Attack on Titan: Bloodline – Chapter 13 (May 27, 2019)

Whispers circulated like wildfire through the Interior of Wall Sina about rumours of a Titan being on the side of humanity. Meanwhile, outside of Wall Sina, inside Wall Rose, hopeful murmurs of a Titan on the side of humanity were spreading across the cities and towns. The difference between the two walls was astounding.

Lorraine sat at a wooden table next to Mikasa, across from Armin, her hands clasped on her lap, her leg nervously bouncing up and down. They were all apprehensively waiting for any news at all on Eren's trial. Armin bit his lip until it looked like it might start bleeding. Though Mikasa didn't show it, Lorraine could tell she was on edge.

"Is everyone else okay? Annie? Reiner? Jean? Marco?"

Mikasa said softly, "So, Eren's being put on trial...?" Armin nodded and said, "I-I'm not entirely sure of the details, but I...I think it's about deciding what they're going to do with him." Mikasa hummed curiously. Lorraine said shakily, "Wh-what do mean, 'what they're going to do with him?'" Armin tightened his fists and said in a low voice, "Probably whether he lives or dies." Mikasa jumped up to her feet, startling both Lorraine and Armin. Her grey eyes glimmered with a fear Lorraine had never seen in her. An officer dressed in the Military Police uniform opened the door at the top of the stairs and said, "Mikasa and Lorraine Ackerman! Armin Arlert!" The trio acknowledged him and he said, "You three have all been ordered to appear at the trial of Eren Jaeger this afternoon as witnesses." Lorraine tensed. Mikasa took her hand gently and said, "Come on. Let's go." Lorraine looked over at Armin, who nodded sternly, but reassuringly. The three walked up the stairs together and followed the officer, who guided them to a carriage. The group rode in silence to the courthouse in the very center of Wall Sina's Interior.

The carriage came to a full stop just outside the courthouse and the trio walked inside. Lorraine felt Mikasa tugging her towards their assigned seating, but she was shaking. She reluctantly sat in her seat next to Rico, awaiting the arrival of Eren and the Judge. She glanced around, her heart pounding in her chest. She felt like she might throw up, she was so nervous. She watched as soldiers, citizens, and others filed into the empty seats, including the Scout Regiment's most distinguished members. The huge double doors opened loudly and Eren was dragged inside, forced to his knees, and chained up to a very sturdy metal pole. Eren's eyes met Lorraine's for a split second, but Premiere Dhalis Zachary cleared his throat, bringing both of their gazes towards the esteemed Premiere.

"Now, then. Shall we begin?"

He rustled through the papers in front of him and said, "Your name is Eren Jaeger and you are a soldier who has vowed to devote his life to the King. Is that correct." Eren nodded and said, "Y-yes, Sir. That is correct." Dhalis nodded in acknowledgement and said, "As an enlisted soldier during a time of war, military doctrine demands that your trial be held as a Court Marshall. As the Commander of our armed forces, it is left under my judgement whether you live or die. Any objections?"

"N-no, Sir."

Dhalis said, "Thank you for being cooperative. Let us proceed." Lorraine shifted and bit her lip. Dhalis continued, "As we expected, concealing your existence has proven impossible. Unless we publicly disclose your existence one way or another, we will have to face another threat besides the Titans. This court is tasked with deciding which force will take custody of you. The Military Police or the Scout Regiment. First, let us hear the proposition from the Military Police." The Commander of the Military Police, a rather tall man with angular features and a scruffy beard, stood up and said, saluting, "Thank you, Sir. My name is Nile Dawk. I am the Commander of the Military Police Regiment. Our recommendation, following a thorough examination of Eren Jaeger's physiology, is that he then be disposed of as soon as possible." Eren looked visibly on edge at Dawk's words, but the man continued on.

"While it is true that his Titan power repelled the last attack, his character induces disturbances that may eventually lead to a rebellion; therefore, after we have gathered all the information we can from him, we shall make him a fallen warrior of humanity."

