In the city of Mitras
The capital city of Paradise was now almost empty of people, but full of Titans. The big creatures roamed around, like guards, as the Underground was the main gateway above the Devil's cave. There were still a few thousands of humans trying to get out of the city, most of them upper class citizens who had refused to leave the day before, despite the constant warnings of the Underground citizens and of the Military Police.
Many had already died, trapped beneath the rubble of many tremors, or burnt in the many fires. The city was being split open by the constant earthquakes caused by the beast below. The Royal Palace was the only building that stood firm through all the tremors, for its recluse position in the city and more importantly: its stone base. Most of the Titans walking over the city were previous Founding Titans. And although they couldn't turn the small Eldians around them into Pure Titans; those ghostly Fritzs still had a minor command over the Wall Titans, who stood in the distance, also like guards. Karl Fritz and his ancient family were all standing to attention, expecting an attack any minute. The Founding Titans were ready to protect their master and creator.
And Karl was indeed attacked: by the Attack Titan himself. Ezra's attack was swift and surprising. The smooth spy was a much better fighter and he held strong resentment against his contemporary King. The Attack Titan quickly held the Founding Titan down, immobilising him swiftly and promptly removing its head with his Titan's bare hands. All while his contemporary Jaw, Armoured and Beast Titans all jumped on other Founding Titans. The Cart Titan was assisting the Colossal War-Hammer Titan, showing the rubble that should be lifted - to get the humans still alive below to safety; while the Female Titan had picked a fight with Maria, Karl's daughter. The only Founding Titan there that had been one generation into the Walls, and not from before, like the others.
The humans still in Mitras were absolutely terrified, and completely confused. They couldn't understand how come some of those Titans were helping them while others were clearly evil. Regardless, they accepted the monsters' help and did their best to get away from all that mess. Armin Tybur wasn't particularly good as a Colossal Titan, he had never been trained for that. But he was an exemplary War-Hammer Titan and he quickly made crystal structures to protect the humans and help them escape.
He then turned to the fight, and carefully took Karl's titan body from underneath the Attack Titan. Ezra looked up to see his friend tear up the King into two pieces with much pleasure, letting the two halves fall down again.
"Are you enjoying being the Colossal Titan?" Ezra asked.
ϟ "More than I thought I would," ϟ Armin conceded. He then turned to the battlefield and stomped his foot, creating more crystal through the ground and upwards. Expertly impaling the Founding Titans that had been pestering them through the neck, killing them all.
"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Gerhald, the Armoured Titan asked Armin with some humour.
The group of friends hadn't played together in over a hundred years, and they certainly never had this amount of toys to play with before. They could breathe safely now and concentrate on evacuating the city, or so they hoped. All the Founding Titans suddenly exploded in transformation, appearing with brand-new bodies once again.
"They should all be dead!" The Female Titan exclaimed in complaint.
"We are all dead, Lillah," Alex, the Jaw Titan replied.
"Okay so let's trap them without killing them, that should stop them from coming back again," Ezra told the group, thinking fast, and they all abided. "We need to get these people out of here," the Attack Titan added.
They continued to fight the Founding Titans, trying to find clever ways to immobilise and trap them. "This would be much easier if the kid had freed more of us," Lillah noted in the middle of a scuffle.
"Well, we must work with what we have," Gerhald replied, also in a scuffle himself. "And it's not like there were enough Titans there that we could trust," The Armoured Titan added.
They eventually were successful in evacuating the city, still with some casualties, of course. The Colossal War-Hammer Titan then turned to help in the fight once again.
"You should probably focus your powers into preventing this city from sinking," Ezra told Armin.
ϟ "Good point," ϟ Tybur swiftly agreed. The Colossal War-Hammer Titan then put its hands down on the ground and began to produce crystal down below - to support the city.
-.-
Much further down, kilometres below the Underground city, stood the doorway into a different dimension. The giant tree stood taller than before, and from its clear waters it formed the Devil's favourite nine creatures: the nine original Titans whose curse had lasted for the past two millennia. Those were the last Titans being formed within the giant tree.
The Nine Titans slowly formed themselves into that water, with Torr, the Colossal Titan being the last to finally come out. They then stood to attention, guarding the gate.
"Why are we doing this?" Torin eventually questioned his younger siblings.
"Because we are the most powerful of all Titans and the creature wants us as a last line of defence," Jari swiftly replied, beside him.
"I think he means 'why' are we defending the creature," Elke explained.
"When we could seize this power and this world for ourselves," Torr complemented the thought.
The nine siblings then turned towards the giant tree and its portal inside. "Let's cut this tree down," Torin told his siblings. And Torr, the biggest of them, swiftly began to pull out the higher branches. While Osmond created shards of crystal, piercing through the otherworldly wood and the others pulled more branches and gnawed the tree away.
They were slowly being successful into that tree consumption, and the nine siblings felt powerful while destroying that gate. It had all been an illusion however, the Devil took advantage of all that flesh so near it and began to use it to create its own earthly form. The Nine Titans were sucked inside the tree again and the water began to mutate them together. The process was quite painful and absolutely agonising as they lost their freedom and control over their bodies and consciousness. Their souls cried in terror.
The creature began to emerge: with eighteen eyes, nine noses and nine mouths, eighteen arms and eighteen legs. A hideous figure with three giant horns. It began to grow uncontrollably, growing and growing underneath the island. The ever-growing creature made the earth shake violently once again. The earthquakes were even stronger this time as the creature found itself trapped inside the earth, trying its best to grow more and get out into the world.
-.-
In the city above it, things seemed slightly under control. Armin, Ezra and their friends had successfully trapped the Founding Titans and had evacuated the humans. They were now concerned with the sudden tremors when their nightmare truly began. There were sudden explosions all over the city as the Devil unveiled its latest trick: all the fresh corpses that were decomposing under all that fire and debris were suddenly turned into Pure and Abnormal Titans.
The old Shifters were absolutely terrified, this was certainly new. There was something extremely macabre about those new undead Titans and it horrified them. The creatures came over violently and swiftly began to bite and gnaw on the Shifters, so they had to keep transforming again and again to avoid being eaten away. The group wasn't sure of how long they would last, if they had enough energy to keep going, or if it was even worth it to fight anymore.
The Titans made out of fresh Eldian corpses began to rise all over the island. Every land the Devil touched the dead began to rise again.
-.-
Somewhere in the Rose Region
The Female Titan was running fast, or as fast as she could, through those fields. They weren't really sure of how long it would take to get to that farm, or even if they were going in the right direction. A group of Wall Titans was leisurely following the Female Titan, they walked slowly and further behind. But with time, and with their size, the giant creatures eventually caught up with the smaller Titan. Annie kept running.
"Aren't you wearing ODM gear?" Eren questioned Hitch, as they all secured themselves more firmly inside the Titan's hand.
"Yes, but I'm not fighting those things," Hitch replied, baffled. "I never even killed a Titan before," she argued. "Let alone: that!" the MP exclaimed while pointing at the giants.
"What are we going to do?" Onyankopon questioned in deep concern as the Wall Titans got closer.
"Damn Military Police," Eren complained, under his breath, as he reached his hand up to take a bite: and finally transform.
"Maybe we could take a ride!" Gabi suggested cheerfully. The small girl pointed to the airship appearing in the sky. It was making its way to them fast.
"Let's hope they spot us," Hitch let out while squinting, with her hand protecting her eyes, trying to take a better look at the airship through that midday sun.
"Do you think they're friendly?" young Onyan questioned, rightfully so.
Yeager was still conflicted about getting into a Marlean airship, but he was beyond desperate at this point. Gabi soon noticed, as the ship approached, that it didn't have any particular insignias or flags. And the small girl became a little worried about the ship's origin.
Old Onyankopon was at the helm of that dirigible. The machine flew at high speed, rushing to aid the soldiers in the farm chaos that had been reported. The old captain spotted the Female Titan running down below and the three Wall Titans slowly chasing after her. The sight of her warmed the old man's heart. Onyankopon hadn't seen Annie in many years. He told the crew to prepare themselves and focus on the targets.
