God & Demon - XVI (Patreon)

Chapter XVI : Duty and Shell

Amos woke up in his room with a terrible headache and a terrible backache, he groped with his right hand for his pants and pulled out a bag of white pills.

He accumulated his saliva before breaking one under his incisors and swallowing half of it, he waited about ten minutes for it to take effect before getting out of bed and stretching delicately so as not to tear his reconstituted skin.

He glanced through his window to see that it was still only the middle of the night, then he grabbed his toiletries to go take a shower. Which turned out to be much more complicated than he had expected, despite the effect of the morphine.

It wasn't the pain that bothered him when the water ran over his still fresh scars, it was the very unpleasant feeling that he was nothing more than a steak being covered in sauce. And this feeling of weakness brought back very bad memories, memories of a cell in which he was the occupant.

He took deep breaths to calm himself, and changed the temperature regularly to get his new skin used to it. Once this was done he grabbed a piece of soap and began to wash himself.

“My head is a bloody mess,” he groaned inwardly, rubbing his chest, “I need to do a little cleaning up before I start this day."

His pupils grew deeper, time slowed to the point of freezing, his imagination and memories did the rest of the work.

Amos was no longer in his shower, he was in the forest of giant trees, dressed in an impeccable white shirt, black silk pants, a navy blue and black aristocrat's vest, a pair of freshly polished shoes and a pair of leather gloves. Sitting on the Rogue Titan's left shoulder with his arms and legs crossed, he watched in annoyance as he threw himself at Mikasa to protect her.

With a snap of his fingers, he stopped the time of his memory and rewound it.

“What could I have felt that could have pushed me to do such a stupid thing? " he thought, thinking back to the moment when the Female Titan had projected her crystal claws at Mikasa.

Satisfied, he stood up and floated over to his past self to observe him carefully. He ended up raising a wary and surprised eyebrow.

“I… I’m terrified? " he noted, a little disturbed by this information. “Why the hell am I…? "

He turned his head in the direction of the oriental girl, his narrowed eyes betraying his suspicion.

He raised his hand to return to the moment of his "sacrifice", and came to stand behind Mikasa and facing himself.

“Nothing really surprising here, I'm angry with myself, frustrated by the stupidity of my action, and…”

He paused to grit his teeth and sigh in defeat.

“…devastated by the pain I caused Historia, terrified of letting my little sister fall into my grandfather’s plots. "

Amos knew that the latter had been bluffing when he threatened to sell the little blonde at the slave market, however he suspected that if he had reappeared within the walls like a wounded dog, the prime minister would have still shown great severity. But if he had died, Peter Hannibal would have designated Historia as his new heir and torn her from her life.

The tall blond shook his head, and refocused on his memory.

“I'm a moron,” he said angrily, “if I had perished all my plans would have been ruined, all my efforts would have been reduced to nothing. I… "

His eyes widened in shock, the expression on his face showing both dismay and incomprehension.

“What… Why the hell am I relieved? What... Wait a minute! "

This time, the snap of his finger completely changed the scene, and he found himself behind the Survey Corps HQ, the evening Mikasa had attacked him.

“The source of this feeling comes from this moment,” he thought as the fight unfolded. He watched calmly until his other-self finally placed the edge of his dagger on the oriental woman's throat.

“Her tears,” Amos realized as he came to crouch near the two combatants, “it was her tears that troubled me. They were her tears…”

The nobleman was literally struck by a flash of reality, his eyes widened, possessed by a feeling of wonder mixed with incomprehension and horror.

“It’s impossible… How…? "

Mikasa.

Her name echoed in the noble's skull like a shrill alarm signal, his gaze growing harder as he stared at the tearful embodiment of his memory.

" How…? " he asked himself again. “How did she make me erase the predation? This had never happened before. "

Amos finally snapped out of his mind, in the blink of an eye he was back in his shower, and he crossed his arm thoughtfully as the water kept on flowing over his body.

“I know how bad I felt for making her suffer. I know I don't want to see her die. I know that whatever is happening is not related to the fact that she is oriental like Kaa-san. But… "

He stopped to grab his shampoo and began to scrub his hair.

“What Mikasa is doing… the way she’s piercing my shell… It’s very dangerous. The problem... is that knowing her, she will try to approach me. Fuck… "

Once rinsed, he got out of the shower and dried himself while making sure to spare his back from too intense friction. Then he left the shared bathroom with his towel around his basin.

The problem was that he was so deep in thought and weakened by his injuries and the morphine that he didn't notice the person who came out of the shadows to slap him on the back. Amos tensed in pain and fell to his knees.

"Hello there noblish," Levi said in his usual dull voice, looking at him, "you've already recovered from what I see."

“What an asshole! " Hannibal growled inwardly before controlling his pain and trying to get up. The scout captain slapped him halfway and sent him back to the ground.

“We have a big day ahead of us,” he informed him soberly, “so I thought I would take care of your punishment right away."

Hearing this, the tall blond snorted in contempt.

