The first change Annie makes, could it be the path to salvation?
Or is it the road to hell, paved with good intentions?
Okay, so, this one's gonna be gruesome. Your typical Attack on Titan violence, but also a somewhat casually descriptive examination of a human body's insides. I honestly can't tell if that's any worse than what I usually write in regards to gore, I feel like it's the same, but just in case, the opening of this chapter might be a little shocking.
Integral to the story, I assure you.
"Continued observation for ODM gear testing. The gap between new recruit Joel Hodges and refugee volunteer Yusuf continues to grow. Both men have received the same degree of training, both in firearms and in using ODM gear 2.0, and both are capable marksmen, with an accuracy of over 80%. Basic course timed flight through the beginners area showed they were ready for the combat practice run, and both failed, as expected for a first try, albeit for different reasons."
"Yusuf failed to hit the majority of his targets, having run out of ammo for his pistols about halfway through, he was forced to withdraw. Joel on the other hand hit just over half his targets and completed the run, but over half is not a passing grade."
"When they tried again two weeks later, Joel achieved a passing grade. Even though most of his hits were in non vital areas, he still hit every target, and completed the run just in time. Yusuf on the other hand was forced to stand still to line up his shots, causing him to finish an additional ten minutes behind everyone else."
"The next try a week later, Joel managed to hit every target, at an accuracy of 74% for kill shots, without slowing down even once. Yusuf achieved 100% accuracy and kill shots, but his time to completion was at twenty seven minutes behind everyone else. He's accepted the fact he'd be best as a stationary sniper, we're moving him to the appropriate training. Waste not."
"Seems Killa was on to something. Non-Eldians have trouble making precision shots with semi-automatic pistols moving at speeds of up to 227 mph. Hand-to-hand is typically the same, though Joel is ranking somewhat higher, I'm not ready to say that's not just because Yusuf is afraid he'll be punished if he strikes a Paradisian. I've made similar comparison studies with other recruits taken from the refugee camps, comparing their scores to our Paradisian and Eldian recruits, and the results are similar."
"This certainly could explain why it was so… easy to kill in the outside world. Granted it was my first time ending a human life, but I recall sparing in the Cadets being more of a hurdle. It honestly felt like people were… slower, softer, more breakable, out there. Might also mean Marley wasn't just sending their Eldian "stock" to the frontlines purely out of hatred, perhaps they saw what we're seeing now. But I won't hold my breath they'd ever admit our people are genetically built to be better fighters, even now when they've "seen the error of their ways.""
"On that note, I've had to reinforce the rule that under no circumstances is any refugee or outsider permitted to use ODM gear below the 2.0 model. Again, credit to Killa, he was absolutely right that our people's bone and body density is greater, as he theorizes due to the Founder's tampering of our bodies. We're not all Ackermans, but we were messed with, that much is clear. Our immunity to the Uroborus Plague, the afore mentioned increased hand-eye coordination and reaction time, and as recently reminded, having spines that won't snap in half the instant we get pulled by our wires."
"Turns out the Azumobito didn't just add the support frame for the entire body just to improve control and maneuvers in the 2.0 design. They were trying to let non-Eldians fly too."
"Pricks."
-Excerpt from the recordings of Zoe Caven, marked February 1st, 856.
If you wanted Killa's honest opinion, having a perfect memory was the greatest gift his parents could have bestowed on him.
He could recall literally every moment of his life with perfect clarity. He could recite every document, every book, every formula he had read just once for all time. He could recall the precise way to perform a surgery or repair a machine, just from watching the masters at work.
Well, actually that last one he did need some more hands on experience. Turns out performing a heart transplant is part following the book, and part getting a feel for all the tubes.
But the point remains, Killa thanked his parents for giving him the gift of his brain. He recalled… so many good memories. The precious few he had of his father and mother, his first crush, the Battle to Retake Shinganshina, the sights and sounds of the outside world, all the wonders of the Carnate Islands, the Hizuran Islands, the Estovakian wasteland, Burling Day, the praise of the Paradis people as he built more and more beautiful marvels to aid in protecting them…
The look on Annie's face when he gave her the Answer. The very last sight he had seen, before waking up here.
'I am truly blessed.' He wiped a tear of joy from his eye, narrowly avoiding stabbing it out with the scalpel in his hand.
Yes, there was a lot packed away in this bit of grey matter, a literal lifetime of memories, all as clear as the moment he created them.
Like the last time he had seen his father, Killa Harkan Senior.
May 8th, 838. Just three days shy of his sixth birthday.
He could recall his father's final days. The day he had collapsed, not from health problems like he had claimed, but shock and grief at a letter Killa had been too young to read at the time. How his mother had held his sobbing father, how Rena had tried to distract him, prevent him from seeing his parents grief. Killa never saw his father smile again, he only saw him wasting away, in body and spirit, there wasn't a thing his son or wife could do for him.
They couldn't even stop the men in black trench coats from taking him.
That was the last time Killa saw his father. A year later, it would be the last time he'd see his mother.
Why was that memory coming to Killa now?
Well, because of today.
April 20th, 838.
This was the day the Uncle Issac and Aunt Ellie were going to die.
Intercepted and gunned down while attempting to escape the Walls. Ellie perishing instantly from a bullet to the heart while Issac would be engulfed in flames from the "heretical device" burning up, still alive but mercifully executed by a final gunshot to the head. After that, their prototype's remains would be disposed of, their blueprints found and destroyed. Grandpa Rupert and little Armin would be investigated, but deemed no threat to the safety of the Walls, "no heretical leanings," as determined by Djel Sannes.
All that would be left is tracking down the supplier of the materials, determine their guilt and pass judgement, and the Interior Police would have one more feather in their cap. The state of the outside world would remain a secret, long live the King.
… At least, that's what the original report had said. There had been literally hundreds of thousands of papers just like that one, in the safety of the Interior Police's records room. With the fall of the old regime, those reports had been unearthed, and poured over with a fine tooth comb, to see how much blood had been unnecessarily spilled by the Fritz, now Reiss family.
(Long live Queen Historia Reiss, who despite having a literal mountain of corpses that she could have used to bury her father's old allies, granted clemency and the chance to do right by their people.)
Killa had read those reports, just as he had read all the surviving reports obtained from the ruins of Marley (the next batch of prisoners being shipped to Paradis, a single mother and her sisters children, and a labour force that had been worked to their literal breaking points, a hearty crop of Titans to plague the Scouts), and every other document dug up from the compacted dirt. It's what allowed him to just… stand here, and watch all those names being crossed out, all over the world, these last three years.
'And now… it's Ellie and Issac's turn.' Killa hummed in thought. 'Ah, Annie, Armin… you really think the little nuggets of info your wife gave your mama and daddy tempered their thirst for knowledge? That they've gotten better at evading the Interior Police? Sorry, but that look in their eye… it was the same as you Armin, back in the Scouts.'
'They are absolutely building that balloon again. I'd bet my remaining nipple on it.'
"Are you finished?"
Killa startled at the sound of Zoe's voice, gracing his ear like the dying heartbeat of a little girl. He looked up, to gaze into her apathetic expression.
"…Beg pardon?"
"You've been staring at my rack for three minutes now. I gave you permission to cut, not to perv, you perv." A shift of her body, and her exposed breasts came up briefly, almost smacking Killa in the chin.
…She was an absolute gem!
A chuckle escaped Killa, and he bowed his head in apology, coming so close to resting on Zoe's chest, oh she would have squashed his head if he took this joke too far.
