A/N: Sorry that this chapter is shorter that most. I need to go before my parents yell at me. I'll add some edits in the morning but here you go for now.
The moment the orb had shattered, Annie, Zeke, Reiner, and Bertholt were blown backwards. A wave of blue light washed outwards before shooting straight up, like a beacon. Zeke, upon seeing this, backed up and looked around. Reiner and Bertholt began to climb back onto their feet, looking warily at Annie, waiting for her next move.
No one moved a single muscle or made a sound. They simple waited and soon, it started. The sounds of splintering and cracking wood were faint at first but they grew louder and louder, drawing near on their location. They could see trees falling one by one as something or someone hurtled towards them.
A scream of pain rang out through the air, as Bertholt fell to his knees, his back bloody with a single cut. As he fell, another figure leaped from behind him, a katana in hand. Bounding over Bertholt's body, the man stopped in front of Annie, facing her opponents. His armor, it should've been impossible. It was exactly like the crystal warrior's armor except it was made of dark steel.
"Careful, he has an infinity stone," the figure said, nodding at Zeke.
"I noticed," Annie replied softly, only loud enough for Drayce to hear. "When you're done kicking their ass, we need to talk Drayce."
"Ah shit," Drayce groaned before leaping towards Zeke.
"Reiner, bring Bertholt and Pieck to safety," Zeke shouted as he charged to meet Drayce head on.
Zeke roared as he punched forward, hand glowing purple. His fist met Drayce's fist and a shockwave of purple energy expelled outwards.
"You are strong, but do you really think you can defeat me?" Zeke asked.
"No doubt about it," Drayce replied, his own hand glowing golden yellow. "Power stone, huh? We'll see how long you last."
Zeke's confidence began to waver but he pushed it back, launching another barrage of energy at Drayce.
With a flick of his hand, a dark steel wall erected itself in front of Drayce. The energy pulses slammed into the barrier, the energy dispersing. The wall disappeared and Drayce leapt forward, katakana in hand which was wreathed in fire. Swinging his sword towards Zeke, the man repelled Drayce back with a shockwave of power.
"Pathetic," Zeke sneered. "This is true power."
The trees around them began to glow purple and splintered. The shards began to turn towards him and Zeke sent them rocketing forwards.
'Shit! Annie!' Drayce thought.
Bracing himself, he created a dome of dark steel over Annie, just in time to stop stakes of wood from impaling his girlfriend. He, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. The wooden stakes pierced through his wings, instantly bloodying them. The rest of the wood bounced harmlessly off his metal armor.
Growling, he thrust his fingers skywards, sharp spikes of dark steel erupting from the earth below. Zeke jumped backwards, just narrowly avoiding the spikes as they speared the air where he once stood.
A bolt of lightning struck down and Reiner's titan appeared behind Zeke. Bertholt with Pieck, still sleeping, strapped to his back were already clinging on to Reiner's neck.
"Reiner, grab Zeke and let's get outta here!" Bertholt screamed.
Reiner grunted and swipes Zeke of the floor. He turns heels and begins to run.
"God damn it," Drayce cursed.
He let his claws slide out, triggering his transformation. A bolt of lightning struck Drayce, transforming him into his 15 meter behemoth before giving chase to them and disappearing into the forest.
"Annie, the fuck is going on!" William shouted.
Annie turned around, the rest of the group with her.
"Over there," Annie replied, pointing towards the direction where Drayce disappeared.
Seconds later, Reiner's titan form flies out and crashes against the dark steel spikes. A look of hatred crossed Eren's face as he raised his hand to his mouth, ready to bite.
"No Eren! Look, he's injured!" Armin shouted pointing at the deep gashes in Reiner's back.
"By what?" Mikasa demanded.
"By him."
A thumping grew louder and louder, a humongous shadow fell on Reiner as a crystal titan appeares from the forest, a way to big sword dragging behind on the forest floor like in one of those slasher movies. Roaring, Reiner struggled back to his feet and charged Drayce. Slamming a fist on the ground, a stone pillar erupted from below Reiner, sending him flying skywards.
