Chapter 19
The scouts enter the dimly lit mess hall of the old Scouts Headquarters that's being used as an impromptu conference room. Eren stands at attention though he's curious as to why others such as Mikasa, Armin, and Calian were accompanying Commander Erwin. Even Jean is there strangely enough.
"What the? Why're you all here?"
"WE believe we've uncovered the Female Titan's true identity." Erwin answers, cutting right to the chase.
Eren' gasp was expected, it was more or less a sentiment shared by most if not all the Scouts who've been notified of the development. Though there are some, such as Erwin and Hanje, who were less surprised than others. The titan shifter turns his gaze towards his friends, Armin specifically, needing his confirmation specifically. The blonde nods forlorningly, knowing how hard Eren will take it. Armin quickly glances at the taller friend, his brow set in a scowl not unlike the famous captain. He isn't sure who's reaction was the most frightening, Calian's mute rage, or Eren's likely outburst.
Only one way to find out. The Scouts take a seat as Erwin has his assistants open a large map that lays out the entirety of the Stohess district, red marks indicating planned details that Erwin will be elaborating on, mostly for Eren's benefit as the rest have more or less been informed.
"The day after tomorrow, we'll be passing through the capital, that's when we'll strike. It'll be our first and only chance to do so. Once we've set foot in the interior the government will assume custody of Eren, and the Scouts authority to continue operations will be limited." He takes a moment to allow all the information to be digested before he continues,
"Thus, unless we wish to concede defeat… we must flush out the enemy now."
Determined as ever, Eren sits straighter and leans slightly, giving the commander his full attention. He's body is struggling to stay still as every cell in his being are buzzing for the same thing, to take down the Female titan and give meaning to the deaths of the Scouts who gave their lives in pursuit of her.
Erwin inwardly approves of the young mans attitude, fully aware of the blazing fire that fuels his soul. "So here's what we do. While in Stohess, we use Eren as bait, luring the target into this underground passage. The deeper, the better. Get her well beneath street level. That done, she should be easily immobilized even in Titan form. If she transforms before reaching the tunnel, well, at that point she'll be your responsibility, eren."
The Teen isn't surprised by that, but it doesn't make him any less anxious. He feels the weight of responsibility press down on his shoulders more and more. It's very burdensome, so burdensome he feels like he may buckle. He feels a large hand grip his shoulder supportively, somehow providing the necessary comfort he needed. He looks to his friend Cal, who without even saying a word, reassures him that he isn't to bear this weight alone. He can rely on the rest of his comrades to help keep him on his feet.
"Right… So we know she'll be in Stohess? There's no chance she'll bolt before we get there?" he asks.
Erwin's eyes darken considerably as he replies evenly, "No. She won't risk going AWOL."
"Wait you mean she-?"
"Armin and Calian have identified her."
The hand leaves Eren's shoulder and when he looks at his friend, he can see that his normally vibrant grey eyes are now shadowed, like a menacing storm cloud creeping over the ocean. He turns to Armin. He doesn't have that fierce look in his eyes though. In fact his expression is that of grim acceptance. A small voice is screaming in Eren's head, telling him he knows why, but he subconsciously drowns that voice by a much larger voice that refuses to acknowledge it.
"She's an MP." Erwin confirms, "Likely responsible for the deaths of Hange's test Subjects." He leans forward, his gaze seemingly piercing Eren's very soul. "and a fellow trainee in the 104th Cadet Corps."
His breath is taken away, his pupils constricting and his heart beating loudly. "You… you can't be serious. I-I trained with her?"
"I'm sorry, but yes. She's one of us."
Howlett bows his head slightly as he witnesses the Titan shifter go into denial. He had to admit, he did as well. But she made her choices. Now we'll make ours.
"Her name… is Annie Leonhart." Erwin confirms.
His eyes widen at the accusation, "You think it's Annie? Where- where's your evidence? Tell me!"
