How many days has he spent dreaming about this exact moment? The different scenarios that played through his mind, the different conversations he had with this man in his day-to-day fantasies. The questions he wanted answers to, the answers he wanted to give him. How is it that after so much time has passed, was he reduced to a nervous wreck. What's he supposed to do, when that time came and all of his words died in his mouth? He wanted to scream, to let it all out, but he couldn't bring himself to.
Floch had to slip away to the side and sit on the opposing bed to collect himself as the survey corps commander conversed with his subordinates, he inconspicuously began slowing his breathing to better control his nerves. His eyes were trained on Erwin the entire time.
Levi Ackerman had enough awareness to notice the boy sneak off to the side, he raised a brow in question as his keen eyes took note of his behavior. He clicked his tongue in disdain, great, another suck-up fanboy, He thought to himself.
From the moment he saw him take down that interior officer, he felt something was off about him. He couldn't quite tell if the redhead was mentally inadequate, or plain stupid. Either way, one of those had to be the reason they threw him in here for attacking his superiors like that. Yet, there was something about him that piqued his interest. There was a reason he made it thirty years through the underground unscathed and it wasn't because of ignorance, he could pick up on something in those eyes. Perhaps, there was more to him than he initially thought. Or maybe he was reading into it too much, who cares?
"Well then, I am sure my sudden arrival has raised some questions. Truth is, we need to conduct an emergency meeting with all of the captains and squad leaders, both present at HQ and those recovering here. We have much to discuss I'm afraid." Erwin began.
"A meeting sir? For what?" Petra questioned.
"Yes. As for the reason." Erwin briefly turned to look at Floch, the boy felt rooted to the spot under his commanding gaze. Erwin gave him an affiliative smile to ease his tensions before looking back at the scouts.
"Following our recent expedition, the interior police is moving to disband our branch from the military."
"WHAT?!"
Eight heads snapped towards Floch after his outburst, he faltered after the slip-up, feeling the pressure of their gazes on him.
"Well, I'll be damned," Oluo muttered under his breath.
"Err...sorry." Floch apologized with haste.
"As the commander was saying, the executives within the MP are appealing to have our regiment dissolved and assimilated into the other two branches. They are pushing forward the notion that we've had diminishing returns from our recent operations and thus have become too cumbersome both for the economy and the military structure itself." Hange continued.
"They can't do that! Humanity depends on us!" Henning cried out.
"They can. This is precisely why we'll be conducting this meeting, I will be appointing Hange in charge of defending the organization as we move forward with the counterappeal. However, we will not stop there. We'll fight to secure more funding for the regiment to replenish our resources and launch our recruiting campaign. We need to demonstrate that the corps can shake off a setback of this magnitude." Erwin detailed to the group.
"Dammit, how are we supposed to do that?" Rashad frowned. "They have surely gone to great lengths to spread the news about the expedition, you can't recruit a bunch of people who see death reeking from our uniforms."
"Perhaps. We have more than enough time to prepare for the MP to initiate their proceedings within the tribunal, seeing that nothing like this has ever been done before. Scouts do not go down with a proper fight, either in court or outside of it. If we show weakness now, it'll only prove detrimental to our cause. There will be no shortage of men and women eager to serve humanity. As shown by our young cadet here." Erwin smiled once again.
Floch was starting to dislike having this many eyes on him like this.
"So we have a chance to fight this, right commander?" Nifa asked.
"That's right. More than enough for us to be able to dismiss this appeal, of course, we'll need a proper strategy to win the court over, but that is hardly a cause for concern."
"That's good to hear." She sighed in relief.
"We will leave the rest of the discussion at a later date, let's not burden you any further all during your recovery process," Erwin concluded with another one of his charismatic smiles.
"Has squad Mike accompanied you by any chance, sir?" Henning asked.
"Yes, They're currently stationed outside by the gardens alongside a few other personnel. Call it a show of force if you will."
"Permission to see them, sir?"
"Granted, all of you."
The soldiers gave their commander a salute before they left one after the other, Nifa gave a little wave to Floch as Hange helped her walk out of the room. He waved back with his good arm, before slowly dropping it down. He looked back at the remaining two occupants of the room, the two men remained almost expressionless as they gazed at him.
