Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan, Devil May Cry, or any of its characters…
Before anyone could say anything or even move a muscle, a massive amount of steam drew over them, immediately cutting off their line of sight. The temperature of the air around them became incredibly high because of the steam, and the whole squad were forced to cover their faces to protect their eyes.
"Agh, it burns!" Connie yelled, shielding his face from the steam.
"Damn… it… what's…" Eren thought, hiding his right arm behind him as he used his left one to protect his eyes. A few moments later, he eyes suddenly went wide as he noticed that they were all blown away from the wall due to the pressure from the steam created. "Everyone…!" He yelled out, getting the others' attention as they too noticed that they were about to fall from a great height if they don't make a move. "Urgh… switch to vertical maneuvering!" he ordered, still feeling the lasting effect of that steam cloud a while ago.
"Right!" Connie exclaimed as he, Sasha, Mina and Thomas all fired their gears and planted themselves on the wall. Samuel tried to do the same, but his grappling wire wasn't able to implant itself in the wall and causing him to fall. He also seemed to have sustained numerous burns from absorbing the steam earlier.
"Hey! Samuel!" Eren yelled out when he saw Samuel beginning to slip into unconsciousness, possibly due to the burns on his body.
"Samuel!" Sasha cried out as she ran along the wall to rescue her fellow cadet. Within distance, she fired her gear and it attached to Samuel's leg, only at the cost of creating another injury. The tall man groaned in pain as he stopped falling, and Sasha stood still so she wouldn't cause him any further damage. "Stay still, Samuel!"
"That was close…" Eren sighed in relief before he noticed that the Colossal Titan's hand was gripping the top of the wall. He frowned in confusion, before trying to think quickly of a possible answer. "Wait… if he's holding on to that, then…" It only took a few seconds before his eyes widened and looked at the gate below them. "YOU GOTTA BE —!"
*WHOOM!*
"...kidding me…" Eren finished, as he and his squad watched an explosion occur exactly below them, directly at the outer gate. "Just like five years ago…" he muttered to himself, remembering how the Colossal Titan was also the one who created the breach in Wall Maria.
"It broke through the wall…" Thomas said in shock.
"Again… the titans are gonna come in again…" Connie mumbled in a trance, fear immediately taking over him. "Dammit… titans are really gonna—"
"SASHA!" Eren yelled out, getting everyone's attention once again. It managed to snap Connie out of it, as the brown-haired ponytail-wearing girl looked up at the white-haired teen. "Take care of Samuel! The rest of you!" He looked at Connie, Mina, and Thomas. "Get ready for battle! Our target is here! The Colossal Titan! He's the only one capable of destroying the wall, and we can't let that happen!" Eren then made his way up the wall, while stealing glances at his right arm. "No, I can't use it now… there are no demons around, there's no reason for me to reveal the secret I've hid for four years… I'll have to stick with vertical maneuvering!"
As soon as he reached the top of the wall, he narrowed his eyes at the monster and grinned savagely. "Hey there… it's been five years, huh… what say you to a little dance between the two of us? Just to be sure you didn't grow rusty with that size!" Eren pointed one of his swords at the titan and prepared for battle.
The Colossal Titan raised one of its arms and slowly pulled it back, while keeping its gaze on Eren. The white-haired teen remained his composure and waited for the right opportunity to strike. "I have to remain composed… this is the first time I've faced off against this bastard… I don't have any idea if it has any blind spots or anything." He thought to himself.
"There!" Eren shouted, jumping off the wall and flying towards the other free arm just as the titan brought its right one in to sweep the top of the wall. He then took advantage of its slow movement to move up along the giant arm, while also taking a glance at the wall, where he saw the artillery was already completely destroyed. He quickly realized something, before Eren turned back to the titan just as it turned its gaze towards him as well.
"That fucker…" Eren narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "He wasn't aiming for me… he was aiming for the artillery all along. And that's not all… it's no coincidence that he went after the gate too… then that means…" he quickly made a turn for the titan's underarm and fired his gear towards the shoulder, before flying away so that he was finally face-to-face with the nape. "He is intelligent!" Eren fired his gear for the nape, and with that he was pulled in to go for the kill.
"I'm gonna enjoy putting you in your place, you bastard! I'll be the one to kick your ass back to titanville!" He shouted while showing a savage grin, preparing to cut as he drew closer. "You're dead, bitch!" Eren yelled as he was within a few feet of his target.
