In the Military Brigades, there was this general rule of thumb that, when in battle, any form of assistance was welcome.
As such, when the Mechanical Titan crashed into the party to provide support to the Elite Garrison Squad who were defending Eren's slumped over Titan body, Ian found himself beyond relieved, especially when it dealt with the Ten metre class Titan that he and Mitabi were struggling with.
"You said something about it not providing assistance to us, did you not?" inquired Ian, his tone just a little sarcastic as the Mechanical Titan stood up from its formerly kneeling position, the bloodied and mangled form of the Ten metre beneath it, and unclenched its bloodied fist. Mitabi didn't have an answer for Ian as he shuddered at the sight of the massive 'Titan', gulping as it turned to fix its green eyes on them.
It kept eye contact for less than a second before turning towards a pack of inbound Titans, and upon seeing their approach, Ian couldn't help but grimace.
"Weren't several of the soldiers meant to lure them to the corners of Trost?!" proclaimed Mitabi in terror as Ian's grimace grew in size. In response to Mitabi's demand, the Elite commander turned towards Eren's unconscious form and was quick to connect two and two together.
"It has to be the Cadet," observed Ian as he turned back to his teammate. Mitabi was confused at that statement at first, though after a short while, he seemed to understand as well. "They're attracted to him for reasons unknown…"
"Tsk, I still can't believe we're actually risking our lives for that brat…" mumbled Mitabi, only to be cut off when the sound of gears turning and pistons shifting could be heard, prompting them to turn towards the Mechanical Titan and widen their eyes when they saw it crouch down low. And, within a blink of an eye, it burst forward, sprinting towards the inbound pack of Titans with such speed that was seemingly impossible for something of its size. The sudden movement caused some dust to be kicked up, and to that, both Ian and Mitabi had to shield their eyes to avoid being blinded.
"We're not doing it alone, though," pointed out Ian as the Mechanical Titan charged straight into the pack, with its first target, a Ten metre, being annihilated the moment the much larger 'Titan' slammed into it. "Change of plans, Mitabi. We shall circle around and clear out any and all Titans that are out of the Mechanical Titan's line of sight! For now, we can rely on it as our Vanguard!"
"To rely on a Titan once more, did you forget how this went the last time?!" demanded Mitabi, only to be cut off when the head of a Titan flew over his, landing on the ground behind him with a loud thump. As he watched it dissolve, the Elite Garrison had to suppress a shudder as he gulped.
"Between you and me, I'd reckon that we can rely on this Titan more than Eren," muttered Ian semi-sarcastically as Mitabi sighed.
"You have a point there. but what of Rico, Ackerman or those three newcomers?" inquired Mitabi, only for Ian to turn and stare at Mikasa's general direction. He pursed his lips enviously when he saw her slice the nape of a Twelve metre with very little effort, though he quickly shook it off and responded to his teammate.
"Go tell her of the current situation. I'll inform Rico and the newcomers that accompanied the 'Titan' here," commanded Ian. Mitabi was quick to nod at that and sprint off, and Ian did so as well, though not before glancing towards the Mechanical Titan with narrowed eyes.
'Just what exactly do you wish to accomplish, Titan?'
Mika didn't know what they were trying to accomplish. All he knew was that Mina wished to investigate the source of the Signal Flare against the wishes of her friends, and as such, he followed.
Upon arrival, the first thing the pilot noticed were the soldiers. Mostly Garrison, and they were stretched thin, with only four of them currently present on the field alongside a single Cadet to make up their forces. At first, Mika felt confused as to why they were even here in the first place.
He was then quick to notice the slumped over form of what appeared to be Eren Jaeger's Titan form, with both hands and his face smoking. The fallen Titan was slouched over with its back against a massive boulder, and Mika was quick to put two and two together and deduce that they wished for him to lift the boulder up to seal the breach, something that quite obviously didn't go as planned.
Despite its damages, Mika knew that Barbatos was more than capable of lifting the boulder and sealing the breach. And Hell, he would've done it, though the amount of approaching Titans had set him on edge. His radar had shown that over twenty Titans were approaching their current position, and if he had carried that boulder, then he'd be leaving his friends vulnerable to the Titans that were approaching.
As such, Mika set out to do one thing; clear the area of as many Titans as possible as fast as he could before he set his sights on that boulder.
With that in mind, the pilot didn't even hesitate as he had his Gundam hoist a Titan over its head before throwing it head first onto the ground, with the impact being enough to liquify its torso and kill it.
Turning towards his next target, Mika grabbed the Fifteen metre by the shoulder before plunging Barbatos' manipulator into its stomach. Once it was in, Mika fired off an Autocannon shot, in turn causing the Titan to explode from the inside and slather the general area they were in in a mess of blood and guts.
Out of the corner of the heads up display of the cockpit, Mika noticed that a Titan had somehow managed to slip by the Gundam's radar. Turning on its heel, Augus was ready to deal with it, though before he could, a swift newcomer swung by and dispatched it for him, slicing the nape with brutal accuracy before she landed on a nearby building.
As soon as she landed, Ackerman turned to fix Barbatos with a rather harsh glare, one that Mika simply raised a brow at. However, not long after, she broke eye contact with the Gundam and turned towards a close by Three metre and swung towards it. And, with near surgical precision that astonished even Mikazuki, Ackerman was able to sever the nape with very little issue.
Landing atop a building, Mikasa frowned as a Thirteen metre approached her. Gripping her blades tightly, Ackerman got ready to launch herself at it, though she stopped in her tracks when a pair of Cadets struck the approaching Titan's nape simultaneously. The combined slash was enough to compensate for the lackluster swing power, and the result was a dead Titan that fell onto its side as the newcomers landed in front of Ackerman.
"Mikasa!" greeted one of the two, whom Mika immediately identified as Mina, who smiled as she saluted with her blade the moment they nodded. Beside her was Nac, who nodded and smiled at the high ranking Cadet. She responded with a mild nod of her own.
"Mina, Nac. Thanks for the save," thanked Mikasa as Mikazuki snorted and elbowed an inbound Titan that attempted to sneak up on Barbatos. The impact was strong enough to cave in the front of its face and caused it to stagger back, with Mika ready to deliver a finishing blow via a stab to the neck with the Longsword, though before he could, a blur whizzed by the back of its neck and finished the job for him.
Said blur landed on the closest building, revealing itself to be none other than Annie Leonhardt, who wiped the blood off her cheek as she glanced towards the Gundam. Augus noticed just a little bit of unease in her eyes as she locked her gaze onto the optics of his unit, though she quickly shook it off and turned towards the other Cadets.
"Annie! We were meant to eliminate all Titans that got past the Mechanical Titan, not help it directly on the front lines!" reminded Nac from the backlines, only for Annie to roll her eyes and nod dismissively. And, rather surprisingly, that was enough to make Mika roll his in amusement. It was rare to see Annie this proactive, and he had to admit, even in their current situation and also in spite of his usual stoic self, Augus did find some joy in seeing his blonde friend be more active on the field.
