Silly Little Soldiers

by KatherineOfArrogant

Reiner Braun was raised to be full of contradictions. His mother raised him to trust everybody, and the military raised him to trust nobody. He knew many useful skills in life, like budgeting and sewing, but also only knew useless skills in life, like budgeting and sewing. The only thing they could agree on was that Eldians were bad, Marleyans were good, and war was worth dying for

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: What's at Stake- pt 1

"She's making a scene." Porco winced quietly so the surrounding crowd wouldn't hear. They had just gotten off the boat and were waiting to be taken across town to Liberio when this had happened.

Reiner frowned, but nodded in agreement.

"Giuseppe! Giuseppe! My Giuseppe! Please, where is he?! My Son, tell me!" The woman sobbed, walking aimlessly around the platform and clinging onto the uniforms of Marleyan officers.

One of the men sneered and shoved her away, "If your son isn't on the roster then he's dead! Now go home ma'am, you're disturbing the peace."

"No, no he can't be." Shakily, the woman stood again and started shouting again, " Giuseppe! Giuseppe come home! This isn't the time to tease your poor mother."

Reiner bit his lip to stop it's slight trembling, moving his gaze instead to the guard who had pushed her away. An ugly sneer spread across his face as he pulled his gun around and held it at the ready. Reiner paled, suddenly seeing an old Eldian man with a caved in face and the sounds of pulverizing flesh. He moved before he could fully process what was happening.

"W-wait! Ma'am! Please hold on a moment." He called out as he ran up to the distressed woman. She paused and turned around to see Reiner approaching. For a brief moment, he was worried she would scream and yell at the devil to leave her alone. To his relief, she merely smiled. Small and blissful. He smiled back nervously up at her, eyes flickering to the man who had turned away.

"Ma'am? You need to quiet down or else you might get hurt. If you can go home, maybe your son will meet you there…" He cut himself off when the woman fell to her knees and reached towards Reiner, slow and almost reverent.

Before Reiner could back away, he was engulfed in a warm and welcoming hug. He couldn't remember the last time his mother had ever shown him this much affection.

"Giuseppe...Don't leave me, please."

Reiner swallowed thickly, "I'm sorry ma'am. Who knows though? He could be fine, people get lost in the system all the time."

"Giuseppe...please, Giuseppe" Reiner could feel her shaking as she held him tighter, wet tears stained his shoulder.

Reiner frowned in confusion, "ma-?" His breath caught when he realized that she was talking to him. Begging him to not leave her. Blinking back tears, he hugged her back "Yeah, mom. Let's just go home now, okay?"

Karina knew something was about to change, she could feel it deep in her bones. A well of excitement swelled in her stomach whenever she walked up to the calendar and marked another day late on her next period.

She was at two weeks now, and there was no mistaking it. She was pregnant, proof of her and her love's deep bond.

It was more than that though, because this child would be half Marleyan. She would be taken out of this god-forsaken place forever, and live blissfully with her true love and child. Smiling, she rested a hand on her stomach as she waited for her parents to return home from work. It was a shame her brother wouldn't be here for her last goodbye before she left this family, but it couldn't be helped. Conscription for Eldain men was compulsory, and he was at a far away base in the mid-east.

Karina could barely contain her excitement when her mother and father returned home from the dress shop they co-owned. She stood, "Ma! Da! I have exciting news!" She grinned.

Avi and Delilah smiled bemused at each other before turning to Karina. She tried to not be dismayed by their condescending expressions and pushed forward: "I'm pregnant!"

Her parents looked at her in a mix of confusion and horror, "but how!?" Her mother cried, "You're not married!" Her mother put her face in her hands and eased onto the couch, her husband holding her close.

"Karina," Avi started, "What did you do?"

In a flash in indignation, Karina glared at her parents "I fell in love, that's what! And he's going to take me away from here and appreciate me! Like you never did!"

"Karina…" Delilah's eyes widened, "What are you saying?"

"That's right mom. The man I love-" She hesitated for a second, knowing the weight of her next words "Is a Marleyan!"

"Karina, how could you!" Her mom stood to meet her eyes, "You put this whole family at risk by carrying one of their children! I won't stand for it!"

"You're telling me to leave!?"

"I'm telling you to get rid of it!" A heavy silence filled the room at her mother's harsh, sinful words. Karina looked between her parent's grim expressions. Her father looked away when she met his eyes.

