Chapter 36:Soldier of Three Armies.
Annie Leonhardt did not expect to wake up so early,not without her crystal chrysalis at least. But she was unable to spot any possible remnants of the cocoon anywhere.
She did not get to wonder about her chrysalis for so long however. The room she woke up in aggitated her the most. It was unfamiliar, so different from her hometown and knowledge she knew about the island. The lightings in her room were obviously electricity, but it was somehow more advanced. 'Was the intel wrong?'. She thought for herself when she the tubic-white light bulbs on the ceiling.
She looked around the room. It was not originaly designed to be a jail, but it was currently acted as one, for her. There was a toilet seat in a corner of room, only a few footstep from the bed she was laying on , with a sink and hose next to it. The door was what made the room a prison cell, it was made of pure metal, with no door knob nor lever.
She leaped from the bed and rammed at the door, punching and kicking it to no avail.
"Hey! Is anyone out there?"
She continued to try to force open in futile for an amount of 10 minutes until she collasped in despairation and fatigue.
"Please, step away from the door." A gentle voice of a woman came from the otherside of the door.
Annie got up and crouch down near the steel door, just when the door would open she would lunge out and made her escape.
"Miss, please step away from the door! You do not want to know what will happen if you don't comply!"
' How the hell does she…? Doesn't matter!' Confused by how the woman knew what she was doing. Regardless, Annie did not comply.
"You've been warned! I'm regret to have to do this to you!"
Then Annie jolted to the floor when she felt a great pain going through her body, as if she was electrified. She trembled on the floor for a while before the pain went away. Sweated and terrified, she retreated to the bed and laid there, finally complying.
"Open!" The door slid open and reveal a blue-haired woman,wearing a congressman outfit, holding a food tray. And Annie immediately knew who she was.
"Lady Winters!" The Lady raised her eyebrows when her name was said. "Your blue hair!"
"Hmm, a trademark nonetheless! I guess I've made myself quite a reputation." Sighed the Lady, before she put the food tray on the bed. And then she noticed the ferocity in her prisoner's eyes. "Maybe this might calm you down. I'm Gohan's mother."
If Annie had any attempt to attack the Lady and escape after the zapping, she aborted them when she heard the Lady's claim to be Gohan's mother. She feared and respected the Monkey Boy enough to the point she would not harm his family.
"I see his name is the magic word. I wouldn't have need to zap you if I'd already known that." Grinned the blue-haired woman when Annie apeared calmer.
"Wait, I…" Annie flashed back to the Forest of Giant Trees, where she had crushed Gohan into a tree.
"No, you didn't kill him. And yes, you'd already be dead if you had!" Though Bulma's smile was comforting, her eyes were hostile. "He does not heal as fast as whatever you are, but he heals." There was ackward silence between the two females until the Lady pointed at the tray. "It's yours. Have at it!"
Annie looked at the metal food tray on the bed, it had two loaves of bread, three sausages and a chocolate bar; to much of a treat for a prisoner. She hesitantly grabbed a loaf of bread and started to chew on it.
"How did you get me out?" Asked Annie, remember that she was out of her cocoon which was not surposed to be broken.
"Technologies, duh!" Bulma indicate the furnitures in side Annie's 'cell'. "Out of this world does it? Because it is!"
"The technology where I came from was not like this!" Annie moved on to the sausages. It took her a while to know what she had just said, and she covered her mouth in terror.
"As you put it like that! I assume there's civilisation beyond the Walls, isn't it?" Amused by the Female Titan's oopsies , the Lady giggled. "When I said 'out of this world', I meant the world without and within this excuse of a safe haven."
Annie Leonhardt gasped when she was overwhelmed by a bombardment of information. It was too soon to say she was enlightened, but from what she had seen in her cell, she knew the Lady was not lying. The only way the Female Titan coped was to eat, she finish the bread and the sausauges her tray and moved on the chocolate.
"I didn't expect to be receiving such special treatment, for what I've done." She could feel the sweetness of chocolate, a luxury only the upper class could have, and now a prisoner was enjoying it.
