Creation began on 09-30-24
Creation ended on 10-03-24
Attack on Titan
The Dark Titan: Wake up, Kaede
"…Carla got remarried after she left the island," Kaede expresses to the elderly woman that asked her about her alleged daughter. "You have a granddaughter. You'd probably like her if you met her."
"Is Carla…happy?" The lady wants to know.
"I believe she is. After everything that happened here, she wiped her slate clean and started anew with a better man that kept no secrets from her or was hunted down by people that wanted to harm her for terrible things that disgrace of a boy did."
The woman nods her head in understanding and looks down at the ground.
"I never approved of Grisha Yeager because it always seemed like he was hiding something, and that it was going to get her killed or worse," she reveals to Kaede.
"Secrets have a cost," the ghost girl responds, "but the truth has a cost, as well. Revelations always result in some form of pain due to the consequences of having kept something hidden and only recently bringing them to light. But you needn't concern yourself with such things. After I leave here, I doubt that anyone is going to come here to harass or threaten any of you."
"Except," the lady utters as Kaede turns to resume walking away, "you can't guarantee that. Even if you do convince the world you rebuilt to disregard Paradis, there's no stopping the Yeagerists. They're like vermin; for each one you take out, three more take its place. I'm glad that Carla left, though; this is no place for those that don't believe in restraint."
"It's not the same place I remember it was long ago. It seems like the more things changed around here, the more they don't stay the same. I don't even recognize the people around here. People wanting to fight for a freedom that simply doesn't exist are people just as lost in the darkness as any other person looking for something to believe in that is worth their time to believe in. Did you ever believe in something that your believed was worth believing in?"
"Once, and it was a future where Titans would disappear. But if I knew that we'd be exchanging one life of cruelty for another one where the young people behave with violence and believe in an eye for an eye, I'd be better off with the delusion that Titans were the real enemy of the human race instead of being some sort of racist feud between people. At least then, there wouldn't be young people trying to act like they know better than those older than themselves…and maybe you wouldn't be dead. I would hear about you from other people before the Walls came down. You were precious to some. Even the childless few that heard about you would wish for one half as easygoing as you. You were an angel, a sweetheart, a dream come to life. I believe you still are, even after what befell you."
Kaede turns back to face her…and gives her a small smile.
"Thank you," she says, and then walks away.
-x-
There must've been at least eight dozen Yeagerists left on standby, and every one of them were enraged by both Kaede Sogen's unprovoked attack on them outside the hospital (if one could even call that an attack) and Historia Reiss' renouncement of the throne and protection of the former Jaw Titan. When twelve of the Yeagerists came to the hospital to take both women into custody, they were surprised to find only Armin Arlert there.
"Where are they?" The man leading them demands, and Armin sighs.
"I don't know where they went," he answers him. "I just know that they left together. And why does it matter to you, anyway? Ymir was only here to see Historia, and Historia missed Ymir a lot over the last few years. Historia renounced the throne, meaning the royal family, which was just herself after Eren killed the rest, is no longer around. If you wanted to, you could take over the island for yourselves and be in control."
"We need her to help maintain the order on Paradis," he states. "We can't afford to risk losing her now. Now, where is she?"
"I just told you, I don't where they are. Don't you have other things to concern yourselves with? Like the broadcast that said that in a few days' time, a ship would come to Paradis to inform the Yeagerist government that the rest of the world, excluding Hizuru, would be ignoring all matters related to Paradis? There's no longer a reason to fear reprisal because Ms. Sogen just fixed the world's maimed nations, so you're all just a waste of time preparing for a war that isn't coming."
The Yeagerists left the hospital and pondered where to find Historia; it didn't matter if there was no longer any reason to concern themselves with a threat from the rest of the world, they needed to ensure the people that their queen was under wraps.
-x-
The night was its own version of daytime, but with a measure of grace and lack of respect thrown into it. As she lay on the beach on the coast of Paradis, looking up at the sky, Kaede ponders the last bit of concern towards the people of this island that was no more than an empty shadow of its former self. She didn't want the Yeagerists to cause trouble, but she didn't want the people of the world to bring retribution to those not affiliated with the Yeagerists. In the end, what she plans to do is not going to make people happy, but in the end, all that really matters is her choice above all else, for better or worse.
"Definitely worth the aches and pains from running," Kaede hears a voice that sounds similar to Ymir's, and raises up to see two people nearby, one of whom was carrying a lantern.
