The odd machine continued to whirl in the sky, a shrill echoing throughout the walls.
It had been merely hours since its initial descent, appearing in the center of the Wall Sina, before it had released a loud giggle that had torn the wall brick by brick. Humanity held their breath as the military police quickly moved into action to dismantle the floating monstrosity. Some sort of upside down top, with gears twirling underneath a dress as blue as the twilight sky in the background, a (head? They had dared to not even think it remotely human) hung low, pale, eyes obstructed by twin cone bindings. It did not even have to flinch, just let out its sonorous giggle and hundreds fell.
The military police, in its entirety, continued to live and fight for a short three minutes.
Titans were a constant reminder of being ruled by something bigger than themselves, but they were conquerable, there was a possibility of success. This being was a reminder of the finality of human life.
The original thought was that it couldn't move, there was no way it could, something of that size. It would destroy Wall Sina and then disappear, they all prayed with closed eyes. Eyes that quickly opened, of course, as they heard heavy footsteps shake their small, small world. From the walls that had so protected them, descended fifty-meter titans. Already with their nose to the ground, humanity was kicked once more.
The smallest mercy was when the titans did not aim for them, only charging and pawing uselessly at the creature that giggled once more. In an odd display of fraying color, the titans unravelled, some shrieking, some utterly silent, as they were consumed by smaller forms (human sized forms? In horror, no one dared to even breathe). The menace that had plagued them was taken down so easily, without the slightest hesitation or difficulty. And then it moved.
Gears spiralling, it turned further outward, as the garrison moved into action to relocated the few, precious persons who had survived the first wave. As the humans clustered together, moving further toward what they deemed shelter, it only made it easier for the smaller (familiars, the Wall Worshippers cried, clinging to their beads) to pick them off, tearing into them in a savage manner they had not expressed with the titans.
The (witch! Blasphemer! Shrieked the Holy Church of the Three Walls) cared not for the individual lives that were blown out, only for mass destruction, craving it as one would crave air. It trailed its sleeves downward, fracturing Sina's buildings, made of pure concrete, like a child throwing dirt in the air. Crumbs of it crushed the iron wires propelling the men and women forth and, with them, crushed the garrison and those they were rescuing.
With them, fell the second military branch.
Wall Rose was quickly taking a turn for the worse, but it was more difficult than its sister, being of more area, and it took longer for the witch to fully make its rounds. The wall fell in a counter-clockwise motion, releasing more titans who fought in vain against the apex predators that consumed them effortlessly. With the foresight to escape, many had pressed toward the Wall Maria, throwing themselves at the gate, screaming for the (non-existent) garrison to open the gate, to have the titans eat them rather than suffer this fate.
From all angles, the survey corps rose, as the Rogue Titan exposed himself and reached toward the witch, not having thought it through, how far up it was. The witch didn't move, but the familiars did, surrounding him with ribbons as he shook and roared and struggled to get free. The captain soared past, his swords trained on the one circling the titan's neck, but the blades went straight through, with no indication of any harm done to it. The familiar turned to him, human only in figure and outlining, and he freezes, the only time he's ever hesitated, as he sees strawberry-blonde hair and an easy smile in the twisting shadows. She catches him by the arms, runs her fingers lightly through his hair, and with the same giggle he missed so desperately, kissed him until he could no longer breathe.
Levi fell limp in the arms of the shadow of Petra Ral, and she ripped his head off of his shoulders messily, dropping his body into the rubble of humanity below them.
The ribbons continued to wind around the Rogue Titan's neck, without her assistance, and, as he snapped his teeth fruitlessly at them, they noticed a blur of blonde and brown uniform sailing past them, straight toward the witch. They had no time to waste, however, so they wound the bands tighter and tighter, caring not for the witch they came from, only for the pleasure at seeing the struggle in the boys eyes.
Armin Arlert aimed directly for the neck of the witch, with the only conclusion that the neck must be its weak spot, there's no other possibility. The second his blades connected, they sunk in, and he let out his held breath.
It turned, lips wide in a grin, leaned forward, and bit him in half.
There was no time for reaction, no quick escape, no sudden loop hole and he was suddenly minus his lower body. The blood didn't even splatter on its lips, only dripped slowly, and it leaned forward and finished him off.
The Rogue Titan let out a howl of sorrow as the cords binding him suddenly found purchase in his flesh, biting down and slicing through him. He screamed as the witch licked the last of the blood off its lips, the last image on his mind.
With the fall of the Rogue Titan, a shot rang out, an ordered retreat. A futile retreat, as there was nowhere for them to escape to, but their original three hundred soldiers had been quickly cut into a mere thirty and Commander Erwin could not suffer to watch them fall even further. A lone soldier resisted this order, continuing to circle the witch, cutting through fabrics but not risking getting any closer to its mouth. Angry tears fell from her eyes, burning paths down her cheeks as she sliced off a finger from the witch.
