I do not own Attack on Titan, Hajime Isayama does.
Marley (territory that was originally the country of Belpaese) 850.
A young man leaves the grocery store carrying bags full of food in both his arms. His name is Niccolo Fischer. He is an 18 year old Marleyan man with Belpaesian heritage. He has blonde hair, brown eyes, a slim build, and a petite pointed nose. Today is his mothers birthday, so he planned to prepare his family a nice meal, before he joins the Marleyan Military (hopefully).
"Get out of here you damn devils!"
Niccolo looks to his right and he sees a group of his fellow Marleyans cheering as one of them throws rocks at a couple of Eldian workers who are repairing the road. One of them is bleeding from his head where he was hit.
"Hey man, leave us alone," one of the Eldians pleads.
"Yeah, we're trying to fix the road here," says the other.
A Marleyan woman in the crowd scoffs.
"If you ask me, we should have those immigrants that come here from Marley's victories work. Or even a Marleyan. Anyone but you Eldians. It would dirty my car to drive it on anything built by devil hands."
"Yeah!" shouts the man next to her. "Your kind ravaged the world for over a thousand years! If you ask me, the government should line you all up and shoot ya!"
"Or throw them to wild animals so they can be eaten like they did our ancestors."
Everyone else in the crowd cheers in agreement.
A part of Niccolo wanted to roll his eyes. Don't get him wrong, he is no Eldian sympathizer but a part of him wanted to say that they should just be left alone so they can finish the jobs that they are doing for Marley now. Granted, it's a well known fact that Eldians are naturally violent and instinctually crave human flesh. But he was always the kind of person who didn't believe in unnecessary violence. However, the last thing Niccolo wanted was to make people think he was a "Devil Lover" or a "Race Traitor". That's practically a death sentence. So says nothing.
"Hey you there, with the groceries. Wanna get in on this?" a man from the group asks Niccolo, offering him a rock.
Niccolo silently turns around and walks away. The woman the man was with reasons that he is probably in a hurry and he can't because he's carrying groceries anyways.
As Niccolo continues walking home, he overhears people reading the newspaper. Niccolo had read that paper this morning. It seems that the ship sent to Paradis containing the Beast and Cart Titans to check on the status of the Paradis Island Operation never came back. The headline reads: No Response From Warriors, Paradis Operation Deemed a Failure.
"This is bad," says one man. "This probably means that Eldia has reclaimed the Warriors Titans."
"So what?" asks another man. "We still have the Warhammer. We beat them once, we can do it again! It better be quick before the Devils unleash their largest Titans."
"I'm more worried about what the other countries are going to do now that we've lost the Colossal and the Beast," says a woman.
A man snorts.
"Please. We never needed those monsters."
A part of Niccolo wanted to clarify that Marley is actually VERY reliant on the Titans. This kind of information isn't well known to the public, but his father is a commander and his older brothers all served in the military so Niccolo knows that they always have Eldian soldiers in the front lines. Furthermore, Marley's main method of winning wars is to turn some "volunteers" (those who committed crimes such as theft, those with genetic disabilities, etc) into Titans and deploy them far away from our own troops. But he keeps his mouth shut and continues his way home. He doesn't need to become a pariah.
When Niccolo was ten, he actually asked his father why that doesn't make them as bad as Eldia for feeding other people to Titans. His father snapped at him and ranted at him for an hour about Marley's greatness and his brothers didn't talk to him for a week. But his mother calmly explained to him that, as terrible as it is, Titans are Marley's greatest assets and it is a necessary evil to help share the greatness of Marley with other nations. As opposed to the vile Eldians who just wanted to conquer more land out of power-hungry greed, have more women to forcibly breed with, and to wipe out countless cultures and eat people for pleasure.
Niccolo returns home and he finds his mother doing laundry on the couch. She has her hair tied in a neat bun and is wearing a prim-proper dress. His grandmother is knitting in a chair, and his father is reading the newspaper.
"I cannot believe this," Mr. Fischer says as he takes a drink of his whisky. "If only I had been in charge of the operation. I wouldn't have allowed this to happen."
"I don't think there's much that anyone could have done, dad," Niccolo says.
"Niccolo!" his grandmother cheers.
