The sun had begun to dip lower towards the horizon, casting a deep orange hue across the breadth of the cityscape. At first glance, the sky itself would have seemed to be burning, a blood red sunset to commemorate a bloody day. There was still much work to be done before darkness settled on the land however.
After the commander's inspiring speech, and that of the cadets, company commanders set about the task of assigning objectives for each of their platoons. For many, if not most of them, it felt strange to be preparing for an offensive operation instead of a defensive one. It was an operation that even should it succeed, was bound to be costly. The only thing anyone could hope for was that they'd still have enough people to bury the dead when the dust had settled. There did seem to be hope however. Armin, ever the brilliant strategist, had suggested that instead of taking the titans head on, they could lure them to a single area of the city. The idea was to open as clear of a path as possible for Eren to move the boulder. The fewer titans that had to be dealt with as he advanced the better off they were. In turn, having all of them in one spot would enable the artillery corps to pick the enemy off with sustained cannon fire with minimal losses to their own units. Invariably however, that hinged on them being able to get the titans to congregate where they wanted them to, and on no more of them marching through the breach before it was closed off.
Even if the plan went smoothly however, they'd never manage to corral all of the titans within the city. To that end, a team of the Garrison Regiment's most elite soldiers was attached as Eren's personal escort, an all important task, but one nobody envied. The individuals within that squad would really have the pressure to succeed weighing heavily on them.
As for the cadets of the 104th, they had other things to be worried about. Let the elite squad do their job. The cadet squads had been divvied up under the command of Garrison section leaders. Under this direction, they were responsible for both bringing the titans to and keeping them at the northwest corner of the district. So far, that was going well enough.
"Am I the only one who finds this both exhilarating and terrifying right now?" Jansen asked his friends as the members of squad seven hung from the side of the wall, their cables the only things keeping them from falling into one of the many clutching grasps below them.
"Exhilarating is a very strong word to describe this situation, terrifying…maybe not strong enough." Aline was looking down anxiously. They'd all been dangling there for the last ten minutes or so, just watching the creatures reach out for them hungrily. It wasn't exactly an encouraging sight to have to look at.
"Well, this is a hell of a lot less dangerous than rounding them up in the streets. We just have to stick it out here until we have as many of them in this corner as possible. After that we can sit back and let the big guns do the hard work." Albrecht didn't seem particularly perturbed by the current situation. Honestly, he was still impressed that he'd had the fortitude to stand his ground and come back into Trost.
"That and Christa doesn't have to get on my back about taking it easy if this is all we're doing." Josh said not entirely to himself.
"Well someone has to look after you when Annie isn't around. It might as well be me." She looked at him sternly, but she barely concealed a soft smile beneath the veneer. That was Saint Christa for you. They continued on amongst themselves, idly chatting to pass the time, but remaining fully alert on the off chance something happened. Thinking about it, it was kind of odd that they were casually having conversation while playing carrot on a stick for the titans. Only a little while longer, then they could head topside again. Jansen had expressed hope that they'd be lucky enough to see Eren transform into a titan when the time came; it was bound to be quite a show. The special operations team was already en route to the boulder by now. Once they reached their objective, it would be a game of speed. If the enemy managed to get a hold of Eren before he'd made it to Trost's outer gate, everything and everyone was screwed.
One small mistake today and the human race wouldn't survive the summer. That kind of pressure hung over each and every soldier like a dark shroud. As commander Pyxis had said, this was where the line in the sand had to be drawn. The whole affair was so extraordinary that it could have been a work of fiction. Josh could have written half a book from all of the noteworthy events of the day; this was history and heroes in the making.
From the point of view of someone reading a book, that's how it all would sound. A soldier dying in the heat of battle was much more of a valiant and noble idea when you hadn't actually seen it. Maybe it had been more so in a different time, with a different enemy, but not here.
There had to be at least two hundred opportunities for a "noble death" writhing down below them in a huddled mass. A handful of the troops present had already been granted such a demise. They'd been picked clean to their bones after either slipping on their triggers or not hauling themselves up high enough to be out of grabbing range. One of those who'd fallen victim to such a fate had it particularly bad. He was easy to see from their vertical position against the fortified masonry. Had the poor bastard been just a couple of feet higher, he wouldn't have suffered the fate that he had. A fifteen meter titan had a hold of him and he tried to escape with his winch. Unfortunately, the forces pulling him up, and those pulling him down were of equal strength; something had to give out at some point. So after a moment or two of intense panicking, his legs were ripped from his torso. His stumped body flew up to a position several meters below the edge of the parapet while his limbs stayed behind. Misfortune had even put him in such a position that no one could cut his cable to put him out of his misery. He just swung back and forth, shrieking like a banshee until he bled to death. The little decoy operation that was going on here hadn't proved as bloodless as had been hoped. Despite doing their best to avoid direct combat during this part of the operation, the casualty figures had still risen to twenty percent and all of those were killed in action. Considering the number of troops present, that was a grim prognosis. What's more, things were only going to get worse the longer they had to be the bait. For everyone's sake, especially those who had died to get them this far, Josh hoped to God that this was going to be worth it all in the end.
"Hey look! I see green smoke out that way." Someone was gesturing to the southeastern portion of the district. The special team had made it to the boulder.
"I guess that means it's time to get up the wall and watch the fireworks." Aline sighed with relief and started pulling herself up. "I wonder if anybody brought wine and cheese for the occasion?"
"If this was Wall Sina maybe, but I doubt we'd have anything to drink to if things were that bad." Albrecht pulled his trigger and started walking up. They'd reached another clearing in the woods for a moment, but none of them were out yet. At the top, hundreds of anxious people watched and waited with baited breath and crossed fingers. Each second that passed was feeling like an eternity, even though they couldn't have been standing there for more than two minutes.