"You-you can't be serious. To even suggest that…?" Karina whispered. Her mother was a kind, pious woman. How could she ever say something so awful?

"Karina, you must think rationally." Her father said, just above a whisper, "If not that, at least consider adoption. You're not ready for a child, especially not without a husband."

"But I won't be without a husband!" She insisted, "He loves me, I know it. This child is my ticket out of this awful place and you're just jealous of me. You want to keep me here and control me, well I won't let you! I hate you!" Karina turned, grabbing her coat as she ran to the door.

"Wait!" Avi called out, "Where will you go?"

Karina had to fight to keep her voice steady, and she didn't dare turn around for fear they'll see the tears brimming in her eyes. "To the only person that loves me." Slamming the door behind her, she ran into the dimming twilight.

She didn't hear her mother's last words to her father, "If she does keep that child, they will be ruined."

"But I don't wanna visit Papa." Reiner whined to his mother uselessly, "All his stories are so boring and he smells weird." He huffed, sitting back in his seat at the dining table.

Karina sighed from her place in front of the sink, "I know, but he's family and he wants to see his beautiful grandson. And you shouldn't talk about your elders like that." She quickly amended after a bit of thought, placing a clean dish on the rack next to her.

"Why aren't you coming then?" Reiner shot back, letting his face rest in his palm.

"I...I can't. I have work to do, and then I have to make dinner. I'm too busy."

Reiner resisted the urge to point out he made enough to support both of them, but knew that would only make his mom agrier. "What are we even supposed to talk about?" He muttered to himself half hoping his mom wouldn't hear him.

"I don't know, Reiner! Maybe you can bond over getting Syphilis in the war."

Reiner flinched away, his mom always got weird when Papa was involved. Reiner got the sense she didn't really like him very much. He couldn't understand why, he couldn't imagine hating one of his parents.

But, if his mom wanted an excuse to stay home: "Hey, could you make chicken soup and apple pie for dessert!"

Karina huffed a small laugh, "Maybe, but you have to be a good boy that doesn't argue with his mother." Reiner nodded with a grin, making a motion like zipping his lips. "Good, now get along. Visiting hours will end soon."

The old folks home Papa lived in was on the east side of town next to the hospital. For as long as he could remember Papa had lived there. According to the stray photograph around the house, Papa had lived with them for a short time when he was a toddler, but those memories were long gone. It was hard to imagine him and his mom getting along long enough to live with each other. They never really talked much anyway, so maybe it wasn't that impossible.

When he entered the hospital, the receptionist saluted him with a small, almost mocking smile. Reiner gave a hesitant smile back and quietly asked for Avi Braun's room.

"Room 316, sweetheart." Reiner ducked his head and hurried away. It was strange, the difference between how people at home and people in the military treated him. He supposed it was because the military knew more about him- he couldn't imagine Commander Magath looking at him like that.

Reiner knocked on the door and waited for the soft "who is it?" to open.

"It's just me, Papa." Reiner said, peaking through the door and slowly opening it all the way. It seemed every time he visited him, Avi got worse and worse. He was sitting back in a wooden wheelchair now, and Reiner could hear his heavy breathing. He immediately surveyed the room, it was small with one bed and a bookshelf. There was one window on the side wall, but they were on the third floor and a jump would probably be lethal. Only one exit. A silent radio sat on the bedside table.

"Who?" He asked in a low, wheezing mutter.

"You're grandson!" Reiner said loudly, knowing his hearing was going.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Uh... Carl."

"No, It's Reiner. Reiner!"

"Don't back talk me boy. I know your name, I couldn't forget. You're the Warrior Cadet, right?"

Sighing Reiner sat down at the small tea table across from his grandfather. Sure enough, the room smelled like old people and cigarettes. He wrinkled his nose. "Yes, Papa. That's me."

"I remember now. When you got into that blasted program Karina called me to gloat. It's been awhile, already too busy to visit your old ailing grandpa?" He let out a low, wheezing laugh that sounded like death to Reiner.

"I've been fighting for Marley in the colonies."

"Oh? How's that been, as glorious as they promised you?"

Reiner flushed at the jab like a personal insult, as if it was exposing his own terrible thoughts. "Of course!" He defended immediately, "Fighting for my country is better than anything I could have asked for! I'm thankful everyday-!"

"Good lord boy, quiet down! You're a disgrace to our people, acting like a dog."

Reiner's mouth hung open in shock. He couldn't possibly be hearing right, his own family would never say anything so traitorous. "What?" he asked hopelessly.

