As the smoke of the siege on Utgard castle settled, the scouts had helped everyone back to the wall. Mikasa and Sasha soon got word of the events that took place, and rushed to Annie and Aila's side, worried for their friend, "Aila! Oh my god are you ok?", Sasha asked as she practically slid to Aila. Aila smiled at the sound and sight of her friends, "Hey Sash, Mika, I'm ok now just well, healing hahack.. eghk eghk!", Aila said groggily as she coughed, Annie couldn't help but worry for her beloved in her lap. The sight alone would scare anyone who didn't know that titan shifters existed. Steam emit from the arm and legs along with the chunk of her stomach that were missing, but they were growing back, slower than usual because of the fight she had just come out of. Annie stroked her face, moving the streaks of hair from her eyes so she could see her beautiful face clearly. Mikasa knelt down and held Aila's surviving hand, "I'm so sorry we didn't get here in time.. you wouldn't be in this condition if we'd just gotten here soon-" "Mikasa stop", Aila said sternly cutting her off, slightly shocking her. Aila smiled, "You couldn't have known that tens of titans were going to attack us at the dead of night, it's no one but Marley's fault that this happened", the three of them gasped at the mention, confused yet all in the know at once. "Wait, why do you say that?", Annie asked frowning in confusion, Aila took in a deep breath, "Well, since the secret is out now might as well say it out loud regardless of everyone else here. It was the beast titan who attacked us yesterday, I saw him climb the wall to escape and so did everyone who survived". They froze in silence from fear and shock of the news, "N-No.. that means Marley is... is-" "Is sending reinforcements because the three warrior candidates they sent five years ago have yet to return...", Annie said cutting Sasha off. Everyone including Aila began to sweat in fear of what might happen next. Aila flinched from a sudden shock of pain, "Ghgh! S-Son of a bitch my-my stomach is killing me!", Mikasa and Sasha stood up, "Hang on, we'll grab a tourniquet so you can rest", Mikasa said assuring her as she and Sasha got up and ran to look for the medical supply. Tck! Tack! Tck! Tack! Footsteps along with the clanking of ODM gear grew closer and closer to the two lovers, when Annie turned her head towards the sound, she saw the most unexpected person, section commander Hange Zoe and her second in command, Moblit Berner.
Annie scoffed in annoyance and irritation as they grew closer, knowing they were only coming to bombard Aila with questions after questions, not letting her rest for a moment. "Heya kiddos! Rough day innit?", the section commander shouted as she knelt down next to the two, smiling all the while. Aila sighed knowing what was to come, "Hello section commander sir, I apologize I'm not standing for you at the moment", Aila said as she raised and rested her right fist onto her chest, saluting her superior. Hange laughed, "Haha! No need to be so formal rookie, geez you're a loyal one for putting formalities before your own health, you have my respect", Aila relaxed into Annie's lap, taking in her soft touch, "Well I'm sure you're both aware as to why we're here to chat up your ear huh?" "Yes sir...", Aila replied as she clenched her fist, in fear of what would happen to Annie and the others. Hange pulled out a pen and small notepad, "Ok, well let's get started. Now, why keep your power hidden even though Eren was open about his?" "I was at his tribunal, I saw what humanity did to the things they did not understand, and I have people I want to protect from those who wanted to kill anyone who knew about it, just as the jury suggested that you dissect Mikasa too because she defended Eren", Aila replied as she held Annie's hand. Hange's smile faded as she wrote onto her notepad, "Yes, I can see why you wouldn't wish harm upon those you care for, however you put the lives of those few in front of humanity itself" "I'm sorry... but.. you're naive to think such things", Aila said as she stared into the sky. Hange shot her head up and frowned, "Huh?! You mean to tell me that you're friends are more important than huma-" "Those in the walls are NOT the only fragment of humanity left", Aila cut her off. Hange froze in place, mouth wide open and sweat dropping from her brow, "It's true commander, and we have proof", they all turned to see Mikasa and Sasha returned with a tourniquet in their hands. They placed it down and raised Aila onto it, covering her with a spare scout cloak, they sat down next to Aila and Annie and faced Hange, seriousness shone from their eyes. "Proof? Y-You mean you ALL know this is true?", but before anyone could answer Hange, Ymir and Christa walked up from behind her and sat with the others. Ymir sighed and looked up, "Yeah, it's true, because me, Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner are all evidence of such", she said quietly, trying not to alert anyone else.
