Lyra...Five years ago
"Now, are you going to tell me how this happened, Elijah?"
Lyra wipes away the last of the blood from her son's cheek. The young boy barely flinches from the pain. He's so much like his father. Both equally brave and stubborn.
"They were picking on a kid, Mom! What was I supposed to do?"
"Don't you dare raise your voice at me, young man. I understand you wanted to help someone in need, but sometimes violence is not the answer, only if it's your last option."
The boy lowers his head. "I know, but they were really hurting him."
"Can you tell me why?"
"I think...they wanted the food he got from the store. And don't be mad, but..." Young Elijah points to the sack on their kitchen table. "I gave him the bread that you had me fetch along with other things. Since his food got stolen...I...wanted to..."
"Shh." Lyra gently puts a finger to her son's lips. "I'm not upset, Elijah. You did the right thing, and I'm proud of you."
"I...did good?"
The Mother embraces her son in a warm and gentle hug. "You kept your promise, so of course you did, my sweet boy." She let go of the boy, whose eyes now glisten with small tears. Quickly wiping them away so as to not let her mother see, she does though, and says nothing. All she can offer is a warm smile. When she turns to walk away, she feels...something. stopping in her tracks, she looks down and smiles even more.
"Mom? What's wrong?"
Lyra looks back to Elijah with a warm smile...and a secret she must keep. "I'm wonderful, my sweet boy."
Present day...that night...
"We're not at the foot yet? It's almost dawn."
"Almost, sir," I answer the Captain. "Once we're over this mountain, Shiganshina will be right there."
"Your intuition better be right about this, Everett. Report back to Hange."
"Yes, sir." Letting the caravan walk past me, I wait until I see My commanding officer along with the others in tow. I join them as I walk alongside Spirit. It's amazing, after all this time, he's still with me.
"Sorry you're stuck with my horse."
"You're supposed to be saving your energy."
"Yeah, I know."
"She's right. Rest up, Ere- Ow!"
Shaking my hand from the rough contact with Connie's head, I chastise him. "Don't say his name."
"Oh...yeah. Sorry."
"Assume this place is swarming with enemies," Jean says. A second later, he shouts. "Titan on the left!" Everyone halt! Light up the area!" We hold our lights to the Titan slumped on the side of the road, but he makes no movement.
"It's all right," Hange says. "he's fast asleep. This lad must not be one of those new types that moves at night. That's too bad. Let him be."
I look to Hange. "You sound disappointed, SC."
"This moonless night must be protecting us. Light from the moon is reflected sunlight. The new type of Titan, you know we think they use that minuscule of reflected light to move. Using the new moon was the right move. There's no guarantee we won't have a repeat of before. That lad may be one of those 'Moonlight Titans' for all we know." Hange's glasses glimmer from our lights for a moment. "Hope we capture one someday."
"Yeah..." I lag behind, soon joining the other three from Shiganshina. I look around, wondering if we're close to...my house. Having lived just inside the forest outside Shiganshina, and not within the inner gate itself, I've become accustomed to the land. I glance to my right...seeing a wooden structure. Is that... Based on the road we've been on for the past hour or two...it has to be. My ho-
"Huh?! I'm not scared!"
Eren's little outburst shakes me out of my state. Turning to the boy, I see that he's holding his left forearm with his right hand. His light shook like a leaf in the process. Clearly, the boy is in fact scared.
"Huh? You're kidding... Look at your hand." Armin states.
"This is... It's cold! My hand's damn freezing!"
"Really? My whole body's been shaking this whole time. See?" I look to the blonde's light, and like Eren's, it's shaking. That's when I feel that my hand holding Spirit's reins is tightly clenched. I ignore it for now.
"Eren, have you ever been afraid of Titans? Normally, everyone's terrified of them. Like me... The first time I faced a Titan, I couldn't move a muscle. But...there I was... When the Colossal Titan appeared in Trost, you and Elijah were the first on the front lines, killing the Titans as soon as they entered the city. And when... You pulled me right out of the Titan's mouth. How were you able to do something like that? How were both of you like that when all that happened?"
"..." Armin's question makes the two of us think. Every time I'm asked the same question, I always say the same old thing. 'We don't have a choice'. 'We must fight'. 'It's one step closer to killing the Armored Titan'. But lately...I wonder why I truly fight. Yes, I fight to get closer to killing the sole thing that destroyed my family...but is that really my only reason to fight?