"I'm sorry, I was just… lost in thought. You know how I operate, I'm working on one thing but in my mind I have at least three separate trains of thoughts leaving the station." Killa smoothly slide around Zoe, ducking under her raised arm to return to his work. "I promise, my intentions here are still purely scientific. I would never take advantage of our friendship."
"Uh huh." Zoe peeked over her shoulder, before facing forwards again. In her present state, she really couldn't make eye contact.
Not with her skin flaps in the way.
She had been so accommodating. Just followed Killa into his workshop beneath the barn (greatly expanded over the years), got into his surgical ring, and hung there as he opened her up. In the ring, her arms and legs were splayed out, like a star or a famous painting that adored Historia's guest room, and the only article of clothing she still wore were her pants. Seeing as Killa's work only involved everything from the waist up, she was afforded that one bit of modesty.
Honestly the fact Killa was also primarily invested in her opened up back helped. He had peeled away at her, attaching the flaps of skin to the ring to give himself a clear view to everything underneath, making it look like she had wings.
To anyone who knew Killa, this was nothing new. Liberio Tower had dozens of rings like these, all to support his research.
A tap at the base of her exposed spine, and Zoe huffed. "So… find anything?"
"Nothing new, I'm afraid, but that was to be expected." Killa leaned in, running a bloody finger up and down the individual vertebrae. "Even if this is all old hat, just seeing it again is reassuring."
"… It's really there?"
"See for yourself." A delicate slice, and Killa moved under Zoe to hold up a sample for her to see.
A thin transparent white tentacle, no thicker than a piece of spaghetti.
Her "SOALM Receptors."
What set her, and every Eldian on the planet, apart from the rest of humanity. Amongst other things, but mainly that, that ticking time bomb woven into their spines.
What made them "Island Devils."
"… Remind me again, why did you need to get a look at this?"
"A variety of reasons, mainly trying to see if being here in the past has affected our bodies in any way, ethereal as they are." Killa murmured, still looking at the sample, before looking at her. "… Basically, I'm trying to see if this," He dangled the Receptor tentacle between his fingers, "Is more active now that the Titans exist again. If this place accounts for that. So that we may expand our options in making the Paradis of now stronger than the Paradis of the future."
He pocketed the tentacle in his lab coat, and withdrew from the same pocket a replica of the human spine. An ordinary non-Eldian spine.
"Now, as you know, because I painstakingly walked you through this, our bodies are different from other humans on the planet." Killa held the body part between his hands, like a snake he was dangling by the head and tail. "On the outside, baring any Founder meddling or introduction of spinal fluid, we are really no different from anyone else. In fact at a cursory glance, we are the same on the inside. If you didn't test our bone density or the… malleability of our bodies, you wouldn't think you were looking at an Eldian."
"Until you get to the spine." Zoe offered in the tone of someone who'd heard this all before and would really rather not hear it again.
"Until you get to the spine!" Killa nodded, in the tone of someone who knew he'd said this all before but had no intention of cutting it short. "Where the original Source Of All Living Matter bonded to Ymir, where it's genetic tampering began, that would be passed down to us even thousands of years later. None of which went away just because the Titans did, as you know."
He gave the spine in his hands a little twirl. "This, is an ordinary human spine. Bone, muscle, nerves, nothing out of the ordinary here. Try as you might, adding a whole barrel's worth of Titan spinal fluid to anyone with a spine like this would not produce anything special, as it's missing the vital ingredients."
Another twirl, before he unceremoniously dropped it on the floor, and withdrew another spine from his other coat pocket. It looked exactly the same as the previous one.
At first glance.
"Now this… this is something special." He held it in his arms as if he were cradling an infant, or a cat. "This little marvel here, the pinnacle of two millennium of forced evolution… this is our inheritance, that we have earned. This… is the Eldian legacy."
With a look of adoration, Killa stroked the spine, petting it over and over again.
Almost immediately, the SOALM Receptors came out. Like the fungi cordyceps when it was overtaking an insect or plant, hundreds upon hundreds of white and blue tendrils snaked out of their hiding places. They emerged from within the vertebrae, they uncoiled themselves from around the intervertebral discs, it was beginning to look like a new breed of sea cucumber, one that was armour plated.
A sight you'd maybe would only see if you were lucky enough to witness an Eldian whose back was splayed open and still alive long enough to receive a certain injection. With the strike of lightning from the heavens to factor in, it would undoubtedly be the last sight you'd witness, for multiple reasons.
"Awww… who's a good girl? You are, yes you are!" Killa cooed, letting the spine dangle as he nuzzled the cervical vertebrae with his nose, the tendrils making to feel his face until he pulled away. "Heh… now obviously this is just for dramatics. In real life you'd never see an Eldian spine out in the open with living receptors like this, of course."
"Of course."
"And I have no basis if the Receptors are behaving like this because of my very active imagination, or because we are in the age of Titans again."
"Oh no?"
"Buuuuut… the logic of this place, the fact the laws of physics and reality do hold some sway here, does indicate my imagination can only factor in so much. Which means studying a "living" sample in here like this will support my research." Killa grinned, as he walked over to a movable table, and shuffled it over to Zoe.
The spine was placed on it, alongside four others.
"Look." Killa held up one of the spines excitedly. "This here was a sample taken from an Eldian never exposed to Titan spinal fluid. Note how the Receptors are completely dormant, they remained hidden, so masterfully camouflaged you wouldn't notice them unless you knew where to look. Even when the truth was revealed to us in 850, it took us years to find it."
"Probably didn't help our medical technology was centuries out of date…" Zoe intoned, her eyelids getting heavy.
"That was also a factor, yes." Killa gently laid the spine down, and picked up another. "Now look here. This sample, my pride and joy, was from an Eldian who was turned into a Mindless Titan, but never became one of the Nine. They turned back into a human when the Titans disappeared, and their Receptors were left looking like this. Beautiful, isn't it?"
It honestly was, and you didn't have to be a psychopath to admit that. The Receptors were out, shades of white and blue, and they complemented the bone and muscle well. It almost looked like some type of coral you'd find on the ocean floor.
"Ah, old friend… I achieved great things with you." Killa turned to gaze at a purple flower he had unnecessarily stored in a glass case, and beheld his prize to it. "When I discovered how we could tap once again into our heritage, when I discovered the organic medium solution, it was a scientific triumph for sure, but I was like a child, trying to peel an onion with a chainsaw. You helped me. You helped me perfect the process, you helped give our people a fighting chance."
A hand gripping the spine, another placed on the case, staring at the flower.
"Do you see? You saved us." Killa spoke to the spine, fingers mixed in with the bone and flesh and tendrils. He looked as if he was genuinely talking to someone, and not a large piece of said someone.
Then, just like that, he was back at the table, laying down the spine with the greatest of care, before moving on to his next sample.
"Then of course, we have-"
And suddenly all hell broke loose.
It was like the universe had slapped the room and everyone present, like a giant invisible hand had passed through the area and hit them. Only it hadn't actually sent them flying or caused any injury, it had just shocked them awake.
Annie was in trouble. The reason why she was in trouble was making itself known, as everyone in the Paths was being made aware.
"…Ooookay, going to have to put this on hold!" Killa ran into the darkness, and came back out with a film projector, simultaneously having swapped his lab coat for one of his suits. "Here, this should pass the time, I'm afraid I can't spare a second to get you down! But you should enjoy this, it's our vacation from Estovakia! Some of your best work, I must have watched this a dozen times! Anywaythisshouldn'ttakelonggottagobye!"
Killa ran out, taking the steps upstairs two at a time as he made to join Armin and Levi, to get a better connection to the outside world.
Leaving Zoe alone in the dark, her only light the projector and the screen.
Her only company Killa's samples.
