Chapter 32: Moving Forward
"They're back" said the Scout as she peered through her telescope at three individuals, wearing hooded cloaks over their ordinary clothing, riding up to the castle on their horses "Lower the bridge" the three stopped before the entrance as a wooden platform blocking the archway into the castle lowered before them. The platform landed with a soft thud as it hit the ground; the three rode their horses over the bridge, crossing the dried up moat under them. Two Scouts armed with muskets greeted them on the other side of the archway.
"Captain Levi" said one of the guards, a midst the low rumbling of the platform being raised, Levi lowered the hood from his head. Both Edward and Alphonse lowered theirs as they led their horses to the nearby stables. "Squad Leader Hange Zoe and Lieutenant Petra Ral are waiting for you in the mess hall along with her team leaders and the rest of your squad."
"Thank you, soldier" replied Levi "Any sign of suspicious activity around the castle?"
"None so far, sir" replied the Scout "Neither the lookouts or patrols have spotted anything out of the ordinary."
"Good" replied Levi "continue to keep an eye out and if anyone sees anything that is even the least bit weird then don't hesitate to call it in."
"Of course, sir" replied Scout, saluting Levi.
"You're being very careful, Captain" remarked Edward as the three made their way to the mess hall, walking down the long staircase, their footsteps echoing within the long hallway.
"It pays not to be careless on certain things" replied Levi "Like watching your back in case someone wants to put a knife through it."
"Couldn't agree more." Responded Ed as he and Alphonse thought back to the times they were suddenly ambushed on their world. Levi pushed open the door to the hall; at the sight of him his squad stood up from their seats and saluted him, along with the team leaders from Hange squad, while Hange continued to sit down on the chair with her legs crossed and her arms folded. The large hall was dimly lit with only a few lanterns centered at the tables with people near them, pushing the surrounding darkness of the room to the sides.
"At ease, sit down" said Levi as he grabbed a chair and placed it at the end of the table while Ed took a seat next to Connie and Alphonse next to Armin at the other end of the table. Levi rubbed his left hand across the table surface; no sign of dust or dirt as he rubbed his fingers together. He then swept his right hand underneath the table and still found nothing and finally he examined the floor and found not a single track of dirt or any marks on the stone flooring. "Not bad" he remarked "good job, Petra."
"Thank you, sir" she replied with a small, yet proud, smile on her face while the rest of the squad looked down at the table, a look of exhaustion of theirs.
She ran us ragged cleaning this place… thought Jean
"Alright, so now that we're all here." Said Levi "Lets quickly go over the past two weeks; the Female Titan was captured, the Colossal and Armoured Titans have now been exposed and are now somewhere in Wall Maria, Titans have appeared in Wall Rose and are almost certainly the citizens of Ragako village and the Walls themselves are made of thousands of Colossal Titans and their harden skins and last, but probably not least, someone got it in for the Scout Regiment and has been trying to take a sledgehammer to our knees …" Everyone watched Levi uneasily as he listed off the series of events that an occurred so recently "Of course, not everything has gone to hell; Erwin's got something planned to counter the organisation who's trying to get us.
In the dead of night, inside Erwin's room, Edward and Alphonse continued to talk about the 'Promised day'; from the different roles everyone had in the coup and what they knew about the Homunculi and their relationship to the Military and government with both Erwin and Levi
"So the head of state of your nation was nothing more than a puppet for a creature known as 'the Father'?" asked Erwin "And there were those within your military's elite who were actively supporting them in their mission?"
"That's right" said Edward as he thought back to that day, his fist striking through the would-be God's frail body "The Military officers involved were arrested and put on trial."
"The homunculus who was your head of state, this Bradley fellow, was he popular among the people?" asked Erwin, he thought back to the King Fritz and the Royal family.
"Yes" replied Alphonse "He had support among the people and the rank and file of the army."
"So how'd you get public support on your side then?" asked Levi
"A team of people had to seize control of the radio station and broadcast our own version of events" said Alphonse. Both Levi and Erwin looked at Alphonse puzzled, it suddenly hit Al that neither of them had nor knew what a radio was "Oh right, a radio is basically a machine that allows you to spread information over large distances; so like messages, news, music." He said trying to example it in the simplest of terms.
"So using this form of mass media, the side you were working with had spread their own message." Clarified Erwin "How ingenious"
"It should be said that the message sent was framed in a way that portrayed our side as the ones protecting the head of state, using his popularity to our advantage." Added Alphonse
"A very underhanded tactic…" commented Levi "I can respect that."
