Disclaimer: One of the things I needed to work around in Black Ops was the fact that Executive Order and S.O.G take place five years apart. Obviously that's a problem for me. Or it was, until I decided to manipulate the timeline in my favor. Now they won't even take place a year apart.
A/N: To the various Guests who keep leaving Reviews on this Story. Could you guys please stop it?! If you've got a question, the one and only solution is to look it up on the Internet. Sorry to the rest of you. Just really needed to get that off my chest. Please enjoy Chapter 6.
Chapter 6: Time Goes On
For Mason and Woods, the worst part about their assignment in Vietnam, was the fact that they were now permanently stationed with Pieck and Reiner. They were the ones who stumbled across them in Russia, so it only makes sense they would need to take care of the task of keeping a close eye on them.
Now, you might think that complaining about two Warriors fighting alongside you is utterly ridiculous. Which it is. It's just that Mason and Woods would rarely see eye to eye with Reiner, who used his Armoured Titan to give the Vietcong a run for their money. Whenever Reiner was sent out, the US made sure no Vietnamese Soldier made it out of the area alive. They didn't want the world knowing about their newest weapon. At least not for now.
Aside from Reiner, the other Warrior who stayed with Mason and Woods, Pieck, found herself quite popular among the rest of the troops, Mason and Woods included. At least when she was out of the Cart Titan form. Some men were a little frightened upon seeing the Cart Titan carry in supplies and transfer troops for the first time.
Feminine charm is what Woods called it. He told Pieck to remain cautious around some of the troops. Most of them hadn't seen a woman in quite a span of time. She assured Woods that there was no problem that she couldn't take care of.
With their friends still in the CIA's custody, Pieck and Reiner still await for Zeke and Bertholdt's return. They also continue to wonder where Annie is kept. Speaking of Annie. Her coming to this world with the other Warriors got Reiner to think. If she came with them, did that also mean that somewhere they would stumble across Eren? Reiner imagined that Zeke had the same question on his mind. They needed to regroup as soon as possible.
For now though, Reiner was given plenty of time to recover from one of his last engagements with the enemy. He was of course still under guard, several men watching his every move while keeping a careful distance, and it was difficult to get any real amount of sleep when so many people were watching him with a close eye.
It didn't matter, as in a few seconds two familiar faces entered Reiner's tent to give him a wake up call. It was Mason, who looked the same as the last time Reiner saw him, and Hudson, who Reiner desperately wanted to punch across the face. It was only seemed fair since Hudson and the rest of the CIA chose to use Annie's safety against them.
Mason extended an arm towards the great Warrior and, with a small grin, greeted Reiner. "Braun, you ready for another assignment?" He wasn't met with any kind of response. Reiner simply stared at the man with no quantity of emotion. Mason chose to speak no further and instead let Hudson carry the rest of the reunion.
Hudson, with a standard M16 strapped across his back, sat next to Reiner. He placed his weapon off to the side. For a while the two men did nothing other than stare at each other, making Mason relatively uncomfortable. "On your feet." He commanded in a stern voice. "Pieck and Woods are on their way now."
As soon as Hudson resumed standing, Reiner did the same, only at a quicker pace. "You said we would get to see Bertholdt, Zeke, and Annie soon. You said that a while ago. Was that simply another lie to get my nerves to calm?" He said, gazing at the M16 Hudson neglected to pick up.
It took a substantial quantity of resistance for Reiner to not simply kill Mason and Hudson and flee right then and there. Had Reiner gone through with it, there was no way anyone could catch up to him in time. "Go ahead." Hudson said as though inviting Reiner to take his life. "Problem is you're also thinking about what happens to your friends if you were to go through with it." Hudson faced Reiner once more. "If even one of you turn on us, the rest will suffer, keep that in mind."
With no other options, at least none that were immediately clear, Reiner equipped his uniform while Mason and Woods waited outside. "Did you really need to go that far?" Mason asked, a little concerned and very on edge. He didn't completely trust Reiner or any of the other Warrior. However, Mason saw no reason to act so cruel to keep them in line.
Not too far off in the distance, the Cart Titan was visible, several Soldiers using it as quick transportation. Hudson used this as an excuse not to answer Mason's question. "We've got to get moving." He said, watching as the Cart Titan was getting closer and closer.
Almost all of the Soldiers riding the Cart Titan, with the exception of Woods, were all panicking or overtly nauseous. Getting picked to accompany Pieck out in the field wasn't an assignment many of the Soldiers would volunteer for while she was still in Titan form.
Woods eventually took notice that the other men were on the verge of sickness. "Pieck, slow your pace, will you?!" He said, not wanting any of the subordinates to call in sick later. The Cart Titan obeyed Wood's request and apologized for the excessive speed. "Sorry Sergeant." She said in a voice that set no one at ease.
