After you had skimmed through Moblit's book, you joined the others in their pained and silent demeanour, none meeting each other's gazes.
"I'm counting on you, Onyankopon", you heard Armin say as he exited the cockpit. He was already making sure to take his newly appointed role of Commander seriously; being the first one to shake himself out of the paralyzed state everyone else seemed to be in. He felt as though he owed Hange that much.
"Okay, let's discuss our plan", Armin spoke up, sitting down on the floor between the rest of you to gain your attention. Armin started patting his pockets, and you immediately caught on as to what he was looking for.
"Here", you said, handing him one of your trusty pencils you always keep on you. He took it with an appreciative nod, aiming his focus on the floor in front of him.
"Y/N, Marco, Pieck... You said you saw the new form of the Founding Titan, is this what it looked like?", Armin asked, having drawn a pretty accurate image of the monstrosity you saw in Shiganshina directly onto the floor of the flying boat.
"Yes... though we only really saw the back end of it", Marco answered, motioning at the two of you with his finger.
"It basically looks like a big pile of bones, almost like a ribcage, but the bones were moving. It reminded me of a bug walking honestly...", you said grossed out.
"Normally the body controlling it would be in its nape, but we can't be sure considering what the War Hammer Titan did", Levi pondered.
"In other words... We don't know where Eren is", Armin concluded with a sigh.
"Even if we don't, we could always blow the whole thing away... Like when you flattened Liberio's navy port and left nothing behind; Your colossal titan could do it", Pieck said, and Armin's face turned slightly pained.
He paused for a moment, thinking...
"True, that would be the most effective way to do it. But only if we've tried and failed to have a dialogue with Eren. Only if that is the only way left to stop him... It's our last resort", he then said, putting much emphasis on the last sentence. You completely agreed; you shouldn't just rush to end him, there had to be another way.
"I'm fine with us having a last resort", Levi started saying. "But Eren's controlling the Founding Titan through Zeke, right? Can't we stop the rumbling if we just went and killed Zeke?". You widened your eyes as you looked at him. That was true... Hmm, maybe there really was a way for you to get to Eren that didn't require hurting him? What Levi was saying certainly made sense if you take everything you've learned about the Founder into consideration.
You felt the dangerous feeling of hope flare up within your chest, silently fighting it as you've learned times before that getting ahead of yourself always ends with a broken heart.
"You know... you might be right", Armin said after a short moment of processing his words.
"I'm not certain, but that's what Hange predicted—"
"We don't know Zeke's location, either though...", Pieck calmly interrupted him.
"Then we just have to find that furry bastard inside those bones", Levi said determined. "I'll stop Zeke, just... lend me your strength", he finished saying, and everyone looked at him gently.
"Captain... Of course", Jean agreed. "We had to kill hordes of our allies to get this flying boat in the air... We can't allow that to be a meaningless slaughter. This is all in order to stop the rumbling. I'll do anything it takes", he pledged.
"Jean", Reiner said in a whisper.
Connie turned in his seat, seemingly something on his mind as he sighed. "I... I shot and killed Samuel and Daz... Sliced up those faces I knew until they were unrecognizable, all while they called me a traitor, while they kept telling me they were saving the world...", he paused, looking up at Reiner, pained. "You, Bertholdt, Annie... It must have been awful for you", he croaked out, much to Reiner's surprise. His expression showed you how perplexed he was over the fact that he was shown any form of understanding when it came to what he did to you all.
"Yes, I've thought about that too...". Reiner now looked at you wide-eyed. "It wasn't until I stared into the desperate and betrayed eyes of our friends, screaming and calling us fraternizers, that I really understood what Bertholdt meant that day you captured Eren... That someone has to be the ones to stain their hands with blood... It couldn't have been easy for the three of you, forced into such conflicting predicaments", you admitted, with your head hung low. Reiner took in every word you two said before inhaling deeply.