Armin can't bring himself to look at Eren, but does his best to explain. "Obviously the Female Titan had to know what you looked like before she attacked. Plus, she reacted to my use of your 'Suicidal Maniac' nickname, something only our classmates would know. But the biggest reason I suspected her, is that I had strong reason to believe she's the one who killed Sawney and Bean."
For anyone thinking rationally, this would've been enough to make anyone suspicious, but Eren doesn't seem able to grasp the betrayal, again doubting the evidence with a vehemence. "You're kinda going out on a limb there."
"killing two titans at once required a precision ODM strike. It only makes sense that the killer would've used the gear they were most familiar with."
"But, there was that whole equipment inspection. Annie's totally checked out!"
"Except the gear she presented. Well, it's… it wasn't hers. It was Marco's."
Eren gasps, that explains Jean. He rubs his forehead, "I don't understand. What's Marco got to do with all this?"
"It's unclear." Armins voice was small, wishing he was wrong.
"M-Maybe you need to get your eyes checked—"
He's stopped as Cal slams his fist on the table loudly, the sound echoing in the near desolate mess hall. "Eren trust me I understand your predicament, but cut the melodramatic bullshit." He says through gritted teeth.
"It is Annie, ok? Not only do we got suspicions, but I can confirm it."
"Wha—How?!"
"Cause I saw her face." He answers, fury etched into every corner of his expression, cutting off any rebuttal from the titan shifter.
"After she slaughtered Petra and Oluo I lost it and attacked her with everythin I got, I even ripped her out of that fuckin carcass. No matter how angry I was though I was still aware and I saw her face. It clicked there, tell me ya don't see it either? It moves like her, it fights like her, hell it looks like her without skin. Ya know and I know it, so stop tryin to kid yourself dammit, we need ya at your best for this."
Calian's controlled outburst ended any argument from Eren, really what can he say to that? Because it's true, when the Female Titan had kicked his head clean off, he saw it then, the way she positioned her body, chambered her kick, her stance. It was all familiar to him since the first time he had sparred with Annie, he could recognize it anywhere. But why? Why would she do this? Why would she betray us?
"Alright enough of this." Levi demands, "So how're we gonna do this Erwin?"
Erwin goes on to explain everything else, how Jean will be Eren's decoy and how they'll be clearing out the area to help lower the chances of civilian casualties. Once everything was said and done, everyone was dismissed. Everyone except Calian. "A moment please." Erwin asks.
Curious but obliging, Calian stays put. The pair waits for everyone to leave, Levi being the last as he silently asks Erwin if he'll be ok. Erwin nods in confirmation and doesn't address the young man until they were alone. "Do you have any thoughts?"
"Regardin?"
Erwin rests his chin on his enclosed fists, leaning on the table with his elbows as he levels his gaze with Calians. "The plan we're going to enact tomorrow? Even before I could see that you were holding back from saying anything before. You're free to do so now."
Calian taps the table a bit with his index finger before saying to himself, fuck it. "I just think, we won't be able to get Annie in that tunnel."
"What makes you so sure?"
"She's always been smart. And bein able to hide that she's a titan and all that, means she's even smarter than I think. That means she'll be smart enough to notice right away how empty the streets are gonna be. She'll know she's bein lead to a trap." Calian divulges.
He couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed by the plan when he had first been told about it. He had studied the Commanders tactics thoroughly in Cadet training as well as during his time with the Levi squad. They were all nothing short of genius, reducing casualties to a level far lower than any commander before him. Even without being in the same room, anyone could see that the Commander meticulously plans to the absolute last detail. So when he noticed that little tidbit, he thought it was a test, but seeing him confirm it here made him the wiser.
"That's very observant of you."
Huh?
"ya mean it's for real?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, it's the best we can come up with at such a short notice." Erwin says.
But the was something in his eyes that Howlett catches. A cold type of look. A suspicion begins to grow in Calians mind and he makes it known. "Ya already knew that. Didn't ya?"
Erwin doesn't confirm it… nor does he deny it. Instead he asks, "What would make you say that?"
