"Huh? Someone's coming!" I warned my squad. We were all hiding in tall grass by the HQ of the Central Military Police. We went in and injured everyone that was there, but took the man who looked to be in charge for the night. Sadly, we fell short because he continued to tell Levi that he doesn't know the whereabouts of Eren and Historia.
"Woah! Don't pull your guns out on us!" I heard the familiar voice of the brunette that always wore glasses. I stood up and saw Hanji walking over to us with the two soldiers we had converted from the military police.
"Hanji!" I was excited to see my friend as she walked up to us.
"I have something for all of you." She said as she handed me a slip of paper. I began to read out what it said, but what really caught our attention was,
"The Survey Corps have been exonerated and your actions deemed self-defence. The royal government and administrative districts are now under Commander-In-Chief Zackley's control." I looked around to my fellow comrades and we all had a stunned look on our faces. We were still trying to process the information because this couldn't be real, could it?
"We're free again!" Excitement filled all of our bodies as the squad members began to hug each other. I wrapped my arms around Levi's neck and he wrapped one arm around my waist, but kept the other on the piece of paper, so he could read it over.
"You guys, just what means did you use?" Levi asked Hanji. I let go of him and turned to look at our friend. He was making reference to get this circulated through the capital and have our freedom restored to us.
"It's not us that did it. The choices of one person at a time have changed this world." Hanji explained.
"Hanji…my apologies. The three that you entrusted to me have died." Levi told the brunette.
"But you've succeeded in eliminating their forces, right?"
"Not all of them." I said.
"Their boss along with Eren and Historia are still somewhere else. This revolution is at a standstill if we don't find them quickly." Levi informed our comrade.
"As for the whereabouts of Eren and Historia…we have a lead. It's not definitively confirmed, but it seems we have no choice but to place our bet on this." Hanji held up a piece of paper. "Also, we need to move quickly because we're worried that Eren might be eaten." Hanji informed us.
"Eren's going to be eaten?" Mikasa sounded shocked by the information. I could understand why she became so flustered by this information.
"It's only speculation based on Reiner and Bertolt's words and actions, but it may be a way for someone to gain Eren's 'titan power'. I'll tell you more while we move." Hanji instructed us. We left the man we had caught tied up to the tree and all went to grab our horses, so we could move out immediately. We were getting closer to where we needed to be.
I sat in the cart with the rest of the squad as the two Military Police, turned Survey Corps, went to go talk to one of the farmers. All the current information that Hanji had given us in the cart was rolling around in my brain. This whole situation was getting more and more complicated. The fact that if you eat another Titan shifter then you gain their abilities was mind boggling to me. What kind of a world did we live in?
"What can we expect, Levi?" Hanji asked.
"It's Kenny the Ripper. If he's around, he will be the number one obstacle. In terms of the threat that he poses…think as if I were the enemy…no…with that weaponry, he's more dangerous than I am to some extent." Levi answered.
"Then it's impossible for us." Sasha sighed.
"Waiting to re-join with the Survey Corps is impossible." Connie sighed.
"But from what the Captain said, it doesn't seem like he has no weaknesses either." Armin added.
"Are you serious, Armin?" Jean looked surprised by what his friend had just said.
"Yeah…even if they had training, their real battle experience didn't start until yesterday." Hanji said out loud in regards to the younger members of the squad. "But even though you lived together, you have no information about Kenny the Ripper…what's with that?" Hanji asked.
"It was a very long time ago, Hanji. Besides, he was a very private man back in those days." I said.
"Yesterday was the first time I even heard his full name. Kenny 'Ackerman'. A relation of yours, perhaps?" Levi asked Mikasa.
"According to my parents, when they were alive, father's Ackerman family had been persecuted in the cities. Mother, who was Asian, her family lost its place in the cities too because of their race. The two of them, both chased deep into the mountains at the edge of the wall, met one another and became husband and wife. Even father had no idea why the Ackerman family had been persecuted. I didn't see any signs of racial distinguishing features, like mother had, in him." Mikasa answered. It felt like we weren't getting any real answers anymore. Just more dead ends.
"You…have you ever experienced a moment where it was like a power had awakened inside you?" Levi asked.
"I have…"
"It seems Kenny Ackerman had a moment like that as well. At some time, in some moment, it was as if some stupendous power welled up within his body and suddenly he knew what he had to do. I, as well, had a moment like that." Levi said. My mind raced back to out first expedition where Levi saved me from the titan that had killed our two best friends. Was that the moment he was referring to?
"We have the information and we're ready to move out." We turned around to see the two who had gone to speak with the farmer. We nodded our heads and we all got back onto our designated horses.
