Leo Simon
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The Empire Returns Chapter 10
🕑 Added 2023-05-02 21:23:13 +0000 UTC"Alright newbies I'm Section Commander Ness, and this here is Charlotte." A man in a bandana cheerily introduced himself to the new recruits as he petted his named horse with the new recruits simply looking mostly blankly at the man who was supposedly meant to give them induction training.
"Now remember this, you gotta watch your hair around these guys or you'll end up- aaagh get off Charlotte!" The man tried to joke but ended up getting his air chewed by his own horse as the new recruits watched on in bewilderment and hidden amusement at the struggling man as he begged for help only to receive nothing but flat and amused looks much to his dismay.
A vital skill for any Scout is the ability to shift from horseback to ODM gear, whilst the veterans were thrilled at the number of recruits that they managed to secure this year, they also needed to assign two Scout officers to manage them all, given that thirty two is a large group to teach.
The new members to the Scouts were all surprisingly skilled, much to the Scouts delight, with them all hitting the bare minimum required to participate in an expedition, where they'd be made to face mankind's greatest adversary.
However one such new recruit, Annie, was unbothered by the training, it's not like she'd be needing it when she leaves these walls behind and heads back to Marley.
Looking around, seeing so many ignorant children fumbling around with horse and swords made her feel some pity for them. They'd all have to die.
She never really did buy into Marleys bullshit about the island Devils, these are all innocent people that she and the others were going to kill, she can't deny that she feels bad about it but if killing them is enough to get her home, back to her father, then so be-
"Hey Annie can we talk for a minute?" She hears a familiar voice from behind her and turns to come face to face with Armin.
Armin is more or less the opposite of her in all honesty, he's compassionate, sympathetic and naive whilst she is cold, apathetic and sees the world for what it is. It's such a shame that he has to die like the rest of them.
"What is it?" She asks as she strokes the hair of her horse, seemingly unbothered by what the blonde boy is asking her for.
"I was wondering if we could just talk for a minute, alone."
Annie took a moment to wonder, she likes Armin more than most, he's smart even if too optimistic for her taste. Should she engage in conversation with him?
She stopped stroking her horse and turned to him before speaking." Just make it quick." Not that she had anything better to do.
Armin walked around into a corner where it was only the two of them, Annie was puzzled as to what he must be wanting to say.
Armin looks at her with an emotion that she can't translate before opening his mouth to ask her a simple question." Why did you join the Survey Corps Annie?"
That was all he wanted to ask? Annie thought that his way of asking was a bit over the top.
She kept her face stone cold as always." I don't see why that is any of your concern."
Armin shook his head in disagreement." I'm just curious. You always said that everything you did was for your own safety, yet here you are in the Survey Corps. Why not go to the Military Police?"
She supposes that is a bit off the role she's been playing so far. The truth is that joining the Scouts is just her way of running back home, nothing more. She doesn't really care about the Walls or these people. She is still doing this for herself in the end.
Deciding that she'd entertain him by answering him she opened her mouth." I have a goal in mind, Armin, joining the Scouts is just my way of getting it." She's not technically lying, she's just withholding the truth.
Armins eyes seemed to sadden visibly for a moment which confused Annie a bit. What is he-
"Arrrgh!" She let out a groan of pain when she felt what seemed like a wasp sting her neck. However placing her hand in the place where she was stung her hand found something sticking out of her neck.
Pulling it out she realised that it was a dart!
"I'm sorry Annie." The last thing that Annie saw before darkness enveloped her vision was Armins face full of sorrow.
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Annie awakened to a be greeted with nothing but a dark room and a dull throb that was felt through her entire body with her only companion being the humid air that her steaming limbs provided.
Annie likes to think that she's a tough girl, but waking up in chains right in the middle of a pitch black room with her arms severed at the forearm and her legs severed at the knee will make anyone terrified.
She screamed in both fear and pain, displaying a large amount of emotion for who she really is, hoping that, by some childish wish, someone would set her free.
Her prayers were not answered.
"Oh, she's awake. Go get the Commander." Hearing a voice from the other side of a metal door in this dungeon a voice spoke, unbothered by the fact that a screaming fifteen year old girl was in the room right next to him.
Her logical mind was going over possibility after possibility about just how she could have ended up in this situation. She thinks back to Armin, her mind was fuzzy around those times, he was acting strange, her limbs are all cut off, did they know that she was a Shifter?! How?! The walled people aren't even meant to know about.
Suddenly the metal door which denied her freedom opened up, finally letting some light into the darkness that this room calls its domain, before a group of soldiers walk in.
Most of them look at her with either anger, pity, disgust or hatred before one of them finally talks. She recognises him as Eren.
