Author Notes: I wrote this chapter nearly a month ago on Patreon. I was surprised to see that I managed to predict how humans would find a way to control the Titans in this fic, because in Season 2 of Monarch, Apex tries something similar with Titan X.
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Deep beneath the Earth, there exists a pocket realm that lies beyond the reach of most minor superspecies.
It is a realm made up of landscapes and beings from the past, the present, and from across the world.
A realm where time moves differently, thanks to the gravitational distortions caused by a high concentration of Hollow Earth Crystals lining this layer.
The in-between realm, as Rayquaza calls it.
It is a realm of transit. A space that major titans use to travel between various networks of the Hollow Earth.
A realm that is forbidden to the Iwi of the Hollow Earth and even those that live on the surface, for they know the dangers that lurk within.
Unfortunately, the rest of their kin are not wise enough to know the dangers of trespassing where they are not supposed to.
That is why Operation Hourglass ended in a horrific failure in 1962, with Lee Shaw as the only survivor of the whole ordeal.
Of course, that was not the only incident where humans of the surface found themselves in this realm.
It was just the first deliberate attempt ever made by humanity to reach this place.
Because people have fallen into this place accidentally many times before. Just like with a certain man with his friend's daughters who fell into this place accidentally during their boating trip for a brief time before being thrown out by a passing titan, resulting in the man writing a children's fairy tale titled "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".
Just like that Japanese man in Setagaya, Tokyo, in the 1970s, who fell down another entrance briefly before resurfacing mere few minutes later, yet weeks had gone by in the real world. This man would go on to create a popular game called "Pokémon".
There have been many people who accidentally fell into this realm and resurfaced later on as changed men and women, leading to many pivotal moments in human history, either in artistic ways or scientific ways.
In a sense, it could be said that this realm is more important to human history than it ever was to even the Titans.
And even at this very moment, there is one such human trapped in this realm. A realm that she has named "Axis Mundi".
Keiko Randa. Wife of the late William "Bill" Randa. Mother of Hiroshi Randa, and the best friend of Lee Shaw.
She, who fell down into the Axis Mundi during an expedition in 1959, had been trapped here for 56 days at this point. Surviving the super fauna and dangers of this realm through sheer grit and crude weapons she made with the local resources.
A truly resourceful woman.
Yet, the one thing driving her forward is her will to return home to her family and friends.
That is why she had been working on a crude S.O.S made from a Monarch wreck she found a few days ago.
And, it would seem, this is the day her prayers are answered.
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The first thing Keiko saw was the burst of light. The telltale sign that a titan was passing through the Axis Mundi.
The distinct hum of the strange portal that Monarch dubbed 'Vile Vortex' unmistakable to her ears.
She sprang up from her makeshift bed hidden in a small cave under the roots of a gigantic, prehistoric tree. The only shelter that she found to be defensible from the local predators.
She chose this spot strategically, knowing that this was probably the safest spot in the entirety of this realm that was not too far away from the portal should help ever come for her.
Too close, and she would be a very attractive snack to any of the lesser titan and local superfauna. These opportunistic predators lingering near the portal to gobble up any unfortunate creature that is usually dragged into the Axis Mundi as the Titans pass through here.
Too far, and she would not be visible to any rescue team that comes looking for her. If one ever comes anyway.
Quickly packing her short-range radio, the only piece of a functioning communication system she still had with her, and her wooden bow and arrows, she quickly but cautiously moved through the shrubs, making sure to make as little noise as possible while still covering an impressive distance.
Soon, she arrived at the entrance of the portal, spotting the titan that was responsible for opening the portal in the first place.
An Ion Dragon, similar to the one that she first saw with Lee and Bill all those years ago.
However, something was different about this Ion Dragon.
This one had what looked like a high-tech collar around its neck, which was beeping incessantly, making the lesser titan screech in agony and irritation.
And connected to this collar were tethers connected to a strange cylinder that looked like a submarine but floated in the air somehow. A blue sheen covering its exterior.
The markings, numbers, and alphanumeric identifications stenciled on it made no sense to her, but there was one thing that she did identify.
A strange skull and crossbones-like design that was made to look like a stylized 'A'.
