LOCATION: WALL MARIA - YEAR 845
It was nothing but chaos.
People were panicking left and right, the screams of everyone overloading John's senses.
"THEY'RE INSIDE!"
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
"THEY'VE BREACHED THE WALL!"
The sounds of panicking were all he could hear.
"H-How the fuck are supposed to fight those things?!" Rex exclaimed, stepping back as his fear took hold. Deacon only stared in horror, unable to form any words as the situation truly dawned on him.
"Eren!" Armin's voice broke John out of his daze, and he turned to find his friend walking against the crowd, absolute worry etched on his face.
"Our house is in that direction… Mom's all by herself."
His loved ones were in danger…
Everyone was in danger.
John shook his head, snapping himself out of his stupor. Someone needed to take charge.
"Eren!" Mikasa shouted, preparing to chase after him, only to feel John tug her back by her scarf. "What are you-?!"
"I'm going after Eren, Mikasa. I need you to keep Lucy safe." John said, looking at her seriously.
"No!" Lucy objected almost immediately. "I don't want you to go!"
John looked at Lucy, a gentle expression on his face. "I told you nothing would happen to me Lucy and I meant it." He stated, softly but sternly. "Someone has to help Eren and his mom, so I need you to stay with Mikasa."
"But-"
"No buts! We ain't got time for this Lucy." John said sternly. "I promise you, I'll be okay, but you have to go." John turned his gaze to Mikasa. "Keep her safe."
Mikasa nodded, her face taking on a serious gaze.
John nodded, then stood up. "Deacon, Rex!"
His voice shocked both of them out of their trance.
"Listen Deacon, take Armin and get him to safety, Rex, you take Lucy and Mikasa."
They both stared at him in disbelief. "What about you?" Deacon asked in shock.
"I'm gonna go get Eren and Mrs. Yeager. Once you two get these three to safety, you go get your folks, Rex, warn em, get them to safety too. Deek, you find Sarah, warn her and her family. Got it?"
They both processed what they were being told, and they both nodded. "I'm gonna have Hannes come meet you guys, help out if he can." Rex said. "Just for my peace of mind."
John nodded. "Alright, get going. Once you two are done, try to meet me by the gate."
With a nod, everyone sprung into action. Deacon had Armin hop onto his back, his frail frame making him easy to carry, and he shot off in a blur, disappearing in an instant.
Rex created a construct for Mikasa and Lucy to stand on, then tried an idea he hoped would work. Creating a construct around his body, outlining him in orange, he willed it to move off the ground. If the situation hadn't been so dire, he would've been giddy that he could fly.
John turned in the opposite direction and ran in the direction of the Yeager residence. Deciding to take the quick route, and jumped up on a trade booth, intent to jump and roll onto a roof…
…only for him to find himself soaring into the air.
"Holy shit!" John exclaimed as the force of his jump sent him higher than anticipated. He bounced a little as he landed on a nearby roof, then thought for a moment.
If he had super strength, it made sense that it extended to his legs, allowing him to jump higher than any normal person could. It would also explain why he could move faster than a regular person could.
"That'll take some getting used to." John muttered as he turned and began sprinting across the rooftops, his large bounds making it easy for him to clear them quickly.
As he approached the street where the Yeager's house resided, he could already tell that things were not looking up.
Opting to slide off the roof and onto the street below, John landed with a grunt, before looking ahead.
His eyes widened in horror as his worst fear was confirmed true. The Yeager house had a massive piece of rubble atop it, leaving it all but destroyed, and he could spot Carla's unconscious form trapped beneath some rubble.
"Carla!" He yelled, panicking as he rushed to her side, his momentum causing him to slide a little as he stopped. "Carla, are you alright?!"
Carla groggily regained consciousness, and she looked up at John, slowly processing the situation. "John? Wha… What…"
John felt relief flood him as he stood up. "Thank god, Please tell me you're alright!"
Carla looked around as she grasped the situation. "I… I'm stuck…" Fear mounted in her voice as she realized her predicament. "I'm stuck!"
"MOM!" Eren's voice shouted from down the road as he saw the scene before him. "Oh god, Mom!" He jumped down as he attempted to lift the wooden roof off of her. "John, help me!"
Nodding, John moved to lift the roof, when his gaze drifted to the piece of rubble atop the house.
If he lifted the roof, and it snapped, it could do more damage to Carla than what's already been done.
The rock needed to go first.
Before John could even think to move, however, they all froze at the sound of thundering footsteps.
Glancing over, they could see the site of titans, thundering by, moving into the city.
A particularly loud stomp grabbed John's attention, and he turned to find a Titan approaching. The Titan was blonde, and it had an extremely unnerving smile on its face.
"Hurry John!" Eren exclaimed as he tried to lift the roof once more.
John glanced at the massive rock that lay upon the house, and got an idea. He just had to hope he had the strength.
Jumping up onto the roof, John slammed his hands into the massive rock, gripping it tightly. His hands dented the rock, and it cracked some as he made his own grip.
With a grunt, he lifted it off the ground. Admittedly, the massive rock was lighter than he expected it to be, it was just its sheer size that made it difficult to aim.
