The plan… was simple, or at least it was in theory.
But in execution…? It had proven a lot more difficult than anyone had expected to just lure Annie towards the tunnels, and likewise, it seemed as though she had seen through their plans with very little issue, as now, she seemed ready to transform at any given second.
In all honesty, Eld Gin had hoped that she did no such thing. Though it would've been splendid, for them to finally capture and possibly kill the bastard that murdered so many soldiers during the 57th Expedition, the blonde was still skeptical about the whole theory revolving around Annie being the Female Titan and, to a further extent, he did not wish to believe that Mikazuki Augus was a traitor either.
But even so, as a good soldier, as one of many good soldiers amidst the Survey Corps, Eld was still obligated to follow Erwin's command, and though he was reluctant to do so in the first place, he still followed his orders and stalked the four soldiers through the streets of Sina via the rooftops. The plan had been laid out by their superior, and as such, they had no reason to question it, even as they laid in wait whilst Mikasa, Eren, Armin and Sasha began goading Annie down into the tunnels where they would ambush her.
"I've failed them as a friend."
"..." turning his gaze towards the soldier closest to him, Petra Ral, Eld raised a brow when he heard Annie's comment. Vice versa, the ginger seemed rather… confused at the traitor's words as she contemplated taking a peek over the building, though she thought better of it as she simply perked her ears up and listened.
"I took their trust in me and twisted it in my hands. Choked it, tore it apart, ate it and spat it back out like it was nothing. I did that, Armin Arlert, because I thought that I was strong enough to face the consequences. But I was not. When they appeared, I gave into my fear and showed who I really am.
"A weak, selfish, coward of a girl."
… that didn't sound like a traitor, not to Eld, anyways. Though that didn't excuse her actions during the Expedition, not by a longshot, it did make Gin wonder if any of Annie's actions back then were made with 100% hostile intentions, though he didn't get far with that thought of his as he continued listening in on the tense conversation down below.
"But you know what? I may be all of those words, and then some… but there was one thing that I never was, and that was a quitter.
"You've placed your bets on this, haven't you? You betted well… almost perfectly, I might add, but I've been betting on things with higher stakes. And I realized… that I've lost my bet. So there's no reason to play nice, not anymore."
Tensing up at that, Eld felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he glanced over at Petra, who seemed to understand what Annie's words seemed to entail as she nodded, grabbing onto the sheathed handles of her Anti-Titan blades all the while. All around them, the small group of soldiers did the same as well, with the incognito Survey Corps tensing up as well, ready to jump in at a moment's notice.
Gulping a fair bit at that, Eld reached for his flare gun and got ready to make use of it, though before he could even worm his fingers around its handle…
"Oi! An'ie Leon'ardt!"
… Sasha spoke…
"Don't ferget! A co'nered animals' always a dangerous un'!"
… and seconds later, a flare was fired at an angle, whizzing past Annie Leonhardt's head and disorientating her briefly, allowing the incognito soldiers to leap out of their hiding spots and move to restrain the Titan Shifter. Widening his eyes a little at that, Eld and Petra, and by proxy the other hidden soldiers, were ready to jump in as well, with all of them vaulting over the rooftops as they moved to support their fellow soldiers.
Though right as Squad Levi, amongst many others, stood up to do just that, they found themselves widening their eyes as a powerful bolt of lightning struck the point where Annie Leonhardt once stood at, and seconds later, the shockwave of the attack obliterated the buildings around the Titan Shifter in a fifty metre radius, killing… dozens of soldiers whilst incapacitating and burying several others under the rubble in the process.
And as the smoke cleared around the impact point, a single, solitary Titan remained, and in an almost furious, primal manner, it lifted its head towards the heavens and screamed out in fury, almost as though it were cursing the heavens above for its very existence.
"My god…"
Those were the only words that managed to escape Nile Dawk's lips as he watched Annie Leonhardt's transformation into her Titan form from atop the wall of Sina. Alongside him were but a handful of other soldiers, namely Erwin Smith, Mike Zacharius, Levi Ackerman and Hanji Zoe, with the three of the four of them looking barely surprised as they watched the Female Titan screech in rage.
"I… I didn't think that what you said was true… and even now… I… I-I…" stuttered Nile in disbelief as his mind struggled to acknowledge the fact that one of his new recruits was a traitor all along. In response to this, Erwin simply nodded in understanding, with him finding Dawk's dismay to be understandable as he motioned for Mike to give the gate operators the signal, and thereafter, glanced back towards the eastern wing of Karanses, with him nodding subtly in approval when he saw a single purple flare rising skywards as the seconds ticked by.
"I understand, Nile. When Armin, Mikasa and Eren came to me with this claim, I was skeptical as well," stated Erwin dispassionately. Nile offered no response to this as he continued to stare down at Annie in dismay, and moments later, he grimaced.
"But why… why would she…" muttered Nile, with his mind barely managing to keep up with what was going on as he spoke, only for Erwin to cut him off.
"We do not know, but what we do know… is that she is our enemy. And for now, it is our duty to bring her in," groaned Erwin, with him watching as the soldiers on ground level began to combat their traitor. Smith grimaced as he watched the Female Titan swat them out of the sky with brutal efficiency, with her… with it caring very little for collateral damage as it swatted a Survey Corp out of the sky, crushed their body in its hand and threw what remained of their mangled self at another soldier, indirectly swatting them out of the sky in the process.
Narrowing his eyes at this, Erwin eventually shut them as he grimaced and did his best to drown out the sound of the soldiers all around him. As he did so, however, the Commander felt his mind drifting back to just a few days prior, where the whole situation regarding Annie Leonhardt had been brought to his attention in the first place…
Several days prior
Things had been quiet, so to speak, as Eren sat with Levi in the Rose HQ, with him fidgeting nervously all the while. Ackerman remained quiet, with him ignoring the bickering of his squad mates all around them as he drank a cup of black tea that almost looked like a cup of poison.
It probably tasted like poison as well, but who was to say at this point.
Regardless, a couple of hours prior, the entirety of Squad Levi, plus Eren, were informed via letter that Erwin Smith would be present in their HQ for a… meeting of sorts. Nothing more was elaborated upon, but even so, Levi and the rest of his team remained vigilant for his presence, and before long, Erwin made his presence known by pushing the main gates of the HQ open and marching in with purpose.
Upon his entry, the soldiers present, sans Levi, stood up and saluted him, with Ackerman simply nodding in acknowledgement as he set his glass cup down onto its saucer before standing up. Erwin mimicked his nod before he stepped further into the building, though as he did so, Eren, and subsequently everyone else present, appeared surprised when they saw that there were several other soldiers present.
Erwin aside, Hanji and Mike were both present as well, with Lauda, one of the former's squadmates, present alongside them. A most of Squad Mike was present as well, with the only member missing being Tomas, and, perhaps most surprisingly, there were four new recruits present alongside them as well, namely Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Sasha Braus and Jean Kirstein.
Raising his brow in confusion, Eren opened his mouth to ask about what was going on… but before he could do so, Gunther held a hand up to shush him as Erwin nodded in his direction.
"Eren Jaeger. It is good to see that you are well. The same can be said about the rest of you," greeted Erwin gently, with him remaining stoney faced as he spoke. At that, the soldiers simply nodded in appreciation, and thereafter, their Commander, not being one to beat around the bush, got straight to the point. "I believe that, thanks to the efforts of Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert, we have deduced the identity of the Female Titan."
Upon hearing this, Eren and the entirety of Squad Levi, even its namesake, perked up as they seemed ready to question their Commander, though before they could do so, Hanji, who appeared a lot more serious than she usually was, stepped forward and held her hands up, belaying their inquiries all the while.
