Erwin groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before noticing that he was sitting on something smooth and…moving. Where was he?
"Hey, bushy brows, glad to see you're awake," a familiar voice remarked.
Erwin looked to his right to see Hanji sitting next to him in a smooth seat holding a wheel…with the Autobot symbol on it?!
"Hanji, what the hell is going on?" Erwin demanded as he moved forward, only to be stopped by a seat belt keeping him in place.
"We kidnapped you," Hanji answered, "Well, Optimus did."
Erwin examined his surroundings and realized he was in the interior of Optimus' alt mode. He noticed a screen that displayed some location next to the wheel before hearing some whining behind him. He looked behind his chair to see Reeves' son crying in the back seat in a fetal position.
"Oh, we also grabbed him too," Hanji added.
"Optimus, I gave you an order," Erwin spoke as he turned to the radio, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Disobeying your orders," Optimus merely answered.
"This isn't a game," Erwin declared, "I need to be the face of the Survey Corps!"
"And you still are," Optimus declared, "The people believe that you have been kidnapped, and the Survey Corps are not under suspicion at the moment for the murder. This can buy us some time."
"I was suppose to go to the capital!" Erwin shouted.
Optimus screeched to a stop, causing everyone to jerk forward and for Reeves' son to hit his head on the back of Erwin's chair.
Hanji groaned as she rubbed her head. "A little warning next time would be nice!"
"If you handed yourself over willingly to the government, they would have you tortured and killed!" Optimus exclaimed to Erwin, "Staging a kidnapping has bought the Survey Corps some time to figure out the situation without having your life in danger."
"Hanji was supposed to be in charge if anything happened to me," Erwin explained.
"You're numbers are already as few as it is," Optimus countered, "I do not know what you believe, but there are people who still rely on you."
Erwin was about to retort, but thought it over. The Survey Corps numbers were few compared to the Military Police. He had no idea how his supposed kidnapping would affect the plan, but he couldn't do anything about it now.
"So where are we going now?" Erwin asked.
"Back to our previous hideout," Hanji explained, "We can't leave Bertholdt unattended and we can't stay in Trost because we might get caught. Optimus is hoping we can find a way to slow the dark energon in his systems long enough to get more information out of him. We still don't know why Reiss wants Eren, but Bertholdt may be the only one that has some idea."
Erwin stared at Hanji as he leaned back into his seat. He then narrowed his eyes at the screen on the dashboard and gulped. So back then, Optimus shot them. He shot humans and probably killed them.
Optimus went against his moral code.
"Kaboom!" Kenny shouted as he fired another round of his ammunition. Megatron grabbed Levi and pulled him around the chimney before sliding a little down the roof. Levi covered his head as the shot hit the chimney and some debris flew in front of him.
"Who is that?" Megatron demanded as he glanced over to see Kenny disposing of one of the shells.
"Kenny Ackerman," Levi hissed as he pushed himself up, "One of the most notorious criminals of the underground. I don't know what the hell he's doing here."
"Any known weaknesses would be splendid to know!" Megatron shouted as Kenny fired another round near his face.
"I don't know," Levi grimaced.
Megatron looked at Levi before growling. "Of course. You humans are too slagging incompetent. Just get that other human and go!"
Levi watched as Megatron pulled out his sword and ran for Kenny. He was going to go after him, but saw that the cart was moving. Levi looked down the roof to see Nifa getting up.
"Nifa, go get the kids!" Levi ordered before going after the cart with Eren and Historia.
Megatron skidded across the current roof his was on before jumping for the one that was in front of him. He then leaned towards his left as Kenny fired another shot at him. As Kenny tried to reload, Megatron twirled and nearly chopped the killer's head off. Kenny bent backwards and regained his footing before aiming the weapon at Megatron's chest. Megatron blocked the attack with his sword, leaving a black mark and a dent on his sword and some burns on his hands.
Kenny cackled. "Oh, this is interesting. I didn't think you Survey Corps would rush into danger like that."
Megatron saw the blue dust on his hand and shook it off before it made the holoform any worse. "I didn't expect the Military Police to carelessly attack in broad daylight."
"Well, we can always blame the Corps," Kenny shrugged as he glanced behind him, "I mean…that's what I did to the midget."
Megatron glanced over to Levi heading towards the cart. The ex-con saw that Kenny was going to shoot him, but Megatron rushed him and grabbed his arm and twisted it. Kenny responded by head butting him, causing the warlord to stumble back a little. Megatron quickly recovered and cracked his neck while glaring at the man.
"You must be real stupid if you think you can stop me without 3D gear," Kenny remarked.
Megatron chuckled as he twirled the sword in his hand. "Believe me, I don't need that garbage to kill you."
Before Kenny could react, Megatron rushed him and punched him in the face. Kenny stumbled back as Megatron was about to stab him in the chest. The Ackerman quickly reacted and launched himself backwards. Megatron dashed towards the man, startling him before he launched himself in the air. Kenny slightly gasped in surprise as Megatron jumped into the air and tackled him into the roof.