Familiars pursued her, shrieking in rage at the damage, but stringy arms suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her away with an overabundance of gas. Resisting only briefly, Mikasa Ackerman went limp as she looked up into the eyes of Sasha Braus, contorted with vicious horror and fear. Sasha bit down hard on her already bleeding lip, not restraining the waterfall of tears that wouldn't cease as she delivered Mikasa to the other fourteen left.
Commander Erwin leads them downward, into someone's crawl space, and Sasha chokes back a sob as she's the one to push a torso off of the twin doors leading down to it. Mikasa stares blankly ahead, Sasha and Captain Erwin being the only ones she recognizes, and, with a feeling that encompases her whole heart, realizes the fate the rest of her friends must've met. Hunched over, they spread out, each person individually attempting to cope with the stress.
The two girls stayed close, both extremes of the same emotion as one vomited out of fear and the other clutched a red scarf so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Sasha had pulled the two of them to the furthest corner, far away from the others, as they all looked at each other helplessly. They dared not speak.
A soft, childish voice arose, only to Mikasa's ears. "Humanity has fallen, Mikasa Ackerman." Every vertebrae in her spine aligned as she sat up taller, looking around for the source of the voice, knowing no one in the room previously carried such a tone. She met the eyes of an odd, furry white creature, who didn't blink as its pink eyes gazed at her. "I wouldn't recommend speaking aloud to me, the others won't think so highly of you."
She swallowed heavily, the tears that burnt her eyes forced back as she dealt with yet another unknown. Her hands twitched toward one of her broken sword-pieces, curling around the handle. Her mouth raises in a grimace as she concentrates on thinking loudly as the creature had, though her chest rises and falls with a mild panic. "Who are you?"
"I am Kyubey. It's nice to finally be able to meet you, Mikasa Ackerman." He (or, she assumed it's a he, in regard to its tone of voice) turns around in a circle a couple of times, before curling up.
"Why are you talking to me?" She's not going to beat around the bush, she's debating losing her lunch all over the stuffed animal and her hands shake every time she glances at her empty-eyed commander. "This is the final step to insanity, isn't it." She turns her head to the side and tries to even out her breathing.
"To be frank, I would like to make you an offer." His tail swishes and he tilts his head. "You can change all of this, Mikasa Ackerman."
A sob broke free of her chest and Sasha turned to face her in surprise, even though she, herself, hadn't stopped crying. Though her hands shook, she patted at Mikasa's eyes with the ends of that scarf she always wore, trying to smile or cheer her up, but coming up short. Aloud, she let out one word: "How?"
"I have the ability to grant you any one wish, Mikasa, if you accept my terms." He closed his eyes and she heard the terms ring out, echoing hollowly in her chest. "Become a puella magi and fight witches like the one out there, and I will be able to grant you any wish."
"I could... fight those things?" Her pupils shrunk, and she gripped her sword tighter, staring up at the ceiling, imagining the monstrosity yielding to her blade. "Could I bring them back?"
"No, you can't bring someone back from the dead. That's the only condition."
"I won't blame you if you do." Halfway frozen, Mikasa's head turned to face her commander, who looked from her sword to her face. "I release all of you from military duty, consequences be damned. If you are going to go through with it, if you... take your own life-" The tortured look in his eyes resumed, but a single tear fell as he looked away from her.
"He can't see me." Kyubey interjected, and his tone almost sounds impatient. Her wet eyes cut back to him. "If that's what you thought was going on. Now, Mikasa, what is the wish that will make your soul gem shine?"
Mikasa closed her eyes under the press of Sasha's hands still dabbing tears away from her cheeks, but she responds, curling her arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. "I want to go back before any of this happened. I want to be capable of saving Armin, of saving Eren, of saving every person who suffered tonight. I want to be strong enough to fight."
Curling silver metals burst from her arm and she stares at it blankly as it swirls until it forms a circular plate. A...Shield? She was only momentarily distracted before a white-hot pain burst through her chest and her arms moved quickly to cup around herself. She grit her teeth through it all, knowing it must be the price of the contract, the mind-numbing headache. Feeling pressure on her palms, she looked down in alarm, finding an oddly gold-encrusted ruby in her palm.
It pulsed and glowed as she looked up at the white creature, then at Sasha, who stared at her in confusion. She lifted the coil of her scarf up and unbuttoned a single button on her shirt, like she'd done it million of times before, pressing the gem to her collarbone. It compressed, yielding to her wants, and stuck to her skin in a whole other shape. Unable to see it herself, she traced her fingertips over it, trying to understand the situation.
Her body knew what to do, however, and her fingers moved down to the shield. Eye-like structures unclasped, and sand began to flow backwards, as the shield wound itself counterclockwise, the gears whirring. She closed her eyes, she can do it, she'll save them all... She can protect them, she will protect them...
"Your contract is complete. Your wish has overcome entropy. Go forth and release your magical power, Mikasa Ackerman."
She closed her eyes.