Eren watched, stupefied, amazed, as his best friend picked up the massive rock. He had yet to see John display his strength…
Carla was looking around, trying to get a view of what's going on. "Eren, what's he doing? Why did the weight lift a little?"
"H-He… He lifted the rock…" He muttered in disbelief as John realigned his grip, and threw the boulder at the approaching titan, launching it through the air at surprising speeds.
John heard the telltale hiss of ODM gear, and turned around to find Hannes had arrived.
"John! Good to see you on your feet, though I wish it was on better terms." Hannes remarked as he walked up, assessing the situation.
John nodded. "Good to see you too, Hannes." John turned to look at Eren as he jumped off the rubble. "Eren, move!"
Eren backed away from the roof, having a pretty good idea of what was about to happen, and John looked at Hannes. "Don't question, just listen right now. I'm gonna lift this roof, when I do, I need you to pull Carla out, got it?"
Hannes looked confused, in disbelief at his statement. "How are you-?"
"HANNES!"
Hannes jumped at the sudden volume, and he nodded. "R-Right."
With a nod, John turned around, and slipped his fingers under the roof.
Eren and Hannes watched, amazed, as John lifted the roof and most of the debris, and Carla felt immense relief flood her body as all the pressure disappeared.
Shaking himself from his stupor quickly, Hannes wasted no time and hooked his hands under Carla's shoulders, dragging her from the rubble with which she was trapped. "Can you walk, Carla?"
Hannes helped her try and stand to her feet, only for her to cry out in pain. She looked down at her left leg, which she was trying to keep pressure off of. "I think the collapse broke my ankle."
"Hannes, carry her." John said, wasting no time, glancing back to monitor the approaching titans, terror gripping him, barely able to keep it together. "Eren, on my back, now."
Eren nodded as John crouched down, and hopped up onto Big John's back, hooking his arms around John's neck as John gripped his leg to keep him from falling.
"Let's go!" He shouted as he ran ahead, Hannes following close behind, carefully carrying Carla in his arms.
All Carla could do was watch the carnage unfolding throughout the city, the titans invading Shinganshina.
Her home, the life she had built with Grisha over the last 10 years…
All of it was gone.
Deacon was running. His feet carried him at speeds he shouldn't be able to comprehend, his legs cracking the ground from the sheer force as he moved.
The only thing carrying him right now was the utter fear and worry for Sarah.
Their shop was within Maria, but it wasn't situated in one of the outlier districts. He'd already dropped Armin off at the evacuation site, and now he was gunning it for Sarah's.
He knew where it was by heart. That place had been the location for many happy memories in his life.
It hurt him to know that after today, he may never see it again.
But Sarah would be alive, and that's what was important to him.
In no time at all, he could see their flower shop ahead. He knew that Sarah and her folks might not react well to him obliterating the door to the place. But he didn't care. He needed to get them to safety.
So he didn't stop.
And in less than a second, he'd cleared the block and barged through the door, shattering it.
A scream of fright alerted him that he was not alone in the place as he tried to regain his footing, pushing himself against the wall he almost splintered as he regained his bearings.
"Deacon?"
The familiar voice, filled with fear, entered his ears as he turned to the source.
There she was, standing there in shock, a floral patterned dress as she held a tray. Judging by the soil and broken glass he spotted, he had a pretty good idea of what she had been carrying before he barged in.
"What was that?" She asked in a fear filled voice, looking at Deacon in shock.
Deacon shook his head as he stood to his feet, eyes wide as he looked at her. "I promise I'll explain later, Sarah, but we have to go now!" He yelled, his voice filled with desperation as closed the distance between them, making her drop the tray in surprise. "Where's your parents?"
"They're in Shinganshina." Sarah revealed, unsettled by the look of utter horror at the look that washed over his face when she answered. "Why?" She asked, his fear spreading to her.
"Where?" Deacon asked. "Where were they in Shinganshina?!"
"Pete's blacksmith shop!" Sarah answered, terror gripping her. "Deacon, what's going on?!"
Deacon's heart stopped when he heard her answer.
Pete's blacksmith shop… Peter's Smithing Wares… It was the first shop by the Shinganshina gate.
"Oh god…" Deacon whispered. The entire building was definitely gone.
And so was anyone inside.
"Sarah… the titans… they broke through the wall."
Sarah's entire face went pale at Deacon's words. Her parents… they would've been right next to the wall.
"No…" Her hands came up to her mouth in shock as the implications sunk in. Her parents were most likely devoured. She dropped to her knees in shock, Deacon rushing to catch her. "Oh god, no!"
"I'm sorry, Sarah…" Deacon said, pulling her into his chest to comfort her. "I'm so sorry."
"Did you… do you know for sure that they didn't escape the titans?" Sarah asked, holding onto the tiniest sliver of hope that her parents might be alive.
Deacon hated that he had to destroy it.
"Sarah…" Deacon breathed out. "The gate… it was kicked down by a huge titan. The force… anything close to the gate was pulverized…" He shook his head, sadness filling him as he gave her the horrible news. "If they were in the shop-"
"No!" Sarah cried out, shaking her head, refusing to believe it. "No, no, no, no! That can't be true!"
"I watched it happen, Sarah!" Deacon shouted, hating himself for how she flinched at his voice. "Anything and everything close to the gate was obliterated!"
In his words, she realized that he was serious.