Erwin noticed the patch on his breast pocket. "I would be very interested in learning your name cadet." Erwin began.
"Floch Forster, sir. I'm with the cadet corps 104th southern division." Floch replied with a salute.
"Ahh, You must be Keith Shadis' subordinate then. Floch, I am sure you understand the gravity of the situation. This isn't something I want circulating out to the public, as far as the MP stationed here knows, we are on a simple visit. Can I trust you to keep what you've heard today a secret?"
"Of course, sir!"
"You should worry more about losing your teeth around here brat, caught this pipsqueak almost getting his shit pushed in by a couple of guards," Levi interjected.
"Are our men receiving trouble from the guards?" Erwin questioned Levi.
"Dipshits think they're easy pickings because they can't fight back, this kid stepped up to help one of ours," Levi answered.
"I see, You have my gratitude. I assume you'd like to join the scouts one day?" Erwin asked, Floch, faltered at the question.
"Yes sir, more than anything." He spoke with conviction.
Erwin's eyes lit up with surprise, he briefly closed and smiled proudly at the display. "Then it will be an honor to receive you in the survey corps upon the conclusion of your training. You have my respect, Floch Forster."
Levi stood up from his chair as he headed to the door. "Tsk. Actions speak louder than words, keep up that energy when your little graduation comes around. Then we'll see." With that, Levi left.
"Don't mind him, He hasn't had his morning tea yet." Erwin joked. He stood up from his chair as well. "Well then, get better soon Forster. Farew-".
Floch's eye widened, he was leaving. No! He needed to speak to him first! He abruptly stood up from the bed.
"Wait!"
Erwin paused, halfway through the door. He turned his head to peek at the cadet, a lone eye curiously gazing at the redhead. Floch stood there speechless, his mouth felt dry. He tried to force the words to come out, but it felt as if someone was pushing against his vocal cords. Floch fought the urge to cry, why was it so difficult? There it is, his chance at getting closure and it was slipping away from between his fingers.
"Yes?" Erwin questioned.
"Sorry sir, it's nothing. Have a good day."
Erwin kept staring back at the boy for a few seconds, Floch wanted nothing more than for the ground to split open and swallow him on the spot. The commander nodded and bid his farewell as he left the cadet in the room by his lonesome, shutting the door behind him. He lay on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, bringing his right arm up to his face. He felt disgusted with himself, he clenched his fist and banged it repeatedly on the mattress in anger.
"Dammit..." He muttered through grit teeth.
It wasn't supposed to go like this.
"Because...Someone has to tell the truth." - Floch Forster 850 AD, Arguing with the scouts during the ceremony.
He felt in desperate need to pass the time, waiting day by day for a letter to arrive in the mail. He wondered how things were going back at the camp, he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss the company of the 104th cadets. That disaster of a reunion with Erwin was weighing on his mind tremendously, He couldn't believe he froze like that. Every time he thought about it he wanted to rip his hair out, though there will be ample opportunities to speak to the commander once again. His mind wandered to the other things he heard that day
Why was the military police moving to disband the regiment? Did that happen back in his previous life? He wasn't aware of much back then, but this seemed completely new to him. There always existed a conflict of interests between the two branches, the only other time something remotely similar to this happened was during Erwin's coup. But that was under different circumstances.
If Floch learned anything from the last five years, it's that nothing is ever written in stone. Overconfidence was a deadly poison, and it doesn't become apparent until it's already seeping through every pore. Time and time again, he had to swallow his pride and be humiliated by his enemies. Mistakes in this world carried heavy consequences, he knew this to be the truth in Shiganshina and the southern port. He couldn't exactly expect to waltz into these people's lives and enact change after change without something crashing against him. He was no longer in the same position he used to be during his time as the leader of the rebellion, he had to build everything back from scratch again.
Floch admired the setting sun from the outdoor balcony as he went deep into thought, perhaps this time around, rebuilding the Yeagerists from scratch wouldn't be so diffic-
"Aghh!" Floch cried out as he fell to the floor.
"Told you it wasn't over." Someone spoke from behind him, Floch peeked from the slit of his bandages and found the three officers from before towering over him.
"You really thought we'd let that slip? You should consider yourself lucky we don't just end you, embarassing me like that in front of some good-for-nothing titan meat bag? Who the hell do you think you are?!"
