Chapter 18
The Mission
They rode out of the gate into ruins of an old town. Miche looked and Hange looked.
"We've got a ten-meter closing in from the left!" Hange yelled. Kara saw a ten meter coming at them. Two scouts were heading towards the Titan. "Gah! I want to know what's rolling around in that glorious belly!" Kara chuckled under her breath. "Never mind. Let the support squad do their job."
"Is she usually like this?" Eren asked.
"All the time." Kara said as one of the Scouts sliced into the Titans neck.
"Damn it. To shallow!" The Scout said.
"Just focus on defending the ranks!" The other one said. The scouts rode by. Sasha's frightened scream came, but Kara didn't look back as the one of the Commanders yelled at Sasha.
"Forward! Ride for all you're worth!" Commander yells. Kara gritted her teeth. Eren looked at Oluo.
"Loaded question. Be straight with me. You think my friends have a shot at taking down a Titan?" Eren asked.
"Really? I should certainly hope so, otherwise what the hell have they been training for?" Oluo said. Eren gasped and Kara looked at Oluo as they rode. "Now listen, and listen well. Prepared or not, you're all Scouts, which means the time is nigh to choke back those fears and.." He yelled in pain as he bit down on his tongue. Kara shook her head. They rode out of the ruins. Erwin shot his arm forward.
"Long-range formation. Let's go!" Erwin called. The Scouts started spreading out. Reiner looked at Armin and Jean.
"See you around. Good luck." Reiner said as he moved away.
"Do us a favor if you run into one of them, don't piss yourself." Jean said, looking at Armin as he moved away. He took one last look at Kara as he moved away.
"Yeah. Same goes for you." Armin said. Kara looked one last time at Jean.
'Be safe, Jean.' Kara thought.
The formation was all over the place as red smoke signals came and they had to change direction. Armin rode with the extra horse. It had been awhile since the last red smoke signal.
'Something feels off. It's been to long since the last red signal, and the formation's still all over the map.' Armin thought. A black smoke signal comes from the trees. 'Black smoke? There's a Titan ignoring the outliers?' He loaded his gun with a smoke signal. 'And making a b-line for the center!' Armin shoots up a black smoke signal. 'That can only mean an Abnormal!' A Titan bursts through the trees as Ness and another scout went after it. Armin was watching. Ness takes out the legs while the other scout takes out the nape.
"Way to go! Nicely done, Ness!" Armin called. Armin gasps as he sees a Titan charging at them from the distance. It looked to be a 14 meter heading their way. It gained speed as it caught up to Ness and the other scout as they were riding to get in their position. Armin shot up a black smoke signal. "It's moving so fast. Too fast!"
"We have to keep it clear of Arlelt! Cis!" Ness yelled.
"On it!" Cis yells as he connects his hooks to the Titan and lets out a yell as she flies towards the nape. The Titan grabs Cis out of the air. Armin gasps. Ness connects to her and the Titan grabs the wire. The Titan throws both men into the ground. Armin's eyes widen. The Titan turns a bit and Armin got a better view of it. The Titan had blond hair and had skin and mussel. It looked like a female Titan. The Titan turns and starts charging towards Armin. Armin turned his horse and started running. The Titan started getting closer.
"Did that really just happen? We're not dealing with an Abnormal. This thing's showing intelligence! Like the Colossal. Like Eren! It's a human being wrapped in a Titan body! But who? Why? What am I gonna do? I'm dead! I'm so dead!" Armin said. He let the rein of the extra horse go. "Go! Make a break for it!" The horse moves out of the way as the Titan got over the top of Armin. Armin looked up at the Titan. It was looking down at him.
'What is it? No. Why are they doing this?' Armin thought. The Titan jumps over him. Armin gasped as she lands in front of him and the horse moves out of the way but hits the other leg. Armin gets thrown from his horse and hits the ground with his hood over his head. Armin picks himself up into a knealing position. The Femal Titan lands on the ground next to him. Armin freezes as the Female Titan reaches for his hood. She lifts up the hood. Armin gasps as he looks up at her. The Female Titan just looks at him. Armin held his breath as he looks at her. Something about her looked familiar. She let's the hood go and stands up.
