"Rage is such an easy motivator…it's also very blinding…when you have nothing but your rage…it'll only take you so far, just watch how easily you'll burn out"-Edith M. Brown Diary, 850
Spring 850
Church of Faeries, Stohess District
"Sisters, let us pray for the continued strength of Walls Maria, Rose and Sina!" The Matron declared, leading the prayer from upon the podium with her arms outstretched towards the heavens. The Sisters and Novices of the congregation joined in, their voices rose in tandem as they prayed.
"May they stand firm against the scourge! They are the evidence of the great force of the Goddess Ymir manifested before us! We give thanks to the Holy Mother, she whose love for us is the steadfast stone, whose wisdom is the mortar. She and she alone protects us from the scourge beyond the Walls in proportion to our worship! We pray for the mighty Goddess Ymir to lend us her strength, to guide us in our moment of strife! O mighty Ymir, have mercy on our souls!"
The prayer soon came to an abrupt close as the building around them collapsed inwards. The strength of the Titan spoke volumes as their foot was thrust through the reinforced wall of the Church; pieces of rubble flying everywhere with the force of it. Sisters left, right and centre were dropping like flies, their bodies squished beyond belief and unrecognisable under all the rubble.
"Holy Ymir…" Scar breathed staring wide-eyed up at the fighting Titans before her. It was her first time seeing a Titan up close; usually only the most skilled Sisters were allowed on hunts outside the Walls where the Titans lived. These children of Ymir, they were almost beautiful in their destruction; the legends did them no justice. She could only watch on in awe as the Female Titan rose to her feet and made a run for the Walls, the second Titan not too far behind.
It was only when she saw a flash of red amongst a flock of green, that she was broken from her reverie. Her narrowed eyes tracked the group as they followed after the two Titans, using the rooftops as their path. Hello, little Herald. We meet again.
Spring 850
Rooftops, Stohess District
Edith ran next to Armin and Jean as the squads trailed after the fighting Titans. Even from here, Edith could see how Annie easily wove her way through the streets, only ever destroying a building when she wanted to.
Eren on the other hand was driven by rage, one so overwhelming that he did not care if he destroyed an occupied home here or there. Did not care for the terrified fleeing citizens beneath his feet; no, his only thought was to kill Annie. To destroy her, to remove her from this Earth one way or the other. In his rage, he had almost transformed into the very Titans he hated with such a passion.
"Well, I dare say it looks like our boy's in control of himself this time" Hanji commented as they watched the pair pass by.
"Yeah, still though…" Armin worried, "There's still no guarantee that this won't turn out the same way as their last meeting"
"Come on, he wouldn't have transformed unless he knew for sure that he could take her this time. He's got this okay?" Jean retorted.
"I don't doubt that, but determination can't win a fight alone. You should know that better than anyone, Jean. It'll take more than that to beat Annie, a lot more" Armin replied.
"Dammit! She's making a break for level ground!" Edith cried as she saw where Annie was headed, straight through the central town square.
"So much for our gear! What now?" Jean asked.
"Split into two teams and go around!" Hanji ordered.
"Understood!" chorused the group as they split into two, flying off in different directions.
Eren sprinted through the streets, jumping over buildings or just busting right through them in his attempt to catch up to Annie. It was clear that Annie held the advantage over Eren; she had had several months to familiarise herself with the layout of Stohess as evident in the way she moved around the district. Eren on the other hand, could care less as he followed after Annie like a bloodhound on the trail.
It wasn't until Annie spun herself around in the middle of the square, using one hand to demolish one of the MP buildings that stood there. Eren narrowed his eyes as he glared at Annie, he could practically taste the smugness rolling off of her in waves. She hadn't needed to do that, but she had done because she wanted to.
Annie! Eren thought, Always so cynical, like every little thing around you was pointless. Nothing worth a second look. Across from him, Annie fell back into the familiar fighting stance with hands raised above her head and feet spaced apart to brace herself or attack. Eren fell back into a poor imitation. Every now and then though, I could see through the act.
Especially when you were showing off your fighting skills. Maybe hand-to-hand combat counted for shit against our final grade back at the Academy, but to you it was a different story all together. Yeah, about that much at least it was obvious you were a liar. Fighting's your whole world, but what exactly are you fighting for?! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN WORTH ALL THIS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION?!