"I remembered...the time you showed me that book. Up until then, I never once thought about what was outside the Walls. I just spent every day staring at the clouds and sky. But then, I heard your story and looked into your eyes. You were seeing an awesome dream. But I had nothing. That's when I Knew. I wasn't free. Trapped in a small cage in a huge world, my freedom stolen by those unthinkable fiends. When I realized that, I couldn't forgive them. I don't know why, but when it comes back to taking back freedom... Yes... Strength flows through me." Eren lets go of his arm, his light now steady. He looks to Armin, smiling. "Thanks for that, I'm good now."
He nods, then looks to me. "Elijah...have you ever been afraid? I know you're...well, other than Mikasa, the strongest amongst us. But I don't think I've ever seen you...afraid."
"..."
Darkness... It's wet... Fucking gross... And it stinks! Okay, Everett, Think! I look around frantically, not that it does me any good since it's pitch fucking black in this damn Titan's mouth. I feel around with my sword hilt. "That's the tongue... That's teeth... and there's it's throat. Okay..." I wiggle myself around, reaching my hilt for my scabbard, and reloading a blade. Now...ten centimeters across and a meter high, it's a gamble, but what other choice to I have?
With my blade now in, and barely balancing over the throat hole, I thrust my blade into the back of the Titan's neck. In a few seconds, my blade snaps in to, nearly causing me to fall to the belly of the beast. My breathing erratic, my heart pounding... I can't die here... No...no...NO! I reload my last blade into my hilt, looking back to where I stuck the first time...seeing a small shimmer of light slowly dimming thanks to the regeneration. "COME ON!" I start cutting into the neck once more, getting more frustrated, even more so when my sword snaps again. "NO! NOT TODAY!" Refusing to die like any other of my fellow comrades, I desperately start clawing my way through the now slightly bigger hole in the back of the Titan's neck. Ignoring the pain in my fingertips and the fear in my heart, I finally see the light of the setting sun as I burst out the Titan's neck covered in its blood. "YYYAAAAAAAAAUUUUGGHHH!"
I fall to the ground, it hurts like hell since it was a good ten-meter drop. When I look back up to the Titan, It's...ignoring me, instead it goes for... "What the hell?" I see a horde of Titans that now surround Reiner's Armored Titan, desperately trying to protect Bertholdt on his shoulder. I don't bother to question it and start whistling for my horse as I painfully get to my feet. "Come on, boy! Where are you?!" Soon enough, like always, he comes. I get on...struggling to stay... I tie the reins around my forearm... Now... I just... "Get me home...boy... Get me... Get...me..."
"There was only one time I was truly terrified. When I was in the mouth of that Titan when we had to rescue you, Eren. The thought of leaving you all behind... You guys, Jean, Connie, Historia, Ymir at the time, Hange, Moblit, Erwin, Levi...Sasha. I refused to die that day, there was so much more that I needed to do...and there still is. Even now, I'm scared. I'm happy to be home, but also sad that...no matter what...to enter the town...I must pass by the spot where my parents were crushed."
"Elijah..."
"I'm angry...and at the same time, scared. If we fail here, then there's no hope at all. Am I really ready to face them again after all this time? Or...am I going to lose it like..." I can still hear her choking on her own blood moments before she died.
"Elijah." Armin says firmly. "That just shows how human you really are. You're nothing like them. Yes, what you did was horrible, but you haven't murdered innocent lives like they have. No matter what you feel, you should be proud that you made it this far. I know that the three of us are. And I know that...they would be proud, too." Armin bears a sad smile...knowing he's referring to either my family...or my deceased closest friends. Clutching my returned necklace, I return each of their smiles with my own.
"Thanks, guys. I needed that."
"I bet by this time next year, we'll finally see the sea," Eren says.
"I can see the foot!" A Scout shouts! "There's signs of a trail!"
"It's so close," Eren says to the three of us.
"I can hear the river."
"Finally, we're back."
"...Home."
That day...humanity remembered
The shadows moving through the darkness give you an uneasy feeling
The uncertain future blooms on the thin ice, ready to be picked up
Every time night's curtain fell, our napes were touched by those cold, menacing hands
Turning our backs on the dusk, we clung to the back of hope
And we pursued the truth, well-knowing we are heading straight for hell
What will you relinquish to make this dream come true?
