Sorry, for the delay by another week. I got a lot now with my new schedule, and how I will have to organize and get things. I'm all in getting this arc of the story done soon as I can. And making a few adjustments while going back on it. Adjustments that involving post the date of the calander regarding this timeline. I promise to adjust it in previous chapters before going forward.
I challenge readers a question: Which Attack on Titan Animation Studio would have fit well with the animation of Code Geass?
WIT Studio or MAPPA Studios?
#65
Launch
?
"How far can a hot balloon take us, Armin?"
The boy asked his blonde friend as they sat on the hill… looking above towards the night sky. At the infinite expanse of stars.
"Well, from what I could gather from the designs my parents had…" the blonde looked down, pondering. "If we can make the best of it… it might be able to take us…"
The boys glanced at the long stretch of stone that rose many meters high. Far above the average house.
"It can really take us outside the walls." Eren concluded.
"Yeah," Armin smiled excitingly at that. "If we can fly over… we can finally see how the land looks outside the walls. And if we can fly… we won't have to worry about the…" He suddenly started to look too scared to think about it.
"If we could fly… we won't have to worry about the monsters on the ground…" Eren said, as he stood up and gazed at the sky. "We could just go flying. And keep on flying. Until…"
"Maybe…" Armin said. "Maybe… we can finally find it." His face turned excited again. "We can finally find the sea!"
A great lake of water. With so much salt. So much salt… that merchants can spend lifetimes digging as much as salt as they wanted.
And…
Eren continued to gaze up at the never-ending blanket of lights in the night sky. And started… wondering…
"Armin?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think… we can fly… up?"
"Up higher?"
"Up there?"
Eren pointed to where his mind was set at…
"The night?"
"The stars?" Eren stated, still pointing at them. "You think… when we finish the balloon. Can we ever… keep going up there?"
"Huh?" The blonde boy glanced up puzzled. "You mean… up there? All the way there?"
…
"T-Minus 55 seconds until lift off."
Eren opened his eyes.
Back in the present. Equipped in a pilot suit, in the cockpit of an Alexander Knightmare Frame.
The Alexander Unit packaged with four others… inside the transport that was called Apollo's Chariot.
"Seems like were going to be doing nothing for a while," Ryo's voice cut in. "Best to get some shut eye, guys."
Shut eye? Nap time? How would anyone bother to sleep… during something unbelievable as this?
Castle Weisswolf
Germany, Europia United
September, a.t.b. 2018, r.y. 229; Before the Launch
"All right, everyone," Claus began. "The purpose of this mission is to assist the main EU force that's stationed in Warsaw."
The assembly of the Wyvern Squadron, including Eren, and the whole of the W-0. All of them sat at desks, each with a monitor. Standing at the wall was Oscar Hammel, only observing.
Warwick gestured to the black screen on the wall that displayed the holographic map of the continent, with the mass acting as the EU and the pink mass acting as Euro Britannia.
"They will march on Area 24A of the Eastern Front. Meanwhile…"
The screen displayed the Apollo's Chariot rocket launching outside the globe, before it circled around the orbit.
"…our Wyvern Squadron will drop behind the Britannian forces that are already deployed in the area."
The rocket broke off into different capsules that fell back towards the globe, towards the specific spot behind the Euro Britannian line.
"Once they landed and regrouped, they'll conduct a commando raid. This will throw the enemy lines into chaos, weakening them just the 103rd Corps begins their frontal attack."
"So, you're dropping us right into the enemy's lap?" Ryo asked with a grin.
"Sounds like you're trying to burn off a few undesirables." Yukiya said.
"Yeah, should be easier since we'll be surrounded by enemies." Ryo said.
"Oh, don't think about it like that," Claus said. "All you have to do is meet with the 103rd Corps and your chances of survival will hop through the roof."
"Assuming we'll live through re-entry."
Claus sighed. "What is it with you former Japanese. You're such a bunch of negative nellies."
"I have an announcement that will make you happy," Claus glanced at Leila. "The commander herself will be accompanying you on this mission."
…
"Leila!" Anna gasped as she stood from her seat. "Are you serious?!"
"Yes, I don't have a choice," Leila admitted. "The commando raid will be inefficient without the proper number of troops. To bolster those numbers, I decided to employ the use of the unmanned drones."
"Commander Malcal," Hilda said. "I'm sorry to say this, we haven't managed to make the drones as efficient as we hoped to make them."
"At least not with the data from the last battle," Chloe added, with a wince.
"But in order for them to be successful, someone must act as an operator to control the drones. That's why… I'm going along with the Wyvern Squadron."
The day soon came…
Leila entered the changing room with a case containing her pilot suit in hand. She placed the case on a seat and clicked it open to reveal the tight, leather Knightmare pilot suit.