The three men relentlessly kicked the boy on the floor, without a care in the world for his injuries. One of the men pressed his boot against his head pinning him to the floor as the other two continued to inflict pain upon him. The winded boy struggled to breathe as they kept their assault on him, he could taste his blood on his tongue. Tears pooled at his canthus but he refused to cry, he'd rather die on this balcony than show weakness in front of these pigs. Erwin's words from earlier rang loudly in his mind. He continued to bear the excruciating agony as the men bruised him mercilessly. Eventually, the beating stopped. Floch knew better than to relax, he weakly braced for one last hit as the officer kicked him in the gut for good measure. Blood and Saliva stained the floor as he struggled on the ground with a labored breath. He looked up at the officers above him who smirked at their handiwork, hatred raged inside him at their wicked miens.
"Serves you right, know your place kid."
With that, the three men left him bleeding on the ground. Floch struggled to pick himself up, wincing from the pain that shot up from his arm. He spent time leaning against the marble railing to recover some strength before mustering up the energy to limp away from the balcony. As he dragged his feet across the hallway, He couldn't help but remember the talk he had with Kyomi Azumabito. To know one's place, yes, that was true. These officers needed to know where they belonged exactly, He would make sure of that. Floch stumbled into the nurses' lounge, slamming against the door with a thud, startling a couple of nurses who were taking a break inside.
Floch twisted the door handle and entered, the women inside gasped at the state of the boy. He looked back at them looking for someone, in particular, the one who had escorted him to his room on his first day. She stood up in time and rushed to him before he could keel over, Floch relaxed in her arms as he allowed the woman to carry him away. She frowned, she looked back at her colleagues and gestured that she would handle this before taking the boy to a nearby treatment room.
"Now, what the hell did I say about not getting yourself into trouble? You were doing so well the last couple of days!" She fretted.
"The hospital's been getting too stale for me, sorry."
"Well, you've done a piss poor job at staying out of it." She chastised.
"So, those assholes did this?" She growled. Floch felt she was too vulgar for a woman of her looks and status, but this was most certainly the result of being around soldiers for so long.
"Well, I don't think I can say that I fell down the stairs without you throwing me out of the window, so.. yeah, sure did."
"Lord above, are all of them like this?"
"Only the ones who work there too long." He replied.
"Harassing patients is one thing, but beating up children completely crosses the line. I'll speak to the administrator about this." She continued.
Floch didn't want that. "No!"
She looked perplexed. "No?"
"Believe me, I can handle it myself."
"Doesn't look like it, Listen to me boy, it's not wrong to ask for help. This is beyond your abilities, those men have it coming." She tried to reason against his stubbornness.
"I understand, but I insist."
She gazed deeply into his eye to look for the slightest crack, but Floch remained unflinching and didn't back down against her piercing gaze. Eventually, the nurse relented as she gave a deep sigh and moved to treat his newly acquired wounds in silence. Floch winced from the pain as she undressed him and replaced his bandages.
"Fine. But if they target anyone else I'm taking matters into my own hands." She told him.
"Oh, you wouldn't have to trust me."
The next few days went by without much trouble, thankfully those men settled down a little and haven't been aggravating anyone around them. Most of his time now was spent with the recovering scouts, who warmed up to him even further ever since Erwin's visit. As news of his interferrence with the MP's spread like wildfire. Here they were now, relaxing in the lounge as they played a game of cards.
Floch sat at a round table, Oluo, Rashad, Henning, and two other men he wasn't familiar with were playing a game of poker. In the middle sat a bunch of cigarettes, money, and some lighters and pocketwatches he stole from the guards. He used to always plays this with Jean, Connie, and poor Sasha during their downtime. This game felt incredibly nostalgic to him, though it has been quite a while since he last played because of how strict life under Shadis was.
Floch glanced at the cards he was holding, then looked at the flop on the table. His lone eye scanned the nearby men, Rashad was confidently joking around with the rest of the table, Oluo was somewhat fine, but sweat was forming on his forehead from the pressure. Henning was nervously shaking his right leg underneath the table, and the other two scouts might as well have told him directly that their cards were shit. He needed the last two cards to be added for him to make his final decision, the dealer moved and added them. He quickly scanned the competition, most of them gave themselves away at the reveal, however, Oluo and Rashad received a confidence boost.