The airship swiftly bombed the three Wall Titans that were chasing her down, one after the other. The small humans were surprised with that first blast, and so was the Female Titan, as she hadn't spotted that airship flying behind her. The group covered their ears as the next explosions followed, and Annie protected them better inside her Titan's hand.
Those bombs were enough to take the Titans down for a moment, but they would soon regenerate, and they all knew it.
Those three Titans were the ones closer but there were many others further behind. They were in a sea of Titans and were of course all relieved once the airship dropped down that ladder while hovering above the Female Titan.
They all looked up. And Hitch soon helped Gabi to climb up the rope ladder, following close behind.
Yeager was next, he swiftly climbed up as the Female Titan dropped down slightly and Annie completely removed herself from her Titan. Young Onyan then helped her up into the ladder and followed close behind as the Titan began to disintegrate.
They all arrived at the opened hatch and entered the airship, one by one. Once Eren set foot on the wooden deck he noticed the guards solemnly nodding at him. "Sir," one of them said, greeting him as they continued to operate the craft. Yeager could see the golden stars on their chests, but he was still impressed that they knew who he was. So he nodded back, equally solemnly.
Soon the young Onyankopon entered the craft and the crew pulled back the ladder again. They closed the hatch and the airship stopped hovering and began to move fast again. In the direction of the Queen's farm.
The old captain soon came to greet them. Walking fast and smoothly through the deck with his cane, he finally approached the group of youngsters. "You were all in quite a peril out there, it's a Titan minefield down below," the old man noted in a raspy voice. Old Onyankopon had put on his goggles and had lifted up his scarf slightly to cover most of his chin and mouth. The man's face was barely visible.
He looked around that group, scanning himself and the others. Onyankopon couldn't believe how young they all once were and how much things had changed over the years. He had even forgotten that Gabrielle had once been that small.
"I'm assuming we are going to the same place," Yeager soon interjected.
"Thank you for rescuing us," Hitch told the old man sincerely.
Old Onyankopon nodded solemnly at her and turned to Yeager. "Yes," he confirmed, and proceeded. "It seems the Queen is proving to be much more troublesome to the Marleans than they expected," he commented.
And Eren let out a small smile, that made him a little less worried and less anxious for a moment, he looked down, thinking about Historia.
"You're not Marlean?" Annie questioned the old captain.
"Do I look Marlean, Miss Leonhart?" the old man questioned back with a light smile. And young Onyankopon only chuckled behind her.
Annie tilted her head at the old captain. "I'm surprised you know who I am," she noted.
The old man lifted up his cane to aid him, and then walked through the group. "I've been tracking all of you since this started," he began to explain. "Follow me," he added.
The group followed him to the next room as he continued talking. "I know your particular group was flying on the O-7 aircraft." The old man stopped and looked back at them. "What happened to it?" he questioned the group.
They all looked stunned and felt very upset with that question. "Whoever is piloting that craft either doesn't know how to work a radio or has no intention of responding to me," the old man firmly added.
"Both," Eren swiftly explained.
The old man sighed, he gently put his hand over the sheet covering the giant object in the centre of that room. "I'm assuming Agent O-7 is no longer with us?" he questioned the group, visibly upset.
"I'm sorry, sir," young Onyan informed the old captain, quite solemnly. "But he was shot."
"There was nothing we could do, it all happened very fast," Hitch explained more emotionally and then looked to the side, deeply saddened.
"He was an outstanding pilot, and I'm sure one of your best agents," young Onyan noted, to complement her.
"I've lost all of my best pilots today, and quite quickly," the old captain informed the group. He sighed, "it has all been quite difficult. But O-7 was my son," he disclosed while gently caressing that white sheet. And a small tear fell down his cheek.
Annie then gently nudged Onyan, showing him the pistol with her eyes, to remind him and he took the futuristic weapon out of his holster. "I'm sure he would want you to have this," he told the old man while solemnly offering him the weapon.
Old Onyan looked down at the pistol, considering it. He didn't believe it would be a good idea to touch his younger self. "You can keep it," he told the young man. The old captain then swiftly removed the white sheet, revealing the older airplane underneath it. "You'll need it," he added. "You're a pilot, are you not?" he also questioned.
"It's so tiny," Gabi noted, the airplane was indeed much smaller than the one they had been travelling on.
"Because this is only a combat plane, it has only two seats," the old captain explained.
"It's good that it has two seats," Yeager swiftly noted and hopped on the back seat. "Come on," he called his young friend with a sense of urgency.
"Can you pilot it?" the old captain asked young Onyankopon. Already knowing the answer, of course.
The younger man looked around the big dirigible with his hands on his hips. "I'm used to aircrafts like this," he noted. "I've only learned recently about these smaller crafts, but your son is a wonderful teacher," he complimented with a nice smile.
The old man smiled back at him, still with most of his face hidden. "Well, I taught him everything he knows," old Onyan replied. "Everything he knew," he corrected himself more quietly.
Eren proceeded to hand young Onyan the helmet, goggles and gloves that were in the front seat, as Yeager himself was already dressing up for the flight with similar equipment he'd found on the backseat. The old man looked at those young men and how friendly they were to each other despite the urgent and overwhelming circumstances. Onyankopon had forgotten that Yeager had once been a good person and a close friend, being reminded of all that made the old man feel eerie, but hopeful.
From the older man's perspective Eren Yeager had lost his way many many years ago. 'Perhaps things will be different now, perhaps he will be different,' the old man thought.
"Be very careful, this aircraft was made solely for combat. It goes much faster than the newer passenger models," the old captain soon explained as young Onyan was about to hop into the main seat. "And it has a pretty decent weapons system," he added while showing it to the young man in the panel.
"Newer? Are you saying this one is older than those other ones?" young Onyan questioned as he sat in the front seat.
"This is the very first. I've piloted it for many years," the old man explained while gently caressing the aircraft. Onyankopon had brought his reliable craft on this time journey with him, not being sure if he would ever use it, but still sure it would give him luck.
"Where was all that? How come we've never even seen these crafts before?" the young pilot questioned.
"Well, it was a very secret project," the old captain justified.
Young Onyan then looked at the big symbol on the airplane's nose. "What does the 'O' stand for?" he questioned, full of curiosity.
The old man thought fast. "Original, Zero," he swiftly explained. "Again, this one was the first, the others that followed had added numbers," he further clarified.
The two friends were ready to set off in that tiny plane and the captain soon showed them those tubes and oxygen masks, quickly explaining to them how to work it all. "You'll need this to breathe, just in case you want to reach a higher altitude," the old man said.
"Will that help us get there faster?" Eren asked while putting the mask on.
"Yes, you'll be there in less than twenty minutes, for us it will take longer than an hour," the captain explained. "Good luck," he wished them both while gently hitting on the plane's nose. The old man turned to the girls. "We should probably stand back," he advised while the young pilot turned on the engine.
The old captain asked the crew to lower the rear gates and the plane swiftly flew downwards and away. Quickly finding its balance again and disappearing in the sky.
"Wow, it really is fast," Hitch noted.
"How long would it have taken for us if this aircraft hadn't shown?" Annie asked the captain. The Shifter felt exhausted and her Titan marks were still regenerating.
"Three to five hours, depending on your Titan's speed," the old man replied, guiding them back into the aircraft's deck.
Annie quietly sighed, she felt relief.
"It's a good thing you showed up then," Hitch noted and the old man nodded.
-.-
"Can you hear me?" young Onyan asked Eren through their communication system, as they both had masks and earmuffs on. The small airplane was unbearably noisy.
"Yes," Yeager replied. "Are you getting the hang of it?" he asked.
Onyan passed his hands tentatively through the weapons system. "Yes, I only need to figure out this radar. And as soon as I drop you, I'm going after Floch," he told Yeager with determination.
Eren was quiet for a moment. "Do you think you can shoot him down?" he questioned.
"Let's hope that I can and that I will succeed. It will be an enormous explosion though," Onyan replied, firmly holding his yoke.
"Then you better do it somewhere open and empty. This island has had enough destruction," Eren advised, worriedly.
"I'll drive him into the ocean then," Onyan conceded.
