"Explain yourself, Squad Leader!"
Marlowe looked into the cold eyes of Deputy Commander Adam Muajji, as he sat chained to his chair.
"Sir! As I have explained," He began, doing his best to talk around his swollen lips, "Yesterday, an hour before noon, my team and I captured the fugitive Annie Leonhardt inside Homloe with a man named Ragnar. I tried to bring them into the Inner District, but I was turned away by the gate guards until we could get a superior officer out here."
Muajii sat back in his chair, gazing across the table at the younger man.
"Well, I am here," He said coldly, "And where is the fugitive? From the look on your face I can bet you don't have her in custody anymore."
Marlowe shook his head, knowing the fate of those who failed.
I guess I'll never be able to change the Military Police.
"Although, I did get plenty of complaints about you from the Garrison and other Military Police officers," The man seemed to be pondering, "They said that you charged recklessly forward with your men, even though you believed there were Titan's about…"
He waved a man into the interrogation room.
"Clean him up, we're transferring him and his men to the Special Operations Group."
The Special Operations Group? I've never heard of it.
"Th- Thank you, Deputy Commander!" Marlowe said.
Muajii turned, a slight smile creeping up his face.
"Don't thank me just yet, boy."
"Commander, the team from Yalkell has just arrived, they say that Yalkell has been attacked!"
Erwin looked up, his eyes widening slightly as Hanje burst into his temporary command post
"The assault team from Yalkell? What are they doing here?"
Hanje turned and opened the door, and newly promoted Squad Leader Sturgenson walked in. He salute, and then took a seat when Erwin gestured towards it.
"Sir, I'm really sorry for breaking the mission parameters," Michael said, "But there was quite a ruckus as we were slipping through the Walls. Several signal flares were fired, mostly red and blacks."
Erwin looked up sharply.
"How did Titans make it into the Walls," Erwin asked, "Did you sight any?"
The Squad Leader shook his head.
"From our position on the Wall we couldn't see any, though…"
Erwin placed his hand on the table.
"What, Squad Leader?"
"There were several strange occurrences before and after the attack, which led me to fall back. For one, a small group of men slipped through the city on horseback, though I didn't see how they made it in. And just before they made it through the gates into Utopia, I noticed them picking up two others. I'm quite sure one of them was Annie Leonhardt."
Erwin sat back in his chair suddenly, wiping his hand through his hair.
"This is an unexpected development, but I believe we can work through it," He turned to his two squad leaders, "You said that the group picked up two, what did the other one look like?"
"That's one of the other things, sir," His eyes sharpened slightly, "I remembered that man also. He was the shifter, the one who rescued Annie. The four-armed beast."
So, Eren was right.
Erwin contemplated the information that he'd been given, and a plan formed in his mind.
"Alright, first off," He began, pulling out three sheets of paper, "Other than these two letters to Squad Leaders Keiji and Maury, and this one to Captain Levi, what we just spoke of isn't to leave this room, or be discussed. Michael, your men are now under a gag order. If asked, they are to tell others that… the Wall cult has rebelled once again. Something along those lines."
His two subordinates narrowed their eyes, only partially understanding why he was doing this.
"Just trust me, if my plan fails… The blame will fall squarely on my shoulders."
"So, Connie, how'd your night go?"
Jean put his arm around the shorter boys shoulder. They were sitting away from the rest of the group while they ate a thick, unappetizing porridge for lunch. Only a few more hours before they were supposed to infiltrate the Walls.
"Wha-, what do you mean, Jean?" Connie said, trying and failing to feign ignorance. The blush creeping up his neck also gave lie to his words.
"I mean, you and Sasha sneaking off last night, everyone saw you two slip out," He laughed as Connie's eyes widened, "Hell, it took all of us to keep the Captain from going after you two. He wanted to crack your heads together for 'Fucking distracting themselves from the mission'. He still went out to check on you two, even with all of our protests."
"Wait, Captain Levi…?"
"Saw what you two love birds were doing, yeah, he did."
Jean laughed as Connie looked at him with horror, before looking across the barn towards Sasha, and then Captain Levi. The Captain locked eyes with Connie, those grey, lifeless orbs seeming to bore into his very soul.
"Oh god, Jean," Connie said, "What should I do? Noone can know-"
"Know what, Connie?" Sasha said as she walked up, her third bowl of porridge steaming in her hands.