"Place your last bets gentlemen." The dealer spoke.
They went one by one clockwise, the first two scouts revealed pairs. Henning nervously placed down his cards, revealing a straight. Oluo smirked and put down his card on the table, he crossed his arms and smugly looked at the rest of the scouts.
"Hah! Four of a kind baby!"
Rashad snorted, putting down his. "Up yours, jackass! Straight flush!"
Oluo cursed his luck, before turning to the kid. His last hope. "Come on, what do you have?" He asked Floch.
The boy smirked mischievously from behind his bandages, the sheer creepiness of it unnerved the battle-hardened scouts. Floch laid down his cards, and everyone around the table groaned.
"Royal flush." He announced, before swiping everything on the table for himself.
"Fuck." One of the scouts muttered under his breath.
"Beaten by a kid." Henning whistled.
"Thank you for the game gentlemen." Floch thanked before promptly leaving, The men on the table glared at him as he left the room.
Floch smirked as he inspect the goods he won, he shook his sleeve and threw away a couple of extra cards he had hidden. He had no personal need for any of these items he collected but, but he knew someone who would appreciate them. Floch walked outside into the gardens and reached the back of the building where Luis was waiting for him. He greeted the man, then proceeded to pull out a leather pouch from the inside of the sling that held his healing arm.
"Damn, there's a lot of stuff in here. Where did you get all this?" Luis inquired as he inspected the contents of the pouch.
"A few kind donations here and there."
"Alright, well, your wishlist is a little weird, kid. But, I can make it happen. I'll slip by your room and drop them under your pillow when my guy comes through from downtown." The two extended their arms and shook eachother's hands.
"Very well, I'll be waiting patiently, but make it snappy. Thanks."
"No kid, I should be thanking you," Luis spoke as he took out a cigar from the satchel and lit it.
Floch nodded and left the man to enjoy the cigar in peace.
Hello resident dumbass, how's your arm? Have they cut if off yet? It would be a shame to lose one of the only two hands in this world that'll ever touch that tiny dick of yours. Anyway, I came by to smother you in your sleep and found you gone before we could have a proper talk after that unfortunate misunderstanding two weeks ago, so don't think you're off the hook just yet. I wouldn't be writing jack shit to you but, your two crackpot friends came begging me to send you a letter since everyone else exhausted their one letter limit. They gave me something to send you but, screw that! I read it and it was way too chummy for my taste. I'll fill you in on the juicy bits, Your butt buddy Yeager got his ass handed to him by that Annie girl once again after he got too cocky. In other news, your new friends are starting to get on my nerves, after that awful mission they expect me to come and bond together and all that dull crap, frankly I'd rather have you cut my leg off again than to endure that hell. By the time you get this letter, we'll most likely be at your lovely hometown of Trost, saving the commoners from those scary wooden titans.
-Fuck you, Ymir.
PS: don't bother sending me a reply, I do not care.
Floch couldn't help the shit eating grin that spread across his face thanks to her kind words.
"Dear Maria, what kind of friends have you been making in that Bootcamp?" Oluo spoke from behind him startling Floch.
The man looked disturbed, Floch hurried to conceal the letter as a sinking feeling overtook him, did Oluo read the whole thing? Did he have to kill him in his sleep? He looked on with nervousness at the veteran scout behind him, the two kept gazing back at each other awkwardly.
"What?" Oluo questioned.
"How long have you been there?"
"You're sitting on my bed kid."
"Oh." Floch promptly stood up and went to the opposing bed.
He laid against the pillow and felt something poking his back, Floch raised his eyebrows in question before checking underneath, he smirked upon seeing the things he requested from Luis. He covered them again and re-read the letter as his mind raced with a million thoughts.
'Well, tonight's gonna be fun.'
The next day.
"Damn, something must have happened. There's a lot more of these assholes running around now." Henning commented as he looked on from one of their room's windows.
"What do you think all of this commotion is about?" Petra asked as she sat by the windowsill next to him.
"Eh, who cares? It's not like they'll tell us or anything, just wait a few more hours, Gossip will come through." Oluo dismissed as he relaxed on his bed with his arms behind his head.
