Black smoke fills the sky as the Female Titan stomps through an abandoned little town. The Cadets zip around her, keeping their distance as they formulate their next move with her. She is moving in ways that they are not familiar dealing with, and many of them worry as sweat accumulates their brows.
The Titan chases behind Darius who rides quickly, turning towards her in an attempt to shoot her with a signal gun. He commands her to look down at him so he can get a perfect shot to her face, and she does so, feeling the high of destroying their hope as she quickly dodges the attack by moving her head to the side, wasting his shot.
The Female steps heavily as he calls out, "Now!" Quickly, James, Leo and another Cadet spring from the mill and launch themselves at her with their ODM gear.
"Cut the Achilles heel, the spinal cord, whatever brings the bitch down to her knees!" Darius calls out to the group.
The Female Titan grabs onto a grapple that one of the cadets latches onto and jumps in the air, causing the men to panic at the idea that she is capable of jumping. She smashes Leo into the ground with a thunderous stomp, killing him instantly. She holds onto James' grapples as she kicks the other Cadet into the structure.
James looks up at her with wild fear as she looks down at him with cold blue eyes. "Put me down! Put me down!" he cries as she looks onto him with a chilling glare. She figures she will give him his wish, but not before she lassos him with such force, that his back breaks as he is swung in the air.
Darius watches up in horror at her murderous movements, never once seeing a Titan move like this one. He turns from her and rides with vicious speed from the Female Titan, waves of fear crashing through him as he thinks of what he has just seen. He knows that he has to inform the others of this threat, but she will not allow him to warn them about her. She isn't finished yet.
The Female Titan launches herself towards him and before he can get any further, she kicks his horse as if it was a small ball she was playing with. She continues forward towards her intended target, feeling the words carved into her palm by Reiner, guiding her towards him.
She spots two more Scouts approaching her by horseback and she turns to them, killing them with pitiful ease. The Female Titan continues to run towards the stupid smoke signals that pinpoint their exact location to her, smiling to herself at how easy they have made this for her.
Meanwhile, Reiner looks up at the trees as they approach the thick vegetation before them. His brows come together as he watches the center rank enter the forest. He gets hot as he wonders what the hell they are doing in there. It is clear the woods are travelled by Titans with how wide the roadways are, and he wonders what compels the Commander to enter the woods. With the deep vegetation, they will not have time to see her coming and react properly, even if the woods are the perfect playground for use of vertical maneuvering.
Reiner groans internally as they halt and he looks out for her, hoping that she knows what she is doing and can pull this off without the need for his intervention. This was all her idea, so if it doesn't go to plan, it is on her to figure it out. He will not blow his cover for her. So, when he is asked to wait in the tree line, he does so without argument, hoping that she planned for this change.
They all stand on their respective branches looking at one another while Jean brings to words what everyone must be thinking. "Do you believe this BS?" he begins, "Am I the only one who wonders what happened with the whole 'logistics base' thing or why we didn't go galloping home after the Female Titan showed up? Why are we suddenly playing birdhouse?" he asks as Reiner glances over at Bertolt, feeling an uneasy sensation gnawing at the pit of his stomach. "Oh, wait now, I know the last one. No Titans allowed in the center rank's nature retreat," Jean releases as he watches their Lead, "Fool. He's got no idea what is going on," and Reiner cannot help but agree with him.
"Quiet, he'll hear you," Armin warns him.
"What do I care? He's not explaining anything to the ones risking their lives. Look at him. He acts all calm and in control, but you can see he is petrified." Jean continues to speak about mutiny and how the lack of a plan seems to really be eating away at his sanity. He asks Armin what he thinks of the mission and the blonde boy doesn't seem to have a grasp on it much anymore. The thought brings a growing line between Reiner's brows and he glances over at Bertolt one more time, hoping she knows what she is doing.
The Female Titan presses through the forest as another smoke signal gives off her location. "Blades drawn, now!" she hears Captain Levi command as Levi Squad follows his orders. "It'll happen in the blink of an eye. Be ready," he commands them as the tension in their formation thickens.
Their chests collapse to a hard compression as the thunderous sounds of the approaching steps are heard. A Cadet comes flying out of the tree line, looking back in horror at his impending death. Before he can think to take in another breath, the Female Titan charges out of the tree line, swatting down the Cadet and spraying his blood on the forest ground.
The Titan charges wildly as Levi Squad is in her sights. "Go! Move it!" Levi commands as his voice echoes in the woods.
