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WE WATCH AS the Armored Titan gets in his stance.
"Erwin," Levi speaks up, "He's getting ready to climb."
"Soldiers! Do not engage with the Armored yet! Maintain a safe distance!" Commander Erwin orders.
With the operation coming to a screeching stop, Commander Erwin has stolen a few precious minutes to collect himself. It all comes down to now. The stakes are higher than ever this time. The way it's looking... this could really be the end of the Survey Corps as a whole.
The Armored titan approaches the wall and starts climbing, his elongated fingers digging into the cement. I don't have anything to say. The loathing I'm feeling cannot be expressed in words. I only stare down the wall at him. Quiet.
"Hanji, why doesn't he have us attack? What's he thinking?" Eren says, the desperation clear in his face.
The bespectacled scientist is slow to respond, obviously calculating. "The enemy has prepared quite the welcome. Erwin's watching their movements for now. He doesn't want to act until he's found out their strategy." She explains lowly.
"Lets hope he still has his wits about him. A trick up his sleeve." I mumble as I stare at a dog-like titan on all fours, carrying some type of cargo strapped to its back, "Maybe one of those gambles."
The Commander snaps back into action. "Dirk's squad and Marlene's squad, join Klaus's Squad and protect the horses at the gate!" He points to us, "Levi Squad and Hanji Squad, work together to kill the Armored Titan! Deploy the thunder-spears at your own discretion! Do whatever it takes to achieve your objective!" He faces forward again with a virtuous gaze, "This is our moment! Our chance to strike! The fate of human kind depends on this battle. Lay down your hearts and lives one final time for humanity! Move out!"
The squads go their designated ways; I'm about to activate my gear and follow Hanji when I notice my father get called back by the Commander.
I know that I should act on orders immediately, but I don't care. If it concerns my father... and what he'll be doing... knowing commander Erwin, he's just playing the pawns he has. He's not scared of thrusting a soldier into a dangerous circumstance as long as the shoe fits.
"... so I'll protect the horses instead of Eren?" Levi says with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow.
"That's right." Commander Erwin confirms. "And when the opportunity arises," he gestures with his sword at the hairy titan sitting in the center of the titan ring. "You need to strike him down. You're the only soldier I can trust to dispatch the Beast Titan."
Levi's eyes notice me. He does not waver from his superior's orders, though. "Understood. I was too slow to kill the Armored earlier. But I'll atone for that by killing this one."
"I'll help." I interrupt.
"Not a chance," Levi says immediately, and something in his tone is warning me to stand down.
"That thing is humongous and we're still not familiar enough with it to know if it has any special powers." I point out. I then turn to the Commander, who seems understanding, but not convinced. "You can't make him go at it alone."
The Commander is about to speak but Levi cuts him off. "It's not your call, brat." He tells me with finality. He faces Erwin, "I'll take care of it."
Whether he's referring to the Beast Titan or to me, I can't be sure. He salutes and turns, dragging me away by the elbow. "You've got nerve." He says.
I fold my arms. Part of me wants to be mad at him. The other part is incapable of it. "Let me help you."
"Johanna Rose Ackerman, you have a position to fill in your designated squad. How many times do we have to go over this— learn not to question higher authority. What part of that do you not—" he stops, and for a moment he is truly shocked. "Are you... crying?"
It isn't until he mentions it that the tears start to fall. I quickly try to brush them away with the backs of my hands, but more keep welling up. For what reason, I can't be sure. They came out of nowhere.
"Sorry— I'm not... I don't know why I'm being so emotional right now." I sniffle, embarrassed. This is hardly the time or place, but I can't seem to pull myself out of it. "Just... just..."
His guard has completely dropped. He considers me carefully. "Just what?"
"You left me all alone once... just don't do it again, okay?" My voice trembles and I internally curse my stupidity. The conflict between keeping oneself quiet and saying what one's been yearning to say is always unresolvable.
My words are a bullet to the heart. He is speechless for a moment like he's choked on his own guilt, a guilt I've force-fed to him. But I need him to realize it. I need him to have incentive so he can survive any ordeal and come back to me. Because if he doesn't...
I don't even know. And that's what's scary.
He hugs me, clutches me tight like he did when I first found out he was my father. My tears are dried by the time he presses a kiss to my forehead and lets me go. "That's not going to happen again, I promise. I still owe you that story about your mother, remember?" He assures.
"Right." I say with a small smile. "Now go do want you do best."
"Likewise." He pats my head, ruffling my hair a little, and turns away. He activates his gear and I watch him dive off and fly towards what is either his victory or his end.
I try not to think about it too much.
It's take me ten minutes to locate Hanji and the two squads in Shinganshina. When I land on the roof of a two story house to join them, they don't ask what took me so long or where I was, which I appreciate whether it's done out of consideration or not.
"Is our game plan still as follows?" I ask.
Armin, who looks like he just arrived as well, spares me and the others a tentative look.