"Not only that, but we believe that one… Mikazuki Augus, has possibly turned against us as well," added Erwin, with him remaining just as impassive as he initially was as he said this. Upon hearing this, the soldiers present, namely Eld and Gunther, appeared to be taken aback, though Oruo appeared mildly smug about it as he snorted victoriously. Most of Squad Mike seemed incredibly apprehensive about this issue, though they said nothing on it as they were all brought towards a table, where a map of Sina was laid out.
Sitting down on either side of the table, or simply standing behind the seats, the soldiers were quickly briefed on the absolute basics of the issue at hand. Erwin stated that Mikasa was the one that figured most of it out, and though her claims had sounded like baseless accusations at first, after a few hours of consideration, they acknowledged the fact that there was some truth behind her words, and that, combined with some deep rooted suspicions that plagued most of the soldiers present, made them consider Ackerman's words.
"Sir, with all due respect, but… are we suspecting Mikazuki Augus of being another traitor?" inquired Gunther, with him holding quite a bit of faith in the pilot as he spoke. Eld and Petra nodded in agreement, with the three of them, despite their limited interactions with the pilot, knowing enough about him via Keith Shadis' reports to say that, at his heart, Mika was a good person, one that seemed unlikely to betray… well, he would probably betray a lot of people, now that they thought about it, but if those people had his family on their side, he would never even think of doing such a thing.
"I am unwilling to confirm nor deny that statement, Gunther, but as things stand now, there is a high chance of him being against us," stated Erwin coldly, eliciting a wince from the soldier as he spoke. It was hard to believe, that much was obvious… and amongst the uncertain crowd of soldiers under Levi's command, Eld was the one to speak up first.
"But why do we believe as such, sir? Like, with all due respect, but hasn't Mikazuki Augus proven himself to be trustworthy, if a little bit of a loose cannon?" piped up the blonde soldier, eliciting a nod of agreement from Erwin as he concluded.
"Eld…" began, surprisingly enough, Hanji, who was amongst the many standing, as she crossed her arms in a surprisingly solemn manner. Her lack of enthusiasm was usually a bad sign for… well, everyone, really, and as such, Schwartz was ready for something properly bad to leave her lips as he turned to glance at her. "I… I don't want to believe it either. That the owner of such a sexy piece of non-Titan equipment could be a traitor… but even so…"
"The evidence that points to him being a potential traitor is high enough that we cannot ignore it," concluded Erwin, with him frowning as he spoke from the far end of the table. Everyone promptly turned their attention towards him as he continued. "Though we do not wish to admit it, all of us here have doubted Mikazuki Augus' loyalty towards us on more than one occasion, have we not? I myself am guilty of this as well."
As he said this, several soldiers present all began to appear sheepish, more or less confirming his words as he continued.
"However, through his actions, we began to believe that he was firmly on our side. The Trost Incident, the Preliminary Expedition, him offering us assistance in counteracting the traitor's attacks and, most recently, the 57th Expedition. His actions amidst these events have seemingly cemented him as a trusted ally, one that while not entirely loyal to us, can still be counted upon for support."
"Well… if that's the case, then what has he done to even warrant this suspicion, sir? Like, with all due respect, Mikazuki's saved quite a lot of our backsides on multiple occasions, and I don't think that any kind of traitor would willingly save Hanji from being decapitated," pointed out Petra, with her skepticism being noticeably higher than her peers as she spoke. Hanji herself gave her a look that screamed; "FINALLY!" as she offered Ral a wink. Mike and a good majority of his team seemed to agree as well, but Erwin didn't seem to care as he shook his head and countered Petra's reasoning with some of his own.
"On a surface level, that much is obvious. But even so, if you look deeper… then you might see some cracks form in regards to Mikazuki Augus' allegiance," stated Erwin, with him exhaling sharply before continuing. "Multiple reports given to me have made me believe that Mikazuki knew of the Female Titan's identity, or at the very least suspected who they were, as early on as prior to the Preliminary Expedition."
As he said this, Erwin recalled a briefing he had with Teams Levi and Mike, alongside Eren and Mikazuki, some time after the Preliminary Expedition had ended. Though the briefing was mostly uneventful, the Commander still recalled how the pilot had acted before he left the room. He almost appeared… reluctant to leave without saying anything back then, and though he had not divulged any information back then, his hesitation was still enough to pique the Commander's interest…
"Likewise, one must wonder… how exactly did Mikazuki even know of where the traitor would strike during the 57th Expedition," continued Erwin, with him frowning as he spoke. At that, Squad Levi muttered between themselves as they recalled the briefing they had back then. They still remembered how Mikazuki had volunteered to be with the Rear Guard, with him having suspected that the Female Titan would strike from there, and now that they thought about it, it did feel rather… strange for him to know about this. The Female Titan's host, according to the multitude of reports, had a disguise, after all, and as such, it could have infiltrated the formation from any other angle, with the Rear Guard being just one of many options that they could've taken…
… it almost felt as though Mikazuki knew the traitor, almost on a personal level, to the point where he knew about their thought patterns.
"With all due respect, Commander Erwin, but though your reasoning is… logical, for the lack of a better term, don't you think that you're blowing this out of proportion? It's entirely possible that it's all just a big coincidence, after all, seeing as how, logically speaking, the traitor would attack the Rear Guard, the largest bit of the formation, in order to sow chaos amidst the formation, and at the time," inquired Eld stiffly, with him standing up from his seat as he spoke. He… wasn't a fan of this. It felt as though Erwin was just trying to get rid of Mikazuki, but he didn't voice that out as Smith shook his head and continued.
"Perhaps, but even so… with our situation being as dire as it currently is, we must consider all possible options, and currently, in my eyes, the option of Mikazuki Augus being against us seems the most plausible," stated Erwin solemnly. His tone of voice came as a surprise to the other soldiers present, as there was some genuine remorse in his voice as he singled out the pilot as an enemy, though it didn't stop him from continuing regardless. "I myself do not believe that Mikazuki is completely against us, so to speak. I simply believe that he has been tricked by our enemy into… aiding them, be it directly or indirectly."
"Sir, are you suggesting that… Mikazuki allowed the Female Titan to get as far as it did… on purpose?" asked Eren in apparent disbelief, to which Hanji scoffed, though she bit her tongue, for now, as Erwin nodded. He thought it best not to acknowledge the skeptical looks on his subordinates as he spoke
"Potentially, yes. I was informed that, prior to the Expedition starting, the traitor had managed to pull Mikazuki Augus out of the watchful eye of his overseers… something that I assume will never happen again in the future," answered Erwin, with him shooting Squad Mike a critical glare as he spoke. They had the decency to look sheepish as he continued. "It is likely that they revealed themselves to him here, and when they did, they manipulated his loyalty towards his family for their own benefit, forcing him to allow them to advance during the Expedition."
"That sounds… plausible, actually. To a certain extent, anyways," muttered Gunther after a few moments of silence, with him frowning a little in thought as he considered Erwin's words carefully. At the same time, his comrades also pondered on what they had just learnt, and before long, they found themselves… agreeing with Smith's words as they hummed in mild uncertainty.
All except for…
"Sir! With all due respect, but… I don't think that Mikazuki would do such a thing!" argued Eren, who jolted up from his seat to make his voice known to the soldiers present. At that, everyone turned to regard him, and though he felt a little awkward at first, he was quick to continue. "Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Sasha… you guys remember how Mikazuki was back when we were Cadets, right? And even after graduation… he was always rough around the edges, but he would never abandon any one of us, let alone turn traitor for any stupid reason!"
