victory_road | Friday the thirteenth doesn't usually get this whacky

No, you're not, but I don't think it's a habit that's going to be easy to break.

[Erwin lived and died as Jean's Commander, he'd never seen the man as anything else.]

Penny can make the flight in an hour or so. I'll be there ASAP.

[Ah... that answers the question Erwin hadn't wanted to ask. If he's not the Commander of the Survey Corps any longer, then he died when they tried to retake Shiganshina. That's not too much of a surprise, but having the confirmation is still a punch to the gut.]

I'll be waiting.

[And so now he's got nothing but time to kill, to spend with his thoughts. Erwin finds a bench outside the Pokemon Center and does some people-watching, examining both the different types of people and the different Pokemon in this world. He considers going to the Starmiebucks across the street, but it has a pair of large, leathery bird-lizard things on top of it, who occasionally let loose with some shrieking, and decides he'd rather not.]

[The little, colorful horse hops up on the bench next to him, and cuddles in beside his hip. Erwin strokes her candy-colored mane, and she lays her head in his lap.]

Are you supposed to be my Pokemon, then? If that's the case, you'll need a name.

[It feels silly, talking to a tiny horse, but she looks up at him and seems like she's listening, so Erwin keeps going.]

I stopped naming my horses a long time ago. It's too hard when you lose one, if it has a name. I just called them by numbers. If I went with that, you'd be Number Eighteen.

[True to his word, Jean only takes about an hour to show up. He knows the exact location of the Pokemon Center Erwin was talking about-- There are Starmiebucks everywhere, but only one right next to a Pokemon Center in Goldenrod. Penny takes a long, circular swoop to land, slowly enough that they don't spook any of the locals.]

[The Pidgeot is outfitted with something like a harness and saddle that Jean put together for their hardcore flying. Jean himself is wearing a pair of goggles, and when he lifts them up into his hair (all blown away from his face) there are visible white marks around his eye where the rest of his face is rather red from the sharp cold of the upper atmosphere. He strokes Penny's crest as he dismounts, and she blinks at him fondly.]

Sir. [Jean obviously hadn't taken Erwin's request quite to heart yet as he approaches. He's gotten tall-- perhaps even taller than Erwin now, but much more lean.] It's... Good to see you again.

[Erwin ducks when a huge bird comes flapping down, but then someone is climbing off of it, and he supposes it just another strange thing about this world.]

[He doesn't recognize Jean right away. When Erwin knew him, Jean was a gangly, sinister-faced teenager with a loud mouth on him, not a solemn, polite young man. He blinks up at Jean for a moment, until it connects--of course he's older, time has passed, he's a grown man now--and Erwin gently moves the Ponyta's head before climbing to his feet.]

Kirstein. [He offers his left hand to shake.] You are quite different from what I remember.

[When did the kid get so damn tall? Is this what it's like to be Levi and constantly have to look up at people?]

I would hope so. It's been about... Four years, since you last saw me? Three back home and one here.

[It's just as odd for Jean to have to look down at Erwin. It's only and inch or three of difference. Still, he takes the handshake firmly.]

You look the same. Tho', this perspective is pretty different.

I imagine it is. [Erwin smiles faintly.] You can probably see all my grey hair from up there.

[Not really, it fades into the blond quite nicely, but Mike always used to give Erwin shit about that, and it feels a little more like home to use his words on someone else.]

Is this the Penny you mentioned?

[He gestures at the flying Pokemon. His little Ponyta trots right up to her and drops her front half down in a little bow. Hello, pleased to meet you!]

Barely, sir. [Jean's expression lightens somewhat as well, not quite as acidic as it was when he was younger.] Yep, this is Penny. It's amazing how fast Pokemon grow. She could perch on my finger when I first caught her.

[He pat her side affectionately. She leaned over to greet the little Galarian Ponyta in return. Unlike some of Jean's other Pokemon, her temperament was very agreeable.]

I miss the 'Gear, but taking her for a flight is just as good.

Really?

[Tentatively, Erwin reaches out to touch Penny. Her side is warm and feathery.]

Do you think this little one would eventually grow large enough to ride?

[He looks down at his Ponyta. She suddenly got a lot more interesting if she's not going to stay this size.]