"I've fought in Marley's wars before, in the imperial wars 70 years ago that made this country the beast it is. You can't lie to me. They can't lie to me. Nothing ever changes, you'll see that when you get older."

Reiner's fists balled into his loose pant legs, "Things will change once I become a Warrior. I can help everyone by showing the world that Eldians are more than just devils."

"By going to that island and defeating that demon King Fritz? I will say this, I really hope you succeed in that. You've seen it, titans are losing their usefulness in today's world. We're losing our usefulness, and soon they will decide we're more trouble than we're worth. Then, it's going to happen all over again."

Avi looked down, a strange sadness lingering in his eyes. Reiner's fingers loosened and he frowned in confusion at the sudden change in demeanor.

"What do you mean?" Reiner ventured quietly, almost afraid for the answer.

Avi sighed and moved to get up from his chair. With a heavy groan, he stood and started to hobble over to the bookshelf across the room, one hand trying to support his back. "Wait here for a tick, Carl."

"Reiner!"

"I know who you are!" He yelled back. Reiner threw his hands up and fell back in his chair in exasperation. Great, now he has to sit here and listen to the insane ramblings of an old man for forever.

"Let's see here." He could hear his grandpa breathe out, running his withered fingers over the spines of books. "There it is." He pulled a thick bible from the shelf, written in large print for his failing eyes. Reiner tried to hide his surprise when from it, Avi pulled out another small journal hidden inside.

"I don't suppose you would have been taught about this in school. It only ended 70 years ago and yet nobody remembers it. It's shameful how easily people are manipulated into forgetting. Like whipped dogs."

He allowed the journal to fall in front of Reiner lazily and he sat back in the chair across from him. Hesitantly Reiner reached out, before catching himself just before his fingers made contact with the weathered leather binding it. "What is it?"

"It's what will happen if you don't bring back the founding titan." Suddenly, Reiner very much didn't want to touch it.

When his grandson made no move to look, he continued, "You see, Eldians were all over the world when King Fritz made his grand escape. Too many to be contained in camps like you see today. Our numbers had to be reduced, or else we may rise up again. So the new Marleyan government enacted a new policy to get rid of us.

"At first, as many as possible were moved into work camps to start building Marley's infrastructure. Men and women were worked to death, beaten when they rested even for a second. Even that wasn't enough though, and more Eldian resistance cropped up in the world. After that, it was decided our population had to at least be cut in half. No, maybe to a third."

His words hung in the air for a long while, Reiner didn't dare to breathe and disturb the scene. In some childish hope if he ignored it, it wouldn't be real. Like most things in life, Reiner was proven wrong.

"Work camps weren't enough anymore. They were all converted into euthanasian camps. All sorts of new methods were devised to kill us. Some were taken into sealed stone rooms that were heated so all the air was snuffed out. A weighted blade was used to chop off a man's head with mechanical efficiency. Others were locked in dark rooms and starved.

They justified it by saying that Eldians did worse. Crucifixion, Scaphism, but all that was for criminals. This was just a mindless erasure of human life. When it finally ended, the Eldians that were left stayed there. One of those camps was Liberio, and I was born at the height of this. My older sister wrote that diary there before she was killed as well. I never met her, but found it when my mother passed. It's all in there, if you're brave enough to look."

Reiner decided then that he was in no way brave enough to look. He stubbornly kept his eyes focused on his tightly clasped hands. His stomach was in knots, like it was eating itself in a well honed sense of fear and danger. It took everything he had not to get up then and there and dash out the door.

Instead he responded in a weak whimper, "Why would you tell me this, Papa?"

"Because... I think when you get behind those walls you won't find terrible devils."

Reiner's head shot up to look at him in disbelief. He couldn't fathom someone actually saying something so terrible, untrue, and even treasonous. He suddenly got a flash of Soroka being dragged away.

"I think what you'll find is a bunch of idiots. People that have been deprived of any knowledge of the outside world. You'll be so stunned by their pure stupidity that you may even think they're not all bad. When that happens, I want you to remember this. This is what's at stake." To punctuate his words, Avi pushed the book towards Reiner. He recoiled like it was on fire.

Reiner stood suddenly, "You don't know what you're talking about!" He screamed, "You're just a stupid old man that doesn't know anything about Marley! I hate you!"

