Historia let out a long steady breath as the outer gate of the Calaneth district slowly ascended. She ignored the looks and snide comments from the townspeople about wasted tax money as they waited for the command to advance.
The object Armin had slipped her a few minutes ago seemed to burn a hole in her pocket. She knew it could only use it in one specific circumstance, even if a normal titan was about to rip her apart, she couldn't use it. Nothing had been said directly, but she knew she expected her to die rather than waste it. She also knew that he would do the same.
They both had one, a catalyst to kick off their contingency plan should the worst occur. And once that plan begins, neither heaven nor hell would be able to stop it.
She prayed to any power that might be listening that she wouldn't have to use it.
Finally, the signal was given, and Commander Erwin announced the 57th Expedition had begun as the scouts quickly rode forward. Historia focused ahead, trusting in the support squad to take out any titans roaming about the abandoned town just outside the gate. Once they had cleared the ruins, they could form up into the long-range scouting formation and truly begin the expedition.
That's when things would get serious.
"Gather round recruits; I've got your formation positions right here!" Dieter Ness called to them, waving a slip of paper in the air while narrowly avoiding the horse trying to bite his bandanna.
"Because there are so many of you, we've had to shuffle around some of your positions. Normally most recruits are placed in the inner signalling ring, as to keep you away from the Titans. However, in light of your experiences in Trost, the Commander has authorised that some of you be placed in the outer signalling ring, to close any possible gaps in our lines."
"Now, don't be alarmed. There will still be the outer defensive ring surrounding you made up of the more experienced soldiers such as myself and I promise to do everything in my power to keep you lot safe. You have my word."
"Right, positions. Ackerman inner left 2-3, Arlert outer left 3-3, Bott back right 3-5, Braun outer right 2-5, Ymir back left 1-3, Lenz HIinner right 3-4, Hoover outer left 3-2."
The man continued to list off names and positions for a few more minutes before dismissing them. Historia caught the look Armin gave her and gave a subtle nod back. They needed to talk.
Ymir hadn't been happy with being separated from her while beyond the walls and had even threatened to break formation and ride beside her during the expedition. Not wanting to put Ymir in the firing line (despite her being far less vulnerable than she was) she had promised her a very tempting reward for being a good scout and staying in position.
Judging by the slight red tinge Ymir had on her freckled cheeks when they mounted the horses that morning, she had decided to accept her offer.
"Good luck, Krista!" Marco shouted above the din of charging horses as he peeled off to his position.
"And you. Stay safe!" Historia shouted back. 'Let's hope we all do.'
Sometime later
Judging by the soreness of her backside and the fact the top of wall Rose was just barely visible behind them, Historia reckoned they had been riding hard for just over two hours. She had seen a few titans, but most had been cut down by the defence squads before they had gotten too close.
However, for the last couple of minutes, the right flank had been unusually quiet. Historia hasn't seen any titans breaking through, but she also hadn't seen any flare signals. Usually, this could be considered a good thing; no titans meant no signals, but there was something wrong with this silence. Especially with him being position in that area.
She wants to believe they had just been fortunate and hadn't encountered any titans.
She wants to believe they are fine, and the formation hasn't been compromised.
She looks to the dense grove of trees in the distance, cutting between her and the outer ring. She squints, trying to see something, anything to confirm their status.
As if taunting her naivety, a single black flare is fire above the tree line, followed moments later but a yellow flare. 'Shit' she thinks grimly, loading and firing her own black signal.
Black meant an abnormal had appeared and yellow meant the formation had been severely compromised. To see both filled her with dread.
Her eyes remained fixed on the treeline, waiting to see what would burst through. 'Please let it be an abnormal, just a basic abnormal titan. Please.'
She could hear the cracking wood and heavy thumps before it came into view, smashing through the trees like an unstoppable force of nature. There it was; 15m of thick armoured plating fused to flesh and muscle, topped with short bleached hair and yellow eyes. The arbiter of Wall Maria's destruction. The Armoured Titan.
