Hi everyone, just a word of warning: this is the longest chapter that I've written so far! I also have a recommended listening- check out "The Lion's Heart" by Audiomachine if you want to listen to what I was spamming on repeat while writing this chapter. :) Enjoy!
Those who set out beyond the Wall utilized a modified version of Erwin's long-range enemy-scouting formation. The Military Police and Wall Garrison were split between other squads of the Scout Regiment so they would be caught up to speed and wouldn't get lost—a small comfort, seeing as they knew next to nothing about going beyond the Walls.
Yavena updated Erwin as quickly as she could on what had happened during the encounter with the Armored and Colossal Titans. The Commander did not seem very surprised at all to learn that Reiner and Bertholdt were traitors; in fact, when she had said as much, he merely sighed and said, "I see."
She went into detail on how Eren was able to weaken the Armored Titan with specific fighting moves, how some of its armor had been torn asunder, and how the Colossal Titan had the ability to emit steam from its body to keep soldiers away.
"I wish I'd killed Reiner before he transformed," she said bitterly. "I should've aimed for the head…"
"Killing someone with the powers of the Titans will be difficult. In fact, I wonder if it is even possible to do so through conventional means."
While his words likely held truth to them, they did little to comfort Yavena in the moment. Her jaw clenched, she asked, "How do you think we can, then?"
Erwin was quiet for a while. And then he said, "We'll have to figure it out."
The two rode on, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Yavena reckoned that he was thinking about what she had told him, thinking of ways to exploit the few weaknesses that the Armored and the Colossal Titans had. But her own mind was on Eren: she could only hope that Hange's suspicions on their enemies needing to regain their stamina had been correct, and that what Hannes had said upon the trellis of the Wall was also correct. She could only hope that Eren was fighting tooth and nail to slow down Reiner and Bertholdt… something deep in the reserves of her soul told her that he was alive, and doing just that.
"Erwin," she said suddenly. "Why do you have faith in my abilities to protect Eren? I failed to do so once before and got my squad killed. And now I've failed again. I genuinely wonder—why?"
There was a loud crack through the sky; a red flare had been lit from the right wing. Erwin did not waste a second before firing a green flare directly ahead, signaling to the others not to change course. And yet, it was more than that; it was also an order to the right wing to engage the Titans if necessary.
Losing lives of some of the soldiers would be preferable to losing Eren.
"My faith in you has been the direct result of your successes over many long years," said Erwin. He fastened his smoke launcher to his belt again. "It was you who saved countless soldiers during the Forty-Sixth Mission Beyond the Walls. It was you who saved Squad Uriel in the mountains. It was you who saved and protected Hange when she was in danger. These last few months have been difficult for all, largely because we are still discovering what it is we're up against. No one knows what will come next. But I have faith in you to fight against it all the same."
A lump appeared in Yavena's throat, which she only just managed to bury. She'd never quite expected her Commander to hold her in high regard like this; it was true she'd done good things for the Scout Regiment in the past, but her recent failures simply seemed to cast a curtain over the years that had preceded them.
"Do not forget your efforts in subduing the Female Titan, either. Out of all my soldiers, you and Levi are the ones most capable."
"What about Miche?" asked Yavena, raising an eyebrow.
Erwin sighed and lowered his head. "Miche is dead."
"What?" she cried—her horse whinnied as it continued to speed across the plain, startled by her shrill voice. "Miche… how? When?"
"I sent scouts to return to the secondary headquarters to assess the damage. It's destroyed. Miche's body was there, torn into indistinguishable pieces. His omni-directional gear was gone. There's no telling what befell him."
Yavena's ears were ringing. It was well-known that Miche's battle skill was revered; many within the Scout Regiment had said that his abilities were second only to Captain Levi… his death was a humongous blow to humankind.
Miche had never been one of Yavena's close friends, but he was a man deserving of respect, even with all of his oddities. She sighed and placed her right fist over her heart in farewell, hoping to give him one last sign of respect while also wondering if the gesture mattered at all.
A soldier from the direction of the right-wing rode up to Erwin and Yavena then; he saluted as he approached and said, "Commander, how many of our forces shall we dedicate to the Titans? There are three approaching, and limited space to use our omni-directional gear!"
"Do not engage if you can help it," said Erwin. "Have the right wing merge with the center and hold course! Do not change direction. We only have until sunset! We must take the shortest possible path!"
"Aye, Commander!"
He returned to his squad, though Yavena could now see some of the Titans in question draw near—one of the veteran soldiers managed to dispatch the largest one, but the right wing was still being pursued. It was likely that they would suffer losses within the next sixty seconds, especially if the fastest of those Titans was not killed before that minute passed.
Yavena grit her teeth and faced forward.
"What's on your mind, Yavena."
She glanced over towards Erwin, although she could not say she was surprised that he'd seen past her façade. The Commander had always been one of the more perceptive people that she'd met; in that way, he reminded her of Petra.
With a sigh, she answered, "I'm wondering if this rescue operation would've been necessary, had I not said anything back in your office and silently allowed Levi to join us. If he had, it's possible that these lives—Eren's included—would not be in such risk."
"It is," said Erwin. Yavena looked at him with wide eyes. "But don't regret. If you begin to regret decisions, they cloud your judgment for the future. There's no telling what can happen; things may have been worse, or they may have been better. Either way, we will retrieve Eren today… and if I am honest with you, Yavena, risking Levi was never a chance I was willing to take."
"You would've forbidden him to come anyway?" she asked, surprised.
Erwin glanced at her and nodded. "Aye. He would've stayed, one way or another. And I will not regret that decision. You shouldn't either."
The relief that Yavena felt was like launching into a cool lake in the middle of a summer's day. She trusted Erwin's judgment; he had always made the correct calls. Knowing that she was not responsible for all of this chaos, the way that the simple mission had gone so disastrously wrong… no one was responsible.
No one knew how things would turn out.
Even though she knew this was true, Yavena knew that it would still be a long time until she was able to truly absorb the sentiment behind the message. Everyone in the world was their own worst critic; everyone blamed themselves for things that went wrong, even when it wasn't their fault.
