The Paths of Freedom - Part 1

by Ungaroth564

The world faces a titanic threat. After WW2, these anthropomorphic monsters have reemerged, confirming the myths of old and with them, eight humans have been found with the gift (or curse) to wield Titan Aspects. New coalitions have formed and wage cold wars against each other, all in the interest of controlling all of these aspects. And in 2023, this conflict is reaching a climax.

19. Chapter Nineteen

A last-minute change of plan caused by growing uncertainties in reports from within the city about local rebel forces that disagreed with the power in place caused the USS Millville to change course towards the volcanic peninsula dubbed Little Aden. It docked on a US-built jetty on the Ghadir coast and unloaded all the FLU soldiers and the five Titan Wielders. Little Aden has declined steeply from its previous status as haven for Global North troopers into a decrepit place of only a few thousand inhabitants. The fate of the Yemen war and the growing presence of US Military forces has discouraged locals from living here and only those who worked the still-BP-owned refinery and their families remained as residents. Many buildings had been abandoned and left to crumble. Businesses have fallen under the weight of bankruptcy and their advertising sings hung or swung on frittering paint. There was no real prospect for anyone to build something new for themselves, and the youth abandons this place as soon as possible in a yearly outflow.

Commander Ridgeway gave orders for the soldiers to remain around the harbor while he conferred with the captains and USS Millville crew about the preparations for the trip to the Al Anad base. But the soldiers felt deserving for some R&R, and Private Achard did nothing to discourage them. Flocks of FLU soldiers flushed the streets causing an uproar and barging into businesses and malls for entertainment. The locals did not express any joy for this abrupt chaos, but their talent for making an easy buck and skills as salespeople overcame them and they quickly squeezed the soldiers' wallets dry. Xiomara ran after Archibald and slapped him on the back of the head a few times letting him know how idiotic he was being, but the damage had already been done so she quickly gave up and had a few drinks by her lonesome. Archibald felt emboldened by her capitulation, so he turned back to look for Friedrich, whom he found standing against a railing near the docks next to Kwan. They spoke no words. She told Archibald that he was being an idiot and that now was not the time for debauchery, and to his great surprise, Friedrich voiced an opinion, even it if was to say that he agreed with her. Archibald prodded them further to no avail, so he gave up and left, and the Texan stood not too far from the commander as to hear what was being said and watched the scene unfold as he smoked a cigarillo.

"Boone," Ridgeway called for his attention.

The Texan turned his head.

"Little Aden Bridge is a no-go, we received confirmation that it had been blown up on our way here."

The Texan raised an eyebrow. "Do we know who was behind it?"

"Negative," Captain Anderson interjected. "Could be local rebels. Might be the Soviets, but it's highly unlikely."

"We won't get anywhere by speculating…" the Texan uttered dramatically. He raised the two fingers which held his cigarillo and pointed at the mountainous formation at the neck of the peninsula. "There's a road that goes through these mountains. Might be a bit of a detour, but it'll do the trick."

"I agree," the commander agreed as he rolled up a map. "We'll give our troops an hour, then we're moving out. Captain Köse," (The concerned raised his head.) "Gather your unit and get our trucks out of the ship." The commander turned towards the ship's captain. "We're leaving the choppers with you."

"Yes, sir."

The ship's captain and Köse went back on the ship, and about a dozen FLU soldiers followed them as well as the ship's crewmates. Captains Anderson and Mariola saluted the commander and walked off with the intention to join their respective wielders. The commander walked towards the Texan and stared at his cigarillo with a look of desire but shrugged it off because he had been smoke-free for the past seven years and did not want to break his streak now even if he wanted to join in of the R&R. He sighed. The Texan reverted his gaze back to where Kwan stood only to see that she and Friedrich had vacated the premises.

Marama met up with Kwan and they both scoured the streets past countless soldiers in search of Archibald, who was in a bar encouraging a drinking game between two soldiers. Kwan dragged Archibald out of there and the three of them stood in the middle of a street.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Kwan let out in anger.

Archibald's face turned sour. "If Ridgeway has something to say, he can grow a pair and face me himself."

Kwan punched him in the guts and he shoved her back, so Marama stepped in.

"Hey, come on," she told Archibald. "We're not here to start shit—"

"Stand down, Captain," Archibald told her as his rage was still directed at Kwan.

Marama frowned at him. "I don't take orders from you, sir."

Archibald gave her a thunderous look. "See where that line of thought leads you, Marama."

Then Kwan stepped in and shoved Archibald's shoulder. "Archie, don't be a stupid fucking asshole and get your shit together. Think hard about what you're doing here for a second." She pressed her finger against her temple.

"Give me a break," Archibald groaned in disgust. "And give them a break!"

"How, by letting them defile a quiet town full of people who already live under Western occupation? Get real, Archie."

"Kiss my ass, Jeong."

"Fuck you, Achard."

"Where's Freddie?"

"Are you dense? I told you to leave him out of this, poor guy's barely holding together as it is!"

"I'm not going to drag him into anything he doesn't want to do—"

"Bullshit."

Archibald raised his finger so he could finish his thought. "I just want to talk to him, get a feel of where he's at."

"I can tell you that: he's already tormented by his ability to obliterate an entire city in the blink of an eye."

"Where is he?" Archibald insisted.

Kwan looked away in disbelief then rubbed her nose bridge in exasperation. "I don't know, we split a few blocks ago."

The truth was that Friedrich had been abandoned when Marama joined Kwan to search for Archibald. Friedrich walked demurely past soldiers who hollered at him as the 'most valuable player' of Phase Two, and he threw polite nods and waves but avoided conversating as much as possible. He improvised a route through a dozen streets until he saw an influx of soldiers coming in and out of a building which his instinct first told him to avoid but he heard that the Jaw was in there, so he checked it out. Indeed, Xiomara was nearly slouched over a bar with a half-emptied bottle of unknown alcohol and occasionally poured some into a small glass. It looked like she shouldn't be bothered, but Friedrich's exit route had been blocked by a group of intoxicated soldiers, so he made for her in hopes that she might be a haven of tranquility. He took a few nervous steps towards her and she noticed him from the corner of her eyes.

