Hello again,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I never would've thought I would have enjoyed writing fanfiction as much as I'm enjoying it now. Interacting with y'all through PMs and on Discord has been a blast, and seeing people actually interested in my work makes it feel all worthwhile. We've been averaging like 20+ reviews for the past couple of chapters now; that's insane! So thank you so much for the support everyone. Here's a holiday present to you all.
This chapter has some minor manga spoilers in it. Not anything too big, but spoilers over things that were implied in the Anime that the fanbase had been theorizing about for years before the manga confirmed or denied it. Since the anime is so close to ending, if you're anime-only, you may want to consider waiting a month or two before checking out this chapter. They aren't big spoilers and if you have been reading other AOT fanfictions you've probably already been spoiled about the minor things I'm going to reveal, but here's your last warning. Beware, anime-only crowd.
Lastly, join 'The Emerald Library' Discord server for insider information on my story, progress reports on the next chapter, and to talk with other fanfiction fans and authors! You can find my personal channel, 'unbredeel0', under the 'Dormitory' category. Drop by and say "hi!"
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Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, HOO, or AOT and I'm not profiting off anything.
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Author's note
Narration
Thoughts and Internal Conversations
"Speaking, duh"
Last time
16 days of imprisonment come and go. Percy's days continue as usual, with Annie visiting his cell to interrogate them every day, and while they have become 'acquaintances,' their friendship doesn't advance any further than that. On Percy's 23rd day in prison, a new visitor changes it up. Instead of Annie, a new girl delivers Percy his meal. Hitch, Annie's roommate. Revealing Annie won't be coming in for the next couple of days, Percy and Hitch talk about their relationships with Annie in which they come to find Percy is the closer of the two.
Very early in the morning on Percy's 25th day, Percy receives an unexpected visit from Annie. Arriving showing signs that she was greatly troubled by something that happened that day, Percy embraces Annie, comforting his only friend as her emotions run free. Through her sobs, Percy finds out Annie was in bad trouble with the military due to Annie being coerced to fight and kill others by some other group. Promising to stand by her side, comforts Annie, offers his advice and help, and swears an oath to help her get home.
Last we left off, the Scouts pay Percy a visit, inquiring about Annie Leonhart.
Chapter 11: Back in the Saddle
Military Tribunal within Wall Sina
Percy's 26th Day in Prison
12 pm
Percy's POV:
"Tell us everything you know about Annie Leonhart!" Hange demands, her index finger extended in the air, pointing straight between my eyes.
"Who?"
"The girl! Tell us everything you know about her!"
"Who?"
"Annie."
"Who?"
"Ms. Annie Leonhart."
"Who?"
"Your interrogator, Annie Leonhart! The girl who's been questioning you every day for almost an entire month now!"
"Who?"
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Hange screams, tousling her hair in frustration.
"Hange, we don't have time for this."
The short man that says this is the only one in this visiting group not dressed in standardized military garb. He is wearing blank pants with a brown belt, a black overcoat with a buttoned-up white long-sleeved undershirt, and a white cravat at his neck; his outfit overall giving him a "prim and proper" appearance.
"He knows who she is! I know it!" Hange complains. "I know he knows!"
"Let's just bring him back to Erwin. We can get our answers from him then." The man tells her.
He seems familiar…
"Fine. Fine! Bag him up then!" Hange orders, twirling her finger in the air and turning around to exit the room.
"Wait, what?"
Dumb and Dumber and two other Scouts walk over to. While the pair of MPs move to unlock my shackled wrist from the chain connected to the back wall, the two Scouts pull out a brown bag and thrust it over my head.
"Seriously?! Again?!"
The bag is brought down over my head, bringing complete, utter darkness to my already dim world. I can't believe the lengths they are willing to go to make sure I don't escape. It's ridiculous. It's absurd. Do they still think I'm a threat? Have I not proven I'm willing to work with them?
"I mean—you were antagonizing Hange just now. I think you've revoked your right to complain."
Two pairs of hands squeeze my shoulders and I'm led out of the room. Like when I was taken out of my cell for my bench trial, I attempt to memorize the winding path I'm led down. But it only takes a few blind turns to make me disoriented, lost, and confused.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To Erwin Smith," Hange answers, walking beside me somewhere to my left.
"Why?"
"We'd like to inquire about your time in the stockades. You know, just to make sure the Military Police have been giving you their full most hospitality." She explains, somewhat sarcastically.
"Ok, but why the Scouts? I thought the Military Police had full authority over me?"
"We'll get to that. Later."
The Scout's guiding hand on my left arm slips upwards, drifting uncomfortably close to my weak spot. I pause, freezing as I become hyper-aware of the feeling of the Scout's hand grabbing my arm.
"Keep moving."
The Scout removes their hand from my arm and gives me a push forward. I stumble over the chains around my ankles, just managing not to flop forward.
The Scout grabs my arm again, placing their hand safely away from my pit.
"You can't react like that."
Easier said than done!
"We can't lead them on to believe you have a weak spot at all. Not while we're bound in chains. Not while Riptide is out of our grasp. Their ignorance about your powers and your curse is our only advantage."
Then shouldn't we have not explained to them what the Gods were?
"That's different. They've seen what you're capable of around a large source of water. That secret was already out. Revealing the existence of the Gods has no inherent weakness; it doesn't explain your powers and the gods aren't around for the Scouts to meddle around with. We've been over this."
The small metal box chained around my waist jiggles with every step, bouncing off my upper thighs; a constant reminder of Riptide's imprisoned status. My hands itch to reunite with my pen—to twirl Riptide between my fingers in that old habit to calm my nerves.
The complete darkness of my face covering abruptly brightens up, revealing the brown interior of the bag's fabric. The warmth on my skin and the chirping of birds lets me know I've been brought outside.
