AUTHOR'S POV:
Flints of ember filled the thick waves of steam rising from the Colossal Titan's body as he stood slowly.
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"H-Hey..." Connie said shakily, watching the Titan destroy the houses with a sweep of his hand. "Those houses will drop on us. You think one of those houses... is Eren's?" Pieces of fiery wreckage came falling. "Eren's house... is eavesdropping!" He laughed madly.
"Sasha, could you smack Connie?" Jean requested from the attacking Titan's shoulder, still staring ahead at the Colossal Titan.
Sasha whacked Connie on the head with one of her Thunder Spears.
"I don't think he knows our location." Mikasa said, crouching on a roof with Armin.
"Yeah." Armin said. "He's making Shiganshina a sea of flames by scattering burning debris."
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The Colossal Titan picked up houses and threw them around.
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The Attacking Titan glared at him. 'That bastard... This time, you think you can burn down my city?!'
Some of the wreckage fell close to the group.
"A-Armin! The fire! Your orders?!" Connie asked him in alarm.
"Hurry it up!" Sasha said in fear.
Armin thought back to Bertolt threatening him on the roof. 'I can tell. You're standing there shaking so much, you can't do a damn thing.'
Armin turned to look at Jean. "Jean, can you take my place?" All eyes turned to Armin. "I just have no idea.. .what to do... I was wrong reading Bertolt, and look where it got us. Jean! You're better suited for this!"
Jean was startled by his words, remembering the times he led and cause deaths. Then he looked to his right. "The river! Move to the river! Everyone aboard Eren! Conserve our gas!"
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The Colossal Titan walked, his back to them.
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"Eren." Jean said. "At some point, we'll have to get Bertolt's attention, but until then, don't let him see you." He and the rest of the group stood near The Attacking Titan's nape, who was crouching, as they all spied on the Colossal Titan. "Armin!" Jean continued, "I'm alright at reading situations, but I'm coming up empty with a plan to get us out of this. In the end, we're all counting on you."
Armin did not appear to be too confident in Jean's words.
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"We're done cleaning up here." Dirk reported to Levi, landing on a roof across from him. "The only small ones left are the ones way at the front."
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Many small Titans were crowded around the soldiers, who stood upon the abandoned, red-tiled homes.
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"Still, how will we take down the Beast Titan?" Dirk asked. He's perfectly content sitting way over there, not moving an inch."
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In the distance, the Beast Titan sat cross-legged, flanked on both sides by nearly a dozen 15-meter Titans total.
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"Yeah." Levi said. "It seems he's a coward. Not like he's ever had balls to begin with."
"You take a break. We'll mop up the rest of the small ones. Let's go!" Dirk said and took off.
"Roger!" The other soldiers followed after Dirk.
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Faye landed beside Levi. "Any plans on how to defeat the beast titan, Captain?"
"I don't have any plan right now." Levi replied and glanced over his shoulder.
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On the other side of the Wall was a storm cloud worth of steam.
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'What was that explosion? What happened to those guys?' Levi thought. 'Did Hange and the others avoid it? I've gotta hur-'
The sound of something cutting through the air was heard before a small piece of rock hovered by Levi's face.
Time seemed to slow and larger rocks were shown suspended around him.
Levi's expression morphed into shock. "Faye! Cover your head!" Crossing his arms to brace against the force. He gasped.
Faye quickly covered her face too.
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Rocks pelted and destroyed the houses around him.
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A wave of destruction came from the edge of the town, heading inward.
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Soldiers groaned and cried out.
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Red mist spurted into the air, following the wave of destruction.
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Levi's lone visible eye widened, seeing the bodies get ripped apart.
Faye still had her eyes closed.
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The ground was littered with corpses.
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"Hmm..." The Beast Titan observed, flexing his long-nailed fingers as the Cart Titan prepared boulders by his legs. "That one was a little bit high..." He turned to Cart titan. "Oh, leave it right there." With both hands, he picked it up and ground it into small pieces. "Well, the first pitch was a warm-up." He brought up his arms straight above his head. "I'm going for a perfect game!"
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At the top of the Wall, Erwin yelled down at the soldiers. "Frontal bombardment! All troops, take cover!"