All of a sudden, a huge burst of steam suddenly blew out of the titan's body, slowing Eren down in his attack. "What the —?!" he thought to himself, covering his face with one arm before he noticed that this was a familiar feeling. "He was the one who blasted us away earlier? Damn, it's hot!" Eren grunted and pressed on with his attack anyway, knowing full well he would heal his wounds. "No… I can take this! As long as I can—!" Just as he was about to attack, the steam suddenly dissipated into thin air, but the Colossal Titan was nowhere to be found.
"Where the hell did he go?" Eren voiced out, quickly sticking back towards the wall as he looked around for any traces of the titan just earlier. "This doesn't make sense… how the hell can that titan vanish all of a sudden?! He was here just now…" he muttered to himself in shock.
"The Colossal Titan disappeared!" A voice said from atop the wall, causing Eren to look up, before noticing it was Connie. "Did you kill it, Eren?!"
"No…" Eren shook his head, as both confusion and shock were mixing in his current expression. "It's just like five years ago… he appeared out of nowhere and slowly vanished!" He shouted loud enough for them to hear, before maneuvering his way to the top.
Once he got there, he could see everything that was atop the wall was ruined, all because of that one sweep that the Colossal Titan did earlier. A good amount of artillery, gone with the wind, just like the titan itself.
"I'm sorry… I wasn't quick enough to get him, and now I let that piece of shit get away…" Eren apologized, turning to his comrades with a slightly depressed look. He felt that it was his fault for letting that Colossal bitch live to see another day… damn this! If he had only used his demonic power earlier… would things be any different than they were? Of course it would but… he couldn't show his true colors! It wasn't the right time for it…
"What are you apologizing for? We couldn't even move…" Connie told him.
"Hey! Is this any time to chat?!" A Garrison member shouted at them as he looked at the area where the Colossal Titan appeared and attacked. "Part of the Wall's already been destroyed! If it isn't plugged up fast, we'll get another titan incursion!"
Another one of the Garrison soldiers had just climbed atop the wall, looking at Eren and Connie. "What are you trainees doing?! The strategy for dealing with a Colossal Titan's appearance is already in motion! Report to your posts on the double! And if any of you made contact with it, report it to HQ!" He told the two cadets.
"Yes, sir!" The two teens saluted before flying off.
The bells near the outer gate were loudly clanging, while the townspeople who were struggling to flee for their lives were louder. News spread fast about the return of the Colossal Titan after five years, and it immediately put everyone in a panic. The Garrison soldiers were doing their best to keep the situation handled well, but there were times when humans aren't capable of acting rational or sane. This may very well be one of those times.
"Leave all material possessions behind!"
"Please evacuate calmly!"
At the military HQ in the center of the district, both the 104th cadets and various Garrison soldiers were gearing up for battle.
"Regrettably, the Survey Corps, which has the most combat experience, is currently outside of the wall on an exploratory expedition. Therefore, we in the Garrison are currently alone in repairing the wall and preparing for an incursion." One Captain of a Garrison squad told everyone who was currently inside, before turning to the newly-graduated cadets of the 104th. "You trainees passed the graduation drills! You're first-class soldiers now, so there will be no slacking off! This may be your first operation, but we expect you to contribute!"
"Don't worry, Hannah… I swear I'll protect you." Franz said to the smaller girl before him, as he held her shoulders.
"Franz…" she said in a worried tone, unaware that Mikasa was watching them from behind Franz. She had already put on her uniform before she turned her head left and right to see if Eren was with them. Last she heard from Armin, he was on top of the wall with Connie and some others so they may have been involved first-hand when the hole was created.
"Eren?" she called out in a worried tone, accompanied by the look in her eyes. She wanted to believe that Eren was strong and he wasn't hurt anyhow if he was indeed up against the Colossal Titan when it showed up, but she didn't know how long she can hold it…
"Mikasa!" The girl quickly turned around as soon as she heard her name; much to her relief and inner joy, Eren ran up to her while panting heavily. He may have likely exhausted himself when he was heading here.
"Eren, are you hurt? Did… Did something horrible happen?" she asked worriedly, putting her hand on his shoulder in a comforting way. "I… I heard from Armin that you were at the top of the wall… and then… the Colossal Titan —" she continued to blabber and Eren started to pat her shoulders to make her stop speaking.
