Chapter 24: Battle of Shinganshina Part III

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: The Female Titan is revealed as Petra. Reiner has to let Ymir go. He and Pieck fight the Female Titan. The Female Titan throws Levi at the Beast Titan. Levi defeats Zeke.


"Get me a spyglass!"

"Yes, sir!"

Erwin took the instrument and deployed his 3D gear, going up to the roof of the house in front of him. Only a row or two of buildings remained as the Scouts' last defense.

"C-Commander!" Floch, Erwin thought was his name, yelled up at him. "Is that safe?!"

"You all stay down there!"

Per his instructions, they were lying face down to become much smaller targets thus becoming significantly harder to hit. The horses sat around them, with only some of the bravest Scouts crouching by the animals and a few standing by the most scared horses to keep them in check.

Using the spyglass, Erwin observed the Beast Titan.

As the soldiers were no threat to him, too far away and too busy hiding to try anything, the Beast Titan kept his attention on the Female Titan. Where's Levi? Erwin thought, trying to find him on the Female Titan's shoulder. Did he stay behind to help Eld with the Armored Titan and Cart Titan? Erwin had split the Thunder Spears that had been in the wagon "Annie" was in, giving most to Eld and the remaining went to four of the most experienced soldiers around. If used correctly, that should have seriously incapacitated the Armored Titan. The additional three soldiers he'd sent were to handle the Cart Titan. Perhaps Ymir was wrong about her non-combatant nature and the Cart Titan turned out to be a resilient fighter and Levi had to stay behind.

The Female Titan lay on her belly to avoid a volley of rocks, one hand flying to the side of her head, the other one covering the top of her head. At first, he thought she was trying to protect her weak spot. Why isn't the hand on the neck? Erwin thought, puzzled. Her hand curled into a loose fist. She sat up, on one knee.

The Beast Titan readied another boulder, crushing it. He had enough boulders gathered to shred the Female Titan to pieces before she could reach him.

Erwin's heart pounded in his chest. Even he could tell the Female Titan was breathing heavily. At least she's making herself a smaller target. Her left side faced the Beast Titan as he brought up his hands. Maybe if she changed the exposed side of her body to crystal it could save her. But would she be able to cross the distance and tackle the Beast Titan before he got another boulder ready? Erwin wasn't optimistic.

Just before the rocks came flying at her, the Female Titan threw something that passed over the projectiles fired at her. It sailed at the Beast Titan in a perfect arch.

I should have known. Erwin lowered the spyglass, a smile creeping up his face. He didn't need the spyglass to see the Beast Titan get eviscerated by Levi.

On the ground, the recruits finally took notice of Levi's attack and began to cheer.

Erwin couldn't bring himself to crush their spirit, telling them they still had the Colossal Titan to deal with. They'd heard and felt a loud impact earlier from the other side of the Wall, but, since no one had joined them from Shinganshina, it meant the fight was probably still going. Or they were all dead. Last report he got was they were still fighting, but the Beast Titan's assault had forced his scout to stay on the Wall for safety.

While the recruits continued to cheer, Erwin glanced to his left. Steam was rising in two trails on the other side of town. One of the trails was larger than the other. Were the Armored and the Cart Titans defeated?

Checking back on the Beast Titan, Erwin saw Levi start to drag Zeke toward the Female Titan. She had caught the full brunt of the Beast Titan's last volley and was done. She needs to transform one more time and clear up the pieces of the boulder in the inner gate. The hole hadn't been closed completely but it was obstructed enough that they couldn't ride their horses through.

Erwin returned to the ground, ignoring the recruits weeping in relief, and walked over to Ymir to ensure she was safe.

"I can't believe you did it," she said. "You got their war chief. Maybe even Reiner and Pieck."

"We're not done yet."

"What do you think was that shaking we felt? It was like an earthquake—it's a natural phenomenon. I'll explain later."

"I don't know what it was. I can only hope it was a good thing." The commander addressed the soldiers. "Listen up!"

They quieted within a second.

"I need two scouts facing every direction to make sure no one sneaks up on us." Erwin selected six people for that job. It was only a precaution in case Reiner or Pieck had somehow gotten away. "Four more will scout from the side of the Wall. That'll be you four." He pointed to a group.

"Yes, sir!"

"Floch, go get Levi and Petra. The rest of you start getting the horses ready. Petra—our Female Titan, that is—will clear up the remains of the boulder the Beast Titan used to partially block the gate."

The horses would soon be able to pass through the gate and they could see how Hange's squad and Squad Levi were handling the Colossal Titan.


Petra grunted, yanking her arms out of the decaying flesh of her Titan body. She had caught the full barrage of rocks and hadn't been able to recover. After freeing her legs, she landed awkwardly in the grass. Moving a few yards away from the steaming corpse, she sat on the nice soft ground.

Reaching up to her mouth, her fingers stopped at her lips. Levi had given her small blades to hide inside her mouth, a trick he said his mentor had taught him. She'd used one blade to transform but the rest were still there. Petra decided to leave them in until they returned to Wall Rose.