Meanwhile, Levi rushed towards the cart carrying the two kids, but he was beginning to lose ground and fast. Things weren't made any easier when a gunshot flew past his head. He looked back to see four men in the same 3D equipment Kenny had. Levi managed to maneuver around the shots fired at him as one of them hit the side of a wall. The debris hit his shoulder, causing him to grunt in pain before he flew out of their line of sight. Levi looked behind him to see if they were still there, but turned around and saw an open bar. He hooked his gear before flying towards it and crashing through the door and landing on the counter table.
Levi noticed everyone was staring at him as he wiped the blood from his shoulder and cheek. If the kids don't get to the carriage, then they might have to abandon Historia and Eren all together. He then remembered something: he forgot to get the fucking Depecticon.
Megatron rolled out of the way as Kenny jumped into the air and fired two rounds at him. Kenny fired his grappling hook at the former warlord. Megatron dodged the attack before grabbing the line and yanking it.
Kenny crashed into the roof before managing to force himself upwards. He looked up to see Megatron jump into the air and position his sword, but Kenny managed to roll out of the way as Megatron's sword pierced the roof. Megatron slashed at Kenny, making a cut on his upper arm as he stumbled back.
Kenny chuckled as he held onto his arm. "Gotta admit, you're pretty good, swordsman. Got a name?"
"A name won't matter when I kill you." Megatron declared as he pointed his sword at Kenny.
"Guess it won't when you die too," Kenny smirked.
Megatron turned around to see three soldiers equipped with the same 3D gear leap out of their hiding places and aim their guns. Megatron sighed in irritation before pulling out the pistol and firing three rounds at each of their heads. They all fell to the floor as Megatron deadpanned at Kenny.
"What? Guy's gotta try," Kenny shrugged.
Megatron aimed the pistol and pulled the triggered, but the gun wasn't firing. Megatron tried again as Kenny looked at him in confusion.
"Aren't you suppose to kill me right now?" Kenny demanded as Megatron examined the gun.
"The mad scientist didn't test the gun properly!" Megatron shouted in anger, "You know what: to hell with this."
Megatron dashed toward Kenny and kicked him off the roof. Kenny grunted as he crashed in an alleyway on wooden boxes. Megatron walked away from the edge of the roof and towards one of the dead men. He took one of their ammunition rounds from the pockets and popped open the lid. He poured out the contents into his hand, and felt his anger rise when he realized what it was: energon.
"Those blasted humans," Megatron sneered as he crushed the energon in his hand. He threw the shell aside before taking two extra rounds with him. Once all of this was said and done, he needed to report this back to Optimus.
Megatron jumped onto another roof and noticed the cart was heading towards the gate. He turned his head to see the children making their way towards it with ten other soldiers tailing them.
"'Help the humans' I thought," Megatron said as he ran after them, "'It might be different!' I thought!"
Armin ducked as another shot was fired at his head. The children then startled the people as they passed through the gate and made a sharp left to allude the police.
Levi flew through the gate as he chased down the ten soldier. After he crashed into the bar, he managed to allude a few of the police by throwing a chair out the window and using one of their bodies as a shield to kill the rest. He was going to try and get that damned buckethead from Kenny, but he saw the children being chased and had no choice but to go after them. He just hoped that he would be able to keep up.
Levi managed to cut off two of their heads before signaling for the kids to turn left. The kids quickly followed after getting over their shock. They turned left down the street, startling a few people that were passing by. Levi took a shortcut down an alleyway and spotted the cart before landing not so gracefully behind Armin.
"Captain, are you alright?" Armin asked.
"Could be better," Levi responded as he wiped the blood from his forehead, "We can't go after Eren and Historia like this. We have to abandon them for now."
The children looked at Levi in confusion and anger. He wanted them to abandon their friends?
"Captain, we might not be able to track them down again," Mikasa retorted.
"We'll find a different way," Levi declared as he wiped the remainder of the blood, "Depending if we can get out of this situation alive. For right now, we need to defend the cart. Mikasa, I need you to-"
"Holy shit!" Connie exclaimed as he looked behind him.
Everyone turned to see Megatron running on the roof towards the Military Police before pulling out his sword and throwing it, beheading two out of the ten soldiers. The sword pinned a third one to the ground, causing him to cry out in pain.
The seven remaining began to fire at Megatron as he easily dodged the bullets. As they tried to reload, Megatron jumped and tackled the one closest to him to the ground. This caused three of them to turn around and go after Megatron while the remaining three went after the Corps.
Megatron broke the neck of the man he tackled before taking the loaded weapons and firing it at two of the men. Their bodies dropped to the floor and began to disintegrate as the third on rush towards him. Megatron merely grabbed the man's arm before throwing him against a brick wall. The ex-con then grabbed his sword from one of the corpses and dashed towards the fleeing children.
Levi grimaced as the remaining three were closing in on them. "Mikasa!"
Mikasa nodded her head before the two charged towards them. Mikasa dodged one of the bullets fired at her before stabbing one of them square in the chest while Levi beheaded the other. The final one was about to fire at Mikasa, but he screamed in pain as a sword went straight through his chest. The body fell to the floor as Megatron quickly pulled the sword out and continued towards the cart. Mikasa flew back towards her horse while Levi landed on the cart. Megatron managed to jump onto the moving cart before placing his sword back into the hilt. The ex-con noticed most of the Survey Corps looking back at him with shock and fear and gave an irritated look.
