Attack on Titan: Aftermath

A New Leaf

Annie headed out the room and Armin shortly followed. Mikasa walked back with the both of them. The guard escorts shortly arrived to accompany the group.

"Well Mikasa, since Annie is visiting Reiner tomorrow I suppose we can go to the tree in Shiganshina." Armin commented.

"I'd like that." Mikasa replied.

"So Mikasa, where are you staying? Do you still have your old house?" Annie asked.

"Yes, I made sure no one would move into it while I was in Hizuru." Mikasa responded.

"I wonder how much that cost..." Annie began.

"Well, saving the world has its perks. Even after 4 years." Mikasa smiled at Annie. Armin watched them both. What wonderful woman they had become. The two had both done awful things to other people, but what amounted to it all was... this end result, he thought. Their purpose now, is just to be these great people. The thought of this, made him smile too. The three were finally escorted out and were granted permissions to take a less guarded route home. Annie and Armin lived together in the Ehrmich District, which wasn't far from Mitras. Mikasa, Annie, and Armin were all taking taxis home.

"See you tomorrow?" Armin said.

"Of course" Mikasa assured, stepping into the vehicle driven by Hizuruese guards. Armin and Annie took a public taxi instead of a government issued one.

"She's sure changed a bit." Annie said, once getting in the car.

"Maybe she's moving on from Eren faster than he wanted her to..." Armin replied, only half joking.

"I'm happy for her. She's turned over a new leaf."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Armin responded, his head tilting towards the window. The sky was now a very deep dark. How much time had passed? He asked himself. Three hours at the least. The time must be near midnight now. He saw a bit of his reflection in the window but the bright bustling city lights were drowning it. What an accomplishment this country's made, he thought to himself. Suddenly, a light rain began to sprinkle the window, which later turned into a hard pour. The rain being so loud, neither Armin or Annie tried starting conversation. Instead, the couple just admired the view outside. "I wonder if it's raining in other districts..." he asked himself.

The couple arrived at their home, a traditional Eldian country house that was larger than even their neighbor's. A man came out with an umbrella and opened the car door.

"Good evening master Armin and madame Annie" the man said.

"Oh my Konrad! You didn't have to stay here so long, and the umbrella doesn't have room for all of us!" Armin said, taking the umbrella away from him and using it to hold it over Konrad and Annie's head.

"It's just water. I'll be fine." Annie stated, pushing the umbrella back over Armin's head. Konrad smiled at the both of them.

"Well I wanted to be sure you both got home safe" Konrad mentioned, walking into the house.

"Mr. Adenauer, you must be the best butler in the entire country" Armin said with a bright smile.

"My, but you're doing all the work!" Konrad laughed, taking the umbrella from Armin, and holding it for him. By now, they'd reached the steps of the house.

"Thank you Konrad, but I highly suggest you head back home now. Come back sometime in the morning, but get enough rest" Armin said, closing the umbrella.

"Of course, sir. Goodnight you two.

"Goodnight." Both Armin and Annie waved back.

"You're soaking." Armin chuckled, looking at Annie.

"Oh, this is just my new look. Thanks for noticing, do you like it?"

"It's... uh... eccentric, for lack of a better term." Armin replied nervously.

"Eccentric eh? You aren't patronizing me are you Armin?" Annie said, almost menacingly.

"What!? Of course not! You look great! You always look gre-"

"Shut up." Annie ordered, kissing Armin on the lips. And at near perfect time, a lightning bolt struck not so far away...

Dead bodies... destruction... corpses of women and children... broken houses... the scent of blood filled the air. The sensation of dead muscle and skin being peeled off his face. His eyesight blurry, and his arms and legs detaching from the 60 meter body he possessed. Steam and the heat nearly burning him. However, the dying children around kept the pain from registering.

"So this is... the view you saw... Bertholdt..."

"Armin, what's wrong?" Annie asked, with her arms on his shoulders. "Was it my breath?" She asked.

"No... can we just... go back inside? I'm wet now too." Armin said, spaced out.

"Yeah, c'mon..." Annie gestured towards the door. The couple entered the clean house and proceeded to shower and get ready for bed. The two shared a king size.

"You're not reading tonight?" Annie asked, as Armin looked up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head, and his back lying on his bed. She tucked herself in the sheets and blankets.

"I'm thinking." Armin responded emotionlessly. Annie shrugged her shoulders and shortly fell asleep.

"What is right and wrong?" He thought to himself. Well, humans can be judged to be right or wrong by other humans. Is there any other species that can do that? Not on Earth... are there other people in other worlds like this one? Are they human or something else... no... this is a tangent for another time... Back to my original question, I suppose a sub question would be if an action should be ascertained in terms of the actions consequences. Is it right if it promotes a greater number of people to be happier, than if the action had just not been taken? Happiness for others... is that what the purpose of life is? To seek ways to make others happy? Annie makes me happy. I make her happy. I make the world happy by keeping peace. Does that make me... a good person? No... a good person to the people I've helped maybe... But not to those whose lives and loved ones I've taken. Morals and ethics are all subjective in a sense... but maybe I'll just sit here. And stare at my ceiling. And listen to the pouring rain outside. I'll drift asleep, and have a good dream, he thought.

I was in a dark room. The room was huge, and the floor was wet with fresh water and a mist.

"Hello?" I shouted. The only response was an echo. I got onto my feet. My clothes were nothing more than brown overalls and a white button up. My hair was dampened by the steam around me, although the water was cold. A tall figure started approaching me, a man of some sort. He was very tall and I started walking towards him.

"Bertholdt?" I asked. The man and I got closer and I was able to look at him, although his eyes were there they seemed... hallow. As though the life had been sucked out of him. The thoughts and emotions pouring into me were indescribable as my lips began to tremble. My eyes started to water and I clenched my teeth.

"I TOOK EVERYTHING FROM YOU!" I screamed in his face, expecting him to disappear. For this scenario would be impossible in reality, but for some odd reason it felt so real. Suddenly I was even taller than he was, growing and hearing deep screams in my ears. But he stood still. I wasn't in control of my body any longer, and Bertholdt seemed unphased. Suddenly, my hand was reaching out to him. When it'd started to move towards Bertholdt, his reaction finally settled in.

"HELP!" He screamed. I... felt... nothing. He didn't move. He just looked at me, terrified. I saw a child who'd lost his sense of reality. My hand grabbed him, and in a moment, I stuffed his squirming body inside of my mouth. I heard only his screams, and felt only the weight of his body being crushed against my teeth. His head, spine, and limbs breaking and gushing of blood under the pressure. This, did not disgust me. Although the moment before I crushed his head, I heard a name.

"ANNIE" Armin shouted, waking up in a cold sweat from his dream. Annie woke up next to him and shouted out of surprise. 

"Armin?" Annie asked, concerned.

"It was... just a dream..." Armin said, putting his hand on his forehead and letting out a sigh of relief.