Previously:
"The… The map..." Hange said. They gave Hange the map, laying it down so Hange wouldn't have to get up. "Here… It's small, but there's a titan forest here." Hange pointed it out on the map. "You should head that way… I don't think that the Armored Titan will be able to hide his footsteps… But either way… they're probably heading here."
"Why?" Erwin asked.
"It's a gamble, but… they might be able to turn into titans, but outside the walls, other titans are still a threat to them," Hange replied. "I'm sure they're not in as bad shape as Eren, but they must be drained after fighting that hard. "I believe even Annie was out for a while after transforming. … And let's also assume that they don't have enough stamina left to cross a distance that great. Let's assume their goal is to reach the other side of Wall Maria. They'd want to find a resting place where titans can't get to them, right? Until night, when the titans can't move! We have until night! We still have a chance to make it in time if we can get to the forest before night!" Heidi moved with the others as they all left Hange to stand on the edge of the wall, ready to rappel down as soon as the order was given.
—∞—
Eren slowly opened his eyes and was startled to find himself sitting in a huge tree. Ymir was sitting near him on the same branch, and Reiner and Bertolt were perched on two branches above them.
"Oh, Eren. You're up," Reiner said
Chapter 33: Opening
Eren stared up at Reiner and Bertolt with wide eyes. They stared back down at him with grim expressions on their faces.
"Ah..." Eren said, then he furrowed his brow as everything came back to him and he remembered their treachery. "…!" Eren tried to wiggle his arms free from the cloak they had tied tightly around him. Steam was rising up through the fabric. "Wh..." His eyes widened again as he succeeded and saw that everything from just above his elbow and down had been amputated. "What's… going on…? My arms..."
"Eren," Ymir said, getting his attention. "Look… I'm in the same situation as you." She showed him her missing hand and lower leg. "Guess today's a rough one for both of us."
"… Ymir..." Eren said. He looked down as his stubby arms. "Why… don't I have arms?"
"Oh, sorry. I did that," Reiner said. Eren's eyes moved from his arms to Reiner's face. "I was in a hurry… I bit your neck while I was panicking… and I missed both of your arms in the process." Eren stared at him for a moment, then looked down again.
"I see…" Eren said. "So I lost..." He looked back up at Reiner and Bertolt with a glare that promised revenge. Reiner and Bertolt were slightly disturbed.
"..." Ymir stared at Eren. Eren jerked his stubby arm up to his mouth, prepared to bite down.
"Eren! Stop!!" Bertolt yelled. Ymir grabbed Eren's arm and pulled it away from his mouth.
"Just wait a second, Eren," she said. "Take a good look around you. This is the titan forest inside Wall Maria. It's apparently pretty far from the wall. Naturally, it's part of titan territory. Just look." Eren followed her gaze down to the titans that had gathered under their tree. There was one large titan laying down with one hand behind its head, and another smaller one that was just sitting on the larger one with its legs crossed. A few other smaller titans looked like they were trying and failing to climb the tree. "I guess you'd call those abnormal," she said, talking about the first two titans. "It might look like they're just relaxing… but they've got their eyes locked onto us. And there are a lot of smaller ones below. They pose a threat, too. There's a big one over there, as well." There was a large titan hiding behind a tree to their right. "It's just watching us and not coming close. It's probably not very strong. And then there's them." She pointed to Reiner and Bertolt. "Those two stingy bastards. They're the only ones wearing 3DMG. Reiner's wearing yours. Recklessly turning into a titan here and now doesn't strike me as a good idea. Not only can they do the same, they can also escape high into the trees. And even if they couldn't, we're surrounded by titans. Even with 'titan powers,' it's hard to make it out of titan territory like this alive. You understand, don't you? We don't have the luxury of being able to run wild here."
"No, right now, neither of you could even become titans to begin with," Reiner said. They both looked at him. "It's not quite as convenient as you think. Your strength is limited. At the moment, it's all you can do to repair your bodies."
"Dumbass. Who the hell would believe what you have to say?" Eren retorted. Reiner furrowed his brow a little. Bertolt watched silently.