-.-
Somewhere in the fields of Paradise
Azymondeus was laying down in that field, looking up to the sky above him, feeling absolutely defeated. The fields were calm in that particular region, the winds only shook the foliage slightly in that cold afternoon. But he could still hear the stomps in the distance: the Titans were everywhere, Ymir had won.
"Seriously? Killing a baby? Stop mocking around," he suddenly heard his sister admonish him. That familiar voice made his cold heart a little warmer, but not enough for him to stand up.
Azzy sighed. "Defeated, by a child," he let out in deep complaint as he stared at the bright blue sky.
"By yourself," Sunny added while crossing her arms. The apparition stood quite near him, but the man hadn't really noticed yet.
"Ah come on! He's like two, he's not me yet," Azzy argued while slightly raising himself up, to then see his sister standing there: all grown up.
"And let's hope he never becomes you," Sunny told him, still with arms crossed. "This timeline needs to go," the Queen of Eldia added while looking around that field.
"Oh, so you're here again," Az noted with a smile, but still a little confused. He sat up straight. "I thought you were just in my head."
"I am in your head," Sun replied. "Did you really think that was going to work? Killing a child? Or are you just doing everything to avoid seeing that dreadful woman? Something tells me it's the latter." The sister confronted him.
"How are you here?" Azymondeus asked, tilting his head.
"I'm in your head," Sunny repeated.
"Yes, but you're real, right? Or are you just my conscience?" he questioned and his sister began to pace around.
"I'm real," Sunny replied, "and I don't think you have a conscience at all," she added, still admonishing him.
"Urgh," the time traveller grunted, annoyed.
"What are you even doing?" Sonnenblume questioned, still pacing and with arms still crossed.
"Don't say I'm making things worse," he argued while strongly pointing at her. "I know things can't get worse than what I've seen. And I've changed all that."
"Well, do you think this is better?! What do you think will happen in this future if we don't intervene now?" she questioned him, quite vexed. Sunny had her arms opened wide.
"You are still alive, for now that's all I care about," her brother swiftly replied, looking her in the eyes and that stunned Sun for a moment.
"Where are you?" he asked again.
"It doesn't matter," Sunny replied, defiantly.
"Yes, it does. It matters to me," her brother argued firmly while crossing his arms, and his legs, sitting firmly in that grass and putting on his best fatherly face. "Where are you physically? Where are you talking to me from?" he questioned.
"I can't answer you, and you know it," she cleverly informed.
Azzy looked at his sister, tilting his head again, thinking. "You said you hope the little version of me here won't become me eventually," he began to conclude. "And where I come from, you're dead… Well I travelled further in time so maybe you're still about to die. And if that's the case, sorry for telling you now, in advance," Az coldly joked and looked into her eyes, trying to read her, but she gave him nothing.
He scratched his head. "You must be from a different future, come on!" he insisted.
Sunny looked at him quite stoically. "I can't tell you," she maintained.
"So where you are coming from, this version of me… doesn't exist? And that little version of me roaming around now will be different? And that will be the version you'll grow up with," he concluded firmly while pointing at her.
"I can't confirm you that," Sunny replied while shaking her head, putting on her blandest face. He had fallen on her trap, that was all the witch needed. The apparition walked closer. "You know what you have to do," she told him gravely.
"If I… kill Ymir, now," Az began to consider with deep pain in his heart. "Then Titans will cease to exist, this world will be much different… But if I have done this already in the world where you come from, then how come you still have your powers? How are you talking to me?" he questioned, rightfully so.
"My powers are deeply connected to Paths, that's a more complicated issue," she replied. "An issue that might finally be solved once you do what I told you to, a lifetime ago," Sunny complained.
"Will I finally be normal?" he asked his sister with naive, childlike eyes.
"You told me once your powers don't come from Titans," Sunny reminded him, she then tilted her head. "Where do your powers come from?" she asked. "You said you'd find out… eventually," she also reminded him. This had been a conversation the two siblings had had a lifetime ago, in their family library - in Hizuru.
"I- I'm still not sure… I," Azzy began to consider. "It might come from a whole different dimension than all of these we've known…" he suddenly stopped in his own concentration as he finally noticed that gentle ring in Sunny's smallest finger. The brother immediately became intrigued.
"What's the insignia in that little ring you're wearing?" he questioned his sister. Az knew that was possibly a royal item.
Sunny looked at her left pinky for a moment then hid her hand behind her dress. "It doesn't matter," she maintained but Azzy looked incredibly intrigued. "You know I'm an illusion, right? This is just how you perceive me," she argued.
"No-no," Az countered. "You control the illusion," he argued back, pointing at her firmly again. "You messed it up," he laughed. "What? Are you a princess or something?" he asked in disbelief. The brother was quite amused.
"Queen," Sonnenblume replied, simply.
"Of what? Hizuru? Your clothes clearly point otherwise. Where are you 'the Queen' of?" Az asked and Sunny only tilted her head. She gently looked around those fields. "Oh," Azymondeus realised, absolutely disgusted.
The man was completely appalled, he dropped his head quite dramatically over the grass, clenching his stomach.
"Stop it," Sunny complained.
"…argh, I'm going to throw up," he continued, holding his stomach while facing down on the grass. His sister only rolled her eyes.
She crossed her arms. "Grow up, Azymondeus," she admonished him severely.
"I am genuinely physically ill right now," he maintained while sitting upright again. "You're lucky I haven't eaten anything. Seriously? Why him? I mean: why?" her brother complained severely. "He's so dull! You deserve better."
"Come on, you two met for twenty seconds," Sunny complained back. "And who are you to judge?" she questioned.
"That's not- we are in a very different situation," Az argued with a nervous chuckle.
And Sunny walked closer to him. "Exactly," she firmly confirmed.
Az tilted his head. "Does Ezra know you want to get his dear sister killed?" he questioned in pure mockery.
Sunny then walked even closer and dropped down near his face, looking her brother in the eyes. "Yes," she simply replied.
"He's the whole reason I'm here," Sunny further explained and Az looked down, confused and conflicted. The Queen of Eldia then walked away and began to pace around the field again. "Ezra has just been born. And in a few moments, Ymir will reach him. You can't let that happen," she strongly warned.
"I know, you told me once before, they need to be apart," Az replied, disheartened.
"And you know what happens when they are united. If it happens again, then we lose. I won't exist anymore and neither will the good future where I'm from. Those two can't coexist, you need to kill her." she strongly advised.
Az only looked down, upset and reflective. And Sunny tilted her head, looking at her lost brother with loving and worried eyes. "I understand how difficult this must be, but-"
"I know," he interrupted her and sighed. "I'm sorry I failed before, I won't fail again," Azymondeus firmly promised her.
'Perhaps you haven't,' Sunny thought.
"I won't fail again," he maintained, seeming much more certain this time.
"Then kill her, once and for all," Sun replied and he nodded. The sister smiled. "And after all this is done, come find me. I can't wait to meet you again," she told her brother with much love in her eyes. The apparition then disappeared into a million stars.
The Ackermann stood up in that field, he looked around the greenery and then up into the bright skies of Paradise - one last time. Azymondeus then began to build up his otherworldly energy and to prepare himself mentally for the physical and emotional pain he was about to endure. He then finally jumped through space and reappeared again in that cursed dimension.
He looked around the infinity of that grand dimension, and began to walk. He walked through all that sand for a while, already feeling the weight of that strange land pulling his cells apart. Az could feel himself slowly turning into sand, but he held it together - the Ackermann had a mission. After walking for a while he eventually saw a shadow in the distance, and in his confusion, that shadow was slowly morphing into a person.
Bertholdt looked at him sternly and stoically as the time traveller slowly approached. "I was waiting for you," the Warrior said.
Azymondeus stopped in front of him and the Shifter unsheathed a beautiful silver sword from its leather scabbard. It was Ludvík's Azumabito sword, Azzy recognised it immediately and Bertholdt could tell. He swiftly sheathed the sword again and offered it to the young man, quite sternly. Az was reluctant, for he was still stunned, the last time he had seen that sword had been in that crystal dimension. The time traveller had lost it there and thought he'd never see the precious relic again. He finally reached and grabbed it from the Warrior's hand.
