I am back and partly annoyed that my girlfriend posted part of the chapter without consulting me first. It'll be posted again at the end of THIS chapter for more context.


Erwin's eyes of steel were shown up close before zooming out. A Scout glanced back to see four of the titans racing after them.

Peer shivered, "Honestly the way they run is both terrifying and ridiculous." Connie stood up and copied one of the Titans swaying its arms back and forth as it ran. "Just imagine walking in the street at night and seeing someone doing this, running towards you." The Scouts laughed at the impression.

The Armoured titan stared them down, hie eyes glowing yellow. An overhead shot appeared as the two groups came closer and closer, dust trailing behind both of them.

"You guys!" Hannes called out. "Jump and get outta there!" The five friends quickly jumped away from the Armoured Titan as the mindless titans grew closer.

"All soldiers, disperse!" Erwin ordered. Mikasa landed on her horse while Armin missed and sailed behind his. "Get far away from the Titans!"

The Scouts leading the Titans broke away from the charge. The Armoured Titan lowered its right shoulder and began to run quicker. Bertholdt hadn't reacted to anything. Eren was still bound behind him. Krista held onto to the Jaws Titan's hair.

The Armoured Titan slammed his shoulder into the first of the Titans. In a still shot, two were pushed back into the other Titans by the force of the Armoured Titan's barge, while two kept running behind it. Three Titans were sent flying through the air. Bertholdt shut his eyes and braced himself while Krista held the Jaws Titan's hair tighter.

"What's with the screen thingy freezing all the time?" A Scout shouted from the back. 'Future' Eren glanced over at the woman before answering, "Probably for effect or something, what do you guys think?" He looked at the three Warriors, who had paled at the question before shrugging their shoulders.

Erwin stared at them for a while before Hange voiced his thoughts, "I don't trust him. There is something really weird about our host and yet..." Hange trailed off.

"And yet it feels like I've known him for a long time as if..." Mike intervened.

"As if we have met multiple times." Levi finished off.

Erwin stroked his chin, "I can attest to feeling the same way as the rest of you. Whatever he spoke about when he took Annie, Reiner and Bertholdt upstairs, he must've said something that scared them. We need to find out what it was."

As the flying Titans fell to the ground, a small Titan grabbed one of the Armoured Titan's legs, bringing it to its knees. The Armoured Titan and the Jaws Titan were surrounded.

Krista had shut her eyes at the impact and gasped as she saw a Titan reaching out for her.

"Historia!" Ymir yelled and the Jaws titan roared. It jumped and slashed at the titan's face.

"Historia?" Erwin whispered.

"Why are you calling Krista, Historia?" Sasha asked Ymir. Ymir shrugged and turned to Krista.

Historia wished everyone would stop staring at her. She wasn't expecting her real name to come up like that. Something must've happened to make her tell Ymir.

'Future' Eren mentally facepalmed, he forgot about that part. Well, Kenny should be making an acquaintance with her soon.


Kenny had stopped punching Nile in the face when he heard that name. It was enough to make him drop the MP Commander on the ground and sit back on the couch to watch. Kenny glanced at the other three in the room to see they had stopped their fight over the bigger slice of meat and had sat down to watch the screen.


The Armoured Titan roared as the Titans tried to hold him down.

"Moblit! Write that down!" Hange screamed at their assistant. Moblit grabbed a pen and paper and started writing before looking back at Hange. "Uh, what am I supposed to be writing?" Hange sighed, "The Titans are working together to take down the Armoured Titan, since when is that a thing?" Moblit agreed and wrote it down.

Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, and Jean looked back at the sight of titans surrounding the Armoured Titan.

"What's going on?" Jean asked as the Armoured Titan roared. "Is this hell?" The Jaw Titan ripped the nape out of another Titan.

"She's fast." Levi commented. Erwin nodded, "She would be very useful to have on missions. Against a few Titans, she's powerful, but her size might make her easily overwhelmed. If she manages to take out their legs then the Scouts can finish them off easier."

