WELCOME to C9, or 10 if you count ze prologue. So this chapter basically concludes the Trost Arc which makes me happy since this arc wasn't really the easiest to write.
That probably is my fault since I chose a weird topic like IBO X SNK. And also it may have been easier if I went all cliche and got Eren, Armin and Mikasa as the main cast.
BUT SIDE CHARACTERS DESERVE SOME LOVE DAMMIT. So I chose Nac, Mina and Annie because I like em. Oh, and Mylius will make some appearances.
Is Annie considered a side character though? I mean, in future episodes of Snk/AoT she is… let's just say less 'side character'-ish.
Anyways! Enough of my rambling. Onto the final Trost Arc.
Dashing on the walls, of Trost, Eren, along with Mikasa and the three Garrison Elites, Riko, Mitabi and Ian, the three Garrison assigned to protect him sprinted towards their destination.
Ian and Mitabi were rather tall men, with Ian being 188cm and Mitabi at 191cm. In simpler terms (maybe), Ian was probably my height, with Ian a little above. Ian was a muscular dude, with dark blonde hair and a notably slim face with defined cheekbones. Mitabi, on the other hand, had very short crops of brown hair with a bitchin fine short beard.
Ian, Mitabi and Riko were personally assigned to keep Jaeger alive for this mission. Mikasa was only following because Ian said that her skills would come in handy, and also Ian, being the cool dude he was, probably knew that Ackerman liked Jaeger too much, so being the nice guy he was, he allowed her to follow.
Yet, while the four focused on the sprinting, Eren couldn't help but glance below.
And he had a rather good reason for it however. As below the Wall was the Gundam Barbatos, slamming Titans away from their target. Near it were several groups of Garrison, assisting in drawing the Titans away.
"He called you a top-secret human weapon, but sealing that hole is all I care about," said Mitabi as they sprinted atop the Walls of Trost, ignoring their fading stamina or weakening legs. "I'll protect you with my life. It's up to you, kid."
"Yes sir!" replied Eren, a little proud to get the recognition he always wanted. Though it was ruined when Mikasa ran up beside him.
"Eren, are you feeling better?" asked Mikasa because she's a good sister.
"Yeah," replied Eren, though his tone suggested otherwise, making Mikasa worried.
"Eren…" repeated Mikasa.
"I'm telling you," shot Eren, a little fuming that she asked again. "I'm fine! A lot better than when we were cornered earlier…"
And as he said that, a Titan was flung over their heads and went flying over Trost and back into Maria. As it did, Riko came running up between Jaeger and Ackerman.
"Quit playing house, Jaeger," ordered Riko.
"I didn't mean to…" began Eren.
"To think that we've entrusted the fate of mankind to a spoiled kid like you and a pile of nuts and bolts…" groaned Mitabi, making Mikasa give him a look which said that she'd dropkick him off Trost if he didn't shut it.
Thankfully, Ian shut them up.
"That's enough, all of you!" he ordered. "We're approaching the route to the boulder!"
With that said, the commando of the team looked down.
"From the looks of it, there are no Titans," he observed. "It seems as though our comrades and the Barbatos have successfully lured or killed them off."
Trost
Zipping left and right, the Barbatos went on it's way destroying the Titans who dared approach it. And seeing as they viewed the Mobile Suit as a source of food, thanks to Mikazuki, they kept coming at it.
After he turned the ninth Titan he encountered into paste, Augus slouched on his seat, feeling exhausted. As he massaged his sore hands, Augus turned the Barbatos' head unit up to the Wall of Trost, spotting Ian's team up top.
According to Pixis, the main plan was to lure most of the Titans to the side of Trost to minimize casualties during this fool plan. The way Pixis chose to lure them was, however, rather smart. The Garrison, accompanied by the Trainees, hung from the side of Wall Rose, acting as Titan bait for the hordes.
Among those there were Armin, Jean, Marco, and his three mates. On the average day, Augus would have stuck with them, but he had a job to do at the moment, and that was to keep the Titans away from the boulder.
Though that didn't stop him from occasionally turning to check on them. Mika's a protective dude after all.
Of course, not every Titan in Trost will be there. Occasionally, a Titan would… let's just say accidentally wander away from the crowd. And of course, there were those which were to far away to lure. So that was where Mika, alongside three other groups of Garrison and Trainees, came in.
It was their job to kill any Titan who strayed from the group or were on their way towards the boulder. The Garrison/Trainee groups did a decent job of downing any Titan who came their way thanks to their strength in numbers and coordinated assaults, though the Barbatos' shear strength kept most of them away.
After he gripped the arm controllers again, Mika noticed an incoming 12 metre class coming at the Barbatos from the back. Not even turning his MS, Augus simply got the Barbatos to launch its foot back and kick it. Once it was gone, Mika smiled ever so slightly and held the Wrench Mace tighter in the Barbatos' grasp.
Up top
While the Barbatos continued its rampage down below, Ian's team continued their sprint, ignoring their burning calves and tired lungs. As they got closer, however, Riko fell in beside Eren.
"Let me say one thing, Jaeger," she said, making Eren turn to her. "In this operation, more than a few men will perish, even if we have the Gundam on our side. All for you to complete your task.
"They are all our elders, colleagues, juniors, and even friends. Of course, every soldier is prepared for death, but these people aren't just lifeless pieces on a chessboard. They all have names, families, and feelings in their hearts too…
"Alyusha, Dominique, Phine, Isabelle, Ludwig, Martina, Guido, Hannes, they are all humans. They live and bleed. Some of them have shared bread with me since our Trainee days. They might have to die today, all for this suicide mission. You have the responsibility to ensure that their deaths will not be in vain. No matter what may come, remember this in your small, naive heart, and be ready to die in order to fulfill your duty."
