Chapter 62: Face to Face
Two years ago…
Edward stood as still and calm as he possibly could, through the throbbing pain in his head and the growing frustration in his body which he wanted to just let out he surprised himself with just how composed he was, considering…
God damn it… he was either muttering those words or just repeatedly screaming them in his mind.
God damn it…why Al, why? How could you be so…
He then began to pinch the bridge of his nose and shook his head. Then he felt a hand grip his arm, he looked to his side to see Historia standing next to him with the entourage of government officials. If his mind wasn't so chaotic he'd have found it funny how they'd want him meet with the Hizuru delegation because he had met Xing people on his world.
"You okay?" she asked looking concerned.
No… I'm not…
"I'm fine, just got a lot on my mind at the moment." Edward said, wasn't really a lie; he really did have a lot on his mind, though he was definitely not okay with what he had just found out. It just was gnawing at him since he had to get here for the ambassador visit, like his mind was at war with itself and a storm emotions was crashing him.
Yet here he still was, along with the delegation from Paradis.
Historia looked like she was about to say something when the staircase was wheeled as the ship began to anchor.
The ship came to dock, a stair case then wheeled towards the entrance of the ship; a delegation of people dressed in black formal clothes as a lone figure dressed in a white coat walked down the stairs towards them.
Before them a woman, with features that Edward could only describe as similar to those he had met from Xing walked towards them; she was shorter than him but just slightly taller than Historia, looked to be middle aged or perhaps a bit older, she had a warm smile as she approached them.
Historia walked up towards her and the two shook hands as they greeted each other "Mrs Azumabito" Historia greeted.
"Please, call me Kiyomi, your grace." Kiyomi said.
"I will, Historia would also be perfectly fine." Historia replied.
"Of course" Kiyomi responded with a soft giggle, she then turned to Edward and walked toward him "Edward Elric." She said.
"Ambassador Azumabito" Edward he said offering his hand, the two formally greeted each other. "It's nice to meet you." he paused for a second "I'm… sorry that my brother Alphonse couldn't be here."
"Don't apologise" she replied "I heard what had happened."
Ed tilted his head back slightly, confused "Did you?" he turned his head towards the government officials, he didn't know how he looked at them but by how they stepped back, it was sure he had scared them.
"Nothing revealing of course" she assured him, he turned back to look at her, remembering to try keep a calm composure. "It's perfectly understandable why he is absence, what with the news and all; you must be very prou-"
"Please" Ed said raising his hand slightly to stop her "My family life isn't important at the moment."
Kiyomi's smile turned less warm and more sharper, Ed then felt uneasy about that, like she had just spotted something about him "Of course, there will always be matters of great importance; She replied before then turning her head and attention towards the other group in the distance that stood alongside Anti-Marley volunteers "But family is always something that takes priority."
Close to an hour must have passed, or at least that's what Ed's pocket watch had said; within that hour the Hizuru delegation had spent some time with Mikasa, revealing a secret of hers then adding context to it. Then talking about the history of the Hizuru nation and the former Eldian Empire; one hundred years ago how they had left Mikasa's descendants on the island, now all that remained was her.
Never thought I would have met another Xin- a Hizuru princess who is along adept at fighting… Ed thought as he looked at Mikasa who was now being swarmed by the different officials as he tried to drown out the other officials who barraged him with questions.
"Edward, what is a nation?" one of them asked him.
"Its… it's a- basically it's what we are; a group of people who govern an area or like a larger community." He tried to answer them, he wasn't quite sure himself, and no doubt this would have been a topic of intense 'debate' for those in Amestris between the Ishvalans and his own countrymen.
"What should are next moves be?" another asked.
"How should we approach this?"
Ed was completely stumped; he was a scientist, an alchemist, not a diplomat or some foreign policy advisor but the fact that he was the only one in the room who had actually traveled around and met people from different cultures meant he was the one-eyed man leading the kingdom of the blind.
"That's enough." Erwin called out, he didn't raise his voice but he could still catch everyone's attention "It's clear we know very little about the world around us."
"Funny you should say that Erwin, hasn't that volunteer you work with dug anything else up for you than just disgruntled complaining from those under Marley's foot." Someone commented
Ed stepped forward about to confront the official before Erwin stepped forward "What we can only do at the moment is observe and study the world around us, something the scout regiment has been doing for decades before we knew of the world and now."
The doors then opened again and the officials began to walk back onto the room, Ed walked forward before turning back to see Historia laughing as she stood close to Mikasa while Eren watched. Ed smiled to himself before then walking back into the room, Kiyomi seated on one side of the table with a cup of tea in front of her.
Ed took his seat next to Mikasa as the others sat down with him on their side of the table, Mikasa facing Kiyomi directly. Ed looked at the two of them; Yelena said that the two were related, Ed instantly thought that was preposterous before then being showed the symbol on her wrist.
Everyone else, Pixis and the other garrison and government officials took their seats at the tables around the room to watch.
Calm in her demeanor Kiyomi once more reiterated how glad she was to see Mikasa alive and well "This is a historic day for both our nations." She said "This day would never have come without the help of one man." Ed held in his breath for a second.
Don't say it…
"We had only heard of our descendant of the Shogun clan from Zeke Yeager." Ed sighed from his nose quietly as he continued to listen "You should know, he asked us to agree to certain terms before he would introduce us."
Kiyomi then talked a bit about her meeting with Zeke in some undisclosed location, his intentions, his selling of his own parents out, his own goal and his secret of having royal blood.
But what grabbed possibly every scout's attention was when Kiyomi said Zeke had handed her a piece of ODM gear that 'he had procured' himself; there was no doubt in their minds just who he had gotten that gear from.
If Nanaba was here to listen to this…
Kiyomi's demeanour had then changed to a greedy smile on her face as she then spoke about the iceburst stones located underneath the island itself; like a child looking at the sweets behind the glass of a shop or… like when Ed had shown Yoki all those gold bars.
Of course, Zeke wasn't exactly selling fake gold. Only gold he doesn't own.
Ed looked around the table, the implication now clear to everyone listening and Mikasa did not look impressed.
"Now something like this is valuable and to be the only nation in the world who could speak to you here and now would be to my family and Hizuru benefit." She said "Although… we are aware we're not the only ones you've tried speaking to now." Among a few there was a sharp intake of air. "Oh come now, do you think asking around wouldn't cause any questions?"
