Chapter 29: Secrets II
Eren slowly opened his eyes, a cloud of smoke engulfed his body; his vision was blurry at first but very quickly it began to clear up. He found him up against a wall inside the living room of a house; he turned his head to the right to see Ymir, her hands tied behind her back and her ankles tied together, he turned his head to the left to see Alphonse who was he was still wearing his brown jacket although they had taken his green cloak, his legs tied together and his hands tied behind his back with two small straw sacks covering his hands.
"Eren" came a voice in front of him; Eren looked upwards to see Reiner looming over him with Bertholdt behind him "So you're awake." instantly Eren realized they had taken his and Alphonse's ODM gear.
Eren tried to moved only to find his bloody feeling constricted; he looked down to see his cloak wrapping his body and his feet bound together with rope, he began to struggle and unwrap the cloak only to revel his arms had been reduced to stumps with everything above his elbow having to be regrown. "Ah!" he yelled "My arms, what the?"
"Damn, sucks to be you Eren." commented Ymir.
"What the hell happened to my arms?" growled Eren
"My fault" replied Reiner "I was in a hurry; didn't make a clean bite in the chaos."
"So… we lost then." Eren stated in a dead pan voice, he glared at both Reiner and Bertholdt. He quickly raised his stump to his mouth and bit down.
"Eren don't!" yelled Alphonse in an panicked tone
"Hey do it if you want to" said Ymir "We're still in Wall Rose so you're basically home free, but keep in mind if you transform you'll send the whole house crashing down on the family upstairs." Eren looked at Reiner and Bertholdt; there was an uneasy look about Bertholdt while Reiner looked almost calm.
"There a family of five up there and unless you want their blood on your hands, you'll stay put" said Reiner, his arms folded "And Alphonse can't help you either; his ability depends on his hands coming into contact with each other and we've made sure to counter that." Alphonse glared at the two and tried to put on a frustrated face; it was the only thing he could do to hold in his smirk at their ignorance of how his alchemic ability worked Good thing brother stopped wearing gloves he thought. Al knew that at some point he'd have to act and apprehend them but he had to pick his moment carefully and for now he was going to sit and observe them; hopefully get some answer from them about the Titans. Eren looked back at the straw bags over Al's hands. "And besides your Titan power is not without restrictions; your body is too busy repairing itself at the moment and you can't transform until it's finished."
"Why the hell should I believe you? You fucking traitor" questioned Eren in a harsh tone "Everyone in Wall Rose has been evacuated by now."
Reiner looked to Bertholdt and nodded at him, Bertholdt had a sad look on his face; he got up and walked up the stairs to the second floor, they listened carefully to his heavy footsteps; there was a few seconds of silence followed by the sound of a blade being drawn from the scarab. Suddenly a loud bang rang through the house as he kicked down one of the doors; it was immediately followed by the ear-piercing shrieks of young children and cries of one of the parents.
"Hey you leave them alone!" yelled Eren; there was the sound of the door closing, muffling the cries, and footsteps going back to the stairs. As Bertholdt, walked down the stairs, his blades placed back in his scarab, he caught a glimpse at the angered expressions of Eren and Alphonse.
"That wasn't necessary" said Alphonse in an angered tone
"Just making Eren clear of the situation at hand." Stated Reiner "Scream and shout as much as you want but were in rural Wall Rose; the nearest village is probably than a few miles away and whatever houses are around are abandoned, evacuated most likely, these guys mustn't of got the message."
"Hey Reiner, you said we'd talk when Eren woke up, so tell us; what exactly the plan here?" there was a long pause after Ymir's question
"You three are coming with us back to our hometown." replied Reiner "I'd ask you to not to be a pain in the ass but let's face it; you're coming up with a hundred ways of escaping right now."
"Why exactly are you kidnapping us?" asked Alphonse
"It should be obvious, Alphonse." Replied Reiner "Eren and Ymir are both Titan shifters and your 'Alchemy' will be valuable to us back home."
"Not exactly an answer to my question" replied Alphonse
"Well it's all you're getting" replied Reiner "Anyways, the sun's coming up and I don't want to be out in the open in broad daylight when the Scouts are likely hunting for us and I'd like to cover as much ground as possible when we're in Wall Maria so we're leaving at nightfall."
