Eret quickly swung one of his blades directly at Grimmel, but he promptly knocked to the side with one of his pistols. He then quickly aimed the second one directly at Eret, who used his cloak to block his line of sight.
"Boom!" Grimmel yelled and pulled the trigger.
He shot right through Eret's cloak, but it missed him completely. Eret then quickly ran down the roof as more shots were fired at him. He skidded off the roof and operated his ODM gear, and began flying across the town.
At the same time, Olaf was driving the wagon away when they heard the gunfire.
"With those gunshots?" said Olaf as he looked around.
He looked up and saw two assailants directly above them.
"Are we being attacked or what?" Ragnar asked.
"Just stay down!" Olaf yelled and pulled on the railings.
One of these assailants then fired a cable and ripped off the wagon's tarpaulin. Ragnar quickly reached out the rifle, but then suddenly, Historia was hit by a dart and collapsed.
"Historia!" Ragnar panicked.
Seconds later, the same thing happened to him.
"Ragnar!" Olaf yelled.
He was then shot by one of the assailants, and then she quickly took the reins, but when she looked around, she saw that she was being pursued by Eret. However, when they turn round the corner, three assailants quickly ganged upon him.
He then quickly shot cables at the ground beneath him and pulled back just as they fired, causing them to miss.
'Shit!' Eret cursed as he constantly dodged their shots. 'They predicted are every damned movement!'
He then looked up and saw Grimmel was directly above him, and he quickly fired two shots. Eret skidded across the ground to avoid them and went down an alleyway.
'Of all people? Why the hell would you work with the MPs?' said Eret as he attempted to make sense of the situation.
More the assailants were directly above him and fired, he began jumping off the walls to avoid the shots moving as quickly as he could. One of the shots did graze him on the forehead, but he finally managed to find cover within a tavern. His sudden appearance caught everyone inside completely off guard.
"It's Eret from the Scouts."
The bar owner was completely terrified. "Make yourself at home, sir."
Grimmel landed on the ground and began to approach the tavern. "Ready or not."
'Shit,' Eret cursed as he looked at the blood on his forehead. 'If this keeps up, I'll use my team, Ragnar and Historia.'
"It's the darndest thing; I seem to be smelling a rat in this fine establishment," said Grimmel and jumped inside. "Come on out, little rodent. The sheriff is here, and I aim to exterminate all the vermin I can find!"
Eret had hidden himself behind the bar, and everyone inside just stood perfectly still, afraid to make a single movement.
"Oh, come on, you hear or not?" Grimmel yelled frustratingly.
"Right here, Grimmel," said Eret. "It's been a while; I really thought you would be dead by now. With all the MPs you were butchering, but now your great friends, huh?"
"Yeah, well, adults do plenty of things that kids like you can't even understand. Oh right, my mistake, you're supposed to be an adult now? Always hoping that I would get to see you in action someday, I can't say that I'm disappointed either. Seems like you still remember every trick I taught ya. But did I ever tell you what happens to a cornered rat because if I had you know where ever you run, you'd find a bullet waiting?"
He then went and picked up a chair. "Hey, Eret…" He then tossed the share at the bar destroying several bottles. "You must have become a Scout for a reason, and I think I know what that is. We were forced to survive in that little hellhole, giving everything we had just to stay alive. So when we found out just how big the world really was, you could bet it hurt like hell. But you know what saved us? We find something we enjoy doing; it's just that simple. Every man needs himself are the, maybe the only source of fulfilment he'll ever find in this wretched world."
"Oh, I see, is that why you blew up my people's heads then, because it's fulfilling?" said Eret as he adjusted one of the bottles. We got a clear view of Grimmel. Grimmel was still standing in front of the door holding a chair and pointing a pistol with the other.
"Yep, to achieve my grand goal, out kill as many get in my way," Grimmel vowed as he raised the chair. "And you're no different; you killed to when it benefited you."
"Yeah," said Eret and then quickly pointed a rifle directly at him and pulled the trigger.
Grimmel's eyes widened. He quickly used the chair as a shield, but the shot still had enough force to send him flying outside. Immediately his men quickly aimed at him, thinking that he was Eret.
