Year 851
It wasn't until a couple of months after you first reached the ocean the first boat came ashore. Detaining the foreign soldiers wasn't a difficult job considering you had two titans on your side. You were now hiding amongst the rocks, using the detained soldiers as bait to lure in another one of the enemy ships lurking about the coast of Paradis Island.
"I see one!", Marco quietly exclaimed once he noticed a vast ship appear from the darkness of the night.
"Eren's probably gonna appear anytime n-", your sentence was cut off as the ground started to shake. Ascending from the water directly underneath the boat was Eren's titan, lifting the ship up towards the sky.
"I-It's a devil!", you heard someone on the ship scream out in horror. Eren started walking towards the shore with heavy steps, dropping the ship atop the sandy beach with a harsh thud.
"Hello friends from Marley! Welcome to Paradis Island!", Hange exclaimed, her voice as excited and theatrical as her movements running to the edge of a rock. "I'm Hange, here to greet our guests who've come so far across the sea! Now step this way and join us for some tea!", she motioned to her right with both hands, a big smile plastered on her face. Levi had quietly made his way to stand beside her, pushing a terrified Nicolo in front of him. "By the way, we're already friends with this guest that arrived before you! Isn't that right, Nicolo?", she continued blabbering on, wrapping her arms around him.
From where you stood a little distance behind them, you noticed Levi placing the tip of his blade against Nicolo's back.
"Captain! Forget about me and shoot these devils!", Nicolo screamed strained after a short moment of deliberation with himself.
"—What are you saying, Nicolo?!", Hange said, her expression and tone becoming more desperate, however still overly friendly. Her face was probably going to hurt tomorrow the way she smiled so widely.
"Captain!"
"He's tired of your shitty skit", Levi muttered.
"Nicolo! Understand this, you devils! Marley doesn't mingle with filthy blood!", the man you assumed was the captain yelled, pointing his rifle right at Hange. "Go drink your pig piss with your filthy friends!". Your brows furrowed at this. Their perception of you was utterly pathetic.
"Aww! Hey! You sure you wanna be rude to us?!", Hange yelled back. "Can't you see the titan behind you?!". The marleyan soldiers turned abruptly, gasping as their eyes meet the sight of Eren towering above them, only a singular glowing, green eye peering back at them as his long hair covered the other. If it weren't for it being a familiar sight to you, you would have found him terrifying too.
"We'll never yield to your devils! Say hello to this!", the captain had turned back around, his rifle aimed back at Hange. Your eyes widened as you took a few hurried steps forward, though there was no way you could have ever reached her in time before the bulled did. You shut your eyes as the familiar ring of a shot being fired filled the air. But as you opened them again, expecting to see someone dear to you laying lifeless on the rocks, you saw the captain hanging limp on top of the railing of the boat. You blinked a few times in confusion, peeking over at the rest of your friends who were also staring at the man in shock.
No, the most shocking part wasn't the dead man, it was the one who pulled the trigger. Carefully, your eyes wandered, stopping once they spotted a blonde haired soldier still pointing their gun at the captain. Another soldier close by her quickly reached for his pistol.
"Hands up Yelena!", he ordered, but she smoothly directed her aim at him.
"Drop your weapons", she simply said in a calm manner, the majority of the soldiers suddenly taking to their own guns, pointing them at unsuspecting officers and soldiers.
'Did we just witness a mutiny?'
"Hange, I'd be happy to accept your invitation", she declared, taking of her helmet in a respectful manner, revealing her short haircut. "Let's have tea". Neither Hange nor Levi responded, at a loss for words at what just happened. Yelena turned around, staring up at Eren in awe. "I've longed to meet you, Eren", she said with a voice full of respect.
~
Levi, Moblit and Hange along with Yelena and another soldier had entered a tent at the campsite the Survey Corps had built by the shoreline for times you had to stay there for more than one day. You and your friends weren't permitted inside, and that worried you sick.
"They have been there for a while, and it is almost too quiet...", you muttered with your hands crossed at your chest, eyeing the tent further down the little cliff you and your friends were standing guard on. "I don't know if I trust them..."
"Yeah, that huge lady of theirs shot and killed her comrade. I wonder what her goal is", Connie chimed in, his face unimpressed. You slumped down beside Sasha with a sigh.
"Who knows? Whether friend or foe, she's not to be trusted", Jean agreed from behind you.
"No napping Sasha", Mikasa suddenly said, and you looked over at her pulling at Sasha's hair. "Y/N, you said you'd make sure she didn't snooze off", she then said to you, and you quickly helped her get Sasha up in a sitting position.
