{1.} I just wanted to say that there will be humour in this story. Maybe you've already seen some so far.
{2.} If anyone has any questions for me about this story, I will write answers for them at the end of some chapters. Kind of like a Q&A. And, I will also put your questions in along with the answers.
{3.} By the way, I've been wondering what the Semblances would be for some of the characters – namely Eren, Mikasa and Levi. Although this won't come into effect until later, I may need some ideas for a Semblance that would fit with each character. However, this isn't a request, and I won't force you to submit your ideas. But, if you choose to help me in figuring out the character's Semblances, or if you simply give me some concept ideas for a character's Semblance, I will give you a shoutout for your suggestion as a sort of 'thank you'.
Cinder Fall
"The entire team has gone missing?"
Cinder listened in on the conversation between Emerald and Mercury, who were talking about the disappearance of Team RWBY. As they had heard it from Team JNPR, all four members of Team RWBY had mysteriously gone missing last night. In fact, it had happened just a few hours ago, in the early hours of the morning. According to Jaune and Pyrrha, the security footage at the docks was shown during a lecture. Apparently, every full classroom in the school had been shown the security footage as a way of announcing that Team RWBY had gone missing – that is, without having to hold an assembly on the situation.
There was a part of Cinder that wanted to see the embarrassment on Team RWBY's faces when everyone found out what they had done. But there was also another part of Cinder that wanted Team RWBY to never come back from wherever they had been teleported to. After all, with that particular team being out of the picture, her plan would be easier to execute.
Mercury was the one that was surprised at the turn of events. He, Emerald, and Cinder herself had been pretending to be friends with the team. More specifically, their team leader, Ruby. Without Ruby and her teammates, the trio had no primary source to get their information from. It was a downside to their plan, but they would find a way around it, should Cinder did not take it upon herself to ensure that Team RWBY never returned to Beacon first.
"According to the security footage and Roman's account of events." Cinder absent-mindedly answered the question. The news reports on her large Scroll were stating that the military was acting to try and cover up the incident. Beacon, however, wanted the people to scour Remnant in search for the four huntresses-in-training. After all, with the activation of a device like that, they could have ended up anywhere.
"What's happening with the wide-spread search parties that have been initiated?" Mercury questioned, resting his arm on his knee.
"The Schnee Dust Company have asked Atlas to help them search the kingdoms in order to find Weiss. Of course, Ironwood and his 'subordinate', Winter Schnee, are trying to search for Weiss without letting it get to the higher-ups in Atlas' Chain of Command." Emerald informed them both, occasionally making eye contact with Cinder. Cinder nodded at Emerald, indicating that she was registering the information. "Adam's also got half of the White Fang out searching for Blake."
"What about the half-sisters – Ruby and Yang?" Cinder asked.
"To our knowledge, no-one's out looking for them." Emerald told her. "Though, I do know that Ozpin is even more worried about Ruby than any of the other three girls." Emerald said next. The statement caught Cinder off guard for a split second. But although she was surprised by Emerald's remark, her usual smug and cunning demeanour never faltered for a second: with the screen of the large Scroll in her hands being transparent, she couldn't risk letting something so small and irrelevant appear to get to her.
"I'm not surprised," Cinder commented, closing the large Scroll and placing it on the shelf next to her. She sauntered over to her bed and perched herself on the edge of the covers, before looking down her nose at Mercury and Emerald, who were still sitting on the carpet. "Apparently, he let that girl into Beacon two years too soon. It's only right that he's concerned for her more than anyone else. After all, if he had not let her in so early, she wouldn't have gone missing. He likely blames himself for her disappearance."
"Why do you think he let her into Beacon so early?" Emerald asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I don't know. I have theories of my own, but I'll have to look into it myself if I want a definitive answer." Cinder responded. The fact itself just did not make sense to Cinder. Why would Ozpin's attention be on a not-so-special girl like Ruby, instead of someone as strong, powerful and talented as Pyrrha?
Cinder knew that Ruby was indeed gifted with a scythe, and was able to slice Grimm as if killing the monsters was second nature to her. But that seemed to be all the girl was good for. She may have decapitated a Nevermore, but that didn't mean that she was anything above an amateur when it came to fighting people. However, it would prove Ruby to be an easy target if Cinder ever had to end the girl's existence.
Pyrrha, on the other hand, was another case entirely. Admittedly, Cinder's blood began to pump eagerly as she awaited the day when she would burn that girl to ashes. Perhaps even both girls.
"In any case, should we help out with the search too?" Mercury inquired. Cinder quickly rid herself of her previous thoughts and paid attention to the situation at hand.
"For now. What kind of friends would we be if we didn't?"
Jean Kirschtein
Jean was situated on the ridge of a rooftop, his elbows resting on his knees as he contemplated the horrible situation that he and the rest of the cadets had found themselves in.
How could this happen?
He had been fated for a nice and quiet life inside the safety of Wall Sina, as one of the Military Police, housed far away from a bloody battleground such as this. He wanted to have a family, raise his future children, and die peacefully at old age...
...instead of being eaten by a Titan before he even got shipped out.