"Wait! It's the captain!" said one of them.
Eret then tossed the rifle back to the bar owner. "Thanks for the help, old man."
Eret then quickly dashed towards the window, and one of the men outside stood on the tavern's roof, so the window was smashed. He then quickly fired, believing that Eret was making a run for it, but it turned out he shot for the chair.
"A chair?"
Eret then jumped at the window for real this time and then fired one of his cables which went through the man's forehead. He then lost the second cable towards a nearby building swung himself to the roof.
"Damn!"
"Fire!"
Two assigns then immediately began firing at Eret, but he used the body of their fallen comrades as a shield to getting close. He then quickly fired a cable and drew his swords, slicing their throats as he went by.
Hiccup and the others were hanging outside the building, unaware of what was going on, but have heard gunshots.
"I hear gunshots," said Heather and quickly pointed. "From there! I heard close to a dozen shots!"
"You think they ran into some trouble?" Fishlegs asked, looking at Hiccup.
"Most likely," said Hiccup. "The captain gave Heather and message; as of now, it's not just Titans. We're battling humans too."
Everyone's eyes widened as they stared at him, except for Heather.
"Wait, you don't mean?" said Snotlout.
Hiccup and Astrid were looked at one another and nodded before taking off.
Spitelout was at the barracks when he noticed Hiccup and Astrid leaving.
'Are they running a training exercise?' he frowned.
An MP then rushed over to him. "Commander, you're needed to check some papers."
Grimmel was lying down on the ground on his back with his hat covering his face when a young woman with blonde hair approached him.
"Captain, you finally bit the dust or what?" she asked.
"What a dumb question," said Grimmel as he removed his hat from his face. "How would I answer if I was dead, Shard? Brat got me good. I forgot that bar owners are allowed to keep guns to protect themselves. Looks like the boy grew up more than I figured."
"That's lovely, sir," said Shard.
"Like hell, the boy is a thorn in my ass. My dream is slipping further and further away."
Hiccup and the others were swinging across the rooftops when they saw the wagon containing Ragnar and Historia.
"Look, there they are!" Tuffnut yelled.
Seconds later, they saw Eret appearing round the corner chasing after the wagon.
"Captain Eret," said Hiccup.
Eret wasn't only just chasing after the wagon. He was also trying to lose the assailants on his tail.
"What the hell is that?" Snotlout asked, noting the strange pistol that one of them was holding.
The sale and then fired at Eret, who managed to dodge the shot and quickly fired a cable piercing him directly over his heart. He then quickly pulled him in and then struck him down with his swords.
Eret looked up and saw them descending towards him. "Follow the wagon!"
"Right!" Astrid nodded.
"Listen up, the soldiers were trained to bite other people; they've already taken out three of ours," Eret informed them. "If you hesitate for so much as a second, you'll be dead. The moment you see an opening, go for the kill."
"Yes, sir," said Astrid.
Eret then dropped down and jumped off the canvas of a stand as a springboard before firing a cable striking the assailants standing on the wagon. He managed to pull him off the wagon with one good pull, but before we could get anywhere close, another one chased after him.
"Hiccup, secure the wagon with Snotlout!" Eret ordered. "We'll keep you two covered!"
"Sir!" Hiccup nodded.
Snotlout just stared. "He killed them?"
"Come on!" said Hiccup and flew down towards the wagon.
The assailant driving the wagon was female. When she heard them landing on, she quickly turned to name her pistol at them. Before she had a chance to fire, Astrid came out of nowhere and struck her in the face with her knee, knocking her out of the driver's seat and onto the wagon itself.
Snotlout quickly drew his sword and pointed them at her as Hiccup when to take the reins. "Don't move."
However, the woman merely brushed off the blood off her lips.
"Stop!" Snotlout ordered as she rolled onto her front.
However, she quickly knocked his sword out of his hand with her pistol, knocking him to the floor. He looked up and saw that now he was at her mercy.
"Snotlout!" Astrid yelled, heading towards them, but there was no way she could get there in time.
Then there was a gunshot.
At Meridian, the council had once again gathered around the King with the exception of Johann.