"Eren…" muttered Mikasa, with her wanting her little brother to calm down, only for him to continue. Most of the soldiers were taken aback by this, with them having not expected for the shifter to have as much respect as he did for the pilot. They had always assumed that there was some jealousy between the two, nothing more, and though Eren was very much envious of Mikazuki's greater power, the boy was still mature enough to see Augus as an invaluable asset to them, and, more importantly, though he was a prick, the guy would never leave a friend behind, no matter the circumstance.
Whoever this traitor was… they had to be someone with power over him… that was the only feasible explanation for Erwin's claims…
"Mikasa, listen to yourself! You're accusing Mikazuki of being a traitor! The same Mikazuki that marched through a frozen training ground just to save Christa, Daz and Ymir! The same Mikazuki that saved so many lives during the Trost incident! The same Mikazuki that saved my skin on so many occasions! Is your head even screwed on straight?! Mikazuki would NEVER turn his back on us!" proclaimed Eren, with him slamming the base of his fist against the table as he concluded, to which no one said anything as he began hyperventilating out of frustration.
The members of Squad Mike seemed to approve of Eren's words, with Lynne almost smiling as she stared down at the Titan Shifter with some small amount of respect. That in itself was to be expected, really, as Mike's team was very much the closest to the pilot, having spent the most amount of time with him due to their role as his overseers, and though some of them, or rather just Henning and no one else, would never admit to it, the group has very much become rather… fond of that kid, so much so that they genuinely did not believe that he could be a traitor in any way, shape or form. But even so… Erwin did bring up some valid points during a meeting prior to this one, and he did manage to at least make them suspect Augus of treason to varying lengths… even if none of them were on board with the idea completely.
Similarly, Squad Levi weren't entirely on board with the idea either, though their lack of personal connection with Mikazuki did make them suspect him more than their comrades did. With that being said, however, they still remained skeptical about the issue as a whole as they had read the reports filed in by various members of Squad Mike, all of which affirmed the fact that Mikazuki Augus displayed no signs of treachery, but even so, the seasoned soldiers of Levi's team knew that it was possible that the pilot had been fooling them since God knows when.
"The brat's right, you know?" piped up Levi after some time, with him frowning as he leaned forwards to take a sip from his cup of pitch black coffee. Blinking a little at his words, everyone was quick to turn towards him to listen to what he wished to say, and by then, he had drained his cup of its contents and continued to speak. "Though the other brat's got a lot of power hidden up his sleeve, we've never really seen him abuse it in any way. Take it from me, Erwin, that pilot of ours wants to help us. If he didn't, he wouldn't have saved so many soldiers back during the Expedition, and he sure as Hell wouldn't have cared to assist us in clearing out the Titans when our attempt at capturing the Female Titan went south."
The soldiers around Ackerman hummed in apparent agreement as he let his reasoning for all this sink in, and at that, Eren found himself almost smiling as he saw that Levi's words were changing some of their minds. Petra in particular seemed to agree with her Captain completely as she discussed the matter with Eld, and the entirety of Squad Mike, sans their namesake, seemed relieved at the notion.
Erwin, however, was unphased…
"Levi Ackerman, I will say that you've made some valid points, but even so, we have no way of knowing whether or not Mikazuki had done those things in order to maintain his cover and to deceive us further on his true allegiance. For all we know, Mikazuki Augus could have used the excuse of slaying Titans to cover up his " rebutted Erwin, with him rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he spoke. To this, Levi himself snorted and looked away in acknowledgement, with him shrugging as he acknowledged the truth behind his superior's words, and with that done, the Commander turned towards Eren, who flinched a little as Smith continued to speak.
"And Eren Jaeger, while it is heartwarming to hear you defend your fellow 104th Graduate, I must insist that you set aside your emotions and look to the bigger picture," said Erwin dismissively. In response to this, Eren appeared offended as he opened his mouth to retort, with him wishing to state that, even with his affirmation of Mikazuki's innocence being redundant, the pilot was still an invaluable asset to the Survey Corps, only for his superior to cut him right off. "After all, it seems as though Mikazuki was unable to put aside his emotions, and because of this, he was manipulated into becoming the Female Titan's puppet."
"... what?" muttered Eren after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, and likewise, most of Squad Levi, its namesake included, seemed intrigued with what their superior was talking about, and at that, Armin thought it best for him to pipe up.
"Eren… we… we suspect that the Female Titan's host, our first traitor, the one that turned Mikazuki against us… is Annie Leonhardt."
Eren's reaction to the fact that Annie was presumed to be the traitor was understandable at first, with him slouching into his seat as he processed his words, and shortly thereafter, he began to protest the issue as a whole, with him finding it preposterous, though as the seconds ticked onwards, he seemed to lose his steam as he leaned back against his chair and buried his face in his hands, seemingly having lost the will to defend either soldier all the while.
After that, it was all a matter of planning out the operation to capture Annie Leonhardt. The soldiers were… less than pleased with this operation, but even so, Erwin had the approval of Nile Dawk to operate within the confines of Sina. Personally, the MPB Commander was apprehensive about the claims of one of his own being a traitor, but he was willing to entertain his friend, especially after all the evidence that was presented to him, to the point where he had part of Sina emptied just to suit the Survey Corp Commander's needs.
The plan was simple, really. Dead simple. They would roll Eren into Sina as a prisoner, just as they had planned for initially, but they would take a route that kept them off the more populated regions. Thereafter, Armin would coerce Annie into assisting them in 'breaking Eren out', so to speak, with Jean acting as a decoy to make the operation feel more authentic. With that done, they would lead Leonhardt to a tunnel system, one that Sasha was familiar with as it was connected to an area close to Dauper Village, and from there, they would capture their potential traitor, with them exploiting the closed off tunnel to their advantage and make it difficult for Leonhardt to escape or transform when cornered from both sides.
Erwin had also added that the area around the operation point would be cleared of any and all civilians as well. They didn't wish to needlessly put them in harm's way, after all, and as an extra precaution, they would clear out the civilians that were in to the Stohess district as well, just to make sure that, should Annie be able to escape, they would have as little civilian casualties as possible.
"Sir, if I may… do we have a possible countermeasure for if Annie Leonhardt transforms?" asked Eld, with him rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he spoke, to which Erwin nodded, though rather than tell Gin himself, he motioned for Mike to do so in his place. Zacharius offered his superior a halfhearted nodded as he stepped towards the table and placed a small chess piece, a King piece, onto the far end of the map, namely the eastern side of it, right at the gates of Karanses.
"The countermeasure… will be Gundam Barbatos," stated Mike stoically, eliciting a confused uproar from the soldiers around him as he spoke. Their confusion was to be expected, all things considered, as their Commander had just spent a decent amount of time planting some seeds of doubt into his subordinates, though before it could get out of hand, Nanaba stepped forwards and spoke up, with her raising her voice to the point where everyone present could hear her, something that was a rarity for the blonde Elite.
"Be quiet, all of you!" ordered Nanaba, with her leaving no room for argument as she spoke with fiery determination. Mike quite liked that, though he said nothing of it as he watched his subordinate sigh in satisfaction when the room finally quieted down, and moments later, she took her Captain's place in explaining what they were going to do. "Alright, so here's the deal. In the event of Annie Leonhardt transforming into her Titan form, the original plan was to overwhelm her via sheer numbers. However, after much deliberation, we realized that it was not efficient. No matter how valuable it would be to capture or even kill her, we will not be throwing the lives of our fellow soldiers at her willy-nilly just to bring her in or down."