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"Huh?" Marlo said, holding the reins to his horse. On the other side of the animal, Floch had his hands over his ears.
"What was that?" Sandra asked Marlowe.
"Shit! You guys!" Levi screamed, heading toward the edge of the town with Faye where the veteran soldiers had just been hit.
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Dirk, still alive, struggled to push himself up. He gasped as the Beast Titan threw more pieces of rock at them.
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Once more the rocks pelted the soldiers and the structures, destroying everything they came into contact with. The soilders cried out in pain.
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Levi and Faye quickly dove down, taking shelter between two houses to avoid getting hit.
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More bodies were torn apart, forming red mists that flooded the town.
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Erwin gasped, watching the sight before him.
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"What the hell was that sound?!" Flock asked from near the base of Wall Maria, on his knees with the remaining soldiers and horses.
"Does the enemy have cannons?!" A recruit said.
"If so, there's a hundred of 'em!"
"Calm down!" Marlo told them. "You're scaring the horses!"
"The Titan's throwing boulders!" Levi informed and ran to a stop before them with Faye following behind.
"Captain Levi!" Marlo exclaimed.
"All of you, retreat to the Wall with the horses!" Levi ordered.
"Roger!" Marlo replied and half a second later, they were under attack again.
The soldiers ducked their heads, covering their ears again at the loud noise while the roofs of the houses around them exploded.
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"Hurry! Stay outta the line of fire!" Levi yelled.
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A bell was knocked off a tower and went crashing into the Wall.
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The soldiers and horses raced for the Wall, pieces of buildings falling from above them.
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Floch fell to his knees and clutched his head.
Levi grabbed the back of the Floch's cloak. "Hey, stand up! You wanna die?!"
"Commander!" Marlo exclaimed when Erwin landed in front of them.
"How's it looking?" Levi started toward him.
"Terrible. His throws have destroyed the front line of houses." Erwin informed. "If he keeps on throwing, everything will get leveled. We won't have anywhere left to hide."
"We can't retreat to the other side of the Wall?" Levi asked, standing before Erwin.
"No... The Colossal Titan is already heading this way." Erwin informed.
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The Colossal Titan continued his attack.
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"Spreading fire all along his path. Supposing we scale the Wall to evade the stones, we'd have to leave the horses." Erwin said. "If we retreat here, there's no hope for victory."
"What happened to Hange's group?" Levi asked. "Is Eren alright?"
"I don't know." Erwin responded. "But the majority of them were caught in that explosion." Faye slightly gasped. "We've been dealt a serious blow. The Beast Titan directed the small Titans so our soldiers would group up in one place. As such, while engaging the small Titans, Dirk Squad, Marlene Squad, and Klaus Squad were all wiped out by the bombardment."
Looking frightened, the soldiers listened to the two men talk.
"In other words, our remaining forces this side of the gate... consists of you, Faye, new recruits, Captain Levi, and... me." Erwin said.
The ground shook causing the recruits to scream while Faye, Levi and Erwin didn't react.
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"We're doomed!" Recruits yelled.
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"Commander... Do you have any sort of plan to stop him?" Faye asked.
Erwin didn't reply, shifting his eyes to the side.
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"Yell at him, Eren!" Jean said to The Attacking Titan. "Don't let Bertolt get any closer to the Wall!"
The Attacking Titan stood and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
The Colossal Titan stopped and tilted his head back.
"He noticed!" Jean said. Then the Colossal kept walking. "What?! That bastard's ignoring us!"
"Hey! What now, Jean?! At this rate..." Connie trailed off.
"I know that! Eren, go stop his lanky legs!" Jean said.
The Attacking Titan did as Jean advised, running at the Colossal's legs.
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"But still!" Connie wondered. "How the hell are we gonna defeat him?!"
"His gusts of hot steam make our 3D gear useless!" Sasha said, picturing the hooks being repelled by the steam exuding from the Titan's body. "Right?!"
"You don't think I know that?!" Jean responded. "But right now, we've got no choice but to try! We've gotta figure out his weakness!"