She took in the last two, one with tendrils of red and gold, thick and pulsating, the other lacking tendrils, but much, much larger and sporting a purple hue on it's bone.
"…What are you staring at?" She growled.
Rupert was here.
He was here, with Armin in his arms, looking like he'd run all the way to Annie's cave when she could see an untethered Lucy and the cart right behind him, panting and trying to say something. The sun almost finished setting, the sky having become a shade of red and purple that was almost gone.
Annie was about to gesture he should try and take a breath when he finally managed to choke out,
"Please… save them."
Now he took a deep breath, coughed, and continued.
"Issac, and Ellie… they need you." He wheezed out, trying to speak as fast as possible. "They… they had a plan, an idiotic fool hardy plan! They were making something, something to let them go over the Walls, and I told them they would get caught! And I was right, they're out there, somewhere, and soldiers are trying to track them down, right now, and they… they are going to die…"
He fell to his knees, slowly lowering a confused Armin to the ground, the two and a half year old reaching up to rest a hand on his grandfathers face. Rupert looked to him, and hugged the boy close.
"Please… find them. I… I don't know where they are, they didn't tell me. They have to be somewhere in Wall Maria, somewhere in the South… please…"
'…'
So many thoughts were going through Annie's mind right now, they had actually managed to overlap and cancel each other out, granting her almost perfect silence inside her head.
But she managed to latch on to the most pressing and concerning one, and through that, spring into action.
'No… not this time.'
She stood up, stood straight up to her full terrifying 14 meter height, and ran. Rupert fell to his side, using his body to shield Armin, and Lucy panicked and tried to get out of the way when it looked like Annie would step on her (overturning the cart in the process), but Annie paid them no mind. She couldn't afford to, she had to be logical and believe Rupert and Armin and even Lucy would fine, checking on them would waste valuable seconds.
She had who knows how long to save Issac and Ellie, and all of Wall Maria to cover.
She hadn't a moment to lose.
'Where are they, where are they, WHERE IN THE HELL ARE THEY?!' Annie semi-cursed, semi-asked as she ran through the country side, ducking and weaving through forests without a care. She needed to find them, she needed to save them!
She had no time to consider what the consequences of doing this would be.
'Armin!' She screeched in her mind, as she scanned the surrounding area from atop a rather large and very much appreciated hill. It provided a good view of the area, even if she was completely exposed up here it didn't matter, as long as she found them, but there was no sign of anything to indicate the Arlert's were in the area.
'Right, all right… my parents, they originally tried to escape the Walls using a "heretical device," they were killed… today? Was it really today?' Armin's voice faltered, the shock and surprise that history was playing out the same temporarily overwhelming him again.
Honestly it had overwhelmed Annie too. It… she hadn't done a heck of a lot, but she had given them the outside world, she had shared a fair amount about the outside world! Hadn't that been enough?! Hadn't that been enough for them to stay safe and be there for their son, instead of trying to leave again?!
Evidently not.
Armin's voice resumed, no longer lost but steadfast and determined. '…From what the reports described and what I found in my parents notes, they constructed their own version of a hot air balloon. It was discovered at night, my parents were gunned down, and it was definitely in Wall Maria… but dammit, WHERE in Wall Maria!?'
'God dammit…' Annie swore in synchronized frustration with Armin, as she picked a direction at random and ran. Even if she couldn't find them, maybe she could cause a commotion or distraction, anything to draw attention away from the Arlert's! 'Okay, we can cross off the Northern territories, they probably would have made this balloon in travelling distance of Shinganshina, but that's still a lot of ground to cover…'
'And a lot of it would be great for hiding something from the Interior Police. Villages are more scattered here than Rose.'
'God dammit.' Annie swore again, as she leaped over a main road to duck back into the cover of a nearby forest, trying her best to duck and weave through but mostly just knocking down any trees that got in her way.
She was running out of time. She didn't know how much time she had. Hours? Minutes? Every second that passed, caused her panic and fear to rise, her legendary emotional control failing her big time.
It wasn't long before anger began to come to the surface too, a byproduct of the panic.
'… Why couldn't those two just be content with what I shared?! Did they really need to know the outside world hated them and that Titans were people and their home was doomed!? Was that worth more than being here for their son?! What, did they get bored of me?! Was having a Titan for a friend not enough!? Of all the stupid-'
'Do you know where Kirktower is?' Killa Harkan's voice suddenly spoke up, and Annie found her foot coming down at an awkward angle on a particular large fallen over tree. She tripped, and tumbled face first into the forest floor, causing whatever lived in the area and hadn't fled yet to do so now.
She only laid there for five seconds, before she was picking herself up and getting to her feet. Only this time, she was staying in place.
'… What?'
'Kirktower. It's a village in south west, about ten kilometres from Shinganshina. You enter the gates to Maria and go left on the main road, pass three to four villages before coming to the "Field of Mirth," and from there you'll see Kirktower, even from a human's height.' Killa continued. 'From there, it's about two more kilometres until we'll find Issac and Ellie.'
'… What?' Annie repeated, trying to make sense of what Killa was saying.
It sounded like he was telling her where she should go… but that would mean Killa was helping her.
'If you want to save them, you had best move fast. The report didn't give an exact time for their deaths, but I'd wager you have only a minute to dilly dally before we reach the point of no return.' The bandaged man kept going. 'So, assuming their method of escaping the Walls and launch position are the same despite meeting you, Issac and Ellie will be two kilometres northeast of Kirktower, using their balloon. The Interior Police will be on them and open fire immediately, no offer of surrender or mercy. Forty seconds.'
Forty seconds… forty seconds for Annie to determine what Killa was playing at.
If Annie went with her years of dealing with the man, and every part of her body SCREAMING at her not to trust him, then this was no doubt a sick joke on Killa's part. The punchline being her falling into the depths of despair, he certainly would find the sight of the Female Titan on her knees amusing.
'Thirty seconds.'
Was he trying to make sure she wouldn't find the Arlert's? Or was he trying to lead her there, but make sure she arrived too late, just in time to watch them die? A cruel strike against her, and Armin. Did he not care about the consequences of such a thing? Even if Annie couldn't kill him in the Paths, she would eventually find him here in the outside world.
It would be just like him not to care.
'Twenty seconds.'
What if he was being sincere? What if Killa Harkan was actually telling Annie the truth, what she needed right now to save Armin's parents, two people she had come to know and care about?
'Fifteen seconds.'
She had no idea where they were. Time was running out. If she didn't take this lead, then she'd be running around aimlessly and would undoubtedly arrive too late. She had no time to gauge if Killa was lying, no means of doing so.
This was her only option.
'Five seconds.'
'Which way?' Annie looked around, trying to get her bearings.
'Keep turning, turning, turning… stop! Here, dead straight ahead, run this way and you'll find them.' Killa directed.
Annie did just that, getting low to reduce wind resistance and putting every ounce of strength she had into her legs, taking off with a speed that would put even the Scout's legendary horses to shame.
She had no time to think, no time for distractions, everything was out into maximizing the distance travelled in the least amount of time possible, tearing through the landscape like a bat out of hell.
But she could still afford to make a promise.
'I swear… I won't fail this time.'
… Make that two promises.
'Killa, if you're lying… I will utterly erase you from this world. For good this time.'
A laugh was the only response she received.
The moon in the night sky illuminated the area just a little longer, before clouds rolled in to block it out.
Maybe it was hubris that had overtaken Issac and Ellie Arlert.
Could you blame them? They were intelligent, they were well-read, they had access to knowledge most people in the Walls would never know about, even before they had befriended a Titan. They were good with their hands and self-sufficient, they had designed and actually created a new form of transport, capable of taking them to heights ODM gear could only dream of, and they had kept all of this a secret for years.
