A/N: Season 4 has proven excellent thus far. In case I need to establish it, I am a fan who actually likes the new CGI. Sure, there are times where it isn't so good looking. But overall, MAPPA has shown us that AOT has a good future, and I've something to look forward to on Sundays.
Towards the end of this Chapter, you will notice that I use some content from the second video game. In it we see Zeke, Reiner and Pieck escape towards the coastline. While the game does contain material which is not canonical, it makes perfect sense this is the method they would choose to escape. The only change I've added is that Bertholdt is going to escape with them.
Chapter 1: Flee, Return
The Marleyans, ambitious as they are, put significant funding towards training Pieck and the other Titan Shifters. The training was necessary, as it was inevitable Marley would send them over to Paradis. However, a few years would pass prior to Pieck actually getting the chance to travel to the island.
Pieck and Zeke were on standby for more than five years while Annie, Reiner, Bertholdt and Marcel were all sent ahead to the island with the vital task that was wiping out every single Eldian on the island. It was a mission that would prove Marley hadn't prepared them for everything.
For starters, Marcel was eaten shortly after they arrived on Paradis, taking away an important asset on the Warriors side. A few years later, Annie was captured within Wall Sina, where she's still kept and has little chance when it comes to escaping. Eventually, the Jaw Titan was recovered. However it came at the unfortunate cost of Reiner and Bertholdt's cover within the Scout Regiment.
Reiner and Bertholdt were fortunate enough that eventually the Marleyans started to get impatient with the Warriors. Not wanting to lose any valuable Titan Shifters, or anymore, Marley sent Zeke over to Paradis. Holding the Beast Titan certainly made Zeke the most powerful Titan Shifter, at least among the small group. Pieck also tagged along.
Pieck, with the Cart Titan, was only there for support, as she wasn't much use in combat scenarios. Pieck and Zeke, after a quick trip to an Eldian village with some Marleyan reinforcements, immediately started to investigate what was taking the other Shifters so long.
Eventually, they all met face to face, though Pieck remained in the form of the Cart Titan. Reiner expressed his thoughts, telling Zeke and Pieck the only logical action was to infiltrate Wall Sina and rescue Annie. Bertholdt also wanted to go along with it, Reiner, Pieck, and Zeke aware as to why.
However Zeke, and a Pieck who chose not to make any opinions obvious in order to avoid any confrontation, agreed that going to find Eren, who, thanks to his father, possessed the Attack and Founding Titan, was a superior strategy. Zeke agreed to fight Reiner and Bertholdt to see whose plan they would go through with.
Pieck observed the fight from the Wall's safety. Zeke ended up winning rather quickly, obviously. Pieck thought the two were complete idiots for trying to take on the Zeke, the strongest Beast Titan Marley would ever produce. With everything finally settled, the group readied themselves for the Scout Regiment, who were on route to Shiganshina in an attempt to repair the opening in Wall Maria.
If they were to succeed, not only would the Eldians wash away Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie's precious work, they would also learn about the outside world. Those consequences would never sit well with Marley. They understood the only option left was to capture Eren and end things once and for all.
That was the plan they came up with, anyway. But things quickly took an awful turn. Reiner was nearly killed in a Scout attack. The Scouts who attacked Reiner were using new advanced weapons called Thunder Spears. He didn't last long, even when the Colossal Titan came to his aid.
On the other side of Wall Maria, Zeke engaged with Levi, Erwin, and a whole lot of Scouts. Pieck assisted him in throwing crushed rocks which would shred through anyone who charged at them like an idiot. But Zeke was caught off guard when Levi managed to sneak up behind him and kill of his support Titans, excluding Pieck who was hiding nearby in case Zeke was in need of serious aid. It certainly looked that way from her view.
A quick thinker, that's why Marley chose Pieck to inherit the Cart Titan. But no amount of thinking would lead her to a solution for what came next. Dozens of Scouts began to charge at her simultaneously, ready to slice until nothing remained. The look of rage across each of their faces actually frightened Pieck quite a bit.
