Part 55
The Gamble
"If humanity loses the Scout Regiment, that means humanity loses its spear."
The day of Erwin's trial was happening. The convoy of corrupt Government officials plotted amongst one another, in front of the fake King himself. Erwin's defence was underway, with the Commander now speaking out among the glaring men.
"When enemies close in, you guard not with a shield, but with a spear that eliminates the threat. Suppose that just now, Wall Rose was to be breached, the residents of Wall Rose would once again flee and take refuge within Wall Sina. But the earlier evacuation left stockpiles with more than a few days at best. Most of the residents would be forced to fight for survival. Humanity will be divided and Civil War would erupt. Even if there was no breach, Wall Sina is running low on supplies continuously as it is. It may not be Titans to breach through Wall Sina first, but instead the people.
Reclaim Wall Maria. With the support of what is most likely humanities last Bloodborn. If humanity itself is to ever hope for a better future, that is the only way forward."
"Ha. Are you implying that we need monsters for such a cause?" One Government official scoffed at Erwin himself, as the Commander remained knelt on the ground, handcuffed and his face bloodied and bruised still.
"Our duty as Scouts has always been to stare at the enemy, while we work to expand beyond the walls. Cowering here and spreading false lies to the people won't solve anything." Erwin responded, narrowing his brows. "Or… Could it be you have some sort of secret plan when it comes to dealing with things like this?"
A cough came from another of the officials. "Erwin, I don't think you quite understand… The reason you're here today is not to discuss our future. Clause Six, Charter of Humanity, "Thou shalt not prioritize one's own need over the longevity of humanity." You are here for such offense.
The Bloodborn that lives among us now is an abomination to our survival, and we have it on good authority that you and Fury have been… Intimate. We can not risk the potential of more being reproduced."
"Along with this crime, you have also refused to hand over Eren Jaeger to us multiple times." Another official added, staring the Commander down. "And so, you have violated the Charter."
"Eren is vital for reclaiming Wall Maria!" Erwin argued his return. "Both he and Fury are."
"This isn't for the Scouts to decide! Eren is a Titan with power we do not understand. And as for the Bloodborn, she can not be left unchecked when she alone has been seen by your own men to have controlled Titans against their will! Who's to say she won't turn her gaze upon us instead?! Sheltering them both is a bigger risk to humanity." The main official barked as one other stood from his chair. He gave the King a bow, and then turned to face Erwin.
"In the name of the King, I will announce your judgement." He began. "Erwin Smith. For violating Clause Six of the Charter of Humanity, you are sentenced to death. This execution will be carried out immediately…"
"Wall Rose!" Came the flurried entrance of a Garrison soldier. "Its has been breached! The Colossal Titan appeared out of nowhere again, along with the Armoured Titan and he has broken through the main District! People are now currently flocking here for safety!"
"Have all Troops defend the East!" Pyxis barked his order. "Get those evacuees into Sina!"
"No!" Interrupted the official who issued Erwin's sentence. "Close the Gates leading in to Wall Sina! Don't let any of them in!"
"Your command is to sit back and watch as humanity dies?" Nile asked as his eyes widened in disbelief.
"It's just like Erwin said before! That's asking for Civil War! We can't let the Government lose control, not after we risked so much in the past to get to where we are. There's not enough Bloodborn's this time. If we lose control, it's all over!"
"That's just a mere possibility!" Nile protested in response.
"It's enough for that possibility to exist! Our authority is, and always will be, absolute! So what are you waiting for? Close the gates! If you do not comply, it is treason!"
Nile gritted his teeth. His eyes clenched shut as the Government barked into his ears. "I… will not! I… am a resident of Wall Rose. I will not allow that gate to be closed!"
"I will stand with him." The following entrance of Dhalis Zachary, guarded by armed Garrison soldiers, then entered into the courtroom. For he is the premier of the three military regiments and as such, he maintains the highest authority within the military structure and they sit under his command, despite having their own designated Commanders. In matters of most military laws, his decisions cannot be argued against. Zachary is also quite fond of art.
"Are you surprised at all by the Government's reaction, Sir?" Pyxis asked directly.
"No. Not at all." The man pushed his glassed up. "That report just now was a false alarm. At this current moment, there has been no reports of any attacks from Titans."
"What is this farce?!" The main official hissed.
"You can't plant false blame on any Bloodborn's this time." Pyxis chuckled. "If you want the mastermind behind all this, it was me. It seems most of the Interior Police are anywhere but here. I suppose that's quite fortunate…" The man then clasped his hands together. "Before this sentencing went underway, I told you that the Garrison Regiment is not aligned with the Scouts. Yet I forgot to mention one thing… I'm not aligned with any of you either. And while I do possess some of the same concerns as you do in terms of Fury and Erwin being bed locked, I am still left asking if it's better for humanity if you remain in power. You are, after all, quite accustomed to inciting enough control over the people that you once convinced them to purge the very individuals who kept them safe. But supposing you actually cared about saving as many people as possible, I would have supported the decision to send Erwin to the Gallows, along with killing Fury too. But all of us were ready to forfeit our heads with your decisions. Yet here were are, with a very clear directive. We may still be ignorant about Titans and Bloodborn's, along with their powers, but I daresay that we in our ignorance can still save more people than you ever could."
"Old fool! What do you think undermining us will accomplish?! The people will never listen to you! They obey what the Crown says! And if that Crown continues to tell them to fear the existence of Bloodborns, then they will fear them! If the Crown tells them to bend down and wipe their asses with their bare hands, they will do it! And so the Regional Lords will not stand for this!"
"It seems you now don't quite understand…" Pyxis continued. "This is no mere threat. It's a coup d'état."
