Attack On Titan: Wings Of Crystal
Chapter 47: Hero or Villain
Erwin is mortally wounded while leading the charge against the Beast Titan. Flock Forester, one of the recruits, opted to go back for him but Marlo reminded him and the others that he would want them to keep moving forward and never look back.
The Beast Titan shook his head in disappointment at their continued persistence with this suicide charge. Just what were they trying to prove by willingly running into his line of sight?
"How sad. To be deprived of the chance to learn from the past." He uttered to himself as he watched them close in on him. "King Reiss stole their memories of the outside world, and this is the tragic result. They're doomed to repeat the same foolish mistakes. And in the end, all of them will go to their deaths. Young and old pouring out of the walls in a suicide charge. Because if they're going to die, they may as well do so proudly. What bullshit!"
Zeke got so caught up in his rant that he unknowingly crushed the chunks of rocks in his hand into dust. His Titan strength surprised him. He had no idea he could do that before.
"I crushed it into dust? Haha, what's gotten into me?" The Beast Titan bellowed as it picked up another boulder and crushed it into more chunks. "Why am I getting so worked up? You're not like your father, remember? He reminded himself as he readied his next throw.
"I'm not like Lazarus. I don't go around pretending that there's a way to save everyone without spilling blood. To make an omelette, you have to crack a few eggs. And these eggs could do with a little chunks of meat thrown into the mix!"
The Crystal Titan finally manages to snap out of its grief-stricken trance upon noticing the Beast Titan lining up for another throw.
He looks back at Eren who is still lying on the ground by the inner gate. Bertolt and Lazarus were closing on him with Reiner not too far behind. They didn't need him to secure Eren at this time. So instead, he decided to slide down the opposite side of the wall and try and locate Erwin. Or whatever's left of him.
"Lazarus has got this. I gotta save my dad!"
Upon landing, he immediately began sprinting for the open fields where the many soldiers lay dead. With the last of them about to be finished off by Zeke. Among them was Marlo, who spent his last moments alive thinking about Hitch and what she's most likely doing now, moments before he and the last of the recruits had been wiped out.
The Crystal Titan puts its arms up to shield himself from the last incoming bombardment. The rocks came at him so fast that he ended up falling on his ass, right on top of a couple of dead soldiers.
Zeke noticed Michael in the distance and was confused by his sudden appearance.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on the other side of the wall recovering the Coordinate? Why the hell are-
He stops upon only now noticing that all the Titans standing to his right have all been slain.
"Huh? What's this? My Titans have fallen?" He thought to himself.
Suddenly, an anchor comes out of the green smoke fired off by the last Scout and embeds itself right into his shoulder. The one who fired it was none other than Levi Ackerman, who came at him with a vengeful look on his face.
The Beast Titan roars as it reaches out to grab him. Levi circles his arm, dragging his blades along behind him. His entire right arm ended up getting sliced up into several big chunks. Zeke then remembers the warning Michael gave to him about a single soldier posing as a major threat to him. It would seem he's finally met him.
"Is this Levi?"
Levi quickly turns around and closes in on his nape. The Beast Titan responds by covering it up with his hand. But Levi's intended target was his eyes.
After blinding him, he proceeds to take out his legs, forcing the Beast to fall flat on its chest. Zeke tries to harden but he is too slow for the viciously agile captain of the Scouts. He then slices up his other arm, leaving his nape wide open to attack, which he entails in a series of ferocious slashes.
Zeke was forced out of his Titan's nape and is now at the mercy of Levi who pushes his blade into his mouth.
The Crystal Titan recovers and notices the war chief's defeat. Fearing he is gonna kill him, He summons a couple of crystal-spiked projectiles into the air and telekinetically throws them at Levi, forcing him to back off and confront him instead. He didn't really care about saving him. He only defended him because he knew he was a close friend of Lazarus's, and he wouldn't be happy if he just sat there and watched Levi kill him.
"Come to defend your new friend, huh?" He angrily taunted.
The Crystal Titan shakes its head in response. "Save… Father." He manages to barely speak.
"Well, he's dead! And it's all because of you! And him! And Lazarus!" Levi shouted back at him.
He discards the worn-out blades he abused on the Beast Titan and draws his last set of new blades. He didn't have much gas left, but he wasn't gonna let that stop him from taking down his supposed cousin.