"And who else knows exactly?" Erwin asked.
"Zeke Yeager is aware of it however that's as far as we know; we managed to find out through our own connections across the world." Kiyomi said "But I will say it was ambitious of Paradis, especially since you had only discovered the world just a few years ago, but I can assure you we're the only ones who know about this and don't plan on stopping you." She then turned to Edward "But the whole world knows about you and your brother."
"What do you mean?" Ed asked.
"Your 'alchemy', some simple people call it sorcery or magic but we've come to understand it is a science, one that can drag a pre-industrial nation into modernization in a matter of a few years." That greedy smile then returned. Two other members of the delegation then walked behind her and placed a few stacks of paper on the table and onto the others "The implications of this aren't lost on a single soul who holds a high office for their country." Kiyomi then gently pushed the papers towards them; they all take a stapled together bunch of paper.
Immediately Ed was hit with a mass of numbers from the paper, ranging from millions to tens of millions.
"Before you are reports the foreign office for Hizuru had researched and created." Kiyomi explained "We calculated the possible scenarios in which a nation of Paradis can exist within this world and on what terms, this includes three possible war scenarios and the number of casualties such a conflict would entail."
As quickly as someone snapped their fingers, Ed's eyes widen and an icy chill ran down his spine before spreading across his body.
The numbers…
He looked back at them again, this time with much more trepidation.
"I will go over them with you." Kiyomi said reading from the same sheets "Scenario one is simply a stalemate; from what we understand about your technological rapid progress in terms of weapons, your possession of the colossal, the Female, the Founding and the Attack titan, though the last two are just one entity, coupled with the Elrics own alchemy and the possibilities of teaching more people these abilities, you simply cannot lose."
Everyone around the room looked at each other as some whispered to each other. Ed looked back at Eren as the two looked at each other surprised, a smile creeping on each other's faces.
"But you cannot win either." Kiyomi continued "I'm sure you're aware that Marley has possibly one million soldiers at its current disposal, not including the vehicles or ships they'd have available too but that is only its standing army; if Marley and its allies wanted to they could raise, theoretically, over four million soldiers across their empire at once."
"Four million…" one of the officials muttered.
"Yes each soldier would have to kill over a hundred Marley soldiers to have a chance but with your capabilities they would be marching towards their death." Kiyomi reiterated "However the losses would not concern Marley who will continue to do what it can including bombing civilian targets on the island and we've factored in your own raids on their coastal industries and cities; estimated causalities are over ten million."
Ed placed a clenched fist over his mouth while Historia, Mikasa and others listened aghast while Eren stayed very still.
"Scenario two, while this is a slim possibility this concerns the defeat of Paradis by Marley." She stated "This is similar to the first one; the same advantages for each side however in this we focus on the possibility that Marley somehow kill or capture the Elric brothers and other alchemists and subdue the titan shifters, how this happens is unknown; possibly a miracle strategy or attack by Marley or being defeated by the Warriors, all seem unlikely."
They continue to listen intently and uneasily.
"Here Paradis forces are simply overwhelmed by the sheer number of Marley and its allies, however this isn't without heavy losses due to the superiority of your weapons." Kiyomi stated "The number of casualties in this scenario, possibly somewhere between seventeen to over twenty million."
A pit in Ed's stomach grew larger and deeper as the numbers just crept upwards.
"Finally there is the final scenario." Kiyomi stated "Scenario three concerns a Paradis victory; the one essential difference between this one and the others is the use of the colossal titans." The room then burst into discussion as others then looked towards Eren.
"Please" Erwin called out raising his hand up, the room fell silent again "Continue." He said to Kiyomi who only looked past the papers to Erwin and nodded her head.
"Paradis armed with it's already numerous advantages and the colossal titans wouldn't need to fear anything Marley or any other nation could throw at them; this scenario is interesting as the aftermath of this would give Paradis, and your allies, far more leverage over anyone and any nation would see the writing on the wall should that happen." Kiyomi then lowered the paper from her view and looked back towards them "However should Marley, its allies and others still seek to fight… if your aim is just focusing on attacking key military positions and industries, the death toll could be fifty million or over in both the fighting and occupation of Marley territory."
Ed felt like he was about to be sick all over the table.
50 million… and that's if we won…
For Mikasa, Eren and Historia, they looked as though a ghost had passed by; Paradis' future looked to be an ocean of blood either way. The room was eerily silent.
"How… how do we stop this?" Ed asked breaking the silence "Millions- tens of millions dead because of a war between Paradis and Marley? This can't happen- We can't let this happen!" Ed stood up from his seat, his chair being pushed back. All eyes were now on him. Ed looked around him, at the few dozen or so people looking at him, he pulled back the chair and sat down "Sorry about that."
"No it's quite fine; it's almost comforting to see you care that much about avoiding them." Kiyomi said, the compliment would have been nice if Ed didn't feel there was some kind of underlying feeling to it. "On a possible way to avoid such dreadful futures, Zeke Yeager had helped to develop a strategy to protect Eldia and the world with the help of Hizuru."
More papers were placed on the tables and then handed out to everyone, there was a more hesitant mood when taking the papers and reading them.
"There are three main ingredients to this." Kiyomi said "The first is the use of the colossal titan; you will test the weapons as a demonstration to the world about your capabilities." She stated "The second will require the use of the Elrics and their alchemists; with the help of Hizuru we will provide you with the necessary personnel and resources to better teach and implement any other technological advancement. We've seen your already introduced inventions and the impacts its had, however the spread of this is uneven and while some areas have soared other remain stagnant; doing this will put Paradis on level or possible surpassing others, setting yourself up to be a nation that can't be simply dismissed or make them think twice before invading."
"His demands are also very simple; Paradis is to be recognised as an legitimate state, the use of the titans are to be banned and all Eldians will be treated as equals or be allowed to move to Paradis unhindered." She stated.
Kiyomi then turned to Historia "Of course this will take some time, perhaps a decade or two, within that time you'll need both the founder and a titan of royal blood to pass down that ability, a generation or so to protect the island before development has brought you on par with the others." Everyone then turned to Historia "Whoever it is needs to spend the next thirteen years having children to be used to enact this plan."
