Night had fallen by the time the military representative came on stage to address the soon to be soldiers that were gathered, and despite their fatigue, both mentally and physically, the gathered, freshly minted graduates were still very much standing in front of the stage, all at attention.
It came as a bit of a shock to the soldiers present that the one who was speaking to them was none other than Erwin Smith, who moved to the center of the stage and stood before them neutrally, with his expression stoic and his eyes carefully examining each and every young man and woman who stood before him.
Amongst the crowd, Mina couldn't help but shudder a little as she, for the briefest of seconds, made eye contact with Erwin, who noticeably raised his brows, though he was quick to break eye contact and closed his eyes not long after, leaving Carolina to mentally sigh in relief. She knew that Erwin was an intimidating man, one that she looked up to in more ways than one, but damn, she didn't know that his stare could make her tense up that much.
A gentle nudge to her left made the tension within her dispel, if only by a little, as she turned her head a little and glanced up at Nac, who was also glancing at her with a tiny, encouraging smile that promised her that everything would be alright. At that, Mina nodded a little before turning back to face Erwin, who had finished his brief examination of the soldiers present and was getting ready to speak.
"Soldiers of the 104th Southern Trainee Brigade," began Erwin, with his voice sounding impossibly calm as he addressed the young soldiers before him.
Several of the soldiers present noticeably winced at his tone whilst a few faltered under his gaze, though a handful of them remained steadfast as they kept their posture steady. Commendable, Erwin thought, though they were still rather wet behind the ears, and he wasn't here to recruit children into his brigade.
No, he was here to recruit soldiers. Those who were ill prepared to join the Survey Corps needed to know what they were getting into, and if he had to lay it on thick, then so be it.
"Today, you shall all be enlisted into the military brigade of your choice," continued Erwin, with him hardening his voice more so than it already was as he spoke. His glare hardened tenfold as he did this, and to say that he was… intimidating now more so than ever would've been an understatement. "To be blunt, I am here specifically to enlist those who wish to join the Survey Corps.
"However, due to the previous Titan attack, I know that many of you are apprehensive at the prospect of joining. The Trost incident has opened many of your eyes to the horrors that come with facing the Titans head on. Many of you have witnessed the strength of the Titans firsthand, and as a result, many of you have come to fear them and recognise the limits of your strength. I will not fault any of you if you do not intend on joining my brigade, even if you had been working towards doing so during your trainee years."
A momentary pause, with Mina and Nac both subconsciously feeling Annie's eyes on them, however briefly, as Erwin paused briefly to let his words sink in, though that pause didn't last for long, as Smith eventually continued with his words.
"Even so," continued Erwin as he exhaled softly, with him pausing seemingly for dramatic effect, "Through the disaster that was the Trost Incident, mankind has made unprecedented progress in its struggle against the Titans, key of which being the acquisition of two new assets; Eren Jaeger and Mikazuki Augus."
Hearing this was enough to shock a handful of the soldiers that were present, though Erwin noticed how some of them appeared somewhat subdued in regards to their reactions. Most of these individuals were most likely those that were present for Mikazuki and Eren's Military Trials, no doubt, and Smith took stock of some of these faces with some intrigue, with him memorising a few with little issue before continuing.
"Eren Jaeger's willingness to lay his life down for mankind signifies his unflinching allegiance to our cause, and although with more abstract reasons for fighting alongside us, Mikazuki Augus has also shown himself to care a good deal for the lives of his fellow soldiers, more than enough to stand by us and fight for mankind's benefit with all that he has.
"Both of them have proven their worth to us as soldiers, but Eren Jaeger has also provided us with a way to perhaps unveil the mystery behind the Titans!"
And despite his indifference towards the dramatic, Erwin paused briefly to allow what he just said sink in, and he'd be lying if he said that the reactions he was given weren't at least a little amusing to him, though not long thereafter, he continued onwards with as much energy as he had began with.
"Within the confines of Shiganshina lay the ruins of his old home; there lie the secrets of the Titans, unknown to even Eren himself. If at all possible, should we be able to successfully establish a foothold in Shiganshina, we could very well find a clue that could assist us in overthrowing the Titan's century long advantage in this war against humanity!"
And at that, several soldiers present widened their eyes in shock, though those who had attended the courtroom cases for Eren and Mikazuki were the ones who were taken aback the most.
'E-Even if he's just trying to motivate us… this… this is a little much," thought Nac as he widened his eyes at Erwin, who remained stoically neutral as he spoke. 'What… what is he trying to do here… motivate us in some abstract way?'
As he thought that, Nac briefly turned and made eye contact with Mina, who appeared equally confused by what she was hearing. As for Annie, however, she noticeably tensed up a little as Bertholdt and Reiner seemed a little uneasy. Tias disregarded this as them showing shock, however, as he glanced back at the Commander, only to raise his brows when he saw that two other soldiers, namely Petra Ral and Mike Zerachius, were now on stage and holding up a map behind their superior.
