Chapter 4 - Paint The Walls Red

AN:

Sorry for this chapter being late. You'll understand at the end why it took a while but thanks for being patient.


As the dust cleared, they all got up, coughing and aching all over.

Dante groaned as he picked up his fedora, brushed off the dust and put it back on, "Son of a... Is everyone alright?" he yelled out and was answered by a series of nods and groans.

Al got up and stared at the rubble at his feet,"...Someone on the inside knew about this...they tried to bury us all..."

"Oh God!" Connie cried out, "we already having enough problems with the titans, now we got to deal with this?!"

As the others were arguing, Dante, still not taking his eyes from the heap of rubble that had once been the church, asked, "What do we do now?"

"Right now, because of what was left in there, whoever did this is most likely thinking we died in there...what we need now is a safe place to hide out and get everything together..." Jay said brushing down his clothes.

Al nodded, "and I just happen to know the perfect pla-".

"Everyone! Look!" They all heard Armin shout out. They turned their heads to where he was pointing and in the distance, they could see two people standing on a roof from far away, watching them. One of them stood up straight and tapped the other on the arm as if they had realised they had been spotted before both of them began to speed off.

'I recognise the gear…' Levi realised in horror, 'It's anti-human gear. How the hell is that possible!?'

"Oh crap! They were watching us!" Jean gritted his teeth, "They must have blown up the church!"

"STOP THEM AT ALL COSTS! DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" Erwin barked out.

Before anyone could notice, Jay quickly pulled his mask away and tucked it deep into his jacket. He pulled his hood and pulled up his bandana up to his nose. "On it, Sir!" Jay growled as he sprung onto his feet and sprinted towards the runner heading towards the east, launching up into the air with his gear.

"Dante go and get the other one. We'll rendezvous on the wall above the gate" Al ordered as Dante got back up and swung up onto a rooftop.

"Armin, Jean go with Dante. Sasha, Connie go with J-" Levi ordered but was cut short by Al.

"Send whoever you want with Dante. There's no point with Jay, he'll be fine on his own" Al interrupted.

"Yeah, you two!" Dante clapped his hands and pointed to Jean and Armin, "You're with me!"

"What makes you think we're going with you after you tried to kill me!?" Jean demanded, annoyed.

"Oh, come on, where's your sense of adventure, horse face?" Dante grinned as he sprinted off, followed by Jean and Armin.

"We'll head to the wall and wait for the others to rendezvous at the wall. Come on" Al said, walking off down the street.

"Wait what about the Comman-" Eren asked until he turned around and realised he was gone.

"Eren you have to keep moving, there might be more of them out there and who knows they might be targeting you" Mikasa grabbed Eren's arm and dragged him till he rushed forward behind Al.

"DANTE!" Jean called out as he and Armin ran towards Dante standing on the edge of a roof.

Dante lifted his hand forcing Jean and Armin to stop in their tracks.

"What the hell!? We ought to be chasing them right now! Not waiting to catch our breath!"

"No," Dante said as he pulled out a gas tank from his gear and held it over the edge of the roof. "He's inside the building, he's going to come out soon and I've got to time this perfectly…"

Seconds had passed. Jean was staring at him as if he had lost his mind, "Are you insane!? We have to go and catch them!" Dante stayed silent and Armin looked on, waiting expectantly. Should he help Jean or should he trust Dante's judgement in this? "Dante, I think Jean has a po-" Armin began

"No...Shut up, I need to focus," Dante snapped back. "Now… here...we...go…" he said as he let go of the tank and backed away from the edge. Armin and Jean stared at him in disbelief as Dante sat down, crossing his legs and counting the seconds that had passed. Suddenly, an audible clang would be heard followed by a loud groan four seconds later and a wide smile appeared on Dante's face as the other two rushed over to see a soldier lying on the ground and the canister rolling across the floor.

"You've got to kidding me…" Armin breathed out, staring at the unconscious body in disbelief and Jean couldn't help but look back at Dante who was still sitting down on the tiles.

Dante tilted his head and smiled sweetly, "You were saying?..."

Jean replied with an angry grunt.

