Silence, that was what followed the strike, no babies cried, no shouts of distress, no echos of footsteps. Gazes stared up upon the wall; the barrier between the outside world and the cradled nest of humanity no longer stood as the tallest beacon to reach for the heavens.
A creature not of flesh but muscle and bone, framed by ember-filled steam billowed from its body, stood a Titan of colossal proportions. Shock, fear, and cavalcades of emotion spread through the people of Shiganshina. Their bodies unmoving, before one emotion gripped every last citizen as the beast shifted, pure terror. A second thunderous boom shook the air seconds later, manifesting the deepest-seated nightmares of everyone watching as debris went flying. Boulders larger than men showered from the impact point, crushing people and shredding structures like bugs and paper. Mass mania spread as the citizens' stunned silence shattered into unbridled screams.
As suddenly as the Colossal Titan had appeared, it shrunk away after its deed was done, and the rumbling of footsteps echoed from the breach within the wall. Stepping forth into the light, for the first time for the those sheltered within, the disfigured proportions of titans made themselves known. Yet, Mathew could only stare with his heart pounding, yet body rigid.
"T-they broke the wall...t-they're inside." He muttered, finding the strength to speak as he watched in horror. Countless people ran by them, shoving each other in a frantic fervor, trampling over those unfortunate to not remain on their feet. Despite it all, Eren stumbled forward, his eyes wide in a trance-like daze. "O-our house was in that direction; mom was home alone...M-mom!" He cried, running against the grain towards where the titans spewing forth. Soon after, Mikasa was at his side, crying out his name, leaving Armin beside Mathew, shaking.
"It's all over, t-they're inside, w-we," he stuttered, gripping his trembling arm, turning his attention to the older boy as he slowly met his gaze, the teen's terror morphing into something else as he spoke. "You have to go, now." He said before gripping Armin's arm and yanking him towards the safety of the inner wall. Whether by instinct or mass panic, the blonde didn't look back as he ran, only ahead as the stampede blocked out if the teen was on his heels. Mathew however, with his heart rate quickly dropping and an expression of focus, dug into his pocket. Turning back to stare upon the threat that now befell the people, the pilot tucked the small device into his ear.
"Reaper, Castle Crashed is in effect, I repeat, code Castle Crashed is in effect, break. Get here as fast as you can. I'm making my way back to you, over." He ordered before turning and running. Sprinting at full speed, the pilot moved through the streets, hurdling over upturned carts and scattered debris. Rounding corner after corner through the maze-like streets, he stumbled once more upon the blacksmith shop. Intending to spend but a mere glance, Mathew suddenly stumbled over his feet, his chest pounding, and uneven breaths followed upon seeing what remained.
Gripping his head with dilating eyes, Mathew saw the bloody remains of the man that once ran the place lying underneath a chunk of the wall. Bile burned the back of his throat as an earthshaking footstep broke his spell. Turning back, the sun's light no longer reached the street he stood upon, darkened by the bloated abomination standing two stories tall. Its dead, emotionless gaze locked upon him, its mouth agape, stained with the blood of man that dripped from gnarled lips.
Staggering back, Mathew reached behind him, his fingers fumbling to free his ax as the monster stepped forward, arm outstretching. Mathew, suddenly coming to his senses upon thinking through his gut reaction, had little time to run once his weapon was freed, getting only a few meters before he was snatched within its clutches. Relenting a pained cry as the monster squeezed down upon him, Mathew swung his ax into the beast's hand, digging into its flesh before yanking it free to swing again. Over and over, faster and faster with each second, adrenaline flowing through his veins, thicker than blood as he hacked away. Over and over, second by second, the grip did not release around Mathew's body, the maw opening to receive him, exhaling the scent of fermented meat.
"No! No! No! Reaper! Someone! Help me!" The young teen cried in a desperate plea, swinging haphazardly, feeling the heat of the titan's breath wash over him before a whistling hiss suddenly rocketed from behind the titan, followed by the sound of ripping flesh. In an instant, the grip released as the monster began to topple over. Mathew held onto the fingers as the wind threw his hair behind him before, with another shrieking hiss, a rough hand gripped the underside of his arm, ripping him away as the titan slammed into the ground. Cobble and debris flew from its impact as a slit upon its nape smoked with hot steam. Barely managing to catch his breath, Mathew's gaze snapped back, his ax hand ready to swing before he was met with a human's old, grizzled visage.
"L-lieutenant Gabriel?" He stuttered, Mathew's arms relaxing against his sides as the man retracted the harpoons upon his rig, sheathing the bloodied blade into its sheath before looking down at him. "Are you ok? Can you walk?" The man stated, looking over the teen's body as he nodded. "I-I think so, s-sir." Mathew stuttered to the Lieutenant, Gabriel's face of stern focus as he shifted his grip and took Mathew's wrist as the two moved down the ruined rooftop and onto the street once more. "Stay by my side; I'll get you to the gate, get on a ferry, and get out of here, you hear me?" The man said, not waiting for the boys' sputtering reply as they bolted, Mathew's body running on autopilot as he followed after Gabriel. Screams and shouting filled the air, no matter how far they ran from the breach, not even when Gabriel and Mathew made it to the safety of the gate. The older man pushed him through before he began barking orders to his men. Cannons rolled out from the barracks as shaking men staffed them upon Mathew's passing. Yet, through the crowd, Mathew didn't push and shove his way through to the ship but ran the opposite way, towards the tree line.
