AN: So here is where stuff starts going wrong for our intrepid time-travellers...
After all, this is still AoT, so bad stuff has to happen.
Armin was panicking. There were no two ways about it, he felt like he was right on the very edge of a complete nervous breakdown.
Something had gone wrong; terribly, terribly wrong. He didn't know how or why but they were In Trost.
They. Were. In. Trost.
They still had nearly eight months of training left before their graduation, eight more months before they were supposed to be here. Eight months to deal with Reiner and Bertholdt, but now something had changed that.
Shadis had woken them all up at the crack of dawn and loaded them into wagons. Apparently, they were 'Going to get some real-world experience as a member of the Garrison.' seeing as most cadets would end up in that division.
Armin had been dumbfounded; this hadn't happened the first time round. The only time the entire 104th cadet corps had visited Trost was the day after graduation. The day when everything had changed.
The 104th had been dispersed around Trost; some were on the walls checking and repairing the cannons and rails, some were with them in the armoury while others were simply on patrol around the district. To make the whole situation worse Mikasa, Eren and himself had been assigned to the armoury, uploading and loading crates. They were completely in the dark, and if Bertholdt and Reiner did attack, they wouldn't even have the chance, as small as it would be, to try and stop them.
The stress of this situation wasn't just affecting him. Even Mikasa's famous stoicism had been compromised, Armin could see her eyes occasionally darting toward the walls and the outer gate, flickering with worry each time. She was utterly ignoring Eren's complains about their role of moving crates, rather than fighting titans.
When she wasn't carrying anything, her hands were clenched into fists, a poor substitute for the sword hilts that should be in them. They lacked any weapons or 3DMG gear as the garrison commander had decided they wouldn't need any for their current role. Armin could understand the logic behind that, but it didn't make him feel any better. If there was an attack, valuable time would be lost in getting equipped.
Armin tried to calm himself; he told himself that they wouldn't attack today, they didn't have any time to prepare, unlike last time.
He told himself that Reiner and Bertholdt's assignment to the district patrols wouldn't give them the opportunity to slip away unnoticed, they were with several other cadets and garrison soldiers.
He told himself that without Annie there to support them in case something went wrong that they wouldn't risk it.
He wasn't even looking at the wall when the orange lightning struck behind the gate, the deafening crack silenced the entire district. Everyone, both military and civilian, had stopped what they were doing and looked towards the gate, wide-eyed and stunned.
Everyone it seemed, except Armin. He had looked down and closed his eyes, letting out a shaky breath, the sound seemed to carry across the entire courtyard. The feeling of resignation filled his body; he had been too cautious and focusing more on securing their powers rather than just killing them outright. He had tried to be clever and had failed.
And now hundreds were going to die.
The 60m tall Colossal titan loomed over the wall Rose, peering into the district with its dead, soulless eyes.
Its long orange arm crashed onto the top of the wall, sweeping it across smashing the cannons and rails to pieces.
That was when the screaming started.
Thousands of civilians started running for their lives, screaming as terror gripped the city. Church bells rang out, signalling the immediate evacuation of the district. But all was drowned out in the earth-shattering crash as the Colossal titan kicked in the Trost's outer gate. Chunks of rock and masonry smashed into the defensive barriers and the nearby buildings, shattering them to pieces on impact.
Any living thing near the gate was torn to shreds by the stone fragments. Dozens of people were killed within the first minute of the attack, a good indicator of what the rest of the battle would be like.
"GET MOVING SOLDIERS!"
"GET YOUR GEAR ON!"
"REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING!"
"We're going to die, oh God, we are all going to die."
"I think I'm gonna be *bleurgh*."
The armoury had devolved into a cacophony of shouted orders and moving bodies, dozens of men and women ran around, carrying weapons and gas or hastily strapping up their 3DMG harnesses.
Some cadets had already fallen to their knees, rocking and sobbing crying out how it 'wasn't fair', and 'why them' and mumbling how they don't want to die.
Soldiers of the garrison looked pale and frightened, and even the most experienced officers of the regiment tried to hide their own fear behind masks of determination and false courage. The 'masks' didn't quite cover the quiver in their voice as they give their commands.