Levi made quick work of the Beast Titan while she watched. Pretending to be only half-awake and too "frightened" and "weak" to do anything, she'd been careful to keep her face hidden, twisting into a fetal position. Fully convinced she was Annie, they had taken pity on her pathetic state, focusing their attention on the battle instead. While she had lain by the Beast Titan's foot, she'd confirmed he needed to speak to convey orders to his Titans and make them move, leading her to target his mouth and windpipe in particular.

To her right lay the town where the commander, Ymir, and the remaining soldiers waited at the bottom of Wall Maria along with the horses. Not spotting Eren's Titan anywhere on this side of the Wall led her to assume they were still dealing with the Colossal Titan on the other side.

Movement in her peripheral vision made her snap her head back toward the Beast Titan's steaming corpse. I should meet Levi halfway, she thought. But her body refused to move. If she was needed to transform a second time, she had to rest up as much as possible so she stayed put and waited for Levi to join her.

Levi dragged the muscular, unconscious man by his blond hair. "You did real good, Petra," he praised when he reached her, tossing the man uncaringly to the ground. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. That last attack really hurt." Her eyes strayed to the unconscious Shifter. "But it was worth it. You got him."

"Zeke, their war chief," Levi replied, sounding pleased.

"War chief, huh?"

"That's what Ymir told us. It seems we've reeled ourselves a big fish." Levi knelt before her, on one knee. "Do you think you've got another transformation in you? Walking over to everyone will take too damn long."

During their training to help her learn to use her Titan powers, Levi had attacked her mercilessly, his blades slicing out her Titan flesh at incredible speed. It was both so she could learn to harden her skin faster and so she could get used to transforming a second time without losing intelligence after her first body was harshly cut down.

"Never mind," he said before she could answer. "I think we can hold off on that."

Almost the entire town was flattened at this point, making it easy to spot a rider with a spare horse heading their way.

"Thank the Goddesses," Petra said in relief. "I'm sure my next body would have been a 12-meter one with less strength and speed." Multiple transformations while retaining her regular 14-meter size and the same physical attributes were not yet easy for her. It was bothersome but she had to remind herself she was still new at this. I've been using these Titan powers for less than half the time Eren has. He had an extra month and a half on her.

"That's alright. We've still got me and hopefully my squad and Hange's squad. Eld and his group were attacking the Armored Titan with Thunder Spears and they might have beaten him. They had the advantage when we left. They could be around to help out as well."

"That four-legged one was very annoying." Petra frowned, remembering how the small Titan would dart between her legs. "It kept trying to trip me up since it couldn't fight me head-on. I think it was trying to slow me down." She paused. "I wonder if it figured out I was headed for their ship."

Levi nodded and said, "I'll bet she did. Her name is Pieck, the Cart Titan. She chased you down because she must have been worried you're faster than Reiner and you could give him the slip."

Petra eyed the two steam trails near where she'd clashed with the Armored Titan at the Wall's base. "That must mean they got them, right?"

Worry flashed on his face. "Ymir said Pieck was very sharp and I saw for myself she was a clever one. I want to believe they took her down since she's not a combat-type, but during our brief encounter when I ambushed her, she immediately thought to ditch her heavily injured body so she could hide easily in human form and surprise us again." Levi frowned slightly. "I hope they were careful and didn't underestimate her just because the more intimidating Armored Titan was right there."

"It's a good thing you made me practice throwing rocks even though it didn't pan out as we'd hoped it would," Petra said. She recalled the target practice he had put her through over the weeks. Wooden, square-shaped slabs of various sizes had been set up around an open grassy field at different distances so they could test how well and hard she could throw. In order to improve her hand-eye coordination, Levi had also given her a small ball to carry around and hit random objects with. On one occasion, he had ordered her to hit Hange in the back when she was annoying him, though Petra had refused.

"The Female Titan isn't built the same way the Beast Titan is. You don't have the same throwing ability. Still, it served us well. The training paid off in an unexpected way."

Petra gestured to Zeke. "Are we going to feed him to a soldier or do you want to wait?"

"I'll leave that up to Erwin." Levi removed his cloak. With a look of regret, he stripped its sides, leaving the Wings of Freedom emblem untouched. "The brass wants to carefully pick the next Shifter and since it's not a pressing situation, we can afford to wait. Also, his Titan seemed the weakest after the Cart Titan. I'd rather get one of the other two if possible."

"It's probably more useful to get the Armored Titan or the Colossal Titan," Petra agreed.

Levi tied Zeke's arm stumps and legs tightly, then his mouth.

Their transportation soon arrived. "Captain Levi, ma'am, Floch Forester," he introduced himself after he dismounted, saluting them.

"Load him up." Levi pointed at Zeke.

"Yes, sir!"

Petra accepted his hand and Levi pulled her to her feet. "Thanks."

"Where's the second horse?" Levi asked Floch after he flung Zeke over his horse, beginning to strap him down.

"Oh!" Floch's face pinked. "I'm sorry, Captain! Commander Erwin said the Female Titan was going to clear up the rubble at the gate. I thought I was to relay his orders and Petra was going to transform to run ahead of us and do that. So I only brought one horse, for you."

"It's fine. She might as well rest a little more." Levi turned to Petra. "C'mon, I'll help you up." He grabbed her waist and lifted her before she could protest. Levi smoothly pulled himself up behind her. He made a slight face before schooling his features.