A Priest of the Walls strongly protested, "That isn't necessary!" His sunken eyes were wide with rage. He continued loudly, "He's a vermin that has breached and infiltrated the sacred Walls, which were given to us by God! We must kill him right here, right now!" Dhalis slammed his hand down on the desk repeatedly and said, "Order! Pastor Nick, please be quiet. Now, let us hear the proposed plan from the Survey Corps." Commander Erwin got to his feet as Nile Dawk sat back down.

"Yes, Sir. As the Commander of the Scouting Legion, I, Erwin Smith, propose the following: allow us to accept Eren Jaeger as a formal member of the Survey Corps and recapture Wall Maria using his Titan ability. That is all."

Silence fell over the courtroom. Dhalis asked, looking skeptically at the tall, blonde man, "Is that it?" Erwin nodded and elaborated, "Yes. Using his abilities, I am certain that we can retake Wall Maria. I believe the priorities are clearly apparent." Premiere Zachary adjusted his wire-framed glasses and said, "I see. Assuming you were given clearance, where do you intend to launch this operation from? According to this report from Commander Pyxis," he rifled through his papers, reading off of one of them, "The gate at Trost was sealed for good. Is that correct, Pyxis?" Pyxis nodded complacently.

"Yes. It will probably never open again."

Erwin explained, "We would like to begin from Calaneth District in the east. We will approach Shiganshina from there." A civilian interjected, "That's ridiculous! Why don't we just seal all the gates, now? They're the only parts of the wall that the Colossal Titan can destroy, right? Why don't we reinforce the blasted things-" A soldier argued, "Shut up! With a Titan on our side, we can finally return to Wall Maria!" The civilian retorted, "We can't afford for you all to just play hero all the time!" Captain Levi calmly spoke up.

"You talk an awful lot, pig. While we're reinforcing the walls, who says that the Titans will wait around patiently until you can finish locking up the gates?"

Both the civilian and the soldier stared silently. Levi continued, "And when you say 'we', are you referring to anyone but yourselves? Can't you see that people are struggling just to survive off of what little land we have left?"

"We're only suggesting that if we were to seal the gates, we'd be safe-"

"You hold your tongue, you heretic," Pastor Nick once again interjected, "Are you truly suggesting that we lowly humans meddle with Wall Rose, given to us from on high!? The Wall is a miracle which transcends human understanding!" Armin muttered, "That Wall Cult is responsible for delaying the Garrison's arming of the Walls." Lorraine scoffed, "Damn them." Rico said under her breath, "Indeed. They've got enough support and power to do stuff like that. Frankly, though, I don't trust them in the slightest." Dhalis called for order again in the court.

"Silence! Silence! Save your personal opinions for another time and place!"

He cleared his throat and said, "Now, then, Mr. Jaeger, let me ask you something: as a soldier, you have made a solemn pledge to answer humanity's call. Can you use your Titan power to continue serving humanity?" Eren confidently stated, "Yes, Sir! I can." Dhalis ruffled the papers in his hand again and said, "Is that so?" He flipped through to the next page and said, "This report from the battle at Trost contradicts that statement, saying that you, after turning into a Titan, swung your fist at Mikasa Ackerman." Lorraine raised her hand and interjected, "Begging your pardon, Sir, but what happened is he completely lost control and-" Rico said quietly, "Calm down!" Dhalis turned to look over at the young woman and asked, "You wouldn't happen to be Mikasa Ackerman, would you?" Mikasa corrected him, raising her own hand.

"No, Sir. That would be me. I apologize for my sister's behaviour."

Lorraine sighed and glanced at Mikasa out of the corner of her eyes. She felt a drop of sweat run down the middle of her back. Dhalis said in a kind voice, "It's perfectly fine. I understand that you must be quite shaken up about the whole ordeal. Now, tell me, Miss Ackerman: it it true that after he transformed, Eren Jaeger attacked you?" Mikasa gritted her teeth and Rico muttered, "For Eren's sake, you need to answer honestly. Lying won't help him one bit." Mikasa looked from Lorraine to Eren, then back to Dhalis. She took a deep breath, then sighed.

"It's true."