The three of them jumped down and inspected the soldier that lay on the ground, Dante checked his pulse, "he's alive, his pulse is weak, but he's still alive for interrogation," Dante hoisted him on his shoulders, "well let's get back to the wall, Al said to rendezvous there".


At the other side of Klorva District

Jay ducked behind a chimney and cursed as he heard two gunshots ring out loud the tiles exploded next to him. "He's armed...who knows how many bullets he's got left...I need to come up with a plan and quickly," He thought as he reached for his belt.

The soldier pulled back the hammer of his guns and slowly crept around the roof. "Only about 20 metres away...A piece of cake…" He thought to himself as he breathed out and jumped. He fired a hook and swung around, his pistols aiming in front of him and ready to fire at first sight of Jay. But to his shock, as soon as he swung round, the area had erupted into the smoke, sending the person staggering back and shielding his eyes.

Jay's arms wrapped around the soldier tightly, both the force in which he collided with him and the utter shock sent both of them losing their balance and crashing into the rooftop, sending the clay tiles spinning down and crashing onto the floor. Both of them tumbled down, spiralling out of control towards the edge. Jay grabbed him by the collar and kept punching down on his face. The soldier bunched his fist and sent it colliding into the side of Jay's head, causing him to let go and slide down the edge. The soldier pulled out a knife from his belt and plunged it deep into the tiled roof, slowing himself to a halt safely.

Jay felt himself slide down to the edge and felt the floor beneath him give way. Just before he would have fallen, Jay's fingers snapped onto the edge of the gutter, sending his legs dangling beneath him. "GET UP! GET UP!" A thought screamed aloud in Jay's head as he used his strength and pulled himself up, his lower body now resting above the edge. He heard a clattering noise causing Jay to look up and see the soldier sliding down towards him wielding a gun and aiming for Jay's head. Instinctively, Jay's hand grabbed at the muzzle and pulled it aside just before the soldier had pulled the trigger and blowing his brains out. With his other hand, Jay grabbed a fistful of the soldier's uniform and placed his feet against the wall and kicked out. Both of them toppled over the edge and for a moment, both of them were suspended in the air, almost motionless. Then time began to speed up, the air began to rush past them as they both fell, wrestling and spiralling down towards the ground.

A series of crack could be heard as both of them crashed down through the top of a wagon, causing several people nearby to flee in panic. Seconds had past. The soldier had staggered to his feet and looked around. His vision was blurry and his head was throbbing in pain. His pistols were holstered as he tried to step down from the wagon. "Where...where the hell is he?..." he thought groggily as he looked around but before he could take another step, he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around his neck, dragging him back and choking him. He thrashed out violently, clawing at the arms holding his neck in place desperately before finally going limp. Jay let out a sigh and let the body drop to the cobblestone floor. He looked around at the numerous bewildered faces watching what had happened, trying to keep their distance away from the incident. "Typical," Jay thought as he looked from them to the soldier then walked back to the carriage, where he spied some rope, "still the job was done no matter what" he thought as he tied the soldier up, fired his 3DMG and set off to the walls.


The Wall

Al held a brown case in his hand and walked over to Mikasa with it, "You'll be needing this."

"What's inside that?" Mikasa asked blankly.

"Oh just some Maneuver Gear which you need since I destroyed your previous one. Sorry about that." Al gave Mikasa a smile, who simply rolled her eyes in slight annoyance, "I'll be fine as I am."

"Well you see regulations say you can't be on top of the wall without gear so if you don't take it then it's my obligation as a higher ranking soldier to escort you down to ground level." Al smiled innocently as he opened the lid revealing the gear laid out neatly in padded slots, "The choice is yours."

"Whatever you say." Mikasa took the case from Al who walked away to Levi.

"We'll need to clear this place out when Jay and Dante bring those two here" Levi said, a small cloud forming in front of his face.

"They'll come back with them." Al replied back, stepping side by side with him. "I'm sure of it."

"If it not then I'll be disappointed Lieutenant" Levi retorted, walking off.

'Southerners...so hostile…' Al thought to himself as he walked up to the edge of the wall and looked down at the whole of Klorva district, the ruins of the church visible with some smoke still rising.

