Chapter 23: Pyrrhic victory
Ed watched on, holding an unconscious Petra in his arms, as Eren's Titian struck the ground hard with his right hand, just missing the Female Titan's head, the force of the impact had shook the earth around them, the bone in his arms jutted outwards from his flesh and he raised his hand upward to revel His mangled and bloodied hands. Ed fired the cables up onto one of the branches of a nearby tree, still holding onto Petra with one arm, he placed her down gently with her back against the truck, he turned back to face the two Titans; Eren landed another blow into the ground, missing the Female Titan's head again, he raised his left hand, it was dangling from his wrist; the bones looking to be completely shattered, clouds of steam poured out from their bodies as they repaired themselves.
Damn it Eren! Thought Ed can't you hit straight? The Female Titan was fast, dodging his attacks at such close range, had that punch connected then the fight would have been over. Eren's Titan then leaned in closer to the Female Titan, their faces were maybe a meter apart, and let out a ferocious roar Eren then moved back his hands, eyes and mouth were twitching rapidly. Ed knew this wasn't good; Eren didn't look as though he was completely focused on Female Titan or completely in control and was leaving himself open for an attack. The Female Titan then grabbed Eren's right arm and free herself, Eren tried to punch her again but missed a third time, he was then kicked in his stomach and sent flying into a tree.
She's a skilled fighter observed Ed and he's too erratic to land a hit.
The Female Titan got back up to its feet, she turned to face Eren who was just about to deliver another punch but just barely miss its target; the fist grazing her face, Eren threw another punch with his left hand but she dropped to the ground and yet again dodged the attack. Ed gripped the handles of his ODM gear tightly; it would be suicide if he tried to get in the middle of this fight but he knew that if things kept going as they were Eren would likely lose this fight.
He turned to face Petra again "Hang tight, Petra" he said "I'll be back." He then leapt from the branch and onto the ground.
Eren's Titan let out another ear-piercing roar as it once more tired to punch the Female Titan and once more she dodged the on-coming attack. His Titan launched an array of punches, each one missing its target, she watched as Eren's Titan prepared to swing with his right arm as he moved it back, she was about to side step to the right when she suddenly realized something was holding her feet in place; she quickly looked down to see two dirt and rock hands holding her ankles. Hardening her ankles she quickly managed to break free of one of them but was too late to break the other; she was dealt a hard right blow to the cheek which sent her flying into a nearby tree, her back colliding with the truck.
She quickly tried to get back on her feet only to realize her left foot was broken, Eren's Titan charged forward towards her with it right arm pulled back ready to deal another blow, she knew that with a broken ankle she couldn't dodge this attack and needed to strike first; she raised her fists to her face and limped forward slightly, she harden her hands and was about to go for a right hook to Eren's jaw as he came in range, but as her arm dipped she felt a large hand grabbing and holding it in place, she was unable to counter the devastating right hook from Eren and was punched into the ground.
That damn bastard… she thought as she lay on the ground using her right eye she could see Ed looking at her with an angry yet pleased look on his face. The left side of her won face had almost caved in I'm going to enjoy hurting you when I'm through with him… Eren rolled her onto her back and pinned her to the ground once more, he reeled his left arm back to launch the killing blow.
I'm going to finish this… Eren thought I'll rip you out of your neck and I'll tear you apart with my bare hands!
She then felt a shackle being formed around her neck to hold her in place, Ed watched on, his hands placed in the dirt as the Female Titan struggled to move her head to dodge the attack, he was going to enjoy watching Eren pummel the Female Titan; she had brutally killed so many good people mercilessly and now it looked as though justice was about to be dealt. As Eren swung his left arm to finish her off she quickly harden the right side of her face with crystal, destroying his fist upon impact, she then quickly harden her hands, broke the dirt shackle around her neck and punched Eren with her crystal hand; completely destroying his jaw, she pushed him off and quickly got back to her feet, focusing her energy into the broken ankle, she was once more able to walk again. Despite the massive injury, Eren rose to his feet and firmly raised his fists to his face
I'm going to end this… she raised her fists to her face and shifted her legs into her fight stance; knees bent, left leg forward and right leg back.
