Falco coughed, the bitter scents of gunpowder and smoke invading his lungs.
He pulled his limp brother's body as fast as he could, trying to drag him back to the trenches where it was relatively safe, hoping that they wouldn't be spotted and torn to shreds by the machine guns lining the lower wall.
Without warning, he suddenly slid back, and he and his brother tumbled down into the trenches in a heap.
Commander Magath looked at them. "Colt!"
He rushed over. "What happened?"
Falco looked at his brother anxiously. "The Warrior unit got blown away by an explosive round."
Colt opened his eyes, looking unsteady. "Ughh...where...where am I?"
Koslow frowned dismissively. "He must have hit his head."
Gabi rushed forward. "Here, I can patch your wound."
Falco watched them patch up his brother, feeling slightly relieved but worried at the same time.
It had been like this for some time. Four years ago, the Mid-East Alliance had declared war on Marley, and they'd been fighting ever since.
At the moment, they were nearing the end of the war. All they had to do was take control of Fort Slava, the location they were currently sieging, and victory would be theirs. Falco knew there was more to it then that, but that was their main task at hand.
Directly in front of them loomed the fort. The lower wall was only yards away, while further back the upper wall towered over the landscape. To their right lay several small mountains, and to their left, below the fort, lay the enemy port, and beyond that the ocean. If Falco peered up, he could catch a glimpse of the endless blue water stretching all the way to the horizon. Of course, he didn't do that, as they had work to do.
During the war, Commander Magath had taken the time to select worthy candidates who would become the next Warriors. They had three Warriors, Reiner, Pieck, and Porco. Porco had inherited his Titan, the Jaws Titan, four years ago, and so still had nine years left of tenure. Reiner and Pieck, on the other hand, only had two years of tenure left, and so suitable replacements would be needed.
Colt was slated to inherit the Armored Titan. Falco and Gabi, meanwhile, were the final candidates for the Cart Titan.
Falco frowned. Gabi seemed to think that she was the one most worthy of inheriting the Cart Titan, and constantly pointed out that since his brother was already guaranteed to get the Armored, his family would become honorary Marleyans whether he got the Cart Titan or not.
Falco had to concede that she had a point, and yet he couldn't just give up. While she could be stuck up, Falco could tell that Gabi really cared about their Eldian friends and family in the internment zones, and wanted to make their lives better. While gaining one of the nine Titans was an honor, it also severely shortened your life span, and Falco felt that he ought to spare Gabi from that fate, at least for a while.
Falco shook himself and tried to focus on what was going on around him.
Colt looked more steady, and was talking with Magath.
Magath looked at his subordinate carefully. "It sounds like you have an idea?"
Colt nodded. "I think we should let the Jaws and Cart Titans loose in there. Together Pieck and Porco could clear out the trenches and pillbox in an instant."
Magath held up a hand. "No. We lose if we play our cards in the wrong order."
Koslow, who had been peering out with a pair of binoculars, called out. "It's appeared!"
Colt carefully peaked out. "What's appeared?"
Magath took the binoculars and looked himself. "It. The armored train. More specifically, the four guns it carries. It's the Mid-East Alliance's new weapon, the anti-Titan artillery. Those guns are capable of taking down a Titan in a single shot, even one of the nine."
Colt protested. "But both of our Titans are fast, the chances of their napes being pierced are incredibly slim."
Magath glanced at him. "But if that should happen?"
Colt grimaced. "In that case...we would lose a Warrior, as well as the power of a Titan...and there is no guarantee that we would be able to recover the power of that Titan."
Magath nodded grimly. "Exactly. The tables would be turned on us again, just as it was four years ago, when we lost the Female, Colossal, and Beast Titans. It was seen as a major drop in Marley's military capabilities, triggering the war that continues to this very day. We cannot afford to lose any more of our Titans."
Magath looked at Koslow. "Prepare the Warrior unit for a frontal charge."
Colt's eyes widened. "Sir…"
Magath glanced at him. "What, Eldian? Haven't you Eldians pledged your loyalty to Marley? I'm giving the 800 Eldian soldiers here a chance to be honored by our Motherland."
Colt glanced off to the side. "But…"
Magath touched his shoulder. "I understand how you feel. But the Warrior unit must destroy those tracks no matter what, because so long as that train prowls around the perimeter of the fortress, we cannot risk deploying any of our Titans."
Koslow, who was looking through the binoculars again, called out. "Sir, the train is changing directions! It's coming this way!"
Magath took a look himself. "Excellent. This gives us a chance to destroy the whole train as well as the tracks."
