A/N: The whole MP perspective is something of an afterthought for me, so if it seems...rushed. Just know that I'd already finished...literally everything else, before making it.
Super Comrade: Glad to see you like it, I also see you're the author of the 'Wings Of Our Dreams' fanfiction. If I assume correctly, the MC will die before Season 4? (I'm just assuming from the title and summary, I haven't read it yet).
Civil War Arc Part V: Betrayal
Early in the morning of the following day…
"Here it is…" Hanji said "A list of all 100 Scouts we brought with us."
"I see," Alto skimmed over it, as Hanji turned to leave.
"Hanji," Alto stopped her,
"Yes?"
"I don't enjoy this."
Hanji smiled mirthlessly, "I wouldn't have vouched for you if I knew you did."
'An infiltration mission?' Nifa wondered, as Hanji briefed them, they we're apparently headed to plant bombs at the gate in order to enter the city with relative ease.
'No matter,' She thought, she had a plan. Once in the city, she'd meet up with Kenny Ackerman and tell them what they planned to do.
"We prepare to leave immediately, move it!" Hanji ordered them,
"Yes ma'am!"
Mina trailed the group from a distance as they stealthily climbed over the wall.
"No choice, that's your excuse for everything isn't it?!"
"Well, do you have a better idea?"
The argument between the two replayed itself in her mind. Despite Hanji's assurances, it seemed more and more like the Scout Regiment was being absorbed into the F.L.A.
She trusted Alto, and she knew that - at the end of the day - he was doing every he could for them.
And that was exactly the problem.
The problem was that Alto was willing to protect those he cared about, but those who were against him - or even just happened to be in the way - would not receive the tiniest shred of mercy or thought as they were slain.
And that is where Eren and Alto butted heads. To put it bluntly, Alto believed the ends justifies the means, while Eren wanted a less bloody solution to their problems.
She put the moral debate out of her mind as she proceeded to drop down off the wall after the team.
They pulled out the 'explosives' they had, and there was a wince of guilt. They were fake, nothing more than bags filled with sawdust, at best, they'd catch fire quickly. It was somewhat hurtful, Alto couldn't take the chance of having the Marleyans attacking during their War and finding their work already done for them.
"Alright, in and out." Barrien said to them, "Get the explosives, light the fuse, and let's go."
"Wait." Nifa held them, "I saw someone watching us," She drew her ODM blades, "I'll investigate," Without waiting for permission, she headed off into an alley,
"Stupid girl…" Barrien said, "Leave her, we need to complete the mission. Besides, she might be right about it."
'Poor fools…' Nifa thought mournfully, they were idiots aligning themselves with the FLA. A group of rebels would never win, the Government could recruit thousands at a moment's notice. Regardless of victory or defeat, they would never get past Wall Sina.
She landed in front of an abandoned warehouse. "Captain!" She called out,
"That you Nifa?" Kenny called out,
"Yeah! I got news for you!"
Mina had found the spy.
She watched Nifa enter the warehouse, and then upon closer inspection, discovered members of the AP Squad guarding it.
She pulled her hood over her head, and turned away. Alto was right once again, there was a mole within their ranks.
A mile outside Ehrmich
"It was Nifa all along huh?" Levi muttered, "It makes sense they'd recruit her, she was Erwin's secretary after all."
"Sir!" An FLA soldier ran up to Alto, "You need to read these."
Alto took a look at the stack of unmailed and received letters. "Troop movements…complete analysis of our tactics…files on our leaders…thank god this information never made it to the Reiss Faction, we really dodged a bullet." Alto turned to the soldier, and handed them back, "Burn these."
"What…are you going to do now?" Mina asked,
"I'll leave that to the Scout Regiment and Rosalie if they want to turn her into a double agent, a direct line to the Anti-Personnel Squad could be useful, but she is a Scout." Alto told her,
Mina was surprised, she thought Alto was going to take things into his own hands as usual.
Suddenly, several distant gunshots rang out in the general direction of Ehrmich,
The dark side of the plan.
"Shit…they're being butchered like pigs." Levi said,
"Was it worth it?" Hanji wondered, "I mean…I get that that information was valuable to catch but still…"
"Sorry Hanji, there's nothing to be done." Alto shook his head. "We will move for Ehrmich within the next two hours!" He shouted,
Nifa quietly slipped back in, when suddenly, she was dropped on from above by Mina.
"Don't even think about moving you traitor!" Mina pinned her down, and Nifa's heart dropped, she'd been found out.
"Don't bother denying it." Levi said to her, "We found the letters between you and Kenny, and we know he's in Ehrmich, he just butchered the men you were with."
"You're…all a bunch of idiots!" She spat, "The Freiheit Liberation Army isn't going to win!"
"That's not for you to decide." Levi squatted, "Now, here's what we're going to do. You can either (A) Join us as a double agent, or (B) Die."
Nifa eep'ed as Levi stuck a blade right next to her face.
"Well?"
"I can't! He'll kill me if the finds out!"
"Not my problem."
