This is an excerpt from my Attack On Titan Changes fan fiction, from chapter 12: "god of war". If you want more context or are interested in the full story you can find that main fan fiction in my profile. But if you are only interested in my rewrite of chapters 127-135 of the original manga, then this small excerpt was made for you!
Cheers!
C.T.
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- Year 854 - October - High up in the Skies
[Mid-Rumbling]
"Can you see that?" Onyankopon asked his copilot while pointing at the radar.
"There's something approaching," Armin said, observing the radar. "Coming in our direction."
Onyan smiled. "It's much lower in altitude than us. And at that speed, it must be an airship," he concluded.
"Good," Armin smiled, feeling a little bit of relief. "The plan is working," he added.
"Precisely," Onyan replied.
The stolen dirigible had changed its course, it was previously heading to the continent to aid Eren when the rumbling was over. Now the Yeagerists had changed their course. Which means they were aware of the happenings in the Island. Louise had to take charge, as Floch left them to go back to the Island without him. He stayed in Marley, riding fast between the wreckage and blood, in that destroyed land. For he had his own mission.
A few hours before, in the paradisian harbour
It was deep within the night as the Survey Corps and what was left of the Warriors arrived at the island's harbour. They expected the place to be crawling with Yeagerists, but they arrived to see a horrid sight.
Hundreds of soldiers, all dead, with sliced throats, heads cut off, and many other gruesome wounds. Torn apart into pieces. Mikasa looked around the harbour and at the dead bodies. She felt that eeriness again, the same she had felt that day, near that lake. She was holding back her tears, hoping no one would notice it.
They all felt very disturbed with the sight, who would be 'helping' them in such a violent way?
"Who did all this?" Hange asked to herself, solemnly.
"Not us," Shadis replied, coming to meet her with his troop of cadets. "We aren't capable of this brutality, but we are here to serve you on what is needed, Commander," he offered his services and the cadets all joined in formation to make their salute. Giving out their hearts.
"Good," Armin said quietly to himself as he watched a little further away. He was glad to see reinforcements.
Pieck had just come out of her Titan, as she walked around the darkness of the harbour, trying to avoid the funky smell of the corpses spread out on the ground.
She stopped near Armin, observing the Titans disappearing into the ocean. The tides were rocking and boiling with the heat. "We need a weakness, a great distraction, if we want to win this. You know him better than anyone, don't you? How do we break his legs?" She asked Armin.
"Not better than everyone," Armin replied, he looked at Mikasa and she looked back at him in disapproval and sadness. She went to attend to her cousin as Armin and Hange joined with the Warriors to plan their actions. She could tell what Armin was getting into and she didn't want to be a part of it, for she knew it could put their child in danger.
Mikasa sat down near the fire they'd made, to help Levi eat and to change his bandages.
"That was very careless of you," she said as she examined his wounds.
"You are not my mother," he hissed at her, then thought about it, Levi sighed. "It was selfish and idiotic, I'll admit," he confessed. He then looked down at his hands, missing fingers, he could still faintly feel them.
"We didn't do very well in our end either," Mikasa looked over the raging tides of a once peaceful ocean. "It should have ended here, we should have stopped this in Shiganshina," she confessed, mourning for the losses of so many lives, already being trampled by those monsters.
-.-
"You will lose in the end," Hange declared, she had walked down the prisoner to one of the cells in the basement of the Survey Corps building. They had retrieved all the information they could from Yelena, and no longer had use for the traitor.
"But we already won!" Yelena argued back as Hange closed the cell's door, locking her inside. "I trust the War Chief. Marley will be destroyed, completely. Look around you! It's all already happening!" she added with a laugh as they could both hear the thunderous stomps of the Colossal Titans walking outside.
"I'll be back for you," Hange warned, and left Yelena there, alone in the jail.
"I still can help!" The mad woman shouted and laughed from the distance as the Commander walked up the stairs.
-.-
Down the harbour, the hizurian engineers were confusingly arguing among themselves. Some of them were commenting the plane was not the same, that it looked the same but had different parts, better parts. They were all very confused, with some of them thinking the other engineers were just mistaken. The whole group kept arguing and contradicting each other.
"What are they arguing about?" Armin asked Onyan, who was walking away from the confusion and towards him.
"Some nonsenses about the plane's motor," he replied.
"Well, will it fly?" Armin asked, apprehensively.
"Apparently better than ever," Onyan replied. "According to some of them," he added, scratching his head.
"Can you get it off the ground?" Armin asked.
"Hopefully," Onyan replied. "If you help me," he added, smiling.
Armin gave back a half-smile, he was extremely apprehensive as they watched the millions of Pure Colossal Titans walking to cross the bay. Making their way to the continent. Armin knew they couldn't waste time but he also knew they couldn't leave before they'd tested the plane and made sure of Falco's powers.
-.-
"Okay, that is a little different than expected," Reiner commented. He and the other Warriors were supervising Falco's transformation.
"He has wings! How does he have wings?!" Annie questioned, baffled.
"He is not the Beast Titan, it's not like he could have chosen to be a winged beast," Pieck pointed out.
Reiner scratched his head confusedly, "his Pure Titan spawned from Zeke's spinal fluid. Maybe the royal blood awakened some ancient Jaw Titan capability," he considered as Falco's Titan clumsily flew back in their direction.
He wasn't very good at it, and the Shifters had no idea if he could carry any weight or how long he could actually fly.
The Jaw Titan landed and the boy immediately came out of it. He was feeling stressed and terrified with his new-found abilities. Gabi rushed to help Falco get out of his Titan. "Good job!" Reiner congratulated him, while walking a little closer.
