-Chapter 5 - The Consequences

Jay turned around to face away from his comrades before lowering his head and pulling his mask off. He pulled his hood and up his bandana and turned to face the others, who were still looking at him and the bodies in front of him

Jay tilted his head to the side and gave them the faintest hint of a shrug, "...You were saying?..." he asked, his voice monotone

Al tore his eyes from the gory sight and lunged forward, pushing Jay roughly into a cannon, Jay stumbled back and regained his balance only for Al to rush forward, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the cannon.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE!?" Al screamed out in Jay's face. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?" Jay grimaced as he batted his arms away and pushed him roughly back, pointing at him with the hilt of his sword, "Back off, Al! Did you honestly think we had a choice to keep them alive!?"

Al was about to retort back until he heard a whirring sound behind him, his eyes widened as he recognised the sound and his head snapped to the side, 'Oh no! Oh God no!'

"Hey! What the hell happened!?" Dante called out as he got onto the walls and looked at his comrades, "Is everything alr…" He faltered as his gaze focused on the two bodies on the floor. He took a half involuntary step back on lowered his head, his hands raised up, "Oh dear god. Oh dear God! What happened!?"

"Your friend did this!" Mikasa growled, pointing at Jay, "He killed them both! And we're meant to be working with you!"

Dante looked up to Jay, his expression that of pure horror. "What!? Jay!? What the hell!?"

Jay rolled his eyes and glared at Dante, "I think it should be pretty obvious why…"

"OF COURSE IT ISN'T!" Dante snapped, "For the love of- Jay, what did they say!? They had to have said something to make you do something like this!"

Jay opened his mouth but Levi had beaten him to it, "They mentioned something about the Mangler, could you elaborate on that?"

Dante's eyes widened and his blood ran cold as he heard the name and looked at Al, who fixed him with a horrified stare in return. "So you both know about this, hmm?" Levi retorted, a hostile edge that could clearly be heard in his voice.

A series of quick footsteps could be heard behind them and they all turned around to see the

Connie fell on his knees and began to retch. Sasha stepped back, her hands covering her mouth and she turned incredibly pale. Both Armin and Jean were staring at the bodies in horror, unable to utter a single word.

'What? You haven't seen dead bodies before?' Jay thought in annoyance as he glanced at them. "Before you all ask, they were a threat and they were dealt with as efficiently as possible."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN EFFICIENTLY!?" Eren burst out, "YOU JUST KILLED THEM THERE! YOU JUST BLINDSIDED YOUR OWN COMRADES!"

"We've already established what I did, how about we focus on why I did that…" Jay growled, his patience wearing thin.

"Why, to hide your damn identity?" Levi cut in smoothly. "They knew what exactly you were and you killed them for it…"

Jay let out a scornful laugh and shook his head, as if the comment was almost humorous

"You really did kill them for that?" Armin gasped, "Wha- Did we even learn anything from them? Tell me we did!?" He looked from Mikasa to Eren to Dante and finally to Al. All of them had said nothing.

"What? Weren't you even paying attention to what had just happened?" Jay asked, a hostile tone in his voice as he pointed the swords towards the bodies on the floor

"What the actual hell!? We could have known what was going on!? But you decide to kill them for it!? We could have just interrogated them and left them alive! We could have-!" Jean blurted out but was interrupted by Jay.

"Are you all really that dense?" Jay snapped as he tilted his head, his expression that of complete disbelief and disgust, "Don't tell me you all are that deluded...They just told us exactly what we needed to hear. They knew everything about the Levi Squad." He pointed his sword towards Mikasa and Eren, and his voice began to rise in sheer anger "They knew all about whatever mess you both got into at the age of nine! They knew all about the Captain's past before he joined the Survey Corps! Both of which were all information that could have only been accessed by the military. The only way they could have got that is if they have people infiltrating ALL THREE BRANCHES TO ATTAIN THAT KIND OF INFORMATION!"

Everyone stayed silent.

"I don't know what the hell you carry out things like these before we were assigned together," Jay growled, "But here's the thing...They knew everything about us and the very second we let them walk, the enemy will know. And they'll save us for last. They'll kill our friends, our families, our comrades. They will slaughter innocent people, left, right and centre, to get to us. And by the time they do, there will be almost nothing left of humanity for the titans to annihilate…" Jay glared at each and every single one of them, his voice became low and filled with venom " I don't know how much each of you value the person next to you as a comrade. But I do know this… I saved everyone here from whatever they had planned for us...And saving God knows how many lives for the sake of two is fine by me...So...Don't. You. Dare. Try and make me the villain here and don't you dare try and act so shocked when I'm the one actually doing what you can't do to deal with a threat as big as this…"

Everyone stared at Jay, a mix of fear, anticipation and disgust filling the air. "You're sick…" Sasha whimpered out

"...You just realised that now?" Jay asked, tilting his head and fixing her with an abysmal glare, causing her to shrink back in fear.