Eren leapt at Annie with a mighty roar on his lips, she in return responded with a crystallised fist to the face. Using his large size, Eren grabbed a hold of her leg and launched her clean over the row of houses behind him; where she then crashed into the next row over. Cleverly, Annie used his blinding anger against him, waiting for him to approach before she leapt out of the way leaving Eren to run full force into the destroyed building she had just inhabited.
"Oh God! Sergent Hanji, I hate to say it, but the city will be debris and corpses before long. Even if we do manage to catch her" Moblit reported, standing on the outcropping next to the bell tower that overlooked the Titan fight.
"Then that's how it's going to be. We're sticking to Commander Erwin's plan, got it? So stop babbling and ready the nets" Hanji replied.
"Right"
"I-I didn't sign up for this!" Hitch stuttered as she watched the two Titans duke it out, "They…they didn't say there would be Titans fighting in the streets!"
"No kidding, this is insane!" Marlo replied.
Down below Doak still held Erwin and Levi at gunpoint, unwilling to believe their fellow soldiers. "We've got two of them hashing it out in the streets?!" Doak repeated.
"Yes sir, the city's collapsing like a house of cards. It's just…it's horrifying. We can only guess how many causalities" the reporting MP replied. Doak grit his teeth at the admission and retrained his rifle on Erwin.
"Erwin! Your arrogance has brought Hell right to our door!
"I know" Erwin stated, "I acted entirely on my own authority and I offer no excuses"
"You knew what this would do to us, you son of a bitch!" Doak grabbed Erwin by the front of his cloak, "You knew our lives would be damned! Why?!"
"For humanity, for victory"
"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!" Doak stepped back and pointed his rifle on Erwin once more, "You're nothing but a traitor! I'm going to kill you right here and now! None of the higher ups would fault me"
"Do as your conscious dictates, my post is yours. But the Female Titan must not escape. Deployment is through Piere and Vira is in command of provisions, work with them closely do whatever is required to ensure she doesn't escape"
"Wait! Shut up! Do you…really believe…this is for the good of us all?"
"I have faith it's a step forward"
Doak grit his teeth at the admission. There was no way he was going to take on Erwin's job as well as his own. Who would want to be in charge of those Scout brats anyway? No, it was better to have Erwin sort his own platoon out. "Everyone, lower your rifles" Doak ordered as he lowered his own. "Place this man under arrest"
"Sir!" chirped a MP.
"Deploy all troops immediately, as of now, focus on evacuation"
"Yes sir!" chorused all MPs present as they rushed to follow orders, all too happy to get off of the crumbling streets.
"Erwin, I hereby wash my hands of you and leave you to the High Court"
"I'll accept their judgement, thank you Nile. Levi, for now stay here. Pointless death wouldn't suit you" Erwin then turned to Levi, stopping him from following.
"No, I doubt it would anymore than it would suit anyone else" Levi agreed.
To rise above monsters, we have to become monsters and abandon our humanity. Armin thought watching over the fight between the two Titans, What we fight, we become. Fight fire with fire. In the street below, Eren was dealt a blow to the head via a crystallised shin sending him back up the street. It didn't keep him down for long though, Eren just got right back up and came at her again. Look at her, Annie can do it.
Edith threw up her hands to shield her face from the shockwave that rippled out from the force of Annie's kick with a gasp. She was happy that she had pulled her goggles on for this, it made it much easier to see what was happening and with all this debris flying around, it was unlikely that she would get blinded by it.
The force of Annie's kick had sent Eren tumbling into the building behind him, although not to be outdone, Eren bit down hard on Annie's crystallised shin. He sunk his teeth in and did not let go, even as Annie beat down on his head with her crystal fists. She only stopped beating him once he had dropped her leg from his jaw and sat seemingly defeated; before she rose and took off towards the Walls once more.
I will…kill them…every last one! With that thought in mind, Eren leapt to his feet and charged after Annie like a man possessed. "Holy shit…" Edith breathed as she watched a flaming Eren take off down the street with a ear-shattering roar. It was almost like his rage had manifested into the flames that licked at his body; however, instead of burning him, his wounds were healing-much in the same way the Titan steam did. Even with only one good arm and half of the other, he tackled Annie to the ground where the two struggled by the base of the Wall Rose.
"What is he…?" Hanji trailed as Mikasa finally rejoined them.
"Help him!" Mikasa cried making to move forward only to be barred by Hanji's blade.
