Chapter 57: Devil's Appearance
Armin walked up towards the large metal gates of the internment zone, lugging around two large black cases; crowds of people passed through the gates as they were inspected by the Marley public security officers. Everyone who passed through was carrying cases, suitcases and trolleys. All of whom weren't wearing any armbands and came from all over the world.
"You go through." Said one of the guards as they waved away a man carrying creates, he turned to Armin "You there, you have your papers?" Armin reached in pocket and pulled out some papers, the guard too it and quickly scanned through it "Musician groups?"
"They forgot some of their equipment so I went to get it for them." Armin said "Just a few instruments." He tried to assure them.
"Oh yeah, let me see." The guard asked looking at the case.
"Sure thing." Armin complied; he lowered one of the cases and opened one of them. Inside were two grey trumpets and metal harmonicas inside a case covered with white cloth. "Same thing in the other case?" Armin nodded his head. "Alright then, you go through." He said waving him in uncaringly.
"Thank you." Armin replied as he walked into the internment zone, passing through he couldn't help but think of home.
I guess the MPs and the public security here have something in common…
He walked away from the crowd and down one of the streets; everywhere seemed to be crowded full of people, vendors and visitors, the smell of food was ever present in the air and the sound of music, chatter and laugh had occupied his ears. All while the sun began to set and bathe everything in a deep orange.
Armin looked to the sky and the lowering sun, a ever present feeling of anxiety and dread in his body and swirling around his mind like knowing a massive storm was going to hit, like sand flowing to the bottom of an hour glass… but this, this had just a small chance of being prevented. He walked towards a small building with the words 'The Verborgen' the hotel Ed was staying at. He walked through the doors into a very homely lobby area filled with more people, his eyes scanned the area until they came upon a familiar person with an eye patch sitting on a chair.
"Hohenheim." Armin called out getting Ed's attention.
Ed stood up and greeted him "Hey, how have you been?" he asked with a performed smile.
"Good, good, I've got the instruments for the band." Armin said showing him the cases.
"Right, sorry I forgot them, c'mon let's take a look at them." Ed said waving him forward as they walked up the staircase, into the hallway and towards Ed's room.
As Armin entered the room he dropped the cases onto the bed as Ed closed the door "You get passed the guards alright?" Ed asked.
"Yeah, the instruments threw them off." Armin replied said as he opened the cases, showing the trumpet and harmonica. He took the instruments out and placed them down before lifting the covering of one case to reveal four thin barrels of gas underneath and a handgun. Armin lifted the cover for the other case to bring out two thin scarabs with two thin titanium blades; Armin couldn't help but look at the ODM gear, it's now thin and sleek design was a far cry from the clunky and weighted weapons of the past.
"You use the tunnels?" Ed asked.
"No, couldn't risk it, wouldn't want the path to be compromised before we ever got to chance to use it." Armin replied.
Ed clapped his hands together, there was a familiar echo and blue flashes of light before he grabbed the instruments on the bed; they broken apart and formed into the different pieces of the ODM gear "What's the plan again?" Ed asked as he began to put the gear together "Evacuation mission from Liberio?"
Armin took at the seat from the desk and sat down "Two squads are to set up a beachhead about twenty miles from the docks, my team and I have already set up the tunnels from inside the internment zone into a nearby abandoned warehouse and around the port." Armin explained "The commander has also ordered the capture of as many of the shifters we can get."
"Going for the whole thing?" Ed remarked as he continued to put the pieces together.
"Commander Erwin wants to remove the one thing Marley has… hopefully forcing them into early talks, even if they still declare war." Armin stated.
"Probably the best move." Ed replied as he began to put together the wires and the handles. "Whats my job?"
"You need to secure Eren." Armin said "We know he's planning something, possibly a response to the declaration but it might be assumed that those following him will act on his signal. Just stopping him might be enough, though you should time you're search after the shifters are captured; Yelena will help apprehend them, they'll be sitting near the front row."
"What happens if I find him?" Ed asked turning to face Armin.
"Wait for the festival to die down, if you're outside then use the flare gun and if you're in a building then place this down before going in." He wanted him what felt like rock wrapped tightly in a thick cloth similar to a present.
"Is this plan for if I get to Eren first?" Ed asked. "What if I can't find him and he goes ahead?"
