Chapter 41: Mountain of Fruit and Flowers.
Erwin's father had been a teacher in his hometown, Erwin could remember every grain of detail of his father's days. Erwin, like all the children who had lived in his town, had been a student to his father. No child could have paired Erwin enthusiasm in the classroom back at those days. So once, in one of his father's history class, the lesson had been how the record of humanity history had been lost in process of human exodus to the Wall, which revealed last night by Lady Winters that they were all nonsense; but at the time, all he had had at the time, had all just stopped at unproven doubt: even the record of the past had been lost, should the knowledge of myriads of people somehow fix this problem? His father had dismissed this, and ended the class shortly afterward. But when they had gone home, his father had shared his theory with him, that the history books the Royal Government given the mass were filled with nonsensical inconsistency, that the ruling class had alter their subjects' memory. He should have had some common sense that that information was confidential, there must had been a reason his father hadn't shared it with his class, but he hadn't, Erwin had shared it to many of his student. So what should had happened , had happened, Erwin's old man had been found dead, in a town far from his home, the authority'd pronounce the cause of dead to be accidental, but he always knew it was a lie. His father had been totured and murdered by the authority because his son could not have a slightest sense to shut his mouth.
And Erwin was right, his father was right. Hange's report and Ymir testimony had removed all of his doubt and enlightened the rest of the Survey Corps to the truth. The Founding Titan power wielded by the first king of Paradis Island had altered all humans' memory behind the Walls.
There were other nations beyond their Walls, a whole international community whose one member was responsible for the collapse of one of the Wall and hundred thousands of death and million displaced population. Foreign invasion was imminent in the near future to finish the job, and the ones who ran his country were not going to lift a finger to fend these invaders off. So what should be the solution for humanity, no, for the Paradis Eldians incoming annihilation? Regime change. Through subversion. Depose the marionette of a King they currently had along with the puppeteers who worked his strings and replace them with a suitable head-of-state. And Erwin could never have guessed who the said person would be until last night when Hange had reported him, Gohan. Erwin was still upset that his subordinates had gone without his approval and sworn fealty to the Monkey Boy. He never had time to consider Little Lord Winters was suitable for the position or not, faculty-wise Gohan was more than capable to lead the Eldians in a defensive war, or an actual conflict altogether, Commander Erwin's memory was not bad enough to forget how the nobleman soldier handled Titans; but public opinion-wise was vague, yes, there was no doubt that the Populace had a good opinion on the Angel of Trost so much that they organised a some kinda cult to worship him, but who dares say that the public wouldn't shift their opinion if Gohan usurped the throne?
"Hange, how to use this thing?" Erwin waved the Scouter on his hand, he had distributed 5 others to 5 of his trusted officers.
The Section Commander, whose Scouter was already on her left ear, with the pink len covered her left eye, she was not really comfortable with it as she had to wear the Scouter above one of her glasses, she took Erwin's Scouter and fastened it on his left ear. The seasoned Commander of the Survey Corps was mildly startled when digits appeared on the len, the number he could understand, but the other writings were too confusing.
A visible smirk was shown on the Commander lips when he could clearly see the reading of his soldiers' power levels, Hange- 50, the other Scouters wielder Nanaba, Gelgar, Ilse, Moblit power level were respectively 43, 49, 27 and 30. He scanned around the building, there were similar reading, even though he couldn't see the people behind the walls, they were all above 20, most of them didn't pass the two-figures limit but he could see nine readings had.
"What's my power level?" Curious Erwin as he couldn't read his.
"50, sir."
One of the 9 power readings that exceeded the two digits limit, a 150 , appeared behind the door to his office. Levi opened the door, reveal it was his.
"They're here." Announced the Captain. Being able to sense Ki himself, he had no need for the Scouters, and he could distinguish hostile Ki to friendlies', a feature the alien technology lacked.
Mikasa and Levi must had something special with them, as Eren had spent the equal amount of training with the Alpha but he had yet to be able to sense energy, the same could be say for the remaining 7 'classmates' of his, as none could sense Ki yet. But for some reasons, Mikasa and Levi had been able to adopt their Ki sensing faculties by spending 5 months trained by Gohan, a session Yamcha evaluated as mediocre.
The special operation squad were ordered to take cover behind the roof tiles by Levi a couple of minutes ago, explained later by Mikasa that they had sensed Ki signals approaching, and those signals were anything but friendly. Levi briefly left them for a couple of minutes until reemerge from the compound, many of other senior officers and veterans did the same, only to different direction. One of the Veterans, Gelgar, hoisted his flaregun to the heaven and squeeze its trigger and came a purple flare.
"This is it! Here they come! Look alive!" Said Levi as he rejoined his squadmates. The moment Levi landed on the roof, the Anti Personnel Unit of the Interior Police whose Ki signals hid behind the neighborhood revealed themselves as they all leaped on top of surrounding buildings and aimed their pistols at every scouts they could see. "Take cover!"
Fragments of the ceramic roof tiles caused more injuries to the men and women of the Survey Corps than the Anti Personnel ODM Gears in the initial shots when the bullets hit the scouts' covers.
"Let's hope Sasha and the others know how to shoot." Eren covered his head as the ceramic fragments dropped on him.
From the upper floor, in other sections of the HQ, in higher vantage point to where most Scouts were, windows were peeked open with forestocks of rifles revealed, snipers had been positioned for this defence. Sasha and a handful of good shooters had been trained with bolt action rifles to be accustomed. They were not as efficient as the MPs with such weapon, but they were adequate counterweight to the Interior Police fire superiority.
The Scouts' snipers successfully neutralized two dozens of hostiles, the large quantity of remainders either evaded or took cover.
A green flare was fire when Hange spotted the MP's scattering. According to plan, half of the Survey Corps sallied out through the two flanks of the HQ, one flank led by Hange, the other by Levi.
Fifty of Survey Corps troops followed Levi in their 3D Maneuver Gears, flanking the enemy's left. Limbs, blood, heads and torsos littered the streets when the scouts sliced through the gunmen formation. Levi's element could hear the cheering from Hange's side when the her element achieved similar result.
Their celebration was short-lived, however, the Ackermen's Ki Sensing faculty and the officers' Scouters didn't give them enough time to react to the enemy countermove. The infantry armed with semi-automatic moved to street and aimed at the Scouts that were soaring or hanging above, as the rifles fired, soldiers dropped lifeless to the ground.
Hange got no choice other than ordering her men to withdraw to the HQ, Levi's soon followed. The Scouts had the slight advantage in number, but they were clearly outgunned by the Military Police. The non-aggression pact between the Lady and the Royal Government dictated that Bulma would be responsible for equipping the MP with the most up-to-date armament, and everyone of the Scouts cursed their own ally for having a hand in their bad situation.
The MP infantries sprinted toward the main gate of the Survey Corps' HQ, they slammed their own feet, fists, shoulders and riflestocks onto the said gate in order to break it open. The gate was held in place by a squad of Scouts pushing their back to it, reinforcing their barrack's entrance. The Scouts who were blocking the doors would have made themselves perfect targets for the MP's ODM troops if the other scouts hadn't assault any enemy that set foot on top of the HQ's outer buildings. The scouts painted their blades red with human blood whenever they swung at their foes.
It was like a stalemate, for every time the MPs tried to push in, they got pushed back, but the Scouts could not conduct a clear counteroffensive. But something caught Levi out of his posture, Mikasa noticed what he noticed as well, like the officers with Scouters on they acknowledged the energies that had been breaking the gate earlier stopped trying and left the door be.