"I'm telling you, you should have seen the rump on that mare. She was FINE."
What the hell was that about, Annabelle?!
"That wasn't me!"
"For the last time, she isn't interested in ya! She trots away every time you try to speak to her."
Another voice speaks in my head, different from Annabelle and different from the one that spoke before that. I realize the voices are distinctively male.
"She's just playing hard to get." The first voice replies to the other.
"Bro. Learn to take a hint and just go back to the stables."
Shit. It happened. I finally snapped.
…
Well, I guess that's it for me.
"No, you idiot! It's horses! There are horses nearby!"
Now that Annabelle has pointed it out, my ears are able to pick up their soft whines and the clobber of their hooves over the noise of the busy outside street.
Passing the pair of horses discussing their 'conquests,' I'm led into what I believe to be a horse-drawn carriage, due to the lack of any scent of diesel or sound of purring engines. With two Scouts sitting on either side of me in the car, a minute later the carriage begins to move.
"Soooo... Can I take off my face covering now?"
"Absolutely not."
"Hmmm."
Enduring the stuffy, bumpy horse-drawn ride, my thoughts drift to Annie and what I should be doing next. Her cover's been blown if that wasn't clear enough. But have they captured her? Is she on the run? In hiding? Does she need my help? I made a promise; should I be breaking out of my custody and trying to find her right now?
"No. Not yet."
When then? When will it ever be the right time to act!?
"You'll know it the moment you see it. Look, breaking out to blindly search for Annie isn't going to help her. Right now, we need to find out what happened with her crime, where the Scouts think she is—or where she's being held, and what her current status is. We can only get this information by working with the Scouts."
Gods, I hate this. Did I tell you I hate this?
"I know, it's painful to wait and do nothing, but this is the only way we can help her."
As I sit on my ass doing nothing, images of Annie in dire straits fill my mind. Images of her in some dark alley or in the sewers. Dirty. Desperate. Hiding. Waiting for my help. Or worse, images of her locked away in chains, like I was, but worse. Huddled in some dark corner, her captor starving her nutrition, covered in bruises and scrapes, shivering as she awaits her death sentence.
Annie, wherever you are, please, just hold on.
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Stohess District
A few hours earlier
Annie's POV:
"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
The Attack Titan's scream, to put it simply, is demonic. A lustful call for blood. A wish for revenge vocalized by a yell fueled with pure rage.
If the Attack Titan's scream wasn't terrifying enough, the titan appears to have an ability to overcharge its strength. The skin beneath Eren's titan glows from overheating titan power; literal fire jutting out of every orifice and open wound on the Attack Titan's body. Overtaken with unadulterated anger, the Attack Titan charges after me, savagely scrambling forward like some rabid-crazed ape all the while glowing with heat and fire.
It's as if I'm dueling with the Devil of All Earth himself.
I had torn off one of Eren's arms and legs, but despite these missing appendages, he's still able to outspeed me with that 'overcharge ability' of his.
I never stood a chance.
Just before I'm able to reach the face of Wall Sina, Eren tackles me from behind. My face tears through an abandoned marketplace, knocking over stands and stalls as my body slides to a halt. With his one arm wrapped around my neck in a grabble, he lies on top of my titan, letting out rumbling growls as he stares at my hardened hands covering my nape.
"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
I ram the back of my head into Eren's face, throwing him off of me. I try to upright myself but Eren's hand clamps down over my face. I can't punch him or use my hands to throw him off; the Attack Titan's right behind, I can't remove my hands from my nape.
Redness fills my titan's vision as its head begins to cave in from the pressure of Eren's hand.
"REEEAAAAAHHH! REEEAAAAAHHH! REEEAAAAAHHH!"
I scream for Reiner, Bertolt, War Chief Zeke, any Pure Titans in my vicinity to come to my aid. But the Scouts have me pinned. Reiner and Bertolt aren't coming to my aid, they would have jumped in by now. The Scouts deliberately chose not to bring them on this mission to capture me. We've been thoroughly routed. Completely outplayed.
Is this how my mission ends?
With lighting precision, I strike Eren's head with my elbow, turning my titan around and lying on my back to protect my uncovered nape. Eren recovers and swipes at me but I'm prepared.
He only has the one hand; it's simple to predict which way he will punch.
Ducking out of his strike, I deliver a firm kick to Eren's sternum, sending the Attack Titan into a nearby building, ruining the structure.
More needless collateral damage. I hope no one was in it.
A short scene, a memory, sparks to life in my head, tuning out the noise of the world, playing behind my eyes like some moving picture film.
"No. I don't want to cause more harm." I admit to Percy, slick tears running down my cheeks. "I'm sick of it, I'm done fighting."
"Then run! Run as far as you can!" Percy replies. "Run away from those chasing you. Run home to your father and take him with you. If you don't want to fight, then just run! There's no shame in that."
I harden the skin at the tips of my titan's fingers and make a sprint for Wall Sina. Jumping up at the wall, my hardened fingers sink right into the titan-stone structure, providing myself a good foothold to climb.
So that's what I begin to do. I climb.
"She's heading up the wall!" Some Scout behind me screams.
"She's trying to escape!" Another yells out.
I'm only able to climb a few meters before Eren returns. He jumps up after me and grabs hold of my legs. While attempting to halt my climb by weighing me down, he sinks his teeth into my titan's right calf and begins tearing at my titan's flesh. Hardening my left foot, I deliver a brutal kick to Eren's face. The kick rips Eren off of me, but he takes my right ankle in his teeth with him as he falls.
Down one leg, but I can still climb.
"No! No! No! We can't let her get away!" A Scout screams as I resume my ascent.
Was that Armin?