"Hello grandma." He kisses his grandmother on the cheek. "Mom, happy birthday." He kisses his mother.
His father gets up and walks over to his son.
"Dad."
"Niccolo, my boy," his father says with a smile.
"I have all the ingredients for dinner tonight," Niccolo says with clear pride. "I cannot wait for you and mom to try this dish. I just found it the other day. I have no doubt that it's going to be phenomenal-"
"Yes, it's very nice that you volunteered to cook for your mother on her birthday," Mr. Fischer interrupts.
Mr. Fischer narrows his eyes at his son. It is no secret that his father never approved of Niccolo's passion for cooking. Particularly not his insistence of cooking meals in their own home. To him that was more of the woman's responsibility.
"I just want to tell you ahead of time, I have some big news."
"It's MOMS birthday, Dad."
"Trust me, son. You're going to want to hear it."
Later, Niccolo sits at the dinner table eating the beef stroganoff, stuffed tomatoes, and other foods that he had prepared. His three older brothers sit on the sides of him while their father sits at the end of the table with his mother and grandmother on both sides of him.
"Mmm, mom this is pretty good," says his oldest brother.
"Yeah, but the tomatoes are a little too soft," says his second oldest brother.
Niccolo scowls. He knows what they are doing. But he can't help himself from speaking anyways.
"I cooked this."
"Were you wearing a dress when you did?" his third oldest brother asks and the rest laugh along with him.
Niccolo scowls and their father bangs on the table.
"Quiet boys!" Mr. Fischer yells, and his three older sons stop laughing.
"Niccolo, thank you for this lovely dinner."
"You're welcome, mom," Niccolo says. "For dessert I have dark chocolate cake with strawberries in the center. It will go great with the wine I bought."
"All so you wouldn't have to buy her an actual present, right little bro," the third oldest asks.
"I spent a lot of money preparing this meal," Niccolo retorts. "And I also bought mom flowers."
"Yes," says grandma Fischer with a warm smile. "If I still had my sense of taste I'm sure this food would be delicious, Nikki."
Mr. Fisher stands up and raises his glass.
"I would like to propose a toast to my lovely wife. Happy 45th birthday, Julia."
The Fischer brothers and grandma Fischer stand up and raise their glasses as well.
"Happy Birthday Mom/Julia."
"Now, even though this is her birthday, I have a present for Niccolo as well," Mr. Fischer says.
"What?" Niccolo asks.
"You found him a girl?" his oldest brothers snickers.
"Even better."
Mr. Fischer reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. He hands it to Niccolo and the youngest son opens it. His eyes widen. It is a draft to join the navy.
"He's joining the Marleyan military."
"Oh Niccolo I know you're going to make us proud my boy," his mother says, culling his face. "A handsome man and great cook with a few decorative service medals to boot. When you come back I may already have a potential bride for you. A nice classy girl."
"Yeah, thanks mom," Niccolo says, smiling. "Wow, an army commission. This is so exciting."
Niccolo smiles as he says this. But for some reason its…forced. Niccolo doesn't know why he isn't happier about this. He had wanted to be a soldier his whole life, just like his dad and brothers. Its what he had been working towards for years, and now he's finally being given a chance to show his worth to Marley. Yet, for some reason, it seems hollow. It just doesn't feel the way he always imagined it would.
'Maybe I just need to spend some time in the service,' he thinks.
"Now remember Nikki," his grandmother says. "You may end up having to work with-" she shudders. "-eldian devils. Don't get too close, they are there to protect you, nothing more. And don't let them touch you. For all you know you could get infected."
"An infection might be an overreacting, mom," his father says. "But yeah, son. Don't get too friendly with the Eldians. Stick to your own people, that's the way it should be."
Augustus Fischer is what other Marleyans would call "semi-sympathetic" but not a (disgusting) Eldian-Sympathizer/Race Traitor. He is part of the small percentage of Marleyans that doesn't believe in the extermination of Eldians (at least not the ones in Marley, that island be damned, th). He recognizes the work they do in Marley, from serving in their wars to doing work for a cheaper price. And he believes that, as long as they behave, Eldians have a place in this world. Its just not at the same level as other humans. A viewpoint that is tolerated by other Marelyans as long as they're not outwardly nice to the "devils".
"Of course," Niccolo says.