BOOOOOOM! An explosion shattered the gates in to fragments, blowing the scouts who were blocking it into pieces and injured others who were near the blast radius. The smoke and dust from the blast blinded the scouts's sight of the ground level and the ones who weren't deafened by the noise were shocked by it. The Survey Corps were too hyper-fixated on the destroyed gate and how it was destroyed that they allowed the enemy to have time to positioned their chain-gunners.
"Stay behind cover!" Erwin's picked up the chain-gunners' signals, he didn't know what they could do, but their positioning indicate good shooting angles so the commander commanded the most sensible thing.
"Eren!" Mikasa grabbed Eren's elbow and dove to the ground, tiles followed them as their plummeting to the courtyard.
"Get behind me!" Levi, leaped infront of Gunther and Oulo, impaled an injured MP and used him to block the bullets for himself and squad as they fell back.
The chain-guns' rates of fire chased off the Scouts on the HQ perimeters, whoever failed to retreat was riddled with bullets. Finally, the MPs entered the Scouts' HQ undisturbed.
"Seem like you weren't seeing this coming from a mile away." Bullet castings clanged to the ground as one MP spoke. "I heard story of your new training with the Papa Wolf, Levi. I thought you could sense distance threat. Perhaps Ki is not as dreadful as my compadres were advertising."
"Kenny!" Grunted Levi, he could never come to think he would have to hide helplessly behind cover like many of his fellow scouts and have to endure his former homicidal mentor.
"I thought we had something special. I thought that I'm your only teacher." Kenny signaled his men to advance to search for the scouts while he mocked the Captain at the same time. "But you spent months with that mutant Gohan, then even more time with my lad Yamcha. You broke my heart, Levi."
"Kenny the Ripper?" Gunther's eyes couldn't get any bigger as he recognize the identity of one of the adversaries and his captain's relationship with him. "How'd you know him?"
"By the time I finish explaining we'd be dead!" Answered Levi before he rolled over to Mikasa, who ten meter away from him. Bullets flew at his direction though they hit the ground instead. "Mikasa, a Kame and a Meha is our only chance to send these assholes back to their mamas."
"We don't know if we can do that." Exclaimed Mikasa to which Eren responded.
"You don't have other choices but find out." Eren shook her shoulders.
"We'll be shot 'fore we can charge the attack!" Mikasa shook her head, she was right, the MP would gun Levi and Mikasa down the moment they exit their cover, before they could charge they attack, whether would it work at all.
"We've another thing that we're taught that could help with it!" Levi offered her a solution, which she immediately knew what he was suggesting.
"Can you do that too?" Mikasa raised her eyebrows.
"The Alpha didn't spend 2 months training us for naught." Levi spread his fingers to his forehead. "On my go. Go!"
"Solar flare!" The captain and the Oriential turned their backs against one another's and their faces to the enemies, Yamcha's training paid off as not only Mikasa, but Levi also successfully used the technique. And the MP were all blinded. Next, it was another technique that had to prove it progress. "Ka."
"Me."
"Ha."
It had taken Gohan five years to be able to redo the Kamehameha, which he had been able to do before being marooned on the Eldians' Earth, with difficulty. Yet, Levi and Mikasa Ackerman were able to form Ki balls in their hands after the brief time of training and many failed attempts during that period.
"Me."
"Haaaaaaaaa." Two beams of Ki unleashed upon the MPs who had earlier moved inside the courtyard. "Everyone ducks!" Yelled Levi before he pressed his back upon Mikasa's and the two Ki beams turned like clock hands as the two scouts span, support by the other's back, incinerated every hostile soldiers that didn't recover in time to dodge. Thirty casualties on MP, and the dust from the impact obstructed the survivors' vision.
"Attack!" Erwin's order was heard ,and heeded, the Scouts prepped their sword once again, shot their cables and hooks, and launched themselves toward the MPs who were now stunted by the Ki blasts.
"Nope!" Kenny the Ripper exclaimed as he saw Levi charging him swords in hand, the serial killer grabbed one of his fellow Military Police and shielded himself from Levi's thrust. The captain swords were inches from Kenny's face when they went through the human shield's rib cage.
"Cap … tain … Ken.. ny... the …. fuck?" Choked the human shield as he looked over his shoulder.
"Sorry, Olaf. Priorities." Smirked Kenny as he response to his expendable lackey before the poor man đie, then he aimed his pistol at Levi's head, resting it on Olaf's shoulder. "Guess Yamcha's the better teacher."
Levi dodged the bullet as the gun's muzzle flashed. Kenny slid before his human shield, kicked on the flatside of the one of the blades of SOS Captain, and then grabbed the same blade to held the thing in place. Unable to remove his right blade of the MP's corpse , Levi relied on his left, he pulled it out and swung at Kenny. The Ripper parried with his other pistol, which muzzle pointed at Levi, pulled the trigger and Levi dodged again, right before muzzle flashed.
"It's that my doing or it's the Papa Wolf?" Snickered Kenny as he blocked every swing Levi wildly threw at him. "Because I don't recall teaching you to swing a sword like it a cleaver."
"I don't recall you teaching me how to use swords!" Levi unlatched the right blade from its handle and bludgeoned Kenny with the empty handle.
The Ripper covered his face as he shrieked in pain, he retaliated by cussing and spin kicking the Captain. Sending the Captain through a window.
"Bitch! That's a broken nose you gave me!" Blood poured endlessly from the Ripper's nose and painted a portion of his hand red. Kenny Ackerman swiftly reloaded his pistols and yelped when a bullet hit his shoulders. "Got damn it, we need grenades." Exclaimed Kenny as he shot a wire to the roof and retired there. "Send in more heavy ordnance."
More MPs poured inside the HQ through the destroyed gate. Armed with semi-automatics they crouched behind covers and aimed at the scouts and opened fire, forcing the Scouts to take covers. For every six infantries that was opening fire, one pulled the pin off their potato mashers and threw them at every windows they had their eyes on.
Sasha and Jean were amongst the scouts assigned into sharpshooting details, they, the other sharpshooters, along with many other scouts who were holed up inside the buildings, where completely confused of the sticks as they were thrown through to their feet.
"Seriously, these guys are so desperate that they threw fucking sticks to us now." Chuckled Nac, one of the sharpshooters. But his face was blown away when the grenades exploded, and the large numbers of his fellow scouts shared similar fates. Dozens of men and women laid dead with their some of their body part missing. They had learned it the hard way, that within the confined buildings they had been hiding, they would find no safety.
Sasha and Jean struggled to get up as they coughed out the smoke they had inhaled, the grenades hadbarely injured them and ruffled their uniforms. Though the blasts were unable to kill or maim them, despite the closest grenade had been at their feet, they were able to daze the two Pupils and scar them.
"How... a...re w...we still alive?" Sasha noticed this fact when stared at corpses of her comrades surrounding her, fears were visible in her expression and audible in her voice. Those exploding sticks had been pretty near them before they had exploded, and the state of the bodies around them should be enough to tell them that they should have died also.
"What to make sure.. That we're not already dead. And not...ghosts?" Panted Jean, he hadn't believed in the spiritual world before, but the fact that he still standing and talking to Sasha after the explosions that killed a great deal of his comrades proved otherwise. They must had been already dead , and were talking to each other as ghost. He shrieked in pain as Sasha kicked on his legs, he fell on his face again.
"We shouldn't be feeling any pain if we are ghosts. And this hurts." Sasha fell to her knees as she raised her voice. Never in her life that she would have thought that she would confuse of herself being alive.