Her parents… they were more than likely dead.
"No…" She cried out in a high pitched whine, her tearful gaze moving to the floor as she touched her head to his chest. "Mom… Dad…"
"I'm sorry, Sarah, but we have to go." Deacon urged gently, pulling the crying girl to her feet.
"Why did this have to happen today?" She sobbed, gripping Deacon tightly as the reality of the situation hit her. "The titans invade… and Mom and Dad have no chance of escape?"
Deacon didn't say anything. What could he say? Her parents were dead because of the very creatures they were supposed to be safe from, obliterated completely because they broke through the gate.
"Sarah, I'm sorry." Deacon said, holding her close to him as he scooped her up, bridal style. "I know I'm not helping things, but we have to go."
Gulping, her tears not helping her, Sarah nodded. "R-Right…"
She held him close, and buried her face into his chest, sobbing into his shirt.
Deacon didn't care that she was soaking his shirt. He would've done anything to rid her of her pain.
But at the moment, the best he could do was take off, and get her to safety.
So that's exactly what he did.
"MOM! DAD!"
Rex was completely terrified.
He'd already dropped off Mikasa and Lucy at an evacuation ship, and he'd immediately gunned it for his house. All of the staff were off today, so it was just his parents at home right now.
And they most likely had no clue about what was happening in Shinganshina.
So when Rex got to his place, he landed rather roughly, falling to the ground and scraping his knee in the process.
Not that he was focusing on that right now. The adrenaline pumping through him kept him focussed on the task at hand as he threw open his door, jerking his body around as he shouted for his parents.
"MOM! DAD! WHERE ARE YOU?!" He shouted out, desperation in his voice as he looked around frantically for his parents.
He didn't have to look long.
"Rex?!" His mom's voice shouted, catching his attention as he turned around, where Maria was leaving the kitchen, concerned in her voice as Logan followed her. "What's wrong? I thought you were with your friends!"
"We have to get out of here!" Rex shouted, running up to both his parents. "We need to leave, and we need to leave now!"
"Rex, what the hell is going on?" Logan asked, concerned about his son's frantic begging.
"Titans have invaded!" Rex revealed, to the horror of both his parents. "A huge one kicked down the wall and they're flooding into Shinganshina!"
"Oh god…" Maria said, bringing her hand up to her mouth in horror..
"We have to go! Now!" Rex urged, absolutely frantic.
Considering he'd actually been there to witness the titans begin their invasion, it was completely understandable. "Alright, Maria, go get your coat." Logan instructed, before turning to his son. "Rex, do you have anything important you need to get?"
"Just you two." Rex responded, looking at his parents. "John had me drop off Mikasa and Lucy, and told me to come straight here to get you two after I did so."
"Jesus Christ, is everyone alright?" Maria asked as she returned from grabbing her coat.
Rex nodded. "I'm pretty sure. John and Eren went to check on Mrs. Yeager, and I sent Hannes after them before I came here."
Logan nodded. "Alright. Well, if everyone has what they need, let's go." He said, looking between his son and his wife, both of whom nodded.
"I can get us to the evac boats quickly." Rex said. "We just need to get outside."
The family wasted no time in getting outside at Rex's words. With a sigh, he hovered his hand out, and repeated the same trick he had with Mikasa and Lucy.
Holding his hand out, he concentrated on his new abilities, creating a solid orange platform for his parents to step onto. "Get on."
Both Logan and Maria looked at the platform for a moment.
"Is it solid?" Maria asked, a little hesitant to step on the platform.
"It is." Rex nodded. "It's how I got Mikasa and Lucy to the boats."
"How did you-"
"Dad, please." Rex begged, growing more and more desperate. "Just trust me."
Maria and Logan looked at each other for a moment, they swallowed their nervousness and stepped forward onto the platform.
Once they had done so, Rex once again encased himself in the orange aura, allowing himself to fly off the ground, to Maria and Logan's shock.
Both of his parents were looking at him, disbelief in their eyes as he actually flew through the air.
"R-Rex… How…?" Maria was unable to really form proper words as she watched her son perform a feat of the gods, defying the laws of gravity as he hovered through the air.
"I have no earthly idea, Mom." Rex said with a shake of his head. "When I tested out the flight, it was just a hopeful test, something I prayed would work." He admitted. "If the situation wasn't so scary, I'd be really happy right now." He admitted as he flew.
"Well… this is certainly something…" Logan remarked as he sat down on the platform. "This whole day has been so insane."
Neither Rex nor Maria responded, but they silently agreed.
John had followed Hannes without losing any ground, staying hot on the man's heels as he carried Eren on his back.
Carla had since stopped looking at the carnage that was going on around them. She was instead focusing ahead of them, where they were finally approaching the gate.
"Thank god." He muttered under his breath as they sprinted through, focusing on the line of people trying to evacuate the Wall Maria.
"I gotta ask, kid," Hannes' voice caught John's attention as they ran. "What was that back there? How were you able to lift the roof like that?"
"If you think that's crazy, you should've seen him throw the boulder at the titan!" Eren remarked, his words causing Hannes' eyes to shoot wide in disbelief, unable to comprehend what he'd just been told.
"You… threw a boulder at a titan?" Hannes' voice asked in a whisper, shock flooding through him.
