1850 AY
Shiganshina…. For 5 years he had worked for this. The 1st fallen bastion of humanity laid in front of Erwin. The grey of Wall Maria stretches out for kilometers in each direction, the walls forming their own horizon. He could see the town laid out in front of the gate, the buildings crumbling from only a few years of neglect and absence. Nature had become its owner once again as vines, grass, and trees had overtaken the work of man. Will this be all that remains of the walls if we fail? When the Titans come pouring in? No he couldn't think like that. No when they were so close.
No Scout had made it this far, in 5 years the scouts had only made it halfway to Shiganshina by using who knows how many bodies. I know, I counted. Those 5 years of effort were going to become wasted when he heard Trost had fallen. But now, in under 6 months, an entire column of Scouts would lay eyes on the was progress, this was the next step, this would be the beginning of humanity's 2nd victory over the Titans. And the end of our ignorance.
From atop the mountain surrounding Wall Maria he could see brief clusters of trees surrounding the plains near the town. If he left the reinforcements here among the hills, they might be too far way. But could the trees be too close? The enemy had as much space as they wanted, if they were to encircle them…
"Dirk!" he cried.
"Sir!" The long faced man approached him, the scruff of his growing facial hair coming into view as he came up on horseback pulling up beside him as the scouts advanced onwards on horseback. Gazing back out into the distance, Erwin made his decision.
"I want you to pull off your squad towards the end, wait until the rest of us move past into the district, then hide your teams quietly."
"Yes sir, but why?"
"I want them in reserve in case. I will fire off black smoke signals at once if I need you, in such a case, if we are surrounded, I need you to charge. Being hidden is key here. We need our own trump card today." Dirk gave a nod and took his horse off, as he rode down the column, Erwin could see others pulling off and following him to the back.
"I understand the idea, but can we spare the men? If the Colossal isn't in the blockade, but the district, we will need the men to wear out the Colossal Titan." said Hange on his other side.
"Its a gamble, but the maps Thomas Ackerman had were particularly old. It may be the case that the enemy has copies of them. If this battle plan remains the same, or serves as some blueprint, we may need a secondary force as our own surprise." The look on the section commander's face told him that answer wasn't particularly satisfying, but she knew better than to voice that.
The map from the infiltrator Thomas Ackerman opened to many questions. Trapping a force in Shiganshina made sense know as a strategy, but why would the enemy have such plans before the district was even breached? What use was such information to them? How long had the enemy been planning on invading? He could go on, but the fact was know he needed to act. Still his mind remained on what they didn't know. Was this were you stood? When you made your plans Ackerman? As the gray walls came closer and rose higher, he hoped he would soon know their answer.
"Begin forward charge!" With his cry, hundreds of scouts yanked the reins on their horses, and the beasts began racing, reaching a full gallop as they raced across the plains towards the outer town of Shiganshina. "There could be Titans anywhere so keep your guard up!" the silence and emptiness of the town was disturbing, had all the Titans already spread out inside of Wall Maria? Were they waiting just behind the Wall?
"This operation has officially begun. All troops switch to ODM gear!" the soldiers around him hopped on top of their saddles. Steel cables fired all around him as he saw his men fly into the air, soaring above the wall. As they approached the gate, Erwin slowed his horse to a canter. As he reached a small clearing, he swung off his horse and handed the reins to a scout with a bowl cut. "Start here, hold the horses across the city, spread them out for now."
"Yes sir." The Scout gave him a salute and walked off to tie off the horse. Keeping the horses spread out would decrease the chance that any one Titan transformation could wipe them out.
Erwin walked out into the city along the main road. The grass flattened beneath his feet, and the smell of the city came to him. He looked into one house that had a gaping hole on the side near the road, as he looked inside he could see a small bed cracked in half, had a child been eaten right here? Walking back to the tied off horses he looked to a nearby female Scout with short blonde hair.
"Are Any Titans hiding amongst the outer houses? Or just inside the district?"
"None sir. There have been no sightings or flares so far. It doesn't look like anything is living here, much less a Titan." Erwin gave a glance to the Scout next to him and to the recruits tying up the horses behind him. Fresh blood that had yet to be tested. If they were going to get their wings, their true wings, today was certainly going to prove their metal.
"Keep a lookout down here, I'm moving on up." Seeing the Scout nod, he turned to the wall. Taking his switch trigger in hand, he pulled the trigger and a steel cord flew up and latched onto the wall. The air swirled around him as he was taken with his ODM gear and shot upwards. As the wind tugged at his face, he felt a brief peace come over him. After so many years…. He finally lifted over the wall and he let gravity pull him back onto the wall. He looked into the vast district, vines had overtaken many of the structures inside the city as well, and as he looked at the houses that had fallen into disrepair he could feel the anticipation rise. Just out there, will be the answer to everything. My father will be vindicated today, I know it.
As he panned across to see both teams flying around each side of the wall. He noticed someone holding up their blade near him. Short with a blonde mop of hair, it could only be Arlet. He stood over some black mark on top of the wall. Erwin gave him a nod. Arlet then turned and jumped as he grappled down the wall to investigate whatever he found. As Armin descended, another scout grappled up the wall in front of him. He could see her hood fly off for a moment before she brought it back over her short blonde hair. As Captain Marlene approached, Erwin turned to face her..