"Alright, alright, that's enough sadness coming from you." He told her with a playful smile, but the worried look didn't disappear from her face at all. He sighed as a result. Sometimes, Mikasa can be too worried for his sake, but he wasn't going to complain about that. He actually liked the attention, honestly speaking. "Look, I'm fine alright? Nothing too bad happened to me. I've been through worse, okay?" he told her with a reassuring smile.
Mikasa slowly nodded and hung her head low, and Eren was just about to ask what's wrong, before he felt her arms wrap around him in a hug as she buried her face into his chest. Eren was shocked for a few moments, but he made no move to push her away. All he could do was sigh and look to the side, troubled. Damn, was Mikasa this worried about him? If he had to guess, his mom would be twice more than this.
A few moments later, the girl was finally contented as she pulled away with a blushing face, looking up at Eren with a shy smile. "I'm glad you're safe." she said in a quiet tone, yet enough for him to hear as a smile appeared on his face afterwards.
"You're cute when you're worried about me," he teased.
Although a deeper blush did appear on her face after hearing him compliment her, Mikasa did hear the context of what he said and she only found herself pouting at him as a result, with her eyebrows scrunched slightly. Having her worry wasn't something to be made fun of.
"No wait, you look even cuter when you look like that." Mikasa's eyes widened slightly before she regained herself and just looked away to avoid his gaze, otherwise she wouldn't be able to stop her embarrassment right now. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I was just teasing you, alright?" he apologized, placing his hand on her shoulder which made her look at him slightly. "But for real, you're really cute like that." He winked at her, which was enough to send her embarrassment to another level as she flushed deep red, almost tempted to use her scarf to cover her face. Luckily for her, Eren noticed Armin who was sitting nearby as he turned his attention to his blonde friend.
"Oi, Armin… are you okay?" He sat beside his friend and started to prepare his own gear, until he noticed that Armin was hyperventilating while doing the same. This also got the attention of Mikasa as she looked at Armin with the same worried expression she had for Eren earlier.
"I-I-I'm fine! I'm sure things will settle down soon!" Armin said, although his words didn't match his current expression. He looked like he was about to have a breakdown at any moment. "S-Still, this isn't good! We've still got an eight-meter high hole in the wall and no way to fix it quickly! They put that huge rock near the wall to plug it up, but we can't even move it! A-And the moment we realize that we can't fill in the hole, this town will be abandoned! After that, it's only a matter of time before they get through Wall Rose… to begin with… they could exterminate the human race at any time!"
"Armin!" Eren called out loud, getting the attention of his friend as he snapped out of it. "Calm down, you're letting it get to your head." The white-haired teen said, patting Armin on the shoulder a few times to further calm him down.
The blonde boy seemed to realize what just happened to him as he took a few deep, erratic breaths afterwards. "S-Sorry about that. I'm fine." Armin muttered, looking down on the floor.
"Just like in your training, each squad will take a different street. You're under Garrison command. Your duties are support, communications, titan-killing and anything else that's needed. The Garrison will take Vanguard, you trainees are Middle Guard, and the Garrison's Elite unit will be Rear Guard. Time for us freeloaders to pay the tab. We've gotta defend Wall Rose to the death… until every last man, woman, and child has been safely evacuated." The commander of the Garrison forces explained to everyone in the military HQ with a stoic expression, before he had a serious look on his face afterwards. "Oh, and as you're aware, deserting in the face of the enemy is considered a capital offense. Be prepared to sacrifice your lives, people. Dismissed!"
All of the soldiers saluted. "Yes, sir!"
While everyone else were beginning to leave in various squads, Jean was struggling to keep his salute until he groaned loudly and looked down. Bertholdt was beside him, looking disciplined as ever while somehow having a sense of sympathy for his fellow cadet.
"Urrggh! Why did it have to be today…?!" He complained loudly before slamming his hand directly to his face. "I'm supposed to go to the interior tomorrow!" Their attention then went to a short silver-haired cadet named DAZ when he began to puke badly at the mere mention of fighting titans, as Krista tried her best to help him.
Meanwhile, Mikasa walked up to Eren as the boy looked at her in confusion. Wasn't she supposed to be with another squad? "So…" she began, before looking at Eren with eyes filled with hope. "We're heading into battle together… right?"