Gabi looked up at him eagerly. "Let me do it."
She held up the seven hand grenades she'd tied together. "Ta-da! I can do it. I can neutralize the train alone."
Colt and Falco looked at her in shock.
Magath scowled. "Do you have any idea how much it's cost this country to train you brats? Denied."
Gabi shrugged. "It's true. I am a remarkable talent, unlike him. I doubt you'll ever see another cadet so skilled. I'm super cute too."
Her eyes gleamed. "But if I succeed, you don't have to lose the 800 man unit. And if I fail, you'll just lose one promising cadet and seven hand grenades."
Magath's eyes widened.
Gabi sighed. "Well, I guess if I'm worth more to you than the 800 man unit, I suppose your hands are tied. But…"
Magath shook his head. "I get it. Go."
Gabi's eyes lit up in triumph.
Falco looked at her anxiously. "Gabi…"
Gabi ignored him, and her face became serious. "I will prove to you that I am the Warrior worthy of inheriting the Cart Titan."
She began taking her uniform off.
Magath looked slightly perplexed. "What are you doing?"
Gabi tossed her jacket to the ground. "I need to do this for the plan to work. Please let me take my arm band off, just for now."
Magath nodded grimly. "Fine by me."
Gabi discarded it, and then climbed out of the trenches, and began slowly walking toward the lower wall.
Falco could only watch in disbelief. Admittedly it was a clever plan. While pretending to be a noncombatant, she would approach the enemy trenches as if to surrender. If all went well, this would allow her to get close to the tracks that were just behind the lower wall. Then, when the opportunity was right, she could toss the grenades and derail the train.
But Falco was stunned that Gabi would go this far. And it did seem a little underhanded to him.
Colt voiced his thoughts. "You know it's a violation of international law to have plain clothes soldiers, right?"
Magath watched Gabi's progress through the binoculars. "If the enemy who witnesses it survives, then it is."
Then, when the train came near, Gabi tossed the grenades, and her aim was true. The explosion destroyed part of the track and derailed the train.
Koslow watched in disbelief. "She actually did it!"
Magath raised his voice. "Galliard! Now!"
As Gabi ran back toward them, Falco saw that one of the enemies had survived, and was firing his machine gun at her. Without thinking, he rushed out to help her.
Colt cried out. "Falco!"
Falco managed to grab her and pull her into a nearby hole, saving her from the machine gun.
Gabi looked at him uncertainly. "You didn't have to do that."
Falco looked at her incredulously. "Are you kidding? If I hadn't, you'd…"
They both stopped speaking when they noticed a shadow looming over them. They looked up and saw the Jaws Titan standing next to the hole they were in, checking to make sure they were okay.
Gabi cried in delight. "Galliard!"
The Titan huffed, before leaping forward and destroying the remaining enemies in the pillbox.
As Gabi and Falco made their way back to Magath's post, Falco became more convinced than ever that he would need to look after Gabi in order to protect her from her own recklessness.
The Marleyan officer put down the receiver. "We have confirmation that the armored train is down. We can proceed with the airborne operation."
He walked over to the other soldiers, who were watching their cargo of semi-conscious Eldian criminals uneasily, knowing that they would soon be turned into Titans.
He glanced at the Eldians. "Remember, stick to the plan. The first air unit will go first and damage the fort with the first wave of Pure Titans. Depending on how it goes, we may or may not need to deploy the second wave. Either way, once the Pure Titans have done their work, the Armored Titan will go down and mop up the rest."
He looked over at Reiner. "Be warned, there are still many stationary anti-Titan artillery cannons within the fort. We don't think they can pierce your armor, but be careful."
Reiner nodded. "Yes sir."
After the officer walked away, Reiner glanced out the window, looking at the ground far below their airship.
Four years. Four long years of endless fighting and destruction. But at last, it was about to come to an end.
After their failure at Shiganshina, Reiner had taken full responsibility, prepared to accept the consequences. He didn't want to die, but then, neither had Marcel, or Bertolt. Maybe, if he'd died back then instead of Marcel, none of this would have happened.
But Pieck had intervened. She'd pointed out that Reiner had saved her life, and it was thanks to his quick thinking that they knew exactly what had happened in Shiganshina. She also mentioned how Zeke had been even more loyal and skilled than Reiner, and yet even he had fallen to the Devils of Paradis.
It was a risky move, but the military higher ups had taken her input into account, and concluded that Reiner's loyalty and abilities as a Warrior were unquestionable despite the failure at Shiganshina, and decided to let him keep the power for the rest of his tenure.
