Chapter 29: The Truth Unsealed

(Scout Headquarters)

Eld knew it was only a matter of time before someone attempted to kill Annie and Dillon. What he didn't expect was that they couldn't prevent the attack from happening in the first place. A quick investigation of the guards that were supposed to be protecting Dillon revealed that they took a bribe from the ringleader. Naturally, the guards and three of the attackers were imprisoned in the basement cells, but none of this was over. Word would spread among the ranks, and others would rise to make another attempt.

For now, though, he needed answers from the Scout who led the attack, the same one who smuggled the ODM gear in. Because they weren't stupid enough to borrow Levi's pristine office, Hanji allowed Eld to borrow hers on the condition she could help interrogate the Scout.

"Karl Dewitt," Eld read from the file he had. "Rank 41 of the 99th Cadet Corps. Originally joined Garrison but transferred to the Scouts after the Fall of Shiganshina. Nicknamed 'Dimwit' by your instructor and peers." He closed the folder, giving the Scout in question a pointed look. "I'd say you earned that nickname today, soldier."

"I was only doing my duty, sir," Karl replied simply.

Eld raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? And how do you see it that way?"

"There are threats within Headquarters, and they need to be eliminated."

"Save the fancy monologue for lawyers and politicians," he interjected, crossing his arms.

The Scout stared back, his determined expression unwavering. "If you're looking for regret from me, you're gonna be disappointed, sir."

"Don't worry about it," Hanji assured. "We weren't looking for a guilty conscience. We're just trying to figure out what to do with you."

"I'll accept whatever—" Karl was cut off when Eld's fist slammed into his gut.

"God, your self-righteousness is annoying," Eld muttered. Great, now I'm acting like Levi. He was pretty sure Oluo was laughing his ass off wherever he was.

On his knees, Karl let out a harsh cough, trying to catch his breath. "You people made a mistake."

"Oh? Do tell," Hanji said, pulling the man up.

"Annie Leonhart is a—"

"Okay, we're good," she interrupted, waving him off. "It's just the same thing we've been hearing these past few days. 'Annie's a monster,' 'Dillon is a traitor,' 'They deserve to die,' yadda, yadda, yadda. It's getting old."

"We know why you tried to kill Dillon, but for a so-called patriot of humanity, you nearly damned us all," Eld added. "Tell me, if a Scout managed to kill Amsdale, what do you think Leonhart would've done? How many of us do you think she'd kill before someone managed to bring her down?"

This time, Karl didn't respond, only choosing to avert his gaze.

"That's what I thought." Eld stepped forward so that the man would have no choice but to look at him. "You're going to be facing punishment. How severe it is will be up to you. The sentiment you have is shared by a lot of the Regiment, but only a select few would be stupid enough to act on it. You're gonna give us the names of those soldiers right now."

"What makes you think I know?" Karl asked.

"Your operation consisted of bribery and smuggling ODM gear," he explained. "It's highly unlikely the four of you acted alone. If you cooperate, we can come to an arrangement that may not lead to your court martial."

The man snorted. "I'm not about to snitch on comrades."

Hanji latched onto that statement without missing a beat. "So, there are more than just you four?"

Karl faltered before glowering at the duo.

"Now we know why you're called Dimwit," Eld said. "Give up the names."

"Do whatever you want with me," he growled. "I'm not talking."

"Then I'll talk," Hanji responded, moving Eld out of the way. She gazed her narrowed eyes into Karl's ones, which were gleamed with discomfort from her being so close to him. "Do you know what happens to traitors in these Walls, Dewitt? The lucky ones are faced with a firing squad. Others are hanged in full view of humanity. I can tell you it's quite the spectacle. But the ones that aren't important, people like you, they face life in prison."

Karl's brave façade was starting to crack as she loomed over him. He couldn't even see her eyes anymore and just saw his reflection in her glasses.

