For anyone else, having a semi-auto, 9mm pistol aimed straight at their face at point blank range would've reduced them to a catatonic state of panic… but for Annie Leonhardt, she found herself barely reacting to it as she focused on the wielder of said weapon rather than the weapon itself.
If anything, Mikazuki seemed to be in a more catatonic state than Annie herself. Though he seemed mostly neutral at first, Leonhardt could still make out the more intense movements in his shoulders as he breathed in and out deeply. His finger twitched as it struggled between pulling the trigger down and resisting the urge to do just that, and his gaze, whilst manic and bloodthirsty at a glance, held no small amount of hesitation as he glared at the blonde in front of him with trepidation.
He was hesitating, and before he could make a choice, Annie Leonhardt made her move. Though she knew that the guilt would inevitably come back to strike at her in the future, she needed to get this done… and fast. She had all of this planned out days in advance, and if she wanted this plan of hers to work, she needed to act on Mikazuki's only real exploitable weakness, his unwavering loyalty to his friends.
At the moment, there was no doubt in her mind that Augus saw her as an enemy, but the hesitation also told her that he was conflicted, with him still feeling torn between what now remained of their friendship and her status as his enemy. Were he not of two minds about this, he would've blown her brains out the moment he had his pistol in front of her forehead, and though she still considered herself incredibly lucky to not have been killed in an instant, she knew that if she stalled for much longer, he would eventually gain clarity and pick a side, one that was more than likely on the opposite end of Leonhardt's.
"You won't do it, Mika. You can't do it," stated Annie coldly, with her not breaking eye contact with Mikazuki as she spoke. As she spoke, she narrowed her eyes briefly before widening them once more, with her pupils dilating to match Augus' all the while. The pilot had conviction and innumerable reasons to pull the trigger back, and Leonhardt needed to match his conviction, one way or another. "You won't be able to live with yourself if you do."
"..." no response from Mikazuki, not verbally, anyways, as his hand ended up shaking something fierce as he considered his options. His grip on his pistol tightened, as did his index finger's grip around the trigger, though amidst these two actions that, admittedly, put Annie on edge, she could tell that his conviction was waning.
His mind was still struggling to process the fact that Annie had done… any of that during the 57th Expedition, and he was very likely still in denial of all this. Leonhardt made use of this to her advantage as she continued to goad the pilot onwards, with her knowing, or at least hoping, that his history with her would allow her at least some chance at speaking to him, now that her secret was shared with him.
"But who's to say? Go on then, put a bullet in me. Kill me right here, right now. You know it's the right thing to do," goaded Annie, with her manic gaze remaining as she spoke. She knew Mikazuki for the better part of five years, and as such, she knew how to push him into doing something she wanted. Unfortunately, she's never pushed him into doing something as dangerous as… this, and especially not when she was being held at gunpoint, and as such, she was betting everything she had on the tattered remains of their friendship to pull her through as she kept staring at Augus, who glared right back with a look of conviction.
Conviction that was slowly waning as his pistol wielding hand shook even more.
Seconds passed, ten seconds in total, but to both Mikazuki and Annie, it felt as though hours had gone by as the pilot's pistol wielding arm shuddered more and more with each passing second. However, after the aforementioned amount of time had passed, Mikazuki, much to Annie's relief, lowered his gun and brought his shuddering arm down to his side, with him closing his eyes and exhaling heavily all the while. At that, Leonhardt let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding in as well, with her opening her mouth to let out a comment that would've hopefully eased the tension in the room, if only by a little…
… but before the words could even leave her lips, Mikazuki, within the blink of an eye, snapped his head towards Annie and, with all the force he could muster, struck her in the cheek with his pistol wielding hand. The base of the pistol's handle struck her cheek with the force of a tidal wave, causing the young woman's head to snap to one side as she felt blood splattering out of her mouth and staining the ground beneath her, and the strike itself had so much force behind it that it sent the blonde sprawling onto the ground not even a second later.
Upon hitting the ground, Annie found herself coughing a little, and as she did so, she felt two of her teeth dislodging from her mouth as her shaky vision did its best to refocus itself. Lifting her arm up to her lips, she wiped the mixture of blood and saliva off her lips as she grimaced at just how hard the pilot could hit if he wanted to.
'He was definitely holding back all those times in training…' thought Annie bitterly as she turned up to look at the pilot in question, only to see him throw his pistol to the side and approach her. His usually neutral blue gaze now burnt with anger as he grabbed Leonhardt by the collar of her shirt and forced her up to her feet. The blonde was… partially confident in her ability to break free from him with some effort, but she didn't think to do so as Mikazuki slammed her against the closest wall and forced his forearm against her neck, cutting off her air circulation with relative ease.
"It was you. It's always been you," snarled the pilot. There was no trace of his old, neutral self in his voice as he glared at his former friend in rage, and as he spoke, he forced his forearm against her throat more forcefully, with him inadvertently lifting Annie's feet off the ground all the while. On instinct, the blonde's arms shot up to her former friend's forearm as she attempted to loosen his hold on her, if only by a little, though, as to be expected, Augus' strength eclipsed hers almost entirely, and she didn't get far in that department.
"It… it was…!" coughed Annie pitifully as she held onto Mikazuki's wrist in a vain attempt to force him to loosen his hold on her. Augus, in spite of his anger, felt mortified at how Leonhardt had not denied this as his harsh glare intensified tenfold, with his pupils somehow dilating even further as his grimace grew in size, and with it, he forced his forearm even further against the blonde's neck, with it now doing actual damage to her neck and windpipe as she widened her eyes in shock. The sensation of her neck overextending was not pleasant, and likewise, she could feel her vocal cords and windpipe ripping from overextension as she choked out a few desperate words. "Can… explain! Just… let… talk… PLEASE!"
