Previously:

The vast expenditure of resources and lives in the expedition beyond the wall dealt a serious blow to the Survey Corps, eroding their public and political support. Erwin and the other leaders were summoned to the royal capital. They were ordered to turn Eren over to the Military Police.


Chapter 26: Smile


"They're late..." Levi remarked. He sipped his tea. Eren was completely silent at the other end of the table. They were both waiting for the others to arrive. For some reason that was beyond Eren, Heidi had insisted on talking to Commander Erwin as soon as they had returned. Now it seemed that they were up to something, and he found himself waiting alone with Levi. "I can't believe that good-for-nothing Erwin… making me wait. The MPs are going to get here first..." Levi said. He looked at Eren. Eren stared back. "Most likely… he's having some trouble taking a shit."

"Haha..." Eren laughed awkwardly. Levi finished his tea and set the cup down. "Captain… you're... pretty talkative today."

"I've always been talkative," Levi replied. It's just that the people he usually talked to weren't around.

"… I'm sorry," Eren apologized. "Back then… if only… I hadn't made the wrong choice… Things might have been different. Even you were injured. And I took my frustration out on Heidi." Levi furrowed his brow slightly.

"I told you. No one knows how things will turn out," Levi reminded him. They returned to sitting in silence.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Erwin said as he opened the door and entered the room.

"Sir..." Eren said, standing up. He was surprised to see who two of the four people accompanying Erwin and Heidi were. "Armin? Mikasa, too…?"

"We've found someone whom we suspect is… the Female Titan," Erwin stated. Eren stared at them in surprise as they all took a seat at the table. Armin sat next to Eren, and Mikasa sat next to Armin, near Levi. Heidi sat down opposite Mikasa, and Erwin sat opposite Eren. The other two Survey Corps members accompanying them sat in the empty chair or stood leaning up against the wall.

"The target is attached to the Military Police brigade in Stohess district," Erwin said, getting down to business. "We've devised a plan to capture the target, the Female Titan, once and for all. We move the day after tomorrow. On that day, we are being summoned to the royal capital, with Eren."

"!" Eren said, a bead of sweat sliding down his face.

"With the situation as it is, we'll be forced to hand Eren over. If that happens, it'll be difficult to lure out those who are trying to destroy the wall. As a result, the extinction of humanity would become a real possibility. We designed this operation to break through every one of our roadblocks. We're betting everything on it. We will likely not have… another chance." He had everyone's attention. "To put it broadly, Eren will sneak out while we're being escorted by the Military Police brigade inside Stohess district. From there, he'll lure the target out to be captured, to an underground location if possible, so that she won't be able transform into a titan. If we can capture one of the titans destroying the walls by using Eren as a decoy… the problem if the summons will, of course, disappear. The capital's attention should turn to defending the walls as well."

'Wow… Honestly… I thought it might all be over,' Eren thought. 'But if we can pull this off, everything will turn around totally in our favor. If we can pinpoint who the Female Titan is, aren't we almost guaranteed to succeed?' "We got this," he said, looking at his friends. Their expressions were grim. "..."

"Armin and Heidi were the ones… who deduced the Female Titan's identity," Erwin said. "And I decided to carry out this plan based on Armin's proposal. Armin encountered the titan, and he surmised… That she may have been among you in the 104th training corps." Eren was surprised to hear this. "Heidi had similar suspicions. We also believe she killed the two titans that were captured alive. Her name is… Annie Leonhart." Eren's eyes widened.

"Annie…? The Female Titan?" he said. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. "What made you think that… Armin… Heidi?"

"Not only did she… know what you looked like, Eren… she even reacted to the words 'suicidal idiot', a nickname that only someone in the 104th would know," Armin replied. "But the biggest factor in making me think she killed those two titans… was that… killing those two required a high level of skill, so I think she must have used her own maneuvering equipment, which she was more familiar with… then, she presented Marco's equipment during the inspection to avoid being caught." Heidi clenched her fists.

"Wha…? Why would Marco be involved?" Eren asked, confused.

"… I don't know…" Armin admitted. "I might have seen wrong..."

"… Huh?" Eren said.

"Hey, kid. I keep hearing about how you think you've found someone who might be the titan, but… do you you have any other evidence?" Levi asked. "What about you, Heidi? What made you think it was her?"

"That's right!" Eren said. "Out of all of us, you were closest to Annie, so why…?"

