I stared down at the carnage that was taking place below. How the hell didn't I catch it? Ymir was a titan shifter, just like Annie, Eren and the two we hadn't identified yet. However her titan form was one I hadn't seen before. It was small, around six or seven metres tall with long arms with sharp claws that she used to rip apart titans. I was so absorbed in watching her I didn't hear people talking to me until Red yelled in my ear.
"Ares!"
I blinked, gathering my thoughts and turned back to the scared, horrified faces of those behind me. I had the feeling they had been asking me what to do next since I was the only high ranking officer left alive. I had honestly no idea how much time had passed since Ymir had gone titan and started fucking shit up, it could have been seconds, hours or somewhere in between. Suddenly I felt like it was the first expedition I'd gone on outside the walls. I'd blacked out during the ride and then suddenly, I'd been flying through the trees. I still had no memory of what had happened during the time between then.
Suddenly Ymir was atop our tower once again, "Wanna live... Grab on." She rasped. I stared at her - she'd spoken. How? How was she able to do that?!
"Ares!" Red's voice broke through my daze yet again, "The fuck are you doing?!"
I shook my head and tried to refocus, I could question her, and I would in great goddamn detail, when we were all back behind the wall.
"Do it!" I commanded seeing no other way out. Without a word or hesitation, my team and I guided the recruits onto Ymir and then followed suit.
Grabbing several locks of her hair, I leaned down to her ear, "I know you're doing this for Christa, but if you even think about trying to kill us, you'll be dead before you can blink."
Ymir said nothing but instead ran to the opposite side of the tower to where we'd been standing. The tower groaned and started to fall, Ymir swung herself, and us, over the side and held on as it fell to the ground, crushing the titans beneath it.
"I can't believe this..." Connie Springer gasped as we climbed off of Ymir's back and shoulders, "She made it so the titans got buried beneath the debris...that's one hell of an idea to come up with."
I agreed with him, it was obvious that Ymir not only possessed intelligence like the other shifter's we'd come in contact with, but the fact that she could form speech in titan form was a whole lot of something else. It made me curious as to what else she could do.
Before any new plan could be formed, the rubble we were standing on began to shift.
"Shit." I muttered just as Connie, yet again, voiced the obvious, "The titans are getting up and out!"
Ymir charged again and crashed into one of the closer titans, her sharp pointed teeth sinking into its nape and tearing flesh from bone. While I wasn't opposed to her fighting, the situation was becoming far more out of hand that it had already been and I couldn't do anything except watch. A titan appeared from the debris and grabbed hold of Ymir's shaggy dark hair, reefing her head backwards and away from the one she'd just killed. It pulled her clear off the ground and slammed her, head first, into broken bricks. Her skull split in two. And then they were on her like a mob of vultures, ripping and biting everything they could grab. One took hold of her jaw and ripped it off, another two tore off her arms and began devouring them.
"They are..." Christa's soft voice made me look over, sweat and fear seeped out of every pore on her face, "They are eating Ymir..."
She ran forward before anyone could stop her.
"Christa!" Connie screamed at her but his cry fell on deaf ears. My feet were moving before I could think as I chased after her again. These brats were giving me a headache.
"Wait! Ymir!" Christa cried out, "There's still something I need to tell you! I've yet to tell you my real name!"
A titan appeared from behind a large piece of tower in front of Christa. Instinctively I pulled out my blades, gas or no, no one else was going to die on my watch. The titans large hand reached out to clasp the small girl's body just as I skidded to a stop beside her. I stabbed its hand with all the strength I had before shoving my hip into her side, pushing her out of the way. The titan pulled its hand away and reached again, this time for me.
"Christa, get out." I said keeping my eyes locked on its. I was out of blades, out of gas and now out of luck. This was it. I was never going to be able to keep my promise to Levi.
Levi.
Closing my eyes, I let my memory glide back to when I'd first met him in the streets of my home town when I was 14 years old and dressing like a boy. He'd been a pillar in my life, this vibrant bright light that reminded me that nothing was ever as bad as it seemed so long as you still had hope. I loved him. I loved him more than life itself and I was never going to be able to tell him all that he meant to me, that I'd appreciated him standing by me all these years.
I felt the titan's hand enclose around my waist. It was warm and soft, like how a hand would feel. I could feel its pulse beating steadily through its finger tips, pumping blood around its large body. I felt no fear. I had no regrets about dying here except leaving Levi behind, but if my life bought these children and my friends more time to survive, I would freely give it.