"Freddie!" she exclaimed by raising her glass. Her cheeks were reddened and her speech was slightly slurred by what had probably been her dozenth drink. "Come join me, let's celebrate our glorious success!"

Friedrich walked the rest of the distance between them with a determined pace and spoke firmly. "You are drunk, Frau Guevara."

"Yes, and you're not," she said in a strained voice as she reached over the countertop to grab another glass. "So, sit down and live a little."

He frowned at her. "Are you really leaving us?"

"No, I'm going back to my people. There's a difference."

"A semantic difference. You're abandoning the cause."

"Get real, Freddie. That," she pointed in the direction of the Horn of Africa, "is not the cause. That was a mass murder for the sake of a political agenda. I won't be a tool for such monstrosity."

"So that's it, huh?" he asked in a shaky voice. "All that talk about protecting the innocent and you're just going to leave on your own selfish terms?"

Xiomara slammed her glass on the countertop and stood up to face him. She waved a bloodied hand pierced by glass shards and pointed at him. "Don't. Do not fucking patronize me about this shit, Freddie."

His faced turned pale and his heart stopped for a few beats as he stared at her hand. She was heaving with bloodshot eyes that stared right at him. They remained in this standstill until she breathed enough to soothe her nerves then picked the shards out of her hand. That was his queue to start breathing again. A soldier called for their attention.

"Ma'am. Sir." (They turned to face him.) "You might want to check this out."

The wielders looked at each other with concern and they simultaneously walked out of the bar and onto the street. A group of five soldiers were huddled up around a man with -at first glance- Asiatic features.

"He just waddled from around the corner," the soldier resumed. "None of us can understand what he's saying, but he looks like he's in pain."

Xiomara talked as they walked towards the mysterious man. "Did you get a medic to check him out?"

"W-well…" the soldier looked embarrassed. "Hendricks would if he could… but he's wasted inside…"

"Well then get me a fucking doctor who's still standing, damn it!" Xiomara yelled. "On the double, soldier!"

"Yes ma'am!" the soldier nearly screamed in terror as he saluted her and ran like his life depended on it.

Xiomara stood in front of the man and the soldiers made way for her. Freddie stood behind her.

"What happened to you?" Xiomara asked peacefully.

The man uttered words which, like the soldier said before, no one could understand. Xiomara turned to Friedrich who looked at a loss.

"Well, he's not Japanese, Korean, or Chinese, that's for sure…" Xiomara told Friedrich. She pressed on. "Where are you from? Who did this to you?"

The man kept uttering words out of breath, strained, and painfully holding his stomach. He then repeated the same words over and over again. One of the FLU soldiers' face lit up as he stared at his smartphone.

"I ran it through voice recognition on my translator app, ma'am."

"What is he saying?"

"It's Mongolian. He's just saying 'Mother Swan' on repeat, ma'am."

Xiomara's face folded in confusion as she stared at the man. And her heart froze in terror.

The Texan walked alongside the commander away from the docks and further into town.

"Come on, commander. No one will find out if you just have one drink."

"Don't tempt me, Boone. I already have enough to worry about, sober." They stopped in the middle of some plaza which gave a clear view of the mountainous formation. "I don't know which one I dread most…" the commander resumed. "Calling the Chairman, or cleaning up Achard's mess."

The Texan scoffed.

A yellow lightning struck a plateau halfway up the mountain, causing a huge dust of cloud to rise from the ground. The sound followed shortly, shocking everyone into torpor. A constant ringing temporarily deafened the Texan who had fallen on one knee and couldn't move. It wasn't a matter of physical disability; he was frozen in the realization of what caused it. He squeezed his eyelids shut a few times to comfort his irritated eyes before he was suddenly shaken by a terrified-looking Ridgeway, who was shouting indistinct words at him. The Texan visualized his confusion with a frown as the ringing slowly subsided and the commander's words grew clearer.

"Roscoe! We have to get you to safety!"

The Texan strenuously got up and wiped both his eyes with a single stroke of the back of his hand and shook his head. "Never mind me, Julian. You have to get your men and women and prepare!"

"What in the hell was that?" inquired the commander at the top of his lungs as he looked over at the dust of cloud.

A vague anthropomorphic silhouette could be made through the cloud, but no clear features could distinguish it from any other titan… until it spread its arms. They stuck upwards out of the dust in a semicircular fashion and revealed a deep brown plumage with buttery brown highlights and nigh black shades, and spanned 30 meters from one end to the other. The feathers fluttered as the arms stretched and the wind blew through them, then the arms suddenly flapped the dust away.

"The Beast Titan…" the Texan uttered in shock.

"What?" Ridgeway yelled. "How the fuck did it find us?"

The Beast Titan stood atop the mountain, flapping its wings to a stop and lowered its arms. It towered at seventeen meters and had many features of a hierofalcon with a few anthropomorphic twists: humanoid eyes were inset on both sides of a large grey beak. A plumage of different shades of brown ran from its head along its body (except for the toned chest and chiseled abdomen which were left exposed), down the back and into a feathery tail. Its proportionally shorter legs supported it with humanoid feet, and its arms ended with five-fingered hands. It straightened itself upwards in all its horrifying glory and brought its right hand to its left shoulder and spun the latter to warm it up. The Texan grunted.

"Julian, we won't last long! You need to cover for me so I can get closer to it!"