John nodded his head. "Yeah…" He admitted, nodding his head. "Short version is that me, Deek, and Rex found a really weird cave on our a few weeks ago. Weird shit happened in there, and now, I'm strong, Deek's fast, and Rex is freaky."
Hannes was unsure of how to really take the news, so he settled on a simple response. "Huh… neat."
"If you say so." John responded as they slowed their pace, crouching down so that Eren could hop off of his back. "You alright Eren?"
Eren nodded, though he was clearly a little shaky from the incident. "I'm fine."
John let out a sigh of relief.
All of his family were present and accounted for.
All he could do is hope the same was the case for Rex and Deacon.
Now, though, he had another mission.
"Hannes." John spoke, resting his hand on the man's shoulder as the Garrison soldier spun around so that both he and Carla could face him. "I… I have something else I have to do."
"What?" Carla asked, confused.
"Can't it wait kid?" Hannes asked, raising an eyebrow. "The titans are invading and there's no guarantee that we can hold them off long enough for everyone to evacuate."
"You can't." John nodded in agreement, before his face hardened. "But I can."
It took a few moments for his words to sink in, but when they did, the meaning hit them like a brick.
"No!" Eren said, unable to believe what he'd just heard. "Lucy's waiting on you!"
"You can't be serious, kid!" Hannes exclaimed, looking wide-eyed at the boy. "You wanna go back into that?!"
"We got these powers for a reason, Hannes!" John exclaimed, looking at the man with a serious gaze. "Deacon can evacuate people in minutes, and god only knows how versatile Rex is. The least I can do is hold the titans off."
"No!" Carla shouted, completely against the idea. "That is not happening, young man!"
"Mrs. Yeager-"
"No!" Carla interrupted, shaking her head vigorously. "I will not let you go out and kill yourself, John!"
"I can fight them, Carla!" John replied. "I can help people!"
"John, those things eat people!" Carla retorted, desperate to get him to see reason. "The roof was one thing, but do you really think you can overpower a titan?!"
"I have to try!" John pushed, growing more desperate to convince her.
"No you don't!" Carla said, shaking her head as tears welled up in her eyes. "I will not lose a son to those monsters."
Her words sent silence through the group, her declaration shocking John to his core.
"W-What?" He was almost unsure he'd heard that right. Carla… she considered him her son?
"You heard me, dammit!" Carla shouted, nearly falling out of Hannes arms at the way she was shaking, trying to get a grip of some sort on John, if only to prevent him from running back out into the horrors of Shinganshina. "I will not lose my son to the titans. Eren already wants to join the scouts, please, don't make me lose you now!"
The tears were running freely, not that the woman cared at the moment. She was looking into John's shocked eyes, completely and utterly desperate to convince him not to do this.
John shook his head, never breaking contact with her once. The site of the woman he'd considered his mother in the years since his mom had disappeared, crying, desperately trying to reach out for him… it broke his heart. "Carla…"
"Please, John!" She begged. "Don't go back out there."
John averted his gaze. He hated it, but his resolve would break if he looked at her for another second.
"Carla…" He whispered, shaking his head. "I have the chance to help people." He said, looking back at her with a serious gaze. "I have to take it."
He could still here Carla desperately shouting after him, even after he'd turned around and began his back to Shinganshina.
He was completely unsure of when he was actually unable to hear her. Her cries seemed to echo within his skill, even after she was long out of earshot.
He knew that when he got back… if he got back… he'd be in a world of trouble.
And honestly, why was he even trying? It's not like any of these people had ever done anything for him. Done anything to stop his suffering. Hell, he'd been made fun of more often than not whenever he tried to reach out to anybody.
So why?
Maybe it was because… that's the way his mother was.
His mom would always help anyone she came across. Always. It's how she met his dad, if he recalled correctly.
As much as it went against his own survival instinct, John couldn't help but to try and follow her example in this desperate time.
So, maybe that was why when the gate finally came into view again… John didn't stop.
He kept moving. Even after the Garrison Soldiers yelled after him, trying to get him to come back, he didn't stop.
Even after spotting a titan ahead. He didn't stop.
Even after he barreled into the titan's ankle, snapping the bone, tearing the muscle to pieces, he didn't stop.
"The nape of the neck is the weak spot…" John muttered to himself as the titan he'd just slammed into collapsed to the ground, unable to put weight on its now shattered ankle.
The military was geared with blades in order to slay titans. 1 meter wide, 10 centimeters across, he'd read.
But… maybe blunt force would work as well?
With a grunt, John decided to at least try as he hopped on the back of the giant, which was already healing its ankle as it tried to climb back to its feet.
Hard nails dug into hot flesh as John dragged himself to the nape, and when he finally reached it, he could only pray that his hunch was right.
With a yell, John cocked his fist back, and slammed it as hard as he could into the nape of the beast.
The skin warped under the force of John's superhuman punch, rippling from the center of his fist as the titan under him stilled.
And then collapsed.
John grunted as he fell to the ground, the corpse of the now-dead titan already evaporating as he climbed to his feet to look at his handiwork.
It worked.
Enough trauma to the name worked just as good as slicing it out.
John couldn't help the little well of satisfaction that grew within him as he realized that he damn well could take down the titans.
