Falco

"AAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHH!"

If the mood wasn't so sour, Falco might've laughed at Gabi's expense as the horse started gnawing on her hair, and she slipped on a puddle, causing her wash bucket to land on her head miraculously.

"Gabi!" Yet...he couldn't.

"Why is this happening to me?" The muddy girl asks in near defeat as Faclo removes the wooden bucket off her head. "This is the devil's doing!"

"No, I think it's the horse's doing." Faclo did his best to clean the mud off of Gabi. Lucky for him, the girl reluctantly let him. "There's not a horse that would let you ride it."

"Well, I wasn't trained how to ride one. We won't learn a thing out here in the sticks."

"I think it's better to hunker down here than roam around."

Gabi looks to Falco in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"We can stay here and wait for help. Eventually, the world will attack the island. I bet Reiner and my brother will come too."

"Aren't you pissed at Zeke?! There was a traitor right among us! And what about Zofia?! She's God knows where on this damn island thanks to that masked devil! She's probably being tortured right about now!"

"There's nothing we can do..." That, and the fact Gabi can't know Falco was responsible for helping Eren Jaeger. And...

The devil with the mask pulls me away from the explosion...wait, why did...

"Y-You...saved-"

"Get the hell outa here, kid!"

"...I don't think Zofia is being tortured."

"How would you know?!" Falco doesn't answer, only attending to his chores. "And what the hell is 'Mia'? Why am I your little sister?!"

"Does it even matter?"

"Hey, guys. Let's have lunch."

Falco and Gabi look over to Kaya, the girl holds a basket. Hearing his stomach respond positively to food, he grins in excitement. "Okay!" Following Kaya, the Warrior candidates join her outside the stables, leaning on a fence. She hands them each a sandwich and gives Gabi a towel for her wet hair.

"You're quick learners and hard-working, too."

"You think?" Falco chuckles. "Thank you. By the way, Kaya. I noticed all the workers here are pretty young."

"Yeah. Everyone here is an orphan."

"Oh, really?"

"The Queen's policies give support to kids without families. All of us here lost our parents four years ago."

"You haven't accepted your guilt, you speak as if you've done nothing wrong to deserve it," Gabi says.

"What?"

"Huh?! Falco glances at her in worry, hoping she'll stop.

"Have you forgotten the atrocities the people of this island committed? Only when an Eldian accepts the depths of their sins can they begin to atone."

"Is that related to our parents dying?"

"Of course. Even if you act like a saint, your sins are far too great to escape."

"Is that what they teach you in Marley?"

"What are you saying?!" Falco shouts at Gabi. "We're in her debt, you know! Would you just-"

"These are indisputable truths"

"You..." Faclo suddenly turns back to Kaya, his mind just registering to what she just said.

"You two came from Marley, right?"

"How did you..."

"You have to ask? You yelled it out loud."

"Huh? Uh... You knew from the get-go? Really? From the start? I'm so embarrassed!" Falco laughs nervously while he rubs the back of his head. "Why didn't you say something? You're so sneaky! Huh?!" Turning around, Faclo reaches out in time to take hold of the pitchfork Gabi tried using against Kaya, even managing to wrestle it away from Gabi. "What are you doing?!"

"The devil revealed her true colors! I know something was up! Island devils can't be this kind"

"Stop it, you idiot!"

"Hey!" Great, now their bickering has drawn attention. "What's all the fuss about?"

Thankfully for the Marleyan Warrior candidates, Kaya has a good excuse. "Mia's jealous and thinks I'm stealing her brother!"

And thankfully, they buy it. "Don't horse around or you'll get hurt!"

Settling the other girl down, Falco turns to Kaya. There's only one question he has to ask. "Why?"

Kaya leads the pair towards a nearby abandoned village. "This village used to be my home. Four years ago, a Titan showed up here. The villagers ran when they saw it and left behind my mom, who couldn't run." As they cross the bridge, she guides them over to a house, the vegetation slowly claiming it as their own. "There was nothing I could do, so I sat down. From right here, I sat and listened to my mom get eaten. She was alive the whole time it happened. Eventually, she went silent. I think she screamed until she lost her voice. They say humanity outside the walls thinks that we're devils. But I don't understand why we're hated so much. Mia, Ben. Tell me. What exactly did my mom do? What did she do to be hated so much?"

"Your kind slaughtered people for thousands of years!" Gabi answers.

"Thousands?"

"Don't tell me you forgot it! Eldians used the power of the Titans to trample and rule the world for millennia! They wiped out other cultures, forced them to bear their children, and murdered endless droves of people! Stop playing the victim!"

"My mom was born and raised here. She never did anything like that."

"But... A century ago, the sins of your ancestors were terrible and great!"

"A century ago? What about the people who live now? How have we sinned?"