"Yeah, sorry Mikasa, I'm just a bit distracted", you excused yourself, peeking over at the tent once again.
"But their willingness to share information is unbelievably lucky for us", Armin interrupted yours' mistrusting thoughts optimistically.
"Yeah, we've been really lucky", Eren said, and you all turned to look at him from where he sat alone on a stone behind the rest of you. He had stopped cutting his hair completely, letting his bangs grow to the point where they reach his chin. "We stopped their landing by pure chance. If Marley comes in force, we'll be screwed. We gotta do something". You quietly turned your gaze back around to face the tent. You thought of how Eren from half a year ago would say the same sentence, but fierce in his tone and with a fire in his eyes. But now, it came out with a monotone voice and a deflated demeanour. The kind that discouraged you.
'What changed, Eren?'
It was getting close to dawn, the lower part of the sky turning a light shade of blue as a result of the sun staring to arise from the horizon.
"Sasha", you nudged her in her arm with your elbow as her quiet snores made their way to you ears. In her sleep she had collapsed against your side, resting her head in top of your shoulder. It reminded you of how she would fall asleep against your shoulder while standing, anytime you had training before four o'clock in the morning at bootcamp. As she didn't wake up from your little push you sighed with a small smile. Maybe you could let her sleep for a few minutes more; for old times' sake.
...
After what felt like ages, the five of them finally walked out of the tent. If not friendly, they were at least civil with each other. Whatever they discussed, it didn't go completely south by the looks of it.
~
"That concludes Zeke Yeager's requests", Hange said as she finished reading the content of the papers clutched in her hands. Once again a grand meeting was held, discussing the circumstances of the volunteers and what to do with your current situation. You and your friends were sat by rows of desks at the right side of the room, quietly but intently following the conversation. "For the sake of all Eldians whose existence is threatened—"
"Absurd! I don't even want to hear it!", a MP officer interrupted her appalled. "He's the Beast Titan! He turned the people of Ragako into titans and incited a panic!". You peeked over at Connie who had his head lowered. Turning back you caught Sasha's gaze who sent you a knowing look. "Not to mention this is the same person who nearly annihilated the Scouts!"
"His one and only goal is to retake the Founding Titan", Zachary agreed with folded hands. "Since he can't do it by force, he'll attempt it diplomatically"
"He should know we'll expect that. Let's hear what else he has to say", Pixis suggested, giving Hange a look telling her to continue where she was cut off.
"According to Zeke, he has a secret plan to solve the Eldian issue. To carry it out, it requires the Founding titan and a titan with royal blood. With both, the world can be saved". You quickly looked up at Historia, sitting quietly with an unreadable expression on her face from where she sat beside Zachary. "However, he will only reveal the plan when his conditions are met".
"Well that doesn't really sound safe...", you whispered beneath your breath so only Marco and Sasha sitting beside you could hear. They both shook their heads slightly in agreeance.
"Bullshit!"
"He must think we're idiots!", two garrison officers exclaimed, offended at how Zeke could even think they would accept his plan. Eren stood up, harshly placing the palms of his hands on top of the desk before him. All eyes were on him now.
"He's telling the truth. I remember... The one time I was able to use the Founding Titan's power, was when I touched a titan with royal blood. That titan had to be my father's other wife, Dina Fritz". Your eyes widened as your vaguely remembered Eren mentioning the name Dina before, that week him and Mikasa was in the cells, and he had all those weird dreams and visions. "Zeke, Dina's son, must have figured out a way to elude the vow renouncing war. The one single hope remaining for us Eldians: To wake the millions of titans sleeping in the walls and activate the rumbling"
"You... Why did you keep quiet about this for so long?", Levi asked him unimpressed.
"I was concerned for Historia's safety", Eren admitted. "I couldn't let her get made into a titan based on some hunch of mine". You weren't ecstatic he kept this from all of you, but your understood his reasons. Who knows what would've happened to Historia if your went blindly into this. "Yeah it was careless of me", Eren then added sincerely.
"We'll talk about this later", Levi told him with stern eyes, turning back in his chair to face Zachary again. Eren sat back down.
"But if that's really true, Zeke's secret plan holds up", Hange pondered out loud.
"Are you nuts?! You trust them?!", Nile exclaimed desperate.
"Yeah! We can't have all those soldiers on the island!", another agreed. "We ought to hang 'em all!"
"No, we can't do that"; Hange said stern. "To protect the island from Marley's scout ships, we need the volunteers. Without their 'wireless radio', we can't come in contact with the rest of the ships..."
...
