The Empire of Titans

"Annie." 

She takes her eyes off the distant smoke and turns her head to the side where Zeke is standing. "Help me out with Pieck, will you?" he says, nodding down at the girl in his arms. 

He's her superior, so it's not so much a question as it is an order. It's also routine by this point. She follows him onto the ship and down the hallway towards her and Pieck's cabin, all the way keeping her head low to avoid any glances from people. Not that anyone pays them much attention – they're all either drinking in celebration or drinking in mourning. She focuses on the floorboards, Zeke's boots, Pieck's limp arm, and the floor again. 

Annie doesn't usually get pushed to the point of passing out. It's happened on two occasions - just after they got their titans when the army was testing their abilities and limits, and then again not long after. Shifting still leaves her drained, and her limbs ache naturally, but it could be a lot worse. 

"I'm sure she'd rather have a girl help her with this," Zeke says, setting Pieck down on the bed. 

"Yeah, I've got it," Annie snaps. She's too tired and annoyed to bite her tongue, but luckily, Zeke doesn't care how they talk to each other behind closed doors. She waits for him to shuffle out of the room before crouching down at Pieck's backpack to look for a nightgown. Pieck never bothers with unpacking; it's not like she spends any time on missions in human form. 

She lets out a breath to relax now that there is finally silence. This battle ended up dragging on for far too long. She and Marcel took turns on the battlefield, but the Cart was always there, either with the Panzer unit or transporting supplies. The army has started utilizing it for offense much more lately. It turns out Pieck is capable of turning the weakest of the Titans into a ruthless killing machine, its rapid transformations more than making up for its lack of defense. 

Unfortunately, that means she gets pushed to her limit way too often. They ended up using nearly all the Titans just to take out the heavy machinery. Annie knows it will only get tougher as the world develops new weapons to counter them. She is not looking forward to it. 

There's a light touch on her cheek, bringing her out of her thoughts, and then a small 'hey' from Pieck. 

"Hi," Annie sits on the bed, a light smile tugging at her own lips. It's nice to see her again, not in titan form, after a long time. She's missed her soft voice. "Can you sit up?" 

"Let's see," she mutters, taking Annie's hand. "I'm sorry they charge you with taking care of me again?" 

"You know I don't mind," Annie says as she gets busy with the uniform's buttons. 

"Still." Pieck clenches and unclenches her fist a few times. There was a scary moment a while back when she ended up dropping a mug due to sudden numbness. Sure, the Cart is able to maintain its form for months, but the payoff is a long recovery time. Except Pieck rarely gets the chance to rest up these days properly.

"I just wish it didn't leave me so..." Annie takes in her glassy gaze, focused on nothing in particular as she searches for a word. "... out of it." 

"We might get some time off now," Annie muses, grabbing some towels and soap and heading to the sink. "They signed the treaty, right?" 

"I hope so. They can just send Bertholdt to blow up whatever else will inevitably come up." 

"Right." 

Annie helps her take the shirt off, then hands her a towel and moves to sit behind her. It's something they got in the habit of doing after particularly exhausting missions, a really makeshift form of basic hygiene, but it works for now until Pieck regains enough strength to make it to a shower. And since Annie shivers at the mere thought of being trapped inside one's titan for several months at a time, she has no problem making sure Pieck is as comfortable as possible in the days after. 

Pieck ends up just pressing the towel to her face for a while and taking a few deep breaths, shoulders sagging in relief while Annie slowly runs it over her back. They're both still steaming, so cold water on the skin is a nice sensation. Annie only ever takes cold showers, even when she has access to warm water. Force of habit. Her fingers gently trace the titan scars that run down Pieck's neck and shoulder blades. 

Pieck has a couple of centimeters and years on Annie, but at this moment, she looks very small. Annie is one of the few people who ever see her in this state, and moments like this tend to pop into her mind during meetings, watching her banter with Zeke, sharp and calculated. She often ponders what she might have been capable of in a world where Marley didn't treat its people like animals to be slaughtered. 

It's moments like this that reignite her hatred toward her country again and again, buried deep over the course of the years but never extinguished. She is grimly aware of her own complicity in its long list of unforgivable deeds. There is nothing to be done, though. They're on borrowed time, as she is reminded way too often, and completely powerless, titan power notwithstanding. There's no good ending to be had either way. Though she grits her teeth, Annie has resigned herself to the fact that she cannot fight or run. So, she chooses instead to make herself useful where she deems it important. In this case, she is helping Pieck with her nightgown. 