And when she said that, the intensity of his task fell back on his shoulders again, reminding him that this was not a game, and that hundreds of lives were counting on him.
"Y-Yes ma'am!" exclaimed Eren, and while those words were easy to say, he knew carrying his duty out would be tough.
"Alright, we're here!" announced Ian. "Jump!"
At his command, Ian's team, minus Riko who stayed back to shoot a flare into the air to signal a 'mission start'.
Near the boulder, somewhere closer to Rose
Accompanied by the large kick of dust, the Barbatos slammed the Wrench Mace down onto a 3 metre class who was foolish enough to break away from the pack.
Through the smoke, the Wrench swung to the side and whacked a 13 metre class into a building, making it crumble into splinters. Before it could stand, the pilot pulled the Longsword off it's backpack and jammed it into the nape.
When the two mindless flesh thingies were down, the Barbatos expelled all the built up steam from the vents on it's body and flashed it's optics for a second. And within the cockpit of the Barbatos, Mikazuki noticed the flare up top. It was green, signalling a mission start.
And soon after, a large lightning strike came down near the boulder. The strike was so bright that Mika had to raise the Barbatos' arm unit up to shield the optics, in turn his own eyes, to stop himself from going blind.
Maybe he should have accepted Kudelia's offer on getting him some sunglasses back on the Dort Colonies. Maybe…
Anyways, moving away from my slight self cannon and back to the actual story, Mika lowered the the arm unit and saw a house getting slammed into.
'Maybe he tripped…' thought Mika as he turned and noticed that a few Titans were approaching. Raising his brows, Mika thought that the soldiers pulled back, possible because they lose some of their numbers, but he then saw the that the soldiers were still there, hanging like bait. 'Perhaps it's something to do with Jaeger…"
But still, the boy largely ignored it and went on his way to defend the area. As he went on, he heard Jaeger stomp out of the dust let out a roar. Probably because he stubbed his toe on his way own. Either that or it's normal. Each to his own I suppose.
Yet, though Eren seemed to act… strange. He didn't move, just staring at the boulder. That made Mika quirk his left brow up in confusion.
Landing behind her brother, Mikasa watched as her brother, as a Titan anyways, roared to the heavens.
'By human standards, that boulder would be impossible to lift,' thought Ackerman as Ian and Mitabi landed close by, one house behind her. 'But I'm sure Eren has the strength to do it.'
Yet, when she looked at her brother expectantly, she noticed that Eren didn't move, he just stood there silently, staring at the boulder. And slowly, the Titan boy turned towards her.
'... Eren?' thought Mikasa, before Eren shot an arm at her. With wide eyes, Mikasa lunged to the side and avoided a strike which would have undoubtedly killed her (which is questionably as she has plot armour).
Before his fist collided, Mikasa leapt away from the fist and onto a further side of the building. When she landed, Mikasa gained a small cut on her cheek thanks to a small, sharp piece of debris. Though that small cut was nothing when compared to the sharp pain she had on her back when the girl slammed against the balcony of the house.
(on a side note, did you guys seen Riko's face when that happened? Really, go watch the anime episode and go to somewhere near the timestamp 3:38 and tell me that Riko's face isn't gold.)
When the boy shot his arm at his loving sister, Mika immediately blasted the Barbatos towards him. Augus was never one to speculate, but he could guess that this new 'Titan' power of his was a little overwhelming to him.
On a side note, just imagine Mikasa as a Titan. That'd be pretty bloody awesome.
Back on topic, when Mika saw Eren getting out of control and nearly killing Ackerman, he immediately blasted the Barbatos towards the boy Titan, who was preparing another punch. As for Mikasa, she was still recovering from her impact against the balcony… thing.
Though the two had no real friendly relationship, Mika, as I've probably stated quite a lot of times, had a mutual respect for each other. And that mutual respect towards her made him take action.
"Ackerman!" exclaimed Ian as Eren began to pull his Titanic (hehehe) fist back, and as Riko and Mitabi stood there, still in shock. "Fall back!"
Unfortunately, Mikasa seemed to be a little dazed from the impact, seeing as she didn't notice the fist until the last minute. And by then it was too late.
Refusing to see Ackerman get crushed, Mitabi diverted his attention behind him, and that was when he widened his eyes.
"Ian!" shouted Mitabi, prompting Ian and Riko to whirl around and see the Barbatos dashing at them. It zipped right past them and tackled Eren with it's shoulder, sending the Titan boi flying to the side and crashing into another building, causing a large amount of dust and soot to fly everywhere. Just an average day in this story, trust me.
Can we just take a moment to feel bad for the builders within the Walls? It must be hard rebuilding these things. And the amount of money needed? Sheesh.
Back on topic, when Eren slammed the house in, Mikasa gave the Barbatos a harsh glare, which it promptly ignored. Besides, Eren, who recovered rather quickly, probably thanks to that 'Titan power' or whatever, was already up and coming at him with both arms ready to strike.
Dropping the weapon it held, the Barbatos caught the boy's arms, not letting go. In fact, Eren's arms seemed to be getting crushed under the Barbatos' intense grip. I mean, Eren didn't seemed to notice, as he just kept trying to pry himself out of the Gundam's grip.
Ignoring both the Barbatos or the possibility of getting bitten by Eren, probably by accident, Mikasa launched a wire up to the Barbatos' arm 'shield' and swung herself up onto Eren's head grabbing his hair to keep her latched onto her bro.