"You mind telling me what this unnecessary commotion is all about" a Garrison soldier approached both of them, looking annoyed.

"Ah, District Captain Shellton I apologise on behalf of my squadmates here for any disruptions they may have caused." Al answered back cheerfully.

"I expected you to be more competent in managing your squadmates Lieutenant, your father wouldn't be impressed." Shellton remarked firmly.

"No need to involve my father in all of this, District Captain, he is a busy man which you should know...Although there is one favour I need." Al admitted, the smile on his face growing wider.

"If it's a promotion you ain't getting one." Shellton cut in, annoyed.

Al chuckled and shook his head, "Actually I need this section of the wall cleared out"

"Now you're just pushing your luck Lieutenant. You really think I would just do that just because of your fathe-"

"No I need this part of the wall cleared of all Garrison personnel and the elevator to be shut until we are done"

"And why shouldn't I suspect this is for personal reasons"

"Because I can confirm that myself" Levi stood behind the District Captain, giving him his usual blank stare.

"And just who the hell are you?" Captain Shellton spun around to face Levi.

"Captain Levi of the Survey Corps." Levi answered back.

Captain Shellton's jaw dropped momentarily until he regained his composure, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Levi. Sorry to be so blunt but can you advocate for Lieutenant Der Macht over here about having this portion of the wall cleared"

"They were my orders to deliver. Seems like the Lieutenant didn't mention that did he?" Levi fixed Al with an icy stare until he looked back at the District Captain.

"Very well then Captain Levi, "District Captain Shellton walked past Levi and cleared his throat before barking out his orders, "All Garrison personnel in this portion of the wall are dismissed from their duties and the elevator is to be closed until further notice!"

The Garrison soldiers looked at the District Captain before quickly wrapping up what they were doing and heading over in the other elevator. The District Captain walked on further to the other end of the wall and supervised the Garrison soldiers on duty there.

A few minutes later Al and the others turned around to look at the lift as the rest of his squad and Levi squad arrived, throwing in two soldiers in uniforms that had no brand on them to the floor. Their arms were bound behind their back and they were gagged. One of them was bruised more badly than the other but they both stared at them, their eyes filled with hatred and deep disgust. Al stared at them and then up at them, his eyebrow raised. "That took you long enough?"

"What? Patience and timing is key…" Dante smirked, "And yes, I did just say that."

"Whatever you say. I've got this portion of the wall cleared out for however long we need it for and no one will interfere with us since I thought none of us would want to go back down to the streets since we were all nearly blown up in an explosion so the wall is really all we have to conduct our improvised interrogation on these two gentlemen here… And not all of us need to be here so some of us can go to the Survey Corps Precinct..."

Dante clapped his hands and shrugged, "Well, I guess that means I'm off then, it's freezing up here anyway...Anyone who wants to join me, feel free to do so, the rest of you crazy kids who want to stay up here, have fun!" he began to walk off, his hand raised in farewell.

Jean nodded as he looked at the Connie, Sasha and Armin "There isn't much point in staying here, let's go," he muttered as they all followed Dante.

Al nodded and spied Jay tucking his hands into his pockets, standing still and eyeing the two soldiers in front of him, his face still covered by his hood and his bandana 'Well no surprise there…' Al noted but then noticed Eren and Mikasa staying exactly where they were. "Aren't you going to join them?" He asked, his head tilted in curiosity.

"If these guys are as bad as the Commander claims they are, then I want to find out in person just what the hell we're dealing with," Eren stated firmly.

"I'm staying as well…" Mikasa muttered and said no more on the matter

"Enough with the small talk, let's get straight to business." Levi walked over past Al and stood in front of the two soldiers, removing their gags.

"Well it's about fucking time you removed that filthy rag from my mouth, god knows where that's-" the first soldier's words were reduced to mere mumbles and groans as Levi shoved the gag back onto him.

"Foul mouth," Levi still held the gag of the second soldier, looking at him, "I just hope you're not the same as well".

The second soldier remained silent, tugging at the ropes that bound his hands behind his back and looking at everyone observantly.