And he was smaller, more nimble, agile.
Mixed with his ability to leap great heights…
Despite the seriousness, the direness of the entire situation… John grinned.
He could help people.
Shaking himself out of his glee induced stupor, John listened.
The stomps were everywhere. All around, echoing through Shinganshina, he could hear the the crushing noises that were the mere footsteps of these large creatures.
But every single one of them were moving towards the gate.
He couldn't let them get too close.
If the titans got to close to the gate, the Garrison were under orders to close it, prevent them from getting through.
At the cost of the poor souls stuck on this side.
John narrowed his eyes.
No one would be trapped with the monsters.
Not while he could do something about it.
"Rex!" Deacon shouted as he slid to a stop, just as his friend landed, his parents still on the platform.
Deacon had already dropped Sarah off at the evac boat. He would've liked to have stayed with her, comforted her, but… he needed to find John.
He'd left Sarah with the Yeagers, who were waiting to enter a boat with Hannes. Armin's grandfather had since joined them, having spotted his grandson among the crowd as he'd been on his way to pick up the boy.
When he left Sarah there, he'd been happy. Everyone he knew was safe.
And then he realized that John was missing.
He'd frantically asked around, begging anybody he could for any information on his friend.
Carla had tearfully revealed, to his horror, that John had gone back to Shinganshina!
He knew John had asked him to meet him at the gate, but he had assumed that he meant the evac boat gates! Not the interior Shinganshina gate!
He'd promised the woman then and there that he'd bring the big guy back, if not with Rex, then by himself.
He could only hope Rex would agree to help.
"Deek, thank god!" Rex said as he lowered the platform to the ground, the orange glass evaporating as his parents looked at the two. "Please tell me everyone's alright!"
Deacon nodded. "The Yeagers are fine, and Sarah is okay, but… her parents were at Pete's shop."
It took Rex a moment to process what he'd just been told, his parents recoiling in shock at the words. "Oh god… she's…"
"Yeah." Deacon nodded, face covered in sadness. "I had to get her here, the whole time she was crying her eyes out."
Rex shook his head. "Goddamn… what about John?"
"He's not with them. I just found out from Mrs. Yeager, the dumbass went back to Shinganshina." Deacon revealed, looking at Rex's face, completely panicked at the idea that his friend was facing death alone.
Rex's eyes went as wide as saucers, unable to believe what he'd just heard. "I thought he wanted us to meet him at the evac gate!"
Deacon nodded. "So did I." He shook his head, turning to look in the direction of the gate, horror in his eyes. "Look, I'm not gonna say you got to, but I'm going after him."
"I'm in."
"Absolutely not!" Maria's voice protested immediately, catching the attention of both boys. "I don't care if he's your friend, I will not let you go into that bloodbath!"
"Mom-"
"You're mom's right, Rex." Logan said, looking down at his son. "I don't care what powers you may have now, there's no guarantee that you can survive the titans."
Deacon and Rex looked at each other.
Logan was absolutely right.
There was no guarantee that Rex could survive the titans. He may not even be able to overpower them. Deacon would struggle enough as it is, fighting the beasts. He was fast, he could avoid the titans easily, but all it would take would be one of the abnormal to catch him off guard.
John might be lucky, but they wouldn't be.
But even so, John was there friend, and regardless of whether or not he'd be fine, they weren't taking the risk.
With a mutual nod of agreement, Rex turned to look at his parents as Deacon blasted off in a black blur.
"I'm… I'm sorry, mom, dad." He said with a shake of his head.
"No, Rex, don't!" Maria was unable to stop her son as he hovered in the air, flying off. All she could do was sob and cry as she watched her son once again charge towards danger.
This time, knowing that it was dangerous.
Rex forced himself to ignore his mother's cries as he approached the gate rapidly, Deacon below him.
Deacon had visibly slowed, as while he was moving fast, he was no longer a black blur in Rex's vision. It was probably the only reason he'd caught up with his friend.
"We have no idea where John is in this shitshow, Deek." Rex said, looking at his friend as they moved. "How do you want to do this?"
"You fly over the gate." Deacon proposed, not looking at his friend so as to keep track of what's in front of him. "I can move past them quick enough to not be seen, but they might be able to make out your face."
"And considering my parents are the Vastatas, that wouldn't be the best idea." Rex said, nodding his head in agreement. "But… how are we going to bring John back?"
"All we can do is try and talk to him, Rex." Deacon admitted with a shake of his head, snorting slightly. "You know how stubborn he is."
Rex nodded. "Yeah… that's what I'm afraid of."
Breaking off from Deacon as the approached the gate, Rex moved himself over the wall, flying well above and over the 50 meter structure as he watched the black blur that is Deacon enter the city.
And already, he knew where John was.
From his elevated view, he could see a blue shape smashing into the titans, crushing them to pieces and creating all kinds of debris any time the shape would crash into the ground or the nearby buildings.
Considering John was wearing that blue flannel of his, Rex knew exactly where his friend was.
"Dammit, John." He muttered to himself as he closed the distance to his large friend, John's form and features becoming more and more clear as he approached.
He exclaimed as he barely dodged a titan head that was thrown in his direction, shock consuming him as he realized it was a severed head, and he realized exactly where it had most likely come from.
