Hello again,
Sorry for the delay in updates. My job is in public education, so between doing research and educating others, I haven't had much brain power to spare recently.
In good news, the posting of this chapter signifies the end of the 'rewrite' process I've been going through. On March 13th, 2021 I had posted a chapter with this same title. I wasn't happy with how my story was back then, as I came up with new ideas and became a better writer in between, so I decided to rewrite the first 3 chapters and delete the rest, reposting completely rewritten versions of chapters I had previously written.
Getting back to this chapter here was a little arduous. It's not fun 'rewriting' things you've already sort of gone through before. Although this chapter is entirely different from that old chapter I posted in March of 2021, it's still not fun writing a story that's already gotten to this point, if that makes sense.
Thank you for the support, everyone. I'm super excited to see Percy get into Season 3 of Attack on Titan. But until then, we still gotta finish Season 2 ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, HOO, or AOT and I'm not profiting off anything.
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Author's note
Narration
Thoughts and Internal Conversations
"Speaking, duh"
Chapter 19: Zero Eclipse
26 hours since the initial titan sighting within Wall Rose
6 hours since Eren has been kidnapped
Wall Maria Territory
Percy's POV:
When the rumbling stops, everything goes silent.
The once untouched grassy fields are now reduced to rumbling plains of disturbed topsoil. Dust fills the air. Small shrubs and trees lay toppled over, their roots exposed to air. An impact crater stretching 25 meters splits the field in two caused by Reiner's trip and fall. His Armored Titan still lies motionless inside of it. And the most prominent feature of all—a newly created hill line. Rising 15 feet and spanning some 50 yards across. A sizable obstacle for us smaller folks, a mere tripping hazard for a 15-meter titan.
Gaia would have an absolute fit if she found out what a mess I made of her body.
Specks of dust gently float in the air as if they have little minds of their own. The Scout regiment rides out from either side of the hill as soon as the aftershocks come to a halt, encircling Reiner's fallen form.
The Armored Titan begins to stir.
Dirt and bits of grass cascade from his titan, sliding off his shoulder pads and breastplates. The Scouts hesitate and their horses nervously paw at the ground, sensing the unease of their riders. The Scouts know they can't do anything if Reiner starts running again. Their blades can't scratch him. Not against that armor.
My job isn't finished yet.
Knowing Riptide will return to me soon enough, I leave it behind, embedded in the earth, and sprint towards Reiner.
Reiner stirs, lifting his body to rise to a knee. Still riding on top of his shoulder are Bertolt and Eren. Both are covered in brown dust and shaken from the fall, but thankfully they seem uninjured. Bertolt coughs, trying to blink the dirt out of his eyes. When he opens them, his eyes widen with fright.
"Reiner!"
Bertolt's warning comes too late. As the words leave his mouth, I'm on Reiner's downed leg. Riptide popping back into my pocket at just the right moment, I pull my sword free and slash at Reiner's calf. Riptide's edge tears through titan armor, muscles, tendons—all of it, except that deep bone.
"RRRAAAAHHHHH"
Roaring in pain, the titan retaliates with a swipe. But I'm already rolling off his leg before his hand can bat me off—the swing soaring high past my head. A pursuing gust of wind strikes my back. Stumbling in my stride, I maintain my balance and get the Hades out of Dodge.
And towards that newly formed ridgeline.
I don't know how long it will take for Reiner's leg to heal. Hopefully, this will give the Scouts enough time to save Eren.
Hopefully, I bought myself enough time to save Historia and Ymir.
The hillside my earthquake created isn't impassably steep, but the slope is still pretty challenging to climb. It takes a good running start to get enough momentum to get over the top. My quads sear as I ascend, starting off pumping fast but turning into long arduous strides as I near the peak. Nostalgia burns my nose. I feel like a kid again, running towards that pine tree on the hill, with a tremendous beast on my tail and with no idea what my future holds.
Vaulting over the hill's little peak, I kick out my legs and slide down the other side. Then, I see them.
"Ymir! What are you doing?!" Historia cries. "This is our chance!"
A little blonde figure struggles in the grip of a 5-meter titan, pounding the ginormous fist holding her hostage with her own little hands. But Historia strikes don't budge the fingers holding her. Ymir seemingly ignores Historia's cries, staring at the struggling girl with no remorse for her plight.
"Ymir!" Historia pleads. "We need to take this opportunity to regroup with the Scouts! What are you waiting for!"
Ymir responds with her raspy titan voice.
"CANN'T."
"Ymir, I—I don't understand!" Historia chokes, almost to the brink of tears. "Please! Let me understand!"
Distracted by one another, neither girl notices me closing in.
Ymir's titan sits hunched over, sitting on the back of her heels, holding Historia out in front of her face. Hunched over as she is, Historia's feet only dangle a couple of feet above the ground. I don't even need to jump to reach her.
So I don't. Instead, I run under Ymir's arm, swinging Riptide right through her titan's wrist.
Ymir's titan roars. Her severed hand hits the earth, Historia crumbling to the dirt along with it.
You're bigger, bigger!
Why do you hide?
I will shiver, shiver!
It's suicide!
"P-Percy?!" Historia cries, still entangled in the titan fingers enclosed around her.
My Demigod battle instincts kick in—I pivot on my heels and lean backward. Just in time, 4 blackened nails swipe over me—each claw large enough to screwer my head like an olive on a toothpick. Playing the most dangerous game of limbo anyone's ever played, I duck under Ymir's retaliatory strike and jump backward to distance myself from her.
But if there's no desire
To get back out alive
You're a zero!