"… Well… I don't know much about our titan powers, either. Unlike you two, I don't know how those kinds of things work," Ymir said. "Hey, Reiner. You said you'd talk once Eren woke up, right? How about you finally tell us? What do you two plan… on doing with us from here?" Reiner and Bertolt stared at Ymir and Eren. They stared back.
"You're coming with us to our home town," Reiner said. "Don't give us any trouble. … Is what I would say, but I know very well you wouldn't listen. Still, like Ymir said, this is a hive of titans. If we tried to kill each other here, we'd just be eaten by other titans once we grew weak. In other words, we have to stay here until nighttime, when the titans can't move. Whether you two manage to get away from us… or we manage to carry you off… We wait until night." Ymir and Eren stared at him.
"Why did you come to a place like this instead of running back to this 'home town' of yours as the Armored Titan?" Ymir asked. "You get tired and decide to take a break?"
"… I'll leave that up to your imagination," Reiner said. The crease in Eren's brow deepened.
'Think...' Eren told himself. 'I don't think it would be that hard to find an opening, turn into a titan, then run away from here… But… can I even transform properly? He says that we can't… But when I consider that even Reiner has been forced to rest here… Does that mean that the other titans would get me… if I screwed up and produced a weakened titan…? And even if it's before night comes, there's no way that they'll just wait around and watch our bodies fully heal. They'll make their move… while we're still powerless. There's nothing I can do at this rate… Isn't there some kind of weapon I can use…? What happened to everyone else… everyone in the Survey Corps…?! What happened after that? They're not… coming this way, are they? If they are… they won't all make it back alive.'
"Wait, those titans at the castle were moving around fine at night, you know," Ymir reminded them. "What about the ones here?"
"The titans here can't move at night," Reiner replied. "I think you already know that, Ymir." Eren looked at Ymir, wondering what he was talking about.
'Now that I think of it… Why can Ymir turn into a titan…? She doesn't seem as ignorant about everything as me...' Eren thought. 'Is she on my side? I can't figure out what her goal is… I could never figure much out about her, but...' He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Reiner and Bertolt. 'Okay. In any case… I'll gather information… I'll start by getting whatever I can out of them… And I'll use that to get out of this situation… but to do that, for now...' He gritted his teeth, glaring at his enemies. 'I need to suppress… my emotions...' The wind blew through the trees. 'But where do I start? What do I ask…?'
"Hey, Reiner," Ymir said. "You have any water? I'm going to dry up and die if I don't drink something."
"I know it's a life-or-death problem, but we can't get any in the situation we're in," Reiner said.
"You're right about that," Ymir said. "This whole thing is bullshit."
"… You know, I think it's been since yesterday morning. We've been working our asses of ever since the titans popped up," Reiner said. "We haven't had any proper food or drink… and most of all, we haven't slept. Well, thankfully, the wall wasn't destroyed. So I'd at least like to be allowed some rest. We can talk about promotion after that..."
"…!" Bertolt said, looking a little disturbed. "… Reiner."
"No… I think we've done enough work to deserve consideration," Reiner said, scratching his nose. "Especially Heidi. That many solo kills in one night should be a record. She and you really saved our skins," he added, glancing at Ymir, who was staring back at him, surprised. "It's not easy to act in a situation as messed up as that one. As a soldier, I don't see what's wrong with… being commended and rewarded for that..." They all stared at him. Eren was stunned.
"Mister Reiner… What in the hell are you going on about…?" Ymir asked him.
"What do you mean? I'm not saying that I should immediately be promoted to captain, you know," Reiner said.
"Uh… That's not what I mean..." Ymir said.
"Oh, and by the way… where did you guys get that cannon from?" Reiner asked. "You really saved me there. Even so, I managed to save Krista after that… She has to be into me, right? She's actually always been especially nice to me, but—"
"Hey..." Eren said darkly, staring at him with wide eyes. "Is this a joke?" Reiner looked taken aback.
"What… are you mad about, Eren?" Reiner asked, confused. "Did I… say something wrong?"