Ed clenched his fist as he looked at her; he was a storm, a tsunami, of emotions. On the one end he still hated Zeke Yeager and couldn't trust his plans or the future he set for Historia and her future children to eat each other just to save this island… but in his mind he thought of the mountains of dead and the sea of blood underneath his and Alphonse feet all to protect Paradis, his mind drifted to the Marley soldier he shot… he wondered how many he'd have to shoot until they stopped arriving at the shore.
"I'll do it." Historia stated with a steely resolve "I will inherit the Beast titan if it is essential to using the colossal titans to protect us." There was a still silence in the room, almost as if everyone had accepted it.
Until Eren, this time, stood up from his chair catching everyone's attention "If the price for our freedom is the destruction of our homes and the use of my friend's children to be turned to livestock… I will not accept Zeke Yeager's plan."
Erwin calmly raised his hand, taking Kiyomi's attention "While the plan does appear to provide a clear path, we cannot be sure it insures our survival or a future peace." He stated "We may still have other options to consider and plan before we commit ourselves to Zeke Yeager's plan."
Eren sat back down on his chair.
"Yes, we should consider all other options." Kiyomi agreed.
Erwin poured some tea from the pot for Kiyomi as Edward, Eren and Mikasa sat next to the two of them; she had requested that she speak to them privately for a while. In a small living room of the large port mansion they sat by the window as the sun began to set over the port and the ocean.
Erwin placed the pot down on the small table that they all sat around and placed his hands together.
"Thank you, Commander." Kiyomi said as she picked up her cup.
"Please, Erwin is just fine." Erwin replied.
"Getting rid of formalities are we?" Kiyomi said with a small smile before taking a sip of her tea, she turned her head to Mikasa "Mikasa, please tell me about your mother."
"My mother, she was an only child from her family and lived in the rural areas much like my father." Mikasa said "We all lived together in the hill areas of Wall Maria near Shiganshina."
"The life of a pauper… for the child of the Shogun, it sounds like a horrible joke." Kiyomi replied "I have heard about what happened to your family…" Kiyomi placed down the cup and then placed her hand on Mikasa's hand that rested on her knee "Child I am so sorry, I wish she was here with us."
"I wish that too." Mikasa replied.
Kiyomi sat back up and faced the others "This history of yours, trapped within these walls and being lied to for over a hundred years, a tragic fate which is commendable that you all have broken free of."
"Perseverance and sacrifice was what got us this far." Erwin stated.
"Sacrifice, something that is almost universal across this world" Kiyomi commented, her eyes then turned to Edward "And perhaps across other worlds." Ed just looked back at her, she then turned to Eren "Tell me, Eren Yeager, you stood up for the Queen I understand that you and her were in the same 'cadet corps' and even the same army division and squad, tell me do you love her?"
Eren choked on his tea and quickly wiped his mouth, surprised by the question "What?-" all eyes were now on him "No… nothing like that, I care about Historia because she is a close friend, of all of us." He looked back at the others who nodded their heads "For her life to be shorten to just thirteen years and to condemn her children like that, is something I can't support."
"Yes, understandable." Kiyomi replied "The things we do for the people we love, or care about."
"Kiyomi, is there a reason as to why you asked to speak with us?" Erwin asked. "Surely if there was something of great importance you would feel more comfortable speaking to Queen Historia and her advisors."
"Oh I will speak to her majesty." Kiyomi "But I wanted to speak to you before I hold the other discussions, specifically what these 'other options' you had in mind."
"And how would you know we had such options already thought of?" Erwin asked "We could just be talking about possibilities."
"Oh come now, no one could have the Founding titan and the Elric's alchemy in their possession and not have some kind of grand strategy of their own locked away somewhere; I'm sure your 'reaching out' to other groups has something to do with it." Kiyomi stated "It's why I also wanted you three here too, so that everything is on the table and we're honest with each other."
Erwin wasn't one to be made uncomfortable but he couldn't help but feel like a bug suddenly caught in a web. "Your observation is… astute." He commented "Yes, there is a plan we have of our own."
Kiyomi leaned forward a bit "Go on."
"While we never had the detail of your own reports for a possible conflict, we were all too aware of a possible conflict against Marley could happen." Erwin stated "But we were also aware the diminishing power of the empire across the ocean; the war between the faction of nations known as the Mid-East alliance and Marley highlights one thing, Marley's power can be challenged, enough that some might want to take advantage of their weakness."
"And what conclusion could you draw from that?" Kiyomi asked.
"That if something is considered weak enough for other to try to attack if they believe they are strong enough, we can guard against so long as we are strong enough." Erwin replied simply.
"You want your very own alliance." Kiyomi said.
"Correct." Erwin stated. "We know of the groups, rebel factions and disgruntled nations in and outside of Marley's influence, if we can ally ourselves with them then should Marley come to attack they would find not just Paradis but enemies both inside and outside their borders."
Kiyomi raised her eyebrows "I'm almost taken aback by this; it's such a bold strategy and perhaps would also prevent a possible conflict." Eren, Mikasa and Edward's expression lit up as they listen "but surely you would know how impossible a task like this should be, especially with the reputation of Eldians across the world; yes hundreds of millions of people hate Marley but the same number will hate Eldians too and for this to work you will need allies, a long list of allies."
"You mentioned that Hizuru had its own network of connections across the world." Erwin said "I'll cut to it; if we had access to it or could possibly work within it we could no doubt achieve this."
"You would ask me to abandon Zeke Yeager's plan?" Kiyomi asked "After he had promised us the iceburst stones trade?"
"The iceburst stones are not his to give." Erwin stated.
"True but I find it hard for cooperation between us not to require some recompense." Kiyomi pointed out "Ergo the iceburst stones will remain on the table regardless."
Erwin was silent for a second as he ponders over his next move "There is one thing we can offer, something everyone wants."
"Oh?" Kiyomi asked.
"Alchemy" Erwin spoke, everyone stared at Erwin intensely.
"Alchemy?" Kiyomi asked almost surprised as everyone else "I won't lie, to be offered the chance to be taught such as science is beyond tempting and many plans have been drawn up in the halls of Hizuru's government and the Azumabito mansion over what we would do if we ever possessed such knowledge." Kiyomi lean back into her chair and glanced over to Edward "But Erwin, is that yours to give?"
