DILAN'S P.O.V.

When they got outside it was immediately clear that they had indeed been hiding away too long. The whole fucking regiment was on site. Well, most of them anyway. Dilan could see Erwin giving out orders to Hanji squad and she was pretty sure she saw some more of those wires that they had used to trap this Annie bitch in the first time. Dilan frowned, hoping the blonde bastard had more up his sleeve than that.

Like those worked so well the first time.

Still. She supposed there weren't any swarms of titans to eat her in the walls.

"Hey." Levi got her attention and she looked up at him, observing the concern in his eyes. She could only imagine the expression she was making. Probably a mixture of hate, fury and regret. She didn't blame him for being concerned.

Dilan took a breath and relaxed a bit.

"I'm okay." She assured. Levi looked reluctant.

"Dil, you don't have to do this. No one would blame you if you backed out. I mean, me and Erwin could probably use your help if the MP's come-" Levi suggested, obviously starting to panic again about the idea of her leaving him. Dilan turned to him completely to cup the sides of his face and look into his eyes.

"Levi. I'm not going to die." She said seriously. Levi's eyes softened a bit. "I promise you; I'm not going to die." She repeated, pleased as Levi breathed out and let go of the tension in his muscles.

"I believe you." He replied, getting it together. Dilan smiled in approval, pulling him down for one last kiss before they would have to separate. She didn't care about the people around and Levi obviously felt the same if the way he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer was any indication.

Dilan didn't let it go on too long, forcing herself to pull back. She looked into his eyes before squeezing his hand and walking away, Levi moving in the other direction. They had already said everything they needed to back inside. Going through that again would only make them more reluctant to leave each other. Besides, everything they wanted to say was said in that last shared look.

I love you and stay safe.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to keep going, knowing she had things to focus on now. There was no time to worry about Levi. He would be fine. She had a whole squad to keep alive today.

Speaking of which, where were they?

Dilan scanned the courtyard, going through the clumps of people one by one until she found the four familiar faces she was looking for. They were standing by the edge of the castle, looking very confused and very out of place with no instructions. Dilan smiled fondly and started walking towards them. She got halfway across the courtyard before Grace spotted her and her eyes widened, sprinting over to her and ambushing her in a massive hug.

Dilan stumbled a little at the impact but chuckled warmly and hugged the girl back.

Grace had grown up a lot in the last few years. She was 18 now and had matured a lot from the loudmouth, she used to be. That didn't mean she wasn't often immature, but the girl actually had great strategy and impressive goals. She was a hard worker and Dilan was pleased to have her on the team.

Unfortunately, she had grown, as had the rest of them.

Dilan disliked how tall they all were. The boys were beanpoles. Thankfully Grace was only an inch or so taller than her, but it was enough to feel slightly resentful.

The girl had pale skin and dirty blonde hair that was always tied into a strict bun at the back of her head. She had brown eyes and soft features. That didn't mean she couldn't scare the hell out of people when they got on her nerves. The girl says it how she sees it.

Both a good thing and a bad thing.

Dilan pulled the girl back just as the others made it over to her, suddenly concerned at the tears in Grace's eyes and the sadness on the boy's features.

"Guys?" She asked. Grace took a shaky breath, suddenly ashamed, she got herself together.

"We heard about your squad." Jamie explained solemnly.

"We're so, so sorry, Dilan." Grace said genuinely, biting her lip.

"We're here for you, okay?" Caden assured.

"Whatever you need, major." Thomas added.

Dilan swallowed, taking a brief second to compose herself before moving on. She didn't have time to be emotional today. When the mission was over, she and Levi would be able to hide away and deal with the pain together.

Today it was better to focus on the mission.

She took a breath and smiled gratefully.

"I appreciate it, guys. You don't know how much I appreciate it, but unfortunately there's no time to grieve right now. Today we have a job and I need you to be the best soldiers you can. What's more I need you to promise me something. It's a selfish promise but I'm going to make you do it anyway." She said seriously and they nodded. "I need you to promise me, you won't die." She informed and their eyes widened slightly.

Then their faces hardened in determination and there was barely a second of hesitation before they responded. Considering everything, a second's hesitation was better than Dilan expected, especially since she hadn't commanded them in a few years.

"Yes Major." They replied seriously, taking in her words. It was obvious how much pain she was in, she wasn't able to hide that from them, but there was no time to feel right now.

They had a job to do.

"Good. Walk with me, I'll answer any questions you have now." Dilan said, starting to walk across the courtyard towards Erwin. They had been given the brief layout of the plan. Now was the time to take the squad leaders and go into finer detail.

Her squad walked with her.

"What are we doing here?" Grace asked after a moment of silence. Dilan guessed there wasn't enough time to give them a real explanation before shipping them here.

"We're going after the female titan. There's a strong chance we've uncovered her identity." Dilan explained and she could feel their surprise, even if she didn't look at their faces.

"Who is it, Major?" Caden asked curiously.

"Annie Leonhart. She graduated in the 104th so I doubt any of you would know or recognise the name. I'm right there, aren't I?" She asked and they nodded. Dilan was pleased at that. No need to make this harder by having connections to the bitch.

Eren was having a hard-enough time as it is.

"So, we're you're new squad." Thomas deduced from the information given so far. Dilan felt a tug on her heart at the mention and she gripped the side of her jacket but took a breath and moved past it.

"Yes. If Captain Levi wasn't injured, it's likely he'd be commanding all of us, but you'll just have to make do with me." She shrugged. Jamie rolled his eyes fondly.

"Yeah, it's not like we haven't been begging you to be our squad leader the last two years." Jamie pointed out in a light tease. Grace scoffed.

"God, the level of incompetence my squad leader holds is incredible. You know he messed up explaining a cadet drill the other day. We're practically veterans! Why he is doing cadet drills with us in the first place is a fucking mystery." Grace complained.

"You think that's bad. Ours trims his nose hair while giving out instructions for the training day. I used to have a gag reflex. 2 years with that animal and nothing fazes me anymore." Caden said with a distant look and Thomas grimaced, clearly agreeing.

"Nose hair is all you got?! My squad leader has a thing for me!" Jamie exclaimed. Grace rolled her eyes.

"So what? It's an advantage, if anything. You can use her to get things, like more time on the training fields." Grace suggested, her eyes sparkling at the very idea. Dilan suppressed a smile at the training junkie.

Jamie scowled at her.

"I'm not selling my body to get more time with the 3DMG, you freak! It's not an advantage, it's just… awkward." He cringed.

"It's not like she touches you up, Jams. She's 23, that's only a year older than you. It's a harmless crush. Ignore her." Caden suggested.

"It just makes me uncomfortable is all I'm saying. It's only so long before she asks me out."

"Maybe you should just screw her." Thomas shrugged. "She's not bad looking. Where are the cons?" He asked dismissively. Jamie glared at him.

"Oh, I don't know, Tom. Maybe the fact that she's my superior? Not to mention I'm attracted to guys." He rolled his eyes at the sheer suggestion. Thomas shrugged again.

"I'm all out of ideas then. Just deal with it." He retorted and Jamie frowned in annoyance.

Dilan chuckled, shaking her head fondly.

It was true. They were often begging her to accept Erwin's offer and enlist them in her own squad, as their squad leaders were, in their words, 'a brutal step down from her'. It was funny to listen to them complain. In all honesty, listening to some stupid group bickering was exactly what she needed right now. A good distraction, even if it did remind her of the arguing of her old squad, it was almost nice in a way.

"Well, regardless of who you had, I'm in charge of you for the foreseeable future. Don't ask me how long because I don't know. First things first we have to get through this fight. It'll be hard, but if you listen to me exactly, we'll all be fine. Understood?" She asked and their faces grew serious again.

"Understood." They agreed.

"As for my second in command…" She started, glancing back at them. The hopeful look in each of their eyes was plan to see. Honestly, they were all second in command material. Strong, confident and loyal soldiers but Dilan needed more than that. Because sometimes being strong, confident and loyal isn't enough. She needed someone mature. Who knows when to take a step back and reevaluate the situation. "Thomas. You up for the job?" She asked seriously. His eyes widened a fraction before he quickly composed himself and nodded earnestly.

"Yes, Major." He replied.

"Good." Dilan looked at the others, cracking a smile at their poorly concealed disappointment. "Wipe that look off your faces. You're all well aware of how highly I view you as soldiers, I trained you myself after all. If you weren't up for the task, then you wouldn't be here with me right now. One day, I believe you could all lead but for right now, Thomas is my guy. If we get separated today, you'll follow him without question. Are we clear on that?"

They nodded, understanding on their faces, as well as subtle smiles from her praise.

"Crystal." Grace confirmed.

Dilan nodded in approval as they finally reached Erwin and the small clump of squad leaders that was growing by the second.

20 minutes later and almost everyone had arrived. Erwin would lay down the plan soon. Dilan looked towards the front as she noticed Hanji and Levi walk towards the commander, deep in conversation.

They caught eyes for a moment, and he gave her a clear look, asking her if she was doing okay. Dilan's eyes softened slightly, and she nodded, giving him the same look. Levi cracked a subtle smile and nodded back. With that bit of relief, they both refocused on the task at hand. But apparently, they hadn't been as subtle as she thought.

"You and the Captain then, huh?" Grace smirked. Dilan's eyes widened a fraction.

"Loudmouth, I swear to god-" She gritted but Jamie interrupted her.

"Come on Dil, your relationship is all around the regiment. If all this titan shifter shit wasn't going on, this would be the biggest gossip in the scouts to date!" He smiled. Dilan glared at him.

"If it's already out, why are you hiding?" Caden asked smugly. Dilan was not amused. But she supposed the kid was right. Besides, she and Levi had already decided they weren't hiding it anymore.

Dilan took a breath, annoyed.

"Fine. We're together. Happy, you, nosy shits?" She frowned, watching as Caden, Jamie and Grace cheered, pumping their fists.

Thomas sighed in defeat.

"Pay up!" Caden gloated, the three of them holding out their hands to him. Thomas scowled at them but routed around in his pocket anyway.

Dilan balked at them.

"You bet on us?" She asked, exasperated. They froze, slowly turning their heads to look at her, smiling sheepishly.

"They bet on you. I took that bet." Thomas replied, taking out his wallet and handing over a few bills to each of them. "And lost." He added, annoyed. Caden sniggered and threw an arm around his pissed friend's shoulder.

"You lost an easy bet. It was obvious, mate." He smirked. Thomas glared at him, shoving him off his shoulder.

"There wouldn't have been a bet without an opposing wager. I was playing the odds. If, by a very slim chance, it wasn't true then I would have gotten three lots of your money." He pointed out and the others shrugged as they counted their money.

"When the hell did you make this little gamble, huh?" She asked in a low deadly tone and they all jumped, turning to face her. They gulped at her annoyed face. "Come on. Lie and I will beat your asses right here, right now, in front of everyone." She warned. There was another second of hesitation before her narrowed glare broke Caden.

"Um… o-on the wall." He admitted and the others glared at him for spilling.

"Dude!" Grace hissed.

"S-sorry, she's terrifying." He mumbled back.

"On the wall, huh?" Dilan asked, crossing her arms. The four slumped their shoulders submissively. "And what compelled you to make such a wager?" She asked, pursing her lips.