The dark clouds that loomed in the sky above him were starting to correspond with the depressed and defeated moods that he shared with the majority of the other recruits. For the past ten minutes, Blake had been defending the large group of cadets from any Titan that seemed to be coming near them or looking to devour them. They were always thankful each time she returned, but it was clear they all knew they weren't helping her situation any more than they were helping their own.
If anything, their inability to move at all was likely making Blake more stressed than fending off the Titans was.
On the bright side (if there was a bright side), the retreat signal had already rung, and the Trost civilians had been evacuated. The soldiers' jobs were complete now that the gate to the interior of Wall Rose was sealed. The initial plan had been for the recruits to be resupplied at the Garrison before retreating behind Wall Rose. The soldiers that had been posted inside the Garrison were also supposed to fill up the gas canisters and come out to find any stranded soldiers that were still miraculously alive and in one piece. Though, both tactics had been doomed to fail as soon as the Garrison was swarmed by too many Titans to count.
Worse was the fact that everyone's canisters were almost empty. The soldiers were unable to operate without using the little amount of gas they had left, and if they did use their gas, they would suffer the equivalent of suicide. Besides, even if they did have enough gas to get to the Garrison, all that would be waiting for them were the Titans – again, the equivalent of suicide.
"Hey, Jean! What are we gonna do?!" Connie inquired, sounding more desperate than Jean had ever heard him before.
"We can't do anything," Jean replied, showing his despair through the bitter tone of his voice. "They finally gave us the order to withdraw, and we're all out of gas." he sadly mused to himself as he placed a hand on the side of his head. "I can't believe this is how it's all gonna end." Jean continued, muttering to himself as if Connie wasn't standing in front of him. "Because of those damn cowards..."
"You mean the supply depot?" Connie interrupted him, pivoting to face Jean. "What is going on?! Where are they?!" he complained, clenching his fists. The muscles in his arms tensed.
"They all lost their will to fight, and I guess I can understand why." Jean answered, his eyes meeting Connie's again. "But they abandoned their duty to supply us, barricading themselves inside HQ. And of course Titans have swarmed the place, which means we can't get the gas ourselves."
Jean noticed Connie's eyes widen. "Then why are we waiting?! We gotta go! Start thinning their numbers so we have a chance!" he shouted at Jean. Connie was clearly trying to sound like Eren – who was currently absent – as he attempted to encourage Jean to get up off his rear. "Sitting here on this roof is totally pointless! Eventually the Titans are gonna come for us! We don't have much gas left. We'll just waste what little we have if we try to run." he carried on, trying to emphasize his point as he softly hit one of his gas canisters. "And without our mobility, we're completely screwed!"
"You're using your head for once, Connie. Nice going." Jean commented as he turned his head in the direction of the Garrison. Connie did the same. "But I'm just not sure if we've got the numbers needed to pull this thing off. The veterans in the vanguard force have all been killed. Now how exactly do a bunch of rookies pull off a suicide mission like this?" Jean rhetorically asked, the gears in his head spinning, albeit slowly. "I mean, let's assume half of our force even survives the initial assault. Then what? The supply room's probably crawling with Titans in the three or four-metre range. I don't see us accomplishing much in there."
"I do." Blake suddenly landed with a roll on the tiles.
"Blake!" Connie jogged over to Blake the moment she appeared, and stopped only a few feet in front of her. "How'd it go out there?"
"I managed to kill only one this round. It seems the number of Titans approaching here is getting smaller." Blake informed them as she slid her katana into its sheath and placed it on her back. "From what I've heard, not many people should be inside the Garrison other than the supply depot. I don't know what those Titans are gaining by going there." she remarked with an obvious sense of caution in her voice. Her gaze was redirected over her shoulder. "To be honest, with all of us gathered here, I expected to meet more Titans. Didn't you say that they can locate people by smelling where a lot are gathered?"
"Now that you say it, it doesn't really make sense either." Jean muttered. "I thought there was something bothering me."
"It's not only that, though," Blake responded. "I don't know about anyone else here, but I highly doubt that the supply depot is still functioning, or even alive. With so many Titans swarming the building, and knowing there's bound to be some of the smaller ones inside, it's possible that most – if not all – of the soldiers in the supply depot added to the number of casualties." Blake stated.
"Which means that if there are any of them left, then they have good reason to barricade themselves in." Reiner finished.
"It sure looks like it." Blake agreed. From the corner of his eye, Jean saw Blake staring out into the distance – a vacant, almost withdrawn expression in her eyes. "But it bothers me that I don't understand why the Titans are still gathered there. There are more people around Trost than there are in HQ. Of course, it could be that something is drawing them towards the Garrison, but I don't see what that could be."
Her eyes regained their spark when something inside Blake's white backpack vibrated and made some sort of musical noise. Blake reached a hand into her backpack and pulled out what seemed to be a small, handheld device.
"Uhm, Blake? What's that in your hand?" Sasha inquired.
