Yes! I actually got this done at a decent time! Now I won't bore you with a bunch of author notes but I will reply to the reviews I've gotten.
I'm just as excited for the big reveal as you guys are! Sadly, it won't be for quite some time, but I promise it'll be amazing! And don't be afraid to ask any questions you may have about the story or critic my writing, I appreciate everything you guys have to say!
Hope ya'll enjoy this next chapter! And don't forget to review! 3
Chapter 13: The First Victory
"I can't thank you enough for helping, Rogue," Gwen babbled in gratitude. Rogue let out an answering grumble but said nothing else.
When Eren had decided to take Armin back to the other's he never expected to find Gwen among them, struggling to heal the wounded while also keeping her identity a secret. Of course, that had gone out the window when Rogue showed up, but at least they had refrained from using each other's true names.
To say Rogue was annoyed that Gwen not only disobeyed orders to wait for the signal but had also revealed herself to humans was a huge understatement. Truthfully, he had no room to talk, since he had done basically the same thing, and if all went well, it may turn out better than he had originally planned...
As for helping the humans get into their supply depot, well he was already this deep in, and that rock will be there twenty minutes from now. The only reason they hurried before was in case the Armored Titan showed up, but should he decide to show up before Eren got to the rock, then he'd take him down first and continue with his mission. There were probably so many ways this new plan could go wrong, but at the moment, Eren was only concerned with the titan swarm in front of him.
Getting to the base was simple with Rogue plowing through the enemy with ease and the human's taking out the few titan's he couldn't reach, with Gwen's help of course. The further they fought through, the denser the number became, until they had to fall back and wait for Rogue to clear out the area around the base before they could even get near it.
Around her, Gwen could feel the anxiety coursing through the group of misfortunate teens. She knew many of them still had doubts about trusting a fifteen-meter monster to help them out, but at this point, it didn't really matter. They had made their choice, and Gwen was certain it was the right one.
"This side is clear, just smash through the windows and we're in!" ordered Jean, letting this wires fly. Gwen was surprised with how quickly everyone followed, but perhaps they had all just been waiting for someone to speak up.
The sound of breaking glass and thudding bodies briefly drowned out the titan fighting outside as everyone safely landed inside a room filled with desks and bookshelves. Gwen immediately tended to anyone severely wounded and to those who she had treated before, to ensure they were still stable. She made sure to pay special attention to the blond boy Eren brought, thinking he might be important to the captain, after all, it was rare for him to go against the plan, even to rescue a human. All around her, the soldiers cheered and sobbed in relief at reaching shelter while, for some reason unknown to Gwen, Jean grabbed a shaken soldier and punched him across the face before a dark-haired boy with freckles stepped in to stop him.
"Man, that thing's something else," one of the soldiers remarked in awe, staring out the window at Rogue. The titan was covered in steaming blood and giant, dissolving corpses lay at his feet. He was breathing heavily but still stood tall in the mess of gore. He looked like a god in the heat of battle.
"Less just get our gas and get the hell over the wall," Connie growled.
"And how do you plan to do that, with titans in the supply room? That titan out there is too big to fit in and take care of them," Jean snarled back.
"I might have an id—." Before Armin could finished his sentence another soldier came crashing through one of the side windows and rolled to a stop in the middle.
"Mikasa!" Armin exclaimed in surprise.
The newcomer, Mikasa, stood up and brushed off any excess glass on her clothes.
Gwen's first impression of this girl was that she was surprising beautiful, with a strange, exotic look, short black hair, and a crimson scarf to compliment her milky skin. She was beautiful but had a dangerous aura that set Gwen's instincts on edge. Yes, this girl was pretty, but she was lethal too.
This is Mikasa Ackerman, huh? Gwen thought in dejected envy. No wonder Eren talks about her so much…
"Armin, thank god you're alright," the girl sighed in relief and looked around herself. "What's the situation here? How's everyone else?"
While Armin and the other's filled Mikasa in, Gwen focused on her patients all the while trying to suppress her jealousy towards Eren's old friend. From the way Eren talked about her, it was clear he only saw her as a sister, but did Mikasa see him that way? There wasn't any way to tell, but whatever the answer was the brunette still compared herself to this hardened soldier, and she definitely didn't see herself in the better light. Who was she to compete with someone Eren had loved for years, sibling love or not? The dissimilarity between her and Mikasa depressed Gwen greatly.