Embarrassment flooded Petra. "I had to go days without washing and hitch a ride in a Titan's mouth," she blurted. He wouldn't smell nice in her place either. In fact, he smelled kind of off himself. Probably from carrying Ymir.

"I didn't say anything. But," he said casually, "since you brought it up first, yeah, you do stink. I'm tempted to attack you with a bar of soap."

Petra sighed. "We can switch if it's really—"

Levi clicked his tongue. "Unnecessary waste of time. Let's rejoin the others and see what Hange's squad and my brats have been up to."


"Alright, here's the plan," Hange started as the soldiers gathered around her. "We don't have much information about the Colossal Titan beyond general observations and the assumptions we've based on those observations."

"I remember you mentioned once the Colossal Titan might be at a disadvantage in a battle of attrition."

"Correct, Armin. Let's use our first attack to test that. We've got plenty of blades and a decent amount of Thunder Spears between us."

Rogue eyed Hange, Moblit, and the rest of Squad Levi. "We've got fourteen Thunder Spears total, two each," Eren said. He wished there were more but they'd been under a time crunch.

"We're going for a head-on assault?" Jean asked Hange.

"Some of us will go right in front of him while another few sneak up behind him. If it works, fantastic. But if it fails, we'll hopefully glean some information based on how Bertolt reacts."

Rogue let out a deep, growling noise, pointing to himself. "What about me?" Eren II asked even though Hange couldn't hear him.

"You stay back here for now," she said, understanding him. "Armin, you and I will observe. Moblit, give him your spyglass." She also held back three other soldiers, including Sasha. "Be careful of his steam. It'll burn so brace yourselves in case he uses it to repel you."

Rogue watched the group fly toward the Colossal Titan.

As predicted, Bertolt used steam to keep them from closing in. "I see," Eren II said. "That's why she kept about half of us here. There was no point in sending all of us because not only is it unnecessary, but also in case of injury and possibly death." She didn't want to lose everyone at once.

Aside from Rogue, five fresh soldiers still remained.

"He lost muscle mass," Armin observed the noticeably thinner Colossal Titan.

"He also stopped moving when he used the steam," Hange noted. "It's entirely possible it's because he wanted them to fully feel the intensity and pressure of his steam so he could put the soldiers out of commission fast, but I rather doubt it."

"More like he couldn't move," one of her subordinates said.

"You were right, Hange," Armin said in a hopeful voice. "Because he's so much bigger than Eren's 15-meter form, Bertolt's Titan at 60 meters is a lot less efficient. I bet it's consuming everything except his skeleton system to use his steam attack."

"Interesting theory. And it would make sense for the skeletal system to remain unused. Otherwise, the reduced density will cause him to collapse on himself, shattering all his bones."

The first group rejoined them.

"You all did well," Hange said to them. "Is everyone okay?"

Burns covered their faces but aside from that, they seemed unhurt. "We're good," Jean answered, voice slightly raspy. "But we failed."

Unconcerned, Hange waved it off. "That's not unexpected. This preliminary attack gave us valuable information so it wasn't a waste."

"What do we do now?" Eren II asked and it came out a jumbled mess from Rogue's lipless mouth.

"Should we try again?" Mikasa asked.

"No." Hange shook her head. "This time, my group will attack while you guys rest. Take this time to catch your breaths." She shared her and Armin's theories with them. "Moblit, keep your eyes on him and see if you notice any significant clues we might have missed, or spot a new weakness he might reveal."

Hange's group, consisting of Armin, Sasha, and two of her subordinates, went after the Colossal Titan.

Rogue reached up and gently rubbed Mikasa's head with a finger. "I'm okay, Eren," she replied with red burn marks on her skin, but she was smiling softly.

Jean watched the exchange, and said teasingly, "Only worried about your beloved Mikasa, huh?"

"What about us?" Connie demanded, hands on his hips.

Rogue petted them like they were dogs. From their mock offended faces, they could tell.

They watched as Hange's group approached the Colossal Titan.

"He's blocking his nape with his hand," Jean said in surprise.

"Why doesn't he use his steam?" Connie wondered, wincing at the burns on his face at the reminder.

"Maybe he doesn't want to sacrifice more of his muscles," Moblit offered, peering with his spyglass.

"Looks like they're using Thunder Spears now."

"Is it working?"

Moblit shook his head. "The explosion is highly penetrative but there's just so much flesh on the Colossal Titan that while it's quite easily destroyed, the sheer amount of it still there will require all of their Thunder Spears."

"He's still got his second hand he can use to cover his nape while he heals his other one," Jean pointed out. "They'd just end up wasting their Thunder Spears. But I guess that shouldn't be too much of an issue since we can still use our swords against him. And we've got Eren here also. My only concern is if we should save some Thunder Spears for the Armored Titan. Reiner's a tough bastard to kill. Maybe we should try to conserve some Spears."

"I wouldn't worry about him," Moblit said. "The commander's got Petra and Eld to handle the Armored Titan. We should focus all our efforts on the Colossal Titan."

Once more the Colossal Titan used his steam to force his attackers back. Rogue narrowed his eyes.

"He used his steam to eject all the Thunder Spears," Eren groaned. "They should have fired them at different times. He took them all out and they got wasted in one go." Eren did a mental count. They had only six Thunder Spears left. But it might be enough if they used them carefully. And as Jean had said, their swords were still effective against him.