"Jay just shut up! You're only making things worse than they already are" Al shouted at Jay, the two of them staring at each other.

"'Worse than they are'!? Weren't you even listening to me!? Get your bloody head out of the clouds and get it into your thick skull that the situation has ALREADY HIT ROCK-BOTTOM EVER SINCE WE'RE WERE ASSIGNED THIS TASK!" Jay screamed out, "Now don't blame me for getting the job done and doing something that you couldn't bring yourself to do…"

"What!? Needlessly kill just to satisfy whatever sick bloodlust you have!?" Al yelled out, "This is exactly like what happened back then!"

"What happened back then was a fine example of your incompetence! And you should damn well realise that your honour isn't as valuable compared to the consequences if we kept them alive isn't it, is it?" Jay was suddenly interrupted as Al shoved Jay, causing him to stumble backwards. Jay instantly lunged forward and grabbed Al's coat by the lapels and pushed him into a nearby cannon.

Dante walked up to Levi, "I would seriously recommend leaving with your squad before those two," Dante jabbed a finger in Al and Jay's direction, "decide to settle it through other means. I think the Commander should be at the Survey Corp precinct, you should go there"

"Noted" Levi replied, turning back to face his squad, most of whom were still horrified by what they had just seen, "alright then we're all heading to the Survey Corp precinct. You can all get your shit together once we're there" Levi informed them, walking over to the elevator with his squad following suit.

Dante turned around and felt like smacking his head into a canon as he watched Jay and Al yelling at each other whilst the two were having a one way fight, clearly in Al's favour. Frustration and anger built up inside of Dante as he ran over to his comrades and kicked Al in the gut, making him release Jay and stumble back into a canon. Dante

"Well, What do you know….History does repeat itself...This just like when we first met…" Dante said, the three of them silent.

Eight years ago…

Al sat down silently and watched the person opposite him. Jay was sitting down straight upright, his hands on his lap and simply looked from him to Dante. Dante laid back next to Al, hands laced behind his head and stared at the ceiling.

"Well...this is boring…" Dante muttered aloud.

"Tell me Dante, what were you expecting? A huge party with drinks and music?" Al asked, staring down at the floor.

"Yeah, why not?" Dante answered back eagerly, grinning from ear to ear and oblivious to the sarcasm in Al's suggestion. "I can imagine it now, one massive ball with music and drinks and dancing and even more music and-"

"That's not going to happen because our families hate each other and will want to do anything to get at each other's throats" Jay said curtly as both of them stared at him in surprise.

"God, aren't you just a ray of sunshine," Dante muttered to himself.

Jay turned to him and fixed him with a blank stare, "...It's called being realistic...this is all just some kind of way to get our families to stop fighting..."

"...Wow...Never really thought of it that way…" Dante murmured under his breath.

"Are you like this because you are adopted," Al asked wearily.

"What do you mean by that?..." Jay's mood went sour.

"I mean that are you always this miserable because of the fact that you're...different?" Al asked, tilting his head in curiosity. "I mean, you don't know your real parents and su-"

"Oh, I hear what you're saying but I know what you're really asking... so let me answer you with a question….Do you want to take this outside?..." Jay half snarled half stated.

Al sat there not moving an inch, just staring at the boy opposite him. The mood had just turned from odd to hostile in a matter of seconds. Dante's eyes flicked from one another in shock and anticipation and a small smile beginning to appear on his face. Al clenched his jaw, stifling his rage at the person who had just threatened to try and fight him.

"So you actually have the guts to pick a fight in my own family estate. Why don't I remind you where your family stands as far as power is concerned. Or maybe where you stand in the social ladder...low class noble..."

"What you're reminding me now is how you're just a stuck-up snobbish rich kid and a bully and why don't I remind you that if you want to fight we can take this outside."

"Alright then out we go. Maybe it will teach you to think twice before picking a fight with your social superior." Al got up from his seat and walked out the room with Jay.

"Finally some action," Dante smirked as he rocked onto his feet and strode out, his hands tucked deep into his pockets, "I mean, I genuinely thought this would be boring but now, I'm actually-"

"Dante, just stop…." Al snapped, clearly annoyed.

"Good…" Jay thought to himself as they all walked to the door leading to the gardens outside, 'I have enough stupidity to deal with...' Al pushed the doors open and stepped out onto the lawn, taking in a breath of fresh air and stretching his arms out, "Ok, now then…" he stated cheerfully before he rammed his elbow back into Jay's gut. Jay winced in pain as he doubled over in pain and let out an involuntary groan. Dante's eyes widened and his face lit up, impressed. "Well that was extraordinarily easy," Al thought and grinned as he went over and ruffled Jay's hair, "Yeah, Now I hope you know your place, shorty…" he remarked and he turned around and walked off. 'What a weakling...but he has guts-' before he could even think anymore, he felt something grab him and push him roughly forward. Al's eyes widened in shock as he staggered and fell face first onto the grass. Al felt his head being pulled up and felt a rain of punches rain down on the side of his head.