We rode to the church and we went inside. We pulled up the rug that was on the floor and saw the hidden entrance that we were told about. Once all our gear was set in place we nodded our heads and opened up the hidden passageway. We walked down and encountered a single door. This was where it all began.
Levi kicked the door open and we sent three barrels that had gas canisters attached down the stairs. Smoke began to erupt from the sides due to the impact. We all charged forward as Sasha grabbed her arrows that were light with fire, so she could shoot the canisters. Smoke began to fill up the room as we lifted off with our 3D Maneuver gear.
"35 of them! Holding up around the pillars in front of you, near the ceiling!" Levi yelled out the number and now we knew what we were up against. As other members shot the signal flares up in the sky, I made my way towards my first target. The man raised his gun, but a signal flare shot through his vision, and before he could react, I flew through the smoke and cut off his head. I looked over to my right and saw that one was beneath me, so I let my wires go, so I could run my blades into his torso before flying back upwards again. My eyes would dart around, so I could see the next person to kill, but it felt like no damage was being done. I felt like we were being cornered because we were severely outnumbered. However, I couldn't lose hope. I knew that I had to keep moving and I had to keep killing these people in order to live.
From the corner of my eye I saw Hanji encounter one of the women, but the woman shot out one of her wires and aimed right for Hanji's shoulder. I heard Hanji let out a shrieking scream as she landed on the ground. I felt my blood begin to boil as I continued to move forward. How dare anyone hurt Hanji!
"Ryder! Slow down!" I could hear Levi in the distance, but I didn't listen. I was going to kill that woman. No one was going to hurt my friends again while I was around. I was going to kill her. I was going to kill her, but then the familiar light and sound of thunder erupted in the room. A strong gust of wind pushed me backwards and made me grab onto a pillar that was close by.
"No…a titan." I said. I looked to my right to see that Levi and the others had caught up to me. "Sasha! Look after Hanji!" I yelled over to one of the younger members before the rest of us moved forward together and went to the scene. I went flying passed Eren when I saw Historia stumble backwards. My hand reached out as I grabbed the back of her head, so she wouldn't hit the wall. "Are you okay?" I asked her.
"Ryder?"
"Pass me the keys!" Levi yelled over. I quickly grabbed the keys from Historia and passed them to Levi.
"The roof!" I yelled as I heard the sound from above. Right over Eren's head a giant boulder came crashing down, but they managed to free him and quickly run backwards, so they weren't killed. We all looked forward towards where all the hot steam was coming from and were met by a ginormous titan. "That thing is bigger than the Colossus titan."
"Really, how shitty can this situation get?" Levi asked. I looked around frantically as I tried to find an escape route, but there was no way us for to escape. The steam could easily burn us alive or we could get crushed by the roof that was caving in. However, there was no escape. Suddenly, Eren dashed passed me and jumped off the edge. A giant light and a loud boom sound erupted in the air. I closed my eyes as the air pushed my back into the wall behind me. When I felt the air begin to subside I slowly opened up my eyes and looked around. Eren had transformed into a titan that hardened itself to protect us. The larger titan was nowhere to be seen though.
"Quickly, let's find a way out. Mikasa go get Eren out his titan form." I instructed before running off the edge and flying upwards. Sasha and Connie flew up to the right as I went left. We needed to find a way out and fast. I looked around the ceiling and it was completely blocked. I would push on the rock, but it wouldn't budge either.
"We found an exit!" I looked over and saw that Sasha and Connie had reached the top and found a way back up to the surface. I went back down and stood in front of Historia. Levi, Eren and Historia were talking about the recent events, but I felt much safer above ground, so I started feeling anxious about staying underground any longer than we needed to.
"Let's get out of here." I said. Historia nodded her head before I had her placed on my back.
"I can carry her." Levi offered. I shook my head.
"I can do it."
"Quickly! Come here! You have to see something!" We heard Connie yell down to us. With that I quickly flew upwards. Near the edge, Historia climbed off my back and Armin helped her up. I was about to pull myself up, but a hand shot out in front of my face. I looked up and saw Levi. How he managed to beat me up here surprised me, but I grabbed his hand and allowed him to help me out. When I turned around I saw that a giant piece of the Earth had caved in as smoke was seen off in the distance.
"That can't be him…" I made reference to Rod Reiss – who was the one who transformed into that massive titan. It was dragging itself against the ground instead of walking on its legs.
"Ryder…" I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder and I looked back to see Levi. "We're going. Stay close to me." I nodded my head as I followed him to the horses. I climbed onto mine and then we headed out.
Ahhhhhh sorry for the late update! Good thing I was reminded to post it ;) Anyways, this one was a pretty long read, but I hope you all enjoyed it! I also hope your week is amazing just like you! :D