But Ymir immediately presses her advantage, lunging forward with her mouth. My right leg instinctively crosses behind my left and plants itself on the ground. Pushing off, I sidestep to Ymir's left side, dogging her jaws while maneuvering around to the side of her body that's missing a hand.
I swing Riptide, aiming to take a chunk out of her neck. But Ymir isn't like those dumb soulless oafs I fought before. She rolls out of my reach, repositioning her body to her 'good' side like a predatory cat.
She's fast, agile, and smart. Ymir is a titan with intelligence no different than mine. She's human.
"RRRAAWWWRR!"
Correction: she's pretty much human.
You're bigger, bigger!
Why do you ride?
"Ymir! Percy!" Historia shouts. "Stop!"
I charge forward, swinging my sword up from my hip and slashing up at Ymir's face. Ymir slams her hand into the ground, raising her body past Riptide's point. All Riptide manages to damage are a few of her titan's bangs. Immediately, I flip my grip on Riptide's hilt and slash down at her hand. But before Riptide makes contact, I'm stuck in the chest.
I will shiver, shiver!
Into the fire!
Huh?
I see a flash of blue sky before my back hits the dirt. I throw my legs behind my head, controlling my tumble and rolling back on my feet.
She struck me with the nub of her other arm!
You just get out alive!
We'll let our worlds collide
We are bigger!
"Stop fighting! Please!" Historia cries again.
Running on all threes, Ymir bounds forward. I lean forward, putting pressure on the balls of my feet, preparing to jump out of the way of this charging bull. Right before she meets me, Ymir jumps to the side, extends her arm, and broadly swipes her claws parallel to the ground. I shift my weight to my heels, put two hands on Riptide, and block downwards across my chest.
*CLING!*
Ymir's claws collide with my sword. My heels dig into the ground. The joints of my bones slam together, the Curse of Achilles preventing them from tearing and fracturing. The rocks beneath my feet pulverize. The muscles in my sides strain keeping my body straight and sturdy as I deflect Ymir's titanic blow.
Make a promise that I cannot regret
As long as I can see you but in secret
"Please! Stop!"
Ymir goes in with her jaws again, this time from above. Aiming explicitly for my head. Realization hits me—if I move backward I'll be in more danger. So instead I step in, positioning myself under her bite. Her chin flies over me. I point Riptide straight up and stab into the air.
"RAWWWWR!"
Riptide pierces straight through Ymir's lower jaw, steaming blood escaping her lips as she roars in pain. The titan flesh surrounding Riptide's blade promptly regenerates, cementing Riptide inside of it. My blade gets stuck, and I hold onto it for a second too long.
Ymir whips her head back. My right arm almost yanks from its sockets. I'm yanked a dozen feet into the air and flung to the side.
I'll never, I'll never forget my feelings, no!
I'll never, I'll never learn how to let you go!
I hit the ground rolling on my side, picking myself up as fast as I can. Meanwhile, Ymir plucks Riptide out of her chin and heaves it into the air like she's attempting to throw it into space. My glimmering bronze blade disappearing into the sky, Ymir turns around and lets out yet another horrific scream.
"RRREEEEEEWWWRR!"
"Yeah? You like that!?" I shout back. "You want some more, you ugly elf?!"
Ymir's brows quiver in response, furrowing into a furious frown.
"YMIR! PERCY! STOP!"
I flinch. Ymir wavers too, her eyes darting back and forth from me and to the blonde girl standing behind my back.
"P-please…"
I turn around, meeting Historia's tearful gaze.
The alarm bells in my head ding a second too late. Foot-long talons scrap across my chest. Getting caught inside my shirt, the talons fling me into the air.
I land on my hip bone with a thud.
"Ymir!" Historia scoldingly cries.
Slowly, I pull myself back up to my feet. I calmly brush off my pants… Then I explode.
"What the hell was that for!?"
Ymir's titan head slumps and steam erupts from the back of its neck. Waiting for her to emerge, I move my hands to brush the dust off my shirt.
Only to find the front of it has been completely shredded.
"What the hell is your problem!?" Ymir yells after clearing her lungs of… some sort of titan fluid.
"You—you ruined my shirt!" I yell back at her.
"I ruined your shirt!?" Ymir asks/confirms.
"Yeah! You did!"
"W-well—you're ruining my life! Stay out of my and Historia's way!" She yells, waving her arms in frustration. "Why are you even getting involved? Why are you so insistent on busting in on my business?!"
"Because Historia's business is my business!"
"You've only known Historia for like a day! Stay away from her, you creep!"
"Creep?! You're the one kidnapping Historia and… and… putting her down your mouth!"
"I'm doing it for her own good!"
"Well, I'm sure she really appreciates getting slimed!"
"A small price to pay for the new life she'll have! A life where'd she actually have a chance to live!"
"But I don't want a new life!" Historia suddenly yells. "I don't want to go beyond the walls, Ymir. T-this… This is my home!"
Ymir whips her head and snarls at the poor girl.
"Stay out of this, toots! This doesn't involve you!"
"W-wha!" Historia cries. "I'm feeling pretty involved here!"
"Look dipshit," Ymir continues, turning back to me and pointing a finger at my face. "I'm trying to save her life! I don't care about your feelings, and I don't care about hers. I'm doing this for—"
"But that's just it!" Historia screams.
A gust of wind kicks up. Dust blows past Historia's golden bangs, but they seem ever sparkling. The poor girl's face begins to flush red from the exertion of screaming over us.
"This was never about me! You're doing this for you!"