"The Commander needs Eren to transform." He says.
We all look at Eren. He doesn't seem opposed, but he's clearly as confused as the rest of us. "Isn't our objective to keep me under the radar? If I expose myself—"
"He wants to use Eren as a distraction." I realized.
"You mean, use Eren as bait?" Mikasa says, a hint of objection already in her voice.
Hanji considers this skeptically. "Hold on, he's willing to risk Eren's capture just to protect the horses?"
"You're kidding. Even if we try that, Reiner might go after the horses anyway." Mikasa says.
"No," Hanji shakes her head, "I'm sure he'll chase Eren. If Reiner goes after the horses, then Eren can continue running north and wrap around the Beast Titan's formation. That means him and Levi plus the soldiers can capture the Beast Titan in a pincer attack. Reiner won't risk that." Her demeanor switches to assertive. "Alright, this is where we take down the Armored. Let's move out!"
"Wait a second!" Armin stops us before we can go. "There's one more factor we need to consider. He's still hiding, but Bertholdt must be nearby. The first time Eren got kidnapped, he made a surprise attack and won the fight. As a simple countermeasure, Eren," He looks at the titan shifter, "keep the fight away from the walls."
"You got it." Eren nods. He actually seems eager to get the fight started.
We pick a spot not too far away from the wall where Reiner has climbed and is now sitting perched on top of it, committed to scanning the area. We want to make sure he can still notice Eren when he titan-shifts.
I help Eren take off his gear. He cranes his head, popping his neck as he stares down the edge of the roof. He then looks at me, and in the flash of two seconds he grabs my chin to steal a good luck kiss, and I smile as I watch him jump off the roof.
I have my anchor already hooked onto the next building so I'm flying out of the blast site before he even bites his hand. Red and green lightning strikes the sky. Reiner's attention is immediately caught.
For a moment it seems he might not chase Eren at all, but we cling onto hope. Eventually he comes to a decision and plummets off the wall. He starts to go after Eren, both titans' footsteps thundering and raising pebbles off the dirt.
They come to a stop at a mossy and inoperative water fountain. The two start circling each other and Reiner is the first to throw a punch. Eren dodges it easily. He hardens his first, an icy blue coat spreading over his fingers, and he lands a blow so severe on the left side of Reiner's face that it cracks the armor. Reiner is knocked down, rolling several times.
"Get in position! Remember everything rides on our first attack." Hanji tells us.
I look down at the thunderspears hoisted to my forearm. If this new technology can take down fully grown trees, beating Reiner should be child's play.
If we had seats we'd be on the edge of them. We watch Eren as he wrestles Reiner on the ground. It seems to go on forever. Patience is a virtue, though. We wait anxiously on our toes for the perfect opportunity to strike. It quickly presents itself: Eren throws Reiner off him, leaving Reiner kneeled a few feet away and struggling to regain his stamina, the nape of his neck now easily accessible.
"Go!" Hanji says.
Her and Mikasa take off first. They fly in from the front. Reiner receives a thunderspear to each eye, the metal rods sinking into the cornea like miniature rockets. It takes 3 seconds for them to explode. He roars in agony.
Jean looks at me. I look at him. We smirk and clink our thunder-spears together as if to say cheers.
"Now!" Hanji says.
The rest of us advance towards Reiner from the back. We stick eight hissing thunderspears into his neck and pull the cord, resulting in instant detonation. Connie just barely avoids the explosion and Jean's cord jammed and didn't release until the second pull but the attack is overall successful. We land on a roof and observe our handiwork.
Reiner's armored nape is left reduced to splinters.
"Woah, it really worked!" Connie says, aghast.
"Do it again!" Hanji says relentlessly. "You each still have a thunderspear! Use it to end this!"
A couple of us look at her with mouths agape. Hesitant glances are shared because it's... well, it's Reiner. He was our comrade for five years.
I can understand their moral ambiguity but I don't empathize. Although it's tempting, I refuse to express compassion that I don't feel.
Is that... am I...
I'm reaching for my humanity, but it appears to have fallen down a deep, dark chasm. With every battle it gets harder and harder to retrieve it.
I look at Reiner, hunched over and vulnerable.
Am I any better than those who called us children of the devil?
This inner monologue lasts the space of a second because the duty I'm obligated to fulfill is right in front of me. And despite what my fickle heart feels inside, I can't ignore that.
"Come on!" I yell at the others. "We swore we'd do this if it came down to it! It's us or them!"
This statement is enough to rouse them. We collectively advance towards Reiner again. We shoot our remaining thunder-spears with precision aims, the metal clanging upon impact.
And the kill is fresh.
The explosions are thunderous like their name alludes. We pull away just in time. Even through the noise we can hear Reiner's garbled cries.
When the smoke clears, Reiner's human body is revealed, poking out of the obliterated neck. His head is practically nonexistent; steam wafts over it. I doubt anything above the jaw is left.