"Hold him still!" ordered Mikasa, not caring what it did to her. All that mattered to her was getting her brother to snap out of it.
"Ackerman!" exclaimed Ian, standing near the wrestling Titans, with Mikasa in the middle of it. "Cut it out and fall back!"
Unfortunately for Ian, Mikasa wasn't that concerned about her own well being, seeing as she kept on Eren's head as the boy pushed the Barbatos back, though it was more to do with the ground below the Gundam breaking apart rather than the lack of strength, though it managed to keep its footing on solid ground.
"Eren, don't you recognise me?" exclaimed Mikasa, sounding desperate. "It's me, Mikasa! Your family!"
That seemed to make Eren that much angrier, for an unknown reason, causing the boy Titan to push the Barbatos back more, prompting it to put more power into its push, causing Eren to drop down to one knee.
"You must block the hole with that boulder!" exclaimed Mikasa, ignoring the fact that the Barbatos did that act.
While Ackerman tried in vain to help Eren, Riko simply picked up a red flare. "The operation has failed," she said, loading it in. "It was obvious from the start that no secret weapon ever existed."
When she said that, the woman shot the flare up into the air.
Back with the Barbatos, Eren and Mikasa, the girl was still trying to get Eren to think properly. But it was clear that this was going nowhere, something the Barbatos seemed to know.
"Eren!" exclaimed Mikasa in another vain attempt to snap Jaeger out of it. "You're human! You're-"
Yet before she could finish, the Barbatos began to shake Jaeger from left to right, causing Mikasa to fly off her brother's face and land hard on a nearby building.
Once she was off, the Gundam gave a quick right jab to Eren's stomach and a left to the jaw, leaving Eren dazed. Taking advantage of it, Barbatos grabbed his head and slammed it into the boulder, completely crushing the cranium, and gaining a pissed off look from Ackerman, but Ian's team seemed almost relieved.
"What's with him…" groaned Mitabi as Ian helped Mikasa up. "I guess he's just a stupid Titan like the rest!"
And Mikasa, being Mikasa, said only one thing.
"Eren!" she yelled as the Barbatos removed it's hand from Eren's flattened skull, the dissolving blood on it's palm. "Eren…"
"Commander Ian!" came the voice of a Garrison behind them, making Mitabi and Ian whirl around. "Two Titans approaching from ahead! A pair of 10 me and 6 metre classes!"
When he was informed, Ian widened his eyes immensely. Though not as much when the Barbatos turned and looked behind them.
"Incoming," it said, raising an arm and pointing to the north of Trost. Turning to the side, the group, minus Mikasa who was still looking at Eren, widened their eyes.
A group of around 9 to the staggering amount of 23 Titans coming their way. Taking a step back, Mitabi whirled to face Ian.
"Ian, we have to fall back!" exclaimed Mitabi, sounding horrified as the Barbatos retrieved it's weapon. "That boy ain't going to block no gates (that's what he said in my version of the Shingeki No Kyojin sub, no joke)!"
On a side note, and I'm giving a lot of them in this but I like talking to you guys, what's with these different subtitles on different websites anyways? On one site, they call Shiganshina, the other being Zhiganshina. And some of them having entire sentences being replaced. It's odd… but whatever. Back to the story.
"Yeah, we have no choice but to leave him here," agreed Riko, looking and sounding slightly worried. Ian was halfheartedly about to agree, but a harsh, and I mean harsh, glare from Mikasa made him reconsider.
Atop Rose, a short while ago
"Hey, what's that…?" asked Mylius, looking into the air.
"Did they… fail?" added Marco.
"Why…" muttered Armin, gritting his teeth. And before you knew it, Arlert sprinted off and grabbed a pair of gas tanks.
"Hey, Armin?!" exclaimed Nac as the blonde sprinted off.
Back down low at the boulder
"What are you waiting for Ian?!" exclaimed Mitabi, his voice sounding horrified and desperate. "You're the one in command! Please… it isn't your fault! This plan was dubious at best! All of us knew that! It was worth a try, and we did, with no success!"
"But we still have the Barbatos!" retorted Ian, swinging his blade to point at the Gundam. "He can still seal the hole!"
"But we risk a lot by getting the… thing to seal it!" replied Mitabi. "The Armoured Titan could easily bypass us and break into Rose! And even if it doesn't, we will be risking the lives of many by losing our biggest defence!"
"But-" replied Ian, but he found himself lost for word. Turning to the Barbatos and Jaeger, he gritted his teeth. Was this a logical thing to do? Abandon one of the two best chances for humanity to win?
"Come on!" commanded Mitabi, turning around. "We're running out of time! We're scaling the wall!"
With that said, the man turned and headed for the Walls of Trost, with Riko following suit. Mikasa, however, didn't like their choice to leave behind her pathetic crush. So, with her blades in her hands, she charged at Mitabi, wanting to teach him a lesson.
Thankfully, Ian held her back. "Wait," he said, making Mikasa shoot him a furious glare. "Calm yourself Ackerman."
When he said that, Mitabi and Riko turned to face him, hoping that he was calling off the mission. But they didn't expect him to turn to the Gundam.
"Barbatos, defend our position," he ordered, not bothering if it would kill him. And it didn't, simply nodding and gripping it's weapon. Mitabi and I will handle the 10 and 6 metre. Riko, assist the Barbatos."
"What?!" proclaimed Riko.
"I'm the Commander of this squad, Riko!" exclaimed Ian, not willing to let Eren fall. "Just shut up and listen! We can't leave Jaeger undefended! We're changing our objective. Until Jaeger is retrieved, we'll protect him from the Titans. While not as advanced as the Gundam, the boy represents a precious possibility for mankind. We cannot just abandon him like that.