Tears began to instinctively fall from Annie's eyes as she quite literally pleaded for her life, with her mind realizing that she would potentially die at any given moment. Though she had thought of every possible outcome to her revealing the truth to her former friend, Leonhardt still felt herself being caught off-balance thanks to Mikazuki's unpredictable nature, and when she had expected him to actually hear him out, she was instead greeted with an unexpected attack and subsequent pin from the pilot. Part of her hated how easily Augus had been able to get the drop on him, but she was also somewhat impressed with just how easily he could turn a situation around in such a short amount of time.
Of course, her being impressed at him was overshadowed by her fear of dying at his hands, as the young woman felt her vision going blurry as Mikazuki glared at her in an almost lifeless manner. He watched as her face turned a mild shade of purple as her windpipe was being warped beneath his forearm, and regardless of her Titan abilities, even she wouldn't be able to last much longer without air. Despite this, however, she did not fight back against her friend, not outside of trying to force his grip to loosen, if only by a little, anyways, as she closed her eyes and readied herself for her inevitable end…
… but mere seconds before she could die of asphyxiation, Mikazuki, in a somewhat shocking turn of events, decided to at least give his former friend the chance to explain herself as he abruptly released his hold on the blonde soldier's neck. The moment the pilot had removed his arm from her neck, Annie felt herself falling onto all fours before she took in a deep breath as one of her hands instinctively went up to her throat, rubbing it painfully all the while.
'That was close…' thought the blonde as she coughed onto the ground, getting a mixture of spit, blood and phlegm onto the floor all the while. She took a moment to allow her natural regeneration to kick in, with it healing her damaged windpipe, neck and vocal cords back to maximum capacity within a handful of seconds, though as it did so, steam began pouring out of her mouth. Likewise, her regenerative capabilities helped her regenerate her two dislodged teeth and heal the injury on her cheek as well, and as soon as the wound to her cheek was completely gone, she began to shakily rise to her feet…
… though before she could get up fully, she felt Mikazuki grab onto her collar and, without any care whatsoever, he lifted her up to her feet and threw her towards the far side of the room. Having not expected this, Leonhardt landed rather harshly as she got up to one knee and held her still sore neck with one of her hands.
As she recovered, she heard the sound of Mikazuki picking his pistol back up, prompting Annie to glance upwards and see that he had retrieved his weapon and was now sitting on his room bed, staring down at her with a gaze that looked so… defeated, for the lack of a better term. That… wasn't what she had been expecting initially, as she had believed him to be angry or, at the very least, disappointed. To see him so… done with absolutely everything… it just felt so weird.
"Well?" grunted Mikazuki, with his tone of voice matching his expression as he narrowed his eyes at his former friend. It took her a moment or two to get what he was getting at, but she soon realized that he was waiting for her to 'explain herself', and upon acknowledging that, Annie found herself giving him a lopsided smile and nodding before she moved to lean her back up against the wall behind her. Augus watched her every move with a critical gaze, ready to take aim and potentially even open fire at a moment's notice. "Explain yourself."
"Heh, well… where do I start?" asked Annie, sounding pitifully weak as she spoke to Mikazuki, who narrowed his eyes at her as he gestured with his pistol. Leonhardt flinched a little harder than she would've liked to admit as her eyes kept themselves trained on the gunbarrel of her former friend's weapon, though she quickly got over it as he responded accordingly.
"How you can… transform is a good start," stated Mikazuki, with him eyeing down his former friend as he spoke. Annie shuddered a little at that, with her acutely aware that there were consequences to revealing the answers to Augus' question, but even so… this was the least that she could do for him after taking the lives of so many, and with a heavy sigh, she nodded as she opened her mouth to respond, only to pause briefly, something that confused Mikazuki at first.
"... I know I'm in no place to make requests… but could you keep this a secret. Between us… please?" pleaded Annie before her former friend could comment on her silence, with her lifting one of her legs up to her chest and resting her arm atop her knee. Mikazuki looked incredulously at her as she made that request, with his annoyed gaze telling her that she was not in any position to make a demand as… hefty as what she had asked for, especially not after what she's done, but even so…
"... I'll consider it," groaned Mikazuki, with him sounding as though he needed to force those words out of his mouth as he glared at Annie. Leonhardt could tell that it was difficult, for him to actually hate her, in spite of everything she's done during the 57th Expedition, and though he was pissed off at her actions, a small part of him still clung tightly onto what remained of their friendship, and it manifested itself in the form of him… considering keeping what she was about to tell him a secret, and for all it was worth, the blonde appreciated him for that.
"Thank you. That's all I could ask for at this point," stated Annie with a miniscule smile. That… caught Mikazuki off guard, as it seemed very genuine, at least in his eyes. Leonhardt wasn't one to smile all too often, and because of this, Augus was able to tell if she was faking a grin or not on the rare instance where she did. That small smile right there… it was legit, and it baffled him to no end, but even so, he thought little of it as he watched his former friend sigh and lean her head back in apparent shame. "But even so… my situation isn't an easy one to explain… so why don't I just… tell you a story?"
"I'm not interested in fairy tales," spat Mikazuki as he narrowed his eyes at Annie, who didn't really flinch as she huffed at his blunt statement. Ah, never change, Mika. Never change…
"Well, I assure you that this is a lot more real than you'd expect… seeing as how this fairy tale was taught during the history lectures in my hometown," stated Annie in mild amusement as she spoke of this tale of hers, ignoring her former friend's indifference to it all the while. Mikazuki… well, he said nothing as he raised his brows in curiosity, with him finding the prospect of learning about Annie's actual hometown to be… intriguing.
"... continue," ordered Mikazuki, with his interest now piqued by his former friend's words, and to that, the young woman almost smiled as she began recounting this dusty old fairy tale of hers. Well, to Augus, it was most certainly a fairy tale, but to her… it was nothing short of reality.