The large scout thinks. What would be the reason for basically wanting a Titan to appear within the borders of the wall? Why would Commander Erwin risks all those civilian live- Jean told me about his conversation with Armin.
"Ya want to change things."
"… Elaborate."
"A friend of mine told me bout a conversation he had recently. I ain't gonna say names but he wasn't that pleased about how many soldiers died to capture the Female Titan without knowing."
"A sentiment I understand."
"I'm sure, but the reply he got was… interestin. He said that for some people to make a real change they gotta be willin to sacrifice everythin. Even their humanity."
Erwin seems to tense slightly but relaxes back to his original posture. If he had to guess, Calian would say that Armin had hit the nail on the head.
"So how would that tie into this?" Erwin asks.
"Heh… Scouts have always complained how everyone in the walls are happy to turn a blind eye to the death the Scouts face as long as they're never there to witness it. That's it's easy for the Garrison and Military Police to look down on us cause they ain't seen what we seen."
Erwin nods along with Cal's answer, his expression unchanging, "Apathy is a very tricky thing. It's easy to fall into and very hard to snap out of it."
"Yea almost impossible… unless something dramatic happens. Like a titan appearin outta nowhere." Calian runs a hand down his face. This is a gamble. Just like the expedition. "Ya sure you'll be alright with this?"
Erwin stands up, his hands now clasped behind his back. "I do what I have to do in the name of Humanity. Whether it damns me or not."
He begins to leave but stops as he stands next to the seated Scout, "Hanje wasn't wrong about you. You are very sharp."
He starts leaving and Calian calls back, "Was this some kind of test?"
"Of sorts." He answers, not looking back at all, leaving the scout to ponder on the conversation he had just had.
Stohess, the next day
Eld crouches on a nearby rooftop anxiously, doing his best to keep out of sight as he and the rest with him tail the suspected Female Titan. Annie rounds the corner with the three hooded figures of Mikasa, Armin, and of course Eren. Eld quickly grabs Calian's arm just before he stands.
"Not yet, let them put more distance between us before we follow."
Calian presses his mouth into a fine line but obliges, though disgruntled. "We have to keep an eye on them though."
"That's what the binoculars are for." He reminds the rookie.
Bashful, Howlett takes out the binoculars and watches the blonde from afar. Ducking slightly when she turns to look behind her, surveying the area. It's like she can tell that she's being watched. "(sigh) I think she's gettin suspicious."
"Wouldn't surprise me. She's already proven to be pretty damn cunning… And ruthless." He snarls.
Eld grunts and holds out his hand. Calian places the binoculars in his grasp and takes out his journal, beginning to write down the events that have transpired and what he suspects to happen. After doing so he hesitates to put it away. Instead, he opens to a different page, one where he had drawn people he's me and seen. He smiles warmly as he finds the sketch he was looking for. It was a sketch from one of his favorite smiles he had seen on his food loving girlfriend. It was just as she had caught the colossal boar right before her ill fated cooking contest against Jean. She was so prideful from catching such a large game and ever joyful at the thought of the plates she could make from the abundance of meet. Her eyes were damn near shut but still twinkled like snowflakes, her cheeks slightly rosed just as it always is whenever she's thinking of the next meal. Or now, whenever she thinks of him. At least, he'd like to believe so.
"That your girlfriend?"
Calian snaps his journal closed, embarrassed to have been caught but seeing no reason to lie, confirms it.
"she's in the Scouts too?"
"Yea."
"Hnn. You sure you want to do that? You've already seen what could happen."
The memory of their dead comrades was still fresh, and Calian could see from the way they've held themselves since, It's still weighing down both Eld and Gunther. But they weren't veterans for nothing. They're still able to push it away, focusing on the mission. It is a good question though, one Calian had wrestled with but ultimately he had made his choice.
"I'd rather die knowin I didn't waste the time I had with her." He answers earnestly.