"That's why," Heidi replied honestly. "I admit it was mostly intuition… But I also recognized a familiar pattern in the fight. Annie and I sparred a lot. We respected each other's abilities. I know when I'm fighting her. Also, when I saw the Female Titan cry, despite everything she had done, I suddenly felt like I was looking at a friend who was in pain."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Levi asked her.

"I didn't want to believe it, and I don't have any real evidence," she replied. "I wanted to see if anyone else in the 104th recognized her first."

"I see," Levi said. "Anything else?"

"To me… the Female Titan's face looked like Annie's," Mikasa answered.

"Huh?! What're you saying?!" Eren exclaimed incredulously, shooting up out of his chair. "You're going to use that as your evidence to—"

"In other words… We don't have any proof, but we're going to do it anyway..." Levi concluded. Eren paled a little as he stared at them, shocked.

"You don't have proof…? What do you mean…? Why are we doing it, then?" Eren asked. "What will we do… if it's not Annie?"

"If it's not Annie… it just means she's clear of suspicion," Mikasa replied.

"We may end up hurting her feelings, but that's a risk we'll have to take," Heidi said.

"I would feel bad for Annie in that case, but… but still..." Armin said, looking up at him. "If we don't do anything, you're just going to end up a scapegoat for the guys in power, Eren."

"… How could… you suspect… Annie…?" he asked them, still shocked. "The Female Titan tried to kill Heidi! Annie wouldn't—"

"Don't you remember? Whenever we had a group exercise where we were pitted against each other, she would target me first. Every time," Heidi said.

"Eren. Doesn't hearing Annie's name here bring anything to mind?" Mikasa asked him. "You fought the Female Titan hand-to-hand, didn't you? Didn't you see any of Annie's unique techniques then?"

Eren suddenly recalled Annie's unique way of kicking. The Female Titan had used that same technique to cut off the top of his titan head when they fought.

"You know it's true, right?" Heidi said. Eren avoided making eye contact with her. "You do realize that if this is true… she not only killed our squadmates, she probably murdered Marco."

"!?" Eren gasped, looking up at her. "Marco…?"

"Think about it. She had his gear. I heard that Marco was found half eaten. If his gear was undamaged, that means he wasn't wearing it when he died. So doesn't that mean someone took it off of him before… and left him to be devoured?" Heidi pointed out, furrowing her brow and frowning to hide the pained expression she could feel her face threatening to make. "They did that—to Marco, of all people!" Her pupils almost dilated beyond normal. She was angry. She had never been so angry in her life.

"Marco…" Eren said quietly, gritting his teeth. He couldn't believe it. But if what she said was true… "Wait… you said 'they'…?"

"We know there are more. The Colossal Titan and the Armored Titan. We believe they could also be hiding among the 104th," Erwin stated.

"!" Eren said, eyes widening. "Then—"

"Don't worry. We already have a plan to deal with them," Erwin said. "While you act as bait for the Female Titan with Mikasa and Armin," He glanced at Mikasa, recalling how Heidi had assured him that she was the best person for the job, because she would do anything to protect Eren. "Heidi will keep an eye out for the others. She's uniquely suited for being able to get close to them unarmed, so they won't suspect anything." Not only did she have her bersekergang, she was 'one of them'. The rest of the 104th would let their guard down around her more than they would with the veterans.

"Ah, I see..." Eren said, while Armin and Mikasa exchanged glances. Heidi had yet to explain her 'illness' to them.

"It'll mean lying to people you like. You sure you'll be able to do it?" Levi asked her. Heidi looked at him.

"They're responsible for the death of my mother, aunt, and uncle. And they're in cahoots with the one who killed our squadmates and Marco. What is there to like about that?" she said, her expression hardening. "If I think about it like that, lying will be no problem."

—∞—

Armin waited nervously in a shadowy alley in the Stohess district. Then, he heard voices and saw a group of people in Military Police uniforms pass by.

"I'm not messing around!" the guy at the head of the group said. "I'm going to handle every mission perfectly, starting with this one!"

"Well, at least it won't be dull with him around..." another boy said. And then, Armin saw her. Fortunately, she was the last in the group.

"Annie," he called, just loud enough for her to hear. Annie stopped. Her eyes widened slightly. Without a word to the others she was with, she stepped into the alley with him.

"Armin..." Annie said, obviously surprised to see him.

"Hey… Already a full-fledged MP, I see," Armin said, attempting a smile, even though he was sweating bullets.

"What's the matter…?" Annie asked him. "What are you wearing?" He was dressed in a rain cloak and wearing a pack on his back.