"Do you remember anything?" Annie asked him and Falco only shook his head in negative motion. "We can't afford to trust in him," she told the others.
"True, the right thing would be for him to transform at least a couple more times," Pieck added.
"That would be ideal, yes. But we are out of time," Reiner pointed out. He came over and offered his hand for the boy to stand up. "You'll just have to trust your instincts," he told Falco with a swag smile, trying to give him some confidence.
The Shifters walked away in the direction of the plane and of the members of the Survey Corps.
The two young warriors stayed behind and Gabi stared at Falco worriedly.
"I wish you could come with me, but I know it's too dangerous out there," Falco told her.
"Just make sure that monster is dead this time," she asked of him. "For Colt," Gabi added and the boy looked down to the ground, deeply upset. "All he wanted to do was to protect me, and now he's gone," Falco said in a small, broken voice.
"Then use that," Gabi replied. "Protect us. Protect them," she gestured to the group next to the plane and Falco nodded, solemnly.
She held up her rifle, ready to follow Hange's team. She pondered for a moment and then came back towards the young Titan Shifter, and kissed him on the cheek.
-.-
"You know he will be safe, right?" Armin asked Mikasa softly. "He is good at hiding, you know that." he added and Mikasa ignored him, she kept adjusting her gear. They were preparing for war. "I asked Hitch to make sure he was safe and to protect him if necessary," he kept talking but with no effect. "You know you can't ask me to go back with Hange's team, right? We need you out there with us-"
"I wasn't going to ask that," Mikasa interrupted him. "I know my orders and my duty," she added. In a moment of distress Mikasa was a soldier above all else. "But I don't understand why would you make me leave him there," she said in a more broken voice. "Promising me that it would be the safest place our child could be! Because Eren would never let the Yeagerists attack there. Just to then decide to attack the building yourself!"
"We didn't know things would escalate to this degree did we?" Armin argued back.
It was very difficult for both of them; Their trust in one another had been shaken ever since Eren'd put doubts in their minds, in the last time the trio had spoke. And now Armin was deliberately putting their own child as well as other children in danger. For the sake of his wicked plan.
He sighed. "I have my hands tied here. All we can do is end this as quickly as possible, and hope he will be safe," Armin told her. "You can blame Eren after that," he bitterly added.
"You want me to blame Eren if OUR child, or any of those poor children in that orphanage are accidentally shot by Survey Corps weapons?" she angrily argued.
"Yes," Armin responded bluntly, he then took a deep breath. "You can blame him for all of this! Look out there!" Armin pointed out towards the ocean, to the distant continent. "Millions of people are about to die because of how stupid and absurdly stubborn Eren can be! And all we can do is end this as soon as possible to see if that makes a dent in the casualties." Armin let out.
Mikasa asked sternly but also softly: "Are you sure you are mentally fit for this?" She was tired of Armin yelling at her. He was throwing his frustration over Eren at the wrong person. And they both knew it.
"I am," Armin affirmed and finished strapping his gear. "And Azzy will be fine, you know that," he added, walking towards the plane. Mikasa looked back at the dreadful state of the harbour. All the dead bodies, it was a true horrid sight. She took a deep breath, Mikasa was feeling miserable and broken as she joined the team inside the plane.
-.-
"Don't die out there, four-eyes," Levi asked of his oldest comrade and closest friend.
Hange gave out a small laugh. "You are the one going to lion's den. I only have to take out the lioness, she replied, adjusting her weapon.
"I owe you my life," Levi told her, giving his commander the heart salute.
"Then come back with the lion's head." Hange said, giving him the heart salute as well and Levi nodded.
Hange and Shadis were leading a troop of young cadets, their mission was inside the Island, while Armin's team was preparing to board the aircraft. It was important for both missions to be perfectly synchronised, it had all been timed very carefully.
"What are we doing up here, man..?" Connie commented with Jean, with an insecure smile in his face, as they both walked up the plane.
"We will make sure to blow up the hell of that thing," Jean replied. "Before it blows all of us all the way to hell." he added in trepidation.
-.-
"Be careful out there," Annie worriedly told Hitch.
"You know I'm a soldier too, right?" she replied with a smile.
"Just don't try to be a hero," Annie insisted with a broken voice. "Be smart," she advised.
"But I am smart," Hitch said with a smile and Annie rushed to hug her. 'Okay,' Hitch though, it is not everyday one gets that amount of affection from such a cold lady. "I'll survive, you'll survive and we'll go out for drinks," Hitch suggested, it was a promise they both agreed on.
"All right," Annie replied, she then extended her hand for a pinky swear. "For Marlo," she said with a timid smile.
Hitch smiled and reached out her hand to join in the promise. "For Marlo," she repeated.
They all had said their goodbyes, hoping to see their fellow soldiers after all was over. But they all knew they could be seeing each other for the very last time.
Hitch waved back at the rest of the 104th again as she joined Hange's team, together with Shadis and the young cadets. The young Gabi was also included in that team. She gave Falco a last half-smile as Hitch helped her climb up the horse. Hange's team was ready to go, so they galloped away, riding pretty fast on their Survey Corps horses and carriages.
It was the ultimate mission, for both teams, and they all knew they couldn't fail it.
Levi was slowly walking towards the plane as he passed Annie, he gave her a quick stare with his one working eye.
"I just want to say I'm sorry," she told him in a low voice, almost whispering. "About everything."
"No you're not," Levi swiftly replied. "And it doesn't matter, do you wanna know why? These things, it's just business for people like us. There's always a mission, and then the next one. This is our mission now, so focus on it." he advised her sternly and kept walking.