Not only that, but since Zeke's untimely death, he had been appointed as the new Warchief. It was a position he'd never wanted, but now that it was his he had sworn to himself to make the most of it.
Under his leadership, they'd managed to use the power of the Titans several times during the war that helped bring them closer to victory. He couldn't do anything about the naval battles, but for the battles on the ground and near the shore, he had put his all into it.
After these successes, the Titan Research Society had given him a serum that enhanced his hardening abilities even further, with the hope that it would enable him to withstand any projectiles fired at him, even the anti-Titan artillery. Reiner was grateful for the enhancement, and intended to use his powers to end the war as soon as possible.
Because the sooner they ended the war, the sooner they could resume the operation on Paradis Island, and complete their mission.
In addition to recovering the Founding Titan, Reiner was determined to rescue Annie. While there was a chance she was dead, the Scouts had demonstrated their knowledge of the Titan powers when they took the Beast and Colossal Titans. So he was sure that if they could have, they would have taken the power of the Female Titan before the battle at Shiganshina and used it there. Since they hadn't, it seemed that something was preventing them from doing so.
Reiner had heard from the Titan Research papers that apparently some Titan shifters had the power to encase themselves in an impenetrable cocoon of crystal. It was possible that this was what Annie had done, and so was safe, for the moment.
He thought back to the Scouts. While he still felt some guilt for what he had done to them, after they had taken the power of the Beast and Colossal Titans, his feelings had become more neutral. He had hurt them, and they had hurt him. Who was right and who was wrong didn't matter anymore. They were the enemy, and it was because of them that the present war and all the suffering that resulted from it had happened. So he would fulfill his duty, no matter what.
Magath watched the unfolding battle grimly. With the armored train down, it was now safe to deploy their Titans, and the Jaws and Cart Titans were doing wonders to the enemy line, as were the infantry units.
And yet Magath couldn't help but feel uneasy. Things were going a little too well.
His misgivings had begun a little over a week ago, when they had captured the last remaining port the Mid-East Alliance had apart from Fort Slava. The battle had been quick. Too quick. The relative ease with which they had captured the port made Magath suspicious.
Further warning signs had cropped up after interrogating several captured soldiers. They hadn't been able to get much information out of them, but two of the soldiers had mentioned something about a trap being prepared at Fort Slava. However, they had stated that the details of the trap were being closely guarded by their military's higher ups, and most of the army knew nothing other than they were preparing a trap.
Magath had been unable to verify their claims, as all the available information indicated that Fort Slava was the Mid-East Alliances' last stronghold, and their other forces had been all but spent. But Magath had a feeling that the intel was genuine, and consequently wanted to be cautious when it came to capturing Fort Slava, at least until they knew what this supposed trap was.
Magath's superiors had disagreed, however, feeling that the intel was simply a bluff made up by the enemy in a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable. Wanting to end the war as quickly as possible, they had ordered Magath to capture the fort by the end of the month.
As he watched the Jaws Titan tear up the tracks and the Cart Titan chase the enemies out of their underground bunkers, he was fairly satisfied with how things were unfolding so far.
He tried to be optimistic. They had 30,000 troops gathered around the fort, and an additional 20,000 troops stationed nearby, reinforcements that were well out of the range of the fort's guns, but close enough to come to their aid in an instant if something went wrong.
Below the fort lay the harbor where the Mid-East Alliance's fleet was taking shelter. Further out at sea Magath knew that a large number of Marleyan ships were blockading the port. The leadership of the Navy wasn't very competent in Magath's opinion, and he knew he wasn't alone in thinking that. It had taken the Navy four years and massive casualties before finally taking control of the sea.
But at this point it didn't matter. All of the Allies remaining ships were cornered in the harbor below, and it would take a miracle for them to make it past the blockade. Between that, and the fact that they had finally broken the stalemate at the fort, and things were swiftly moving in their favor.
And yet Magath couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.
Magath glanced to the left, where Colt, Falco, and Gabi were watching Pieck and Porco in awe as they tore through the enemy.
Magath eyed Gabi uncertainly. While she had proven her skill and dedication as a Warrior, she was still rather impulsive and hotheaded. Falco, while not quite as skilled as Gabi, was much more level headed. He still hadn't made up his mind on which one should inherit the Cart Titan, and wanted to give the matter some more thought once they'd secured the fort.
He cleared his throat, getting their attention.
He gazed at the fort. "What do you make of the situation?"
Colt looked thoughtful. "Well, I think we've done enough damage to the enemy's frontline for now. We ought to pull back and block off the enemy's path of retreat."
