Chapter 66: Seeking Salvation
One year ago
The location of dark and drowsy, a line of dimly powered street lamps was the only illumination, the air was damp after the heavy rain and the streets were silent and cold. A once crowded and vibrant area was… almost dead and deserted save for the single individuals who would quickly move through shiftily. Eren kept an eye on each person, wondering if they were part of the meeting for tonight; the invitees wanting to arrive under the cover of darkness and sworn to secrecy.
All the while a crushing sense of inevitability had weighted on Eren… in his mind he knew that this was the day, the day he'd decide to go on his own; when he and those close to him would diverge onto different paths yet… he did not know yet what would push him over that edge. A sick feeling of dread and anticipation awaited him.
"Hey." Came a voice from behind him, a hand gripped tapped his side grabbing his attention, he turned to see Ed next to him; dressed in the formal clothes and his black eye patch. "You see anything?" he asked.
"No, this section is clear." Eren said, he looked Edward, the dark and damp alleyway that led to an old building greeted him, where they were holding their secret meeting with the Association, the loyal ally to their cause for freedom and respect.
Erwin's quest for freedom…
Why can't I just follow them? It would be so much easier to just follow Erwin's plans…
No going back…
But what will I see? Why must I go down the path….
Visions of the past lives of the holders before him began to seep into his mind, like a reminding whip against his brain whenever he started to stray from the path; Kruger's family being burned alive, the thousands of Eldians tortured and transformed into titans, Faye eaten by dogs and the sacrifice of the restorationists.
And the future memories, of things to come; the rising flags of Paradis and Elda over the cities of Marley, Eldians and their allies now free and their enemies completely crushed and forced to submit to their power as internment zones were liberated and the oppressed took power.
They would be safe…. But… he thought of the people of Marley, of the Mid-East and of the nations who would oppose them they… do they deserve this… to have their freedom taken away?
"Oi, you two." Called another voice silently, snapping Eren out of his thoughts, it was Captain Levi "Get your asses into the hall, Erwin's speech is about to begin and you need to sweet talk the delegates."
"Not looking to help butter up the delegates?" Ed said teasingly.
"The only thing I like to butter is bread, I leave the dirty talk to you and the commander." Levi replied, the two began to walk towards the building door as two scouts dressed in normal Marley clothes stepped outside to guard the entrance.
The inside hallway was dark, the smell of rust and metal lingered in the air as they made their way to the larger hall of the warehouse, a bright light and chatter guiding them towards it. Inside the hall was a stage at the centre as the delegates for the chatted among themselves and with the other scout officers and Erwin.
"Well I guess it's time to mingle." Edward said shrugging his shoulders, as he walked around to get quickly caught by one of the delegates and talked to.
Eren watched for a few seconds before then walking into the crowd of people. All of them would either be dead in the coming conflict… or among the victors of the new order to come, the inheritors of an Eldian empire born from the ruins.
This whole city… is going to be ruins because of me… would… they… they don't all deserve something like that…
"Mr Yeager!" Came a call which caught his attention, he turned around to see two delegates from the society approach him, a familiar looking gentleman being one of them; one of the first few who came to the island. "Mr Yeager, it is a honour to meet you." They shook his hand.
"Of course and you too." Eren replied.
"We were just speaking with the other officers and representatives of the Paradis government." Said the delegate he hadn't met before. "The commanders plans to form a coalition to guard tree security and leverage is something we are most excited about." There was an almost childlike excitement.
Would you look at me the same way if you knew what I would do?
The other delegate gave him a cool, calm but also knowing look.
Like birds of a feather, flock together.
"Mr Yeager, I'm sure whatever is planned will be to the benefit of Eldians all around the world." He said "Maybe perhaps we will get more than just respect."
The other delegate looked at his colleague slightly shocked "come now, we must not get a head of ourselves, while we must seek protection we mustn't forget our place in this world and provoke those across the world."
"But those who would kill us don't need another reason, they already hate us enough to kill us Eren wanted to say; the image of his aunt Faye lying of the ground as dogs tore her to pieces, the smell of burning flesh as Kruger's family burned… and the memory of the titans destroying his home as Reiner and Bertholdt let them through.
"The world is changing, when there was once the Eldian empire, there is now Marley and other nations squabbling for power and resources." The other delegated argued back "We must be prepared to seize the opportunity should it arise, to break free of the interment zones we had lived in for generations."
The other delegate lightly shook their head at the notion how limited their idea of a better world is but is mine really that better? The delegates continued to bicker amongst each other "Mr Yeager, what do you how to achieve?" Said the delegate whom he had met those years ago.
I want what was denied to me
I want justice for my family
I want vengeance for my comrades
I want to destroy this vision of the first king
I want to see the world brought to its knees
I want my freedom
I want the people I love to be safe and to inherit this world when I'm gone
I want to make them all pay for what they're done and what they want to do
He honestly didn't know which voice was his or which was the desires of the other inheritors, of Kruger's or even his father… but he knew he wanted them all, they kept pushing him to do it all… and they weren't going to let it go.
"I want… to protect my friends and family" Eren said "And to help the people of Ymir to live freely." It was a diplomatic answer but yet in his heart he felt that what he spoke was what he did want.
I want them to all grow old even if it's without me…even… even Mikasa, they should be allowed to go on without fear.
But I don't think this world will allow it…
"A noble goal." The new delegate said "Though I don't think the reality of this world would allow such a thing but to ensure our own survival would be enough."
Just survive? How low are the expectations of Eldians around the world?
"Whatever the future holds…" Eren began to say "I'm sure our people will survive, we'll go on to live for generations." The delegates nodded their heads at that sentiment.
There was an echo of steps climbing onto the platform on the centre "Hello everyone" Erwin called out getting their attention as the room quickly fell silent "Thank you for coming here, it has pleased me greatly that the scout regiments first journey beyond the ocean has been a fruitful one"
Those in the room voiced their agreement.
"Three years ago, I had led a joint expedition to retake one of the walls after its fall to the titans some five years prior." Erwin started "Many of the scouts here know well the battle that had occurred, veterans of the conflict." He said looking around the room "All those years ago we believed we were the last of humanity against a horde of titans, we sought to carry the hope of humanity beyond our narrow world. Now I look upon those familiar faces and see new ones; the world turned out to be much larger than we thought and it's challenges greater than we expected."
"The fate of Paradis and the fate of the people of Ymir is tied to the titans, our 'usefulness' in these wars being the only thing that separates us from genocide." Erwin continued.
Genocide… that's what faces us…
"And the loss of our own liberties, we found people like us put behind walls not so different from ours." Erwin said, voicing a frustration that seemed to be whispered in the room "perhaps one day all of our people can walk out of these cages as free men and women."
One day… it's always one day… a thought spoke in his head one day we'll be free, one day we'll all be safe, one day we'll just the justice we deserve…
"But now, our goal of seeing that there will still be a future for the people of Ymir is on the horizon" Erwin spoke, his voice rising in that familiar way he spoke to the scouts before. "With the aid of our allies and with the ever helpful Onyakopon." He said turning his hand and respectful pointing to him for a quick round of applause "The future of our people and those across the world would face the oppression of Marley or other empires across the world."
Wouldn't it be enough… just to know that everyone would be safe? He asked himself as if questioning the thoughts that argued with him
Eren began to almost drift away as Erwin continued to speak, his words becoming a bit muffled as the memories of the future began to rear its head back; a war spreading within the walls and then across the continent like an unstoppable fire, the armies of the world falling beneath the feet of the colossal titans and the forces of those they had once held power over, the flag of Paradis rising high among others as more nations surrendered.
The symbol of his work, his work would be that of a liberator and conquer.
And on a ruined battlefield, among the wreckage of a blimp, the fallen former comrades and Marley soldiers lay him.
Eren turned his head and saw Ed watching Erwin intently.