The hardened expression worn by the second in command softens, being reminded of his own fiancé and how frightened he was to even consider pursuing her, let alone asking for her hand in marriage. Who am I to tell him to do otherwise? Besides I have him to thank that I didn't make her a widow already. He turns his attention back to the group and, now satisfied with the distance, alerts Calian that it's time to move.
The two activate their ODM gear and use it to get themselves street level so as to not make the telltale noise of their gear. "Everyone get ready!" Eld orders.
They round the corner just in time to see the group of undercover Scouts trying to wrestle Annie to the ground. There were at least 5 people on the Titan Shifter but strangely enough, she doesn't seem at all bothered, in fact she looks passive as she always does. Gunther seems to be the first one to understand why as he stops and pivots trying to push everyone back as he yells, "BRACE!"
As soon as the word leaves his mouth, a bolt of yellow lightning appears, blowing them all back, Gunther painfully crashing into Calian and almost knocking him out as they tumble together. Calian's ears are ringing as he slowly regains full consciousness, his eyesight blurry but still being able to make out the shapes of people before him. He raises a hand to his head as he tries to make sense of the muffled sounds of someone speaking to him until finally his vision clears and he can see that it is both Gunther and Eld, checking him frantically.
"Cal?! Cal! Are you ok?"
Grunting, "Yea. Yea, I'm fine just got the wind knocked outta me."
Gunther helps him up as Eld lets out a breath in relief before watching the destruction with seriousness. "Good. Because the first mission failed… We have to move on to the next stage. I'll distract the thing as best I can with a few others, you two go and finish setting up the Manual Artillary base now!"
"Yes Sir!"
"Yes Sir!"
They both go off into the direction where the rest of the Scouts had laid traps similar to the ones placed in the forest of Giant trees. All the while Calian is thinking about his friends, Are they ok? Have they been caught in the explosion? Fuck, focus Howlett! Ya won't be any good to anyone if your head ain't in it! He does his best to ignore the screams of the citizens below them as they all run in terror, for this was the first time that any of them had ever laid eyes on these monsters. Calian grits his teeth as they finally arrive to their position, he understands the commanders plan, but still he's holding out hope that maybe they can stifle the amount of people who may die.
Gunther quickly takes command as he sees, though the artillery base is mostly constructed, the scouts are still putting the base together. "What's the status?"
The Scout in charge salutes, "Sir! The Base is at 80% construction!"
The thunderous sounds of heavy footsteps begins to grow closer and closer, clearly showing just how close the Female Titan is getting.
"Dammit, alright Howlett you help them finish this up, I'll provide assistance to Eld!"
"Got it!" he turns to the Scouts, "Whatya need?"
He points to the large barrel laying nearby, "We need to get it attached so that it can be locked in place and ready for use, help us with it."
The group all go to each side and take a good hold from the bottom, "Ready? Up!"
The group is astonished as Calian lifts it up by himself and carries it into place. The Scouts gape at the display of strength as Calian sets it and places all the necessary mechanisms. He tarts attaching the rope when he notices everyone staring. "What?"
"N-Nothing, everyone get to work!"
They all start pulling on the rope, bringing it up to the top of the Artillery base and the remaining scouts there bring it and lock it into place. A loud crash is heard as the Female titan smashes 2 scouts at once into a building, crumbling the structure beneath her hand and the hapless humans caught in her grasp. Calian scowls and unsheathes his blades, "I'm goin in!"
He soars from the ground and over the rooftops, whizzing by the flying debris and launching himself into the air before pulling himself down onto the female titans head. He leans over until he's face to face with her left eye.
"Remember me?!"
The Titans eye widens with fear as the memory of him roaring over her and crushing her legs flashes into her mind. He uses her momentary petrification and he roars as he lifts his blade and stabs the entire length directly into her eye. The Female Titan roars with pain as she feels it pierce her brain as well. He growls in satisfaction as he twists the handle, breaking the blade and leaving it in it's place. She swings her fist into her face but he swings out the way and lands near her ear,
"I'm gonna rip ya to pieces for what ya did!"