"And unlike us, they cannot be replaced."
"But hundreds have died for that hulking failure of a human weapon!" retored Riko. "And now you want to recover him… just for us to go through all that again?!"
"That's right!" replied Ian, making Riko and Mitabi flinch. "No matter how many die, we must try again and again!"
"Ian, you know I respect you immensely…" muttered Riko, her calm demeanor fading. "But are you out of your mind?!"
"Perhaps, but tell me, Riko! Tell me how else can mankind win against the Titans?!" demanded Ian.
"We can still bring the Barbatos!" replied Riko, pointing her blade at it. Turning to face it, Ian stared into those green 'eyes', then back to Riko.
"That thing is nothing more than a pile of scrap held together, Riko!" proclaimed Ian. "Things which will eventually rust and fall apart! Eren is human! Something which will never do neither!"
"But what if we took it apart?" pushed Riko, trying to get Ian to pull back.
"There's no point!" replied Ian. "Our technology is not enough to pull it apart!"
"Yet, even so… why risk the lives of thousands for that brat?!" demanded Riko. "
"Tell me, Riko! What other way is there to get through this?!" yelled Ian. "How can we possibly win against the Titans without more people dying, while staying humans ourselves?! What should we do?!"
"Of course I don't know a way to defeat the Titans…" replied Riko, her oddly calm demeanor coming back to her.
"That's why this is all we have left," muttered Ian, turning to both the Barbatos and Eren. "For both of these monstrosities sake… we must risk our lives and give it our all…"
When he finished, Ian closed his eyes and sighed as the Titans came closer. "Isn't it pitiful? But that's all we can do as humans. So, what will you do? This is the only way we can fight…
"This is as much struggle as we can manage!" finished Ian. When he was done, the small group was silent, with the only noise being the Titans coming closer. Glancing up, Mikasa looked at Ian thankfully, and the man looked back hopefully.
Mitabi and Riko, on the other hand, were still unsure, with Mitabi looking horrified and Riko nervous.
"I can't accept that…" said Riko.
"Riko!" groaned Ian, trying to get her to assist, but she continued.
"I will follow your plan," she continued, holding her blades tightly. "I think what you're saying is right. The Barbatos will eventually rust and break down. Eren will not."
Nodding, Ian was about to thank her, but she whirled around to face him with an intense glare.
"But know this. While I struggle, I'll show them just how dreadful us humans can be. I refuse to die a dog's death."
With that said, she unsheathed the blades. "I'll be waiting for the Barbatos."
As she walked towards the inbound Titans, Mitabi went towards the approaching 10 and 6 metres.
"Let's go… the two ahead are ours," he said, sprinting off.
"Yeah…" replied Ian, turning to the Barbatos. And with a nod, it blasted off to assist Riko.
"Thank you, squad leader Ian," thanked Mikasa.
"Ackerman, you really shouldn't thank me," replied Ian. "I almost shat myself because I had no clue what you were about to do. Now, move ahead and execute the plan. Your abilities shine their brightest whilst doing so, after all."
"Yes sir," said Mikasa.
"Go defend your boyfriend," ordered Ian, sounding oddly cheeky, though Mikasa looked down with some blush on her face.
"He's… my family…" she replied, though saw that Ian was gone once she did, though she didn't mind much as she'd rather not let anyone know about this slight relationship with her brother.
Though you guys just ship Eren with Levi. How… how fockin dare you? Seriously man. If anyone deserves Eren, it's Mikasa.
Moving aside from shipping cuz that shit is a horrifying dark part of every fandom, Mikasa turned to face her brother, and widened her eyes when she saw that her brother was not healing.
'His wounds… they're not healing…' she thought as the floor shook from a thundering downswing delivered from the Barbatos. 'Is it because of the damage he suffered from before…? What effects did that have on Eren? Is there any guarantee that he can return to his normal form again at all? I should stop… it's not something I can figure out by thinking. For now, I must do what I can.'
Once her thoughts were over, Mikasa heard a stomp behind her. Whirling around, she spotted a Titan crawling up to her. Gritting her teeth, Ackerman held her blades tightly and began to map out a route for a counterattack, but the Barbatos countered for her, holding its weapon in both arms and slamming the front half into it's nape.
The thing had it's front half (which was a little busted up) rotated up, and that was the first time Mikasa noticed the spiked 'sword' housed inside it. And suddenly, with a loud 'rev up' noise, the spikes began to rotate and tear into the Titan's nape, which made for a messy death.
Once it was killed to death, the weapon released the Titan and dropped the dissolving Titan's carcass. Turning to Mikasa, it gave a slight not before blasting off to take out the others.
Huffing softly, Mikasa sighed before she launched a wire to the side and swung across to assist.
"You won't have to fight," began a Garrison, speaking to a group of Cadets who were with him. "Just lure the Titans towards Rose and away from the Elites. Once you're under the Wall, climb it. And remember, don't die. And if by miniscule change any Titans stray away, we'll crush them."
Behind him, the Trainees, with Jean, Marco, Annie, Mina, Nac, Mylius and more nodded.
"Miniscule chance?" asked Jean, uncertain. "I'd say more than likely…"
"Are we free to act as we see fit in case of an emergence?" asked Annie.
"If ya can sort it out that way, then go on ahead," was her reply. And that was before several explosions were seen. "Kirstein squad, move out!"
"Yes sir!"
