CHAPTER 19: IT'S THE KIDS SIR
Historia Riess
Historia swore she would never take socks for granted again.
As she and Nile shuffled down the hallway of the Military Police outpost, she glanced down at her sore feet, the sound of her footsteps muffled by her gray socks. Nile, who was also wearing socks on his feet, walked next to her dragging an unconscious guard towards the armory.
"You know, for MP's, they sure weren't very good at uh…policing?" She remarked.
"You know, for a queen, you aren't very good with words." He retorted.
She let out a soft laugh, despite her unease.
She and Nile had cleared the first two floors of the Military Police outpost with relative ease. Nile knew the patrol routes, said he had come up with them ten years ago and they never bothered changing them. It had made it easy for the two of them to sneak up on each group of one or two guards and take them by surprise.
She glanced at the ceiling, knowing Burns was still up there somewhere. He would have more guards with him. Probably more guns too.
She almost rolled her eyes.
When have things ever been easy for me?
They turned a corner and arrived at their temporary base of operations: the armory of the outpost.
Nile dropped the guard with a huff and knocked lightly on the door. Two distinct raps.
"It's just me idiots." Came an annoyed reply from inside.
Historia grinned and pushed open the door.
"Took you two long enough." Levi drawled as they walked in. He sat with his arms crossed, his feet resting on a table. He looked far too bored than someone infiltrating a military outpost had any right to be.
"Well," Nile grunted, dragging the unconscious guard inside. "We can't all scratch our lazy asses all day. Some of us actually have to get our hands dirty and work."
Historia shut the door behind them with barely a click, not that any guards would hear them. They were all too busy being unconscious in the back closet of the weaponry she and Nile just stepped into.
"I despise getting my hands dirty." Levi flicked an unimpressed eyebrow at them, and Historia hid a smirk from her face. It was good to see the Captain back to his usual grumpy demeanor, even if that meant a few insults here and there.
"We've got good news and bad news." Nile said, ignoring Levi's comment as he shoved the guard into the side room with the rest of them and shut the door.
"I'm on the edge of my seat."
The Commander glanced at him before sighing and slumping down into a chair at the table.
"The guards are taken care of," He gestured to the closed door, "But the kids were nowhere to be found. We searched as much as we dared."
Levi's eyes met hers for the briefest of moments as if checking to make sure Nile wasn't messing with him. She pressed her lips together in a frown.
"Did he move them?" Levi asked.
"Probably not."
Historia shifted. "We think he's keeping them close…possibly to use as bait." She bit her tongue at the thought.
Using children as a lure for us. For me.
Levi nodded slowly.
"Are we ready for phase two then?" He asked.
"I don't think we have a choice."
The three glanced around, tension in the air. The slow creaks in the old wood of the base made the hairs on her neck stand up. They had come so far, but there was still an impeding obstacle keeping them from returning to the surface.
Damion Burns. Captain of the Mitris District and traitor to the throne.
Part of her wanted to stay here. Why bother Burns? They would be safe underground. They could find a place to coop up for a while until it was safe to sneak up again.
A better part of her knew she couldn't do that. Did her life mean more than so many others? How many had already died to see her live, and how many more would have to? Did those two kids have to suffer the same fate because she didn't want to face her fears?
"How's the leg?" Nile nodded at Levi.
"It's functional."
"Are you going to be able to do your part of the plan?"
"I'll be fine." He replied, rubbing his leg. Historia didn't miss the wince he tried to hide. From the look Nile shot her, he didn't miss it either.
Levi sighed, lifting his leg from the table with both hands, wincing again as he did. "I'm just ready to get out of this hell hole. But since you two took so long with the guards, I managed to find a set of reliable ODM gear. I'll be ready as soon as you need me."
"Excellent." Nile clapped his hands. "Then all that's left to do is royally piss off Burns–"
"–More than we already have." Historia noted with a wince of her own.
"Naturally. Then it's a simple game of wit and charm and–boom! We're home on the surface before supper."
She smiled. "I can almost smell the bread cooking in the oven already."
"That's the spirit." He winked. "Now get your shoes on. We have a military captain to catch."
Levi Ackerman
Levi listened as the receding footsteps of Historia and Nile faded from earshot. This part of the plan depended on him being not around them so he planned on staying put. Well, he planned on resting for at least another two minutes before dragging himself through personally designed hell that was standing and walking.
He gave his leg an especially disappointed frown as he contemplated standing up. It sent him a snarky flare of pain in response. He glared at it.
So dramatic.
But it was time to move.
He lifted said leg off the ground experimentally, grimacing only slightly at the sharp twinges of pain that flared up it. It really was feeling better since Nile and Historia had cauterized it...as unpleasant as that had been. And he could walk on it. It just hurt like a bitch.