She did it; Eren did it; everyone did it.
It was time to stop falling into that trap.
There was another crack, this time from the left-wing: another red flare. Erwin once again raised the smoke launcher and fired a green signal in response, directly ahead. The border of the forest was now in sight, which meant if Reiner and Bertholdt had stopped in the trees to rest, they knew the Scout Regiment was coming.
Yavena's thoughts once again strayed to Eren, one of her greatest friends left in the world. There was no way that she would yield him unfought; but she also couldn't help worrying what those two bastards may have done to him…
In order to distract herself, Yavena turned to face Erwin and mused, "You know, Erwin… Levi told me that you ended up drafting him into the Scout Regiment, along with two of his friends Farlan and Isabel."
Erwin chuckled, glancing at her sideways. "Did he? Interesting. Aye, I drafted him—but that was what he had wanted, of course. I knew his plans from the start; taking those three in was a calculated risk. But I saw how masterfully they utilized omni-directional gear and knew they would've made great soldiers. Recruiting Levi has certainly proven to be worth the risk."
"Plans?" she repeated. "What plan? What was the risk?"
"He and his friends were hired by a man named Nicholas Lobov to steal some incriminating documents against him and murder me."
Yavena's mouth dropped open. "What?"
There was a light smirk on the Commander's face. "I had received the intel from some of my spies days before meeting them in the Underground District. I knew their intentions from the start, but upon seeing how skilled they were, I couldn't let them go without recruiting them. I was sorry to see what befell Levi's friends, but their deaths seemed to reinforce his resolution as well."
For a long moment, Yavena was simply not sure what to say. She could only stare at Erwin, marveling in how composed he was and must have been back then. It had been almost a decade ago by this point, so she could not remember the first day that she'd seen Levi—but she still found it incredible how he and Erwin had become friends after what she'd just been told.
"You must have trusted him quite a lot later on," said Yavena, unable to keep the reverence out of her voice.
"By the time I had become the Commander of the Scout Regiment, he had given me no additional reasons not to. I would trust him with anything now; just as I would with either you or Hange."
Yavena smiled at this, but before she could respond, more red flares fired up from both the left and the right wings. Whatever comfort she'd gained from the conversation was gone as she recalled that they were in the middle of Titan territory—and that their forces were slowly being overwhelmed.
"Commander, we're surrounded," said Yavena, gazing both left and right.
"Keep forward. Any detours and we'll be too late." Erwin withdrew his blades; as they continued to usher their horses towards the forest borders, he shouted, "All soldiers, prepare for battle!"
The remainder of the rescue operation followed his lead; a number of Scout Regiment veteran officers engaged the Titans that were closing in. Erwin directed Yavena towards the entrance to the forest, but it was there that he said, "Here, we must part ways. Yavena, I need you to go with the recruits from the 104th and do everything you can to rescue Eren. I will be setting up a contingency plan."
She glanced towards Erwin tentatively, but there was such confidence in his expression that Yavena knew he would be all right. Nodding towards him, she said, "Be careful, Erwin."
"A light!" exclaimed Armin's voice. Both Erwin and Yavena turned around to see that the recruits in question had just ridden up behind them. One quick glance told her everyone was still alive: Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, Conny, Historia, Jean. The six of them were spearheaded by Hannes, who was giving orders to his soldiers within the Wall Garrison. "Straight ahead in the forest, I saw a light! It's the one that appears when a Titan transforms!"
"Then we're just in time," replied Erwin. Raising his voice, he shouted, "Soldiers, disperse! We believe the enemy has already transformed! Locate Eren and recover him! Prioritize recovery and retreat!"
Erwin looked to Yavena and said, "Lead the recruits, Yavena. Now go!"
Yavena saluted him as he turned aside, taking a number of other officers with him. They were gone before long, skirting along the outside of the trees.
Turning back to her charges, Yavena looked them in the eye. "Switch to omni-directional gear and locate the enemy! They should be fleeing the forest. We're going to get Eren back—and Ymir too if we can manage it!"
No further time was wasted; all of them leapt off of their horses in favor of their gear and began flying through the trees, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of the Armored or Colossal Titans. As she scoured the forest, Yavena couldn't help noticing that there were no footprints upon the forest floor, no broken trees… it didn't seem like it had been either Reiner or Bertholdt that had transformed. They would be much too big to be unnoticed, not to mention loud and slow. And if it had been Eren, he surely would've roared by that point to let the Scout Regiment know he was still alive…
Just as she was thinking this, Yavena saw a small Titan hanging off of the branches of a tree. She gasped and pointed her blades towards it, but Conny lunged out and seized her wrist. "Wait! This is Ymir in Titan form!"
"Are you sure, Conny?"
"Aye! I remember it well!" he responded—Conny landed on the tree next to Ymir, the rest of his comrades following. Yavena perched herself upon the branches of a nearby tree next to Jean, biting the inside of her lip. She had never quite trusted Ymir… if she made a move to hurt Conny, Yavena was going to make sure it would be the last thing she ever did.
Conny moved onto Ymir's shoulder and said, "Oye, Ymir! Why are you the only one here? Where's Eren? What about Reiner or Bertholdt?"
He received no response. Yavena narrowed her eyes and kept her hand upon her blades, inspecting the nearby trees. She hadn't received a feeling of a stone dropping in her stomach. Nothing was innately telling her something was wrong, but… she wouldn't put it past Reiner to try and deceive them all again.
"Did she turn into a Titan and fight with Reiner?" asked Mikasa.
"Ymir! Did you get away from Reiner? Where are they?" Jean yelled.
"Tell us anything, Ymir!" Sasha said.
Conny groaned and relocated himself to the top of Ymir's head, stomping on it with one impatient foot. "Say something already! Oye, ugly—we're in a hurry!"
Yavena's attention was torn from the surrounding trees and onto the Titan ahead of her. It seemed that it was keeping an eye out for something… it was inspecting each person one at a time, as though waiting…
"Something's not right," murmured Armin. "Why is she looking at everybody one by one?"
