Part 50
Truth
"Gunshots!" Sasha screeched as she pointed her finger in the direction of where Levi and Fury were just at with Kenny and his merry band of squad members from the Military Police.
"You think something's going down?" Jean asked with a sense of worry upon his face.
"… Most likely." Came the response from Mikasa, who was already set and focused from the rooftop they all stood upon, waiting on Levi's signal. "The Captain gave me a few words before I went to retrieve both you and Armin from the warehouse. He said that from now on, it's not just Titan's we'll be fighting… But people too."
"Captain. Finally bit the dust too?" Spoke Caven, Kenny's right hand woman within his squad. He trusted her above all else.
"Moron…" Came the groaned response from Kenny as he lifted his hat up off his face, left to look up into the sky and having to come to terms with how his own nephew bested him. "How would I answer that if I were dead?
Tutt, tutt… Little runt got me good… I kinda forgot that bar owners were allowed to keep guns for their own safety. Yet they both seemed to have grown up now, if not both remaining so damn small in their heights."
"How wonderful." Was Caven's unenthusiastic response.
"Like hell it is!" Kenny spat as he sat up. "… My dream is getting further and further away…"
"Be that as it may, Sir, but may I suggest we continue a pursuit after Levi?" Caven then suggested. "He's already torn through many of my men for this mission."
"Aye." Kenny agreed, looking back into the panicked bar. "I got myself a little fury to catch up with. She still in there?"
Caven nodded. "Levi was the only who left the bar, Captain. His attempt at luring us all away."
"Captain!" Connie called over to Levi, who he and the rest saw was in a hurried pursuit after the wagon that pulled Eren and Historia along the streets. For Levi himself had to continue to avoid his own pursuers who still fired their shots at him; leaving the only retaliation, he could give them, which was to rip his cutters through their bodies in order to shake them off.
"Chase the wagon!" Levi called back to his closing squad, despite the shock scattered among their faces at seeing Levi kill other people. "Listen. They're used to fighting other people." Levi continued to brief them. "They already killed three of us."
"Fury?" Jean asked, already finding it hard to believe due to her own capabilities.
"… I don't know…" Levi muttered. "But that's not our foremost concern now. If we're gonna get these other two back, none of you can hesitate. If you get the chance, kill. Got it?"
They all nodded, though remained silent in accepting such an order. Levi then triggered his ODM to pull himself forward as he released an anchor, watching as it pierced the torso of one MP in the back of the wagon, pulling him off it, letting his body scrape down the cobbled road, and leaving only the driver to deal with.
"Armin, Jean!" Levi called out to behind him. "Secure the wagon. We'll keep you covered!"
"Sir!" Armin acknowledged as both he and Jean began catching up to the wagon long enough to be able to land in it.
The driver spun her waist around and aimed her hand canon at the two, only to be knocked out of balance from an incoming kick off Mikasa, now leaving the wagon to be driven with no driver as the female MP gazed up at Jean, who held his cutter out in place towards her.
"Don't move!" Jean himself threatened though was fearful in delivering it. Armin lunged forward to take control of the free-reigned horses, despite Jean then having his cutter knocked from his hands from the MP.
She stood up with hesitation and pointed her hand canon directly at Jean. The boy's eyes widened as he fell to his knees, directly facing his end. The trigger was pulled. However, it was not from the MP, but from Armin himself, who found no hesitation in pulling the trigger of a spare canon directly at the MP, whose body fell. Instantly lifeless.
Armin had to put aside the sudden amount of guilt that befell him and he hurried the horses along. But the pursuers still remained. Two of them closing in once again with a fresh set of bullets being ready to use.
Levi himself had to make a quick decision, to allow the MP's in taking Historia and Eren, or risk the lives of his entire squad.
The latter was chosen.
"Armin, Jean!" He called out, manoeuvring himself down to the wagon to lift Jean out of it, as Sasha followed in turn for collecting Armin. The two MP's left no time in hopping into the wagon and making off with it.
"KENNY!" Came the sudden emotionally ridden sound of Fury's voice as the man himself laughed when passing by Levi and the others as he was on his way to catch up with what his squad had taken from them all.
Looking up, Levi gritted his teeth when he noticed Fury's bloodshot eyes, her intent clear, as she wanted to go after Kenny himself. Levi yanked her back, almost tearing at her clothes as she struggled against him.
"Don't you dare!" He ordered. He was pissed, confused and still willing to keep his oldest friend from going to her own death. "Fall back, Fury!"
Hearing the aggression in Levi's command, Fury closed her eyes and took her breath. The struggle she fought against Levi stopped and he was able to then let go of her. But there was still so much that needed to be said.
Later that night…
"What's wrong with you all…?" Levi asked his squad as they all set themselves up to spend the night in hiding. All currently gathered around a single lantern that shimmered dimly among the darkness.
Sasha being outside on lookout, due to her hearing skills she has mastered from hailing from a family of proud hunters.
Fury herself also sat among them, holding a piece of bread, which had become stale over the time she had held it for. No one was in the mood to have an appetite right now. "Is it this grimy place?"
"No…" Came Armin's silent response. "Jean, there's something I don't understand…" Jean, at this point, looked over to the lowered head of Armin. "When I shot that gun to save you… I honestly thought I didn't make the shot in time. Sorry, but… Why was I the one to shoot first?"
"Because the other hesitated." Levi answered.
"Armin, I'm sorry…" Jean grimaced. "I should have done what I had to do."
Armin paused for a moment before responding. "I know what it is… The person that I killed… I bet they were a nice person once. Someone that was more human than me… I pulled that trigger so easily."