"To that end, however, we must recapture both Walls Maria and Shiganshina. Because of this, our objectives have yet to change," continued Erwin as he glanced behind himself and over at the map Petra and Mike were holding up. Said map showed a simplified depiction of Wall Rose and its three southernmost districts. The southernmost district, Trost, had been crossed out, and there was an arrow that stretched from the eastmost district, Karanses, towards Trost's general direction. "Due to how the gates of Trost have been rendered unusable, however, we shall depart from the Karanses District and circle around to our original expedition route.
"The original expedition routes have been rendered practically useless with the closure of Trost. Those routes were crafted through the past four years, with over sixty percent of our men giving their lives to ensure that they remained functional. Sixty percent… is a massive amount to have been lost within four years… and I intend on warning you all that should you join the Survey Corps, our next expedition will begin within the next four months, and the mortality rate for all of you is predicted to be at least thirty percent.
"I tell no lies when I say that a majority of you will die within the next four years. However, should you overcome the hardships that come with being a part of my Military Brigade, then you will undoubtedly be ranked alongside the greatest humanity has to offer. You would be beacons of hope for those who cannot fight…
"... if you are willing to risk your lives for our cause, for the chance to strike back at the Titans and win this war, then remain here, but if you still continue to doubt yourselves, even after surviving one of the worst disaster's in mankind's recorded history… then you may leave without shame.
"Ask yourselves. Are you ready and willing to give your lives up for mankind?!"
Erwin was met with silence as the soldiers before him remained silent, with even the likes of Annie Leonhardt and Mikasa Ackerman paling a little as they let what the Commander just said sink in.
Mina herself swallowed a large lump in her throat as she shuddered, frowning deeply as she sweatdropped. Before all this, Carolina had thought the job of being a Survey Corp was simple, that the soldiers were able to just… kill the Titans with ease. However, after the whole Trost Incident, after hearing all of what Erwin had to say… and after learning of the mortality rate in just the past four years… it made her shudder as she felt her doubts spring back up. She had a thirty percent chance of dying… which wasn't too high as a whole, but even so… it was high enough to make her whimper a little as she shuddered a tiny bit in horror.
And as soon as it came… Mina's fears left as realization dawned on her; she had to fight. The events that transpired during the Trost incident showed that the Colossal and perhaps even the Armoured Titan still roamed these lands, and they were simply biding their time to return and breach the walls once more. The thought of her standing idly by while knowing that could happen at any time didn't sit well with Mina, and the added weight of Trost being breached once more didn't do much to help her.
She didn't want her mother to be put at risk any more than she already has…
To her side, Nac glanced down at Mina with his brows raised. Glancing back at him, Mina noticed how the tall guy seemed a little paler than usual, though despite the lack of blood in his face, the guy still looked resolute, so much so that Mina couldn't help but flash a small smile that told him that she, more or less, read his mind and intended on remaining where she was.
On the polar opposite end, however, Mina felt a hand rest against her other shoulder, prompting her to turn and make eye contact with Annie, who seemed a little… downtrodden, to say the least. The blonde stared intently into her friend's eyes before glancing up at Nac, and both widened their eyes when they realized just how… vulnerable Annie looked. This was perhaps the weakest she's appeared since… well, since ever, and it became rather obvious to both of them why she was this way as Nac offered a sad smile.
"We… we'll be fine, Annie. Trust me," assured Nac with a gentle nod, and likewise, Mina gently held a hand out to shake her friend's hand; this could likely be the last time they saw each other in the flesh, and she would rather not have it be a depressing one, not entirely at least, and with a soft smile, Annie gently grabbed onto her friend's forearm in a warrior's handshake, with her shaking Carolina's hand firmly before releasing it with an air of melancholy.
"Stay safe…" muttered Annie before she marched off alongside the other soldiers who didn't wish to give their lives up so willingly. In response, Mina nodded while Nac gave a tense, two fingered salute, one that, surprisingly enough, Annie mirrored. "And… give Mikazuki my condolences."
"Will do," assured Mina with a gentle nod and a solemn smile, and at that, Annie turned her back on her friends and marched off with the other soldiers who were retreating to the other brigades that were open to them, and with her back turned towards them, neither could see the grief that was written all over Leonhardt's face as she solemnly marched off, though a specific pair of young soldiers could tell that walking away from her only two friends took a lot of willpower to accomplish.
"She… she'll be fine," muttered Nac as he turned back to Erwin. "She deserves this… to be a Military Police."
"Yeah… but… I'll miss her," replied Mina as she quickly wiped at her cheek as she spoke. A few tears had fell from her eyes as she said this, though she kept her grief subdued for now as Nac lightly bumped his knuckles against her own with a melancholic smile.
"I will too… so let's… let's just make sure that we live long enough to see her again, alright?" smiled Nac optimistically, to which Mina smiled right back before nodding.
"Yeah… y-yeah, let's…"
It took a while, but eventually, the surviving soldiers of the 104th Trainee Brigade that didn't wish to join the Survey Corps funneled out.
The amount that remained was, in all honesty, incredibly pathetic when compared to their original numbers. With less than thirty Cadets remaining behind, the morale of those who stayed behind was unquestionably low, though they didn't say much about it as their new Commander spoke, with him appearing incredibly solemn in regards to their remaining numbers all the while.