Whispers and murmurs erupted through the crowd, but Mikasa added shakily, "However, before that, he also saved my life twice while in his Titan form!" The crowd fell silent. Mikasa continued, "The first was shortly after Trost fell. I was cornered and nearly killed by a Titan, but then, Eren showed up. He protected me! The second time, he transformed to shield Armin, Lorraine, and myself from cannon fire! I ask you to take these facts into consideration." Whispers started up again, but Nile said loudly, "Objection!" The crowd turned to look at him. Eren gasped and shifted nervously below.

"I have reason to believe that personal feelings are at play here. Let it be known that Mikasa Ackerman and her younger sister, Lorraine, were both orphaned at a young age and were subsequently taken in by Jaeger's family. What's more, we uncovered some shocking details regarding those events. Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, at the age of only nine years, murdered the three men responsible for kidnapping Mikasa and killing her and Lorraine's parents. One can argue that it was merely self-defence, but I can't help but question the violent nature and the lack of humanity required to commit such an act."

More chattering began to echo through the courtroom.

"Yeah. He's probably a Titan who infiltrated us disguised as a human child!"

"He's right!"

"Yeah."

A man shouted, pointing across the room at Mikasa, "What about her!? She must be a Titan, too!" Lorraine grabbed Mikasa's arm. Eren shouted in Mikasa's defence, "Shut up! You leave Mikasa out of this! You can call me a monster all you want, but leave her alone! She has nothing to do with this!" One Garrison soldier growled, "She must be if you're defending her!" Lorraine gripped her sister's arm and glared at the Garrison soldier sharply. He suggested angrily, "We should dissect her, too, just to be safe!" Eren yanked at his chains and shrieked, "Stop it! Be quiet! Mikasa is not a Titan! If you're too scared to fight, then so be it! Let me-"

Before anyone in the courtroom knew it, Levi had run over and kicked Eren across the face, hard enough to send a tooth flying out of his mouth, leaving little blood-spots on the hard floor. Lorraine gasped, letting go of Mikasa in shock. Her eyes were locked onto Levi. The courtroom was suddenly dead silent. Levi proceeded to kick and beat Eren over and over until he was black and blue. Eren grunted in agony and gasped for breath. Mikasa started after Levi, enraged by his sudden assault, but Armin held her back. Lorraine wanted to go after him, too, but she wondered whether he had some reasoning behind the attack. Levi stopped, his foot pressing Eren's face roughly into the ground.

"It's just my personal opinion, but I think pain is the best tool for discipline. You don't need a talking to, boy. What you really need is to be taught a lesson...and from where I'm standing, you're in the ideal kicking position."

Levi gave Eren a few more hard kicks before Nile finally stammered nervously, "H-hold on, Levi. H-he's dangerous. What if he gets angry and turns into a Titan?" Levi rolled his eyes and roughly grabbed Eren by the hair, yanking him up and holding his bloodied face up for the courtroom to see. He said monotonously, "Tch. Don't be ridiculous. Look at him. Besides, you're just going to dissect him anyway, isn't that right?" Lorraine furrowed her brows, shaking angrily and glaring down at the petite Captain of the Survey Corps. Levi continued, "I heard that while he was in his Titan form, he had enough strength to kill 20 Titans before his strength ran out. If he were an enemy, his intelligence makes him all the more dangerous." He dropped Eren ungracefully and stood up.

"He still can't stand against me, though. Tell me, can you say the same? Can you kill him? I don't think so."

Erwin took the opportunity to raise his hand. He said, "Sir, I have a proposition. There's still too much we don't know, but I'd like to recommend that Eren Jaeger be placed under Captain Levi's supervision, then we'll conduct a recon mission outside the walls." Dhalis placed his interlaced hands under his chin and asked, "Eren Jaeger will accompany you on this mission?" Erwin nodded and said, "Yes, Sir. You may look upon the mission results yourself and if he successfully controls his ability, then Eren will have proven his value to humankind." Premiere Zachary said skeptically, "And if he were to lose control?" Levi said, glaring down at Eren, "I can definitely kill him if that's what it comes down to. The only downside to that is that there's no middle ground." Lorraine and Mikasa looked at each other for a moment, then back up at Zachary, who stood up.