"Well, to start things off, the place I originate from is known as Marley, not Shiganshina or Maria, like everyone believes," began Annie, with her breathing in deeply to steel herself as she spoke. This was highly sensitive information, information that she was told to take with her to her grave before she set foot within these walls, but even so… she was taking a small risk with telling this information with her former friend, as she genuinely believed that it would pay off in the end… hopefully. "I don't know how long it's been around, exactly, but the records in the libraries speculate the nation to have been around for longer than two thousand years."
Mikazuki's brow quirked upwards at just how old that nation of hers was, with him seeming genuinely curious about how it had survived this long, though he didn't voice that thought out as something else came to mind.
"There are… other places beyond the walls?" asked Mikazuki curiously, eliciting a mild chuckle from Annie all the while. That was a fair question to ask, honestly, and after getting over her initial amusement, she nodded.
"Yes. These Walls aren't the only safe haven for humanity, but we're getting off topic," said Annie, with her staring up at Mikazuki as she tried to continue her little fairy tale. In response to this, Augus simply nodded, prompting her to continue after she had, somewhat dramatically, cleared her throat.
"Marley wasn't the only nation that existed back then. Eldia was another nation that was around at the time, as were several others. I believe that to the west lay an island that used to go by Ursus, and to the east was a united nation that went by a handful of names, most commonly Columbia. The history books spoke very little of them," huffed Annie, with her sighing to herself as she shook her head, seemingly not enjoying her little trip down memory lane as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Mikazuki himself felt that this information was rather pointless, and soon enough, Leonhardt agreed with him. "But this is all trivial nonsense. The only nations of note right now are Marley and Eldia."
Marley and Eldia… those were simple enough names to remember, Mikazuki supposed, though he did wonder why a nation was using a regular person's name. It was strange, but hey, he's seen worse. At least he could remember it, unlike whatever Gali Gali's name was.
"The details regarding how it happened are few and far between, but, allegedly, nearly twenty centuries ago, through means unknown, an Eldian slave named Ymir had gained the power of the Titans."
"Ymir…" echoed Mikazuki, with him finding it strange how one of his fellow Survey Corps shared a name with the very first Titan, though Annie was quick to take notice of this as she waved him off and continued to elaborate.
"Not that Ymir. This one was different. She was the very first Titan to ever be formed on this world, the Founding Titan, if you will," stated Annie, with her voice sounding just a tiny bit revenant as she spoke. Mikazuki, on the other hand… felt unsure on how to think of this as he sat on the idea of there being a Founding Titan in the first place. For all he knew, Leonhardt could be pulling his leg, but even so… he had just enough faith left in her to at least believe some of her words
"Ymir… could transform from a Titan to human at will?" asked Mikazuki for clarification, to which Annie nodded.
"Ah. Same way Eren and I do it, too. At least, that's what the records state, anyways," responded Annie, and after a mild nod from her former friend, the blonde traitor continued to speak. "After learning of her power, the king of Eldia, Fritz-"
'Fritz…' thought Mika in between Annie's words, with him finding it… intriguing, that the names of the first Titan and the King of Eldia shared the first and last names of one of his fellow Survey Corps…
"- used her to raze the tribes that pose a threat to his nation's rule, Marley included."
"Did they succeed?" asked Mikazuki flatly, with him narrowing his eyes at just how… petty Eldia seemed to be with this attack of theirs. Attacking other nations just because they could one day pose a threat to them? That was pretty underhanded, even by the standards of his previous life with Tekkadan, as only Space Pirates like the now defunct Brewers would dare do such a thing, though that in itself didn't matter much in the long run as Annie ended up shaking her head and responding.
"Of course not. They did their best, but Marley, among other nations, survived the worst of what they threw at them. They did eventually surrender to them, though. They didn't have much of a choice in the matter, anyways," scoffed Annie as Mikazuki shrugged at her words. She had a point there; if Ymir was indeed the very first of the Titans, a transforming one at that, then she would've had a tactical advantage in that the humans back then wouldn't have known about her weak points, and likewise, Mika highly doubted that they had Maneuver Gear back then either. Cannons? Possibly, but they were likely less powerful than what they had now.
"Hm," hummed the pilot, with him finding this history lesson to be rather… intriguing as he placed his pistol atop his bed, seeming less tense than he once was as he seemed more… captivated by what he was hearing, much to Annie's relief.
"However, Marley was able to turn the tables on Eldia through an assassination attempt," continued Annie, with her snorting just a little at how the history books had recounted that one event. They had made the failed assassination sound so heroic, but even so… she knew that it was nothing more than a desperate last bid at their freedom. "The target had been Fritz, but Ymir intervened and was killed instead."
A scoff from Mikazuki summed up his opinion on that matter. To him, it didn't really matter if either had been killed back then. If Fritz died, that was one tyrannical nation leader disposed of, and if Ymir died, that was a superweapon taken out of the picture. What he didn't know of, however, was the fact that the death of Ymir was but the tipping point to an even darker future for the fractured nation of Marley.
"In her death, Ymir's power was thought to be lost, but that thought was proven… incorrect when, not even a few weeks after her death, Ten Titans emerged to take her place," recounted Annie, with her features darkening as she recalled the text in her old history books. It had painted the events that transpired during this period of time in an incredibly dark light, but truth be told, it didn't even need to do it. Just reading what Eldia had done to her one true hometown back then was more than enough to make even Leonhardt feel sick, and everything that came thereafter was but the cherry atop the shit flavoured cake… though she kept her emotions in check as she sighed shakily and continued. "It's not known how they managed to emerge, but it is known that these Ten Titans could transform between human and Titan forms at will, and with them, the Eldians waged war against the nations that surrounded it, and Marley was the one that was affected the most due to its hand in Ymir's death."