"The objectives stay the same even if Eren goes ahead with his plan." Armin stated " Only difference is everything just gets harder and we go into combat rather than a more covert operation; squads Hange and Nanaba will be assigned to intercept any reinforcements heading towards the internment zone, the less Marley forces heading to the internment zone means our path won't be compromised." Armin explained "There'll be a fight inside the internment zone as all other squads try to cover the escape and capturing the titan shifters, if they hadn't been previously secured, will be lot more difficult." Armin was silent for a few second, a somber realisation dawning on them "The collateral damage will be massive and a lot of people will die."
Ed looked at his handgun. "You know before I came here I never once shot a gun…" Ed said "I've been shot at, wrestled, stabbed and beaten down, all by people and the homunculi. Not once did I ever shoot them and I had the opportunity to do so." He gripped the gun "Now, I've not only shot a gun, I know I've killed that person." He placed the handgun in its holster "I've killed too many people, titans and humans, and then there's the weapons we helped create…" He turned to Armin "I don't know if I can really forgive myself for doing that, breaking that principle but I guess the only thing we can do now is just stop the bleeding."
Armin looked down to the floor "I think… we will all have a hard time trying to forgive ourselves when all is said and done."
"Is Alphonse with them?" Ed asked, trying to change the subject.
"They're all involved." Armin replied "Erwin needs Alphonse and the battalion to help with our escape, a good number of them are needed that includes the new batch, each assigned to different squads."
Ed raised his eyebrow slightly "The new recruits?" he asked "They're sending them here too? Those guys are still learning they haven't gone through any of the training yet-"
"Which is why they're coming too, the commander believes this will be a good way to blood them into the regiment and give them combat experience if things do turn bad." Armin explained "Alphonse gave his approval, though knowing him he was likely very reluctant to do so."
"There's a lot riding on me getting this right then." Ed said with an exhausted smile.
"I know." Armin said as he stood up "There's also another objective to your mission; do not let Willy Tybur get killed."
"He's going to declare war on us." Ed said sadly.
"And he'll be the one to call it off if we get him on our side." Armin told him "He's still the most influential Eldian alive at the moment, if we have even a shot at continuing the current paths then Erwin needs to meet and convince him, and that's only possible is if he stays alive." He walked towards the door, Armin turned back to face Ed "Ed, good luck." He said before leaving the room and shutting the door.
Ed straps on the ODM gear, tightening the loose straps around his waist and his body, he taps on the canister and the metal scarab. He pulls out his handles from his side inspecting them one last time, he breathes in deeply before exhaling the air loudly. He walks up to the window of his hotel room and pushes it open, he sticks his head out to look; the streets are almost empty, with only a few people left heading towards the internment zone center.
The big moment was almost here.
He placed on thin coat, covering his gear, before he climbs up onto the window sill and sits out with legs dangling inside as he aims his handles upwards towards the roof of building, he leaned back and fired the hooks from his waist and onto the roof as he swings out of the window and onto the wall, walking upwards carefully and quickly to avoid the windows around him. He climbed up onto the roof, pulling himself from the ledge and onto the flat surface.
On the roof he could barely make out the noise and the lights from the main event, the play taking place over the buildings in front of him just blocking his view. Ed fired his hooks onto a nearby building and quickly swung himself over; jumping from building to building as the lights grew brighter and the sound grew louder.
He arrived just a few streets away from the last row of houses and buildings which the play was taking place in. The platform of the play now in sight just barely; he pulled out his telescope and peered through the lens, there he could see the stage, the curtains and the people sitting on the rows of benches. Looking further down, he caught sight of what was on the other roofs ahead of him.
"Artillery cannons…" he muttered to himself, he scanned the area to see more of them on the outskirts of the buildings which encircled the space the play was taking place. He began to count the number of troops on the buildings; there must have been dozens on each rooftop armed with their standard rifles and wearing Marley uniform, he looked at the artillery pieces, next to them were shells, regular looking artillery shells.
"They're anticipating an attack…" he muttered "Unless they know something might happen; why else have regular shells at a celebration…" He lowered the telescope "If we leave any of those standing then a titan fight will be short." In his mind he tried to devise a plan. "If I don't stop Eren then my first priority will have to be knocking those cannons out." Suddenly the cheer of trumpets and drums rang through the air as the play was about to commence, Ed looked back to the platform to see lines of people dressed in brightly colored uniform playing their instruments.
