𝑰𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑬𝑵𝑫 - Levi Ackerman [2]

thirteen

13|the jaegerists

"Floch Forster and some 100 soldiers and guards vanished from the prison." Nile Dok informed the remaining trustworthy Scouts before Kiyomi. "They're thought to have defected time with Eren's escape. I'm sure they're behind them premiers murder, too. They need a name. Let's call these anti-military insurgents "Jaegerists". And the goal of the Jaegerists is what, Hange?"

"They're hoping to bring Zeke and Eren together." Hange stated with a stone cold face. "They'll reform the military with Eren on top. Murdering the premier shows their resolve. It's obvious what provoked them. The military schemed to take the Founding Titan from Eren, all without telling us."

"We knew what would happen if we had." The Military Police Commander glared off her stare. "In any case, many of the Jaegerists are from the Scouts. How will you take responsibility, Hange?"

"I'll accept any punishment." She agreed much to Lillian's disagreement. "But resigning now would be an irresponsible thing to do. Besides, we don't know how many Jaegerists are still hiding."

"Indeed. There might even be a suicide bomber standing in front of me." A military police said.

"Roeg, don't be ridiculous." Hange shut him down.

"Can you be trusted? Until we know, we can't let you Scouts roam as you please." Roeg argued with her.

"Enough! We have guests here!" Commander Pyxis barged into the room, stopping their bickering. "We have more important things to do than bicker. Hange, who knows where Zeke's being held?"

"Levi and the 30 soldiers with him. Also, three soldiers who deliver supplies." She answered him. Lillians heart skipped when she heard her husband's name, still worried about his safety. Lastly, there's me."

"Have those three brought here. Nile, is the Queen's residences safe?" Pyxis demanded.

"Only a few know the location, but I'll check it out." Nile stated to the Commander.

"Eren will attempt to contact Zeke and Queen Historia." Commander Pyxis informed the room. "Protecting those two is an absolute must."

"Yes, sir!"

"Commander Pyxis!" Armin spoke up. "Now that we've lost the premier, the only one who can lead us is you. What do you think we should do?"

"We've been utterly beaten. Let's surrender to Eren." The room was shocked at the Commanders statement. "We can't do a thing about enemies in out midst. Even if we flushed them out, who knows how much blood it would cost? We don't have time to waste in such folly. Our decisions made soldiers turn their backs on us. It brought us defeat."

"You're kidding! Bow down to the people who killed the premier?" A Scout spoke up. Lillian glanced back at the woman, trying to recognise the random soldier.

"I knew Zachary for many years." Pyxis stated as he wandered over to Kiyomi Azumabito. "To live and die by revolution would be what he wanted. Anyways, the four who died wouldn't want their deaths to cause Eldia's fall."

"So instead, we submit to the Jaeger brothers?" Nile questioned his words.

"We're not submitting." He explained to everyone. "We'll use the location of Zeke to negotiate with the Jaegerists. Like before, Eldia's survival will depend on a test run of the rumbling. However, we must look past the fact that they murdered the premier. If that's the price to prevent countless comrades from being killed so be it. Get moving, soldiers!"

"Yes, sir!"

Lillian rushed out the room, a familiar feeling of bile rising in her throat as she tried to locate the nearest bathroom. She ended up throwing up in a plant pot, tears in her eyes as she cursed her child.

She wandered to the nearest bathroom, washing out her mouth as she splashed water on her face. She chuckled darkly as she reminisced on how horrible her morning sickness was with Remy.

"Lilly?" Hange poked her head into the bathroom. "Wow, following the smell of vomit worked."

"Hush." Lilly waved her off, cleaning herself up before following her friend to the stables. She stroked her hand over her horse, listening to the cadets complain about Pyxis's words.

"We're helping Eren when he killed the Premier?" Connie complained to them.

"Nobody knows if Eren did it." Mikasa argued back to him.

"Keep it down, Mikasa." Jean warned her when she raised her voice. "People suspect us of being Jaegerists."

"Whose side are you on anyways, Mikasa?" Connie questioned the girl as she stared at the ground, torn between her emotions.

"Lillian, Armin and I almost got caught in the explosion. You have to ask?" She snapped back at him.

"Enough." Hange quietened them down as she walked closer to the group. "Like Pyxis was saying, infighting will be our downfall."

"So you're okay with entrusting everything to Eren and Zeke?" Jean asked his Commander.

"No, it's not good." She patted her horse in thought. "Zeke and Yelena took precautions and were ready for this sort of situation. We have to expect they took other precautions, too. We need to figure out Zeke's intentions before her makes fools of us. Let's just hope my concerns turn out to be nothing."

"Something worrying you?"

"Yelena secured work for Marleyan prisoners in odd places." Hange explained her worry. "Like restaurants, for example."

"Oh, shit." Lillian cursed as they all mounted their horses and rode straight to the restaurant.