"The thing with soldiers, they'll obey their superior officers over a King." Zachary conversed. "Especially when that King in question is a fraud. And so we will put in place a new ruler of our own."
"Don't even think you can get away with this hoax!"
"If that disaster had in fact happened…" Erwin then interrupted, gaining help to get back onto his feet. "The decision that all of you made also violates Clause Six of the Charter of Humanity. Furthermore, is installing a fake King to personally control and run the Government not punishable by death?"
"Erwin… This is your victory." Nile supported as he unlocked the Commander's locked wrists as more were then added to the Government officials as they were taken away. And yet Erwin himself showed no signs of relief. "Aren't you happy?"
"Humanity has just opened up a new path… One far more dangerous than before." Erwin confided.
-3 hours later-
"And there you have it…" Hange told Levi and his squad, as they all huddled around the Captain to read it for themselves, even Fury as her cheek was almost pressed up against Levi's own due to the lack of space. The soldiers that were pressing on towards them all, as Sasha heard, was in fact Hange along with her comrade Moblit. "The coup d'état was a success. Zachary has control of the Capital and Administrative District. For the time being, nothing has been rebelled. That includes you too, Fury."
"… What do you mean?" Fury asked, looking up at Hange herself.
"So far, the people are accepting your existence thanks to Commander Erwin's gamble. The papers have already been printed about the false King too, as you can see. Total fake! All of our actions have been justified as self-defence. In simpler words, we're all free now."
A moment of silence… Before the entire squad erupted into a blaze of cheer and Fury ducked her head to avoid being grabbed by Sasha, who currently had Conny in the air himself.
"So Erwin's plan really worked…" She muttered as Hange approached herself and Levi, who was continuing to read the printed-paper, with slight struggle.
"Wasn't just Erwin though." Hange conversed. "The lone choices of everyone involved has also made this come to pass."
"The thing is… Part of the Interior Police, their leader, Eren and Historia are still out there somewhere." Levi reminded, scrunching up the paper enough to throw it to the tied up Interior Police member he had previously interrogated.
"Hey Hange?" Fury began, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "Is the Commander okay? Have they hurt him?"
Hange tilted her head as she then smirked. "Some bruises here and there. Nothing Erwin can't deal with. He remained strong, for all of us."
Fury gave a small nod. Within, she was relieved that Erwin hadn't been too overly beaten. Was this care for the man a side effect of how she felt for him? It was still new to her.
"As far as humanity is concerned, we should have let the Government do as they please…" Erwin muttered within the horse-drawn cart with Zachary sat next to him with folded arms. "Like Commander Pyxis was saying, what if they've somehow devised a means of keeping humanity alive until now? Even if they watch once again as innocent people die, it's better than us going extinct.
Should I have ever let Fury go for those long four years, so that she was able to discover more of who she is? Should I have risked my own comrade's lives, given up both my life and duty and entrusted it all to the Government? If humanity is more precious than one life… Should I be protecting her also?"
"Your duty is as painful as ever. Especially now that a woman is involved. A woman who you are close with, no?" Zachary chimed in as he had enough of seeing Erwin in such sorry state of mind. "Though I suppose dying and killing are much easier options. In that case, why didn't you do as you say? In terms of perhaps letting Fury, or even Eren be handed over to those jesters in posh clothes?"
Erwin moved his gaze over to his official. "Shall I tell you my reason? To be honest, I've hated those bastards for a long time. They royally piss me off. Those pompous pricks who have always thought they are so important. I've been dreaming of this day for a long time. So when the reports came to me about Eren being a Titan and then Fury being something I thought humanity stupidly caused the extinction of, it was the perfect reason for me to support all of this. I don't care if the coup d'état is good or bad for humanity. And yet, you're not so different from me.
You didn't want to die.
And you didn't want any harm to come to Fury, no?
Just like me, you prioritize yourself and your needs over the fate of humanity. If none of that is the case, what is your reason?"
"I… have a dream…" Erwin confessed, the image of his father flashing quickly in his memories. "One I've had since the first time my father told me the story of the Bloodborns."
"Hange, you know where they are?" Mikasa asked, as Hange herself raised a leatherback book. The company now within their own horse carts, or riding atop of horses themselves. Fury sat next to Levi, who sat next to Hange with Mikasa sat opposite them.
"Erwin gave me this Scout Investigation report regarding the land of Lord Reiss." Hange began as Levi folded his arms. "Most of it has to do with an incident that happened a few years ago that shook the Reiss family. On the exact same day Wall Maria was breached.
As the Lord of his territory, opinion of Rod Reiss wasn't all that bad. He had plenty of kids. His eldest was called Frieda. A down-to-earth girl. But when it felt like our worlds had plunged into chaos, bandits raided and then set fire to the only chapel around. Yet on that night, the entire Reiss family were also praying in that chapel. The bandits killed all but Rod Reiss himself. To top this off, this all happened a few days before Historia's mother was killed by the Interior Police. In other words, as soon as he lost his family, Rod Reiss sought after Historia. I can't help but think there is a deeper reason to all of this."
"Their bloodline?" Levi suggested. "Some secret to their blood, maybe?"
Hange shrugged her shoulders. "What I'm truly curious about is that some parts of the chapel were completely wrecked, nothing fire would cause because it was built from stone."
"Take it from me, bandits take what they need then they leave." Fury surmised, recalling back to her days with Levi down in the Underground where he and Farlan would plan heists to gain money. "They wouldn't linger and risk being caught. And let me guess… the only one who saw these bandits was Rod himself?"
Hange nodded. "Mmhm. And he used his wealth to rebuild the chapel. But I'm still left asking why… So before this night is over, Erwin wants soldiers all over Rod's land. If we don't hurry… Eren may end up being eaten."