"Let's start with basics then, what's your name and the name of your eager friend over here." Levi calmly asked.

"...The name's Konrad, he's Ethan, "Konrad nodded his head at Ethan who groaned with anger at Konrad.

"..For goodness sake," Ethan snarled at Konrad, giving him an accusing glance, "What is it with you. Ever since she had shown up, you've gotten soft...The Konrad I knew wouldn't have batted an eyelid to someone like her."

"Ethan... just shut up! I know what I'm doing..." Konrad barked at Ethan, who did as Konrad said.

"Ok then who do you work for, Konrad?" Levi asked, surprisingly nice.

"We work for the-"

"We ain't gonna tell you shit," Ethan burst out in sudden rage, "We don't give a single fuck that you're the ever so renowned soldier of humanity or whatever the fuck it is that people say you are. You're just some dwarf whose mother was a-".

Levi flipped Ethan over onto his front and dragged him to the edge of the wall and knelt on one knee beside him, his face inches away from Ethan's ear.

"You're going to listen to me very carefully and keep that mouth of yours shut," Levi said, his voice fairly calm but with authority and dominance, "I didn't mention this before because I thought you might not have that thick of a skull but clearly you do. Rule one. You only answer once I've finished saying my question. Rule 2. Never insult me. Rule 3. Never insult on top of the wall you hear me?" Ethan remained silent. Levi twisted his arms and pushed them up to his head, his bones cracking and causing him to scream out in pain, "I said do you understand!"

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I UNDERSTAND! NOW LET GO OF MY ARM!" Ethan screamed at him in pain.

"Good," Levi said, pushing Ethan's arm harder and breaking it, the sound of bones snapping cracked in the air. Levi released Ethan's arm and threw him back next to Konrad, "Now Ethan why don't you tell who you work for?"

"I serve the man who will bring about an end to your day-" Ethan cringed out when Levi slammed his foot down onto Ethan's head which slammed onto the cold ground, an audible crack was heard as Ethan's nose was broken.

"Well you're no good," Levi turned to look at Konrad, "I forgot, you were saying something before your dear friend Ethan here rudely interrupted you."

"We work for a man who we only refer to as the General." Konrad told Levi.

"And this General, does he work for anyone or is he the man in total control."

"He doesn't have superior to my knowledge."

"Who funds him?"

"An anonymous funder gives us money and supplies. We don't know his name for obvious reasons."

Levi opened his mouth but Konrad shook his head and cut in smoothly "You really shouldn't bother. Like I said he's anonymous."

Levi frowned and grunted, 'Well this isn't going anywhere. This one is just incompetent, the other would take far too long, it's time we don't have. If I had my tools then I would have gotten everything by now but I don't have that luxury. I'm going to have to rely on one of them...Well...let's see if these kids are worth working alongside with..." Levi's eyes looked from Ethan and Konrad to the Jay and Al.

"Jayden!" Levi called out, turning to see the hooded person look up at him

"Sir?" Jay asked, his voice flat.

"You've been awfully quiet…" Levi noted to Jay, who only tilted his head and stared at him in mild curiosity, "...Let's see what you can do…"

Al stood up and shook his head, "With all due respect sir, I don't think that would be wise…"

Levi then turned and then glared at him in annoyance, "Why? You think you can do a better job?"

Al breathed out wearily, "No, it's not what I'm suggesting, it's just…"

"Well then, you shouldn't have a problem then…" Levi cut in as he nodded to Jay.

Jay stepped forward, Al stopped Jay from walking on, his hand resting on Jay's shoulder," Promise me you won't lose your head in front of everyone else." Al spoke quietly, out of earshot from everyone else.

"...It'll be fine..." Jay answered back. He tried to take another step forward but was stopped again by Al, his grip on his shoulder tightening.

"...Don't screw this up for all of us, I'm serious..." Al let go of Jay's shoulder and allowed him to go forward. Jay walked up to Ethan and Konrad, observing what he could just by looking at them.

"What the midget had enough!?" Ethan jeered, "Oh boo hoo, go and cry to your-"

Suddenly, Jay blurred forward and sent his fist crashing down on Ethan's head, sending him sprawling onto the ground. "I ask the questions around here...and you answer…." Jay muttered out loud.