"To those who remain, tell me…" began Erwin, seemingly unphased by the amount of new recruits left behind as he spoke. "Would you be willing to die at my command?"
To that, no one said a word, with none of them brave enough to answer truthfully but also unwilling to lie to their new Commander. Despite this, Erwin remained silent, with him expecting an answer all the while, and within a handful of seconds, one of his new recruits spoke up in a panic.
"W-We don't want to die… sir!" proclaimed the soldier, prompting everyone to turn and spot, shockingly enough, Mylius Zeramuski, of all people, standing not too far from Mina and Nac as he spoke. The poor blonde appeared to be on the verge of a panic attack as he stared up at his Commander, though despite it all, he kept his posture in check as he spoke. "We… we just want to help win this war… that's all…"
And to that, Erwin couldn't help but smile as he closed his eyes for a brief moment, accepting Mylius' reasoning all the while. He could tell that the other young soldiers present all felt the same, though that in itself wasn't a bad thing. Those who valued their lives tended to last a little longer than those who charged headfirst into battle, after all…
"I see…" muttered Erwin, opening his eyes as he glanced at Mylius, who shuddered a little as his Commander stared at him, though he noticeably relaxed a little when he saw the guy… smile in his direction before speaking. "Very good. I hereby accept each and every one of you who remain as members of the Survey Corps. May your tour of duty be long and prosperous!
"This shall be your first true salute! Offer your lives!"
And to that, Erwin Smith saluted the young soldiers… nay, the Survey Corps that were present, and in response, the soldiers did the same, though their salutes were noticeably more rigid, but even so…
"You have all done well in suppressing your fears. Every one of you here is a brave soldier; you all have my deepest respect."
Line break
"Commander, if I may…"
Raising a brow as he was called, Erwin glanced to his left and made eye contact with Petra, who appeared a little antsy as she held onto the expedition map a little tighter than usual, and upon noticing the worry in her voice, the Commander slowed his pace and nodded, a gesture for her to speak her mind.
Having left the courtyard a handful of minutes ago, Erwin had a Survey Corp who went by the name Ness continue on with the 'ceremony', if one could even call it that as it felt more like a funeral. Though he was experienced in all these things, Smith, in all honesty, found the generally grim atmosphere to be unsavoury, to say the least, and he opted to let the more social soldiers that worked under him wrap things up.
During the entire walk away from the courtyard, Petra had followed her two seniors, something that was rather… odd, to say the least. Following the end of the ceremony, Erwin had ordered Ral to return to her squad and to hand the map over to Mike, an order that Petra had knowingly went against, as evident by how she was still walking beside Mike, though to her credit, the woman didn't announce her presence, something that made her presence easy to miss.
Hell, Erwin, admittedly, didn't even know that she was still following them until he turned around and saw her walking next to Mike. As for Mike himself, he would wholeheartedly admit that he didn't tell his superior about Petra just to see how long it would take for him to realize she was walking with them.
He estimated that it took about four minutes. Could be worse, really.
"Petra?" muttered Erwin when he finally realized that she was still following them, with him sounding rather surprised as he eyed her, though the shock in his tone was rather well hidden, with it being only audible to Mike, who suppressed a snort as he felt his amusement heighten a tiny bit at his tone. "Didn't I ask you to-"
"Y-Yes sir… I just… I just felt as though my presence was… needed here. That's all," assured Petra with a gentle smile as she waved her superior off. For a brief moment, Erwin glanced over at her with his usual stare, having caught Petra's rather blatant lie without much issue, though out of respect for one of his soldiers, he nodded along with her and allowed her to follow them.
For a brief moment, the soldiers simply walked in silence, with Petra walking a little behind Mike all the while. The woman seemed keen on asking a question or two, though it took her a while before she could properly speak up about it, and after Erwin gave her the metaphorical thumbs up in the form of a brief but pointed glance back at her, she spoke her mind with some trepidation.
"Forgive me if I speak out of line, sir, but I… I wish to know…. why did you reveal so much to the newbloods?" asked Petra, sounding genuinely curious and a little worried as she eyed her Commander, who didn't even flinch at that straightforward question. Mike, however, noticeably grimaced as he knew the reason as to why Erwin had revealed as much as he did, and though he seemed hesitant on informing Petra on his reasoning, though after a short bout of silence, Smith nodded and looked back at her solemnly.
"If you wish to know, then please follow me and Mike to my office," offered Erwin, not slowing his pace as he spoke. Mike didn't even glance at Petra as he followed his superior, though he did acknowledge that Ral did smell like she'd come with, a scent related notion that, as usual, came true as Petra nodded and quickened her pace to fall in line next to him, prompting him to glance her way briefly.
"Do you want me to hold that?" offered Mike as he eyed Petra, who rolled her eyes a little as she offered a small smile.
"I think I can handle it, sir, but thanks for the offer either way," assured Petra with a smile, waving Mike off as he nodded just a little at her response.
As they entered Erwin's office, Petra moved off to the side and placed the map she was holding onto a close-by shelf.
