While preparing to head back to Colonith district, Hange brought the news to Erwin that Telesdon's body wasn't disappearing like a titan, and that his meat was edible, bringing with her proof in the form of two Scouts who had eaten more than their fill of it, and still hadn't made even the slightest dent in the overall mass of the creature. With this discovery, Erwin ordered Eren to transport the carcass of Telesdon to the walls as soon as he could. Eren did as instructed and flew the body of Telesdon to Wall Rose. Telesdon's meat was then distributed throughout the walls, and while most were hesitant to try it at first, the meal caught on more and more, until eventually, everyone in Wall Rose and Wall Sina was lining up to get a taste of it. Because the Scouts were able to bring this enormous bounty of food back to the walls, their custody over Eren was secured, and the Scouts breathed a sigh of relief.
-R-
High up in a castle in Wall Sina, higher even than the throneroom, there was a stained glass window, out of which, the true king of the walls, Rod Reiss, watched over his kingdom, and his people. The room he was in was mostly empty, save for a round table at the center with several chairs surrounding it, and the aforementioned stained glass window, which was the height of the room's wall. Rod had his arms crossed behind his back, with a half-full wine glass cupped in one hand. Eventually, the doors to the room opened and his oldest son, Ulklin Reiss, stepped into the room with a paper in his hand.
"Father, we have just received word that Eren Jaeger is to remain within the hands of the Scout Regiment," Ulklin said.
"So we've failed to get a hold of the 'Ultraman' once again?" Rod asked coldly.
"I'm afraid so, father."
Rod let out a deep sigh. "Very well. It seems we'll have to take drastic measures then. I'll talk to Kenny soon."
"Understood, father."
"By the way, how goes our other project?"
Ulklin gulped before continuing to read the note. "A-about that, father… Frieda… she…"
Rod slowly glanced behind him and raised an eyebrow as Ulklin finally came clean.
"She escaped her room last night."
Rod's eyes widened and twitched. He began seething with rage and clenched his fists so hard, he crushed his wine glass in his palm. He turned around and pointed to the hall while screaming at his son.
"FIND HER!" He bellowed. "I WANT KENNY'S ENTIRE SQUAD HUNTING HER DOWN! DO YOU HEAR ME, BOY!?"
"Y-yes father!" Ulklin replied with a salute before running down the hall.
Rod sighed and rubbed his clean hand across his face as he questioned where it all went wrong.
-M-
Marco yawned and stretched his arms as he rose from his slumber, sitting up on the top bunk of a bunk bed. He then knocked on the side of his bedframe to awaken his bunkmate, who groaned softly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Rise and shine, Marlowe," Marco said. "We don't want to be late for work today."
"I'm up, I'm up…" Marlowe groaned while rubbing his eyes.
The two cleaned themselves up and put on their uniforms before heading downstairs and standing against a wall with their arms crossed behind their backs. Soon, all the other newly recruited MPs came down to join them. Once everyone was downstairs, their commanding officer approached and they all saluted him.
"Great, thanks guys," he said sarcastically. "I've called you all here because I've got actual work for you all today. Something about a person we need to track down. Details about them are sparse, except that they have black hair and blue eyes. The king has already sent out a squad, so we'll only be assisting them until they find her. That is all."
"Sir, a question, if I may," Marlowe asked.
"Go ahead," the commanding officer sighed.
"Why exactly are we looking for this person?"
The commander looked up with an eyebrow raised.
"I-it's just that I've never heard of anyone in Wall Sina defying the government. They're all just glad to be safe," Marlowe clarified. "There are petty criminals, sure, but none of them have ever caused enough trouble to alert the king's attention. What could they have possibly done to warrant this?"
The commanding officer, annoyed with Marlowe's questioning, shoved his papers into his chest and told him to be in charge. He then walked away.
"We officers are busy enough as it is, so prove you can handle this yourselves," he said. "And don't screw it up."
He then entered a room before them so he could continue playing Pinnacle and drinking with his friends.
Later…
The cadets all stood outside of the MP headquarters, most of them either grumbling or sulking about being stuck with the work. As many of them voiced their frustrations, Marco's attention was caught by Marlowe gritting his teeth in frustration.