"Oh,you're lucky to eat what we eats. Thanks to Jonathan, you fall into my hands." Said Bulma. "If it was the Survey Corps,you'd be totured,experimented on and killed. If it was the Military Police,you'd also be totured, experimented on and killed. But then again, none of those idiots has the tool to get you out."
"Lucky me!" Annie said sascasticly, still relishing the chocolate flavor. "Where am I? Looking from the technology, we're not some where people know of!"
"You're in the Bunker. Deeeep underground! This place is built for greater threats than you!" Bulma leaned on the wall. "Only people from where I'm from get to get down here. You're the only outsider has the privelege to be here. That privilege being you're our prisoner."
"Oh, so I AM your prisoner."
"Now, that I have answer your questions. It's time for you to answer mine." The Lady sat right next to Annie, with no fear of the Titan Shifter. "Were all the Titans once humans?"
Annie became speechless at the question. It was unknown to her whether she had figured that out on her own, or the Lady got that from the Survey Corp; if the latter was true then the Scouts might have found out about it somehow.
"Your civilisation from outside the Walls made another attack into the Walls few weeks ealier, to a village named Ragako. The villagers disapeared and Titans appeared from nowhere in Wall Rose, and then you and your co-conspirators can turn into Titans. So, I put the two and two together." The Lady didn't raise her voice nor did she make any bad gesture at Annie, but there was hate in her voice. "Your countrymen killed a village full of innocents, ignorance, but innocent people. Not if that bothers you, you responsible for countless inncocent deaths aswell."
Annie wanted to protest at the Lady's accusation, but she could not mutter a word to reply to Bulma's statement.
"No need to worry, Gohan singlehandedly killed all the Titans there. A true one man army!" Bulma picked up the empty food tray and stood up. "His strength plucks up the hills,his might shadows the world. He's a hero now. Hmm,a title for mortals!"
"Where is he now?" The mention of Gohan aggitated the Female Titan,also the information that he had recovered quick enough to fight a village-full of Titans.
"He's joining the MPs. He made famous enough outside, now let's let him do some inside. The story of the Soldier of Three Armies will be spread in all humanity." The Lady walked out the quarter. "This just a start of his hegemony! Close door!" And the door closed behind her.
"Wait!" Annie did not run quick enough before the door closed. She then studied the mechanism of the lock before made an attempt to escape. "Open!"
"Access Denied! Invalid Voice Protocol!" Her futile attempt to command the door was responded with a femenine voice.
"Okay, the fuck?"
"I've told you you would join us!"
The Military Police Commander Nile Dowk smiled at Gohan from his desk, the glass of brandy on his desk was untouched the whole time since Gohan entered his office.
"Didn't expect my mother to be involved." Puffed Gohan, still bitter of having to leave the Survey Corps.
"Well, I'll be honest with you, Captain Winters. She's been breathing on my neck to make sure you'd be in the Brigade, and a Captain no less." The man tried to hide his shaking hand as he stood up and walked to Gohan. "She was not very comfortable with you outside the Walls and playing around with Titans. Especially not after your injury!"
"I'm quite clueless of what she's done to have such influence to you." Gohan crossed his arms and stared at his comander.
"I think you should ask someone else about that." Nile led Gohan to the door and opened it. "Let's introduce you to your team, shall we?"
The Commander and the new Captain walked down the MPs HQ hall and in two minutes, they reached the courtyard where about a hundred of other MPs were waiting for them. One of them probably a senior officer, commanded the others.
"Atten-hut!" The MPs stood at attention before saluting Nile and Gohan. "Commander! Captain!"
"From now on! You'll be commanding the Brigade's HQ in Stohess! The men and women here are all yours to command!" Informed Nile, notioned to the company of troops before him. "Soldiers, this is Captain Gohan Winters, your new precinct commander! If you not happened to know, he is the Angel of Trost! He was with the Garrison Regiment's vanguard back at the battle of Trost, and later he was with the Scouts! He is the most merited soldier humanity has ever have, and it is an honor to have him in our ranks!"