"Uh, um…" Her eyes widened when she saw Jean's shit eating grin, and Connie's blush, "Sasha, well-"
Sasha dumped the entire contents of her bowl into Connie's lap, much to Jean's shock. The steaming liquid sloshed across his groin, causing Connie to roll off of the bench
"Connie, how could you," She yelled, drawing the attention of everyone in the barn, "I only kissed you cause, cause… I don't know! But how could you go around and tell everyone about it!"
Oh shit, I may have taken this a little far.
"Uh… I was just kidding," He called out to Sasha, though she'd already stormed out of the barn, "Um…"
A fist slammed into the side of his head, causing him to struggle to maintain his balance.
He turned to look into Historia's angelic face, now contorted in anger.
"What in the hell is wrong with you, Jean!"
Before he could respond, she turned around and jogged after Sasha, but he still yelled after her.
"I, I'm sorry! I didn't think it would go that far!"
Turning to look, he noted that the majority of the men and women in the barn had returned to their own business, but the members of his team were all glaring at him.
I guess I better start trying to fix this…
"Sir, I bring some strange news from Yalkell."
Lars Lowe looked up as Muajii let himself into the large office that had been provided to him.
"About the attack, you mean?"
"Yes, Sir," Muajii said, handing Lars a stack of reports, "When I went to investigate, I found a young Squad Leader, Marlowe Freudenberg, being interrogated by the Garrison commander. It appears that he brought in two prisoners the afternoon of the attack…"
Lars was starting to lose his patience.
"Get to the point, Adam."
"He says that one of the prisoners he caught, was Annie Leonhardt, The woman who-"
"I know who she is, Muajii. How did this Marlowe know it was her?"
Muajii pulled out another piece of paper, a roster. Pushing it towards Lars, he placed a finger on one particular group of names.
"He said that he was part of the same team as she was, right before the debacle in Stohess. And the written record corroborates his story."
So, you've decided to return… But why now?
Lars ran a finger along the edge of his mask, trying to draw some conclusion. Then he looked sharply at Muajii as a thought struck him.
"You said two prisoners, correct? Who was the other?"
Shuffling through the paperwork that he'd lain on Lars desk, Muajii pulled out another piece of paper. A signed incident report from Marlowe.
"Hmm… Apparently, she referred to him as 'Ragnar', above average height, blonde hair, thick build," He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head back at the last though, "And bronze eyes? How strange…"
Bronze eyes? How… novel.
"I searched through birth records, and there isn't any official record of someone with the name 'Ragnar' being born, which lead me to believe…"
Lars nodded, looking at Muajii.
"An Outsider. And that description is almost the exact same as the one that rescued Annie Leonhart. That was what, five months ago?"
His subordinate nodded.
"Almost six," Muajii said, rubbing his hands together, "Well, what should we do, Lars? I'm positive that they were the ones who caused the ruckus in Yalkell. And no one has been able to find any trace of them. Which leads me to believe that they've made it inside Utopia."
"They're just another variable, Adam," Lars said, looking at the clock, "And now, we have four hours until showtime. Are the guard teams and ambush teams in place?"
"Yes, sir, but is it really a good idea to only have a single team in place to guard the King?"
Lars chuckled darkly.
"Well, I'll be leading that team personally, and it'll be made up of Royal Guard members, so if the Scouting Legion has any ideas of going after the King, then they'll die," He stood, stretching his arms, "What did you do with that Squad Leader anyways?"
"I sent him to the Special Operations Group, he seemed like he'd go along with it," Muajii said, "And at least, we need a few brave men to form the core of that unit."
One corner of Lars mouth turned up, just visible through his mask.
"You're an evil, evil man, Adam."
"Look who's talking, Commander."
They both laughed as they walked out of the office.
"Order, order! I shall have order!"
Crowds of nobles, their families and servants gathered in the vast plaza that fronted the Palace, their jeers and catcalls battering Dot Pixis' ears. Well, his one remaining ear, as the other had been sliced off by a particularly vile military police officer. His battered and bruised form was dragged forward, to the large platform that had been erected.
Hundreds of feet long, it would serve as the gallows for he and thirty of his closest subordinates. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Anka and Gustav, being lead along towards their own death.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. But I did what was right, and hopefully my death will not be in vain.