"Huh?" Armin said. The Female Titan takes off running. Armin watches her in shock. "This doesn't make any sense. Why didn't it.. Why didn't it kill me? It pulled back my hood. Looked at my.." Armin touched his face. "Why would it need to check my face?" Horse hooves came.
"Armin!" Reiner called, riding over to Armin with an extra horse.
"Reiner!" Armin said. Reiner came to a stop.
"Hey. Can you ride? What the hell are you doing? This is full blown Titan country, you can't be without a horse! Climb on!" Reiner said. Armin nodded as he got up and climbed on the horse. They took off after the Female Titan. "I came as fast as I could when I saw the black smoke. Nice ass for an Abnormal, you gotta admit."
"It's not an Abnormal. It's a person controlling a Titan body." Armin said. Reiner looked at Armin.
"Wait. What?" Reiner said.
"I'll explain in a second. We need to fire off a signal to warn the others." Armin said, reaching for a smoke signal. He struggled with the gun. "Come on. Work you piece of garbage!" A gunshot rings out behind them. Armin looked back and saw Jean catching up to them after sending a gold smoke signal up.
"Hey. It's alright. Looks like Jean's got you covered." Reiner said. More gunshots rang out as Jean started catching up. "Oh man, that's not good. The right wing spotters have suffered to many causalities to carry on!" Jean rode up to Armin's other side.
"Yeah, apparently most of them were wiped out by a Titan ambush. I don't know how it happened, but it was bad. Sons a bitches were lightning fast. Spotters didn't have time to react. Whoever's left is trying to hold them off, but that means now there's no one on lookout duty. Talk about a setback, right? If we don't watch ourselves, we're all gonna be wiped out." Jean said.
"Wait she came from that direction. Does that mean. Could she have led the Titans here like a commander?" Armin asked as he looked at the Female Titan.
"Who, her? Why the hell's she running from us, by the way? Is she an Abnormal?" Jean asked, looking at Armin.
"No, she isn't. I still don't know how it's possible, but she's another human who's taken Titan form. Someone who has the same power as Eren." Armin said. Jean rememebered something Marco told him before he joined the Scouts as Reiner questioned Armin.
A month ago.
"Jean." Marco said, coming into Jean's room and locked the door.
"What is it Marco?" Jean said, looking up.
"I know your joining the Scouts, but I want to warn you. Please watch your back and Kara's back with Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie." Marco said.
"Why?" Jean said, sitting up in bed.
"Just. Just don't trust them." Marco said. Jean saw fear on Marco's face.
"Well Annie is joining the MPs. You be careful." Jean said. Marco nodded.
Back to present. Jean looked at the Female Titan.
'What the hell does Marco mean? Is that Annie? What the hell is going on?' Jean thought.
"I think she's actually after someone is particular. At which point the question becomes who and why? Hey, wait a second could it be Eren?" Armin asked. Jean's head snapped towards Armin.
"Eren? He's with Levi Squad with Kara. They're spearheading the right-wing. Or they were." Reiner said. Jean looked at Reiner.
"Wait. Levi's team? I'm pretty sure you're wrong there, big guy. My copy of the plan had tehm in the left wing." Jean said.
"That's odd, because my copy of the plan had them at the front of the right wing, too which now that I think about it doesn't make sense. Putting them at the vanguard like that wouldn't be smart stategically." Armin said.
"Then where exactly are they supposed to be?" Reiner asked. Jean shot Reiner a look.
"Come on, where else? The safest position in the formation. Which, I assume, at least, wouuld be rear of the center rank." Armin said. Jean gritted his teeth.
'Great. Kara had to be with Levi's squad. She could be in danger.' Jean thought.
"Armin! Now's not the time to be chasing our own tails about this! We've got to get word out how dangerous this on is; smoke signals aren't gonna cut it!" Jean said. He looked towards the Female Titan. "At this rate, she'll cut down the command squad! We let that happen the formation goes to hell and we all die!"
"You have a plan?" Reiner asked. Jean looked at Reiner.
"More of a wing and a prayer. Look we've got to try and distract her so the platoon has a chance to retreat. If we're careful from this distance we should be able to manage it." Jean said. He looks down. "And make it out alive. Well, maybe anyway."
"Stop worrying about Kara. She is safe with Levi's squad and that's the strongest squad. Still don't know why you don't admit to her." Reiner said. Jean's checks turn red at the memory of last night. "Wait. Did you already?"
