Chapter 65: Metal Made to Bend
Two years ago
In the dim candle light Eren began to explain to Floch the information that had been relayed from Yelena, the 'Euthanasia plan' to end the existence of Eldians through sterilization. Bring a slow and quiet end to them all…
"This is what they had in store for us…" Floch said looking at the ground, his fists clenched tightly as he sat on his seat at the table, he took a deep breath in; the stench of the nearby sea water filling his nostrils, a familiar smell being stationed near the port. "And then there's the commander's plans; talking to Marley, to the Mid-east alliance, to every nation on earth who had been shoving Eldians into cages and turning us into titans to fight their wars." The disgust in his voice was impossible to disguise.
"It's hopeful." Eren replied "But that putting it charitably."
"It's naïve at best." Floch stated, almost correcting him "But the truth is its cowardly; to beg for our existence." Floch leaned forward "We have the coordinate, the colossal and Female titan, we have the numbers from our allies and we have the technology, the guns and cannons to really hurt them and liberate our people and anyone who wants to join our side. The world should be the ones who beg to us."
"You forgot to mention alchemy." Eren pointed out.
Floch balked at the mention of it "Alchemy, like the Elrics would ever let us use alchemy, for them it has to be done their way and only their way; the lives of walled humanity or Eldians across the world be damned in exchange for their principle." Floch leaned back "And whats worse, they get to influence how we approach the world."
"They're using their own experiences from their world to shape ours." Eren added, his voice sounded tired.
"Then what do we do?" Floch asked.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, a plainly dressed guard holding a rifle opened from the outside as nicely dressed group of people entered the room; all were different from each other, some had darker complexions than others, different styles of clothes but all had a similar aura of seriousness with them.
They all took their seats at the table. "Eren Yeager, we thank you for meeting us at this hour." One of the delegates spoke, a man with a darker skin complexion similar to that Marley volunteer who Floch had seen a few times around the port.
"Were you followed?" Eren asked immediately, his eyes scanning across the table.
"No." Another delegate replied, another gentleman with an olive coloured complexion. Floch recognised them; the Chavins, a culture of people in another far off continent that fought Marley's occupation.
Allies to the cause…
"Good, I have to know, is everyone here committed to this?" Eren asked, his voice was calm yet stern and assured. There was a silence around the room as they all looked at Eren and nodded their heads. "Okay."
"We all want vengeance against Marley, retribution for the decades of occupation." One of the delegates stated. "The direction that your commander Erwin wants to take will not give us that."
"Nor that Hizuru bitch, looking to line her and her family's pockets with wealth made from deals in this proposed peace." Another stated. "Or even the Elric brothers, you'd think those hailed as heroes would rise up against the injustice, instead they want to maintain the status quo."
"I know." Eren said, almost conceding.
"Eren, what should we do?" Floch asked.
Eren was silent, lowering his head to the table and shutting his eyes before then looking up at everyone, a fire large enough to engulf the island itself burning against teal. "When Kiyomi and Hizuru arrived them showed us three scenarios of a war; stalemate, defeat and total victory. And we have what we need to create total victory."
There were collective gasps across the table "Then what are we waiting for?" said one of the delegates.
"No, we have to be patient." Eren said "We go now then we face not only the might of every empire or alliance in the world but also our own side; they still control the government and you all still use old Marley's weapons." Eren reached down at his side before then pulling out a large rolled up piece of paper, standing up from his seat and rolling it out for everyone.
Everyone at the table stood up; upon it were the main targets for their attack in the future. "Some of my own loyalists had taken the time to write this up with my help."
Floch scanned the large paper and written plans, his own jaw dropped at the sight of it, the audacity of it "We're going to attack the port?" Floch asked shocked. "When, why-"
"We will need it to transport our men and supplies across the world for when the war occurs." Eren said "And if we drive out the others from the Walls then the first place they'll go is here, their coastal stronghold; if everything goes well then that might be the only battle we wage against our own people."
"Are they still your people, if they're not on your side?" one of the delegates asked.
Eren was silent "No… they're not." He said, despite trying to keep a composed figure. But even Floch could see he was conflicted on that. "Once we take power in Paradis, all loyalists of the old regime or the Elrics will have to be dealt with."
Floch wondered how truthful Eren was being It will be up to me to deal with them, Eren should focus on defeating Marley.
Those not dedicated to the cause must be dealt with.
Present day
Mikasa shielded Armin from the debris, pushing them both out of the way of the explosion, when the initial explosion subsided and the rubble's crashing turned to the patter pebbles skidding across the ground did she begin to look up from the ground.
Above her, the scout headquarters was destroyed with the entire left side of it completely collapsed into nothing more than a pile of grey rocks, metal frames and a ripped regiment flags lying across the cement floor.
There was a sound of ringing, a piercing shriek which then subsided, giving way to the cries of the injured and bystanders as scout troopers ran towards the rubble. As Mikasa rose from the ground, Armin lifted himself up too, lowering his arms from his head, looking at the destruction before them.
"Oh my God…" Armin muttered.
Mikasa could only just look and stare at what was before them, coming to a horrifying realisation.
"The others!" she exclaimed, turning to Armin as the adrenaline and fear ran through her, she ran towards the rubble as the other scouts began to pull survivors from the rubble.
A body crushed under the rock, their face covered under the parts of the ripped fabric of the flag; Mikasa held her breath as she lifted the rocks off of them, her hand shaking as she reached out over the fabric over their face.
It was a relief when the face she came upon wasn't that of her friends yet the feeling of horror and pain remained all the same; a person, a comrade buried in the rubble.
She turned to Armin who searched frantically through his pockets for something "No! No! No!" he exclaimed "Why, why now?" he took off his coat, tipping it upside down and shaking it. "Damn it!"
"Armin, forget about that, help me with the rubble." Mikasa told him, he shook his head and quickly joined her.
She continued to pull them out of the rubble, person by person, as both she and Armin carried them out and laid them out onto the ground, the living and the dead.
And with each person, a fear that it'll be one of their friends yet a familiar sorrow over a lost comrade.
Armin placed his hand on her shoulder "The others… Jean and his team, Connie and Sasha, they left before this happened." He tried to reassure her, but even she could tell Armin didn't know whether to believe that.
She turned to him "What about Ed and Hange?" there was a long pause between the two, remember the meeting they had just so recently. They both then turned back to the building "No…" they rushed forward, urgently trying to move more of the rubble from the building.
"Please, please don't be…" Mikasa muttered. The palms of her hands were sore and red gripping the rocks and hauling them off to the side as her uniform was covered in dust. "They can't be…" she spotted the blood splattered on the rocks as the idea of the worst began to creep in.
"Hey!" came a call, both her and Armin's head perked up as they quickly turned to see both Hange and Ed running towards them, looking untouched from the explosion. "You two alright?" Hange asked.
"Hange!" Armin exclaimed, he sounded as if he almost wanted to break down into tears.
Hange walked up to her second in command and hugged him, patting him on the back "You're gonna have to learn, like Moblit, you can't get rid of me that easily." She said in her usual joking manner.
"Ed, are you okay?" Grabbing him by the shoulders as she inspected him, looking for wounds.
"Mikasa, are you alright?" he asked back as looked back at her, he gently lowered her hands and looked at them "Guys need to take a break; we'll take it from here." Ed then stepped to the side and clapped his hands together; planting them on the ground as the rock and cement underneath them began to shake as the floor elevated slightly and the debris slide down, slowly enough that others could pick out the injured… and bodies… from the ruins.
"Have any of you seen the commander?" Mikasa asked Hange and Ed.
They both looked at her stoned faced "He…" they all looked up towards the massive gap in the building "That explosion was from his office…" Hange muttered. They lowered their hands back to the pile of rubble "Everyone!" Hange commanded "Move your asses, get these rocks and pull out the survivors!" dozens of scouts rushed to the rubble and began to pull rocks out.