"It's a shame, and nothing came from the chat from Stoick," the priest asked. "We're no closer to finding Ragnar Keatson or Historia. At this rate, all the accusations against the Scout Regiment will prove to be for nothing."
"True," the chubby government minister nodded.
"So, do we know what kind of information they could have gotten out of Pastor Mildew?" the merchant asked.
"No helping it, if our questions get specific, we'll run the risk of giving them the information they didn't have in the first place," said the minister.
"No, what they learned is irrelevant. All that matters now is what they tried to learn. The Charter of Humanity is clear on this; we'll deal with them as the law dictates," said the military man.
The door opened, and a messenger entered and handed a note to the minister.
"This is from Lord Johann," he said as he read the note. "He's captured Ragnar and Historia, and he's gonna take direct action against Stoick and the Scout Regiment. He requires no assistance at this time."
Stoick was at his apartment watching as MPs began taking the majority of his possessions.
"That's the last of it," said Spitelout. "If you want any of your personal effects returned asked them later."
"No, that's fine," said Stoick as he turned to face him. "But if you have a moment, I would like to talk."
"I'm not really in the mood to reminisce about old times," he said harshly.
"Why so cold, Spitleout?" Stoick asked as he sat down. "We were like brothers back in our days as cadets. Quite soon, this tiny world of ours will be changed. Will that change bring hope or despair? Can we trust the crown with the future of humanity? Who should decide? Who has the right? Who will you trust, Spitelout?"
Spitelout watched as Stoick lit the lamp on the table and wasn't liking what he was implying. "Stoick… tell me what are you planning to do?"
"I'll make a gamble," he said. "Same as always."
The woman was just about to shoot Snotlout, but then there's the sound of a gunshot, and the woman collapsed. Snotlout's eyes widened as he saw Hiccup sitting there with a smoking gun in his hand.
Eret and Astrid continue to follow them when they saw three more assailants directly above them.
"Shit, Hiccup… Snotlout!" he yelled.
Eret quickly swung down and grabbed Snotlout and Astrid grabbed Hiccup before they fired. The assailants then quickly landed on the wagon and began driving it through the gate. The remaining assailants then quickly followed suit, and they soon made it outside.
"Should we go after them?" Heather asked.
"No, we're running on fumes," said Eret.
Later that night, they all sat in the warehouse, Hiccup was still suffering from shock over the events, and Snotlout just sat there in silence.
"You doing all right, Hiccup?" Eret asked. "You seem to be rather pale."
"Just thinking, and there's something I don't understand," said Hiccup.
"And what's that?" Snotlout asked.
"When I turned around to try and save you, that woman already had her gun to your head. It's funny… how could I have shot before she did?"
Snotlout remembered it rather vividly; the woman had the exact same expressions he had when he had her at her mercy.
"I don't know," he said.
"You shot first because she hesitated; it's simple," said Eret.
"You wouldn't have to save me if I just did my job," said Snotlout.
"Perhaps the woman you shot was a really kind person," Fishlegs offered.
"That's a fishing a lot more human in her than I did; I pulled that trigger out hesitating," said Hiccup. "I'm—"
"—a killer," Eret finished. "Now that your hands have been soaked in blood, the person you once were is gone for good."
"Why would you say that?" Astrid snapped.
"And you shouldn't regret it for one second," Eret continued. "Because if you had sure to keep your hands clean, Snotlout would be a corpse on that cart right now. I'll tell you why you pulled the trigger because your comrade was about to die. Hiccup, everyone in our squad survived today because you got blood on your hands. Thank you."
Hiccup just sat there in silence.
Snotlout then looked at Eret. "Captain Eret, I, uh—I thought that it was wrong for us to fight over humans, sir. I thought that it was wrong for you to order us to do it. I mean, we became soldiers to protect people, but now I see that I was in the wrong, sir. Next time I swear I'll shoot."
"I never said anything about what was right or wrong," said Eret. "My moral high ground is shot to hell; I have no idea who is in the right here at this point."
Snotlout just stared at him.
Eret then rose to his feet. "Now then, I think it's time we hear what our guest has to say."
He then started to make his way towards the merchant they had managed to capture. He sat there shaking with his hand tied behind his back and a gag over his mouth. Eret then bent down and removed the gag.