"The hell you will! I'm covering for you so you can get out of here, I'm not risking the Armor!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"Don't act surprised, Roscoe! This is what the Forward Liberation Unit is about: to give protective support to the Aspects!"

"Fucking shit!" the Texan spat.

"Now get your ass on that ship and order them to leave. We'll figure something out!"

"Ridgeway—"

"Now!"

The Texan didn't argue further. He saw the Beast Titan pick a long steel rod with a conical tip, held it like a javelin, and took a few steps back. The Texan was galvanized by this windup, spun around, and ran for the ship while the Beast ran a few steps and threw the rod across the peninsula. The Texan saw it fly above its head and stopped in his tracks when he realized its intended target. Captain Köse had just stepped onto the deck when he saw the rod fly towards him. The USS Millville went up in flames before it exploded and sent the Texan flying backwards in the air and back onto the plaza from where he came. He tumbled the last few meters and laid down in pain and agony as debris and limbs flew past him. Embers burned on his skin, and his ears sounded charred. He wondered if Kwan was okay.

When the lightning struck, Kwan and Archibald ran a few blocks to get a clear view. They stood frozen in shock as the Beast Titan displayed itself and hid for cover when it threw the rod.

"Is that the fucking Beast Titan?" Archibald yelled.

Around them, hordes of FLU soldiers were running around in search of orders. Some ran up to Marama and were told to regroup near the harbor, but then the ship blew up, so they were told to get to cover. Civilians were running inside for shelter and other soldiers were running out of buildings and forcing themselves to vomit out any intoxications.

"We need to find the others!" Kwan yelled.

"And what? Vote on what we're supposed to do?" Archibald retorted.

"Fuck you!"

"The Cart can get me close enough for hand-to-hand combat!"

"I'm not going to turn in the middle of the streets, there are civilians around here!"

Archibald stood up and walked away from her.

"Archie!"

"If you gotta do something…" he mumbled as he looked for the nearest soldier with an ODM gear. And found one. "Hey!"

She turned around with fear in her eyes and saluted him. "Orders, sir?"

"I need you to get me on top of that building," he pointed to the one that hid them from the Beast. "And then get out as soon as I'm up there."

"Yes, sir!"

"Archie!" Kwan ran up to him.

"Go find Ross, he was near the ship last I saw him!"

He was then flown upwards by the FLU soldier on top of the building. As ordered, she left as soon as he was up there and he stood in the middle of the roof. He stared at the Beast… and it stared right back.

"Round two…" he said as he bit his palm.

A lightning struck him instantly. As the Attack was materializing, the Beast had picked up a boulder, and waited. When the Attack fully spawned and roared, it flung the boulder at a speed that broke the sound barrier and flew right at him. Archibald barely registered it, and it smashed right through his head, splitting it apart into a mess of flesh and bones, and sending him tumbling onto an abandoned building behind. Kwan heard the loud crack and looked up to see the Attack tumbling backwards onto the building across the street, and his weight caused the upper two floors to crumble apart. Shattered glass and chunks of concrete came raining down on them and Marama grabbed Kwan with such strength and sent her flying into the building that was spared from the Attack's fall before she was crushed by the rubble. Kwan recovered from the fall and hid further away as the rubble still fell. When it settled, she looked out from where she was thrown in and collapsed on her knees as she could only see half of Marama sticking out from under a large block of concrete. She screamed in anguish hoping that Xiomara might hear her.

When the Attack fell, Xiomara had gathered a little over thirty soldiers. The five soldiers that surrounded the Mongolian now held him at gunpoint. And Friedrich stood in the lee of the nearest building.

"We need to find the commander," Xiomara ordered.

"What about him?" a soldier that guarded the Mongolian asked. "Should we put him down?"

"No! Killing him would trigger the Beast's spinal fluid."

"Jesus Christ… how many more are there?"

"Unknown, that's why we must find the commander!" she was irate.

"Last known location was the harbor, ma'am," a soldier declared.

"Negative," Xiomara shut her down. "The ship blew up, it might still be a hotspot."

"Some of us still have our equipment over there, ma'am," another soldier added.

"What a stupid bunch of morons you are, eh?" she scolded them, then wiped her face in exhaustion. "Fine. All of you, go back to the harbor to pick up your shit. I need those with weapons to escort you in case things go south. Then merge on the other side of the town, you might pick up others buffoons who forgot their stuff like you."

The soldiers waited unflinching, expecting further instructions and Xiomara looked at them with rage.

"Was I not fucking clear?! Get to it!"

"Yes ma'am!" they chanted in unison and ran towards the harbor.

Xiomara turned to the five soldiers who stood guard. "You keep an eye on him."

"Yes ma'am."

She joined Friedrich who sat in fetal position against the building and dragged him up. "Come on, get up."

"This is unbelievable…" he uttered.

"Well, fucking believe it, I don't know what to tell you."

"Did we lose the Attack Titan already?"

"Archie's not dead, he just made a terrible decision. We have to find Kwan and Ross to have a fighting chance. But first, I need to take you someplace safe, the Colossal can't join."

"Agreed."

Suddenly, loud shrieks were heard all around town, and Xiomara look up to see the smoke trails of rockets. FLU soldiers had made their way up rooftops and shot RPG rockets at the Beast. It took a few hits, covering its face with its winged arm before retorting with a shriek of its own. Then its chest heaved deeply. Xiomara's jaw dropped.

"Oh no…" she turned around and screamed at the five soldiers. "Get away from him!"

