Chapter 33: Day and Night
"Disgusting" remarked Abel as his stepped into a murky puddle of water, he lifted his boot from the dirty puddle and shook his foot a few times before continuing on his way.
As he walked along the large path he carefully observed his surroundings and the people; with right hand resting on his hand-cannon while pulling up the hood of his cloak before then resting his hand onto the small bag at his side. The underground was a dark place, both figuratively and literally; only the bottom of this colossal sized cavern was illuminated with any proper light while the very top was barely visible from the darkness. The houses were all clustered together with shanty houses wedged in between small alleyways and along the large path he was walking there must have been tens of people either sitting or lying in the muck covered ground; all of whom looked half dead, like they had given up on life and were now just waiting to die.
Abel pulled out a piece of paper from his side; its contents contained the address of a group of journalists who could spread the classified information. He passed under a dark narrow tunnel, the smell of urine was thick in the air and the path was overflowing with sewage.
Now I know why Captain Levi is a clean freak he thought to himself.
He arrived at the address; it was a small house built on top another house with a set of stairs leading to the door, Abel walked up to the door.
'When you knock, repeat this pattern' he recalled Levi telling him, Abel knocked on the door. The door opened slightly to reveal a bald, scruffy looking man with a large build standing on the other side, carrying a large butcher's cleaver.
"What do you want?" the man asked with a gruff voice.
'When they open the door, tell them I sent you and that I'd like them to help us throw some shit at the Royal government' Levi told him 'I know these guys from a while back, did business with them from time to time.'
"Captain Levi sent me" replied Abel, his right hand still holding onto the hand-cannon by his side "he said you could help us 'throw some shit' at the Royal government."
"Levi huh…" the guy replied, he then gently pulled the door open, allowing Abel walked inside; in the main room were a few more people, two women and another man, all of whom looked more well kept then the large guy at the door. All of them looked tense at first but then they quickly took their seats and began shuffling some papers. The place was cramped with stacks of paper piled around the walls and tables not to mention the air inside was stuffy, more so than in the underground.
"Yeah, that sounds like Levi alright…" commented one of the women among them who were currently sorting through what looked to be a small stack of sketches. She was about average height, dark hair and brown eyes on a round face "as eloquent as ever."
"I thought he'd of kicked the bucket after deciding to stay in the scouts" said the guy next to her; he was tall, though not as tall as the guy at the door, medium build and greenish eyes and strawberry blond hair on a broad face.
"Where are your manners?" said the other women standing over them; she was short, about Nifa's height, slender build, light brown hair with white patches and hazel eyes on a long face and, while the rest seemed to be in their mid thirties, she looked to be in her fifties. "Our artist's name is Agatha, the pretty guy is Isaac our editor, the large man at the door is Louis" she held out her hand towards Abel "and finally, my name's Oda, I run the place."
Abel shook her hand and introduced himself "Abel, I'm a team leader in fourth squad and a subordinate of Squad leader Hange Zoe"
"Nice to meet you, Abel" Oda replied "please, take a seat." The two sat down sat on opposite ends of a table.
"So why does the Scout regiment need our help?" she asked
"We need you to leak some information to the public" Abel stated
"What kind of information?" asked Oda, curiously.
"Some of it is the classified kind" Abel replied, catching her interest, he then handed her one of the folders from his bag; Oda opened the folder and quickly skim read its contents "results of the 57th expedition and the identity of a captured enemy shifter, which only those at the top know about, and a report from the battle of Stohess showing that the Scout regiment managed to counter an enemy attack on the district." The report about the battle of Stohess was, of course, a fabrication but 'failed ambush' didn't paint them in a good light.
"And the rest?" she asked, her eyes looking towards him
"Evidence that after our recent successes, the Royal government is trying to undermine the scout regiment." He said "Also the sudden end of any further development on automail; a new type of tech which could replace lost limbs." He handed her another folder from his bag, she flicked through its contents and almost immediately her eyes fell upon a rough copy of the blue prints for an automail arm.
"Interesting" Oda whispered to herself, she placed the folder down onto the table and looked up to Abel "It doesn't take a genius to realise what you guys are trying to do; get the masses on your side so that the Royal government thinks twice before they even breath in your direction, yes?"
"Something like that." Abel replied
"You know… this could end badly." she warned "Not everyone's going to buy into your story; you might just end up pitting people against each other and with the situation as it is, adding more wood to this burning building we call home could be what finally tips it over to the point of no return."
