I do not own Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama does.
Info:
So, Yelena is dead since Zeke wasn't there to save her during the Mid-East war while Onyankopon is back in his home country along with all the other conscripts. There will be other people who are dead here that were alive in canon just as there are some people who are alive that were dead in canon.
Also, Historia made a typo. There are a lot more than 6.5 million Colossi. But don't worry, when she was discussing terms for evacuating Liberio with Marley, Historia clarified this. She also clarified demand 3, specifically that she meant only the armed Marleyan forces of the countries, the ones asserting rule over the native population. The citizens can stay as long as they renounce their Marleyan citizenship and agree to the new/original rulers. Though this was her plan, she acknowledged that she would need to discuss this with the country's rulers first. Some countries ended up heeding Historia's request for the sake of "not repeating the mistakes of the past" and "Being better and having empathy for our fellow humans". However, there were many other countries who just plain wanted the Marleyans out, and most Marleyans chose to move to the main continent anyways.
Things for Eldians became worse overall in Marley. Although they were given legal rights, the hatred of them in general did not decrease. If anything, Marleyans hated them even more now, blaming them for the Paradisians actions. Harassments became more frequent and several Anti-Eldian Rights groups took violent action against them and especially against groups who preached for Marleyan-Eldian sympathy (even if they still hated Paradisians). However, their new rights allowed many Marleyan-Eldians to finally leave the country. They were happily accepted by the formerly annexed nations, Hizuru, and other allies of Paradis who were/had become tolerant of Eldians. Racism in the general population was still present among many of them, but it was far better than in the continent.
Chapter 2: Queen of the Devils
After the Devils had collected all the soldiers' guns and rounded them all up, they led them into the forest. They reached the tracks that Niccolo and the others had found earlier and were loaded onto a train that pulled up to them. The Marleyans were shoved towards the back carts while the Paradisians that didn't arrive by vehicle or Titan entered the front one.
"On your way to the walls you're going to be watching an orientation video," Hange tells them.
"A what?" Greiz asks.
"Just something to help you understand how things work in the walls," Hange explains. "And share with you some information you may have gotten wrong."
"Spare us your devil worded lies," Captain Koch says.
"Just wait until you see who will be showing you the videos," Levi says.
Niccolo enters the cart second to the front along with Griez and several other soldiers. Their captain went into the next one with others. As soon as the door opens, they were all surprised when they see a young man with short blonde hair and a muscular build. On the sides of him are two Paradisian guards.
"Hello, soldiers from Marley," the blonde man says unenthusiastically. "I am Reiner Braun. Warrior of Marley and the former holder of the Armor Titan."
The Marleyan soldiers look at him in disbelief.
"You're lying," Griez says. "You can't be Braun. We just saw one of the Devils turn into the Armor Titan. You can't do that unless you eat the other."
A Marleyan soldier yells from the cart behind them: "This broad in chains is claiming to be Annie Leonhart."
Another soldier from the third cart shouts: "Our gets saying he's Bertolt Hoover!"
"Our's says he's Reiner Braun!" shouts one of the soldiers with Niccolo to the others.
"Yes, and Zeke and Pieck are in the walls," Reiner says. "And you actually don't have to eat the previous shifter. All you really have to do is drink their spinal fluid. Granted, that's still normally deadly but the Paradians have a medical procedure for that. Oh, and the Founding Titan which can heal people. All that will be explained in the video."
Reiner moves to the wall to turn off the lights while a soldier watches him. The other soldier faces the Marleyan soldiers and says: "Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."
The Marleyan soldiers take their seats and the lights above them turn off. A projector from overhead shines a light against the flat white wall at the front of the cart and it displays a countdown from 3…2…1… Reiner takes a seat at the front while the guards stand at the sides of the projection. There are speakers on the walls.
The projection displays a black-and-white image of a woman sitting on a throne in regal garbs and a crown on her head.
"Hello," says the woman on the screen. "My name is Historia Reiss. I am the queen of Paradis."
"Reiss? I thought the royals were the Fritz's?" a soldier next to Niccolo asks him.
Reiner looking longingly at Historia in the projection.
"You're probably wondering why my name isn't Fritz," Historia says. "Well, to answer this question. We need to go back 100 years ago."
The projection changes to show an artistic drawing of the Great Titan War. The same ones that they were shown in school.
"Up until now, Marley's recollection of history is more or less accurate. There was no Devil of All Earth and certain historical events are exaggerated or heavily focused on over others. But Eldia did kill a lot of people in their conquest and eventually we broke into a civil war where the families of the Nine were trying to take complete control of the others. None of that I am proud of."
Several Marleyans scoff.
Niccolo hears one of his comrades mutter: "Look, even the devils admit it."
"However, here is the part where History becomes…jumbled," Historia says. "You see, there was no Helos and it was not truly Marley that ended the Great Titan war-"
As soon as she said that, the Marleyan soldiers erupted in outrage. They were calling Historia a she-devil. A liar and a whore (that last part irked Reiner a lot). The soldiers paused the projection and one screamed at them to white down. And when that didn't work he blew an air horn. That got them to stop and the showing resumed.