Shadis was there, as chief instructor of the 104th training corps he was their superior officer and would command in conjunction with the garrison commander. His expression was utterly grim, utterly devoid of any other emotion, even the barely contained anger the cadets were so used to seeing.
He looked over the cadets currently present within the armoury, assigning roles and organising squads.
"Arlert, Yeager! You will join Caroline, Wagnar, Tias and Zeramuski in squad 34. You will be in the middle guard defending the area around the Church of the Rose. Ackerman, you will join the elites in the rear guard covering the evacuation."
Mikasa had opened her mouth to protest her assignment to the rearguard, but Shadis had already turned away. He had countless cadets milling about that needed organisation and assignments.
"Come on, Armin, let's go." Eren said as he started to move towards their squadmates, "This is it, this is what we have trained for. Finally, we have the chance for vengeance against these monsters."
"Eren, Armin." Mikasa had grabbed Eren's arm, bring him to a halt as she looked at the two boys "If things take a turn for the worse, I want you both to come find me, alright?"
"What?! We are in completely different squads." Eren sounded confused at Mikasa request.
"Look, if things go like last… like Shiganshina, this will get ugly, and the plan will fall apart. If we are together, we can protect each other, okay?"
"You're telling us to abandon our squad, our mission?! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Eren angrily interjected, taking a step towards her.
"Eren!" Armin's already frayed patience had nearly reached its limit, "Have you forgotten how quickly home fell? How quickly the titans tore through the garrison? We are about to go head to head with the most dangerous creatures on earth; there is a genuine chance we could die here. Mikasa is just looking out for us, so stop being a dick!"
Eren's expression when from one of surprise at Armin's raised voice and curse, to one of anger at the suggestion that he had somehow forgotten the titans tearing apart their home, before finally settling on one of shame and embarrassment.
"Sorry," he mumbled, his bloodlust temporarily forgotten "but I won't abandon my squad if it gets rough, I won't leave them like I left Mum." With that, he stalked off to join Mina and the others.
"Armin…"
"I know Mikasa, I'll try and keep him safe, but we might not have a choice anymore."
Mikasa looked around, making sure they were not being eavesdropped "I could do it. We could go right now and move the boulder."
Armin wanted to say yes, he really did. They could quickly make their way to the breach while everyone is still running around, Mikasa could shift and carry the boulder to the shattered gate before any titans could get in.
But he knew it wouldn't work like that. He shook his head "If you do it, Reiner and Bertholdt will know someone took Annie's power, they'd know that someone was onto them."
"You have to keep it hidden, okay? Only if your life in is danger or Reiner is charging the inner gate. Even if Eren or I are in danger, you can't reveal yourself."
Mikasa wasn't happy with that; her lips thinned as her eyes narrowed at the blond boy. There were not many people on Earth who could stare down an unhappy Mikasa Ackerman, but fortunately, Armin was one of them.
With a frustrated sigh, she nodded, "Then you'd better stay safe, Armin."
"I'll try Mikasa, make sure you do the same."
The pair departed, making their way towards their respective squads. For the second time in their lives, they would be fighting to defend Trost from the Titans, both hoping that while the couldn't stop the attack, they might be able to save more people than last time.
Trost was burning.
Smoke was billowing near the broken remains of the gate, the nearby buildings burned and collapsed, as a fire began to spread.
Armin watched it from rooftops; the sense of déjà vu was all-consuming. By this point the vanguard would almost be completed wiped out, the cessation of cannon fire had been the first indicator, and the head of a 15m class titan poking above the buildings only a few blocks away was all the confirmation he needed. Unfortunately, it would take the higher-ups a while longer before they realised this.
Soon the Titans would reach their position, and they would have to fight. He looked at Eren, determination clear on his face as he stared at the distant titans, the white-knuckle grip he had of his sword hilts showed his desire to fight.
The other members of squad 34 stood around them awaiting orders. While nothing had been said, it seemed they had decided that the two of them were the squad leaders and would follow their lead.
"Look at it this way, Armin. It's a golden opportunity if we prove our worth as soldiers right here, right now, they'll have to let us graduate early. We could join the survey corps as tested soldiers and skip rookie status altogether, hell, they might even give us command of our own squad!" Eren smiled happily at him.
