Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan or this story.
Previously: The group is shocked by the Female Titan's appearance. The recruits learn about the plan to capture her and don't have much faith much in it. Armin figures out who she is.
|~|
A whistling sound echoed as the shot displayed the green, grassy field with a few groups of small trees. Jean stood on a rock, whistling, with a horse standing obediently beside him. Behind them, Reiner knelt behind Armin. "How's your 3D maneuver gear looking, Armin?"
"It's fine," Armin sat still. "The clasp released like it was supposed to, so it seems it's not broken."
"I see," Reiner unrolled a bandage. "I'm glad to hear it. But what do we do?" He looked over at Jean, who was still whistling loudly. "We only have one horse. If Jean's horse comes back, the three of us can move, but…"
What the hell? Jean glanced at the horse beside him. Reiner's horse returned, so why didn't mine? We can't stay here any longer. Fingers in his mouth, he began whistling again. The field before him lay empty and peaceful, no sign of life. He pulled out his fingers, coated in saliva.
Levi wrinkled his nose. That's disgusting. He had an urge to wipe his own hands and to tell the teen to clean his fingers.
"Maybe you should try neighing instead," Eren snickered.
Jean flipped him off in response.
Worst comes to worst, we'll have to leave someone here. Jean looked behind him. But how would we decide who to leave?
Why do I get the feeling I'll be stuck making that decision? Jean's stomach twisted.
Eren's smirk fell and he and Mikasa looked between the real and the TV versions of the teen anxiously. Surely he wouldn't leave a comrade behind?
Armin, since he's wounded? Or Reiner, since he's big and would have trouble riding with someone else? Or should I run and try to find my horse? Jean looked down. "Shit!" He cursed. Why the hell do I have to think about this? We all made it through that fight alive. But now we have to leave one person behind? He began whistling for his horse once more.
Armin was staring at the ground, silent, remembering laying on the ground, eyes widening when the Female Titan's face came into clear view.
While everyone else stared intently at her face, Ymir, sitting at the farthest left, subtly studied them instead. He knows! Her eyes widened. Smart boy. Unlike most of the others, Armin wasn't looking curious, but grim, resigned almost. Jean and Hange had odd expressions as well.
"She looks kinda familiar, doesn't she?" Ymir said offhandedly.
"She does," Jean's brow furrowed at the face frozen on TV. Erwin was watching them curiously, wondering if they could possibly know her.
"And that expression too," Christa nodded.
Mikasa, who had been holding onto the blond-haired boy tight, noticed him stiffen. "Armin, what's wrong? Do you recognize her?" She could see the wheels turning behind his eyes.
Everyone was suddenly staring at him. Armin's eyes shifted left and right. "Well," he licked his dry lips and cleared his throat. "I...may have a guess."
"Who is it?" Eren demanded immediately.
"Is it someone we know?" Connie asked.
"Well, um..."
"Spit it out," Levi snapped, earning a glare from Mikasa.
He took a breath. "I think it's...Annie."
"What?!" Eren stared at his best friend, gobsmacked.
"No way!" Connie cried out. "I don't believe it! She wouldn't do that!"
"It can't be Annie!" Sasha gasped. "I, I don't believe it!"
"But...why?" Christa's eyes were impossibly wide in disbelief.
"Makes sense to me."
Now all eyes were on Ymir. "You can't be serious!" Sasha gasped.
"You think that too?" Christa frowned.
Ymir held up a finger as she listed her reasons, "Let's see: she's blonde, she has blue eyes, she's not part of the Survey Corps so she could easily infiltrate and move around without raising suspicion—it would've raised a lot of flags if she was the only survivor while the rest of her squad and the squads wherever she'd been told Eren was had been annihilated."
She was interrupted before she could finish. "That's bullshit!" Eren glared. "She's fucking blonde? Are you serious?!"
"Yeah," Sasha nodded. "That's just...I don't think it's her. She's our comrade."
"She wasn't invited," Erwin said.
"But neither were Reiner and Bert," Sasha pointed out. "And the other members of Squad Levi."
"Candy doesn't like her either." Petra recalled Annie saving Jean, whom Candy had claimed was her favorite, yet their host still expressed dislike of her.