"And if we do nothing?" questioned Abel "If we don't reclaim wall Maria, if we don't defeat the Titans before they decide to break the Walls down again and if mankind is denied the tools of its progress then how long will it all last?" Oda sat silently listening to Abel "we're all fully aware of the possible consequences of what we're doing but sitting back and doing nothing won't help humanity."
A sly smile formed on Oda's lips "That's what I like to hear" she replied "I'll see it that this information to the people in the other districts."
"So Abel… Let's throw some shit at the Royal government."
On the surface, miles away from the capital, the sun had yet to rise from the horizon; the sound of birds chirping and the rustling of trees filled an almost silent landscape, Levi stood by an open window watching the trees swaying in the morning breeze.
"Captain" came a voice from his side, he gently turned his head to see Petra; she was dressed in plain clothing and stood saluting him "rest of the squad is up and in the mess hall, sir."
"Thank you, Petra" replied Levi; he walked past her and towards the mess hall, the sound of his footsteps. He walked down the staircase and came up to the door and as he was about to push the door open, the sound of laughter and talking stopped him; he stood there for a moment and listened to them.
"How can you not like milk?" asked Sasha as she poured some from the large metal canteen into her wooden cup; Ed watched, trying not to gag, as she took absurdly large gulps from her cup.
"I just don't" Ed replied looking away, he had a sickly feeling overcoming him "never liked the stuff."
"You'd use to throw a fit whenever people made you drink it." Alphonse mentioned, smiling at him; Ed glared at him in return.
"Well I love the stuff" declared Sasha as she placed her cup down
"I'm pretty sure you love just about anything that's edible." Commented Jean as he tore off a loaf of bread.
"Hmph" was all Sasha had replied to Jean's comment as she lifted up the metal canteen once more
"Sasha… how many cups have you had already?" asked Armin
"… less than five…" she replied, after some hesitation, with an uneasy smile on her face
"What the hell, Sasha!" yelled Jean
"Sasha, you shouldn't drink that much." said Mikasa
"Don't you know how much milk costs?" questioned Eren, soon enough the conversation turned into bickering. Levi sighed softly to himself as he pushed the door open.
"Hey" he said, raising his voice slightly; they all turned to see him standing at the entrance to the kitchen and immediately they all saluted him "Don't you know how early it is? The night patrol is still sleeping; where's your consideration for your comrades?"
"Sir!" they responded, he observed them and looked upon the tense looks on their faces, well almost all of them; Ed and Mikasa still had a relaxed expression on their faces and Mina, she wasn't in the room.
"Where's Mina?" he asked
"Mina's in the basement" replied Jean "she's gone to give Annie some food, sir." A few seconds of silence passed.
"Once you're done collect your gear and start cleaning it, most of you will be training with Petra later." Levi told them. "Edward, some our engineers want to see you and Alphonse, you're teaching Hange and Armin, are we all clear?"
"Yes sir!" they replied. Levi shut the door and walked away from his squad. He once again traversed the large castle until he came up to Hange's study. On the other side of the door the sound of pen frantically writing on paper could be heard, he knocked on the door.
"Come in" said Hange, her voice slightly muffled. Levi opened the door; he saw Hange sitting down at her desk, copying off notes from a few sheets of paper and a mug of something that smelt burnt "good morning, Levi" she said, a large smile on her face.
"It's pretty early in the morning to be this chipper" he said, as he entered the room and closed the door behind him
"Well this 'coffee' sure does wonders" she said, lifting the mug before taking a sip from it "want some?" she asked as she raised the mug towards him
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I drink anything that might contain your spit." Levi replied
"Suit yourself" she replied as she placed the mug down "by the way, we got a message from Erwin." She said, handing him a small folded up note
Levi took the message from her; he pulled up a chair near the desk and began reading its contents "Looks like he got our message about the Reiss family being royal blood" said Levi "he also needs us to tie up some loose ends; specifically making sure the lie about Stohess doesn't get out."
"So… any idea on how we're going to do this?" asked Hange
"I'll think of something…" Levi replied as he folded the small note and placed it back on her desk "you just focus on the experiments."
"That's basically how electricity works" Ed said as he finished off his explanation to the engineers, a black chalk board was littered with scribbles and writings "it's used to power almost everything on my world; lights sources, factories, houses and a whole range of different tech etc." the group of scout engineers, who were seated through his lecture, began scribbling their own notes "if you guys are planning on making more new tech in the future then you should get to work on this."