His lungs burned, and his limbs felt heavy once he reached the outskirts of the woodland; the first set of ferries were already on their way out when the rumbling of heavy footsteps emerged from the trees. The light of its blue optic a comforting glow to Mathew's eyes as Reaper appeared before him. "Pilot, sit-rep. What is the situation?" He said. The robotic tone, usually laced with its dark humor, was absent, though he did not know why Reaper was here; a patch in his mind felt hazy, from right after the breach was torn into existence to the blacksmith pulverized under rock and debris, had he enacted their poetical on his own? "T-the district gate was destroyed, there are titans attacking civilians, w-we have to help them." He said, looking back towards the gate as he shook the thoughts aside; commotion was evident as the massive slab descended to cover the hole in humanity's second line. Dread filled his soul as the teen could only watch, imagining the number of people having been left behind to be hunted like cattle, caged within the district with no escape but into the jaws of certain death.
"It seems we do not have that luxury pilot. Unless your sentiment upon the military has waned, we cannot-Hostile detected." Reaper said as another strike of stark yellow lightning rocked the interior of the Shiganshina district. Mathew froze, once again, waiting for the sight of the massive titan to appear again, yet nothing came, at first. The teen waited with bated breath, yet nothing happened; he could not see the guard regiment's frantic cries before it was too late. Breaching through the wall, with steam rising from its form, stood another titan, its skin unlike the colossal, or the one that had attempted to consume him, was covered in dark tan plates, with the same bright red muscle underneath. It stood there, slowly rising to its full height, staring out at the town, a steaming breach silhouetting it against the destruction it laid forth, before it turned and charged back into the breach, back into Shiganshina, and was lost from sight. Yet, the implications were not lost upon the pilot as he moved, slamming his fist into the side of his metallic companion.
"You had to say something. You just had to say that!" He cried out before the chassis of the war machine opened. Reaper extended his hand as his pilot clambered inside, shoving the ax next to the slew of weaponry gathered upon the contingency. "After my previous pilot had said similar things, I would have presumed such words would not have come to me. Apparently, that is not the case, pilot." Reaper said before sealing up, Mathew throwing on the helmet, soft green lights flickering before his eyes as his vision returned and the interior screens came to life. "Transferring control to pilot, all systems online. I suggest transferring core power to shield generators; hull damage cannot be repaired at the current time." He said, the low, gravelly voice radiating through Mathew's helmet as he stepped off. Loud, thunderous steps harried the machine's arrival as he sprinted the Titan towards the breach; scattered guard regiment members tended to the wounded, others desperately trying to reassemble any artillery as another giant two-story titan rumbled forth.
Firing the boosters, Mathew swung his Titan into the outskirts of town before activating the phase dash. White and black streaks of the extradimensional space flooded his vision, a mirror reflection of reality allowing him to close the distance without impedance. Years of simulations moved him without thought as he reappeared mere meters from the titan. With one metal hand wrapped around the handle of his blade, Mathew brought down his fury upon the foe. Carving through the flesh of the beast, the massive blade stained itself with steaming fluid as the titan's head was removed from the neck.
Sliding to a halt with a guttural screech, Reaper's body stood over the corpse after it clashed down into the dirt. Gleaming in the afternoon sun and coated in a thin layer of blood, the Ronin class shifted, turning towards the petrified men and women below, all staring up upon the metal angel of death.
"Gather your wounded and continue evacuations. Any survivors will be sent your way. We shall hold them off as long as we can." Mathew said, his voice booming through Reaper's speakers before turning the hulking metal body back to the breach. Lumbering forms of titans hunted through the streets for prey lying beyond. "Are you sure this is wise pilot? Word will spread of our existence." Reaper stated as his pilot fell silent.
Reaching back as the massive blade locked into place, Mathew moved them through the breach. "It was inevitable, but we have a job to do. Unless you've changed your mind within these few years?" Smirking underneath his helm, the duo's pace increased, the cobble roads cracking under the Titan's feet as they entered the besieged district. "Negative, simply something to keep in mind, pilot. Detecting multiple hostiles ahead, recommend returning control."
"Granted, show me what you can do." He said, pulling his hands from the controls as the Titan activated the boosters again, shooting into the wide main street as two titans looked towards their direction, their gazes much like the first, were emotionless. However, they soon had to learn what fear was as a smaller one-story shifted to face the charging metal giant, its maw stained with blood and the remnants of a human arm jutting between its lips. Jumping into the air, Reaper brought down its foot upon the titan's head, throwing it off its feet as it landed, crushing the street underneath the impact before everything from the nap up caved in, steaming fluid squirting forth as the foot planted into the ground. In one fluid motion, the blade was removed from its mount, arcing electricity shooting across its surface before Reaper slashed into the ground; scorching burns washed over the pale grey cobble, sending a wave of electricity into the second. The beast's eyes went wide upon the impact, its limbs shaking uncontrollably before collapsing to its knees, almost in a pose of repentance before its head was removed from its neck, bursting into steam.
