Part 64
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"Hey… You're supposed to light up the ground!" Levi scolded to the panicked noise of an unsettled horse behind him, with a Scout doing his best to ease the animal. The Captain sighed, turning to look at Fury who walked beside him.
"We're not at the foot yet? It's almost dawn…"
Fury looked ahead of her. The dim shade of a slow rising sun was beginning to hit the forest they were all traversing through. "I'm pretty sure Shiganshina is just on the other side of this forest…"
"Titan on the left!" Came the call from Jean. "Everybody halt!"
Mikasa threw her arm in front of a hooded Eren, whilst Hange scuffled her way over to the pinpoint. Only to be confronted by the Titan itself, who was motionless. Almost simply asleep against a singular tree.
"This boy must not be one of those new types that can maintain energy at night. Shame. But we best leave him be."
"I can't believe we didn't see it until that close up…" Eren surmised, looking back at the Titan as they continued down the path for the exit.
"For once, I agree with you." Fury muttered, lowering her hood. "I'm guessing this moonless night is what's keeping us safe. I'm almost sure the moon can act the same way as the sun does. Making some Titans still able to be active at night."
"I hope we can capture one some day!" Hange interrupted.
"Be on guard for Titans hiding in the shadows!" Came the order from Erwin, riding on horseback towards the gaping hole that the Colossal Titan once created to flood the surrounding area with Titans. "Our operation begins now! All troops switch to ODM gear!"
All anchors gripped to the wall, holstering every scout on horseback to wind themselves up to stand ready atop the wall itself; all remembering the plan that came from Commander Erwin himself.
"There's two gates we must seal - the inner and the outer. With that, Shiganshina will be isolated. We'll kill anything that's left inside. If the enemy knows of our plan, they could go after either Eren or Fury, should they know what she is. But we'll have our hoods covering the faces of all 100 of our soldiers. By the time they find out who Eren or Fury is, we'll have the outer gate plugged."
Eren stared with a blank expression to the district below him. Once his home, along with Mikasa and Armin, it now lay in ruin, littered with the bodies that were unable to be retrieved, left to rot and be forgotten.
"Don't halt!" Levi ordered, running by the still Eren, snapping him from his flooding memories of the day he lost his mother. "Head for the outer gate!"
With a nod, Eren followed in pursuit, with Mikasa swiftly following. However, before Armin would too follow, he noticed the remains of a dismantled fire pit that stained the wall in black chalk.
Quickly, he lifted his cutter to gain the focus of the nearby Erwin, who also stood atop the wall so that he can bellow his orders.
"They're close!" Armin alerted. "Bertholdt and Reiner!"
"This is… odd…" Fury then also alerted, softly, standing back to back with Levi himself, also overlooking the old destruction of Shiganshina. "Where are all the Titans?"
"We have to keep looking." Levi would insist, readying a smoke signal from his flare. "This is no reason to call all of this off."
As the signal was set alight from Levi, Eren was already in pace and remained focus. Lifting himself into the air with the burst of his ODM, determined and full of will; bit his hand, summoning the change to shift into his Titan form.
His hardening ability quickly crystallizing the first hole. With what strength he had remaining, he would then tear his body away from looming crystal that would devour his human body too should he not separate himself from the fleshly strands of his Titan.
Weak, he was still only just able to watch as Mikasa came down to his aid and practically carry his human body back to set upon the top of the wall.
"How's your ODM?" She would ask him, removing her arm from holding on around him.
"It's fine!" Eren almost hissed, though still checked his equipment in the process. "I lost my cloak though…"
And yet Mikasa was already placing her own around Eren, and he acknowledged her kindness with a nod. Green smoke signals were then shot from the ground up, signalling that Eren had successfully plugged the first hole.
"Shithead, you okay?" Fury approached, even putting her hand atop Eren's shoulder.
"No problems here. I'm ready, just like we trained." He responded calmly as Hange made her way over.
"Us lot need to head for the inner gate now. You too, Fury." She ordered, "While we're on the move, remember to hide your faces!"
Fury lifted her hood as the rest all took to running. Eren moved his gaze once again back down to the success he had just created.
"I really did it? And that easily?"
"You did it, Eren." Mikasa encouraged, running behind the boy. "Start believing in your power."
"Not yet!" Came the interruption from the more optimistic Levi. "No matter how much you plug it, they'll break the wall again and again as long as they're still alive. Until we kill Reiner, Bertholdt, and any other enemy that hides, the operation to retake Wall Maria will never end."
From the other side of the wall, Erwin still remained. Watching. Waiting. He, too, had begun to wonder why there was yet no attack from their common enemy. Why it was there was no Titans wandering within the Shiganshina district itself. Something was amiss. And it even made the Commander feel uneasy.
"I looked into it, Commander!" Came the approach of Armin. "And I'm pretty sure someone was camping not too recently. The pot cold and lights were scattered on the ground. They were drinking something like black tea. But I must say that there were three cups with this odd tea that still had drops in them. So I would like to assume that there were in fact three people atop the wall."