Said joy was replaced with irritation when he saw a Titan charge towards Annie, prompting him to grumble as he had Barbatos swing its Longsword straight towards the Titan right as it lunged for Annie. The blonde had noticed it right before its hand could snag onto her, and her eyes widened rather intensely when she saw it…
… and immediately after, she had to shield them as the Longsword of the Mechanical Titan crashed down onto the Titan mere milliseconds before it could grab onto her. Gasping in shock, Annie found herself thrown back by the shockwave that followed and flew off the building she was on.
Before she could land on her unprotected rear, however, Annie felt something snatch her out of the air. At first, she thought it to be either Mina or Nac, though that thought was made void when she realized how… cold and hard the thing that caught her was. And at that, she realized that the Mechanical Titan was that which caught her, and she reddened with apparent insult as she watched the thing place her down onto the nearest building, extremely gently, no less.
After it did so, the 'Titan' pulled its Longsword out of the ground and stabbed it into the Titan that had tried to get Annie, impaling its nape with little issue. Meanwhile, Mina and Nac landed next to their blonde friend, with the former sheathing her blades so that she could check Leonhardt for potential injuries whilst the latter began berating her. And in spite of her usually stoic self, Annie did at least find some decency within her and at least appeared sheepish.
Despite him being quite a dramatic person from time to time, Nac kept Annie's scolding short and sweet, most likely due to the situation they were currently in, and Leonhardt had just enough decency in her to at least listen, and once that was all said and done, they all turned to glance at the Mechanical Titan, who was, in turn, staring back at them with its blank, metal face.
Before long, however, eye contact was broken when it turned and headed back to combat, leaving behind a bewildered Annie, Mina and Nac, with the latter clearing his throat after a short amount of time.
"It might just be me… but do any of you think that the Mechanical Titan seems keen on sticking close to us in particular?" inquired Nac, having thought of that on the spot as Annie gave him a bewildered look.
"Nonsense. It's just pure coincidence," assured Mina a little dismissively, though she did find some truth in Nac's words. Still, it couldn't be the case, could it? The Mechanical Titan couldn't have been intentionally following them around so that they wouldn't be killed, now wouldn't it?
After all, that thought was almost as silly as the theory of Mikazuki being the Eren Jaeger equivalent to the Mechanical Titan! It couldn't be possible…
Right?
Things were really heating up, and it was something that Mika was reluctant to admit.
The Titans were acting much more aggressive, and Augus didn't need to be an expert to know that Eren was most likely the cause of their heightened aggression. Ever since Jaeger had stepped onto the field, the Titans attacked with greater ferocity than Mika ever remembered, and while it was still easy to mop the floor with these pests, the increased amount that had gathered made it hard to keep them all back.
Whilst the four Cadets had been able to assist him in keeping the Titans at bay, and to their credit they were doing quite a damn good job, the increased volume of Titans made it harder and harder to keep them back. For every Titan that was downed, at least one more, or perhaps even two, would arrive to replace it. Hell, even the Cadets seemed to notice it.
"Weren't the others meant to lure the Titans to the corner?!" proclaimed Nac as he kicked off the nape of a Titan and launched himself into the air, twisting his body immensely to avoid the grasp of another, who was swiftly dispatched by Annie.
"They're clearly not doing a good job," spat Leonhardt as she flung herself back into the air, grimacing as she landed onto another building with a roll. Turning to the side, she took note of a pack of approaching Titans ranging from Thirteen to Five metres, seeming ready to jump into the fray, though before she could, Mika had Barbatos charge in without a second thought.
An uppercut sent a Titan soaring into the air and obliterated its lower jaw, and whilst it was still airborne, Mika socked a Twelve metre over the head, causing the entire skull to cave in on itself before. A five metre was promptly stomped on, and as soon as it was confirmed to be nothing more than a fine red pool of dissolving Titan mush, Mika had Barbatos swing its Wrench Mace towards the Titan it had uppercutted into the air.
The Wrench Mace struck the Titan's back, liquifying it on impact and sending its limbs flying. One unfortunate Titan was unlucky enough to be struck in the eye by an arm that was sent towards it, causing it to recoil in apparent pain and opening it up for a killing blow courtesy of Mikasa, who circled it and swung at the nape as it writhed in apparent agony.
"Such raw strength which could only be topped by the Colossal Titan… what exactly are you…?" mumbled Mikasa, her question just barely caught by Barbatos' audio receptors as she swung off. The Pilot, in apparent response to that question, simply offered a mild smile.
'You'll get your answer soon enough. If you survive this ordeal, anyways…'
The arrival of a Cadet caught Ian's attention, prompting him to turn away from the dissolving corpse of a Titan that he had just downed as he fixed his gaze on the newcomer. He knew that several soldiers had been dispatched to help fill in their ranks after Rico had fired that flare, though to his knowledge, they had all arrived already… so who was this newcomer?
Their blonde hair and feminine face despite being a guy was more than enough to answer Dietrich's question, and as soon as he recognised him, Ian visibly flinched and took a step towards the guy, ignoring the dissolving Titan blood on his person as he spoke up.
"Cadet Arlert!" proclaimed Ian right as Armin landed on the ground, not too far from Eren, wincing a little on impact as he stood himself up and turned to stare up at his senior, who continued speaking with a rather worried tone. "You were not meant to be a part of the Cadets who were sent to reinforce our ranks! Fall back, now!"
"Commander Ian!" responded Armin, his tone reflecting his dire expression as he glanced over at Eren's still slumped over form, nearly motionless as he leaned against the boulder. The blonde winced at that sight, though it didn't stop him from continuing. "What happened to Eren, or the plan for that matter?!"
"The plan has failed!" answered Ian as he glanced over at an approaching Thirteen metre who had its attention held by Mitabi. "Jaeger is not in command of that Titan! It attempted to kill Ackerman during the start of this operation! However, Jaeger is too valuable an asset to leave behind, and as such we are holding the Titans back until he emerges…"
Ian noticeably trailed off at that, though Armin didn't need a reason as to why.
'He's not going to emerge anytime soon. And at this rate…' thought Armin, wincing as he heard a loud crash in the distance, followed by smoke rising in the air. Turning towards it, he winced when he saw that the smoke was in close proximity to the Mechanical Titan, who had its attention fixed on an inbound pack of Titans. "Even with the Mechanical Titan providing assistance, we'll be overruned in no time!'
A quick glance towards Eren made Arlert raise a brow thoughtfully.
'Eren… is he the reason why they're more aggressive…?' thought Armin as he rubbed his cheek, only to be shaken out of it when the body of a Titan was thrown over his head and sent crashing into one that was sneaking up on Ian. The shockwave riled up the Garrison Elite, though he remained atop the building he was on as he grimaced.
"Arlert, retreat, NOW!" commanded Ian, his voice firmer than it was before as he grimaced at the Cadet. His tone of voice was enough to tell Armin that he was leaving no room for an argument, and yet, he did not heed his command. Instead, he turned towards Eren's slumped over form and made a beeline for it, much to Ian's dismay. "CADET ARLERT!"