Something wet splashed into my face. I knew it couldn't be titan saliva as it hadn't lifted me off the ground yet. Was it raining? I opened my eyes and saw a flash of green, silver and black zip past my face and attach to the wall.
"Mikasa!" Christa shouted as the titan's grasp went limp around me.
"Why are you here?" someone, probably Connie, asked from behind us. Mikasa didn't answer but instead climbed up onto the piece of debris the titan had appeared from.
"Christa, Lieutenant, and all of you, stand back." Mikasa said, gazing down at us with dark eyes, "We'll take it from here."
While I wasn't pleased at being rescued by someone ranked lower than I was, and the fact I had been pretty useless this entire time, I was grateful for the extra man power. Grabbing a tight hold around Christa's arm, I dragged her over to where everyone else stood, watching in awe, and shoved her at Klaus.
"Hold her and DO NOT let her go, under any circumstances." I growled harshly, my anger flooding back to me like a tsunami.
"Where are you going?" The tall, dark haired boy, Bertolt Hoover, asked me when I turned my back on them.
"Well first I'm going to break my last two blades off in a titan's neck and then I'm going to find my shit of a horse." I told them as I jumped over debris. True to my word, I landed on a titan's back directly below me, guided by the anchors I'd shot, and thrust my blades deep into its flesh. They snapped off as the chunk of the nape slid free and the titan fell onto its face.
Turning my back, I stalked off in the opposite direction. Fueled by anger and faithful my comrades would finish off these bastards, I paid little mind to the titans still swarming Ymir.
"Oh! You're still alive." Hange's voice made me look up, "You look like hell."
"Shut it, Four Eyes." I muttered, using the nickname Levi had given the Major many years ago. I heard Hange whisper to someone, who I wasn't sure, "She's angry..."
I wandered around, whistling for my horse and hoping he hadn't been squashed and killed. He'd survived the attack from the huge unknown titan earlier but I had little hope his luck would continue. I was about to give up and return to Hange when a familiar whinny made me stop walking. Sterculus trotted out of a nearby gathering of trees. His bridle had torn at the brow-band, the reins had snapped in half and the saddle looked like it had seen much better days but for what it was worth, he seemed fine.
"Nice to see you got out of the danger when you could." I told him as he nuzzled my shoulder lovingly, "I nearly died, ya know. What would you have done then?"
Taking hold of the tattered reins, I led my shit of a horse over to the rest of my people, happy to see that the remaining titans had been taken care of and the wounded were being seen to.
"You hurt?" Hange asked as I stopped beside the Major's brown mare. I shook my head, physically I was fine - my pride however, felt much the same way Sterculus's saddle looked.
"Why were all the titans gathered over in one spot?" Hange asked as we walked.
"Ymir's a titan shifter." I said flatly, "And before you ask, no. I had no idea. Her titan form is not one we've encountered before either."
"Interesting." Hange said, a crazy, excited gleam in those chocolate brown eyes.
"That's not all." I said, "She can speak." Hange pulled hard on the reins, causing the brown mare to snort in protest.
"Did...Did you say speak?!" Hange practically screamed in joy.
"Yeah. It was hard to understand and it didn't seem like she could form complete sentences, but it was definitely speech." I said watching as Hange dismounted and ran over to what was left of Ymir's titan where Christa and some of the others were standing.
Sterculus chewed on my sleeve gently. Now that everything was over, the recruits were safe - for the most part - and none of my team had died, horse included, my body felt heavy and tired. I wanted to go home and sleep for a month. But our work was no where near finished. We had another titan shifter in our midst, a new abnormal we knew nothing about, two more shifters still unaccounted for and a shit storm waiting for us back at the wall.
"Now what?" Red asked as he and the rest of my team came to stand with me.
"Now I guess we go home and lick our wounds." I sighed.
"Sounds dignified." he replied running a hand through his hair.
I gestured around me, "What about any of this is dignified?" I hoisted myself into the saddle, tied a knot in the broken reins and urged Sterculus into a walk while the rest of my team moved to the spare horses Hange's back up and brought in case. Even with the spares, some people had to double up with the recruits. I rode with Hange in silence although I could tell the Major was itching to ask me all about what had happened. I figured Hange could sense my feelings and didn't speak.