"If we can't have the Beast Titan's power, then we'll settle for yours instead!"
He hooks his anchors onto the Crystal Titan's legs and spins himself around, using his signature move to slice up the parts of his legs that aren't covered by crystals. To his surprise, the Crystal Titan was not fighting back against him. It just stood there and took the damage like it was accepting it as punishment.
Within the Crystal Titan's nape, Michael was staring at the ground. Like he had just lost the will to fight. Tears were running down his face as he stared down at Erwin's dead body located just a few feet in front of him.
Seeing him lying there lifeless caused all of Michael's emotions to overwhelm him. He couldn't tell if the sharp pain he just felt in his chest was a result of Levi cutting him up, or if it was the pain of a broken heart. He then let out a roar, not of rage, or fear, but a mournful roar of despair that echoed across the battlefield, causing those who heard it to stop and look in the direction it came from.
His mind was completely blank. Right now, nothing mattered to him. Not the mission. Not Eren. Not Levi. Not even Lazarus. He'd lost his birth parents in the Odiha explosion. His aunt and uncle died making sure he reached the Reiss Family. Now this. It was too much for him to bear.
"Nothing's changed. I still feel cursed. The voices of my ancestors are gone, but I can still feel their pain… I have nothing left. Even if I go back to Marley, I'll have no one. Lazarus has all his new friends and responsibilities now. He doesn't need me anymore… Nothing matters."
A powerful jet of steam burst from the nape of the Crystal Titan, followed by Michael's body. Levi did not question why he was giving up so suddenly. Instead, he just went straight in for the kill. He slices Michael's arms and legs off, separating him from his Titan body and collapsing to the ground.
Levi quickly joins him and grabs him by the hair to lift him to his eye level.
"Hey, Michael." There was no response from him. Only a blank, depressed look on his face. He didn't even react to him being viciously pulled upwards by the hair.
"I know that broken look anywhere. I've seen it on the faces of many soldiers today. Soldiers who gave their lives for me to take down the hairy bastard over there! Their deaths could've been avoided if you hadn't betrayed us." He harshly stated.
"…I had no choice," Michael muttered. "I was one of them from the moment I was born. I lost all my memories of the life I had where I came from. They restored my memories… Our way is the only way-
Levi responds by placing his blade against his neck hard enough that he draws blood. He would've killed him right then and there. But he knows he can't. He intends to feed him to Mikasa so that she can take the Crystal Titan powers for herself. If she was still alive. If not, then he would have no choice but to inherit them himself.
"Erwin already told me about your little meeting with him in his office. It was hard enough figuring out that you and I are of the same blood. But learning that you weren't the person I thought you were was what hurt the most." He turns his head to face him, staring deep into his eyes to show how hurt he was by Michael's choices.
"Erwin took you in. Raised you like his own. So, I decided to train you to be a Scout out of respect for him. Hange and I saved your life when Shiganshina fell. We welcomed you into the Survey Corps with open arms. You were a trusted ally… But all that changed when Lazarus showed up. Reminding you of the person you used to be. In the end, you chose the old life you left behind over the new one we've shaped for you. I'll never forgive you for that. Because you didn't value any of it!"
"You're… you're wrong!" Michael raised his voice, finally showing some signs of emotion. "The life I spent here was worth the world to me. It's just that my old life with Lazarus is just as important to me as the other. I didn't choose them because that life came first. I chose it because I believe in Laz's plan for peace. One where all are equal. Even you."
Levi scoffed at Michael's excuse. Peace? Was that really what Lazarus was trying to achieve? Because he and his friends have a very funny way of showing it. "If the price for peace and unity was a mountain of corpses. Then it's not worth it." He responded.
Suddenly, the Cart Titan appears out of the smoke emitting from the Crystal Titan and lunges at Levi with its mouth wide open. Levi quickly leaps out of the way while Michael ends up getting picked up in its huge mouth. Zeke was sitting atop the cart. His body was tied down since he currently had no arms to grab the sides and hold on.
With both Titan Shifters secured, the Cart Titan makes a beeline for the wall, leaving Levi far behind. She was too fast for him to catch up to on foot. And there were no trees for him to anchor to for ODM gear.