Once it's done, Pieck lets her body drop onto the bed. Annie gets up to let her rest while she tends to her own needs, but before she can slip away, Pieck catches her by the wrist, prompting her to turn around. 

"Annie," she mutters, half-asleep. "Thank you." 

She can't help but smile at that. "Anytime."

Pieck

Quiet, she wondered what had happened in the trial. It had been hours since the trial started, yet there was no news from the soldiers around her. She looked at the clothes she was wearing; she hoped no one would notice the girl missing, a drop of blood still staining her uniform; thankfully, no one had noticed yet.

Pieck looked at the faces around her; she had picked up that her uniform meant she was a soldier of the Military Police. Pieck had no clue what that meant, but she concluded it was a branch of the Military of the Island.

Pieck couldn't help but wonder what was taking Zeke so long. At this point, he should have already started his part of the plan; Pieck kept her head low, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, hoping everyone would just ignore her and simply walk by without paying much attention to her.

"I wonder what they will decide to do with them? Marlo, any idea?" A girl with a very annoying voice questioned beside her. Pieck almost groaned in annoyance after hearing her voice. Just the way she talked was annoying, let alone her choice of words, Pieck quickly understood her name was Hitch or Bitch, Pieck wasn't sure which one, but she reminded Pieck of a girl back at her own training camp. She used to talk loudly about boys; sure, many girls often talked about boys, but she was a special case. She had apparently fallen in love with Marcel, but once the training camp ended, Pieck never saw her again.

"Hitch, I have no idea, and please stop asking and continue doing your job," Marlowe answered hastily, sending an annoyed look towards Hitch, who simply grinned innocently; she seemed to enjoy the fact that she could annoy Marlowe. Pieck felt bad for him. No one needed to go through so much suffering.

"You're no fun, Marlo; seriously, no wonder you don't have a girlfriend," Hitch spoke with the same annoying voice. Pieck rolled her eyes almost at the back of her head. She couldn't understand how someone like her had become a soldier. If she had talked like that before the commander Magath, Pieck could almost imagine The Commander punishing her. The punishment would be to clean the bathrooms for a whole month; the thought brought a small smile to her face.

"Hitch, this is serious; people in that trial are dangerous; you should keep your guard up," Marlo warned. His words caused Pieck's ears to perk up, her head moving slightly in their direction, wondering if this Marlo knew something; from his uniform, Pieck knew he was in a higher rank than Bitch.

"Ohh, right, the Titan people. I have heard three of them will be on trial, but I don't know anything else. You are already a captain, Marlo. Do you know something we don't?" Hitch questioned, sounding intrigued. Pieck couldn't help but lean her head closer, hoping not to miss anything.

"There isn't much to say. All I know is that the three of them fought against the Armoured and Colossal Titan, so I think we can trust them," Marlo answered with a slightly hushed tone. His words caused Pieck to let out a gasp of shock.

Fought against Colossal and Armoured Titan, No, if Zeke is right, then Marcel already belongs to the enemy, but Annie, No. Pieck thought with no doubts in her mind she knew her. She knew her better than anyone. Pieck remembered all the nights they slept together and laughed all night long. Many called her a cold person, but Pieck knew her. She knew Annie would have never betrayed her fellow warriors. She would never betray me, Pieck thought. She almost hit herself for even thinking that Annie would betray them.

"Are you alright?"

Pieck jolted out of her thoughts when she heard someone's voice right next to her, a hand on her shoulder; Pieck stiffened for a brief moment before turning to face Marlo and Bitch; Marlo seemed genuinely concerned for her while Bitch was looking at her annoyed.

Pieck quickly gathered back her composure, taking a step backward, causing Marlo's hand to slip away from her shoulder. "Nothing, just too much stress from everything that is happening," Pieck answered with a friendly smile; Marlo gave her a look of understanding while Bitch looked at her with slight suspicion.

"That's understandable," Marlo said with a reassuring smile.

"I hope the Armoured Titan and Colossal Titan don't suddenly show up; who knows where they are," Pieck continued, sounding very concerned. Her words again earned an understandable look from Marlo while Bitch was looking at her with even more suspicion.

"I wouldn't worry about that. The Commander has reassured everyone that the Colossal and Armoured Titan are in very secured cells,"

"Where do you think they put them?" Pieck questioned with a much quieter tone.

"I don't know. I don't think anyone outside of the Commanders knows where they are kept," Marlo answered with a slight shrug. Pieck sighed disappointingly. She knew he wasn't lying, and it made sense that the information about the warriors' location would be kept secret.

"My name is Hitch. What is your name?" Hitch questioned with a friendly smile; taking a step forward, Pieck almost groaned before shaking her extended hand.