Annie sighed, she looked at the other team, riding in the distance. She though for a moment, still undecided. Annie then followed the Captain and walked towards the aircraft.
-.-
Armin joined Onyankopon in the cockpit. He took out his pocket watch and put it on the console, then sat on his chair. "We need to time it all perfectly," he told the pilot.
"We will," Onyan replied. "Is everyone ready back there?" he asked the cabin and they all gave back thumbs up, half-smiles or simple nods as Reiner was closing rear the door.
The Female Titan had previously transformed to delicately take the fragile, brand-new aircraft from the docked ship on the harbour all the way out to a flat field. For the engineers had explained the plane needed speed and thrust to get up in the air, otherwise it wouldn't fly.
Onyankopon turned on the motor, "strap in," he said as the propeller started to roll, gaining speed. "We're about to save the world."
'Or at least what is left of it,' they all thought.
- Year 854 - October 31, flying in the direction of the Marlean Continent
[Mid-Rumbling]
"Precisely," Onyankopon replied to his copilot.
They were in the middle of the journey, and so far all the pieces were falling into place.
Down to the ground Floch was galloping as fast as he could through the destroyed land. He had only a map on his hands and a location to follow up with his mission. He'd had to relinquish their dirigible, for it had been sent back to Paradise, for the queen's protection. So he had to do the best he could to arrive at the location in the map as soon as possible, while relying only on his horse.
Until he saw the herd of Pure Colossal Titans only a few kilometers ahead of him. He was finally catching up to the monsters. "This will be much faster," he though. He had decided to use the giant creatures as a method of transport, so he could get to the castle quicker.
As he got near the herd, he used his ODM gear to strap himself and started to trapeze around the monsters, to get closer to the front of the line. There were thousands and thousands of the creatures, but he was determined to fulfil his mission.
High up in the skies, the small Survey Corps group was doing the journey in good time. They were all very apprehensive of course, because they had no idea what to expect. All they knew completely was the small part of the plan the needed to know and fulfil. Beyond that they knew only bits and pieces, and what they could put together on their own. For only Armin and Hange knew the plan to its fullest extent.
Annie was still undecided. She was anxious and conflicted for being there. "I shouldn't have come, I shouldn't be here," she would say sometimes under her breath. She had given up on her life as a Warrior and Titan Shifter long before Eren had woken her up from her slumber and he hated him for it.
Pieck was annoyed. She stood up and went to stand near the side door. "Do you want to leave? I'll open this and drop you right into the ocean," she threatened. "If you have no intention of being helpful in this mission, if you rather 'be dead' than be here, then you better go," she firmly added, pointing at the plane's window.
But Annie only looked at her confused, so Pieck started to walk closer to her. "So wasteful," she complained while crossing her arms and Annie looked to the side.
Pieck decided to scold her fellow Warrior: "For four years! You wasted your Titan powers. You froze yourself and left your comrades to fight without you. To die without you. Maybe the others were right, you were never fit to be a Warrior in the first place."
She had hit Annie's nerves. And so the younger Warrior stood up in spite, ready to punch Pieck in the face. But Reiner held her fist before it could hit its target.
"Enough of this you two," he said, standing in between them.
"Aren't you tired?" Annie asked him, then turned to Pieck. "Of being a thing? To be used over and over again?" the Female Titan asked her fellow Shifters. "We don't have our own volition," she declared. "We are just weapons of war. For hundreds and hundreds of years, that's all we have been. We are just tools in other people's games."
Pieck just looked at her very sternly and with arms crossed. "You should eat her," she told Reiner.
"What?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"
"These powers are clearly wasted on her so they should be passed to someone else," Pieck replied in spite.
"Then you should eat her, not me," Reiner suggested more humorously. "It would have to be you, she's the Female Titan. I can't access that, her powers would be useless on me."
"They are already useless on her," Pieck said, walking again towards the door. "And I wouldn't want someone whining in my head for the rest of my cursed years."
Pieck looked at her defiantly. "Are you going to stay and help or do you want to go?" she asked and slightly turned the heavy door handle. Unlocking it, which started to depressurise the airplane.
"Woah, woah!" Onyankopon said worriedly as he looked at the panel. "What is happening back there?" he asked and Armin looked towards the back confused. The noise in the cockpit was too loud and they couldn't hear the others in the cabin.
Mikasa was solemnly looking out of the window throughout the flight. But she could hear everything. She slowly turned to look at her cousin as if to say: 'Aren't you going to do anything?' and Levi looked back at her and grunted. He stood up.
"You are giving me a headache," the Captain scolded the group. "Sit," he ordered to Reiner. "Sit," also to Pieck. The broken man walked over and locked the plane's side door again.
"Are you aware of your mission, soldier?" the Captain firmly asked Annie.
"Yes…" she replied softly, looking at him with mistrust.
"Are you going to fulfil your mission, soldier?" Levi firmly asked her again.
Annie thought for a second. "Yes," she replied quietly again.
"What did you say?" Levi asked, leaning over. He wanted for her to repeat it more firmly, like a soldier should.
"Yes, sir," Annie replied.
"Then sit down. And I don't want to hear any more yapping from now on. I am tired of all of you." the Captain scolded them and went towards the cockpit. "How long until we get there?" he asked Armin.
"I tell you when it's time," Armin replied. He still wanted to keep the plan compartmentalised.
Levi grabbed him by the collar. "How long until we can end this?" he asked again, in a very threatening way.
But Armin only stared back at him in defiance. "Don't make me kill you, Arlert," Levi added to the threat.
They were all very tired. And it hadn't even started yet.
"Fifteen minutes," Onyankopon replied and Armin looked at him disappointed. "I rather we all arrive at our destination in one piece," the pilot justified himself.
