A/N: It's finally here. Today is the 1 year anniversary of this story. I am honestly so glad I got here, this is probably the longest I've ever been consistently writing a fanfiction story. I've meet so many good people on this platform, and I've learned so much about myself and how I can improve. You guys are amazing. Thank you.
But seriously, I thought I had so much more time! I mean, I was thinking I'd have like - a week to finish a few chapters but here I am, this is the ONLY chapter I've written so far and I barely finished it a few minutes before posting. Jesus.
Gaujay7: Glad to see you're back in the reviews section. I hope you do continue reviewing, as I've always enjoyed reading them.
Super Comrade: I felt that way writing it as well!
Return to Shiganshina Part I: The Town Where Everything Began
September 29th, 854 - Trost District
"The Operation to retake Wall Maria, begins now!" Erwin shouted, leveling his blade south, where Shiganshina could be seen in the distance.
The lifts rapidly descended up and down, delivering horses, ODM Gear, men, and most importantly, thunder spears.
Alto swung up on his horse, riding straight south for Wall Maria. Several of them had Thunder Spears on their backs, which they'd distribute once they got to Wall Maria.
Alto could only hope everything went to plan. And those he loved weren't hurt.
That Night
Alto watched the forest with wary eyes. The tension in both himself and the Scouts surrounding him was so thick that it felt like they were walking through butter.
Mina appeared behind him, and grabbed his hand. He could feel her trembles, and he closed his eyes, and squeezed, as if to make sure she was really there.
"Alto…are you scared?" Mina asked him, whispering.
Alto looked down on her, her fear-filled expression,
"Yes," He admitted, "But all I can do is keep moving forward, I think that's about all anyone can do right now."
Mina nodded, and the trembling in their hands ceased.
Suddenly, someone - likely Jean - shouted "Titan on the left! Light up the area!"
Alto drew his ODM Blades, preparing to leap into action against the Titan.
"Just a normal titan. It can't even move when there's moonlight out." Ilse called,
Alto and Mina breathed a synchronized sigh of relief.
"We didn't even see it until we were right on top of it…" Eren muttered
"Got that right. It seems they use the tiny bit of light reflected by the moon to move." Hanji nodded, "Hope we capture one!"
"Hold on!" A scout shouted, "There's signs of a trail!"
"We're here…" Alto said,
Shiganshina District.
As dawn broke the clouds, the Scouts mounted their horses and rushed into Shiganshina District.
"Watch out for titans hiding in the shadows of the city!" Erwin ordered, "The main phase of the Operation begins now! All troops, switch to ODM Gear!"
The plan was to first have Eren draw them out by sealing the exterior breach, supported by Levi Squad and a few other squads of both Scouts and Royal Guards. Then, immediately after they appear, Alto will seal the interior breach.
Once this was accomplished, they would slaughter the trapped titans, and - hopefully - engage the Warriors.
Alto scoffed, he never thought he'd find himself hoping he'd engage a Titan.
Alto landed on the wall, where he saw Eren standing frozen on top of the Wall, overlooking his hometown. He pitied him, but there was no time.
"Don't stop!" Alto called to him, "Levi Squad needs to head for the outer gate! Royal Guards on me!"
"Right!" Several scouts replied, heading to their assigned positions.
Armin shifted, and accidentally kicked something several feet away.
"What the-?" Armin picked it up, and it was an empty cup containing a strange black liquid. Armin sniffed it, it smelled like a strange type of tea.
But more importantly, nearby was the remnant ashes of a fire.
'A fire?' Armin gasped, 'There here! And they're close!' He signaled to Erwin to come over.
"Armin?" Alto asked, "What is it?"
"The Warriors." He showed him the cup and ashes, "They're nearby!"
Alto paled, "And we haven't spotted a single titan…" Alto looked around, 'How would I act…if I was the enemy?'
He thought about it like a tabletop map. 'I'd obviously realize the enemy objective here is to not only seal the wall, but prevent it from being breached again as well…I'd divide my forces. I'd keep the Cart and Beast Titans outside with the rest of my Titan forces, they can control them from a distance and they're better suited for long range combat rather than Titan-to-Titan combat, and maybe the Armored, Warhammer, or Female to protect them. One of those three, then, I'd have the other two join the Colossal in eliminating our forces within the city…' He began to piece together the enemy plan, bit by bit. 'If they concentrated their forces on one front, then the enemy could escape through their rear. So I'd trap them in a pincer maneuver. I'd wait for them to seal one of the walls. Likely the exterior to prevent them from using that as an escape. Then, I'd move in and crush the enemy between the Beast Titans bombardment powers and the Colossal Titan's sheer size, supported with Titans and the other Shifters.'