A few months after Julia Fischer's birthday, and just after Niccolo was officially made a part of the Marleyan navy, Marley received two letters from none other than Paradis. It was delivered to them by Hizuru's ambassador, Kiyomi Azumbito, who used her connections to ensure that it would reach the Marelyan political party. Despite Hizuru being shamed after the Great Titan War for their history of supporting Eldia, the country had retained its stability and wealth over the last 100 years. The reason for that has become clear now. The two letters read as follows:
…..
Addressed to Chancellor Franz Polzl of Marley and his cabinet,
In the year of 743, the King Conrad Fritz/Reiss sent a message to the world on behalf of his late father, King Karl Fritz, that no act of aggression be made against Eldia or the Colossal Titans within the walls would flatten the earth. Four years ago, Marley disregarded this warning by sending the Warriors to invade Paradis and steal the Founding Titan. It was under the pretense of saving the world from the Rumbling, claiming we supposedly announced our intent too. A bold-faced lie. In truth, it was to steal our resources so Marley could continue its expansion in a world learning to overpower the Titans. As well as to finally rid the world of their hated enemies.
However, because the former royal government has been disposed of, and the nation of Eldia has been reformed into the Parliament of Paradis, I, as the new queen, have chosen to disregard my predecessor's declaration. No Colossal Titans shall leave the waters of the island and the Rumbling will not occur. As long as the rest of the world leaves our island in peace, they will not face the wrath of Paradis.
However, Marley's actions resulted in the deaths of thousands of Paradisians and are considered an act of war. Should I choose to retaliate, the whole country will not be flattened but thousands of Colossal Titans will be sent to crush Marley's military bases, industrial facilities, and capitals. Even so, given that the failed Paradis Island Operation has resulted in Paradis regaining eight of the nine titans and my own ascension to the throne, I am willing to refrain from taking aggressive action if my demands are met.
My first demand is that Marley relinquish to the Island of Paradis every Eldian currently in the Warrior Program and from the Liberio internment Zone. It has come to my attention that Marley has mistreated the Eldians in their care and that said Eldians resent those of us on the Paradis for fleeing to the island without them. I would love to escort all Eldians in Marley to Paradis, but we neither have the space, living conditions, or resources to support such a massive increase in our numbers.
My second request is that Eldians and other ethnic groups of Marley be given equal rights to Marleyan citizens. Eldians will be allowed to leave and live outside the ghettos they have been confined to. They are to be allowed to disregard their arm bands. Blood tests will be made unnecessary. It shall be made illegal in Marley to discriminate based on race and ethnicity. Marely will teach something in school other than what the Eldian empire did in their conquest of the continent. For example, how Marley itself managed to obtain large cities in the contentment before we did. And generational punishment will be banned.
My third demand is that Marley evacuate and return autonomy to all of the countries they have annexed over the last 100 years and abandon their expansionist policy. The Marelyan leaders stationed in the countries beyond the mainland will return leadership to the original ruling families or the next available individual. The armies will return to the mainland, and all conscripts from these countries will be allowed to return home.
Failure to abide by all three of these demands will result in a declaration of war from the Parliament of Paradis. Which will include, but not be limited to, the use of over 6.5 million Colossal Titans, The Founding Titan, various Anti-Titan weapons that Paradis has developed for the last 100 years, and the remaining Nine Titans bar the Warhammer. You have a week to respond to these demands. Be notified that copies of this letter have been sent to all of your neighboring nations (who shall remain untouched) whom I wish to have peaceful negotiations with in the near future.
Respectfully,
Queen Historia Reiss of Paradis
….
The chancellor and his cabinet responded in outrage upon reading this letter. They deemed every single one of these requests completely unreasonable and ridiculous. More than half of them declared that they should just send every ship and blimp they have to Paradis right now and bomb the devils to oblivion. Others, including the chancellor himself, were more cautious. Aside from the threat of the Rumbling and whatever weaponry the devils may have developed on that island (with unique resources and fossil fuels), the other countries of the world would certainly back the devils up on their demands. Especially the ones requiring them to evacuate their conquered territories and halt their expansion policy. Also, the Queen of the Devils had made it clear that Marley was the only country she was considering attacking. If every other country stayed out of the way they will be spared, there was no way they would get the other countries to help them right now. The cabinet spent all night discussing what to do, but it came to a halt when the Tybur family received the second letter.
