Explanation if you're confused.
Cecilia was with Reiner and Bertholdt this whole time. I thought of my own titan which is basically something like mother nature. The Nature titan's height is random, through 15 meters to 20 meters. You'll learn more about her titan later in the series.
Nobody's POV
The Colossal Titan raised its arm in the air. "Move, everyone!" Hange shouted.
The scouts that were present on the wall moved out of the arm's way in panic. In its hand was Ymir and another soldier.
"It got Ymir!" Christa said in fear. It bought the two soldiers towards its mouth and tossed them in like nothing. "Shit!"
"No, this isn't happening!" Sasha whispered shaking. Everybody waited at the side of the wall, wondering what was going on. Breaking the silence, Hange shouted.
"Soldiers! Prepare to attack! The Colossal Titan can't get away from this!" Hange hopped off the wall along with the rest of the soldiers. "It's a threat to all mankind! Swarm and terminate!"
The dozens of soldiers flew up in the air in front of the Colossal Titan as it got ready to swing its arm through the crowd. They used it's arm to make way to its nape. Right before they were able to slice its nape, a strong steam blew them back.
"All of you, fall back!" Hange commanded. The soldiers flew out of the smoke. Numerous of them got burnt or wiped out by the steam.
"He's vanishing!" Armin didn't think that it was vanishing.
"I don't know, something's different here. The last time her disappeared, it was more or less instantaneous. He's maintaining his form to emit heat. I think he's protecting himself!" Armin through one of his hooks in the air, showing that the steam pushed it away. "As long as he generates steam our rigs are useless! What do we do?"
Hange looked at the ground in thought. "Now? Nothing, except wait." She started walking in front of the squads.
"Squads three and four position behind the target. Rashad has command. Squad two, stay put, Lauda has command."
Second POV
You looked back at the Colossal titan, still letting out steam. It suddenly hit you that Cecilia was playing all along. "Listen up. I want you to forget about taking them alive."
"Destroy them, no second thoughts."
Your mouth opened slightly at Hange's command. You knew that we'd half to take them alive, though.
"You two are with me." Hange said as she looked at you and Armin.
"Right, squad one, look alive! We've got a date with the Armored Titan!" You followed Hange as your squad jumped off the wall.
~
Reiner punched Eren so hard that Eren fell back into the trees.
"Where's Cecilia?" Hange asked specifically towards you.
"Cecilia she... She linked arms with Reiner for some reason. She's somewhere in Reiner's titan form, I know it." You reply with puzzled expression. "She said she was the Nature Titan." You added on, making Hange's face change into a shocked one.
Just saying that statement made you frown. Cecilia was always friendly with you. People can take advantage of someone's trust so easily.
Eren still laid on the ground. His hand regenerated, causing steam to rise from his fingers. He then rose from the ground followed by a loud roar. He raised his fist, punching Reiner in the face, but Reiner punched him back. Reiner started walking towards Eren as Eren rise from the ground with smoke coming from his mouth.
"No! Back down! You can't win in a fistfight!" Armin shouted beside you. "Make a break for the wall!" Eren didn't listen, as expected. "Eren please! Don't be rash!"
When Reiner got closer to Eren, Eren started screaming. "He's blinded by rage!" Hange said. The two of them both tried to punch each other. Eren used Annie's technique.
"Wait, that-- Holy crap! That's Annie's technique!" Armin said in shock.
Eren raised his fist, getting ready to punch, but Reiner rolled him over. Eren put his legs around Reiner's neck, holding his fist to his chest. The armor on Reiner's face cracked. Reiner stood up, moving Eren's leg out of the way. Eren quickly tossed him back to the floor, making the ground release dust. You then saw Mikasa run at the sidelines. Eren let out a roar as he ripped off Reiner's arm.
You leapt off the wall in pursuit of Mikasa, along with Armin.
You and Armin met up with Mikasa, watching the two titans duke it out. "Eren, can you hear me? Run away! You've got to get closer to the wall! They're trying to abduct you! We can't let them do that! Trust me, escape is the best option!" Mikasa turns towards Armin.
"You say that, but Armin, come on. They're not just gonna let us leave." Mikasa said. Reiner got up from the floor. You turned around from a ODM sound.
"All of you, fall back! Now!" A guy with goggles said.
~
You and the others made it back to the wall, and to your surprise, Eren did too. "Looks like he's in control again." You said, landing on the wall.
"Yeah, but... Reiner's not just gonna let him go. Mikasa's right; escape's impossible." Armin replied.
Hange landed on Eren's shoulder. "Listen up Eren! If we're going to get you out of here, you've got to buy us some time. Stop Reiner dead in his tracks! Think you can manage to break off his leg with another one of those joint holds? Our blades don't do much against him. He can't be outmuscled, but he can be outsmarted if you play it right."
