𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙩 || Eren Jaeger

𝒽𝓎𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝒶

10

«Make sure to build your heart
brick by boring brick
Or the wolf's gonna blow it down»
—Paramore

____________

Johanna and Caleb race down the stairs to the second level.

"What happened?"

"I told them not to. I swear, I warned them against it, but they didn't listen—"

"This room?"

"Yeah."

Johanna opens the large mahogany doors and steps inside a spacious room filled with several soldiers. Her gaze trains upon the five recruits sitting at the center. Three of them she could identify: Louise, Surma, and less surprising, Floch.

Hanji is also present, sitting before them interrogation-style.

Jo approaches. "What's going on here?"

Hanji sighs and adjusts her eyepatch. "These five leaked information to the press. Sensitive information, at that. Now the public knows we're holding Eren prisoner."

Jo shoots Louise and Surma a disbelieving look, almost betrayed. The two find it hard to look at her, choosing to mingle with the floor instead. Still, they don't seem nearly as embarrased by her disapproval as they should.

"And what the hell prompted you imbeciles to do that?" Jo asks tersely.

"Eren should be freed." Floch immediately answers. He seems unusually composed. "He's done nothing wrong. He stood against a practically invincible enemy and brought home victory. He's achieved the power of the rumbling by teaming with Zeke, therefore guaranteeing our right to life. Eren has saved the lives of everyone in the reborn Eldian Empire."

Hanji reacts surprisingly patient. Or perhaps she's just too weary to retaliate. "There's no guarantee that the Rumbling will work how we expect it to. And it doesn't even guarantee our own survival. Don't you realize that? It's effectively a rumor. There's no proof it'll work."

"Because you're keeping Eren locked in a cell." He points out. "We can't afford to sit around and waste time like this. At this point, our great victory and the time Eren bought for us will go to waste. Eren Jaeger will lead this country. You must release him immediately."

"Ultimately it's my decision. The responsibility rests on me. Which is why I can't let you act on your own." Hanji says gravely. "You will be put on trial for the crime of divulging information." She cues the soldiers a few feet away. "Take them to their cells."

Jo silently scrutinizes Floch, who simply closes his eyes in acceptance. In her opinion he's acting like some self-righteous, martyr piece of shit. But he's also calm. Too calm.

"If this is what it takes, so be it." He says.

They let themselves be escorted out. On the way to the door, a sorry Louise catches Jo's eye.

"Later." Is all Jo mutters, and they are gone.

She meanders towards the window to her right and peers outside. A crowd of locals has formed at the front of the building, chanting enraged phrases she thankfully can't hear at this distance. The soldiers posted at the gate are having trouble taming the situation, it seems.

Who would've thought the public would actually side with Eren? It feels like just yesterday a whole court wanted to sentence him to death, calling him a heresy and a monster.