"Oh. I forgot that you don't have much technology here." Blake remarked offhandedly, her face drawn in an expression of 'I hope I didn't offend you'. "I'll explain. In our world, we call these things 'Scrolls', as they open up like the paper ones you pull open to read. This is the smaller version of a Scroll. It allows us to do things like contact our friends, family, and teammates when we are all in different locations. It also allows for many other uses, which I can explain later if you're interested." she explained. She sounded more upbeat than before, though not by much. She looked down at the screen on the small Scroll. "Looks like it's Weiss."
She tapped a button, and Weiss' voice automatically came out of the 'Scroll'.
"It took you a while to answer my call. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I was just explaining what a Scroll was to the cadets." Blake answered. "By the way, you're on speaker. The recruits can hear this too."
"Oh! Well, in that case, good. I have something to tell you and them." Weiss' voice announced. "I'm coming over to your location soon. I'm dropping Armin off where you are."
"Wait, hold on. Why are you leaving Armin here? Did something happen to his squad?" Blake asked.
"The gist of it is that everyone else apart from Armin and Eren are dead, as far as I know. I have Armin now, but Eren was eaten earlier by a Titan. Ruby's gone to get the poor guy out of the Titan's stomach before he burns from the stomach acid."
"Hey, wait!" Connie stepped forward. "Ruby said something about that earlier. Apparently Eren lost an arm and a leg, but the rest of him was eaten whole by a Titan. The Titan that ate Eren is dead, though. Its skeleton was the only thing we found left. Though, Ruby went searching for whatever killed the Titan. She said she thinks whatever did it might be important."
"Wait, the Titans decay?!" Weiss practically shouted through the device. A sigh then echoed through the screen. "You think he burnt up when the Titan decayed, don't you?"
"Ruby asked a similar question. I had to tell her that Eren must've been a really lucky guy to escape the—"
"—the decaying stage. Yes, I get it, thank you Connie." Weiss finished for him. "Do you know the specific reason why Ruby went off on her own?"
"Not really..." Connie rubbed the back of his neck. "As far as I remember, she went into the streets to find whatever could've killed the Titan that ate Eren. Apparently a good portion of its spine was missing. Just disappeared completely."
"That's weird—wait, did you just say that Ruby went after the thing that killed that Titan?!"
"Mikasa! Weren't you with the rear guard?" asked a female soldier.
Everyone's attention snapped towards Mikasa, who had just landed on the rooftop and was sprinting towards Annie. Annie was standing near Reiner, Bertholdt, and Marco, all of which completely outclassed her in height. Especially Bertholdt, who was reportedly the tallest member of the 104th Trainee Squad.
"Annie!" Mikasa yelled, causing the blonde in question to turn around. "I know how bad things have gotten. It's selfish, putting personal matters in the forefront, but have you seen Eren's squad?"
"Some squads made it back, but the fate of Eren's is up for debate, as far as I've heard." Annie replied. She didn't seem all that concerned about their situation. Or maybe she was concealing her emotions. Jean didn't know. It was rare that anyone could ever tell what Annie was thinking or feeling. Only Mina Carolina knew that; after all, the two girls were close friends. And now Mina was dead, according to Weiss.
"Hey!" a shout echoed, both near Jean and on the small Scroll Blake held. "I've got Armin!"
Weiss landed softly on the tiles, Armin being carried on her back. His head was hanging low on Weiss' shoulder. In one of Weiss' hands was another small Scroll, identical to the one that Blake had in her hand. Weiss automatically tapped the screen of her Scroll, closing it and dropping it inside the silver satchel on the back of her hip. Blake did the same, but not even a second afterward, her Scroll made the same musical noise.
"Who is it?" Weiss asked.
"Funny timing. It's Yang." Blake tapped the screen again. "Yang?"
"Blake, I have something important to tell you and the cadets. Where are you now?" Yang's voice originated from the Scroll, much like Weiss' did earlier.
"I'm... on the roof where the cadets are gathered. Mikasa and Weiss just got here. Weiss has Armin." Blake seemed uneasy about what she said. Or, more likely, she was confused as to why Yang sounded... desperate? "What's wrong? Are you okay?" Blake asked, her brows furrowing.
"I'm okay. But this isn't about me. Can everyone else hear this?" Yang questioned. Jean could hear her loud and clear, but chose not to say anything.
"Yes; you're on speaker. What is it you want to tell us?"
"I just found out why the supply team haven't gone out to resupply anyone."
"Yang, I think we understand that the supply team have barricaded themselves inside HQ." Blake told her. "There are way too many Titans—"
"—Well, yeah, there are a lot of them," Yang cut in, "but that's not the entire reason they're trapped in the building."
"Wait, Yang, what do you mean by that?" Weiss raised the question. Her vocal projection became louder in order to make sure she was heard by Yang.
"Captain Voerman, the commander from this morning, left them here to die. If I'm correct, he ordered the supply team to stay and guard the place. He threatened them with charges of treason when they tried to stop him from leaving them." Yang told them. "It's because of him that the plan to resupply has gone belly-up."
"Wait, why would he do that? What would he get out of it by letting the supply team die in there?" Blake questioned. Jean could almost see the gears turning in Blake's brain, just by the way her eyes darted around.