"You know, I was expecting an excess of gore, not...this," Mathew said as Reaper began to move to the other streets, scans actively searching for survivors held up within the still-intact homes. "Indeed, pilot, it does not appear that these 'titans' possess biology similar to humans despite the similar characteristics. Inquiry into this would be vital to understanding their origins as a possible weakness could be derived. However, decapitation does seem effective in felling them." Reaper states through the helmet comms, Mathew nodding to himself as he watches the motion tracker. Several blips of orange dots slowly move through the streets, yet a fast-moving smaller orange dot catches his eye, appearing on the edge of the mini-map display. "Reaper, did you see that?" He asked, looking out over the rooftops, barely visible over the large two-story homes they found themselves moving along. The young man was forced to lean out of his seat to glimpse a man flying through the air. "Affirmative, visual confirms a guard regiment member utilizing some form of mechanical gear."
The Ronin-class stated, coming to a stop at a crossroads, allowing his pilot to see the man boosting around, and it didn't take long for him to recognize his savoir. "Gabriel, he's still out here. We have to help him." Mathew said, settling in as he gripped the controls, transferring control back to himself. Stepping off, Mathew moved towards where the older man had shot off. Rounding a destroyed corner building, Mathew pivoted his Titan into an alley, a one-and-a-half-story titan standing before them. Its large, clumsy hands were swatting at the human fly. Several blips appeared on the motion tracker in front of the titan, pinned between it and the wall of the building, easy pickings if not for the Lieutenant. However, upon landing on the roof to the monster's right, his gaze fell upon the Ronin Prime, his face growing into shock, distracting him long enough to be caught within the titan's grasp.
Cursing under his breath, boosters flared as Mathew shot the metallic titan forward, one hand firmly around the handle of his blade, the other outstretched. As Gabriel struggled to free himself, the metal hand moved forward, gripping the jaw of the beast and dragging it into the building to his left, crashing its back into the complex before he sank the blade into the skull, slicing through the flesh, and pinning the skull into the building. "Hostile terminated, well-done pilot, even if you caused the altercation." Reaper mussed as Mathew returned control to him. Freeing the blade from its rest, the Titan returned the weapon to its mount before turning towards the small family staring up at them, a mother and father, alongside their daughter around the same age as Mathew himself. "Halt! Don't come any closer!" The barking voice of Gabriel called, walking with a slight limp between the family and the Pilot/Titan duo, blade raised and grip stead upon the handles of his omni gear. "It's alright; we're here to get you to safety." Mathew's voice spoke through Reaper's speakers, distorting it in its robotic tone. Crouching down before them, Reaper extended a hand as the family backed away, and Gabriel shifted to an aggressive posture. "Trust me, we're here to protect humanity. Isn't the dead titan proof enough?" The teen's voice said once more through his companions, and after some time, the girl was the first to break from her parents' hold and slowly move up beside Gabriel. "I-it does have a point, and it saved you?" She said, her voice meek but hopeful, her eyes falling upon the soft glow of the Titan's optic. Taking his eyes off the hulking thing, Gabriel looked down at the girl, then to the titan slowly evaporating in the building above. "I guess you have a point." He grumbled, sheathing his blades before a hand came to rest upon his side, his expression faintly masking the man's injuries as he gestured to the parents. "Get on. I'll be ready if this...' thing' does anything." He said, shifting into the enormous hand, followed soon by the girl and her parents. Slowly coming up to his feet once more, now with precious cargo held within its hands, Reaper remained in control for the journey back to the breach, ferrying the people to the safety of the breach, where a hastily constructed barricade sat, no more than an inconvenience to any titans wishing to enter into the outer ring of humanities stronghold.
"Take care of them; I shall recover all I can." The mechanical voice of the Titan spoke, letting down the family and the injured officer. Rushing to their sides, a few guard regiment members stared up upon the Titan. Mathew saw, however, that among them was none other than Hannes, the man taking the initiative. Letting a soft smirk cross his lips, Reaper accented again, the duo ready to enter the breach. "How long do you think we can keep going?" Mathew asked, glancing at the radar. Reaper, staying silent for several moments, spoke once he had begun walking back toward the danger. "As long as we can before your bedtime, pilot, I don't require sleep." He said, a low amusement echoing in the interior of the Titan as Mathew chuckled, lightly smacking his robotic companion before taking the helm once more. "Then I'm glad I slept well 'cause it will be a long day." He said before throwing them into gear as the duo moved to save as many people as possible and hold back the horde long enough, to maybe, in the grand scheme of it all, but humanity just enough time to prepare for what was to come.