They shifted nervously and none of them looked her in the eye.

"Spill, Jamie. Now." She pushed and he swallowed.

"You were always writing him, Major. Captain Levi is a man of little words. We figured it couldn't all be professional. We made the bet, guessing if you weren't already together, it would happen eventually. If in 5 years, we couldn't prove it, Thomas would have won." He admitted.

There was a moment of tense silence before Dilan sighed, supposing it wasn't a hard link to make. To those paying attention, Dilan had recently discovered they weren't that subtle at all.

"Are you going to kill us?" Caden asked fearfully. Dilan let out a small puff of amusement.

"No." She replied, and they all released breaths of relief. "But I'm taking your winnings. Gambling is an unhealthy addiction and I don't want any of you to waste money on such a thing." She declared, snatching their prize money and their faces fell.

"Dilan!" Grace complained.

"Aww~!" Jamie whined.

"But-but-!" Caden tried but Dilan sent him a sharp look and he backed down.

"Be grateful I'm not informing the Captain of your little bet. He would kill you." She scoffed. Thomas reached out for his money, clearly expecting it back if the bet wasn't taking place anymore, but Dilan put it in her pocket before he got there.

"Wait-what?!" He exclaimed. Dilan bit back a smirk and turned back to watch the Commander. "Major, can I have my money-" Thomas tried but Dilan shut him down.

"Shh." She cut him off, practically feeling the annoyance radiate off of the young man as the others sniggered. None of them had a chance to say anything else as Erwin cleared his throat and the group of people fell silent.

"This is a dangerous mission. Not only are we engaging in a political war with the MP's but there's a heavy chance, should this not go according to plan, that our regiment will be shut down. But while there are risks, the benefits outweigh them. The longer we wait, the heavier the chance that the titans will attack our walls again. The more likely that Rose will fall. If it does, all hope is lost." Erwin said seriously and some paled, others grew in determination.

Dilan glanced at her squad, pleased to see their reactions were the latter of the two.

"There will be multiple plans, requiring multiple squads to ensure their successful operations. However, the main plan will involve Eren Yeager and his comrades. We will do everything we can to ensure Plan A is effective, but should that fall through, we'll have to rely on our contingencies. Understood?" Erwin asked. Dilan looked over to Eren and his friends who were standing to the side, making a mental note to talk to him before they left.

"Understood, sir." The group replied. He nodded in approval.

"Alright, let's get into it then. Squads A, B and C will be as follows…"


A while later and Erwin had laid out the plan to the last detail. Dilan and her squad were part of the first defence.

Plan A.

If all goes well, Eren, Mikasa and Armin will lure Annie down into an underground tunnel and she will be detained by Scouts, already present in that tunnel. If she attempts to go titan it will be Dilan's squad's job, as well as a few others under her command to grab the suspect and hold her down before she can hurt herself. It was risky but with her reaction time, Dilan liked to think they would be able to pull it off if she attempts anything.

Dilan didn't like the idea of leaving the kids alone down there with that psycho, but Annie doesn't know her. If Dilan was there and Annie got suspicious, the whole plan could go up in smoke. She couldn't let that happen.

The bitch needed to pay.

Her squad were ready on their horses and Dilan left them there to go and find Eren and his friends, hoping to provide some comfort for the coming stressful day when she got called over.

"Dil!" A familiar voice sounded behind her and Dilan turned, seeing Nanaba and Mike near the gate, away from all the action and people rushing around. She tilted her head but jogged over to them. She'd already committed all the formations to memory and noticed Nanaba and Mike's squad weren't participating.

"Hey-" Dilan was cut off by an oomph as Nanaba crushed her in a hug.

"I know you don't need apologies and all that condolence bullshit right now, so we'll save that shit for later when there's time. But I'm going to hug you anyway so deal with it." Nanaba explained, hidden emotion in her voice. Dilan relaxed, a small smile pulling at her lips, she hugged her friend back for a moment, glad the woman knew her so well.

"Thanks Nana." She whispered. Nanaba chuckled.

"Bitch don't start, we talked about this." She warned playfully, pulling back. Dilan smiled a bit.

"Couldn't help myself." She replied and Nanaba smiled. Dilan turned to her old Squad Leader.

"Mike." She greeted. Mike nodded.

"Dilan. We're to head off in a moment. Nanaba wanted to say goodbye and I also wanted to mention that like Nanaba said, when we have time, if you want to rant to someone. We both know how it feels to lose a squad." Mike offered kindly and Dilan's eyes softened.

She gave a grateful smile.

"I appreciate it. Thank you, to the both of you." She said genuinely. Nanaba smiled and Mike nodded. "But where are you going?" Dilan asked. The tall blondes shared a look.

"Commander Erwin gave us orders to detain the rest of the 104th cadet group under house arrest for the time being in a hidden area of wall Rose." Nanaba answered. Dilan's eyes widened in surprise.

"Why would he… oh." It came to her. In fact, it was the logical thing to do. "If Annie turns out to be the female titan…" She started.

"Then it's likely there are others in her graduating year." Mike finished in confirmation. Dilan nodded in understanding.

"Makes sense. Be careful, the both of you." Dilan said seriously.

"You too, Dilan. We all know how fun you think recklessness is, but I'd prefer one of my ex-cadets to stay in one piece. Even if she is a hotshot Major now." He teased lightly with a soft smile. Dilan smirked.

"I'll do my best old-man." She teased back. Mike chuckled and spared her a last glance before walking off towards where Dilan assumed the rest of the 104th were waiting to head off. She turned back to Nanaba as the woman pulled her into another hug.

"Be careful." Nanaba said. Dilan smiled, sighing.

"I will. Be careful yourself. Eren tells me there's a girl in the 104th that will demolish any supplies of food you take with you in an evening. They call her the potato girl. Watch out, okay?" Dilan warned and Nanaba laughed brightly at that, pulling back.

"Will do, Major. I'll see you later." She said. Dilan nodded.

"See you later." She agreed, about to turn away.

"Oh, and Dil?" Nanaba called. Dilan faced her again, confused as the woman cracked a wide satisfied smirk.

"It's nice to hear you took my advice." She winked. Dilan's eyes widened, feeling a blush come to her cheeks.

"Nanaba!" She complained, embarrassed. Nanaba laughed as she walked away and Dilan huffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes and heading off to find Eren.

It took a moment to find them, but Dilan located the three teenagers. They were a little away from all the noise, sitting in the forest by the river, sharing what little time they had left.

"We'll be okay. The plan will work, I'm sure of it." Armin said decisively, his voice shaking every so discreetly.

"I agree. You shouldn't worry, Eren." Mikasa added softly, hiding her face in her red scarf.

It was obvious they were both nervous.

"I…" Eren paused, clenching his hands into fists. Dilan sighed at the sight, stepping forward and the others noticed, looking behind them.

"It's time?" Armin asked after a moment of hesitation. Dilan smiled sadly.

"It's time." She confirmed. Armin and Mikasa nodded, standing up, while Eren stayed where he was, staring into the streams of water. "Let me talk to him." Dilan whispered. Armin smiled and nodded while Mikasa hesitated before letting it go.

The two teens moved to pass her when she stopped them, putting a hand on either one of their shoulders.

"Know your limits today. Take it from me. We're all angry and we all want her cut down but don't let your emotions get the better of you or it could cost you your life. Think things through, stay levelheaded and we'll survive the day. Hopefully the bitch will be in chains by the end of it." Dilan said seriously. Determination filled their eyes.

Mikasa gave a nod of understanding before walking off.

Armin lingered.

"Maybe it's not my place but… I ask that you take your own advice, Major." Armin spoke boldly. Dilan raised an eyebrow. "I want you to survive the day too, is all." He added. Dilan smiled.

"You think me reckless, Arlet?" She asked with a smirk. Armin chuckled softly.

"Perhaps. Sneaking out the wall with the Maria citizens was reckless. Not that I'm not grateful for what you did for my Grandpa and all those other people, but it was a risky move. Had the MP's caught you there could have been serious consequences." Armin pointed out. Dilan smiled.

This sure is a smart kid.

She was impressed to hear that a lot of the plan today was thought up by Armin. Erwin only tweaked it in areas. It was clear the boy had brains and knew what to do with them.

"Hm. You're right. I suppose you've figured me out Armin. I give great advice, but I rarely take it. I'm too stubborn for that. Try as I might, circumstances always appear that I can't account for. In that moment, the split-second decision between life and death, I always certainly chose the reckless path as long as I believe it to be the right one." Dilan admitted. Armin's eyes widened slightly.

"L-like when you saved me from that titan…" He said in awe. Dilan smiled, squeezing his shoulder.

"There are times to be reckless, Armin. Today is not one of those days. Think clearly, survive and win. Don't be like me, okay? It's the best advice I can give you." Dilan said. Armin looked at her in surprise for a moment before his face softened and he smiled.

"I'll do my best, Major." He agreed. Dilan nodded in approval.

"Good. Get going, we'll be along shortly." She suggested. Armin nodded and started catching up with Mikasa. Dilan watched them go for a moment, wishing such young people didn't have to deal with this shit. She sighed and turned back to Eren, walking over and leaning her shoulder against the same tree he was sitting down against, ruffling the boys hair. "Hey kid. What's eating you?" She asked gently.

Eren cracked slightly, his stoic expression gone now that his friends weren't looking at him. His emerald eyes welled with tears and he hung his head.

"I can't do it, Dilan." He whispered shakily. "I-I'm a failure…" He sniffed. Dilan sighed and knelt down, pulling Eren into a hug, shushing him gently as he let out a small sob.

"You're scared of losing more people." Dilan whispered. Eren sniffed and nodded. "I'm scared too, kid." She admitted.

"Y-you are?" He asked shakily. Dilan hummed softly, patting his back while he calmed down.

"It's okay to be scared, Eren." She comforted.

"But I failed! I failed the squad, w-what if today more people die because I make the wrong choices again?! How do I know what's right?" He asked, overwhelmed by all the possible outcomes of todays mission. Dilan could get it, but it wasn't productive to go down that rabbit hole of dark thought.

It helps no one and shits on your confidence.

"You can't. You can't and it sucks Eren. At the end of the day you will make choices. There aren't really any right or wrong ones. Just ones you regret more than the other. You didn't fail the squad, okay? We already talked about this. You were there and you did your best, so I know you did them proud." She said seriously and Eren choked out another small sob. "Whatever happens today, whether we win or lose. I know you won't fail anyone because you're like me. Despite our fears, we show up. And if you're there for the people that need you, if you try your hardest, you won't have failed." Dilan encouraged, meaning it. Honestly, she probably needed to hear that as much as Eren did.

Eren took a few shaky breaths before loosening his death grip on her and pulling back, rubbing his eyes. He smiled.

"You're right. I can do this. I have to do this… for them." Eren said seriously. Dilan felt her eyes gloss over slightly and she nodded, standing up and offering a hand.

"For them." She agreed. Eren nodded and took the hand. She pulled him up and they started walking back. "I'm proud of you, kid." She praised. Eren smiled, his green eyes growing in determination.

"I'll do my best to keep you proud of me." He replied strongly. Dilan chuckled.

"I know you will."


A few hours later and it was time.