"A chance to save his own skin. From what the supply team told me, Voerman told them that he was needed behind the inner gate, but none of them think it's a real job, especially since he had to leave his post to do it. He's betrayed the recruits because he valued his own life over everyone else's. In short, his own cowardice has endangered everyone's lives." Yang explained with considerably more clarity. "I don't think he's fit to serve on a battlefield."
"Then why did you call me?" Blake tilted her head at the screen.
"Oh! I just wanted to make sure you and everyone else knew the truth. See, even I can be helpful in the worst of times."
"Right... well, anyway, thank you for the info. We'll make sure to join you in your plan."
"Come on Armin, let's get you somewhere comfortable." Weiss said as she turned and headed toward the wall of what was probably an attic. She set Armin down against the wall, seeming fairly concerned that Armin still hung his head low. "Hey, Armin? I'm sorry. I didn't want to get your hopes up by telling you Ruby was going to look for Eren." Weiss placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"But I'm... yeah, I think I'm gonna have to go now. Weiss is trying to settle Armin down again. I'll see you at the Garrison, Yang." Blake said.
"You too, Blake." Yang replied. The call was immediately cut off. Blake closed her Scroll, dropping it back inside her backpack.
"Armin!" Mikasa yelled. The boy twitched at the sound of her voice. Weiss stumbled out of the way as Mikasa knelt down in front of him. "Armin, are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Mikasa asked quickly. Armin only produced a soft huff as a response, causing Mikasa's eyes to widen for a split second. Mikasa's head turned from left to right, her steely grey eyes clearly trying to search the rooftop for any sign of Eren, or at least any sign that would give her any indication that he had been there. Unfortunately, her searching was useless. "Where's Eren?" Mikasa inquired next. Armin silently gritted his teeth, and a lone tear travelled down his cheek. "Armin..."
"I'm sorry." Weiss remarked, her voice trailing off.
"What are you sorry for?" Mikasa immediately hopped to her feet, leaning toward Weiss.
"You're too close!" Weiss leant backwards. "Listen; a tragic incident happened to Eren's squad earlier today, but I didn't see exactly what happened, or how many of his squad were killed. All I can tell you is that Eren was eaten, the Titan that ate Eren is dead, and there was a little bit of hope that Eren was still alive. Ruby went to go look for him. I didn't tell Armin that myself, since I...I'm not as much of an optimist as Ruby is."
As soon as Weiss explained their situation, as fast as her explanation was, Mikasa crouched down to Armin's level again. "Armin, please. You have to tell me what happened to Eren and his squad."
Armin lifted his head up, revealing the streams of tears that were running down his face. Both Weiss and Mikasa were frozen in shock at what they saw. "They were..." Armin started to say as he lowered his head again. He placed his hands on his knees, his fingers folding into the palms of his hands. His nails dug into his skin. "The cadets of Squad 34: Thomas Wagner, Nac Tilus... Millius Zermusky, Mina Carolina... and... Eren Jaeger. These brave five upheld their duties, and they died valiantly on the field of battle..." he stuttered through his sobbing, leaving everyone in either shock or disbelief.
"Please, no..." Sasha breathed out.
"His whole squad was wiped out?"
"The same will happen to us if we try to take on those Titans..."
"I'm... so sorry Mikasa..." Armin apologized. His body shook due to how much he was crying. "It should have been me that died, not Eren... I couldn't do a thing!"
"What are you talking about?" Weiss suddenly asked him. Weiss' shoulders slumped, and a deep sigh escaped her mouth. "You shouldn't have died in Eren's place. Not when it would have been me that was the cause. Eren was in that situation because you tried to save my life, and you were so important to Eren that he decided to save yours."
Armin didn't respond, just cried even more.
Mikasa suddenly placed her hand on Armin's, her expression deadpan and her eyes appearing dilated and soulless. "Armin, we don't have time for you to get emotional. On your feet." she simply stated as she pulled the boy up, ignoring his confused and dumbstruck expression. Mikasa spun on her heel and drew her last pair of blades from the boxes on either side of her hip. Jean could see that Mikasa's presence alone had filled the defeated soldiers with a sense of hope – she was someone who wanted to wipe out the Titans, and had the power to do so. Still, she often left everyone else in the dust at times. "Marco; if we eliminate or bypass the Titans at HQ, we can there refuel our gear, allowing us to get back over the wall. Is that assessment correct?" Mikasa asked him.
"Well, yeah, sure." Marco answered. "But there's just too many out there. Even with you, Weiss, and Blake on point."
"I can do it." Mikasa declared with sudden ferocity.
"What...?" Marco's response was barely above a whisper.
Mikasa raised her sword in the air, pointing it at the sky. "I'm strong. Real strong. None of you come close, you hear me? I am a warrior!" Mikasa called out. "Know this; I have the power to slay all of the Titans that block our path. Even if I have to do it alone." She aimed her sword down at the crowd of recruits. "As far as I am concerned, I am surrounded by unskilled, cowardly worms. You can all just sit here and twiddle your thumbs while you watch how it's done."