There was also the issue of getting back to the others somehow without anyone noticing. She didn't want to stick around and risk exposing Eren's plan in some way but if she left too hastily they might notice and try to follow, if not to keep her from leaving than to sate their curiosity about her. She couldn't risk either option, so what was she to do?
Gwen looked up to stare out the busted windows at Rogue, easily taking down the few opponents around the area. Maybe she could go with him? He'd protect her right?
Before she knew it, she was being hustled out of the room and into a lower area with no windows and barely lit torches. Inside, she was panicking. How was she supposed to escape now?!
She tried to push her way back through the crowd, but there were too many of them pushing and shoving and trying to get out of the windowed room. She didn't even have time to desperately shout at Rogue for help before the doors were closed and she was stuck inside with the herd of human soldiers. If she was panicking before, now she was practically in hysterics, but she tried to keep her face neutral and not draw too much attention to herself. She may be able to sneak out just yet.
"Look what we found," said Jean, coming back from the storage room with a long, dusty box. "Courtesy of the Military Police, and covered in a layer of dust."
Whispers and talk erupted around them as the rifles were pulled out and examined. In the corner of the room, Armin sat with Mikasa and four other soldiers Gwen hadn't met, two blonde and two dark-haired. They were whispering about a plan to take out the titans below and from what Gwen could hear, it wasn't a bad idea. She was pretty impressed with the timid human.
While the humans went through the finer points of the plan and began to prepare for its execution. Gwen frantically tried to find a way out, but there were too many people around the doorway into the other room to leave without being noticed. All she could do was curl up in the corner, observe these humans and pray for an opportunity to escape. She just hoped the others were okay out there without her.
"That complete bitch!" snarled Lily, stalking across the roof top, teeth bared. "She's going to ruin this whole damn mission because she's got a bleeding heart for those humans! What's going to happen to us if we can't complete this mission? We'll be dead meat!"
"Please calm down, Lily," Sophia said, fearful of the blonde's growing rage. "We can't change what's happened, we just gotta pull through this mission without Big Sis."
"So, we have to do her work on top of ours? Great," Lily growled. She clenched her fist, itching to destroy something and let her anger out, but she had to wait for the signal. She knew how to follow orders.
"It's so quiet," Dove whimsically sighed, head swaying.
"Yeah, bit too quiet if you ask me," Lily agreed, staring in the direction Rogue had taken off in with unease.
They had all witnessed Rogue's sudden appearance, they expected it, but what they didn't expect was to see the dark-haired titan take off in the opposite direction of the boulder and go off God only knew where. The tall buildings made it difficult to see his intention, but Lily had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with Gwen. Had Eren run off to save her ass?
"Gwen, just what the hell have you done?" Lily muttered, staring off into the direction her friend had left in.
Gwen sighed and remained in her little corner, fretfully worrying over her teammates and her own safety. Most of the humans had cleared out almost ten minutes ago, to carry out their plan to clear the supply room. Those who were left in the room were too injured to stand or hold weapons, so they were to rest safely until the others were finished. She could probably leave without any of them thinking anything of it, but at the same time her motherly instincts were telling her to stay and make sure none of their conditions worsened. These feelings were warring against her survival instincts and she had no idea what she was supposed to do. Sometimes she hated being so nice.
Not a moment later, the elevator returned up the shaft and stopped. Two humans got off and informed everyone in the room the mission had been a success. Gwen let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding since the elevator reappeared.
The injured humans were helped onto the elevator by Gwen and the returning soldiers. They descending down into the lower supply room, and Gwen clenched her shaking fist. This place was reminding her too much of her cell back at the facility and she didn't appreciate the reminder.
On the bottom floor, Gwen busied herself with helping those who were having trouble refilling their equipment. She was thinking about her escape plan when a voice from behind made her jump.
"So, you're the mystery girl."
Gwen spun around and clutched her chest, trying to slow her rapidly beating heart.
"Good grief, don't you know not to sneak up on someone like that?" she gasped, feeling like she'd gotten the scare of her life.
Mikasa frowned. "Sorry, I thought you heard me walking over. I'm not exactly quiet with all this." She tapped the bulky metal at her hips.