"Where will you go?" His grandpa asked in such a quiet voice it made Reiner stall, "When you walk above mass graves and catacombs filled with your dead people. There's no escape."

Reiner slammed the door as he ran.

Karina fought a blush as she walked to the barracks to meet with her love. She fantasized about what she would say, what he would say. Sweet words of love that would make what happened with her parents not even matter.

She approached him quietly, seeing him alone and smoking a cigarette on the steps. Smiling coyly, she wrapped her arms around him from behind.

He laughed, gently removing her hands, "Karina, what did I tell you about doing this type of thing in public?" his voice held the distinct edge of annoyance.

She giggled, "Well, there's nobody around. And besides...today is special."

"Why's that?" He smiled indulgently, standing up to look at her with his cigarette placed lazily between his perfect lips.

All of Karina's prepared speech had left her immediately. She nervously played with her fingers with a furious blush coloring her face. "I-I'm pregnant!" The words felt like a weight off her shoulders and she couldn't stop the grin spreading across her face.

It fell as soon as she looked at his face. His expression went slack with shock and his eyes were wide in horror. The cigarette tumbled uselessly from his mouth. "What do you mean? You're pregnant?"

"I- yeah!" She stepped forward, but he immediately stumbled back, "And we can be happy together now. We can get married, and no one needs to know that I'm Eldian! I don't have to be Karina the eldian, I'm Karina-"

"I can't marry you!" He exclaimed suddenly, "My parents would disown me, I would be imprisoned, everything I ever worked for would be gone." He ran a hand through his brown hair and looked away from her. "I don't want anything to do with you!"

Karina stood shocked before hot rage gripped her stomach, "How could you! This baby is just as much yours as mine."

"No, you're the one that seduced me. You. You can deal with this on your own, wicked woman." He turned to leave her, not once looking back.

"You'll regret this!" Karina cried against the tightness of her throat and hot tears, "You'll see! This child is going to be someone great, and you'll see then! Carl Reiner!"

Reiner leaned against a light post outside the building to catch his breath. His mind reeled against what his grandfather had told him, it couldn't be true. No way would Marley lie to them about something so big. He was just an old man that didn't know anything.

With one final gulp of air, he straightened and moved towards the road. He'd spent enough time here for his mother's sake, he could leave now. Just as he was moving towards the road, a black, expensive looking government car pulled up. Four men dressed in state military police uniforms exited with rifles slung over their backs.

Reiner averted his gaze when one looked at him. They walked into the building without any acknowledgement towards him. His mind screamed at him that something was off, that it wasn't a normal inspection. He suddenly couldn't stop thinking about the old radio in his grandfather's room- turned on but silent. Just like the one in his classroom Magath would yell at him for playing with even though it didn't work.

He couldn't put it all together, he just knew it wasn't right. He ran for the public phone-booth and dialed the number he had memorized. When the woman on the other end answered, he asked to speak to his mother.

"Mom?" He asked quietly, whispering into the receiver, "I think you should come say goodbye to Papa…"

"Reiner? What's wrong?"

"I think he's about to disappear."

"What? Reiner, what are you-" She was cut off when Reiner hung the receiver back up. He didn't feel like there was much else to explain, it was all quite clear to him. And, as everyone was keen to remind him, he was an idiot.

Paul Braun waited outside the woman's clinic, ready to comfort his sister. He couldn't imagine what she was going through emotionally, but everyone had decided this would be for the best. Karina could not raise a child alone when their family was so poor.

The door was pushed open, and for the hundredth time that day Paul's head whipped around to see who had emerged. He saw the familiar mop of blond hair, limp and wet with sweat, tied to pile on top of her head. Her blue eyes were tired, sunken into her face and framed by large bags.

"Kari-" Paul started with a voice heavy with relife, until he saw the squirming bundle in her arms. "Oh! Um, you have a baby." He could do little more than state the obvious.

"That is why most women come here." Karina stated blandly.

"No-I mean, you still have the baby."

"It's my son." She looked down at the bundle with glassy, emotionless eyes. She held him out to her brother, "Carry it, I'm tired."

"Um, okay…" Paul adjusted the tiny thing in his arms. He looked down to the round, chubby face scrunched up in discomfort and couldn't help but smile. Well, he was very cute- maybe it couldn't be so bad to have a nephew. "What's his name?"

"Reiner."

Pauld did a double take, "What? Why such an awful name?" He said before he could think better of it.

