Creation began on 03-03-24
Creation ended on 03-07-24
Attack on Titan
The Dark Titan: Superhuman
Anyone from Shiganshina that ever heard of either Eren Yeager or Kaede Sogen would understand that they were like two things that simply didn't go together, like summer and winter or tea and liquor. With the revelation that Kaede was the infamous Dark Titan, the people from Shiganshina that had survived the attack by the Colossal and Armored Titans, due to only rumors, gossip and innuendo, were wondering how something like this was possible…and why someone like Kaede Sogen, the so-called "positive odd one out", was capable of such a feat that seemed like a nightmare. But unlike Eren Yeager, whose attitude made him someone to talk about in a light that adults used to acknowledge misbehaving children, Kaede was someone they couldn't help but feel concern towards due to her lack of violent acts, along with the fact that, as the Dark Titan, she actually saved a life from another Titan, like some sort of saint. This, of course, only made Eren seem more bitter towards the gray-haired girl; ever since he learned that she was the cause of his home being destroyed, he couldn't see her as anything but someone that had committed actions that adults were willing to overlook due to her sense of restraint, her lack of anger towards things…or the mere fact that she was less likely to do anything wrong in fear of harming others so long as no harm came to herself or someone she cared about.
"So," went Eren to Armin and Mikasa, two days later, "which branch did you two join?"
"I joined the Survey Corps," Armin explained to his friend. "Mikasa joined the Garrison."
"Why'd you join the Garrison?" Eren asks the girl.
"To keep an eye on you," Mikasa reveals. "Your mother told me to make sure you stay out of trouble, and that's what I need to do."
"You don't need to watch after me. I'm not a baby."
"No, but based on the rumors we've been hearing, you're heading towards trouble again, Eren," Armin informs him; everyone from the Cadet Corps had heard differing stories that all revealed a crucial detail: Eren Yeager clearly hated Kaede Sogen, and the hatred, while mutual, was more one-sided on Eren's end due to his seemingly unwillingness to let go of whatever she might've committed against him in the past. "The reason I joined the Survey Corps was to learn from Ms. Sogen. If she can remember anything about how this happened to herself, it may help her in the long run if the government can be persuaded not to want her executed."
"By what? Convincing her to enlist in the military as a sort of living weapon? She already stated that she wants nothing to do with the military."
"Eren…I was practically one of eight people to enlist in the Survey Corps over the impression that with Ms. Sogen on our side, we could retake Shiganshina. Everyone else either joined the Military Police or the Garrison for their own reasons. Not everyone believes as you do."
"And what do you believe in?"
"I believe that Ms. Sogen is like any other person that lives behind the Walls; she doesn't have any interest in what lies beyond them because she's not looking for trouble. If you go looking for trouble, trouble will eventually find you."
"I'm not the one in trouble here!" Eren yells out. "That girl is trouble! Nothing but trouble!"
-x-
As best as they could tell, whenever Kaede Sogen became the Dark Titan, she was the Dark Titan for less than twenty hours, returning to her previous state not too long after. But in less than an hour, due to her Titan's speed, she could circle the whole of Wall Rose from beginning to end, provided there were no obstacles in her way; Levi and Hange, being the witnesses, could only describe the girl's speed as being faster than the fastest of horses they had at their disposal. In many respects, the gray-haired girl's Titan was a combination of strength, speed, durability and endurance that, while likely on par with the Colossal or Armored Titans, was a worthy boon on the side of the Survey Corps. And this was only what they knew so far of what she was capable of.
"How do you feel, Ms. Sogen?" Erwin Smith asks the girl as she sat on a rock looking out at the open terrain, holding a plate of food in front of her.
"So far so good, sir," she responds.
From what he understood, the girl only had the barest of recollection from that day she became the Dark Titan…and suspected that it had something to do with her step-grandfather, this Grausam Zanki fellow that went missing, presumed dead five years ago. This…and the fact that the girl didn't want to devote herself to the military life that others had chosen because she wanted a better life for herself. He didn't blame her for wanting that, but was starting to wonder, with everyone knowing who she was and what she was capable of, what sort of life could she have after all of this with the Titans was over and done with. Could she really go back to being a regular civilian after all of this?
"What are you thinking about?" He asks her.
"My father," she answers him. "Hagan Sogen. Just wondering what he'd think of me right now."
"What kind of person was he?"
