A/N - Sorry for the long wait, I've had a combination of writers block and being busy.
It seemed like everything that was remotely important to Lukas happened in Odiha. The coastal city was one of the largest port cities in Marley and the world, and being on the coast down stream from the Sturmza Canal obviously helped things progress within the prosperous city very nicely.
He had met some of his very first allies in this city. Jessie, Cloud and Biggs, the three of them working at the Rasberry Ripple as a cover for their less than legal activities. They were integral to his plans to bring peace to the world and helping Eldian's secure equal rights first in Marley, then around the world.
From the ashes of the Eldian Restorationists that had collapsed almost two decades ago, the Society for Eldian equality and Equal Rights, or SEER, as they had agreed upon was born. It was a secret society for the time being, but after some reaching out and surveying that was done, which could've ended very badly for either of the three Eldian's posing as Marleyans, it turned out that anti-Eldian resentment was not as bad as it seemed.
Most of the hatred was rooted firmly in the education system and the military, where it was glaringly obvious that the treatment of Eldians as second class citizens was widely promoted. However, out in the urban cities where normal people lived, where there had been a hundred years passed since an Eldian had been turned into a Titan as an attack on Marley, it was rather docile. Most people simply didn't care enough about the threat of Eldian's in Marley.
Outside of Marley was a different story, because Marley had been turning Eldians into Titans as weapons of war for a hundred years, and especially after Zeke Yeager had inherited the Beast Titan, it had been ramped up significantly. But pure Titans hadn't been used in this war on account of the unpredictable behaviour without control over them.
"It's nice isn't it? The air of peace going around for the moment." Lukas was brought out of his thoughts by none other than Pieck, who was part of the army detachment that had been deployed to Odiha to make sure the peace summit went smoothly.
"I suppose it is." He commented, sitting with one foot crossed under his body on top of a wooden crate near the waterfront. "Though in Marley, peace is never really everlasting. It's just war, war, war with these people."
"I know." Pieck sauntered over to take a seat next to him, watching over the numerous Marleyan soldiers and Public Security Officers guarding the port, the rebuilding having been halted for the time being. "Can you blame them though? They were dominated by the Eldian Empire for thousands of years, aren't they entitled to the freedom to conquer after all those years of suffering."
"These people play with war like it's part of a child's play set Pieck. What gives Marley the right to be the only ones who can play? Why can't other nations be the one that holds all the toys?" It was a rhetorical question, and Pieck was more than smart enough to realise that. "Ah yes, that's right, it's because Marley are still the victims of atrocities committed by men and women who have been dead for hundreds of years. That's why you have to wear that armband that gives normal people the right to spit at you when you walk past them."
"You're funny Lukas. I never remembered you as such a funny guy. All those years must've really changed you." Pieck giggled a little bit. "I know you have the luxury of not having to wear one of these." She gestured to her red armband. "But the red one gives us Honorary Marleyan status. We give our bodies and sacrifice our lives for the motherland so our families can live better lives. They get Honorary Marleyan status for the rest of their lives because of our sacrifices."
"The colour of your armband doesn't give you more rights Pieck, it simply distinguishes to Marleyans that you have a significantly higher chance of turning into a Titan if they piss you off." He told her with a straight face. "The racists in Marley don't pick on Honorary Marleyans because there's a chance they could fight back. Normal Eldians didn't have that luxury of self defence against Marleyans. The court would side with a Marleyan every day of the week."
"I've heard about those new laws protecting Eldians from abuse from Marleyan Soldiers and Public Security. I had assumed that was your doing. How did you get them to agree to all that stuff?" Pieck asked. "I even heard Koslow complaining about how they were building new sewage systems in the Internment Zone in Salta as a trial to enhance the living conditions of those areas once Eldians are finally wiped out."
"They didn't call me 'The Devil's Right Hand' after the invasion here for nothing." He responded to her question with. "Marley was losing the war, very badly I might add. I named them my price, and refused to fight until it was signed into law. I was sat about a mile inland while it was passed through the Senate, once it was confirmed, I helped them defeat the Mid-East invasion."