A thought appeared in Yavena's head. Turning back to Armin, she asked, "How likely do you think it is she's waiting for Historia?"
Armin's eyes widened—
"Ymir! Thank goodness, you're all right!"
Yavena whirled around. "Historia, get back!"
Already too late. At the sound of Historia's voice, Ymir's Titan had leapt forward, her mouth unhinged—she swallowed the young woman whole and began to bound through the trees.
"Eh? She ate Christa!" shouted Conny.
Yavena cursed loudly, knowing that her job had just grown much harder. It was obvious now that Ymir had defected to the other side; both of the people she needed to protect were within the enemy's grasp.
1) Retrieve Eren. 2) Protect Christa. 3) Come back alive.
She had no intention of breaking those three orders; and she was sick and tired of betrayal, of feeling as though all of these horrible things were happening around her while she was powerless to stop them.
Erwin had left her in charge, had promoted her to Captain for a reason: he'd said it was because he respected her judgment. He respected her instincts. And most of all, he had said… he respected her determination.
The Commander knew that she would not let herself be beaten a third time—and she knew it, too. Yavena whirled off through the trees, roaring, "All of you, after me! We're going to take back Eren, take back Historia, and kill any Titans that get in our way, got it? Forward!"
Someone followed directly after her: Mikasa. Jean was hot on their heels, looking back towards the rest of his comrades and screaming, "You heard the Captain! Don't just stand there—chase her!"
Their saving grace was that Ymir was not yet out of sight. Yavena whirled through the trees, ducking and dodging as deftly as she was able, though all she could see was red. An atmosphere like this was where she was best able to utilize her omni-directional gear, and Yavena was going to use it to her advantage—unfortunately, it also seemed to be the best place for Ymir's Titan to maneuver, too. Her smaller, lithe frame allowed her to pass through the trees swiftly. A number of branches were shaking, the yellow and orange leaves falling to the ground as each person passed.
But Yavena would not be distracted. Only three things were running through her mind: to retrieve Eren, to retrieve Historia, to make it home to Hange and Levi.
Somewhere behind her, Jean was shouting, "She's fast! We're losing her!"
"No, we're not!" Yavena called back. She was farther ahead than the recruits, although even as she noticed this, Mikasa propelled herself next to her—but the end of the forest was within sight, meaning they could not pursue for much longer. Desperate, Yavena popped one of her blades out from its hilt and, when she was only a few meters away from the forest exit, threw it directly at Ymir.
Her blade caught the back of Ymir's leg; there was a roar, and then another flash of blinding yellow-orange light.
Yavena cringed and held her hand in front of her eyes, taking a rest upon the edge of the trees lest she ram herself into a tree trunk. When she removed her hand to see what had happened, she saw the Armored Titan reappeared. Ymir leapt onto its shoulder; next to her was Bertholdt, and strapped across his back was—
"Eren!" she cried. Were she any closer to them, Yavena would've risked leaping to get onto the Armored Titan's shoulder herself. But she knew that from this distance, she would only succeed in falling to the ground and breaking her legs—she threw a hand to her mouth and whistled as long and loud as she could.
The remaining recruits joined her upon the branches, looking lost.
"I can't believe it," whispered Armin, horror plastered all across his face. "Ymir's hostile to us now… it looks like she's cooperating with Reiner! She lured us right in!"
"Then there shall be no mercy for her," spat Yavena. She stood up straight and looked across the recruits, her eyes blazing from the oncoming glaze of twilight. "My duties are to rescue Eren and Historia, and return to Trost District alive. I will let no one stand in my way. Friend of yours or not, if Ymir has turned to the opposing side, I will cut her down."
Mikasa stepped forward and saluted, which admittedly surprised her. Out of all of the recruits, she would've expected Mikasa's support the least—but she was the first one to say, "I'm with you, Captain. We will get Eren back!"
Yavena clamped her hand upon Mikasa's shoulder, knowing that at the very least, they felt the same exact way. There was some kind of rage boiling in her lower belly: an amalgamation of frustration, anger, and desperation that made for an ill-tasting cocktail indeed.
She faced the rest of the recruits who were exchanging uneasy looks, and raised her blade towards the retreating figure of the Armored Titan. "Listen to me. What is about to follow is not going to be pretty, but it is necessary. If humankind is to have any chance of survival in the coming months and years, we need Eren. I know you believed that Reiner and Bertholdt were once your friends, but they never saw it that way. To them, you were little more than obstacles."
Conny's and Sasha's faces fell, obviously devastated. Jean's expression went hard and cold. Armin and Mikasa seemed to have expected this.
But Yavena knew that none of them—with the potential exception of Mikasa—held the same rage, the same fearsome calm, that she held in her heart. Even though the following words were against her best judgment, she added, "I will allow you one chance to speak to them, if you think it will help at all. But if that bears no success, you will tell me, and I will do everything in my power to kill them here and now. And I will expect you to help me. Is that understood?"
Yavena was met with a long and frightened silence. The first to speak was Armin, who nodded once, whatever doubt that had been in his face finally and fully erased. "Aye, Captain! It is understood!"
Thanks to Armin's words, the others relayed their agreement as well, by saluting Yavena as best as they were able while feeling so emotionally vulnerable.
She was not unsympathetic, exactly… she could not imagine what it must have felt like, to know in the short span of only ten hours, that three people whom they had been friends with for over three years, were sided with the Titans. Yavena could not imagine what must have been running through their minds at the moment she had given her speech. But she also knew that they couldn't dwell on the sentiment of friendship.
"Survival does not leave room for sentiment," she said aloud. It was spoken softly, but due to the silence that had taken over their perch, she was still heard. "It's a cruel world, and things have never been fair. For that, I am sorry. We all deserve better."
There was the sound of horses approaching; Yavena did not waste any time. She leapt off of the branches towards the oncoming steeds, settling herself back into the saddle of the one she had claimed as her own.
"Don't stop!" shouted Hannes's voice, directed towards the recruits. "Get on your horse and chase!"
