He knew they shouldn't trust him.
Bertholdt Hoover's mind was awash with confusion and anxiety, the revelation of Floch Forster's knowledge left him feeling exposed, like a naked tree in the midst of winter, vulnerable to the harsh winds that threatened to tear it apart. Working with an enemy was a dangerous game, like walking a tightrope over a bottomless pit, with one misstep leading to certain doom, but the stakes were too high to turn back now.
And what choice did he leave them, anyway?
The cadets began dispersing as the last of the corpses were burnt down to the bone, the warriors made their way to their makeshift barracks as did the others, ready to put this day behind them. But that came to a halt as Floch Forster stood blocking their path, the three were quick to notice the intense glare he sent their direction.
"Everything okay? Floch." Reiner was the first to speak.
The boy remained silent, limping his way forward until he passed them, coming to a halt right behind them. They tracked his movements from the corner of their eyes, as he spoke words that caught them off guard. "Meet me at the barn on the other side of the river, I'd like to have a chat with the warriors of Marley."
By the time the trio processed his words, he had already vanished around a corner. They exchanged looks of disbelief as Annie and Reiner sent Bertholdt knowing looks, the colossal worriedly nodded in return. The three didn't waste any time making their way to the specified location, albeit cautiously. When Floch had finally reached the area, he found himself immediately pinned to the wall by Reiner and Bertholdt as Annie pressed a knife directly against his throat. He observed them indifferently, tracing his gaze down at the cold steel kissing his skin.
"Start talking." Annie demanded.
"Lower the blade first, I'm no good at speaking with sharp objects at my throat." Floch replied.
Annie narrowed her eyes, refusing to acknowledge his request, a simple glance towards Reiner pushed her to comply as the Armored gave a slight nod. She lowered the knife away from his neck, but kept it low and ready just in case as the redhead maintained his visage of apathy.
"Who are you?" Annie said.
"Don't I look familiar? We met once before, out there beyond the walls, but I bet I looked much different than this." Floch vaguely questioned before confirming their suspicions.
'Y-you look familiar, that's all!' Annie recalled in her mind as her eyes widened, quickly putting the pieces together.
"You're him, the one who killed Marcel." Reiner muttered next to him, his voice trembling like a leaf, wrestling with the pain he carried on his shoulders.
This prompted Floch to raise a curious eyebrow. "Was that his name?" Floch asked before freezing, feeling the knife back at his throat again.
"Prove it." Annie hissed menacingly.
"Or what? You'll kill me? We both know damn well you have more to lose than I do in this situation, If I'm killed your families will suffer immensely. Unless you can afford all the trouble you'll cause, put the knife down. Besides, don't you think it's counterintuitive to draw my blood?" Floch challenged assertively as he leaned forward against the blade, not long after Annie grit her teeth in frustration and backed down knowing he was right.
"I don't remember much, but I do know that you were all sent here to capture the founding titan and return it to Marley. I remember the night before Marcel was eaten, I remember the three of you being there, but not much else." Floch answered nonetheless.
The air was heavy with tension as the warriors pondered his words, Floch observed the three respectively, each of them processing the situation differently than the rest. Reiner looked like he had seen a ghost the way his body trembled, Bertholdt was hard to decipher but that glint in his eyes was hard to miss, his mind reeling from the sudden understanding.
"Why come out now?" Bertholdt questioned.
Floch blew air out of his nose in amusement. " Good question, let's get straight to it shall we? I wish to work with you."
Annie narrowed her eyes skeptically. "I'm having a hard time following your logic, what's your angle here?"
"My angle? Let me put in plain and simple, humanity behind the walls is finished. You have them beaten at every turn. Soon enough, you'll have nothing and no one to stand between you and the capital, slowly but surely they'll turn on each other and you'll have what you came for. However, what if I told you that you're about to lose something incredibly important for Marley?" Floch asked them.
"And what's that?" Bertholdt inquired.