"Well," Hange huffed, returning with her group, "we failed to kill him but we've confirmed he has to sacrifice muscle mass to produce steam and he can't move when he's using it."

The Colossal Titan continued his destructive path toward the inner gate.

"Hopefully, he's lost plenty of strength from having to use his steam attack twice. After losing so much muscle mass, you might be able to do something, Eren."

Rogue bowed his head, exposing his nape, and Eren II pulled the upper half of his human body out. "Wait, I've got an idea."

Despite the fact they were well out of hearing range of the Colossal Titan, they huddled close to the edge of the roof so Eren II wouldn't have to speak too loudly.

After ironing out the details, he retreated inside his Titan body.

Rogue ran off to confront the Colossal Titan. He roared loudly, charging straight at him, headed for the Colossal Titan's left leg. Then he changed targets and raced right between the massive legs, ignoring the behemoth. The Colossal Titan tilted his head to look back at him. At the same time, the last remaining soldiers with Thunder Spears flew right at him, hoping to catch Bertolt off guard. They didn't expect it to work but that wasn't their main job.

"He's trying to avoid using his steam attack," Eren II said as Rogue came to a stop. They'd hoped to use the steam for cover. "But we should be able to make this work still."

"Get him while he's distracted by the others!" Eren urged.

Rogue crouched, fingertips touching the ground before he sprinted at full speed. Just as he closed in on the Colossal Titan, the soldiers began to flee frantically. Bertolt was finally free to turn his attention back to Eren II.

You're too slow! Rogue flew at him. He rammed his shoulder right into the back of the Colossal Titan's right knee, using the momentum from running and throwing his entire body's weight at the joint.

For a split second, Eren stopped breathing. Did it work?! Rogue was one-fourth of the Colossal Titan's size. And the Colossal Titan was skinner from using his steam attacks two times. His twin had assumed if his 15-meter Titan body went flying into the back of the Colossal Titan's knee at full speed it would make him lose balance.

The Colossal Titan's body began to tilt.

Blindly and in a panic, he tried to claw at the empty space around him.

Despite the fact it wouldn't affect him, Eren instinctively braced himself.

The Colossal Titan fell with an earth-shattering boom, the force of the fall obligating the houses and other buildings around him, causing a crater in the ground.

"It worked! He fell! Quickly! While he's stunned!" Eren yelled. "Go for it!"

Rogue crawled up a little higher to get fully behind the knee of the Colossal Titan's leg. Wrapping his arms and legs around the joint, he began to harden his skin.

Were the soldiers able to make it to a safe distance? Eren thought, concerned for Armin's group.

The sheer impact of the Colossal Titan's enormous body hitting the ground had caused a little earthquake. It would have also sent out a shockwave in the air all around him, which had destroyed not only the structures nearby but could also kill, or at least severely injure, anyone close enough to be caught in it. Is he going to be stunned long enough for Other me to finish the job? It should take a lot less time than sealing the outer gate. Not like he's closing a large hole.

The Colossal Titan did not exactly strike them as a creature of grace and dexterity. Even a normal person would have trouble getting up without being able to bend their knees, Eren thought. There was no way Bertolt in his slow, clumsy-like 60-meter form could raise himself with his knees locked. Their plan was to take away his mobility and pester him with small attacks until he ran out of steam—literally.

The Colossal Titan began to sit up. The fall had knocked the wind out of him but not for as long as they'd hoped it would.

"Go! Go! Go!" Eren yelled and his twin screamed in response, trying to force his Titan body to harden as fast as possible. He was so close. "He'll try to pry you off his leg! Start hardening the part of your body he comes in contact with. He won't want to get his hand Titan-glued and remove his hand." Or so Eren hoped. "Then you can go back to locking his knee."

As predicted, the Colossal Titan tried to peel him off when he finally recovered from the fall. But he stopped almost immediately, distracted.

That must be Mikasa and Jean's group, Eren thought in relief. It seemed Hange's calculations were right on how far the shockwave of the Colossal Titan's fall might go. She'd ordered Mikasa's group to stay just outside the guesstimated range. It had been risky but they'd accepted they might be caught in the shockwave and injured by the invisible force. Their task was to get Bertolt's attention and attack him from behind, keeping him busy to buy Eren II as much time as possible and maybe even see if they could take Bertolt out themselves. Bertolt couldn't fend both off properly—Mikasa's group was equipped with the remaining Thunder Spears plus their flesh-parting blades—and get rid of Rogue at the same time.

"You're almost there," Eren encouraged. His biggest fear was the Colossal Titan might use his steam. What if he steams them into human dumplings?! With the surrounding structures all gone, Mikasa's group would have to fly through the hot mist before they hit the ground and took off running. Eren shook his head. He needed to stay focused. And like Armin said, if he does use it, maybe since he has so much less mass he'll produce less steam.

Eren II cried out, trying to rip himself out of his Titan body. It was awkward, difficult work.

"Can't you go any faster?" Eren asked impatiently. "You're taking forever."

"Can you stop being a backseat driver?" Eren II retorted, his upper body almost free. "You're being a pain in the ass."