No response. In fact, Armin had barely heard Ian, and for all intents and purposes, Dietrich's voice may as well have been nonexistent, as the Cadet blocked out everything as he did his best to remember one specific detail.
'When he emerged from the Titan, Eren came out from the back of the head across to the nape of the neck…' reminisce Armin as he swung himself up to Eren's unconscious form, ignoring Ian, who was racing after him with the intent of stopping him from doing anything stupid. He was too late, however, as by the time he got down to ground level, Arlert was already latched onto the back of Jaeger's Titan form, with his Anti-Titan blade unsheathed.
"CADET ARLERT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" proclaimed Ian.
"Approximately one metre high and ten centimeters across…" muttered Armin as he aimed his blade, blocking out Ian's yells for him to stop, though he did at the very least offer some words of assurance. "Commander Ian, I'll get Eren out of here! You and the others just focus on keeping the Titans away!"
With those words uttered, Armin uncertainty raised his Anti-Titan blade, shuddering as he took aim with his blade.
"So long as I miss the center, he'll be fine…! It'll just… hurt a little!"
And with that, Armin bit his lower lip and plunged the blade into his best friend's nape.
The closeby roar of a Titan was so loud that Mika could hear it from even within his Gundam's cockpit.
Likewise, Mina, Nac, Annie and Mikasa also caught wind of it, as evident by how they turned towards its source alongside the pilot and his unit. The first to react to it beyond turning and staring was Ackerman, who widened her eyes and sprung into action, with Mina and Nac following suit soon after. Annie only followed after she gave Barbatos a parting glare, one that made Augus raise a brow as he turned back towards a pack of approaching Titans.
Frowning towards them, Mika narrowed his eyes as he boosted Barbatos forward with a strong burst that didn't use too much fuel. It was strong enough to send his unit barrelling towards the Titans, and when he was close enough, he outstretched one of his Gundam's arm units and grabbed the head of the closest Titan.
Holding onto it firmly, Mika had his unit slam the Titan's head into the ground before dragging it against the ground, causing a ton of Titan blood to stain the ground, before he flung the downed Titan at another, with the impact being more than enough to kill both.
Another Titan was dispatched when Mika launched his unit's foot towards its neck, activating the 'claws' that were located on the soles of the Gundam's foot unit before it made contact with the Titan. Said 'claws' snagged onto the Titan's neck and with a strong squeeze, they crushed the nape in their grasp. For added measure, Mika had Barbatos slam its foot down and crush what was left of the neck, and he snorted when he acknowledged that it was well and truly dead.
Flipping Barbatos back onto its feet units, Mika immediately turned towards an inbound group of Titans that lumbered towards Eren's general direction rather lazily. Snorting at that, Augus turned his unit and grabbed the closest Titan by the head and hoisted it up above its head. Ignoring its attempts at freeing itself, Mika quickly got a good angle before he had Barbatos toss the Titan towards the incoming pack, either killing or knocking over those who were hit by it.
Mika quickly had Barbatos turn and he almost immediately grimaced when he noticed that a handful of Titans had managed to get past his unit whilst he was preoccupied with the past few. He mumbled a handful of curses when he was reminded that his fellow soldiers and friends wouldn't be able to provide him with backup all the time, and he was quick to launch Barbatos towards the handful that got past his unit.
"ARMIN?!"
That was the first word that left Mikasa's lips as soon as she and her fellow Cadets landed on the building closest to Eren's body, with Ackerman rushing towards the edge when she noticed her brother's Titan form convulse. Armin himself was latched onto it with his maneuver gear and Anti-Titan blade that was stabbed into its nape, and he held on tight in an effort to keep himself from flying off.
"Armin, what are you doing?!" demanded Mina, effectively voicing out what everyone present was thinking as she stared at Eren with wide eyed shocked. Nac and Annie did likewise, though Mikasa was the one who continued on speaking.
"Stop what you're doing at once!" proclaimed Mikasa as she stepped forward just a little. "You're being reckless!"
"Don't worry about me, Mikasa!" assured Armin, flashing the smallest of smiles as he latched onto Eren's convulsing form. "All of you, there are lives that you can help save! Leave Eren to me and go!"
"But-" began Mikasa, only to silence herself when a small handful of Titans could be seen in the distance. Grimacing to herself, she and her fellow Cadets held onto their blades tightly as she reluctantly relented. "I…"
A gentle hand on her shoulder made her turn and spot Nac, with one blade sheathed and his free hand resting on her shoulder. The smile he had was noticeably frightful, though it was also rather assuring as he nodded.
"Armin has this in the bag, Mikasa. Have faith in him," muttered Nac with a confident nod. To that, Ackerman pursed her lips and turned to glance at Arlert, who was focused almost entirely on Eren to notice their little conversation. At that, Mikasa bit her lower lip and reluctantly nodded, knowing that Armin was the most qualified out of any of them at snapping Eren out of this.
"Fine… let's keep those Titans away while he does what needs to be gone…" muttered Mikasa with a reluctant nod, only to widen her eyes when the head of a Titan crashed into a building not too far from where they stood.
"Or provide some small amount of help, at least," added Mina as she motioned towards the Mechanical Titan.
And to that, Mikasa simply nodded once more.
Jean Kirstein's team was in a rather tight spot, to say the least.
Acting as one of the few Vanguards for the Elite Team, they were tasked with luring the Titans towards the corners of Trost. However, due to some yet to be understood circumstances, the Titans seemed to be less than responsive to their efforts, with several Titans breaking off from the human bait and dashing off in the general direction of Eren and the Elite Team.
In response to that, several teams were formed and dispatched to eliminate the Titans that ran loose. Jean's team in particular consisted of Marco Bodt, Connie Springer and Sasha Braus. A competent team to say the least, though they were lacking a little in cooperation, especially with Sasha.
"Hey, did you guys hear that?!" proclaimed Connie, having overheard the roar of pain Eren let out not long ago, frowning as he turned towards its general direction. His response was a somewhat worried look from Sasha, who gave a twitchy frown as she nodded.
"Yeah… doesn't sound nice," muttered Sasha, flinching as a cloud of smoke was ejected into the air. "Oi, Jean, should we investigate?"
"We have a job to do, Sasha! We don't have time to investigate whatever that was!" was her immediate response from Kirstein, who motioned for them to close in on a close by Twelve metre Titan. The rest of his team reluctantly followed his orders and launched themselves towards it, frowning as it turned to fix its lifeless gaze on them.
"Ah…" mumbled Marco as he shuddered a little at the Titan, frowning as he evaded a swing from it. Connie did the same as well, though he didn't dodge as well, as his leg was clipped by the palm of the Titan, causing him to go a little out of control in the air before he rolled to a stop on the ground.
"Well fuck me sideways…" muttered Connie, only to widen his eyes when he saw the Titan gaze down upon him. With a somewhat girly shriek, Connie, fueled by some adrenaline spurred on by fear, was able to leap straight over the Titan's hand as it attempted to grab him before he began sprinting away. "YEAH FUCK ME SIDEWAYS TILL NEXT WEEK!"