"I'll do it." Mikasa said, eyeing the Collosal titan to her left. "You guys distract him. Connie, your Thunder Spear."
"R-Right!" Connie said and began to remove it.
"Armin, we need you to observe him from afar. So quit your moping." Jean ordered. "We gotta believe there's a way to beat him!"
"Right!" Armin replied.
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The attacking Titan turned the corner and ran directly at the Colossal Titan.
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"Now! Scatter!" Jean ordered and they flew off.
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'Don't you dare look down on me!' Eren thought. 'You're nothing more... than a big damn wretched oaf!' The Attacking Titan roared as he charged, going for the Colossal's left leg.
At first, The Attacking Titan was pushed back. Then the Colossal Titan stopped, looking down.
Grunting, the Attacking Titan began to shove the large red leg back.
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"H-He's shoving him!" Sasha exclaimed.
Go, Eren!" Connie shouted. "Knock him over!"
'There has to be some sort of way!' Jean thought frantically.
Armin gasped when the Colossal lifted his leg back.
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'What?' The Attacking Titan was sent flying at the top of the Wall, crashing thunderously into it.
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His friends staring with terrified faces.
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"Ereh!" Mikasa cried out as the Attacking Titan lay on his back, eyes closed.
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His eyes half-lidded, Eren appeared to be dazed.
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"Hey... Is that Eren?" Levi asked, Erwin and Faye looking stunning next to him. "He got himself flung on top of the Wall? By him..."
"Eren..." Faye trailed off, eyes wide.
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"Eren's not moving..." Mikasa said shakily.
"He's not dead!" Jean told her. "Focus on the monster at hand!" Behind him, the Colossal Titan approached. "That might have been pushing it too far... If we run at him without a plan, that's what happens. Unless... Unless we can somehow turn the tables on him, this recovery operation, all of our lives, and the future of humanity will be doomed! Having said that, I'm not about to sit around while we all get slaughtered!" He stood and fired his hooks. "Let's go on the attack!"
Connie and Sasha followed. The three of them and Mikasa flew straight at the Collosal titan.
"He doesn't know about Thunder Spears yet!" Jean explained. "Connie, Sasha, and I will distract him! Mikasa will strike in the opening!"
"Roger!"
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"Hey, moron! I'll poke out your stupid eyes!" Jean threatened, on eye-level with the large Titan.
"You huge idiot!" Connie taunted him.
"You massive pervert lord!" Sasha yelled at the Colossal Titan.
'This distraction is so obvious...' Jean stared the Colossal Titan down.
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Mikasa appeared behind him.
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'But if we nail him with a Thunder Spear!' Jean thought.
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Mikasa shot out two Thunder Spears to his nape but the Colossal Titan released a gust of steam.
The four braced themselves.
The Thunder Spears became dislodged and flew behind Mikasa before exploding, the Colossal watching from the corner of his eyes.
The hooks then became dislodged, sending the four soldiers flying back.
"Guys!" Armin yelled, one arm protecting his face. 'Is it useless? His hot steam even knocked away the Thunder Spears!'
"Connie!" Sasha said, seeing him cough, small burns on his face.
"Shit! Breathing it in burned my throat!" Connie yelled.
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Mikasa landed a couple of yards behind Armin.
"Mikasa!" Armin called out. "You're bleeding!"
"I'm fine." Mikasa replied, holding her right bicep, shoulders slumped, on her knees. Jean stood not far behind her. "A bit of shrapnel from the Thunder Spears got me." Her face showed burns as well. "Thought of anything yet?"
"What?" Armin asked.
"Have any clues for a counterattack?" Mikasa clarified.
"Not one..." Armin replied.
Jean-also with burns on his face Mikasa, and Armin turned at the sound of bricks falling.
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The Colossal Titan walked causally.
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Armin looked particularly stressed at what he was looking at.
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Through the dust, the Armored Titan walked with slow, purposeful steps.
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The Beast Titan took up position and hurled more rocks at the homes, sending another wave of death and destruction through the town.
