After Kaya's assault on the Jaw titan, her enemy tried to flee from capture, but the scouts managed to prevent his escape by blasting thunder spears into his hands. More and more scouts closed in on the shifter, who stood there, petrified of the devils. His situation didn't get any better, and most scouts thought that the jaw titan would soon be out of commission, that was until the cart titan made an appearance.
It was far different than when Kaya last encountered it. The cart on its back had been replaced with multiple canons and boxes, presumably harbouring soldiers who could utilise the weapons. In an instant, the canons began to fire, slaughtering the scouts and saving the jaw.
All the scouts began evasive manoeuvres, attempting to dodge the bullets that were racing towards them. Kaya didn't have to worry too much about the initial impact, but she still needed to dodge, regardless of her quick healing, the speed of the weapon could've led to some damage. So the ghoul followed the other scouts and managed to take cover in a building until the cart titan ceased fire.
"I thought we had the cart and jaw covered. So why the hell are they here so soon?" She muttered to herself, shortly feeling the ground rumble once again. "Judging by the footsteps, it's a large titan, I'd say Zeke's finally made his appearance, right on time."
"Lieutenant." The familiar voice of Tessa stated.
"I thought I told you to stay out of the centre." Kaya scolded.
"Actually, you didn't." Taylor countered. "Last we saw you, you told us to clear out soldiers in the east. It's clear now."
"If that's the case then I want you by my side, we need to take down those two." Kaya said as the girls all looked out of what used to be a window. "But not yet, we need to wait for an opening." She added after watching the Jaw and Cart take out any soldier who managed to get past their first line of defence.
"What about the beast titan?" Jade followed up.
"Not our problem, he'll be dealt with soon enough." She smirked, but that soon fell when she heard a sound that haunted her. "Get down!" The ghoul yelled as she stood directly in front of the window and pushed her squad to the ground. Most were confused until they heard the sounds of scouts yelling in pain, followed by a bombardment of rocks hitting against the building.
Next, there was another explosion, but the ghoul knew exactly the cause. Armin. Or as others may say, the colossal titan. He'd obeyed Hange's orders and despite his fear, he'd destroyed Marley's backup. The confidence of the warriors instantly decreased, along with any other civilian in Marleyan territory.
"Lieutenant, what was that?" Sally asked, joining her side to look at the explosion in the distance.
"The colossal titan." Kaya answered, digging her spikes into the ground to avoid being pushed away by the gust of wind. Next, she held onto Sally so she wouldn't face the same fate. "Let's go." The ghoul ordered, finding the distraction their best moment to attack. "We'll rendezvous with Sasha and Jean, they're in perfect positioning to attack the cart."
"But with all three of them still standing?" Tessa worried, looking at the Beast and Cart stood on the high ground, the jaw titan soon leaping away to attempt revenge.
"Kaya, the Jaw!" Jade observed, warning the ghoul.
"Hey! Focus, I gave you orders, follow them." Kaya scolded, seeing a green cape fly past her and towards the Beast titan, following his schedule. Levi took down Zeke in an instant, using his distraction to his advantage while Kaya and her squad used their gear to make it to the others. "Keep going, I'll cover you." She instructed and flew in the opposite direction, providing a new target for the soldiers in the cart to shoot at. Gracefully, the ghoul dodged the fire, spinning and changing directions as often as she could.
That's when she heard a metal clink. The higher canon was down and she used its absence to activate her kagune and slice the back of the carts legs, making it crash-land on the roof Sasha, Jean, Connie and her squad were stationed upon.
"Long time no see, Pieck." Kaya uttered as her squad fired the thunder spears onto the titan, killing the soldiers inside and destroying its machinery. In a desperate attempt to run away, the cart clawed its remaining limbs into the building, dragging itself off the edge and away from the scouts.
The ghoul didn't hesitate like the rest of her squad, instead, she followed the titan and landed on its nape, stomping on it to taunt the monster. "Last time, you managed to escape because your physical form was uninjured, but now, you don't look too lucky." Kaya explained, using one of her spikes to impale the Carts nape and resurface with Pieck, the spike resided through her stomach. "It's funny, you don't even look as though you're healing, not as fast as Eren anyways." She observed.