"Bastards!" He cursed. "They're all nothing but self-absorbed, irresponsible imbeciles."
Marco smiled nostalgically. Marlowe's attitude reminded him a lot of Eren's attitude whenever he talked about joining the Scouts and killing all the Titans. He chuckled to himself, imagining how easy it will be for him now.
"So what does that make you, Marlowe?" Boris asked. "You chose to join the MPs. You're a slacker just like the rest of us."
Marlowe scoffed. "You're wrong, Boris. I'm nothing like all of you. I joined this regiment because the Military Police is in dire need of repair."
Marco's eyes brightened, as he realized his and Marlowe's goals were quite alike.
Hitch clapped sarcastically, while Boris raised an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to do that?"
"Easy. By working my way to the top! Once I'm in charge, I can install a new system to ensure the dishonest pay for their transgressions." Marlowe raised a fist of determination. "The MPs just need a little discipline. I will shape them back into the people they're supposed to be."
Hitch fell to the ground laughing hysterically, while Boris dismissed his idea entirely.
"Well, that's quite the lofty ideal," he said dismissively.
"But I think it's worth pursuing!" Marco said.
Hitch continued to giggle and wiped a tear from her eye as she looked up at Marco incredulously. "Seriously!? You too?"
"I believe that if we dedicate our hearts to the cause, we can make a real change to this regiment," Marco said.
Boris squinted slightly. "Wait… weren't you from the southern division?"
"That's right," Marco said.
"So, you saw the Titans up close, didn't you?"
Marco lowered his shoulders and sighed. "Yes, I have. Seeing them up close changed my perspective on things drastically. It was a harsh reminder that the only thing keeping them were the walls. If Wall Rose falls, it'll be up to us to defend humanity. And we won't be able to do that if the Military Police remains as lax and corrupt as it has been."
Hitch clapped. "Wow, nice speech there. You were way more convincing than Marlowe here."
"H-hey!" Marlowe stuttered.
"Enough chitchat," Boris interrupted. "Let's go!"
Marco placed a hand on Marlowe's shoulder and smiled at him reassuringly. Marlowe gave a nod in understanding before leading the group out on patrol.
The group marched along the river, passing by a building with banners depicting the visage of Ultraman in a heroic pose while calling him "the angel of the walls." Their rifles were strapped behind their backs as they marched single file. Marlowe stood at the front of the formation, with Hitch directly behind him, followed by Marco, then Boris, and so on.
"Keep your eyes peeled," Marlowe said. "The target could be anywhere. Remember, we're looking for a young adult woman with blue eyes and black hair. Got that?"
"Yeah, yeah," Hitch sighed, before closing her eyes and yawning.
While her eyes were closed, she ended up bumping into Marlowe. She was quite annoyed, but then looked over his shoulder and saw two MP officers loading boxes of their gear onto a merchant's boat. Boris wondered if they were shipping it to the interior, but both Marco and Marlowe expected something more nefarious going on. Their suspicions were confirmed when they saw the merchant to who the ship belonged two handing the two men a white pouch filled with gold coins.
"Those bastards are illegally selling military property!" Marlowe quietly exclaimed.
"We have to stop them!" Marco added.
The two then marched toward the two, despite Boris' protests against it. Hitch quickly quelled Boris' protests, eager to see where this would go. As the two soldiers were getting ready to leave and get themselves something to drink, the two black-haired rookies stopped before them.
"Y-you can't sell government property!" Marlowe said, trying to hide his nerves. "It's against the law!"
Marco was less nervous and continued. "Those supplies are the property of the hard-working citizens who paid for them with their taxes! I'm afraid we have to place you both under arrest!"
One of the officers just laughed at his threats. "Can you believe this?" He asked his friend. "Two rookies who are trying to blackmail their superior officers!" He then plucked out two gold coins and handed them to both men. "Here. I think you two have a bright future ahead of you-"
Marco slapped the coins out of the man's hand and tackled him, using his training in the cadet corps to pin him to the ground and hold his arms behind his back. He then pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
"I told you, you two are under arre- GUURK!"