I speed up; climbing as fast as I can. My heart thunders every time I hoister myself higher. I need to climb. I need to climb out of this hell. A meter closer to those clouds is a meter close to that top ledge of Wall Sina.
A meter closer to home.
"I won't let her!"
The whizzing sound of an ODM gear at work buzzes in my titan's ears as a Scout flies to intercept me.
Mikasa Ackerman.
"Ha!"
She swings past my right hand, severing my four fingers (minus my thumb) that were embedded in the wall. My body swings as I struggle to hold on. Left dangling on the wall with only one arm, there's nothing I can do but witness the beast make another pass.
"Aaaaahhh!"
In a swirling spin move, Mikasa strikes my other hand with her dual blades, severing those fingers as well.
She mockingly lands on my titan's face as I begin to fall.
"It's over Annie. Now fall."
She jumps off.
Looking up at the dusk's, sun-kissed cloudy sky as I plummet, I begin to hear the ruff voice of my father.
"Annie…"
I see myself before my father, thrown back into a memory of the distant past; the day I left Liberio to begin this god-forsaken mission.
"I'm so sorry. I don't expect you to forgive me." He tells me, grabbing my shoulders and with his head low.
"But… please… please just—"
I slam into the ground. With another demonic roar, Eren immediately pounces on me.
"Stand your ground. Stand your ground, even if the whole world stands against you."
I cover my nape with my finger-missing arms but I don't have enough time to harden them. Eren punches straight through my hands, popping my titan's appendages and my titan's head clean off my body.
It's all over.
"They'll despise. They won't understand. But I will. Your dad always will."
"Oh no! He's gonna devour her whole!" A muffled voice from outside screams.
"Eren, back off!" Another yells.
"Don't do it!"
I can practically feel Eren's teeth approaching my exposed nape.
"Promise me you'll return…" My father had told me as he embraced me in a hug. "That's all I ask."
The memory breaks tears in my eyes. Not my titan's eyes, but my own.
The nape of my titan's neck rips open swinging my real body backwards with it, tendrils of flesh connecting my body to the nape tearing and snapping with it. The outside air bathes my skin while sunlight kisses my eyelids.
I don't open my eyes to greet it.
"And if they catch me?" I find myself responding to Percy, thrown back to that memory of our conversation early last night.
"I'll break out and come save you," Percy replies.
"What if you can't?"
"I can."
"What if you change your mind?"
"I won't."
W-why hasn't Eren eaten me to steal my power? What is he waiting for?
"Annie, I'll come back for you," Percy promises. "I swear on the River Styx, I'll get you home. I'll bring you to your father. I promise."
"And after I save you, we can talk for real." Percy continues with that stupid grin on his face. "No interrogations. No weird hidden motives. We'll have an actual conversation, ok?"
No. I can't give in. Not yet.
Not while I still have an ace up my sleeve.
Calling upon powers long ago imbued into my body by Marleyan experiments, I use the Female Titan's special ability to begin encasing myself into a crystalized cocoon—copying the War Hammer's signature move. While sealing myself off from the world, I also harden the parts of my titan's body touching Eren to his arms and legs, merging our titan bodies together to prevent him from stopping me.
But I can take it a step further.
I could copy the Attack Titan's power.
I could gain that indomitable berserker rage.
The power that can subdue even the most skillful of warriors.
Why wouldn't I take it?
So I gave it a try.
"Other nations have noticed Marley hasn't been deploying the Female, Cart, or Colossal Titan of late." Commander Magath informs me, standing before a large map of the world strewn across a table. "News of your mission's failure has broken. A coalition of nations has banded together in a synchronous, full-out assault against our mother country."
What is this? Another memory?
"Reiner was knocked out of commission during the first wave, the Cart Titan's gear and backup gear are currently in disrepair, Wonder Boy Zeke is stationed at Liberio's port fending against a possible Mid-East naval invasion, and the Tibur Family continues to refuse to lend us the power of the Warhammer."
It's weird… Seeing this gives me this strange sense of nostalgia—as if the memory is on the tip of my tongue but unraveling at the same time. It feels like an old childhood memory resurfacing, but as if I
Why can't I remember what happens next?
"Leonhart, your return couldn't have been more perfectly timed. It's good to have you back."
The memory fades.
I suddenly find myself in another dream-like memory, sitting on a public bench, covering my face with my hoodie as people walk back and forth across the busy street.
"I grabbed you something."
Dream-version me looks up to see a donut thrust in her face. Tracing the hand to the owner, I find it's Percy handing me the treat.
"Hitch told me you like sweets, so here."
I don't remember this. This never happened—I'm sure of it. Percy was never let out of his cell, let alone allowed to go out on public strolls. And I certainly never joined him.
"Junk food's a good way to replenish energy, in my experience." He grins.
Dream-version me snatches the donut from his hand.
"While I was watching Marco being eaten by that titan… I… I asked myself why he was being eaten…" Reiner morbidly confesses.
This time, I find myself in a group huddled around a single fire in some forest at night. What tells me this isn't a memory is the absurd make-up of our group: Commander Magath, Scouts, some of my 104th friends, two kids with warrior candidate arm patches, Peick, in her titan form—What the hell is this!? A fever dream?!
"Eh?" Some Scout woman with glasses and an eyepatch exclaims as if Reiner had just started talking out of the blue.
"And then I let myself be overcome by rage." Reiner continues with a haunted look in his eyes. "I killed that titan while saying "you did this to Marco…""
"... enough already," Jean replies, keeping eyes downcasted. "You went crazy because of your sense of guilt, didn't you?"
"Do not forgive me… I… really have no idea what to do…" Reiner continues to speak.
"... enough already," Jean repeats.
"I'm sorry."