That's right thought Eren hopefully they survived that blast, we just got to hope now they find us while we're still in Wall Rose; otherwise they're done for if those two drag us into Maria…
"Scouts aren't exactly a threat to your Titan" remarked Ymir "Why couldn't you of just headed back to your hometown, what did you have to take a break or something?"
"You figure it out" replied Reiner dismissively
"Ok then, what happens when you're in Wall Maria then?" questioned Ymir "The Titans in the castle didn't care that it was night."
"Those were different Titans; the ones in Maria won't try to go after us at night." Responded Reiner "But I don't have to tell you about that, Ymir"
Ymir's got something to hide thought Alphonse Nanaba was right; why didn't she come out into the open about it? She said she'd tell us everything after the battle; if I can't get either Reiner or Bertholdt to say anything then I at least have to make sure she doesn't fall into their hands.
A hundred thoughts ran through Eren's mind How much does Ymir know, Is she on our side, what's her endgame here? He looked back at Reiner and Bertholdt my best option now is to try and gather as much information from them as possible he then looked back at Alphonse if we could get those binds off then he could destroy Reiner's armour like Ed; we'll have a better chance at beating them if the Scouts don't find us he gritted his teeth and continued to give angry glares at them until then… I've to keep my emotions in check…
Sunlight began to seep through the wooden blinds on the windows, Reiner sat on a wooden chair watching the three who were sat up against the wall and Bertholdt leaned up against the front of the house; peering though the wooden blinds every so often, his face masked by the bright light outside.
"Hey Reiner" called Ymir "Does this place have any water, c'mon I'm drying up here"
"We shouldn't take anything from these people" said Alphonse, with a serious look on his face "We've already caused them enough grief."
"Hey you can be as virtuous as you want but some of us would rather not be thirsty." replied Ymir, in a matter of fact tone.
"Nah he's right" replied Reiner "these last couple hours have been rough but we shouldn't forget our duty to the people" almost immediately everyone turned their attention to Reiner; Bertholdt had anxious look on his face, both Alphonse and Eren looked at him completely puzzled and Ymir looked at him slightly confused. "But I guess even that's an understatement; it's been what, two days since the breach? We've only been able to eat some bits here and there and maybe catch a few hours sleep if we were lucky. Could you imagine what the situation could have been had the Walls been actually breached? Still this whole thing was hell to go through what with Titan battle at the castle; I think after that the very least we deserve is a promotion" he said Reiner, almost laughing
"What the hell?" muttered Bertholdt, Eren began looking at the ground still wide eyed; he could feel the pent up rage inside him start to boil.
"I mean look I get it" continued Reiner "Were soldiers it's what we signed up for; hell even Erwin was up front about it at graduation but I'm just saying it'd be nice to get some kind of acknowledgement for the service."
"Did you hit your head or something?" questioned Ymir sarcastically with a puzzled smile on her face, though in her mind she was piecing it together.
"What? I'm not saying we barge into Erwin or Darius' office and demand to be made Captains or Squad Leaders, hell I'd even settle for a medal." replied Reiner with an innocent boyish smile on his face. "And by the way, Alphonse I got to say I'm impressed; with skill like yours I'd never would of guess you'd learnt how to use ODM gear in the matter of a few months, you and Ed have really left an impression on us since Trost though you more so on a certain person." He joked; Eren could hardly contain his anger.
This traitorous bastard…thinks he can laugh and joke like nothing's happened!
"Speaking of which, did you see the way Krista looked at me when I gave her back her gear?" asked Reiner "She's probably got a think for m-"
"Hey!" yelled Eren, enraged; stopping Reiner "You're fucking with us, aren't you?"
Reiner looks at Eren completely confused "Woah, Eren what's wrong?" asks Reiner, surprised by his sudden enraged outburst "Did I say something that upset you?"
"If you keep talking I swear I'll fucking kill you!" threaten Eren, yelling at the top of his lungs
"Hold up there, Eren" injected Ymir "Looks like someone might have a few nails loose" she then turned her attention to Bertholdt, who had been sitting quietly with a miserable look on his face "correct me if I'm wrong, Bertholdt but by the looks of it you seem to know something we don't."
Reiner turned to Bertholdt, there was a look of childlike innocence on his face "Reiner, snap out of it" said Bertholdt in hushed tone though it was quite clear Bertholdt was frustrated "We're not soldiers, we're Warriors." Reiner turned his head off to the side, his eyes widen and his breathing began slightly erratic, he stood up from his seat and looked at the three tied sitting up against the wall before he quickly composed himself; he had a disappointed look on his face.
