You're Not Alone

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~3rd POV~

Levi notices the people coming towards them are in fact Hange, Moblit, Vic, Reese, and Kaia. Two scouts and three Garrison members.

Hange hands over a single piece of paper to Levi and his team surrounds him, trying to read what is on it as well.

"And there you have it. The coup was successful," Hange smiles. "Premier Zachary now has full control of the capital and the government. For the time being at least, the novels seem to be staying in line."

"Okay, but what about the incident with Mr.Reeves?" Armin questions.

"We got a public confession out of one of the Interior Police with the help of these three here of course," Hange grins. "Reeves' son Flegel also really came through for us."

"It's all written right there," Vic points at the paper in Levi's hand. "The abuse of power, the bogus charges against the scouts, and that King Fritz was both a fraud. It's clear, you guys only acted in self-defense."

"In short," Reece smirks. "You're no longer criminals. Now it should be easier for you guys to find Sophie, Eren, and Christa."

Jean, Sasha, Armin, and Connie all jump up and cheer with joy. The anxiety of being sent to prison or killed if caught is now gone. Mikasa smiles to herself as well.

"Wait, what are you even doing here Reece?" Connie eyes the blonde Garrison member.

"These three have decided to join the Scouts," Hange places her hand on Kaias arm. "I'm giving them permission. All three graduated in the top ten of their classes. I think we'll be gaining some good soldiers."

"Looks like Erwins gamble payed off," Levi mumbles as Hange and Jim walk away to a quieter area.

"That it did," she replies. "But it wasn't just Erwin who gambled. Many people had to make a lot of hard choices for this to work."

"Whereas my choices got three of your people killed," Levi states. "I'm sorry."

Hange just smiles at him, knowing it's not really his fault they had died. They wanted to protect the three young scouts just as much as anyone else did.

"Here's the thing- the Interiors may have lost, but not all of them know it. They still have Sophie, Eren, and Historia, too. We need to find them quickly."

"Right! I think I know where they might be," Hange holds up a book and everyone crowds around her. "Let's get there and put an end to this fight and find our comrades."

~

"Hange," Mikasa speaks up as they ride in a wagon driven by Armin. "You said you might know where they are?"

"Oh yeah," she laughs. "Guess I should explain how. Erwin he gave me the Scout report from the investigation on Lord Reiss' land. Details of a certain incident that occurred five years ago on the Reiss' Estate."

"Five years?" Armin chimes in.

"That's right. It was the day Wall Maria was breached. I'll summarize the most important parts from the beginning. So, as far as regional lords went, Lord Reiss was fair and well-respected by the people. He had five children. The most well known of them with his eldest daughter Freida. She was a down to earth girl who even the peasants adored. But five years ago, on that night, disaster struck."

Hange continues on with her information...

"With the fall of wall Maria having plunged the world into chaos, bandits rated and set fire to the only chapel around. Unfortunately for them, the entire Reiss Family had gathered there to pray. And so, the entire family was massacred by bandit that night, save one. Only Rod Reiss managed to escape with his life. To top it all off, the incident occurred just a few days before Historia's mother was killed by the interior police, so we know that and then in the wake of losing his family, Rod Reiss sought out Historia. And something tells me that it wasn't out of a newfound paternal affection."