But she managed to keep her cool long enough to where she was able to successfully rescue Zeke, who was no longer in the form of the Beast Titan all thanks to Levi and Erwin, who showed no mercy to the Titan that slaughtered several of the other Scouts.
With Zeke safe, or as safe as someone with no arms being chased by dozens of Scouts can possibly be, Pieck made it back inside of the Shiganshina District with little problems. She was going to attempt to save Reiner and Bertholdt. Letting either of them die was something she couldn't allow.
Of course Zeke was in full agreement. ''I think I see them.'' He said with a few groans in between his words. Losing the majority of his limbs made him incredibly weak and exhausted to the point where he was now on the verge of losing consciousness.
A few additional Scouts appeared over Pieck and Zeke. The two believed Pieck was the primary target. But then they noticed the Scouts were heading in another direction. Pieck began to follow the Scouts, hoping she would find Reiner and Bertholdt along the way.
She proved to be right to put faith in the idea. Not far from Pieck's position, Bertholdt, who didn't look too healthy, was standing atop one of the houses while carrying a wounded Reiner on his back. He was desperately trying to fight off their attackers. Bertholdt then caught view of Pieck. ''Pieck!'' He shouted, relieved they hadn't been abandoned despite the dire situation. He wanted to explain how she could assist him, but with all of the attacks there wasn't a chance to get another word out.
However that didn't really matter. Pieck had already visualized the method she was going to use in order to rescue the other two Titan Shifters. Jumping onto one of the smaller structures, she began to rush towards Bertholdt with great haste. One of the Scouts tried to get a sneak attack in. He only understood that it was a bad idea when Pieck bit him into two separate pieces.
Finally on the right structure, Pieck spoke using the Cart Titan's unsettling voice. ''Secure War Chief Zeke and Reiner.'' She instructed him, to which Bertholdt complied almost instantly. Neither of them wished to waste anymore valuable time that could go towards their escape.
With his two friends as secure as possible, Bertholdt gave Pieck the go ahead to get them out of there. ''Get us out, now.'' He said while watching as the Scouts closed in on them from all sides. Too bad for them that the Cart Titan is known for its speed and endurance.
They managed to escape from Shiganshina without suffering any additional damage. The chase was over, Scouts being unable to follow them out in the open. Zeke, whose condition was now stable, congratulated Pieck for managing to save everyone. ''Excellent work Pieck, precise as always.''
Zeke turned to face his other two comrades, one of which looked worse than him. ''He alive?'' All of Reiner's limbs had been removed once the Scouts had taken him down. He was in the process of healing, but clearly it was going to take a long time for the process to complete.
Bertholdt rested his back against the crate situated on top of Pieck. ''Yeah, I'm certain Reiner will be fine.'' He took in some air before continuing to speak. ''What are we supposed to do now? That was our last chance to capture Eren.'' A frustrated look appeared on his face. ''Dammit, we should have gone with Reiner's idea.''
Zeke chuckled. ''The outcome would not change.'' His fingers slowly began to regenerate. ''I know you two wanted to rescue Annie, but Eren is far more important. Not that it even matters now.'' He released a long sigh. ''Pieck, head south, towards the coastline. We're getting off this island.''
''Yes War Chief.'' Pieck confirmed his order, not heading towards the south side of Paradis's edge. Along the way Zeke's and even Reiner's limbs were almost done regenerating. Which was good as a surprise was waiting for them as soon as they arrived. Not Scouts, but Titans.
Upon seeing the group of four shifters, the Titans began to charge at them with the intent to kill. Bertholdt readied himself for immediate combat and despite still suffering from his injuries, Reiner did the same. ''They are waiting for us, so don't take too long.'' Zeke reminded them. Marley sent a ship once a month to wait at the edge of Paradis to take the warriors back. If they were late this time the Scouts would be able to catch up to them and finish them off.
''Right.'' Reiner said, using the support of Bertholdt to stand up. ''Bertholdt could probably wipe most of them out with the blast of his transformation.'' Zeke hoped Reiner wasn't being serious with such a suicidal plan. ''But with how close they already are, we would get caught in the blast too. Does your ODM gear have enough gas?'' Bertholdt still maintained two perfect blades and enough gas to cover everyone for a while. ''Good. once I transform you hop on my shoulder, try to conserve as much gas as possible. Pieck, can you take the War Chief closer to the edge? From here I think I can make out some abandoned structures. You should be able to turn them into debris.''