As everyone was seated he spotted a lone Marley soldier escorting others away from the crowd, Ed looked through the telescope, spotting Yelena and the titan shifters. "There you are…" he muttered as he spotted Yelena "Even from a distance I can still spot you, you giant titan woman." He frowned slightly.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" said a voice behind him; he quickly turned around to see a single Marley soldier with a rifle walk up to him confused "No one's suppose to be on the roof." He looked at Ed and noticed the scarabs sticking out of the thin coat he was wearing. "Oh shi-" Ed quickly rushed over to him as he tried to point his gun at Ed. Ed grabbed the gun in one hand while striking the Marley soldier in the face with his other, sweeping their legs and throwing them onto the ground. He struck the face of the soldier once more before they could move, their head bouncing off the floor. Knocking them out cold.
Ed quickly stood up, he ran to the door to the stairs and slammed it shut, clapping his hands together and placing them on the shut door; the metal expanding and sealing the entrance tight. He turned his head back to the play, taking out the handles of his ODM gear he sprinted towards the edge and jumped off, once more hopping across the roofs.
"Oi!" yelled a Marley officer, standing by the shore of the coast he could see three medium sized fishing vessels, he waved them forward as a figure at the front of the boat came into view waving back at them.
"Why the hell are there people out here fishing at this time?" asked his partner with a cigarette in their mouth as they both watched the ships approach. "Do they even have permits?"
"Probably not, c'mon lets asks some questions." He said pushing his partner slightly, urging him forward as they moved down to the beach and towards the water.
The fishing vessels beached into the rocky coastline gently, rope ladders were flung off the sides as people dressed with thick boots and large hooded coats jumped off the beach. "You, what the hell are you doing fishing this late?" asked the officer.
The hooded figure reached for hood and pulled it back to reveal a young man with a long face and slight facial hair and long ash-brown air. "Sorry, we all just thought since everyone was busy with the big event we'd fish without too much interruption or competition." He explained with a innocent smile.
"Is that right?" the officer replied "You guys got a permit or permission slip." The young man reached into his coat's pocket, the officer looked behind him to see more figures appear from the boats, dumping hulls of fish onto the beach as well as a few boxes "Yeah right here." The young man handed them the piece of paper.
The officer looked through the paper "Everything looks to be in order." He peered over his shoulder once more to see the haul of fish. "Pretty impressive catch you got there, you get that this night?"
"Yes, sir." The young man replied. "Like I said, it's easier to fish when you don't have others around." The other hooded members began to carry the haul and boxes further to shore.
"How long you' been fishing for?" the officer asked.
"Well… I just started really." The young man replied sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"There's a lot of you, how many boats are out there?" the officer asked, his partner going up to the haul of fish.
"Well uh… there a few more boats-"
"Hey wait!" said his partner looking at the fish "Some of these are decayed." He looked at them "You said this was from just last night?" the officer ran up to the haul of fish; the decay was visible when inspecting it.
The officer reached for their rifle and turned back to the young man "Stay there, you got some explainin' to do-" suddenly he felt a sharp and piercing pain through his back and into his stomach, the young man before he flinched slightly before composing himself. He looked down to see a long and thin line of metal sticking out of his stomach, a burning sensation spreading across him like a flood filling up a sinking ship.
"Kar-" there was two subdued shots which silenced his partner before he could react, holes suddenly appearing in his chest and his forehead, blood splattering around, as he slumped down onto the ground.
The blade that stuck out from his stomach quickly receded as it was pulled back, the officer could barely stand on his feet before the person behind him kicked him down onto the ground, his face landing onto the wet pebbles facing the shore. To see more boats coming through.
"Well that almost worked." Said a deep and calm voice behind him, a foot stepped over him as one of the hooded figures walked towards the young man, putting down their hood down, he saw nothing the back of their head and its black hair. And the long bloody blade in their hands.
"Lieutenant, get the men ready and prepare to move." Said a more effeminate voice a figure nearby came into sight as they pulled down their hood to revel a woman with short ginger hair and a serious look on her face.
"Yes squad leader." The young man said as he rushed away.
The officer coughed slightly, choking on their own blood as their body began to feel cold. The other boats landed onto the shore as other figures began to scramble out; some carrying large guns and what looked to be rockets, running out of his sight.
"Squad, secure the area, team one head to the meet point." Someone barked out orders out of his sight. He tried to move his hand, as if to somehow crawl away. "Give rid of the bodies." There was a sound, like someone heaving as they lifted something heavy up, the dragging of feet on pebbles as his partner was carried past his view and then thrown into the ocean.
