𝔇𝔢𝔣𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔢 (𝔏𝔢𝔳𝔦 𝔵 ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯)

LXXXIV - Clandestine

"Didn't I tell you? It's hopeless. It all is. The time has come for you to pay for what you've done. This is the end of the Survey Corps." 

***

The smirk on the mans lips dropped immediately after Hange's voice rung through the woods, making all of us relax. 

"Yoohoo!" She called out into the darkness. "We come bearing good news." She and four others emerged from the grass, walking passed the man who laid on the ground and sparing him a brief glance before walking further into the clearing. Two of the figures revealed themselves as Hitch and Marlowe, the other two only pacing toward me and dumping their arms around my shoulders. 

"Evening, Sunshine!" Reece beamed in glee, Zion only chuckling after the greeting. I let out a short laugh, rolling my eyes as they turned to Levi and the others, Hange handing the raven a folded piece of paper. 

"What's this?" Levi asks, taking the paper from her hands and unfolding it. The squad practically threw themselves behind the Captain, reading over his shoulder in the light the moon had provided through the trees above. 

"It's the extra edition from Berg's Newspapers that everyone's talking about. It contains an article with testimony from Flegel Reeves, the son of the late boss of the Reeves company, who managed to escape the scene of his father's murder. Now all of Trost District knows that the interior brigade not only threatened the Reeves Company, but that they also arranged to frame the Survey Corps for the massacre of civilians." Hange began explaining. "They also accuse all other information outlets of bowing to pressure from the royal government. Finally, they have reported that King Fritz is a pretender to the throne. A member of the royal government close to the centre of the royal government has testified that the true king is living in hiding as a rural aristocrat, which means the false charges against the Survey Corps are gone. You acted in legitimate self defense. The royal government and administrative district are provisionally under Commander-In-Chief Zackly's control. The nobles haven't counterattacked. We're free now." 

And as the last word left the glass eyed brunettes mouth, the squad was in uproar. They cheered and jumped around, Levi remained standing there with the piece of paper and I looked at the boys who were still around my shoulders with a large smile. 

"Freedom has never tasted better." Zion sighs as he held a fist out to Reece, who excitedly pressed his own fist against it with a small crashing sound coming from his lips. I only laugh, the boys shaking me a little to express their happiness as I avert my gaze to the ground. 

"How in the world... what did you do to them?" Levi asks as Hange paced to his side. She shrugged in response, letting her gaze rise to the sky. 

"We didn't do anything." She smiled softly. "It was everyone's individual choices that brought change to the world." Levi's hand dropped to his side, paper pinched tightly in his fingers. 

"Hange, I'm sorry. Those three you entrusted me with, I let them die." He said with regret. Hange only smiled at him. 

"Well at least you guys neutralised those gun-toting bastards, right?" She asked. 

"No. Not all of them. The leader and his team are off somewhere with Eren and Historia. If we don't find them soon, this revolution will be derailed." Everyone tuned to look at the MP we had captured, the boys detaching themselves from me as I walk forward, standing at Levi's side, opposite Hange, who swiftly pulled a letter from beneath her cloak. 

"About that. I might just know where those two are." The squad turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "I'm not absolutely certain, but I think our only choice is to take our chances with this. We'll end this battle there." She voiced, ripping open the envelope and reading the contents. The silence that hung in the air was thick, all of us watching her eyes flick from one word to the next.