[Part 1: Behind Enemy Lines]

Marco and I walk through the streets of Trost district, the pair of us walking without ODM gear for now as we had to leave it hidden in a house, that luckily is the home of Nanaba. I turn down off the main road into an alleyway before kicking a barrel out of the way of a hole in the wall.

"Whats this?" Marco asks.

"A secret passageway. One the scouts made years ago in case they were ever in danger in the city. It's a secret tunnel system." I say turning to go down the ladder into the tunnel. "If you don't know how to navigate it then you could be lost in here for days."

Marco glances to me crouched over the ladder. "Do you?"

I chuckle as we slide down the ladder, turning and walking down a hallway. "There are specific marks at each split in the path along either side. Here the first split, the left side has a circle with three lines going horizontally, the right has a circle with an x crossing it. Which path would you take?"

"The One with the lines?" Marco responds unsure.

"That's exactly why a scout who knows of this place knows to go down the x." I say turning and walking down the path.

Marco hums following me. "So trust your scout instincts not your normal instincts..."

I huff. "Your Scout instincts should be your normal ones. Trust me by combining them together, you become far more aware of traps."

"That makes sense I guess."

"Besides, the info broker I've been in contact with is actually a bit of a surprise to everyone." I say as we approach a well lit room filled with bookshelves and information.

"Who is it." Marco asks.

A young boy stands before us, himself maybe a few years older than myself. This young boy, or rather man now, is named Dirk Reiss. The son of Lord Reiss and half brother of Historia. "Nice seeing you again Marcel."

I bow and shake his hand addressing him. "Good to see you as well, Mr. Reiss."

Marco's eyes widen and he turns to me horrified. "Wait, are we gonna sell out our friends?"

"No, in fact it's the exact opposite." I say.

"Who's he?" Dirk asks as he and I walk over to a table in the middle of the room.

"Forgive me, Sir, But Marco here is my assistant. He joined with me in 104th Cadets."

Dirk nods. "I see. Well, what is it you want to know? Surely you didn't come to find me, if it didn't have to do something with information."

"We need to know who's coming after the scouts with Eren and Historia."

Dirk smiles. "Ah That chestnut... all you need to know is one name. " he raises a hand. He pauses for a moment taking in a single deep breath before revealing the answer to us. "Kenny the Ripper."

"Marco, we're leaving." I say quickly turning and walking away.

"Huh?" Marco says before turning to follow me.

"If The Ripper is the opponent only Levi could fight him, maybe Miche, but no one else. If we wait too long then death is guaranteed for anyone who isn't Levi." Marco and I rush away and out the tunnel exiting closer to the house than where we entered. We rush in and quickly get our gear on. "Go get to Jean and the others. I'm headed to Levi or Nifa."

Marco nods. "Sir."

[Part 2: Kenny Ackerman]

We both blast away using our wrist gears and as I'm in the air I spot a person jump over the side of the building where Nifa, Levi & Ulfer are all at.

"Get down, now!" I shout rapidly approaching the roof.

Nifa and Levi listen just in time to dodge a shot from a weird gun, however it allows for their attacker to hit Ulfer. The pair jump behind cover as I swing widely and hide behind a building as another person fires at me barely missing. I swing under a wagon and open a door quickly slamming it behind myself and jumping over some furniture of the empty building before stopping as the back door is blown open. I throw a knife out the door and it strikes true killing the shooter. I hurry outside the building grabbing two of my regular blades. I quickly hurry back finding Nifa hiding and help her away as I notice Levi leading the majority away I head over to where Marco should be. Unfortunately I'm forced to kill a few of our attackers as I land I I spot everyone on a building together.

"Prepare for combat, the enemy is armed with a new type of gear, it fires gunfire from it. If you're not careful, you'll be dead before you know it. Nifa and Levi are the only survivors of the defense team. As of now we're not only fighting titans, but other people. Let's go." I order the others at the warehouse. Mikasa and I are the first off, with Nifa, Marco, and then the others following suit. We then spot Levi and before an attacker can fire at him I'm already down low and slicing through him.

"Follow the wagon! Listen up, these soldiers were trained to fight other people. They've already taken out three of ours. If you hesitate for so much as a second, you'll be dead. The moment you see an opening, go for the kill." Levi says.