"I guess I was just wrapped up in my thoughts," Gwen replied sheepishly, she shook herself and added, "And, um, yeah, I guess I'm the mystery girl."
"Hm, from what I heard you helped out my comrades quite a bit, and I'm wanted to thank you for that," Mikasa said. "I also wanted to ask what you know about that titan outside."
At her words, the rest of the room fell into a dense silence, everyone wanting to hear her explanation.
"U-um, well I-I," Gwen stuttered out, unsure about how much to tell them. She couldn't exactly say he was a shifter. That would ruin their whole plan!
"He's, uh, a friend of mine," she offered, hoping that would satisfy them. Of course, it didn't.
"Where exactly did you meet this friend?" Mikasa question, skeptically. "Who is he, who are you, and why are you helping us?"
"Yeah, and how did that thing talk?!"
"Is he on our side?"
"Where did you guys come from?"
A barrage of questions flew at Gwen from all over the room. Many of the soldiers who had finished their reloading swarmed around the poor girl, demanding answers, but she was too overwhelmed to even squeak. What was she supposed to do?!
Her saving grace came in the form of loud, heavy thuds that shook the building they were in. Even on the lowest level they could feel the ground tremble beneath them.
The soldiers all scrambled outside, with Gwen hot on their heels. They used their gear to swing up to the top of one of the roofs and then froze in place, looks of shock and disbelief on every face. Gwen swung up next to them, apprehensive at first, but quickly turning to joy at the sight.
On nearly the other side of the city, a massive boulder, the size of a small house, was slowly moving over the houses toward the hole in the gate. Underneath the rock was Rogue, who was barely visible from their position but there was no mistaking that rough dark hair and that terrifying green stare. Two titans stood as guards, one on the front and one in back, fending off hungry titans trying to get at Rogue. Gwen instantly recognized them as Hannah and Gabriel.
Hannah's titan, Bones, didn't get that name for nothing. His male form looked very similar to Rogue's, though maybe a bit slimmer, and on his chest and face were strange bone-like armor. It looked like his ribcage and skull have been pulled forward and the skin removed. It had a haunting effect and never failed to strike fear into human's everywhere.
Gabriel's titan, Light, was slightly shorter than the other two, but by no means weaker. His short white-blonde hair shown like a spot of sunlight in the grimy city and though it was hard to see from so far away, Gwen knew his eyes would be completely white, staring blankly ahead of him.
The need to help surged through her, but she knew she had to stay back. Even if she knew how to fight, she wasn't good enough to be of any use to them at the moment. Her main priority was healing and since her friends seem to be holding their own well, she decided to hang back and not interfere. Knowing her, she'd probably mess it up in some way.
"Is this really happening?" someone whispered in astonishment.
"What's he going to do with that boulder?!" another exclaimed.
"He's heading for the hole in the wall! Maybe he's going to plug it with that big rock!" said a young man excitedly.
"What are those other titan's doing," whispered another woman.
"They're guarding him," Mikasa answered confidently. Gwen wasn't surprised to see how perceptive the girl was.
"Guarding him from the other titans?" Armin wondered, brows narrowed in confusion. "If he needs to be protected, that means the others see him as a threat."
As they all watched, a swarm of titans descended on the shifters from every alleyway on that street. Gwen tensed and watched, hoping they could pull through it, but when Rogue stopped in his tracks, she knew there was a problem.
"They're overwhelmed!" Connie exclaimed.
Gwen clenched her fists but she was fighting a losing battle against her instincts, because in the next instant, she was sending her wires out and rocketing off toward the giant boulder and the titans underneath it. Screw the mission and screw Eren's request. If he died, it would all be for nothing and she wouldn't risk that.
Behind her was the sound of whirring and clunking and when she turned back, she was shocked to find Mikasa and Armin closely behind, with at least half of the other soldiers following behind them.
"We want to help!" Armin yelled over the wind in their ears. "If that titan is going to seal the hole, then we need to help it get there!"