"Oh please, no one would believe such crap." He replied, trying not to put too much venom into his words. "You can see my scars, you know from experience that you would have to go much further in order to teach me a lesson. Further than you can allow yourself. You're not scolding me, you're just taking it out on me because I'm the only one who gave you an excuse to do so."

Levi immediately grabbed him by the ear and hoisted him up to his height. Amos easily detected the fury in his eyes and displayed a provocative smile.

A short moment passed during which neither man blinked.

"Damn…" the scout finally blurted out in dismay.

He released the noble, the latter passed his thumb over the cartilage of his ear before turning to his superior. If he was honest with himself, he was a little surprised he got away that easily.

“Fascinating… he absolutely wants to prove to himself that he is no longer the thug from the underground. This is why he attaches so much importance to military discipline. Let's keep this detail in mind. "

“You're not wrong,” Levi said, fixing him with a piercing gaze, “but don't think you're out of the woods yet."

"If it's about the methadone, sorry, but I couldn't do anything else. Goop is a “miraculous” remedy, but if you don’t slow down the heartbeat and soften the nervous system, you’re simply screwed. You could have survived without it, but not everyone is Humanity's strongest soldier."

Levi balked at this nickname, the contempt he felt towards it made the nobleman raise an eyebrow.

"What displeases you so much? You are a symbol of hope and a living legend for Humanity. Your prowess on the battlefield is an inspiration to young recruits."

The captain looked him straight in the eyes.

"Except that I remain human," he replied with all the seriousness in the world, "there will come a time when I will end up dead. And then the “Legend” will die and all this hope will turn into despair."

"Unless there is someone to fill your shoes."

Levi raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed.

“I wasn’t talking about myself,” Amos growled, annoyed.

“Ackerman, then,” the captain concluded. "This is the second time you've talked to me about her, what makes you so sure of yourself?"

"I already told you that a promise prevented me from responding to you."

His superior narrowed his eyes before standing in front of him.

"And what’s stopping you from breaking that promise?"

"Another one that I made to my mother," replied the noble with a look consumed by predation, "that is something that you will never be able to break despite all your strength."

A moment of heavy silence passed - which was the very definition of understatement - before Levi spoke again:

"Give me one good reason."

"You two are related."

The captain's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“It must be three or four generations old,” Amos rationalized, “but that’s why she’s the only one capable of surpassing you."

It was easy for Hannibal to see the frustration in his superior's eyes, he was eager to know more, but he seemed to accept this situation for the moment.

"I'll think about it," he finally announced, "now go put on some pants and meet us in the great room. Erwin shouldn't be long."

With these words, Levi turned his back on him and departed for the room he mentioned, while the noble shook his head before leaving for his room.

"Oy, Amos?"

Surprised to hear his superior call him by his first name, the young man turned around.

“I expected you to be a bigger asshole for a noble,” the soldier admitted without turning his head. "You're not stupid either, but you're damn fucking weird."

The heir of House Hannibal raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes upon hearing the captain's words, a smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you for your courtesy."

Levi grumbled without any rudeness, before moving out of his field of vision.

Amos let out a satisfied smile, then returned to his room. There, he dropped his towel before putting on clean high-end clothing under the straps of his ODM equipment. These same straps that radiated his skin.

Grinding his teeth, he swallowed a pill and a half of morphine before making sure he was presentable. It was only as he adjusted the collar of his shirt while staring at himself in the mirror that something tapped on his window.

He turned his head to see the proud eye of a hawk, he opened the window to let the bird in, before grabbing a mouse, very much alive, by its tail from his desk drawer. One mouse among a dozen others, but none of the dozen in question had managed to escape while the noble had removed his messenger's feast from the prison he had designed.

“Hello Arryn,” Amos smiled, bringing a squeaky smile as the hawk climbed onto his forearm. "You look hungry."

With these words, the tall blond offered his snack to the bird of prey before removing the message that it had attached to its leg.

And while said Arryn mercilessly devoured his feast of fresh meat, Amos unrolled the small parchment on which was written the required information for the month.

“Well damn,” he grunted once he had finished decoding. "This might take a while…"

Knowing that he didn't have the free time necessary for his work, he went down to the main room where Levi and Eren were waiting for him.

"Please, don’t get up," he joked, before he sat in front of the titan-shifter, "I have a few notes to settle before tackling the main course."

With these words, he took out a navy blue leather-covered notebook from his inside pocket and began to write without paying attention to his colleagues.

Fortunately for him, no comments were made. This allowed the noble to check his accounts and update them while adapting the prices and owners to his long-standing project.

It was not easy, all this information forced the tall blond to correct half of the plans he had planned for the survival and improvement of human society.

“Oi, Amos,” Levi called, patting him on the back. "What are you doing with your notebook?"

The tall blond tensed in pain under Eren's compassionate gaze, before exhaling through his teeth.

"Well done," he grunted sincerely impressed, "you know that you can't punish me by using only suffering, so you’re fine with breaking my balls for now."