"My mother says that he was like me; he was friendly, caring, reliable, not a troublemaker, just looking out for his friends and loved ones."
"What did he do for a living?"
"Carpentry. People that can do good work with their hands were often the go-to people of any town or village."
"How did he…"
Kaede sighs and looks away from him.
"My apologies," he apologizes.
"No, it's okay," she tells him. "It wasn't even something anyone would've noticed until it was too late. We were out shopping one day…and he just…he just fell down…and wouldn't get back up. From what they could determine, it was stress on his heart, something he would've likely overlooked as something else. People can understand a death like that because it's easier to accept than being attacked by a Titan or being murdered by someone over something trivial, like money or a personal belonging someone is willing to go to extreme lengths to possess. But after he died, I…I couldn't stop missing him. It was like…I lost a piece of myself."
"I take it he was like your best friend?"
"Yeah."
Erwin looks out at the open terrain and can only imagine what was beyond Wall Maria if they could reclaim it.
"You know, what you said at your trial the other day," he utters to her. "Why did you say it? The possibility that there were others like yourself that could be Titans?"
Kaede looks over to him and replies, "Because it made no sense for nobody within the Survey Corps to go out there beyond Wall Rose for five years and not see a Titan that is simply too big to move around unnoticed by anyone. But someone that can become a Titan, especially at will, at anytime they choose… That makes sense because it means that something that massive can get through the Walls without being noticed…until it's too late to protect anyone. Still, the question of why remains. Why would someone capable of such violence…willingly commit it against the people? If it was accidental, why not just explain it and let the people consider the possibility of helping the responsible parties so that they don't do it again. But if it was deliberate, if someone committed these atrocities…on purpose…what was the reason for doing so? Why endanger so many people? Why destroy families, scatter friends, force people to abandon their homes, resort to things they wouldn't do otherwise if they felt they had a choice? Why?"
"You believe there's a reason?"
"I believe anyone is capable of hiding things if they feel they have something to hide from someone else that they don't want finding out about, whatever it may be. So, I'll ask you this question, Mr. Smith: Are you hiding anything from anyone? Do you have something to hide? Are you capable of harming other people that have done you no wrong?"
"I have nothing to hide, Ms. Sogen," he affirms to her. "All I seek…is the truth to why the Walls exist and why our history states that nobody has been outside them for over a century. The Walls were built over a century ago, but no book mentions how they were built, who built them or how long it took before the Titans appeared."
Kaede sighs; she had known this history, as well, and it made little sense to her, too.
"My mother used to say that the people in charge of the Walls are the ones that decide what will and what won't be," she says to him. "That history is decided by those who have the power to remake it, to discard or distort what really happened. What do you think really happened?"
"What do I think?"
"We're just two people sharing personal opinions about a piece of history. Anything you tell me will only be from your perspective…just as anything I say to you will be from my perspective. If there are people who can become the Colossal and Armored Titans, I'd want to know why they attacked my home and drove people away from it…if they did so on purpose. If they can tell me why and give me a reason to be understanding, considerate towards whatever plight awaits them…then I would just consider a life behind bars if they were in the wrong for their actions."
"You're very… That's a lot of restraint there."
"Murder just tears away at the soul if done in excess. You kill one person by accident, it can be considered involuntary. You kill one person on purpose, you become a stain on people's memory of you. You can't justify killing when you do it on purpose, even if your morals are viewed as righteous. And there are worse things than death that lie just ahead of life."
"Wow. That's deep."
"Thank you."
-x-
Even with only eight new members for the Survey Corps, it felt like a boost to morale because they had Kaede Sogen with them, and the idea for the next expedition was sound: Use the Dark Titan to get to Wall Maria's Shiganshina District and seal the outer gate. Once that was achieved, rebuilding the inner gate would enable people to return to the district and their current status of zero would be reversed.
"I still don't get how we're at a state of zero," said one of the new recruits.
"Because we lost one of the districts to the Titans and people died shortly afterward," went one of the veteran members of the unit. "It was a unanimous decision to abandon only Shiganshina while the other districts were still in use because the Titans were concentrated in the southern lands. While supplies to the three districts were still thin, we were able to maintain the state of equilibrium at zero due to the lack of Titan activity. When the Colossal Titan attacked again at Wall Rose, we were pushed to minus one for a while. And then the Dark Titan appeared again and helped to safeguard the Trost District. While some say we're still at zero, we're actually in minus one because the outer gate is still damaged. But if we reclaim Shiganshina, we'll get out of it and rebuild. That's the current status of minus one."
