"Let go of him!" The shriek caught her attention as she diverted her gaze from the group of gathered villagers to the side where she caught glimpse of the military police surrounding a fairly familiar and injured member of the survey corps. His knees were bent and his arms fell limp like a skeleton. His expression was one of confusion and fatigue, obvious burnt marks scratched over his rosy cheeks as he struggled against the grip of the five men detaining him. His best friend, another member of the survey corps, stood at least five meters away from the scene, his hands covering the bottom portion of his face.
Shocked with the atrocity playing out in front of him, Armin stared, his eyes wide with horror and animosity. His body shook like an earthquake as he let out another fearful cry, "Please.. please just let go!"
Hanji Zoe turned to look at the soldiers who stood along with her over Wall Maria. No one seemed to notice nor bat an eyelash; their attention solely on the man who stood in front of them facing the crowd with his hands folded behind him. His eye was bandaged with thick layers of gauze as well as his hand which was held up to his chest showing sign of a fracture.
There were many who sustained similar injuries; some of whom had both their eye covered, others who lost their arms, legs, or both, and many who just didn't make it. A few of those injured soldiers were blending in with the crowd of civilians, though it was easy to pinpoint who they were from the severity of their injuries. Nevertheless, they stuck by their family and friends or what was left of them anyway.
"-I'll be quite frank, I never imagined this day to come so soon and I'm sure many of you had similar thoughts, sleepless nights, never-ending nightmares. But we struggled, we survived, and we gave it our all while those monsters kept smiling." He took a breath in order to look around, a small smile over his pasty dry skin which resembled a fig: result of drinking, insomnia, and age which seemed to go quicker than he would have liked, "We never gave up and it's through that dedication that every single one of you is here today."
Some of them were beginning to tear. Others were weeping from the start of the speech. She could pinpoint many who stood on their own, their hands over their face wiping their own tears, and there would soon be strangers accompanying them to give solace: strangers who withheld the same pain and anguish and were orphans themselves.
There were those who had their arms around their own families and friends eager to hold them close, to touch them and reassure them that it wasn't a dream. She could hear faint sniffling from the soldiers behind her, but she couldn't blame them either.
"Everyone of you dealt with the damage, and you're not alone. We're family, we take care of each other." At one point, his voice seemed to crack but the smile did not leave his face, "Though it's not over yet. We have to make sure we all work together to rebuild our civilization.
"There will be no more worries from now. My soldiers will accompany you to make sure you're accommodated for, that you're safe and free from harm." He paused for a moment before holding his good fist to his heart, the soldiers following behind him, "Millions of casualties, but their actions contributed to the success of the human race. Let us take a moment to remember."
They bowed their heads. People whispered the names of their loved ones: mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children everywhere. Through the mourning, they unconsciously heard the screams of the unliving wishing to come and join the parade, but they were stuck in their own dimension. And themselves in this god forsaken world.
The cries soon died down as the military leader began his final declaration before they were dismissed, "Let it be known on this day, 585: Humanity won against the ruthless monsters who scattered our lands destroying everything in their path!" And thus, the cheers began aggressively, the hands and tools flying in the air, the screams of victory:
Free, free, free,
Though the sign of mourning hadn't diminished throughout the small population. And she could still hear the voices of Armin pleading for the survey corps to save Eren.
"How can they go?" A few weeks have passed since the declaration. The government was once again deciding whether or not Eren should be executed. Seeing no sign of the humongous beasts, the rebuilding process was going by fairly quickly and slowly by slowly, people were packing up to relocate around the walls.
They turned to the outraged man whose fists were clenched tightly, teeth were grinded furiously, as he glared down at his lap. She turned back to the others; someone beside her grumbled a curse as they rested their elbows over the table to rest their head down on them, "Man, I thought it'd be easier now that they're gone, but the crown is running us wild."
"Don't compare this to when those mongels were alive!" Another scolded, Monoko glared with her bandaged hands folded over her chest.
"Still, it's such a drag! We're Survey Corps for goodness sakes, number one on the battlefield, why are we the ones babysitting?"
The entire group hummed in a agreement. For the past few weeks, they were expected to feed the workers with a supply of food from the military base and anything they could get their hands on. As the husbands went off to work, the woman were beginning to garden and harvest with land they were given. It was difficult since the season wasn't quite right, so the sun would rather ignite flames than start a fire. Now they were beginning to expect payment though the wall hadn't much to give yet.
Moblit frowned, his clenched fists wobbling in his lap, "I was hoping everyone would just stay in one place for a while. It's too soon for them to go. " He gained no response, though a lot of them empathized.
"No matter they go, they know what they do to." Hanji responded with a mischievous twinkle, causing Moblit to turn to the official sitting across from him with a questionable gaze.
"What's that Hanji-sama?"
A grin appeared on her face as she slammed her balled up fist over the wood, starling him. She leant across to the table, waggling her finger in front of his face, "Make lots of babies."
"H - Hanji-sama!" He cried as the others simply rolled their eyes. The entire table suddenly froze as they heard the door open, and quickly stood as Levi trailed in: one hand folded over his chest while the other bandaged one swung beside him- the result of severe tendonitis deeming it useless for a long while.
They secretly hoped he hadn't heard the discommodious admission, "Knock it off four-eyes" and yet he had.
She turned her head away in a huff, "I hope you don't conceive a child, wouldn't want short cold-hearted egoists running around here!" She felt her right cheek being pinched tightly, forcing herself to stumble with a whine.
"I said knock it off." He muttered again, pushing her aside, before trailing out of the room. Hanji backed up against her hair before collapsing in her seat, rubbing the side of her cheek. They watched their previous Taicho limp towards the door and shut it behind him.
"Whatever you say.. Commander."