-.-
"You have been very quiet," Jean softly noted to Mikasa. She had been reflectively staring out of the window throughout all of this.
Mikasa was remembering the better days. The good days they'd had in the Lighthouse, with her family and friends. All those precious times were gone now, gone forever. She wondered if she would ever see her son again. Mikasa remembered the boy running around the beach, so happy. He would show her every little thing at his sight: the small creatures and the sand, the sun and the waves. He was impressed by all that nature had to offer and would show it to his mother with wonder in his eyes.
"The world is being destroyed and Eren thinks he is right in doing this," she replied in a soft voice. "I could have stopped this before it even started, but I was blind to it all. I love him too much and I didn't want to see it," Mikasa declared.
Jean felt deep sorrow while looking at her defeated face, at all of their faces. He looked around the cabin, to his fellow comrades: his friends. They looked defeated, saddened and anxious. He decided to stand up and give a passionate speech. He talked about what they were trained to do, and how they couldn't stand by and watch that traitor destroy millions of lives. That they needed to be strong to be victorious in the end. He asked them to give out their hearts.
They all just stared at each other, still apprehensive. Levi was checking his weapons, as that was the way he kept himself calm. Falco stared out the window, looking to the clouds. To the immensity of the skies, just like Mikasa was. They all fell very silent as Jean finished his words.
"Five minutes!" Armin shouted from the cockpit in traditional military fashion. "Be ready." he added. Arlert then grabbed his watch from the control panel and attached safely to his pocket, and sighed. This would all be very difficult and it had to be perfect.
Levi and Reiner forced opened the side door. None of them had parachutes but they were flying low enough for the Survey Corps to use their ODM gear and trapeze around the Pure Colossal Titans and for the Warriors to simply transform.
"Stay with me," Connie told the young Falco. "We will go out together and then you know your steps," he said. "Or better yet your wings," he added. Falco held the small wristwatch hidden under his sleeve with his other hand and took a deep breath. He was very apprehensive.
"Did you get it all out of you system?" Levi asked Annie. "I rather you have your head in the right place when working for me."
"You mean working with you," Annie replied.
"I outrank all of you here. Don't forget that, soldier." the Captain reminded her.
"Careful, he might pretend not but he does have a score to settle with you," Connie warned her in a small voice. "I mean it, look out for yourself."
"Great. Why would Armin pair me with him?" Annie complained.
"You are the one who rather be dead than here, we just paired you with someone who can actually deliver that. Some incentive, don't you agree?" Pieck told her.
"Are you two gonna start again?" Reiner interjected.
"I thought Jean's speech had melted all of our hearts," Connie joked.
"Don't worry, we'll settle this once this is all over," Annie said smiling.
"Are you saying you'll fight me? You always lose," Pieck replied in a more sporting way.
"I'm much older now, and it seems you forgot to grow," Annie joked and hovered her hand over Pieck's head. "I can beat Reiner pretty easily," she added. Pieck moved her hand away. "Oh, please. Anyone can beat Reiner." She replied, boasting.
"Are they bonding over ragging you?" Jean asked Reiner.
"It seems so," Reiner replied, scratching his head.
Levi looked down at the Colossal Titans marching in unison. He was looking for an opportunity to jump. "Come on!" he told Annie.
"Same place?" Annie asked Pieck before jumping.
"Sure, if it hasn't been destroyed yet," Pieck replied, it was a date. They both went their separate ways, falling in the sky. Pieck on her own, turning into the Cart Titan. And Annie following the Captain, both using ODM gear.
Earlier that day
The Survey Corps and the Warriors had joined together to discuss what they could do with the resources they had. The Yeagerist situation in the harbour was an unexpected blessing and they didn't have time to investigate what had killed them. No one knew what had happened and they were out of time to discuss about it.
They knew they had the new airplane as a method of transport and they also knew they had a great deal of dynamite, to be used carefully and in the right time. They had the extra forces of Shadis' team of cadets, extra horses and equipment; and beyond all that: they had all of the remaining Titan Shifters ready to fight the Beast and destroy the Founder.
They knew their target pretty clearly: they were going to kill the Yeager brothers. But there was a secondary plan arising, with the purpose of distracting their main target.
"A distraction?" Reiner asked.
"We need to be very careful even in what we speak," Armin quietly explained. "As we don't understand the extent of this connection Eldians have to Paths, specially us Shifters."
"Are you saying you think Eren can hear us?" Annie asked in disbelief.
"Eren can get confused when talking to other people," Armin said smiling. "I've known him a long time and he would often have trouble with following our basic conversations. I imagine he has a lot in his mind now, so even if he is listening-" he looked up to the skies. "I bet he can't keep up!" Armin shouted in a challenging way.
All his friends looked up to the skies and then to each other, confused.
"He is really losing it at this point," Jean quietly commented with Reiner and Connie.
Armin was in fact slightly looking like a crazy person. He tried to recompose himself to continue to explain what he could about the plan. "I need to get him out of his mind," Armin said. He then continued in a cold tone: "We need to catch him off guard to destabilise him. And we all know the one thing that can take Eren out his mind the most: putting Historia in danger." he reminded the rest of the 104th.
"You evil little rascal," Reiner said, crossing his arms. "Don't you think that's playing a little dirty?" he asked.
"You like chess right, Reiner?" Armin asked back. "We are simply going to take his queen," he explained.
"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with all this. But if it works, I'm all for it," Reiner said, he was a little impressed but also felt conflicted. "You're evil," he added.
"It was Pieck's idea," Jean told him.