"It's a porter outfit," Armin replied. "The rain gear is to hide my maneuvering equipment. See?" He lifted the cloak to show her.

"?!" Annie said, a bead of sweat sliding down her face. "Armin? What's wrong?" Armin lowered his hood.

"Annie… Can you… come with us and help Eren escape?" Armin asked nervously. Annie's eyes widened slightly again.

"… Escape? To where?" she asked. "After ignoring a royal command inside the city walls… Where will he run?"

"We're just going to hide him temporarily," Armin explained. "We don't intend to defy the monarchy openly. I know it looks like an act of insubordination by part of the Survey Corps… but we're buying so time to gather the materials we need to change the council's opinion. I promise!"

"Change their opinion…?" Annie said. "You have something that convenient…? What's your proof?"

"… I'm sorry," Armin told her. "I can't tell you..."

"..." Annie stared at him. "I feel for you, but… this isn't worth talking about." She turned to leave. "I won't tell anyone. Do your best on your own."

"Please! At this rate… Eren will be killed!" Armin pleaded desperately. "These guys are trying to save themselves, but without knowing it… they're heading down a path that's going to doom humanity! I know what I'm saying isn't convincing… but… still, all that's left to me… is one big gamble. I'll do what I can to keep you from getting into trouble, but… I need the help of someone in the Military Police Brigade in order to pass through wall Sheena's checkpoints. This is… my only option." Annie paused.

"Do I… really look like such a good person to you?" Annie asked him.

"..." Armin was silent for a moment. She looked at him. "A 'good person'…? I… don't really like that phrase. I mean… that's just what you call someone who acts in a way that's beneficial to you." He looked down. "I don't think anyone can act in a way that benefits everyone. Even if you're being helpful to one person, you might still be a 'bad person' to someone else… so..." He looked up at her. "If you're not going to go along with this plan… that would make you a bad person to me..." Annie stared at him. She looked down, thinking.

"Fine," she said eventually. She turned away from Armin and slipped a ring onto her finger. "I'm in."

—∞—

Armin, Eren, and Mikasa walked quietly through the streets of Stohess with Annie. They passed a wagon carrying goods under a tarp.

"Where is Heidi?" Annie asked.

"Ah, she's with the decoy… since she's supposed to be assigned to protecting Eren. Her red hair really stands out, so they would notice right away if she wasn't there..." Armin explained.

"Yeah, but getting away was easier than I thought," Eren said. "I was in the carriage the whole time, but they didn't check on me at all..." It had made switching with Jean a piece of cake.

"Stop looking around so much," Mikasa told him. He looked shifty glancing everywhere.

"It gives you a good idea of how seriously the great Military Police takes its job," Eren continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Now we just have to hope they don't find out that Jean's standing in for me… but I don't think it'll take long. I mean, he and I look nothing alike..."

"Don't worry…! You have similar builds and terrifying glares. Like villains," Armin told him.

"I don't have a horse face like him..." Eren argued.

"So… If I hadn't helped you, how were you planning to get past the wall?" Annie asked.

"We were going to break through using our maneuvering equipment," Armin replied.

"That seems absurd," Annie said. "Wouldn't it have been a lot less trouble to escape before entering Stohess district? Why here and now?"

"I thought that the switch with the body double wouldn't work without terrain as complex as the city's," Armin said. "Acting obedient for a bit to wear down their suspicions then slipping away seemed like it'd buy us more time than openly trying to run."

"… Oh..." Annie said. "All right, then." They walked on in silence for a while.

"Ah…! Here it is!" Armin said when they reached steps that led underground.

"… Here?" Annie asked, taken aback.

"Yeah… We're going through here," Armin said. "These are ruins of the planned underground city. They lead all the way to a spot near the outer door," he explained as he, Eren, and Mikasa began their descent.

"Really? Wow..." Eren said.

"Yeah. It's much safer than walking above ground," Armin said. They all paused when it became clear Annie wasn't following them. "Hm?" Armin looked back up at her. "Annie?"

"What's wrong with you…? Don't tell me that you're afraid of narrow, dark places?" Eren said, furrowing his brow.

"… I am," Annie said. "I'm scared… I doubt a brave… suicidal idiot like you… could ever… understand the feelings of… a feeble maiden like me." Armin stared at her. She did seem unnerved.

"There's nothing feeble about a maiden that can flip a huge man 360 degrees through the air," Eren retorted. "Stop being stupid, we need to hurry!"

