CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, members of the military police marched in to collect the two traitors. Much to their surprise—and the surprise of leaders of the scout regiment—they managed to interrupt a conversation between Armin and the two. The beds looked disturbed, as if the prisoners had fallen asleep and woken up. An uneventful night pleased all those present, and none were as pleased or as baffled as Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman.
"Anything happen?" A police captain said to Armin.
The fair-haired youth shook his head. "No," he said. "We got along just fine." His voice lacked aggression, anger, or even dismay. Only a few picked up on this, but each had a different notion of what it meant.
Bertolt Hoover stood up, approaching the bars. His face looked slightly red from crying. Reiner Braun had nothing of the sort, but still, he looked as if he pondered something that tore at his very nature. Armin stood up and at attention. Unlike the two prisoners, he looked the very image of composure and attentiveness.
The military police approached, unlocked the cells, and took each traitor in shackles, leading them on. They offered no resistance, and Armin followed close behind. As the group exited the prison into the open air, a dozen men on each side took aim with rifles and followed at a close distance, just outside of immediate reach. Levi approached, and to Arin's surprise, Eren and Mikasa did as well.
"So, tell me what happened," Levi asked.
"We talked until the sun went down," Armin said. "They fell asleep at some point. I was awake the whole time." He thought about it. "I kept my ears open in case titans approached the gate. They did a few times and I took care of it."
The last bit struck Levi and he turned his head sharply. "You weren't worried about them using that opening?"
"As fast as I am," he explained to the officer, "it wouldn't have mattered."
Eren whistled. "I keep being reminded of how amazing you are," he noticed.
"Don't become my salesman just yet," Armin joked.
The group marched along, following a path through the open field and into the woods, following a path until they got to a large fortress.
"This used to be the old headquarters of the scout regiment," Erwin explained, "but it was too far out of the way."
Dhalis Zachary stepped out of the front entrance and waited as military police surrounded him on two sides. The guards and bailiffs noticed the prisoners and stood firm with hands on guns. One of the officials approached the group leading the prisoners to talk to the police captain. "Armin Arlert!" the officer explained. "You will join the two traitors as this trial involves you as well!"
Eren went off. "That's absurd! If it wasn't for Armin, thousands would be dead!"
"Let it go," Armin said, shooting a glance at his friend. The look showed that he saw this turn of events coming.
The officer placed a pair of cuffs on the fair-haired youth. "You will not resist, if you want to be treated fairly!"
"Come on!" Eren continued to protest. "You should know those won't matter!"
"If it makes them feel safer," Armin countered. "If I resisted, it wouldn't look very good, would it?"
Eren took notice and quit protesting. He left, joining Mikasa in the audience. A number of people from the priesthood, as well as the general population, had made the journey from Trost to see the most incredible trial of their lives. The two titans that had caused such enormous strife and misery had not only been caught, but would be tried and, more than likely, executed.
Armin and the two prisoners were escorted into the center of a large room. Two men with rifles trained stood behind each person. Normally, they would be shackled to posts and forced to kneel, but this was not the normal courthouse. Both Bertolt and Reiner looked, surprisingly, remorseful and completely different than when any of those present the day before at the battle had seen them. Their utter defiance and steadfastness were gone. From Armin's perspective, having talked to them, a miracle had occurred.
"We will begin this trial," Zachary said. Slamming his hand on the table. "Bertolt Hoover, Reiner Braun, you two are the Colossal Titan, and the Armored Titan, respectively. Correct?" They agreed. "So, do you admit to the crimes accused of you?"
"We broke the outer Wall Maria at Shiganshina," Reiner confessed, "and breached the Trost wall with intent to cause mass murder. Yes."
Zachary laughed through his nose. "So, you've freely offered no defense against charges that will get you executed?"
"Yes," Bertolt offered.
"In that case," Zachary asked, "what are you willing to offer?"
"We've nothing to offer," Bertolt admitted.
"Kill him!" a priest of the wall cult shouted. "execute this traitor!" The crowd quickly began to swell with similar cries.
"Enough!" Zachary shouted, banging his hand on the counter. He turned his attention towards the two. "Tell your story aloud."