But they could not hear her, as her scream was immediately drowned by a resonating overtone pitch that came from the Beast. The Mongolian man's eyes and mouth lit up with a bright yellow light which quickly engulfed him fully then exploded. Xiomara was thrown along the street and Friedrich flew inside the building. When she came to, severed limbs, weapons, and a few heads fell around her and she turned around to see a fifteen-meter pure titan rise in the street. It immediately noticed her. She cursed it and instinctively bit her palm, but a subconscious realization prevented her from turning. At first, her heart sank as she thought it was caused by stage fright but then she remembered Friedrich. The titan quickly closed the gap between them and leaned down to get a closer look at her before bullets struck its right side. It looked up dumbly at the source then walked towards it. Xiomara sighed in relief and ran into the building to find Friedrich… but the relief was short-lived. He laid on his back coughing blood out of his mouth. She went up to him.

"You're alright, Freddie," she comforted him but she wasn't comfortable at all.

The idea that the Colossal might spawn froze the blood in her veins. She looked around his body for any visible wound and had to lift the flap of his jacket to find a rusty metal rod sticking out of where his liver is.

"I… I won't turn, Frau Guevara… I promise…" he sobbed.

"I know, Freddie. I believe you. You'll be fine."

"Verzeihen Sie mir, bitte…" he said between coughs.

"I don't know—" she interrupted herself. "Anything you say, Freddie. Just stay with me, okay?" She heard explosions and heavy footsteps and caught a glimpse of a ten-meter titan walking past their hiding spot. "I need to get you out of here."

"Ja, ja. Heben mich hoch…"

"Freddie, I can't understand you."

"Lift…" he said out of breath. "Lift me up… I won't turn."

She smirked. "Okay, Freddie. This will hurt, just clench your teeth."

"Ja, ja."

He wrapped his arms around her back and she did the same and carefully pulled him up from the rod he landed on. The squelching sound of the metal pulling his flesh back made her stomach churn and he grunted through the pain 'like a champ', she thought. Once he was up, he rested all his weight on her and she dragged him out of the building.

"Alright, you're doing great. Let's go find everyone."

A five-meter titan ran down the perpendicular street.

"I hope Ridgeway has a good plan."

The commander had united half the forces (around seventy, the other half was confirmed dead already, or unaccounted for) and they all waited, armed and ready. Ridgeway looked around at the movements atop the rooftops, hoping that more would join them. Casualties must be high at this point, if pure titans were running around.

"Orders, sir?" Captain Mariola asked.

Ridgeway faced him. "Get an ODM unit and make for the rooftops, however many you need. Give support to our people in there."

"Yes, sir," the captain saluted him.

He walked among the soldiers and picked a dozen of them to gear up. They all flew onto the rooftops, culling a few pure titans along the way. So far, the commander counted around thirty of them, most of which were ten or fifteen-meter. That meant there was still an unknown number of five-meter titans, which troubled the commander. The support team seemed to turn the tides as the pure titans were now running around aimlessly and were causing more damage to the buildings or themselves. But it was just an illusion… another lightning struck the other ridge of the mountain, and once the dust had settled, another Titan was revealed. It bore a striking resemblance to the Attack Titan, other than its blonde hair and shining blue eyes. It spawned on one knee, then stood up and let out a high-pitch piercing shriek much like that of a banshee's. A soldier turned to face the commander.

"Sir?!"

The commander looked around the town and saw the taller pure titans' heads fall under the canopy of the buildings. It had all been a distraction. He looked at the Beast Titan and saw it crunch a boulder into tiny pieces with its bare hands and positioned itself for another windup. The commander frowned.

"Get to cover!" he screamed at his soldiers.

Most of the ground troops around him made it, but those who stood on top of the buildings -who were still stunned by the new Titan's arrival- suffered the full might of the Beast's strength. It swung its arm horizontally and released the countless shards of the shattered boulder along the skyline, causing significant structural damage and obliterating the ODM units. A rain of blood splattered the rooftops and the streets below. Anyone who stood on top of the buildings had been killed. The commander jumped out of his hiding spot, equipped an ODM gear and picked up an M4A1 Carbine, then flew up on top of a building. He looked around and saw the pure titans raise their heads once more. He saw the Attack Titan riddled with holes, and though the remnants of his head hung in the lee of the building, it had still not healed. So, he looked at the Texan, who stood near the harbor as he watched the burning ship. He jumped back down from the building and addressed his troops.

"We need to buy time for the Attack and the Armor. I don't know the status of the Cart or the Jaw, and I know damn well that the Colossal won't be joining us." He pointed at the Beast. "We'll clear a path towards it. Kill any pure titans along the way. And distract it long enough for the Armor to face the Harbinger. That will turn the tides."

He walked between the troops and checked his weapon's ammo, but he slowed his pace as he felt the discouragement of his men and women. His heart sank. He turned to face them.

"I know this isn't fair of me to ask you. This will be the ultimate sacrifice for most of us, and it might not yield anything anytime soon. So let me make this one thing very clear: desertion will not be seen as cowardice. Nobody will blame you if you chose to spare your lives over this battle. But damn it, people, we are the vanguard of humanity against the titan curse! Today will not be the day we fall in the face of this monstrosity, but the day we make a stand! No more shall we quiver in fear of what the titans will do to our people. Our families. Our homes! Today, we bring the fight to them! The titans will learn that humanity has the will and the strength to stand up against them! Today, humanity counterattacks! So, my fellow soldiers, I ask of you: join me! Join me in a final push for the sake of those who will live free from the fear of those aberrations! Dedicate your hearts!"

The soldiers all stood in salute and clenched their fists on their hearts. "Sir, yes sir!" they screamed in unison.

And the commander led them through the checkered town and into battle.

Kwan had been busy this entire time moving blocks and pebbles to free the fallen soldiers, sobbing through her anguish with a faint glimmer of hope that someone might be alive. She had freed Marama first, but the captain had had the left half of her body reduced to a jelly of flesh and bones and that sight sent Kwan into a state of shock. Occasionally, she would lift her head and scream at the fallen Attack Titan, or more specifically at the wielder inside.