At the rate he was going, Eren doubted Eren II would be able to run over to the Colossal Titan's other leg, climb on top of it, and lock up that joint in time. Still, Eren thought, one leg might enough. There was no way Bertolt would be able to get back on his feet with one leg that couldn't bend. Not without something to lean on and some wiggling around. His only option was using Wall Maria as support, but it was out of his reach. Even then Eren doubted the Colossal Titan, slow as he was, could pull himself up before they took out his other knee using their swords.

"I think this should be enough," Eren said to the other boy.

"I gotta try," Eren II said stubbornly, breathing hard. He began to half stumble toward the other leg. He cried out suddenly when the Colossal Titan used his steam.

From the explosion Eren heard, it was probably to eject a Thunder Spear.

Eren II fell to the ground. Burns appeared on his exposed skin and his body temperature began to shoot up.

"Just hold on," Eren said, trying to be soothing while his doppelgänger grunted in pain. "It'll end soon!"

Eren II tried to crawl forward, his regeneration healed his heated skin, which was burned and healed all over again.

"You're insane." Eren was in awe and disbelief at the sheer determination and stubbornness he was seeing. If it had been him, he would have given up and started sobbing within seconds of the steam sizzling his skin. "Bertolt won't be able to keep it up for long," he said.

On cue, the steam stopped.

Eren II gasped, rolling onto his back, chest rising and falling. An audible hissing sound came from his healing power, fixing all his injuries. He began crawling again, faster. Unfortunately, his healing didn't work on fatigue so he continued to move awkwardly, slowly climbing to his feet. There was movement in his peripheral vision and he spotted soldiers running toward him in the distance. "Looks like Hange and two others," he said, squinting his eyes. "Where's the rest of them?" Had they been caught in the shockwave?

"Wait for them. Hange might have a plan."

"But—"

"I know Hange said the Colossal Titan took priority over it, but you still have to seal Wall Maria's inner gate. You think you have two more transforms in you? Where you fully harden your entire body?" When he received no answer, Eren nodded. "That's what I thought. Forget about Bertolt. He's screwed even with only losing the use of one leg instead of both like we originally planned."

Eren II started toward the approaching trio. The area around the Colossal Titan was flattened, so they couldn't use their 3D gear and their horses were on the other side.

"You better hurry before the steam cover's gone and he spots you. The steam's weaker since he couldn't or didn't want to use too much muscle mass. Once he's sure Mikasa and the others are either gone or dead, he'll focus on you."

Eren II quickened his pace. He only needed to get past the Colossal Titan's feet. Eren II doubted the Colossal Titan had the flexibly to stretch far enough to reach past his toes. To be safe, he moved well past the massive pair of feet. "Where are the others?" Eren II asked Hange tiredly when the three of them reached him.

"Sasha and my subordinates weren't able to get clear fast enough," Hange informed him grimly. "One of them perished in the shockwave. One was injured. Sasha was hurt too but she's still alive. Moblit is watching over them."

"But we got this big fucker on his ass," Connie said, grinning at the immobile Colossal Titan.

"I think Mikasa's group is okay—or some of them are." Armin stared at the Colossal Titan, who finally turned his attention to them. "He should have seen their corpses if they'd died. Hopefully, him looking over his shoulder for a while means he was making sure they weren't trying to close in on him, worrying about his nape being exposed to them."

"Should we head for the basement?" Eren II asked. "I doubt he can give chase in his condition." Something occurred to him and Eren II gasped. "SHIT!"

They jumped, startled at his sudden outburst. "Eren?" Connie asked. "What—"

"I just remembered it! How could I forget? Back in Trost after he destroyed the gate, the Colossal Titan turned his entire body, bones and muscles and everything, to steam instantly and disappeared into thin air!"

Hange shrugged, calm in the face of his panic. "I wouldn't worry about it. We'll know if he tries that because he'll have to lie down first. If he evaporates his body sitting up, the 3D gear won't be of any use without any buildings nearby. A fall from that height will break countless bones in his body so he'll have to lie his Titan body down first. But he'll be more vulnerable in his human form and he won't be able to turn into a Titan again, which leads me to think he'll save his instantaneous body-vanishing act as a last resort."

"How long did it take for the steam to clear in Trost after he disappeared?" Armin questioned, checking out the landscape.

Eren II frowned, trying to remember. "Maybe fifteen seconds?"

"Not only is there nowhere for him to hide," Armin concluded, "but he doesn't have a lot of time to run away from here either. I bet he'll be tired and we'll be able to chase him down without much effort. Unlike in Trost, here he's had to use his steam expulsion three times, got knocked down hard, and had to heal from Thunder Spears explosions."

"Bertolt will also have to worry about Mikasa lurking around—no way he beats her in a footrace." Connie chuckled. "That fear alone should keep him in his Titan form."

"Good point. If he's smart," Hange said, glancing at the Titan trying and failing to stand, "he'll figure out that while he can't get up, and it's also risky to lie down then evaporate his body, he can turn over on his stomach and drag himself after us. Doing that will keep him relatively safe and also give him some mobility back."

Connie groaned, slapping his forehead before he winced at the pain. "I didn't think of that."

"I say we stick around and keep pestering him and finish this." Armin held up a finger. "We have Titan serum for one person."

Connie gasped. "We could get his Titan power!" A wistful look crossed his face before he shook his head.

Eren II knew Connie was thinking about his mother and how she could be saved. The higher-ups would never allow it, though.