He looked up at the sky, catching a glimpse of the two blimps in the distance. "The rest is up to the air units."
Magath nodded. "That's right."
Magath watched as the air units came closer and closer. It wouldn't be long before they were in range. They were almost there…
Suddenly, there was a massive flash of light from their left.
Magath looked out toward the sea, and saw the horizon lit up, the light so bright that he was forced to squint.
His eyes widened in astonishment, and he heard the others gasp in shock and surprise.
Gabi stammered. "Are those...battleships?"
Magath looked at the edges of the flash of light, and saw several small black objects moving up in the distance. After looking at them carefully, he was able to see that they were indeed ships flying high in the air.
Koslow looked astonished. "What the hell?"
Without warning, a roar of sound and a blast of wind hit them, causing them to stumble back and cover their ears. It sounded like someone was firing a cannon right next to them, except the sound kept going and going.
Then, as quickly as it had come, it stopped. The noise and wind ceased, and the light faded. All that was left was a massive cloud of smoke on the horizon.
Falco looked up fearfully. "What...what was that?"
Colt seemed just as apprehensive, though he tried to hide it. "Was that some sort of bomb?"
Magath's eyes widened. "That explosion...it came from where our ships were."
Magath snatched the binoculars from Koslow and looked out to sea.
At first all he could see was water. As he scanned back and forth, he realized there were no ships in sight at all.
Then he saw it. Standing tall, monstrous, with no skin and its muscles and bones showing, a Titan was in the middle of the ocean.
Magath lowered the binoculars, trying to keep his hands from shaking. "It's the Colossal Titan."
The others reacted in alarm.
Colt was stunned. "What?!"
Koslow exclaimed. "But that's impossible!"
Gabi looked slightly fearful. "But I thought you said that the Colossal Titan had been taken by those Island Devils. Why would it be here?"
Magath froze, then looked through the binoculars again, this time looking down at the port below.
The harbor was bustling with activity, and several ships were already moving out into the open water.
Magath watched in disbelief. "They're leaving. Our navy was annihilated by the Colossal Titan...and immediately afterwards, their ships are leaving. There's only one explanation."
Colt's eyes widened. "Paradis Island...has joined the Mid-East Alliance."
Koslow's face paled.
Gabi sputtered. "But those devils are a threat to the entire world! They're dangerous! Why would the Mid-East Alliance ever work with them?"
Falco grimaced. "They were losing the war. They couldn't exactly afford to be picky about who they let join their Alliance."
Colt gasped. "But...this means...the war…"
Magath nodded grimly. "The war isn't over."
He scowled. "Damn it. I thought something might go wrong, but this…"
It was a major blow. Having their blockade annihilated and letting the Alliance fleet escape was an unfortunate set back that would delay the end of the war for several more weeks, if not months. And the fact that Paradis Island was now assisting the other enemies of Marley was a troubling revelation. The only positive was that at least he now knew what the supposed trap was, and felt some grim satisfaction that his suspicions had been correct.
An officer ran up to them. "Commander Magath, after seeing that light, the air units have halted. They want to know if we should continue the operation or abandon it."
Magath mulled it over. "No. Tell them to continue. While the war may not be over today, we still have a job to do, and we're going to do it. We keep going. We must capture the fort."
The officer nodded. "Understood sir, I'll relay your orders."
The officer jogged back the way he had come, leaving the others feeling disheartened.
Magath looked up, and saw the two air units nearing the airspace directly above the fort.
He sighed mentally. Good. They're almost within range. Let's just get this over with.
The second air unit halted in its advance, hanging back for the moment, while the first air unit continued forward, ready to deploy the first wave.
Suddenly, there was another flash of light, this time originating somewhere within the fort. But due to the walls blocking the source of the light from their sight, they couldn't see what had caused it.
Koslow looked nervous. "What now?"
Gabi murmured. "That almost looked like the flash of light from before…"
The next second, a volley of artillery rounds were hurled high into the air, traveling a seemingly impossible distance upwards, like a flock of birds speeding across the sky.
The volley reached the first air unit and tore it to shreds. The gases within the airship ignited, and the entire thing blew up in midair, leaving only a few scattered bits of debris to slowly fall back down to the ground.
Before they even had time to fully process what they had just seen, a second volley was hurled, this time heading toward the second airship. This time only part of the airship was shredded by the artillery rounds, but that was enough to severely damage it and cause it to catch fire.