"You might not know this, but Eren will be executed in the coming days. With someone like him gone, Eldia pretty much throws away It's last line of defense out of sheer fear and ignorance." Floch began, shocking them with the severity of the information. "I have made contacts in the capital, If you work with me I'll be able to retrieve Eren and bring him back here for you in exchange for a favor. I have someone I wish to protect, I want them taken away from Eldia before the inevitable arrives."
"The inevitable?" Bertholdt asked.
"Eldia's destruction." Floch nodded.
"So you'll bring us Eren before he is executed and in exchange we take this person away from here?" The colossal asked again, willing to listen out of curiousity.
"Precisely, I'll even return the titan I've stolen from you." Floch added, glancing down at the ground.
Annie didn't look all too convinced while the others pondered his offer. "Why wouldn't we do that ourselves? Better yet, why are you so eager to sacrifice yourself?"
"Because whether you like it or not you need me, they're on high on alert, and some fear that Eren might secretly be in cahoots with you and is just trying to trick them into lowering their guard so getting to him won't be easy. But if you can slip in undetected in time then be my guest, otherwise you're out of luck. I know my way in and out of the capital. And lastly, I'm doing this because I want something to guarantee that my humble demands would be fulfilled by your higher ups." Floch replied as Bertholdt's eyes flashed with understanding.
"The person you're trying to protect."
Floch nodded before Reiner cut him off with a look of sheer panic.
"Hold on, you said they'd be throwing away their last line of defense when you mentioned Eren's execution, could that mean-." Reiner blurted as Floch smirked.
"Yes, the king of the walls is dead. Eren Yeager currently holds the founding titan."
The knowledge weighed heavily on Bertholdt's shoulders, but he knew that they had no choice but to press on, like a ship sailing towards an unknown horizon, guided only by the vague promises of Floch Forster. He joined the rest of the cadets in their effort to help reconstruct the damaged headquarters, as they moved the rubble out of the castle. His eyes trained on the two titans that the scouts helpd captive in the courtyard, as he and the other two exchanged silent agreements. It wasn't until Bertholdt neared his comrades in the 104th that he overheard their conversation.
"Hey, where's Sasha?" Connie asked Kirsta as they carried their duties around headquarters.
"I don't know, I can't seem to find Ymir anywhere either." The blonde replied with a look of worry.
Connie scratched his head as he set down the crate he had been carrying with a sigh. "Man, what is up with everyone today?"
Marco couldn't help but overhear them as well as he too felt a creeping suspicion about Sasha's behavior earlier this morning, and the freckled girl's disappearence.
'What's going on?' He found himself thinking.
Somewhere out in Trost, a certain girl had no choice but to follow after the convoy that set out for the captial and alert the authorities. She knew this was risky but what else could she do knowing that the enemy could be anybody among them? It broke her heart to admit, but she couldn't even trust her comrades, knowing that Ymir and Floch were potentially traitors themselves, all she knew now was that she needed to reach the royal capital.
Sasha slinked through the busy streets, her uniform concealed by a cloak. Her senses heightened to a fever pitch as she followed after Ymir from a distance, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that crept up on her. Her footsteps were silent as a whisper, her breathing shallow and measured, a hunter stalking its prey.
"I haven't told you this yet, but I spoke to the armored and colossal yesterday, made a deal with them. All I have to do now is make my way to the Survey Corps and finish what I started."
Was the Survey Corps the answer to this? Sasha was determined to find out, but first she needed to reach them before Floch could get the chance to pull off what he and Ymir had set out to accomplish. Ymir made her way through the inner gate and to the town on the other side as she ducked into an alley. Sasha went after her but as she turned the corner, she came face to face with the unexpected.
Ymir, a cold and menacing expression on her face. Sasha froze in her tracks, her heart pounding in her chest like a drum. It was as if she had stumbled upon a sleeping beast, and in her eagerness to follow her curiosity, she had awoken it.
"H-Hello there, Ymir." Sasha let out awkwardly with a sheepish grin.
The girl could barely process the next few seconds as she was dragged from the lively streets and into the dark alley.
