Chapter 16

"You can't be serious…" Jean had his head in his hands. "You can't be serious."

There were only seven people in the room. The Expedition had just ended on the same day it began. On that very same night a meeting was held.

Erwin, Hange, Jean, Armin, Mikasa, and Eren sat around a table. Levi had elected to sit in the corner of a room in a chair by himself. They were discussing the recent revelations from this expedition.

"You guys can't be serious!" Jean lifted his head as he began shouting. "You're saying that one of our comrades, a person we trained with, is the Female Titan?!"

No one responded to him immediately.

"Armin, you can't seriously believe this?" Jean asked. However, he was the wrong person to ask. As he was the first person to witness the betrayal.

"Jean." Mikasa spoke up. "You battled the Female Titan yourself. Did not anything strike you as oddly familiar about the Titan?"

Eren mentioned it, and deep down Jean knew. But still, to accuse one of their fellow trainees…

"Despite what you say," Erwin spoke up. "Eren and Armin have provided evidence and eyewitness accounts in regards to this Annie Leonhart and her loyalties. Right now, we are not here to discuss who is innocent or not, but to decide what to do about this information."

"Annie Leonhart has to be brought in for questioning." Hange spoke up. "Even if she is innocent, it would be better to cover all our bases, wouldn't it?"

"Fine…" Jean bit down begrudgingly. "But why do you need me?"

"You play a role as my body double." Eren spoke up.

"What?! We look nothing alike!"

"I know, but some people think we do." Eren gave a sideways glance to Erwin and Hange. "However, for this plan to work, I need to escape custody of the Military Police for some time."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Jean asked.

"We have a few contacts inside the Military Police." Eren let Erwin decide to do the explaining, ignoring the loosely used term 'we'. "They will isolate Ms. Leonhart, allowing Eren to talk with her."

"Why bother." Levi asked, finally joining the conversation. "Just get her underground and let me take care of her."

Eren stared at Levi. He thought back on it and wondered if he should have let those four live, yet he found that he would have had to expend more energy.

He was already at his limit with his sympathy for the human race in general. He didn't partake in sooner because he found those four to be a waste of effort to save. Regardless, it appeared that Levi had grown attached to them, considering they were hand-picked.

Everyone in the Crops wanted the Female Titan dead. She alone obliterated the right wing, causing many deaths and countless casualties.

So, not everyone, in fact probably no one, would agree with what Eren was about to say next.

"I want Annie to join us. In order for that to be required, I have to talk to her. Alone."

Everyone besides Erwin looked at Eren in shock. Giving a glance at the mentioned commander, Eren thought back on the conditions.

If he were to keep Annie for his little "Calvary" then he would have to provide the following.

The Scouts would receive the same equipment the Calvary had. All information Annie provided would be directly given to the Scouts. And the last one being that the Calvary would act in the Scouts best intentions.

They were things Eren could part with, and to be honest, he would have done those things anyway.

Regardless, only Erwin and Eren knew of this agreement. Unbeknownst to the ones who sat in shock, the plan was already set in stone.

"She's too dangerous, Eren." Mikasa spoke up first. "She can't be kept alive."

"I agree." Oddly enough, Levi spoke up. "Do you honestly believe that she would be accepted? That people would want her still alive?"

Eren gave a slight chuckle, that threw everyone off.

He got up, intending to leave, he headed for the door.

"Everything has already been planned out, right Erwin?" Eren said as he reached the door, standing there as he awaited an answer.

"Yes, we have come to an agreement to allow the custody to go to that of… Erwin Rommel." Erwin spoke of the man who shared his first name.

"Wait, Rommel?" Armin spoke up, the first time hearing of this. "How does he have to do with any of this?"

"I'll tell you at a later day." Eren said as he opened the door, only to stop as Levi spoke up.

"There is still that question." The tiny man glared as Eren looked back. "She would never be accepted. People will do everything in their power to kill her... and those who protect her."