The feeling, the aura, of anxiety and dread clouded above everyone at the thought that Erwin may have been…
"Keep moving." Hange said as she tossed rocks to the side with her hands, as Armin scribbled down transmutation circles on the floor.
More bodies began to appear, dead and alive; Mikasa pulled them out of the cement rocks and blocks, checking their faces or anything to identify them.
Then the ground underneath them shook once more, she looked to Hange, then Armin and then Ed. All of whom looked just as surprised as her and everyone as they looked in deep at the ruins. It shook once more then suddenly someone large began to emerge from the rubble; rising out, was a pinkie finger of a colossal titan as someone pushed it open.
There were a few gasps and open mouths as a figure emerged from it; Erwin, his faced carved with the familiar lines of a titan shifter walked out the rubble and towards the opening. A few scouts ran up to him "Commander, are you hurt?" one of them asked.
Erwin raised his hand up "I'm fine, thank you."
Hange, crouched over, stood up and weakly smiled "Should have known you couldn't have died so easily."
Erwin dusted himself down before then looking around "All troops, gather whatever help you can, the local garrison, MPs and workers, I want a team clearing the surrounding streets in case of another attack." he ordered "Act now, and we can still pull out other survivors." He turned back to the others "A recruit came into my office with a bomb disguised as a book, there were some looking to assassinate me."
"Erwin, we got something crazy to tell you." Hange said, everyone huddled forward "We interrogated Wim, he-"
Suddenly there was another explosion; this one however was in the distance. All at once everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their heads to see a column of dark smoke rising into the cloudless sky only just a couple of streets away.
"I'm gonna get ya!" Alphonse said to Emmanuel as he tried to waddle away from him excitedly, fall over every so into the grass as Alphonse then reached down and tickled him as his child laughed hysterically. He looked up back to Mina who sat just a meter away from them watching with a massive smile on her face. Emmanuel quickly got back up and began to crawl quickly back to Mina as Alphonse continued to chase him, taking shelter in his mother's arms for safety, burying his head into her shoulder and trying to hide himself in her arms
"Oh, where did he go?" Alphonse joked as he looked around, pretending to be clueless before then crouching down "Is he…" he leaned in closer to him "Here!" he then tickled him some more seconds before then tickling Mina.
"Hey!" She laughed as she then softly laid her back onto the grass holding Emmanuel, Alphonse then lay down on the grass with them as he placed a hand on Emmanuel's back as he lay on his Mina's stomach and chest.
For just a moment he and Mina could kinda forget about everything that was going on; all the work, the tensions, the battle and the coming dangers. Just for a moment. Alphonse then leaned over and kissed Mina gently for a second before then lying back in the grass.
He then lay back on the grass and up into the sky, an almost cloudless blue above them as the silhouette of birds fluttered by above him as the noise around him seemed to quieten. And just for a split second he could imagine… he could imagine he was back at Resembool and if he sat up he would see the sprawling fields of the countryside and maybe the Rockwell house.
Instead he turned his head to the side, to see Mina stroking their son's hair as he began to drift into sleep as she looked up into the sky.
He watched them and smiled sadly.
My world…
He then sat up and looked around them; the park was sparse of people, just within their view he could see their guards, a few soldiers of the garrison who escorted them as some groups of people tried to peer at them.
Alphonse sighs out, as if a weight had now begun to press down on him. A feeling he was becoming more familiar with. One of the garrison soldiers then began to walk up to them; Alphonse quickly got up to meet them.
"Captain." The garrison troop saluted. "More people are beginning to converge on here." He told them "We should get going." Alphonse looked down at Mina who looked back at him, the two nodded at each other, a silent understanding.
Quickly they began to scurry away from the park, just before the cheers of "Elric!" and "Saviour!" began to creep forward. Two garrison troops, dressed in plain clothes, followed them as they made their way through the street. Alphonse looked down at their waists; spotting the Amerstrian model pistols within their coats.
"Hoods up." The garrison troop asked. Mina placed on her hood attached to her coat, while Alphonse placed on a hat with a cap which covered over his eyes. "Try and keep you heads down." They quickly rushed through the street, heading back to Mina's parent's home. Their gaze cast firmly on the ground, avoiding looking at the people around them.
As they approached the house, they both almost jogged towards the door as their garrison escorts kept a subtle watch around the street. Alphonse knocked on the door as they waited outside "We'll keep watch outside, should be fine." The garrison troop said.
Alphonse nodded his head as the door opened and Mina's father greeted them, they went inside quickly.
"You both ran into some trouble again?" he asked.
"We left before more people arrived this time." Mina replied as she handed Emmanuel over to her mother.
"At least it wasn't like last time." Mina's mother said "Last time, you and Emmanuel almost got swarmed by those people when Edward was here." The corner of Alphonse's mouth creased "It was nice of the garrison to guard you going out."
Alphonse remained silent as he looked around, the small stack of wooden boxes sitting outside of a hatch caught his eye "You're moving stuff into the shelter already?" he asked.
"Yeah, with everything going on it best to start getting everything ready now" Mina's father replied. "You hear about the fights on the streets?"
Alphonse was silent for a few seconds; he heard of the riots breaking out across the walls, supporters of Eren Yeager and those who had a deep hatred for Marley fighting against both the garrison and military police or the 'Heaven's followers' cult that dedicated themselves to Edward and himself.
The inside of the walls was beginning to feel like a powder keg.
"Yeah I know about them." He replied, Alphonse walked over to the wooden boxes on the ground and picked one up "I'll help you get these down." As Mina's father opened the hatch leading to a staircase descending down, a pounding on the door quickly got the attention of everyone.
"Captain!" Came a muffled shout from outside. Mina's father took the small box from him as Alphonse approached the door and opened it. The garrison escort standing at the door, a look of panic on their face "Captain, lance corporal." He said looking at Alphonse then to Mina. "We have to go."
"Whats wrong?" Mina asked walking up to the door.
"There's been an attack on the Karanes HQ." he informed them "We don't know who did it but we need to get you back to commander central command, there's a car waiting on the road to the station." Alphonse turned back to Mina's parents as she quickly hugged them and kissed Emmanuel on the head.
"You two be safe." Her father said.
Alphonse nodded "Don't open the door, stay inside." He told them before then placing his hand on Emmanuel's back gently and then pulling away as both he and Mina left with the escort and down the street, running towards the main road.
As they approached the stationary car, the sight of garrison troops in uniform carrying either rifles or machine guns ran around as there was panic on the street. Alphonse turned his head towards the direction of the HQ to see a column of smoke rising in the sky.
They quickly got into the car as the escort slid into the passenger seat. The driver, their other escort, began to move down the road at a careful pace, people rushing onto and off the road and soldiers converging around the streets slowed their journey.
Alphonse watched from the window, as they approached the HQ he could catch a glimpse of the fires that engulfed the building as a mass crowd of people swarmed it, a distant chant crying out as other wrestled soldiers onto the ground.
"Dedicate your hearts!"
Erwin marched into the communications room, guards of the radio tower standing aside as he led Hange, Edward, Armin and Mikasa through the hallway. The door was opened to them as the guard saluted them.
Before they could enter the room, a yell behind them caught their attention. "Commander!" came a call; Erwin turned his head back to see a MP sprinting towards them. Both Mikasa and Edward stood between the messenger and the command.
Ed placed his hand forward stopping them "Hold it, don't come any closer." The recent attack on the scout HQ still lingering in their minds along with the mistrust it had caused among their group.
"Apologises, corporal." The MP said through deep exhausted breaths before then turned to Erwin "Commander Erwin, the attack on the central HQ… it's the Premier…"
"Is he okay?" Erwin asked. He then remembered the explosion in the distance not so long after his attack.
"Commander… Darius was killed." The MP said, a silence dropped upon them. Erwin kept cit calm and collective figure as the others looked at both each other and the MP slacked jawed, horrified and surprised by the news.