And so a plan was set in motion. Once again hidden between the rocks covering the cove by the sea, you scouted for the ships in the night. Using one of the ships from earlier, Yelena and the other volunteers managed to contact the other ships lurking about, setting up an act saying they had run aground. Judging by the new pairs of ships entering the cove, the plan worked. The second the ships had passed the entrance, a giant explosion erupted, and towering 60 meters above your was Armin's titan. The explosion sent water spraying everywhere, falling from the sky like heavy rain.
"Jump! It's the Colossal Titan!"
"How is that possible?!". The soldiers deserted their ships and swam straight towards the shore. You readied your rifle, pointing it at the soldiers as they climbed the rocks. Levi held his pistol right against the forehead of the first soldier ascending the stone.
"Welcome to the filthy island of filthy devils. You're gonna love it", he said sarcastically. "As long as you like pig piss". All the marleyan soldiers raised their shaking arms, noticing the Scouts surrounding them from all angles. "You can leave if you want, but not on a ship. Are you good at swimming?"
~
The more time you spent with the volunteers, the more your understood just how little you knew about the world you lived in. The world was much more complex than any of you had ever imagined, full of unknowns. It seems Paradis Island were behind the rest of the world industrial-wise. Yes, your ODM gear was very technologically advanced, but you lacked a lot in other areas. A whole day was dedicated for the marleyans to teach you about trains and train tracks. It moves much faster than horses and could take you all the way from Trost to the ocean in less than half a day! Hange and Armin was beyond fascinated, excitedly devouring the information they received. Now, Onyankopon was currently showing you a blueprint for a 'port'. By building this it was easier to store the boats as well as making it more accessible for people to visit the island. Hange discussed every aspect of the print with him eagerly, making Moblit write down everything the man said. You all eyed the drawing with keen eyes. It was kind of exciting learning about inventions and contraptions already built and used by other nations.
"By the way, why do you have dark skin, Onyankopon?", Sasha asked him curious. You suppose you wondered about the same thing. Not once had you before seen a person inside the wall with dark skin. Onyankopon seemed surprised for a split second, before giving her a smug smile, touching his chin.
"Because our creator thought; 'It's more interesting with a mix of people'. You Subjects of Ymir are the same. We exist because we are wanted", he answered her sincerely.
"Who created us?", Armin asked with wide eyes.
"The one who gave the Founder Ymir power. God. That's what some people believe. Aren't we free to think what we want?". You smiled at this. That's exactly it. People should be free to believe what they wanted, but pushing your beliefs onto others is not the way to go. That's how you got into this race-mess to begin with. People can't seem to form their own opinion because opinions are forced upon children from the day they are born; at least the majority of them. Oh how you wish the world could choose to love before hate.
~
A couple of months passed once again, and the port was starting to take form. The sun was out, and you were out of uniforms; enjoying this sunny day by the ocean, eager to learn more about customs and the world beyond your island from the volunteers.
"What the hell is all this food?", Connie asked as you eyed the array of dishes displayed on the table in front of you. It smelled delicious, but you had no clue where it all came from- only recognising a few of the items being sea creatures.
'Who would've thought you could eat them...'
"Is it even edible?", Jean asked with a scrunched nose.
"I think it smells appetizing", Marco said with a glistening in his eyes. You smiled at him from where he was stood beside Jean, and mouthed "me too". He sent you a tiny wink and a smile.
"It smells fishy", Mikasa stated.
"You've never had seafood? Nicolo's a master of Marleyan cooking", Yelena motioned towards Nicolo with her hands. Nicolo scoffed, stirring in his pot with harsh motions. You peeked over at Sasha standing to your right. She looked at the dishes with big eyes, not even uttering a single sound. Slowly she picked up the red creature with claws, clasping it between her teeth.
"Jerks. If you don't like it, don't eat. Eldians like you don't—"
With a growl Sasha had bit down on the soft pink meat hiding beneath the red shell of the animal. She continued to make animalistic noises as she devoured the food.
"So good!"
"—Hey!"
"—No fair Sasha!"
Unlucky for you, your hand was resting a bit too close to the plate, and as Sasha reached for another piece of food she grasped your hand, clamping her teeth into it like she did Jean at the feast.
"Ahhh, SASHA!", you cried out as she gnawed on your hand with feral eyes. "That's my hand!"
"Not again!", Connie exclaimed, grabbing a hold of Sasha, as Marco and Jean tried to force her mouth open. Nicolo watched it all unfold with wide eyes. Once she released her bite on your hand you brought it back and held protectively against you. Marco gently wrapped a napkin on top of the bite, while Connie quickly placed another piece of food in Sasha's mouth to calm her and bring her out of her feral state. It seemed to work.