Eren turned around as he looked at everyone in the room.

"Tell me," He finally said after a moment of pause. "What do the common people think of me?"

"That you're a Titan?" Hange said with uncertainty.

"A hero." Armin guessed correctly.

"Yes, so that makes me like the main protagonist in a story, right? Everyone loves a good story, so why not spice it up by adding a conflicting romance of an enemy turned ally by the power of love?"

Whether out of confusion or the sheer stupidity of the comment, no one said anything as Eren left.

The man was aging. He seemed to grow weary of the trivial tasks he had to perform every day. However, despite the redundancy of the tasks he completes, he knew it was all just a front for what was truly planned.

He was an agent of The Führer, given the orders to rise to the top ten in the cadet corps. He succeeded, even becoming number 1. His objective was to join the Military Police, there he would await the confirmation of The Führer for when their true plans would unfold.

The plan to overthrow the fake king and have The Führer proudly claim that title which is rightfully his.

So, it was quite the surprise that he received orders specifically from The Führer, orders that seemed to have nothing to do with the coup.

The aged man gave a wary glance at the letter as he read it for the fourth time. It was no doubt an order from The Führer, but he had to question just why it was such an order.

Regardless, Operation Kalvarienberg was already confirmed, so any order from The Führer was absolute.

So, without any more hesitancy, he picked up a pen and piece of paper and began forming the outline of the order he was about to submit.

"Bad news guys." One of the top officials in the Military Police station in Stohess said to his fellow division captains as they lounged in a room. "It appears some orders to clean up those abandon tunnels got lost."

"Ehh?" One man who was smoking said as he took a hit from the blunt. "So what? Just ignore it."

"No, you don't understand." The man who held the papers seemed pale. "These were orders from… the First Interior Squad…"

Everyone seemed to grow quiet at that. It was well known among the higher-ups in the Military Police just who the First Interior Squad. They worked directly under the king, enforcing the law in any way they deemed fit.

"It was issued a month ago and the due date is tomorrow…" The man continued as sweat rolled down his face.

"H-How did we miss it?!" One man spoke up, concerned laced his voice. "T-This is bad…"

"You'd say!" Another member panicked. "We also got those orders to escort that Scout Titan brat or something, how can we clean up the tunnels and do that?"

"There is no need to concern over this issue." An aged man spoke up. He looked up as he gave a wary eye to each and every incompetent member. "Us veterans can escort that Scout member and have the new recruits clean the tunnels. Granted, if we want to get it done, we'll all have to join in later."

"Well… It doesn't sound like a bad plan." The man who had delivered the news of the late order contemplated the idea.

"Well, I think it's for the best." The man got up to leave.

As he exited the door, he looked back at the 'order' he had written. It was a good thing these fools weren't even exceedingly smart. Time of luxury and pompous attitudes had dulled their skills from when they were the top ten of the recruits.

Regardless, the aged man had done his part.

Marlowe Freudenberg was a man of justice. He had desired to join the system at a young age, wanting to clean up the filth and corruption within the Military Police.

But that was before he was shown just how far down the corruption of the Military Police went. It was around the time of that despair settling in that he met a child around his age. The kid simply referred to himself as The Führer and he was what helped set Marlowe on his current path.

It was his ideology and charismatic nature that inspired Marlowe to renew his objective of cleaning up the corruption within the system. However, long gone was his own ideology of cleaning it from within. Rather, it was now replaced with the ideals to completely overhaul it. After all, to save the apple, you have to cut out the rotten part rather than try and change it.

So, when the aging veteran, who he knew was a part of The Führer's elites that infiltrated the MPs, pulled him aside, he knew it was in regards to The Führer.

The first time was when he told him of Operation Kalvarienberg and how it was officially in effect. The second was not even a few days after that. He had given him a letter that was personally addressed to him.

From The Führer.

He was confused about just what the orders entailed, but he knew not to doubt The Führer.