"Yeah…of course" was all he said before sitting back into the chair with his hands covering his face. The three stared at him.
"What the hell?" said Eren, his anger shimmering down.
"I think I know what's going on here" said Ymir catching Eren and Alphonse's attention "At first I thought it was strange; when you compare the guy who broke the wall to the guy who puts his comrades first, the very people whose lives he's responsible for putting on the line, their almost polar opposites; everything you did seemed to contradiction." Alphonse turned back to Reiner to see him still trying to pull himself together "You thought of yourself as the Warrior who had to push mankind off the edge but at the same time you got lost in the act of being a soldier, why? Did you get too into your role or… was the weight of everything you've done just too much to handle that you had to slip into your very own fantasy? And I'm guessing by the look on Bertholdt's face this isn't the first time, is it?" Bertholdt didn't react to Ymir's comment, instead he sat there trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room "Now that's irony; to think someone as straight forward as you wou-"
"Shut up!" yelled Reiner, glaring at Ymir "Not another word."
Ymir flinched slightly before quickly composing herself "Alright then"
"This hurts you, it's clear you can't live with yourselves knowing what you've done" said Alphonse "but why do you still do it? What could be worth all this? What exactly will you achieve pushing humanity off the edge?" Neither Reiner nor Bertholdt answered his questioned; they both looked at him for a few second and turned away "If you're not going to answer me than it obvious that you can't justify what you've done, your reasons for killing so many people might as well be completely arbitrary or selfish, but it doesn't matter because you won't win, we'll put an end to this!" Ymir rolled her eyes at Alphonse's declaration.
Reiner stood up from his chair and approached Alphonse; he loomed over him with his arms folded and a serious expression on his face "Selfish? You couldn't even begin to understand the sacrifice we've made, the sacrifices we will make and the ones we're prepared to make" stated Reiner "Unlike you I'm willing to spill blood and if need be die for something I believe is the greater good, what are you giving up? Your time? Perhaps you've forgotten that the reason, the only reason, you and your brother are in the Scouts, the only reason you're even here in the first place is because it helps you get something you want, you're not in this to save humanity!" Alphonse glared at Reiner, a part of him wanted to transmute something to cut off his bindings and tackle Reiner, but as always Alphonse kept his temper in check.
Ymir rose her eyebrow at Reiner "I think you might be projecting a bit, Reiner." She commented
"Shut it, Ymir" responded Reiner with a look of disgust.
"Go to hell" growled Eren "Even now you spew out that self-righteous bullshit even after everything you've done, why the hell did you even listen to me on that day? I'm talking to you Bertholdt, you fucking bootlicker; I told you everything, I told you about the day my mother got eaten by a Titan because a shard of the gate you kicked down landed right on my house and stopped her from running away." Bertholdt turned to look at Eren, a blank expression on his face "How about you tell me… what were you thinking that day I told you." Bertholdt turned away from Eren
"If I'm honest" said Bertholdt hesitantly "I just felt sorry for you." There was a jarring silence in the room as Eren stared wide eyed at them
"You just felt sorry for me?" replied Eren, in a loud whisper "You two… you're nothing but a bunch of murders; mass murders who ended the lives of innocent people!"
"Oh would you shut up!" yelled Reiner, still standing over them "I don't need you stating the fucking obvious!"
"Then don't you fucking dare act like what you did hurt you more than the people's lives that you've ruined! You're done nothing but turn this world into a living hell! Are you proud of yourselves, you fucking monsters? You're not a human, you're worse than scum!" yelled Eren, before Reiner could respond the muffled sound of a child from upstairs could be heard cut him off, he backed down and moved a few steps from them, he calmly folded his arms while continuing to look at them with a stern expression
"If that's how you feel, then fine." Said Reiner "But it doesn't matter anyways, there's nothing that can be done to change the situation for this world."
"No…" responded Eren, in a venomous tone "there's one thing I can do… and that's making sure that the two of you die in the most painful way possible." Reiner continued to stare at Eren with a stern expression, like an adult looking down on a child that threaten them, Alphonse looked at Eren troubled by his declaration to brutally end their lives and Ymir looked at Eren completely unimpressed by his threat.
"Are you two even listening to yourselves?" said Ymir "All that childish bullshit about vows of stopping them and killing them, you can't expecting me to go along with you two knuckleheads."