"How do we make it?" asked one of the scouts "electricity that is."
"You're gonna need a generator to do that" Ed replied "it turns kinetic energy into electrical energy; back in Amestris there were a bunch of different ways to do it from burning coal, natural gas ,water and wind. I guess that's where you guys come in; after all, I'm an alchemist."
"The iceburst stones, the gas that's used for ODM gear, we could use that." suggested one of the engineers.
"And the rivers that flow into the districts." suggested another
"We could put turbines on the Walls!" exclaimed a third, quickly the room descended into a loud chatter of different ideas; Ed smirked to himself as he listened to the group excitedly discuss the possibilities. Suddenly there was a knock on the open door, getting everyone's attention, it was Captain Levi.
"Captain Levi, sir!" exclaimed one of the scouts as they all shot up from the seats
"At ease, sorry to do this but you're gonna have to cut this thing short." he said, he turned his attention towards Ed "Edward, come with me, I need to see you in my office."
"Sir." was all the group replied, Ed remained silent as he walked towards Levi. The two began to walk along the castle long hallways.
"Captain Levi, what's this all about?" Ed asked, his eyes looking down slightly at Levi who was walking beside him
"I'll explain when we get to my office." Levi replied. The two arrived at his office door; Levi turned the knob and pushed it open. Inside sat Mikasa, who turned her head to face them, on the other side of Levi's desk and an empty chair next to her "take a seat, Edward" he sat down next to Mikasa as Levi sat oppose to them "we got orders from Erwin and he needs us to make sure our little lie about the battle of Stohess doesn't come out." He handed them the note from Erwin, they both took turns reading the message "I'm going to break into the government building in Stohess and you two are going to help me." Both Ed and Mikasa looked at Levi with shock.
"What exactly are we going to do?" Asked Mikasa
Levi opened the draw and took out a map of Stohess district "The only person who knows about the plan to ambush Reiner and Bertholdt is the Mayor and, on top of that, there are some planning records that need to be destroyed."
"And what do you need us for?" asked Ed
"Obviously we're not going through the front entrance." said Levi, his finger tapping on the location in the map "Ed, I need you to make a door for us in this alleyway, find where they keep their records and burn them all" Ed was about to protest when Levi quickly shushed him and looked toward Mikasa "Mikasa, I need you to create a distraction to lure the garrison and MPs away; how you'll this is by setting off a bomb near the area" Levi placed his finger onto a warehouse nearby "it'll be empty so there's little chance of any civilian casualties and once that's done make sure our entrance doesn't get discovered; if we do get discovered then head back to the horses and wait for me, are we all clear?"
"Yes, sir" Mikasa replied
"Mikasa, you've only recently recovered from your injuries after the recovery expedition; if you want to withdraw from this mission than I'll understand."
"I'm perfectly fine, sir." Mikasa assured
"Isn't this a bit extreme?" Ed questioned, "Destroying all that information and work, that's just wrong; why can't I just go find the records itself."
"For two reasons; one being that it'll take too damn long to find them, and two, it wouldn't take a genius to ask why only those records got stolen and then connect the dots back to the scouts." frustration began to build up inside Ed as he thought of a way to argue against it "I know that what we're doing isn't 'good' but it's necessary if we're to get the upper hand against people in control." Ed sighed, accepting Levi's judgement.
"Captain, what will you be doing?" asked Mikasa
"I'll be having a few words with the Mayor." Levi said, even though his voice never changed his answer left them with a slight uneasy feeling. "Edward, you know that hair thing you did back when you and Mikasa we're trying to leave? Gonna need you to do the same for us."
Thirty minutes had passed since the meeting; inside the armoury, Ed and Levi sat across from each other, a small table with a large bowl of brown dye and a small mirror in between them "You sure I can wash this shit off later?" asked Levi, somewhat hesitant to dip his hair into the bowl, his eyes shifting from Ed's now black hair to the brown dye
"Yeah I'm sure" replied Edward "now put your head into the bowl" Levi lowered his head into the large bowl and felt the watery brown liquid bathe the front of his hair and forehead. Ed smirked to himself as he heard Levi wince slightly; he placed his hands together and dipped one hand into the bowl while placing the other onto Levi's head. The brown dye quickly travelled up Levi's hair and turned his jet black hair into a chestnut brown; Levi lifted his head upwards and grabbed the mirror to examine his hair. "I also made these boots for you." Said Ed as he pulled out a pair of black boots from behind him while Levi slicked his hair back with his fingers "they'll add about three inches to your height; figured it'll help disguise you." Ed handed the boots to Levi who placed them on; they both stood up from his chair to compare their heights.