"Both sides secure sir. Still not a Titan in sight. Should we continue the operation?" she asked with a unsettled tone. "Its…odd that nothings here."
"We shall, we have no reason to hold." Or none yet. "Time may yet prove itself our enemy today, and the 1st phase of this plan is the most vital." As if to punctuate that statement, the sky darkened and a bolt of yellow lightning stuck from the heavens, striking just outside the wall. He could hear the roar of Yeager's Titan, and saw a flicker in the distance, as light bent around what Erwin assumed was Titan hardening. Moments passed and Erwin stared across the city at the outer gate until 2 green flares rose into the sky. The 1st phase was a success.
"The Outer gate has been closed, thank the walls." Marlene said. "But still…all of this feels wrong doesn't it commander? They should be here somewhere, the Armor and the Colossal. Why haven't they attacked?"
"I don't know, but we can assume from what Arlet found…"
"Commander!" As if speaking of the devil, Arlet appeared on the wall, having climbed back up from his investigations.
"What did you find Arlet?"
"I found ashes on the wall so I went down below to investigate Commander, I found 3 cups, they had some kind of strange black liquid in them, some kind of black tea maybe."
"Wait 3?" Marlene interjected, "does that mean the Beast is here?"
"We can only assume for now." Well at least they are all in one place then. But with so little information about the Beast, countering him is a challenge. Without Armor, our blades should work. Still, when we attacked the Female Titan, it started manifesting abilities out of thin air. There is still too much we don't know. "Arlet, were the cups cold to the touch?"
"Yes sir."
"That's troubling…"
"Agreed."
"Excuse me sir, but why?" Marlene questioned.
"We charged here at full speed on horseback, even switched to ODM, had they noticed our approach by sight or sound, they shouldn't have known we were coming for very long. That pot should still be warm in that case. But if they had some kind advanced warning…" Thomas Ackerman, is this more friends of yours inside the wall? Perhaps agents in the inner walls sending out warnings ahead of us? Erwin looked back out into the lands beyond Wall Maria, putting his hand to his chin in thought, he wondered aloud. "It's clear that the enemy had time to prepare for our arrival.
"But sir-" Marlene squeaked. "-how would they have known?"
"It's possible they had some kind of scout." Arlet said, "In addition to the Beast, Armor, and Colossal, there could be other Titans we don't know about yet helping our enemies. There is no real way to know how many enemies we could be facing. The enemy could have dozens of intelligent Titans ready for us, and the ones we fought could be spies." A panicked look struck his face. "The only safe thing for us to do is to assume we still have many enemies." Not to far from what we know. Few besides Hange and Levi had seen the maps or heard of Ackerman, and Arlet was one in the dark. Still we may be getting too far off track.
"Sharpen your focus, we need to think about our enemies here now. 3 cups matches the 3 Titans. We need to find them, before they can get the jump on us. Your mind has saved us countless times, we need it again. Today we may end up in dire need of your help." he turned to Marlene. "Go requisition 2 squads for Arlet."
"Yes sir."
"I'm going to give you those squadrons Arlet, If the enemy is hiding nearby, find them." A dozen soldiers then jogged over and presented themselves. "As of now, you obey young Arlet's commands. He will tell you how to proceed." the panicked look returned. Looking back to the scouts he saw a hesitation in their eyes.
"Uhhh…" he gave them a look. "Ugh, yes, YES SIR." they surrounded the boy, and he seemed to curl in on himself.
"We searched the walls thoroughly sir."
"Where do you want us to look next?"
"Ughhh…" Alert wavered a bit. "We will look at the buildings next to the wall, if you find something, fire off an acoustic shell." he yelled that last bit. "If, um..that's okay with you all?"
"Understood!" The squads jumped back off the wall as Marlene came back to his side.
"Sir, is this the time to gamble?"
"No, Arlet is one of our most important weapons. He has proven himself already. I trust him."
"Should we pause the operation then? With the outer gate sealed we should have time to find the enemy?
"No, we continue. We will lose a long campaign if we stay in enemy territory. To prevail, we need to win a decisive battle. If all of this has been us dancing to enemies tune, that is something we must accept. In any case…we have our own surprises." looking at the stack of Thunder Spears he gave them a pat.
A screech ripped through the air. An acoustic shell? Already? Looking over the ledge he saw that Arlet himself had fired it. What have you found? Soldiers raced back up to the top and circled Arlet, Erwin walked over to have a listen, as the Scouts began to pelt him with questions.
"What, what did you find?"
"We searched all over, what else could there be?"
"The Walls!" Arlet whelped.
"Huuh?!"
"The Walls, look at Walls!" Erwin had to hold in a gasp. Of course, the one thing they don't know is that we learned about them.
"What do you mean look at the walls? We searched all around them!"
"No, look inside them!"
"How do you know they are inside the walls?" with that Arlet wilted.
"It's a hunch." another man, with an older voice gripped Arlets by the shoulders.
"Are you kidding me? We don't have time for a hunch!"