Another fist comes and he flips off her head, allowing her to punch herself in the temple, and he comes for her nape. She's anticipating this and quickly solidifies it. He flies out to a different direction but her hand is directly in front of him and he rolls in the air with his blades, slicing her fingers into pieces. Eld appears and comes in under her arm and up, cutting the tendons near the shoulder and causing her arm to drop. Annie begins breaking into a run after that, seeing as how dangerous it's getting for her. Unbeknownst to her, she's running right into a trap as in the buildings before her, the Scouts are waiting. Hanje especially is gleeful as she's cackles as silently as she can, her thumb hovering over the button while Moblit watches her nervously,
"Section commander, you uh—you've got that look in your eye again!"
She pays him no mind as the bloodshot and crazed eyes snap in different directions, counting each step the Female titan makes. She stands as the sound of a flare goes off, this time from Gunther as it was a flashbang, causing the Annie to cover her one good eye. Hanje cackles wholeheartedly as she sees the glorious titan before her and presses the button. All at once spears and hooks shoot out from all directions. Annie's titan snarls as she strains herself against the restraints, the metal creaking and groaning as she pushes against it.
"Nice! And here I thought having a plan C was nothing short of paranoid!" Hanje boasts, casually swinging the wire of in hand as she watches the female Titan with fascination.
Calian lands near Jean and Armin at ground level. Warily keeping his eyes on Annie, "Where's Eren?"
"The bastard's caught under some rubble we can't snap him out of it!" Jean informs him hopelessly.
"Goddammit!" He curses to himself and sees Mikasa land nearby as well, a look of disappointment in her face. Guess the feelins goin around.
He snaps at Attention as Hanje casually leaps off the roof and slows her descent using her ODM gear until her feet touches the ground like as if she was floating, her goggles flashing menacingly as she steps closer and closer to the Titan. "Now, behave yourself." She goes to the uninjured eye and holds her blade a mere centimeter away, "Oh Calling your cohorts today isn't an option. So let's not waste that lovely singing voice."
The giant Scout gets close behind the Section commander, nodding to Moblit to notify him hell provide back up if needed. He watches Hanje as she tilts her head ominously, her face and voice uncharacteristically without emotion, "In fact let's not waste anything. No I'm going to read you like bull entrails."
Howlett's mouth drops slightly. Holy shit… she really is fuckin scary. I-I think I wanna put a raincheck on her experiments with me. Suddenly, Annie's eye constricts. Calian snaps into action and grabs Hanje by the arm and shoots them both up in the air, just in time as Annie kicks her leg up, obliterating the ground level harpoons as well as the buildings that were so close to her body. Some Scouts were able to get out the way. Some. Not all. They land near Mikasa, "She broke free!?"
"Dammit!" Hanje berates herself, "We didn't have enough time to set enough traps! Don't let her get away!"
Eld soars nearby, "Howlett, come with me we're gonna cut her legs out from under her!"
"Got it!" He turns to Mikasa, "I'm gonna need back up too!"
She glares at the Titan, "It'll be my pleasure."
The pair let out a battle cry as they fly after the Titan. She turns on her heels and hardens one foot as she tries to kick where Howlett was. He anticipated this flips out the way, just in time for Mikasa and Eld to attack the leg holding her weight. The titan lets out an inhuman groan as it buckles and stumbles into another building, using it to keep herself up.
"dammit, it didn't cut her tendon deep enough!" Eld curses.
Mikasa thankfully attacked near her hip which gave the Titan a limp, slowing her down just enough the swarm to be able to begin their attack. Gunther flies low while Mikasa flies up high, glaring directly into Annie's eye. Annie tries to kill her like a fly but the Ackerman was effortless as she flies over the arm, cutting up where she can, going down from her neck to between her legs and up. Gunther doing the same to her now regenerated arm. Eld gives Calian the go ahead and he flies up and throws 3 fire bombs back to back at Annie's nape. The first one hit its mark but the blast was only enough to cause her pain and deep inside the body it caused her to panic. She quickly places a crystallized hand over the weakness. The Scouts all fly up, casting a shadow like a stormy cloud above the titan when a miracle happened. A bolt of yeloow lightning. Followed by the unmistakable roar of the Rogue titan. "Well it's about fuckin time Yaeger!"
