DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN.
Date Uploaded: May 10, 2017- Wednesday.
Note: Advanced apologies for the OOC's.
Ultimate boredom: *laughs* I am honored to have passed thy test! And since you're a loyal reviewer, I decided to just reply here, I'm sure you'll see it anyways. And the whole 'jerkwin' never gets old *chuckles*. And yeah, I decided that maybe I'll insert the Garrisons more and in order to do that I need to involve them with the Survey. *smiles* Annie is back alright! Decided bring her back to the series since the spin-off is postponed. And *laughs*, I honestly ship Ymir x Krista as well but I want to try a new shipping. I'm glad you like Sasha x Jean, I'm working on an OVA about them. Look forward to it! And *woohooo!* I'm glad the volume 1 ended well! Whew. Oh come on! Don't tell me I added the 'who fired the flare' in the A/N again *laughs*. And nah, I will make sure not to add that little gag in the story anymore *chuckles*. Yeah well don't worry, my revenge will be right here in my respond to your reviews. Although I can't write as long as yours because A/N is supposedly short. Oh and you continuously surprise me with your quick reviews. So now I will surprise you with quick updates *smiles*.
Scattershot98: Thank you for being the first to review! Sorry I responded late. I didn't see your review until I checked the fic. It didn't appear in my email notifications... but anyway, I'm glad you're also continuously reading this. Hope you enjoy 'til the end!
And the chapter one is here! Oh no Annie's in trouble, her trial is about to begin! But hey, this still fails like deja vu because last time it was Eren's trial. *chuckles* And no, I won't give a trial to every shifter. Come on.
Without further ado, read on!
CHAPTER ONE: FEMALE TITAN'S TRIAL
In the lunch room, (the new place where they eat instead of the warehouse in the cadets' hangout), where the recruits usually hang out, Ymir was the last to enter. Her hair was messy and she looked like she had just recovered from a hangover.
"Sleep well, Ymir?" Reiner teased.
Krista waved at her and points at a seat beside Bertholdt. Krista was sitting beside Reiner. Ymir saw them and walked towards them while yawning.
"I am not gonna drink anymore." she tells him as she sat beside Bertholdt. "Who knew that Thomas guy can drink!"
"Hehe, for once you sucked in something." Reiner says.
Ymir was feeling a bit of a headache to even come up with a comeback to him. Victory felt good for Reiner. Bertholdt pushes a glass of water towards Ymir, hoping to help make her feel better. "Here." he says.
"You're such a gentleman, Bertholdt." she comments and takes the glass. "Thank you."
"I'm going to get you some food, Ymir." Krista says and left her seat.
"Me too! I want to have seconds!" Reiner says. Ymir finished drinking the water, dropping the glass a little hard on the wooden table. Her face looking down.
"You're getting too familiar with her, aren't you Reiner?" she says. "I expected you'd get up and help her." her face still facing the wooden table.
"That's because we have a question to ask of you, Ymir." Reiner said, his tone was serious. Ymir finally lifts her head and locked her eyes on him. "Last night, when you were drinking, you said something."
"Hmm? Really?"
"You said that you had a dream about roaming endlessly in the wilderness, you see deaths but you can't stop it. Until one day, you saw one last death and the nightmare was over at last." Reiner said. "What did you mean by that?"
"I was drunk. It meant nothing." she replied with a smirk. She was teasing them with this little secret but then...
Bertholdt smashes the glass cup in her hand with a plate and her hand bled due to the fragments of glass penetrating her skin.
"What the heck Bertholdt?!"
"I- I'm sorry. I just wanted to be sure..."
Ymir pulled her injured hand to her stomach and pulled a tablecloth to wrap it around her hand. Bertholdt grabs her hand to prevent her from covering the wound. His eyes locked on her bleeding hand.
"Oi Bertholdt, not like this." Reiner tells his friend.
But Bertholdt's eyes did not faze. He wanted to see something... Ymir jerks her hand from Bertholdt, angrily wrapping her injury with the tablecloth.
