Annie's return to consciousness had been quite the occasion, and as soon as she had regained it fully, the various soldiers from the MPB were already brandishing their weapons and training them in her general direction.

Rifles and rifles were all aimed in the general direction of her cell, all wielded by soldiers that never had any reason to employ them in any meaningful way prior to now, and despite the assurances from the Survey Corps that she was incapable of bringing any harm upon them, none of the MPB members dared step foot into Annie's cell.

It was almost funny, really. Just a few minutes ago, the soldiers had been discussing the endless amount of torture they wished to inflict upon the blonde for what she's done, but the moment Hanji had reported that she was stirring, their uptight nature had faltered, and the once confident soldiers had been reduced to horrified rats that were attempting to build up their defense to fend off a defanged and anorexic lion.

The sudden shift in demeanor had given Hanji second hand embarrassment, though she said nothing of it as she hung back and patiently waited for a few select individuals to arrive.

Said individuals made their presence known rather quickly, much to Hanji's appreciation as she turned to acknowledge them.

"Commander, Mike, Shorty," greeted Hanji with a grin as Erwin, Mike and Levi, respectively, marched down to where they were holding Annie. The last guy in particular had scowled at the nickname she had shot at him, though he held off on any rebuttals for now, as he knew that she was doing it to stave off her current anxiety.

"Hanji," greeted Erwin in return as a small handful of soldiers from Teams Mike and Levi marched down after them. The cramped space they were in, exacerbated by how there were several other MPB soldiers on standby at the moment, made it impossible for the entirety of the two teams to fit down here comfortably, and as such, only Eld, Gunther, Nanaba and Lynne were present. Fitting, how the most senior members of either team were asked to be present, Hanji supposed. "What's her status?"

"Conscious, though I can't confirm much more than that. Pricks over here ushered me away after they realized she was awake," huffed Hanji in annoyance, eliciting a snort from Eld.

"Can't fault them for doing so, I guess. Still though, isn't this a little overkill, especially for one prisoner?" mused Eld, with him gesturing to all the MPB present, crammed into such a small space whilst wielding rifles and blades. Levi shrugged at this.

"These soldiers have never seen a Titan up close, not till that bitch, at least. It only makes sense for them to be so defensive," groaned Levi. "I'm just surprised they didn't shit their pants the moment she woke up."

"How vulgar…" muttered Lynne off at the back, much to Nanaba's agreement as she sighed, though that conversation didn't really go anywhere as Erwin marched onwards. Without wasting any time, Smith had the soldiers around them dismissed, with him wishing to have some privacy between his men and their prisoner. A good majority of the MPB soldiers were more than happy to vacate the premises, though a few others were less than thrilled to be bossed around, by a Survey Corp, no less.

"Who died and made you the boss, huh?" scoffed a particularly bold soldier as he lowered his rifle and gestured towards the blonde, who frowned at his words. Ever since his failure with the Expedition, quite a lot of individuals had been looking down on Erwin and, by proxy, his military brigade. In the past, they did at least respect his authority as a Commander, but now that his position as one was no longer certain, the MPB soldiers took it as a chance to belittle their superior.

Erwin was very much willing to ignore this, as he saw no reason to respond to such petty insults… though the same couldn't be said for Hanji, who had an arm around the MPB's back in an instant before she pulled him in close for a side-hug.

It was anything but friendly, and the soldier knew this, though he remained mostly calm as Hanji spoke to him with a smug grin.

"Well, kid, I'm not sure if you knew this, but he is the boss, and if you want to know who died, well, no one's dead just yet… but we can certainly change that if you give us reason to," grinned Hanji, and as she spoke, Levi, seeing some amusement to be had, played along with her thinly veiled threat against the soldier and cracked his knuckles in a menacing way, or as menacing as someone his size could get, at least. The message was sent through rather well, as the MPB soldier paled at the connotations. "Now then, get lost, buckeroo."

It was safe to say that no one lingered thereafter, though a few did hang around the stairwell leading to the prison block. Turning towards his soldiers, Erwin had Nanaba, Lynne, Petra and Eld stay outside on guard duty. Mike was to join them, though he was instructed to remain directly by the door and peer in; Smith wanted his friend to be in on the interrogation as well, though the cramped nature of Annie's cell would make it impossible for them to all fit in without significant cramping. Zacharius was fine with this.

And as for Levi and Hanji, those two just followed Erwin in, and as soon as he had the door to her cell open up, the trio couldn't help but flinch at just how disheveled Leonhardt looked.

Her days of being unconscious were certainly catching up to her, as the blonde looked particularly disheveled. Her head was bowed, though through her bangs, the soldiers could see that Leonhardt's eyes were rather hollow. It wasn't as though she had the most life in her gaze prior to her capture… but now, the spark of life that once resided in her blue gaze seemed to be snuffed out.

