Conquest: Attack on Titan 1.4 (ch. 4)

By replacing Eren in the plot, everything had changed. There was no expedition to trap the Female Titan, so Levi's team wasn't slaughtered. I killed Zeke and captured Pieck on arrival, so there was no false breach arc. Meaning characters like Mike Zacharias, Gelgar, and a lot of other members of the Survey Corp were still alive. The following mission to retrieve Eren from Reiner and Bertholdt, which cost the Corp half of their veteran fighters obviously never happened. 

And there would be no mass slaughter by Zeke as he threw rocks like fast balls into a mass of charging men that have their lives to serve as a distraction for Levi to get close. 

The Survey Corp was at full strength, having taken none of their canon losses. 

Additionally, there was another factor at play. Kenny and his Anti-Personnel Taskforce -- some fifty Military Police elites that got massacred by the cadets. Now, normally, I'd write them off because they got killed by rookies three months out of training. But, given that those rookies were the protagonists of the show, it was kinda hard to really hold that against them. 

In effect? The Walls had retained a mass amount of talent and skill that it would have lost in canon.

That mattered a fair bit when your plan relied on quality over quantity. 

“Coexistence has been deemed impossible,” Erwin Smith informed me, interlocking his fingers as he rested them in his lap. The changes to canon were so great that he still had both arms. “And submission is unacceptable. Which leaves us one option -- war.” 

The verdict was at long last delivered after months of deliberation and interrogation of the thousand prisoners. The decision itself was obvious and there was never any doubt about it. Even if you truly believed it would serve some bullshit like the ‘greater good’, rolling over to die was difficult to do. There was a reason why war was humanity's favorite pastime for thousands of years. 

And the group that was delivering the news was a really interesting bunch. There were the usual guests in my office -- Erwin Smith, Dot Pixis, Nile Dok, and Dhalis Zachary. That wasn't so surprising. 

What was surprising was who accompanied Nile. 

Kenny Ackerman. Levi's uncle. They were in the same room together, and neither was trying to kill the other -- another flap of the butterfly's wings. With no Eren, there was no Founding Titan to fight over. Kenny’s ‘dream’ of inheriting the Founding Titan to become a kind and compassionate person was dead in the water. Thus, there was no reason for them to fight as the world got so much bigger for both of them. 

I'm actually a little disappointed that I missed their reunion. 

“It took five months to figure that out?” I asked, tilting my head as I kicked my feet up on my desk. 

“We decided to explore all possibilities before coming to this conclusion,” Pixis answered. “While we hold out hope that this can be resolved peacefully… we must prepare for the reality at hand. If the sample size that we received of humanity beyond the Walls is any indication, we must at least prepare to defend ourselves.” 

Dhalis nodded gravely, adjusting his glasses. “It is an adjustment. Titans were our natural predator. We could not reason with them, so we had no choice but to fight and kill them. Fighting against humanity for survival is something that will take time to internalize.” 

I hummed, my gaze bouncing between faces. “And, naturally, I'm your trump card.” 

“Indeed,” Erwin admitted easily. He was someone else I was curious about. In canon, he died before he was able to learn the truth of the world. I had been there in the room with him when he interrogated Pieck and Reiner. His reaction had been… interesting to observe, to say the least. 

It was like seeing someone take a bite of ice cream cake, only to discover that it had been full of shit all along. 

I hadn't been sure how he would hold up after the revelation, but months later he seemed as level-headed as ever. 

“We are putting forth a plan,” Erwin continued. “As of now, across the Walls, military training is mandatory between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Not all will be cut out for ODM gear, but they can serve humanity in other branches. Additionally, those who are already too old for ODM training will take supplementary training to serve as a reserve force in case we are attacked.” Full military mobilization then? Good. That was exactly what I wanted from them. 

“Large scale construction projects, as seen inside of your territory, will be implemented across the Walls,” Pixis picked up. “According to our guests, we're rather behind the curve when it comes to technology. The former royal family was suppressing technological development, and it would seem the rest of the world has left us in the dust over the past century. Ships made of steel. Machines that can fly.” 

“However,” Erwin resumed, “In the face of this new threat -- the nation of Marley, we have concluded that we can no longer be distracted by the Titans. As such, we ask that you eliminate the remaining Titans on Paradis.” 

And there it was. 

Little by little, I had been chipping away at their independence. I didn't need to make any major dramatic efforts either. Power was safety in this world, so people flocked to me and my territory like moths to the flame. The industrial base I had been building up for the past six months saw that I was exploiting the population effectively to produce goods that outpaced every single competitor within the Walls. Through the Reeves Merchant Company, I had made the Walls dependent on me for goods production, from food to textiles to military equipment. 

It was impossible for them not to notice what I was doing, but they had very little recourse to stop me. And now they realized they were even more dependent on me than they had thought. 

I and I alone could protect them from the world that wanted them dead. Just as I could easily deal with the Titans, so could I deal with the invading armies of Marley and the other nations under their boot. 

A lone eyebrow rose up, and I didn't even need to say a word. It was that which made Kenny speak up. 

“Ya’ really going to make us beg for it? Like ya’ don't already know? Please,” Kenny spat, a cutting smile on his face as he pushed up his wide brimmed hat, “Like this wasn't yer plan all along. Didn't believe for a second that you were only sent here for some tail to squirt out a couple of kiddies. Ya’ was sent here to conquer us from the very start.” 

“Of course I was,” I admitted freely, and no one in the room seemed surprised, even if they did seem a little caught off guard by how easily I confessed. “The modus operandi of the Saiyan Empire is to open with mass slaughter until I hit that magic number that made you realize that you should give up and accept enslavement. If I went by that playbook, I would have wiped your capital off the map, along with Marley's and all the others.” 

“Yet, you didn't,” Pixis noted dryly, a note of exasperation in his voice. 

I nodded, “The Saiyan method is stupid.”  I’d looked through all the available records that the Attack Ball had over the last six months that I had spent on this world. A lot of it was stuck behind progress blocks, like my power level, or needing to develop a ship for solar travel, then interstellar, and so on. But, I could read enough to get a very clear picture of the Saiyan Empire. “The Saiyan race, after we accidentally blew up our native planet, managed to conquer a planet that belonged to an alien race that was stupid enough to save some of us. The Truffles.” 

A frown tugged at my lips. “They were an advanced race. Far more than us, and you. But, after about a century of loitering on their planet, we finally took it over. The Truffles were exterminated and their technology -- advanced medicine, space travel, weapons, and armor… all of it was ours.” 

“There a point to this story or are you just bragging about being shitty house guests?” Levi asked me, leveling a flat glare at me. 