"What are you guys doing?" Jean asked when he passed by them. A tray of food in hand.
"Nothing." Ymir left her seat and exited the lunchroom. Bertholdt followed her.
"Tell Krista we'll be back." Reiner pats him in the shoulder and followed the two. Jean wasn't sure what just happened but he noticed that it was an unusual face that Bertholdt made that time. It was like... he was desperate for something to happen. Or desperate for something to see.
As Ymir left the lunchroom, Bertholdt grabbed her hand again seeing that the would was gone.
"Ymir-?"
"What's your problem, Bertholdt?!"
"What are you?" he asked.
"Bertholdt!" Reiner pulls his friend from Ymir but Bertholdt struggled a bit. He wanted to ask something.
"She's one of them, Reiner! She knows something!" Bertholdt says but Reiner shook his head. "Reiner, you can't let this go!"
"She won't tell us if we force her like this." Reiner explains.
"What are you two talking about anyway?" Ymir asked them. Seeing how serious they were, it would seem very well that they know something else. Something that no one normal would know.
While the three are making a silent ruckus in the hallway, Connie was making a much louder noise than them, waving a paper in hand as he ran from the hallway, passing by them and into the lunchroom.
"The trial is about to start! The trial is about to start! Armin!" he shouts. Bertholdt grabs him and threw him to the wall. "Whoa Bertholdt!"
"The trial... Annie.. is she okay?" he asked.
"Y- Yeah so far man."
"What's that?" Bertholdt cocked his head at the paper.
"A- Annie wrote it. For Armin."
"Armin..."
At the court room, the trial begins.
"The defendant, Annie Leonhardt, a titan shifter known as the Female Titan has killed countless of soldiers to complete her mission in retrieving Eren but due to her secret being revealed to Commander Erwin Smith and a trap being prepared by Hanji Zoe, her plan to retrieve Eren was foiled. She went back to her life as a member of the Military Police and blended in. With a new plan prepared by the Survey, Armin Arlert led her away from everyone and tried to persuade her into entering a tunnel to trap her. Unfortunately, the defendant didn't enter and exposed her identity to everyone herself, battling with humanity's titan shifter ally, Eren Jaeger."
The summary of Annie's doing in the timeline beginning from her attack in retrieving Eren was being cited by Darius.
Everyone was just listening to him. Although Armin was nervous how the trial will turn out since Annie... she was inconsistent about her resolve in allying herself with the humans.
"The battle ended where Eren Jaeger, in his titan form, almost ate the defendant if it wasn't for the interruption of Mikasa Ackerman and Levi Ackerman. The defendant then later enclosed herself in an ice shell to prevent any interrogation about her knowledge regarding the matter of titan shifters and the titans. It wasn't for long that Armin Arlert, her fellow cadet in the training days paid her a visit and she saves him from an attempt murder from a man wearing a Survey uniform. The man was thoroughly investigated and proven an infiltrator but his tracks were cleaned well. Later on, the defendant's help was needed by the Commander to rescue several Survey soldiers captured by unknown soldiers."
As Darius continued to read the contents of the paper in his hand, Eren saw that Armin kept on glancing at Annie then Darius. He wasn't as nervous as this when it was Eren's trial before.
"Hey, it's going to be okay." Eren tells his friend.
"Her case is not the same as yours, Eren. My testimony will not help her."
"You don't know that."
"And she's not fully devoted to humanity like you are." Armin debated.
"You also don't know that." Eren countered. "I admit that I don't know Annie like you do, but if there's one thing I learned in my short time with her... it's that she does things after thinking it through."
Y- You're right, Eren.
"The defendant agreed to cooperate to the rescue mission and came home with them without any casualties. The defendant showed no signs of hostility nor does she seem to plan to escape." Daruius finally finished reading. "Annie Leonhardt, is there anything you have to say to this report? Is there anything that is not accurate to what you did?"
"No." she said simply.
"Then you agree that all of this happened accordingly?"