"Yeah. Last night. Before today's mission. We were waiting till after Mission to tell people we were together." Jean said. Armin couldn't help but smile. "Let's focus on stopping her." Armin nodded.
"She's smarter than the ones we usually deal with. You can take my word for it. From her perspective, we're little more than insects. One swipe of that arm and we're all flattened." Armin said.
"Is that a fact?" Jean asked. He let out a nervous laugh. "What a terrifying thought."
"Seriously. What have you done with the real Jean? No offense, man, but the one I knew would only be counted on to look out for himself." Reiner said. Jean shook his head at Reiner.
"Your people skills need work." Jean said. He opened his eyes and looked at the Female Titan. He gritted his teeth. "Believe me, friends. I'm still all about number one. I just want to get out alive and take Kara out on a date. I promised her I make it out of here alive. Thing is, I get it now. I get what needs to be done if we're going to survive this fight! And last I checked, nobody forced us to take on this position. Now are you with me or not?" He looked at the other two. Armin nodded as Jean looked at him. Armin pulled up his hood.
"Pull your hood all the way over so it covers you. She won't try to kill you if she can't see your face!" Armin said. Jean gasped. "If she's looking for someone specific, she won't mow us down unless she knows for sure we're not them." Reiner grabs his hood.
"Good idea." Reiner said. He pulls up his hood. "A far as she knows, any one of us could be Eren underneat this getup. That's kind of an encouraging thought. Hey, you never know, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll be near sighted to boot." Jean wasn't sure if he believed Marco with Reiner and Bertholdt. Maybe Annie, but for now, he'll keep his suspicions to himself.
"Not gonna lie. The way you clung to Eren like security blanket all the time used to really creep me out." Jean said. He grabbed his hood and pulled it over his head. "But I always knew you were brilliant."
"Uh. Okay, thank you. Not exactly sure how I ought to take that, but thanks." Armin said. The three started speeding up their horses to catch up to the Female Titan. They caught up and started spreading out. Jean looked at her.
'Okay, guys. Like we discussed. Lure her away from the others so they have a chance to get out of here. Keep her on our trail for as long as possible. Give the rest of the platoon plenty of time. Slicing her Achilles tendon should do the trick, I think. Nothing crazy. If she's what Armin says, we need her alive. He got his swords ready. 'Damnit. Kara will have my hide if I don't make it out of this.' Jean jumps up on his horse. The Female's Titan head turns as Jean jumps off and sends the hooks at the leg. It misses as the Titan turns. Jean lands on the ground. The Female Titan moves her hand sending air at Jean. His hood falls off as he blocks his face. The Female Titan turns towards Armin and swings her arm as he tries to move out of the way from her. She smacks Armin, sending him and his horse flying. Armin yells as he hits the ground. His ODM gear falls off as he rolls. Jean's eyes widen and runs towards the Female Titan. Reiner dodges the flying horse. The Female Titan kneels next to Armin as Jean runs towards them. She reaches for him.
"Armin!" Jean yelled. He hooks onto the Female Titan's back. She moves her arm as Jean flies towards her. His eyes widen.
'The moves on this one, she's like a damn athlete!' Jean thought as she turns towards him. Jean unhooks as he swings around and hooks on again. 'We are so screwed! Didn't think this through!' The Female Titan punches at him and Jean barely avoids it. He went above her back and she puts a hand to the nape of her neck. 'What? She's protectign her weak spot?' He hooks onto her back.
"Jean!" Reiner called. Jean swings around.
'Damnit. There's nothing I can do!' Jean thought as the Female Titan looks at him and got her fist ready. 'Damnit. I'm a dead man. She's gonna yank my wire. I'm sorry Kara.' She goes to punch and Jean's eyes widen.
"Jean! Don't let the suicidal maniac die in vain!" Armin yelled. Jean's eyes widen when the fist stops in midair.
"What? Why did she stop?" Jean asked.
"She did it! She's the one who killed him! I told him the right wing was suicide but he went along anyway! And now he's dead, thanks to her!" Armin said. He looked up at her. She was just sitting there. Jean landed on the ground.
