𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙩 || Eren Jaeger

𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒

5

_______________

The stars are out; a thin layer of shimmering dust spread amongst the opaque black sky. It is beautiful— to any clueless civilian wandering the streets, to any mother coddling her newborn by the window, and to any journalist or politician sitting in the audience of Willy Tybur's stage.

But to the members of the Survey Corps, the twinkling heavens above are nothing but a sinister reminder of the peace and quiet they will destroy tonight. These streets won't stay bloodless for much longer. Innocence will soon be crushed.

Of course... some might disagree.

"No one's innocent here. It's not innocence, it's ignorance," Floch severely corrects as he starts distributing thunder spears to the newest recruits.

A recruit no older than 17 flinches back at his reproof. "Oh," is all the girl says.

"They're all guilty. None of them are above punishment." He says harshly and stops to stare her down. "Or are you not loyal to Paradis?"

The recruit's eyes go big and frightful. "Yes! I am, I'm—"

"Floch!"

His jaw grinds at the sound of the distinctly cold female voice.

Johanna steps out of the women's restroom, having changed into the new all-black uniform. The door swings shut behind her as she fixes the nastiest glare on him.

"More working, less bullying the rookies. Got it?" She affirms.

His lips screw up like he's received a mouthful of sour lemon.

"Understood," He finally says, as though he has to chew down his hatred first to make room for the word.

Johanna continues to the other end of the large hallway, gathering her hair in a small bun at the base of her neck as she makes her way past multiple bustling soldiers trying to gear up for battle.

They convened in a metal factory inside the Industrial Zone of Liberio. The Intermittent Zone where the festival is being held is just a stone's toss away. Docking the ship at the harbor was easy; they dressed in navy uniforms acquired from Marleyans who previously docked at Paradis, and then they opened the boiler room where they had locked away the original captain of the ship and ordered him to lead them past the naval checkpoints into the Industrial zone or else he'd be killed on the spot.

Morbid, but easy.

It's a shame he got brave and tried to put up a fight when they secured the metal factory. Otherwise, he'd still be alive.

He was the first bloodshed of this operation. Johanna had to turn away in dismay while Levi "put him down". But regardless of what she might've felt in the moment, she knew they couldn't afford to be soft-hearted. In a manner of minutes, she'll be gunning down people just like that too.

It's time to abandon my humanity, she thinks ruefully, not cling onto it...

She spots Jean lurking by a window, peering out carefully so as to not be seen by outsiders. His mouth is twisted firmly shut, grievance written on his face already as he loads his semiautomatic pistols.

Johanna approaches him tentatively, grabbing the ODM gear she had left in the corner and beginning to strap it on.

She sneaks a look at his face. The fact that she's less than 4 feet away and he refuses to acknowledge her is clue enough.

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" She says with a humoring smirk.

Distracted by her confrontation, he pulls away from the window, eyeing her up and down. "What?" He sounds innocent, but there's a trace of guilt on his expression.