"Now, that may not seem so bad, but imagine, if you will, a space that's half as big as this office. That would be the only space you'd occupy for the rest of your life. You won't feel the sun on your face, you'll only eat the slop they serve in your cell, and you'll never leave for any reason. Maybe they'll give you urinal buckets, maybe they won't. Either way, no one is going to clean up your mess. Just think of how that will smell. Covered in your own stench inside the small cell, the only way out is if you starve yourself. And trust me, that's going to take some time. So, if that's a fate you want, take it. Just say the word and we'll have you in MP custody before dinner."

Eld couldn't help but be impressed by the section commander. For someone that had an unhealthy fixation on Titans, she knew just the right things to say to a person… most of the time.

Sure enough, whatever conviction Karl had died as soon as he said, "I'll write them down."

Immediately, Hanji broke into a grin, giving the man a hearty slap on the shoulder. "There we go. I knew you could be reasonable."

Eld just rolled his eyes while procured a paper and pencil. He only hoped that Commander Erwin and Captain Levi would get back soon before the dissention in the ranks turned into a full-scale riot.


(Underground)

Pain wasn't something Matthew was accustomed to waking up to in recent years save for the occasional hangover. What he currently felt was as if someone bashed his skull with a brick. His memory was foggy as his vision started to return to him, everything dark and blurry.

"Easy, Matthew," a familiar voice warned in a soothing tone yet so far away. "You're still hurt."

Immediately, his eyes popped open to see that damn woman looking down at him. His first instinct was to move towards her but being chained to the wall prevented him. He went with his next instinct was to launch a mental assault. With his head in such a state, he'd be lucky if he could lift a pebble.

"With you in such a state, it wasn't hard to keep you down," Elise said.

"What the hell do you want?" Matthew demanded, glaring up at her.

"I told you before that we needed to talk. That's why you're here."

A snarl crossed his lips. "You think I want to hear anything you have to say, Elise?"

"I know that you need to hear it, and we're not going anywhere until I get it through your skull." Elise let out a sigh as she knelt in front of him so they could see eye to eye. Then, she smiled just a little. "I missed you, Matt."

He stiffened at the use of his old nickname. However, he couldn't help but ask, "Are the others still alive?"

"Jacob had a few contacts with the surviving members of the Eldian Restorationists, so he and Atticus went to ground with them," she explained. "We had a good operation going. Thanks to his former senator-hood, Atticus managed to secure the list of all the people responsible for Project Psion. Jacob and me? We handled the rest."

"You two killed them."

"Of course we did," Elise confirmed, sounding slightly annoyed. "You'd have done the same thing. You have more reason than us to want payback."

"You're right. I do," Matthew agreed, remembering everything the Marleyans did to him, "but I wanted nothing to do with them anymore. I just wanted to leave it all behind."

"I know," she said sympathetically. "After everything we've been through, it's only natural that you'd want to escape from it all. A shame that there's no way out this time." Her eyes began to glow.

Sharp daggers began to pierce their way into his mind, causing his body to start convulsing as if he was having a seizure.

"You're just going to spout over and over how you love Carolyn and how much she's changed," Elise explained calmly. "You're messed up, Matt, and I need to know why. It'll hurt more if you resist."

It didn't take long for the screaming to start.


Almost two hours had passed since the bathroom brawl, and yet the Scouts were still talking about it. Some found it cowardly the soldiers would try to kill Dillon while he was in the shower. Others wished that Mikasa was too slow so that by the time the assailants were done, all that'd be left of Dillon was a smear of blood. The air was thick with tension, steadily rising with every minute. One could imagine what spark would set off an unstoppable chain reaction within the Scout Regiment.

That was one of many reasons why Annie holed herself away in the basement. If anyone came looking for her with malicious intent, she'd have time to get into a defensible position. Granted, shifting was out of the question, but it was better than being out in the open where anyone could take a shot at her. Best to lay low until she could figure some things out.

Naturally, her thoughts drifted to Dillon, bringing a mixture of emotions up. He had been through a lot this past week, at least half of it her fault, but now, the Scouts were trying to kill him. The thought of him lying lifelessly on the ground in a pool of his own blood was a fate she dreaded facing. If things kept going the way they were, it was only a matter of time before someone got lucky. She let out a mirthless chuckle, shaking her head. These were the people that Dillon had been fighting for since the day he enlisted. Never said a bad thing about the Scout Regiment, but when the chips were down, they were no better than the rest of the world. He gave them a better opportunity to survive Marley and they spat in his face. Ungrateful bastards, the lot of them.