'What the hell's going on?' Jean though. He ran up to the tree and leaned against it. "Of all the times for Armin to get the sense knocked out of him! What's he talking about? He might of just saved my life though.' He gasps as he sees Reiner charging towards the Female Titan. Reiner pulled off his hood. 'Reiner.'
"She crushed my best friend, I saw it with my own eyes! His entrails were stuck to the bottom of her foot!" Armin said. Reiner jumped off his horse and sent a hook towards her back.
'He's going straight for the nape? Of course!' Jean said. Reiner sores up towards the Female Titan. She looks at him. 'Now's his chance, while she's focused on Armin.' Jean gasped as The Female Titan grabs Reiner.
"Oh no. No." Jean said. They could hear Reiner struggling in the Female Titan's grip. Blood came out of her hand. "No! Reiner. Oh. God." A yell comes and Reiner slices out of her hands. Jean sighs in relief as Reiner lands on the ground. Reiner grabs Armin and takes off running. Jean went after them.
'That beautiful bastard. Mikasa and Kara have been hogging so much of the limelight these days, I'd let myself forget how much of a badass he is.' Jean thought. The Female Titan was looking at her hand that held Reiner.
"Odds are that bought the platoon more than enough time. I say we follow suit and get outta here!" Reiner said. He looked back. "If she doesn't have an apitite for people like you say, I'm guessing she's not gonna follow us. Armin and Jean watch as the Female Titan stood up and started running in another direction. "Alright. Looks like she's in retreat. Poor thing's running home with her tail between her legs!" Jean's eyes widen along with Armin's.
'No she's heading for the center rink. She's going for Eren! Kara is with them. Damn it.' Jean thought.
A little bit later. They came to a stop. Reiner's horse came back when called. Jean stood whistling for his as Reiner wrapped Armin's head. Jean could hear Reiner and Armin talking, but ignores them. He was worried about Kara. Jean stopped whistling.
'Just my luck. Reiner's horse comes back like an old lover. Why the hell's mine gotto go AWOL.' Jean thought. Jean whistles again. Damn it. We can't afford to stay out in the open like this. If worse comes to worse one of us will have to get left behind.' Jean looked back at the others. 'What are we supposed to do? Draw straws? Armin's hurt. Reiner's to big to ride with safely. Kara would kill me if I stay behind. Maybe I should take my chances horse-retrieving on foot. Damnit. How messed up is it that we might even have to conisder that? Out of the frying pan and into the fire. It's what we get for narrowly escaping death. Jean continues to whistle. Reiner stood up.
"One of us is gonna have to stay here. We need to figure out who." Reiner said. Jean turned and gasped. Armin didn't look thrilled on the idea either.
"Wait a sec. Shouldn't we try sending a smoke signal first. If everyone kept going straight, row 4 Squad three ought to be in close poximity to us by now. Jean grabbed a purple smoke signal and shot it into the air.
"Well, that's the emergency signal, but who knows? I doubt anyone's gonna see it and think hey, somebody must need an extra horse." Jean said. He walked away. Reiner and Armin talk about who was staying as Jean looked out watching for someone.
'I finally tell Kara how I feel and I might be one that gets left behind. Damn it. Just our luck. If its not one thing keeping us apart its another.' Jean thought. Jean saw someone heading towards them.
"Hey guys. Someone's heading our way with two horses. Looks like none of us will be left behind after all." Jean said. He reconized the girl. "Whoa, that's Christa."
"Hey guys, you alright?" Christa called. Christa came to a stop and Jean saw Christa had his horse with her. He grabbed the reins.
"Well, damn! That's my itlle runaway! Easy Buchwald. It's okay, I forgive you." Jean said as he rubbed his horses nose to calm it down.
"Poor thing. He ran to me like the devil was on his tail." Christa said. Reiner was on his horse. "So did you guys fight a Titan?" Christa saw Armin with his head wrapped. "Oh, no! Armin, your head! You've been hurt!"
"it's nothing. Promise." Armin said.
"I'm impressed someone actually answered our distress signal." Reiner said. Christa smiled.
"Well I wasn't far away, so. that and I found the horse." Christa said.
"A lot of people wouldn't have risked the trek over here. You're as noble as the steeds you tame. We're in your debt." Reiner said. Christa was in tears and whiped them away.