"What?" Megatron demanded.
Armin turned his attention ahead as he tightened his grip onto the reign of the horses pulling the cart. This was the strength Megatron had. Not even a moment's hesitation, he decided to kill those people. Maybe that was why Megatron was here instead of Optimus: because he wouldn't hesitate to kill humans.
Levi glanced to his right and noticed someone as the cart moved down the street. He quietly gasped as three more soldiers in 3D gear appeared and start tailing.
"Everyone, get down!" Levi shouted as the three began to fire.
The children ducked their heads the bullets flew past them. Meanwhile, Megatron picked up the shield in the cart and shielded himself. Megatron looked over his shield and noticed five more were flying towards them, including Kenny Ackerman.
Megatron growled in anger as his pulled out his blood stained sword once more. He tightened his grip as a few aimed their guns at him directly.
"Fire!" Kenny ordered as they all pulled the trigger. As the bullets flew, Megatron raised his shield once more and blocked them before using his sword to deflect the bullets, even cutting them in half. Mikasa and Levi once more jumped from their positions and began to draw some of their fire away.
Three of the soldiers managed to go around the two Ackermans and get closer to the cart. Jean grabbed a rifle on the cart and fired, but ended up missing the person he wanted to stop. Jean looked down at his hands as he noticed they shaking. Damn it, he needed to focus!
Megatron noticed two of the soldiers heading straight towards him as they tried to land on the cart. Megatron dodged a kick from one of the soldiers before cutting his throat and kicking him to the ground. He was about the attack the other one, but the soldier managed to fire directly at his sword. The sword wasn't able to take the force of the impact and the blade shattered. Megatron simply ignored that as he threw the hilt aside and grabbed the man by the throat before crushing his windpipe.
Jean felt like he was about to throw up at the sight before jumping as a female soldier crashed onto the cart. Jean positioned his rifle straight to her head.
"Don't move!" Jean shouted, but the girl merely knocked the rifle out of his hand and aimed her own weapon at him.
"Jean!" Mikasa shouted as she tried to get to the cart fast enough.
Jean felt his heart stop as he noticed the girl looking at him with fear and hesitation. But before she could pull the trigger, a bullet went straight through her skull. Jean looked over to see Megatron holding another pistol in his hand. The ex-con watched the body collapse and fall off the cart before turning his attention to Jean. Jean grunted as Megatron punched him in the face before grabbing him by the collar and bringing him to his face.
"You better focus, boy!" Megatron shouted.
Megatron let go of Jean's collar and blocked another shot fired at him. Kenny managed to aim his last shot at Megatron's leg. Megatron grunted as he kneeled down and placed the shield in front of his left leg. Jean noticed the leg glitching and losing it shape.
"Armin, what do we do?!" Jean exclaimed as Armin looked back to see the leg unable to maintain its form.
Megatron grimaced at his leg before noticing the flare gun next to Jean. He then pulled out one of the rounds he hid in his coat and grabbed the flare gun. Megatron threw the round of energon towards the remaining soldiers and pulled the trigger on the flare gun. The ammunition from the flare gun hit the round dead on, causing an explosion followed by black smoke.
Mikasa and Levi managed to dodge the explosion while the soldiers who were caught in the blast fell to the ground and began writhing in pain from the burns on their bodies.
The cadets watched in horror while some were having a mixed sense of relief. They were witnessing what was practically torture against their own kind and they were feeling relief. Megatron's holoform abruptly disappeared as the other round and pistol he was holding cluttered on the cart. Levi merely ignored that and instructed the teens to turn left. He needed to focus on getting them to safety for the moment.
Meanwhile, Kenny and another soldier managed to survive the blast as they landed on the roof. Kenny wiped the blood coming from his mouth while his subordinate looked down at the now deceased soldiers.
"We need to be more careful with this new weaponry," she stated, "That man managed to get his hands on it and created a deadly explosion."
Kenny brushed away the smoke that was floating towards his face. "Yeah. That newcomer seems to know a thing or two about this blue stuff, and there are still members of the Corps still alive. Either way, we got what we needed. Let's just threaten someone to cover up the mess."
His assistant nodded her head as she jumped down from the roof to see if there were any policemen still alive. Kenny's eyes drifted towards the moving cart. There was definitely something up with that swordsman.
Optimus arrived at the hideout with Mobilit waiting for them on top of the roof. Hanji, Erwin, and Reeves' son climb out of the car as Mobilit jumped off the roof and landed on the ground with his 3D gear.
"Commander," Mobilit greeted with a salute, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Erwin answered, "Things got…complicated."
"We're going to have to find out a different strategy for the moment," Hanji declared, "Optimus kind of kidnapped Erwin so we're going to have to improvise."
"What is the condition of Bertholdt?" Erwin demanded.
"Not well," Mobilit sighed, "I don't think he has much longer to live."
The three of them heard a static noise and turned to see Optimus' holoform appear.