"Because," A strange smile graced Karina's lips as she gazed off into nothing, "When this child becomes a warrior, and everyone knows his name- I want that man to never be able to forget. It's his son, and there's no escaping that." Karina started to walk down the street in the direction of their house, uncaring if Paul actually followed.

Paul frowned, "And what will you do if he doesn't become a warrior?"

Karina stalled, but didn't look back. Despite this, her words carried well, "He will be a great warrior, or he will be nothing at all."

Karina had no clue what was going through that boy's head most of the time. Disappeared? What did that even mean? But there was something about how he said it that caused every fear alarm to go off. She glanced at her boss, sitting behind a desk separated from the field of factory workers with glass walls. With so many people gathered in one place, she doubted he would notice if she left suddenly. Her shift was supposed to end soon anyway.

Reiner was stopped at the door of the facility just as the men were coming out. Papa was handcuffed and being hauled outside. He wasn't putting up a fight, but something told Reiner it was more because he couldn't.

When he saw Reiner, He gave a breathy chuckle. "Don't forget what I told you, Carl."

Reiner uselessly followed along as the faceless men dragged his grandpa away, "I...It's Reiner, Papa." There were a lot more that wanted to protest, but that was all he could choke out.

They were in the car now, and one of the men had broken away to open the car door, "Looks like we'll be seeing each other in Paradis, Carl. Not like I had much time here left anyway." He laughed again, louder this time.

Reiner fought a sob.

The door slammed closed, and the engine hummed into life. Reiner could do nothing as it drove away.

He didn't know how long he stood there, but eventually he heard his mother's voice calling out to him. Then, someone started to shake him out of it. He stared numb at his mother's panicked face.

"Reiner! What happened? Where's grandpa?" She asked urgently.

Reiner's throat closed against any answer. How could he possibly explain? It wasn't something she could understand. It wasn't something he wanted her to know he understood. So, he said nothing. It was a skill of his.

Karina stole a glance back at the hospital before running inside, deciding he wasn't worth the effort. Of course, she never found Papa. Nor would they ever see him again.

It didn't take things long to return to normal. Reiner didn't bring up the incident with his friends when they went to Ingrid's Cafe for lunch. It was like everything was normal. Except maybe Porco was quieter than normal, Pieck had cut her pretty hair sometime over the week, and Bertolt kept looking nervously around the Cafe. The only one that seemed to be in a good mood was Annie, which was never a good sign.

But Reiner couldn't pay much attention to them as they enjoyed the outdoor section of the cafe on that sunny day. None of them were bothered by the stormdrain with the putrid scent enough to lose their appetite.

Reiner stole another glance at the drain, his mind wandering back to what his grandpa had told him.

"You walk above mass graves and catacombs filled with your dead people. There's no escape."

"She's making a scene." Porco winced quietly, watching the woman scream and call out her son's name to anyone that would listen. Reiner, being the crybaby idiot he was, actually approached the woman when it looked like the officer may attack her. Porco was reluctant to admit he was relieved someone stepped in, and even more ashamed that it wasn't him.

"At least she'll get reparations back" Porco spat, "They don't give us shit for everything we sacrificed."

Zeke stole a glance to Porco, and sighed. "You...sure do have a lot of opinions. Hey, I have an idea!" He smiled, "Let's spend the day together."

Porco scoffed, "No thanks."

"Well, good thing I wasn't asking then."

"I don't think thats-" Marcel started weakly, only to be cut off by Zeke.

"Don't worry, I'm just showing him something. It'll be fun."

Zeke had a way of forcing people to bend to his will that was almost inspiring- if it wasn't so damn annoying. Somehow Porco found himself walking behind the man to the complete other side of town, where the universities were.

Around the central park, covered in perfectly cut, green grass white marble buildings stood proud. Large carved columns supported vast entryways of the university halls. Bright flowers bloomed along the perfectly maintained pathways the two walked on through the park.

Porco frowned as he looked around, it looked like there was some type of event going on. Temporary booths selling every type of food Porco could imagine lined the paths. People milled around the square and filed in and out of the buildings.

"What's going on?" He asked, suspiciously eyeing the crowd of Marleyan's around him. The majority didn't seem to notice him, others fixated. He felt a definite shiver run down his spine.

"You'll see." Zeke said, "But we have some time before the main show starts. How about I get you some ice cream or lemonade?"

Porco didn't know what ice-cream was and decided he didn't want to find out. That didn't stop Zeke from buying it still, forcing Porco to awkwardly hold it in his hand.