The feeling in the room became suffocating, he needed to get out. As calmly as he could he walked towards the door before then almost jogging out of the hallway and through the outside door where he rooms deep breath of the murky cold night air.
"What do I want?" He asked himself out loud, the cold stillness and distance sounds of the city answered back.
I know what I want a voice in his head answered back to him. He tried to dismiss it.
Justice… I want justice…
I just want them to be safe…
Where is it safer than the top of the world?
"Is it too late to turn back?" He asked himself, every fibre of his body called for his to find a way of this web he found himself in. To undo the work of his allies and followers and throw his support and belief to Erwin and his friends.
To be rid of the responsibility of the future.
He found himself on the street walking down it as the rain continued to drizzle down, the light from the street lights flickering across the ripples of raindrops hitting their reflection.
In the puddle he saw his own distorted image, rippling with each drip. His picture was unclear and unsure.
That's when he heard it, the sound of someone or people struggling. He froze for a second when the sound of children panicking caught his ears along with the cries and cheers of other people drowning them out.
He turned his head round the corner towards the Main Street to see what looked like a mob of people. He watched as more and more people began to join the mob or watch them like some sort of circus event.
Then he spotted it, past all the people, there were people of the ground, limp and maybe lifeless, as two children were squashed to the bodies.
Batons, sticks and even guns were in the hands of those surrounding them.
One person moved forward and raised their baton, one of the children then raised their arm up to stop them.
An Eldian armband wrapped around the upper arm catching Eren's eye before the baton struck the face of the child and sending them to the ground. He turned his head to see uniformed men walk along or watching the crowd.
"Think you can trick us!" One of the mob members yelled out as they kicked one of the children. "Think you can sneak into our homes!"
"Parasites!" Screamed another
"Devils!" Cried another
"Kill them!" Came a call.
"We didn't please!" The younger child cried out "Please it was just a mistake!" The small child didn't have an armband around them.
"It was a mistake… he had just forgotten it…"
He looked back at the officers… he realised that they knew what happened and was allowing it all to happen.
His eyes were fixated on the sight before him; horribly new yet disgusting familiar. He must have seen scenes like this hundreds of times in his memories yet… this was not a memory but the present.
He didn't know if it was him in control but he found himself walking toward the mob.
What am I going to do? He thought to himself Fight the mob and then help then escape? I can't use my titan…
But none of them matter because he stilled walked towards them.
He now so close to the mob, just a few more steps, he could now see the blood running down the heads of the Eldians being attacked as people surrounded them still armed with their weapons.
He saw his own arm reach out towards them, he wanted to pull them out of the fire…
Then he felt someone grab his arm and pull him back, Eren turned his head. "Ed…" he muttered.
"What are you doing?" Ed loudly whispered with a look of confusion as if to really say 'What the fuck are you thinking?'
"I…I…"
"C'mon before anyone notices." Ed said. But it was too late, another turned their heads to them.
"Hey!" They called out, Eren's blood ran cold and telling by the expression Ed's face, an icy chill no doubt ran through his. "Where are you going, you're gonna miss the good part!" They cheered. "Want a swing?"
There was a deep hitch in Eren's breath as he looked at the blood stained bat in front of them. He felt Ed's grip over his arm tighten to an almost blood restricting hold.
"Sorry… but we've got to get going." Ed spoke. He turned to face the person and, even his face drops, like a mask slipping ever so slightly trying to hide the visible disgust at the sight of the beaten people in front of them. "We can't really, but we have work and business to sort out."
This hurts you too… you can't stand this happening…
The person sneered "Suit yourself, cowards" he taunted at them. But Ed waved them off as he continued to pull Eren away from the scene.
He then watched as the uniformed men then walked up to the mob calmly with their own weapons in hand. Eren turned his head away from the scene and back to Ed who keep looking away.
He wanted to tell Ed that they could take them, save those Eldians and make a quick getaway.
Instead whatever he was about to say had died on his lips as a gunshot rattled into the air. They both stopped and slowly turned back to see the uniformed men pointing their guns at the Eldians. The children crying… before the guns were pointed at them…
Faye…
Justice… I want justice…
Alphonse stood by the table of food and alcohol as he sipped on the drink in his hand and watched as his students chatted amongst each other, his first batch of graduates.
His mind wondered to the initial hundreds of cadets who had been selected by the military, and how the number had now been chopped into just twenty one alchemists.
Alchemists that I've had taught and who will go and teach others too.
Of course, there was always the sour taste in his mouth about what institution he worked for and the conditions in which he had agreed upon.
Should I have asked for more? No doubt the higher ups will want to have them shipped out as quickly as possible with the threat of Marley hanging over us.
He saw the happy faces of his students, their pride was also his and his joy was also his to share. And the feeling that their deaths would also one day be on him.
A waiter came up to him, carrying a tray of small foods. "Would you like some cakes, Mr Elric" he said "They're still hot."
Alphonse took one of the small cakes from the tray "Thank you" he said with a smile, the waiter bowing their head and moving along quickly as he ate it.
He then walked towards the crowds of families and their graduating children. There was an excited look on many of the parents faces when he greeted them as they eagerly shook his hand thanking them. He smirked to himself, their reactions almost a mirror image of their child's when they had first met him face to face sone time ago.
He looked around and saw the familiar faces of his friends and first students; Hange and Armin also chatting among the new graduates and attendees.
He felt a sorry for them; the graduation coinciding the scout regiments first expedition to the continent of Marley.
Alphonse couldn't have been more grateful for them; helping him in lecturing, mentoring and teaching the students to become alchemists, especially after the incident.
He walked closer to them, though not wanting to get their attention just yet, he overheard their conversation.
"I'm afraid I just can't share it with you." Armin said to a few of the students, a tired smile on his face "You can keep asking but the information is classified, I'm not gonna give out flame alchemy."
"Surely you'd need an apprentice?" One student asked.
"Sorry recruits, you heard the Lieutenant, that's for our eyes only." Hange interjected. The students huffed before taking their leave, Armin drank his drink quickly, as if needing it to get through the night. While Hange rubbed the back of her head and smiled.
His eyes then wondered to their dark green coats, once emblazon with the symbols of either the Garrison, MPs or the Scouts now had a new symbol; the symbol of the alchemist, one which Ed had worn for years painted onto his red coat.
What would you be thinking if you saw this? Alphonse thought Would you have been proud… or disgusted…
Alphonse then remembered the confrontation they had a while ago, the hardness of Ed's punches sending him a clear message.
I wonder what you're doing now…
A hand grabbing his shoulder shook him from his thoughts as he turned to face them "Premier." Alphonse greeted with a salute.
"Captain Elric, good to see you're doing well." Darius replied "You must be very proud of your students and in… sure your brother would be proud too if he was here.
A kind lie of course, Darius knew about the tension between the two; it's why he gave Erwin the go ahead to bring him to their delegation meeting in Marley.
"Yes I'm sure he would." Alphonse replied.
"Well I guess you have to give your speech soon enough." Darius said as he raised his glass and gently tapped a spoon to it, getting the attention of those in the room "Thank you everyone for attending today, it shouldn't be lost how historic this day is and will now doubt live in the memory of us but also the echoes of our futures." Darius turned to Alphonse "And we owe it to this man, Alphonse Elric, helping to train the first class of alchemists not just in this island but on this world of ours" a round of applause was given to Alphonse, he bowed his head slightly and thanked everyone "Now for a few words from the father of Paradisian alchemy." Darius moved over to the side, giving Alphonse the floor and the entire room's attention.
"Thank you, thank you everyone for coming." Alphonse told them "I know the journey here mustn't have been easy for many of you from villages, towns and districts across the walls." He thanked them, he was quiet for a second as he pondered over Darius' last comment.