Members of Hanji's squad start to cheer.
"We did it!"
"The Armored Titan finally bit the dust!"
Interestingly, the Levi squad is enveloped in a silence that puts funerals to shame.
I look around at my comrades and see their shameful faces. "Guys..." I start, but I also am at a loss for words. Nothing feels like the right thing to say.
"Huh... we actually did it." Jean throws an arm over my shoulder. He cannot unglue his gaze from the steaming, lifeless Reiner. "He was a serious pain in the ass for us. Serves him right, scumbag." But his shaky tone betrays the victory I know he wants to feel.
I hear sniffling behind us. "I don't think Connie and Sasha can say the same..." I comment.
Jean turns and goes slack with disbelief. "You've got to be..."
Sasha and Connie are down on their knees, wiping away stray tears and staring at Reiner through shellshocked eyes.
"What the hell are you crying for? Stop, get up!" Jean walks over and fists their collars, trying to get them to their feet. "We still have work to do! Stop crying for him, he would've done the same thing to us!"
"It's not like we could negotiate." I hear Armin say, standing a little ways apart. I can tell he's trying to convince himself as much as he is us. "Their side has the knowledge. They make our side look just as ignorant as we are weak. We don't have the ability to capture someone who can turn into a titan on a whim. This... was our only option."
I sigh and rake a hand through my hair. If there's one thing war has taught me it's that it has no room for saints, only those willing to sin.
The Armored Titan's jaw gives a small shudder. I freeze, my breath hitching. No way...
The jaw pops open and suddenly we're covering our ears because a screech cataclysmic enough to rock the bells in the church two streets over is issuing from his mouth.
It stops after a full ten seconds. Nobody moves, nobody utters a word for a good minute after.
We are waiting for any signs of an attack.
Hanji is the first to speak. "Use your thunderspears!" She tells the soldiers holding extras. "If we want to finish this we'll have to do it again!"
Something hurtles across the sky in my peripheral view. I look up and nudge Armin. "That better not be what I think it is..." I point to a flying barrel.
Armin gasps and looks at Hanji. "Hold on, Hanji! We need to fall back for now." He points out the barrel hurtling in our direction. "See that? I'm sure Bertholdt's inside. If he transforms, we're done for!"
My heart picks up speed. They've got us...
"Shit! Everyone move away from the Armored Titan!" Hanji orders and both squads start flying out by the dozens, Eren tailing behind. "The Colossal is coming towards us right now!'
We jet away as far as we can, and then some more just to be safe. Looking back, we see no sign of a transformation about to begin.
I secure myself onto the side of a building. "He didnt shift? He must be out there scrambling around in human form. I wonder what changed his mind..."
Hanji isn't fazed. "Here we go, then. Our mission's primary objective just fell straight into our laps. You can call this a stroke of luck," she says with optimism.
"Look!" A soldier points out. "Bertholdt is coming our way!"
"The plan is as follows," Hanji announces, "Armin, you take control of Levi Squad! Protect Eren. I'll leave you guys with Mikasa but I'm going to have to borrow Jo to split our strengths equally." She glances at me and I nod. "The rest, come with me! We've got two targets to eliminate!"
"Wait!" Armin says. "It'll take you at least 7 minutes to reach Reiner. I'll try to buy you some time by negotiating with Bertholdt!"
"Thank you!" Hanji obliges.
I follow after the scientist, a couple members of her squad speeding past us.
"How many thunderspears do you reckon will take to kill him for good?" I ask her. "15 didn't kill him last time... and these aren't easily expendable."
"Surely not more than 5, right?" A soldier I recognized, Moblit, chimed in.
Hanji pursed her lips, her hair tangled in the straps of her glasses. "I don't know. But if using up all our thunderspears means getting rid of one of humanity's worst enemies for good, then it's worth it. Remember, the Colossal can't do much on its own. Its when they're together that the damage is lethal. Killing one is a serious milestone."
"Strange. That doesn't sound at all like the titan fanatic I'm used to working with," Moblit teases.
I notice someone in no uniform ascending towards the sky in the street over. "Guys," I warn.
The dread in my voice raises red flags. They look at me, then look above where Bertholdt is steadily flying up on his gear. We are baffled for a good couple of seconds, our instincts at a standstill.
"No. He's going up..." Hanji says. "Don't tell me..."
"But if he transforms he'll kill Reiner!" I say, confused.
Hanji's complexion turns ashen. "We need to get out of here!" She looks ahead to the soldiers further down the street. "EVERYONE—"
A crackling light rips through the sky, shining brighter and brighter until I'm forced to close my eyes and block out the last few seconds before instant death comes to take us.
What I feel is the heat of a thousands suns. What I feel is someone's body knocking me downwards. What I feel is my stomach ramming into a solid structure followed by a rough tumble until suddenly, I don't feel anything at all.
꒰ End of Chapter 14 ꒱