"My... My sins are beyond redemption. I doubt I'll ever forgive myself for what I did.. Even if I manage to save what's left of humanity...". Reiner looked up from his hand, a more confident expression replacing his hurt one. He took a step forward, reaching out to place one hand on each of yours and Connie's shoulder, immediately grabbing both of yours' attention. "So... well... Let's at least save the rest of humanity".
You blinked up at him, almost like you could physically see the stamp reading 'traitor' that you labelled him with all those years ago, peel off to reveal the face of the man you cared for as a brother.
"Yeah", you smiled slightly, with a sheepish sigh.
"You're right. Even if we can't be redeemed, we've still got to do this I guess", Connie said with a sheepish smile, placing his hand atop Reiner's. Reiner didn't say much, but you could see how much he appreciated it.
"That's right". Jean speaking up again had Reiner remove his hands from you as he looked over at him expectantly. He still didn't properly know how to act around him, feeling like he had to walk on eggshells whenever Jean was close by. "We're the same... Reiner", Jean looked up at him. "I never had any right to blame you for anything. I became a murderer in order to save others, same as you". Reiner seemed even more perplexed by Jean's statement, before his face sunk once again.
"Yeah... Eren told me the same thing... the night of the raid on Liberio", Reiner started saying lowly. "I... I feel like I kind of understand what Eren's thinking. Eren... might want us to stop him, no?", he kind of asked you. You furrowed your brows at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Eh... That's just how it feels to me", he said, not much to back up his theory.
"I've always wondered about something...", Armin spoke up for the first time after quietly listening in on your conversation for a while. "Eren is able to affect the actions of every titan and Eldian, but we're still able to use the power of the titans the way we always could..."
"Are you saying that Eren is choosing not to interfere with us?", Pieck asked him intrigued.
"Yes. He's letting us act freely. Almost as if he's testing us to see what we'll do". This was an entirely new thing to wrap your head around, and you desperately tried to reach for an explanation as to why he'd do that.
"Why? Even though we might be able to stop the rumbling?", Mikasa asked your internal question out loud.
"It's the same for him.... It has to be painful for him too. Slaughtering all of humanity isn't something you can just endure. If it was me... I'd probably want someone else to handle the power of the Founder by now. And if I couldn't... I'd want to be stopped. By someone...", Reiner thought out loud, looking over at Mikasa, who seemed to be confused as to why he looked at her specifically.
You opened your mouth as to comment on something, when that distinct, gruelling headache had you all reach for your heads with unitized groans.
As your eyes fluttered open, you found yourself back in that strange place, a sea of sand beneath your feet, with that ginormous glowing tree, shining its blue-ish light upon you from the distance.
Everyone else was there too, looking around and exchanging confused looks between yourselves.
"Not again", Jean muttered.
"What, he hear us or something?", Levi asked sarcastic, but the timing of it all pointed to the fact that Eren might actually have heard your conversation somehow.
"Eren! Please listen to us!", Armin yelled with all his might. "You've done enough!! I'm sure that no one is going to put a hand on Paradis for centuries to come now!! That's just how much fear and destruction you've brought! You can still agree to a non-aggression pact and end this! You don't have to kill anyone else! The island is fine now!!". Armin paused to take a deep breath, before increasing his volume one last time. "We were wrong! We're the ones who forced you to this point!!".
Everyone listened to Armin intently, chests heaving as your own conflicting feelings stared to flare.
"Eren...", Jean mumbled pained. "EREN!! We'll figure out the rest from here!! So... you don't have to keep slaughtering people for our sake!", he then yelled the same way Armin did.
"Yeah... That's right!", Connie said, tears streaming. "EREN!! I hated you over what happened to Sasha... But now I know that you must have been as sad as the rest of us, right?! And yet... I never even considered what it must've been like to be in your position!!"
You felt the need to speak your mind too, chest heaving so intensely it felt like you were about to combust.