Annie turns to face the charging Titan just in time to meet a mighty fist, distorting her already injured face even further. Calian's elation drops though as he watches Annie crash into a building, the shouts of many civilians going as soon as it came. As she lfits herself, there was the unmistakable splatter of blood mixed with the rubble. "oh god." He whispers to himself.
He's so caught in his horror that he's nearly flattened himself as Annie flips Eren into the building he is standing on but this time Gunther gets him out the way just in time.
"What're you standing around for!? You could've killed yourself!"
"S-Sorry."
Gunther grunts as he watches the Titans fight, seeing the destruction in their wake as Annie's refined fighting style is being matched by Eren's near feral state of attack. "we gotta help him somehow, keep going for her limbs! It'll make it easier for Yaeger to fight!"
"Got it sir!"
The pair charge in, it takes effort to not only evade Annie but now Eren as well as his every attack is powerful enough for even the wind to knock them off course as they fly. Calian charges at Annie's right arm that she's raring back for a punch, slicing through her shoulders just in time to prevent her strike, to which Eren clearly takes advantage and punches her hard enough for her face to be buried into the ground. She kicks her leg up and knocks Eren onto the ground. Calian goes to attack but is stopped by Eld. "Go man the Manual Artillery cannon now! She's trying to get to the wall, if she does, shoot her off!"
He nods and starts flying towards the cannon ahead of Annie He quickly gets himself into position and starts placing ammo into the slot, readying the powder and waiting to pull the trigger. Eld, Gunther, and Mikasa do well together as they begin dismantling Annie. As time goes on, the quartet cause her limbs to become more and more useless, to the point that Eren is able to rip off one arm and beat Annie with it like a bat. She scrambles on the ground crawling on her three remaining limbs in a desperate attempt to escape. Calian decides right then he wants to end this monster and aims the cannon at the oncoming titan. She sees it and her eyes widen significantly.
She's bare meters away when she makes one last desperate move. She rips herself out of the Titan body, exposing herself to the fresh air. She's able to sue the force to leap closer and closer to the Artillery gun. Calian stares at her, like as if it was slow motion, realizing too late that her finger is swiping at something and a powerful blast of lightning strikes down in front of him, collapsing the str4ucture and knocking back all the Scouts that were flying by. Eren's titan looks at the smoke with confusion when a crystalized foot suddenly comes out the smoke and strieks him at the knee, tearing off the limb from his body. She attacks in a frenzy, both hands crystallized as she chops off his left arm then pummels him with hammer fists making each strike that much more impactful thanks to her hardening ability. She lets out one last desperate roar before she starts running away.
Eld quickly gets to where the Artillery gun was and starts searching through the debirs.
"Howlett?! Howlett!"
A groan alerts him to the rookie and he quickly finds him under a pile of wood. He strains to clear him of the debirs, letting out a breath of relief after finally doing so, pulling him out to a safer area. "Can you hear me ?"
"loud and clear." He answers clutching his head. He watches the female Titan get closer tot the wall and he snarls, "Dammit she's gonna escape!"
Eld double takes as he sees that though it was knocked to the ground, the cannon is still perfectly intact. He lloks back at Annie and gets an idea. "Can you stand?"
"I'm good to go Eld."
"Alright, I need you to lift the cannon into position for me, ok?"
Calian furrows his eyebrows, confused. "Ya want me to what?"
"Use your damn abnormal strength and point the cannon at her!"
He points at Annie who's finally reached the wall and crystallizes her fingers to begin climbing. "That's crazy idea… I like it!" he grins and gets up.
He quickly squats down and lifts the front of the cannon up and onto his shoulders. He takes a few deep breaths and heaves it up over head his arms fully extended. Eld quickly checks to make sure it's fully loaded and ready to use. He stands behind and closes one eye to make sure that his aim is correct. "Ya good back there?"