"With the amount of deaths we are dealing with here, it's not playing dirty at this point. It's beyond playing fair." Pieck was firm when justifying her point of view.
"We've already talked to the Commander and she agreed," Armin said and showed them how Shadis and the cadets were already preparing for their mission.
"Hange and Shadis are fine, but do we think those cadets can fight Royal Guards?" Jean questioned.
"I've helped to make the protection plan for the Queen's final months in the farm and her labour. And we didn't see necessary to have many guards sent to that farm. Even if the Yeagerists changed the plans and added more guards in the last minute, they couldn't have added many," Armin explained and extended his arms. "Look around you, for some reason a great deal of the Yeagerists has just been brutally murdered."
Armin had a vague idea of what the reason for those deaths could be, and so did Mikasa.
"So you think Shadis' cadets will be enough?" Connie asked.
"For a distraction they are more than enough," Armin affirmed.
"I just hope the kids will be safe," Annie added, crossing her arms.
"They will be fine," Armin responded. "The team is instructed not to kill anyone. To not even draw weapons if isn't necessary. They are there just for the noise. They won't shoot to kill," he affirmed.
"And what about Historia?" Jean asked him.
"That's on Hange," Armin replied.
-.-
"You can stay here with Kiyomi and the engineers and wait until all this is over or-" Hange was still talking when the twelve-year-old interrupted her.
"I want to join your team," Gabi said, eagerly.
"-Or you can come with me," Hange finished her sentence and Gabi nodded. She continued: "If you want to be on this mission you will have to be brave."
"I'll be brave," Gabi confirmed.
"And you can't commit any mistakes," Hange told her sternly.
"I won't," Gabi affirmed.
"All right then," Hange replied.
-.-
Mikasa took out her own small watch from her wrist and strapped to Falco's.
"It's perfectly synced with the pocket watch," she told him as she attached the small watch firmly to the boy's arm.
Falco knew his part on the plan and he was very anxious about it all. He had only transformed once and he knew now the life of others were depending on him.
She looked at the young boy in a loving way. Mikasa caressed his hair and held the side of his face. "You will be just fine," she assured him in a motherly tone.
-.-
"What about the dirigible?" Onyankopon asked.
"That's right," Jean said. "We know the Yeagerists took it to follow the Founder and the Colossal Titans. I guess Floch wanted to watch the parade."
Onyankopon continued his point: "Even if your eldian theory is not completely right, and the Yeagers can't hear our plan. The Royal Guards can still radio them for support. Have you thought about that?" he asked Armin.
"We don't know exactly the time they left the harbour," Armin conceded. "But even if they turn back this way, we both know how slow dirigibles fly. I trust Hange's team will have surrendered the area by then and we will have successfully surrendered the Yeagers as well."
All the rising doubts about the overall plan had seem to be solved. And they all went about their tasks before they could set off. Reiner stopped Armin for a moment, holding him by the shoulder. "You haven't explained our bit completely," he complained.
"Because that's the one Eren should know less," Armin replied.
"But do you think I know enough? I barely know what to do!" Reiner retaliated.
"You have your target. That is more than enough," Armin reminded him.
"But what's the timeline? When am I supposed to transform?" he asked.
"Just know when the time comes you will have to take cover," Armin explained to him again.
"How will I know?" Reiner asked.
Armin smiled at him. "You will know, when the time comes."
Back in the airplane, flying over the The Pure Colossal Titans
[nearing the Founding Titan structure]
"You know your play?" Jean asked Reiner, just to confirm.
"Sure, I'm the distraction," He replied with a swag smile. Reiner looked down below reflectively, before they jumped. "Hey, do you think your commander would actually kill the Queen?" he asked Jean.
"We are not in that troop, we should worry about our mission," Jean replied.
"I'm just saying, Christa didn't do anything wrong." Reiner pointed out a little timidly.
"You don't know her," Jean told him. "She is as crazy as Eren and she likes him! From that you should take what Historia is actually like."
"I thought you liked him," Reiner teased and Jean looked at him annoyed.
"Well, I'm just saying if the choice is to sacrifice one person to save millions of lives, I wouldn't mind pulling the trigger and I know our commander is a stronger person than I am, so I don't expect anything less." Jean declared.
"Even if that person is your friend?" Reiner asked.
"I've seen my friends die for much less," Jean replied bluntly. That silenced Reiner. "I'm sure you have too," Jean added while looking down below, to soften the blow.
"I'm sorry about your island, we were just kids, you know? We didn't know any better." Reiner said solemnly.
"I never thought I'd hear you apologise for that," Jean noted. He thought for a moment. "Maybe you still are a kid," he added. That made look Reiner confused. Jean continued: "Still catering a crush to a girl who doesn't even know you exist. Someone who is not the person you think you know her to be."
Jean then held Reiner's shoulder in a fraternal way. "She is as deviant as they come. Let it go, my friend," he advised.
"At least my crush is not married," Reiner jokingly whispered. "-and has a kid," he reminded Jean. "-with one of my closest friends," he added.
"Are you sure? Really?" Jean retaliated with a smirk. "Even about the kid part?"
Reiner smirked and then laughed. "Eren is not my friend." he said as they both jumped off the plane.
"All right, it's our turn," Connie told Falco and they followed behind.
Armin said his goodbyes to Onyankopon and stood up from his seat. He entered the cabin to prepare for the jump and Mikasa held his hand. "Don't die out there," she said firmly. "Don't you even dare."
He held her hand tighter. "I won't," he promised, then let go.
Armin jumped off the airplane as well and Mikasa went to take his place in the cockpit.
-.-
"What is he doing?" Jean asked while getting close to Connie with his ODM gear. They were doing their best to hold onto the trembling giant bone structure. For it was moving. The Founding Titan was slowly walking.