….
To Willahelm Tybur,
By now you are likely to have read the message sent to the chancellor and his cabinet (which I am aware that you secretly selected) and have read my conditions. I speak the truth, as long as Marley agrees to my demands and makes no move against Paradis, war will not occur. Believe me, I do not take pride in Eldia's past history, but I believe that it is time to move on with the future rather than punish innocent people in the present. All I ask is that you help me build a better future for everyone. Do not make me unleash the colossi, no more people need to die by Titans. Also, keep in mind that my family has records proving the Tyburs were far from the selfless heroes you try to portray yourselves as. For the last hundred years we have used them to help gain more stubborn enemies of Marley onto our side and asked them to keep silent. Should the Tyburs not sway the government to abide by these requests, this information will be revealed to the world. Please, make the right choice.
Sincerely,
Queen Historia Reiss of Paradis
P.S. We will be watching.
….
The chancellor, his cabinet, the entire Helos Party, General Calvi of the Marelyan military, and the Tyburs got together immediately to discuss the next course of action. Some wanted to abide by their wishes, if anything to save their own skins. Some were worried how it would look to the other nations of the world if they let the Devils coerce them like this. The debate continued for days. They were approaching the deadline and they had to respond with something least their nation would be invaded by Colossal Titans and Marley would once again be subjugated by Eldia. Thus, Willy Tybur was able to convince them to respond to the Queen of Paradis.
"My friends, the Queen of the Devils has indeed made many unreasonable requests and has clearly not accepted the gravity of her people's sins. But as great as our military is, it is not strong enough to go against the might of the Colossal Titans. Let us not forget that Marley has many enemies that could be allied with Paradis. They possess our Titans and the Founder. Even if we had a month it would be too early to convince the rest of humanity to aid us. So here is my proposal, we will abide by Queen Historia's demands, for now. We will send them the Eldians of Liberio, let the others walk outside the zones with boundaries, and give our conquered territories independence while leaving our own people inside ready to take back their reigns when the time comes. Now, I for one believe that if the Queen could use the Rumbling she would have by now. This talk of peace is just a cover that something is wrong with the Founder. Besides, the Tyburs and Marley took the Nine and defeated Eldia before, we can do so again. Once the Devils have trusted that we've complied with their demands we can begin our counter strike."
Willy made an effort to sound convinced the entire time he made that speech, and it worked. Nearly the entire military and council agreed to comply with the queen's demands. Though Genral Calvi could only shake his head in disappointment.
After sending a message to the Queen, they sent messages to the leaders of all of their annexed nations such as: Albion, Smaragaid, Veracruz, Hellada, Belpaese, Midnattsol, Hexagone, Hesperia, and Tyskland to transfer leadership to a native official, at least temporarily. Afterwards, while they were arranging with the Parliament to transfer the Liberian Eldians, Marley lifted their rules regarding generational punishment (as they only applied to Eldian related instances), allowed free range for the Eldians to leave and live outside the ghettos, and (reluctantly) raised their pay to Marleyan levels. They refused to allow Eldians to lose their armbands but instead passed a law that everyone must wear one to identify their race now. Marleyans walked down the streets with armbands bearing seashells while other ethnic groups wore different bands. None of the Marleyan citizens were happy about any of these changes, especially since it allowed Eldian children to enter their schools and suddenly assaulting a Devil became illegal. But the government assured them that things would return to normal once the "scoundrel island devils" were dealt with for good and informed the Marleyan-Eldians to enjoy their freedom while they had it.
Following this, the Eldian population's opinion of Paradis became more diverse. Initially, they had all believed they were evil and would one day flatten them all while being taught to resent them for abandoning their ancestors. However, following their legal freedom in Marley via the Queens demands, some praised her as their liberator. Others had the attitude of "well it came 100 years too late but thanks anyways". Others felt like the queen's efforts hadn't done much since the general Marleyan population continued to hate them and put them down in little ways while they could (plus, law enforcement wasn't always active in protecting their new rights). And others hated the Queen and the islanders more than ever, feeling that their actions were giving Eldians an even worse name for bullying Marley and resented them for trying to make demands from the "greatest country in the world" that took "mercy" on them. Some even feeling that things will be worse for them than ever once Marley returns to normal.