With shaky hands, she slotted the special object Armin had given her onto her flare gun and waited as Reiner barrelled towards her. At the last moment, she pulled back on the reins of her horse, coming to a stop as Reiner crossed in front of her, only giving her a small passing look.
She lifted the gun to the sky and gave a final prayer as she pulled the trigger.
'Good luck, Mikasa.'
Mikasa could already tell something had gone wrong, even before she saw Historia's special flare. The formation had taken a sharp turn to the left, and she could see the forest of giant trees in the distance ahead. The vanguard and the wagons had already entered it and would soon be followed by the Eren and his squad.
Seeing the special signal flare from the right flank had only confirmed her suspicions. The brownish colour, made from mixing red and green dye from standard flares, looked like a trail of dried blood against the pale blue sky. Morbidly fitting she supposed.
She took a quick look around before pulling up her hood and kicked her heels, pushing her horse forwards. They had planned for this, and Historia had done her part.
Now it was her turn.
"There's a good chance they will try to capture Eren during the expedition," Armin spoke quietly to his two fellow conspirators. "Without Annie to help them, they'll have to do it themselves. The Colossal isn't suited to any kind of chase and capture mission, so it will have to be the Armoured Titan."
"If that happens, we have a serious problem. Without the Thunderspears, the corp has no way of breaking through those armoured plates. If he grabs Eren, there would be little they could do to stop him. But we do have one thing that could stop him." He gazed pointedly at Mikasa.
"The Female Titan can also harden parts of its body with crystals, which was extremely effective against Reiner's armour. And even if you can't activate your hardening abilities immediately, you're a far better hand to hand combatant than Reiner. You can use his size and strength against him as Eren did at Wall Rose."
Mikasa gives a single nod but remained silent. If Armin believes she can do it, then she will.
"If we do this, we'll lose the element of surprise." Historia adds, taking the side of caution in this plan. "They'll know someone discovered and seized Annie's power. Even if they don't suspect us, they'll know that someone is working against them. They might flee or try and breach the walls again."
"I know. But if we lose Eren and the founding titan, we lose everything." Armin replied, settling the matter.
As she rides, Mikasa mentally steels herself for what she's about to do. Armin had explained the shift to the best of his ability but had admitted that no words could truly do it justice. She knew how to trigger it, both Eren and Armin had told her about it in their last lives, by drawing blood and focusing on an objective. But it's one thing to hear about it, and another to actually experience it.
"One last thing, Mikasa. Be careful when you change. Having that much raw strength and power at your command is… intoxicating. It's so easy to lose focus and control and just to let the titan take over. You mustn't let that happen; we can't lose you as well."
She reaches the forest edge unobserved but continues to ride hard until the grassy plains could no longer be seen through the dense trees.
Pushing away all doubts and concerns, Mikasa stands up on the saddle and jumps off, using her 3DM gear to propel herself upwards.
She sets her mind on stopping Reiner before drawing out her penknife and slashing it across her palm.
A ball of energy formed several metres about the forest floor, whipping up leaves and branches like a hurricane. Bones and muscle started to materialise, a large humanoid shape starting to take form. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the ball was gone, and all that remained was a Titan unlike none other.
Steam from its transformation slowly poured off its crouched form, as the titan raised its skinless hands from the damp earth and stared at them, inspecting them with unabashed fascination. It went to touch its face when a loud bang echoed through the forest, drawing its attention. Standing up, the titan quickly turned and took off, running towards the source of the sound.
Its enhanced senses could already smell human blood in the air, and it could only hope it wasn't too late.
"ORDERS, CAPTAIN?!"
"LEVI ITS GAINING ON US!"
"CAPTAIN GIVE US THE ORDER TO ENGAGE! CAPTAIN!"
The Armoured Titan was only metres behind the special operation squad; its arm outstretched towards them. The very ground seemed to shake under its heavy steps.
Eren felt fear and hatred in equal measure. This was the bastard that breached Wall Maria, costing humanity nearly a third of its population and territory. It had wiped out the support squad that had tried to stop it with sickening ease. Now it was bearing down on them, trying to grab him, and Captain Levi hadn't done a damn thing!