"That's rough."
"Hard to believe that she's the Dark Titan we've been hearing about," a female recruit expresses, pointing over to Kaede as she sat by herself near a tree. "You wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at her. Her gray hair makes her stand out."
"Why is she sitting by herself, though?" Another recruit asks. "What, are we too good for her or something of the sort?"
"If you found out someone could become a Titan, would you really want anything to do with them?" Armin asks the man. "If you were a Titan and people knew who you were, would you be welcome around them like nothing has changed? That's probably why she's by herself right now; we know who she is and what she's capable of, but we don't really know her or if she can be trusted fully. And she doesn't know who any of us are and has no reason to be open towards us."
"Sometimes, it's easier to be alone because you can avoid confrontation that way," said a girl whose appetite for meat was without boundaries. "But some people aren't suited for isolation if it's not what they desire."
"Arlert, you've spoken with her once," said another man to Armin. "What is she like? Before all of this? What floats her boat?"
"It's not like that," Armin explains. "She's not some mystery waiting to be solved. She's like any other girl out there. She's just a…just a girl."
"But you've spoken with her," the meat-craving girl states. "Maybe she'll talk with you."
In his honesty, Armin didn't believe that Kaede would actually talk to him, and he hadn't really spoken to her since the revelation that she was the Dark Titan. At least not verbally, as it was hard to have a verbal conversation when one person is the one talking and the other is incapable of speech in a way that inhibits their ability talk. But since he was involuntarily appointed by these recruits, he didn't see himself as having any choice in the matter and got up from the small circle of soldiers to approach the gray-haired girl.
How do I get myself into these situations? He wonders as he stops three feet from where she sat, getting her attention. "Oh, I…"
"Let me just say," she utters to him, "if this is some sort of joke by some people that don't know any better because their curiosity begs them to know indirectly about me, you can tell them that I'm no different from any other girl, Mr. Arlert."
"Oh, well, uh… We were…wondering…why you're by yourself here?"
"I'm a Titan, aren't I? It's safer to keep a distance. Even if I promised not to hurt anyone, my word is as meaningless as…well, my word."
"But…you're not out to hurt anyone. Your actions in Trost were enough to convince me of this. If you wanted to, you could've killed us that day. But you didn't. You saved us from the Titans that got in. Just like before in Shiganshina."
"Every now and then, I remember a little more of that day."
"Your missing memories are returning?"
"Just bits and pieces. But I'm afraid of what I might've forgotten being the worst thing to remember. I remember my reasoning for saving your friend's mother from that other Titan that day. It wasn't even for him. I only saved her life because I knew she didn't deserve to die that day…or on any other day. Not exactly…noble of me."
"Yes, it is. You saved an innocent life. You kept Mrs. Yeager in Eren's life. Maybe by doing so…you saved Eren from a fate worse than what he might've faced if he was alone."
"He might not see it that way. From what I've been hearing, he hates my guts with a passion."
"He just can't accept that the Titan that saved his mother's life, the same Titan that destroyed his home five years ago…is the same girl that almost killed him for something he did."
"I remember his father saying that if I had brought that rock down on his forehead, he would have been reduced to pulp that could barely tell you how he felt if he was in pain."
"Yeah…but in the end, despite his injuries you gave him that day, you were the victim, Ms. Sogen. Eren was the instigator, so he…deserved it in the end."
"In the end…nobody really deserves pain unless they ask for it. But was he asking for it…or was he asking for something worse than pain?"
"Worse?"
"There are many things that are worse than what we can possibly imagine them to be. Worse than death. Worse than pain. Worse than…anything. It only depends on who's asking for it…and whoever's got it coming to them."
Armin had to suspect that in five years, Kaede had gone from being a sweet girl to this young lady that had her life twisted by fate and she was trying to reclaim the sense of stability that she wanted, the need for order and rationality that gave it purpose for her. She was simply someone that wanted to live her life on her terms, nobody else's…and was not willing to deviate any further than necessary to get what she was after, having a line she didn't want to cross and become someone she would later despise.
"Where do you see yourself?" He asks her. "I mean…after all of this?"
"Getting on with my life," she tells him. "Where do you see yourself after all of this?"
"Just for once…seeing what lies beyond the Walls."
"No argument from me on that as long as you don't try to drag others to go with you."