Erwin was silent; he knew this was a gamble and he had now played Edward and Alphonse on the board.
Edward sat still for a second "No, it's not his to give." Ed replied looking at Erwin "But it's ours to teach." Ed moved forward on his chair and extended his hand out to Kiyomi "If you can give the scout regiment and our allies' access to your networks and the Azumabito's help in getting our messages out, then we will teach members of your family how to perform alchemy."
There is was again, that same hungry smile on her face as she took Edward's hand and shook it. "You have a deal."
Erwin would have liked to have breathed a sigh of relief; he might have if he didn't see the apprehension on Eren's face.
Both Eren and Ed stood quietly, a set of metal bars separating them from each other but an unspoken distance keeping them apart.
"You know… Mikasa said something like that." Ed said looking at the ground "It must have been back at Trost; I was trying to get everyone to make a dash for the HQ but no one wanted to, they all accepted their fate. Then she showed up and stuck her foot up everyone's ass telling them just that 'If I lose I die, if I win I'll survive but if I can't fight then I can't win." Ed looked to Eren "I don't think I'll forget that."
Eren sighed "What do you want, Ed?"
"One thing I wanted to do since Marley." Ed replied "I just want to understand." Ed grabbed a bar of the cell "Before that… I honestly thought we were all on the same page; trying to build that coalition, that alliance, the deter Marley from attacking us. I was the one option we had that didn't involve sacrificing Historia."
"That didn't change anything." Eren replied "Now we're at war."
"Only because you and your followers staged an attack on diplomats" Ed pointed out, frustrated "Because of that we're now heading down the path that I thought we all wanted to avoid, how many hundreds of thousands of people in Paradis will die? Hell how many of our friends will die?" Ed clenched his freehand tightly "I thought you cared about them."
Eren sharply turned his head towards Ed; if looks could kill… then Ed would be meeting with the Truth. "Tell me, when we first met you use to spit in the face of every authority figure who tried to order you around." Eren pointed out "What was it that state alchemists use to be, 'Dogs of the Military?' you hated being the dog but you've seemed to change your tune now that you've become the master." Eren walked towards Ed "You were adamant as hell to not teach Paradis alchemy for fear that they would abuse it but… how easy was it for you to promise Kiyomi, someone who we know has ulterior motives, her family would get it? And you question my loyalty? Is a key tenant of an alchemist being a hypocrite?"
"That was different." Ed said as the two now stood face to face, Eren just standing a bit taller than Ed, much to Ed's own slight discomfort.
"So is this." Eren replied. Eren then grabbed Ed by his collar and pulled him into the bars and onto his tip toes "Whatever plans you had end it on your terms is over, there is no other way, there probably never was, but I'm gonna do exactly what you and Alphonse promised to do, I'm going to make sure we live on for generations."
Ed gritted his teeth, he then grabbed Eren's wrist with one hand and pulled him into the metal bars; Eren's face slammed into them, stunned as Ed then grabbed Eren's bun and held his cheek to the cold metal as he brought him down to Ed's level.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." Ed growled through his teeth "But I think you need to remember, even with your titan powers, I can still kick your ass." Ed then threw Eren's head back as he let go. The two looked at each other angrily as Ed fixed his uniform and walked away. Ed walked back up the stairs, opening the door to the underground prison and closing it.
He leaned against the door and slid down it, exhausted both mentally and physically. He rubbed his eyes a bit and sighed. He felt something poking his side; he reached into his pocket and pulled out that wooden toy knight he had gotten from a Marley vendor during the festival.
"Soon…" he muttered to himself "I'll see them soon."
Armin sat quietly in the cosy room with his friends, they never got to meet up like this; the reassignment after the battle of Shiganshina, the alchemy work, squad responsibilities and the travelling had they separated mostly. But when they did reunite it was always nice, like being back at that old castle when they were just Levi squad, smiling and joking even when the times were difficult.
The times were still difficult, but this time no one was laughing or smiling, the air in the room was a choking silence as they all waited for each other to make the first move or sound; it had been maybe a day or two since Petra's funeral and their mourning was still going strong.
But more than that, there was a tension in the room that had been seeping into from the outside.
The door handle clicked and in stepped Jean who shut it behind him "Is everyone okay?" he asked breaking the silence. They didn't respond, some looked at the ground while Connie turned back to the window.
"Did you guys hear the news?" Jean asked as he sat down.
"That Pixis and the Garrison regiment have taken the Anti-Marley volunteers prisoner?" Mikasa said.
"After Eren's desertion and the raid, looks like anyone connected to them is being held and watched for now." Armin added "Even the defectors and their families are placed into camps for the time being."
"It's horrible, I saw them being herded into trucks after we got back." Sasha said "They might have worked for Eren but… aren't they still our allies?"
"There's that but…" Jean then paused for a few seconds, his hands then gripping his knees as he looked down at the table "Petra's parents… they passed away recently."
There was a collective gasp at the news; Sasha placed her hand over her mouth, Connie pressed his head against the window while Mikasa and Armin could only just stare at him "Their neighbour found them lying on the bed, there was a bottle lying on the ground… coroner hasn't gotten back to us yet but they're saying its likely poison."
"God…" Connie muttered exacerbated. "Why did this have to happen?" he then turned back to the others "Why did Eren… why did he have to leave?"
"You can't blame Eren for this." Mikasa said "Captain Levi said none of us could have seen this coming."
"Damn it I know it's just…" Connie then sat down with them "If Eren never ran off then… we wouldn't have gone to follow him and that kid… wouldn't have gotten on board the ship."
"All this to kick start something we actively tried to avoid." Jean stated.
"To be fair to him… I don't think Eren not being there would have changed anything." Armin replied "But interfering with our communications and planting his own messages… that hurt us."
"What do we do then?" Jean asked. "Go with Zeke's plan?"
"We-" suddenly the door opened and in stepped Alphonse.
"Alphonse, we thought you had left for Karanes." Mikasa said "Where's Mina?"
"Mina went back to Karanes; I had to finish some things up with the alchemy battalion beforehand." Alphonse explained. "I'm going to have to leave soon so I thought I'd just say hey, what have you guys got afterwards?"