Jean launches out of his seat at Reiner's insistence to keep apologizing. Dream-version me jumps clear of Jean's path as he pounces on Reiner and begins beating the shit out of him. Connie and Armin jump up to grab Jean's arms and hold him back, but Jean resorts to using his feet to strike Reiner instead.
One of those warrior candidate kids jumps in the way of Jean's first kick, taking the blow for Reiner.
What am I… Is this some imagined dream of how Reiner, Bertolt, and I would admit our sins and ask our friends from Paradi for their forgiveness?
While the kids beg for the Scout's help, dream-version me kneels over Reiner's head and begins tending to his pulpified face, accepting the attack on my comrade for what it was.
(Anne Louise, by The Longest Johns)
" Oh the Anne Louise is waiting for a crew to jump aboard,
to take her out to deeper waters further from the shore,
for it's quiet and still in the harbor, not a voice to be heard in the bay
but the wind's coming down from Norway and there's plenty to be done today! "
Before I know it, I'm removed from the forest, campfire, and the group to find myself on a small sailboat rocking in the open waters.
" Oh, cast off me lads, we'll set the sails harding
'Cause she's been gasping for some action, out on the open seas!
Oh there's nothing quite like pitching, along at dangerous speeds,
With my hand on the tiller of my sky blue westerly! "
The boat is nothing more than a dinghy with a sail attached to it. We shouldn't be in waters this deep with a boat of this size—every wave we bobble over feels as if the boat is about to capsize. But Percy stands upright, maintaining his balance in the rocky conditions, gleefully steering the dinghy and singing his song.
" Oh we've coffee and we've bacon and we've everything on board!
So cry the crew, cast off from this safe haven we've been moored!
For there's salt wind in our lungs boys, and salt blood in our veins,
But the winds coming down from Norway making horses beyond the cranes! "
Each wave and bounce grows a nauseating sickly feeling within my stomach and mouth. With each new line Percy sings, dream-version me becomes more and more frustrated, almost reaching that explosive boiling point.
" Oh, cast off me lads, we'll set the sails harding
'Cause she's been gasping for some action, out on the open seas!
Oh there's nothing quite like pitching, along at dangerous speeds,
With my hand on the tiller of my sky blue westerly! "
The memory ends before dream-version me has the chance to scream at Percy for singing that annoying song.
Next, I find myself encased in an encompassing blackness. Unable to move. Unable to see. Unable to react to the world.
"Please don't ban me from coming back, Hitch!" A male voice cries.
Armin?
"I wasn't planning to. Annie would get bored out of her mind if she only had me to talk to her." A female voice replies.
Hitch?!
"This is kind of annoying though. How is she this popular when all she does is sleep?"
It was then that I realized I'm trapped inside the Warhammer's protective shell, just like the one I was forming to protect myself from Eren and the Scouts just now.
"Shit! It's always the head!" Percy cries, jumping out of the way of a gush of some green bubbling liquid.
The liquid hits the place Percy's feet stood, melting through rock and stone.
"Why does everyone always aim for the head?!" Percy cries again, raising that bronze sword of his and charging forward.
A monstrous roar shakes the ground I'm standing on, but before I can turn to see what we're fighting, the scene fades to black.
"You know, when I said you were welcome anytime, I didn't actually want you to visit…" Mr. Stratman trails off, puffing a blow from his cigarette and letting out a tiresome and drawn-out sigh.
"What did I tell you about smoking around me?" Dream-version me replies, crossing her arms in annoyance.
"Annie, this is just a hunch…" Percy says, in another memory, with an utmost serious tone. "but if it works…"
"It changes everything." Dream-version-me answers.
"The world would no longer have to fear eldians."
"I knew you would come back to me..." A rough voice cries, embracing me in an imposing hug.
"I knew you would keep your promise."
DAD!?
"See... I promised I would come back for you," I hear Percy's muffled voice say, once again finding myself trapped within the Warhammer's crystal shell.
"Didn't I… Annie?"
Like the others, this dream fades fast.
But this time no others follow it.
For the time being, everything remains black.
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Somewhere in Stohess District
Present Time
Percy's POV:
An hour-long carriage ride later, I'm led into some other building and thrown down into a chair. I can't see—that bag is still over my head—but I can sense my seat is in the middle of an open room. The draft of the open-air feels exposing.
"Armin, what's Eren's status?" Hange asks.
"He's still unconscious. The fight took a lot out of him." A soft, younger male voice responds. "Mikasa is watching over him."
"What about the titan in the wall?" Hange asks. "It hasn't moved, right?"
"No, it hasn't moved." Some other voice responds. "Minister Nick was right to keep it out of the sunlight."
"Thank Sina!" Someone prays in a whisper.
"I could have never imagined there were titans inside the walls." Another voice speaks. "What are we even supposed to make of this?"
"Why would you? No one did." I recognize this one—it's Erwin, the Scouts' leader. "There are only those who knew and those of us who were completely in the dark."
"How's that leg treating you, Levi?" Another voice I'm unable to distinguish asks.
"Not good." A voice who could only be Levi responds. "I'll be out of commission for a few more days."
An image of that one fancily dressed man in civilian clothes comes to my mind—that one visitor among all the Scouts not in a military uniform when they came to kidnap me from my cell. Was that Levi?
"Erwin, how did things go with the Military Police?" Levi asks.
"We're in the clear. Barely. But now the mayor of Stohess is demanding my immediate presence and an explanation." Erwin replies. "Let's make this brief."
The bag over my head is ripped off.
My eyes are greeted with a 'U' shaped wall of Scouts surrounding me. A whole 2 dozen or more of them.
Face with all these hostile eyes, I find my left arm instinctively squeezing to my side to cover my weak spot. Sitting in the middle of the room, with shackled hands and chained feet, surrounded by so many scrutinizing eyes while not knowing where or why the Hades I'm here is not my definition of a fun time.