Wall Rose was a welcome sight as it soared over the horizon. I never thought I would be happier to see it, but there I was, sighing in relief and fighting every urge in my body not to sprint towards it. It was somehow comforting.
After refueling and sending my horse off to find somewhere safe until I called him, I followed everyone else up and onto the outer wall. I had been hoping Levi would be up there waiting for us somehow, but I knew he was back behind the wall with Pastor Nick. So once again I stood with Hange and listened to Christa's plea for Ymir's life.
"Please believe me!" she begged, "It's true! To save us, Ymir revealed her secret and fought for us as a titan. She even disregarded her own life for us. It clearly shows her loyalty to us as comrades."
Hange glanced at me for any kind of indication disagreement, but I nodded once. Christa was telling the truth, or as much as any of us understood of it.
"I know that her actions up to that point were inexcusable, she withheld information of vital importance to mankind." Christa continued, "I suppose until then she was only concerned about herself, but she changed and now Ymir is mankind's ally. As someone who's known her for a long time, I assure you that she's a lot simpler than she might seem."
Hange sighed, face unusually calm, "I see...Well don't get me wrong, sure I'd rather be friends with her if possible. Regardless of what she did till now, the information she can provide is treasure to mankind. Of course, I want to be on good terms with her. Only, she, herself, might be simple in terms of nature, but that state of affairs in our lands is very complicated." Hange turned away and was silent for a moment, letting Christa think about the words Hange had given her, but then the Major turned back "You said your real name is Historia Reiss?"
"Yes..."
"Reiss as in those famous nobles?"
"Yes."
"Right," Hange said placing a hand on the small girl's shoulder, "Well, nice to meet you Historia Reiss." Christa - Historia - seemed frozen by the easy acknowledgement of the name she'd kept secret for years but Hange didn't seem fazed.
"What do you make of this?" Hange asked me quietly as Historia lingered behind us a ways.
"I'll vouch for her if need be." I said honestly, "While Ymir's circumstance is slightly different from Eren's, I personally witnessed her transform and fight off the titans. She rescued us all by letting us climb onto her back and then she was willing to sacrifice herself to save us. I believe what Historia says."
"I never thought you'd be one to side with titans." Hange remarked with a sly grin.
"Blame it on being Eren's babysitter. But I'm willing to give any titan or titan shifter who's willing to die to save me the benefit of the doubt." I replied.
Ymir was still unconscious on the stretcher when we arrived. Her right arm and leg had been bitten off and she had a lot of internal injuries, but looking at her, she seemed peaceful.
"How's she doing?" Hange asked.
"The bleeding has stopped and now there's something like vapor oozing from her wounds." came the reply.
"Well, anyway, we need to transport her to the Trost district so that she can be provided with the proper treatment. I'll leave you to it." Hange said and grabbed my arm, leading me away from Ymir and Historia.
"Now then, we originally came here to plug the breach in the wall." Hange said but I had the feeling there was another reason we were there.
"Hange, what's really going on?" I asked quietly.
"We're plugging the hole." Hange replied, "But I want to check out something." Hange grabbed my arm again and stopped walking, "Listen, Ares, when we took down Annie, she tried to climb the wall. Mikasa Ackerman sliced her fingers where the crystal wasn't covering and she fell, taking a chunk of wall with her. There's titans inside the walls. I don't know how they got there or how long they've been there, but they're alive."
"That was Sina..." I said catching on, "You want to check Rose while we're here."
"Precisely. Keep this just between us for the moment though. We wouldn't want to worry anyone unnecessarily."
I nodded, agreeing with the Major. Now certainly wasn't the time nor place to reveal this piece of information.
"We'll deal with Ymir later." Hange announced to the recruits and seasoned soldiers, "First, we gotta put the plan to restore the wall into action. I expect to see hordes of titans around the breach, but...hmm?" I followed Hange's line of sight and saw a group of riders approaching down below, "It's the vanguard of the garrison." Hange said, "They came to let us know the location of the breach."
We waited patiently as one of the garrison members scaled the wall, when he reached the top he had some rather interesting news.
"There is no breach." he told us, "We've been searching all night and I can guarantee you that at least between Trost and Chlorba there's no abnormalities. We met up with the soldiers dispatched from the Chlorba district on the way and double-checked the wall, retracing each other's paths. Also, all this time we haven't come across a single titan."
