A/N: Aight, so, gave up on this a while ago. Decided to rekindle it. I have some help here so I won't be doing it alone and hopefully it won't be so bad. If you're an avid AOT Fanfic reader, you might recognize the name of the character. If you do, know it's not the same one as you might be thinking of.


Rescue

It was the year 852. A wonderful year on the Island of Paradis, given all the recent occurrences. They had finally gone beyond the walls, reached the shores, seen the whole of their island for the first time in over a century. A long-ago ally of Eldia had reached back out and was now providing modern technology. They were safe from outside threats, for the moment, at least. And the threat of the Titans had been successfully eliminated. All seemed to be looking up.

Unfortunately, there was at the least one person who didn't share this uplifting view of the future. Many Eldian's had tried and failed over the years to reach the Walls from Marley. Some succeeded, but most of them, at least 95%, either failed, or only reached the walls as a Titan. But there was a small amount who succeeded. Some were infiltrators, like Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover, the two Titan Shifters who had managed to get through the wall in an effort to find and capture the Coordinate. Many that had succeeded were merely people seeking a better life, though they didn't find that, often times ending up in the poorest districts, or worse, underground.

There were some who managed to find the dream they sought, however. A few lucky people who had the skills, the materials, or just the determination to make it so they had a safe, secure life. One such person was a young man, just turned 19, by the name of John Drytenhold. He had escaped Marley when was all of 12 years old with his father. He survived the journey, his father did not.

John had believed in the dream of Paradis at first. But when he arrived, he found an entire kingdom of utter sheep. People so utterly frightened by the outside and who were content to just wait for death. He had become jaded enough that even the newest developments did little to lift his spirit. One such event did give him a spark of hope, though. And that spark had, two years later, ignited a fire.

John had finally found the location that the scouts held secret. It took a lot of broken bones and money changing hands, but he had done it. He'd found her prison. She'd sat, encased, for two years but now, now he was going to free her. He looked one last time through his spy glass, confident that his position on the opposing roof a few blocks away wouldn't be noticed. He double checked his guard count and patrol patterns and waited for just the right moment. He'd spent over a week on this. He wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

There. The guards on the outer wall, consisting of veteran scouts and newer MPs, went into the guard house for shift change. This was it. Putting away his spy glass in his pouch, he double checked his scout uniform he had procured for this event, putting up the hood and pulling up his bandana as he used his newly acquired ODM gear to move down to street level, close enough to where he could see the small fortress, but not where he could be spotted. He rushed quietly to the gate, checking above it before he grappled up quickly, ducking down into the interior courtyard as he waited for any guards that heard him to come investigate. No one did.

Thanking Ymir for this small boon, he moved to the main door and banged on it. The slit in the door opened and he held up his small leather pouch. "Got a surprise delivery for a… Robled? They said something about a birthday."

The guard on the other side grunted before closing the slide and pulling the door open. He held him at gun point and extended his hand. John opened the pouch and handed him a small box wrapped in linen. He shook the box a bit and held it to his ear for a few seconds before sniffing it. "Know what's in it?" The guard asked suspiciously.

"Can't say I do. Just know it was supposed to be made for him by his sister." It was a lie, of course. While it was the soldier's birthday and he had a sister, the gift was a trap he had planned. He'd expected to be treated with suspicion and caution, and so far he wasn't disappointed. His planning had been worth it.

The guard grunted and shoved the box back into his chest before closing the door. There was some loud shouting inside the door before it opened again. He wasn't at gunpoint this time as the guard motioned for him to come inside. He was led down the stairs to the basement to another guarded door. There were two people outside, armed with ODM swords and rifles. They, too, checked the box by hearing, shaking, and smelling before waving them through as well. Now he was in the inner sanctum. Barracks, a kitchen, and the cell that held the sole prisoner.

A large, jolly man came from the kitchen, smiling as he saw John. He was Robled Cariz, the chef stationed here. An MP cook assigned to the prison personally by Historia Reiss, he was well known to be good at his job, mainly because his entire family was composed of bakers and butchers. Which meant that any time his sister sent some food for him, it was a treat. "Guys!" He shouted into the barracks. "My sister sent a cake!"

While they didn't come running, that still got the attention of the six or so soldiers that were on duty at all times here. They came from the barracks and the kitchen and gathered around the chef as he took the box from John and slowly unwrapped it. He opened it and took a sniff, the sweet smell filling the air. "Ah, spice cake! She always makes the best!" He said giddily. As he took out the cake, he saw a small atomizer and smirked. "Yes! She got me that cologne I wanted!" He handed the cake to the scout next to him to start divvying it up as he sprayed the atomizer a bit around him.