I wouldn't recommend it.
"Moblit, record every word he says." Hange orders a brown-haired gentleman to her right.
"Already on it." the man replies.
The room I've been brought appears to be some fancy-looking office, far from the stereotypical rickety old shed I expected my serial kidnappers to take me to. The room is decorated with a large and clean red rug, fancy windows and curtains, aesthetic expensive-looking paintings, and beautiful wood-carved furniture.
"Tell us what you know about Annie Leonhart," Hange demands.
"Who?" I reply.
"Annie, your interrogator!"
"Who?"
"Cut the crap, we aren't going through this again," Levi interjects. "You know who she is."
"What's it to ya? Why are you even asking?"
"We have reason to believe Annie Leonhart was the culprit who knocked out your guards and broke into your cell two nights ago," Hange explains.
"Ok, but did you have to bring me here to ask me about this? Where am I? Where did you even take me?"
My question is answered with 2 dozen critical stares.
"Did Ms. Leonhart visit you in your cell that night or did she not?" Hange asks with each syllable drawn out for clarity and spoken with a powerful sense of importance, like a mother trying to ask her toddler a serious question.
"I didn't see who it was," I reply, scratching my chest in a nervous tick. "I think I was asleep."
Several Scouts grimace their faces at my weak response.
"Surely you must have woken up by the sounds of your assailant assaulting your guards, right?" That soft male voice from earlier rhetorically asks.
My head begins to boil when I turn to see the voice's owner—not because of the question—but because in the crowd of Scouts surrounding me, this crowd of battle-hardened veterans that are all 25 to 30 years of age, stands this single kid.
He can't be older than 14. He's short, only standing 5'3", has skinny arms and legs that have yet to be filled out, and with long blonde bangs covering his forehead that accentuates the rest of his boyish-young face. Seeing the kid in a military uniform fouls my mood.
Is this kid like Annie? Coerced into joining because he had no other choice? I thought I had escaped the interference of the gods, pushing their will on their children, only to find myself in a society repeating this oppression. The military is no different than my gods.
This world is no better than my own.
Holding grudges isn't my thing—I can forgive the Scouts for all that they've done to me—but seeing this kid reignites my anger of this regiment and its military. There is no excuse to ever have children fighting the battles of adults.
"Who's to say Dumb and Dumber didn't just knock each other out?" I reply to the kid.
"What?" the kid asks, genuinely confused. "How could two people possibly knock each other out? Why would they—"
"No, wait!" I cut the kid off with a smirk beginning to spread my lips. "Maybe it was your King who paid me a late-night visit. He has a reputation to uphold, you know. I wouldn't want people knowing about our affair…"
Seeing some of the Scouts grit their teeth only encourages my shitty grin to spread wider.
"Annie Leonhart is a criminal of the highest degree." Hange scolds, keeping her composure. "This is not the time for jokes."
"What did she do? Did she get lost and was found outside the walls?"
"In the past two days, Annie Leonhart has killed 26 Scouts and over a hundred Stohess civilians." Erwin answers.
W-what?
"She is a human with the ability to manifest a titan body at will. Along with the Colossal and Armored Titans, Annie Leonhart is responsible for the Fall of Wall Maria and all its loss of life and suffering."
"S-she… She couldn't h-have… That's not—"
"Earlier today, we confronted Annie about her titan identity." That blonde kid speaks, directing his gaze at the ground. "I personally asked her to give herself up peacefully, but she transformed. Before the Scout regiment was able to subdue Annie, she wreaked havoc across Stohess District. She wrecked so many buildings… killed so many people…"
"Perseus, were you not aware that Annie was a titan?" Erwin asks
"I…"
I avert my gaze to my open palms.
How could that small, reclusive girl be capable of all that? She tries to act all tough and emotionless, but that's just because that's what she's had to do to survive, right? She has a soft side that's as sensitive as anyone. She lent me an ear as I vented my hardships, went out of her way to read me books and get me better meals, she would giggle at some of my jokes.
"I… killed people. Good people."
I wouldn't believe it if Annie herself didn't come forward about it.
Are we all monsters when push comes to shove?
"N-no, I didn't know," I utter.
"I'm going to ask you again." Erwin takes a step closer; staring into my eyes so scrutinously, it's almost as if he's scanning my soul.
"Did you know Annie Leonhart was a titan?"
"Monster. Get ready."
The memory of Annabelle's warning rings in my ears. I can almost feel that same electrifying shiver I felt when I felt Annie's approaching presence.
My demigod senses. They knew.
"I didn't know she was a titan," I answer. "I didn't know titans could be people too—I've only ever seen the one…"
"But you could tell something was wrong, couldn't you? You felt something from her."
"How… h-how do you know?"
"I'm quite familiar with Leonhart's work. I've stayed up to date with your interrogation reports." Erwin explains. "I'm informed about your supposed 'demigod' senses."
"So tell me, why did Annie Leonhart visit your cell last night?" He asks.
"He's not even asking if it was her that visited you anymore."
I don't know what to tell them.
"We need to find out what happened to Annie. That kid said the Scouts subdued her. We need to find out where she is being held, assuming she's not…."
Don't think like that.
"Start by describing her visit. That shouldn't be too incriminating. Once they ask for more, give an ultimatum. Force them to make a deal: Annie's condition and whereabouts in exchange for more information."
"She was w-wearing a green cloak. A Scout regiment coat."
"The bitch disguised herself as one of our own." Levi curtly explains.
"What else?" Erwin pushes, leaning forward to better hear what I have to say.
"She was crying when she arrived. She told me she committed a terrible crime—that she killed people."
"She was crying!?" One of the Scouts shouts.
"The bitch has no right!" Another screams.
"She grabbed Kurt by his wires and swung him around like a Yo-yo." Another Scout whispers with a haunted, distant look on his face. "When she was done, she just tossed his mangled corpse into the air. Like a cat playing with its food. She's a monster."
I can't find the heart to defend Annie's name.
"What else?" Erwin pushes again.
"I mean, that's pretty much it."
"Did she give you any parting words? Any clues about what she would do next?"
"She told me she didn't want to fight anymore and that she wanted to go home. I told her to run if people came for her…"
"Hmmm." Erwin pulls himself away, pondering the little information I gave him.
"The real question is: why would Annie choose to head straight to Perseus' cell after the ambush?" Hange theorizes out loud to herself. "Since she didn't attempt to capture Perseus like with Eren, she had to have been seeking his presence. But why? To exchange information? To plan out the next attack?"
"You still haven't answered my question," Erwin speaks. "Why did Annie Leonhart visit your cell last night?"
"I'm… not sure."
"Perhaps that wasn't the correct question to ask. Why do you believe Leonhart visited your cell last night?"
"I… I think she wanted someone to judge her."
"You're saying Leonhart visited you—to what? Confess her crimes?" Hange asks, bewildered.
"Yeah, that's exactly why. Annie was… troubled. Very troubled. She had questions about herself that she couldn't answer. She needed someone else to answer them for her—a neutral party. Someone without context."
" 'Troubled' doesn't even begin to cover it." A Scout comments to himself.
"How do we know he's not with her?" Someone in the crowd whispers.
"I don't know." A different Scout whispers back. "What if he's a titan too?"
"We have some more questions for you to answer, Perseus," Hange says, sharing a brief glance with that brown-haired assistant of hers. "To start, what do you know about her home?"
"I'm done talking."
"Huh?!"
"What?!"
"You're in no position to make demands." Levi points out, with an even more fouled mood.
"Nah, I think I'm in a great position."
Some Scouts in the crowd aggressively move their hands to those blades on their hips in response.
Speaking of their hips, that strange contraption around their waists must be that ODM gear Annie had once mentioned. The harnesses around the soldiers' outer thighs and waist look tight and constraining and above the dual rectangular containers holding their blades are… gas canisters? Is that how the gear is powered?
I shake my head, refocusing myself.
"And it's not like you can hurt me," I add.
A few Scouts hesitate, pausing their hand movements as their reminded of my invulnerability. Some of them begrudgingly retract their hands from their blade but others grab onto them—frustration clouding reason.
"Maybe," Levi agrees. "But everyone needs to eat and drink."
"Are you willing to wait that long?" I reply to his threat. "You guys got me here pretty quick, sounds to me you're in a rush."
No one responds to that, so I keep my mouth moving.
"Even if you had the time, how sure are you that starving me will get me to talk? Fasting is a common practice to show devotion to the gods, you know. I'm no stranger to it."
"You'd cave in a day."
I choose to ignore Annabelle's comment.
"Also, I'm not afraid to become a martyr for my beliefs. In fact, I'd be delighted to." I add, giving my best impression of a Mania spirit with a crazy grin.
…
A tense moment of silence passes.
…
"Please, it's imperative that you tell us everything—anything before more innocent lives are lost." That blonde-haired kid blurts out, proving my point.
"Tell me what happened to Annie and I'll talk. That's my deal."
"No deal." Levi immediately responds, followed by an uproar from the crowd—noise consisting primarily of jeers at my character and accusations that I'm a traitor to the human race.
"Quiet!" Erwin shouts.
His loyal soldiers shut their lips.
"We're not going to divulge information to a person with unknown loyalties. What is your standing with Leonhart?"
"We're friends. I don't approve of her actions, but we're friends."
"Then the bridges of negotiation have been burned."
"Not necessarily."
"What do you mean?"
"I never said I was against the Scouts, did I?"
One of Erwin's bushy eyebrows rises with intrigue.
"Annie confessed her crimes not because we were friends, but because she viewed me as a neutral third party. You've done a pretty shitty job convincing me to be on your side, but we can restart here."
"By telling the truth, we can wholeheartedly expect to receive the same in return." I quote, staring directly into the eyes of the man who spoke these words. "You tell me what happened to Annie, I'll tell you everything I know about her."
"... Deal."
Erwin's decision is a controversial one among his Scouts, but none rise to voice their opinions against it.
"Tell me what crime Annie committed that led to her capture."
Erwin doesn't immediately answer; giving me another long critical stare before words slowly begin to roll off his tongue.
"During humanity's 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, the entire right flank of the Scout Regiment's formation was wiped out by a horde of titans. At the front of this horde was an abnormal—a female titan, the first of its kind. Engaging this titan in combat revealed it had a human level of intelligence. We believed that inside this abnormal titan was a human."
"That person turned out to be Annie Leonhart." Hange finishes for Erwin.
"The Female Titan was lured into a forest, using Eren Jaeger as bait." Erwin continues. "It appears as if capturing him was Annie's goal. Leonhart was caught in our trap but escaped. Captain Levi was just able to prevent Leonhart from achieving her goal."
"What happened next?"
"Back within Wall Rose, the Female Titan's identity was revealed and another plan was hatched to capture her before she could make her next move." Erwin unwaveringly continues to explain. "The Scout Regiment confronted Leonhart in Stohess District, where she was subdued."
"So she's not dead?"
"Correct."
Thank the gods.
"H-how is she being held?"
"Using her titan's ability to harden its own skin, Leonhart sealed herself away in a crystal cocoon of sorts—a crystal so hard not even our blades were able to scratch it."
"Where is she being held?"
"At an undisclosed deep underground chamber."
"..."
"That's as good of a hint as we're going to get, but at least she's safe."
"Done?" Hange asks.
"... for now, I guess."
"Good. Then what can you tell us about Annie's personal life?" Erwin asks.
"Not much, honestly."
"We know you and Annie discussed matters pertaining to Leonhart's personal life. These conversations were requested not to be recorded, which was approved by the Military Police."
"Yeah, we did. But even then, Annie never gave me much to work with. She always kept me a good arm's distance away."
"Sounds just like her." that blonde-haired kid says, letting out a disheartened chuckle.
Did they know each other?
"What do you know of Annie's home?"
"Only that it was some small town outside Wall Maria that was overrun by titans when the wall fell. I have no idea where it was or what it was even called."
From the gist of the preceding whispers, that's as much as the Scouts know about Annie's background as well.
"Do you know of any other survivors from Annie's town?"
"Yeah, I do. There are three others."
"Three?"
That number seems to surprise them, as people pause their standing habits and become more attentive.
"Yeah, she said she escaped with two boys. Don't know their names though."
"We know about them, what about the other?" Hange pushes.
"Her father."
"Annie's father?!"
"Yeah. She said he had a crippling leg injury and was getting treatment within the interior when the wall fell."
"I didn't know she had any surviving family." the blonde-haired kid says to himself.
"She told me she became a soldier to help pay for his treatment and better his life. She really wanted to see him again."
"You two!" Erwin says, pointing at two Scouts in the U-shape crowd. "Form a team and conduct a search for all middle-aged men within Sina and the outlier districts with a limp or a crippled leg."
"Yes sir!" They respond, throwing their hands over their hearts.
"Is there anyone else in Annie's life? Family members? Acquaintances? Friends?" Hange asks.
"Annie had a roommate named Hitch. She's in the military police. We actually talked about how little we knew about Annie. She doesn't know any more than I do."
"Anyone else?"
"No. That's it."
"Did you get all that Moblit?" Hange asks that brown-haired assistant of hers.
"Yes, Section Commander!" The man responds, still frantically scribbling notes in that notebook of his.
"Can you give us anything else on Annie?" Erwin asks. "Even the slightest of observations could be of use."
"She…She kept referring to herself as a warrior. I noticed that."
"Anything else?"
"That's it, I can't think of anything else. Everything else should be in those reports, I think. You know, all the questions she asked about my gods and life."
"This man is an iconoclast to the mighty walls!" A voice behind the crowd of Scouts shouts. "Spreading his pagan poison. Hand him back to the Military Police!"
The crowd parts, revealing a man in black robes sitting in a chair in the opposite corner of the room. If his language wasn't a dead giveaway, the robes and the necklace with the insignias of the three walls show he's another one of those followers of the wall.
"Why is this dude here?" I ask.
"Oh, don't mind Minister Nick," Hange replies, walking over the man and slapping a hand on his shoulder. "Like you, he holds important information. We're just keeping a close eye on him until he spills the beans. Isn't that right, Pastor Nick?"
Pastor Nick averts his face from Hange's 'friendly' smile, keeping his lips shut.
"Nanaba," Erwin calls out to the crowd as he keeps his eyes on me.
"Yes sir?" A female Scout steps forward.
The Scout who steps forward has a petite but average height and build for a woman. She has blue eyes, short blonde hair styled in an undercut with short bands parted to the right, and where the standard Scout uniform, with the only difference being the gray v-neck undershirt she wears.
"Take Perseus with you as you leave."
Several hitched breaths and confused "huhs" follow Erwin's controversial order.
"But sir!" The woman, Nanaba, begins to protest. She tries to find the right words to change Erwin's mind but isn't able to. Erwin doesn't reply to her protest either—he never even turns to address her.
"Right away." Nanaba reluctantly agrees.
"You're going to release this blasphemous heathen?! He will taint the world as we know it!" Pastor Nick blurts out from his corner seat.
The Scouts swivel their heads from the Wall follower to Erwin, expecting Erwin to say something. Instead, Erwin ignores Pastor Nick, opening his jacket and digging his hand within its pockets.
"Prove to us you're an ally of humanity—" Erwin pulls a hoop of keys out of his jacket and holds them out, dangling them in front of my face. "—and I'll see to the removal of those chains and your freedom."
After tantalizingly jingling the keys in his hand for a second, Erwin tucks the hoop back into the inside of his jacket.
"Unlock his ankle constraints."
A scout steps forward does just that, removing the chains at my feet, freeing my legs to their full length of motion.
"Do good, and I'll see to it that your other restraints get removed as well."
Erwin and I stare into each other's eyes. I feel like there's something larger at play here, but I can't tell what. All I can do is nod, putting trust in Erwin's word.
"Come on, let's go." The female Scout Erwin ordered to take me, Nanaba, tells me, grabbing my right bicep and tugging me out of my chair.
My remaining chains jingle with every step as I'm led out the room. The Scouts don't say another word, but their gazes leave an impression that continues to burn in my self-conscious mind long after we've exited the room.
It's only when this Nanaba girl leads me outside the building that I catch my first glimpse of this new civilization Styx banished me to.
The stone brick buildings with wooden trims and red shingle roofings are 3 to 4 stories tall. They line the street on either side almost continuously, with the occasion tight narrow alleyways giving a break between buildings. People aren't dressed in flashy brand logo clothes; everyone wears plain colors, with long-sleeved pants, shirts, and dresses, covering most of their skin.
Not a cell phone in sight, just people living in the moment.
Overall, the combined style of dress of passerbyers, the architectural style of the building, and the occasional horse-drawn carriage give me a pre-modern vibe—like I'm in the 1850s or something. The city itself reminds me of some of those European cities I've seen; with its cobblestone streets, older looking lamppost and building designs, and the long stretches of conjoined buildings you see in condensed urban centers.
"This way."