"May I speak with him?" Optimus asked.
Bertholdt sat on the bed in his cell and removed his shirt to study the infection spreading throughout his body. The dark scar had almost completely covered his arm and looked like it was ready to reach his shoulder. The titan shifter lightly touched the arm before retracting his hand back.
Was this it? Was he fated to die in some cell without returning home? Would he never see the sunlight again? Would he not see Reiner and Annie again?
Bertholdt held his tongue as his arm began to hurt, pulsating as the dark scar moved to consumed his shoulder.
"Bertholdt Hoover, we need to talk," a voice spoke.
Bertholdt jolted in fear as he grabbed his shirt to cover up his arm. He looked outside his cell to see Optimus Prime's holoform looking at him.
"What do you want?" Bertholdt hissed.
"Your help," Optimus answered, "Eren has been kidnapped by Historia's father. You are the only one that holds the secrets to the titans, and we need to know why Reiss would possibly want Eren."
"How am I suppose to help you with that?" Bertholdt demanded, "And why would I help you? Because of you, I'm dying."
Optimus sighed. "I understand that, but you must understand that I wouldn't intend for this."
Bertholdt scoffed as he laid down on the bed. "That's a lie. You nearly killed Zeke and were willing to kill Reiner."
"You were willing to wipe out humanity," Optimus retorted, "I may not have wanted to harm you, but I was doing my job and protecting the humans here."
"They aren't worth protecting!" Bertholdt exclaimed as he sat up, "They're children of the devil!"
"Then why did you continue to stay even after you broke down the wall the first time?" Optimus demanded.
Bertholdt turned away from the titan. "I was simply given orders."
"From who?" Optimus demanded.
Bertholdt didn't answer the Prime, causing said Prime anger to rise.
"From who?" Optimus repeated, "Bertholdt, do not make this harder than it needs to be. I will force the information out of you if I have to."
"There's no point," Bertholdt explained, "No matter what you do, I'm already dying. So I might as well take the secret to my grave."
Optimus took a deep breath and sighed. "So be it. You may stay and rot in this cell, but understand that you will only be remembered for two things as your body slowly withers away: you are a destroyer of humanity, and you have failed whoever you are serving."
Bertholdt grimaced as he heard Optimus' footsteps leave his cell. It looked like he really was going to die in here.
Optimus was about to exit the basement of the castle, but he stopped when he saw Hanji and Erwin waiting at the exit.
"We heard," Erwin remarked.
Optimus sighed in irritation. "If Bertholdt dies, then we have chance knowing how to defeat the titans…This is all my fault."
Hanji looked at him in confusion. "Optimus, how is this your fault? You've been helping us."
"Because I didn't kill Megatron when I had the chance," Optimus answered, "If only…if only I had killed Megatron before he infused his spark with dark energon!"
"Optimus, you couldn't have known the dangers that came with Megatron's decision," Erwin retorted, "And that was his choice, not yours."
"But I could have prevented it," Optimus emphasized, "I had so many opportunities to end that forsaken war. I could have prevented the war from happening if I did not accept the title of Prime! If I did not accept it then, Bertholdt would not be dying a slow death; the children's lives would not be in danger! Cybertron wouldn't have died; I wouldn't be stuck on this twisted planet!"
Realizing what he had just said, Optimus quickly shut his mouth and saw Hanji and Erwin looking at him in genuine surprise at his outburst.
"I apologize," Optimus quietly said, "I…I need time alone."
Optimus quickly deactivated the holoform and Erwin and Hanji looked at each.
"He's not doing well at all," Hanji remarked, "Think we should talk to him?"
"It's probably best not to," Erwin decided, "He's not in a right state a mind and may need some time to relax. Now we need to discuss an alternative to what I was planning."
Hanji looked at Erwin in confusion. "Planning?"
Armin was taking deep breaths as he tried to calm the unsettling feeling in his stomach. He was leaning against a tree as Mikasa walked over to him.
"Armin, are you okay?" Mikasa asked as she rubbed his back.
Armin slightly laughed as he wiped his mouth. "I-I guess not. I never felt so…sick after what I saw today. How could he just kill so easily? How could…you kill so easily?"
Mikasa was startled by Armin's question. How was she suppose to answer? "Um…,"
"Sorry," Armin apologized, "I shouldn't have asked something like that. I'm just going to continue to stay here."
Mikasa simply nodded her head as she grabbed her rifle and made her way back to the cabin. She was about to step inside, but stopped when she heard something clatter in the cart behind the abandoned cabin. Mikasa stepped as quietly as possible, making sure not to step on any twigs or leaves. She managed to reach to corner and pulled out the rifle on her back. She turned the corner and aim the rifle, but slightly gasped in surprise as she was met with a pistol aimed at her head.
Mikasa noticed that it was Megatron who was holding the pistol while he casually rummaged through their supplies. She still kept the rifle aimed at him, but the Decepticon didn't seem to notice.
"If I pulled the trigger right now, you would have been dead," Megatron proclaimed.
Mikasa watched as he pulled his hand back and aimed the pistol at the sky. He pulled the trigger, but the gun merely clicked with no shot ringing out.