They were in Sina, getting into their positions. Levi was far away in the city centre with Erwin, and Dilan could admit, the second she saw his carriage ride away from theirs, she panicked and had to fight against a very strong urge to run after him, but she remembered her conversation with Hanji and then her conversation with Eren.

She had to do this because there were people relying on her.

And so, the plan was about to commence. There were three plans in total. Dilan was part of plan A, hidden in the rooftops with her squad and a few others. Armin had just run off to find Annie and bait her back to the checkpoint. Eren and Mikasa were waiting down below for their friend to return. Levi and Erwin were in the centre with Jean who was pretending to be Eren, very reluctantly Dilan might add.

When Hanji handed him a brown wig, Dilan couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped her lips at the look on his face. It was priceless and she needed a bit of humour today, so she was grateful to the kid for being so fucking dramatic all the time.

In a way, Jean reminded her of Oluo. Just a whole lot less entitled.

Swallowing down the sharp stab of pain that hit her heart, she took a breath and clutched the side of her jacket. She wasn't sure how many times she had done that today and she didn't know how many times she would end up doing it today. If Levi hadn't given her a piece of them back, she wasn't sure if she would be keeping it together right now.

Especially when Armin returned with Leonhart and Dilan had an urgent need to gut her.

Not yet, Dil.

"Major, is that her?" Jamie whispered next to her. They were all positioned on the rooftops, watching. Other squads were hiding, dressed like civilians. They were the backup plan to plan A.

Yes, they were being paranoid, but Dilan was grateful.

If the kids got her inside, there was a squad down there to intercept Annie and take her down where they would be able to question her in the underground. Or rather, they could question her...

Dilan would be torturing.

She had some real psychopathic plans for this bitch. And yet, they still needed proof first. But if Annie refused to go in the tunnel, it was pretty obvious why and all the proof that Dilan needed.

She would make the order and the squads on the ground would grab her, hold her still. Dilan's squad would move in shortly after and she would be able to get the bitch kneeling. No matter what they couldn't let her transform. That was the sole purpose of plan A. Plan B and C is where it gets messy and Dilan was really too tired for that.

"Yeah. Stay sharp. Be ready to intercept." Dilan ordered, hands on her blades. Her squad nodded, equally serious. They copied her position, ready to attack if she gave the word while Jamie subtly used his blade reflecting off the light to signal to the other roof squads to hold their current position.

Dilan watched the kids interact. After a moment of chatter, Eren, Armin and Mikasa started walking down the tunnel.

Annie stayed at the top and Dilan clenched her jaw.

She wanted to move but it wasn't enough. Besides, the kids were still in the splash zone. Dilan would only be able to move when they retreated down the tunnel to meet with the other squads. Dilan didn't want to be worrying about them.

All her energy needed to be focused on killing-

-ugh fine.

All her energy needed to be focused on apprehending the bitch.

"Do we move?" Thomas asked, glancing at her. Dilan pursed her lips. The kids were yelling at each other, but Dilan couldn't make out what it was about. Regardless of Annie's true nature, they weren't moving. She shook her head to Thomas and kept watching.

"Follow the plan, dumbasses. One of you give the fucking signal." Dilan mumbled under her breath in annoyance. Then it happened.

A flare was fired. The signal.

It was her. That bitch killed her squad.

"NOW!" Dilan yelled as the kids started sprinting down the tunnel. The floor squads advanced as Dilan's dove towards her. A twisted grin came to her face as scouts dressed as civilians pounced on her. She was strong but they held her limbs firm. A gag was tied around her mouth too. There was no possible way she could hurt herself and transform.

Pleased with Erwin's dumb plan for once, Dilan landed and ran towards her, the squad a little behind. Then her eyes caught a flash of metal, and she saw something that made blood run cold.

The bitch had a failsafe.

In the next five seconds, everything went to shit.

1…

"GET BACK! RETREAT!" Dilan ordered to those on the ground still holding the ticking time bomb.

2…

She whistled to get her squads attention as they were still running after her, raising her arm to the sky and their eyes widened at the urgent command she had taught them on the wall to get back, using their gas to fly straight up instantly, hooking back up on top of the building, following her orders to the T.

Unfortunately, the other soldiers weren't as well trained.

"FUCKING IDIOTS! MOVE!" Dilan yelled, still advancing towards them despite her better judgement. She had a few seconds to save their lives.

3…

"WE'VE GOT HER, MAJOR!" A squad leader yelled, fighting against her struggling. "SHE'S WEAK IN HUMAN FORM!" He grinned. Dilan grabbed the two people closest to her and shoved them hard. They stumbled and Dilan was quick to trigger the gas on their 3DMG so they went flying backwards away from the danger. They yelped in surprise but managed to get control of their gear and hooked onto a building.

4…

Dilan turned back to hopefully help some others since they still weren't fucking running, but the time wasn't given to her.

Annie caught her eyes and Dilan watched with fury as she tilted her head and smirked before digging the ring, that only Dilan had noticed, into her flesh. Dilan jumped back but it was too late.

5…

Lighting struck down and the monster transformed.

EREN'S P.O.V.

He couldn't believe it. It just couldn't be Annie. Why was she making this so hard, all she had to do was come down the tunnel with them? All she had to do was prove them wrong and that would be the end of it. Why was she messing with them?

It wasn't funny.

Eren had known her for three years. There was just no way. There was no way she killed his squad. There was no way she'd caused Dilan all that pain. Because if she did Eren would be forced to put her down and he didn't want to put his friend down. He couldn't!

"ANNIE PLEASE! YOU'VE TAKEN THIS JOKE FAR ENOUGH! JUST TELL US THIS IS SOME KIND OF HORRIBLE PRANK! IT'S NOT TOO LATE! COME ON, WE'LL UNDERSTAND! COME DOWN LET'S TALK!" Eren demanded, stepping closer.

He knew he was diverting from the plan and Dilan was likely pissed at him by now. She'd admitted to Armin's allegations and she wasn't coming down the tunnel. It was enough evidence, and they were supposed to be running so Dilan and the others could engage without risking them getting hurt but… he just couldn't believe it.

No, he refused to believe it!

"YOU CAN PROVE TO US THAT WE'RE MISTAKEN BY WALKING DOWN THESE STAIRS! PROVE WE'RE WRONG TO ACCUSE YOU!" He pleaded desperately. Looking behind Annie he saw orange eyes glaring down at the blonde girl in front of them. They didn't have much more time before Dilan acted and Annie would be doomed. And yet, Eren knew Dilan wouldn't act prematurely and risk his safety.

She would wait for the signal for now, but they were pushing their luck as it was.

"We both know I can't. Like I told you, I don't have the constitution for it." She replied softly, staring at the ground with a distant expression. Eren shifted in panic. With every second that went by Annie's fate was being sealed.

"ANNIE STOP! WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!" Eren begged.

Petra, Eld, Gunther, Oluo! In such a short time they became important to him. Their deaths broke something in him, and he'd barely known them a month. To Dilan they were family. You could see it in her eyes, just how utterly crushed she was.

There was no way Annie did that to her!

"WORK WITH US ANNIE! WE CAN REASON THIS OUT LIKE HUMAN BEINGS!" Armin chimed in, desperate to stop this too. Dilan wasn't going to wait much longer.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was impatient. Mikasa stepped forward and unsheathed her blade, spitting out a threat, murder in her eyes. Eren could quickly see this was falling away from them.

Annie started laughing hysterically and Eren felt his blood run cold.

"You know Armin, it's nice that I could be… a good person for you. For now, at least, it looks like you won your bet. But… I'm going to gamble too. And here's my wager!" Annie grinned, raising her finger to her mouth and Eren's eyes widened.

It was true.

Armin fired the flare, better late than never, and the squads acted fast after hearing a command from their Major, running towards her and pulling her limbs away from her mouth. A gag was tied around her and she was restrained but struggling.

Eren took a step towards her, still in disbelief but Mikasa held him back.

"GET BACK! RETREAT!" Eren heard Dilan yell and suddenly Mikasa's eyes locked in on something, she gasped, her eyes going wide before grabbing them both, sprinting down the stairs. "FUCKING IDIOTS! MOVE!"

"What are you-!" Armin asked her in shock.

"WE'VE GOT HER MAJOR! SHE'S WEAK IN HUMAN FORM!" One of the squad leaders yelled back.

"It's too late." Mikasa replied gravely and Eren's eyes widened, glancing back at Annie in time to see Dilan grab the first couple men she could and throwing them behind her before Annie held her arm out and cut herself on a sharp extension of her silver ring.

Dilan jumped back but it wasn't far enough.

"NO WAIT-!" Eren struggled but Mikasa was stronger.

Lighting struck down, crushing all of them.

"DILAN! LET GO! WE NEED TO GO BACK AND HELP HER!" Eren yelled as he was dragged away from the entrance.

Just in time too as a foot stomped down, crushing some bodies into the floor. The three stared at them in horror for a moment before Eren refocused and made for the entrance. He needed to find Dilan and make sure she was okay. It was his fault for waiting so long. If he had stuck to the plan maybe they could have caught Annie more of guard. Maybe all those men wouldn't be dead.

Maybe Dilan would be safe instead of potentially being smeared into the ground.

He made the wrong choice again. He failed her.

"EREN WAIT!" Armin yelled but Mikasa grabbed him again before he got to close.

"There's no time!" Mikasa said, pulling him away as a giant titan hand started peeking through the opening and lunging at them.

Reluctantly, Eren ran.

"We need to find a way out there! We need to find her!" Eren yelled as they sprinted.

"Eren, it's likely she's dead. Worry about yourself." Mikasa replied seriously and Eren was starting to panic.

"SHE CAN'T BE DEAD!" Eren yelled at her. He wouldn't lose another one. It may have only been a month, but she was as much of a family to him as Armin and Mikasa were. "I'M NOT JUST GOING TO GIVE UP ON HER BECAUSE YOU SAY SO!" He continued.

"Eren think logically!" Armin interrupted and Eren looked at him as they ran. "That blast was enormous. Even if she wasn't vaporised, she's been crushed by debris for sure." Armin said gravely and Eren's eyes widened.

"You don't know that-!"

"I'm not saying we should give up on her!" Armin cut him off. "I'm saying dead or not, Dilan is likely hurt. The squads are gone and without her, it's unlikely any of the scouts are going to be able to take the thing down. Captain Levi is injured. You are our only hope. We have to switch to plan B now, there isn't time to search through the wreckage and find Dilan." Armin swallowed. Eren looked at him in horror.

"You just want to abandon her!?"

"Does it look like I want to!? It's our only choice! If Dilan was here, she would tell you to straighten up and sort your priorities out! You have people relying on you! If you don't do something, everyone is dead!" Armin yelled, tears glossing over in his eyes and Eren knew he was as worried about Dilan as he was. They just had more important things to focus on.

They had people relying on them.

"Whatever happens today, whether we win or lose. I know you won't fail anyone because you're like me. Despite our fears, we show up. And if you're there for the people that need you, if you try your hardest, you won't have failed." Dilan encouraged.

He had to do what was right, even if it killed him. In order to make Dilan proud, he had to focus on the fight. He had to believe that she would be okay. That she would show up like he was, despite their fears.

Taking a shaky breath, he steeled himself, nodding.