Which was why he was grateful for the familier straps and belts of the ODM gear that currently clung to his body. It was a far cry from armor, but to Levi it was a pocket of safety, a bubble in which he was invincible.
Even with a healing wound.
He stood up slowly, easing the weight onto his injured leg.
It stood firm.
Satisfied, Levi hobbled towards the door to the armory.
His leg started filling with heat, but nothing unbearable, and so he pushed through to the hallway.
Down the empty corridors he limped, pausing occasionally at distant sounds from floors below.
But he pressed on.
He had a military captain to kill.
As he turned a corner, none too carefully, he cursed as a person appeared. The scrape of a knife and a flicker of motion, and Levi unfortunately found himself at the point of the weapon. A weapon held by a very pissed off person with dirty blonde hair.
The frown and anger looked wrong on the normally jovial face, but it quickly changed into a look of shock.
"Levi?"
It was Patrik.
Historia Reiss
"So…are we just going to…wait…here…until he shows up?" Historia asked, shifting her weight in the empty doorway.
"That was the idea." Nile admitted sheepishly. "Unless you want to wander the halls some more and risk being shot."
Images of Zane dying before her eyes and the Military Police thugs shooting Levi point blank ran through her mind. No thanks. She'd rather not meet any end of a gun. Ever.
"I just think it's a little obvious if we're just standing in the entrance to the outpost without any apparent weapons." She said, fingering the hidden knife sheathed under her shirt.
Her voice echoed ever so slightly in the empty room and down the wooden hallways. The outpost was nothing ornate. She was pretty sure the stables of some outposts above the surface were nicer than here. The dim lighting of the underground was constant here, even in the presence of the enforcement of the world above. It spelled it's same sentence here as it did everywhere, dark corners, years of dust in the unseen cracks, and that foreboding sense of doom.
Lovely place.
"Should we make some noise?" She wondered.
Nile thought for a beat. Then, he walked over to a nearby table holding some curled, yellow papers. He hunched down to grab it and then abruptly threw it on it's side. Papers spilled everywhere as the table made a resounding–CRASH–onto the floor.
Historia didn't even flinch as the sound resonated through the empty rooms beyond.
Nile gave her a smirk. "Think they heard that?"
"I think Armin probably heard that." She rolled her eyes.
Chills ghosted over her arms. It would never be warm here.
They waited.
This was a stupid plan she thought. What was to stop anyone from shooting them on sight?
Or maybe it was genius. Only time would tell.
That's what she was afraid of. The test of time.
After a few moments, footsteps sounded from far away. They stomped away, getting closer and closer with every second.
Historia swallowed, her throat papery all of a sudden.
The footsteps drew closer. And closer. Down some stairs. Across rooms they had cleared of guards. Up to the room next door.
Now she heard angry huffs. The clanging of metal. Curses muttered under stinky breath.
She unintentionally stepped closer to Nile.
"Here we go." He muttered as the first guards entered the room and spotted them.
Levi Ackerman
Levi glared at Patrik.
Patrik gaped back.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Levi cursed. "You need to leave."
The other man shook his head, clearing the confused look. A small smile appeared on his lips.
"Captain Levi, I certainly didn't expect to find you here. Unless, don't tell me, they just hired you as a new officer for this fine outpost?"
"How did you get in here?" Levi snapped.
Patrik spread his hands in front of him. "I followed the cart that took you and the kids here. I've been camped out across the street outside waiting for an opportunity to break in. Then to my surprise I saw Historia and some other fellow sneaking around and wouldn't you know it, they took out all the guards. Made it a whole lot easier to get in."
Levi fixed him with a blank stare.
"Didn't see you though. Hence the surprise a moment ago." He brushed a lock of blonde hair from his eyes. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"This isn't a time for joking."
"I didn't say I was."
Levi sucked in a frustrated breath. Leave it to him to always stumble upon the most annoying people. He should have guessed there would be some unforeseen person coming in and messing their plan up. Didn't that always happen to him?
"We don't want your help." He said, turning and limping down the hallway. "Just stay out of our way and we'll get the kids back to you."
Levi didn't look back as he made his way down the hallway.
In the distance, a *CRASH* echoed up from the entrance of the building.
Nile and Historia.
The plan was in motion. Even more reason for him to leave Patrik behind. He didn't need anything getting in the way right now. He needed to focus, he needed–
"Can I just ask–"
"Shit!" Levi hissed at Patriik's sudden appearance in front of him. The man had literally materialized, and Levi glanced back to make sure this wasn't another person.