The other five were swift to follow Yavena, whose eyes were glued upon the retreating form of the Armored Titan. He had not gotten as much of a head start as she had feared that he would, meaning Hange had been right: he was still tired, and had not yet had enough time to regain his strength.
"I'm getting Eren back!" roared Hannes as they all charged forth. "Even if it means trading my life for it!"
Yavena kept her attentions directly on the Armored Titan and its passengers just ahead. As the seconds passed, she noticed that she and the others were gaining on them—reinvigorated, Jean shouted, "He's not fast enough to escape! We'll catch up!"
"You're damn right we will!" Yavena retorted. She looked over her shoulder to see the recruits right behind her. Shooting them a significant look, she said, "As soon as we get in range and I give you the go-ahead, you lot will have two minutes to talk to Reiner and Bertholdt! If they do not give Eren back to us, you will return to me and say so!"
"Aye!" exclaimed Conny. He, Sasha, and Jean seemed grateful for her words, and for the opportunity that she was giving them. Despite her anger and desperation to return Eren to the Scout Regiment, Yavena knew that it would not be right if she ordered them to kill the people they'd grown attached to, without letting them have one last attempt to solve this without further violence.
"If they don't give Eren back, this time, I won't hesitate," muttered Mikasa, dark eyes glinting. "I'll kill them both, I swear! And if Ymir gets in my way, she's asking for it too. No matter what it takes… I will!"
She looked over to Yavena, who nodded and said, "Remember your anger, Mikasa. Summon it when you fight. It'll keep you alive."
Within the next ten seconds, there was a perfect opportunity to launch atop the Armored Titan. Yavena raised her blades towards it and shouted, "Now, you five—go!"
Mikasa was the first to lead the charge, rocketing up towards the Armored Titan's shoulder. As she drew near, Ymir swatted out a hand to smack her to the side—the steel blades were directed straight to Ymir's eye, who roared as Titan blood sprayed from her face.
Seeing how close the others were to grabbing Eren, Bertholdt sprinted towards Reiner's neck; the Armored Titan clasped a hand around them, effectively protecting them from Scout Regiment blades.
Yavena cursed, watching this while chewing the inside of her lip. If those two traitors had cared about their comrades even a little bit, it was possible that the others wouldn't be hurt. All the same, she turned towards Hannes and said, "We're going to be the backup, Hannes. If anything happens to any of the five of them, we charge and hit that Armored Titan's hand with everything we've got."
There was a gleam in Hannes's eye. "Aye, Captain Verman! They've got ninety seconds left…"
For a long while, the five recruits were gathered around the Armored Titan's closed hand. Yavena could hear them shouting to Bertholdt, who was still able to talk to them despite being hidden by Reiner's hand. They sounded desperate, pleading for them to say it was all a lie—Sasha's, Conny's, and Jean's voices grew more and more hysterical until at last, his voice echoing through the Armored Titan's fingers, Bertholdt screamed, "Tell me who! Who would want to kill people?"
There was no denying the hurt in his voice; it was the sound of a man who had been haunted by his own nightmares for far too long. Yavena was familiar with such a feeling, although of course they couldn't be the same.
Bertholdt had committed war crimes of great atrocity. He'd been the direct cause of thousands of lives lost, and the indirect cause of tens of thousands more. He and Reiner had done unforgivable things—some of the nightmares that Yavena, Levi, Hange, and all the other soldiers and citizens of the world had suffered had been because of them.
Yavena was familiar with the nightmares. And now she knew who to blame for them.
Before she could call the recruits to retreat, the ground began to quake, fiercer and more intense than she had felt in a long time. She peeled her eyes away from the Armored Titan, looked ahead of her, and gasped.
"Erwin…"
The Commander was rushing forward upon his steed alongside his other soldiers, and tailing directly behind them were at least a dozen Titans.
"You guys!" called Hannes, whose face was not concealing how worried he was by this turn of events. "Get away from there! Jump!"
The recruits looked where Hannes and Yavena were staring and leapt off of the Armored Titan's shoulder. Upon retaking the saddles of their horses, Armin turned towards Yavena and asked, "What now? We can't attack the Armored Titan with all of those others heading this way!"
Hannes nodded in agreement, exclaiming, "What the hell is Erwin thinking? He's leading a horde of Titans right to us!"
"He'll have a plan," said Yavena. It felt as though there was gravel in her throat, scraping against her skin. In truth, she was absolutely terrified by the prospect of running directly into a bunch of Titans without good surroundings for omni-directional gear—but she knew that Erwin would not lead them astray. "He always has a plan, Hannes. Hold on tight."
They drew closer and closer to the Commander of the Scout Regiment and his horde of Titans; right when Erwin was only a few meters away, he bellowed, "All soldiers, disperse! Get far away from the Titans!"
Yavena veered her horse sharply left; the others followed her lead. She was just in time to move away from the throng of regular Titans—and when she turned around, she noted that Reiner was attempting to brute-force his way through them, barreling into them head-on.
The Titans began to grab onto him, attempting to stop him from moving forward; within Ymir's Titan hand, Yavena could see Historia being clutched, her blades extended as the Titans began to draw closer.
"What is this?" whispered Jean. His chestnut eyes flickered from left to right, reflecting the dying light of the sun. "Is this hell?"
"It's about to be," Erwin said. He spun his horse around; it snorted and stamped at the ground, as though the restless spirit of its rider had transferred into the horse as well. "Yavena, you know what you must do."
She stared at him as he withdrew his blades. There was a severe look to his face, but one that Yavena was able to read. He was trying to tell her to remember her duty—to remember what she was fighting for, and to be prepared to die for it should she need to.
Yavena took a deep breath, knowing he was right. More than anything, she wanted to save Eren and Historia, and then see Hange and Levi again. But she knew that Erwin was about to order an attack on the Titans; and if she had to choose two of her orders to fulfill, for the sake and the fate of humanity, she would have to choose the first two of her three goals.
"All soldiers, charge! The fate of humanity will be determined in this very moment! There is no future where humanity can inhabit these lands without Eren! We recover Eren and immediately retreat! Give your hearts!"