"Commander, why are you asking us about this?" Edward questioned "what are you planning?" Erwin was silent for a few seconds, looking down at his hands
"If you two must know, I believe the situation we face now is not so dissimilar to the one you had experienced" said Erwin "It's been made evidently clear to us that an organisation with far reaching influence and possible roots in the central government is trying to undermine the progress we've made; they've already halted any further research of the Automail prototypes and cut our funding to weaken us."
"So you want our advice on how to throw a coup then" stated Edward, narrowing his eyes at Erwin
"Hopefully it will never come to that…" Erwin replied "I would like to find out why and hopefully be able to come to an understanding with this organisation and the Central government which would allow us to put all our focus towards the reclamation of Wall Maria. But the Scout Regiment cannot achieve that task so long as someone wants to plunge a knife into our backs."
"We understand, Commander" said Alphonse as Ed sighed to himself, disappointed that they'd now have diverted their attention from their main goal.
"First thing we should discuss is gaining public support" said Levi "we don't have these 'radios' and don't think even Erwin's not slick enough to convince the people we're working on behalf of the King if we plan on storming the Central government, so how'd we get the people on side?"
"The info about the Female Titan hasn't been made public, has it?" asked Edward
"No, it's classified, only those in the Central government, Clergy, Military, some nobles and rich merchants investors know of it." replied Erwin, a sly smile formed on his face "but I see where you're going with this."
"We leak the results of the 57th Recon mission and the identity of the Female Titan" said Ed "that's not all; the battle at Stohess, if you could frame it in a way which portrayed it as a fight to repel an attack on the city rather than an ambush gone wrong then you might get praise for it."
"It would also be better if you got the credit for it, Commander." added Alphonse "seeing as you are the Regiment's public face."
"Of course, we still need to find people who are willing to spread the info" said Ed "If what you're saying about this group controlling the government then it's gonna be difficult to hijack the newspapers."
"Don't worry about that" said Levi "I know a few people in the underground who'd love to stick it to the Central government, they'd get the message out."
"You'll also need allies." Said Alphonse
"Commander Pixis is on our side" informed Erwin
"That's good and all but we should be making alliances with other high ranking people in the Garrison too" advised Edward "We could probably get Captains Ian and Hannes on our side."
"Why those two specifically?" asked Levi
"Captain Dietrich is a lot like you, Commander, strong willed and was willing to do anything for Humanity" said Alphonse "Im sure it won't be too hard to explain the situation to him and convince him to join us."
"And Captain Hannes seems to care greatly for Eren, Mikasa and Armin" added Edward "He'll probably do anything to protect them and at least this way we aren't totally relying on Commander Pixis. On the money side of things, we could…" Ed paused for a second as he recalled the rules of a State Alchemist why do I care, I'm not a State Alchemist anymore… "We could transmute gold from coal; enough to offset the losses."
"That could work" said Erwin "Though we shouldn't sell large amounts of it; only enough to supplement our current funding for now, at least until we can change our situation for the better; wouldn't want to raise suspicions."
"Or possibly destroy the economy…" added Alphonse "Alchemists in Amestris weren't allowed to make gold"
"But you aren't in Amestris" stated Levi "Their rules don't apply and what we're doing isn't going to make the Central government happy anyways, though that being said we still need to find buyers."
"I believe Gelgar may know some people" said Erwin "I'll arrange it with him in due time."
"Was that all, Commander?" asked Alphonse
"For the time being…" replied Erwin with a small smile on his face "Thank you, Elrics, I'll be sure to heed your advice."