Bertolt looked at Reiner, then back to Zachary. He gave a ten-minute lecture on the nature of Marley and Eldia as he knew, as he had been taught from a young age. What caused an abrupt gasp from most of the audience, was when he mentioned the fact that Eldians were second-class citizens in Marley-controlled territory, as their dangerous blood made them both useful soldiers in battle and lethal potential foes. He described the group known as the Warriors. A number of times, his lecture got interrupted by some expletive shouted from the audience, or loud boos, which caught the ire and angry shout of Dhalis Zachary, who, despite his burgeoning anger, kept a calm face.
Upon finishing his lecture, the two hung their heads and stared at the ground. Zachary had to unclench his teeth with effort. Having read the report of what the two had said, and hearing them talk about it struck him very differently. It took a lot of will to remember that his job was to pronounce a formal decision impartially. The clear choice, with no exception, was execution. Yet, he saw the third prisoner—the person who, without hesitation, could be described as having saved humanity—standing firm and straight-faced, ready for anything, and suddenly didn't feel so sure.
"Arlert," Zachary said, "you have told your story to Erwin Smith and Levi Ackerman, as well as others. Please tell your story to the court."
Armin explained, with careful effort, so as not to confuse anyone, how life existed beyond the night sky and into the stars. He explained how the stars were suns and other life-giving planets similar to Earth existed around some of them. The tale of Krypton and how its people failed to adequately predict its end brought about the populace's extinction. He explained some of the amazing things they were capable of. Some of the things he told them brought greater shock than anything Bertolt had said. None of them knew how to react when he spoke of the powers he possessed or how the yellow sun of Earth endowed him with such.
"Devil!" A cry came from the audience. Before either Zachary or any of the soldiers could react, the man drew a pistol from within his coat and fired a single shot at Armin. The bullet impacted his right cheek and crumpled instantly, harmlessly falling to the floor.
The silence that followed the incredible sight came like a thunderclap. Eyes jolted from the man to Armin's unblemished skin and back. Most in the audience expected the assailant to be destroyed immediately. It did not occur. Armin used the moment to draw his attention back to the judge to make a point.
"Your honor!" Armin said, breaking the silence. Zachary snapped his attention back as if slapped.
"Yes, Arlert?" he asked.
"I would like to make a possible issue known to the court," he said. "I am from beyond this world. I have powers vastly superior to anything any military on the Earth has to offer." He brought his shackled hands up to face level, a pseudo-boxing stance, and snapped the metal chain between them like a small twig. "If I had actually wanted, I could have enslaved or murdered everyone on this planet, and not worried at all about being harmed." He broke the lock mechanism with a flick of each thumb and tossed the destroyed shackles to the bailiff. "I've had these powers for about five years now. I am responsible for the titan population within Wall Maria going way down. In fact," he paused to take a breath, "I even took the liberty of sealing Wall Maria."
The display had shocked all, even the priests, into complete silence and attention. None of the others drew their guns. None of the soldiers dared move. Armin had made a single statement with as little effort as possible. He looked around, then back at Zachary. "What is your point?" The judge said.
"If anything comes from space," Armin explained, meticulously as he could, "that can get through me, it won't hesitate. I might be your only hope. Believe it or not, I want to protect humanity. But I can't do that unless we work together." Abruptly he turned to the traitors. "Bertolt! Tell them what you told me."
Bertolt took a deep breath and looked around. Reiner nodded, giving him confidence. He closed his eyes and silently mouthed a short prayer. "The history of this island is more dangerous than you think," he began. "Around a century ago, the hundred and forty-fifth king used the power of the coordinate to create the walls out of hardening the bodies of all the giant titans that were on this island."
"Lies! Blasphemy! Heresy!" A priest bellowed.
"Silence!" Zachary shouted.
"Silence this heretic at once!" the priest continued.
Armin clapped his hands. The force of the sharp bang instantly brought hands to ears. A few screams resounded. The priest fell silent as the young man's intense gaze fell on him.
"The reason you all were convinced the world outside the walls had ended and the titans had consumed everyone," Bertolt continued, "is that the particular king had used his power to erase everyone's memory."
Zachary's expression darkened at that. The idea that the king had lied to not only him, but the entire line had lied to everyone, from such a long time ago, boggled his mind as well as drew his anger.