"...So that's why you recruits are going to clean the tunnels rather than help with the escort. Any questions?" The man debriefing them on the current mission seemed tired, however, the mission itself seemed to have some importance of him, as his attitude towards it was different than in past times.

"Yes." Marlowe raised his hand, waiting to be called on.

"...Go on then." The man simply gave him a glance as he looked back at the papers he held.

"What is the purpose of cleaning the tunnels?"

"Heck if I know…" The man gave a sigh as he looked up towards Marlowe. "The tunnels were originally intended to form an underground city, but that idea was obviously scrapped. Regardless, our orders are to 'clean up and maintain' the tunnels for inspection later on."

The man failed to mention that that inspection was tomorrow. But that was irrelevant, after all, there would be no inspection.

Marlowe had received his orders and they so far seemed to align with the events that were proceeding.

When he first read them, he was worried about how he would do it, as the objective seemed quite a stretch.

The order was to isolate Annie Leonhart in a specific location within the tunnels that spread underneath the city. He had come up with a multitude of ways that he could get Annie, the stoic person she was, to go down into the tunnels.

However, it seemed The Führer had taken this into account. It must have been him to pull the strings to allow an order to maintenance the never used tunnels.

"Alright, well, if there are no more questions, get on with it." The man said as he waved his hand towards the group of newest members, shooing them off. "We don't have all day."

With that said, it seemed the man took the idea that Marlowe was most suitable to lead, as he handed the papers to him. After that, the senior took to retire to the lounge.

Marlowe immediately took charge. He began telling the others where exactly all the materials for the maintenance order where. They seemed to not only have to clean up any vegetation that may have sprouted up but replace any slaps of concrete that had cracked or fallen off.

Without any hesitation from Marlowe, they immediately set out for one of the entrances to the tunnels. They arrive and Marlowe began funneling people down.

However, he stopped when he noticed Annie specifically didn't move from her spot in the open.

"What's wrong?" Marlowe spoke up as he stood on the stairs that led downwards. "Aren't you coming."

"Well…" Annie seemed to hesitate as she looked around her, taking in her environment. "It's just I'm afraid of inclosed and dark places…"

Marlowe just gave her a deadpanned look. He climbed the stairs and immediately grabbed her hand, using his tall and sturdy body to practically drag the girl down the steps.

"Listen, I know you want to get out of work, but we have to finish this. We need all the help we can get." That and this plan rested solely on getting Annie to the precise location he needed her.

Once they all got down, Marlowe pulled out a map of the tunnels. He knew the location for where Annie needed to be beforehand. Now he just had to get her there.

So he came up with a plan that they would all split up for the maintenance to cover more ground. This way they would get things done 'faster'.

So as they walked down a certain tunnel, Marlowe would tell some of the recruits to stop here and began cleaning up. It then came down to him and Annie as the only people walking down the path.

"Marlowe," Annie spoke up. "We just passed a really bad patch, shouldn't we…?"

Marlowe looked back at her.

"I thought you didn't want to work."

"Well…"

Marlowe gave a sigh.

"Look, just walk down that path for a while. You can 'slack' off there. I'm going back to check up on the others."

"Oh?" Annie seemed skeptical. "I thought you would hound all of us to work."

"I care more for my comrades' health then menial jobs like this to get done." This seemed to shock Annie. "You've been tired for these past recent days, correct? Take a rest for a while and join up with us later."

With that said Marlowe turned back towards where he left off some of the recruits, going to check up on them.

Annie followed his advice and began walking down the tunnel Marlowe directed.

Marlowe took a glance back to confirm that the lantern light he had given Annie was indeed heading in the right direction. With a sigh of gratitude that the plan went well without a hitch, he renewed his walk.

He had done his part.

She knew someone was there despite it being dark.

She held the hand lit lantern up, trying to cast its light further down to discern who was there. She cursed when she realized she would have to continue down the dark corridor. Why of all times did they have to be assigned cleaning duties?