Armin always thought it was both fascinating and slightly disturbing how quickly Eren's emotional state could switch. One moment he would be utterly wild, projecting his uncontained hatred and fury towards any foe and then the next he could be calm, happy and joking around.
"Yeah," he replied, returning a small smile, one that certainly didn't match his actual feelings "that sounds good."
"Now, now, boys. You're not the only ones here. Save some glory for the rest of us!" Mina quipped at them, amusement evident in her voice. The other three laughed or smiled at the comment.
Armin couldn't believe it; how could she be joking at a time like this? Unless he did something to save her, she would be dead in within five minutes. All four of them would be.
He ignored the back and forth banter between Thomas and Eren as he continued staring towards the gate. He wanted to yell out or hit something; he felt completely trapped. Ever since they landed on this rooftop, he had been planning, trying desperately to think of something he could do to keep them safe.
He's a better soldier than last time, thanks to his years of experience in the survey corps, but he was no Mikasa. He couldn't take on half a dozen titans to protect his team.
He knew his best chance was to somehow stop Eren from charging off in a rage and to do that he would need to keep Thomas alive. The Aberrant that killed him had leapt across the block snatching him mid-air and crashing into the church spire with Thomas trapped between its teeth. When the titan swallowed him down, Eren had snapped, screaming for blood and vengeance and launched himself at it. Then everything fell apart.
That couldn't happen again, so Thomas had to live.
"Squadron 34, move out! The vanguard needs support!" a garrison officer shouted at them from a nearby roof.
"Right! Give 'em hell!" Eren shouted
Armin didn't join in the battle cry the others let out 'You're only going to have one chance at this Arlert, so don't mess it up' he thought to himself as he fired his grappling hooks and launched himself off the roof.
He flew through the air, fingering the gas trigger timing his release to give him the acceleration needed. He positioned himself so he was flying next to Thomas but kept his eyes locked firmly ahead.
There. Dead ahead, was the jumping abnormal. Armin watched as it tensed up then kick out, throwing itself into the air toward them.
He squeezed the left gas trigger for all its worth, and he careened into Thomas, smashing into the taller blond and pushing him out of the leaping Titans' path. He didn't have time to celebrate; however, as by saving Thomas, he was now directly in the Titan's path.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the titan flew towards him, its salivating maw was wide open, ready to swallow him whole. He squeezed both triggers, pushing himself straight up away from the creature's mouth, he tensed his core and twisted sideways in mid-air as the titan passed underneath him. He felt the titan's hair lightly brush against him, showing just how close the titan had missed him by. He heard its jaws snapping shut where he been only seconds before.
Either through sheer luck or some divine intervention, Armin had managed to time his manoeuvre perfectly. As he spun round to face the earth again, the titan's nape passed beneath him. It was completely exposed and almost in touching distance, it was the perfect set up, and one Armin wouldn't allow to slip through his fingers.
He brought the Iron bamboo swords down, powered by his momentum and the sharpness of the blades they bit deep into the titan's skin, then cleaved through its nape as if it were made of paper. Blood spurted out and splattered against his face and clothes, signalling his first-ever 3DM titan kill.
Time sped up again as he finished his spin, the now-dead titan smashed into the church spire, cracking the stone and shattering the windows. It was stuck there for a moment, lifeless arms had wrapped around it during the impact, until gravity claimed its corpse, peeling it off the church spire.
It fell to earth with a resounding thud.
Armin landed on the nearby rooftop with surprising grace, most of his squad members stared at him with open mouths, stunned at what they had just seen.
"Holy shit," One of them breathed out "you killed it."
Thomas was the only one not looking solely at Armin. He was staring down at the dead, steaming titan. "That thing was coming straight at me, and I just froze up. I… I should be dead." The colour had drained from his face, and he looked unnaturally pale. "You saved me Armin, thank you."
Armin gave a quick nod in reply, to ecstatic to even speak. He had done it; Thomas was alive and completely unharmed, and the Abnormal titan was dead. In that single instant, the feeling of hot titan blood splattered across his face slowly evaporating away was one of the most satisfying moments in his entire life.