Hange's hands began to shake, "I-It has to be true if ALL of you are saying such... b-but why hasn't anyone aside from in the walls tried to connect with our society if you all come from a different place? They obviously know we're here", Annie turned and faced Hange. She frowned in frustration, "Because... they ALL think that.. we're devils and should die", the area went silent for a moment. No one replied to the comment, Hange and Moblit sat in pure shock. Hange put her notes away and swallowed her curiosity, becoming serious, "Alright, if this is really true, could you answer all of our questions.. including the solution to saving us in the walls?", Aila looked up at Annie before answering. Annie looked at her and nodded, knowing that it was too late to keep anything else a secret any longer. Aila took in a deep breath, she sat up and focused her healing into her legs, making them grow back instantly along with the chunk of stomach that was missing. She coughed from the exertion she's experiencing, "Yes commander, we could", Hange smiled and nearly jumped from joy. However, she composed herself, "Alright, but how do we know that we can trust you?" "Because, me, Annie, Ymir, and Eren hold four of the ten titan shifting powers in the world, and we want to take back our freedom from the very nations beyond that threaten to take it away", Aila stated as she threw the cloak over herself, warming her body up as much as she could. Hange's smile returned as she looked into each and every one of the eyes of the soldiers that sat before her, knowing that there wasn't a hint of lie in anything they just said. "Alrighty then! We'll make it known to the rest of humanity in the walls about this news as soon as-" "Wait, there's something urgent you must know", Annie said coldly. Hange looked up at her, "Oh, alright what is it?" "We can't announce any of this to anyone that isn't in this group now, commander Erwin, Eren, Armin, and captain Levi, or our plans will fail instantly, setting the stage for those in the walls' demise", Annie stated as quietly as possible. Hange frowned in confusion, "Why?" "Because we have two traitors in our ranks as we speak, the armored and the colossal hide within our military", Hange gasped and shot up from kneeling in fear and surprise, "What?! Who and how do you know this?!" "Because we were sent here to kill all of you, however I was the only one who betrayed their plans from the start and became a spy for you all", Hange knelt back down to Annie and whispered, "I believe and trust you, who are they?". Annie closed her eyes and inhaled, "Reiner Braun... and Bertholdt Hoover are the colossal and armored titans that attacked you five years ago.
Hange and Moblit's sweat increased tenfold, frozen in shock and fear of the knowledge that the two culprits behind the terrorist attack five years prior were caused by two kids hidden among them this entire time. Hange snapped her head back to Annie and the others, "Why didn't you say anything before?! We could've saved the soldiers lost in Trost if you'd told your superiors prior!", Hange shouted through her teeth as she grabbed onto Annie's clothes, bringing her closer. Aila stood from her rest and rested her hand on Hange's shoulder, squeezing it slightly, "Commander, with all due respect... I don't think this is how you should be treating the people trying to help you", Aila said staring Hange down with a death glare in her eyes. Hange let go of Annie, in fear of the tall monster towering over her. She cleared her throat and fixed her glasses, "Ahim! Y-Yes you're uh completely right! I apologize for the mistreatment Annie, but you must understand my aggregation, please explain why you didn't warn us of such an attack" "Because they didn't tell me, they suspect me of being traitorous, I didn't even know they were going to attack us on the 57th expedition, but we all feared that something of the sort may happen, but it was too late for us to stop them", Annie stated looking at the ground with regret in her face. Hange relaxed a bit and sighed, "I see.. I'm sorry I became so aggressive towards you, that was unfair