"Okay, there was no need for that," Weiss objected, biting back even though Mikasa didn't respond.
"But Mikasa, that's insane!"
"You can't possibly hope to beat them!"
"If I can't beat them, then I die. But, if I win, then I live." Mikasa told them in retaliation. Mikasa immediately spun around, her back facing the group. "And the only way to win is to fight!" Mikasa declared as she hopped off the edge of the roof. She flew away with the use of her ODM Gear.
"I really hope that she wasn't including us in that 'unskilled, cowardly worms' part." Blake commented with a shrug of her shoulders. "And why worms, anyway? There are nicer names to insult people with."
"How pretentious." Weiss pulled out her swords from the boxes on her back. "I have not spent my life training to become a huntress just to be outclassed by someone leagues lower than me in terms of experience, skill, overall intelligence, and strategic ability."
"I think we all know she's going to get herself killed out there if we don't help her." Blake said with such an apathetic voice that it made a shiver travel down Jean's spine. Blake unsheathed her weapon and hopped over to the edge of the canopy. Weiss soon joined her. They both glanced back at the recruits over their shoulders. "I, for one, would not take what Mikasa said lightly. And to be honest, she is a bit overconfident in her abilities as they are. But I hope she gets taken down a notch before she ends up dead. Why not help us to prove her wrong about you?"
Leaving Jean and the cadets to contemplate her rhetorical question, Blake leapt from the rooftop and began her charge, tracing Mikasa's footsteps. Weiss even passed a smug smirk at the recruits, which gained varied reactions from the others. Then, Weiss sprung from the tiles and followed on after Blake.
"Y'know, I was expecting something more motivational." Jean shivered. "I blame everything about this on you, Eren." he said as he raised one of his swords. "HEY! Don't just stand there! We weren't taught to let our comrades fight alone! Unless you are a coward, in which case, stay out of my way!"
Jean felt determined to show that he wasn't a coward; nor a worm for that matter. He sprinted towards the edge of the roof, his swift steps now being directed with a clear purpose in mind. Once he leaped off of the ridge, Jean began firing the wires from his ODM Gear, letting his gas propel him through the sky.
"Never expected that from him." Reiner commented as he, Annie and Bertholdt all began to follow Jean. Armin immediately wiped his tears away afterwards. Marco sighed and pressed the palm of his hand to his face. They both began to trail after them.
"Hey, seriously! Come on, you bunch of chickens!" Sasha shouted at the rest of the cadets, who were all still stuck in awe. She accompanied Marco and Armin, following Jean's lead.
"They're nuts."
"Damn it..." another guy muttered with gritted teeth. "Alright, let's go!"
All of the recruits cheered, before finally following after everyone else.
Yang Xiao Long
Yang huffed as she fired round after round from Ember Celica until the soles of her boots hit the wall of the Garrison's main tower. Stabbing her blades into the stone, her feet secured themselves on the vertical landing platform she had made for herself. She grasped her swords tightly. Removing one of the swords from its place in-between the bricks, Yang twirled the top half of her body around in an attempt to get a clear view of her surroundings. Two Titans were approaching her; or rather, the main tower of the Garrison.
The blonde sighed anxiously. "Good job, Yang. You decided to take on all of these guys by yourself. Ymir and Krista offered you their help, but no, you just had to throw it away." she sighed in frustration. Yang's eyes landed on another Titan that was crawling on the rooftop of the building opposite her.
Yang bounced off of the wall, aiming for the Titan on her left. She propelled herself with more rounds from Ember Celica. The Titan's mouth opened as she came near it. Then, Yang performed an aerial backflip and threw the blades at the eyes of the Titan, detaching the blades from the handles as she cast them out. The blades hit their mark, one in each eye, blinding the Titan. With another shot from her gauntlets, she landed on the Titan's shaking shoulders and pulled out another set of blades. Yang leaped from the shoulder and glided by the weak spot, puncturing the corner of it with her new blades and dragging them across the Titan's nape.
It was dead within a matter of seconds.
Yang eased her landing by performing a roll as the Titan fell face-first beside her. Her gaze was then directed to the remaining Titan.
"It would be easier if I could make it fall face-down on the ground, like the other one." Yang mumbled to herself while she wracked her brain for anything that would cause the Titan to fall. A few seconds later, an idea popped into her head. "The Achilles tendon..." she whispered, peering down at the Titan's ankle.
To anyone else, fighting Titans on the ground would be the equivalent of suicide; but considering that this would be Yang's only shot, she'd be a fool not to take it.
Yang smiled to herself and stood back up straight. She instantly set off in a sprint towards the Titan's heel. As she ran, Yang blasted herself into turbo speed with the continuing momentum that the rounds from Ember Celica gave her. She swerved to the side during her speedy approach, all the while focusing her blades and directing it at the heel. Yang drifted towards the Achilles tendon and slashed the heel, making the Titan roar out in pain as it toppled over face-first.
"Got it!"
Yang then skidded to a halt and sprung onto the Titan's back, before she scurried up the Titan's spine. When she came to the back of the neck, she dragged her two blades along the nape, finally carving out the weak spot.