"Thank you, report back to your superior." Erwin replied, the MP saluted him before then jogging back down the hallway. They turned back towards the door and opened it, walking into the main radio centre.
"At ease" He asked the operators as the others entered the room, Armin shutting the door behind them. Hange quickly ran up to the radios and sat down next to the operators who quickly began turning dials and testing the microphones. The radio crew salute Erwin and the others before then leaving the room.
Erwin sits down next to Hange as the others stand behind them waiting patiently to the sound of static as he places his microphone near his lips
"Hello?" came a voice over the radio; there was a gasp by the operator before they turned back to the frequency. "Hello, can anyone hear me? This is the garrison central command please respond."
"Garrison central command, this is Commander Erwin smith of the Scout regiment." Erwin replied
"Commander Erwin." The speaker from the radio replied "Dot Pixis is here."
There was a shuffling on the radio before a old and familiar voice spoke "Erwin, good to hear your voice." He said.
"Likewise, Pixis" Erwin replied, he paused for a bit "Pixis, Darius is dead."
There was a still silence on Pixis' end before he spoke "Darius, he was always a peculiar man but… hearing about his death… we can mourn later right now we have quite the situation on our hands."
"There's more." Erwin continued.
"There always is." Pixis commented.
"Squad leader Hange had been examining the wine and conducting tests on it." Erwin said.
"Please tell me they hadn't tampered with the wine." Pixis replied.
"I'm afraid so." Erwin said "Those initial Marley ships to Paradis carrying the wine was a trap for us, Zeke Yeager had his followers poison the wine with his spinal fluid."
There was a frustrated groan on the other end of the radio "Bastard has us by the neck then; I can't name a single officer or higher up who hasn't been drinking that wine in either the garrison or the MPs."
"To my knowledge, none of my officers have drunk the wine, a small mercy perhaps to have it kept from us by the other branches." Erwin said.
Pixis laughed "It seems our indulgence has finally come to bite me." He joked "But thank you, we'll try and move those who drank the wine out of the coming conflict, that being said looks like I'll have to put myself out of the fight too else I end up a titan. In fact I'm sorry to say that a majority of our chain of command has been brought to its knees without knowing."
"What's the situation outside the capital?" Erwin asked.
"It's not looking so good, in fact that is a horrible understatement." Pixis replied "The good news is that some of the riots breaking out across the Walls have been quelled; districts within Sina have been holding out after the attacks and districts Karnes and Holst have held meaning we still have a rail connection to the southern port."
There was a deep release of breath behind Erwin at the news.
"The bad news?" Erwin asked.
"Districts along Wall Rose are still reporting riots and gunfights between garrison and people and even different groups of people against each other, there have even been reports from some outposts across the walls of militias digging in and fortifying themselves or taking over entire towns or villages." Pixis states "Worse still, apparently skirmishes are breaking out between them."
"Which militias?" Hange asked this time.
"Heaven's Followers, the rather zealous supporters of the Elrics." Pixis replied, unprompted all eyes fell onto Edward who stood almost statute like, frozen still if not for the twitch of his eye and a slight hitch of his breath. "The only good thing is they're not firing on garrison soldiers or MPs but are by no means cooperating with us." Pixis explained "However the same can't be said about those who are openly in support for Eren Yeager and his allies; reports of ambushes on military troops and seizing stations and outposts… Erwin, I'm sorry to say but some of those in the thick of this have said they've seen scout regiments soldiers among them using regiment equipment and weapons."
Erwin's body tensed up as he remembered that moment possibly less than an hour ago; one of his own soldiers willing to sacrifice their life in order to carry out an assassination on him, his hand gripped his fist as his elbows rested onto the table "This is a coup." He said "Eren's supporters have launched a coordinated attack on our entire structures."
"And now other groups have used the chaos to draw battle lines." Pixis added.
"What you're saying is a civil war could break out within the walls." Hange said this time leaning into the microphone. "Right when we're at risk of a hostile empire invading the island."
"What inopportune timing." Pixis commented. "Or opportune depending on whose alliance you're aligned with. Erwin, the current government is at risk of collapsing and may have already done so in parts of the wall, the chain of command must regroup and strategise now before the situation is lost."
"Agreed, if what you say is correct then we should regroup at Sina." Erwin said "infiltrators have already launched attacks on capital and made an attempt on my and other's lives."
"Right, stay safe Erwin and I await yours and the others arrivals." Pixis said before the radio went silent on his end.
Erwin leaned back in his chair before then turning his seat to face the others. "I won't honey coat this, we are possibly in one of the perilous periods of humanity."
"What happens now, Commander?" Mikasa asked
"If Eren and Zeke Yeager are freed from their respective locations by Eren's supporters then it will be all of humanity who will be brought into this conflict." Erwin said. "But knowing what they've done with the wine already… if they already have control of the colossal titans then it's safe to say we've already lost."
Erwin slumped over as his head faced the ground, looking at their feet. It felt like a cruel joke; to be given a stay of execution from death at Shiganshina and survive to see the world that existed outside of his father's theories now want him and everyone else inside the walls dead… but also be faced with a choice of watching it be brought to heel and face the every trapped existence of their lives.
"We can't give up…" Mikasa said "There has to be something… that we-" Erwin then noticed her eyes turned towards Edward as she stopped mid-sentence. That when he noticed both Armin's and Hange eyes on him.
Ed turned his head and looked back at them, Erwin noticed Ed's jaw clench as his hands were clenched into tight fists.
"What if… what if we did have something that could match the colossal titans?" Armin said turning to Erwin.
"Armin… don't." Edward said his voice deep and almost threatening.
"You said you'd think about it." Armin said.
"Yeah and I won't do it." Ed said "Not even with those titans."
"It might be the best thing we have actually." Hange said.
"Or it might blow up in our faces too." Ed shot back. "If it falls into the wrong hands then we all are screwed beyond belief."
"Edward, what are they talking about?" Erwin asked, curiously of the small argument occurring into front of him.
Edward turned to him "I… I can't say."
"It's a philosopher stone." Armin said turning to Erwin "All alchemy is governed by a principle of something coming from something similar but to an equal measure." Armin stepped forward "But with this we can use alchemy without any limit-" Edward then grabs Armin by the shoulder, turning him and shaking his head before Mikasa quickly steps in between them.
Erwin sat up curious as to what this meant, the realisation of this dawning on him though his own ignorance of alchemy hindering his understanding. "Without limits, meaning the person in possession of it could make… anything?"
"That's the idea, power without any kind of limits or constraints of alchemy." Hange added. "Anything except the imagination."
"Hange, no-" Ed exclaimed.
"Edward, why didn't you or Alphonse inform me about this sooner?" Erwin asked, he then turned to Armin and then Hange "Did you two know about this? Why keep something like that a secret from the rest of the regiment and walled humanity; the possibilities we could do are limitless."
"That's exactly why I won't do it." Edward interjected. "I've seen what people have done with it, the destruction and evil it has brought when it fell into the hands of selfish idiots or evil people is far too much of a risk and… and how it's made is… horrific." Edward breathed deep "Its human souls, that's what powers the stone, it's what it's made of." Ed stood up taller "Don't chew either of them out, even if you knew about it before, neither Alphonse or I would have made one for you."
Erwin did flinch slightly at the idea of that; human souls being used to create a super weapon, however given the history of the titans and Marley it didn't strike him as something completely alien.
"I see… and the only way to create such a thing would be through human sacrifices then." Erwin commented.
Ed nodded his head confirming Erwin's guess "Commander, we do have another option." Armin spoke up. "We know pure titans to be transformed Eldians waiting to devour a titan shifter to regain their humanity, in essence they are still humans."
"The captured titans, they were the alternatives." Erwin looked to Hange and then to Armin. "Back when you put forward the idea of a titan cage and holding pen, you had this 'philosopher stone' in mind?"