"No. With the state he's in, it's probably best that we keep our distance" Mikasa could watch on as Eren took on Annie alone. Whatever power Eren had briefly awakened, was working in his favour, his limbs almost appeared to be made of molten lava and the screams coming out of Annie seemed to back up that fact.
Eren gripped Annie by the face and ripped away the section of crystal covering her nape, digging in deep around the muscle and tissue. With a scream of pain, Annie backhanded Eren into a row of buildings off to the side before she made a last-ditch attempt at escape.
With crystal-leadened fingers, the Female Titan hauled herself up the side of Wall Rose, intent on leaving Eren and the Scouts behind. "She's head up the Wall!" Jean exclaimed.
"She's trying to escape!" Hanji cried zipping forward to a rooftop situated closer to the fighting.
Thankfully, Annie didn't get very far up the Wall until Eren had jumped up and latched himself onto her legs. He bit down hard, tearing one clean off as Annie kicked him to the ground still clutching to her leg. She didn't even seem to register the missing limb as she continued to climb.
"No, no, no! We can't let her get away!" Armin cried watching Annie furiously crawl up the Wall as if she were a dying man. Which she was, in a sense.
"I won't let her!" Mikasa declared, shooting forward and sliced through both of Annie's hands, just below her crystallised fingers with a war cry. "It's over Annie, now fall"
No sooner had Annie hit the floor, than Eren was upon her once more. Blinded by rage, Eren landed punch after punch so hard that she was decapitated first and then her arms flew off next, landing on a bridge nearby. DIE…ALL OF YOU…EVERYONE…DIE! Eren thought as he cracked open his jaws and leant down to bite Annie.
"Oh no! He's going to devour her whole!" Hanji cried.
"HEY EREN! BACK OFF!" Jean cried.
"NO! DON'T DO IT!" Mikasa wailed.
"OI! GRUMPY! STOP IT!" Edith shouted as well, trying to get Eren to stop before he did something he'd regret. It didn't seem to matter though, as Eren continued on as if he hadn't heard them.
THIS IS…FREEDOM! A single tear escaped from the Female Titan as Eren ripped open the nape, baring the human Annie to the world. He went to bite down again, however something made him pause. Annie was crying. Hard, tough Annie who didn't give a shit about anyone but herself, was crying.
"What's he doing?" Hanji asked. She received no reply, however what happened next was a sight to behold. A pulsing blue light burst forth from Annie's Titan, pushing back the Scouts with the shockwave and caused Eren to rear back in surprise and pain and what she was doing to him.
"T-they're merging?" Armin stammered at the sight before him.
Edith could only watch with wide eyes at the situation before her. Not only was Eren's Titan fusing with Annie's carcass, a blue crystal (the same blue crystal that she used to cover her limbs in order to protect herself from the persistence Scouts) had formed over Annie, completely incasing her.
Edith grit her teeth against the sudden headache that formed as long lost memories of a similar substance flashed across her mind. Drawings of a red stone that held an ethereally glow to it even as only an image, muffled angry voices that shouted at each other, the feeling of simultaneously choking and breathing.
"STOP IT EREN!" Mikasa cried, pulling Edith from her thoughts as the girl alighted on the ground at the base of the Wall and tried making her way over to the pair. However, Levi got there first, slicing clean through Eren's nape and pulling him from his Titan.
"It's not a good idea to eat our key evidence, you idiot" Levi scolded the boy.
"Eren…" Mikasa whispered holding her brother close as he finally cracked open his eyes.
"Mikasa? Armin?" Eren muttered, his eyes roving over the two as he woke. "Is Annie…?"
Mikasa didn't reply, merely looked passed the MPs surrounding them, over to where the crystallised Annie now lay. Eren followed her gaze and watched the proceedings through tired eyes. Did he cause that?
"Well, didn't see that coming" Edith muttered from off to the side, next to Ryan."Looks like she had something else hidden up her sleeve then"
"No shit" Ryan muttered as he watched Jean try to remove Annie from the crystal.
The girl in question, had enveloped herself in the blue crystal that she had used to protect herself in her Titan form, only this time it had incased her unconscious human form. And try as they might, it could not be penetrated, despite how hard they tried. Jean had gone through at least three blades, trying to hack and saw away at the crystal before he stopped, frustration evident in his expression.
"Dammit! All the shit we've been through and this is what we get?! Annie! Wake up! C'me on! Face the music, you owe us! Don't be a coward! I know you can hear me!" Jean cried, taking his frustration out on the crystal.