"What are you going on about?" Eren looked at her in confusion. "We're supposed to be in different squads!"
"Things don't go by the book… in chaotic circumstances like this, and…" In a move that nearly made Eren fall over in shock, Mikasa flashed a small smirk at him; small enough that it was barely visible, but it could still be seen nonetheless. "I know you enough to know that you'll press on forward with or without a squad. And I'm supposed to reprimand you for that… but…" her smirk turned into a smile. "If I'm with you, at least… I'll join you and we can protect each other… just like what your mother told us to do."
Eren was completely silent for a few seconds and he can only find himself staring at the girl in front of him, since he never saw her like this. She was normally shy and rarely spoke, but where the hell did she get this sudden confidence from? Was it because this is a life-and-death situation? Or perhaps she was really worried for him? He kept his gaze towards her before he finally sighed, grabbing Mikasa by her shoulders and staring straight into her black orbs.
"Look, Mikasa…" he glanced to the side before turning back to her. "I get it, I really do. And as much as I would love to take you up on that offer, I'm gonna have to decline. You take the fight at the middle guard, because I'll be slowly advancing to the vanguard."
Since she was somehow expecting that kind of answer from him, Mikasa simply sent him a look of worry. "You'll be throwing yourself into danger without a squad or someone to look after you." She told him, but Eren only chuckled.
"Mikasa, this'll be one of those few times where I'm gonna have to ask you to put your faith in me… it's not much, but it'll help in the future." he shook his head, before regaining his serious look. "Now let me ask you this. Do you trust me?"
"...I do." Mikasa answered with a nod almost immediately, while keeping her gaze locked against those emerald green eyes that belonged to Eren.
"Then trust me when I say this." He leaned closer to her so that their faces were inches apart. Mikasa's cheeks turned red at his sudden move but she kept her attention to what Eren was about to say. "I'll stay safe, and I'll come back. Safe and sound, without a scratch. I'm not saying this because that's what I think is going to happen… I'm saying this because I will make it happen. With my abilities, the vanguard will lose its stress from having to handle so many titans. You go fight somewhere in the middle guard and stick with a squad. Okay?" He smiled at her in the end.
Although she was sad and she didn't agree with this decision in the slightest, Eren was asking for her to place her trust in him, and she couldn't help but comply. Sometimes, she hated how he can be persuasive to have other people follow his words, but at the same time, it's what makes Eren, Eren.
With a sad smile, Mikasa nodded slowly and Eren grinned in response, before a voice interrupted the two.
"Trainee Eren!" They turned their heads to the man who spoke. He was a Garrison soldier who was known as IAN DIETRICH. "You've been specially assigned to rear-guard! Get on over there!" he told the white-haired teen, before looking to the side at some other cadets.
Eren widened his eyes slightly in surprise, before he regained his composure and fired back a defiant grin. "Hell no! I'm not gonna stick around and watch people slowly get out of here, that's boring! I'm going out there to fight the titans!"
That got Ian's attention as he scowled at Eren. "I wasn't asking you for your opinion! The evac's going slowly right now, so we need the best of the best guarding the public!"
"Heh, that's funny…" Eren scoffed before flashing his usual smirk. "Because I wasn't asking for your opinion, either! I'm going out there whether you like it or not!" While Ian was left wide-eyed at his words, Eren quickly wrapped Mikasa with his arms in a hug, before breaking it off after just a few seconds. The girl's face didn't even have time to lighten up with a blush, as she was only left staring at Eren as he slowly walked while also looking at her.
"Eren…" she mumbled. Somehow, she didn't have a good feeling about that hug. It felt more like a… hug that signified… farewell? Mikasa had her look of worry once again plastered on her face as a result. Oh, no.
"Don't die, Mikasa! Later!" He made a finger salute before flying away with his gear.
"Eren!" she tried to call out, but it was too late. He was already flying for the nearest building and heading out into battle. The raven-haired girl was left in her place, staring blankly into the distance as she slowly realized that that may have been the final meeting between her and Eren. She wanted to cry, but… her tears just won't come out. She was just there… standing… alone…
"Tch," Ian seethed. "What is wrong with that kid, going into battle recklessly like that?! He's going to get himself killed! What a waste of talent…" he then turned towards Mikasa. "You! Girl!" She slowly turned towards him, looking like she had lost all signs of hope that she can't even decide for herself.