The father of Paradisian alchemy
"And thank you, Premier Darius, for your kind words." He said looking to Darius "I… would like to make one correction though to your statement." He then looked out to the faces of everyone around him "I know the uncertain future that we all face, what's at stake and the responsibilities that I and the graduates will carry with us." He stated.
"But as I have taught many of my students, those who have graduated and those who are sadly not here, Alchemy be thou for the people and we alchemists serve the people." He looked at the faces of his students who nodded to his words in agreement "what we do and what we should do is serve the people, help them and do what we can to improve lives of as many people as we can."
"The heroism that I envisioned and I hope for my students and their own students is hopefully not found in a battlefield but using alchemy to help to build homes, bridges and connecting those who were disconnected." He stated, wanting to get his message across but being careful what words to pick "As my students know…my brother and I had learned alchemy because we had a hope to our mother and later a hope to repay the sacrifices on our journey… I hope one day alchemy is used as a instrument of future peace and shared with all of humanity, I hope they have the opportunity to travel across the world and inspire others to learn alchemy and help more people."
"I hope that the words 'Alchemy be thou for the people' means as many people as possible" Alphonse finished.
Darius raised his glass up "To a peaceful future" he said as everyone else raised theirs "and to our the first class of alchemists!" There was a joyful cheers as everyone drank their glasses of alcohol and continued with their conversations.
Armin and Hange quickly made their way to Alphonse and Darius, Alphonse turned his attention to his friends "How was it?" He asked them.
"It's was pretty good, though it did come off as a little preachy at some parts." Hange said "But you got your message across; the future of alchemy shouldn't just be warfare."
Alphonse looked at his cup, the contents of his drink gently circling around as he moved his hand "I don't want to be remembered like this…" he admitted "My father brought alchemy to the east on my world, he was known for medicine and healing… what will I be known for?" he asked them "Fighting? Killing? Teaching alchemy to be used as a weapon of destruction?"
"That's not true, Alphonse." Armin assured him.
"People will remember you and alchemy for more than just fighting." Hange added "The technology you and Ed-" the name stopped quickly, a wound not wanting to reopen "had made, it's improved the lives of everyone in the walls; living standards are up, people are safer and people are happier."
"It once took days to get from Shiganshina the port, thanks to the railway its less than a day." Armin added. Hange pointed to Armin as she drank from her cup.
"That, that too." Hange said.
"There's a whole world we didn't know about and we got here because alchemy." Armin said.
"And we're gonna use alchemy to protect ourselves from it." Alphonse said.
"Every advantage we can get to save ourselves and the people we love." Armin said.
"You're right, we will have to use alchemy if it comes to it, if Marley wants to go to war against us then we'll fight... and we'll win." Hange said "But the fighting doesn't last forever, one day we'll build roads and bridges all over the world with alchemy."
Yes… and with alchemy is will be easier to repair them when we have to destroy them to win….
Present day
The air was wet with the aftermath of the rain, the hooves of their horses digging into the mud as they made their way to the camp where Levi and the other scouts had kept Zeke Yeager.
Hange and her team rode their horses along the dirt path, a thin veil of trees to their side blocking out the sunset. Hange gripped the sling to her rifle tighter as she adjusted it on her shoulder, nervously she watched the treeline.
We're getting closer she thought the camp site should be maybe a couples miles or so away from here.
"Eyes peeled!" she ordered.
"How much further, squad leader?" one of her team mates asked.
Hange opened her mouth before only letting in a slighted breath No I can't say she said looking around them.
"Just keep following" she answered back. She took the rifle from her shoulder and held it in one hand while still holding the reins of her horse in the other.
The Yeagerists are said to be operating mainly in the southern side of Maria and Shiganshina… but what if they're here too? No, they wouldn't know where Zeke is… Hange turned her head back to her team, some of them were old veterans but others fresh faces to replace losses.
Can I even trust them?
Then in a flash, the very familiar sounds of zipping bullets passing near them snatched her attention, Hange turned her head towards the treeline once more as the bright flashes of light illuminated the bushes, more shots being fired at them.
"Ambush!" Hange yelled as pulled the reins of her horse, the animal standing on its hind legs as shots stuck its body. Hange quickly moved from her legs from the side as the horse and she fell to the ground. She quickly tried to stand up, looking to her troops who tried to fire back only to be slaughtered along with their horses. Hange peered over the corpse of her horse and tried to fire back at them, bullets striking at her cover or zipping just over her head as the cries of her injured soldiers rang out along with the gunshots.
The sound of fighting and struggling near her caught her attention, she took her eyes off the attack coming from the treeline to see her own men now fighting with each other as her team mates struck each other with rocks or with their rifles through the firefight.
They're going to die here… I'm going to die here unless…
She stood up, dropping her rifle on the ground "Stop!" she yelled out "Stop, we surrender!" she put her hands up. A million thoughts racing through her mind as she watched the Yeagerist forces approaching from the trees but none more clearing than one.
If only I could use alchemy without a transmutation circle…
"Tie up her hands." Came a command from one of the yeagerists, a hooded figure armed with a gun approached her and took her hands roughly before then shoving it behind her back as they began to tie her wrists together. She watched as the members of her squad who hadn't turned traitor were also captured along with her.
One of the yeagerists approached her again, lifting the hood which covered her young face, a scout who likely had joined the scouts from the last intake of graduates. Short blond hair on gentle features, an innocent face which hid dark intentions.
"Louise…" Hange said, recognising one of the yeagerists whom they had once imprisoned.
"Is this everyone?" she asked.
"This is everyone, no one else was with us." One of her former squad members replied.
"Squad leader Hange, you were a legend in the scout regiment, its sad to see you become a traitor." Louise accused.
"Traitor?" Hange replied, disgusted by the accusation "To who?"
"To your country, to your people, to walled humanity!" another accused her.
"My people? My country? I fought for humanity! To take back our homes and world from the titans!" Hange argued.
"And now you stand in the way of Eren and our mission to stop Marley." Louise retorted. "You fought for walled humanity and now you and the Elrics seek to appease those who would exterminate us." Louise looked her straight in the eyes "How our fallen comrades would have hated you and the other traitors for this."
It took every fibre of Hange body not to strike at her with her head "The regiment fights for all of humanity, it was founded for that purpose." Hange stated as calmly as possible "You don't know a damn thing about my comrades, because none of them would have been as single minded as you."
There was a tense pause before anyone spoke "You will take us to Zeke." Louise demanded "Or we will kill your squad members."
The rage in Hange quickly disappeared as she looked to her captured comrades in fear "You wouldn't." A Yeagerist soldier lifted their rifle to the face of her team mate "Wait!" she shouted before anything else could happen. Hange took a deep breath and looked to the ground "I'll take you to them."
"Good." Louise said, she turned to the others "Gather the weapons, supplies and the dead; leave little trace that we were here."
Marlowe felt a rough shove on his back as the followers of the Elric brothers led him somewhere he didn't know, the bag still tightly wrapped around his neck; he could hear the shuffling and walking steps of people around, the whispers of people speaking to each other and the commands of his captors.
A sense of dread and anticipation filled him, yet he didn't feel any fear; he knew he was valuable to them and loved by Alphonse and Edward, how would they feel if these "Heaven followers" killed him, their close friend and comrade in arms.
"Sit down." His captor commanded as them roughly shoved him into and placed his bound arms to the chair. A light source forming the silhouettes in front of him through the bag. He felt the fingers of his captors loosen the strings around his neck before they took it off his head.
His eyes adjusted to the bright light in front of him as the shadows turned to people armed with guns no doubt stolen from the army.
A gruff man stood in front of him and watched Marlowe with cold eyes "You said you had brought a message from Commander Erwin." The man said "What's the message?"
Marlowe breathed him "The situation in the walls is crumbling quickly and is becoming more and more tense, we have enemies outside the walls and inside… enemies who put us under their thumb or kill us all… and all of them want to kill the Elrics and destroy everything they've worked for."
