Scream of Oppression

The Azumabito Palace – Night

After everyone had settled down from the battle and the meeting, Leo and Armin were talking alone, so Annie and the rest could not hear…

Armin: Leo… why did come here? Really?

Leo is uneasy: You doubt my reasons dad?

Armin: Yes.

Leo is shocked and offended: Well… that's disappointing.

Armin: Don't get me wrong… I don't think you are here to do harm… what I mean is… you just wouldn't leave Sasha for such a reason… not after this long.

Leo is silent.

Armin: Please talk to me son… she ordered you… to come here… right?

Leo keeps silent and brooding.

Armin: Leo… I know. About her… and her true self.

Leo looks at him with tears in his eyes.

Armin puts his hand on Leo's shoulder: I won't pry if you are uncomfortable talking about it… but I want you to know… you can talk to me about it… if you want.

Leo looking down: How… do you know? Is your faith in our friends… that strong?

Armin: Well… life has thought me… to look beyond what's in front of me… especially when it comes… to people as special as Sasha… and her father. I'm not saying what she has done is not wrong… but I believe… people can make mistakes and do better. Even if some of them… are unforgivable.

Leo: Isn't that a bit like… a slap in the wrist… as punishment for a horrible deed?

Armin is reflecting: It might… I guess… I'm not that good either huh? Heh… but then again… in a life like ours… who is?

Leo keeps brooding.

Armin: I'm glad Leo… that you have been able to live a life… that allows you to reflect on such things…

Leo: I don't… know what to think… coming here…. Bringing you that crystal… I know it should make me feel good… but… after all I've seen… I'm… afraid.

Afraid I brought destruction here… without knowing… by blindingly do… her bidding.

Armin: Whatever it is… it's probably better than what is happening in Marley now… come with me. This is the true reason I told you to come.

Leo: Huh?

Armin: We are going in hiding… to the city.

Leo: What? But Onyakopon told us it's sieged by the military… and there are Sentinel Titans patrolling…

Armin :That's why we are going now.

Leo: What?!

Armin: In matters of life and death son… and the future of humanity… sometimes we need to have a little faith…

Armin looks back smiling at Leo: And that goes for love too.

Higashikan Outskirts

The Hizurian fields, before the Revolution, had regained their pre-Rumbling color and fertility. There were many plantations and agriculture farms.

Leo was shocked to find the ruins of the farms, the neat roads dirty and filled with weeds.

Leo: What happened here? How everything changed so fast?

Armin: I told you it couldn't get worse. That man… Aganyu… his rise to power… sure seems to be some sort of punishment from Kaspar Ackerman to Marley. I'll tell you on the way… how life has been for marleyans under his short rule.

Immediately after his rise and the overthrow of the Council… Aganyu declared that Marley is to become a Vassal Kingdom to the Eldian State and suppressed the independence of the former estates of the Marleyan Confederacy… this did not sit well.

Civil unrest started to emerge on every corner of Marley… the aristocrats and military leaders were not convinced to allow Aganyu to keep his power… so he resorted to bribery. He gave away most of the productive lands of Hizuru to the aristocrats… and the ownership of the Easter Crystal to the military. This effectively bought them… for a while.

Repression was widespread… Aganyu managed to gain control of all the estates of the continent… but not the people, so countless opposition paramilitary groups started to form.

In the meantime… Aganyu decided to try to gain the public's favor… with some controversial mandates… the main one was the abolition of monogamy…

Leo: Huh? What? What do you mean?

Armin: On the excuse of reestablishing the former glory of Marley, Aganyu mandated that men do "their patriotic duty" and impregnate as many women as they could… no matter the method or age… as long as they were on their fertile years… to give Marley more children.

Leo is sickened to hear this.

Armin: Needless to say… it caused chaos on all cities. Rapes and murders were widespread… it caused a deep change on society. A group of Eldians renounced their beliefs on Eren and Sasha and restored the old Wallist religion… the paramilitary groups drastically grew, particularly on Hizuru… to the point a full scale civil war started 8 months ago… to the point that Aganyu's rule was hanging by a thread

Then six months ago… a scream was heard. And everything changed.

Sentinel titans were placed on the capital of every state of Marley to repress all opposition… Pillar titans were used as annihilation tools.

Leo is disturbed: This doesn't make sense… the Sentinel and Pillar titans of Paradis don't kill anyone…

Armin: That's why the people at the meeting were weary of your recount of events… all but me. I figured out why that is… and you will see it when we get to the city…

Higashikan

Barricades were all over the city, debris covered the streets. Citizens were occupied attending the wounded and putting put fires after a day of battles. The Regal Army was controlling small protests.

Leo: Where are we going?

Armin: To where the titans are

Leo panics: WHAT?! WHY?

Armin: Trust me. It won't take long…

Armin and Leo approached the city square, where there was a gathering cordoned by the military. Three sentinel titans were there… and behind them a massive beast.

Leo is shocked: What the hell is that!?

Armin: That's Aganyu in his titan form… we call him the Howling Titan.

The 10 meter tall, 15 meter in length Howling Titan was fully covered in greyish black fur; it had armored monkey like paws with massive claws; it's body was very muscular and slender with a wide back; it's jaws were elongated with massive fangs.

The Howling Titan started to speak in a thunderous deep and distorted voice: People of Higashikan… this is your viceroy. I speak to you in this monstrous form out of necessity,… it seems you have sheltered a insurrectionist group in your city… and that can't be tolerated…

You might have heard stories from the neighboring cities… of a beast prowling and hunting dissidence with a battalion of titans… as you can see it's all true! In this holy form given to me by our pontiff, I will travel across the Kingdom, personally ending this pointless rebellion.

To make my point clear… let me tell you about tonight's ceremony.

In front of the titans, 3 bloodied men were hanging from a pole.

These men are commanders from the terrorist group that is assaulting this city… as they have done in other places… the titans here… will send a clear message to those who oppose the government… desist.

The Howling Titan then screamed which caused the immobile Sentinel Titans to kneel behind the hanging men, took them and started to violently devour them.

Leo was shocked and repulsed to the point of gagging.

The Howling Titan: Might this be a reminder to all… of the horrors these people are trying to bring back. In our new world… may these scenes never be seen again.

The Howling Titan then started to prowl away in an impressive speed, heading towards other city… meanwhile the Sentinel Titans, as Aganyu got far away, started to slowly roam around the city… not harming anyone.

Armin: You understand now?

Leo is still disturbed by what he saw: No I don't.

Armin: The sentinel and pillar titans are acting violent in here… when they are commanded by the Howling Titan.

Leo: But… how? Isn't that supposed to be the Founding Titan's exclusive power?

Armin: This puzzles me too… our ignorance about the titans has weakened us again… it seems the Howling possess the power of the Beast, Armored and the Jaw titan…

Leo: And the scream? None of those titans had such power…

Armin: One did… the Female Titan. It could call the regular titans through a scream… I guess Aganyu perfected that power.

Leo: But why? Why Sasha gave him that power?

Armin: I don't think she did it on purpose.

Leo: Huh?

Armin: Remember what you said… about the blood ceremony. She said that fate would determine what powers Yelena and Aganyu gained… if anything… she has sinned by ignorance… she did not know what she was doing.

Leo: Sasha… He punches the ground.

At that moment, Armin feels a slight tremble.

Armin: Stay here… I'll be right back.

Leo: Huh?

Armin rapidly goes to an alley, as the tremble is felt strongly.

Armin then returns after a moment… with a letter and a bag.

Leo: Who gave that to you? What was that tremble?

Armin: It's for you.

Leo is shocked… the letter has Sasha's handwriting…