"What's that suppose to mean?" questioned Eren
"I'm saying I'm not going to jump on the same boat with someone who's way in over his head and the other being concerned with petty bullshit." She replied, turning to Reiner "Hey Reiner, what's with the giant ape?" Reiner's eyes widen slightly
"Ape?" he asked "Don't know what you mean"
"Oh, I thought he must have been with you guys" said Ymir
"Giant ape?" asked Eren "what's an ape?"
"That Beast looking Titan" said Alphonse "He had the same ability as Annie, he's the one that launched the attack on the castle using his scream."
"What?" exclaimed Eren; he looked over to Reiner and Bertholdt
"If I had to bet I'd say he's the one behind the latest Titan attack in Wall Rose" added Ymir "possibly trying to test our strength."
"Wait, he the one who turned Connie's village into Titans!" exclaimed Eren, Ymir, Reiner and Bertholdt all focused their attention on him, perplexed that he knew about that.
"So you know about that?" asked Ymir, she turned away from Eren "well got to hand it to Armin, the guy may be as weak as a twig but he's sharp, though but it doesn't take a genius to realize these guys are trying to link up with the Beast Titan; their way back home"
"You knew all this time?" questioned Eren "What else have you been keeping from us?"
"It's not exactly easy to explain." Replied Ymir "the whole thing is complicated"
"Simplify it then!" demanded Eren
Ymir sighed and shot Eren an annoyed look "If you two think that stopping these guys will bring an end to all this then you're in for a rude awakening" replied Ymir, annoyed by Eren
"You're right, Ymir" said Alphonse calmly, catching her off guard "maybe I'm in over my head, maybe I'm setting myself up for something impossible but I been through that already; back on my world Ed and I had to face people who stood in our way and monsters, one of whom wanted to be God, hell bent on killing innocent people. It wasn't easy fighting them and we suffered our share of defeats but in the end we won." Ymir's eyes soften slightly as she listen to Alphonse speech "But before we beat them we had to learn about them; If you say the situation is complex then I believe you but if you can give us anything to work with then we can work this out."
Ymir sighed "Look Alphonse, I believe you when you say that you and Ed had beaten all those things, but you don't know about the enemy we face here"
A powerful force they do not yet fully understand….
"Who is the enemy?" asked Alphonse, thinking back to the Truth's words
"If I had to say then it'd be-" Reiner quickly interrupts Ymir
"Do you think these people have a future?" he asks "You're someone who sees the bigger picture of things and the smart thing to do would be to join us."
"You want me to trust you" she laughed "You really must have lost your mind and what makes you think you can trust me?"
"I can trust you" replied Reiner, confidence in his voice "Our goals aren't that different; your goal is to protect Historia, isn't it?" Ymir's eyes widen at the mere mention of her name "Is it so hard to believe that we want the same thing; to protect her or would you rather put her life in the hands of Eren and a bunch of outsiders?" Ymir's eyes narrowed slightly and contemplated her next move, looking back at Eren and then Alphonse "You might have been thinking of a way to free the move of them and use them to escape because you know if you come with us you'd have no chance of survival; I can't guarantee your safety but Historia… we can realistically work towards that for her." Ymir lowered her head to the floor, she contemplated Reiner's offer.
"Hey, answer the question" demanded Eren "Who's the real enemy?"
Who do you think the real enemy is?
The real enemy isn't the Titans outside these walls, is it?
Alphonse thought back to the conversation they had with Erwin a while ago; at the time they'd had thought there were only Titans and the shifters who must have been leading them, but maybe there was more to it.
Have I been thinking about this too narrowly thought Alphonse; he looked back to Reiner and Bertholdt could there be another civilization outside?
"Who knows?" replied Ymir
"It's the civilization you work for" said Alphonse, catching everyone off guard "That's right, isn't it?"
"And how exactly did you come to that conclusion?" questioned Reiner
"Warrior… that's a rank, meaning you two are part of some kind of organised force." replied Alphonse "Is there some kind of place like the walls that's filled with Titan shifters or is Humanity not really on the brink of extinction?" Ymir, Eren and Bertholdt's eyes widen at the question; for Eren it was a bold challenge in the face of everything he'd known for his entire life but for the others it was someone almost grasping at the truth.
Ymir stared at Alphonse, surprised holy shit… did he just figure it out?
Bertholdt tried his best to remain calm as to not give anything away, but inside he was panicking, Reiner remained calm and tried to figure out a way to throw Alphonse off. "Seems like a huge jump to make, doesn't it?"