"Hey… Where are you going? Stop!" Levi uttered to himself as he got back up.
"Wait! My dad! We can't just leave him-
"He's dead!" Zeke interrupted Michael. His face was still healing from Levi's blade. He then calls out to the remaining Titans. "GO NOW! RIP HIM TO PIECES!"
All the remaining fifteen meters obey their command and all rush towards Levi.
"I know he's dead! But he deserves a proper burial!" Michael shouted back at the war chief.
"There's no time! We barely got enough time to escape as it is!" He grunts in more pain as he can feel his missing left eye grow back. "Agh! It hurts! You were right about Levi. He is dangerous. But he must've used all his weapons up by now. He'll die like the rest of them! It may've been a hard-earned fight, but victory is ours!"
Michael cries out in despair as crystals form on the nub of his severed arm, desperately trying to reach out to Erwin who only gets further and further away from him the closer the Cart Titan got to the wall.
Around the time Erwin was planning the suicide charge, Armin was trying to formulate his plan to take down Bertolt, Reiner, and Lazarus. Even when Michael leaves later on, their chances of beating the main three are minimal.
The Colossal Titan was almost at the Inner Gate. All attempts to attack him have been thwarted by the Winged who was still perched atop his shoulder like a parrot, constantly on the lookout for them. While the Armoured Titan provided ground support.
"Damnit! We were doing so well! Why'd that flying bastard have to come back now of all times?!" Jean vented his frustration, voicing what everyone was thinking.
All of them started to think that their next best course of action was to get Eren back to the safety of Wall Rose. But Mikasa pointed out how pointless that would be, considering Lazarus could just follow them back and attack them from above while they're travelling out in the open. There was no third option either. Whether to fight or run, the outcome will always be in favour of the Warriors.
Armin continued to observe the Colossal Titan. He was too agitated to see it at first, but as soon as he was calm and focused, he was able to notice the change in its appearance.
"He's thinner."
"What?" Jean asked, confused by what he was on about.
"The Colossal Titan. He's gotten a little thinner." He started explaining. He then points over to the Winged Titan and notices that its left hand hasn't left its spot, which was the side of its neck once since it landed on his shoulder.
"The Winged Titan has the power to generate the same level of heat as the Colossal. But because its body was so small, all that heat was concentrated into fire. That's how it's able to breathe it. But its fire breath isn't infinite."
He then thinks back to all the times the Winged Titan used its flame breath. Such as the time it burned down the forest. The time he used it against the Crystal Titan in their fight. And of course, the impossible-to-miss meteor blast attack it used against the horde of Pure Titans.
"By my count, Lazarus can only use the flame breath a total of five times at its fullest. three times when he's holding back. And only once when he unleashes that massive explosion. Any more than that and he'd end up burning up his entire body."
"Ok. But what does that have to do with Bertolt?" Jean questioned.
"I may be going off assumptions. But I think he's channelling heat into the Colossal Titan to make its steam blasts last longer. It's exactly like Hange said. The best bet against the Colossal is a battle of attrition. Remember her experiments with Eren?" He asked rhetorically before continuing.
"He can only transform up to three times. If that's the case for a fifteen-meter Titan, a sixty-meter might be even less efficient. And then there's his steam. I think he must be burning through flesh and muscle tissue to produce it. The same logic applies to the Winged Titan too. Everything except their skeletons. The only difference is that Lazarus's body heals faster than it can burn. But all that constant burning and healing must be exhausting him."
"So, what are you saying?" Jean asked.
"I have a plan. But we have to find a way to get Lazarus to separate himself from Bertolt for it to work. As for Reiner, the rest of you will deal with him. Draw him away while Eren and I defeat the Winged and Colossal Titans."
Mikasa and Jean were shocked by this quick turnaround. Moments ago, Armin had lost his confidence to lead them into battle against the Warriors. They're unsure where this determination came from, but they're glad it did.
Without question, Mikasa and the others went after Reiner while Armin headed up the wall to meet with Eren who was still lying atop the wall. The Crystal Titan was also heading straight for him. Armin's hands clutch the handles of his blades tightly.
Fortunately for him, Michael was too focused on watching Erwin ride out to his death to notice his approach. And even more fortunate to see him scale down the other side of the wall in a desperate attempt to save him. Now was his chance to get to Eren and revive him.