"Get to your squad and move into your designated street!" Ian told her before moving on, leaving Mikasa in her place. However, she didn't move an inch from her place, as she only found herself looking into the distance once again, where Eren had flown off to. That hug he gave her made her trust in him almost fade away like ashes, because she didn't have a good feeling about it. But now…
Now she had no choice but to make good with that trust… while only hoping that Eren can make it back safe.
Eren managed to find the squad where Armin was in and decided to join them en route to the vanguard. As he landed on the building where they were, his blonde friend widened his eyes at seeing Eren here. The same could be said for Mina, Thomas, and two other cadets named NAK and MILIEUS.
"Hey, mind if I join your squad to fight the titans?" Eren asked with a grin, waving his hand towards them in greeting.
Armin was speechless for a few seconds before he shook his head and realized that his eyes weren't deceiving him. "Eren, I… I thought you were assigned to help at the rear-guard." Armin said in disbelief.
Eren shrugged. "Well, sticking around while watching a bunch of people get to safety isn't my style. Too boring for my taste. That's why I decided to find you and fight the titans up close and personal. Do you have any room left in this squad for one more, though?" he asked, looking at his fellow cadets who were with Armin.
"Hey, we'll be lucky to have you here with us. There's always room for one more." Thomas laughed, with Milleus and Nak nodding as well.
"Yay! Eren's gonna fight with us!" Mina cheered.
Armin smiled for a few moments, before he remembered something. There's someone who was with Eren earlier, right? Why wasn't she with him? "Eren… where's Mikasa?" The blonde teen said with worry in his tone, while Eren felt his smirk disappearing as he turned around and looked to the other side of the town.
"She's in another squad right now, most likely to that part of the district." Eren pointed out, before turning back to Armin. "She'll be fine, have some faith in her. She graduated as the third best in our class, right?" Eren said, his smirk appearing once again.
"Yeah…" Armin slowly nodded, a smile slowly forming on his face.
Eren looked into the distance before them, directly at the titans that were roaming the areas near the breach in the wall. "Hey, this is a good opportunity, don't you think?" Armin looked at Eren in confusion before the white-haired teen continued. "I mean, before applying for the Survey Corps… if we prove ourselves in this first battle, they'll make us fresh recruits…" Eren then turned to his friend with a smug grin. "And watch how fast we get promoted up the ladder!"
Armin was silent for a few seconds before he realized what Eren meant. "Yeah…" he said, a grin of his own forming on his face. "No doubt about it!"
"Sorry to burst your bubble…" Mina interrupted them with a determined look of her own. "But a lot of people in our class are applying for the Survey Corps!"
"You left me in the dust before, Eren…" Thomas spoke. "But this time, I'm keeping up! And to make it interesting, let's see who can slay more titans!"
"Ha, you're on Thomas!" Eren grinned widely. "Just as long as you don't fudge your numbers!"
"Squad 34, advance!" A voice screamed out of nowhere, quickly getting Armin's attention.
"That's our cue, everyone!" Armin told his squadmates as Eren pointed one of his swords forward.
"Then let's go!" Eren exclaimed.
"YEAH!" Everyone else cheered on, before they finally flew off using their gears.
As they traversed through the streets, it was then that they only noticed how many titans were already approaching the middle guard. The areas near the wall were already filled with titans everywhere.
"This isn't right! They're even roping the middle guard all the way to the vanguard!" Eren said, confused with the situation right now. "That's what I was going to do, but…" he thought to himself.
"All those titans already…" Mina muttered.
"What's going on?! Usually, our peers in the vanguard hog all the action…" said Nak.
"Even though not much time has passed…" Thomas said, frowning in confusion. "Has the advance guard already collapsed?"
"What's going on over there?" Eren said internally, wondering what was happening near the gate. "How can those bastards take up territory that fast? Could it be that something —"
"It's an abnormal!" Armin shouted, snapping Eren out of his thoughts as they noticed something fast approaching from the side.
"Dodge!" Eren told them, as they struggled to get through without getting harmed. However, they were only barely able to do just that as a titan zoomed past them and latched onto a tower. Eren and the others quickly landed on another building as they turned to the abnormal with widened eyes.
The titan turned around with Thomas in its mouth, looking horrified and scared for dear life. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at his friends on the building where they were standing.