"Of course, our primary goal is still the recovery of Wall Maria and sealing that hole in Shiganshina" Levi continued "so long as we can achieve that then everything else might as well be trivial; from people suddenly transforming into Titans, some Titan with a hairy ass flinging rocks at us to Titan popping up inside Wall Rose. So going forward, everyone needs to be clear what their roles will be, so any suggestions?" Armin raised his hand "Yes, Armin?" asked Levi
"In terms of our roles during the recovery of Wall Maria, I think that the job of sealing the hole in Shiganshina should go to Edward and Alphonse" suggested Armin "The way they could seal the hole is through filling the gap with the earth and, seeing as the Walls are made of harden Titan skin, they could then overlay the sides by covering the Wall over it." Both Ed and Al listened to Armin's idea; it was a solid suggestion and it wouldn't take them that long to accomplish it. Eren sat waiting for what his friend had planned for him "Of course Eren shouldn't just hang back and do nothing; his role should be instead to act as our counter against Reiner or the Beast Titan when we face them in combat and should, for whatever reason, Ed and Al not succeed on their end then it's possible his own hardening abilities could seal up the hole instead." Armin paused momentarily, allowing his idea to linger in everyone's mind "Adding to that, the recovery route gives us a clear path towards Wall Maria and provides us with an already existing supply chain, should we need it, which means we won't have to bring any wagons with us; we would hopefully reach Shiganshina in possibly one night, meaning that the operation to recapture Wall Maria would take…"
"Less than a day to accomplish…"
Everyone listened, most were astonished at the claim Armin was making; that an operation which was four years in the making could be done in less than twenty four hours.
"It sounds like a good suggestion" commented Petra "At least this way we're not putting all our eggs into one basket"
"Though are you three up to it?" Levi asked.
"Yes, sir" replied Eren and Alphonse
"No need to ask, consider that hole in the wall gone." Said Ed
"Good, now on to the experiments; Hange, Armin from what I've heard you two want the Elrics to teach you some of their Alchemy, yes?"
"Yes, sir." Replied Armin
"Yes…" said Hange, somewhat reservedly
"And which one of you is going to teach them?" asked Levi, looking at Ed and Al
"I can do that, Captain." Replied Alphonse
"However…" said Hange, catching their attention "while I know that the situation we're in is perilous; currently the Garrison are now spread thin patrolling the Walls after the recent incident inside Wall Rose, leaving cities unable to maintain order within the cities. I want things to improve rapidly, I want to test out Eren's Titan powers and not just his hardening abilities and I want to learn more about Alchemy, not for our benefit but because it will be key to ushering in a new era of progress… I don't want to waste any time, I want to get started as soon as possible, but until we can enact Erwin's plans to cover us… Its best we just lay low for the time being." The members of Levi squad, Edward and Alphonse both looked at Hange both dismayed and astonished "Look it won't be a long wait" said Hange trying to reassure them "At least until Abel can give the Intel to the underground journalists." They turned their heads looking towards the Team leader wearing the goggles.
"That could take days" argued Armin
"Hange is there something you'd like to tell us?" asked Levi "From the moment I saw you it'd looked like something was bothering you, like you were holding in a shit; why don't you relieve yourself and tell us?"
"Minister Nick is dead…" she said remorsefully "he was found inside the Trost barracks this morning…" both Ed's and Alphonse's stomach dropped at the news "Moblit and I only got to look at him for a few seconds but it looked as though he was beaten and his finger nails were pulled clean off; he was tortured and then killed."
"This morning…" said Alphonse, his voice shaking slightly "but we were there not that long ago… we should have heard something!"
"They've must have done it when the barracks we're clear" said Hange "likely just when you two left to meet with Erwin at night."
Ed lowered his head into his hands, squeezing his temples "Son of a bitch…" he muttered, frustrated that something like that could happen right under their noses.
"The MPs investigating the scene, they were from the Interior first squad, one of them had done it; his hands were stripped of skin… he's the likely culprit." Said Hange, as she looked at the ground "I thought the church would come after him, that's why I hid him in the barracks, but I never expected they'd use soldiers… I was foolish; Nick's death is on me."
"They must have tortured him to find out how much he'd told us." Said Armin
"Likely checking if their little secret about the Reiss family and the church got out and where the four of you are hiding." He said looking at Eren and Historia and then to Edward and Alphonse.
"We've informed both Commanders Erwin and Pixis, our other allies in the Garrison and the entire Scout Regiment about this" said Moblit "so for the time being it's us who are watching them, though that's not to say that would hold them off, it's entirely possible that they'll just change tactics and, considering the location, it wouldn't be too hard for them to find us."
"I'm assuming the reason why you want to hold off on the experiments for now and wait for the leaks is to force the Interior MPs into a corner" said Levi
"That's right" Hange replied "once the information is out and the public are, hopefully, planted with the idea of a conspiracy in their minds then neither the First Interior squad nor the Central government would act against us without risking a backlash and if they do, all we'd need to do is announce their attack and confirm the public's worst fears; that those in power do not wish to see Humanity progress."