"Well, I guess the afterlife is not it. Well, remember that time the Alpha threw a literal cart onto me?" Concluded Jean as he grabbed his rifle and used the firearm to support himself on his feet.
"Yes, I remember it like it was yesterday."
"It was yesterday!" Retorted Jean, he leaned his back on the wall and pulled the bolt on his rifle, though the bolt was pulled with ease the cartridge inside were jammed. "Perhaps if training can make my.. my..., I mean our bodies strong enough to take a cart like that and survive, I think we can take explosions like back there with minor injuries."
"Minor?" Sasha rolled her eyes, then observed the casualties within the building one more time, Jean was not wrong, comparing to the deaths and missing parts of her fellow scouts, Jean and her took really easy.
"Both the Alpha and Gohan have been saying non-stop about that Ki shit can improve our physical strength, but surviving certain death isn't the first thing I have in mind. Ha ha ha." It hurt Jean just to chuckle, but he couldn't stop chuckling while the though of Ki being a real thing ran through his mind. "If the others figure this out. I mean when the others figure this out, the MP'll be doomed. We're winning this."
" Oh, good! Should we be returning to the fight?" Askefd Sasha in excitement, she should have put more control on her excitement because her muscles were in anguish everything she made a wrong movement.
"Fuck no. We had enough for the day, this is either the others can do it or not."
The chain-gunners, the ones that survived at least, reposition themselves on another vantage point and fired upon the Scouts once again, to little success. The scouts hastily took cover behind every structures they found, not letting the MPs surprise them again.
"Don't move your head off your cover, their bullets aren't infinite." Ordered Erwin, dust fell to his gleaming blond hair as the machine pistols bullets ravaged the window still he was ducking below.
"Neither are their lives." Levi landed atop the same roof Kenny had been standing, the Captain lunged at the Ripper and slashed at the MP's throat.
"Oh shit!" Kenny dodged at the last second and headbutted Levi, only resulted in both the two Ackermen to hold their heads in pain. "Goddamnit, since when your head got so hard?! Oh shit!"
As it turned out, the roof where he was standing was not the ideal position for safety as two scouts, Gunther and Oulo climbed up from the windows of the same building to where he was. Oulo leaped toward the Ripper with both his blades held high. However, before he could hack Kenny in halves, he recoiled and pulled back as the Ripper just grabbed Levi in the shoulder and use the Captain as a shield.
"Capt'!" Oulo skidied to the edge and went to a defensive stance, he cued Gunther who picked up the cue like well program PC and slid to Kenny left flank. Levi grunted as Kenny dragged his human shield to the left, which was him so it explained his grunting, and he grunted even harder when Gunther kicked him square in the chest, sending both him and the Anti Personel Policeman to the ground level. "Gunther, what the hell?" Oulo spat at him as he saw the two Ackermen plummeting to the courtyards.
"What? You prefer me to stab the Captain or something?" Retorted Gunther, then he notice the chain-gunners had fix their barrels on him and Oulo, he tackled Oulo to ground as well.
"Me too?" Yelped Oulo as he plummeted to the courtyards, he and Gunther rolled on the ground for a few time just to see that the chainguns were still aiming at them. "Thanks, Gunther. Now we can die on the ground like normal people instead of on the roof."
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK.
"What the fuck?" Oulo heard a chain-gunners cursed.
"What the fuck?" Another chain-gunners cursed, now both Oulo and Gunther saw the chain-gunners smashed their machine pistol on the ground.
"They're out of bullet?" Asked Gunther, but he got his answer when he noticed the ammunition belts was still dangling on the MPs' pistols.
"Their guns, malfunctioned or something. We can have a chance now!"Cheered Oulo, but his joy was cut short when he see the riflemen firing behind the covers, and the Anti Personel Handcanon ODM flying around. "Oh shit." Now it was Oulo's turn to tackle Gunther to safety.
Kenny dodged another attack from Levi when the two Ackermen recovered, Kenny countered by bursting some steams into Levi's face and … soared into the HQ's outer wall. "Now this is just embarrassing. We're supposed to have overwhelming firepower. Okay, midget, I have had my fun, today." Kenny then turned his head toward his fellow MPs. "Caven, you handle things from here. Boys and girls, Good luck! You're doing your king a great service today."
"Hey, Captain! What the hell?" A blond, female Anti-Personel MP gawked at him before the serial killer hopped off to the other side of the wall.
"He just left us!" Exclaimed one MP, disbelief was manifested via her voice and her comrades' faces
"Cowaaard!" All the MPs who weren't too preoccupied in the fighting screamed at the top of their lungs to berate the Captain that had abandoned in time of need. And a surprise to everyone, one of their adversaries joined them in the act.
Levi anchored on the wall, gas burst in his hind and the cable reeled him toward it, he decapitated two unawaring MPs who were atop of the wall. As he landed, he wasted no time locking his eyes onto the tall, lean silhouette of Kenny that was gaining distance from him.
A loud Bang and a series of gusts interupted Levi, he looked beside him and saw too MPs pointing their hand-canons in his general direction, their barrels were smoking, the only reason the high caliber bullets missed his head by an inch was because each of the Anti-Personel squad member had a detached blade impaling their torso.
"Captain!" Oulo and Gunther landed near Levi the same moment the two who had attempted on Levi's life fell lifelessly to their faces.
"We're not letting that bastard get away." Levi gestured to Kenny, and activated his ODM Gear again and resume pursuit. Oulo and Gunther showed no hesitant and followed their captain.
Eren and Connie attached new blades into their handles, they had never though the stunt they had just pulled earlier would have work, but it had. They had just successful covered Captain, in the cost of 4 valuable Anti-Titan Blades, but the cost was worth it.
"Again?" Connie backed himself into pile of crates, next to Eren.
"Again." Nodded Eren.
The two cadets skiddied from the crates and swung down the blades, pressing the release triggers in the last moment, both of Connie's blades missed their marks, and only one of Eren managed to hit the blond lieutenant, Caven, whatever her name in the head.
"What the hell, Connie? You just hit one of them earlier when their were much further." Eren flinched before scurried back behind the crates. "These are closer, how did you miss?"
"We just got real lucky!" Retorted Connie. "It's a miracle that didn't hit the Captain instead, much less saved him. We're not exactly trained with that technique. You Suicidal Maniac!"
"I'm gonna ask you two to do everyone a solid, and not wasting your blades again!" Connie and Eren waved off the steam from their faces as Gelgar vaulted through the crates and crouched between. The boxed splintered as rapid gunshot rang in the air, only the content of the crates that saved them from. "Unless you rookies prefer to have more holes on your bodies than a beehive ever had. I suggest you stay here."
Whatever the malfunction in the belt-fed machine pistols was, some of them were fixed and functioned again. Now to avoid the guns being jammed, the chain-gunners fired their weapons in short bursts.
"Hello? Is anyone there? Do you copy?" The Titan Shifter and the Ragako sole survival were confuse when their senior officer suddenly jolted away from them.
"Rarrrgh." Gelgar hands were inch away from the Scouter he was wearing, the only restrain he had to keep him from pulling of the device was his self-control.
"What sorcery is this?" Hange had more self-control than Gelgar, that not only she was not tempted to remove the device, but she was able to slashed three MP riflemen while being startled by the voice in the Scouter.
"The fuck?" Nanaba was running on the roof, chasing two chain-gunners whose weapons were fixed, she got so distracted by the voice that she lost her footing and tripped, losing her targets.