The white-haired teen gritted his teeth, feeling that he had been useless again. "Shit! Thomas! Hang on, you'll be —" Eren couldn't even finish his words, because the abnormal had already gulped down its meal, and Thomas was gone.
The whole squad shook as Thomas got eaten before their very eyes, fear taking over them. Fear of what the titans can do to them. Eren meanwhile, had something different in his mind. Once again he failed to do something good, and that was because he was forced to hide what he was capable of doing. He couldn't do anything right, because he needed to keep his blood a secret. "Again… I let it happen… again…" Eren began blaming himself for what happened, just as the abnormal detached itself from the building and began crawling away through the rooftops.
Feeling that he was responsible for Thomas' death, Eren suddenly had the urge to go and avenge him, and he did. Acting completely out of himself, Eren went after the abnormal with pure anger in his eyes, completely different to his usual demeanor.
"Hey…! Hold it right there, you ugly-ass bastard…!" Eren flew off, as his comrades cried out for his name.
"Don't go off on your own!" Milieus shouted, but Eren didn't listen.
"Eren, stop!" Armin yelled out before he saw another titan from below, looking at Eren intently as the teen was about to pass by through the air. "Stop! There's another one below you!"
Feeling a presence underneath him, Eren looked down and saw another titan jumping up in an attempt to catch him in its mouth. Acting out of instinct, Eren used his Air Trick in order to avoid the titan as it missed him, before reappearing at a distance close to its nape. "You're mine, bastard!" Eren fired his gear towards the nape and drew in close to attack, killing the titan immediately.
Eren narrowed his eyes and quickly took off, heading for the rooftop where he last saw the abnormal that ate Thomas. He didn't even notice that he unintentionally showed one of his hidden abilities to Armin and the rest of his squad, and in their case, they were left frozen in the place as Eren flew off.
"What was… that?" Mina breathed out in disbelief.
"What the hell… did he just do…" Nak said in the same tone as her.
It all happened so fast. Just when they thought Eren was about to get eaten by that titan, he suddenly disappeared into thin air! They actually thought their eyes were only deceiving them but before they knew it, Eren reappeared again, but only this time he was behind the titan! They didn't know how to feel after that, even though that he did kill the monster with that.
Armin didn't have any words as well, with his eyes telling the story. "I… I know… I know what I saw…" Armin mumbled, recounting the events that happened a while ago even if they happened oh so quick. "He… Eren, he… Eren… disappeared… in mid-air… then he showed up… again…"
"Well, how the hell can he do that?! Because that shit ain't normal at all!" Milieus said, snapping out of his shock and now he wanted to know what happened behind it.
"I… I don't know…" Despite his brains, Armin couldn't figure out exactly what happened.
"You're his friend, aren't you?! How can you not know?"
Armin turned to Milieus and shook his head. "He is, but… he's always been easygoing and calm… back then, he wasn't like that. He was a lot more serious… until Shiganshina fell five years ago." Mina, Nak, and Milieus listened to Armin closely as their eyes slowly widened at hearing Eren's story. "After that… he began to change… he began to laugh and smile a lot more… he even learned how to flirt with girls… as if he forgot that the titans took his home away from him. I actually thought he was going crazy, but… he wasn't. He just… He used it as his drive and motivation to join the military and then the Survey Corps…"
"You mean…?" Nak trailed off.
Armin nodded slowly. "This is the first time… in five years… that I've seen Eren this serious… which means… his smiles… laughter… and the smirks he showed us… they all hid something about him that we didn't even know… not even me…" Armin smiled sadly. "Only Eren can answer your question, Milieus…"
"Well then, let's ask him!" Mina shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Look! He's just standing there, not doing anything!" She pointed towards the rooftop where the abnormal was perched on top of earlier. The others turned around, before seeing that there was one person standing on top, and the familiar mop of white hair was all that they needed to figure out it was indeed Eren.
"You're right, he's just right there!" Nak exclaimed, getting ready to take off. "Let's go catch up to him before he leaves and ask him what happened!" The others nodded, except for Armin, as they flew off and headed to the rooftop where Eren was.
Armin was still for a few more seconds, before he took a deep breath and followed after his fellow cadets. He also wanted to know what was going on, and he actually felt quite sad. He was supposed to be Eren's friend, if not best friend, and yet he didn't know what he really felt under his usual smirks and smiles. "Eren… what are you hiding under all this?" He thought to himself.