"Levi squad like everyone else is on standby until further orders." Connie said.
"I still have to organise the new squad, Marlowe's probably just finishing the paper work." Jean said. "God this is a mess."
"Squad leader job weighting you down already?" Connie asked.
"Kinda… just, some in the squad aren't happy that Marlowe got the second in command position." Jean said "Others wanted Floch but… I wasn't about to do that, not after what Marlowe had told me he and the some others did."
"Jean, if you need any help then I can try and pull some strings for you." Alphonse told him, Jean nodded.
"I should get going now." Alphonse said before turning to the door.
"Alphonse, I'll come with you." Armin said standing up "I have to go too." He looked to the door, next to the entrance was a suitcase "I've been assigned by Erwin to help interrogate or question a prisoner."
"Be careful, Armin." Mikasa said as Armin walked to the door. Armin picked up the suitcase and turned back, waving at the other before walking out of the door with Alphonse.
As Alphonse closed the door, Armin grabbed Alphonse sleeve and pulled him to the side, away from the door and towards somewhere more isolated. "Armin, what is it?" Alphonse asked, Armin turned his head around looking to see if anyone was listening.
Alright then… now or never…
"Alphonse… I don't have to tell you that we're kinda stuck in a terrible situation." Armin said "The world, not just Marley, is now likely going to come down on us at some point and it looks like the only plan we have to avoid a war is Zeke's." Armin then looked in Alphonse eyes, judging and waiting. "Do you have any other plan to stop this, any way at all?"
Alphonse didn't respond immediately, he looked almost stumped "No…" he replied "I don't know, I'm hoping that Erwin can devise something from this mess and hopefully we'll be able to quickly implement it."
"So you and Ed are out of ideas on what to do?" Armin asked, wanting confirmation.
"I don't think so." Alphonse replied "Not ones that we can think of quickly… I don't know if we have any other options."
"We do." Armin replied quickly. "There's still one more trick up our sleeve." He told him, Alphonse looked at him confused. Then he came to same realisation.
"No." Alphonse replied "Not this again, I told you before we are not doing that."
"But we can." Armin replied.
"No we can't." Alphonse almost exclaimed "You know it takes human sacrifices, I thought that horrified you, made it clear to you how evil it is."
"It does, make no mistake about that." Armin responded "But… what if we didn't need to use humans, what about the titans in the prison?"
"The titans in the-"Alphonse's eyes widen and he stepped back from Armin "You- you planned this…" Alphonse muttered "All those years you planned this, were you planning on using the stone all this time?"
"No, I don't plan on using it or even making it." Armin told him "Even if I wanted to I wouldn't know how, I just didn't want to close the door on something that could help us when our backs are against the wall… that's now."
"We- we still can't do something like this, we shouldn't do something like this." Alphonse replied weakly "Those titans, those people, will trapped in the stone."
"They're trapped inside of their titans." Armin reminded him "Whats to say we don't destroy the stone afterwards to free them? Nothing says we can't just use it once and then forget about it forever, this at least gives us a fighting chance." Armin sighed "The world may now be planning its invasion and Eren and his followers may now be working with Zeke and the volunteers; if now are not the time, then when?" Armin picked up the suitcase from the ground "Alphonse, please think about it, I'll be ready when you are."
Erwin opens the door, inside was an empty break room; used by the Military Police for drinking and card games no doubt, a room full of comfortable chairs and tables with bottles of wine sitting on the top of them as sunlight poured into the room from the windows.
But at the far end of the room sat Nile, drinking a glass of wine as he read over some papers; Erwin walked over to him and caught his attention, Nile turned his head "Erwin, nice to see you again." He said.
"And you too, Nile." Erwin replied as he sat down on the chair opposite to Nile. "It's been a while since we've talked like this."
"Yeah, I guess we all got busy after the last four years." Nile replied before then slipping from the glass. "Finding out about the world, those volunteers, and the diplomatic stuff on your side and the internal problems on mine" Nile poured out a drink for Erwin who then had a look at the glass of wine before then passing it back to Nile.
"Not a drinker?" Nile asked "Didn't know you quit, we use to go to that bar when we were back in the cadet corps."
"No, lately I've wanted to keep my mind clear." Erwin replied "Perhaps when all is said and done then I'll be happy to indulge, hopefully I'll still have some time left before then."
"I don't envy you, Erwin." Nile said taking the glass and drinking from it instead "When I heard what had happened to you, I was relieved; I know how important this was to you, proving your theory about the world right and all but knowing now that you've got a timer on your life…"
"Yes… and now I don't think I can take comfort in being right." Erwin replied trying to hide a sombre feeling. "The truth isn't at all very comforting, tell me how are Marie and your daughters?"
"They're doing well, the youngest one is just about to start be schooled soon." Nile said "Marie is doing well too though… it's hard not to bring what's happened outside back home; she can tell I'm worried about something."
"The questioning from both the officials and the public is getting more intense." Erwin replied "Seems like everyone is getting scared."
"Tell me about it, Marie always trying to ask questions about whats going on." Nile said "Stories on the street that the walls might be attacked by Marley with flying machines." Nile took another sip "Don't know how the hell that got out, now she's scared that bombs may one day be dropped on us and is looking to turn the basement into a shelter."
"Yes I've heard of that, families are converting their basements into safe houses in case of a conflict." Erwin stated.
"Turning into a booming industry, people making money out of fear" Nile said "Or even a religion out of it."
"A religion?" Erwin asked confused.
"You didn't hear, that's a surprise." Nile said "I thought you would have heard of it by now, since it's built around the Elrics."
"The Elrics?" Erwin asked further "They have their own religious following?"
"Yeah, this religious group or cult of theirs, I think the name was 'Heaven's Followers' or something." Nile said "They started to pop up in the first few months after Historia's coronation, nothing really concerning or anything, then they started to get larger and more organised, I've had my MPs confiscate at least a few creates worth of firearms off them but I'm starting to think that might be the surface of it."
"That is concerning." Erwin replied "Added to this, the following that is growing behind Eren Yeager, it feels as though the same tensions that had appeared during the coup are once more surfacing again."