"Ahhh" Ilse's attempt to ambush an MP failed miserably when he heard her before she got close, he aimed his rifle at her and shot forcing her to retire back to the main building.
"Huh?" Commander Erwin was leading a squad to search for survivors within the main building after the grenades attack. Though startled, his grip was so firm that he didn't drop Jean when he help the boy up.
"What?" Moblit's reaction to the voice got him in trouble, the executive officer found himself defenselessly at gun point by three MPs who were alerted of his position.
""I do expect that kind of reaction. This is Winters. Sorry, I forgot to tell you that the Scouters have other functions." The Lady didn't have to tell them her name for them to recognize her voice.
"Lady Winters?" Asked Moblit. And the other five asked the samething. The three hostiles who were holding Moblit at gunpoint puzzled at the question and looked behind them in confusion, but they found no Lady Winters, the only thing their found was Moblit siezing that moment to slice their napes open with one swipe of his sword.
"Wait, are you idiots using all six Scouters?" The Scouts awkwardly stared at the officers when they heard Commander Erwin 'talking to himself' and the inaudible voice from the scouters.
'No shit, bitch.' Though Ilse as she rejoined her squad and Erwin.
""My lady, you gave us the devices to make up to our lack of Ki Sensing." Erwin eyed Ilse, motioning his finger on his Scouters, Ilse gave him a quick nod to confirm him that she heard her too. "We're utilizing them."
"I was dead serious when I tell you" The six officers could hear the irritation in the Lady voice from other end of the comm . "that I can't literally make more of those. If any of them breaks or god forbid all, you can't see..."
"Is this bitch for real?" Ilse couldn't be anymore irritated, she was more irritated than the Lady. Seriously, the Lady herself gave them the Scouters so they could see Ki signal, and the Alpha had told Erwin to give them to his most trusted officers. And now she was angry at them for doing exactly what she told them to do.
"Bulma!" They head Eren's mother's voice as well. And then the Lady changed the subject. "What the situation on your side?"
""We're taking heavy casualty, the enemy had breached the HQ ." Jean's and the other junior Scouts were frozen when they heard the Commander speaking to himself again.
"Hey, they're loosing ground." Sasha pointed out to the courtyards, many of the MPs had their own back against the castle wall, some of them were already exiting through the gate.
They were gaining the initiative, they were winning this, Erwin could not ignore such an opportunity like this.
"7th squad! Distract those at Southern Entry so the 5th can hit them in the rear!." Ordered the Commander. 7 Scouts from his detachment gave him quick 'yes sir' and ran along the corridor and headed downstair while the other 7 just nodded and leaped out from the windows. "I have lost track of Levi and his squad. How things are handled on yours?"
"We have everything under control." Answered Bulma, then via the Scouters the officers heard another female voice and recognised whose. "Like hell you do!"
'Is that Petra?' Mouthed Ilse.
"Soon they'll have to divert some of their men from your position to ours. Don't let up!" The Lady continued. Petra's muffled, inaudible voice could still be heard. " Op ing ie-ing."
"I assume they haven't used any weapons that are too out of the ordinary for you?I'd upgraded their gears in the past, but those are in limited quantity, they must reserve all their finest for us." Stated Bulma, Erwin shot his anchors to the courtyards and glided through the brick surface beneath him. He pivoted and struck a Anti-Personnel Squad member, who blocked his sword with his pistol, his defence was in vain, however as Erwin disemboweled with his other blade.
"She made those?" Gelga bisected a MP who attempted to shoot Erwin, his voice masked no anger when he learned that Lady Winters was indirectly responsible for the Survey Corps' casualties in the battle.
"They have explosive sticks and pistols attached to their ODM Gears." Erwin and Nanaba overturned a wagon and shielded themselves from the machine pistols fire. "The repeater pistols claimed more of my men than the big bullets ones."
"They mass product them? How?" A loud slamming noise could be heard from the other ends along with the Lady's frustration.
"The Blue-haired bitch sounds surprised!" Gelgar looted a carbine from a dead MP and started firing.
"You arrogant idiot!" The command heard Petra's voice again. . "We can craft the ODM Gears, make steamboats, make compressed gas pumpers. And you thought we could never study your equipment, what were you fucking thinking?"
"Yeah, Petra, give it to her. You go girl!" Cheered Ilse when she descended to join the fray.
"We're gonna need a loooot of explaining to be done if we get to see her again." Said Hange as she and Moblit led the 4th squad's attack on the terrace. "Seriously what kind of mental disease made she think arming the enemy she was going to back-stab a good idea."
"You're one to talk, Section Commander." Commented Moblit.
"Commander, hold your ground, Goha... The King is coming to aid you. The reinforcement. Your salvation is at hand. Make sure that you don't give up." Bulma voice was shaking, the earlier day the Scouts had seen the Lady got angry, this time they got to hear got scared. "His hegemony starts today."
Then static. And Erwin spotted the 5th squad's power level had already crest the castle's bulwark.
"Press on the counterattack ,push them back!" Erwin shouted out his orders, his subordinates wasted no time charging the MPs, the gas from their ODM Gears created a smoke screen, blocking the enemy vision and their own, but not the Survey Corps would rely on their sight to slay their foes. "This is it. Offer up your hearts! The future of humanity lays in our hands."
Thirty of MPs, by any means, whether it was by their ODM Gears or on their feet, ran away from the Scouts and by extension, the Survey Corps' HQ leaving behind a trail of their own deads littering the Survey Corps' HQ and cheering survivors of the Survey Corps.
Mikasa pulled her sword from a MP's corpse, panting and sweating and bloodied. She look at two uniformed silhouettes approaching her, she didn't have time for the gas to clear to sprint toward one and hug him. "Eren." The Titan Shifter didn't push her away out of embarrassment like he used to, but instead he hugged her back.
"You did good Mikasa! A kamehameha? You practically won half if not three quarter of the battle for us." He was gentle, more gentle around her than he usually, she felt his tears fell on to her beautiful, black lushy hair.
Their embrace was long, and Mikasa wished for it to never end, Eren's eyes met hers, he gave her a smile he seldom gave her. Her face then became tense when his face also became tense, his smile dissapeared and replaced with a gape of horror.
"My god, Armin... He- He- he's in the sharpshooters unit." They broke off from their warm embrace when they knew about their friend's peril. Mikasa and Eren swiftly scurried to main building, followed by Connie who overheard their conversation.
"That won't be the last we see of them!" Exclaimed Gelgar as he saw what left of the Anti-Personel Control Squad running away from them. "Commander, should we pursue?"
Erwin look around him, with the gas almost clear he could barely have a hold of his Corps' losses, he had lost one third of his force. His fallen comrades yielded no reading, and the wounded's power levels were dropped below ten, and that was just the on courtyards. He had fewer reading coming out from the main buildings. Best not to push his luck.
"No, they aren't the only side that is battered! This victory comes with a great cost." Erwin gestured to the dead lying around in the HQ. "We should identify our dead and tend our wounded, and prepare for the next assault. Until Gohan get there, we will not pursue our fleeing enemies."
"You believe her? She said she had everything on her site under control, but by what Ral said, it's sound like she's bluffing." Retorted Hange, she removed the scouter from her ear, blankly she stared at the thing.
"Obviously, the bitch was bluffing! She's probably not handling the thing in her place no better than us."Agreed Ilse.
"Or she's having it worse than us. Oh, the irony!" Nanaba crouched down near an dead Anti-Personnel Control Squadmember and started to remove his ODM Gear. "God damn it, she practically killed a lot of our guys making these. If it not for the respect I have for her son, the next time I see her, I'll rip out her heart myself."