"Not bad" Levi commented as the two were almost at eye level with each other; Levi was now standing at about Sasha's height "C'mon, get your gear on and lets head out; Mikasa waiting for us by the stable." The two quickly strapped on their ODM gear and headed to the castle stable. "Make sure to take hand cannon with you and a acoustic round and give one to Mikasa; if we're in trouble then we'll signal each other."
Once there they found Mikasa, her hair was dyed in a dark auburn colour and tied back into a small bun, with Hange and Petra.
"Woah Levi, did you suddenly grow taller or did you shrink, Ed?" teased Hange
Ed felt is eye twitch "I didn't shrink…" he said through a forced smile as he tried to keep is anger at bay "Levi's just wearing boots that make him taller."
"Looks like you might have struck a nerve, Hange" Levi commented, he then turned his attention to his second in command "Petra, you're in charge of the special operations squad until I come back."
"Understood, Captain." Petra replied
"Lower the gate" Levi ordered as the three climbed up onto their horses. The low rumble of the chains and the muffled thud of the wooden platform landing onto the ground disturbed a peaceful quiet. "Alright, move out" Ed whipped the reins of his horse, sending it galloping forward alongside Levi and Mikasa.
Within Hange's study, Alphonse sat across both Hange and Armin with a large table holding a wide variety of different materials and objects and a stack of paper containing various transmutation circles.
"Before I can teach you the basics of Alchemy, you have to know crucial thing which is this 'all is one and one is all.' You are one and the universe is all; everything is connected together." Said Alphonse
"So like the food chain?" asked Hange
"Not just that." Alphonse replied "All things are connected, caught in this great flow that binds even the smallest ant to this massive universe but yet still it still forms a part of the all."
"All is one and one is all." Armin repeated, quickly catching on. "We are all and one."
"Yes" Alphonse replied, he then pulled a piece of paper with a transmutation circle drawn on it "as you'll know from the notes, this circle is for transmuting the earth." he took a small tub of dirt and poured it out onto the transmutation circle. "If you want to create something then something of equal value must be lost; I can only create with what I have, nothing more, this is the law of equivalent exchange." He placed his hands on the circle and suddenly the lines of the circle were lit in a bright blue glow as small sparks appeared around the small pile of dirt. Both Hange and Armin were quietly and diligently observed the demonstration before them; in the past they, like everyone else, had been in awe at demonstrations of alchemy but now they watched with analytical eyes, wanting to learn how to perform their own demonstrations. The small pile of dirt then transformed into a small rock as the blue light faded and the sparks disappeared; Alphonse moved his hands away, finished with his demonstration.
"Also, trying to bypass the law of equivalent exchange will result in what's called a rebound; the alchemic flow of things will be thrown out of balance and will try to stabilise itself and… it could end really badly" said Alphonse, putting it as mildly as possible, he laid out a piece of paper in front of them and poured out more dirt. "You guys try." Both Hange and Armin placed their hands on their transmutation circle "visualise the atomic structure of the material." There was a familiar bright blue light and sparks of lightening as the dirt formed into small rock.
"Wow, we actually did it!" yelled Hange as she grabbed Armin and shook him excitedly.
"Squad leader Hange, please stops shaking me!" Armin exclaimed while Alphonse giggled at the two.
"Alright, let's try some other stuff." Suggested Alphonse
For the past hour Armin and Hange went through the various materials and elements before them and transformed them into different shapes and objects, all under the guidance of Alphonse who was quickly offering them advice and answering any questions they had; he was surprised at how quickly they were learning and catching the hang of performing basic alchemy.
Maybe we could move towards more advanced alchemy in the near future Alphonse thought
"Alphonse, have there ever been a case where someone was able to work around the laws of mass conversion?" asked Armin
"No, I don't recall a case like that." Alphonse replied, he then sighed "I would like to find a way, to push the boundaries and form new rules; my brother and I wanted to establish a whole new principle of giving more than we take." He explained "of course we have to prove it can be done first"
"Going against the flow, huh?" said Hange
"It's been my belief that humanity advances by searching for possibilities that aren't bound by rules and laws." Alphonse replied
"I agree." said Armin "If humanity is to survive than we must be able to abandon what holds us back."
"Preach!" yelled Hange in agreement; Alphonse giggled at Hange's enthusiastic support.
