Eren's hand continued to hover near his mouth, the weight of the difficult decision before him heavy in his mind.
"I don't know which way is better. I never have." Levi said seriously. "Should I act on my own instinct, or put myself in the hands of my comrades and trust them. Either way, there's no guarantee. In the end, you choose what you choose. If afterwards your regrets are at a minimum, good for you."
Eren continued to hesitate, the sounds of the horses and the Female Titan's footsteps all but forgotten as he considered his choice.
"Eren!" Petra cried. "Trust us."
Eren looked at her, saw the pleading expression on her face, and noticed the scar on her hand.
"Eren!" Levi yelled. "Make up your damn mind!"
Eren flinched before screaming. "I'm with you!"
The others looked relieved, but in the background Eren heard the scream of yet another soldier being killed by the Female Titan.
Eren closed his eyes. Forgive me…
The Female Titan began to speed up.
"Target is accelerating!" Gunther warned.
"Just keep moving!" Levi responded. "We'll outrun the bitch!"
Eren glanced back at the Female Titan in disbelief. Outrun it? Are you kidding me? If we keep riding with our backs to her like this we'll be crushed before we know what hit us!
Eren returned his gaze to the rest of the Levi Squad. No. We're at death's door. We've seen our comrades die left and right, and we're still moving forward. They trust the captain, and he trusts them. That's what this is about. That's why they can all keep moving. I…I need to be a part of it. I need to trust them, like they trust me!
Suddenly, they passed by an elaborate series of traps that had been hidden in the trees.
Eren, the Levi Squad, and the Female Titan all looked shocked.
"FIRE!" Erwin roared.
The traps were fired, and countless wires shot out and snagged the Female Titan, immobilizing her.
The Levi Squad continued onward, moving away from the now trapped Titan.
Levi looked back at them seriously. "Everyone hitch your horses a bit further on. Switch to ODM gear. I have to break away for a little while. Eld's in charge until I get back. Tuck Eren somewhere out of sight, away from the Female Titan. And see to my horse."
He then leaped off of his horse and used his ODM gear to soar back toward the trap.
Eren looked back at the Female Titan incredulously. "Wait, what? They're going to take her alive? Seriously?"
Gunther grunted. "So what do you think of us now Eren? We managed to outsmart the damn thing!"
Oluo glared at him. "Let this be a lesson to you greenhorn! Don't ever underestimate the Scouts! Never again! Agreed?"
Eren nodded. "Agreed!"
He looked back at the captured Titan once more, though it was so distant now that it wouldn't be long before it was out of sight.
"An abnormal?" Eren wondered. "No, she's more like…more like the Colossal Titan. Wait, so does that mean Commander Erwin was-"
"Hey!" Oluo shouted. "Snap out of it runt!"
"You can puzzle it all out later." Petra chided him. "Right now we need you focused on pushing ahead."
"Right." Eren said.
After putting a good amount of distance between themselves and the now trapped Female Titan they parked the horses and moved to the treetops with their ODM gear.
Eren looked at them all in concern. "So that was the plan from the start? We weren't flying by the seat of our pants? Look, I'm not complaining. I get keeping it from me. But come on, keeping you guys in the dark? You'd think you'd earned a little more trust than that, right?"
Oluo scowled. "Damn you're annoying."
Petra swiped her sword. "I hope you're not suggesting the captain kept the plan from us because he thinks we're a liability!"
"I'm sorry, but I am!" Eren said. "There's just no other way it makes sense!"
"Enough of this!" Oluo growled. "Petra, knock the teeth out of his skull!"
Eld folded his arms. "Look, I hate to say it, but he's got a point."
Oluo looked at him in surprise. "Huh?"
Eld frowned. "For being as supposedly instrumental to the plan as we were, the captain didn't give us much to go on."
"So, what?"
"That means he doesn't trust us. Kind of a big deal. Come on you guys, think about it. Maybe Eren isn't the only one who can change. Maybe someone in the regiment is a Titan spy."
Gunther looked up sharply. "A spy? Are you sure about that?"
"Well, no." Eld admitted. "But I'm sure the commander believes it. He'd have to. And I'll wager you anything the only people in the know on this were the survivors from five years ago."
"Of course." Gunther said. "That's got to be it."
"I concur wholeheartedly." Oluo added. "Hear that brat? There was a good reason!"
Petra bowed her head. "Right, yes. A perfectly good reason. It adds up. After all, in their position it's the best way of narrowing down the list of suspects to a manageable number. Shiganshina is probably when the spy got in."