Oh, sure. I've got one just like her of a different breed. Actually...

[Jean reached for his belt, where his five other Pokeballs were kept, and let one out. His own Kanto Rapidash appeared. Blaze was also a good Pokemon, as long as Jean's Zebstrika, Domino, wasn't out at the same time. He looked at Jean curiously, as he was usually let out to ride, eat, train or battle.]

This is a Kanto Rapidash. Kanto's the name of the region it comes from, right next door to the one we're in now, and a Rapidash is what yours will be called when it evolves. I'm pretty sure it's a Galarian Ponyta. Galar is far from here, and they don't take in otherworlders like us, but some of their Pokemon have been showing up around here.

[Erwin will have plenty of questions later about the different regions, but for now, he's completely distracted by the sudden appearance of a fire horse. Horses, at least, are something familiar, and he approaches Blaze, holding out his hand for the Pokemon to sniff.]

It's a horse made of fire...

[And definitely big enough to ride!]

Do they have horses made of ice here too?

[Blaze snuffles at Erwin's hand, then butts his head gently at his shoulder. Despite being made of fire, his flames will only feel warm to Erwin. A Rapidash's fiery coat only burns those they don't trust, or dislike.]

Not that I know of. [Jean tries to hold back a laugh, and only partially succeeds. No, they don't know of Glastrier here yet.] I've got one more that's horse-looking, but she and Blaze here refuse to get along, so it's best to keep them apart.

[Blaze snorts embers, and stomps at the ground in annoyance. Yeah, their rivalry is a little over-the-top.]

[Erwin wonders, briefly, if the other horse is named Eren, and this rivalry is like the one Jean had back home. He keeps that thought to himself, though.]

It's very nice to meet you, Blaze.

[You know what's both weird and amazing? Running your hand through a horse's mane that's made of fire and not getting burned.]

[Erwin's Ponyta, however, does not appreciate all the attention the other horse is getting! She whinnies shrilly and headbutts Erwin's leg. Pay attention to heeeeeeeeeer!]

I'm sorry, little one.

[Erwin crouches and pats her head.]

I didn't realize you were supposed to stay with me. I thought you were lost.

[No, Domino's not named Eren, but she and Blaze have had hatebabies together, so that particular connection would probably make Jean sick.]

[He gives Blaze a solid pat on the neck before putting him back in his Pokeball. No need to make the little Ponyta anymore jealous than she already is.]

She's definitely yours. Don't ask me how or why, but all of us start out with one handpicked Pokemon. I'd say it's just a cultural thing-- Basically everyone in this world has at least one or two to their name.

[Finally! The Ponyta shoves her head up into Erwin's palm, tossing her candy-floss mane and pulling up her small legs in an elegant little prance.]

Was Blaze your first Pokemon?

[Erwin chuckles at the Ponyta's antics, stroking his hand down her back.]

They gave you a horse with a mane of fire, and me one with a mane made of candy.

[The Ponyta's ears perk up. Candy? Yes, she likes that name. That is an excellent name for someone as lovely as she is.]

Actually, he wasn't. I caught Blaze a little while after. My starter was Domino-- I don't have her with me, but...

[Jean reaches into his pocket, and after some arcane clicking and tapping at his gear, shows Erwin a picture of a Zebstrika.]

She's like this. Electric type. She's always sparking with static electricity.

[She also shares Jean's narrow, angry eyes. Well picked, Pokemon gods]

[It's almost like the Pokemon gods agree that Jean should always be paired with an electric type initially, although the number of legs it has are up for debate.]

[While the picture of the Pokemon is interesting enough, Erwin is more fascinated by the fact that Jean seems to have a small portrait inside his device.]

Do all the devices do that? Record small portraits inside them?

[Does his do that? Show him how, please.]

[Electric initially, but now he has an astounding number of Steel types, which he only really became aware of when he had to face Blaine. Whoops.]

Oh, sure. Honestly, there's not a whole lot these things can't do. They're all connected to the Net, which is like... If all the books in the world, and all human knowledge was collected in one place, and anyone could access it-- That's the Net. And it's not even that hard to use.

That's the world here. It's not about power anymore; none of these nations even have a military. They don't think it's necessary. It's about knowledge now. And art, I guess.