“The next eight hundred and fifty years was an explosion of expansion. We went from star system to star system, conquering everything in our path. If those planets were occupied when we arrived? We would enslave them to exploit the resources of their planet. Those with military potential would be turned into disposable slave soldiers sent at the front lines to soften them up. Those that we couldn't find any use for? They were exterminated.” I recounted the tale of the Saiyan Empire in a dispassionate and frankly irritated voice. 

The only one that wasn't wearing a heavy expression was Kenny, as a smile tugged at his lips like he was laughing at a joke only he could hear. I shrugged it off as I continued, “Then, naturally, we hit a wall. We found rivals who could challenge us and discovered that the foundations of our glorious Empire were made of sand, because at the first sign of weakness, it crumbled. Slave revolts. Saiyans rebelling against the Empire, or declaring independence, or just cutting their losses and deserting.” 

I thought a lot about that message I had woken up to. Emperor Vegeta made it sound so simple and clean -- we were being hunted down and exterminated. I, and a handful of others, were the last remnants of the Saiyan race. But, I doubted that. What about the ‘traitors and cowards’ that fled? The whole thing started to reek after a couple of months of thinking about it.

An amused huff of laughter escaped me, “What took nearly a thousand years to build was destroyed in less than fifty. And we had it coming. The whole damn thing was so obvious that we were basically asking for it.” 

“I hope you don't expect a thank you for learning from the mistakes of your history,” Pixis replied with a drawl, his expression tightening. 

“Expect? Nah,” I dismissed the idea out of hand. “But I would appreciate it. If any other Saiyan had come to your planet, you'd all be dead. They'd have wiped out humanity behind the Walls to present themselves as a savior to the rest of the world that's convinced you have a gun to their head. And that's just if they're smart. Most would have slaughtered half your population before you even realized what was happening.” 

“Instead,” Levi replied in a tense voice that was just shy of accusatory. “You're exploiting our weakness and inability to defend ourselves.” 

“I am,” I admitted without shame or hesitation. Wasn't a point in hiding it now. “I want Paradis to be the start of the foundation for a new empire. First this island, then this world.” 

“And you expect us to just go along with this?” Nile questioned, his hands clenched into fists that trembled. There was rage burning in his eyes, and every word that I said seemed to stoke the flames higher and higher. “We can't kill you. I'll admit that. But that doesn't mean we have to mindlessly obey you.”

To that, I tilted my head at him. “I never wanted blind obedience in the first place. And I don't expect for all of humanity to unite behind me. I'm sure you'll all continue your little plots -- turning my children against me or stealing some of my seed to put in soldiers whose loyalty belongs to you.” To their credit, they didn't flinch. “But you seem to be missing something here. This is in your interest as well.”

“How?” Erwin asked sharply. It wasn't a demand. Not really. He wanted to know. 

“I believe I’ve already told you. What you are experiencing right now with Marley? That's the norm across the galaxy,” I told them bluntly. “You are an island in a hostile world, and that doesn't change. Ever. Beyond this meager planet, there are empires full of beings just like me or infinitely stronger, and the moment they decide you have something that they want, you've lost it. You are entirely at their mercy, just like you are at mine.” 

Each word was a hammer to Nile, I saw. His fist stopped trembling in anger while the fire was being doused in his eyes. 

“And the real kicker? I'm not particularly strong,” I confessed, and the entire room recoiled at that. Even Levi and Kenny. “The difference in power between me and Emperor Vegeta is as big as that between you and me. For the Saiyan race, I was considered a Low-Class Warrior. Disposable trash a few steps above slave soldiers. And there are things in the galaxy that made Emperor Vegeta, a warrior who could destroy this entire planet with a wave of his hand, look as weak as you do compared to me.” 

And that’s what reeked the most about Emperor Vegeta’s little speech that served as an alarm clock. I was a Low-Class Saiyan by the Empire’s standards. How was it that I, what they deemed to be trash, was amongst the last and greatest hopes for the Saiyan race’s restoration?

Where was Prince Vegeta the Fourth, the Vegeta from Dragon Ball? Where were all of the High-Class Saiyans, who were far more suited to this mission by sheer raw power? When the Empire fell, were the dregs all that were left?

Or was there another plan at play that I hadn’t been privy to?

“I see,” Erwin replied, his tone terse. “I understand. This is a symptom of what you said before, is it not? That aggressive species are the ones that reach the stars.”

I inclined my head to him. “To have peace, you must prepare for war,” I quoted. “That's the cold hard truth of the universe. You succeed in defending yourself from Marley? That’s just the start. My race found your planet. It's only a matter of time before others do, if they haven’t already.” 

“...Heh,” Kenny chuckled. “Hehehe…! Ha! Hahaha! Hahahahaha!” He threw his head back and laughed, covering his face with his hat. “Truth of the universe, eh?” His laughter trailed off into chuckles, and the others looked at him cautiously. He wasn’t in any rush to explain what he found so funny, but even as he stopped laughing, his lips were still curled into a grin.

“The affairs of the stars are not yet our concern,” Dhalis decided. “The affairs of this world are. The Titans are a threat that we can no longer afford to tolerate. In exchange for liberating the island of them… we are prepared to name you king.” 

Exactly as I expected. “Oh? What about the sleepy guy?” I asked, offering a slight smile. 

“He was no king, but an impostor,” Dhalis answered curtly. “The true royal family used them as a cover for protection.” They were finally admitting that, were they? 

“Really? Then who was the real king?” I asked, pretending that I was surprised. 

“Rod Reiss,” came Dhalis's flat reply. 

“The name sounds familiar,” I admitted. “Do I know him?” 

Levi glowered at me, “You killed him when we first met.” 

To that, I gave an owlish blink. “Seriously?” 

“Seriously,” Levi confirmed dryly and I couldn't keep the amusement off my face. This was one of the perks of metaknowledge. Averting catastrophes was all nice and good, but using it to fuck with people was the real best part. 

“That's hilarious,” I decided, entirely too amused for my own good, much to the chagrin of the others. I used it as a cover, even as I grinned openly with amusement. If they were coming to me with this, without any of the nobles or those religious nutjobs, then that told me the transition of power was over and done with. Without Rod Reiss or the Founding Titan, Kenny had no reason to throw his support in with them and without them… 

“... It's a little funny,” Levi admitted, sounding resigned to that fact. 

“We also seek to legitimize your ascension as King with a marriage to what is now the true royal heir,” Erwin continued, pretending the byplay hadn't happened. “Historia Reiss. Or, as you know her, Krista Lense.” 

“... I killed her father then?” I remarked, scratching at my cheek. “That's less funny. You humans are pretty attached to your parents. You sure she's gonna want to marry me?” 

“Historia has already been informed and accepted it,” Erwin replied evenly. No hint on how that conversation actually went down or when it happened. “Do you accept? Will you be our king?” 