Eld looked at her. "So, you think this person's responsible for killing Sawney and Bean?"
Petra frowned. "Possibly. In fact, after it happened the commander asked me this odd question."
Eren thought back to the cryptic words Erwin had said to him at the time.
What is it you think you see? Who do you think the real enemy is here?
Eren's eyes widened. "So that's what he meant. Of course."
Eld nodded. "If we'd known the answer to that question, he probably would've let us in on what was happening today. Though, then again, I really don't think any of us could've."
"Speak for yourself my friend." Oluo said dismissively. "I knew, I just decided to keep my own counsel. Doubtless you appreciate the reason for my silence."
"Which would be…" Petra said skeptically.
"Oh, come now, surely you all know? Dear oh dear. Perhaps I've said too much already. Well, one day, when you've reached my level of expertise…"
"Look, we all get that you like to pretend you're Captain Levi, but that's not how he sounds."
Eren felt conflicted. If we pull this off, we might learn what the Titans are all about. But, even for that, was it worth letting so many people die?
Eld noticed Eren's expression. "You think the commander was wrong to leave us out of the loop? Eren, I can understand why you still have your doubts, but in time you'll come to realize, just like we all did, why Erwin Smith was entrusted to lead the Scouts and carry humanity's hope."
Petra smiled. "Or why even someone as cagey as Captain Levi can trust him."
"Indeed." Oluo remarked. "Live long enough and you'll understand the weight of it."
Some time later, they spotted several smoke signals for retreat that had been fired into the sky.
"That's our cue." Gunther said. "Alright, let's saddle up! We're going home!"
"Chop chop runt." Oluo snarked. "One would think you'd be beside yourself to get an eyeful of who's driving that gargantuan harpy."
Eren looked down at his gear. "You really think they found out who it is?"
Petra fiddled with her gear. "Of course, all thanks to you."
Eren looked at her in surprise. "I didn't do anything."
Petra smiled warmly. "You learned to trust the fellow members of your squad. That's big. The sort of thing that turns out well for everyone involved, actually. A lesser man in your dilemma probably would've buckled. Then where would we be?"
Oluo scoffed. "Oh please, why don't you stroke his forehead while you're at it? We'd be exactly where we are now, without of course having had to endure his incessant whining. Don't wait for me to decorate your path in pink and white rose petals. Survive the journey home, and I might be persuaded to respect you. The mission isn't over, not til we're through the gates. Do you understand?"
Eren nodded dejectedly. "Yes sir, I completely understand."
The five of them leaped off of the branches and used their ODM gear to begin soaring through the trees.
"Oluo! Petra!" Eld shouted. "I gotta hand it to you both. For someone who wet themselves first time out, you've come a long way."
"AAAH!" Petra screamed. "I THOUGHT WE AGREED NEVER TO SPEAK OF IT AGAIN!"
Eren looked at her in surprise. Whoa, seriously?
"Relax." Eld said dismissively. "Incidentally, I've never once pissed myself in battle."
"How dare you!" Oluo yelled. "I have the highest kill count of anyone on the damn squad! Imbecile!"
"You wanna hide that stain behind your kill counts, be my guest."
"Shut your hole!"
"So did it, like, rain down on everyone midair, or what?" Eren asked.
"Enough!" Gunther bellowed. "No one cares who pissed whose pants! Focus on the job at hand! For the record, my shorts have always been dry."
A green smoke signal was fired a short distance away.
Gunther looked at it in confusion. "Huh? Must be a signal from the captain himself. Stow the chatter til we're home. We'll rendezvous with Levi shortly."
He fired another smoke signal in response, and they continued to move through the trees.
Suddenly, a hooded figure appeared.
Gunther frowned. "Captain Levi? Wait, that…that's not…OH SHIT!"
Without warning, the hooded figure crossed his path and killed Gunther.
"Gunther!" Eren yelled. "You okay?! What happened?! Talk to me!"
Eren froze in horror as he saw the body up close.
"Gunther…"
Oluo pushed him away. "Go kid! Come on! Keep moving!"
"We-we're just leaving him?!"
The hooded figure appeared again, and they continued to flee through the trees.
"Who is that?!" Petra shrieked.
"Keep them away from Eren!" Eld shouted.
"Damn it!" Oluo cursed. "Hey Eld, what're we doing, huh?"
"There isn't time to get the horses. Make for HQ at full speed!"
The hooded figure continued to follow them.