The woman with the ginger hair came back into sight and looked down at him; they both stared at each other for a second, her coat was now off revealing her uniform, the metal pieces forming an skeleton around her back, a strange device behind her and two guns in both hands. She looked sad; with a frown on her face, tilting her head slightly "I'm sorry." She pointed one of her guns at him.
There was a very familiar clicking of metal before a muffled sound of a gunshot. Then complete darkness.
"War chief Yeager, you are needed elsewhere." said the Marley soldier as they led Porco and Pieck away.
"Sure thing." Zeke said waving at them as he walked off, he turned his head back to watch them turn the corner of the road as he continued to walk ahead; the street in front of him almost empty of people, most getting as close to the play as possible to watch or hear it.
Still though, Zeke had been a trained warrior and soldier for years, so he knew exactly when eyes were on him; he looked around almost casually until his vision came upon a sight which half intrigued him… and terrified him. A person standing on the ledge of a building, their silhouette against the night sky.
"Creepy." Zeke said with a weak chuckle. The silhouette pointed towards a nearby alleyway as they jumped and zipped over the street and onto another building. Zeke turned his head to the alleyway; he gulped and sighed as he walked towards it hesitantly. As he passed into it suddenly the exits began to close off like sliding doors, trapping him inside. He stepped back a bit perturbed, and then the sound of someone landing onto the ground himself caught his attention. "Didn't think you'd go to that much trouble." He said as he turned around "All this just to tal-" Edward grabbed Zeke by the collar and slammed him against the wall hard "Gah!" Ed pushed him down, bring him to eye level.
Ed then placed a blade over his chest, the point of the blade just poking him "You're gonna answer me but only when I say so." He told him.
"Alright…" Zeke said in a calm but still plainly concerned tone.
"Just what the hell are you planning?" Ed questioned.
"I've already told you and everyone else what I want; it's the same as you." Zeke replied.
"Bullshit." Ed growled.
"All these years and you still hold it against me." Zeke replied, Ed pressed the blade slightly into him "You sure you wanna do that? I could transform you know?"
"Shifters don't transform instantly and I don't need anything more than half a second to kill you." Ed threatens.
Zeke sighed as he narrowed his eyes "I want peace and to protect Eldia and its people across the globe, which by the way is a lot more than what you and your brother want." He spat.
Edward pressed him against the wall "Don't give me that bullshit." He responded "Protect Eldia? You tried to slaughter us back at Shiganshina, I remember what you said."
"It was a battle, I had to fight otherwise my cover would have been blown." Zeke replied as if stating the obvious. "What would you have done?" Edward was silent "Exactly, I know you hate my guts but the truth is if you want to help those people 'live for generations' as your God put it then you need me; you and your commander's little covert meet and greet tour with backwater nations and rebel groups is cute but just forming a rag-tag alliance isn't going to be enough for people to take you seriously or not want you dead."
Ed lowered his blade, his eyes looking off to the side. "I don't have to justify myself to you." he growled.
"I'm sure you're more than intelligent enough to see the irony in tha-" Ed shoved Zeke into the wall again. "
"Next question then, where's Eren?" Ed questioned, lifting his blade up again.
"What makes you think I'd know?" Zeke asked, Ed pressed the blade in between Zeke's shoulder and chest, Zeke shuddered as the memory of his first encounter with him entered his mind.
"You called me 'Hohenheim' last time we met." Ed replied "The only person who knows that are the scouts here or the people working for Eren, and if you think I don't like you then I guarantee the regiment feel the same too." Ed dug the blade in deeper. "So where is Eren?"
"What will it change?" Zeke questioned "You poisoned Udo just to stop him from being here, clearly you have no faith in yourself to stop what going to happen… and you must know you can't go against the tide of this world."
"You don't know what we've done; we've faced impossible odds before." Ed replied.
"I'm sure you have, but you've got an entire world and history up against you." Zeke said "You think you can get people to understand? They understand and they're afraid; afraid enough to cry out for Eldia's death, your friends' death, your death, your brother's and that precious ne-"
Ed dug the blade into Zeke's shoulder, tearing through the fabric and skin. He placed his hand over Zeke's mouth, muffling his cries "You've steered off topic. Where. Is. Eren?" He removed his hand from Zeke's mouth.