"No…but it will be!" Erwin rode past Jean. "All soldiers, charge!" He threw his right arm out, swords gripped in both. The 104th Scouts, Hannes' squadron and Erwin's squadron looked back at the Commander, stunned. "The fate of humanity will be determined in this very moment!" Erwin raised his sword to the sky. "There is no future where humanity can inhabit these lands without Eren! We recover Eren and immediately retreat!" He saluted and thrust his sword forward, charging into the fray. "Give your hearts!"

The Scouts all stood and saluted, cheering for Erwin and the others. Hange nudged Mike, "Do you think he practices those speeches to himself or just thinks them up on the spot?" Mike tried to keep a straight face as he remembered the time he walked in on Erwin giving a speech to his pillows. Erwin was glaring at Mike, clearly thinking of the same thing. Erwin's eyes promised retribution of the highest level if Mike said anything.

Mike shrugged at Hange and looked back at the screen.

Mikasa was quick to follow the commander.

"Mikasa!" Connie stared after her. Armin and Jean grit their faces and charged after them, the rest of the soldiers following.

Erwin led the charge, the other Scouts yelling behind him.

A short distance away, an MP watched them leave. "Those crazy Scouts." He turned towards another MP. "Something's wrong with their heads."

A bang was audible. "Hey!" The other MP yelled.

"Huh?" The first MP turned. A Titan was on its hands and feet behind him. He screamed before the giant latched onto him by his head and pulled him up. Wet crunching was heard as the second MP rode away.


Nile had dragged himself onto a chair next to Magath to watch the situation unfold. Nile shook his head at the foolishness of the Police under his control. It would seem the unknown man shared his views. "Those fools! Why would they just stand around openly in what is clearly Titan territory?" Kenny happily replied, "The Military Police aren't known for being smart about anything unless it's to do with money."

Nile's face was still sore but had to agree with Kenny.


'What's happening out there?' Eren thought. 'What the hell's going on?'

The Armoured Titan was held down by the mindless ones, from small 3 metres to hulking 15 metres. 'I can't move…' Reiner gritted his teeth. 'Unless I tear these Titans off me, it'll only get worse. In that case…' To Bertholdt's shock, the Armoured Titan removed his left hand. 'Brace yourself, Bertholdt!' The hand raised up in the air. 'A little more…' The Armoured Titan began punching Titans off of him. 'Just a little more!'

Eld turned towards the warriors, "If your armour was strong enough to breach Wall Maria, how come it's not strong enough to punch through the Titans? You should be killing them with the power behind your punches." Reiner looked surprised at the question. Looking at the screen, it was a good point, "Maybe because I'm not focusing on killing them, I would just want to get them off me quickly and not worry whether I kill one or not."

"It worked!" Jean shouted, Bertholdt and Eren could be seen now. "His hand's gone!"

"Now's our chance!" Mikasa said.

"Hey, Mikasa, can't you see all those Titans?!" Jean asked as he rode alongside her. "How do you plan on getting through that mess? You'd have to slip through a horde of 'em."

Erwin glared forward. "Advance!" Erwin threw up his arm...

Levi gasped quietly. 'That small second of silence. Could it mean...'

...straight into a Titan's mouth. The Titan ripped Erwin away from his horse, as his arm was painfully latched inside the Titan's mouth.

Being the closest to the screen, the superiors jumped in surprise.

"Oh My Walls!"

"COMMANDER!"

"HOLY SHIT"


Zeke was taken aback. He expected the Commander to survive a bit longer. "Well, that's that commander gone. It will crush any hope they have." Porco gleefully said. Pieck shook her head, "It only got his arm. He still has a chance to live." Porco looked unconvinced.


The warrior candidates eyes widened in shock. Gabi raised a hand and pointed, "Colt, is the devil dead?" Colt didn't answer because he wasn't sure. Even if he is alive, there is no way he would survive much longer.


Carla's hand flew to her mouth as she watched the commander get dragged away. Grisha patted her shoulder, "He still has a chance to live. If he manages to cut his arm off he can survive."

Hannes shook his head, "The pain he must be feeling must be agonising."


Mikasa gasped and looked back. The Scouts watched dazed and angered as their Commander was dragged away by the Titan.