"Even so, there's always a chance of that brat just… helping Annie out, you know?" pointed out Oruo, to which he got several glares from the soldiers around him. He did shrink down a little under the combined power of their gazes, but even so, he held his ground. "Hey, w-what's all the staring for? You know I'm right!"
"Yes… you are, but you could learn to be a bit more careful with your words, you know?" commented Gelgar, something that was rather ironic, coming from him, as he shook his head and continued to speak. "But either way, if Mikazuki does actually turn against us, then the entirety of Team Mike will take the fall for it. We were the ones that put forth this plan, after all."
His words came as a surprise to the other team present, and for good reason as well, as a team as Elite as Squad Mike should've seen the risks that came with allowing a potential traitor, one with as much power as Mikazuki no less, pilot his Gundam into the inner sanctums of Sina, but even so, in the eyes of the aforementioned team of Elites, it was a better alternative to what Erwin had planned initially, which was to bombard the empty streets of Sina the moment Annie transformed into her Titan form.
Empty or not, bombarding an entire district would not be a good look for the Military Brigades, and though it would've been an easy way to end the fight quickly, the soldiers present weren't exactly fans of that much collateral damage.
"Regardless, the countermeasure for Annie's transformation is simple. Unlike some others present, we're working under the assumption of Mikazuki being an ally, not an enemy," continued Henning, with him picking up where Gelgar had stopped as he spoke. He shot Erwin a pointed look as he spoke, though he didn't let it linger as he continued. "The moment she transforms, we'll be sending Mikazuki packing. He'll be boosting towards Sina at two-hundred bajillion miles per hour, so expect him to arrive within two minutes or so."
"A gross overestimation, but he's not wrong. We'll be getting those gates cleared up and opened as soon as the thunder hits the ground, though we won't open all of them at once. We want to keep Annie contained in Sina so that we can minimise the damage she inflicts upon her surroundings," added Lynne, with her punching her palm with the base of her fist as she spoke. Team Levi hummed thoughtfully at this as they acknowledged the logic behind this notion of hers, though they said nothing of it as she continued. "But even so… the members of my team will all be hanging back for this battle. We will need to order the gate guards to raise them the moment Barbatos is in range."
"So we'll be fending the Female Titan off without your aid, huh?" clarified Gunther, eliciting a sad nod from Lynne as he spoke. Nanaba saw fit to respond to this inquiry.
"Not entirely. By the time Mikazuki and Barbatos have reached Rose, our external support will no longer be necessary, and we will be present to assist all of you directly," assured Nanaba, eliciting a nod from Gunther. It was understandable, though he hoped that they could hold out for that long against such a powerful foe.
"By the time Barbatos has entered the fray, if at all necessary, all of you are to pull back immediately. I do not wish for there to be any needless casualties, and attempting to assist the Gundam is very much a quick way to an early grave," added Erwin, and to that, his subordinates readily nodded at. They knew how quickly the Mobile Suit could move, and if they were unlucky, it could very well strike them down on accident, and as such, Smith's warning was very much heeded.
"S-Sir… can I ask something of you?" muttered Jean meekly as he raised his hand, eliciting a nod from Erwin, who found some amusement at just how awkward Kirstein was acting as the aforementioned young man cleared his throat and spoke. "I… don't mean to devalue anyone's part in the planning phase, but… wouldn't it be more beneficial to allow Eren to face the Female Titan? Don't get me wrong, Barbatos would make short work of Annie, that we can all agree on, but considering how we can't confirm Mikazuki's allegiance just yet… wouldn't this be a safer alternative?"
The silence that permeated the air was deafening as the soldiers around Jean acknowledged the truth behind his words. Only Team Mike seemed unaffected as they gave him the stink eye, glares that he pointedly ignored as he awaited an answer, one that was given to him within seconds as Erwin nodded and spoke up with little issue.
"What you say is true, Jean, but even so… Mike was able to convince me to use this operation as a… test, of sorts," stated Erwin, with him glancing up at the aforementioned Elite as he spoke. As per usual, Zacharius was unreadable as he stayed as stoic as he usually was, but the few who knew him well could tell that he felt somewhat sheepish on being called out as he glanced off to one side awkwardly.
"A… test?" muttered Eren, confused as to what his superior was talking about. The notion was shared between the other juniors and even the members of Team Levi, who seemed beyond confused at what their Commander was getting at, and at that, he explained himself.
"My initial intentions with Mikazuki Augus was to arrest him. Pulling him out of the picture completely would have been the safest options, after all," stated Erwin, with his words making everyone present flinch. "However, Mike was able to convince me to use this to test Mikazuki's loyalty towards us…"
"What he's trying to say is that, if Mikazuki fights and subdues Annie, then we'll be more lenient on him after the whole ordeal is over and done with. If he helps her, though… then, well… we're kinda screwed, aren't we?" simplified Hanji with a shrug, to which Erwin nodded. Even for him, this was quite the gamble, but he was willing to have some faith in his Elite soldiers and put the responsibility of subduing Annie Leonhardt on their shoulders.
"Okay… but… what about after the operation, sir? What will happen to me and Mikazuki?" inquired Eren, to which the Commander frowned. In truth, with some assistance and mild nepotism through Nile Dawk, Erwin has been able to give Eren some leeway. Should the operation end in a success, Jaeger would be free of any and all charges against put against him, by the Military Tribunal, as his involvement in capturing or killing Annie would, if Nile was to be believed, be more than enough to affirm his stance as a loyalist to mankind.
As for Mikazuki, however, Erwin did make an attempt to appease the Tribunal, with him stating that if he were to be the one to defeat Annie Leonhardt, then it would also affirm his stance as a loyal soldier of humanity. His words were vetoed heavily, however, as the tribunal, namely Zachary himself, feared that the pilot's heart was not fully committed to humanity and that, if he could be deceived by someone he viewed as a friend once, then there was always the chance of him being deceived yet again in the future, and with just how powerful he was, they stated that the best course of action would be to terminate him once the operation was over.
Erwin wasn't a fan of that thought… but even so, he had no choice but to conform with their words.
"Your fates are still uncertain, I'm afraid, but if all goes according to plan, it's likely that you will be pardoned for your apparent crimes, Eren Jaeger," stated Erwin, with him speaking mostly the truth as he nodded towards the junior speaking to him. Eren seemed visibly relieved at this as he slouched his shoulders with a tiny smile, though before he could ask about his fellow abnormal, Smith added; "But we do not know if we can say the same about Mikazuki, as his situation is… different, to say the least."
"But… if he is on our side… you guys will vouch for him, right?" asked Eren almost immediately after, to which Erwin frowned and remained briefly silent. Team Mike found themselves nodding as they all had a profound soft spot for that pilot of theirs, and though Team Levi weren't too fond of the kid, not as much as their fellow Elites anyways, they agreed as well, with them viewing Augus as a good asset to have. As for Erwin, however…
"We will vouch for him if it benefits the Survey Corps as a whole," stated Erwin, with him speaking almost for the rest of his men as he frowned. They didn't seem to like his response, though none of them commented on it as he continued. "However, even if he is not a traitor, the point of him potentially keeping Annie's role as one is a serious offense in its own right, and it is likely that, based on that alone, he will be executed for treason."
"... alright," muttered Eren, defeated as he lowered his head sadly. Erwin… said nothing as he frowned deeply and did his best to ignore the gnawing guilt at the bottom of his stomach, and with that, he adjourned the meeting, with him stating that they only had two days to prepare for what was to come as they departed.