"Ten Titans…" echoed Mikazuki curiously as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "How was the power even passed down, anyways? And what even were these Titans capable of?"
As he asked those questions, the pilot narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his former friend with a frown present on his face. It was obvious to her what he was thinking about at the moment, though it didn't do more than elicit a chuckle from Annie as she shrugged her shoulders.
"There are some things that even I can't reveal to you, Mika… not entirely, anyways. But even so, you're a smart guy. I'm sure you can figure it out on your own," apologised Annie half-heartedly as she watched her former friend narrow his eyes at her in annoyance. She maintained her gaze with his, however, as she stood her ground, not wishing to divulge such a sensitive matter to him whatsoever as she remained steadfast and resolute, and after a few moments of silence, the pilot relented and exhaled, nonverbally stating that he was willing to let this slide… for now. "Hmph. regardless… Marley managed to hold ground for quite some time, but even so, it inevitably lost it to the Eldians.
"The records state that, approximately 1200 years ago, the rural Marleyan city of Lago was destroyed by the Eldian Empire in a single day. Monte was destroyed in under five hours, and Valle was razed within a matter of minutes. Hundreds were killed because of the Eldian Empire, and the nation of Marley was forced to retreat further and further into their own island as Eldia kept gaining more ground on them."
"... but," stated Mikazuki, with him sensing a shift in Annie's tone as he spoke. When she had spoken about the events from oh so long ago, she had done so in a somewhat somber tone of voice, but as she progressed onwards, something about how she spoke changed, and though it was subtle, Leonhardt's lips twitched upwards in satisfaction when she realized that Augus had caught onto her shift in demeanor.
"Just as sharp as ever, huh? Yes, there was indeed a but," confirmed Annie, with a ghost of a smile lingering on her lips as she spoke. Mikazuki said nothing of it as she elaborated. "You recall how I mentioned Ten Titans, yes? Well, that was a lie. There weren't Ten of them, at least not from the very start. There were originally Nine of them."
"And the tenth?" asked Mikazuki, genuinely curious as he leaned forwards and propped his elbows up onto his thighs, to which Annie smiled a little. Oh, she was really gonna enjoy seeing his reaction to this… not that she would say such a thing, anyways, as she kept a straight face whilst elaborating.
"About… 1150 years ago, perhaps a little more or a little less, depending on which history book you make use of… something fell from the skies. Two shooting stars… in the dead of night… or at least, it was thought that they were shooting stars… until they made landfall," explained Annie, with her speaking a little slower than usual as she wished for Augus to soak in every last detail of what she was saying.
Two shooting stars… that reminded him of how he had first arrived in this world in the first place. Both Mikazuki and that other unit, the Graze Ein, was it(?), had fallen from the heavens and made landfall with very little issue, though only one of them had survived the atmospheric reentry. The memory almost made him smile out of nostalgia as he huffed to himself in amusement… though his amusement was quick to give way to… a sinking feeling of unease when he realized what this could possibly mean, and though she noticed his dawning realization, Leonhardt said nothing about it as she continued to speak.
"We don't know where the larger of the two landed, but we do know that the smaller one landed in Eldia, and at first, they had thought it to be an attack from their many enemies. But when they saw what it was… they thought otherwise," spoke Annie, with her giving a humorless chuckle as she brought a hand up to her forehead and swept it upwards, with her running her fingers through her golden locks all the while. As she did so, Mikazuki felt his eyes widening a little as he realized what she was getting at by then, though as if to confirm his suspicions, Leonhardt sighed dispassionately and continued to speak. "Back when they first encountered it, the Eldians dubbed it the Titan that fell from the stars, a mechanical monster that had one of their own emerge from its chest… and subsequently, through deceit and bribery at the hands of one of Fritz's descendants, it joined the ranks of the Nine Titans as their Tenth, unofficial member. Amongst the original nine, now ten, they called it the Mechanical Titan."
"But I believe that you… will better know it as a Gundam."
And as soon as he heard this… something in Mikazuki… bluescreened as he looked away from Annie in shock. How… how was this even possible? Sure, teleporting to another galaxy was indeed possible, something that he's learnt the hard way, but even so, what were the odds of more than one Gundam pilot being able to get here, and for that record, how did it even manage to get so far back in time?! The Gundams were built 300 years ago, not 1200 (at minimum) as Leonhardt was implying! None of this made any sense to him… and as such, he promptly asked the one thing that was currently on his mind as he stared at his former friend incredulously.
"... you're bluffing," accused Mikazuki after his initial shock wore off, eliciting a small smile from Annie as she chuckled humorlessly. His reaction was probably as good as it gets when it came to someone like Mika, with his brows lowered in trepidation and his mouth drooped open apprehensively. It was almost cute in the blonde's book, though she was quick to remove that thought from her mind as she shook her head dismissively.
"Why would I have a reason to lie to you, Mika…?" asked Annie as she leaned forwards and gestured with her hand a little, smiling a fair bit as she spoke. "I'm literally at your mercy, and lying to you is a surefire way to get myself killed. What I'm saying is the truth, but it's up to you to decide on if you want to believe it or not."
"..." no response from Mikazuki as he looked away from his former friend apprehensively, to which she waited patiently for a response. Augus was known for being stubborn from time to time, but even so it seemed as though the shattered remains of their friendship came in to save them from wasting time unnecessarily, as he grunted and conceded to her point. "How… did it arrive here, though?"
"I… don't know. The records never stated how it got there or why. They just said that the Tenth Titan came from the stars as a final blessing from Ymir, but we know better, don't we?" responded Annie, sounding just a little smug as she spoke, to which the pilot scoffed. Indeed they did… though neither was willing to let this information slip for their sake… and for each other's as well. "It's likely that it got here the same way you did."
"Hrg," grunted Mikazuki in acknowledgement, to which Annie huffed in bemusement.