“Speak correctly when you address your superior,” the captain replied in a dull voice that betrayed a touch of satisfaction as he gave him another slap.

“Yes, sir,” the noble squeaked before plunging back into his work.

"You still haven’t answered me, what are you doing? And what is this gibberish?"

“I’m checking and correcting my accounts,” he replied cryptically, crossing out some notes before writing others. "And I'm sorry to tell you that the price of black tea is about to increase."

As the captain raised a displeased eyebrow, Amos continued:

"As for the code I use; I designed it myself to prevent anyone from reading over my shoulder. And even if I explained it to you you wouldn't understand."

Eren felt very small between the gazes of the captain and the noble, he didn't know if he should be impressed by his blond friend or worried about his suicidal behavior.

“If it’s not a military matter, I’m not interested,” the scout officer admitted before returning to his place. However, it was obvious to the two teenagers that he was frankly annoyed by the increase in the price of his favorite drink.

A moment of silence passed before the smallest of the three men spoke again:

“Fuck they’re slow, Erwin and the other bastards are keeping us waiting. The Military Police will end up arriving first."

"That's a good sign," Amos commented, closing his notebook before slipping it back into the inside pocket of his jacket, "had it been the Noble Police, they would have already screwed us over."

Levi snorted before taking a sip of tea, Eren shivered in his chair.

“All these lazy bastards must be as constipated as Erwin,” the captain sighed.

“Then they’re the ones you should go piss off,” the noble smiled before taking a piece of parchment out of his pocket and writing down his instructions.

Eren also seemed amused, his gaze juggled between Amos and Levi.

“You seem to be getting along better,” he commented, controlling the remorse that was gnawing at him.

"What are you talking about?" the soldier grumbled, putting down his cup. The noblish and I have always been as thick as thieves.

“And that is coming from an experienced thief,” Hannibal remarked without looking up from his parchment.

Jaeger managed to prevent his eyes from bursting out their sockets, Levi raised a threatening eyebrow.

Then he winced in pain and placed a hand on his leg, which fueled Eren's regrets.

“I’m sorry,” the titanshifter apologized, “I should have made a better choice."

“Stop talking nonsense,” Amos growled as he finished his message, “you did very well during the expedition, much better than I had imagined. You have nothing be sorry about, you are the only one of us who didn't make a mistake."

These words warmed the titanshifter's heart, but he nevertheless remained convinced that there had been a better solution.

Amos stood up suddenly, rolling up his parchment, then opened the window to whistle to Arryn. Before attaching the message to its paw, feeding it a piece of mouse and indicating its destination with a series of controlled finger snaps.

Levi observed the scene warily, while Eren just raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

The titanshifter had seen his friend do this several times during their years of training, but his friend had always responded cryptically.

Once his work was finished, the door to the room opened, and Commander Erwin accompanied by Jean, Armin and Mikasa appeared.

Amos raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Why is Jean here? "

"Sorry for the delay," Erwin apologized, "we discovered the identity of the Female Titan."

Eren's eyes widened in surprise.

"This time we will capture her."

With these words, the Commander unfolded a map of a District very familiar to Amos, the latter almost smiled with satisfaction.

"The operation will take place the day after tomorrow, when we go to the capital, we will have to cross the District of Stohess. This is where we will strike. If we fail this time, Eren will be handed over to Prime Minister Peter, which will deprive us of our best asset against the enemies of these walls. The disappearance of Humanity will then be all the more likely."

The serious tone he used only added weight on the shoulders of the young recruits, Hannibal felt his determination strengthen, he was going to fight a battle he could not afford to lose.

"Here is the plan," continued the Commander, "Eren will serve as bait to attract the target towards an underground passage where we can subdue it if it ever transforms."

“Wow, that is a shit plan! "

"But if she ever transforms before, then we would have to rely on Eren's strength to capture her"

"It's already better. "

“Yes, sir,” the titanshifter replied, sweating out his stress, “but are you really sure that the target is in Stohess?"

"Yes, she is a member of the Military Police. Armin and Amos deduced her identity."

The last sent a satisfied look to the first who turned his head.

"We also believe that she is responsible for the murder of the two captured titans. And that she was with you in the 104th Training Brigade."

“Ouch,” Amos grimaced when he saw Eren’s frightened face. “Convincing him is not going to be easy. "

“We believe the identity of the Female Titan is Annie Leonhart,” the Commander concluded, looking Jaeger straight in the eye.

The latter didn't seem to believe his ears, his gaze juggled between Amos and Armin before he finally managed to say the question that was burning his lips.

"Guys… Why do you think it’s her?"

The two blonds exchanged a look, then the taller one spoke:

"Personally I understood it thanks to the physical resemblance between the Female Titan and Annie. Same eyes, same hair, same jaw, same nose, same cheekbones. It was eye-popping in my opinion."

"You call that proof?!" The scout almost lost his temper, much to the noble’s annoyance. "Do you think it's her just because she's blonde?"

The predation in Amos's eyes immediately silenced him, the latter calmly continued:

"There is her fighting style too; Didn't the kick she gave you after knocking me down seem familiar?"