The gruff man looked away from Marlowe as he walked around him "Do you know why everyone here wants to take up arms and fight for the Elric brothers?" the man asked him.
"Because you believe they are angels sent from God?" Marlowe replied unsure of his answer.
"There are many here who believe that." The man replied "Hard to argue that." He walked behind him and placed a firm hand on Marlowe's shoulder, Marlowe sat stiff, resisting the urge to flinch.
"Do you think we're crazy because we're willing to die for those two?" this time a familiar face revealed itself from the shadows, the woman who he had confronted in the alleyway before his capture.
In Marlowe's mind the answer was yes; Edward and Alphonse alchemy and their achievements was irrefutable but Marlowe had spent years with them, they were just people. Sometimes angry, sometimes happy, sometimes sad and sometimes cheerful. He had experienced victories, losses, dark and good times with them just like his other comrades.
"My father was dying of an illness, had it for years most of my life but now it looked like it was finally catching up with him." The woman said "It's alchemy that saved him when every other doctor we saw said nothing could work."
"I'm sure you had soldiers who will to die for them, commanded to die for them, no?" another voice from the shadows asked. Marlowe didn't say anything, the voice was right, soldiers were ordered to die for them or on their commands because walled humanity couldn't risk their loss. "Do you know why some of us are even here, alive and well?"
"Because of them" Marlowe said.
"All because of them." The man repeated. "They could have made a pretty penny doing all of it, God knows Flegel Reeves sits on a pile of gold from it. No, instead they asked that their cut of the profits go to the people, everything they do they did for the people." The man leaned down and stared into Marlowe's eyes "If you grew up starving in a hut because your crops wouldn't grow or freezing on the streets because it was either be warm or starve… then suddenly two brothers come along, maybe they are angels or maybe they're just people, who cares? But they showed us the answers to our problems, gave us what we needed and not ask for anything in return? How could anyone not be devote after all that?"
Marlowe was silent as he contemplated those words, the realisation of what he had said dawning on him.
"But many more just love those brothers because we'd be fucked without them." The man leaned forward. "Some of the people here were former soldiers who lost limbs to the titans." The man walked around to face Marlowe, removing a glove from his hand to show the metal hand underneath "Like mine." He then looked back to the shadows in the room "Others wouldn't even be alive without them; illness, winters, starvation and even shit water are almost a thing of the past."
"We know why you're here." Another voice among the shadows said "You're fucked, the scouts are fucked."
"He's right." The gruff man said "Words is that you have comrades running to join with Eren Yeager's army, isn't that what all the fuss going on? The government wants to take back control of Shiganshina. It won't work though."
"What?" Marlowe said.
"Some of us are field hands, when Eren's men began taking over farms they removed the people unless they were sure of their loyalty." The gruff man said "Before they left they saw them digging trenches and holes, putting up barricades, they're ready for you… you're fucked."
"The commander is desperate and needs bodies, isn't that right?" another voice from the shadows said.
Marlowe was silent, he had hoped to try to convince them without having to tell them how dire their situation was. "It's true." He admitted "I've lost comrades, people I've fought with and people I've commanded because they turned against us." He looked around at the shadows around the room "And yes, there will be an offensive soon enough to retake southern wall Maria and if what you're saying is true then we're going to lose." His tone became sterner as he continue to study those around him "And if we lose, if Eren Yeager succeeds and takes over the walls then everything Edward and Alphonse had given you will be taken away!" he declared "Everything they worked for gone! And the Elrics brothers too, they fight for commander Erwin and they don't support Eren or his followers; they'll fight till the end and if they lose, they'll be gone too and who is going to make sure that all their work is shared to you without their say?"
The room was silent as he spoke, listening to his declaration, he thought quickly and decided to make his move "I've been sent here by commander Erwin but it was with the approval of Alphonse Elric that we unite, to combine our forces against this coup and stop further people from being killed."
"And how do we know you're telling the truth?" the gruff man spoke "How do we know that Alphonse Elric really wants us to join with the scout regiment?"
"Alphonse is in Trost on an investigation, along my squad mates, I can bring you to him." Marlowe said.
"This sounds like a trap." The woman said "A meeting, in the middle of a massive build-up of soldiers?"
If you don't trust me then use me as protection." Marlowe replied "I'm their friend, I've known them for years, they wouldn't deliberately put me in harm's way."
The gruff man looks around the room to those both in the light and hiding in the shadows before then looking back to Marlowe and pulling out a knife, walking behind him and cutting the rope that held his arms.
"Lead the way."
The room fell silent, a tense stillness held everyone in place as Levi squad stared at the two small children in the room; they were all in disbelief, the two warrior candidates who had snuck onto the ship during their raid and the girl… the one who had murdered Petra now stood in front of them.
"Mia! Ben!" Sasha's father said, breaking the silence "I'm glad to see you're okay." He said as he walked up to them. Jean quickly blocked his path, moving in front of him and putting his hand upwards.
Both Gabi and Falco stepped back, Gabi looking over her shoulder as she contemplated making a run back to the horses.
"Don't!" Connie yelled at them "Don't move!" Gabi grabbed Falco's hand as she turned around, trying to make a break for the entrance when another hand grabbed her shoulder. Mikasa had grabbed her before she could run for it, gripping her tightly and holding her in place.
"Don't try it." Mikasa ordered, looming over the two candidates. Armin ran behind them and shut the door, blocking the entrance.
Despite it all, the tension never left them, the stillness still remained as if everyone was waiting for something to happen.
A metallic clicking sound shattered it.
All heads turned towards it as they watched Sasha raise the pistol at her side, staring blankly at the two children, the apprehension and shock on their faces soon replaced by fear and terror. "Its you…" Sasha said out loud, there wasn't a hint of emotion in her voice as she fixed the gun at Gabi. "It… you…"
"Sasha… put the gun down." Alphonse spoke up this time, his hand raised tentatively as he approached her, she turned to him, moving her body and pointing the gun at him for only a second but it was enough to stop him dead in his tracks and step back before she pointed the gun back at Gabi.
"It. Was. You" she repeated, venom now seeking through her voice "You… you killed Petra." Sasha stepped forward "She… she- she pushed me out of the way… if I only… if I only just-" Sasha stumbled over her words as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Sasha… put the gun down." Jean spoke out to her "We can forget all about this, just put it down." She tried to move towards her. Sasha glared daggers at Jean, a concentrated look on her face which told him 'I'll point this at you if you move any closer.'
"Petra… she was our squad leader, she was our family." Sasha said looking at Jean "She was always there for us, looking out for us… she died saving me…" she turned back to Gabi, her pistol still pointing at her "If only I had…" her words became caught in her throat "You were there, I saw you… I should have alerted the others… maybe I should have-" she inhaled deeply, not finishing her sentence yet the idea was clear. "Then Petra would still be alive."
Gabi, who had stood silently all the while suddenly exploded "You think I should be grateful because you spared me!" she yelled. "You think you're the only one who lost someone that day?" if not for Mikasa holding her in place, Gabi would have charged at Sasha, pistol in hand or not. "You destroyed my hometown, thousands are dead because of you devils! I lost friends and people I cared about that day too!"
Sasha stuck out her hand holding the gun as the blank look on her face turned to anger, everyone flinched for a second, thinking Sasha would pull the trigger "I don't care, I only ever killed soldiers!"
"And so did I!" Gabi yelled back. She then looked towards Nico who watched everything completely stunned "You're a Marley soldier, get the others, we can take them!"
Nico did not respond, only continued to watch stunned and perplex by Gabi's demand and the situation as a whole. "Sasha…" he finally said looking at her "This isn't you… don't do this, I know you…"
Sasha couldn't speak, instead her own words seemed to be choked in her throat, yet she still pointed the gun at them, she turned to him "Nico, please, back away…" she asked of him. As she turned back she then saw Alphonse standing in front of her, the gun pointing at him. "Alphonse. Move." She demanded.