"I have no idea," Connie replied, anxiously. "Falco! Come on! You can do this!" he shouted at the top of his lungs from the distance.
The twelve-year-old boy was holding on one of the bones of the giant skeleton. Holding on for dear life as unlike the others, he wasn't wearing any ODM gear. He was in the same place Connie had left him. Looking down below with anxiety, they were a few hundred meters up in the air, so he couldn't even see the ground. He only saw pure darkness.
"Don't look down!" Jean shouted. "You can fly, remember? Just do it!"
"We're gonna die here, man," Connie told Jean in a concerned tone.
"No we won't," Jean said defiantly, ready to go after the boy.
"Don't," Connie stopped him. "He needs space for the transformation," he reminded Jean.
"Then he better transform!" Jean complained. "Come on!" he shouted. "Falco, we need you!"
"Falco!" Connie shouted desperately.
-.-
"Hey! You need help down there?" Reiner asked Armin, who was dangling from his ODM gear much further below him. He'd seemed to have fallen the wrong way.
"I-I'm fine!" Armin shouted back with a little uncertainty. As he gently swang upside down, trying to avoid the bones.
"Arrg!" Reiner complained as the Founding's bones seemed to produce makeshift arrows and rapidly shoot at them. They are like fast flying spikes. And he was doing his best to avoid them.
"How are the others?" Armin shouted while hanging upside down, still avoiding the bones.
"I don't know!" Reiner shouted back. "But it seems Falco hasn't transformed!" he added, slightly in distress. He could see Jean and Connie were trying to avoid the bone-arrows as well, in the distance.
"I'm sure he will be fine!" Armin shouted from down below.
"Are you sure you are fine?" Reiner shouted back, asking with much doubt.
The plan seemed to have derailed completely from the get-go. They had landed no where near the Founder's head. How was he supposed to get to Eren? Reiner thought. They were in fact in the very middle of the giant structure and he knew Armin could only transform after Falco's Titan had successfully taken Jean and Connie out of there. And at this rate, he wasn't sure Armin was actually fit to do anything at all! As he looked slightly crazy and completely unconcerned. 'This has been a mistake,' Reiner thought.
Armin ignored him. He looked at the depths of the abyss very reflectively. Calculating.
Back at the orphanage
"It won't be long now," the doctor told the Queen while passing a warm towel over her forehead. Historia was sweating in delirium and pain as she prepared for labour.
She had her eyes closed and would mumble things under her breath, in complete distress.
"What-What is that?" she asked softly, still with eyes closed.
"You'll be just fine, ma'am," the doctor replied, ignoring her question.
"The noise. What is that noise outside?" the Queen asked, slightly delirious.
"There's no noise outside, ma'am," the doctor lied.
The Survey Corps team had arrived and was fighting the Royal Guards outside in the orphanage fields, getting closer to the building.
Hange stopped for a moment and looked at her watch. 'Perfect,' she thought.
-.-
"Falco! What are you waiting for?" Connie shouted again.
"Come on!" Jean added. "Or we're gonna die here!"
They looked over at Reiner in the distance and saw also how confused he was. Jean and Connie had no idea where Armin had landed and they felt things were completely out of control.
That's when they started hearing noises, like the bones were breaking, cracking. They could see these odd creatures starting to emerge from the spinal bones. They looked like other Titan Shifters. Hundreds and more hundreds of them. Titan Shifters from different points in time, reforming themselves once again. Coming from the past.
Those were completely mindless titans. Imprints of the lost and cursed souls who had once embodied these creatures. Just imprints with no soul to inhabit them, just ghosts. Husks.
"Falco!" they both shouted at the top of their lungs. For the creatures were running fast towards them.
The small boy removed his sleeve slightly to check the time again.
"Armin! They are going straight for you!" Reiner warned in much alarm as Armin still dangled from his ODM gear.
He was patiently checking his golden pocket watch.
"Armin!" Reiner shouted again, he then heard an explosion. He turned to look. Falco had transformed in the distance.
The majestic new Jaw Titan unraveled its wings and immediately took his friends out of peril. He flew high and high up in the skies carrying Jean and Connie away.
Reiner looked down again and Armin smiled back at him, very charmingly. He was pretending all along. Still dangling, Arlert finally let go, retrieving his ODM gear and jumping away in a free-fall, as the ghost titans rushed to follow him.
'Just know when the time comes you will have to take cover,' Reiner remembered his words.
It was finally time.
"Damn it," Reiner thought as he clumsily retrieved his small knife to cut himself before the Colossal Titan could explode in transformation.
Jean and Connie were already high up in the skies, on the Jaw's back. They all looked down below. Waiting.
The airplane with Onyankopon and Mikasa had already reached a great distance as well, even if flying very slowly. They looked at each other sternly, preparing themselves for the slight turbulence the fallout of the colossal explosion would cause.
Levi was further away, over a kilometer behind the giant bone structure of the Founder; hanging on the shoulders of one of the mindless Colossals. He looked at his own pocket watch. "Come on, blondie, it's your time to shine," he told Annie, who was standing near him.
He then left with his ODM gear, giving her space. Annie took out her ring and dropped from the height, transforming.
Pieck watched all from even further behind, already in her Titan form. The Cart stood on one of the mindless Colossals' head, for a better view.
Armin was free-falling towards the ground. He was gaining speed and avoiding to hit any of the Founding's bones.
He planned to use his fall as counter-force to add to the immensity of his transformation. He wanted to increase the power of the explosion as much has he could. To completely destroy the Founder's structure. For Arlert knew the speed he gained in the fall and the proximity to the ground would act as impulse to launch him up to the air again mid-transformation which in turn would greater the level of his explosion.