Bertholdt nodded and the stunned man nodded back at him, confirming that sword's final purpose. "Give my regards to your father," the Warrior asked with a sweet smile. And as Azymondeus nodded again, the ghost disappeared into a million stars.
-.-
Paradise
The giant flying goddess was venturing through the skies of the island, when the Phoenix Titan suddenly appeared on the horizon. It flew fast, straight towards Ymir, spitting its hot fire across her face and flying upwards. Pieck had identified the giant Titan's position and had gone back to call her Warrior friends. They had hatched a new plan and had been waiting to ambush her.
The goddess lost balance for a moment, but continued to hover as her eyes and nose burned. Their plan was to bring her down closer to the ground and finally trap - and hopefully kill this beast once and for all. She began to hover low and the Phoenix and the current Jaw Titan came flying in again, dropping down their ghost Jaw friends like small bombs themselves. Marcel's Titan on the giant's left wing and Porco's Titan on the giant's right wing. The two began to gnaw violently all over those wings as Falco then dropped Jean on top of the goddess' head. The soldier flew down skilfully with his ODM gear. His job was simple: to keep her blind, he used his crystal swords to slash through the already burnt face and make sure it would take longer for her to regenerate both eyes. Jean took extra impulse with his ODM gear and flew down once again, to cut her eyes even deeper, just to make sure. He then landed on top of her head, and waited.
All that happened while Falco and Pieck were swiftly flying across each of her arms, slashing and deeply gashing them with their sharp claws. The giant monster was confused and disoriented. She was being attacked on the face, arms and wings at the same time, Ymir inevitably began to hover lower and lower.
-.-
The smaller version of Ymir flew across the Reiss Fields, quite distant from all that fight. But her divided concentration had truly weakened her, she felt quite disoriented as well, but continued to fly. High above, the small combat plane flew much faster, and was about to reach the Queen's farm. Onyan and Eren didn't even see the curious flying Titan below them as they sped fast and away.
-.-
The Ackermann walked around the rubble, waiting, in that destroyed orphanage. Levi had left Hange resting on top of the scorched kitchen table and was now concentrating on the Pure Titans, and Wall Titans, that were walking around the fields. He crouched down, almost resting for a moment, the veteran knew that they were trapped there. There was no mode of transport to carry the injured Hange, the Queen and the small children away from that farm. And even if there were, where could he take them? The veteran was watching the Pure Titans carefully, waiting to see if any would change interest and sprint his way. But they were just wandering around, pacing closer to the small tree where the Queen was resting, holding her newborn. All while the Wall Titans walked, also wandering, a few kilometres away, also showing no interest in coming his way.
Levi sighed. "What a crazy day," he let out.
When suddenly there were explosions all over the field, some really close to the scorched building. Levi stood up, absolutely confused. It took a few seconds in all that fog for him to understand what had just happened. The Devil's latest trick had reached the Reiss Lands, the contaminated earth made Titans out of the fresh Eldian corpses. It was a truly grotesque sight. Those Titans just appeared out of nowhere and Levi was trying to understand where they had come from. But it only took a glimpse of Shadis' eyes staring back at his for Levi to finally understand what had happened. The Titan began to march and then sprint his way, and suddenly so were all the others. They could smell the children underneath the rubble, and they could also see how bright that Ackermann glowed inside their cursed minds. The Titans were ready to feast.
Levi prepared himself, already trying to calculate in his mind how much gas his equipment still had and how long those blades would last him. He began to fly across the monsters as he heard the strange motor high above him.
The pilot began to slow down, readying the plane to take a lap across the farm. Eren's heart sank once he saw the building completely scorched and partially destroyed. He could also see all those Titans and how much work he'd have down there. Yeager closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating his mind into that cursed dimension. 'Are you near here? Can you reach me?' he questioned through Paths, searching for help.
Eren then lifted up the plane's canopy, he quickly removed his mask and goggles, helmet and gloves. And prepared to jump.
"Good luck," Onyankopon told him sincerely.
"I'll need more than luck," Yeager replied with a slight chuckle. The two of them nodded solemnly at each other and he jumped. Eren brought his arm close to his mouth in that free-fall and took a bite: transforming midair. All while Onyankopon finished his lap and disappeared fast into the skies.
He turned on the radio and asked that aircraft for support. "I need a read. Over," he asked. "Zero, this is Quail, what do you need a read of? Over," Old Onyankopon asked back over the radio. "I can't find the O-7 craft on my radar, it's not on my range somehow," the young pilot explained.
"I'll guide you to it," the old man replied and proceeded to give him the coordinates.
-.-
The O-7 craft was actually approaching the fight with the giant goddess. Floch hovered high and in some distance, he wanted to watch the Eldian goddess slaughtering those soft idiots.
The group knew well, as Armin had pointed out during planning: Ymir would soon ignite. They knew they only had two, maybe three minutes, before she bursted into flames - like she had done so in their previous encounter. The smaller Jaw Titans and Jean did not have any armour to protect themselves from the hot flames, so they were more vulnerable. The Armoured Titan and Mikasa had crystal armour and Pieck and Armin's Titans both could set themselves on fire as well, so they were not in any danger.
As soon as the giant creature began to drop down, the ground crew prepared themselves. Pieck and Falco were still gnawing and gashing the Titan's hands and arms, and Porco and Marcel did the same to her wings. All while Jean stood there, perplexed as to why she hadn't started regenerating her eyes yet. He feared she would ignite herself again, and he only hoped Pieck or Falco would get him out of there in time. She was now close enough to the ground and Armin prepared himself. The Armoured jumped quite high from the Colossal Titan's shoulder towards his target. And climbed over her legs and up to her torso, quite fast, pulling her down with all his strength; while Maria's Titan also climbed up the goddess' body, carrying Mikasa with her. They were going straight to the nape.
The Colossal Titan had already generated enough Titan Crystal to last for a lifetime, only twelve hours before all this, but he had to generate a little more now. 'Just enough to trap you,' Armin thought. He reached up and held both of the giant's legs down, one after the other as he began to create Titan Crystal all around his Titan. The crystal grew all over the ground and pierced her first through her legs and then through her torso. The Colossal Titan was releasing way more energy than he should, he was going far beyond his limits but he had to keep fighting.
Ymir began to regenerate, she screamed quite angrily as the crystal pierced through her Titan. She prioritised regenerating her arms and soon waved them erratically. She could hear that awful motor sound, reminding her of the airplanes that had almost killed her. So, she immediately reached for that, not knowing the Yeagerist was on her side and just wanted to blast those smaller Titans out of her. Of course, Floch did not know how to work the weapons system, but he was still willing to try. He lost balance and almost tipped the plane but he regained control eventually. Floch was chased away however, as the tiny combat airplane appeared on the horizon and chased him out of that fight.
The two planes had flown off, quite fast, Onyankopon was determined to shoot him down. He had Agent O-7's death playing on his head over and over again since Floch had mercilessly shot him. 'I'm going to kill you,' he thought with extreme determination as he chased the Yeagerist across the skies.
The Armoured Titan made its way across the giant monster, aiming to sever those arms with his Titan's crystallised fingers as Armin had taken care of the legs and as Porco and Marcel were still working tirelessly on those wings. He climbed across her back as the crystals pierced through her torso. Armin was making sure she couldn't escape. Maria climbed faster and Mikasa soon jumped off her Titan's back. The Ackermann flew across the sky with her ODM gear and readied her crystal swords. She flew down with grace and speed, and sliced through the Titan's nape, and again, and again. Mikasa sliced through it four times, getting deeper and deeper each time.
Mikasa then stopped gliding and fell down straight through the sliced flesh as Maria followed behind her. The Colossal Titan made enough crystal to hold down her arms as well, she was completely trapped. Jean looked down from the Titan's head as Pieck and Falco hovered behind him. He could see her eyes finally regenerating. Ymir was suddenly quiet. 'Here we go,' Jean thought, preparing himself. He lifted up his crystal swords, ready to slice through those eyes once again.