"Sir." I respond. Levi and I play as the decoy getting the enemy's attention as I shout the orders. "Armin! Secure the wagon with Jean & Marco! We'll keep you as covered as much as we can!"

"Uh- Sir!. Armin hesitates. The pair descend and go to the wagon as the rest of us fight off attackers. There's a gunshot... I look back to go help, but it's too late. They got away with Eren... no further casualties on our side though. Armin killed one.

"We got lucky. Levi held you back, it allowed me to get Armin out of there before we lost him too." I say landing in front of Mikasa.

"Hey, thanks for rescuing me, Marco." Jean says still standing there his eyes wide, he saw death to closely.

"Of course. We're teammates remember." Marco says putting a hand on Jean's back.

Jean nods. "Yeah."

[Part 3: Right From Wrong]

A few hours later we hold up in a warehouse, the same one where Jean & Armin were taken when they played decoy. I sit away from the group with several tools and one of the enemies ODM gear. "I've had some time to look at the new gear from them. It's designed to kill us scouts." I say closing the gear up putting it back together in an exact reversal of how o dissected it. "Marco, could you, take the info to Levi, I need... I need a nap."

"Sir." He and Jean walk away joining the others while I lay my head down. But Nifa then walks over to me.

"How are you doing? Nifa?"

"Well, I could be a bloodstain right now, so... good I guess." She says with a slight shiver.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to help everyone. My informant, said Kenny the Ripper and I hurried over as quickly as I could. I just wish I could've been of more use."

"No, it's fine... I hesitated then... I only dodged in time because of you. I wanted to thank you."

"It's fine. Just looking out for my family, Nifa." I smile sitting on the floor next to a box. She sits down next to me the pair of us away from the main group leaning against a few boxes. "Is there a reason you came to me other than to thank me?"

"Not really, just to check on you I guess."

"Thanks... by the Wall it's been a while since we've talked... Thanks, for always looking out for sis." I say with a smile. "Lord knows she needs it." I say which causes Nifa to chuckle.

"Of course. Come on, Hange wants you to join her in the plan." Nifa says standing up.

The pair of us travel alone, quietly but alone. We discuss things, that while minor to some people were important to us. What to do should they start hunting the scouts, how we'd live if there weren't any titans. Our thoughts on other scouts, stuff of the sort. It was kind of refreshing. When we arrive with the others I'm led down stairs by Moblit where he, Hange & I enter a room where Levi is waiting with an MP.

"We made it! You haven't finished yet, have you?" Hange asks.

"No. Haven't even gotten my feet wet." Levi turns to us.

Hange smiles. "Sannes! I may only be a novice at human torture but while I personally may lack the knowledge my little brother here learned some great methods from our prior commander."

"Fufu, don't flatter me sis. I promise to treat him right. I'm sure he wouldn't mind... a few nails, or maybe an eyeball... what about a testicle? Oh, Sannes, please tell me that you won't crack that easily!" I say grinning sadistically, truly a side I hate showing.

"Hold on! At least tell me what you want!" He shouts.

"Oh don't worry, you'll know what I want. I have a bunch of questions. First where were Eren and Historia taken? What do you want with Historia? And who are the Reiss family. We don't have time to dilly dally, so I'd recommend you hurry before I get the toys. Tell me do you know how far the human anus can be spread before irreparable damage is done?" I ask.

"What?"

I smile. "If you don't give me the information I want you'll find out with me." He remains silent with a defiant glare as I smile grabbing a plier and pull one of his teeth out getting a loud scream from him. He remains against us, for a good hour or so, he's covered in bruises, blood dripping from his nose, and mouth. One of his eyes closed shut from swelling, "Not a word. How many people did you have to do this too to get so good at it?" I mutter.

"More than I could count. Within these cramped, squalid walls, War has never broken out, and I can tell you why. It's because we of the First Interior Squad dirtied our hands to protect the king's peace! A teacher too smart for his own good." Sannes says admitting to his crimes, this one must have been fathers dad. "A stupid couple who tried to fly. A whore who screwed the wrong man! No matter how they begged or pleaded we erased them to protect humanity! You should be on your knees thanking me."