Marco was suddenly hit in the cheek with the back of the black-haired officer's rifle. Acting quickly, Marlowe blocked a second swipe with his own rifle, defending Marco as he regained his footing. The blonde officer got up and tried to attack, but Marco was able to knock him down again by smacking him in the face with his elbow, before doing the same with the blonde officer. The two then confiscated both officers' weapons.
Hitch blinked a few times as she watched them actually succeed. 'Damn,' she thought. 'That was kind of awesome.'
"Hugh, so they aren't just talk," Boris said, mildly impressed.
Marlowe and Marco then heard people clapping and looked up to see that a small crowd of people had gathered around them, many of them clapping for the two officers who fought back against the corruption of the Military Police. Marlowe wasn't expecting such adoration for his efforts but accepted it all the same. However, as the audience cheered, Marlowe noticed someone trying to slip through the crowd. It was a woman, about the same age as him. And while he couldn't see her eyes from this distance, it wouldn't hurt to make sure.
"Everyone! I think I see her!" Marlowe shouted.
Upon hearing him say this, the girl's eyes widened, revealing them to be blue, and she tried to flee. That confirmed it for Marlowe.
"She's trying to run!" He shouted.
"Stay by these two!" Marco requested. "We'll go after her!"
The others nodded and stood by the handcuffed officers until someone arrived to take them away, while Marco and Marlowe ran after the black-haired girl they were tasked with capturing. She pushed past stacks of boxes and carts, knocking them over to try and stall them. Marlowe tripped over some apples that spilled out of one of the boxes she knocked over while Marlowe jumped over them and continued his chase. She then turned and passed through the street, and a line of horse carriages prevented him from following her. He then saw Marlowe running after her down the same side. Seeing this, Marco decided to take a short cut and cut her off the next chance he got.
Marlowe chased the girl to the market, where she pushed through a couple of people, though she slowed down to avoid knocking over any kids. However, Marlowe ended up doing the same, so it didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Eventually, Marco got in front of her, his rifle aimed at her.
"By order of his majesty, I command you to stop where you are!" Marco proclaimed.
Trapped and without a clear escape route, the girl was left with no other choice than to make one herself. She hated doing this to her people, but it was all she could do without hurting anyone or invoking the will of the king.
"STOP!" She screamed.
Suddenly, Marlowe and Marco found themselves stunned in place only for a moment. But it wasn't just them. Everyone who was able to hear it had also remained frozen in place. Shopkeepers, people buying, children playing, everything came to a halt. This moment where everyone was stuck in place gave her the opportunity to run past Marco and continue down the way they came. Once Marco and Marlowe were able to move again, they didn't stop to get their bearings and immediately began chasing her again. The two eventually came to a crossroads. Marlowe went right and Marco went left.
Marco went down his path and saw her running towards an entrance to what would have been an underground city before the project was abandoned. Marco looked back and called out to Marlowe before following her down. He continued his chase all the way through the underground tunnel. However, once Marlowe had arrived to back up Marco and Marlowe, she turned around and took a deep breath again.
"COVER YOUR EARS!" Marco shouted. "SHE'S GONNA-"
"STOP!" She screamed again.
Marco and Marlowe were once again frozen in place. However, instead of taking the opportunity to flee, the girl actually stayed there and tried to plead her case.
"Please, listen to me," she begged with tears leaking from her eyes. "If you take me back to them, they'll take me back to the capital, where I'll be eaten alive!"
Marco and Marlowe were horrified by that. Even if she was scheduled to be executed, that punishment was not only cruel and unusual, it was downright disturbing and despicable.
She continued. "I never did anything to deserve this! Whatever you were told I did, I swear on my life, it's not true! Please, if you'll just give me the time to explain myself, I'll tell you everything!" Marco and Marlowe were able to move again, but they were unsure of what to do now. The fact that this woman had some mysterious powers made them cautious of her claims. For all they knew, she could have done something that warranted exactly what she said would happen to her, or maybe the government wouldn't even do that to her, and she was just exaggerating to win over their sympathies. But on the other hand, the sight of the government's corruption in action was still fresh in their memories. They were left unsure of what should be done.
But then, suddenly, they saw several people dive into the tunnel, each of them wearing some kind of specialized ODM gear with triggers attached to guns instead of swords. These specialized ODM gear users were led by a man with a short beard, a ten-gallon hat, and a wide, unnerving grin on his face as they all surrounded the girl. She tried to scream, only to be gagged and pinned down by one of the people flying around her.
