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↱"Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate."↲
-Sun Tzu.
✺
where we left off/the colossal titan
THE SCOUTS HAD SEEN THE BARREL THROWN OVER THE WALL, and they were sure the Colossal Titan's appearance was imminent, but there was a moment of silence before Bertholdt transformed, a moment that Hange took advantage of as all of them stared at the sky in shock.
"Quick! We need to get rid of the rest of the Armored Titan!" Hange yelled, feverishly trying to get her squad to follow her lead, but to no avail.
She had enough time to voice her command, but not enough to carry it through because Armin rushed up in front of her.
"Section Commander!" Armin shouted, grabbing her attention as he tried to pry her away from Reiner. "We need to get away from him! That's Bertholdt in there and we can't be around Reiner when he gets here!"
Squad Levi and Squad Hange both began to follow Armin's lead, scattering like roaches away from Reiner, crowding together behind crumbled buildings and large stones to protect themselves from the blast that was sure to come.
But, nothing ever came.
The Colossal Titan did not appear and as Katerina glanced up from her position behind a large boulder, all she saw was Bertholdt himself. He was wearing his old Scout's uniform, save for the vest, and she felt the entirety of that insult down in her bones. He used his ODM gear to make sure that Reiner was alive and well before setting his eyes on the Scouts that were hiding around him.
"We need to kill him," Hange whispered into Katerina's ear, roughly shaking her shoulders.
"Watch it!" Katerina snapped, slapping her away. "You're getting your spit all over my ear."
"We can't kill him," Armin said, his eyes wide as he took in Bertholdt's appearance. He looked so different than he had before he betrayed them. He was reminded of the first day he had met him and the way his boyish smile was hesitant and ginger. But that smile was replaced by a scowl and a coldness in his dark eyes that made Armin do a double-take. "I want to try and negotiate."
"Armin, we talked about this," Katerina warned, trying to pull him back down as he emerged from their hidden position. "Armin!"
"Let me," he insisted, coming out from behind the boulder fully. He had his hands up, away from his blades, trying his best to show Bertholdt that he was nothing to fear.
The feeling wasn't mutual because Bertholdt had his blades drawn in an instant, crouching down in front of Reiner so that he was ready for anything that Armin could throw at them.