"I think the word 'helped' is being a bit modest." Pieck snorted at his modesty. "When we got word Odiha was being invaded, we were still trying to recover the Arabian Peninsula from the south. Commander Magath ordered me, Pock and Annie onto an airship straight to Odiha. About ninety minutes later, the word was passed on that a Titan had appeared and begun fighting the Mid-East fleet in the bay. Ten minutes later we were told the invasion had been halted and to turn around to the frontlines, so despite how you may tell it, you definitely did a lot more than help on that day."
"Alright then, I wiped out their fleet, obliterated it without breaking a sweat. Is that a better description of what happened?"
"Much better." Pieck smiled once he was honest with her. "By the way, why are you here? I'm part of the Army detachment sent here, Annie is around somewhere with the Warrior Candidates if you wanted to meet them?"
"Well, I'm pretty sure that Annie hates me, so maybe another time, but I'm here to represent the high society of Marley at these peace talks." Lukas informed her. "It's ironic, I know, sending an Eldian to represent Marleyan high society, and even if my life expectancy isn't very much, I'm still expected to fulfil my role as a Tybur, and this is what my uncle felt was right for me."
"Annie doesn't hate you, she's just moody all the time." Pieck brushed off his concerns about Annie. "Anyway, why does the high society of Marley need to be represented at peace talks?" Pieck questioned, kicking her legs in front of her as the curiosity took over.
"Because Pieck, the Mid-East aren't just sending an envoy of diplomats. I've been told that they're sending Crown Prince Abdullah of Nari, the son and sole male heir to the Sultan of Nari." He told her the very classified and top secret information that was yet to be revealed to the public.
"Ah, so that's why this is a huge deal." Pieck hummed in acknowledgment. "They must be serious if they're sending the Crown Prince of Nari here for peace talks."
"Exactly." He agreed with her. "Marley wouldn't have taken a diplomatic envoy as seriously and probably would've tried to bully them into submission. However, you can't do that to the heir of a nation. One wrong word to him that he doesn't like and the war is potentially back on for years to come."
"So they're just trying to bully each other into submission with their words rather than their guns then?"
"Essentially." He stood up from the crate he was sat on, because the ship that had sailed from the Mid-East Alliance controlled territory had arrived at port. "Though it seems as the delegation with the Crown Prince are about to dock. It's been nice to see you again Pieck, but I must take my leave for now."
Leaving Pieck to find her fellow warriors, Lukas made haste for the docks, specifically the one where the ship would be moored for the delegation to come onto land. He was supposed to be the first to meet them, and he wanted to leave a good impression on the Crown Prince before the peace talks began.
First down the ramp and off the ship was a number of men, all wearing a much darker blue than the regular Mid-East Alliance army uniform. These soldiers were not regular soldiers, because the golden trim on their collars signified their appearance as the Royal Guard.
They were met on the docks by Marleyan soldiers and Public Security alike, many of whom tightened their grip on their own weapons seeing as how almost a dozen men had rushed down with their weapons out, but not pointed at anyone yet.
"Gentlemen please." A voice from the top of the ship's deck called out below. It was the Crown Prince of Nari, wearing his ceremonial robes and headwear, trimmed with a gold outline and a silver tint to the robe itself. "We are guests in Marley, no? Put your guns away." He began making his way down the ramp and to the land. "We are here to make peace, not more war."
The Royal Guard lowered their weapons to the point where they were facing straight down rather than a ready to draw stance. As the Crown Prince descended the rest of the ramp, it was Lukas who had stepped forward to greet him in his fancy suit when he had officially touched Marleyan land.
"Your highness." Lukas greeted with a curtsy bow in front of the Prince. "Welcome to Marley." He was then quite surprised that the Prince reached out to shake hands with him.
"Lukas Tybur correct?" He either guessed with stunning accuracy or had been well informed before his arrival. "I have met your uncle before. He told me a great deal about you and your potential."
"Potential?" It caught him off guard a little, he'd never heard uncle Willy speak about him in such a manner before.
"Potential to become a great politician with that mind of yours." The Prince clarified. "You have a way with words, much like he does, or so he says. Of course, the only problem with that is your blood..."
"Yes, blood of the Devil." Lukas nodded. "It does restrict my opportunities somewhat, even with my family status as Marleyans. Even without the armband, I still get those looks sometimes... like the one you're giving me now."