"Armin, you got blood on your hands now…" Levi muttered. He was still their Captain overall, though even his attempts at bringing an understanding to a situation could be done better, as always. "You can't go back to who you were."
And how those latter words run true for Fury herself, who couldn't bear to look at Levi.
"Why would you say that?!" Mikasa exclaimed, though she gained a raised hand from Levi so he could continue.
"Embrace the new you. Just think, if your hands were still clean, then Jean wouldn't be here right now. I'll tell you why you pulled the trigger. Because your comrade was about to die. Thanks to you getting blood on your hands, nobody among us now died today. So thank you…"
Jean lifted his head. "Levi, Captain… I… I thought it was wrong to be fighting other humans. I thought it was wrong for you to be giving us orders to do so. I was afraid of hurting someone else. But I'm the one who was wrong… Next time, I'll shoot."
"He never said anything about whether it was right or wrong…" Spoke Fury, though she did so very quietly.
"I don't even know myself…" Levi sighed. "Maybe I am the one in the wrong…" He then stood up and shifted his eyes to the merchants, which were captured beforehand by Mikasa within the warehouse they were now all within. "Until I figure that out, I want to hear what they have to say."
"W-wait, I'm just an old man used for moving wagons and such for others!" The oldest one called out as Levi came to stand in front of him.
"I've met that one before…" Mikasa informed in her callout. "A few years ago. People were calling him Boss."
"Yeah, I know." Levi acknowledged as he began folding his arms, despite the cuts he had endured. "Dimo Reeves, am I right?"
"Tch." Dimo spat. "I was just following orders that the Military Police forced upon me. And I failed big time… They'll plunder the Reeves Company for all that its worth. They won't stop with me and my idiot son. They'll make sure all of my employees die in so-called accidents."
"So you'll die without a fight?" Levi called out. "Trost should have collapsed by now but it's persevered. That's because the Reeves Company brings people and work together. But if the company was gone for good, just how few would survive the winter?"
"Are you suggesting I team up with you?" Dimo asked.
"I just need to know where Eren and Historia are." Levi countered. "If you're supplying the Military Police, we can figure something out."
"But can you stop my city and my employees from dying of starvation?" Dimo made his own counter of negotiations.
Levi kneeled down. "I can't guarantee it. However, you can trust that we'll move towards that end. But what I'm going to need you to do is lure certain members of the MP's to a secluded area, so that we may interrogate them for what they know which would involve the Government and why there's a need for an uprising."
Dimo nodded. It was all Levi needed from him to give him his word of honour. Besides, who would want to aggravate Levi? The others already began to scuffle around, getting themselves ready to go where Levi would order them to be.
Fury followed suit, still awaiting Levi's own questions to be thrown at her. But now she needed to be the Fury the rest of them were used to seeing and dealing with. And she and Levi also knew in themselves that finding Eren and Historia was more important.
The abandoned Scout holding cells…
The cell door flew open. "I'm late!" Hange exclaimed. "Still going at it?"
Before her was Levi, who was allowing his knuckles to meet the face of one of the three MP's which Dimo's and his son had led here, making them believe they were being brought to kill Levi himself.
"Yeah…" Levi responded grimly. "But I'm still new to this."
Hange grinned. "Sannes!" She then greeted to the man tied up on the chair. His face bruised and some teeth were already missing. "You should know I'm also a novice at human torture, so bear with me!"
"W-wait, what the hell do you even want?" Sannes cried out as he watched Hange pick up a pair of nail clippers. "Who the hell tortures someone without even asking questions?!"
"Oh, right…" Levi mumbled. "We do have some questions for you. Where are Eren and Historia? Why are you after Historia? Who is the Reiss family? Why do you want Fury dead?"
"Too slow!" Hange burst out, grabbing the man's hand. "Can't you see we're in a hurry?!" To which she then fully removed a nail from Sannes's index finger, leaving him to wail profusely.
"Sorry…" Hange breathed. "I can't peel nails as well as you do. Just how many have you peeled to get so good?"
"… Too many to count…" Sannes responded, despite it being a struggle to set aside the ripping pain from losing his nails. "Within these cramped walls, do you know why war has never broken out? It's because the First Interior Squad dirtied our hands in keeping the peace. And we spread our propaganda about the devils that are Bloodborn's to keep the people on the Government's side. Yet what would happen if they see that a Bloodborn looked just like you or me? If the people saw that a Bloodborn gave them no harm, but more so safety, they'd rebel against us.
And so that is your answer on why we want Fury dead, Captain…" Levi frowned. "Humanity has made it this far because we have been erasing them for years! You should be thanking us! I have the King to believe in. To hope that he brings us more peace! So torture me to death already…"
"I need a break." Levi muttered as he turned on his heel to walk out of the chamber cell, along with Hange. Yet both of them could only feel sorry for Sannes for following a false King.
"Quit shoving me, it hurts!" Fought one of Sannes's fellow captives as Fury pushed him towards Hange and Levi.
"Pathetic, Ralph." Fury mocked him. "It only took one nail to make you talk…"
"Sannes doesn't have any nails left." Levi joined in, holding the man in place and forcing him to look down on a script that Hange had wrote for him. "You're nothing like him."
"That was his decision!" Ralph spat, though his eyes were reading from left to right. Making sure he was speaking loud enough for Sannes to hear from within his cell. "The guy never shuts up about the peace and the King. The rest of us hate him! Do us a favour and kill him already…"
"Can't let that happen until he verifies your story." Levi spoke loudly. He nodded with reluctance at Fury as she then dragged Ralph back to his cell as Hange then went back to open the cell door which contained Sannes inside. His face was grim, from all he had heard.
"… Reiss is the true royal family…" He confessed.