"Unfortunately, the mad scientist doesn't know how to work a gun," Megatron grumbled as he threw the pistol back in the cart, "That might have helped me with that human in the hat."
"I'm sorry," Mikasa apologized as she lowered her rifle, "I thought you were someone else."
"You acted accordingly," Megatron declared as he stopped and looked at her, "Which is a good quality. For a moment, I did believe you were all talk until I saw you kill one of the soldiers earlier. I must say that I am impressed."
"Everyone else is still spooked by what you did," Mikasa declared.
"Are you?" Megatron asked.
Mikasa thought about it for a moment, remembering the screams of the Military Police burning alive. "It was a little brutal to kill someone like that."
Megatron hummed at her answer as he went rummaging through their supplies again. "At least you're honest."
"What are you doing anyway?" Mikasa asked.
"I picked up something of importance during the battle," Megatron answered as he picked up the shell round from before, "The explosion I created earlier wouldn't have caused burns on those humans."
Megatron popped open the shell and dumped out the contents. Mikasa gasped as Megatron showed her the raw energon in his hand.
"This is why I don't trust humans," Megatron declared as he raised the contents to her face.
"I don't understand, " Mikasa said, "I thought energon harmed humans,"
"Well, whoever made these weapons clearly knew what they were doing," Megatron declared as he placed the energon back in the container before closing, "We can still use this as a weapon. Just make sure that no one touches it."
"Okay," Mikasa nodded her head as Megatron placed the container back in the cart and picked up the damaged shield, "You lost your sword."
"I'll make due," Megatron declared, "I've lost limbs before; this isn't a complication."
Megatron placed the shield back in the cart before recalling Kenny from the battle. More specifically, his last name.
"Ackerman," Megatron began, "Have you ever met someone or heard of the name 'Kenny Ackerman'?"
"I've…never heard someone else with the name 'Ackerman' before," Mikasa admitted.
Megatron turned to look at her. "Is that right?"
Mikasa nodded her head. "My father mentioned the Ackermans being discriminated, but I don't think that he knew why. My family lived in Wall Maria because of that name."
Megatron didn't say anything as he looked down to see his hand losing shape. He shouldn't have activated his holoform so soon.
"I need to leave," Megatron informed, "You should continue keeping watch. You are in enemy territory after all."
"Wait," Mikasa began as Megatron almost deactivated his holoform, "I wanted to say thank you…for saving my friends."
Megatron looked her dead in the eye. "I didn't do it for you; I was simply given orders."
Mikasa watched as Megatron's holoform disappeared from her sights before placing her rifle on her back once more. Why would Megatron ask her about her last name? And who was Kenny?
Mikasa merely shook her head. That didn't matter; she just hoped that Eren was safe.
Eren's vision adjusted to the lighting of the room as Kenny opened his coffin.
"Rise 'n Shine Jaeger," Kenny said as Eren sat up. The titan shifter noticed that his hands were bounded by a stray jacket and his mouth was still muffled. Where was he? Where were the others? Where was Historia? All he knew was that he was in some warehouse and he didn't know what day or time it was.
Eren saw another coffin being opened by a man who lost like Historia. The man removed Historia's bounds as she sat up before removing the muzzle on her mouth. Eren noticed her giving a death glare at the man before everything clicked: that was Historia's father Rod Reiss. The one who started this mess, and the one who left Historia to die. The man was dangerous, meaning they both had to be extremely careful. Eren's first assumption of Rod were discarded when Rod hugged Historia with a pained face.
"Historia, I missed you so much," Rod declared.
Eren noticed Historia's anger fading away into shock as tears rolled down her cheek. What? He thought Historia's father intentionally abandoned her because she was an illegitimate child. So then why did…?
"Father…," Historia spoke, causing Rod to let her go and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Historia, I am truly sorry for what I did. I promise that I will make it right," Rod declared.
Historia didn't say anything, clearly still in shock over her father's actions. Rod Reiss then turned to look at Eren, causing him to feel uncomfortable.
"Get him ready," Rod ordered.
'Get me ready for what?' Eren thought, but felt someone hit him on the back of the neck, knocking him out cold.
"Eren!" Historia exclaimed as two soldiers carried Eren away, "Dad!"
"Historia, it's alright," Rod reassured, "It's going to be alright, just trust me. I'll explain everything to you."
Historia hesitated for a moment before nodding her head. A female soldier then walked up to her and grabbed her by the arm before guiding her to another room.
"Reiss, how long is this going to take?" Kenny demanded as he walked up to him.
"Hopefully, not too long," Reiss declared, "The power will return to its rightful owner and peace will be restored."
"And what about the metal titans?" Kenny questioned before whispering, "The power that you're trying to regain is not going to work against them. That energon bullshit blew off that chick's arm and it hasn't grown back."
"I'm almost down with it, and I'm using her as a test subject," Rod declared, "If it works, then the powers of the king can go toe to toe with those monsters."
Later that night
Erwin was lying down on a bed in their current hideout, staring up at the ceiling contemplating the plan. He told Hanji that he had a way of framing the government and taking them down with Commander Pixis' help. This required him to go to the government, but now…everything was going wrong.