But before he could do so and before Reiner's Titan could reach the goddess' right arm, she swung her arms around again with much strength. And the Armoured Titan firmed himself on her back with his crystal nails. She jerked her arms out of the crystal, freeing them with difficulty, using all of her strength as the Colossal Titan tried to make more crystal, to keep her trapped. But Ymir freed both her arms and immediately reached out for those pesky little Jaw Titans gnawing on her wings. She grabbed one in each hand and set her arms on fire, while holding the small creatures firm inside her closed fists. They both screamed in pain as they were completely scorched.
In less than a second, Marcel and Porco were no more. The Titan not only set her arms on fire, but her entire body, she threw away both scorched Jaw Titans quite a distance as she burst into flames. Jean immediately jumped off from her head as the fire began to ignite. He used all the impulse he could from his ODM equipment to take a good distance, but he then began to fall. And the Survey Corps soldier had nothing to latch on to, he was falling to his death.
-.-
Levi continued to fight those grotesque Titans as Eren came flying down. The War-Hammer-Attack Titan exploded in transformation, and landed swiftly in the middle of that field. He took a moment; to analyse his surroundings as he stood up and to also feel his powers better. This was only the second time Eren was transforming into his new Titan and now, he also had Armin's blood mixed with his, which made his War-Hammer abilities extremely more accessible.
Eren looked down at his Titan's arm, strongly feeling their blood flowing together through his veins. He closed and opened his fist, feeling the power flow through him, and proceeded to punch and expertly remove the nape of every Pure Titan coming his way. There were over twenty Titans for them to kill, and they were all abnormal and extremely strange. Yeager could soon tell that there was something different about those Titans, and so could Levi. Even after their napes were removed, they kept rising again. The Ackermann was beginning to feel frustrated. Levi also couldn't really tell which Shifter was helping him, he concluded it to be Eren, because of those eyes and hair, and because Eren had been missing since the day before. Regardless, the Ackermann was glad to have help.
He was trying to reach towards the scorched building again, but the Pure Titans kept rising and getting on his way. The children were protected but Hange wasn't. She was right on top of that table, unconscious and in plain view and the Titans soon noticed. Levi could see them approaching the area and he became more desperate, and after slicing yet another nape to get closer; he saw, in a glimpse, one of the Titans picking her up and eating her. Levi's heart sank.
Eren was getting tired of fighting those beasts over and over again, he positioned his foot strongly on the ground and began to produce Titan Crystal through the field. At the same time as Armin was also producing Titan Crystal to trap the goddess Ymir, as their bloods were inexplicably intertwined and synchronised. Levi was desperately flying around the Pure Titans, without knowing which one had eaten Hange, but cutting them all open as he passed through. Deeply hoping he would find Hange safe and sound, unharmed inside one of those disgusting bellies. 'I can't lose you too,' the Ackermann thought as he flew across all those monsters, slicing all that flesh. The Titan Crystal began to rise as he flew around the monsters, which made Levi slightly confused. Eren expertly impaled all those Pure Titans, one by one, high up into the air. And he used much of his strength to do so.
'And stay there,' Yeager thought, as the Pure Titans hung across that odd crystal forest he had just made. Eren also turned to create crystal around the tree, to protect Historia and he then turned to create a support structure all across the badly scorched orphanage building. Eren could feel deep pain in his arm and so could Armin as they both simultaneously used so much energy to produce even more Titan Crystal. Their cursed wounds were being deepened inside their arms and they could both feel it. The pain was excruciating but they kept making more and more crystal.
The crystal rose up all around the burnt construction, making it stable and protected again. The entire three floors left in that building were now completely coated in Titan Crystal. Yeager also made a giant arc across the area of the building, just as he had built one around the tree, to protect his love. Eren could only see and feel Ezra near Historia, so he concluded that the newborn Ymir was in the crib, inside of the building - just as he had seen once in one of his Titan Dreams. That was the reason why he was so afraid of the building collapsing. But he was wrong, the newborn Ymir was currently in a different dimension, accompanied by her cousin. And her Titan form was coming their way.
The Wall Titans began to walk towards the farm, to add yet another worry as the Pure Titans tried to free themselves from those crystals impaling them. Levi was beyond desperate, he had no idea what Titan had eaten Hange and he was running out of time. Even if she had been swollen whole, which was an 'if', the heat of those Titans was too strong, especially inside their bodies. It was hot enough to cook a human alive in only a few minutes. The War-Hammer-Attack Titan dropped down, kneeling over the ground, absolutely tired and motionless, as three cracks began to form across that field. The island was cracking open like an egg, as the Devil grew and moved inside of it. Even that far from Mitras, the earth was still shaking unstably.
Historia finally opened her eyes after faintly hearing all that noise. She looked up to see that small, flying Titan hovering over her. Ymir smiled and the Queen screamed in terror, holding her son even closer into her arms. The War-Hammer-Attack Titan immediately raised up its head again once Historia screamed, to see that flying female Titan hovering above the crystal arc and the tree. And then reaching to grab Historia.
Eren was suddenly absolutely stunned with fear.
-.-
Mikasa slashed swiftly through the giant monster's flesh until she finally found that crystal encasing and the woman inside. Ymir seemed quite peaceful and deeply unconscious. Mikasa watched her for that brief moment, the Ackermann tilted her head in curiosity. Maria swiftly jumped in and opened up her Titan's jaw, she knew Ymir well and knew they shouldn't waste a second while dealing with her. She bit upon the crystal, and the encasing immediately began to crack, still with the Ackermann on top of it. Mikasa and Ymir were face to face as the goddess suddenly opened her eyes. She looked straight into Mikasa's eyes and the aunt could almost recognise Eren's sharp green eyes staring furiously back at her. Mikasa knew those angry eyes so well, seeing them on that woman's face deeply disturbed her. And it was an image she would never forget. The Ackermann lifted up her crystal sword and began to help the Jaw Titan in destroying that cocoon.
Maria couldn't crack the crystal completely open once Ymir had opened her eyes. The goddess began to reinforce the material and counterbalance the Jaw Titan's strength. Maria now had a split second to make a decision. They were deep inside the flesh of that three hundred metre Titan and she knew exactly what Ymir was about to do. She stopped trying to break the crystal further as she felt she was unable to anyway. Maria swiftly grabbed Mikasa in her Titan's mouth as the goddess began to set herself ablaze. The Jaw Titan sprinted out of there as fast as she could, running across that hot fire as it ignited all around her.
The giant goddess was completely on fire again, all her limbs, even her wings burned a fiery hot blue. She had freed her arms and had just thrown away Marcel and Porco's scorched Titans like they were nothing. Pieck watched all that in horror, she was deeply upset to see Porco go like that. She didn't even have time to say goodbye. The Phoenix Titan was suddenly very angry.
The Armoured Titan held strong, as his armour protected him from the intense fire. Reiner could faintly see that smaller Titan rolling down, completely in flames. Falco soon came flying in and grabbed Maria's Titan out of the flaming body of the goddess, he mustered all his strength to lift her up into the air. And the fires around her Titan began to be put out by the strong and cold winds. Maria reached inside her Titan's mouth and removed Mikasa out of there. The Ackermann was stunned and struggling to breathe, but she was also very grateful. They flew across the sky, Falco holding Maria's shoulders in his arms and Maria holding a tiny Mikasa in her right claw.
Jean jumped away as soon as the giant goddess ignited. He had put a lot of impulse, but he was now free falling. The soldier soon lost all hope, he had nowhere to latch on to and he was truly falling to his death. He looked towards the ground, hoping this final crash wouldn't be too painful, when he suddenly saw that bird shadow approaching him. Jean looked up once that firm claw held him around his torso, and the Phoenix Titan looked down at him. The soldier was deeply relieved.
"Thank you," he said, sincerely. And the Phoenix threw him up into the sky. The expert Survey Corps soldier then somersaulted vigorously across the clouds and swiftly landed on the Phoenix Titan's back. "I thought you had forgotten about me," Jean joked with a small, nervous chuckle. But the Phoenix just continued to look ahead, quite serious, so he stopped smiling.
"Never again," she replied, as they had just lost Connie in that same manner. Pieck was glad she had been fast enough this time, and she was also deeply saddened after seeing those two boys she had grown up with die a second time. And die such horrible deaths.