"We still have some time before the main event starts. Let's sit and talk for a bit." The two found a bench and sat down, Porco stubbornly refused to make eye contact with Zeke. He suddenly didn't like this. "Why don't you try your ice cream? I went through all the trouble of getting it."

After a few moments of tense silence, Porco rose the spoon to his mouth. It was surprisingly good, but he would never admit that. He took a few more, and Zeke hid his smug smile.

"I'm glad you like it. It seems like you've been stressed lately, and that can lead to some bad decisions."

"Stressed?" Porco repeated in confusion. He didn't feel any more stressed than usual.

"Yeah. Stressed. I know it's been hard on everybody- this war- but you have to remember what's in front of you. Who protects you and keeps you fed."

Porco looked down at his now empty ice-cream dish and suppressed a scoff. Like Marley ever cared about him, or any eldian. That much was proven when they let them waste away and die without giving any medical help. He wasn't even sure if most of what the government gives them could be considered food. "Who's that? Because it doesn't seem like anyone in command cares."

Zeke sighed, "That's not what matters here." He glanced at his watch, "Well, no matter. Look at the time! The event is about to start."

"You still haven't told me what we're here for." Porco wondered if it was some type of lecture about how great Marley is.

"I think you've gotten so used to just killing Monnies you forgot what's at stake. Command won't like that. If you want to become a warrior, that is"

"Of course I do!"

"You'll probably want to pay attention then. This was a lesson I had to learn too, all on my own." But then Mr. Ksaver came and showed him what to do, so he wasn't floundering in the dark anymore with no direction. Maybe one day Porco would look back on Zeke and think the same thing.

Perhaps that was a bit presumptuous, but Zeke did miss a game of catch with Mr. Ksaver for this, so it seemed like Porco could be a bit grateful. Even if it will take some time for him to realize this blessing.

They walked towards the door, and a woman sat behind a desk handing out pamphlets. She frowned at their armbands when Zeke reached down to take one.

"Oh, I think you may be lost. Subjects go through a separate door- in the back with the labs."

"Oh no," Zeke waved a gentle, dismissing hand while giving her a smile that made her blush. "We're spectators. Just Warrior Cadets looking to learn more about anatomy."

"Ah, sorry I should have realized by your armband color." She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear while giving Zeke a shy smile. Porco groaned in annoyance. He didn't think this could get much worse.

They walked into the cavernous room. Terraced seats surrounded the circular room in a semi-circle like an amphitheatre. Marble floors, walls and ceilings made the loud chatter between the "spectators" echo loudly, making Porco want to cover his ears to it.

There were no windows, and only two exits: the one they came in from and one across the room. Maybe Zeke was feeling kind towards Porco, or maybe he just had similar instincts, but he led them to the top row and allowed their backs to press against the wall. The most people were clustered in the first rows to get the best look, affording them some privacy.

Porco looked over their heads to the center of the room, where a cold metal table was placed front and center. A chalkboard was attached to the wall, and he could see the words "Medicine of the future" scrawled in large, swoopy letters.

The other door opened with creaking hinges and the room immediately quieted down. The hairs on Porco's neck stood on end when three men in lab coats walked in. Behind them another man wearing a white straight jacket was led in by a man wearing a military police uniform. Despite the way he was bonded, they still kept the Eldian armband on him.

The military policemen made the man sit down at the metal table. Porco was suddenly reminded of the metal butcher's tables they would skin the deer on in training camps. He remembered Reiner crying from that, and that he had made fun of him. Porco suddenly felt a bit bad for that.

"Hello Ladies and germs," The rotund doctor started, earning a few forced laughs, "Thank you for coming here today to witness this medical miracle. Never before have we seen this much progress in the science of mental health and the brain. All thanks to the services of this fine university and the Liberio Interment Zone Mental Asylum." He gestured to the front row, "and I could not be more proud to show our stakeholders the fruits of our labor."

One of the assistants next to him rolled a metal tray over, next to where the Eldian man laid prone on the table. The doctor held up the tools: a hammer and an icepick.

"This man has been living at the asylum for three years now. He has suffered from combat fatigue, melancholia and acute psychosis manifesting in auditory hallucinations and violent episodes. Unfortunately his story is not a unique one, and our hospitals are overflowing with people like him. But see how with this simple procedure, with these common household tools, he will be transformed into a new person. One that Marley will be proud of. Perhaps in the future, this will be used to treat combat fatigue amongst our soldiers. Wouldn't that be something?"