Nicolo was still looking at you dumbfounded.
"Don't worry about it, we're used to it", you reassured him, wincing as your new wound started to sting. "Although it hurts like hell", you muttered between clenched teeth.
"Hah! Now someone else finally get what I went through", Jean exclaimed smugly, and Marco nudged him in the arm with a slight eye roll.
"—Hey!"
Sasha was out of her feral state, but still engulfed with the food clutched between her fingers. She started tearing up, sobbing as she praised Nicolo's cooking.
"Nicolo! You're a food genius!", she cried.
"S-stop eating like a pig!", he exclaimed flustered, and you noticed the slight blush appear on his cheeks. Connie and Jean had each gotten a hold of some food at last, devouring it. This prompted the rest of you to grab something for yourself, and you closed your eyes in pure delight as the delicious taste hit your palette.
"God, I've never had anything like this!", you sighed, your eyes solely focused on the deliciousness before you.
"It's almost on the same level as meat!", Sasha continued to cry, and the munching sound from the seven of you vigorously eating your food overtook your ears. You barely even noticed Nicolo was still talking.
"There's plenty, so take your time", he muttered as he stirred the pot to hide his blushing cheeks.
~
Day turned to evening, and the bright blue colour of the sky became soft orange. You and Marco had joined Mikasa, Eren and Armin for target practice, trying out some of the more modern rifles the Marleyans had with them.
"The port will be finished soon", Marco said as him and Armin had spent a good portion of the day discussing it with Onyankopon.
"Yeah, thanks to the marleyan engineers, building it went by pretty quickly", Armin chimed in with a smile.
"It's good to have people who knows what they're doing", you said as you watched Eren shatter a glass bottle with a perfect shot from his rifle.
"They've sure been cooperative! To think how things have progressed too. The start was rocky since neither of us trusted each other. But given enough time we've set aside our differences and come to see each other as people", Marco said with a smile. You could tell he was happy with the outcome; he has a big heart for humanity and human beings in general.
"We can understand each other now", Armin agreed, matching his smile.
You noticed Eren looking at the two from the corner of his eye.
"Armin, have you seen Bertholdt's memories?", he asked out of the blue, aiming his gaze back at his target.
"Huh? Yeah, but there's nothing that seems helpful...", he answered, a little caught off guard by the question.
"There's not much time. Zeke has less than three years left"
"Yeah, about that... Do we really want to go along with Yelena's plan?", Armin asked unsure. You and Marco both felt the same feeling of uncertainty as Armin. Sure, you've come around to appreciate and care for the volunteers, but there was something about this plan that rubbed you the wrong way. How could you ever truly know if Zeke spoke the truth? After all he has done to Paradis, why would he suddenly switch up on Marley just like that?
"What's the problem?", Mikasa asked him.
"Is using the rumbling to threaten the world the only way to protect Eldians? That will only actually make us the devils that terrorize the world. Before it comes to that, can't we talk?", he asked, staring down at the ground. "If we can fix Marley and the world's misconception-"
"Misconception? What misconception?", Eren asked, preparing his rifle for another shot.
"You know, like how we're scary"
"The world sees us as monsters who can turn into titans. They're not wrong". You narrowed your eyes.
"There're Marleyans who likes us, too", Mikasa defended, and you nodded in agreeance.
"How many? Most of the Marleyans are sitting in prison cells"
"But given enough time...", Marco argued.
"—Yeah. We need time", Armin said certain. A click came from Eren's rifle as he prepared the bullets, one eye closed as he aimed for another bottle.
"That's right. And to buy us that time, we've gotta keep them at bay", he said as he fired yet another perfect shot.
You all got quiet, the conversation sparking deep thought inside your minds.
"Y/N!!", Sasha's distant voice broke the silence, and you turned to see her frantically wave at you from across the field. "Nicolo just made a new dish for supper! Come try it!", she yelled, turning around to sprint back towards the port.
You huffed with a smile. "You guys up for some food?", you asked the others, putting away your rifle. They agreed with a smile, and followed you as you made your way to the port.
_______________________________
A/N:
The S4 portion of this story has officially started!<3 I'm going to write it in chronological order, which is why I didn't start with the raid on Liberio. The timeline in s4 is all over the place so I'm gonna do my best to write it correctly lol.
Like in this chapter, some chapters may have a few time skips within themselves. I always try to make the chapters as smooth and easy to read as possible and not have a bunch of time skips, but sometimes it's necessary to make everything fit properly.
Thank you for reading this chapter!<3 Have an amazing day!
~Jen