"We've all been lied to," Armin said. "All of our strife, as well as the struggles between Eldians and Marleyans, comes down to a blood feud based on myths that everyone, regardless of side, probably has completely wrong."
"What do you propose we do next?" Zachary said, curious as to where Armin was going with this.
"Regardless of whether we put these two to death or not, they're not going to live much longer," Armin explained. "Marley is wrong, but they're people just like you." He cleared his throat. "If the human race is going to survive, at some point, what's left of us is going to have to sit down and talk with Marley about the future."
Zachary clasped his hands together, taking ragged breaths and letting them out. "Be careful," he said. "You've already revealed information that could be taken the wrong way. Don't overstep your bounds."
Armin sighed, stepping back. He blinked several times. "I'm sorry, sir," he said. "I'm just saying what I feel."
Zachary looked from Armin to the traitors. "Tell me," he inquired, "what do you feel?"
Bertolt closed his eyes a long moment. "I don't really know," he admitted. "I'm not convinced you people aren't demons, but I'm not sure our side is completely right anymore. It doesn't make sense that one side is completely evil and the other completely good."
"That may be," Zachary agreed. "Still, the fact of the matter is, you are both murderers. I think you two should be executed. Still, I feel like we can talk about the dream of peace all we want, but there's no way that can simply come about." He raised his hand, mimicking a gavel. "I hereby sentence you two…"
"There's more than the two of us," Reiner burst out with. Bertolt snapped his head around, surprised, but the look that his partner gave him silenced him before he could speak.
"What do you mean?"
Reiner looked up at the judge. "One of the other titans, the Beast Titan, is part of our mission group," he explained. "Eren Yeager's father, Grisha, had a family back in Marley. His first son, Zeke, is the Beast Titan." A collective gasp escaped the crowd. Eren sat, mouth hanging open, struck dumb. "In fact, he was supposed to be our group leader, there to make sure we completed our mission."
"Are there any other members we should know about?"
Zachary's question caused a noticeable shudder between the two traitors. Bertolt and Reiner exchanged glances. Bertolt quietly mouthed, "I'm sorry."
"Annie Leonheart," Reiner said.
The surprise elicited an audible shout from several members of the Survey Corps. Armin shot out of his focused state and stared bewildered at the two traitors. Neither of them had told him such an important piece of information. His gaze swept the room. In a second, he found her, standing just outside the base, behind an outcropping. She was watching through one of the side windows to the room they were in. When Armin's eyes landed on her, she pulled her thumb to her mouth, and bit down.
"Dammit!" Armin shouted, breaking from his position.
A burst of steam revealed her titan form: a skinless female titan. Armin emerged from the room a moment after she transformed. He had to prevent her from killing any innocents. Inside the courtroom, pandemonium reigned, with people having to be kept from stampeding by soldiers drawing weapons. Bertolt and Reiner exchanged glances, but recalled their battle with Armin. Even if they joined Annie, there'd be no chance of victory. If their combined efforts couldn't hurt him, one more wouldn't matter. Reiner's confession was a test of trust.
Outside, Annie swung a fist at Armin, who dodged almost effortlessly. He became a battering ram, slamming two extended fists into her titan's collarbone. Her enormous frame launched backward, slamming to the ground. He flew to her side and pushed his way underneath her. Grasping the flesh by the lower back, he lifted her entire frame into the sky high above the castle. A swift punch created a tear in her skin through which liquid flowed out. With a firm grip by both hands, he ripped her titan form in two, dropping the legs harmlessly to the woods near the castle. Her upper body landed face down on the ground nearby. A landing on the upper back, and he used his heat vision to cut a circle of flesh out of her titan form. He reached his right hand into the flesh and extricated her by the waist from the disintegrating giant.
Steam and chunks of disintegrating flesh fell off her. She gritted her teeth in anger. He held up a hand. "Don't transform again," he warned her, his eyes glowing red. "Why did you do that? You had to know you couldn't win."
"I had to see if I had gone crazy, or if my eyes were true," she said. A defeated smile came to her. "I was right. God has descended from heaven." Tears fell from her eyes. "Where were you when we were rounded up?"