"John!"
His voice seemed to catch John's attention, stopping him from jumping into a random direction as he gently leaped up onto a nearby roof, leaving the falling titan carcass behind.
"Hey Rex." John greeted, looking around. "Where's Deek?"
"Right behind you." John visibly jumped as Deacon popped up behind him, his face none to pleased. "Now, do you want to tell me what the hell is wrong with you?!"
"What?" John asked, his face scrunched in confusion.
"Everyone you know is safe and you still decide to come back out here, you goddamn moron!" Rex exclaimed, looking at John, furious. "Seriously, what the fuck?!"
"I can help people!" John retorted, gesturing around to the carnage. "Look around you! People are dying, and the closer the titans get to the get, the higher chance people have of getting locked out here with the beasts."
"It's not our job to help, John!" Deacon replied with a shake of his head. "We're just a couple of kids with powers that we shouldn't have!"
John's face visibly darkened. "There's a lot of shit kids shouldn't go through. Didn't stop Charles."
Deacon visibly flinched as he realized what he said. "Look, man, that's not what I-"
"Save it." John growled, turning away from the two. "So far, I've overpowered the titans, but their numbers are growing. If you two are gonna help, feel free. If not, I'll meet you in Rose."
Just as John was about to take off, Rex's voice stopped him. "Wait man!"
Turning to look back at his friends with a raised eyebrow, he saw the both of them were resigned.
As much as they disagreed with this, they refused to leave their friend behind.
"How do we help?" Rex asked. John couldn't help the smile on his face as he turned back towards his friends.
"Deacon, with your speed, you can move around the titans no problem, and I'd imagine you could take out a leg with the speed you move at now." John surmised, looking at his friend. "Focus on evacuation. Clear out as many people as you can, and only fight a titan if you absolutely have too."
"On it." Deacon responded with a firm nod, blurring away as John turned to Rex.
"You're the middle ground between us." John noted, looking at his shorter friend. "You can fly, and you can fight. With me and Deacon working both ends of the spectrum, you can work between."
"Evacuation and Devastation." Rex nodded, seeing his point. "Slaughter titans and get people to safety.
John nodded his head, grinning with a snap of his fingers. "Exactly."
Rex nodded, and hovered off the ground. "Alright, I'll get to work."
As he watched his friend fly off, John turned his gaze back out towards Shinganshina.
He could see the heads of many titans poking above the roofs of the structures across the city.
There were so many of them, and it never ended.
Then again, John didn't have to kill all the titans.
He just had to keep them from getting too close to the gate until everyone was evacuated.
Carla could safely say that she did not feel good. Her ankle was broken, and everything below her waist felt like it had been crushed.
Then again, it all had, hadn't it?
Honestly, she didn't even really remember the crash of the boulder.
One second, she was doing the dishes, and she heard what sounded like an earth shattering roar, followed by the sound of something whistling in the wind.
And then, she was sitting on the ground, John's voice breaking through a haze and entering her ears as she realized that the house was sitting in her.
Her legs weren't literally crushed, but they were bruised and damaged from the weight of the roof and the boulder. Instead, it was just her ankle, luckily, that was broken.
Thank god Hannes had been there.
Then again… John could've carried them both, couldn't he?
She was still hurting over the fact that he'd chosen to run back into that nightmare.
What she'd said, she meant it.
Even if John didn't see her as a mother, she saw him as her son.
She and Grisha had taken care of that boy and his sister since he was seven, and she'd known both of them their whole lives. They were her kids just as much as Eren and Mikasa were.
And now, she was more than likely going to lose him.
It was admirable, what John was doing. She admitted that. He had the power to help, and he chose to, despite being bullied for his height and situation so often.
But she still hated it. Because no matter how proud she was of him for his choice, he was risking being devoured, using powers he'd only had for hours to try and help people.
She was unsure if he'd be okay. He'd been positive, but… she was unsure.
It definitely didn't help that she'd had to tell Lucy exactly what her brother was doing.
She's been so excited, to see her big brother again. And now, he was knowingly putting himself in danger once more, only hours after awakening.
It was why the little child was currently curled up into a ball, leaning against Carla as the woman wrapped a comforting hand around her.
It broke Carla's heart even more to listen to the little sniffles the child was letting out as she cried.
Compound that with the fact the she'd been close enough to see the gate when the titans broke through, and the poor girl was absolutely miserable right now.
Carla had heard from Eren and Armin what had caused the breach. A massive titan, well over 60 meters, tall enough to poke its head over the wall. It had kicked the gate open as if it were kicking a rock, as Armin had described.
"Keep thinking like that, you'll get wrinkles in your face."
Carla was snapped out of her thoughts by the voice of Armin's grandfather. The elderly man was a kind one, a heart of gold hidden under a quiet exterior, and he was always willing to help anyone.
So the man's presence here was extremely calming.
"Considering this one, I'm surprised that I don't have wrinkles already." Carla couldn't help but joke in response, gesturing towards Eren, who was chatting away with Armin and Mikasa, not at all paying attention.
Though, terror was still quite prevalent on all of their faces.
"He's rambunctious, isn't he?" The old man remarked with a chuckle. "All those kids take responsibility for their stunts, but I'd bet all my marbles that it's either Eren, or Deacon dragging them into trouble."