Ymir hesitates, then forces out a laugh. "HA! What are you—"
"I thought Reiner and Bertolt were threatening you… threatening to kill you if you didn't go along with them... B-but they aren't!" Historia casts her eyes to her feet. Her bangs fall in front of her face, obscuring her ocean-blue eyes. Her voice begins to waver.
"Y-you're… You're…"
She looks up. Crystal buds form in the corners of her eyes.
"Y-you're not being forced. You're choosing to go along w-with them. It's l-like you feel obligated to them or something. Ymir…" A bit of snot begins to roll down her little nose. Historia lets out a cute sniffle to stop it from running down any further.
"It doesn't make sense. W-why does it—why does it feel like you know you're going to get yourself killed?"
Seeing Historia cry calms down Ymir's explosive rage.
"That's… that's not it." Ymir softly replies. "If I go with them willingly and bring you along as a bonus, maybe… maybe they'll—"
"Ymir…" Historia wipes her nose with the sleeve of her white blouse then continues. "Nothing about this makes sense. We haven't even—so much happened all at once. You showed me your secret, I told you my real name b-but we… we haven't even gotten to talk about it yet."
Ymir's lips purse then lock shut.
"I was… I was willing to go along with it, for you, but… I—I can't support you if I don't know what's going on. I don't understand! It almost feels like… like… like you feel forced to join them!"
"Why Ymir…" Historia repeats. "Why do you feel as if you owe them something?"
"Ymir, what did you do?"
A sharp prick in my mind turns my head towards the ridgeline obscuring us from the Scouts and Reiner. The ground begins to rumble. Goosebumps erupt on my arms, their hairs straightening sharp like little needles. Annabelle speaks a single word in my head.
"Move."
"Shit!"
Putting the middle and pointer fingers of both hands inside my mouth, I let out my best yellow cab whistle.
"What's going on?" Historia asks as I move to her side.
"I don't—"
The ground begins rumbling.
"Titans!" Historia cries.
"Shit!" Ymir curses. She ducks inside her titan's nape, letting the titan's flesh regenerate over her.
"Boss!"
While Ymir's human body gets absorbed into the nape of her titan, Sam arrives. Planting his hooves, he screeches to a halt in front of Historia and me.
"Boss!" Sam repeats.
"Get on Sam, quickly!"
Grabbing Historia's waist, I help lift her up onto Sam's back. Twisting her legs around to properly sit in the saddle, she holds out a hand.
"Come on! Jump on."
Instead, I slap Sam's hindquarters.
"Wait!" Historia cries as Sam takes off.
"Keep her safe, Sam! Get her to the others!"
"Sir, yes sir!" Sam neighs.
A rush of air brushes my face as Ymir rushes past. Running on all threes, Ymir takes off after Historia.
The mound of dirt separating us from Reiner and Bertolt erupts. An avalanche of rock, dirt and half a dozen titans tumble down the slope right at us.
Where did all these titans come from? I recognize some of their faces—some are from that horde we met on the outskirts of the forest of giant trees, but how the hell did they get out here?!
The titans slowly rise. With their inhuman senses, they begin to turn toward me.
It's like Utgard all over again. There's no way I can handle this many at once.
My vision reddens.
The Curse of Achilles doesn't just make a person impervious to physical damage. It makes them the perfect soldier. It increases a person's battle senses, instincts, strength… it makes them unstoppable. And if a user's thinking inhibits their ability, it takes control of that as well.
That's what makes the curse so frightening.
One second I'm facing down this approaching horde of enemies. The next, everything just…
I blink.
Somehow Riptide returned to me. I'm swinging it, serving an arm reaching out at me.
I blink.
I'm moving in between titan ankles and feet. Cutting heels. Dodging swipes.
I blink.
My body is doing somersaults in the air. I can't tell if it's involuntary or if the curse decided it's time to play gymnastics.
I blink.
I'm standing on the shoulders of a giant as it topples over—the back of the titan's neck looking like it went through a cheese grinder.
I blink.
A slimy red uvula sways side to side as a titan attempts to swallow me whole.
I blink.
The red begins to slowly fade away. So I blink once more.
My senses return along with an instant wave of exhaustion. My limbs sag like they all have sandbags strapped to them. Riptide slips from my grasp and clatters to the ground. My lungs burn from a mix of over-exhaustion and breathing in titan steam. It takes a second to realize there's no one around beating on a drum—it's my heart.
I'm surrounded by dead corpses. 6 titans, ranging from 10 to 15 meters tall. How long had I been in that trance? How did I manage to… to do all of this?! I don't remember any of it!
It also doesn't help that I've awakened to Tartarus on Earth.
The visibility is piss poor. Leftover dust from my earthquake is still lingering around, now mixing with the rising steam from decomposing titan bodies. Screams fill the air. Cries of desperation, confusion, anguish, death… Large shadowy figures lumber in the distance, reaching toward the ground and chasing unseeable prey.
"I got to get out of here!"
A horse emerges from the fog, sprinting past me. The horse drags along with it the lower half of its rider's body—the torsoless Scout's right foot still hooked inside the saddle's stirrup. A bloody trail follows the horse's wake as the poor animal zips by and disappears into the fog.
Historia! Ymir! Where are they?
A figure of another horse begins to emerge from the fog. I let out a whistle and run towards it, waving my hands in the air.
"I need a ride!"
The horse turns towards me. Still running, I manage to mount it on the run, swiftly seating myself in its saddle and grabbing its reins.
"Where's your rider?"
"Dead!" The horse neighs.
"W-where's the rest of your squad?"