As Ymir subdued her, Sasha couldn't help but feel a sense of bitter disappointment wash over her. She had barely even begun, only to be caught like a common thief. The fear that coursed through her veins was too great, too overwhelming. It was as if a thousand hands were gripping her tightly, squeezing the life out of her. Ymir kept her locked in a choke hold as the light began fading from her eyes, she squirmed and flailed her limbs to no avail as darkness quickly claimed her.
By the time she woke up again, Sasha found herself sitting against a wall with her hands bound above her head inside of a familiar room. The girl's heart sunk as she tried to scream out for help, but found that she had cloth tightly wrapped around her mouth.
Ymir gazed down at the girl unnervingly, a dagger visible in her hand. "So It was you who spied on us yesterday."
Muffled screams escaped her throat as the girl desperately called out for help, prompting the freckled cadet to sigh. Sasha could only look on in horror as the brunette drove it straight next to her head, silencing her as she crouched down to eye level.
Ymir spoke with a piercing gaze. "You really shouldn't have done that. Save your breath, Sasha. No one can hear you here."
"I pray that the treasure you seek sleeps in that cellar in Shiganshina." - Darius Zackly 850 AD, Days before the operation to reclaim wall Maria.
He trusted him.
The air was thick with a sense of betrayal as Eren sat on his knees shackled, his heart pounding in his chest. He was hurt, angered, and most of all confused. His sense of injustice was palpable, a gnawing ache that refused to be silenced. His mind raced with questions, doubts, and fears. The world had turned against him, he was now at the mercy of a single man and yet within this house of vultures and fanatics he just couldn't get over the most glaring issue of them all.
Floch Forster.
At the very least not everyone had thrown him to the wolves, he was inwardly appreciative of Armin and Mikasa's presence off to his left. They were the ones he could truly trust, they were the ones who remained by his side throughout this entire shitshow.
"You'll do well to remember that I'm the only person you can trust with this, no Armin or Mikasa."
Eren frowned as he remembered Floch's words, what the hell was the meaning of all this?!
"There is no need for that nonsense! He is nothing but a vile pest that needs to be eradicated! His mere presence alone is an insult to god's wisdom! He must be exterminated at once for his mockery and deception of our sacred walls!" A rabid priest of the walls barked as the commander of the MP's finished giving his proposal.
"Priest Nick, order, please." The premier interfered.
The man in question backed down with a seething glare aimed at the titan shifter as the premier continued. "We'll hear the Survey Corps's proposal next."
"Yes, sir. I, Thirteenth commander of the Survey Corps, Erwin Smith, will present my proposal." Erwin stepped Forward. "We will welcome Eren Yeager as an official member of our forces, and with the use of his powers we will be able to bring satisfying results in reference to our on-going appeal with the Military police. That is all." Erwin concluded.
"Is that so?" Zackly asked with intrigue.
"Yes, sir. This new addition to our ranks will not only work towards the recapture of wall Maria, but the extermination of both the armored and the colossal titans. We believe it should be clear what our priorities should be and it entails eliminating any and all active threats to our kingdom. " Erwin replied.
"I see, where do you plan to initiate your mission? Pyxis, has the breach in Trost been effectively sealed?" Zackly asked.
The Garrison commander gave a brief nod. "Yes, that entrance shall never be opened again."
"We would like to set out from Karanes in the east, from there we will set out to Shiganshina. Our route will be determined as we go." Erwin take the opportunity to speak again as they all turned to him.
A spark of hope lit up inside Eren, but it extinguished as soon as a man from the right side suddenly blew his top.
"Hold on! Shouldn't we just be sealing the wall gates once and for all? The Colossal titan can only target those weak areas, if we can strengthen them, we needn't endure any further attacks." He reasoned with them nervously.
There it was again, another execuse to have him killed. Another person that called for him to be stripped of his freedom, of his life, of his dreams. It hasn't been even five minutes and his hope for a future had already been stepped on countless times. He drowned out their noises, completely ignoring the ruckus that erupted around him. He was no better than cattle in this room, a weak creature without say in It's own fate, what good will it do him now to listen to the old and foolish bicker and argue?