Eren nodded, making Hange have a very fascinated face.
"Oooooo!"
Nobody's POV
Eren held down Reiner as Mikasa flew towards Reiner's knee to cut it. She successfully cut behind his knee, landing on a tree. "You got this!" Armin shouted at the sight of armor in the air. Reiner started pushing Eren against the floor. "What's Reiner doing?" Y/n questioned. "Why would he stop here?" Armin looked up above the wall. Reiner suddenly started to scream. "Everyone, be on guard! He's calling for backup!" Hange warned the squad. Everyone looked around for titans but there was none in sight. Cracking noises came from the Colossal Titan, making Connie look up. "What the..." He said with a concerned tone.
Everyone's eyes widened as they realized that it was gonna fall over. "No no no no no!"
"Above you! Look out!" A soldier shouted. Everyone on the side of the wall looked up.
The Colossal Titan made contact with the fight, causing a huge explosion that blew everyone away.
Your POV
I hung on the wall as tight as I can with Armin. We saw Eren get bit off from the nape of his titan, making us gasp. He started running away, Bertholdt following him with his ODM gear.
"EREEENNN!"
~
I walked over to where Armin and Mikasa were after I wrapped my right hand. "Hey, Y/n. How's your hand doing?" Armin asked with a slight smile. I didn't realize I got a burn from when the Colossal Titan fell. "It's doing fine. Just a slight burn is all." I reply as I sat next to Armin. I held my knees to my chest, staring down over the wall. Armin looked over at Mikasa. "I think Mikasa just got a concussion, so it can't be that bad." He said. I looked over at Mikasa, who was laying down next to Armin. I heard footsteps approach behind Armin and I.
Hannes let out a sigh, making Armin and I look up at him. "Oh man, what a mess." He whined, looking out over the wall. "Count your lucky stars we were all the way up here. Rest of em got blasted by steam and debris, not much they can do." Lots of soldiers were hurt during this fight; expressed from all the bodies in the distance.
He looked down at us. "How badly is Mikasa hurt?" Hannes asked. "Well, there aren't any wounds to speak of. I think it's just a concussion." Armin answered, taking a glance at Mikasa. "Could be worse." He paused.
I looked down at the ground. "Armin, Y/n. I've got food if you're hungry. You eaten?" We both shook our heads as an answer. I felt his hand rub my h/c hair, ruffling it a little. "Be right back." Hannes said as he walked away.
I let out a sigh as I laid on my back to look at the sky.
Flashback
My hand held the pen firmly as I thought of what to write. "Thank you, sir." Mikasa thanked the man as she took extra change.
"Mikasa, Y/n!" I hear a familiar voice behind me.
I look behind me and saw Armin, panting with his hands on his knees. "Come quick, Eren's in trouble!" Armin panted, making Mikasa go into protective mode.
"What kind of trouble?!" She went closer to his face. I put my journal and pen in my jacket.
"It's those three bullies again! They took the bread I just bought. I- I told Eren about it and-" Armin quietly paused as he was silenced by Mikasa shoving the basket in his arms. "I didn't want him to go!" He shouted. Mikasa ran through the streets.
"Mikasa! Wait up!" I went after her, Armin following me.
I saw the scene in the distance; Eren was fighting the three bullies. "Eren!" Armin called out. Mikasa jumped up in the air, kicking one of them in the face into the stall. She shoved her hand on one of the boys faces, stopping him in his tracks. "I've got this, what are you doing?!" Eren shouted at Mikasa. Armin and I stood behind Eren and watched the scene unfold.
"Eren, you need to go home and chop wood. You want your mom to get angry?" Mikasa said to Eren. The boy that got kicked in the stall stood up with his fist.
"You little- Now it's a fight!"
He aimed to punch Mikasa but she dodged. 'You asked for it-" She grabbed one of the boys and threw him against the other. Eren then lunged at the fight before Armin and I stopped him.
"No, Eren! It's okay, she can handle it!"Armin tried to persuade him.
"Let go!" Eren shouted.
"Eren, don't-" I was interrupted by Eren pushing us to the ground. He tackled one of them, as the Garrisons started cheering them on.
Mikasa was totally annihilating the bullies, kicking them and tossing them in the air.
Armin tried holding Eren back from going after the bullies. "That's it, we're going home right this instant." Mikasa said.
"Like hell, go without me!" He broke out of Armin's grasp.
"Eren, wait!" Miksa called out to him.
End of Flashback
Armin's POV
I looked over at Y/n at the side of my eye. She was looking up at the sky with her arms on her stomach and both of her legs bended. She looked so peaceful that it made my heart melt right there for some reason. I put my head in my knees and closed my eyes before she could notice I was staring at her.
A few seconds later, I heard Mikasa sit up.
Your POV
I sat up suddenly to Mikasa holding Armin by his coat. "Where's Eren? Where did he go?!"Mikasa said roughly before crawling over to the other side of the wall.