The airship spiraled out of control, and the pilot appeared to be attempting to redirect the ship so that it would slam into the fort and do at least some damage. But his efforts were in vain, as the ship flew over the fort before smashing into the ground, landing on the lower wall between the frontlines and the fort.
"REINER!" Gabi screamed.
Falco was shaking in disbelief. "This can't be happening...this can't…"
Colt and Koslow were looking pale. Magath tried to think of something to say to calm them down, but nothing came to mind.
Magath grimaced. "There's only one person who could have done that."
As the smoke billowed out from the wreckage of the airship, a massive figure emerged on top of the upper wall of the fort.
Colt's eyes widened. "It's...it's the Beast Titan!"
Around the Beast Titan the Mid-East Alliance soldiers were bustling with activity. Several of them were bringing forward a large cart.
Magath froze. "Oh no…"
The Beast Titan reached into the cart and picked up a handful of the supplies in the cart, which turned out to be more artillery rounds.
The Beast Titan looked out at them, and spoke. "NOW, SOLDIERS OF MARLEY! FEEL THE TERROR YOU INFLICTED ON US!"
The Titan drew back it's arm, aimed carefully, and flung the rounds directly into the trenches closest to the fort.
The carnage was horrific, with the rounds tearing through the front lines like a hot knife through butter, turning dozens of soldiers into dismembered corpses in the blink of an eye.
"FALL BACK!" Magath roared. "GET AWAY FROM THE FORT!"
At Magath's command, all of the Marleyan and Eldian soldiers began retreating through the trenches, trying to get away from the fort as quickly as they could.
All of the trenches were difficult or impossible to see clearly from the fort, but the Beast Titan's gaze was elevated an extra 17 meters above the upper wall. So while he couldn't see all of the trenches, he could clearly see the trenches closest to the fort. While Magath and most of the Marleyan soldiers were able to get to the safer trenches in time, many of the Eldian soldiers were not so lucky.
The Beast Titan hurled volley after volley into the frontline trenches, each throw letting off a sound like a dozen cannons being fired, killing countless soldiers each time.
As Magath and the others retreated, over the screams and booming noises he could faintly hear a euphoric cheer coming from inside the fort, the enemy soldiers celebrating their good fortune. He grimaced, knowing now that the tables had truly turned on them.
Finally, all of their surviving forces made it to the trenches too far away for the Beast Titan to see clearly, and the endless barrage stopped, at least for the moment.
Magath breathed heavily, and could see that Colt, Falco, and Gabi were also exhausted by both the quick pace and the stress of the situation.
Magath looked over as Koslow returned. "Damage report."
Koslow's face was pale. "It's hard to say. Almost nobody who was still on the frontlines made it out in time. So the casualties are at least in the dozens, if not hundreds."
Several loud footsteps shook the ground behind them, and Magath turned around to see Pieck in her Titan form approaching them.
He walked up to her. "Pieck! Are you alright? What about the Panzer squad?"
Pieck tilted her head to the side. "I'm fine. We're all okay. Porco's safe too, he's over on the east end."
Magath let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's something at least."
It was a stroke of luck that both of their Titans were small enough to be able to hide within the trenches.
Both of their remaining Titans, Magath reminded himself grimly.
Koslow looked at him uncertainly. "What do we do now?"
Magath wiped some sweat off of his forehead. "We don't have any weapons that are capable of taking down the Beast Titan, and so long as he remains there, trying to capture the fort is impossible at this point."
Magath looked through the binoculars again, this time zooming in on the Beast Titan. He was still standing in the same spot, surveying the now quiet battlefield, his expression neutral.
Magath frowned. So, that must be Erwin Smith. While I'm sure the other nations have a grudge against us, something tells me this plan was his idea. Based on Reiner and Pieck's report, they're using a similar strategy as what was used against them at the battle of Shiganshina. He's a capable leader, unlike some of the idiots who are in charge of our military. He will be a dangerous enemy.
He put the binoculars down. "We need to retreat. Tell all of our units that we're pulling out."
Koslow looked shocked. "But sir, they told us that we must capture the fort! If we leave-"
Magath shook his head. "I will take full responsibility. But the situation is not what it was a week ago. This is no longer the Mid-East Alliance's last stronghold, this is a deathtrap we are unprepared for. We need to-"
He was cut off when they heard the sound similar to cannon fire crack through the air.
Magath looked around sharply, afraid that the Beast had somehow spotted them.
Then, a volley of artillery rounds flew far over their heads.
Koslow blinked in confusion. "What? Did he miss?"
Magath's eyes followed the trajectory of the falling projectiles, and his heart stopped when he saw where they were headed.