"But regardless… the… Gundam and its…" trailed off Annie, with her forgetting what Mikazuki was to Barbatos as she spoke. Thankfully Mika caught on to that rather quickly.
"Pilot."
"Ah. Pilot. The Gundam and its pilot joined the ranks of the Ten Titans. The reports state that despite fighting alongside Eldia, it rarely ever made an appearance on the field, only showing up to besiege the strongest of Marley's cities, and it was said that it always seemed reluctant to actually take the life of another. Regardless, Marley lost a lot of ground to Eldia because of that damn Gundam…" continued Annie, with her eyes growing rather distant as she spoke. Mikazuki felt oddly… sad for her as his old protective instincts flared up rather intensely, but before he could get too far with that, Leonhardt huffed and continued to speak. "But then… before everything could collapse around us… something… something odd happened.
"The records of this period are sparse, I hear that people burnt most of the written records as they didn't wish to allow what had happened reach the general public, but on what surviving records there are, it is said that a… winged monster had emerged from the eastern end of the world, and upon awakening, it slaughtered those around it without mercy, bringing about an army of death alongside it."
Mikazuki's brows raised a little when he heard this, with the prospect of a merciless monster with wings sounding rather… unlikely to him, though then again, a lot of what's happened to him in the past half-decade seemed impossible as well, and yet… it all still happened. Because of this, he chose not to comment on it as he simply listened to his former friend speak.
"It rampaged through the world, with no goal in sight. No goal… but to wipe out all of mankind alongside its horde," said Annie, with her feeling a mild shudder as she recalled just how ominous the books had made it seem back when she first read this. Everything about this mostly forgotten event had been burnt away by fools and replaced by some nonsense regarding a 'Hero' known as Helos, and what surviving records there were, records that Leonhardt had to work incredibly hard just to get a peek at, were incredibly sparse and bordering on being incomprehensible thanks to age. "The few surviving records state that Ursus fell within days of the monster's attack, and Columbia fell within weeks. Other smaller nations stood little chance against it, and within two years, the world had been… wiped clean by the winged beast… all except for two nations in particular."
"Marley and Eldia," predicted Mikazuki, having rather quickly gotten over his initial surprise at a single entity being able to wipe out life on a global scale as he raised a brow at his blonde traitor, to which Annie nodded, prompting the pilot to narrow his eyes in disgust. "Why didn't Eldia send help?"
"Based on what I told you, do you really think that Eldia would care to do such a thing? They would not lift a finger to help those outside of their borders, not unless it benefited them greatly. Why else do you think they invaded Marley and the other nations around it? They knew that Marley would inevitably become a big enough threat to it one day, so they squashed the nation like a bug. They did not wish to risk sending out any of their Titans or the Gundam, and besides, they were busy trying to subjugate what remained of Marley to really care," stated Annie bitterly, taking Mikazuki by surprise at just how much venom was in her words. "And Marley… Marley was still fighting back Eldia's rule. They couldn't help, even if they wanted to."
"...point taken," huffed Mika, eliciting a nod from Annie as she continued.
"Regardless, it was… it was nothing more than luck, so says the surviving records, that the winged monster had left Marley and Eldia for last. When it inevitably arrived, it was met with brutal firepower that did almost nothing to it… though the only one that did any substantial damage to it was that blasted Gundam. It had… cannons mounted on its back and rifles on its hips alongside an especially dangerous projectile that the records state to be… as powerful as the will of heaven itself. It made use of all of this to halt the monster's advance as the Eldians fled the battlefield, but it could only do so much, and before long, Eldia had fallen within the month's end."
Upon hearing this, Mikazuki snorted a little in amusement. It was morbid to say, but to know that a nation as cruel and powerful as Eldia had fallen within a month was… amusing, and it was probably a long time coming, if he said so himself. At the same time, however, it was also… worrying, the fact that just a single entity could not only obliterate a world's population within a few months of waking up… but Mika opted not to dwell on that for now as he simply listened to his former friend speak.
"When Eldia fell, however, the Gundam, having been cut off from the retreating forces, fled to the borders of Eldia, unknowingly bringing the monster with it all the while. The surviving records state that its pilot met up with slaves that Eldia had left behind, mostly Mayleyan-
Mika took a moment to cringe at that strange name for Marley residents.
"-slaves at that, and with a unified goal, they formed a shaky alliance to halt the monster's charge. How they did this was… unclear, but the few surviving records state that the Gundam and surviving Marleyans lured the monster to an abandoned mine, where they detonated its foundations and buried both under several kilometers of rock, entombing both for eternity."
"..." not much was said by Mikazuki as he looked thoughtful at the other pilot's sacrifice. It was certainly noble, but he couldn't help but wonder if he had planned to be buried alongside the… monster in the first place. Logic dictated the answer to be no, but who knew at this point? "And the aftermath?"
"Hmph, the aftermath was rather messy. There are more surviving records of what happened after the monster and Gundam were buried, but they're… inconsistent. The most reliable record that I can remember states that the world beyond Eldia and Marley remained scorched and barrand for years on end, with the few that survived the monster's purge dying off within months. Eldia was unable to rebuild and, due to either incompetence, arrogance, or perhaps a mixture of both, they were unable properly rally their survivors up to reform their once proud nation," stated Annie, sounding almost… happy as she recalled what she had read in the history books back in the day. It would've creeped Mikazuki out if he cared enough. "It was apparently easy, attacking them in their weakened state, and after about a week of battle, Marley was able to capture Seven out of the Nine Titans that Eldia possessed and reclaim most of the land that once belonged to them."