"DO THAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU!" Jay seethed out, each punch harder and faster than the last. Al gritted his teeth in pain and lashed his elbow out catching Jay in the ribs. Al felt the weight get off his shoulders and he rolled onto his side. He reached out, his fingers wrapping around Jay's collar and pulling him down onto the grass. Al pushed himself up and started to send a flurry of punches down onto Jay's head and chest.

"Oh yeah? What are you going to do now, huh? Got anything else to say? Hmm?" Al smirked as he punched down. Jay desperately covered his head with his arms and brought up his legs. Instinctively, he kicked out, hoping that his feet could strike out and put some distance between him and Al. His feet rammed against Al's stomach, forcing him to stagger and fall back. Jay scrambled onto his feet but Al kicked out, sweeping out Jay's legs from beneath him. Al rushed over to him and grabbed him by the lapels pushing him further down onto the grass.

Tired, Dante shook his head and raised his hands. "Alright, don't you think that's enough…" Dante remarked as he went up to the two and tried to pull them away only to be pushed aside roughly, "Hey! What are you doing?" He retorted angrily as he fell back and stared at them.

"Dante, stay out of this…" Al said, taking his eyes of Jay, who was on the floor.

"I said that was enough!" Dante snapped, getting up on his feet and pushing Al. Al grabbed him by the collar but both were tackled to the ground by Jay, sending them toppling and sprawling onto the floor with Dante squashed beneath them.

"GET OFF! GET OFF ME!" Dante wailed as he flailed his arms around to bat Al and Jay off. Al gritted his teeth as Jay had his arm around his neck and reached upwards to pull Jay's hair and punched Dante in the chest. Jay cringed as his arm tightened and kicked out, hitting Dante's leg

Suddenly, the three felt themselves getting pulled away from each other and all of them looked up to see a tall person tower over them. He had golden eyes and long black hair kept neatly parted and towered above them.

"Now would you three kindly explain what is going on?" The person asked coolly but with a slight stern edge to his voice.

Al's eyes widened as he pointed to Jay, "Markus! He wanted to pick a fight with me!"

Jay gritted his teeth in annoyance, "Great...it's his brother" he thought as he saw Markus look to him, one eyebrow raised. "O-only because he was insulting me about me being adopted and saying he was better than everyone else!"

Markus looked back to Al and tilted his head. "Is this true?"

Al was taken aback and mumbled under his breath, his face turning red with embarrassment, "...Something like that...yeah…"

"You know you can't do that, Al, I told you this so many times before, you can't say things like that…" Markus remarked and then turned to Jay, "And you let your anger get the best of you and chose to use violence instead of talking it out, am I right?"

Jay lowered his head and grunted, "I guess so..."

Markus nodded and turned to Dante, "And...Do you have a dog in this fight?"

Dante blinked and shook his head, "Well..no..um..I just..."

"Thought it'd be fun to join in with two people beating each other up after watching?" Markus finished off his sentence, his eyebrows raised. Dante was about to say something but closed his mouth and bit his lip in shame.

"Markus...I'm sorry…" Al began but was stopped when Markus raised his hand and gestured to Jay and Dante, "Don't apologise to me...apologise to them…" Al was about to protest but decided against it as he looked towards the other two, "I'm...sorry…"

Markus nodded and then looked at Jay who simply shrugged, "Yeah...I'm sorry…"

Finally Markus turned to look at Dante who looked down at a stone by his feet and nudged it with his foot, "...I apologise…"

Finally, Markus began to relax and let out a sigh, "Now we got that out of the way...let's get you three cleaned up...Who knows what would happen if our parents find out…"

Back to the wall

"...Lieutenant Der Macht, sir…" said a shaky voice behind them. They all turned to see a scrawny messenger, struggling to tear his eyes away from the gory sight in front of him, "Uh...C-Commander Erwin wanted to talk to you about.." he nodded to the pool and blood and the corpse in front of him.

"Oh, that's just brilliant...I hope you're happy Jay!" Al snarled.

"I am...now let's see what he wants," He grunted as he shouldered past him.

Dante rubbed his temples and then turned to the messenger, "Get some soldiers here and clean up this mess alright…no one else speaks of it" he then walked off.

Survey Corps Precinct

"Would any of you care to explain what happened on the wall?" Erwin said, getting up from his desk and walking towards the window.

The three of them remained silent until Al spoke.

"We gathered information from the SG soldiers like we were supposed to-" Al answered.