Armin smiled and held his bleeding fist tightly as he was about to hit the ground. He had energy flowing all around him and he successfully began his transformation; being launched again high up in the air and creating a massive crater on the ground.
Reiner started to transform at the same time and was able to protect himself from the blast with his crystal armour. Even so, the Armoured Titan was launched into the air as well. He flew right in the direction of the Founder's head. He'd been wondering how to get there faster anyway.
And he immediately started looking for Eren.
Armin was successful. The Colossal Titan's explosion completely destroyed the entire outwards bone structure of the Founding Titan. And also completely obliterated the ghost titans coming after him and his friends.
That was the first step of the plan: the noise. Now to the 'shock'.
Levi watched the explosion come their way, and kneeled down, protecting himself from the hot air and debris. They were far away enough. He then stood up again on the shoulder of the Female Titan.
"That's our cue," Levi said, strapping his ODM gear tight to its shoulder. He leaned on the Titan's neck. "I hope you have a good eye," he told Annie.
They were at the very end of the now destroyed structure of the Founding. And the Female Titan started to run towards the front.
Amidst of the heavy fog, only the red eyes of the Cart Titan could be seen. Pieck watched from further behind, waiting until Levi and the Female Titan made their way to the front to fulfil their mission.
The Cart Titan then started sprinting between what was left of the Colossal Titans near her, after the immense explosion. She sprinted in a semicircle, avoiding the crater and most of the heavy and heated fog. Going around the destruction, making her way to the front.
Jean and Connie safely watch the whole thing unrevealing on top of the Jaw Titan. Flying high over the explosion. Falco started to slowly descend again, looking very concentrated to down below.
As the heavy and heated fog started to die down slightly, the Armoured Titan started to roar. Reiner was still steaming out in transformation. Walking in the fog. Bellowing extremely loudly as he walked towards the Founder's head. Looking for Eren.
Further away to the left of the crater, the airplane started to descend again. For the turbulence had ended and they could tell the heavy blast of the explosion had passed.
Both Mikasa and Onyankopon could see the walls and the ancient castle at the very center of it, far down below. They noticed the castle was still there, still standing. For all the Colossal Titans who had been marching, had avoided the castle and had walked around it.
The Tybur Castle was the only thing standing in an otherwise completely flattened land. Mikasa saw the giant lake inside the castle walls, and she avoided looking at it, she didn't want to feel saddened again.
She sighed in disappointment. "Do you want to know why I was left here?" she asked Onyan as the pilot concentrated on the controls. He said nothing.
"Because he thinks I can't bring myself to it," she continued. "He thinks I'm not capable of killing my own brother," Mikasa complained about Armin's judgment while crossing her arms.
Onyankopon stopped, then asked, confused: "Why would you kill your own brother?"
She uncrossed her arms, puzzled.
"I mean, hasn't he been through enough?" he asked and Mikasa looked at him even more confused.
Onyankopon continued: "The poor man is injured and even then he's still fighting-"
Mikasa grunted and rolled her eyes.
She interrupted him. "Levi is not my brother," she said, looking a little annoyed.
"He's not?" Onyan asked, genuinely confused. "You two are always together and you look very similar. You even sound the same to me. And you walk the same way…" he stopped himself, Mikasa had gotten his point.
She crossed her arms again and they both fell silent for a moment.
"Right," the pilot spoke again. "Now for the fun part: let's turn this bird around," Onyan said and gestured for Mikasa to start adjusting the controls and they angled the airplane the right way to make their return.
His copilot still seemed upset as she turned the knobs and flipped the switches. "Have you considered that perhaps Armin left you here because he trusted you would know how to help me? You clearly know how it all works." Onyan pointed out to her with a charming smile.
Mikasa stopped for a moment and gave her pilot a half-smile.
"I guess that's true," she conceded. "Airplanes is the only thing he talks about. It was impossible for me not to grab some of the knowledge on the way," she smiled as they turned the plane around. And continued: "He is completely obsessed with them and with the idea of flying," she said looking at the beauty of the skies.
She reflected on it. "He's been obsessed since we were kids, all his family was. And he's still a little mad I gave his priceless airplane models for Azzy to play with," she remembered her son very cheerfully. "But he'd become obsessed with flying as well and those things do look like toys-"
"That's all very lovely," Onyan softly interrupted her. "Can you just…" he pointed at some of the switches.
"Oh. Right," she apologised and went back to concentrating on flying the plane.
After the airplane made the turn, the Jaw Titan started to catch up to it, flying below it as Onyankopon slowed the machine down.
Mikasa stood up from her seat and went to open rear the door. It was quite heavy, but not for the Ackermann. She confirmed that the Jaw Titan was finally close enough and Jean and Connie gave her the thumbs up. Mikasa then threw down the dynamite and they caught it very carefully.
The Jaw Titan flew down and away from the airplane again and Mikasa closed the rear door.
"All right, copilot," Onyan said as she sat down again. "Now it's time to land this bird somewhere safe. What do you think about storming the castle?" he joked.
Falco looked down below very concentrated, he was looking for the Cart Titan. Pieck was already hidden in the debris quite near the enormous head of the Founding Titan, just waiting for the time when she could make an explosion of her own.
She reminded herself the one time she'd had the opportunity to kill that monster before and she didn't. 'I'll blow up your head this time, Yeager,' she thought.
Up on the Jaw Titan's back, the two soldiers were readying the explosives. Rapidly connecting all the fuses.
"You know we still need to decide on one of us to push the lever, right?" Connie reminded his friend.