"She was clearly bluffing. Not just by Petra Ral calling her out, but I've notice the tone in her voice,too." Added Erwin. "But there is one thing she didn't lie about, though, it's about her son's coming to aid us."
"Sir, I don't think we should bet our lives on than." Commented Moblit, Bulma was never a great friend, or a friend at all to the Eldians within the wall, the past experience of the vast majority with her through out the years had everyone came to this conclusion.
"No, Moblit. Commander Erwin is right, Gohan would never abandon us." Retorted Ilse, with the Monkey, now their future king, constantly throwing himself into danger just protect them , the Survey Corps' faith on him was far from dwindling.
"That was before he reunited with his mother. Why would he come to support us instead of his mum?" Retorted Gelga, he had noticed a thing few people in Gohan's circle of relationship noticed that however close they were to Gohan, they would never be as close to him as Bulma and Yamcha did. "I certainly wouldn't. Would you?"
The senior officers went silent after what Gelgar had said, that did have a point. By mere the monkey boy's the expression and comfortable interaction with the Lady and the Alpha, it was clear that Gohan had known them for years, and longer than even he had known Eren, Armin and Mikasa. The odd of he choosing the Survey Corps over his own family was not confidently high.
Although.
"What did Petra call her? 'Arrogant Idiot'." Ilse Langnar made another rebuttal. "I think she was so convinced that she could win the battle that she deemed the need of her son on her side unecesary."
"She was referring to the copying of the Lady's invention." Gelgar shook his head, apparently his fellow squad leader hadn't paid attention. "The blue-haired bitch was so up in her own ass that she didn't think the Interior Police could duplicate her technology, that what the 'Arrogant Idiot' for."
"Didn't stop me from elaborate further. Commander, you might have seen through her lie. But I've also spotted something else,too." The freckled squad leader walked toward the Commander. "Denial. She was in denial of losing control of the situation. Which mean prior to communicating to us, she sent Gohan away, or at least allowed Gohan to come to us."
"How can you be so sure?" Asked Moblit.
"If Gohan was with her, she wouldn't have to bluff. She wouldn't have lost control of her battle, would she?" Hange could have came up with that logic earlier, or anyone if not everyone, but it had taken so long for one of them to come with it. The realization that the answer was under their noses the whole time cause the six senior officers to smacked their own fore heads.
A little bit of amusement from the irony of the situation formed in their minds, Lady Winters sent her son to aid them because she thought they needed help and she could handle the situation more smoothly because she had the firepower superiority on her side. Reality was the contrary, the Survey Corps had won their battle, though barely, and the Lady was having trouble in Castle Jutnar. The amusement vanish swiftly when they realize that Gohan was coming to the wrong place, he was needed at Castle Jutnar not here.
"Though I really hate the bitch's face, but I have no wish to see the expression on Gohan's face when he know he's probability left his mom to her death." Grimaced Nanaba.
"Then we better not tell him!" Suggested Gelgar.
"Best we tell him. She needs him more than us." Commented Moblit.
"No, we need him here!"The officers eyed Hange, completely baffled by her opinion. "It's already too late for the Wolfpack now, his heading back to the Castle would serve no purpose for them."
"You're suggesting us to have him leave his mother at the mercy of the Interior Police." Protested Moblit, he knew his the Survey Corps was on a dark path, but this was too cruel, asking a son to abandon his mother in time of need? "Do you have a shed of humanity, ma'am?"
"That might happen to the Alpha, but I'm sure that the Lady would be out of harm's way. Just yesterday at the Wolf's Den, the Alpha mentioned a 'Bunker', where she has been holding Annie Leonheardt after her capture. And by elaboration of these Scouters, I am confident that this 'Bunker' share the same modernity." She waved her Scouter before them. And the topic of mother and son brought her to another question. "Also, Gohan refers to her by her first name, is she really his mother?"
The officers nodded in agreement with both of Hange's sound arguments. Gelgar, Nanaba and Moblit could verify both the Bunker and the first name basis of Gohan and the Lady.
"What's taking Levi so long?"
For every time Kenny thought that he had loosen the Scouts, it was either Oluo or Gunther, or even Captain Levi himself blocking his path and force the Anti-Personel Policeman to change direction. He stopped bothering to shoot them after three occurrences, for they had dodged every shot. It was almost like they knew where he was going after they lost him.
"Kennnny!" Shouted Levi a heartbeat before ejecting a blade at his former mentor. The blade hit Kenny right in his backplate, and bounce of to the streets below him and grazed a pedestrian causing her and the other civilians to scatter in panic.
Kenny shot an anchor in another building and swung left to an alleyway ,his shoulder jerked as the gas thrust him swiftly to a dead end before Levi could react. The SOS' momentum caused them to miss the alleyway, it took them three seconds to pivot thrust to the alley. They wall-ran on the building as their grappling hooks attached to the house Kenny had just crested.
Once Kenny the Reaper got atop of another house, Levi was lunging towards him, only the noise of the Captain ODM Gear that alerted the serial killer in time to parry the Captain with his pistols.
"How the hell did you caught up to me so quickly, midget? And how did you find me?" The two Captains glared at one another as their blades and guns locked on the others. "It's that Ki sensing bullshit real?"
"I have better teachers!" Levi mustered all his strength and pushed Kenny aback, and struck again, swing his blades from different angles.
"Teachers? Plural? C'mon, let's be real, surely you didn't learn that light beam thing from the Monkey Boy." Quipped Kenny right after he parried and he skidded two meters away from the midget captain and aimed his hand-canons at him. "Better teachers my ass! You learned jack.." And he had to abort his attempt the midget's life when the two others thrust their weapons at him. "Shit!"
Gunther and Oulo coughed when Kenny burst another gust of gas on them as he fled. He swung across two blocks before he pivoted and aimed at Oulo, who had resume pursuit. Captain Levi kicked his squad-member through a window as the gun fired, saving the scout's life.
"Why?"
"Can you three stop dodging every shot I take for like three time?" Barked Kenny as he went from roofs to roof.
"This guy must've more than a dozen of his screws loose!" Commented Gunther, obviously none of the three was going to comply to the serial killer's request.
Missing 8 shots in total during this cat and mouse ordeal had taken a toll on Kenny Ackerman's patience. He would have more chances if he had been using the old model Anti-Personnel Control ODM Gears, which had fowling pellets that could spread and hit more targets. But the old model replaced that with either the large cartridge single-shot pistols like he was using or the belt-fed machine pistols that had just miserably jammed earlier back at the HQ. The Anti-Personnel Captain mental cursed the old men in the Council, they had been so amazed when Lady had presented them that they had ordered the discharge of all the old Anti-Personnel ODM Gear model once the new ones had been successfully manufactured. The new hand-canons ammunition of course could be useful should the Interior Police had to deal with Titans, but against their owns, nothing should beat the classic.
His left hand reached to the bandolier in the back of his waist as his right shot another anchor to swung through the streets, he kicked every civilians that got to close to his feet in the faces. The Lady had got him into this, it was only right that she had to get him out. He pulled the pin of the potato masher with his teeth and tossed it at his chasers.
"Evasive maneuver!" Ordered Levi when saw the spinning grenade going to his squad direction. The SOS scattered and duck, moving away from the grenade trajectory and prayed to any higher power they believed in that the grenade wouldn't blow their bodies to pieces when it got near their position.