"Gah! You adopted little s-...Is that it?" Ethan spluttered, looking at Jay,"...Who the hell do you even think you are!? Huh!? You're nothing, fucking nothing!."

Jay simply stared at him blankly, as if he was unimpressed, "Is that all?" Jay asked as he looked at him. Seeing that it did nothing, Ethan gritted his teeth and spat out at him.

"The Talbots didn't adopt you out of love, hell not even out of pity, they only wanted you so you could act as their pawn in their game of noble power and safeguard their position otherwise they would be nothing now. Not to mention your real parents, killed off by those rad-".

Jay grabbed his head and forced it back, 'This could have gone a lot less painfully,' he thought as he brought out one of his hand grips and began to beat Ethan's face, the muffled thuds beginning to get faster and faster. Konrad's eyes narrowed and clenched his jaw, pulling at the ropes restraining his wrists. Eren stared at the sight, cringing slightly with every thump that could be heard. Only Mikasa and Levi stood there and remained silent.

"Now then... shall we get on with the questions?" Jay wiped his hand grip with a cloth, "Allow me to repeat what I said. So question one," Jay nudged Ethan's head with the toe of his boot," Tell me what the hell the SG are doing here?"

"Go to hell!" Ethan half groaned, half whimpered.

Jay kicked Ethan in the face, "What the hell the SG are doing here?"

"I ain't telling you anyth-" Ethan began but was cut short when Jay kneed him in the chin. His teeth clacked together and he bit his tongue, blood bursting from it like a balloon filled with water.

"I feel like giving you an extra chance so let me ask one final time. What. The hell. Are the SG. Doing here" Jay asked, grabbing Ethan by his collar, his voice authoritative. "Feel free to intervene," Jay tilted his head to Konrad, who was watching, "You probably enjoy seeing him getting beaten just as much as me," he remarked as he continued to beat Ethan's face.

'Dammit! He's not going to stop until I say something!' Konrad realised in horror as he gritted his teeth and exhaled sharply. "Fine! Alright! What else do you think we're doing here?" Konrad blurted out before Jay could do something else, "We're scouts for crying out loud! The bottom of the food chain…"

"Trust me...lying to me is the worst option you can take. For a scout, you're a bit too well equipped and skilled for that rank," Jay let go of Ethan, tilted his head and rubbed his temples as he nodded to Ethan, "Him...It's believable I guess…"

Ethan looked as if he was about to explode, Konrad merely lowered his head and grumbled out loud.

"Well, seeing that even you don't know what you're doing here, we might as well try something else. The man you work for… Who is he?" Jay began staring at both of them.

"Are you deaf!?" Ethan spat out, "We don't know his goddamn name!"

"Oh I know, I believe you," Jay gave him the slightest of nods, "But you have to refer to him somehow...something memorable but imposing...something like the Senator?"

Konrad's and Ethan's face fell as they heard him say his name, "How do you know that?..." Konrad asked in disbelief. Jay turned his head to him and tilted it in a quizzical manner, "Didn't you hear me! I said how the hell did you know that!?"

"Oh please you really think I wouldn't know what his name is. I've been after him for about the past four months and I know how to make people talk" Jay remarked as he got up and slowly paced away, his head lowered, "Besides when you're me...you know these type of things for a long time…"

"It's must be easy for you then…" Ethan growled out.

Jay stopped and turned his head ever so slightly, "...I beg your pardon?"

"I said it must be easy for you...considering that you're the Mangler, aren't you?" Ethan growled out, gaining everyone's attention, "Yeah...you know these types of things for a long time huh?" he sneered.

Jay froze instantly. Al's eyes darted from Ethan to Jay and noticed a horrified expression flash on his face. Quickly, Jay regained his composure and shrugged, "Have you lost it? Isn't that something parents say to scare their kids…?"

"What's he talking about?" Eren blurted out, "What do you mean by, 'he's the Mangler?'