Zeke was impressed with the speed at which Reiner managed to devise such a clever plan. It wasn't like the plan to free Annie which was created based off of nothing aside from emotion. Capturing Eren would have allowed them to gain the coordinate. ''Impressive.'' He complemented. ''You heard him, Pieck. Get me to those structures. Oh, and take this with you Bertholdt.'' He passed him a Signal Flare. ''Fire this off and Pieck and I will come to assist you.''
Pieck wasn't entirely fond of the idea to engage in physical combat. If anything the Cart Titan is a support Titan. That's why she carried cargo for Zeke and passed him rocks when fighting against the Scouts. If need be she could hold her own for a while, but she hoped the Signal Flare wasn't required.
Reiner, again with the assistance of Bertholdt, launched himself off of Pieck and sunk his teeth into his hand. A few seconds passed and now the Armoured Titan was in clear view of all. Sticking to the plan, Bertholdt used his ODM gear to reach Reiner's shoulder while Pieck took off with Zeke.
Most of the Titans went straight for Reiner and Bertholdt seeing as they were drawing a greater amount of attention to themselves. It seemed like they weren't going to require any immediate backup, at least until several Abnormal Titans showed up, who proved to put up quite the fight.
In order to protect his friend, Reiner was forced to take most of the direct attacks dished out by the Abnormal Titans. The two of them were in great trouble, so Bertholdt didn't hesitate when firing off the Signal Flare, launching a cloud of red above them.
They chose to fire it at a good time, as by this time Zeke was well enough to transform into the Beast Titan. When there were no more rocks to throw, Zeke charged right into the fray to see assist in any way possible. Pieck also entered combat, trying to distract the Titans into chasing after her instead.
Four of the Nine could take on almost any obstacle. In this case it required a lot of effort, but they managed to defeat any Titans in the main area. Just like their last fight, Zeke and Reiner were the only ones with any noticeable injuries. ''Thank you, War Chief.'' Bertholdt said to Zeke, who was no longer in his Titan's form.
''It was Reiner's idea.'' He wasn't going to take credit for something that wasn't his own doing. ''You both are lucky you're still alive. And I mean back at Shiganshina, the execution was too reckless. If you stuck to the plan we might have been able to capture Eren.'' Reiner looked frustrated again. ''But there is no point dwelling on what could be. Pieck, it's just a bit further. After five years I hope the information we come back with satisfies them.''
Pieck continued to rush towards the coastline for quite some time. The owner of the Cart Titan continued on until she was given the order to stop courtesy of one of the people utilizing her for transportation. ''Pieck, could you stop for a minute?'' Reiner said, gaining the attention of everyone. She listened to the command, not knowing why. They were only a few minutes away from getting off the island.
Reiner sighed and looked to Zeke. ''We got the Jaw Titan back, sure.'' Zeke immediately knew where this was going. ''But losing the Female Titan, losing Annie, is that something we can afford? We already failed the mission, what will they do to us when we-''
''Stop.'' He advised Reiner. ''You're right, we've failed. And there is nothing we can do to change that.'' Pieck and Bertholdt listened closely to him. ''Now the only thing left for us to do is to return with what little we've managed to learn. You two agree, right?''
Bertholdt wanted to rescue Annie just as much as Reiner, if not more. But they already wasted their last chance at Shiganshina with Eren. He gave Zeke a slow nod, showing his agreement. ''Yes, War Chief.'' Pieck said. She did like Annie, but not enough to go on a reckless suicide mission to save her.
Reiner was greatly shocked at Bertholdt for taking Zeke's side. It made sense for Pieck, she always seemed to agree with whatever words came out of his mouth. ''See, our comrades agree with me. If you'd like, we can discuss this topic further on the ship? For now, Pieck, get moving again. I want to get as far away from this place as possible.''