At this remark, Eren gasped before diving into his memories. Yes, now that he thought about it, it was obvious. The posture, the angle, the execution. Everything was there.

But he still wasn't convinced, so Amos spoke again before Eren continued to express his doubts.

"Armin? Why do you think Annie is the Female Titan?"

The little blond lowered his head slightly under the hopeful gaze of his best friend.

"The Female Titan knew Eren's face from the beginning."

“That’s not proof, his face was drawn in the newspaper. "

"But above all, she reacted when we mentioned his nickname: “the suicidal bastard” that only our class knows. And then we think she was the one who killed Sonny and Bean."

"And what makes you think that Annie is the culprit?"

Armin gritted his teeth, exposing his regrets for everyone present to see.

"Because the omni-dimensional material she presented for inspection was Marco's, not hers."

If Eren was more and more disconcerted, Amos widened his eyes in dismay.

"Wait a minute," said the noble in a cold voice, "Armin…"

The little blond knew very well what his friend was going to reproach him with, he lowered his head further in shame.

“Did you know about this all this time? You had irrefutable proof of Marco's murder in front of you and you said nothing? Armin, why?"

The disappointment in Amos' voice was perceptible to everyone, Armin had always been his favorite comrade, the only one who had impressed him with intelligence.

The veterans observed the exchange between the two blonds with semi-interest, curious to know Arlet's response.

“Because…” the latter murmured in a small voice. "I didn't want to believe it."

Hannibal let out a resigned sigh that sounded to Armin's ears like a contemptuous insult.

"Wait a minute," Eren said, still disconcerted, "what does Marco have to do with this?"

“I don’t know,” Armin admitted after Mikasa placed a hand on his shoulder while warning Amos with a look. "I don't know why she killed him."

Hannibal chose to speak again before Jaeger had another chance to stammer.

"Jean? You're the one who identified Marco's body, right?"

Kirstein nodded, his face grim.

"I'm sorry to ask you this question, but what state was he in?"

The native of Trost gritted his teeth, but he managed to find the courage to respond:

"Chewed in two… lengthwise."

Amos nodded, and took a sip of water before continuing:

"Which makes this already irrefutable proof, overwhelming proof. Annie couldn't have just picked up his gear to pass the inspection, since she didn't know there would be one until after learning that titans had been captured. So, after Trost was cleaned. Additionally, if Marco had been wearing his equipment at the time of his death, it would have been destroyed, meaning it was removed just before he was devoured.

A deep macabre feeling fell on the cadets present, Eren had lost the ability to speak, his eyes were bulging with incomprehension. Jean clenched his fists in rage as he imagined the distress his best friend must have felt before his death. Mikasa had a neutral and impassive expression, but a hint of fury could be read in her eyes. Armin... Armin looked so sad that his best friend was very tempted to hug him. Amos quietly drank his water, letting predation feed on his resentments.

"Amos?" Armin called in a very small voice. "In your opinion... Why would Annie kill Marco?"

The noble finished his drink, his deep emerald eyes made the cadets who had turned towards him shiver.

“It’s just a theory,” he finally sighed, “but I think poor Marco found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. That he saw or heard something he wasn't supposed to see or hear, and because of that, he had to be silenced…"

Eren had heard enough, he jumped up and slammed his hands down on the table.

“All of you are crazy for suspecting Annie! We've known her for years! How…"

"Eren!" Amos barked before Levi. "You know it’s her, you’re not completely stupid! You just refuse to believe it, like Armin!"

With these words, the noble rose to glare at the titanshifter with predation. Eren moved back by pure reflex while Mikasa stood up in turn, ready to defend her adopted brother.

"Do you trust Annie to the point of risking your life and the fate of all of Humanity while having all these facts under your nose? Do you have any idea what will happen to you if you ever fall into my grandfather’s hands? I'll be honest: it's not something I would wish on my worst enemy. But I know you know it's her. What I don't understand is how you can continue to defend her. She killed Marco. She killed over a hundred scouts including Eld, Gunther, Petra and Oluo. She almost killed Mikasa, she almost killed me. She probably even participated in the Fall of Wall Maria for heaven's sake! WAKE UP!"

Eren felt like he had Captain Levi's boot in the face again, he looked at the noble with bulging eyes and a stunned expression. He looked around the table for support, but all he saw were the disappointed and angry looks from Jean, Levi, and even Mikasa. Defeated, he sank into his chair.

Satisfied, Amos imitated him.

"Sorry for shouting, Commander."

The latter made a soothing hand gesture.

"It's nothing, I can only imagine the situation you find yourself in."

The rest of the meeting was devoted to the details of the plan to capture the Female Titan, the atmosphere was extremely heavy, but fortunately, Eren refrained from saying a single word.

When it was concluded, the Commander gave free rein to the cadets as well as the rest of his men. But he retained Amos to the surprise of the young recruits. Levi only left his seat to pour himself another cup.