Though, before sending the Warrior Candidates to Paradis, Commander Theo Magath gave them some parting words:
"Eldians! Finally complete and total redemption for the sin of being born with the blood of the devil has fallen upon you. The Island Devils are bringing you into their abode. Use your military training and retrieve the Titans that we lost as well as the Founder. Once you return to Marley, you will truly be Honorary Marelyans. You will be the heroes who saved Marley, neigh, the world from the Island Devils. And purged yourself of the sins of the Eldian empire. All of Marley is counting on you. Do not fail us."
Some of the Eldians contemplated what they should do. Others cheered, stating their loyalty to Marley and desire to punish the devils they still blamed for their suffering. Among the most vocal of them is a teenage boy who fears for his brother and a little girl who fears for her older cousin.
After the Marley (through public eyes) "returned" independence back to their annexed countries, Queen Historia made an announcement to the world. She declared that, with the power of the Founder, she was able to access "the Paths", the otherworld which all Eldians are connected too. She claimed that inside the Paths is the spirit of Ymir Fritz herself, and that every time a Titan is created, whether by Titan Serum or the Founder, it is because Ymir herself sculpts them in this world. She then gave a (doubted by some) story on the TRUE origins of the Titans.
She claimed that Ymir Fritz was never a goddess and that she never made a deal with a Devil. Instead, she was a little girl who was enslaved by the Tribe of Eldia. When the eldian chief Fritz accused her of releasing a pig he ordered her to be hunted down and killed. As she fled from her would-be-executioners she stumbled across a giant tree. Inside, the dying girl discovered a parasitic organism, as old as life itself and capable of affecting biology. It bonded to Ymir's back and, sensing her desire to live and have an indestructible body, created the Paths and gave her her Titan form. But, even with all her power, her slave mentality was too great. Fritz used her to ravage Marley and anyone else in her way to build the Eldian Empire, as well as to sire his daughters Maria, Rose, and Sina. The, thirteen years later, Ymir died taking a spear meant for Fritz, and the mad king forced his daughters to eat their mothers corpse to obtain her power. Then his grandchildren to eat their mothers spines upon their death, thus creating the Nine. Historia claimed that Ymir continued to make Titans for the Royal family because she believed that she was adhering to her masters will. Because Fritz declared that as long as a single Titan walks the earth, then Eldia will reign forever. However, Historia also claimed that she was sending psychiatrists into the Paths to reason with Ymir and convince her to stop making Titans. Provided that the nations of the world agree to peace with Paradis and free the Eldians under their care. Many countries took the queen up on this offer, others were skeptical and demanded the dissolution of the Power of the Titans first.
While Paradis, once the most feared and hated nation in the world, became controversial (some still clinging onto their prejudice, some distrusting, and some seeing them as their saviors from Marley), the once great nation of Marley fell further from grace. The native peoples of the countries annexed by Marley demanded the complete return of their independence as per the Queens request. Likewise, many countries that had been in conflict with Marley in the past demanded that they be repaid war debts for various war crimes committed by the Marelyan military. Aside from their aggressive expansionism, many foreign soldiers recounted how Marleyan soldiers used perfidy and otherwise had complete disregard for the laws of war. Not to mention the clearly horrific method of using man-eating Titans as their primary weapon of warfare. The Marleyan government refused, as the calculated fees would bankrupt the country, which was already struggling from economic turmoil due to having had to grant Eldians equal pay, civil disputes in the formerly annexed nations resulting in their TRUE/FULL independence, and creating armbands for all Marleyan citizens.
The countries composed of the Mid-East were the first to openly declare war on Marley. Though the country had lost all of its conscripted soldiers (and thus a good portion of their original military force) and their Titans, the people of Marley were unfazed by this. They believed that the Mid-East would surely be crushed like every other country that came before (and as an added bonus, they could start rebuilding their empire). However, on their very first battle with the Mid-East. The Marleyans discovered, to their horror, that the lobotomized Eldians that they deployed in the Mid-Eastern armies no longer turned into Titans upon being injected. Lobotomized Eldians would regrow the parts of their brain, but otherwise stay human. They also discovered that the enemy's anti-Titan weapons could easily be used against humans.
After this was discovered, more countries joined the fight as the countries formerly annexed by Marley officially allied with Paradis. The Queen revealed that she managed to convince Ymir to stop making Titans for Marley (as it is not what Frtiz would have wanted). She claimed that it was the first in her fifty-year-plan to relinquish the Power of the Titans completely. She offered any country willing to grant human rights to their Eldian population the formula for a Titan scrum that would "cap" the Eldians in their care. Cutting off their connection to the Paths and making them unable to be transformed into Titans, even by the Founder.
Hence, Marley decided that retrieving the Founding Titan and the resources of Paradis was their number one priority.
Waters Surrounding Paradis, 851 (Early Summer)
'I can't believe this is happening,' Niccolo thinks to himself as he sees the Island of Devils getting closer. 'I nearly died from the easterners, and now I might just end up Titan food.'
Niccolo was quite surprised his ship was even within Paradis' waters. With Marley losing so many conscripts and struggling in the war against various counties, Niccolo was certain that they wouldn't be sending any more ships to that island. Not only that, but Niccolo was sent on the first survey fleet. It was night, so thankfully any Mindless Titans wouldn't be active, but he is still concerned.
Griez pats Niccolo on the back.
"You're looking pretty scared, Fischer."
"I'm…a bit nervous," Niccolo says.
"Aw, give him a break, Griez," says another soldier. "Who wouldn't be?"
"I hear that they make socks out of our skin."
"I hear that those Devils make furniture out of bones after roasting us over an open fire."
"Well then it's a good thing we have our unofficial cook with us," Griez says, pointing at Niccolo (though his eyes show his nervousness). "He can make them a big bowl of spaghetti and maybe they'll not eat us."
"Maybe a blood sausage," Niccolo quips.
"I hear that they can turn into Titans, like, whenever. No injection or anything."
"You spent too much time with the warriors," Griez says. "Normal devils can't do that."
Niccolo was about to agree with Griez before he thinks he hears something rising out of the water. His heart beats fast and a shiver goes down his spine as he turns around. But all he hears is a "plop" and if there was anything there it's fine now.
"You ok?" Griez asks him.
"Um, yeah I'm fine," Niccolo says. "It was probably just a fish."
Half an hour later their small boat made it to the shore of the island. Niccolo and the others stepped out onto the beach and walked towards the forest. They didn't see any Titans as they continued their journey. Some thought that they were just lucky. But every so often a soldier was spooked by a tussling sound from the branches above. Or what sounded like zip-lines. Everyone stayed close for safety.
"How long until we make it to the walls?" Niccolo asks.
"We're still only a quarter of the way there, but we haven't seen any Titans," says the guy with the map.
"This place should be crawling with them, right?"
"Unless the Founder commanded that they all huddle around the walls for protection."
"We still have a lot of night left. We should keep moving forward until-"
Everyone freezes, they stop walking and their eyes widen when a giant shadow passes over them. They look upwards and what they see scares them to death.
"Impossible," Niccolo mutters.
It looks like a gigantic bat flying over them. This thing has to be as big as a Titan and it's circling around them.
"What is that thing?" Niccolo asks.
"I don't know!"
A light shines down from above and they cover their eyes. They hear the sound of tires moving on dirt and engines roaring. They feel wind blow against them as the source of the light lands in front of them. The light dims and they are able to look up.
"Freeze!"
"Hands up! Marleyan scum!"
Niccolo and the others look around and they realize they have been surrounded by several Devils on off-road vehicles. They are wearing black suites that have thick padding covering their torsos. Strangely, they also have a thick layer of metal covering their spines and napes. It is layered like an exoskeleton to allow for bending and movement, but Niccolo doubted that a normal rifle bullet could penetrate it. They also have some contraption strapped on their belts and swords at their sides. Yet they are all aiming rifles at them. There are about ten surrounding the five Marleyans.
"Damn Devils ambushed us!" Griez shouts.
"We saw you guys coming miles off the shore."
It was just then that they got a good look at the "bat". It is actually a Titan, except that its arms are stretched out and the skin is stretched so that they are like bat wings. Its chest and "wings" are covered in brown hair and there is a bit of a bosom hidden under it. The feet and face are more like that of a human, except for the enlarged pointy ears. The "bat" smiles at them with human teeth. It has a giant satchel strapped on its back and it has a search light attached to its side. They then notice the man who was aiming the light to the side of them. He has dark hair and is shorter than his compatriots but much more intimidating.