"...Well, not long ago, you guys trampled my home."

"My mom was killed four years ago, so it's not her fault."

"...I'm telling you, your ancestors killed people all over the-"

"My mom didn't kill anyone!" Kaya steps forward and grabs Gabi's shoulders. "Answer me, Mia! Why did my mom have to suffer like that? There has to be a reason! It's crazy if there's not! Why was my mom eaten alive, huh?! Why was she killed?! Huh?! Why?!"

"It was recon-in-force," Faclo says softly. "the invasion of Paradis four years ago was staging for a larger attack. You and your mother were caught up in it. Your mom didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry."

The truth revealed, Kaya walks over to the opened door, dropping at the spot where her mother was eaten. As she bows her head in silence, Gabi turns to Falco. "You're leaking secrets to the enemy. And why apologize?"

"Thank you for letting me know, Ben," Kaya says. "But you don't need to apologize just because you were born in Marley."

Falco nods as Kaya stands back up. "So, how did you manage to escape and survive?"

Kaya looks outside with another distant face. "...A girl a bit older than I am now grabbed a hatchet and started hitting the Titan."

"No way! That's crazy!"

"Yeah. She put herself between me and the Titan and allowed me to escape. 'Keep following this path. Run as far as you can. I promise someone will be there to help you' is what she said to me. And so I did, someone special to her... If she was alive, she wouldn't abandon people like you with nowhere to go. Just like she didn't abandon me." Kaya sighs and steps out of her former home. "We were invited to a restaurant a Marleyan is working at. If you come along, you might find a way to go back home."

Gabi gasps. After all Kaya heard that was said about the people of Paradis, she still wants to help them. "...Why?"

"...I want to be just like her."

Elijah

I swear if I hear one more guy shout about the New Eldian Empire...

"Hey, guys."

"Elijah!" Pair turn to me. "You made it, too?"

I nod to Armin. "Yeah, we can't let this go to waste. Let's go, you two." The three of us head up to what the three of us hope to be a productive meeting. Although, I doubt Zachary will allow us to get anywhere near Eren. On the walk over, I see something unnatural.

"Scout recruits?" I guess Mikasa saw them, too. "What are they doing at HQ?"

"...I don't know, and with that crowd outside, I got a bad feeling in my stomach."

"What do you mean?" Armin asks.

"...Just keep your guard up, something tells me that it's the calm before the storm."

"General Zachary," Armin says as we and Mikasa enter the man's office. He stands behind his desk, staring at the crowd outside headquarters. "Thank you for sparing your time amidst your busy schedule."

"I'm sorry it had to be on a day like this, even though you requested an audience long ago. Sit, Heroes of Shiganshina." God, I hate that word. Since there were only two chairs in front of the General's desk, I let Armin and Mikasa sit along with the general. I stand between them. Meanwhile, the General sits, directing his gaze to me. "It seems Hange is all over the place. It's not like you to be anywhere but by her side, Section Commander Everett."

"Yes. She had to go confirm something. I decided my...friend is more important, personally."

"That's right. I permitted a volunteer to go along. However...I can't allow you three to meet Eren."

I can't say I'm surprised. But Armin and Mikasa definitely are. "Why not?!"

"Because we know Eren had contact with the volunteers. Eren kept quiet about his secret meeting which resulted in the raid on Marley. We're currently investigating if anyone else was involved with it."

I bit my lip. "Including me, sir?"

"Even you, as Scout Section Commander and Hange's personal number two, I am forbidding. Even recently, we may have listened to your 'suggestions'. But Eren hasn't said a word since the truth came to light. We're still in the dark about what he did during his time in Marley, too. We believe that Eren is being manipulated by Zeke. I'm telling you this because it's you three, but keep quiet about it."

Armin shakes his head. "Eren... No way..."

"What will happen to Eren?!" Mikasa demands. The general stays quiet for a moment before his eyes shift to our right, his left, to the chair in the corner of the room.

"...is that?"

"Hmm? It's nothing. I had recruits bring it here since there was nowhere to store it. "

Armin continues his argument. "But, General, if Eren isn't talking, all the more reason I think we can help. I'm not sure we can get the truth out of him, but there's no harm in trying."

"The situation is too delicate. We're done talking here."

"...Dammit," I say as I close the door to the general's office. "I mean, I'm not surprised that he said no, but still..."

"Why?" Mikasa says. "You're right that there's no harm in talking, so why can't we?"

Armin sighs. "One explanation might be that they've completely given up on Eren. We step aside, allowing some people in uniform to pass by in the direction of the general's office. They seem to be the 'higher-ups' spoken of. We watch them go inside the office when Armin speaks again. "If that's true, they're already picking the next Founding Titan."

Mikasa frowns. "I'll listen through the door."

I grab her shoulder. "Mikasa..."