Al gave him a warning glance and was about to answer before Konrad had beaten him to it, "You haven't heard?" his voice had risen, "He's a monster! He's a cold-blooded psychopath and you're WORKING WITH HIM!"

"The fact that you think he even exists makes me wonder how competent you are. Maybe we should throw you off the walls, you're no use to us…" Jay muttered, the tone of his voice unrecognisable.

"Enough! We need to focus on the task at hand!" Al called out, desperately trying to resolve the situation.

"What?" Ethan sneered, "Too scared to hide the fact your friend over here is a killer!? Huh?"

"What the hell do you mean, hmm?" Levi cut in, annoyed, "You clearly know something. So what is it!?"

"Do you seriously think we have time for this!?" Jay growled, "This has nothing to do with this…"

"Jay's right. We really don't-" Al intervened but was cut off.

"We should hear what they have to say…" Mikasa glared at both Al and Jay before returning her gaze to Konrad.

"Like I said! He's a serial killer! The Mangler has been around for at least a year and almost every night, he kills God knows how many!" Konrad gritted his teeth, "You honestly think Kenny the Ripper was the only psychopath around, well, here's the one terrorising the North." Everyone slowly turned their heads to Jay who was still looking out to the horizon. He was completely silent now, not trying to intervene at all or defend himself.

"You're not suggesting that he's…" Eren trailed off. "He can't be…" Levi tilted his head at an angle, his expression unreadable while Mikasa was staring at Jay, clenching at her swords and remaining completely silent.

"I'm not suggesting it, I'm flat out saying it." Konrad added, regaining everyone's attention "So don't pretend we're the enemy here when he's the real psychopath here and you're meant to be working with him...And the one thing that you should know…" Konrad continued, "Is that the Mangler always carries a metal mask with him..."

Everyone stared at Ethan and Konrad, their eyes wide and their blood turning cold. Eren glanced at the rest of his squadmates. Al was staring at the floor, his jaw clenched and his mouth was a thin line. Mikasa's lips were pursed and her hands was gripping her sword handles tightly, her knuckles turning white. Even Levi looked a little troubled as his eyes were narrowed and his brow was furrowed.

Eren blinked as he hear a low gravelly sound. He saw everyone's face crease in confusion as they looked around to each other, wondering where the sound had come from. It suddenly hit all of them as they all slowly turned their heads to Jay. He still had their back to them but his head was lowered, his shoulders moving gently up and down.

He was laughing.

Everyone stared at him in growing dread. The air was thick with sick anticipation. Finally, he stopped and let out a small sigh, "...Am I?... Hmm?" He turned to face the two of them. The corners of his mouth had turned slightly upwards forming an unnatural, greatly disturbing smile as he stepped closer towards them, the voice slow, low and cruel, clearly savouring every moment "...Am I this big, bad scary psychopath which may or may not exist? Am I a deranged killer wearing a mask and roaming around at night...And if the answer to those questions are 'yes'..." he stopped as he tilted his head to the side at an agonisingly slow rate, "...What does that make you?..."

Ethan stared at him, his eyes wide with growing fear. Konrad stared at Jay, his jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed.

"...It should be pretty obvious what I'm thinking right now…" Konrad growled back, the ropes at his wrists become looser and looser.

"And you think you and the rest of your little group can stop us?" Jay snarled, his eyes widened.

"We kill you for this!" Ethan spat out furiously, trying to mask his terror with sheer anger, as Jay regarded him with an annoyed glance "You hear me, we'll kill you for this! You just had to show up and ruin EVERYTHING! YOU'RE THE REAL THREAT HERE! I PROMISE YOU! WE'LL GUT YOU AND PARADE YOUR CORPSE IN THE STREETS!"

"Oh, how intriguing..." Jay mumbled out loud as he stood up and walked away looking out to the horizon and started drumming his fingers on his gear, "Do you want to throw in some more empty threats at me or what?"