"Hmph. I'm assuming one of the two uncaptured Titans was the Founding Titan," predicted Mikazuki, with him already seeing how things would go as he spoke. In response to this, Annie, in spite of her initial surprise, found herself smiling a little at how much foresight the pilot had, and at that, she nodded, confirming Augus suspicions as he sighed to himself in exasperation. "And once Marley captured the seven Titans, they struck back at Eldia, I'm guessing."
"Yeah. It was… slow at first. It took Marley about a century to reclaim all the land that it lost to Eldia, and eventually, it managed to conquer most of its territory as well. The Eldians, without any real option of fighting back, were forced to flee to their last safe haven at the command of one of Fritz's descendants. They fled to Paradis Island, alongside the two uncaptured Titans," elaborated Annie, with her sighing a little as she drummed her fingers along the wooden floorboards, seeming uncertain on how she could phrase this next bit without revealing the full truth. "After arriving, the three Walls, Maria, Rose and Sina were-"
"We are in Eldia territory? These walls… are in Eldian territory?" cut off Mikazuki, with him perking up a little at this unexpected revelation. He had, admittedly, not seen this coming, not from a mile a way at least, as he appeared rather taken aback by this new revelation, though in response to this, Annie simply nodded and explained herself.
"I… kind of thought that it would've been rather obvious, really. I mean, that, and only two nations remained active after the monster's rampage, them being Eldia and Marley, and Marley never did have time, reason or even the resources to build walls like these," quipped Annie semi-sarcastically as she sighed internally. Mikazuki's mild bout of confusion was, surprisingly enough, a good thing for her as it let her gloss over just what the Walls were hiding as she watched the pilot rub his chin thoughtfully, and upon acknowledging the logic behind her words, he found himself staring out of the one window in his room and at the imposing, albeit breached, Wall of Rose thoughtfully.
"How did they even build them…?" asked Mikazuki, prompting Annie to scrunch her face up in apparent thought as she rubbed her chin, and after some time, she shrugged at him and waved his question off.
"Slaves, probably. They had a lot of those back in the day, especially Marleyan slaves, and they had a good few centuries to make use of them before the monster emerged to strike them down," huffed Annie dispassionately as she watched carefully for Mikazuki's reaction. As expected, he didn't really take this lightly as his eye twitched a little at her words. His anger at Eldia was rather apparent, as, despite his cold exterior, he did very much hate it when others were exploited for another's benefit, though he wasn't going to voice that out as the blonde sighed mentally in relief. Good, he bought that reasoning. That made things simple enough…
"What about the Titans that wander around? Are they-" began Mikazuki, with him wondering if he could get more information regarding the baseline Titans that kept wandering around the place if he just asked, though in response to this, Annie cut him off rather quickly and waved her hands at him.
"I… don't know how they were formed, unfortunately," apologised Annie, with her lying through her teeth as she did in fact know the truth behind those mindless behemoths. But even so, she knew that revealing the truth behind them would more than likely go against what she was trying to tell her former friend in the first place, and as such, she glossed over it incredibly quickly. "But even so, that's besides the point…"
That comment made Mikazuki raise a brow in confusion as he glanced over at Annie, with him wondering what point the young woman was trying to make as he nodded at her, a sign for her to get on with what she was trying to say, and at that, she offered her former friend a half smile and did as he wished.
"The real point of me telling all of you this is… is that back in Marley, the Gundam is considered to be… the symbol of a Hero more so than anything."
"...?" the confusion was apparent in Mikazuki's expression as he turned his attention up to look his former friend in the eye, and upon noticing it, Annie stood up and smiled a tiny bit at him as she stared him down briefly in silence. That smile was perhaps the most genuine one that Augus has seen on her since… since forever, really, and shortly thereafter, she elaborated.
"Though the previous Gundam was considered an enemy at first, its actions at the end of its pilot's life made most Marleyans consider it a Hero within the surviving records that speak of it, and at the same time, the Eldians considered it to be a traitor to them, so much so that they purged its name from the records entirely as it did not come to assist them when Marley invaded them in return," explained Annie, prompting Mikzuki to snort as that explained why none of the picture books ever talked about a Gundam of any kind. "The term Gundam may not be as influential as it is now compared to almost ten decades ago, but there's still weight behind its name, and… if you follow me back to Marley after I've completed what I'm here to do… I'm sure that they'll be willing to give you amnesty and even grant you citizenship as a Marleyan. Life there is a lot easier than things here will ever be, and your status as a pilot would be more than enough to guarantee yourself a good life."
"..." not much was said as Mikazuki processed what he had just heard. It sounded ridiculous, sure, but honestly speaking, everything that Leonhardt had just told him in the past few minutes sounded absurd as well. Even so, Annie had no reason to lie to him at the moment, she had said as much mere minutes prior, and though Augus did seem keen on not trusting his traitorous friend… a small part of him, the part that clung desperately onto the tattered remains of their friendship, thought otherwise as the pilot narrowed his eyes at the blonde and began testing her sincerity. "What about Mina, Nac and mum?"
"We can bring them as well," said Annie, brightening up a tiny bit as she thought the pilot's question meant some form of acceptance. She wasn't entirely wrong on that front, as Mikazuki did find the prospect of leaving the Walls in favour of this allegedly superior nation to be rather enticing, but even so… "I… I don't know how the others will react to them, seeing as how they're more than likely Eldian descendants, but I know for a fact that I can definitely pull some strings to get them citizenship within Marley!"
"And what about everything else? You're MPB, you live a good life. You'd throw that away for Marley as well?" inquired Mikazuki absentmindedly, eliciting a scoff from Annie within seconds.
"It was nothing more than a necessity on my part. Between Marley and the MPB, I'd take the former any day of the week," stated Annie coldly, to which Mikazuki nodded. Her loyalty to her hometown was… commendable, if anything, but still…
"What if Mina, Nac, mum and I don't want to go?" inquired Mikazuki thoughtfully, to which Annie's lighter mood dropped like a sack of bricks as she slouched her shoulders a fair bit at that consideration. "Mina and Nac are both fighting for mankind's freedom. I don't think they'll walk away so easily, especially when they find out what you've done. And I don't think mum will be happy about it either."
