So a few months ago, I had decided to rewrite 'Fly back to Paradise' with two more chapters as part of a whole rewrite of both stories. I originally wrote 'a world apart' to its ending but it felt bland to me plus some parts I wrote did not sit well with me as I progressed, so I started a rewrite and till now and was publishing in AO3 and now I have decided to post it here too. However, I have decided to republish it as a new story and the original one will remain here. Same will be for 'a world apart'.
I hope you like my rewrite.
As he was going to deliver another punch, suddenly a blast occurred as someone appeared speeding inside from a small opening in an otherwise dark space as she drew her blade and smiled.
He opened his eyes as he looked around. It was a night with a full moon. He looked at his vessel taking him back—a bird or something close to a bird. A girl was sleeping next to him, tied to the net around the bird's back so that she did not fall.
As he started to get out of his slumber, he started to realize that the bird was frequently changing its altitude, like it was tired. They had to stop.
He slammed his fist on the bird's nape while screaming, "Falco, land now. You need rest." He said it, but there was no reply as it continued to fly. "Don't ignore me." He said it sternly. Still, there was no reply or signs of slowing down. "Fine, if you wish."
He rested his right palm on the nape before closing his eyes. He felt a slight tingling everywhere. The moon disappeared from the sky as small dots of light filled the sky. He opened his eyes again.
He was sitting on a sand-covered ground with a boy with golden hair kneeling in front of him, his back facing the man. A purple light bathed the boy, and from the sand, a chain burst out, clutching the boy's throat.
"Land, now!" The man said it in a voice made from the voices of a hundred different voices.
The moon reappeared in the wake of the bird finally falling down from the heavens. The man clutched the net with one hand while the other grabbed the girl. He had never done it before. "Hey, glide." The bird obeyed, stretching its wings out. It roughly landed on the uneven ground.
The man started untying the girl as vapor burst from the bird's nape. The golden-haired boy came out of it. Tendrils of flesh were attached to his eyes as he looked back at the man, his pupils glowing purple. Done untying the girl, the man went to him, grabbing the boy by his shoulders before pulling him out.
"Unhand me, Eren." Falco jerked himself off before moving to the girl. The body of the bird started melting away as Falco pulled her to the ground. Eren grabbed the bag before jumping down on the ground. "When will Gabi wake up?" Falco asked him.
"I really don't know." He said this before opening the bag and taking out a crumpled ball of cloth. He jerked it to straighten it up. It was a heavy coat. "Here." Eren throws it in front of Falco and says, "It is cold."
Falco reluctantly takes it, wrapping the oversized coat around him as Eren takes out a blanket and walks to Gabi, covering her with it. He looked at Falco, who was silent.
"Are you ok?" Eren looked at him with concerned eyes.
"Yeah, I am fine. Not much happened anyway. I just lost my family and friends; humanity outside Paradis is dead, and my skin around my eyes is hurting very much." Falco seethed, tears dripping down the steel healing marks.
"Falco, I am sorry for first; I cannot help second. Third, you will get used to it. It will heal quickly." Eren said this before sitting down. The bird was now gone, leaving the net behind.
Falco kept sobbing to himself. He knew he would get sympathy from Eren, the devil of all of Earth, if he was too loud. He didn't want any sympathy from the man. While lost in his thoughts, he heard his stomach growl.
"Mr. Yeager, do we have something to eat?" Falco asked; at least asking for food was not that bad.
Eren pulled his bag, taking out a candy bar and tossing it to him. Falco caught the candy bar and opened the wrapper. Falco looked at Eren as he quietly looked at him.
"Won't you eat something? I think we have plenty of food, right?"
"Not really. This may last you two for a few days. Don't worry about me." Eren smiled at Falco as he chomped another bite. The smile was fake; Falco knew it was a ploy to make him comfortable. "I am used to hunger." The smile slowly disappeared. "Call me Eren if you wish; I don't think I deserve your respect anymore."
"No, I have been taught to respect elders. even if they are a mass murderer." Falco took another bite.
"Or if they are gods to an island," Eren chuckled. "You don't seem to be angry with me?"