Out of the sky, an isolated storm of golden lightning struck down amongst the maze of streets. The flash of electricity glowed brighter than the low hanging sun and a plume of smoke billowed up from its' point of contact with the ground. There wasn't a single soul among the onlookers that wasn't struck with fear and awe. It may have been hard to tell from this distance, but they could just barely make out a form rising out of the inferno.
"Wow, it looks just like what happened when the Colossal appeared. Its' hard to believe Eren can pull a titan out of nowhere like that. Where does all that lightning come from, and why?" Jansen sounded mesmerized.
"Yeah, its' really something isn't it? There's no reason to celebrate yet though; this could still go wrong a hundred different ways." Josh whispered the second part of the statement to himself.
"If what we saw earlier is any indication, the kind of power he wields in titan mode is almost incomprehensible; I'm amazed he can control something like that. Still, would have been nice to know about this before everything went pear shaped." Aline propped herself against one of the cannons.
"I wonder if he'll start kicking ass again once the rock is in place." Albrecht sounded hopeful.
"If he manages to move it you mean; nothing has happened yet. We don't know jack about the limitations that he has to deal with. For all we know, he may not even be willing to try." Ever the optimist, Ymir threw her two cents in. Her negativity was off putting, but it wasn't misplaced in this regard.
"I can see another smoke signal! It's…wait…it's red. What happened over there?" Someone shouted from within the mass of soldiers.
"Told you something would happen; I saw this coming a mile away." She snorted.
"Did we have a contingency in place for this? I can't see what's happening over there." Pyxis' aid looked back at the commander for an answer.
Another of the officers near him came in over his shoulder to speak. The man's tone was disconcerting. "At best, that means the escort squad has run into a major issue sir."
"My friends, they all died for nothing. I should've known things would turn out this way." One of the cadets had quickly sunk back into depression.
"There's no way we're retaking Trost now; we might as well give up on it." A Garrison soldier dropped their gear and slumped against a crate.
"Now now, calm yourselves. We cannot assume the mission has failed, not yet. If there's been a delay, we need to ensure that we buy our comrades enough time to see the operation through. We must keep the titans near our position. If they started spreading out into the city again, there's no telling what might happen. Send a couple of squads down into the streets to push them back over here. If any of the wayward creatures can't be returned to the flock, we'll have to ensure we kill them before they can reach Jaeger." Pyxis tried to steady everyone's nerves. Panic had already proven itself a potent enemy on more than one occasion, so it had to be culled before it could take root. The commander had always been one to remain collected under fire.
"Sir, all due respect, but we should revert back to defending the inner gate. If you give the order now, the elite squad will still have time to withdraw without incurring any losses."
"No, that isn't an option any longer. Those leading the elites are capable leaders and they have leave to decide whether to withdraw or now. Such a decision is not up to us. All we can do is keep the enemy here as long as we can. This was an all or nothing strategy and we all knew it. Even if we cannot seal the gate, we have to stand our ground and fight until the last man; that is the debt that we owe to our fallen comrades." Pyxis' held his stony gaze on the field before him.
Jansen was continually impressed every time the commander spoke. "That man is the master of motivational speeches. God knows how long we'd have lasted if Captain Woermann had stayed in command."
"I really wish fate would decide whether we should be optimistic or depressed already. This constant up and down of yay there's hope, no we're screwed, yay there's hope, no we're screwed, is really starting to agitate me." Reiner grumbled.
"Well then, let's keep our fingers crossed that things stay positive this time around." Connie stared blankly towards the rising plume of crimson. The commander believed that they could salvage this operation. Perhaps something in his gut told him that they could do this. Even so, at least one of the soldiers wasn't keen on just stalling for time.
"Hey Armin where are you going?!" Marco shouted as the young soldier went sprinting off down the wall.
"He's headed for Eren where else? Whatever he's thinking of doing though, I hope he does it fast." Josh looked off after him.
It wasn't long after Armin left that orders started coming down for the squads being sent into the streets. Unsurprisingly, the cadets made up a sizable portion of the contingent. For one reason or another, the officers in charge seemed fond of utilizing them at every possible turn. Whether it was because they were viewed as more easily expendable or the idea was to provide them with combat experience was up for debate.
Down within the city proper, Annie had been attached to an intercept squad with Jean, Ymir, Elise, and a handful of others. They scuttled through alleys and through buildings; looking for any place they could get the drop on a titan. The name of the game was still luring, but the cadets were free to act on at their own discretion and engage if the situation demanded it. Annie peered out onto the street, checking to see what they all were up against. There were three of them, two seven meters and a fifteen. At least by first glance, none of them seemed to be abnormals, which tipped the odds much more in their favor. Still, these were the only ones they could get their eyes on at the moment, there were bound to be others in the neighboring blocks. As if on cue, three four meter titans came lumbering out from behind an inn building to the right.
"Still waiting on our luck to improve are you?" Ymir glanced down at Elise.
"We have a way to seal up the gate, that's an improvement. It may be a more long term improvement, but that's beside the point." She wished that there had been a short term part to it as well.
"Yeah, because that red smoke signal they fired off a little bit ago means that plan is going flawlessly, right?"
"They'll figure it out and get it done, I know they will. With what Eren did earlier, I have no doubt he'll manage a rock no problem. At the very least we've been lucky enough to make it this far today, right Annie?"
"I don't really believe in luck. We have our cards handed to us and how we handle what we've been dealt is the measure of the outcome. Take everything as it comes, one minute at a time if you have to." She was still looking around the corner of the building. They had to get moving soon or the titans would find them. With six of the monsters out there within reach, divide and conquer sounded like the best option going forward.
The sergeant that had been attached to command the squad seemed to have the same idea. "We're going to split into three groups of four. We won't be getting out of this without killing one or two of these ones. That said, I don't want any of you trying to be heroes out there; no unnecessary risks are we clear?"