"But don't we risk creating a split between people if we do this?" asked Jean "if they decide to make a counter claim then it will be our word against theirs; we're forcing people to pick sides.
"I understand, Jean" replied Hange, sympathetic to his concern "but this organisation we face may already have drawn a line in the dirt dividing the Military."
"We're already at a crisis point, I don't think us adding a bit more is what sends Humanity over the edge." Added Armin
"So what would you have us do until then, Hange?" questioned Levi "Sit around drinking tea all day?" referring back to Hange's decision on lying low until they could leak the information to the public.
"I'm with the Captain on this, Hange" said Ed "I don't know about you guys but I get antsy when I'm just doing nothing."
"Well if you need something to do then I would recommend knitting." Replied Hange with a hint of sarcasm "Just for now, please…"
"Hange, do you truly believe that the people who have it in for us are going to stay in the corner once we put them there?" Levi questioned "They have connections to the Church, the Central government, the Interior MPs and have probably got the kind of resources to plug up Wall Maria and then build another wall for shits and giggles; every day we spend doing nothing is a day they've spent sharpening their knives and looking for an opening into our backs. It wouldn't take a genius to realise this fortified castle is where we're holding our greatest assets and once they've come up with their bullshit excuse, they'll be the ones to turn the tables and corner us like rats." Hange sighed then looked to the ground once more "You're usually more clearheaded but the guilt of Nick's death is making you fearful…How many of his finger nails were pulled off?" asked Levi
"Huh?" said Hange, a bit confused by the morbid question "I… I only saw him for a moment but it looked as though all of them were taken off…"
"I see; if someone was going to give up their secret then they'd have done it after the first one, if not then it wouldn't of matter how many they'd taken off." Said Levi "that preacher may have been an idiot but it appeared he really had conviction in his beliefs…" Levi then turned towards Historia in front of him "So Historia, seeing as how Nick sacrificed himself to protect us, are you still gonna keep quiet about that secret?" he asked, it was clear he was trying to guilt trip her. Historia looked down onto the table and away from everyone's gazes; she held her hands together and then let out a deep sigh "Remember, you also made a deal with Erwin." Levi reminded her
"Minister Nick told me that the Reiss family… we're the true royal bloodline."
A few hours had passed since the large group meeting with Hange squad about the future and the revelation of Historia's heritage. But there were still meetings to attend, this time between new members of Levi squad, specifically the 104th, and their Captain.
"Here" said Levi as he lowered a piece of paper onto the table in front of them "visitation lists, I'm allowing you all you see Annie Leonhart and get the chance to speak to her" he announced, to their shock and confusion "If you can I'd like you to try get her to talk; see if we can't get any important information from her, if not then Hange and I will resort back to our 'previous methods'." He said, adding emphasis on the last two words.
Levi looked around the table trying to gauge their reactions, his eyes quickly caught onto a certain new member; their head lowered slightly and their eyes on the table, it was almost as if they were trying to hide their disapproval of Annie's torture and their despair for her predicament.
Gotcha… he thought "So Eren, Mikasa, Sasha and Connie you four opted out, are you sure that's what you want?"
"Yes, Captain" the four said
For Mikasa there was nothing she could really say to Annie; she was just glad that the person who helped destroy her home and tried to kidnap the only family she had left was rotting underground.
A part of Eren wanted to confront Annie again and demand that she tell him why she'd help push Humanity to the edge, why'd she, Bertholdt and Reiner betray them, why'd she help destroy his home and kill his mother. But he knew Annie wouldn't budge and he had said all that he needed to say towards the main culprit of his mother's death.
As for Connie and Sasha, Bertholdt cries and pleading told them what they needed to know and they couldn't come face to face with Annie again, at least not now, they wanted some time to recover.
"Alright then, the list goes as follow; Armin Arlert, Jean Kirstein and then…
"Mina Carolina"
"Hope you don't mind that I promoted Petra to the rank of Lieutenant" said Levi, staring at the outside with his arm resting on the window sill, the warm orange rays of the morning sunlight flooded the room. Levi wanted to run Erwin through his and Hange's plan before he would soon leave for the castle with Edward and Alphonse.
"Not at all" replied Erwin, still lying in bed as he looked through the profiles "she's a skilled soldier and this should be a good opportunity for her to gain leadership experience; perhaps one day she'll make an excellent Squad Leader." He then looked upwards towards Levi "So these are the new replacements for your squad?" asked Erwin as he looked over the new additions to the Special Operations squad, all of them were from the 104th Scout Regiment.