The projection shows two different men. One is a Marleyan man with a beard and glasses. The other is a dark haired man, dressed like how Helos is depicted, except he has dark hair and he's wearing an Eldian symbol on his shoulder.
"You see, the folk hero Helos is in actuality a composite character inspired by two historical figures. One was a Marleyan restorationist named George Marsh. The other was Jeremiah Ackerman. An Eldian and my ancestors personal guard. Oh, and Helos sounds like the word Hero but it is also ancient Marleyan for marshlands. Just saying."
The Marleyans mutter amongst themselves.
"George Marsh?"
"I heard of him in school but he didn't get as much focus as Helos."
"But what's this bullshit about a Devil helping?"
The projection shows a reenactment of King Karl Fritz sitting on his throne with a downcast expression as actors dressed like soldiers fight infront of him. And people dressed in rags and in chains crawled on the ground to avoid it.
"You see, Karl Fritz was tired of the endless infighting of Eldia. Just as much as he was pained by seeing countless peoples, Marleyan or otherwise, subjugated. Karl Fritz held no pride in the brutal history that built our empire and, believe me, there were days that he felt the world would be better off if Titans never existed."
Some of the Marleyans (including Niccolo) were confused. They learned in school that Karl the Coward was a ruthless and cruel as the kings before him. That's why he had to be stopped and overthrown. Although many other Marleyans (like Griez) were unshaken. Simply dismissing this as lies.
The projection shows a re-enactment where Karl Fritz is meeting with actors representing George Marsh and Maverik Tybur (who's holding a hammer to signify that he's the Warhammer Titan). They shake hands.
"But despite that, Karl Fritz believed in creating a better future for Eldians, Marleyans, and all peoples alike. So, to achieve this and end the infighting he allied with Maverik Tybur and George Marsh. The deal was that he would use the Founders power to give the Tyburs the edge to victory against the other houses, should they promise to lift the oppressive laws against other races in their domains. While he worked with Marsh to develop programs to help races that were hurt by Eldia the most."
Many of the Marleyans are confused.
The projection shows a map of the world showing Eldia's territory (everywhere) highlighted in gray. Then it changes to show small outlying countries (including a few that Marley conquered, or that were conquered by Besproletny, within the last century) turning from Gray to white as Eldia shrinks slightly.
"King Karl Fritz planned to slowly downsize the empire and granted several countries their autonomy back over two years."
The projection shows a line of Marleyans being served soup by Eldian workers.
"At the same time he was lifting oppressive policies in willing districts throughout the continent and providing aid to help minority communities and rediscover lost cultures."
"Lies!" Griez shouts, and a guard pauses the showing. "You Devils did nothing but trample anyone you could!"
"Yeah!" shouts another. "I think if an Eldian did something good it would be in the history books?"
"Really?" a guard asks sarcastically. "Your newspapers always boast how Marley wins your wars without mentioning anything of the Eldian conscripts you force on the front lines. Or the Titans you use. Damn hypocrites you all are."
Niccolo shrugs.
"Well, that is true. But if Fritz was doing all this then what happened?" Niccolo asks, only half convinced.
"The Queens getting to that. Shut up and watch," the guard says before starting the showing again.
The projection shows a re-enactment of George Marsh glaring at Fritz (who smiles happily as he sits on his throne).
"But even with all Karl Fritz was trying to do there were still many areas who were reluctant to accept change. More than that, Marsh still couldn't forgive Eldia for the pain it put him through. Marsh truly wanted nothing more than to switch places with Eldia. For Marley to oppress us rather than both to be free."
"Hell yeah!" Griez shouts, standing out of his chair.
Many other Marleyans agree. Though Niccolo and a few others stay silent.
The projection shows are-enactment of Marsh introducing Jeremiah Ackerman to a young girl who appears to flirt with him. Jeremiah was flustered. Maverick Tybur stands behind him.
"So Marsh collaborated with the Tyburs to bring Jeremiah Ackerman onto their side. They already had Eldians under Marsh's control inherit the stolen Titans. And the Tyburs had one of their own seduce Jeremiah. Her name was Selene Tybur, Mavericks' own daughter and intended successor."
The showing depicts Jeremiah holding something behind his back as King Fritz drinks wine in his throne oblivious.
"Though Ackermans are meant to be loyal to the throne, Jeremiah also felt a strong loyalty to the Tyburs since Maverick saved his life during the war. Something that Karl Fritz didn't think about until it was too late."
The actor Jeremiah "stabs" actor Fritz in the head with the knife behind his back. Fritz gets up and shouts at his other guards as he clutches his bleeding head and Jeremiah is killed on the spot by swords and muskets.
"The knife was designed to break apart while it was in his head. Because he was a shifter it did not kill him, but it did make concentrating to use the Founders power more difficult."
The Marleyan soldiers watch with interest.
"So they betrayed him?" Niccolo says.