"It was nothing. I'm just.. I'm just glad that you're all okay. What would we do without you?" Christa said. All three boys looked at her in shock.
'She's a Goddess.' Jean thought.
"Okay. I suppose we'd better rejoin the formation." Christa said.
"Yeah. They'll order a retreat any minute now! Jean said. They got on their horses and start riding to rejoin the formation. "I'll just say it. I'm glad we survived, but heading back after only an hour? Not really something to be proud of, if you ask me. And while we're on the subject, is anybody else curious why she's headed away from the command squad?"
"She?" Christa asked. Green smoke signals were shot into the air.
"Green smoke?" Jean said.
"Looks like we're not heading back after all, just changing course." Armin said.
"Yeah, but that doesn't make sense!" Christa said.
"What the hell? Is Commander Erwin out of his mind?" Jean asked.
"Everyone of us has the authority to declare the mission failed. Why isn't anyone speaking up?" Reiner asked. Jean gritted his teeth. "Is the command squad to far ahead to see their signals?"
"Possibly. But either way, I think our course is clear. Assume command's got this." Armin said. Armin shot off a green smoke signal.
To Kara. Kara rode next to Eren as they rode. Green smoke signals came.
"Smoke signals. Green. Oluo, pass it on." Levi called.
"With pleasure, sir!" Oluo said. Kara looked towards them. She was worried for their friends especially Jean. It had been a hour of riding and things were going smoothly for now. Oluo shot a green smoke signal. She still had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Reporting, sir!" A Scout headed towards them. Kara gasped. "An oral message! It appears the right-wing spotters have been wiped out!" Kara and Eren gasped.
'Jean's over there. I hope he's alright.' Kara thought.
"The early warning network is compromised. One of you will need to relay the message down the line." The Scout said. Kara felt cold. She closed her eyes.
'Focus on the mission, Kara. Jean can handle himself. Still. I will worry.' Kara thought as she opened her eyes. Levi looked at Petra.
"You heard the man, Petra. Go on." Levi said.
"Sir." Petra said. She went to relay the message. Eren looked at Kara and saw her paler then normal. He knew Armin and Jean were in the Right-Wing.
"Kara." Eren said. She looked at Eren. "Our friends will be alright." Kara nodded and gave a small smile. Kara's eyes widen as black smoke signals were fired in the air.
"Black! An abnormal!" Kara called.
"Eren. Fire the signal." Levi called back.
"Yes sir." Eren said as he grabbed for a smoke singal.
"This is a disgrace." Kara looked towards her father. "Lotta good the formation does if the bastards can bore into it that deeply." Eren fires off a black smoke signal. Kara and Eren looked in the direction the other smoke signals were coming.
'It's close. Too close. Just under that smoke.' Kara thought.
"Father. Why are we still going if the Right wing has been wiped out?" Kara asked. Levi stayed quiet. Kara knew not to question him any further. If there was a plan in place then they were still going through with it.
Jean and his friends reach the forest. It looked like the center rank was going into the forest. Others were going around the forest. They follow the others.
"You're kidding me. We on a site-seeing tour now or what? How much further they want us to stray off course? This is ridiculous!" Jean said.
"Hey. We know you want to see if your girlfriend is alright, but it will have to wait." Reiner called.
"Girlfriend?" Christa asked.
"Yeah. Jean and Kara finally admited they like each other." Armin said. Christa couldn't help but smile.
"Great. Now everyone is going to know." Jean grumbled.
"To the task in hand. Commander Erwin must have something in mind. Perhaps the situation compels him to improvise." Armin said.
"That gives me a lot of confidence. Maybe he's looking for a nice, shady spot to throw all the rookies a celebratory picnic." Jean said.
"Uh. I rather doubt that." Armin said.
"Lighten up. Point is, I'm praying he doesn't intend for us to camp here. Not with that Female Titan on our ass. We'd be sitting ducks. He's got to know that. Yeah, we're just passing through on our way to somewhere else; no one in his right mind would make us stop here." Jean said.
"All Soldier's, halt!" A Squad Captain said. Jean sighed as they came to a stop and got off their horses in front of the Captain. "Alright, rookies! Listen up! We're assuming intercept position within the trees! Unsheathe and find a perch! If any Titans attempt to enter the forest, stop them, whatever it takes!" The Captain said. Jean gasped.