Apart of her knew the answer, as said answer walked into the light cast by her lantern.

"Odd meeting you here." He responded.

It was fishy to start with, and only her gut instinct told her this was a trap. But when she was singled out from the rest of the MPs and told to go down this direct path, she knew that something awaited her.

And that someone was Eren Yeager.

"So, shall we began?" He replied smoothly.

She bit back a remark, realizing who she was dealing with. She had seen his look when she had fled from her Titan's corpse. His knowing smile. She didn't ponder why he didn't chase after her, because a part of her knew that Eren was aware of who the Female Titan was.

And it appeared that he had her cornered.

Underground, it was almost impossible to shift effectively. While she could cut herself and transform, the shift would cause the tunnel to collapse, trapping her under layers upon layers of rock.

However, the same could be said for Eren. Still, she was hesitant to run. Most likely, all avenues of escape were already cut off. Whatever was about to happen, she would have to ride it out.

She was trapped.

"Are you the Female Titan?" He wasted no time.

"The Female Titan?" She played dumb by adopting a confused look.

"Annie, are we really going to play this game?"

She hesitated for a second, and then finally nodded.

"So what if I am?"

Eren gave a nod as if her revealing herself was not of grave importance. It was more of him just confirming his suspicions.

"Well then, this brings a whole lot of problems."

Annie rose an eyebrow at the unexpected response. She was prepared for anything, from anger to a cool collectiveness.

She did not expect Eren to rub his hair in irritation as he gave a scoff.

"Well then, this means that the fall of Shingashina was a declaration of war, but we also have to make you a prisoner of war…"

Annie stopped listing to Eren after that. Her mouth was left slightly agape as she understood what he said.

"You mean," She interrupted. "You know about Marley?"

Eren stopped his babbling as soon as Annie spoke and adopted a wicked smile as she finished.

"I do now."

Shit, he got her.

"So, 'Marley' was it? Is this the empire you are from? So does that mean you come from outside of the walls? Humans survived the Titans other than us?" Eren questioned but he received no answer. Annie opted to remain silent.

Eren gave a sigh. This was an awkward situation. He was just about to bring forth his trump card when Annie spoke.

"Are you going to kill me? After you mentioned the fall of Shingashina being a declaration of war, you said there were no laws regarding prisoners of war. Considering we are the last of humanity, wouldn't I fall under the treason category, calling for execution?"

"You can't cover up the fact that you mentioned Marley, what I assume to be a foreign nation?"

"Foreign nation? What if it is simply the organization I follow?" Annie tried to cover up her slip up. "Besides, why waste time talking with me. You know that I am the Female Titan. You even went as far as to trap be underground. So, what is it? Kill me or torture me for information? Either way, I die, so why wouldn't I kill myself first?"

Eren remained silent as he processed what she said. It looked like he would have to bring out his trump card. Really, it was not like he was saving it as a last resort, no, he intended to use this from the start.

"Annie, I know everything." Eren stated.

Annie gave a frown at the statement.

"Oh?" She mocked fake surprise, even if it seemed a bit sarcastic. "I don't see how it is possible that-"

"Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover joined the Scouts. Did you think we wouldn't find out about how fake their past was, and how eerily similar they resembled the Armor and Colossal Titan. I have had a first-hand experience with them, they share the same physical characteristics. Regarding the face, that is." Eren stated nonchalantly, observing Annie for any fault in her mask. "It was pretty easy securing them, they talked pretty fast-"

"Reiner and Bert?" Annie tilted her head, causing Eren's eyebrows to furrow in confusion. "What do they have to do with this?"

Ah, so that was how she was going to play.

Eren gave a wicked smile. Bordering on maniac.

"Really? You have nothing to do with them?"

"Yeah?" She gave a nod. "They were our classmates, what about-"

"So then," Eren cut her off. "Pray tell as to why you three were seen letting Marco die."