"Let's get straight to the point," the Captain said, sipping his drink, "I want you in my squad."

The noble raised his eyebrows in surprise, the two men had not had time to discuss before the meeting, so this decision must have been made right after the expedition.

"Why?" he asked, his voice impassive.

"Do you really need a reason?"

"If it’s not too much to ask."

Erwin leaned forward slightly, then clasped his hands together while staring straight into the tall blond's eyes. The latter imitated him while wearing a suspicious smirk.

"Beyond your extraordinary skills, we believe that you are best able to keep Eren under control and make the most of his abilities as he explained to us in his report. Additionally, with Captain Levi's injury, it is necessary for a member of his squad to keep an eye on him during his recovery."

“You did not understand me,” Amos cut in, raising a finger while speaking in a serious tone. "I would like to know why all of a sudden you are ready to entrust me with the fate of your best asset? What have I done to deserve such trust?"

Levi snorted with amusement while Erwin gave a small smile. Hannibal frowned, before looking over his shoulder at his back.

“Let’s say that the vast majority of our doubts have been dissipated,” the Commander replied, getting up, “but we will expect even more from you in the future. Furthermore… I sincerely believe that you have the interests of humanity at heart."

It was Amos' turn to smile, before giving a worthy salute.

“Don't take me for an idiot either, if something goes wrong it's me who will have to explain myself to the Court, since it's me who would be solely responsible for Eren... Well done... But you're sticking your finger in your eye if you think I'm going to let it happen so meekly. "

With these thoughts, he took leave of his superiors after having greeted them properly.

“He figured out your trick,” Levi noted, swallowing a sip of tea.

"Obviously."

He didn't seem worried.

“Because he already has a counter plan,” Erwin concluded, getting up with a smile on his face.

A smile that did not escape his subordinate.

"Mind telling me what makes you so happy?" Levi growled in annoyance.

The Commander did not answer immediately, he stared at one of the candles with deep fascination.

“I'm not entirely sure yet,” he finally admitted, “but I honestly think that Amos Hannibal will end up being one of our greatest assets, if he isn't already."

Levi was obviously not satisfied with this answer, so he just grunted in displeasure.

"Are you going to give me a real explanation or will you keep annoying me with your riddles until dinner?"

Erwin chuckled politely before heading towards the exit.

"Zackley managed to provide me his psychiatric file," he admitted as he opened the door, "he's a fascinating boy."

Appalled, Levi didn't even watch his superior leave, and just finished his tea.

(-)(-)(-)

Before breakfast, Amos chose to go out into the forest to isolate himself in his thoughts and smoke a few cigarettes. The meeting had annoyed him, so much so that he couldn't help but fume:

“Erwin’s plan is doomed to failure,” he growled inwardly, “Annie is cunning as a vixen and showed excellent survival instincts during the Expedition. At no time will she be stupid enough to go underground, she will prefer to try her luck by transforming. Which will probably cause hundreds of deaths among the population of Stohess…”

A flash of realization crossed his emerald eyes, a predatory smile appeared on his face.

“What a bastard, that’s exactly what he wants. He wants the threat of the Titans to reach Sina, he wants to shake the cage of its inhabitants, thus forcing them to take part in the fight whether they like it or not. It’s a colossal risk he’s taking, he could very well end up shot for something like that. But given the delicate situation we are in, he is willing to make such a gamble. "

Amos took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it as he continued deeper into the forest.

“It is true that the Survey Corps cannot win this war alone, but I will bet my left hand that Grandfather will only offer a minimal contribution to the war effort. He will let us weaken the enemy before throwing his own forces into it to kill two birds with one stone. The repercussions on the population will be even more serious, they will blame the scouts and not the government. On the contrary, Grandfather will seize this opportunity... It's not good at all, Erwin is offering his throat to the bat. The Court will want his head. I need to take precautions immediately or I will lose a lot of my interest. "

He took exactly two minutes and eleven seconds to finalize his counter-plan, before taking out his notebook to write down all his instructions on five different pages. Then he whistled again for Arryn, who emerged from the trees to land on his forearm.

“Luckily I didn't send him away,” he thought, adding his pieces of paper to the leather tube the raptor carried, “Erwin arrived a little too quickly after Arryn’s fake departure for my liking . "

With these thoughts, he performed a series of finger snaps after feeding the hawk and letting it take flight.

“I wonder what he has in mind,” he continued to think, “it is not difficult to guess his motivations for anyone who has read the Noble Police file on him. But I admit that I don't see what makes him so confident to counterbalance all the reckless risks he takes. What is he…? "

Amos was abruptly interrupted from his thoughts by a loud cry of anger and frustration:

“You useless incompetent! Why didn't you say anything?! You're just an idiot! Because of you, dozens of people died for nothing!"

Hannibal grimaced in annoyance, before raising an eyebrow when he recognized the shouter's voice.

He advanced in the direction of the latter, and found him screaming against a tree. A carnivorous smile appeared on the noble's face, he approached with stealth steps, his gaze possessed by predation.