Upon hearing the loud familiar roar echo through the forest, Levi knew that something happened; it was likely that the Female Titan had come into contact with his squad and Eren and they were now engaging in combat, he gracefully glided across the forest… and came upon the bloodied remains of his squad. First it was Gunther dangling from a tree with his nape sliced open and frozen in a state of permanent shock, next it was Eld who was bitten into two pieces; his upper body and torso lying in a pool of his own blood, then it was Oluo whose body lay unnaturally mangled. He pasted each one of their corpses and stared at each one briefly with a stoic look on his face, trying to keep his anger and grief at bay.
Then he spotted Petra, she was sitting on one of the branches of a tree, Levi approached her with that same blank faced look, he wondered how she could have gotten here but ultimately didn't want to get his hopes up. He knelt down and placed his fingers on the right side of her neck and felt the soft beat of her pulse; his eyes widen in shock and mouth open slightly for just a second before returning back to normal, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gripped it slightly.
"Petra…" Levi called out "I'll come back for you and the others."
Petra's eyes opened only marginally to look at him. "Captain…"she said weakly and it was all she could say before falling back into unconsciousness.
He stood back up and leapt off the branch as he continued looking for Eren, Ed and the Female Titan.
Ed clapped his hands and placed them into the dirt; an array of large fists rose from and ground and headed straight for her, seeing the attack coming she harden her left leg and swung it at the incoming fists; shattering it into large chunks of debris which rained down onto the ground.
Ed gritted his teeth; the fight was far from over and it looked as though this time she wasn't going to hold back. "Eren!" yelled Ed, not yet facing him "I don't know if you can hear me but I need you to-" he turned to face Eren and saw that his Titan's expression had changed from killer glares to a look of confused shock.
Ann- the same devastating kick which destroyed the stone fists had now beheaded Eren's Titan and a nearby tree, Ed rolled to the side to avoid the falling bits of flesh and wood which rained down onto the ground, he quickly got up into a kneeling position and watched as Eren's Titan body collapsed to the ground
"What the hell!" he exclaimed, shocked that Eren didn't even attempt to avoid the attack he then looked back to the Female Titan who was eyeing him. He quickly aimed the handles onto a tree to escape, the hook latched itself onto one of the branches he pulled second trigger… nothing. Nothing but pathetic puffs of gas escaped exhaust; he had run out of gas "You've got to be kidding me?" he yelled, he quickly unlatched the hook from the tree and turned to face the Female Titan who was now confidently approaching him.
It was a pain having to deal with you… but I'm sure they'll reward us if we bring you and Eren back… The Female Titan smiled at him.
He noticed that the left side of her face was still emitting steam.
Her left eye is still healing!
He practically threw his blades back into the scarab, clapped his hands together and slammed them on the ground; a fist rose from the right side of the Female Titan aiming to strike her in the right side of her face. She quickly saw this coming and countered it with a right-hook from his crystallized hand; smashing it into chunks of rock and dirt, however she didn't see the fist from the left side hit, it didn't knock her off her feet but it was enough to cause her to stumble to back. She quickly regained her composer; she turned her head back to face him and gave him a look of pure frustration. The titan was just about to pounce on him when the feeling of something sharp entering her nape stopped her.
Levi plunged his blade into the Female Titan's nape; the large blades cutting deep into its neck as Levi cut separated the shifters arms and legs. He then plunged his arm into the nape, wincing slightly as he waded through the mush of nerves and flesh, and grabbed hold of what felt like the hood to a person's cloak and with all his strength he pulled that shifter forward out of the opening. She was wearing a Scout's cloak and had blond hair done up in a bun and looked at him with wide shocked blue eyes. Still holding her by her collar he quickly lowered himself onto the ground as the Female Titan body collapsed onto the ground.
Mikasa cut an opening into Eren's Titan and pulled him out, lowering a dazed and slightly conscious Eren gently onto the ground.
"Can someone give me a hand here!" he yelled, Ed then quickly rushed over to him and quickly helped restraint the Titan shifter whose limbs body was face down in the dirt, he stared at her confused; he had seen her before… Ed placed his knee onto their back as he held the person down on their shoulders, mirroring Levi on the other side. "Now… who the hell are you?" Levi questioned.
Mikasa then ran up to them, she stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of the shifter "Annie!" she exclaimed, the person who she had known for three years since the Cadet Crops was a Titan shifter like Eren, except she was working for the Titans, she had killed countless numbers of their comrades and she tried to either kill or kidnap Eren. Pure white hot rage began to build up inside her as she marched over to her and punched Annie in the side of the face, knocking her out, Mikasa was about to punch her again when Levi stepped in.