Erwin heard a knock on his door and sat up as Hanji walked into the room with a paper in hand.
"You may want to read this," Hanji said as she handed him the paper.
"'Attack by the Survey Corps, killing over a dozen policemen'," Erwin read, "'Captain Levi was accompanied by the remaining members of the Survey Corps, including a swordsman dressed in gray that caused a massive explosion.'…Damn it."
"I guess this was the thing that Optimus was worried about," Hanji remarked.
"Did you tell him?" Erwin asked.
"Oh yeah, because Optimus is in his right state of mind to tell him his ex is causing shit to blow up," Hanji answered.
"Megatron may not tell him the entire truth when Optimus contacts him," Erwin declared.
"I don't want to tell him though," Hanji stated.
"And why not?" Erwin demanded.
"Because he's been in his caravan form for nearly three hours," Hanji answered, "Also…I don't know how to handle Optimus when he's mad."
Erwin sighed as he folded his paper and made his way to the door. "I'll go talk to him."
"You sure?" Hanji asked.
"He needs to know," Erwin answered as he opened the door and walked out of the room. He then made his way down the stairs and took a deep breath before opening the door and walking outside. Erwin noticed the Prime remaining dormant within his alternative form and looked down at the newspaper. He deserved to know; he deserved to know the truth.
Levi walked over to the cart and grabbed an extra set of bandages to replace the one wrapped around his right hand. The children were currently sitting around a fire while Nifa was keeping watch for any intruders. He was still unsure of where Megatron was; it was difficult to keep track.
Levi suddenly heard a click and quickly grabbed a rifle in the cart and aiming it at the source. The captain didn't let his guard down until he was able to identify the figure. He put the rifle down as he noticed it was Megatron's holoform leaning against a tree, messing with one of the prototype pistols Hanji gave them. Levi put the rifle back, and was about to walk back to the children, but stopped when Megatron spoke up.
"You humans have last names, correct?" Megatron asked.
Levi looked back at the ex-con and raised an eyebrow. "What kind of stupid question is that?"
"To be fair, having a last name on Cybertron signified that you had a high position," Megatron retorted, "I am vaguely aware that last names for humans are common: Jack Darby, Miko Nakadai, Rafael Esquivel-"
"Get to the point, buckethead" Levi interrupted.
"What is your last name?" Megatron asked.
"Don't have one," Levi promptly answered, "Guess I'm that one human who doesn't have one,"
"I find that interesting," Megatron began as he straightened himself out, "Because you seem to know that 'Kenny' fellow. You gave him a look of rage that almost mirrored Optimus' pet."
"He's an infamous killer from the underground," Levi retorted, "I used to live there before I joined the Survey Corps. Known to kill people by slicing their throats."
"But it almost seems that you personally know him," Megatron continued as he walked towards Levi.
Levi felt something unsettling creep into his stomach as he looked at Megatron. "What are you getting at?"
"It's rather simple: you've associated with him before," Megatron answered as he circled him, "Most likely before you joined the military. You having a direct association with him could have negative effects on this mission. So what if I told your team that you know this man? How you may have intentionally kept your last name a secret to prevent being traced back to this man? How would they respond?"
"Like they would believe anything that comes out of your mouth," Levi hissed.
"Maybe," Megatron admitted before smirking at Levi, "But hearing 'humanity's strongest' being associated with the criminal working for the government out to kill them? Why that would just break their hearts, and this whole mission would go up in flames because of your little secret."
Levi mentally cursed. This guy was straight-up blackmailing him. That must be one of the things Optimus feared. "What do you want?"
"The truth," Megatron answered he turned his back on the Captain, "Why do you know this 'Kenny Ackerman'? I asked Ackerman earlier and she said she had no affiliation with him, so I figured I might talk to you. Just tell me the truth, and I'll consider your secret safe."
"And why the hell would I tell you?" Levi demanded.
Megatron looked back at him and grinned. "I suppose I could just tell the children right now."
Levi gritted his teeth before taking out a knife he held at his side and jumping at the holoform. Levi managed to get said knife close to the titan's neck, but Megatron grabbed his wrist while pointing the pistol he was fixing at Levi's head.
"I don't give a damn if you're some war criminal, I will take you down if you try anything stupid," Levi declared.
Megatron chuckled. "For a dwarf, you have a lot of energy, but you're making a huge error right now. Considering the fact that this form is fake and your body is real. I don't doubt that you can do some damage, but how long will it take for you to destroy this form while you're trying to recover from your own injuries?"
Megatron's smirk disappeared as he looked Levi dead in the eye. "All I want is the truth. I was simply ordered to protect what is left of you all and overthrow the government. So I will remove anyone that may affect that plan. Including someone as valuable as you,"
"The truth?"
"And that is it,"
Levi relaxed his muscles and pulled his hand back while Megatron let Levi go and pull the gun back.
"Here's the short version: the man takes me in after my mother dies and I'm on the brink of death. He teaches me how to survive in the underground, how to get food, how to kill. A few years later after I killed someone, he left behind to defend for myself," Levi explained, "I was never involved with his line of work, and I never saw him again afterword."
