3rd POV
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Jean was truly speechless. Honestly what the fuck was going on? First, they threw the first plan out of the window at the first sign of trouble, and instead of, you know, going back, they're ordered to stand around like a bunch of idiots in a place filled with titans! Sure, the training he went through for the past month should be more than enough for him to eliminate 3 or 4 titans by himself but he would rather not. As if he was crazy enough to pull a stunt like this. He wasn't Eren and he likes living, thank you very much.
But no matter, this...semi-calm before the storm—because yeah, he's sure as hell that some shit might happen. Don't question him, his instincts never lie—gives him a good opportunity to reflect on the weird situation they were in earlier.
Oh don't get him started with that 'cause he's certain that they shouldn't have survived their encounter with the female titan or whatever the hell that was!
"Oi Armin, you okay?"
"Eh?" the blond jolted out of his thoughts to stare at Jean. "What?"
"What do you mean, 'What'?" he clicked his tongue before sighing "Then again, I never got to ask, but that fall from earlier must've messed you up a bit, right? Think you can handle it?" He motions toward the vast plains in front of them where they could vaguely see some titans roaming around in the distance.
Armin blinked slowly before pausing, actually contemplating "I...now that you mention it, I don't particularly feel hurt...?" he looked up at Jean, unsure of his own words. It didn't go unnoticed by Jean who paused to stare at him in disbelief.
"Hah? How is that—"
"A HORDE OF TITANS INCOMING!" the captain shouted in alarm, interrupting whatever Jean was about to say.
All the cadets' eyes zeroed in on the creatures currently running in their direction in horror, not expecting this many titans to show up at once even though some of them ran like drunken people. The disturbing scene aside, something surprising caught all their attention which caused everyone to release startled gasps.
"WHAT THE F—"
The moment Levi squad entered the woods, Eren felt as though something wasn't right. Why would they just enter a forest where locating titans would be damn near impossible until the damn thing came into view?! He obviously addressed the subject as he felt worried for his and his comrades' safety.
"Look around you Eren. All these big—"
"—Ass trees are the perfect environment for the use of the ODM gear." everyone glanced at Colith with various degrees of surprise. Even Levi. "What? Isn't that what you were about to say?" she blinks innocently.
'Oh god they finish each other's sentences now...' Eren shuddered, somehow more scared about this than their current situation while the other members of the squad were still flabbergasted.
The corporal just stared at her for a few seconds, one eye twitching before he went on, his gaze returning to the road ahead. "As I was saying, try and use that tiny brain of yours. if you don't want to die, think."
"Y-yes, sir !"
He understood now..! Maybe since he's new and all, the captain wants him to figure things out by himself! He's sure that's how the others learned how to fight too!
... Right?
He glanced at Oluo,
Wait...
Gunther, Eld, and Petra.
'Wait a second...! Nobody knows what's going on?!'
And true to his words the four veterans looked as distraught, if not, terrified as he was.
He gulped then turned to Colith, expecting the same reaction from her—then again. Colith.
"Hey, captain !" the five of them jolted at her sing-song voice and promptly stared at her in utter disbelief.
He heard the male heave out a sigh, though he didn't turn to look back. "What ?"
She grinned, further puzzling if not worrying the rest. "I think it's time!" her smile turned into a smirk as the others tried to comprehend her out-of-nowhere words.
"time for what...?" Petra's trembling voice reached his ears, unsure of what the woman was referring to.
'Adventure ti—' Oh God what did Colith do to him..! Eren almost choked in mortification though it was mostly ignored for the members of Levi squad's eyes were all directed at an unbothered Colith.
Could it be that—
Before Eren could entertain that thought, they were startled by the familiar sound of the smoke flare being shot just behind them, leading the youngest cadet to stifle a scream once he saw the color of the smoke column, something he wasn't expecting to see this deep in the formation.
"A black smoke flare!" he screamed in shock. That must mean that whatever that was on the right flank was now seconds away from reaching them. SERIOUSLY?! Oddly enough, Eld expressed exactly what he was just thinking.
"Draw your blade and cover your head!" Levi ordered as he pulled his hood up, one hand tightly gripping his sword. They all made various sounds of confusion but nonetheless executed themselves. "if that thing appears, it will only be for a second!"