"If you want me to kill you, just come out and say it!!" Eren yelled furiously, jerking up into a standing position.
"Wait, Eren," Ymir said. "Whatever he's saying… It's not normal. Isn't that right, Bertolt? If there's something you know, then quit being silent and actually do something."
"… Huh?" Reiner said, glancing up at Bertolt.
"… Reiner… You're… You're not a soldier," Bertolt told him. "We're warriors..." Reiner's eyes widened. Ymir and Eren stared at them in confusion. Reiner furrowed his brow.
"Yeah… That's right..." Reiner said grimly. He held his face in his hand.
"Huh…?" Eren said. "What in the..."
"I'm starting… to see what's going on here," Ymir said. "I thought something was strange. I mean, why would the same guy who destroyed the wall risk his life to save Connie? You were taking contradictory actions, but without being aware of it. I don't know why that happened, but… you were originally a warrior whose goal was to destroy the wall. But you pretended to be a soldier for so long, you could no longer tell which was the real you… No, maybe you couldn't bear the weight of your sins. In order to keep your mind in balance, you unconsciously escaped into a fantasy, convincing yourself that you were just a soldier who protected the wall… That caused your mind to split, and altered your memories. Judging by Bertolt's dumbfounded expression, this isn't the first time your stories stopped fitting together. Does that sound right? … Wow. But that happening to someone with an overly honest personality like yours isn't—"
"Shut up," Reiner told her darkly. "Shut your mouth." For a moment, Ymir was taken aback by the ruthless expression on his face.
"My bad," she said. "I guess I pried too much." Eren continued to stare at Reiner.
"You… You have to be kidding me…" he said in disbelief. "How can you act like a victim…? What are you… even thinking? Why did you even listen to what we had to say that day…? Tell me, Bertolt… Yeah, you… you stupid flunky." Bertolt remained silent, still hugging his knees. "Don't you remember what I said? I told you about the time my mother was eaten by a titan. Didn't I? About how she couldn't escape because a giant shard of the gate you kicked down… landed right on my house… You know about that, right? I told you didn't I? What did you think? What were you thinking that day?"
"Back then…" Bertolt said. "I felt very sorry for you." Eren stared up at him with wide eyes.
"Oh..." Eren said in a quiet voice that shook with anger. "I see… You… You two… you're not soldiers… You're not warriors… You're just murderers. You massacred people who did nothing wrong! You're mass murderers!!" he yelled. Reiner gritted his teeth and glared at him.
"I know that! I don't need you to tell me!!" Reiner snapped.
"Then stop acting like responsible citizens worried about the state of the world!!" Eren roared furiously, glaring back with a startling ferocity. "You two aren't even human anymore!! You're the ones who turned this world into a living hell!! Don't you see that, you murderers?!!" Bertolt took the abuse silently, but not Reiner.
"So what do you want these murderers to do?!" Reiner yelled. "Do you want us to repent?! Do you want us to apologize?! Are you really going to preach to a couple of murderers about how killing is wrong?! Will that satisfy you?! The Reiner and Bertolt you know are gone! And if all you want to do is cry about it, then go ahead! Keep crying!!" Eren stared at him in shock.
"You're right… I was… being naive. All I can do now… is work," Eren said. "Work hard… to make sure that you two die… the most painful death possible."
"..." Ymir stared at him. "That's not it, Eren."
"What?" Eren said, looking at her.
"I'm begging you… I can't put my faith in you if you keep talking like some stupid kid," Ymir told him.
"… Like what…?" Eren said.
"I'm saying that there's no way I'm going along with someone worried about petty little things like that," Ymir said.
"Huh?" Eren said, the crease in his brow deepening as he glared down at her. Ymir held his gaze for a moment before turning to Reiner.
"Hey, Reiner," she said. "What was that ape?" Reiner's eyes widened slightly.
"Ape? What're you talking about?" he said.
"Hm? You don't know?" Ymir said. "Funny, considering that your eyes were beaming like you were kids… when you saw that ape earlier." Reiner and Bertolt were both looking at her now.
