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He soared through the sky like a bird in the air. The wind fluttered around his wings as they propelled him forward. The clouds around him parted ways as he flew through them. He felt noble and majestic. This must be how all birds felt when they flew through the sky. Flying through the sky like this made him feel freer than he had ever felt before. He never wanted to come down, not after experiencing this. He looked down and saw that beneath lay the ocean that stretched for miles and miles. He paid no heed to the ocean however. Instead he flapped his wings and flew off towards the sunset…
“Porco what’s wrong?”
He didn’t answer Pieck. He kept his back to her and continued to work on cleaning his rifle. “Nothing,” He lied. He felt the bed creak and turned to see that Pieck had sat down with him. He turned and looked at her. She looked beautiful as she always did with her messy hair and sleepy face. The top of her shirt was unbuttoned giving him a good look at her cleavage so that was nice too.
“I know you're lying to me.” She said. “Is it about Marcel?”
Porco sighed and shook his head. “What else has been on my mind these last few months.”
Pieck wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know you miss him.” She said.
“You know I do.” He said.
Pieck gave him a sad smile. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She then started unbuttoning her shirt exposing herself even more to him. “Do you want me to help take your mind off him for a while?” She asked…
She stood on top of a tower with her hands on the shoulders of a beautiful blond girl. The girl was a small girl, but was very pretty all the same. She could hear the Titans tearing at the foundation of the tower below them. It was only a matter of time before they brought it down with them along with it. That is unless she did something about it.
“Krista I have no right to tell you how to live.” She said. “So this is just a wish of mine. Live your life with pride.”...
“Falco wake up.”
Falco woke up with a start. He looked up and saw the man he now knew as Connie standing over him. He looked around and saw that they were in the camp they had set up in the forest last night. He sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
“Are you all right?” Connie asked him.
“I had a lot of weird dreams last night.” Falco said. The dreams had been strange too. He remembered something about flying, a moment with Mrs Pieck that he didn’t remember happening, but the one that stuck out to him the most was the one with the blond girl. He didn’t know why, but for some reason the vision of her stuck with him. He felt like she held some sort of importance to him, but he couldn’t think of why.
“C’mon, we need to get going. We have a lot of ground to cover today.” Connie told him.
Falco got up and prepared to follow him. His memories of the last few days were kind of hazy. He remembered going with Colt and Gabi for some reason, but then after that nothing. He remembered waking up on the back of Connie’s horse. Connie had told him that he was taking him to a hospital to treat him for his memory loss. And that was where they were journeying now.
They set off and continued on their journey. Falco rode on the back of the horse Connie was riding. It was cloudy, and it looked like it might rain later. As they rode together, it occurred to Falco that something seemed off about Connie. He was supposedly helping him, but why would he be helping an enemy soldier. It also made Falco a bit unsettled that Connie kept glancing over at and giving him strange looks. A strange feeling of dread came over Falco, one that he was unable to shake off.
After an hour or so of riding, the two of them arrived at a small village. Upon entering the village's perimeter, it became clear to Falco that this place had been abandoned for a while. There were no people in sight. The buildings were all run down and many of them looked like they had been smashed by something. Weeds covered the ground, and vines crawled over the houses.
“Weren’t we going to a hospital?” Falco asked, curious to know why they were here. “Why are we in a ruined village?”
“There’s something interesting here, so I thought I’d have you see it.” Connie replied.
They dismounted and Connie took him over to a house covered by a giant tent.
Then something occurred to Falco. “This is Ragako.” He said.
Connie turned to him with a surprised look on his face. “How did you know?” He asked.
Falco stared at the giant tent. “I heard you talking to yourself last night.” He said. “Sasha was the soldier that Gabi shot on the airship wasn’t she? You knew who I was but pretended not to so you could bring me here, why?”
Connie didn’t say anything. He went over to the tent and pulled the flaps on it back. What Falco saw inside shocked him. There lying on top of a ruined house was a Titan. The Titan wasn’t very big, no more than three meters. Its legs weren’t big enough to support itself which explained why it was stuck here. It was lying on its back on top of the house and clearly hadn’t moved in years.
“What…”
“Don’t worry, she can’t move.” Connie told him. He looked at the Titan with a sad expression on his face. “She’s been like this for years.”
Falco looked at Connie uncertainty. “Why did you show me this?” He asked.
Connie didn’t say anything. He continued to stare distantly at the Titan. “This Titan is my mother.” He said. “Zeke made her this way years ago, but with your help I think I can bring her back.”
“Me?” Falco asked. “How could I possibly help?” Then in an instant, it all became clear to Falco. Connie had brought him here for one purpose. “You’re going to feed me to her aren’t you?” He said.
Connie stared blankly at Falco and Falco stared back at him. The two stood there looking at each other, each waiting to see who would make the first move. Connie didn’t make any moves for fear that Falco would run, and Falco stayed still because he wasn’t sure what Connie would do if he did. The standoff continued for what seemed like an eternity even though it was only a few moments. Then Falco flinched a little and Connie lunged at him.