"Also dead!" The horse cries.
"Damn it!"
Why are the Scouts still here? Why haven't they grabbed Eren and got out of here?! What's taking them so long?
"Even after all you did for them, the task of saving that kid was too great for them." Annabelle sneers.
Blindly, I steer us through the battlefield. Doing my best to navigate around titans and ignore the screams of the dying as I try to make sense of everything.
Where are they?
The ground shakes. A large shadow looms over us as a titan steps right into our path. It's impossible to avoid. The titan raises its foot and… keeps heading the way it was going?
Huh?
"Look around you," Annabelle says.
The screams of the Scouts abruptly settle down. I slow my horse down as a great rumbling begins. The shadowy figures in the fog rise and all begin heading in the same direction.
"What?"
"Look up," Annabelle tells me.
I do.
Through the fog, I begin to see hints of blue. And not a 'sky' shade of blue, but more of a deeper navy color.
A small contingent of Scouts rides past me, about 50 yards away. One of them screaming out orders.
"This may be our only window! Soldiers, retreat!"
They're retreating! Duh! Blue means retreat. But did they complete their mission? Did they get Eren? Is Sam with them? Should I head back with the others and—
In the smog, another titan figure runs in the direction the rest of the horde did. A latecomer. But this latecomer is a little different. Its shadowy figure runs on all fours, unlike its normal two-legged friends.
I kick my stirrups and move to intercept.
"Why are we going back?!" My horse cries.
"To save some—to save a friend and a frenemy!" I correct myself.
"We're going to die!"
"Do your duty!" I shout back.
"What do you know about duty?" Annabelle whispers in my ears. "You owe Ymir nothing. You swore no oath to the Scouts. You don't need to do this."
I shake my head. Now's not the time for internal bickering.
We ride up next to Ymir.
She hasn't noticed us—her attention solely fixed on where the horde went.
Riding right up next to Ymir, I leap from my horse and stab my sword straight through her titan's temple.
With a heavy weighted head, Ymir's titan slams face-first into the ground. Grinding to a halt, she lies motionless in the dirt.
Round two was a little anticlimactic.
Dismounting. I move to her nape and begin to work.
"Historia's not here," Annabelle observes.
Where is she? Taking a glance at Ymir's slightly parted mouth.
"She's not in there. We can only hope she's still with Sam."
Using Riptide to cut through the nape of the neck, I begin to use my hands to peel back big chunks of flesh, searching for Ymir's true body.
I take a nervous glance at the titan horde.
It's almost as if the horde is fighting one another. No—they're attacking another titan!
"It's Reiner. They're attacking Reiner."
To turn my attention back to Ymir.
I continue to pry away more titan flesh until I expose the backs of Ymir's head and upper back. I reach my arms inside her titan, worming them through smoldering red meat. Titan steam enters my lungs, starting an uncontrollable cough, but I continue to work. Wrapping my hands under her armpits, I begin to pull.
But why? Why did all the titans decide to leave the Scouts alone and head towards him instead? They're supposed to be giant mindless zombies! How are they... Are they coordinating this? Or maybe a titan shifter is like a huge beacon for titans or something?
"It's a saving grace. Seems like the Scouts gained the favor of some god."
I rip Ymir from the tendrils of flesh holding on to her. Her titan body immediately begins to decay as she disconnects from it. Lugging her limp body with me, I slide off the side of her titan's body and back to my new ride. Positioning Ymir on my back, I haul the both of us onto the saddle.
"Let me go…" Ymir whispers, in her semi-unconscious state.
"No."
I wrap her arms around my waist and hold on to them with my left arm so she stays locked around me. Grabbing the horse's reins with my right, I steer in the direction we came from, to the best of my knowledge.
"I need to go with them… I need to… I need to…" Ymir groggily repeats, teetering on the edge of consciousness.
"I need to make up for what I…."
Ymir's head falls, resting on my back.
I put my horse into a slow trot.
After almost a full minute of moving, light screeches across the land.
"*KAAAAABOOOOMM*"
I glance behind us.
A fiery mushroom cloud billows into the air. Over a dozen titans are sent some 100 meters into the air. I watch a particular fat one fly into the air and begin its descent. Its body practically pulpifying when it makes contact with the ground.
I wonder if it can regenerate from that.
A colossal figure begins to emerge inside the mushroom cloud as it begins to slowly subside. It's massive—standing about twice the height as Zeus when he hurled the Argo II from Athens to Camp Half-Blood. But it doesn't move, opting to look upwards at the sky with its mouth open wide.
"Bertolt's titan," Annabelle explains.
I turn my head back around. I can see the forest of giant trees, but no signs of any Scouts. And I'm not sure if we can catch up, with this exhausted horse carrying two people too many.
But ever yet, we slowly begin our journey through titan-infested lands.
To the safety of Wall Rose.
The majority of the dialogue in the following scene is from the manga (chapter 51). The anime follows the source material pretty damn closely, but these pages are some of the very few that were cut. Typically, I want to avoid copying/rewriting scenes from the show as much as possible, but this cut scene provides some very important insight into Historia's views of Ymir, in addition to showing the aftermath of this mission.
Sorry for the interruption.
3 hours since Eren has been recovered
Wall Rose
Armin's POV:
"Hurry!"
"Help the injured first!"
"I need a hand over here!"
"Come on, speed it up!"