"As you say, blood of the devil." He was reminded of his own words. "You could turn into Titan at any moment. Will you turn into a Titan?"
"I can't answer that question I'm afraid." He gave a wry smile. "I won't say yes, but I won't say no. That's how it has to be with my family. To protect them, we all answer the question with the same answer. It's been that way for generations."
"How very noble, even if you are Eldians, you Tyburs were the saviours of the world at one point, no?" The Prince spoke, half asking, half stating.
"You could look at it that way." He shrugged. "I could tell you more on the way, if you're willing to have me in your car that is."
"Hmm, yes, I think that would be acceptable." The Prince agreed to his on the spot proposal.
The car that they had gotten into was surrounded front and back with more security vehicles, not to mention that the route they were taking was lined with Marleyan soldiers dotted about to keep the crowds gathering from getting too close and to keep the peace if they were to get too rowdy.
Along the route itself, multiple buildings with flat rooftops had been commandeered for use as lookout posts. One of these buildings was being used by the warrior unit, where Annie, Pieck, Colt and the four warrior candidates, Falco, Gabi, Udo and Zofia had all been gathered as one, mainly to keep them all together and away from the other Marleyan soldiers.
"Vice Chief Leonhart, I really think that you should take the binoculars away from Gabi." Colt suggested, seeing that a now nine year old Gabi was successfully keeping the three other warrior candidates at bay while she hogged the binoculars all to herself.
All it took to shut the fourteen year old teen up was a glance from the Vice Chief of the Warrior Unit. She had that kind of effect on people with her glares and the looks she'd give out, especially to the younger warriors when they were annoying her.
"Don't mind Annie, she's always brooding whenever she's not in battle." The much more full of life Pieck told the candidate who would most likely inherit the Armoured Titan. "It's a bad habit of yours Annie, we're here for peace talks, lighten up a little."
"I don't brood." Annie spoke three words to the woman who annoyed her on a constant basis before turning to actually face Colt this time. "If you want to take the binoculars away from Gabi, that's fine, but don't come to me when she starts complaining."
"Y-Yes Vice Chief." Colt was unsure whether or not to take them away from Gabi. He eventually decided against it, she'd probably complain a lot more than the trouble she was giving the others at the moment, even if Falco was his little brother, Gabi was just better at most things... and he'd rather not have her tell her cousin Reiner about him taking things away from her.
"Annie, you'll never guess who I ran into fifteen minutes ago." Pieck, who had now come up to stand next to Annie spoke.
"I don't care."
"It was Lukas."
"Again, I don't care."
"Who's Lukas?" Colt, who was still nearby asked.
"He's a dick." Annie spoke without even looking over at the teenage warrior candidate. "Be glad you've never met him."
"Annie doesn't like him, as you can probably tell." Pieck explained to the younger warrior candidate. "He wasn't as sharp around the edges when I spoke to him earlier, he was quite... smooth if that's the word for it. He wasn't as intimidating as he had been before, and his eyes weren't filled with the fire they used to have, he's definitely mellowed out a bit since we last spoke. He even managed to weasel his way into the same car as the Crown Prince."
"I'll say it once more Pieck, I don't care." Annie's voice was sharp and curt, she didn't want to keep the conversation going much longer. "I still think he's a dick, so he's still a dick."
While the three older warriors were having their conversation on the rooftop overlooking the main river through Odiha, the three young warrior candidates were still surrounding Gabi, who had refused to give up the binoculars and continued to fend the others off.
"Come on Gabi, let someone else use them." Falco, Colt's younger brother tried to convince his friend.
"No, the Vice Chief gave them to me." Gabi continued to scan the surrounding area, watching as the convoy of vehicles approached the stone bridge that crossed over the river in the middle of the city. "I will use them to look for any suspicious activity!" She proclaimed.
"Gabi, let me look through them, just for a minute." Udo, the young, dark haired glasses wearing warrior pleaded with the girl.
"I don't know why you're bothering Udo." Zofia, the blonde haired warrior candidate replied. "She'll never give them up, it's no use."