"Uh.. Excuse me, sir? What exactly is the.." Jean started.
"I've given you an order!" The Captain said. He uses his hook to get onto a branch. Jean had a bad feeling.
"Okay. What the hell's going on?" Jean said. They pulled their swords out and use their hooks to get onto a branch. Jean leaned agains the trunk. He wasn't believing any of this after he had a long talk with Armin.
"Five meter titan approaching!" Squad Captain called. Jean looked out and saw a Titan approaching. Jean watched it. Armin was sitting thinking. Jean leaned his head against the trunk.
'Kara's in the center rink. Are they leading the Female Titan into the forest. Damnit. I hate not knowing if she's alright.' Jean thoguht.
"Jean." Armin said, seeing the worry on his face. "I know your worried about Kara. I'm sure she'll be fine." Jean sighed.
"I know. She's with Levi's squad, but soldiers were killed by that Female Titan. I'm still going to worry till I see her." Jean said.
Kara rode through the woods with her father's squad. Petra had joined them before they reached the forest.
"Captain! Captain Levi!" Eren called.
"What?" Levi said, sounding bored.
"C'mon sir! We're in a forest! We won't see a Titan 'til it's right on top of us! The center rank's totally cut off! Something's coming up on the right, isn't it? So what are we supposed to do? Avoid Titans or defend the wagons?" Eren asked.
"Quit whining and move on from the ovvious already. Neither of those are an option anymore." Levi said. Eren gasped.
"What are you talking about?!" Eren asked.
"Haven't you noticed what's around you? Take a look at these big ass trees." Levi said. Eren gasped and looked at the trees. "Perfect environment for ODM gear, wouldn't you say? Take my advice, Eren. Calm down and use your head. The best survival tool is your brain."
"Yes, sir!" Eren said. Kara saw everyone looked scared and nervous and the gut feeling in her stomach was still there. Something wasn't right.
Jean stared down at the Titans that were scratching at the trees. Armin seemed to be deep in thought.
"Armin." Jean said. Armin looked at Jean. "Bear with me. Our orders are to keep Titans out, right? Right?" Armin looked at all the Titans. So I mean. We don't actually need to fight them. Yeah? Am I wrong?" Everyone was looking at the Titans as they continued to claw at the trees.
A gunshot rings out behind Levi's squad. Kara and Eren looked back.
"Black smoke!" Eren called.
"It's right behind us." Kara said.
"Damn thing's been on our ass since we came in here." Eld said.
"Blades drawn. Now!" Levi said. Kara looked at Levi as he pulls out his blades. "It'll happen in the blink of an eye. Be ready." Kara grabbed her handles and pulled out her swords. The others did the same. Kara and Eren look back as a soldier came out of the trees. Kara held her breath. A Female Titan burst from the trees and punched the soldier out of the air.
"Shit." Kara said as Eren gasped as the Titan started charging towards the Squad.
"Go! Move it!" Levi yelled. Kara pushed her horse faster. The Titan ran towards the side and came through the trees barely missing the squad. Eren looked at her in horror. Kara looked at the Female Titan.
"Holy shit! How the hell are we supposed to pull evasive maneuvers in here?" Gunther said.
"It's catching up!" Eld called.
"Captain! Engage the ODM gear?" Petra called. Levi was looking back. "Captain?" Soldiers were heading for the Female Titan.
"Rear Reinforcements!" Kara called. They send hooks flying at the Female Titan, but she grabs one of the wires and slams one of the soldiers into the tree. She punches the other one out of the air. "Damn it."
"Captain. Your orders!" Petra yelled.
"It's dangerous! Let's take it out! Tell us to engage, sir!" Oluo said. Eld pulled out his sword.
"I'll cut the bitch!" Eld said. Kara held her swords tight in her hands. Levi wasn't saying anything.
"Captain!" Petra yelled.
"We need your orders, sir!" Oluo said. The Female Titan was on their tail.
"She's gaining on us! Let's take her out!" Gunther said.
"That's the whole reason we're here, isn't it? Right, sir. Captain!" Eld said.
"Your oders, sir! Please!" Eren said.
"Father?" Kara called. Levi looked back.