Oluo glanced back at them. "Is that the Female Titan? Or did she have an accomplice?"
Petra glared at them. "Damn! Whoever it is they're gonna pay, even if it's the last thing I do!"
Eren looked back sharply. The Female Titan? No, that can't be right! I thought we caught her!
The hooded figure momentarily disappeared, before a large burst of light erupted through the trees, and the Female Titan reappeared.
"I hate being right." Oluo said grimly.
"No time to lose!" Eld snapped. "Move it! She's coming for us!"
"Damn you!" Eren shouted. "Not again! I'll kill you! I swear I will!"
He went to bite his mouth…
"No!" Eld yelled. "Don't! We've got this, the three of us can handle her! You get back to base! Go! Now!"
"I can fight her too!" Eren protested.
"Just go!" Eld insisted. "This is our best course of action! We cannot afford to put you at risk!"
"Have you learned nothing?" Oluo asked. "After all this, you still doubt our skills?"
"Is that true Eren?" Petra looked distraught. "I thought you had faith in us! That you trusted us!"
Eren hesitated, then reluctantly obeyed their orders. "I have faith in the Levi Squad! Good luck!"
As he fled, he couldn't help but look back. As he did, he witnessed the three of them attack. They blinded the Female Titan, forcing her on the defensive, and then sliced through the muscles on her arms, leaving her neck exposed.
He watched in astonishment. They…they've got her totally overwhelmed! They're so good. They pulled off a coordinated attack without even saying a word! It must be the trust they have in each other as teammates. That's how they've survived this long. It's how they're able to stay strong even after losing Gunther.
Eren redirected his gaze forward. I gotta keep going. I have to have faith that the right choice is to keep moving without looking back. I've got to trust in them. I understand that now.
Suddenly, Levi's words came back to him.
I don't know which way is better. I never have. Should I act on my own instinct, or put myself in the hands of my comrades and trust them. Either way, there's no guarantee.
Getting a sinking feeling in his stomach, Eren couldn't help but look back.
As he did, he saw Eld get bitten in half by the Female Titan.
Utterly horrified, Eren turned back and desperately tried to reach the Female Titan to save Petra and Oluo before they were killed too.
Petra tried to flee, but the Female Titan rushed forward and stamped her foot down on the frightened Scout.
Eren screamed, unable to handle what he was seeing.
Oluo swung in and tried to kill the Female Titan, but he failed, and the Female Titan kicked him, killing him instantly.
As Eren closed the distance between himself and the Female Titan, he got a better look at the broken and battered bodies of the Levi squad.
His eyes filled with tears.
I…I…
In addition to the abject horror consuming him, he felt a new feeling rising up within him.
Denial.
He wished that this wasn't happening, that this wasn't real. The world was cruel enough as it was, this couldn't be how things really were. This wasn't real.
This wasn't real
Eren suddenly found himself on horseback galloping down the forest trail, his hand raised to his mouth.
Huh?
He looked around, and saw that the rest of the Levi Squad was all around him on their horses, all of them alive and well.
What the hell?
"I don't know which way is better. I never have." Levi said seriously. "Should I act on my own instinct, or put myself in the hands of my comrades and trust them. Either way, there's no guarantee. In the end, you choose what you choose. If afterwards your regrets are at a minimum, good for you."
Eren looked at Levi in confusion. What on earth is going on? What just happened? Was that a dream? But it felt so real. I've never had a dream that vivid, and it's not like I would have fallen asleep in the middle of a mission. Was it a vision? A premonition?
"Eren! Trust us."
Eren looked over at Petra, saw the same pleading expression on her face as he had seen before, and once again noticed the scar on her hand.
"Eren!" Levi yelled. "Make up your damn mind!"
Eren's mind raced. If that was a vision… a glimpse of what might be…and that's what happened when I decided not to act on my own…
Eren found himself unable to look any of them in the eye. "I'm sorry! But I won't let any of you die! Not again!"
He leaped off of his horse, and bit his hand.
A massive flash of light and hot gust of wind accompanied Eren's transformation, and the skeleton of a Titan appeared out of nowhere above the forest floor.
But before Eren could finish transforming, the Female Titan decked him hard in the face with her right fist, smashing part of his jaw and left cheekbone and sending him flying back and slamming hard into a nearby tree, dislodging several branches and leaves on impact.
The Female Titan rushed forward to continue her assault before Eren could recover, but quick as a flash Levi soared through the air and sliced off her left hand. This caught her by surprise, and she backed off, giving Eren time to finish transforming.
