Chapter Text
Log 001 Location: New Paradis,
Year 4000
Ship Status: Excellent
Luminus: Secured
Dominus: Secured
Chapter One
Armin Arlert had been meandering the vast expanse that he had come to know as New Paradis. In all his life before now, he had never seen anything so vast and expansive. It had taken him nearly a month now to even get away from the bustling streets filled with cars that greatly differed the gas-ran ones he had only just began to comprehend. He dragged his feet forward, still trying to convince himself that this was only a dream. A fever-induced, terribly realistic dream. There was a part of him that secretly hoped this was real, however. That ever-hungry, wide-eyed scout that still lived in his heart and soul despite the terrors that came with the job. How could be not want to investigate this strange world further? That was just what scouts do.
A panging bellowed through his skull, causing his previous feelings to subside extremely suddenly. What was he thinking about again? It was suddenly gone, like a dream. Right. This was not a dream, because dreams are in your head, and New Paradis was very much real. He continued forward, beginning to feel that sensation of sleepiness fill his head where those suddenly-distant thoughts used to be. What he really needed now was to find someone, anyone to help him understand where he was, and more importantly, where he could find a place to sleep. He found what appeared to be a park bench, and he sat down, taking a moment to really soak in the expanse around him. It was indescribably huge: Buildings that stretched to the heavens, cars that floated like butterflies, talking screens that stood proudly on each corner, some even plastered onto buildings. They displayed different items, giddily encouraging consumers to buy. No matter how far he walked, he could never seem to find the woods, or any kind of strip of green land. It was all just mechanics, golden-covered buildings that seemed to glow when the sun bounced off of their beams. He had to find answers. Someone had to know something.
"Hey." A slightly annoyed, somehow familiar voice reached Armin's ears. He turned, his gaze meeting that of a man in a wheelchair. He had the sternest eyes he'd ever seen, looking at him as if he was nothing but a misbehaved child. Behind him, a dark-skinned man in the strangest hat he'd ever seen. The hat seemed to be motorized, gears rolling lazily as if the man himself was machine. He had a kind face, and an inviting disposition. "What are you doing out here, Kid? Don't you know what they'll do to you if they catch you out past curfew on this side of town?" The stern man continued, wheeling himself closer.
He gazed up at Armin with a suspicious look, that slightly gave way to an unreadable expression. It didn't take long for his face to harden once more.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I'm afraid I am terribly lost and unsure where I even am." Armin spoke finally, a hint of desperation in his voice. The man clicked his tongue, seemingly unconvinced by Armin's claim. The other man, with the strange hat, spoke next.
"Well, where's your unit located at, Baby? Do you remember the name?" Armin cocked his head, throat tightening a bit.
"Unit? I don't uh, I don't have a unit I don't think."
The kind man laughed sympathetically. "Everybody in New Paradis has a unit, Son. Are you unwell? We can take you up to Ksaver Psych and see if they can help you remember."
"No. He's coming back with us to our unit." The stern man cut off the other man before he could even finis his sentence. Armin flinched a bit as the man grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer. "You were a soldier once, yeah? So you'll come stay with us in our unit in the Vet District."
Armin was rather stunned, unsure if it was even smart to follow two strangers back to their home, but ultimately he was way too exhausted to protest.
"Sure, okay. Thank you."
Armin began to follow the pair, gritting his teeth anxiously. He was never all that good with meeting new people. He finally spoke up again, putting on a polite smile. "So uh, what's your guy's names?"
The man with the hat spoke up, happy to engage in this form of small talk. He spoke, his words smooth and sweet.
"You can call me Onyonkapon. And this ray of sunshine is Levi."
Levi offered a small wave, before returning his focus to the newspaper in his hands.
"I see. So, how long have you been living in New Paradis?" Armin asked casually, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets. Onyonkapon laughed, as if he found Armin's question to be delightfully absurd. Levi only made a small 'tch' sound, opting out of the conversation.
"You know, I already assumed you were strange what with your choice of attire, but I didn't expect such a farcical and hilarious thing to come out of your mouth. You must really be confused." Onyonkapon quipped, shaking his head a bit. This only seemed to make Armin more curious, cocking his head at the reaction he'd gotten from such a basic question. He just couldn't wrap his brain around it.
"Huh? I'm being serious. I mean, there's no way you've just...lived up here all your lives! It just doesn't make any sense."