"Nice job cornering her, boys," the leader said. "And they say the MPs are all a bunch a' good for nothin's."
"U-um, s-sir? Who are you?" Marlowe asked.
"Oh, where are my manners?" The leader took a bow, removing his hat as he bowed before them. "The name's Kenny Ackerman. I'm in charge of this here unit." He then put his hat back on and walked up to the girl as she struggled to break free. "Aww, poor little birdie. Can't do much without your pretty singin' voice, can ya?"
The two felt guilty as they watched Kenny taunt her for a moment while she started weeping in fear. Marco slowly approached Kenny.
"S-sir, what exactly did she do?" He asked.
"That information's a few levels above your pay grade, I'd say," Kenny said. "Rest assured, though, once we lock her up, you'll have nothing to worry about."
"But, she said she'd be eaten alive," Marlowe said. "Is that true?"
"You two need to stop asking so many damn questions," one of Kenny's squad members said.
"I-it's true then, isn't it?"
They didn't reply. Instead, Kenny simply sighed and turned around. "Whelp, he tried to warn you."
Kenny then pointed his gun at the two of them, and fired upon them. A blast of shotgun pellets tore through the air at alarming speeds. There was no way either of them could dodge that. But even still, the bullets didn't hit true.
Dozens of translucent tendrils suddenly burst forth from where the girl was lying and blocked every single pellet. Kenny looked down in confusion and then saw them retract, but still remain exposed as they threw the woman pinning her down off. She rose to her feet and pulled her gag out as tentacles wiggled around on her back, blocking gunfire from the other soldiers. Marco and Marlowe looked into her eyes and saw that they had turned from sapphire blue to a piercing, haunting shade of green.
"W-what the hell?!" Kenny blurted out. "Rod didn't say anything about tha-"
Suddenly, she closed the distance between her and Kenny in the blink of an eye, and punched him hard enough to knock him out with one hit. She then grabbed Marlowe and Marco with the tentacles coming out of her back and bolted out of the tunnel, proceeding up to the outside. She then leaped from rooftop to rooftop until she found a safe place to set them down. Her eyes then glazed over as the tentacles retracted themselves into her back, and she fell unconscious.
-F-
When Frieda awoke, she found herself lying inside a mattress-lined bathtub, with a pillow on the back of her head, and a few blankets covering her. She checked under her sheets and found that she was in the exact same attire that she blacked out in, thankfully. She then rubbed her forehead as she tried to remember what happened prior. She remembered running from two MPs, then luring them underground so she could explain in private what her situation was, only to be cornered by Kenny's men. After that, she remembered a voice in her head telling her to "fight" or something and then remembered feeling the same mental pain she felt when she was overtaken by the vow of pacifism, only to an even greater, more painful extreme. It was like there were two wills at once vying for control.
As she thought about this, she heard the door open and gasped as the looked around the room for any way out, but to no avail. There were no other doors, and the only window was too high up to reach and too small to crawl out of. She then watched whoever was coming enter the room and found it to be the two MP officers who were chasing her. The two immediately noticed she was scared and tried to calm her down.
"H-hey! Hey! It's okay," one of them said. "We're not going to hurt you." The two then introduced themselves as Marco Bodt and Marlowe Freudenberg. Frieda calmed down as they crouched down beside her. They explained that after she saved their lives, they took her back to their base in secret and hid her in their bathroom. The only other person who was in on this was their comrade Hitch Dreyse, who agreed to cover for them after they explained everything to her.
"You said you were going to explain everything to us?" Marlowe reminded her. "We're willing to hear you out."
"Bear in mind, you don't need to tell us," Marco added. "You saving us back there was enough for us to trust that you're not evil. Though we'd at least like to know what that power of yours is."
"N-no, it's fine," she said. "I'll explain everything." She then sat up on her knees, the mattress compressing beneath her as she took a deep breath and began to explain everything. "My name is Frieda Reiss. I am, or, I was the true ruler of the walls. I am now just the princess of the walls. I bare the power of the Founding Titan and the Attack Titan, and what you saw back there was the reason why I'm being hunted."