"Mercy, please! I'm just an old man. They used to move cargo!" he pleaded. "I didn't want to—"
"I met this one before," said Astrid recognising him as the merchant that blocked the gate during the Battle of Trost. "You seem to be a prominent merchant."
"Yeah, I know him," said Eret. "Gorm Gulson, right?"
He then turned his head away from them. "This damn job was forced upon me by the Military Police, and now that we've completely botched it, they'll plunder the Gulson's Company for everything it's worth. First, they'll kill me, then they'll set up accidents for all my employees, my dumb son too."
"You're just gonna lay down and take it?" said Eret getting his attention. "There's a reason why Trost recovered from that Titan attack; it's largely because of jobs and money brought in by the Gulson's Company. Tell me, if your company were to disappear, how many would survive the coming winter?"
"So what? You want me to join you?"
"We just need to know where Ragnar and Historia are. You've your in contact with the MPs; I think I have a plan."
"And can you give me your word that the people of Trost won't end up starving to death?"
Eret then bent down. "I can't guarantee it; that said, I believe they will have a better chance with us than without."
Gorm looked into his eyes closely.
Later that night, Valka and Mason had arrived at Stoick place just after Spitelout left with the MPs.
"About time the bastards left," said Valka.
The two of them and quickly stormed into Stoick's room.
"Our situation has just got worse!" Valka yelled. "I've got two things to report, Stoick! First, Ragnar and Historia have been abducted by the enemy. Three for my squad were killed in the fighting; I'm about to meet Captain Eret and follow up on a lead that he might have to their current whereabouts."
"Understood," said Stoick. "What else?"
Valka then pulled out the note that Ragnar had given her. "Ragnar remembered a conversation he overheard between Ymir and Clueless, but if this is actually true, then…" She then rubbed her forehead as if suffering from a massive headache. "…shit, feels as if my head was going to explode."
"Are you okay?" Mason asked.
Stoick poured her a drink of water. "Is there a problem?"
Valka quickly took the cup and drank it down. "Unless we recover him quickly, Ragnar will be devoured."
A few hours later Gorm, was escorting a few MPs through the forest, commanding the MPs was the same man that tortured Mildew and went by the name of Lael.
"Hey, how did you find them anyway?" Lael asked.
"They found me; I promised them that I'd cooperate, and for some reason, they believe me," Gorm explained.
The wagon then came to a stop.
"Are we there?" Lael asked as he poked his head outside.
His eyes widened when suddenly he saw rifles being pointed at his head by Scouts, and before you do anything else, he was knocked unconscious with the butt of a rifle.
An MP then glared at Gorm. "Gorm you piece of—"
Astrid then knocked him out with the butt of her rifle.
"Sorry, gents, that's how it is," said Gorm.
Eret looked at him and nodded, and Gorm and his son watched as the Scouts to the MPs away.
"What happens now? Do you think this means we'll be safe or what?" Gorm's son asked.
"There's no guarantee."
His son turned and stared at him. "Say what? Then why do we do it?"
Gorm then slapped him in the back of the head. "A good merchant needs to learn to trust his nose and not just the smell using money but to sniff out the potential for future profit too. Once you have, you bite, and you don't let go. You remember that, son."
Valka and Mason soon arrived at the hideout where Eret and the others were keeping their prisoners.
"I made it!" said Valka as he entered the seller. "You haven't finished yet, have you?"
"No," said Eret as he stood next to the commanding officer, who was strapped to a chair. "I haven't even gotten my feet wet."
"Lael, I may be an opposite human torture, but while I lack experience, I plan to give this job might all," Valka threatened as she grabbed some pliers.
"Hold on!" Lael yelled. "These tell me what you want! Who the hell torture someone without asking questions?"
"Oh, we do have some questions," said Eret. "Where were Ragnar and Historia taken? What do you want with Historia? And what is the Tradesman family?"
"Come on!" Valka yelled as she bent down towards him. "Can't you see that we are in a time crisis here!"
Hiccup and the others could hear the screams of Lael as he was being tortured.
"I mean to get your mum's bad side," said Snotlout looking at Hiccup.