After she set it down, Petra moved and stood in front of Erwin's table. By then, Smith had taken his seat behind his table, with Mike standing by his side with his hands behind his back, and if she were honest, the sight was a little menacing. Though perhaps unintentional, Smith's neutral expression did set Ral on edge just a little, and Zacharius' practically emotionless face didn't do much to help set her at ease, though she did her best to disregard that as she saluted her superiors on instinct.
"Please, Petra. That is unnecessary," assured Erwin, waving a hand towards Petra as he spoke. At that, Ral blinked and nodded, relaxing her posture just a little as she eyed her Commander, who sighed deeply as he observed her for a brief few seconds before nodding. "If I may, I wish to make a request or two before we begin."
"Yes, sir?" inquired Petra, intrigued at what these requests could be, and as she said this, Erwin elaborated further on his words.
"I want you to share what I am going to tell you with your fellow squadmates when you return to Rose," insisted Erwin, prompting Petra to raise a brow in apparent confusion, though she nodded nonetheless, prompting her Commander to continue speaking. "However, outside of them and Eren, speak of this to no one else. We can't risk having anyone catch wind of what happened."
"Understood, sir," muttered Petra, sounding rather unsure of their current dilemma as she nodded and closed her eyes to allow the gravity of the situation sink in, and moments later, she exhaled softly, reopened her eyes and continued on speaking. "Is the matter truly that serious, though, Commander?"
"It is," replied Erwin with a nod, with him pausing briefly as he contemplated on just how he should break this news to his subordinate, though after a few moments of silence, he opted to just lay it on thick and speak bluntly without recourse. "Allow me to be blunt; there was an assassination attempt today.
"Or, more specifically, there had been an attempt on Hanji Zoe's life."
And at that, Petra widened her eyes as Erwin began explaining the events that transpired.
"According to Hanji and Mikazuki, this was what happened…
Hours prior
Mikazuki would've been lying if he said that he didn't feel at least a little exhausted.
Staring up at the sky, the pilot frowned when he saw that the sun was about to disappear from the horizon. That in itself was rather worrying, as, when they had entered Barbatos' cockpit, the sun was still pretty high up above their heads; Mikazuki reckoned that it was close to the start of the afternoon back then, so to learn that so much time had passed between now and then was a bit of a surprise, to say the least.
Of course, with Mikazuki being who he was, he didn't show his surprise that much as he felt Hanji finally get off his lap. Standing up a little, Zoe raised her arms up to stretch a little before she grabbed onto the edge of Barbatos' cockpit. And, though it was tempting, Mika opted to not slam the cockpit shut on her fingers as he watched her hoist herself up and out of the cockpit before she stared down at him with a content smile.
"You comin'?" asked Hanji, ignoring the cries of relief that Moblit had directed towards her as she glanced down at Mikazuki, who ignored her as he tapped the cockpit monitor a handful of times. Hanji watched curiously as her junior scrolled through the monitor before tapping on a specific command, and once he was done, he leaned forward and disconnected himself from his unit's Alaya-Vijnana system and cracked his neck, only to look up and spot Hanji with her hand extended out towards him. "Need a hand?"
Raising a brow at that, Mikazuki shrugged and grabbed his Survey Corp jacket before he grabbed onto her hand, allowing her to pull him out of the cockpit with minimal effort. The pilot was momentarily surprised at her strength, though he didn't dwell on it as he adjusted his footing on his Gundam's chest, and as he did so, Hanji turned and saw that Barbatos' formerly green optics were darkening until they held no colour, leading her to believe that they would only glow green while Mika was connected to it directly.
"Satisfied?" spat Mikazuki as he got a good footing atop his unit's chest, with him sounding just a tiny bit irritated as he slid his jacket up and onto his shoulders, to which Hanji chuckled a little as she shrugged.
"Not fully, but thanks anyways," replied Hanji, slapping her junior on the back as she responded. Mika scoffed at that, though he did acknowledge how sincere Zoe sounded whilst speaking, so much so that it caught him off guard, allowing Hanji to continue. "Learned quite a lot. Not as much as I hoped, but we all gotta start somewhere."
"Ah," was all Mikazuki bothered to say before he turned to the side and saw Team Mike, several Garrison and Moblit all staring up at them, with the latter appearing panicked beyond panic whilst a good majority of the former just looked amused.
And it was then when Mika noticed how Mike was missing, though he reserved his questions for later as Hanji punched his shoulder.
"Wanna jump?" asked Hanji, with there being an air of sarcasm behind her words as she spoke, prompting Mika to roll his eyes before he leapt off the edge of the Gundam's chest, causing Hanji to gasp. "Wait I was just-"
And she was cut off when Mikazuki landed rather smoothly on the ground. When he recovered, the pilot huffed and stared up at Hanji, who appeared utterly bewildered as she shook her head and leapt down after him.
"Not bad. Most juniors your age would be injured by a fall from that high," complemented Hanji as soon as she recovered from her landing, prompting Mikazuki to roll his eyes as Moblit and Team Mike approached them.