He was led up the steps first, to the very end of the gallows. All the while, a single, lonely snare drum played a simple beat, just barely audible over the crowds continued murmuring. As the rope was placed around his neck, he saw the great Palace doors open, and the King himself step out into the sunlight.
King Ronald the Second, was a man of average height, but slight of build. His reddish brown hair was trimmed short, and his face was smooth. But his eyes, those warm brown eyes that had so captivated Pixis when they'd grown up together…
Pixis eyes immediately found the Wall Cults necklace that he'd taken to wearing since he'd joined them. It shimmered in the late morning sunlight.
The masked man, Lars Lowe stood close by him, with seven other men wearing the modified uniform of the Royal guards, red instead of the usual khaki. Their gear was spotless, as was expected of the Kings own guards.
I could have been one, but I chose the path of righteousness…
A trumpet let loose its lonely call, making clear to all that the King wished to speak. The crowd immediately fell silent as the King raised his hand.
"Good people of Wall Sina," He called, "Brought before you today, are thirty traitors to humanity. Who provided the cursed Scouting Legion, once an integral part of our society, with equipment and assistance in their rebellion against my own person!"
The crowd responded with angry shouts, and Pixis felt something slam into his back. He felt it begin to drip down his back.
So, they're selling tomatoes today. Only in Utopia would they be well off enough to waste food on humiliating my men and I.
"Their treachery was discovered, however," The King continued, his well composed voice carrying even to the furthest parts of the crowd, "Thanks to the excellent work of the newest commander of the Military, Lars Lowe."
Lowe swept a formal bow, then returned to his position of rigid attention beside the King.
"Now, as decided at their trial, exactly one month ago today, the traitors shall be executed at exactly noon. For now, let us have a moment of reflection for-"
The crowd gasped, and recoiled backwards as several green flares burst into the sky all about them. All pointing in the same direction, directly towards the Palace.
Those fools… They're walking right into a trap…
"Well, it looks like the decoy teams have begun their assault, time to make our move."
Eren looked over at Levi as their horses raced forward into the capital, they'd smuggled themselves into the capital the day before, and linked up with a pair of Scouts who had already infiltrated weeks before to lay the groundwork for their attack.
Providing each of the Extraction team with a horse, before themselves joining the attack. They'd burst out of the stable, heading towards the Palace, their green capes emblazoned with the Wings of Freedom flapping behind them.
"Remember, our job is to free Pixis and the other prisoners and escape, the rest of the Legion will hold open the door for us while we make our escape, keep fighting to a minimum," Levi said as they neared the massive plaza that fronted on the Palace. A dozen men wearing the uniform of the Military Police burst from the rooftops, streaming towards them, "Eren! Transform and lead the way!"
I guess… I'll have to kill men and women.
He triggered his gear, rocketing high into the sky.
His hand found its way to his mouth, while the rest of the Extraction team reined their horses in.
His titan exploded to life, in all its horrifying glory.
Now we'll show them the power of the Scouting Legion!
"Are you sure you're ready for this Annie?"
Ragnar stood next to her as she looked out of Utopia, watching the smoke trails arcing into the sky with hard eyes.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want, my love."
She shook her head, seeming to clear the dark thoughts that had held her in rapture for a moment. Her much longer hair had been tied back into a tight bun, and she took a moment to reach back and make sure it would hold together before speaking.
"No," She said quietly, tightening the straps of her maneuver gear, "I have to do this. I must."
Ragnar simply nodded, and enveloped her in a deep hug.
"Just stay with me, and I'll protect you," He whispered, "I don't want to lose you again."
A roar shuddered across the massive city, and he looked towards the far side of the city, seeing flashes of something massive running between the tall buildings that dotted the city.
"I guess that's our cue," He said to the others around them, before kissing Annie lightly on the lips, "Let's go, it's time to make some new friends!"
Grabbing the armor that Luigi held for him, he placed it over his shirt, tucking the collar over the cowl that protected the back of his neck. Then he grabbed his black and gold cloak, and threw it over his shoulders.
As a group, they dropped from the roof, and mounted their horses, driving hard towards the Palace. Towards a fateful meeting, and hopefully, a new beginning as well.
Can you hear me, Eren Yeager? It's long time past that we became acquainted!
Three chapters in four days, not bad. But alas, my thanksgiving break from work and school is over, so it's back to four or five days between each chapter. Don't worry though, the next chapter is going to be pretty sweet. Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoy!