"Everyone listen up!" Captain Lennertz shouted. "We're playing bait! Draw those fuckers towards trees, buildings, anything that the combat team can maneuver on!"
The titans were in full view now, a 7 meter and a 5 meter. Jean wasn't fazed, these were tiny compared to others he had fought. The group split up, Armin, Mikasa and Eren were in his group. The horses moved forward. Jean caught a brief look at the 5 meter as it came down on them. Jean veered right with most of the others.
"Come get me you big bastard!" Eren shouted angrily.
"You're going to get yourself killed." Jean said, his voice drowned out by the patter of hooves. "At least save one for me." He changed his tone as adrenaline filled his head. His rush was cut short when a puff of smoke surrounded him. "What the hell?" He shouted.
He was no longer on his horse, but he was still moving forward, and quickly. He flew out of the smoke cloud and caught a glimpse of his surroundings. It was high noon, he was in some type of swamp, ruined stone structures here and there. He hit the damp ground and tumbled to a stop. His ODM gear made a loud pinging sound as the gas tank broke free and shot into the air. He was about to inspect the damage when his throat began to burn. He began to cough, he tried to breathe in again, making a wheezing sound as the poisonous atmosphere tore into his lungs.
"Jean…" A voice said, Feminine and monotone. A slight echo was present in the woman's speech.
"W-What? Who are you?" He managed to choke out. His eyes had begun to burn as well.
"The mask, Jean." Jean looked through his teary eyes to see black mask over the head of a nearby skeleton. "Place the mask over your face and you will live." The voice changed tone, it sounded familiar now… It was Mikasa!
Jean crawled over towards the mask, holding his breath to stop the pain. What the hell? Is Mikasa here? She was with the group. Jean ripped the mask off the skull. The skull still had skin on its right side, rotten and bloody. Memories of Marco sat uncomfortably in his brain as he fitted the clumsy device over his head. The mask was uncomfortable, hard to see out of, and smelled like death, but he could breathe again.
"Where are you?" he called out, scanning the marsh. "Mikasa?" he saw nothing. He took a step forward, a piece of loose metal from his ODM gear bumped him in in the thigh. He decided to shed his smashed up gear, keeping his paring blades just in case. "Mikasa where are you?" He called out.
He heard stirring in the tall grass behind him. He turned quickly, hoping to see Mikasa. His blood froze when his eyes fell upon the true source of the stirring. A massive black creature, humanoid in form, its long arms reached down below its knees. Two black almond shaped eyes stared at him from its triangular face.
Jean took a step back as the creature walked towards him. He kept moving back until he tripped over his discarded gear. You moron! He crawled back frantically, trying desperately to escape this new monstrosity. He hit a wall and the creature closed in. He raised his blades, ready to defend himself, but he couldn't bring himself to strike. Something about it, it reminded him of Mikasa, yet it bore no resemblance in any way. It reached for him, its four-fingered hand resting on his shoulder. He began to feel light headed as his vision blurred.
He opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by vibrant white light, there was no floor, yet he was standing. He found himself wearing a white robe. A blurry figure began walking towards him. The image became clearer and cleared until he realized it was Mikasa walking towards him, clad in a similar white robe. What is this? Am I dead? Did she die too? Mikasa placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Don't be afraid Jean…" She said, looking into his eyes.
"I- But that thing—"She put his hand over his mouth, interrupting him.
"There is nothing to be afraid of."
His vision clouded over to black. His eyes shot open, he was on the ground again, the black creature looming over him. His fear was gone, he thought of what Mikasa had said, there was nothing to be afraid of. He lowered his blades. The creature extended its hand to him, as though it was trying to help to his feet. He took the creatures hand and stood up. He hooked his blades into his harness, and looked at the creature.
"What are you? Who are you?" He asked.
"She is a dark one." A more masculine voice said. Jean turned around to see a man standing on the other side of the pile of bricks. The man wore a fur coat and red bandana, he too had a mask similar to Jean's. "They are a race of telepathic mutants who reside here on the surface. Jean looked back to the creature, only to discover the dark one had vanished.
"Am I dreaming?" Jean asked the stranger. The stranger held out his hand for a handshake.
"My name is Khan, you don't seem like you belong here. How about we head over to Tretyakovskaya? Once there, you can tell me exactly where it is you came from."
"Tretya-what," Jean asked.
A boom was heard, Jean whipped around to see a cloud of steam just across the water, A 8 meter titan stepped out. Jean took a step back, his eyes widening in fear, the strange man reacted in a similar way. The titan stared at them and then took a step forward, making a large splash in the marsh. "Run!" Jean yelled.
"The metro is not far from here! Follow me!" Khan shouted, motioning Jean to follow. They sprinted to the left, the Titan was behind them in no time. A cloud of black suddenly streaked past them. Khan turned around, Jean looked back as well. A dark one had appeared at the titan's feet. The titan stopped and reached for the dark one, picking it up with one hand and bringing it to its mouth.
"What the-"Jean said out loud. "But titans only eat humans…." Suddenly, the titans hand shot open, the dark leapt forward, arms outstretched. Its hand made contact with the titans face. The titan's eyes rolled back and the dark one disappeared. The titan fell backwards, making quite a splash in the marsh. Its body began to dissolve soon after. Jean was dumbfounded, the dark one had just killed a titan! Just like that!
"Let's go," Khan said. "You can tell me more once we are safely underground."
Jean nodded in agreement. The two set out across the marshes. A slimy creature crawled out of the marsh, walked across the path, and dove into the water on the other side.
"What the fuck?" Jean asked, fearfully taking a step back.
"Calm down," The old man said, "the shrimps won't harm you unless provoked."
Khan's words did nothing to calm him down. Where the hell am I? An uncomfortable thought of hell crossed his mind.
They reached the crumbling remains of a stone building. "The entrance is just in here." Khan said
A load roar echoed across the marsh. Jean spotted a winged creature flying towards him, its claws extended. Jean and Khan both dove to the ground as its gnashing teeth flew over, just inches from Jean's head.
"Demon!" Khan shouted. "Into the building, now!" Khan pulled out a strange weapon, 8 barrels attached to a wooden stock. The weapon made a high-pitched puffing sound as arrows shot out of it. Jean made it into the structure, followed by Khan a few seconds later. The demon came flying at them, slamming into the walls. Jean backed up into the opposite wall, screaming in fear as the creature managed to fit one of its arms through the doorway. Its claws waved by Jeans face. Khan fired his weapon, lodging two bolts into the monsters face. The thing pulled out and flew away, howling in pain.
"That, was a demon." Khan said, smiling wryly. "The entrance is right here." Khan opened a hatch and climbed down. Jean followed. "You can take off your mask now."
Jean pulled off his mask and breathed in the stagnant air of the metro. Well, at least the titans can't get in here. Exhausted by the day's events, and a bit dizzy from the fear, his legs gave out and he fell forward. Khan caught him, holding him up with his shoulder. "Take a deep breath. No doubt you're confused. Don't worry, I can answer any questions you have."