Chapter 9

Revelation 13:10


The Harvester stood silently next to one of her sisters by the breached entrance to Wall Maria, the early morning sun making both tanks look almost picturesque in the light.

Outside the wall, the weather felt eerily silent, as if time was frozen beyond this land, and no birds could be heard, no animals could be seen, and even the trees nearby seemed to just exist.

It certainly felt like a dead world.

"Still no tangos?" Ryan asked Darnell, who was monitoring the radio.

His commander shook his head.

"Harriers spotted and neutralized one two hours ago… you think we got rid of them all with that last engagement?"

Martinez spoke up, saying "Of course we did. My worry is the people sending them out. I mean, Christ, did the Nazis go that far? We're talking about sentencing people to an eternity of devouring their own kind without any way to stop, right?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Know who's gonna be really pissed?" he asked then.

No one answered.

"Every politician back home! Those that had promised this was just a humanitarian mission to get bi-partisan support will suddenly have to backtrack, those who actually supported the president to get this done without escalating to a war will probably feel betrayed, and those who actually want us to go to war will probably be pissed with all the arguments about it."

"Ah, Americans." Martinez sighed.

"No, just politics, you bean-"

"There won't be a war, so you two can relax." Darnell stated calmly.

All eyes turned to him then.

"Even if this Marley nation refuses any and all negotiations, all we have to do is defend this… island or territory or whatever. Going on the offensive will be difficult without resorting to ballistic missiles, and people will be infuriated if the war leads to even one civilian casualty, enemy or not. I think that if Marley wants to fight, it'll be a fight to keep this land, not a war on multiple fronts."

"Still, if what those books say is true, then the whole world hates the people living here. No matter what we do, we're going to get labeled the villains, devils like the people we protect."

"Doesn't help that Eldia was apparently as bad if not worse only a century ago… Honestly, I don't see any easy way out."

Silence for a moment then.

Ryan finally said "Meh, hope for the best plan for the worst."

"Which reminds me… Ryan, we'll be heading back to Hill Zero One later this week."

Ryan wasn't sure why his commander was addressing him specifically until he remembered who else was now residing within the fortified base.

"Ah… got it."

Maybe I can lend her the Switch for a bit, sign of a peace offering or something… we're here to peace keep, after all.

"And they can carry laser guided bombs, too!" Ilse half recited from memory, half bragged as she lightly tapped the front wheel of the brand new additions of F-35B Lightning.

"Please refrain from damaging the aircraft…"

Whether the Marine was specifically talking to her or to himself was of little consequence as Ilse promptly took a step away from the latest fighter jet in the arsenal of the United States Armed Forces.

Standing next to the older Marine Harriers, the four sleek and shiny F-35s were the latest argument on online military boards and actual budget discussions.

The damned things were expensive.

Coming in at a low estimate of ninety five million US dollars, the F 35s were designed to fill in multiple roles as technology advanced an improved.

It could be a fighter jet, its stealth technology hopefully making it easy to both escape enemies and surprise them in a dogfight.

It could fill the role of close air support, its 25 millimeter gun and ability to carry bombs and anti-tank missiles fitting easily into its weapons bay.

And that was ignoring all the little classified aspects that the public just wasn't fully aware of.

"So… why are you designing it to fight against other aircraft if mankind is essentially at peace on the other side of the gate?" Armin asked after a second.

Eren and Mikasa seemed to almost nod in agreement.

It was a valid question.

"Better safe than sorry, if you think about it. The US has a couple of rivals that, while not at war with, could potentially pose a threat, and they probably want to have an edge should any of these powers suddenly decide to try something against them. Same applies to any country with a rival." Ilse replied courtly.

Nobody tell them that China and the US actually have a bizarre love-hate relationship while Russia just kind of minds its own business.

"Is it the Russians?" Eren asked, seemingly out of genuine concern.

Damn it all!

"Well, yes and no… Russia has a very large military, and does occasionally operate outside its own borders, but it isn't as clear cut as it might have been a hundred years ago. Most of the powerful nations like the US try to peace keep around smaller nations while safeguarding their own interests, so direct war isn't something as likely to happen anymore. That said, the US views the Chinese as a greater threat right now-"

"The Orientals?" Eren asked again.

Ilse blinked.

"Um… again, yes and no… China is one large country in the orient that has a powerful economy and manufactures a lot of goods that the US buys… and are indebted to… but the big concern is that China has been trying to expand more in recent years, and while I doubt anyone wants a war, there is some concern over how far they are willing to go, such as cracking down on religious people they claim are acting against the state."

Eren was about to ask another question when Ilse cut him off.

"You'll have to ask someone else if you want to know anything more about China; things are kind of complicated over there, and what I just said might be a little bit too oversimplified, but I highly doubt war could break out. Now, these planes should not only help us locate the area where this Marley nation lands its… ships, but if necessary, they have the capacity to sink them… if necessary."

I think… pretty sure… no matter, once that runway is built the Marines can bring in actual ship destroyers, like the F-18s.

Eren stared at the sleek looking planes.

He figured any form of flying machine would be an advantage against titans, and a part of him desperately wanted to fly one himself, but after flying in a UH-60, and seeing the controls first hand, he now knew for sure it was out of his league.

No way he could learn to fly one before his time was up…

He could still admire the aircraft, though.

"Anyway come on, one of the cool things about the American military is that they have vehicles for every situation!"

She led the trio down the now cemented road of the base, moving closer to a large structure in the center of it all.

"Is that-?" Armin, who had been silent so far, began to blurt out.

Ilse had expected it, and quickly said "Yup! The doorway that connects our worlds… The Gate!"

It was actually smaller than Armin had imagined.

Large, sure, high enough that a fifteen meter titan could easily walk inside and wide enough to allow for multiple American vehicles to cross at once, but compared with the buildings already constructed around it, the large structure looked relatively average.

The group stood at its entrance for a moment; seeing that it was, indeed, open.

Several vehicles were exiting from it.

"Those are Strykers, they belong to the US Army and are very similar to the Marine LAVs; the biggest difference is that these are newer and better armored, but can't really swim like the LAVs can." Ilse said grinning from ear to ear.

"Swim?" Armin asked, less because he didn't know what it meant, more because he wasn't sure why the Marines went with that term to describe a vehicle that works on both land and water.

"Swim!" she replied cheerfully.

Eren eyed the vehicles with some degree of excitement, but his attention was almost too quickly pulled to the darkness within the large structure.

It was empty.

He had seen empty places before, but the darkness composing the inside of that doorway was something else.

He stared at it until the last vehicles exited the Gate and the soldiers guarding the entrance shut the doors to it.

Eren blinked and asked "Miss Langnar, how is it in that Gate?"

Ilse was caught off guard by the question.

"Well, I thought I was in a cave at first. It's really dark and cold, but the floor is very smooth and you can see the other end clearly so you can't really get turned around and lost."

Armin found himself more curious now as well and asked "Any idea how it opened?"

Ilse furrowed her brow before sighing in defeat.

"It just showed up… almost in the blink of an eye, actually. Their scientists have been looking into it, but I don't really know a lot about their results or what they know."

The teenagers nodded and continued to stare at the convoy exiting the gate.

Well, Yeager and Arlert continued to stare inquisitively at the structure.

The girl, Ackerman, looked, to put it mildly, emotionally dead.

Ilse had only been giving the trio a tour of the base for the last hour and she could have sworn the dark circles under the girl's eyes had both darkened and grown since she arrived with the others.

Yeager and Ymir apparently only have less than a decade left to live…

Ilse pursed her lips, unsure of what to say.

She was supposed to be distracting them as well as educating them on their new environment, but it was clear the dark haired girl was too absorbed in trying not to break down after getting the news that one of those closest to her was, for all intents and purpose, terminally ill.

Unlike terminally ill cases on the other side, however, Eren wouldn't spend years glued to a bed, slowly getting worse.

In fact, it was something that might be averted… might.

"Hey, Ackerman, quiz time!"

The girl glanced up, only slightly.

Ilse ignored what some other officers would label as a defiant glare and asked "Where are your bunks?"

The girl immediately said "Area B, except for Eren and Ymir who will be sleeping in the medical bay located in Area F."

Ilse nodded slightly.

"Good, now it's easy to get lost around here, so spend the rest of the day getting yourselves acquainted with the area, we'll be nearby if you need anything. Holler if you need me, okay?"

Armin almost looked like he was about to ask something, but remained silent as the older girl walked away.

…about twenty feet.

Ilse had actually walked back to the Army team that was escorting her- them, this whole time. It was a bit jarring, walking down the paved paths among the base with a Humvee following meters behind them.

"One would assume they would try to be more conspicuous." Armin mumbled.

"Well, I guess it's better to see them, that way we know we can focus on other things and-"

"They're just a distraction…" Mikasa mumbled.

The two teenaged boys glanced at her.

The girl pointed at the roofs of the prefab buildings.

"Scouts." she said after a minute.

"I don't see anyone."

"They probably don't want us seeing them. They would probably know how to take me down if I got out of control… probably." Eren stated with zero emotion in his voice.

Now it was Eren's turn to be stared at.

Even assuming what was in his father's books was true in its entirety their situation had changed surprisingly little. They were still under siege, they were still technically alone in the world, and titans were still the primary enemy… for the moment, at least.

Mikasa was about to ask if he was feeling well when the young man immediately lightened up, saying "Armin, Ilse mentioned that there was a television in the cafeteria, yeah?"

"Uh- yes?"

"Well, come on! Let's go see if they're showing things from their world!"

Armin noticed their friend appeared to be trying to distract from the reality of the situation, perhaps focus on having a good time before they needed to get serious, but he couldn't say anything as Eren began leading them forward.

As the teens were excitedly pushed on by their usually grumpy titan shifter, Ilse couldn't help but sigh.

"This is all sorts of messed up…" Jake stated.

"You think? How exactly did the kid get his shifter powers, anyway?" Matt asked.

Ilse didn't reply.

"Matt, you think this Marley nation will cooperate?"

It was Matt's turn not to reply.

"Scouts are moving up, maybe we should keep up, too." Ilse said after a moment.

The Humvee rolled ahead slowly, almost in silence as the soldiers reflected on the situation.

The world was apparently more hostile than they all had first thought.

It was one thing to be fighting a mindless, disorganized force of allegedly immortal giants, and hell, even that wasn't as easy as it looked.

But for there to be a human intelligence behind the giants, for there to be an enemy that could actually think on its own, causing all that harm for no other reason than an unbridled hatred… it was a situation most historians were tired of seeing.

That level of human cruelty certainly wasn't unheard of on their side of the gate.

"You know, I think we could win even if every nation on earth turned against us." Dave said suddenly.

The other four soldiers glanced at him.

"I mean… okay, not if nukes were involved- but who would win that?! We could destroy the world, sure but Russia has-"

"Don't say the N word!" the other four soldiers hissed.

"Oh, who's gonna hear, you?"

"Don't matter! We just discovered the enemy has the technology to transform people into giants. Even if it appears that they are only in the early 1900s tech wise, we can't know for sure! What if they're actually more advanced than we are? What if they have spies hiding around here?"

"Well, then… we use the… N words to N word them from God damn orbit! God!"

"N word?"

All eyes turned to Petra who had walked up to the Humvee.

"Uh- sorry?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Petra asked; her eyebrow rose with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"Black people… they can be used for multiple purposes believe it or not!" Matt said, almost too prepared.

Petra blinked, visibly unsure if they were hiding something from her.

Ilse wasn't about to let her ponder on that possibility for too long.

"So! Everything okay?"

The girl nodded slowly, saying "Yeah, but things are getting… more complicated. Miss Hanji and Commander Erwin want us to make sure the cadets are safe."

"Okay, well, Yeager seemed to be heading to the cafeteria… complicated how?"

"Well, ignoring the whole… rest of the world allegedly wanting us dead part, the true King is…"

"Ah… a whole maelstrom of problems."

Commander Erwin controlled his breathing as he read the information for the second time in less than twenty four hours.

This was it, undeniable proof.

His father was right, he had been right all long! The world, the outside world, it wasn't overrun with titans; it was full of people still growing and advancing!

Yet, he felt no joy.

He didn't feel hope upon reading the books left behind by Grisha Yeager.

The situation is no different than the ones we found ourselves before, only the enemy is clearer now. Is this what we sacrificed so many lives for? What I sacrificed so many people for?

"If I were you I would put that away. Until we locate their docks, we won't be able to communicate with anyone."

Erwin nodded as General Connor placed a cup of what the Americans called "coffee" on the table next to him.

"I just wish to commit this to memory… how is our guest doing?"

Connor opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, frowned, sat down next to Erwin and simply said "You ever get gut punched so hard you piss your pants and have to literally run home to change your outfit?"