The Commander, Erwin Smith, speaks evenly to her and remains stoic despite the situation." Annie Leonhart, you have been found guilty of committing genocide against the people of the Walls and caused the suffering of hundreds of thousands more. You will receive the very worst punishment that the people of Paradis have to offer. And will be sentenced to death shortly." Whilst the Commander remained expressionless the same could not be said for his subordinates, with several sending deadly glares at the Marleyan Warrior.
Annies ears started to ring once she heard the word genocide. They know?! They know everything! How in the hell would they even-
Then her eyes flickered to Eren, he's a new recruit, there's no reason for him to be here, these are all the Scouts best soldiers. The only way that any of this makes sense is-
Erens bright green eyes seem to shine as they gleam on her with so much hatred that it makes her feel frightened, she feels like a little girl with nowhere to run.
Her ears stopped ringing when she heard the blonde Commanders next words." We know all about your acts of terrorism against Paradis, you were quite easy to capture, given that you were alone. Hopefully Braun and Hoover will be as easily fooled as you." She could have sworn that she heard some amusement in hid voice but didn't care enough to linger on it, given that she is at their mercy it would we stupid to try and aggravate them.
She allowed the hopelessness and despair of the situation to show through as she discarded her mask of indifference and let hot tears run down her eyes. She was going to die, she'd die without getting to see her father again, every wicked deed that she'd done up to this point, all the time and energy that she put into finishing the mission and going home, it would all be for nothing. Bertolt and Reiner will either get away or be captured, either way her chances of rescue are no less or more than exactly zero.
Eren openly sneered at her with obvious hatred." What are you crying about? The fact that you won't have the chance to 'purge the island of Devils'? that you won't be the next Helos? Try to kill and you'll be killed. It's your own fault really."
At those words Annie cracked and finally just let her real thoughts out." No, your wrong! Why would I choose this?! Tell me!"
At her response several soldiers actually shoot her surprised looks, with some looking at her with disgust for acting like the victim but honestly she didn't care. Her wishes, her life, her will to live, it's all gone. Snuffed out like a light, her own arrogance and narrow minded thinking led to her downfall. There's nothing she can do about it now, she accepts this fact.
That doesn't mean she won't take her one final chance to try and justify herself, even if it is to a bunch of cold blooded soldiers.
With tears running down her eyes she continued." I did all this, all this death, all this misery, just to return to my father. The way he looked at me, his eyes, he asked me to come home no matter what. I have a father at home, I wanted to return to him no matter what but-" her tears rate of fall increased." -it doesn't matter now. Everything I've done, all my time, my energy, my irredeemable sins. It was all for nothing. All im going to get is death."
And she cries silently and painfully, she cries because her efforts were all for nothing, she cries because she'll never see her father again, she cries because she'll die here all alone, and she cries because she knows that she deserves everything that's happening to her.
Several Scouts actually look at her with sympathy at her plight though it goes as quickly as it comes and is replaced by their want to suppress ant feelings of compassion for the enemy.
"Are you done?"
The question cuts through the silence that once enveloped the room as she stopped shedding tears for a moment to lock eyes with Eren Yeagers eyes that held nothing but hatred so intense it made Annie feel dizzy.
"I said are you done playing the victim? Maybe you really didn't have a choice in any of this, maybe your just Marleys whipped dog, their weapon to set loose on the island. Maybe you lost the will to rebel against them a long time ago. But the truth is that there's always option B Annie, the reality is that you chose to do this. You chose to break the Walls, you chose to snuff out the lives of countless innocent people, you chose to keep planning to destroy the Walls, even after learning that there were just innocent people behind these walls. Don't try to act like this wasn't your decision, even if you didn't think you had a choice you did. You only have yourself to blame for what's happening to you right now."
Hearing Erens cold hearted and brutal words tore her heart apart. As much as she likes to pretend, to fool everyone around her, even herself, into thinking that she's just an icecold bitch she does have sympathy deep down. Every word. Every argument. Every possible excuse that she can come up with to defend what she did. It all feels so weak and pitiful when face with those glowing green eyes full of justified anger.
She wants to hide, she wants to run, to get away from facing the consequences of her actions. But she can't do that anymore now can she?
Erens eyes could have glared a hole through her head if that were possible." Your going to die in a Titans mouth Annie. The last thing you heat will be the sound of your bones breaking and your flesh being torn off your body as your chewed into tiny pieces. You want mercy from us? Well I'd say that's a merciful death for someone like you." Several Scouts were disturbed at the words that their resident Titan Shifter was throwing the blonde girls way, justified as they may be.
Suddenly she gets an image of death, the helplessness, the dots in her vision, the lack of air. She could taste the fear that she felt as bile rose to her throat.