"Alright. The question now is what do we do next." Mikasa refocused. They looked to Armin, the obvious strategist of the group. Eren had known him for a long time. His mind was parallel to Commander Erwin and the Titan Ripper, themselves.

"Okay. First, we rendezvous with squad 3. Then get the hell above ground, get tabs on the situation. It didn't look like Dilan's squad was anywhere near the blast. I say we find them, maybe we'll find Dilan too. Then we can fight Annie out in the open, which means we'll be switching to plan B." Armin decided and Eren was both relieved and worried. In a way, he was still getting his wish for finding Dilan, her squad might know where she is. But if they were switching plans…

He was up.

"She's all yours Eren. Got it?!" Armin asked for confirmation. Eren wished he would have Dilan to help him fight like it was originally intended if they had to switch to plan B, but clearly that wasn't an option anymore.

He had to do this on his own.

"Yeah." Eren confirmed, reluctantly.

"OVER HERE!"

"Squad three!" Armin yelled, raising a hand.

"Hey, what happened!? Is plan A a no go?!" He asked.

"Afraid so, yes! As of now we're going with the back up option. The Major's down so we'll need all the squads we can get to assist Eren in taking her down!" Armin summarised.

"Understood-!" He started but was cut off by a crumbling before the entire ceiling collapsed on the three men.

Eren gasped as a cloud of black smoke blew towards them, coughing painfully as it cleared. The men were crushed under a pile of rubble.

"We've got to pull them out of there!" Eren yelled, moving towards them. Mikasa grabbed his hood and dragged him back.

"Eren get back!"

"What! No-wait!" He said shakily, Annie's figure looming in the distance.

If she was roaming about like this then it was clear.

If Dilan wasn't dead, she was too hurt to fight.

They were truly on their own.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

They'd been going for a while now with no trouble. When they reached Sina, the MP's latched onto them, swarming around with pathetic little riffles, playing soldier. Like any of those rifles would really do a great deal of difference if Eren had decided to transform.

Of course, that's what he was here for. Not that they knew he was off the front lines right now due to his injury. But then again, they didn't know that horse-faced cadet was taking Eren's place in the carriage either.

As he said, things were going smoothly. So far.

Levi looked out the window at the fancy buildings they passed by. He couldn't help but be reminded of the time he and Dilan spent in Sina. What a perfect night they had. Why did that feel so long ago? Like a different time. A peaceful moment they were never going to be able to claw back no matter how hard they tried.

Like the rest of their lives were just going to be blood and death.

No, Levi refused to believe that. They would get that peace back. He would do anything to get Dilan the life she deserved.

"So…" Erwin spoke for the first time since they left the castle and Levi glanced over to him with dulled eyes. "Finally told her, huh?" He asked, the smallest of smirks on his lips. Levi glared at him.

Of course, the bastard wouldn't deny himself this little conversation. Even in the middle of a battle.

"It was cowardly to wait until Dilan was halfway across Sina before speaking up. Are you really that afraid of her?" Levi replied, bored, he crossed his arms. Erwin chuckled, rubbing his neck.

"Miss Church sticks to her threats. She told me she would slit my throat if I said a word. Waiting until she couldn't hear me seemed wise." He replied, looking out of the window.

"And you don't think I will?" Levi asked dryly. Erwin smiled.

"No. You're the logical one. I imagine you have protected me from her a number of times." Erwin mentioned and Levi couldn't deny that. It was almost funny how many times Dilan had attempted or intended to attempt Erwin's murder and Levi had held her back.

"If I'm the logical one, why did you ask her to be your strategist?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow. Erwin smiled, looking at him.

"Because she's smarter than you." Erwin replied slyly and Levi glared at him. He wasn't offended by the words, more the tone that the bastard was using.

Because Levi agreed with him. Dilan was smarter than him. Dilan was the smartest person he had ever met. The way her mind works, the way it moves so quickly has never failed to amaze him. She makes dumb decisions sometimes and her common sense is shot to hell. But if they were talking about battle strategy, her mind was unmatched.

Erwin had taken a while to realise it, but from his offer, it was clear his denial had cleared.

"She's smarter than you too." Levi pointed out. Erwin laughed lightly, rubbing his forehead.

"In a way, I agree with you. It was during our failed capture of the female titan that it hit me. Dilan figured out her intentions instantly. She ran through every possibility and knew what order to give. While I… well, I just gave the obvious one. Engaging when I did cost us her capture, cost you your squad and I apologise for that, Levi." Erwin said sincerely and Levi clenched his jaw, ignoring the pain.

He sighed and looked out the window.

"In the moment, if Dilan was the commander, I'm almost certain the female titan would be in our custody right now." Erwin mumbled. Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Intending on giving up your post?" Levi asked. Erwin chuckled.

"Heavens no. I'm not done yet; I still have a goal to reach." He replied before looking back at him. "But I was enlightened in that moment. Me and Dilan may not see eye to eye, but she has a gift I have chosen to ignore over the years. She's immature, naive and makes incomprehensibly stupid decisions-"

"Watch it, Erwin." Levi warned and Erwin smiled.

"My apologies. What I was trying to say is that she's too moral. I spend my time obsessing over the bigger picture, but she lives in the moment, taking in every detail. It's why she catches things before others, and it's why she's so quick to think through every possibility. She does it so she can save as many lives as possible." Erwin said seriously and Levi's eyes widened a fraction.

Erwin looked out the window again.

"In all honestly, Levi, I intend to use her. I want her ideas, strategies, her quick thinking in the heat of battle. But when she tries to persuade me to do the right thing. To avoid sacrifice, I doubt I will listen." Erwin admitted honestly. Levi wondered why the commander was confiding all of this in him. Surely, he knew it would go straight back to Dilan.

"Maybe you'll be surprised. She's rather persuasive." Levi replied after a moment of silence. If anyone was going to change the commander's way of thinking it was the brat.

Erwin smiled, closing his eyes.

"I fear my heart is too black to listen to reason. It's too late for my morality to shift. I am condemned." He replied.

"If you think like that, then you're right. But I'm not letting you drag Dilan into your sick games. She… she just-"

"She cares." Erwin finished for him. Levi clenched his jaw. It hurt how much that was true. Levi often thought that Dilan cared too much about other people in order to make up for the lack of care she gives herself. It made his heart ache, but it was her and he loved everything about her.

"That's fucking right. She cares too much for her own fucking good. She's nothing like you Erwin… she's nothing like us and I'd like it to stay that way." Levi said seriously. Erwin smiled.

There was silence for a moment.

"I'm glad you told her, Levi. You seem… unburdened." Erwin commented. Levi scoffed.

"I wouldn't say unburdened is the word I would use in this current situation." He pointed out, raking a hand through his hair. Erwin chuckled.

"Perhaps not. And yet, I can see it. You seem lighter than you were." Erwin continued. Levi sighed, glancing at the sky through the window. It was such a nice day. It was a shame he was wasting it with Erwin. Maybe he could take Dilan on another picnic soon. She seemed to enjoy their last one.

"Look, I doubt that she'll end up accepting your offer… but if she does…" Levi looked at him. "You better not hurt her." He said seriously. Erwin stared at him for a moment.

"I don't intend to, Levi. She may hate me, and I'll admit, I'm not her biggest fan, but I respect her and you. This isn't another scheme to hurt her, you or your relationship. I just feel my approach could use some changing. Perhaps she'll be more persuasive then I think." Erwin replied, equally serious.

Levi felt satisfied enough with that answer. He'd talk it through with Dilan, see what she wants to do.

Suddenly there was a blast in the distance and Levi looked out the window. His eyes widened as he watched the lighting strike down from the heavens.

Annie transformed…

Which meant Dilan had to fight.

JEAN'S P.O.V.

Jean grit his teeth in annoyance. This was so fucking stupid. He looked nothing like that ugly bastard Yeager. Why was he here? He wanted to be outside. He wanted to help.

Annie had clearly transformed. Plan B should be in motion.

"Nile! Deploy all troops immediately, we should assume that a titan has already appeared." Jean heard Commander Erwin's muffled voice through the carriage door. He looked out of the window to see he and Captain Levi had stepped outside to confront the MP's.

"Are you out of your mind!? This is wall Sina, there's no way a titan would just show up here." He scoffed and Jean rolled his eyes. He knew now was his chance. The gig was up, the disguise was of no further used to them. He could only hope that when he broke it that Captain Levi wouldn't kick his ass for disobeying orders.

He stood up and opened the door, hopping out, immediately alerting the attention of an MP, who tried to stop him.

"Hey! Who told you to move, Yeager?" He yelled and Jean growled.

"How about this damn wig said I could moron!" He yelled, ripping the poor disguise off of his head. The look of utter shock on his face was priceless but he didn't have time to savour it. "Call me Yeager again and it's your ass, you got that!"

Jean ran over to the commander, asking for the plan. He wanted to help in any way that he could. He wanted to find the others. Sitting around doing nothing was the MP's job. He couldn't believe there was a point in his life where he was dying to be one. Trost changed everything.

Marco… he changed everything.

"Ask squad four for equipment." He replied.

"Sir!"


Jean got to where Eren, Mikasa and Armin were supposed to lead Annie and take her down the gateway to the underground and his eyes widened at the amount of destruction that had taken place. The whole square had been reduced to rubble.

Annie was fighting some squads up ahead but Jean couldn't see any of his comrades so he hoped he would find some answers here. If anything, he hoped they weren't already dead.

He saw a group of people shifting through debris on his right in the distance and his eyes widened. Did someone get crushed under that giant pile?! If they had, surely, they were dead.

What was the point of looking?

"EREN!" Armin's voice yelled and Jean's eyes flicked towards the noise, finding Armin desperately searching through debris on his left, swooping down towards him. "EREN TALK TO ME! WAKE UP!"

"Armin! What the hell's going on?!" Jean asked as he landed, running over to them.

"Help me! He's stuck in here!" Armin cried and Jean's eyes widened seeing Eren crushed under the weight of a slap of concrete.

"Why didn't he just turn into a titan?!" Jean asked.

"He couldn't transform. I-I think there's something holding him back from being able to take on Annie." Armin replied. His eyes widened.

"What?"

"We'll worry about that when he's safe. Help me get him out!" Armin strained as he lifted the slab. Jean grit his teeth in utter anger and annoyance, storming towards the suicidal maniac.

"That's it! Enough of your bullshit Eren! Did I or did I not tell you this day would eventually come! Look at yourself, our fates in your hands. We're out there putting our lives on the line and this is all we can expect from our last best hope. Is this what Marco… what he… damnit." Jean choked.

"DILAN!" A girl's voice yelled. Jean's head shot up. Dilan was here? Maybe she could turn this around if Eren was out of commission.

"D-Dilan's alive?" Armin whispered and Jean looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean Dilan's alive? Why do you sound so surprised?" Jean asked quickly.

"She-she got crushed from the blast… or at least I thought she did…" Armin muttered.

"MAJOR ARE YOU IN THERE!?" Another voice yelled.

Jean's eyes suddenly widened. That group of people searching for someone…

Dilan was under that rubble.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

It was dark. She felt hot and sweaty. The air was thick and tasted like cement.

More than that, her stomach was wet. Wet and warm. She knew that feeling and she knew it well.

Blood.