"You don't actually believe this garbage, do you?" the soldier next to him asks.
"Well this does kind of make sense," Niccolo says. "Haven't you ever wondered how Helos managed to kill the devil? Accelerate the infighting?"
"Marleyan ingenuity!" another soldier stares.
Many Marleyans agree, others are not sure.
The showing depicts Karl Fritz clasping his head and watching in anguish as the empire fell. Depicted as shadow-puppets of buildings falling over.
"With his power limited, Karl Fritz was only able to watch as the Tyburs, their conscripted Shifters, and the Marleyan restorationists led by Marsh conquered more and more land and caused the fall of Eldia."
The showing depicts an artistic representation of collection of ships sailing across the ocean to an island.
"Karl Fritz wanted to save all his people. But they had already been subjugated by the traitor Tyburs and the Marsh Party. So Karl the Kind, aka Karl the Foolish, grabbed as many of his people as he could and moved them to this island. Then, like any king, he did what he had to to endure his people's safety, and to atone for his mistake."
The showing depicts an artistic representation of Karl Fritz in his Titan form. He is thin with his ribs visible and on his knees screaming. The peoples hands reach up to him like they are worshipping a god. Behind Karl Fritz there is a gas cloud with lightning and a horde of Colossal Titans.
"He used every ounce of will power he had to do something that no Founder since has been able to perform. He evaporated his own spine. Released around sixty five-and-a-half million cells and used a combination of the Founders power to alter biology and create Titans to grow spinal cords and Titan bodies from each and every one."
The showing depicts an artistic representation of Colossal Titans facing away from the city inside and forming a wall around them. Unlike the ones they show in Marley, they are not romanticized into looking like big humans in clothes. It shows actual Colossal Titans standing side-by-side (arms down) and "rock" forming around them.
Then it changes to photos taken underwater of several gigantic rectangular "rock" pillars at the bottom of the ocean.
Then it shows a map of Paradis with millions of dots in the water surrounding the island.
"The half-million were used to form the walls. The remaining ones were ordered to rest at the bottom of the sea surrounding Paradis."
Many of the Marleyans gasp at the massive number of Colossal Titans surrounding Paradis. They dread what would happen if the Colossi were released upon the world.
The showing changes back to Queen Historia.
"With his dying breath, King Karl Fritz sent a message to the Tyburs using the power of the Founding Titan. Before he allowed his son to eat his spine. You probably heard that it was: "If you ever interfere with us, the millions upon millions of Titans in the Walls will flatten the entire world"."
Historia sighs and takes out a very old piece of paper.
"I shall now read to you the FULL declaration."
Historia clears her throat. As she reads the showing switches to a view of the message itself. Her words match what is written in ancient Eldian.
"I have created tens of millions of Colossal Titans. They make up three walls which will protect my people. I understand why the world hates us. That is why I have instructed my kin not to release them on the world after I am gone. You've won the war. You've ended the Empire. The world is yours. Please, just let what's left of Eldia live in peace. Be warned, I will protect my people, so if you ever interfere with us, the millions upon millions of Titans in the Walls will flatten the entire world. But please, I hope such a fate never comes to pass."
"Oh that's bull crap!" Griez shouts.
"Well…" says a soldier behind him.
"Jonah! You believe this shit!?"
"Well I always wondered why the king didn't just release the Titans then and there!
"It makes sense if they didn't want to do it," Niccolo says.
"But what about the threat they sent years ago?" asks another soldier.
"They lied, you dumbasses," says one of the guards. "Your leaders lied so you could kill us all and take our resources since Titans weren't working as much anymore."
"And so you could kill us all, like you filthy Marleyans want," says the other guard.
"Lies!" shouts a stubborn Marleyan soldier.
"But they didn't even after all this time," says his friend. "How do you explain that?"
"A fluke!"
"What kind of fluke prevents this!? All the king has to do is tell the Titans to walk."
"Shut up and watch!" the Paradisian guard says before he re-plays the showing.
The showing changes back to Historia.
"After Marsh and the Tyburs took over the continent they created the Folk hero, Helos, inspired by both Jeremiah and Marsh's actions. Marsh and his followers formed the first iteration of the Party that rules your government. What you're about to see now is representations of memories taken from past Eldians observed through the Founders Power. I wish I could show you actual photographs, but you cannot take cameras into the Paths."
The showing depicts a representation of Marleyan police officials rounding up people, Marleyan and Eldian alike. Then a representation of them being hanged as other Marleyans cheer. Then a representation of Marleyan Historians editing history books as Tyburs watch on.
"They arrested all Marleyans and Eldians who recognized Karl Fritz's attempts to reform Eldia and hung them. Then they removed any reference to that in their records and history books while heavily focusing on Eldia's worst actions with a few xaggerations m. For example, after we conquered Lago we did NOT send a group of Titans to eat the Marleyans that fled. I'm not gonna lie, the take over wasn't pretty and a lot of Marleyans got eaten, sorry, but we didn't do THAT. And now your government constantly shoves Eldia's bad deeds down your throats so you will hate Eldians, Eldians will hate themselves, and no one objects much to how the latter is treated."