It was undeniable proof that he could change things, that he could save them. And by the walls he would, he would save them all…
"Come on guys, Armin's already killed one. Let's not fall behind!" Eren shouted almost joyfully, as he leapt off the roof towards the titans down the street.
"EREN NOO!" in an instant any inkling of success he felt disappeared entirely, as he watched Eren soar away from him. He couldn't move, stunned still at Eren's utter recklessness.
He could only watch in dismay as a titan jumped up from directly below Eren, and its jaw closing around his leg, severing it in an instant.
Armin moved without thinking, jumping and taking flight as Eren crashed down onto the building, his body smashing into dormers and sliding along the hard tiles. The rest of the squad followed, rushing to the aid of their injured comrade.
Armin had to dive hard left to avoid a titan lumbering in from one of the side streets, but Nack was not so lucky. He crashed into its swinging arm at high speed; the terrible impact shattered his body in an instant, an explosion of blood and gore was all that remained of the cadet.
'No, no, no, NO! This can't be happening, not again!' Nack's horrific end had provided Armin with sickening clarity, in his haste to reach Eren he had practically led his squad straight into the Titan's den.
Mina had shot past him but was suddenly jerked back mid-air and crashed hard into a wall. She was still alive but dazed and winded by the impact.
He looked down at the 4m class titan that had grabbed one of Mina grapple wires, causing her crash and how it was now peered down at Mina. Its long arms reached for her, grabbing her and pulled the screaming girl towards its mouth.
Armin blades sliced across the back of its neck. It was a sloppy kill, fuelled by desperation more than anything, as the cut was only just deep enough to kill. The Titan's grip loosened, and Mina fell from its hand as it died landing hard on the ground she scrabbled backwards, away from its carcass looking utterly terrified. A dark wet patch was spreading down the legs of her trousers.
"MINA MOVE!" he screamed at her, begging her to get up. He had gotten lucky killing that titan, it had been focused on its upcoming meal rather than him, but he knew that if another titan grabbed her, he wouldn't be so fortunate.
Against all the odds, she did. Shakily she pushed herself up and fired her grappling hooks onto the nearby roof. She landed on her hands and knees and quickly scrambled away from the edge out of reach from any nearby titan before promptly throwing up. Armin landed beside her to check for any injuries.
"NO! PLEASE STOP! I DON'T WANT TO AAARRRRRGH!"
He turned in time to see that Milieus had been grabbed by an 11m class titan which had just bitten of his right arm. Blood poured out of ruined stump as Milieus screamed in agony. Armin was too far away to do anything and could only watch on uselessly.
He had lost another squad member.
"LET HIM GO YOU BASTARD!"
Thomas landed directly on the titan's nose, plunging both of his blades deep into its beady eyes. Reddish ichor poured from its ruptured eyeballs as it roared in pain, releasing the screaming Milieus.
In a move that even Shadis would have smiled at, Thomas leapt from the Titans face, diving between its rising hands he grabbed the falling Milieus, before swinging away from the furiously screeching titan.
Armin couldn't believe it, Thomas had saved Milieus. He might be missing an arm, but at least he was alive.
Thomas landed heavily next to Armin and the shaking, dry heaving Mina. He placed the whimpering Milieus down and started looking for something to bandage the bleeding stump with, resolve set on his face. He looked as if he was about to say something to Armin before his eyes went wide.
"Oh my god… Eren!"
Armin head snapped round, look to where Eren had fallen. The giant bearded Titan had picked the barely conscious Eren up by his jacket and was dangling him above his gaping pit of a mouth.
"EREN!" Armin screamed helplessly, knowing it was too late.
The titan let go, dropping Eren straight down its throat, swallowing him whole.
For the second time in his life, Armin watched as the bearded titan swallowed his friend. He felt like someone had punched him square in the stomach and torn it out, all he could do now was hope that Eren would shift.
"W…we have to fall back; this whole area is getting overrun." He couldn't let himself fall apart like last time; he still had a squad to command. "Thomas, Mina can you get Milieus back over the wall? He needs proper medical attention."
"Armin, I… I'm so sorry." Thomas started before he was cut off.