Though she had tried these kinds of suits before, only for practice purposes, this was for a different matter.
She will be going on the frontlines for the first time.
This time she would no longer sit back from the safe defenses of Castle Weisswolf while others ventured into enemy territory.
To call it risky was a great understatement.
She intended to stick to her promise. Her promise to fight beside them.
Her first mission on the field.
It wasn't just a beneficial matter to obtain trust, but also a want in being there with her new squad. To guide them through the mission with them in person rather than communicating from far back. And at least, as far as she can hope for the best, get to know them. Not as soldiers, but as people.
Leila stood before the mirror before she started work on rearranging her hair. She briefly removed her signature metal pins to tie her hair into two twin, fluffy, pigtails that hanged liked bangs when she reclipped the pins back on. While it made her look like a not-so-serious schoolgirl, something that she almost noted with a flush, it would help not having her long hair in the way when she was in the cockpit.
Next, she started to disrobe.
She sat down before pulling off her long, sleek, black boot heels off her soft, slender feet, before she rose up. She removed her E.U. military uniform jacket from her, which held the two-star mark signifying her rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She later pulled her black tie loose from her neck, before she started unbuttoning her shirt. After removing the shirt, she went untie her flowing black skirt, before it fell loose down her legs to the floor.
Leila shivered a bit as she stood with her all her discarded clothes on the floor, before she pulled out a dark blue and elastic pilot suit. Even when stretching the fabric of the pilot suit, it barely went so far. It allowed no chance for any undershirt or garments to wear underneath for further decency.
The girl stepped her feet into it, before she pulled the tight suit up her legs, she even felt it hug at her rear. She pulled it up before pushing her arms inside the sleeves before she pulled the zipper up to her chin.
She hoisted her foot up on a desk, enabling her to zip up her heeled leggings. She pushed her dogtags hanging around her neck inside before she pulled over the last strap to seal over her chest.
"This… is… stupid…"
...
...
"It feels like…" Eren pulled at his collar. "Like… Like's it's plastered to my skin."
"Eh, you say so," Ryo flexed his arms with a grin. "Still… at least it doesn't disguise much of my fabulous physique. The ladies will love it."
"Strange…" Yukiya flexed his arm. "Feels like I'm wearing nothing at all."
"Ugh…" Eren shook his head. "This… this is ridiculous. Even my new equipment suit is not even this intolerable."
"Great, so, it's not just me…"
All three men turned to look at Ayano approaching… in her pilot suit.
…
"What?" She crossed her arms. "Why am I getting the silent treatment?" She then noticed Eren's reaction. "Why are you looking away?"
"Ugh… well…" Eren kept his gaze… elsewhere. He did so the moment he saw the way the suit plastered around the girl's figure. And he was not prepared by the way it showed the shape of her… assets.
"Oh, look at you, Kruger…" Ryo patted shoulder. "I didn't know you were this weak around the ladies…"
"What was that, Ryo?!" Ayano exclaimed.
"Eh, don't worry, Kruger," Yukiya shrugged. "Nothing to be embarrassed about in front of Ayano."
"Ugh, I can't believe this… did they had to make this so… degrading?" Ayano growled as she regarded herself. "Did they… did they make these on purpose?"
"That was not the intent."
…
Everyone turned… to see Lieutenant Colonel Leila Malcal approaching them… wearing only a pilot suit like most of them.
…
Eren hadn't been prepared for way Ayano wore the suit… but now seeing Leila…
…
He felt the urge to urge to turn away like he did before but couldn't… as if in concern for how Leila will react to it.
It was just… in the time they had been acquainted with one another… he had only seen her… with only her military uniform. Even when they were in her apartment, she was sure she to have changed into her formal attire. And when she didn't have her blue coat, she would at least have her white-long shirt. Her skirt was bushy and flowing, and always the skin above her knees always visible to see. His didn't need to recollect the other day when they were riding on her motorbike… and how the breeze of wind… would lift up skirt back and forth… to show more…
But that was just it. Her wearing her formal attire… left a lot to imagination… and he would have alright with that…
Until now.
Now, the stupid, skin-tight body suit was the only thing she was wearing like the rest of them. And it was tight enough to outline the curves of her slender form. Even when she was wearing boots, her legs were long and lithe. Her waist showcased an hourglass frame that had been underneath her uniform. And that was not the only part, as Eren felt the red shades on his cheeks he drifted up to her…
"As uncomfortable these suits are…" Leila herself looked unsure with the suit. "It is said to help with the interfacing system."
"Yeah, yeah…" Ayano rolled her eyes.
