The Devils Inside

The Devils Inside - Chapter 12

Danielle's PoV

I Stand With Eren, Mikasa and Armin and I Hear, "Nope, Still Don't Spot One" Commander Pixis Sighs and Continues, "I Really Wouldn't Mind Being Eaten, As Long As It Was By A Stunningly Beautiful Lady Titan" I Smirk Internally and A Blush Rises On My Face When I Begin Thinking Of Annie.

Pixis Looks At Me and Asks, "Trainee Danielle? Are You Drunk?" I Shake My Head and I Say, "No Sir! I'm Just Thinking Of Someone Very Dear To Me" He Crosses His Arms and Says, "This Person Must Be Really Special Because Your Face Resembles A Tomato" I Rub My Neck and Look Away From The Garrison Commander. He Turns Around and I Block Out Most Of The Conversation. I Only Begin Paying Attention Again When Mikasa Hits Me On The Back Of The Head.

I Come To My Senses and I Hear, "I See, So You Believe That Basement Room Will Give You All The Answers?" Eren Nods and Replies, "Yes.... Can You Believe Me Sir?" Pixis Turns His Head To Look At The Boy and Says, "Even You Yourself Don't Have Convincing Proof... So, I Think I'll Just Keep It Filed Away In My Head For Now." He Looks At Armin and Mumbles, "Still... I Expect I'll Be Able To Get To The Bottom Of It, By and By. Until Then, I'll Personally Guarantee Your Safety"

Pixis Turns Around and Asks, "Trainee Armin... Is It?" Armin Salutes and Replies, "Yes Sir!" With Confidence In His Tone. Pixis Hums and Continues, "Earlier, You Mentioned That If We Used The "Titan's Power" Or What-Have-You, It Would Be Possible To Capture This Town, Trost District.... Do You Really Believe That? Or Were You Just Desperate To Stay Alive?" Armin Looks At Me and I Nod At Him and He States, "It Was Both Sir. What I Tried To Say Then Is That Eren Could Turn Into A Titan, Carry That Boulder Over To The Destroyed Gate, and Plug It Up."

I Keep The Stoic Expression On My Face and Armin Continues, "It's Just A Thought That Occurred To Me But I Was Hoping The Captain Would At Least Sense The Possibility That The Power Eren Possesses Could Help Get Us Out Of Our Current Predicament. Of Course, I Was Also Desperate To Save Our Own Lives." Pixis Nods and He Crouches Down In Front Of Eren and Asks, "Trainee Eren.... Can You Plug Up That Hole?"

Eren Nods "I'll Seal It Off, Sir! No Matter What!" He States Confidently. A Knot Forms In My Throat and Pixis Laughs, "Well Said! You're A Real Man!" Pixis Turns Around and Yells, "WHERE'S MY COUNCIL?! LET'S WORK OUT A STRATEGY!" Armin Gasps and Asks, "What?! But... Right Now?! It Was Just An Idealistic Notion I Had.... He Means To Carry It Out Now?!"

Eren Smirks Slightly and Says, "I Though The Same Thing, But Before We Actually Do Go Ahead With The Plan, There's A More Fundamental Problem. Commander Pixis Sees The Situation Correctly. The Titans Aren't Our Only Enemy." Armin Looks At Him "What?" He Asks Quietly. Pixis Walks Back Over With Three People and He Says, "Every Minute Counts Here. You're Going To Be Heroes... Young Soldiers." We Nod and We Begin To Think Of A Strategy.

Pixis and Eren Begin To Walk Off When Pixis Turns His Head and Asks, "Are You Coming, Redwolf?" I Walk Forward and I Say, "Yes Sir" and I Walk Next To Eren. Pixis Sighs and States, "We're Told That Long Before The Titans Took Over The Land, Human Beings Were Constantly Murdering Each Other Over Tribunal Disputes and Ideologies. Back Then, Someone Supposedly Said, If A Powerful Non-Human Enemy Appeared, Humanity Would Probably Unite and Stop Fighting Itself." He Turns To Us and Asks, "What Your Opinion?"

