We started off with a literal bang, Hanji slamming the door open with her boot. Stepping swiftly to the side, Armin, Jean and Steve rolled the barrels forward before shoving them off down the staircase. Praying for Armin to be right, my grip tightened on my blades. At his prediction, with the sudden distraction, all of the MPs eyes would temporarily be off the doorway.

"Now!" Levi growled and we all leapt forward as a group. We burst into the lit cave and I tried to not be too dazzled by the surroundings. As guessed, the ice cave was created from the same crystal that Annie had used to cover herself. Crystal pillars spotted the place and tiny wooden platforms were precariously attached to each one. Upon most of those wooden ledges, stood the First Interior Military Police squad, ready to attack us. There was pause before the entire cave was rocketed with an enormous explosion and filled with thick black smoke. Glancing over my shoulder, Sasha already had the second fire arrow cocked in her bow and aimed for another barrel. The ice floor was now scattered with burning pieces of fabric and wood.

All according to plan.

The fire arrow would pierce the barrels, igniting the gunpowder inside. Once that exploded, the secondary explosion would burn through the fabric bags and work its' way to the oil inside. That resulted in the thick black smoke now choking up the space, and provided us cover to use our 3DMG.

"Levi, Rina, you're up!" Hanji directed. Both of us shared a look before leaping directly towards the closest MPs who were overlooking the staircase from two different angles. Holding my breath, I dived through the smoke and emerged the other side, taking a middle aged woman and her partner by surprise. Quick to respond, they swung their shotguns at me. The sound of reeling wires echoed to my left and I managed to give them a smirk before green smoke enveloped me into safety. I waved a quick salute to Mikasa as she continued to empty green smoke cannisters from her 3DMG. Getting to work, I attached a claw to the roof and swung between the pillars. More coloured air rapidly billowed into the cavern space as the rest of the team fired all our signal flares straight into the cavern.

"Twenty-four." I barely heard Levi's voice to my left. Taking a swift count of my side of the smoke cloud, I continued his train of thought.

"Thirty-two!" I called. There was a pause.

"Thirty-five enemies!" he yelled. "They're gathered behind the pillars! Continue with the plan! We'll take them all out here!"

Another voice screamed into the cave in retaliation. A woman, unfamiliar. Must've been the right-hand commander of the MPs if she was issuing orders.

"All officers spread out! Focus fire, take them down one at a time!"

A chorus of wires reeling cut through the haze and I spied Hanji, Connie and Jean joining the fray. Looking around, a lot more wooden platforms were now empty, indicating that several MP officers had also leapt to the skies. Another barrel went off, blowing more smoke in my direction. As I travelled through the air, a hazy green horse passed my eyes and I quickly lashed out. A howl of pain filled my ears and I temporarily lost sight of the enemy as they dropped out of sight. Ears perking up, I followed the screech of the wires as they tugged the injured officer away from me.

Wild shots rang out around me, the smoke now playing the perfect cover. Triggering the gas, I shot forward towards the sound and exited from the smoke, just above my target, easily recognizable with blood seeping into the arm of their jacket. Dropping down, I drove a blade through their back, grunting as I forced it cleanly through. The MP choked on air, their body freezing from shock. Gritting my teeth, I swiftly yanked the blade out and vaulted off their body to gain altitude.

Looks like that cadet Armin was right. With the ODM's line of fire and anchor trajectory facing the same direction, their back is completely wide open.

"You're mine!"

Another MP hung before me, both their gun barrels aimed at my head.

"Shit!" I cursed. My fingers moved of their own accord, wires hissing out and gas erupting. I felt my body being jerked downwards by my hips and soon was surrounded in the smoke yet again. Two shots whizzed through the cloud, creating two brief circles of cleared air. Landing on the ground, I immediately sprang off at a sharp angle, bouncing my way between crystal columns and building my momentum up. Smoothly dodging around the MP, I pushed off the final pillar and sliced at his neck as I passed. A clean cut, and the body spun to the ground in a bloody cartwheel.

"Rina!"

The call was instantly followed by a resounding shot of a gun. A burning sensation scraped my right thigh and I winced. My fingers flexed and I safely headed back into the smoke for cover.

Despite having a small breather, sounds continued to bombard me. Gunshots, yells of pain and aggression, 3DMG wires whirling in the machines, exploding barrels, signal flares being shot.

Running a hand gently over the wound, I found it was only a scrape over the skin. Then the smoke cloud parted and I looked down, just in time to spot a stupid MP, on the ground and aiming upwards at my team. Taking the rare chance, I soared over to them, weapons out. It was too late when they heard me, turning just as I swiped at their neck. Blood soon dripped from my sword and I discarded it in haste, clicking a new blade into place.

"MATILDA!" screamed a voice, echoed by rapid footsteps. Fingers twitching, I zoomed up into the smoke cloud and out of sight from the no-doubt angry MP partner of the deceased.

"I'll kill you!" and I heard the voice drifting closer to my position as the man flew into chase. A random shot went wild, chipping the crystal pillar I had just managed to dodge in my flight path. Twisting in the air, I barely avoided sharp chips of ice that flew out from the impact. My feet landed on another column and digging my heels in a crevice, I vaulted upwards, breaking from the cloud. My eyes darted around, trying to spot the incoming MP in the black air.

"Hazura! Up!"

At the sudden yell from Hanji's voice, I instantly yielded, raising my blade up above my head. Just in time, as a heavy weight drove me back into the smoke. Looking up, it was another MP that had caught me off-guard and had aimed for my head.

"You guys are way too eager." I grunted and heaved, throwing the MP off.

I shot an anchor to the side and whisked myself out. Unfortunately, my luck ran out there and the first MP tackled into me from behind. I shrieked in shock and my left arm automatically came up to grip the arm locking me into a chokehold. I thrashed wildly, refraining them from pointing their free gun at me. I swung my right arm and thrust it past my left hip. My ear drum was blasted by the yell of pain and the arm loosened around my neck. I shoved the arm up and away from my head, slipping out of their grip. I dislodged the bloody blade and whirled around, planting my boots against their body and vaulting off. As their limp body dropped from my sight, a panicked shout cut through my concentration.

"Hanji-san!"