"For killing my father's dad... I should be thanking you for hindering humanity from progress? Let's take a break. My high is gone." I say turning and walking away.nWe exit the room as Moblit leaves it slightly open. I watch as Hange & Levi grab Sannes' partner Ralph and hold a knife to his back making him read from a paper Nifa wrote.

"Quit shovin' me it hurts..

Levi scoffs. "How pathetic can you get? Can't believe you started talking after just one nail. Sannes doesn't have any nails left. He's a real soldier."

"Like I care. He can get tortured all he wants. The guy never shuts up about peace and the king. The rest of us all hate his damn guts. Just do us a favor and kill him already."

I then hold the paper and read my line. "We'll have to keep him around until he's verified what you told us."

"Yeah? Well you got everything you wanted out of me, so why don't you lay off already? Oh, and about my cell. It'll have a bed, right?"

We place Ralph in his cell and then return to Sannes as I maintain a smug grin as we enter. "We're back. Now, this isn't easy for all of us, but we hope you're... just as uncooperative as last time."

Sannes stares at the ground broken. "Reiss is the true royal family."

I smile and close the door as we relay the word to the others.

"You mean the rightful heir to the throne is... the Reiss family?" Armin asks.

"That's correct. And based off of that knowledge, it's safe to assume she and Eren we're taken to Lord Reiss." I say holding a map of the interior. A knock occurs at the door and it opens revealing Ymir.

"Miche, Petra & Nanaba were taken prisoner. I barely escaped. News from your informant, Marcel."

"Dirk Reiss... Hand it here." I say. She hands me the paper as Marco helps her to sit down I read through it.

"Well?" Hange asks.

"The Reiss family leader, Rod is after something called the founding Titan which is held by Eren and plans to feed him to one of his daughters." I tell them the information on the note Dirk gave Ymir. "But it'll be a few days before it happens. So we have a few days until then. Other than that, Dirk is asking for us to grant his siblings diplomatic immunity if we help take down his father."

Levi sighs. "We have no choice but to accept."

"Yeah. How long has he been informing you of information?" Hange asks me.

"The person who did the dive into the records on Bertholdt & Reiener was Dirk. So at least before we knew the truth about Eren. We accept the offer. Marco, tomorrow, you, Ymir, and I will head to Trost and meet with Dirk. After that we'll meet up with you, sis. Everyone else, go with Levi. You'll be headed to Rod Reiss' estate. Up in the north. We'll be there as quickly as we can." I say positioning everyone where I need them.

[Part 4: Commander Erwin]

That night as we ride, Hange goes next to me as Ymir is hanging on to my back.

"Marcel, you said earlier when Sannes talked about a teacher that it was Erwin's dad, what would make you say that?"

"Think there's enough time for a story?" I ask.

"A story?"

"It's one Commander Erwin told me, about a young boy who was too stupid to know when to shut up... and how it changed him."

Hange shakes her head. "Not now, you can tell us later." When we arrive I spot Dimo Reeves dead a crowd gathered around him. We knock on the door and upon entry find Erwin with Pyxis. "Commander. It's done." Hange walks in first. Sis goes up to him and whispers in his ear.

"I thought as much." Father says before turning to commander Pyxis. "Looks like my gamble may pay off, Commander. Might. One of the First Interior Squad just confessed. The current king is a pretender to the throne. Reiss is the true royal family."

"Are you sure?" Pyxis asks stunned looking at all of us.

"I've deployed my scouts. They're working to retrieve Eren and Historia." Erwin says with full serious.

"Our main surprise is just outside the door with Marco." I say. "Once they're secured, we'll declare that Historia Reiss is of royal blood... and crown her as the country's queen." I relay the plan.

"Yes. I've spoken with Dirk as well, Marcel... he's guaranteed me that so long as we protect his sisters."

"Of course sir. We plan to visit him in a few minutes." I explain.

"Take the girl with you, Hange. Just in case." Erwin says giving us our orders.

"Sir." We both salute.

"Knowing this is true, the ersatz king will have no choice but to give up the throne." Pyxis says  humming.

"Assuming that he does, we'll have staged a bloodless coup. Then we'll go to the people and expose the system that claimed to protect them for all its lies."

Pyxis smiles. "I'm convinced. You can count on my support. That said. We could be in the wrong. The final decision is out of our hands. You do understand that, don't you?"