"... it doesn't matter in the long run. After I've finished what I'm here to do in the first place, mankind can be freed, in a way. I just need-"
"... what are you even here to do, anyways?" cut off Mikazuki sternly as he eyed his former friend down cautiously, to which Annie flinched. This was perhaps the most damning question he could've asked her at this point, as, in his eyes, nothing could really justify her murdering so many soldiers back during the 57th Expedition. Leonhardt seemed to understand this as she sighed deeply and closed her eyes, bracing herself for what was to come as she grimaced to herself and responded.
"I… I am here to reclaim the two uncaptured Titans, under the orders of Marley… and as one of their Elite Warriors," stated Annie, almost remorsefully as she slouched her shoulders meekly. Mikazuki perked up at the mention of Warriors, though he said nothing of it for now as he watched as she crossed her arms uncomfortably whilst looking down at her feet, almost as though the title had brought her some form of shame rather than pride, but even so, Augus dismissed it as he shook his head in dismay.
"That includes Eren?" inquired Mikazuki, having made the connection between the uncaptured Nine Titans with Jaeger's ability to transform as he spoke. That did leave behind the question of which Titan he was, though. Was he the unknown, uncaptured Titan, or was he the Founding Titan? Either was possible at this point, though Augus reckoned that him being the latter was unlikely. Either way, Annie eventually nodded in response to his question, albeit rather hesitantly, and at that, he narrowed his eyes once more. "Why? Why do you want them back?"
The pilot kept his words short and simple as he stroked the handle of his pistol with his thumb, to which Annie shook her head. The pilot… had a feeling as to why Marley would want the Titans back in the first place, especially the Founding Titan, if it could do what he thought it could… but one couldn't be too sure.
"I… cannot say. It… is not my place to do so," countered Leonhardt weakly as she kept her gaze averted from Mika's. This… didn't really sit well with Augus as shook his head in annoyance and stood up, pistol in hand. Annie watched in uncertain silence as he moved to the sole desk in his room and slid open one of its drawers, only to place his pistol inside of it and shut it back up. That gesture surprised her… wasn't he planning on killing her if-
"Why can't you say? Is it because you don't want to, or because someone told you not to?" asked Mikazuki coldly, to which Annie flinched as she looked away once more, a gesture that only made Augus narrow his eyes at her as he leaned against his room desk. "Someone told you not to, didn't they?"
"... yes. I cannot go against their orders. I… have my honor to uphold," stated Annie bluntly, to which Mikazuki scoffed. Honor? What sort of twisted definition of honor did she have in that head of hers? At least when Mikazuki had shed blood, he never claimed to do it out of honor or duty. He did it out of his own free will… or rather, he did so now.
"What's more important to you, Annie Leonhardt. Your honor… or your family?" asked Mikazuki, with him spitting her full name out like it was poison as he pushed himself off the table and approached her. Annie… didn't seem comfortable responding to this as she rubbed her upper arm uncertainly, and it didn't take an expert to see that she was torn between answers as she squeezed her tricep tightly before offering a weak response.
"The… mission takes… precedence…" muttered Annie hesitantly, and to that, Mikazuki's frown deepened as he nodded and turned away from her, eliciting a wince from Leonhardt as she brought a hand up to her chest meekly. It felt strange, seeing her in such a vulnerable emotional state… and it made Mika's chest clench a little as he eyed her. "But… you, Mina, Nac and mum… all of you are very important to me as well."
"Then choose."
"...?"
"If we're important to you, then choose," stated Mikazuki bluntly as he turned and stared at Annie with a somewhat impassioned gaze. She flinched when she saw just how… cold his gaze was as he stared her down… but at the same time, there was an unexpected flicker of… hope behind his uncaring glare. It was as though he was hoping for her to stop what she was doing and just… come back to them once more.
Not as a Marleyan, not as a Warrior, not as the Female Titan, not as an enemy… not even as a comrade.
But as their friend… as the Annie Leonhardt that they knew and loved.
And that was what almost broke the blonde as she watched her… friend approach her and stopped mere inches away from her, with their blue eyes meeting for a moment all the while. His eyes softened a little as this happened, and for the briefest of moments, Annie's cheeks flared up as the pilot leaned in close to speak to her directly. His usually emotionless voice sounded a lot more… emotive than it usually did as he spoke, and that was probably the thing that caught her off guard the most as she listened.
"Choose between us… or them. I don't care about Marley, about Eldia, about the other Gundam or the two Titans you're looking for. All I care about is keeping my family safe. All I care about is keeping… you safe," stated Mikazuki, with the final lingering pieces of his friendship with Leonhardt resurfacing to utter these last few words. Annie found her eyes widening a little as she heard this… and her heart pounded against her chest intensely as she listened to him speak. "Just… stop all this and live your life the way you want to live it, Annie. It's your life, don't let someone else control it for you…"
"But… b-but…" stammered Annie, with her eyes darting around the room, deliberately avoiding direct contact with Mikazuki's as she spoke, though at that, the pilot sighed and shook his head, with him breaking eye contact with his friend's moments later. She was certainly conflicted about this, that much was obvious, and she needed some time to just… think things through before she could come to a satisfactory conclusion, time that Augus was willing to give her as he stared at her blankly.
"Give it some thought. If you let Eren be and just live your life however you want, without letting someone else dictate how you live, I'll forgive everything you've done during the 57th Expedition, and I'll keep it all a secret, including everything you've told me," assured Mikazuki gently as he turned on his heel and began walking towards his bed. As he did so, Annie watched in shock, more so at his words than actions, as he put some distance between the two of them, though seconds later, she had to look away in mild embarrassment as he began removing his Tekkadan jacket, revealing his well built arms to her all the while.