Patrik looked at him funny.
"Ahem," He cleared his throat. "As I was saying, can I just ask what exactly your plan is?"
Patrik's eyes held kindness, hardened by a line of determination. This man wasn't going to just let Levi go without him. Annoying shit.
"Those kids might not be my flesh and blood but I'm responsible for them." He reasoned. "And if you're going after them, it only makes sense for me to help."
"You've done enough." Levi paused before continuing. "We're very thankful for everything you've done. We couldn't have made it without you, but you can't get hurt because of us."
Patrik raised an eyebrow at him.
"Good point. I would hate for someone to get hurt. Especially if they got shot. Nasty business that is, getting a bullet out. How's your leg doing by the way?"
Levi glared at him.
"You know glaring isn't a form of communication."
"It is if it makes you shut up."
Patrik rolled his eyes.
"Who would have guessed that you were such an ass?" He muttered. "Look, I'm not going to get in your way, but I assume you have some kind of plan? Please tell me you have a plan. Unless you were thinking about limping and glaring your way through here?"
"We have a plan." Levi sighed. "I'll explain it."
Patrik smiled.
"I think you and I are going to make a great team."
"That makes one of us."
Historia Reiss
Historia yelped as two hands shoved her unceremoniously into the mess hall. Tables stacked themselves haphazardly against the walls while old broken chairs lay toppled around them as if someone had run an entire horseback regiment through the room.
Nile was pushed in after her. She quickly scanned the room and spotted Naomi and Amos, backed into a corner and tied together. She breathed a sigh of relief, but her blood boiled as one of the guards noticed her staring and raised his gun at them.
Just wait until that gun is pointed at your face instead.
One table in good repair sat near the side of the room. A single occupant brooded there with his arms crossed. His normally neat military uniform was wrinkled and covered in dust. His ODM gear clung to him like a ratty flag after a windstorm. He had the shadow of facial hair and a look of seething disgust sitting flatly upon his usually charming features.
Yes, Damion Burns scowled with hatred as she walked in. And, she thought, if looks could kill, this one would have personally escorted her to the foot of a titan, skewered her with a thunder spear and watched as she was devoured whole.
At least if that were to happen, she could spend her last moments above the surface.
The guards herded them towards Burns until they stood barely two meters from him. For what stretched into an eternity, they all stood there, Burns glaring daggers at them while Historia's heels grew achy from lack of movement.
Burns' jaw twitched in slow motion as he contemplated them. Historia swore she saw herself blink in the reflection of his eyes.
At long last, he shifted, leaned forward on one arm, then spoke.
"I am truly sorry you had to get dragged into this, Nile." Burns said, turning to the commander.
Nile gaped at him before spitting. "The hell you are!" He glared.
Burns flinched, but didn't change his expression. "You weren't supposed to know about any of this."
Nile raised an incredulous eyebrow.
"You were planning on covering up the biggest murder in history and not getting caught? Do you hear yourself man?"
"You could have helped me. You know none of this is right." He gestured to Historia. "She should never have taken the throne."
"That's besides the point! Look at this! Look at all the lies you've hid, the people you've killed. Do you think this is any more right?" Nile reasoned, straining against his restraints.
Burns shook his head, not letting a word of Nile's phase him. "We could have served side by side for a long time. I will regret this day for the rest of my life."
"I'd prefer to be forgotten by a traitorous murderer like you."
Burns actually looked sorrowful as he turned back to Historia.
"As for you child, I will relish in your fall."
She blinked against the pure red wave of hatred that slammed into her. She could plainly see it now, she wasn't an obstacle to Burns. She represented everything he detested about the world.
And now she stood helpless before him.
"You should have never inherited the crown." He pushed his chair back from the table. "There were dozens of men more well suited for the role of king than an insect like yourself."
"I didn't even want it." She spat, feeling brave. "Who in their right mind would? What kind of power can anyone wield in a world that could be destroyed overnight?"
"The power to save lives!" Burns said, slamming a fist into the table. "The power to send your enemies away. To protect your family! To save them—"
He choked back a sudden sob, the tension in his fist melting away. Despite the circumstances, Historia felt…awkward as Burns let a few stray tears trace down his cheek and land in his lap.
"No more." He whispered. "I won't play a soldier anymore. I'm sick and tired of the lies and the games. No more pawns." He looked up, and the look in his eyes scared Historia more than when he was blindingly angry.
"And that is why you have to die. All of you."
"Damion," Nile cut in. "What are you talking about? All the lying—? What games? We're—I'm so confused. No one has to die!"
"THEN WHY DID SHE HAVE TO?" Burns roared, leaning forward in his chair. The anger returned in vengeance, bringing with it hot tears. "WHY DID MY MOTHER HAVE TO?"