"Okay, is there anything specific you guys want to work on?" asked Alphonse
"I like what we're doing now" Hange replied
"Alright." said Alphonse; he turned his head towards Armin "what about you, Armin?" Armin looked to be in deep thought, as if he was evaluating his options.
"Flame alchemy" Armin stated, much to Alphonse shock "I'd like to learn how to perform the same kind of alchemy as that alchemist Roy Mustang."
"Armin…" a hundred different things to say ran wild in Alphonse's head "I can't teach you that; it's not a form of alchemy I know much about."
"But you know the basic principles" Armin replied "you told me back when I asked you to teach me; we could work up from there, with your guidance and knowledge we could do it." Alphonse looked at Armin with an almost scared expression on his face "It probably won't be easy but it's worth trying."
"Armin, why do you want to learn that kind of alchemy?" asked Hange, her tone was more serious, a sharp contrast from her tone only moments ago.
Armin was quiet for a second "Back when we were trying to rescue you and Eren, I had to drag Jean away while trying to escape from a Titan. If it weren't for Connie and Sasha then we would have been killed and had Eren not used his power to command the titans then we'd have all been killed." Both Alphonse and Hange sat silently as they listened to him "Looking back there were so many instances where something like that could have been vital; repelling the titan attack on the right-wing and during our ambush, the fight with Annie, the battle at the castle against the Beast titan, the charge towards Reiner… luck has always been a factor in our victories and more often than not you, Ed and Eren have become a deciding factor in our battles which puts you at risk; with flame alchemy we could tip future battles in our favour and put less pressure on you three."
"For the good of humanity, we should try." Armin finished
Alphonse looked down onto the table, a feeling of anxiety and dread creeping over him as he thought about what Armin said. "It would be extremely dangerous." he warned "If anything goes wrong then it could leave you badly injured or…even killed."
"I'm…I'm willing to take that risk." Armin replied after some hesitation.
The loud creak of the cell door opening caught Annie attention and she looked upwards to see the face of the one person who hadn't yet condemned her.
"Hey Annie" said Mina with a sad smile on her face; in her hands was a small wooden tray with what looked to be a loaf of bread, a cup of water and a bowl of soup. Mina gently placed the tray down in front of her and tore off a chunk of bread "can't eat with your arms chained to the wall" she said as she raised the chunk of bread to Annie's mouth. Annie bit down on the loaf of bread while Mina got the cup of water on the tray. "Let's wait for the soup to cool down." She said as she gently placed the rim of the cup to Annie's lips.
Why… thought Annie
"Mina…" Annie said as Mina placed the cup down "why… why don't you hate me?" she asked; everyone in this castle either hated or feared her, she was the enemy and a threat to humanity, the looks and comments from the guards and her former comrades had told us as much. But yet… this person still had a smile for her.
Mina looked to the floor for a few seconds "When we found out you were the Female titan… I was heartbroken" she said "I… I wanted to hate you, I felt so betrayed, but I couldn't. It might be naïve or stupid but I still see that person who kept to herself but liked spending time with people, the person who had always had a grumpy face yet the sweetest smile, the person who always tried to act like she didn't care yet was so passionate about her fighting technique from her dad… that person is my best friend."
"Thank you" was all Annie could say, unable to express the feeling of sadness and love she had for Mina as her friend, she smiled softly at her; Mina wrapped her arms around Annie and hugged her tightly.
'Your father will always be on your side'
"I want to go home…" said Annie "I want to see my dad."
"I wish I could do that for you but I can't." replied Mina
"I… I feel so uncomfortable" said Annie, the chains holding her arms rattling "I hate it here."
"I might be able to convince the officers to improve your conditions, maybe make your chains longer so that you could move a bit." Mina suggested, pulling away from her "But… the only way I could convince them is if I can show them you're cooperating with us."
"They want information from me" said Annie, she sighed; all throughout her continued captivity she's denied the scout any information and had endured torture at the hands of Levi to keep them in the dark. Because Annie believes she could escape someday.
And she still believed.
She looked off to the side and towards her arm; weeks of being tightly chained to the spot had caused her to waste away and no doubt her lack of practicing her fighting technique was making her rusty. If she was to survive then she would have to comply but if was to not be ousted as a traitor to her motherland in future…
"Almost everyone in the walls belongs to a certain race of people…" said Annie after some silence between the two "they have the ability to turn into titans and are susceptible to the commands of the Coordinate… Eren's titan."