"Name's Pieck," She answered without much thought. Her words seemed to make Hitch think deeply before looking at Pieck with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I don't remember ever seeing you before. Your accent is quite strange. From which group are you?" Marlo questioned genuinely instead of Hitch, looking at Pieck with his usual smile.

Shit, Pieck thought, not having any idea how to answer; she didn't know from which group was the girl she killed; Pieck tried to think quickly of a way to escape this situation when the large square door behind her burst open, opened by two Captains, walking outside of the courtroom.

All the soldiers quickly saluted. Pieck almost made the mistake of making the salute of her country as who she assumed was the Commander of The Military Police walked past them. Pieck tried to take a peak of the courtroom inside, but she couldn't see any sign of anyone she knew.

"Commander, what decision was made?" A captain asked, walking beside the Commander asked. Pieck walked closer, trying to hear as much as possible.

"The three Titan Shifters, Eren Yeager, Ymir, and Annie Leonhart, will be given to The Survey Corps; they will prove their worth to humanity." the commander answered as they walked through the corridor. Pieck stiffened, stopping dead in her tracks, her heart beating in her throat.

She heard it, but she didn't want to believe it; Pieck tried to think of any reason why Annie was being spared. Perhaps she was simply playing them and would help her fellow warriors when she was ready, but Pieck quickly dropped that thought; she remembered everything that she had heard since entering the Military Building. Everyone talked about the fight that happened in the City of Trost, and everyone spoke of the same event, with slight variations, but it was almost the same every time.

Three Titan Shifters had fought against the Colossal and Armoured Titan; Pieck didn't want to believe their words; perhaps her ears were playing tricks with her, but now, Pieck had no doubts that Annie fought and betrayed her friends and had decided to join with the enemy.

Pieck knew if Annie had fought alongside her warriors, they could have perhaps won against Eren and Ymir, but she had decided to fight against them. Her betrayal had caused both Reiner and Bertholdt to be imprisoned somewhere, most likely tortured for information; perhaps they were getting tortured right now.

Pieck felt a pain in her stomach; she remembered all the time she had spent together with Annie. Why? All the time, they had laughed together. All the time, they had trained together. Why betray us? Why betray your friends? Why betray Me?? Pieck thought, trying to find a reason why Annie would change sides. Pieck knew Annie didn't have a good relationship with her father, but Pieck had promised that she didn't need to see her father ever again, and because of their friendship, Pieck was sure it was enough for Annie to want to return back to Marley.

Pieck, overwhelmed by an indescribable feeling of unease and dread, suddenly found herself desperately searching for the closest lavatory. As she hurriedly made her way there, her stomach churned with a sickening sensation, forcing her to expel everything she had consumed. The repulsive taste lingering in her mouth served as a bitter reminder of the unpleasantness that had transpired. In that moment, as Pieck wiped her lips with a napkin, her mind was consumed by thoughts of Annie, her once trusted companion. The realization of Annie's betrayal struck her like a thunderbolt - she was no longer an ally, but rather an enemy. Pieck couldn't help but feel a sense of loss and disappointment, as she grappled with the harsh truth that her former comrade had chosen a different path.

Knowing she might need to fight her, Pieck didn't want that. She didn't want to fight Annie, someone she considered a dear friend; Pieck had never been more with anyone ever, not even with Zeke.

The name of the second shifter is Ymir, Pieck suddenly remembered, repeating the words she had heard in her head. This confirmed Zeke's theory, and Pieck couldn't help but feel her heart crying a little; Marcel had been the best of them, yet now he was dead. Pieck wondered how it had happened if the devils had perhaps somehow outsmarted him, but Pieck quickly dropped that idea. Marcel wasn't someone to be outsmarted easily; he was smart and always kept calm, even under extreme stress.

Annie, Pieck suddenly thought with a growing bitter taste on her mouth. It all made sense; Marcel would have never expected to be betrayed. Annie betrayed Marcel. Did she tell them how to transfer the power of the Titans from one to another, Pieck asked herself, looking at her own reflection in the mirror.

Pieck took deep breaths; she reminded herself of the reason she was here; Zeke was counting on her, and Reiner and Bertholdt could perhaps still be saved. 

Pieck's heart raced as she swallowed hard, her hand trembling ever so slightly as she mustered the courage to turn the doorknob. Just as she was about to grasp the handle, a cacophony of thunderous shouts abruptly shattered the silence, echoing through the thick wooden door. The reverberating clamor was accompanied by a symphony of hurried footsteps, their rhythm pounding against the walls.

"Wall Rose has been Breached!!"