"Yes."
"Then let's proceed. You've committed crimes such as murdering Survey soldiers, murdering civilians, stealing gear from the storehouse, disrespecting the nobles, infiltrating the walls to gain access of information and report to your leader and disobeying direct orders. Do you admit to have committed all these crimes?"
"Yes."
Armin sighed in relief. But it wasn't over yet.
"Do you plead guilty then?"
"Yes."
Darius places the paper down and glanced at the three commanders seated in the long table at the right side of the room. "Do you have anything to say to the defendant?"
"I know that the nobles are sometimes out of line but you still have no right to speak to them the way you did that day." Nile, the commander of the MP said. "When you were suspended, can you cite everything you did?"
"No." Annie answers.
"We can assume that what you did those days relates to your plan to retrieve Eren?" Nile asks.
"Yes."
"Can humanity put their faith in you just as they put their faith in Eren Jaeger?" Pixis asked. He's the one that Annie communicated to ever since she was free from her shell. He's not like the other commanders.
"You can trust me to protect you when you need me but I will not impart any information I know." was her reply.
"Oh then isn't that a bit hard to believe? If you only protect us using your titan shifting abilities, Eren could do that. Aren't you at a disadvantage to make your terms to us?" Pixis pushed the debate. He wants to hear something from her.
Armin on the other hand was gripping tightly on the chair in front of him.
"I don't care what anyone thinks. I will do as I said." Annie says.
"But what if this trial leads to a disaster? To your execution? How then will you prove to humanity you're on their side? Or... are you?" Pixis continued to ask.
"That aside, are you really on humanity's side? Or on that soldier's side? Armin Arlert?" Nile interjected. Annie remained apathetic though.
"I think humans have gone paranoid that's why they can concoct beliefs like this." Annie tells them. "Armin Arlert is a soldier who will do anything for humanity... that is not the kind of person I can trust."
Eren's eyes widened but Armin was more shocked than he is.
"Then why listen to him? Speak to him? Save him when he was almost killed?!" Nile continued to press.
"Because I need him to save me."
The crowd began to murmur to each other with this said. Armin froze in thought. He received a letter early this morning... what was that about? Was it a lie? What was that about? And now Annie... is acting like what she wrote in that letter is nothing but lies.
Annie... just what... are you planning?
"Silence!" Darius shouts. "The trial will continue in two hours. Until then, take a break."
"Armin, are you okay?" Eren asked.
"What are you an idiot? Can't you see he's not okay?" Jean says.
"I- I was just-"
"What did the letter say, Armin?" Mikasa asked and Armin handed it over to her. She reads it in her mind and gave it back to Armin.
"Mikasa?" Eren wondered what Mikasa was up to.
"Annie is being honest right now." Mikasa tells them. They stopped walking and stared at her in shock. Mikasa can guess what they were thinking. "She told you didn't she? That she'd be honest? Well, right now she is."
"That she's using Armin?" Jean asked.
"That she wants Armin to save her." Mikasa corrects.
"Save her from what?" Jean didn't get it. He turned to Armin hoping Armin would fill in the blanks.
"Save her from the one she serves." Eren answers for Armin.
"What are you talking about Eren? That's crazy!" Jean says.
"I.. I remember seeing a glimpse of something.. Annie's past." Eren states. "When I almost ate her... it felt like I was being succumbed by her memories and because of this strong urge of curiosity in me, I couldn't stop myself."
"What exactly did you see, Eren?"
"Annie was young and she was being ordered by someone to infiltrate the walls of Trost. She was with two other kids. One of them has to be the Colossal Titan, the big one that made a hole in the wall where Nick died."
"So you're saying that...?"
"She's protecting them but she wants to leave." Mikasa figured.
"Then this means that anytime soon these other two will pay her a visit." Armin continued as he finally connects the dots of Annie's behavior constantly fluctuating. "She wants to tell them that I wasn't the cause of her surrender. She did this because she wants to be free. A cry for help!"
"Yeah but... did her friends actually get that?"