"Preparations are about to be complete," Oscar Hammel arrived with several of his soldiers. The Major carrying two silver cases. Leila gave him a nod and he complied by putting the first case near the rail. The commander opened it, and pulled out an object that caused Ayano to…
"What the?!" Ayano's eyes twitched as she exclaimed. "That's…"
"I know…" Leila walked towards to the girl with the red-sheathed dagger in her hands. Eren could tell that before Major Hammel would bring up his gun to hold the fidgeting Ayano from pouncing on Leila… the former extended the dagger to her.
"What…?" Ayano glanced at what was being offered to her.
"It was not my intent to take this from you," Leila said. "If worse comes to pass, I think it better that have it back."
Ayano glanced back at Leila, to the dagger, and the uneasy look Hammel had… before long she picked the dagger up.
"What's the catch supposed to be?" Ayano narrowed her eyebrow.
"None," Leila shook her head. "You're a part of this team."
"Eren Kruger," the man turned to the Major beckoning him. "A word."
…
Eren shrugged and went over to the corner away from the rest of the squad, not noticing the concerned glance Leila had.
"The commander is putting great trust and faith in you to accompany her and the Wyvern Squadron, even though you barely had time to get adjust with the Alexander Frame," Oscar began. "I am thankful for your deed in protecting her and Lieutenant Warwick that day in Paris… but doesn't guarantee to me that you are worthy to be trusted.
"Mark my words, if you were to betray that great trust Commander Malcal has put in you… especially during this mission you are going to undertake… then I will make sure you will face the consequences."
…
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Eren said.
…
"Oh, come on, Oscar," Warwick came by with a tablet. "No need to put our recruits on edge... as much as they already are for this. But really..." He patted Eren on the shoulder. "We would appreciate if you would watch out for the Commander when you go out on the field. I mean well... you did risk your necks for us back in Paris with that amazing display..." He chuckled a bit awkwardly.
Eren wasn't impressed.
"But first you'll have to get ready for when Apollo's Chariot takes up and up..." He glanced at the tunnel ahead. "I can just hope for the best... for all of you."
Present
(X)
"T-Minus at thirty!"
RING!
"Huh?" Claus pulled out the phone from his pocket, the ringing, causing some in the room to glance towards. "Who could be calling at this delicate time?" He put it up to his ear. "Yes?"
"Lieutenant Warwick?"
"General?"
That caused several heads to turn towards the Lieutenant.
"Leila hasn't been answering my calls," The general said. "The Warsaw Unit is moving towards the frontline. I would like to talk to Leila regarding the Wyvern Unit getting ready for the mission. Where is she?"
…
"Oh… uh… yes. Abou that?" Warwick rubbed his chin… very awkwardly… even though the General was not physically present.
"What's wrong? Where is Leila?"
"Well… the W-0 is preparing to launch the Squad to their mission… as for Leila… well, she decided to make sure they would all come home safely."
"What?"
"And… when I say make sure… she's being personal in accompanying… I mean…"
"What? WHAT?!" Claus pushed the phone away from his ear. "Are you telling me that she is…?!"
"Six."
"Five."
"Four."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
…
"NOW LAUNCHING!"
…
Eren felt the rumbling from his seat. It was not just Knightmare he was in. The vibration was coming all at once. There was the rumble of a fiery explosion coming from below and the structure felt as if it was shifting. Slow at first… but now it was increasing. More so than being lifted on a roped shaft above.
The vibration, lifting, and fire from below didn't stop as the scout felt everything going up…
"Hold on everyone!" Leila's voice did little to calm the beating in Eren's heart at what was happening.
Everything felt to be going up. As if they were being hoisted to the top of the tower. Higher than the top of the great wall.
…
The monitors buzzed around the cockpit, as Eren felt the rumble going on.
Soon, Eren felt the change.
The transport was now speeding faster. Far faster than before.
The boost from below the transport had stopped, and it now felt… as if they're very beings were… floating…
"Altitude, 255 kilometers." Leila's voice confirmed. "Velocity, 5.6 klicks per second."
Eren could only wonder how her voice was calm during this situation.
"Apollo's Chariot, Secondary Engine Burn Complete."
"Inertial Guidance is operational."
"Ugh…" Claus rubbed a hand over his face with relief. "That went smoothly… now onto the hard part. If that isn't for what the General has in store for me for letting the Commander do this…"
Eren could feel the rumbling from the engine had ceased. And there was a change going on…
The air around him… he could still breath. But…
He rubbed a hand in his hair, almost feeling the bangs of dark hair almost… lifting aimlessly up... without the presence of wind.
His eyes widened when he saw the cellar key floating up before his face.
…
Eren took hold of it, and slowly looked at it with… shock? What… was this supposed to be…
The monitors of his Alexander came alive… to finally show the outside of the transport.
And it was nothing that Eren could ever prepare for.