Erwin said nothing.

"Historia Reiss… who would have thought… this can't be a coincidence, can it? Five titan shifters out of the supposed nine that exist on the planet, as well as a member of the royal family… you just don't see that kind of stuff happen." the general said.

Erwin laughed.

"Your world is open and free; ours is quite closed, even now. The 104th were the newest regiment being trained by the time these kids became old enough to join, and even if they were placed in different battle groups, they would still be part of the 104th."

Connor shook his head, wanting to argue with the facts but knowing he couldn't. All he could do was deal with the situation he was being handed.

"Well, she seems kind of… in shock. She knew her father was important, not that he was royalty. Poor kid doesn't seem to know anything we can use."

"Use?"

"Come on, Erwin… you saw the true king yourself, the guy wants us gone, one way or another."

Erwin didn't reply, knowing the advisory had always been against the Survey Corps… had a fight been inevitable even if the Americans hadn't shown up?

"I know, I know… we aren't here to fight humans, we're here to help you out, get you on your feet, but tell me how we're supposed to help you when your own government doesn't want us doing so?"

"…you've seen this before."

It wasn't a question.

Connor slowly nodded.

"…what happened then?"

He scoffed.

"It's still going on now… about… oh, a little less than eighteen years, we were attacked on our own homes. The very city where that gate opens up in got hit by… people that wanted us gone… they quite literally tried to hit the heads of our country… they hit our economy…"

The South Tower is- Oh, dear God!

"…our military…"

We are just getting word that a plane has crashed into the Pentagon…

"…they tried to hit our heads of government, too, but that failed, thank God…"

The tired general shook his head and said "About three thousands of our people died. We got scared, we… well… we lashed out. To put it simply, we invaded two nations, effectively destroyed them, and decided to try and rebuild them."

"It didn't work, huh?"

Connor sighed.

"We thought most of the work was done in one and pulled out… that was a mistake, let's just leave it at that. We're still there today, got guys trying to make whatever progress they can, keep what few people in the region sympathize with us alive… we aren't gone yet, but there is no way in hell things are going to have a happy ending over there. A good chunk of the people want us gone, preferring to remain how they are than do what we want them to, but leaving them to their own devices resulted in our enemies having an excellent base from which to attack us… it's an ugly situation with no easy way out."

Connor turned to face Erwin.

"This place isn't like that, commander. The people here are curious about what we have, what we can do, they don't see us as invaders, they're just happy to have good news- hope, again. The kids in the 104th, the scouts, your own officers are actively looking for ways to better things with the new technology we brought- even the wall church doesn't seem to mind us. Everyone is… Everyone except your advisory… We don't want a fight, but if we have to..."

Erwin sighed "I guess humans always were their own enemy."

"And ally." the General replied, not in the mood for allowing the final word to be a negative one.

There was silence for a moment, before Connor said "Do you think the people would accept Historia as the new queen in the event Rod Reiss needs to be deposed?"

Erwin was silent. He glanced at the book on the desk once more.

"I wouldn't know in all honesty… should we make this information public?"

"The plan is to hold on to it until we can reach anything resembling a deal with the king… good news, it means we have time on our hands to iron out the details of both a peaceful resolution and a violent one."

"…So… if you had a name, I would love to remember it, but it's all too fuzzy to recall. I'm sorry." Ymir said, staring at the titan bowing to her, within in its cage, its eyes closed to show reverence to the person it had once viewed as a goddess.

It didn't respond, though.

"I… I also want to tell you that I am not a goddess… I never was."

The titan remained bowed down, face buried on the floor, never responding.

"Hey… say something." the girl said, mildly irritated.

Whether it was irritation at herself for being so simpleminded as to expect closure from a mindless titan, or irritated with the titan for not cooperating or speaking to her was unknown.

"…I can't turn you back… I'm sorry."

But I promise that I'll let you eat me if it turns out that will save you…

Given the inaction by the titan, Ymir grabbed the camera before turning around and walking back to an expectant Hanji.

"Did it speak?"

Ymir just shook her head and handed her the device.

"Shame… but at least it didn't scream, right?"

"It just bowed to me and stayed like that… I don't want to be here anymore." the girl sighed, sounding exhausted.

She walked out of the titan holding facility and began to head towards the cafeteria.

She stopped short of it, noticing Christa- Historia sitting outside the cafeteria, eating alone.

"Your majesty!" she called, mockingly.

"Shut up…" the short blonde almost growled.

"Ahh, just let me lighten the mood for you, princess! You look so much better when you smile!" Ymir said, pinching the girl's cheeks before pulling at them.

The blonde coldly pushed the girl's hands away.

Ymir smirked, saying "Oh, finally grew some backbone, eh?"

"Ymir, just… just let me eat in peace."

The taller girl nodded and responded by sitting down next to her, elbow resting on the shorter girl's head.

The girl formally known as Christa placed down a fork on her plate and glared at the girl before speaking up.

"…okay, fine… so! Titan?"

"Princess?"

"We both have our secrets."

"Except you were the only one who lied about it."

"What are-?!"

"Call me whatever you want, but I never lied about being a titan."

"No one asked if you were one to begin with!"

"Therefore, I did not lie."

At the inhumanly smug look Ymir gave her, Historia simply responded by balling her left hand into a fist and crashing it into the other girl's shoulder.

Ymir blinked before saying "Hmph, I… I think I like this feisty version of you…"

"…Ymir there is no version of me."

Ymir raised an eyebrow.

"All the way up until yesterday I was pretending… pretending to be some nice girl I had read about back in the day… it's not like I'm actually little miss goody-two-shoes, I never got to be me, so now that the truth is out… there's nothing."

Ymir legitimately wanted to say something, anything to make the girl feel better, but everything that came to mind was a lie in one way or another.

It's alright, Historia, things will get better- yeah right!

She had no way of knowing if things would ever get better, or worse. Sure, the American aid could certainly help ensure the lands within the walls didn't suffer the fate awaiting so many of her kind across the sea, but what guarantee was there that they would stay there forever, let alone another month given the new information?

Still, she had to say something.

"Well… on the bright side… least you're free to be yourself and try new things… as yourself."

"Yeah, I get to experience being a complete stranger in my own home as myself." she said with zero enthusiasm and an irritated look in her eye.

"See, that right there? Sarcasm! Never expected to hear that from you! Makes me want to tell everyone that hey! Historia, formerly known as Christa, just employed sarcasm for the first time in recorded history!" her friend said excitedly.

"Historia was sarcastic?" Eren asked, Armin and Mikasa following behind him.

The blonde whirled around and tried to sputter out a response before Ymir said "Oh yeah! Now that Christa is gone, her replacement is far more human like!"

The blonde was reduced to sputtering, trying to respond to multiple things.

"Honestly, that's a bit of a relief, between us, I always found your attitude a bit… well… creepy."

The girl's face began to redden.

"I- I mean- no offense!"

"You better not have, she's a feisty one now that she can show her true colors! Hits harder than you ever could, titan powers or not!" Ymir said, lording the shorter girl around like a proud parent.

"…you…guys…"

Twenty feet away and ten feet above ground level, Petra observed the little spectacle.

"Kind of reminds me of my time in the scouts." she mumbled.

"You ever notice how red you girls get when you don't want to talk about something? God damn, she looks like a ripe apple…" Oluo mumbled.

Oh shut it…

"Anyway, what's the plan for these kids?"

Petra didn't reply, unsure of what exactly the Americans had in mind for the two cooperating shifters. All she knew was that "science" would be involved.

"…I wonder what Hanji will do to them, though… human sized titans, probably her fantasy come true."

"Please don't put that image in my head."

"If you're asking me not to put something in your head, then it's probably already in there."

Petra shook her head as silence dominated once more, the two scouts eyeing the younger cadets.

"Oluo, Petra, sit rep, what do you guys see?" Gunther's voice came over the radio they had on the roof.

"Yeager appears to be under verbal attack by both Ymir and Historia as Armin holds Mikasa back and Eren kind of just seem to be enjoying the whole situation."

"…carry on."

"Kids being kids…" Petra mumbled.

Rod stared as the yellowish glow of the full moon as it shone through the windows, casting long shadows which gave his lonely office an eerie feeling as he contemplated his options.

The news the young MP Ian Kline had brought him was not good in any way.

"What do you mean he was killed?!"

"It seems to be the only option, your majesty. The civilians say they heard a strange woman talk about crazy things, and when Sannes confronted her, a bunch of cloaked men attacked. He is either dead or kidnapped, sir. Due to the presence of the Americans, we haven't said anything to the press of course." the young man had said.

"It must be the Americans!" Aurile had shouted, slamming a fist on his seat.

"If it is them, then this is grounds to demand they march right back through that gate and seal it shut!" Deltoffe said with a hint of contempt.

Using his technique on them had certainly made them more fanatical, which he didn't mind, they were easier to control now, but he seriously needed rational thinking people to some extent.

"Kenny, what do you think?" he had asked.

The man actually seemed pensive, confused even. After a moment of thought, the captain said "I haven't been to the underground in a while."

"Then go gather intel! Grab what you need, head down to the Underground District, see if you find any clues! Sannes is vital, Kenny… we can't lose him if he's still alive."

"Alright, alright, I get it… take it easy, man of peace."

"Ackerman, your arrogance will be the death of you…" the younger MP had said.

Kenny had ignored the young man and left the room.

That had been almost seven hours prior.

Control is being taken from me… I must act on my own… and soon.

He considered sending the Americans a letter, both telling them and asking them to keep his daughter safe, but chose against it.

They didn't know about her yet, they couldn't, and letting them know would certainly leave him at a disadvantage.

Always better to keep your secrets, he had no way of knowing what they would do if they discovered her identity.

He grabbed his things and walked out of his office, heading down and out of the government building and into the mostly empty streets.

Time for a backup plan…

Rod walked a few blocks, ignoring the few civilians still out at that hour.

He stopped near an alley and looked around; making sure no one was looking at him before he walked inside.

"Your majesty?" a young man asked, standing up immediately.

"Apologies, Ian, I wanted to make sure no one followed me, and caution never hurts."

"No worries, sir."

Rod was silent for a moment before he said "I worry the Americans plan to remove us- my family and myself… The Founder…"

Ian nodded.

"How would you do it?" he asked him.

The young man was silent for a moment before saying "You need to show the people their true colors. Let's assume they have some dirt on you, so simply telling everyone that the people who have been bringing them medicine and food are not actually good won't be enough, especially if they start spreading rumors about the interior police killing civilians en masse in order to hide their secrets instead of punishing criminals."

Rod nodded.

"However, if we can convince the people the Americans are not out to help them, and have actually been planning on conquering us this entire time… we would need to emulate their weapons to really pull it off, though."

As if someone had just lit a fire under his eyes, Rod suddenly said "The explosive guns…"

Ian looked at him confused.

"Years ago, on one of his operations… Sannes confiscated blueprints from a man who wanted to convert fireworks into these… rockets that explode similar to what the Americans use against the titans. The prototype the man built is long gone, but the blueprints are in deep storage in the Interior Headquarters… if we could just… get our hands on a few of these rockets, and…"

A plan began to form in Rod's mind.

"If the Americans start to push their boundaries gain, we can hit some of the officers who seem to be a little bit close with them… an accidental death perhaps… it would keep the Americans on their toes."

"It could anger them…"

"No, they are… soft hearted. Notice how they have taken extreme caution, always prioritizing the lives of their men. Even when they had to fight the human traffickers they only killed one of them, sparing the other. If they are threatened by both us and the civilian population… they won't stay here if it means losing people, it's just not worth it to them."

Rod then turned to Ian and said "My boy, there is another contingency of graduated cadets of the 104th that has chosen to work with the Military Police, I want you to take charge of them. They're all about fifteen, so they should be easy to manage… and they could make for good cannon fodder if it comes down to it."

Ian nodded.

"Another thing… head to the headquarters and ask for the file on the experimental weapons… then go to this address in Wall Rose, and order ten of them for as soon as possible. Keep this talk between us, I don't know where the loyalties of the other officers lie, and I would prefer it if we kept them on their toes… make them think they know what's happening until it's too late."

"It shall be done, your majesty." he replied, offering up his heart in salute.

Rod made certain no one followed him as he headed back to the government building.

Was this the right thing to do?

Would Urie or his father have done something else?

He allowed for a melancholy sigh to escape him as he realized that he would find out soon enough.

Historia… I'll see you soon.

Hours later, Ian Kline covered his nose as the man in front of him continued to smoke a cigar.

"Well, Captain Kline, you certainly have the approval, but I must ask… why exactly are you asking the Reeves Company to assist his majesty in this… endeavor?"