Personally, he hoped that things went smoothly, as he wished for as little civilian casualties as humanly possible… but even so, a tiny part of him did wish for Annie to transform, if only to get Barbatos into the fray.
After all, if both it and its pilot proved itself to be on their side in this battle, Erwin could very well make an argument to keep those two alive and a part of the Survey Corps in the foreseeable future, but considering his luck, he doubted that such a thing would happen…
Reopening his eyes, Erwin found himself sighing a little as he frowned and watched the Female Titan moving to evade several soldiers coming at it, with it occasionally lashing out when they got too close for comfort.
"Erwin, it seems as though Barbatos has reached Rose," pointed out Hanji, with her glancing back and spotting a flare being shot up from above the aforementioned Wall, signaling to everyone present that the Gundam was very much upon them. Upon acknowledging this, the Commander nodded and gestured down at the Female Titan with one of his hands, and at that, the two Elites nodded, with them leaping off the side of the wall to assist their fellow soldiers. Mike, however, remained for a brief few moments before leaving.
"Do you have something to say, Mike?" inquired Erwin calmly as he glanced back at his subordinate, who frowned a little at being called on, though he found himself shaking his head before responding.
"No. I'm just hoping that my faith in Mikazuki hasn't been misplaced," answered Mike, with him walking towards the edge as he spoke. In response to this, Erwin simply nodded, with him knowing that, alongside him and Levi, Mikazuki's scent was always hard to pin down, but even so, Zacharius has always claimed to be able to smell the good in the kid, regardless of whatever he was doing, and though it wasn't perfect, the sniffer's nose has saved many soldiers on many different occasions, and as such, Erwin was willing to put his faith in his friend's nostrils.
"If you're the one saying that he won't betray us, then I have no doubt in my mind that he won't," assured Erwin, with him nodding a little as he spoke, eliciting a snort from Mike as he shook his head in dismay.
"Liar."
And with that, Mike leapt off the side of the Wall, with Erwin almost smiling all the while at just how perceptive his friend was.
"Yeah, I know…"
Line break
The soldiers circling Annie Leonhardt's Titan form were given express orders to capture, not kill, but even so, it was… difficult for them to do as such.
Primarily, it was due to the fact that it was… difficult, to actually get a bead on their opponent. Annie's Titan form, despite its size, was deceptively fast, and she was able to wave her way around the soldiers' attacks with minimal issue. Secondarily, however, the soldiers present felt no small amount of righteous anger directed towards the Female Titan. A good majority of the men and women partaking in the operation were Survey Corps, after all, and they had lost a good amount of their allies to this Titan Shifter during the 57th Expedition.
And by all means, they were all itching for the chance to get back at Leonhardt, one way or another.
"Lauda! Get your team down there and search for survivors from the shockwave!" ordered a soldier, with him pointing towards the wreckage that surrounded the Female Titan as he and his team charged towards the aforementioned Titan. Lauda, who was leading her team in place of Hanji Zoe, simply nodded as she and her team swung off to do as they were told, and in the meantime, the initial soldier grimaced and pointed towards Annie Leonhardt with the tip of his blade. "As for the rest of us… CHARGE!"
Roaring in equal parts rage and fear, the soldiers around their Captain swung forwards, with all of them aiming for specific parts of the Female Titan's body. They were aiming to incapacitate the Titan, after all, and without much in the way of hesitation, they boosted into the fray.
Five soldiers darted in, with them aiming to strike at Annie from multiple directions as the blonde narrowed her cold blue eyes at them and brought one of her hands up to protect her nape. After hardening the aforementioned limb, she began to strike back at the inbound soldiers, with her swinging her arm downwards as she attempted to strike them down. Her attack only managed to hit one of the five, slamming his body down against the ground with an unsavoury splatter, and though the rest of his team were horrified at this, most of them still held strong as they slashed at various parts of Annie's body. They nicked her abdomen, thighs, shins and even gave her a small cut on her cheek, though aside from that, their disorientation from the Titan's attack had disorientated them to the point where they were unable to attack at full force.
Following up quickly from this, a trio of soldiers boosted at her from behind, and within moments, the fastest of the three slashed at Annie's outstretched elbow, causing her to widen her eyes as a mild pain surged through her system. The slash wasn't enough to stop her arm from moving, but it still hurt regardless. As for the other two soldiers, however, Leonhardt snapped her attention towards them and backhanded one of the two out of the sky, sending him soaring towards the ground, where he landed in a disgusting trail of red. The other soldier was caught off guard by the sudden attack as she widened her eyes and turned towards her now dead comrade, though this proved to be her downfall, as, within a moment's notice, the Female Titan jerked her head forwards and headbutted her entire body, shattering almost all her bones and collapsing her ribcage inwards, puncturing her lungs with her own ribs all the while.
The female soldier fell to the ground, coughing out the blood that began to fill her lungs all the while, though as she did so, she was snatched out of the air by a soldier from a separate group that was charging in.
"OMNI-STREAM ATTACK!" roared the head of the formation as he charged in headfirst, with the two others behind him charging in thereafter. Annie noticed how they were charging in a straight line, with the soldier in the middle readying a Flare gun. Grimacing a fair bit at this, the traitor bided her time as she counted the milliseconds it took for the centermost soldier to take aim, and when he did, she leaned her body to one side and watched as the flare that was fired from the gun barrel past her, leaving behind a trail of purple smoke all the while.
The trio of soldiers were shocked to see her dodge the fired flare so easily, none more so than the one leading the attack, who had his blades readied to slash at Annie's face, having presumed that the attack would hit and disorientate her long enough for him to slash at her eyes. His momentary bout of shock was more than enough to allow the blonde traitor to grab him out of the air, and once he was in her grasp, she squeezed, hard, and crushed his body in her hand.
The remaining two soldiers made an attempt to retreat, with the second soldier veering to the right whilst the third went left. However, as the third soldier made an attempt to escape, Annie shot her hand out and caught her Maneuver Gear Wire before it could reel itself back into its container. Her target only realized this when Leonhardt had jerked back on the wire itself, and before she could even move to sever the cord with one of her blades, the blonde traitor swung her towards an inbound group of soldiers, forcing them to scatter all the while. One unlucky soul wasn't able to retreat fast enough and was struck by the human-turned-weapon, and on impact, both were killed in an instant before they fell to the ground with twin unsavoury thuds.
"Shit!" proclaimed one of the soldiers present as he landed atop a building, coming to a halt next to another as they all turned to regard their traitor, who remained on guard as her eyes darted from side to side. She was expecting another attack, no doubt, but unbeknownst to the soldiers surrounding her, she was also looking for an escape route…
"Petra! Petra Ral!"
Groaning a little as she heard that soldier's voice, Petra found her vision returning to her little by little as her eyes cracked open. It was blurry at first, but eventually, it steadied itself as she rubbed at her eyes and groaned in pain, with her allowing her aid, Lauda, to help her stand. Her legs felt wobbly and her ears were ringing, but aside from that, she felt surprisingly alright, though she did have to lean on Hanji's secondary assistant as she stood upright.
"Careful! You might have a concussion, and that's if you're lucky," stated Lauda bluntly as she helped Petra stand, to which she nodded as she allowed herself to be pampered, if only by a little.
"Right… r-right… oh god… the others! W-Where-?!" began Petra, with her remembering where she currently was at the moment. Lauda was quick to ease her worries, however, as held her hand up to placate her thoughts, and before she could hyperventilate, the young woman assisting her spoke up.