"I recall you had about seven other girls with you when we lived in Shiganshina. Whatever happened to them?"
Kaede was quiet after he asked her that question. It wasn't the type of quiet that came with hesitation. No, it was the quiet that came with a sense of personal grief and bitterness. This led Armin to suspect that the girl's friends were simply not around.
"I'm sorry," he apologizes to her. "I shouldn't have asked."
"It's okay," she replies. "We drifted apart after we were forced to leave Shiganshina. Two of them went to live with relatives behind Wall Sina, the others relocated to the other districts of Wall Rose. One of them had told me she had enlisted into the Garrison two years ago when she was eligible, but not because she wanted to. She just wanted to help support her family…and because she had a baby shortly after relocating."
"Oh. That…that must be a little difficult. How old is she?"
"Seventeen. Three years older than most of us were at the time. I honestly don't expect to hear from any of them, though."
"And you're fine with this? Not seeing them again?"
"We just went wherever we could go after losing our home in Shiganshina. We did what we had to in order to survive. I'm not the least bit angry that we split apart from each other. I do miss them, but… I don't wish to delude myself with what-if possibilities of what might've been had we stayed together when it's not possible to grasp any of them without the grace of God. Even though I have had fantasies of such possibilities."
"I once thought of what life would've been like if the Titans never invaded Shiganshina."
"How did the fantasy end?"
"Everyone lived happily…but my friend, Eren Yeager, he… How far does one go to get what they want at all costs?"
"As far as they're willing to go…at all costs. So…in this fantasy…he was the only casualty?"
"Yes."
"One for all and all for one."
"What?"
"It's a saying with many outcomes, varying from person to person. For some, it could mean that all things depend on one person or how one person must be dependent upon all things. Or how 'all' is represented by the very world itself…and the person living in it is the 'one'. Another reasoning is that at the beginning of existence, there was nothing but the 'one'…which became the 'all' over time…and when time expires, the 'all' shall return back to the 'one'…until only the 'one' is left behind in existence."
"That's deep."
"My father and stepfather. When they're not working around the towns or at home, they like to speak of philosophy. They're not heavy into any one belief, but when they spoke of any subject, however small, however large, they would ask each other and my mother questions in order to expand their understanding of what they were talking about. According to my stepfather, sometimes science can't answer the questions we have that we seek to have answered…and some questions simply have no answers. The unanswerable questions are the ones that haunt us for eternity. The questions that do have answers…may often raise more questions."
"And what would they say of a world without Titans that hunt humans to eat or the Dark Titan, a creature that demonstrates restraint and compassion towards humans?"
"You would have to ask them sometime."
-x-
Eren Yeager was simply a man that couldn't accept in any form of tolerance that the Dark Titan was this girl that he detested for being who she was and for putting him on the registry. In his mind, she was the reason he failed to complete the Cadet Corps program and enlist into the Survey Corps, and all she did was…show up and save the people from the Titans. But it disgusted him to think that, while she did do something good for the people, she was humble about her actions and lacked the drive to desire more than what she asked for. Anyone would demand many things in return for her protection, but not this gray-haired beauty. All she wanted was a quiet life, to not be seen as a living weapon or a soldier, things that he understands were impossible to have because everyone knew about her status as a Titan, something to be feared.
"…Are you sure she and her parents live here?" Eren hears a young girl say to another girl dressed in the uniform of the Garrison, holding a small girl in her arms.
"Positive," the other girl, the one in the Garrison uniform replies. "They live somewhere down this street."
"It feels so strange now. We haven't seen her in five years. What if she hates us or something?"
"All we can do is hope that she'll at least hear us out."
"The girl with gray hair?" The little girl asks them.
"That's right," the Garrison girl tells her.
As Eren was now looking for a job, he felt the need to follow these ladies and learn what their interest was in the Sogen girl. He had nothing left to lose, so he felt he had something to gain by learning a little more about the girl. Maybe even exploit something about the girl to his own advantage in the future.
Unknown to him, however, someone else was interested in these three ladies that were likely looking for Kaede, but for different reasons than Eren's, which were likely based on a vendetta. Their reason was for the good of the people.
-x-
Everyone stood back from Kaede as she used a small rock to cut her right arm; once she became the Dark Titan, she was the Dark Titan for less than twenty hours, and they were going to need every second possible to get the expedition to Shiganshina without fail. Once the transformation was complete, the small band of soldiers latched onto the Titan's back and held onto its long hair; as soon as Erwin fired the flare gun, the Dark Titan would run as fast as it could to get to Shiganshina where they would begin preparations for closing the outer gate.