The stick grenade flew over Levi's head before plummeting to the street behind him. A curious pedestrian puzledly picked up the stick and the scouts gasped in horror as it exploded, killing and injuring all the civilians that were in its blast radius. The horror in the scouts' expressions turned into anger when their shifted their gazes to Kenny, they disregarded how many gas they had left in their canisters, they went full throttles, having no care to release their fingers from their gas triggers.
"Fucking fuse!" Kenny remembered why he hadn't use the grenades earlier in the chase when he look at the dead civilians and very much alive scouts. Then he maliciously grinned when he glanced down at the civilians he was soaring above, who were dumbfounded by the sight the explosion that had just happened.
"No!" Gasped Oulo as he saw two grenades were dropped in to the crowd. He were about to lunge at the crowd to intercept but Levi grabbed the man by his collar and misdirected him to a nearby pub.
"Hit the deck!" Levi screamed at the customers and employee before he rushed to the bar and wrestled two customer and the bartender down behind the said bar. Oulo overturned a table, grabbed two customer and hid behind said table with them. Gunther shut the door immediately after he entered and pressed his back on it.
All the windows in the pub shattered when the people inside where deafened by the first explosions that they couldn't heard the second. When their hearing returned they heard hastened footsteps and screaming outside
Levi hopped out from the bar. His Ki sensing told him that though shaken the civilians within the pub were not harmed. Levi, Oulo and Gunther walked outside and saw the carnage,the unwhole dead bodies of civilians littered before their eyes, crying mothers and fathers who were heavily scarred clutched their dead children in their arms, injured children sobbing atop of their deceased parents, lovers and friends frozen at the sight of their partners leaving them for good. It was a desolating sight.
"That bastard's not getting away with this." Gunther pointed at their mark, who had gained enough distance to get out of their view right after Gunther pointed at him. The SOS member shot a grappling hook, he was about to thrust himself to the same building Kenny had just lost them.
"No, do not pursue Kenny!" Levi reined Gunther in.
"Whaaat?"
"He made a clear message: If we keep following him, he'll do this again." Levi pointed his sword at the carnage before him.
"We can't..." Oulo and Gunther fell to their knees, they refused to accept the reality that they had to let Kenny get away from justice because of the fear that he would do it again. "He can't be escaping from this like this."
Having the same thought as his subordinates, Levi's hands quaked with rage, but what choice did he have? What choice did they have? They were Survey Corps, sworn to do what best for humanity or rather the protection of the people of Paradis; they couldn't let the urge of revenge on one man endanger the mass.
Then he sensed it.
"No, Kenny is just gonna from us. But, from this? He isn't." Said Levi. His subordinates stared at one another in confusion as the Captain went against his own words by activate his ODM and crested on the building he had just stopped Gunther from going earlier.
Soaring and swinging along the street unattested, Kenny chuckled. Holy shit, it worked. Kinda disappointed in ya Levi, your emotionless demeanor is just a front after all Kenny checked his bandolier of grenades, he had three left. Had the midget got over his sentimental side and sacrificed a couple of civilians, Kenny would have no leverage left over Levi and he would have had his head.
"What a sh-" A familiar sound got his attention, ODM Gears gas, he turned around and spotted Levi and his two squad mates chasing him in the distance. "That's my boy. Let's see what your limit is, shall we?" He pulled out the fourth grenade.
He didn't notice the people gasping down the streets but the other sound—a sound that he had never heard before, and he was sure as hell no one else had heard it either- forced him to looked down onto the streets. He gasped and widened his eyes when he saw the people were rushing away from Gohan's path who was – by the look of it, riding on a jet black wheeled object that was emitting smoke from its backside and that irritating, strange noise Kenny had been hearing.
Gohan drifted the vehicle and skidded it sideways across the road and kicked the jet black thingy toward Kenny and launched himself toward the MP, with his trusty red staff in hands.
Kenny back flipped in time to evade the bike, its wheels were millimeters away from his face and he shrieked in agony when Gohan shoved the Power Pole into his rear chamber.
The Captain of the Anti-Personnel Control Unit fell pole first on the ground, causing the pole to push deeper into his anus and Kenny screamed even louder. The screaming didn't stop when the Ripper had already lied flat on his face, and his screaming toned down into whimpering when the SOS landed near the suffering man.
"I am so not ready for today." Commented Gunther. The scout then got startled when Oulo burst in slaughters along with the citizens that had gathered around the scene.
"Ha ha hahaha ha, I'm sorry I – ha ha ha – I shouldn't be laughing after back there – but this – ha ha ha – this is so – I can't help it." Oulo was so out of breathe that the man couldn't form a proper sentence. "Serve you – Served you right – Asshole – ha he he – Get it? 'Asshole'." And the crowd got it so laughing didn't stop.
"The only reason I'm gonna let this fucker live is I'm not letting him live this down." Looking at the current state of the man he once knew, who had taken care of him in his youth, Levi almost felt sorry for the man. He had never in his life seen Kenny whimpering and screaming like now. So this was rich for him. "What the hell you wearing?" Asked Levi about Gohan's outfit.
"Battle Armour, Bulma thought I shouldn't be going without protection." Gohan grabbed the Power Pole and removed it from Kenny's buttock. The entering was bad, but the exiting was worse. Kenny let out a breathless wheeze, his reaction caused Oulo and the onlookers to laugh harder, and Gunther to chuckles, and a look of amusement to manifest in Levi's eyes.
"Looks kingly!" Commented Levi. He crossed his arms in amusement when Gohan knock Kenny unconscious with a quick thrust in the head with his pole.
"Thanks." Nodded Gohan as he remove the bandolier of grenades from the APCU torso.
Erwin and the surviving Scouts gasped in shock when the Monkey Boy pole vaulted into the HQ with Kenny on his shoulder. Levi and his squad mates landed before the boy though they were the one to appear on the wall later than him.
"Erwin, I bring you Kenny the Ripper." Reported Levi as Gohan dropped the unconscious MP in front of the Commander. "The fucker killed a bunch of civilians running away from us. Should have killed him, but, not before we can get some intel out of him."
"Remove his Gears." Two scouts followed Erwin's order and rushed to Kenny to unstrap the Anti-Personnel MP's ODM.
In the Survey Corps' bewilderment, the Power Pole retracted to it normal size and put back to its scabbard by Gohan. A number of the scouts who regained their composure approached the half-breed and gave him a nod of approvals. He didn't have time to take in their appreciation as he was awed by the killed-in-action he saw and the wounded-in-action he sensed.
Gohan removed a sheet covering a corpse and his heart twisted when he saw Hannah's face, he rued the day the made his speech at the selection ceremony, she probably would have joined the Garrison and be in safety if he hadn't made that speech. Franz must have been devastated when he saw his love died, unless. Oh no. Gohan removed another sheet, Hannah's lover's face had lost half his head ,Gohan sighed in grief as he put the sheets back on. The half Saiyan concluded that he shouldn't disturb the dead any longer and walked inside the building West Wing where the Corps' infirmary was.
There weren't enough bed for the WIAs, the ones who had injuries that wasn't deemed as severe was only bandage and had to sit outside, Gohan didn't really worried about them as much since they were able to walk around. But the ones who was severely injured, however, all of them had to share bed with others who had the same degree of injuries as theirs. Mina was sobbing on a bed though her eyes were both covered by bandages, she was sharing a bed with another girl who had lost two of her limbs. Nifa, a member from the forth squad shared her sickbed with another fellow soldier of the Survey Corps, their torsos were both wrapped up with bloodied bandages. And the list went on, many of the WIAs that filled the sickbeds in the infirmary were the people Gohan hadn't had the chance to know or memorize their names, yet, he better be knowing their names for later, they got into this just so he could be king, he owed them more than that. Then he saw Armin, his energy was dimmest of all.