I leveled a lopsided grin at the lot of them, “Thought you'd never ask. Sure. Now I can show off the projects your spies have been snooping around about,” I said, standing up. Then I blinked, “Wait, are they my spies now? Eh, we can share ‘em,” I decided, gesturing for them to follow. I heard Levi let out a quiet breath. 

“Is it too late to take back the offer?” He wondered out loud, earning a cheeky grin from me. 

“No take backs,” I chided him, tossing open a balcony door. They got on the balcony while I floated up, creating a closed platform made out of ki. Hesitantly, they stood on it and found that it was sturdy. It was far from my usual standards, but it was enough for them to stand on at least. 

Six months was a long time. It didn’t seem like it was at times, but six months was half a year. This planet lacked anything that could properly challenge me. With prudent uses of metaknowledge, I snipped the greatest issues I would face in the bud. Zeke was dead, which eliminated another source of royal blood that could influence Ymir when the time came. Reiner and Pieck were both captured and held by the Walls. Bertholdt was similarly captured due to his association to Reiner. 

Annie was still relatively in the clear. Neither Reiner, Bertholdt, nor Pieck had given her up since she was still at the castle. Erwin might suspect that there was another Titan Shifter in hiding, but he had no proof to act on. 

The point was that I had nothing but time to train. Even the days of mindless hedonism were on hold because every woman in the castle was pregnant, with the exception of Mikasa and Annie. 

Looking over now, I could see Hange talking to Nanaba and Rico -- All three of them beginning to truly show as they sipped tea in one of the gardens. They weren’t huge or anything at just six months, but given how fit you had to be to use ODM gear it was noticeable. Hange offered an enthusiastic wave as we flew by. In three months, I was going to be a father. 

A dozen times over. 

There were things that I needed to finalize before then, and I had been a little worried at how close Erwin and the others were cutting it for my optimal timeline when it came to recognizing me as king. But now that I was, once I had the ceremony done and dusted… I could do what I’d planned on since the start. I had all the pieces I needed. I just needed to line the dominoes up so I could watch them fall. 

“Then you always intended to aid us,” Pixis noted, taking a sip from his flask as I sped over the Wall Rose, heading to my secret laboratory. 

“Mikasa asked me to,” I answered simply, letting that be the end of it. I could sense their looks at my back as I spotted the busted up ruins of a church in no time at all. Let them make of that what they will. It didn’t bother me any. It wasn’t exactly a secret that I had a soft spot for Mikasa, even if they had no idea what to make of it. Including Mikasa herself.

I’m not exactly sure how I was doing when it came to winning her over, but I figured that once everyone started having kids, the baby fever would hit her. 

Landing lightly on the ground, I released the others before tossing off the false cover for the cavern beneath our feet. The others were uncertain, but they followed along behind me as I descended down a set of stairs that I revealed, down to a heavy oak door. As I opened it, I spoke, “I’ve hardly kept it a secret that I’ve been using technology that’s not of your world to get ahead.”

There were sharp gasps as I opened the door, revealing the white crystalline terrain of the cavern some twenty feet beneath the surface. It almost looked like ice with a soft blue hue. Thick pillars of the crystal held up the ceiling, the floor was bumpy and uneven, while the walls were rough and jagged. It contrasted harshly with the carved stairs that I walked down. 

As well as the machines that I had working in the space between the pillars. 

“What… is this?” Nile breathed while Kenny let out a low hiss.

“Ya’ found the ceremony chamber, huh? Shitty Rod never told me where it was,” he noted, drinking in the sights. “How’d ya’ find it?”

“The same way I know where all the major mineral and metal deposits on this world are. And where the soil is most fertile,” I answered casually as I reached the bottom of the stairs. The cavern was anything but silent, with the sound of industrial might echoing through the vast cavern. “My people scanned the entirety of your planet, down to its core. Didn’t know what this place was exactly, but I knew the crystals were something that I can work with.”

Let them ferment on that. They were naming me king because they felt like they had to. They wanted to offer me something in exchange for protection -- being king, in their mind, bound me to them. However, that didn’t mean they were united behind me for all the battles to come. In their eyes and mind, we weren’t necessarily on the same side. Yet. 

The knowledge that their planet had been scanned all the way down to the core without their notice planted a seed of self-doubt -- I had just arrived on their planet, and I already knew more about it than they did. It helped them realize just how small they were in comparison to just the world at large, much less the galaxy. 

“How so?” Erwin questioned, and there was a curious glint in his eyes as he beheld the machines. The harvesters were tearing up chunks of the crystal across the ground to be refined. The other machines ground those chunks up until they were the size of sand, and then they were heated up in a furnace until they were malleable. 

In response, I approached a mannequin that I had prepared and cast off the cover, revealing the sum of six months of effort. It was a full suit of black body armor, not dissimilar to the armor that they would independently develop after the timeskip. Skin tight, black, with markings in anticipation of using the ODM gear and thicker armor plates around the vitals for extra safety. The biggest change was the helmet -- around the base of the head was a metal frame with the rest of the head covered by a crystal dome. 

“It’s a liquid crystal alloy,” I informed. There were a lot of armor and weapon schematics that had been available to me, but this one was the best fit for what we would be facing and for what I had on hand. It just wasn’t easy to go from late medieval technology to hyper-advanced tech that hadn't been discovered in the modern day of my last life. 

I had to build the tool to make the tools, so I could create the tools I needed to create something like a jump drive for FTL travel. 

Grabbing a gun I had prepared, I took a few steps away from the armor before I fired three times into the chest. The bullets slammed into it, flattening, but the mannequin didn’t so much as wobble. “It’s ideal for dealing with primitive projectile weapons like you still use. The liquid crystal acts as a kinetic sponge that converts that energy into heat, which is dispersed at these ports.” With a gesture, I turned the armor behind, revealing the altered ODM gear. 

There was a tank that would be placed on their upper back, with the gas exhaust on their lower back. In the space between them were three notches that served as the heat sinks. 

“How good is this conversion? How much damage does the wearer still take?” Erwin asked while Kenny approached the armor, squinting at it and giving a close inspection. 

“It’s impervious to small arms fire,” I answered confidently. I’m not sure where exactly the Saiyan race had picked up the design from, but it had been a place where they were shooting much more powerful guns than what Attack on Titan had to offer. “Not endlessly, mind you. The heatsinks can be overwhelmed if you’re shot enough in a short period of time, but that shouldn’t happen with the ODM gear. Get hit with something larger? It gets a little more dicey, but so long as you don’t take another hit before the heat vents, you’ll walk it off.”

I was cut off from elaborating when a loud bang echoed through the cavern, and I saw that Kenny had shot me in the chest with the mounted weapon in the mannequin’s hands. “...Did you really think I’d build something that would let you kill me?” I asked him, honestly baffled. 