"Commander Erwin!"

"Advance!" Erwin screamed, ignoring the Titan eating his arm.

The Scouts gasped in astonishment.

"Boy, you really are something aren't you." Oluo gasped to himself, maybe being more like Erwin than Levi would be better. Although, losing an arm wasn't very appealing to him.

Erwin smiled, if this doesn't symbolise strength, then nothing will.

The Scouts were shocked at the Commander still giving orders. "Eren is just ahead!" He pointed his remaining blade forward. "Advance!"


Pieck turned to a wide eyed Porco, "You were saying Porco?"

"i... he... uh... He's still dead anyway."


Falco and Udo cheered for the Commander, much to the annoyance of Gabi. "Have you forgotten that they are devils?!" The boys stopped cheering and looked down.


Magath stared incredulously at the other commanders, "Yes. He is that dedicated."

'Why couldn't my soldiers be more like that', Magath thought to himself.


'Right!' Armin nodded.

The soldiers charged towards Eren while a few went back for Erwin. An array of ugly Titans stood in their way.

A Titan grabbed a Scout off his horse, while another Titan stepped on another Scout killing both horse and Scout.

Keiji rubbed his forehead, "A lot of Scouts and Garrison are going to die here. From the looks of it, Erwin has the remains of the Trost Garrison squads and the Krolva Garrison squad alongside the Scouts from those regions too."

Abel looked at Keiji, "How do you know that?"

A blushing Keiji responded, "I, uh, may have a girl in Krolva that is in the Garrison." Abel smirked and patted his friend's shoulder.

One was bitten off his soldier by a Titan lying down.

"Why would you ride next to one lying down?!" Lynne shouted out with Gelgar replying, "There must be at least 15 Titans surrounding them. You can't see everything."

A Scout rubbing at his head stood amongst the carnage. A Titan not far behind him grabbed a Scout off his horse and ate him. The dazed Scout screamed when that horse hit him, galloping past.

Another soldier crashed into that horse and flew straight into a Titan's hand and was immediately eaten.

Mike furrowed his eyes, "Hey. Where are we in all this?" The other three superiors looked at him to elaborate.

"I'm not there nor is my squad. We're also missing Hange and her squad and Levi and his squad. For something like rescuing Eren, I would have thought we would all be there." Mike turned to others, slightly worried. Erwin contemplated for a moment before standing to ask the host a question, "My apologies for interrupting but how far into the future is this?"

'Future' Eren hummed, he figured somebody would ask this, "About 3 days after the 57th expedition."

"THREE DAYS!" Mike blurted out before composing himself. Erwin glanced at him before thanking the host and sitting down.

"What the hell happened in those three days?" Mike whispered to the others.

Mikasa expertly rode through the Titans grasping at her. Seeing the Armoured Titan, she used her 3D gear and, wrapping around the Armoured Titan's fist, headed straight for Bertholdt. He jumped as she swung her blades.

Eren screamed behind his gag at something behind her.

Mikasa looked behind her to see a brown-haired Titan, its hands open and waiting. Eren's muffled scream was frantic. The Titan caught her in one of its hands.

Mikasa screamed as her ribs cracked.

"Mikasa! You piece of shit!" Jean swore at the Titan angrily, and flew toward it.

"Let her go!" Jean stuck his blades deep into the Titan's eyes.

Mikasa gasped as the Titan released its grip.

"That was close. Thanks Jean."

Jean looked surprised at Eren's compliment and nodded, "Yeah. No problem."

Two Scouts attempted to rescue Eren but before they could get close enough, the Armoured Titan pulled their wires. They quickly fell. Bertholdt crouched in the Armoured Titan's palm. "We've come this far already. We're taking Eren home with us. We're going back to our hometown."

'Shit…' Eren sweated. 'This is all because I got caught. Everyone's gonna die because of me.'

"Bertholdt!" Armin landed on the side of the Armoured's face, a lone wire letting him hang from his cheek.

'Armin?!' Eren stared at his grim friend.

Armin had a flashback to the Forest of Giant Trees, "Those who can't abandon anything can't change anything."