It somehow made her look less alive than Barbatos…

That aside, her attire was most definitely ragged, with various rips and tears here and there. The MPB had taken to removing the blonde's Military Police Brigade jacket as a way to break off their connection to the traitor, leaving behind her parka. A small part of Hanji shuddered as she acknowledged the greater-than-zero chance of a few individuals having intended on removing that as well, though she quelled that thought for now before sighing.

"She stinks," groaned Mike from outside, with him flatly adding that Annie's body odor was also rather awful. That in itself made sense… it had been three days (possibly more) since she had been cleaned, though no one acknowledged that beyond Zacharius' comment as Erwin moved in and knelt down in front of Annie.

Narrowing his eyes at the blonde, Erwin observed her briefly before he spoke. The girl showed no real signs of consciousness, as she kept her head bowed and her eyes shut, but they had seen her eyelids part moments prior; her current state was no doubt a facade, and by all accounts, the three individuals present could see through this with little issue.

"Annie Leonhardt. I know you can hear me," began Erwin, uncaring on whether or not Annie would respond to his words. They could force a response out of her later if she wouldn't comply, though for whatever reason, the Commander's stomach churned uncomfortably at that notion… "As you can tell, you are currently our prisoner, and it should be obvious that your escape is very much an impossibility. As such, you are at our mercy, and simply put; we have little to none to spare for you."

"..." no response from Annie, though she did shift the position of her head a little to one side to break Erwin's line of sight. It wasn't anything of substance, but it was a sign to the Commander that she was listening, which wasn't a bad thing.

"However, we are willing to offer you some amnesty should you comply with our demands," continued Erwin. At his words, Hanji raised a brow, surprised that Erwin would even consider such a thing, though a quick and meaningful look from Levi told her that Smith was lying. Considering the current uncertainty behind his rank alone, Ackerman doubted that his superior would even be able to arrange a last meal for their prisoner, and to a certain extent, Annie seemed to recognise this as well, as upon hearing that he was willing to grant her some mercy, her head shifted back towards him as she glared at the Commander with contracted, manic blue eyes.

The intensity of the girl's gaze had caught Erwin off guard, leaving him silent for just long enough that Annie could speak. Her voice was rough, a byproduct of just how long she had been out cold for, though it didn't stop her from speaking either way.

"Amnesty… is something… you cannot give," spat Annie weakly as she held Erwin's gaze. Her manacled hands clenched into fists as she spoke, and by the back, Levi reached behind himself and grabbed for a knife he had brought with him as a safety precaution, and outside, Mike gestured for his subordinates to be on guard, just in case. Still though, despite her hostility, she was unable to do anything to her captors as she eventually relented and went limp once more, something that made Smith scowl as he knew that she was correct.

Potential amnesty was all he had to offer her, and Annie had seen through his empty promises. With nothing else to offer her, nothing of value, at least, the Commander knew that he would be unable to get her to spit out anything of value, not without some harsher methods anyways, and with a scowl, he sighed and nodded.

"Very well then…" muttered Erwin neutrally. He only really felt disappointment towards how he wouldn't be able to get any information out of the young woman in a nonviolent manner; when the MPB stepped in, the Commander couldn't make any assurances for her safety, though in all fairness, he doubted that even if his rank wasn't in jeopardy, he wouldn't be able to make a good argument as to why they shouldn't carve Leonhardt open anyhow.

Best to let her reap what she sowed, Erwin reckoned.

With a grunt, the Commander got up and motioned for his subordinates to follow him out. Hanji and Levi both did as instructed, with Mike opening the door for them, though as everyone, barring Hanji who remained behind to assist in the upcoming experiments, departed the area, the members of Team Mike lingered behind, with Lynne and Mike observing Annie for a spell whilst Nanaba hung back with a frown.

"I remember seeing her a few months back. She practically stole Mikazuki away from us for a day…" mused Lynne, with her slouching her shoulders as she spoke. Mike raised a brow at this.

"I was not told," hummed Mike, eliciting a blush from Lynne as she scratched her cheek.

"You were busy planning out the Expedition, and it was a particularly small issue, so…" responded Lynne, with her looking away sheepishly as she tapped her fingers together. Behind her, Nanaba suddenly found a random spot on the wall to be the most interesting thing in the room, so much so that she just so happened to not notice when Mike had turned to give her the nasty side glance. Zacharius grumbled a little at this, with him finding his subordinates' lackadaisical mannerisms to be a little much at times.

"I'll have to ask him about this. Perhaps-"

"I didn't… tell him anything."