“I figured you’d be the best thing to test this here handcannon on,” Kenny replied, unbothered by the treason he just committed. “Big power, but the recoil ain’t a thing. More of that crystal junk?”

Nodding at him, I waved off the others who were uncertain if they should take the shot as a legitimate attempt on my life. “That’s right. Marley uses a thread-based body armor that catches bullets if they bother with armor at all. These are designed to pierce through that, along with light armored helmets. There are various attachments, allowing you to silence the shots or assemble them into a rifle if you need to shoot someone at range. Each bullet contains an explosive substance, so you don’t use any gas shooting.”

In short, the armor was perfectly designed to counter every advantage that Marley had in the field. Our troops would have greater mobility, armor, and weaponry. Hange’s thunder spears were a good reference point for other weapons -- anti-tank rockets and the like. While I lacked the ability to create stuff like microchips for software-based guidance systems, I could make the rockets smaller and pack a harder punch. 

Dhalis stepped forward, leveling a heavy gaze at me. “What about these ‘airplanes?’ The battleships? The war for Paradis will not just be won with soldiers.”

“I have better versions already lined up,” I admitted. The biggest roadblock was computer systems. At the current year, the ENIAC wasn’t even a concept, which did let me start from scratch. Which led me to turning my attention to crystal based computers -- more complicated, yet easier to produce. It was also in producing the liquid crystal that tipped me over to them, as I already had the equipment set up to go that route.  

So, what do you get when you combine ultrahard steel and the iceburst crystal propulsion system?

Imagine encountering a fighter jet in a WWI era biplane. 

Dhalis held my gaze for a long moment, and I could only guess what was going through his mind as he looked at me. His gaze drifted to the working machinery around us, and a deep frown began to tug at his lips. “How long before we would be ready, your majesty?”

“Now that I have free rein over the island? Three and a half years.” Which puts us right on track with canon. Marley would be more desperate, considering that they lost every Titan that they had except for the Warhammer Titan. So, that could be an issue in the sense that I would have to crush their invasion force personally, and that wasn’t what I wanted. 

It couldn’t just be me that conquered them. It needed to be the ‘Devils of Paradis.’ 

In response to that, Dhalis slammed a fist over his heart. The action seemed to surprise the others more than it did me, but sure enough, one by one, they all followed suit. 

And I couldn’t quite keep the grin off my face as all my plans were coming together beautifully. 

…

“Alright. Let’s try this again,” I muttered, standing in a vast desert with the sweltering sun directly overhead. I wasn’t on Paradis. I wouldn’t risk doing this on what amounted to my island, even if the damn thing was the size of Australia. Too much risk of someone getting a look, and collateral damage. Channeling my ki to my hands, a silver white light began to emit from my hands before I threw it up high in the sky. 

The Power Ball. An artificial moon created by Bardock, Goku’s father. I got the technique from the ship, and it had even credited him as part of the reason why the Saiyan Empire was able to so rapidly expand. The ki ball emitted Blutz waves, which triggered the Oozaru transformation. Turning A Saiyan into a hundred-foot-tall great ape. 

Since I had nothing worthwhile to fight, I found that I was training a great deal. The industrial base I was building from the ground up wasn't at the level that I could create something like a gravity chamber, though, so I had to find other ways to train. 

Such as learning the techniques from the data bank on the ship, and recreating some from Dragon Ball or other forms of media. Like Bleach or One Piece. However, as I attempted to create new techniques I found that I was neglecting my fundamentals. 

Such as controlling the Oozaru transformation. Which, admittedly, was entirely motivated by the fact that I missed the opportunity to show Zeke who was the bigger monkey when he transformed. I hadn’t stopped kicking myself since. 

“Hnn…!” I grit my teeth, looking up at the Power Ball and feeling the transformation take hold. A well of power began to rise up from deep in my gut that it was too much for my body to contain, so my body grew with it. The issue with the transformation wasn't the pain or the power however, but what came with it.

Rage. 

It filled me up like a cup, tainting every thought as my vision went red. There was an insatiable urge to kill, to destroy, to annihilate everything around me until nothing was left. 

“Ahhgh…!” I groaned, fur covering my bare body as I grew a foot in height. Then another. Then five. Then ten. I could feel my face changing, my teeth sharpening as my mouth became a snout. The physical transformation was painful, but not debilitatingly so. Going in I had thought that would be the worst part of the transformation. 

I had been completely and utterly unprepared for the rage that came with the Oozaru transformation. The first time I transformed, I immediately blacked out, and when I came to I was in a wasteland and found out that it was sixteen hours later, even though the Power Ball had only lasted for thirty minutes. There had been nothing to fight, and nothing to kill, so my Oozaru self just devastated the landscape with my fists, kicks, and breath attacks. 

Even now, when I knew to brace myself for it, I could feel the rage taking hold of me, slipping through the cracks of my self-control and spreading like an infection. The worst part was that I was aware of it. It was like this thing in my head that was making me angry, rather than me actually feeling angry. 

“Haaaaaaaa…!” I groaned, struggling against the urge to destroy as the transformation completed. In the past three months since I officially became King of Paradis, I had attempted to control the Oozaru transformation a hundred and thirty-eight times. Eighty of those times, I immediately blacked out. Twenty-three times, I managed to get halfway through the transformation before blacking out. Fifteen times I managed to reach this point, where I completed the transformation. Then immediately blacked out.

The past twenty times, I completed the transformation and retained control for a time but lost it when I got distracted. Or when some sand flew in my eye. Or when I realized that I couldn’t fly as an Oozaru and got pissed off. Little irritants became sparks that blew apart my self control. 

“What a pain,” I said, my voice loud and thunderous to my ears. I sat down on the ground, sending up a great plume of sand that I tried to ignore, even if the idea of getting sand in my fur had me wanting to howl like a madman. “No wonder this shitty ability was abandoned. Why can’t I learn the Kaioken instead?”

I knew the reason, and while I managed to not rant and rave, there was just this… urge to be frustrated. My experience transforming into the Oozaru was an interesting one. Dragon Ball talked about the stamina drain that came with the Super Saiyan transformation, or the strain of the Kaioken. 

That wasn’t present with the Oozaru transformation. My ki felt heavier. Dense. Even without the complication of the bubbling pod of rage in my chest, I don’t think I could use it without significant difficulty. But, if I did master it, then I think it could be possible for me to stay in the transformation forever. And that had interesting potential as my Oozaru body was far more durable and sturdy, meaning that I could use more taxing techniques. 

Like the Kaioken. 

But, that was putting the cart before the horse. I needed to master the Oozaru transformation before I tried that. And I just barely managed to crush the surge of anger in my chest at the thought I would have to wait. 

“Breathe in,” I muttered, closing my eyes and inhaling, “... And breathe out.” I never thought I’d be one to meditate, but I found that it was helping me deal with the anger and destructive urges. Barely. But some progress was better than no progress. 

Plus, mastering the Oozaru transformation opened up the path to Super Saiyan 4 once I became a Super Saiyan. Likewise, Saiyan God form could be unlocked with my kids giving me their ki in a ritual. Though, admittedly, I'm not sure if I would call myself ‘pure of heart.’ Those goals were a bit far off in the distance, so much like with my empire, I needed to forge solid foundations to build towards those goals on. 

That thought helped me center myself as I breathed deeply again, my nose twitching at the sand trying to enter my nose. Saiyans did better when we had a concrete goal to strive towards. Frieza. Cell. Majin Buu. Jerin. Goku Black. Moro. Time and time again, the largest and most explosive growths of strength the Z Fighters had came when they had a powerful enemy to defeat. They grew more in days preparing to take down the villain of the year than they did from years of training between threats. 

Because that's what drove the Saiyans forward. The desire to overcome and stand at the top. 

I meditated for hours, slowly feeling the sun drift down towards the horizon and the heat start to cool. It was only when the sun reached the horizon that I felt satisfied with my progress, enough to undo the transformation. Over the course of about ten seconds, I shrunk back down to my normal height. After doing some stretches, I put on my clothes before I jumped straight into the air and took off back home. 

In the nine months I had been on this planet, I had mastered flight. There had been some training games available on my scouter to help me improve my speed and sharp turns, but I beat them all in a few weeks. Nearly a year before, a journey between ‘Mid-East Alliance’ territory to Paradis would have taken the better part of a few hours, and now it took minutes. Maybe as little as one if I didn't mind going full throttle. 

So in no time at all, I left the stretch of desert that I turned into my training ground and flew over the vast ocean towards what had become home. The Titans had been exterminated on the island, allowing us to develop it and harness its rich resources freely. Marley hadn't sent a scout ship yet, but I was expecting one soon -- in canon, Pieck and Zeke had been on the island for about three months waiting for Eren to come seal Wall Maria. But, I imagine that they had at least been in contact, as they had handed Ymir over to be eaten. 

So, I'm betting Marley was getting antsy with a ship and all of their Titan Shifters missing. 

The Royal Palace was located behind Wall Sina. And, while I had been fond of my castle, I couldn't deny that the palace was swankier. Large gardens surrounded the main palace with several wings that branched off. My destination was a balcony door that had been left open, and it was there that I found a clone of myself sitting behind a desk marking some papers. 

“Make any progress?” He asked me, setting down a pen. 

“Why bother asking?” I asked him, holding out a hand for him to take. As he did so, I felt the divided ki that I had split off from myself flow back into me. And, with it… 

Memories. 

The Multi-Form technique was a dangerous one, and one whose potential had been left entirely unexplored in Dragon Ball. Over the course of nine months, I had cut down on the ki needed to create a clone to a fourth of my overall ki. And I had succeeded in my secondary goal with the technique -- I turned it into something like the Shadow Clone jutsu. By reabsorbing my clones, I could gain their memories. 

I'd even argue that the Multiform technique was better than Shadow Clones, honestly. My clones weren't something that would vanish in a puff of smoke with a single hit. 

“... Huh,” I muttered, the memories swiftly settling in my mind. Paperwork to approve land grants and loans was tedious, but made all the more bearable with Sasha treating herself to a snack before bed and drinking three loads before she was satisfied. Her gluttony truly knew no limits. However, there was also something far more interesting happening at the moment that my scouter had detected. 

Annie was making her move. 

“I guess learning that Bertholdt and Reiner were scheduled to be eaten lit a fire under her,” I remarked to myself, looking off in the distance as I spread out my awareness. 

Ki sensing was another trick I had picked up over the months. I was no Goku, who could sense people across the galaxy, but I found that the entirety of the planet was within my range if I focused on it. Though, sorting out and memorizing ki signatures was a task if I did so. Because of that, I could sense Annie approaching Wall Sina with her ODM gear based on how fast she was moving, heading to Pieck's prison. 

I could also sense the Beast Titan that had been reborn on the island. We never got to see it in canon, but sure enough, just as it said -- a random baby was born with the Beast Titan. And, that baby, if nothing was done, would live up to thirteen years old because of Ymir's curse. 

“I've got plenty of time,” I reassured myself, deciding to step out onto the balcony with my scouter pressed to my ear. Leaving the palace behind, I flew up and over Wall Sina just in time to see Annie use her ODM gear to fly over it. The Walls weren't exactly guarded, so she had an easy time of it. 

She was completely ignorant of my presence high above her. I crossed my arms as I watched her steal two horses and take off in the general direction of Pieck's prison. “Who told you where she was? Loose lips sink ships, you know?” I remarked to myself as I frowned. 

Pieck, Bertholdt, and Reiner were all in separate prisons along with portions of the crew that we had captured. That way none of them could shift without killing hundreds of Marleyans with the ensuing cave in. Efforts to befriend the Marleyans were underway much like in canon, but the progress was almost nonexistent. There were perhaps a handful, less than a dozen, of the thousand we had captured that showed anything less than utter contempt for Eldians. 

And, as far as the Paradisians were aware… we did not have any Titan Shifters on our side. They knew of the existence of the Female Titan, but the others had refused to name her. Ymir was still hidden in plain sight. So, Erwin and the others suspected that there were at least two Shifters on the island, but not who and where. One of them was an enemy, the other was a potential ally. But, what was that compared to the possibility of having the Armored Titan, the Colossal Titan, and the Cart Titan in the hands of loyalists? 

We had the Titan serum, taken from the royal family's reserves. So, it was as simple as injecting some soldiers with the serum, letting them eat three confirmed enemies, and the power that had nearly killed them all would be in our hands. 

I'm sure it also helped that it convinced some of the powers within my little kingdom that they wouldn't be so completely reliant on my strength. Titans were nothing to me, even less so now considering all of my training, but they were still monsters for the Eldians on Paradis. 

So, I watched Annie make her move in the dead of night. She stayed clear of the main roads, heading towards the prison that was located in an old mine that tapped out at some point during the last century before my arrival. Annie moved with such confidence, I didn't have a doubt that she knew exactly where Pieck was being held. It took her hours to arrive all the same, where the entrance to the mine was being guarded by members of the Garrison. 

Their attention was lax -- being a guard was an easy job to do, but a difficult job to do well. It took a special kind of willpower to stare off into darkness night after night, nothing ever happening, and always remain alert. While slacking off was understandable, it wasn't okay as Annie managed to slip right by them -- not through the front entrance itself, but by one of the ventilation points that she crawled through. 