"Generalleutenant." Alto approached Erwin, who turned to them. "I believe I have figured out the enemy plan."
"Shoot." Erwin asked him,
"They're trying to trap us here. They're letting us seal one of the walls. Then they'll play their hand, the Colossal Titan will likely transform and begin to wipe out the forces inside the city. Meanwhile, they'll keep the Beast and Cart along with one of their 14 - 15 meter Titan Warriors to prevent us from escaping back to Trost. Their goal is to blockade us, preventing us from leaving as they slowly destroy us."
Suddenly, a thunder bolt appeared near the gate as Eren roared, the yellow light turned into a cold blue as Eren's body simultaneously formed and hardened.
"Damn it!" Alto swore, "Get Mina."
"Hold on, I get you brats love each other-" Levi began to protest
"No. I'm placing you and her on the other side of the wall. You're our best warrior, the Beast Titan is their leader, and Mina is the only one who's fought the Cart Titan with it's armor."
Levi turned to Erwin, "He's right." Erwin agreed, "You two are the best suited to handle the Beast and Cart."
Levi nodded, "Call Levi Squad back here," He told another soldier.
He saluted, and headed off.
"What? That's why everything has been so easy?" Eren asked, "So I just…"
"Self-pity and loathing later. Right now, you need to get back in the saddle. Armin, I want you to figure out where the hell they might be. I figured out their plan, but you need to figure out how to counter it. I'll join the Scouts inside Shiganshina."
"I'll go with-" Mina started,
"No." Alto snapped at her, causing her to reel back. "We need you outside fighting the Cart and Beast. Along with whoever else they may have with them."
Mina stepped back, then nodded,.
"Ymir, I want you and the other Royal Guards with me. Hopefully we can ambush those assholes with our AP Gear-" He unveiled a second interconnected set of Anti-Personnel Gear along with his regular Anti-Titan gear "-and Thunder Spears."
Ymir nodded, "Right." There was no sarcasm or mockery from her. Even she understood what was at stake, and that in and of itself was frightening if Ymir was in a situation so dire she didn't even joke about it.
"Armin," Erwin turned to him, "While you figure out a counterattack, take as many soldiers as needed and find out if they're hiding anywhere near the inner wall."
Armin gasped, "Hold on-" But Erwin already took off,
He gulped, then turned to the soldiers.
"We've already searched near the wall thoroughly!" One scout insisted,
"S-send one group to each side of the wall!" Armin ordered nervously, they nodded, and took off.
"Hey, Mina." Alto stopped her as she was about to leave,
"Yes?"
"I just want you to know…if you die…you can't expect me to stay here alone." Alto said, eyes down.
Mina nodded, "I'll come back, and if I don't…I'll wait for you." They both knew what they were talking about. They were each others' King and Queen, and they wouldn't leave each other behind.
"Ugh," Levi came over, "I get you're all lovey-dovey and all that, but we need to get going brats."
"Ja, Hauptmann." Mina followed Levi as Alto inhaled and jumped off the wall.
It has been nearly an hour, and still, absolutely no sign of the enemy warriors.
'How is it possible? We've combed the city several times since we got here…' Armin thought.
Suddenly, an image flashed before his eyes. A Titan staring down on them with a single lazy eye.
The Titan was inside the wall.
Armin fired a signal flare, recalling his own soldiers.
"Yes Armin?" Erwin asks,
"Check inside the walls. Look for places that are hollow and are big enough for someone to hide in!"
The Scouts gasped, inside the wall, it all made sense now. If they were inside the wall, it would not only provide a great place to hide, but also a complete view of the city.
Erwin nodded, firing another red signal flare to order the operation to a stop…
"Fucking hell…" Reiner slunk back against the wall. "Damn how smart Armin is. Of course he figured it out."
"What is it?" Evangelica asked, practically squishing Reiner as she tried to push him aside to look outside.
"Ow ow! You're freaking squashing me!" Reiner complained,
"Oh deal with it!" Evangelica hissed back at him.
Reiner and Evangelica began pushing and shoving each other for more space. When suddenly someone right outside shouted.
"Right here! This part…it's fake!"
They froze. They'd been found.
"Blast it!" Alto shouted, launching himself upward, several Royal Guardsmen moved into action, taking positions around the cavity, they switched to their AP ODM Gear and prepared to fire.