Petra looks back with an involuntary gasp as the Female Titan approaches them, jumping diagonally as she reaches for Eren, only missing him by the hairs on his neck. She continues her charge, as the scared boy looks back at her with whimpering fear. The Titan looks down at him, smiling at him as she basks in his fear.
"Holy shit!" Gunther calls out, "How the hell are we supposed to pull evasive maneuvers in here?"
"It's catching up!" Eld cries.
"Captain!" Petra exclaims, "Engage the ODM gear?" she asks him for permission, but he does not engage her question. "Captain!" she cries out to him.
Levi looks back at the Female Titan as she approaches them with a quickening pace, but she does not engage them. She is quicker than they are, and he knows that if she truly wanted them in the palms of her hands and dead, they would have been already. She's toying with them, and though the idea is an unsettling one, it gives Levi a glimmer of hope, knowing that she might want to play with her food long enough for them to get the upper hand on her.
"Rear reinforcements!" Petra calls out and Levi looks forward, knowing they have to press on as quickly as they can.
Levi does not watch but can hear the thunderous clap of the Titan undoubtedly crushing his comrades. He will not let their sacrifice be in vain. If they engage her with ODM gear, they will all be killed, no matter how strong and synchronized they are. He promises himself that as soon as they get to the cannons, it will all be worth it. They will not die the way so many did when they attacked the Armored in such a way. They will do what they failed to do with the Armored all those years ago.
Another Cadet goes down with a bloodcurdling wail as Petra turns from the sight, frantic and scared. "Captain, your orders?" she begs him to give her direction.
"It's dangerous!" Oruo calls out, "Let's take it out!" he cries with the same frantic tone. "Tell us to engage, Sir!"
Eld pulls out his sword, readying himself for the attack. "I'll cut the bitch!"
Eren watches with worrying fear as Captain Levi does not give the orders to kill the Titan, wondering what he could possibly be waiting for.
"Captain!" Petra wails as the Titan encroaches on them.
"We need your orders, Sir!" Oruo demands.
"She's gaining on us! Let's take her out!" Gunther adds with frustration.
"That's the whole reason we're here isn't it?" Eld speaks up, trying to understand the Captain's hesitation to make the call for attack. "Right, Sir?"
"Your orders, Sir!" Eren joins in the hysteria, "Please!" He calls out as the Female smiles to herself while the Captain remains tightlipped.
He glances over his shoulder and says, "Everyone, cover your ears, now!" They are all taken aback as the Captain pulls his hand upright and shoots off an acoustic round. Levi turns back to his squad, "Remind me, what is our mission? Is it to simply act on an impulse in the heat of the moment?" He asks them, remembering the failure to take on the Armored was partly caused by Willow's stubbornness and impatience to kill the beast herself, instead of sticking to the mission and allowing them to reach the artillery cannons. "Let me answer that question for you, it is not. This squad's mission is to keep this brat alive, whatever the cost," he says looking at Eren intently. "Don't forget it," he warns them. "We keep pushing forward on horseback. Is that clear?"
"As a bell, Sir!" Petra speaks up without hesitation as her trust is reinstated in him.
"But for how long?" Eren questions his command. "We can't keep running forever. She is right on top of us as it is. If we don't do something soon—" he is stopped before he can finish his sentiment as another Cadet of the rear reinforcements comes zipping in, only to be quickly and effortlessly squashed by the Female Titan. "They keep coming!" he wails, "They are all going to die if we don't do something!"
"Eyes front, will ya!" Gunther snaps at him.
"Seriously?" Eren scoffs with disgust in his tone.
"Keep pace with the group," Eld tells him, "Remain top speed or we are all dead!"
"Eld," Eren wines, "Please! Help them! If the Levi Squad can't stop this thing, then who can? Those men need us!" The Female smashes another Cadet into the tree, painting it red with his blood as Eren cries out at the sight. "Damnit, he didn't have to die!" he yells at them, shocked at their collective indifference to not defend the men who blindly do so for them. "Come on, there is one left!" he calls out, "we can save him before it's too late!"
"Do as you're told, Eren! Eyes forward!" Petra scolds him as she blindly follow's her Captain's commands.
"How can all of you just ignore what is happening back there?" Eren roars, "Are you telling me to abandon my comrades? Is that it?"
"Damn it, yes!" Petra yells to his shock. "Stop whining and do as your Captain tells you!"
"Why are we letting people die?" Eren presses, "If this is part of some bigger picture, why can't someone explain it to me?"
" 'Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die.' " Oruo quotes, "You would understand what that meant if you weren't such a useless greenhorn! Now stifle it and behave like a soldier!"