"The hell? How did he do that?!" Eren asked, his mouth agape.
"Infinity stone," Tom answered. "If he's using it, then one of them must have one too. We need to leave before they level this entire forest."
"No, not Reiner. Zeke!" Annie corrected.
"Who's Zeke?" Eren asked.
"Another titan shifter," answered Annie, just as said shifter blasted back Drayce with a purple energy wave.
Taking the chance, Reiner stood back onto his feet, his fists glowing purple. Roaring, he threw a punch at Drayce who threw one of his own. The power behind the strike cracked the crystal around Drayce's hand, shattering the armor.
"PIECK, WAKE THE HELL UP! WE NEED YOU!" Bertholt screamed.
"Huh?" the girl replied sleepily as she stared at the scene before them.
Snapping her fingers, a wave of green energy expanded outwards and everything froze.
"There, I gave you five minutes," Pieck replied before getting pulled back by her drowsiness.
"Forget about them for now. We don't know how many more of them are here but we need to leave. This place is no longer safe," Zeke decided, his eyes narrowing.
With that, the warriors disappeared from the forest and out of sight. Five minutes later, the world unfroze.
'Damn it! They have the time stone too?!' Drayce thought as he began to exit his titan.
"What the hell happened?" William groaned. "Where'd Reiner go?"
"I could ask you all the same question, but unfortunately I don't know," Drayce replied, making his way down from the steaming titan corpse. "I see we got tweedle dee and tweedle dum trying to be a detective here."
"Who's who?" Eren asked, a grin plastered on his face.
"I'd say you be tweedle dee-" Drayce begins before getting slammed onto the ground by Annie. "And I'll assume I'm tweedle dum although it doesn't exactly make sense in this context."
Drayce opens his mouth to say something but before he could, the blonde sitting on his chest slaps his face.
"You come back and the first thing you do is crack a stupid ass joke?!" she demands, a look of disbelief on her face.
Drayce's smile lessens as he begins to sit up. He grabs Annie and lifts her up as easily as if she was a puppy. Said girl squeaks quietly in surprise as he hugs her but nonetheless returns the affection.
"I'm sorry Ann. For leaving you and everyone else behind but most of all, for not telling you," Drayce mutters as he tightens his grip like she might disappear.
"We mourned you, buried you. Do you know how much it hurt?" she cries, tears sparkling on her lashes.
"I know. I wanted to tell you. Even now, I shouldn't have. But I couldn't bear it for much longer," Drayce replied.
"Will you be coming back with us?" Annie asked with pleading eyes.
"Unfortunately I cannot. I have to go with them," Drayce explained, nodding at the rest of his friends. "But tell you what, make sure you're at the back of the castle after sunset tonight."
"Fine, you better show up," Annie threatens.
"Yeah yeah, I'll be there. Bring a jacket too. And when you get back to HQ, give this to Levi," Drayce says as he unslings his sword and holds it out to Annie with both hands.
A smile grows on her face as she accepts the saber. She unsheathed the blade halfway before studying it and pushing it back in.
"Anything you want me to tell him?" she asks as she slings it on her back.
"Tell him it's from an old friend and that he'll be hearing from us shortly," Drayce replies. "And all of you remember, you didn't see me."
"See who?" Rachel asks.
"There you go. Now get going. I'd hate to have Levi force you to clean for sneaking out," Drayce smirks, holding out his hand to conjure a golden coloured portal.
"After sunset. I'm holding you to it," Annie warns before disappearing through the dimensional doorway with the rest of her friends.
With a chuckle, Drayce, along with the rest of his guild disappear with a flash of white.
"I still can't believe you did what you did!" Megan huffed.
"What would you have done? Didn't have much of a choice," Drayce replied as they walked through the majestic halls.
"Man, you never change," Boone sighed.
"I mean, he is hard headed," Tom offered. "You can't deny that."