"Commander, may I have a question for the Captain?" A champagne blonde female MP spoke.
"Ask away!" Nile granted her the permission.
"I was told that The Angel of Trost has a tail!" She leaned on her side ,trying to peek at Gohan's back.
"I believe you were also told that I have ten fingers!" Gohan showed her his hands, reveal the stumps that used to be his two fingers. "I was in the Survey Corps, it happens. I was lucky enough that my tail and my fingers were not the thing left of me and not the other way around!" He calmly explaind to his new surbodinate and reached to his trousers. "I have a hole in my back where my tail used to be, would you like to see?"
"No, sir!"
"Gohan, don't!"
"What your name, miss?" Asked Gohan.
"Hitch Dreyser, sir!" The MP answered him while still saluting. " Captain, if I offended you in any.."
"Don't mind that, Dreyser! I'm a progressive individual, some trivial questions would not irritate me." Gohan reasured her , then turned to the rest. "At ease! But do mind that I would be irritated by lack of productivity. Be confident that I'll bring same attitude that I had in the Garrison and Survey Corps here and you will do the same! Are you clear?"
"Sir,yes,sir!" The company replied in unison.
Gohan circled his troops and reviewed them, he spotted amongst them was a bowl-cut soldier who constantly glance at him and Gohan could sense a negative energy from him. The Angel of Trost approach this soldier.
"Your name?"
"Marlo Freudenberg, sir!" Answered Marlo as he avoided eye contact with his captain.
"Are you agitated by something?"
"No,sir." Marlo shook his head.
"Is it because I am newly tranfered to the Brigade yet I got put in high position right off the boat , and that got to your nerve?"
"No, sir." Gohan took it as a 'yes'.
"Or is it…" Gohan leaned to Marlo's ear and whispered. "because I am a Winters?"
Marlo's eyes opened wide as his thoughs were read by Lady Winters' son, a speck of sweat could be spoted on his forehead. "Sir, no." But then he calmed down when Gohan pat on his shoulder.
"Fully understandable! We'll get along soon enough!" Gohan smiled at his men and briefed them on their mission. "Tomorrow, my mother'll bring us some new rifle models. I want everyone to be ready to familarise yourself with those weapons. Dismiss!"
The soldiers dispersed as per Gohan's instruction, if he had not got acustoomed in commanding others as a Survey Corps squad leader he did it as a Military Police captain.
"Well, that's for today! I'm heading back to the Capital! Have a good day,captain." Nile bid his farewell before heading out the gate. "And remember: If there's any….. inconvenience here, just report back to me, don't tell your mother,okay?"
Connie Springer, Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Jean Kirstein, Sasha Brauss, a girl named Ymir, Levi Ackerman, Petra Ral, Oulo Bozado and Gunther Schultz. Those were the names of the selected ten that Gohan had given Yamcha.
The Alpha was waiting right outside Castle Jutnar's outer gate. He had never taught his Wolfpack with Ki before, not even with Jonathan, the boy was more of a spy rather than a fighter. He could not tell why Bulma agreed with Gohan in training the 'locals' with their world's techniques, but he did not bother to ask her, he was more brawns than brains. And the experience he had surviving with Jonathan and Bulma in this world had taught him one lesson: Bulma's plans always work.
He looked at the wagon beside him, which had big black bag on it. It contained the uniforms for his new 'pupils', varied in sizes. He couldn't imagine what the scouts look like wearing them. They were exactly what Yamcha was wearing, Turtle School Orange Gi.
"Here goes nothing!" He then spotted the two carriages approaching them. They stopped right before him and his candidates unloaded from the carriages.
"What the hell are you wearing?" Levi tilted his head as he stared at Yamcha's orange gi.
"The same thing as you!" Yamcha pointed his thumb at the uniform wagon. "See if any fit you, you have six minutes to change!" He then motioned to Sasha, Ymir, Mikasa and Petra. "You might want some privacy inside, there's a shed just by the gate."