Then, an idea started to take hold. She remembered back in Stohess making Dillon the best offer she could think of. Climb the walls and escape this wretched country. They could find a place to live away from all this crap. Eldia, Marley, none of it mattered if they were just going to be killed by their supposed allies. Besides, if she and Dillon were the source of the tension, wouldn't removing it save the Scout Regiment? Maybe, maybe not, but if she knew Dillon, she needed to make the argument sound as appealing and positive as possible. Not her strong suit, but she had to try. Of course, there was the tiny issue of the Scouts that would do everything they could to prevent her from leaving. If they wanted a monster so badly, then she would give it to them. After all, she was the Female Titan. It would be amusing to see them try and stop her. Small irritants buzzing around, hoping their stings would bring her down. A simple swipe of her hand and it'd take weeks for them to recover all the pieces. She didn't even realize the unhinged grin that grew onto her face.

And then, her conscience decided to plague her once more, reminding her of all the people she hurt. Armin scared shitless when she pulled his hood back, Jean's rage after learning that she killed Marco, Eren's brokenness when she couldn't be what he wanted her to be: a good person or even a friend, and Dillon… well, just everything with him. She let out a shuddering breath, trying to smother her dark thoughts. Going down that path again would only make things worse, and she'd lose the man she loved for sure. If the Scouts attacked her, she'd try not to kill them. That being said, accidents happen.

Mind made up, Annie began making her way up the stairs. Best option right now was keeping her head low and avoiding eye contact. Her time in the Cadet Corps helped greatly with that. However, she could feel the eyes of the Scouts burning into her as she passed them by, though none of them were stupid enough to try and take her on yet. Still, she kept her guard up just to be on the safe side.

Ascending a couple of levels, she reached her and Dillon's room, a place she hadn't actually been to. With everything that happened, she figured he needed to be alone. The good news was that she recognized the Scouts guarding his room. The bad news was that the two were Gunther and Petra, the last Scouts she wanted to see.

The moment Petra saw her, the ginger-haired woman narrowed her eyes and stiffened. "Annie," she greeted tersely.

"Petra. Gunther," Annie replied just as clipped. She didn't miss how their hands were inching towards their weapons. "Is Dillon inside?"

"No, we just decided to guard an empty room," Gunther answered.

Annie snorted at his sarcasm as she meandered by Petra. Her hand touched the doorknob before she stopped moving, staring at the ground. "The man I killed… what was his name?"

"Why?" Gunther asked, defensive. "What's it to you?"

"So I can add a name to his face," she said quietly.

Petra was quite hesitant in letting her friend's killer know the answer to that question, but that thin line of logic reminded her that his death was an accident. That didn't excuse Annie's actions in the slightest, yet the Shifter at least tried. She let out a sigh, not believing she was actually doing this. "Oluo. Oluo Bozado."

"Thank you, Petra." Annie turned the doorknob and entered the room, closing it behind her. She was surprised that they resisted their urge to impale her.

The sight that greeted her was one she expected. Dillon being wounded was something she had seen many times, but not to this extent. Bruises covered his swollen face and his lip was split. There weren't any other visible injuries, but if she was a betting woman, underneath his clothes were many bandages

"Are you alright?" Annie asked, her eyes wide. She started for him but stopped herself, especially after seeing the look on his face. It was the same one he gave her when he was led to the infirmary.

"I got beaten by my supposed comrades," Dillon muttered. "No, I'm not alright."

She leaned in close, looking him over. She didn't know what she expected to find that the doctor hadn't. It didn't ease her concern.

"Though, I should thank you for your moral support," Dillon said.

She winced, knowing that was coming. "You think that your comrades would take well to your monster girlfriend trying to save you? That's the sort of thing that gets people to start killing each other."