"We found them in the wreckage. Not to worry, they're all fine. Eld and Gunther are both alright, if a little dazed, but Oruo had to be taken out of the combat zone, unfortunately," assured Lauda as she pulled a gauze out of a bag around her waist and dabbed it against Petra's forehead. By then, the ginger haired woman had realized that she was bleeding there, though she wasn't able to acknowledge it all that much as she sighed in relief.
"That… that's good. And our traitor?" asked Petra, to which Lauda winced.
"Annie Leonhardt… is still running rampant," stated Lauda uncertainly, and right as those words left her lips, the two women gasped in shock as the traitor in question abruptly stepped a little too close to where they were at. As she did so, Annie backed herself into a nearby building, causing it to fall backwards, towards where Petra, Lauda and a small handful of other soldiers were at, and without waiting for even a second, the small gathering of soldiers began rushing out of the impact zone.
"Gah!" cried Petra as Lauda jumped forwards, bringing the Elite along with her as they lunged out of the collapsing building's impact point, with the debris just narrowly missing the tip of Ral's foot as it came crashing down behind them. Both soldiers took in several deep breaths as they looked between one another with worry, though not long after, they had to turn their attention back towards the battle going on around them when they heard several soldiers coordinating an attack on their target.
A trio of soldiers from the Eastern branch of Survey Corps swooped in, with them making use of several flares to temporarily blind the Female Titan. Charging directly at her face, the trio veered away at the absolute last second before Annie could swing at them, and though one of the three was struck down by the Titans massive hand, they still managed to throw the active flares at her face, blinding her with the smoke that burst out of their containers all the while.
Grimacing slightly as this happened, the Female Titan staggered backwards, out of the smoke surrounding her head, and swung her arm out to dissipate the cloud before her. As she did so, however, she failed to notice how a pair of soldiers were boosting up behind her, not until it was too late, anyways, as she twisted around at the waist to slap them out of the air. Her swing only managed to get one of the two, however, with the strike sending the unfortunate soldier soaring towards the ground, where he skidded to a halt not too far from where Lauda and Petra were at, leaving behind a trail of red all the while.
As for the other soldier, he gave a mighty battlecry and swung his blades at the back of the traitor's knee, slicing into it decently well and forcing Leonhardt down onto one knee for a short while. As this happened, the young man did feel rather victorious as he boosted away to regroup with his allies… though before he could do so, he felt a sudden tension in his leg… and he glanced down to see that the Female Titan had managed to grab onto his ankle between its index finger and thumb.
Glaring up at him with irritated fury, the Female Titan wasted no time in slamming the ensnared soldier down against the ground, with the impact killing him almost instantly, before she slammed the flat of her other hand down onto his already mangled corpse just to be sure. That attack caved in part of the pavement with very little issue, and thereafter, the soldier's corpse was all but forgotten as the traitor stood upright, balancing most of its weight on its uninjured foot all the while.
"... something's not right," muttered Petra as she allowed Lauda to help her up to her feet, confusing the Elite greatly as she allowed her to lead her away from the combat zone.
"What do you mean… not right?" asked Lauda curiously, to which Petra grimaced as she glanced back at the Female Titan, holding its arms up in a strangely defensive stance, appearing strangely… passive, even as several soldiers circled around it, looking for an opening to exploit all the while.
"I… didn't get to fight it directly, but… the reports, all of them, from Mikazuki and even Captains Levi and Mike… they… t-they all reported that the Female Titan was incredibly hostile and violent. Even Mikazuki stated that when it was cornered, it still fought with all it had, like a desperate animal attempting to claw its way out of a bad spot," explained Petra as Lauda let her to a spot that she deemed to be far away from the combat zone, and as she did so, she leaned the Elite against the wall closest to her as she continued to speak. "Its behaviour… it doesn't line up with any of the reports given, not right now, at least…"
"Heh, you know as well as I do that reports aren't exactly to be believed, Petra. If they were, then we'd have no problem with Abnormal Titans!" laughed Lauda bitterly before her faux smile was wiped off her face when one of her fellow soldiers was send flying over their heads, having been thrown by the Female Titan, who was quick to harden its skin to the point of it being invulnerable to damage as several other Survey Corps made a beeline to slash at its outstretched arm. They were forced away from the limb when the traitor jerked its arm to the side, sending them soaring backwards, out of control. "But for all it's worth, it's possible that Annie Leonhardt knows that it's illogical to resist, and that this is her last hurrah before we inevitably take her in."
"That is entirely possible… but even so… she isn't looking for Eren like she was during the Expedition, and she isn't even trying to kill as many soldiers as she can before we wear her down… so what is she doing?" muttered Petra as she watched Annie take on a defensive posture. As she did so, a small group of soldiers approached her from all sides, fully intent on catching her off guard, but before they could get close to her, the Titan Shifter lifted her leg up and performed a powerful roundhouse kick.
The aforementioned attack was strong enough to create a minor shockwave that sent several of the soldiers flying backwards, with most of them dying on impact whilst those that were unlucky enough to be hit by her leg being reduced to nothing more than a fine red mist. The aftershock of the attack was so great that both Petra and Lauda felt themselves being pushed backwards by its intensity, though they held strong, even as the pressure threatened to send them flying.
"SHIT!" proclaimed Petra as she took a step backwards, only for Lauda to hook her arm around her own and hold her down, much to her relief as she turned towards her fellow soldier and nodded in gratitude. "So that bitch has crowd control too, huh? This day just keeps getting better and better…"
"Oh, don't say that, for all we know-" began Lauda, only for Petra to glare at her.
"Not. Another. Word," snarled Petra, with her having experienced her fair share of tempting fate as she glared at the researcher, who immediately shut her mouth as she nodded, having acknowledged her slip up by then as she grimaced at her sloppiness. Than in itself led to a small bout of silence between the two as they observed the battle from afar, though not long after, Ral grimaced and stepped forwards. "Screw this! I'm going in to support!"
"Petra, hold! You're still injured! We don't know if you're suffering from internal bleeding, but if you are, you need to stop moving too sporadically until we can get you to a medical ward!" protested Lauda, who frowned as she moved to stop the soldier from stepping further onwards. She managed to catch Petra, but even so, the Elite pulled herself away from her grasp as she turned to face her fully.
"With all due respect, Lauda, but we can't afford to waste any time now! Our allies are dying, and I for one am unwilling to stand by and watch!" rebutted Petra harshly as she glared at her fellow soldier, daring her to stop her. For her part, Lauda knew that she stood little chance in overpowering the Elite, even in her weakened state, and she was about to open her mouth and attempt to reason with her, though before anything could leave her lips…
"MA'AM!"
The sound of Eren Jaeger's voice could be heard echoing through the area as the two soldiers turned to face the aforementioned junior, and when they did so, they found themselves grimacing when they saw him, alongside Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman and Sasha Braus rushing towards her and Lauda at full speed. The mere sight of them made Ral wince as she sharpened her gaze in annoyance, though before she could say anything to them, she felt herself wincing as she doubled over in pain.
"Petra! I told you to not jostle yourself!" cried Lauda worriedly as she moved to support the aforementioned soldier once more, eliciting a wince from the Elite as groaned and nodded in affirmation, though before she could recover fully, she felt someone supporting the other side of her body, prompting her to turn towards that person and see that it was Sasha Braus, who had her arm slung over her back as she kept her up on her feet. Petra nodded in appreciation at Braus' assistance, though not long after…
"Sorry, Lauda, but even so… Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, Sasha Braus… were you not told to leave the combat area the moment Annie Leonhardt transformed?!" proclaimed Petra, to which Eren winced. Armin appeared mildly sheepish as well, though Mikasa and Sasha didn't seem to care as the Titan Shifter shook his head.