"… What's this 'ape'?" Eren asked.
"… Just listen," Ymir said. "That ape, the 'Beast Titan', is the cause of this recent mess. It was what made titans appear inside the walls. Maybe it was testing our strength?" She looked back at Reiner and Bertolt. "You two are trying to get to it. Because if you do, you'll be able to go back to your hometown, right?"
"You… T… Tell me everything you know!!" Eren demanded.
"Wait… There's a lot going on with me, too," Ymir said. "But listen, Eren… If you think that everything will be settled if you take care of these two… then… you're dead wrong."
"… Then who's our enemy?!" Eren asked.
"Our enemy?" Ymir asked. "Well, if I had to say, then it'd be—"
"Ymir!" Reiner said, cutting her off. "Do you think this world… has a future?" Ymir's eyes widened slightly. "If you know that much about what's going on, then think about your plans. Surely you can consider coming over to our side."
"And trust you?" Ymir asked. "Fat chance! You can't trust me."
"No. I can trust you," Reiner said. "Your goal is to protect Krista, isn't it?" Ymir's eyes widened further. "That's one thing we should be able to trust each other on! This might seem like a joke to you… but can't you imagine that we both at least want to do something for Krista? Or… do you think… Eren's strength is more reliable than ours?"
"What?!" Eren said incredulously. He looked at Ymir. She stared at him with a her brow furrowed and a doubtful expression on her face.
"You were thinking of using Eren to escape from here," Reiner said. "Probably because you thought you had no chance if you let us take you. To be honest with you, that's exactly right. And even if you did join us, we won't be able to guarantee your safety. But if we're talking about Krista… together, we might be able to make something work. Your tiny little life… or Krista's future… It's your choice."
'… This world doesn't have a future? What…?" Eren thought, confused. 'And what's this ape? What's going on…?' He looked at Ymir. "… Hey! So who's our real enemy?!" Ymir looked up at him.
"Who knows…?" she said with a guarded expression.
—∞—
Ymir's hand and foot had almost finished healing.
'Ymir...' Eren thought, glaring at her. 'Looks like her arms and legs have already grown back…' He looked at his stubby arms. They were longer, but he still didn't even have his wrists back. 'Mine are still going to take some time. … Damn it. She's ignoring everything I say… After all that, I didn't learn anything. I do know that it's almost time to go…' He looked out at the orange sun hanging low in the sky. 'One more hour until sundown...'
"Reiner… Are we really going to trust Ymir?" Bertolt asked. "Her titan is small, but it was fast. If we don't restrain her, she could take us out in moments. … She… really is the one… who ate Marcel, remember?"
"… That's right," Reiner said. "But that's exactly why her position is clear. She finally became human again. She probably wanted to wander, thinking only of her own survival… That is, until Krista. She found someone she valued more than herself. Someone so dear that she'd jump into a swarm of titans for her." Ymir looked up at them. Reiner stared back at her.
"Reiner. What… are you… right now…?" Bertolt asked. Reiner looked at him.
"… I'm a warrior," Reiner replied. "Don't worry. I have more reasons for wanting to bring Krista with us than just her being cute. Did you forget? Annie tailed those guys who were loitering around the training grounds to see what they were up to. They came to observe Krista from the Church of the Wall, that group that knows what's inside the walls. Krista's an important figure in a Wallist family. In other words, if the 'coordinate' we're looking for… isn't Eren himself… then our mission won't be over yet. If that happens and we have Krista, it should make the search much easier than it is now."
"Yeah… Let's put an end to this..." Bertolt said. "Next time we come here… we'll be able to bring Annie, Krista, and that back to our hometown. And that will be the last time we ever come here."
"Yeah… all our duties will be complete," Reiner agreed. He clapped a hand on Bertolt's shoulder. "But… Bertolt. Tell Annie how you feel once we get to our hometown."
"Uh..." Bertolt said awkwardly. "I… tell her what?!" he asked, blushing.
"You stare at her too much," Reiner told him. "Enough that anyone paying attention would notice..."
"No, I..." Bertolt said.