"Hmm." Gabi hummed as she looked at the bridge, and just past it on the stone embankment that ran along the river, three Marleyan Soldiers were running away, sprinting away from the bridge.
"What is it Gabi?" Falco was the first to ask what she'd seen.
The last thing Gabi had seen was the three soldiers turn left and up a set of stairs and out of sight. "I don't know." Gabi thought about it for a moment, this definitely fell under the category of suspicious activity.
"Vice Chief, Miss Pieck!" Gabi suddenly turned to move towards the two Titan shifters to report what she'd seen. "I saw three people wearing Marleyan Soldier uniforms running away from the bridge that the peace convoy is passing over."
"It's probably-"
Annie was cut off as there was an explosion on the bridge itself, followed by several other explosions in the immediate wake. Looking over, the seven of them saw that the bridge itself was engulfed in smoke, damaged to the point where debris was still flying in the air and into the water. Both ends of the bridge had been blown up using improvised explosives, which had subsequently blown up the cars that were passing over both ends of the bridges.
Then, the middle pillar holding the bridge up was detonated into oblivion, the support gone and the bridge beginning to crumble into the water. The cars on the bridge tried to reverse, but it only resulted in more crashes, until the longest car blew up on its own, going up in flames as it was soon followed by several other cars going up into fireballs of metal and oil.
By this point, the bridge had lost all support and had begun crumbling away, the whole thing being ripped apart stone by stone as every piece of rock and vehicle on the bridge was dumped into the water.
"Pieck, did you say Lukas was in one of those cars?" Annie asked her fellow warrior.
"Yeah..." Pieck trailed off. "The peace delegation... what just happened?"
"Shit..." Annie cursed, beginning to move for the door that led to the stairs. "Colt, come with me. Pieck, take the kids and find Magath, he'll know what to do."
Following the instructions of the Vice Chief, Pieck took the young warriors with her to find Magath, while Colt came with Annie, rushing down the stairs and out the building, running across the street and down another set of stairs to the riverbank, the two blondes running down the embankment over to the remains of the bridge that were jutting out of the water.
Several Marleyan soldiers had already descended to the embankment in an attempt to help anyone who had surfaced, but it didn't look like anyone had done so, and it didn't look like anyone was going to anytime soon.
"Hey." Annie was on the scene a good few yards ahead of Colt, talking to the nearest Marleyan soldier. "Has anyone surfaced from the water yet? Any survivors at all?"
"Nobody has come out, and nobody will come out of it." The soldier responded, but he didn't look particularly pleased at having to speak to an Eldian, even if she was a warrior. "Every car went up in flames before the bridge collapsed, it would be a miracle if anyone had survived."
"Vice Chief?" Colt, who had now caught up with her spoke up. "What do we do now?"
"You..." Annie responded by removing the white jacket she was wearing, handing it over to Colt as well as her red armband. "Hold onto these for me."
"Hey, you can't take your armband off!" The soldier next to them tried to tell her, but it was too late as Annie had already dove into the water, diving down and out of sight from the others who were within earshot of the soldier's shout.
"What the fuck does she think she's doing?" The Soldier, who was a lot taller than Colt towered over the young warrior. "Taking her armband off is grounds for the removal of her Titan powers."
"Well actually..."
"Did I give you permission to speak Eldian?" The soldier spat at Colt. "I'm disgusted you even have the gall to stand so close to me with your filthy blood."
"B-But you're wrong." Colt pointed out, and the look the much taller soldier with a loaded rifle was giving him immediately made him regret his decision. "Warriors and Eldians can't be punished for removing their armband under numerous circumstances where the armband could become damaged, like water for example."
"Listen here you devil blood scum, just because the Senate decided to introduce a few new measures to make your miserable lives more bearable until you're all wiped out, it doesn't mean that you're anything more than the dirt we Marleyans walk upon." The soldier practically spat in Colt's face. "I could shoot you right now just for aiding in her crimes, nobody would think I did anything wrong, and no jury would find me guilty of anything."
"There's always a first time for everything." The gruff voice of Commander Magath spoke from behind the soldier, having now arrived at the scene. "Unless you want to find out what a jury will do first hand Private, get the hell out of my sight."