Though Niccolo understood propaganda (like how the newspapers "conveniently" left out Eldians war contributions) enough to believe this to a degree, many other Marleyans are still skeptical.
"Since then, my family has been on guard. Keeping an eye out on an attack from the outside world. Reaching out to other countries and seeking allies. Some of which include small outer countries you've likely only heard of. The ones that Karl Fritz liberated a century ago and who, to this day, tolerate Eldians and welcome refugees. It was hard for many others to accept help from the infamous Eldian empire. But with Marley constantly expanding through their use of Titans and with us promising to spare them of the Rumbling if it ever came to pass some agreed. Especially when we provided them with Anti-Titan Weaponry."
The showing has pictures of Anti-Titan guns and a picture of a previous king shaking hands with a dark-skinned ambassador.
"That was them!?" Griez shouts in outrage.
"We also developed a serum that "caps" an Eldians connection to the Founder. Both keeping it from controlling them and turning them into a Titan. We offered such to use on the Eldian populations of other countries to negotiate human rights and further alliances. Granted, not all of them are trusting and even when capped some Eldians still face discrimination. But it's a work in progress."
The showing depicts rows of Eldians being injected with a serum and a different king shaking hands with a foreign leader with a Turban.
"The man you just saw was my uncle Uri. Uri helped form many relations with other countries. But he also placed a Vow of Renouncing War on the Founder. This Vow affects all inheritors of his bloodline and keeps us from using the Colossi unless another nation attacks first."
"A devil would never do that!" Griez shouts.
"Unfortunately, he did," says a guard.
"Then, when Marley sent your Warriors to break the Walls, my father did nothing. He believed that after the attack he would be able to unleash the Rumbling. Something he would have done earlier if not for his brother and the vow. But even after that, he was still unable to. Because Bertolt and Reiner were Eldian too, I suppose. The holder of the Jaw Titan, Marcel Gilliard, was eaten by a Titan the first day they arrived on the island…"
Reiner looks away upon being reminded of that. As Marcel died to save him.
A tall dark-haired woman enters the scene and stands by the Queen. She is wearing a soldiers uniform.
"Her name is Ymir."
"I'm her personal guard. And I'm not afraid to slice or eat anyone that comes near her. That means you, Braun."
"Ymir, I told you not to say that during the- Anyway, Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart, and Bertolt Hoover entered the military to join the Military Police to get close to the king."
The queen pauses for a moment.
"Long story short, we managed to take down my father, and steal the Titans from the warriors."
The showing depicts a medical bed where one needle and a tube are injected into the bottom of a persons spine while another tube sends liquid in from a pouch.
"My grandfather had perfected a method for transferring the Power of the Titans from one Eldian to another without anyone being eaten or dying from the thirteen year curse. Though turning an Eldian into a Titan and having them eat the shifter is the traditional method, all an Eldian has to do is consume the shifters spinal fluid. They don't even have to become a Titan to do that."
The Marleyans were disgusted by this.
"Yes. Gross and horrifying. I know. Now where was I? Oh yeah. So now Paradis has eight of the nine Titans. And a safe way of transferring them from host to host. After I ascended the throne I sent a message to Marley, swearing not to retaliate with Colossal Titans or otherwise if they agrees to surrender all the Eldians currently living in Libero. Which your government agreed on."
Many of them recalled hearing that the Liberian Eldians were sent to Paradis. The papers made it seem like the Liberian's were all being punished for treason, though.
"So as agreed, I did not retaliate against your country. Besides, with all the enemies you've made over the years I figured someone else would do that for me."
Most of the Marleyans growl at her giggling.
"And the fact that you're watching this video now means that Marley is once again trying to make a hostile move."
All the Marleyans turn to each other in panic. They wondered out loud if the Queen would retaliate. If they would send the Colossals now to flatten Marley. Or atleast send the Titans they had to destroy their capitals and take over.
"I will meet with you now so I can discuss further action with the parliament. As of now, you are our guests. We will find jobs for all of you on this island, supervised by Paradisian soldiers. They have all been given special instructions not to hurt any of you, but I expect the same. Or there will be consequences. Anyways, I hope you like it within the walls. See you soon."
And with that, the showing ended.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Niccolo questioned. "They're supposed to be devils."
The Paradisian guards scoff.
"You should all be grateful that her majesty is so nice. If it was up to me you would all be thrown to Titans."
"That's what we get for putting a bastard on the throne."
"Hey, don't talk about Historia like that!"
"Ah, there it is," Niccolo deadpans.