The sudden comment from Annie had shut Mike up almost immediately, with him and the other soldiers present turning to face her with surprised expressions. For her part, Leonhardt seemed unwilling to say much else, but even so…

"We were just… hanging out. I… didn't share anything important with him back then… don't do anything to him… he doesn't deserve it…" muttered Annie, with her keeping her head bowed as she spoke. Mike was surprised at the protective tone that was hidden underneath Leonhardt's otherwise neutral voice, but still, if the bond between her and her friends was anything to be believed, Zacharius reckoned that this was par for the course.

Even if Mikazuki did not see her as one, it was clear that Annie still did, and for as icy cold as her heart might've been, the young woman still cared for him at least, and at least in that regard, Leonhardt had Mike's respect.

"Duly noted," was all Mike had bothered to say to Annie before he shut the cell door on her. Thereafter, he motioned for his subordinates to follow him out of the place. After passing Hanji, he gave her a stiff nod that more or less told her that she had full reign from now till whenever Leonhardt expired as her test subject.

Zoe's half-hearted nod was… troubling to Mike, as he had hoped she'd be more energetic about all this, though that was besides the point, he reckoned. Annie was in Hanji's hands now, for better or for worse, and that only left Mikazuki to deal with.

Well, there was also another individual that needed to be worked on, but currently, said individual was Levi's problem and not his.

"Are you feeling better today, Jaeger? No sore spots or, God forbid, broken bones, yes?"

"I'm fine, sir. Just… still trying to recover from, well… everything, really."

"How quaint. You're alright and not alright all at once."

To say that Oruo was the worst choice of temporary caretaker towards Eren Jaeger would be an understatement, but considering how the Survey Corps that remained within Sina were being stretched thin at the moment, one could always assume that other worse choices were out there.

Still, even Oruo knew that there were better options out there outside of himself, but all the other viable ones were off doing some other crap. Petra and Tomas were keeping an eye on that Mina girl (or more specifically keeping an eye on the guards that were keeping an eye on the girl), Henning and Gelgar were overseeing that pilot brat's recovery and everyone else of note was off checking up on that traitor, leaving Oruo as the only one left to do the boring shit, which was to keep an eye on Eren.

The dude really wanted to say no to this mundane job, but alas, due to his loyalty towards Levi, who had made a personal request for him to remain to keep an eye out on Eren, Oruo had begrudgingly accepted his role as life's current whipping dog and remained by Jaeger's side. The Titan Shifter had spent a majority of the day asleep, which was understandable, Bazad reckoned. Though he had participated in a small part of the battle against Annie, the boy was still beaten to a pulp, and though he pretended not to, Oruo was still concerned over whether or not the boy had fully healed from that battle.

Out of all the major contenders of that battle, Eren had been the first to awaken, and almost immediately, he had been brought before the Military Tribunal to be judged (after about a day of recovery that was just barely approved by Zachary, anyways). Unlike the likes of Mikazuki Augus and Annie Leonhardt, however, Eren… had been given a pass when it came to execution, with the tribunal, surprisingly enough, finding a few reasons to keep him alive for now, though nothing had been confirmed just yet.

Through idle chatter, however, Oruo could deduce that, unlike Mikazuki, who was a true Wildcard and, in a manner of speaking, a Trickster of sorts, Eren was much easier to handle. He could be killed in more conventional manners, and by that virtue, he was easier to control. Bazad didn't really like how the higher ups were looking for a puppet they could use on the battlefield rather than combat efficiency, but it wasn't as though someone of his rank could do anything to change their minds.

'S'not like letting this brat live would do us much good, though,' thought Oruo bitterly a few days prior, with him recalling how… middling Eren was in all regards. That wasn't to say that the young man was a bad investment; if he could properly control his abilities, then he'd be one of their strongest assets. But still, based on the times he had managed to transform, Jaeger had proven himself to be too much of a wildcard to be reliable.

He had good strength, sure, but without the proper temperance, his overwhelming power meant almost nothing…

… and, truth be told, when you've experience strength on the level of Gundam Barbatos firsthand, you'd find yourself rather complacent when it came to brute force, and regardless of how good Eren became on the field, Bazad knew that he would never match up with the Mobile Suit that the Military Tribunal was planning to scrap…

"Sorry sir. I… just don't know how to feel right now," came Eren's apology as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, snapping Oruo out of his mild trance as he turned to stare at the kid, who was sitting atop a bed in his loaned room within Sina. The boy still had a bandage wrapped around his head, which was rather comical as Bazad highly doubted that he really needed it, and a hard look on his face; it was the look of someone trying to look tougher than they really were.

Take it from Oruo, he knew how to pretend to look tough, and Eren was failing miserably at it.