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"The Beast Titan has a good guess where we're at." Levi said, horses and humans whimpering around him. "This place will look like a honeycomb soon. Erwin, if you're saying we've got no chance to counterattack, let's get ready to flee." He pointed at the top of the Wall. "Wake Eren sprawled out up there. Ride him and flee with as many people as possible. At least we'll have some survivors."
Erwin didn't say a word, his attention shifting when he heard Marlo speak.
"Hey! The horse got away!" Marlo said and grabbed Floch's elbow. "That was your job!"
"Shut up!" Floch yelled, still sitting. "Like it matters!"
"Excuse me?!" Marlo asked.
"Those veteran soldiers were insanely strong and they died in an instant!" Floch continued. "You know as well as I do! What good is protecting horses... when there's nobody left to ride them home?! It all made sense at one point..." Elbows on his knees, Floch clutched his head. "If humanity just hid behind the Walls, we'd someday get slaughtered by Titans out of nowhere."
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A group of Garrison soldiers stood before a stage. Onstage were five Scouts.
A man with a Wings of Freedom insignia stood in the front, giving a passionate speech.
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"Somebody has to bite the bullet and risk taking action. In order for others to not become victims, we needed people to become the victims themselves."
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Floch stood among the Garrison soldiers the Survey Corps man was addressing.
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"Who will be that brave soldier? When I was asked that, I actually believed I could be that someone!"
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Floch cried. "But I never thought... that being sent to my death... would turn out to be so utterly meaningless in the end! Now that I think about it, I bet almost everyone ends up saying the same thing as me." Bodies of a bloodied and deceased soldiers were shown laying around. "Why did I ever think that I'd... somehow be different?"
The soldiers around Floch had nothing to say.
"What if whoever's left of the recruits and Hange's group scatter on horses... and try to make it home?" Levi proposed a plan of escape. "By using them as a decoy, you guys could escape on Eren."
"Levi, what would you do?" Erwin asked him.
"I'm facing the Beast Titan. I'll draw him away with the help of Faye." Levi replied.
"Impossible. You two won't even get close." Erwin said.
"Probably not. But if you and Eren return home alive, there's still hope." Levi replied. "Isn't that the best we can ask for at this point? What a huge defeat... To be perfectly honest, I doubt a single one of us is making it back alive." He turned, looking at his hand.
"Yes, assuming we had no way to counterattack." Erwin said.
Levi turned to him with wide eyes. "Is there a way?"
"Yes." Erwin answered quietly.
"Why didn't you say that sooner?" Levi demanded as the Beast Titan launched another attack. "Why'd you keep your shitty mouth shut?"
"Commander?" Faye called out with wide eyes.
"If the plan goes well, you may be able to take down the Beast Titan. But it might take the recruits... myself and Faye to give our lives." Erwin said.
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Projectiles hit the houses around them and the Wall, the ground trembling.
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Levi, Faye and Erwin turned to the screaming rookies, shielding their heads.
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"It's like you said. Either way, most of us will die." Erwin said and started to walk away. "No, it's almost guaranteed we'll all be wiped out. In which case, we can stake our heroic deaths on a slim chance of victory. For this to work... To ask these young ones to die, it would take an expert con man and a whole slew of lies." He approached the wall of one of the houses, Levi and Faye following. "If I do not lead the vanguard, none of them will follow. And I will probably die before anyone else. Without ever learning what's in the basement..."
"What?" Levi said in disbelief.
"Huh?" Faye exclaimed with wide eyes.
With a sigh, Erwin sat on a wooden crate. "I... I want to go to the basement." He confessed. "Everything I've done till now... was because I thought this day would come. That someday, I could check if I was right. So many times... I thought death would be so much easier." He stared at his hand. "But always, the dream I shared with my father flashed through my mind. And now, I'm close enough to the answers to reach out and grab them." He bowed his head. "They're right there... But, Levi, Faye... Can you see them? Our comrades?"
Phantoms of the deceased soldiers appeared around Erwin.
To Levi's right was Petra and the rest of his squad as well as Farlan and Isabel, who stood behind them.
To Faye's left, their stood her fallen comrades who fought alongside her in the battle of Throst.
"Our comrades are looking at us." Erwin said as the three of them stood surrounded by phantoms. "They want to know what became of the hearts they gave. Because the fighting isn't over yet."