"Armin!" Gohan rushed to the Shiganshinian's sickbed and join Mikasa and Eren kneeling by his side.
"Gohan!" Mikasa and Eren only glanced at the half-breed for a brief before shifting all their concerns to their fellow Shiganshinian. Armin's condition was critical, the left portion of his face was obstructed by the bandage that had absorbed some of the boy's blood, he was missing his index finger and middle finger on his left hand and his right leg was amputated. Armin Alert had shown no sign of waking up.
"What happened?"
"Those explosive sticks!" Answered Eren, his cheeks were all wet and his eyes were all watered as his hand never left Armin's bandaged hand. "We found him and Mina under a broken shelve, he mustn't have turned it over and took cover behind it..."
"That's why he's alive!" Gohan looked back and Jean limping to him. "He's the only guy who figured out what those things were, it just that Mina and him were too close to it. And those fuckers threw too many of them."
"Grenades?" Gohan recalled Bulma telling him how she armed the Interior Police.
"You know what those were?" Sasha left Mina's side when he heard Gohan mentioned the name of device that claimed many of her comrades.
"Bulma! This must be one of her agreements with the Interior Police, when she signed the non-aggression pact with them back in the day. Yamcha did warn me about repeaters and the gren-" Before Gohan could finish his sentence, Eren lunged toward his and punched him in the face, though unfazed by the punch, it was disheartening for Gohan because he knew why Eren did it.
"How the fuck did a guy like you come out from her?" Eren grabbed the half-saiyan by his Battle Armour's shoulder straps as he screamed at the future monarch's face. "How the fuck did I hail you my king?" Eren voice was slighty high-pitched, his face was both blistering with fury and sorrow.
" You know what good did your mother's invention did to us? Those 'repeaters' cut us to shreds, and those fucking 'grenades' sticks of hers killed many of us in the 104th ,maimed Mina and Armin, and almost do either to Sasha and me." Jean leaned toward Gohan. Though his expression was more composed than Eren, his eyes did not shy of showing contempt toward Gohan.
"It's not his fault!" Yelled Mikasa as she pulled Eren back. "He couldn't be blamed of what his mother did. Eren, you've forgoten he saved your mother?!"
That didn't really help Gohan from feeling guilty of his friend's indirect causing to the Survey Corps' casualties nor did it help Jean and Eren to stop blaming him. And Gohan knew that he should have been here in the first place, instead of mingling in Castle Jutnar.
"I never forget a thing! But that doesn't undo what his mother did!"
"Yeah, if anything, he should have atleast hold a bit of responsibility for her action." Added Jean. "She did what she did just to pave his way to kingship, after all!" The 104th top 6 raised his voice in the last sentence.
"Have you learned nothing?" Jean dodged when Historia threw a surgical tray at him, and Gohan caught it. "Marley and the world beyond this wall hated us for what our forbears had done. The people of Wall Maria, the people from Connie's village, and the Eldians who is being mistreated around the World, they're being punished by the crime of the people they longer remembered. Did you forget all what Ymir had told you? And you just repeat that mistake with Gohan?" Historia rush between Eren, Jean and Gohan.
"Seriously, of all people you did it to, you did it to Gohan? Gohan? All the people here owes their lives to him ,including the people who have died today. And you chose to show him gratitude by blaming him for mother mistake? What is wrong with you?"
"I'm sorry."
Historia was stunted when she hear the apology and Eren, Jean themselves were stunted as well because it didn't come from them.
"Not for just Bulma, but for what I did too." Gohan lowered his head as he felt his guilt weighting on the back of his head. They didn't owe him any thing, in the contrary, it was him who owed them a great deal. " I should have been here, I should have gone here with you guys after we left the Wolf's Den. But I wanted to make sure that Petra, Mrs Jaeger and the Castle's helpers were safe, I should've known that the Wolfpack would have that covered, it's here I should've been. I was indecisive, I was overthinking. I let my personal interest dull my judgement. I've failed you as a friend, as a brother-in-arms, as an overlord."
The people in the infirmary were astounded by the monkey boy's confession. They remembered why they saw him as an Angel, beacon of hope, why they had all trusted him with their lives. Gohan was the complete contrast of his mother. They knew even when they life ended, they could never grasp the concept of how could a person be so selfless. No, not just a person. The person who had done more than enough to help the people around him. It was not right for any of them to force him to be accountable the misdeed of his parents.
"So if anyone of you wish to retract the vows you have taken to me, I'll have no right to blame you."
"Like hell we will!" Eren shocked Gohan with a hug, his eyes had no sign of being any drier. "I'm sorry I punched you. Armin's just got ….and I wasn't really in the right state of mind. I'm such an ingrate."
"Yeah, we were a little … were too harsh on you. Probably we just need to get it off ours chest after what has happened." Jean nervously put his hands on his hip, if his shame could be weighted and turned into gold, he would be richer than Bulma. "So, I'm really sorry."
The moment of reconcile was abruptly interrupted when the Survey Corps heard heavy breathing and heavy footstep approaching the infirmary door. The door bursted open and Connie charged inside panting.
"Guys, guys. Nile Dowk is bringing the Military Police Brigade to the gates demanding answers. The civs are with him."
"He comes to fight?" Asked Eren, drawing his swords.
"The civs are coming along, and the MPs that are going with him do not look Interior to me. So doesn't look like it." Connie shook his head. "But he does demand answers."
"Then we will give him what he wants." Gohan unsheathed the Power Pole and walked out of the infirmary. "Historia, you'll go with me. The rest of you stays here and tend the wounded."
The Scouts in the infirmary nodded and watched Historia and Gohan hurried through the hall way and disappeared down the stairs. They then continue to watch through then windows.
There had been no civil war within the proximity within the Walls of Humanity for ages since the days they been built, no large scale fight between the branches, no revolt from the common folks against the aristocrats, not even a conflict amongst the same class for resource dispute, until this very day.
The gunshots, the explosions, and the deaths had been unable to be ignored by both civilians and the Military Police. They had learned that the Interior Police had attacked the Survey Corps under the pretense of conspiracy; the Survey Corps had been working with Lady Winters. Words got out, they were attempting to instil the Lady to the throne and replace the current government. But the casualties in the attack had not stopped at Survey Corps or Interior Police, two explosions had killed 20 civilians and injured 36, reportedly by a member of the Interior Police's Anti-Personnel Control unit; so Nile had refused to take it at face-value, and he was looking for answers elsewhere, and where was the better place to look the original crime scene it self.
Thought the Military Police Brigade had their weapons trained on the Survey Corps ,and the Survey Corps had unsheathed their blades and read ponce on the MPs. No grappling hook nor bullet was fired.
"Stand down." Ordered both Commanders to their respective troops. And the Scouts and the MPs lowered their weapon.
"First, you failed to deliver Eren Jaeger and Gohan Winters to me! Now this? You have Interior Police's both foot and Anti-Personnel divisions killing your men right in your HQ." Said Nile, eyeing Erwin with extra caution. Though he refrained from aiming his carbine to his Survey Corps counterpart, he never loosened his grips from it. "They told me you and the Lady plotting together to stage a coup. Never though you have a taste with noble women, or any woman at all in that matter."
"Nile, I wasn't given much choice..." Erwin was interrupted by Nile before he could finish his sentence.