"Eren, please! We don't hate you! We want you to come back to us! We'll figure out a solution together, like we should have done from the start! Like we always used to do!!", you pleaded from the top of your lungs.
"Yes, Eren, please just talk to us! That's all we're asking!!", Marco chimed in.
Everyone came to a pause, intently trying to catch any signs indicating he was in fact listening.
"Eren...", Mikasa's voice was calm, gentle... Nothing like the rest of yours' screams. But yet, her tone was laced with the same intense emotions as you. "I... want to share the burden of you sins with you. We're all guilty of the same sins... So please; stop avoiding us like this... So please; come back to us". Her voice was sweet, almost trembling as tears formed in her eyes at her last plea.
Nothing...
"Hear that, Eren? Stop now and I'll let you off with an ass-kicking", Levi said, but as he got no response, he added; "Hey. Why don't you speak up for a change?".
Nothing...
Armin's gaze hardened as a wave of pure frustration and impatience washed over him. He knew, almost better than anyone, that Eren was the type of guy you had to be patient with, but he had just about had it at that point, considering everything you've done to get here.
"EREN?!", he screamed once again, tone much more demanding this time.
"The rumbling will not stop". Eren's voice boomed across the area. "I won't let fate decide Paradis's future. I will keep moving forward"
You all looked up at the starry sky, perplexed. What is he saying?
"Hey", Levi said firmly, pointing in the direction of the glowing tree. The rest of you immediately turned around, spotting a small figure standing in front of it.
'Holy shit, Eren?!'
"Eren!!", Mikasa yelled out, immediately sprinting towards him like her life depended on it, with you, Armin, Jean, Connie and Marco right at her heels. You were still running, the distance covering your initial spot and the tree was vast. However, upon further inspection, the figure was way to small to be someone your age.
"Huh?! Isn't that... a kid?!", Jean exclaimed between shaky and exhausted breaths, everyone pushing themselves extra hard to be able to keep up with Mikasa.
"But... That's—"
"Eren!", you finished Armin sentence as you suddenly recognized his child-self standing completely still in front of the tree. Mikasa gasped upon getting a better look at him.
"EREN!", she cried out once more, desperate.
"Why not Eren?! Are you saying you can't trust us?!", Jean asked.
"Why are you still letting us use the power of the titans?! We can talk all we want now that we're here, right?! So talk to us!! We're always going to be together!! Please, don't go any further away from us than you already have!", Armin now yelled, gasping for air.
"Eren!?", you called out loudly as he wouldn't give Armin any answers.
"In order to gain my own freedom,- I will take freedom away from the world. But, I won't take anything from any of you. You are all free"
You did a double take as what once was Eren's lone figure in front of you, turned into three familiar ones. Somehow, even though you all ran as straight forward as possible, you ended up back where you started, behind Reiner, Pieck and Levi...
The lot of you immediately stopped, heaving for your breaths as you exchanged perplexed looks with the rest.
"You have the freedom to defend the world's freedom, and I have the freedom to continue moving forward. But as long as we both have our unbreakable conviction... we will collide"
A new figure had taken a place beside Eren, seemingly a young girl.
"There's only one thing for us to do... Fight"
Your mouth went slightly agape as you listened; this was nothing like how you expected a conversation like this with him to go.
"What... Then, why? Why'd you call us here?", Armin asked confused.
"So I could speak to you, and tell you there's no need for us to speak. If you want to stop me.. then try to stop me from ever taking another breath. You are all free..."
You blinked confused as the image of the glowing tree was replaced with the metal walls of the flying boat. Tears were streaming down your face, and everyone seemed to be processing Eren's ultimatum.
"What... What happened?!", Onyankopon asked worried, as he was the only one who stayed right where he was thanks to him being free of any Eldian ties. To him you all sort of collapsed in pain at the same time, and stayed that way for a minute or so, but to you it was like you've been gone for at least an hour.