"What? Where's Michael go-
Lazarus catches a glimpse of Erwin getting hit by the bombardment of rocks and falling off his horse. Now he understood why Michael was abandoning his post.
"He's going after Erwin... I'm sorry, Michael. But the odds of him surviving that attack are very slim. Don't be disappointed if you find him dead." He then spots Armin landing atop Eren's Titan body and attempts to snap him out of his trance like he did before in Trost.
"Armin. I'm sorry, but I can't let you interfere anymore in this mission."
Lazarus was watching him approach Eren and charge up a bolt of bioelectricity into his right index finger, using his thumb as an iron sight and ultimately making a finger gun.
"Sorry, Armin. This won't kill you. But it ain't gonna tickle either."
He then fires off a singular bolt of lightning at the wall. It intentionally misses Armin and strikes the top of the wall underneath Eren. He dodges the strike, but it comes at the cost of his footing. The Attack Titan ends up losing balance and falls down the wall.
"Shit! Eren's down! He may try to escape on ODM gear. I can't let him get away!" The Winged Titan stated.
"Lazarus!"
His eyes were immediately focused on Armin who appeared before him in midair. His eyes were filled with anger and determination as he looked directly into his enemy's eyes.
"I should've known you'd never listen." The Winged Titan spoke softly to his former friend. "Twice before I've warned you to stay away. But I was too blind to see that that's not what the Scout Regiment stands for."
He flares his wings out and intensely flaps them, conjuring up a powerful gust of wind in the hopes of blowing Armin away. But his anchor was deeply embedded within one of the Colossal's teeth and he refused to let go.
"Why can't you understand that I'm trying to save the world?! We need the Founder's power to fix the damage Ymir did to us 2,000 years ago!"
"What does Ymir have to do with any of this? She's on your side now, isn't she?" Armin shouted back at him as he struggled to hold onto his gear.
The Winged Titan let out a frustrated sigh in response to Armin's blindness to the bigger picture. Had any of them known the truth about their worlds and the Eldian race as a whole, maybe they would've joined forces with them. But he wasn't in a position to explain such a long story right now. Not when Eren was right there for the taking.
"Go get Eren. I'll handle Armin." Bertolt mentally instructed him.
"Bertolt-"
"We don't have time to think! Get him now while he's weak! Don't let Armin get into your head. Not again." He sternly interrupted him, showing him that he's no longer the shy boy he used to know and that he's grown over the years.
The Winged Titan glances over at the Colossal and responds with a nod. He stands up and stretches his arms and legs before taking flight once again. He leaves Bertolt's shoulder and flies over to where the Attack Titan landed.
Once he was out of the way, the Colossal Titan let loose another burst of steam that continuously rose in temperature, attempting to burn Armin to death.
The young farm boy turned soldier fought through the increasing pain. It was unbearable for his young mind to handle. Probably the most painful experience for anyone to go through. Even now as he was holding on, he wanted to let go and let gravity finish him off and put an end to his suffering. But he kept holding on, determined to buy Eren as much time as he could to sneak up behind him and take him out, whilst ensuring Bertolt burns through all his stamina and muscle tissue.
As for Lazarus, he finally reaches Eren and makes his move to extract him from the Attack Titan. There was a lot of smoke clouding the area, obscuring his view.
"Eren. Armin. Erwin. Levi. Hange. Sasha. Everyone. You have all fought well. And you've all earned the right to live. I won't kill any of you. I still see you all as my friends. Even if you no longer do. I promise you this. Eren will be the last friend I ever kill!"
His mind flashes back to the nightmare he has had every night since he first obtained the Winged Titan power. The hellish vision of an army of Colossal Titans being led by a gargantuan skeletal beast with Eren's Titan's face.
"I know now. The monster from my nightmares is you, Eren. That's why you need to die. It's the only way to avoid the danger that you will someday unleash on this world. If you succeed, then everyone will die! Everyone… except me."
The Winged Titan stops upon hearing the sounds of Armin's screams of agony. He glances over his shoulder and is shocked to see his body being burnt to a charred corpse. Once he was no longer maintaining a grip on life, his grasp on his ODM gear loosened until his charred body fell to the ground with a deafening thud. He closes his eyes and takes a moment to mourn him. He didn't want him to die, but it appeared Bertolt didn't have much choice.