"Yes sir." The cadets answered.
"Alright, Kirstien, Leonhardt, Nadzieja, Ymir, you're on team one." He rattled off the assigned groups, attaching himself to the third. "The four meter titans are closest to our position, so we'll focus on them first. After that, we try to pull the bigger ones in our direction. Be ready to move on my signal." The sergeant raised his hand and began counting down from five. When the last of his digits had retracted, the squad sprinted from their point of cover and scattered. They moved with such speed that the assault was able to blindside the lumbering trio of four meter titans. Some of the cadets were firing their hooks the second they laid eyes on their targets. The sound of cables whipping through the air was followed closely by the song of metal rending flesh from bone. The first kill went to Jean, the second to the squad commander, both of the monsters felled in rapid succession. The third one evidently had better reflexes than its brethren however. It grabbed the cadet striking at its' nape in mid flight and incidentally crushed another underfoot as it turned. The two of them hadn't even had time to realize what was happening before they were slaughtered. The same couldn't be said of their teammates who lost their composure almost instantly.
Annie took to a nearby rooftop and leapt down, striking the surviving titan's neck while the remaining members of team two stood there in a stupor. Once she recovered, she grabbed one of them by the collar and smacked him across the face.
"Get it together you idiots. If you can't lock it down and get the job done, go back to the wall. The only thing you'll accomplish here is getting yourselves or someone else killed."
"S…sorry, I…I just…I'm." She smacked him again.
"Excuses aren't going to cut it right now! Look me in the eye and tell me whether you can do this or not!"
"I…yes, yes I can." He was shaking, but sounded sure of himself.
"Does she usually hit people and is she always this calm about it?" Elise whispered to Jean.
"I can't really say for sure one way or the other. I'm not really sure who anyone really is after today." That was a fair enough point all things considered.
"Look alive cadets, we still have three more to take care of! If you sit still for long you'll wind up a few limbs short of a full set." The sergeant ran past them and moved up onto a nearby rooftop; his charges shook themselves off and followed suit. Hopefully they didn't take many more casualties before they made it back to safety.
"Can you see anything yet? What's happening with Eren?" Christa asked Alb. Despite Squad Seven being at their high vantage point, it was almost impossible to see what was going on. Fighting seemed to be intensifying around the vanguard team's position, but from the look of things, Eren hadn't moved an inch in the last ten minutes.
"I knew this was going to happen. This is a bunch of bullshit, a false hope they made up so they could shove us out there to be massacred. We're dead, all of us; this is the end." Daz was freaking out again, filling the air with all of his defeatist words. This time, Josh went over the edge; he couldn't take the crap anymore. He stomped over to where the recruit was in the midst of falling even further to pieces.
"You need to shut your damn mouth Daz. I've had it up to here with your pathetic mewling today."
"You don't know what I've seen man, otherwise you'd be saying the same thing I am."
Josh let out a low growl and punched Daz square in the face. "You have no idea what I've been through since this morning. I've nearly died twice and I've seen people butchered in the most brutal of ways. Unlike you however, I kept moving forward instead of cowering in the back and crying like a child. You've done nothing but try and find an excuse to run away and give up since this whole thing started." He grabbed Daz and hoisted him up to eye level, baring his teeth. "I should do the army a service and throw your worthless ass off of the battlements right here and now. I doubt anyone would fault me for doing so."
"You can't do that…you…you wouldn't!" There was a deep rooted fear in his eyes that said he thought the exact opposite.
"You told that officer earlier that you'd rather die than be forced to go back and fight the titans; what's to stop me from making good on your wish? Your friends and comrades laid down their lives to get us here, and you're only concern is saving your own miserable hide. Yeah we might die out there, that much is true, but if I'm going down I want to make damn sure I'm remembered for standing alongside my friends until my last breath. So either form up or shut up, because I won't suffer one more moment of your fatalistic ramblings, you get me?" Daz nodded his head vigorously and Josh dropped him back onto the flagstones. He walked back over to his friends, letting the rage melt off of him. They were all staring.
"Don't give me that look guys, come on. I did say I was going to let him have it if he didn't stop with all that doom and gloom crap."
"I was actually worried you were going to throw him off the wall." Jansen laughed.
"I'm glad you didn't Kassy, you're a better man than that." Christa looked disappointed by his behavior, but relieved he hadn't taken it any further. He couldn't blame her; she never solved problems in a violent or aggressive way, so she was bound to take issue with that approach. Such moral purity was a rare virtue in this day and age. He hoped that the cruel nature of the world didn't destroy her gentle spirit somewhere along the line. Humanity needed more people like her.
Josh sighed and sat down on a box. "Honestly, I don't know that I am. I wanted to, deep down I wanted to pummel him into nothingness. There hasn't been much hope to cling to and he seems keen on destroying what little we have."
Everyone was quiet for a few moments. There was either nothing to say, or so much to say that they couldn't put it into words. The sounds of warfare on the evening breeze echoed in the silence, singing out balefully to the soldiers of Trost. It was a sad, yet somehow beautiful song, a slow symphony of defiance raging against the tide of fate. Down on the ground however, the streets were anything but quiet.
"It looks like we'll be on our own from here!" Annie called out to the surviving members of her squad. Five of the other cadets had been killed and their commander had just been swallowed whole. The half dozen of them that remained were sprinting for their lives, more titans following only two score meters behind them.
"This is just great; we're never going to catch a break today are we?" Jean glanced to their rear momentarily, cursing under his breath.
"We don't have enough people to keep running interference for the elite squad; we need to pull out!" a cadet named Erik frantically shouted.