Levi landed on a tree limb a short distance away from the Female Titan.
"Shit!" He yelled. "Gunther, see to the horses! The rest of you switch to ODM gear!"
Petra, Eld, and Oluo all soared up into the trees with their ODM gear, while Gunther rounded up the horses and fled further down along the path. The Female Titan watched them all cautiously, and made the mistake of taking her eyes off of Eren. He lunged forward and punched the Female Titan in the head, and managed to roar at her despite part of his face having been caved in.
Oluo scowled down at the two Titans. "Damn brat, why couldn't he just do as he's told?!"
Eld looked at Levi seriously. "Your orders captain?"
Levi watched Eren grimly. "For now we watch. I don't know how in control Eren is right now, and even if he's still of sound mind trying to get in the middle of that could get us killed. We'll let him rampage for now. Even if he loses, he'll still tire the Female Titan out, which should make it easier for us to take her down."
Petra frowned. "What did he mean by 'not again?'"
Levi hesitated. "I don't know. But he had this strange look on his face, like he'd just seen a ghost or something."
They watched closely as the fight unfolded. A few other soldiers came nearby, but Levi redirected them back to the edge of the forest, while the four of them remained relatively close to the Titan brawl.
Eren got in some good hits, but it quickly became clear that the Female Titan was a much more skilled hand to hand combatant, and was also more used to using their Titan form. After her left hand regenerated the Female Titan became more aggressive, and during one opening she covered her right hand in a blue crystal and chopped off Eren's left hand just above the elbow with one good swing.
"What the hell?!" Oluo cried.
Eld watched her warily. "That's a new trick."
Levi's eyes narrowed. So, she can harden parts of her body. She must not be able to do it over a very large area, or else she would have coated more of her body with it. And it appears she can only do it for one spot at a time. And if that's the case…
The fight continued on, and while Eren's rage and adrenaline helped him to an extent he continued to lose ground against his opponent. Eventually he stumbled against a tree, the Female Titan hardened her left foot, and then swung for Eren's head, smashing off everything except the lower jaw.
But while her foot was hardened and her attention focused on Eren, Levi swooped down and slashed two deep cuts into the nape at such an angle that they would cut off the arms of the person inside. He then reached in through the mess of gunk and flesh, wincing at the heat, until he felt a cloth. He grabbed it and forcefully yanked the Female Titan shifter out into the open.
She looked at him in astonishment before feebly trying to kick him. He easily avoided the clumsy attack and responded by slicing off both of her legs, causing her to scream. He then soared back into the trees before the Female Titan body fell to the ground with a massive boom. Eren's Titan had fallen to its knees but remained upright.
Levi landed on the tree limb near the others, who all stared in shock at the Female Titan shifter.
Levi looked down at her stoically. "Well well well, looks like we caught ourselves a rat. I'm assuming that you're too injured to transform again, but I doubt you'll give me an honest answer. So, just to be safe…"
He punched her hard in the face, breaking her nose and knocking her out. He then cut off what was left of her arms and legs until she was just a torso, and finished by gagging her.
Eld looked at her uncertainly. "Captain…"
Levi looked at them sharply. "Not a word of this to anyone else, understood? The Female Titan fled back into the trees, got it? I have to meet up with Commander Erwin. You take care of Eren. He'll have to answer for his act of insubordination, but that can wait until we're safely behind the wall again."
Levi shifted her cloak so that it was backward and the hood covered her face completely. Petra and Eld went down to retrieve Eren from his Titan, while Oluo remained where he was, still looking shocked.
Levi soared through the trees with his prisoner in tow, and after a bit of searching found the clearing where Erwin had set up the trap intended for the enemy shifter.
Erwin frowned as Levi arrived. "What happened?"
Levi sighed. "The bad news is Eren disobeyed orders. The good news is, we managed to catch our little rat anyways."
Erwin glanced at the figure Levi was holding. "I see. I take it this is them?"
"Yes."
Erwin lifted up the hood, and his eyes widened in shock.
"You recognize her?" Levi asked.
Erwin frowned. "This is one of the 104th cadets who didn't join the Scouts."
"That so. What is it with the 104th and Titan shifters?"
"I don't know. But hopefully this should bring us closer to finding out the truth about our enemies."
Erwin put her hood back down and stepped away. "There's nothing more to do here. We managed to complete our mission, even if it wasn't quite in the way we originally intended. Fire the signals for retreat, we're heading out."