"I didn't fall. I jumped," corrected Mikazuki, frowning deeply as he wished to get as far away from Hanji as possible, especially after all that lap sitting. That didn't seem to be happening anytime soon, however, as she remained by his side as she waved towards the approaching soldiers with joy.
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Hey, Moblit! Didja miss me?" asked Hanji, only for Moblit to stop in front of her and berate her for her lack of caution once more. The woman waved him off as she usually did, with Mikazuki sighing to himself as he shook his head, though before he could waltz off to parts unknown, he was cornered by Team Mike, who stood before him with either smiles or neutral expressions.
"Y'know, when the eyes of your Titan lit up, I got a little worried," admitted Gelgar, smiling awkwardly as he motioned a little with his hands. Lynne nodded to confirm his comment as she handed Mikazuki his Maneuver Gear, and as he hooked it around his waist, Henning rolled his eyes. Nanaba didn't seem to care much for the conversation, as she stood a little further away from where they were, though she did at least listen in on what they were saying. "Thought you were gonna just kill everyone here!"
"I don't have any reason to do that…" muttered Mikazuki, shrugging as he raised a brow at Gelgar, who chuckled a little as Henning scoffed, pretending that the thought of a rampaging Barbatos wasn't terrifying. "...yet."
And at that, everyone presently within earshot was quick to turn and stare at him with apprehension, with even Nanaba raising a brow at that sudden inclusion as she began feeling the tension pile on.
"You're… joking, right?" muttered Tomas, blinking as Mikazuki shrugged. He was neither joking nor being serious with his words, really, so in all honesty…
"You decide that for yourself," was Tomas' response from the pilot, prompting him to shudder a little as he nodded. If anyone else had said that, he'd reckon that it was a joke. But with Mikazuki? That guy was so straight laced that it seemed impossible to figure out if he was joking or being serious! "Oi, where's Mike?"
"Erm… say what now?" muttered Henning, not quite catching Mikazuki's question as he was still reeling from what he had said moments prior, prompting everyone present to turn and stare at him in amusement as he reddened with embarrassment. "W-What…?"
"Nothing. Just a little surprised that you didn't hear that," teased Gelgar, chuckling to himself as he gently jabbed Henning in the ribs with his elbow. "Taken aback by Mikazuki's lil claim, eh?"
"N-No! It'll take more than a simple machine to scare me, damn you!" rebutted Henning, with his sudden change in tone causing several Garrison to turn and stare at them as the Survey Corp blushed a little. As for Gelgar, however, he snickered to himself as he jerked a thumb over at Nanaba with a grin.
"Whatever you say, but even Nanaba's scared, so you don't have to lie about nothing!" pointed out Gelgar, prompting Nanaba to raise a brow as she stared over at the two. Likewise, Henning glanced over at the blonde Elite warily, prompting her to sharpen her gaze under their stares, though after a few short seconds of scrutiny, she sighed in annoyance before turning away in embarrassment.
"Yeah, whatever. I'm scared of that thing. What about it?" spat Nanaba after a few seconds of silence, snorting as she waved her comrades off. At that, however, Henning winced as he turned back to Gelgar.
"She… she's clearly joking! Nanaba's never afraid of anything!" claimed Henning.
"Psh, kid! When you've known Nanaba for as long as I have!-" retorted Gelgar, though their subsequent argument was mostly tuned out as Mikazuki stared up at Lynne, who had been observing their little bickering contest with no small amount of amusement before Mika spoke up and caught her ear.
"Are they usually like that?" asked Mikazuki rather abruptly, with him glancing up at Lynne as she chuckled briefly.
"More or less, though it's rare to see Nanaba get in on all this," replied Lynne as she shrugged a little as Tomas was called over by a Garrison, prompting him to sigh and wave at Lynne, signifying that he would be gone for a short while. She replied with a wave of her own as Mikazuki exhaled a little at that, finding the camaraderie between the soldiers to be rather nice, though seeing them speak to each other as casually as they did unintentionally opened up old wounds in regards to Tekkadan. "Be glad you don't get to see them arguing while drunk, though…"
"How much did they destroy?" asked Mikazuki as though it were rhetoric, and in response, she leaned down and spoke quietly into her junior's ear as if sharing a secret.
"They trashed nearly a quarter of the main Survey Corp base once. It was… quite a day," replied Lynne, chuckling a little at the memory as Mikazuki raised his brows at this response. Sure, Tekkadan has had some rather drunken days, though he didn't remember any of them being that bad. "The expenses that were racked up on that day were… terrifying, to say the least."
"How many zeroes were there?" asked Mikazuki curiously, to which Lynne flinched once more.
"... six…"
"... I don't think the Titans are your biggest problem," pointed out Mikazuki, though Lynne couldn't tell if he was trying to be sarcastic or serious, prompting her to chuckle awkwardly as she stood up and nodded.
"Perhaps… but in regards to your original question…" continued Lynne, pausing briefly to see Henning now 'interrogating' Nanaba in regards to what exactly scared her as Gelgar watched on with amusement. Lynne offered an amused chuckle at that, though before long she turned away from the scene and continued. "Mike was called in by Erwin to help him out for the ceremony for the officially graduating Cadets of the 104th."