"No. I'm not going," Annie insisted. "I'm scared of that way… We go above ground, or I won't help." A breeze blew, ruffling her hair. Eren gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Wh… What the hell are you talking about?!" he yelled. "Hurry up and get down here! Stop messing around!!"

"Eren! Don't yell!" Mikasa said.

"Why shouldn't he, Mikasa?" Annie asked. Mikasa's eyes widened slightly. "I'm not sure why, but… I haven't seen a single person around us for a while now." She was right. The street was completely empty. The only other people around were the hidden members of the Survey Corps. Annie stared at Armin, Eren, and Mikasa. "Sheesh, Armin… That really hurts. When was it… that you started… looking at me like that?" Armin's hand trembled as he held the signal gun, trying to keep it obscured from her view.

"Annie… Why…?" Armin asked. "Why did you have Marco's 3DMG?" Annie didn't answer. He and Eren stared up at her with wide eyes. She wouldn't look at them. "He fixed even the smallest scratches and dents… and I remembered doing it with him… so I could tell."

"Oh… I just..." Annie started to answer, but she couldn't think of a good excuse. "… Found it."

"!!" Armin said, furrowing his brow. "So… those two titans that were captured… you killed them?"

"If you thought that a month ago… why… didn't you do anything then?" Annie asked. Armin stared up at her, horrified.

"… Even now… I can't believe it… Maybe I made a mistake some where… I want to think that I did," Armin said, looking down. "That's why I..." he furrowed his brow. "But… what about you, Annie? It's because you didn't kill me then… that all of this is happening now..."

"…" Annie was silent for a moment. "Yeah… I wonder about that, deep down. I never imagined you'd end up cornering me like this. Still… why did I do that then…?"

"Listen, Annie…!" Eren said urgently. "There's still... a chance… that you're just an idiot with bad timing who's playing along as part of some dumb joke…! Anyway, just get over here!! You can prove this to us just by coming underground!! Get in here and give us proof!"

"… I can't go down there," Annie insisted. She bowed her head. "I… couldn't become a soldier."

"I thought I told you…!! Enough with the dumb jokes!!" Eren shouted.

"Talk to us, Annie!" Armin pleaded. "We can still talk this over!!"

"Enough," Mikasa said stepping up. She removed her pack and rain gear. "I can't listen to any more. It's pointless..." She drew her blade. "I'll slice you to shreds all over again… Female Titan." Annie looked down at them and grinned. Eren and Armin stood aghast, their hearts thumping in their chests. Mikasa glared at her.

"I guess you were lucky that I was a good person to you," Annie said. "It looks like your gamble paid off for now… But… this is where mine begins." She raised her hand to bite her finger. Armin immediately fired a sound grenade to signal the others to attack.

BANG!

Before Annie could bite down, she was surrounded by Survey Corps members in plain clothes, who quickly restrained her. The grabbed her arms and legs and gagged her with a piece of cloth to make sure she couldn't bite her tongue. Annie looked down. Eren was staring up at her in shock. There was a piece of metal sticking up out of her ring. Annie used her thumb to open it creating something like a sharp metal thorn. Mikasa's eyes widened.

"?!" Armin and Eren exclaimed when she yanked them back.

"Mikasa?!" Armin asked.

"She's one step… ahead of us…!!" Mikasa said as she continued to pull them down, furrowing her brow as Annie sliced her thumb on the thorn. The explosion from her titan transformation was so large that it not only blew away everyone restraining her, it could be seen a fair distance away by the Survey Corps members who were evacuating that part of the district. Eren and Armin stared in shock at the bloody mess at the bottom of the steps. Pieces of their fellow scouts had hit the wall with so much force that the stones cracked. If Mikasa hadn't pulled them out of the way, they would be dead.

"… Wh—" Eren said shakily.

"Are you hurt?!" Mikasa asked them.

"Oh no..." Armin said, horrified.

"If you can stand, run!!" Mikasa told them. Pulling them along with her again, and not a moment too soon. Annie's giant titan arm was already reaching down the tunnel, groping around for them.

"Did she bite her tongue?" Armin asked as they ran. "How did she injure herself?"

"There was a blade hidden in her ring," Mikasa replied. "Annie used it to cut her finger."

"… So it was…. that simple…? Damn it..." Armin cursed. "I knew it… she could tell I was lying from the beginning… and it was obvious that we were going to ambush her with this underground passage!! There must have been… some other way."