So yeah, maybe they had reason to believe they could have kept this from the King and his men, and actually managed to leave the Walls.
The torches in the distance, very noticeable in the dark of the night, were a clear sign that was not the case.
"Quick! Start the burner!" Ellie bellowed, as she moved to roll a portable airbag (her husbands invention, something to catch the wind to fill up the balloon so they could heat it up later, she had kissed him on the spot when he showed her!) to the deflated balloon, making to blow as much air into it as she could before moving on to the next. Along the way she had stamped out their fire, it meant working in the dark and taking time for their eyes to adjust, but it might give them some more time!
This night had gone a lot smoother in her head!
Issac for his part was hard at work trying to get a the burner going, having come to the same conclusion as his wife. They had left Lucy with Rupert, they had walked all the way out here to their hiding spot, unearthed the many provisions and supplies they had hidden away in addition to their balloon. They couldn't run for it, even if they abandoned everything the soldiers were on horseback, they'd catch up. And if by some miracle they didn't, they would find them later. They knew about the balloon, there was no other reason for so many soldiers to be out in this area at night, they no doubt knew it's creators were here, tonight… they knew who the guilty parties were, no doubt.
'Oh Walls… Armin, Dad… Killa!' Issac tried not to let his panic interfere with lighting the burner (his wife's invention, god, she was brilliant!), tried not to think too hard about how he had condemned his family by association, and in his brother's case active participation…
'I was selfish. I was selfish and now I've killed my family. Even if I can plead that my son and father were ignorant and didn't help, my brother's signature is all over this thing!' Issac grieved, even as he got the fire started. Keeping it primed, he hoped out of the basket to help his wife, getting a second airbag in position to inflate the balloon. 'And now I'm leaving them behind, I have no choice but to leave them behind! At least… if they don't get a good look at us, at the balloon, there may be some doubt! They might doubt it's us, they won't be able to pin this on Killa!'
Issac tried his hardest to believe that, he really did.
"I think that's good enough! Help me get this to the burner!" Ellie tossed the deflated airbag to the side and made to pull the opening of the now filled balloon to said burner. "Come on, come on…"
It would take some time to heat up the air, five… ten minutes.
Could they really make it?
"… Ellie…"
"Please Issac, don't. Don't say anything. Don't say you love me, don't say you're sorry, don't say you'll hold them off while I make a break for it…" Ellie felt the prinpick of tears threatening to escape her eyes. "Don't say anything like that, please."
"…If it comes to it… you run and hide. I'll take full responsibility." Issac stated, in a tone that brokered no room for argument.
Ellie sobbed, but nodded.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
They actually managed to get the balloon in the air. It was just ascending when the soldiers found them, the light from their torches bathing the Arlert's just as Issac helped his wife in the basket.
If it hadn't been tethered to the ground, Ellie could have turned the burner on full blast, and possibly flown off right then and there. The balloon was a big target, but it was dark, and the soldiers only had muskets…
Just one minute more, and they could have escaped.
Issac held the tether rope in his hands, staying completely still as dozens of horses arrived, many galloping around him to cut off any avenue of escape. The fact they weren't shooting immediately gave Issac some hope, but not much, if they didn't die tonight it would be the very next day after the guilty verdict was declared.
'At least if they bother to put us on trial or interrogate us, I can plead my family's innocence.' Issac tried to find any positives in this.
They were absolutely surrounded. It must have been… thirty soldiers, all together. The emblem of the Military Police, the proud symbol of a magnificent green horse with a blade emerging from its brow, adorned each and every one of the men and women present.
One man stared Issac down, having torn his eyes away from the balloon suspended in midair. He had a short crop of black hair and brown eyes, with noticeable dark circles underneath them. The man looked like he had witnessed a few things in life, but he also looked resolute, determined.
This was the look of a man who did terrible things for a greater "good."
"I trust it doesn't have to be said, but you are aware this goes against our most sacred laws, correct?" The man asked Issac, making to dismount, the nearest ten soldiers following his lead.
"…I am." Issac swallowed, but kept holding the rope. Ellie had the knife on her, but if he yanked hard enough…
"You are aware the punishment for this, this heresy, is death?"
"I am." Issac repeated, trying not to focus on his wife who whimpered behind him, safe in the basket. "…I won't ask for mercy, nor do I expect to receive any, but please, allow me to explain. I am solely responsible for this, no one else in my family had any knowledge of what I was attempting to do here. They are inno-"
Issac suddenly stopped, as he had jumped when a shot rang out, startling him.
The pain in his arm was equaling surprising.
"ISAAC!" Ellie screamed as he fell to his knees, but mercifully no other shots rang out, the one soldier who fired being silently berated by the evident commander.
A silent glare that had the soldier look down in shame, before turning to face Issac again. He stared right at Ellie, and Issac, before sighing.
"Soldiers, take aim."
'!'
Issac desperately grabbed at the tether, he pulled with all his might, left hand slipping due to the blood running down his arm. He pulled and grit his teeth, he genuinely was trying, maybe even making progress…
But it was futile, and everyone knew it.
Exhaling in defeat, Issac let go, looking up as a firing squad and taken aim.
"…I built this device with my own two hands, I did it by lying to people, having them make individual components and deceiving them about what those components were for." Issac tried. Let his last moments be an attempt at bravery, let his last words be an attempt at saving his family. "No one but me knew about this, they thought they were building a tent cover, a fishing basket, a portable heat source for camping… no one else knew this was the true result."
He couldn't tell if anyone was listening, if his words were having any effect, every soldier was stone faced and ready to fire.
… He griped the rope again, ready to give one last pull. If the impact from the bullets helped send his body flying backwards, maybe the initial force would-
Boom
Everything and everyone stopped.
Boom
The sound and tremor through the earth, almost everyone present was wondering, "What was that?"
Boom
Ellie had paused where she had crouched down in the basket, ill-thought out plans of jumping out to pull her husband to safety cancelled as she dared to believe she heard what she thought she had heard.
Boom
Boom
BOOM
The soldiers were confused, looking around, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Why was the ground trembling? Why was it happening over and over? A rock slide somewhere, raining boulders down? Explosives, did a village nearby have access to explosives and doing some mining?
In the middle of the night?
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Trees were audibly and even slightly visibly being knocked down. A soldier pointed in the distance, she could in the nearby forest, something was moving in there! Everyone present turned to see, everyone was visibly nervous, they couldn't fathom what was happening.
Except Ellie and Issac.
Ellie hoped down, and hurried to her husband's side. She had no idea what was about to happen, but she could understand things might not be so calm as they were ten seconds ago, and yes, she was considering her and Issac's upcoming execution as "calm."
She had just gotten him to his feet, and tried to make for the nearest tree. Something to hide behind.
"…Hey, where do you thin-"
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM
Whatever the soldier who'd spotted them was about to say or do would never be known. Not one second later, an enormous figure burst from the trees, just as the clouds were leaving the night sky to allow the grace of the moon light to illuminate the area.
Illuminate absolute hell.
One soldier had only just comprehended he was looking at a Titan, a real live Titan, before a skinless foot came down to crush him and his horse into paste.
His comrades comprehended the situation a little better. They certainly comprehended what had fallen their friend right quick.
Then the screaming started.
No, Annie did not miss this.
She did not miss the screaming, she did not miss the terrified faces, she did not miss having to once again force it all down, force it deep down and not think of the fact she was crushing and killing men and women, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, sons and daughters.
She did not miss that, not one bit.