"Just keep running we're almost close enough to scale the wall." Ymir yelled back at the rest of the group. When the devil is on your heels, that isn't something you need to be told. One of the titans reached out to grab them, its' gnarled fingers trying desperately to grab onto its' next victim. The cadets dove whichever way they could to avoid being caught under the giant's hand. It seemed to grunt in frustration when it couldn't get a hold of any of them. It started lumbering forward at a faster pace, swinging its' arms left and right wildly. Was this one an abnormal? Elise glanced back at it, fearing it was about to overtake them, and she tripped. She wasn't able to stop herself from falling to the ground. She looked up in terror as the monster extended its' arm towards her. She covered her head and closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to see the end.
"Elise, Get out of there!" Jean shouted. He grimaced and shot one of his grappling hooks momentarily into the back of the titan. No one was going to die while he was in command, not this time. "Over here you big dumb bastard!" That got its' attention.
"Jean, what in the hell are you doing?!" Erik turned on his heel.
"Just run, all of you get going! I'll be right behind you!" He took off down an alley way, their quarry right on his tail. "Elise you better not make me regret this!"
She got back up, not quite sure she believed what he'd just done for her. "We can't just leave you here alone!"
"If you don't move now, the other titans will be right on top of you. Just go damn it, I'll be fine!"
Elise almost protested, but Jean was already out of earshot. She clenched her fists and anxiously ran off after the rest of her comrades. Running as hard as she could, she broke contact with the street and flew upwards. Everyone else had already begun the climb. Their quintet scaled the wall, letting out a collective breath once they'd touched down at the top. The two other cadets, Erik and Alex, seemed especially relieved to be back in relative safety. Elise was the last one among them to land. She turned to shout something down at Jean, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where was he coming up at? There was no way it should be taking him this long to pull out. She looked down to where they'd been and saw him running from the titan that had nearly eaten her. For some reason he wasn't dodging it, just doing his best to outrun it, but why? Titans were starting to seep back into the area without anyone keeping them corralled. He should have made a break for it by now. If he didn't, the opportunity would be lost entirely.
"Jean is still down there, but why isn't he using his rig to get up the wall like we did? He said he'd be right behind us right?" She didn't want to think about the obvious.
"I don't know, maybe his gear is malfunctioning or something. I'd hate to be him right now if that's the case." Ymir said offhandedly.
The weight of such an implication fell on Elise like a sack of bricks. "We gotta go back and help him!" She made to jump back down, but someone grabbed her before she could leap, pulling her back.
"Are you serious? We just got out of there! Not to mention that's the second time we've had to escape the streets today!" The cadet named Alex was looking at her like she'd just hit him.
"So you're suggesting we sit by and let him get chewed to bits?!" She pulled away from him and walked back to the edge of the wall.
"Don't start freaking out on us Elise; we can't just rush back in there headlong. We're going to have to fight our way to where he is and we'll need more people for that." Annie was keeping a level head more than either of them. She'd mostly avoided panicking today and starting to lose it now would just unravel any hope of saving their comrade. "We have to get some help rounded up in a hurry if we want to get to Jean before they do."
"Who's going to volunteer to drop into the hornet's nest to save a single cadet?" Erik sounded incredulous.
"I can think of a few crazy people." Ymir muttered under her breath.
"I have a few individuals in mind for the job." Annie nodded and ran off to fetch some reinforcements. Not a lot of members of the 104th would go into the fire for someone, let alone Jean, but despite overarching opinions about him, she was sure that Josh and the others would come with them. Well, provided Josh was capable of doing so. Earlier injuries considered, he wasn't likely in the best of shape for this, but he wouldn't likely stand by while everyone else went with her. Sitting still wasn't something he was overly fond of doing.
It only took her a moment to locate them. Even surrounded by a mass of other soldiers, they stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Guys, we need your help."
"Annie, where'd you come from? What's going on?" Albrecht did a double take.
"We took too many casualties during our mission and we had to pull out. There's a problem though; Jean's ODM gear stopped working before he was able to get back here. He's stuck at street level running from the titans by himself. We have to go back and get him, but we don't have enough people on our own. Some of the titans have wandered into that area, so we'll have to fight our way to his position. We have to hurry; the enemy is closing in on him they'll be too many of them to deal with before long."
"Having to go in and rescue Jean? Ha, that's classic count me in." Josh laughed.
"How many times do I have to say it? You're not really in the condition to go into combat. You need to rest as much as possible before you suffer any permanent damage." Christa stepped in front of him, looking defiant.
"He's not going to listen to you this time either. If we take off without him he'll just follow us, no matter what we say or do. Just save your breath." Aline put her hand on Christa's shoulder.
"As much as I don't like it, Aline's right. I'd rather he sit this one out too, but I doubt even I could dissuade him. Whatever happens today, he'll end up paying for it tomorrow. This is all going to catch with him, when it does, maybe then he'd be willing to take a breather. If not, I'm tying him to a bed and putting him under guard." Annie narrowed her eyes at Josh.
"Is that really the only thing we can do, wait until tomorrow?"
"We don't have the time to stand here and argue with him, so unfortunately yes, that's likely how we're going to have to play this."
"I'll be careful. After this, you won't need to hold me prisoner; I'll stay off of my feet for a while of my own accord."
Christa looked around, seeking at least one of them to back her up on this. To her chagrin, everyone else had resigned themselves to trying any further. She'd been outvoted again. She looked up into Josh's face and folded her arms. "You're getting your wish this time, but you're on thin ice with me mister. If you even think about doing anything remotely strenuous tomorrow however, I'll chain you to the floor for the next month. Just…do us all a favor and stop giving us so many reasons to worry. I swear, you're going to turn me into an old lady before the week is out."
"You won't have to force me; I promise I'll find an infirmary or someplace to rest. Now, let's go and save Jean-boy eh?"