Eren suddenly woke up, and found himself on a wagon, which was rattling as the wheels moved over the uneven ground.
He slowly sat up, and realized that they had left the forest and were back out on the plains. He then noticed that he wasn't alone, as someone else was sitting nearby.
"Captain Levi?"
Levi looked down at him neutrally. "You alright Eren?"
Eren rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm…fine."
His head hurt a little, but he wasn't going to complain.
Noticing the disappointment in Levi's eyes, Eren flinched and looked down.
"I'm sorry sir."
Levi frowned. "What did you mean when you said you wouldn't let us die again?"
Eren swallowed nervously. "Well…I'm not sure how to explain it. While we were being chased by the Female Titan, something…happened."
Eren went on to describe his vision to Levi down to every last detail, including the absolute slaughter of the other members of the Levi Squad.
"…and then, without warning, I was suddenly back on horseback, and all of the squad was alive again. I was unbelievably confused, especially when you began to say things I'd already heard you say once before. I wasn't sure if it was a premonition of the future or what exactly, but after seeing what had happened when I chose to trust my teammates, I decided this time to go on my own, as I didn't want them to die."
Levi was silent for a few moments.
"I see."
Eren looked at him nervously. "Do you believe me?"
Levi glanced back at the forest in the distance. "I'm not going to lie, it's an extraordinary story. Then again, it's really no stranger than the fact that you can change into a fifteen meter Titan at will. Still, I seriously doubt you would have been able to come up with such a detailed and elaborate story on the spot like that. Especially considering that it contained information that you really wouldn't have had any other way of knowing."
Levi returned his gaze to Eren. "So yes, I believe you."
Eren let out a relieved smile. "Thank you."
Levi folded his arms. "Normally you would be disciplined for insubordination, but under the circumstances I think commander Erwin will be willing to waive that. This new ability might be even more useful than your regular Titan power if we can figure out a way to harness it. We'll have to run more tests with Hange."
Eren's smiled faded. "So, you're not mad?"
Levi titled his head. "I can't say I appreciate it when someone disobeys my orders. But, if I had been in your position I would have done the same thing. And in the end it all worked out."
Eren gasped. "Did we catch the Female Titan?"
Levi nodded. "Yes."
Eren leaned forward eagerly. "Who is it?"
"We're not sure. It's another member of the 104th, beyond that I don't know. We'll need your help identifying her once we make it back to the wall."
"Of course sir."
Levi's face softened. "And Eren…thank you for saving my squad."
Eren smiled shyly. "No problem."
As the surviving Scouts journeyed back to Wall Rose, Eren found a new feeling swelling up within him.
Hope.
Author's Note: Hello! Sorry for the long hiatus. I hadn't meant to go so long without updating, but life has been rather hectic. Obviously my goal of uploading once a month didn't work out, so my new upload schedule is going to be "when it's done", as I don't want to make any promises that I end up not being able to keep.
Recently I've been rewatching Attack on Titan from the beginning to see how well each part of the story holds up. And while Season One is a bit rough around the edges it actually holds up pretty well, with a lot of incredibly strong moments. That said, it wasn't perfect, and looking back on it now the Female Titan arc has quite a few plot holes. Thematically speaking I get what the story was going for, but in terms of logic the Scout's plan to catch the Female Titan was not as clever or well thought out as the story pretended it was, and they could have done better.
This story was inspired by a few things. Part of it was what if the Female Titan arc had gone a bit more smoothly for the good guys. However, the main inspiration for this story was actually the opening scene of Final Destination 5.
For those not familiar with the Final Destination movies, the premise is that they open up with a disaster of some sort, like a plane crash, a highway pileup, or a bridge collapsing. They show one by one the various characters getting killed in excessively gruesome ways until the main character dies, at which point it suddenly jumps back to right before the disaster occurred. Having seen a vision of them all dying, the main character freaks out and persuades everyone to leave before the disaster happens and kills them, and when they escape they're relieved to be alive but also confused as to how the main character knew it was going to happen. Later it transpires that by surviving the characters cheated death, and death spends the rest of the movie picking them off one by one in excessively gruesome ways.
Now, the Final Destination movies are incredibly stupid films, but the core idea is interesting, and I figured I might as well apply it to Attack on Titan, minus the whole death thing of course, seeing as the Attack Titan can see the future, and it would be interesting to see how things unfolded if the Attack Titan's ability was slightly different.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story, be sure to leave a review and let me know what you thought.