Murmurs of agreement and awe rose through the crowd. The doctor nodded in satisfaction.

"It's found that all mental illness stems from the frontal lobe of the brain- just behind the eye socket. Removing or destroying this section of the brain relieves the patient of all mental anguish. This procedure is called the lobotomy, and it's so simple the patient doesn't even have to be asleep. Observe:"

The doctor approached the man, and poised the pick in the corner of his left eye. Porco could see the man's eyes were open and moving. A chill ran down his spine, and he unconsciously rubbed at his eyes. Porco glanced at Zeke, who watched the scene with dull curiosity.

The doctor raised the mallet slightly, and brought it down on the spike- just like hammering a nail. The resounding crunch rang through the room and echoed off the marble. Porco's stomach churned and his body seemed to curl into itself. The icecream he ate earlier almost came back up as he screwed his eyes shut to erase the image. But he couldn't erase the sound.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he hesitantly looked up to see Zeke looking down at him in thinly veiled disgust. "This is what could happen to you, Porco. If you keep mouthing off and talking bad about Marley. Do you think they would just let you go quietly? After investing so much time and money into you? No, they'll call you ill, "combat fatigue" they call it now. Then they'll make you receive this treatment, so you can go back to the front." He shifted so his arm was draped over his shoulders, and his expression softened into something more sympathetic, "I just want to protect you, from yourself."

They left soon after that, and as soon as they were back in the Interment zone Porco ran from Zeke and his "kindness".

Marcel never learned about what Porco had seen, he just knew that he didn't talk much afterwards. A small part of Marcel was thankful for that.

Annie lingered around the grieving woman hanging onto Reiner like a leech for perhaps longer than she had to. No matter how shameful the display was, a small part of her sympathized with the woman who would cling to such a fleeting hope instead of facing the fact she was alone now.

Annie wasn't very excited to get back to her own lonely existence. When the train finally arrived, she was in no hurry to get on it. So, she did what she was best at: watching.

Annie was always a watcher rather than a doer. She liked to observe quietly, Reiner often liked to remark she was creepy when he thought she wasn't listening. But she always was. That's why she was considered bright for her age, when most kids would just accept what anyone would tell them and never slow down to think about it, Annie actually listened to what happened around her.

A part of her envied the others, a greater part resented them.

When she was let off the train she quickly left before the others noticed her leaving, following the tracks into unincorporated Liberio and into the forests. Even though it was late fall, the trees seemed unaffected. She had hoped by the time she got back the trees would finally start to shed their leaves and allow more light into the forest, but as she crossed the threshold it was as dreary as ever. She took her time following the train tracks to her home.

Annie's father never left the house except to get milk and eggs in town and he never let her leave either. They lived in the switch house that they refurbished to be livable, and had a small vegetable garden that gave them almost everything they needed. Julian was technically a government worker and collected meager checks without ever having to leave his house.

When she was younger, Annie remembered how excited she would be when the telegraph came to life for a switch. It was the only thing that broke up the monotony of living secluded without being allowed to leave. Then, when training started she didn't have any time or energy to find it interesting. At least when one came, her father would have to leave her to attend to it.

But ever since the war in Mantega started, the trains stopped coming except for the weekly coal freight or the odd military train because of the supply shortage and she stopped even getting those breaks. It didn't seem like her father did anything except for torture her.

The only way it was legal for them to live outside the residential area was because of Julain's job. Annie had learned in school it was illegal for Eldians to live in unincorporated Liberio or else they would be arrested for squatting and sentenced to 10 years at a work camp. Poaching was even worse, 20 years in a corrections facility. It may have been legal for them to live there, but she knew it wasn't legal for her father to bring home any game, something he did at least once a week. She never mentioned this to him.

Oh, how Annie fantasized about turning him in for poaching. She never did though, because if her father was taken away then she really would be alone. No one would want her, even her own parents didn't want her. She was alone, even in her own house.

Annie opened the aged wooden door without knocking and saw her father sitting at the table. He looked up and closed the book he was reading to acknowledge her. He didn't smile. He never smiled, not around Annie.

"Good, your back. I'm sure you haven't had much time to train while away, let's get to it."

Annie learned a long time ago to stop trying to resist it, so she set her seabag down and followed her father outside to the training grounds. She put the crying woman out of her mind and focused on the familiar dull emptiness training made her feel instead of her father's yelling.