They slammed into the peak of one of the smaller mountains on the opposite side of the fort from the sea. The impact caused the mountain to shudder, and release part of its mass as an avalanche.
The mass of rock and debris swept down the side of the mountain before sliding over the reinforcements that had the misfortune of being too close, erasing them as quickly as a large wave erases a sand castle.
Magath's eyes widened when he realized what the Beast had done. The avalanche had only killed a tiny fraction of the reinforcements, but it had also blocked off their main escape route. The only way for them to retreat now was for them to make their way over and take the escape path on the other side of the mountain. And if they were to do that, they would be easy to pick off. But if they remained where they were…
Magath looked back at the Beast Titan, and his suspicions were confirmed. The Titan unleashed another volley, this time arcing high in the air, though not as high as the previous volley, and came down upon the reinforcements like a deadly rain. While they were well out of the range of the fort's guns, they were not out of range of the Beast Titan.
Magath tried to suppress the panic he felt rising within him.
Koslow was less subtle. "What do we do?!"
Magath didn't know how to answer that.
Before he could think of a response, another flash of light appeared, this time just outside of the fort.
Falco was shaking like a leaf.
Colt's eyes were wide in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me! Another one? What the hell are we..."
They paused, because as the light faded, they could see which Titan had just appeared.
Standing near the wreckage of the airship was the Armored Titan, glaring up at the Beast Titan.
"Reiner!" Gabi cried joyfully.
Falco and Colt looked immensely relieved, as did Koslow.
Pieck murmured. "Thank goodness."
Behind them, Magath could hear a cheer coming from the Marleyan and Eldian soldiers, their morale improved by the appearance of the Warchief.
The Beast Titan picked up some more rounds, and hurled them at the Armored Titan.
They momentarily tensed up, worried that Reiner might be torn to shreds like everything else that the Beast Titan had aimed at. But the volley was unable to pierce the armor, leaving only a few minor scratches and dents.
Magath let out a sigh of relief. He'd hoped that the serum from the Titan Research Society would be enough to make the Armored Titan immune to all projectiles and explosives, and it appeared that it had worked.
The Armored Titan began walking toward the fort, while the Beast Titan simply watched him.
Magath observed the Armored Titans movements for a moment, before turning toward his subordinates.
"Listen up. Our top priority is to get our troops out of here. I don't know how much time Reiner can buy for us, so we need to make the most of it. Organize a retreat."
Koslow saluted. "Yes sir!"
He then left in order to give Magath's instructions to the other officers.
Magath looked up at Pieck. "Meanwhile, we have work to do."
Pieck looked at him carefully. "Are we going to help Reiner?"
Magath nodded. "That's right. Based on his movements, I'm guessing that Reiner is going to attempt to ram the wall in order to knock the Beast Titan down. He's aware that bringing down the Beast Titan, or at the very least keeping it occupied, is crucial. However, this will leave him vulnerable to the anti-Titan cannons within the fort. So while Reiner is dealing with the Beast, you two must quickly take out the stationary cannons. Porco will approach from the left side of the fort, keeping within the trenches as long as he can in order to avoid being spotted by the enemy until the very last minute. Meanwhile, Pieck, you and the Panzer unit will approach the fort from the right, using the smoke from that ruined airship as cover to mask your approach."
Pieck nodded. "Right."
Magath looked grim. "Remember, Reiner's job is to deal with the Beast Titan. So no matter what happens, focus on taking out the cannons. Once they're all down, then you can assist Reiner against the Beast Titan. But be careful. And tell Porco to avoid taking any unnecessary risks."
Pieck nodded. "Understood."
Within a few minutes they were making progress, with their soldiers retreating through the trenches, while Pieck and Porco were moving back toward the fort.
Magath watched them carefully, using the binoculars when necessary. Reiner had started to pick up speed, and the Beast Titan had for the moment ceased with his deadly barrage.
On the left Porco was nearing the fort, moving at incredible speeds. On the right Pieck was moving more cautiously, using the billowing smoke from the wreckage of the airship just as he had instructed her to. While he could see them, he was fairly certain that the enemy could not, and would not see them until they were right in front of them.
Magath felt slightly calmer now. They may have the Beast Titan, but we have three Titans, all of whom have had training since they were children. The cannons will be a problem, but they won't be able to take down the Armored Titan, and the Jaws and Cart Titans are too fast for the cannons to get a clear shot. And while the annihilation of our fleet was unfortunate, at least we know that it's impossible for the Colossal Titan to appear and assist them here. We can still pull this off.