Coughing, Dilan managed to open her eyes, her vision spinning slightly as it adjusted to the dark. She took a deep breath, immediately regretting it as a pain shot through her nerves, a strong pulsing in her side and she coughed again. She closed her eyes and took a few smaller breaths to stabilise herself before refocusing on where she was and what was happening.

It looked like she was in a cave, but she knew that to be impossible. Focusing in on the finer detail she picked out the jagged ends of concrete and metal pipes and realised she was being crushed under a pile of debris.

Delightful.

Sighing in annoyance she shifted slightly, biting her lip to muffle a grunt of pain. It seemed the debris hadn't crushed her completely. Her right leg was lodged underneath some heavy shit, but the rest of her body was unburdened, like in a little air pocket. It was stuffy as hell and she knew she would run out of oxygen eventually but right now her situation was decent. Dilan lent her head back again and assessed herself.

She could wiggle her toes, so she knew she wasn't paralysed. Her leg hurt but not enough for anything to be broken so she would take that as a win. Wincing, she patted her hands up from her knees with the little space she had, feeling a few nasty scratches but nothing that bad. When she got to her stomach, she knew she had a problem.

The left side of her shirt was soaked through with blood.

"Fucking brilliant." Dilan rolled her eyes, untucking her shirt, she felt around, spitting out a variety of colourful curses until she found the wound. It was in her side, just above her hip bone. If she could guess, she'd say a metal pipe punctured it because it was too deep to be a scratch.

Gritting her teeth, she slowly arched her back and felt underneath, tears stinging her eyes as she felt her side.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck." She whined, her body aching like crazy. But on the bright side, there was no exit wound so whatever stabbed her didn't go all the way through. Carefully lowering herself down, she closed her eyes and took a few shaky breaths.

So much for promising Levi to be careful. She was down in the first fucking five minutes of the fight.

"Pathetic, Dil. You're better than this." She scolded herself, wiping some blood out of her eye. It seemed she had some sort of head injury too. The good news was her mind was sound enough to decide it wasn't a concussion. Still this was embarrassing. She hadn't been injured like this in a long time.

Dilan heard another crash from the outside and her eyes widened.

She needed to get out of here. People needed her help. If Annie transformed that meant plan B was a go. She and Eren were plan B! And she was hiding away under some fucking concrete.

Buried alive. What a way to go.

"DILAN!" A familiar voice screamed.

"MAJOR! ARE YOU IN THERE?!" Another yelled.

"DIL PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!" She heard a cry.

Her eyes widened. Her squad. They were alive, that was good.

"Guys-" She coughed. Her throat felt like sandpaper. Probably a result of breathing in all this dust.

Her lungs were shot to hell.

She looked around, knowing calling for them wasn't an option. Her eyes flicked over to a broken off piece of pipe and she smirked, gritting her teeth as she stretched her hand out for the thing, lodged by her left leg. The pain in her stomach threatened to push her back down and make her pass out but she ignored it, grabbing the pipe, wiggling and tugging it with a dusty hand until it was free, tensing as she felt the structure shift slightly.

This was nowhere near stable.

Dilan took a few laboured breaths, feeling the sweat curdle with the blood and drip down her face.

It was getting harder to breathe.

With a heavy hand, she lifted the pipe, prayed to god the blocks of cement weren't going to suddenly crash down on her, and struck it against another piece of metal, creating a loud clang that stung her sensitive ears. Dilan didn't give two shits. She was getting out of here.

She hit it again.

Again.

Again.

Each movement, creating a stabbing pain in her stomach that radiated through her entire body and Dilan felt sick, but she kept going. Thankfully it wasn't long before her squad heard her. She didn't think she would be able to keep that up much longer.

"SHE'S HERE! GUYS!" Caden yelled.

"HURRY!" Grace yelled.

"Is that-?!" A vaguely family voice spoke, full of horror. More muffled speaking and Dilan felt woozy. It felt like she was breathing through a pillow, barely any air was reaching her lungs.

"The Major, she's in there!?" Another spoke. "GET HER OUT!"

"WE'RE TRYING!" Thomas shot back, sounding pissed off.

There was a slight shift and Dilan coughed as the ceiling crumbled slightly, more dust pouring down on her. This suddenly seemed like a bad idea. They might get to her, but the ceiling was going to collapse before they did.

It seems the others realised the same thing.

"Fuck! What do we do?! We move this and it could crush her!"

There was silence and Dilan wished she could tell them to give up and refocus. They were wasting them with her. Eren needed help and her squad were probably some of the best trained soldiers here. Come to think of it, had Eren even transformed? She hadn't heard a second strike but maybe that was because she was passed out.

"I know! Wait here!" A voice that Dilan suddenly recognised.

Armin.

Why was Armin here? He needed to be with the others. With Eren.

Clearing her throat best she could, Dilan mustered some strength.

"Armin!" Dilan yelled, hoping her raspy voice would get through.

"Dilan?! Can you hear us?!" Jean's spoke frantically and Dilan coughed.

"P-plan C- fuck-" She coughed again, putting pressure on her pulsing side as more dust crumbled down after a large bang in the distance and the structure shifted again.

"DILAN ARE YOU OKAY?!" Grace panicked.

"MAJOR! Please we need orders! How can we help you-?" Caden tried but Dilan cut him off.

"PLAN C IS YOUR MAIN PRIORITY! LEAVE ME!" She yelled in a strained yet loud voice and it clearly got through as there was a moment of stunned silence.

"She's right, Armin, we have to get going. We're the only ones that can lead her to the trap." Jean said gravely.

Silence.

"I know… just, let me try one more thing. One more thing and we'll go!" Armin's yelled before Dilan heard boots pounding on cement as he ran away.

Dilan sighed in relief, hoping they would refocus on what was important.

"Dil we'll find a way! Just hang on!" Jamie yelled.

"Dilan?!"

The words of her squad started getting jumbled up. Her breathing was so heavy she couldn't hear anything else apart from the ringing in her ears. A moment passed and Dilan felt her eyes starting to blacken. Her lungs were full of dust, there wasn't enough air. She was going to pass out. She was going to bleed out. She was going to die.

Panic started to kick in.

She wasn't ready…

She didn't want to go yet.

She had a life to live. With him… She promised…

ARMINS'S P.O.V.

Armin's eyes were wide in hope as he sprinted back across the crumbled courtyard towards the pile of rubble where Eren was, hearing Jean closely on his tail. Perhaps he shouldn't be wasting his time on a long shot but he couldn't help himself because Dilan was right.

Now wasn't the time for recklessness.

But from a strategic standpoint, trying to continue this fight without the help of Dilan or Eren was suicide.

They needed them if the scouts were going to pull this off.

"Armin! Where are you going?!" Jean called behind him. Armin didn't have the time to reply, steadying himself as the earth shook and another loud bang erupted in the distance. He could hear Dilan's squad screaming at her in the background. It sounded as though she had stopped responding.

He needed to make this quick.

Jumping over some rubble and clawing his way back to where Eren was being trapped, Armin lifted another slab of debris to get back to Eren.

"Eren! Eren wake up!" He begged, shaking his shoulder. Dazed green eyes cracked open.

"Armin what the hell-" Jean hissed as he caught up.

"Dilan is alive. You hear me, Eren? Dilan is alive! She made it, she survived!" Armin informed seriously, pleased as Eren's eyes cracked open wider. It was a good start. The truth was, Eren was a simple person. Armin had known him for years so he knew how the boy worked. Sure his speech about abandoning his humanity in order to fight Annie was good advice and something Eren will have to consider moving forward.

But in order to fight. To pick himself up and keep going, Eren didn't need strategy.

He needed a motivation.

"D-Dilans..." He muttered weakly.

It had been this way ever since they were kids. It didn't matter how much of a lousy fighter he was or how many bullies he was up against. When someone needed help, Eren found the motivation, found the strength to push back. And he always gave it everything he had.

To protect and to defend his family.

"Eren listen to me. The blast didn't kill her but she was buried under a building. She's not going to last much longer Eren, but you can save her, you hear me?" Armin shook his shoulder again as Eren's head dropped slightly in exhaustion. "You can save her Eren! Transform! If you don't then Dilan will die, understand?!" He yelled. "You couldn't save your mum! You couldn't save her back then because you were weak! You were just a weak kid but things are different now! You can protect Dilan. You can protect your family so just transform and do it! Fight!" Armin urged desperately as another crash sounded in the distance.

Defeat made it's way onto Armin's expression as Eren's eyes slowly closed once again and his body fell limp.

It didn't work.

He was so sure it would work.

"Armin..." Jean whispered.

They looked up as there was a crash and a slab of stone came flying at them, barely making it out of the crater before the bolder sized object crashed down, covering Eren with more debris. Armin's eyes widened, looking between Dilan and Eren's directions in horror.

"I... really thought it would work. The way Eren talks about her, defends her… she's like a sister to him." Armin whispered. Jean helped him up, looking at Annie.

"It's too late Armin. We have to go." Jean pointed out. Armin sighed, glancing at Eren regretfully before nodding.

And with that they flew off towards Annie.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

The space got smaller with every shake of the earth. Dust was pouring in from all cracks as light continued to disappear and the squads voices got quieter and quieter. She could feel the pressure starting to build on her legs and hear the collapse of the structure.

She was being buried alive.

Dilan's air had just about ran out, and was slowly being dragged towards unconsciousness, when suddenly there was a loud crash and an even louder roar, that had her flinching and wincing. Her eyes snapped open as a handful of concrete was pulled off her in one go and she coughed painfully, wheezing as she was finally allowed a decent amount of oxygen.

She squinted her eyes open and they adjusted to the bright light to stare into giant vivid green orbs.

Eren.

His titan dropped the crumbled-up pile of debris before reaching in again and picking Dilan up. He was getting better at controlling that thing every day. He lifted her up to his face to look at her and Dilan chuckled painfully.

"Go, you, giant shit. Stop wasting time. I'll catch up." She smirked tiredly, holding her bleeding side. Eren nodded and set her back down on the floor where the others ran over to her. Dilan watched with pride as Eren ran off, in hot pursuit of the female titan. "Go get her, kid." She smiled.

"DILAN!" Caden yelled as they made it over to her, skidding onto his knees to help her up. She looked around for Armin and Jean, pleased to find they were gone. Hopefully plan C would work but something told Dilan it was unlikely.

"Fuck, Dil. This looks deep." Grace commented, pulling up her shirt slightly to look at the dripping wound. Dilan sighed.

"Anyone got some water?" She mumbled, closing her eyes while she thought of a plan.

The solution came to her quickly, but it was really fucking stupid.

The type of stupid that wouldn't even grant Hanji's approval, and that woman is bat-shit insane.

Oh well.

Someone passed her a water cannister and she opened her eyes, gulping some down before pouring it over her head and stomach, clenching her jaw through the pain as all the dust and blood washed away. She grabbed a blade and held it up, looking at the reflection of her orange eyes in the steel.

"This is going to hurt like a motherfucker." Dilan mumbled to herself.

The group looked at her hesitantly.

"Dilan… what are you going to do?" Jamie asked reluctantly. She smirked at them tiredly.

"You'll see. Tom, grab that stick, dip it in the gas that's leaking from that building find a way to get it lit." Dilan ordered, sitting up a bit more with some help from Caden who was supporting her from behind. Thomas paled slightly, smart enough to figure out what she was planning. But he knew her better than to object, standing up to go and do exactly what he was told.