"Then who do you work for?" questioned Alphonse "The Beast Titan, is he your commander, do we have to beat him in order to win?" Ymir's eyes narrowed slightly; disappointed him for his line of questioning.
"I don't know why you're asking all these questions, you're coming with us anyways so you'll find out soon enough when we get to our hometown." replied Reiner, shutting down the conversation. He then turned to Ymir "Are you still with us?" he asked
"Yeah…" she said, Reiner then removed the bindings around her feet and hands, he took her hand and lifted her from the ground "You've made the right choice."
"Traitor!" yelled Eren, angered by Ymir acceptance of their offer "You think this is what Historia would want?"
"Don't you dare talk like you know what's best for her!" yelled Ymir "You don't even give a shit about anyone or anything except your bullshit goal to kill the Titans!" Eren growled at her while Alphonse just looked to the ground; acting sad and anger and hoping they wouldn't notice the small sharp blade he transmuted on the wall and he was using to cut off his binds.
A few hours had past; Ymir sat on a wooden chair at a table in the kitchen of the house drinking a cup of water from the houses stores, she wanted to be away from everyone and contemplate whether she had made the right choice. In the hallway upstairs, Reiner and Bertholdt talked to each other in hushed tones
"Are you sure we can trust Ymir?" asked Bertholdt "Her Titan might be small but its fast; she could get away from us easily and… she is the one who ate Marcel."
"It's likely that after she became a human again she cared only about her own survival, until she met Historia; a person she'd do anything for." There was a brief pause "We need Historia; she could have valuable information on the real royal family in the Walls meaning if Eren isn't the coordinate than we'll still have to keep looking and on top of that we either have to capture or kill Edward."
"Why are we going after them?" asked Bertholdt "Our mission was to capture the Coordinate and these guys are only here to plug up Wall Maria; So long as we get the Coordinate we have nothing to worry about." Bertholdt knew that was a lie; but all he wanted was to get their mission over and done with, going after them all complicated the matter further.
"You know why it's important to get them" replied Reiner "Unlike our Titan powers their abilities can be taught and spread, if those devils have a monopoly on that kind of power then the world will continue to be under threat from them also I doubt Ed will leave his brother behind, he did try to tail us back at Stohess."
Eren and Alphonse were still sat in the same spot; with the exception of his fingers and thumb Eren's hands were almost fully formed and were now tied up behind his back with a piece of cloth in his mouth to prevent him from biting on his tongue, he sat staring at the floor.
"Hey Eren" whispered Alphonse, Eren turned his head; Alphonse leaned forward slightly to revel his now freed hands. Eren tried to say something but all that came out was a muffled sound "Keep it down; we don't want alert them; when the time is right I'll take them down, don't worry I've handled fights against people faster and stronger than them, we just have to wait for the right moment, ok?" Eren nodded his head.
"Okay" said Bertholdt, looking off to the side "The next time we come here we'll get Historia, Annie, the Founder and Ed and then we won't have to come back here." Reiner placed his hand on Bertholdt's shoulder
"We'll find her, we're not leaving anyone behind" promised Reiner, they both walked down stairs, catching the angry glances of Eren and Alphonse. Not a single word was exchanged but the feelings of each other were more than clear. Reiner headed into the kitchen to meet with Ymir
"You go on, Reiner" said Bertholdt as he looked down on the two "I'll catch up" Bertholdt knelt down in front of Alphonse "Can you please tell me where you're keeping Annie?" he asked "I…I don't want to have to hurt you."
"I'm sorry but I won't tell you." Replied Alphonse he reminded of the time when Greed had him tied up back in Dublith and questioned him on his armour body; except Greed was confident and smug while Bertholdt looked sad and a little desperate "Unless you tell me about your hometown" he said, if Bertholdt was going to tell him Al would have to lie to him.
"You know I can't do that." said Bertholdt, a bit more aggressively "Please, she's our friend and we're worried about her."
"That maybe so, but I'm not just going to give you information just because you asked" responded Alphonse "You want something, then you'll have to give something up."