Ian felt a tinge of disgust as the fat man made eye contact.

Merhcants… loyal to the coin, not the king… but even they are able to serve his majesty.

"Part of the modernization process. King Fritz is very keen on starting up the development of new weapons to fight the titans with, but doesn't want to give anything away to the public eye. Your company operates off Trost, and has a relatively stable financial operation… surely you can manage these requests?"

The man returned a convincingly fake smile, before glancing at the blueprints once more.

"Well, I could give you a couple of them if I suspend some of my delivery operations, the money the king gave in advanced could be used to hire some extra hands, so the number doubles with that, but…"

Reeves looked at the design of the new weapon.

"I don't think I can get you ten of these rods by the end of the week."

"How about the end of the month?" Ian asked.

The man looked at the blueprints again.

"Well, it is a simple design, but some of the materials you are requesting are a bit hard to come by. That said, with the Americans handling the titans, there hasn't been as big a need for steel to replace lost Survey Corps materials, so… yes, I say we could get you ten of these by the end of the month."

"Good, get to it."

"Always a pleasure to do business with-"

"And before I forget… this is a top secret project. Nobody can know who is asking for these, nobody can know what these things do… just label it as a titan killing project, understand?"

Reeves stared at the dangerous glint in the eyes of the Military Police officer.

There was definitely something else going on here, but what business was it of his?

Reeves smiled politely.

"Of course, sir! Pleasure doing business with you!" he called.

Eren observed the moon from his room in the medical bay, which was a nice distraction from the silent darkness around him.

To think they put people up there…

He found the lack of humans to chat with bothersome, but he genuinely had nothing to do now.

Just rest up, we can begin testing your abilities tomorrow.

He didn't like it.

Being alone, even with medical staff and American soldiers scattered all over, he was finding himself forced to think of his mortality now.

8 years left.

It's not fair…

He forced the thoughts away, knowing full well it was more than enough to destroy the enemies of humanity… human or otherwise.

He sighed.

He wondered why his father had done this to him, what goal could he possibly achieve by giving him titan shifter abilities? Defeat the Founder? Destroy Marley?

His thoughts shifted then to the fact that his father had a wife before his mother.

Dina Fritz…

He rubbed his chin deep in thought as he began walking in circles around the room.

"Dina Fritz… became Dina Yeager… gave birth to Zeke Yeager… Zeke betrayed his- our father as well as Dina, his mother, both of whom were members of a resistance… where would Zeke be now? What would he be up to?" he asked himself aloud, crossing his arms.

Still a soldier? The Marlean military might have given him some honors or… maybe he was discharged?

Eren tried to calculate how old the kid would be if he was made a Warrior soon after betraying his father and Dina.

With a sigh, he realized that if Zeke had become a warrior a year before his father met his second wife then he was probably dead by this point. That didn't change much for Eren, he would prefer it if he didn't have family on the other side of the wall.

So that leaves… Dina…

She had been a member of the original royal family, someone who could use the Founder, and finally someone who had become a titan as punishment for her treason.

He wondered if she had been killed during the clearing operations, or during the battle of Shiganshina or perhaps even before the Americans showed up in the first place.

He wasn't sure why he cared about her, but something about her picture bothered him. He tried to figure out what it was, even if he ultimately was unable to.

It was an excellent distraction from the possibility that had been nagging at him since he read his father's journals.

To become a titan, an Eldian requires titan spinal fluid be introduced into their body.

To become a titan shifter, a titanized Eldian must devour another titan shifter.

Going by that… who had he eaten?

He pushed the question aside and finally got some sleep.

He did have a big day tomorrow after all.

Working with the scouts, Team Levi… the Team Levi.

The thought alone made the young cadet too excited to fall asleep.

"Jeeeeesuuuuus." Jake breathed at the bizzare situation he was looking at.

Eren had transformed into a titan in the middle of a field not too far from Hill Zero One, partly thanks to some advice from Ymir who had explained the process earlier in the morning.

Step 1: make a small cut on your hand with a blade.

Step 2: have a clear goal in mind.

Step 3: transform.

What no one had expected is that instead of looking around or standing up, the teen had instead taken one glance at the scientists in the distance, and attempted to walk towards them, only to collapse on the ground and stay there for five minutes. A pair of Huey helicopters was hovering nearby; cautiously preparing their rockets should the giant got out of control or something along those lines.

"…Should Levi just-?" Ilse asked, lowering the binoculars.

"I'll get him out myself." Mikasa said, stepping out of the Humvee and walking ahead.

Jake had to stop her right there.

"Kid, you have no blades, and for all we know, this is normal. If we need to cut him out of there Levi is close enough to do the job so try not to push yourself too hard, okay?"

The girl reluctantly nodded.

She still looked visibly worried.

As for those closer to the collapsed beast, the situation was more odd than worrisome.

"Maybe he overheated?" Hanji mumbled.

Doctor Hermann shook his head, considering animals didn't exactly "overheat" but at this point he wasn't sure what he could say. Titans made very little biological sense, and calling them solar powered biological machines wasn't exactly off the mark.

"Maybe he's just getting used to consciously being a titan?" he said instead.

Levi who was nearby, glanced at the sun in the sky.

"Been almost five minutes… want me to cut him out of there?"

Hanji was about to reply when the giant began to shake, violently turning up earth and stone before rolling to its side and sitting up.

For a few tense seconds, nobody was sure what to do.

Team Levi stood ready to literally cut it to pieces if he acted hostile, and if they failed, the Hueys nearby would more than finish the job.

Instead, the titan sat up, there was a shudder, and a panicked Eren emerged from the nape.

Levi approached first, followed by the rest of his team.

Once seeing the boy was breathing heavily, Levi asked "What exactly was that?"

Eren shook his head, saying "I- I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare! I- I couldn't get out- it- didn't… Armin, Mikasa! Are they-?"

The boy looked around, seeing his friends off in the distance, along with the American forces.

"How long was I in there?" he asked.

"Only a few minutes." Petra replied.

Levi frowned.

"Felt… longer… sir, I am ready to try again!"

Levi shrugged, turning to Hanji.

He didn't see the woman rush past him to examine the teenager.

"Are you okay- is this arm shorter or longer now- what did you see in there- tell me everything!"

Levi could feel the small group of Americans holding the girl that clung to Yeager like a lost puppy back.

Someone needs to teach her not to cling too much.

"I just think they're treating you too harshly." Mikasa said, worry lining her every word.

Eren stretched before sitting down with his lunch.

"Look, Mikasa, we have to work to not only understand this process, but to make sure we stand a better chance against the enemies beyond the walls. We still don't actually know a whole lot about them, remember?"

"I thought Annie and Bertholdt said most of the stuff we know from the journals are true." Armin spoke up then.

"They could be lying, you know that."

A sad look spread across the young man's face, a part of him still not over the betrayal.

"But, who knows… maybe that's a good thing. Maybe things have changed over there since the three of them left, and maybe… maybe they don't want us all to die… maybe."

He looked around then, trying to find something to change the subject with.

He noticed Ymir picking at her food by herself.

"Hey, Ymir! Why are you eating by yourself?".

The girl turned to look at them before sighing and walking over to them.

"Chris- Historia is chatting with the military officers… I guess they're grooming her to be queen should the need arise or something."

"Oh… do you think she wants to be queen?"

Ymir shrugged.

"Honestly, as long as she makes her own choice, I don't think it matters too much."

They were silent for a moment when the cafeteria door opened and a platoon of American tankers walked in.

Ymir narrowed her eyes, prompting Eren to ask "Something wrong?"

The girl was glaring at a particularly pale American before turning back to her meal and angrily muttering "No, nothing's wrong."

"Hey, kids, how's the food?"

The four cadets turned to look at the American who had moved away from the others.

"Hey, wait a second… you're… you're Ryan, right?"

"Yeah, and you're the kid who put his rounds the wrong way! Who would've thought you'd be so important?"

"…yeah…"

Silence.

Ryan cleared his throat and turned to Ymir.

"So! You okay?"

"What do you care?"

"…Yeah, I know… can't exactly blame you for holding a grudge."

Ymir said nothing.

"Where's your friend, or girlfriend, or cousin or whatever you two are?"

"Historia is with the officers… probably being groomed to be queen or something…"

"Ah… right…"

Ryan let out an exasperated sigh before saying "Look, the guys and I are going to be staying here for a few weeks to fix up our tanks, until that time…"

He placed a device on the table the cadets recognized as the video game console known as the Switch.

"You want to buy me with that?"

"Use it or don't, I left the batteries in and it's fun for the whole family or whatever… you can give it back when you're done or if you don't understand something." the soldier said before heading back to his crew.

Ymir looked bemused before grabbing the device and hiding it under her coat.

"Do you even know how it works?" Eren asked.

"A little."

"…um… plan on sharing?" Armin asked, curious himself about the technological marvel.

The girl returned a cocky grin, saying "Nope!"

A few buildings away, Historia was excitedly explaining herself to both Representative Kelly, Commander Erwin, and General Connor.

"…which eventually led to them becoming a global superpower!" she concluded.

"You… certainly seem to be a fan of British History." Kelly said.

"I guess it's just interesting… we're a small island nation, they're a small island nation… that's why we need to build up a fleet once we fully reclaim the land beyond the walls. Which reminds me, have your teams found any resources we could trade for your services?"

General Connor nodded slowly.

"We've found several oil deposits in the mountains, actually… I think trade options would certainly open up with that. But, you need to understand, Rod is still technically in charge, and we can't just depose him."

I mean, we can… but not without pissing off a lot of people back home.

Erwin sighed, saying "That's true, installing you as queen suddenly and without warning would likely backfire. However, if Rod continues to push against bettering humanity… well, we'll need to take some drastic measures."

Historia winced.

"No worries, we have agents in the interior keeping an eye on things, and we have been planning on talking with the military leadership. If it comes down to it, can depose him without shedding any blood." Connor said quickly.

Historia nodded.

"Thank you, I… I really don't want this to turn violent."

"Neither do we, Historia… but we need to be certain you actually want to be queen."

The girl blinked then.

"It's necessary, is it not? I don't think I have much choice in the matter."

The three higher ups were unsure of what to say.

Technically, she wasn't incorrect.

In the event that deposing Rod became a necessity, they needed her to be queen, puppet or not, temporary or not.

However…

"Look, we want all solutions on the table. If Rod can see our reasons, maybe he'll be more willing to cooperate, if not, we can depose him peacefully, release all the information he doesn't want out, and let the people decide what they want to do. We have our own set of rules to abide by, after all, and we can't just break them without good reason… so, you work on your proposals for the eventual negotiations we'll have with your father, we'll work on figuring out a solution and understanding Eren and Ymir."

The girl nodded then.

"As for building shipyards… I think we can help with that."

For the right price, of course…

"Alright, cadets, you are in the Military Police now. I know you've probably heard its easy going and relatively safe, but the situation has changed ever since these people from beyond appeared." Ian shouted at the newest regiment of Military Police.

The recently graduated cadets were clearly children.

Skilled children, certainly.

Children that could likely fire a rifle with some degree of accuracy and slay titans if put in the position with nothing more than their ODM gear, and lead if asked...

But children nonetheless.

His eyes glanced at a girl with light, almost gray, blonde hair.

Her eyes followed him as he walked from one end of the lined up MPs to the next, and he didn't particularly take kindly to that.

He approached her directly, saying "What is your name, cadet?"

The girl's smile widened, theatrically saying "Private Hitch Dreyse, sir! Happy to serve!"

Ian glanced at her thin frame with mild disgust.

This girl made it to the top ten?!

Odd given that any of the Americans could simply pick her up and she would be unable to do much of anything as she was tossed aside.

He crossed his arms, somehow managed to narrow his eyes further, and spoke, as loudly as his vocal cords would allow.

"In the event of an American invasion, private Hitch Dreyse, how would you defend the capital?!"

The girl, much to his annoyance, simply waved her hand noncommittally and said "Easy, I wouldn't! They would never invade the capital due to the alliance they have with us."

Ian shut his eyes tightly and sucked in a breath.

Wait, that wasn't a trick question?

The girl realized her folly and quickly began to backtrack.

"Uh… o-of course, in the hypothetical case of an American invasion, um…"

For the first time since arriving, her eyes widened as she found herself unsure of what the answer her commanding officer wanted was.

Try to attack with ODM gear? No, American tanks are completely invulnerable to blades if the information I read is true… try to shoot them as they come through the entrance? Doubtful as the tanks are impervious to any of our muskets… set up large canons on the entrance and fire when they try driving in? Wait, no… flying machines… what does he want me to say?

Ian simply scoffed and began walking away before she could really say anything.

He stared at the cadets for a moment, contemplating each of them individually.

"Your duty is to protect the king, simple as that. We are outclassed if the Americans arrive to force out our king, but we are not helpless! The Americans are clearly soft hearted, they prioritize keeping soldiers alive, not winning the battle, kill enough of them, they will surely run away."

Hitch was unsure if that logic was sound as it assumed their canons could destroy American armored vehicles, but it wasn't entirely without logic.

After all, human instinct was to run away from the thing killing your friends, not charge right at it.

Except the "kill enough of them" part is much easier for the Americans in theory…

A cadet raised his hand.

All eyes turned to a young man with dark hair in a bowl cut.

"Sir, with all due respect, our duty is to uphold the law, not prepare for a war against the people helping us." The cadet said simply.

Marlowe Freudenberg was by all accounts, an idealist.

The kind of guy who loved going on about the "duty of the military police" and how it was his job to "ensure the laws of the land were followed by everyone, Military Police included."

The kind of guy who values the ideal over the king…

Ian gave him a nasty glare before angrily asking "What's your name private?"

"Marlowe Freudenberg."

Ian nodded, calmly approached him and looked him in the eyes before asking "How many laws have the Americans broken just by being here?"

Marlow shrugged.

That's what I thought…

"Now… let's be fair here, I know they are still technically new to this world, but they are the only threat bigger than the titans! Freudenberg, if they decided to attack the capital this very week, what would you do?"

The boy straightened and said "I like to think I would defend it with my life, sir!"

Ian didn't smile, simply turning away and saying "You lot have heard the recent news, we are to have a trial here very soon. The Americans will escort possible traitors to the capital, and we need a force of young, recently graduated cadets, to escort them on their way."

A murmur spread through the lines before Ian concluded, loudly declaring "Dedicate your hearts to his majesty, and prepare yourselves to head out! Dismissed!"

Ian watched the cadets walk away and begin to move towards the main headquarters, ready for the day's orders.

"Marlowe… what was that?" Hitch asked.

The boy shook his head.

"The MPs are already extremely corrupt, Hitch. I signed up to help straighten them out, not fight against those helping us."

The girl shrugged saying "No matter, we would never fight the Americans at the end of the day. Why would we? I bet this guy is just a bit paranoid, that's all."

Dot Pyxis watched the efforts of the large American helicopters as they began to simultaneously lift higher into the air, the heavy chains holding on to the large rock from the Trost district.

The Chinooks had been designed for such tasks, airlifting heavy artillery, tanks, supplies, and even rocks to disaster zones when needed. Now, instead of simply fixing the entrance to Shiganshina, the Americans were planning on blocking it entirely.

However…

"So… Lieutenant Troy, is it?"

The young American officer nodded as he watched the German engineers give directions from the ground as the Chinooks began to lift the natural wonder.

"I know you Americans have several secrets over there, but… is it true that there hasn't been a titan encountered in the past two weeks?"

Troy opened his mouth, but stayed silent.

"I'm a curious person you know… to an extent not comparable to Erwin, but curious regardless…"

"It's… complicated." the American sighed.

"Oh, most things are… your leaders haven't made it publicly known that the land beyond the walls is-"

"No, the plan is to reveal it during the trial later this week… as long as that doesn't collapse into itself."

Pyxis chuckled, grabbing his flask and enjoying the excellent wine.

"The so called true king has been relatively silent this past week, as well… Honestly, if you boys need some assistance or support, count on me."

"…it isn't so simple, Commander."

"Sure it isn't! But to me, you people have been doing more to help our people than the king and his advisory for the last decade! Premiere Zachary agrees."

Troy glanced at Pyxis with an unreadable expression before offering a polite smile.

Then he asked "Okay, what if I told you we were doing this for our own benefit?"

"You aren't doing this for your own benefit?"

Troy shrugged, saying "Nobody really knows what our leaders back home actually think, but let's be honest, if we didn't have something to gain I doubt we would be doing much more than the bare minimum to help you."

"Ah, you wonder if a good action can still be classified as good if the motivation behind it is selfish."

"You could say that."

"Well, look at Commander Erwin. Seems like a decent fellow, doesn't he?"

Troy said nothing, eyeing the Chinooks as they carried the gigantic rock away.

"There isn't a doubt in my mind he has his own motivations, everyone does to some extent. Sure, if your mother cried for help odds are you would help her no questions asked. People can be selfish and selfless all at once, you know. I, for example, work much, much better when I have some good old fashioned alcohol in my veins."

Troy stared at the already empty flask and said "That can kill you, you know."

"Bah, don't talk like that! Already get enough of an earful from Anka, I don't need some people from some great beyond I've never seen before lecturing me about- uh… where did my-?"

The old man searched his coat for his second flask, unable to find it.

"Commander, it is too early or that. You aren't as young as you used to be…" Anka said, placing the second flask inside a bag she was carrying before walking away.

Troy held in a grin.

"Well, guess I won't be able to finish all the reports due today without my second liter of wine… anyway, the point is, while motivations matter, the results are more important. Erwin was barely holding on to his position as Commander given how many kids he was losing. You people may have selfish goals, but if the rest of the world wants us dead… well, I believe we can tolerate your selfishness if it means you'll still help us."

"Well, that's one way to look at it… Commander, duty calls. I have to head back to Shiganshina, get the cadets ready to escort Yeager and the others to the interior."

"Speaking of, how is that Yeager boy doing?"

Troy said "You would have to ask Erwin or the guys at Hill Zero One. I think they were testing how long both he and Ymir can stay in titan form, though."

"Oh… do they have a record or a time limit?"

"Good God, I think I'm gonna vomit!" Matt whispered to no one other than himself.

The image in front of him was one out of a horror movie.

Eren Yeager was being dragged from the body of his titan form, flesh and nerves visibly still connecting his face to the nape he had just been dragged away from.

His face, its skin and most of its muscles, were gone, exposing bone and an elongated tongue that was only made more disturbing as the bizarre string of flesh and pulsating nerves that remained connected to the nape.

"Ooh, incredible- hey-hey, Moblit! Tell the doctor to bring the camera up close!"

The young man simply muttered something about the girl not having any sense of mercy before pushing the camera closer to the mess of body horror that was Eren Yeager.

"Oh! Okay, stay calm, we won't let anything happen to him, just relax!" Jake said, trying his hardest to hold Mikasa back.

They were fairly close to the titan carcass when it simply freaked out and collapsed on its own, Hanji and Moblit digging Eren out completely.

Mikasa had, of course, insisted in helping, but given that she could easily become a liability, all the team was letting her do was observe.

From a distance… a fair distance.

And without any ODM gear.

Despite the previous injuries, the girl was had proven herself strong enough to drop the taller Jake if the soldier wasn't careful.

And now that she was healed…

"They aren't going to let anything happen to him, could you stop?!"

The girl reluctantly quit struggling and Jake let her go.

"Alright… carefully now…" Doctor Hermann said, making an incision as he began cutting the strange flesh that wasn't evaporating.

"This is clearly problematic if we want to convince the king he will be an asset." Moblit mumbled.

"The king already wants him and the others dead; I just hope we can convince him to not throw a fit when the Americans tell him they won't hand him over. We can just show him the footage of him building a house, I suppose." Hanji replied courtly.

Herman said "We are scientists, Miss Hanji, we cannot censor our results just to please a king that may not even cooperate if you hand all the shifters over."

The Scout nodded, saying "I suppose, but still… I don't see this making anyone comfortable with the idea of titan shifters."

Once freed, Eren was put on a stretcher and sent to the medical bay, Mikasa quickly catching up to him.

"It's pretty disturbing. What do you think it takes to knock them down permanently?" Dave asked.

"Destroying the brain, obviously. Or removing the head." Jake stated.

Matt said nothing.

"My worry has more to do with the so called Marlean Empire. Sort of a circle of abuse like Jews and Arabs, right? No easy good guys or bad guys?"

The group remained in silence for a moment before Jake spoke up.

"Not exactly… this true king apparently did something to the memories of those living here, yeah?"

"I think?"

"Then he's the bad guy."

"Not so simple." Ilse sighed.

The Army guys turned to her.

"Something to do with world peace or keeping the peace… guilt over past actions… the more you read about it the harsher and more complicated it gets. It's like… it would be like the US deciding all whites should move to Manhattan and leave the continent to the non-whites because of past mistreatments right after the Civil War, only arguably worse as I doubt even the cruelest slave owner devoured his slaves."

"You'd be surprised."

"…I worry you guys might have to pull out if things get too hot over here." Ilse sighed.

Silence reigned once more, as uncertainty grew.

"…this is supposed to be the point you tell me I'm wrong." she said after a moment.

"We're not fortune tellers, Ilse. Hell, pulling out isn't that unlikely if things get bad." Matt sighed.

"What? But you-"

"I don't like it either, but people back home are under the impression that we're doing good here, they're tired of hearing about civilian deaths thanks to one of our air strikes, they're tired of hearing about how long we've been at war. For once they get to listen to some good news about the military, for once, it seems like we're actually helping out, and if it suddenly comes to light that continuing to help you would put us at war with an entire planet… Yeah, I might order a withdrawal or anything that would keep the peace."

"But- but the rest of the world wants us dead!"

"Ilse, you read about World War 2- we could have done a lot more to help the people imprisoned in the Concentration Camps."

"That was different! A lot of the Generals didn't believe or know-"

"Even then our higher ups knew! And okay, let's say you're right, and we didn't do more because we weren't aware… we did nothing to stop or even end the Ugandan Genocide, when we went to give humanitarian aid to Somalia in the 1990s, we pulled out after a single battle with a warlord… Ilse, our country has been at war for most of its existence, a lot of us are tired of it."

Silence.

"Well God damn, Matt. I didn't know you were such a communist. Gonna whine about income inequality next?" Jake mumbled.

"I'm not commie, Income Inequality is proof everyone has a fair shot at making a lot of money, and I'd hate to leave this place to die… but you have to face the facts… Americans don't want a war and my opinion on the subject is irrelevant, same as yours. Ultimately, it ain't up to any of us."

Ilse frowned before scoffing.

"Well… war might be the only solution we have to the Marley question… they've been terrorizing us for a century, using our own people to tear us apart, limb from limb, literally eaten alive… How can you possibly solve this without going to war, and making them fall to their knees?! What other solution is there?!" the girl seemed to demand, suddenly very frustrated with the subject.

Memories of her comrades being devoured alive as all she could do was watch flooded, and she had to shut her eyes.

Matt let out a tired sigh.

"I don't know… maybe shock and awe? Force them to negotiate by showing we can destroy them at any second?"

"Well, it's not up to you, is it?"

Matt eyed the young girl with an unreadable expression.

"They say the truth will set you free, but if you ask me, it all depends." Dave said after a second.

"No one asked you." the others said in unison.

"No one said I was wrong, either."

"Dude, if you aren't going to add anything to the conversation can you at least keep your mouth shut?"

"Matt, I'm agreeing with you! At the end of the day, the truth is that the American people have to back the president should he declare war, or else he can't get much done."

"Whatever… let's just focus on the here and now… What's the plan for this trial on the shifters?" Ilse asked, promptly changing the subject.

If anyone were to say Washington DC had never been so politically hostile before the 21st century, people would probably agree while historians groaned in annoyance.

Things in the American capital were, of course, not as great as they could be, but they weren't anywhere near the hostilities seen before the Civil War. It wasn't even as chaotic as the early 1960s, where the world came to the brink of nuclear annihilation twice during a single presidency.

And yet somehow, despite nuclear war becoming almost impossible as both the United States and The Russian Federation had a relatively stable peace, and the planet itself was undergoing a period of peace the likes of which had never been seen before in human history, for many citizens in the United States, everything felt just as tense and frustrating as they had during the uneasy years of the Cold War.

The American president rubbed his temple as he exited the presidential limo, doing his best not to scream.

His vice president walked up next to him, just as the man began his rant.

"You would think they would be more interested in keeping Russia out of the Middle East, but no! Mike, you understand these people better than I do, what do they want?"

The vice president would have said something, but by now he knew the commander in chief wanted to vent, not so much be told what to do.

"I mean, okay, they don't want us getting involved in the Middle East, alright, simple enough… until some dictator uses WMDs to take out terrorists. Suddenly, it's our duty to remind everyone who's in charge, so we do- and then it's our fault for being too aggressive? What, did they want me to just wave my finger and remind him that chemical warfare is against the Geneva Convention?"

He wants to vent, not to be told what to do…

"Now they complain about me not being aggressive enough… what does that even mean? We have Special Forces on the ground, ISIS is basically gone, and it's time for the people to decide for themselves, right? Right? How is that a sign of weakness?"