Soon, they approach the Walls. Niccolo looks out his window then he and his fellow Marleyans gasp at the military might surrounding the walls. They see hundreds of soldiers carrying strange guns (some look futuristic, others are like two machine guns attached to both their arms) along with their standard Anti-Titan weapons. They all have those belt-mechanisms with the gas canisters that allow them to fly and some of them even have rockets strapped to their wrists to launch at targets. They see an array of Anti-Titan tanks. They see boats with wings that fly through the air that appear to have Anti-Titan rifles attached to the fronts. What is even worse, is that they also see nine-meter Titans dressed from head to toe in medieval ultra-hard steel armor composed of a helmet, a protective plate for the torso, back and nape, faulds, and even protection for their forearms, knees and shins. The Marleyans figured that these are likely intelligent Titans and pseudo-shifters like Hange. There are only ten of them, from what they can see, but they all have massive guns that fire missiles and they see two of them sparring with each other using giant swords. The Marleyans are quite intimidated by them. Neither Niccolo or any of his comrades were looking forward to facing those on the battlefield.
They entered the walls through what the speaker overhead designated as Shiganshina District, which the guards spitefully informed them is where the Colossal Titan first kicked down the walls and flooded the area with Titans.
Then they entered wall Maria, and the guards reminded them that this is where the Armored Titan broke down the wall and forced everyone to retreat into Wall Rose, where there was a food shortage and a lot of people died. Reiner was visibly distressed through the whole thing.
"Hey hold on a second," Niccolo says. "I can understand the initial flooding of the Queen or whoever was in charge at the time didn't get word until later, but couldn't they have just made the Titans leave after a day?"
The guards didn't answer that.
"Historia's father, Rod Reiss, wanted to keep the power of the Titans a secret," Reiner says, looking down and not looking at anyone.
"You be quiet!" shouts a guard.
"Nah, let him speak," says the other.
"After King Fritz fled to the walls, his children were afraid of a revolt since he was blamed for Eldia's downfall," Reiner continued. "So after getting the Founding Titan his descendants erased all memory of the Eldian empire and the Power of the Titans from his subjects minds."
The Marleyan soldiers are intrigued by this.
"He made them think that Titanism is a genetic mutation that their people happened to have. That they were hated and persecuted by the rest of the world simply for that. Only the noble families were allowed to keep their memories while the Eldians that weren't Subjects of Ymir were either hunted or forced into silence, and marry those who were Subjects of Ymir. Me and my friends were so surprised when we found that out. They turned their worst criminals into Titans with injections like we used to, while me and my comrades we were dismissed as shifters created by Marley through Titan science. Historia revealed the truth when she took the throne."
Many of the Marleyans shouted in outrage.
"HOW DARE THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN THE CRIMES OF THEIR ANCESTORS!" Griez shouts.
Others yell in agreement. Even Niccolo was a little offended.
"Wait, they werre turning their own criminals into Titans too?" Niccolo asks. "And leaving them outside the walls?"
"Yeah," says a guard. "The kings did that for centuries. Along with anyone who was already dying. The more Titans outside meant more Titan fodder."
"Question, why did you Marelyans think it was a good idea to send Titans to the place where there's a guy who can control them?" asks the other guard. "It makes no sense to me."
All the Marelyans look at each other. Before they figured that it was a method to punish the Eldians and keep them contained within the walls. But now they are realizing how illogical it really was with the Founding Titan around.
They enter the Trost District where the guards "casually" informed the Marleyans that this was the Trost District. Where their warriors launched their second attack last year and flooded the area with Titans. Trost and Rose looked just like Maria.
Then they enter the innermost wall, Wall Sina. This is the wall that the Marleyans saw the most difference in compared to the others. The buildings are larger and fancier. The roads are cleaner. This is certainly where the nobles and wealthier devils live.
The train comes to a stop.
"We've arrived at Mitras," says the speaker. "Capital of the walls and home of the Queen."
The guards raise their guns.
"Alright get out, Marleyan captain."
"You're gonna see the Queen for questioning."
The captain sighs.
"I will go, but don't touch my crew," the captain says.
"The Queen only wants to see you," says one guard. "Once we're done she will decide what to do with you all. Now move!"
Niccolo watches as his captain is taken away by the two Paradisian guards, pointing their runs at him to keep him from fleeing as he is led inside the castle. As he watches Captain Koch walk up the steps he sees the Paradisian shifters heading up with him. Now that he is close enough Niccolo can see that they are kids. None of them appear older than sixteen. Though he supposed that made since considering that Eldia would historically conscript soldiers when they are young. The Warriors were selected at such young ages for this reason. He see's Hange lightly tease Levi as they walk side by side and he responds with irritation. Niccolo wonders if they are together, like how he sees Mikasa walking with Eren. Niccolo also notices a few of them, including Sasha, glancing back at the train with a look of sympathy. Niccolo's eyes briefly lock with hers before she turns away.
Captain Koch is led to a large door and it opens to reveal Queen Historia Reiss sitting on a throne. Beside her is a tall woman with dark hair in a low ponytail and parted in the front. There is also a woman with short blonde hair in a white long-sleeve collared shirt and a red skirt, looking at them hatefully. Standing in front of them is a well-built blonde man in a white suit, an elderly bald man with a mustache; a lean man with dark hair with a thin mustache and goatee, and an older man with a white beard and glasses.