Tears swelled in Gwen's eyes and she smiled at them before turning back with a determined look. She had only known these people for a few hours, but seeing them so willing to put their lives on the line made her happy and sad at the same time. These humans were strong in heart and mind, but the titans had them beat in physical strength. This was why she and the other shifters were here, this is what they were fighting for. They would even the playing fields for the humans, and finally get them the redemption and freedom they deserved. She understood Eren's passion now, why he let Atlas Corp restrain and tame him, why he worked so hard to train all of them despite their declining sanity and resistance. They needed to get strong for the sake of humanity. She didn't truly understand that until now.
"Jean, you take half of them to the left, Mikasa and I will go the right with the other half," Armin instructed firmly, before turning to the others. "Take out as many as you can! But don't hurt the two around Rogue!"
Every soldier gave a deafening war cry before they split up and followed their respective leaders. Angel was impressed at how coordinated they were, but then shook her head and focused on what was in front of her.
She wasn't perfect at attacking in human form, but she couldn't afford to shift and risk exposure. If the situation became desperate, she would have no choice, but for now, she could make due with her ODM gear.
Blades flashed in the air, splashing steaming blood onto the soldiers and the houses. Gwen focused on keeping the titans out of Rogue's path, relieved when he was able to start moving again. His thundering footsteps came faster now, no doubt wanting to seal the hole before any more monsters could get through. Light and Bones continue their slaughter, being careful to avoid the humans zooming around them.
With a loud snapping sound, Bones reached up and dislodged two of his own ribs, a new set growing instantly. He wielded them like swords, the edges having been sharpened while still attached to his body, and used them to efficiently slash through the titan's necks. The bone swords were a trick Hannah learned during training, mostly due to Eren's prompting. She was decent fighter but she didn't exactly have enough resourcefulness to come up with that idea on her own.
Gabriel, however, was as quick-witted as he was merciless. Throughout the entire battle, bolts of lightning would dance across his fingertips and with one touch, completely paralyze the enemy. This effect lasted long enough for him to jam his hand on their weak spot and fry them. It wasn't exactly a quick death, but it did the job.
The area was quickly cleared thanks to their joint effort. There were more coming their way, but they were too far away to do anything.
Rogue was mere meters away from the hole when two titans came out of nowhere and nearly crashed into him. Gwen prepared to attack but something shot past her and deftly slashed the titans' napes before the brunette had time to even send out her wires. The spinning figure of red and black landed on a nearby roof, revealing a blood-soaked Mikasa.
Wow, she's incredible, thought Gwen in reluctant awe. Couldn't she have some kind of flaw!?
The shifter shook out her negative thoughts and focused back on Rogue, eyes widening when she watched him arrive at the gate.
"DO IT, ROGUE!" Gwen screamed, her excitement bursting from her as tears streamed down her face. They were going to do it. They were going to do it!
The boulder crashed to the ground with an ear-splitting roar from Rogue. The ground shook from the impact and nearly sent Gwen off her roof. She quickly gained her footing and continued to cheer and cry. All around her soldiers celebrated with her but quickly quieted when Rogue stood and turned to face them. It was clear they were still apprehensive.
If Eren could smile in that form, Gwen was sure he would. Instead he tilted his head back and let loose a victorious roar that would have ripped the heavens and lifted the darkest of doubts. Humanity had won that day with the help of the titan shifters, and it was a day that would go down in history.
Standing on top of the inner wall, watching the miraculous scene through a telescope was one of the officers of the Garrison regiment, Kitz Weilman. Beside him were three other soldiers.
"Ian! Rico! Mitabi!" he called them to attention. "You saw that girl talking to that beast before, correct?"
"Yes sir, she appeared to be conversing with it as if it were human. We saw the whole thing from our post," the woman named Rico replied efficiently.
Weilman nodded, his face twisted in concentration.
"She also seems to have advanced training in the ODM gear but she doesn't have any insignia," Ian added.
"Bring her here for questioning, make sure she's handcuffed," the officer ordered, glaring in the direction of the plugged hole.
"But sir, shouldn't we go after the titans?" inquired Mitabi.
"You mean try to capture one of those abnormal? And how do you propose we do this? The Survey Corps are still out on their mission and probably won't return for another few hours," snapped Weilman. "Just go get her before she escapes with those titans! Go!"
The three soldiers kicked off the wall toward the other side of town. Weilman knew they would bring her, they were his most efficient soldiers. They would get answers for this phenomenon, even if it meant squeezing out every bit of information out of that girl.