Vent… not be told what to do, vent…

"Honestly, if the negotiations go through properly, I would be perfectly fine with pulling all our troops out of the Middle East… but no! Suddenly pulling out our troops means that I want to annex the land across the gate! But I can't reinforce our troops in Afghanistan either because that would be escalation."

Technically you can, Commander in Chief…

"I mean, I could… But it would just add fuel to their fire and not the good kind… honestly; it feels like the world is out to get me sometimes."

"Well, given the information regarding Eldia and Marley… we may need congress on our good side… what little of that exists right now." the Vice President said after a second.

"And that's the kicker! God only knows what goes on over there, even the information from the self-proclaimed Warriors might be outdated! For all we know, there could be other shifters already within the walls, waiting to strike or spying on us, ready to get information back home. But I can't just send more troops in without all this… crap…"

The vice president nodded slowly as the two entered the oval office, a secretary had already beat them there and was standing at attention while holding several papers on hand.

"The Army already sent several Strykers across, did I forget something?" the president asked as he took the papers, reason for them forgotten after such a frustrating meeting.

He read them quickly before saying "I suppose we could send some A-10s, get some MLRS batteries across… shock and awe?"

"Shock and awe, mister president, we can at least show off the strykers when they go through to Wall Sina later this month, maybe get the MLRS to fire a few salvos… show the interior what we can do. Maybe intimidate them into easing tensions."

The president stared at the requests.

This is a lot more than simple Shock and Awe…

"Let's try to be fair here, if an alien force came here demanding we strip away half our constitutional rights, we would be up in arms immediately. I would like to at least try to make them see things our way before actually playing more intimidation games."

"With all due respect, sir, the king and his advisory have been overly demanding of updates on the Shifter situation all while ignoring the fact that the rest of the world wants them dead! We halted the titan capturing efforts, so Wall Maria still has about a dozen or so titans scattered around, so any resettlement program planned for this month is also in the backburner, the lack of communication has made it impossible to discern the exact situation within the underground district, and we haven't even been able to locate the port the shifters described by our prisoners, yet they're acting as if all of this isn't a problem. We may need to remind them that we are not subordinate to them."

"I know that, but congress is on my ass about not showing aggression and even if we are provoked we are expected to show restraint!"

Restraint! Against a force that may want us dead…

"As it is, I am going to approve this… err… hold on… General Connor wants-?"

The final request made the president physically wince.

"Purely for emergency situations, such as a Marlean invasion. It could be used without inflicting losses. Once we get AC-130s in there, we can use it, but it wouldn't hurt to hadn them one or two early, just in case."

"Will it even work without GPS?"

"We thought about that, and we can modify a couple to give them self-adjusting flaps that keep the GBU from straying off course."

Definitely shock and awe…

"Alright… I'll approve it as well. Give our boys what they need… on another note, how is our little joint team doing?"

"They believe the heads of the organized anti-personnel unit have been decapitated, so the king probably can't strike effectively."

The Vice President turned and asked "Decapitated?"

Crow dropped the steaming plate of soup on the wooden table in the basement of the home they were occupying.

The CIA woman was sitting on the edge of the table, never breaking eye contact from the two men tied and gagged by the corners of the relatively small basement.

She had an eerily childlike look of wonder as she stared at the captured men. It reminded him of something from back home.

A cat, playing with a mouse…

"Ah, thank you, Crow, smells divine… do me a favor and remove the gag from this guy."

The SAS officer nodded and did just that, more than aware of what he could expect once the gag came off.

Sannes began screaming for help at the top of his lungs.

Same as always…

"I'm here! Somebody help me! They have me tied up! Help!"

Usually they would gag him up again, no need to have him draw more attention to them, but today was different.

"No one is coming, sir. Now take it easy on those lungs and let me give you something to eat, we want you to stay alive after all."

Sannes stopped to glare at the woman.

"Oh, glare at me all you want, it changes nothing… you ever had tomato soup? Not my favorite, but if you add some onions-"

"Release me or kill me, demon! I intend to waste no time with this-"

"Blah blah blah, demon, blah blah blah, devil, blah blah blah… honestly, get some better insults. Now… soup?"

Sannes demanded "Explain why you captured us! What do you want?! Do you want us dead?!"

"Hush, we have no intention on killing you or ending your miserable existence." the woman said, coming off more bored than anything.

Silence for a moment.

Then Sannes said "If you wish to use us in your subversive deeds know that we will resist."

Silence for a moment.

Then the CIA woman said "Honest question… do you really believe stagnating technological development is making things better?"

Sannes said "Ours is a necessary evil. Unlike you who have no need for such actions, we-"

The woman began to laugh dryly.

"No need for such actions? Whoo! That's hilarious, I'm not gonna lie."

She stood up from the table and approached Sannes, getting uncomfortably close to the zip tied old man.

"I'm not about to say we're angels, or always doing good… but you have no idea how bad it can get over on our side. Believe me, we know necessary evil, and you're not it."

"Your side? You godless people have no way of knowing how we live! Your world is interconnected! You share information with an ease and technology I still cannot imagine, do not claim to understand how important and crucial our role is in keeping order within the walls!"

"No, you don't understand anything." she sighed, standing up and walking out of the basement, taking her soup and leaving Sannes to Crow.

Crow didn't really say anything, but did begin to whistle God Save the Queen.

"…is this where you start making demands?" Sannes asked.

The whistling stopped.

"Oh, you would know about that, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, we do things a little differently. We have rules to upkeep believe it or not."

"No you don't."

Crow grinned.

"You're right, we don't. None of the people that tell us what to do are here, we could easily tear out your vocal cords, patch you back up and make it look like your buddy over there did it, show the people who the real heroes are. Maybe break your hands just properly so that you can't even write down what really happened. No witnesses to deny the story either, so… where would that leave you?"

Sannes winced as the threat began to sink in.

"What?" he breathed.

"Don't like that one, huh? How about poisoning the king and making this Historia girl the new ruler? She is very sympathetic to our cause from what I hear. Make you look like the aggressor by showing all the records you have kept of your adventures in keeping everyone here in the dark ages."

Sannes growled "The true king will stop you."

"Yeah? How's he gonna do that?"

"Our king will stop you with means you cannot even imagine!"

Before Crow could reply, the CIA woman walked downstairs again, a laptop in hand.

"What was the last thing he said?" she asked.

"Says the true king will stop us with means we cannot even imagine." he replied.

"Did he now? How would he do that?" she asked, placing the solar powered laptop on the table, logging on.

Crow shrugged, the woman continued.

"Ways we can't even imagine, he says… is that right, ye old coot?" she asked, feigning an English accent.

Sannes didn't reply, glaring at the woman.

"Maybe he will sick his little anti-personnel regiments on our soldiers?" she suggested, pressing a button.

The recognizable voice of Rod Reiss came over the computer speakers.

"Ian has control of Deltoffe's unit, as well as the new MP recruits. If the Americans try something, he will lead the charge."

"H-how did you-?"

"We're two hundred years ahead of you technologically; being able to listen in on other rooms really shouldn't surprise you."

"What we do is for the greater good! You would never understand what we have to do to keep order for mankind!"

The woman was silent, gone was the cocky grin and playful look in her blue eyes.

She looked at the older man with a cold, calculating glance, before simply standing up to look down on him.

She scoffed bitterly.

"Oh, please, you killed people that were making better weapons, had discovered means of flight, or simply knew that the king was lying about something. You're amateurs, nothing but foot soldiers killing because your king tells you to. What's worse, you seem to actually believe him when he tells you this is for the greater good. You would be better off facing the giants beyond the walls than facing us."

"Belief?!"

"Tell me the rationality behind keeping life in this hell hole from advancing technologically if it's actually necessary."

"New technology would endanger the king!"

"It could also save the king."

"We didn't go after doctors or the people working on better medicine!"

"Oh yes you did, you just killed them whenever they stepped out of line. But I was talking about other advances. Like the ones making better weapons that could have benefited you in a war against us, same for the prostitutes that knew too much, they make excellent spies, same for anyone your king told you was a threat without stopping for a half second to wonder why. God damn amateurs…"

"And yet you blame it on my belief in the king- the belief that I have done good?! As if you were any different!"

She returned a mocking smile.

"Oh, maybe in principle… we once deposed an elected leader and installed a military dictator, all because the other guy didn't want to trade with us anymore… hell, we tore the fabric of an entire continent apart just to avoid giving our enemies any foothold on the nations south of us. Being a superpower isn't clean or easy, Djel, we know damn well how dirty the job can get to keep order. You just suck at it."

"And you do it because you believe it is good. Just like me, hypocrite that you are!"

The woman scoffed.

"God damn amateurs." she mumbled.

Sannes looked confused.

"The world is cruel, we can all agree on that, everyone tries to make things work, we do it so that our people don't find themselves getting bombed like our enemies. Hell, say what you will, we've helped our people to one extent or the other more than once. What baffles me is… What exactly do you people get out of you worshipping this founder?"

Sannes winced before angrily speaking up.

"Order and safety! He is the founder, creator, and protector of mankind! We dirty our hands to preserve the order he had created in order to thank him for granting us such blessings! Surely, you and your people aren't so different!"

"Yeah, you say that… but not only do we have it better than you, our actions actually benefit our people in ways other than providing safety and order. Matter of fact, since we don't kill them for innovating, we have cures for diseases don't even know exist. Why is that?"

Sannes glared at her.

"Again, it baffles me… here we show up with literal centuries worth of scientific and technological advances, and yet your self-proclaimed god not only refuses us, but doesn't even bother to take the credit for opening the door to us? Hell, that priest seemed to actually believe the walls blessed his people with our arrival… and yet you people are just… out to get rid of us because we disrupt the order of things?"

"You would do the same if this happened to-"

"No, that's not it. You aren't thinking long term or even short term. From what I gather, tehse actions are almost final. You destroy new technology, you kill those that know about it without bothering to keep a record of what they actually knew… do you people want to go extinct?"

Silence.

"He that kills with a sword must be killed with a sword, Sannes. Do you want that?"

"That statement is far more appropriate for what you will go through than you can imagine."

The woman huffed before heading upstairs.

Crow shrugged before leaving the men tied up, neither of them had actually said much.

He found the woman next to one of the Delta operatives, monitoring the royal meeting chambers.

"Kenny really has helped us out with those, huh?"

The woman said nothing.

"Anything on your mind?"

She frowned.

Silently, she walked over to look at the window.

The CIA had done plenty of bad things in its relatively short history. She wasn't lying about tearing the fabric of an entire continent apart just to avoid losing ground during the Cold War, and it would be a lie to say they hadn't gone around the Constitution to achieve certain goals, noble ones or not.

But there had always been a set goal in mind, be it maintaining the status quo in a small South American nation, or learn what effects an experimental medication might have on regular people, there would always be some benefit to gain from their actions, heinous or otherwise.

But the Interior Police wasn't like that at all.

Kenny seemed to be the only commanding officer with enough common sense to try and make some gains through the MPs. All the other ones they had looked into appeared to have an unquestioning loyalty to The Founder and only that.

Hell, even Pastor Nick seems to be more of a free thinker than them…

She wondered if the goal of the King was to destroy those living within the walls, knowing the land beyond wasn't overrun by giants.

It couldn't be indifference, an indifferent person does not order death squads to destroy most of the new technological information they got their hands on.

She put her hand on the window and looked outside.

The ancient looking medieval city appeared beautiful in the sun.

This isn't Iraq or Afghanistan…

With a frustrated sigh, she turned back to Crow and said "Not really… any intel on the new captain of the MPs?"

"Yeah, the Ian kid… Kenny believes he's just acting captain until Sannes is found. We really threw a wrench in Rod's plan when we took his closest leader."

The woman nodded.

"Well, at least that's some good news. When exactly is the trial? I want to expose these guys already."

"Fire!" Nile Dawk said, eyeing the fine line of recently graduated Military Police officers.

The new MPs fired a volley of what the people from across the gate might have once referred to as "miniballs" into a field of enemy targets.

In this case, the assailants were several sacks of hay that had been impaled on stakes, with a few having had crude faces drawn on them.

The inanimate sacks stood no chance.

Granted none of them stood a chance against a wall of riflemen, but it if this was a charging force, armored or not… well, Nile Dawk knew they could inflict some damage.

"Good aim, now grab some ammo, reload, and form up again, we may be employing similar tactics in the future and you must all be ready to combat an enemy that may be human in origin." he shouted as the kids under his brief watch quickly moved to reload, more than willing to give their all in the eyes of the Commander of the Military Police.

Nile however, worried about the children.

They were optimistic, morale was high with the defeat of the titans both within Wall Maria and Shiganshina, yet he knew something they didn't.