"They all have combat experience and a few Titan kills under their belt" said Levi
"While I do understand why you've added most of these new additions, seeing as the majority of them are among the top ten of their class and Alert has proven himself to valued strategist; I wonder why you chose to include her, Mina Carolina." Said Erwin, as he read her profile "three kills, two solos and one assist, and her grades in the Cadet Corps shows constant improvement; she a promising soldier but not what'd I'd expect for our most elite squad."
"You're right" said Levi, he then looked back to Erwin "but I didn't pick her because she's another Mikasa Ackerman; it's part of our strategy to get Leonhart to talk and the best way to do that is through, whom I was told is, the person closest to her." Levi left the window and then walked up towards wall, turning around to face Erwin with his back leaning against the wall. "What I intend to do is force Leonhart to see her crimes then offer her an out."
"It's quite the gamble you're taking" commented Erwin
"Gambling is all we've ever done." Levi replied
"Knock, Knock" said Levi as he tapped the top of Annie's head with his knuckles, waking Annie from her slumber. She looked upwards towards Levi and glared at him; if looks could kill then Levi would have dead ten times over "You look like you want to kill me" Levi remarked as he took a few steps back and looked down on her.
Don't worry, I'm will thought Annie "Here to torture me again?" Annie spat "I'm not telling you anything, shrimp" Levi watched her almost disinterested in what she had to say.
"We ousted your comrades, Reiner and Bertholdt" said Levi in very calm manner, Annie felt her the pit of her stomach drop as a feeling of dread crept up on her "they tried to capture Eren and Alphonse and make a break for Shiganshina, at least I'm assuming that's where they'd go, until we caught them and left them empty handed." Levi observed her reaction "I even stabbed that very tall brat in the back; he'll stay away if he knew what was good for him."
"You bastard" growled Annie, letting the mask of her callous nature slip a little, Levi took notice.
"Last time I saw them those two, they were getting munched on by Titans" said Levi "swarmed, I doubt they even made it" Levi lied, he knew that Ymir had gone to save them "Even if they managed to miraculously survive we could always get Eren to send another horde their way again."
That's right… Eren's the coordinate thought Annie but how did he manage to- Levi then grabbed her hair and pulled it forward, he knelt down and looked her in the eyes
"How does it feel?" he asked "to know that you're stuck here, that your comrades aren't going to save you and even if they were would likely end up where you are."
"Bullshit." Said Annie, angrily
"Two times… two times I could have killed Bertholdt but didn't get to; first time I wanted to savour the moment when I plunged my blade into his heart and ended up waiting too long and the second time I was in a hurry and missed. But trust me when I say this… I don't intend to miss a third time" threaten Levi, his voice still strangely calm "And Reiner? Turns out Edward and Alphonse can break his armour and once that's was gone he's just another Titan Eren can pummel into the dirt or we can cut out from the nape." The feeling of dread that was creeping up on her had now completely taken over as Levi revealed Reiner and Bertholdt's defeat.
Am I going to be stuck here? The terrible thought passed through Annie's mind
"You haven't won yet and you're not going to" she responded "and why should I believe anything you say?" with his free had Levi reached into his pocket and took out what looked to be a smooth cream coloured rock
"You know what this is?" he asked, nonchalantly "A piece of the Armoured Titan's plating that got shatter into pieces; they're not coming to save you because there is no scenario where they could possibly succeed." Levi let go of her hair, Annie's head slumped down as she faced the cold stone ground. Annie shut her eyes tightly, trying to hold back her tears and not show vulnerability to her captor.
No… I can't be stuck here… she thought I promised him…Dad…
"Do you understand?" asked Levi "No one's coming to save you…" Levi turned away; he left the cell and returned to the floor above, leaving Annie alone in the darkness with her father's words echoing in her head.
I don't care if you make the entire world your enemy…
The door to the basement opened once more and the sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs echoing across the hallway and cells caught her attention; she looked upwards to see Armin opening the door to her cell.
"Hey…Annie." Said Armin, his voice was soft yet it wasn't hard to pick up on the sadness
"Armin…" she replied, Annie sighed "I'm guessing you knew the whole time?" Armin nodded "I didn't throw you off, did I…" she asked, Armin shook his head, confirming her statement.