"And think about what we're going to do with your friends!" Ethan spat out a phlegm of blood and spittle flew out as he screamed out, and fixed Mikasa with an icy glare, "You were meant to be taken a long time ago you know. People in the capital would have paid your weight in gold to get their hands on you if it hadn't been for Mummy's boy over here!" He stared at Eren, his eyes burning with hatred, "You're not humanity's last hope! You're a joke! Imagine what we could do we could use your titan ability, maybe see if we can recreate it after experimenting on you. After that we can feed you to the titans with the rest of your friends! Finally for you, you pathetic dwarf! We'll find out how much you really live up to the title of humanity's strongest when we set the entire underground city ablaze. Let you watch people below slowly burn in hell! I'll enjoy seeing you stand and watch, unable to save them from their living nightmare. As for the others, they're expendable! We'll just kill them all one by one! Things have already been planned for you, Talbot as well as your comrades! Mark! My! Words!"

Jay had stopped drumming his fingers on his gear.

All eyes darted from Ethan to Jay. Jay didn't move an inch, he remained perfectly still like a statue as if he wasn't breathing. Even Al didn't even know what to expect now.

"...So that's what you know… Thank you for your cooperation…" Jay stated, his voice deadly calm. He turned slowly around and faced the two of them." 4 to 1…."

Everyone looked at him in confusion, either trying to piece together what he had said or trying to figure out what he was going to do next. Al's face was creased in confusion for a moment. 'What on Earth was he-?" He thought to himself but stopped, his face dropped with sick realisation.

"JAY! NO-" Al yelled out, only managing to take a step towards him. Jay reached for his belt and threw something down, smoke billowing out from the floor and blinding everyone. Al staggered back, shielding his eyes and coughing. Gritting his teeth, Al reached down for his swords and yelled out, "STOP HIM BEFORE HE KILLS THEM BOTH!" He yelled out as he looked around wildly, trying to see if anyone was nearby.

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?" Levi called out, bringing out his swords only to be cut off by a high pitched, blood-curdling scream.

"He's over here!" Mikasa called out as she rushed forward, her swords brandished and darting towards the sounds of screaming. "We can't let him do this!" Al urged himself on but was stopped by a sickening squelching noise, and blood sent flying. He brought his arm up just in time before hot, filthy blood and tiny strips of flesh would have splattered onto his face and on his uniform. Al stared at his blood soaked front only for a second before something strong swung and slammed into his shoulder. Al sprawled onto the floor, his swords skittering on the floor. He forced himself up onto his hands and knees and looked up.

He thought as his eyes fixed on an object in front of him. He squinted as if to focus on it but stopped, his jaw hanging open in horror. It was a severed human arm. 'Oh God...Oh dear God…' Instantly, he shook his head and looked wildly around for his weapons just in time to see a silhouette pass by and disappear into the smoke.


Some of the townsfolk looked out of their windows and began forming small crowds as they all were gazing up at something. Dante and the others stopped just outside the Survey Corps Precinct, wondering what could have attracted this much civilian attention.

"I wonder what could have happened to attract this much attention" Jean muttered out in slight annoyance, keeping a vigilant eye on Dante.

"I'll go see what it's all about, you four head inside I'll catch up in a bit." Dante turned around and walked towards a small open square where a crowd had formed. Most of the people gasping in what seemed to be awe or fear. Dante gently pushed past a chestnut haired girl and squinted as he looked up at the wall "Now what is it that can-" Dante's eyes widened as he looked up at the top of the wall and remained perfectly still. The other four came running behind Dante and looked up at the wall in dread. Connie looked at Dante and tilted his head, "Wait wasn't that where-"

"It is." Dante instantly broke into a run and jumped up, grabbing the handles of his gear and propelled himself through the air

"WHERE THE HELL IS HE!?" Eren yelled out, looking around wildly for the faintest movements. Levi and Eren rushed next to him and looked around, swords drawn out and looking around, trying to focus

"He was planning this!" Levi shouted out.

"Dammit, what do we do now?!" Eren called out.

Eren looked at his two comrades and gulped, forcing his panic down. 'This is insane! How the hell are we meant to stop him? Let alone work with him! He's insane!"

All of their heads swivelled to the left as they heard a string of sharp hissing from about 6 metres away.