Ymir nodded, "She did almost turn Jean into a pancake just now."
"No! It isn't her! It isn't Annie!" Eren insisted. "There has to be a mistake!"
"Are you really that dense, Yeager?" Jean demanded. "Or are you just that in denial you can't even see the obvious?" He hated the fact as much as anyone else of the 104th class, but that didn't make it any less true.
"I have to agree with Eren," Connie said. "Annie saved my life. She could've let that Titan kill me if she really was a traitor."
"She's my friend! Annie is our friend!"
"Armin, are you sure?" Mikasa ignored the male Shifter's babbling. She wasn't a fan of the girl. But she wasn't quick to condemn a comrade either. Then again, considering who the accusation was coming from...
"I'm pretty sure," Armin answered, not happy. "It wasn't just the things that they said that convinced me. Specifically, it was when the Female Titan froze when I yelled she had killed 'that Suicidal Bastard' on the right recon flank. She stopped because she thought she'd accidentally killed her target and was calling my bluff. But..."
"How would she know who the 'Suicidal Bastard' was?" Hange looked grave. "Unless she was a part of the 104th class."
"Yes," Armin nodded. "Who else could have recognized that nickname? If you take everything else into account, it fits."
"But..." Eren said helplessly. "She's—"
"Don't you fucking dare utter the word friend, brat," Levi warned. "The proof is right before our eyes. She slaughtered countless Scouts," his face darkened, "and almost killed one your friends. If you make excuses for that bitch because you wanna bone her I swear I'll—"
"That's enough now," Erwin held up a hand, trying to stop the snowball from gaining more momentum and getting out of control. "Right now, it is looking like Annie Leonheart might be the Female Titan. However, we have no need to fight among ourselves. We will find out soon enough, without a shadow of a doubt, who the new Shifter really is."
While everyone quieted, looking uneasy and unsure, Armin tried not to let his mind race, trying to follow Erwin's words. There was one more piece of evidence that convinced him, which he kept to himself. Ymir, Hange, Levi, and Jean were pretty convinced while Eren, Sasha, and Connie weren't. And Petra, Christa, Mikasa, and Erwin were trying to remain neutral so far. But if he dropped that particular bomb on them...
Armin decided he would keep his suspicions about Annie's hand in Marco's death to himself and let the TV reveal the truth without his comrades tearing at each other's throats over his theory, arguing if it was true or false.
"Armin… Hey, Armin!" Reiner's voice snapped him out of his stupor. "You still dizzy?"
"Yeah, my head's still a bit fuzzy."
"I see." Reiner stood. "But we must decide. It's a hard choice, but someone will have to stay behind."
Jean stopped whistling and looked at them.
"Wait!" Armin stood up. "First, let's fire a smoke round. If the formation continued straight ahead, the 4th row's 3rd team should be nearby."
A purple flare shot up to the sky. Some horses were seen running fairly close to the trio.
"It looks like there's someone riding one of the horses," Petra squinted. They may have lucked out. She hoped they had and none of them would be forced to stay behind. That would be a cruel twist of fate, surviving the cunning, murderous Female Titan only to potentially die because they were one horse short.
"That's the signal for an emergency," Jean put his flare gun away. "But I can't imagine they'll understand our intentions just from that," he walked away.
"Armin, we can wait another three minutes. By then, we must decide—"
"I'll stay," he said strongly, taking Reiner by surprise.
Armin was half expecting his friends to protest. A small smile formed on his face when he realized while they weren't thrilled about him offering to stay behind, they had enough faith in him as a soldier not to claim he was crazy and scold him, saying Jean or Reiner should be the ones to stay behind instead.
"But there's something I want you to tell them for me. Preferably to Commander Erwin alone."
"No, Armin. You should tell him yourself."
They could hear the smile in Jean's words and their hopes went up.
"Looks like someone's coming," Jean had his hands shading his eyes, trying to see in the distance. "And with two horses!"
Jean relaxed. They would all be okay, thanks to their savior.
"That's Christa!"
"You're a lifesaver," Jean looked over at the blonde-haired girl. She beamed, blushing slightly and feeling warm as everyone smiled at her, their eyes bright.
"Is everyone okay?" Christa rode toward them.