Connie grabbed Falco and started dragging him towards the ladder overlooking the Titan. Falco struggled, but Connie was bigger and stronger so it was no use.
“Look Falco, please I’ve waited so long for this. She’s been like this for so long but now I can finally get her back.” Connie begged as he dragged Falco to the ladder.
Falco tried to break free from Connie’s grip, but Connie still managed to pull him closer and closer to the Titan. When Connie reached the ladder, he started to pull him and Falco up. Falco realized that if he didn’t do something quick, he would be dead soon. Fortunately for him, he remembered his military training. Mustering all the strength his twelve year old body could manage, he rammed his elbow into Connie's stomach. The force of his hit was sufficient enough to cause Connie’s grip to falter just enough for Falco to slip free.
Falco fell off the ladder and didn’t waste any time in making his escape. He bolted towards the end of the village and headed towards the forest. He turned around to see if Connie was following him, but saw to his relief that Connie had also fallen and was slow to get up. Connie looked up at him, and Falco could’ve sworn that he saw regret on his face. Perhaps He hadn’t been that committed to the dark act he wished to do. Falco wasn’t about to ask him, he ran into the forest and disappeared.
Elsewhere, Armin and Gabi rode on horseback through a dense forest. They had been traveling for over a day now on their way to find Falco and hopefully stop Connie from feeding him to his mother. They were both tired since they hadn’t rested much on their journey, but kept going because they knew that the slightest delay could mean Falco’s life. The sky was growing cloudy and rain seemed imminent.
As they rode, Armin looked back and saw that Gabi was struggling with controlling her horse. Realizing that she needed help, he turned around and helped her. “Easy,” He said as he took her reins. “Like this see.” He showed her how to do it properly.
“Thank you,” Gabi mumbled ashamed of her lack of ability when it came to horses.
“Did they ever teach you to ride a horse in Marley?” He asked.
“No,” Gabi shook her head. “That wasn’t a part of our training. The most training I’ve had on how to ride a horse came from when I was staying with that family on the farm.”
“Sasha’s family,”
“Yes,”
The mention of Sasha’s family brought back the painful reminder that Sasha was no longer with him. The friend he had known since training was gone forever and would no longer make him laugh with her antics. She was just another casualty of this war that had gone on forever. Of course he couldn’t deny the irony of the fact that he was now traveling with the person who killed her.
A sudden clap of thunder shook the ground, though it was already shaking due to the Rumbling. Rain started to pour on the two of them forcing them to take shelter under a tree( In later years, this would be deemed an unsafe practice due to chances of being struck by lightning, but neither of them knew that yet).
“We can’t stop for too long.” Gabi reminded him. “The longer we wait the greater the chances are that Connie will kill Falco.”
“We’ll just wait here until the rain lets up a bit then we’ll get going.” Armin assured her.
They sat there silently under the tree for a bit holding the reins of their horses in their hands. After a few minutes, Armin broke the silence. “Do you mind if I ask you something?” He asked Gabi.
Gabi nodded.
“Who is Reiner to you?” He asked. “You two seem close and I was wondering why exactly.”
“Oh,” Gabi said. “He’s my cousin.”
“Oh really,” That surprised Armin. “I wouldn’t have thought. You two look very different.”
“My dad looks very different from my aunt.” She explained.
“Reiner never mentioned anything about his family while we were in training together.” Armin's face fell. “But then again, there was a lot he didn’t tell us.”
“Did you know Reiner well?” Gabi asked.
“Yes, well, I thought I did. We were together for four years of training.” Armin told her. “We all thought of him as a friend. He was someone we all looked up to and relied on. Whenever we were in a tough situation as cadets, he was always there to guide us through it.”
“I know the feeling.” Gabi agreed. “My friends and I always looked up to him as well. I just never knew that he would be close to the Devils of Paradis.” She sighed.
Armin smiled. It amazed him that even separated by two sides of a conflict that had spanned centuries, two people could still agree on something like this. All this talk about Reiner and Sasha brought a story that Armin remembered fondly to his mind.
“Can I tell you a story about Reiner?” He asked.
Gabi nodded and so he did.
And so Armin told her the story of the bake off that had occurred while they were in training. He told them about how General Pixis had ordered him, Jean, and Annie to compete in a competition against Reiner, Connie, and Sasha to see who could cook him the better meal. He told her of the many shenanigans that had happened, including him breaking his legs, and how in the end his team had won over Reiner’s because for whatever reason Pixis had liked Jean’s omelet over Sasha’s roasted boar.
Gabi actually laughed at the story which made Armin happy. It was the first time he’d seen her smile since he’d met her. “Reiner never told me about that.” She said.
“I doubt he told you much about his time here.” Armin said.
But then Gabi’s face fell back to the sad expression she had. “I wonder what he would think of me now that I killed Sasha.” She sighed. “She sounds like such a great person, and I killed her.