Instantly Eren was already rushing to where the sound came from. "Dammit, this has gone far enough!" Eren gritted his teeth as he disappeared into the smoke. Levi cursed and followed suit only to stop a few metres away. Suddenly, Eren yelled out and was sent sliding across the wall, blood on his cape. Mikasa's eyes widened as she rushed over to Eren and knelt by him to see if he was okay. Eren scrambled back in horror, staring as a muffled thud could have been heard in front of him. Levi and Mikasa looked to where the noise came from and their eyes widened as they saw Ethan's mutilated corpse. His arms and legs were hacked off and his face was replaced by a massive gaping bloody hole. The only thing left intact was his lifeless jaw hanging wide open and his limbs scattered carelessly all around the body. Eren spied a gun in one of the severed arms and his blood turned cold 'Oh God, he didn't... he really is a killer!" Eren thought, panic surging through him.

Suddenly, something brushed by his arm and Eren instinctively turned around and raised his swords just in time to see a figure pull out a pair of pistols and aim it at him and his comrades.


Konrad broke free from the ropes and rolled to the side, looking around wildly. 'It's actually him. It's actually him…' he thought but tried to push it down as much as he could, shaking his head and growling. 'Have to focus on getting away! I got to get Ethan and escape! So much for stalling for time!' He thought in frustration as he began to sprint off. Suddenly, he heard swords swinging only a few metres away from him and then a dull thud nearby. Konrad's eyes widened as he quickened his pace but stopped as he saw Ethan's remains. Konrad's eyes fixed on the bloody stumps where his arms and legs should have been. There was nothing left off his face and Konrad look down to find himself stepping in his blood. 'Oh God, Oh God…' He thought as his expression turned to that of horror, 'I could have saved him, I could have-'

Konrad heard something whistle through the air behind him and he whirled around, bringing his pistols up. They clanged out loud against metal and Konrad's eyes focused to see a pair of golden eyes looking up at him. 'You knew about this…' Konrad's shock turned into fury, 'You knew about what he really was and you tried to hide it. And you're helping him as well!?'

Konrad grunted with effort as he batted Al's arms away. Al lunged forward and swung out. Konrad quickly ducked down, feeling something slice through the air centimetres above the back of his neck before he kicked out. His boot planted against Al's chest and sent his staggering and crashing back onto the floor, his blades skittering on the floor.

His leg brushed something and instantly, he ducked to the side and he glanced over his shoulder to see three people, one lying on the ground, raising his swords before the smoke enveloped them.

'There you are…" he thought as he aimed one pistol at Al and the other at the three silhouettes. He straightened his arms and exhaled, his fingers tightening on the triggers 'Time to finish you off for good-'

Konrad lurched forward slightly and froze to the spot. 'What...happened…?' He thought, his mind trying to process what had happened. Slowly, the pistol began to slip from his fingers and clatter onto the floor. He forced himself to look down as he saw a sword point piercing his chest from behind and he craned his neck to see Jay holding the sword.

Konrad's eyes widened as with a last ditch effort he reached to his belt, grabbed his knife and swung out in a wide arc. Jay tilted his head to the side, as if enjoying the sight and then reached for his other sword. Suddenly, Konrad cried out in pain as Jay stabbed him with his other sword. Konrad looked down, trembling as he saw the two swords now protruding through his chest.

"I'll take that from you…" Jay remarked slowly in a mocking tone as he opened Konrad's hand and pulled the knife from his grasp and tucked it into his coat before yanking the swords out from his body and kicking him forward.

"...I'm sorry...I couldn't live to protect you anymore…I'm sorry, Va-'He breathed out nearly inaudibly and miserably as collapsed onto the floor, the whole world turning grey and slowly blacking out into nothing.

The smoke cleared. All four of them stared at the ground at the gory sight of what used to be Ethan and Konrad, their blood pooling on the floor to form a crimson mirror. And they slowly looked up to see Jay, his swords, coat and mask splattered in blood...


AN

Well, wasn't this an eventful chapter, right? :)

As I said before sorry about the late upload. There will be times where a chapter would be uploaded later than expected but as stated before, you can expect to find a new chapter at the end of the week or beginning of the next. But thanks for being so patient. We appreciate it.

Have a great day!