"That's my horse," Jean said when they came to a stop. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Buchwald."
"He ran toward me, terrified. Did you engage the Titans?"
"All the horses are trained not to bolt in the presence of Titans. How'd you screw up yours?" Connie snorted.
"It was his first expedition!" Jean said defensively. "He's never been around a Titan before and that titanic bitch is fucking terrifying."
"Armin, what happened to you? Are you okay?" Christa asked.
"Yeah, I think so."
"I can't believe that smoke round brought you here," Reiner said.
"I was nearby, and I already had Jean's horse."
"Even horses like you. You're an extremely nice person. You saved our lives."
There were tear in her eyes. "But I'm so glad that the worst didn't happen to you." Christa wiped her eyes. "I really am glad you're alive and well," she smiled cutely at them and sunlight suddenly struck her, with heavenly music playing in the background.
Most of the viewers chucked at the sight.
The three boys gaped at her with almost identical expressions of awe.
God… Armin thought.
A goddess… Jean thought.
I want to marry her. Reiner decided.
That made the group burst into laughter.
"And me!" Connie declared.
"Yup," Sasha said.
"Can't blame them. I'd wanna marry her too!" Hange grinned. Petra nodded, giggling, and even Eren tilted his head in agreement, smiling.
Ymir sighed, "Why do you have to be the most beautiful human ever? Look at all my competition."
"Stop teasing," Christa pouted, now very red, though feeling as peaceful and light as a cloud in a pretty blue sky. She was glad the tension had eased and the atmosphere wasn't as stifling now.
She didn't know the other short blonde girl well. Annie had mostly kept to herself and had rarely talked to her. Christa had no idea what to think of the situation. She hated the idea of one of her comrades, someone that was supposed to be their friend, was a traitor and responsible for causing so much misery.
"Well, we should rejoin the formation as soon as possible," Christa said.
"Yeah," Jean agreed, "there should be orders to retreat." The four quickly rode away. "To think we've been pushed back, less than an hour out of the Walls. This isn't a good start. And for some reason, that monster didn't go for command up front either."
"Monster?" Christa repeated.
Suddenly, green flares flew toward the sky in front of the forest to their left.
"Green round?" Jean said, startled.
"Looks like they're continuing the operation, only changing course," Armin said.
"What? That wasn't a retreat command?" Christa asked.
"What is Commander Erwin thinking?" Jean demanded.
"We can all see when an operation is impossible to continue. Did command not see our smoke round somehow?" Reiner said.
"There's still only one thing for us to do. Follow the order!" Armin fired a green smoke round.
They're both smart, but, Erwin thought, Arlert is more practical while Kirstein is more...humanistic. Armin was more like him. When it came down to it, he would make decisions based on how likely it would fulfill the objective while Jean's decisions would be based on which would be least likely to get his comrades killed.
|~|
"Smoke round. Green." Levi looked in the distance. "Oluo, you fire it."
"Roger."
For now, everything seems to be going fine. Eren watched his senior firing off a green flare. But is it really? We may already have casualties on the front lines.
"Reporting in!" A Scout neared them. "Attack from the rear!" He told Levi. "Right flank recon has been destroyed!" Eren looked horrified. "Our recon system is partially inoperative. Pass this on, to the left."
"Did you hear that, Petra?" Levi turned calmly to her. "Go."
"Yes, sir," the redhead veered off to the left.
The right flank? I think that's where Armin is. Eren thought. But Armin and the others should still be closer to the center. The Titans can't have made it in that far. He reassured himself. A black round? He heard the shots and saw the dark smoke. "Abnormals!"
"Eren, you fire it."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"What a mess. They managed to reach this deep into our formation," Levi muttered.
Eren fired off the round. The Titans are so nearby. Beneath those smoke rounds, someone's fighting.
|~|
The Female Titan appeared, running, with Scouts chasing after her.
They're going to die. Ymir grimaced.
The hook shot in front of her and a soldier flew by, causing her to cover her nape.
"Shit!" Darius, a soldier on the ground on horseback, cursed. "Look over here." He pointed his flare gun at her. "You damn monster!" He fired off a shot and she tilted her head to the side and dodged it. "Now!"