"They were trying to kill me, Annie," he growled. "Or did you forget about the swords and knives they had? They were out for my blood."

"And they'll never stop if they look at you as the enemy. You've fought for the killer of their friends, you've slept with her, and you continue to take her side even though she is the enemy. The more tied to me you get, the more my crimes begin to infect you. It had to be some of your comrades that saved you, not the monster. Levi Squad and Mikasa moved to help you. I chose to let them."

He waved her off. "Fine. Whatever."

She was getting sick of his attitude fast. "You can't have thought they'd just look at you as one of them."

"Oh, what a surprise. Acting like I'm so stupid I couldn't see that coming. That's never been done before." His sarcasm was biting today.

Annie narrowed her eyes. "You've always labored under the delusion that believing that you're right renders you immune to consequences." She shook her head. "I told you there would be consequences. I told you to be careful."

"And how did that work out for me, huh?" he asked, standing up suddenly. The height difference between them almost made it like he was looming over her. "There were guards stationed outside the bathroom and they still got in. I knew damn well some idiot would try to kill me or you. I expected that. What I didn't expect was for the person I have sacrificed so much to keep alive just shuffling her feet in the hall while I was lying on the ground naked as they beat me. You kill Scouts like a fucking psychopath. What's so hard about taking on only four?"

It was as if time itself came to a screeching halt. The neutral mask Annie had worked so hard to keep over the years shattered into pieces. Now, she looked like as if he just slapped her across the face. Maybe it would've been less painful if he did that. Then, her anger started to boil as she asked in a deathly whisper, "What did you say?"

Judging by Dillon's expression, he realized what came out of his mouth. No amount of backpedaling, apologizing, or whatever the hell he could say or do would get him out of this. "Annie—"

"Don't you dare!" Annie's sudden shout made him recoil. There was no way out for him. Her eyes grew colder and her breathing grew slower, but shakier. All those comments that he made to her ever since she revealed who she was came to the forefront of her mind.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind when I walk over the corpses you've made."

"I could only see that smile."

"Is that why you tried to take Eren? Or was it because he was the only person keeping us alive?"

"If Annie betrays us, I can bring her down with everything I've got." "So, you are willing and able to choose humanity over the person you love should the case call for it?" "If the case called for it, sir."

"I can't believe I didn't see this sooner." Her voice was soft yet just as dangerous. "You're just like all the rest, you son of a bitch. No… you're different. You try to defend me to others, but you spit in my face whenever I try to talk to you. You show the same disgust the others have for me, yet you lie to my face and claim to love me. You only care when it is convenient for you. I've tried to talk to you again and again to explain, to try and get you to understand who I truly am, and why I did everything I did. You react with hatred, disgust, and revulsion. You hate that person. Well, guess what, Dillon? That person is Annie Leonhart. The girl you claim to love? She's not real." She let out a patronizing scoff. "I don't even know where you think you met that person. She wasn't who trained with the 104th. She wasn't who fought with you at Trost. She wasn't even the Female Titan. She's a figment of your imagination, who you want me to be. Who you want to love. Any time I open up to you, you just shut me down. Oh sure, hand your superiors all the information I can, pump me for useful facts and details, but do nothing that shatters the image of the girl you want to be with."

She stalked towards him slowly, inwardly enjoying how he backed up. "You never had to experience the world I did. You grew up in Sina, the place where you had loving parents and everything you wanted. When you joined the military, you were settling in beneath your station. You were a noble, put-upon brat who was doing his duty, even as people judged him unfairly. And now, here you are crying in the corner because Mommy and Daddy made you upset. Oh, poor you. In my home, I was a monster the moment I was born. I wore an armband that meant no one would care if a mob beat me to death with rocks or some drunk in an alley decided I was pretty enough to use and discard. I was trained to kill people long before your daddy stopped holding your hand, and I've had to lie to people I so desperately wanted to reach out to every damn day. And every damn day, I got to know them better, no matter how hard I tried not to. It made them all the more human to me.