I glanced at the faces around me. Shock and disbelief were a resounding expression, even Hange looked openly surprised. I did as Levi had taught me and kept my emotions hidden behind a veil of calmness.
Eren spoke up, obviously having known the Garrison soldier from before, "Maybe you're still drunk or something."
"As if I'd drink in a situation like this!" the soldier argued, "Come to think of it, why are you guys even here?"
Before any one of the three kids could reply, Hange spoke up, "Hmm, well with no breach in the wall, we have no choice but to call the operation off. For now we'll be on stand-by in Trost."
I followed Hange and Moblit away from the main group while Eren, Mikasa and Armin chatted with Hannes, the Garrison soldier. Hange was voicing thoughts about titans being able to dig underground and how hard it was going to be to locate them should that be the case. I was day dreaming about a nice comfortable bed, hot food and Levi's arms around me after the scolding I would probably get for being an idiot and almost dying - again.
Suddenly, a commotion behind us, where Eren had been snapped me right out of my fantasizing. I heard Eren yell and whirled on my heel in time to see Mikasa cut right through Reiner's arm and hand.
"What the fuck?!" Red cried, moving to restrain Mikasa. I practically flew over to Eren, grabbed the back of his cloak and pulled him behind me, my blades drawn.
My team caught on, Red stopped in his tracks, and followed suit, obviously sensing that Reiner, not Mikasa, was the threat. During that time, Mikasa had turned her attention to Bertolt as well, cutting through his arm and into his neck.
"Eren, run!" she cried as she moved in to deal the finishing blow to Bertolt. Reiner acted first and slammed his shoulder into her sending her flying off the side. Behind us, I could hear people running and Armin repeating the words Mikasa had cried just before. Reiner stood before a teary eyed Bertolt, eyes hard and furious.
"So," I said, my voice calm and low, "You two are the ones who destroyed Wall Maria five years ago."
Neither responded, but the look in Reiner's eyes confirmed it. They were the ones we were missing.
"Congratulations on keeping it secret for this long." I said, "But you're fools if you think I'm going to stand aside and let you take Eren."
Reiner finally spoke, his voice and attitude and completely changed, like he'd become a different person, "You may be strong, Lieutenant, but do you think you can stop the both of us from getting what we want."
"Oh absolutely." I replied, "Look around you. You chose a bad time to reveal yourself. Your only saving grace is that neither the Commander or Levi are here. But because you saved me a lot of trouble trying to find your asses, I'll give you three seconds to get off the wall. Think of it as a head start."
A dangerous smirk graced Reiner's face as if he was accepting my challenge. Steam began rising from both of them.
"Fuck, not again." I muttered, grabbing Eren again and running as far away as I possibly could before they both transformed. I was seriously getting over people turning into titans in my face. During the shock wave, Eren slipped from my grasp as I was forced onto the floor of the wall surface and rolled.
"Eren!" I yelled straining to see through the smoke. A huge dark mass flew from the top of the wall where Reiner and Bertolt had been standing and dropped over the side of the wall. I jumped to my feet and scanned for any sign of the boy I'd been told to protect. Sure enough, I caught sight of his green cloak within the Armoured Titan's hand.
"Eren!" Armin cried out some distance away.
"Eren, shift!" I ordered him. That was the only way he was going to get out. Once again a human shifted into a titan right in front of my face, but I was glad for it. Eren's titan was almost nostalgic. He stood just a little taller than the Armoured and was more proportioned. His fist flew towards the Armoured's face and both fell towards the ground.
"ARES!" Hange cried in utter panic. I looked up to see a huge, skinless fist moving to strike down towards me. It seemed eerily similar to Blair's death - a titan hand looming above him, aiming to squash him underneath. Only now I was in Blair's position. I didn't hesitate, I jumped off the wall, shooting an anchor out towards the piece of wall that jutted out and swung clear. I looked up to see the Colossal throw Ymir and one of our men into his mouth. Was he planning on eating both of them? Or did the soldier simply get caught in the commotion and his target was Ymir solely?
"Men, prepare for battle!" Hange ordered, "We're gonna bring the Colossal Titan down!"
That was an order I had no problem following today. Leaving Eren to deal with Reiner, I followed the main unit and engaged the Colossal.
"He's the enemy of mankind!" Hange yelled again, "Charge all at once!" It was a good play - there were far too many of us for him to stop, one of us was bound to be able to take him out while the others distracted him. Bertolt's titan was slow, it took a lot of precious time for him to maneuver such a large body but that worked to our advantage. In a matter of seconds, our entire force, the recruits aside, were all behind him, aiming straight for his weak spot.