Erwin reared upon his horse before charging the Titans without looking back. Unwilling to let him go alone, Yavena pursued him—and then all of the soldiers still alive and fighting were screaming, raising their blades to the air, following after them as though they had accepted their own demise.
Two-hundred and fifty soldiers barreled forth towards the dozen Titans that surrounded Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir. Upon seeing a large number of humans sprinting directly at them, some of the regular Titans turned to meet them—Erwin raised his sword as they approached, screaming, "ADVANCE!"
They were growing closer and closer to the Titans; even as Yavena watched, the Armored Titan removed his hand from concealing Eren and Bertholdt so he could begin to fend off the ones that were still hindering his movement.
"It worked!" Jean cried, ecstasy in his voice. "His hand is gone!"
A manic light filled Erwin's face. He kept his blade raised high. "Now! Now is the hour! ADVANCE!"
Yavena raised her blade too—as soon as she looked towards Erwin, he was gone.
A Titan had just run forth on all fours and snatched the Commander directly off of his horse, his right arm clutched within its teeth.
She screamed. "ERWIN!"
Yavena was not the only one who was petrified. Countless Scout Regiment soldiers' eyes widened, and shadows danced across their faces, as though their willpower had been shattered in no less than three seconds.
But even as he was brought away, Erwin grabbed his blade with his free arm. Out of the thickets of horses and men, Titans and chaos… out of everyone and everything that he could have looked at, Commander Erwin Smith locked intense blue eyes with Yavena as he screamed, "Advance! Eren is just ahead! ADVANCE!"
Her eyes stung. This was the Commander of the Scout Regiment, being hauled away from her before her very eyes: her friend.
Erwin sliced across the Titan's maw, lessening its grip upon his arm. And Yavena knew that she could not hesitate, because Erwin was right; Eren was right ahead of her, no longer protected by the Armored Titan's hand, and if humankind was to survive, she needed to get him back.
Yavena turned her horse back towards the Titans. The other soldiers had not yet continued the charge; they were looking amongst one another nervously, as though they were simply waiting for the Titans to approach.
She raised her sword, taking care to emulate her posture the exact way that Erwin did, and screamed, "You heard the Commander! Advance!"
With one sharp kick to her horse's side, Yavena whirled back around and resumed the charge. The rejuvenated cries behind her and the familiar sound of hoof thuds told her that she was not alone—
They reached the area where the Titans were waiting. Soldiers of the Military Police were plucked off their horses. Some of the officers of the Scout Regiment engaged in combat. A few Scout soldiers were apprehended in the midst of using their omni-directional gear—no matter where Yavena looked, casualties were being suffered on an astronomical scale.
That didn't make any difference. She kept her blade raised, keeping a weather eye for any oncoming Titans, and led the pathway towards the Armored Titan. Somehow, even without looking back, Yavena knew that Jean, Sasha, Conny, Armin, and Mikasa were all screaming behind her, following and trusting in her path.
As soon as the Armored Titan was within range, Yavena leapt from her saddle and drove herself directly towards where Bertholdt was standing. She lunged out with her blades; Bertholdt had only just seen her coming. He managed to block the majority of her blow, but Yavena cut him alongside the shoulder. A stripe of red splattered across his blue sweater.
"MMPH!"
She gasped and looked towards Eren, whose eyes were open. His mouth was tied with a gag so he couldn't speak, his arms restrained in a way that resembled a straightjacket.
Yavena made another pass, but this time the Armored Titan was waiting. He tried to block her with a hand as she zipped around his head, swiping at his fingers—the steel shattered upon contact, but it bought her enough time to escape his grasp.
"Eren!" she shouted. "We're going to bring you home, damn it!"
A flash of black and dark-green appeared; Mikasa. She too swung at Bertholdt, but now he was wary. He managed to evade her attack—Yavena turned around to see another Titan was reaching out to her—
Eren's muffled voice was warning her as best as she could, but it was Yavena who said, "Mikasa, behind you!"
Mikasa was grabbed in the Titan's hand; she cried out as its fist closed around her and began to squeeze.
Yavena leapt off of the Armored Titan's shoulder, but someone else had appeared, and they were actually faster than she was.
"Mikasa! You piece of shit—let her go!"
It was Jean. He struck straight through the wrist of the giant Titan capturing Mikasa; she tumbled to the ground, but he managed to catch her before she could hit the earth.
With this distraction out of the way, Yavena turned back to the Armored Titan and Bertholdt, ready to make another pass so she could free Eren… but she froze as she noted that Armin was already balanced atop its shoulder, and he was holding out a hand towards her as if to signal not to move.
"Bertholdt!" cried Armin. "Are you two okay with this? Leaving behind your comrade and returning home? You're abandoning Annie?"
Bertholdt's green eyes widened; Yavena narrowed her own. It seemed he cared for Annie—she suddenly recalled when she had been eating dinner with the recruits after returning home from the previous reconnaissance mission, and how she'd promised vengeance upon the Female Titan for murdering her friends. Bertholdt had been worried… she'd known that it had never been for herself or Levi. It had been for Annie, their fellow murderer, the entire time.
Armin continued to speak, a sadistic shine radiating from every facet of his face. "You know where she's at? Far north, deep underground in the Utopia District… and being tortured. It was her screams that taught us something. That even with her body's healing, you can never get rid of the pain. They're taking special care to ensure she doesn't die. And as we speak, they're not giving her body any rest. They're torturing her every way they know how."
"You spawn of the devil!" Bertholdt roared. "I'll pulverize you!"
He leaned forward, just enough for someone to cut through the binds that tied Eren to his back. Yavena hurtled forth, determined to free him—but Eren was already gone.
She gasped and looked over to see who had freed him: it was Erwin. He had managed to liberate himself from the Titan's maw, apparently at the price of his right arm; even though he only had one hand remaining to fight with, he had managed to summon enough strength not only to free Eren from Bertholdt's back, but to cut off a piece of the Armored Titan's thumb…
The moment of shock passed over her as swiftly as a lightning bolt. Yavena dove forth, noting that Eren was beginning to fall to the ground, and managed to catch him just before one of the other Titans could.