"You stand before Queen Historia Reiss, first of her name, ruler of the Walls and the Parliament of Paradis," Hange says in a stuffy faux-noble voice.
The young queen shakes her head in amusement.
"Accompanied by her personal guard, slash unofficial advisor: Ymir Gottin," Hange continues.
"Just so you know, I was one of the Titans you guys sent here sixty years ago," Ymir says. "I ate the Jaw the first day he came to Paradis."
Ymir bares her teeth and raises her hand, exposing the ring with the retractable blade on it. The Marleyan captain shutters in fear until Historia tells Ymir that is enough. Hange continues her announcements.
"Presenting, Lady Dina Jeager."
The short-haired blonde woman snarls at the soldiers.
"Presenting Prime Minister Erwin Smith!"
The blonde man nods his head.
"Presenting commander in chief Dhalis Zachary. Top Officer of the Garrison Dot Pyxis. And commander Nile Dawk of the Military Police."
The man with the beard, the bald man, and the dark haired man nod respectively. The Ackermans and the shifters move in front of their leaders and the Marleyans are forced to their knees.
Historia looks at the captain.
"Speak your name, captain," she says coldly.
"I-I am Captain Silas Koch of the Marleyan navy."
"Captain Koch," Historia says. "One hundred years ago your people won the Great Titan war. Marley defeated Eldia, imprisoned most of its people and drove a small fraction to isolation on a single small island. But that wasn't enough for you. To this day your people won't consider your victory complete unless you enslave or exterminate this island. Though lately, you've leaned towards extermination. Despite my ancestors' promise to not flatten the world so long as you left us alone you continued to promote us by filling out land with Titans and six years ago sent four of the nine Titans, our Titans, to do just that. Steal our resources so you could compensate for your waning Titans and continue your colonization of other countries. You could have sought to conquer Paradis, but you wanted to exterminate us, kill every man, woman, and child, take no prisoners, out of hatred. That itself was grounds to declare war. We could have easily sent the Colossi under the sea to trample your country flat, but out of mercy I agreed to leave you alone, so long as you ceased your attacks and handed over the Liberian Eldians." Historia sighs and places her hand in her face. "Why, why are you here now?"
"Don't act all innocent," Captain Koch says. "You may not have attacked Marley but several other countries have due to your actions. We lost our Titans and it turns out that you've been giving them anti-Titan weapons this whole time"
"Touché," says Historia. "They were already making advancements of their own. We just helped speed up the process. Have them some tips. Marleys become the new Eldia, you know that right? A lot of your enemies have been willing to align with the Parliament of Paradis for decades. All they had to do was free their Eldians and we cap their capability to be turned into Titans. Agree to peace with us and we give them tips to protect themselves from YOU and to spare them from any potential rumbling."
"It doesn't matter what you call yourself!" shouts Captain Koch. "Eldian, Paradisian, you're still devils! And all those so-called friends of yours will turn on you sooner or later!"
"I'm also trying to get a cultural exchange program started," Historia says.
"What we're concerned about is what to do with you," Erwin says. "Clearly you were sent with intent."
"We just wanted to find out how Marley lost the Nine," Captain Koch says.
"I can answer that," says Ymir. "Um, because you morons sent a bunch of dumb kids on a really important mission. You sent them to an island filled with Titans, people who know how to fight them, and a god-like Titan that can control them. I gotta Tell ya, you guys are lucky Historia's no nice."
"I wouldn't exactly call a devil nice," spats the captain.
"She refuses even now to send the Colossi to Marley, against my own wishes might I add," Dina Jaeger says.
"Yes, well thankfully the use of the Colossal's is decided by the Queen and Prime Minister," Erwin says, gesturing to Historia then pointing at himself. "And it was decided that none shall move an inch, be it the walls or sea, unless Marley or another nation attacks our land."
"And even then it will merely be an appropriate amount to wipe out the fleet and deliver an appropriate counter attack," Dina recites.
"However, trespassing in our waters would be considered by many to be an act of war," says Pyxis.
"Yes," says Zackly. "Soldiers from an enemy nation that had recently attempted espionage and genocide against us entering our land without notification could be considered by many an act of aggression."
Captain Koch worries. Would they send the Colossals to attack Marley now? Would they kill them and feed them to Titans.
"However, we can't just kill them," continues Erwin. "That could be considered an act of aggression on our part."
"I agree," says Historia. "We must defend our country, but Eldia has a long history of war. I want the Parliament to be free of that."
"Please, all empires throughout history were built off blood and slavery," says Dina, she had long accepted that her ancestors were not as pure as she liked to believe but she refused to see them as devils. "If you truly look at history there wasn't a single civilization that did not engage in war. Marley already ruled a chunk of the continent and had sprawling cities by the time Ymir Fritz gained her power." She sends a glare to the Marleyans. "Do you think all that land just fell unto your laps or did you kill and conquer to get it? Or what about the Hizuru empire? Don't call Eldians devils just because we were better at it than others."