"Everyone cover your ears. Now." Levi said. Kara raised an eyebrow, but quickly put her hands up over her ears. Levi grabbed his gun. He shot a shell in the air. A high pitched ringing filled the air. Kara closed her eyes. Her ears were ringing.
"Was that an acoustic round?" Eren asked. Levi looked back at the others and Kara brought her hands down.
"Remind me, what is our mission? Is it simply act on impulse in the heat of the moment? Let me answer that question for you. It's not." Levi said. Eren gasped. "This squad's mission is to keep this brat alive, whatever the cost. Don't forget it." Kara nodded as she understood. "We keep pushing forward, on horseback. Is that clear?"
"As a bell, sir!" Petra said.
"But for how long? We can't keep running forever!" Eren called. He looked back to see the Female Titan getting closer. "She's right on top of us as it is. If we don't do anything soon..." Kara turned and saw more soldiers go in for the attack. "They keep coming. They're all gonna die unless we turn around and do somehting."
"Eyes front! Stop looking behind us!" Gunther said.
"Seriously." Eren said.
"Keep pace with the group! Maintain top speed or we're all dead!" Eld said. Kara looked foward as Eren begged for them to help. More screams came as the Female Titan killed more.
"There's one left. We can still help him." Eren said as he picked up speed to get to Petra and Kara.
"Do as you're told, Eren! Eyes forward!" Petra said.
"How can all of you just ignore what's happening back there? Are you telling me to abandon my comrades? Is that it?" Eren asked.
"Damn it, yes!" Petra said.
"Eren. Stop whinning and do as your captain tells you!" Kara said.
"Why are we letting people die? If this is part of some bigger picture why can't someone explain it to me?" Eren said. Kara was getting a headache from Eren's whinning.
"Ask not the reason why, ask but to do and die! You'd understand what that meant if you weren't such a useless greenhorn!" Oluo said. Eren gaspedd. Now sitfle it. Behave like a soldier!" Oluo said. Kara watched Eren as they rode. He was looking at his hand. He put his sword away and started lifting his hand to his mouth.
"Eren don't." Kara said.
"You're only permitted to assume Titan form when your life's in extreme peril! That was the agreement! You swore an oath!" Petra said. Eren hesitated, but still kept his hand to his mouth.
"Eren!" Kara called.
"I wouldn't blame you." Levi said. Kara and Eren looked at Levi. "Do as your conscience dictates. But ERen, listen. You are not not inherently evil. You're ability to change doesn't make you a monster. That said, it could be the other way around. How are you supposed to know where to draw the line? Whether you lose control or freely give it up. Maybe it's the same. Look, Eren. We don't agree because of our experience brings us to opposing views. That's life. At the end of the day, there's no reason to go against how you see it. The choice is yours. You can trust yourself. Or you can trust the people willing to put their lives on the line for you. I don't know which way is better. I never have. Should I act on my own instincts or put myself in the hands of my comrades and trust them. Either way, there's no guarantee. In the end, you choose what you choose. If afterwards, your regrets are at a minimum, good for you." Kara knew he was thinking of Isabel and Ferlan, who her father lost on his first mission. Eren gasped. They rode on with Scouts still attacking the Female Titan. Eren looked back. Kara watched him as he went to put his fist to his mouth.
"Eren!" Kara yelled. He looked at her. "Trust us." Eren's eyes widen. He was surprised that Kara was calm, but he saw the fear in her eyes as well. "Please!" Eren looked down.
"Eren! C'mon! make up your damn mind!" Levi called, looking at Eren. Eren closed his eyes.
"I'm with you!" Eren yelled. Kara let out the breath she was holding. A soldier's cry comes as the Female Titan slams him into the tree. Kara gritted her teeth as the Female Titan starts speeding up.
"Target is accelerating!" Gunther called as the Female Titan caught up to them.
"Just keep running. We'll outrun the bitch!" Levi said. Eren looked back.
'Damn it. There better be a plan or we are gonna get killed.' Kara thought. They pass some artillery weapons. Kara gasped as the Female Titan brings her hand down barely missing the others. Erwin pulls out his sword.
"Fire!" Erwin yells. Explosions rock through the trees as arrows hit the Female Titan. Eren and Kara look back to see her being held in place by ropes. Kara sighed in relief. They had caught the Female Titan.
AN: Defently not my favorite episode with the Female Titan. Till next time.