"Woah, calm down!" Armin tried to calm her down. "We don't know how badly you're hurt!"
She stayed silent for a while as she looked down. Armin and I walked over to Mikasa and sat down.
"Where is he?" She asked in a desperate tone.
"Eren and Ymir were taken." My eyelids closed halfway. "They're gone. Reiner, Cecilia, and Bertholdt abducted them." I said, having quite a bitterness after saying Cecilia's name. Armin looked away from Mikasa with a guilty look.
"He fought, but the Armored Titan was just too-" He paused. Mikasa's eyes were wide in shock. "That was about five hours ago."
Mikasa looked down. "Somebody's gone after them, right? Tell me somebody went after them." She looked out in the distance. I let out a sigh.
"No." I reply.
Mikasa went up right at my face. "Why not?!" She shouted.
"We wanted to, but the horses are on the other side of the wall." Armin explained. Mikasa backed away from my face. "Our only option is to wait. The mounts can't be hauled over until the lifts make it here and that takes time. There's nothing we can do right now. Section Commander Hange and the other officers are too injured to move. We don't have enough soldiers to form a scouting party. Even a small one would need more than this." Armin said the harsh truth of this situation.
"We're not experienced enough. You understand?" Mikasa put her head in her hands with a sad look on her face.
"Damn it, not this again." Mikasa said in a slightly shaky voice.
"You feel any pain?" I asked with concern.
"No, I hit my head but I think I'm okay now. Don't worry about it." She replied. "It's just... not the first time I've been down this road. Except when Annie took him." I remember when Mikasa told me about what happened in the forest. "I didn't waste a second. Not one. That's how captain Levi and I were able to get him back." She paused with a worried face. "But... it's already been five hours." She looked back at the red scarf and walked over to it. She kneeled down and grabbed it to put it around her neck.
"Hey Armin, Y/n." I looked over to my left. "Why's he do it? Always leave? Always end up someplace we're not?" She questioned, wrapping the scarf around her.
"Yeah, it does seem to happen a lot. Ever since we were kids, Eren liked to run off on his own. Leave us worried sick." I smiled as a huge wave of memories flooded my mind. "Who knows? That's the sort of person he's meant to be, maybe." Armin said with a little smile on his lips.
I stared at my lap and at my hands as the wind blew my hair in my face. "I don't want much, just to be near him." Mikasa said before pausing.
"That's all."
"Good, you're awake." I hear from Hannes. I looked up at him. "Must be starving, here." He handed Mikasa some crackers. "Heads up." He then threw Armin and I some of the snacks. Hannes sat near the edge. "Sorry it's only food rations, but better than nothing I guess." He said unwrapping and taking a bite out of it. I stared at the snack for a while, my fingers ribbing the paper. "Not bad, not good either. Nothing new there." He said with a bit of food in his mouth.
"Speaking of which, this feels familiar, huh? You three have been runnin' damage control for that little hot head since the good ol' days if I recall correctly." I looked up from my snack. "Doesn't seem very fair, but what do I know?"
"Different time, different place, same problem. Not exactly what I'd call a healthy relationship. Am I wrong?"
Armin let out a soft chuckle. "The neighborhood bullies weren't quite so tall, but I suppose there are similarities." Armin said with a small smile.
"Yep, that's our Eren, heh. Can't hold his own for shit, but always lookin for a fight. Five guys wanna take him on, he wouldn't think twice about jumping into the fray like an idiot." Hannes joked. "By the time Mikasa gets there or the MPs show up, he's all beaten to hell. But you know..." He paused. I looked over at him with a curious face.
"I may not've ever had the privilege of seeing Eren win, but I never saw the little son of a bitch back down either."
That was true, he never backed down. He turned over to us. "Kid's got fire. To tell the truth, his persistence scares the piss outta me sometimes. He gets knocked on his ass, he gets right back up again. It's in his blood. You think he'd let himself get snatched away without fighting tooth and nail? Not a chance. Whatever strength he's got left, he'll use it. What's two guys next to a whole gang? If you can count on anything, it's that Eren'll give 'em hell. At least till you or me shows up to help. That's how it's always been, right?"
Hannes was right about that, that's for sure. "Yes sir. Those good ol' days were something else. 'Course if you ask Eren, he'd tell ya they were an illusion. Just us kidding ourselves. But I for one was never happier than when folks thought of me as a freeloading waste of space. There's not much I wouldn't do to get us back to how things used to be. Call me sentimental."
I miss how the old days were. Just delivering flowers to people, meeting new people, my friends. My family. Everything.
"He needs us. Whaddya say we stick to what we know. It ain't the good ol' days unless the four of you are together."
We all nodded with determination to get him back. We started eating our crackers like we meant it.
We're coming for you, Eren.