In the courtyard of the castle, the special operations squad had concluded their training and were now waiting for Hange's experiments with Eren later on in the day. Petra, Connie and Jean all watched as Sasha began demonstrating her skills with a bow while Alphonse and Mina sat back on wooden crates under the shade of nearby tower, talking and watching Sasha from a far.
"What kind of friends did you have back home?" asked Mina as she sat listening to Alphonse talk about his life back in Amestris.
"We made a lot of friends on our journeys." said Alphonse "This one guy called Ling would constantly eat and hassle us for food."
"Sounds a lot like Sasha." giggled Mina
"He kind of does." laughed Alphonse
"What did he look like?" she asked
"Surprisingly he was pretty lean and tall." Alphonse
"We met him back in a place called Rush Valley, where the make automail like the one Ed has; he was on a mission to find a way to become immortal"
"Immortal?" exclaimed Mina
"Crazy, right? It was for a race to become emperor of his country between him and his forty two siblings."
"Forty three kids, that's insane! And he was a prince?" Mina replied, completely dumbfounded "okay, you got to explain that."
"Basically his dad was the emperor of the country of Xing and the head of fifty clans that make up the country" Alphonse explained "each clan chief would marry their daughter to the emperor in the hope that their grandchild would become emperor; when the emperor was sick he tasked his children with finding immortality and whoever was successful would become emperor."
"So who won?" asked Mina
"Ling" Alphonse replied "He's currently the emperor now and last I heard he was doing well; he vowed to protect each of the clans in Xing."
"That's nice." Mina replied, smiling "Did you ever meet any of his siblings?"
"Yeah, she's another friend we made during our journeys."Alphonse replied "She's a master in alkhestry and could throw knives with pin point accuracy, she taught me about alkhestry during her time in Amestris and she had a pet panda too; the last time I saw her was with her brother before they left which was about two years ago."
"What was her name?" asked Mina
"Mei Chang."Alphonse answered
"Oh."
"Alphonse Elric!" both Alphonse and Mina looked off to the side; walking towards them were two scouts carrying double barrel shotguns. Both Alphonse and Mina saluted them "We are to escort you to Leonhart's cell." The scout turned to Mina "Squad leader Hange Zoe approved your request."
"I'll see you soon." said Alphonse
"Yeah" Mina replied as she watched the three of them walk off back towards the castle; she turned her gaze towards the others still chatting away and watching Sasha's archery.
"You're an amazing shot, Sasha" complemented Petra as Sasha's arrow hit the centre.
"Thank you Lieutenant Petra." Sasha replied
"Please, just Petra when we're off duty." Petra said with a soft smile on her face "or at least when the Captain is not around."
"How did you get fifty eight kills?" asked Jean
"That number seems almost impossible." added Connie
"It's all about team work." Petra replied "only about ten of them are solo kills and the rest were assist; if we can trust each other completely to have our backs then I'm sure we can do it." As soon as those words left her mouth, the memory of her squad mates dying quickly flashed through her mind; her expression turned slightly sombre at the thought of them.
"Petra, are you alright?" asked Connie, the three noticing her slight change in mood.
Petra quickly perked up "Oh its nothing." she replied "Like I said, just have faith in your comrades." The three of them smiled at her and nodded their heads in agreement. Sasha turned back towards the archery target; she placed an arrow back into the string, pulled back the bow and released an arrow shot which struck dead centre.
"Nice shot!" cheered Connie
"Way to go!" Petra added
"Hey let me try." asked Jean; Sasha handed Jean the bow and sat next to Connie. Jean placed an arrow onto the string, pulled back and released the arrow; unluckily for him the arrow didn't hit the centre but instead struck the wall behind it, both Sasha and Connie starting giggling. "Shut it you two!" Jean yelled, fuming over his missed shot and their teasing.
These guys are going to be depending on me Petra thought as she watched them mess about I can't let it happen again… I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
"Hey guys" came a voice from the side, they all turned to see Mina walking towards them "Still doing archery?"
"Yeah, wanna try?" asked Sasha as Jean offered her the bow.
"Uh… do you have anything else?" Mina asked
"We have some arrowheads if you want to trying throwing them" Connie offered "might not work out to well though."
Mina picked up the arrowhead and, with her fingers, starting playing with it for a second. She then aimed her hand towards the target and threw the arrowhead; the sharp projectile struck the target but bounced off and landed onto the floor. "Can't be helped…" she muttered as she looked at the target with an apathetic yet almost sad expression on her face.