"Now!" Hange ordered when we were all in position, "Cut off the nape of his neck all together!"
As I was descending down, I recalled Eren telling me about when he'd been in position to execute the killing blow to the Colossal - scorching steam had suddenly risen, blinding him, and the Colossal had disappeared. Almost as soon as the memory crossed my mind, Bertolt's titan let out a loud, piercing scream. Steam poured out from him in every direction - it was obviously a defense he had, much like Annie's crystal.
"Men, withdraw!" Hange ordered. We couldn't do anything except watch as the huge titan form evaporated before our eyes. There was no way we could get close to him without our skin melting off. For the second time that day, we lost a titan shifter.
"Out of the frying pan," I muttered, "Into the damn fire."
"What do you mean?" Ezra asked curiously as he landed beside me.
"She means," Red clarified, "Our day has gone from bad to shit storm."
"And it's not over yet." Klaus added quietly.
"Squads 3 and 4, you're on standby behind the target. Rashad, you're in charge." Hange commanded, "Squad 2 you're on standby here. Lauda, I'm leaving you in charge. Ares, you and your squad are with me."
"Sir." I replied distantly.
"It'll be interesting to see how long he can keep burning like that, but what's certain is he'll run out of fuel eventually and will have to come out of it. We'll wait for that moment to make our move." Hange said. Despite our current situation, it was pretty interesting to see Hange so in charge and level headed, "Now listen closely. We can't take them alive anymore. Kill them. Don't hesitate."
I rested my hand on Armin's shoulder, "These guys aren't your friends any more. Remember who they really are and what they did. They destroyed your home, killed hundreds of people - it was because of them, thousands of innocents were sent to die. Don't forget that because they pretended to be your comrades for three years."
Armin nodded slowly and I felt for him, not just him but for the other recruits who were obviously in the same position. This was like Annie all over again.
"Armin and squad 1 follow me!" Hange said jumping off the wall, "Our target is the Armoured Titan!"
Eren was lying on the ground some distance away from Reiner and the wall, not moving, while Reiner's titan was slumped against the wall. Slowly he leaned forward and climbed to his feet, slowly making his way over to where Eren was lying. It was obvious to me that Eren had come out second best during their fight, but Reiner's titan was hurting as well. Mikasa was several steps ahead of us and already engaging Reiner - however it seemed that her attacks were useless and he didn't even care about her. His attention was on Eren.
Eren roared out and got back on his feet and punched Reiner's titan in the face. Reiner retaliated with the same move, only his was far stronger. The Armoured Titan's advantage was that almost his entire body was covered in hardened skin, making it almost impossible for blades to break through and Eren's attack null and void, while his made a serious impact. That fact was clear as Eren was sent flying back, his titan's face an absolute mess.
"Hange." I said moving up beside my commanding officer, "You realize we're only going to be an annoyance to him and get in Eren's way if we try to engage."
"Yes. But even if we only succeed in buying Eren time to regenerate, that's enough." Hange replied, "I want to give Eren every advantage."
"Understood." I said, "The Armoured Titan's defense is almost impenetrable. The only places not covered with hardened skin are his joints and his eyes. If you want to buy Eren time, I suggest that's where we strike. Don't worry about trying to attack the nape, it'll be useless."
"I agree." Hange said, "Did you all hear that? Go for the uncovered areas of his body!"
"Wait!" I cried stopping our squad, Eren was standing up again, steam rising from his broken face as it healed.
"Eren, don't do it!" Armin cried sensing what was about to happen, "Fighting him won't get you anywhere! Fall back closer to the wall! You must not fight!"
Armin's cries fell on deaf ears as Eren squared up to fight Reiner again.
"This is bad." Armin said.
"He's going berserk again." Hange added, "Do not engage, you'll be killed."
Reiner moved to deliver another of his skull shattering punches, only this time, Eren ducked underneath it and shoved his shoulder into Reiner's neck, wrapping his elbow around his face in a headlock and tossed him over his hip, slamming him into the ground. Eren knelt on Reiner's arm and chest, trying to keep him pinned, but Reiner thrust his lower body up, planting his free hand on the side of Eren's ribs and gripping Eren's arm with the hand mostly pinned to the ground, he flipped them over. Eren managed to keep hold of one of Reiner's wrists and wrap his legs around his head and shoulder, successfully putting him in a submission hold. Reiner grabbed Eren's thigh and tried to wrench free, but Eren wasn't quite done yet. Twisting, he brought the back of his knee up, locked Reiner's throat and rolled, once again slamming the Armoured titan into the ground. He pulled hard and tore off the arm he held in his hands. Eren jumped to his feet as quickly as possible, readying himself for another attack.