Did she appreciate how ridiculously one sided things were again? Of course she did. She had more than her fill of fighting on equal terms or even worse, going up against a superior foe where life and death hanged in the balance and any mistake could cost her dearly. It was a welcome relief to be the unstoppable monster again, instead of facing off against it.
(A soldier fired his gun uselessly, then futilely tried to reload, in his panic not even comprehending how pointless both acts were, how he should just attempt to flee. Whether it was fear or determination that prevented him from looking up from his task, no one could say, but he didn't lift his head even as he no doubt sensed Annie's palm was coming down to squash him.)
It was a bit harder to get back into the old mindset again, to see everyone present as nothing, as insignificant bugs to be squashed. She had been robbed of that privilege, had been forced to stare into the eyes of everyone she killed after the Rumbling, to see them up close and personal. It really was harder, to kill as a person, and not just because she had to put more effort in.
She honestly appreciated the Jeagerists for designing their uniforms to include armour that covered their faces. It was annoying watching her bullets bounce off of it, but at least she didn't have to see she had killed anymore fifteen year olds just trying to protect their homes and families.
Why couldn't every army be like that?
(Another five soldiers fired their guns, what else could they do? They had unfortunately dismounted and they had no ODM gear, none of them did. One had the bright idea to throw his lantern at her, it bounced off her right tit and smashed on the ground. Might have started a fire if her foot hadn't squashed the metal and flame flat in her efforts to kick all five of them at once, like a bowling ball scattering pins.
They didn't even land before Annie had turned to kill another.)
She tried not to feel anything, she tried to be just a cold unfeeling killer, but she couldn't.
She couldn't stop herself from enjoying this power, from looking down at her enemies instead of looking up. She couldn't stop the rush of endorphins, all pouring in from the thrill of combat. Even after everything, after all the pain she had caused and received, brought about by years of fighting, of killing…
She couldn't help but settle into the warm comforting blanket of being a Warrior. She couldn't help but take pride in her strength, in her skill at dispatching the enemy so quickly, so efficiently.
She was raised that way, after all.
Let her take enjoyment where she could. She have time later to reflect and no doubt feel wretched about herself later.
(Some soldiers got the right idea. Three of them were making a break for it, not even having to see their guns were useless, they were just consumed by mind-numbing terror. They snapped their reins and made for anywhere but here.
Unfortunately they all went in the same direction. Huddled up, together.
'Can't have that.' Annie thought, as she took off after them, closing the distance in five steps and ending them with a sixth, jumping and landing and delivering a kick that sent the right most rider colliding into his two friends. A combination of her foot and the horses bodies crushed all three, even if they weren't dead they weren't going anywhere, she could drop by to finish off any potential survivors later.
She swivelled in place, and returned to finish the job.)
It had been nice, living here the first time. Annie really hadn't appreciated it as much as she should have, being surrounded by people who didn't know what she was, who treated her like everybody else. No hate for her race, for her crimes, not being seen as a "Warrior," "Monster," or "The Female Titan." She had just been "Annie Leonhart."
A part of her, a small part that she had buried and denied because she had been so single-minded at the time, had wished it could have gone on forever. She had honestly dreaded the day she wouldn't just be Annie to everyone, though she wouldn't admit it at the time.
A similar feeling had come about from meeting the Arlert's. Being the "Big Friendly Titan" had been… it had been nice. Them seeing her as a friend, and not a creature, nor a monster…
… Those days were gone for good now.
(She didn't have to chase these ones. She could honestly just bend down and pick them off one by one. For the most part, she tried to make it quick. A firm grip and squeeze here, a pinch of her fingers to pop a head there… she pressed her thumb down to crush one who had slipped trying to run, it was like crushing an ant.
One of them kept fighting, looked like the leader. He fired one rifle and dropped to pick up another, abandoned by its previous owner. He fired again, and made to pick up another rifle.
Annie couldn't say if he was genuinely trying to kill her or trying to buy time for his soldiers to escape. It didn't matter either way, none of them were leaving here alive.
She swiped out with her left arm, and delivered a viscous backhand that sent the black-haired man flying into a tree, smashing up against it with his side.
Despite half his body being turned to pulp that had merged with the tree, he was still staring at her with his remaining eye.)
A fire was starting, seems another lantern had dropped and broken against something flammable. The balloon was still tethered despite everything, and still hovering in the air. There was no one left on horseback, those who hadn't dismounted or fled had been thrown off when their mounts panicked. There was no escape, there would be no mercy. Just sobbing, pleading, and futile resistance all capped off with a grisly end.
No, Annie absolutely did not miss this.
This was hell.
The Arlert's were standing in hell.
Ellie and Issac really wished they could close their eyes and cover their ears, they really wished they could crawl into a deep dark hole and hide from all this, right now.
But they couldn't tear their eyes off the horror they were witnessing. They couldn't stop watching as the Titan, their Titan, their friend, absolutely annihilated everyone present. Watched as she crushed them with all the effort of squashing a fly, those hands that held them so many times with tender care now stained red with blood, the whites of her fingers splattered in gore.
They couldn't help but imagine it wouldn't have taken much for her to crush them. Just the slightest clench of her fingers…
A woman, a young woman who couldn't have reached her twenties yet, stumbled trying to run. It seems she had the same idea as the Arlert's, trying to use the tree as cover, trying to hide, she didn't look at all like the terrifying solider who was about to execute them just minutes ago…
She stumbled again, falling flat on her face, only this time it wasn't her fault.
A giant forefinger and thumb was pinching her leg, lifting her up so that she was beginning to dangle upside down.
"NO! OH GODS NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" The soldier cried and pleaded, trying to claw then grasp at the grass, as if she could pull herself back to the ground and escape.
The Titan didn't pay attention to her.
She was looking at the Arlert's.
Issac instinctively moved to shield his wife, standing up to place himself between the tree and Ellie. Ellie for her part stood completely still, unsure what to think or do in this situation.
Both of them looked terrified.
The Titan looked… she didn't look like anything. Her face was a complete mask, there was no sign of anything on her face, what she was thinking. It was even more neutral than her usual apathetic look, just completely blank.
Until she looked down at the soldier struggling in her grip.
Then the slightest narrowing of her eyes occurred.
"… NO NO, NOoooooooooo!" Were the girl's last words before the Titan tossed her into the air over her shoulder, like a piece of discarded trash. Only the heavens could tell you were and when she would land, if she was granted any mercy she would pass out before she hit the ground.
The thought of it, of a human being dying like that… it was too cruel. It was all too cruel, but this was especially so. Ellie whimpered, she clutched at Issac's back as she imagined that poor girl's fear, as she flailed her arms and legs as she tried to stop her descent, could only watch the ground getting closer, and closer, and closer…
"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"
Ellie and Issac jumped, as a voice startled them, almost as much as the sudden impact of a body colliding with them did.
Ellie scrambled to her feet out of panic, but a hand grabbing at her hair and hoisting her to her feet. Issac tried to stand up, but he halted in place upon seeing a bloodied, frenzied young man shoving a flintlock pistol in his wife's face.
"YOU FUCKING EVIL- THIS IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU, ISN'T IT?!"
Ellie was having a little trouble focusing, that impact had knocked her for a loop, but once her head cleared she was able to piece together a very angry, very scared young man was calling her a monster, not the Titan who had been killing his friends. He was screaming, he had positioned (perhaps intentionally, perhaps not) her between him and the Female Titan, and he absolutely looked like he was going to pull the trigger.