She had lost too much blood already. There was no time for a medic. Not if she wanted to survive and definitely not if she want to get back out in the field and finish this.

"D-Dilan, what-?" Caden asked.

"Jamie, if you could run into one of the buildings still standing and grab some alcohol, that would be great. Any will do, just make it quick." Dilan ordered. He blinked.

"Dil-?"

"Now, Jamie." Dilan gave him a look, holding her bleeding side and he jumped, running off into the nearest stable building. Dilan watched Thomas stuck the makeshift torch into some flames that had resulted from the explosion.

"Dilan, we need to take you to a medic." Caden said.

"There's no time for a medic, kid." Dilan replied.

"What are you planning, Major?" Grace asked seriously. Dilan smiled, closing her eyes and leaning her head back on Caden's shoulder, too tired to keep herself upright.

"That would be a secret." She whispered weakly.

"Major, I found some wine. Why aren't we taking you to a hospital?!" He yelled at her in panic. Dilan chuckled a bit, grabbing the half empty bottle and pulling out the cork with her teeth and spitting it out to swallow a decent amount, calming her nerves.

"I thought you were using that for sterilisation." Thomas scolded as he came back with the fire. Dilan rolled her eyes at him.

"Spoil sport." She teased and he cracked a small smile. He took the wine from her and Dilan lifted up her shirt enough to expose the wound. He looked at her for confirmation and she nodded, clenching her jaw as he tilted the bottle and the sharp fluid washed over her wound. "Fucking hell!" She groaned, throwing her head back.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Grace yelled at Thomas in horror, but he ignored her.

"Thomas stop! You're hurting her!" Caden hissed, making a move to snatch the bottle but Dilan grabbed his wrist. Her grasp was weak, but it stopped him.

She took a breath and nodded, and Thomas stopped with the alcohol, cleaning the blade best he could before starting to heat it over the fire. The others were clearly still confused, their terrified glances switching between what he was going and Dilan who was still bleeding out.

"Okay guys. L-listen to me, yeah? There's no time for a medic and I don't have the patience for one anyway. I need to get back in the game and this is the quickest way to do that." She started, trying to keep her voice even as she watched the silver heat up. The three blinked at her. "I don't think whatever stabbed me hit any major arteries. If I'm right this is a simple stitch job. We have no stitches, but this will work better anyway. When this shit is over, I'll go get looked at by a professional, but this is all we got right now." Dilan explained.

They looked at her in a stunned sort of horror.

"I think it's ready." Thomas informed and Dilan nodded in approval, shedding her jacket so it wouldn't get burnt. She looked at the emblems on the inside for support before setting them to the side.

"Alright, let's do this." Dilan agreed, rolling up her shirt to her ribs to get it out of the way.

"WHAT!? NO WAY!" Jamie yelled, breaking from the shock.

"THIS IS CRAZY!" Grace gasped.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Caden demanded, their faces twisted in panic.

Dilan chuckled, wincing.

"Not entirely. Now hold me down, I'm likely to fight you." She replied nonchalantly. The truth was the idea was less than appealing and she was silently shitting herself, but she couldn't freak out too.

Where would they be then?

"No, Dilan! This isn't okay, you need real medical attention. I'll carry you!" Jamie said seriously, worry in his eyes.

"Jamie, b-by the time I get to the medics I'll be dead. Levi's out of commission and Eren needs help. I'm not going to abandon him." She said seriously. They hesitated. "This is an command from your superior. Hold me down and try not to pass out." She ordered. If they were going to do this there was no time to waste.

They looked at her in disbelief and hesitated before giving in. There was no changing her mind when she got like this. Reluctantly, they held her down. Caden and Grace took an arm each while Jamie held her legs. She took a shaky breath before looking at Thomas.

"You okay to do this, bud?" Dilan asked. He gave a small reassuring smile.

"I'm fine. Focus on yourself for once, this is going to kill." He warned, holding the burning metal an inch above her wound and Dilan could feel the heat emitting onto her skin. She shivered.

Dilan took a breath, closed her eyes and smiled.

"I've felt worse. Fucking do it already." She replied, readying herself.

There was hesitation before the searing metal pressed to her skin and her nerves exploded in pure pain as the stench of burning flesh filled her lungs.

Dilan screamed bloody murder.

"MOTHER OF SHIT! FUCKING WALLS! ANNIE YOU PIECE OF SHIT, I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!" Dilan screamed, half yelling, half crying as tears filled her eyes and she tried to squirm away from the source of agony.

"S-should we stop?" Jamie whispered shakily, keeping pressure on her legs.

"DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING STOP!" Dilan shouted. She felt hot and simultaneously freezing. The pain was unimaginable, it was getting harder to think coherent thoughts.

"That's a no." Thomas replied to the redhead, pressing the metal harder against her and Dilan cried curses till her throat hurt.

She felt like she was going to throw up.

She felt like she was going to pass out.

But she forced herself to stay firm.

"Y-you're doing so well Dil." Grace comforted, emotion in her voice. Dilan wasn't going to last much longer.

"I-I can't-" She broke, needing it to end.

"Almost done. Hang on." Thomas reassured. Caden squeezed her hand for support and Dilan was on the verge of passing out before Thomas let up, pulling the source of pain away.

Dilan was breathing shakily, her eyes closed tight as she felt her skin bubble. She was covered in sweat, tears, blood, dust and alcohol.

"Dilan?" Jamie whispered.

"Did she pass out?" Caden asked.

"Any normal person would have a long time ago." Grace commented.

Dilan cracked open her dazed orange eyes, staring at the blue sky.

"She isn't normal." Thomas smirked.

Dilan took a breath to calm the overwhelming nausea and offered a weak smirk back.

"No, I aint. Help me up, bastard." Dilan winced and Thomas chuckled, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her into a sitting position. "Fuck." Dilan groaned, her vision swaying. "Thanks for that, guys, you really saved my ass." She said genuinely, trying hard not to faint. With much effort, she slid her jacket back on, sighing in relief as she grabbed a fistful of the side.

Give me strength, guys.

"Major, you seriously can't be thinking of going back out there." Grace whispered. Dilan took a breath, slotting her blade back in her box.

"There's nothing to think about." She replied, giving Thomas a look and he nodded, helping her stand. Dilan swayed but Caden steadied her until she found some balance and conjured the will to not empty herself onto the pavement.

"Dilan, please. They'll handle this without you. You've been through enough." Jamie tried to convince. Dilan poured some more water over her face to get rid of the dust sweat and blood, wincing as she re-tied her hair out of her face and muffling a groan from the piercing pain as she tucked in her bloodied shirt.

She assessed her gear, pleased to find it all working. Then she looked in the distance where she could hear fighting. Men were dying and she needed to help.

She looked at her squad and smiled tiredly.

"I'll be fine." She assured, turning back around and taking a deep breath, psyching herself up to move. "Just walk it off, Dil." She mumbled to herself, taking a step. Her wince was immediate, and the squad moved to help but she waved them off and took another. And another. There were limps and stumbles, but she refused help, fighting through the pain and with every step, she got faster, quicker.

She heard screams in the distance and suddenly the pain didn't matter, and she broke into a jog, hooking into the nearest building and flinging herself into the air.

She was back…

…and holy shit was Levi going to kill her when he found out what she did.

But that was a future problem. Right now, she had a bitch to slaughter.

Right now, was her time to show up.


It didn't take her long to catch up with the trail of destruction. She swung around the corner, her vision going blurry for a second, but she blinked it away and refocused, seeing the obviously failed plan C laid out in front of her. Nets and wires were strewn about, buildings pulled apart, the dead smeared into the pavement. Guess it was back to plan B. Or perhaps they were on plan D now, she wasn't sure.

Glancing up on a rooftop, Dilan spotted Hanji watching something, Moblit at her side as usual, and shot up there, landing with a subtle wince and a less subtle stumble.

Hanji jumped, her eyes widening when she saw her.

"Dilan! Where have you been, I've sent people looking for you!" Hanji exclaimed in worry.

"I'm fine. Give me a status update." Dilan replied, looking forward she saw Eren and Annie fighting in the distance. He was doing well but not well enough.

A gasp told her Hanji spotted the blood stains on her shirt.

"What happened-!?"

"It's nothing, Hanji. Give me a wrap on the situation before I go out there blind." Dilan demanded, giving her a stern look. Hanji replied with an equally stern look.

"Not until you tell me what the fuck you've done to yourself. I'm not sending you out there injured." Hanji said seriously. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"I'm not injured anymore!" She exclaimed, wanting to get this over and done with so she could crawl into Levi's arms and go to fucking sleep.

"Yes, she is." Thomas spoke as the squad caught up and landed on the roof with her. Dilan glared at him in annoyance and confusion.

"You're with me through all of that and you bail at telling one little lie?" She hissed in exasperation. Thomas steadied her from the leaning Dilan didn't even realise she was doing, turning back to the section commander.

"She was crushed by rubble caused by the targets transformation." He informed and Hanji gasped. "She also suffered a stab wound. I helped her cauterize it, but it won't hold out in battle." He summarised truthfully and eyes widened.

"YOU WHAT?!" Hanji yelled, lifting her shirt slightly and gasping at the condition of her side. "DILAN HOW ARE YOU STANDING?!" She panicked.

"Dude!" Dilan snapped at Thomas, pulling her shirt back down, utterly peed off. She didn't used to think this one was capable of being such a snitch.

"Dilan you need to take a step back from this. We're worried." Thomas said seriously and Dilan's face softened, looking at her squad, seeing how concerned they were.

She sighed, realising they had never seen her like this before. They had certainly had never seen her this injured.

Her taskforce used to joke that she wasn't even susceptible to papercuts. If only they knew the number of injuries she had accumulated over the years.

She was calm and level-headed on the wall.

Sure, she made risky decisions to save others when they needed it, but she had never been reckless like this in front of her soldiers. And yet, that was out there when all she had to think about was getting her men back alive and meeting numbers. There was far more at stake here. If they didn't take Annie down she would continue to terrorise. If they didn't take Annie down… her squad wouldn't get the justice they deserved.

Still, she didn't mean to worry these kids.

Looking at how panicked they were put things into perspective for her. Considering the rest of this fight anyway. If she learnt anything from the wall it was knowing when to bench her soldiers. They were too rattled to go back out there with her. Instead of focusing on staying alive, their concern would be on her condition.

Dilan couldn't afford risking their lives.

"I'm sorry for what I've put you through today. And I hope you don't resent me from what I'm about to do next." She smiled, squeezing his shoulder. She received confused blinks before she spoke again. "Stay here. That's an order." She turned serious and their faces twisted in panic, but Dilan didn't give them enough time to reply before falling backwards off of the roof and, shooting her wires and speeding towards the fight.

THOMAS' P.O.V.

Thomas' eyes widened as Dilan jumped off off the roof and started flying towards the battle as though the hole in her side was just a minor inconvience that she had already forgotten about. Yes, he helped her cauterize it but he was not a medic! That makeshift solution to stop her from bleeding out in the middle of the collapsed square was supposed to be a temporary fix until she could get professional care. At least thats what Thomas thought when he helped her out. When she said she was going back out there, a part of him believed she was joking. The rest of him thought she would understand just how ridiculous she was being after trying to move around with an injury like that... but no.