Alphonse shook his head. "No." he said "I won't let you do this."
"They… she… she killed Petra…" Sasha said.
"I know…" Alphonse replied back, turning his head to glance at them "But they're just kids, kids who didn't know any better; we all cried for Petra after her death but she wouldn't want this, deep down even you know that."
"Sasha…" this time it was her father that spoke up "Sasha, put the gun down." She turned towards her father but unlike the others he didn't flinch when she stared him down "Just put the gun down, its okay, I understand."
"You… you can't." Sasha replied, almost muttering her response. "It's all my fault…"
"It's not, its not." He told her "You did the right thing at the time, you're not the kind of person who'd do that." He walked towards her and placed his hand over hers as she continued to point it towards them, slowly lowering it "Its okay, you don't have to, I know you don't want to." He had pushed her hand down, the gun down pointing the floor before she dropped it and wrapped her arms around him, crying in his shoulder.
Jean quickly picked up the gun and then handed it to Armin who placed it in his pocket along with his old box of matches. Connie and Sasha's father tried to comfort her as she wept into his shoulder. Nico tried to come to her and join them when Jean had placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait Nico." He said, catching Nico's attention. "There's something we need to ask you about." Jean then went to the cabinet in the restaurant filled with wine."
"Wait, you should-" Nico tried to stop him by Jean didn't drink it, only held it in his hands.
"I know, Nico." He told him, the blood in Nico's face drained quickly like water flowing from a pipe "We all know, why the hell is there spinal fluid in the wine and what exactly are the volunteers planning?"
Rico eyes scanned the area, there was an anxious feeling lingering in her gut and looming inside her mind; the guard posts near the road were abandoned and they hadn't spotted a patrol since the empty checkpoint, it was clear to her that something was more than off.
"Keep your wits about you!" she commanded to her squad, she had her rifle in front of her, one hand on the reins and one near the trigger, she could now see the building in front of her, again there were more empty guard posts.
This is the prison of the Warhammer titan, this place should be one of the most guarded spots in the wall baring the capital itself.
The air was cool and the sun was bearing down above them, she could see the land for miles, she could spot the details clearly too. She was on edge and took comfort from the fact that if someone or a group tried to ambush her and her squad they couldn't take them by surprise.
And yet it was still uncomfortably quiet, the galloping of their horses hooves the only sound that appeared to be near.
Someone should have stopped us by now… one of Erwin's men should have met us at the entrance or along the way at least.
She wondered if Erwin had moved the guards away from the prison to have her men occupy the fort without incident or perhaps they were all held up inside to better protect it. Yet even with these suggestive thoughts she couldn't fight that feeling, the creeping dread within her telling her that something was wrong.
"Mina!" he commanded, a horse rode up to hers, Rico turned her head to see Mina next to her.
"Yes, Captain?" Mina said.
"Have you seen anything?" Rico asked.
"No Captain, nothing, it's been quiet so far." Mina said "Far too quiet."
"Its almost like we're being watched." Rico said, her mouth felt dry and licked her lips "If the prison is abandoned, have a team accompany you and patrol the area, I'll have the men fortify the place."
"Yes captain."
The squad had arrived at the entrance of the prison; it was a large fort with towers and grey stone walls but yet again it did not look as though there had been a single person stationed there.
Erwin had said that the place was guarded by old veterans of the scouts, loyal men… where are they?
She wondered if the prison had been compromised.
But if that is the case, then why haven't we been ambushed?
Suddenly the ground underneath them shook, Rico grabbed the reins of her horse and tried to calm the animal as it began to panic, there was a panic among the men as they all looked at each other wondering what was going on.
Then a bolt of lightning struck the prison; the bolt breaking the roof of the prison, chunks of stone and barbed wires sent flying to the air and crashing into the ground all around them. The ground began to rumble and shake some more before the prison began to shatter. Emerging from the building, like a bird hatching from a egg shell...
"Warhammer!" Rico called out as the titan stood over them, bits of stone falling off of her as she held a massive hammer in her hands and looked down at them "Scatter!"
Then a burst of fire snapped from the trees as gunfire was thrown at them, her squadmates were getting struck as they tried to find cover, both men and horses collapsing onto the ground with holes decorating their bodies.
Another bolt of lighting struck the ground near her and from a cloud of smoke the Female titan emerged standing up. Mina raised her fists as a sound like glass shattering drowned out the gunfire which was now focused on her. Her titan hands now covered in a crystal glove before she yelled at the Warhammer with an ear piercing cry.
Rico jumped off her horse and rolled onto the ground roughly, she quickly got up and ran towards a chunk of building as she returned fire at the flashes of lights in the forest. She could spot the shadows of people running around and fired at them.
"Death to traitors!" the Warhammer screamed as it raised the Warhammer to strike at Mina as the Female titan charged at it.
Alphonse looked out of the window, the roads were now quiet; the offensive was now underway and the soldiers who had been stationed at Trost were now being deployed looking to retake the lands that had been captured by Eren's followers or 'Yeagerists' as they had been called.
How many people are going to die…he wondered How many hundreds or thousands will die in the fighting…
He then thought of Marley and the outside world how many people will die if we fight the people of the outside world? He recalled reading the reports from the initial meeting from the Azumabito, he was regretful about not being able to attend but he had to be there for Mina and… it wouldn't have been good being with Ed at that time.
I could have handled that better… he had every right to be angry with me…
His thoughts then shifted to his students, those now scattered around the walls with their families caught in the madness of this current situation; he hoped that they were safe but he knew that they all had a target on their backs and all because Alphonse let them learn alchemy.
Kiyomi would stop me from teaching her family alchemy if she knew what was good for her or them…
He then turned back to those behind him; Armin and Mikasa comforted the children, Gabi and Falco. They had taken them from the restaurant hall and let the others take care of Sasha. He recognised them, running into them in the tunnels at Liberio.
Sasha had blamed herself for not doing something when she had found them… But I don't think I would have harmed them if I knew…
"Are you okay?" Alphonse said, the two turned their heads to Alphonse and stepped back a bit, they were scared or weary of him, that much he was certain of. "It's alright, I won't hurt you and neither will my friends."
"How can we trust you?" Gabi asked "You were sent by the devil."
Alphonse almost wanted to laugh at that if he didn't seem so mentally exhausted "In the walls people say my brother and I were angels sent from God and outside the walls everyone says we were sent by the devil." Alphonse knelt down "The Truth is harder to explain but trust us, we've not here for evil or to fight you."
Though even Alphonse didn't know if that was entirely true all things considered.
"Then what are you?" Gabi asked.
"I'm just Alphonse Elric, a human from a country called Amestris who has a child that lives in these walls." Alphonse told them.
"You won't punish us then?" Falco spoke up "For breaking out of the prison or trying to escape?"
"You're just children." Armin spoke up this time "You're probably younger than us when we were first sent into battle, if we were the ones taken prisoner then we would have tried escaping."
"You will have to come with us, no question about that and will be kept under watch, but when all is said and done I promise we'll send you back home to your families." Alphonse said. Alphonse could imagine the feeling their families must be suffering, he couldn't imagine the fear of Emmanuel being stuck in Marley as the two being stuck here in Paradis.
Falco let out a sigh of relief while Gabi seemed to look disappointed at that. "Thank you, sir." Falco said.
"But you must hate us." Gabi said "We… I- I killed your friend." She looked to the ground.
"Petra was kind, fair and caring." Mikasa spoke up "She would never want us to kill children for her, she would have hated us for it; she died saving our friend, she… she would have done it again if given a chose."
Alphonse felt a lump in her throat as he thought back to Petra; her smile, encouraging words, her laughter and resolve during the toughest times.
Suddenly there was a click and screech as the door behind them opened, they all turned their heads. In a second the room became silent as they watched someone enter the room with them, holding their breath as he raised a bloody hand.