"Hey!" he yelled and he pushed her back slightly "Don't make this personal, we still need her alive." Mikasa looked at Levi with a look of angered frustration "We captured her; the expedition was a success that in itself is enough torture… at least for now." Mikasa let out an angered groan before backing away. Ed looked at Captain Levi, the adrenaline of the fight now beginning to wear off a sudden feeling of grief began to take over his body as he wondered if Levi came upon the bodies of their former squad mates… people who'd still be alive if I had made it there in time…
"Ed" said Levi, turning his head to face him "I need her wrapped up and gagged, is it possible you can make some cloth?"
"Yeah… I can do that." Replied Ed, using the Scout cloak he pressed his hands together and expanded the cloak into a larger blanket. He handed it to Levi who then wrapped Annie in the blanket. Levi removed his cravat and wrapped it around the shifter's mouth.
"Alright" he said to Ed and Mikasa "I'll inform those who need to know that we've managed to captured the Female Titan shifter but other than that you do not tell any of the Cadets; for all they know the mission was a bust and be warned there's likely a bunch of angry locals waiting for us back behind the walls so whatever you do, do not let your emotion cloud your judgement, understood."
"Yes, sir" replied Mikasa
"I understood…" replied Ed
"Good, Mikasa get Petra and bring her back here; we'll replace Ed's gas canisters with hers, Ed you'll carry Petra back to the formation, you'll carry Eren" he said looking at Mikasa "I'll carry her, but first" he then took off his cloak and wrapped it around the upper half of her body; covering her face.
Just a couple meters outside of the forest the Scouts prepared to return home from their expedition from the interior of Wall Maria and back into the safety of Wall Rose, Mikasa walked up to one of the larger wooden carts, she peered inside to see Eren and Petra lying next to each other, still unconscious, with the Scout cloaks serving as makeshift blankets and pillows for them, she turned her head to left to see an ever-growing long row of bodies covered in white blankets stained with blood lying on stretchers.
Mina carefully held the head of the dead Scout as the person on the horse lowered it to her and other Scout; they quickly moved themselves to the rows of dead Scouts and gently placed this one down on an empty stretcher. This must have been the eighth one that she alone had helped move and there, she stared at the long rows of the fallen and wondered if there would come a day when she'd be wrapped in a white blanket surrounded by her dead comrades. She forced herself to look away and walked back to the other horses carrying more dead bodies when she caught sight of Captain Levi and Ed who were carrying another body wrapped in a white cloth to one of the carts already filled with dead bodies, she wondered if they were carrying the body of a dead squad mate and wanted to honor that person themselves… that's when she saw it move… she gasped slightly as they moved the body into the cart sideways. I must be imagining things she thought perhaps it was just wishful thinking to believe that with so much death around me that someone might actually be alive…
Levi stared at Annie as she lay just mere inches away from the bodies of the men and women she killed, he thought about all the ways he could get back at her for killing them… for killing his squad members.
"Hey, you" Levi called out to one of the Scouts who then rushed over to him "You were there when we ambushed the Female Titan?"
"Yes, sir…" replied the Scout, he then looked inside the cart at the body they had dropped off, the realization hit him instantly "Wait is that-" he was quickly interrupted
"Keep it down" said Levi "And yes, it is. I need you to watch over this cart; that means no one approaches this thing, got that?"
"Yes sir" replied the Scout as he saluted Levi
Inside the forest, Armin, Alphonse and Jean accompanied a squad of Scouts to collect the dead scattered across the forest path, fortunately the Titans in the area had scattered and wandered off away from the Forest which meant they were able to collect their dead here. Alphonse and another Scout lifted the corpse of a Scout killed by the Female Titan and lowered it onto the edge of the cart for Armin and Jean to stack onto the others. Alphonse had never done anything like this; he had heard about the scale of loss that the Scout Regiment suffered from when Commander Erwin told him and now, having to collect the bodies of all these people, the weight on his shoulders began to get heavier; they needed to prevent more death in the future, they needed to plug up that breach in the wall and beat whoever was controlling the Titans.
"I don't think I can ever get use to this" commented Jean as he and Armin lifted another body onto the stack
"I don't think I can either" replied Armin as he looked down on the small stack of bodies
"It seems like death is just right next to us" said Jean solemnly "All I can think about it is who'll be next and when my time is coming up…"
"Just try not to think about it" advised Armin "Something like that is only good for destroying your nerve, just try and ignore it."