"How about you use your head?" Zeke said. "Where the hell do you think he'd be if he wanted to show himself for such a big moment?" Ed pulled the blade out of Zeke's shoulder. Zeke whined as he grabbed at the wound, smoke pouring out into the air.
"The building behind the stage…" Ed muttered. He stepped back from Zeke and pointed the handle of his blade towards the ledge of the roof before pulling himself up and landing onto the ledge.
"Whatever you think you're gonna do, I wouldn't bother, you can't stop this." He said as he got up, Zeke looked up "Wanna let me out?" Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the wall, the entrances of the alleyway opening up again.
Falco watched in stunned silence as Mr Kruger, the man who he had trusted and helped, who encouraged him and gave him the strength to save Gabi untied the knot over his limb as a trail of smoke erupted from the trouser leg. All in the dim light of the oil lantern which illuminated the cramped basement.
"The Rebel against our peace, his name is Eren Yeager!" Willy declared to the sound of trumpets. Skin a flesh began to form to the hiss of smoke as Eren's leg began to regenerate into a foot, wiggling his newly formed toes. "The threat to our world is real and a man outside of the royal bloodline, who holds now allegiance to the ideology of King Fritz, possesses the instrument of humanity's destruction, the founding titan."
"You tricked me…" Falco muttered out weakly just getting Eren's attention "You encouraged me… I respected you… but this whole time…"
"I'm sorry, Falco." Eren replied "But you really helped me here."
Falco was confused before it suddenly hit him "Th- Those letters!" he blurted out "I helped send those letters for you, where did they go? You told me they were for your family!"
"No they didn't." Eren replied "Truth is I probably didn't need you but I didn't want my comrades to learn about who was helping me so I needed you as bridge to them on my terms."
"Wha- ah…" Falco dropped to the floor "I was just some pawn you used…"
Reiner stayed quiet watching Eren "C… Comrades…?" he muttered.
"Eren Yeager has in his possession the ability to bring the rumbling towards our doorstep." Willy announced "While we saw the rise of weapons against titans in the last war, nothing could possibly stop the threat of millions of colossal titans; we would be powerless against it." Eren leaned forward as they continued to listen to Willy's words "Eren Yeager is not the only threat we face." Falco continued to look at Eren who began to narrow his eyes and look towards the small window. "The Island is aided by two more; from the experience of our brave warriors we know of two brothers who claim to have been called to our world by God himself to aid the devils of Paradis, possessing sorcery known as alchemy; manipulating the elements, shaking the ground and changing anything to their likening, to enrich them growing their strength, teaching others their ways and even seducing some to their power."
Suddenly there was a knock on the door; everyone turned their heads towards it. Falco wanted to scream out for help hoping that the person behind that door had to be a Marley soldier, a worker or someone, anyone, who was on their side. The door rattled slightly as someone tried to open it.
Then there was a flicker of blue light, like electrical sparks on the door handle. Falco gasped at the sight. Reiner sucked in air through his nose quickly as if to brace himself. Eren just sat there, calm. "Hm…" he hummed.
"The servants of the devils, their champions, are named Alphonse Elric…"
The door opened, and a person stepped in; the first thing Falco noticed was the straps across them, they were dressed in regular clothes, a black eye patch covering their right eye, long golden hair tied back in a ponytail. And metal chunks strapped to their legs.
"And Edward Elric!"
The man calmly closed the door behind him.
"Hello Ed." Eren greeted him coldly. Falco squirmed as he tried to press himself into the wall; two of the people who Willy Tybur had identified as threats to the world were here, within touching distance of him and Reiner and just a few meters away from everyone else.
"How did you find me?" Eren asked almost uninterested.
"Your brother sold you out." Ed stated plainly, Ed reached to his side and pullout a handle before them attaching it to the metal chunk strapped to his leg; there was a small click sound before he pulled a large blade. "Come quietly, Eren. I don't want to drag you home." Falco breath was caught in his throat as he staggered back at the sight.
"Whats that for?" Eren asked.
"Insurance." Ed replied. "Get up, we're leaving."
"Why the rush? lets just stay and listen to the play." Eren said pointing to the small window above them.
"We have received messages from them; talks of injustice, liberation and revenge for Eldians across the globe and one final message just yesterday, a threat to take control. And with their powers they are more than capable of doing, using their allies they will rule this world once more and seek their vengeance!"