"Archie, get up!"

Then back to her task of moving debris around.

"Come on! Stop playing around!"

She hardly believed her own optimism which she knew was blinded by the shock. She hardly paid attention to the rain of stones that razed the rooftops or the arrival of the other Titan. Her faith faltered and she resorted to throwing rocks at the Attack's corpse.

"Archie!" she screamed. "Everyone's dying!"

Archibald floated in his own subconscious and could not hear anything from the real world. No, that wasn't true… The Cart's Wielder's warnings of doom manifested in his mind as a distant call, blotted out by the scene unfolding before him. He was back in boot camp, surrounded with his teammates from his days as a cadet (then Private) as they reveled in passing the twelve-week mark. Only one left. They celebrated in the cafeteria of an FLU base somewhere in the north of Greenland, and Archibald felt a newfound joy surrounded with comrades and friends and the honor of getting a special visit from the commander of the FLU himself. He was accompanied by an odd-looking man, but Archibald didn't find it in him to care because he chanted and danced and drank, and was mustering up the courage to go talk to Cadet Miller, but she wasn't the partying type and just watched with glee from the sidelines. A noise caught his attention through the din and although he ignored it at first, it persisted, so he turned his head. Through the condensation on the windows, he could make out a vague silhouette and knew that it was hollering at him but he didn't want to care and went back to the celebration at hand. The moment he turned, his eyes locked with the odd-looking man which caused severe discomfort in him and he sensed that the man was telling him to check what the deal was with that silhouette, so Archibald begrudgingly left the group amidst groans of protest. He walked up to the window and stuck his face against it to make out what or who was messing with him, but he couldn't see anything, so he wiped the condensation off with his sleeve and saw…

"Kwan?" he said.

She was signaling for him to open the window, but he shook his head in protest.

"No…"

She wasn't giving up.

"No! Cut it out, it's freezing out there!"

She was exaggeratingly mouthing an order for him to open the window.

"Forget about it! Just come inside, it's warm in here."

Kwan took a few steps back, which relieved Archibald, but he flinched in pure terror as she started to throw rocks at the window.

"Are you insane?!" he yelled

He looked back at his friends to see if it caused any reactions among them, but they all seemed drowned in the celebration and he envied them, but he had to deal with Kwan first. He opened the window by a centimeter which immediately sucked out all the warmth and comfort inside and invite the frigid winds and he clenched his teeth.

"What the fuck is the matter with you, Kwan?"

"Archie, you've got to come outside! We need you!"

"Have you lost your fucking mind?! I'm not going out there!"

"We need your help! Roscoe's in danger!"

Archibald frowned in confusion. "Corporal Boone? What is he doing out here?"

"Come outside!"

"No way, I'll freeze my balls off!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you still had a pair!"

Archibald slammed the window shut. "The nerves…" he mumbled as he walked back to the party, leaving a concerned Kwan out in the cold.

"Archie!" she screamed.

"Kwan!"

Xiomara had just turned a corner and dragged a nigh exsanguine Friedrich. Kwan looked briefly at them then went back to throwing rocks at the Attack Titan.

"Kwan, what are you doing?"

"Fucking… trying to get Archie to wake up. Archie!"

"What happened here? Where's your support unit?"

Kwan flippantly stomped the rock on which she stood. "Under all of this. The Beast got Archie as soon as he turned, smashed his head clean with a boulder. I mean, it's pretty fucking far away from us, how could it throw with such precision?!"

"Damn it…" Xiomara spat. "Well, we're sitting ducks out here. We need to get moving, or—"

"If you have a glorious plan to take down those two Titans, I'm all ears. In the meantime, I'm betting on waking up this oaf and getting him back in action."

"Kwan, there are pure titans running around, we won't live long if we stay here!"

"Don't you think I already know that?"

"You sure aren't acting like you do!"

"Get off my ass! We won't win this without Archie, we—"

She stopped mid-sentence and her eyes slowly went up as her face drooped in terror. Xiomara and Friedrich turned around and saw it: a pure titan had surreptitiously poked its head from a corner and was watching them arguing, staring dumbly at the Cart's Wielder. Kwan was frozen in place. Friedrich slumped on the ground under the weight of despair, and Xiomara looked at the palm she wounded earlier. No sparks. No adrenaline rushes. She couldn't bring herself to turn even if she accepted that Kwan and Friedrich would die, which she never could. Her arms dropped by her sides as she silently accepted defeat. So close to being back in Colombia… she chuckled. The pure titan stepped out from the corner and faced all three of them.

The Texan mustered all his strength to stand up after spending enough time contemplating the burning ship. He took his hat off and placed it on the charred and dusty ground before he turned around. There was a cleared line of sight between him and the two Titans on the mountain. The Beast stood tall and proud and the Harbinger was squatted down… and both were looking right at him.

"So that's how it is…" he took a few steps forward, which caused the Beast to turn its head at the Harbinger, then back at him. "Forcing the Armor out, after all." He took out a pocket knife and cut his palm, which caused the Harbinger to stand up straight. "Let's make this quick." Sparks bolted out of his wound onto random spots across his chest and face, but never the same one twice. He took a deep breath. "Semper Fi." And the lightning struck him.

The Armored Titan stepped out of the cloud of dust and flames. His hardened plates matched the color of the sands around him with some parts crucial for movement like the arm and knee pits, the pelvis, or the clavicles were left exposed, revealing red muscle mass much like that of the Colossal's. Larger armor plates covered his chest and each shoulder (one plate on top extended outwards and another under it extended downwards). He growled in response to the Harbinger then dashed into the buildings and out of sight. Pure titans were pulled apart, crushed under his heels, or had their napes bitten off as the Armor swept through the streets. He arrived at a crossing and saw a pure titan on his right, crouched over looking at something under him, so he pulled him back and sent him on the floor before he tore its head off, and as he was about to resume his rampage through the streets, he stopped and did a double-take at something that glimpsed in the corner of his eye… it was Xiomara! A-and Friedrich! Oh, and Kwan was a few meters behind them! He took a step into the street and looked down at them. Friedrich held the wound on his stomach but mustered the strength to stand up. Xiomara stepped towards him and looked up in awe. Kwan stood still in shock.