"Ah… Cadets," muttered Mikazuki, and at that, Lynne raised a brow when she noticed how off his tone seemed, though she was quick to acknowledge something as she rubbed her chin.
"You said… you had family, didn't you…?" inquired Lynne, prompting Mikazuki to wince a little as he averted his gaze from the soldier as he stared off into the distance, unsure on if he should reveal the truth to her just yet. Lynne, however, seemed keen on pressing the matter despite knowing that he wasn't comfortable with the situation. She would probably regret this later, but still… "If I may… are they-"
"You may not," spat Mikazuki, with him glaring at Lynne as he spoke, and though she was not easily intimidated, Lynne would've been making a white lie if she claimed to not find the glare Mika gave her at least a little threatening, so much so that she opted to drop the subject for now as she shuddered a tiny bit in discomfort.
"Right… I apologise… it's not exactly my place to talk about your family and all," muttered Lynne, with her shaking her head a little as she flexed her fingers awkwardly. Mikazuki seemed satisfied with that response, though, as he softened his gaze just a little and relaxed his shoulders a fair bit, much to his superior's relief. "You care quite a bit about them, don't you?"
"Yes," replied Mikazuki, short and simple as he crossed his arms and kept his gaze away from Lynne, leading her to believe that he didn't wish to continue speaking, at least until he did without prompt. "They're… important to me."
"I know how you feel. Family is… important," continued Lynne, sounding rather fond as she stared at Henning, who was now being held in a headlock by Nanaba, of all people. The blonde didn't seem winded as she kept her junior restrained, with Henning pleading for mercy all the while, though Nanaba wasn't keen on giving him any as she kept her arm wrapped around his neck. Gelgar simply watched the whole incident from a distance, not intending on intervening lest he incur Nanaba's wrath whilst Tomas watched from a distance, seemingly distracted by the sight to continue his conversation with the Garrison he was originally speaking to.
Granted, even the Garrison Tomas was speaking too didn't seem to be concentrating on the conversation either, with the sight of Nanaba holding Henning in a headlock holding the attention of everyone present.
Everyone except a single soldier, anyways…
For a brief moment, both Mikazuki and Lynne remained silent, content with the silence they shared with one another as they stood, though before long, a pair of arms slung over Lynne and Mika's shoulders, ruining the peace they shared, however briefly, as they turned to spot their assailant… who was, unsurprisingly enough, Hanji. "
"Hanji, you really need to stop doing that," groaned Lynne as she glared lightly at Hanji for doing what she did, to which the bespectacled maniac grinned in response.
"Where's the fun in that?" quipped Hanji with a smirk, squeezing Lynne's shoulder playfully as she spoke. For as high ranking as she was, Zoe was still remarkably immature when it came time to relax, though in all honesty, Lynne wouldn't have it any other way, as that was what made Hanji who she was, but either way…
"Psh, well why're you here anyways? Don't you have an assistant to talk to death, or has Moblit finally dropped dead while we weren't looking?" quipped Lynne, to which Hanji chuckled as she pointed towards Moblit, who had seemingly passed out with one ear smoking.
"I kinda… did that already. Don't worry though, I think he's still alive… I think," replied Hanji, sounding a little sheepish as she eyed Mikazuki with a smile. "So I'm here for Mikazuki, really."
"Yeah, and what exactly makes you think that I'll just let you take the kid?" asked Lynne, to which Hanji smirked and pointed a finger at Tomas, who seemed to be struggling a little with speaking with the Garrison. One couldn't blame him, however, as he had to speak with up to six soldiers all at once. "Ah… dammit."
And with that, Lynne jogged off to assist her comrade, albeit reluctantly due to how she knew how Hanji would get when left alone with test subjects. Even so, she had faith in Mikazuki despite spending less than a day's worth of time speaking to him, and as such, she didn't spare him more than a second glance as she jogged off to help her friend.
Along the way, however, she bumped her shoulder into a Garrison soldier who was approaching Hanji from the back. It caused her to raise a brow, though she didn't think much of it as she continued on. Though not exactly common, Garrison did tend to go to Hanji for help due to her rank, and as such, Lynne didn't give it a second thought.
"So, about Barbatos…" muttered Hanji, smiling a little as she spoke. Mikazuki sighed at that, with him very well expecting more questions from the bespectacled maniac as she leaned up and crossed her arms in his direction. Despite this, however, what he didn't expect was for her to say… "Thanks for all that, y'know?"
"For… what?" muttered Mikazuki, unsure of what to say as he felt a minor surge in his stomach. It felt as though something… unsavoury would happen soon, though he didn't know what it was as he shook his head and dismissed it, only for that feeling to intensify a little as he kept his guard up, just in case.