"Fine, I didn't want to do this" Bertholdt got up from the floor and moved to kick Alphonse, Eren's eyes widen and he tried to move, Alphonse watched Bertholdt's leg coming towards him, he quickly moved his hands from his back and grabbed Bertholdt's leg, Alphonse then pulled him forward, sweeping Bertholdt off his feet, Bertholdt slammed onto the ground
"Gah!" he exclaimed, Alphonse quickly clapped his hands and placed them on the binds around his ankles; deconstructing them. Bertholdt began to panic; he quickly got up to his feet and swung his right fist at Alphonse, Al ducks down dodging the attack, he throws his own punch and strikes Bertholdt's left cheek then immediately kneeing him in the gut, Bertholdt stumbles back and throws a left hook but Alphonse blocks the attack; Bertholdt was a trained soldier since childhood, a warrior and third place in the top ten of his class, Bertholdt strikes with his right and lands a punch into Alphonse side and kicks Alphonse back, Alphonse fell back onto the ground. He thought it would be enough to but subdue him but Alphonse quickly gets back onto his feet; Bertholdt was a trained soldier and fighter but Alphonse has been fighting against far tougher opponents for years and went through hell being taught by Izumi Curtis. Bertholdt leans forward to grapple him but Alphonse ducks under and delivers a swift kick to Bertholdt's stomach before sweeping under Bertholdt's legs; Bertholdt falls to the ground clutching his stomach. Alphonse turns back to Eren, he rushes over and goes to remove Eren's binds.
Eren began his muffled yelling yet again; trying to alert Al of Reiner who had rushed into the room. Reiner took out one of the handles to his gear and attached his blade, he had no intention of killing Alphonse but his hope was that it would intimidate him into standing down. He swung his blade from above, Alphonse grabs Reiner's wrist and kicks him in the stomach, with his free hand he grabs the wiring attached to the handle, deconstructs it from the rest of the gear and rips the handles out of Reiner's grasp, he then back kicks Reiner into a wall. Alphonse rushes over to Reiner, places his boot on his chest to pin him in place and he points the blade at Reiner's head.
DO IT! Yelled Eren, but all that came out was muffled noise.
Ymir was watching from the doorway; she had watched as both Reiner and Bertholdt were beaten back by Alphonse, she began to reevaluate her options but her changing sides hinged on one thing Is he going to do it?
Alphonse looked down at Reiner, his hand started to shake slightly as he fought an internal battle within himself on whether to plunge the sword into Reiner or just try and apprehend him. "Just…Just stand down!" yelled Alphonse.
Ymir eyes narrowed If he doesn't have the guts to kill these guys then what's his plan going to be up against the world? She picked up a wooden chair and slammed it into Alphonse's back while he and Eren were both focused on Reiner. The chair shattered into pieces, Alphonse fell forward into the wall and dropped the sword from his hand. Reiner struggled free from Alphonse foot, he then placed Alphonse in a headlock and pinned him to the ground, making sure keep one of his arms under trapped. Eren desperately tried to struggle free from his binds but to no avail.
"Hey!" came a voice from outside, everyone froze and turned their attention towards the door "It sounds like there's someone inside!" the sound of running could be heard around the entrance of the house
"Help!" yelled one of the people upstairs "Help, we're being held hostage!" suddenly the wooden blinds at the front of the house were shattered in by one of the people outside; sunlight flooded the dark room to reveal a soldier, with the Scout insignia on his left pocket, standing outside.
"Holy shit!" he yelled as he looked into the house to see the shifters and Alphonse Elric, he raised his pistol in the air and fired out a red flare "I've caught them!"
"Damn it!" yelled Reiner "Bertholdt, Ymir, on me now!" Ymir grabs Eren and drags him with her, Reiner then bites down on his hand.
There was a bright flash of light and the whole house suddenly collapsed in on itself, Alphonse looked upwards to see the Armoured Titan standing over him and the others, it quickly grabbed him from the ground, as he was picked up he caught sight of a small arm sticking out of a pile of broken wooden boards. Bertholdt fired his cables onto Reiner's back and lifted himself up onto Reiner's shoulder while Ymir and Eren were picked up with Reiner's other hand. Reiner then threw Alphonse into his mouth and slammed his jaws shut. All around them the sky was decorated with bright red smoke columns; Reiner then began to sprint towards Wall Maria in an effort to escape.
Six hours before
"Talk recruit." Ordered Levi as he stared Historia down; true to his word Minister Nick refused to tell them the secret he had told her not too long ago. Levi, Hange and Nanaba were now interrogating the information from her, they had dismissed the rest of the 104th and the Minister from the office leaving Historia alone sitting at the desk as the three of them loomed over her.