"Just think about it!" Alert interjected, his face took on a much more convincing look as his eyes narrowed and his face clenched. "The enemy always beats us by using Titan powers we don't know about, they always have the upper hand! If we constrain our normal tactical reasoning, we will lose! We need to anticipate them and counter them, it's the only way to gain the upper hand. We need to look inside them!"
Erwin reached into his jacket as Marlene turned and looked at him. Grabbing the flare gun he popped a red flare in and fired it into the sky. Everyone stopped and looked at him after hearing the gun. He could glance out and see Hange and Levi's squads already moving up to the tops of the wall.
"There are times to be strict and times to be flexible. Uphold your vows we need to keep our eyes focused on victory. Follow Arlet." he could see Arlet smile, just a bit, before a determined wince took over his features.
"Go scour the walls, look for any hollow spots, quickly!"
"RIGHT!" The 2 squads jumped off both sides of the wall and began tapping. As he glanced to the outside of the wall, Erwin could see the soldiers grapple to the walls, one by one they tapped the top of their blades on the wall. The clunking noise on the front and back of the wall began a constant drone. Looking behind him, Erwin caught Levi grimacing at the constant chatter of metal and stone. A position to strike from, hidden right under our noses. The walls could be made of Titan hardening according to Hange. Since he had seen the results of Eren's hardening he knew it could stretch out for some distance, which seemed to say the entirety of the walls could be made of hardening. If the Colossal they faced had the same abilities, how could they counter? If the Colossal could cover itself in Armor with the hardening, and then shoot out blasts of air from within the gaps, would that cause the Armor to fall off from the outer skin? Or would it continue to stick on? Those 2 factors combined could mean the Thunder Spears would be useless. A pop sounded. Some length down the wall he could see a flare shoot up into the sky. In a gust of wind, he could see Levi's ODM gear flare with life as he flew over to the flare.
"This part of the wall is hollow!" he could hear a scout shout though he could not see him. He did, however, hear the gaps of everyone on the wall, and see Levi's cowl shoot down the wall in a flurry. Who had they found?
"REINEEERRR!" Arlet screeched. As Erwin ran over to the interior of the wall, saw a small figure falling down towards the ground, and he saw Levi shooting back up the wall. Orange light began flickering in sparks below, flashing rapidly as he saw the form twist and turn. Was that a sword embedded in his neck? Did we get lucky? As a steak of orange lightning accompanied a roar, Erwin knew he had been too optimistic.
A massive sphere of light erupted from the lightning strike, sending waves of electricity searching in all directions. He could see it light up the town as if there was a second sun. Several soldiers covered their eyes, and as the bright light dissipated, a body covered in faded tan Armor was revealed lying on its back as Renier Braun had been after Levi's strike. To battle we go..
"Enemies spotted! Armor is in the district!" He heard screams from the wall. The figure of the Armor began to rise from its back.
"KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!" Erwin roared, putting his whole chest into his voice. "THERE ARE OTHERS STILL LURKING, WE NEED TO FIND ITS ALLIES-" before Erwin finished he felt the earth shake, as a blaring shriek rang out behind him. His eyes swayed to look behind to the fields as the rumble overtook the earth, shaking everything in view. As he turned his body in the direction of his gaze, Erwin saw countless lights that erupted from nothing. What have we missed? As the shaking stopped, he could see Titans crouched, as if kneeling for a king. The 15 meters and 5 meters alike then stood from their positions, standing still. Their eyes were lifeless as they looked back at the Scouts, as if to mock the Survey Corp.
In the middle of them all, was a strange one. Kneeling, this Titan was covered in fur, with strangely sharp ears, and lanky limbs. If Hange could see it, perhaps she would remark, wondering how it could stand with such slim limbs. Its face and stomach were covered in a dark skin, without fur like the rest of his body. The Titan's red eyes seemed to pierce Erwin, as he felt himself shudder for a moment. The Beast Titan.
The Titan rose from its crouch. Its long arm reached for a boulder next to it, and Erwin noticed the Titan on all fours next to it. It had a long snout, with a mop of hair on its head, and some cargo on its back. It, unlike the other Armored and Colossal, had the skin of a normal Titan. And the Scout appears. The Beast Titan grabbed the boulder and lifted it to its shoulder in some odd stance. Taking a few hops forwards on one foot, the Titans arm shot out and the boulder flew towards them.
"INCOMING BOULDER!" Scouts scurried away from the center of the wall as Erwin stayed in place. The Boulder fell in front of him, and smashed in front of the gate. The rock itself blew to pieces as it landed, all of which obstructed the gate.
"Did the Titan miss?" Marlene asked.
"No, that was a well placed shot, it blocked the gate, our horses can't move in or out." Erwin glanced back up at the Beast. So this is your plan. The Colossal had not come to play yet, but then again, neither had Erwins new trump cards. Thank you Thomas, whether you were friend or foe, you may have made a valuable contribution to our cause today. But not just yet. Without the Colossal in play, he couldn't move against the Titans. He needs them to play all their cards. Or at least all the cards we know.