I caught sight of Armin and Mikasa down with him, I'd been too absorbed in watching the fight, I hadn't realized Armin had moved. And then, all three of them were heading back to the wall, Reiner following close behind.
"Eren's going to put him in another hold." Mikasa said as she joined us again, "When that happens we have to find a way to stop Reiner from moving. It's the only way Eren can escape."
"We'll keep to the original plan then." Hange said, "Attack anything not covered by skin."
"If we can cut deep enough, there's a chance we can sever the tendons. He'll regenerate of course, but it might be enough time to get Eren out of here." I added. Mikasa glanced over at me,
"When did you get so protective of him?" she asked me bluntly.
"When I was ordered to." I told her simply.
Eren squared up again as Reiner approached, but instead of dropping into a fighting stance, Reiner charged, full sprint, at Eren and threw him into the wall. He aimed to punch and Eren fell, clutching onto one of Reiner's legs and trying to get him into a hold as quick as possible.
"Don't fall to the ground Eren!" Armin cried as Mikasa yelled at him to get up.
Levi stood over me again, his face unimpressed. "If your opponent gets you on the ground, do everything you can to get up fast. You'll be at a serious disadvantage - they can kick you, pin you or simply drop their elbow into your throat and crush your wind pipe. It's harder to escape if you crawl on the ground. But, if you do find yourself in this position with no way to stand, use your legs. If your enemy is a man, kick him in the balls - fight dirty if you must. Otherwise plant your feet here," he put his slid his hands over his abdomen and hips, "and force them over you onto their back."
The memory was gone as soon as it started and I almost yelled out to Eren to do the same, only he kicked Reiner way and managed to stand. For the moment, he was fine. Using the wall for extra balance, Eren pushed off and charged at Reiner. Reiner dropped his head and thrust his shoulder into Eren's stomach, Eren curled his body around the larger titan, locking Reiner's head under his arm and wrapping his legs around his middle, holding him. The two crashed to the ground again but Eren held the advantage somehow.
"Go for the knees!" Hange yelled as we descended. Mikasa had already begun moving as the two titan shifters were falling. Her blades sank deep into the joint behind Reiner's knees where no skin was. Eren leaned forward and then rolled back with all his strength, aiming to try and pull Reiner's head clean off. Only Reiner did something none of us had anticipated. Planting his knees and free hand into the ground, he began to push. Eren tightened his hold and pressed his weight further into the ground, successfully stopping Reiner from crawling anywhere. I frowned, something didn't seem right. It was too easy. Reiner was a seriously strong opponent - even missing an arm, his lower legs unable to be used and in a hold, it shouldn't have been that easy to stop him from moving.
Down below, I caught Armin looking skyward and followed his gaze. Right above where Eren and Reiner were having a power struggle on the ground was Bertolt's titan still producing heat.
"Ah shit..." I whispered quietly as Armin turned to yell what I had just guessed to Hange, only his voice was drowned out by a loud bellow from Reiner.
"Check the surroundings! He called titans!" Hange ordered.
"No other titans sighted in the vicinity!" someone called back. I kept my gaze on Bertolt, watching for any sign he may be moving. I stared, unblinking, until my eyes started to sting and then I saw it. He moved ever so slightly, leaning a fraction of a millimeter towards the side of the wall.
"Above you!" I screamed, "Dodge, now!" Bertolt's titan skeleton fell, still oozing steam, his mouth open to encompass both Reiner and Eren. He fell faster than I had anticipated. His large body connected with the ground before Eren had a chance to move. Heat and light exploded, my knees buckled under the force of the blow and I was slammed against the wall hard and pinned there. I squeezed my eyes shut, my head felt like it was cracking against the pressure, my skin was on fire. I couldn't breath, I couldn't move. My lungs burned for air as my ribs were being squeezed around them. And then the pressure was gone. Air flooded my body, the sudden rush proving too much strain. The last thing I remembered was someone calling my name and then everything was gone. It was silent and dark.