"I promise that I will tell you the secret he whispered to me" said Historia "But first you have to promise me that you'll guarantee Ymir's safety once we get her back, that she'd be cleared of any charges against her and that she won't end up being killed by the Military Police like Eren, Edward and Alphonse almost were ." She usually wasn't like this; being difficult with others and trying to barter with them, she was seen as the kind and selfless person who went out of her way to please people. But instead she was now giving the Scout officers a hard time, but she had too; with Ymir's fate looking uncertain she had to use the one thing she had over them.
"We don't have the authority to do something like that" informed Hange
Historia looked away, as if not to their faces when she answered "Then I'm sorry, but until Ymir's safety is assured then I can't tell you."
"Fine, if that's what'll take." said Levi calmly, his back leaning up against the side of the table "Erwin's jurisdiction should extent to your friend, or at least he could argue that." He didn't like that Historia was making this difficult for them, and he had half a mind to force her to give up that secret from the Minister, but from the sheer determination she had to defy her officers for her friend, a part of him did seem to respect that.
We're counting on you, bro!
"Thank you, sir." said Historia "If it's alright I would like to talk to Erwin about this when he arrives."
Ed looked at himself in the mirror of the HQ bathroom; he'd taken off the Garrison jacket leaving only his white shirt they gave him, he clapped his hand together and placed it onto his hair, the black substance poured from his hair into a wooden bucket. I wonder what Winry's doing? He thought to himself they're probably all worried sick about us…
"Hey" called out a voice to his left, he turned to see it was Jean holding his Scout jacket "Found this, figured you might want it back." Ed took the jacket from him "Commander Erwin might be here soon, so everyone else is gearing up."
"Thanks" said Ed as he placed it on
"So you were trying to go out on your own?" asked Jean "I don't know if you're either brave or stupid for thinking you and Mikasa alone could take on the Armoured and Colossal Titan."
"May sound crazy but those two aren't the toughest guys I'd come up against." Said Ed with a small smile on his face "You know Jean, I know another guy back on my world with the same name as you."
"Heh, really" replied Jean
"Yeah, guy's in the military too, like you and come to think of it you two do sound alike expect he was second lieutenant, but like you he did have lady troubles." Joked Ed
"What?" exclaimed Jean
"Eren told me, said you use to stare at Mikasa a lot" replied Ed
"Damn Yeager" replied Jean
"If it makes you feel better Eren was completely oblivious as to why." Said Ed with a smirk on his face
"Tch, the guy can be a real blockhead" snickered Jean as he and Ed left the bathroom
The sound of a bell rang through the city as a large column of soldiers arrived through Wall Sina and into Stohess. As they neared the Military HQ the signs of a battle taking place became more and more evident as the scale of destruction worsen the further down they went. Erwin entered the HQ and approached the office; he opened the door to find his subordinates and a recruit. Historia got up from her seat and saluted him "Sir" she said
"At ease, recruit." said Erwin "You're one of the top ten of the south division, Krista Lenz?"
"Yes, sir." Replied Historia
"So what's the situation?" asked Erwin
"Reiner and Bertholdt caught on to our trap, they managed to get away capturing Eren Yeager and Alphonse Elric, but they also caught a recruit by the name of Ymir who also happened to be a shifter herself." Said Levi, he then looked over to Historia and placed his hand on her head "Also this little brat has something to ask from you, she got Minister Nick to give up some secrets from the church and won't tell us unless we guarantee the safety of her friend."
Erwin looked at Historia; his towering figure cast a shadow over her. He turned to his subordinates "All of you get our forces ready, I'll talk to Krista alone." The three of left the room leaving Erwin and Historia alone to discuss Ymir's future.
Outside of the Military HQ the rest of the 104th and Edward, dressed in full combat uniform and ODM gear, waited with the reinforcements brought by Erwin. The street was crammed with horses and soldiers all talking to each other and all waiting for the commander.
"Are you sure you guys want to do this?" asked Armin, concerned for his friends mental wellbeing, he turned to Edward "Ed, Im sorry for this but I'd think it's best if you'd stay here; we can't risk losing you too."
"You know that's not going to happen, Armin" replied Ed "Like I've said; don't worry about me, I can handle myself, our main goal right now is getting them back and besides I'm the only one who can give you guys a shot at the Armoured Titan."