"Now isn't the time Thomas, if Milieus don't get to a doctor soon, he'll die. Can you two get him there?" Armin's cold and commanding voice caught both Thomas and Mina off-guard.
They exchanged quick glances before nodding.
"What will you do Armin?" Mina blurts out. She looks dead on her feet; exhaustion, shame and fear had sapped the vitality from her face. This was her first real battle, and she had nearly been killed. She had thrown up and lost control of her bladder due to the sheer unadulterated terror of her close encounter with the Titan.
Armin didn't judge her for that, he had gone complete catatonic after his first encounter, but he knew he was doing the right thing by sending her, Thomas and Milieus to safety. He may have lost Nack, and Milieus had lost his arm, but at least those three would live.
"I'll rendezvous with the other squads, now go!" he pointed towards the wall with one of his swords to emphasise his order.
As the pair departed carrying their wounded comrade, leaving Armin alone on the roof and he turned back towards the Bearded Titan. It hadn't moved at all since it swallowed Eren, just continued staring up into the sky with its cold, lifeless eyes.
"Come on, Eren, we need you. You have to fight." He whispered to himself.
Thud, Thud
Thud, Thud
Thud, Thud
He can feel his heart beating against his chest as he stares at the Titan, doubt creeping into his mind. What if Eren can't shift? What if he is too severely injured? What if he was crushed in the titan's oesophagus or drowning in its stomach acid. What if…
An arm suddenly punches out of the titan's mouth, open palm reaching towards the sky. Steam erupts out of its mouth at the massive internal damage caused by the giant arm.
The titan stumbles and falls as its body morphs and stretches, skin and muscle being pushed and torn from the inside, bulging out as something starts to stand within the titan. Then like an overripe fruit being dropped from a height, it explodes. Blood splashing against the buildings and road, some even reaching Armin's boots despite being several stories up.
Like some morbid rebirth, a new titan rises from the ruins of the old. This titan was different than the others. Its proportions were normal, its arms and legs the right size for its body, its torso was broad and muscular. A long, impish face with piercing green eyes could be seen through its blood-covered black hair.
Steam blasted out between its sharp exposed teeth, as the new titan tilted its head back and opened its mouth.
Relief flooded through Armin as Eren roared for all of Trost to hear.
Since she joined their squad, the other soldiers had been giving her funny looks. They couldn't understand why a cadet, a not even graduated cadet, had been assigned to their squad. They were some of the most experienced, longest-serving soldiers the Trost Garrison had to offer, and in their minds, they had been assigned a liability they couldn't afford during this battle.
Deep down, Mikasa was almost looking forward to once again disabusing them of that notion. She was not weak, so was no liability.
The rear guard had been broken up into teams of 4 and had been spread out to cover the streets approaching the inner gate. She didn't know any of her team members names, and she didn't care to learn them, that wasn't necessary information right now.
Across the burning district is where the people important to here are; Eren, Historia, Jean, Connie, Sasha, Armin. They had been put right in the thick of the fighting while she had once again been assigned to the back.
Why would command place the best soldiers to the back, away from the enemy while sending the untested cadet in front? She didn't know if it was cowardness or incompetence, but it made her blood boil all the same.
"INCOMING TITAN! ON MAIN STREET!"
An abnormal titan barrelled past them, completely ignoring the soldiers as it ran towards the gate. Its arms were flailing wildly behind its back as it smashed into buildings, kicking a wandering soldier out of its path. Its head swayed side to side, but its hungry eyes remained fixed on the large cluster of civilians by the open gate.
The elites pursued it, shocked at its behaviour.
"Why is this son of a bitch ignoring us?!"
"It's an abnormal. Stop trying to figure it out!"
"He's too fast! There's no way we can get to him before he reaches the gate!"
Mikasa charged past them, ignoring their surprised yells. She fires her grappling hook directly into the Titans nape, and with a burst of gas, she covers the remain distance at breakneck speed before slashing her blades across the target. The abnormal titan comes crashing down, its face scrapping along the cobblestone road as it slides, before coming to a stop barely a metre away from the mob of the terrified civilians.