The goddess spread out her wings again, read to take flight as her wings regenerated in that deep blue fire. Ymir was completely in flames and she began to break away from the crystal.
The Colossal Titan looked up. 'You are not going anywhere,' Armin thought, full of anger. He began to produce even more crystal, the cursed wound on his arm continued to grow and Yeager could also feel it growing in his own arm as well. Armin wanted to trap her completely, he didn't care for the severe pain he was feeling, he was not going to lose this fight.
Mikasa was doing her best to keep herself awake after all that strange experience, she opened her eyes more widely as the strong winds rushed across her face. She broke away from Maria's claw and used her ODM gear to fly up to Falco's back. The Ackermann looked intently to that goddess in flames down below.
-.-
Onyankopon was in hot pursuit, chasing the Yeagerist across the skies, and quickly gaining on him. Floch was much less experienced in this. In fact, he was not experienced at all. And his plane, although much newer, was also much slower. Onyankopon knew how dangerous it would be to shoot him down, he knew how big that explosion could be. So he was cleverly trying to lead that bigger plane towards the open ocean and finish the job there. The Yeagerist had an advantage however, he knew that island, while the foreigner didn't. He flew towards mountainous terrain and hoped to be lost among the low clouds. And he eventually successfully disappeared without a trace. Young Onyan was lost and disoriented, stunned to have lost sight of the plane and also completely baffled.
"What happened, kid?" Old Onyan asked his younger self through the radio, deeply concerned about those geranium bombs.
"I lost him!" Young Onyan exclaimed. "I can't believe I lost him!" he looked down to his panel in deep confusion. "He has completely disappeared," he further explained, utterly puzzled.
"Our equipment is of much longer range and he's not showing for us either," the old captain sighed. "He probably figured out how to turn the radar off." He concluded. Old Onyan could hear the young pilot angrily hitting over the small plane's control panel. "Calm down!" the old man urged.
"Calm down?!" Young Onyan questioned, stunned and baffled. "That idiot is going to blow up a town and get even more innocent people killed!" he exclaimed.
"We'll figure something out, we'll figure something out," the old man replied, nervously trying to think of what to do next.
-.-
The War-Hammer-Attack Titan immediately threw shards of crystal towards the small flying Titan. The father had soon realised who she was. Those sharp crystals almost pierced her, but Ymir cleverly and swiftly moved away in time, she turned her head to the skies and growled very loudly. Historia covered her ears in deep fear, the loud cry shook the crystal formation protecting that tree and also made those odd Pure Titans act even more erratically as they tried to free themselves. It also made the Wall Titans walking in the distance turn and begin to focus their attention into that farm. Levi stood on top of one of the crystal formations that pierced one of the Pure Titans, looking at all that madness surging once again. 'What even is that?' The Ackermann questioned in his mind as he saw that flying Titan.
Ymir turned her head down again and looked straight into Eren's eyes, staring him down in deep anger as she hovered over that small tree. She then flapped her wings higher and took a longer lap over the sky, gaining speed. Eren was confused and his War-Hammer-Attack Titan was still extremely fatigued, he was even having trouble moving and he had no idea of how he would fight a creature that could fly. Since his Titan was clearly earthbound. So Yeager wasn't quite sure how to react as Ymir flew across the forest of giant crystal spikes he had just made. And swiftly cut all those impaled Titans down again with the sharp edges of her own crystal feathers as her wings passed through those spikes like two sharp swords.
She continued to fly at the same high speed, straight towards Eren's Titan. Her eyes full of determination as she swiftly pinned him down and immediately pierced through his upper chest with her crystallised hand - Ymir's Titan body was completely covered in crystal. She reached inside, before he could even react. Eren was suddenly stunned as that Titan rummaged around his Titan's chest cavity looking for the human inside. When she was suddenly thrown off with much strength by the previous Attack, and Founding Titan: Grisha Yeager, who had come out from one of the cracks that had opened in that field. He, just like the others, had been reformed on the strange waters of that tree portal, underneath the centre region of Paradise. And he had raced across all those new caves that had been formed underneath the island, just to aid his son and end this madness once and for all. Grisha had followed his instincts, as a previous Founding Titan he could sense the new inheritor of that power: the small boy that had just been born.
The experienced Titan Shifter threw the smallish girl away and growled at her loudly. He then began to hold down the flying Titan's shoulders, trying to immobilise her into the ground, but Ymir wouldn't budge that easily. Eren was perplexed as his Titan's chest began to slowly regenerate again, he raised himself up to see the Pure Titans Ymir had freed rushing towards him. The tired man just let out some curses inside his mind and he sighed, trying to stand up. He then saw many large rocks and general dirt, even pieces of tree trunks being suddenly thrown towards those Titans. Hitting many of them but also failing to hit many others as they rushed over. Zeke had also arrived. The previous Beast Titan had come out from another crack that had opened near the farm, he had followed his father, and quite frankly, he just wanted to enjoy that good fight. He growled and began to play around with the Pure Titans rushing towards him, taking them down fairly easily and swiftly removing their napes. The Ackermann was flying across all the destroyed crystal as he looked up towards that ghost, absolutely perplexed. And the Beast Titan then turned and looked down towards him with a smile.
"Yes, I am on your side," Zeke told Levi. "We are fighting for the same thing," he added while pinning down a couple of Pure Titans effortlessly.
"Then you should know what you are doing is useless," the Ackermann replied.
Zeke looked around to see all those Titans rising again. "Oh," the War Chief let out.
"You can't kill what is already dead," Levi cleverly remarked, still looking for Hange. He hadn't given up. The Ackermann continued to fly across those Titans, slicing them open.
Zeke Yeager stopped, thinking. "There must be something we can do," he cogitated.
They both began to hear the stomps getting louder, and turned to see a couple of Wall Titans coming their way, getting closer to the farm. Levi looked absolutely angry and bewildered, thinking of the restless night and restless day he was having.
Eren swiftly extended his Titan's leg across the field, passing it underneath Ymir's feet, kicking her down. He then stood up as Grisha began to tear away her Titan's right wing, while he had her immobilised. Ymir growled in pain and that stung Eren's heart. He understood that his father was doing that to prevent her from flying away but he still felt deeply conflicted. And Grisha could see that as he looked up at his son. Eren was paralysed and Ymir reached towards Grisha's neck with her left arm. But Zeke soon rushed over, noticing how Eren wasn't helping, and pulled off Ymir's left arm before she could choke Grisha's Titan. The Pure Titans began to surround them, as they could feel the one Shifter physically there: Eren, so they tried to eat his Titan. Grisha reached inside Ymir's nape and Zeke held her down, all while Eren was still paralysed. He just watched, completely stunned. Grisha gashed that Titan's nape deeply with his own Titan's hand. But he found nothing. Ymir wasn't physically there. She then swiftly grabbed one of the broken crystal pillars and sliced through both Zeke's and Grisha's Titans' chests, she pushed them off and began to rush out of there. Trying to fly but unable to, as one of her wings had been torn off.
She ran across the field, quite fast and unbalanced, trying to focus on regenerating. When she was suddenly pulled down by her Titan's left foot as she tried to jump across the third crack that had opened in that field. Ymir was pulled down into the ground by yet another previous Founding Titan: Frieda Reiss. The Shifter rose up from underneath the ground and held Ymir down, she couldn't escape, but she of course tried to. Ymir tried to jerk herself free but Frieda pulled her down again and pinned both her shoulders strongly into the ground. The princess looked at her niece with much authority and growled extremely loudly over her face. 'Enough.' Frieda thought.
Out of all of the members of their cursed family now present in that farm, Frieda was the one that had spent more time with Ymir in the Titan Realm. And she was extremely tired of it all. She knew Ymir very well and was appalled by the amount of suffering her niece had caused to so many people. She growled extremely loudly once again and Ymir looked up at her absolutely stunned.
"She is angry," Zeke noted with a small chuckle.
-.-
The Ackermann was looking intently at the goddess in flames, as the Colossal Titan made even more crystal around to trap her. Armin was almost completely successful, Ymir couldn't take flight again. Mikasa looked deeply inside that nape, to the open spot where she had just been, to the flesh she had just slashed through. The Ackermann could see that the hole she had slashed open was still there, Ymir was not regenerating. To the contrary, she was actually burning her flesh away and becoming even more vulnerable. The Ackermann looked up and ahead as the Phoenix Titan approached them.