"Ross!" Xiomara called out. "I think the rest of the FLU got together on the other end of town. They will probably focus on the Beast, and you should help them!"

The Armor grunted and pointed towards the Harbinger. Xiomara nodded slowly.

"Right… We'll stay back here and try to get Archie back on his feet."

The Armor nodded, turned around and started to walk away when

"Wait!" Kwan screamed as she ran up to him.

Xiomara intercepted her. "Kwan…"

"Ross, you can't go alone!"

"Kwan, listen to me. Freddie is on the edge of death, and I can't turn. The Cart isn't made for combat, you won't be of any use to him."

"Bullshit, why can't you turn?!"

The Armor left the argument with a heavy heart.

"Ross, wait!" Kwan screamed as Xiomara held her back. "Let go!" she wept. "Why won't you help him?"

"I don't know!" she raised her wounded hand to her face. "It just won't happen."

"Well… maybe it's because you're too close to us. If you get far enough, maybe you'll turn."

"Kwan I—"

She was interrupted by a deep rumbling that grew in intensity and they didn't have to guess what it was. Xiomara pushed Kwan towards a vacant ground floor before she lifted Friedrich up. A swarm of pure titans ran up the perpendicular street and one almost caught sight of Xiomara before she got into the building. Kwan was sobbing.

"We… we have to help him!"

"Kwan, you have to trust him! He knows what he's doing, he'll make it!"

"No… no, I can't…"

And out of the building she went. Xiomara tried to stop her, but she was too quick. She ran in pursuit of the horde of titans but they had already run many blocks, which would take her some time to catch up. Xiomara cursed her and tended to Friedrich. She carried him to a room further inside the building, away from the emptied windows that gave onto the street and from any threat that might loom along them, and propped him up against a pyramidical pile of carpets. She ripped parts of his shirt to dab his wound and he started mumbling incoherently. A light shuffling sound came from behind her and she spun around in a flash to see a family of locals hiding behind a toppled-over desk, clutching each other in terror. The mother began to beg in Arabic, one of the daughters wept incrementally, and the husband reached his hand out as to ward his family from Xiomara.

"God fucking damn it to hell…" Xiomara let out to herself. She then took a tentative step towards them which begat an even more passionate response, so she stopped and held her hands up. "I don't mean harm…" she enunciated slowly. They seemed to not understand her. "Peace… um…" she thought hard. "Um… Salam… Salam." She forced a smile, which seemed to defuse the situation, even if slightly. "Um… 'aman." She pointed at Friedrich. "He's hurt. 'aman, please."

That begat the opposite reaction she expected as the parents yelled more intensely. Xiomara took a few precautious steps backwards as they kept screaming at her, and the only word she could make out, that had been thrown out repeatedly, was Sheitan. Her legs shook after she realized why that word was used, and she knelt next to Freddie once more to tend to his wound. But emotions overcame her and she broke down in tears knowing fully that she, the other wielders, and the FLU were responsible for the havoc wreaked upon this town. Tears flowed down her cheeks and on Friedrich's wound, who had passed out from the lack of blood.

The Armor had successfully led the horde of pure titans out of the claustrophobic streets onto a wider avenue. He turned around and saw the titans tumble out, come collapsing over one another, and came running towards him. He steadied himself for the onslaught, and when they got close enough, threw punches and clumsy kicks to put them down. Those who got close enough could only break their jaws and teeth in an attempt to bite at him, so he made quick work of pulling their heads away from him and chewing their napes off. When he was done with them -which took him a little under ten minutes- he turned around to face the mountain. On his right, the Beast was still perched atop the plateau and stared at him. And all the way up the avenue, straight ahead of him, the Harbinger stood tall and proud. The Armor exhaled a large amount of steam and face turned slightly to face them both. "Whose move, folks?" the Texan said inside his Aspect. He was ready to make a break for any of them, but the question was which one? The Harbinger was the most direct target, but it opened him for a strike from the back which, if this Beast was as good as the last one he fought, could prove fatal to him. But if he went for the Beast, the Harbinger could easily cover the distance in half the time it took him to reach it, and it would be a two on one… which he damn well knew he couldn't manage. He turned to look at the fallen Attack Titan. "Come on, Keller…" he told himself. But it was something further off in the distance which caught his eye: a few shadows had hopped out and back down along the city's canopy, then a barrage of rockets flew towards the Beast Titan who had been caught unaware. It sharply turned its head then raised its arm to shield itself, but the firepower had overwhelmed it and it tumbled backwards a few steps. The Texan growled in anger. "God damn it, Ridgeway! Not now!"

The commander had successfully led a hidden strike at the Beast, and the full might of the remaining half of the FLU attacked the Beast Titan, all for the sake of buying time for the Attack to get back up. The Armor snapped its head at the Harbinger, who was sliding down the slope of the mountain, and he readied himself for a sprint. He propelled himself forward and ran at full speed towards the Harbinger, causing sinkholes to form with each step, and quickly reached it. Kwan had just turned the corner and stumbled onto the pile of decaying pure titans. She turned her head and saw the Armor running away.

"Roscoe!" she yelled.

But with the distance, the sound of each step, and the rage that fueled him, the Texan could not hear her. He was just an arm's reach away from the Harbinger.

The FLU forces had gotten close enough to the Beast to hammer it down with rockets, and the commander knew that it didn't do well in close-combat. He readied his blades for an ODM strike.