I flew above the mine, sensing her move through the mine shafts. She didn't seem to know where Pieck was, but she cleverly deduced that she would be near the bottom. It took her near thirty minutes before she found Pieck, seemingly ignoring the other captives. I was curious as to what they would do, and to my mild surprise, Annie and Pieck began to sneak out of the mine, leaving the others behind. Did they plan to double back for them? 

I was curious -- both at how far they could get in their escape attempt and who exactly was working with them. The two of them emerged from the same ventilation shaft. Pieck looked a bit worse for wear, but spending about eight months in a cell would do that. They mounted the horses and galloped off, and I lowered my altitude to overhear them speaking to each other. 

“If Bertholdt is on the other side of Wall Rose, it'll take too long to reach him, much less Reiner,” Pieck noted to Annie. “It would be faster to cut across Wall Sina.” 

“You don't get it, Pieck. He knows too much,” Annie stressed. “He knew your ship was going to arrive before it did. He always knows when someone is about to enter a room. It might have something to do with that earpiece of his, but I don't know.” Well, well, well -- they were puzzling out what the scouter did. “If we go over Wall Sina, he might notice us. We should just go. Head straight for Wall Maria and the sea.” 

“And abandon your comrades?” Pieck questioned, her tone light but sharp. 

“Yes,” Annie answered without an ounce of hesitation. “The past six years… I just want to go home, Pieck.” Annie sounded utterly rung out. Exhausted, both physically and mentally. “I want to see my dad again before Galick conquers the whole planet, or whatever he's planning.” 

Pieck seemed to consider that for a moment as they rode through the night, sending Annie an almost pitying glance. “No matter what, we need to free Bertholdt. He's the only way we’ll be able to swim to Marley.” 

“The Cart could do it,” Annie insisted, but Pieck shook her head. 

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” Pieck rebuked and Annie wilted ever so slightly. “Marley has lost Zeke, and with him, the Beast Titan and his ability to turn people into Titans with his scream. The Cart and Female Titans won’t be enough. We need to take back the Colossal and Armored Titans. It's safer this way, Annie.” Pieck insisted, but Annie scoffed. 

“You wouldn't believe that if you understood what you're dealing with. If Paradis is hell, then that man is the Devil. He's too powerful and smart by half, Pieck. Slaughtering the Titans and War Chief Zeke was easy for him. It didn't even qualify as an inconvenience. And he has the people here wrapped around his finger. No, Pieck.” Annie stressed, “going back over Sina isn't the safer choice. Doggy paddling across the ocean and hoping Marley is feeling merciful is by far safer.” 

Pieck took a moment to digest that, her long black hair whipping in the wind. She came to a decision. “Then we have to transform. It's the only way we'll be able to reach Bertholdt in time. We can grab Reiner as we flee.” 

I was being underestimated. It wasn't her fault. Her mistake was lacking imagination. She simply couldn't imagine just how much stronger I was than humanity. 

I think a little display was in order.

Flying back up, I began to fly back over to Wall Sina, hearing a distant clap of thunder behind me that anyone who heard it could be forgiven for thinking came from the storm brewing overhead. In a quick minute, I crossed the territory of Wall Sina, heading to Bertholdt's prison. 

Being king had some perks as the guards let me pass without any issue, letting me grab Bertholdt. Cutting off a limb so he couldn't transform only took a swipe of my hand, and gagging him prevented him from giving the game away. Leaving that prison, I headed to the one that Pieck had just escaped and tossed him inside of her cell. 

By that time, I was only waiting around twenty minutes in what had been Bertholdt's prison, posting up near his cell for maximum effect. I sensed the two arriving at the prison, then stealthily slipping by the guards and finding a path that led to where Bertholdt had been held. 

The door opened next to me and Pieck slinked forward, almost soundlessly as she peered into the darkness of Bertholdt's cell. “Bertholdt? It's Pieck and Annie. We're here to rescue you-” 

Once they stopped into the room, I closed the door behind them, making them both jump and level rifles at the door. Then I formed a bead of ki at the tip of my finger, washing the dark room with a soft blue light, illuminating myself. 

Despair consumed Annie, and it shone in her eyes like a beacon. The rifle fell from her hands, clattering to the floor noisily, and she followed a half second later. She fell to her knees, instantly giving up, while Pieck held my gaze with an unchanging expression. I could almost see the cogs turning in her mind, trying to think a way out of this. A sigh escaped her as she made a show of dropping her gun and raising her hands. “We never had a chance, did we?” 

“You didn't. It was a nice attempt, though,” I commended, flicking the bead of ki up to the ceiling so I could cross my arms once more. “Annie's idea of rushing to the ocean wouldn't have worked either, sorry to say.” Annie flinched, her gaze lowering to the floor -- let them guess how much I knew and how much I could hear. 

“I suppose this becomes my cell, then? I'm sorry, Annie,” Pieck said, clenching her jaw as she held my gaze. 

“I didn't say that,” I noted, making Pieck's eyes narrow. She was only introduced in the final season of Attack on Titan, but she had quickly become a fan favorite. Loyal, smart, and she got the job done despite the odds. It also helped that she was an absolute bombshell. “It's natural to resist when your life is in danger. You would have disappointed the hell out of me if you just laid down and died. Actually, you managed to impress me, both of you -- you tried to save your comrades despite the long odds. I like it.” 

Pieck watched me, her eyes unblinking. “Are you impressed enough to let us go?” 

“Sure,” I answered casually and Pieck flinched so badly you'd think I slapped her. 

There was a dawning incomprehension on her face, like I was a puzzle that the pieces just didn't fit. Annie, however, understood. “It's that hopeless for us, is that it? We never even had a chance at beating you.” 

I offered a knowing smile, “You didn't. The very moment I arrived on this planet, it became mine. I'm just giving the rest of you a few years to come to grips with that fact.” 

“Because you're a nice guy?” Annie snarked, some of the life returning to her voice when she realized that this wasn't the dead end she thought it was. And that life came in the form of dry sarcasm. 

“Kinda,” I replied, my smile taking a pitying edge. “I could wipe Marley off the map in around… twelve hours, give or take. Most of that being travel time, of course.” There it was. I could see that it was really starting to sink in with Pieck now. “But salvation isn't something that can be given to you. It's something that you have to take with your own hands. What I'm giving the Eldians is the opportunity to seize it.” 

I pushed myself off the wall and both girls stiffened. “I'm willing to let you both go. Bertholdt and Reiner will stay -- I'd get yelled at if I let them go. They're the face of the ones who toppled the Walls.” 

Annie looked up sharply, “I… That sin is mine as well. I… I'm the Female Titan,” she declared, rising to her feet- 

“Yeah, I know,” I answered, making her wobble so badly that Pieck had to stop her from falling. 