He was brought out of his trance by the tapping from the premier's hand. "You may take your personal philosophies and opinions elswhere. Eren Yeager." The boy looked up anxiously. "I wish to confirm something, are you able to continue serving as a solider, using your powers to benefit humanity?"
Eren nodded frantically "Yes, I can!" He replied with full confidence.
The premier brought a report up to read outloud. "But the report on Trost's defense says this.. Immediately after turning into a titan, Eren Yeager rushed to crush Floch Forster and swung his fist at Mikasa Ackermann, nearly killing both."
Eren, Armin and Mikasa were taken aback by the statement as their heads snapped in Floch's direction, the girl in question looked at him with a seething rage as the other two remained in a state of disbelief.
"That damned bastard, he must have written that report." Mikasa hissed under her breath.
"But why? I thought he was on our side..." Armin added in confusion.
"Is Mikasa Ackermann present?" Zackly demanded.
"Yes, sir."
"Can you confirm the validity of these statements." The man asked.
Mikasa's face scrunched with discomfort, her eyes darting between Eren and that wretched snake. The woman beside her, Rico, whispered to her advisingly. "Trust me, you will do Eren more harm by lying."
A few moments later the oriental girl's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yes, It's true."
The entire room broke into whispers as they fixed the boy with looks of fear and contempt. Eren looked on in shock, unable to recall the event, wondering why he hasn't been told about the incident until now.
'I tried to kill her? Mikasa? Me?...'
Mikasa spoke up again, in an attempt to soften the blow. "But before and after that, he saved me and countless others on many occasions! The first time, he came in his titan form and covered us while we were attempting to escort civilians to safety! He stood between us and the titans, protecting all of us! The second time, he saved me from an ambush by an aberrant after having sealed Trost's breach! I would like these facts to be taken into account as well." She added.
"I see. Floch Forster, can you share your side of the situation?" Zackly ordered.
The redhead stepped forward, all eyes now on him. "Yes, sir."
Floch briefly looked in Eren's direction, not missing the murderous gaze Mikasa had sent him before he cleared his throat. "Eren Yeager showed up at a crucial moment and provided us with much needed support in our struggle against the titans, that much is true. However," He turned to look at the prermier, speaking with a cold and factual tone. "It became apparent that once the immediate threat of the titans was taken care of, he showed open hostility towards humans due to his lack of control over his powers, endangering the lives of thirty-seven cadets and a civilian girl." Floch stated as the people broke out into whispers again, with many shouting insults at Eren this time.
"Order." Zackly tapped his hand against the desk again.
Nile looked pleased as he fixed the girl with a glare. "I would like to add that Ackermann's comments are greatly influenced by her personal feelings. Mikasa Ackermann has lost both parents at an early age, and thus had been adopted by the Yeager household. After thorough investigation, we uncovered an interesting fact about the underlying events. At age nine, Eren Yeager and Mikasa Ackermann killed three robbers who tried to kidnap her. Even in the case of self defense, their fundamental humanity must be questioned."
Even Floch looked surprised at that piece of information, his mask of indifference briefly disappearing.
"Is it right to entrust humanity's fate, resources and lives to him?" Nile asked as the court broke into unpleasant whispers again.
The man who had interrupted earlier pointed his finger at Miaksa accusingly, a glint of fear in his eyes. "Is she... How- How can we know for sure if she's not like him?!"
"She should be dissected, then we could tell!"
"Yeah!"
Eren's eyes widened in alarm as their focus shifted towards her, he lashed out at them apprehensively. "Wait! She has nothing to do with this, nothing at all! I'm the monster here!"
"You can't be trusted!"
"It's true!"
"You're covering for her! She's one of you!"
"No!" Eren shouted with rage, pulling on his shackles roughly as he effectively silenced everyone around him.
"You're all wrong, all of you. You're taking shots in the dark in the hopes that something lands, as long as it fits your narrative. Besides... Should I say this? None of you have ever seen a titan before. What are you so afraid of? Is this helping? No, I have to tell them what's on my mind. What the hell is the point if those who can fight don't? If you're afraid to fend for yourselves, for your survival, then let me do it for you! Y-you, you damned cowards!" He hissed at them.