'Stop him from ever taking another breath? Could he really mean that?! How could we ever do such a thing? Eren, I don't understand!'
You wrapped your arms around your legs, pressing them to your chest.
Mikasa was down on all fours, crying with Armin crouched down beside her.
"Well... it looks like my prediction was right...", Reiner said strained with a low voice.
"Is there really nothing we can do?", you asked airy, feeling the continuous stream of silent tears flow down your cheeks as your body reacted to the sorrow and frustration quicker than your mind ever could. To your right, Marco sat with his hands buried into his hair, tightly gripping it while propping his elbows against his thighs.
"There goes any hope for negotiations, I guess... Now what?... Commander...", Levi asked beat, looking over at Armin.
There was really only one thing left for you to do; To keep moving forwards.
~
"Damn!! The engine is barely moving now!", Onyankopon exclaimed strained, clinging onto the controllers of the flying boat for dear life as it wriggled and shook in the air. The rest of you were holding onto anything stable you could find to keep yourselves steady. The door was now open, the strong suction it created was enough to yank any of you out without a seconds notice if you weren't careful. Onyankopon had increased the speed immensely, to be able to just about reach your destination before the fuel tank was empty.
"We're about to jump out! Hurry and come with us, Onyankopon!", Armin yelled over the rumbling noises of the propellers and engines.
"Not yet! I'm piloting us until we're right above the Founder!! I'll make an emergency landing after that! So just promise me you'll get out where you can land directly on the Founding Titan, understand?!", he yelled back, and you scrunched your brows together. Was he really able to push the flying boat so far that he'd be able to save himself?
"Onyankopon, watch out!". Your thoughts were interrupted by Marco yelling, as he spotted hundreds of crushed stones the size of your upper body, coming soaring through the sky, right at you.
"Ahh, hold on!!", he screamed, before he swiftly spun the whole thing around. You all groaned and whimpered in agony as the impact of several stones to the flying boat in addition to it spinning sent you flying; slamming into every available surface inside the flying boat.
"So he's here...", Levi said through gritted teeth once you stopped tumbling. "That fucking monkey!"
"That saves us the trouble of finding him!", Armin said confident. "The target of our attack is the Beast Titan!! We'll use all our forces to destroy him! We're stopping the rumbling!". You all looked at him with firm expression and nodded intently.
This was it. There was no backing down from this. You either stop the rumbling or die trying; and you sure as hell would rather choose the former.
You reached out behind you, clumsily taking Marco's hand into yours, giving it a soft squeeze. You then turned to look at him, meeting his fiery gaze that was already set on you. Every emotion was there; love, regret, worry, determination... You smiled a small but sincere smile,- one telling him; 'I love you, no matter what happens today'. Instantly he returned it, bringing your hand up to his lips, giving it a soft but emotion filled, chaste kiss, squeezing his eyes shut as his mouth lingered atop your skin for just a little longer. You could swear a look of pure pain flashed in his eyes right before his eyelids shut, but once he opened them, they were gentle. Gentle and loving, the way only Marco's eyes can be. And if life itself wasn't motivation enough for you to strive for survival, Marco's eyes certainly was. You simply had to see them again; Watch them glimmer as they look your way- full of life-, and not dull as his beautiful and kind soul leave his body for good.
Onyankopon angled the flying boat to the left. "NOW! FLY!!", he ordered. You squeezed his hand just once more, before letting go and turning to face the direction of the door. Then as right on cue; Armin jumped out with the rest of you following him in order.
"Eren!!", Armin yelled as you free-fell from the greatest distance you've ever fell. Not even the walls were this high, this must be at least 10 times the height of the wall... if not higher.
Your eyes widened as you spotted more of the giant rocks being thrown your way.
"AAAAGH!"
"Dammit!!"
You all braced yourselves, not sure how you could ever safely manoeuvre through that without anything to connect your gear to.