As the Titan raised its hand to attempt to grab him once more, Sasha, after taking a moment to snort at Connie's rather amusing string of curses, swung in and sliced at the Twelve metre's wrist. The cut wasn't enough to slice the limb off, though it was more than enough to put the limb out of commission long enough for Connie to swing out of there.
Whilst the Titan stared at its now limp wrist, Jean and Marco teamed up and sliced the nape of the Titan at the same time, their combined strength being more than enough to sever it. After being dispatched, the Titan fell forward, crashing into the ground right as Springer landed onto the closest building.
"Thanks for that save, you guys!" thanked Connie, smiling as they nodded at him. And with that, the small group locked onto the closest Titan and got on with their assigned task. The four nodded to one another before they swung towards it, with Jean leading the charge.
The Titan they were approaching was a Ten metre, and it turned to face them right before Sasha could swing at its nape. Gasping as it rather abruptly turned to face her, Braus just barely managed to evade its jaws as she swung out of the way. At that, Jean grimaced.
"Marco, I hate to ask you to do this, but could you provide us with a distraction?" inquired Jean, to which Marco nodded and moved in front of the Ten metre, whose gaze was quickly caught by the freckled boy. With its eyes fixed squarely onto the guy, Kirstein made haste and swung towards its nape, having predicted a nice, clean swing.
And at that, the worst possible thing that could happen ended up happening; his maneuver gear malfunctioned.
As soon as he was mere metres away from the Titan, the gas stopped passing through his gear, and as soon as soon as he acknowledged that one awful fact, Jean found himself falling, his formerly confident expression giving way to a terrified one. And right as that expression graced his face, the Cadet found himself rolling onto the ground, only stopping when his back smacked against something strangely fleshy in texture…
… he was soon to realize that what he had smacked against was the ankle of the Ten metre Titan, and he eventually noticed that the Ten metre was now staring directly at him, prompting him to gulp.
"Shit," was all he said before he stood up and bolted out of there, with the Ten metre charging after him as his teammates gasped in terror.
"JEAN!" proclaimed Marco, swinging after his friend and the Ten metre that followed it. Sasha and Connie were quick to do the same, though they weren't able to get a clear shot at the nape at their current range.
"OF ALL THE FUCKING TIMES!" proclaimed Jean as he evaded to the left, in turn evading the Ten metre's hand as it attempted to snatch him up. As he did, he continuously tapped on his maneuver gear controllers, desperately trying to get them to work once more, though he was quick to realize that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.
At the same time, Jean dived forward to dodge another grab from the Titan, though before he could get up, the Titan was upon him, and he could only widen his eyes as he stared up at it in horror.
"J-JEAN!" proclaimed Marco as he closed in on the Titan's nape, noticeably faster than Sasha and Connie, his tone reflecting his terror as the Ten metre reached down for his pal.
Right as he was roughly ten metres away from its nape, however, a massive blade whizzed by him and his fellow Cadets and buried itself in the Ten metre Titan's nape…
… and Jean could only watch in a mixture of terror, relief and utter shock when he stared up at the edge of the massive Longsword that stuck out of the throat of the Ten metre. The Longsword had missed him by roughly a metre, and it was thrown with such force that its tip was embedded itself in the ground.
"W-What…?" muttered Jean as he scrambled away from the Titan, only to stiffen as the Longsword began moving just a little, and he was quick to gasp when it was ripped out of the back of the Titan's neck, prompting the dead Titan to drop onto the ground mere inches away from Jean's feet, motionless as it began dissolving.
And a quick glance upwards sent a massive shiver up Jean's spine, and Marco, Sasha and Connie were wise to keep their distance as they glanced at the thing in utter shock.
'This damn thing seems to know how to appear whenever it's most needed…' thought Jean, seeming somewhere between relieved and horrified as the Mechanical Titan held its Longsword tightly in its grasp, its bright green eyes staring down at him blankly.
Its gaze was broken away from Kirstein, however, when Sasha yelped in shock, alerting them them to an inbound Titan, and at that, the Mechanical Titan turned towards the Titan in question, a Thirteen metre, and let a small burst of steam expel from the apparent vents on its body.
The burst of steam shielded it from view for a brief moment, though within a second, the steam was dispelled when the 'Titan' swung its arm outwards and threw the sword it had in its grip, and with nearly pinpoint accuracy, the sword managed to impale the Titan through the throat, with the blade emerging from the back of its neck. That was more than enough to kill the damn thing, and the fact that it fell forward, in turn jamming the Longsword further into its throat, was enough to confirm that it was properly dead.
"Mah lord…" muttered Sasha in disbelief at how swiftly it had dispatched the Titan, shuddering at its strength as it turned back towards Jean. Connie himself was silent for a change, unsure on if he should even say anything, though Marco, the only one who was not shocked into silence, swung down to get Jean up to his feet.
"Come on, Jean!" urged Marco, getting his friend up to his feet as he smiled uncertainly. Jean, in response, blank in confusion and looked at Marco almost as though he was a complete stranger, though before long, the horse faced Cadet regained his senses and blank.
"M-Marco…" muttered Jean, regaining his senses as he stared at his friend…
And meanwhile, Mika watched with a neutral expression as he snorted, having been reminded of a handful of relationships back in Tekkadan thanks to the closeness of Marco and Jean.
Good memories, though it was best if he shelved them for now, he reckoned, especially as a Titan charged at Barbatos. With the greatest of ease, Mika had his unit swing its arm unit out towards the approaching Titan, and the combined force of the Titan's momentum and the power of Barbatos' swing was enough to rip the damn thing's head off, leaving the headless body to soar straight towards the closest building.
Jean and the rest of his team were rightfully taken aback by how tough the Gundam was. Mika reckoned that was fair, considering how they were not around it long enough to have bore witness to the brutality of his unit. Of course, even if he wasn't as fond of them as he was, say, Mina, Nac or Annie, he did wish for their safety, so much so that he'd rather not have them on the field just so he could show off the abilities of his unit to them.
And as such, he did the first thing that came to mind.
He made Barbatos point up towards the top of Trost.
At first, his fellow Cadets were dumbstruck by that gesture, seeming rather taken aback that Barbatos was able to do anything beyond mindlessly killing other Titans. However, Marco seemed to understand what Mika was trying to relay to them, as he pursed his lips and nodded towards Jean.
"We're getting you out of the battlefield, Jean, or at the very least getting you a new set of equipment! A temporary withdrawal!" informed Marco who, without even wasting a second, scooped Jean up into his arms in an almost bridal like fashion, much to Kirstein's chagrin. Mika himself was surprised that Marco was even able to do that, though he was quickly reminded that he was part of the top Ten Cadets for a reason. "Sasha, Connie, you two coming with?"
"Erm, yea, Ah'm with ya!" was Sasha's immediate response, her eyes fixed squarely on Barbatos as she spoke. Her fear of the unit was very apparent, so much so that her Dauper accent slipped out without her knowing.