"Actually, we don't really need to do anything. Look at him." Hange nodded to the Colossal Titan struggling to pull Rogue's hardened shell off his knee, giving up on standing up. "He's still leaking steam. I say we let the big baby tire himself out. Why risk injury by confronting him when it's unnecessary? If he evaporates his body and tries to flee on foot, it won't do him any good. He hasn't got anywhere to hide in this crater. And less muscle mass means less steam, so he won't get much time to run away before we spot him and chase him down."

The group moved to put greater distance between them and the Colossal Titan as they watched it continue to be frustrated.

Eren II plopped on the ground. Might as well sit. The others sat beside him.

"Do you think he's skinny enough to get out of the hardened shell of Eren's Titan?" Connie asked, eyeing the Colossal Titan warily.

Armin shook his head. "The last steam attack he used reduced more mass and made the shell looser but it's still doing its job."

"What if he tries to get skinny enough to move it down from his knee? Then he could bend his knee and get up."

"At that point, he'll just be skin and bones," Hange said. "I don't think he can push himself that far. And he should be desperate enough by now to try it if he could. Though by some chance he does do it, I don't think he'll be able to support himself and keep upright."

Eren II did a perfunctory sweep of the area. "I hope Mikasa, Jean, and the others are alive."

Hange shaded her eyes, trying to see if she could spot them. "From the way Bertolt keeps checking over his shoulder, I'd say there's a good chance not all of 'em are dead."

"Jean's pretty smart," Armin said. "If they're not attacking the Colossal Titan, they must have figured out the same thing we did. Like us, they're probably keeping a safe distance and waiting for Bertolt to become too weak to sustain himself. Get too close and he might try to squash them. Move too far and it will increase the gap they have to close in case Bertolt tries to make a run for it as a human. So they can't join us yet. They have to stay there and keep him as trapped as possible."

Connie sat with his legs crossed and arms folded over his chest. "You know, I didn't expect the mission to turn out like this. I can't believe we're just waiting around for Bertolt to exhaust himself."

"No kidding," Eren II said, glancing toward Wall Maria. He wondered how the other side was doing.

"But I gotta say, it's nice to sit back and relax for a change. Usually we barely get time to catch our breath on a mission cause we're busy worrying—"

Armin gasped, scrambling to his feet. "Annie?!"

Eren let out a slew of curses when Eren II saw flashes of the Female Titan between the buildings in the distance near the gate.

Connie groaned loudly. "I jinxed it."

"It's fine, don't panic," Hange assured them. "That's Petra."

"What?!" Eren II gaped at her, then looked back at the Female Titan. "Her hair does have a reddish tint. And her face is different."

"Oh yeah," Connie said and pointed, "there are also soldiers with her. She must have cleared the gate for them."

"What happened?" Armin asked, confused. "Does that mean Annie was eaten? Was it Petra the whole time or did she just now become a Shifter?"

Hange caught them up to speed about Erwin's plan and Annie being fed to Petra over a month ago.

Eren slapped his forehead, recalling how flustered Petra had been when he showed up at her door unannounced one evening. "I'm so stupid," Eren gasped. "I can't believe I didn't realize it was because her wound wasn't there." She had been wearing a bandaid when he saw her hours earlier, yet there was no mark to be found on her forehead when she had opened the door to him. "And back injuries are a bitch," he said. "No wonder she bounced back so fast." When he'd gone to visit her after Annie was captured in Stohess, she had told him she was hurt a lot worse than Eld was but they'd returned to active duty almost at the same time.

"It does explain a lot," Eren II agreed. "That's why she was intent on doing so much hand-to-hand training with me," he II said, still sitting as the others stood.

"If the calvary is here I guess we've more or less won," Connie said cheerfully.

Eren felt a twinge of pity, noticing Armin's crestfallen face. He had obviously cared genuinely for Annie. While Eren wasn't going to lose any sleep over her death, she had meant something special to Armin and Eren felt for the pain it was causing his best friend.

Eren II himself felt an odd sort of loss, wrapping his head around the fact Annie was gone. She had been the enemy and he hated her for the carnage she caused in the 57th Expedition and her part in Wall Maria's fall. Yet a tiny part of him still mourned the genuine connection he'd had with her during their trainee years. Despite the lies, they'd been real friends. He could only imagine how much worse Armin had to be feeling.

"Do you think they were able to capture the Beast Titan?" Connie said, a dark look on his face.

Eren II shrugged. "Guess we'll find out soon enough. I wonder who it is."

Just as the rest of the Scouts came close, the Colossal Titan turned over onto his stomach.

"He finally figured it out. But it's too late now," Hange said, eyes following Levi and half a dozen soldiers on horseback, racing toward the Colossal Titan.

The rest of the Corps came to a stop before them and Erwin dismounted, helping Ymir down.

Connie walked up to her. "Ugly hag," he said to Ymir.

"Baldy," she greeted back.

"I'd punch you if you didn't look so pitiful."

"Guess you're still mad about me ditching you guys."

"Damn straight. Just you wait until we get back." Despite his words, there was a wide grin on Connie's face.

"Aw, missed me, didn't you, Connie?" Ymir laughed, throwing an arm around the spluttering boy. "I missed you, too."