Xiomara still wept over Friedrich's body when she felt steam caressing her face. She opened her eyes: he was healing.

The tides had turned… but in whose favor?

The Beast shrieked once more from the cover of its arms then flung them wide apart, releasing a barrage of feathers with the shafts pointing at the FLU soldiers. In an instant, 80% of the remaining forces had been culled. Some were skewered and pinned on various surfaces. Others were split apart at different levels of the body. There were a few survivors who cried out in pain and called out for their beloved ones, but most died on the spot. Those who escaped the vicious attack mustered up their courage and ran the remaining distance as they emptied their chambers and launched their last rockets, but the Beast had enough time to recuperate and pick up another boulder. Which it crushed with its palms. And threw at the last stragglers. A cloud of dust covered it all.

The Armor pulled his arm back and aimed it at the Harbingers head, but with the swiftness of a martial arts expert, it dodged his blow, grabbed his arm, and flung him over its shoulder, slamming him against the ground then twisted his arm, crunching bones and armor plates. The Armor howled in pain as the Harbinger pulled the arm out of its socket and threw it further away. He attempted an escape maneuver and rolled on his side, but the Harbinger rammed its heel against his head, cracking the armor plate on his face. His resolve compelled him to push himself up with his remaining arm, but the Harbinger kicked it and he fell back down. It rammed its heel once more on his face, causing wider cracks to form. He growled, so it kicked him once more, and this time, bits of armor flew off. It kept kicking his face until it melted into a mush of bits of armor and flesh. The Harbinger took a step back and caught its breath.

Kwan saw it all, and she fell down on her knees and wailed. Seeing the Armor be so easily overwhelmed had broken something inside of her. She felt a surge of regret flow through her. Regret over any argument they have had, no matter how dire it was. His tired yet always sympathetic face flooded her thoughts, and she cursed herself for taking him for granted. The Harbinger must have heard her and it slowly turned around and look straight at her. Kwan swallowed a cry in fear. Those terrifying eyes looked right at her. Almost taunted her. The Harbinger picked up the Armor's corpse and chew bits off its nape until the unconscious body of the Texan was revealed. It picked him out of the corpse and, still staring at Kwan, threw him in its mouth. That sent her over a tipping point. She clenched her teeth, blood shot into her sclera, and she looked at a loose piece of sharp scrap on the ground. She swiped her hand against it, stood up, and ran straight ahead.

Archibald had joined his comrades, but still threw a few more glances at the window where he had argued with Kwan. The celebration around him faded into a muffled din. He looked up at the odd-looking man sat next to the commander and this time, he found the patience to care. The man wore a loose white t-shirt and a pair of dark grey sweatpants. He was shaking his leg nervously as he glanced around the room, looking at each cadet individually for a few beats, one after another. He ran his hand along his dirty blonde hair to pull it back and get a clearer view. The commander leaned close to him and whispered something in his hear, which caused him to look right at Archibald. He was stunned at first, then walked past his comrades closer to the elevated platform where the man and the commander sat. The man kept staring at him. A bright yellow light flooded the room, and Archibald snapped his head at the window. Something dire was brewing. He looked back at the man who had stood up and looked at the same window, then back at him. A voice grew louder from somewhere in the distance, and the man shut his eyes in what seemed like pain as downwards streaks of scars formed under his eyes. Archibald was shaking in fear. The voice spoke more distinctly, enough for Archibald to understand what it was saying: Archibald Achard. The man's lips did not move, but he looked as terrified as Archibald was. You are the Wielder of the Attack Titan, but you have forgotten what it means. You have grown complaisant and bent your will in service to a regime that acts in direct opposition of what you represent. Archibald stumbled backwards into a table and grabbed it for support. Do away with your petty grievances against the inconsequential details of this world. Renounce your selfish individualism and open your heart to what truly matters. Archibald turned to look at his comrades to see that they had been frozen in time. Those who give you orders follow a principle of control through intimidation, brute force, and lies. It impedes yours and the Attack Titan's sole purpose. Archibald looked back at the man who cried through his closed eyes. Reject those who order you to kill the innocent. Rise above the rank they have pinned on your chest. Embrace your true purpose. Fight for those who cannot. Fight for those you hold near and dear. Fight for the oppressed. Fight for freedom. Fight, Archibald Achard. The environment around him collapsed: the walls that sheltered him from the cold crumbled to dust. His friends faded into dust. He was engulfed in darkness. The man still stood in front of him. And behind, a gargantuan titan stood. An immense amount of energy formed in its palm into a lightning, and it sent it hurling towards Archibald, who could only stand and watch in terror and awe.

The Cart was running full speed towards the Harbinger, which had readied itself for another fight. Kwan was almost at the end of the avenue and only a hop away from the Harbinger when a booming sound resonated from behind her. She skidded a few meters as she looked back to where the Attack's corpse laid… but he wasn't there. She looked back at the Harbinger in time to see the Attack flying down onto it. His head hadn't fully healed back, as made evident by the large patches of embers across his face, liquid flames that flowed in his hair, and the fire that burned in his eyes. And he went to town on the Harbinger, who barely had the time to register what had happened. They traded a few blows, but the Harbinger was mostly focused on keeping its head intact.

In the abrupt chaos, the Beast turned to face the Attack and grabbed another boulder but a sparkle in the corner of its eye held it back. A projectile attached to a wire flew straight to its chest, leading to the cloud of dust caused by the previous boulder strike. A single silhouette came flying out of it and straight to the Beast, who had barely enough time to reposition itself. It dropped the boulder and extended an arm to intercept the soldier. It brought him closer for inspection and stared right at him. The commander wriggled in pain as the Beast held him close to his face. He grinned through the pain, and reached for the M4A1 and shot a volley of bullets horizontally across its eyes, instantly blinding it. The Beast shrieked in pain, which deafened the commander for good, this time. It raised its arm in the air and slammed the commander on the ground. Streaks of blood gushed out from under its hand, and when it lifted it, only a puddle of blood, bits of organs, and broken equipment remained. The Beast took a few steps back until it fell on its rear end and held a hand against its eyes.