"Oh shit." Henning suddenly spoke as everyone tried to find the source of his sudden outburst.
"Look over there by the front entrance, they're carrying some dead guy off to the morgue!" He pointed out.
The veterans huddled by the windows looked into the distance to find two MP's carrying a body stretcher off to the neighboring building.
"Who is it?" Rashad asked from the other side of the room.
"Don't know," Nifa replied.
"Look at all the blood on the sheets! We don't have to worry about some psycho serial killer over here do we?" Petra asked with concern.
Henning glanced at the redhead from the corner of his eye before turning back outside. "Let's hope not." He sighed.
"Serial killer? Suicide is more commonplace in the military is it not?" Floch nonchalantly asked. He was uninterested in what was happening outside, instead opting to play some crossword puzzle on his newspaper. He didn't pay attention to the way everyone were taken back by his morbid question, nobody answered him, not that he cared.
A commotion outside alerted them, Floch and the scouts focused on the door as the shouting grew louder and louder. Suddenly the door barged open, as a handful of military police officers stepped in alongside one of the men that had beaten up Floch a few days before. The man looked shaken and angry, he looked at the bandaged boy with glaring suspicion.
"Good morning, All of you are being detained for now. Please follow us and remain calm." One of the MP's spoke.
Floch spent the next few hours under investigation by the military police, He had no idea how much time had elapsed exactly but he knew they kept him here the entire day. The questions came in left and right, seemingly endless. He's danced like this before, when he leaked the information about Eren to the public. Floch was familiar with their tactics, they wanted to tire him out by keeping him locked up and asking him questions that were more aimed at getting him in a disoriented state of mind. The good part didn't come until later, and he would patiently wait to get this over with.
When the actual questions began to roll it, Floch found himself going through them with relative ease. Never giving away anything substantial and controlling his facial expressions to near perfection. He played the part of the clumsy cadet well, which threw off any suspicion aroused by the officer who kicked their door down. The investigator gave him the benefit of the doubt, as the boy never once faltered when pressed on a serious matter. Once the procedure was done, it was already late in the evening and Floch was cleared to return to his room.
He was allowed to freely walk around to clear his mind though the area was under heavy guard compared to before. He ended up back on the balcony where things had kicked off, Floch chose this spot solely for the great view of the sunset. He didn't notice someone move in behind him until they were already too close for his liking. Though the redhead didn't exactly expect this person to be here.
"Hello there, Floch" Erwin spoke from behind him.
Floch looked puzzled, immediately saluting him. "Commander Erwin! What are you doing here?"
"I received word about the incident. Thankfully, we were still attending to some business here in town by the time word reached us," Erwin replied, waving him down.
"I see, I assume you're busy right now, right sir?" Floch asked, noticing the tall man with a mustache waiting for Erwin in the back.
"I do have time to spare, is there something you wanted to speak about?"
"Yes, I wanted to ask you about something sir, well it's... not an easy question, it's the only thing I can ask right now but what keeps you moving forward sir? When the odds are so stacked against your favor?" Floch asked.
The man walked till he stood beside him and placed his arms on the railings as he observed the sunset. "I have a dream outside of these walls. A dream I've practically dedicated my entire life towards reaching."
"A dream sir?"
"Yes, I'll fill you in at a later date. You told me some days ago that you would like to join the scouts, tell me, Floch. Are you aware of just how terrible it is to stand among us? The death, and the misery that looms around these men and women surrounding you? Now that you've spent so long with them, do you still truly feel like it's where you belong?" Erwin questioned him.
"Yes sir, my opinion hasn't changed about that." Floch vehemently replied. The man hummed in response.
"Sometimes these dreams we carry with us are difficult to achieve on our own. For that, we depend on our comrades to help us move forward, we put blind trust in each other. In the hopes that one day, humanity can finally overcome it's hurdles and begin to explore and appreciate the outside world. I can't give you a definitive answer that'll help you find your own purpose, that is something you'll have to find yourself. All I can tell you is to live your life without fear or regrets, and to pursue your dreams no matter how far away they seem." Erwin told him as Floch listened to him attentively.
"I think... I think I already know the answer to that question then."
"Good, keep it close to your heart."