"You are useless! You are just a burden to others! You will never be…!"

Without warning, Amos imprisoned him in his muscular arms, and let out a wild cry in his ear. Horrified, Armin screamed in terror.

"Help! Help!" he shouted, struggling in vain against his tormentor’s grip.

Satisfied, the noble released him and slapped him on the back of the head before bursting into sincere laughter.

"Where are you manners?"He quipped, "who would scream so early in the morning."

Arlet fell to his knees, his breathing raspy and his hand on his heart which was beating much too fast.

"Damn…" he said in fright, "Amos... I almost wet my pants…"

The tall blonde rolled his eyes in amusement before shaking his head.

“That’ll teach you not to annoy me and interrupt me while I’m thinking,” Amos replied before crossing his arms and regaining a serious expression. "You do that often ?"

Armin didn't answer, he kept his head down and sat down on the grass.

"Only... Only when I deserve it."

Hannibal sighed deeply, before sitting down in front of him.

“You have a very strange concept of merit and punishment,” he noted, puffing on his cigarette.

It was the little blond's turn to let out a deep sigh.

"I don't understand... I don't understand why I didn't say anything... the proof was right under my eyes…"

"What a nasty lie," Amos said in a tired tone, "you didn't say anything because you are in love with her."

Armin blushed slightly, but the weight of his guilt soon caught up with him.

"Admit that you remember that night."

This time, Arlet suddenly raised his head, his cheeks very pink and his mouth haggard. While a very distinct memory stood out in Hannibal's memory.

(17 months ago)

Amos carried Mikasa like a bride to his bed. There, he took off her boots, slipped her under her blankets and pulled her scarf up over her nose.

“I'll never let you drink again,” he said quietly before heading out. “And I will never drink in your presence again. "

It was then that a strange smell rose to his nostrils, he frowned and looked around the dormitory.

Amos' eyes widened in horror when he spotted the source of the scent.

"Oh fuck me… shit…"

There... less than a meter away from him, was Annie’s bed. Bed in which the little blonde was naked as the day she was born and had the head of a probably equally naked Armin buried in her chest.

"You gotta be fucking shitting me…" he sighed, shaking his head while slapping his forehead, "For fuck’s sake."

(-)(-)(-)

“H-h-h-how,” Armin stammered, his face scarlet.

"Who do you think got you dressed and put you back in bed?"

At these words, the little blond almost died of embarrassment, he buried his face in his hands.

“I had to wake Annie up after that,” Amos continued, “to give her some birth control. I think she took out all the anger she had felt against me that evening by butchering my back."

These revelations only added fuel to the fire, Armin did not know at all how to react to this kind of situation, so he was content to curl up on himself in the vain hope that the ground doesn't end up swallowing it.

“That’s why I don’t blame you that much,” the tall blond admitted, puffing on his cigarette. "It's because of me that you ended up in this situation. I'm sorry Armin."

The young recruit momentarily forgot his embarrassment and raised his head.

"What are you talking about? How is this your fault?"

“I naively thought a little party would do us some good,” the nobleman growled with frustration, “but I should never have made anyone drink. It got so bad... Between Mikasa who ended up vomiting her guts and Annie and you... Yeah, you could say I screwed up a lot."

"You couldn't have known,"the little blond tried to reassure, "it all started from a good feeling."

“And look at the disaster it caused,” Hannibal grumbled, stubbing out his cigarette. "That's why I don't blame you, this situation is only the result of an accumulation of errors. No point trying to take all the blame."

Armin nodded slowly, he felt a little better... but he couldn't contain his anger towards himself.

"You must think I'm ridiculous," he said suddenly, clenching his fists against his thighs, "I fell in love with the Female Titan…"

“Shut the fuck up,” Amos reprimanded sternly, cuffing his head.

Surprised, Arlet stared at him questioningly.

"You didn't fall in love with a titan, you fell in love with the girl who can transform into a titan. Dehumanizing her will do you a lot more harm than good, take my word for it. Annie… is not a monster or a she-devil from Hell. She is the one we have always known, the one you love. She’s just… not on our side."

The noble's words crushed Armin's little heart like a hammer smashed a piece of crystal. For a very long moment, he remained paralyzed in place while a waterfall flowed down his eyes, then finally he finally gave in, and burst into tears, burying his face in his hands. Amos came over and took him in his arms.

" W-w-w-why?" he gasped. "Why did she spare me?"

The nobleman wasn't even surprised by this new information, he just stroked his comrade's back.

"Because she loves you too."

Armin couldn't hold it any longer, and locked himself in his grief, crying and moaning his pain and sadness for almost an entire hour. Hannibal held him tightly in his protective arms, sincerely sorry for his friend.

When Arlet finally calmed down, Amos handed him a tissue so that he could blow his nose.

“She should have killed me,” the little blond admitted sadly. "Now... I... I know she has accomplices."

The noble suddenly widened his eyes, and leaned forward slightly.

"Let me guess, Reiner and Bertholdt?"

Armin nodded, wiping his tears.