"I am angry, but..." Falco looked down on the barren ground as small ants were crawling out, trying to have whatever crumbs of candy fell on the ground.
"But what?"
"You lost your friends too." Falco never wished to get sympathy from Eren, the monster, but he himself could not stop sympathizing with him. The war was started by Marley; their winning would have been no different from how it turned out now.
"I gave them the freedom to oppose me while I kept mine to move forward. We inevitably collided, and they broke."
"But still, you miss them. Right?" Falco asked.
"Yes."
An uncomfortable silence remained, both staring at each other. Falco thought about how different Eren was from what he had seen earlier. At that time, he looked like an old war veteran and is now a young man. The Marleyean uniform oddly suits him.
He then looked at Gabi, who was sleeping peacefully.
"Do you think she will wake up soon?" Falco said.
"I don't think so; why?"
"I just thought about how she would react when she..."
"Let's hope she doesn't kill me. You know what? Keep any weapon away from her." Eren joked as Gabi's eyes started opening up. She groaned a bit before looking at Falco.
"Falco?" Her eyes closed before opening up again, wide. "Falco!"
"Gabi." Falco extended his hand to help her sit. However, she grabbed his shoulders instead, wrapping her arms around his body. "Gabi."
"Falco!" Her lips softly said that near his ears, followed by panting. She was tired. Falco embraced her. "Are you okay?"
"Gabi, relax." He pleaded, but her frantic breathing continued. "Don't strain yourself."
"I thought I lost you." She said this before letting him go. Her tired eyes met his as a small smile appeared on her face. "I really thought I died." Her right palm grazed his cheeks. "I…"
"Gabi, rest now."
"I take it that we won." Gabi said as Falco's eyes widened. "Where is everyone? Reiner, Pieck, Annie, and Armin. I want to hear what you all did while I was
"No need to." Gabi's face distorted in terror as soon as she heard the words. The voice. She turned around to see Eren sitting on the ground, looking at them.
"No…" Gabi looked back at Falco. "Who is that?"
"It's me, Eren Yeager, in the flesh. The enemy of humanity and yeah, killer of your friends." Eren gently introduced himself.
"What?"
Gabi stared at Eren in shock, unable to process anything. Falco immediately held her face, turning to him. "Gabi, look at me, not at him." Falco pleaded.
"And for now, for your information, we are going to Paradis." Something snapped inside Gabi. She immediately got up, sprinting towards Eren and screaming.
"Gabi, stop." Falco cried as she landed a punch on Eren. He grabbed it. She jerked the other fist towards him. "Gabi stop." Falco also got up, rushing to the spot and grabbing her. "Stop, please."
"I will kill you." Gabi screamed at Eren. She started struggling to free herself from Falco. "Leave me."
"Please, we need him." Falco said Gabi stopped resisting.
"Do we need him?" She looked at Falco, tears falling from her eyes. "He killed our families, friends, and everyone. What can he give us?"
"Sanctuary." Falco said. "Look around, Gabi. Just look and tell me what you see around us." Gabi sniffed before complying. There was nothing on the horizon, only ground desecrated by giant footsteps.
"Nothing." She answered.
"We have nowhere to go except Paradis." Falco shook his head. "Gabi, we will die out here. In Paradis, they already see us as enemies; they will kill us or may do worse. Only Eren can help us settle."
"Falco." Gabi uttered his name before pulling him closer. "You think we can live happily there?"
"Maybe. But it's still better than here."
"Falco, sleep now." The boy collapsed on himself; eyes shut. Gabi screamed, taking a few steps back before looking at Eren, his purple eyes shining.
"What was that for?" Gabi yelled at him.
"He has to fly tomorrow for a whole day; he needs sleep, and you punching him would have done no good for him." Gabi opened his mouth but could not speak. How did he know what she was going to do next? "I am the founder, to remind you. Now sit."
Gabi felt an electric shock in her body as she sat down. She felt a compulsion to do so.
The purple hue finally fades away, returning to the green color he owned as Eren looks up at the sky and the countless stars. Gabi could not help but look at the sky, in the voids between the stars, where uncertainty lived. The one she now finds in her future.