"Is this the one?" asked the squad leader, he lifted the white blanket from the body to revel its person, Armin, Jean and Alphonse's attention were caught by the scene
Two other Scouts knelt down next to the body, one had messy blond hair and the other had dark brown hair done up in a short ponytail, both of them began to cry heavily; their tears staining the blood covered white cloth that covered their deceased friend. "Its… it's him…" one managed to force out
"Ivan… I'm so sorry…" said the other.
"Hey!" called out the Squad Leader to Alphonse "think you can give us a hand here?" As Alphonse approached another dead Scout he wondered whether there was a better to do this, if these people never had to of died, he lifted the head gently as he helped carry the body over to the cart.
Armin looked upon the corpse being put onto the cart, he would never get use to being around so much death and he wasn't sure whether he could hold on to his sanity doing this, but he knew that if they wanted to defeat the Titans, if they wanted to retake the world outside the Walls and live free from the fear of extinction at the hands of these monsters… then they would need to bare these losses and more.
Levi approached the rows of dead bodies ready to be placed in the wagons, he knelt down beside one of them and lifted up the cloth to reveal the wings of freedom insignia on their right pocket and he took out a knife and cut around the pocket and covered it back up. Ed saw Captain Levi next to one of the dead bodies, he knew instantly that it must have been one of their dead squad mates, he felt the guilt inside him grow It's my fault… I should have gotten there sooner, I could have beaten her… he knew he couldn't let the guilt eat away at him and that he had to apologize for their deaths, he walked up to Captain Levi.
"Captain… I… I wanted to say I'm sorry" Ed said sincerely he lowered his head to the ground "If I had just gotten there sooner I could have-"
"Ed, look…" Levi said turning to face him, he placed a hand in his shoulder "There was nothing you could have done, you or Eren, but you managed to save one of your comrades and you held off the Female Titan long enough; be thankful that there's one less body being stacked into these wagons and that the ones who are have didn't die in vain."
Eren violently awoke from his slumber with a gasp for air, he found himself in a large wagon.
"Eren" said a voice from his side; he turned his head to see it was Mikasa "Easy, try not to move." Eren leaned his head forward to see Ed and Alphonse sitting at the base of the wagon with a sombre look on their faces, Ed looked out into the distance while Alphonse stared at the ground; he then turned his head to his other side to see Petra slowly opening her eyes, she too then leaned forward.
"So… you're all awake?" asked Ed as he looked at them
"The Female Titan" Eren asked "What happened?"
"We did it…" said Ed with a sad smile on her face "we caught her, but Eren… there's something you need to know…" Ed then looked to Mikasa as if he wanted her to fill her in on the fact that one of the Cadets Eren had grown up with was a traitor.
"Eren… the Female Titan… is Annie." Said Mikasa
Eren's eyes widen at the revelation he was being told "no… it can't be…" he said weakly "She's our friend, she would never betray us… she can't be the Female Titan…"
"Eren, when we were fighting her back in the forest… why did you freeze up?" asked Ed "I saw your eyes widen… it was like you were shocked by the fighting stance of the Titan." Eren thought back to that fight, Ed was right, he did freeze up when he saw the Female Titan's fighting stance because it was a clear mirror image of Annie's technique.
"No… but it… it just can't…" muttered Eren, he had thought of Annie as a comrade who stood next to proudly as they graduated in the top ten, as his mentor who taught him how to fight and spoke the honest truth about insanity of the system but most of all as one of his friends who he had shared good moments with in their three years. He felt as if his whole world had been turned upside down and everything he thought was right in the world turned out to be wrong, her betrayal had struck him to his core.
"Ed…" said Petra "Oluo… where is he." She asked, she began to recall their encounter with the Female Titan, she remembered Gunther being killed by the shifter in their human form and Eld going in strike at her neck muscle so that they could go for her nape and getting bitten into half, she remembered trying to flee from the as the Titan charged straight for her and was about to stomp on her when something had pushed her out of the way and knocked her out. But she didn't know what happened to Oluo.