The devil temptingly whispers, "Tread your path with corpses"
"What lies beyond the Walls?" This is the truth we pursued in our youthful days
We can finally grasp the truth, we just need to tread on the corpses
The arrows will fly over their heads
We will spread our wings and fly
Our hearts will be bundled up
But it is still too early to sing a requiem
As the sun is yet to submerge behind the horizon
And we will follow the waves that are straying from us...
"Be on guard for Titans hiding in the shadows! Our operation begins now! All troops, switch to ODM gear!"
"There's two gates we must seal-the inner and the outer. With that, Shiganshina will be isolated. We'll exterminate any Titans left inside. if the enemy knows our plan, they'll go straight after Eren, but we'll have hoods covering the faces of all 100 of our soldiers. By the time they find out who Eren is, we'll have the outer gate plugged."
I raise my hood over my head and pat my trusted animal companion. "Take it easy now, boy. I'll see you soon." I raise up on his back, propelling my hooks towards the wall and taking off for the top. A sea of green, white, and brown soars the air outside of Shiganshina. As I ascend, I see...a large amount of rubble near the broken inner gate. The size, the placement... It's definitely the mark of my parents' grave. I gaze away for a moment to stick the landing on top of Maria, then look down to my personal reminder of five years back.
I push my face off the ground. I look around. The area is not as populated as it once was, but there are still people running. I turn to my back, seeing the rubble from the wall on the ground where...my mom and dad last stood. I look at the ground underneath, seeing a pool of red flow where the rubble met the ground. "Momma?"
"Mom...Dad... I avenge you today..."
"Don't stop! Head for the outer gate!"
"Yes, sir!" I follow Levi, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Petra, and the other Scouts of the Levi and Hange Squad...until I see Armin lag behind. "Armin! What's-" I see him looking to a mark on the top of the wall. Is that...remains of a campfire? I take a silent gasp as I realize why this made him stop. The enemy is here...and they're close. The blonde boy signals to the commander, and I follow suit. "Commander!"
Erwin soon makes his way over to us. "What is it, Arlelt?"
"There's remains of a campfire here, the enemy knows we're here."
"Are you certain of this?"
"It looked recent, sir," I add. "It should be worth looking into."
"Very well. Arlelt, see what you can find among the remains."
"Yes, sir!" Armin heads down to the ground.
"Everett."
I stop before I could run off to join back with Eren and the rest. "Yes, sir?"
"I want you to investigate along with Arlelt."
"But sir, my orders-"
"Eren will be protected by his squads. I need your intuition along with Arlelt's brain in this investigation."
"...Yes, sir!" I follow down the wall after Armin, seeing him fiddling around with the remains of the enemy's campfire. I don't exactly know why the Commander wants me to investigate this, but I trust his judgment.
"Elijah? What are you-"
"Commander's orders. What have you found?"
"So far, a kettle, a few lights, and these cups... They're filled with some sort of black tea."
"Black tea?"
The boy shrugs, and then smells the metal cups. "Smells good... What is this drink?"
"Let me see," Armin hands me one of the cups, I sniff, my nose scrunched in the process. "Eugh. You think this smells good? Smells like burnt shit." I don't even bother thinking about what it could possibly taste like. Ignoring Armin's eye-roll, and focus. Three cups...so this definitely means that there were at east three people here. Reiner, Bertholdt, and God knows who else. I don't think we should roll out the Beast Titan since I know for a damn fact that he's like the other two, so I think he might be our third man.
As for the kettle... It's cold. I find that more odd than the other things we've found. if that campfire was recent, the kettle would still be warm. How long ago was it put out? How long did they know we were coming? Is there another spy in the ranks? No...we have to assume there are more enemies in hiding.
But another thing that weirds me out is... There seem to be no Titans within Shiganshina.
CRACK
Us boys jolt and turn to the lightning strike towards the outer gate. Looks like Eren's team started plugging the hole. After a minute or two, we see green smoke signals scale the Wall on both sides. The hole is officially plugged. "Good work, Eren," I whisper to myself.
"Elijah, we need to report our findings to the Commander. Let's go!"
"Right behind you!"
Eren's Team
Their position in Erwin's plan is to resort Eren around the city, first to the outer gate to seal it up from the outside world, then head back to the inner gate. With Shiganshina isolated, they will exterminate any remaining Titans in the city. With Elijah and Armin lagging behind, Eren and Mikasa trail behind the others preparing to go forward with the Titan transformation and hardening.
"Where the hell are Everett and Arlert?!" Levi shouts.
"I don't know!"