"You conquered the world with Titans!" shouts Koch.
"Just like you guys are doing now?" she retorts. "If we were devils, then so are you. Don't act so high and mighty!" Dina turns to the generals and prime minister. "Perhaps we can use this to our advantage? We can use serum 8."
"Serum 8?" Captain Koch says. "W-what is that?"
"That's classified," says Historia. "But if you recall, Dina, Serum 8 was destroyed a year ago."
"We can make more," Dina reminds her. "We could also use serum 9," says Dina.
"You cannot be serious!" Sasha shouts.
Many of the shifters look horrified too.
"Well that is a possible option," Eren says.
"Eren," Mikasa snaps before she elbows him in the ribs.
"We could possibly use this to reclaim the Warhammer," says Dina. "Then Paradis will have all nine Titans."
"No, Marley isn't actively attacking us now," says Historia. "We have no reason to attack them."
"No reason?" Dina gaps. "What about all of those Eldians who suffered over the last century? What about all the Eldians who are still brainwashed into hating themselves and us? Who still face discrimination every day even after we forced Marley to free them? We have the means to take back the land that was once ours. To expand Eldia and return it to its former glory. But, just because you want to look nice, you restrict yourself to this one tiny island. What's going to happen when the rest of the world catches up with us and surpasses even the Colossi? One tiny island against the world?"
"You know, Dina makes a point," Zackly says. "I for one wouldn't mind placing the Tyburs and chancellor in our dungeon." He grins at Koch. "I can show you what I want to do to them."
"No, we're not letting you do what you did to the former nobility again," Erwin says.
"It's ok if you call him a devil," Pyxis says to Koch.
"And my answer is no," says Historia.
"You heard her, Dina, NO!" says Ymir.
"So we're just going to let Marley off the hook, again?" Dina asks.
"Were not letting them off the hook," says Pyxis. "For the time being they will stay on Paradis as captives and be carefully watched. If Marley wants them back they will have to play nice."
"Or maybe they will plan an invasion to get them back," says Zackly.
"We can't just let them go, they've already seen too much," says Ymir.
"If I may," Hange says stepping forward. "Some of them have degrees in engineering, medicine, etc. We can give them some odd jobs here and there."
"Under supervision, of course," says Levi.
"Very well," says Historia. "Captain Koch. If you and your men agree to live in Paradis peacefully for the time being, I promise that your stay will not be any harder than it has to be."
"I suppose we don't have much of a choice," Captain Koch growls.
"Just keep them away from Shiganshina," says Dina. "Many of the Liberians still insist on wearing arm bands. The Eldians there dont need Marleyans undoing my hard work."
"Your concerns are acceptable," Historia says. "Hange, Levi, I trust you will find good places for all of these men."
Hange nods.
"Very well," says Historia. "You are all dismissed."
"I already have a few ideas in mind.
Belpaese, Marley - Three Weeks Later
--
Belpaese was the only territory beyond the mainland that Marley was allowed to keep. Mainly because it was the very first country taken by Marley after the Titan war leading to generations of intermingling and because of Marley's historical roots. However, Queen Historia still required that they give equal rights to the Belpaeseans and Eldians of the area.
--
Mr. Fischer lounges in his chair, a drink in his hand, trying to drown his sorrow. Mrs. Fischer approaches him.
"The boys are being deployed soon," Julia tells him.
"Great, just great," Mr. Fischer says, not facing her. "I might just lose all my sons now."
Julia closes her eyes to repress her tears.
"I'm sorry, Julia," Mr. Fischer says. "It's all my fault. I drove Niccolo to be a soldier."
Julia pats her husband's shoulder.
"No, you weren't the one who sent him to that cursed island," she reassured him. "Besides, they're sending more ships. Maybe they will be able to retrieve him."
"If he's alive, which I doubt."
"He's alive. I know it." Julia wipes her tears. "Oh, my baby boy. I just hope he's ok."
Back on Paradis
"What the hell is this food?" Connie asks. "Is it even edible?"
"Smells fishy," says Mikasa.
Niccolo let out a groan of frustration. He still found it ridiculous that these people who live on an island had never had seafood before. But due to all the Titans that used to run around no one dared leave the walls until a year ago. Niccolo, who had currently prepared a whole table full of lobster and other seafoods, was at a tent on the Paradisian port where their engineers, along with him and a few of his fellow captives, were working on naval ships. While Paradis had land and sky defenses, they have little to no naval military aside from the Colossi (which remain under water). Though they purchased ships from Hizuru and other allied countries, they were also building their own.