Three Scouts were flying toward her from different directions.
"Three separate attacks at once. You're pretty smart, but you can't possibly protect all three targets! Spine, Achilles tendon, it doesn't matter! Hit one, and we will slow it down. Go!"
Levi and Petra in particular paid close attention.
Hange was ready, as well, to write anything of importance that could help them capturing her easier and more effective or win against her if it came to a fight.
"Damn you for causing so many deaths!" He went to her legs.
"We'll make you die a slow, painful death!" A different Scout came at her from above.
The Female Titan grabbed one of the wires and jumped.
"It jumped?"
She looked down at the soldier in midair and came down on him, squashing him beneath her foot. One soldier landed on the ground and skid back and she kicked him against the building.
"Wha—" The last of the trio stared fearfully at her, voice shaking as she held him by a wire, watching him. "L-let me go!"
Darius looked ill, seeing her approach, spinning the young man as if he were a toy.
"His insides must be scrambled," Jean flinched, face pale.
"She could have killed him easily but she's playing with him instead," Christa looked sick.
Annie wouldn't be so cruel and low. Eren thought.
"She's intelligent, coming up with a way to avoid all three," Petra noted. "And her reflexes are fast. She was immediately able to pull off the maneuver."
Levi grunted in agreement. "She might even be harder to take down than the other two in combat. The Armored Titan has a protective layer but it makes him slow. The Colossal Titan is even slower, its height making balance, even only standing up without help, virtually impossible. In theory at least." They weren't one hundred percent sure the Colossal could support its weight and be mobile.
"But it is easier to trap her and keep her restrained," Hange said, feeling confident. "We'll get her."
The Scout yanked the reins, turning around to race away. She followed him, releasing her grip on the wire and sending the soldier's body flying.
They glared at such an offensive display.
There was no need for that! Jean thought angrily.
That piece of shit is fucking sick and needs to die! Eren gritted his teeth.
Darius raced across a small wooden bridge and continued on. "I need to report this immediately. Who would've foreseen a Titan like that? I need to tell everyone!" He looked over his shoulder and cried out in fear.
A massive reddish-pink foot appeared behind him, launching both the soldier and the horse into the sky. Two Scouts noticed her.
"An abnormal?"
"It got in all the way here? We'll take it out!"
"We can't let it get further in!"
The two raced toward the standing female giant.
|~|
Row 3/1 Wagon, the upper part in the middle of the formation.
"The right flank's been wiped out? But we aren't withdrawing? Why?!"
"No idea. The commander's orders. Just relay the message to the left!"
|~|
The Female Titan glanced up, over half a dozen bloody patches on the grass around her. She then took off.
"You're going to come up with a new plan, right?" Sasha asked.
"At the rate she's going, she'll annihilate half the Survey Corps before she finds Eren!" Jean said.
"It should be easy, now that you know where there's going to be trouble," Christa said. "And, eventually, who she is."
"We definitely plan to fix all our mistakes and make the plan as foolproof as possible, resulting in the highest chances of success and the least amount of deaths possible," Erwin told them.
The expedition is only days away. Mikasa thought. It was too late to make any significant changes. They would have to go through with the plan and make sure they could improve it in the next few days.
|~|
Two unseen Scouts on the left flank spoke.
"What's going on? We keep heading east."
"Our goal is supposed to be south, to the old city."
|~|
1/5 Vanguard, on the upper left side of the formation.
"Right now, our formation's on a collision course."
"Yeah. You can see it now. The Forest of Giant Trees."
It's the perfect place for an ambush. Petra thought. The large trees served well for escaping out of Titans' reach—to rest and strategize or wait in safety if injured, all depending on the situation—and it made utilizing the 3D gear very easy. They could hide the cannons and other weapons as well as soldiers high up in the looming trees. If they lured her in deep enough, we could easily give chase and stop her from escaping if she tried.
The location was ideal and, knowing Hange, the trap and the weapons would be effective as well. Eren was bait and, with Squad Levi guarding him, they'd bring her in and spring the trap. Everything was perfect up until then. But if she escapes, it'll be up to us to stop her. And they had no idea what she could do.