"Can it, kid. I get how you feel. Shit's fucked up right now, and we're only scratching the surface of this whole mess," assured Oruo gruffly, with him scratching the back of his neck as he spoke. It felt rather odd, really, as Bazad had never spoken with Jaeger in private, not until now, anyways. It felt nice to have some alone time with the kid, not that he'd ever admit to such a thing, but regardless, he was secretly glad that the young man was doing alright, physically anyways.

"I… it's my fault, isn't it? I should've-"

"You should've been better? Fuck yeah, you should've, but don't beat yourself up over it," grunted Oruo, with him crossing his arms and leaning against a wall as he spoke. Eren felt himself shrinking a little under the dour man's words, though Bazad eventually continued. "Honestly, you're not entirely at fault here. We could've contained the situation a lot more efficiently, but we didn't. All of us could've been better during that whole debacle, but we weren't. No point in beating around the bush on that matter, kid. Just look straight ahead and learn from this experience, you got that?"

"... yes sir," responded Eren with a smile, and to that, the Elite huffed and offered the boy a small smile.

"Drat, you're making me go all soft now, you little shit. Make sure you don't tell anyone about this, alright? Or… or I'll make sure something supernatural happens to you or some shit, you got that?" scoffed Oruo, eliciting a smile from Eren as he spoke. The young man nodded in response to that 'threat' from Bazad, who huffed in response to all that. In truth, he had intended on saying that he'd wish that Annie had swallowed him, but he knew better than to claw into a fresh wound, even as a joke.

Regardless, whatever else the two would've said was quickly cut short when the door to the room swung open, and in an instant, the various other junior soldiers that had been in on the initial capture Annie plan raced in. Armin rushed in first, holding onto a tray of soup and bread, with Mikasa, Sasha and Jean coming in shortly thereafter. Oruo watched as the blonde set the tray of food down onto the closest table before he rushed towards his friend to check on him. Mikasa obviously beat him to the punch, though, as she had practically lunged at her little brother to make sure he was alright, with Sasha and Jean both hanging back as they observed at a distance.

In truth, it was rather heartwarming to watch these kids show as much concern as they were for one another. Off by the sidelines, Bazad could only smile lightly as he observed Mikasa check on her little brother for injuries, and thankfully enough, he had none, which was to be expected, though Eren noticeably shied away from her touch, much to her dismay.

"Stop it, Mikasa! I…" began Eren, with him stealing a glance at Oruo as he spoke. "I'm fine! Alright! You don't have to coddle me all the time!"

Ah… there he was, tryna be strong in the face of authority once more. The sight of this was enough to make Oruo chuckle lightly as he shook his head in amusement, and within moments, everyone present turned to face him, wondering why he had laughed in the first place.

"Tsk, kid, just let your big sis watch over you. There's nothing embarrassing about accepting help, you know?" scoffed Oruo as he motioned towards Mikasa, who hid her slight blush under her scarf as she processed his words. Eren spluttered a little at this as he tried to deny what was being told to him, much to the amusement of his superior before continuing. "Need I remind you: you almost fucking died less than four days ago. If your sis didn't care for you, then she wouldn't be doing any of this, you got that?"

"Well yeah, but it's… embarrassing…" muttered Eren, eliciting a snort from Oruo all the while.

"Acts of love always tend to be," responded Oruo with a roll of his eyes, and at that, Mikasa tugged on her scarf before she went back to checking on Eren once more. Much to her delight, however, rather than shrugging her off as he usually did, Jaeger instead went with her prodding, with him responding to her questions without as much heat in his voice. There were times where he almost snapped at her, but thankfully, for Bazad's sanity, he kept that to a minimum.

Whilst Mikasa finally got to pamper Eren for a change, with her only stopping to allow Armin to hand the guy his soup, Jean found himself scooting towards Oruo in an awkward shuffle. Sasha was there to join him, and with a clear of his throat, he caught Bazad's attention, and when he raised a brow in his general direction, the young man took it as a sign to speak.

"Sir, if I may… what's the-"

"Classified."

"Huh?! But I hadn't even-"

"It was regarding Mikazuki, wasn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"I said classified, kid."

"How'd you even know, anyways…?"

"It was fuckin' obvious, honestly. What the fuck else were you gonna ask about?"

Jean found himself lost in responding to this one, and as such, Sasha did so for him.

"... bonus pay?" squeaked Sasha with a dramatic shrug, eliciting a rapid nod of agreement from Jean. Oruo responded to this by clapping his hands together in annoyance, and moments later…

"Fine you got me there, but the more obvious answer was on that brat," rebutted Oruo. Jean and Sasha found themselves sheepishly nodding at this, though that didn't stop them from pressing the matter, much to Bazad's annoyance. "Stop asking about it, you damn brats! As I said, the issue with Mikazuki is classified. Juniors like yourselves don't have the clearance to get in on this!"

