Chapter three:
A little bird told me so.
Marco's P.O.V.:
In the two days Mikasa and Armin went to visit Eren at the corps, the tension in the compound grew. Ymir stayed close with Krista, and with Mikasa gone, the two most beautiful girls weren't around to be gawked at, so the guys started talking. A lot. Bertholdt and Reiner however did not join in, preferring to hang around with Annie.
The first night of those two days was a warm one. Marco was unable to sleep and got up to get a glass of water. As he got up, making sure he wouldn't wake the others, he noticed Reiner's bed was empty. He briefly wondered why, then shrugged as he got up and left the room. Sure enough, walking down the corridor, he met up with Reiner. ''What are you doing out of bed?'' the older boy said. ''Nothing, just getting water. Why are you in your gear?'' Marco replied. Reiner didn't even bother to answer, as he walked past Marco. Marco shrugged once more, some people got grumpier the earlier they rose.
The next day, as he waited for Jean, who had to go to the toilet, Marco overheard some people talking, or rather, whispering around the corner. He snuck up to the corner, curious why someone would whisper in the corridors, and overheard; ''We have to take down that wall, for the plan to work. The non-intelligent titans will be easy to work with, but they need a leader so they can distract the corps'' he heard Annie say. ''I will take that task.'' Bertholdt said, and then continued ''I will guide you and the others to the wall, and while you destroy it, we will deal with the remaining fighters.'' Marco's eyes widened in fear. So they were the intelligent titans? And here they were, plotting against humanity. They successfully infiltrated the training camp, and would therefore know most tricks humanity had up its sleeve. But who could he warn, who would believe him?
Then Jean called for him, so he retreated hastily and made sure the two of them left quickly. That night he didn't close an eye, worried about what was going on. He was the only one who knew that Annie and Bertholdt were plotting.
The day after Mikasa and Armin came back, Marco wandered around, still worried. So he decided to clear his mind by reading a book. He sat on his bed, and opened the book. After a while he was engrossed in the story, and didn't even notice what was going on around him. ''Hey'' a soft voice suddenly said. He looked up, seeing Armin and Jean sitting at the foot of his bed.
Normal P.O.V
''You are even quieter than usual, something wrong, Marco? You were the one that taught me to share everything that was on my mind'' Jean said. Marco smiled to his friends. ''I was just thinking. How would you feel if you knew something horrible were bound to happen, and you wanted to tell, but can't, or daren't?'' Marco asked them.
Jean didn't speak, while Armin thought before kindly speaking. ''I would feel lonely, and confused. But I would start to work the gears in my head, to find a solution to my problem. But if it would be that horrible, and you really don't know what to do, you should find someone to turn to, someone close to you. I usually talk to Eren or Reiner. They are good listeners, and usually know what to do.''
Marco nodded, understanding what the blond was saying ''Maybe I should talk to Reiner.'' he said, and smiled, pulling his friends in for a hug. Once he let go, he walked to the door. ''Marco?'' Jean asked. Marco turned his head, ''Don't worry, I'm fine now.'' he said, and left.
That evening, Marco had left after he had told Jean and Armin he was going to bring a message towards wall Rose . Armin and Jean noticed Reiner's bed was empty as well. Armin wondered about Reiner. What could Marco have told him, that he was gone. At some point, both of them grew tired and decided to turn in for the night. Soon enough, Armin started dreaming again. This time however, the dream had nothing to do with the trial, or Levi for that matter.
He woke up in a field, surrounded by both human and Titan corpses. Armin feared everyone he once loved was dead, that he was left alone. But before he could start screaming, Marco appeared in front of him. ''Marco?'' he asked. Marco nodded. Armin continued ''I thought you died... after all, you never showed up for dinner.'' Marco nodded before saying, ''I am not going to be on this earth much is a hidden threath to the 104th.I intend to confront it. I probably won't survive, but it's the least, and last thing I can do for humanity. It could slow the conspirators down, or possibly weaken them.''
Armin nodded, he wasn't as brave as Marco, but understood why Marco wanted to do this. ''Take care of Jean, he is going to suffer when I die. He is a good friend.'' Armin nodded, while promising he would look after Jean. ''Oh, and Armin...'' Marco started, making Armin look up. ''...your secret is safe with me. But I think, much like Jean, that the Heichou is fond of you as well.'' Armin didn't quite understand, and didn't have time to ask, as the image of Marco disappeared.
He was woken up by Jean, who told him it was time for breakfast. Everyone was eating their breakfast peacefully, Sasha was talking to Mikasa, while Ymir was feeding Krista. Connie was eating loudly, and Bertholdt was talking to Connie. Even Annie was sitting with the rest of the girls. The room fell silent, as Reiner fell trough the door, blood all over his clothes. Knives clattered, and Bertholdt jumped up to help Reiner to his feet, as Reiner said: ''Titans are attacking the wall of Maria, the corps are on their way though. But there are too many titans, and it is going to be a bloodbath!''
Keith Shadis thought about it, it was true a lot of members from the Survey Corps had died, and there were not many left. ''We are going to help them, get your gear ready!'' he ordered, and everyone fell out and raced to get their gear ready. In no time at all, they were assembled in the courtyard, then followed Shadis in a wild ride towards the wall. Mikasa spurred her horse, hoping Eren would be safe. Krista cried softly, fearing many would lose their life.
''Change of plans, someone is on to us.'' Jean heard Reiner say, but didn't pay much attention to it. They travelled as fast as they could towards the great wall of Maria, but time had never gone slower for any of them. They could hear the beating of their own hearts, as most of them feared dying today. But nevertheless, it was something they were willing to do, even if they had to sacrifice themselves. Once they arrived at wall Maria, they saw the corps fighting with titans.
Armin quickly observed the area. From the looks of it, there were just regular titans, no intelligent ones. This was unusual, most of the time when there was a titan attack, they were being led by at least one intelligent titan. He was not the only one noticing it was far too easy, as many titans were being slaughtered in a short amount of time. ''Where is the leader?'' he heard Hanji yell, and ran towards her. ''I haven't seen one'' he told her. ''But when they were on the way, the armored titan was leading them.'' she said, as the last flock of titans was dispersed.
Then everyone turned quiet, as Erwin yelled at Shadis ''WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING! 'YOU SHOULDN'T ENDANGER ANY OF THE TRAINEES, EVER, YOU MORON!'' Shadis said nothing, as the silence around them grew awkward. The attack at first had seemed crucial, but had turned out to be just a minor one.
Then a horse arrived at the scene, with a man covered in blood. When the horse came to a stop, the man fell down. Jean reconized the fellow and ran towards him, screaming ''Marco!'' Armin's eyes widened, and he too ran towards the fallen man. Jean cradled Marco's head against his chest. ''Where did you go, what happened!'' he demanded. Armin saw Marco's head bleeding, and more major wounds. Jean went on saying ''We have to get you to the hospital, right away. You can lean on me'' Marco winced as he shook his head. ''It was the armored Titan, his name is...'' but before Marco could finish, Armin and Jean were pulled away by Levi and Eren, as a giant fist crashed onto Marco, who died promptly of the impact. Before them stood the female Titan.
''Where the hell did she come from!'' Connie yelled, as Jean screamed: ''Marco!'' , then Jean's knees gave in and he fell to the ground, almost as if he had lost the will to live. It made Armin sad, but there was nothing he could do to help Jean at this moment. ''Are you alright?'' a deeper voice asked, and he turned around to face Levi. Armin wanted to look fierce, wanted to assure Levi everything was just fine, but fact was, they weren't. He shook his head, and Levi held him for a while.
In the meantime Mikasa and Petra charged at the larger female creature, and the female Titan took her fighting pose. While Mikasa managed to lunge towards her chest and cut into it with her large sword, the female titan managed to hit Petra. Petra flew towards a tree, and made a loud crash. Hanji ran after her, hoping her friend was still alive. The female Titan advanced on Eren and Jean, but before the female Titan could reach them, a furious Mikasa finished her with several more forceful strikes.
As the Titan crashed against the ground, Mikasa aimed for the head. But the Titan did something Mikasa never expected. The Titan gave out a long, loud cry, causing Mikasa to step back in confusion. The scattered flock of titans came back, converging on the female Titan. Mikasa ran back to Eren, and they saw how the Titans started eating the defeated female Titan. ''That cry,'' Sasha stated, wide eyed, ''That cry was one that wolves also make. When they are heavily wounded and can't go on, they allow other wolves to eat them.'' They watched in horror as the flock of Titans finished of what remained of the female Titan, and wandered off again. Eren, Mikasa and Levi approached to where the Female Titan had fallen, hoping to find out who the female Titan had been, but they found nothing. The titan they had been fighting with was completely gone.