"Finally!"
Yang slipped when she skidded off of the Titan's nape, but she managed to recover quickly. She used her hands to flip back onto her feet.
Now that she'd killed them, the Titans were starting to decay at a very fast rate, almost as if the unbearable heat they emitted were burning the bodies from the inside out. But she couldn't take the time to observe the little things. She had to get to high ground, and fast. And was anyone still alive inside the building? Yang needed to check.
Yang leapt from the ground and drifted to the right, manoeuvring upwards while shooting through the air. She performed another twirl as she came close to the window, kicking the wall on either side of it. Bouncing off the wall, Yang aimed her fist at the window, figuring she may as well enter the building and take a breather. With a punch to the window, the glass shattered and Yang rolled inside the room.
Apparently, the room had become the home to a few crying and frightened soldiers using the desks as a barricade.
"And that makes two Titans so far," A sigh of relief escaped Yang's lips as she took the time to steady her breathing. She wasn't exhausted – not by a long shot. But rather, the rush of the fighting. Despite her endurance capabilities, the adrenaline pumping through her own body was overwhelming, so much so that she had to take a moment for her heart to slow down. Her heartbeat was ridiculously sped up; she was surprised she hadn't suffered a heart attack.
After her heart rate had calmed down, scraping sounds suddenly became audible.
Yang spun around the second she heard that noise; her lips pursed as she slowly tiptoed over to the tables acting as a barricade. "Uh... hello?" she cautiously asked. She tried to sound as polite and non-threatening as possible as she approached whoever was trying to keep hidden. Raising her head to try and peek over the tables, she found four soldiers. Three of them appeared to be scared out of their minds, while one was cleaning out the barrel of what appeared to be a musket. "Oh, hello!" Yang greeted in a kind tone, trying not to scare the group. The man ceased cleaning the barrel of the musket instantly. He turned to Yang, staring at the blonde with a mixture of wonder and horror. The rest of them didn't react to her. Yang kicked one of the tables to snap the attention of the rest of the soldiers to her. It worked "Hi, my name's Yang. I arrived here this morning with former Cannon Maintenance Squad Four, I believe it was called. You may have seen me and some of my friends around the Garrison earlier today."
"Who... are you, exactly?" asked the man. "I know your name is Yang, but are you an outsider or something?"
"I guess you could say that. My and my team ended up on top of Wall Rose after we were dropped into this world. It sounds crazy, but hey, so is a world dominated by dumb humanoid giants."
"I thought you looked otherworldly. When I saw you today, at the Garrison, I mean." remarked the woman. Her voice was quiet, but it wasn't a surprise.
"Yeah. Compared to you guys, I think we're all aware of how outlandish we look. But in case you're suspicious, just know that we aren't your enemies. I've been trying to kill as many Titans as I can outside this building just so the rest of the soldiers out there could get here and resupply." Yang clarified, raising her hands in assurance. "Anyway, what are you guys doing here? Are you the supply team?"
"We... we are."
"Then what are you guys doing here, holed up in this room? I know the situation's chaotic at the moment, but the soldiers out there need gas. Last time I heard, they barely had any left."
"We were ordered to stay here by Captain Kittz Voerman." said the one with the musket still in his hands.
"Wait, you mean the guy who gave that massive speech this morning and gave you your orders?" Yang questioned in disbelief, lowering her hands as she kneeled beside the table. She planted her folded arms on the edge of the table. Why would he tell the supply depot to stay inside the Garrison? The plan was for the supply depot to head out after the civilians had been evacuated and resupply the other soldiers with gas since they were bound to be running low on it.
"That's the one." the same man replied, nodding his head. "Apparently he had a job behind the interior of Wall Rose. But I doubt it was a true job." he remarked with a vague sense of bitterness. "Promise me you won't say anything about what I'm about to say?"
"You're entitled to your own opinion." Yang nodded at him. "So whatever is said stays in this room."
"R-Right. Well... I didn't think Captain Voerman was telling the truth. More like he was just making an excuse to hide behind the safety of the inner gate." the man informed her. His brows furrowed, and he glared at the musket in his hands. "He even tried threatening us with high treason just because we refused to let him go at first. We had no choice. It was clear to see that he valued his own life above the lives of his soldiers and the plan itself."
Yang's jaw dropped. "So he... he ordered you to stay here, abandoning the plan to resupply the recruits, just to save his own skin?" Yang questioned, just to make sure she heard that right.
"It's difficult to believe, isn't it? But what I'm telling you is the truth." the soldier continued, staring into Yang's eyes. "He has a reputation for being a coward, always finding some excuse or another to stay off the frontlines while other people are hurt or killed. He lets his own fear give way to hysteria and irrational logic – hell, I'm not even sure if you could call it logic."