Megatron raised an eyebrow. "You mean to tell me that some random serial killer takes you in and you never bother to ask why?"
"He left me after, what was the point?" Levi said.
"In poor conditions, everyone is forced to look out for themselves," Megatron explained, "No one takes pity on another soul unless if they have some sort of strategic value, or they were of some relation. You might be related to this man, and you don't even know it."
Levi was completely startled. Related? "Why would I be related? How would I be related?"
"If you were on the brink of death, the man could have easily left you behind to die, but he didn't," Megatron explained, "Who would take pity on a child when everyone is out to kill you, and I noticed that you two look similar, by about 30%."
"That could just be coincidence," Levi retorted.
"I don't believe it is," Megatron proclaimed, "You should think about it."
Levi remained quiet as he walked back over to where the children were. Meanwhile, Megatron opened the revolver of the pistol to load it with the six bullets.
Erwin walked over to the form and knocked on the door. Optimus adjusted the side view mirror in order to look at the man.
"Erwin, you should be sleeping," Optimus said.
"Mobilit went into town and got the newspaper," Erwin explained, "I felt like you should know."
"Know what?" Optimus asked.
"'Witnesses proclaim they saw the Survey Corps, including Captain Levi, fighting and killing off Military Policemen'." Erwin read, "'Reports also state a gray swordsmen was with them, killing over ten soldiers, some of whom were killed by an explosion that burned them alive'."
Erwin felt the paper snatched from his hand and turned to see Optimus intently reading the newspaper. The Commander noticed pure anger in the Prime's eyes as he crumbled up the newspaper.
"I knew this would happen," Optimus grimaced as he threw the newspaper to the ground, "Megatron does not care about stealth or covertness. All he cares about is showing off and making a spectacle so others would fear him."
"Maybe he was out of options," Erwin suggested.
"Megatron could have easily thought of a different solution," Optimus declared, "Megatron may know his way around a battlefield, but he acts like a fool."
Optimus pinched bridge of the holoform's nose in irritation as he sat down on the ground. Erwin stared at him before sitting down on the ground next to him and grabbing the crumpled newspaper.
"I am sorry," Optimus apologized, "Maybe I should have killed Megatron when he first arrived here. Then humanity would not have another enemy to worry about."
"You took a risk," Erwin declared, "I can't tell if it's a good or bad one, but you did what you thought was best."
"But I could have done better," Optimus proclaimed.
"Why do keep blaming yourself?" Erwin demanded as he looked at the Prime dead in the eye, "You have helped humanity survive. You helped plug the wall, kill titans, give humanity an idea of where the titans come from. Not to mention you save your home and countless other worlds. Why do you keep blaming yourself over the decisions that someone else made?"
"Because when it comes down to it, I could have prevented the war!" Optimus exclaimed as he stood up, "I could have prevented the war by…just not accepting the title of Prime."
"I don't understand," Erwin admitted as he stood up, "Why would accepting a title be the cause of your war?"
Optimus sighed as he leaned against the truck and crossed his arms. "Megatron…thought I betrayed him."
Erwin looked at Optimus looked at Optimus like he was crazy. "Betraying someone is not in your nature."
"Megatron didn't see it that way back then," Optimus explained, "We were living in a caste system. I was a archivist; I was safe and secure, while the closest thing lower class citizens had for value was having their body parts sold. They weren't considered valuable to have names, just codes. I did not have to help Megatron in his revolution to make all Cybertronians equal. When I did, everyone involved was suspicious of me. They believed that I was using Megatron to gain some sort of power. Megatron chose to trust me, anyway. And we went to the Council to propose a better future. Megatron did propose violence and believe gaining the title of Prime would help gain more followers for the revolution. I proposed a method of peace because I was afraid the Council would write off Megatron as a mad man. The Council granted me the title of Prime which I accepted. I had never seen Megatron express so much vulnerability before.
"He was full of so much rage and anger. He claimed that I was using him to get to the Council; to get the title of Prime. He proclaimed I never cared about the equality of Cybertronians but for my own self interests. He thought that I sided with the Council and wanted the system to stay the same. Megatron's anger was easily written off as an act of terror, especially since he killed one of the members of the Council. He declared war after that. I believe because he came to a conclusion that a peace talk or treaty wasn't going to fix the system."
"Megatron came to an incorrect conclusion," Erwin declared.
"In a sense he did not," Optimus proclaimed, "Every day before the war, Megatron's life was threatened. In the arena, by bosses, by the government, by everyone who had a higher position than he did. The world was his enemy, and the moment he allows himself to trust someone that person commits an act of betrayal. If you were in Megatron's position, would you not react the same way?"
Erwin thought it over for a moment. He didn't know much of Megatron in order to make a judgment, but he did know to feeling of the world being against him. "I suppose I would."
"If I had known what would come afterword," Optimus began as he hung his head, "If I had known the war would have started because of me, I would have kept my mouth shut. Bumblebee wouldn't have lost his voice,Arcee wouldn't have lost her partners, Ratchet wouldn't have to worry if he could save the next soul that came on his operating table. Cliffjumper and many others would still be alive, Megatron wouldn't have become corrupted, Cybertron wouldn't have been destroyed."