Tension immediately rose as an eerie silence only perturbed by the rumbling of hooves took place. If that wasn't terrifying...! Fortunately, that is...until the familiar if not, almost comforting sound of leaking gas and grappling hooks proper to the ODM gear reached their ears, causing the jittery squad members' eyes to zero in on the soldier a few meters above them who just appeared. Though it was odd, why was he flying backwa—
Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when a giant hand smacked the nameless soldier out of the way with such force that the impact sounded like a resounding gunshot, effectively killing him.
"Move it!" Levi barked.
Oluo started screaming at the top of his lungs in terror, quickly snapping his head back to the road while urging his horse to move faster. An action everyone oh so gladly mimicked the moment the titan leaped toward them in an attempt to grab something or more precisely, someone.
"WHA! SHE'S SO FREAKING TERRIFYING BWAHAHA!" Colith exclaimed in morbid glee as she openly observed the titan chasing them with wide eyes, an action that baffled the soldiers who promptly looked at her.
"THIS THING'S ABOUT TO CATCH UP ON US AND YOU--WHY DID YOU REMOVE YOUR HOOD ?!"
And true to Eld's words she was the only one whose head was in the open.
"WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Gunther for as much as he usually was the level-headed one of their group after the Captain shouted in astonishment.
"YOU LITTLE— WHY ARE YOU SUCH A PAIN IN THE ASS?!" Oluo barked. "STOP PLAYING AROUND AND FOLLOW ORDERS! THIS IS SERIOUS!"
While the rest of the squad was berating the woman, Eren couldn't help but stare at her in utter shock. Why wasn't she panicking?
His eyes shifted to the corporal's back, anticipating a harsh reprimand before realizing that the man wasn't gonna do anything about this.
'What's going on?!'
"OI MISS TITAN," Colith yelled, appalling them further. "YOU SUCK!"
The titan sped up, now set in grabbing Colith.
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE DON'T TAUNT IT! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!" Oluo shrieked in utter fear, highly tempted to strangle her.
"my bad."
"YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE?! THE THING PROBABLY DECIMATED ANYONE ON ITS PATH! AND WE ARE NOW ON ITS PATH!"
"Relax, Gunt, I'm here remember? I can take care of it easily so no need to be afraid, I got this!" She laughed, a certain glint in her eyes as they shift to the Ackerman's back. "Right captain?"
They all waited for the man's next orders, but none came.
"Captain! Let's switch to the gear!" Petra cried in distress, "Captain!"
But the man remained silent to their horror. They all glanced behind them upon hearing the sound of gas and watched with little hope as two members of the rear attempted to stop the titan. Hope that promptly crumbled after the thing mercilessly eliminated them and continued on its way as though nothing happened. This was enough to send a surge of panic and terror through them.
"Damn, that was ruthless." Colith broke their stupor with her comment.
"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM?! PEOPLE JUST GOT KILLED!" Eren yelled in disbelief.
"Did they, now?" she hummed,
The teen was taken aback.
Didn't she see what it did just now?! And why wasn't she doing anything?! thought Eren as he stole a glance behind him only to see that the titan's eyes were strictly directed on the woman. He blinked, quickly looking back and forth between the two. Don't tell him...that...
Now he was nowhere near Armin's intellect and quick thinking, but he's pretty sure that this thing was after—
"Co—"
"CAPTAIN, YOUR ORDERS?!" he was interrupted by Petra's distraught cry.
"LET'S GO FOR IT! WE SHOULD KILL IT! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" Oluo added in.
Eld brought out a blade, his teeth gritted, definitely set on killing the titan as he threatened to do so. "I'll rip her apart!"
Somehow, Eren felt a little bit reassured to hear that, that is until his eyes found the unresponsive corporal's back who had yet to make a decision.
"Captain...!" Petra called once more.
"Give us your orders!" Gunther yelled, "At this rate, it will catch up with us...!"
"It won't."
They all jolted in surprise at the woman's voice and promptly glanced at her in confusion, not noticing the growing distance between them and their pursuer.
"What are you—"
"Just have some trust in your captain." she had a shit-eating grin plastered on her face as she held two fingers to her ears.
Hold on why was she plugging her ears—
"Everyone, cover your ears."
They barely had time to do so when a deafening high-pitched noise resounded throughout the forest, successfully startling them.
"A sound Grenade...?" Eren muttered.
