𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐑 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓 | ᵃʳᵐⁱⁿ ᵃʳˡᵉʳᵗ

𝟐𝟒 | 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫.

"Retreat!" the Eldian soldiers cried out, "Get away from the fort! Don't get caught in it!"

Then there it was. Like Marley's personal war angel descended from the heavens. A huge airship cut through the light blue fabric of the sky, temporarily shielding the hot glare of the sun.

This fight was only just beginning.

For the first time in months, all gunfire finally ceased to a stop. Every single person on the ground had their sights locked on the blimp floating above the peak of a tall hill. The Allied Forces couldn't do anything but watch in horror as the airship's backside opened up to reveal the numerous people lined up within it, all swaddled in full body bags.

And then that's when the bodies started falling.

One by one, a person was dropped from the airship and into open air. If it weren't for the parachutes that activated right as they were thrown out, they would've been nothing more than splatter marks on the hard ground. If those people knew they were in their last moments of consciousness, they didn't show it. Every person floating down to land was in blissful ignorance, having been drugged past the point of producing a logical thought.

Still standing at the gaped-open exit of the airship were three Warriors. The spear, shield, and brains of the Warrior Unit. You, Reiner, and Zeke. You looked over the heart of Fort Slava, a military base tucked within the center of two overlapping walls; one was low and sported machine gun bunkers all around its perimeter, the other was higher and donned a railroad track, assumably for the (already destroyed) armored train to ride on.

Looking at everything from above, it kind of reminded you of a smaller version of Paradis's walls and their cannons. Of course there was always something to remind you of that dreadful island.

You sighed deeply, rubbing a hand over your tired face in irritation, "There's always a wall to get over.. I'm sick of walls."

"Then let's knock them all down." Reiner determined with a rough voice, slipping his skydiving goggles over his eyes.

Four long years of war hardened Reiner up to be the gruff looking man he was today. He already had a chiseled face before, but now it was accentuated by a veil of blonde facial hair along his sharp jawline and around his mouth to connect as a thin beard. He looked significantly more mature, and worn down, for him to only be 21. But you had to guess all that stress would make anyone age up earlier than they were supposed to.

When you first arrived to Marley, Reiner had been the one to take full responsibility for what happened in Paradis, despite your protests. For a while he was only known as a failure. He had nearly gotten his Titan (and life) taken away, but after bringing Marley win after win in the war, he had proven himself valuable enough to keep the Armored. He willingly put his life on the line in every battle.

Sometimes you wondered if he actually wanted to keep it.

You watched him pull out a brand new knife in preparation to transform into his Titan, and usually you'd be rushing to do the same. But over the past years, you've been taught a few new tricks. With a glance over at Zeke, an unspoken agreement had been exchanged between the both of you.

It was finally time.

Zeke cleared his throat as he stepped to the edge of the exit, sucked in a big breath, and then..

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!

He hollered out a yell so loud that you were sure every single person on the ground heard him.