Already not knowing her abilities to call other Titans would cause a headache for their future-selves on TV, she just knew it. Petra didn't like their chances of catching the Female Titan if she sent an army of giants their way as she ran off. What else could she do? If we're going to defeat her, we have to think of her as basically a 15-meter human with the ability to regenerate. And if she really was Annie Leonhart, they'd be in even more trouble because of her expertise in hand-to-hand combat.
|~|
"Seems Titans passed through here. There's nothing growing on the road," Erwin noticed. "We can bring the carts through, too." They passed by a few broken, single-story buildings, sitting before massive trees. "Send word to the rear that only the central cart guard should enter the forest."
"Yes, sir!"
Two Scouts split off, leaving the three to go deeper into the forest.
|~|
Sasha watched them disappear and turned to her squad leader. "Excuse me, sir. The center row appears to be entering the forest. Wouldn't the rest of us collide with the forest?"
"We're going around."
"Yes, sir!"
|~|
"Hey, what are we doing at this tourist spot? We're totally off from both our original destination and our return point," Jean said, riding beside Armin.
"I don't know. I don't know, but the order came from Commander Erwin, after all. He must have a plan."
"What kind of plan? Are they planning to hold a welcome party for us new recruits at a tourist spot?"
That remark elicited some snorts and chuckles.
"The MP Brigade's new recruits have a welcoming ceremony," Connie said quietly to Sasha so Levi wouldn't overhear.
"I bet they have meat there," she replied dreamily.
"No," Armin answered, "I don't think so."
"That was a joke," Jean said. "Anyway, that giant woman's following us. No matter what his plan, we can't stay here. The only thing I can imagine is that we're passing through on our way to somewhere else."
"Everyone, halt!" Their squad leader began explaining once they'd dismounted their horses and tied them to the trees, "Listen up, recruits, and listen well. We will now enter ambush formations. Draw your blades, and wait above in the trees. If any Titans try to enter this forest, stop them at all costs!"
That's not gonna work. Hange thought. We didn't anticipate the Shifter being able to draw Titans, making them ignore humans and follow her without a second thought. If the Female Titan used her ability, the giants would rush into the forest all at once. And we'd be the ones who get ambushed.
There was no way for them to make all the Titans in the vicinity follow the soldiers and get them far, far away from the forest. That was too dangerous and would reveal their trap. But if I can find out how she can call the Titans to her, then maybe we could prevent her from getting help. The scientist thought.
How did she call them? She is most likely female. So she may be able to secrete a pheromone that can trigger abnormal behavior in normal Titans. If that were the case, they were screwed. Hange hoped it was something they would be able to prevent.
"U-Um, sir, what do you—"
"Shut up and follow orders!" Their squad leader flew up to stand on a sturdy branch on the tree behind him.
"Seriously?" Jean said. "What the hell's going on?" His comrades, Armin being the exception, looked on in silence, unsure themselves.
|~|
"H-Hey," Connie turned to Mikasa, "it looks like only the center line went into the woods. What happened to the formation?"
"The formation's gone." At her words, an image of a round cluster of trees appeared with some blue horses heading into the opening in the front while the rest went around. "The forest blocks our advance, so the left and right flanks will have to skirt the forest. We've lost our recon ability."
"Why didn't we change course to avoid this forest? Did Commander Erwin read the map wrong?"
They chucked at his words.
The veterans, having known the man the longest, found that especially funny.
"I don't know," Mikasa replied. "Perhaps we tried too hard to avoid the threat on the right flank and ended up here."
|~|
Elsewhere, the edge of the forest appeared, beautiful and peaceful. One soldier stood per tree, everyone standing almost the same height as one another. "This is insane. We've abandoned the original mission of establishing an outer Wall base." Jean's voice was heard.
One by one, shots of the others appeared: Christa, Ymir, Bert, Reiner, Mikasa, and Sasha, all listening quietly, looking out at the open field.
"And when we abandoned it, we should've turned tail and run. But instead, we're forging ahead to a tourist trap. And now, we're just standing here, to stop any Titans that enter the woods?" Jean looked to their superior. "Damn asshole… Giving a stupid order."
"Technically he's following the commander's orders," Hange teased. "Are you calling Erwin an asshole and an idiot?"