"We're wasting time," Mikasa stalked towards Nifa, "Do it. Or we kill you." Drawing her ODM blade, she leveled it at Nifa's throat.
"Then do it! I can't spy for you!"
"Fine." Mikasa plunged the blade through Nifa's throat, killing her instantly. Mina let her go as the blood seeped onto the floor.
"Well, that's one problem resolved." Jean sighed, "It's sad…we can't even trust each other."
"This is war." Levi shrugged
Kenny blasted a hole in Barrien's head.
"Huh," Kenny thought, 'This seems..
"Something wrong Captain?" Caven asked,
"Something…just feels wrong." Kenny said, and as soon as he said that, several explosions detonated on the wall.
"Sir!" An APS member came up to him, "We just got word - the Scout Regiment has just detonated explosives at Ehrmich's supply depot and has destroyed most of our cannons!"
"Shit! The wall was a diversion!" He swore, "All troops, up the wall, immediately!"
The APS rapidly scaled the wall, only for them to be shot down by F.L.A troops who'd taken the liberty of sneaking up beforehand.
Kenny whirled around as he rappelled up to dodge a hail of gunfire, flinging himself up unto the wall, he loaded two new shotgun barrels and blasted two oncoming Freiheit troops.
"Damn it!" Kenny kicked a Scout off the wall, before backflipping to avoid a thrown blade.
"Long time Kenny!" Levi slashed at him,
"Nice to see you too runt!" Kenny fired his shotguns at him, emptying both rounds as he fired at him.
MPs finally began to rouse themselves, and began showing up to reinforce the APS from the surprise attack, and that was when three thunderbolts struck down in the city, wiping out a large contingent of them.
Appearing in the city, we're the Jaw, Attack, and Flare Titans.
The Jaw moved first, slashing a group of frightened MPs and killing them in a single stroke. Eren then grabbed and crushed an MP that tried to go for his nape.
Briefly inhaling, Alto wiped out a large group of MPs with a single torrent of flame.
Soon, the gate was opened by F.L.A infiltrators, and I Corps flooded the city.
"Sieg Eldia!" Historia shouted from the front of the first troops to enter the city. Bearing down on her horse, she sliced the head off a surprised Garrison member, before proceeding to run through an MP.
She then hopped off it, activating her ODM Gear she spun around and an kicked an APS member mid-flight.
'I've decided Ymir, you're right, I'll do what I want to do! I'll be Kaiserin, and lead Eldia and everyone in it to a future we can be proud of!' She beamed as she ran a Stationary Guard through the chest.
Backflipping over a Garrison member, she stabbed him from behind.
'Because…it's my chance to do something that matters!'
"I'm glad you remember what I taught you boy!" Kenny said as he fired two shots in rapid succession at Levi, who dodged them with ease.
"Yeah, I even remember what you said about cornered rats." Levi snarked back, "If you do, you'd know you're better off surrendering."
"Tch, that may be true, but I don't take well to surrender except when it benefits me."
"What could be more beneficial than keeping your life?"
"A grand dream. A goal a kid like you could never understand!" Kenny dropped his shotguns to his side, and surprised Levi by going in with a knife.
Levi parried as Kenny went in for his first jab, only to retreat to dodge two more.
"What kind of goal involves blowing people's heads off for no reason?!"
"I told you - you wouldn't understand! But you're the same, you kill when it benefits you as well."
"Yeah, you're exactly right." Levi said with a cold voice, and suddenly, he caught Kenny off guard by pulling out a gun from his cloak, and firing it straight at Kenny's abdomen.
"Guak!" He coughed as the bullet impacted his stomach, sending him spiraling backwards. Without a second thought, he jumped off the Wall.
Levi briefly pursued, but it was too late, Kenny was already zipping through the streets of Ehrmich, the APS and whatever Reiss Faction forces we're left.
Excerpt of "The Eldian Civil War" c.910
In many ways, the Battle of Ehrmich is simply considered a continuation of Dezlegrad. It took place barely a day after the latter, and ended nearly as quickly. In an hour, the F.L.A forces had taken the city. Simultaneously, the second Industrial City - Benkland - fell to the forces of II Corps.
Battle of Ehrmich
Combatants; Royal Government of Paradis Island
Garrison Regiment
1,000 Stationary Guard
70 Wall Mounted Cannons
Military Police
500 Military Police
40 Anti-Personnel Squad Members
Combatants; The Eldian Kaiserreich
Scout Regiment
- 300 Scouts
Titan Shifters
- Jaw Titan
- Attack/Founding Titan
Freiheit Liberation Army
- 6,730 F.L.A Soldiers
- 90 Field Cannons
- 590 Calvary
Titan Shifters
- Flare Titan
Leaders: Royal Government of Paradis Island
Garrison Regiment
- Hptm. Ustan
Military Police
- Hptm. Kenny Ackermann
Leaders: The Eldian Kaiserreich
Scout Regiment
- Section Kommandant Hanji Zoe
Freiheit Liberation Army
- Generalfeldmarshall Alto Burke
- Generalleutnant Kallen Lyndser
Casualties:
Casualties: Royal Government of Paradis Island
Garrison Regiment
349 Stationary Guard Killed
411 Stationary Guard injured
Military Police
120 Military Police killed
135 Military Police injured
Casualties: The Eldian Kaiserreich
Scout Regiment
32 Scouts
12 Scouts Injured
Freiheit Liberation Army
120 F.L.A Soldiers killed
21 F.L.A Soldiers injured
Eren scanned over the carnage with weary eyes. Was this really worth it? Weren't they all pledged to defend the walls against the Titans, and yet here they were on the verge of extinction, and yet here they were, busy slaughtering each other.