His mistake.

He forgot who he was dealing with.

This wasn't some whiny cadet or some privilged squad leader that thinks they are the best at everything.

This was the Titan Ripper.

A legend in the walls. A person who had started from nothing and built themselves up through skill and skill alone. She doesn't even resemble the word normal. Nothing about her does, but it's the abnormality that always made him honoured to serve under her. Because she wasnt like the rest. She genuinely cared about them. Thomas thought after three years on the wall he had her figured out by now.

But he hadnt seen this side of her before. The rash, dangerous, bloodthirsty side.

You could see it behind her eyes. The murderous intent.

Thomas was starting to understand the leader they knew personally was just one front to Dilan. She had more parts that she had been hiding from them. Reckless parts of her personality... and a potential. A potential to get herself killed. And she knew that going out there. Theres a strong risk she would be dead by the end of the fight but she left anyway. Why would she do that? And why wouldn't she let them help her?

"Shit! What do we do? What do we do!?" Caden panicked.

"Should we follow her?!" Grace asked.

"And disobey orders? The Major would kill us!" Jamie pointed out.

"She wont have the chance if she dies from that injury!" Grace shot back and Jamie's eyes widened.

Suddenly Thomas understood. Watching the squad panic, he understood why she ordered them to stay. Because, while she wasn't physically fit for fighting right now, at least she had her emotions under control. The squad were falling apart worried about her and that wouldn't do in the heat of the battle. She benched them because they were a danger to her and themselves right now. It was the tactical call if she wanted them to survive. Besides that, if they were out of harms way Dilan would be able to focus on the fight instead of worrying about them as well.

It was a classic Major move.

"Don't be stupid. We aren't going after her." Thomas said seriously and they all balked at him.

"You just want to leave her out there?!" Caden asked in surprise.

"DIL COME BACK HERE YOU MANIAC! COME BACK OR I'LL TELL LEVI!" The section commander screamed after their superior, gripping her hair in distress. "Moblit what do we do? What do we do?! My sweet little Dil has gone off the rails again! Levi's going to kill me!" Hanji yelled, shaking her very scared looking second in command by his shoulders back and forth.

"Thomas? Tom what do we do?!" Jamie turned to him for orders and Thomas suddenly remembered he was in charge now. Dilan had put her faith in him as second in command.

"I say we go after her!" Caden said firmly.

"What can we do up against the female titan! Even squad Levi couldn't defeat her! They were the best in the legion!" Grace reasoned.

"Well one of us might be able to catch her when she passes out from blood loss!" Caden shot back.

"Yeah right! Like the Titan Ripper would pass out in the middle of a battle! Show some damn respect!"

"She's still human, Jamie!"

"IS SHE!? A HUMAN WOULDN'T BE STANDING RIGHT NOW!"

Suddenly it hit him. Because, Jamie was right. Dil wasn't completely human so they wouldn't be able to help her. They were only human themselves. What Dilan needed was the help of another legend. He would trust in his superior that she knew what she was doing right now. But it wouldn't hurt to get a bit of insurance if the time came where she needed help.

"Enough!" Thomas ordered and they all fell silent. "We're going to disobey orders but we aren't going after her." He informed and they looked at him in confusion. "Come on, theres no time to waste." He urged, running toward central city.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

"DIL COME BACK HERE YOU MANIAC! COME BACK OR I'LL TELL LEVI!" Hanji threatened and Dilan chuckled, the air hitting her in the face as she dropped all controls, dove and threw herself high, getting wraps on the situation.

Eren and Annie were in full on combat mode. Dilan could clearly see the moves she had taught him starting to be put into action. His titan form made him a lot stronger than he was, she wasn't sure how it worked but he was a lot more skilled in this form than his human one. He was pulling moves he hadn't succeeded in doing, back at the base with her. But while he was good, Annie was better.

Eren was driven on motivation; Annie was surviving on skill.

Dilan glanced back and saw Mikasa land on the roof next to Hanji. The girl looked tired. Dilan imagined she had been dealing with the bitch while both her and Eren were out of commission.

Time to repay that effort.

Thankfully Hanji stayed put, keeping everyone else back too. Given the fight, it made the most sense.

It was too risky to send just anyone in.

Dilan watched as Eren roared, running straight through a building to get to her. Dilan could understand his anger, she really could. But there were people here.

How many lives have been lost already?

Dilan shook her head. She couldn't think about that right now. It was too late to change the strategy.

They were already nearing the end.

Eren lunged for her, slamming into another building as Annie ducked out of the way. He was being too reckless. She needed to talk to him, set his mind straight.

"Eren!" Dilan yelled, diving under a crumbling building and flinging herself up towards him. If Eren heard her, he ignored her, sprinting towards the bitch. Dilan paid attention as she hardened her leg and kicked Eren in the stomach. It seemed like she could only harden parts of her body at a time. Otherwise, why wouldn't she harden her whole body? Maybe the process restricted movement or maybe it wasted energy. There was no way to tell but the initial observation proved useful enough.

Pleased by this new information, Dilan dropped onto Eren's shoulder as he struggled to sit up, clearly starting to reach his limits.

The titan boy growled and lifted a hand to bat her.

"Woah, Eren. Just me." She assured, holding out her arms, staying calm and watching as realisation dawned in the kid's massive greens eyes and he dropped the hand back to his side.

Dilan nodded in approval.

"Alright, listen kid. I know you're pissed but we need to think about strategy here or we're going to lose her again. Go for the face while her leg is hardened. While she's distracted, I'll slice her up, get her weak, waste her energy. Got it?" Dilan said seriously, glaring at the monster who took her family from her. Eren turned his head to look at her, focusing for a moment. He let out a small growl of determination and nodded. Dilan nodded back in approval. "Go." She ordered, darting into an alley and zooming around the streets as she heard Eren's loud footsteps getting closer and closer.

They were both closing in.

Dilan twisted her body and propelled herself around the corner just in time as Eren put his full body weight behind the punch to her face. Like Dilan expected, her leg stayed hardened and her face took the punch. While she was distracted, Dilan swung down, slicing her ankles, knees and up her spine. Dilan could tell it weakened her, but it wasn't enough. Annie staggered, making a grab for her, but Dilan ducked out of the way as Eren lunged for her again.

But this time the bitch was prepared.

Her leg swung through the air with unimaginable speed and strength, slamming Eren into a building, her hardened leg breaking his teeth and pushing into his skull. Dilan's eyes widened as the bitch started pummelling him again and again and Dilan moved to help but as she did the titan picked up a slab of concrete and threw it straight at her.

Dilan cursed, barely managing to let go of herself in time, starting to fall, she looked up as the ball of concrete soared past, dust and cement stinging her eyes. Before she reached the ground, she hooked into a demolished building, wincing as she grabbed onto a metal pipe and took a breather. She watched as the concrete smashed into a building in the distance, crumbling the structure.

Dilan took a steadying breath and looked back at Annie who had continued to bash Eren's head in, preparing herself to attack again when she heard a terrified scream and her blood ran cold.

There weren't supposed to be any civilians around here.

The MP's should have evacuated everyone, right?

"H-HELP!" A small boy's voice sobbed, and Dilan's eyes widened, her head snapping back to find a small boy, probably about 4 or 5, hanging onto an edge of what was probably once his house before Annie's pitch turned it into a crumbling pile of cement. He was sobbing, crying for help.

Dilan couldn't stop herself.

"Hang on, Eren." She muttered, flying towards the boy, she caught him as his grip slipped and landed on the roof, whistling loudly and the nearest squad started towards her.

"I-I want my mummy!" He screamed. Dilan shushed him gently, eyes flicking down to the woman's corpse squished into the bottom of the crushed building he was hanging onto, her dulled eyes open, full of horror and pain.

"It's okay, close your eyes, sweetie." Dilan soothed, patting his back and the child did as he was told, still breathing fast but slowly calming down. She winced, watching Annie continue to beat up Eren without being able to do anything about it. She couldn't just leave the boy by himself.

Eren would just need to hang on a little longer.

"Hey!" Dilan turned her head, her eyes widening as Moblit and Nifa came to her aid. Apparently, Hanji's squad was the nearest.

"Take the kid and get out of here. It's not safe." Dilan said seriously, passing the traumatised child over to Nifa. He sobbed a little but didn't protest, probably close to passing out.

She nodded in understanding.

"Dilan, are you bleeding?" Nifa asked before she could jump off. Dilan waved her off, feeling impatient.

"It's old blood." She replied briefly.

"Are you sure?!" Moblit asked. Dilan noticed his tone and looked down at her side, an obviously fresh red soaking through the paled pink that her t-shirt used to consist of after being washed with both water and alcohol. She lifted her shirt, seeing the wound had reopened.

She supposed it lasted well enough for a make-shift job. It got her to this point, allowed her to save this kid and weaken Annie however much she did so Dilan didn't regret her decision. Didn't mean she wasn't pissed it had broken so early.

Thomas the bastard clearly didn't press as hard as he should of.

"Well would you look at that?" Dilan mumbled in annoyance, observing the mutilated skin. Moblit gagged but held it in, giving her an apologetic look. Dilan rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine. Get out of here." Dilan repeated, pressing a hand to her side, she jumped back off the building, fighting back a wince.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Moblit yelled after her. Dilan chuckled.

Maybe a little.

Annie had finished with Eren at this point, darting back towards the wall. Dilan wasn't about to let her go easy into the night. They passed by each other and time slowed down for a moment as they caught eyes. Dilan gave her a clear look with a dangerous orange glare that made the bitch's eyes widen.

You're dead.

Annie sprinted faster, her feet digging holes into the concrete she was running so fast and Dilan chuckled darkly.

"Oh, it's on." She smirked, smearing the blood from her injury on her pants, unsheathing her blades and propelling herself towards the bitch. Her bloodlust had officially reached its limit. She didn't give a single fuck about capturing this murderer anymore. She wanted to slit her throat so bad it hurt.

The fox had officially taken over.

And she had no intention of resisting.

"ANNIE!" Dilan yelled, soaring down and slicing her heels deep. So deep her blades were dulled from the one swipe.

No matter to her.

The bitch fell into a building, trying to steady herself, lifting a hand to her nape as well as crystalising. Dilan sprang back as she reloaded her blades and dove at her again.

She went for the back of the knees, the ends of her feet, up the spine and under her arms. She was everywhere, lightening quick. Annie tried to fight back but Dilan dodged her pathetic moves with ease. She was breathing heavily with complete rage.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" She yelled again, flinging herself around to the face of her titan as her carved up body had no strength to hold herself up anymore and she started falling.

Sharp blue eyes glared at her with a mixture of fear and anger.

Dilan wasn't done.

Diving down, she extended a blade, slicing her jaw into two and the bottom of her mouth dropped open. Dilan smirked as Annie's eyes widened and didn't hesitate to hook into the back of her mouth, switching gears.

When Annie realised what she was about to do, the panic spread on her face and she let go of her nape to try and grab her, but Dilan was too quick, pushing herself off the hand as she reeled her gears in, pushing into a spinning motion as she dodged the tongue, yelling out a battle cry and extending her blades into the thick flesh at the back of her neck, warm blood splattering onto her face.