Armin nodded his head, Erwin couldn't lie; he was somewhat impressed by Armin misleading the military to create his contraptions, all for this possibility.
"Commander, I still can't do this." Ed stated stepping forward "Those titans… they're still people, they didn't ask for this." Erwin could see the tension on Ed's face as he spoke to him "If we do something like this… there is no going back from it… this kind of alchemy is beyond dangerous and to achieve our goals off the back of unwilling sacrifices like this… I can't do something like that; Alphonse can't do something like that."
"You have a point; we would be no better than Marley in that regard." Erwin conceded. "However we have to remember why Marley turned those people into titans; it was punishment for defying them, they took their freedoms, lives and humanity to keep their power." Erwin stood up from the chair "Maybe we can't change them back and give them back what was taken from them, but we can give them what they deserve, justice. Every titan in that pit was someone; a revolutionary, a protestor, a worker, a deserter, a nurse, a cook, a… teacher" Erwin stumbled over the last work, as the memory of his dad rushed into his mind "An aunt, an uncle, a sibling, a mother or father. I will recognise that. But we must recognise that they want justice, for the lives that were taken from them and for the world they wanted to live in. We are going to have to give it back to them and change this situation, or at least give them a part to play in changing this."
The room was silent as Erwin finished his speech, watching Erwin as his words continued to settle in and for Ed's response. Edward breaks the silence with an audible sigh, placing his hands on his hips and looks at the ground "Anyone tell you your way with words is really annoying?" Ed asked, almost playful. "But I don't imagine Alphonse and I have a chose."
"I've tried to treat you and Eren as I would anyone in the regiment, even with the circumstances attached. But even so I've granted you leeway in how to handle things." Erwin told him, hoping to remind Edward that he was open to a compromise.
"Hmph, alright…" Ed looked back up to face Erwin, his one eye staring into Erwin's two "If we do this then I've got some conditions; one, I'll make the stone using the titans but under no circumstances will anyone, ANYONE, be able to see how, not a single damn soul is going to even glance at it." He said raising his fist up and one finger pointing upwards
"That's fair." Erwin replied.
"Two, unless either I or Alphonse say otherwise the stone will remain in our hands only; not you, Pixis or any military higher up gets to have it, in fact, the only commander or higher up who should know about it is you and only you." Ed stated, his middle finger standing strong with his index finger. "And even then you take this to your grave."
Erwin nodded his head, in truth though he doubted or any other of the higher ups would know what to do with it and most of the alchemists, to his knowledge, were loyal to the Elrics anyways.
Ed raised his ring finger upwards "And three, when all this is done and we win, Alphonse and I get to dispose of the stone afterwards. This will be the one and only time we use it; you, the regiment, the military, walled or the whole of humanity doesn't get to keep it locked away somewhere 'just in case,' we'll use it to fix this situation and then no one will even see it again."
"That's understandable." Erwin said though he wondered if that measure was very cautious from Edward.
Perhaps it speaks to how powerful such a thing is that the two would destroy it than risk it falling into the wrong hands.
Suddenly there was more static over the radio, quickly snatching the attention of everyone in the room "Hello?" someone on the other end called out "This is an emergency, please respond".
Erwin quickly sat down and placed the microphone to his mouth "This is commander Erwin of the Scout regiment."
"Thank God, commander we don't have much time." The person on the other end spoke "Eren Yeager has escaped from his prison." He stated, even with the static the wobble in their voice was easy to hear "I say again, Eren Yeager has escaped from his cell, he and other have escaped!"
Eren walked forward, slowly and calming rising up the path on the mound. The morning breeze how caressing his skin, a chill gliding across his hairs as his feet pressed on the dirt and sand that formed the walkway up.
As he reached the summit he found his allies; Floch and his supporters all waiting for him armed with the Amerstrian rifles that both Ed and Alphonse had helped make, now in the hands of the people they would want to stop.
This is what they feared… they feared something like this… He thought to himself People killing people, weapons they created used against us… and possibly them….
As he looked around at the faces of his followers, all staring back at him with a mix of admiration and worship, he stopped a lone person on their knees with a blooded face staring at the ground. He approached the individual, their features becoming more familiar as he walked to them.
"Wim." Eren said as he stopped in front of him.
"Please… forgive me…" Wim muttered softly.
"What happened?" Eren asked. "Why-"
"Tell him what you told us." Floch ordered him as he looked down at Wim, narrowing his eyes as he pointed his rifle at his head.
"Tell me what?" Eren asked "What happened?" he looked back a forth to Floch and Wim.
"If you won't tell him then I will." Floch told him, his voice stern with an underlying threat.
"Eren… I…. I was interrogated by Edward Elric and Squad Leader Hange." Wim confessed.
Eren tensed up immediately "What did you tell them?" he questioned.
"They- Hange beat me, they threatened to use tools on me but I tried to remain strong I swear." Wim said, avoiding the question "It was Edward, he threaten to take my soul from my body-"
"And you believed he could and would do something like that?" Eren questioned him, in his mind he knew he couldn't imagine Edward being so cruel but knew he Edward was not above bluffing a threat.
If only you knew him Like I do…
"What did you tell them?" Eren asked calmly.
"I only told them about Zeke's plan." Wim confessed "Zeke's plan to euthanize Eldians using the founding titan, I didn't tell them what we had planned, I swear."
"You had told them enough." Floch told him before then squeezing the trigger of the rifle, shooting Wim in the head as a loud bang echoed across the open plains. Floch then turned back to Eren who still watched Wim's body lying on the floor. "If they know about Zeke's plan then they should be able to figure out that we aren't on board with it."
"My friends know me well…" Eren commented "They'll start digging once they find out."
"If they find out, then they'll attempt to drive a wedge between us and the volunteers." Floch speculated "Divide and conquer."
"A strategy that Erwin would no doubt devise." Eren commented.
Floch groaned "More bad news; some of our comrades had intercepted the radio conversation between Pixis and Erwin."
"Then we have no time to waste." Eren interrupted "Before any of the commanders or Ed and Alphonse makes their move."
"Those traitors serve as puppets to the Elrics, if they know of our plans then we should cut the head off the snakes " Floch spat "We follow you." a person walked up behind Floch and presented Eren with a black coat, handing it to him. "Our attack has already begun; across the walls more of our comrades will have taken up arms and both civilians and soldiers will come to our cause, to your cause."
Eren places on the jacket "You're the one who will save the Eldian Empire."
Alphonse held tightly to Mina's hand as the approached the double doors to the large hall of the government building. It had been a non-stop journey to the district with little time to prepare and even smaller time to rest. As they passed through they were greeted to the faces of their friends Jean, Armin, Mikasa, Connie, Sasha and Marlowe, his brother and other squad leaders.
"Alphonse, Mina!" Connie exclaimed with a wide smile on his face. The two practically ran towards them both then embracing each other, formality be damned. Alphonse quickly hugged both Armin and then Mikasa before then turning his attention towards Ed who tentatively embraced and held him.
"Alphonse, is Emmanuel safe?" Ed asked as he pulled back from the hug.
"He's fine, he's with his grandparents." Alphonse told him. Edward nodded his head "What happened?"
"Looks like we're in the middle of a coup" Ed commented as he looked out the window.
To their side were the officers of the Military police and Nile who chatted among themselves as they waited for the other officers of the garrison, Pixis and Commander Erwin.
"The whole walls look to have gone to hell." Jean commented "Did you guys see anything?"
"We heard some explosions in the district and then we saw people rioting across the streets with garrison and MPs trying to contain them." Alphonse explained.
"It's like a group of people just starting attacking all of a sudden." Mina added "It looks worse than the revolution."
"It is worse than the revolution." Ed said "Commander Erwin had a radio talk with Pixis before we came here; looks like it's a joint attack, some districts and towns are holding out but… others are possibly in the hands of armed militias of either Eren's supporters or… ours…"
Alphonse clutched at his chest as Edward finished, a growing pain emanating in his body; the thought of people armed with weapons harming or even possibly killing people in their name, in his name.