Erwin did well to hide his shock to hear that there are three main targets in the area, and not the original Reiner and Bertholdt. "We charged here at full speed using horses and ODM gear… Had they noticed our approach by sound, or sight, they'd have had minutes to react. A pot in use wouldn't cool in minutes. They had to have known we were coming for five minutes, or more. Meaning they've had time to prepare for us."
"There must be a scout in addition to the three on the wall…" Armin suggested. "Hm… No… We have to assume there's more enemies in hiding here."
Erwin sighed. "For now, locating the enemy is our top priority. Armin, with that brain of yours, you've saved us from disaster countless times. Right now is one of those times we need you. Take as many soldiers as needed. Find out if the enemies are hiding near the inner gate or not." Erwin then addressed the handful of soldiers near to him. "As of now, you obey Armin's commands. Continue the search."
Each soldier then began to crowd Armin, each soldier with their own report.
"We searched the wall thoroughly!"
"What are your orders?!"
Gripping through his panic, Armin clenched his fists. "Send one group to each side of the wall!" He emitted. "Search all the buildings near the inner gate! Report any findings with an acoustic shell! A-Alright?"
Each soldier accepted his command and then took off to inspect the surrounding area.
"What do I do?" Armin worried to himself. "Eren's coming to seal the inner gate… And we don't know where the enemy's at! Why haven't they shown even though we plugged up the outer wall? Why can't we find them no matter where we search? If we fail… Then this really will be the end…"
With a sudden realisation, Armin steadily shot a flare into the sky. "Everyone! Search the walls!" He ordered. "Search inside the walls! There must be a spot where someone could stay inside for a long time."
Believing all Armin had to say, Erwin had no question. A red flare was signalled from his own flare gun at this point. Red meaning to halt the mission. With orders from Hange, Eren and the rest came to a sudden halt on the inner side of the wall.
"There are time to be strict and there are times to be flexible." Erwin preached. "Adhere to the principles you vowed while giving everything you've got. Obey the chain of command. The reason we are here is to claim victory!"
"Break into two groups!" Armin roared. "Search the surface of the wall! Especially above the gate!"
Though with clear hesitation at first, the soldiers obeyed. Each anchoring to the inner side of the wall, tapping the aged stone with their cutters to hear for anything hollow. Whilst waiting for a hopeful find, Eren, along with the others, awaited atop the wall.
Fury placed herself next to Erwin's side. There was no time for subtle words of care to the man, but presence was enough as they all waited on baited breath. Levi's eyes averted to his Commander, who had lightly placed his hand over Fury's. To calm her. For even she shook with slight fear.
"Here!" Came the rattle of one soldier's call. "There's a cavity in here!" All eyes swiftly directed themselves to the sound of the awareness. And all watched as a cutter from within the wall pierced itself through the body of the soldier who made the call; instantly lifeless as he hung loosely, his ODM anchors then unable to take the weight and his body fell to the ground.
"Reiner!" Armin cried, gripping his own cutters, as the enemy himself emerged from within the wall, ready to strike. Only to then have the cutter of Levi impale through his neck. Pushing him down the side of the wall, Levi then impaled his other cutter straight through Reiner's chest, hoping to make the killing blow.
Levi himself gasped as he witnessed Reiner simply smirk. Unlatching himself, Levi anchored to the wall and watched as Reiner's body slammed to the ground.
"Levi!" Fury called from atop the wall, though was quickly pulled back by Erwin himself.
"So close… But I couldn't finish him off!" Levi cursed. "Another damn Titan power?!"
Reiner's body twitched, his bones beginning to shift as a flash of lighting reigned down to him, beginning his Titan transformation. All anyone could do at this point was watch as the Armoured Titan then emerged from the blinding light.
"Keep on the lookout!" Came the order from Erwin. "Locate his allies!"
Fury's eyes widened, the heavy sound of crashing lightning came from behind them all. She spun around, as did Erwin and the rest of the soldiers. A singular line of Titans were summoned.
Waiting.
As the one in the middle, the one they named the Beast Titan, came into the fight. Showing he had full control of all the summoned Mindless Titan's around him. Even Fury was left amiss. She struggled to maintain control of a handful, let alone an army. It shook her to her very core.
Movement was then made. The Beast Titan, with ease, picked up a nearby boulder, positioning himself for a powerful throw as he then launched the rock in the direction of the wall. A perfect throw, to the Beast Titan. Who had aimed for the hole the Colossal Titan had once created to let Titans in. The boulder shattering upon impact, leaving the Scouts back at where they started.
"He's plugged the entrance!" Fury called out, coughing as she stood up from almost everyone diving out of the way in fear the boulder would hit them. "Now the horses can't pass through! He'll aim for the horses and surround us… just to kill us all here?"
"Then we're both hoping for the same thing. "Erwin muttered. "To settle it here, once and for all.
Humanity?! Or Titans?!"