At that statement, her facade broke. The lamp clattered to the ground as she fell to her knees, holding her hands over her mouth as she resisted the urge to spew bile from her insides.

How, how did he know?

Eren took this opportunity to walk up to her, bending down to eye level.

"How," She voiced her thoughts. "How…"

"If Marco was able to find you, isn't it naive to think that no one else would have seen such events?"

"I… I didn't mean… It was them, they made me…" At this rate she would turn out to be a broken mess. The mask that she had held broke, letting the flood of emotions coursed through her. She was shaking, trembling to the point Eren really thought she was going to break down.

"How many, Annie?" Eren continued despite the state of the girl. "How many lives, innocent lives, have you ended? For what purpose?"

"I… I have to! You don't understand, the life we Eldians live is horrible! Without..." She forwent secrecy. No, at this point she didn't care. All the time she had bottled up her emotions, letting them slip only in the presence of certian company. But even then, those slips were minor.

Not like this. Not when the object of her goals was right in front of her, telling her the atrocious she made.

"I… I know that I am in the wrong." She composed some posture. "I just… I have to do… what I have to do…"

Her shaking stop.

She looked up, coming eye to eye with Eren.

With a sigh, Eren stood to his full height. Annie followed, albeit with some unsteadiness.

"You're strong." Eren said. "I suppose considering the number of non-combatants you've killed, you can regain your bearing quite well."

"...What do you know."

"A lot, actually."

"..."

"Annie," Eren spoke above a whisper. "Why do you fight?"

"... How much do you know?"

Eren remained silent. Truth be told, he gleaned a lot from this exchange. Marley, Eldians. They were names for a race, no, a community. A country.

Classified by whom they were born to, he knew what it was. Radical prejudice, was his guess.

Were they, the people in the walls, these Eldians? Were the Marley those who persecuted them?

He gleaned a lot, but it was all just speculations. Numerous scenarios and hypothesis ran through his head, but one conclusion was definite.

Marley, and perhaps some Eldians, were the future enemy.

"Depends…" Eren deflected the question.

"We are Eldians." Annie, to Eren's surprise, began. "History states we are direct descendants of the person who brought Titans into the world. A race of Demons."

"If that is the case, then does this Marley persecute us for being descendants of a demon?" Eren asked.

"Yes, and they have every right to. The Eldians in the past were monsters…"

"Monsters to whom?" Eren quizzed. "Who was it that told you that you were a monster?"

"The… Marley government."

"... And you believe them?" Eren asked in somewhat shock. Surely even she wasn't brainwashed into such propaganda.

"I don't care." Eren rose an eyebrow at the statement. He didn't know if Eldians in the past were truly monsters, but he strongly believed that the sins of the father shouldn't impact the son, even more so for people generations past.

But the more cynical, logical, ruthless part told him it was a good way to subjugate a certain people. Locking them up, limiting them so they couldn't rebel and at the same time having a free workforce. And the reason being that they were descendants of a demon.

It was one route to go.

"So you don't care, then why fight for them?"

Annie stayed silent.

"You have someone waiting back at home for you, don't you?" Eren recalled the 'lessons' she gave. How she learned them, who taught her.

"Your father." Eren stated the man who came to mind.

Annie averted her eyes. It was all Eren needed to know he was right. Eren closed his eyes as he palmed his forehead. How should he go about this?

"So… are you going to kill me?" He opened his eye to look at Annie, noting how she adopted her signature fighting style.

Kill her or…?

Eren lunged first. He knew he couldn't win a straight fight, so he would cheat.

As she was preparing to dodge his attack, Eren opened his mouth to deliver a far more fatal blow.

"It was Marco who screamed at you for help, wasn't it? Only for you to betray him." She froze.

It was all Eren needed to land a hard hit on her jaw. She was sent flying back, landing a few feet away from where she originally stood. She stared at the ceiling of the tunnel, noticing the nicks and carve of the rocks that have been through wear and tear.