"I saw them going to the commander."
"Dammit. I 'oughta kick the hell out of those two. Forget them! We move on with the plan!"
"Yes, sir!"
Eren looks around the ruins of his hometown... My house is right around there. That's where...we left everything behind. It's okay, I'll take it all back!
Green signal flares from the inner gate. Eren's team is good to go. Eren pushes forward... I can do this! No... We can do this! Because we've all been special since the day we were born! We're free! He scales over the Wall, transforming outside of Maria. An illuminating trike sends everyone's hope of freedom toward the hole Bertholdt kicked in five years ago and hardens our resolve in crystalline form.
Mikasa zips down to retrieve Eren and comes back up the Wall. "Keep on the lookout!" Hange says as she and Levi step over to them.
"How's your ODM gear?"
"It's fine, but I did manage to lose my cloak." Mikasa hands hers to Eren, so he stands up and covers his face.
"Thanks."
"We did it!" Hnage proclaims. "Eren, you okay?"
"No problems here. I'm ready like we trained."
"We'll head for the inner gate! While we're on the move, remember to hide your faces!"
While they run, Eren looks down to the ruined city once again. "I really plugged the hole? And that easily?"
"You did it," Mikasa replies. "Believe in your own power."
"Not yet," Levi says. "No matter how much you plug it, they'll break the Wall as long as they live. Until we kill Reiner, Bertholdt, and any other enemies, the operation to retake Wall Maria won't end."
"Of course, I know that!"
Elijah
"We looked into it, sir. There was definitely someone camping."
"Yes. The pot was cold and lights were scattered on the ground. They were drinking something like black tea. Also, there were three cups with drops of black liquid in it. At the least, there were three people atop the Wall."
"Th-Three you say?!"
"Was the metal pot completely cool?"
I nod. "Yes, sir."
"I find that odd."
"Agreed," Armin adds.
"We charged here at full speed using horses and ODM gear. Had they noticed our approach by sound or sight, they'd have two minutes to react. A pot in use wouldn't cool in just two minutes. They had to have known we were coming for five minutes or more. Meaning they've had plenty of time to prepare for us."
"But...how?"
"Th-There must be a Scout in addition to the three on the Wall," Armin ponders.
"I doubt that's the case, Armin," I add. "I can only assume there are more enemies in hiding."
"For now, locating the enemy is our priority. Arlert, with that brain of yours, you've saved us from disaster countless times. And I trust your intuition more than most, Everett. Right now is one of those times we need you both."
"Huh?" Armin doesn't understand what the commander is implying, not until Erwin gestures over to some Scouts standing nearby.
"Take as many soldiers as needed. Find out if the enemies are hiding near the inner gate or not..." The Scouts gather around us. "As of now, you obey Armin Arlelt and Elijah Everett's commands. Continue the search!"
"Roger!"
"We searched the Wall thoroughly!"
"What are your orders, Arlelt!"
I can see it on the look on the boy's face, he's not used to leading a team, at least not as much as I am. The Scouts aren't making things better by looking at him like he's their last hope, putting more pressure on him. "One at a time, let the boy get a word in!"
"Send one group to each side of the Wall! Search all buildings near the inner gate! Report any findings with an acoustic shell! A-All right...?"
Not bad, Armin.
"Roger!" With his orders, the Scouts spread out across both sides of the Wall. Armin leaves as well but I stay behind to have a quick word with our Commander, not understanding fully why he chose us specifically to command.
"Sir, is this another gamble of yours?"
"No, you two have proven yourselves. You're one of our greatest weapons."
"So what will happen with the operation? Pause it until we find the enemy?"
"We continue."
"Sir?"
"We'll lose a prolonged battle in enemy territory. For us, our only chance is with a decisive battle. Besides, if this is all according to the enemy's plan, we'll just have to live with it. In any case..." Eriwin looks down to his scabbard, patting it. "they're not the only ones hiding something."
I smirk as I know exactly what he's implying. "Hell yes, sir."
The search for Reiner and Bertholdt is proving fruitless so far. Armin nervously commands our 'subordinates' as I take a moment atop the Wall, thinking why we can't find them. "Where the hell are they? Eren's on his way to seal the inner gate and have no idea where the enemy is! They haven't shown up even though we plugged the Wall and no matter how much we search, we can't find them. The enemy is always attacking us in unthinkable ways we always fail to predict. We don't know a damn thing about the Titans so we're always at a disadvantage!" Think, Everett...wait.