especially since you're only trying to help", Ymir stepped forward, "No need, we understand the reason why you snapped like that, but now that you know the basics, we should probably also clear the fact that Reiner and Bertholdt AREN'T the cause of this attack however" "Yes you're right Ymir, it was an outsider nation, Marley, the people who sent us three to this island", Annie said with slight anger in her voice. Hange and Moblit began to walk with them towards the wall to get to higher ground, "What? But why and how?", Hange asked, "Because us three 'warriors' didn't do our jobs fast enough, and now they're going to try and kill us all", everyone stopped talking for a moment to take in the news. They all got into a lift and rose up to the top of the wall, "Understood, but for now we need to be cautious and take care of Bertholdt and Reiner before they attack again", Hange said as she helped Aila onto the wall. As they all began to walk on the wall to return to the temporary HQ in the interior of wall rose, Mikasa noticed that Eren wasn't with Armin. "Wait, where's Eren?", she asked looking around, everyone stopped walking and looked for Eren. Aila turned around to look behind her, and gasped, "EREN! RUN!", everyone's heads snapped and saw their worst fear. Reiner had pulled his arm out of the sling Christa had made for him, and revealed the wound healing as steam emit from it. Mikasa sprinted towards him and tried to cut them down, but it was too late. Lightning began to strike, Bertholdt and Reiner.. had begun their betrayal.
Everyone was thrown back from the steam that emitted from the two titans, Aila opened her eyes to see the very titans that took her family and home from her all those years ago. She flew back but was caught by something, when she looked down, she saw the hand of the colossal surround her and lift her. There was no escape, she couldn't transform because she was too exhausted. She felt a rock hit her, then everything went black, and she passed out from the impact. Annie looked around for her lover when the steam calmed, but looked up at her former comrades before her and saw Aila's unconscious body being thrown into Bertholdt's mouth. She flew into a rage, "AILA NOOOOOOOO!", she had thought he killed her. She jumped up from the wall, ready to transform and attack Bertholdt, but she felt a hand stop her. She turned to see Sasha's hand resting on her shoulder, tears in her eyes as she had seen the same sight of her friend's death. Annie stopped and began to tear up, but quickly wiped them away, "Th-Thanks for stopping me Sasha.. we can mourn her after we rescue Eren from Reiner, we need to protect Ymir as well, they'll try and take her too" "R-Right", Sasha said as she wiped her tears from her face. She stood up and prepared to attack the armored, knowing Bertholdt won't let anyone get near him with his steam. But before she jumped to attack, she realized Mikasa, Ymir and Christa were missing, "Sasha, where are the others who knew about everything?!", Sasha pointed down at Reiner and Eren who were getting ready to fight each other, but at a closer look, you could see Mikasa waiting for her chance to attack Reiner on a tree. "Shit! I can't transform! I have to stealthily protect Ymir and Christa or they'll take them too", Annie thought to herself, she turned to Sasha, "Sasha, Mikasa can handle herself with Eren, she'll be ok, we need to focus on protecting Ymir and Christa right now!" "But Mikasa can't take on Reiner all by herself! Even if she's the most skilled one of our class he'll hurt her!", Sasha shouted in concern for her girlfriend. Annie felt sympathy for Sasha's urge to protect her love, along with a ache in her chest at the thought of Aila being gone, but she knew Mikasa would be alright on her own. She grabbed Sasha's shoulders and stared into her eyes, "Mikasa is the strongest woman I know, right now Ymir and Christa are in immediate danger! Once we get them to safety, we'll help her, I promise!". Sasha hesitated, but gave in, knowing that Annie was right, they then flew off on their ODM gear and searched for the two girls on the wall.