"A fucker from the Anti-Personnel unit killed a bunch of civilians with explosives back there. I heard the Angel of Trost apprehended him. Humiliated the fucker too." Nile gestured his hand to keep the Survey Corps Commander from talking. "So that's the reason I didn't order my men here to go gun blazing on y'all. I'ma give you a chance to explain yourself, no bullshit, Erwin."
"The allegations are all true." The commoners, the Scouts and the Military Police gasped in awe when Gohan spoke up behind Erwin. The Angel of Trost whirled his Power Pole and stabbed it onto the ground and left it sticking to the ground like that before approaching the two commanders.
"This can't be true." Spoke a commoner in the crowd outside the HQ busted gate.
"The Angel, a traitor?" Spoke another.
"He's must have his reasons."
"Captain?"Gohan eyed Hitch Dreyse, a private from his MP unit, when she called for him.
"You've taken down the bastard who murdered 20 innocents. I know a good person,sir." Said Marlow, another private under Gohan commands in the MPs. The fellow MP glare at the soldier as they heard him.
"Captain Winters, my transactions with your mother were on terms that she would not jeopardize the safety and benefit of humanity." Said Nile, he didn't even bother to cover up his past contracts with the Lady from the public eyes, a mountain of dead soldiers and civilians had already dwarfed his unlawful dealing with the Lady. "Subversion is absolutely a violation of those terms."
Gohan stood beside Erwin and gave Nile a solid salute. The action surprised Nile to the point that he loosed the grips on his, good thing the string kept the gun from falling to the ground or else everyone behind him would noticed it.
"No, commander Nile. My mother is one the few people of nobility that actually care about the lives of the people outside Wall Sina." Gohan broke from his salute and stood at attention before the MP.
"Your mother doesn't really give anyone a benevolent queen vibe." Retorted Nile as the MP and the crowd chattered behind him.
"Her plan was about her being on the throne." Gohan's reply caused the crowd to chatter even louder.
"You?" Nile raised his eyebrows.
"It's not up to me, you, or my mother to decide!" Answered Gohan.
"Then up to whom?"
Historia now knew why Gohan wanted her to come along with him to meet Nile. He wanted her to tell him, everyone the truth. To tell everyone who she was, who her father was, who King Fritz really was, and what the Royal Government had done to the people of Paradis. And most importantly, he wanted her, when the time came, to give him her crown willingly.
"It's up to me!" She stepped up. "I am Historia Reiss, daughter of Lord Rod Reiss, the true king!"
"WHAT?" The crowd rumbled.
"True king?"
"King Fritz is just a puppet made up by my father and his Council. My father and the rest of the Reiss family wished to rule in the shadow where they have absolute rule inside the Wall without the burden of public responsibility." Claimed Historia, her voice silenced the crowd. "My family and the Council had no care for the safety of the smallfolk nor the improvement of humanity, although they had all opportunity to do so, but they chose not to considering their seats of power would be lost."
"Do you have any proof?" Gohan tiredly glared at the crowd when he heard the chatter.
"Yeah, do yo have any proof. Without any, it could sound like you are just a daughter badmouthing a man who you claimed to be your father." Added Nile.
"We don-" Historia was interrupted by Gohan before she answered the commander.
"We do. Do you remembered Annie Leonheardt?"
"She was one of ours. But then she revealed to be the Female Titan." Said Hitch, the woman then flinch when Nile glared at her for speaking out of turn.
"She got out of that crystal?" Asked Nile.
"The Lady kept her end of the bargain." Confirmed Erwin, the commander took a brief glance at Hitch's squad, her squad was the one who had helped the Survey Corps along with the Wolfpack in apprehending Annie. "Bulma Winter is a vile individual, but she has credibility."
"Annie Leonheardt has been surprisingly cooperative ever since she got out of the crystalize shell she made. And she has provided us with crucial information about the power of the Titan." Continued Erwin. He proceed to explain to the Military Police Brigade and the onlookers about the Power of the Titans, emphasize on the detail that the Founding Titan could alter the memories of the Subject of Ymir. The possession of the Founding Titan power had been in the hand of the Reiss family, the real Royal Family, for years.
"Our—Your memories of me haven't been erased thus far. The power of the Founding Titan can only be properly used by the members of the Royal Family, the Reiss. So it's safe to assume that the Reiss had lost the power of that power. Doctor Grisha Jaeger, the previous wielder of Eren's Attack Titan must be responsible for that." Gohan elaborated on his theory, ignoring the dumbfounded looks of the MPs and the onlooking civilians. "The Interior Police's attack on us was not just to eliminate of the Survey Corps and the Wolfpack. But to capture Eren Jaeger and Historia Reiss. They meant to restore their possession to the power they has lost."
"Why don't let them? Isn't the Founder can control the Titans." Everyone, including even Nile stared daggers to the civilian who had just made such a idiotic question, the woman felt like she was about to shrink by the gazes' pressure.
"They possessed the power to prevent what happened to Wall Maria. They could've even stop humanity from being trap in here. They didn't lift a finger to safe us back then." The civilians roared in anger knowing that the people in power wouldn't even bat an eye if they were being eaten by the monsters that were once their own, and those people had had more than enough power to put an end to their constant suffering. "Why would they save us now?"
"Down with the cowards!" The crowd chant.
"DOWN WITH THE COWARDS!"
"What say you Commander Nile?" Asked Gohan the boy was calmer, no, he was colder than usual. More imposing, more prideful. However, the Monkey Boy's demeanor was not the reason that got Nile Dowk to be on board with Erwin.
"Marie and the kids are living in Wall Rose, Erwin." The Brigade Commander turned to Erwin and offer him his hand. "I'd make a deal with the devil if that what it takes to keep them safe."
"Wait, you two knew each other?" The realization hit Gohan when Erwin and Nile shook hands.
"We were in the same cadet division. There's a lot you don't know. You and your mother." Smirked the MP who months earlier attempted to dissect Eren. "I'll find Zackly, you Pyxis. Those fat fucks in the Royal Government will surrender at the first sight of the whole combined military."
Herman Gleaves covered his mouth when he saw the renegade Wolves carried the Alpha to the MP's carriage. From the collapsed roof of the Castle in which he was hiding, he refused to believe that the people he had known since he had been a child would be turn cloak: Irina Fox, Karl Raeder, Armin Dynamo, James Smith and Peter Bury were either hosting the unconscious Alpha to the MP Carriage, helping the Anti-Personnel Unit carrying their dead or talking to those MPs.
'The Wolfpack is supposed to be a family!' Though Gleaves in disbelief, these renegade Betas were practically betraying their father.
Gleaves checked his Sten, the sub-machine gun was busted, so he discarded it and unholstered the revolver beneath his jacket and flipped out his pocket knife. Sidearm in his right hand and knife in his left, he was outgunned and outmatch, so clearly fighting was not an option, he would be killed before he could save the Alpha provided he wouldn't be shot on sight the moment he got out of his hiding spot. So the best course of action was to wait till the enemies leave, the gun and knife were just precaution in case of them finding him.
'Must warn the king.' The long-haired Beta regulated his breath. He reoriented himself, he was looking at the trail leading to the main gate, so the stable must be behind him. If he could get a horse, he might be able to ride to Trost. But the collapsed roof block the vision behind him, that place could had already being guarded by the Interior Police by now, and if he could get his hands on a horse, it would be guaranteeing that he could get any far.
"Search the stable! The bitch went in there before the shootin' start." Bury bellowed out orders. "This 'Bunker' must be located there, find the entrance, leave no stone unturned. Dig up the horse shit if you have to."
'So, waiting it is!'
Next chapter: Uprising.