"Just be nice to each other this time okay?" Annie sighed. "What's left of my squad is gathered up just a little farther down the wall. With any luck, we can still make it to Jean in time." The six of them took off. Hopefully ten was a large enough number to get the job done. It should be as long as everyone kept their wits about them.
When they made it back to the others, Elise was pacing around anxiously. It was evident her concern was mounting with each passing moment. Her relief was even more so when she saw that Annie had some help in tow. Now they could make sure Jean's selfless act hadn't condemned him to a cruel fate.
"Is everyone good to go?" She asked.
"As good as they're going to be probably." Ymir said in monotone.
"Okay, so how exactly are we playing this?" Albrecht looked at Annie.
"We'll take the whole squad and come at the titans from behind. Once we close the distance, we will split up into twos and strike their weak points in quick succession. Cutting ankles or behind the knees is preferable; only go for the neck if you have a perfect opening. After we've done that, we grab Jean and get the hell out of there before the wounded ones have enough time to recover. If his gear is still malfunctioning then we have to carry him. The only things that are going to matter here are being fast and agile. Any questions, no? Then let's do this." She took the lead and stepped off from the wall, her blades already in her hands.
The rest of them followed closely, keeping a tight formation as they landed one by one on the rooftops. Each of them hit the ground running. In the direction where Elise had seen Jean, the forms of seven titans, all of them at least ten meters, stood out above the surrounding buildings. That was way more than ten of them could feasibly deal with on their own. On top of that, they were beginning to move off in their own directions from one another, so the systematic attack plan that had been devised wasn't going to be as smooth as they had hoped. They'd have to try and bypass a few of them and focus only on the ones closest to Jean's position. It was likely that a surprise attack would still work if their attention was elsewhere.
"Break off into your pairs, evade the titans in the front as best you can! Half of us go left, half of us go right!" A tower loomed up in front of the cohort. Using it as a balancing point, the cadets swung themselves in arcs around its' flanks. The height of the structure allowed them to dip low toward the street and gain the momentum to slingshot themselves over several blocks of buildings. This put them practically within strike range of their targets in one maneuver.
"Alright, we're past their vanguard, now we need to kill the other three while they still have their backs to us." The five teams moved swiftly, closing the gap in seconds. With their blades drawn, they struck at any weak spot they could get a good look at. Each blow could be seen as nothing but a blur, a glint of hard steel followed by a red mist. They must have cut each creature a combined total of thirty times in the span of forty five seconds. In the aftermath, the swell of evaporating viscera gave the appearance that everyone's swords were on fire. It would've been a grand visual piece for a painting Josh thought. Despite all that he had seen, he was still unconsciously trying to put some kind of art to whatever he was experiencing at the time.
"So where was it that you saw Jean?" Erik asked Elise anxiously. She gestured down a side street toward what looked to be a tavern. They made for the structure with all possible haste. The group rounded a corner to find a large rock in the middle of the road and a seven meter titan stomping slowly in their direction. The lot of them dove for some form of cover: low walls, overhangs, doorways, anywhere to get out of sight. The beast looked around, sniffing the air. Could it smell them? Maybe there were dead bodies nearby and it could smell the blood? This wasn't an ideal spot to engage from, but if they had to, so be it.
Annie raised her hand to give the signal to attack, but there was a loud rumbling sound, like a violent roar that seemed to shake the very ground. The titan turned in the direction of the noise and left. The cadets looked around, slightly confused by the sudden departure.
"Where in the hell is it going?" Jansen scratched his head.
"I've got no clue, but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's find our wayward compatriot and go." Alex said quickly. No sooner had the words left his mouth, Jean came sprinting out of the building and knelt down behind the large rock.
"Hey, speaking of horses, there's Jean." Josh stood up.
"What did I say before about being nice?" Annie looked at him crossly.
"Right…sorry, not the time I know."
"So…what's he doing over there?" Aline raised an eyebrow. There was the sound of metal clanking against metal. The group ran over to the boulder and clustered around it. Jean was wresting a set of 3D gear from the remains of a half flattened cadet. He jumped back when he noticed the sudden appearance of his comrades.
"God, you guys scared me half to death; don't sneak up on me like that. What are you even doing here?" He wasn't sure whether to be happy or upset.
"We came back to rescue you." Elise smiled.
"That was a hell of a risk you know. I'm grateful for it, but you shouldn't have. I'm not having anyone die today on my account."
"Well that doesn't matter because we're here now. Get your gear on and let's light out, the titans could come back at any time." Ymir still sounded bored.
"I wonder what got them to pull away in the first place." Albrecht said quietly.
"Maybe we'll get a chance to see once we off this street." Christa offered.
"We might be needed wherever they were going, so let's hurry." Even though many of them wanted to head straight for the wall, that was a good point. They were likely one of the only groups in a position to respond to whatever was happening. There weren't very many possible options to consider in that regard. There was only one thing that would likely be drawing attention like that. If the titans were headed for the elite squad and Eren, time was really of the essence. They never seemed to have quite enough of that today, despite the fact that it felt like it was passing one minute for every hour.
Once Jean had everything situated, the cadets started moving. They could hear the rumbling again. It was deep, like distant thunder rolling across the plains. Something big was happening, that much was already obvious. A proper vantage point was needed to get a clear look. Christa suggested going to the roof of the merchant guild headquarters. It sat on a rise near the canal bisecting the east side of town. It should be the perfect place to take stock of things. They went up the back side of the seven story structure. When they emerged from the building's shadow and the town lay before them, they were greeted with a sight that topped everything else they'd bore witness to since the sun rose. Slowly and almost mindlessly, they stepped forward, their eyes all fixated on the same thing.
"Holy shit…" Josh couldn't find the facility to say any more than that.
"Well…I'll be damned." Annie sounded similarly surprised.