"How…can we justify this?" Eren asked of no one in particular.
"The enemy has broken through Ehrmich." Pyxis read out to the Royal Assembly, "At this rate, Mitras will fall within the week."
"What is the Garrison doing?!" Aurille raged,
"We are trying to defend our industrial areas." Pyxis said calmly, "Benkland has already fallen to the Freiheit. Remember, the enemy has split it's forces into three, and we're having trouble engaging just any one of them. Not to mention with every victory, thousands of my own troops choose to defect to the F.L.A. Prior to this, I had 30,000 soldiers capable of fighting. Now, I have less than fifteen."
"I believe we need to make an example," Gwendal said, "We've put this off for too long, Erwin must die."
"I agree." Gerald nodded, "With Erwin's death, dissidents will fall in line."
"With all do respect, Erwin's death will only propel him to martyrdom, killing him will simply incite further-"
"Enough." Aurille barked, "Erwin will die, and he will die tomorrow! I want him brought here immediately for a quick trial in front of the assembly!"
Pyxis bowed his head, "I see. I will retrieve him at once."
"I see, so that's what happened." Erwin noted
"How can you be so nonchalant?!" Nile barked at him, "You're going to die!"
"This is an opportunity. All we need now is for the last piece to fall into place." Erwin said to him,
"This is a risky plan of Erwins," Zachary nodded to Pyxis,
"It always is with him, and if it doesn't happen, then we'll make it up."
"More importantly, can we rely on Alto to be reasonable?" Zachary asked him,
"I knew the late Astell, and his father Dante before him. The Burkes are a fierce and ruthless clan, but not power hungry or unnecessarily cruel. Alto is doing what is best for the walls, or what he believes to be best anyway."
"You do not approve of his methods?"
"Justified as it may be, I would have preferred if I never saw the Walls plunged into war. And he never attempted to find another method either."
"Nonetheless, the boy finds himself popular among the people, at such a young age, it will cast a long shadow over his life." Zachary looked up,
"The Burkes were always very well-loved and charismatic, and age mattered little in the family, too little if you ask me."
"Then I suppose we will wait and see. Yes?"
"That is all men like us can do."
The Warhammer Titan clambered over the wall, lugging the last of the Cart Titan's equipment for the Assault on Stohess.
"The plan is simple," Alexander explained, to Reiner, Pieck, and Bertholdt, Evangelica came over in the Warhammer, and exited the nape, sliding down the inactive body to join them.
"Bertholdt, Zeke will throw you over the wall and you'll transform mid-air, any enemy presence will be vaporized. Zeke will mop up the remaining artillery with boulder fire. Then, Reiner will climb over the wall with us, and the Panzer Unit will storm the HQ and get Annie out of her crystal while him, Zeke, and Evangelica hold off any enemies. Pieck will be present when we need a quick get-away."
"Got it." The warriors nodded, they stood.
"We've come this far, we're not giving up now." Evangelica said.
"Agreed." Reiner said,
Bertholdt nodded, "What are we waiting for, let's get Annie."
Marlowe and Hitch sat in a prison cell in Ehrmich in silence.
"Ooiii." Hitch called out to them, "Can we have some water?"
"You had some literally three minutes ago. You can't be thirsty again." The F.L.A guard said, exasperated. "Please stop bothering me."
"Fine." Hitch rolled over in bed, "Hey, Marlowe." She whispered,
"What is it Hitch?"
"Do you think…we'll be rescued?" She asked him quietly,
Marlowe rolled over and thought about it. Was anyone coming for them? With the sheer incompetence of the Military?
"I hate to be the nay-sayer. But probably not." Marlowe admitted, "You know how incompetent the MPs and Interior Garrison are. It's impossible for them to get their shit together in time."
"Heh." Hitch shrugged, "So we'll die here?"
"I never said that." Marlowe said,
They fell silent, suddenly, they overheard a commotion outside.
"G-generalfeldmarschall!" The guards suddenly righted themselves.
'Generalfeldmarschall?' Marlowe straightened it, he knew that was the rank of their leader, or at least someone high in their hierarchy.
"Enough, I'm here to see the prisoners in this cell, please leave us alone for a little while." The Generalfeldmarschall said.
Marlowe's stomach sunk, he recognized that voice.
Hitch sat up as well, apparently coming to the same realization.
The boy came and looked at them.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Hitch, Marco, Marlowe."
Hitch, Marco, and Marlowe said the same two words in unison.
"Christopher Holt!"