"What's your job? To just be swayed by your feelings?" Levi began, successfully directing all the attention to him. "No, it's not. Our squad's job...is to keep these two from getting a single scratch on them. Even if it cost our lives." he chose to not acknowledge Colith's "aw" of adoration in the back. "We keep going on our horses, got it?"
For a moment, Eren was expecting more complaints from his seniors in front of this confusing situation.
"Roger !" however, everyone minus him agreed, which, of course, didn't sit right with the teen who had yet to accept this sudden turn of events.
"Keep going...? For how long?!" he looked behind, the hood partially obstructing his vision "IT'S RIGHT BEHIND US!" a gasp left him once he caught sight of two more soldiers attempting to slow it down. "BACKUPS! IF WE DON'T HELP THEY'LL GET CRUSHED TOO..!"
"Eren, eyes on the road!"
"G-Gunther...?!"
"Keep your pace up! Stay at top speed!"
"Eld...!" he couldn't believe it. "WHY?! WHO CAN DEFEAT THAT THING OTHER THAN LEVI SQUAD?!" Seeing that no one wanted to answer him, he turned to the only person he could count on with an imploring gaze. "Colith...please...!" he breathed before his eyes once again found the titan who squashed one of the backups to a tree like a mosquito, its piercing gaze solely directed on Colith who hadn't bothered to look back to acknowledge the threat.
"Eren, sweetie, face forward."
His face fell as he slowly looked at her in utter betrayal. "... What ?" An uncharacteristic aloof expression was present on her features as she kept her gaze forward. Something Eren never expected to witness on her. "...please not you too! One's still fighting! Please let's do something! We could still make it Colith..!"
She remained silent.
No...no, why— why isn't she reacting?! Why wasn't she doing anything to stop it?! "Are you just gonna let them die like this?! Huh?!"
"I'm not the one giving orders." she finally voiced.
"Bu-"
"Just shut up and follow orders brat!! If the captain decided the reason should not be explained, then it shouldn't! You don't understand since you're still a rookie!" Oluo barked. "Even that witch has enough common sense to understand that!"
He clenched his jaw in anguish. Is that it? Were they going to let it slide? Just because Captain Levi says so?! Were they really going to abandon their comrades because of stupid orders?! If none of them wanted to do something, then he might as well take matters into his own hands...! He sent one last look to the woman, truly upset by her inaction and behavior before sheathing his blade. With a resolute glare, Eren brought his hand to his mouth, about to bite it only to halt the moment he felt a hand land on his.
"Don't."
His dumbfound eyes traveled to the owner. Everything seemed to slow down around them as alarmed teal met a glowing pair of gold eyes for an instant.
"What do you mean 'don't'...?" He breathed softly, astonishment lacing his every word "p-people are dying back there..." He watched as the woman bit her lip as though she was stopping herself from saying anything. An angry frown replaced the previous baffled look "Weren't you the one who told me to do the right thing no matter what the situation, and now you want me to sit around and do nothing?!" he tried to free his hand from her grip as he yelled in anger.
"God dammit kid this isn't the time for this!" Colith finally snapped, startling the teen who jolted in shock. "We can't always do as we please! I know how much you want to jump there and save the day but that'll just be reckless of you!"
The teen was so surprised by her tone that he stumbled on his words. "What..what do you mea—"
"Remember what I told you the second time we met?" she asked instead after huffing. His bewildered face was enough to tell her that he had no clue of what she was referring to. She clicked her tongue, her grip on his hand tightening but not enough to hurt him as she spoke. "Never and I say ever rush into a battle you might lose!"
Eren's eyes widened, somehow recalling this piece of advice from five years ago...but— "I won't lose...! I'm not weak..!" he defended.
She clicked her tongue, "Yes you will, kid if you jump in there blindly!" her features held a frown, eyes still glowing unnaturally, "You're not fighting me! This thing won't pull its punches against you like I do! Let's say that I let you jump there, then what? A punch there and there and it's a win? Don't be foolish, kid! Do you even know its weaknesses? How it fights or how it behaves? Or did it not occur to you that it might even possess some kind of hidden abilities like me?"
A look of utter shock appeared on his face at this. He hadn't even considered that possibility at all. The teen tried to respond but nothing came out, Colith went on.
"Sure there might be a slight chance of you winning but let's not exclude the fact that you could lose too! And we sure as hell can't have that!" She pointed out, matter of factly "Just because you can shift doesn't mean that you'll imperatively win! Granted that you've been doing far much better than a month ago, you must be extremely cautious when facing unknown opponents. One moment you might have the upper hand, then next—" she made a cutthroat gesture which was enough to make Eren gulp.