"That has got to be one of the most badass things I've ever seen." A broad smile was breaking on Jansen's face. A few hundred meters from their position, with a massive cloud of steam billowing off of his back, Eren Jaeger had the massive rock straddling his shoulder blades and he was moving steadily towards the gates of Trost. He…was doing it. That rock was bigger than he was and he still managed to pick it up.
"I think I know what got the other titan's attention." Even Ymir sounded like she was surprised.
"Ha-ha, I can't believe he did it, that he's doing it. Hell yes! Finally, we're going to win a fight for once!" Erik was practically jumping up and down, punching his fists into the air.
"We haven't won this yet. He still needs to make it to the breach and seal it. If he gets swarmed before he gets there, a lot of lives will have been lost for nothing. We're too close to let that happen to us this time; that's not how it's going to go down, I refuse to let it happen. Draw your iron people, let's go save the human race!" Albrecht took off down the side of the building. He had to ensure that they saw this through. This was his chance to redeem himself and make good on his promise to Sergeant Tanzerin. It was time to do something heroic instead of just talking about it like some blowhard orator.
"It's time to kick some hard core ass!" Jansen did a swan dive off of the roof and followed his friend. The others shook off their surprise and followed suit in short order.
"I want to know how he's so good at those on the spot motivational speeches of his." Aline chuckled to herself.
"I guess we all have some kind of special skill. Alb's a great talker, Josh is a writer, Jansen is courageous, Annie has her combat skills, and you…have um…you have…" Christa was trying to come up with something for Aline, but was failing.
"Never thought I'd see the day when Christa couldn't find a good compliment for someone." Josh was suppressing a laugh.
"Either that or I've got too many skills to name. I say we just go with that option." She tried to cover her embarrassment and agitation.
"We should save the jokes for after we save the world if you ask me." Jean sped past the three of them.
"Yeah, they'll be funnier when we can give them our full attention." Ymir looked at Aline and smirked.
The members of Squad seven, along with their mixed cohort of friends and comrades sailed across the tops of buildings and through the streets. All humor aside, conviction had swelled in their breast and they were determined to see this through. A chance to break the titan advance like wave upon the rocks was something that had never before presented itself to them. Now, not only had they glimpsed it, victory was within their grasp. This was the time to seize it.
They all followed in the direction of Eren's steam cloud; where he was, the enemy was also. The scene worsened the closer they got to the gate. There were bodies and blood everywhere, titan and human alike, but it was clear who was taking the heaviest of the beating. The vanguard force had most likely lost more than fifty percent of its' number and casualties were still mounting. It was getting to the point where there were almost more titans than there were soldiers to fight them. There had to be a full score of the ugly SOBs plodding around over there. Twenty titans, twenty monsters who'd come to raze this city to the ground, twenty aberrations that were going to pay dearly for every soldier who had fallen in its' defense.
"Engage! Not a single one of these bastards leaves this square alive! Help the Garrison troops defend Eren, no matter what it takes!" Albrecht yelled back over his shoulder as he swung himself into the clearing in front of the gate. A five meter titan stepped in front of him, a menacing smile on its' face. He scowled and rolled between its' legs, cutting both Achilles tendons. Before it hit the ground, he climbed up its' back and shoved his swords into the nape and severed the piece of flesh. The breath felt heavy in his lungs and he could feel the blood rushing through his veins. His heart was pounding in his chest and his whole body was shaking, he felt good, strong, alive…
The other members of the squad were now in the fray as well. The sound of singing blades rang out almost nonstop and cables cracked through the air like so many whips. Gore was beginning to cover everything in sight. Aline and Jansen executed a perfectly timed dual strike against a pair of seven meter titans. They cut them on the eyes before wrapping around the necks to cut them off. They'd just managed to slay two titans by themselves and there were plenty more where they came from. Jansen had that crazy look in his eyes once more; his fiery passion for soldiery glowing brighter than ever.
Jean, Elise, Erik, Alex, and Ymir were busying themselves with a trio of fifteen meters that were busy swiping at a handful of Garrison troopers. The latter of which seemed thoroughly shocked to see them.
"What the hell are you cadets doing here? I thought they had the 104th stationed at the wall." One of the soldiers rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"We're here to do our damn jobs. That breach has to be sealed whatever it takes and you guys have taken quite the hit. We need to consolidate what forces we have left." Jean helped the man to his feet and struck at the ankles of an incoming titan, knocking it over. The number of vanguard troops remaining was dwindling by the second and without the elites, there would be too many titans to handle alone. His squad mates were moving like they never had before. Despite fear, pressure, and lack of prior experience, they were performing most admirably. Each swing was precise, each maneuver executed in perfect rhythm with the enemy's attacks. Eventually however, they were going to get tired. He just was hoping they ran out of things to kill before they ran out of stamina. If not, this was going to get even more intense and bloody and he had planned on living to see victory.
Eren was nearly at the start of the final approach to the breach. He was moving slowly, but steadily forward. The immense weight on his shoulders no doubt inhibiting his movement considerably. He was getting much closer though, they would only need to hold their ground for a few more minutes. Josh and Christa had just knocked a fifteen meter titan to his knees. It fell into a nearby house, throwing up chunks of tile and masonry around it. As it made to rise again, they performed the crossing attack that they'd practiced so many times at the academy. As with this morning, they struck hard and deep enough to cut the head of the creature clean off, taking the nape with it in the process. That was the fifth one they'd worked together to bring down today. The two of them were proving to be quite the lethal and efficient duo.
Josh wiped his brow and popped his knuckles. "Not bad, all things considered. I think we're doing alright."