"Think about it later," Mikasa told him. "Now tell me… What do we do… from here…?"

"… For now… join up with team three and get above ground. After that, we follow plan B..." Armin replied. "Fight Ann—the Female Titan! Eren, you transform into a titan, like we planned, and help us capture her… okay?"

"Yeah!" Eren said.

"Heeey! What's going on?!" someone shouted up ahead.

"It's team three!" Armin said.

"Did the plan fail?!" they asked.

"It failed!"Armin confirmed. "Please go to plan B—"

BOOOM!!

"?!" Armin, Eren, and Mikasa exclaimed when the space team three was standing suddenly seemed to explode as they were crushed under a giant foot.

"Wha…?!" Armin gasped. "She stomped through?!" One of the legs of a member of team three could be seen sticking up out of the rubble.

"We need to save them!" Eren said, but Mikasa stopped him from moving forward.

"Eren, get back!" Mikasa told him.

".." Eren looked back at her with his brow furrowed.

"What's she doing?!" Mikasa asked, worried and confused. "Does she not care if Eren dies?!"

"It was a gamble," Armin replied. "She made that hole betting that Eren wouldn't die in the process. It's a crazy move, but a good one. Annie's desperate… to grab Eren." They could see her through the hole she had made. "Wh… What should we do? She's blocking our escape path… Even if we used our maneuvering gear to head through that hole or the entrance at top speed… she'd be waiting for that moment… But then again… if we stay down here, we can expect to be crushed..."

"I'll… do something!!" Eren said. "Just like... that time I blocked the cannon shell..." He pulled his friends close. "Come here!"

"Hey!!" Armin said.

"Here goes!!" Eren said and bit his hand. Mikasa and Armin braced themselves for something that never came. Eren didn't transform or create any semblance of a titan. Nothing happened.

"… What?" Armin said, surprised. Beads of nervous sweat slid down their faces. Eren furrowed his brow and glared at his injured hand.

"Not again… No way…" he said with disbelief, getting angry at himself. "At a time like this?!" He sank to his knees. "Shit, that hurts!!"

"You can't turn into a titan if you don't have a concrete goal, right?" Armin said. "Try again… keep the image in your mind!"

"I am…!" Eren said anxiously. "But… why?!"

"Are you?" Mikasa asked as she kneeled beside him. "Aren't you still hesitating to fight Annie?" Eren looked at her.

"Eren?" Armin asked.

"Don't tell me this late in the game… you still think you may just be imagining that Annie is the Female Titan? Think about what you just saw!" Mikasa said sternly. "The one who killed your squadmates… it was her. And like Heidi said… she probably killed Marco too. Do you still think we're wrong?"

"S… Shut up. I'm doing it…. aren't I?!!" Eren shouted, biting his hand again. Again, nothing.

"You know it's true, right?" Mikasa pressed. "That Annie… is the Female Titan. So… doesn't that mean you have to fight her?" Eren bit his hand again. Nothing.

"Or is it… some sort of… special feelings are holding you back?"

"Wha?!" Eren said, looking at her. Where did that come from?

"I have a plan," Armin said, drawing one of his blades. He pointed it at the hole Annie had made. "Mikasa and I will leave through that hole and the entrance at the same time. If we do that, then Annie will have to choose one of us to deal with. Take that chance to use the escape route she doesn't choose! You can't fight her in your real body. The soldiers will take her down somehow. Let's go!" he said, aiming the last bit at Mikasa.

"Huh? Armin, wait!" Eren called as he began to run toward the entrance. "But if you do that, then… one of you is going to die!"

"All three of us are dead if we stay here," Armin replied. "Mikasa, get in position."

"Got it," Mikasa said, dashing toward the hole.

"!!" Eren gasped. "Mikasa!" He sat alone in the floor, watching his friends run to their doom. "H… How are you two… able to fight?"

"What else can we do?" Mikasa said, pausing to answer him. "The world… is a cruel place." She turned and continued running. Eren looked down. He bent over, clutching the wrist of his injured hand. Mikasa and Armin stopped at their exits. They waved at each other signal they were ready. Eren looked up. Mikasa spared one final glance back at him. Eren's brow furrowed and his eyes hardened.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed and bit his hand. This time the transformation was instantaneous.

His titan body burst up through the roof of the tunnel before Mikasa and Armin could endanger themselves, sending debris flying everywhere in a great explosion. Annie stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Eren just in time to get nailed in the face with a powerful uppercut. Annie's titan form was sent flying.