That's right. This is the perfect chance… Falco thought as he looked between the two. I don't really understand but the Founding titan and one of the alchemists are here… right now, everything is depending on me and Captain Braun…
"Rule the world…" Ed repeated with a scowl on his face "Bring about vengeance… what a load of crap." Edward looked to Falco who flinched as he looked at him "I'm not here to do any of that, my brother isn't here to do any of that, we're here to protect people."
"Just like Willy Tybur out there, wanting to protect the world from us." Eren remarked "Can't escape it, we're the bad guys who might put the world under our boot." Eren looked at Reiner "But it's no different than to you tried to do to us, isn't that right?" Eren said looking at Reiner. "So many innocent people eaten by titan, my own mother included and for what reason, was it to save the world Reiner? That's what you told Alphonse and Petra when they captured you."
Reiner shuffled in his seat uncomfortably, looking at the ground not wanting to make eye contact with anyone. "That… that was the idea, to take the founder and save the world."
"I understand, Reiner, you believed you were doing right." Eren said as he scratched the side of his face, revealing to Ed the cut on his hand. Ed pointed the blade at him. "You're gonna cut me?" Falco watched confused; eyes fixed on the two. "You know what will happen if you try."
"Come quietly." Ed demanded, he turned to Reiner and then glanced at Falco "You two don't try anything, just stay put and I promise no one has to get hurt."
"I'm sure you hurt a few people to get here." Eren replied. Edward turned back to him "You've spending you're time trying to stop me but what are you going to do about them?" Eren said looking out to the window. "Are you going to stop them?"
"As I have said before, the power that they possess has seduced other nations to them." Willy announced "Some of those nations sit here around you right now; listening and denouncing the history of the Eldian Empire but dealing with the devil, hoping to benefit from a future where humanity's dark history could start again!"
"They won't be merciful to our allies nor us." Eren said "It doesn't matter to them, Eldian or not, it's just power. The hate and history was just something that was useful to have and teach." Eren looked at Reiner "Isn't that right, Reiner? We're all the same; good and bad people, all just people just taught told the ignorant lies of their forefathers." Eren leaned forward "It must have been hell, I think I understand."
Reiner leaned forward as if to move out of his seat, Ed quickly turned to Reiner, pointing the tip of the blade by his neck. Falco flinched as Reiner froze before sitting still "Do it." He said.
"What?" Ed replied perplexed.
"The reason the walls came down was because of me… Annie, Bertholdt wanted to go back but I made them continue." He muttered, his voice beginning to croak "I should have died there, not Marcel, not Anne and not Bertholdt. I wanted to survive, I wanted to be a hero, and instead I got my friends killed… Please, either of you just kill me, I can't stand this anymore." Small drops of water hit the stone floor, dropping from Reiner's face.
Pieck and Porco followed the Marley soldier down an empty street; the only sound was their footsteps and the petering echo of the play behind them, the only lights were spread our street lamps and house lights from windows. "Why's the colonel so far away?" Porco commented "You'd think he be watching the play."
"It's an urgent meeting; he thinks our enemies have infiltrated our country." The Marley soldier replied.
"Infiltrated?" Pieck asked perplexed.
"Spies, Magath feels that it isn't safe to have his warriors out in the open." The Marley soldier said. "Marley soldiers are descending onto this position."
"Really…" Pieck replied, "I feel like I've seen you before, maybe without the beard." The soldier stopped halting them.
"Through here." The soldier pointed "It's a short cut." A dark alleyway. The soldier went through quickly.
"Hey wait up-" Porco said, he was about to walk forward when Pieck grabbed him by his shoulder.
"Porco, something doesn't seem right." Pieck said "Stay focused." Porco nodded his head before the two continued to follow the Marley soldier down the alleyway. The soldier stood at the end of it waiting for them, looking at them. Suddenly there was a sound of something pushing through air, for just a second. Pieck looked up to see two people dressed in dark clothes with something silver attached to them fall directly above them. "Porc-!"
The two people jumped onto them, pinning them to the ground as they forced a piece of cloth into the mouths, the sound of zipping cables filled their ears as more people began to hold them down, their faces on the concrete. Pieck looked towards the Marley soldier watching them, they lifted up their helmet to look at them with a straight line smirk as they turned and walked away.
Porco tried his best to fight back, kicking and thrashing around, Pieck doing the same but to no avail as their captors began to bind them.