"Commander, the Armor is getting ready to climb." Levi said as he walked over. Although he couldn't see it, he could hear the crushing of stone behind him. Did the Armor think all his forces were in front of him? He had seen Eren transform, so why was he coming here? As he looked down he saw the horses in front of him. Is that it, trap us and then force us to remain here to starve? As the sound approached, he saw the Beast raise its arm to the sky. It waited for a moment, then slammed his fist back into the earth and gave a might cry. As the Beast cried out a roar Erwin could see his Scouts begin to cover their ears at the piercing wail. The hordes of 5 meter Titans that had been waiting at the front ranks of the enemies blockade then charged, their limbs flailing as the abnormal Titans raced to be the first to slaughter humanity's bravest. So this is the choke hold then, Ewrin thought. You have all your bases covered then don't you. What is that cargo for then? Could it be…
"Well do you want us to remain here?" He could fire the black smoke and call in Dirk's Squad, but…No, I need to see the last part of the picture.
"Sir the Armor is almost at the top! Your orders sir?" Arlet yelled.
"Yes, I'm well aware." I can't allow the horses to be slaughtered though, if we are cut off before even seeing the Colossal…
"SIr?" Marlene had a hardened look in her eye, he could see the fear behind it, but like a proper soldier, she quashed her fear with duty, as a veteran should. If only more had lived, Nanaba, Mike, I need you here now. But your sacrifice won't be in vain. Erwin searched in his heart, and found the cold steel he was looking for. Levi gave him a sidelong glance.
"Well finally ready to say something Erwin? I could have cooked breakfast by now." Levi chimed.
"SOLDIERS!" he took on his roaring tone again. "The enemy hopes for the same thing we do! They have surrounded us and cut off our retreat! The only choices now are to fight and live, or to quiver and die! We must fight! We must end this conflict once and for all! Its our side or theirs now! We can let the Titans crush us, and annihilate what's left of humanity for good. Or we bring them crashing down, here and now!" He drew his sword and lifted it to the sky, and then pointed it at Marlene's soldiers.
"Marlene squad! Join Klaus' squad and protect the horses at the gate." he turned and aimed his sword at Hange. "Levi and Hange squad, engage the Armored Titan, use the Thunder Spears at your own discretion. Do whatever it takes to achieve your objective!" He faced the Scouts one and all, "This is our chance, our moment to strike. The fate of mankind depends on this battle, so I order you-" he pinned his fist to his chest. "LAY DOWN YOUR LIVES! One last time, FOR HUMANITY!"Scouts began running to each side of the wall and jumped off, flying to battle. "DEDICATE YOUR HEARTS!"
"YES SIR!" the groups of scouts screamed, before each went off to do their duty. It was a do or die situation, and they knew it. Our finest hour, or our last. Glancing over, he could see Levi and Armin preparing to jump and engage the Armor.
"Wait you two." Both halted and faced him, Armin gave him a curious look, while Levi gave him a glare. "Hange can lead both your squads. I'll need you here Levi." The glare turned incredulous as Levi's eyebrows highlighted his disbelief.
"So I'll protect the horses instead of Eren?"
"Yes, that's right. When the chance comes, I'll need you here to dispatch the Beast Titan. You're the only soldier I can trust for this task." Levi's face shifted back to its sterile emptiness, which Erwin knew as him being satisfied by his answer.
"Yes sir, I wasn't fast enough to kill the Armored earlier, but I'll atone for that by taking the Beast Titans head. Levi shifted his weight on a dime and shot out to the houses below, ripping blades out as he rushed to engage the oncoming threat.
"Armin-" he turned to the boy as he approached. "I have a plan for the Armored Titan too."
"Uh- Of Course sir!" Erwin wasn't sure if he found that reassuring or not.
"Today, we will have to win on two fronts to secure victory. I can handle one, the other I'll leave to you and Hange." Armin's eyes sparkled for a second with recognition. "But I need you to use Eren to lure the Armored back into the city, it'll be the only bait that might make it worth peeling off from Attacking the horses."
"And if the Armor engages…I'll have Eren circle back around the Beast and we can catch him." Armin nodded at him then. Sharp, but he doesn't know about Dirks squadron. If Eren manages to make it over to the other side, it may mean our horses are gone here.
"Very good, Armin, I trust you." Erwin felt like he should say more, some more assurance to the boy or some kind of advice. But Armin seemed to relax just a bit, then he nodded again and rushed off the wall.
Just in time too. As Armin reeled away, Erwin could hear a crunch awfully close to the top of the wall. He turned to see a large fist smash into the top of the wall not 50 meters from where he was standing. The fist was encased in a thin layer of Titan hardening that resembled Ice more than the crystal he knew. The hulking body and plates of the Armored Titan pulled itself up onto the Wall. Ewrin kept his eyes locked onto it the entire way. So we meet again. Its empty eyes gazed out at the town, surveying its layout as he sat down on his back foot as it came down to rest. The terror of Maria, sat upon the wall it had destroyed 5 years ago, and locked onto where the horses were.
The Titan then turned its head subtly, and then froze. Good, now that we have the pleasure of each other's company. Erwin reached up to pull his hood off his head. He kept his gaze on the Armored as he did so. Staring into where the faint outline of an iris could be seen. Everything became silent, even the sound of dozens of 5 meter Titans rushing towards the Scouts faded into a dim ringing. The muscle of the Armored Titan rippled the slightest bit, and Erwin felt it leaning towards him.
