it goes very fast," Danso explained, excitedly.

Commander Hange and Captain Levi entered the aircraft, which startled the stowaway, who swiftly hid inside the small engine room beneath the cockpit.

"This is Commander Hange Zoe," Onyan began to present them. "And-" he was then interrupted by Danso.

"Captain Levi," the pilot soon noted, stopping them all on their tracks.

"It's an honour to meet you, sir," the pilot added, shaking the wary Ackermann's hand.

"How do you know who Levi is?" Onyankopon asked him.

"Oh, well, he's quite a legend, isn't he?" Danso swiftly justified. And Levi only raised his eyebrows, with his arms already crossed. He was, of course, secretly glad to know he was still feared, even that far from the island.

"Even in Marley?" Hange asked with a small chuckle.

"Commander," Danso nodded and shook her hand.

"This is Special Operations' agent: O-7," Onyankopon then formally presented the pilot.

Hange smiled as she shook his hand. "It's always nice to meet more citizens from Ninua," she told him, quite diplomatically.

"Oh, I'm not from the same place as him," the agent explained with a smile, pointing at Onyankopon. "I was actually born in Marley," he explained.

"See? I'm glad you're finally sharing a little more," Onyankopon noted. "He's been quite mysterious so far," he told the others with some charm.

Hange was a little lost, looking around that futuristic air machine. "This is all so fascinating, I can't believe the Marlean army is so far ahead!" she exclaimed with some excitement.

"It's private investment, of course," Danso disclosed. "Not really connected with the Marlean army."

"That's even better," Hange told him with a wide smile. "Well, O-Seven. If you care to stick around a little longer after this battle is over, you are more than welcomed to," the Commander made the invitation.

"We Paradisians would love to learn more about all this technology," she explained with much excitement, shaking his hand again.

Danso looked down, quite taken. He looked up again. "I won't be sticking around, but thank you for the invite," he politely declined and went over to his pilot seat.

"Right," Hange let out. "You have the schematics?" she asked young Onyankopon.

And he nodded, showing it to her.

"Good," Hange noted. She then removed her Commander's pendant, and turned it to reveal a small and very delicate key hidden on the other side, which surprised even Levi.

She held the key up. "Don't lose this, you will need it once you get there," she advised, gently giving it to Onyan.

"Are you all set?" she asked and both Onyan and the pilot nodded.

"Good luck," Captain Levi told them and turned to leave.

Commander Hange also turned to leave, but rapidly turned to them once again.

"Onyankopon, once you do have the petals, don't try to be a hero," she gravely warned, then looked to the side, showing him with her eyes the parachutes - making her advice clearly understood to both young Onyankopon and the pilot.

"Good luck, boys," she also wished, and left the plane.

"Are you ready to take off?" Danso asked, very cheerfully.

"From the sea?" young Onyan asked.

Danso chuckled, "that's the longest airstrip you'll ever get. You gotta fly at some point," he pointed out with much humour.

"Let's hope the winds are good," Onyankopon replied.

The brand-new copilot completed the takeoff successfully and was very excited about it. "See? I told you you could do it!" Danso cheered him.

They both continued the procedures in their control panel.

"Can I be rewarded with a fact?" young Onyan gently asked the pilot, as they cruised over the harbour.

"A fact?" Danso asked back.

"I'm determined to know a lot more about you before this mission ends," Onyan promised.

Danso chuckled, incredulously. "How determined are you?" he challenged.

"Very. I'm not a big fan of mysterious people," Onyan explained, more seriously now. "I like things straightforward, not deceptive." He then smiled again. "I bet I can get your name by the end of it," he proposed.

"I'm not giving you any personal information, sir," Agent O-7 replied sternly.

The pilot was beginning to regret being so playful with this young version of Onyankopon, he wished he could have prevented this. But it was clear he couldn't avoid their bond.

"Alright, not so personal, okay," Onyan conceded, still excited and cheerful. "Alright, okay, how about your eyes?" he asked.

"My eyes?" Danso asked back.

"I can't stop staring at them." Onyan commented and chuckled.

"Are you in love with my eyes?" The pilot promptly asked, jokingly, Danso couldn't avoid laughing with his bewilderment.

"They're certainly very prominent and you can't deny it," Onyan argued. He was quite mesmerised by those blue eyes, and very curious. "Where did you get them from?" he asked.

But he was met with silence. "Come on, that's not that personal, is it?" Onyan insisted.

Danso reflected on it and decided to reveal. "From my late mother," he told young Onyan with a small smile.

"Was she pretty?" Onyankopon promptly asked back, jokingly.

"I'm not answering that," Danso promptly replied, and they both laughed.

-.-

Far away, the Phoenix Titan was also cruising across the sky. Full of heavy supplies and carrying two humans, two Titan Shifters and one Ackermann, the creature was clearly tired. But that wasn't the reason it began to slow down and slowly descend.

"I can't see this crater anywhere," Mikasa noted, looking down, since they all expect this to be the explanation of why they were descending.

"Reiner? Reiner?" Connie called the Warrior. "What's wrong with him?" Jean questioned.

Reiner's eyes had suddenly turned completely white, and he was completely motionless, like in a trance.

The Phoenix slowly reached the ground and landed safely. And the Titan then stayed motionless as well, almost as if it had fallen asleep.

Connie thought about it as the other two just looked around confused. He swiftly leaned in closer to Falco and opened his eyelids - something he now regretted not having done from the start. And yes, Springer confirmed his suspicions: the boy's eyes were also completely white.

Falco had been in that trance all this time, and now so were Reiner and Pieck.

"What do we do now?" Jean questioned.

[ to be continued... ]