Magath glanced over his shoulder. Still, I'm not taking any risks. If they aren't able to bring down the Beast Titan, we need to get as many of our soldiers out of here as possible. Better to have to make them walk back then to assume everything will go according to plan and remain sitting ducks.
A few seconds later, all three of their Titans were almost at the fort, Porco approaching from the left, Pieck from the right, Reiner from the middle. Reiner was running straight toward the wall where the Beast Titan was standing, gaining momentum. He was almost there...
Suddenly, the Beast Titan hurled another volley of artillery rounds. But instead of aiming directly at the Armored Titan, he instead aimed at the ground directly in front of the charging Titan.
The sudden attack and uneven terrain caused Reiner to stumble and almost fall, but managed to keep running. However, in his efforts to maintain balance, he lost much of his momentum, and when he collided with the wall it was enough to crack it and let out a boom that was audible even to Magath, but it was not enough to break through the wall.
Then, while Reiner was still slightly disoriented, the Beast Titan spoke again.
"NOW!"
What happened next, Magath would have never believed if he hadn't witnessed it himself.
Four people dressed in black vaulted over the wall, and swarmed around the Armored Titan like a colony of bees protecting their hive.
Magath's eyes widened. "What…"
One of the people hurled a spear-like weapon at the Armored Titan's right leg, and the resulting explosion destroyed the knee, causing the Armored Titan to stumble and fall.
Falco gasped, while Gabi was in shock.
She stammered. "How did…"
Over on the right side of the fort four more people appeared directly above Pieck, at such an angle that the Panzer squad couldn't shoot them. Before Pieck could move, they unleashed a volley of the same spear-like weapons, damaging the carriage on Pieck's back and destroying two of the machine guns, presumably killing the soldiers inside.
As he watched their movements, Magath realized that the people were equipped with some type of grappling hooks.
These must be the Survey Corps...
Meanwhile, Reiner was in a kneeling position, and drew back his arm to attack the people swarming around him like flies. But before he could, one of them swooped near his head and jabbed two more of the spears into his eyes, blinding him.
Pieck was crying out in distress and pain, but the damaged carriage was unbalanced and made it difficult for her to move quickly. Before she could recover, the four people unleashed another volley, completely destroying the carriage and killing the remaining Panzer squad soldiers.
At the same time, two of the people near Reiner swooped down near his shoulders, and fired one spear on each side of his mouth. The two explosions caused the Armored Titan's lower jaw to detach and fall to the ground.
Colt was gripping the sides of his head. "No no no no!"
Ordinarily Magath would have reprimanded him for losing his composure, but considering the circumstances decided to let it slide.
Suddenly, a ray of hope appeared when the Jaws Titan leaped onto the wall and began running toward the Beast Titan. They couldn't possibly ignore this new opponent, and so would be forced to halt their attack on the Armored Titan and Cart Titan in order to defend the Beast Titan.
Or so they thought. But as the Jaws Titan drew near, none of the flying people seemed to even acknowledge his presence.
Instead, another person who had apparently been perched on the Beast Titan's back emerged and flew directly at the Jaws Titan.
As the Titan and the man flew toward each other, Magath expected the Titan's jaws to bite the man in half, scattering his bloody remains into the air.
Instead, the jaws closed on empty air, and the next second the Jaws Titan let out a bellow of pain before sliding to a stop on top of the wall, his left arm and leg missing.
Falco's mouth was hanging wide open. "How…"
The four people around Pieck released a final volley, this time destroying Pieck's helmet and left arm, causing her to cry out in pain once more.
The man who had incapacitated the Jaws Titan swooped back and sliced the nape open, and Magath could see through the binoculars that Porco's real body was exposed. He was still alive, but looking terrified and bewildered.
That speed...that can only be Levi...
The next second, the same person who had destroyed the Armored Titans knee flung a spear directly into the Armored Titans exposed mouth, and blasted Reiner clean out of the nape. He flew backward into the air before falling and crashing into the ground, his body limp. The Armored Titan body also went limp, stuck in a kneeling position as it began to dissolve.
Gabi screamed. "REINER!"
Colt looked at the flying people in fear. "They...truly are...devils…"
Magath watched the unfolding scene in alarm. I don't believe it. They've defeated all three of our Warriors...and so quickly...this is…
Suddenly there was another burst of light.
They all gasped in shock when they saw the Jaws Titan appear out of nowhere again. The explosion from his second transformation pushed Levi away, and got the attention of all the flying people.
While they were still shocked at his sudden reappearance, the Jaws Titan leaped at the Beast Titan and bit his right ankle.