"Aw, who cares?" Reiner said. "You're both murderers with little time left, right? Who else but one of us could understand the situation we're in?" Bertolt stared out at the sunset with Reiner.
"Hm?" Reiner said. There were streaks of colored smoke rising up into the sky. He furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth. "Bertolt."
"!!" Bertolt gasped. "Is that… a signal flare?! The Survey Corps…? Already?!"
"They shouldn't be able to put together a scouting formation without moving a lot of horses over the wall!" Reiner said. "I didn't think they'd be able to act so quickly… Damn it. Commander Erwin might be with them. We're up against a tough bunch." He fired a grappling hook into the tree Eren was standing on and jumped from the branch he was on. He reeled himself in then jumped down onto the branch Eren was standing on.
"Huh?! What is it, Reiner?!" Eren said, looking taken aback. "It's not night yet."
"It doesn't matter. We're heading out now," Reiner said. "Eren. Don't be stupid and put up a fight." Eren stared at him with wide eyes then narrowed them for a moment.
"… Hey. You don't need to act so tough," Eren said, trying to look meek. "Look at the state I'm in!" He still didn't even have wrists. "There's no way I could possibly fight back. Come on..." In the next instant, Eren was punching Reiner with his incomplete arm. Reiner stumbled and fell backwards. "Die!! Die!!" Eren screamed, jamming his elbow in Reiner's face, making his nose bleed. Reiner kicked Eren off of him and got him into a submission hold. "I'll kill you!! I'll fucking kill you!!" Bertolt, who had come over to their branch to help Reiner, stared at Eren, disturbed.
"Hey, why are we leaving already?" Ymir asked him. Her hand and foot had finished healing.
"… Ymir. Just before you turned back into a human… do you remember who you ate?" Bertolt asked her.
"..." Ymir looked at him while Reiner continued to struggle with Eren. "No, I don't remember, but… that was right around five years ago, which would mean… was it a friend of yours?" She could see from the look on Bertolt's face that it was. "Hm… Sorry… I can't even recall it." Eren tried to bit his arm, but nothing happened. Reiner continued to apply a chokehold to him.
"… There's nothing you can do if you don't remember. It was the same way with us..." Bertolt said.
"… I see," Ymir said. "Eren doesn't seem to remember, either… I guess that's just how it works." Eren couldn't breathe. His eyes started to close as his vision faded. "Do you still hate me for it?"
"I wonder," Bertolt said. "I… don't really know. I'm sure you didn't want to eat anyone, either. Just how long were you wandering around outside the walls?"
"About sixty years," Ymir replied. "It was like… having a nightmare that wouldn't end..." That was the last thing Eren remembered before everything went dark.
—∞—
"For now… Let's just head somewhere with no titans," Reiner said as he and Bertolt used their stolen 3DMG to maneuver through the trees. An unconscious and gagged Eren was tied to Reiner's back, while Ymir clung to Bertolt's back. "Just stay as far away from them as possible. My titan moves slow, so if we get surrounded, I won't be able to protect both of us."
"Like I said… why didn't we wait till night?!" Ymir asked, looking back over her shoulder. "…?!" She saw the colored smoke too. "Signal flares?! So the Survey Corps came to save us!"
"Damn it… They're already close," Reiner said. "This is all because Eren got violent..." Ymir's heart beat hard in her chest.
"It can't be..." she said, imagining Krista coming after them. "She couldn't…" A bead of sweat slid down her face. "No… She's there. Reiner!! It's Krista!!"
"Huh?!" Reiner said.
"Krista's come here with them!!" Ymir said urgently. "Now's our chance to grab her!"
"How do you know that?!" Reiner asked. "You can't see her from here!"
"I know she's with them!" Ymir insisted. "That idiot is too kindhearted for her own good! She's going to come to rescue me!!"
"Even if that's true, we can't go now!" Reiner said. "We'll get another chance!" Ymir's eyes widened for a moment in shock.
"What?!" Ymir said, furrowing her brow.
"We're clearly not likely to succeed right now!" Reiner said. "How are you going to grab Krista while she's inside that group…?! Wait for our chance!!"