"One thing you don't get, Dillon: I have to feel things. I have to love a boy who hates everything I am, who can't see me as me, who wants to save me, to rescue me, and mold me into his ideal perfect girl. One that only exists in his imagination, who can comfort him and abase herself before him in grief and guilt whenever he needs to feel better about himself. That's not a girlfriend, that's a mother. You've already got one of those, which is more than I have. I'd kill to be a psychopath. I'd love not to have to feel how I feel about all the killing. I'd rather dehumanize my enemies, because then I can crush them and feel like it is just a fight instead of war, like I'm exterminating a pest rather than ending a life. I'd rather enjoy it than have the nightmares that plague me. I'd rather be the monster you think I am, because if I was, all of this would be so much easier for me. I hate you for making me feel this way!"

After all this time, she had finally done it. Everything was out in the open for him to see. Now, he knew exactly how she felt, and he was flabbergasted to say the least. She knew damn well her words cut deep, and she didn't care. All she had to do was wait and see what he would do next. Maybe he'd cry, beg for her forgiveness like a pathetic bitch. That would be a sight to see.

Then, he lowered his eyes to the ground and admitted, "I made a mistake. I made a mistake believing I could make anything right. I've only made things worse." This was a Dillon that had never been seen before. Completely and utterly defeated. However, he took her by surprise by stepping pass her and heading towards the door, opening it. He stood there in the doorway, his voice devoid of cracking and his face free of tears. "I'm not a Psion, or a soldier, or even a good person. I'm just a useless piece of shit who's only good at causing problems." He closed the door behind him, leaving Annie in the room alone.

Seconds ticked by as Annie stared at the door at loss for words. He left. He just walked away. That was the last straw. The Shifter grabbed the nearest object she could find, a nightstand, and threw it full strength at the door. "Fucking coward!" she shouted. "You mope, you run, you do anything to avoid facing it. You can't stand to make a single hard choice like a real soldier! You snap like a twig, damn it!" She clenched her fist and slammed it into the wall, cracking it when she didn't get a response. Not like she really expected one. "Fucking coward…. Fucking coward!" She punched the wall one final time before she threw herself onto the bed, beginning to sob.

But this release of anger didn't make her feel any better. She was robbed of that, too.


Matthew cried out in pain as he slumped against the wall, panting heavily. He had a nosebleed, but it paled in comparison to what she was doing to his head.

"Damn it, I told you not to resist," Elise rebuked, glaring at him with eyes that were no longer glowing.

"Did you really expect anything less?" Matthew asking once he was able to catch his breath.

She shook her head. "No, but you can't blame me for having a little bit of optimism." She sighed, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Matt, why are you fighting me? Why won't you let me help you?"

"I don't want your help," he snarled, trying to move away from her. "I just want Carolyn back."

"Carolyn is a poison for you and for your son. I know it's hard for you to hear, but I would be a terrible friend if I just stood back and let this go on."

"A friend?" Matthew repeated, shaking his head. "No, you're a murderer. You killed those MPs. You… you killed Kyler."

"None of that was personal," she said. "Especially Kyler, but I had no choice."

He threw her a murderous glare. "There's always a choice. If you wanted to kill Carolyn from the start, you could've done it a long time ago. Instead, you murdered a friend and pretended to be her for who knows how long. What was the point of the charade, Elise? What was the fucking point?"

"I did it for you!" Elise didn't mean to lose her temper like that, but after everything, she needed to let something out. "That was my original plan: get in the Walls, kill Carolyn, and leave. It was so simple… but then, I found you." Her hand found his as her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "You were alive, you had a son, and you were married to her. If I killed Carolyn right then and there, it would've destroyed you. I didn't want to hurt you, but I couldn't abandon you either. So, I spent a year as Kyler to know who you are, so I could help you. I wanted to tell you the truth when the time was right, but things happened the way they did. You're my friend, Matt. Always have been, always will."

For once, Matthew didn't have anything to say to that. He wanted to deny everything she said, claim she was lying through her teeth to get what she wanted, but no one could lie like this. In fact, it began to make some sort of sense to him.

She let out another sigh and said, "I think I've been looking in the wrong place."