“I imagine you made the connection between their common origins,” he guessed.

"Bingo, but I don't have anything else. What makes you so sure?"

The little blond took a moment to get his emotions under control, before finally revealing:

"Reiner specifically asked my opinion regarding Eren's position in the lineup. And when we faced the... Annie, I suggested that we all wear our hoods to sow doubt in Annie's mind. Because she wouldn't take the risk of killing Eren... Reiner... Reiner took off his hood before attacking her. Annie caught him in her hand, but instead of killing him quickly like she did with everyone else... she simply hid him behind her fingers making it look like she was slowly crushing him. After that he broke free, then quickly encouraged us to fall back while Annie looked at the palm of her hand. I think... I think Reiner engraved Eren's location there, because she immediately rushed towards him."

A short moment of heavy silence passed, before Amos began to applaud his friend.

"Nice work, Armin," he complimented satisfied, "I assume you shared this information with the Commander?"

The little blond nodded gently.

"You're right, you know? She should have killed you, she didn't and now her accomplices are exposed."

As Arlet did not react, he got up and continued while taking out another cigarette:

"You should have denounced her when you realized that it was she who had killed Marco, you didn't do it, and we embarked on an expedition to determine the murderer of our two titans, while one of us already knew who it was."

This time, the little blond lowered his head in shame. Amos turned on his heel and started to leave.

"Armin? You and Annie are playing a game from which you will both lose no matter what. At some point or another...one of you is going to stop making concessions. I'm just asking you to make sure you do it first."

Arlet raised his head and watched his comrade leave.

"Love is the death of duty, little head. And duty is the death of love. Make your choice, but remember that Annie is perfectly capable of giving up her humanity. The question now is whether you are capable of it or not."

With these words, Amos disappeared behind the trees without looking back.

Armin spent the next few minutes thinking before lying down on the grass and looking up at the sky with regret.

(-)(-)(-)

Amos’ day was… trying, for lack of a better word. Between the meeting, Armin's crisis, Eren who didn't speak to anyone and Levi who never missed an opportunity to pat him on the back. Yes, he could say he was having a bad day. So he was not too happy to finally be able to retreat to his room during the afternoon to repair his omni-dimensional equipment. All while thinking of the many possible ways to get his hands on Annie.

He got up from his desk to open a box and took out smoke grenades, he took real grenades out of another, then he attached them to his belt.

Then he undressed to cover his body with the various mechanisms and secret weapons that he had made during his years spent in the Hannibal Brigades, before putting his clothes back on to hide them.

He glanced at his watch to realize that it was time for him to do his chores, and went down to the stable where he had the unpleasant surprise of finding Mikasa sweeping the floor.

“Oh fuck… Really?”

"Hello," he said out loud, grabbing a broom as well, "how is Eren?"

The oriental woman pulled her scarf up over her nose.

"He hasn't said a word since the meeting, he's having a hard time accepting that…"

“The walls have ears,” Amos warned as he began to sweep. "Be careful with what you say."

Mikasa bit her tongue, before glancing around several times, and frowning as she realized something.

"Is this how you’ve always lived?" she asked suddenly.

Amos couldn't believe his ears, how could the conversation have drifted to him so quickly?

"More or less," he admitted absently, concentrating on his chore, "in the nobility everyone can be a traitor, whether it's your nanny or even your own mother. Information being the sinews of war, spies are legion. Kinslaying is also common, so it is imperative to watch your every word. Every little detail counts, because it only takes one mistake to turn an entire family upside down."

The half-blood woman remained speechless, at this point she was no longer surprised, just exasperated.

"Is that why you don’t confide?"

The tall blond looked up at the ceiling, at this point he wasn't even surprised anymore, just dismayed.

"What are you talking about?"

"You spend your time encouraging others to confide in you, “The Advisor” is your nickname for a reason. You helped us all to resolve our problems, to clean up our heads, to… make up for our mistakes. But at no time did you confide in yourself about what you felt, at no time did you clear YOUR head."

“What a joke, I do it almost every week. "

"And you think I’m going to confide in you?" he almost sneered. "No offense Mikasa, if I want to confide I will see my sister, not you."

The oriental suddenly stopped sweeping, and stared straight into his eyes.

"Why would you do it? You never did. When she told me about your relationship she was only deciphering your behavior, but even she doesn't know what's going on in your head."

Amos gritted his teeth slightly, he felt stuck because he had no additional justification to offer. So he changed his strategy:

“So you can conclude that I don’t want to talk about it,” he sighed wearily, "and that my problems are absolutely none of your business. Now stop, will you? If you're doing this to "pay your debt", let me tell you, all you're doing is breaking my balls. So please, and for heaven’s sake, leave me alone before this gets out of hand."

With these words, he went to sweep a little further, but Mikasa persisted in following him.

“Your problems are my business when you constantly suffer from them, Amos,” she said, holding him firmly by the arm.

Hannibal almost exploded upon hearing this, he turned around with the vivacity of a snake, his eyes possessed by a predation that threatened to burst through the ceiling. The oriental made a backward movement, but she did not back away.