"That's enough" Levi intercepted placing a hand on Jean's shoulder, "It's over"
"Someone get me a wire net, this thing belongs deep underground!" Hanji commanded walking up next to Levi and Jean.
"Understood!" chorused a nearby squad.
What have we done? Hanji thought as she stared down at the crystal, If we can't get any answers out of her then what was the point of all this? We're left with nothing but countless casualties, ruined lives and unanswered questions. All for what?
Levi then made his way over to where Erwin and the MPs stood waiting in the side wings. "Well it was a valiant effort. Can't win 'em all though, right?" he commented.
"Right. At the very least, the Scout Regiment has been exonerated. Sure by the skin of its teeth, but still…"
"Let's hope the brass agrees"
Spring 850
Rose Courthouse, Stohess District
"Hey, you feel okay?" Mikasa asked her brother who lay in the bed before her. After the battle against Annie the day before, all the rookies had been rounded up and split into two groups. Armin, Jean, Mikasa, Eren and Ryan had been called back to the courthouse in Stohess to give their reports and assessments while the next step was sorted out. The other group of rookies had been herded towards an old military headquarters in their civilian clothes.
There was quite a few questions floating around, as they hadn't been told much, but few could gather that they were worried about other Titan shifters popping up. And seeing as two had appeared in the 104th cadet corps, then the chances were likely there was more in there.
The surviving medics had been split into groups as well, Edith staying with Hanji's squad to assist in the removal of Annie from the base of Rose; whilst Ryan had returned with the group to the Rose courthouse where he had tended to Eren's remaining injuries.
Once that was done, the small group of rookies at the courthouse remained in the side room where Eren lay. Ryan had then given his report first and then ridden out to join the other rookies in the Ehrmich HQ, dressed in his civies (plus the red cloth tied around his upper arm).
Meanwhile, the others who stayed behind at the Courthouse remained in the room with Eren, waiting for their turn to give their reports and debrief. Jean stood off in the corner, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, Armin stood in the middle of the room, hovering slightly over Mikasa and Eren. In turn, Mikasa sat on the bench next to the bed in which Eren lay. They had all been stripped of their ODM gear, leaving them in only their civies.
"Yeah" Eren groaned as he slowly sat up with his back against the headboard, "In fact, it's weird how okay I feel. So is…Annie still stuck in that thing?"
"Uh huh" Mikasa replied.
"Yeah, you'd think after all we'd sacrificed Fate would cut us some slack" Jean added, gripping onto his forearms as he crossed his arms.
"It's humbling, knowing how far she'll go to keep her secrets" Armin commented.
"Humbling? More like infuriating"
"Why'd you let her go, Eren?" Eren turned towards Armin at that question, confusion written in his eyes. "You did, didn't you? You gave her an out"
"I know. I didn't mean to, I…I just couldn't help it. When I saw her face, I just froze"
"Armin Arlert and Jean Kirschstein, you two are up first" an MP stated from the doorway with a clipboard in his hands.
"Yes sir" Armin replied swiftly.
"Debriefing time" Jean muttered.
"See ya later I guess"
"Sure" Eren whispered as the pair quietly made their way out of the room. He waited until the two had left before he continued to talk, "Honestly, it felt kinda good…just letting go. My body, my mind, everything. For a minute it was almost…like I wanted to die"
"Eren! Stop it!" Mikasa cried, alarmed.
"Don't worry, I'm better now"
"I'm glad" Mikasa latched onto Eren, gripping him tight in a hug, "I'm glad you're alright" Eren sunk into the hug.
"I can't get my head wrapped around it, this whole 'fighting fire with fire' business. Is that really the only option we've got?" Jean asked as they walked toward the briefing room.
"Not necessarily, just the one that's presented itself and now we know Eren can do it"
"Yeah, well if it's that easy to turn us all into monsters, then maybe we don't deserve to win"
"No one ever promised us we come out of this unscathed"
"The Scout Regiment's recall to the Capital and Eren's incarceration were rescinded. Instead, they were charged with guarding Annie Leonhart in her holding cell, deep underground where they kept strict vigil day and night…Sadly, however it would take a far longer time and cost a great many more lives…for humanity to discover the true nature of what it held captive"-The Destruction of Stohess: Traitor amongst Military Police, The Daily Herald