Carla could see what he was trying to do, but admittedly, she appreciated the gesture. She needed to take her mind off the horrors she'd just experienced.
"Oh yes." Carla said with a nod and a laugh. "I can almost guarantee it." She admitted, with eying her son. "He has a good heart, but he's reckless. I love him more than anything in the world, but… he never realizes that his actions don't just affect him."
"Not until after the fact, anyway." The old man remarked with a sigh. "Why, I still remember that stunt with the cabbage stand last month."
"I don't think I've ever seen a man so broken over a vegetable." Carla responded with a giggle, remembering the stunt. "I still can't believe Eren unhooked the cart like he did."
"To be fair, he did have help with that. It was John who lifted the thing while Deacon and Armin distracted the man." The old man recalled, grinning at the memory.
Carla outright laughed at the memory. "How is it that a couple of kids can get into so much trouble?" She asked, trying to stifle her giggles so as not to disturb others.
"I don't know…" The old man responded with a chuckle, before his face morphed into one of sadness. "I don't know…"
Carla knew that look.
He was thinking about his daughter again.
"Silas, I know that look." Carla said, resting her hand in the old man's arm. "What happened to Elara wasn't your fault."
"I should've warned them, Carla." The replied, guilt in his voice. "I should've warned them what would happen if the government found out."
"It's so easy to look back, and say what we should've done." Carla remarked, smiling at the old man. "You taught me that."
Silas smiled at Carla's words, looking at the woman. "I suppose I did, didn't I?"
"Mrs. Yeager?"
That was the voice of Sarah Attinger catching her attention.
Carla turned away from the old man next to her to look at the child, who had taken a seat between her and Mikasa. Her face was red with tear stains, and Carla was almost certain that the girl was still reeling from immense shock.
She'd heard from Deacon what had happened to the poor girl's parents, and oh how badly she felt for her.
The girl had a nice life, and it was all upended by those giant monsters these walls were supposed to protect them from.
"What is it, Sarah?" She asked, concerns for the child lacing her voice. The poor girl was no an orphan, and he had absolutely no indication that it was going to happen.
"Am… am I going to have to go to an orphanage?" The utter fear in the child's voice at the implication was absolutely well deserved.
There were not many orphan homes within the walls, but the ones that do exist had nasty reputations.
Carla might be putting herself into a hole, but she's be damned if she'd let the poor child go to one of those hell holes after this experience.
"No, you won't, Sarah." Carla said with a firm shake of her head. "I will not let that happen."
"You won't?" The girl sounded slightly hopeful at the woman's words, her eyes sparkling at the prospect despite her tear stained face.
Carla shook her head vigorously. "No, I won't."
"I don't mean to put a damper on things," Silas' voice caught both of their attention, and he looked at Carla, specifically. "But will you and Grisha be able to take care of her? That's about five kids now. Six if Deacon goes and stays with you."
Exactly what she hated to hear, but the truth nonetheless. "I will not have these kids going to an orphanage after what they've experienced today." Carla was determined nonetheless though.
Silas raised an eyebrow. "I think you misinterpreted me, Carla." He said, before turning to look at Sarah, who was looking at him in confusion. "How about you and your buddy stay with me and Armin?"
Both Carla and Sarah's eyes widened. "Really?!" The girl asked, very hopeful now. "You mean it?!"
Silas let out a chuckle. "Why of course." He responded kindly. "Like Mrs. Yeager here said, none of you kids need to be in an orphanage after what happened today."
The child was smiling now, and she looked at the man with a grateful gaze as she jumped up from her kneeling position, wrapping her arms around the old man. "Thank you, Mr. Arlert!"
Silas chuckled as he ran a comforting hand across her back. "No problem, kiddo."
Carla watched the scene with fondness.
So far, she'd completely forgotten about her downtrodden mood.
John let out a grunt as he slammed into a nearby roof as another titan corpse fell.
"They just keep coming!" He shouted out in frustration, talking to no one in particular as he stood up.
He spotted another titan approaching the gate. There were so many of them, and they were getting dangerously close to the gate.
John was starting to grow weary. He hoped that Deacon and Rex would find him anytime now. Until they did, he would keep doing this.
No matter how irritating it got.
Ripping a chunk of the roof out of the structure he was standing on, John threw the chunk at the titan without hesitation.
The slab of concrete and brick completely obliterated the giants face, the now inoperable body crashing to the adjacent roof as it's healing kicked in.
Not that it had time to do much, as John immediately slammed down on the nape of the corpse seconds later.
Another couple of titans had been following the one that was now a steaming corpse. John could only just know see them, since they were rather small in comparison.
Still, a titan was a titan, and he had to make sure none of them reached the gate.
Leaping from his position on the crushed nape of the titan, John slammed hard into the closer titan, their closer height to his own making it easier for him to obliterate the nape without having direct access to it.
Redirecting his momentum, he immediately sent himself into another bound off of the now dead titan, ripping it apart from the force of his legs kicking off as he sent his body flying with tremendous force at the second titan, plunging through its throat and destroying it's ape as he came out of it's back.
John landed in the ground and looked himself over. The titan blood was already evaporating, but that didn't make the feeling of the substance any less gross. "Ugh, disgusting."