Our very own Liore with us as Father Cornello…
Alphonse clenched his fist, he thought back to that day when he and Edward had lied about who they were and the idea of them being anything 'Divine.'
It was what they had feared and now those fears were becoming realised.
"The Premier!" came a call which gripped everyone's attention; quickly they fell back in formation and waited as Pixis entered the room alongside Erwin.
"Please soldier, don't call me that." Pixis said.
"You are now the highest ranking military figure." Erwin replied. "The title falls to you."
Pixis made a face as if saying 'You got me there' "Everyone here?" he asked the room, looking around at the faces of those in attendance; fellow commanders, squad leaders and even the Hizuru delegation. "You all know the situation at hand."
"Recent news have already reached us from the other districts across the walls; an coordinated uprising has occurred all across the country, as of now the southern outer districts of Shiganshina and Quinta are effectively under the control of those supporters of Eren Yeager with no word on Hermina and the only the lone district of Holst meaning our rail connection to the port still under our control, however it is hanging on a thread."
"The entire south of Maria with its towns, villages and forts, are to be assumed to be under their control as well, mass desertions have been reported among both the garrison and the scout regiment." Pixis continued. Alphonse looked to Erwin, still that same stony reaction on the surface yet… even he could notice the tightness of his lip at that. "And thanks to the work of Hange Zoe and Edward Elric, we've learnt that the goal of Zeke Yeager and his volunteers is to use the founding titan to euthanize the Eldian people."
Commotion erupted in the room; Alphonse's own breath was caught in his throat at the thought as the people around them argued.
There's no way Eren could support something like that… Alphonse thought
"He's a traitor!"
"We have to kill Zeke!" another yelled "We don't have enough time to transfer his titan."
"Eren is a traitor to his people!"
"Eren wouldn't support something like this." Mikasa spoke out catching the attention of the room. "We've known him for years; Eren would never do anything to harm us."
"Mikasa is right, Eren is very set in his ways and what he believes in is entirely opposite to this." Jean added.
"Even if that is the case, Eren Yeager and his supporters are almost certainly working in tandem with Zeke and his volunteers, getting the two in close proximity with each other would be their objective." Pixis stated.
"However it appears that the supporters of Eren Yeager or 'Yeagerists' and the anti-Marley volunteers are not the only forces we have to contend with, an large group of people whom we've known for sometime called 'Heaven's followers', devote followers of the Elric brothers, have begun to arm themselves with weapons. Though thankfully they have not taken a similar amount of territory as the Yeagerists, they still have a strong presence in the districts and towns."
Alphonse could feel the eyes of some in the room looking at him and Edward, his own eyes shifted to Edward who looked back at the military officials around them, anger flickering in them as if to say 'YOU DID THIS, NOT US!" a soft sigh from his nose, a substitute for a angered cry.
"However despite all this, we still maintain a grip over the areas of Sina and its districts and protests across wall rose have been halted." Pixis stated "There is still more pressing issues however beyond all this; Squad leader Hange has discovered that the wine transported and served to us by the Marley soldiers some four years ago to now have been contaminated with Zeke Yeager's spinal fluid."
There was a collective gasp around the room as an existential fear grabbed hold of everyone in the room and looked at each other. "Settle down." Pixis ordered "Yes its frightening news to hear, I'm aware that most of us in this room has drank some of their wine at one point or another."
"I didn't." Connie whispered behind Alphonse before then being elbowed in the ribs by Jean. Alphonse would laugh if there wasn't a intense pressing matter on his mind.
"If word gets out about that then our entire military will be crippled." One of the officials stated.
"All regiments except the scouts would be decimated." Erwin clarified "To my knowledge few to none of my officers or soldiers have consumed the wine."
"That's very convenient, considering the vanguard of the yeagerists uprising is made of the scouts." the official shot back "It is because of your lack of control that we are here." The squad leaders in attendance all stepped forward
"The betrayal of my soldiers is regrettable; I will take responsibility for it." Erwin stated "However it should be said that the handling of Eren Yeager when compared to the titan held under the scout regiment is regrettable too; we have held both the Warhammer and cart titans and extracted information from them, why have the other branches of the military failed to do so with Eren?" Erwin stepped forward "And why had Eren and his supporters chosen now?"
"There were plans to have the founding titan transferred to another soldier after if desertion from the army." Nil had confessed.
"And you failed to consult the scout regiment or I about this?" Erwin questioned. "Eren Yeager was a member of the scout regiment."
"He stopped being a soldier the day he deserted from-" another official argued before Pixis quickly interjected.
"Enough." Pixis ordered "Whats done is done and what was planned is useless, the only thing that matters now is how we can respond to this."
"The scout regiment is ready to act where it's needed." Erwin stated.
"Even if we left operations to the scout regiment we simply can't trust that any more of its forces will either defect and nor does it have the manpower to tackle multiple issues." Nil observed. "It would be safe to assume that while the higher ups of the garrison and MPs have drunk the wine, the newer recruits are less likely."
"Do you propose using recruits and lower ranking soldiers to take back control?" Rico spoke up this time. "Against a force of our former comrades and zealots? That will only end badly."
"We still outnumber them and the majority of those supporters will be civilians who may have only held a gun a few days ago." Nil argued. "The enemy has only taken this much because of the initial confusion."
"Even if we retake all of southern Maria, we will have at least regained some control." Another MP argued. "The other option is surrendering control over to them or those cultists."
"The idea of fighting our own comrades, our own people, sickens me, hundreds maybe thousands will be dead after this is all over." Pixis said "But if they find out that we know their secret weapon against us, to delay will give them more time to strike… knowing what we know, there can't be a negotiation with them." Pixis looked to the ground and grimaced before then looking up to those in the room "Gather what forces we are confident haven't drank the wine and prepare to sweep through the south." He ordered "Secure the Queen, they'll want a possible replacement Zeke should he be lost."
"Yes Premier!" was the replied call as the officers of the garrison and MP quickly began to scramble.
Pixis then turned to Erwin "Erwin, we need to protect the Warhammer titan, if they get their hands on it then there's no knowing what they'll do."
"The titan is safe in our hands." Erwin replied "The scouts guarding her are old veterans whose allegiance is beyond question."
"I'm sure you mean well dear boy, but you need to face the fact that even with your reintroduced soldiers you're spread thin, dangerously I may add." Pixis countered "And if they know about it then they'll attack the compound or hideaway she's in."
Erwin stayed quiet for a couple seconds staring at Pixis as if hoping to silently convey to him 'I'm not going to budge on this.' "Fine" Erwin conceded "But Captain Rico has to be the one to lead the garrison platoon." He then looked to Mina "And Lance corporal Carolina will accompany her."
Pixis looked towards Rico "Easier to trust a comrade in arms." He commented. "Captain Rico, gather your men."
"Yes, comman- Premier." Rico replied as she saluted.
"Please, Rico, it's far too early for me to take up that mantle yet." Pixis responded.
"Mina, ready some equipment and a horse, you'll leave with Captain Rico." Erwin ordered.
"Yes, Commander." Mina said saluting.
"I'm sure you have your own plans, Erwin." Pixis said "I wish you well."
"Pixis, what are you going to do?" Erwin asked.
"I have an offensive to plan and district to retake from rebels." Pixis replied "It would be easier to leave all that up to the subordinates but duty calls." Pixis saluted the scout regiment who saluted back to him as he and the other officers walked out of the hall.
Alphonse walked up to Erwin "Commander, if the Yeagerists do have control over southern Maria then… then my students who live there, their families are in danger." He told him "If they are captured then they might be forced to use their alchemy against us… or worse, if my students stick to their teachings then… they may be marked for death." He thought back to the visceral reaction of others against his students, those who lauded Eren and deemed both he and Ed as snakes against Eldia.