"A civil war right when we are in an actual war." Nile commented, his tone a mixture of sarcasm and frustration, he took another sip "By the way what are you planning on doing with the titans? You or the scouts won't tell the other divisions or heads where you're even keeping them."
"As a precaution its best that only I and a few other key people know that kind of information." Erwin said "As said, there are factions around the wall and who knows what they have planned."
Nile looked at Erwin unimpressed "You're spreading your regiment way too thin." Nile pointed out "Guarding key targets, managing the communications and preparing a possibly attack, and how can you be sure that you can trust your own men?"
"You're right, among the newer recruits trust will have to be earned but I trust my long-standing and experienced personnel." Erwin replied.
"At least tell me what you're planning on doing with the Warhammer, that's the titan who almost demolished the expedition." Nile stated. "Can't have you just deciding on what happens to them."
"From what we could gather from the memories and some notes from Edward on Marley; the Warhammer is the personal titan of the Tybur family, a liked noble family across the world despite being Eldians themselves." Erwin stated "If I was a gambling person I'd bet they have significant influence."
"If you were a gambling person?"Nile scoffed "I think you're an addict and have probably taken a bigger one than that."
Erwin smiled "Maybe you're right but for now all you need to know is that the Warhammer is a bargaining tool."
"You know I haven't seen that side of you in a while." Nile said looking at him. Erwin looked at him confused "That smile on that face, you always had a look of scheming on you, like you were one step ahead of everyone or at least were trying to get ahead of them." Nile drank the last drops of the wine in the glass "You're still got the tactical mind that clear, just- I don't know, you seem less driven."
Erwin sighed a bit through his nose "Maybe you're right on that too." He confessed "After Shiganshina, I guess I changed a bit as a person."
"I don't know what you or the others saw back then but… I'm guessing it wasn't pretty." Nile said, he stood up and then reach other to a shelf near them before handing Erwin a bottle of wine "I know you said you'd like to drink when this is all over but I'd ask you to try some on your own time."
Erwin took the bottle "Thank you." he read the label, instantly his brow was raised "This is written in Marleyan?"
"Yeah, the wine came from those volunteers from four years ago." Nile said "MPs took the wine when they brought the ships over."
"Four years ago?" Erwin commented "How much wine was in those ships?"
"Entire creates of them." Nile responded "One of the volunteers said that the ship was also being used as a supply transport to cut costs, guess some things don't change no matter if you're Eldian or Marleyan."
Erwin stood up from his seat looking at the bottle "Thank you, Nile" he said "I'm glad we had this chat."
Pieck lay on her bed looking at the ceiling as the light from the window washed into the room; it had been a day or so since the woman who was in charge of the prison had told her that she was to be questioned by someone known as the 'Arsonist.'
Pieck wondered at first how someone could get a name like that, though it didn't take long to realize just what kind of person would fit the criteria for such a name.
You…
In her mind, she went back to that day; when she first met that alchemist, it was easy just to assume that it must have been one of the Elrics, the blond hair being the biggest descriptor, and then Reiner told them about how two other alchemists were inside the encircled city or district. This was someone else entirely.
Someone who she then met again, and was beaten by when the 'scout regiment' came crashing down on their homes.'
"This is for last time, Pieck Finger"
"I don't have time for your questions, another time maybe"
"It's you isn't it." She whispered to herself "Some kind of joke by your higher ups… or by Zeke."
She felt nothing but anger whenever she thought of him; anger of his betrayal, anger that he would go along with the attack on their home, anger that he was never a friend of theirs… anger at herself for not seeing the signs earlier.
"Boy wonder huh…" Pieck muttered to herself "You conniving, scheming, hairy bas-" suddenly the sound of a door to the hallway opened and the guards who watched her once more tensed up and saluted as the footsteps of someone approached. Pieck got up from her bed and stood watching, that's when a very familiar figure came into view of the cell.
"I knew it." Pieck commented.
The Arsonist looked back at her, dressed in what looked to be formal army clothes and carrying a thin box in his arm.
"Lieutenant!" the guards saluted.
"At ease, leave me with the prisoner, I'll take it from here." He ordered, the guards nodded their heads and left her sight. The two then looked at each other silently for a few seconds, examining each other like fighters before a match.
"Pieck Finger." He said "Is that you're name, sorry if it's not, that's just what Zeke Yeager had told us." He spoke softly; Pieck was slightly taken aback by it.
"So I'm going to guess you're the arsonist that they told me about." Pieck said. The guy then rolled his eyes when he heard the name and shook his head "You don't like the name, arsonist? I mean it's not very surprising that you'd have a name like that now."
"I'm well aware why they call me the 'arsonist.'" He replied looking at the ground slightly "I brought that name on myself really."
"Then who the hell are you then?" Pieck questioned.
"Armin, Armin Arlert." He replied.
"Armin?" Pieck asked with a jokey smile "Armin the arsonist? That's your title to these soldiers?"
"To you I'm probably that alchemist who keeps setting you on fire." Armin replied "To Marley I'm the devil who burns people alive, to the army I'm called the arsonist because I got the name first using flame alchemy during the coup and using it during the battle of Shiganshina." Armin then looked back up to Pieck "But to my friends I am Armin Arlert."
Pieck was quiet "Alright." She replied in a low voice, still very suspicious. "So you're the guy they sent to question me?"
"It seems to be that way." Armin said.
"What made them think sending you to interrogate me would achieve?" Pieck asked "You plan on burning me over and over again till I give up Marley secrets?"
Armin gave her an almost disgusted look "No, I'd never do that." He replied "I think they chose me because I have a track record of beating you."
Pieck laughed a bit hearing that, almost confused by the idea "Really? That's their play here? I'll give you that you managed to fight me off for on two occasions but that doesn't really say much."
"You're right, two separate encounters doesn't really prove anything, however…" Armin said. He dropped the box on the ground and pulled out a piece of chalk from his pocket before then drawing a circle and other symbols on the ground.
Pieck watched curiously as Armin filled in the circle before then placing his hand on the circle; the circle then began to glow a bright blue light, Pieck stepped back as a small table grew from the ground and two chairs, one on his side and the other on her, just… formed out from the ground.
"That- that was alchemy." Pieck said looking at the chair made of stone in her cell.