Eren continued." Tell us everything you know and you might be able to avoid that fate. We might even do you the favour of having you be unconscious when it happens. So why don't you just put that mouth of yours to use?"
Erens comment makes her hang her head in both resignation and shame as the bitterness of just how thoroughly she'd been beaten settled onto her mind. She was never loyal to Marley anyway.
Even if she was it's not like she's getting out of here alive now is it?
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Levi kept an eye on the Titan who saved Trost, Eren Yeager, as he told them everything he knows about the outside world, be it nations, a map of the world, or outside forces.
One million soldiers. Their greatest enemy has an army the size of their entire population. Just picturing that many troops diverging on their island all at once is mind boggling. And that's not to mention these Air ships that he's talking about, the Walls won't do jackshit if the enemy comes from the sky's, they're just talking about Marley too. Looking at the map of what the entire world looks like and the Titan boy pointing at a tiny island next to a massive chunk of land really puts into perspective how out of their league they're shooting. Regardless Levi has hope they can rise to the challenge.
"Alright as for potential allies... I have no idea honestly, basically the entire world hates our guts and wants Titans to eat us all." His words did little to instill confidence in the minds of Levis fellow Survey Corps veterans at just how deep they are inside this shit hole and their odds of being able to dig themselves out of it.
Erwin merely nodded, eternally calm, and asked something else." Changing the subject, how would we go about passing the Titan powers onto one of our own soldiers?" Ar Erwins words Hange seemed to be having a field day at the question.
Eren seemed to shift uncomfortably at the question." Well a person needs to be turned into a Pure Titan... and eat the current Titan Shifter, from then they will turn back into a human but gain the power to shift at will."
At the mention of such an act several of the Scouts looked on at Eren in shock and disturbance at what he had to do to get his power.
Levi personally scowled." Why the hell would your dad do that to you?" The idea of making a child eat their father is disturbing, even for him.
Eren looked down a little, looking troubled." There is a price to holding the Power of the Titans, it's called the Curse of Ymir, because the original Titan Shifter died thirteen years after she got her power all those who wield her power after her must do the same. My father's time was almost up and in eight years time so will mine." At his words several of the Titans were about to shoot him pitiful looks but he just shook his head and hand at them." Don't feel sorry for me. I'd I can't live till eighty then I'll live eighty years in just eight. Besides I can't just mope around feeling sorry for myself when I could be doing something with my power."
At his words Levi felt some respect for the boy, he had guts.
Eren continued." As for how to turn someone into a Titan, you need the spinal fluid of a Titan, ideally you'd want the spinal fluid of a different Shifter than the one that your inheriting."
Hange, ever the Titan loving idiot, decides to take his bait for a question." Why is that Eren?" She had her notepad out and was taking notes like a madwoman.
Eren elaborated on what he said before." When an Eldian is turned into a Titan using a Titan Shifters spinal fluid that Shifters power will be dormant in the spinal fluid of said Titan, when they inherit a different Titan to the one used to create the Titan the spinal fluid of the two Titan powers will mix, resulting in a hybrid Titan that possesses traits from both Titan powers. For example if you inherited the Jaw Titan but you used spinal fluid from the Armoured Titan, then they would become a Jaw Titan that has Armoured plates on its body." From the way Eren spoke he'd think that the man was some Titan obsessed maniac like Hange.
The bespectacled woman's eyes seemed to shine with fascination at the possibilities of such a strategy being used to empower their own Titan Shifters and why such a phenomenon could be possible in the first place.
This meeting only had six people in the room, those six were Levi, Eren, Hange, Erwin, Miche and Nanaba. The Titan Shifter and the Scouts most trusted members, this was so that the secret of the outside world would be kept secret and so that the Scouts can learn as much as possible before they make their moves on the Warriors of Marley.
Hange seemed to lean onto the table with her elbows perched keeping her up as her glasses shine dangerously." You wouldn't mind talking to me about what you know about the Titans, right?"
Several of the Scouts send Eren looks that indicate that he should refuse, or deny, however he doesn't even seem to notice and just responds." Sure, it's not like I was planning on getting to sleep tonight anyway."
At that everyone, yes even Erwin, decides to get up from their seats and both slowly and calmly leave the room. They've heard more than enough about the Titans and Marley for tonight anyway.
Eren sends a look at the door that left and then back at Hange before whispering to himself." Well, no going back now. How about we start with what Titans are made of."
Hanges squeals of delight could be heard by the Scouts as they left, if they didn't know what kind of person Hange was they'd have assumed that she was doing something far more inappropriate.
They just wondered if the kid liked being tortured.