'Eren…'
In all the chaos around him, lil Armin Arlert looked down at the (non-regenerating) Titan body of Eren. Just seeing his pal like this made Armin feel a sick.
"What are you doing… Eren?!"
Over by the side, the Garrison, including Mikasa of course, were toppling over the Titans like they were dominos, mainly thanks to the Barbatos who created the domino effect.
Yet, unbeknownst to them, the Barbatos was not the only one who was helping them assist, as within the chest of the Gundam sat our boy, Mikazuki Augus, pulling around the arm controllers and stepping on the thruster controllers.
Jerking both controllers to the side, Augus slammed the Wrench Mace into an incoming 12 metre class, sending the weapon and Titan into a building. And through the dust came the Barbatos' manipulator, which caught an approaching 9 metre class' head.
Deciding to not use the Wrench, Mika slammed the Barbatos' arm unit into the Titan's neck, which came out through the other end of it's head. Pulling the arm unit out and letting the Titan, which, might I add, was a whole 8.9 metres shorter than it, fall, Augus turned the Gundam to the side and sighed.
While the boy did, admittedly, find the experience of being able to reconnect to his Mobile Suit (that does not sound right at all), he had to admit that this battle was getting them nowhere. He didn't think that the dud of a human weapon which he used to call Eren, or Suicidal Blockhead, each to their own, was gonna wake up from whatever dream he was currently having.
So that meant that they were, in a way, fighting for a lost cause. And if Eren didn't wake up from his nap soon, they would surely be overwhelmed. And while the Barbatos could survive, the others would definitely not hold up for too long. And even so, the Barbatos would run out of it's gas in time.
Hell, Mika would probably be dehydrated in time, which in turn meant death of the boy.
A small part of Mika urged him to just get the heck out of there, but the other parts of him said that he'd most definitely die when outside the Walls, as he didn't have enough rations to survive for more than one day, and also because of his friends within Rose. Not to mention the fact that his loyal mentality stopped him from leaving them behind.
On occasion, the boy would consider lifting the boulder, but he wasn't willing to let his guard down. If either the Extra Thicc (Armoured) or Extra Tol (Colossal) Titans came by and knocked the Wall down while he was lifting, then it would not be pretty.
"A group of Titans coming in through the gate!" came a yell from a Garrison, snapping Mika out of it. Turning, Augus spotted a pack of four 10 metre classes waddling in. Huffing, the kid aimed the left arm unit and blasted one of the last four Arm Mortar units in a space between the Titans, and the explosion kaboomed them all.
With wide eyes, the Garrison turned and looked at the Barbatos. "Yeah… nevermind…"
Slicing the 13 metre's nape, and causing it to drop down on a building near Eren, Mikasa stood atop its head to catch her breath. As she did, she noticed a certain blonde on Eren's back.
"Mikasa!" exclaimed Armin, looking up at her. "What happened to the plan?!"
"Armin?!"
"What's wrong with Eren?!"
"It's dangerous here!" came his reply. "Fall back, now! Eren can't control his Titan body! It didn't even respond when I spoke to him! There's no use in anyone else trying either!"
"And the plan?" asked Armin. Opening her mouth, Mikasa was about to reply, but a loud crash stopped her from doing so. Turning to the side, the saw the Barbatos crashing a Titan into a building.
"It failed," said the Gundam, the ground shaking a minor bit as it stood up. "But Ian decided that we couldn't leave Eren behind, so everyone's fighting until he gets up. But with this many Titans we're bound to be wiped out, with or without me."
And for whatever reason, that infuriated Armin. Turning around, he looked at Eren's Titan nape.
"From the back of the head to the back of the neck…" muttered Armin, unsheathing a blade. "One metre vertically, ten centimeters horizontally…"
"Armin?!" exclaimed Mikasa, not sure of what her friend intended to do. "What are you-"
"Getting Eren out of here!" came her reply as the Barbatos clamped down and sawed into a Titan. "Mikasa, protect us from the Titans!"
"But how are you going to do that…?" began Mikasa as Armin walked onto the nape. Launching both wires onto the nape, Armin latched himself onto Eren's back.
"Eren came out of the Titan's weak point before," explained Arlert. "This has to be related to the mystery of the Titan's true nature…"
Over by the side, Mikasa looked on, confused as the Barbatos stepped towards them.
"It'll be fine…" muttered Armin, his heart racing. "As long as I avoid the middle… it won't be fatal… it'll just hurt a bit…!"
And with that said, Armin jerked his sword into Eren's nape, making Mikasa panic. And that motion seemed to rile up Eren, as the Titan body which was against the boulder began to spazz out.
In an instant, the Barbatos tossed aside the Titan it just killed and blasted towards Jaeger. When it was close enough, the Gundam split the front half of it's weapon open and clamped it down on Eren, who convulsed like a live fish which was on a hot grill, and in turn flopping Armin around.
And before you ask, no, I didn't try putting a living fish on a hot grill. I'm not that sadistic, ya know?
Back on topic, with the clamps of the Barbatos' weapon around Jaeger, the Titan eventually calmed down and stopped moving, going back to sitting against that boulder motionlessly, allowing Armin to regain his footing.
"Armin?!" exclaimed Mikasa. "What are you doing?!"
"Mikasa!" exclaimed Armin as he regained his balance. "Right now, do what you can! If you go, there are lives you can save! Leave Eren to me and go!
When he finished, Mikasa gritted her teeth even further. She seemed extremely reluctant, but there wasn't much else she could do. So with a grunt, the girl sprinted off to assist. Once she was gone, the Barbatos released Eren and held it's weapon vertically.