"That's an interesting tactic you used," Erwin remarked, seeing the Colossal Titan trying to drag himself away.

Hange chuckled, filling him in on how they did it. "And it was all Eren's idea."

"I just remembered seeing a kid knock an adult down like that once," Eren II said when Erwin glanced at him. "Thought it might work." The face of a brown-haired little girl with bright eyes and dimples popped up in his head.

"My cousin Lizzy?" Eren asked, seeing his aunt Faye's daughter. "Oh yeah, she knocked down her dad one time when we were playing tag in their backyard."

A recruit helped Petra collapse next to Eren II, leaving behind the Female Titan's steaming corpse. "I can't believe you're a Titan-Shifter like me," he said, noting the markings around her eyes.

"I'm exhausted," she said, breathing heavily. "I don't know how you do multiple transformations."

"You'll get there one day. Just keep practicing. Hey, wait," Eren II said suddenly, eyes sparkling in mirth, "does that mean I'm your senior?"

"Nice try," Petra snorted. "But Captain Levi has been my sparring partner for years and he's a lot more ruthless and skilled than you when it comes to close combat. I could take you. Probably." She paused. "Actually, my stamina is pathetic so I might win one round but you'll kick my ass the rest of them."

"Coming to join the tired Shifters club?" Eren II asked when he noticed Ymir approach.

"Don't mind if I do." She plopped down ungracefully, arms only half there. "By the way, Eren, I gotta talk to you about the Beast Titan."

Eren II perked up. "We caught him?"

"His name's Zeke. He's bound, gagged, and being guarded," Petra said just before the soldiers around them started babbling. They'd formed a spacious but protective bubble around the three of them.

Eren's thoughts immediately turned to his older brother. But no, what were the chances? Zeke was a common enough name. And he couldn't imagine his older brother as the enemy. It was just too strange. It must be another Zeke, he thought dismissively. The uncomfortable feeling in his gut made him not want to believe it was his brother who doted on him.

"What happened with Reiner?" Eren II asked.

"The Armored Titan was badly injured when I left with Levi. But there was another Titan there, the Cart Titan, Pieck. She saved Reiner and they escaped. Eld was in charge of the group that faced them. Unfortunately, she killed some of them and took a bite out of his leg."

Eren II's hand instinctively found its way to his leg. "At least Eld's still alive and relatively whole. I'll take that."

Petra nodded in agreement. "A small party was sent out to search for Reiner and Pieck but the two were long gone. We've got people keeping a lookout above the inner gate in case the two try to come to Shinganshina via the gate or using Reiner's 3D gear."

"They should know they're beaten," Ymir said, eyeing the half dozen soldier patrolling the top of the Wall. "We'll see them coming well in advance. If I were in their shoes I'd run far along the Wall, climb over outside of Wall Maria's territory, then head for the ship to run back home."

"You said you had something you wanted to talk to Eren about?" Petra reminded her.

Ymir paused, thinking. "Actually, I think I'll wait. Maybe whatever your dad left behind in your basement might mention it. In fact, if I'm right, it probably should."

"What exactly is going here, Ymir?" Eren II asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Just wait. It'll take me time to sort it out in my head and explain it properly to you. I'd rather not get sidetracked with the main stuff cause I was explaining the little things to you and end up confusing you. Besides, it just feels like you should hear it from your old man. I'm sure he'll do a better job than me at explaining everything."

"I'm with her there," Eren pitched in. "Since we already came all this way, waiting a little while longer won't kill us."

Eren II grunted. "I suppose you're right. Everything's been leading up to this. Might as well see it through how it's meant to be."

A commotion rose up around them.

"What's going on?" Petra cranked her head but her view was blocked. The uniformed men and women surrounding them made it difficult to see anything.

"The Colossal Titan is down!" Connie informed them gleefully. "They're bringing him over."

"What about Mikasa's group?" Eren II asked anxiously.

"I think they're bringing them, too."

Relief washed over Eren II and his shoulders slumped, the last of the tension leaving him. Then it hit him. "We've won," Eren II said in amazement. "We beat them and took the first step in reclaiming Wall Maria." Five long years and they were finally here. Countless lives had been lost. Much blood, sweat, and tears had been shed but victory was theirs in the end. "At last, we'll get back our home, our land, our dignity. We really made it."

"Let's find out what's in that basement of yours," Eren said eagerly.


Historia paced around Erwin's office, trying to work off the restless energy. She finally sat down when her legs started aching.

Her guards had tried to get her to return to Mitras but she had wanted to see Ymir as soon as possible. When they tried to insist again that she leave Karanes, she had ordered them to quietly stand outside her door and only come in when the Corps returned. Sometimes it was good to be the highest-ranking person in the land.

No matter how much she wanted to wash her hands of the responsibilities and run her orphanage instead, she had to continue trying to be a queen. The people believed their story about the Assembly's coup and killing her "innocent" father. Still, Erwin had insisted when she first ascended that to avoid any chance of civil unrest, she had to stay in power until even minor grumblings about the military taking power died down. He didn't want it gaining traction. That had served Historia just as well. She wanted that power until she got Ymir back. After Ymir was safe, she planned to keep pretending to be the queen everyone wanted to see leading them until everything was well and truly settled. Once everything was running efficiently by wise and appropriately qualified people and no one was worried about the government turning into a militaristic dictatorship, she'd quietly step back and hand off all her duties to her counselors, becoming a queen in name only and living peacefully out in the country—preferably with Ymir.

