//Author's Note: I will be placing This fan fiction directly after the anime, since that is where most of the fandom is at, unfortunately. But due to certain events, I will have to spoil some parts of the manga, and thus, Season 2. Hope you enjoy! This is my entry for AoT Olympics, The Drama Subdivision for Literature.
After the titanic battle between Annie, and Eren, the Survey Corps recuperates for a few days, giving the group a break. Eren and Mikasa, as well as Armin, sat in a room, along with Levi, Hanji, and Erwin. Jean entered the room, closing the door softly. Then he took a seat at the table everyone else sat at, a grave look on his face.
"... What are we gonna do now?" Jean asked the obvious question. Everyone naturally turned to Armin. He looked at everyone and shrugged.
"I don't know. Why are you all looking at me?" He questioned, clasping his sweaty palms together nervously. Eren smirked.
"Its you, Armin." He chuckled and turned towards Erwin. The captain of the Survey Corps smiled and sighed.
"I'm afraid to say... Nothing for now." Erwin admitted. Levi rolled his eyes. Hanji smiled and lifted her hand, as if she needed to do so to ask a question.
"But captain, sir. What about preparations for-" Erwin interrupted her. His eyes darted to Armin, but back to Hanji.
"Mr. Arlert and I shall be discussing things in the coming days." He stands up.
"Take the rest of the week. Free time. But do be ready at a moment's notice to fight, in case the Colossal Titan chooses to return to strike at us one more time." He nodded to the teenagers, and him, Levi, and Hanji left the room. Eren smiled and looked at Armin and Mikasa.
"So we get a vacation for a week? That's awesome!" He pumped his fist in the air. Jean rolled his eyes.
"Its not you'll use it for something actually productive, Yaeger." He smiled softly at Mikasa, who wasn't even looking at him, her eyes fixated on Eren. Eren growled and pointed to the door.
"Then you're welcome to get out my bedroom, horse face." Jean sighed and left the room, leaving the three to do their own thing, as they often did. Jean walked past what would be his room. He had to go talk to someone. He passed by Reiner in the hall, and the boys smiled and waved, a simple greeting, but walked by each other without saying a word. Jean sighed and stood outside the house they were staying at, and crossed his arms as he leaned on a wall, waiting. Eventually, another person in a hooded jacket walked up to him, and handed him a piece of paper. He looked around to make sure no one saw as the hooded figure walked off. Jean opened up the paper, read it, and nodded with a smile. He crumpled up the paper and stuffed it into his pocket, and started walking out of town, heading somewhere...
A few hours later, during night time, Jean sighed as his carriage finally arrived at its destination. He grabbed the long object wrapped up in cloth next to him, and got out. He was in front of a house, and he walked up to the door, and knocked. No answer. He stood there for a whole five minutes, and then the door finally cracked open. A small, fragile woman looked out, her eyes watered and full of pain. Jean couldn't help but falter a little, and he sighed. He held up the present.
"Please... I know you might not want to hear this... But I... I was a friend of your sons. I wanted his family to have this." He unfolded the cloth, revealing a damaged sword. He pushed the blade into the woman's arms. Jean smiled.
"I am so sorry... He deserved so much better... If anyone really deserved to live, it would've been Marco..." The woman nodded, tears starting to drop, as she placed her head on his shoulder and hugged him. Jean sighed and smiled, patting her back. "I'm really sorry... Bott deserved a lot better..." He sighed, his expression full of pain, remembering his friend. The woman, Marco's mother, cried into the other boy's chest. Not her first, and not her last time she would cry for the deceased son, Marco Bott. She eventually stopped, and backed away from the other soldier. Jean clasped his hands behind his back.
"Ma'am... I know it may still be a little too early... But may I please... See him? One last time." He asked, looking at her with solemn eyes. She didn't say anything, just nodded, and gestured to a small hill in the distance to the right of the house. She sighed.
"With his dog... He wanted to be buried with his dog..." She muttered, her voice unstable and cracking. She turned around and went back inside with the blade. Jean walked over to the tree, a giant birch tree. He stood under its shade, in front of a small wooden cross, with the name Marco Bott cut deeply into the wood. He smiled, and sat down right in front of it.
"Hey, Marco..." He started off, fidgeting at first. He sighed and tears started to form at the edges of his eyes.
"I wish... We would've gotten... To be on the inside of the walls by now... It would've been great. It really would've been... Just me and you... Sipping on wine and relaxing..." The tears began to roll down his face slowly. He began to sway, left to right.
"... Dammit..." He muttered, wiping his tears, standing up. He turned around, to leave. But at the last moment, he heard a tiny whisper.
"Wait... Please..." Jean looked around, for the voice.
"Huh? Who is there!?" He called out, quickly readying his rifle from his back, guarded. The voice began once more, softly speaking as if from thin air.
"Jean... Help me... Please... I want... To have that too... Please... I want justice..." The voice muttered. Its tone and pitch familiar. Jean looked around, almost estranged.
"... Marco... Marco, is that... You?" He asked, looking around rapidly, confused. The voice grew louder, truly audible.
"Yes. It's me, Jean. I want... Justice! Justice! Justice! Give me justice Jean!" It grew loud, and angry, a yell. Jean began to tremble. He never really believed in ghosts, this was a new terror to him.
"... If... If whatever... You are, is really Marco... Prove it..." He shuddered, feeling very scared and terrified now. The voice grew almost annoyed.