"I'm not God," Armin said. "And you're not going to kill anyone else."
She wiped her eyes. "I just wanted to complete the mission so we could go home."
Armin cleared his throat. He closed his eyes a moment. What more could be done? What was the right thing to do? "You know what, Annie? You're going home. I will make sure of it."
Soldiers gathered outside the court. "Armin Arlert! What is going on?"
Armin held up his hand. The soldiers stood silent as he collected his thoughts. Annie stepped back a few steps. "These traitors," he began, "these soldiers of Marley, have been fed a load of crap since they were infants." He spoke with a clear cadence and he straightened his back posture. If they were going to stand in fear or reverence of him, he would use it to his advantage. Zachary was joining the group as riflemen dragged the accused out to keep them in view. Bertolt and Reiner stared at Annie. She gave them a defeated look.
"Thousands are dead because of them!" Zachary protested.
"If you kill them," Armin replied, "then we run the risk of giving the titans they wield back to Marley. I've been told they'll die in a few years anyway; a titan shifter apparently only lives thirteen years or so from the moment they gain the power."
Zachary secretly clenched his teeth; this Arlert had become irritating, even if he was right. "So, you're suggesting letting them off the hook?"
"They could live to be a hundred," he shot back, "and they'd never be able to forget what they've done. They deserve to die, and they know it. Let us prove that we're the better men."
A new figure, military strategist Dot Pixis approached. "Sir," he said to Zachary, "when Marley comes here for war, they won't stand a chance against Armin." He looked over to the sandy-haired youth for approval, who nodded. "If we can end war with minimal casualties, wouldn't it make the enemy more likely to agree if we give them their agents back alive?"
"Be realistic!" Zachary protested. "This Marley government is more likely to want our extermination!" He looked at the traitors. "Besides, these two are likely to be killed by their own people for failure!"
"Then we'll have fulfilled our end of the deal by giving them back alive," Armin said. "We have to show them that everyone has a right to life, no matter who they are. If they want to take the darker path, that's not our concern. We'll show them our moral fortitude."
"They think we're demon incarnate!" Zachary argued.
"Then their government needs replacing as much as ours," Armin said. "And the only way that's going to happen is if we provide our better selves as an example. We kill only when we absolutely have to, and we spare as many as possible."
As if by telepathy, Dot Pixis found the perfect complement to Armin's statement. "Remember that the enemy soldier is as scared of us as we are of him."
"What of the titan shifters?" Zachary continued protesting.
"I've beaten them before," Armin said, "and as long as I'm around, they pose no threat to you."
"I have to know," Bertolt cried out. "Whose side are you on, Armin?"
"I'm on the only side that matters," he answered. "I'm on the side of peace. I'm not some naïve idiot who thinks war can be permanently stopped. But, believe it or not, I want to see a world come about where people like Bertolt and Reiner don't have to be made into weapons of war as small children."
The two traitors stood in stunned silence. They'd already been confused by this godlike youth, but this was new. He'd acknowledged them as human beings, and pointed out thoughts they'd both had. Loyal as they were to Marley, each bore the scars of war, and none of their superiors saw them as anything except instruments of murder. Armin deconstructed them psychologically. He blamed them for their actions to the extent that they were culpable. Yet, he saw the real villains behind their actions.
"If it hadn't been for the government of Marley wanting us dead," Armin explained, for everyone's benefit, but also, the three titan shifters in particular, "these three would have had a normal childhood."
Zachary clenched and unclenched his fists. He saw several threats he didn't like. The crown held a secret that would likely mean they'd have to overthrow the king. There were titan shifters from a foreign government sworn to exterminate everyone he knew and loved simply for who they were, and war was unavoidable. Most of all, he saw the resoluteness of Armin Arlert and the power of a god who would get what he wanted, one way or another. Ultimately, he knew that all of human affairs were of concern to Arlert only as far as he felt concerned.
Armin saw a look that he knew would come, but hoped would be far away. Everyone saw him as the possibly vengeful god. It was true, from a practical standpoint. If he wanted, no known human weapon could hurt him. That only meant threats from beyond the stars would come. What he really wanted was to put the pointless titan versus human war, the Marley vs Eldia war, and any other useless wastes of time behind everyone, so the humans could unite their efforts and sciences against enemies he couldn't even forsee.
