Leo Simon
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God of Destruction Chapter 3
🕑 Added 2024-01-02 17:38:09 +0000 UTCJean ripped a drawer open, searching through it's contents, before dropping it, feeling disappointed at the lack of important contents.
Meanwhile, Connie and Sasha were busy looking behind and under different pieces of furniture, and eventually he just flatly asked. "What the hell are you idiots doing?"
"Looking for syringes, what else?" Sasha stated as though it were obvious, kneeling down to carefully examine the area under a wardrobe. "If I were trying to hide Titan serum, then I'd put it where nobody would think to look?"
Jean facepalmed, wanting so badly to repute her flawed logic, but chose not to comment as he focused on his own search efforts. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with, we're needed back at HQ. Captain Levi and Hange shouldn't have to teach all our new comrades how to use thunder spears by themselves."
Connie groaned at the thought. "Oh come on, I'm a terrible teacher. Why the hell do we need to teach a bunch of greenhorns?"
"Because, only nine of us lived to come back when we fought off Marley. Armin and Floch are handling recruitment, Mikasa and Eren and up north to carve Annie out of her crystal, so that leaves us three to try and find this fucking serum." Jean finished, reminding them of how understaffed they truly were in terms of veteran soldiers.
Jean couldn't say he wasn't surprised by how many soldiers there were that had agreed to join them, being left to wonder just what Armin and Floch had done over just a few weeks to get literal hundreds of soldiers to become Scouts. Whilst Armin was smart, a genius even, that on it's own wouldn't be enough to make so many people stake their lives on him.
Then again, he'd changed a lot since he came back to life. Armin had even ordered that they search any properties owned by the Reiss family, since they definitely knew how to make Titan serum or at the very least it's formula, and if they did find any they'd report back with it to potentially steal the Female Titan's power for their side.
Jean couldn't say the thought didn't make him flinch, but he pushed it down. Annie had personally butchered over half the Survey Corps soldiers, and several citizens of Stohess, so it was better if she had her power given to someone trustworthy. In a way, whilst he hated the fact it would hurt him, it would be a massive relief if Annie met her end. He wouldn't have to feel so conflicted about the Warriors and what they'd done. It would easy to make up his mind about them if they got their punishment.
"Guys, I found something!" Sasha yelled, grabbing Jean and Connie's attention, quickly jumping up before she slowly pushed the wardrobe out of the way to reveal an almost unnoticeable opening in the floorboards.
Jean frowned as he approached it, feeling almost hesitant to open it up. He crouched down and grabbed the loose board by the edges, pulling it up with a little difficulty, before lifting it and feeling a jolt of surprise at the sight of two hidden vials.
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Annie didn't want to acknowledge it at first, but the constant scratching she was hearing was getting more and more concerning by the day.
It started a while ago, she wasn't sure since she didn't exactly have a clock, and whilst she was surrounded by darkness her ears both worked fine. It was getting closer each and every time she heard it, increasing her anxiety that something was coming.
Annie wanted to have confidence that her cocoon was impenetrable, just as Marley had claimed, but that thought was starting to sound more and more foolish by the minute, and it was driving her mad. They were going to get her.
She found herself wondering where Armin was, since last they spoke he was talking about an operation to reclaim Wall Maria, and part of her had hope that the Scouts had been wiped out, that Reiner and Bertolt would come to find her, and she'd be able to go home to her father soon enough.
But, such hopes only led to disappointment, and Annie was used to having what she wants taken away from her. The Scouts took Eren back, after she'd crushed and pulverised dozens of their soldiers, and she'd been ruthlessly cut down back in Stohess. None of that had been easy for her, she never asked for violence to be all she knew. She never asked to be a monster.
Annie couldn't say she felt no guilt over what she'd done, she was irredeemable, but the tired girl and the Warrior in her couldn't find it in her to care. She needed to Founding Titan if she wanted to go back, to see her father, and if murdering everyone in the Walls would bring her those years she could spend as a normal girl then so be it. She'd pay for her sins by dying young and burning in hell.
A crack suddenly run out next to her ear, one that allowed light to pierce through the prison of darkness she'd been trapped in, and Annie suddenly felt an overwhelming sluggishness as she opened her eyes for the first time in months.
Her vision was hazy, and everything she saw was a blurred mess, but that was brought to an end when a sharp pain rung out through her body as her arms were slashed off. Her legs followed soon after that, spewing blood as steam began to pour off her limbless form.