Eren Rubs The Back Of His Neck and Says, "I've Never Heard That Legend But I Think It's Pretty Rosy. Frankly, It's Dull." I Nod In Agreement and Pixis Chuckles and Says, "Your Personalities Are Just As Twisted As Mine." Eren Clenches His Fist and Growls, "Even Now, When That "Powerful Enemy" Has Driven Us Into A Corner.... I Think We're Far From United" Pixis Nods and I Say, "That May Be True But I Believe If We Don't Come Together Soon.... Even Continuing To Fight May Be Too Much For Us" Pixis Hums and Hums, "Indeed" Eren and I Stand On Either Side Of Pixis and He Yells, "ATTENTION!!!" Eren and I Both Stand Firmly In A Salute and Pixis Continues, "I WILL NOW EXPLAIN OUR STRATEGY TO RECAPTURE TROST DISTRICT! THE GOAL OF THIS OPERATION WILL BE TO PLUG THE HOLE IN THE BROKEN GATE!" I Look Down At Everyone and Pixis Continues, "WE HAVE A WAY TO SEAL THE HOLE, BUT FIRST I WANT TO INTRODUCE YOU TO EREN YEAGER AND DANIELLE REDWOLF OF THE TRAINING CORPS!"

I Let A Smirk Slide Onto My Face and Pixis Continues, "WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING TOP SECRET EXPERIMENTS ON TITAN TRANSFORMATION, AND EREN YEAGER IS OUR FIRST SUCCESS! HE IS ABLE TO PURIFY THE BODY OF A TITAN AND CONTROL IT AT WILL! HE WILL TURN INTO A TIAT, PICK UP THE BOULDER NEAR THE GATE, CARRY IT OVER, AND USE IT TO BLOCK THE HOLE! SOLDIERS, YOUR TASK IS TO PROTECT HIM FROM THE OTHER TITANS WHILE HE'S CARRYING THE ROCK!"

I Watch As Many People Begin Deserting and Pixis Yells, "UPON MY ORDER! ANYONE WHO LEAVES RIGHT NOW WILL GO UNPUNISHED!" He Looks At Me To Continue and I Nod and Yell, "IF YOU HAVE GIVEN INTO YOUR FRAR OF THE TITANS, YOU WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THEM AGAIN! ANYONE WHO HAS SUCCUMNED TO TERROR OF THE TITANS SHOULD LEAVE HERE AND ANYONE WHO WANTS THEIR PARENTS, SIBLINGS AND LOVED ONES TO FEEL THAT SAME TERROR FOR THEMSELVES SHOULD LEAVE AS WELL!!"

Pixis Pats My Back As We Watch Everyone Return To The Groups and Pixis Takes Over and Yells, "LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED FOUR YEARS AGO! ABOUT THE OPERATION TO RECLAIM WALL MARIA! I DON'T THINK I NEED TO REMIND YOU OF IT. "OPERATION TO RECLAIM" SOUNDS GOOD DOESN'T IT? BUT IT WAS REALLY JUST A WAY FOR AN OVERBURDENED GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED THEY HAD TO FEED! WHAT NO ONE DARES TO SAY IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE WITHIN THE WALL'S NARROW CONFINES BECAUSE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ARMS WERE FORCE TO GO OUTSIDE IT! THAT SIN BELONGS TO ALL OF HUMANITY, INCLUDING ME!!"

I Let Out A Growl and I Am About To Say Something That Will Blow My Cover and Ruin The Operation To Reclaim The Founder Entirely When Pixis Continues, "THE RESIDENTS OF WALL MARIA WERE A MINORITY, SO OPEN WAR NEVER BROKE OUT! BUT WHAT ABOUT NEXT TIME?! IF WALL ROSE IS BREACHED, IT WON'T BE NEARLY ENOUGH TO SACRIFICE 20% OF THE POPULATION! BEHIND OUR FINALL BARRIER, WALL SHEENA, WE COULD ONLY AFFORD TO FEED HALF OF THE WORLD'S SURVIVING HUMAN BEINGS! IF HUMANITY DIES OUT, IT WON'T BE BECAUSE THE TITANS DEVOURED US! IT WILL BE BECAUSE WE ANNIHILATED EACH OTHER! WE CANNOT DIE INSIDE YET ANOTHER WALL! GIVEN THE CHOICE DIE HERE!"

I Drop My Salute and I Say, "With All Due Respect Sir... Can I Please Go and Find My Girlfriend?" Pixis Nods and Says, "Yes. Go Ahead" I Nod and Say, "Thank You Sir" and I Jump Off The Wall and Using My ODM Gear, I Perform Some Skill Moves Before I Land On A Roof and I Begin Searching For Annie.