"Y'know, showing me Barbatos," replied Hanji, though by then, Mikazuki was barely listening as he instinctively kept a hand on the hilt of one of his Anti-Titan blades. A few of the soldiers close-by took stock of this gesture as they went on guard, though they did nothing for now as they simply observed from a distance. "I've learnt a lot today, and I have you to thank for this, even if I'm a little upset with how you didn't let me press much…"
"Ah…" muttered Mikazuki, to which Hanji raised a brow as he tightened his grip on his blade handle. The gesture was not ignored by Hanji as she blinked in surprise, and moments later, she spoke out with apprehension as she took stock of the pilot's darkening gaze.
"Hey, am I… uh… annoying you or something?" asked Hanji, sounding just a little sheepish as she spoke. She wasn't one to feel this way, though even she would feel a little bad from time to time, and if she were honest, she did feel at least a little bad for sitting on Mikazuki's lap for so long, and if he was tired of her presence, then-
"Duck," ordered Mikazuki, with him partially unsheathing his Anti-Titan blade as he glanced at her.
"Say what now?" muttered Hanji, and at that, Mikazuki simply sighed and kicked the back of his superior's knee, causing her to gasp out in shock as she was forced to collapse onto one knee whilst Mika unsheathed his Anti-Titan blade completely and held it up in a defensive posture. The moment Hanji's knee buckled, another Anti-Titan blade, swung from behind her, swung straight across where her head used to be, and as soon as it grazed the top of Zoe's head, coming close enough to slice off a few strands of hair, it clashed against Mikazuki's own, emitting a loud clang as the blades collided with one another.
"What the-" began Gelgar, being the first to recover from the loud clang as he turned to its source and widened his eyes when he saw Mikazuki locking blades with a soldier standing behind Hanji. Said soldier seemed pretty short and wore the Garrison uniform, with a standard issue military hood over their head, concealing their identity. At that, Team Mike widened their eyes at the person. "What the…?!"
"A traitor?!" yelled Nanaba, with her releasing Henning from her headlock as she unsheathed her blades, though before she could do anything, Mikazuki unsheathed his other Anti-Titan blade and swung it towards the 'Garrison' traitor, who responded by leaping back and avoiding the slash.
Not letting up, Mikazuki lunged after them and swung his Anti-Titan blades several more times in their direction, first swinging it towards the traitor's stomach in a horizontal arc before jabbing his other blade towards their head. To their credit, the traitor managed to evade both swings with little issue and countered with an upwards swing that would have sliced off a good chunk of Mika's head had he not shifted his blade up to block it.
As he blocked the strike, Mikazuki narrowed his eyes further when he saw the traitor attempting to swing their other sword at him. In response, Mika kicked them square in the stomach, causing them to recoil back and opened them up to a strike from the pilot, though he, admittedly, didn't expect them to raise their blades up to block his swing , with the sound of their Anti-Titan blades clashing against one another creating a loud clang sound that echoed throughout the district of Trost.
The two were now locked in a clash, one that Mikazuki was quite obviously winning as he began pushing the traitor back bit by bit. As he did so, however, the traitor's hood began to move back a little, allowing Mika to catch a faint glimmer of their face… and the pilot paused briefly when he saw… a few strands of blonde hair alongside a faint glimmer of blue. That, combined with the general shape of the traitor's face… was enough to make Mika falter ever so slightly as his eyes widened just enough to be noticeable.
"...?!"
This proved to be a bad call, however, as the traitor took advantage of this and shifted to the side, weaving to the left and using Mikazuki's own strength against him. Staggering forwards as the traitor weaved away from him, the pilot took a moment to recover as he turned towards his foe, who was getting ready to make their escape, only to be blocked off by Garrison troops, Hanji and most of Team Mike.
"Turning traitor, eh? Mind if I ask why? Actually… know what, save it for the interrogation," mocked Henning as he pointed his Anti-Titan blade at the traitor in question, who stood upright and sheathed their blades by then. Everyone present, minus Mikazuki who was still getting up to his feet, took this as a sign of surrender, though they didn't acknowledge how the traitor was reaching into their back pocket as they approached her. Well, not all of them at least, as Tomas was quick to widen his eyes at the sight.
"Get back, everyone!" warned Tomas, though he was a little too late as the traitor removed what appeared to be a flare gun from their back pocket. As soon as they saw it, the soldiers only widened their eyes in shock, which seemed to be what the traitor had planned for as when they fired the flare gun, a powerful light was emitted, temporarily blinding a majority of the soldiers surrounding them in the process.
The traitor was amongst the few that had been wholly unaffected by the flash as they began to make their escape in the chaos. The only other soldier who wasn't affected was Tomas, who grimaced as he stepped towards the fleeing traitor.
"Don't let her-" began Tomas, only to be cut off when a soldier flew over his head. It took him a short while to realize that the soldier was Mikazuki Augus, who, like himself, seemed unaffected by the flash as he pursued the fleeing traitor. "Mikazuki?!"
No response from the pilot as he fired both his Maneuver Gear anchors up onto the top of the enclosure that surrounded Barbatos and swung himself up and over it. As he reached the apex of his swing, Mikazuki narrowed his eyes when he saw that the traitor was fleeing towards the southern wing of Trost via their Maneuver Gear, and he required less than a few seconds to launch himself after them.