"Annie… when you asked me whether I had the guts to die, you were trying to dissuade Connie and I from joining and you even tried to convince Mina to join the Garrison" said Armin "You didn't want us to join the Scouts because you didn't want to be put in a position where you'd have to kill us… You didn't kill me during the expedition." Annie didn't respond to Armin yet her silence told Armin what he needed to know "You really did care about us, huh?"
"Armin…"she said "Did you think I was a good person?"
"I never liked that phrase…" Armin replied as his eyes wondered towards the side "That's just what someone calls a person when they act in a way which benefits them; it's impossible for someone to act in ways which benefit everyone and no matter what you do you'll always be a 'bad person' to someone else…" Armin's eyes turned back to Annie; he lowered his head, the long fringes of his blond hair covering his eyes "But I guess with that being said… you helped destroy my home, inadvertently forced my grandfather to his death and you seem determined to push Humanity off the edge and all for your own reasons… to me, you are a bad person." After that, Armin left Annie; once more she was left alone with only her father's words to comfort her.
Even if every other creature alive comes to hate you…
"Hey!" came a voice in front of her, followed by the sound of someone slamming their fist onto one of the iron bars, Annie looked up to see Jean; the metal bars of her cell separating the two. The look on his face said it all; he was furious "Armin told me, he told all of us, you had Marco's gear during the inspection…you took it from him… what the hell happened in Trost that day? What exactly were you thinking when left him to die?" his voice shaking as he finished his question.
ANNIE? PLEASE STOP! Even now she could hear Marco's cries WHY? WHY? WHY? He cried
"I…I didn't want to do it…" Annie replied in a usual reserved tone, trying to hold the grief at bay "I had to…"
"Had to?" questioned Jean "What do you mean?"
"He found out about Reiner and Bertholdt, he overheard them talking" Annie confessed "When I got there Reiner had him pin down."
"They were in on it too then." Said Jean, the look on his face expressed anger yet his voice sounded sad
"We didn't want to do it…" she confessed, her voice shaking slightly "we cared about Marco too…"
"Bullshit!" yelled Jean, unleashing all the anger that had built up after he found out "Don't you dare say you cared about him when you three were the ones who killed him!" he took a few steps back from the bars, his back hitting the wall as he slid down onto the floor in a sitting position. "Marco... he… all he ever did was think about other people… he was our friend, he was my friend." Jean didn't notice it but he began to weep over the memory of Marco "we had to burn his body because of you three…"
"I'm… sorry" Annie replied as she softly cried; tear drops hitting the cold stone floor, unable to hold back the feeling of despair and guilt over Marco's death that she kept bottled.
"Sorry?" Jean asked as he tried to wipe away the tears "You… neither of you three get to be sorry… not after what you've done…" Jean picked himself off the ground, still wiping away at the tears and snot running down his face; he didn't care if in that moment he looked like a fool. He wanted Marco back. Jean slowly climbed the stairs and shut the door to the castle's underground, once again leaving Annie alone with her thoughts, the words of her father and her guilt.
…Will always be on your side…
Annie, once more, heard the sound of her cell door opening; she looked upwards to see the face of her next visitor… the next person to pass judgement on her.
"Mina…" she whispered softly; her friend of three years, the one who stuck with her during the Training Corps and always had nothing but a smile with bright eyes for her and kind words. This time she said nothing… she couldn't even look at her. Annie wondered what she was going to say to her; was she going to tell her how betrayed she felt, was she going to remind Annie of everything she's done or was she going to outright condemn her. Annie looked away from her just as Mina opened her eyes to look at her "Are you here to yell at me, going to ask me why I did it…" Annie once more felt tears welling in her eyes "going to tell me that you hate me, that I'm a monster who's responsible for so many people being killed… because I know that and I don't need someone telling me this-" Mina quickly fell to her knees, wrapped her arms around Annie and hugged her tightly.
"I could never hate you" Mina replied as she held as she cried her own tears onto Annie's shoulder "You're my best friend, I love you, Annie." Annie didn't know what to say; instead she simply rested her head on Mina's shoulder and buried her face into her neck as Mina continued to embrace her. "No matter what, Annie, I'll help you." Mina promised "I'll always be by your side."
Under the small yellow flame of candle light, Alphonse sat at the table near the entrance to the dungeon as he waited for Mina to open the door; he thought back to the moment before she left and the guilt he was still feeling since their conversation
"I'm sorry I kept it from you" he said "If you're angry at me then I understand"
"I'm not angry at you; I know why you couldn't tell me." Mina reassured him, she stared anxiously at the wooden door, trying to build up her courage, she turned her head to face Alphonse "Al… could you wait of me here, when I get back?"