"All forces, RETREAT!" commanded Erwin.
Yavena did not wait for another order. She dived around the smaller Titans still upon the battlefield with Eren in her arms, although she did take the gag out of his mouth as he narrowed his eyes at her and exclaimed, "MMPH!" once again.
As soon as he could speak, Eren gasped, "Where's Mikasa?"
"Jean has her. She'll be fine," said Yavena. She spared one millisecond to glance at him and managed a pained smile. "It's good to see you're no worse for wear, Eren. I was… worried."
She could spare no more time to look at what expression might have been on his face; despite Erwin's orders to retreat, the battle was still thick and fraught with danger. Noting that one man was about to be eaten, Yavena swerved as close to him as she dared and reached out with her blade—the Titan's wrist was severed, and the man was able to utilize his omni-directional gear to get away.
"You need to help the other forces," Eren said quietly. It was clear he was devastated by the carnage around them. "Set me next to the horses!"
"Eren… are you sure?"
"Aye! You need to save them!"
Yavena bit the inside of her lip. It was true; far too many losses were being sustained during this battle. It might have been worse, had the Armored Titan not been covered in many smaller Titans itself, but there was still so much blood on the ground, not to mention she had once again lost track of Erwin…
"All right," she said. "Get on your horse and get out of here as soon as possible. That's an order."
"But—"
"I said that's an order!" Yavena barked, more snappish than she had intended. She heard his sudden inhale and sighed before glancing back to him and adding, considerably softer than before, "I'm not losing another friend, Eren. Not today."
With that, she touched back down to the ground, in a relatively safe spot where some of the back-up horses were waiting with the Military Police. Waiting for them were Jean and Mikasa, the latter of whom cried, "Eren!" and immediately lunged out for his arm.
Seeing that these three were safe, Yavena turned back to the battlefield, her hands twitching. Armin, Conny, and Sasha were still unaccounted for, as was the Commander of the Scout Regiment. "Get out of here as quickly as you can. I'll follow as soon as I've found Erwin."
"Aye!" exclaimed Jean, saluting. He hauled himself into the saddle of his horse just as Armin landed on the ground next to him.
Yavena sighed in relief and placed a hand on his shoulder. A wry leer on her face, she mused, "That was some good work back there, Armin. Did you happen to see where Erwin fell?"
He nodded. "He went to the south-west, in the direction of the sun. I think he was trying to help some of the other veteran officers…"
A curse flew from her mouth; that was even farther away from the back-up horses than she'd expected. All the same, Yavena rewarded him with a nod and repeated her previous order. "Get on your horse and begin running back to headquarters alongside the reserves of the Military Police. Go!"
The four of them set out, though the only one who looked back was Eren. Upon catching his eye, Yavena saluted to him—and then she seized one of the other back-up horses from a member of the Military Police and returned to the field.
Bodies were strewn across the grass, blood coagulating in thick puddles. Some of it splashed scarlet onto Yavena's white uniform pants as her horse responded to each pull of the reins. She bit the inside of her lip hard enough to taste that metallic tang in her own mouth.
Erwin was still out there. He had to be alive.
As Yavena went on her way, she leapt up in places where she was able to free a soldier from a Titan's grasp. She recognized Rashad as one of them—she'd barely managed to slice across the enemy's jaw and wrist in time, but it was enough to buy him time to escape. One of the Wall Garrison soldiers underneath Hannes's command had lost a number of fingers, but as Yavena drove by the four-meter Titan, she sliced easily through its nape.
After about a minute of ceaseless sprinting, she saw him. Erwin was kneeling upon the ground, flecks and scratches of red decorating his body and his uniform: and charging directly towards him was Ymir.
Her throat went raw from how hard she was screaming—Yavena buried her cables within Ymir's forehead and intercepted her with her blades, one striking directly against Ymir's jaw and the other against one of her eyes.
Ymir bayed, throwing one clawed hand to her face. But she had stopped charging; Yavena threw herself to the ground in front of Erwin, waiting for the Intelligent Titan to look at her again.
When she did, Yavena raised her blades again. She locked gazes with Ymir; two pairs of dark eyes staring into the other's. Then, she growled, "You'd better run, Ymir. If you attempt to charge Erwin again, it'll be the last thing that you ever do. I will kill you."
Although the pause only lasted a few seconds, it could have been an eon. The flares of the sun were firing against Yavena's back, empowering her; the light was in Ymir's uninjured eye, meaning that the Titan would be at a disadvantage if it wished to charge—and Yavena still had one extra pair of blades left. If it came to a battle of attrition, a Titan of Ymir's size would lose.
It seemed that Ymir came to the same conclusion. With her blinded eye still emitting steam, she whirled around and began to run in the opposite direction.
As soon as she was gone, Yavena turned back to face Erwin. Although he was kneeling upon the ground, he was still straight as a board; and his professionalism was ever present as he asked, "Is Eren safe?"
"Aye. He's retreating on horseback with Armin, Jean, Mikasa, and the Military Police reserves," she said. Even as she scanned the plains, Yavena was able to see them retreating, not too far to the north-east.
Erwin nodded and opened his mouth to speak—but a shadow passed over them, enveloping them entirely in darkness. They both looked up and inhaled sharply; flying over their heads was a Titan, as though it had been hurled through the air…
It landed in the direction of where Eren and the others were. A ginormous cloud of dust and dirt erupted from the earth, blocking all vision from anyone in a significant radius and forcing Yavena into a coughing fit to expel the tainted air from her mouth and lungs.
When the cloud cleared, her heart shook. Everyone who had been quitting the field—including the recruits—had been stopped, knocked off of their horses, and Titans were beginning to follow them.
"Go, Yavena!" shouted Erwin. He rose to his feet and gestured to where Eren and Mikasa were lying in the grass. "Leave me here and protect them! I will buy you time!"
"Like hell I'm leaving you here, Erwin!" Yavena argued. "I'm not just going to let you die!" Despite how much taller he was than her, she straightened, revealing her fortitude—and for the first time in a very long while, she felt as tall and as brave as Erwin Smith himself.