The traitor noticed Mikzukia following them not too long after, as evident by how they picked up the pace and attempted to outmaneuver him as best they could. Despite their efforts, however, Mikazuki provided more than capable enough to keep up with them, up to the point where, within a handful of seconds, he was less than ten metres away from the fleeing traitor.
Clenching his blades tighter, Mikazuki got ready to close the distance between himself and the traitor. He had every intention of outright killing them, though he paused briefly for thought when the traitor turned their head around to glance at him… allowing him to catch the faint glimpse of blonde hair and blue eyes once more.
"Kh…?!"
Mikazuki's momentary stupor was more than enough of an opening for the traitor, however, as they, rather expertly, twisted their body back towards him and ripped the flare gun off their hip once more. They took less than a second to take aim and fire, though as soon as the gun discharged, the pilot had snapped out of it and widened his eyes a little.
That proved to be his downfall, however, as the flare exploded into a massive ball of light, in turn blinding Mikazuki temporarily and causing him to barrel out of control and fall towards the ground, though before he was blinded by the flare, Mika had enough foresight to detach his blades to avoid stabbing himself as he fell to the ground in an awkward tumble.
"Tsk…!" groaned Mikazuki as he shook his head and got up to one knee, shaking his head as his vision very slowly recovered. Everything remained white for longer than Mika would like, and everything around him was ringing as he stood up. He could vaguely hear the sound of civilians yelling out in pain, likely having been affected by that flare as well, though he did also notice how a few yells seemed to be directed towards him in apparent worry.
"Mika… ki?! Ar… yo… alright?!" came the fragments of a somewhat familiar voice as Mikazuki slowly but surely recovered. His vision was still rather spotty, though it had settled down enough for him to notice that the speaker was Tomas, who had apparently caught up with him by then. As he glanced at him, the pilot shook his head violently and coughed, slapping the side of his head as he frowned deeply in an attempt to recover fully to little avail.
"No. I'm not."
"And following all this came the report was filed to me, courtesy of Tomas."
By the time Erwin had finished the brief recap of the events that occurred several hours prior, Petra felt as though her head was about to explode.
An attempted assassination on Hanji, the prospect of there being a traitor within their ranks and even the efficiency of said traitor… it was all baffling, so much so that she was at a loss for words. Erwin himself could tell as much, and in all honesty, he couldn't bring himself to blame her for such a reaction, really, as, when the report first came in hours prior, he too felt overwhelmed, if only for a while.
"I know this is a lot to take in, but we have to keep ourselves vigilant. For someone to try and take the life of someone as high ranking as Hanji… whoever this traitor is, they're not messing around," muttered Erwin, frowning thoughtfully as Petra nodded.
"If I may, Commander… who do you think this traitor is?" asked Petra, prompting Erwin to bite his lower lip while Mike fidgeted a little.
"Embarrassing as it is, we currently have no clue. By default we would suspect either Eren Jaeger or Mikazuki Augus, though due to how Eren was with the rest of your team during the incident and how Mikazuki was present for it, we could not do so," replied Erwin. "As for the gear used by the traitor, we were unable to locate it. For now, we will have to trust our instincts and bide our time. I have no doubt in my mind that our traitor will strike sooner rather than later…"
"I see…" muttered Petra, nodding thoughtfully as she sighed. "I understand, sir. Consider this piece of information delivered."
"Thank you Petra. You may leave now," dismissed Erwin, waving Ral off as she saluted and marched off, leaving Mike and Erwin alone with one another.
The room became silent for a brief second, though not long after Mike spoke up.
"When do you predict their next assassination attempt will happen?"
"In all honesty I do not know. I will have to look into the matter further, but considering our odds…"
Pausing briefly, Erwin frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose before he scanned the report on his table once more, prompting Mike to raise a brow in confusion.
'It is possible that our traitor is someone that Mikazuki is familiar with…'
This couldn't be right…
Tapping through Barbatos' cockpit monitor, Mikazuki began playing and replaying a visual recording that was stored within the system. Though inactive, the Gundam's optics would still record and save whatever it had in its field of view. And, as luck would have it, the small fight Mikazuki and the traitor had several hours ago just so happened to be within its line of sight.
It took awhile before the pilot could get here, having to wait a few hours before his vision could fully recover and with several extra hours being dedicated to debriefing and being sworn to secrecy. No one outside this tent needed to know of the traitor's existence, and most of them were paid off to ensure their silence.
As for Mikazuki, however, as soon as he was sworn to secrecy, he entered his unit's cockpit before anyone could stop him to have a look at the optical recordings of his Gundam.
Blonde hair… blue eyes… general shape of the face… it all matched up with the person Mika had in mind, though he didn't want to believe it. It was most likely just a figment of his imagination and yet… the way the traitor moved in the optical recordings of his Gundam made Mika reconsider, though he kept this matter to himself.
To believe that a good friend would be a traitor was baffling, so much so that he disregarded the notion right there and then.
And yet… a small voice on Barbatos' end of the Alaya-Vijnana system kept nagging at him to perhaps entertain that thought, and despite himself, Mikazuki couldn't help but feel like him ignoring this possibility would only lead to bad things happening down the line…