The Guardian's Tale (AOT fanfiction)

-Counterfeit-

Darkness was all that filled my sight as cold metal bars pressed against my back, the crackling of flames becoming the only sound that prevented a heavy silence from filling the room. Excuses that had been spoken the night before echoed in my mind, but I had already heard them all before, thousands of times, and this time I couldn't believe them no matter how hard I tried. Knowing that once my eyes opened I would have to face him again, I kept them shut as a warm melody started bouncing off of the walls and filling my heart.

"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down." Eren hummed as he brushed my hair."You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."

As the echo carried his voice through the halls, I slowly opened my eyes and got up, placing my jacket over my shoulders as the cool air embraced my bandaged chest. However, before I could walk away, a hand as cold as ice grabbed mine and forced me to turn around only to come face to face with the piercing green eyes that once belonged to my friend.

"Miss Uchiha." A man suddenly called out. "It's time to go."

I freed my wrist from Eren's tightening grasp and started making my way to the door without a word, the silence weighing my heart down as I tried to focus on the paved floor ahead. I'm sorry but I can't trust your hollow words...not anymore.

 -----

I silently stood behind Floch as the Commander walked in, exhaustion and doubt clouding her eyes while the traitors looked completely calm, as if they had done nothing wrong. If we can't even trust our own Soldiers, then how can we fight a war ? When Floch's gaze met my own, I realized that it didn't carry the same emotional fatigue and apathy as mine did, rather it carried hope along with the humanity that I had lost a long time ago.

"So it's you guys that leaked the info about Eren ?" Hange asked before taking a seat. "Why did you do that ?"

"Because Eren ought to be freed." Floch spoke up without a moment of hesitation. "He hasn't done anything wrong. We've faced countless colossal enemies and grasped victory. That victory is the overwhelming power named the Rumbling, which is also our ticket to survival. Eren saved the lives of every citizen of the New Eldian Empire."

The Commander simply sighed and managed to keep her composure as she explained that even though the Rumbling worked as we expected it to, there was no guarantee that it would save us. As a mater of fact, it was nothing more than a story they had heard from a stranger and happened to take to heart.

"That's only because you're keeping Eren locked in prison." Floch retaliated. "Do we have the time to waste on this ? At this rate, our great victory will be all for naught. The one that should lead this nation is Eren Yeager. You need to release him immediately."

"Have any of you even been out in the real world ?" I asked coldly. "You're lucky you know ? You're all still human...unlike the ones standing before you."

The room immediately filled with a heavy silence as the people who had been there since the very beginning understood the exact meaning of these words. To the recruits it didn't mean much at all, but to us, it was a reminder of just how much we had seen and how much we had lost just to understand how this world worked. Some had lost their lives, while the survivors gave up bits and pieces of their souls as they tried to regain the humanity they had lost.

-----

Walking side by side, Jean and I both made our way through the forest where Zeke was detained as the setting Sun cast a gentle glow onto the sky. The man beside me seemed to be distracted by the white handkerchief keeping my hair together, gently swaying in the wind, when suddenly, he stopped and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Tell me...am I doing enough ?" He asked huskily. "The moment I realized that Marco was gone, I tried to take his place as your protector. Yet everyday it feels like I failed when I see that look in your eyes, when I see your exhaustion and your pain. So please...tell me...I need to hear it."

At that moment, it felt as though my vocal chords had been ripped out of my throat and I looked back at him, tears stinging my eyes as I looked up to see his broken expression. What would he think if he knew...that I saw exactly who killed Marco yet kept him alive ?

"Jean I-" I tried to stand tall and hold back my tears as I held his hands in my own. "You did more than enough, I promise. After all, I'm still alive aren't I ?"

Suddenly, my ears filled with a deafening and incessant ringing which caused my legs to give out from under me as I hung on to Jean for support. My vision quickly faded and just as the world started going completely black, I heard an all too familiar voice echo through my mind.

"...a surprise attack at once !"

TO BE CONTINUED !
(For those of you who have already read this chapter and are re-reading it for some reason (it sucks ik) I changed Hange's pronouns from they/them to she/her because I just read the author's confirmation that Hange can go by any pronouns because it us up to the viewer.)