Please enjoy the second chapter of Dancing to Troy!
Chapter 2: The Courtcase
The courtroom for Hellena, Bertholdt, Annie and Reiner's trial was held in the same one as Eren's months back. As the four were led in, boos and hisses accompanying their entrances, for all four had committed most foul crimes. Bertholdt, the Colossal titan. Annie, the Female titan. Reiner, the Armoured titan. And Hellena, a rumoured titan with a mysterious appearance. She was responsible for the murders of 20 people; 15 her fellow trainees and the other five Military Police Officers.
Jean watched her closely; she was as empty as she had looked previously, however she looked a little less thin and frail, and her red hair had been cut into a bob.
The courtroom was silenced; the four criminals forced to their knees much the same way as Eren was.
"Bertholdt Fubar, Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart and Hellena Bennett – let us begin." The judge said, straightening his glasses.
Bertholdt gulped, noticeably sweating, Reiner swallowed and Annie looked calm as usual. Hellena probably didn't even know what was going on.
"The four of you are supposed to be soldiers, sworn to sacrifice yourselves for the good of mankind – but it seems the whole time you've all been lying – Fubar, Braun and Leonhart had a vendetta against humanity. Bennett went berserk weeks before the 104th Trainee Squad's Graduation, however it is unclear if those are instructions given by the Commander of the Scouting Legion and Lance Corporal Levi as those two are in strict control of her by law and oath, is this correct?"
"Yes, sir." Bertholdt, Reiner and Annie mumbled.
"Bennett?"
Hellena didn't respond.
"Excuse me sir," a guard said, "Bennett hasn't talked for months – she's spiralled into depression because of the death of some kid."
Jean inwardly swore; Marco wasn't some kid. She and Marco were in love, god damn it! He was all she had to live for!
"I see. All four of these children's lives rest in my hands, Fubar, Braun, Leonhart- do you accept these conditions?"
The three nodded.
"Lance Corporal Levi, since you are Bennett's adoptive brother, and her legal guardian, do you accept these conditions on behalf of herself?"
"Yes." Levi responded coolly.
"Thank you. As it stands, the four of you cannot be allowed to live; you have committed heinous crimes and a lot of people want you all dead, however there are some that think you may be useful assets to mankind. What I am to decide today is who survives execution, and what the terms of your releases are – should I grant you such a thing. First, I will ask Commander Irvin's proposal for what he wants."
"Sir, I would like all four of them in my custody so that I can utilize their powers and force them to be an asset to humanity. They will all be useful for regaining Wall Maria, and throwing away such powers would be a waste. Captain Levi and selected others will keep a very close eye on them to make sure they don't try to hatch plans on humanity, and their chambers will be kept deep underground until such a time they may be trusted." Irvin stated.
"Such a thing cannot be allowed!" one man in the stands shouted, a churchgoer by the looks, "Those four have dealt serious blows to humanity and could wipe us all out if given the chance! There's no way the Scouting Legion can handle them!"
"Silence," The judge waved his hand, "Next, the Military Police's proposal."
The leader of the Military Police cleared his throat, "I would like to thoroughly examine the male specimen to analyse as much as possible. Leonhart and Bennett will be executed and their heads placed on pikes for the public to see. After we're done with Fubar and Braun they will follow the same fate. As that gentlemen said, the four of them should not be allowed to live – they are a huge threat to mankind and both females have given the Military Police huge personal blows, speaking of which I would like to open a thorough investigation into Lance Corporal Levi and Commander Irvin to see if they commanded Bennett's vicious attack or not – it seems very suspicious given the amount of control they hold over her."
"Yes. Both sides have convincing arguments, but for now I want to ask the Defendants some questions. Fubar, Braun, Leonhart -did you begin to feel guilt for what you were planning? Do you feel guilty that you are the reason many of your classmates are dead?"
Bertholdt stayed silent, glancing at Hellena whose hair blocked his vision of her face. Reiner swallowed, unsure of how to answer. Annie just stared blankly ahead.
"I see. Lance Corporal Levi, can I ask what the terms of yours and Hellena's oath?" the judge asked, pushing his glasses up.
"The terms of our oath were that she swore to give her allegiance to mankind, that myself and Irvin can use her in any way we see fit. She may not turn into a titan without our permission first. She is to be with myself, Irvin or another high-ranking officer at all times and she is to sleep underground. When she is old enough, she must train to join the Scouting Legion, and finally, only with mine or the Commander's permission, may she die." Levi told the court.
"And what were the terms you swore to her?"
"I swore to her that I wouldn't kill her." Levi stated.
The people in the stands started whispering, until one man shouted "Then the deaths of 20 people were on the hands of Irvin or Levi!"
"Those treacherous bastards!"
"They should be executed along with those four!"
The whole courtroom began to shout at one another, saying what they thought, and shouting atrocities at the four defendats, Levi and Irvin.
"WILL EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!" a female voice roared. The courtroom fell silent, heavy breathing came from one of the four defendants; Hellena.
Jean looked at her hunched over form in surprise, as did most of the courtroom – when she walked in, she was a ghost of her former self, beyond the pits of insanity and despair and stripped of who she was – but now it seems, she had gotten her feet firmly on the ground again.