Annie felt herself give out an involuntary scream of terror, unable to keep herself together as spittle and water flew out of her mouth like a fountain. Tears plucked at her eyelids, partially blocking out the terrifying form of Eren's Titan looming over her, only to be roughly thrown off as two unfamiliar faces closed in on her and wrapped two clothes over her eyes and mouth.
"Alright, take the little bitch away! And make sure to slice off her limbs if they grow back, we can't take any chances!" The voice of a woman rang in Annie's ears, adding to her terror and bewilderment as she felt herself being dragged away. Her screams were muffled by her gag, but that didn't stop her from being smacked and told to stay quiet.
Annie couldn't see anything, due to having her eyes covered, but decided against continuing to panic after all that did was result in her being beaten, and tried to gather her thoughts. She was a Warrior, and she wouldn't allow herself to be reduced to a weeping mess. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
Annie was tired, uncomfortable, and just a hairs inch away from losing whatever remained of her cool. She tried to break down her situation, though her thoughts were muddied and fleeting, she could easily deduce that Paradis must have fought the Warriors off on their mission. If that was the case, then it would stand to reason that they'd learned of the outside world and were going to question her on it. It also meant that they likely wanted to interrogate her, which was the reason they'd broken her out of her crystal shell.
Annie began to mentally prepare herself, not wishing to give the Walls a scrap of information, only to let out another scream of agony when she felt her slightly healed arms be shortened down to her bicep once again, the pain being intense enough to draw tears from her eyelids.
After an unspecified amount of time, of which she could tell they were riding in a carriage, she was picked up and dragged away against her will, the guards making sure to be rough with her, and she was eventually strapped into some sort of chair where she had her limbs tied up; causing her panic to flare at the action as she thrashed around violently; only for her to get a punch in the face for her troubles.
"Let her see, I want to talk with her." Annie paused when she heard a familiar voice, and then her suspicions about who it was were immediately confirmed when the rag around her eyes was pulled off and she was greeted by Armin's face.
"Hello Annie, did you get plenty of beauty sleep?" Annie was surprised by how mocking his tone was, quickly glaring at him for that, but hardly had time to gather herself before he moved on. "If your worried about us torturing you, tempting though that might be, then save yourself the trouble. Your just Marley's weapon afterall; and weapons don't tend to be very well informed."
Annie took notice of her surroundings, a small room that was only lit by the light exiting through a metal door's cracks, and how Armin was surrounding her like a shark does it's prey. "I'm sure you're probably wondering what's going on, and how we dragged you out of that crystal. But that's nothing you need to concern yourself with, especially since you'll be dead soon enough. I could put in a good word for you, make your death as painless as possible, but first you need to tell me whatever tiny pieces of information you can about Marley. The formula for Titan serum would be nice, assuming you even know it."
Annie forced herself to remain calm, noting that Paradis had finally had the cloth pulled off their eyes, before answering him as firmly as she could. "I thought you knew me better than that Armin. If you think I'm stupid enough to tell you how to kill me then-"
"We already have some Titan serum on hand, Annie." Armin interrupted her, with the boy surprisingly looking smug. "We just don't know it's exact chemical composition. I know you're a smart girl, a cunning one even, and you don't strike me as the type to fall for Marley's petty propaganda, you aren't as short sighted as Reiner and Bertolt are. Well, in Bertolt's case was would be the better word since he's dead."
Annie tried not to react to that, but it hurt to know her fellow Warrior was gone. She never liked him, especially not in the way he obviously liked her, but it was disheartening to know there was one less person in the world who knew what it was like to carry their sin. Besides, though he was cowardly, he wasn't a hypocrite like Reiner who would rather forget his sins than take responsibility for his actions. She was even more alone than before.
Armin continued, either oblivious to her blight, or he simply didn't care. "Annie, you aren't going home. Marley has been fought off and they won't be coming back for at least a few years, which will be much much too late for you. Your power and your life will be taken, so why don't you just cooperate and spill your guts; before we literally spill yours." He added that last part so casually that she wondered what could have happened to him. The Armin she knew was compassionate, forgiving, and had eyes bright enough to blind her. Yet, before her stood this callous man, one who didn't care at all for her.
"What happened to you, Armin?" Annie asked genuinely, and in response she got a thoughtful look as Armin's expression turned into one of controlled rage.