"Yes." Armin replied as he put the chalk back in his pocket "As I was saying before, two separate encounters doesn't really prove anything and I can't let you out of the cell to try it a third time, so I figure we try and do this another way." He then placed the box down and opened, getting out a chess board and the pieces and sat down on the chair.
"Chess?" Pieck commented.
"Yes, since we've got some time we could just talk and test each other." Armin said as he set the pieces on the board
Pieck sat down on the chair "What the hell, I've got time to kill." She looked at the board and then back to Armin "So Armin, what's your first move?"
Ed continued to scribble in his book, trying to put all the pieces together; diagrams, rough sketches, bad notes and good ones, he tried to place all those together. He tried to figure out what exactly Zeke's goal was. The day was now coming to a end, Ed sat there sitting on the quiet carriage of the train as he headed towards he last destination before… he could do right by him.
Ed turns over the pages and then rereads the notes he had written down from the interviews he had taken; first Xavier's step sister, even just reading it he could feel his blood boil as he remembered just how much venom she spoke with when she was talking about her own nephew.
He then turns over to his interview with Zeke's grandparent mother, suddenly that anger he felt fell apart as he thought back to the tears and heart break of an old woman mourning the loss of her son.
But within that was something revealing; pressure. That old woman talked about how she and her husband tried to raise Grisha to fit into their…situation, and then there was what happened to her daughter. Then Zeke himself, forced into the warrior program by his parents for their plans then once he ratted them out he remained, as if to spite his father.
Or at least, that what he would look like from the outside, if he hadn't told them what he 'believed.'
Ed then flicked over the pages, there he had some general notes on the history of Marley or at least what was being taught as history; Ymir's oppression of the world, an empire than spans over a thousand years then was taken down by one man, 'Helos.'
The king fled and left Marley in the hands of the Tyburs, an Eldian family, then why are Eldians just letting their own people get stepped on like that?
He then thought back to Udo, the time they spent but also, the boy's own views of his life and of his situation; almost getting beat up for being an Eldian and how people would either look down on him for it or… think of his as some kind of disgusting threat.
Ed clutched his chest as another face flashed through his mind, his heart aching slightly than people around the world viewed him like that.
No… stay focused.
He went back to his notes, reading them. As his mind was on Eldian treatment, he began to pick up on how every Eldian outside of Paradis he had met had treated him like… some kind of bomb, treated gently and with hesitance, like they didn't want to step out of line or make a mistake.
People just don't hate them… they hate themselves too…
He thought back to the Ishvalans, even during their darkest period they were still a proud people; hunted and exiled across Amestris but still burning with a sense of injustice.
Scar definitely did anyways… but these people, anyone who even had that, are all probably dead.
He wrote that down, a question mark at the end.
'Eldians hate themselves?'
Then he thought back to his confrontation with Eren in the basement near the stage, trying to remember what Willy had said at the end of his play.
"I…hated my own blood… I wished for the extinction of all Eldians…"
How does this link back to Zeke? How did all of this affect him?
Ed then began to write down some of the possibilities, three possible conclusions.
If Zeke is willing to sell his own parents out to Marley then whats to say he doesn't sell us out too? We have to keep in mind that he is lying about his allegiance to us. It's possible he may have internalized all the stuff about Eldians when he was younger and sticks by it.
He wrote that down, tapping his pen on the end of the sentence.
Or he could be seeking revenge, much like how Scar wanted to punish every Alchemist because of what they did during the Ishvalan civil war. Now he has a titan and royal blood, he's also now possibly working with Eren. They now have the keys to destroying Marley and anyone who had wronged them. In that case Zeke isn't our enemy but instead a hurdle to a peaceful end.
Ed finished writing it down. He then tapped his pen on the next blank page wondering, before then writing the last possible conclusion.
Or Zeke is working with no one; he may have internalised what he had learnt from Marley but doesn't agree with them, his plans involve scaring the world off from attacking, why would he just want a tense stalemate where neither could touch each other? Unless he also had something else in mind…
The train then began to slow down; Ed looked out of the window as a station came into view. He shut his note book and then began to stand up from the seats as he made his way to the exit of the carriage, the train comes to a halt at the station. A whistle is blown out as Ed and others exit the station, he steps out of the carriage and looks around; the design of the station was almost identical to those he had saw in Amestris, deliberate as he and Alphonse did base it off them.
Ed then walked down the station, a man dressed in simple smart clothes sat on a bench reading a newspaper. "Hey." Ed said, catching the man's attention "I'm here to meet the head of construction." Ed said. The man nodded and stood up as he led Ed over to the other side of the station and towards a road where a parked black car sat.
Ed opened the door and sat inside at the back as the driver got inside; he shut his eyes for a second and in that moment he let himself imagine that he was back in Amestris probably being driven by maybe one of Mustang's men as they pass through the capital.
Instead he opened his eyes and saw the open countryside as they drove down an almost empty road, the only vehicles either owned by the government or by the military and everything else was on horses.
They then drove past a woodland area before then reaching to a lone checkpoint on the road; a small building and two lone guards dressed in Scout uniform. The driver rolled the window down and looked to the guard "The cook is here to see the head of construction." He told them. The soldier nodded and pointed them down the path. The driver kept moving down, the path became more rocky and less paved until the car was almost driving on grass until a small fort came into view. The driver stops just a couple meters from the fortress and Ed steps out, walking for the remaining distance.
"I'll be here." The driver said, peering their head from the window. Ed nodded at him before then walking. As he reached the gate of the small fortress he examined the walls of the fort, and the people watching him.
The gate opens and before him stands a middle aged woman dressed in the formal uniform of the scout regiment, she brings out her hand to show a metal arm which Ed shakes.
An old veteran Ed thought Erwin has the old guys guarding his assets, those he can trust…
"I'm here to see Lara Tybur." Ed said.
"The Warhammer is in her cell." the officer said as she escorted him to the door of the building at the centre of the fort. As they stepped inside, the placed looked like its own controlled warzone; barricades and sandbags and soldiers armed with guns pointing towards an elevator shaft at the centre of the room. The soldiers look at them and some nod as they walk into the elevator and the officer pulls the lever. The chains begin to churn and the platform lowering as the dirt walls pass them by.