"... Turn around, Jean." It ordered. Jean began to sweat from sheer fear. He panted, his lungs going in overtime. He slowly, very slowly, moved around, turning his head. He looked down, right at the cross, and... Sitting there, leaning on the cross, was Marco. Half of his entire torso was gone, as well as his face. It looked exactly like his real corpse. Except, this Marco seemed almost see through, and... His eye was wide open, looking right into Jean's, glowing a dark red. Jean gasped, and jumped back, stumbling back, but then something froze him. Jean could not feel his body. Marco's eye always glowed right on him.
"... Jean... Avenge me... Please... I'm begging you... Give me peace..." The voice of Marco's Ghost asked Jean. Jean was barely able to comprehend what was going on. Yet something compelled him. He didn't need questions. What he needed was to take action. So he stood up, and saluted Marco.
"Tell me... What do I have to do? I... I avenge you. Tell me what happened..." Jean asked. Marco's ghostly lip twisted upward, almost like he was smiling again. Jean lifted his chin, and swore and oath.
"I, Jean Kirschtein, do solemnly swear... That the spirit of Marco Bott will receive the peace it deserves!" He called out to the sky. Jean smiled.
"My best friend will have peace..." He nodded at the spirit. Marco closed his eye.
"... My killers. They were the Colossal and Armored Titan. They forced the Female into stripling me of my gear and abandoning me. However, I do not blame her for my death. She was no master mind. I want the punishment to befall... Reiner and Bertolt, the Armored and Colossal Titans." Marco's eye reopened, a flame dancing in its rage. Jean gasped.
"But... How... It can't be-" His breath was stolen, as his mind was pushed into a vision. He saw it all. Reiner and Bertolt pushing Annie into proving her loyalty to them. He saw the guilt and pain it caused Annie, and the absolute nothing Reiner and Bertolt felt, their eyes almost disgusted to be fallen upon Marco. Jean felt anger boil up. He had liven with these boys, been their friend, for years. The vision ended as a Titan gobbled up Marco's body, and left him to rot. Jean looked down at Marco. His eyes held the same flame of rage and passion.
"Tonight... Reiner and Bertolt face justice..." He promised with a mutter, turning around and walking off, pumping and loading his gun...
Bertolt and Reiner sat with Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Hanji. Levi was over at another table with Erwin, but they sat in a familiar fashion to their cadet days. Eren and Reiner smirked.
"Come on, now. Its obvious, isn't it?" Reiner asked, nodding his head over to Sasha who sat with Connie over at the other table. Eren nodded.
"Yeah. They're so perfect for each other." Eren sighed. Bertolt chuckled, and Hanji put in her two-cents.
"They should get together. Everyone already ships it so badly." Hanji giggled. Reiner looked at Bertolt and slapped him on the back.
"This big oaf right here had his eyes on Annie the entire time we were cadets." Reiner told them. Mikasa looked away and chewed on her bread, as Eren just awkwardly nodded and laughed along side Reiner. Armin raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. That, was when Bertolt's head exploded and his brains splattered all over the table, as a gun shot sounded. People screamed, as Jean stomped in, reloading his gun and cocking it. He aimed at Reiner. Eren shot up.
"Jean! What the fuck!? You just killed Bertolt!" He yelled. Jean smirked.
"I killed the fucking disgusting Colossal Titan. Now I'm killing the Armored." Realization dawned on Reiner. He then growled, and shoved his hand into his mouth and bit down hard, as Jean fired, the bullet not reaching in time. A lightning bolt came down, and he transformed. The Armored Titan crashed through the ceiling, too big for the building. Jean growled, and pulled off his large jacket, revealing his 3D Maneuver Gear. He pulled off a second gun, and using his gear, he zipped up to Reiner's armored face, and started shooting, aiming for the eyes. One bullet made it, and Reiner roared and held his eye, bleeding. Jean jumped up as Reiner slapped at him. Another bolt came down on the building, as Eren transformed. Reiner looked at him, as Eren roared and punched Reiner in the face. Reiner flew back off his feet, taken by surprise. Reiner got up and tackled Eren, and then punched a hole right through Eren's chest. He shoved his fist up and right through Eren's torso, ripping out his shoulder. Eren screeched in pain, and slammed his forehead into Reiner's face, but it did nothing. However, as the two Titan's fought, Jean managed to get up to Reiner's nape. He cocked both guns, and aimed with both guns, and blasted a hole right through some of the flesh. Jean smirked. He had actually modified the gun, so he didn't have to replace the bullet until he shot 5 times. He took his second shot, blasting through the second half of the armor, and Jean saw the back of Reiner. He frowned, and shot right into the human, his third time. Fourth, and finally shot the last two bullets through Reiner's skull. The titan form gasped, falling limp, dead. Jean had won. He smiled, and looked up at Eren, who still seemed enraged. Then, out of the fire that had started, Levi walked out, in full gear.
"Jean Kirschtein! As ordered by Erwin Smith, you're head is responsible for the death of Bertolt. No proof has been given for that man's death. We acknowledge Reiner was truly the Armored Titan, but we cannot allow you to simply walk free having murdered a man with no evidence!" Levi yelled. Jean smirked, and pulled out some small orb, and dropped it, as it exploded and created a large flash, and Jean used it to escape, zipping away from the ruins.
Around two hours passed, as the entire government basically placed a bounty on Jean's head. Jean just smiled from where he sat. His gun was leaning on his shoulder. Jean sighed.
"It... It was worth it... Because at least... Someone as good as you... Got what they deserved..." He smiled as he was sitting on Marco's grave, leaning on the wooden cross. Jean placed the barrel of the gun under his chin.
"... I just hope... I deserve what I wanna get..." He chuckled, and closed his eyes. He pulled the trigger... And the voice of Marco Bott spoke, warm and loving as usual...
"You're welcome in my arms anytime..."