"Excellent timing. You, make these morons push my wagon through." The fat merchant demanded, pointing at her. Once again, his selfishness and greed was holding up the evacuation.
She jumped off the steaming corpse, landing before the crowd. The civilians parted for her, like the sea once did in one of Armin's old books, as she stalked towards the merchant.
"My comrades are dying back there, trying to hold back the titans so Trost can be evacuated. They are being torn apart because this gate is still open."
"You think I care?" the overweight, balding man sneered "They're soldiers, it's their duty to die protecting us. Don't get all teary-eyed at me because you have to earn your keep after all these years!"
She came to a stop, pointing one of her blunted blades at him, "Remove the wagon, or you'll find out how effective these swords are against humans."
"Who the hell do you think you are, bitch?! You two, go teach her some respect!"
Two of his bodyguards charged at her; fists raised ready to strike. She ducked under them and slammed the flat edge of her blades against the back of their heads, knocking them out.
Now the merchant looked afraid, "Don't you have any idea who I am?! I'm Dimo Reeves, the richest man in this shithole district. My taxes pay for your wages, your gear and your training! I own you!"
'Ackermans. A lost clan who lost their true selves, created only to follow orders.'
'In over words, slaves.'
The merchants head snapped back violently; a sickening crack broke the silence. He fell on his arse, screaming in pain, blood pouring from his broken nose.
"Nobody owns me." She spat out at him in a tone so cold it could have frozen fire. The man's blood-covered her fist from the hard punch.
She looked at up his two remaining bodyguards by the wagon, challenging them, daring them to do come to the crying man's aid.
They didn't.
"Move the wagon." She growled out at them.
They did.
Mikasa watched as the civilians passed through the gate, the wagon had been moved and abandoned as she'd ordered, and the remaining bodyguards had dragged the sobbing merchant away.
"You're amazing! Thank you, miss." A young girl, no more than 11 stood before her, looking up at her with a smile.
The girl was younger than last time Mikasa had seen her, locked in that prison cell, but she still recognised her, Louise Howe.
Originally the girl had been inspired by her actions during Trost and had joined the military wanting to follow in Mikasa's footsteps. She'd idolised her and had signed onto the survey corps, hoping to get closer to her.
But then she fell in with Floch and the Yeagerists, betrayed both her and the survey corp. She was one of the soldiers responsible for leaking information about Eren's arrest, which had turned the public against them.
"You saved our lives, miss. All of us are in your debt." Louise's mother was holding tightly to her daughter's shoulders as she thanked her.
Mikasa could already see the hero-worship starting to form on Louise's expression, but she was determined to put a stop to that. She wouldn't inspire another traitor to her corps.
"Did you not hear what I said? People are dying so you can evacuate, we need to close the gate."
That made Mrs Howes realise she and her daughter were still within the titan infested Trost, with the gate wide open. She gave a brief nervous apology before quickly dragging Louise through the gate without another word.
When the last civilian passed through the gate, one of the rear-guard fired off a green flare, indicating the evacuation was complete and signally the second part of the plan was now in effect.
The massive inner gate started to descent, sealing off Trost from the rest of Wall Rose territory, as the rear-guard regrouped on the nearby roof as the rain began to fall.
"Good work Ackerman, walls knows what would have happened if that Titan had reached the civvies." The leader of the elite squad, Ian or something, praised her, looking surprised that a cadet had achieved something his team could not.
She nodded as she replaced her dull blades.
"Alright, stage two of the plan is now in effect, we are to withdraw from Trost and make for the top of the wall. There we can organise and prepare for our counter-attack."
Mikasa had no intention of leaving Trost yet, not while Eren and Armin were still in the city.
Without warning, she abandoned the roof, heading towards where she knew the other cadets would be gathering.
"Ackerman! Wait, get back here!" his orders were meant nothing to her while their safety was still in question.
Titan after titan fell to her blades, as she carved a bloody path through Trost. Darting from foe to foe, she was like the grim reaper of myth and legend but wielding two swords and wearing a scarf, rather than a scythe and cloak.
Here, she was in her element. Flying through the air, cutting down titans left, right and centre. She would unleash her full fury upon them.
And they would learn to fear her.