"YOU! YOU WERE VIOLATING THE SANCTITY OF THE WALLS! YOU BROUGHT THIS EVIL IN FROM THE OUTSIDE, DIDN'T YOU?!" The man, who couldn't have been a boy not that long ago, had a steadfast grip on both Ellie and his weapon. His eyes darted between her and the Titan, but not long enough Ellie could hope to wrest his pistol away or escape.
His eyes blazed with anger, as well as pain. Not physical pain, despite the blood coating his head and side, but grieving pain. Grief for his comrades, for his friends, maybe even a family member or love.
'He didn't deserve this.' Ellie trembled, trying not to cry. 'He was just trying to protect his home, our home. I can't imagine he envisioned his life would be this, hunting down and eliminating heretics, but he must have believed that was the right thing to do. Does he have a family? Someone he loves? Is he wondering if they'll die too, because of us?'
The man saw something behind Ellie, and backhanded her with the pistol so hard she actually spun around in place, painfully tearing at her still gripped hair. Before she could recover, that grip was gone, to be replaced by an arm wrapping itself around her throat.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE ANY CLOSER, TITAN!" Spittle flew past Ellie's right ear, with the end of a gun pressing against her temple. "I SWEAR TO THE FUCKING WALLS I WILL BLOW HER HEAD OFF!"
His arm squeezed around her throat, in his panic to make sure she couldn't escape he was using all his strength to keep her still. It was getting difficult to breath, Ellie tried to pry his arm off but that just made him squeeze more.
Despite her oxygen supply being cut, she had no trouble seeing the Female Titan crouched before her.
She was magnificent.
She was terrifying.
The flames at her back were rising, they made her look like more of a monster than she was. Like the gates of some hell had opened up and she had walked through them.
But she wasn't a monster.
Monsters didn't have that look on their face.
Her eyes were wide, her hands were hovering at her sides, her mouth was slightly ajar, like she wanted to say something.
'…She's scared?' Ellie wanted to believe it, that her friend was actually worried for her. That all of this had been about protecting her friends.
A thought that provided more despair than relief, but she'd take what she could get. Maybe the people of the Walls weren't damned because of-
"I'LL KILL HER! I WILL! I'LL KILL YOUR MASTERS, AND THEN WHAT WILL YOU DO?!"
Ellie choked out another gasp, as her airway got even tighter. She was losing consciousness, that gun was being driven into her skull, and Issac was losing more blood.
The Female Titan instinctively reached forward, just the slightest movement before she could stop herself, but it was enough to put the squeeze on Ellie more.
Again, the mouth, the only movement remaining was the mouth… Ellie could swear, the Titan's mouth was moving. Sucking in a breath? Exhaling soundless words? Her lower jaw kept twitching, kept opening and closing… maybe she was trying to whistle?
"YOU FUCKING- DO! YOU! UNDER! STAND! THE FUCKING WORDS COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH!? DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!? YOU KILLED THEM! YOU FUCKING KILLED THEM! YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING PAY FOR THAT, YOU DON'T GET TO WIN!"
Another squeeze. The Titan's eyes widened more, she gave a wordless scream.
"YOU!"
Ellie was blacking out.
"DON'T!"
It felt like her eyes were going to pop out.
"GET!"
'Armin… I love you-'
"s-"
'Eh?'
"ss-sSTOOOOP!"
"…"
"…"
"STOP!" The Female Titan repeated herself.
The Female Titan actually spoke.
No one could tell who was more shocked, human or Titan.
So shocking was it, the arm around Ellie's neck went slack.
She didn't waste the opportunity.
Reaching into her pocket, she yanked out the hunting knife and stabbed the soldier right in femoral artery, ducking her head down at the same time so that the pistol was directly pointed at her head.
The soldier screamed, he pulled the trigger, a spike of pain exploded from Ellie's brow and her ears were ringing, but she spun around and pulled the knife out, pushing forward to tackle her captor to the ground.
He looked up at her, in a mix of disbelief and terror.
He knew he was going to die.
He at least thought he could avenge his comrades.
Ellie didn't hesitate, spurned on by the desire to live and the desire to see her family again, to right some wrongs of her own. She plunged her knife into his throat, before he could throw her off or defend himself.
She pushed the blade down as much as she could, as deep as she could. It was like a fountain was bubbling up around her hands, coating her hands red.
He kept staring at her, even after he was dead.
"…I'm sorry." Ellie sobbed out. "I'm sorry."
Behind her, Issac and the Titan stared at her, then each other.
The balloon was still afloat.
"A…ahhhh… bahhhh… baaahsket. Basket." Annie managed to sound out, slowly. She gestured to the basket of the balloon, then to the Arlert's. "Get… in… basket."
Issac stayed beside his wife, holding her close. She hadn't moved more than three feet away from the body, her grief taking a moment to rest when she realized her husband was still bleeding. As was she. She tore off pieces of her dress and made crude wrappings while they both tended to each other as best as they could, but they hadn't exchanged a single word. Not to each other, nor to Annie.
Was it ironic that the moment Annie discovered she could talk, everyone went silent?
Yes, she had tried. For months she had tried, as good at interpreting her as the Arlert's had been, being mute was annoying. She had done her damned hardest to produce any sounds besides an ear piercing Titan summoning shriek, but all she had managed was a soundless rasp. Her throat and mouth hadn't been designed for words, despite her Titan being one of the most human like in appearance.
That's what she had thought, until she had seen Ellie being choked to death so hard her head was threatening to pop off like a champagne cork.
The feeling she had felt, the terror, the helplessness…
It had been far too similar to the last time she'd seen her father.
She'd cried out for Zoe to stop that time too.
'But now that I can talk, I'll have no one to talk too because these two are going to talk Armin and Rupert and try to get as far as they can away from me.' Annie clenched her fist as the Arlert's continued to not move, so many things happening that she honestly wanted to scream, let the Garrison witness a mass convergence of Titans smacking against the southwest outer Wall.
She settled for stomping out the fire.
The Arlert's bounced off the ground and out of their stupor as she extinguished the flames, eliminating the biggest signal for reinforcements and avoiding a blaze that would engulf the area.
'Though that might buy us time to escape…' Annie briefly pondered, before shaking her head. 'No, no. I can do this without sacrificing anyone else. No one else needs to die.'
She really wanted to believe that.
She finished her work, and was glad to see the Arlert's were paying attention to her now, good.
"Sup…plies. Gather. Food… sleep… use… ful." Annie both spoke and gestured around them to the scattered provisions, before pointing to the balloon. "Get… in."
… Issac and Ellie just stared at her.
She rolled her eyes, and stomped her foot.
"…Move!"
That got them in action. They shuffled and hurried to their supplies, most of which had avoided being stepped on or burnt, Annie helpfully picking up the biggest bundles and placing them in the balloon basket, ignoring how they flinched when her hands got close.
They could fear her all they wanted. She'd still get them to safety.
Issac had made his way to the blankets but hadn't moved them, possibly due to his injury, so Annie had made to take them off his hands. He panicked, waving his arm for her to stop, and before she could understand what his problem was she'd already lifted them-
To reveal two surviving soldiers, taking one look at her before clutching each other in fear.
"…" Annie stared at them, even as Issac moved to place himself between her and them.
"Don't." He held up his good arm, eyes begging, pleading with her not to do it.
It was like the man wanted to get killed.
'Assuming they don't make a stupid decision to try and take you hostage, if they leave they'll call reinforcements. They'll alert the Garrison, the Scouts, the King, the whole of the Walls. They'll identify you, your family will have no hope of living here any longer.' Annie wanted to say, but her stupid mouth couldn't form the words, only managing to garble out, "Stupid." She grit her teeth behind her lips, then tried again. "Danger… ous."