"Same!" was the only thing Connie blurted out, and with the other half of his team all agreeing on their temporary retreat, Marco nodded in satisfaction before he led them towards Trost, with Mika watching as they left.
And right as they disappeared from view, a somewhat familiar roar was picked up by Barbatos' audio receptors. It was distinct enough for Mika to recognise it almost immediately, though he wasn't able to see the source as he immediately picked up on several Titans approaching his general direction via his unit's radar.
'About time you woke up, Eren,' was the only thing that Mika thought in acknowledgment of Jaeger's awakening, and with that, he turned towards the closest Titan and charged at it.
This was a terrible situation indeed, and Rico had to bite her lower lip with enough force to draw blood in order to keep herself from breaking down.
As with Ian and Mitabi, Rico had received some backup in the form of several soldiers, a mix of Garrison and Cadets, to help fill her ranks. However, even with their increased numbers, the heightened aggression and sudden influx of Titans had thinned their ranks worryingly quickly, so much so that within the span of about thirty minutes, less than half of their reinforcements remained.
Out of the three teams present, Rico was an awfully good example of this, having gotten about ten soldiers to reinforce her numbers, and within the span of the past thirty minutes, she had lost eight of her teammates, with the ninth one currently being eaten right in front of her and her remaining teammate's eyes.
"C-Captain! We can't go on! It's just the two of us now!" proclaimed the last soldier who was with Rico, the terror very apparent in her voice as she watched the Titan before them bite the torso off their teammate. Her response was rather quick, with Rico speaking through grit teeth.
"Fall back to the rock for now!" commanded Brzenska, and they did as such, evading several Titans along the way. As they fell back, Rico took a moment to lament the loss of her comrades. If she made it out, she would do her best to at least offer proper memorials to the fallen. However, she did also take a moment to acknowledge just how… vulnerable they had become without the Mechanical Titan constantly providing assistance. Sure, it was able to keep the Titans away, though as powerful as it was, it was still just one thing. It couldn't be everywhere, and as it defended one specific area, other areas began to crumble under the Titans relentless onslaught.
'I know it's hard folly to rely on it so much… but it's our greatest asset in this battle,' thought Rico scornfully, grimacing as she spotted the Mechanical Titan out in the distance kick a Titan in the abdomen, with said kick ripping the Titan in half.
"Captain!" came the voice of a newcomer, prompting Rico to cut her thoughts short as she landed on a building, frowning as she glanced at the soldier, who landed in front of her. "A report from Commanders Ian and Mitabi! We have Five Titans entering from the breach!"
"Five?!" proclaimed the last surviving member of Rico's team, her eyes wide as she yelled that out. "We won't be able to take them out! Not without that mechanical monstrosity helping at least!"
Opening her mouth to reply, Rico was about to make an attempt at calming her remaining teammate down, though she was swiftly cut short when she saw… something…
Something that made her widen her bespectacled eyes…
"H-Holy crap…" muttered Nac as he and Mina rushed towards the edge of the building they were on to catch a glimpse of the sight. Annie was quick to kick off the nape of the Titan she had dispatched and joined them, and in a rare show of emotion, she too widened her eyes in shock.
"Arlert… he … he actually did it…" added Annie, the surprise very apparent in her voice as she gained a newfound respect for Armin Arlert for being able to do what she considered to be close to impossible.
And meanwhile, Mina simply fistpumped as she grinned wildly.
"We're not losing this battle just yet!"
Atop the wall of Rose, the soldiers found themselves flabbergasted at the sight down below.
Jean Kirstein, Marco Bodt, Sasha Braus and Connie Springer, on the other hand, were able to hold back their shock, though this was mainly due to Kirstein rushing up to them, now equipped with a new set of equipment that would hopefully not break down in combat, and provide them with a new set of orders.
"Don't just stare! We have to get down there and help!"
"Eren…"
That was the only word that could leave Mikasa's lips as she, Ian, Mitabi and the others who were brave enough to fight close to the breach of Trost laid eyes upon the spectacular sight before them.
Eren Jaeger… for as flawed as he was, he could definitely make an impression, and at the moment, he was making a massive one as he held the boulder above his head and stomped towards the breach. The mere sight of this was enough to stun the soldiers who saw it into silence, having forgotten about their duties for a brief moment as they watched on.
"Mikasa!" came Armin's voice out of seemingly nowhere, prompting the girl in question to snap out of it and turn towards her blonde friend, who had landed not too far from Ackerman alongside Mina, Nac and Annie. The blonde sprinted towards the highest ranking Cadet, a smile on his face as he got up to her.
"Armin! You did it!" proclaimed Mikasa, her voice a mixture of relief, pride and genuine happiness, something that did make the blonde's heart swell up with pride, though he shook it off as he nodded.
"Yeah, Eren prevailed!" proclaimed Armin, his smile fading as he continued. "He's trying to fulfill his duty once more! Now we just need to cover for him until he reaches the gate! And once he does…"
Glancing towards Eren as he spoke, Armin grit his teeth and finished what he was saying.
"Victory will be ours!"
And at that, a determined glint appeared in Ian's eyes. Turning towards the breach, he grimaced and narrowed his eyes before he grit his teeth.
"DEFEND HIM!"
Those two words, as simple as they were, were bellowed with the tone of a true commander, and all surviving soldiers recoiled at the sheer determination behind them, and when he knew that he had their attention, Ian continued to give out his orders.
"I do not care if we have that mechanical monstrosity's help or not! Even if it will cost us our lives…" continued Ian, grimacing as he turned and pointed his blade at the Five Titans that had entered, with several more following them in as time went by. "WE MUST DEFEND EREN UNTIL HE REACHES THAT GATE!"
And with those words uttered, his soldiers all yelled out in unison, a thunderous warcry that was quickly followed up by them swinging off to dispatch or distract the Titans. Ian, before he left, offered some parting words to Ackerman and Arlert.
"Stick with Eren, you two," advised Ian as he and Mitabi left to perform their duties. "Leave the Titans to us!"
As he rushed off, Annie rushed past Mikasa, not wishing to be held back any longer, and entered the fray. Mina did so as well, though she did offer Mikasa and Armin what she had hoped would not be her final thumbs up, and Nac had placed a hand on Ackerman's shoulder before he left for combat.
"Protect your brother, Mikasa. You too, Armin," urged Nac, eliciting a nod from Mikasa as he left for combat.
Fifty metres…
Ian calculated that he would need roughly two minutes to get to the breach at his current pace, and they needed to buy the Cadet as much time as possible.
Swinging towards a small pack of Titans, Ian and two other soldiers attempted to get their attention, using themselves as bait. To swing into such a densely packed group would be suicide, so he reckoned that just drawing their attention would be enough.
And yet… it didn't work! The Titans were all ignoring them, instead headed straight for Eren! As soon as he realized that, Ian and his men dropped down onto the closest building and grimaced. This wasn't good… if he couldn't lure the Titans away from them, then they'd have to chance it and swing in and strike at the pack, an incredibly risky thing to do…
"Commander!" proclaimed one of Ian's teammates, pointing down at something and snapping Ian out of it. With wide eyes, Ian turned towards what his junior was alerting him to, at first seeing nothing, though when he noticed what he was being alerted to, he was quick to widen his eyes further in shock.