"Goodbye, Armin… Now to focus on Eren."
He uses his wings to clear away the smoke, finally revealing his exact location. His eyes widen once he notices that the Attack Titan silhouette he saw was not Eren, but a hardened statue of his Titan covering up the hole of the Inner Gate.
"What?! Where is he?!" He vigorously scans the area for him, only to be interrupted by an explosion going off right into his spine where the wings connected.
The Winged Titan loses balance. He motions his body to fall backwards so that his nape won't be exposed to any other surprise attacks.
"What the? What hit me?!"
He then catches a glimpse of Hange flying past him. She gives him a stern look before continuing her approach towards the Armoured Titan. She only had one Thunder Spear equipped. The first one was probably what hit him just now, he thought.
"Hange? She's still alive?!"
He then notices Eren closing in on the Colossal Titan's nape with his ODM gear. Now that Bertolt had exhausted himself, there was no steam protecting him this time. Eren cuts Bertolt right out of his Titan's nape. His arms and legs have been severed, preventing him from running away.
As for Reiner, He was attacked by Hange who used her last Thunder Spear to break his jaw open, allowing Mikasa to fire the last one into his mouth. The resulting explosion blew Reiner right out of his Titan's nape and sent him flying into a random house.
Lazarus watched helplessly as his friends were being defeated so easily by the last of the Scout Regiment. Enraged, he tries to stand back up, but his body is paralysed due to his spine being attacked directly. What made matters worse was the large looming shadow over him.
His eyes widen with terror once he realises that the empty Colossal Titan body is now off balance and heading right for him.
"No! No! NO! NOOOOOOO!" He roared in horror as the Colossal Titan came crashing down right on top of him. Its body exploded on contact, adding insult to injury. There was no way for him to survive that, the others thought as they gathered their bearings and went after the other two Warriors.
Once things have calmed down and the battle was reaching its conclusion, Eren brings Bertolt's unconscious body to the roof right next to Armin's charred black corpse. He glances over towards the Colossal Titan's body which was evaporating into nothingness by the gate. There was no sign of Lazarus. He and everyone began to assume that he died. And with him the Winged Titan.
Eren had hoped to give Armin the Titan transformation serum and then have him eat Lazarus so they could take his power. Having the Winged Titan under their control would've been just what they needed to shift the balance of power in favour of Paradis. But Bertolt was a good second option. The Colossal Titan is just as powerful, if a bit slow.
"I should've realised. Of course, this would happen. Still, trusting your plan was the only choice I had." Eren spoke softly to his dead friend. His eyes filled with tears. "But why? Armin, why don't you ever run?"
As he grieved over the loss of his closest friend, the Cart Titan had just descended from the wall and leapt from house to house, closing in on Eren's location. Eren retaliated by grabbing Bertolt and holding a blade to his neck, threatening to kill him if they got too close.
"Just try and come closer! Make any attempt to take him and I'll slit his throat!"
The Cart Titan stops its approach and allows Zeke to get a good look at him. Eren notices the markings under his eyes and can immediately deduce that this bearded man is the man behind the Beast Titan.
"I finally found you. You're Eren Yeager, right?"
Eren refused to answer the enemy and proceeded to cut deeper into Bertolt's throat. If there's a chance he's going down, then he'll take one of the Warriors with him.
"You look nothing at all like your father."
Those unexpected words caused him to stop what he was doing and look directly into Zeke's eyes. Just what did he mean by that? How does he know his father? What was he trying to accomplish by bringing this up?
"Believe me, Eren. I get it. I know how you feel. But both of us are victims of your father… I'm sorry, but he's brainwashed you."
At a moment's notice, Eren could swear he saw his father, Grisha, speaking to him instead of Zeke. He knows for a fact that anything he says cannot be trusted. And yet, there was a feeling of truth in his words. Not to mention the fact that there was some striking resemblance between him and Grisha. But what did he mean by brainwashed? Is this part of some ploy to get him to hand over Bertolt? Or was it something else?
Pieck knew he was being truthful. Because this was the first time since she'd known Zeke that he sounded sincere. For a long time since they met, it felt as if every word that came out of mouth was a lie. Even when they were all reunited atop the walls, she knew he was lying about being supportive of Lazarus's plan for the Coordinate once they'd acquired it.