"It's fine. I won't get caught."

"No." I order her as her superior. She glares up at me, mentally fighting back.

"Stop it!" Armin exclaims before we get into it. "We can't violate military law, Mikasa!"

"With all that's going on, we've gotta figure out their plan!"

"And what will you do once-" My grip loosens as my mind goes back to what the general said. That chair was brought up by some recruits...but that chair was...and why would...

CLICK!

Shit! "Get down!" I tackle Mikasa and Armin to the floor, throwing myself on top of them as a loud bang and black smoke fills the corridor. Coughing, I get to my knees as my friends rise off the floor. "You guys okay?!"

Mikasa shakes her head. "I'm fine."

"I... I'm okay." Armin looks around us, back in the direction of the general's office. The smoke...and the blast that preceded it, it came from within. I knew that chair was weird. "What's...going on?"

"C'mon, you two, let's get out of here!"

"Are you guys okay?!" Military Police soldier Hitch Dreyse asks us as we come outside and approach the front of the building.

I nod. "We're alright, Hitch. ...The General?"

She looks over her shoulder, in which we can see how much remains of Zachary. "As you can see...there's nothing. What the fuck is going on?"

Mikasa sighs. "We don't know..."

"Give your hearts!" Almost on instinct, we three Scouts and Hitch turn our heads towards the crowd after hearing that phrase. A phrase not a lot of us use anymore. Well, I do, but hearing it like this...I'm sure Erwin is turning in his grave.

"Our anger reached 'em! Now's the time to fight!"

"I'll fight, too!"

"Me too!"

"And me!"

"Yeah! It's time to fight!"

"For the rebirth of the Eldian Empire!"

"Let's show 'em how angry we are!"

"Give your hearts! Give your hearts! Give your hearts! Give your hearts!"

"..." I feel my knuckles turning white. I'm getting real fuckin' sick and tired of this...

"General Zachary owned a 'special' chair. We believe a bomb was placed on it." He and three soldiers were lost. The culprit and their goal is unknown."

Hange sighs. "The volunteers were on house arrest and this one was with me all day."

"Who else could be responsible for it?"

"The General said some new recruits brought it to his room," Armin says."

"Recruits from where?" Military Police Commander Nilk Dok asks.

"He never said from where. But when Mikasa, Elijah, and I went to his room, we saw recruits leaving HQ. Scout recruits."

"...Floch," I say under my breath. This has to be his doing, him or his lackeys. It's too much of a coincidence that two sets of recruits are responsible for these actions. What the fuck do they gain from all of this?"

"Speaking of Scouts, I hear some of them leaked the info about Eren. You don't think-"

Suddenly, the door bursts open and a soldier walks in. "It's an emergency! Eren Jaeger has escaped from his cell!"

"Mobilize everyone and find him!" Nile orders.

"Armin...Elijah..." Mikasa says with a blank face. "What in the world is happening?"

"...I really wish I knew, Mikasa," I say before I glance at Hange. She says nothing but turns to me with a nod. We follow out of the room, for parts unknown.

"Section Commander Everett!" I pause as a soldier from the Scouts runs up to us, clearly unaware of the pandemonium. "A letter for you!"

With hesitation, I take the white paper in his hand, stuffing it in my jacket pocket. "Thank you. ...Who is this from?"

"...A doctor."

The following morning, we're stuffed into wagons as we leave Wall Rose for a meeting in the land between Rose and Maria. Hange and Onyankopon sit quietly on one side, while Mikasa, Armin, and I sit on the other. Last night gave us a restless sleep, as we were all too worried about the actions of our longtime friend.

"It's alright, Mikasa," Armin tries to comfort. "If it's Eren, he will surely understand us. If we explain, he will surely understand." Mikasa says nothing back, and I don't have anything to add. With so much on my mind, I reach for my pocket, taking out the still-folded paper, and slowly opening it up. Reading it, I sigh in relief, letting a single tear fall out of my eyes. Maybe this cart ride won't be totally full of heavy thoughts after all.

If only I knew about the Cart outside the one I rode...

Eren

Eren arcs his head as he approaches and stares at the mass gathering behind Floch in the territory between the walls. However, the sun has barely risen, there might be even more he can't see. "Lots of people. How many are there exactly?"

"We have more members, including the ones that aren't here. The prison guard who rescued us from prison and the prison guard who allowed us to meet here right now, are inside the military right now, hiding. There is another one who blew up Dhalis Zachary with a bomb, as they wanted someone they were comfortable with to inherit your Founding Titan. But you're the only person who can save Eldia… Eren Jaeger."

Eren nods and takes the dark jacket in Floch's hands, throwing it over his toned bare chest. Turning to the rising sun, Eren makes a determined face. "We will just have to identify Zeke's location. That's all for now."