"Eren." Armin said.
"Hello Armin." Eren said showing off the cut in his hand, a clear yet unspoken threat. "Mikasa, Alphonse, its all good to see you." He then looked to Gabi and Falco who stood behind the three. "I see the two warrior cadets have escaped their prison."
Alphonse placed his hand over Gabi, pushing back behind him more as he kept his eyes on Eren. "Why are you here?" Alphonse asked "I thought you were be at Shiganshina; Trost district is heavily guarded, are you here to be arrested or do you plan on laying waste to the city?"
Eren narrowed his eyes at Alphonse before then turning to Armin and then to Mikasa "Hand over your weapons." He said calmly "Or should I take them from you?" Armin took the pistol out of his pocket and placed it on the floor, kicking it to Eren "And your gloves, Armin." Armin looked down at them before taking them off and tossing them at Eren's feet. "Good, good, Mikasa do you have anything on you?"
"No." Mikasa replied.
"Okay, I trust you." Eren said. "I just want to talk, that is all."
"How are you here?" Armin asked. "How did you-"
"How did the forces of the garrison not find me in Trost?" Eren said "I think you all know I have supporters in every branch of the military, I knew about this attack in advance, I might as well have been in that hall with all the others officer for all I know."
A chill ran down Alphonse spine; if he knew then the Yeagerists knew, they garrison were walking into a trap.
"By now my followers will have taken control of the communication posts and military offices in the district." Eren said "The district is under my control now, I'm sorry to say this but there is no escape from here."
"What have you done with the others?" Alphonse asked.
"They're being apprehended, Floch and my men will be escorting them to the trucks now, I promise that they won't be harmed." Eren said "You all are still my friends, I still care about you." He looked to Mikasa, there was a softness in his eyes. "We don't need to fight over the future of Eldia and its people."
"Where are you taking them?" Alphonse questioned.
"For now, the military HQ here in Trost, then when the offensive ends we'll head to Shiganshina, I'll have you wait out what going to happen, safe and away from the fighting." Eren said.
"What exactly are you planning?" Armin asked "What have you and Zeke been planning? What have you asked your men and Floch to do in your name?"
"Eren, we know about the spinal fluid, the volunteers have poisoned almost every officer in the military." Armin said. "We know that Zeke plans on preventing every Eldian from having children."
"Eren, we know you wouldn't support something like that." Mikasa pleaded to him "Please tell us what you are planning."
Eren didn't say anything at first, instead just looking at them "You're right, I would never support something like that." Eren was silent for a few seconds "Everything I do, I do for Eldia." Eren said simply "I do for the people in the walls, I do for the people in the outside of the walls and I do for you, for all of you, I will use him to gain control of the colossal titans in the walls" He looked to them and then to the two children behind them who stared at him terrified. "We all want the same thing, peace."
"Peace? You call launching an attack on a city, killing its inhabitants and diplomats peace?" Alphonse questioned. "You just admitted you're willing to use the colossal titans to achieve this."
"You wouldn't understand, Alphonse." Eren said "In order to achieve peace and protect our people certain things must be done."
"Then help me understand." Alphonse said "Because all I'm hearing is a murderer brushing away responsibility for their actions, we had a plan to achieve peace and you sabotaged it."
Eren almost scowled at the accusation "Your plan was naïve, the only way to achieve both peace and protection is for the Eldian empire to be reborn." Gabi gasped at that. "You weren't there but those two were." He looked to Gabi and Falco who peered at Eren while holding onto the arms of Alphonse and Mikasa. "You remember what Willy said, he asked that the nations of the world unite to invade us; do you think they would have been merciful? Marley had already tried to kill us all by letting the titans invade our homes and eat us, they nearly succeeded if it weren't for our combined efforts."
"Do you know why they did it?" Eren asked of Gabi and Falco, he stepped forward "Did they say it was to protect the world, to stop the one hundred and forty fifth king from invading you? You know that is a lie and that now I am the great threat. But that is all a sham; it was to gain our resources, they wish to take minerals and natural resources underneath our feet and they're willing to kill hundreds of thousands for it."
"And you plan to be different?" Alphonse countered. "How can an Eldian empire be different from a Marley one?"
"Because we will put those who have suffered at the hands of Marley in power, we'll be giving back power to the powerless." Eren urged them, his stony expression breaking "Not just Eldians but every nation or people who were put under their boot; I've already been in contact with others across the world who feel the same."
"So a world war then." Alphonse said "You plan on setting the world on fire to achieve this."
"There doesn't have to be a conflict or war." Eren argued "If the nations of the world lay down their arms peaceful we can change everything without shedding a drop of blood."
"THAT is naïve." Alphonse said.
"If the nations of the world want to fight then so be it but we all know who wins that fight." Eren said. "And then when we're finished everyone who had to live under the boot of Marley or some other empire will have their day, they will have their justice and choose what to do."
"Even if it means putting others in cages?" Mikasa asked "Putting their enemies on a wall to be killed?"
Eren closed his eyes, breathed in and then out "Yes." He said as he opened his eyes "If that's what they want then so be it, I won't judge them or tell them what to with their own power, so long as they respect ours."
"You call that justice?" Alphonse questioned "All I'm hearing is cruelty. Justice might ask you to fight, to change and rewrite wrongs done. But it doesn't give anyone the right to be cruel, that's not justice, that's vengeance."
"Call it what you want, the result is the same." Eren said dismissively "We will no longer fear the outside world."
"How do you plan on doing this exactly?" Armin asked.
"I plan on using every advantage we have on our island to our disposal; the weapons, the minerals, the titans and the new alchemists."
Alphonse clenched his fist "If you think the alchemists will side with you-" Alphonse restrained himself "They know better than to take up your cause."
"Not when their backs are up against the wall, when the world comes for them they will fight for their homes." Eren said. "When the powers and the nations of the world see how outmatched they are, most will now that resistance is useless."
"You're willing to take someone else freedom to achieve peace?" Armin asked.
"If someone wants to take away my freedom then I will take theirs instead." Eren said simply. Eren closed his eyes and breathed in deeply as he opened them as he sighed "Join me, I know about your own followers, if you and Edward can tell them to stand down then we can form a united front against Marley, we can end the war before it's even begun and achieve peace… isn't that what we want?"
Armin stepped forward, Eren smiled "I want peace, Eren and I want to see the world that was in my grandfather's book." Armin looked to both Gabi and Falco who stared at him "But I won't help to burn the world he showed me."
Eren looked disappointed before he then turned to Mikasa and offered her his hand "Mikasa, come with me, please" He said to her.
Alphonse looked to Mikasa, there was a look of apprehension on her face, it was clear that she was in conflict with herself, she shuffled forward to him as she weakly reached out to him. "No…" she said softly before pulling away "I can't, please Eren this isn't right. We can't do something like that."
Eren placed his hand by his side as the stony expression on his face turned sour "I see." He said "My own friends have turned against me, so be it, I will not stop you." He then turned to Alphonse "But even you have to realise that the only way you can achieve your mission is through this path, there is no other way."
"I'll find my own way." Alphonse said.
"All this for your misguided sense of self-righteousness and morality, do you think the outside world will hesitate to kill you? Me? What about Mina or Emm-"
"If you finish that sentence then so help me." Alphonse pointed at him.
"It's always the same, with everyone and with all of you; all driven by something, all chained to something that you can't seem to let go even when its stopping you from moving forward or killing you." Eren said "You couldn't let go of your dead family" he turned to Armin "You can't seem to let go of the ideal vision of the world" he then turned to Mikasa "And you…" his voice growled slightly "I should credit you on one thing, you finally were able to let go of me, but you really had to pick the worst time huh?" Mikasa flinched back.
"Don't you dare speak to Mikasa like that!" Armin yelled at Eren.