"Y-Yes Sir!" The soldier saluted and quickly scurried off.
"Cadet Grice, where's Leonhart?" Magath asked, but before Colt could answer his commanding officer, Annie finally resurfaced from the water, gasping for air as she began treading water, pulling what looked to be a corpse with her.
Magath, who had been joined by Koslow looked at the Vice Chief as she floated over towards the side of the river, pulling herself up and hauling the lifeless body of whoever it was she'd found. The body was missing an arm, their leg was hanging on by a thread, but it was the flesh that had been burnt to a crisp, presumably from the explosion and following moments of fire before the vehicles went into the drink.
"Is that..."
"I don't know, I think it's him." Annie was soaking wet as she stood up and put her armband back on after getting it back from Colt. "Pieck said he was in the same car as the Crown Prince, but his lungs will be full of water by now."
"She told me the same a minute ago before I arrived. Though his body should have started coughing up the water by now, unless his heart isn't beating." Magath gestured for her to check, and after a check, she shook her head. "Well unless you want us all to be put in front of a firing squad, for this mess, we need to restart his heart now."
Colt was very confused now, there was no way that this person was still alive. "I don't understand Commander Magath, how can they still be alive?"
"Colt, shut up and help me." Annie ordered. "Keep his mouth open at all times, don't let it close." She warned him.
While Colt obeyed her orders and kept the mouth open, though it was slightly disgusting holding onto the seared flesh of another human being, Annie used her hands to try and resuscitate him, pressing up and down on his ribcage where his heart should be. She didn't know if it would work, only that the technique was relatively new in terms of reviving patients whose hearts had stopped.
"Vice Chief." Colt tried to protest as Annie continued to try and restart his heart. "He's dead, there's no way that-"
Colt got the fright of his life when the corpse came back to life, coughing up a huge amount of water as he gasped for any sort of air that he could get. Though curiously enough, small wisps of steam began rising from the wounds. At first he thought Annie had been injured diving into the water, but his eyes widened as he figured it out, this man was a Titan shifter just like the Vice Chief.
"What the hell happened up there?" Magath kneeled down to ask once the coughing had stopped.
"The bodyguard... he blew up right in my face..."
"Are you saying that the bodyguard of the Crown Prince blew up to try and kill you?" Magath didn't look entirely convinced by it, but he was the only survivor so far, and the only one there would probably be.
"Yes..." Lukas croaked out, his voice hoarse and weak. "That's what... happened..."
Magath stood up, this was deeply troubling. The Sultan of Nari surely wasn't willing to kill off his only heir to kill a Tybur, was he? It's entirely possible after what happened during the invasion. Though it didn't add up, how did they get the explosives and set it up so quickly? One thing was for sure, the Army would be kicking in the doors of every building in the city after it had been locked down.
(3 minutes ago, 1 mile away)
"Come on Cloud, hurry up and ditch the clothes." Jessie had already thrown the white Marleyan Army uniform she had been wearing into the barrel that had a fire going.
"These uniforms are tight, they're too small." Cloud complained as he struggled to get the pants off.
"Just rip them." Biggs suggested as he threw one leg of the pants into the fire, before throwing the other one in. "That's what I did."
"Come on, we can't be seen out here." Jessie tried to hurry him up as she kept a lookout. "The Army will be swarming the city soon."
"Alright." Cloud conceded as he ripped the pants off before replacing them with a pair of his own. "I can't believe we did this." He muttered as he finished throwing the uniform away.
"We've used bombs before." Biggs reminded him.
"On buildings that were empty, not bridges that had people on them." Cloud shot back. "Not to mention the bombs that went on the cars."
"I know, I don't like it, people dying because of the bombs I make isn't what I envisioned when we agreed to help him." Jessie admitted. "But you guys feel it too right? When he talks, he makes it feel like the right thing to do."
"He does have a way with words." Biggs admitted. "Lukas was quite open with us though. If we want Eldian equality, the war needs to continue, even if the methods aren't exactly ethical."
"Yeah, I suppose..." Cloud trailed off.
"Right, well come on then." Jessie began to move through the alley they were in. "We need to get back to the bar before any Army or Public Security get there."
A/N -
Nari - Iran