He looked over to the side, a small pile of notes about the basics of Alchemy next to him for Armin and Hange to read before their first lesson along with some examples of different alchemists from Alex Louis Armstrong to Roy Mustang. The door to the underground creaked open and Mina slowly walked out; they both looked at each other for a second, Mina rubbed at her now puffy red eyes, Alphonse got up from his seat, walked over to her and gently hugged her "Thanks for waiting" said Mina
"Are you ok?" asked Alphonse
"Yeah, I'm fine" she replied, she moved back slightly, her arms were now loosely at Al's sides, and tilted her head up slightly to face Alphonse again; the two stared at each other for a few seconds. She slowly moved her head towards his.
"Hey Al!" yelled Ed, from the far side of the hall, catching their attention "I need to talk with you for a moment."
Mina lay in her bed, inside the large room she shared with Mikasa and Sasha, the faded yellow rays of the setting sun passed through the window covering her. It had only been a couple minutes since her meeting with Annie and her almost moment with Alphonse. She went over the moment again in her head should I have done that? she thought would he have-
"Hey" called a voice from the door, she moved upwards to see Captain Levi by the door, looking at her with his usual apathetic look; she quickly got off her bed and saluted him, the two looking eye level at each other. "Connie's done with his shift; put on your coat, he's hand you the rifle at the main entrance
"Yes, Captain." replied Mina, Levi then walked away from the door and down the dimly lit hallway. Mina took out a folded grey coat from the chest next to her bed and put it on; she walked down the hallway, past the other rooms, she then noticed the sound of low and muffled talking behind one of the door, she instantly remembered whose room it was. Curious she slowly walked towards the door and pressed her ear onto it, the voices inside becoming slightly clearer, enough to make out people inside; the voices were from Edward and Alphonse, despite their attempt to keep their conservation private under a low whisper, it was clear that emotions were running high.
"You know I'm right" was what Mina could make out from Ed, a slight growl in his voice
"It's not like that." Said Alphonse "she's my friend"
"We're friends with a lot of people here but nothing like you and her." Ed accused "I'm not an idiot, Al" Mina could make out what sounded to be a sigh from Alphonse "You know we have to head back home, sooner rather than later. Back to Amestris" Ed voice now sounded a lot softer "back to Winry, Grandma, and teacher… and Mai…" Mina's instantly felt a slight pang of guilt hearing that name again "and everyone else, along with all the people we're gonna bring back too; it gonna hurt when we'll have to say goodbye to everyone here, I just don't want it to hurt even more for you if you were to get into something like that." Mina sighed gently through her nose whilst staring at the ground as she thought over what Ed had said.
He's right… she thought
"I guess you're right, brother…" Alphonse conceded, Mina lifted her head from the door and quietly walked down the hallway, a feeling of disappointment and sadness hanging over her.
"Alright, now try it." said Alphonse as he handed them a mug, filled less than halfway, and of what looked to be a smoking hot brown colored liquid. A small group consisting of the new recruits of Levi squad and the Elrics all huddled together in the castle's kitchen as they prepared their dinner.
"What is it?" asks Armin as he stared at his hazel coloured reflection
"Smells burnt" said Sasha as she raised the mug to her nose
"Its coffee" Alphonse replied with a smile "I transmuted some beans we had to make it though it might not be perfect; I'm a little rusty when it comes to bio alchemy and we didn't have any sugar around." He said rubbing the back of his head.
"I'm sure you did great, Al" Ed reassured him "Haven't had coffee in a while" he said, raising the mug to his lips. The rest followed Ed's example as they experienced the hot beverage for the first time.
"Eren, make sure you blow on it before drinking." said Mikasa "you don't want to burn your tongue."
"Yes, Mikasa" replied Eren, in a very calm manner
"Tastes kind of bitter" commented Connie, swirling the remaining contents around in the mug
"It's actually pretty nice." Said Armin
"More please" asked Sasha, holding the mug out to Alphonse
"You shouldn't drink too much" Alphonse advised "You'll end up having trouble sleeping, this was really only meant to be a small taster." Sasha pulled the mug back, a disappointed expression on her face. "Hey… where's Mina?" he asked
"She's still on guard duty" said Jean, as he took another swing from his mug "Sasha was supposed to go up but Mina insisted on doing her shift."