The Commander placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look him directly in the eye. "Find Eren. Protect him and retreat—time is of the essence. I can be replaced."
"No, you can't be replaced. Not to me, and not to so many others within the Scout Regiment. You will live."
With these words, Yavena brought her hand to her mouth and whistled; the horse that she had ridden to reach Erwin trotted over, stamping its feet nervously. She grabbed the reins and handed them to him, saying, "Take this horse and get the fuck out of here. You are not dying on me today, Erwin. I will go and protect Eren and the others."
"How will you get to them?"
Yavena gestured to the Titans that were in front of her. If she was careful, she would be able to use them like she would've used the buildings in a city, to swing over to where Eren was struggling to get to his feet.
Erwin expelled a short breath of air as though he were exasperated… and yet, the glint in his eye was one of both gratitude and impressment. Shaking his head, he said, "Do not fail, Captain. It's out of the question."
"I won't," she answered—and then she sprinted forth as fast as she could go. Once she was within range of the ten-meter Titan ahead of her, she utilized it like a rope-swing, propelling herself as quickly as she could to her friend.
The Titans ahead of her either did not notice her presence, or were too preoccupied with other soldiers to care about intercepting her. Either way, Yavena was grateful. Their ignorance meant she was able to reach where Eren and Mikasa had been thrown relatively quickly. Even as she approached, a large Titan with an unnerving smile was reaching down towards them—
A man with cropped blond hair bolted in front of them like a shield, forcing the smiling Titan's hand away. She knew who that was…
"Hannes!" said Eren.
She landed next to Hannes and nodded, reaching out with her blades and slicing off the knuckles of the Titan's hand at the joints. Droplets of Titan blood sizzled across her face, already evaporating.
Eren gasped. "Yavena!"
"What are the odds of this?" exclaimed Hannes, shooting a cheeky grin to the two young soldiers. "Check it out, you two! You watch. I'm about to avenge your mother and butcher the shit out of this!"
Yavena watched him as he used his cables to begin attacking the smiling Titan. Somewhere to her left, another Titan had just been launched; another cloud of dust and dirt sprang through the air.
Knowing that there was not much time, Yavena knelt next to them and asked, "Are you injured? Can you escape?"
Mikasa groaned and put a hand to her ribs. It was likely they were bruised, if not broken, just as Yavena's had been the last time she had been grabbed. Eren watched her worriedly—there was still steam trailing from his fingers, revealing that he was still recovering from his earlier battle against the Armored Titan.
"Stay here," said Yavena. She turned back to face the smiling Titan, which was lazily attempting to swipe at Hannes. "Yell to me if more of them approach."
"Wait, Yavena!" cried Eren, but she ignored him and swept off into the air.
Hannes was doing an admirable job of distracting the Titan, which left her free to mutilate it in all the ways she was capable of doing so. Its torso was wide, its ribs exceptionally prominent. Yavena dug her blades in the gaps of its bones, causing a rush of Titan blood to fall to the ground—Hannes dove towards its feet with a ferocious yell, cutting into a good chunk of its ankle. The smiling Titan was forced onto its knees, unable to support its own weight with the new wound.
There was something different about this Titan compared to the others. It was smarter, faster; it seemed to recognize that it could pull on the cables of Yavena's omni-directional gear to prevent her from moving. This meant that she would have to think ahead if she wished to survive.
"Hannes!" she shouted. "Can you sever its right hand from its wrist?"
"Aye!" he bellowed back—he raised himself up to the Titan's torso and hacked at the skin around its wrist… a jet of steam burst from the wound, meaning that it had been debilitated at least. Yavena mirrored his gesture on the other side of the Titan, although it moved at the last minute, causing her to whiff entirely.
From down below, Yavena could hear Eren screaming. She jolted and turned in that direction, fearing the worst, only to see that tears were streaming down his face and blood ran from deep bite wounds upon his hands. He was glaring at the smiling Titan with a hatred so all-consuming that Yavena felt her own resolve weaken, and the gesture was not even directed to her.
Seeing that she was watching, Eren ceased biting into his hand. "Yavena!" he shouted, desperation lacing every syllable. "That one's mine! That one ate my mother!"
Yavena's eyes widened, realizing how much this would mean to Eren; but she was also trying to get him out of the battle, back to safety, back to Trost District…
"AGHHH!"
She returned her attentions towards the smiling Titan just in time to see Hannes being grabbed—
"Hannes!" she shrieked. Yavena launched back into the air, her blades extended, trying to save him—but then there was a sputter from her gas tank and she gasped. There was nothing left… she wouldn't be able to reach him… and now the Titan's other hand was reaching out for her.
Yavena swiped at its palm; one last desperate attempt to keep herself free. No good. Its thin, gangly fingers had reached out and were enclosing her in its hand, while simultaneously lifting Hannes to its mouth.
"NO!"
That was Eren's voice. She recognized it only too well, never mind that it was distorted by pain and fear; a curtain of black began to descend upon her eyes as she was gently, almost lovingly, held in the Titan's hand… and then its grip began to grow tighter.
Yavena was brought back to the memories of her first few missions in Squad Levi. It had been wonderful, fighting in such a tight-knit team. Trust was essential, and she had trusted Eld and Gunther, Petra and Olou with every millimeter of her body and soul. If one of them were ever to be in trouble, someone else would be following—just like how Levi had saved her in that forest, so long ago.
But now there was no team. It was only Yavena.
She closed her eyes and sighed.
"What are you doing?" roared Eren's voice. "Yavena, you're still alive! Keep fighting! We're going back home!"
Yavena opened her eyes again and looked towards Eren, whose face was in an intemperate rage—the normally bright cyan of his eyes was dulled with black, the muscles in his face twitching. And yet, such anger was still mixed with hope. He was still hoping, even though he well knew that to be grabbed was almost always a surefire death sentence…
"Fight! FIGHT!" he bellowed. Eren began sprinting forward, towards the Titan, ignoring Mikasa screaming for him to come back.