It wasn't a serious wound, but it was enough to cause the Beast Titan to lose his balance. He fell backward into the fort, letting out a bellow of confusion before crashing to the ground.
Shortly after this, Pieck pulled the wreckage of the carriage off her back, and began running away, still moving fast despite only having three working limbs. The flying people looked like they would have pursued her, but as the wreckage of the carriage fell it snagged the wire of one of the people, forcing their comrades to save them from falling to their untimely death.
The Jaws Titan leaped at the people who had taken down the Armored Titan, forcing them to retreat, and he landed somewhat ungracefully in front of the wall. He then began running back toward Magath's position.
Meanwhile, Pieck reached Reiner's fallen form and snatched him up in her teeth, and followed after Porco.
The flying people appeared to be yelling in outrage, but did not pursue them, as without the wall they had nothing to anchor their wires to out in the battlefield.
A few minutes later, the three warriors were back at Magath's side.
Pieck set Reiner down. His body was badly mangled and burned, but he was still alive.
Gabi and Falco rushed over to him. "Reiner!"
Pieck breathed heavily. "I'm sorry…"
Magath shook his head. "No. You were only following my orders."
Porco partially emerged from the nape of his Titan. "The Beast Titan crushed most of the steps that he used to get up on top of the wall when he fell, so we should have at least some time before he can get back on the wall."
Magath nodded. "Very good."
It would have to do. It wasn't much, but at least they had bought some time.
Magath walked over to Pieck. "We need to get out of here as quickly as we can. Colt, Gabi, Falco, secure Reiner on Pieck, we need to get him to a hospital as soon as we can. His healing powers should be enough to bring him back, but I don't want to take any chances."
Magath looked at Koslow and Porco. "You two, work on getting as many soldiers out as you can."
They both saluted. "Sir!"
A moment later, Porco had gone back inside of his Titan, and Magath, Colt, Gabi, Falco, and Reiner were on Pieck's back, secured by makeshift ropes they'd spliced out of some of the deceased soldiers clothing.
As Pieck made her way to their escape route next to the mountain, Magath looked back just in time to see the Beast Titan appear once again on top of the fort's upper wall. A moment later, the Beast resumed his deadly barrage on their forces, though fortunately for them he didn't aim for their group, instead going for the reinforcements who were still exposed.
Magath faced forward, his mind occupied with two disturbing truths.
The first truth was that not only was the war not over, but the war may in fact continue on for much, much longer now, as this defeat was a major setback.
The second truth was that not only was the power of the Titans no longer the unstoppable force that it had once been, but it was now a power that their enemies enjoyed as well.
He closed his eyes, trying in vain to block out the sounds of explosions, gunfire, and screams in the distance.
Author's Note: So here's Chapter Three. I'd thought about waiting until Chapter 108 came out to see if there would be anything that would contradict my plans for this story, but I decided FUCK IT, I'm gonna risk it.
So as you can see I'm taking the story in a very different direction then what happened in canon. A lot of what is happening in the manga right now is because of Zeke's plans, but here that obviously won't be the case because he's dead. And I think Erwin would have been more bold than Hange when it came to interacting with the outside world. I also think he would do a better job of reigning Eren in, something which Hange isn't doing too well at the moment.
Some may argue that the Mid-East Alliance would never work with Paradis Island, as they hate Eldians. Well, Marley hates Eldians too, but they still use them because they recognize their strategic value. Plus, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Both the Mid-East Alliance and Paradis Island have a bone to pick with Marley, and I doubt that the other nations would pass up a chance to give Marley a taste of their own medicine.
I thought about letting the Survey Corps capture the Jaws Titan, but decided against it in the end, as that would give too much of an advantage to one side. So all three of Marley's Warriors live to fight another day, but they still got their asses kicked pretty badly.
So how did Paradis join the Mid-East Alliance? What happened this time during the four year time skip? What is different and what is the same with the canon? All these questions and more will be answered...eventually. Like I said, I want to make sure my story is as accurate as possible, and there is still a lot about the world of Attack on Titan that we don't know about, or don't know about for sure at least. So while I do have ideas for this story going forward, I'm going to hold off until the manga is at least mostly done. If it reaches the point where it's obvious the story is going to end in a chapter or two, then I may go ahead, but until then I'm going to bide my time to be sure.
So that could mean a few months, or a few years, depending on when the manga ends. But don't fret, I have another AoT story I'm working on, and that one I plan to update weekly or biweekly, so check that one out if you need something to tide you. Or don't. It's your choice.