Erwin noticed the holoform's hand ball into a fist, before looking at Optimus. "You had every intention of protecting your planet and protecting the weak. Even when you fought against Megatron, you still had the interest of protecting your people and creating a better system. Megatron lost sight of that path and made the choices that put him where he is right now."
Optimus merely stared at the man. "He is still my greatest mistake."
"But his choices were not yours," Erwin declared.
Optimus sighed. "I suppose not, but…I do wish I could have done things differently."
"What I've learned during my time in the Scouts is that we can't regret the decisions we have made," Erwin said, "You shouldn't either."
Optimus looked up at the stars. "Thank you. I suppose I did need to talk about how I was feeling regarding the situation."
"You think you might talk about it with him and try to explain your side of the story?" Erwin asked.
"Maybe," Optimus answered, "I still am unsure if I can trust him."
Erwin looked at him and thought it over. He thought about telling Optimus the truth and was about to, but was stopped when he heard static coming from Optimus' alt mode.
"Prime, we need to talk," Erwin heard Megatron's voice through the radio, "Are you there?"
Optimus deactivated the holoform and opened the door. "I assume you wish to hear the report. The media is always twisting the truth."
Erwin nodded his head before sitting down in the passenger seat Optimus' alt mode.
"Megatron, what happened out there?" Optimus demanded, "This is a stealth based mission, and you've created an explosion."
"I was doing my job in protecting those children," Megatron retorted, "I had to improvise while I was being shot at by energon bullets."
'What?' Erwin thought.
"Megatron, what are you talking about? What do you mean energon bullets?" Optimus asked.
"Whoever was collecting the energon managed to utilize it and make it into a weapon," Megatron explained, "If it was a normal weapon it would have most likely caused a smoke cover, but I used their weapons and the weapons contained energon."
'Rod Reiss is posing to be much more of a threat than we anticipated,' Erwin thought, 'He managed to make weapons using energon. Something the Corps has struggled with for a month. He must have more tools necessary to accelerate his efforts.'
"If I do run into this man, should I kill him?" Megatron asked, "He's a dangerous threat. Not just to the mission, but to us as well. The last time a human was obsessed with energon, he managed to use Breakdown's corpse as a means to…improve himself. Whoever this Reiss person is is playing a dangerous game."
Optimus was silent for a moment. "Capturing him may be our safest option. He still knows about the origins of the titans, but if he does manage to put up a fight, then kill him."
"So be it," Megatron said, "By the way, I don't trust the dwarf.' Levi' was his name?"
"What are you talking about?" Optimus demanded.
"Apparently, he has a connection with the enemy. Someone named Kenny Ackerman," Megatron explained, "There's also a 30% match between the two. They may have some sort of relation."
"Levi has been a valued member of the Survey Corps for six years," Erwin spoke up.
There was silence on the other end of the line. "Well then, Commander, you should have been more careful with who you've chosen as a ally. I will be keeping an eye on him for the time being. Just know that someone could easily stab you in the back, no matter how many years they have served under you."
Erwin heard static before the line was cut and there was only silence.
"I apologize for Megatron's behavior," Optimus said, "Trust does not come to him that easily and he will most likely keep to his word about his suspicions of Levi."
"I've only vaguely heard about Kenny Ackerman," Erwin admitted, "I don't know if we can find anything else that would help."
"We can discuss that later," Optimus stated, "For now, you should get some rest."
Rod Reiss spun the titan serum, mixing it together with some of the energon he managed to melt down into a liquid form. He looked behind him to see Annie Leonhart still passed out on the table. She looked battered and bruised as she was getting dark spots over her other hand and legs.
"She's going to die pretty soon," Kenny remarked.
Rod got a syringe to suck up the newest titan serum he created. "Hopefully this will restore her body. It took some time to make the blue energy more compatible with the titan serum, considering it was melting it away or breaking down the components."
"And now?" Kenny began.
"This should prove to enhance the power of the titans," Rod answered, "And if it doesn't work, then that is fine as well. Her power is not the one that we need. We need Eren's, and I would have to work more vigorously to create the perfect serum when the metal titan comes."
Rod held Annie's head down and positioned it to where the nape of her neck was vulnerable. He punctured the needle into her neck and injected the serum. Annie's eyes snapped open as she bit down and broke the metal muzzle between her teeth. She began to scream her head off as Kenny covered his ears.
"What the fuck?! Shut her up!" Kenny yelled.
Rod gritted his teeth as he let go of the syringe and held her down. Annie continued screaming as Kenny noticed her wounds regenerating. Her eyes began to glow a brighter shade of blue as the stub on her right side fully regenerated into her right arm.
"Shit!" Kenny cursed as he grabbed a wooden beam lying on the ground and smacked her in the face with it, knocking her out. Rod let go of the titan shifter as the wound on her face quickly regenerated, despite her not being awake.
"Okay, the damn thing works!" Kenny exclaimed, "What do we do now?!"
A smile slowly crept on Rod's face as he began to laugh. "We take back the power of the original titan."