Turning towards a nearby roof, he jumped up into it, giving himself some a view of the area.
It looked as thought there were triple the titans there were before. The only saving grace was that they were further away from the gate, with only a few stragglers here and there.
STOMP!
John froze.
That noise. It was a titan's footstep.
But it was different. Louder, more forceful.
Filled with purpose.
"What the hell?" John muttered quietly to himself as he turned in the direction of the noise, leaping across the rooftops as he ran.
The noise… it was coming from the street that lead directly to the gate.
And when John landed and surveyed the street, he could immediately see the cause.
There was a titan, surprisingly proportionate compared to normal titans.
But John could tell that this creature was no ordinary titan.
It was 15 meters tall, and it's body was completely skinless. Instead, dark grey plates made up the skin of the beast, it's short platinum blonde hair blowing in the wind as it's glowing golden eyes glared at anything that they gazed at.
John couldn't help but feel intimidated. This titan, it wasn't normal.
No, there was something about it. Something… human.
John didn't like it.
The beast stopped at the very end of the street, turning it's glaring gaze to the gate, the sound of its footsteps finally falling silent for a moment as they echoed through the city.
John watched in horrified amazement, as the creature then proceeded to adjust itself.
Into a running position.
John realized too late what the creature was about to do.
"NO!"
The titan took off, the force of it's footsteps annihilating any smaller unfortunate titan that stood to close as it's footfalls crushed the brick ground below it.
The creature's sheer bulk took of the entire street, and John felt the air move as the titan passed by him.
Every stomp to the earth violently shook the area, and John could feel his own heart racing as he watched the titan run.
Towards the gate.
It was charging the gate!
Shaking himself out of his horrified stupor, John took off after the creature, struggling to catch up to the beast.
This would've classified as an abnormal, but even abnormal titans have a set amount of characteristics.
If this thing wanted to eat humans, he severely doubted it'd be charging the gate like this.
It didn't just want to eat humans…
… it wanted to push humanity back.
With a determined grunt, John jumped onto the beast, his hand gripping one of the plates as he landed on the creature's back.
"Come on, dammit!" John muttered to himself as he climbed up the creature's back, moving towards its nape as the muscles rippled from its own determined movements.
With every grunt, John pulled himself closer to the nape.
When he finally reaches the titan's weak point, he steadied himself, and pulled his fist back.
The titan had an armored plate directly over its nape. If John was lucky, he'd be able to shatter it and hopefully crush the nape.
With a determined yell, he slammed his fist as hard as he could into the plate.
And he was horrified.
His punch, which had already felled so many normal titans, had only managed to crack the armored plate of this titan's nape.
He brought his fist back again for another try, desperate to bring the beast down, only to find himself snatched off the beast's nape. By the beast itself.
John was unsure of what happened in the next moments. Suddenly, a blur of colors was passing through his view, everything too scrambled for him to make it all out.
He could feel himself flying through the air, spinning at an immense speed, unable to correct or right his direction.
And then he wasn't spinning anymore. Instead, his back crashed against and destroyed something hard. He was assuming the wall as he flipped over whatever he'd hit.
He was no longer spinning in the air, but he was falling.
His back ached like there was no tomorrow, and he felt as if he had ripped his arms and legs to ribbons.
Then again, whatever had just happened to him, was done by a beast far more powerful than any normal titan.
He landed with a grunt of pain, the grassy ground under him ripping under his form as his body dug grooves into the ground.
His body was wracked with pain, but he had to keep trying.
Pulling his aching body to its feet, he surveyed his surroundings for a quick moment.
He could see the evac boats, a line still decently sized awaiting evacuation.
He was within the interior of Maria.
He turned towards the gate…
… and found that he was too late.
No sooner than his eyes had landed on the gate had the armored abomination he'd been thrown by barrel into view, completely destroying the entire gate.
And in those moments, it hit John.
He had his loved ones.
But they all had lost everything else. For with the gates of Maria no more…
There was no way to salvage Maria.
They'd lost it.
"John!"
Deacon's voice somehow made it through the haze of pain, and he was admittedly surprised to find both his friends by his side, looking at him in horror.
"Jesus Christ, man, what the hell happened to you?!" Rex asked, horrified by his friend's condition.
Looking blearily down at his hands, John could see some blood on them.
His shirt was rather torn, and his pants had tears all over them.
There were splotches of blood all over his clothes, and considering what he'd been fighting, mixed with the small cuts on his hands, he had a pretty good idea of who's blood it was.
"It… it was…" Weakly, John raised his hand to answer, pointing towards the armored titan he'd tried to take down.
His friends followed his finger, and he had just a second to see their horrified gazes turn back to him.
And then his hearing failed him, and his body slumped as everything went black.
A/N: And so ends the Shinganshina siege.
Yeah, I wanted to actually show the change that will have happened between the day they discover their powers, and further in the story.
I feel like that wasn't showcased as well in the original. It was mostly just a passing reference to some healing bruises and cuts.
But here, John actually tried to engage the Armored Titan, and he got fucked up, because he's not as strong as he will be in the future.
But anyway, that's the end of the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, I really encourage you to leave a review of and/or comment your thoughts as they encourage me, and I will see you all in the next chapter.