Her eyes began to glow yet again as she felt around his mind. It wasn't really invasive or cutting this time, though it was a bit uncomfortable. And then, her powers hit something that made Matthew recoil and grit his teeth in pain.

"What the hell?" she muttered, pressing down mentally on the spot. She ignored Matthew's thrashing and focused on the abnormality. Inside, she could feel so much pain and anger, but it felt wrong. It felt… contained. Elise's eyes widened in shock. "Matthew, what did you do?"

"Get out of my head," he demanded, bringing up his mental shields as best he could in his condition. It had been a long time since Matthew had felt fear.

"No." Like a needle, Elise punctured that abnormal block.

The blacksmith started writhing in agony as a whole slew of emotions started coursing through his body. "No, no!" He frantically tried to rebuild it, contain everything that was just unleashed, but there was another presence preventing him.

"You were denying yourself the whole time," Elise said, putting her hand on his forehead. It allowed her to help his brain process these feelings regularly. "These feelings… they're for Carolyn."

His thrashing grew more violent. "Stop it! I love her." He desperately tried to focus on the wonderful times he shared with his wife. When they tearfully took their vows all those years ago, when Dillon was born, when she strapped him to a chair and injected him with the serum that distorted his—no! He couldn't let Elise infect him like this.

"Stop pretending to be something you're not, Matthew. Your feelings don't lie. You hate her for Project Psion like any normal human being would. That mattered to Carolyn more than you mattered. That's why she took you away."

No longer was he held against his will by Elise. He was on the island for the first time, holding a gun to Carolyn's head. All he needed to do was pull the trigger and the woman who made him the way would be lying on the ground with the back of her head missing. He wanted to do it more than anything else. Why didn't he do it?

"Why did you do it, Matt?" Elise asked, her voice piercing through the memories. "Why did you seal this part of you away?"

"Leave me alone," he pleaded. He lost count on how many times he woke up from nightmares of Project Psion. Having to relive those moments every single day brought him nothing but agony and being with the woman responsible just made it worse.

Elise shook her head. "Not until you tell the truth. Why did you put yourself through this?"

Matthew gritted his teeth so hard, one would think they would shatter. "Damn you." He made a choice one day, that one choice that changed everything.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to make the pain stop!" That single declaration brought him back to the present, his mind stabilizing just a little bit more. His voice was shakier than it had been in a long time. "I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't put it behind me."

Elise's eyes were now glazed with sympathy and sadness. "So, you used your powers to bury it all."

Matthew nodded slowly. "When we got inside the Walls, it was just us against the country. I… I was drawn to her and she felt the same way. We loved each other." Saying those words started feeling wrong somehow.

She shook her head. "No, Matt. That's not love. You wanted someone to hold onto, and she wanted to create a fantasy. Maybe in her own deluded mind, she believes it was love, but she was just playing pretend."

The blacksmith was shaking, unable to put away what he felt anymore. "It had to be love. It had to be."

Elise gripped his shoulder once more. "I know this is hard for you, but this is a good thing that's happened." She gave him a warm smile. "You don't have live a lie anymore. Matthew… you're free."

Matthew believed her.


Remastered Edits: Lots to unpack here, so let's get started.

First off, I definitely wanted to increase the tension in the Scout Regiment. I made a mistake in the old version by not doing enough with that idea. It also gave Hanji a chance to shine in her own, creepy, special way. She may be hilarious, but she can be quite frightening.

Then, there's Dillon and Annie. Oh, boy, this scene was intense. Once again, you'll have to thank my co-writer for that blistering rant she delivered onto Dillon. While some of the things she said may be exaggerations, if you look hard enough, you'll see the things she's talking about. And, I know it's small, but including Annie's dark thoughts was a necessity. Her sadism hasn't changed even if she switched sides.

And finally, Matthew and Elise. It took me a while to get their dynamic right, but when I did, everything fell into place. I think some of the veterans from my old story will be disappointed I went in the direction I did concerning Matthew, but, in my opinion, it was the best direction I could go. More on that at the end of this arc.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I look forward to reading your reviews, and I'll see you all in the next one.