"I guess she just wants to be alone for a while." added Sasha "I just hope she's ok."
Alphonse looked over to the side, a single untouched mug sat on the counter "I'll go check on her" he said as he took hold of the handle "You guys carry on cooking." Alphonse walked over to the door, leaving the group to their task.
Ed watched as the door closed in front of him, he let out a soft sigh I hope you know what you're doing, Al he thought as he placed the mug down. He turned his head towards the kitchen counter and caught Sasha refilling her mug; the two stared at each other briefly as Sasha tried to think of an excuse. Ed smiled at her softly "Go on then, I won't tell" he said "just don't drink too much." He knelt down onto the ground and opened up one of the cabinets, taking out a small brown package "Oh guys" he said, getting their attention "I thought you'd all like this" he unwrapped the packaging to reveal a chunk of salted meat.
"Meat!" exclaimed Sasha, also choking on her large gulp of coffee
"Meat, haven't had that in a while." Smiled Armin
"Where'd you get that?" asked Jean
"A woman from Trost gave it to me as a thank you for repairing her house" Ed replied "she said she found it a wooden chest near her house." Eren, Connie and Sasha both gasped
"Wait, what?" yelled Sasha, to Ed's confusion
"Holy shit, it the meat you stole from Officer's pantry, Sasha!" yelled Connie as a huge grin quickly formed on his face. With an almost Levi like speed, Sasha placed her mug down on the counter and took hold of the chunk of meat
"We should cook this" said Connie "celebrate becoming a part of Levi squad." Ed admired the smile on Connie's face for a second; he felt concerned about him, losing his family and home as well as the betrayal of his closest friends must have taken a heavy toll on him. And, of course, there was that rushing revelation that from Edward and Alphonse not so long ago.
"Knock yourself out" Ed laughed, both Connie and Sasha cheered as they took to preparing it. Ed then felt gently bump into him, he turned his head to see Eren standing next to him "How's Connie been?" he asked, whispering to Eren
"Before you and Al got here, he was talking about killing the Beast Titan" said Eren, solemnly "the look on his face… it was almost like…me." There was a few seconds of silence between them.
"After the meeting, Connie asked Al and I if we could add his family and village to the list of people to bring back." Said Edward "we had to tell him we couldn't, that the demand would only work in one world and couldn't be split." The Truth is always in the details… Ed thought as he looked back on the day they agreed to the job and the Truth then spelling out further details. You never make this easy, do you?
Inside one of the towers of the castle, Mina sat upon window sill staring at a cloudless night sky littered with bright white stars. The inside of the tower was mostly dark, save for a few lit candles resting on the table where the rifle lay. Suddenly a knock on the door, Mina slid off the window sill and opened the door; on the other side stood Alphonse, holding a mug in one hand and a lantern in the other. The light from the lantern bathe Alphonse in a warm orange glow to match his even warmer smile.
"Hey, Al" smiled Mina as she let Alphonse through, he placed the lantern down onto the table and handed her the mug "thank you" said Mina as she looking into the mug's contents; it was hot and smelled as if it had been roasted "what is it?"
"Its coffee" Alphonse replied "A drink I had back in my home; I made some and gave it the others to try, since you guys never had it before." Mina took a sip from the mug, a look of discomfort consorted her face slightly as the hot beverage hit her tongue "Don't like it?" he asked, Mina nodded her head, she handed Alphonse the mug back.
"Sorry" she said with a guilty look on her face "tastes bitter"
"Don't worry" said Alphonse, smiling "I always preferred tea." The two then sat down on the window sill, looking out into the surrounding area
"Hey, Alphonse" said Mina "Thanks for saving back then; in Trost and at the castle."
"I should be the one thanking you." giggled Alphonse "that makes it two times you came to my rescue; I guess that makes us even." The two laughed softly
Is this how it's going to be? She thought constantly risking our lives for each other?
"I'm glad I met you" said Alphonse "You're an amazing person and a good friend."
Friend… the word lingering in her mind
"Thank you, Al" she said, smiling at him "you too."
Hey everyone, sorry this took so long; I had some trouble writing this chapter's more emotional moments because I was never sure if I had executed it well enough, even now a part of me is a bit unsure if it's good enough. On top of that I had to start prepping on how to drive and I was also burnt out for a few days. But I want to get onto the next chapter.