[There's a fair amount of chagrin in Jean's tone. He's been here for a full year and he still has a hard time fitting in. This is a world for types like Armin. People with heads full of dreams and endless curiosity. The persona that Jean had built up in his own world meant jack shit here. Being a dutiful soldier, an officer, devoting himself to a single cause... None of it meant anything anymore. So he packed his life into a tent and made himself into a Pokemon training hermit.]

[And while he is very good at training Pokemon and beating Gyms, that's about all he has. He keeps an eye out for Armin and Sasha, but otherwise hasn't been able to make many meaningful relationships.]

[This "Net" thing sounds fascinating, and Erwin will definitely want to know more about it. Before he does, though, he catches that tone in Jean's voice, and it gives him pause.]

[He can't say that he knew Kirstein well back on their world, not the way he knew the veterans like Mike and Hange, but he'd definitely been aware of the boy. He'd even kept him close at hand when he could, recognizing undeveloped potential in him. Kirstein's succinct summary of events back home had been very professional, very accurately delivered, so Erwin must have been right about his potential as a soldier. But that doesn't seem to mean anything here, does it? If there aren't wars to fight, then what is there?]

I seem to remember you had a flair for art yourself, didn't you?

[Erwin hasn't seen any of Jean's art, but he read the boy's file, and Shadis, of all people, had made note of it.]

Huh?

[Jean answered with such surprise that it was obvious he hadn't even thought of his drawing in years. He had a few notebooks where he would jot down notes and the occasional sketch while he was out on the road, but that was has far as it ever went. He didn't consider it to be 'art'.]

I... Suppose? [He was also surprised Erwin even knew or remembered such an insignificant detail. Insignificant to Jean, at least.] I haven't dedicated any real time to it years.

[It is, admittedly, not something Erwin would have known on his own. But if Shadis found it important enough to mention, then the boy must have some real talent. Erwin had been planning on having him work with Hange, and making more detailed drawings of titans, until.. well, everything else had happened.]

You have time now, don't you? And a world that allows and appreciates such skills.

[Erwin smiles a little, and gestures towards his Ponyta.]

I'd always thought that, had I survived to retirement, I'd have liked breeding horses. Or perhaps just having a small retirement farm for former Survey Corps horses.

[That last admittance seems to catch Jean's attention in particular. One, for the fact that Erwin even had hopes that he would survive into retirement, and two, that he had something of a plan for that time. Jean had never thought of such for himself, he quickly realized. Ever since he took up in the Survey Corps, he expected to spend his life in service and die before retirement was possible. He gave up his dreams of domestic life when he spurned the position in the Police he had so rightly earned.]

...Did you ever think that was really going to happen? That you'd ever get to retire? When we rode to Shiganshina, did you really think you'd come back from it?

Team Levi... We were all that survived. Just us and Commander Hange. Everyone else was either in the suicide charge or got blown away by the Colossal Titan's explosion. All I had that they didn't was luck. Can you blame me for never letting myself think past that?

No.

[Erwin doesn't hesitate; this isn't something he needs to think about, he's always known the answer.]

I knew I wasn't going to get to retire. Survey Corps commanders rarely do, and with everything we were doing, the possibility of it happening for me became diminishingly smaller with every expedition.

[Erwin sighs through his nose and closes his eyes; just because he suspected what would happen in Shiganshina doesn't make it easier to hear.]

I don't blame you at all. It can be... painful, sometimes, to think about a future you may never see. But if you don't imagine something better, what's going to keep you fighting?

...I don't think I've ever seen something better coming out of all of this. I think I'm just trying to keep things from getting worse. Or... Trying to do something to make up for sins I've already committed.

Ah.

[Erwin definitely understands that sentiment, and he hates that one of his recruits, one of his soldiers, is feeling that way. He thought that by piling on the sins of the Corps on his shoulders, he could keep the others from bearing that weight. That apparently wasn't the case, and his shoulders droop forward.]

I am... very sorry, Kirstein.

It's not your fault. My sins began before I ever joined the Corps. I signed on because of people like Eren and Armin making points I knew were true and I couldn't ignore, as well as... I wanted to honor the memory of someone who thought the best of me even when I was at my worst. I wanted to become the person he thought I was. That's all.

Friday the thirteenth doesn't usually get this whacky

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