They're trying to capture us, if they put in a tranquilizer then we have to transform quickly.
Suddenly a wet cloth was placed over their mouth and nose; it smelt sweet and almost like hospital. Pieck what it was, she held her breath trying not to breathe it in.
We only have a few minutes before it kicks in… the smell now invading her nose and going through her Panzer unit, where are you?
She looked back at Porco, still trying to kick and thrashing but only weakly, each kick weaker than the next as his muffled grunts slowly died down. Pieck tried to hold her breath, each time trying not to take too much in before trying again. She felt her eye lids before heavy and her eyes roll back as unconsciousness began to take hold.
"Pieck!" yelled someone, flashes of light and loud bangs broke her back.
"Gah!" yelled one of the captors; she looked up to see one of her captors clutching at their arm as a few others returned fire. Suddenly a stray shot struck Porco's leg.
"Fuck! Get out of here now!" ordered one of the attacks as they fired cables from their guns and zipped back up the wall, there was a distance scampering of feet and more cables.
Pieck felt herself become more at ease as her unit came to their rescue, unbinding them. They flip her over, slapping her lightly on the face "Stay awake!" one of them yells out.
"Porco…" she turned her head towards him, trying to look and see other members of her team tend to him. "We have… to warn the others…" she said to her teammates "They're here… the Paradis forces, get me to the Cart's armour, we have to hurry…" She saw Porco sit up lazily, his body swaying slightly as he tried to lift his head up. "Porco, warn them…"
"I do not wish to die…" Willy stated, tears welling up in his eyes as he stood there in front of the hundreds of delegates, stage lights bathing him in a blanket of white "Because I was born in this world." There were bright flashes of light as the cameras took photographs of him. "We may belong to different nations and races! But I ask any of you who do not wish to suffer the fate of our ancestors, do not let our children be a generation who lived in the darkness of the Eldian empire then lend me your strength!" he proclaimed. Those hundreds of delegates stood up from their seats cheering and applauding him
The tears were now running down his cheeks "I want you to fight with me!" he yelled out "Against the devils of Paradis!" His voice projecting higher than the audience. "It is true. We have problems that keep the nations of the world from joining hands, but I believe we can band together in the face of this powerful enemy! We should be able to overcome anything if only we can work as one!"
The cheers from the crowd only grew louder and his voice only grew stronger "As ambassador for the Marleyan government, I Willy Tybur, wish for world peace!" he declared "And so I proclaim on this day! To the enemy forces of Paradis, this is a declaration of war!" his word dragged on as the cheers raged on till he could not yell no more and the applause and the cheers finally drowned him out. He looked out into the crowd as he took in heavy breathes.
He stood there, soaking in the atmosphere, the people, the sound, the lights and cool night air. And the fact that he was still alive…
He felt perplexed, relieved but still… he couldn't help but feel concerned.
They were suppose to make a move… why haven't they?
Willy bowed before the audience and took a few steps back as the curtains drew forward closing him off from them.
There was a chorus of claps behind him, he looked back to see the actors and the workers clapping.
"Well done m'lord." Said one.
"Great performance, sir." Praised another.
"Brilliant, lord Tybur, simply brilliant." Said one of the actors.
Willy bowed before them, this all felt like a dream. Like it wasn't real, like a strange dream; he was prepared to die in that moment, spend days and weeks mentally preparing himself and remembering the faces of his family. This was to be the moment.
Yet here he stood still breathing alongside the others who were meant to be unwitting sacrifices to the cause.
He turned his head to see his sister walking up to him with a fake smile on her face, she opened her arms out and hugged him tightly "Brother…" she whispered "What happened?"
"I don't know." he replied, he walked towards the back stage with his sister and his guard, a group of workers working on the stage equipment "Leave please." He asked, the workers quickly left the backroom. "This wasn't supposed to happen."
"Paradis were meant to attack us…" Lara replied. "We knew about their spies for a while, the infiltrator should have taken the bait."
Willy walked towards the mirror and lean up against the desk looking at his reflection. "Those messages we got… one spoke about peace and then the later ones talked about war, I thought that if the later messages we got were about vengeance and fighting then it meant those advocating for war had won out or that they were the same people who were just tired of being nice." He turned back to her "What if I was wrong, what if Paradis does want to talk, wants nothing more than to make peace?"