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Again the three didn't react to the bombardment.
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"Is it all just inside my head?" Erwin asked. "Nothing more than a childish delusion?"
Levi narrowed his eyes and knelt before him. "You've fought well. It's all thanks to you that we've come this far. I'm making the choice." He glared at the commander. "Give up on your dream and die. Lead the recruits straight into hell. I will take down the Beast Titan with Faye."
Faye nodded in agreement.
Surprise came over Erwin's face before he smiled in acceptance.
Before they left that place, Faye stopped Erwin.
"Commander, you have led us this far and I will make sure that you will lead us in the future too!" Faye said, firmly. "You will go to the basement today. That's my promise!"
Erwin just smiled and nodded.
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The Beast Titan crumbled up a large boulder between his hands.
Hearing the faint neighing of horses, he looked up curiously.
Three dust clouds were moving through the town, heading for the edge. The cries became louder.
"Charge!" Erwin screamed, leading the recruits.
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"Well, I figured they wouldn't lie down and die, but... A suicide charge? Here I was thinking they could do better than that..." The Beast Titan stood, beginning to raise his arm.
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"Now! Fire!" Erwin ordered and fired off a green smoke round.
The soldiers followed suit.
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"Smoke?" The Beast Titan noted as the three groups released over a dozen green smoke rounds each. "Oh, it's those signal things..." He brought his hands above his head, getting ready to throw.
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Erwin grunted. "It's coming, move!"
Faces full of terror, the soldiers screamed, splitting off.
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"So, You want the Female titan to charge ahead at the Beast titan with me on her back?" Levi asked with uncertainty.
"Correct. Annie was one of their comrades so the Beast titan might get distracted by looking at the Female titan." Erwin said. "Faye will turn to her left to kill other Titans while you will be charging at the Beast titan. The smoke signals will cover you."
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"I'm announcing our final operation!" Erwin bellowed to the frightened rookies. "All troops, line up! We will be doing a cavalry charge. Our goal: To rush the Beast Titan." Erwin, Faye and Levi stood before the recruits gathered before them. "Of course, we'll be making ourselves ideal targets. So we'll wait until he's ready to throw and fire our smoke signals together. That should reduce his accuracy somewhat. While we're acting as a decoy, Captain Levi will kill the Beast Titan. That is our plan."
The recruits stared at Erwin in shock.
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Sandra fell to her knees and vomited.
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"Standing and waiting just means we'll be showered by more boulders. Get ready on the double!" Erwin said to them.
"Are we all... heading... to our deaths?" Floch asked him.
"Yes." Erwin replied.
"If we're gonna die anyway, you're saying it's better... if we die fighting?" Floch asked.
"Yes." Erwin replied.
"Wait..." Floch's voice shook. "If we're gonna die anyway, no matter how we die, even if it's disobeying orders, it all means nothing, right?"
"You're precisely right." Erwin said in the same plain tone. "It's all meaningless. No matter what dreams or hopes you had... No matter how blessed a life you've lived..."
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The Beast Titan fired off more projectiles.
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"It's all the same if you're shredded by rocks. Everyone will die someday. Does that mean life is meaningless?" Erwin asked. Was there even any meaning in our being born? Would you say that of our fallen comrades? Their lives... Were they meaningless?" Once more the phantoms appeared behind Erwin, Faye and Levi. "No, they weren't!" Erwin yelled, his face twisting. "It's us who gives meaning to our comrade's lives!"
They straightened their spines unconsciously at his commanding voice.
"The brave fallen! The anguished fallen!" Erwin said. "The ones who will remember them... are us, the living! We die trusting the living who follow to find meaning in our lives!"
Speechless, the recruits listened with tears in their eyes.
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Before the Beast titan could throw boulders and kill the recruits, a blue lightning struck in the middle.
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Beast stopped himself from throwing the boulders. "Huh? Another titan shifter?"
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Parting the green smoke, the Female titan ran ahead at the Beast titan at full speed with Levi on her back.
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The recruits kept firing the smoke signals at them.
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The beast titan accidentally dropped the boulder and stared in confusion.
"Annie?"
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