She sliced and slashed relentlessly getting deeper and deeper, pulling back the flesh with her bare hands. Dilan's eyes glinted in anticipation as she was met with Annie, still plugged into the titan's weird flesh ropes. She didn't waste any time, grabbed a clump of her blonde hair with a blood-soaked hand and snapping her neck back, her blade pressing against her pale throat.

Enjoy hell, bitch.

Dilan thought with a more than sadistic smirk, ready to slice as a ripping sound rang through her ears. The air was knocked out of her in a choked gasp as a large hand wrapped around her torso, crushing her ribs. She looked at Annie in surprise as she realised what happened.

Annie's titan had slammed her hand into the deformed open mouth and grabbed Dilan in a death grip.

"Fucking psycho!" Dilan growled but had no time to react as the hand pulled her out and threw her across Sina. Dilan's eyes darkened in rage; furious the bitch had surprised her like that. She was so close.

So, fucking close to getting her revenge.

It was too quick for her to react.

Her back hit the hard concrete of a building and she choked, winded by the action as her body fell to the floor. She hooked into the wall with shaky hands that were slick with the female titan's blood and saliva. The wire slowed her fall to the ground but the part of the building she hooked into crumbled and she dropped the last few meters to the floor, gasping for air as her vision blurred.

Dilan closed her eyes for a second, focusing on not passing out. She heard loud stomps as Annie started running towards the wall again and groaned.

"Fuck." She hissed, taking a minute, her chest heaving with exhaustion as she stared up at the sky.

Maybe… she could take a rest…

"A wise person once told me that people never look up these days and that the sky is underappreciated. So, I decided to look up." He shrugged, putting his arms behind his head and laying down again. Dilan chuckled.

"Sounds like a very wise person indeed. How's the view?" She asked, taking a sip of her beer. Eld smiled.

"Amazing. Although I am pretty drunk." He admitted with an 'oops' look. Dilan laughed.

Dilan closed her eyes as they filled with tears, putting an arm over her face.

Damnit.

Why did she have to think about that now? It made her fucking angry because she knew she didn't have time to take a break.

Pushing herself up again and spitting out some blood that had pooled in her mouth, she wiped her face with a sleeve and grabbed a handful of her jacket's side. She couldn't give up, but her odds weren't looking good. Probability of success was slim... on her own anyway.

She needed help.

Taking a shaky breath, she pushed herself into the air again and used what remained of her gas to fly straight towards where Eren was still collapsed on top of a building. Dilan knew she had to make this quick. Annie was close to the wall.

Rounding the corner, she saw Eren beaten and battered. His skull was definitely dented in.

Dilan dropped on his shoulder.

"Eren." She winced, clenching her jaw through the pain and pressing her hand further into her side, trying to slow whatever blood had yet to spill out of her. "Eren, w-we need to keep going. I know it must feel like every bone in your body is telling you to stop, that your being pulled down by gravity itself… trust me I know, but… we have to keep going." Dilan said seriously and Eren cracked open his eyes slightly.

Dilan clenched her fist, her rage bubbling over.

"We have to avenge them." She spoke.

And that was all it took.

Dilan had to throw her hands over her ears, grappling to the building as Eren let out a spine-chilling scream of pure fury, pushing whatever limbs he had left to move, he started running towards Annie, his skin steaming and catching alight. Dilan's eyes widened in shock as she watched him move.

He looked… terrifying.

She cracked a smirk.

"That's my kid." She said proudly before wiping the blood on her trousers yet again, unsheathing her blades and storming towards them.

It was time to make her pay. Together.

Eren tackled her to the ground as Dilan slashed left and right, digging in deeper and deeper. Annie's skin healed each and every time, but Dilan could tell it was using energy as her movements were becoming slower, weaker.

She was losing energy.

But Dilan had to admit the girl had determination.

On the verge of being broken to the point of no return, the bitch still managed to throw Eren off of her and start clawing up the wall with hardened fingernails. Dilan moved to follow her, but Annie kicked her leg out and she was missed by a hair, as she pushed herself backwards, but the injury was starting to affect her coordination and she fell onto the concrete, rolling slightly.

Eren stayed on her, grabbing her legs. Dilan took a breath and pushed herself up with shaky arms, spitting out some more blood.

That can't be good.

"Here." A voice spoke, and Dilan looked up, seeing a tired Mikasa offer her a hand. Dilan took a breath and grabbed it, the girl pulling her to her feet.

"You take the left; I'll take the right." Dilan offered, readying her blades and Mikasa did the same. They looked at each other and nodded before sprinting towards them, shooting up the wall.

They got above her and landed on the space above her hands. Annie looked up at them with fear and Dilan drunk in the sight, sharing a look with Mikasa as they pushed off the wall, used their gas to spin themselves and dragged their swords across her fingers before watching the bitch fall.

Dilan free fell as she did, looking into her frightened eyes till the last moment she hit the ground and Eren pounced on her like a beast possessed with one purpose.

Kill.

He tore her arm off in one pull, slamming his fist into her torso over and over before ripping her head off completely.

"Fuck, kid. That was impressive." Dilan breathed as she landed on the ground, falling to her knees as she watched all her rage being taken out on the person that caused her more pain than she will ever know.

"Major, are you okay?" Mikasa whispered, dropping next to her. Dilan nodded silently, taken in by the sight. A part of her still feared Annie would escape.

She would watch until the last second.

"Oh shit." Dilan's eyes widened, as Eren ripped open the nape and lent in to devour her whole.

He was planning on finishing the job, just like Dilan had been.

"DON'T DO IT!" Mikasa yelled but Eren paid no attention, consumed with frenzy.

As Dilan watched, she realised something. She wasn't who she used to be. This wasn't the way to do things. This wasn't the right way to give them justice.

They wouldn't want this.

"M-Mikasa stop him…" Dilan strained herself to speak, looking down at her hand, the red seeping through her fingers.

She had reached her limit a long time ago.

Mikasa steeled herself and nodded, probably nervous about the idea of cutting Eren out of the nape without harming him. Only Levi and herself had managed it so far but Dilan knew Mikasa was skilled. With time, she would be as skilled as them. The girl ran towards them and Dilan's eyes widened as Eren stopped.

Why did he…?

Suddenly the clouds swirled and the two titans started to merge together. Mikasa gasped and quickened her pace but a flash of movement spun around and Dilan managed to keep her eyes open long enough to watch Levi pull Eren out of the nape before her body officially gave up, her vision blackened and she collapsed into the floor.

There was darkness for a while before she heard muffled voices calling her name. People were shaking her, yelling at her to wake up. Dilan ignored them all. She was tired and she wanted to rest.

Then she felt a warm hand on her cheek.

"Dilan." Levi whispered. Her eyes cracked open without permission. This morning felt like a world away. She missed him. She wanted to see him.

Her eyes met steel grey and Dilan felt herself relax instantly, all the pain fading for a moment. He sighed in relief, but the worry in his eyes remained as he sat her up a bit, supporting her. She didn't mean to make him look like that again.

"Levi…" She didn't know what to say but she knew she felt bad for some reason. Her head was all jumbled up. Levi put his hand over her wound, adding pressure to slow the bleeding and Dilan clenched her jaw, leaning her head on his shoulder and blinking back the tears. Levi brushed some damp, bloody hair behind her ear, holding her close to comfort her and Dilan relaxed slightly at the affection.

"C-Captain is there anything we can do?" A voice spoke. Dilan's eyes were closed so she couldn't see the person, but she was already familiar with the voice's owner.

Jamie.

She assumed the squad had found her first and one of them got Levi.

"Find the section commander. Tell her to meet me by the carts. Tell her it's urgent." Levi replied and Dilan heard confirmations before the squad stood, splitting up and sprinting off to find their superior amongst the people and destruction.

Dilan sniffed, with the adrenaline gone she felt the pain a lot stronger.

"You are such an idiot." Levi pointed out, taking her hand and pressing it to her side. Dilan winced but kept it there like he was silently asking her to. Levi picked her up and started walking as she snuggled into his arms, trying to get as close to him as possible. She felt so cold, his body heat was really helping. "Once Hanji fixes whatever you've done to yourself, I'm going to kill you. I hope you realise that." Levi continued in an unreadable voice. He seemed both angry, relieved, panicked and pissed.

And yes, angry and pissed are two different things.

"I know." Dilan whispered shakily, wanting to give him a smile or something. Something to ease his nerves but she was just so exhausted and in so much pain. "Levi, it hurts." She whimpered, pressing her face into his shoulder to muffle her sobs, unable to control herself anymore.

She felt Levi quicken his pace slightly, holding her closer.

"I know brat. Hang on, it's okay." He soothed and Dilan took a few shaky breaths to calm down. "You aren't off the hook though. I am so incredibly pissed at you." He added and Dilan let out an emotional chuckle.

"Fair enough." She mumbled, closing her eyes and drifting into the darkness.


A/N: Hey! I said it was going to be crazy. Takes me back to the suicidal maniac days. But what else would you expect from both Eren and Dilan teaming up to take down Annie? They are both going to lose their shit at some point. Hot headed maniacs.

In a way I see Levi and Mikasa as Dilan and Eren's coolers for when they get too worked up and go over the rails. Of course Dilan's come a long way and is a lot more stable than the teenager (most of the time) but her old self kind of took over for a bit. With the squads death bringing up old trauma it makes sense but Levi is still going to be pissed about it. She's in for some shit.

I had fun writing this one though. Especially the leader Dilan part. I love her squad. They're older and more mature now but they are still obsessed with her and I find it cute.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! Stay safe! X

Guest: Hey! I think you commented on Chapter 69 but I still wanted to respond. That comment looked like it took a long time to write so I thought it was only fair to give it a similarly long response, lmao. I'm so glad you liked my story and it makes me happy to know it helped with your Levi depression. I honestly get what you were saying and it's one of the reasons I started writing this story. Levi's backstory was just so heartbreaking I wanted him to have someone that understood him. Someone who could support him and who he could be himself with, but also someone that he could support and relate to as well. Dilan kind of just appeared in my head and I had to start writing her. I'd like to apologise for the 'curse' part of your comment, I didn't mean to cause any emotional distress, lol. I had been thinking about uploading again the very same day you commented. In all honesty your review gave me that extra push to go through with it, so thanks for that. I hope to hear from you again sometime!

coffeeforday: Hi! It's been so long! I can't believe I still have so many of you guys following along. To be honest I figured a lot of my readers had dropped the story since I had been gone so long, so I was so happy to see your comment! Loved hearing from you again. Hope your well!

BeckyK97: Yo! I'm glad you're still following along! Thank you so much for commenting!

Misscandyliciousss: Hey! Thanks for understanding. I'm happy to be back and I'm feeling good. It's great to hear from you again, thanks for commenting!

vain-gl0ry: Hey! I'm so glad you commented! It's shocking to see so many of you back and it really made my day to hear from you all. Thank you so much for understanding, and I do think taking the time off was necessary but I'm happy to be back. I had so much fun with this chapter, especially with trying out new character P.O.Vs. I hope you're well and having a good day!

Guest: Hi! I agree they need to support each other through the tough things. Everything comes easier when you have a shoulder to lean on. Thanks for commenting!