"Have I ever told you about the sea, Annie?" Armin asked randomly, staring in another direction. "To me, someone who lived behind the Walls, the outside world always sounded amazing. Icebergs, lava, deserts, jungles and mountains... I thought, if I defeated the Titans, that was what waited for me. It was my ideal world."
"Must have been disappointing."
"It was." Armin agreed easily. "What waits beyond the Walls are people who hates us, those who fear what we might do and who we might be, not who we are. Humans are idiots, that's why the world is like this. I like to think I'm not an idiot, but looking back I've made some really stupid choices. For example, in Shiganshina I wanted to talk, but Bertolt responded by saying he would talk... if we all agreed to die. He did kill most of us, but I ate him by the end."
Annie froze in shock, realising what Armin meant as he raised a steaming palm. "Armin, you're-"
"But, I won't make the mistake of thinking Marley can be reasoned with again." Armin continued, his voice startlingly nonchalant as the shifter's hand fixed itself. "Instead, I'll use my head to fight and beat them in a conflict, I'll become a willing mass-murderer just like you. Well, not exactly, I have no choice but to fight for this island's survival. If I don't then this island will die."
Annie stirred at that. "But I didn't have-"
"A choice, oh but you did my dear." Armin cut her off once again, putting two hands on her shoulders. "Tell me, did anyone physically force you to deliver Reiner and Bertolt right to our doorstep? Did anyone force you to call hundreds of Titans that day? Did anyone force you to slaughter the Survey Corps... actually Reiner might have done that, especially with how pathetic his leadership skills are. He could have easily killed them all himself, instead he made you do it. Still though, it's not like you were completely brainwashed. You're a smart girl Annie, I'm certain you didn't submit to Marley's empty rhetoric like Reiner. Maybe a bit sure, but you still agreed to go along with this injustice, didn't you?"
Annie remained silent, each of Armin's words sinking deep for her, and when she didn't answer he squeezed her shoulders tightly as he asked. "Would your father even accept a daughter like you?"
Annie violently struggled against her winds, jerking his elbows off as she tried to headbutt him, only for Armin to take a step back and move a tauntingly little distance, a reminder of how powerless she truly was.
Two guards she'd forgotten about aimed their guns at her, ready to pull the trigger, but Armin held up his hand and made them halt. "Leave her. It's not like she can really do anything."
Armin approached her slowly and without caution, seeing that she'd stopped thrashing, and asked unimpressed. "Are you done? I thought you were meant to be an ice queen?"
"Fuck you!"
Armin snorted, somehow finding her anger funny. "I prefer women with limbs actually. They also can't have a headcount in the six digits. Regardless, do you think a monster like you even deserves to go home?"
Annie only glared at him fiercely this time, and in response he sighed and turned to leave. "That's fine, you can stay quiet. I came here to hear your answers, to understand you better, but if you're going to be difficult then I can just leave you with Henry and Warner here, and they aren't the friendliest of-"
"Yes."
Armin paused, turning back with a raised eyebrow. "What?"
Annie bit her lip, not sure why she felt the need, but continued regardless. "My father abused me for years. He shoved me to the dirt hundreds of times, spent hours upon hours training me and honing my skills, and made me join the Warrior program and become the Female Titan. This Armin, this is the man I want to return to so badly."
Annie wasn't sure why she was speaking, maybe because she'd be in a Titan's body soon, but for some reason she couldn't figure out words kept pouring out of her. "But, just before the mission, where I killed so many people, he got down on his knees and begged me to come back home safely. 'Even if you make the world your enemy, return home' that's what he told me to do?"
Armin, strangely enough, didn't interrupt her this time as she continued to pour her heart out, tears actually gathering in her eyes. "You're right Armin, I'm a monster. I've committed irredeemable acts, killed enough people to make a mountain of corpses. Still though... I need to return to that man. I need to feel that connection."
Armin was silent, Annie trying not to care about his reaction and failing horribly, and for a minute it felt like time stood still. Eventually though, like everything else, it resumed.
"Was it worth it, Annie?"
Annie heard those words, looking up at Armin, who looked almost piteously at her. "Do you honestly think that returning to your father would have made you truly happy? Do you think it would have been worth all you'd need to have done to get there?"
Armin closed his eyes. "You helped commit so many evils, take the lives of so many innocent people who never did anything wrong. Men, women, children, soldiers, civilians. Could slaughtering everyone on this island, could inflicting so much pain on others, really be worth what you were seeking? Well, do you think returning to your father would have been worth it?"