"Pieck!" Mikasa yelled. "She's in the nape! Crystallised but still exposed," the Ackermann explained. "Grab her out!" Mikasa yelled with much determination, and the Phoenix Titan nodded back at her.
Pieck looked down, hovering and preparing herself to dive, as Jean jumped over swiftly to the flying Jaw Titan, expertly landing next to Mikasa. The Phoenix took a dive, igniting herself in the process, flying among the goddess' flames. The Phoenix Titan's equally hot fire protected her from Ymir's hot flames, just as the Colossal Titan's own ignited flesh also protected him from being burnt by the goddess. Armin finally stopped producing crystal, Ymir was trapped again and Pieck was diving deep in the direction of that nape. Ymir had already burnt a lot of flesh and her attention had been divided this entire time into fighting these Shifters, and the others in the farm. She understood that she no longer had use for these particular Titan bodies. So before the Phoenix Titan could reach the nape, Ymir exploded in transformation again, leaving that Titan body behind and creating a brand-new one.
And at the exact same time, in that farm, her smaller version did the same. As Frieda's Titan pinned her down, Ymir exploded in transformation. Creating a brand-new body and absolutely scorching her aunt's Titan in the process.
-.-
Up in that cursed realm Ymir chuckled to herself, quite amused. "Who do you think you're playing with?" she questioned, full of joy, thinking of how weak her opposers were. "I'm not just a Titan. I am the Titan," she gloated to herself.
"Oh, is that so?" Azymondeus asked, standing behind her.
Ymir turned towards the sound of his voice, feeling extremely happy. She tilted her head lovingly with the sight of him. "You're here!" she let out and smiled.
-.-
Tremblay was still flying across that island with much determination. His dirigible leading the hundreds of others, and although his staff had been severely reduced, he was still confident he would win this war. The army man suddenly got a radio request from one of his ships. "Quail, what's wrong?" he asked back through the open radio. Old Onyankopon had chosen an open channel, so that others could also hear him.
"We are in search of a rogue airplane, the O-7 model, please warn me if you spot it in the sky. Please, I cannot stress enough how important this is," the old captain affirmed, to anyone that was listening.
"Are you heading to the orphanage? I already sent twelve new ships that way, I believe you would be number thirteen then," Tremblay noted, not necessarily acknowledging the old man's request.
"Yes, we are," the old man confirmed. "Please, warn me if you spot O-7 in the sky, please, I repeat. I need its location," he insisted. Old Onyan wasn't really sure if it would be wise to share with the Marlean Army the reason as to why he needed to find that airplane so urgently. And Tremblay seemed too absent minded to even question him.
"Sir," one of the Marlean soldiers called for Tremblay's attention. It was his new second in command since he had unceremoniously kicked Carlisle and the other Eldians from his aircrafts. "I believe we should retreat, Sir," the Marlean soldier boldly suggested.
"Retreat?" Tremblay asked, with one eyebrow raised.
"We are running out of fuel, Sir," another soldier pointed out. "Perhaps it's time to head back," the new second in command insisted, clearly concerned. None of those Marlean soldiers wished to die eaten by Titans in that strange island.
"We are not running out of fuel, yet," Tremblay corrected them. "And we'll retreat if or when I say so. Do you understand?" he questioned his men with deep military authority. "Yes, Sir," the two soldiers replied, defeated. "Now get back to work!" he shouted at the crew.
Back in Old Onyankopon's ship, the three girls looked through the large windows, watching the Titans and the destruction down below. Annie could see her faint reflection on the glass for a moment, and notice her Titan marks slowly fading out as she regenerated and regained her energy. The old captain turned towards the large deck and warned the crew that they would arrive in fifteen minutes. Hitch looked down, thinking.
"Perhaps you should put on my ODM gear," she offered to Annie, as Gabi continued to look intently to down below.
Annie looked down; at Hitch's equipment for a moment. "You should keep it. I have my powers, that's all you have," she replied, wisely and generously.
Hitch chuckled. "I'm not leaving this dirigible to fight down below," she told Annie with some humour. The MP had had enough excitement for the day.
"What if you have to? Better safe than sorry," Annie maintained and Hitch only shrugged her shoulders, uninterested.
Annie tilted her head, with arms crossed. The Warrior seemed puzzled by her MP friend's attitude. "Why are you here?" she questioned and Hitch looked up at her again. "Why did you come after me even when you thought I was acting mad? You knew I was gonna get you into trouble."
"You always get me into trouble, I'm used to it," Hitch replied, slightly complaining, she crossed her arms.
"Then why follow me?" Annie questioned.
"Because I'm responsible for you," Hitch explained. "I have been for the past four years."
"Well, I'm sorry about that," Annie chuckled, incredulously.
And Hitch tilted her head, visibly annoyed. "Don't be. It's my job," the MP explained. "I wasn't going to let you out of my sight, I'm your warden."
"Are you taking me back to prison after this?" The Warrior questioned in mockery. Annie was slightly baffled.
"Most likely," Hitch swiftly replied. "Unless you do enough to earn a pardon, so let that be an incentive for you," the policewoman offered.
"Incentive?" Annie questioned with a small smile. "Sure," she added with eyes opened wide, in deep mockery. The Warrior would never let herself be trapped by others, not again.
"Your heart is too cold," Hitch commented, shaking her head in disappointment. Annie then turned to ignore her but Hitch walked forward, she continued. "I have a list of all the people you killed, you know? In Stohess and in the Survey Corps. I used to read it to you, their names and ages, I've read it multiple times throughout these years," Hitch told her, she was adamant that those people wouldn't be forgotten, and she hoped they all haunted Annie in her dreams.
Annie sighed and turned to her. "I know. I remember every name, vividly," the Warrior complained. She angrily proceeded. "You and Arlert and your commander and that tiny, obnoxious captain would pester me for days on end!"
"We were trying to pester you out of that ice box you got yourself into!" Hitch replied, equally angry.
"Why can't you all realise I just wanted to be left alone?" Annie questioned, deeply annoyed and secretly upset.
Hitch walked closer to her and stared her down. "You don't get to be left alone, Leonhart," she gravely said. "Not after everything you've done. So you better act nicely if you want that pardon."
Annie grunted and walked away, taking some distance and Hitch turned towards the windows again, she continued to watch the destruction down below.
"What are you doing here?" The old captain asked Annie while steering his airship. He was repeating the question she had made to Hitch only moments before.
"Earning a pardon, apparently," Annie joked, walking closer to him.
The young woman was perhaps waiting to hear some words of wisdom from that old man as she herself felt too lost at that point and had deflected the deeper question with a small joke.
Old Onyankopon looked towards her for a moment and looked ahead again, focusing on the skies once more. "You don't look like you care for one very much," he noted.
"It's because I don't really," she confessed, still with some mockery. "I don't need anyone's 'pardon' to live my own life."
"You don't care what others think of you?" the old man asked.
The Warrior only gave him a look, raising her eyebrows slightly in confirmation.
He chuckled. "You remind me a lot of my wife," the old man said. "She was a tough one, but I enjoyed making her laugh," he added with a laugh of his own, but Annie didn't necessarily react. She stared at him seriously, but paying attention intently. The old captain continued. "I used to call her my ice queen, and our boy always understood what I was saying as 'ice cream' when he was little. So we would always end up taking him for some. It became a family tradition," he told her, full of joy.
Annie tilted her head, she found that detail a little strange. "I don't remember ice cream in Marley when I was little," she cleverly noted. "I remember they had it outside of the Zone but it still was quite expensive, even for the richer citizens," she commented.
"Where I come from it wasn't expensive, at least in my young age," the old time traveller explained, actually telling the truth, just being quite vague about it. "But it got expensive again once the war started. So it was a little difficult to maintain that tradition, but we marched through it," he sighed, suddenly saddened while staring at that young woman's face. Onyankopon looked into the blue skies again. "I still remember the last time the three of us went together ...before she was gone," he disclosed more brokenly.