We return to Wall Rose a few hours after sunset. This night happens to be just as dead, dark, and quiet as the last. Soldiers precariously juggle torches in their hands just to see where they are going. Horses snicker in irritation, tired and frustrated by how hard we've pushed them since the titan outbreak in Wall Rose. Members from the Survey Corps, the Garrison Regiment, and Military Police run back and forth; preparing wagon carts, tending to the injured, and taking head counts—trying to make sense of the missing and killed in action.
"I-Is this really everyone…" Connie shakingly asks, looking around.
The mission was successful… if you could call it that. Our strength is well under half of what it used to be. Our losses are disturbingly noticeable.
"W-where did the Military Police Brigade go?!" A Scout asks in disbelief.
"Did we really lose more than half of them?" A member of the Garrison Regiment whispers.
"Whoa!" A female soldier shouts.
Completely fatigued, Christa stumbles into a female soldier from the Garrison Regiment. The woman's white hair and glasses are a dead giveaway. It's Rico Brzenska. The Captain that Commandant Dot Pixis tasked with guarding Eren during the mission to reseal the gate at Trost.
"Hey, this girl's in bad shape, too!" Rico cries to the others, holding Christa in her arms.
But the medical personnel don't respond. They're preoccupied. Overwhelmed by the number of casualties. Open flesh wounds and broken bones take priority over those who are drained and dehydrated.
Seeing no one respond, Rico reaches to her waist, pulling out her own canteen and taking matters into her own hands.
"Drink. You're okay. The titans are gone now." Rico orders in a soothing tone, trying to make Christa drink.
"Unh… Agh… Unh…" I turn back to Connie, who has suddenly begun to whimper.
Connie slips to his knees, his face falling into his open hands. Then, he starts bawling.
"WAAGH!"
I can't help it. Tears begin to prick the corners of my eyes as well. When Jean went down… I... I thought this was it for us.
"The 104th has got the Devil's luck," Jean mummers, wiping blood from his nose with a handkerchief. "I can't believe we got out of that alive…"
Jean lowers the handkerchief, staring at the blood-stained fabric.
"I'm not sure what happened to the titans we were up against, but…"
Mikasa. How is she doing?
Giving Connie one last glance, I leave him in Jean's care to search for her.
I find Mikasa not a moment later being transported on a stretcher by Eren and Abel.
"Now put her down slowly," Abel tells Eren.
Eren nods and together they gently set Mikasa down on the wall.
Abel is a blonde-haired man sporting a light beard and a set of goggles strapped over his eyes. He's a soldier in the Fourth Squad under Hange's command. Abel has been in the Scout regiment for over 5 years now.
After today, we have even fewer veteran Scout members.
"You said she got shaken around a horse for a while even after her ribs were broken?" Abel asks while digging into his medical bag.
Eren doesn't respond, keeping his eyes on Mikasa. Mikasa stares back up at him.
"We need to get her to a doctor fast," Abel speaks.
Mikasa raises a hand, compassionately trying to reassure Eren.
"Eren. It's okay."
"I'm sorry," Eren whispers back.
I place a hand on his shoulder.
Eren turns his head.
His green eyes are filled with guilt, self-hatred, and regret.
"COMMANDER?!"
Eren and I flip around. Erwin had collapsed to his knees, his torch falling out of his hands. He tries to stand but falls further, this time on his side. Scouts rush to his side, surrounding him.
Shocked, all I can do is watch.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME, COMMANDER?!"
Unresponsive.
"He's about to pass out!"
"He's lost too much blood!"
"PICK HIM UP, NOW!"
They turn him over. Erwin's pupils have rolled back. All white.
"COMMANDER!" Eren cries.
There's nothing we can do but watch as Erwin is rushed into a wagon and immediately sent off to Trost for medical attention.
"C'mon, Connie. It's time to go." Jean says, tugging Connie's green cloak to get him to stand.
"Ungh…" Connie continues to cry.
"Stand up." Jean gently orders.
"I can't believe it…" Connie says, slowly rising to his feet, tears still leaking from his eyes. "I'm… alive?"
My eyes return to Eren's.
He's watching them. Eren is seeing everyone.
His eyes shift from Connie and towards Christa. Rico is still tending to her, she still hasn't caught her breath. His eyes then move to the Scouts and MPs in the wagons. All fatigued, the majority wrapped with bloody bandages, some staring forward with dead eyes while some others rock back and forth, dealing with the loss of friends and comrades.
It's like the aftermath of the Female Titan ambush all over again.
"I got taken again…" Eren softly reflects.
"How many people died because of me this time?"
Connie and I are too afraid to respond. But I think we both know the answer.
"When we left here, I think there were 100 of us, including Military Police," Jean answers, ripping off the bandaid. "Well… the mission was probably too much for all those inexperienced MPs. I'm sorry… but most of them got eaten on the way."
"I don't remember the details after that… but I only saw forty or so on the wall here. Of them, only about half of us are up and walking."
With every new detail, Eren internally beats himself more and more.
"The Survey Corps lost most of its seasoned soldiers…" Jean continues. "I wonder what's going to happen from here on out…"
"W-we didn't take any losses on the way back, though," I speak up before Eren's remorse becomes too much for him to bear. "The titans ignored us and kept heading for Reiner…"
Wait.
"The female titan had the ability to get the titans to swarm her by screaming." I realize. "But this time… something made them all go after the Armored Titan and the titan that ate Hannes. You did that, right, Eren?"
Eren's eyes widen. My breath hitches.
I was right.
"I… I…" Eren stutters. "I don't have any idea what… everything went crazy when that happened…"
"...Wait, are you saying Eren manipulated those titans?!" Jean asks.
"Well… I don't…"
"Listen, Eren… If you can really do that…" Jean's eyes widen as his mouth splits into a grin. A look of hopeful desperation.