"They're beaten, they're done." Issac pleaded. "Just let them go, without horses it'll take them hours to get to the nearest village, and even longer to get to the nearest barracks."
"Still… danger… ous."
"Please, I'm begging you-"
"Please spare us!" One of the soldiers screamed into the ground, holding his friend close and unable to look upon his doom. "We give up, we surrender! Just let us go, I swear you'll never see us again!"
"We both swear!" The other soldier chimed in, eyes wet as she cried her heart out. "We won't tell anyone what happened here! We'll say it was wolves, or bears, or whatever you want! Just please don't eat us!"
Annie frowned, and that motivated Issac to move even closer to the soldiers who were already in perfect hostage taking range.
But they didn't. They didn't move an inch from their poor hiding spot, utterly helpless.
"…Go." Annie stepped back, giving them a wide berth.
"…What?" The female soldier dared to hope she just heard what she thought she heard.
"She said go, come on, get up, get up." Issac grabbed the nearest one by the shoulder and pulled them to their feet. "Don't look at me, don't look at her, just move. Don't stop until you get to a village, and please for the love of the Walls don't tell anyone about this. I swear you'll never see us again, or her, but you need to keep quiet. Now go, go, go!"
He pulled them up and pushed until they started moving under their own power, and soon the two survivors were in a full on sprint. They didn't look back, they just ran into the night.
Maybe Annie would get lucky and wolves would get them.
A retching sound alerted Annie to Ellie, and she turned to watch the woman empty her stomach contents upon getting a good look at a particularly broken and crushed corpse. She heaved and heaved, and looked up at Annie, utterly distraught.
'…Don't look at me like that, please.' Annie wanted to say, but she didn't. She kept her emotionless mask up, and got back to loading up the basket.
The balloon was really getting in her way.
With a flick of her fingers and a crystal coating later, she snipped the damn thing off. It shot up into the sky for a few seconds, before the air escaped and it became a fluttering piece of fabric.
"Wha- hey!" Issac called out, utterly confused and more than a little distraught!
"You… stupid." Annie ground out. "You… die… out… there." She pointed to the unseen Walls with as much force as she could, as if she was trying to pierce them with her forefinger from miles away. "Crash… and… be… chow."
Any other day, Issac would have argued, or at least have had a polite discussion so that he might see where he had gone wrong and could attempt to fix things. But right now he just didn't have it in him, so he just slumped and made to drag a bag of rations to the now grounded basket, huffing and heaving with his one good arm.
Ellie tossed what she found inside, hugging herself and trying not catch sight of any of the bodies. She whimpered and moved to Issac, running into his back and laying her head against him.
Annie wished she could give them time to process all of this, she really did.
But fate wasn't that kind.
"In." She pointed to the basket, loaded up with supplies but still sporting room for two passengers. "Get… in."
Issac looked at the basket, then at Annie. "…Where are we going?"
"Arm… in. Ru… pert. Then… hide." Annie explained, as much as she could with the bare minimum of words.
"And then?" Issac asked.
"… Then… plan."
Annie doubted her less than eloquent words were convincing, motivating, or reassuring, but she did have faith the only living humans in the area would rather be anywhere but here right now. Maybe they also hoped seeing their son would make tonight less horrible, who knows? Whatever the case, Issac moved to help Ellie climb in the basket, and hoisted himself up right after.
Satisfied, Annie bent down to pick them up, ignoring how both of them flinched and held each other in fear, their shaking bodies very distinct in the moonlight.
She held the basket in both hands, as if she was holding a box of candy to present to the guy she liked, and carefully jogged all the way back to her cave. It was easy enough to return to, the path she'd taken here was more or less a straight line, and fairly noticeable. Even if she hadn't knocked down every tree cutting through every forest here, it was safe to say her cave was no longer useable.
That was fine. She had a spot in the North, easy enough to get to for her but a bit of a climb for anyone else. A decent sized cave, could house the Arlert's for a while, long enough that Annie could figure out what to do from here. Depending on how the wind blew, she might have to seriously consider taking the Arlert's outside the Walls…
Or consider an even more drastic option…
Armin stood in the Paths, watching his wife take his parents to safety, and only after he saw that she was well and truly clear of what would have been his mother and father's execution site, did he finally unclench his fists. Red dripped down, he had broken the skin long ago, and as usual there was no pain.
No physical pain, at least.
'It's happening again.' He couldn't help but think, and feel all the weight of that thought crashing into him. 'Annie… she had to kill again.'
'She killed for me.'
'Killed our people… for me.'
He wanted to sink to his knees so badly right now. How worthless was he? He didn't prevent this?! He should have… he should have kept a better eye on his parents, he should have known they'd do this! Their dream was his dream, of course they weren't going to be satisfied with a verbal description, knowing the real thing was so close, just right there!
But he'd ignored that. He'd pretended that everything was okay, that Annie… that they could all just enjoy this peace, just a bit longer. He'd ignored everything, ignored the possibility Annie might be dying from the Titan curse soon, ignored that any talks about changing the future had been put on hold indefinitely outside of whittling down the Titans numbers, he had just ignored it!
'And now… people are dead. Because I let my feelings get in the way.'
Just like with Marco's gear.
He really was the absolute worst.
The sound and feeling of paper slapping against his leg snapped Armin out of his self loathing, and he looked down, then to his side to see Killa scribbling on the floor, filling out page after page of… who knows what.
"Killa?" Armin tried, only to be waved off.
"Can't talk, busy! The cork's been popped, we are seeing the wheels turning here! So much to cover, so much to do, I need to get every plan of attack ready!" The burnt man was practically frothing as he filled up another page and tossed it aside for a new one.
Armin's hand hovered over him just a moment longer, before he stepped back. He bent down to retrieve the page that was still splashed against him, only to see Levi staring him down when he rose back up.
"…Yes, Captain?"
"Zoe."
"…Ah."
"Make sure to stress the people who just died are responsible for so many Scouts being eaten alive, forcing us to use shitty weapons for years. That might calm her down."
"You think that will work?"
"No, but I'm not the one trying to keep the peace here so it's not my problem. Find her, try to reason with her, and see if you can find out which country that still exists right now and is in swimming range that would be willing to take your family in. After tonight, we might just have to settle for you being raised outside Paradis."
Armin cursed, not liking that he'd also had that thought. "Can't we ask Killa?"
"He remembers the degree of hate and acceptance each country had for Eldians, but he was never friends with the White Angel of Death or the Baroness of Pyrrhus like our other guest was." Levi patted Armin's arm. "It's not perfect, but I know for a fact Zoe was taught a phrase that would basically have any member of the Baroness's family accept whoever said it. An Eldian phrase, so use that for whatever it's worth."
"…Wait, what?" Armin blinked. "Are you serious?"
"She didn't go into detail, but if you could pry the why out of her, maybe, just maybe we're not as fucked as we'd like to think." Levi gestured to the barn. "Or maybe I'm just talking out of my ass to make you feel better, either way get to it. I'll be here trying to see if maybe we can still stay on Paradis, I'm very attached to the idea of saving our people first, thank you."
"Oh we can! We quite certainly can!" Killa chimed in, before returning to his work. "The Baroness won't be in power for at least eight more years anyway, and the White Angel just got his wings, so put those ideas on hold, but there's merit, there's a lot of merit to them!"
"…Well, there you go." Levi shrugged, then went to sit down beside his former subordinate, picking up a page at random and browsing through it.
Leaving Armin alone.