"W-what?" One of the soldiers on the MP side stuttered.
"Just shut up for once! And take a bet on me!" He screamed outloud, as the court went deathly quiet.
Nile dok looked intimated by this act, as he motioned for the man beside him to shoot the boy. "Weapon's ready!" The soldier in question jumped in his skin as he hastily reached for his rifle and took aim.
Eren felt a pang of fear in his chest at his impending doom, however a figure approaching from the corner of his vision momentarily distracted him. To everyone's shock, the boy suddenly went limp with his face slamming against the concrete as Levi Ackermann stood above him. Mikasa was quick to snap from her stupor as she attempted to rush him with the intent to kill, the soldiers around her hastily subdued her, another one hitting the back of her head with the butt of their rifle as Armin watched helplessly.
"Tsk. This is what you're all so afraid of?" Levi spoke to the intimidated crowd, he made his way out of the room without any further incident as the man with the rifle disregarded Nile's order.
"I have seen enough." Zackly spoke, the man gathered his papers and neatly stacked them as he spoke up. "I believe the decision is clear then, I hereby declare Eren Yeager a danger to our society and as such will face execution for the protection of humanity." Zackly declared, the gavel echoing across the room as the occupants erupted.
If Zackly's decision bothered him then he didn't show it, Erwin and his men simply began leaving the court as Armin sank to his knees in horror. Tears leaked out of his eyes as he traced his gaze to the one who enabled all of this, Floch Forster greeted him back with a smile.
The sun was nearly down as Eren Yeager trudged out in the courtyard of the royal capital towards his execution, his footsteps heavy and slow, he couldn't help but feel a sense of profound despair wash over him. The weight of his chains felt like an unbearable burden, dragging him down to the ground, a symbol of his impending doom. As he looked up, he saw the faces of the people his powers had helped save. He had fought tooth and nail to protect them, to preserve their existence in a world that seemed hell-bent on destroying them. Yet, in their eyes, he saw nothing but contempt and hatred, a stark reminder of the fickle nature of humanity.
The premier Zackly watched from a window far away, before he turned around and left, not interested in the slightest in watching the titan boy's execution. He came across the commander of the Garrison, as the two men walked passed each other, Pyxis paused and spoke while looking straight ahead.
"I thought you would have been interested in seeing the results of your judgement." The old man said.
"What judgement?" Zackly replied nonchalantly as he walked away.
Eren stopped at the bottom of a tall wooden platform where he'd meet his end, the rope that hung ominously from the gallows swayed in the wind like a pendulum. Eren could feel his heart pounding in his chest, a primal instinct to fight against the injustice that was being inflicted upon him. But he knew that it was all for naught, that the die had been cast, and his fate had been sealed, if he fought now then he could endanger the lives of Armin and Mikasa.
As he stood on the platform, his head held high, he couldn't help but feel a sense of bitter irony. He had saved them all, and yet, they were the ones who were taking his life. It was as if they were cutting off the hand that had fed them, a senseless act of self-destruction. Eren looked up at the sky mournfully, he failed at honoring the promise he made for her. But it was then that he had noticed something strange out in the distance, Eren squinted as he noticed one of the soldiers guarding the roof seemingly vanish from sight.
The officer behind him brought his attention as he fastened the noose around his neck. "Everything will be fine." The man whispered behind him, sending a shiver down the boy's spine as he placed a bag over his head.
His heart began beating even faster as adrenaline surged through his body, what could that possibly mean? He didn't wish to die in darkness, he wanted to see the sky one last time! He didn't want to die a pawn in this game of life, he wasn't some sacrifice to be made in the name of the greater good! He had dreams and ambitions, he wanted to exterminate the threat of the titans! Learn the truth from Floch! See the outside world with Armin!
He wanted-
Eren gasped, the trap doors underneath released as he plunged towards oblivion.