Levi abruptly set his paper down on his lap, shooting him another angry look. "It doesn't have to make sense, Kid. It just is. And you would be wise to go along with it, and stop trying to sniff around the whats, hows and whys." Armin's cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment, and he tugged on his shirt sleeve. Why did it feel so familiar? This shame of being scolded by this man? It felt almost paternal, a feeling he knew he recognized.
"What did you say your name was again, Brat?" Levi pressed on, narrowing his eyes. Armin licked his lips, then answered.
"Armin Arlert, Sir."
Onyankapon's jovial disposition vanished as those words left Armin's mouth. He turned to look at him as if he was looking at a ghost, or an alien.
"Arumin?" He asked with a shaky voice. Even Levi's face seemed to soften, his eyebrows momentarily leaving their firm, knitted position atop his wrinkled forehead.
"Yonnie, don't." Levi spoke to Onyankopon, grabbing him firmly at the forearm. "Let's get him back to our unit. Now."
The Veteran District was warm and modest. Small houses, all identical to each other, lining a cul-de-sac on the eastern-most end of Luminus. Armin was momentarily thrilled to see what he thought was grass, but it was merely turf, fake and plastic. Onyankopon and Levi's house, a pale yellow cottage, was on the last row to the left. Armin took in the strangeness of this district, watching the way the other veterans went about their days. Some in the yards, playing with their children or watering plastic plants. Others sat in wheelchairs, staring off into space in what he could only assume was a drug-induced haze.
He recognized this. The sadness and unfairness of it all, of men and women being so deeply mentally wounded that the place they served planted them down in a place where the rest of society wouldn't have to see the them. He knew this feeling. The feeling of emptiness.
The two men ushered Armin inside, and Onyankopon was quick to engulf him in a hug, looking him over thoroughly.
"It's really you. I can't believe that it's really you." Armin was stiff as a board, unsure who this man thought he was.
"You'll really have to forgive me, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Can one of you please, just, explain it to me?"
"Explain what, exactly?" Levi said with a hint of defiance in his tone. He seemed to have his own serious doubts about Armin's whereabouts and intentions. Armin couldn't help but feel the exact same way in return. He threw his hands up defensively, his voice become more irritated and impatient.
"What this place is, how I got here, and why you people seem to think I'm someone you know!" Onyankopon seemed to begin to move in slow motion. Whatever it was that the pair kept alluding to must have been bad for him to look so worn out and saddened. Armin gingerly sat on the sofa beside Onyankopon, facing Levi who sat across from them. He looked so uncertain, so untrusting. Armin wrang his hands together, his throat running dry.
"Of course you don't remember." Levi spoke after a moment, removing his reading glasses and cleaning them off with the bottom of his polo shirt before tucking them into his breast pocket. "They wouldn't have let you back out on the streets unattended if you did. But honestly, looking at you right now, I can't help but feel entirely disturbed."
Armin tensed, suddenly feeling a pang of fear in his chest as Levi sized him up. That fear would prove to be warranted, for within an instant, Levi was on him, a blade drawn and pressed to his forearm. Armin cried out in shock, trying to squirm out from under him. Levi's teeth were bared, his voice a ominous growl as he spoke.
"So what did they do to you, Min? They put your brain into an android too? They send you after me to just fuck with our heads? TELL ME!"
"HUH? What are you doing-!? Stop it!" Armin cried out, the stinging of the blade entering his arm making him panic further. Then followed the warm wetness of blood trickling down and pooling at his palm. Levi seemed to notice this too, but didn't let up yet. Onyankopon resulted to grabbing him by under his arms and pulling him back.
"Levi! Knock it off, he isn't a bot!" Levi panted, staring down at his own blood-stained hand. He looked bewildered, as it doubting the very reality of the moment. Armin was getting fed up with the confusion and the vagueness, raising his voice as his hand wrapped around his bleeding arm.
"Enough! Look, I'm sorry that you're struggling with something, but I am NOT the person you keep saying I am. I'm not a robot either! So just sit down, and tell me EXACTLY what's going on." Onyankopon looked stunned and even a little amused as he assisted Levi back into his wheelchair, draping a blanket over his lap and pressing a chaste kiss to his temple. He proceeded to sit adjacent to Armin, looking between him and Levi. Levi steadied his breathing, before finally casting his pride aside speaking slowly.
"I knew Arumin for years, meeting him in the military when he was just fifteen years old. He was honestly the most timid, annoying little shit i ever met." He scoffed, but his cruel words held a sad fondness to them. "Always talking about the theoretical, the what ifs and hows. He had dreams of grandeur that reminded me of a child. But..." He sighed heavily, pinching his nose bridge. "I loved it all. Listening to these dreams, and watching them slowly come true. It was like whatever her could think of, he could bring to reality. And I became almost obsessed with helping him, even when it costed us hundreds of lives. After the war, Arumin became an ambassador of peace, advocating for all nations of the world to band together, to keep conversations open so that war would become obsolete. But Paradis...Paradis wanted to be feared. They wanted to seize control of their allies. It didn't take long for them to shut Arumin right up."
Levi paused a long time, rubbing his jaw as if being reminded of something distasteful.
"They cut his tongue from his mouth, so that his stories of peace could never be told and spread again. And it worked, for awhile. But," He paused, laughing a little with a pained expression. "They should've known that that would never stop Arumin from following his heart. So, he devised a plan. After they woke the Sacred Titan, and we were launched into the heavens, he decided he would try to stop them. And I...I enabled him. I was so convinced he could do it all again, I didn't stop to think what would happen if he...failed." Armin listened closely, his brow furrowed. Was this really what he would be doing in this reality? Was it just destiny that he would be doomed to be the ambassador of peace no matter what universe he lived in? He cleared his throat, deciding to probe for information.
"What is the Sacred Titan?" Levi ran his tongue over the front of his teeth, and continued.
"That is what's holding us up right now, flying us through the skies, always moving, never resting." Onyankopon nodded. "It's what keeps New Paradis upright." He said. Armin nodded, looking intrigued and a touch scared.
"Is it...alive?"
Onyankopon hummed a little and glanced at Levi with a small smirk.
"Noone knows, but Ol' Vee over there sure has his theories. I swear, he talks about it any chance he gets. He's lucky the rest of society thinks he's just some old man off his rocker, or he'd be thrown down into Dominus in an instant." He laughed a little, clearly trying to lighten the mood. Levi snarled a little, rolling his eyes.
"Shut your mouth, Yonnie. You know it's more than mere theories. They aren't even my own original ideas." Armin leaned forward, smiling a little. He was giving Levi an expectant look, like a child asking for a bedtime story. Levi relented, furrowing his brows once more.
"Alright, listen. There is a theory that the Sacred Titan is much more than what it seems." His voice turned soft and oozed of anticipation, making Armin subconsciously leaned forward, so not to miss a single word. Onyankopon chuckled a bit, standing up and heading to the kitchen to make tea. He didn't skip the chance to quip back at Levi, clearly apprehensive about his theory talk.
"It's just an airship, Hun." He said softly, but it didn't seem to deter Armin at all. Levi continued.
"Could be, but how? We never dock for fuel, we never stop or experience any kind of turbulence. Hell, I've never once seen or heard of anyone working as a mechanic for the ship. It's bizarre." Armin nodded, folding his hands and pressing them just in front of his lips.
"What are you getting at?" Levi's eyes seemed to sparkle as they spoke.
"The ship is alive. In fact, it isn't a ship at all. Why else do they call it the Sacred Titan?" ` Armin cocked a brow, his eyes darting back and forth as he clearly rolled the ideas over in his mind. This seemed to elicit a small smile and chuckle from Levi, exuding an aura of paternal fondness. Armin spoke up.
"So, it's a titan?" Levi nodded softly, sitting back in his chair as the tension subsided.
"That's what I believe anyways. And I'm not alone in that opinion." He leaned over to his satchel sitting beside his chair, digging into it and pulling out a small. compact book with a black leather cover. It had a couple of words engraved in gold font on the front. Armin leaned closer, trying to get a good look. Levi relented and handed it to him. Armin ran a hand over it, carefully reading the cover. 'Glitterpunk. Z. Ksaver.' He cocked his head, before opening the book.
"Z. Ksaver is the only person to manage to get his work published. In doing so, he's become the most wanted fugitive in all of New Paradis. In fact, even owning his work could get you killed if you're not careful." Levi spoke, crossing his arms and watching as Armin dug into the book.
"What's Glitterpunk? Some kind of theory?" Levi shook his head and shrugged.
"Not too sure. I think it's a code name of some kind. But he doesn't seem to elaborate on it much, and I've read that damn think backwards and forwards." Armin nodded, running his hand over the words. He looked up at Levi, a bit taken aback with the tone he was suddenly using.
"Listen, Kid. I know you're not Arumin. And now that we're talking, I think...I have some ideas of where you came from." He nodded his head toward the book. "Read that. Learn it. Then you'll understand aswell."
Armin sat there a moment, stunned. What had be stumbled into?
Onyankopon returned to the foyer with a tea trey, setting it down and fixing up Levi's cup, plain black tea. He took one look at the book and his face shifted.
"Vee," He said in a warning tone. Levi didn't react.
"He had questions, and I answered them. He's fine."
"He's not fine, Vee! You're putting him in danger by giving him that damn book!" Levi sipped his tea, keeping his cool. Clearly this was a touchy topic for the pair. Onyankopon took the book, waving it around as he spoke.
"You understand what happens if you get caught with this? It isn't just you who's getting sacked, okay? It's this poor kid! It's..." His voice began to crack, as a hurt expression crossed his face. "It's me. Don't you care about us? About me?" Levi looked up at him, a guilty look on his aging face. Onyankopon didn't give him a chance to speak.
"You are not a Captain anymore, okay? You don't have to keep going out and finding trouble. Please, it's time to move on from that. It's over." This struck a nerve with Levi, and he tensed up.
"It's not! It can't be, not after every he did for me! I have to keep fighting! It's all I know how to do!" Armin was totally caught in the middle, deciding to stand and try to dismiss himself.
"Look, I'm sorry for bringing it up. I should probably go. I don't want to impose on you two." Onyankopon sucked in a deep breath, turning his gaze from Levi and back to Armin. He was smiling politely again.
"Oh, God no. It's alright. We got a little carried away there. Here, let me show you to your room." Armin looked at Levi, who was staring down at his lap, eyes squinted with a grief-stricken look in them. He just nodded, following Onyankopon down the hall to the guest room.
The guest room was at the back of the house, at the top of a steep, short staircase. Onyankopon pushed the door open, switching the lights on. "Sorry it's a little old and dusty. After Levi became paralyzed, I sort of neglected cleaning up this room. It used to be his, though." He pulled down an old quilt, beating the dust off of it before draping it nicely over the mattress.
Armin glanced around, looking over the various items and photos decorating the room. He lifted a framed photo off of an old writing desk, swiping the dust away from it. It was a professional-looking portrait of Levi and some blonde man, both dawning the same military uniform.
His heart began to pound as he stared into the blonde man's intense, cerulean eyes. He knew this gaze. A gaze that made the world feel so heavy on his shoulders.
Onyankopon walked over. "You okay?" Armin looked up at him, feeling as if he had dozed off and was awoken suddenly. He shook the weird thought from his head and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I must be really tired, heh." Onyankopon smiled sympathetically, ushering Armin to the bed. He turned his gaze back to the picture frame. That previous familiarity was gone. "Why would he lock up all these pictures? He looks kind of happy in this one." He set the frame down by the nightstand.
Onyankopon sighed a bit. "I think the happy memories are painful for Levi right now. I think he'd rather forget those times." Armin sat on the bed, hugging his knees to his chest as he looked over the room.
"Who are these people? Were they his family? Friends?" Onyankopon nodded softly, but didn't seem to want to discuss it further. He merely adjusted one of the frames on the wall, before turning back toward Armin.
"Not my story to tell, I'm afraid. Maybe you could ask him about it sometime." Armin nodded, letting Onyankopon switch off the lights. "Get some sleep, Hun. Our room is downstairs on the right if you need anything, okay?"
Armin nodded, offering a smile as the man left, leaving him alone for the first time in a long time. He found his eyes fixated on the frame Onyankopon had adjusted. It was another portrait of two children, a boy and girl. The boy looked pale and had brownish hair. He looked a bit nervous next to the girl. The girl had dark hair, and dark eyes. Her expression was one of fire and sass. Her smile was sweet, though, and she looked quite happy. It made Armin's chest ache. Something told him that they had something to do with those painfully happy memories Onyankopon had mentioned. Levi clearly had some baggage he refused to deal with. It made Armin feel bad for him. As he laid down, sleep slowly filling his head, he suddenly felt comforted, like he had made it home after all. He knew it was just the feeling of the warm bed engulfing his aching body that was lulling him into this false safety, but it felt too good to stop it. He fell asleep within minutes of shutting his eyes.