The personal symbol that an old colleague of hers used to doodle all the time, claiming that it was part of his 'brand' or something along those lines.
Soon, whatever technology was controlling the Ion Dragon made the beast land along with the Cylinder that gently hovered down and landed vertically like a chopper. Stunning Keiko with the ease of maneuver and the way there was next to no noise from any thrust system in the machine.
'Anti-Gravity technology? Or Hover-Tech, maybe? How did he get his hands on something like this? Did we have some kind of secret program working on this that nobody told Monarch about? Or did the Reds make this kind of breakthrough? Just what the hell happened in the 56 days I was down here?'
She watched cautiously from the shrubs, hidden beneath the greenery, as several men and women poured out of the machine, wearing white and blue shirts, brown jackets, and combat boots. They held advanced-looking rifles and helmets.
The one thing common among the entire group was that they all had that same symbol painted on their helmets or bandanas that some of them sported.
Then, her breath hitched as an older man with black hair, beard, and blue eyes walked out. His heavily built body showing his physical activity, and his eyes glaring at the surroundings with a mix of awe and disdain that Keiko was all too familiar with.
He looked older than she remembered, and his perpetual smile was missing. But she had no doubt about who this Hoennese man was.
Slowly, she walked out of the bushes, alerting the grunts who trained their gauss rifles straight at her.
"Hold your fire!! I swear if even a single shell leaves those rifles I'll have your hides!!"
The man roared, making the men hold position and immediately lower their weapons, while the man stared at Keiko with recognition before a strangely complex mix of emotions passed through his eyes.
Keiko, on the other hand, trembled as she heard that familiar voice.
"...Archie? Is that you?"
Archie Aogin grinned wryly at the familiar woman whom everyone thought dead until now. Something that even he believed, despite the lie he told a certain someone who accompanied them here.
"Hello, Keiko. It's good to see you are alive."
"...What happened to you? You look..."
"Older?"
Archie quipped, making Keiko nod hesitantly.
However, before Archie could reply, the noise of a commotion erupted behind him, making him sigh and move aside, revealing an old man who pushed through all the grunts and ran to the front.
His eyes held a manic gleam that turned to profound sadness and joy the moment he saw Keiko.
The woman, on the other hand, felt like the ground disappear from beneath her feet. Her heart instantly recognized the old man, yet her mind denied the reality in front of her.
Lee Shaw took trembling steps forward before he spotted Keiko's grip tighten on her bow, making him stop and smile wryly as tears flowed down his face.
"Hey, Keiko."
".....Lee?"
Lee grinned as Keko's fingers lost their strength, allowing her weapon to clatter to the ground while her legs also gave up, making her crash to the floor.
Fortunately, Lee was close enough to grab her as the woman bordered on going catatonic.
"W-What...what is all this...? What's going on?"
"Well, before that, I got a question for you, Keiko."
Archie walked forward and spoke neutrally.
"How long were you down here by your estimates?"
"...56 days. Why are you.....Oh."
Keiko's mind raced as she quickly realized what the man was implying. A theory that Lee confirmed with his words.
"It's been 56 years since you fell, Keiko."
This time, Keiko had no words as she finally broke down, her mind already coming up with theories on how this was possible while her heart wept for everything that was taken from her in all this time.
Unfortunately, she did not have the time to mourn for long.
Archie grimaced a bit, knowing that what he was about to say might sound too harsh to his old friends, but he had no choice.
"Alright. We need to move. Five minutes down here is roughly one day and six hours outside."
He turned to Lee and nodded.
"I've fulfilled my side of the bargain, Lee. It's time for us to go."
Lee nodded and swiftly guided Keiko back into the vehicle that Aqua Logistics had built under his direction. The bargain that he struck with Archie after Maxie denied his request to go back into this realm for Keiko.
Soon, the pilots activated the control unit around the Ion Dragon's neck, piloting it with the electrical impulses that controlled its muscle contractions, effectively giving them control over the Ion Dragon's movements.
And so, Keiko returned to a world changed.
To a world under siege by an alien threat.
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Aqua logistics Symbol: (Click for image)
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