"I'm sorry Petra" Ed replied "when I pushed you out of the way, Oluo tried to kill the Female Titan, his blades shattered and… she killed him… I couldn't save him." Petra laid her head back on the folded cloak, she placed her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes as a soft muffled cry escaped her lips and tears ran down her temple thinking about the comrades she had known for years being snuffed out so quickly. Ed looked upwards in the direction of the formation and saw the large Walls and abandoned town they had just left a few hours ago come view on the horizon.
The sound of a loud bell rang though the air as the large gate into Karanes opened before them with a low rumble; the Scouts, led by Commander Erwin at the front, walked into the main road. People had gathered around the main road to see them, people peered through windows and crammed themselves into tight spaces to watch a line of battered and bloodied Scouts return from their expedition with looks of pity, resign or frustration.
"Is it me or are there less than there was this morning?" asked an onlooker
"No, there's a lot less…" replied another "must of taking a beating."
"They were acting all tough this morning" commented another "and they're already back?"
"They might as well have not gone at all really." Said another condescendingly
"Just another day in the Survey Corps." said another "bunch a useless idiots if you ask me."
Eren felt his blood boil as he listened to their rude remarks, he painfully began to raise himself up to confront the people making the remarks and Ed clenched his fist tightly trying to hold in his anger as the on-lookers who threw insults at them; to Eren those people were insulting the good men and women who died to make this damn expedition a success.
But for Ed those people were insulting those he got to know over the few months they spent with, his team mates… Petra's close friends. Ed was about to turn around to face them and give them a piece of his mind.
"Ed… Eren…" said Petra as she too lifted herself up, resting herself against the barrier of the wagon "Don't…" Ed sat back down and sighed, Eren stared back at the two little kids he saw this morning staring at him with eyes filled with awe
"Awesome" exclaimed the young boy "They've taken a beating yet they're still ready to fight! They're real heroes!"
I'm not a hero… I couldn't even save my comrades… Eren thought.
Jean, Reiner, Bertholdt, Connie, Sasha, Krista, Ymir, Armin and Mina walked along the road with a look of bitter disappointment.
"Mina?" called at woman from the crowd, Mina immediately turned towards the sound of someone calling her name and she knew the voice instantly.
"Mom?" she called out as she jogged ahead slightly, she then caught sight of her parents; she ran up to them hugged them both as tears ran down her cheeks, they hugged her back tightly
"I'm so glad you're alright…" said her father.
"Petra!" called out a person in the crowd, he ran up to their wagon and onto the side she was leaning on, Petra looked back at the man, her eyes widen as she realized it was her father; she lifted her arm over the barrier and he softly held her hand in his own while he walked alongside the slow moving cart. "My sweet little girl, the Captain told me what happened" he said with watery eyes "I'm so sorry about your squad mates, but I'm just so glad you're ok."
Petra tried desperately to fight back the tears in her eyes, but she failed as they rolled down her cheek "Oh dad…" she mumbled as she came to the realization of just how lucky she was, how Eld, Oluo and Gunther's family were now only going to receive the bodies of their loved ones back and she wondered just how heartbroken her parents would be if she returned back to them a lifeless corpse.
"It's alright dear." Replied her dad as he gently wiped away her tears as if she was just a little girl and not the battle-harden Scout veteran she really was.
Annie shut hers eyes as she lay there next to the corpses of her victims listening to the incomprehensible sound of people talking around her, she knew in her heart that this could very well be the end for her, that she had failed to do her part in their mission, she had failed as a warrior and she had failed her father who was waiting for a daughter who may never return home. A single tear rolled down her temple as she fell asleep and hoped to wake up from this nightmare.
Annie, I know I can't ask for forgiveness… but please, promise me that no matter what… even if you have to turn the whole world against you, I'll always be there by your side… just promise me… you'll come back to me…
Annie awoke to find herself in a cold and dimly lit basement; she was shackled to the wall by metal chains and she had been stripped down to her underwear and the t-shirt she wore underneath her uniform.
She moved her thumb towards her index finger trying to feel for her ring, she quickly remembered that Captain Levi had cut off her hands off back in the forest.
"So you're finally awake…" said a voice to her left, she lifted her head upwards to see who it was; it was Captain Levi on the left holding a sharp and well polished knife in his hands, Squad Leader Hange Zoe to the right and in the centre was Commander Erwin Smith sitting down on a chair right in front of her with Squad Leader Mike Zacharias standing behind him .
"So Miss Leonhart" said Erwin, his voice was a mixture of both authority and curiosity "Are you willing to tell us everything we'd like to know?