The boy stammered. "T-then you do something...! If I can't fight, you're stronger than me then you can stop it, right..?" He pleaded. "Please we can't let any more people die! It's not fair!"
She shook her head, her voice softening as she explained in a patient tone. "Look, we're now in the military and there are rules that we must follow no matter what! And as much as I want to deal with this thing too, Captain Levi has yet to allow us to do so."
Eren closed his eyes tightly, torn between following her reasoning and disregarding it to go for the kill. Before he could make any rash decisions, he felt her hand shift to intertwine their fingers together in a warm hold, an action that was enough to pull the teen's attention away from his erratic thoughts.
"Do you trust me?"
There was a pause as they both stared at each other. Her eyes still glowing for some reason, though Eren was too troubled to question it. Although, his eyes never left hers as he responded quietly, "I...I do.."
"then we must keep going until we find out why that thing's after our asses." she motioned behind her with a head tilt.
"It's you..."
"come again?"
His brows furrowed, "I think... It's targetting you."
Colith hums, a certain glint in her eyes before motioning for him to elaborate.
"I...I noticed earlier but its eyes..." he glanced behind him before a frown emerged on his face at the sight behind him, "What the..."
"but its eyes?" Colith urged him to continue but it was for naught since the teen was distracted by something.
"wait..." Eren promptly glanced around in bewilderment. "What's going on...? Why's everything slowed down...? Did...did you do this?" He looked back at her, eyes wide. He had been too disgruntled to immediately notice the changes occurring around him. Even with the knowledge that she had others abilities besides shifting, it still bamboozled the teen whenever she pulled things like these out of nowhere.
Colith's lips curled up as she nods, confirming his statement.
The boy marveled at the unprecedented situation he was in, quickly forgetting his previous worries to instead look around in awe, noticing how everything except him and Colith was going really slowly before his gaze landed on the person on his right.
He nearly lost it once he was met with Oluo's slowed-down face.
The sight was so ridiculous that it was enough to send the teen into an uncontrollable laughing fit that would've surely caused everyone to glance at him as if he lost his mind. Sure, their current predicament was of no laughing matter but he couldn't for the life of himself control his shaking shoulders and the giggles from slipping past his lips. Funnily enough, It seemed as though the copycat had been on his way to berate him when Colith did...whatever the heck she did.
Speaking of her, she chuckled along once she understood the teen's sudden change of behavior before shaking her head in fondness. Although, she returned to the topic at hand, putting an end to the teenager's laughing fit who was quick to rid his eyes of the tears generated by his previous laughter. He knew that the moment he turns right, he'd crack up again so he did his best not to look that way.
With a huff, the boy looked behind him, noting the great distance between them and the female titan before his gaze settled on the creature, his frown returning halfway through his observation until he suddenly perked up, an idea forming in his head.
Colith having expected this answered before he could even bring it up. "it won't work. You see if I let go of your hand, you'll automatically become like them." she motioned to the others.
'huh...that's why...' he briefly looked at their joined hands, though he wasn't giving up "Then...you can let go of my hand and deal with it...? No one will notice and I won't say a word!" he suggested.
Colith chuckles at his strong commitment to eliminating the titan before she shook her head, "no can do, lil bird. You see, even if I can freely move around, it doesn't apply to my gear." she tapped the metallic case.
"What do you mean?" He frowned.
"Let's say that if I try to fire the hooks, well..." she motions to her surroundings, implying that the 'slow...ness' would immediately affect the gear's swiftness, which was enough to bring an 'O' of realization out of the boy. He groaned while Colith gave him a sympathetic smile. Dammit! "Let's let them deal with this one, Okay? We can't afford to make a mess here, hm?"
Eren's face fell at the thought of more upcoming deaths. He hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to stop its rampage and save some lives before begrudgingly nodding.
"Also, I wanted to add that in the eventuality that I let you transform here and now, do you really think we'll survive the blast? Sure I might get out of it with a few missing limbs but the others might not get that lucky." Colith randomly added startling Eren who blinked in surprise.
He gaped like a fish for a few seconds before an embarrassed blush bloomed on his face. "oh...I..didn't think about that."
"Thought so, yeah." she laughed heartily, body swaying a little which didn't go unnoticed by Eren.