"Willy… you know better than that, we know what those devils are capable of." Lara told him "If we entertained them now then whats to stop them in the next ten, twenty years time. You know as well as I do, we have to destroy them now." She reminded him "I know what I saw; they know they can beat the Warhammer and any other titan, we have nothing but the fact that we outnumber them now, we wait and we may lose that advantage one day too." Willy looked to the floor "This is to save humanity, to fulfill the duty of the Tybur family and the 145th king."
"You're right, you're right…" Willy replied "We have to stay focused, keep with our duty." Suddenly there was a sound like lightening in the distance then the rumbling of footsteps. Then there was yelling and screams as the sounds of heavy familiar footsteps landed near the stage.
"Titan!" yelled someone in the crowd.
"It's a titan!"
"Run!"
"It's the Jaw!" yelled someone "Stay calm, it's a warrior of Marley!" They ran out, through the curtain to see the Jaw titan standing just to the side of the stage, the titan lowered its head to the ground as its shifter burst out from its nape and slid down. The crowd calmed down a bit getting back into their seats. The holder of the Jaw ran up to them.
"Lord Tybur!" he yelled, his face had all the fleshy markings of a person whom just transformed, he raised his hand to the side. Willy quickly waved him inside through the curtains.
"Speak warrior." Willy asked "What is going on?"
"The cart titan and I were lured into a trap sir, enemy forces attempted to apprehend us but were stopped thankful." He explained "The cart titan and the panzer unit are arming themselves as we speak."
"The enemy…" Willy said "They're here then." He looked towards Lara and his guard "Get colonel Magath on the radio."
They didn't take the bait, looks like they're using this moment instead just to weaken us- Suddenly the ground underneath them shook, like someone pulled the rug under their feet. And before anyone else could react; there was a bright burst of light just a few meters away from them and a loud bang as the stage boards underneath them was torn apart.
They all looked up towards the small window, the distinct sound of lightening catching their attention followed by the screams and shouts from others and the running footsteps of those nearby.
"Someone's transformed…" Falco muttered, he looked back to the others; Eren remained calm, Reiner confused but Ed… looked scared, fidgeting with the handle of his blade as he continued to point it at Reiner.
"No… no damn it." Ed whispered loudly. "Fuck… Fuck!"
"Not going according to plan?" Eren asked. Then the sound of loud and heavy thudding arrived, the unmistakable sound of a titan's footsteps followed until it was almost above them. "Capture mission was a failure then, I hope the scouts assigned got out alive."
"Capture mission?" Reiner asked.
"You don't want to escalate a fight but you also think capturing our enemy's greatest assets go down well?" Eren questioned.
"I don't have to tell you anything." Ed replied.
"True, but I guess that works both ways with us." Eren responded. "Now every Marley soldier might know you're here, that we're here, how do you plan on getting us out of here?" Ed started to look around the basement room as if looking for something. Eren got up from his seat and Ed quickly pointed his blade back at Eren who lifted up his bleeding palm "I'm way ahead of you there."
"If you even think about-"
"You're threatening me?" Eren questioned "Thinking about stabbing me? I think we both know that's never going to happen." Eren walked over to the window, Falco shifted to the side trying to get out of his way as Eren walked towards him." Eren stopped in front of him offering his hand, Falco grabbed it hesitantly as Eren placed a hand on his head gently rustling his hair; Falco flinched as he felt Eren's hand.
Reiner stood up from his chair defensively "Eren!" he yelled.
"You're a good person, Falco." Eren said looking down at him, ignoring Reiner. "I hope you pick the right side." Eren turned back to Reiner and Ed, lifting his hand from Falco's head. "You're running out of time, you need to think of something now."
Ed lowered the blade. "Damn it." He muttered. "Reiner, take Falco." He said turning to him "If anyone asks tell them someone dressed as a regular person ambushed and knocked you out with chloroform and that Falco was with you and that guy held you both here." He then looked to Falco "Just go, you're free to leave."
"Why are you doing this?" Falco asked confused.
"Because my mission is to get Eren… and you'll die if they found out you two were this close to the devils of Paradis."Ed replied, he put the blade back in its scarab and clapped his hands together; there was a hollow echo, like someone ran a bell, before bright blue sparks flashing and dancing around him before he placed his hands onto the wall, there was a small rumble as a hole began to form.
Then there was a bang, their heads snapped back towards the window. More explosions followed by the screams and yells of the hundreds of delegates and guests above them.