"Is it true, Eren?" Connie asks while his face morphs into the same expression as Jean's.
"So that's why those titans changed direction…" Connie realizes. "If we'd had to fight those titans then… we'd all be dead."
Eren looks down at his open palm.
Jean recollects himself.
"I know it's a tough spot to be in, Eren, but… in order to get you back… One of the commander's arms was eaten… Mikasa's ribs got smashed… and 60% of our soldiers died, including your friend Hannes." He lists out
"Whether you're really worth paying that kind of price… is something I still don't know. As to whether the people who were killed to get you back died for nothing… well… that depends on you now, doesn't it?"
Eren sighs then gives us a weak smile.
"You sure got preachy after you joined the Survey Corps, didn't you?"
"Huh?!" Jean shouts. "Oh yeah?! What about you? You've just turned into an indecisive whiner!"
"No, Jean, he's right." Connie backs Eren. "It really is creepy how serious and responsible you got all of a sudden."
"You still LOOK like a bad guy, though…" I can't help but add, trying my best to maintain my composure and not crack a grin.
"Hey, you guys! Don't forget I'm the one who swooped in and saved your precious Mikasa!" Jean shouts, wriggling his arms with irritation.
"Thanks, Jean." Eren suddenly speaks, still looking into his open hand.
"... Huh?!" Jean exclaims.
"Thanks to you…" Eren closes his fist. "I don't think I have to hesitate anymore. You're absolutely right. I just have to do this."
"I'll control the titans. And I'll seal the hole in Wall Maria." Eren vows with a growl. "I'm going to catch Reiner and Bertolt and make them pay. I'll make sure the deaths of Hannes and everyone else really do help humanity keep surviving. That's how I should repay them."
"...Wait!" Rico shouts.
All of a sudden, Christa is stumbling over to our group.
"Christa?!" I hold out my palm to tell her to slow down. "It's—"
"No." She interrupts me.
The look in her eyes frightens me.
"My name is Historia."
She looks… gone.
"Eren."
Precariously swaying, she turns to Eren.
"... let's hurry… to the other side of the wall."
Eren stutters.
"... y-you shouldn't stand up yet—"
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" Christa explodes, slapping her hand on Eren's shoulder.
"We have to get Ymir back! If we don't soon, she's going to go far away!" She screams into his face.
"H-hey!" Rico calls out as Christa overworks herself.
"You're strong! Aren't you Eren?!" Christa yells, shaking him.
"W-wait!" Eren uncomfortably cries.
"Use your titan powers to do something!" she begs.
Christa suddenly collapses, landing on her rear. Rico runs to her side.
"Huh?" Christa exclaims, confused as to why she fell.
"Calm down, recruit," Rico tells her, putting a hand on Christa's back. "You're completely exhausted."
Eren lowers himself to Christa's level, getting down on one knee.
"Even after we were taken by Reiner and Bertolt…" Eren starts. "Ymir was worried about you. It seemed like all she could think about was you, and how you'd survive this…"
Christa huffs, trying to catch her breath in her delirious state
"...But, there's one thing I don't get… In the end… she went with them of her own free will, right?"
"Yeah…" Connie agrees. "I couldn't believe she'd run off to save those two…"
"She was a mystery to us until the very end…" Jean somberly adds.
"I can't stand it…" Christa sniffles. "Why? She… chose them over me…"
She pounds her fists into the stone and breaks out into tears.
"S-she said we'd live for our own sake… together… But now she's left me behind…"
"Traitor…" She continues to sob. "I'll never forgive her…"
"Christa? What's wrong? T-this isn't like you." Jean comments.
"Ha Ha Ha!" Christa maniacally laughs, still bawling at the loss of her friend. "Christa?! I'm done being Christa. She's gone now! She was a role THEY gave me in order to keep me alive. Yeah… A girl from a book I read as a child—I… I think?"
Christa's face morphs from complete hysteria to confusion in a heartbeat.
"Come on, let's get you to a wagon," Rico tells Christa.
"B-but…" Christa struggles.
"Standing around isn't going to bring our comrades back. We shouldn't linger."
Rico pulls the smaller girl to her feet. Christa stops crying, but the fiery passion she wielded against Eren vacates her body, leaving behind a shell of her former self.
Rico silently leads her away.
"Is she going to be ok?" Connie whispers.
"…hopefully, one day she'll be…" Jean answers.
We all saw what happened to Jean after we lost Marco. But those two—Christa and Ymir… they were even closer.
Jean and Connie slowly trudge after Christa and Rico. The rest of the regiment has begun their final preparations. We'll start heading to Trost District momentarily.
"Armin, we should start moving too," Eren calls out.
Oh, right…
I take a step after the others.
Then the shouting reignites.
"Is that a—"
"H-hey, look over the wall!"
"A horse!"
"We have a straggler!"
"One horse, two riders!"
"Lower the lift!"
With bated breath, the Scouts wait for the lift to bring the two riders to safety, every soldier praying it's that one special person they lost today.
Percy's POV:
3 hours. That's how long it took for me and the Scouts to catch up to Reiner and Bertolt, and that's how long it has taken Ymir and me to return to Wall Rose.
With the sun setting not too long after subduing Ymir, we experienced no titan attacks on the ride back. Ymir remained knocked out the entire way back, her double titan transformations seemingly drinking her energy reserves dry. So with no one to talk to and nothing to fight, the attentiveness that comes with the Curse of Achilles completely faded away leaving my eyelids to hold the brunt of all this tiredness.