Eren thinks for a moment and the Female Titan watches him with curiosity. She didn't expect him to value the lives of his comrades as much as he does. He questions his mission and his commanders for the rationality of their goal and their mission. With so many lives at risk, is it even worth it?
Eren moves to bite his hand and she smiles, waiting eagerly for a fight. "No, Eren! Stop!" Petra calls out as she notices his move to bite himself and transform. "You're only permitted to assume Titan form when your life's in extreme peril! That was the agreement, you swore an oath!"
"I wouldn't blame you," Levi speaks up as the boy is conflicted in what to do. "Do as your conscious dictates. But Eren, listen. You are not inherently evil. Your ability to change does not make you a monster. That said, it could be the other way around. How are you supposed to know where to draw the line? Whether you lose control, or freely give it up?" He thinks about Willow in this instant and her last moments alive. When Hal was killed, and she decided to go after the Armored; she had to have known she was going to die. Levi always wondered if she lost control in that moment, drowning in grief that she could think of nothing more than attacking, or did she freely give up in that moment, releasing herself and her control on her own life to join her squad with one last futile attack. "Maybe it's the same," he states as both resulted in the same outcome.
"Look Eren," he continues as he banishes her from his thoughts. "We don't agree because our experiences brings us to opposing views. That's life. At the end of the day, there is no reason to go against how you see it. The choice is yours. You can trust yourself; or you can trust the people willing to put their lives on the line for you. I don't know which way is better… I never have." The image of her burrows into his mind like an ache that will never subside. "Should I act on my own instincts or put myself in the hands of my comrades and trust them?" he questions, wishing she had done the latter, wondering if she would be alive today if she trusted in Hal and allowed Levi to take her away from the Armored. "Either way, there is no guarantee," he reminds himself that no matter how he rewrites that night, they are all dead. "In the end, you chose what you chose. If afterwards, your regrets are at a minimum, good for you," he says knowing that all the decisions made that day were fatal and irreversible.
Petra begs Eren to trust them one more time and he is struck by the memory of Levi and his Squad as they determine a way to maintain control over him in his Titan form. He thinks about the fear they had of him when he turned before them and the look in their eyes when they landed on him. They wanted to kill him, but when the moment came, Levi called on his team to stand down and despite their concerns and their fears, when their Captain told them to calm down, they enlisted their trust in their Captain and stood down. He has never seen such trust and such respect between people. That night when they spoke and they bit themselves at the idea that they might be Titans themselves, he felt a sense of belonging within the Levi Squad.
He looks around at each of them as they press their brows at him, waiting for an answer. With a strong and powerful shout, he cries, "I'm with you!" he calls out wildly.
The Female Titan smiles to herself at his wrong answer, killing the soldier she allowed to zip around her to see how he would respond. She figures now that Eren has placed his faith blindly in the Levi Squad, she will show him just how wrong of an answer that really was. She begins charging towards them, now with the purpose of catching him and killing the Levi Squad.
"Target is accelerating!" Gunther yells wildly.
"Just keep moving, we'll outrun the bitch!" Levi says and she smiles at that silly notion.
The Female Titan presses forward, moving her hand to grab for Eren as they continue to charge forward. She stomps hard onto the ground as she leans in to grab hold of Eren while he looks back at her. They enter a clearing when her head turns to the left. Her eyes land on Commander Erwin Smith and for a moment time stands still as she looks onto the blonde commander. Her eyes widen as he roars with a wild force, "FIRE!"
Her heart races and quickly without a moment's hesitation, she crunches herself down and takes hold of her nape, shielding it from the artillery cannons that pierce through her skin. To her surprise, she is being held into place by thousands of metal pins that keep her alive and unmoving. She frowns at the predicament she has placed herself in. She expected something must have been array with the plan when they continued with the mission, despite her appearance, but she did not expect they were this prepared for her. Clearly, they are looking to take her alive.
Levi launches himself on a branch next to Erwin who looks down on the Female Titan with curious eyes. "She is not putting up much of a fight," he grunts almost disappointingly.
"That's no reason to let our guard down." Erwin warns him, "Good work leading her here. I am more than a little impressed."
"We couldn't have without the rear contingent whose lives bought us time." Levi informs him, "This belongs to them. I don't intend to ever forget that."
"That so?" Erwin releases as his eyes are fixated on the struggling Female.
"Yes, because of their sacrifices, we can expose whoever this really is," he says as he watches her, seeing her look into his eyes with intelligent recognition. "Have to wonder if they're pissing themselves right about now," he asks as her chilling gaze lands on his, struggling under the squeaking metal rods.