Despite of Yamcha's low expectation of the ten, they were disiplined soldier after all. They took no more than six minutes to change into their new uniforms, exactly as Yamcha reqired them. The orange gi were pefectly fit to the scouts, but the scouts were not quite comfortable with them, not because the clothes were too tight nor too baggy, they simply didn't like the design.
"Aren't we look stupid?" Commented Ymir when the scouts gathered at the Castle's grove.
"Annnnnd I thought that dressing as Eren is not bad enough!" Jean inspected his gi.
"Does Gohan know about this?" Eren barked at Yamcha.
"Do not let Hange know about this, she'll never shut up!" While Levi kept his blank face, he was bitter about the uniform, he found the color orange unhygenic.
"If the uniforms get to your nerve so much! You're not gonna like the training!" Said Yamcha, before he turned to an extra, who was not in uniform. "Why're you here?"
"The Lady sent me here to make sure you won't…." John Ingham/, who was now shaven, eyed the scouts manicously. "go to hard on them!"
"The Lady's concern is touching as always! But an easy training is never gonna cut it, I've learned it the hard way." Yamcha replied to his 'protégé', before assigned his 'pupils' with their first task right off the bat. "I want you lot. To try taking me down. All at once!"
"Oh, this is gonna be fun!" Grinned Ingham, he knew how this was going to end.
"So this your training? Lettin us fight you?" Oulo crossed his armed, and so did his comrades. "Think we can't take you? You're so full of yourself."
"I need full assessment of you lot, and you do need full assessment of yourself. In other words, I need to know you and you idiots need to know yourself and in older to do…." Yamcha was quickly interupt by his students.
"Cut that bullshit, we need to know ourselves?" Retorted Levi. "How the fuck do we not know ourselves?"
"Our Captain's right, we should know ourselves best." Gunther backed Levi.
"Is that so? Then why the fuck do you not know yourself to be so weak?" Yamcha raised his eyebrows and chuckled at the scouts' reaction.
"Weak? Really? Just because we're not Gohan or you, doesn't mean we fucking weak!" Petra roared at the Alpha.
"Really, Human Jiece? How many of you retards in the Survey Corps died fighting Titans for nothing? Before the bawang Oozaru decided to join your ranks?" The scouts glared at Yamcha as he spoke. "I lost my count at one thousand. Your only invention to counter them is oversized box cutter. You don't even attempt to come of with any more sufficient weapon to kill them. I call that weakness." Even the most composed Mikasa and the indifferent Ymir clutched their fists when Yamcha continued. "You've been in this shit pile of a sanctuary for hundreds of years, you can make ODMs but your best fire-powers were flintflocks and cavemen canons, you have all opportunity to better yourselves but you remain stagnant. That why me, the Lady and the Wolfpack saw the refugees from Maria were just Titan folders and money pockets, because that what you're worth!"
The final senstence hit a nerve in all the scouts, and they all charged at Yamcha at the same time ,they were all meant to beat him up.
"Wolf Fang Fist!" Yamcha quickly kicked away Connie, Sasha and Jean with three consecutive kicks, sending them all flat on their backs.
The remaining seven threw kicks after kicks ,punches after punches at the Alpha, which Yamcha either dodged or blocked all of them. Eren decide to lunge at him, attempting to wrestle the Papa Wolf like what he did to Reiner;but Yamcha dodged the boy's attack while at the same time blocking and dodging other scouts' hits. Yamcha grabbed Eren by his shirt and threw the boy away with enough force that make the Titan Shifter unable to rejoin the fight without damaging him further. Ymir made a roundhouse kick at her 'mentor', but her leg was grabbed before it reached its target. Yamcha spun her around, hitting all her remaining five comrades, causing them all to fell. Yamcha spun her a few more rounds before throwing her to the air and punched her in ther face, she was the firth pupil who was knocked out.
