Part 84
The Costs of Freedom
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Short interval. My apologies. Will be getting back to bigger uploads soon!
"Conny…" His voice low and mumbled. Eren was arched forward from his seating. His overgrown hair covering his pained features as his Titan marks upon his face stung deeper than usual. "What were Sasha's last words?"
Conny paused. Tears falling from his eyes. Chest tearing in half over the grief of his best friend's death. "Meat…" He answered with a stutter.
Eren frowned, then his lips swerved as he began to simply chuckle to himself, earning the glares of disgust from those around him. And among them, Jean was the most effected. "Sasha died because of your actions, Eren. But it wasn't just Sasha either…" Eren's head raised slightly. Knowing what was about to be said and yet still not ready to hear the truth. "But Isaah too." Conny stepping aside made way for Levi to return, along with the bound children that caused the current pain and with Fury; who was silent. Eyes distant and dry. Eren could not bear to look at her.
"Zeke?!" The young girl bellowed, causing the tied man to rear his own surprised gaze.
"Gabi? Falco? What are you two doing here?!"
His voice alone had Fury's gaze frown. How low they had all reached to work alongside the man who killed Erwin, just to stop Willy from attacking their home? A hand then wrapped itself around her wrist. With a quick glance, Fury was to see it was Levi. He knew she was hurting, but now wasn't the time to lash out. "How does it feel, Yeager?" Levi then addressed, though to which of the brother's was not clear. "Betraying your own allies to give your enemies a victory?"
Gabi and Falco were now left shunned. Left confused and now in fear themselves learning that a man they looked up to as a role model, other than Reiner, was the reason why their home was assaulted this day. They were nothing more than collateral damage that was never meant to even happen.
"… I'm sorry…" The words were sharp, and sudden. Everyone looked Eren's way and finally, his gaze was direct, though aimed right at Fury. "I'm sorry you lost him… I'm tired of people dying for me… but I had to do what I did. To keep us all safe…"
A thin silence then hovered around them all. Fury tightened her eyes closed; pushing back the one emotion she did not want to feel. Upon opening, her hues landed upon Gabi, who herself was now to only left confused, but in a situation that never needed to happen. "She aimed at me…" Fury mumbled loosely. "And he… he pushed me out of the way. People around me have always been selfish and acted only for their own goals… But Isaah, in that one moment, showed me how selfless a human being can be." Fury inhaled, and people feared another eruption of her Bloodborn capabilities was to occur, but it did not. She remained distant and yet terrifyingly calm. "Eren…" Her hues looked his way. "I don't blame you for what you did today. Willy needed to be stopped. Everyone here wanted to wait to make a move. If that move was made by that man, Isaah and Sasha wouldn't have been the only lives lost. I'm tired of adhering and following what everyone else wants. Dammit! This is how I feel! Willy Tybur was a liar. The Tybur's in general are the sole reason as to why there aren't more Bloodborn's anymore! I detest myself for sharing their damned name but here I am with the choice I made! To fight against them. To fight against a family I could have been a part of! And yet I only hope the kids he had made it out of Liberio in time. To hell with waiting to be attacked, to always live in fear of approaching enemies. Eren made a damn choice, just as I did."
No one had a way to respond. And Eren surely never expected Fury to say she agreed to something he decided. He wondered if it was just her grief, but then again, pain can often reveal true thoughts and opinions.
"We did have a victory this day," Hange interjected, "but at the cost of two lives. Would more lives have been lost if we did wait with a thought out plan? Who knows? No one can say for certain, but because of your assault, Eren, you've just made several martyrs for Marely to just continue hating us devils. I thought you trusted us? We fought for you. But you chose to come here to take matters into your own hands. And now we've lost our trust in you. You'll most likely be arrested once we reach home."
"Remember our agreement." Zeke croaked, sat there with his hands tied. His voice alone caused a deep frown from Levi, who recalled the man still wanting the likes of Historia and Fury to produce children. The price of his help against Willy.
"Shut your damn mouth." Levi growled. "You're not in control here anymore."
Zeke huffed. "Do you like chess, Captain?" Levi appeared confused. "In Chess, most players use their King or Queen to acquire victory for them. But no one ever suspects a Pawn to be able to bring the game to an end." Fury stepped forward, though only earning a hand raised in front of her by Hange. Zeke simply smiled.
Fury sighed, releasing her clenched fist. She hadn't the energy anymore anyway. Isaah was now just another voice in her head who blamed her for his death. Another weight added upon her shoulders. "We need to bury them… When we get back." She stuttered, though earned a respected nod from both Hange and Levi. "But I'll be taking Isaah to where me and him buried his mother. It's only right that I leave him where I first met him…"
She took a seat. Leaned forward and rested her face into her elevated hands and sighed whilst questioning herself. The old Fury would have kept all this show buried. Would have called Eren worse than shit. Would've tried killing Zeke herself. Things changed when Kenny died. But the more death that surrounded her, the more lost Fury felt. And to agree with Eren after being so against him all time, she now had to sit and fully confirm it. But her mind wandered back to those other kids Willy had with his new wife; the one replacing her mother.
Did any of them know of his intentions? Did any of them know other than Willy that one of them was the Warhammer? Kids shouldn't be getting dragged in to wars and the bickering of adults and yet here were two right in front of her. And one of them took the life of a kid she seemed to have dragged into a fight he didn't need to be a part of either.
Everyone was a hypocrite in some way. And now she had to make the choice to either adhere to Zeke's side of the deal, or continue putting herself first; say screw the rest at this point. But then it all just added up again. Her and Historia bringing life into this world just for that child to be brought into a fight it never had a choice of saying no to.
Historia herself already made the decision to do just that. But Zeke was still expecting off Fury. And he wanted to be the father.
"Did you receive the wine?" Zeke asked Hange.
She nodded. "It was aboard one of the latest war ships sent to our island by Willy. But why wine?"
"An offering of good faith." Zeke answered. "With the added fact that Eldian Wine tastes as bitter as our good Captain here." Levi made no attempt to give the reaction Zeke was seeking. "I'm hoping that even as your willing prisoner, you will still allow me a drink here and there."
"You won't need a drink where we're going." Levi muttered, arms folded.