"I thought I could count on you again, that you of all people would be at my side at least." Eren continued ignoring Armin, he looked almost hurt speaking. Mikasa gripped her scarf "Truly Mikasa, I don't know why I kept putting my faith in you when all you've done is disappoint me." Mikasa looked to be on the verge of tears.
"Eren!" Armin marched towards him before Alphonse lifted his hand held him back.
"That's enough." Alphonse stepped forward and grabbed Eren by the front of his shirt, the two staring each other down "You know what? You're right." Alphonse said "I am just a slave, since I came here I was driven by a need; first it was trying to bring my loved ones back from the dead, then it became trying to protect the people I care about on this world and then it became about protecting Emmanuel and Mina, I am a slave. But at least I'm aware of that, unlike you."
Eren sneers at Alphonse, before throws a punch at his face, his fist connecting with Alphonse's cheek. Alphonse stumbles to the side.
The door bursts open as men dressed in military coats armed with rifles enter the room "Eren!" they call out.
"Wait." Eren says, raising his hand. "Don't do this, Alphonse." He told him calmly as Alphonse stood up and raised his hands "I've spent years sparring with you and Ed, I know how you fight like I know how you think."
Eren walked up to Alphonse and threw another punch, Alphonse blocked the attack and swung his own fist which Eren dodged before punching him the gut with his other fist. He went for another attack which struck Alphonse on his side as Alphonse covered his face.
"You know something, Eren?" Alphonse said as he moved to the side, avoiding a kick "We were holding back." Alphonse grabbed his arm, pulled Eren in before striking his elbow against his face. He pushed him out, Eren stumbling back, as he struck him in the face with his own punch.
Eren tried to go back on the attack but Alphonse ducked underneath his hook and slammed his knee into Eren's side before grabbing by the back of his collar and throwing him at the feet of the Yeagerists. "All these years, you're still that angry child we met at Trost." The yeagerists pointed their guns at him.
The sound of a match dragging against a striker caught their attention as Armin lit a match, not a second later the wall of the restaurant exploded, sending debris flying everywhere. "Run!" Armin said.
"Stop them!" Eren commanded as he got up, he marched towards them, his hand raised as sparks of light began to form around him.
Armin turned to him, a new match in hand and skidded it against the striker, a burst of fire roaring against Eren as it hit his hand… and his face, setting him on fire. More soldiers rain into the room as the others tried to put out the fire.
Both Alphonse, Mikasa and Armin ran out of through the hole, Mikasa grabbed hold of Gabi as they bolted for their escape but before Falco could leave with them a Yeagerist leapt onto him and tackled him to the ground.
"Falco!" Gabi cried as Mikasa lifted Gabi from her feet and ran.
There was an odd familiarity for Marlowe as he walked around the alleys of the district, his head down and his eyes scanning the area for even the slightest movements, when he turned his head he could see the outline of those behind him, the Followers' leadership keeping just in lock step with him as he led them to the restaurant where the others would be.
But he knew for a fact that there were others around him, the shadows among the crowds were no doubt other followers watching him, checking to see if he was leading them into an ambush.
"There's a lack of soldiers around." One of the followers commented behind him "Looks like that offensive is happening."
Marlowe swallowed as he quickly felt uncomfortable
If what they told me is true… then thousands of people may end up dying for nothing…
"Should be clear then." The gruff man said, there was a fiddling of metal behind Marlowe which made him tense "Restaurant should be up ahead, keep moving."
Marlowe nodded his head and kept walking, he looked towards one of the windows and spotted someone watching them, glancing at them before then looking ahead.
As they walked out of the alleyway, a young woman ran up to them, stopping them from leaving. "Stop, looks like something is happening in there." The woman said.
Marlowe was confused "What, what's going on?"
The woman ignored him and turned to the people behind him "Looks like scouts, armed with guns outside the building and their rounding up others in the restaurant."
Marlowe was speechless What the hell is going on-
He was then grabbed from behind and slammed against the wall "So this was an ambush then?" the gruff man said as he pushed the pistol into his chest.
"I have no idea what's going on." Marlowe argued back "My team came to the restaurant to ask questions not make arrests."
"How many are there?" asked another follower.
"Looks like a lot of them, around with rifles and guarding the building." The young woman said. "I'd say maybe twenty of them."
"Twenty?" Marlowe questioned "There were only six people in my team, there shouldn't be twenty and we weren't armed with rifles."
"Like we should trust you." One of the followers sneered.
"Think about it, why would I lead you to an ambush and have the soldiers out in the open?" Marlowe asked "It doesn't make sense, something else is happening, my team should be the only scouts in the district."
The gruff man lowered his gun and kept his eyes on Marlowe "Watch the restaurant." He ordered, the young woman ran back onto the street.
Marlowe was silent, dread now crawling into his being as the thought of what was happening and the implications of what was happening dawning on him.
"I said we needed your help, and we do." Marlowe reiterated. "If there are twenty scouts guarding the restaurant that was in my team was investigating then-"
"They're here to arrest your team." The gruff man finished "Your comrades turned traitor are planning on holding them captive, and you said Alphonse Elric is there too."
"They want to capture him." Marlowe said "They want to establish control and quickly."
"Get the others and get ready to fight." The gruff man said turning to the other follower, they ran through the alleyway and out onto the street, the gruff man let go of Marlowe and handing him a pistol "Are you willing to kill you former comrades?" he questioned.
"If I have to." Marlowe replied though in his heart he wasn't sure he could but he knew that if he didn't say yes then he'd be dead right there and then. They both ran out of the alleyway, Marlowe looked across the street to see a crowd of people watching what was going on, through the gaps of people he could see scouts dressed in the long coats armed with the new rifles.
Marlowe quickly ducked into another alleyway and looked around; he tried to count the number of yeagerists surrounding the restaurant. The young woman ran up to them again, out of breath. "Sir, there's more."
"More than twenty?" the gruff man said.
"No, there's more in the district, others are saying that more scouts have stormed the military HQ and are trying to take over." The young woman said "They've taken the radio station too and some are trying to get people to break into the government buildings."
"This is a takeover of the district." Marlowe said, wide eyed and now almost scared of what was happening. "We have to secure the gate out of Trost, if they close that off then there's no escape."
The gruff man looked to the woman "No, this is our home and we're not letting these bastards take control, gather everyone and spread the message to fight back, secure the gate." The woman nodded her head and ran. "How many traitor scouts are in the district, what's an estimate?"
Marlowe thought about that for a second; he assumed that the majority of the yeagerists should be ready to face the brunt of the attack against the garrison offensive "Likely a company of men, one hundred maybe."
"We have more than a hundred men in this district." The gruff man replied "We're going to have to strike now."
"No, we have to pick our moment, there's too many of them and we don't know where Alphonse is." Marlowe said. "If something has gone wrong then either Alphonse, Armin or Mikasa handle them."
Suddenly there was an explosion, they ran out into the street to see people running away from the restaurant as a large column of smoke poured out from the side of the building. The sound of gunfire rang around the air as the yeagerists began to fire and something or someone.
A burst of fire flashed through the smoke and struck a group of yeagerists, set on fire they ran around burning on the street as their comrades tried to put them out. Marlowe tried to see where the fire came from and spotted four individuals run away, there wasn't a doubt in his mind who that was.
"That's them!" Marlowe said, he recognised the burst of fire anyway. A stone wall had risen from the ground as the yeagerists tried to fire at whoever was taking over from their gunfire
"Attack!" the gruff man said, suddenly out of the buildings and narrow corridors of streets around the restaurant, people armed with their own guns began to fire back at the yeagerists. Brutal fighting raged on the street as those armed with knives and guns charged at each other, people dying on the streets as chaos raged around them.
Marlowe ran onto the street with the gruff man, his head down and an arm covering his face as he ran towards cover "Alphonse!" he called out to the stone wall, bullets shots struck near him and he and the follower once more ran out of cover and towards the stone wall, jumping over it and onto the ground.