"I haven't said anything yet!" Jean defended. They couldn't punish him for badmouthing his superior when it hadn't happened.
"He'll hear you," Armin said.
"And this no real explanation thing is innovative, too. Of course, I'm sure he's not feeling too safe either."
"What do you mean?"
"They say a leader who's lost all respect from his team quite often succumbs to a mysterious attack from behind," Jean held up one of his swords. "I'm just saying it wouldn't surprise me."
All eyes were now on the ash-haired teen.
"What? I'm not being serious."
"Sounded pretty serious to me," Mikasa said.
Jean rolled his eyes. "Didn't you guys hear?" He pointed at the screen. "I was just saying. It's not like I'd ever do that."
Some of them looked skeptical. Erwin knew he wouldn't. He doubted the teen had it in him. At least, not now. If the situation were really critical, and countless lives were on the line, he wondered though.
"Jean, what are you going to do?" Armin asked almost nervously.
"Don't be so serious. This situation's got me a bit worked up, that's all. What am I going to do? Obey my orders, and keep Titans out of the forest. You also think it's the right move, don't you?" Jean asked, the other teen straightening at his words. "Ah. You look like you know something."
"Well…"
"Five-meter class incoming!"
Why bring the formation here? What is Commander Erwin thinking? Armin thought. No, that isn't what we should think about. The Female Titan is pursuing Eren. And the commander knows that. Assume those two things, and see what you can deduce.
|~|
"Captain!" Eren called out. "Captain Levi!"
"What?"
"What do you mean 'what?' We're in the middle of the woods! If the center enters alone, we won't know if Titans are approaching! It seems something's approaching us from the right. How are we supposed to dodge the Titans or protect the carts?"
We can't. Eren thought. It was so obvious. Why was he asking such stupid questions and embarrassing himself by freaking out?
"Don't go on and on about the obvious," Levi drawled. "We can't do that anymore, of course."
"Th-Then why?"
"Look around, Eren. At all these big-ass trees. It's the perfect environment for 3D maneuver gear. And try to use that tiny brain of yours. If you don't want to die, think."
"Yes, sir!" Eren replied. I see. I just can't keep up right now because I'm still new. He won't just tell me the answer. I have to figure it out for myself. I'm sure that's how they all learned to fight. The Shifter looked to his comrades and was surprised that they didn't seem to know either.
"What the fuck? Seriously? Damn it all. What the hell is going on here?" Oluo mumbled to himself.
That better be the trap of the century. Ymir thought. Otherwise she couldn't see how they would survive if Annie managed to reach Eren.
Eren looked around, Petra was staring ahead, nervous and unsure, while Erd and Gunther looked apprehensive. Wait! Don't tell me… No one…knows what's really going on? He stared ahead at their captain. Maybe…not even Captain Levi?
"Wrong," Levi rolled his eyes. "I'm in charge of you, of course I would know. Don't be such an idiot."
|~|
The Female Titan is after Eren. Armin thought. If I'm right about that, then there's only one reason to come here. This is where Commander Erwin intends to deal with the Female Titan.
"Damn Armin, you're so smart!" Connie said. "Even Jean didn't figure that out."
"Shut up, not like you did either."
"Armin," Jean's voice snapped the boy out of his thoughts. "Our orders were to keep the Titans out of the forest, right?"
Armin followed his gaze, startled to see a dozen Titans clawing at the trees, trying to get to them, just between the two of them alone.
"That's fucking creepy," Connie said.
Sasha shivered, "Very creepy."
"In other words… There's no longer any reason to fight…right?"
Around them, the rest of the recruits watched the giants with various expressions, some nervous, some blank-faced.
An overhead shot of the treetops appeared. A spark and suddenly, there was a trail of black smoke reaching toward the sky.
"A black smoke round!" Eren spotted it first.
"It's from directly behind us!" Gunther said.
"It's that thing that's been chasing us from the right," Erd looked over his shoulder.
"Draw your blades." Levi pulled out one of his swords. "If that thing decides to show itself, we won't have any time." His words caused tensed expressions to break out on his team's faces.
The music's so freaky! Christa thought. The music and the nervousness were causing her heart to pound like crazy.
A Scout shot out of the trees, looking at something hidden in the greenery.