"Fine," Zachary relented. "All Marleyan Titan shifters will be held in semi-permanent custody of the scouting regiment, specifically to be closely monitored by Armin Arlert, who will be tasked with their permanent observation and handling, until such time as formal arrangements with Marley can be established." He turned to the traitors and Annie. "In the meantime, they will obey all orders given by commanders, and will not disobey."
"If asked," Levi chimed in, "you will take action against former colleagues and allies in Marley, and you will not complain nor betray us. Understand?"
Reluctantly, the traitors gave glances at each other, and nodded in agreement.
"Don't get me wrong," Armin said, approaching, sternly. "I'm not suddenly your best friend. If you force me to kill you, I will." He let out a sharp breath for effect, turning his head slightly. "Understand?"
Bertolt and Reiner gazed into his eyes and saw fierce steadfastness. He had the same loyalty to his friends that they once did. None of the friendly lightheartedness of the years they spent training for the scout regiment showed. In a strange way, they respected Armin, as he seemed to accept his role as the leading example for the human race.
Armin didn't like making an example of his powers. The events of the past two days forced him to step into a leadership role he didn't entirely feel comfortable with. As he started speaking his mind, people deferred authority to him he felt scared exercising. It didn't surprise him, as his demonstrations of power would scare any normal person. Yet, he hadn't been elected. Gaining any sort of authority due to fear was the last thing he wanted. And yet, at the same time, he couldn't deny the frightening thought that his word being accepted de facto proved easier than trying to argue.
"So, what happens now?" Eren said, approaching.
"Now," Commander Erwin cut in, "I'd say the best thing would be to get these people away from the city as soon as possible."
"Yet, we need to finish repairing the gate," Levi said. "So, what do we do?"
"Armin will have to stay here for a few days," Dot Pixis cut in. "To make sure titans don't get close to the gate."
"That's fine with me," Armin replied. "I'm not eager to push out any time soon."
The crowd began to disperse. Over the next few hours, plans were drawn up to repair the gate. Commander Erwin and Levi gathered the scout regiment and they patrolled the area around Trost to make sure there weren't titans around that could pose a threat to the repair effort. They encountered a few here and there, and Armin destroyed them with minimal effort. After the area was cleared, they marched back to the gate, where workers had releveled the ground, scraped out the shattered brick and begun assembling the mechanisms to close the gate once again. The whole time, Levi and Erwin kept the traitors close, making sure they never lost sight of them. Not that it seemed to matter: the whole time, the three seemed to have lost their desire to fight back.
On the second day, Armin decided to speed the process up by helping the workers. His ability to lift the huge stone gates onto the pulley system saved hours of work. After an hour of rigging up the pulley system, Bertolt and Reiner even got to work helping assemble the inside pulley system. Everyone eyed them suspiciously, at least. Some actively avoided or even spat on them. Levi found himself amazed at the fact that hothead Reiner kept calm. Whatever Arlert had said to them, had worked.
Thanks to the extra help, and a massive assist from Armin, the work was finished by morning on the third day after the trial. The order came down from on high for the scouting regiment to search the interior of Wall Maria for titans and exterminate them. As the group gathered supplies and left Trost district in search of trouble, Erwin set some guidelines to ensure that casualties would be minimized, and no possibility would emerge that unnecessarily risk anyone.
"First," he said, "we travel as one group. Even when we spread out in formation, we do not get far enough away from each other that we can't quickly respond to attacks. Second, Armin," he looked at the most important member of the team, whether the boy liked it or not, "since you're so fast, you'll be near the back so no one can sneak up on us. Understand?"
"Understood," Armin replied, saluting his fist in front of his heart, then returning to attention.
"This is important," Levi cut in. "We're going to fan out and head for Shiganshina, make sure that the wall is intact." He looked at Armin, then swept his gaze across the group. "Arlert said he patched the wall. We're going to make sure it stayed that way, then sweep in a circle until we've covered the interior of the wall and return to Trost." He looked to Erwin for approval, who nodded. "And are there any questions?"
The group responded that they understood and agreed.
"Then starting today, we fight to take back our world!"