"Lieutenant, watch out!" Sally yelled from the rooftop, warning the ghoul of her current threat. In an instant, shots were fired at the ghoul, but it was futile, even the shots that drew blood, she managed to heal in seconds. "Sorry to delay your death, I'll be right back." The ghoul dropped the woman, instead, she charged towards the Marleyan soldiers and killed them with a combination of her swords and ghoulish weapon. She didn't need to eat, but the hunger was still present, she'd have to deal with that at a later date.
After completing the small task, Kaya turned around to see a trail of blood, someone had been dragging her enemy. That's when she met eyes with them, two kids, no older than 12. One had brown hair and amber eyes likewise to her own, but her eyes held anger instead of sympathy. The other was blonde and the biggest emotion present on his face was fear, it was understandable, both of them.
"Please, don't hurt Pieck." The blonde begged and stood with his arms wide, using himself as a human shield with tears in his blue eyes. The ghoul was torn, it was her mission, but those kids had already seen enough death, she couldn't just kill them, she may have been a killer but she still liked to believe she held a moral compass.
"I don't want to kill a kid, move." She warned as she continued walking towards the two. The boy stood still, not daring to make a move, where as the girl glared at Kaya, not knowing what approach to take. Slowly, Kaya deactivated her ghoul state, pulling down her mask to show a shred of humanity towards the duo.
"No! You've already killed our friends, please don't take Pieck as well." The blonde cried while Kaya walked past him, not making any acknowledgement until he grabbed her cloak, pulling her back slightly.
"What did she do to deserve this, you island devils think you can do what you want but you can't! You can't!" The girl yelled, clinging onto Pieck once again.
"What did she do?" Kaya mocked, thinking it was a stupid question. "I don't have time for this, get out of my way." She tugged on her cloak, forcing the boy to let go and stumble to the ground.
"Falco!" The girl yelled, getting to her feet and clenching her fist. Kaya effortlessly pivoted and watched the brunette fall to the ground. She didn't want to fight against kids, especially kids who'd just seen their home get destroyed and their friends massacred.
But just as Kaya was about to reach Pieck, she heard the annoying voice of Floch Forster. "Lieutenant Kaya, what's going on down there?" He asked. The ghoul knew that Floch was merciless when it came to his enemies, he didn't care that Falco and the brunette were kids, she had to take a risk.
"The cart escaped, I think she went left." Kaya lied, and looked towards the two kids. "Go before I change my mind." She warned and used her gear to meet back with her squad. It was a terrible decision to let the cart live but it was one she had to make. If she were to kill Pieck, the children would've surely brought attention to themselves and the recruits could easily hear them from the short distance they were away.
So instead, she watched the cart get dragged inside a building, a few soldiers managing to follow them inside. That's when the ghoul heard the engines of the airship, it was time. "My squad with me, the airships on the wa—"
"REINER!" The ghoul was cut off, looking to the horrific yell onto the see the two kids she'd previously encountered, yelling from a window. "HELP US! YOU HAVE TO SAVE GALLIARD HE'S ABOUT TO GET EATEN! CAN YOU HEAR ME!? HELP US! REINER!" The girl screamed, soon being assisted by Falco.
"Idiots." Kaya muttered, trying to tune out their screams.
"Lieutenant, what should we do?" Taylor asked, unsure if she should be following the recruits or her lieutenant.
"Ignore it, we'll only make things worse." The ghoul replied, until she heard another bang. Another titan had transformed, the only possible candidate was the Armoured. "Shit." The ghoul muttered.
"How much longer can Eren Yeager last?" Tessa speculated. "He's transformed three times and managed to defeat a ton of warriors. He's gotta be out of juice, right?" She added.
"The armoured's different too. He looks tired, rushed." Kaya added. "Cmon, there isn't a fight to be won." The ghoul ordered and her squad then made their way towards the airship, latching their hooks onto the railings and hanging on the sides. "You still have ammo, right?" Kaya asked.
"Yeah." Sally answered.
"Good." She looked around until she saw exactly who she was looking for. "Jean, I'm leaving my squad under your command." The amber eyed scout stated. "You four, don't show me up." She then warned and climbed into the airship, meeting her comrades.