As soon as the squad reached the rooftop, they made a run for the white-haired teen, who appeared to be pondering over something as he had a deep scowl on his face.
"Eren! Hold it right there!" Mina yelled, running towards the top cadet of their class.
Armin followed shortly, reaching the rooftop after they all did, and he saw the other three asking Eren multiple questions at the same time. However, his friend looked like he was completely ignoring them, his eyes deeply fixated on something else. The blonde approached them as he landed, as he can only hope that Eren hasn't snapped.
"Come on, Eren! Answer us!"
"Yeah, how did you disappear all of a sudden?! We saw you about to get eaten but then you avoided it!"
"Eren, I know you're the best out of all us, but this is just crazy shit. How did you do it?"
Eren continued to ignore them all as Armin finally reached him, sighing deeply. He was worried that Eren would ignore him too, but whatever, it was worth a shot. Armin could only hope that his friend won't push him aside for whatever he had in his mind right now.
"Eren… what happened back there?" Armin asked, looking at the white-haired teen with an expression that clearly meant he wanted answers.
Much to his, and everyone's relief, Eren finally snapped out of his serious state. However, he only closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before speaking in a tone that went different from his normal voice.
"They're here."
Everyone around him rose an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Wha…?"
Milieus narrowed his eyes at Eren. "If you're talking about the titans, then we already knew about that ever since that Colossal Titan appeared!" he said in a somewhat pissed tone. Was Eren playing dumb or something? "Now is not the time for your games!"
"It's not the titans." Eren replied, still speaking in a serious voice.
"What are you talking about?"
Eren didn't answer, and he instead pointed to the streets down below that he had his eyes on ever since he lost that abnormal. Everyone followed his sight, and they could only widen their eyes at what they are seeing.
Multiple creatures, somehow grotesque-looking and hideous, were roaming all around the areas below. There were no other soldiers around, possibly because they had their full attention on the titans. Only Squad 34, Armin's squad, was there to witness those creatures hop around on one leg, slashing at everything around them with their other one, which had been replaced by a massive blade.
"What the fuck are those?!" Milieus took a step back, obviously terrified.
"Are they another type of abnormals?!" Nak shouted, widening his eyes as he gulped nervously.
Mina was too terrified to even say anything and if she could, she would shriek right now and call for help. She had never seen these creatures before, and the fact that they were about the size of a human, only made them scary.
"What… are they…?" Armin breathed out, fear taking over him like earlier in HQ. They may have just found something as terrifying as the titans, if not more than that.
"Demons…" Eren said as he opened his eyes, causing everyone to turn to him.
"Eren, what did you just say?" said Nak.
"They're demons. SCARECROWS, to be precise." Eren narrowed his eyes at the demons down below. "Nasty little bitches. Can be killed quite easily since they're slow, but can cut you up and make you bleed if you're not fast enough."
Everyone else looked at him in shock. Did he know something, after all?!
"What the fuck?!" Milieus said, fearing for his life. "Are you saying there's something we have to worry about other than those titans?!"
"Eren, answer him! We already have the titans to worry about and now, this! What is going on?!" Mina yelled, desperate for answers. If Eren knew something, they may just be saved!
"Eren…" Compared to the others, Armin had a calm tone, although that was just him suppressing his own fear. "What do you know about all this? The titans are everywhere and many soldiers are fighting with their lives on the line, and now this." Armin looked at those creatures below. "Please tell us the truth."
Much to his surprise, Eren broke his serious expression and looked at Armin with his signature smirk. "Tell you? I can just show you, if you want." He said, shocking the other three cadets with them.
"W-What do you mean?!" Armin asked, since he didn't know what Eren meant. He was going to show them… but how would that work? Does he mean his words wouldn't be enough so he had to show it?
*start playing Nero's DMC5 theme, "Devil Trigger"*
Everyone then looked at Eren in confusion when he began to take off his ODM gear. Did he have a death wish or something?! "Sorry about earlier." Eren said in an embarrassed tone. "I accidentally used my Air Trick without thinking… then you guys had to see it, and now you're here… but anyway, at least you'll get a front-row view of the show."
"Show? Air trick? What the hell are you going on about, Eren?! Tell us something!" Milieus said, almost ready to stomp over and punch Eren in the face for playing around at a time like this.