Erwin nods. "I do. Yes."

Pyxis then leaves allowing for myself to sit down as Hange grabs a chair to sit with us. "Anything come from the Reiss investigation?" She asks.

"I found out as much as I could. Not much to speak of. Just two curious incidents." Father admits.

"Two?" I ask.

A scout then bursts in with Marco & Ymir behind him. "Commander Erwin. The Interior Squad's put out a warrant for you. They're making a scene in the middle of the city, sir. Saying you had someone murdered."

"What?" I say in surprise.

"It would appear that the enemy has been making plans of their own." Father mutters. "Hange, Marcel. Leave town at once."

"What? What are you planning to do?" I ask.

"I need to be the face of the Scout Regiment. I trust you to act at your own discretion. Also, until Marcel reaches the age of eighteen I've chosen the Scouts' temporary Commanding Officer. And it's you- -Zoe Hange. The scouts lay in both of your hands."

Erwin leaves the room as I look to Hange. I sigh taking a step forward. "Your orders... Commander?"

"Ditch your uniforms keep the ODM gear. We travel under cover. We'll take the girl. You two find Dirk Reiss." Hange orders.

Marco and I salute. "Sir."

[Part 5: Hiding in Shadows]

We split up. As Hange & Moblit take Ymir to divert attention, Marco & I escape without notice we hurry to the outer wall of Trost. I then kick over a large rock that reveals a hole. Marco jumps down and I follow after him placing the rock back over the hole. Once inside I grab one of the torches by the entrance and glide it across the floor so it lights up. As we walk Marco looks to me.

"Lead the way... and hey, I think we have time for that story now." He comments with a nervous smile.

"Sure, I guess." I say handing him the torch. "Erwin's father. He was a teacher. On day, they were studying history. "Faced with the Annihilation at the hands of Titans, humanity took refuge behind the walls and realized 100 years of peace. But in this process we lost all records of what humanity's earlier past might've looked like." That's what all of them were taught. According to dad, even back then, it was strange to him. And so, he asked his father a question. He gave Erwin a fairly evasive answer and continued with the standard lesson. But, when they went home that night, Erwin's father sat him down and gave him the real answer. He told dad that the history books he received from the government were full of contradictions and mysteries."

Marco hums. "Yeah, there were a lot things that felt off about them, I guess. I just didn't question them until now."

"Yeah. Even when we were with the cadets and having lessons there, some of the things in the book felt off. After telling Erwin this, his father then proceeded to tell him a theory of his. As a child Erwin was astounded. But... there was a reason he didn't share that theory with the entire class, but Erwin didn't see or wasn't smart enough to see it. He told the other children what his father had told him. And one day the MP's came and questioned him. Erwin's dad didn't come home that night. They said he died in some sort of freak accident. Erwin swears that it isn't true, but he'll never say it out loud. The government silenced him. One hundred and seven years ago, when humanity fled to these walls, the king altered their collective memory to make them easier to rule. That was his father's theory." We then turn a corner and we glance around as Dirk's former information hub is in ruins. I sigh as Marco goes to take a step forward but I slam my fist into his chest knocking him back. "Watch."

I grab a rock and take a step back before tossing it forward and just as the tip of the rock exits the tunnel it's blown to high hell by the shots from the new ODM gear. I nod to Marco we take a few steps back and grab a few more and throw them in sync watching the soldiers use their second shots when we blast forward with our ODM gear. I turn quickly switching back with the gear and cut through two MP's as Marco kills a single one of them. After landing we search through note after note, order after order on paper however none of them give knowledge on where Dirk is.

"Damn it!" I shout kicking the desk over.

When the desk flips a single paper flutters from under it which Marco catches and reads it. "He's gone to his family. He's going to try and buy us some time. We have only a few days before they try to feed Eren to Historia. They also want to feed Ymir to one of the other daughters."

"What a cunt." I say with a scoff. "We should reconvene with Hange. We stay in Trost. Until the scouts are exonerated in the city."

We exit the tunnel system lighting a match and burning the entire room after taking some of the more important documents. I personally make sure to burn documents on Annie Leonhart and Myself. To the normal folks, she never existed.

Chapter End.