Yet somehow, by reciting old campfire songs and sword-fighting lessons with Annabelle in my head, I managed not to pass out.
I'm not really able to see the imposing 'stoney' structure of Wall Rose when I finally begin to ride up on it. With no light, the wall is just a black mass slowly overtaking the stars in the Northeastern sky. But quint closely enough and I can start to make out little torch lights on top.
Thank the gods they're still here.
"Ughh…"
Ymir chooses an opportune time to start stirring.
"Where… am I?" she mumbles, her chin rubbing against my shoulder.
"... Wall Rose…" I answer.
I gulp. The last thing I want is for her to struggle right before we cross the finish line.
…
Yet, she doesn't.
"... why?" Ymir eventually mumbles.
For Historia? For my own self-gain? For Ymir herself? I'm not sure. It's probably a combination of the three, but I don't know for what reason the most.
I stay silent.
Riding up to the base of Wall Rose, I find a lift conveniently waiting for us at the wall's base. Someone must have spotted us approaching…
"Dumbass. I can't believe you didn't even come up with a plan to get INSIDE the wall."
Hey, it worked out!
"A miracle is what this is. How they spotted you in this darkness we'll never know."
Ymir still clinging on to my back, together we dismount. Once we're on the ground, I position Ymir over to my side, slinging her right arm over my shoulder to lead her on foot. Taking the reins of my new horse friend, we all step into the elevator.
A moment later it begins to move, taking us up to the top.
I hadn't tried looking Ymir in the eyes since she woke up. I decided to take a glance.
Supported by my left arm, Ymir keeps her eyes on her feet. Her messy black hair covers the upper half of her face, the lower half displaying an unwavering small frown.
She looks defeated.
"... I know it's not easy… being forced like this…" I start.
"but… I think you'll be happier here. And… maybe one day you can forgive me…"
Ymir doesn't so much as twitch her lips.
The ride up is short. An orange glow bathes our faces as the elevator rises over the edge of the wall. A semicircle of soldiers surrounds the area where our lift stops moving. One Scout steps forward to open the lift's gate. Leading Ymir, I step onto the wall.
Silence.
Some looked shocked, wearing faces like "why the hell did this guy decide to return?" Others don faces of unease, unsure if Ymir and I are with the enemy or not. No one utters a word.
The soldiers look awful. Not a single person that doesn't look worse for wear. Bloody bandages wrapping scrapes and cuts, makeshift splits temporarily setting broken bones, disheveled hairdos, and red eyes and tired tears—they look awful.
"There are an awful lot less of them, too," Annabelle notes.
"Y-Yi—Yi—Ymir!" A voice cries out.
Historia pushes her way through the crowd. She's barely able to stand, let alone run. Haphazardly stumbling forward, I let go of Ymir as Historia crashes her friend, embracing the taller girl in her arms. I take a step away from the pair as they slink down to their knees.
"You dummy. You dummy. You dummy…" Historia sobs in her chest.
".. I'm sorry…" Ymir can all but whisper, giving in to Historia's loving arms.
"W-why did you run off with them? You would have *hiccup* died. Were you really about to toss it all away, after everything w-we went through? *hiccup* If y-you had no desire to get back out alive, d-did you really think dying l-like that would make you a hero?!"
"... sorry…" Ymir repeats. Shining tears drip down her cheeks, emerging from some hidden source behind her hair-covered face.
"It's suicide, and you knew that… I love you Ymir *hiccup* but if you think your l-life has no purpose or meaning, you're a zero. You're just a zero…" Historia sobs, tightening her hug.
The surrounding soldiers watch with sympathetic looks. But getting their answers of who has returned, they begin to disperse in waves, returning to whatever duties they had before Ymir and I's arrival.
Giving the pair their privacy, I step away as well and start heading my way over to a familiar face.
"Do you know where Erwin is?" I ask Armin.
The blonde-haired kid jumps a little bit, startled that I would address him. He turns to his friends and shares a look with the members of his group; Connie, Jean, and the recently rescued Eren.
Armin turns back.
"We have some—I need to talk with him." I elaborate.
"Commander Erwin was taken to Trost ahead of the main group…" Armin answers.
"Huh?"
"... he lost his right arm. We're not sure what his… condition is." Jean elaborates.
"Oh…"
They share another look. They seem… a little hesitant around me. But something has changed. No one has run up to me, demanding to know why I ran off on my own. I'm not getting tackled, tied, bagged, and thrown into a wagon cart to be taken off for questioning.
Am I starting to earn their trust?
"Or maybe they just can't be bothered, considering the situation," Annabelle suggests.
Armin's group begins to disperse as well. Jean heads off to go talk to some older Scouts. Connie steps towards Historia and Ymir, hovering next to the two to help out whenever they decide they're finished. Meanwhile, Armin and Eren head over to the injured wagons. They stop at one cart to talk to a black-haired girl who I recognize as being their friend Mikasa.
I wonder what happened to the others while I was busy with Historia and Ymir.
My knees waver as a surge of exhaustion hits me full tilt. I sway, struggling to resist the urge to lie down and nap.
Then, I shiver.
"... thank you…"
My body pumps yet another shot of adrenaline into my veins. My eyes open wide, cracking the eye boogers that had begun to form. I turn around.
It's the little child from before.
"... thank you, mister…" she repeats.
I don't even breathe, trying to stay as still as possible and not give off any reaction. Without moving my head, I scan my peripheral, trying to see if anyone else noticed her this time. But not a single person seems to be turned my way.
The blonde-haired child turns and begins walking away.