"What's with the music?" Sasha asked nervously.
Mikasa tightened her grip on her boys.
Suddenly, the Female Titan appeared, swatting the soldier and racing forward. Eren gasped at the sight of her.
"Run!" Levi ordered.
Petra watched the Female Titan, running almost parallel to them.
Eren cried out when she lunged toward them, breaking a tree that was in her way.
Some let out noises of surprise as well, everyone oozing tension.
Eren was looking utterly terrified as she smiled a creepy smile of triumph, having finally found him. "It's fast!"
"We can't get away in this forest!" Gunther said.
"It's catching up to us!" Erd yelled.
"Captain, can we switch to maneuver gear?!" Petra asked. Levi didn't reply, looking silently over his shoulder. "Captain!"
"Say something!" Mikasa whispered harshly under her breath.
"You won't escape!" A Scout emerged from behind her.
"Reinforcements from behind!" Petra said.
By now the viewers knew better than to get their hopes up.
The Female Titan tilted her head to dodge the hook and grabbed it, yanking it to bring the soldier close and rammed her shoulder against a tree with him between them, crushing him. Another soldier attacked and the Female Titan grabbed her wire and threw her over her shoulder.
"Captain, your orders?!" Petra cried out in panic.
Everyone in the room was leaning forward, anxiety at an all-time high.
"Let's go for it!" Oluo yelled. "That thing's dangerous! We should kill it!"
"I'll turn it into mincemeat!" Erd pulled out his sword, looking furious.
That fucking idiot walked straight into hell. Eren looked at the Female Titan. You're chasing a group of master Titan killers!
It was then the recruits understood. They're scared but not frozen in terror! Mikasa thought. They're waiting for their orders! Surely, that must mean they were confident in their abilities to kill the Female Titan, didn't it? If it had been her, she'd have attacked already.
Eren turned back to their captain, who hadn't spoken a word. "Captain Levi?"
"Captain!"
"Give us your orders."
"At this rate, it will catch up with us!"
"We'll kill it here. That's why we came to this forest! Right, Captain?"
"Captain, your orders!"
Levi finally looked at them, "Everyone, cover your ears." He pulled out his flare gun and fired off a round.
|~|
Everyone took a few moments to catch their breaths and get their heartbeats under control.
"Everyone's alive so far," Petra said optimistically.
"Let's hope it stays that way," Mikasa nodded.
"I can't believe you didn't take off," Connie said to Petra.
She wasn't exaggerating or trying to be cool when she said their job is to follow orders and eliminate threats. Ymir thought. Despite their obvious terror, the Special Ops Squad had stuck loyally by their captain's side and waited for instruction.
"I would've been like see ya, suckers! I'm out! and high tailed it outta there!" Connie's words were met with giggles.
Sasha nodded, "I would've been halfway out of the forest!"
They began to joke, each one more ridiculous than the previous.
"The forest?" Jean snorted. "I would've been halfway home!"
"I've been halfway around the world!" Ymir joked.
"I would've been halfway to the moon!" Christa giggled.
Jean's words about soldiers turning on their superiors in a seemingly hopeless situation suddenly popped back into Armin's head. They didn't abandon him or curse him or anything. No wonder they're such an elite team. They trusted him to lead them well and he had faith in them to rise to the challenge.
I need to learn to transform at a moment's notice and control my Titan. Eren thought resolutely. Training by fighting with the other Scouts, he could save so many soldiers without fear of accidentally killing them instead. His fellow squad members were all extremely skilled and he needed to master his own abilities so they could become a truly formidable team.
"Everything's going well," Hange smiled. "The plan's working so far." Hearing that soothed the new recruits. Who knew how many had been killed but it seemed it wasn't total chaos. They would accomplish the mission objective.
Despite the fact they and the people they cared about were surviving, worry gnawed at Levi's stomach. He simply could not shake the feeling something was inevitably going to go wrong because, in his life and experience, something usually did. We can stop it. He thought. If something goes wrong, we'll know and we have the power to change the future. With Candy on their side, fate might not be able to screw him over like it always has.
"Let's see if she falls for our trap," Erwin said.
~ Please Review❤️ I hope you had a great weekend😊