Annie searched my face for signs of deceit, but she found none. A soft breathless chuckle escaped her. “You knew?” 

“I thought it was interesting. I wanted to see what would happen if a Saiyan and Titan Shifter had a kid, but I had that covered with Ymir,” I continued, following up that gut punch with an uppercut. “You didn't seem that interested in being in the Relief Regiment in the first place. I figured you had a sweetheart back in Marley or something, and you only joined because of the mission Marley gave you.” 

Annie stared at me hopelessly, closing her eyes as she found her feet, even if she still leaned on Pieck. “... I just didn't want to be a whore for Marley,” Annie admitted in a soft voice. Pieck looked at her sharply, but I didn't see any condemnation in her eyes.

“Fair enough,” I admitted with a small shrug. “But, back to my point -- have you really thought this through? Marley has been unforgivably weakened. Even with the assumption that you two return, of the six Titans that they possessed, they would only have the Cart, the Female, and the Warhammer. And for some moronic reason, the Warhammer doesn't participate in any of Marley's wars.” 

I tilted my head at them, “Marley has done everything that they accuse the Eldians of, and history is shaping up to repeat itself. Only Marley doesn't have an island it can fuck off too. The boot on the neck of all the kingdoms and territories that have been suppressed for so long has slipped. On every border, they are going to face war.” 

Their expressions tightened, telling me they already suspected that much. “And that benefits you,” Pieck half accused, but the remark was more probing, I think.

“It does,” I admitted. “Without Titans, and so thoroughly weakened by their overreliance on them, Marley will be forced down a road of rapid development, and that’s not a road they were prepared to take. The rest of the world has been in an arms race to better kill Titans while Marley has stagnated. They'll realize this, but it'll be far too late. It's already too late as it is. But, in a desperate attempt to buy time, they will mobilize the Eldian slave legions and throw bodies at the enemy to slow them down long enough for the heads of state to try and pull their heads out of their asses.” 

Pieck's glare flattened, but she didn't argue. I don't think I was saying anything she hadn't already thought of. 

It would be a mass mobilization of the Eldian population across Marley. Of the billion people that were on the continent of Marley, five hundred million of them were Eldians. Of the two billion people on the planet, seven hundred million were Eldians. Marley had the largest population of them, and they would put guns in their hands, no training, and just send them at the enemy to slow them down, even if a wall had to be built from their corpses. 

However, they would arm the Eldians… and even a beaten dog will bite back if kicked hard enough. 

Marley would single handedly create the circumstances I would need to conquer the rest of this planet. 

“That, and naturally, Marley will tighten the belt on its territories and subjects. In their desperate bid to prevent a rebellion, they will foster one. This dissent is useful for me. As when my people are ready to leave the island, we'll find allies across the world who hate Marley more than the Eldians.” I met her flat glare head on, unflinching as I continued. “And, naturally, those who extend a hand to us in friendship will find steadfast allies to overthrow the tyranny of Marley. Of course, I’ll be replacing it with my own tyranny, but my flavor of tyranny doesn't have children being fed to dogs for a laugh or forcing them to become mass murderers.” 

There was a tremor in Pieck's hand. She tried to hide it by curling her hands into fists. “Why are you telling us this?” 

“You already know the answer, Pieck,” I told her and that got a defeated smile out of her. 

“Because nothing will change even if I say anything to them. At worst, they dismiss me for being an Eldian. At best… it won't matter. Because you're too strong.” 

I nodded, letting a silence fill the cell. 

Pieck closed her eyes for a moment, considering everything I just said, and when she opened them, her gaze was sharp. “We can return to Marley… or?” She prompted, controlling her voice tightly. No fear or defeat. 

“Or you can stay,” I finished for her. “I’ll need to know who leaked the locations of the other Shifters, but other than that… If you have anyone in the internment zone, it'd take me all of an hour to grab them and bring them here.” At that, Annie stiffened, the realization dawning on her. 

Pieck tilted her head, “I would be eaten.” 

“I think you're forgetting who you're talking to here,” I pointed out and Pieck narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. “Reiner and Bertholdt? They're being eaten. That's already decided. I'm the only one who knows that Annie is the Female Titan, and as long as I keep my mouth shut that won't change. You, Pieck, are only guilty of working with Marley. You didn't help topple the Walls. Switch over to our side, and that's that.” 

Annie let out a small shuddering breath, “My dad. My dad is in the Liberio internment camp. If you can bring him here… I don't have any reason to be loyal to Marley.” 

Both of us turned our attention to Pieck, who seemed to ponder her options for a moment before she seemed to come to a decision. “You're inhuman,” she accused me, but there was a lack of anger in her voice. It was an observation. 

“Inhuman? Maybe. Not insayian, though,” I corrected. 

“It won't be enough to convince most that I switched sides out of the blue,” Pieck continued dispassionately. “They'll need to see proof. First, they'll want me to give up Annie's name.” 

“Just tell them that you told me, and I know who it is,” I supplied and she considered that before nodding. 

“Secondly, if I am to be trusted, then they need to see that I have reason to stay on this side once I've switched,” Pieck stated, taking in a big sigh before letting it out. “Annie told me about the duties of the Relief Regiment. Put a baby in me.” 

Annie's jaw dropped as she stared at Pieck, who delivered the line flat as could be. Meanwhile, I pondered that and I saw her angle-- she wanted to remain close to Annie, and she wanted to keep a finger on the pulse of things in my kingdom. And I imagine she thought that in doing so she would put herself in a position to bail out of a sinking ship if my plan went awry. 

Likewise, a child was a form of protection. She thought while I might not care much about her, I would care for the life of my child, so she would be protected from both me and from external threats. 

That was ice cold and I liked it. 

“Sure,” I agreed easily. Pieck wasn't exactly trustworthy, but I understood her levers. She didn't like or trust Marley, but she was loyal to her friends. She was extremely intelligent and observant, and those were qualities that I found could be very useful when used to support me and my ambitions. “I'll take you back to the palace to let you get cleaned up beforehand, though. Now, onto your end -- who leaked the info?”

Annie took in a slow breath and offered a small nod, “His name is Eric Creeman.” That name meant absolutely nothing to me. Then, I realized, it actually did after a moment of searching my memories. A portly man with a sweeper mustache and a hairline that he really needed to let go of. “When we were looking for the true royal family, we made connections with various nobles or members of the Military Police. I came to him and he gave me the information.”

I raised an eyebrow, “For free?”

Annie offered me a wary grimace, “I got the impression he didn’t like you very much. And I’m pretty sure that he was planning on betraying me. I think he wanted the Colossal and Armored Titans on his side if it ever came to a conflict with you.”