Ed looked at the walls of the elevator, the markings on it very familiar. The elevator than stops and before them is a wide room, more guards and a metal door. The guards salute and Ed returns it as he walks to the door and grabs at the doorknob.
He breathes in before turning and pushing it open.
Before him was a wide room, half of it was cut off by a line of metal bars which contains a room; a bed, a toilet, a large bucket of water and an empty table.
Sitting at the table, the holder of the Warhammer titan.
The two looked at each other, Ed then grabbed a chair on his side of the room before then dragging it to the front of the bars and sitting down on it, looking back at her again.
As Ed sat in front of her he then began to notice the marks on her side of the room, large cracks and dents in the walls, floor and ceiling.
"How many times did it take?" Ed asked.
"How many times did what take?" Lara replied, his voice sounded frustrated.
"Until you realized that there was no getting out of the cell." Ed replied "I'm sure even the bars are dented, aren't they?" he had a cocky smile on his face which she didn't take to well. "I gotta hand it to the guys, Al's students sure did a hell of a job making this place."
"I won't tell you anything." Lara told him definitely "Demon."
Ed leaned back in his chair "Demon huh?" he said "Still think I'm some crazy demon sent by the devil or something." Ed then leaned forward "I'm just here to ask some questions, some I'd like some answers or at least an opinion about the current events. If you want you can even ask me anything you're curious about." He offered her.
"I want nothing from you, Demon." She spat "Nothing but you and your brother's removal from this world."
"Would it surprise you to say that I kinda agree with you on that?" Ed replied. "Do you even know why Alphonse and I came here?"
"Sent by a deity to aid the enemy in exchange for our own desire or wishes." Lara said "A literal deal with the devil."
"That's the gist of it, though the devil part is wrong." Ed stated "It's a bit of a simplification to call the Truth God or the devil, but how can I describe a powerful being that can control alchemy; don't get me wrong the thing can be a jerk and its actions might not make sense at the time… but it values balance and harmony, in both the world and people." Ed hoped he had her interested.
"Balance and harmony, is that what you're calling the new Eldian Empire?" Lara questioned.
"No, I've seen people get put under a boot in my world and its not pretty." Ed said "I won't help something like that." Ed breathed in before sighing deeply "I've told you before, we just want peace."
"If you're working for the last vestige of the Eldian Empire than total domination is the definition of peace." Lara told him.
"Don't be an idiot; you know damn well what I mean." Ed replied with an exhausted tone. "Are you sure you're not curious, nothing you want to ask me? We'll probably never get the chance sit down and talk and you'll never get the chance to ask me anything you might want to know."
Lara was quiet for a couple seconds, clearly pondering on Ed's offer as he banked on her curiosity to break her stubbornness.
The human mind is always curious…
"What do you want?" Lara said "What did the 'Truth' offer you, what is this wish of yours that would make you come to our world and help the devils of Paradis?"
Ed smirked "A debt." He said "Not to the Truth but… to our friends, and our family; back on Amestris, something big went down and… a lot of people we care about didn't make it in the end, we thought we had moved on from it but two years later we got sucked back in to it." Ed then stared at Lara "If… if something happened to Willy, wouldn't you try to do whatever you could?"
"Yes… I would." Lara replied.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure anyone would." Ed said "It's just Alphonse and I got the chance to do it and we took it." Lara looked down at the table "What you're brother said, about the Warhammer and the history of Helos?"
"Yeah, it's true, it's all true." Lara replied "Helos was a story created by the King and the Tybur family, a cover for the king to establish his own paradise on the island and free the world from the grips of the Eldian Empire."
"Alright" Ed replied "So, if the Tybur family was left on Marley then it safe to assume you guys are the main power in Marley then?" Ed asked "Hard to think about anyone who would challenge the Tybur family's authority on the continent after the fall of the Empire."
"Then you'd be right, we are the power in Marley." Lara replied "But what good will that information gain for you? This island is on borrowed time, it won't be long till the rest of the world comes down on you all."
"Being so excited about enough people dying to form another island doesn't exactly paint you in a good light." Ed pointed out, Lara glared at him.
"I don't care what you think, demon." Lara replied.
"I'm sure you don't" Ed responded "But I guess one last thing, why did the Tybur family let Marley oppress the Eldians, you could shape Marley policy yet you were content to sit on your ivory tower while Eldians got turned into titans for speaking out."
"To prevent the rise of another Eldian Empire." Lara replied, almost rehearsed.
"Yeah and the world is a much better place with Marley using Eldians as titans." Ed stated sarcastically.
"We kept to the promise." Lara snapped back "We followed our agreement with the one hundredth and forty fifth king, for the good of the world we kept out of its business as much as possible and gave the world back its power."
"And the world has been nothing but balance and harmony ever since?" Ed questioned, poking holes in her statement. Lara rolled her eyes as she looked away from him "Tell me, have you ever stepped in the internment zone? Have you ever seen what Eldians face?"
"I'm aware of what happens, I know what happens." Lara replies.
"There's a difference between knowing about something and then actually seeing it." Ed said "You can know the risks of a rebound in alchemy but when you see what actually comes when it does happen? That's a whole different thing." he stated "Someone I care about, her parents were doctors... I knew they did great work but to see how grateful those they helped were and how sad they were at their death... to see it is a whole other thing."
"Does it really matter?" Lara said though… it was clear she wasn't saying that to him.
"You remember what Eren said, before you two transformed into titan?" Ed asked her "'For Faye,' that's what he said."
"Why does that matter?" Lara questioned.
"That was the sister of Grisha, Eren's father who managed to escape to the walls." Ed said "Eren told us what happened, though his father's memories but… the look in his eyes when saying it, I've only seen it one other time." Ed stood up from his chair "I gotta wonder, if you could see how they suffered, would you have a change of heart?" Ed then turned his back on her and walked towards the door.
"Wait." Lara called out; Ed stopped and turned his head back. "Just what are you?" she asked "Some of the soldiers call you angels, they're either scared of you or almost worshiping you and your brother. You stand here and say you're not some demon or divine entity even though you call the thing that send you God. So what are you?"
Ed let out single chuckle "Human, we're only human."
Hello everyone,
Wrote this a lot earlier so hopefully this makes up for the wait for the last chapter, I enjoyed writing this as there were moments in this chapter I've been thinking about for a while.