He was tackled to the ground as Mikasa held him down as Alphonse tackled the other man "It's me!" he yelled to Mikasa as she placed his arm against his throat. "He's with me, he's with the followers!" Mikasa looked at him shocked, her eyes red, as she quickly got off him. He looked around to see Mikasa, Alphonse, Armin and a familiar looking small child "What happened?"
"Eren ambushed us, he was in the district." Armin said as he kept his head down, a boxes of matches in his hand as he peered over the cover "Whose fighting the Yeagerists?"
"We are." Said the gruff man to Alphonse "We're going to try an fight them off, we won't let them take Trost." The fighting around them was still raging yet the hail of bullets were turning away from them as the Yeagerists battle against the new threat.
"More of them will be coming after them." Armin said "We need to get out of here."
"Where are the others?" Marlowe asked.
"I don't know, they were taken somewhere." Mikasa said.
"What's your name?" Alphonse asked the gruff man.
"Allan, sir." The man said.
"Allan, gather your men and head to this location." Alphonse said, quickly pulling out a small map with the a dot on it "Take whatever you can get or carry; guns, supplies and trucks."
"What of the district?" Allan asked.
Alphonse was silent "We will be back, but right now we need to regroup and reorganise if we want to fight." He handed him the map "Do this for me."
Allan nodded "Of course." He said, Marlowe was surprised by the change in attitude to him; the intimidating man now almost childly obedient when speaking to Alphonse.
"We need to head back to the stables." Armin said "Get our horses and get out of the district."
"Our men should have overwhelmed those near the gates." Allan said. "We will meet you at the location, you have my word."
Alphonse nodded at him, the five of them quickly ran towards the stables near the restaurant; Marlowe sighed with relief to see that the horses hadn't been taken "Whoever was guarding it must have gone to join the battle." Marlowe commented as they entered the stable, he quickly unhooked the latch to the door of a horse's pen and placed the saddle on it.
He turned back to the small child with them, only now recognising where he saw her "Wait, you're the Marley cadet!"
"I'll explain it later!" Alphonse said to Marlowe who pointed at the girl "Get on my horse." He told the girl. They quickly jumped on their horses and rode out onto the road, whipping the reins to them and quickly galloping through the road as they tried to avoid the fighting now engulfing the city.
"Hurry." Nanaba said to the alchemist as they tried to pack their clothes in their bag, outside her men were watching the street as they kept an eye out for anything, more specifically anyone wearing their uniform also conducting their own searches.
The night sky had darken above them, the cover of darkness concealing their mission as they worked in the shadows quickly.
Nanaba took out her note pad and scratched off a name 'Emma' "fourteen so far." She muttered to herself, she ran downstairs and to the entrance of the house, the small family at the bottom looking at her nervously.
"You said he'll be safe, right?" the mother asked her. Nanaba couldn't help but feel guilty; she had almost barged into their house and ordered that alchemist to quickly get ready, what she could tell them was that Alphonse needed to gather his students but nothing else.
"He will, just make sure you and yourselves are safe, do not tell anyone we were here or that your son left with us." Nanaba told them again.
One of her men rushed into the house "Squad leader, we have a problem." He said. Nanaba rushed outside with them, he handed her a small telescope, Nanaba peered into it, looking at where her teammate was pointing; at a distance she could see a large squad of garrison soldiers knocking on the doors of nearby houses before then barging through the door, spots of bright flashes coming from the window.
"Fuck… they're rounding up people too." She said, he turned to her teammate "Get the trucks ready to go." She ordered "When the others get there tell them that's it."
"There's still a number of alchemists we haven't gotten."
"We won't escape Emhrich district if we stay here to get everyone, have some of the men make a distractions on the far side of the district to cover our escape." She ordered, her teammate nodded before rushing away.
The alchemist left their house, hugging their family goodbye with tears in their eyes, Nanaba breathed in deeply "I'm sorry but we have to leave now, lock the door and find somewhere to hide." She told the family, she grabbed Emma's hand and quickly guided her away as they ran away.
The sound of gunshots grew closer "What's going on?" Emma asked.
"There are traitors in the army." Nanaba said to her "We're trying to get as many of your comrades out of here."
Around them people began to walk around confused as to what was going on as Garrison soldiers began to break into people's houses and drag out others onto the street. Nanaba and Emma quickly hid behind a horse carriage and watched.
"Fuck, was that one of your classmates?" she asked Emma.
"Not really, I think they were a drop out."
"Then they have the list but not a whole one." Nanaba continued to watch "That gives us some time to escape, get moving." More gunshots began to ring out, some an exchange of fire before it quickly died down. Nanaba prayed that not of those shots were at her men.
They quickly slipped through the streets, Nanaba's men alongside her as they guided more alchemists to their meet up point.
In an empty warehouse, Nanaba sighed with relief as she spotted the trucks still there as her squad began to load the truck with the students they had gotten. "Get in." she told Emma as she joined her class.
"Wait, this isn't everyone, there's still others!" one of the students exclaimed.
"I'm sorry but we have to leave now." Nanaba said as she got into the back of the truck with them, picking up the machine-gun and pointing it through the open area as the door to the back of the truck was shut. "Get moving!" she ordered. The truck engine roared as the driver slammed their foot onto the pedal and the truck rushed through warehouse door and onto the main road.
A series of loud bangs echoed out in the distance, Nanaba looked up to see streams of red flares on one side of the district was fired off. "That's our distraction."
The truck sped through the road, its objective was the gate. Suddenly the truck was caught under fire as bullets began to hit it. Everyone inside ducked down covering their heads. Nanaba aimed her gun, firing at the garrison troops shooting at them as they passed behind the truck "Keep you're heads down!" she ordered as she and one of her teammates returned fire.
Erwin not seen the prison before, he knew of its existence and that some of his students were asked to help in its construction but never laid eyes on it. Through the bramble of bushes and hidden within the treelines was a single dirt path would lead up to the fort which was in a clearing.
He walked the battlements of the fort; the walls were thick and had the familiar marks of the an alchemists work and just outside its walls was a moat filled with water and pit falls and spikes on the other side of the moat.
The place was designed to keep someone out and someone in.
The place had been tailor made to stop either the jaws titan or the cart titan from escaping them.
"Commander." Called a voice, Erwin turned his head to see one of his scout saluting them "You're needed at the radio room." Erwin nodded and followed them to the room.
Inside were rows of radios and people operating them, most of the equipment they had to take and quickly set up as they tried to establish a base of operations.
"What's the progress on the offensive?" he asked one of the operators.
"Nothing good so far, convoys have run into stiff resistance and our advances have been slow." They replied "But that's all we've heard, there hasn't been much coming out of Trost recently."
Erwin clenched his fists as he held them behind his back "That is worrying; try and get a message from the Trost district for an update specifically."
"Anything from Hange squad?"
"Not yet, sir." Another said. "No response from Hange or her team about their progress."
"Keep trying, if we don't hear back from her then get a unit ready to head to Levi's location." Erwin ordered.
"Commander!" called one of the operators, getting his attention, Erwin walked towards them "We've gotten a signal."
"Is it from Hange squad?" Erwin asked.
"No its coming from outside the walls." The operator said.
"Where outside?" Erwin asked "It might be our allies at the port."
"No, Commander, it looks like a different signal." The operator replied as he tried to tune the signal. "Its further away."
Erwin took the headphone and listened into the radio, instructing the operator as to when the signal sounded clear enough to listen. He could make out a conversation happening between what sounded like two people on different radios, he could make out the voices and commands being given out.
His eyes widen and his breath stopped as he recognised a voice on the radio.
"This is warrior chief Reiner Braun, we're approaching the coastline of the island."
Hello everyone, its been a while again, this chapter was one of the longest I've written for this story. I have been focusing on other projects and life at the moment but I'm still committed to trying to finish this story.