Annie opened her mouth to answer, only to find that she couldn't. Armin had layered his words so very perfectly, so vividly, that what she was seeking almost seemed... absolutely moronic when she considered the cost. In fact, if she wasn't feeling so utterly feeble then she might have been showing some embarrassment over the idea.
Armin opened his eyes, looking directly into Annie's soul as though he were a judge. "I think I under you, Annie. I never stopped thinking about you, even after you decided to hide away, I could never figure out your reasoning."
Armin breathed out. "I'm not stupid enough to think your pure evil, but labelling you a victim isn't right either. So much death, so much pain, so much betrayal and lying almost had me convinced you were that simple: A killer. However, talking to you has helped me see you for what you really are, and the type of person you've chosen to be."
Annie felt her heart jump for some reason, curious for his answer, and after what felt like an eternity Armin finally said it.
"You're simply... a selfish idiot. A selfish idiot who wasn't strong enough to go against the flow. That's it, nothing more to it... well, not really, but that's my thoughts on the matter."
Annie stared wide eyed at Armin, not sure what to feel from his words. Anger? Sadness? Relief? Embarrassment? She never was very good with emotions.
"I don't think you're evil Annie. A monster? Absolutely, but I can hardly judge you on that. What I have planned will probably kill a lot of people, yet I'll do it anyway. Though, unlike you, I don't have the excuse of being ignorant to fall back on." Armin confessed to her, turning to leave, though right when he opened the door he looked back at her.
"Goodbye, Annie. Hopefully you'll find peace in the next life." With a sense of finality, Armin turned his back on her and left, the two guards following right after, and she was left alone in the darkness with nothing but her own thoughts.
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"Did you manage to gather any useful intel from Annie Leonhart, Mr Arlert?" Premier Darius Zackly asked by the queen's side, who chose to remain silent throughout most of these meetings, her presence mostly being to keep up appearances.
"I'm afraid not, Chief Zackly. Then again, Annie hasn't been to Marley in five years, so I doubt she'll be a treasure trove of information. It isn't worth the time torturing information out of her, so it'd be best if we fed her to one of our soldiers as soon as possible." Armin answered, wondering if the military would torture her anyway as a form of revenge.
Hange added to that. "The formula for Titan serum also won't be common knowledge. Marley aren't the only nation with an Eldian population, so if other countries really could make Titan serum they'd likely be make their own Eldians turn into Pure Titans and rampage in important cities. So, we'll have to be satisfied with a single vial that was found at one of Reiss' estates. It would be best to pass down her powers onto one of our people, that way we could add another Titan shifter to our forces."
Zackly nodded and opened his mouth to say something, only for a high ranking MP with glasses and a receding hairline to narrow his eyes and interrupt the Premier. "Now tell me, Commander Hange, who do you think should inherit the Female Titan? A Scout I can only assume."
"Yes, would that be a problem, Roeg?" Hange challenged back, and Armin vaguely recalled who this MP was. He couldn't remember his name, since he was just a very minor side character, but he did remember that him being a prick in the show, and with the bored and disinterested way Roeg held himself, he'd say his memories are spot on.
The asshole stood up, looking mildly out of shape, and began to speak. "The crystal has been in Military Police custody since the Female Titan's capture five months ago, and our people have kept it safe ever since. The Scouts are already in possession of the Founding, Attack and Colossal, the Scouts shouldn't just be given another Titan power. The corps have always been loose cannons, so we in the MP's feel that the Female Titan should remain in our ranks."
The people in the room began to murmur, but before Hange could respond Armin shot up from his seat and stated. "Premier, I think we both know why that's a terrible idea, so why don't we just move on." Hange sent him a look that all but screamed to stop, but Armin wasn't about to let a few glare from some lazy drunks dissuade him.
The other MP set his critical gaze on Armin, and cuttingly asked. "And what problems might those be, Titan?" He spat those last words as though they tasted foul, but Armin chose not to linger on it.
"Well, let's see, where should I start? Oh, I know, how about the fact most of your troops have no combat experience whatsoever? Sure, it might be true that MP's are meant to combat crime in the interior, however very few members of your branch actually do their jobs. In fact, many of them spend their days drinking and gambling their time away, I'd wager you likely belong to that group yourself." That last part earned him some scornful looks from the MP's in the room, though even mustered a slight smile of amusement, though he ignored it as he continued. "As a result, I can't help but question the discipline and competence of your soldiers, especially when such qualities are so very sparce in your branch."