"With all due respect, ma'am! With Annie rampaging around Sina, and after that initial blast when she transformed, there's bound to be injured people around the general vicinity! Civilians and soldiers! We couldn't just leave them to die!" rebutted Eren, with him clenching his fist tightly as he looked past Petra and saw a soldier buried beneath some rubble. His hand twitched a little as Jaeger gasped and rushed towards his position, followed by Mikasa all the while.
"But… Erwin's orders…" muttered a gobsmacked Petra, with her frowning at the notion of someone… anyone disobeying the Survey Corp Commander. Before she could continue on with her words, however, Sasha gently pulled on the Elite's arm, and as she did so, she offered her superior a small, sad smile before speaking.
"His orders are significant, that much I can agree with… but at the end of the day, ma'am, they are just words. Words can be ignored, and we chose to ignore them," stated Sasha meekly as she adjusted her grip on Petra. As she spoke, Armin rushed over to assist his friends with the medkit that he had hidden in his cloak, with him doing his best to seal the wounds that were present on the soldier that they had just dug out from the debris. "Or at least, Eren chose to ignore them. He wanted to help look for survivors. Wrestled out of Mikasa's grip just to run up here… it was pretty damn m'pressive…"
"... and what of the rest of you? You should have dragged him out of here," stated Petra critically, to which Sasha frowned.
"To me at least, actions are always louder than words. And Eren's conviction ta' make sure that everyone was alright? It was more than nuff' to convince me to follow him up ere' and disobey the Commander's orders," stated Sasha bluntly, to which Petra flinched a fair bit at. She wanted to argue against Braus' words, but even so, her argument died in her throat when she acknowledged the truth behind them. Though Erwin was very much an inspiration to her and many others, he rarely ever led by example, with him always preferring to use his words to inspire others into offering up their lives for their cause.
Eren, on the other hand, was more than willing to put his very life on the line, beyond even the call of duty, to ensure that his fellow soldiers got out of a situation safely, with him almost disobeying Squad Levi's orders back during the 57th Expedition.
Likewise, Mikazuki, though not a leader by any stretch of the imagination, was also committed to the safety of others, even if he would never admit such a thing, and whilst Erwin had a knack for sacrificing the lives of others under the presence of 'winning this war', the pilot, based on what little Petra knew about him, seemed to have a 'no one is expendable' mindset, something that she could, surprisingly enough, respect just a bit more than her Commander's cold and, at somes, questionable one.
"... kh, I can't argue against you on that, but you kids still need to retreat. I won't risk any of your lives in this operation!" ordered Petra, with her grimacing deeply as she spoke. Her words applied more to Eren than the others, as the young soldier was very much the key to humanity's victory, so says Erwin, and if he died today, then they would have little to no hope for the future. At the same time, however, Ral also did not wish to see Ackerman, Arlert and Braus die either, as human casualties never did sit too well with her.
"Ma'am, if anything you should be the one retreating!" argued Armin as he finished bandaging the wounds on the soldier they had just dug out, and to that, Petra winced as the group took cover as a chunk of debris as throw in a direction close to them. Annie had just wiped out two soldiers with that loose chunk of debris, crushing their bodies beneath it all the while. "Shit! You're injured! Please, ma'am! You're not a mountain! Like the rest of us, you're still human… and like you, we don't want to see any more people die!"
"But I have a job to do, kid! I need to make sure Eren survives!" proclaimed Petra in defense of herself, and at that, Sasha nudged her gently and offered her a lopsided grin.
"You've done all that you could, ma'am, so fer' once, let us' young'uns handle the issue," suggested Sasha, with her smiling gently as she spoke. "We've trained fer' this, f'ter all. Eren's a soldier, like the rest a' us, and like… let's say you, he's pledged ta' give his life to the cause. So let em' do what he's pledged to do… and let him fight. If not for your sake, then fer' his!"
"... kh…" groaned Petra as she felt the gravity behind Sasha's words sink in. As she did so, she glared at the soldiers before her as she thought of her next course of action carefully, and not long after, she pried herself free from Lauda and Sasha's grasp and stood up on her own, an act that took the soldiers by surprise as the former moved to assist her once more, only to stop when she saw Ral salute her juniors stiffly. "Eren Jaeger, as a soldier under Levi Ackerman's Elite Squadron, I am hereby giving you the authority to enter the battlefield! Keep that Female Titan from causing any deaths, if only until backup arrives, and if possible, capture or kill it! Am I understood?!"
"Y-Yes Ma'am/Yes Ma'am!" was the immediate response from both Eren as he turned to charge into the fray, and at that, Petra collapsed to one knee as she felt some of her bones give way, though she said nothing of it, even as Lauda, Armin, Mikasa and Sasha rushed to check on her.
"As for you three… go… look for more survivors, please. Avoid the combat zone, but if you see someone who's still alive stuck in there… do not hesitate to rush in and save them…" ordered Petra as she allowed Lauda to prop her up. Glancing at Armin, she gently held onto his shoulder with her free arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "We survey Corps are expendable, so says the other Military Brigades, but don't forget that every soldier here has a family to go back to. Save as many people as you can…"
And with those words uttered, the soldier flinched as the sound of a nearby explosion, alongside a flash of fire, illuminated the afternoon sky.
Annie Leonhardt could attest to being an adaptable warrior, within or without her Titan body.
Having been trained since an incredibly young age, the young woman has since learnt how to fight in many a circumstance, be it against insanely unfair odds or even against other Titan Shifters, and her prowess shone through now more so than ever. She held strong against the seemingly endless hordes of Survey Corps with very little issue, with her striking them down with minimal effort if they got too close.
Her prowess was apparently noticed by the soldiers, however, as they eventually stopped coming at her, having acknowledged that it would be best to hang back and bide their time. She had initially wondered why they were doing such a thing at first, but even so, she was quick to use this to her advantage as she began making a break for it, with her running towards the Wall of Sina all the while.
"Shit… target's mobile! I repeat, the Female Titan is retreating!" bellowed a soldier as he boosted onwards with his fellow soldiers, intent on catching up with the traitor all the while. As they did so, Annie ducked and weaved whenever she heard them gaining on her, and whenever they got close enough to strike at her nape, the Shifter would bring her hand up and shield it in an instant.
A single soldier made an attempt to slash at her ankles whilst another swung in to strike at her abdomen to distract her, though much to their misfortune, the Titan Shifter took notice of both of them and avoided this by jumping into the air. Both soldiers were gobsmacked as Annie leapt skywards, seemingly twirling as she did so, and landing in a somewhat graceful manner behind an abandoned building, and before either could recover from that sudden evasion from Leonhardt, the female Titan Shifter uppercutted the building she had landed behind, sending debris flying towards her pursuers and creating a smokescreen that would keep her hidden for the briefest of seconds.
A handful of the soldiers were knocked down by the debris, with several others slowing down as they weren't sure if they should pursue the Female Titan through that cloud of dust, and using this to her advantage, the traitor rushed onwards. She intended on getting past the wall before her by scaling it, and though she ran the risk of being shot down as she did so, she reasoned that it wouldn't be as bad as remaining here, waiting to be overwhelmed… or worse.
Right as the blonde got close to the wall in question, however, the Titan Shifter took note of a trio of figures descending upon her from above, prompting her to widen her eyes in shock and instinctively swing her arms at the one closest to her all the while. She had fully intended on striking at least one of them down with her swing… but instead of doing that, the one she was lashing out at did something… unexpected.