"H-hey, you okay?" his grip on her hand tightened to prevent her from falling off her horse.
She blinked quickly, regaining her composure, "Yeah, just a little bit dizzy, that's all."
"I huh...think you should stop that 'slow motion' thingy. You look like you're about to pass out." he said in concern, referring to the growing dark circles under her eyes that weren't there a minute ago.
"Right, but before that... Let's stop questioning orders now, shall we? Do you understand why I can't let you jump in there now?"
He let out a defeated sigh, shoulders slumping. "...yeah, but I don't like it."
"I know kid, but...these people were already prepared to die the moment they choose the scouts. Let's not ruin their sacrifices by being reckless. Let's have some faith in them okay? It might sound cheesy but, believe in the Captain, he knows what he's doing." she gave him a meaningful look.
"you're just saying that because of that...crush on him." he grumbles in distaste, using his free hand to grasp the reins tightly. "...still can't understand what you see in this guy..." he muttered.
"Well, allow me to—"
"Please, no."
She snorts, eyes returning forward. "Your loss. Now, will you behave or not?"
He whined. "Stop treating me like a kid...!"
"Never. Ready?"
She heard him release a long exhale before he finally answered, now less distressed than before which was good enough for the woman. She was quick enough to remind him about the necklace and before he could ask more questions, the strange radiance of her eyes receded to normal, making time resume its course. Before Eren could find his bearings, he was startled by a sudden shout.
"—HIT, WHAT ARE YOU— Eh?!"
"Huh?!"
Oluo faltered for a few seconds before hissing, "What do you mean, 'huh?' you were about to transform just now, weren't you, punk?!"
This accusation alerted the others who started gaping at Eren in alarm before a look of realization quickly flashed through his eyes.
"What? Yea—I mean huh, no! I'm not doing it anymore, let's keep going!" he affirmed.
To say that his sudden change in behavior befuddled them was an understatement since the teen was having a meltdown just a second ago and now seemed as calm as a creek.
Levi watched the scene occur from the corner of his eye, noting that the commotion was now under control before his sharp gaze found Colith's. The woman simply cracked a small sly smile which was followed by a wink, implying that she was the one responsible for that.
He nodded at her, thankful for whatever trick she used to stop the disturbance before barking at them to focus on outrunning their pursuer, which was effective enough to put an end to the silly squabble.
Meanwhile, the female titan sped up, somehow succeeding in catching up after grabbing and tossing away those hindering its path, its huge hand now meters away from snatching the ebony woman whose unflinching gaze finally met the giant's. There was a suspenseful calm in which each of their hearts stopped for a split second the moment they saw the hand close on her. Though, before any of them could cry in panic, a shout rang throughout the woods.
"FIRE!"
Which was followed by a series of explosions and the sound of pierced flesh.
A girl jolted at the sudden noise of explosions which caused her to drop the venison she had been dragging on the ground for a while. She glanced around in alarm, wondering what the hell could've caused all the ruckus before an idea popped into her head. She promptly used the gear strapped to her hips to reach the highest tree in the blink of an eye, a testament of her mastery of the gear over the years.
After getting far up to the point of seeing the rest of the forest, she squinted her eyes enough to notice flocks of birds dispersing in panic in the distance, supposedly where the explosion occurred.
A little frown came across her features, easily putting two and two together.
' the hell are the scouts doing here...?'
Then again, she was within her rights to ask that since the scouts usually used Trost's route. So for them to find themselves here must've meant that something happened...! She clicked her tongue before groaning while scratching her head, torn between going there and return to the cabin and mind her own business.
"Should probably go check on gramps..." she huffed, shoulders sagging in despair after realizing that she'd have to leave the freshly hunted venison behind if she wanted to arrive at the cabin in time. As she swung through the trees in the opposite direction, a thought came across her mind. She pouted.
"there's no way he didn't hear that too, but he'll probably tell me not to go! Argh, so annoying! Hope I can convince him though!"
She knew it was risky to jump in without any knowledge on the situation,
But..
A big smile etched itself on her features as a wave of excitement washed over her entire being, no longer saddened by the loss of meat.
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"Wonder if I'll see him...!"
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With a giggle, she used a random titan's head as a springboard to bounce forward, blowing a raspberry at the creature who stared at her disappearing figure with an offended look before it resumed its stroll in the forest, not really interested in catching the bubbly little human.