But just as Erwin could feel a lunge coming, an explosion of light covered his back as a piercing bolt of lightning shot down from above and struck the ground next to the gate. Eren… without looking Erwin knew Armin had put things in motion. As he could hear the footsteps of Eren's Titan rushing away he could see the indecision in the eyes of his enemy. The Armored would be forced to choose. In the end, there was only 1 real option, as the enemy had one real goal. Still…
What will you choose? If he attacks the horses, Eren could wrap around and escape the blockade and make the Titans' reason for being here void. At the cost of the Survey Corp. He could order Dirk's squad to Attack with Eren, and they might be able to kill the Beast and the Quadruped. Of course, the Armor couldn't know about Dirk.
In the end the Armored took the bait and chased after Eren into the square. Armin, Hange, this battle is in your hands now. Erwin quashed what he felt, the doubt in his heart, at leaving a battle unattended. But he had to rely on Armin and Hange now. In the end, as much as the Beast and Erwin could plan, the battle would come down to each soldier. One more dead Titan, one more dead Scout, each could make the difference. Erwin trusted his men, he trusted them to fight for humanity with all they had. His veterans had survived countless battles, and the last year especially. They could be trusted to carry the day. Problem is…he had so few veterans left.
Looking down at the scouts below, he could see a few flying around, deftly turning in quick bursts of speed, their blades carving through the necks of Titans. He also saw some Scouts stop and freeze, others jumped from house to house, more flew clumsily, others missed their targets and had to bail out and regroup, and some he saw in the Titans jaws. Sadly, he saw far less skill amongst his men today than he would have liked. We struggle against the smallest Titans now.
The last year had devastated the Veterans of the Survey Corp. Mike, Nanaba, Levi's squadron… so many had died against the Titans in the last year. Titans were already threats, the wandering monsters and the abnormal freaks. But the few intelligent Titans themselves had crushed a little over two thirds of his troops, and then the Military Police or rather Kenny Ackerman's crew had ripped up half of that. They had been chewed up and spat out. Now most of his troops were green recruits, those who had joined from other branches, and other scouts who had been pulled from the few in the Survey Corps in the North, East, and West. Who have never seen an inch of Titan. Still if not for those who had died, they never would have made it this far. But with these recruits, Could we still find victory in these conditions?
Erwin looked down to a small black haired man looking up at him. Erwin matched the glance of Levi, continuing his gaze as Levi turned and sped back into the town, and as he cleaved a Titans hand in 2 then cut its nape after. As he watched a Titan begin feasting on one of his men, he thought to himself. We struggle with even the smallest Titans now. Erwin glanced back into Shiganshina.
I could still make it…if we should fail. He closed his eyes. When I joined the cadets, I told all about my fathers theories. But after I joined the scouts, I stopped talking about it…I was a coward. I realized that they fought for each other, for humanity, for their families, and I for myself. How can I lead them? How can I claim to be a man worthy of the truth? When I came to lead the Scouts, I lied. Every day and every night, I told them their sacrifices had meaning, but do they now? If I go…I could see Grisha's secret… He laughed to himself. Mike, Nanaba, and all of Levi's squad. If they could hear me now… How can I claim anything I did was worth it as I stand upon this pile of corpses. All of them died for something, what was it…Did they… Did they really believe me? I can't go…but, its so close. If I could just make it to that cellar. If I could just learn whats outside these walls….wouldn't they…..wouldn't that make it all….
An explosion rippled behind him. His thoughts and his eyes at once turned to the Battle of the Titans inside the district. Does that mean the Thunder Spears worked? Erwin swore he could hear…cheering? Maybe they did. With the Armor down, they could focus again on the Beast. It's a step forward.
Sadly the cheers were silenced by a screech that sounded like an animal's dying cry. The cry seemed to freeze the battlefield for a moment. What does… Alarm signaled in Erwin's mind. If the Armor's transformation was the signal to the Beast, then is this… Before he could look behind him he could feel a flush of air pass over his head as he looked to see a Barrel flying above him. Dammit, that's where he was. Their forces might be wiped out. He needed to call Dirk now. As the Barrel fell, Erwin griped his flare gun. Shit, they got us. But as the barrel fell, he could hear a faint scream, A human scream, followed by no explosion. Slowly he put back the gun. There was a chance.
He glanced back at the other side of the wall and saw his troops moving forward to counter the threat in the front of the town. Almost done, then we can move onto-another light boomed behind him. The moment of hope could not last for long. Soon the mass explosion came. Bone formed on bone, and muscle snaked up its legs as the Colossal Titan formed in an instant in front of Erwin's eyes. The giant skinless monstrosity slammed into the Earth, shaking it with its terrible presence. As it rose, its hand smashed into a street and pulled up houses and flung them into the air. Dozens of flaming pieces of rubble suddenly covered the blue sky like stars in the night sky. Another pincer? Perhaps both of us are unoriginal. I wonder who is copying who here? With a small chuckle he turned to the Beast again.
"I bet you're pleased with yourself." Erwin said to no one at all. He could see his Scouts moving to the front of the Town, moving to kill the remaining Titans assaulting the village. I have one more card to play, but how many do you? Erwin, despite himself, couldn't bring himself to feel more confident. The Armor was down, but they still had the Colossal and the Beast to deal with. If the Scouts out front could destroy the Beast, and if Hange had survived the blast…If…. they could deal with the Colossal. Then could Dirk's squad deal with the Quadruped? A card left to play. Erwin looked back into Shiganshina. But..if it doesn't work, we're finished.…Could I…..its only right over there. Just a leap….