"You didn't think we would have patrols?"
"What do we do with them, Captain Levi?" one of the soldiers asks.
"We take them back for questioning," says Levi.
Levi aims a blaster-like device at the group of Markeyans. The Marleyans raise their rifles but Levi pulls the trigger. A net shoots out of the blaster and it entraps the Marleyans inside. The mechanism around Levi's waist shoots a hook at a nearby tree and it pulls him up gently before lowering him to the ground as the Markeyans struggle to break free.
"Then we'll send someone to fish their friends out of the water."
The "bat" raises its wings and it suddenly evaporates away. Niccolo and the others cover their faces from the hot steam as Levi hands a figure in the middle of it a green cloak. Soon, they see a woman running out of the steam, naked except for the cloak. She has an excitable face and her brown hair is tied in a ponytail. They could see the resemblance between this woman and the "bat".
"Hello friends from Marley!" the woman exclaims. "My name is Hange, welcome to Paradis island! You're probably wondering how I did that just now? Well, I was given a pseudo-shifter form through a Beast-Titan spinal fluid serum tweaked by the Founder! So my Titan form is more animalistic and I can change whenever I want! Although more of my body gets absorbed so I can only stay in this form for, like, thirty minutes before I'm gone. Anyways, come join us for tea!"
The Devils took them to a tent. The ones known as Levi and Hange questioned them all. They were forced to share their names and information about their divisions. Hange even insisted on asking some personal questions like the name of their first pet or favorite animal. More than a few of the guards, particularly the one named Floch, threatened to shoot them dead if they stepped out of line. Captain Levi was quick to shut them up, but it left all the Marleyan soldiers scared.
'I'm gonna die,' Niccolo thinks, terrified.
After an hour, Hange grabbed the first person she saw (Niccolo) and led him back to the beach while the other Paradisian soldiers were kept on watch. Hange led Niccolo while Levi kept him in place with a gun on his back. A separate group of Devils followed them and hid behind some nearby rocks with guns. Strangely, Niccolo noticed, they were all teenagers. Sure, he was nineteen, but none of them looked older than fifteen or sixteen. Of course the Warrior candidates were trained and sent to battle at a young age, so Niccolo supposed that it made sense for the Devils to enlist young as well. However, Niccolo did notice that only one of them, the oriental dark-haired girl that Hange called Mikasa, carried a sword and a rifle. The others carried rifles as well but they didn't have the same sword and gear that she and captain Levi had. Instead, they were slitting their own palms with a knife. His eyes widened as he saw a wisp of steam come out of them. Among them is a blonde boy, a brunette girl with a ponytail, a long-faced light-brown haired young man, and a small boy with a shaved head. Niccolo heard their names as Armin, Sasha, Jean, and Connie respectively.
Sasha sends Niccolo an apologetic smile as they start walking away. Once they got to the beach, Niccolo's eyes widened as he saw a Titan with a skull-like face carrying his ship onto the beach. He shutters as it sets the ship down.
'Green eyes? That must be the missing Attack Titan,' Niccolo realizes.
"Hello friends from Marley!" Hange shouts.
Niccolo listens as she does the same skit that she used when addressing him and his comrades. Then Hange puts her arm around him and Niccolo tenses.
"By the way, were already friends with the guests that arrived before you."
Niccolo looks fearfully at the Devil-Hange as she laughs maniacally while leaning on him.
'The Devil Woman is insane!'
"Isn't that right, Niccolo?"
Niccolo's heart races even faster as he feels Levi's gun press against this back. Sweat goes down his face as fear courses through him. He closes his eyes and he thinks of his family back home. Of these Devils invading his home town.
'Oh screw it! If they are gonna kill me anyways, I might as well make sure the others don't.'
"Captain! Forget about me and shoot these Devils!" Niccolo screamed.
Hange "faked" a gasp while grinning.
"What are you saying, Nicolo!?" Hange asked as Niccolo screams again for his captain.
"He's tired of your shitty skit," Levi tells her.