Erwin nodded, 'This boy could easily replace him if the need should ever arise.'

Jean nudged Armin, "Why is there a bandage on your head?" Armin shrugged, "Maybe it was after Reiner and Bert transformed on the wall and I got caught by something."

Another flashback had Erwin being carried off the by Titan. "Advance!"

'What is it?' Armin wondered as he stared down at Bert and Eren. 'What do I have to abandon? Is it my life? Or something else?' He gasped, as another flashback showed Armin and Reiner looking at Bertholdt watching Annie leave, to join the MP's during the recruitment ceremony.

Annie's eyes widened and held tightly onto Bertholdt's hand. That the poor boy's heart was hammering so loud that Zeke, Pieck and Porco could hear it, didn't matter to Annie. If Armin was going to use Bert's love for her against him, then Annie better make sure Bertholdt doesn't react violently here. Most of these events hadn't happened yet, which gave them a chance to re-do everything properly. With people that could actually help them do good with.

Armin let out a shaky breath…then grinned sadistically.


Colt shivered as the younger ones slowly leaned into him, he was pretty sure Gabi was whispering, "The devil can't hurt you here."


"It's always the quiet ones that are the scariest." Porco declared.

Pieck slowly turned to glare at him, "Are you trying to say something Pock?" Porco shifted uncomfortably as Pieck moved closer and closer to him, until she was right next to his ear. "Does my quietness scare you Pocky?" she whispered dangerously in Porco's ear, causing the man to shiver.


Magath whistled, "That kid needs help. What kind of soldiers do you bring in to your ranks?" he asked the other commanders, only for Kenny to answer, "Think of it as a government. The MP's are cowards that follow the 'dark' side, the Garrison are the neutral party, and the Scouts are the suicidal maniacs fighting for the 'light' side."

Kenny laughed "Haha. I think i'm going to like this kid, he's got a lovely maniacal smile."


Most of the Scouts in the room shrank back. "You ok there, Armin?" Connie asked.

"Are you two okay with this?" Armin asked quietly, in a mocking tone. "Leaving behind your comrade and returning home?"

Reiner and Bertholdt were taken back.

If 'future' Eren had a camera, he would've loved to take a picture of this room and all the others. For the most part, all the occupants had their jaws dropped and were wide eyed. Erwin, Zeke, Levi and Kenny were the only exceptions and were nodding along to Armin's idea.

Annie definitely wasn't expecting that. The pain of Bertholdt's hand tightening in her hold was another thing she wasn't expecting either.

"You're abandoning Annie? You know where she's at? Far north, deep underground in the Utopia District…and being tortured."

Bertolt's eyes were wide while Reiner gritted his teeth.

"Holy shit!"

"She's what?"

"Goddamn Armin!"

Reiner had grabbed his friend's hand tightly and immediately regretted it. Reiner winced as his hand felt like it was breaking. How Annie had managed to keep a straight face this whole time was beyond him.

"It was her screams that taught us something," Armin continued. "That even with her body's healing, you can never get rid of the pain."

Eren looked pained as Armin continued and said, "They're taking special care to ensure she doesn't die. And as we speak, they're not giving her body any rest. They're torturing her every way they know how."

Eren wheeled on his friend, "Stop smiling like that. It's as creepy as the time that I heard you in your sleep. Where you were 'torturing' some of the bullies from when we were kids."

Bertholdt blinked and growled before almost throwing himself at Armin, "YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU BEFORE YOU HURT HER. I'LL KILL ALL OF YO-" He was quickly cut off as Annie grabbed his face and kissed him. While Reiner had perfected an impression of a fish, much like Pieck and Porco were currently doing, Zeke could see past Annie's play. Smart and deadly. He felt a little pang of regret for poor Bertholdt but knew the bigger plan here.

Everyone else had reacted quickly and grabbed the cutlery to defend Armin from Bertholdt. Annie's intervention saw them sitting back down. Nifa glanced behind her, she could've sworn she heard a man whooping. Annie quickly sat down and turned her attention back towards the screen, leaving Bertholdt a sweating mess.