As Erwin exited his musings, he could see the Beast Titan curl up, and then throw his hand over his shoulder. Pieces of rock came hurtling out of his hand, and at once Erwin saw the front buildings of the town crumble. In only an instant, the buildings in the front had been laid low. No…. Their veterans, had any of them survived that?
"ALL TROOPS TAKE COVER NOW!" He hoped to the Walls that they could reach it in time. As the dust settled, he could see his men and horses moving back to the wall. With that Erwin jumped off the wall and grappled down to his forces.
"Commander!" as Erwin landed, a tall scout with a black bowl cut called to him reverently. He saw Levi approach him immediately.
"How's it looking?"
"Terrible. The front line of houses is decimated. If he keeps throwing those, everything will be leveled. We will have nowhere left to hide."
"And we can't retreat behind the wall?" Erwin shook his head.
"Besides the rubble in front of the entrance, the Colossal is already on his way towards us. We could retreat, but then we would lose the horses." Levi's teeth grinded as his look darkened.
"What happened to Hange's group? Is Eren still alive"
"I don't know. They could be living or dead. Most of them should be gone, caught up in the explosion from the Colossal's transformation. We've sustained a great many casualties. The Beast Titan has done well, by forcing us to engage the small Titans he pulled us forward, Marlene and Klaus's squads were at the front. Which put them in the line of fire when the bombardment was launched. They were wiped out in the bombardment." another cluster of rock slammed into the houses and the Wall, and Erwin heard the recruits shudder. "Our remaining forces on this side of the wall are here, but Dirk's squad should still be waiting for my signal." With that he could see Levi perk up.
"So then what's the plan?"
"There is only one path forward now." He paused.
"Well? Out with it?" another bombardment reached them and the horses cried out, and the recruits whimpered. Erwin finally directed his gaze to the surviving Scouts, they were cowering now. He felt like he should give them a word, but before he could imagine words to give them, there was a crash above them. And Erwin rolled his head back and he could hear Levi gasp with him.
"Damn it. That's Eren up there." Erwin coul;d hear Eren's Titan heaving for breath from down below. If he's there then… Dammit! Time was short, if Eren was the only survivor back behind them, then the Colossal would be on them in seconds. In the middle of Erwin's deliberations, he saw a redheaded recruit fall to his knees out of the corner of his eye..
"GET UP!" yelled the recruit with a black bowl cut. "It's our job to watch the horses, why did you let yours run awa-"
"SHUT UP!" The redhead yelled. "Can't you see its all pointless! We are all gonna die! Nothing we did meant anything! I thought...I thought maybe if I bit the bullet and died for humanity, it might have some meaning. Some impact!" He began whimpering. "But I see now…it's nothing….our lives were worth nothing."
The bowl cut gasped. The recruits around him seemed to shudder at the redhead's words. He could see the other recruit trying to formulate a response. But in the end, he had nothing. As he could see some of the recruits wilting in the silence, more chunks of boulder crashed into buildings, and recruits were taken out of their mood while they struggled to calm the beasts. Levi looked at him again.
"Well shit, our choices are narrowing. This place is gonna look like a honeycomb before long so come on Commander." Levi's teeth were grinding now. One more shot, but will it? Will this work? Will we survive? Or will I join the pile? "The Beast Titan knows where we are."
"It does, but it may not have noticed Dirk's squad."
"So then we trap, is that it? Or do you want me to grab Eren and we can escape back to Trost?"
"...No.." Erwin pulled himself together. There is no going back from here. "We need to win a decisive battle. Dirk will charge, and so will we. Then we attack the Titans from both sides and hope to catch them unaware."
"Sounds good, but…" Levi looked apprehensive for a moment. "Won't we be exposed, what's to prevent them from crushing us?"
"That is the hard part. It's not just the Beast, but the Quadruped, I don't know if it has any special abilities like the female, but we will just have to trust Dirk's squad to handle it. We may be able to split the Titans' attention and force them apart, with both of us engaging the Titans, some of us should be able to make it."
"What's to stop the Beast from pelting us both?"
"Nothing but luck.." Levi's face dropped for a minute.
"Luck?" his anger flared up then faded away to something more empty as he gave a hollow laugh. "We need you and Eren alive. If you die in a Bombardment and he dies up there, we are lost. If this pincer with Dirk doesn't work…" Levi paused. "Well to me it looks like the Scout regiment will be finished."
"We can succeed…but…most of us will have to die…including me."
"Did you not hear what I just said? If-"
"Look at them Levi." Erwin pointed to the recruits, pitiful as they were. "If we have them charged alone, they will crumple, then the Beast will notice Dirk, and both Squads will be destroyed. If they go, they need to believe that their lives aren't being used for nothing. To that end, this plan requires an expert conman, to convince them… that their…" Erwin felt his legs weaken. Disbelief filled him as he walked to the building closest to him and sat on a box sitting in front of it.. "...that their lives will have meaning. That their suicide will have a reason. It will take an expert conman at the lead." Erwin looked down at his hand and saw it tremble, his vision began to blur. "To win, I will have to be the 1st to charge… and the 1st to die." He gripped his fist.