"But… what about me, sir?" piped up Eren, with him setting down his now empty bowl of soup as he spoke. At that, the Elite paused as he looked to Jaeger for an explanation, and when he did, the boy continued. "I… I'm technically a member of Team Levi, aren't I? So doesn't that-"

"A new member, kid, one that's barely made it past his budding years. You've got a few kills under your belt, sure, but you haven't proven yourself to be trusted with this info. No offense, of course," grumbled Oruo. Upon concluding, Eren slouched his shoulders in dismay as he nodded in acceptance, prompting Armin to pat him on the back as comfort whilst Mikasa gave Bazad a disapproving glare. Sensing a potential for bad blood to form between them thanks to this, the Elite eventually decided to add on, with him clearing his throat before he did so. "But, I guess you guys do at least deserve to know that he's still alive, at least."

"Oh. I… I see," muttered Armin, with his gaze lowering to the ground as he spoke. The other soldiers present mirrored this gesture, with all of them seeming unsure on how to react to this info, a reaction that was not unnoticed by Oruo, who raised a brow.

"What's with the lackadaisical reaction, eh? I thought you kids would be glad to hear that he's alive," mused Oruo, and in response to this, the juniors shifted uncomfortably, with none of them knowing how to respond to this as they did so, though not long after, Sasha cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Well, you see, sir… it's just that… we've been hearing about how Mikazuki's…" began the Dauper resident, only for Mikasa to cut in when she realized that her fellow junior wasn't sure how to word this.

"We've heard that Mikazuki was potentially in league with Annie," stated Mikasa bluntly. Her words were spoken with her atypical neutrality, but still, there was an air of doubt behind them as she appeared uncertain as well, and at that, the Elite cringed. Had the rumors regarding that gotten out as well? Best to clear things up with his juniors, he supposed.

"Kh, that brat's not guilty of anything. Not yet, anyways, since nothing's been confirmed just yet," hummed Oruo, with him crossing his arms awkwardly as he spoke. Whilst doing so, however, Eren looked keen on saying something, though Bazad beat him to it. "Think of it this way; would he have lifted a finger to assist in the operation within Sina if he was really conspiring against us?"

Opening their mouths, the junior soldiers were about to rebute their senior's comment in some way, though they found themselves unable to do so. This in itself elicited a small amount of smugness from the Elite as he grinned a little, though regardless, he continued.

"Besides, I'm sure that some of you can attest to seeing firsthand just how badly Barbatos had torn Annie apart. It got damaged, sure, but nothing about how it was damaged tells me that the kid was going easy on our shared enemy," added Oruo, with him shuddering a little at the memory of those two behemoths quite literally tearing each other apart. The battle between Leonhardt and Jaeger may as well have been a playground tussle when compared to that bloodbath.

"Well… yes, sir. Those are all valid points. But… even so, the way he acted before that operation has me wondering. It was as though he knew something we didn't back then," admitted Armin. Oruo, on that front, had no real argument against Arlert's words, though this was more or less because he wasn't in charge of overseeing the pilot. It would've been best to take this up with a member of Team Mike.

"I… wouldn't know. I wasn't babysitting him at the time. It's best if you asked someone from Mike's Squad if you wanna learn more about how he acted, I guess," groaned Oruo, with him uncrossing his arms as he continued. "But the point is; until he's proven to be guilty, he isn't. That's just how the world works. We can't condemn someone, not until we're a hundred percent sure they're our enemy."

Those words soured in Oruo's mouth right as he said them, with him knowing full well the irony behind them. Still though, the juniors present before him seemed to give his comments some genuine thought as they processed his words, and moments later, Jean spoke up, seeming rather thoughtful all the while.

"We won't condemn him, but we will still doubt him until we're proven otherwise, sir. But for now, I do wish to ask… do you think Mikazuki is innocent?" asked Jean, curious as to what his superior's stance on the matter was. In response to this, Oruo sighed and scratched the back of his head in annoyance. All these questions were starting to get on his nerves, but still… they were good ones, and he saw no reason to answer regardless.

"Honestly? The kid's hard to pin down, and it can go either way. The way he pummeled Annie tells me he was really out for blood, but soldiers rarely ever get that fired up. The brat must've known something that we didn't to get him to riled up, and depending on what that something is, he can be considered both innocent and guilty until we figure that out," mused Oruo with a shrug. Jean went silent at this, with him finding his superior's words to be worth considering as he nodded thoughtfully, and from then on, not much else was spoken as the soldiers simply went silent, with all of them just basking in each other's company as the seconds ticked by.