They would see my students as the same.
The fear began to grip his heart at the thought of the young alchemists being dragged from their homes by Yeagerists to an unknown fate.
"I understand, we cannot allow that to happen." Erwin agreed with him "If even rudimentary alchemy falls into the yeagerists hands then our battle for control will become even harder." He then turned to Nanaba "Nanaba, your squad will need to infiltrate the occupied areas." He turned back to Alphonse "Alphonse, do you have a list of name and addresses?"
"Yes, commander." Alphonse "My office should have a full list."
"Good, there's still the issue of the philosopher stone." Erwin then told them. Alphonse breath was suddenly straggled in his throat at the mere mention of the stone; he turned his head towards Edward who looked back at Erwin with a calm expression on his face.
They agreed to it...
"I agreed to make a philosopher stone." Edward said simply "Under some conditions."
There must have been a hundred questions flowing through his head, all swirling with a hollowing sense of disappointment.
"What was agreed upon?" Alphonse asked.
"I make the stone but we get to use it, any information surrounding it is destroyed and we get to destroy it after all is said and done." Ed told him.
"Wait what are you guys talking about?" Sasha asked "What stone and why is it so important?"
"The philosopher stone, its the ultimate alchemic modifier." Hange explained "Gives its user the ability to transmute anything from thin air."
"Well if you had something like that then why wait now to make something like that?" Marlowe questioned "All those fights... Shiganshina... that could have helped."
"Because to make a stone, you need human souls." Ed said simply "And you need to sacrifice dozens of people to make one." The noise among the group fell silence, along with their expressions.
"Wait… human souls?" Jean asked "What the hell kind of weapon requires human souls?"
"You guys can't seriously consider using human sacrifices to make something right?" Connie added. "It's not right."
"We wouldn't use humans… we'll use Titans" Armin spoke up this time; Alphonse looked towards Armin who stared at the floor looking almost ashamed by something.
"They're still people..." Alphonse argued.
Armin looked back towards Alphonse "Alphonse, there is no other way to win this. I thought... we had agreed to this."
Alphonse sighed low and long, in truth he hoped that Ed would shoot Armin's proposal down, yet instead he had been pulled into it too.
"I still can't believe you've done this, went behind our backs on this." Alphonse said.
"I didn't do anything behind anyone's back." Armin argued back "If this never happens then the titans stay in the cage and we continue to experiment on them. But if this still happened and we didn't have a back-up plan, we'd all be staring down the barrel of a Marley or Amerstrian rifle."
Alphonse sighed and turned away "You betrayed me." He said, hurt aching in his voice.
"I am sorry." Armin replied.
"You did what's right." Mikasa said, placing a hand on Armin's shoulder.
Hange stepped forward "I can understand how you're feeling, how you're both feeling." he said looking to both Edward and Alphonse "But right now we could use every advantage we can get our hands on."
"Wait wait, if you're going to use titans then… then please don't use my mother." Connie pleaded to them, speaking up "She's in the cage too, just take her out of it."
Alphonse watched a pleading Connie and wanted nothing more that to tell him, all of them, that making the philosopher stone was out of the question.
"We won't, Connie." Ed replied "I'll move her aside from the rest."
"Moblit, take your squad and escort Edward to the titan pit." Erwin ordered. "I'll radio in the garrison in the pen, tell them you will be eliminating the titans inside."
Moblit saluted "Yes, commander."
"Hange, take your squad and join up with Levi and the others." Erwin commanded
"I'll be sure to give Levi your best when I see him." Hange replied.
"Jean, I need your team to investigate the poisoned Marley wine." Erwin said "Do you know where there might be a large storage of the wine?"
The group pondered on the question for a few seconds before the colour drained from Sasha's face "Nico…" she muttered, just loud enough for the others to hear.
"Nico has a restaurant in Trost; it's the biggest employer of Marley POWs." Jean added. "If… he anyone knew anything about the wine then… he might do."
"He couldn't he wouldn't betray me- us he wouldn't betray us, he's been an ally to us for years." Sasha came to Nico's defence.
"We should still look." Marlowe spoke up. "Maybe it's why the scout regiment hadn't been given the wine all these years."
"Start with the restaurant in Trost." Erwin said. "Alphonse, you go with them, we'll join up back at the Cart titan's prison. Everyone, try to keep in radio contact whenever you can. If we don't hear back from you then a rescue team will be sent."
Alphonse and the others saluted him; he then looked to Edward who looked back at him with sad eyes. For a second he wondered whatever happened to the person he knew; the hot headed alchemist who wouldn't compromise his beliefs and was determined to find a way.
Now he was willing to bend so long as it kept close to what he believed.
Was I the reason you've changed now?
The others were close to walking out of the door "Jean, Alphonse, and Marlowe." Erwin called out "Stay here for a second; I need to speak with you three." As the rest stepped out of the room, the three walked back towards Erwin.
"What is it, commander?" Marlowe asked.
"As you know, Heaven's followers are also in this conflict of ours." Erwin told them "They have already armed themselves with weapons and are now beginning to organise themselves.
Alphonse began to swallow as his mouth became dry; he knew what were coming, what Erwin was going to ask of them… and him.
"We know that there is a contingent of this group located in the Trost district, what they're planning we don't know. But there is only one thing we know, that they would listen to you." He said looking to Alphonse
"No… No I can't, either Ed or I cannot do that for you." Alphonse told him.
"Alphonse-"
"You're making us create a philosopher stone!" Alphonse exclaimed "The only reason we're doing that is because there doesn't seem to be any other option, now you want us to use people's belief in us? For what?"
Erwin studied Alphonse "I can't trust the men under my command." He confessed to them "One of my own soldiers made an attempt on my life… for years the scout regiment had been built on a common trust and strong bond among its comrades, each one of us would lay down our lives for each other or for the greater dream of humanity." Erwin paused and turned away from them "We now have comrades trying to stab each other in the back and no common dream."
"So you want an army of zealots?" Alphonse questions "Unquestioning soldiers for you to throw into this?" Alphonse stepped forward "What makes you think we'd agree to this?"
"I don't need Edward to agree to this; I know I've pushed him too far for the sake of creating this philosopher stone so it would be a foregone conclusion." Erwin said turning back to them "And knowing your brother's temperament to ask him that would only jeopardise the philosopher stone."
"Commander, if I may, Alphonse has a point." Jean spoke up "We can't be using them, they're just armed civilians after all, and a good chunk of the yeagerists are trained soldiers."
"I know…" Erwin "But we need the numbers, and if we have that then we'd at least give the yeagerists some hesitancy to act against us. And if combined with your alchemists and the reported power of this philosopher stone, the scales will have tipped in our favour which right now is enormously against us."
"Even if we accept that, why ask me?" Alphonse questioned.
"You're a captain now, an entire battalion of alchemists follows your command; if there's anyone who can lead them, and it's you." Erwin replied. "And if you don't lead them, then someone else will…using your and Edward's name."
Alphonse tighten his fist as he looked away from Erwin's gaze, he then remembered how the homunculi had impersonated Father Cornello to start their bloody conflict.
An unexploded bomb that was waiting to go off from someone with a match
"You don't have to ask them to die for you…" Erwin tried to reassure him "I know the toll it can take to not only have people's lives in your hands but sometimes decide the place for them to die." Erwin places a hand on Alphonse shoulder "Don't ask them to die for you but all of us can save the lives of people inside the walls and across the world."
Alphonse didn't answer, he only shook his head but even he knew he had conceded. "Do what you want, Commander, it never stopped you before." He moved away from Erwin and walked towards the door.
Home… I just want to go home…
In his mind he thought of Mina and Emmanuel lying on the grass….
I just want to go home…
The long ride was exhausting, long and horrible, it was made even more horrible with the events and the mission hanging over them all, they hardly spoke to each other with the exception of Jean who continued to give out orders and directions to the group as they made their way to Trost.