"So the only was is…" Levi struggled to speak.
"Yes, I will die." Erwin replied, and he felt a deep sigh leave him. "I will die…before I ever see that cellar." Is this where it ends?
"Erwin…"
"I dreamt… that I'd get to prove I was right. Many times I thought death would be easier. But now…with the answers only a leap away. But now…" He looked at his hands, and he began shaking. What is this feeling? "Its only over there. I have thought…Its just a leap away, if I left it all, I could prove my father right….I'm so close." He threw his head down and rested them in his hands. He could hear Levi take a tentative step forward. "Can you see them Levi? Our Comrades? They are with us here, they are all watching us….they want to know…if their sacrifices meant anything. If their lives were worth it." he could feel himself chuckle darkly. What a coward I am. "And here I am…their Commander, scared to join the pile…..if I could just see that cellar….my dream…" he trailed off. Erwin felt himself wilting. Perhaps in the end, I'm no different that our recruits.
For a moment, there was silence. The noise of the recruits, of the battle, it all fell away for a second. Levi took another step forward and kneeled in front of him. He kept his face down towards the dirt.
"Then I'll make the choice for you." he gazed up straight at Erwin. Levi's eyes were cold as steel. Levi…. "For the Scouts and for Humanity…Give up. Give up on your dream. Give up on your dream and lead those crying children into hell. I'll go kill the Beast Titan, while Dirk's squad kills the ugly four legged one."
Levi… Erwin felt himself shudder. Is that it…give up huh…so much fighting...and can I….he looked back to the wall. Is this it? Will I never? Duty and desire warred in his heart. He still could. No…it's not my decision anymore…it's over.. And with that, Erwin smiled, and stood.
"In that case, you won't be coming with us on horseback." Levi ticked in surprise as he stood, his stature well below his own.
"What? You want me to go after him with just ODM gear? He is standing in a field. There is nothing to hook onto."
"Not true." Erwin pointed to the Titans encircling them. "Use them, latch onto the Titans and take them down, using them to reach the Beast. If you ride on horseback, there is too big a risk you will be taken down with the rest of us. Even if the Quadruped sees Dirk, and the Beast can hit us and them, you'll be our final trump card. You'll use his thralls to advance unseen, then assassinate the son of a bitch" Before Levi could object, he began walking over to the recruits. No choice huh…
"All troops, LINE UP!" Erwin roared as Levi came to stand beside him. "I will now announce our plan to attack the Beast Titan. We will mount a cavalry charge and all ride towards the Beast and fire our flare guns to provide a distraction! This will make us ideal targets, so we will wait until right before he throws, and then fire the signals together. Meanwhile, Captain Levi and a squadron left behind the Beast will sneak around back, and slay the Beast. Any questions?"A silent moment passed as the recruits stared right at him. A girl in front collapsed and began throwing up, and he could see the redhead from before quivering in fear.
"There is no point in standing around, we'll only get hit with more boulders, ready the horses on the double."
"Be honest-" the redhead spoke up. "-will our deaths…do any of us have a chance of surviving? Or are all of us riding to our deaths?"
"We may be."
"So we will all die…so that we might win? How do we know Captain Levi and Captain Dirk will…?"
"We have no guarantees."
"So then…even if we all die….it might still be for nothing?"
"You're exactly right." tears began to fall from the redheads eyes.
"So if we die anyway.. What's the point? We could just ignore you? Who cares? It wouldn't mean a thing would it?"
"Precisely."
"Then WHY!"
"Because you are my soldiers…." he looked the redhead straight in the eye, giving a piercing glare, then he looked back to them all. "Every dream, every hope…none of it matters as you die on the battlefield, as life fades from you as you bleed out. None of it changes what a speeding rock does to a body. You will die all the same." The redhead seemed to prepare himself to speak again so Erwin cut him off. "But does that mean our lives are meaningless? Does that mean there was no point to being born? Would you say that about our slain comrades, were their lives meaningless?" He paused and took a deep breath. I'll be with you soon. "THEY WERE NOT!" he screeched. "Their lives provide an example to us all! The courageous fallen, the anguished fallen! Their lives have meaning because WE THE LIVING REFUSE TO FORGET THEM! And as we ride to certain death, we trust those who follow us to do the same for us! Because my soldiers do not buckle, my soldiers do not yield, my soldiers face death AND RAGE!" he could see some of them seem to freeze while watching him.
"Now mount up! Prepare your flares and on my command, fire your green flares and charge!" He didn't turn to see their faces, he didn't turn when he heard footsteps, he didn't turn when he heard reins being taken, he didn't turn when he mounted his horse, and he didn't turn when he shifted to face the Beast. All the same, he pointed his flare gun up and fired a steak of black smoke into the air, and then turned when Levi reached his side.
"Some speech." a tinge of sarcasm, fitting.
"You think so?"
"Well either they do, or they're so terrified they can't think anymore." Erwin finally looked and saw the recruits mounted on horseback, even the redhead and the puking girl, though they all had a grave look on their faces..