The king isnt who he says he is, and I doubt he is ordering this training just for efficiency's sake.

"Oh, commander, thank you for taking over… I see they are doing quite well." Ian said, approaching on horseback, two older men flanking him.

Nile nodded at the young member of the Interior Police, one now in charge of training these cadets on killing, not titans, but humans.

But only if the need arose, of course.

"So, kid… what exactly… what's that?" Nile asked, noticing the parchment on the young man's arm.

Ian sighed, before speaking.

"The king would like you to take this letter to Commander Erwin and the Americans. They are both studying the shifter titans, and his Majesty would like for them to move the trial up already. These publications that make the Yeager boy and the Ymir girl appear heroic are… troublesome."

Normally one to argue, Nile simply nodded and took the parchment.

"I'll make sure Erwin gets it and bring back word."

"Of course… be careful with the Americans, they are a sneaky bunch…"

Nile nodded.

No need to argue with someone who worked directly with the king.

At least finally, it seemed like negotiations were underway, and all the training of fighting humans could be put to rest. But he had to admit, he wasn't exactly certain about it all.

As if to punctuate the tension in the air, he heard dozens of musket hammer click into place at the same time, weapon ready to fire at his command.

"What do you mean not yet?!" Rod demanded as the light coming from the setting sun behind the window gave the room a hellish red glow.

Ian was about to speak up when Rod took the letter on his hand, quickly beginning to read it aloud.

"Estimated King- blah-blah-blah… we are currently undergoing psychological evaluations…" Rod stopped reading and sat down on his Throne.

"Your majesty?" Deltoffe asked.

"They… they're saying that while we are allowed to judge them here first, all the captured shifters are to be taken across the gate regardless of our decision."

"What madness is this?!" Aurille demanded, furious.

"It's how they do things, fatass! Honestly, Aurille, are you out of it or something?" an irritated Kenny called from a corner.

Before the advisor could explain himself, Rod said "It make sense given what we know… the Americans have their rules and their rules stipulate they get to try their enemies, which in this case… I bet the shifters classify as their enemies after leading a titan incursion… damn it all." he sighed, feeling defeated.

"At least they gave us a date, your majesty."

Rod nodded, glancing at Kenny.

"Ackerman, any leads on our missing captain?"

"Well, I found a couple of bodies in somewhat decent conditions; similar height and build, but it's impossible to tell if they belong to Sannes and his men… if I was a group of bandits, I would have stolen their uniforms, dismantled them, and then burned the bodies, so… I'm looking into clothes being sold in the underground… so far nothing."

Rod nodded.

"Ian, that leaves you in charge of his unit until further notice."

The young man nodded.

"Then its settled. Send word to the Americans that they may have whatever concessions they want… we do not want a war, and if they feel like bringing in their cars and showing off the 104th, so be it. I have spoken."

Everyone stared at the king.

"Your majesty?" someone asked, probably Deltoffe, but Rod ignored them.

Ian said nothing and exited the room alongside the king.

Kenny was genuinely too stunned to speak.

He wondered, albeit for just a moment, if the king had more wisdom than he had taken him for.

A part of him suspected otherwise.

"The important thing is that everyone is on the same page. We cooperate with them, they cooperate with us… but we're ultimately in charge."

Colonel Parker nodded more to himself than anyone else, glancing out the window before turning back to the Radio and asking "Any word on what we're going to do about the giants within the walls themselves?"

There was silence on the other end for a moment before General Connor replied.

"As it stands, we can't really do much about it. Some of the engineers think it should be possible to eliminate a whole district without fully breaking down the entire structure, perhaps drilling into the nape from one angle; the means of accomplishing it however, are not exactly cheap. It's going to be a long term project."

"I see."

"Any titans encountered since yesterday?"

"No, sir… all quiet over here."

"I see, I see… that's good. You set on the shifters?"

"Joy is giving them a final checkup. Annie suggested we chop their limbs off, something about it ensuring they don't transform, but we're thinking of just sedating them."

"Jesus…"

"Yeah, no, I thought she was joking but… I think she was testing us. Trying to see if we'll go as far as some other nations from here, maybe check if we're different."

"Well, to be fair, we come from a world where the concept of people being used as living weapons isn't really a thing."

Parker nodded then asked "The king give an O-K on our plan?"

"According to the letter we just got, it seems like it. The plan's to bring the shifters over so that they can inspect them one on one, Hanji Zoe will tag along to answer any scientific questions they might come up with while we finish setting up our case over at Hill Zero One. If they still want to interrogate the three… Warriors… then he can request for a second trial where they will be present. We keep them the hell away from the capital for now, understood?"

"Yes, sir… How long are you planning on dragging the trial out?"

"Well, we want to throw everything out there, proof and all, make sure it's all out in the open so that we can actually begin negotiating."

Parker scoffed.

"I forget we've technically been negotiating with puppet rulers."

"Well, sort of. It's more like we've been negotiating without a full deck of cards, not knowing everything we needed, but now… now we can talk on somewhat even terms."

Parker nodded.

I wonder why he nods so much when talking on the radio…

Jean observed the Army colonel finish the conversation before turning to Marco.

"Any idea why Shadis asked us to come here?"

Before Marco could give his two cents, Parker turned to the two cadets.

"Spread the word, boys. The 104th is headed to the interior. Dismissed."

The two soldiers saluted and headed out.

Outside they were silent until Marco spoke up.

"Think they'll kill them?"

Jean huffed, saying "I don't really care if they do or don't. Those bastards killed so many people that death might be the only real way to bring them justice."

"I know, but… I don't think the Americans want to kill them."

Jean said nothing.

"Come on, man, I know you have an opinion."

"What the hell is it to you?" Jean replied in a tone that suggested irritation, but was not yet bordering on anger.

"Nothing, really… I just feel like you'd know what to do in this situation."

Jean huffed.

"Whatever, let's just break the news to the guys."

The boy's entire dorm was actually waiting for them, cadets and the few American guards standing right by the door.

Jean sighed before turning to Marco, about to ask if he could break the news, but chose against it.

With Yeager in Hill Zero One, someone has to step up, even just a bit…

"Right, so the Colonel and the Commandant have arranged for us to escort two of the shifters to the capital later this week-"

"Are they going to execute them?" Thomas asked.

"Yeager and Ymir? No, they are going to be judged, same as the other three, but even if they all get sentenced to death, the Americans are going to take full custody of them… so no, they won't be dying this week or this month."

"WHAT?!" several cadets exploded.

"But they killed so many people! I understand sparing Eren and even Ymir, they helped us, but the others?" Connie said.

"I had an uncle who got executed for stealing, yet they get away with killing a quarter of the population- how is that fair?!" Daz shouted back.

"Sit your asses down and listen up!" Jean shouted back.

The room went quiet.

"You don't have to like it… hell, if it were up to me I would probably feed them to some titans and then keep the new shifters as prisoners, but that would be revenge… if we want peace in this world then we need to learn to compromise. If it makes you feel any better, they won't be free or even able to see sunlight for what's left of their lives."

Jean noted none of them had really referenced Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie by name since news broke.

Samuel said "Yeah, but they'll be alive, unlike those we lost."

"You'll at least know exactly where they are, so there won't be fear of another Colossal Titan or Armored Titan or whatever the hell Annie is attacking the wall."

Samuel nodded at that, realizing that it was somewhat satisfying knowing that the enemy was helpless and caught.

Thomas said "The same result can be achieved if they are dead."

"If they are dead then we can't use them to negotiate with the people beyond the walls, now can we?"

A wave of understanding washed over the cadets.

"Oh… they're being kept alive because of politics."

And because they were underage when they did all this, but sure…

"So, your blood pressure is fine, which is good, and I think the interrogators have everything they need…" Karina Joy said, signing some papers and handing them to Kyle as Annie stared at the medical staff.

"Uh… all in all, you're the picture of health. If the king decides he wants you three over there, then you're at least fit to travel."

"We won't be going to this trial?" Annie asked.

Joy scoffed, saying "Oh, yeah, put five titan shifters in the same spot within a heavily populated city for at least a week… that definitely won't invite any problems!"

Annie said nothing.

Kyle said "I heard brass is trying to push things so that we can finally begin moving towards negotiations with the rest of the world so that they don't try to… you know… destroy the island and its people."

Annie said "Easier said than done. You can't make thousand year grudges disappear."

Kyle said "Yeah, but that hasn't stopped Israel from existing."

Annie said nothing.

Joy said "Regardless, take it easy for now. Good behavior means you-"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Joy pursed her lips before gathering her things and exiting the underground dungeon the rest of her staff.

That just left the Warriors and the pair of US Marines keeping an eye on them.

Frowning, Annie let out a sigh and called out "Hey, dumbass, they tell you anything?"

She heard nothing from Reiner.

"Bertholdt?"

The other boy responded quickly, albeit with little care.

"They said we aren't going to be present in the trial itself. I don't know if I should be thankful for that or not."

Annie said "I just hope they find the port soon... the sooner they begin negotiating with Marley, the sooner we might get to go home."

Might…

She heard Bertholdt mutter something of an agreement, but remained silent otherwise.

Here in the darkness, the only comfort was that no one would see her break down as she cried like a child, hoping to see her father again.

Eren sat up and stretched.

"Very good, very good, Yeager. By all accounts, we can determine you pretty much a normal human being!" Doctor Hermann stated.

At least I know that much…

"So, the nobility can't claim otherwise?" he asked nervously.

"Not with this data. Even with the genetic mystery that allows your race to transform into giants; your bodies are all fundamentally human, and you are all capable of independent thought, complex thought… you are, by all accounts, human."

Eren nodded, feeling somewhat relieved he could scientifically back it up.

He headed out of the room and bumped into Ymir.

"Human?" he asked her.

"Just about, you?"

"Same… I guess we have to go face the king now, huh?"

The dark haired girl shrugged.

"After that, we'll have to face the enemies beyond the walls… um…"

Ymir turned to Eren with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, but I won't feel better unless I ask… do you remember anything about Marley from before coming here that might help in a military sense?"

She shrugged.

"Not really… you remember anything about your father?"

Eren shook his head.

"The pieces are all there… I know he took me aside to inject me with titan spinal fluid, but… how I became a shifter is still a mystery."

"Your dad was a shifter, too, right?"

"I guess he was… but he can't be alive anymore if he became a shifter before he met my mom."

"…I see."

Ymir didn't have the heart to suggest the boy might have devoured his father, that it was his father's intentions to have Eren inherit his power.

Not right now, at least.

She would bring it up after the trial.

"Eren."

The stoic voice of Mikasa came from the opposite end of the hall.

"Hey, we got you some breakfast!" Armin called.

Mikasa was, indeed, carrying some food on a tray.

"Thanks!" Eren said, taking an apple.

Ymir walked on until Armin turned to her.

"So… the 104th is coming along to escort us into Mistras." Armin said.

"…I see."

"And we're also getting an American Marine and Army escort… I don't know what demands the king will make, but if he thinks he can get away with stealing our freedom… " Eren said, a darkness in his eyes.

Mikasa smiled slightly, knowing that, for once, Eren would be in safe hands.

She would be tagging along, making sure of it.

Eren (and Ymir) was not going to have a finger laid on him without her approval.

"That's great, but what about Historia?"

"I'll be coming along with you guys, of course."

The four cadets turned to their comrade of royal lineage.

She was still dressed in the 104th uniform, albeit the formal one most commanders often wore in meetings.

"Is… is that a good idea?" Eren asked.

Historia struck a dignified pose and said "We all need to be on the same side now. Whatever rules the old founder placed to protect us no longer apply when we have enemies actively trying to kill us all. As queen, I vow to use very resource at my disposal to ensure the continued propel- pros- damn it all!"

"Uh, what was that?" Ymir asked, stifling a laugh better than the others.

"I was reading about the British, got an idea to… it doesn't matter. The point is, we can't just let my father continue to enforce laws that will actively push our own destruction. I want to convince him of that. If we can't, then…"

"Right… well, we'll back you up every step of the way… anyway, apple?"

Eren glanced at his hand, realizing the apple he was about to bite into wasn't here anymore, but didn't say anything about it.

Just outside the medical ward, Matt jogged down the neatly paved road.

Electric guitar riffs from an independent rock band echoed into his ear from the ear buds connected to his cell phone.

He stopped to drink some water, glancing at the brand new additions from the air force.

Four A-10 Warthogs.

America's response to the idea of mass Russian tank charges, an infantryman's best friend, and a durable piece of military hardware, partly because the Air Force was too stubborn to give them up, and partly because so far, no replacement could come close.

I wonder how it will fare with the F-35 in terms of close air support…

"Ilse says those belong to the Air Force… that true?"