"Reiner!", Jean exclaimed behind you. You turned your gaze to your right, watching as Reiner surpassed all of you, before biting down on his hand. Golden lighting erupted, the stones once ploughing their way through the air now gone, as they disintegrated the second they smashed against Reiner's hardened plates.
He fell even quicker now, considering the weight of his titan, and quickly smacked a hard punch right at the Beast, disconnecting him from whatever cord-like strings that was attached to him.
The second you reached one of the many high spikes on the Founding's back, you attached your gear to it, gradually slowing down the speed of your fall until you could come to a halt without snapping your necks in the process.
Another round of golden lightning erupted as Pieck finally reached the spikes, and she slid her way down with the chain of explosives safely clutched between her teeth.
As Reiner wrestled with the Beast, you continued moving, everyone concentrating their main focus on that damned furry monster.
Armin and Jean went down to stand atop Reiner's shoulders while the rest of you stood fastened along the many bones sticking right up towards the sky. Upon further inspection, it seems as though the Beast wasn't really fighting back...
"No wonder he's not putting up a fight, he's already a husk", Levi said annoyed while eyeing the empty, decaying body of the Beast down below.
"So Zeke really is using the same technique as the Warhammer Titan... He's hiding his own body", you could just about hear Armin say.
"In that case... Are you telling me we have to find something as small as half a human body in the mountain of bones?!", Jean asked him with a raised voice. You felt your hands twitch,- this was not how things were supposed to go... "There's no possible way! We just have to accept what this means", Jean then said, and you clenched your hands around the handles of your gear.
'It wasn't supposed to come to this!'
"Armin!!"
"I know!!", Armin retorted strained. He was clearly internally debating the best course of action. "We're blowing this place apart in one minute from now!", he then yelled, looking directly up at you all. "Work with the cart titan to get away!".
You looked over at Mikasa, seeing the almost betrayed look in her eyes as she eyed her friend. Seems like Armin caught on.
"Eren expects this attack from me! I can't imagine this killing him!! But, blowing all these bones away might help us figure out where Eren and Zeke are!", he elaborated, which seemed to be enough for Mikasa.
"Let's go Mikasa", you eventually said as people started to move. She looked at you for a lingering second, before giving you a curt nod.
"If you feel like you really need to, just blow it all up! You don't need to worry about us!", Jean could be heard yelling to Armin before he too started moving in the same direction as you.
You felt conflicted as you swung your way between the giant bones,- so much for not putting Eren in danger... With an audible sigh, you tried to start the process of acceptance towards the fact that this day might end completely different than what you planned for it to. Although, that's how thing usually goes in the Survey Corps,- it always have. You set out to do one thing, but somehow you're always put on the spot; new challenges and miscalculations showing up when you least expect it.
And this day was no exception...
Your limbs froze as you heard a muffled, gurgling shriek, turning around immediately. You just about managed to see Armin getting caught in between the teeth of a titan you've never seen before; its tongue stuffing itself in his mouth before it closed its jaws around him.
"Armin!", you shrieked, changing directions without a second thought.
"NO!", Mikasa screamed even louder, following you, but you both stopped dead in your tracks upon seeing the sight unfolding right before your eyes.
"H-how?", you said to yourself amazed, airy. A short distance away, titan after titan, all looking like variants of the nine, appeared from the bones.
Just as quick as you had moved towards Armin, you turned back around, stopping once you reached Reiner's shoulder.
"What do we do?!", you yelled out to the rest, desperate. Whatever your plan would be, it was important that everyone was on the same page.
"We've got no choice but to fight back, they are already charging right at us!", Jean exclaimed above you, and you dumbfoundedly watched the terrifying sight of giant titans sprinting directly towards you with determined steps.
'Us eight against hundreds of titans?!'
You clenched every muscle in your body, before releasing the tension with a frustrated sigh.