I follow Nanaba as she guides me next to a hitching rail outside the building we came from. Tied to the rail are a number of horses, some drinking water out of a trough played in front of the rail, others munching on hay bales next to the trough, and the rest just chilling out.
Nanaba unties two nearest horses and pulls them away from the wooden bar they were tied to.
"This horse is a spare in need of a rider. He lost his partner in the recent scouting mission." Nanaba tells me with a sorrowful tone as she strokes the horse's mane.
"Was it Annie?" I whisper.
"We don't know if it was her or one of the pure titans in the horde she attracted."
Nanaba grabs a rope off one of the horse's saddles and ties both ends of it onto the saddles on both horses. There's enough slack for the two horses to run comfortably aside one another, but not enough for one of the horses to stray too far away.
"Don't even think about running away. I can ensure you, no one on foot is faster than someone using ODM gear."
I glance down at the ODM gear around her waist.
I'll have to ask how it works.
"Ever ridden a horse before?" Nanaba asks, holding out the reins of one of the horses she grabbed.
"Yeah, I have experience," I answer, taking the reins.
"Good." Nanaba nods. "It's tradition for a Scout to give their horse a new name. How about you give your steed a proper one."
The horse in question is a healthy male thoroughbred with a dark bay coat so dark it almost appears black. The only blemish on his beautiful coat is a thin white strip of fur running from the horse's forehead down to its snout.
"What was the name his last rider gave him?"
"I don't know, but it's considered bad luck to keep the previous owner's name."
"Please don't call me something stupid like my last rider did," The horse pleads. "Buttercup is not a stallion's name."
I recognize the horse's voice; he was one of the ones pulling my carriage, specifically, the one who was bragging to his horse friend about 'swooning' a female horse he liked. His near-black hair and crude remarks remind me of Blackjack, perhaps I should call that.
But first…
"Hmmm, how about buttercup?" I pretend to ponder, putting my chin with my right hand.
"Fuck no! My name is Sam. SAM!"
"Alright, alright. I'll call you Sam then, deal?"
"Yeah, deal."
"…"
"Wait a minute. Did you just hear me?"
"Yeah, I can understand you."
"Huh. Well that's weird."
"..."
"Wait… WAIT! Holy shit! Are you God?"
I wonder if horses can sense a demigod's power or if they understand that the only humans who can talk to them are the ones with godly blood. Either way, Sam the horse has figured it out.
"What's going on?! Down boy, down!" Nanaba cries, taking Sam's reins from my hands and trying to calm him down as he bucks around with excitement.
"Maybe he just really likes the new name I gave him," I nervously chuckle.
"God! God! We're in the presence of God!"
The other horses tied to the hitch rail begin mumbling at Sam's accusation, turning their heads and trying to catch a glimpse of me as they begin catching on to what's happening. Meanwhile, the other horse Nanaba grabbed for her to ride stays silent; nervously pawing at the ground, unsure of how to react as its partner goes nuts.
"Sam stop it! You're embarrassing me." Sam pauses mid-buck with his two front feet high in the air.
He drops his front hoofs to the dirt with a mighty thud.
"And for the record, I'm not 'that' guy, my father is."
"Horse Jesus! Forgive me for my behavior!" Sam begs.
How does he even know who Jesus is?
"It's ok I'm not mad."
"So forgiving; you truly are our lord!"
"Please don't call me that."
"Uhh, who are you talking to?" Nanaba asks, with a weirded-out look on her face.
"Just my horse."
With a bewildered expression, she slightly tilts her head in response.
"It's, uhhhh, one of those demigod powers I got," I try to explain.
"Sure…" Nanaba voices in acceptance.
But her eyes reveal she thinks I'm crazy.
"You can't blame her. Remember when you first learned you could talk to horse and fish?" Annabelle reassuringly asks.
Yeah, I know. It's just—the lunatic treatment is getting old.
"Come on. Mount your steed." Nanaba tells me, shaking her head and straightening her posture to move past the horse thing.
"It would be an honor, my lord," Sam says, throwing his front two legs forward in a horse's version of a kowtow.
"Please don't do that."
As Sam uprights himself, I glance at Nanaba, breathing a little sigh of relief that she missed Sam's behavior.
I hoist myself up onto Sam's back, throw my feet into the saddle's stirrups, and wiggle my waist a little to get myself comfortable in my new seat.
I don't know where we're heading, and while Annie's status continues to weigh down the thoughts in the corner of my mind, I'm excited for new beginnings. To get out of my cell and finally explore this new world I've been banished to. To make new strides in gaining these people's trust to get out of these chains without force. To find myself a new New Rome, a place for myself that I can settle down at after I'm done dealing with all this crap.
Whatever the case, all I know is that the sights Nanaba is about to steer me to are bound to be more pleasant than my cell.
…
Right?
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This chapter was 8.7k words long.
Ah yes, the long-awaited return of Sam the Horse!
So when Annie tried to take Eren's powers, what do you think she saw? First to guess gets a cookie.
For those who caught on, doesn't it just make sense that Annie could have seen 'that' in that weird titan-fusion scene at the end of Season 1? I'm not sure if other fanfiction authors have picked up on this idea (I haven't read many AOT fanfics) but with the manga now complete and Season 4 Part 2 about to air, I can see this idea becoming a big theme/plot point for Annie-centric fanfictions.
You may or may not see an update at the beginning of January. I have time off right now so I might be able to crank out another chapter to come out in late January then.
Plugging the Emeral Library discord server again. It's almost got 1,200 members, y'all. Mostly PJO, HP, or MHA fans, but it has a growing community of AOT and other fandom fans. Stop by my personal channel ("unbredeel0") under the 'Dormitory' section and say hi!
discord . gg/cNc8Tvc7Gm
Till next time,
-Unbred
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Originally Published on 12/25/2021