There was a scream from nearby; Yavena spared a swift glance to see that the smiling Titan was nibbling at Hannes's leg. It would be a slow death—a painful one. And it seemed that would be in store for her too, if she didn't continue to fight.
She wanted to, she did, but there was something so bloodcurdling about finding herself in this situation. It was like she had frozen, and Yavena knew: to fight or flee was a chance to live, but to freeze…
Now she understood what Petra had been feeling in her final moments.
"FIGHT! HANGE AND LEVI ARE WAITING FOR YOU AT HOME!"
Something snapped; three words were pulsing in her mind, as though it were a reminder, salvation, the only thing keeping her from being consumed by this smiling Titan, the very same one had that stolen Eren's mother away from him.
Come back alive.
Somebody was screaming—it took Yavena a moment to realize that it was her. Even though the Titan's grip was tight, so incredibly, unbearably tight, she fought back against it. One of her blades was still in her hand. With every ounce of strength she had remaining, she shoved it directly through the palm of the smiling Titan.
The grip around her lessened, but it was enough. She retracted the weapon lodged in the Titan's palm and slipped out from underneath, using her cables to direct herself towards the Titan's elbow. Yavena knew she only had enough gas to go either up or down; she looked towards Hannes to see that he was still alive. Only his leg was in the Titan's mouth… his eyes were locked upon hers, a single melancholy note within them.
He was telling her to go.
But there was no doubt in her mind what she had to do. She dug her blades into the smiling Titan's arms, Eren's screams passing over her like wind over water, and began ascending to its shoulder.
Yavena could hardly describe what adrenaline, what fortitude, was coursing through her body. She felt the way the color red looked: anger, fire, passion, determination. All of these things mixed into one.
And then she was atop the Titan's shoulder, she was sprinting forth, she had locked eyes with Hannes; he knew what she was going to do.
With one swift stroke, Yavena swung her blade through the skin and bone just below his knee. Hannes howled in agony as his lower leg was severed clean from his body, but now he was free of the Titan's teeth—Yavena seized his arm and pulled.
Hannes popped out of the Titan's grasp. He held onto her, fingers scrabbling around her neck as she leapt from its shoulder, using the very last of the gas in her tank to touch them safely back down to the ground.
"Hold onto me!" she demanded.
He whimpered, but followed her direction. Although his leg was bleeding profusely and his hands were slick with sweat, Hannes managed to clasp them around Yavena's neck. She hauled him up, her arms supporting his legs, and began to race back to Eren and Mikasa.
The smiling Titan had lost them somehow during all the chaos; it was now reaching out to Eren instead. He was leaning forward, arm pulled back as if he intended to punch it—
Yavena screamed, holding out a fruitless hand. "EREN!"
There was a flash of yellow-orange light. She gasped, but did not look away… Eren had not transformed into a Titan, but the ground was shaking, fiercer than ever before. It grew so terrible that Yavena almost stumbled and fell with Hannes still upon her back.
And then the entire horde of Titans rushed forth, piling atop the smiling Titan. They began to tear and gnaw at every speck of its body: Titan blood showered down from the sky like a rainstorm, watering the earth below or simply dissolving in the air.
Yavena finally made it back to where Eren and Mikasa were standing. Relieved tears were in Eren's eyes as he saw Yavena and Hannes approach. Knowing that there would never be a better opportunity to retreat, Yavena cried, "Take Mikasa on your back and let's go!"
Eren immediately followed the order; the two of them sprinted side by side, desperately trying to escape the range of the Titans, all of which were still preoccupied with the smiling Titan behind them. But there was something else still pursuing them… a shadow was approaching.
It was the Armored Titan: Reiner. He had managed to shake all of the smaller Titans off of his being and was now pursuing Eren, his Titan's golden eyes gleaming.
"Get away from me! You bastards, I'll kill you all!" thundered Eren.
Another flash of yellow-orange, and the ground was shaking again. All of the Titans that had been utterly decimating the smiling Titan were now barreling back to Reiner and Bertholdt…
"Eren, Yavena! Get on!" cried Armin's voice. From just behind them, Armin appeared, with two extra horses being brought.
Yavena helped Hannes onto the back of the horse first, setting him upon the saddle. She knew she was capable of riding bareback for a while—at least until they reached Wall Rose again and were safe.
From somewhere nearby, Erwin's voice shouted, "Don't let this chance escape! Full retreat!"
A rush of relief filled Yavena's body as she knew that he too was alive. Jean, Conny, Sasha, and Historia rode up as well: everyone was here. They'd made it.
Looking amongst the recruits, she said, "You heard him! Let's go home."
They spurred their horses onward; Yavena looked back only once to see Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir all fighting the Titans that had accumulated atop of them. Part of Yavena wished that she could feel bad for them, but the other part of her knew she shouldn't.
She only had so much room in her heart to care. And the people that she cared for were alongside her, with one other atop Wall Rose and the other in Trost District.
As the minutes ticked on and the sun continued to descend in the sky, Yavena looked across all of the soldiers who remained. There was a significant amount less. She'd wager a guess around a little more than a third of their forces had been killed or eaten during that battle… maybe even more.
She turned to face Hannes, whose face was pale and covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Taking care to keep her voice kind, she said, "As soon as we stop to let the horses rest, I'll bind your leg. I'm sorry that I had to hurt you… do you resent me?"
"Of course not," he said, grimacing as he grabbed at his knee. "You saved me from being eaten."
Reassured, Yavena turned back around, keeping her eyes upon the horizon. The skies were dark ahead, promising safety and security: the Titans would be unable to move soon, and the Scout Regiment might have time to take care of the wounded before they returned to Trost District.
Her eyes traveled forward to see that Erwin was looking back at her. There was a gleam of pride in his face—he directed his horse towards her and said, "You asked me why I had faith in you earlier, Yavena. I hope you see now."
A warm light filled her chest; the Commander did not wait for her response before returning to the head of the formation and ordering that they would stop riding as soon as night had fully fallen.
1) Retrieve Eren. 2) Protect Christa. 3) Come back alive.
"I hope you're happy, Levi," she whispered to herself. "I'm coming home."