"Don't play smart with me, Alphonse," Erwin said, still not taking his eyes from the window, "I was talking about how the Garrison had to clear up two bodies, one of them almost unidentifiable and their entrails plastered on the floor!"

"Oh...that…" Al trailed off and stepped back.

"Very well, sir...It was Jay's idea," Dante chirped in but instantly shut up as both of his teammates fixed him with icy stares.

"Commander Erwin, I believe it was justified, sir. They were considered too much of a risk to be kept alive and therefore had to be dispatched as quickly and as efficiently as possible." Jay replied coolly. Both Al and Dante stared at him in disbelief. Even Erwin turned his head to fix his pale blues eyes on him.

"Jayden Talbot, when will you learn that you have no right to make a poorly thought decision like that!?" he stepped in front of him and stared at him. "I value your abilities with the gear and your loyalty very highly but we made it very clear that the lone wolf act stays behind and don't get me started with that little fiasco you stirred up when trying to retrieve the target...If you weren't as half as valuable, I would have you court-martialled with a single hand gesture"

Dante snorted in laughter but fell silent as their stares were fixed on him. "Something you'd like to add, Lieutenant?" Erwin scolded.

"No it's just... the emphasis on...a single hand gesture because...you only have...one hand..."Dante faltered and bit his lip in shame as he saw their unchanged reactions.

"Well, Mr Blackwood, allow me make something very clear to you. I have very little tolerance for your incompetent wisecracks and annoying thoughtless jokes! You should consider yourself extremely lucky that you're on this team on the first place."

Al stood still and shook his head in tiny motions. He clench his jaw in annoyance at how he was pulled into his mess due to his teammates. Erwin spotted this instantly and strode in front of him, staring at him.

"As for you, Alphonse, I trusted you to stay level headed and take responsibility for the actions of the group. Don't think for a second that you're not to blame. What happens due to an action of one member will fall on all three of your heads so don't think your family or your father allows you to stay separate from this mess. I'm quite sure he'd be wanting to know what happened as well…" Erwin sat down and rubbed his eyes, "I should take the sensible option and disband this group immediately...consider yourself the luckiest group of men alive that I actually accounted for most of this and had. But this makes your job of getting along with Squad Levi easier said than done. So you three have a tough mission to do and you better hope that you don't fail...You're dismissed, I'll meet you again in a few weeks' time."

"But how will we know wher-" Al began to ask.

"I'll contact you once you've all reached the Winter Retreat. As I said, you're all dismissed." Erwin gave his last order as he looked down to the reports on his desk.

All three of them saluted their Commander before walking out of the office, the door slamming shut behind them. Levi stood leaning next to the door with his arms crossed and his narrow grey eyes observing the trio. "Seems like Erwin wasn't holding back at all with you three but judging by the way you look you've all had more than your fair share of rough treatment."

"We have Jay to thanks for that." Dante muttered quietly.
"Oh just quit whining would you?" Jay spat back angrily.

"Tch why don't you all just shut up?" Levi said, standing upright and walking up to the door, "Oh and one thing I should mention," Levi began, "You three aren't allowed anywhere near my squad. Any of you. I shouldn't have to explain why that is." Levi opened the door and shut it behind him.

"Well congratulations people, we've just screwed up everything..." Al groaned as he leaned against the wall, chewing his lip.

"Hey! I admit it all went sideways alright," Dante assured them both, "But the good thing is that in theory...all of this goes on Jay's head."

"Oh, I swear, life would be so much easier if I just ripped your vocal cords out…" Jay growled, still staring at the space in front of him.

"Not on my damn watch alright! I've just been humiliated by both of your mindless crap!" Al retorted in annoyance, as he stormed in front of Jay.

"Hey! How about we avoid the fighting and the violence and learn from the humiliation by focusing on making amends to our next to nothing ties with the Captain's squad, alright?" Dante stepped in front of them.

"..Fair enough…" Al nodded his head and all of them stormed down the corridor, "But we're doing this properly, alright? I don't want Jay tearing their heads off or you making stupid jokes and not taking this seriously, alright?"

"Done," Both Dante and Jay said curtly in unison.

AN:

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, am I right? :)

Thanks so much for continuing to read the chapters made so far and letting us know you like them. It truly means a lot. This actually concludes the first arc of the story and there is plenty more to come in the future. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This practically sets up how the GSC will interact with the Levi Squad as they try to make amends and work together.

Have a nice day!

Extra Info

This is something that's possibly going to include every few chapters or so just to give some physical backgrounds to the GSC. It'll become more and more detailed as the story progresses but for now here's some basic information.

Al

Height: 183cm

Weight: 81kg

Specialty: Hand-to-hand combat and knife fighting

Jay

Height: 183cm

Weight: 79kg

Specialty: Sword fighting and 3DMG

Dante

Height: 181cm

Weight: 74kg

Speciality: Gunplay