Just then, Eren finished taking off his gear and threw it at Nak, who caught it in his hands. "Mind holding on to that for a while? It's gonna get in the way while I work." He said, before beginning to unwrap the bandages that covered his right arm. "This is it… I can finally unleash my true power!" He thought with a determined expression.
"Eren… why did you just take off your gear…? And… what are you doing with you arm…? Wasn't it badly burned…?" Armin said. He was so confused with how Eren was acting, that any moment right now, he felt that he could collapse.
"Look, I know you all have questions, and I'm willing to answer all of them." Eren said, as he continued to unwrap the bandages. His statement got a look of hope from the others as they listened to him closely. "But right now, I have a mission to fulfill. You can ask me all the questions you want later… I won't turn down any of them." He then looked back at them. "It's time I show you all… what I'm really capable of." With a single swipe, he took off the bandages and revealed his Devil Bringer to everyone else.
"HOLY FUCK!" Milieus fell on his butt as he looked at Eren in both shock and fear.
Nak dropped the ODM gear he was holding and pointed his sword at Eren out of fear, though his hand was shaking so he wasn't able to grip it properly. Mina froze in place, unable to even react anyhow. Thinking that Eren was an enemy, or probably a titan all along, she just waited for him to take her life.
"Eren… wha…?" Armin was unable to even blurt out anything else, as he looked at his "friend" with wide eyes. Was he even his friend at this point? Tons of questions stormed the blonde's mind right now, and they all crammed together which made him unable to even speak properly. Was this… Was this what Eren hid from all of them throughout all these years?
Eren just smiled at their reactions. Well, it was better than what he had expected. He thought they would immediately charge at him and think he was a titan, but anyway, this makes things easier. "Guys…" he spoke, which for some reason, terrified everyone even more. "Whatever happens… I want you to know that I'm on your side. It just so happened that I'm like this." He raised his right arm and pointed to it with his free hand.
"Eren…" Armin breathed out, finally able to speak properly. "What are you?" he asked, with his eyes pleading for an answer.
"I'm your friend, Armin." The white-haired teen answered with a small smile, which caused the blonde's eyes to widen considerably before his smirk returned. "But at the same time, I'm also the demons' worst nightmare…"
Eren turned around and got ready to jump down, but not before sending one last look at his fellow cadets. "You guys go on ahead and fight the titans. I'll take care of the demons and even kill some titans for myself. Catch you later!" He said, saluting them before finally jumping down to the ground, unaware that Armin and the others watched him as he did so.
Eren started to walk towards the Scarecrows along the street. "Hey, dickheads! You looking for me?!" He called out, which got the attention of the demons as he raised his demonic arm. "I bet you got attracted to this, huh?! Well it's free, so come and get it!"
All of the Scarecrows then hopped slowly towards him as Eren held out his left arm, summoning the Rebellion into his hand before placing it on his back. "This arm may be free, but I'm not gonna make it easy for you!" He then held out both of his arms as Dante's pistols, Ebony and Ivory, appeared in his hands before he aimed them at the approaching Scarecrows.
Armin had shock written all over his face as he watched the scene below as did his fellow cadets. "Today… was a day I'll never forget. Today was the day that the titans once again attacked, and not only that… demons exist despite being a myth and it turns out… they are a threat like the titans… but the one thing I'll never forget is that…"
"Let's dance, you pieces of shit!" Eren had a shit-eating grin on his face as he charged forward against the Scarecrows.
"...there's someone who is willing to fight against his own kind for humanity's sake."
And that ends this chapter! Damn, what a cliffhanger to end everything right? Demons have arrived along with the titans, and that means Eren can finally unleash his true power! The battle continues next chapter, with Eren killing demons left and right and even some titans that he encounters along the way. Can he make a difference now that his true nature has been revealed to the world? Or will titans and demons be too much for him? Tune in next chapter!
By the way, I hope you get what I'm trying to pull off with my take in Mikasa's character. Instead of following canon and making her go from weak frail girl to an emotionless killing machine obsessing over Eren, I made her start as the same, while also giving her a proper personality. I thought she could fit the shy and cute type of personality since the Mikasa from canon can be cute when she wants to. It would also make her different from Sasha, who is bubbly and cheerful2; Annie, who is a cold tsundere; and Krista (whose real personality will come in the future) who is kind and sweet.
Goodbye… and good night! BANG! *too sweet gesture*
-Lance