"Here they come Reiner, we've got your back!", you said as two titans, looking suspiciously a lot like a Warhammer and an Attack Titan, closed in on you rapidly. You swiftly got away from there as to not be caught in the crossfire, spotting a Female Titan close in from behind.
Before the Female could bite his nape, Marco swooped in just in time to kill it with a single blow to its neck with a thunder spear. You sent Connie a look, and simultaneously you aimed at the Warhammer and Attack titan; blowing away their napes.
"Who are these guys?", Jean asked strained as you and Marco joined him atop Reiner's shoulder once more. "Not pure titans it seems... They're watching us and coordinating their attacks", Jean concluded by the way the many titans circling you stayed completely still.
"What should we do?! We'll run out of thunder spears in no time!! And, is Armin even alive?!", Connie yelled despaired from above. You were definitely in way over your heads right now...
"He should have turned into a titan immediately if there was so much as a scratch on him,- in other words, he's captured but unwounded", Levi said, giving the part of you still worried sick about Armin, a peace of mind. "He's been taken to Eren's ass, though, and now there's all these titans between us and him...".
The sea of titans separating you from Armin had grown larger, and there was truly no way of sneaking past them at all.
"Even if I was in top shape, I still wouldn't choose to charge into that. So stay calm", he ordered. Mikasa looked ready to charge though. "Mikasa, don't rush. Wait for me to gain their attention. I'll act as bait—"
"That won't be possible Captain", Pieck's voice spoke through her titan. "I've figured out who they are... Those are the nine titans... from throughout the ages". With this all your jaws dropped. You already thought they looked uncannily a lot like the nine, but you'd never have thought that was what they actually were.
'How is that even possible?! They're supposed to be dead!'
"I don't know if these previous inheritors have minds of their own or not... But it must be possible to resurrect an infinite number of them if you have the power of the Founding Titan. This is an army of veteran titans created only for battle. We need to be decisive here", she continued on saying, in the end sounding more like she was talking to herself. "I was never friends with Eren anyway. So...". You all turned around to look at her as she said this, watching as she started making her way towards the Founder's head with the explosives dangling from her mouth.
"Hey!!"
"That little—"
"Pieck, what are you doing?!", you screamed after her.
"Look! It's obvious we should strike here first!! I've always been focused on one point from the very start! The Attack Titan's neck!". She swiftly avoided any attacks, wrapping the chain of explosives around the lanky neck, before halfway exiting her titan, ready to pull the lever of the explosives.
"Wait!", Mikasa pleaded and started moving. The three of you still situated on Reiner's shoulders started moving too, opting to get further up to get a better overview of your situation.
"Now perish you nightmare!!", Pieck screamed, but she was cut off by an unsuspecting attack from a Warhammer, who had pierced her titan form with a vast, crystallised pitchfork. The Warhammer lifted her up.
Reiner was about to charge her way when the Jaw Titan form of Reiner and Pieck's friend gave him a deep gash right across his face.
"Over here Reiner!!", Jean called out. "Keep him from moving!", he aimed a spear at him, while you and Marco moved away a little to eliminate two cart titans making their way towards Reiner from the right.
"Jean watch out!!", Marco screamed, and you turned to see yet another Jaw titan sneak up behind him. You were too far away to do anything...
"Uugh!", Jean exclaimed as something crashed into him. Levi had swooped in in the nick of time, saving him from getting his legs chomped off. You let out a strained breath you didn't even notice you were holding.
"We're getting Armin back!!", Levi announced for all to hear. "That's the only way out of this, otherwise we all die here like dogs!"
"Reiner! Let's go!", Connie yelled out for him, killing the Jaw currently attacking him.
"Hurry!". You all started manoeuvring towards the back-end of the Founder, doing your best to avoid combat, but it was easier said than done.
You all groaned and yelped as you exhaustedly fought any titan in your perimeter. It was an never-ending process; with blood sweat and tears, doing everything in your power to kill a single one of them, before having to do it all over again with the next one coming around; each of them having their own set of skills and strengths needing to be taken into consideration as you fought back.