Elijah

"Floch Forster and some one hundred soldiers and guards vanished from the prison. They're thought to have defected time with Eren's escape. I'm sure they're behind the general's murder, too. They need a name. Let's call these anti-military insurgents, 'Jaegerists'."

I lean a bit towards Jean, whispering. "Nile is laying it a little thick here, ain't he?"

"'Anti-Scouting Corps Destruction Operations' my ass."

"And the goal of the Jaegerists...is what, Hange?"

The Commander clears her throat. "They are hoping to bring Zeke and Eren together. They'll reform the military with Eren on top. Murdering the general shows their resolve. It's obvious what provoked them. The military schemed to take the Founder from Eren, all without telling us."

Nile takes offense to that comment. "We knew what would happen if we had. In any case, many of the Jaegerists are from the Scouts. How will you take responsibility, Hange?"

"I'll take any punishment. But resigning now would be an irresponsible thing to do. Besides, we don't know how many Jaegerists are still in hiding."

"Indeed," Military Police Officer Roeg says. "There might even be a suicide bomber standing right in front of me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Roeg."

"Can you be trusted? Until we know, we can't let you Scouts roam as you please!"

I'm not able to hold my tongue. "How can we trust that you won't be the next one to blow up?"

"Enough!" Entering the room is General Pyxis of the former Garrison Division of the military. Even though that division is defunct, he still wears the jacket. As he steps inside, he nods to the woman sitting between the Scouts and the Military Police, Ms. Kiyomi. "We have a guest here! We have more important things to do than bicker! Hange, who knows where Zeke's being held?"

"Levi and the thirty soldiers with him. Also, three soldiers who deliver supplies. Lastly, there's Elijah along with myself."

Pyxis looks at me with a nod. I'm not sure if it's reassuring or not. "Have those three brought here. Nile, is the Queen's residence safe?"

"Only a few know the location, including Everett. I'll make sure now."

"Eren will attempt to contact Zeke and Queen Historia. Protecting those two is an absolute must!"

"Yes, sir!" I look down to my feet. Historia... Eren wouldn't hurt her, right? Yes, she can be used as Zeke's substitute, it's common knowledge that the military wants to use her to keep her bloodline mixed with the Power of the Titans, even if it is not the Founding. Eren, like me, has been long against it, for her and her potential heirs... I should go with the Military Police and protect her.

Pyxis turns back to us Scouts, but to my far left. "And Armin, as someone with the Power of the Titans, you must fortify our defenses."

"I understand. And...with the loss of the general, the only one who can lead us is you. What do you think we should do?"

"We've been utterly beaten. Let's surrender to Eren." I can't understate the air of surprise and confusion that fills the room. I know Pyxis is the eccentric type, but damn... He explains, "We can't do anything about enemies in our midst. Even if we flushed them out, who knows how much blood it would cost? We don't have time to waste on such folly. Our decisions made soldiers turn their backs on us. It brought about our defeat."

"You're kidding!" A Military Police woman behind me shouts. "Bow down to the people who killed the General?!"

"I knew Zachary for many years," Pyxis continues. To live and die by revolution would be what he wanted. Anyways, the four who died wouldn't want their deaths to cause Eldia's fall."

"So instead," Nile says. "we submit to the Jaeger brothers?!"

"We're not submitting. We'll use the location of Zeke to negotiate with the Jaegerists. Like before, Eldia's survival will depend on a test run of the Rumbling. However, we must look past the fact that they murdered the General. If that's the price to prevent countless comrades from being killed...so be it."

"We're helping Eren when he killed the General?"

"Nobody knows if Eren did it."

"Keep it down, Mikasa. People suspect us of being Jeagerists."

"Whose side are you on, Mikasa?"

"Armin, Elijah, and I almost got caught in the explosion. You have to ask, Connie?"

"Connie, Mikasa, Jean, that's enough," I say as I turn to them. "The last thing we need to do is start fighting amongst ourselves. Didn't you hear Commander Pyxis?"

"Then Elijah, no, Hange, you're really okay with entrusting everything to Eren and Zeke?"

The commander sighs. "No, it's not good. Zeke and Yelena took precautions and were ready for this sort of situation. We have to expect they took other precautions, too. We need to figure out Zeke's intentions before he makes fools of us. Let's hope my concerns turn out to be nothing."

"Something worrying you?" Jean asks.

She nods then turns to me. "Yelena secured work for Marleyan prisoners in odd places. Like...restaurants, for example."

I climb aboard my horse, sighing as I catch her message. "So...we're heading to Nicolo's restaurant?" As she nods, I look towards the trees, biting my lip. Nicolo and I haven't had the best relationship due to a certain foodie's love for his cooking, but... The Braus family is heading to his restaurant today, too. How fate has turned the wheel to draw me to the family of Sasha Braus...