Suddenly, the fake piece of wall was kicked out, before the Scout was shot in the head by a pistol. Evangelica leapt out of the cavity, but was caught by a direct hit from a shotgun blast in the arm, sending her careening down. Reiner followed out soon after, but was hit with three more, sending him down in much the same direction.
Evangelica managed to regain some semblance of control over her ODM to direct it into the city, crashing into an unknown spot, before suddenly a beam of lightning struck down as the Warhammer materialize
Reiner followed suit, dropping down to the base of the Inner Gate, he transformed into the Armored Titan in a brilliant flash of yellow lightning.
Alto swore, "All troops! Switch to Anti-Titan ODM Gear and arm Thunder Spears!" He fired a yellow signal flare, and as if both enemy and ally was waiting for it, Erwin gasped as a row of Pure Titans materialized in flashes of yellow light, with the Female and Beast Titans at their head.
A Cart Titan decked out in full armor galloped up to join the two shifters, rolling a large boulder up to Zeke.
"Thank you Pieck." Zeke says to her, picking up the boulder and feeling it between his hands before hurling it straight at the inner gate.
"Enemy artillery, incoming!" Erwin shouted as the boulder hit it's mark. Splitting the Scouts and Royal Guards between the forces inside and outside Shiganshina.
"Damn it!" Alto came up to him, "I didn't predict this, I didn't think they'd try to cut us off like this…"
"One element." Erwin said, "The battle isn't lost yet."
Alto nodded glumly, then regained his composure. "The Colossal Titan will transform any minute. We should be ready." Alto headed back down into Shiganshina.
Alto looks around, and watches as Reiner increases the hardening around his hands and feet and rushes towards the wall.
'Now they're going for the horses!' Alto realized.
"Eren!" He called to him, "You and Ymir need to transform. Now."
"What? But why?" He asked,
"We don't want to reveal the Thunder Spears to Marley yet." Alto said, "Not until we're in a position where we can eliminate a significant portion of their fighting strength during this battle. In essence, you're bait to draw them into that position."
"Send in the 2 to 5 meter Titans." Zeke said, sitting down. And on his command, the 2 to 5 meter titans rushed forward hungrily towards exterior Shiganshina and the Scouts trapped outside.
Annie emerged from her nape, "Should I join them Warchief?"
"No Leonhart. Right now, remain in formation with Pieck and the other Titans." Zeke said to her, Annie nodded, and sank back into her nape.
"So far, everything has gone well Hauptmann Zeke." Alexander noted from his bunker on the back of the Cart Titan.
Zeke turned his head towards the man, "Indeed Hauptmann Le'Chuan"
"Still, I can't ignore the fact that it's possible they've brought weapons capable of penetrating the hardening of the Warhammer and Armored. What, with all the weapons testing they've been doing-"
"There's no way they came here with artillery. Unless they managed to get it in beforehand."
"What if it's handheld? We have no way of knowing until it's too late…" Alexander sighed,
'Alto may have failed to predict the boulder, but he's right about everything else. They want to slowly whittle down our number and prevent us from escaping.' Erwin thought
"Generalleutenant!" Armin came up to him, "The Armored Titan is getting close, and more importantly, everything except the problem with the boulder is going exactly as Alto predicted, which means Bertholdt could transform at any moment."
"Indeed. The Armored is coming for our horses, and the Beast Titan has us trapped by those larger titans." Erwin said, he turned behind him and watched as Eren, Ymir, and Alto all transformed.
"Tell Levi, Hanji, and Lange Squads to utilize Thunder Spears at their own discretion." Erwin nodded, and Armin headed off back towards Shiganshina.
'Too close.' Evangelica thought inside her nape. 'Nearly took my arm off…' She looked down on it, the only sign that it was ever injured was the tear marks through the clothing.
She looked around, and paled. Alto, Ymir, and Eren all transformed at the same time,
'But why?' She wondered, and then it hit her, they were using themselves as bait. They knew Reiner was after the horses, but they also knew that their main targets were Eren and Alto.
If they went after the horses, the Kaiserreich-held Titans would escape, but if they did go after them, then their horses would be untouched.
Evangelica made a choice, "Reiner! Leave the horses!"
He growled, clearly he'd come to the same conclusion, but he compiled anyway, heading back down the wall and joining up with Evangelica.
His mouth parted with a gust of almost mechanical steam, revealing rows of gritted teeth.