But just as you had your hands full with these 15-meter class titans, a figure you never expected to ever see again appeared out of the thick steam behind you, in all his ginormous glory.
"Bertholdt", you exclaimed to yourself, almost like you couldn't believe it. With all that was going on, you didn't even thing about the colossal titans being summoned...
With a huge swing of his hand, he grabbed Reiner; his 15 meter form looking tiny in his hold. Slowly, he brought him closer to his mouth, no matter how hard Reiner fought to free himself.
"Reiner!!", Jean shrieked as he swooped in, and what happened next happened to fast you're not even sure what exactly he did:
Bertholdt swung his arm once more this time smashing it hard against the area you were standing. You couldn't hear or see anything else than booming crashes and dust as you felt your aching body tumble blindly; falling freely and uncontrollably.
'I... can't.... give up!
In one last effort to at least try and save yourself, you activated your gear in hopes it would connect to something,- anything at all. And as you felt your falling body come to a harsh halt the second you pushed the buttons that stops the reeling function, you sighed relieved. Dust and steam dispersed enough for you to finally see again, but that relief was short lived as you spotted Marco free falling further down, seemingly limp.
"Marco?!". You immediately disconnected the hook, going after him, blinking away the tears forming in your eyes as your gaze focused solely on him. "Aargh", you exclaimed strained as you connected your gear once again upon wrapping one arm around his waist. The sudden yank of your body as the wires abruptly stopped had you yelp out in pain, but your discomfort didn't matter at this point in time.
"Marco! Marco!", you called out desperate as you for the first time now got a better look at him. He was still limp, and apart from his beating heart, he showed no indication of life yet. "Please", you said airy, vision cloudy as the despair claimed your heart.
You were dangling in an awkward sideways-position as only one of your wires was attached to something. The hold you had around him didn't allow for you to try and reel the two of you up,- nor down for that matter. This taken into consideration, you let go of the handle, opting to wrap both arms around him to prevent him for slipping right out of your grip. You looked around yourself to the best of your abilities, trying to assess the situation at hand. Only Mikasa seemed to be mobile; Jean clinging onto Reiner, Connie dangling unconscious by himself and Levi struggling to collect himself by one of the many bones of the ribcage.
"Shit", you whimpered, the burning in your arms were intense after only holding on to Marco for five minutes. "Don't worry, I won't let go", you whispered strained between tears, looking down at his lifeless face. You had no clue if he could hear you, but you needed to let him know that you'd hang onto him until you fell over dead yourself.
"Jean! Just let go!", you heard Reiner plead, looking over to see some sort of Attack Titan close in behind them, cursing yourself for not being able to help them. "I can transform at least once more!!"
"Then what?! Get crushed by the rumbling, Armour and all? For someone named the Armoured Titan you really do get broken to pieces way too often", Jean retorted strained, now holding on to him with both hands.
Mikasa swooped past them, killing the titan lurking about with a swipe of her blades.
"You think we can still win this?", Reiner asked him. Luckily you were close enough to hear what they were saying still.
"No... But at least we ought to struggle until they manage to kill us, right? The Survey Corps just doesn't know when to give up. And that's who we are...", Jean smiled a sad smile at him.
Reiner seemed taken aback by the sincerity, Jean's wording including Reiner as a part of the corps still. "Jean...".
'That's right. That's who we are! A group of freaks who willingly walks right into danger; that's what the people of the walls have been saying for ages anyway... Our willpower can surpass anything,- and if not, we'll hold onto that willpower until we die. Die knowing we did our part...'
Mikasa continued to move, taking out any titan appearing by her defenceless friends.
"You hear that Marco? I won't give up on you, so don't you dare give up on me. Not today", you said strained, tightening your grip just a little, feeling the fiery sensations of the movement pulsating through your beyond tired arms. You could have sworn you heard his weak breath become just a tad bit clearer, but a ginormous green lizard-like beast closing in on Connie stole your focus and had you scream out.