Armin put a reassuring arm on her shoulder. “She would’ve loved you.” He told her.
“I’ll never get a chance to know that now.” Gabi lamented.
“True, but there’s nothing you can do about that now.” Armin said. “All you can do now is live your best life the way she would’ve wanted you to.”
“How can I do that?” Gabi asked.
“You can start by helping me rescue Falco.” Armin answered.
Armin looked up and saw that the rain had abided a bit. It was still coming down, but it was light enough that they could ride in it. “C’mon,” He said as he offered Gabi his hand. “Let's get going.”
Gabi took his hand and got up. “Do you think we’ll find him?” She asked.
“We will.” He assured her.
Elsewhere in the area, there lay a small farmhouse in the middle of a clearing. On the front porch of the house, a pregnant woman sat on a rocking chair. She rocked back and forth holding her hands on her stomach. She had a sad look on her face as she stared off distantly into the horizon. Neither the hump on her stomach nor her sad face did much to diminish her beauty though.
Historia sighed and looked down at the child growing within her. She wondered how it had come to this. Oh yes she remembered, she had volunteered for it, she had no one to blame but herself for her predicament. Not that she had much choice though. The Military Police had been planning on moving against her and Eren, she had needed to do something. And the only thing that would’ve stopped them would be having a baby.
She knew that she couldn’t be too unhappy though, at least she was making her own choices like Ymir had wanted her to do. Or was she? Had she really wanted to have this child, or did circumstances force her into doing so? She had an odd feeling that she knew the answer. She shook her head in disgust. She was the great Queen Historia. She was no longer hiding behind the mask of Krista, the girl who tried to please everyone, but here she was being forced to do something she had no desire to do.
Historia looked up and continued to stare at the horizon. There was a little rain coming down, but the storm was mostly past now. Every now and then the ground would quake a little, shaking her a bit. She knew what was causing it. The Colossal Titans that had made up the walls were free and were now marching on Marley. Once they reached the mainland, they would kill everything.
Her eyes teared up when she thought about that. Billions of people were going to die. Billions of people who all had hopes and dreams were all going to perish. It didn’t matter what they had done or how good they had been, they would all be killed regardless. Eren was going to wipe them out just like he had promised to do, and she was an accomplice to his actions.
Historia wiped the tears from her eyes and looked down at her belly. She wondered what her child would think of her when she was born. What would she think of her mother when she found out the truth about what happened? Would she be grateful for the sacrifice she had made so that she could live in peace, or would she scorn her mother for the genocide that had been committed.
Historia was broken out of her solemn thoughts by the sound of something in the barn. It sounded like something had fallen over. That stuck her as strange. All the animals were penned up so it was unlikely that they had caused the noise, which meant that there was something or someone in the barn who shouldn’t be. That implication made her nervous. She didn’t need any unexpected guests due to the other unexpected guest hiding in the basement right now.
Deciding to investigate herself, she forced herself off of the chair and stood up. She knew that she really should call the farmer she lived with, but she was tired of sitting around doing nothing. She took a lantern that was sitting nearby and also decided to be extra cautious and armed herself with a rifle that she collected from the house. With these two things prepared, she walked towards the barn.
Nothing seemed out of place when Historia looked inside the barn. The horses were all in their stalls and all the farming equipment was in its rightful place. Even so, Historia went in to investigate further. She walked along the stalls shining the lantern in each one trying to find the source of the disturbance. She was beginning to think that maybe there was nothing here until she reached the last stall. There inside she found a young boy huddled up in the corner.
The boy was small and couldn’t be any more than twelve years old. He had sandy blond hair and blue eyes. He had clearly been caught in the rain due to how soaked his clothes were. Upon looking closer at him, she wondered if he had been in a scuffle judging from the scraps on his hands. But what struck her as strange was how he looked at her. When she looked into his eyes, she saw a look that she didn’t expect, recognition. It was almost as if he recognized her even though that wasn’t possible since they had never met.
“Who are you?” She asked.
The boy hesitated.
“You don’t have to worry, I won’t hurt you.” She said.
“I’m, um, Ben.” He answered.
“Are you all right?” Historia asked.
“It was raining out.” He answered. “I ran in here to get out of it.”
“Why were you out in the rain in the first place?”
The boy went silent. Historia began to suspect that he might be a runaway. Many of the children under her care were like that. There were a lot of abusive families on Paradis so many children ran away and became homeless as a result.
“I’ll leave.” He said as he stood up.
“Here, come inside with me.” She beckoned him to her.
“No I’ll just…”
“I insist.” She said with the authority that had creeped into her voice upon becoming queen.
The boy still seemed hesitant. She reached out her hand towards him. “It’s ok. You can trust me.” She said.
The boy hesitated for another moment, and then stood up to follow her. She led him out of the barn towards the farmhouse. As they walked she noticed that he was staring intently at her. “Is something wrong?” She asked.
“Nothing,” He shook his head. “I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen you before.