The Month Of May

Chapter 39

I ZIPPED THROUGH THE SKIES TOWARD ANNIE WHEN I SUDDENLY SAW SMOKE AND HER BODY FALLING.

Had someone killed her? I hadn't seen. I held my arm up to shield my eyes from the smoke as I maneuvered in...and as the smoke cleared, I saw Annie's Titan body lying face down on the floor. Erwin was standing near the head of the body, staring, and I swung down to the ground.

Was she...dead?

The Titan...no, Annie had never left a body before when she changed. Did this mean...someone had actually killed her...?

There was no blood. Then again, I couldn't even be sure that Annie bled in that form. Judging by Erwin's look on his face, I was sure he was thinking the same.

"Armin," Erwin addressed, his eyes still focused on Annie's body, "what did she say to you?"

"She said she was fighting for a cause I didn't
understand," I didn't hesitate to tell him that much. My head was still foggy about most of the details on that scene, but slowly, they were coming back to me. She had said some pretty terrible lies about him, lies I wasn't necessarily comfortable telling him about since they were so blatantly wrong. "Just a bunch of nonsense. I think...she did something to me to make me forget."

"Ah, yes...just another branch off of her transformative powers, no doubt," Erwin's icy eyes transferred toward me. "The threat has been neutralized."

"Neutralized?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, "but we haven't confirmed that anyone killed her!"

"If the beast is dead, the slayer does not matter."

"Maybe, but we're not even sure if she actually died. Don't you think that-"

"Are you questioning me?" Erwin's eyes narrowed, and I immediately shut my mouth. He folded his arms over his chest, observing the beginning to disintegrate body. "We have a body, a confirmed body."

But if that's her body, where's her human form? That was what I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to push Erwin any further. A solider with black hair and prominent eye bags landed alongside Erwin, and my eyes widened in recognition. Levi, Erwin's right hand man and best soldier in the entire universe. He'd proctored our top ten test, alongside Hange, the crazy scientist of the group.

"So the Titan is already down?" Levi questioned, a hand running across his blade. "A shame. I wanted to run this through it."

"It appears to be so. Where's Hange? I want her looking at this body before it disappears."

Disappears...? What? Why would the body disappear? Were they assuming that since they had never seen Annie's body stay previously...? But that was different. Now, Annie was presumably dead.
If that was really the case, wouldn't her body stay here?

I didn't really know what I'd prefer, if I was being honest.

If she was dead, then everything was done already. Threat neutralized. The traitor couldn't hurt anyone any longer.

But if she was alive...

Then she was actively going to be harming everyone I'd ever loved again.

I wonder if anyone told Eren or Mikasa yet...

Mikasa was going to be furious. I wasn't sure how Eren would feel. Honestly, me? I was just as angry as Mikasa would be. Annie had betrayed me, and for what? Just to ability to kill others? I didn't get it! She had...she had used all of us. She never cared.

That kiss we shared...she probably never felt anything for me. I felt like a fool now. She we probably just enjoying her ability to taunt me further, to twist the knife of betrayal further in her direction so that I'd believe her...

I could never forgive her for this.

Yet, even as I said that, I had trouble believing myself. She had betrayed me, and killed so many people...why was I even hesitating about this?

"There is no flood, Armin! Outside is solid ground. Why would you need a military for the outside if it was all just water? There would be nothing to harm anyone if that was the case."

Perhaps that memory was the reason why.

I had forgotten that until just now, but slowly, my memories were returning. She had also called Erwin a power hungry liar, but that had to be mistaken. Erwin only had the country's best interests in mind. Besides, who was she to speak? She was just a traitor. But something in her words hadn't sunk in right with me. Why would we need a military outside if there was only water...? If there were no dangers, then why...?

I frowned. No matter the truth, nothing changed the fact that Annie was a traitor, one who was dead now. I didn't know how my parents were doing, but I hoped that they were coping alright.

At least everything would be solved now that Annie was gone...

But part of me felt that she was still around, somewhere, and that this was only the beginning.