This was supposed to be the finest squad of titan slayers in history, but they were just running away and letting others die for nothing.
"Cover your ears." Levi warned them, seemingly unperturbed by the monster pursuing them, before firing off an acoustic shell.
The ringing in their ears was almost strong enough to block out the sound of their approaching demise. Gradually their hearing returned to them, only to be met by the sound of another soldier getting body slammed into a tree by the Armoured Titan.
"Listen up; our job is to protect Yeager no matter the cost. It's not to let your emotions control you in the heat of the moment. So, we are going to keep pushing forward until I say otherwise, got it?"
Eren couldn't believe it. This was Captain Levi, the Captain Levi, the strongest soldier alive and Eren's personal hero and inspiration. And he was telling them just to keep running.
'No.' he thought bitterly 'He can keep running if he wants, but I won't let others die for me.' He brought his hand to his mouth.
"Eren, no! You're only permitted to assume titan form if your life is in peril. You swore an oath, remember?!" Petra yelled, catching him in the act. His eyes darted behind them, and Petra's followed.
Their relentless pursuer was even closer now; its plated chin had descended revealing rows of sharp teeth. It almost seemed to be smiling.
Eren placed his hand between his own teeth, feeling the skin tighten under the pressure. A tiny bit more would be enough to break the surface and draw blood.
"Eren!" Petra shouted again, trying to dissuade him.
"I wouldn't blame you. You have a choice to make Eren, either you make the call to believe solely in yourself, or put your trust in your comrades, even if you disagree with their methods." Levi's voice was barely a whisper, but Eren heard every word with startling clarity.
"Either way, do as your conscience dictates. But remember, you must live with that decision for the rest of your life. So as much as you can, choose whichever option you'll regret the least."
Latching on to the Captain's line of thinking, Petra tried again. "Eren, trust us." She said softly, giving him a small, kind smile. Eren caught a glimpse of the faint bite mark around her hand, the symbol of the squad's acceptance of him following his first failed experiment.
They had forgiven him after that, even when they would have been fully justified to cut him down. They had chosen to trust him.
Could he convince himself to do the same?
"Yeager! There's no more time, decide now!"
Eren clenched his eyes shut, trying to block out the sounds of another scout dying behind them.
Maybe he was wrong about them; maybe they were more than wardens, perhaps he could be a real member of the team. But only if he trusted them.
"I'M WITH YOU!" he shouted into the sky.
Eren could almost feel the titan's fingertips brush against his cloak when they burst into a small clearing. All around them were dozens of scouts and barrel cannons; all pointed towards them.
Commander Erwin pointed a blade at the armoured titan and screamed, "FIIIRRREEE!"
The trap was masterfully planned out. They had drawn the titan deep into the forest, away from any regular titans who could create problems. The barrels had been set up both on the ground and up in the tree canopies, giving an even greater arc of fire.
Hundreds of metal anchors would be impaled into the target's flesh, and the taut steel cables would keep it pinned and immobilised.
It was nothing short of genius and would have worked perfectly against any other titan.
Unfortunately, this wasn't 'any other titan'; this was the Armoured Titan. Most of the anchors bounced uselessly off its thick armoured plating, not even scratching it.
The handful that managed to sink into the exposed flesh was nowhere near enough to stop its incredible momentum. The sheer speed of the titan tore the barrels clean off their supports, smashing them against scouts and trees alike, showering the area with fragments of wood and steel.
There was a great deal of terrified and pained screaming from the ambushing scouts as the Armoured Titan ploughed through, only being slightly slowed down by the failed trap.
"SHIT! Captain, it broke through!" Eld shouted as the titan broke through the smoke.
Levi turned to look back, and for the first time, Eren saw an emotion on the man's face that wasn't indifference. It was a look of annoyance mixed with the slightest undertones of apprehension.
"Switch to ODM gear, only engage the titan when it gets close. Yeager, you're with me."
"Yes, Sir!" all four of them said before jumping off their mounts.
"But Captain, I can…" Eren started to plead with the man.