"What can't be helped?" asked Petra
"Oh its nothing important, Lieutenant Petra." Mina replied with a slight smile; she turned towards Jean "I'll try with the bow this time."
Under the cover of an ever darkening sky Levi and Ed waited in the alleyway near the Stohess government building for the first part of their covert operation; the streets were quiet with only a few people wondering around and the odd patrol from the garrison, luckily no one had gone into the alley and discovered them. Ed glanced over to Levi who was leaning up against a wall, Ed gripped the handles of his ODM gear tightly; he was ready to move at a moment's notice. Suddenly the sound of a loud explosion, accompanied by a slight rumble of the ground, shook them into action.
"Give it a second." said Levi, stopping Ed as he aimed the handle upwards "Let the guards go check it out first." The sound of yelling and boots stomping mixed into the roars of the blazing fire nearby. "Alright, let's go." The two of them fired their cables upwards; they were now more than twenty meters off the ground "This should be the third floor." Ed clapped his hands and placed them onto the wall, transmuting a row of open window for Levi to enter, Levi looked back at Ed somewhat confused.
"It's less suspicious that way." Ed said "A single window would be too obvious."
"Fair point." Levi replied "Second floor is just five meters below; remember burn the archive and leave nothing behind. Make sure you start a small fire; it gives me some time with the mayor before I have to leave and everyone else in the building some time to escape." Levi instructed, before he climbed through.
Ed lowered himself down, the metal wires zipping as he made his descent, he placed his handles back into his strap's pockets and transmuted a row of windows for him to enter through.
Hope Mikasa doing fine on her part… he thought as he climbed through the open window.
Within the alleyway of two houses, Mikasa hid and watched as groups of MPs and garrison soldiers rushed towards the large blazing fire nearby; even from here she could feel the heat of the flames as the soldiers rushed to pour water onto the enormous inferno.
"Flames spreading over here!" yelled an MP
"Don't get too close!" warned another
"Was this an attack?" one questioned
"By who?" responded the other
She turned away from the scene before her and began to make her way towards the government building; towards the alleyway where she'd join back up with Edward and Levi. She peered round the corner towards the alleyway, checking to see if anyone was there, and saw nobody. She ran towards the middle and looked up to see a row of windows.
Looks like they're already doing their part Mikasa thought just got to wait for-
"Hey" said a voice from the other end of the alleyway; she turned her head to see a tall, skinny looking, old man wearing a long black coat and black bowler hat. He walked towards Mikasa, allowing her to see his thin beard and long and rough looking hair. "What are you doing here?" he asked as he eyes quickly caught sight of her ODM gear "Were you the one that started that fire?" his voice was rough and almost creepy. "I mean it's obvious you ain't a soldier."
"Stay back." Mikasa ordered as she took out one of her blades from the scarab; she hoped it would have intimidated the strange man. Instead the old man gave an almost demented smile.
"So you were the one that started the fire." He said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a large knife. "Looks like I can't let you escape then." The two stared at each other for a second before the old man lunged towards Mikasa with his knife and Mikasa charging forward with her blade.
The old man slashes his knife to the right but Mikasa blocks it with her blade, she throws a hard punch towards him but he moves his head back causing her to miss by an inch. She kicks his ankle causing him to buckle slightly and goes in for another kick to but the old man counters with quick punch to the gut; she stumbles back with her hand clutching her stomach.
Damn it! She thought; the guy was tougher than he looked and she had hoped to scare him away or knock him out… Instead she was now in a fight for her life.
"You're pretty good." the old man said as he got back up to his feet. "You're fast and there's a lot of power in your hits, kind of remind me of a certain midget I use to know." he played around with the large knife in his hand. "I think I'll prolong this fight a little longer before I kill you."
Mikasa charged towards him more once and leapt into the air with her arm pulled back and her hand clenched into a fist aiming for his head. The old man blocks the incoming punch and tries to stab Mikasa with his knife but Mikasa quickly leans to the side and avoids the attack, she sweeps under his feet causing him to fall to his knees, she raises blade upwards with the intention of hitting him with the butt of her handle. However the old man quickly counters by slamming the handle of his knife into the right side of her ribs.
"Ah!" Mikasa cried out, the attack to her still recovering injuries throwing her off. The old man quickly gets back up and raised the knife over her, this time he intended to finish their fight, Mikasa quickly manages to block the attack and hold him in place. The knife just inches away from her face. She quickly reaches into her pocket and pulls out the hand cannon, she points the gun towards him but the old man grabs her wrist and points the gun slightly off to the side before Mikasa could pull the trigger.