"Oi, Armin," it said, scaring Arlert a tiny bit. "Can you get him to snap out of it?"
When he was addressed, Armin, admittedly, felt hundreds of chills go up his spine. But still, he gave a strong face and nodded.
"I'll defend you," came his reply as the Gundam straightened itself up, the weapon it used to subdue Eren held in its hands. "Be quick."
"Understood…" muttered Armin before turning back to Jaeger as it knocked a 13 metre class out of the way. "E-Eren?! Can you hear me?! Get a grip, man! If you don't get out of there, we're all dead! Don't let a mere Titan body control you! Hurry up and get out of that lump of flesh!"
As Armin pleaded for Eren to come out of the damn Titan body, Mikazuki did his best to keep every last Titan at least five metres away. He did his job pretty decently, though the occasional Titan did slip through the Barbatos' Wrench Mace or run past (or in between it's legs) it all together, though they were easily dealt with.
While he fought, Mika kept the LCS comm-links activated to detect any 'Armin Screams', as he called them. If there were, he'd know that a Titan was close to the boy. But he didn't expect to hear Armin speak about Eren's history while trying to wake him up.
"Eren… come out… now!" exclaimed Armin as Mika got the Barbatos to deliver a thundering downswing. "What happened to avenging your mother?! Weren't you going to annihilate all the Titans?! I thought you hated those bastards for killing your mother!"
When he heard those words, Augus quirked up an eyebrow. You see, back in the Trainee days, Mika had almost no interactions with Eren, not including the times the two bump into each other during Maneuver Gear training or the occasional eye contact the two had. So hearing this new bit of info was intriguing, to say the least.
Though it didn't mean that he was gonna sympathise with him, though. From what Armin just said, he could confirm that he lost only his mother to the Titans. And while a mother was a rather important person in one's life, losing one family member was nothing when compared to all the lives lost when Tekkadan escorted Kudelia to earth. And to Mika, Tekkadan was family.
So you can put into perspective how much worse Mika's lose is when compared to Eren.
But still, Mika did sorta understand how he felt. Back in the day where he was still in Tekkadan, and when the Barbatos still had shoulder armour, a certain bitch who went by the name of Carta Issue killed a founding member of Tekkadan known as Biscuit. And when the two duked it out in the snowy plains near Edmonton, Mika felt an odd emotion in his chest as he beat the crap out of Issue.
At first, the boy dismissed it as a normal part of battle, but several days after he absolutely annihilated Carta, he asked Shino, during one of their breaks in between the time where they were defending the Tekkadan base outside Edmonton, about it. And Norba told him that he felt the urge to avenge Biscuit.
That fact did surprise Mika a tiny bit, though Shino seemed to be more so, probably because Mika almost never showed a single shred of emotion.
But we're going off topic.
Readjusting the Barbatos footing, Augus slammed the arm controller down onto a 6 metre.
"Eren! Wake up, please!" pleaded Armin as Mika clamped a 13 metre class which was coming for Armin. Once the clamps were secure, he pushed down on a button on the inside of the arm controllers, causing the hidden (or not so hidden, seeing as the front half was busted up. You can probably see the chainsaw) chainsaw to rev up and tear into the Titan.
"Eren! I know you're in there! If you stay, we'll all be killed by the Titans!" continued Armin, ignoring the gory mess which was dissolving from the Barbatos' armour plating. "Everything will end right here!"
And Mika, while he didn't want to think that, had a small, growing feeling that they might end up falling here.
By the sidelines
Dashing on ground level, part of Team Kirstein sprinted towards frantically in an effort to lure the Titans away. And as they did, that one commando who told Jean what to do got nommed on. Poor dude.
Back on ground level, Jean, Nac, Annie and Marco sprinted towards the east in an effort to lure a 13 metre class to the side, or just run from it.
"I guess we'd better move on our own now!" exclaimed Annie, and Jean nodded. Glancing to Marco, Jean motioned for him to break off.
And right before the 13 metre class lunged at them, Annie and Marco veered to the left, with Nac and Jean to the right. As they did, however, Nac noticed Jean's slightly more panicked expression. "Are you alright Jean?" he asked.
"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, I am," replied Jean.
Part of Nac knew that he was lying, though he decided to push the thought away to focus on survival. So, instead of pushing the question, Nac simply nodded and picked up the pace to try and outpace the Titan behind them.
Over by the sider side, Mina, alongside Connie, Sasha and Mylius rushed along the rooftops of Trost. Mina and Connie paired up to distract a 12 metre class who was tumbling around, while Sasha and Mylius zipped around to eliminate it.
After they downed the thing, part of Team Kirstein, which I'll call Subteam Mina for simplicity, stopped for a very slight breather.
"Quite the party, eh?" asked Connie sarcastically with a false smile to try and lighten the mood, to not much avail.
"Guess so…" replied Mylius, wiping his sweaty brow. "But at least we're still up, which is the least we can say for Eren…"
Nodding, Subgroup Mina turned to where Jaeger was at, which was surrounded by dust and soot thanks to the Barbatos. In the middle of all of that, Armin was trying to get Eren back up, to no avail. The two would have been consumed if it weren't for the Elites and the entity which considered itself Barbatos.
Speaking of the certain Ares Gaetio Demon, the (sub)group heard a rather loud slam from the dust and soot. Whirling to face it, the gang widened their eyes as a massive object came flying out of the cloud, spinning as it flew.
And, accompanied by a rather slight shake in the ground, the thing lodged itself into the ground near them, kicking up more dust, making the team shield their eyes.