"Wait for our chance?! When's that going to be? After one of your warriors eats me?!" she asked. "No! I can't trust you!!"
"Trust me!!" Reiner said urgently. "I'm not lying when I say we need Krista too!"
"Then do it now!! Prove it to me right now!!" Ymir said anxiously. "I… need it to be now…!! I want to see her now… at this rate… I'll never see her again!"
"… We can't," Bertolt said, gritting his teeth. Ymir looked stricken. "Sorry, Ymir… Right now, we don't even know… if we can escape safely ourselves."
"I promise you!" Reiner said. "If there's just one person we free from this conflict, it's going to be Krista! We'll save her… I swear!!" Ymir stared at them with wide eyes as she recalled Krista's smiling face. The memory wasn't enough. She needed more.
"I'm the strongest here in this terrain," Ymir said after a moment of silence.
"… Ymir?" Reiner said, glancing back at her. She had Bertolt in a headlock.
"Huh?!" Bertolt said, startled. One if her hands was over his right eye. "S-Stop!! Ymir…?!"
"I'd be able to dominate this area, don't you think?" Ymir asked him. "Well?" He fired another grappling hook, but it was a crap shot and almost didn't connect with the tree thanks to Ymir's interference.
"Ymir… stop! We'll fall!!" Bertolt pleaded anxiously.
"That's fine with me," Ymir said. "My titan… might not be as strong as yours. But I can move quickly through the trees. I could probably even steal Eren from you and go back… to the Survey Corps." Bertolt was forced to stop on a tree branch. Reiner fell back to join them. "If you don't take Krista with you right now, I'll make a nuisance of myself here," Ymir threatened.
"… A… And what about Krista?!" Reiner asked. "We won't be able to save her that way! All because of your selfishness!!"
"Yeah… And I'm fine with that," Ymir said with tears in her eyes. "Even if it means taking away Krista's future… I want to survive… and see her again. As a person, I'm really lower than shit… But she knows that, and she smiles kindly at me anyway. You two don't know what that's like, do you?" Reiner stared at her.
"You..." he said, the crease in his brow deepening.
"Don't get mad. I've thought this through," Ymir said. "If I fight here, it'll make it easier for you to escape!! Or do you want us to kill each other instead?!! Enh?!" Bertolt looked terrified. "You think I'm nuts? Try me and find out!" Reiner gritted his teeth. Ymir glared at him while holding Bertolt captive.
—∞—
The combined forces of the Survey Corps, Garrison, and MPs advanced towards the titan forest. Several titans came out of the woods to meet them.
"?!" Heidi gasped when she thought she saw a flash of light through the trees.
"A flash?!" Mikasa said.
"I just saw a blink of light… coming from inside the forest!" Armin said, furrowing his brow. "We must assume it's light from a titan transformation!"
"… So we made it in time?" Erwin said. "All troops deploy!! Find Eren and recover him!" he ordered. The titans left the treeline and began to run towards them. "We believe that the enemy has already transformed!"
"… Agh!!" a soldier cried when he was snatched from his horse by a titan.
"We're not to engage the enemy!" Erwin continued as the soldier was eaten head first. Heidi winced but kept going. Sasha had to look away as they continued on.
"Another Garrison soldier..." Jean said. Connie gritted his teeth.
"Damn it!!" Peter cursed, sweating nervously and gripping his reins tighter.
"Don't forget, getting Eren back is our number one priority!" Erwin concluded. They split the formation to surround the forest from all sides, riding around the edge of the treeline.
"Phil! Keep the horses together!" Hannes ordered the same soldier he had sent with Sasha to deliver the news of the state of the wall and Eren's abduction.
"Yes, sir!" Phil answered. Hannes fired a grappling hook into a tree and took off.
"The enemy should be headed out of the forest! Scatter!!" Hannes ordered, and everyone else with him followed suit, spreading out in all directions. "Find the enemy first, then notify all units!!"
'Eren!' Mikasa thought urgently, gritting her teeth.