"No, our mission is to keep you safe. They're doing their job so we can do ours. Now, head down and keep moving." Levi overruled him, the look on his face morphing back into one of indifference.
The four veterans of the special operation squad were perched on the top branches, watching as the titan approached. No words passed between them, as none were needed. They had killed hundreds of Titans together and almost instinctively knew what the others would do.
First, they would target the ankles and halting its pursuit. Then they would take out the eyes and cut the joints of its arms; blinding and crippling it. And finally, they would attack the nape and kill the bastard.
"The bigger they are…" Gunther spat out, glaring at the approaching foe.
"The harder they fall." Oluo grunted back.
And their attack began.
It started so well; Eld had sliced the titans achilles tendon causing it to stumble and crash against a tree. The beast only had a second to glare at them for daring to attack him, before Petra and Gunther slashed out its eyes, blinding it.
The titan bellowed out in pain and anger, covering its ruined eyes with its arm. Olou flew under the raised arm slicing a deep cut across its unarmoured pit, causing the arm to slump down, completely unusable.
Eld went for the kill, soaring behind the monster and bring his two blades down against the nape.
They shattered like glass.
And then everything went wrong.
The titan's other arm shot out and grabbed his ODM wire mid-air. Eld came to a sudden stop and seemed to float in the air, almost gracefully for a moment before the titan yanked it back fiercely.
He barely had time to scream before his body came crashing down onto the hard ground with a stomach-turning crunch.
The titan's freshly healed eye opened, then narrowed at them, accessing their positions. A small burst of fire and steam was expelled from its mouth, as it pushes itself upright.
Wanting to avenge their lost comrade, the remaining veterans begin their second attack.
But it proves futile when the titan unexpectedly swings its limp arm around, right into Gunther's path.
Regardless of what military division a soldier ends up in, every one of them is taught in bootcamp about the extents and limitations of ODM gear.
An averagely skilled user can achieve top speeds of around 55mph in a straight line, while a talented (or lithe) users can push that to over 60mph. Gunther was a very gifted user of his gear, so was travelling at around 64mph when he collided with the rock-hard plates on the titan's arm.
The sheer force exerted on his body from travelling at 64mph to standstill in a split second was devastating. Every bone in his rib cage shattered on impact, and the razor-sharp shards of bone were sent flying backwards, perforating his organs like hot knives through butter.
Gunther was dead before his body hit the forest floor.
"Eld! Gunther!" Olou cried out in a fury, launching himself at their killer. "I'll kill you!"
He landed on the titan's face and plunged both his blades into its eye, screaming obscenities.
From her position several metres back, Petra noticed his terrible mistake, but her warning came far too late.
"Olou! Get away!" she cried out.
The monster's other eye had healed and had just reopened.
The titan's hand slammed against its face with a deafening boom. There was a long moment of silence, with only Petra's erratic breathing being heard. Blood started to dribble out through the gaps in the titan's fingers.
The Armoured titan pulled its hand away, allowing Olou's mangled corpse to fall with a splat. It slowly turned to her; a bloody paste that was once her friend covered the left side of its face, as its solitary eye peered into her very soul.
Something deep down inside of Petra broke. Like a dam holding back a wall of terror, it came crashing down at witnessing the brutal demise of her squad.
There was nothing she could do; they couldn't break through its armour, and it had wiped out her squad in a matter of seconds. This wasn't a fight; this was a slaughter.
Petra screamed in fear and ran.
The world started to shake again as the Titan chased her down, having no intention of letting her get away. She looked up, eyes wide in dread, as the sun was blocked out by the giant clawed foot being raised overhead. She couldn't escape; this was the end.
Images of friends and family flashed before her eyes. Eld, Gunther, Olou and countless others she had fought alongside and cared for. Her doting father and loving mother, who she would never see again, and finally to Levi.
Her captain, her mentor, her friend and so much more.
'I'm sorry, all of you. I'm so sorry.'
She closed her eyes as the foot dropped.
AN: Ahh, who doesn't love a good cliffhanger? ; )