Meanwhile, Armin was comforting the crying Jean. ''He's gone.'' Jean cried, to which Armin replied ''I know. He tried his best to prevent the attack.'' Jean sniffed before saying ''He should have told us. We could have helped him. But shit, I never thought Marco would die'' Armin nodded, and pulled Jean into a hug. ''All humans are frail.'' a deeper voice said, making both of them look up. They spotted a grim-looking Reiner. ''I feel sorry we lost him.'' he continued. They nodded as they spotted Levi and Hanji coming towards them, Hanji carrying Petra. Hanji laid Petra on the ground. ''They didn't make it, Sir'' Hanji said, crying, pointing to Marco as well.
Levi was not one to lose his temper quickly, not in front of the corps. But this time his expression most definitely turned to anger as he commanded ''Everyone goes to the compound of the Survey Corps. That includes you, trainees.'' before ordering Hanji to put the corpses of Petra and the dead trainee on a cart. "Sir, I'm sorry Sir, but, Annie is missing'' a small voice said. Levi turned around to see Krista standing there. "Who the hell is Annie?" Levi replied. Krista didn't dare answer the furious commander, so Armin stepped in, saying, ''She's one of our group of trainees, Levi.'' ''That is Sir to you, recruit!'' Levi snapped before recognizing Armin. He turned away uncomfortably and quickly gave orders for a couple of veterans to form a search party, and then turned to Shadis. ''You join them. After you find her, report to commander Erwin, then we'll have a talk with you about your irresponsibillity.'', then he mounted his horse and led everyone back to the compound.
Armin, even though he was smaller, supported Jean. It took a while for the both of them to mount Jean's horse, and therefore Levi came back. ''What are you waiting for, another attack. Hurry up'' He told them, before looking to them. He spotted a boy that seemed almost lifeless, and one scared Amin. ''He has lost his best friend, Heichou.'' Armin said softly. Levi said nothing, as he too lost a friend he held dear. ''Come with me.'' he said, and they travelled back together. On their way to the compound, they came up to a large group of people, awaiting them, just to see the Corps come back. ''Yet another failed mission'' Armin heard someone say. He remembered how he, Mikasa and Eren always had looked up to returning members of the corps, and how they had hoped they once might be among them, to help the human race. An enraged man approached Levi, ''You bastard! She died, and for what? For another meaningless mission!'' he yelled as he closed on Levi, who used his horse to barrel the man away, brusquely saying, ''Even in death, she has more honor than you.'' then continued on towards the compound. They quickly left the angry masses behind and as they entered the compound, Hanji closed the doors, shutting the world, and angry crowds, outside.
Silence ruled the mess hall as everyone sat down, and thought about what just happened. Victory was bitter, as everyone present mourned a dead friend, be it Petra, or Marco. Armin still supported Jean, and Hanji softly told him, ''Go to the infirmary, and take care of him. He needs it.'' Armin nodded, and walked Jean to the infirmary. He put Jean to bed, and tried talking with him. ''Marco shouldn't have died.'' Jean muttered. ''I understand.'' Armin said. ''YOU DON'T ARMIN. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO LOSE SOMEONE THIS CLOSE TO YOU, AT ALL.'' Jean spat at him, making Armin wince. Tears grew in Armin's eyes, as he told Jean ''My granddad saved me from a Titan, and got eaten in the process. I witnessed everything. The man that raised me all that time, gone in the blink of an eye.'' Jean said nothing, didn't know what to say. ''But I don't mind you saying this. Because Marco was a dear friend to us all, he was a good man. I can't promise you revenge, nor can I be a replacement for Marco. But I'll do my best to be there for you, when you need me.'' Armin said, and even though tears rolled over his cheeks, Armin still smiled.
''I am sorry, Armin. I just...'' Jean started, but Armin shushed him, and pulled the blankets a little higher, so they covered Jean's broad shoulders. ''Go sleep. It will do you good.'' Armin said, and walked up to the door. ''Thanks Armin'' Jean said, and Armin smiled a little, then closed the door as he left the room.
Returning from the morgue, Levi saw Armin leaving the infirmary, he quickened his pace to catch up, and asked, ''How's your friend?'' Armin turned around and was relieved to see Levi. ''He's sleeping, it will do him good'' Armin told Levi. ''Why are you crying, Armin?'' Levi asked, as he swept some of the tears away. Just as Armin was about to answer, he felt a stinging pain in his head, and fainted on the spot. Levi caught him in time, realised there were no sleeping quarters for the trainees, and carried the now sleeping boy to his own room.