Once the dust settled, the gang widened their eyes when they saw that it was the weapon which was stored on the Barbatos' backpack, some sort of sword. It was lodged vertically in the ground, tilted a tiny bit to the side (which side I'll let you decide), with some dissolving Titan blood on it.
Following that earth shaking slam came another one, but twice as hard, and almost knocked the Trainees, and almost anyone else nearby, off their feet. Hell, it knocked the Titans down onto their asses, indirectly saving several Garrison and Trainees who were in their grasp.
The slam originated from the dust, which cleared and showed the Barbatos lifting the weapon it held with both hands high into the air. And the group watched as it whacked a 15 metre class which came at it, completely decimating the torso and waist.
"It was a huge stroke of luck that we have this thing on our side," pointed out Mylius.
"Yeah… I think most of us would be dead of it wasn't here," added Sasha, regaining her posture.
"Well, we can't let it do our job, ya know?" asked Connie, holding his blades tightly. "Let's get back to work!"
"Yeah," agreed Mina, flashing a faint smile as she pointed her blade towards a 13 metre class. "Let's."
"Eren, Eren!" continued Armin fruitlessly as the Corps and Barbatos attempted to keep them safe. "Weren't we going to explore the outside world?"
"Far… far beyond these walls…" continued Armin. "To the burning water (lava) and the land of ice (arctic). To the snowfields of sand (desert)... to a world my parents always hoped to see…
"I thought you'd forgotten about it, but you'd just stop talking about it… was it because you didn't want me to join the Survey Corps?"
Zipping rapidly, Mikasa slashed a 14 metre class' nape, saving a Garrison.
"Despite knowing Hell was raging outside the Walls…"
Dashing right at a pack of Titans, the Barbatos gave the group a powerful sideswing, sending them flying.
"Even though we might die horrible like my parents… why did you ever want to see the outside world?"
And as if answering to his prayers, Eren's Titan body eyes snapped open, revealing those bright yellow pupils of his as his face regenerated.
With a smile on his feminine face, Armin blasted off Eren and swung onto a nearby building as the Titan boy stood up and let out a rawr. While he smiled at Jaeger, the Barbatos stomped towards him.
"Nice work," it said flatly, making Armin turn to it.
"Thanks," he… well… thanked. "Now, let's finish this."
"Ah," was his reply as the Barbatos turned to Jaeger, who began to lift that large bowling ball to hit a strike in the hole.
Stomping…
That was all they heard.
And it greatly confused Team Ian, alongside Mitabi and Riko's, at least until they noticed the boulder being lifted. With wide eyes, they watched in amazement as Titan-Eren lifted it, slowly slugging his way towards the hole, with the Barbatos in front of it, pushing the entering Titans back out.
"Eren!" exclaimed Mikasa, smiling happily. Though she did stop when a certain guy called her name and landed beside her. "Armin!"
"Eren won!" announced Armin. "He's trying to do his job now! If he makes it to the gate, then we will retake Trost!"
When he said that, Ian got a rather dark look. And that was before he quite literally before he roared out his next orders.
"LISTEN WELL!" he exclaimed at the top of his lungs. "WE MUST DEFEND EREN UNTIL HE REACHES THE GATE, EVEN IF IT COSTS US OUR LIVES!
"DO NOT LET ANY TITANS GET NEAR HIM!"
When he said that, every soldier and Trainee in the vicinity nodded and sprinted off to slay their enemies. Turning around, Ian glanced towards Mikasa and Armin.
"You two, go to Eren! We'll fight alongside the Barbatos!" instructed Ian. "That's an order, got it?! Now go!"
"Hai!" was his reply, before Ian sprinted towards the battlefield, though he was stopped when he saw Mitabi's squad rushing on ground level towards a pack of four Titans. "What are they-?!"
"The Titans aren't paying us no attention!" proclaimed Mitabi as the ground shook thanks to the Barbatos. "So we're gonna ave' to get close enough that they can't ignore us!"
"Oi!" exclaimed one of Mitabi's teammates, though his fear was apparent. "Over here, you meatbags!"
"Turn around you wankers!" added Mitabi, looking horrified but still standing his ground. "Or I'll shove my blade right up yer stinkin' arse and bleed ya to death!"
Right when he said that, two of the four Titans turned to face them.
"Great!" exclaimed another member of Team Mitabi. "Now they're after us!"
"Fall back!" ordered Mitabi. "To the buildings!"
"What are they doing?!" demanded Armin. "Without horses or buildings, we can't fight!"
"Yes, we can't," came a voice behind him, making Armin turn around and face Ian, who walked right past him. "But… it's the only way we got…"
And with that said, Ian boldly leapt off the building and onto ground level.
"Everyone, follow their lead!" ordered Ian as he dashed to lure a 13 metre class away.
"Armin, we're going," said Mikasa, leaping off.
Atop Trost
"What are your orders, Jean?" asked Marco, snapping Kirstein out of it. Turning to face Tias, Jean groaned and scratched the back of his head.
Looking down, Jean pondered on what he was supposed to do. Fight and risk life or limb, or hang back and keep those under his command alive? Marco seemed to see his hesitation and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Jean!" said Nac, catching Connie, Nac, Annie, Sasha and Mina's attentions. "Stop thinking about us already! Remember, we're all expendable! What really matters is sealing that hole! Got it?!"
"I… I do!" replied Jean, making Marco release him. And when he did, the boy took in a deep breath and looked down. "Kirstein Squad…"
Looking at their team leader, they waited expectantly.
"Let's move!"
With Eren and the Barbatos
With the green light trailing it's optic, the Barbatos blasted right at a 15 metre class and slammed the Wrench Mace into it. Inside it's cockpit, the pilot sensed another coming and whacked it to the side.