He sighed, and went to the barn. He'd rather be there for Annie, but with his family present the connection was… fuzzy, at the moment. It always got like that when she was interacting with real people, he had no idea why…
All too soon, he was in front of the barn doors. Pitch black inside, and it didn't get any better once he reached the basement. Killa's workshop, where all manner of sharp pointy objects lay, the only limits to using them being one's imagination.
With another sigh, Armin, placed both hands on the barn doors, and pushed them open as he stepped inside.
Djel Sannes was dying.
No, Djel Sannes was already dead. His right side was utterly obliterated, having practically exploded from his impact with the tree, it was like he was one with the tree.
He was dead. And yet… he was still clinging to life.
He could only stare, as the dark of the night finally ended, to be bathed in the morning light. Could only stare at the corpses of his soldiers, his comrades, people who had dedicated their lives to preserving the Walls and the people within. They had served their King faithfully, just as he had, and this was their reward.
Djel Sannes refused to let it end like this.
He had to warn the King.
He had to warn the King.
HehadtowarntheKinghehadtohehadtohehadtohehadtohehadtohehadtohe-
"Ho-LY shit." A rough scratchy and most importantly familiar voice graced Djel's working ear. "What in the absolute fuck all happened here? I thought you said this was about some dumbasses trying to fly? Did our boys here try to fly with them or something, fell to their deaths?"
"No… this is something else… my god, such brutality…"
An even more familiar and very welcome voice spoke up, and Djel spluttered a few more pints worth of blood as he tried to get his King's attention. The voices were coming behind him, but if they could just hear him…
"…Oh fuck, we've still got a live one!" The first voice shouted, and a shuffling of feet let Djel know he had been successful.
It wasn't long before Kenny Ackerman, a.k.a Kenny the Ripper came into view.
"…Fuck, is that you Sannes?" The clean shaven man leaned in while lifting the brim of his hat with his hand, looking surprised to see his comrade in such a state. "Fuckin' hell, what in the name of all that's holy happened here? You pick a fight with a whole family of bears or something?"
"Fffffw… gahhhhhh…"
"Fuck, how the fuck are you still breathing?" Kenny was genuinely wondering, he'd seen some shit in his time. From folks who'd had their throats cut open (not by him) and survived long enough to cauterize the wound before they bled out, to a woman who given herself a C-section to deliver her own damn baby, but nothing compared to this.
For the first time in forever, Kenny honestly wanted to provide a mercy kill. There was no way Sannes was going to pull through this.
"Mahhhhhh… maaaaaaaaahhhh…"
"This is just painful to watch." Kenny shook his head, still crouched in front of the literal half man. He was debating if he should pull out his knife and end it quick, or simply yank Sannes off the tree and remove what was keeping what was left of his internal organs in his body, when a hand touched his shoulder.
Kenny looked up, to see the sullen face of Uri looking down.
A brief wordless exchange, and Kenny stood up to let the King of the Walls be before his most devoted soldier instead. Wearing simple robes as always, the picture of humility despite the power he wielded. Magnificent purple shimmering eyes stared at Sannes, and with that gaze came a sense of peace for Sannes.
He hadn't completely failed.
Uri Reiss saw Sannes barely twitching hand laying at his side, and made to take it, gently in both hands.
"…It was a Titan that did this, wasn't it."
Sannes blinked, and used what strength he had to tap his lord's grip with his index finger, as much an affirmative as he could give.
"Did it come from one of the heretics? The ones who made this balloon?"
No tap.
"It didn't?… But it was with them?"
Sannes hesitated to tap, before he pressed his finger against the King's wrist. Uri's eyes narrowed in confusion, as he felt the finger go back and forth in a U shape.
"…U?… No, C?"
A tap, then another letter being shaped out, one at a time with as much care as possible.
"…C…A…E?… No, M…Now E… I see, it came for them, correct? Was it from the trees?" Uri looked up, at what had been a much more intact forest moments ago. A tap was his answer. "I see, I see… and then… it took them, yes?"
Another tap, and Uri's eyes glowed, as he nodded in understanding.
"I understand now… yes, everything is clear to me." Uri closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before he opened them again. He gripped Sannes hand, as he stared into his eye. "…Thank you, Djel Sannes, for everything you have done for me, for my family, for the preservation of paradise. I promise you, this will not be in vain. We will find the culprits responsible, and return peace to our lands. The deaths here will be avenged, I swear it."
"Now, please… go in peace. You have earned your rest."
Djel Sannes smiled, and finally was able to close his eye.
Uri Reiss exhaled a shuddering breath, but he refrained from shedding a tear. He did afford his deceased loyal subordinate a kiss on the brow, and a prayer that the Paths of their ancestors grant freedom.
"…Sooooo… you want to bury him under the tree for symbolism or just cremate him with the rest?" Kenny afforded his friend a full minute of silence before he let his natural instinct to be an ass take over. He glanced over his shoulder where other, living and far less green soldiers constructed a pyre a started gathering the bodies. "I figure it's something of a sign, him being so wooden in life and now being one with the wood…"
"It was someone like me who did this."
"Oh good we can talk about that because I was seriously going nuts waiting for an answer here." Kenny sighed in relief. "… So is this it then? Judgement day and all that coming for us?"
"…"
"…Uh, Uri?" Kenny waved a hand in front of those purple eyes. "Yoohoo? Uri? You with me or you doing that thing where you try to appear omnipotent but really just look like you're spacing out?"
"Kenny, if I asked you to track down a Titan inside Wall Maria, with no help or experience in doing so whatsoever, what would you say to me?"
"That you are seriously taking advantage of our friendship, and I outta skin you alive for doing so." The Ripper answered immediately, even as he internally balked at the question.
"But would and could you do it?"
"Absolutely I could. I could even do it without one of them fancy ODM gears, but that just goes so far as to tracking it. If you're asking me to kill it, well… it hurts my pride to say this, but even I have limits."
"That's fine. I just need it… them found." Uri smiled. "The sooner the better, and once you do inform me… actually, I'll be coming with you, we can't waste a second."
"Whoa, someone's excited." Kenny whistled. "…Well, shouldn't take too long, we have a very obvious trail to follow, though once they go back to human again I'll actually have to put the work in… ah, why wait any longer? Come on, let's get going."
Uri nodded, and made to follow Kenny to the nearest pair of horses, where the soldiers riding them handed the reins without question.
"Before we get going though, mind answering me what's got you like this? I thought our penance was nothing to be scared of or whatever? So what's the big deal?"
"… I'm actually not sure." Uri admitted. "I just… something feels… off, to me." He turned to see the bodies being piled up, all ready for the fire. "… This doesn't feel like penance. I don't know how to describe it, but I know I need to find the Titan-Shifter who did this."
"…Eh, suit yourself. Just promise me I'll get to see two giants fight each other, will ya?" Kenny snickered. "It's been ages since alive seen yours, I figure I need a refresher."
"I just showed you last month."
"Details." Kenny waved off Uri's incredulous gaze, and with a snap of the reins they were off.
So… how was that?
Just to save anyone from worrying, the story is going to still be taking place on Paradis. Annie's adventure is going to take place in the setting we all know from the show, I'm just name dropping to plant seeds for events that won't happen until way, way later. I'm also getting closer to the exposition dump chapters, where things will be cleared up (what happened after the Rumbling, what's the plan going forward, how can Paradis AND the World be saved), so look forward to that.
Boy, I put "Lack of communication" in the story description, and we're only on chapter 7 and Annie can talk. A big thank you to crod42 for recommending I watch the Rise of the Planet of the Apes, big inspiration for the talk scene there.
Anyways, we have half a chapter still on the immediate date, before we get another time skip and we FINALLY get to see widdle Armin hanging out with big Annie. Hope you enjoy!