"Oh yeah, he is. But we can all agree there's a bigger one here," Christie remarked.
"Oi oi. Take it easy," Farlan interrupted.
"Come on! It was getting interesting!" Isabel whined.
"I agree because you need a shower. You stink," Megan said whilst pinching her nose. "Make sure you scrub and don't come out until you're clean Drayce."
"Geez mom, fine," Drayce grumbles.
"You're older than me!" Megan exclaims.
"No need to bite his head off over it. It was a joke. Do you have no humor?" Tom defended.
"No, I'll go. Can't wait for hot water," Drayce says before running up the stairs and into his room.
"Come to the library when you're done!" Megan shouted after him.
"Yes mom!"
"WHAT?!"
"Let it go already Megan," Farlan sighed. "Let's go give a full report to Ymir."
"Nose Goes."
"Damn it! Why is it always me?!"
"You have the worst reaction time ever Tom…"
"Shut up already!"
Drayce sighed as he slid down behind his door, listening as his friends walked away. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, waiting for the water to heat up. He walked out and gazed at his wardrobe critically. He was going to need something other than a t-shirt this time.
Annie flopped back down onto her bed the moment she snuck back into her room. She took the katana of her back and unsheathed the entire blade. She had seen Drayce use it many times but she had never seen it up close. The metal was dark, cool, and smooth. The blade, perfectly sharp no matter how many times used. She swung it through the air, making a sharp, crisp swoosh sound. She studied the handle of the blade. It was comprised of titanium, the design of some type of dragon coiling it's way up the handle, the head of it being the end. She returned her blade to its home before putting on her uniform and splashing cold water on her face to keep herself alert and awake. She walked out her room and made her way towards the dining area where she knew she could find her target.
Captain Levi was by himself at his usual table at his usual spot. The smell of tea had already filled the room. Multiple tea leaves sitting on a plate indicated that he hadn't been sleeping. No wonder he was grouchy all the time.
"Isn't it too early for you to be awake?" Levi asked, as Annie entered the room. "I would've thought you teens would be begging to sleep in."
"Couldn't sleep," she replied.
"So what's the purpose? I don't want to hear a sob story. I'm not your father," Levi said as he took a sip of tea.
Annie swallowed as she set Drayce's katana on the table. Levi's eyebrows shifted as he picked it up and studied it.
"Where'd you get it?" he asked suspiciously.
"An old friend. He told me to give it to you and that you'll be seeing him shortly," Annie replied, although she knew she wasn't fooling the corporal.
"I see. Did he say when?" Levi asked, his tone softer.
"No captain," she lied.
A pause.
"You can go then Leonhart."
"Thank you sir."
As she reached the exit, the captain had one last thing to say.
"You should work on your lying. It sucks. I'll turn a blind eye."
"I don't know what you mean sir," she replied with a small smile before walking out, leaving Levi alone once again.
He turned back to the sword in his hand and chuckled.
"Damn, kid."
Drayce stepped out of his shower and began to towel off his hair. He threw down a piece of paper onto his desk before sitting down. He glanced at the clock on his table. 30 seconds left. He grabbed his cloak and pried open the window to his room. He looked down towards the vast city and swung a leg out, straddling the windowsill. He leaned forward and dropped down, his hand catching the ledge.
"5, 4, 3, 2, aaand 1."
Just as he let go of the windowsill, a wave of green expanded, washing over the entire city. His cloak wrapped around him and he spread his wings, gliding over the landscape. He flew towards the other side of the castle and touched down. He walked up to a guard to inspect him. He was unmoving, frozen in place. He walked through the double doors and into the teleporting drops. Walking up to pad number 2, he dropped down and appeared atop Wall Maria.
A girl was already sitting on the wall, looking at the titans below. She turned her head to acknowledge him and stood up.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I'm here to make a deal," the girl replied. "You read my offer and the terms and conditions didn't you?"
"I did."
"So?"
"I accept, Pieck."