"What are you talking about-
Just as Eren is about to question him, Michael comes up from behind and decks Eren in the back of the head with his crystal prosthetic arms and legs. Eren lets go of Bertolt and ends up falling off the roof.
Using the limited time he had, Michael used his hardening powers to construct a crystal cocoon around the still-unconscious Bertolt, identical to the one Annie was imprisoned inside of. The Cart Titan then picks it up with its mouth and prepares for departure.
Enraged at being interrupted, Eren quickly ascends with his ODM gear and swings his blades at Michael. His blades break on contact when he holds both his arms up, blocking the incoming strike.
"Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Michael then draws the left gun from the Anti-Personnel ODM gear and aims it at Eren's head, forcing him to back off and duck to avoid the bullet. Had his reaction time been a second slower, he'd have lost a chunk of his head.
Zeke was about to order Michael to Incapacitate Eren and grab him while they had the chance but stopped when he noticed Levi angrily glaring down at them. His whole body was covered in Titan blood.
"Grrr! You're kidding?! Did he chase us all this way? What a monster." Zeke uttered in annoyance.
Levi drops down the wall and makes a beeline for the Warriors. Zeke decided to call it a draw for now. Neither he, nor Levi, are in any shape to continue their battle. He orders Michael to retreat. Michael fires an anchor into the back of the cart and holds on as it rushes away.
"Eren, someday I'll come back and save you from this." Those were his last words to his half-brother before he and the others departed Shiganshina for good.
On the way out, they come across Reiner who was being held prisoner by Hange and the others. They all scatter when they see the fast-approaching Cart Titan. Michael fires off his second anchor into Reiner's chest and reels him in. He hangs on tight to both him and the cart, trying his hardest to make sure they don't fall.
As they're leaving, Michael's perspective of time slows down as he locks eyes with Sasha. His mouth moves ever so slightly, motioning the words "I'll miss you" to her. Sasha responds by telling him she'll miss him too. Both sides hope they understood what they said as the Cart Titan races past them at the speed of a cheetah.
The Warriors all manage to make it up and over the outer gate of Shiganshina and well out of the Scouts' reach. They take a moment to catch their breath and be thankful that everyone made it out alive. Zeke was especially impressed with how Michael was able to recover Bertolt. He thought for sure this would be the end of him. But he was wrong. And Reiner was very lucky for managing to stay alive long enough for them to rescue him. Everyone was safe.
Everyone, except for Lazarus, who was still crushed beneath the Colossal Titan. But he knew he'd survive that. He survives everything.
The Cart Titan makes its way carefully down the other side of the wall. Once on the ground, it began sprinting as far away from the walls as possible, fearing they might try and chase after them.
"Wait! We have to go back!" Michael spoke up as he safely secured Reiner to the cart with rope. "Lazarus is still in there!"
"Lazarus will be fine. He's immortal, remember? They can't kill him." Zeke callously replied without looking back at him.
"Just because he can't die doesn't mean he can't be overpowered and captured! He's our only way off this island!" He reminded him.
"I'm aware of that, Michael. Lazarus is too powerful for them to keep under lock and key. He'll escape them and recover the Coordinate for us. If you truly had faith in his abilities, you wouldn't be worried right now."
"And if you were truly his friend you'd care for his wellbeing!" He furiously stated.
Zeke wasn't at all intimidated by his pointless outburst. "Am I really the only one who doesn't see the point in worrying?" He thought. Lazarus has the advantage of immortality and is incapable of having his powers stolen. Why should he waste his time worrying about his safety when he has his own and the others to focus on?
Michael turns around to get a good look at the walls for what might be the last time. There was no going back now after this. He and the other Warriors are no longer welcome there, and there is nothing left keeping them there anymore. Not even his father.
Tears built up in his eyes, being reminded of Erwin's tragic demise and how he failed to save him. And now they've left Lazarus behind. If the Scouts manage to capture him, then there's no hope of them getting back to Marley. Nor any hope for the world.
"Lazarus. Please come back. You're all I've got left now. I have no one else back in Marley. If you can hear me, forget Eren and get yourself out of there. He's not worth your capture."
To Be Continued