"Mikasa!! Connie!!". She looked Connie's way immediately, but there was just no way she could reach him in time.
Levi forced himself over there as he was closer than Mikasa, cutting at its eyes making it scream out in agony. But since Levi was still very much injured, his reflexes was not at all as quick as they usually are, and the titan chomped down on one of his knees with a bone-chilling crack.
"Levi!"
Mikasa had reached them, cutting the nape before it had the chance to bite the leg off completely. Connie had woken up during the commotion and caught Levi before he could fall down to the thousands of colossal titans of the rumbling far down below. Now Mikasa was truly the only one still mobile, everyone else having someone defenceless clutched between their arms.
"Y-Y/N?", Marco's weak voice caught your attention.
"Marco! Hey, thank the heavens you're alright", you sniffled, and the joy taking a hold of your heart was sickening. He blinked confused, trying to piece the situation together. "Don't move, I'm not sure my arms can handle that", you said strained once again, and he stiffened immediately.
"What's going on?", he asked as carefully as he could, not wanting to make any unnecessary movements.
"Well, nothing good", you looked around as at least twenty more titans appeared out of the bones. Mikasa had spent well over ten minutes annihilating titan after titan, just to be rewarded with dozens more. The despair was evident in her expression. "Mikasa is the only one able to fight, and we're surrounded..."
Marco tried to keep his breathing in check, but it was clear he was as stressed as the rest of you, even though he couldn't move his head around to see for himself. If anything, that makes it even scarier; to blindly know that you're surrounded.
(Just had to include this to set the tone, bc damn... I get chills reading this)
"Hey- I don't really know how we're going to get out of this... But I promise I'll hang onto you to the very end,- you're safe with me", you said softly in an attempt to calm him. It must be mortifying waking up confused in such a grave situation as this. He focused his eyes on yours.
"I- I know Y/N, but please d—"
He stopped upon seeing your eyes widen as you looked to your right. Closing in on all of you from the distance, you spotted a vast pair of wings.
'It can't be...!'
The mysterious winged titan lowered its altitude to where it soared right below you, and as you recognized the figures sitting atop it, you defied your tired arms' anguishing protest and reached for the handle of your gear to disconnect the hook from whatever bone it was connected to. The two of you fell down until your hit the soft feathered back.
The rest did the same, only Mikasa seemed to not have noticed the titan yet as she screamed;
"BRING IT ON! I'M STRONG!! SO IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY OF YOU ATTACK ME—"
"MIKASA CAN YOU JUST GET OUT OF THE WAY?!", Connie mustered enough strength to yell, and she turned around shocked. Clumsily she joined the rest of you, and the titan immediately headed straight out of the ribcage.
You could feel your arms fail you as your gripped onto the rope for dear life. The movements and swift turns this titan made as it majestically flapped its wings made it hard to keep yourself steady.
"Marco—", you said through gritted teeth, and he caught on after just one good look at you.
"I got you, you're okay", he reassured you as he placed one arm around your back and grabbed a good hold of the rope with both hands, supporting the both of you.
"Man I never imagined titans could really fly myself... He really does fly though. So... I had to come", Annie said, and it was like none of you had truly realized it was her until she spoke, though you in all fairness had spotted her earlier.
"Annie!", a few exclaimed, voices filled with joy as much as shock.
"But... I'm glad I did", she added with the sweetest little smile.
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A/N:
I just love this picture they show from the Cadet Corps in chapter 133... It's so good to see them at a time of carefreeness in the midst of all this madness...
It's so overwhelming trying to write this specific battle into words, and it only gets more intense from here hahah😩. But I'll see it done! Stay tuned for the next portion as we close in on the end-game🙌🏻
Have an amazing day and thanks for reading!
~Jen