Matt shut off his music and turned to see a not yet in uniform Petra Ral, holding a cup of what he could assume was coffee.

"Yeah, funny story, the Air Force has wanted to faze them out for a while now, but they also don't want to sell them to us in the Army or the Marines, plus they can't come up with a better model, so they just keep it while the higher ups grumble and complain about it. I guess these guys are the first Air Force guys to cross the gate."

Petra nodded, not really laughing.

"You guys tagging along?"

She nodded slowly.

"I hear there will be a drone keeping an eye on us, but since we can move from roof to roof easier that you guys, we'll be giving you some additional cover."

Matt nodded, saying "Well, much appreciated."

The chestnut haired girl smiled slightly, saying "You know, I think this is the most I have ever heard you speak."

"I try not to stress my vocal cords too much."

Petra narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, and between you and me… it's easier to look smart if you don't speak a lot. The less you speak, the less stupid things come out of your mouth."

"Ah…"

The two soldiers observed the aircraft in the morning sun.

Petra said "You know… this really feels like it's the final stretch."

"How so?"

"Either the king and the military come to an agreement or… one has to go. I couldn't imagine the Survey Corps experiencing so much change a few months ago, but now we… we really are going to change things for the better."

Matt nodded.

"What?"

"What?"

"You just nodded."

"Yeah?"

"Like you were talking to a child."

"…how old are you?"

"Irrelevant, and don't change the subject. What's the matter?"

Matt turned back to the A-10s. The planes were originally developed and tested in the final days of the Vietnam War.

Pulling out isn't that unlikely if things get bad…

"Just worried, I guess."

Petra winced, only saying "Huh?"

"I want things to go over smoothly, no need for a bloodbath, you know?"

Petra frowned slightly, saying "Well, no one wants a fight, but… sometimes it's the only way forward."

"Yeah…"

"But, if it makes you feel any better, I think a fight is unlikely, at least… with the king. He was very cooperative with the requests sent by the higher ups."

Matt simply nodded.

Before Petra could say anything, several trucks began to arrive.

"Ah, the 104th is here… I better go get ready. Good talk, guy with weak vocal cords."

Matt simply waved goodbye.

Ryan had a Boonie hat covering his face as he slept inside the Harvester.

He was supposed to be cleaning the inside of the tank, which he had, but without the Switch, and with the rest of his crew doing their own thing, he decided to just sleep a bit.

At least, he was until he heard thumping coming from the outside of the tank.

He frowned, took off his hat and began to sit up, ready to lift up the driver's hatch, when a familiar voice came from outside.

"Hey, tanker! I know you're in there!" Ymir shouted.

Ryan considered his options.

He could just close the hatch and leave her outside.

Her titan form wasn't anywhere near as large or physically powerful as Yeager's form, sure it could certainly wreck a tank, but what would that get her? He could avoid her easily enough.

Then again, maybe he could demand his Switch back.

"I'm up, you can climb in through the top."

He smirked, knowing most people weren't very sure how to climb a tank when it came down to it.

He heard a thump and was surprised when her head peered in through the hatch above him.

She looked around, curiously, eyes stopping on the poster of a certain famous woman.

"That a picture of your wife or something?" she asked, looking kind of disappointed with the soldier.

"That's, uh… that's the First Lady."

Ymir thought about the term for a moment before saying "Oh, she's married to the president?"

Ryan nodded lazily, asking "So what do you want, kid?"

Ymir handed him his Switch.

"You done with it?"

She scoffed, saying "No, but I finally figured out how to play enough of your game to teach Historia. When we get back, I will be asking for it."

"Uh huh?"

"Yes. I would keep it but I don't want the extra weight. You tankers aren't coming, right?"

"No, not this time." he replied.

For the city, the main vehicles escorting them would be less intimidating than the M1 Abrams, although odds were they would be intimidating regardless.

Ymir nodded, saying "Good, don't break it."

"…good?"

"I don't need you distracting Historia. Today will be a big day for her, and she needs to focus, and if she needs to focus then I need to focus on her!"

Ryan, tired of dancing around the subject finally asked "Okay, seriously, what is she to you?"

Ymir only grinned before saying "Don't break it, tank-boy!" and hopping off the tank, running off to catch up to her regiment.

"Jean, you look miserable as usual."

"Glad our doctors cutting you open didn't kill you, Yeager. Move it."

"Honestly, maybe the two of you should get a room if you're so obsessed with each other." Jake groaned as he walked past them, moving to his Humvee.

Jean and Eren simply went silent, prompting Ymir to chuckle.

Historia walked over to the Stryker, Sasha hot on her heels.

"And make bread free! And make exotic foods cheap! And-"

"Sasha, please, I may not even be queen yet. Thanks for the distraction, though." the blonde sighed.

Sasha managed to say "Distraction?" before Mina pulled her away somewhere.

Jean turned to Historia and began to say "Do we address you as-?"

"Historia is fine. I just want to get this over with."

A pause.

"Maybe get inside the APC then?"

"I can't do this!"

Before anyone could speak up or try to calm Historia down, another spoke up.

"Okay." Ymir said.

"Huh?"

"You make your choice, Historia. I'll back you up."

The blonde stared at her friend for a moment before a voice cut in.

"Alright, 104th, let's get moving!" Shadis shouted as the cadets finished packing their equipment up.

Historia sighed, and climbed into the Stryker, albeit reluctantly.

Ymir simled.

You know, I don't think the old you was all that fake…

"So, Eren, how do you thinkt he public will react to your not being fully human?" Connie called in a joking manner as he hopped onto a separate truck.

Eren let out an exasperated sigh before hopping into the Army Stryker, sitting across from Ymir and Historia, Shadis.

"We'll be in the next vehicle, okay? If anything happens come find me." Mikasa said.

Eren pushed down the urge to snap at her for being too maternal, and simply nodded.

8 years…

He simply nodded a second time, just to himself, pushing the thought of his mortality aside for later.

With that, the cadets headed to the capital.

Hitch excitedly looked through the spyglass.

"You haven't seen their machines yet?" Marlow asked her.

She shook her head.

"Just some drawings. I was too busy training with my regiment to make the top 10… man, I can't believe we get to work so close with these other soldiers this time around."

Marlowe only nodded.

There was a large enough crowds, curious to see the otherworldly vehicles that hadn't been allowed inside in the three months since the Americans first arrived.

I wonder what changed.

"Oh! There they are!" hitch exclaimed, waving as the vehicles made their way towards them.

On the horizon a single line of vehicles made itself visible.

"Well, they weren't kidding about the whole horseless carriages thing… it really is incredible." Marlowe mumbled to himself.

The vehicles approached, slowing down.

The front vehicle, a strange carriage, greenish and brown, large, and frankly intimidating even to the best of Military Police horses contained a polite looking man.

"United States Marines, Army, I take it you kids are our welcome party?"

Marlowe nodded calmly, doing his best to hide how he was impressed by the convoy of American vehicles.

The Marine officer nodded; an odd look on his face.

"Any officers?" he asked.

Marlowe said "Inside, sir."

"Right… well, lead the way."

Marlowe nodded and led his horse forward, his fellow MPs following him, and the American vehicles following them.

"So we're all in agreement then?" General Connor asked.

The Commanders of the military forces within the wall all nodded.

"It's clear the big threat is this nation of Marley, but if the king and his advisory refuse to acknowledge its existence, we might as well be inviting them to kill us all." Premiere Zachary said calmly.

"I still believe we should pursue a peaceful solution in dealing with the king. We have been unable to communicate in full with him due to both sides keeping secrets. So, once the advisory examines Eren, Ymir, and the other shifters, we must put everything out in the open." Erwin stated.

Ever the idealist, huh?

As if he had actually spoken, all eyes turned to Connor and Representative Kelly.

"Right… look, we have to add that some secrets about our weapons need to remain classified, I hope you all understand that."

"I do have to say that I'm curious about that. Why do you choose to hide your true strength, General?"

"Well, since we're being honest, Commander, it's better to not show all your cards early in the game. But I will add that I'm certain we will need to discuss some of our more… destructive capabilities sooner rather than later… especially if peace cannot be negotiated with Marley. That's all I can say about that."

Nile frowned, asking "what would happen if you or one of your soldiers broke the order of silence and told us about your other abilities?"

Connor said "Immediate relocation to Alaska."

"…they would be sent somewhere unpleasant?"

"Not really, Alaska is more isolated than anything. Basically somewhere they can't spill secrets out to spies without getting caught. As for me, I would probably lose my position."

Nile chuckled, saying "That's fairly tame compared to what we would do to a traitor."

"Oh, no, treason is still a serious crime back home, death penalty if it's bad enough. That said, we define treason as something more serious than simply asking for information about classified projects or themes."

Nile said "Right… so… when do we head to Mistras?"

Kelly said "Two days. We want to give the advisory some room to examine Yeager and Ymir without our immediate intervention. Of course, our boys and team Levi are ordered to lay out the terms of the examination… no cutting them open."

It was a gamble, almost handing the shifters over. That said, with the US presence in the capital, and the CIA led special forces team keeping an eye out for anything squirrely, the US and the Survey Corps were somewhat confident the king wouldn't try anything stupid.

And if he does, he can talk to the front end of a 25 millimeter Bushmaster.

"Alright, so… politics out of the way, I am most curious about these… French beverages." Commander Pyxis said.

"Ah… um… alright, in the next room." Kelly said, standing from the table and heading out.

Zachary sighed and said "I often wonder who your parents were to make such a proficient drinker."

"Perhaps there's a little… hey, Erwin, who is it on the other end of the Gate that drinks a lot of pure alcohol without dying?"

"…what?"

"The nation that drinks a lot!"

"Belarus, actually… although the stereotype is that Russians drink a lot." General Connor mumbled as he walked past the commanders.

"Then a part of my body belongs to said nation!"

Matt waved awkwardly at the curious crowds.

Can't get used to this…

It really was like going back in time. The way the people dressed, moved, chatted amongst each other resembled the old photos he had seen in museums. Totally different from the cadets and the military.

They were oddly polite, too. Not so much cheering them on, as they were waving and observing, talking amongst themselves, certainly curious but staying out of the way.

"You know, none of these people know about the outside world yet." Dave said.

Matt glanced down from his position.

"Makes you think… is it worse that you are raised thinking the outside world wants you dead because its dominated by giants that will eat you or that the outside world wants you dead because your ancestors tortured whole civilizations you didn't even know existed?"

Matt scoffed.

"What?"

"Between us three, I hate the possibility that we may have to pull back if things escalate." he said, taking advantage of the fact that Ilse had stayed behind to work with the military commanders.

"Against the outside?" Jake asked.

"Hell yeah, these people aren't perfect, but who did they hurt? Pisses me off…"

"Group mentality, man. I have an uncle that still hates Vietnamese people. Like we said before… it's all complicated."

Matt pursed his lips, wanting to argue against it, but knew he couldn't. Who was he to judge? Everything he had told Ilse was true, his nation wasn't perfect, none were.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Silence.

Jake gently stepped on the brakes as the convoy suddenly lurched to a halt.

"What the hell?"

The radio crackled to life then.

"Vic actual, why are we stopping?" a voice asked.

"Something about an inspection, everyone on this station wait one…" another voice replied.

"Inspection? What?"

Matt subconsciously placed a hand on his M4 carbine, the standard issued weapons neatly tucked away within his turret.

What the hell do the MPs need to inspect us for?

The same thoughts were going through Kane's mind a few vehicles ahead.

The Marines in the MRAP were already suspicious, but the kids outside looked downright confused, not threatening.

Marlowe was scratching the back of his head, wondering what he was supposed to be looking for as he looked at the large vehicle's side.

"Kid, any idea what you're inspecting for?" Kane asked.

Marlowe shook his head.

"Officers up ahead said to inspect the cars, that we would know what we were searching for… but I don't see anything wrong with your carriage."

Kane peered out of the window to glance at the officers further down the street.

"They look just as confused as you."

"Marlowe, what the hell are we supposed to be inspecting? I don't know how these things work, so what am I supposed to find wrong with them?" Hitch asked, angrily riding up on her horse.

"I don't know, it looks like they just want us to hold the convoy here for some reason."

Kane deadpanned, saying "Oh, yeah, that doesn't sound ominous at all."

"Well it's what it looks like… I don't like it… Hitch stay with this carriage, I need to talk to Captain Ian."

"Wait, w-?" Hitch managed to say before Marlowe rode off, ignoring her.

She huffed in mild frustration, but kept the bored expression on her face.

Kane turned to Murphy, asking "Team Levi say anything?"

Murphy only shook his head, narrowing his eyes.

A moment later, Marlowe got back to them.