The Attack Titan had gained the upper hand over the Harbinger, and pushed it into a proverbial corner. It had resorted to crystalizing parts of its body for protection or superior damage, but the Attack successfully dodged, parried, or overwhelmed most of its moves. At one point, it managed to sweep his legs and sent him on the floor, giving it time to get up and prepare a counterattack, but the Attack grabbed the Armor's dismembered arm and whacked the Harbinger's face, sending it flying to the ground. The both strained themselves back up and squared off for another round. The Harbinger feigned a strike from the right, which locked the Attack in a defensive position as it swung its leg around for a majestic roundhouse kick, but he anticipated it and ducked, then grabbed the leg and pulled the Harbinger closer to him, but it was prepared and elbowed him violently on the face. He swallowed the blow in stride. The proximity allowed him to wrap his arm around its back and held it close as he pummeled its ribs.

The Cart watched from a close distance, and carefully observed for anything that might give the Attack and advantage. When they were interlocked so closely, she noticed something. "Archie, its face is right by your nape!" she screamed.

The Attack flinched his head back. His face was a few proportionate centimeters away from the Harbinger's, and that moment of hesitation gave it the opportunity to ram its forehead against his face, sending him tumbling backwards. They stood a few proportionate meters apart, which gave the Cart confidence to join in and strike. She ran towards the Harbinger and gaped her maw at it, but it gracefully intercepted the upper and lowers parts, and sent her flying towards the Attack. He had the reflex to dodge her, then faced the Harbinger. The Cart rolled over a few times until she landed at the foot of the mountain on the opposite side of the road. She collected herself and looked up. The Beast Titan towered over her, with both eyes operational.

Now, the fight seemed fairer. Two one-on-ones. The Harbinger vs. the Attack, and the Beast vs. the Cart. Both duos on equal footing in terms of close combat. A standstill lingered as everyone caught their breath and waited for the other one to move. Anyone could make a mistake. Any mistake could make them lose the battle.

The Attack made the first move, and the sound of his foot crushing the rocks he stood on galvanized the Cart into springing towards the Beast. The Attack threw a punch which the Harbinger soaked in with raised arms. The Cart jumped past the Beast to avoid an arm swing, but snapped her neck at the last second to bite its abdomen, sinking its teeth deep in there. The Beast shrieked, then punched the Cart away. The Attack managed to repeatedly kick the Harbinger's forward leg's knee until it folded, then swung his knee at its face, crushing its nose and sending it flying backwards. The Cart landed behind the Beast who took a second too long to turn around. She jumped at it with its gaped maw, and the Beast could only raise its arm in defense. The Cart almost bit it off, but she was now stuck on the arm, which gave the Beast ample opportunity to pummel her but it made no consequential damage. The Attack walked closer to the Harbinger, who was propped up on one arm and struggled to get back up because of its knee turned to mush. He got up to its face, grabbed its throat, and punched it once. It didn't flinch. He punched it again. It didn't scream for help. He punched her a third time. He was too emboldened by the false sense of superiority to see that it had crystalized its hand and chopped his arm clean off. He stumbled backwards a few steps staring at where his hand was supposed to be, then growled at the Harbinger. The Cart tried to skin its teeth deeper into the arm to no avail. The Beast had to get out of this predicament and resorted to cheap tricks to do so: with its free arm, its stuck a finger into the Cart's eye, gouging it out and causing her to loosen her grip, which allowed the Beast to prop the upper part of her maw up and force the lower part with its wounded arm. It met severe resistance, but it had enough strength in its arms to pull it wide apart. The Cart could only flail its forelegs around aimlessly. The Beast pushed the lower half down and used its foot to pin it on the ground, then pummeled the Cart's ramus to weaken her further. Kwan was terrified, and let out a cry of despair. The Attack turned around to see the scene unfold. The Beast pulled the Cart's maw further apart until the mandible snapped off from the skull in a harrowing crack, then it plunged its arm deep into her throat and searched around for a bit. At one point, the Cart fell limp, and the Beast pulled out a mass of muscles… those that connected Kwan to her Aspect. Her head bobbed as she was lifted up and she gained consciousness when the Beast held her close to her face. Kwan was frozen in shock and could only produce tears of terror. The Attack Titan roared, and the Beast turned to face him. Kwan gasped as she saw the Harbinger slowly standing up behind the enraged Attack.

"Archie!" her scream was muffled out by the roar.

And the Harbinger punched through the Attack's nape, and held the unconscious body of Archibald on the other end. The Attack's head fell limp, so the Harbinger tore it off to free its arm, and the whole body collapsed. The Harbinger contemplated the limp body of the Attack's Wielder and brought its thumb to his head, but it was interrupted. The Beast shrieked, which froze the Harbinger in fear. It dropped Archibald on the ground. The Beast slid down the slope of the mountain, then was helped up by the Harbinger. The Beast carefully released Kwan, who ran to Archibald's side.

"Archie, Archie," she checked his breathing, his pulse, any sign of life… he lived. She looked up at the two Titans.

The Harbinger was the first to leave. The Beast lingered for a few beats.

"Why did you do this?" Kwan screamed at it.

The Beast widened its eyes in surprise, and its beak gaped slightly.

"I know you can speak! Why did you attack us?!" she wailed.

The Beast shut its beak, and what could vaguely be interpreted as sorrow overcame its face. It turned around slowly and joined the Harbinger.

Kwan cried as she clutched Archibald's body against her.