"W-wait!" Before I can even process what I'm doing, I'm taking a step towards this 'being' and am reaching out to her.
"What are—what is your name?"
The little girl turns around.
Her appearance is less creepy this time. No longer does the 7-year-old have blood on her cheeks, chin, and rag shirt. Her clothes appear to have been washed and her blonde hair looks freshly combed. And her eyes… I can see them this time. Instead of having dark-shaded pits, two vibrant blue pearls stare back up at me.
A lump forms in the back of my throat.
She almost looks like a younger version of Historia.
"My baby sister needs you next. Please… help her."
I blink and the child is gone.
"... hallucinations don't happen twice," Annabelle speaks up. "Not like this."
Do you know what she is?
"No. Mythological for sure but… it seems like this new world is going to be just as complicated as your last one."
"Great." Connie suddenly speaks. "I'm so tired, even I am beginning to see shit."
"Wait! Did you see her too!" I stammer.
"Don't rope me into your crazy!" Connie snaps.
"Huh?!"
"Come on," he beckons, heading over to his friends. "We have orders."
Hesitantly, I follow.
Connie leads me to where the other remaining members of the 104th have gathered. There's a squabble going on when we arrive between Jean and a member of the Military Police.
"What do you mean you're taking all the prisoners?!" The MP yells at Jean.
"I showed you the letter!" Jean yells back. "These are direct orders from Commander Erwin Smith himself."
"The whole reason our regiment is even out here in these backwoods is that we had orders from Commander Dawk to take possession of these high-value back to Sina." The MP argues.
"Well, we—I can't disobey my Commander like this." Jean stammers, clearly not in a position to make a decision like this.
"The Military Police directly serves and answer to the word of the crown. So I implore you, hand over Eren Jaeger, Percy Jackson, and this titan girl Ymir!" The MP orders.
Armin steps in.
"It seems we are all underqualified to decide what the proper protocol is. Is the leader of your detachment around?" Armin asks. "It'd be best if we could talk to them."
"He's dead." The MP responds with a scowl.
"T-then… seeing as you don't have a physical copy of this order, our duty compels us to follow the written orders of Erwin Smith."
"This is—"
"I'm sure our Commanders will get this all worked out once they hear of this… issue." Armin diplomatically tries to work out.
The MP huffs.
"... you realize you all might be court-martialed for this, right?"
"I'm sure our Commanders and the king will understand once we explain the situation thrust upon us." Armin tries to calmly reply. I can see nervous sweat drops forming on the back of his neck.
"Fine."
The MP stomps off to join the rest of his kind.
"A-Armin, was that wise?" Connie stammers. "I mean—that's the Military Police we're talking about!"
"No… it probably wasn't…" Armin answers, watching the MP he just argued with whip his men to start moving Southward across Wall Rose.
"Great… arrested by the same people I spent 3 years training and hoping I could one day be a part of. Ha!" Jean nervously laughs.
"I just can't see why the Commander would have prewritten that letter." Armin tries to rationalize. "Did he prematurely write this order gambling that the missions to expose and capture the titans in our midst would put the Scouts in good graces with the King? Even then… not even Erwin has the authority to act this freely…"
Propping each other up, Ymir and Historia walk over to our group, stopping once they stand beside me.
Everyone looks at us with mixed feelings of unease.
The kid I've heard so much about steps forward and looks at me with his teal-green eyes.
"... Come on, let's go," Eren says.
Awkwardly gesturing to Ymir, Historia, and I to follow, the entire group heads to the interior side of Wall Rose. There, an elevator and horses wait for us.
I said 'entire group', but one member stays behind. The bald-headed kid, Connie.
"Connie?" Jean asks. "You're not coming?"
"Abel wants me to head back from Trost with him," Connie explains. "You know, that guy from Hange's Fourth Squad with the goggles?"
Everyone else but me nods.
"It's something about my village… I think."
Jean steps forward and puts a hand on Connie's shoulder.
"Good luck."
"Thanks…" Connie replies.
"Abel and I will meet up with you all at the cabin with Hange and the rest of the Fourth Squad. And maybe Captain Levi too." Connie gives Ymir and me a glance. "Keep crazy and crazier in check til then."
They separate.
Instead of heading to Trost District with the rest of the main group, the 104th and I head off on our own. Taking the lift down to the interior region of Wall Rose, we ride out to some hideout unmarked on any map.
We arrive at a cabin in some lonesome woods a little after dawn the next day. While the others silently work on unpacking and preparing the place, I search the rooms for the nearest beds and promptly pass out on one.
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This chapter was 8.1k words long.
Fun Fact: Rico is one of the rare characters to survive Attack on Titan due to the author, Isayama, forgetting she existed.
'Riko' comes from the Japanese characters 莉 (ri) meaning "white jasmine" or 理 (ri) meaning "reason, logic" combined with 子 (ko) meaning "child". I chose the more 'western' way to spell her name since Eldians are supposed to be based on German culture, but the Japanese meaning is pretty cool. Not only does it describe her appearance, but Rico will also have an important role in convincing Percy to do something in the future…
The dialogue from Historia when she reunites with Ymir was inspired by the official Attack on Titan song 'Zero Eclipse'. I inserted some of those lyrics in the fight scene Percy had with Ymir, as well. Go check it out on Youtube if you aren't familiar with it. It's a banger.
And yes, I did save Ymir. How will this affect the future? Who knows? But I'm sure Percy and the 104th have some questions to ask her…
Till next time,
-Unbred
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Originally Published on 1/27/2023
Thank you Theo for beta-reading my chapter!