When no-one spoke, Hellena continued, her voice cracked for not talking for so long. "Nobody ordered me to go on a rampage. Levi and Irvin have nothing to do with this, so don't for one second lump them in with scum like me!"
"How can we believe her?!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Bennett, it seems like you are back from the dead." The judge spoke.
"Yes, sir."
"Was it of your own accord that you killed those 20 people?"
"No sir, I didn't kill them." Hellena said. The judge's eyes widened.
"Lies!" a Military Police office shouted, "I was there on that day! I saw her crouched over one of the bodies! She was drenched in their blood, and it was even round her lips! I saw her titan form, a 13 Meter Class freak!"
"Sir, may I ask you a question?" Hellena asked the man.
"What, scum?"
"The titan you saw, you say it was 13 meters?"
"Yeah, big, sharp teeth and this short black hair." He stated.
In the crowds, Levi snickered. Hellena snorted.
"What's so funny, you two?" the judge asked.
"Hellena's titan form is 17 meters, the mouth is not visible, and her hair is evidently red." Levi replied.
"It's true, sir – I've seen it with my own eyes – the nickname I gave her was the 'Red Titan', because of her red hair, and she also has no skin in her titan form. I have drawings of it with me!" Hanji interjected.
"You say the titan form Bennett takes on is a 17 Meter class female with red hair and no mouth? Well, that changes things. Bennett, in the reports, your version of events is completely blank – I'd like you to tell me what happened on that day." The judge ordered.
Hellena nodded. "Yes, thank you sir. My memories of that day are a bit hazy, but I'll try my best. The 5 members of the Military Police that I supposedly 'killed' took me and 15 other trainees for some 3D Manoeuvre Gear training inside a forest near the training grounds. It's a standard exercise that everyone does, just in smaller groups because that way it's easier to keep track of everyone. One girl, I think her name was Molly Bridges, kept talking to me about the weather, and then we reached this huge clearing, and then I guess I was knocked out or something-"
CRACK!
A Military Police officer had stamped on Hellena's head and smashed her face onto the floor. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head up; her nose had broken, blood pouring from her nostrils.
"Are you trying to say that we killed them?! You little bitch!" he yelled, smacking her forehead into the floor with tremendous force. He then kicked her in the side with all of his might; a sickening CRACK as her ribs broke underneath the impact of his leather boot, she coughed up blood, gasping slightly at the pain. He then aimed an elbow thrust between her shoulder blades; the blow harsh enough to make her spine groan under the blow.
Other guards ran up, and held him back – but he kept struggling and kicking her again and again, her blood soaking the floor around her, and when the guards had him restrained, he spat on her. When he was thrown from the courtroom, Hellena straightened up, groaning slightly from the beating.
Bertholdt and Reiner looked surprised, and Annie just stared her usual impassive stare. Levi nor any of the others had tried to step in, and Jean felt anger rising up in him, clenching his fists so hard his nails left crescent shapes in his palms, he glared after the man who'd beaten Hellena.
"Continue, Bennett." The judge said calmly.
"Sure," Hellena coughed, "After that, everything went dark, and when I woke up my limbs felt really heavy, and my head was killing me. I sat up and saw that girl was unconscious so I went over to shake her – at the time I had no idea what was going on, and I had no clue she was dead until I felt her wrist and there was no pulse. I tried reviving her anyway, using CPR methods – hence why her blood was on my lips – but naturally it was useless as she was already dead. I don't remember much of what happened after until I was walking back through the trainee camp all injured and cuffed up."
The judge nodded. "The reports simply say: 'Upon arrival to the Woodland 3D Manoeuvre Gear Training Ground, Bennett turned into a 13 Meter titan with black hair and razor sharp teeth. She killed 20 people – 15 trainees and 5 Military Policemen. It then took an additional 17 Military Policemen who were nearby to remove her from inside the titan, after which she was arrested and sentenced to Lifetime imprisonment without a trial.' What do you make of these reports, Bennett?"
"They're bullshit; how did those Military Policemen know there was a person inside of that titan? Also, as established, my titan form looks nothing like in the description, furthermore, what were 17 Military Policemen doing around anyway? It only takes 5 of them to train people. It's almost as if they were expecting something was going to happen on that day."
The judge looked over his notes for several minutes, muttering under his breath.
"Very well, the Military Police and Hellena Bennett will be thoroughly investigated over the next few months, and a separate hearing will conclude that case. In the meantime, Hellena Bennett will be allowed on Parole, under the care of Lance Corporal Levi and Commander Irvin and in to the Scouting Legion, and I will be personally checking on her every other week. As for the other three, I have not come to a conclusion as of yet."
"Sir, may I speak?" Hellena said.
"Yes."
"Bertholdt, Annie and Reiner are very skilled soldiers and their titan powers will be extremely useful, I know this isn't my place to say, but I think you should give them a chance." She said.
"If they were to even think about any treacherous behaviour they would be executed at once if entrusted to the Scouting Legion." Irvin stated.
"I understand, however these three have committed heinous crimes…Fubar and Braun are especially dangerous."
"We're aware, however I think to execute them would be a blow to mankind – whilst using their powers for mankind's benefits, we can hopefully learn more about titans from them."
"No doubt Hanji will be all over them like a rash." Levi said as well.