At one point, however, Sasha had moved to take Armin's place beside Mikasa, with the blonde moving to take her initial place beside Jean, and as the two young women tucked Eren in for a nap, the bumpkin cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I, uh… I'm goin' back ta' Dauper soon. Kinda wanna see m'family and assure em' I'm alright," hummed Sasha offhandedly. Mikasa raised a brow at this, though she nodded, with her finding Braus telling her this somewhat unnecessary, not that she wished to vocalise this. The bumpkin wasn't done just yet, though. "Er… wouldja like ta' come with?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"N-Nevermi-"

"Sure, why not."

And over in the background, Oruo couldn't help but snicker in amusement as Sasha's cheeks warmed up at Mikasa's positive response.

The knowledge of his friends being alive was a small comfort to Nac, but even so, it did little to quell his worries.

With a groan, the soldier got off his horse and rolled his shoulders, though not long after, his stallion moved over and lightly bumped its snout towards Nac's face. The young man chuckled lightly at this as he gave it a gentle pat over the head followed by a few scritches, though not long after, Ness had made his presence known, with him marching over to his junior with a small smile and offering to get the horse to the stables.

On a better day, Nac would've declined, but now, he just accepted it. The young soldier was too emotionally tired to argue, and honestly, at this point his bed seemed like a very enticing spot to be at right now.

Still though, he couldn't just head back to his room just yet. The young man, upon re-entering the Rose district military base, was quickly cornered by his previous Team Leader, Sys, who had a look of relief when he saw the guy. In truth, Luke had been just a bit worried when he had not been able to find Nac for the past three days, and when the young man had deflected by stating that he technically wasn't on his team anymore, the Captain simply scoffed.

"Just because you're not on my team doesn't mean I can't be worried, kid!" grinned Sys as he lightly punched Nac's shoulder, a sign for him to get a move on, before he walked past him, though as he did so, Tias could see that a small handful of soldiers had gathered behind Luke as he was addressing him. Said handful were individuals that Nac recognised, and they all looked rather worried for one reason or another, and with a soft sigh, the senior soldier offered the young man a light squeeze on the shoulder. "You have friends you've worried too, but…"

Sys paused briefly, only to lightly pull on Nac's shoulder to bring him down to his level so that he could whisper to him.

"Kid, I know that you know more about the current issue, more than you're letting on. Don't tell them any more than you need to, you got that? A lot of what you currently know is highly confidential," stated Sys, with his tone of voice growing dire as he released Nac's shoulder. Tias noticeably recoiled at his words, though he responded to his superior's warning with a quick nod, and at that, his shoulder was released before the Captain left the area, leaving the young man with his friends.

And in an instant, Nac was dogpiled by questions that he really didn't have the energy to answer.

A short while later

Thankfully enough, however, the small group that had cornered Nac recognised that he was winded, and after recognising this, they gave him some space to recuperate in the canteen, where he was currently biting into his third loaf of bread.

Close by sat Mylius, Christa, Reiner, Bertholdt and Ymir, all of whom appeared worried for Nac, though their levels of worry decreased in descending order. Zeramuski in particular sat oddly close to Tias as he looked as though he wished to say something on more occasions than one, though he kept stopping himself.

"So…" began Reiner, with him clearing his throat as he watched Nac ask for his fourth helping of bread. How he wolfed it all down without water was beyond anyone present's comprehension, but that's besides the point. "Who's gonna ask him?"

"You, of fucking course. If you're gonna be the one to break the silence, then you do it," groaned Ymir, with her rolling her eyes as she spoke. Reiner flinched at Ymir's crude remark as he watched the freckled young woman give him the expectant glare, though their eye contact was quickly broken when Christa lightly slapped her friend's arm.

"Ymir, please. Be considerate… now is not the time for such language," scolded Christa lightly, with her staring up at Ymir with a disapproving stare. Fritz didn't respond to this outside of a mild scoff, though Lenz knew her enough to acknowledge that that was her way of 'apologising', so to speak, as she exhaled lightly.

"Kh, whatever. Either way, if you're not enough of a man to ask him, then I will. What the fuck happened in there, Nac?" asked… well, demanded Ymir, and in response to her words, Nac froze with the bread halfway into his mouth before lowering it. His gaze darted around uncomfortably as he tried to find a way to respond without revealing the whole truth, and, sensing his unease, Mylius attempted to come to his aid.

"Ymir, please, N-Nac's just came back. Maybe you should give him-" began Mylius awkwardly, with him rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, though before he could finish that statement, the young man he was defending silenced him with a raise of his hand. Setting down his chunk of bread, Nac clasped his fingers together and looked between the juniors all around him; friends that he had fought beside during both the Trost incident and the Expedition.

He trusted them with his life… and by all accounts, they deserved to know at least some of what had happened amidst the walls of Sina, though he'd have to be careful so as to not spill too much.

"It's fine, Mylius. I'm not too tired, so I can answer some questions, I suppose," mused Nac with a smile. It was tired and strained, and his comrades could see that, though only two out of the five seemed to be worried about his physical condition, as evident by how Bertholdt almost smiled at Tias' compliance.