Historia sighed longingly, trying to imagine a future where she and Ymir were together. They'd live as themselves and be happy regardless of how chaotic things got around them. No would pull them apart again. As long as we have each other, we'll make do no matter what.

She stood and began pacing once more. Butterflies started dancing in her stomach as the anxiety returned. Countless horrible scenarios played out in her head: Ymir had already been killed. Their trickery was discovered and the trade fell through. The Corps was wiped out completely.

Historia wanted to shut her brain down but overthinking everything and fretting uncontrollably was also comforting in its own way.

Occasionally, she tried to study the new proposals and drafts she brought along with her but her head was too much of a mess to focus. She must have re-read the first page of the folder on top half a dozen times and still had no idea what it was about.

Finally, finally, she spotted the soldiers returning. Historia moved away from the window and ran toward the door. Fingers grabbing the doorknob, she stopped. No, that was not befitting a queen, throwing the door open and running around wildly, screaming at the top of her lungs like some crazy girl. It's so restricting, being a royal, she thought. Ironically, she'd had more freedom as a commoner.

Historia moved toward the window again and stopped just short of it. She was terrified of what she'd see if she looked out and saw their faces.

What if the mission was a massive failure?

What if it wasn't?

Thankfully, Erwin and the others didn't waste time coming to his office, sparing her from too much self-inflicted torment.

When her eyes found Ymir among the group, it was like drinking a nice cold glass of water after dying of thirst for months. Something inside her shuddered and her knees became weak.

The door hadn't even closed fully to give the group privacy before Historia cried out and launched herself at Ymir, who met her halfway.

All the words and reactions she'd practiced over and over in her head—Would she act cool? Snarky? Angry? Relieved?—failed her and she was reduced to a sobbing, incomprehensible mess.

Historia didn't care who saw. Let them see her and hear her bawl like a baby. And they were her close people anyway so really, what did it even matter if they saw her in this state? All she cared about was that Ymir was here and safe and warm. She still had that familiar, comforting Ymir scent and everything felt right with the world again.

When Historia finally managed to calm herself enough to speak, she only had three words: "Ymir, you idiot!"

"I know." Ymir squeezed, holding her tightly. "I'm sorry for leaving," she said mournfully. "Truly, I am. But I had to. I had a debt to repay." She drew in a breath. "But that's behind me now, I promise. I won't leave your side again until the day I die."

"Good. You better not. We're sticking together until we both die of old age. I'm the queen, you know. I'll have you thrown in the dungeons if you disobey me."

Ymir was oddly quiet at first before she pulled back and chuckled. "As you wish, Your Highness," she said teasingly.

Historia wiped her face clean. She felt embarrassed by her outburst, now that she was less emotional. But the ridiculous grin didn't leave her face, a warm and sweet feeling spreading through her entire body. Tears of joy began stinging her eyes again. Was she going to cry again? I'm just so happy I can't stop. The explosive rush of giddiness was foreign to her, never having experienced the peak of happiness like this. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Historia said, positively beaming from head to toe.

Ymir's expression softened and she brushed her face gently. "Me, too. I'm happy you're safe, Historia."

Hearing her true name from Ymir's lips was the sweetest feeling in the world. Last time there was too much chaos for her to truly appreciate it. Now Historia relished it and looked forward to hearing it again and again. But for some reason, Historia thought Ymir's joy seemed muted. But of course. She was held captive for months and must have gone through quite an ordeal. But she was back home and everything was going to be okay.

Clutching Ymir's hand, the queen stepped aside to face the rest of the group, who had been averting their eyes out of respect. Noticing the dreariness that clung to them, Historia's smile fell. "What's wrong?"

The heavy and sullen air sapped at her joy.

Something was very wrong.

Erwin, Moblit, Levi, and Sasha, who was bandaged and in a crutch, all stood looking defeated.

"Wait, Commander Erwin, where's Hange? And where's the rest of your squad, Captain Levi?" A ball of dread began to form in her stomach, getting bigger and bigger as she took in their solemn faces and tear-stained cheeks.

"We were able to capture two enemy Titans and feed one, Bertolt Hoover, the Colossal Titan, to get its power on our side." A pained look came over Levi's face. "But we suffered many losses."

Her heart ached and Historia wished she could have been there with them, fighting alongside them. It felt shameful, hiding behind Wall Rose even though she knew it was the right decision.

"We won the battle but we may have lost the war."

A chill went down her spine at Levi's foreboding words. Historia was too afraid to ask but she had to. "What do you mean?"

"The worst of the losses we suffered...was Eren," Erwin told her. "We lost him."

"Lost him?" Historia asked fearfully. "Lost him how? Is he dead?"

Their gloominess was answer enough before Levi even spoke. "No," he said. "It's worse."

Worse than dead? Her breath caught in her throat, chest feeling tight as it came to her. She felt slightly faint, needing to squeeze Ymir's hand to anchor herself. "Are you saying..."

"Yes," Erwin confirmed with a grimace. "Eren was kidnapped. Marley—the Warriors—successfully captured the Founding Titan."


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