Roeg had a scowl on his face after he was done, adjusting his glasses as he countered hastily. "What about your regiment? It's been in shambles since most of you got butchered in the operation to retake Wall Maria, and your chain of command is still reorganising itself due to only nine soldiers coming back alive. The Female Titan can, presumably, only be inherited by a woman, so would Hange Zoe or that other girl like to volunteer themselves, if not then it simply won't do. Handing this power off to a new recruit is out of the question, so-"
"And why would it be?" Armin interrupted the man, not giving him a chance to react as he followed up. "Most of our 'new recruits' are members of the Garrison regiment who have been training since they changed branches, some are even MP's who decided they'd be able to serve their people better with us than you. Regardless, even if inexperienced in actual combat, they will have received more training than an average MP, so that will give them an edge. But you people? I've been a Scout for just six months, but I'd happily wager an arm and a leg that I have more experience than every MP in this room combined."
Armin didn't fail to notice the way the MP's glares increased, but he didn't care. Most of them were afraid of him for the power he holds, the fact he held the Colossal Titan, so the MP's acted against him in small way to test boundaries. Be it a shove in the corridor or an off-handed comment, they simply weren't bold enough to do anything more than that. In fact, whenever he glared at them back, they always lost their bravo. It was pathetic.
The balding MP didn't bother to hold back his distaste, shooting a glare his way before looking towards Hange. "You should keep your Titan on a leash, Commander. A weapon is only useful if it can be controlled, and if you can't keep it in check then it'll need to have it's power stripped. In fact, maybe we should use the serum to do just that."
Armin managed to keep a straight face, even as the MP's started to nod along, though he was internally startled that he could be threatened just for talking back to them. His friends and Hange bristled, though didn't speak up, and he felt a rare sense of fear at the possibility, though however small, that these idiots would feed him to a Titan just for-
"That's quite enough, Roeg!" Armin felt a hint of surprise when Historia, the queen who was usually silent during these meeting, decided to stand up for him.
Historia continued to berate him. "The idea of taking Armin's power is nothing short of idiotic! He's literally given his life for this cause, not to mention the fact we only have a single syringe. Feeding a perfectly competent and loyal soldier to a Titan, especially when we have an actual enemy in our clutches, is foolish and unnecessary!"
Most of the MP's backed off at that, at least having the sense to know that challenging the queen was a horrible idea, though the asshole who started the argument didn't seem to know when to quit. "I don't see why I should listen to a puppet queen, especially a bastard that-"
"Roeg, would you keep your mouth shut and sit down!" Nile finally butted in, surprising Armin with how he actually decided to act and keep his soldiers in line, so the inferior MP finally decided to keep quiet and return to his seat; begrudgingly though he might have done so.
Armin was tempted to call the bastard out on insulting Historia, however a reassuring look from the queen calmed him down and he decided to distract himself by sending her a smile that she easily returned. It was nice to have a friend in high places, especially one who cared about your wellbeing.
Armin regularly wrote to Historia, making sure never to lose touch despite his busy schedule, and he'd visit her whenever he could scrap together a day or so free for himself. They were rare, but making sure he stayed close to her was worth it, and he could tell she appreciated it. That probably had to do with how surprisingly little the others visited her.
Armin made sure to listen in on the rest of the meeting, though he didn't add much more input than what he'd already said.
However, as unfair as it was the Scouts were outnumbered in the courtroom. The MP's who wanted the Female Titan's power were opposing them out of greed, and he could already tell that the Garrison regiment likely just didn't want the Survey Corps to gain too much more popularity. It was bitter politics, and Armin couldn't help but curse the higher ups internally. The fact they were trying to assert dominance over his powers was one thing, because he could understand it as much as he hated it, but handing the power off to an MP was a guarantee that it's power wouldn't be used to it's maximum extent. The island would only suffer from it.
So, Armin tried his best not to scowl to deeply as the MP's expressions turned smug and the meeting was concluded on a bitter note.
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Who do you think will get the Female Titan? Make sure to comment down below... don't be shy, fucking do it!
Comments
DoodleBopCheese
Cant wait for the next one and the next part of counterattack, both are very well written.
Leo Simon
You'll have to wait and see.