Mikasa, Levi, Oulo,Gunther and Petra got up on their feet, in that order. Yamcha gave them a 'bring-it' hand gesture taunt before backing up a bit. The five, knowing well that rushing him would not a good tactic. So they surrounded him. Circled him like vultures. They intended to strike their mentor from many angles. Mikasa and Levi swipe kicked the Alpha and the others threw consecutive punches at him. Yamcha dodged Mikasa and Levi's attacks and blocked all Oulo,Gunther and Petra hits. He karate chopped Oulo, Gunther and Petra in the shoulders, hip and head respectively. Only Mikasa and Levi were left in the fight.
Mikasa and Levi were able to land several hits on Yamcha, but unfortunately for them the Papa Wolf remained unfazed by any of the fight. The three traded blows at eachother, though the two strongest scouts were still standing strong, Yamcha clearly had the upperhand. Mikasa and Levi's attacks were synchronised ,punches and kicks, and with immense speed, and Yamcha was able to counter all of those. And fatigue soon took in, for Mikasa and Levi, their gi were soaken with sweat, their breaths were heavier and heavier, and they moved slower and slower; while Yamcha had not dropped a single sweat. He had done playing with them, he backfliped and did a handstand, he spred his legs and spun them, kicking Mikasa and Levi flat on their backs. Game over!
"That's 3 minutes and 20 seconds, the best Betas in the Pack could never hold on that long!" John Ingham stared at his stopwatch, mildly impressed by the scouts' feat.
"Well, I'm not Gohan or Goku, deffinitely not Vegeta. Hell, I don't even think I'm even close to Krillin's level. But I definitely can handle you lot." Yamcha walked pass the struggling pupils and smugged. "I'm the worst of the best. And you're just the best of the worst."
"So those guys were real? I thought Gohan made them all up!" Eren gawked at Yamcha as he and his comrades struggled on their feet.
"Well, you didn't go to hard on them! They handled you better than I did,Alpha." Jonathan kept his eyes on the scouts. "Have you have the valuation on them,yet?"
"Have I? Masked Rider, She-Golem!" Yamcha ordered Eren and Ymir. "You two stay here and meditate!"
"What? Masked Rider?" Puzzled Eren.
"She-Golem?" Confused Ymir.
"Yeah, I'll start calling you by callsigns now. Can't let our buddies in the MPs know about all this."Answered Yamcha. He then pointed at Connie, Sasha and Jean. "Krillin With A Nose, Friendly Sniper, Two-Eyed Tien, you three do a hundred laps 'round the castle!"
"Jiece, Burter, Guldo!" He belowed at Petra, Oulo and Gunther. "You three spar with Jonathan, try to do to him what you've tried to me."
The Special Operation Squad stared at Ingham and get to their fighting stance, ready to combat the Top Beta.
"Go easy on 'em!" Yamcha reminded his friend from his world. He then turned to Mikasa and Levi. "Not-a-Driver, Human Ginyu, you come with me."
"We're gonna talk about those callsign, Alpha Yamcha." Said Levi while Mikasa shrugged, neither of them understood the reffrence though they followed Yamcha regardless.
"No, we're not." Replied Yamcha as he led the two to the mansion's rear. And was when they were behind the mansion that he broke the silence between the three of them. "You guys saw Gohan's Kamehameha,right?"
"We did!" Answered Levi.
"He killed Reiner and Berthold with one strike." Added Mikasa. "Something I'd failed."
"Do you like to ….be able to do it?"
"Oh, yes!" Levi and Mikasa agreed on this matter so much that they said it on the same time. "You say you can do it?"
Cupped his hands together, the former bandit got himself to a horsestance, concentrate an amount of his Ki to his hands, he chanted.
"Ka-me…" A small energy ball formed between his hands, Mikasa and Levi were no longer surprised, well they kind of disapointed at how the small the Ki ball was compared to Gohan's. "Ha-me." He thrust his hand forward, aiming at a nearby tree. "haaaa!"
A beam of light burst out from Yamcha and hit the tree and cut it in half, and incinerated it at the same time.
"Haven't done that in a long time! I am slackin' off!" Disappointed in the Ki blast, Yamcha frowned. "Try to replicate that, focus all your Ki into your palms! Don't forget the chanting."
Try and imagine the scouts in orange gi.
Next Chapter: Propaganda