Niccolo's Captain growls and points his gun at Hange.
"Nicolo. Understand this, you devils! Marley doesn't mingle with filthy blood! Go drink your pig piss with your filthy friends!"
"Aww! Hey! You sure you wanna be rude to us!?" Hange asked Captain Koch. "Can't you see the Titan behind you!?"
The soldiers on the ship look at the giant Titan glaring down at them. They gasp in fear but the captain is unfazed.
"We'll never yield to you devils! Say hello to this!"
"One sec!" Hange says before she pushes Niccolo to the ground.
He wonders what she's doing, getting him out of harm's way.
"Ok, go ahead!" she yells at the captain.
The captain fires his rifle and Niccolo notices something strange happening to Levi. As soon as his captain fired his gun, Levi's eyes glowed as his body sparked with lightning. He moves in front of Hange, in the split second before the bullet hits her body. He swings his sword and slices the bullet in half. The two half bullets shoot into the sand on the sides of them as Niccolo and the other Marleyans gasp stunned.
'What the?' Niccolo thinks.
The captain regains his composure and he fires his gun again at the two Devils. He fires several rounds but Levi erupts with lightning again and moves at lightning fast speed. He slashed the bullets before they could touch either him or Hange. This goes on until the captain runs out of bullets.
"Everyone this is Levi Ackerman!" Hange shouts. "Ackermans are basically super soldiers. But they've gotten an upgrade in recent times thanks to one Dr. Jaeger."
The captain tries to fire his empty gun before he turns to his crew.
"What are you all waiting for!? Shoot them!"
Then captain Koch and the other soldiers see lightning strike off to the side of them. Suddenly, five of the Nine Titans appear before them. But not like how they were when they were in possession of the Marleyan-Eldian warrior unit. The Armored Titan is leaner and bald. The Female Titan has long wild brown hair, red eyes and an elongated mouth. And the Beast Titan has a horse head and body (but human hands and feet) rather than looking like a giant ape. In the Female Titans hand is Armin and Mikasa. Mikasa holds up her rifle and sword as she emits small streams of lightning. Armin holds up his bleeding palm and releases a spark of his own.
"By the way! Armins the Colossal Titan!" Mikasa yells.
Niccolo watches as his captain reluctantly surrenders. How his comrades threw down their weapons and raised their hands. He looks between Hange and Levi. Then at the group of Titans who are greeting the Attack. He looks at Mikasa, who jumps to the Attack Titans shoulder and kisses his cheek.
'These are truly the Devils of Paradis,' Niccolo thinks.
So as you can see, Eren and his friends have Titans in this story and Paradis has figured out how to create Pseudo-Shifters (which are not affected by the 13-year curse). You will receive more information on how this happened next chapter. Stay tuned.
Notes: Given that Hizuru is a real-life poetic name for Japan (Hiizuru-Kuni), which Hizuru is based off of. I made some of these names for Marleys conquered territories based off of poetic names for their real-world counterparts.
Albion is another name for Britain. Albion is also used in the Attack on Titan Analogy series where it is basically an alternate counterpart of the Walls.
Smaragaid is another name for Ireland.
Veracruz is derived from "Vera Cruz" which is another name for Brazil.
Hellada is another name for Greece.
Belpaese is derived from "Bel paese" (meaning "beautiful country"), another name for Italy. In the Island of Devils canon, this country also serves as the original homeland of the Marleyans. Like Marley's real-life counterpart Rome (aside from Nazi Germany), Marley started out as a city-state in this country. But over time they conquered more territory and expanded. Eventually coming into conflict with various nomadic tribes such as Eldia as they were conquering/expanding into what is now considered the Marleyan mainland. There are still ruins of the original city-state in this country, but they have been abandoned for centuries. Modern Marleyans used the excuse that the land was originally theirs when they conquered it not long after the Titan war, thus starting their expansionism.
Hesperia is another name for Spain. In the Island of Devils canon, Hesperia is also the country (region when it was part of Marley) that holds the city of Lakua. (Which is named after the real-life city of Lakua in Spain, and Hesperia on Marleys map would be placed westward.
Midnattsol is another name for Norway.
Hexagone is derived from France's nickname "l'hexagone" (the Hexagon).
Tyskland is another name for Germany.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. All comments are appreciated!