"Thank you, sir, I appreciate it."
"Farewell Floch." Erwin smiled before leaving the boy alone with his thoughts by the balcony.
"Goodbye, commander."
Floch turned around and continued to enjoy the view, mere moments later two familiar MP's down below were being carried out in handcuffs as they were forced outside at gunpoint. Floch couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread across his face as he watched them get carried away. He took out a lockpick from his pockets and threw it away, as he enjoyed the sunset and the protests of the escorted guards.
Floch quietly closed the door behind him, leaving the two snoring guards unaware of what he had just done. He moved around without alerting a single soul as he made his way down to the boiler room, with a hammer and a few lockpicks in hand he managed to force his way inside. A layer of sweat built up on his face as the warm steamy air blew in his direction, the boy scanned the many valves and labels around before he settled on the desired target.
He smirked, as he brought out the hammer and went to work.
Interior officer Jürgen Lange undressed as he readied himself to take a long well deserved shower after a full day of honest work, He discarded his clothes into the locker and proceeded to the showers with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He pulled the curtains to cover his shower stall as he twisted the valve to allow fresh warm water to run down his skin and cleanse him of the filth and stress that accumulated throughout his day. He smirked as he scrubbed himself, his mind raced back to that brat he roughed up a few days ago. Imagine his surprise when the boy began showing him proper respect the next day, he always knew that such insolence could be straightened up with a beating.
He could barely suppress his smirk that day when he saw Erwin smith visit his wounded meat bags, unbeknownst to all of them they were moving to have them disbanded soon. A fact that only the top officials in the MP's and the Garrison are privy to at the moment. He couldn't wait to see them be caught off guard by their appeal, He'll need to grab front row seats at the court to watch their defense fumble around for excuses as to why they should be allowed to continue to waste manpower and resources on titans. That would be a glorious sight to see.
"Damn, these fucking showers barely work properly." He complained as he messed around with the valve to alter the temperature.
Jürgen was too deep in his thoughts to notice someone entering the showers, a shadow crept up behind him and stopped just in front of his stall as the man continued to mess around with the temperature of the shower. A hand reached out underneath the curtain and begin dumping a clear viscous liquid around the stall. Jürgen remained oblivious as the figure behind the curtain poured the rest of the liquid between the man's feet before they tapped the ground with their feet.
"Who's ther-" Jürgen suddenly turned around before his foot slipped on the oil, he cried out in pain as he slammed on the ground and hit his head as oil, water, and blood flowed down the drain.
"What the fuck!" He groaned as he attempted to stand back up, however, it proved to be impossible to stand on the slippery surface. He reached outside to leave but his hand was struck by a hammer.
"AGHHHHHH!" He clutched his throbbing hand to his chest as he squirmed on the floor, unable to stand.
He suddenly became alarmed at the rising temperature of the shower, the scalding hot water was acid on his irritated skin. Insurmountable pain shot from every pore at the constant contact with the scalding heat. His heart raced, finding it near impossible to stand up and leave. He took to shouting for help in desperation, struggling to keep off the ground. Each fall brought more pain as the flesh on his bone became tenderized by the marble beneath him. The boiling water sizzled against the tiles and steamed. Each droplet felt like a needle pricking his blistering skin as cinders rained down upon him.
"HELP! HELP!" HELGGHGHGH!" He cried out.
He frantically turned around to turn off the never ending waterfall of flames, but he recoiled in agony as his other hand was fried by the intense temperature of the water valve.
water.
skin.
heat.
water.
"AGGGHHHHHH!"
stop the water stop the water stop the water stop the water stop stop stop STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP!
"Know your place."
The man weakly looked up at the figure behind the curtain with bewilderment, the cries died in his throat as his body failed him, he stopped moving, lying motionless against the tiles as the fiery shower continued to dig into his back. He absent-mindedly heard footsteps fading away from him before the door slammed shut behind them. Eventually, he scuccumbs to his fate.
It wouldn't be until the following morning that his colleagues would stumble upon his peeled corpse in the showers.
Here's the next chapter, earlier than expected huh?
Thank you all for the support on this story, all the kind words and fair criticisms encourage me to keep writing this, so truly thank you! Until june then, bye bye!
(This story reached a 100+ kudos very cool!)