As the moon hung high in the night sky, a horse cart burst forth from the outskirts of Trost, careening across the dirt path with a ferocious speed. The creaking of the wooden wheels and the the rhythmic pounding of hooves against the ground echoed through the stillness of the countryside. With each jarring turn, the cart bounced and swayed, threatening to overturn at any moment, yet the driver seemed fearless, urging the steed to even greater speeds.
"I owe you for this, Henning." Floch spoke as he sat behind the driver on the cart.
"Don't mention it, It's the least I can do for you. My squad is being called back to Ehrmich anyway." The scout replied. "Besides, If It's so urgent that you'd request meeting with the commander then who am I to deny? What's this all about anyway?"
"You'll find out when we get there, I don't like to repeat myself." Floch replied, Henning shrugged his shoulders and focused back on the road.
The redhead traced his gaze towards the serenity of the landscape as they left a roiling cloud of dust in their wake. He only had a few precious hours to set this plan into motion, but he knew the commander to be a reasonable man. It would take another hour for them to reach the neighboring town, the horse cart slowed when they went passed the gate and soon came to a halt in front of the Survey Corps offices.
The rider dismounted alongside the passenger, wiping sweat from their brow, and made their towards the front entrances where two men stood guard. They exchanged salutes as Henning took the boy inside, Floch looked around with a sense of nostalgia as they walked through the familiar halls of the regiment headquarters.
Soon enough, they halted in front of a set of double doors. "State your business." The guard at the door demanded.
Henning took over as he spoke. "We're here on urgent matters, this cadet behind me wishes to speak to the commander."
The guard looked over Henning's shoulder towards Floch. "Commander Erwin is currently busy with a meeting, he can return tomorrow morning."
"It can't wait till morning." Floch tried to reason.
"I am sorry, but you will have to return at a later time." The man replied prompting Floch to sigh, he suddenly paused upon noticing the pistol aimed at his chest.
"What the fuck are you doing, kid?!" Henning hissed as he jumped in his skin and took a couple of steps back.
"Take me inside, please." Floch said politely, motioning for the man to open the door with his pistol.
The scouts sat in a dimly lit meeting room, with Erwin Smith sitting at the head of the table. His piercing gaze fixed on each of his squad leaders in turn, as they went over the files for Eren Yeager's upcoming tribunal, a topic that had left most of them feeling uneasy. Erwin's voice cut through the silence like a knife, his words sharp and decisive.
"I believe then that it's been made clear that Yeager is crucial to our future as an organization, and humanity as a whole." Erwin stated, as the occupants of the room traced their gazes to the key laying in front of the man on the table. "This here, has the potential to unlock many secrets that have left us in the dark for decades. Thus, from this day forward all of our efforts will be centered around utilizing Eren Yeager's powers to pave way for the reclamation of Shiganshina and Wall Maria as a whole."
As he spoke, Erwin's eyes flickered to the entrance. He knew there were people wanting to enter on the other side, his suspicions were confirmed when the double doors were pushed open.
"Someone wishes to speak with you, sir." The guard informed him nervously.
"Who might that be?" Erwin questioned.
The guard tensed before he moved to the side, revealing Floch Forster much to Erwin's surprise. The commander noticed him pocketing something before the redhead announced his presence. "Cadet Floch Forster of the 104th southern division sir." Floch spoke, making many people in the room raise their brows in question.
"What the hell is a cadet doing here?" One of the squad captains whispered to the people seated next to him.
"Ahh, Floch. I see you've recovered since I've last seen you. Welcome, how may I help? We are in the middle of an important meeting as you can see." Erwin questioned patiently.
"Thank you, commander. Unfortunately, this meeting has to be adjourned, I have vital information concerning Eren Yeager as well as the armored and colossal titans." Floch replied, shocking the occupants of the room into silence.
The squad captains shared looks amongst eachother as Erwin's brows briefly raised in surprise, he glanced towards the guard and nodded, the man saluted and left the boy and Henning alone as he closed the door behind him. Floch looked towards the squad captains, briefly acknowledging the presence of his former squad leader Klaus before he spoke again.