"M-Mitabi?!" proclaimed Ian as soon as he spotted his fellow Garrison Elite sprinting at ground level alongside two of his men. He was quick to raise his voice and continue speaking. "What are you doing?!"
"These accursed Titans are all focused on that brat! So we'll just have to force em to pay attention to us in a more direct way!" responded Mitabi, grimacing as he and his teammates stopped behind the pack of Titans that Ian had attempted to lure away from Jaeger. It didn't take long for Dietrich to figure out what Mitabi was getting at, though he wasn't able to stop them from doing what one would consider to be suicide.
"Oi! You'd best pay attention to us, you wankers!" proclaimed one of Mitabi's teammates, his fear apparent yet still hidden beneath his determination to see this mission through.
"Yeah, or I'll have to jam by blade so far up your nonexistent ass that it emerges from your mouth!" added Mitabi, his fear having added onto his skills at insulting. Their words seemed to do the trick, however, as within moments, the Titans they were trying to lure, a Ten and Twelve metre, turned and fixed their gaze on the trio, who gulped and began hightailing it out of there.
'They must see them as easier pickings than Eren now that they have their attention…' rationalised Ian as he grimaced. His teammates didn't like where this was going, and they noticeably tensed when Ian turned towards them.
"T-They're insane… without horses, going down there is suicide…" muttered a close by soldier as he landed on a building. Upon hearing him, Ian grimaced and stepped towards the edge of the building.
"Yes, but it is our best option…" muttered Ian. With the Mechanical Titan absent, this would be their best option at keeping the Titans away from Eren, and if forfeiting his life would lead to the recapture of Trost, then so be it. "Follow Team Mitabi's lead, all of you!"
And though he was horrified, Ian did what he had ordered the others to do and leapt off the edge of the building, landing with a gentle thump as he began sprinting towards the Titans. His teammates were reluctant, though this was for the greater good, and as such, they followed his lead.
'Forty metres… keep moving, Jaeger!' urged Ian in his mind as he halted in front of a trio of Titans, grimacing as he glared up at its back.
"Hey, you foul breathed primate! You'd best turn your attention towards us, or I'll make you do it!" spat Ian, the disdain making itself rather clear in his tone of voice. It worked, with both Titans turning towards him in a flash. "We have their attention! Hold it for as long as possible!"
And at that, he lunged to the side to avoid one of the Titans as it lunged at them.
'Thirty five metres… hurry up, Jaeger!'
"Over here, you oversized lump of flesh!" proclaimed Nac, shaking in terror as a Five metre Titan turned towards him, smiling as it ran after him. To his side, Mina squeaked in terror whilst Annie grumbled at the sheer stupidity that came with following this risky plan before they made a break for it.
The trio had followed Ian's lead, though Annie was rightfully very reluctant to do so. If anything, she was only here to make sure that her two pals didn't get themselves killed in a flash, and that was evident as she tackled Mina off to the side, just barely evading the Five metre they were luring away as it lunged at them.
"Oof…! Thanks for the save, Ann!" thanked Mina with a gentle smile as Leonhardt quickly got off her twintailed friend, only for the two of them to sprint off to the side as the Five metre recovered from its failed lunge.
"Thank me by staying alive!" responded Annie through grit teeth as they sprinted away from the Titan, with Nac being a little too preoccupied with keeping the attention of a Seven metre to provide them with any real help, leaving them to fend for themselves.
'Looks to be about Twenty Five metres before he reaches the breach. Hurry your ass up, Jaeger!' proclaimed Annie mentally as she stared back at the Five metre as it tripped on its own two feet. At that, Leonhardt couldn't help but snort as she calmed down just a little, only for her instincts to flare up as she turned to the side… and she was quick to widen her eyes when she noticed a Thirteen metre sprinting right towards them.
Acting in instinct, Annie grit her teeth and turned towards Mina, and right as Mina noticed the look her blonde friend was giving her, she felt herself get shoved out of the way. And at that, time seemed to slow to a crawl as Carolina watched as a hand wrapped around Leonhardt's body.
"ANNIE!" proclaimed Mina right as she rolled to a stop on the ground. She quickly right herself back up, however, and turned to stare at the Thirteen metre, who was laying on its side and staring at its prey, namely Annie, who was struggling violently in its hand.
Without wasting a second, the Thirteen metre brought Annie up to its mouth and dropped her in, though as it did, the damn thing didn't notice Mina getting up onto her feet and sprint towards its general direction. She swung herself up into the air moments after, and she didn't even bother to acknowledge her self preservation instincts as she launched herself directly at the Titan's face.
So this was probably how her friend felt in his final moments…
Rather desperately, Annie attempted to grab onto something that would keep her from falling down the Titan's throat. The tongue was the best option, though it was too slick with saliva for her to get a grasp on it. Even so, she grit her teeth with determination as she tried to get a hold of it.
'I refuse to die a dog's death!' thought Annie with immense determination as she stabbed her Anti-Titan blade into the Titan's tongue, rooting her on the spot, though the sudden convulsing of the Titan in response to the stab was enough to snap the blade, and Annie grimaced as she once attempted to force herself out of the Titan's mouth to no avail. Yet another sudden jostle of the Titan was enough to make her falter for a brief moment, though Annie was not willing to give in as she struggled to get herself out, though she only slid deeper into the Titan's mouth in spite of her best efforts.
And suddenly, its mouth sprung open, and Annie widened her eyes when the light hit them, and they widened further when she saw Mina forcing the mouth of the Titan open with a terribly determined expression.
"M-Mina…?!" proclaimed Annie, shocked at the sudden strength that Mina was displaying. However, her shock was quickly overridden when Mina grimaced and reached in with her free hand and seized Annie's wrist.
"You're… not dying!" proclaimed Mina desperately as she pulled on Annie, doing her best to pull her friend out. In turn, Annie did her best to pull herself free, though the saliva of the Titan made it harder than necessary to do so.
A yell of pain from Mina made it apparent to Annie that Carolina was unable to hold the Titan's jaw open any longer, and she was quick to grimace. "MINA! GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!"
"NOT WITHOUT YOU, DAMMIT!" was her immediate response as Mina pulled harder, ignoring the pain she was going through as Annie stared in utter shock. She had never seen Mina this determined before…
Her shock was quickly replaced by dread when she saw the Titan reach a hand up to perhaps shove Mina into its mouth alongside Annie, and she was about to yell out about it. And yet, before she could, the hand was quickly severed by a newcomer, and within a second, Commander Ian Dietrich appeared beside Mina.
With a determined expression, he helped Mina force the Titan's jaws open and reached forward with his free arm to grab onto Annie's wrist. And before either of them could process his sudden arrivement, Ian, mustering all the strength he had in his upper body, yanked Annie out of the Titan's mouth and slammed her into Mina, in turn knocking both off the Titan and landing on the ground.