Marlowe looked around, the walls of Trost now coming up on the horizon and the garrison camps, trucks and soldiers building up, getting ready for the counterattack.
"The Garrison are faster than usual" Marlowe commented.
"Isn't that a good sign?" Connie asked "If they managed to get ready for this the big attack then there's less time for the Yeagerists to fight back, right?"
"It also means they're in a rush, they'll want to attack as soon as possible." Jean said this time "And if the defections are anything to by, then the Yeagerists will already know it's just a matter of preparation on both sides."
"That doesn't sound good." Sasha commented "It's like a wounded animal that going to lash out." This gave everyone pause for thought.
"We don't have time, it's either now or never for the military." Jean said "And if they fail then…" he didn't finish his sentence. "We're coming up at the gate." He said as they passed through the town surrounding the district entrance.
Even the district was filled with garrison soldiers, as they passed through the tunnel; rows of troops armed to the teeth but Marlowe could see, even in the darkness of the tunnel all the newish attitudes, the nervousness and the…fear.
The silence of them walking along as the impending attack came; it reminded him of his own anxieties before the expedition.
We were fighting titans then not each other….
Marlowe kept his eyes open as he scanned his surroundings; as the citizens of Trost went about their day normally and the garrison troops began to head out of the district and back into Rose. He noticed how others would watch them. Just a passing glance at them or a few second stare, as if not the so much get their attention but just keep an eye on them.
Marlowe rode up to Jean and tapped him on the shoulder, Jean turned his head and Marlowe nodded before he then broke off from the group and towards a separate narrower street. Away from the crowds and the normal life the people along this road were quieter; some just walking with their belongings in hand, some reading the papers. But still the eyes remained; perhaps more eyes were on him now as he looked around at the alleyways as if expecting people just waiting to ambush him.
But one thing that stuck out in his mind as he continued to look around.
There isn't a garrison or military soldier in sight.
He then spotted a nearby stable, getting off the horse he lead it towards it before then handing the reins over to the handler and handling him some money.
He then walked off down the streets and into a narrow alleyway, his hand on the handgun by his side.
He wondered to himself how he was going to go about trying to find the zealots who Erwin argued they needed much to the apprehension of both he and Jean and the disgust of Alphonse. Just as he exited the alleyway, and into a small section of the warehouses, a horribly familiar clicking sound went off next to him. He turned his head to see a young woman armed with a Marley rifle pointing it at his head.
He held his breath as he moved his hands very slowly from the handgun and into the air.
"You're with the scout regiment?" the woman asked.
Marlowe nodded his head.
"Why you here, thought only the garrison and MPs are were stationed here and none of them ever come down here." She told him, before moving in front of him, the rifle still pointed at his head "For good reason."
"I'm looking for the Heaven's followers." Marlowe said as confidently as he could when facing the barrel of a gun.
"Hunting us?" the woman questioned.
"No… I'm just a messenger." He replied "For the commander."
"Commander Erwin has a message for us?" the woman asked "Hm, hand over your gun." Marlowe slowly reached down with one hand to the handgun and gripped it "Now drop it to the ground." He then dropped the gun to a loud clatter. He looked around and then began to see others, like bugs coming out of the woodworks, armed with weapons. "Slide it over to me with your foot and don't try anything, it's not just me pointing a gun at you."
Marlowe complied as he pushed the gun over to her with his foot. "Now, step forward." He began to move forward as the woman moved a few steps back. That when he noticed the sound of footsteps behind him, before he could turn around two people grab his arms and forced it behind his back.
"Wait wait!" he pleaded "I just wanted to talk!" he tried to struggle but was pushed to the ground, his arms being tied up.
"You'll talk, just can't have you snitching where we're hiding out." The woman said before a bag was placed over his head.
As the team reaches the entrance of the restaurant, they climb down from their horses and place them into the nearby stable.
"Looks like there's already a visitor here" Sasha commented as she spotted another lone horse in a stall.
"Think it might be a officer or an errant boy getting more wine for the higher ups?" Connie said as the others led their horses to the stalls and quickly fed their horses.
Sasha walked up to the horse; quickly a feeling of familiarity came over her as she gently brushed her hand against its neck. The horse then nestled its nose into the palm of her hand.
"What is it Sasha?" Mikasa asked as she walked up to her.
"This… this is my father's horse." Sasha said.
"Your father's horse?" Jean asked. "How would you know that?"
"Doesn't your father groom horses? Maybe he sold them to someone whose here." Connie suggested.
"The military has been moving away from using horses since the trains and trucks were added to the ranks." Armin then mentioned, he glanced over to Alphonse who had his back turned to the group, still very quiet as he was during almost the entire journey.
Sasha nodded her head "Most of those who buy horses now are either poorer farmers or rich folks." She said.
"A rich conservative officer then." Jean said "C'mon, we still have to investigate the wine." The team then quickly walked up to the entrance of the restaurant, climbing up its small steps before Jean then knocks on the door.
Jean knocks on the door, the door opens as Nico walks out of the doorway. "Oh- guys." He says perplexed by their arrival, he turn his head to Sasha "Sasha." He says with a wry smile on his face.
Sasha walks up to him and wraps her arms around his neck before then planting a brief kiss on his lips "Hey Nico." She says.
"Oh ah…" Nico murmured "Sasha- your- your father is-" they all peered behind him to see Sasha's father looking at them with a innocent expression on his face.
"Mr Blouse." Armin said.
Sasha slipped her hands down from Nico's neck hesitantly before then grabbing his hand.
"It uh, it's not what it looks like sir." Connie said "Sasha is just friendly with everyone-"
Sasha's father raises his hand up "Son I already know, word gets around and Sasha was never any good with keeping a secret from me." He approaches them "I heard what happened to your friend, Petra, I'm sorry for your loss and I don't doubt she'd be proud of each and every one of you."
"Thank you, Mr Blouse." Alphonse spoke up this time, yet he still seemed very guarded.
"Mr Blouse, why are you here?" Armin asked.
"I can ask you all the same question, I thought the only people here were garrison." He said "And by the looks of it, there are hundreds of garrison troops outside the district, you guys part of some large training exercise or something?"
The group were silent. "It's classified." Jean replied. "Why are you here?"
"Well I was looking for some kids really." He replied "Recently we took in some runaways who said they were escaping from a bad household; we let them stay with us and gave them some work to earn their keep. Then suddenly out of the blue we found some food taken from the pantry and two horses taken from the stables."
"You came to Trost to find two runaway children?" Mikasa asked curiously "Why Trost specifically?"
"That's the thing, when we found out about their disappearance, Kaya then fussed up when I explained they might be in danger, what with the whole thing going on with the armed groups running around, and said she gave them a map, said they were looking for a restaurant in Trost run by Nico here."
The group was puzzled by this.
Armin's eyes widen as he head shook "Two children, looking for Marley POWS?" he asked, almost stating it. There were only two children who would fit that description.
"What is it, Armin?" Mikasa asked, seeing his face turn pale.
The door then opened behind them, everyone turns their head towards it "Ben, Mia!" Sasha's father's almost exclaims "You're okay." He said with a look of relief on his face.
Something that couldn't be shared with the others in the room.
Sasha's hand slipped away from Nico's as she backed away a few steps from them, the others could only just watch them with mouth agape and body's stone still. A reaction that was shared by the Marleyan children who stood in front of them, completely surprised by their own appearance here.
"You…" Sasha muttered as her eyes focused on Gabi "It's… You…"
"You need to do your job as a state alchemist." Kimblee had told him with a smile on his face, thinking he had penned Edward into a corner.
"No." Ed replied to him as stubborn as always…
Whatever happened to that guy? Ed thought to himself.
"You do not go against orders or as for explanations, you just follow, that's what it means to be a soldier." Mustang had told them when he fooled everyone outside his inner circle about Maria Ross' death.