Right as her fist came close to impacting his body, the soldier she intended on killing held both of his arms, and by proxy both of his Anti-Titan blades, upwards, parallel to the rest of his body, and jolted his body downwards, and as he did so, he began spinning vertically, turning himself into a human buzzsaw that was rapidly descending upon the traitor's knuckles. Annie intended on pulling her arm back the moment she realized this, though she was too slow on the uptake as, right as she began pulling her arm back, the blades made contact with her flesh.
Without missing a beat, the soldier began slicing through her arm like there was no tomorrow. Annie widened her eyes as, within two seconds, the soldier had managed to carve his way down the entire length of her arm, with him only stopping once he got up to her shoulder and kicking off it with quite a bit of flare. Thereafter, he twisted his body around in mid air and fired a Maneuver Gear anchor towards Annie's nape, with him reeling himself in for a finishing blow all the while.
Before that could come to pass, however, the traitor turned on a dime and swung her other fist at the inbound soldier, though much to her shock, rather than swatting them out of the air, the soldier instead slashed through her swinging arm, with him having made use of her own momentum against her to do the deed. As she felt her Titan form's hand being sliced apart, Annie found herself staring at her attacker in shock, and her shock only grew tenfold when she realized who he was…
'Levi Ackerman…!' thought Annie in dismay as the aforementioned soldier landed directly on her face, and before she could even process this fact, he reached behind himself and pulled out a handful of firecrackers. Without wasting even a second, he kicked off Leonhardt's face and threw the primed firecrackers right at her, with the ensuing blasts disorienting her greatly as she screamed and staggered backwards, her injured hand clawing up at her face all the while.
"EN ROUTE! YOU READY FOR THIS, MIKE?!" came a voice up the side of the wall once more, with Annie just barely recovering from the attack from Levi as she turned to face these new attackers. As she did so, she caught sight of Hanji Zoe and Mike Zacharius sprinting down the side of the Wall, with the former moving much faster than the latter as she stared at Leonhardt with hungry eyes. Now, the traitor was feeling skeptical about attacking first, especially as Mike growled and jumped off the side of the wall, launching himself towards her all the while. Widening her blurry eyes in shock, Leonhardt jumped to one side in order to avoid being struck by the powerful soldier, and she managed to get out of his range, albeit just barely, as she felt his blades nicking part of her upper arm as he passed her.
As Mike swung up and moved to regroup with Levi for a follow up attack, Hanji whooped and leapt towards Annie, who was still focused on Zacharius, and landed atop her head, catching her attention all the while. Snarling in rage, Leonhardt made an attempt to swipe Zoe off the top of her head, though before the hit could connect, the bespectacled maniac grinned and jumped off the top of her head and reached behind herself, and as she did so, she momentarily made eye contact with the traitor…
… and seconds later, she pulled the flare gun out from its holster on her back and fired it directly into Leonhardt's eye, causing her to scream as the thing rocketed itself into her eye socket and began blasting out a purple cloud of smoke. Staggering backwards, the traitor moved to claw at her face in an attempt to pry the flare out of her eyeball, though as she did so, Levi and Mike closed in on her, with the former holding onto his blades tightly whilst the latter held a bottle of alcohol with a flaming cloth shoved into its opening.
In an instant, Levi, with a mild grunt, swung his blades at Annie's outstretched arm, severing it almost instantly and sending it flying towards a nearby building, and to follow up on that, Mike swung in and threw the molotov-esc weapon at Leonhardt's stump of an arm. The Elite's accuracy was on point, as, before the traitor could even acknowledge that her limb had been severed, the molotov had impacted her stump, and upon shattering, the entire bottle exploded in a blast of yellow, burning the stump that Ackerman had created all the while.
"That should hinder her regeneration for a bit," stated Mike as he boosted backwards to avoid a sloppy kick sent his way, landing on a nearby building moments later. Thereafter, he had to take flight once more as the Female Titan screamed and lashed out in his general direction, seemingly having lost her temper at this point as she swung her only remaining arm at him. Zacharius was able to evade her swings with minimal issue, though as he moved to regroup with his fellow soldiers, the Female Titan began clawing at her own eye in order to pry the flare out of her eyeball.
"Do you think we can do that to the rest of her limbs?" asked Levi rhetorically as he watched Annie from afar, and as he spoke, he found himself frowning in disgust as he watched the aforementioned traitor reach into oher eye socket with what remained of her only remaining arm and pull it out. Hanji watched on in morbid curiosity as the blonde Titan ripped her eyeball out of its socket and threw its dissolving remains onto the ground, damaging its overall eyesight but stopping the flare from obscuring its overall vision all the while.
"There's a good chance of us doing so if we keep in sync. We can use the other soldiers as distractions if we absolutely must," stated Mike, with him glancing down at Levi as the shorter man glanced back to see a handful of other soldiers boosting in to provide assistance. The Elite nodded at that, with him quite liking the odds that they were now stacked up against as he got ready to give out a few new orders… though before he could do as such… a sudden burst of lightning struck the spot behind him and caused him to wince as his clothes were jolted forwards.
Likewise, Mike and Hanji both flinched as they, alongside Levi, turned to have a look at what had caused the flash and shockwave in near perfect sync… and as soon as they turned around to see the source of the flash… they found themselves grimacing at what… or rather who they saw charging past them.
And even from the centermost region of Wall Rose, Mikazuki Augus and Mina Carolina, even without the aid of Barbatos' long range audio systems, could hear Eren Jaeger's enraged roar, and if anything, it served as motivation for the former to pick up the pace.
He wasn't about to let Eren kill Annie.
If anyone was going to finish the job, it was him…
I feel as though a few people are going to find themselves growing... upset at Erwin for this. Namely that one lad that seems to have it out for him. To that, I say to remember that Erwin, at his heart, is a cold and calculating person. He needs to be logical to lead, and though it is all a byproduct of coincidence, everything that happened during the 57th Expedition would make anyone think that Mikazuki is trying to stick a knife in their back from their point of view. To him, what he's doing is the only thing he can do to ensure humanity's survival.
That aside, things are ramping up. Annie Leonhardt makes her escape attempt, Levi and Hanji have made their play, and Eren Jaeger has jumped in to fight! And to cap it off, we have an enraged Mikazuki Augus and a confused Mina Carolina en route. Only time will tell how this will end... in Annie's death... or perhaps... a possible redemption arc for her?
By the by, a good majority of the equipment used by Mike and Hanji are based off the special equipment used in AOT 2 the Game. So there's that.
Until then, review replies!
starscreamer11: there may still be hope for her!
DojoYoyo: indeed it has...
Guest (Guest223): I wouldn't say that Erwin is manipulative, I'd say that he's just a good man trying his best in a rotten world. He's doing what he believes to be right and ends up doing the wrong thing in order to ensure humanity's long term safety. That's how I've been trying to write him, though evidently enough I may have made a mistake or two in trying to portray him in such a way...
Mustafao0: I'm glad you liked it!
Jredor13: honestly speaking, after what I have planned for Mikazuki after this arc comes to pass, he'll definitely be questioning his loyalty. At the very least to Erwin.
Dead344156: she can run... but she can't hide!
og grid (can't add the dot between lol): for the first part of your review... well, read the intro segment. I changed a portion of the previous chapter in a way that kind of acknowledges your complaint. Secondly, for the trial part... that's debatable and for spoiler reasons, I won't say, but as for Annie... who knows? Anything can happen to her at this point!
Touhoufanatic: Mikazuki is always a master of beside manner, after all.
Oh hey it's my birthday. Happy birthday to me.