"Yeah, no kidding. Even though we're just a bunch of green recruits, we're fighting like rabid dogs out there. I'm worried about Alb though, he's going full bore into this a little too hard." She said as they jumped down onto the back of a ten meter who was chasing a Garrison trooper. The two of them landed right as it was about to pounce on the man, hitting at such an angle that they rode its' head straight into the cobblestone, grinding its' face down to nothingness. Christa casually finished it off with a swing of her sword. The two of them looked across the ravaged little battlefield they were vying for dominion over. It was a savage display of people who had their backs to the wall and nothing to lose. This was a true look at desperation. They all had an overwhelming desire to see this through to the end and every moment of training and focus was being granted them for this one engagement. One could almost see it happening in slow motion.
It was then out of the corner of his eye that Josh caught sight of something. On a roof less than a block away, Annie was slowly being encircled by a group of titans. Whether she was aware of the fact or not didn't matter. She was alone and she couldn't fight them all. Despite her amazing strength and skill, she was still only human.
"Christa, I'm going to back up Annie, go stick with Alb and make sure he doesn't slip up. None of our comrades should be fighting alone right now."
"I'm on it, just be careful alright? Winning this wouldn't mean much if we lost you two in the final moments." The two of them tapped their blades together for good luck and separated.
He ran as hard he could, vaulting a merchant's stand and catapulting himself up onto a house before sprinting and leaping towards Annie's position. There were three titans around her, blocking any route of escape she had. She was slicing off the digits of any hand that fought to grasp her. With the titan's ability to regenerate appendages and heal wounds however, this was a very temporary solution. When they couldn't grab a hold of her, they tried to flatten her with their palms, but she acrobatically dodged numerous killing blows. She had moves and agility like nobody else in the world. As she contended with two of them swiping at her consecutively, the third's fingers were nearly repaired and it had begun to reach out for her in the one moment where she couldn't shift her attentions.
"Oh like hell you are; three titans against a single soldier is hardly a fair fight." Josh attached his hooks to the shoulder blades of his target and sped towards it with a righteous fury burning inside of him. He poised himself to deliver the killing strike and his swords bit deep at the moment of contact. The force of the impact sent the titan crashing into the house's chimney, scattering the bricks like shrapnel from explosives. It twitched for a moment, then slumped over dead. "And another thing, only assholes have to gall to try and pick on my girlfriend." He spat on the corpse and jumped down to stand with Annie.
"I was wondering when you were going to get here." She said as she back flipped out of the path of another swipe. "You usually don't like to keep a lady waiting Kassy." She gave him a sly grin and drew a fresh blade.
"Yeah, I know, but watching you fight titans is just so…hot. It kind of gets me going to be honest. You could slay me without even lifting a finger." He laughed and made a show of fanning himself with his hand.
"You really know how to make a girl feel special don't you?" She snickered and rolled her eyes. "How about you take me out to dinner after we save Trost? I don't think we've ever had a dinner date just the two of us."
"I would be honored m'lady, but first I must ask, will you do me the honor of sharing this sword dance? I could use a partner."
"Dinner and dancing? Such a gentleman; how can I refuse a generous offer like that?" The two of them stood back to back, the other titans trying to encircle them. Hungry eyes gazed down upon them, the faces coated in shadow by the dying light of the sun.
"We don't have time for a long dance, so which one of these bastards are we going to drop first?"
"Let's bring down the one with the gut. He looks like he's been eating too well today."
They nodded to one another and the performance began. The creature was trying to climb its' way onto the roof, so Josh severed its' wrist. He then carved a deep gash across the torso, causing it to stumble and fall. He tucked and rolled, cutting the other wrist for good measure. Annie proceeded to do a jumping roll over its' neck, spinning and slicing like a ballerina of death. The nape popped clean and down it tumbled off of the building. She was slowly turning the kill strikes into a personal art form. The second of the two was a bit faster and was already on the roof with them when they turned around. Clamoring to get up here however, had cost it the advantage of being able to use its' hands, as it needed to steady itself. Josh got down on one knee and Annie spring-boarded off of his shoulder. In a downward swinging motion, she released her blades, which flew end over end into the titan's eyes, bursting them. It let out a cry of agony and clutched at the seeping wounds. The two of them then used its' pectoral muscles as anchor points and shot up and around the head to stand on its' shoulders. With her on the right and he on the left, they placed their blades to cut. His blade to make the top gash, hers the lower. They would meet in the middle to finish each other's slice. They stabbed their swords in as deep as they could reach and pulled them forward. If not for the din of battle, one could have heard the wretched sound of each muscle being frayed and destroyed. A small river of red oozed out as the two of them came closer together. They made it to the center and stood barely two inches apart. They quickly pulled their swords from the freshly rent tissue and replaced them inside the other's wound. Josh and Annie kissed deeply and swiftly pulled the strike through the rest of the way. The nape dropped out, spraying the two lovers with a jet of vermillion. The titan dropped to the tile and expired.
With the blood already evaporating off of them, they smiled at one another and jumped off of the decaying body.
"You're lucky this stuff dries up and fades away quickly, otherwise my good uniform would have been ruined."
"We could've always taken a shower and washed our clothes you know." He winked at her.
"Ha-ha, you wish. You'd have way too much fun if the showers were coed and Jansen would just become a terrible person. Now then, what say we finish this and go home?"
"Took the words right out of my mouth babe." With that, they went to rejoin their comrades.
The cadets were getting winded, and the vanguard force was all but depleted. It was taking all of their strength just to dodge the titans' attacks, but thankfully most of them had been dropped. The sounds of death and destruction echoed around them all. Just a little bit longer and it would be done, victory. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin had made it onto the bridge directly in front of the gate and there were only about sixty meters left to go. Emboldened by the nearness of triumph, the cadets put all of their effort into a last punishing barrage of sword strikes. Yelling with ferocity as sharp as the steel they carried, the last two titans were hacked to pieces. There were only bits and pieces left to rot away into oblivion after they were through. Josh and Annie touched down next to them, the blood still burning away from their garments. It was just about time to watch the fireworks. Each of them was shaking as they turned their attention on the breach, the last amber sunlight of the day streaming through it as night finally began to encroach. The black silhouette of Eren's titan stood stark against the dying light.