"You're right" Armin conceded
"We're all going" replied Connie "I want answers, I want to hear them tell us why" the rest of the 104th agreed with him, nodding their heads. Their attention was caught by two figures approaching them; it was Captain Ian Dietrich and Team Leader Rico Brzenska, the group saluted them.
"At ease" said Ian, he turned his attention to Edward "Hey Edward, it's been awhile, good to see you"
"Good to see you too, Ian." Replied Ed
"That's Captain, Edward" said Rico in a serious tone "You're in the military, you should address your superiors by their rank."
"Good to see you too, Rico" replied Ed with a smirk on his face "Where's Mitabi?"
"Sweeping the south with Captain Weilman" said Ian, Ed tried to hide his sour feelings towards Weilman; he still hadn't forgiven the guy for almost killing him and the others. "Word got around about what happened to Eren and your brother, I'm sorry."
"Don't be, we're getting them back." replied Edward, even now he couldn't stand other people's pity.
"Hey" came a shout from their side, it was Captain Levi "form up with the rest of the Scouts and get on your horses, Erwin will be out soon."
"That's our que, good luck." Said Ian as he and Rico headed to the front of the column
A column reformed along the main road towards the open hole into Wall Rose's interior. Erwin and Historia left the HQ; Erwin head for the head of the column while Historia joined back with her friends
"So what happened?" asked Sasha
"The Commander promised he'd do whatever he could to protect her." Said Historia
"And what did you ask for?" questioned Levi to Erwin, the group of Scout Officers huddled up together "Please tell me you at least got something out of her."
"She only revealed that the secret had a larger implication on her" replied Erwin "I simply asked her that in return should she play a larger role in the future she must commit herself to it fully and without question, whether we succeed in saving her or not."
Suddenly one of the Scouts comes galloping through the open hole in Stohess on their horse.
"Nifa!" called out Hange
"Squad Leader, Commander; we might have found their location" she pulls out a map from her pocket and showed it in full view of the Scout Officers "the Armoured Titan's tracks stop around here, there are scattered houses to the south-east in the rural area of Wall Rose; it's likely they'll be there."
"Then that's where we'll search" said Erwin, he climbed up onto his horse, flanked by Levi and Hange "The Mission is this!" he yelled, his powerful voice reaching far back into the line of soldiers "Retrieve Eren Yeager and Alphonse Elric from the Armoured Titan; the enemy has likely stationed themselves in south-west Wall Rose!" he paused for a second for a gasp on air, inhaling deeply "Now ride, forward!" he whipped the reins of his horse and galloped ahead, the over a hundred solders of the Scout Regiment, Garrison and Military police following.
The large force scoured the countryside; searching though the abandoned villages and houses that sparsely occupied the area. The formation had broken off into groups and kept them within an eight kilometer spread to keep their flares visible to the rest of the formation. Ed peered through the window of an abandoned cottage while Armin and Mikasa caught up with an old friend the formation had bumped into.
"Look at you kids" said Hannes "You've all grown up so much… yet things seem to never change; you're still trying to look out for him."
"There's a world of difference between Titans and bullies." Replied Armin, with a sad smile on his face
"Still, the kid has a knack for fighting even when the odds are stacked against him, I can't remember a fight he's ever won but I can't remember a time he's ever given up." Ed turned his head to the side slightly to listen in on their conversation "He had a fire in him; every time they'd knock him down he'd always get back up, I'd imagine those guys who kidnapped him and the others have their hands full dealing with him, I miss those days when I was nothing but some drunken soldier but I can't have those days back if you guys aren't together, so know this kids; if you three were to go into the very pits of hell then I'll be there to follow you." Ed walked up to the group "You're Edward Elric, I remember you back at Trost, so you're in the Scouts now?"
"Yeah, you must be Hannes" replied Ed as he extended his hand out "Eren talked about you."
"All good things I hope" said Hannes shaking his hand
"Of course" replied Ed smiling
"I heard about your brother" said Hannes "I'm sorr-" he was quickly interrupted
"You don't have to say you're sorry" said Ed "That won't change anything, we just have to focus on getting them back."
Hannes' mouth formed into a smirk "You know, that's something Eren would have said." Suddenly the sound of a gunshot going off caught everyone's attentions; they looked up to see a column of red smoke rising from the south, then just seconds later a bolt of lightning crashes into the ground near the red smoke flare.
"That's them!" yelled Armin, quickly they all mounted their horses and charged forward towards direction of where the lightning struck. All around them the sky was almost blocked out by a myriad of red smoke.