Annie held him on the shoulder sympathetically, which surprised and stunned the old man.
"I'm sorry about your son, I truly am," she quietly noted, being sincere. Annie still felt guilty.
"Don't worry," the old man told her with a small smile. "I know life will make up for it," he said.
"How can you be so hopeful? This feels like the end of the line," she questioned, "for all of us," Annie added.
"Oh, my life is only starting," the old man joked and Annie looked down, reflective.
"You better prepare yourself, we're arriving," the captain informed and the Warrior looked up again to see that sea of Wall Titans and the Shifter scuffle in the distance.
-.-
The goddess Ymir had transformed once again. And the transformation of her giant monster was incredibly immense and extensive. It took a few minutes of continuous fire, lightning and steam rising in that field. The team was all very confused and it took a while for them to finally see this new enormous Titan being completely formed into the skies. Ymir rose up with her beautiful long wings and began to fly away. Her new Titan was now four hundred and fifty metres tall, she was absolutely beautiful, completely coated in crystal and her feathered wings were absolutely majestic. Ymir flew off, leaving those pesky Titans behind. She was tired and annoyed with their insistence in believing they could ever take her down.
Down below, the Colossal Titan was completely paralysed, Armin couldn't move. The Titan just remained motionless in the middle of his own crystal forest. He had reached beyond his limits and his brain was just absolutely lost after all that mess. The Shifter was unresponsive. Maria's Jaw Titan had been deeply scorched and so had Pieck's Beast-Cart Titan, but they were both slowly recovering. Pieck looked up for a moment, as the giant monster began to fly away. She could see the Armoured Titan holding firmly to the goddess' back. Ymir's Titan was so gigantic that she hadn't even noticed him. 'Reiner, no,' Pieck thought, before passing out.
Mikasa flew high with her ODM gear, reaching the Colossal Titan's shoulder. She yelled for Armin intently but heard no reply, it was almost as if he weren't there anymore. Falco and Jean began to hear those rushed stomps, as they watched over their passed out friends. It was clear that Pure Titans were now running towards them, and they eventually were able to spot those monsters in the distance. It was yet another challenge for the group, but the Survey Corps soldier was secretly relieved for this particular challenge to be a much simpler one; considering everything they had just gone through. Jean prepared himself and soon began to kill away those Titans approaching them. He and Falco had no trouble so far, as they protected their other friends. Although they could both feel something different about these particular Titans. There was something more macabre about them and they were also all clearly Abnormals. Jean only noticed the problem once they began to rise again. This certainly was new and it wasn't ideal as even more Pure Titans were rushing their way. But they continued to fight, removing their napes again to kill them all, hoping they would stay dead. Jean's heart sank as the next wave of Titans that was coming their way approached even closer, and Connie's lifeless eyes suddenly met his.
-.-
Historia was confused and terrified, the crystal all around that tree stopped her from seeing much of what was going on. She could see the distorted images of those Titans fighting all around her. The Queen held Ezra closer in her arms as that smaller flying Titan came rushing by. Ymir ran past that crystal arc, towards the open fields as Frieda's Titan appeared and promptly immobilised the goddess.
The family believed they had won, but they hadn't. Ymir suddenly exploded in transformation and all that energy, fire and lightning completely obliterated the Titan on top of her. In a split second, Frieda was no more. Historia couldn't completely confirm that this new Titan had been her sister, as she couldn't properly distinguish those distorted images across the crystal. Regardless, her scorched death still stung the young Queen.
Ymir rose up in the air, flying away from the conflict for a moment and enjoying her new Titan form.
The Titan Realm
"You came to see me," she noted to Azzy lovingly as he walked closer to her. Ymir raised up her hand and in doing so, the sand around him began to move and shift.
Az stopped. He looked up and all around him to see those small blue particles forming a strange alloy across the sand. And suddenly, a cage was formed around him. The time traveller looked above and below and to every side to see those strange bars blocking his way. He was trapped.
His first instinct was to jump and as he conjured his otherworldly powers he could see and feel those bars glowing and blocking him from moving in space and time. The Ackermann dropped down in much pain.
"Do you think I'm stupid? I know you want to trick me," Ymir said.
And he looked up again, his cells dissolving in sand. "You tricked me!" he countered in anger.
Ymir tilted her head, looking at him inside that cage. "Yes, I did," she confirmed, condescendingly. "But aren't we having fun?!" she asked more excitedly.
He looked around the cage, examining those strange bars again, determined to find a way out.
"What? Do you think I would leave gaps?" Ymir asked with a chuckle. "You are not getting out. You are where you belong, at least for now," she told him.
Azymondeus began to panic, fidgeting, he could not bear being trapped. He had never been trapped anywhere before. So he immediately let his instincts out and tried to build his energy to jump again. He just couldn't help himself. But those cursed bars had that strange effect over his powers, he could not activate his own energy and trying to do so just gave him extreme pain. He dropped to the ground once more, his heart racing, his cells turning into sand, his entire body shaking in pain. Azymondeus breathed heavily. "Ymir, you can't keep me here. This is killing me," he pleaded in short breaths. Trying to keep his body from dissolving away, he had spent too much time in that cursed dimension already, the man was in deep pain.
She turned away from the light tree and towards his cage for a moment. "And if you get out, you will kill me," Ymir replied. "Now that's a conundrum, isn't it?" the goddess questioned, crossing her arms, amused.
"You are already dead. Why can't you see that?" He angrily argued while holding onto the bars.
"I'm not dead. I'm as alive as ever. And I won't let you destroy my chance to come home," she argued back with determination.
"Home? What home? You're destroying everything!" he questioned, shouting at her.
"I'm just cleaning the humans away, the Earth has had enough of those parasites," the goddess argued. And she then smiled at him. "When I'm done, only what matters will remain," she tilted her head towards her love. "You and me and them, just like we planned."
Azymondeus lifted up his head. "Them?" he asked in absolute confusion.
Ymir reached down towards her stomach, contemplative and elated. "They're here," she said, "I can feel them. I'm bringing them home with me," Ymir told him in pure happiness.
The father shook his head, completely stunned. "No, they are not." He strongly affirmed.
Az looked at all those strange roots attached to Ymir's body and how they seemed to be eating her away. And he was deeply concerned by it all. "This thing is messing with your head. You need to snap out of it!" He told her firmly while holding onto the bars. "That light thing is destroying you, and everyone else!" he shouted in an admonishing tone, hoping to bring his love back into her senses. "Get out of there! Get those things out of you!"
Ymir caressed the light roots sweetly across her arm. "This is what is giving me life and what will bring my girls back to me," she countered him, completely delusional.
"Well, I don't want them back!" he admonished the mother.
"How can you say that?" she questioned, admonishing him back.
"How can you want them back into this world knowing full well it is just a place of suffering? You should know better. Haven't you lived long enough? No amount of cleansing will fix this cursed land. What you are doing is absolutely damaging, you're destroying yourself for nothing! How can you be so lost? How can you have fallen so far? You need to snap out of it!" he pleaded with her.
The Ackermann still hoped he wouldn't have to kill her, but his hope was fading away as his pain inside that cage increased.
Ymir tilted her head. "Don't be disappointing, Azymondeus. All this time I've been here, all alone, missing you. And when you finally come to visit me your only intent is to kill me? I was right to trick you, before you could trick me," Ymir argued strongly. "Because here you are, once again. And you and I both know what you came here to do."
"Then don't make me fulfil it, don't make me kill you," he told her, shaking his head, disconsolate, as he held onto those bars.
Ymir chuckled. "Well, it seems you'll die soon before you can even try," she joked back at him.
"Ymir…" he let out with difficulty, struggling inside that cursed cage. "Please…" he weakly pleaded while decomposing into that sand.
'Sacrifice,' Ymir heard the light saying, inside her head. She turned to the light tree, stunned. 'We want sacrifice,' she heard again.
The goddess turned to her love once more. "You'll have to hang on a little longer. All will be good once this is over," she promised more cheerfully while holding her stomach very motherly. "The girls will be happy to see you again. We will all be happy," Ymir smiled, "forever."
[ to be continued... ]