"Very well. I have made my decision."

Outside, people filed out of the courthouse, making their way out into town. Lorraine sighed, watching as many civilians dressed in fancy clothes got into their carriages. Mikasa and Armin walked ahead of her as she looked back towards the courthouse.

"Eren. I'm glad you're going to be okay. Thank God."

She turned back, but someone caught her eye in the crowd. Captain Levi was standing by the courthouse, gazing out into the town, seemingly lost in thought, apparently waiting for someone. She stood and stared at him. He turned his head to her, almost as though he knew she was watching.

"Damn him. I know it was for the best, but he didn't have to practically kill Eren."

His eyes narrowed. Hers mimicked his. Their eyes of blue and orange locked together through the thinning crowd. By the street, Armin called to her, "Lo! The carriage is here! Come on!" Lorraine sighed and turned back, letting her gaze linger on his for just a moment longer before running back to Mikasa and Armin. Mikasa looked back at Levi, then asked, looking back at Lorraine, "What is it, Lo?" Lorraine said, "Tch. Nothing. Let's just go." Armin shrugged and got into the carriage behind Lorraine, followed by Mikasa.

The ride back to Cadet Corps' camp was a silent one. The carriage's rattling and the horses' hooves outside were the only sounds heard the whole way back. As the sun began to lower itself in the sky, the world was bathed in a deep yellow hue. The trio was exhausted, both emotionally, and physically. When the carriage finally came to a halt outside, they got out and started to walk back to camp. They stepped back through the wooden gate into the familiar grounds where they had lived the last three years of their lives. Krista ran out to them from inside the mess hall, picking up the hem of her long, red skirt as she trotted towards them, a look of relief washed over her face.

"Armin! Mikasa! Lorraine! Are you three alright? Where's Eren?" Mikasa said calmly, "We're fine. It's a long story. We'll tell you later." Krista sighed and said sweetly, "Well, I'm glad you're all okay." She turned to Lorraine and said, "Oh, Lorraine, Reiner's been waiting for you. He's been so worried." Lorraine's eyes lit up and she asked, "Really? Wh-where is he?" Krista thought for a moment, then said, "Last time I saw him, he was headed to the training field." She nodded and ran off, thanking Krista briefly. Armin started after, but Mikasa grabbed his arm and shook her head, smiling a little.

Lorraine ran around the mess hall building to the training field and jogged through the gate, looking around for him. Finally, she saw him. He stood in the shade of the storage building, a small washrag in hand, wiping the sweat from his forehead and the back of his neck. He'd been working out and was wearing a simple, army-green tank top, though it had patches that had been soaked with sweat. Lorraine's heart beat faster as she stood at the end of the training field, waiting for him to see her. She smiled and her breathing hitched a little as he looked her way.

"Lorraine...!"

She started running to him, a smile on her face. She practically leaped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground momentarily. She held onto his neck and he said, resting his chin on the top of her head, "Lorraine! I was...I didn't hear anything about you or the others after the whole ordeal in Trost, so I thought...!" Lorraine looked up and moved her hands to his chest. He was still damp with sweat, but she felt once again that warmth that emanated from his body. She smiled and said, "I'm okay, Reiner. Mika and Armin are back, too, and Eren's with the Scouts." He cocked his head to the side.

"Eren's with the Scouts?"

Lorraine nodded. She explained, "Yeah. Long story short, the Scouts are going to take him on some recon mission to try and prove his worth to humanity." Reiner said, "At least he's okay." Lorraine said, "Yeah. So...how're things here?" Reiner sighed, "Not too good. We lost a lot of soldiers. They're planning to hold a bonfire tonight to burn the bodies we found in the cleanup to try and prevent any kind of disease outbreak." Lorraine sighed.

"I'm sorry."

Reiner pulled her close. She rested her head on his heart. He said softly, "There's nothing any of us could have done." She nodded and said, "I know." He just held her there, stroking her long, silky, black hair. He looked down at her, his brows knitted together.