"Come on Jaeger, finish this." Jean clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Go for it you magnificent bastard!" Jansen cried out.
"Wait, there's one more titan in front of him!" Elise shakily gestured with her sword hilt.
"Easy there bright eyes, I think Mikasa's got this one." Ymir pushed her arm down. Sure enough, not ten seconds later, the creature was dropped over the side of the bridge into one of the pits. Now the only thing between him and his objective was a summer breeze. Everyone's hearts were pounding like they were going to beat out of their chests. Everyone got very quiet, nobody even breathed; they all just stared. A sound was carried to their ears as one human being cried out with the spirit of every soldier who had fallen before that day.
"GOOOOOOO!" In the open air, Armin's voice seemed to roar out loud enough to shake the windows of the houses. As if answering in kind, Eren's titan let loose its' own bestial war cry. Then, with the finality of death itself, He plowed the boulder into the wound of Wall Rose. The force of the impact cracked the stone work of the wall twenty feet in all directions. The resulting rush of displaced air was almost enough to knock someone off of their feet.
"We…we did it." Alex dropped to his knees, not quite believing what he was seeing. Christa's eyes were starting to well up with tears and she wasn't the only one. Elise and Albrecht were also looking like they were about to go to pieces. Aline had to steady herself to keep from passing out. The impossible had just happened. On a day which may well have marked the worst defeat yet in the fight for humanity's survival, they had claimed victory out of the ashes. A trembling Garrison Regiment officer pulled a signal gun from a satchel and shot a yellow trail up into the sky to signal the mission's success. It…it was finally over.
Albrecht looked up at the sky, purple and orange hues painting the clouds above them. The sparks and embers of the various fires raging within the area flew around like so many fireflies. He fought to hold in the wave of emotion coming over him at the moment. He blinked the tears away from his eyes and spoke in barely a whisper. "You didn't die in vain Sergeant; none of them did. This day belongs to all of you."
"I'm going to hug that kid, hell I might even kiss him for this." Josh was laughing nervously.
"I can't believe he really did it. I'm not dreaming am I? We actually just won?" Erik wiped the sweat from his brow.
"You're not dreaming, this is the real deal." Annie was the only one with anything approaching a calm expression.
"I honestly never doubted our chances of success. I knew Eren would come through in the end." Ymir stretched and yawned. The rest of them just shook their heads and brushed off her statement. Given the current situation, none of them had the energy to rebuke her, and none of them really cared to. If that was all that they had to put up with in the aftermath, it was the smallest of prices to pay. They started off in the direction of their savior's already decaying form. Offering up their thanks for the victory was the least they could do, tired or not. Their victory however, might prove to be hollow if none of them lived to enjoy it.
"Uh…guys…we may have a problem here." Alex was sounding like he was about to go into hysterics.
"Come on man, don't spoil the mood." Jansen turned to look at the younger cadet and instantly saw what he was talking about. "Guys, we definitely have a problem."
Jean turned around, agitated. "You too? What could you…Oh Son of a Bitch! Five titans closing on our six o'clock! Everyone move, we have to defend Eren while they pull him out of there!" They all chanced a look behind them and started moving forward as fast as their limbs would carry them.
"You know, I'm not sure I believe in luck anymore." Elise panted as she stumbled across the wooden drawbridge.
"I told you, it's all about how you deal with the hand that's given to you. There are only good results and bad results from the decisions you make regarding that." Annie held her up as she struggled to run. The group staggered their way to the ground in front of the sealed hole and turned on heel. The battered cadets formed a half circle in front of the decomposing titan corpse as Armin and Mikasa, with the help of the Garrison Regiment officer, fought to pull Eren free of his form. His would be defenders redrew their blades and steadied themselves. The titans were coming quickly, each of them a fifteen meter. The soldiers were exhausted and they weren't sure they had the strength to fight off any more of the enemy. They'd been backed into a corner once again, even in their moment of triumph. To say that this sucked wouldn't even begin to do the irony of this moment justice. The 104th just could not catch a break today.
"Armin, if you're going to do something, now would really be an excellent time!" Josh looked up at the struggling cadet. It was taking too long to pull Eren free. Growing impatient, the Garrison officer cut the muscle tissue attaching him to the carcass and Armin toppled backwards to the ground with his friend. Mikasa dropped down behind him.
"We've got him, but he's unconscious; he'll have to be carried."
"I don't care what we have to do, let's just get out of here." Jean looked back for a moment, a mixture of anger and fear in his eyes.
"We don't have time now, we're going to have to fight our way through them. Don't let a single one of them near Eren!" Albrecht positioned himself to take off.
"I really wish we could've taken a breather, just for five minutes." Christa grimaced and held her swords up. They all braced to engage as the titans began crossing the bridge. Just before they were about to jump off, there was an incredibly fast gust of wind and the first titan fell over dead. The second, third, and fourth followed in a similar fashion. The last of them was bounding toward the group, grinning like a madman, It was a mere thirty feet from them when it toppled over, the sound of sharp steel accompanying its' demise as it landed in front of them. Three individuals in green cloaks dropped down to rest on the back of the dead beast. They were all facing away as if looking for more titans to strike down. There was a symbol emblazoned on the back of the cloaks. It was a symbol that everyone in squad seven recognized. It had been the very focus of Jansen's obsession for what had been next to an eternity.
"Is…that what I think it is?" Aline stared up at it.
Jansen's eyes lit up and he went almost slack-jawed. "The Wings of Freedom…"
The man standing in the center did a half turn to face the mesmerized cadets and looked over Eren's titan body. Then he spoke. "Pay attention kiddos, this is the part where you tell me what exactly it is that I'm looking at."