"If that's the case then, it's obvious that we need to limit his number of days in the military. A man like that doesn't seem fit to lead people, even if it is due to shellshock." Yang immediately rose to her feet, her eyes already gone crimson. "And to think he's the guy who said that desertion was punishable by execution. Does anyone else think that's hypocritical? He disobeyed his own orders. Have you not filed any complaints to the Commander to the Garrison Regiment?" Yang asked, now more than irritated with the cowardly Captain's unfitting behaviour. Yes, she knew shellshock caused things like this to happen, but even she knew it was unfair to make others pay the price for a single person's safety. The death toll was rising out there. There was no time for selfishness when humanity itself was at stake in times like these. "You need to talk to someone if you know about the actions of this Captain Voerman." she stated as if the fact was obvious.
"We would, but... how can we?" one of the two girls inquired. "I doubt our claims would be listened to. They could easily just dismiss our evidence against him on the excuse that our claims come from our own hysteria and fear. Not to mention, we could get in trouble if someone thinks we're not telling the truth. It'd be very risky."
Yang slammed her hands down on the edge of the table. The sudden ferocity of it was enough to cause a few cracks to appear in the wood. "I'll talk to the Commander of the Garrison Regiment then. For you." Yang proposed as a kind smile crossed her face, the colour of her irises going back to violet. "I'll inform the Commander about Voerman, and you guys can explain to him that the cowardly actions of Captain Voerman caused the initial plan to backfire and leave many soldiers endangered."
"You would do that?"
"I'd be happy to. Just let me take care of everything for now." Yang told them. "I'll also make sure to get the message out to the other soldiers when I have the chance."
"Thank you!" the soldiers gratefully smiled at the blonde.
"Also," Yang snatched the musket out of the man's hands, "I'm gonna need to borrow this. I hope you don't mind. After all, you don't look like you'll be accomplishing much with this."
"U-Uhh... sure." he replied nervously. "And, uh... no offense, but you don't exactly seem like the type to use guns like that."
"None taken. I'm more of a brawler, actually – trained by my dad. If I remember correctly, this is my first time having to use swords. But I still know what muskets are. In our world, they're more antiques than battle weaponry, so we don't use them a lot, if at all." Yang clarified. "But I'm capable enough. Ruby has a fascination with these sorts of things, so I may know a thing or two about how to go about using 'em."
After bidding her goodbyes to the supply team, Yang exited the room via the window, leaping back into the hell waiting for her outside. One she was outside, Yang hopped up to the highest point of the highest roof within the area. Once finding her balance, Yang pulled out her small Scroll, holding it with a secure grip as she called Blake.
It took a couple of seconds, but Blake answered.
"Yang?"
"Blake, I have something important to tell you and the cadets. Where are you now?"
"I'm... on the roof where the cadets are gathered. Mikasa and Weiss just got here. Weiss has Armin. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm okay. But this isn't about me. Can everyone else hear this?"
"Yes. What is it that you want to tell us?"
"I just found out why the supply team haven't gone out to resupply anyone."
"Yang, I think we understand that the supply team have barricaded themselves inside HQ." Blake told her. "There are way too many Titans—"
"—Well, yeah, there are a lot of them, but that's not the entire reason they're trapped in the building."
"Wait, Yang, what do you mean by that?" Weiss was the one to ask this time.
"Captain Voerman, the commander from this morning, left them here to die. If I'm correct, he ordered the supply team to stay and guard the place. He threatened them with charges of treason when they wouldn't let him leave them." Yang informed them. "It's because of him that the plan to resupply has gone belly-up."
"But why would he do that, though? What would he get out of it by letting the supply team die in there?"
"A chance to save his own skin. From what the supply team told me, Voerman told them that he was needed behind the inner gate, but none of them think it's a real job, especially since he had to leave his post to do it. He's betrayed the recruits because he valued his own life over everyone else's. In short, his own cowardice has endangered everyone's lives." Yang explained with considerably more clarity. "I don't think he's fit to serve on a battlefield."
"Then why did you call me?" asked Blake.
"Oh! I just wanted to make sure you and everyone else knew the truth. See, even I can be helpful in the worst of times."
"Right... well, anyway, thank you for the info. We'll make sure to join you in your plan." Blake responded. There was a pause. Yang heard a faint trace of Weiss' voice on the other end until Blake spoke up again. "But I'm... yeah, I think I'm gonna have to go now. Weiss is trying to settle Armin down again. I'll see you at the Garrison, Yang."
"You too, Blake." Yang then hung up. After sparing a second to put away her small Scroll, Yang lifted herself up and hopped onto one of the lower rooftops, Ember Celica automatically at the ready. "Alright, so... which one of you is next?"
Ruby Rose
"Ereeeen! Eeereeen!"
No matter how many times Ruby called out for him, Eren didn't answer, nor could she find him anywhere. She was starting to lose hope when she came across the familiar ash-black skeletal remains of the bearded Titan that ate Eren. Not only that, but she hadn't found a single Titan nearby. She was sure at least one of them would have reacted to her calls for Eren.
Ruby fell to her knees, facing the large skeletal corpse. She took the time to analyse the bones once more, seeing if any of them shattered upon impact with the ground, or if she could see a portion of its neck bones sliced when it was killed. Since she was previously on a rooftop the first time she'd seen this, she figured that a closer inspection would be needed to ensure she wasn't searching for something that didn't exist.