It was Ymir…and Historia.
"What are you two doing out here?" She questions.
"What does it look like?" Historia responds, holding up a small bag that was probably full of random clothes and supplies, and Kaede's eyes widen.
"You're leaving Paradis?" She realizes. "Now, I know I'm dreaming a crazy dream."
"Paradis has become…well, you know how it is," Historia states.
"Yeah," Kaede agrees with her, "I do. But doesn't that mean that they're going to come looking for you?"
"This is… This is my choice, Ms. Sogen. I'm not the queen, anymore, so I'm not going to let some people that think violence is the best option dictate how I wish to live. I don't want this life…and I don't want to be here."
Kaede could sympathize with her; the whole royal family life was not pleasant for her since the day Eren killed everyone for the Founding Titan after taking the Attack Titan. She wasn't sure how things could've been if that boy just stayed away or was locked up or even executed for his crimes. If it had been herself, Kaede would have locked him away until he passed on from natural causes; even if nobody murdered him, there is no way anyone can live forever…and immortality can often be a curse after a long enough time has passed.
"Before we leave, then," she says to the pair, "there's one last thing I need to do, and it's with a heavy heart that I do this."
"You're not…going to hurt anyone…are you?" Historia asks her.
"No. Not physically, at least."
Before Historia could question what Kaede means by this, she and Ymir saw a strange formation emerge from the sands around them, spreading across the ground on both sides of the coast. It was frightening, but all Kaede does is sigh; whatever she was doing, it was of her doing.
"Kaede?" Ymir utters, seeing the structures harden.
"Unlike the people of the royal family that confined a portion of their people," she says as she walks away, "I'm not locking away anyone, but trying to limit their ability to unleash unnecessary violence upon others. The same for those that may wish to be violence towards this island, too. Nothing big can get through…but nothing dangerous can get out, either. Tell me, Ms. Reiss, can you live with this?"
Historia sighs and responds, "I'm not going to fight you over this. If you see this working in the long run, then it works for me. Does this work for you, Ymir?"
"It's not really locking people up if they have small openings to get out and in, right? It works for me. It's not really all that different from the wall that surrounds the village, except this one's crudely built, and with good reason, too. Nice job, though. Nice alternative to violence."
Kaede simply bows her head and turns toward the ocean in front of the three.
"Let's get moving," he tells them.
-x-
Sometimes, Reiner hated being asked to do things like this, but what other choice did he have? On the ship destined for Paradis, he and several other people from across the world were going to simply inform the Yeagerist military government that, with the exception of Hizuru, they were simply to be ignored by the masses that were left over from the Rumbling, meaning that, no matter what they did now, they were to be left alone for the rest of their lives. There would be no reprisals, no further conflict, no scouring for resources, and no excuses. While it might've been a sour point for the Yeagerists, who existed only to defend Paradis against reprisal, Reiner found their existence to be moot since the Dark Titan… No, since Kaede Sogen returned from beyond the grave and rebuilt the world, something nobody else with the power of the Titans has ever done, the people wanted to be deserving of the gifts they had been given by the gray-haired woman that walked a different path in life and death.
"There's a ship up ahead!" He hears a woman's voice say, and he sees a ship that is unlike the ones he had seen years before "Is that the Dark Titan?!"
The ship that was coming from the direction of Paradis Island, looks more like a large bowl made of clay being moved in the water by a large woman swimming behind it. A moment later, they could all see a flag of white coloring waving in the night air; whoever was on that ship was clearly making their point of not being a threat.
The Dark Titan stopped swimming so that the crew aboard could see the occupants of the other vessel, and Reiner was surprised to see Historia and Ymir.
"Your Highness," Reiner greets Historia.
"It's just Historia now," she replies. "I've renounced the throne. And I wouldn't bother with going to Paradis unless you have smaller boats that can get through the makeshift wall Ms. Sogen left behind."
"Miss Sogen left a wall on Paradis?"
Behind Historia and Ymir, Kaede stepped up to the former Armored Titan and shows him a drawing of the wall she left behind surrounding the island.
"Unlike the previous ones made by Karl Fritz," she explains, "the one I made has about twenty gaps in between them, large enough for a small boat, but too small for any boat as big as this one, preventing any attempt to invade or attack at sea…and it also keeps the Yeagerists from building any ships of their own to attack with if they felt like they needed to fight someone that didn't deserve it."
"I take it they don't know yet?" Reiner asks her.
"I didn't ask for permission…and I don't expect forgiveness."
"Either way, I'd give you my approval of such a move. But these parts of the structure…they really go both ways?"
"Yes. I was thinking of a deterrent that keeps both sides of the line in check. And from what I understand, the Yeagerists no longer have access to ODM gear; if they did, they would've used it early on. Even if they did, these structures are not suited for climbing up or standing on."
"Unsafe structures are often the best type of structures to use for defense."
"Oh, really?"
"Still, we need to inform the Yeagerists that Paradis is no longer on anyone's wish list or hit list. They can move of with their lives with this allies from Hizuru."
"I will not stop you from doing whatever it is you need to do. I can only advise you on what will get through and what won't. Best of luck talking to them, though."
"Thank you, Ms. Sogen."
With this conversation now over, the Dark Titan resumes its swim across the ocean with its two passengers getting away from Paradis Island as the other ship moves toward said island.
Historia Reiss has renounced the throne, Reiner thinks as this discovery will undoubtedly surprise several people and upset others. With no monarch to govern the Yeagerists or Paradis, the main source of control within the governing body on the island has no true power, meaning that anyone can take control if they can maintain it. While that's bad for Paradis' people, it at least frees Historia from the unhappiness of being the queen. In the end, when the opportunity presented itself, she chose to walk away with someone closest to herself. I can't believe Kaede Sogen was the one to give her such an opportunity to escape from that life. She really is an angel. An angel of darkness, perhaps, but one that gives light instead of darkness. Thank you again, Kaede Sogen. Thank you.
-x-
The Yeagerists were shocked to find this! Even as the morning sun shined upon them, they were met with a new darkness. A strange formation had appeared almost overnight, surrounding the entire coastline of Paradis. A barrier of jagged spike pillars, pointing outward and inward, reaching up twenty meters, with small gaps in between, letting the ocean water advance and recede like always.
It had to be the Dark Titan that did this! Who else but the gray-haired girl that killed herself would do something like this? But why would she do this? Why would she create something this horrible and put it around their home?
"It goes all the way around," a female Yeagerist says. "There must be about twenty of these gaps in between them, but each of them are small. Too small for a ship to get through, but large enough for small boats."
"She didn't lock us in," a male Yeagerists expresses. "She just made fighting to protect ourselves difficult and for enemies to have trouble getting through. We can't climb these structures and we can't build ships to send them out into the world."
"Not unless they're built in Hizuru," a different male Yeagerist states.
"Boat!" A third male Yeagerist shouts, and they see a small boat rowing through one of the gaps, carrying people to their beach.
They went over to where the boat stopped and meet with the passengers aboard, recognizing one of them as the former Armored Titan and failed ambassador.
"What do you want?" The Yeagerist in charge demands from them.
"We're just here to inform you that, officially, Paradis and Hizuru are to be disregarded by the new world government," Reiner informs them. "You can do what you want, but know that nobody's going to fight with you, making your fear of reprisal a waste of time."
"Have you seen Queen Historia?" A female Yeagerist demands.
"Only a woman by the name of Historia, but she was no queen."
"She abandoned the island and its people and may have strayed with the Dark Titan! If you see her, you need to bring her back here!"
Reiner frowns and retorts, "I don't need to do that. My orders were as followed: Come to Paradis, inform the Yeagerists that the rest of the world will not seek revenge against Paradis for the Rumbling after Kaede Sogen and the Dark Titan rebuilt the damaged landscapes left behind by the Wall Titans, and let you decide how to deal with this knowledge. I have told you that the rest of the world will not seek reprisal against you. Whatever fears of war you may have are just that, nothing but fears. Whether or not you move on from this revelation is up to you. Either way, we're not here to fight with you or help you do something you want. If your queen has abandoned you, then that is your problem. So, you deal with it however way you chooses to. We're done here. Have a nice day and a nice life."
Reiner turns to walk away, content with having told the Yeagerists what they needed to know about where they now stood in life.
"You probably wouldn't be this content if that bitch of a traitor decided to leave your home in ruins!" He hears one of them yell at him, but he ignores it completely; what was done was done, and all they could do was move on. "Cowards! Weaklings!"
They got back into the boat and rowed away from the Yeagerists. The rest of the world now needed to know about the new addition to Paradis that made going to and away from it a new challenge when it came to seafaring.
-x-
A few weeks went by, but all was quiet around the town of Kaede Sogen, as its namesake resident ghost sat under the Dark Tree, protected by the branches against the sunlight. It took a few days in the beginning, but most of the residents started to accept Historia among them after they learned she renounced the throne shortly after Ymir was found and rescued. It was also a revelation to learn that Ymir had a last name to replace the one she couldn't remember having from over sixty years ago, which Kaede, while still surprised to have learned, came to tolerate because it meant something.
"Your name?" One of the villagers tasked with registering the defectors from Paradis so that the people elsewhere would have some record of who they were…had asked Ymir when she decided to establish her identity.
"Ymir," she stated.
"Ymir…"
She told me that it just felt like the right choice to make, Kaede thinks as looks up at the blue sky. Even if it's only in name, that's a good thing to know.
"Ymir Sogen," Ymir had told the man registering her name.
"Sogen? As in…"
"That's right."
"I think they'd like that."
Even Historia was surprised to learn of this, as it meant someone honoring the memory of the Sogen family.
"I hear it's going to rain in a few more days," Kaede hears Historia say to her, and she looks over at the former queen, looking like a regular civilian in her casual clothes. "Are you going to be alright out here?"
"I've been out in the rain in the months spent rebuilding towns and cities," she reveals that she had been around during bad weather. "It doesn't bother me."
"Does anything bother you?"
"You'd be surprised at what it takes to get under my skin."
Historia had to admit to herself that that was true; because the girl had more restraint and wasn't a reckless individual, she wasn't as likely to get upset about things like certain people did. A girl with more restraint, more so than likely necessary, was more capable than one that constantly acted on every impulse imaginable. It made Kaede Sogen someone to be respected more because of her restraint.
"Last night," Historia informs her, "I had a bizarre dream about you."
"Oh, really?" Kaede replies. "About?"
"I saw you laying on the ground, surrounded by debris and Titans that weren't evaporating…and then Frieda appears before you…and says something that is confusing."
Kaede's curiosity begs her to ask what Historia's sister says to her in a dream.
"She said…you need to wake up," Historia reveals, "that you weren't dead yet, that you were far from it, in fact…but that you needed to wake up."
Wake up, Kaede, she hears her mother's voice again.
Please, wake up, Kaede, her stepfather's voice chimes in.
Kaede…wake up, she hears the twins' voices telling her to wake up, and she gets up and steps onto the see-through right hand of the Dark Titan that was partially manifested beside the tree.
"Kaede?" Historia questions, but the ghost girl was raised up to the tall branches above her.
Stepping onto a branch, Kaede sighs as she feels…off by Historia telling her something she was already somewhat aware of…and confused by. Voices of people telling her to "wake up", the possibility that she wasn't even dead, but she was uncertain of whether or not to believe these voices and just resign to her fate here as she tries to redeem her soul.
Who did this? She hears her stepfather say, sounding angry. Who did this to her?!
Am I supposed to feel sad for them? She then hears Eren's voice. Well, I don't.
Was Kaede truly dead…or was she alive, just in a state where she believed herself to be dead? She kept checking her heartbeat, but never felt a beat.
Don't die, Ms. Sogen, she hears Charlotte's voice. Please, wake up.
She feels a hand on her left shoulder and turns to face whoever was there, seeing…herself, standing in front of her, dressed in a hospital gown, with her hair messy. Her expression one of frustration and concern.
"You're not dead," she tells herself. "You need…to wake up."
"I…don't understand," Kaede replies, confused.
"You need to wake up," the other Kaede tells her. "You're not dead. You're asleep."
"Asleep?"
"Wake up."
Then, the other Kaede disappears.
"You're not dead. You're asleep. You need to wake up."
If she wasn't dead, why did she believe herself to be dead? Maybe her brain was tricking her into thinking she was dead because something happened to her?
Massive trauma to the brain can result in unexpected changes that cause the mind to shift in an effort to cope, she thinks as she sees the world around turn to nighttime. Sometimes, an injury can make the mind think in ways that they wouldn't normally think. Or maybe even disassociate oneself from the world around them.
She finds herself walking down a street, her perception of things and people jumbled up. She stops as she looks up at someone in front of her. A young woman, dressed elegantly in robes, but her eyes as dead as someone whose soul was destroyed long ago. Somehow, Kaede recognized this woman as someone she met recently.
"Welcome to the darkness that is my life… Now, you're my prisoner of a different sort…and I'm not letting you go…" She hears herself say to someone.
"Everything and everyone must follow the order established!" She hears a girl's voice yell at her. "Those that can't follow the order must be removed and disposed of!"
"I'll stand in your way for the sake of the people I love!"
"You would dare to defy my order?!"
"Ymir Fritz," she utters as she walks over to the young girl. "You…you've been playing with my head, doing things to make me question other things. Something happened…and you tried to take advantage of my predicament. If this is all in my head, or some warped sense of perception of reality, or even a combination of certain factors…then I want to know why. Why, Ymir Fritz?"
The young girl's empty expression soon contorts into one of anger and resentment.
"You keep defying everything that was set in place long ago!" She yells at her, and the buildings around them begin to fracture. "You defy everything with your mere existence! Every breath you take, every time you speak, even just looking at you! You're an embodiment of deviation! You're the ultimate outrage against my order and control! You took away my power, my order, and you threw everything off with your defiance. Everything I saw happening has to happen! For the sake of the order! For the sake of freedom! For the sake of everything! But you cling to your life! You defy all sense of understanding! Your deviance rivals the persistence of arrogance!"
"So, you created this life? You created a scenario world in which the Rumbling did happen…and I lost the people I love most, made me believe I killed myself out of grief?"
"So long as you believed yourself to be dead, you had no reason to convince yourself that you were anything but, but those other deviants… Their voices kept reaching out to you…and your heart kept clinging to the chance that you were still alive. What makes you so damn special that these people keep trying to bring you back to them?!"
"They're my friends, my family, my comfort zone. They give me peace of mind. They make me accept that my Dark Titan power is a blessing rather than a curse. They give me support during my darkest hours. But you don't understand any of that, do you? You…never really had anyone to support you during your darkest moments. Friends? Parents? Siblings? That Fritz guy that robbed you of your life, your hopes and dreams, made you the person that you are. While you may love your children, you wanted his love more than anything, only to know that he was incapable of love. Of true love. People like that of unworthy of anything and believe in only their dark impulses and desires. I want redemption for your soul, Mrs. Fritz, but I will not be condemned by you or anyone that believes that their way is the only way…and I will not let myself be swayed to follow a path of violence and freedom when peace and coexistence are the preferred options."
Kaede walks over to Ymir Fritz, just as the other woman reverts back to the little girl she had been prior to obtaining the power of the Titans…only to walk past her down the street.
"Don't go!" She hears her yell at her. "Stay here! Stay asleep! Don't wake up! It's better for you to stay here! There's nothing there for you!"
But Kaede just walks on.
"Only despair awaits you!" She hears her yell, but Kaede only knows this to be true: If she really was asleep, then she was asleep for a long time and needed to wake up, to go back to the life she thought she had lost. "Only misery awaits you!"
Misery is up to the person that lives their life, Kaede thinks as she sees her world turn dark and hollow. Misery is what we believe to be our misfortune. I'm tired of feeling miserable because of some people that can't or won't accept peace or coexistence, that won't consider a ceasefire when they want to end a war to stop more carnage. Something's gotta change. I got to make sure that something changes.
Behind her was the Dark Titan, following close by, the same expression of determination and conviction as its holder has on its face.
Please, wake up, Kaede, she hears her mother cry. Please.
Don't stay like this, she hears Delilah's voice. Don't stay asleep. Come back to us. We need you.
Do you think she could teach me how to do a handstand, Mama? She hears Charlotte asking, and then feels something in her left palm.
I'd like to do that, Kaede thinks, slowly sinking into the ground beneath her legs. I'm ready to wake up now.
Then wake up, she hears a male voice say to her. Wake up now, Kaede Sogen. Wake up…and live again. Live…and protect what matters most to you. Live.
-x-
Feeling like a haze was fading away from her, Kaede opened her eyes and looked around herself, a little disoriented and confused by her surroundings. As her vision corrected itself, finds she's inside a small room, laying in a bed that wasn't her own, and covered in a medical gown.
"Please, wake up, Kaede," she hears her mother say in her sleep, beside her on her right. "Please, wake up."
Kaede reaches out and shakes her mother, stirring her from slumber.
"Mother?" She asks her. "I'm awake now."
Time to return to the waking world
A/N: Now, we return to the story this connects to, and we see how it affects Kaede's perception of what she has gone through. What do you think will happen after all that Kaede has experienced in what she was led to believe was her afterlife?