"Screams seem a lot louder than they were when the Captain did it," said Ruffnut.
"I know it's a save our friends, but this still makes me sick," said Tuffnut.
"Mum isn't really into torture, but I suspect Mildew's murder drove her over the edge," Hiccup sighed.
"No matter which way you put it, we're criminals now," said Fishlegs, and everyone looked at him. "Our last enemy wanted to eat us; we don't have an excuse like that killing these people. It's just that their views are different. No… it's just because they're in another group, and for that, we'll take their lives."
"Fishlegs," said Astrid softly.
"We're not good people, not anymore at least."
Valka had now peeled off every single nail off of Lael.
"Sorry, I don't have a knack for peeling nails," said Valka. "Just how many did you have to rip off to get so good at it?"
"More than I can keep track of," he admitted. "Within these cramp squalid walls, what has never broken out, and I can tell you why. It's because we have the First Interior Squad does your hands to protect the King's peace. A teacher too smart for his own good… a stupid couple who tried to fly… a whore that's screwed the wrong man… no matter how they begged or pleaded, we erased to protect humanity.
You should be on your knees thanking me; in all my years, I have never seen anyone taking so much pleasure from human suffering as you. You're both monsters, but I'm determined to face you without fear. Do what you will, for I have my faith, and I believe in the King and peace within these walls. I believe that every last one of my wretched deeds is justified, but to think that it hurt this much. If you're going to torture me to death, get on with it, that sounds like a fitting end for this bloodstained life."
"Time for a break," said Eret, and he turned his back on him.
With that, the three of them left the torture chamber.
"Dammit all, I'm starting to feel sorry for him," said Valka.
They then closed the door, but they left it ajar.
"Quit shoving me. It hurts," said a voice.
Lael looked up and saw one of his men in the corridor being dragged by Eret.
"Carl?" he frowned.
"How pathetic, can you get?" said Eret. "I can't believe you started talking after just one nail. Lael doesn't have any nails left; he's a real soldier."
Lael's eyes widened; he couldn't believe his ears.
"Like I care," said Carl. "He can get tortured all he wants; the guy never shuts up about peace and the King. The rest of us all haters damn guts, just do us a favour and kill him already."
However, due to the position of their bodies, Lael couldn't see that Carl was reading from a script that Valka was holding up or that Eret had him at knife point.
"We're going to have to keep them around until he is verified what you told us," said Eret.
"Yeah, well, you got everything you wanted out of me, so why don't you lay off already?" Carl asked. "Oh, and about my cell, it will have a bed, right?"
Lael just sat there and closed his eyes; his faith and spirit broke.
A few moments later, the door opened, and Eret and Valka re-entered.
"Ready, Lael?" Valka asked. "We're going to try again; this isn't easy for me either, but I'll be the best torture that I—"
"Johann is the true Royal family," said Lael.
In Trost, Gorm was waiting out in the middle of the streets as his son had to relieve himself.
"So much were keeping a low profile," he muttered as he smoked. "How long is that boy going to take?"
Then a brief second later, he found someone had snuck up behind him and placed a knife against his throat.
"You know what, the one thing that a merchant should never sell out is trust," said Grimmel and then slit his throat.
"Was it wise to do that without asking where Eret is?" Shard asked as Grimmel cleaned his knife.
"He'll show up no matter what we do."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I raised him, that's how. Eret Eretson isn't want to give up the chase."
With that the two of them walked away from Gorm's body, but they were completely unaware that his son had watched everything. If he happened needed to take a leaky, he would have ended up the same way as his father.
At the same time, Eret and Valka told them everything that Lael had told them.
"You're saying that the rightful heir to the throne is Historia?" Hiccup stared.
"That's correct, and based upon that knowledge, we're assuming that she and Ragnar have been taken to Lord Johann," Valka theorised.
She then looked at Mason, and he nodded; he then presented them with all the information they had gathered on Johann.
"That's him," said Eret.
Historia was kneeling on a carpet looking directly at Johann, her father.
"Historia," he said and hugged her. "I can't tell you how sorry I am."
Ragnar was gagged and bound in the same room, looking at this reunion, wondering what would happen next.