"It's so strange." Ruby tilted her head when she saw nothing on its neck bones. No marks of a kill anywhere. She was sure she'd overheard something about being able to see the marks of a kill in the nape of a Titan's neck. "You don't have any marks from your death. But the middle of your spine is missing, too. Did it just crumble away when you decayed?"
What was even stranger was that Ruby was talking to a Titan's skeletal remains.
Weirder still, she didn't even attempt to move when she heard rushed, loud footsteps coming her way. She assumed those were a Titan's footfalls. Of course, when she raised her head, her assumption turned out to be correct. It was a Titan. One with a more flustering appearance.
The Titan sported a head of messy brown hair, and glistening green eyes. His body was equally proportioned, unlike most of the other Titans that she'd seen so far. Her face heated up when she saw the muscles the Titan had, and even more so when she realised how defined his abs were.
There was no other way to describe it. This was just flat out weird.
But, for some reason, she was too starstruck to move.
Fortunately, though, the Titan didn't seem to be focused on her. He didn't look at her like she was food. More so like she was familiar to him. Of course, he reminded her a bit of Eren, too; however, it wasn't uncommon to have a combination of green eyes and brown hair.
"Hey!" Ruby finally found the will to make herself stand up. She waved her arm in the air, aiming to get the Titan's attention. He stopped in his tracks. Ruby gulped down her rising anxiousness. The Titan crouched down, lifting Ruby by her cloak. He dropped Ruby on his shoulder. Thankfully, she still had Crescent Rose on the back of her belt, just in case. Luckily enough, though, he wasn't hostile towards her. He was actually very friendly... for a Titan.
Before Ruby could say anything else, he started walking again, this time in the opposite direction. He was going back the way he came?
"Wait! Where are you going?" Ruby asked when the Titan started jogging. "What do I call you? Why did you pick me up? Can you understand anything I'm saying?" she questioned ceaselessly.
The Titan softly roared in response.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak Titan!" Ruby told him in response.
The Titan shook his head, before lowering it and aiming a concentrated glare at another Titan that blocked their path.
The new Titan on the scene had a distinctive potbelly, which wasn't anything unusual. Its arms were also fairly thin, leading to a disproportionate appearance. It stared at Ruby's new Titan friend as if he was its prey. Surprisingly, it didn't seem too concerned with Ruby there, even though she was on the shoulder of its prey. Or maybe it was staring both of them down. She couldn't really see if that was the case, in all honesty.
"Great..." Ruby sighed. She sat up, holding onto the hair of the Friendly Titan, and unclipped Crescent Rose from her belt. Midway through Crescent Rose's transformation into its scythe form, the Friendly Titan roared at the opposing one.
Now he was hostile. But only towards the potbellied Titan. Not towards Ruby.
She probably would have considered it as strange, but she had only been in this world for a number of hours, so she couldn't yet judge whether he was special, or just one of a few Titans on humanity's side.
Ruby sighed and let her Crescent Rose retract into its compact storage form. "I see you want to take this one?" she asked him, just to be sure. He slowly nodded his head. Not even two seconds afterward, he raised his arms up and moved into a fighting stance, tightly clenched fists positioned in front of either side of his face. Ruby arched a brow, accompanying the action with a tilt of her head. "Huh...? Isn't that a stance for hand-to-hand combat...?" she inquired, directing the question to no-one in particular.
Ruby's concentration was knocked when the Friendly Titan began his advance toward the potbellied one. The potbellied Titan, as if in response, strolled towards Ruby and the Friendly Titan, likely aiming to devour the both of them; if it could. Both Titans released high-pitched, loud roars. Ruby had to cover her ears.
As soon as the potbellied Titan took one step forward, the Friendly Titan swung his fist. His fist hit the cheek of the opposing Titan and sent him flying backwards, landing on the ground and tearing up the ground. Ruby could only watch on as her new friend then dashed toward the Titan sprawled out in the street, delivering a swift kick to its head. The head detached from the neck as if it had been torn off, and rolled away, littering the ground with blood. As the blood began to evaporate, he immediately began pummelling what was left of the Titan's neck, slamming his foot down ceaselessly until he seemed sure it was dead.
"Well," Ruby started to say, slowly stealing herself away from the shock and brutality of the killing. "I should've expected to meet a Titan that's gone rogue."
The 'Friendly Titan', as she'd considered him earlier, would have to be changed to the 'Rogue Titan'.
"You're not going to eat me, right?" Ruby couldn't help but ask. The Rogue Titan aimed his eyes at her from the corner. He shook his head. Ruby released a deep exhale, something short of a sigh of relief, which made her realise she had been holding her breath. Her attention was the directed toward the headless and decaying dead Titan upon seeing that the Rogue one was pointing down at it, as if he was proud that he had killed it. "So, you're only killing the Titans?"
He nodded his head, and Ruby swore she could see a glint of excitement in his eyes. Ruby, in turn, grinned back at him. She unclipped Crescent Rose and let the weapon unfold in her left hand, before securing a fixed grip on a clump of the Titan's hair.
"Time for a rampage."