A loud bang echoed in the alleyway.
"Missed" said the old man in a smug tone. With as much force as she could, Mikasa kicks him in the gut and sends him tumbling back, giving her some distance. Mikasa clutched at her side with her hand while keeping a tight grip on her blade; she watched and waited for her attacker to make his next move. She winced at the sharp pain in her right side. "Okay…" he said as he dusted himself off "This was fun for a while but now this little fight is over."
"For you it is!" yelled a voice from above, they both looked upwards to see someone descend onto the old man with their leg sticking out to kick him.
Edward! Thought Mikasa
The old man quickly turned around and, with almost perfect timing, stabs Ed's leg with the large knife while Ed was still in the air. Ed instantly strikes the old man with his other leg, slamming the sole of his boot into his face; the old man falls onto his back as Ed lands crouching onto the ground, Ed looks down onto the knife plunged into his left leg and pulls it out, tossing it to the side.
"Mikasa, you alright?" asked Ed, a look of concern on his face.
"Well aren't you something else." said the old man, lifting his head up slightly; Ed turned his head towards him once more. "Stabbed you in the leg and not a drop of blood on the ground, hell you don't even look hurt." He got up from the ground and glared at Ed. "Wonder how fast I can drop you."
"Bring it, you old bastard." growled Ed, raising his fists to his face as he prepared himself for a fight.
"Hey you two!" yelled another person, the three turned to see a group of garrison soldiers armed with muskets. "Don't move!" Neither Ed nor Mikasa complied; they instead fired their cables onto the top of the building and quickly reeled themselves upwards onto the rooftops, evading the Stohess garrison.
In a small forest, near the walls of Stohess, Mikasa sat back against a tree while Ed began checking his automail leg. "Bastard got through the metal plating but didn't hit any of the wiring." Ed said as he closed up the large slit in his leg. "How are you holding up?" Ed asked as he placed his boot back on and walked up to her.
"Not good." Mikasa replied "I think my ribs might be fractured again."
Ed sighed "You shouldn't have taken this mission so soon after recovery." He said "We'll get you a medic back at the castle." Suddenly the sound of zipping cables catches their attention; it was Levi arriving at their meeting point, he landed onto the ground to the sound of the soft crunch of his boots landing some twigs and leaves.
"What happen?" Levi asked as he walked up to them.
"Someone attacked me in the alleyway." Mikasa informed as she stood up "I don't think he was part of the military; he was dressed in civilian clothing and only had a knife on him." Levi looked at Mikasa with a confused expression on his face.
"How did a civilian give you a hard time?" Levi asked, the tone of his voice and expression his face suggested that he was confused at how someone could go toe to toe against Mikasa; his eyes widen slightly, as if a terrible thought had occurred to him. "What'd he look like?" he asked, this time with a sense of urgency in his voice.
"He was tall, old looking, slim and had a long face with a thin black beard and long hair." Ed described "He wore a long black coat and a bowler hat."
"He was fast and weirdly strong." Mikasa recalled "But the way he smiled at me…it was as if he was crazy; he was enjoying the idea of fighting and killing us."
Levi took a step back "No… it can't be…" he muttered, both Ed and Mikasa watched as Levi looked to be in almost complete disbelief.
"Captain, what's wrong?" asked Ed "Who was that guy?"
"Mikasa, you fired that gun?" Levi asked her
"Yes sir, when he got the better of me I tried to use my pistol against him." Mikasa replied "But he managed to counter before I could aim it."Levi had an almost disappointed look on his face, yet he nodded at Mikasa as if to approve of her actions.
"What did you do, Edward?" Levi asked
"I wasn't going to kill the guy if that's what you're going to ask." Ed responded "With all due respect, Captain, I have no intention of killing anyone." Levi glared at Ed as if to say he disapproved of Ed's decision.
"Listen… that guy back there was dangerous." Levi told them; his fist clenched and his eyes falling onto the ground as if he was in deep thought.
"You should have killed him when you had the chance."
Hello again everyone,
Sorry this is a bit late again; there were a bunch of things I need to sort out.
Firstly, I made some changes to my Uprising Arc plans, after some thought about it, and secondly, I've been practicing to drive. Anyway onto the next chapter we go…
Side note: In light of recent events…
England has made it to the semi-finals, you know what that means?
IT'S COMING HOME, ITS COMING HOME, ITS COMING… FOOTBALL'S COMING HOME!