He paused, wiping his face with a dirty sleeve. The other guards stood firm in their positions, glancing at each other as if they were as uncomfortable as Historia and Nile and the kids.
"I—who? Did—what happened to your mother?" Nile asked softly.
This is good. Keep stalling Nile. Keep him going.
Burns turned red-rimmed eyes towards Nile. They glistened as he sniffed and straightened up in his chair.
"She died." He whispered. "She died in prison." He let out a harsh laugh that turned into another choked sob. "She d-didn't even last a day. They tore her apart. All of them did. The other inmates. Dad almost killed himself when he found out...of course, they didn't let him." His eyes shifted to Historia, pure venom leaking from them. "They didn't let him because you had him locked up too."
Historia's stomach lurched.
"What?" She gasped.
The dark circles under his eyes hung heavy as he scowled at her. "You had almost every noble locked up for...what were the charges again? Treason? Backstabbing? Withholding information from the public? You slapped every charge you could think of on them and sent them hauling like a pack of dogs!"
"They died because of you. All of them, my mother, my friends, my family. Dad is the only one I have left and god—you even killed Zane—"
He trembled in his fury, like a tree before a windstorm, shaking to the core. The legs of the chair were his roots, the only thing keeping him from toppling.
"Zane was trying to kill us." Nile said. "We barely made it away with our own lives."
"And am I supposed to pity you?" Burns spat. "Should I feel bad that you murdered my cousin?"
Nile swallowed, twisting his arms in their restraints. "No. You have every right to hate us...to hate me. This has all been my fault. You can take your anger out on me. Levi and I—"
Burns' eyes snapped up like a wild animal. He bared his teeth, tears vanishing in an instant.
"Where is Levi?" He screeched at his guards. "Where is that DEVIL?"
"Sir–" One shot up. "There was no sign of him sir. Just these two."
Burns met her eyes.
She gulped.
He moved his face towards her so they were centimeters apart. His oder stunk up to her nose and she tried not to breathe.
"Where. Is. Levi?" He hissed.
She stared into his eyes, not daring to blink, let alone answer.
"He's dead."
Burns moved away from her. "What?"
"He's dead." Nile repeated. "His injuries were too severe."
For a moment, there was silence.
The wild, wide-eyed expression on Burns' face held tense, and then slowly relaxed into a smirk of relief.
"About damn time." He said, slumping back into his chair as if exhausted. "It's about damn time he paid for his sins." He started laughing. It wasn't a joyful or relieved laugh, and it reminded Historia of injured soldiers she'd seen, the ones who started to go crazy when their pain became too much.
But it looked like he was too far gone to notice their lie.
"Well pardon my rudeness, but Historia and Nile it's time for you to join him. Guards?" Burns motioned for two of his men. They stalked over to the small group and pulled Historia and Nile towards the wall.
"Damion you know this is wrong!" Nile barked as he stumbled when the guards pushed him. "Think about everyone this will affect! If the queen dies what happens to the military? What happens when the armored or colossal titans come back, and we know they could appear anytime!"
"Those are hardly my concerns."
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?" Spit flew from Nile's mouth as he shouted.
Regaining her stance, Historia wiped her tears to find Naomi and Amos being dragged to join them against the wall. She tried to look reassuring as they rushed to grasp at her, sobbing and hanging on tight.
"What's going on?" Naomi cried, burying her face into Historia's hip.
"It's okay." She whispered, trying to hug the kids in close with her bound hands.
"People will decide their own fates." Burns said. The expression on his face was hollow, as if he felt no emotion at all. "The smart ones will live and the foolish ones will die. It's always been that way, Nile."
"What about the defenseless ones?" Nile reasoned. "What about the mothers? What about my family? You would leave them at the mercy of titans?"
Burns' face darkened. "If that's what fate decides for them because of their choices then yes."
"Do you even hear yourself? What happened to you Damion? You were my friend!"
"And I thought you were mine too. You've clearly shown where your loyalties lie, and that's not with me."
Burns stood from his chair, sighing as if he was carrying the weight of the crown himself.
"I thought we could have an intelligent conversation before I killed you. Or—" He grimaced. "—part of me thought I might be able to talk you into joining me...I see now how naive that was."
He pulled a box on the desk towards him. It was beautiful and ornate, and when he opened it up, Historia saw the black glint of a gun barrel.
"But I've had enough. I'm ready to finish this."
He loaded the chamber of the gun with nine bullets, looking at each as if saying farewell to a friend.
Then he pointed the gun, aiming directly at Historia's heart from across the room.
"Ladies first?"