"I'm afraid I'll need to ask everyone seated at the table to leave, besides those three, commander." The redhead said, pointing at Hange, Levi and Mike.
The group bristled at the suggestion, murmurs of protest and disbelief filling the air. But Floch stood firm, his eyes flashing with determination. He had no guarantee he could trust any of these people, he was familiar with Levi and Hange and Mike was the secondhand man of Erwin. To their surprise, Erwin went along with his request and ordered them to wait outside, the remaining members of the group exchanged wary glances, their minds racing with possibilities.
"You may speak now." Erwin spoke with a calculative gaze.
"Thank you, sir. I have no time to waste so I'll cut straight to point. Nearly two weeks ago I anonymously sent your office a letter for you to meet me privately in Trost, since then I've come to realize that my letter may not have reached you." Floch began, Erwin turned to Mike who in turn shook his head to deny receiving such a letter. "The reason for me writing to you being that I have discovered the identities of the armored and colossal titan." Floch revealing, stunning the remaining occupants of the room.
"What?!" Hange and Henning nearly shouted, Erwin momentarily frowned before he motioned for Floch to coninue.
"Back then I thought you'd bring your men and we could ambush them before any harm came to Trost, but as you already know that didn't happen. I had my doubts at first, but right now I firmly believe that the Military Police might have had something to do with this discrepancy." Floch said.
Erwin nodded. "Then that explains the sudden ban on our expeditions, Trost was our starting point. I have read the entire report on the situation, I found it odd how many troops they had stationed there prior to the attack. That parade must have been a distraction, what they were really after were the titans."
"Yes, unfortunately for them, they have no experience handling those let alone intelligent titans, so they had no idea what to look for."
"They pulled away troops from the gate a few minutes prior to the colossal titan's assault, I believe they must have mistakenly thought the fire was where the attack would commence?" Erwin questioned.
"Seems that way to me, sir."
"Let's not get ahead of oursevles, you still haven't told us who they are yet." Levi interjected with mild annoyance.
Floch glanced in his direction, before nodding. "Reiner Braun, Bertholdt Hoover and Annie Leonhart. These three are cadets belonging to the 104th southern division." The room became quiet again, as the mention of the 104th cadet corps left them all with similar conclusions.
"Other titans from the 104th?" Mike commented incredulously.
Hange looked intrigued. "Hold on, that's three people, that means there's another titan we have yet to encounter." She concluded, her eyes wide at the implications.
"I overheard them discussing their plans days prior to the attack. When I realized you weren't coming I tried my best to stop them without risking them transforming like Eren, but as you all know, I failed." Floch informed with clenched fists.
Erwin hummed. "I see, thank you for bringing this to our attention. There's going to be a drastic shift in our priorities it seems."
Hange spoke. "We'll need to deal with them as soon as possible after we're finished with the tribunal, we can't afford another attack on our infrastructure at this stage."
"Should we rally our troops and discretely make our way back to Trost, we can catch them off guard before they attempt anything else." Mike suggested.
"That'll be tricky, we are not exactly familiar with how their powers work. We cannot jump straight into action without planning or else it could spell disaster, However," Erwin pondered before glancing back at Floch. "I believe from the look on your face you already have something in mind, if you happen to know more then now is the time."
Floch nodded.
"I do. In fact, this right here is part of the plan. It's in motion as we speak."
Eren felt someone carrying him away, as the shouts of the bystanders progressively became distant. Numb and confused, Eren found himself tossed to the ground as his supposed savior removed the bag from his head. The green-eyed boy looked up in shock, finding none-other than Floch and Ymir.
"Hah, look at him. He probably shit himself." Ymir snickered from the sidelines.
Floch extended his hand towards him.
"Come on, Eren. Let's get out of here."
(Nearly) One year anniversary, yay!
I watched the new episode and can finally be able to remove the spoiler tag, fuck you Floch I'm glad you're dead now you stupid bitch. I don't actually like him, this fic was just an elaborate scheme to lead all of his fans on until he gets taken out by queen Mikasa. I'll be deleting this story soon.
I'm just kidding, see you all next chapter. (or am I?)