Arriving at Reiner's tent, Pieck came to a complete stop. Excluding Woods, all of the men riding atop of Pieck rushed off. "Eh, stupid kids." Woods said, a little annoyed that they all ran off so quickly. He petted the Cart Titan on its head. "This is way more fun that flying around in a Helicopter." Even though Woods couldn't see it, Pieck was smiling.
Finished with Pieck, Woods turned his attention toward Hudson and Mason, mainly the latter. "Mason." He said, glad to see his greatest friend was still alive and kicking. It made sense, Mason was always out there in the field with Reiner, who wasn't in the slightest way easy to kill. "Great to see you again."
Mason chuckled and gave a friendly punch to Woods on his arm. "You look like shit." He said while laughing and observing the many wounds and scars Woods had obtained while out fighting with Pieck. He was the exact opposite from Mason, who was almost completely unscathed.
This time aiming at his arm, Woods gave Mason a punch with a lot more kick to it. "You should see Pieck." He said, pointing to the Cart Titan. "Well, it's too late now. No wound for them lasts forever. But this one time she stepped on a landmine and... shit. It was awful."
Mason looked to the Cart Titan, still amazed at the idea that Pieck was controlling it from the inside. And there were even more of them they've yet to discover? Hopefully Ivan hadn't gotten its hands on one. If that were the case, the Cold War would change in a way no one wanted.
With all of his equipment finally ready, Reiner left the confinement of his tent. "So..." He said, still a little tired thanks to his lack of any real amount of sleep. "What is it that's so important?" Hudson didn't appreciate the amount of sarcasm is his voice. He followed everyone onto the Cart Titan.
"A Defector." Hudson told him, getting everyone's attention aside from Pieck, who was trying to maneuver around Soldiers who were in the way. "But that comes later." He pulled out two cigarettes, giving one to Woods and lighting on for himself. "For now we need to train you to fight with more effectively with our weaponry." He took a few puffs of his cigarette and then continued. "Woods can fill you in on the rest."
Throwing his cigarette away and sighing, Woods looked to Reiner. "You two are going to Hue City. Defector is staying there." He stopped for a second, noticing an increase in Helicopter activity. "We need to get in and rescue 'em. You and Pieck are coming along with us. Now, Pieck we can keep under the radar when it comes to keeping your powers a secret. But you, you're no onion." Pieck and Mason wondered why Woods just compared Reiner to a vegetable.
Hudson reentered the conversation and finished the explanation off. "Which is why you need training in order to use our weapons properly. Once we're finished with that, you, Mason, Woods, and Pieck will ship out together. And I promise, after that, you will see your friends again." He paused for a split second. "All of them."
The Cart Titan slowed its pace, showing that Pieck was now interested in the upcoming assignment. But not nearly as much as Reiner was. He could tell from the look on Hudson's face that his words contained the truth, unlike all of the other time that same promise was made.
They were getting closer to the runway, which they needed to pass in order to reach the training yard. The massive quantity of commotion originating from the runway only increased as the Cart Titan continued to approach. Then they found out why.
"We're under attack!" One voice shouted to where everyone could make out his words. He wasn't wrong, they were under attack. Bombers were falling out of the sky and men were rushing off to join the fight aginst the invaders. Though the way Pieck and Reiner viewed it, it was the US who was invading.
Mortars. A type of weapon that already existed in the Warrior's world. However, with enough time, it had apparently found itself upgraded and now it was able to shell from a superior range than the older models were capable of. Dodging these shells was no easy task for the Cart Titan.
Despite the sticky situation they were all in, Pieck managed to maneuver through the area while also making sure no one she was transporting was killed. But then Pieck's luck, as great as it was, ran out. Shells crashed to the position right in front of the Cart Titan. The explosion cut right through the Cart Titan's legs. As for Mason, Woods, Hudson, and Reiner, they were all knocked off of the Cart and onto the ground. The impact snapped caused Wood's M16 to off, sending a single piece of lead into Hudson's shoulder.
"Agh!" Hudson screamed. It was completely inaudible thanks to the Cart Titan's own scream of pain. Reiner and Mason watched the Cart struggle to keep standing, while Woods tried to look over Hudson and tend to his injury. "We need to get to cover." Hudson said, now standing with the support of Woods.
Reiner rushed to the Cart Titan, which now laid still and lifeless. "Not without Pieck!" He signaled for Mason to come over. They were running out of time. The greater portion of the shells were starting to concentrate fire around their position. "Grab on." He looked to Mason while clutching onto one of Pieck's shoulders. Mason, covered in the Cart Titan's gore, grabbed the other. "Pull, now!" Using all of their might, Reiner and Mason pulled Pieck right out of the Cart Titan's corpse. As soon as they were able to, they all made their way towards one of the nearby Fortification Bunkers, created in the event of an attack such as this.
Once everyone was sure they were as safe as possible given the magnitude of the current situation, several Medics were called over to make sure that Pieck was going to make it. Little did these Medics know that Pieck was sturdier than she looked to be.