"Well then-" he grabbed the flare gun and reloaded it. "-this is it. The final part of the operation to retake Wall Maria." he nearly glanced back at Levi, but held his head facing forward, staring at the Beast dead on. "Start your mission, captain. He intended his tone to be curt now. If this is it…then…
"Erwin…" Levi's voice came as a surprise. It sounded low, almost like a whisper, and desperate. Erwin wanted to look at him. He wanted to see….one last time. The decision…no, the order has been given. Nothing to do about it now. Don't look.
"Captain Levi." he said, choking on his own voice. "I trust you will oversee the mission given to you. As I will conduct the one you gave me." Don't look not now…there is no going back. No future, no cellar, and no….His neck felt tight now.
"Ewrin…will…." he could hear a croak. For once Levi had nothing smart or snarky to say. Don't do this now. He could hear it as Levi returned to his resolve. "Yes sir. I'll do as you ordered. The bitch will die." With a few steps, his ODM gear flared again, and Levi launched off to face the Titans. Erwin breathed out his nose, and prepared himself one last time. He gave himself a moment, looked behind him from left to right. And then screamed.
"SCOUTS!" He tore a sword out of its scabbard. "CHARGEEE!" he pointed his arm forward and forced his horse into a gallop. His soldiers rallied behind him, and began charging through the town. Houses phased past Erwin, and he felt the wind on his face, as well as something else inside…was that? Have I been released from this world already? The Beast Titan pulled upwards, and the boulder rose over his shoulder. "FIRE!" he could hear pops around him as they charged forwards. He could see the distant figure relax, before it curled and unfurled again, and rocks came flying, and in an instant crashing around them.
Erwin could hear screams as they charged down the streets of the town, but he refused to look back. They were reaching the open ground where they would be in the most danger. He began reloading his flare. As they exited the town he could see the Beast reach down to pull another boulder up.
"SPREAD OUT!" The Scouts spread out as the Beast wound up again. "FIRE." and once more a volley of flares rose into the sky. With a whip of its arm, the Beast sent a barrage towards them. Rocks again befell his men, and Erwin pulled on the reins to keep his horse straight and narrow as a piece of rock fell right next to him, crushing the Scout beside him. Too close.
"KEEP SPREADING OUT! Don't give him a solid target!"
As he approached he swore he could see the Beast turn and speak to the Quadruped, though he couldn't hear over the sound of hooves turning the ground to dust in the wind. The other Titan turned and ran the other way. We have been discovered. But there is nothing to be done now. Everyone had their jobs, Dirk would have to know what needed to happen. If Erwin had told…Nothing to do now…nothing to do but die.
The Beast Titan again threw his fist forward, but this time Erwin's horse veered left, and he turned it back right again. He could see the Beast look back again over his left shoulder. Could it be? They were getting close, Erwin couldn't tell how many were left, but the Beast kept getting bigger and bigger. He looked almost 15 meters at this distance. The beast had turned, and Erwin could see the rubble flying the other way. No!
He yanked on the reins and forced his steed onward. He could see himself start to outpace the men around him. The Beast was still not facing him, but he wasn't throwing boulders at them either. He had to bring him back to them.
"NOW MY SOLDIERS, RAGE! KILL THE BEAST TITAN!" he could hear some of his soldiers scream with him as they came closer, the noise around them made it hard to hear, many had died, but a few still charged. The Beast turned back to them for a second, and began to launch another boulder. At this distance, it looked like he was throwing the boulder straight down. As the rock flew out, it crashed so close. So close, I could grapple on. But someone beat him to it, behind him, he could see a tiny figure flying behind the beast, and he swore he could hear the faint noise of iceburst gas.
The flying figure behind swung to the back of the beast and then flew up. We may actually do this, the basement may still be in my grasp! Erwin felt himself swell up, he could attack now, he could kill the Beast and see the Basement. Father! The Beast turned upwards and seemed to try and swat the ODM gear user with his hands like a fly, the man in question barely dodging. Erwin forced his steed forward again with greater speed. He threw his sword hand back, and as the Beast came close he prepared to jump out the saddle and go for the kill. The Beast's hand flew back behind his head and closed. He missed. The beast's hand began to fly downwards, and some small shape attached by string flew down with it. NO! Erwin grit his teeth and put his foot on his saddle, and as he turned he saw the Beast throw a giant fist in his direction. I'm so close. But as the fist blurred in Erwin's vision, he saw a fist centimeters from him, he saw a body along a string with a dead man following it. He took a moment to blink and he saw the grass covered in spots of red. He felt himself laying on his side. Blood, his mind reminded him. He tried to bring his hand up, and saw it covered in blood. Is that…mine?
"ERWIN!" he heard a familiar voice howl in a battle cry. Who was that?
"Erwin." he heard again, the voice had been much calmer this time. Erwin blinked and he couldn't see the blood or the grass. He was laying on his back now, and as he looked up he saw stars, they reached out in an odd pattern, almost like a tree. He blinked again and saw the pale blue sky. A couple of clouds drifted lazily across, without a care in the world. Where am I?
"Erwin." it was that same voice again. It sounded familiar. Erwin flipped himself over and started to stand up when he saw him. Mike, is that?
"Welcome Erwin."