'Future' Eren laughed and whistled. A long chair that looked like a bed appeared next to Reiner. He helped a currently 'lost in the clouds' Bertholdt into the lounger and sat back down.

A shadow rushed over the ground.

"You spawn of the devil!" Bertholdt screamed, enraged. "I'll pulverize you!" He stood up from his safe place inside the Armoured Titan's hand.

Blood erupted from his chest when a Scout zoomed up and sliced off the ropes tying Eren to Bertholdt's back.

Erwin, an arm missing and still fiercely glaring had managed to appear in front of him.

"WHAT?!"

"HOLY SHIT HE'S ALIVE"


"You were saying Porco?"

"Shut up Pieck"


Mikasa caught Eren as he fell. Armin let out a gasp of relief and Erwin fell, landing on his horse.

Bertolt watched them leave in disbelief, hanging upside-down from the wire.

"All soldiers, retreat!" Erwin shouted, leading the soldiers away as the Armoured Titan roared after them.

(EDITED CHAPTER)

Mikasa tried to push herself up, several purple flowers near her face. "Eren…" She winced, her ribs in pain. Thundering footsteps were heard and the flowers shook.

'Purple flowers again?' Hange thought. 'They have to be important if they keep showing up. But why are they so damn important?'

An outline of a tall and skinny Titan appeared in the steam.

A giant foot destroyed the ground as the Titan came closer. Mikasa and Eren sat, watching it approach. Eren's eyes widened in horror. The titan's blonde hair waved as it walked towards them.

Eren and Mikasa gasped in shock. 'No. It can't be. Why did it have to be that one?' Mikasa thought solemnly. She grabbed Eren's hand tightly, and for once, Eren held her hand just as tight. Jean looked ready to interrupt their moment before Armin pushed him away, glaring deadly at him.

Mike's squad and Hange's squad turned around, all of them fairly sure they heard something from the wall behind them.

'Future' Eren watched Grisha Yeager's freak out at seeing his first wife's Titan from. He looked down at the remote in front of him and contemplated whether or not he should eject them into the main room.

Carla's death was shown before the Smiling Titan's grin appeared.

More of the Scouts had turned their attention to the back of the room, "Jurgen? Did you hear that? Like a sort of muffled scream?" Dieter asked his friend. Jurgen nodded, and as he scrutinised the back wall, he noticed it was oddly reflective.

'Future' Eren smiled, 'It will be a nice surprise for Eren and Mikasa, and Armin too. Zeke will definitely freak out about his mom and dad being here... but what's life without a little chaos right?'

The Smiling Titan's eyes were the last thing to be shown.

"GGGGAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Everyone turned to the back of the room. "We all just heard someone scream from that wall right?" Connie asked.

'Future' Eren nodded to himself and pressed the button to release Carla, Grisha and the others.

The Scouts stood up and faced the wall as it opened up to reveal...

"Nile?"

"Hey Erwin."

"Commander Magath!" The warriors saluted.

"At ease, Warriors."

'Wait, what?'

"Commandent Shadis! Commander Pixis?"

"Does anybody know if that kitchen has some good liquor or whiskey?"

'That's the wrong room. That's the wrong room.' 'Future' Eren's eyes widened when he realised who else was in that room.

"Hey. Levi. Good to see you again."

"KEEEEEENNNNNNYYYYYY!"

'Well, shit.'


I'm pretty sure 'Armoured Titan' is the most common set of words to come up in this part. Anyone got any ideas on how I can shorten it?

Yeah, I know. 'Annie kissing Bertholdt?! But she's not that open with her feelings!' That's the beauty of it. Sadly for Bertholdt, Annie is still looking out for herself. Remember what this story is called.

if you think the characters are a little OOC than that means i'm writing it the way i want to.

Just so you're aware, while those in the secret rooms can see the rest of the scouts. they are not aware of each other.

I wonder how many of you have picked up on a few of the spoilers i've dropped in.

Next planned update will hopefully be next weekend. Please remember to leave a review as it encourages me to keep writing.

Until then, see ya.