"Well, that's nice of you, Nac. So, if you don't mind me asking… what exactly happened in there?" asked Bertholdt, with him sounding rather thoughtful as he spoke. To this, Nac simply shuddered. In truth, the young man had not seen the battle up close. If anything, he was only present for the tail end of the conflict… but still, he had seen enough to know that it had been a messy ordeal, and he really didn't wish to relive those memories once more…

"... how much do you guys know about what happened there? As in, like, rumors and all that," asked Nac first and foremost. He wished to get a proper scale on what his comrades knew and did not know before he went about revealing anything, and upon saying this, his fellow juniors shuddered, with Mylius speaking up first.

"Well… we heard that… someone like Eren was exposed as a traitor within the ranks of the MPB, and as a last ditch effort after being found out, they transformed and went on a rampage. That's all we really heard on the down low," stated Mylius as he scratched his cheek. Nac hummed at this, with him gauging the responses from the others as he did so. They seemed to be on the same boat as Zeramuski, though Reiner and Bertholdt did seem a tiny bit uncomfortable with the matter, especially the former, who shifted a little as he did his best to remain neutral.

"I see. And what about the identity of this traitor?" asked Nac for added clarification, to which Ymir snorted.

"No clue. Could be anyone from within Sina at this point, not that I care," stated Ymir, though it was abundantly obvious that she very much cared about the identity of their traitor, if only out of general curiosity than anything else. Reiner and Bertholdt shifted just a little more as she said this, though they said nothing on the matter as Christa piped up.

"All that we know for certain right now is that Mikazuki and Barbatos had both rushed in to fight the traitor, and that we have not seen them for quite some time. Them… and Mina. In truth, I'm beginning to worry for their safety," admitted Christa, with her intertwining her fingers together as she spoke. The worry in her tone of voice was genuine, not that it was surprising to anyone, but still, it was nice to know that people still faced for his friends outside of himself and a select few others…

"Well, I can't really confirm much, but… I can say that Mika and Mina are both alright. At least, that's what I've been told," said Nac assuringly. His tone of voice betrayed his words, however, as his own worries seeped into them like poison into one's system, and ultimately, none of his friends/acquaintances seemed to believe him, but they still went along with it, more so for his sake.

"Well, that's… good to hear. Honest," smiled Bertholdt, with him clenching his hands into fists beneath the table as he spoke. He was getting a little impatient with all this meandering, and he really wanted to get some solid intel out of Tias sooner rather than later. "Hey, just curious, but… did you happen to learn the traitor's identity? Like, I-I'm not saying that you know who they are, but I just thought that you'd have insider info, seeing as how, y-y'know, you just returned from Sina and all."

"Huh? Well… uh… n-no, I wasn't able to," responded Nac, with him stating a bold-faced lie as he looked away from his pals. His lying was mistaken for discomfort, however, as the other junior soldiers respectfully backed away from pushing the matter, with even Ymir going silent as she acknowledged her acquaintance's sudden bout of apparent awkwardness. Only Reiner and Bertholdt were unconvinced by this, however, though the latter said nothing of it whilst the former rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, in that case… do we know if sh- they are still alive?" asked Reiner, with him seeming a little thoughtful as he spoke. His slip-up was not unnoticed by his fellow juniors, but they didn't acknowledge it as they turned to give him a curious gaze, prompting the muscular blonde to hold his hands up defensively. "Hey, it's a valid question that I'm asking here, alright? Knowing if your enemy's dead is a vital part of being a soldier!"

"... shit, he's got a point," scoffed Ymir after a brief moment of silence, and at that, Nac sighed and chose his words carefully.

"I… I don't know if they're still alive. I only arrived in Sina at the tail end of the conflict and saw very little. But… there's a greater than zero chance of them still being alive, just in captivity," was all Nac responded with, with him not wishing to let out the grievous news of how one of their fellow 104th Corp Trainees, and one of his most trusted friends, had been conspiring against them for god knows how long. A small part of Tias was still struggling to come to terms with this piece of info, honestly, but either way, his comrades seemed to buy his words for what they were as they nodded and mumbled between themselves in acknowledgement.

Thereafter, his fellow soldiers began to disperse, with Reiner and Bertholdt leaving after a while to discuss some matters whilst Ymir departed moments later. Christa and Mylius lingered a longer than necessary as they wanted to make sure that Nac was fine; the young man had assured them that he was, but still… the duo knew better.

"If… you need someone to talk to, Christa and I's doors are always open. M-Metaphorically, anyways," stated Mylius as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. In response to this, Nac chuckled lightly and offered Zeramuski a winning smile, a sight that made the junior soldier somewhat flustered as his cheeks heated up. Looking away briefly, the young man gulped as Christa smiled sweetly.