"Mikasa…" he began in a voice cold as death, why the hell would that concern you? I'm not Eren or Armin, I'm not your family and you're not my nanny. I consider you a friend, I grant you that, but explain to me why I should talk to you about this rather than my sister or Ymir?"

The oriental woman gritted her teeth, and took a breath so deep that her jet-black eyes sparkled with a determined glow.

"I admit…" she said after a very short moment of hesitation, "I admit that I was wrong. When I confronted you behind HQ. I thought I was doing the right thing by encouraging you to defend yourself, but it took me a while to understand that you only fought for the sole purpose of pushing me away. And after what you did during the Expedition, after you protected me... I understood that you had rejected me to protect me from you."

Hannibal's eyes widened as Ackerman took another step forward. He stepped back out of pure reflex, but she refused to stop.

“You’re scared,” she concluded without stopping as he backed away even more. "Amos… Stop hiding, I know you hide every time someone comes near. But I'm not afraid of you, I want to help you. I... Please... You suffer constantly, you destroy yourself little by little and you accept it as if it were inevitable and necessary. As if there was no other way. Let me help you."

They stood there, without saying a word, for almost two minutes. Mikasa finally moved closer, her gaze was unwavering, but it was also soft and pleading.

Amos panted mid-breath, trying as best he could to hide his emotions. He was tired, he was so tired...

"Why?" he finally exhaled, letting his shoulders slump. "Why do you want to do this? What motivates you? What pushes you to do something like that?"

The half-blood relaxed her guard in turn, and pulled her scarf up over her nose.

She opened her mouth, but the words died on her lips, she bit her tongue and finally answered:

"No one sees it, you hide it really well... But me... I see it all the time. I've seen it since...since...since we talked on the dorm porch two years ago. But lately... Since Trost... since I know that you are noble and since I know what kind of environment you grew up in... I see it in a different light and... and it hurts me to see you like that. Amos… Why do you hate yourself so much?"

Hannibal frowned in exasperation to hide his fear, then he put his head in his hand and sighed as deeply as possible. He was so tired.

“You’re exhausting me,” he finally said. "I don't know how you manage to do that, how you manage to break my shell…"

He withdrew his hand and looked his interlocutor straight in the eyes.

"To be frank… you terrify me."

Mikasa stared into his emerald pupils with her impassive gaze, then she approached with a hesitant step, before closing her arms around the tall blond.

Amos widened his eyes in astonishment, even more so when he felt his heavy emotions dissipate little by little.

"What... What are you doing?" he asked in an incredulous voice.

The oriental woman would have pulled her scarf up over her cheeks if her interlocutor had ever been able to see them, instead she just hugged him tighter while sparing his back.

"You looked like you needed a hug, she finally said, giving a very slight smile, you were making that funny face."

Amos raised his eyebrows.

"You remember that?"

Mikasa didn't answer, she was glad they were alone.

“It’s a bit strange,” he commented soberly.

“But it’s not unpleasant,” she replied in the same way.

"Yes, it is true."

A relaxing silence settled in the stable, even the horses had quiet down.

"Please, don't ask me to sing."

Mikasa burst into a sincere little laugh and tightened her embrace, Amos followed her a few seconds later and closed his arms around the young girl's waist.

A short moment of silence passed before the noble spoke again:

"We'd better finish our chores before Captain Levi's inspection, otherwise we'll still be there tomorrow."

“Amos…” the oriental woman warned.

"I'm not trying to run away," he admitted in a low voice, trying to control his terror and his shame, "I... I'm going... I'm going to talk to you about it... a little... but after duty."

Mikasa's eyes widened upon hearing this, she felt her own face beam with happiness and relief at this unexpected victory. Then she calmed down, and rested her head against the young man's shoulder.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Why are you thanking me? " he thought, choking back tears. "Why do you…? How do you…? Who are you? "

"Mikasa?"

"Yes?"

Amos took several deep breaths before finally blurting out:

"I'm sorry."

The oriental raised an eyebrow before raising her head to meet the blond's sad gaze.

"What are you sorry for?"

“I…” Amos began before changing his mind, "you will understand later."

The half blood opened her mouth to insist, before accidentally squeezing one of the young man's scars. His tenseness stopped her in her tracks.

"Okay," she said without thinking before letting go of him, "we'll talk later."

They finished their chore without another word. And when Levi came to check their work, he noticed the discreet smirk on the oriental woman’s face and the barely masked worry of the noble. The scout allowed them to leave after being satisfied with their work. The two teenagers dined in silence with their comrades, before retreating into the tall blond's room so that he could confess his sins and his regrets.

He spoke, again and again, until he made Mikasa cry on numerous occasions. However, none of his words were more powerful than the name he revealed. The name of a demon.

Mikasa shivered and widened her eyes in horror upon hearing half of the human-shaped creature's crimes.

The Dark Witch of Orvund.

The monster that constantly haunted Amos' head.

AN: The Northern Dragon is next ;)