Over by the sidelines, the pilot, which we all know as Mika anyways, noticed something rather commendable. Almost all the Garrison who were assisting them were on ground level, using themselves as human shields to protect Eren.
In a way, it reminded him of Humans Debris, but these people were willingly giving their lives away unlike the Debris.
"Hey!" came a particular female voice, making Mika tense up a tad bit, a rare thing for him. Turning the Barbatos' head, he spotted Mina and Nac with the crowd who were luring the Titans away. "Over here you oversized bobblehead!"
"Mina, Nac?" muttered Augus, feeling a tad bit worried, something he shook off when he heard a Titan coming for the Barbatos, and it was promptly kicked to the side. For a short second, the boy considered breaking away from Jaeger to assist his pals, but he reconsidered when he remembered that if Eren fell, the mission would be deemed a failure.
After he decided on keeping close to Jaeger for the sake of sealing the hole, Mika jerked the arm controllers to the side and bashed another Titan to the side, pulverising the thing.
Once the deed was done, Mika did notice Eren slowing down. Gritting his teeth, Augus whirled the Barbatos around to face him.
"Hurry up, Jaeger," he said coldly. "Don't forget, if you fail, then we're all dead. Even your friends."
And those words seemed to set off something in Eren, as he began to use more strength. With a satisfied huff, Mika turned back to face the crowd.
"Eren!" came Armin behind him as Eren got close to their objective. "Go!"
And with a loud roar, Jaeger slammed the boulder into the Wall, the shear power of the slam causing a large crack in the wall.
After the large hole was sealed, the Garrison and Trainees stood in stunned silence as the dust around the boulder settled. Jean still believed that his eyes were deceiving him as the rest of his temporary team gathered around him.
"He did it…" muttered Mylius. "I can't believe it…"
"None of us can," replied Connie as he steadied his breathing. Beside him, Sasha was on the brink of fainting from happiness, though Mina calmed her down.
Up front, Riko looked in silent shock as the dust faded, showing a sealed hole, with both Eren and the Barbatos behind it. "Everyone… didn't die in vain…"
Raising her arm, she aimed a Flare Gun into the air and blasted a Yellow Flare into the air, signalling a Mission Success. "Today… for the first time in our history… mankind has triumphed over the Titans…"
As she said that, the Barbatos diverted its gaze behind her. And after it flashed it's 'eyes', it turned to her. "The remaining Titans are coming. Retreat, now. I'll hold them back."
"Affirmative," was its reply as Riko turned to face the Garrison. "Everyone, fall back, now!"
"I'll do so once Eren is safe!" clarified Mikasa as she dashed towards Eren's Titan body, though Armin beat her to the punch. "Armin, how's Eren?!"
"He's feverish from the intense heat in here!" was her reply as the Barbatos shoulder tackled a 13 metre class, saving a Trainee. "We need to get him over the Wall as soon as possible!"
When she heard that, Ackerman sprinted towards and onto the nape as Armin tried to pull him out.
"Part of his body is fused with the Titan!" exclaimed Armin. "I can't get him out!"
"Then we'll have to cut him out," said Riko as she walked up beside the Trainee, making Ackerman panic a little.
'Hold on!" exclaimed Mikasa as the earth shook from a heavy impact thanks to the Barbatos, who was holding back nearly a quarter of the Titans in Trost. Though it didn't seem too hard, as every Titan which was even ten metres away was promptly killed to death.
With a clean cut, Riko sliced Eren out of the nape, causing the boy to fall onto Armin, still unconscious. And because anime, two Titans managed to weave their way around the Barbatos and towards the Titan Shifter.
"Eren! Armin!" exclaimed Mikasa as one of the two reached for them. Widening his eyes, Armin, knowing that the Barbato was rather distracted at the moment, thought it was his end. As for Eren, that bloke was waking up slowly, not noting the Titans coming for them.
And of course, they didn't die thanks to plot convenience. From up top, a short clean freak came zipping down and downed both Titans with great elegance. Once the deed was done, the Trainees and Garrison saw the person who dispatched the twin Titans land on one of his victims.
He looked stern, tired, angry and… short. He was none other than the Legendary Shorty of the Walls, the man who donned the Wings of Freedom proudly.
"Levi Ackerman?" muttered Mina as the Barbatos took down a 12 metre class. "Why is he here? Weren't they outside Rose?"
"Well, they would have known about the breach," replied Annie flatly. "It wasn't subtle, after all."
And unbeknownst to all, she gave Bertolt the stink eye, a motion which he flinched at.
"Hey, you kids," said Levi, turning to the original main trio and completely ignoring the Barbatos as other SCs came swinging in, the ones who got the most attention being a bespectacled lady, a ginger haired woman, a dude with a bitchin' fine mustache who seemed to be sniffing the air and finally, the man himself, Mr Large Eyebrows.
"What's the situation here?"
Why do I torment myself?
Oh, right. Because I like writing :v
Anyways, if you didn't know, this was a complete rewrite of the latter half of the Struggle For Trost. Trust me it was NOT fun to write. This one chapter took 3 weeks or so. Really. I started writing this somewhere on the 15-20th of June (Singapore time) and ended on the 2nd of July at 10;38pm.
I think it's justified to hate writing a chapter hen you take that long to get something done.
But anyways, enough of my whining. Onto actual stuff. And yes, this chapter marks the end of the Trost Arc. And good riddance too. It was a nightmare, for you to read and for me to write.
Anyways, there's not much else to say but 'see ya in the next chapter'.