"Nobody has seen the captain after he gave the orders and now the officers are unsure of what to do."

"Wait, so we're just supposed to keep the shifters and their escorts here?!" Hitch demanded.

"You don't have to like it, but that's what it seems like… sorry, sir, we- sir?"

Kane didn't say anything, now eyeing the nearby rooftops.

"Uh… mister American?"

Kane glanced at Marlowe and asked "what?"

"You alright? Seemed to be spacing out." the kid said.

"My cousin was deployed in Afghanistan- uh… a country we're at war in… told me some of the enemy combatants would pull stuff like this to ambush our guys… bit paranoid about it."

Marlowe frowned and began to look at the rooftops, asking "You think someone from my unit could be planning an attack?"

A few MPs hopped from the rooftops looking just as confused.

"I hope not… what really worries me is that we aren't getting any chatter on the subject… feels way too quiet."

This was in spite of the crowd of civilians now taking the advantage to get a closer at the wondrous machines.

Several rooftops away, Petra was staring through binoculars as several MPs moved slowly among some rooftops, looked around, and hopped back down to the street below.

"They seem to be searching for something, not really doing anything." she said, her hood covered her face.

Levi stayed in his position behind a chimney, eyeing the surrounding buildings with suspicion.

"So… um... captain?" the girl asked.

"What is it?"

"I overheard Hanji ask about a man named Kenny… is he a relative?"

Levi glanced at the girl for the briefest instant before turning his attention back at the surrounding buildings.

Oluo scoffed, saying "Petra, if you're bored, you can ask the captain other things about himself. We could always settle some bets."

Levi said nothing.

Oluo wasn't giving up.

"What do you say, captain? We try to guess something about you, winner takes the loser's next batch of rations?"

Levi said nothing.

"For example, do you prefer your tea with sugar or…?" Oluo began, his enthusiasm petering out at the lack of cooperation from his squad mates.

"We should probably keep paying attention, maybe it's just the MPs being finicky, but better safe than sorry, right?" Petra stated.

Oluo seemed to sigh something in agreement.

Levi pursed his lips, but seeing that no one was nearby other than his squad, he decided he might as well let them know.

"Kenny was a killer of Military Police officers. Ever hear of Kenny the Ripper?" he said simply.

Petra winced, turning to look at her captain, Oluo maintaining a stead gaze on the nearby surroundings.

In his usual stoic self, Levi said "Fact is, he taught me a lot when I was younger. I'm not sure how he got into the Interior Police, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn't glad he-"

He heard the telltale sign of ODM gear hooks latching onto brick and tensed up.

"Petra!"

A figure moved faster than he could react, dropping objects onto the roof in an instant.

In the immediate instant after the small objects hit the rooftop, it was covered in smoke.

Levi felt his eyes water, but refused to fly out of the cloud.

"Stay down! Don't get sep-"

He heard a yelp and saw a figure crash into someone.

He heard Oluo shout "Petra!"

He turned towards the noise, frustrated when he heard the first gunshots.

Ilse cheerfully poured some ice cold water onto her canteen before heading out of the cafeteria.

Ah, this is nice…

It was relatively quiet around the base, and she was somewhat glad to get have some time off from the arguments about what to do once an agreement with the true king was settled.

A part of her still couldn't believe the man she had grown up thinking was the last king of humanity was actually a stand in for a darker plot of individuals who actually ran everything.

Sounds like a bad movie.

Still, it would all be over soon. Either the king agreed to allow the military more leeway and allow the citizens more individual liberty and actually began modernizing, or everything would be made public and the civilians would decide and the new girl, Historia, would do all the above.

Well, the military would decide… hopefully the civilians agree and we can all focus on dealing with the people beyond the walls.

She walked through the base, relatively absentminded, almost stumbling into Anka of all people.

"Oh, Miss Langnar. Enjoying your time off?"

"Huh? Ah, yes… everything alright?"

The chestnut haired girl looked worried.

"I like to be cautiously optimistic, but I am very much worried about violence breaking out in the capital."

Ilse nodded.

"If the king starts something, won't it be the end of him, though? No way would everyone just follow him after he attacked the people helping us… right?"

"We're still talking about a lot of people dying needlessly… funny, it's only been a few months, but I am very comfortable with the idea of low mortality rates. Rumor has it crime has decreased after those traffickers were executed."

Ilse shrugged.

The two girls were silent for a moment, until Ilse said "Who is that?"

She pointed at a man walking along the roof not too far from them.

"I… I think he came with Nile and his MPs? Wait, what is he carrying?"

The man was carrying a long, silver tube that at first glance seemed to be one of the gas tanks used on their ODM gear.

Except for the pointed tip at the end.

"Hey! What are you doing up there?!" A US Marine called from nearby.

In a swift motion that surprised the girls, the man whirled around and fired a pistol at the Marine, hitting him dead in the chest.

It was to no avail, of course, but it did knock the man down slightly.

Ilse recoiled and felt the adrenaline rush into her blood.

Anka spoke first, though.

"Miss Langnar, get out of here, alert the-"

An explosion rang out, and Ilse had a fairly good guess of what had been the target

The Military Officers!

Kane turned to the radio, realizing the panicked chatter coming through.

Marlowe asked "Is the… the radio alright?"

The boy remembered the radio had been one of the many important inventions the Americans had brought along with them. The ability to communicate across great distances was something he wished the MPs had.

"Uh… Vic Actual, any idea about what is going on?"

Before he got a response, Kane noticed movement from the upper corner of his eye.

The movement came from a window in the second floor of a building opening.

Lightning spat from it, slamming into Vic Actual with enough force to shatter the windows in the surrounding buildings.

Wait- no… it… it didn't slam into Vic actual- it hit-

Kane realizd too soon what was happening when he saw that the angle hadn't been aimed at his commanding officer's MRAP.

No, it was aimed at the MPs chatting with the officer.

Marlowe noticed, shouting "Who was-?!"

A second explosion, this time from behind his MRAP.

Civilians began to scream, and smoke began to rise to the heavens as a fire began to spread.

Gunfire followed soon after, but it wasn't the almost mechanical cracking of modern firearms.

No, this was the gunfire of ancient muskets.

"The Americans are attacking!" a panicked voice shouted loudly, quickly being drowned out by the screams of civilians.

Marlowe wasn't fooled.

"Hitch, get as many people out of here as you can! Someone is hitting us, and it isn't the Americans! Make sure you get word out, right now!" he shouted, trying to keep his horse under control, the loyal creature now nervous due to the intense sound.

"Huh? B-but who is-?!" it was hard to talk over the screams.

Before Marlowe could order her to be quiet, he glanced at a nearby shop and froze.

Captain Ian?

The young MP could only wonder why his captain was aiming a rifle at him from the second floor of a house.

Not that he got the chance.

Kane recoiled from the window as the forehead of the young MP exploded, splattering blood, brains, and fragments of skull into the window of his MRAP.

Horror turned into anger immediately.

Hitch stared, mouth agape at the remains of her fellow cadet, the body now lying on the floor, motionless.

The MRAP door swung open, Kane aiming his M4 at the building, firing several three round bursts.

"Kid, get to cover now! Go!"

Hitch couldn't move as the color drained from her face, not even as a round slammed into her horse, knocking her to the bloody street.

Kane cursed under his breath just as the voice of Lieutenant Troy came over the line, somehow louder than the others.

"Any station! Any station, this is Lieutenant Troy, First Brigade-!"

Another explosion rocked the smoke filled street.

"-gage! Engage! I say again, weapons are free! Engage! Engage!"

"Weapons free… God damn it!"

It took Murphy all of one second to get his hands on the controller and swing the Browning onto the nearby building and open fire.

Rory stared in horror at the sphere in her hands as the gunfire continued to intensify.

Within the cage by her bed of clouds, Hardy let out a disappointed sigh.

"I told you, Rory. In the end, it was all for nothing. "

"They… they haven't been kicked out of-"

"Rory… blind faith is for followers… I told you, this would be boring, predictable… you should have been more creative, not just be out looking to help other worlds."

Rory ground her teeth together before saying "Then I will hold my faith until this ends. This isn't over yet!"

Hardy shrugged, saying "I would tell you not to waste your time, but you have already committed. Don't get your hopes up too high."

"Silence." she said, staring without blinking as the blood continued to be spilled for reasons she was certain could have been resolved by talking.

But then again, sometimes it didn't matter what was said.

Sometimes, a fight was inevitable.

She wondered if that was the case here, and if she could have done something to stop it.

She decided that sometimes there was no way to gain peace without war.

Sometimes peace wasn't the answer, sometimes it was the problem.

For one hundred years, the Royal line had maintained peace by forcing its subjects to believe a reality that was almost in its entirety false. Peace had been maintained, but it had taken away from its people, not given back.

No, peace wasn't the solution here, it was clearly the problem.

And war was the answer.


A/N: So long, Plot Armor, it was nice while you lasted.

Also, MAN, that took way longer than expected. Not going to make excuses, but I will say that parts of the chapter felt off at times even when completed, so apologies for the extra-long wait. Hopefully it was worth it.

That said, I wanted to address some of the issues seen in the last chapter like Eren not being focused on enough, but as I was writing it hit me just how bad Eren has had it.

The kid never got a chance to grieve. After he joined the military, every death, revelation, or attack, all he could do was throw himself into the action (oftentimes failing at even that). I think if Season 1 Eren was told that his father was from beyond the walls, and he was one of nine titan shifters that only had about eight years left to live, and the titans were actually coming from a nation called Marley just beyond the ocean, and the world he was raised in was mostly just a lie pushed by a self-proclaimed god… I think he would just ask "what do we do then?" after the initial shock wore off.

Really makes the scene where he starts breaking down in season 3 make much more sense.

Speaking of… the Uprising has begun.

Now to clarify:

Rod's powers: if he is anything like Frieda (remember she locked away Historia's memories of her by touching her hand), then he should be able to alter memories to some extent by merely touching a fellow Eldian , but I have to admit that I am uncertain if he had the same exact power as Frieda since the series seems to imply all Royal Family members have SOME ability to an extent, titan shifter or not.

This Uprising is taking place a little earlier than in the original cannon. I just think that under the circumstances of having a modern military from another world trying to help your people, Rod would react a bit faster (albeit with added caution), especially once the shifters were found.

Sannes is out of the picture (thanks, CIA), and Ian thinks a bit differently than him, so while inexperienced, he does have enough common sense to try and turn the people against the Americans, similar to what Zorzal did in later on in the Gate cannon. Note, he specifically tried stricking at both the Civilians and the younger MPs.

While there are still some titans around, that final engagement in chapter 7 wiped most of them out from outside Wall Maria, so any incoming titans will be arriving directly from the ports Marley uses.

Now, let's do a quick Reviewer Response:

Gunman- giving US infantry Desert Eagles as a standard issue side arm.

Uh… titans aren't really a big threat right now and it was US strategy from the beginning to avoid putting regular infantry against titans (Chapter 2 was the sole exception as it was a night operation and titans were pretty much inactive). Ultimately, I feel changing the siderm of a few thousand troops might be unnecessary when most of them are carrying M203s. Sidearms would explicityly be used for comabting human enemies, and a Desert Eagle is a bit too much.

It does make for a good "The Salvation War" reference, though. But the modified M1 Garands were enough for me.

But thanks for the suggestion.

Guest- will there be casualties?

Yeah… turns out humans are more dangerous than titans.

Guest- Giving the shifters lawyers?

I mean… if this was a normal trial they WOULD get lawyers, but the plan for the "trial" in the capital was to use it as an excuse to force negotiations open. Given what is about to happen, though, the shifters may not be the only ones who need lawyers.

Guest- Turning Grisha's journal into a published autobiography?

Not a bad idea. More than likely after the whole situation is resolved; Ilse herself is trying to write and publish her own journal in order to give more details about how our side of the gate is, so there could be a situation where both journals are published as a sort of cultural exchange between worlds.

Of course, Eren and Mikasa would have to sign off on it first… and the current conflict needs to be resolved.

Guest- Earth fighting over Paradis resources?

Kind of unlikely given where the Gate is situated, and the US have allowed some allied nations through, but it is something I plan to address. (note, the US found O-I-L deposits in this chapter)

Anyway, thank you all so much for reading and giving me feedback! As always, all suggestions, criticisms, and opinions are greatly appreciated! Sorry if I didn't answer some of the questions pertaining to the future of the story, like how would Zeke fare against the modern military forces, but those questions should be answered as the story continues to advance.

Hopefully next chapter will be out a bit sooner, but no promises as my schedule got thrown all out of whack after last week, so apologies for that.

With that said, thank you once again for reading, I hope to have the next chapter out soon!