A loud rumble emits near us, the culprit a piece of rock. No, not rock, but stone, the same material the Wall is made of. It came from the part of the Wall that suffered from Annie's fingers. Normally, we wouldn't pay much attention to it, but some of the other Scouts seem to have a surprised look about them as they look at the Wall. Wondering what the hell all the clamor is about, I take a few steps towards it before looking up.
If I could manage words, it's too late since all possible air to do such a thing has left my body. "Is that...a Titan... Inside the Wall?"
Could they be...inside the wall? It's a gamble, but it's the only good lead we have.
BANG!
Hearing the acoustic shell, I turn to my right and see the other Scouts summoning to Armin. I soon follow. "Did you find them, Arlelt? Where are they?"
"Not yet! Everyone, search the Walls!"
"I told you we already did!"
"There's nowhere to hide!"
"Inside the Walls!" Upon that suggestion, every Scout in front of Armin looked surprised he even said that. Were you thinking what I was thinking, Armin?
"Inside the Walls?"
"Yes! There must be a spot where someone could stay inside for a long time!"
"How do you know that?"
"..." Armin looks mortified, knowing we can't reveal that sort of truth. Especially on a crucial mission such as this. "It's a hunch..."
One Scout grabs Armin by his shoulders. "Do you have any idea what sort of situation we are in?! We don't have time to waste in hunches!"
I remove the Scout from him. "Of course, he knows! But think about it, the enemy always attacks us using the power of the Titans in ways we never imagined! Id we only limit ourselves to common sense and reason, we'll never be able to gain the upper hand!"
From behind us all, Commander Erwin fires the red smoke signal, indicating the pause of the operation. "There are times to be strict and times to be flexible. Adhere to the principles you vowed while giving everything you've got. Obey the chain of command. The reason we are here is to claim victory!"
Armin takes the support of the commander without delay. "Break into two groups again and search the surface! Especially above the gate! Commence the search!"
"Roger!"
"Everett, you're certain about Arlelt's theory?"
I nod. "yes, sir." I look back down at the groups of Scouts scaling the wall closely, hoping to find any sort of crevices or openings where the enemy could be hiding. "If they are inside, they would need to be in a spot where they can see everything. From us finally approaching Wall Maria, to Eren plugging up the hole of the outer and inner gate. So the most likely place is right above the inner gate."
The commander looks to me, smiling with a sense of pride. "Like father like son."
"..."
"Do you remember our conversation two days prior to this operation, Everett?"
"Sir?"
"Remember what I said, Everett," He looks to me with a determined look in his eyes. "We will take back your home."
BANG!
An acoustic shell fires below us, above the inner gate. "Here! There's a cavity here-GAH!" That gasp alerts me as I hurriedly step over to the edge of the Wall. There I see the Scout fall down to the street below, followed by the appearance of a tuff of pale-blonde haor topping a muscular body.
I'll make it pay for destroying not only our home but my family. As long as there's breath in my body and a beat in my heart...
"I...will...kill it."
"Reiner!" Armin calls out.
"REINER!" He catches sight of me at the last second, unable to do anything as I impale his neck and chest with my blades. I run him down the wall with an angry roar. Believing I might have killed or mortally wounded Reiner, I relax a moment too soon. He takes a surprising breath of air and his eyes roll back into normal position. Shocked, I remove myself from him, returning to the top of the Wall, letting him tumble to the ground. "Shit!"
"Elijah?!"
"How did he survive that?! That was his heart and his throat! Some sort of Titan power?! I was so fucking close!" Whatever the case, Reiner ignites the sky with the light of his transformation, so I stare down with greater hatred as the man...no, monster shows his true self.
"Keep on the lookout!" Erwin shouts. "Locate his allies-" A series of thunder-like explosions shatter our ears from behind. Turning to the land withing the gate, we spot the Beast Titan along with twenty or so Pure Titans. The hairy ape picks up a boulder, heaves it on his shoulder and tosses it directly for the inner gate. "Boulder incoming! Get down!" And when I said 'directly for the inner gate', I mean he hit the hole spot on.
"What the... Did he miss?" I hear Connie call out.
"No." I reply. "That was damn good aim. He cut off our escape with the horses. Now they'll aim for them and surround us."
"We're both hoping for the same thing," Erwin continues, drawing his sword. "To settle it once and for all. Humanity or Titans?! Which side will live?! Which side will die?!"