Whilst Annie coughed and hacked, breathing in deeply as she laid atop Mina, and the twintailed girl was quick to smile in relief when she realized that Leonhardt was fine in the loosest sense of the word, though her relief was quick to fade when she noticed that Ian was still clinging onto the Titan's mouth, seeming unable to pull back as he shot Mina and Annie a parting glance.
"G-Good luck out there, soldiers!" proclaimed Dietrich as Mina and Annie got up to their feet and got ready to perhaps help him before he could be taken out of commission.
And right before it could end for the Garrison Elite, a massive shadow loomed over it, and within a moment's notice, the tip of a blade tore through the nape of the Titan and emerged from its chest, and as soon as it did, the Titan jerked forward, its mouth jerking open and in turn causing Ian to be ejected from it.
Ian himself was still conscious as he landed on the ground, coughing a little as he held his arm and regained his marbles, unsure of what the Hell just happened. He was dead, was he not? Then if so… why…
His answer came in the form of a somewhat nervous chuckle from Mina, prompting him to turn towards her with a questioning gaze, though he was quick to turn back to the Titan that had almost ended his life and he was quick to widen his eyes when he saw it be chucked off to the side with little to no effort.
Meanwhile, Annie couldn't help but allow a choked laugh to escape her lips as Mina knelt down and held her achy abdomen.
'This damn thing sure knows how to show up whenever convenient, huh?'
Rico couldn't help but grimace as the Twelve metre approached her. Glancing past it, she saw that Eren was perhaps Twenty metres away from the breach, and him making progress was enough to give Brzenska a boost of confidence as she glared at the Titan before her.
"Come and get me, you overly tall sonova bitch!" spat Rico, showing her below average insult skills as the Titan lunged at her. Grimacing as she dodged to the side, Rico leapt away from its grasp and used her arms to flip herself around onto her feet before she fell onto her stomach.
Once she was back up, Rico grimaced and turned towards the Titan that had lunged, widening her bespectacled eyes when she saw its hand emerge from the smoke that it had kicked up to perhaps grab her. Acting on instinct, she managed to dodge it, albeit just barely… though before she could do anything else, something came down upon the Titan's arm.
Or more specifically, the white and red foot of a somewhat familiar-by-now 'Titan' slammed down onto the Titan's wrist, crushing it with a single slam. The shockwave was strong, though Rico was able to stay upright in spite of that as she shielded her eyes from the dust that was kicked up, though she was quick to lower her arms and widen her eyes when she spotted the one who had provided her with an assist.
"Figures…" muttered Rico, sounding somewhere between relieved and exhausted as she stared up at the Mechanical Titan. The damn thing didn't seem to notice her, however, as it simply raised its foot and slammed it down onto the Titan's nape, killing it almost immediately.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" proclaimed a close by soldier who somehow didn't know of the Mechanical Titan, and he shrieked in terror as the Titan boosted towards him, though he eventually remained composure after the damn thing hovered straight over him and ripped a Three metre Titan that was approaching him off the ground.
The mechanical monstrosity took less than a second before it threw the Three metre straight at the breach in Trost, and the Titan turned projectile was quick to knock back several Titans before they entered the breach. Hell, the damn thing tore a hole through the abdomen of the first Titan it came into contact with!
That display was enough to make Rico and the soldier gulp at its show of strength, though they quickly got over it and went on with their duty.
'Fifteen metres!'
With that thought in mind, Mitabi dodged as a Five Titan attempted to snag him, and he was quick to take a swing at its wrist. The swing was average at best, though it was able to give it a deep cut and cause the Titan to recoil in pain. As it did, Mitabi took the opening as a chance to sprint away, frowning as the Titan quickly recovered and attempted to chase him once more.
Raising a brow, Mitabi grimaced when he saw another Titan, a Twelve metre, sprint towards him from the left. However, an idea was quick to pop up in his mind as he quickened his pace. Narrowing his eyes, the Elite was quick to widen them when the Twelve metre lunged at him, and at that, Mitabi himself lunged forward as well.
And all that ended with the Twelve metre crashing straight into the Five metre that was chasing him, most likely killing the latter as the former got up and turned towards Mitabi, its grin still present as it rose to its feet and prepared to make another attempt at the elite's life.
Before it could, however, a fellow soldier flew past and severed the nape, killing it in one fell swoop. As the Twelve metre face planted, the soldier, or Cadet, who killed it rolled to a stop on the ground, revealing themselves to be Nac, who quickly got up and waved his Anti-Titan blade.
"Thanks for the save, Cadet!" proclaimed Mitabi, to which Nac replied with a nod.
And rather quickly, their moment was interrupted when the body of a Titan crashed into a building that stood between them, prompting both to gasp in shock as they turned towards the demolished building. In a shocking twist, the Titan that was thrown into it was still alive in spite of how beaten up it looked, prompting both Mitabi and Nac to go on guard as it glanced at the latter.
Before it could make a move, however, a white blur boosted in and slammed its damaged weapon into the Titan, crushing it with the greatest of ease and causing both soldier and Cadet to wince and back up in shock. A massive amount of dust and smoke was kicked up at that, though it took less than a few seconds to settle, and Mitabi could only stare at the thing that had finished off the Twelve metre with his mouth agape.
Meanwhile, Nac couldn't help but smirk as he glanced at its green eyes.
"Now we're talkin'!"
'Ten metres, come on, Eren, you're almost there!'
And as soon as he thought that, Armin gasped as a Titan seized his smaller in comparison body. However, before it could even do anything to him, Mikasa leapt up and, with a precise yet strong swing of both her blades, she sliced the Titan's entire hand off and freed her blonde friend from his predicament.
"Thanks, Mikasa!" thanked Armin, to which Ackerman nodded as another Titan attempted to close in on them. Arlert and Ackerman leapt in opposite directions as it dove towards them, though before they could recover, a newcomer finished off the damn thing for them.
The newcomer revealed themselves to be Annie, who landed in front of Armin, who breathed in deeply as he got up to his feet and stared at her. She didn't do the same as she stared over at Eren close in on the breach, frowning deeply for some unknown reason as she did. Strange, though Armin didn't think much about it as he approached her.
"Thanks for that, Annie!" piped up Armin, wanting to place a hand on Annie's shoulder, only to stop when he realized that she was covered in saliva. "Ann…?"
"Shut up and continue doing your job, Armin," was all Annie bothered to say as Armin nodded uncertainly, only to wince as he glanced over just in time to see the Mechanical Titan lift itself up into the air, using its Mace like weapon as leverage, and kicked a Fifteen metre in the chest and head with both its feet. The dropkick had not only obliterated both its torso and head, it had also sent its limbs flying, with one limb in particular smacking a Ten metre over the head and causing it to stagger back in the process.
"It… it's helping us again!" proclaimed Armin in relief, allowing a smile to grace his face as Annie nodded.
"No shit. Now get back to work," grumbled Annie in response, ignoring the growing terror in her stomach as she spared the Mechanical Titan wipe the floor with the Titans.