"You… would do that… even though I'm the traitor…? Even after all the lives I took…?" asked Annie incredulously as she watched Mikazuki glanced back at her solemnly.
"My old family welcomed people who tried to kill them as well. We don't hold grudges unless absolutely necessary. And holding a grudge against you? It's… not easy," admitted Mikazuki half-heartedly as he turned away from Annie once more. His last comment made her cheeks gain a mildly pink tint as she felt some form of flatterment from his words though she said nothing of it as he continued, though as he did so, his tone of voice took a… darker turn as he spoke. "But if you even think about doing anything funny…
"I'll make you wish that I killed you back in the forest. Do you understand?"
Annie couldn't see Mikazuki's face when he said that, but she could certainly imagine what his expression was as she felt a powerful shiver go up her spine. She could tell that she was serious about this, and that their friendship, and potentially her life, rested upon this one decision of hers… and she had to figure out which mattered more to her.
Her loyalty to Marley… or her love for her new family?
It was neck and neck, those two… and Annie reckoned that she needed some time to think. Having understood this, she simply nodded and bowed her head down to Mikazuki as a farewell, and thereafter, she made her way towards the door.
"I… understand, Mika. Thanks for at least listening to what I had to say," thanked Annie uncertainly as she moved to leave. Augus responded to that with a grunt, though before she left the room entirely, he did ask her one last thing.
"Why did you even feel the need to tell me… any of this, Annie?" asked Mikazuki as he turned back to stare at Annie, who froze briefly… before turning towards her friend and smiling gently. It was small and barely noticeable, but even so… it was genuine, even more so than most of her other smiles.
Her true reasoning was to try and goad Mikazuki into letting her accomplish her mission without his interruption. She had hoped to perhaps convince him that there was a life worth living outside these walls, that he, Mina, Nac, Ms Carolina and herself could just head to Marley and begin anew… but who knew that the pilot could be so skilled as to flip the script on her and make her question her loyalty to her nation?
She supposed that was what she liked about him. The pilot was certainly an unpredictable fellow. Strong, smart, inventive and, most importantly of all, highly unpredictable. He was an Abnormal in a world filled with abnormalities, and in more ways than one, he did not belong here, very much like Annie herself. They were two peas in a pod, in a sort of way, and though they were incredibly different from one another, in more ways than one, they were also very much alike.
And in that sense, Leonhardt found some solace in their similarities. It felt… nice, having an outsider like herself being close to her, and though her loyalty to Marley was certainly something powerful, she did silently wonder if her admiration, so to speak, of Mikazuki could eventually come to rival it…
"Just thought that you deserved to know it, especially after everything I've done. That's all," half-lied Annie as she moved to leave the room, and at that, Mikazuki simply nodded as he kept his gaze away from her.
"Ah… take care, Annie Leonhardt."
"You too, Mikazuki Augus."
Did you really think that AOT lore would survive me? Oh, you silly biscuit~
Things are really heating up, innit? I wonder what might happen next!
MEleeSmasher: Elites surviving? Hmmmmm... :)
Dead344156: I'd say that there's just enough hesitation in him to make him pause for a bit!
ian12091995: it does indeed hit the fan
cassnova5424: heh. Assault Plunger. That's a new one.
Guest: I've been staring at this review for a while and I can't seem to figure out what to make of it
Touhoufanatic: don't worry, Annie's good at keeping secrets ;)
Boshwa: happens to the best of us. And I'm glad you don't mind the slow burn. I like writing my more serious stories slowly... for some reason.
starscreamer11: well as stated in this chapter, he does deserve a long break
BanzEye: who knows... maybe all of them will join Tekkadan? :)
DojoYoyo: will she fight? Or will she not? Find out next time! Possibly...?
Guest (Kook): well having a gun pointed between your eyes is probably one of the tamer reactions tbh
Guest (2): will Zeke know of Barbatos? Or will he be surprised? Now that's a good question to have...
Guest (3): well I wouldn't say it's really good, but I do appreciate your kind words!
KidGoku15: well now that you put it that way it's kinda weird now innit.
Hey, what's this below me-
"Do you have the information?"
"Yes sir. Tekkadan and Gjallarhorn are both confirmed to be present for some sort of prototype 'test' project of theirs. The scoin of the Kujan family has told us as much."
Jansley Dominikos' response to this new piece of information… was to smile as he drummed his fingers against the table he was sitting behind, with him chuckling a little to himself all the while. He always knew that having that Kujan brat as a consultant would be worth it, and things seemed to be shaping up in his favour as he grinned victoriously.
"Good. Send this information, discreetly, to some of those mercenaries that we conveniently have the numbers of, would you?" suggested the man with the gaudy leopard-print shirt as he rubbed his chin smugly, to which his underling nodded and moved to make a phone call. The Dawn Horizon Corps would be more than willing to take this mission, considering how much grief Tekkadan has caused them as the up and coming rival team of mercenaries, and if they succeeded in destroying their pitiful organisation, especially when Gjallarhorn was backing them up, they would no doubt gain some popularity within all habitable spheres of the Solar System.
And as a bonus, Jansley would finally be free of that hotheaded subgroup that kept stealing his thunder. Kujan had also told him that the whores under Naze Turbine's payroll, namely Lafter Frankland, Azee Gerumin and Eco Turbine, would all be present in the three Warship convoy as well, and if the attack was successful, he could very well deal a crippling blow to his rival in Teiwaz as well.
That thought… excited him, to say the least, as he really hated Naze from the depths of Hell all the way to the heights of Heaven, and with a dark chuckle, he intertwined his fingers and held them up to his chin expectantly.
'Soon, Tekkadan, you'll realize that you're very much out of your league…'