Bang! Erwin fired the flare into the air, and Kaede's Titan began to run down the open terrain, surprising the other soldiers that held on.
"Whoa!" Sasha Blouse gasps, looking back at Wall Rose…or rather, what she could see of Wall Rose. "This is insane!"
"I know!" Hange replies. "It's incredible!"
It was like the Dark Titan was the fastest being in the world, unrivaled by anything else. Suddenly, several strands of its hair started to rise up.
"This is new," went Levi, looking to his left behind the Titan…and seeing another Titan coming their way. "Titan!"
The Dark Titan stopped…just in time to watch the new Titan turn after getting ahead of it by more than ten feet. This one appeared similar to it, but more feminine in its build, slender to the Dark Titan's androgynous shape, with short, neck-length blond hair, a skinless structure of exposed muscle, bone and sinew, and its face had this look that made it appear like it was looking at them with an issue.
"What kind of Titan is that?" Hange asks, and then the Dark Titan reaches down and picks up a small rock on the ground. "What are you doing, Sogen?"
The Dark Titan held up the rock in front of them…and then threw it at the fourteen-meter Titan, who simply caught it with its right hand.
"No way," Erwin utters; if this had been a regular Titan, the rock would have simply hit them on the head or somewhere else on their body, but this Titan caught it, which meant that it wasn't a regular Titan.
"It's not possible," went Hange, surprised by this. "Kaede, whatever you do, try to capture this Titan with minimal force. Break its limbs off if you have to, but leave the head attached to its shoulders. If this is what we think it is, we must have it alive."
"Grr," the Dark Titan growled as it removed its own limbs from its hair and raised its hands up.
Everyone on Kaede's back detached from it and descended to the ground below and ran towards some trees for cover.
"What are the odds that size will determine the winner of this?" Sasha asks.
"I doubt that size will be a contributing factor in this," said Reiner Braun as he and Bertolt watched this bizarre Titan standoff begin in earnest.
Kaede slowly approached the other Titan that impeded her advancement towards Shiganshina.
This is what I get for opening my mouth in front of people, she thinks as she's unsure of what this Titan is going to do in response, but still, we need to know. Who are you?
Bash! The fourteen-meter Titan struck with a fury that Kaede had only felt once before in her life, getting attacked in the neck area by an open-handed strike.
What bothered Kaede a little bit about this was that, although she was fine, she felt as though the attack to her neck really hurt her, as though the Dark Titan were an extension of herself. Her throat felt like it was closing up, making it harder to breathe, but she didn't stagger backwards. No, instead, she reacted the way anyone would after being harmed like this and wanted to get even with the person responsible. It reminded her of that horrible day she felt pushed by Eren Yeager…and she responded in turn to his arrogant attitude towards words over actions.
Fortunately, despite the fourteen-meter Titan trying to get out of the way, it didn't take into account that the Dark Titan's long hair would spread across the back of its form and block its evasion attempts like a net being thrown around someone trying to escape. This was something new to Kaede, as well, as it just started to act up on its own.
"Grrrr!" The Dark Titan growled as it reached out and grabbed the fourteen-meter Titan and pinned its arms to the ground. "Rrrrrrrraaaurgh!"
That hurt, Kaede thinks as she feels anger towards the person that might've been inside this Titan. You hurt me!
Some form of yellowish fluid erupted from the Dark Titan's mouth and onto the face of the apprehended Titan.
"Grrr…grut… Grrritt urrts! IT HURTS!" It yelled out at the Titan, and its newfound voice was so loud that it felt like it could be heard for miles on all sides.
"Oh, Hell," went Bertolt as his face started sweating.
To be continued…
A/N: For those that can't stand deviation, I do intend for Eren Yeager to exhibit some redeeming qualities later on. But for now, we need to press on with why he resents Kaede for being who she is rather than what he'd like her to be. And as for the Dark Titan talking for the first time, it's a different incarnation of itself from the previous storylines where it was featured, so Kaede's abilities will be different as time develops. As for Kaede, she's not all that different from other incarnations, but still the same girl that has restraint and the same problems as other people do, but just isn't prone to complaining about them because she accepts that she has no position to take control over others, which is something she doesn't wish to do, either. What else do you think is different so far?