For as many times as she had seen it in action, she couldn't stop fearing it. The damn thing was truly a horrific beast…
'Five metres.'
That thought echoed through Mina's mind as she and Ian held the attention of a Ten metre Titan that lunged at them. Before they could dodge away from it, however, the Titan stopped mid lunge and was pulled back.
"What the-" began Ian, only to wince when he noticed that the Mechanical Titan had grabbed onto its leg mid lunge and yanked it back. Hoisting it up above its head, the mechanical monstrosity slammed it straight into the side of Trost, in turn liquifying the Titan's entire body on impact. "D-Dear me…"
"I know," agreed Mina as she held onto her abdomen which was still achy after she quite literally held the jaws of death open. Glancing at Ian, she was unsure if he was feeling just as sore as she was, though if he was, he surely wasn't showing it, which was impressive to say the least.
A close by stomp alerted her that Eren was close to his objective, and it was enough to make her turn towards him with widened eyes.
"He's gonna do it!" proclaimed Mina with a wide smile.
'Four meters.'
"Come on, you brat! Just a bit more!" roared Mitabi as he kicked off the nape of a downed Titan.
'Three meters.'
"FINISH THIS, EREN!" proclaimed Nac, holding onto his Anti-Titan blades tightly as he and Annie turned their attention away from a downed Titan and watched the Cadet in question fulfill his duty.
'Two metres.'
"EREN!" proclaimed Armin as he landed on his feet alongside Rico, with the two having just teamed up to down a Fifteen metre.
'One metre…'
"GO, EREN!" was the last yell that could be heard, bellowed out by Mikasa as she kicked off the neck of a Twelve metre Titan that had attempted to stop her brother from finishing her duty.
And with one final roar, Eren Jaeger slammed the boulder straight into the breach of Trost, with the shockwave being enough to send those close to it flying off their feet. On the opposing end of the boulder, several Titans were knocked back by the shockwave, though that was of no concern to the soldiers, who all remained silent as they watched Eren stand victoriously over the now sealed breach.
And within the cockpit of Barbatos, Mikazuki leaned back on the pilot seat and sighed in relief.
Finally… this was all over… and the signal flare that Rico Brzenska fired up into the air confirmed that.
This was the first real victory for mankind, and for whatever reason, Mika couldn't help but feel a little proud for being a part of it.
*taps computer*
Is this on? Ah, it is!
Welcome to the finale of the Trost arc…! Erm… should've put that at the top of the chapter, huh?
So this overly long chapter concludes the Trost arc. The stage has been set for the reveal, and the writing process shall be rather fun. However, for now I do hope you enjoyed this excessive chapter.
I don't have much else to say. I enjoyed writing this but the process has left me rather tired. I'm gonna go have a go at Monster Hunter World Iceborne and have a go against my boi, Brachydios to unwind.
But before that, onto some review replies!
*plays Brutish Indigo to set the mood*
Dead344156: ah shucks, you flatter me. I don't consider my chapters to be too good, but I'm glad someone thinks that they are!
daggercloak000: regarding the question with Tekkadan being transported to the AOT universe… erm… {REDACTED FOR SPOILERS}
blacksoul123: well who knows who he reveals himself to first? Definitely not me, the author! And the last part was foreshadowing.
starscreamer11: it's closer than you think, and definitely not in another few months if I continue at this pace. And damn you're taking this quarantine better than I am. I've been seeing this big chocolate in the living room every day, but my dad says it's the TV! Ludicrous!
Blitza: well I'm you enjoyed that little exchange!
Adriaus Nighthunter: well I'm glad you did, and here's the next (overly long) update!
MachineOmega: well no need to be patient this time, I suppose?
Spyro fanboy: ah shucks. It's horribly flattering to know I have an admirer… and regarding the two groups of MCs, it's more of an anchor so that I don't stray too far from the canon of the show. Even if this fanfic does devient very far from the source material, I don't want to stray too far from it.
Touhoufanatic: well then I should probably crack my fingers so the reveal will live up to your expectations. And yeah, the answer is on the way *wink wink*
Kamikisekai: well when it comes to me, 'quickly' is the equivalent of several chapters, so don't get your hopes up…
Arenjie: I mean it has been 8 chapters since Barbatos returned. It definitely has been long enough.
That's mostly it.
WHY IS IT SO HOT BY THE WAY. I CAN TOLERATE QUARANTINE BUT WHY IS THE TEMPERATURE SO DAMN HIGH.
I, STURAIKA JAY, SHALL NOT STAND FOR THIS! ZA WARUDO, TOKI WO TOMARE!
*DUBSTEP FART*
Elsewhere
"Orga Itsuka, it is a pleasure to see you once more."
As he said that, the man dressed in a dapper black suit lifted his hand up to pull the fancy gold mask off his face, revealing who he truly was. Orga required a moment to process that information as he leaned back in his chair, bewildered by the sudden turn of events as he made eye contact with none other than the Gjallarhorn Seven Star member, Mcgillis Fareed, one of the seven most politically powerful people alive.
"You told me that you were a part of Gjallarhorn, but I never thought you'd be a Seven Star member," admitted Orga, not knowing what else to say as Mcgillis Fareed smiled, placing his mask atop his desk as he nodded.
"I apologise for my deceit. It was necessary for me to conceal my true name from all, including you, whenever I travel abroad to make allies of… questionable origins," apologised Mcgillis, his smile as disarming as ever, though Orga didn't trust it. The blonde was always rather sly with his honeyed words, even before he revealed himself as Mcgillis, and if he were honest, Orga found himself trusting the guy even less now.
Even so, he wasn't one to throw a guest out, even if he really wanted to, and as such, he sighed.
"It's fine. Why exactly have you come here, anyways?" inquired Orga, frowning as he spoke. He had quite a lot of things to do today, a ton of paperwork and even more to come, no doubt, and he really wanted to make things quick.
"You always did enjoy getting right to the point, Orga. That's one of the reasons why I like you," replied Mcgillis, smiling as Orga narrowed his eyes at Fareed's honeyed words. Noticing that he probably wouldn't be able to maintain that tone of voice for long without irritating his alter ego's business partner, Mcgillis was quick to nod as he continued. "As such, I shall keep this as brief as I possibly can.
"Do you recall the Battle of Edmonton?"
And at that, Orga slammed the side of his fist against the table, standing up from his chair as he glared at Mcgillis, who, to his credit, remained passive.
The Battle of Edmonton was a major sore spot for Orga. It had been Tekkadan's first victory, their first job well done, and though it was a great thing for the company, for Orga himself, it was quite a massive loss.
Having lost Mikazuki on that day… he still hasn't gotten over it…
"You're skating on thin ice, Mcgillis Fareed," warned Orga as Mcgillis' smile faded, with his expression turning serious as he nodded, showing Orga that he knew that things could possibly end badly for him if he worded his next few lines incorrectly. And as such, he remained quiet for a short while to think of what to say next before continuing.
"Yes, but what if I told you that Mikazuki Augus, and by extension, Gundam Barbatos, is still alive?"
Fun fact: Montag is Mcgillis' middle name