Since becoming captive, Niccolo and several other of his fellow Marleyans had come to realize that the Paradisians had no intention of hurting them. They were actually quite civilized despite his earlier assumptions. They gave them reasonable accommodations. Didn't go out of their way to make them miserable. Mostly, anyways. When a few soldiers came by while they were working on the ships to badmouth and throw bottles at them (a scene that Niccolo saw from the other end back home) the soldiers that were watching them shooed them away as per the queen's orders. Since Niccolo's skills lay in cooking, he was tasked with cooking meals for his fellow captives and the Eldian engineers. However, Niccolo was quite dissatisfied with their bland style of cooking. After a few weeks he was able to convince the Eldian soldiers to let him use some of the Marleyan fishing gear from their ship and stored rations so he could treat them to fine Marleyan cuisine. Niccolo was just glad to get back to cooking familiar foods, not caring who ate it. The top members of the Paradisian military that held the Titan powers came to check on their status and saw his cooking. Their comments and strange looks immediately ruined Niccolo's mood.
"Jerks," Niccolo says as he stirs the soup, as Sasha picks up one of the lobsters curiously and sniffs it. "If you don't like it don't eat it," Niccolo says irritated. "Eldians like you don't deserve-"
That is when Sasha decides to take a bite out of the lobster. As soon as the meat hits her tongue, Sasha feels a rush of flavor overwhelm her. Her eyes widen, she instantly tears off the meat and swallows it whole.
Niccolo turns around hearing a soft yell and his stunned to see her crying and stuffing her face with the seafood. Even her fellow Paradisians gasp in shock and start protesting as they see her gorging herself on the food Niccolo prepared.
"So good!"
Niccolo gasps upon seeing this. Sure, people had complimented his cooking before but no one had ever cried.
"Niccolo! You're a food genius!"
Niccolo blushes a bit. The best way to compliment Niccolo was to compliment his food.
"S-Stop eating like a pig!"
Sasha continues to cry and eat, then her friends started trying some too. They had looks of appreciation, but nothing like her.
"I've never had anything like this!" Sasha cries.
It was so crazy. His mother and father always introduced him to the refined daughters of their friends in hopes of setting them up. He'd met beautiful Marleyan women with poise and grace. Now, he could admit Sasha was pretty, but she's an Eldian, an Island Devil, a Titan, a soldier actively against his country (even if hers is insistent on keeping peace for now), and eating like a pig, yet for some reason he's more drawn to her for that than any woman he's met before.
"There's plenty, take your time," Niccolo says as he turns around.
As he hears Sasha continue to cry, Niccolo is lost in his thoughts.
'What the hell?' he thinks. 'No one's ever loved my cooking that much before. I feel…oh, what am I thinking she's an Eldian De-ok fine, I guess I can't call them Devils anymore. But still, if mom and dad were here they would kill me. Grandma would have a heart attack. Ah, well, she's a minor anyways. I can remember that.'
Notes
Besproletny is this worlds equivalent of Russia (specifically the Soviet Union). They will become relevant later.
Ymir got her last name Gottin from the German word for "goddess". It was given to her after Historia ascended the throne. She makes sure that, despite being a Parliment, the military and other officials don't dismiss her queen.
The descriptions for Paradis' were inspired by guns in the video games. Specifically the Genesis Blaster and the Gatling Gun. Both of which were developed by Hange with some subconscious help from the Founder via looking into future memories. They also kept up to date with the outside world through the memories of banished Titans, in addition to the scouts. However, the kings would always erase their memories of after returning from the outside world to forget what they learned about Ymir and Eldia. Leaving only vague memories of what their time in the outside world was like while the kings had all the information they needed.
The idea of Serum 9 comes from the AoT prototype where Titans were intelligent and could take the form of any human they've eaten before.
--
Serum 1 is your standard Titan spinal fluid altered through scientific means (or the Founders power) to turn Eldians into regular Titans.
Serum 2 is a Titan serum with its memory inheritance feature enhanced so memory inheritance is clearer.
Serum 3 is a serum that heals an Eldian of almost any injury.
Serum 4 a Titan serum that transforms Eldians into Pseudo-Ackermans. It gives them Titan strength and agility but, unlike true Ackermans, they do not have a shared combat inheritance link and they can be controlled by the Founder.
Serum 4B a version of this serum that enhances their speed, strength, and agility 10x. Also gives them Titan-level healing and the ability to generate electricity. Developed by Rod and URI's father Conrad Reiss.
Serum 5 is a Titan serum that transforms an Eldian into an intelligent Titan. Intelligent Titans keep their minds and possess the ability to take their human forms if they desire. They can be altered physically by the Founder, especially when introduced to samples of spinal fluids from the Nine.
Serum 6 is a Titan serum that cuts off Eldians from the paths, essentially "curing" them of being able to be turned into Titans or affected by Founder. Developed by Rods grandfather to gain allies for Paradis and freeing Eldians under their persecution.
Serum 7 is a Titan serum that changes a Titan back to human form. Can be used to temporarily depower shifters and intelligent Titans for half a day.
Serum 8 is a Titan serum that contains Eldian cells that were altered into a virus that adds the genetic code that separates Subjects of Ymir from everyone else. Essentially turning people into subjects of Ymir. Developed by Rod Reiss. All current samples destroyed.
Serum 9 is a Titan serum that turns an Eldian into a "white" Titan. White titans can return to their human form as well as gain the ability to take the form (and memories) of any person that they eat.