Ed was sure that Mustang would still have expected him to fall in line when ordered but knew the Fullmetal alchemist would do his own thing anyways even after everything they've been through.
So why am I following his orders…
His mind drifted to Erwin; like Mustang, Erwin had his own plans and ambitions, his own secrets and schemes. But Mustang was like Levi in one regard; they both tried to bend metal through sheer will power and remind him where they fit in their plans, explanations or arguments to the contrary be damned if action was what was needed.
But Erwin… he was all too happy to try and convince me that his decided course of action was the best and was even willing to include us in everything he did… He had our trust and walked the fine line between use and abuse.
Ed knew that to bend metal with strength alone there was maybe, just maybe, a chance at putting a dent into it.
The best way to bend metal was to leave it in fire.
And Erwin kept reminding them they were all in a forge as everything around them burned.
People use to try and shove us in a corner thinking we'd break; the commander just puts an arm around everyone and tells them they're already in the corner…
Ed then wondered how far Erwin would have gone if neither he nor Alphonse was there on that day, the battle of Shiganshina.
"We're approaching the Titan pen." Moblit called out, Ed looked ahead and was greeted to the tall metal fences that they quickly approached. Moblit then handed Ed a map, he quickly glanced at it to see it was a map of the pen.
"An underground section underneath the pen itself?" Ed asked. "How convenient."
"Armin helped design the facility" Moblit revealed "Said that if we need to hide anything, no one would expect it to be underneath the titan pen itself."
Of course he did.
Watch towers standing between the stretches of metal wires. As they approached the entrance Ed spotted the wooden spikes embedded into the ground on the other side of the fence pointing inwards with large harpoons mounted onto the watchtowers.
A cement pillbox sat just near the main entrance into the outer defences of the pen, a familiar looking machinegun's nozzle sticking out with a lone soldier manning the position.
As Moblit's squad reached the entrance, a garrison soldier raised his hand. "Moblit squad?" he asked.
"Yes." Moblit replied "Commander Erwin had radioed in our arrival."
"He did, told us you were going to get rid of the titans." The garrison solider replied. "My men and I are packing out, good riddance to them." He said. The gates of the outer fence opened up as Moblit squad and Ed were allowed to pass through and towards the holding pen itself.
The walls of the pen were large, possibly twenty meters high and reinforced with steel wires with four large towers connected to the four corners of the wall and a large crane attached to one.
From the outside he could hear the shuffling of the titans and the loud groans, the thumping of their bodies onto the walls and the scratching of their nails.
Ed stood up, gripping the handles of his ODM gear, before hopping lightly onto the saddle of his horse for just a second and firing off the hooks onto the wall and reeling himself upwards onto the battlements.
Looking inside he could now see them all; like people all crowed into a hall that simply couldn't comfortably fit them all, some lying on top of others, some pressed against each other in the corners of the walls, his eyes wondered around trying to find one specific titan until his eyes spotted the blonde hair and large head on a disproportionately body.
"Connie's mother…" he muttered. He turned his head to the garrison troops packing up their weapons and equipment. "Hey!" he called out to them, catching their attention. "I need you to pick up one titan and put it in a cage."
"Why?" He expected them to ask, instead they only looked at him and placed their fist over their chest "Sir!" they ran to the crane and manned it, the claws lowering down, the hand of the crane lowered to the ground as it scooped up the immobile titans… Connie's mother, her head dangling as the crane was raised and the slowly turned to the side outside the walls before falling into a empty cage.
Ed looked back to the other titans in the pen; there must have been over a hundred of them all ignorant of their fate.
I'm sorry… I just can't save you all…
Moblit squad and Ed waited until the garrison had been left, all the while Ed tried to formulate his plan for… drawing the needed transmutation circle, walking the battlements and watching the titans below.
"Corporal Edward." One of the scouts called out, he turned to meet them "Garrison troops have left, sir, can you get Moblit here; I need to speak with him." The scout saluted him before hopping off the walls. He needed only a few seconds to wait before Moblit appeared, jumping onto the wall and walking towards him.
"Everything alright?" Moblit asked.
"Yeah… Moblit… I need you to promise me something." Ed asked him "I'm going to draw the needed circle… but neither you nor your men can see it, Erwin promised me not a single person would be there to see it. Can you promise me that?"
Moblit looked perplexed for a second "Yes, I promise."
"Thank you." Ed replied with a tired smile "Have your men waited outside the fence; you'll know when it's done."
Ed then dropped off the walls, the gas of his ODM gear breaking his fall as he made his way towards the door of the underground section to the holding pen. As he opened the door, a staircase going down greeted him. There was a feeling of impending dread, and pain emanating from the door below as he made his way down.
As he opened the door he was greeted to the open space, just about one meter tall and as wide as the space within the four walls. He shut the door and began to walk towards the centre of the hall. Above him he could hear the sound of the titans' footsteps, he could hear them stomp at the ground, directly at the spot he'd be underneath them yet he knew how powerless they were cramped together like canned meat.
Yet the space underneath was just a confiding and cramped, he couldn't help but feel trapped.
He looked up to the ceiling above; he pressed his hands together and then touched the ceiling above. Blue sparks lit up the hall as a rumble echoed around, the large markings of a transmutation circle was etched into the ceiling above.
All the while he had his eyes shut, remembering the design of it; every mark, symbol and line.
"That's the research of the Devil…." Marco had told them all those years ago.
"Joy to suffering, Victory to battle, Life to the dead, for that is what the blood-red stone grants…" he murmured, the passages of an old people coming to the front of his mind. "Victory to battle…"
Why am I here again? Because I want to see them again… because I want to give back to everyone who had given Alphonse and I so much for us to be whole…
Because mom deserves to live, because our father deserves to live, because Winry's parents deserve to live… because Hughes deserves to live… because Nina deserves to live…
"I'm only stating a possibility." Mustang had told them when they first met "To live your life with hopelessness and a piece of armour for a brother… or to sell yourself to the military for the possibility that you can recover!"
For this moment, I will do as I am told once again and follow their orders…
But not for ourselves but with everyone else, from the start to the end.
When the rumbling stopped he opened his eyes, a familiar burning feeling in his heart and within his gut as he pressed his hand against in the centre of the transmutation circle.
The blue sparks were now replaced with blood red as they flickered and danced along the lines of the circle before the red sparks formed into red lightening and the sound of the stomps above gave away to deep cries of pain from the titans above until all at once.
It stopped.
Ed lowered his hand and jogged towards the door, running up the stairs and back outside. He looked towards the pen and was met with a colossus of smoke from the inside of it. The air was thick with smoke.
The pattering and then stomping of running feet caught his attention as he turned to see Moblit and his squad running towards him.
"Edward… what was that." Nifa asked.
Ed didn't answer "Set charges around ground when it's clear, nothing can remain here." They all looked at him confused "I'm not asking."
He grabbed the handle of his ODM gear and fired it towards the top of the battlement, pulling himself up. As he climbed onto the wall he waited for a few more seconds for the smoke to clear, the now disappearing ashes of the titans fluttering into the sky like burning embers. He dropped down onto the floor of the pen and walked towards the center.
He couldn't see it but he knew it was there.
Waiting for him.
Then he spotted it, its bright red flash as the light hit it; lying on the grass, the most dangerous and horrid weapons known to any alchemist who was cursed to know of it looked harmless on the ground.
He reached down and picked it up, holding it between his fingers, the blood-red stone which now contained the lives of more than over a hundred titans… over a hundred people.
"Edward!" Moblit called out as he jogged towards him, he stopped on in his tracks as he spotted what Edward was holding. "Is… is that it?" he asked timidly.
"Yeah… this is it, the Philosopher stone."
Hello everyone,
Yes it has been a long while, without saying too much there was something else occupying my mind and emotionally I've been feeling exhausted and drained. Also making various changes here and there didn't help but I'm hoping to stick to it and keep going, not long left.