"Uh… a little to the left!"
Calian adjusts perfectly . "Alright cover your ears!"
"With what?!"
"You got me there kid." Eld mutters to himself before blasting. Cal's ears pop as the cannonballs soar throguht he sky and hit annie straight in the spine. She roars as her legs, now useless dangle beneath. Eld does what he can to quickly reload and fire again, this time At Annies hand. Thankfully only her fingers were crystallized and the appendage is blasted pieces. With nothing anchoring her to the wall anymore, Annie begins to fall back to the ground, the entire district shaking t the impact.
"YES! Fuck you bitch!" Eld laughs as he goes up to Calian.
"You alright kid?"
"WHAT!?" His finger is digging into his ear and he keeps opening and closing his jaw, trying to get his hearing back.
"It's alright it'll go away in a bit."
"HUH?!"
He gestures for Howlett to follow him and they quickly find themselves back to the battle just in time to witness Eren's burning titan form hovering over Annie's as a light is emanating from her nape. The cover their eyes to protect them from the intense light. It's getting more and more intense until Levi makes his appearance, falling down from the sky like a vengeful angel and cutting Eren out of his nape. The light quickly dies out and the force of wind blows away all the smoke and dust. When it finally settles they all gasp as they see Annie trapped inside a crystal like cocoon. "That, isn't part of the plan." Howlett comments.
Eld scowls, "no. No it isn't."
The air is filled with unease as the clean up begins its process. Countless were dead after the fierce battle and there was hardly anything to show for it as Annie is completely untouchable in a manner of speaking. The crystal she sued to protect herself is completely impenetrable, no blade or even cannon can leave a mark. This makes the Scouts future unsure as could this really be counted as a victory? Whatever the case may be, Hanje does what she does best and begins taking charge.
"Someone get a wire net, this thing belongs deep underground." But even her mood is muted. Out of everyone, Calian knows that she is the most sympathetic and compassionate person hes met in the Scout Regiment.
It's obvious her heart goes out to all the civilians caught in the cross hairs. Howlett steps forward. "So what now boss?"
She pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs roughly. "all we can do is clean this mess up and hope Erwin can use this somehow."
They watch grimly as the crystal prison is covered and taken away by a carriage to a secure location. Calian opens his mouth to say something else but suddenly the scouts all begin to gasp and murmur.
"What the-?!"
"guys look!" One scout points towards the wall where Annie was crawling up on.
Calian, Hanje and moblit all look at where he's pointing and their blood runs cold. It-It can't be! There-there's no way! Even Hanje is fearful, her excitement for Ttians muted by what they are seeing and all its implications. At the spot where Annie's hand was blasted, reveals the face of a colossal titan. It's eye dropping down to look at all of them in their very soul.
"What the fuck?"
Far away on the other side of Stohess standing on the wall is a tall man in a trench coat wearing a fedora of the same color. Behind him is a blonde woman wearing a strange version of the famous ODM gear. "This could be trouble."
The many smirks and shrugs, "Maybe. Maybe not. This doesn't change much on our end though."
"What about the Captain? This could end up leading him right to you if they all dig deep enough."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there I suppose." He turns to walk over to the other side of the wall when he stops. "Hey, that cadet I told ya to take a look at. What was his name?"
"Yes. Howlett sir. Calian Howlett."
His smirk turns into a crooked grin. "Well well well. Aint that interestin?"
Authors note: And that's season 1 done! Hope you liked the some of the changes i made to the battle, i wanted to incorporate some of the features in the game such as the manual artillery base used in the gameplay. Hope you liked the chapter and for those wondering yes there will be changes as i had stated before. But it will be gradual changes, like a butterfly effect. You'll see most of the difference towards the end of season 2 and especially in 3 and 4. With every interaction calian has with people whether its to save or kill them , will alter what happens until it comes to a head later. anyway, till next time guys! And thanks to all who followed, favorited, and reviewed!