Meanwhile, Grisha was in his room. He didn't attend the trial. He didn't want to.
Knock knock!
"Come in." Grisha said and the door opened. "Oh uh Krista. What brings you here?"
"I want to ask something..."
"Oh if you're here about Eren, I really don't remember anything I-" Grisha tried to explain but...
"I'm not here to ask about Eren."
"Huh?"
"I'm here to ask about Reiner."
Later, the trial finally continues.
"Nile, you may proceed with your argument." Darius said.
"Thank you commander." Nile tells Darius before turning back to Annie. "So you're only using Armin Arlert to fight for you?"
"I believe you're asking the wrong questions, Nile." Erwin said, finally deciding to speak. Pixis has a close eye on him though. He's still looking for a loophole in Erwin. "What you should be asking is that... is she really just using him? Or is she saying that to protect Arlert from someone?"
"What?"
"Think about it. Someone tried to kill Arlert, thus causing Annie to break out of her shell to protect him. Later when Arlert was captured along with Levi and the others, Annie complied to us in order to save him." Erwin elaborated. "She cares about the boy too much to say that she's only using him."
"But what she said earlier!" Nile tried to argue.
"Was a message not meant for us." Erwin states and smiles at Annie. Although that smile was more of a smirk. "Annie is in no doubt on humanity's side already. There is just something or someone holding her back."
"Is this speculation correct?" Darius asked the small blonde.
Annie refuse to answer.
"With your refusal to answer only means I'm right." Erwin said. "You probably don't want to lie so instead of lying by saying I'm wrong, you won't answer." Erwin continued, as if provoking Annie to do or say something.
"If the defendant refuses to answer then it's alright." Pixis tried to help.
"How is it alright? She's in the verge of getting executed or locked up. She can't play her card so recklessly." Erwin will not lose this debate.
"Well, with Grisha Jaeger 'remembering' Annie Leonhardt as a child, we cannot execute her until we've confirmed with Grisha what he knows and remembers about Annie." Darius announced. "If Annie is to lose this trial, then she will be imprisoned."
"Permission to ask a question, Commander?" Erwin asked.
"Go ahead."
"I have a question to ask of Commander Dot Pixis." Erwin said and his eyes turned to Pixis who was bracing himself to what Erwin has to say. "Why is it that you are defending Annie so much?"
"That's an irrelevant question, Erwin." Pixis said.
"Oh but is it? Because it may be a question to open a case that is something bigger than this one." Erwin again, was trying to provoke someone to do or say something.
"Like I said, that is an irrelevant question. We should be focusing to the case at hand." Pixis says. "You shouldn't ask personal questions in a place like this." Pixis played it coolly. Annie looked relieved at Pixis' response. Eren and the others were nervous at the rising tension.
"Then let me rephrase that. Why is it that you are helping Annie? Is it because she's a valuable witness to your current plan? To use her as witness to have heard me discussing to everyone about the color of the flare being fired?" Erwin however has planned this well.
Pixis' smile faded.
"You still couldn't get over the fact that your soldier was transferred to the Survey and now killed in battle with her remains not found. So now you're gathering as much testimony as you can, against me." Erwin's voice sounded like a temptation of the devil.
Pixis clenched his fists.
Annie lost her composure when she saw Pixis react.
"That has nothing to do with this case." Pixis, as calm as he can, tried to deny it.
"Oh but isn't lying breaking the rules? Shouldn't you be telling us the truth? Wait, exposing the truth. Since you want justice served for your dear soldier." Erwin continued. "Oh and I've got great news to you!"
Pixis turns to him with a furious glare.
"Commander Erwin Smith, please be reminded that if you have any personal tension with Commander Pixis, leave it to the side for a while. It is irrelevant to this case." Darius reminds him.
"But he has to hear the good news!" Erwin continued. "The scout I sent to retrieve the remains of fallen soldiers have returned, carrying the remains of the once Garrison leader, Rico Brzenska. Traitor of humanity."