'Where are you?!' Armin wondered, also gritting his teeth.
'Come on, Eren!' Heidi thought, furrowing her brow. 'Please be all right! You and Ymir!'
"ROOOAAR! GRAAAAAAAAAH!"
"?!" Mikasa and Heidi gasped.
"Was that a titan's yell?!" one of the other soldiers asked.
"It came from up ahead!!" Heidi said, and they all followed the sound back to its source. There was Ymir's titan form clinging to a tree.
"A titan here?!" one of the other soldiers said, drawing his blades.
"Please wait!!" Heidi called.
"This is Ymir!!" Connie said, landing and hanging on the tree next to her. "She's one of the ones they took! This is her titan form!"
"Ymir! Why are you by yourself?!" Heidi asked, stopping on the next closest tree. "Where's Eren…?!"
"..." Connie and Heidi watched Ymir turn her head, looking around.
"What about Reiner… and Bertolt?!" Connie asked.
"That's Ymir?!" Armin said as he came to a stop too alongside Mikasa and Hannes.
"Did she transform into a titan and fight those two?" Mikasa asked.
"Ymir?! Did you get away from Reiner and Bertolt?!" Jean asked. "Where did they go?!"
"Tell us anything, Ymir!" Sasha said.
"C'mon… Say something, ugly!" Connie said, giving Ymir a kick on the head, losing his patience. "We're in a hurry!!"
"Are you keeping an eye out for Reiner and Bertolt?!" Armin asked when Ymir continued to look around at them. "Something's... odd. Why… are you looking at each of us?"
"What's wrong?! Are you looking for something, Ymir?!" Heidi asked.
"Ymir!!" Historia shouted. Ymir immediately snapped to attention, turning her head in that direction. "Thank goodness… You're safe!!" she said with tears of relief in her eyes. In that instant, Ymir sprang from the tree and opened her mouth wide as she flew towards Historia. "Huh?" Ymir closed her mouth all they could see of Historia was one leg. While everyone was still in shock, Ymir took off into the forest, swinging from tree to tree. They all stared after her with wide eyes.
"She… just ate Krista…!" Connie said, snapping them out of it. Heidi furrowed her brow and shot forward after them.
"Don't just stand there!! Go after her!!" Jean told Armin and Mikasa.
"She's fast!!" Heidi said. "She's pulling away!!"
"Why would Ymir…?!" Mikasa asked.
"It's not like… I ever assumed she was on our side for sure!" Jean said.
"..." Mikasa bit her lip.
"Yes, she's clearly hostile!" Armin said.
"You guys weren't at the castle!" Heidi said. "Ymir's always on Krista's side!"
"She just ate Krista…!" Connie repeated anxiously.
"She's trying to help Reiner and Bertolt!" Armin said. "She just lured us in!"
—∞—
"ROOOAAR!" Ymir roared to signal her arrival as she returned to Reiner and Bertolt on the edge of the forest.
"She's here, Reiner!" Bertolt said. Reiner hopped off of the branch they were on and cut his hand.
BOOM!
Reiner transformed in midair. When he landed, he was the Armored Titan. Bertolt jumped off the branch next and used his 3DMG to maneuver himself onto Reiner's back. At the same time, Ymir leaped onto the other side of Reiner's back.
"Whoa…!" Heidi said when she and the others reached the edge of the forest and saw them making their escape across the open, flat land.
"…!!" Mikasa gasped.
"Oh no…!" Armin said.
"They're getting away with Eren…!!" Jean said. They could see him strapped to Bertolt's back, still unconscious.
"How are we supposed to catch them now?!" Peter asked.
"Horses…! Where are the horses?!" Heidi asked.
"Don't stop!" Hannes said.
"!!" Mikasa and Armin said.
"We'll follow them on horseback!!" Hannes said. Mikasa and Armin looked at him, distressed. Fortunately, at that moment, Phil came around with the horses. They quickly remounted their horses and took off after them. "We've got to get Eren back!! Even if it costs me my life..." Ymir and Bertolt looked back over their shoulders at the soldiers. They were gaining on them.