She continued to train until the sun went down, and the next morning she woke up early to go for a walk before her father woke up. Her sleep schedule was so messed up from the time difference in Mantega she was up before the sun rose.

She followed the railroad tracks to the edge of the forest, and stood looking at the sunrise. She wondered why she didn't just go into town and ignore her father. She was a Cadet now, she held more power over him in the eyes of the law, but she still couldn't. The others were supposed to meet each other at the end of the week at some cafe they liked. Annie wasn't invited, she never was, but she wondered what it would be like to be.

The feeling of the sun on her face suddenly reminded her she had to get back for training. Her father would probably be up and ready to start training again. Sighing, she wished she was back in Mantega. Funny how that worked.

The day offered more of the same as the grueling hours of training and boredom wore on.

"Try harder, Annie! How will you bring honor to us like this?!" Her father would scream at her. Somehow, his voice was more annoying that Magath's.

She kept going, hitting the wooden posts as hard as she could. With each mindless kick or punch she felt her mind slowly leaving her. Everything around her fell away as her thoughts consumed her: about the war, about hypocrites like Zeke or Gideon, Camunni savages that wouldn't hesitate to wring her neck for the sin of existing, and that there was no end in sight. It was so unfair, as childish as it sounded.

At one point, her body gave out and she had to stop. Her hands fell to her knees as she gasped for breath uselessly.

Noticing it, her father started to yell again, "What are you doing!? Don't stop now! You think you can fulfill your duty like this?!" There were crinkling footsteps as her father got closer, too close. A heavy hand fell on her shoulder as he screamed his next words, "Have you forgotten what's at stake here?!"

Something inside Annie snapped, and any logical thought gave way to instinct and anger. In a second, she had kicked her father's leg so hard she was sure she heard a snap and he was down. She looked down at her work, and distantly thought she should be ashamed. She wasn't, and for once she felt powerful. She screamed again and continued to kick her father.

Annie wasn't sure when she stopped or why, but knew she felt empty as she looked at her father's crippled form. She didn't acknowledge him as she walked back inside their house to get some food and drink. She'd catch hell for this later, she knew, and after she slept she even felt energised enough to regret it. Although, she wasn't sure if she regretted what she did to her father, or the inevitable punishment.

Annie was in bed by the time she heard her father stumble in, the loud banging it produced woke her up even in her exhaustion. Still, she pretended to sleep as her father cursed under his breath and wrapped his wounds. Eventually, he left the house again and her keen ears could hear their horse whinnying.

He must have gone into town to seek medical attention. Annie's mind was plagued with the odd angle his leg was bent at when she was through. It didn't stop her from sleeping peacefully, though.

Julian had yet to return when Annie woke up, so she made herself some oatmeal and waited for him to return at the table- not knowing what else to do. There wasn't much for her to do here, and she was reminded again of her dependence on him. She made herself another bowl of oatmeal and poured another glass of milk. Then another.

It was noon by the time the door to their small home finally creaked open, allowing sunlight to pour inside. Annie kept her eyes glued on the ground in front of her as her father limped inside.

"The doctor's said my leg will never heal." He was deadly calm, but Annie still flinched away from him. He dragged his leg across the ground as he approached his adoptive daughter. Her entire body tensed, waiting for a strike for more yelling. Instead, a light hand was placed gently on her head. She looked up to see her dad smiling.

"Good job, Annie, you'll become stronger." An unfamiliar feeling came with his words, but it was pleasant. Her lips twitched up in a slight smile, she felt good. Powerful.

She sat with her father the rest of the day at the table, talking about her mission. For the first time in her life, she believed what he said wholeheartedly. "Yes father, I will become strong!" She answered one of his questions.

"I'm proud of you Annie." That's all she wanted to hear.

These days passed quicker then, and as she was marking off the day on the calendar she realized today the others would be meeting. Maybe, just this once, she should join them.

She grabbed her bag and tossed in a few bills and coins before heading to the door, her father sat at the table reading the newspaper.

"Annie!?" He called after her, "Where are you going? You have training to do! You can't just leave."

Except she could, because she was stronger than him now. They both knew it, and that was why he didn't get up from his seat to block her now. "I'm going out, I'll be back tonight." she said coldly before closing the door behind her. She inhaled the outside air with a content sight, she never noticed how good the forest smelled.

Annie walked lighter into town than she ever had, because now she knew she was loved- because she was powerful.