"I second his statement, Nac. We are here for you, so please, do not hesitate to come to us for help," seconded Christa, eliciting a small smile from Nac as he waved them off.

"I'd hate to be a burden on the rest of you, but thanks either way," thanked Nac with a nod of his head, and at that, the final two dispersed, with Christa offering Tias' hand a gentle pat before departing whilst Mylius looked as though he wished to say something. Whatever it was he wished to utter out, however, it had died in his throat as he cleared it and sighed.

"Take care, Nac…" was all he settled on before he offered Nac's shoulder a light squeeze, and thereafter, he left, leaving the young man alone in the cafeteria. Tias remained mostly silent as he basked in the solitude that was offered to him; the young man was always so happy to be around others that, in truth, he had forgotten just how oppressive it could be to be alone. But… in all honesty, he wouldn't see it as a bad thing.

Sometimes you needed to be alone to clear your mind, and right now, Nac needed some solitude to help clear his mind. The young man shut his eyes briefly before clasping his hands together and resting his forehead against his laced together fingers, and after a few moments of remaining like this, he groaned and got up, perhaps a little more forceful than he had intended, and sighed softly to himself.

No point in sitting around and waiting for a miracle to pop up, he supposed. All he could really do now was wait… and he didn't wish to spend all that time just lazing around.

Perhaps he could get himself cleared for a few days of leave. He damn well needed it, that was for sure…

The nurse assigned to look after Mikazuki frowned lightly as the news of Annie's awakening reached her ears, albeit indirectly.

Gelgar and Henning were still present with the medic, with the former lightly dabbing at Mikazuki's forehead with a wet cloth, assisting the nurse in keeping the young man clean, whilst the latter stood by and tried to not look interested. Still, the occasional glances towards the unconscious pilot spoke volumes of just how much he really cared for the junior, and from time to time, he did ask for his status, disguising it as offhanded curiosity, though Gelgar's cheeky grin told everyone present that he knew it was more than that.

The two had, obviously, wished to depart the moment they heard of the young traitor's awakening, but even so, they had paused briefly when, rather abruptly, some of Mikazuki's fingers twitched when the medic had wiped a towel over his arm. The sudden movement had caught all of them off guard, with Gelgar quite literally bolting up from his seat at this whereas Henning darted towards the seemingly awakening boy. The medic in particular was also somewhat shocked to see this, and her shock only grew when she felt the young soldier's fingers lightly entangle around her wrist.

It was a gentle sensation, but it made her heart race in shock all the same.

"..."

A mild mumble found its way past Mikazuki's lips, but his eyelids weren't opening any time soon. Before long, his minor grip on the MPB medic had slackened as well, and when it did, the young doctor retracted her arm and rubbed at her wrist uncertainly.

"D-Doc, is he-" began Henning as he loomed over the medic's shoulder, worried and not even bothering to hide it anymore. Likewise, Gelgar was also glancing down at her, his eyes wide with trepidation. Neither could really be blamed for such a reaction, honestly, as it had been almost a week since Mikazuki had fallen into this state, and thanks to the lacking medical equipment in this world, quite a few were already preemptively calling him a corpse in the most literal sense of the word.

Still though, the members of Squad Mike and Levi held onto hope for his recovery… hope that still shone, even as the young medic frowned deeply and shook her head.

"No… I've seen this before. Just because he moved a little doesn't guarantee his reawakening," stated the young medic sadly, with her observing Mikazuki with a remorseful look in her eyes. The same applied to the two Elite Survey Corps, who were just exasperated as Henning resisted the urge to punch the wall closest to him "Even so… it is a sign that he isn't dead, so that may account for something."

"... it accounts for everything, doc," muttered Gelgar after some time, and at that, he offered to stay behind to just… make sure that the pilot, if he woke up… nay… when he woke up, he'd have a familiar face to see.

Henning remained behind as well, with him grumbling to himself as he commented on how Mikazuki was taking away his alone time, though there was a distinct lack of heat in his voice. Gelgar could hear it, the guy was genuinely hoping for Augus to awaken… and that in itself made him smile.

'You'd best wake the fuck up some time soon, kid. We're all waiting for you… even if most of us just want your head on the chopping block.'

So... rather than update the story chapter by chapter, I opted to write everything from Chapter 59 to Chapter 62 in one go!

Yes indeed, from here till chapter 62, the story will be updated back to back! That's why it's been pretty slow! Fancy that!

Not much else to say really. Kinda tired... I wrote a new story on Archive Of Our Own, actually! It's called Empress's Valour, check that out if you wish! I'm considering porting it over to FF.N, but that's neither here nor there.

Peace~