Ahhh. I see. On the tin, that was a pretty stupid plan. And it was a stupid plan. But it was understandable -- to these people, the Colossal and Armored Titan were the ones that brought their little world to its knees. They were beings of extreme power. I was a being of extreme power. So, they were putting me in the same class as them. 

It also revealed another factor at play. 

The coup in canon had already been relatively bloodless. Some people died, but it was mostly a smooth transition in power. That remained true this time, but my presence had thrown a wrench into things. Killing Rod Reiss seemed to have caused some unforeseen complications as while it had allowed the military to slot themselves into positions of power, there hadn’t been the mass arrests of the nobles and top commanders of the Military Police. 

Things just got shuffled around a bit, and it would seem that after nine-ish months, the nobles were trying to make a bid for power. 

“Hm. That’s no problem,” I said, offering a thin smile. I always did like the idea of an absolute monarchy. I could use this as a pretence to roll up the nobility and fold their territories into my direct control with minimal fuss. 

As I said the words, however, I sensed something in the Capital. Historia. 

My attention snapped in the direction of her, back at the palace. Pieck and Annie both tensed. “Is something wrong?” Pieck added sharply, as if she was already a loyal follower. 

“The opposite. Historia is in labor.” 

I was about to become a father. 

…

“Ahhh! How could something that feels good end so painfully?! I’m scared!” Sasha shouted at the top of her lungs, clutching her head in her hands as she made a face of extreme agony. Because of it, my arrival went pretty much entirely unnoticed. The lounge was filled with everyone. 

“I can’t believe Queen Historia went into labor first,” Hange noted, seated on a couch, her hands on her own swollen stomach. “We had a head start, Beane, but it looks like she beat us to the finish line.”

“We’re not naming our kid that,” I said, announcing my arrival from an open balcony that I stepped through, Annie and Pieck landing behind me. That made all the others perk up, and I saw all the women in my life, minus Historia. All of them were heavily pregnant to the point that it was a wonder more of them weren’t already in labor. The number of them had increased over the months, and I’m sure a couple of them were planted spies, much like Pieck intended to be. So, she’d have good company. 

Hange leaned her head back from the couch she sat on, “But it’s a vegetable? Galick? Garlic? All your people’s names are derived from vegetables, and beans are vegetables.” I hadn’t been surprised that Hange had picked up on that. Her hyperfixation extended beyond Titans. She was delighted by everything that she found interesting. 

“I mean more because you’re trying to name our kid after a cannibal,” I replied, bringing Annie and Pieck in. 

“Tsk.” Nailed it right on the head, huh?

“You! Moron!” Ymir shouted at me as she paced the room, “What are you doing in here, huh?! Historia needs emotional support right now because she’s squeezing your kid out of her!” She said, looking like she was just shy of throwing a nearby vase at me. Then she actually picked it up and hurled it. Ymir was temperamental under normal circumstances -- with pregnancy hormones and Historia being in labor? A volatile combination. 

I caught the vase with a palm and set it on the end table near the couch that Hange lounged on. “Do you really think I’d let Historia be in any danger during childbirth?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “She’s fine. My people’s technology will have her as good as new by the time the labor is over.” 

The healing fluid that had saved Goku’s life during the Namek Saga was of Saiyan origin. Or, rather, it was of Truffle origin, and the Saiyans had looted it. The Truffles had discovered how to create the fluid as cavemen, and they’d only improved the formula as they advanced. I had the recipes and the schematics for the healing pods, and they were one of the very first things I made sure to produce. 

I wasn’t going to lose one of my women or my kids because this planet hadn’t figured out how to beat childbirth. 

Ymir tsked, still pissed off and looking for something else to throw. I gave her a distraction, “Anyway -- this is Pieck. She’s the Cart Titan, and she’s part of the Relief Regiment now,” I informed, making Pieck sputter at my delivery. The others reacted with various amounts of surprise, but Hange was the face of it.

“Yes!” Hange exclaimed, struggling to stand up until Mikasa offered a hand to pull her up. “A Titan Shifter? That means little Titan babies?!” She gushed, utterly delighted by the mere thought of it. 

Mikasa was giving me a sharp look, and I shook my head. “Don’t trust her completely, but she won’t try anything,” I reassured her in a low voice. I fully believed that much. I wouldn’t have brought her here otherwise. Mikasa gave me a small nod, and I patted her on the shoulder as I headed towards the door. “The labor is done, by the way. Who wants to meet the newest member of the family?” 

There were spit-takes all around me, with Ymir shoving me out of the way so she could waddle down the hall to the medical wing. I just shook my head at her and continued walking, the others following at more subdued paces. There was an air of vapid curiosity and excitement as we walked, reaching the room to find that Ymir had left it open. 

Laying on a bed with white sheets, her hair still damp from the healing pod that was on the other side of the room, was Historia. She was looking down at a little bundle wrapped in cloth with a sense of awe, with Ymir cooing over her shoulder like the kid was her own. Historia barely noticed us enter until she heard the clamoring kick up when the girls saw it was, in fact, a baby in Historia’s arms. 

Mikasa’s expression in particular was a treat. She looked equal parts in awe and mesmerized. 

“Galick!” She exclaimed, giving me a wide earnest smile. “Meet your daughter,” Historia said, presenting the bundle to me and for the first time, I looked down at my child. 

Her hair was black, and unless she was going to have permanent bedhead, then I guess she didn’t get that gene. The only trace of it was a thick lock that fell towards one eye. Her eyes began to crack open at getting passed around, and she looked up at me with Historia’s bright blue eyes. 

I found myself smiling down at my daughter, and for the first time since I arrived in this life, it was for pure reasons. “A daughter, huh? That means you get to name her,” I noted to Historia, not looking away as I offered a finger and chuckled when her plump face twisted into a scowl. While she might have missed the hair gene, she had a Saiyan’s instincts because her arm struggled free of her swaddling to do battle with the offending finger. 

“Elery,” Historia decided. “Princess Elery.”

“Welcome to the world, Princess Elery,” I said to my daughter. And it was that moment that it started to become real to me, I think. That everything that I told Erwin and the others applied to me just as much as it did to them. Whatever had snuffed out the Saiyan race was still out there, and there was no guarantee that they hadn’t followed me here. 

I was a big fish in a tiny pond, and there was a whole damn ocean out there across the stars.

It hadn’t felt real. Not really. Honestly, there were moments that had me wondering if any of this was actually real and not some extended dream or delusion. I hadn’t always taken it seriously as a result. Taking over the planet was treated almost like a game, and the first thing I did upon arrival was embrace the most generic and teenage desire for a harem to expirence mindless hedonism. 

It really hadn’t settled upon me the stakes until I was holding my newborn daughter in my hands, and the first of many children to come. Something clenched in my chest and, in that moment, I made a promise that when the time came… 

I would be prepared.