"That commander of yours, sure is something, huh?" Kenny exclaimed as the group of five reached the designated hangar.
The situation was dire. The MPs were marching at the scouts, which couldn't use their barricades, because of the founding titan, flying above their heads. Normally, this would be the moment that they surrendered, however Armin had promised that with his machine, they could defeat the danger on the skies.
Mikasa watched as the blonde boy unlocked the large, hangar doors. She didn't have any time to think about his involvement. Obviously, he was regretful of his past actions, yet even now, she still remembered the hurt she felt when he ridiculed her ideas.
"Little help?" Armin groaned, while struggling with the heavy doors.
Levi and Kenny walked over to him, and together, they finally managed to open them.
Inside a hangar, stood a weird contraption. It looked pretty much like a boat, yet instead of a mast with sails, it possessed two, large, fixed wings, one atop of another. It was supported by several small wheels underneath, and on the front, a large propeller was placed.
There seemed to be some space inside the machine for a few people, to travel. On each side of the fuselage, small doors to enter and exit the build were placed. The rear end of the contraption had two small wings coming out of each side, and one in the middle that pointed upwards.
"You built this all by yourself…?" Levi asked, as Armin walked over to the trunk that was laying just to the side.
"Being a mechanic gives you a good opportunity to construct things in your free time" the blonde spoke, while opening the chest "experimenting with the combustion engine made me realize that there are things we can achieve, previously thought to be impossible."
Upon saying that, he started taking out a few weird-looking backpacks and threw them into the hands of the soldiers.
"What's inside?" Floch asked with surprise, inspecting the small string coming out of the side of the backpack.
"These are parachutes" Armin explained, putting one of them on, and fastening the belts "the people using the airships were worried that they had no way to escape, if the construct malfunctioned, so we needed to develop something for them."
Mikasa looked at the parachute that the blonde threw at her. She was still wondering how exactly some backpack could save her life, if she was falling from the skies.
"If you're in the air, and can't reach the flying boat, just pull the string and a parachute will deploy" Armin explained, seeing their puzzled looks "it's a big sheet of material that will slow down your fall, so please put them on…"
Hesitantly, Floch and the Ackermans put the backpacks on. It was a weird feeling, really. With the vertical maneuvering gear at her hips, and a parachute on her back, Mikasa almost felt like the technology was giving them a hand in their quest.
Then, Armin walked over to the door, and opened it, so everyone could enter.
"I'm going to be the pilot, but I need someone to help me" the blonde spoke, once everyone was inside.
"I'll do it" the redhead said "it can't be that hard. Besides, I'm not up to par with them, when it comes to combat…"
When he said that, he looked longingly towards Mikasa. She knew that he was angry that he couldn't help her when they would confront the queen. Ever since the boy learnt about her lifetime goal, he would always support her, no matter what. For that, the oriental girl couldn't be any more thankful…
"Don't worry" she spoke, walking over to the boy "you already did more than I could possibly ask for…"
Floch looked at her with a sour expression. Truth be told, he was looking as if he was about to protest on that, but before he could say anything, Mikasa lunged forward, kissing him once again.
"Get a room, you two" Levi sneered, with an annoyed tone.
Once they separated, the redhead turned towards Armin, who was already sitting in one of the two pilot seats.
"Let's see how high we can go with this bad boy" he exclaimed, before walking over to the remaining seat.
"I actually prefer to say that it's 'her', but okay" the blonde responded with a smile "ignition!"
Immediately, after he pulled the lever initiating the engine, the propeller started rotating. In no time, it was spinning so fast, that Mikasa could only see a circle, made of afterimages. The noise that the engine was making grew louder, before Armin spoke his next command.
"Floch, release the brakes!"
The redhead pulled on another lever that the blonde was pointing towards, and soon, the machine started moving. At first, it was slowly rolling out of the hangar, but soon, once they managed to get on one of the streets outside, it started to pick up speed.
Mikasa looked out of the small window just in time to see that they were rising from the ground.
"Amazing!" She exclaimed in awe, realizing that they were indeed flying "have you ever done this before?"
"Not with this machine" Armin replied, making the passengers look towards him in shock "but I'm pretty skilled when it comes to piloting, so…"
The contraption was rising higher and higher. Soon, they could see the rooftops of the buildings, and Mikasa could even see what was happening on the square in front of the royal palace.
In the time they were away from the scene, the rebels have been pushed back quite a bit. Somehow, they managed to keep the overwhelming forces of the government at bay, yet the military policemen were right in front of the palisade, slowly making their way through the defences.
"We're just in time" Armin spoke, rising the nose of the machine up.
Mikasa looked down at the positions of the scouts. From up here, she saw the cowered forms of Eren and Historia, tending to the unconscious Ymir, behind one of the barricades. Apparently, they managed to get away from the square before the soldiers could get them.
"Everybody, watch out!" The blonde pilot exclaimed, violently pulling the rudder.
Instantly, some rocks flew just to the side of the contraption. Looking through the windshield, Mikasa saw that Frieda's titan was flying in the distance and apparently, she noticed their presence.
"I'll try to get closer!" Armin exclaimed, forcing the machine to do a barrel roll, once more projectiles flew by their side.
Mikasa looked towards the other Ackermans. While Levi was stoic as always, Kenny was smiling for whatever reason.
"What's so funny?" She asked, when the flying boat started to fly upwards, trying to reach a higher altitude against the queen.
"Nothing" Kenny exclaimed, looking away "I'm just… finally feeling alive…"
Suddenly, another barrage of projectiles flew their way, this time, managing to hit the machine in some places.
"Damn it!" Armin cursed, trying to stabilize the construct "Ackermans! We are above her! Go!"
The trio didn't need to be told twice and soon, the doors were opened. After Levi and Kenny jumped out, Mikasa took only a second to glance at her beloved boy. The machine was damaged, but it was nothing Armin couldn't handle. Thus, Floch gave her a nod of assurance.
And so, she jumped out.
The oriental looked down, towards her target. Right now, the two other Ackermans were actively flying around the titan, trying to find an opening. Yet, every time they managed to get close, a giant hand swatted them away, like pesky mosquitos.
Suddenly, Mikasa realized that they weren't really trying to fight Frieda.
Levi and Kenny were trying to distract the queen, so that she could finish the job.
It was all too perfect. The oriental girl was right above the target. Each passing moment, her fears were growing bigger. What if it was all a trap? What if the queen knew about her, and was simply waiting for her to move in?
Nevertheless, another feeling started to build up within Mikasa.
And that feeling was rage. Pure hatred that she felt for Frieda Reiss, knowing what she had done to her, and her childhood friend, was slowly replacing her fears as she neared the nape of the flying titan. When she was close enough, Mikasa gripped the handles of her swords, strongly.
"This is for Eren!" Mikasa cried out, slashing her two blades at the exposed neck of the founder.
And then, with one swift motion, she pulled the mighty Frieda Reiss out of her titan.