"I'll do it," Jean replied eagerly.
"Why? Because you think I won't be able to?" Connie asked, annoyed.
"No." Jean firmly said. "Because I want to be the one to do it."
The Armoured Titan was scavenging the rotting remains of the giant Founder's head. He was screaming, bellowing extremely loudly. Looking for his enemy and destroying the head in the process. When the creature started to defend itself with disgusting, fleshy muscular tendons. Coming out of the back of the head, from what was left of the spine.
The tendons started to attach themselves to the Armoured Titan like vicious snakes, tangling themselves on the Titan's body, trying to stop Reiner from moving.
The Cart Titan saw it all from the distance. Pieck was very concerned for her friend and anxious as she waited for the Jaw Titan to come down with her explosives. Falco was flying as fast as he could.
On the orphanage
The Queen was a little delirious as the Commander entered the room. "Are you going to shoot the Queen? Are you going to shoot a woman in labour?" Historia could faintly hear the doctor's voice amid her tired delirium.
Hange is surprised. She wasn't expecting to find all the commotion inside the Queen's quarters. All those nurses and that doctor shouldn't be there. The Commander knew the Queen's child wasn't due until the next month. She hadn't expected Historia would already be in labour.
But this was a life or death situation and millions, maybe billions of lives were at stake. The Commander knew she couldn't back down now. Hange looked up to the clock on top of the bed, she only had to hold 'the noise' for a little longer. So she kept her gun firmly pointed at the pregnant woman, with her finger on the trigger.
"Don't move," Hange told the doctor and the nurses, who were holding their hands up, completely desperate.
"How dare you?" Historia challenged her with a weak voice. The queen had finally opened her eyes and was staring Hange down. "How dare you even come here?" she said more aggressively.
Hange came in closer with the gun and Historia startled slightly. She noted the Commander was serious and wouldn't back down. Hange stood right before the queen's bed and was aiming straight at her head.
Historia had tears coming down her face as she leaned back on the headboard again. Closing her eyes and going back to her delirium. She was feeling the pains of labour.
"Eren," Historia quietly said in her mind. The Queen's voice could be heard throughout Paths.
Ymir was staring into the tree of light once again. She looked like a thirteen-year-old once more.
When she heard Historia's voice.
The lost soul felt like her entire world was fading away. She started to feel dizzy and empty. Ymir looked up at the stars and down to the sand. She looked around the whole world she had created for herself. She then looked down her own ghostly body, she felt like she was about to crumble away completely, and be taken by the sand winds.
She turned her head to the side and looked at Eren with desperation. "Father," Ymir said in a small, timid voice, asking for help.
"Help me," they could both hear Historia's voice echoing throughout Paths once again.
It seemed that the 'shock' was successful, now it was time to finalise the plan.
The Cart Titan was ready and Jean held the lever with much determination as the Titan started to sprint towards the Founder's head. Connie'd stayed with Falco and the Jaw Titan rose up in the air again, to stay away from the blast.
All the children were very apprehensive inside the orphanage's basement. They had been taken there by the nuns from the moment the threat arose outside. They had been very frightened with all the noise. But now everything was silent, they couldn't hear anything. There was something eerie in that silence as all the children looked at each other, one could see the fear in their eyes.
Until all the children startled. They heard a single gunshot. A gunshot that could be heard all over the Queen's farm and over the fields beyond.
In that moment the Cart Titan came close enough and Jean pushed the lever: exploding the dynamite.
There instantly was a giant explosion and it destroyed the Founder's head completely.
The Armoured Titan rushed to protect Jean and the Cart. Reiner had to quickly realise that this was his job too, not just the distraction, but protecting his friends from the second explosion.
Inside Tybur Castle
Floch had no idea of the commotion outside. He'd gotten accustom to the loud noise of the Colossal Titans stomping out there. And he was pretty focused on his mission and a little dazed while walking around that castle. As if there was something cursed inside its walls.
He was looking for the vault as there was something in there that interested Eren. He had told Floch he'd seen in that Tybur woman's memories and it was something he wanted for himself. Floch believed to be some sort of titan crystal, and one thing Eren had omitted from him, was that it had to do with the Ackermann family.
Floch walked freely around the castle as all the servants and what remained of the family had clearly fled from the area. He was completely alone in that immense castle. He knew that, but still, he avoided looking at the paintings on the walls, as he had this horrible feeling he was being watched.
He could hear his own steps loud and clearly and even his breath loud and clearly, for the place was completely empty. He even started to hear his thoughts louder. Floch finally found the door full of nails, it was very old and he knew it would be the one to lead down to the vault. So he walked through it and closed it behind him. Walking down the Tybur vault.
There was this blue light around the vault and a strange energy, he felt a lot of eeriness but he walked forward anyway. Floch knew his mission was to get whatever was inside that vault.
"How did you get here? Who told you to come?" he heard a voice behind him.
Floch immediately turned around, very frightened but still bravely, or as brave as he could.
He saw a tall figure standing next to the door. He was dressed in armour, completely black armour and his face was covered to the point only his eyes could be seen.
The man took out his sword from his scabbard and pointed at him in a threatening way. "I won't ask again," he said.
Floch had no idea what to do. He felt like he was being visited by one of the ghosts of that haunted castle. And he wasn't sure either to take out his own sword and attack or to surrender. When he accidentally dropped the map Eren had made for him on the floor and they both looked at it.
The man in black looked at him again, he stared at Floch with deep mistrust in his dark blue eyes.
Floch didn't see it coming, he only felt a sharp pain in his heart as his entire nervous system shut down. The Ackermann had swiftly cut him in half.
To be continued...