Sasha and Annie flew around on their gear until they found Ymir shielding Christa from the steam behind a large piece of debris. They landed next to them and made sure they were alright, they explained the situation to them and told them that they need to take them to safety before they take Ymir too. Christa began to cry, "No.. Aila... Annie I-.. I'm so sorry", Annie hid her face with her hair and stood up, taking her cloak off in silence, Sasha took hers off too. They handed them to Ymir and Christa, "Here, put these on and throw your hoods up so they can't see your face immediately", Annie said as she tried her hardest not to show her sorrow and grief to them. They put them on and stood up, waiting for their next move, "Alright, Christa, I'll carry you down to one of these evacuated homes, Sasha, you carry Ymir and follow me. Once you guys are on the ground, hand us back our cloaks so they won't suspect anything, hide in a building until the battle is done or Reiner and Bertholdt run away ok?", Annie told them as she prepared to fly down. She hoisted Christa onto her back and jumped down to the buildings below, shooting her anchors into the walls and landing with Sasha behind her. They took back their cloaks and waited until they hid in a building and were safe from abduction. They then flew back up to the wall and prepared to fight with the others, but when they looked down, they saw Eren had managed to pin Reiner in a joint hold Annie had taught him. She couldn't help but smile from pride at the sight, they'd noticed that Mikasa had taken out Reiner's legs. He was on the verge of defeat, "Looks like I don't need to transform and help him after all", Annie said looking down at them. She turned her attention to Bertholdt and scoffed at the sight, "Huh, Bertholdt's at his limit too, looks like we've won", Sasha declared with joy in her tone. Then, out of nowhere, a roar was heard, RAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH! Annie covered her ears from the pain of the vibration, but once she managed to compose herself, she realized what Reiner had done. She jumped off the wall and tried to make it to Mikasa, "RUUUUUUN!", she screamed. Everyone looked up to see Bertholdt fall from his post on the wall, and straight onto Reiner and Eren. The impact was so large and filled with boiling hot steam, the soldiers hanging on the wall near Eren and Reiner were swept away in the blast, this included Mikasa, Annie, and Hange.
Annie fluttered her eyes open, everything was blurry for a moment. She looked around and saw tens of scouts, including Mikasa and Hange laying out cold on the wall. Hange was severely burned, Mikasa had subtle burns but wasn't in serious shape. "Annie, you're awake!", Sasha shouted as she ran to Annie's side, Annie tried to sit up but felt a sharp pain in her side. She lifted her shirt and saw bandages wrapped around her stomach with blood leaking through, "Yeah, when Bertholdt used himself to help Reiner you shielded Mikasa from the blast and ending up getting a piece of the wall stabbed through your side", Sasha said as she tried to explain what had happened to her. Annie's eyes shot open as she realized what had happened and began to panic, "WHERE'S AILA... DON'T.. don't tell me..." "No! She's alive but..", Sasha said reassuring Annie who had thought she lost the love of her life. She relaxed a bit and sat back, "But what?" "Reiner and Bertholdt.. they took Aila and Eren", Annie grew furious, her wounds began to heal rapidly as steam emit from them. Her fists clenched and her teeth clenching so hard they could almost break, "Tell me someone's gone after them!", she shouted as the flames in her eyes burned hot. Sasha sighed and looked over at Mikasa and Hange, "No, our horses are on the other side and we don't have the lifts needed to bring them over, Bertholdt made sure of that. And, most of our most elite soldiers are either critically injured or out cold.. some died too...", Annie stood up, "How long have me and Mikasa been out?" "About an hour, but we should be heading out to rescue them as soon as commander Erwin arrives", Sasha told her as they stared down at the clawing titans below. "Mmmm.. ugh... AH! EREN! SASHA!", Mikasa had awoken and shot up from where she lay, frantically looking for her abducted brother and missing girlfriend, Sasha snapped her head around and sprinted to her side, embracing her. Mikasa held onto her tight, she had thought she got caught in the blast, "Sasha! Oh thank god I thought you were..", she said as she began to cry into her lovers' shoulder, Sasha caressed her head as she cried, trying her best to comfort her. Sasha had to retell the entire situation all over again, and as expected, Mikasa freaked out at the news that her brother and best friend had been abducted, and were in life-threatening danger.