"You're right." Annie spoke up, in a daze. "I killed them. So, to atone, I must die…"

"Wrong!" Annie was surprised by the fierceness of Eren's tone. Never before had he lost composure like that. It was practically a screech when he shouted, causing Annie to break out of her stupor. She looked at him, and he in return gave her a glare that would kill her if it could cut.

"I hate, despise, people like you who simply believe they deserve death." He spat out. "Death, that is the easy way out. Do you not understand what many had to go through because of your selfish desires?! People, living people, were eaten alive! My own mother died because of you."

Eren gasped for breath as he regained his bearing from screaming out his mind at Annie.

It took everything from Eren not to break character at looking at Annie's shock and disbelieving face.

It wouldn't look good if he started smirking, now would it?

With one final intake of breath, he stood to his full height as he towered over Annie.

"Death," He spoke. "Is not atonement."

"Then… how?" Annie asked hesitantly.

"Join me." Eren held out his hand for Annie to take. "Join me and atone for the sins you have committed. Follow every order I commission, without question, without fail, without hesitance. Become a tool, so that you may atone for all the innocent you have murdered."

She still seemed reluctant.

It was understandable. Why would she join him? She would have to fight against the people she grew up with. Her allies. Whether or not she liked them was not part of the equation, only one fact remained.

She would have to go against her father. And, Eren guess, if this Marley government ever found out that Annie betrayed them, her father would suffer.

"Yes, you will atone for your sins. However, just because you seek atonement doesn't mean you can live without pleasures." She looked up at him with confusion. "You're strong. I need you, I want you. And to do that, I will do anything."

Annie seemed baffled at the idea, but then she gave a little scoff. Of course he wanted her to join. She not only had the ability to shift, but she was a plethora of useful information. They could torture her for information, but they would never have her ability unless she told them how to gain it…

"Annie." She looked up to see Eren's hand still outstretched. "You owe nothing to Marley. Join me, follow me, and I promise you I will do everything in my power to protect you and your father."

Annie gave a slight gasp at the statement. Why would he do such a thing? If that was true then…

"Why?" She voiced her thoughts out loud. "Do wish for my power?"

"Did I not state I wanted you?" Eren gave a slight scoff at her words. "Trust me, if I wanted your power, I would have taken it."

"Then… you know?"

"A little vague, but a general idea, yes."

"So…" She gave a light chuckle. "You really do want me? Why?"

"You yourself as a person." Eren stated it like it was the most normal thing. "Your character, your personality, I've taken quite a liking to it. So, why not have you?"

She gave a sigh as she peered at the ground in between her legs.

"You promise?" She finally spoke up. "I care for nothing… I just want to keep my promise to my dad that I would come home."

"I can make that happen."

"The enemy before you is far stronger than you can imagine."

"I am prepared."

"You can't defeat them with will power alone."

"I am prepared."

"You… what about those I killed? The ones affected by it? From the expedition?"

Eren gave a sigh.

"I said I would protect you with all my power." He really hated repeating himself.

"Even from your allies?"

"I have already worked out agreements."

"Let me guess, I have to tell you everything?"

"Among other things, yes." Eren confirmed.

They stayed in silence for a while longer. Finally, she lifted her head and took Eren's hand.

Finally, it was getting tiresome to hold out his hand for so long.

He tugged on her arm, bringing her to her feet. Well, he suppose it was now or never.

He continued tugging her, much to her surprise, until they came within inches of their face.

And then Eren locked lips with Annie.

He pulled back after a few seconds had passed. Although shocked, Annie didn't move from her position.

"Why?"

"I'm protecting you."

Swiggity Swooty, Eren's coming for that Annie booty.

Okay, that was a joke. Is it an Annie x Eren ship? No, there isn't really romance and, as it will later be revealed, Eren does this all for a reason