They waste no time in rushing each other. Ymir runs along the roof tops, going in for a strike with her claws on Evangelica's face, only for her to quickly materialize a spike to run her through, forcing her to dodge and avert the strike.
She slid around like a lion missing a pounce on its prey, and went in for a strike on her legs, this time, she dodged the spikes and managed to cut out a chunk of the knee pit.
Evangelica dropped, and Alto immediately rushed in to seize on this weakness, he leapt forward, preparing to aim a hardened strike directly on the Warhammer's face. In response, Evangelica quickly formed a shield, and it absorbed most of the impact of the punch, and then she proceeded to form an ODM blade in her right hand and stab Alto in the stomach before using the blade to swing him aside into a house.
The Flare Titan immediately got up, ignoring the large wound and rushed at Evangelica with its claws, slashing at the shield and countering Evangelica's jabs with the ODM Blade.
Reiner then proceeded to tackle Alto to the side, roaring at him, but then Eren got behind Evangelica and began to squeeze on her neck in a choking motion.
'Damn you…you bastards think you can take me on…in my own city?!' Roaring, Eren hardened his fists, and punched Evangelica in the back of the head, leaving a sizable indent and sending her sliding face down across the square the battle was going on in. She seemed to be unconscious.
As Reiner continued pushing, Alto managed to dig in by hardening his feet and digging into the ground. Roaring, he proceeded to slam his hardened fist down on Reiner's back, breaking the armor and stabbing into the Armored Titan's spine, forcing it to let go and heal, it staggered back before falling.
"Move the horses further back towards the wall!" Mina ordered the recruits, and they scrambled to follow her orders.
"Mina." Levi came up to her, "The veteran squads are moving up to engage the 2 to 3 meter titans."
Mina nodded, she couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right about this. Why only the small titans that were only bound to be wiped out? Why keep the Female back?
Suddenly, an image flashed before her eyes.
Suddenly, they all heard a sickening whistle. "What the heck-" Ambros began as the stables exploded in a crowd of debris.
"What the hell?! Our horses!" Isabel screamed as she desperately dodged flying rocks. Soon after another whistle was heard, and a giant boulder impacted the top of the tower. Lynne and Henning came tumbling down and their ODM flew apart. They were dead before they hit the ground.
"Boulders." Mina whispered in horror.
"What?"
"Captain! It's a trap!" Mina told him, "They were purposefully lured to the edge of town-"
She was cut off as a spray of boulders impacted the edge of town where the veteran squads were concentrated.
Alexander stood on top of his bunker with binoculars. "Direct hit." He said calmly, "Throw another barrage for good measure."
Zeke nodded, "Understood." He said, picking up another boulder, he crushed it and threw it in a scattershot manner, decimating any building that remained standing.
Mina watched in horror as the Scouts we're ripped apart, leaving only a red haze of blood and dust filling the air with a dusty coppery scent that seemed to permeate her mouth and nose.
She wanted to throw up.
"Damn it. We've been outplayed!" Levi swore, "Come on, we need to ask Erwin what to do next."
"They're both down!" Alto roared, "Royal Guards, Scout Regiment, move in with Thunder Spears!"
The Royal Guards nod, switching to their Anti-Personnel Gear for greater mobility, they swung through the city towards the downed Titans.
"Huh?" Reiner wondered, as he waited for his spine to heal. 'Don't they know their blades can't pierce my armor?'
"Get him!" A Royal Guard shouted, flanking Reiner from around the house,
The Royal Guards and Scouts surrounded the Titans, and clicking a trigger, their Thunder Spears slid off their rails and descended on the Warriors.
Jean, Sasha and Connie fired a barrage directly onto Reiners nape. Ambros and Hanji directed them for Evangelica's exposed nape. While the others hit several random points on their bodies.
Still in the air, they all simultaneously pulled back on the wire connecting the trigger pin to the ODM Gear, and the Thunder Spears began to glow.
'H-hold on! I don't want to die!' Reiner screamed
"Hey, Reiner." A crimson haired girl approached him, "Before you go…" The girl pulled in a much younger Reiner for a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I'll be a Marleyan Officer by the time you get back, and I promise, I'll make life better for us!" The girl called out to him.
'Is…it fair? Is it fair that I have someone to live for?!' He wondered as the Thunder Spears exploded Reiner's and Evangelica's nape.
A/N: Yes, I've planned out a love interest for Reiner. and I plan for her to have a really critical role as a Marleyan-Eldian Staff Officer in Season 3.5 to Season 4.
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