That was the tipping point that set the events John had planned into motion. The chef immediately began coughing from the atomized liquid, the scouts around him following suit. The ones who had managed to bite into their cake started gagging as they proceeded to vomit. John reached back and grabbed the door guard, flipping him over his shoulder and delivering a swift, savage punch to his face. He was out cold. The remaining scouts that weren't vomiting or coughing tried to react, but he took out another atomizer and smashed it on the ground in between them, causing them to get the same whiff the others had. He was thankful he still had his bandana. Hearing the commotion, the other two guards rushed in only to receive a pair of throwing needles tipped with poison into their chests. They tried to shoot but the poison, a fast-acting paralytic, quickly took over as they convulsed and fell against the wall.

"Coderoin and Morphine." John explained as the chef fell to his knees. "With a little bit of choking powder for good measure, all dissolved in some lidocaine. The cake had ipecac in it, mixed with the same drugs and some foxglove. You'll be fine. Soon enough, at least." He walked past the incapacitated soldiers, avoiding the pools of vomit and the thrashing limbs of the still choking, moving to the door at the end of the room. He tried the handle, finding it locked.

With a deep breath, he stepped back and went shoulder first into the thick door, groaning as it barely moved. He rubbed his sore arm before he tried kicking it, gritting his teeth as his foot fell to the ground and he rubbed his leg, letting out a hiss. Of course they give her the strongest door on the damn island! He thought, sighing. Then, as he looked up to the side of the door, he saw the key. Eye twitching, he stood up and grabbed it, unlocking the door and throwing it open.

There she was, encased in bright, reflective crystal. The young blonde who'd risked her life just to fail. "Annie." He said quietly as he approached, planting his hand on the thick, diamond like material. He took a breath as he looked her over, memories flooding back. But before he could get lost in one, he shook his head. He had to focus. Stepping back, he took a small smithing hammer out of his bag. He looked all over the enclosure for just that one spot. The scouts hadn't tried this because they thought it might kill Annie, and they were right. But, if you had the right know how…

He found it. A small divot near her feet from where it disconnected from the Titan. The weak spot. Pulling his arm back, he swung with all of his might at that spot. A single swing and a crack formed. The crack started small but spread quickly, webbing all over before, in a splash of fluid, the crystal shattered and the shards fell to the floor, the girl inside falling with them. She was covered in proto amniotic fluid from head to toe. He immediately knelt down and checked her breathing and pulse. He sighed in relief as he found she was alive. He took off his cloak and wrapped her in it before taking out some rope and restraining her. He checked her hands for that damn ring before he slung her to his back. He moved quickly past the unconscious guards and up the stairs to the door.

Hearing footsteps and voices coming downstairs, he growled and sat her down against the wall before moving to the door and waiting behind it. Upon seeing the door open, the five soldiers rushed down there with their weapons ready. He got the jump on them as he took down the last one who entered the room with a rabbit punch, causing him to collapse from the impact. The one who turned around first got a punch to the gut and turned around, pulled against John's chest as a human shield. The others turned and it quickly became a stand-off. Three on one with a human shield in between. Good odds. The fighter thought as he took a breath and let it out slowly, kicking his shield in between the three, toppling the middle one. He lunged towards the guard to his left, knocking his rifle out of his hands and kneeing him in the abdomen, throwing him into the third guard. To his credit, the third soldier recovered quickly and lined up his rifle, but John ducked under the barrel as he fired, sweeping his legs out from under him and bringing his heel down into his head. The other three guards were starting to recover, so he grabbed Annie and rushed upstairs, slamming the door shut and blocking it from the outside.

Looking out into the courtyard, he saw the patrols on the wall and in the perimeter had finished their change. Even if they hadn't heard the shot, he wasn't slipping past without a fight. He growled and decided to take the risk. Grabbing a lantern, he threw it at a nearby stack of crates. The response was immediate as the guards ran over to investigate, shouting to one another as they went to get water. He used the confusion to run past them and grapple the wall. They noticed, of course, but it was late enough that even when they got their rifles trained and fired, they missed as he ducked back on the other side of the wall. A few grapples later and he was home free. He got to the alley he had picked and shed his uniform and gear, putting Annie in a cart of hay and covering her up. Hopping into the front, he gripped the reins and set off towards home.

"When you wake up, Annie…" He said, "We're going to have a long talk."


Short chapter, I know, but I just wanted to get my feet wet and see if I could pick it back up after dusting it off. I think I did a good job.

Thanks to Crod42 for his help here, he double checked it and looked to see if it made sense. Check out his stories, especially A Blacksmiths Tale, for good stories.

Edit 1/8/2021: Just edited some grammar issues and added some things for clarification.