He felt his face go pale, and his eyes widened… to behold something that he never beheld to witness.
…
The world. The great globe that was called the planet.
It was standing far below him.
And he was floating right above it.
Floating… among the infinity of stars around him.
…
…
"Well, well…" Ryo's voice cut in. "If this is the last thing we're gonna see, we could do worse."
Eren almost rolled his eyes at that. Even in the predicament they were currently in… did the guy had joke now?
"Everything looks so tiny from up here." Yukiya quipped. "I feel like I could smash it."
Eren almost felt his stomach turn green at that, before looking back at the view before him.
From up here… all the way up here.
Above the clouds. Above the sky.
Far higher than anything Armin's balloon could have brought them…
From up here… the world… the whole world looked so very small.
It was small… compared the expanse of black far behind them.
…
Everything below on the cloudy surface…
The cities. The lands. Even the great wide sea…
They might as well look insignificant…
…
Yet even still…
…
"It's beautiful…" Ayano's voice dripped with unmistakable awe.
…
That was something she and Eren could agree on for once.
…
This sight… this was something… no one from the walls could have hoped… or even imagined seeing.
Among all the things Eren had experienced. Of the powers he possessed…
This travel… may be something very few people could ever hope to take.
…
…
Eren wondered if this was part of the dream…
A dream he once had…
…
"Monsieur Kruger?" Leila's voice called out on his comm, snapping him back. "Are you alright?"
"Uh? Uh… yes. Yeah. Don't worry…" He looked back to the monitor which showed the expanse of the beyond.
"I'm alright."
Information Available for Public Disclosure:
Apollo's Chariot
An ultra-long range transport constructed in secret by W-0; it has become the primary transport to deploy soldiers and knightmare units into Earth's orbit in order to land on enemy territories to conduct the latest missions. It is deployed through a missile-like structure with rocket-engines fueled by burning sakuradite that allows it launch into sky and past the Earth's atmosphere. The gravity of Earth's orbit to revolve the transport before they would disengage and land at their intended destination.
Asura Base
St. Petersburg, Russia, Euro Britannia
"I'm so… bored…"
…
"Bored…"
…
"Bored…"
…
"Bored…"
…
"I'm gonna die of boredom! How much longer are we going to stay cooped up in this musty dump?!"
Ashra slammed his black boot at the top of the stuffed head of the lion's pelt in front of him.
Falco stiffened with how the owner of the palace… and technically their current host… was becoming more agitated by the hour.
True, the guy had been… well, not what they had expected. He was courteous and outgoing and hadn't, along with most of his personal shoulders, given him the cold shoulder or insult. The guy had a wild spark in his eye that in some way reminded Falco too much of Gabi's enthusiasm. Yet, this guy was different.
For an adult. He behaved… and even talked a bit too… wild.
He prayed that Gabi would not grow up to be as wild as this guy.
And as of today, it seemed the peace and quiet was like a plague to him. He couldn't stay still without shaking his leg… or at least stomping it again on the head of the lion pelt's head at the foot of his throne.
"Ugh…" He sighed. "You know… I thought when Lord Shaing said we get to host the astounded Eldian Warriors themselves… I thought we would already be out there fighting for the glory of battle. But instead… just this… sitting around…" He gritted his teeth. "Doing… nothing…"
…
"Excuse us, if we don't feel your frustration, Sir Ashley," Gabi said. "But perhaps… during times of respite such as this… we could…"
"I GOT IT!"
The candidates stepped back when the redhead lifted his head all of a sudden.
Ashley pulled out a golden revolver, the sight of it causing the youngsters to feel a pang of dread. The redhead smirked as he clocked out the barrel and tilted it… causing all the silver bullets inside to fall out and clatter to the floor before them.
"Since we have some time on our hands…" Ashley pulled out one spare bullet and put it into one slot of the barrel before cocking it back into the revolver. He rolled the barrel against his arm before standing up. "Let's play a game."
…
"A… game?" Zofia croaked out.
"Listen closely, kids!" Ashley grinned as he addressed them. "I like to ask you… one question. It may do well for you the next time you are in battle."
Falco would be lying if he was curious about that.
The redhead scanned the candidates. "You!"
…
"Me?!" Udo gulped.
"Yes, you. You look like a smart one."
"How can you tell?" Udo asked.
…
Falco winced when Udo touched his glasses and gave a look of annoyance. "Oh, right…"
"What was your name, again?"
"Uh… Udo!" the bespectacled boy uttered out. "My name's Udo, sir!"
"No, need to be shy, Udo," Ashlye grinned. "Just answer my question: What's the one thing you need to survive on the battlefield?"
…
"Um…" Falco could tell Udo was starting to sweat with how the redhead was gazing at him with anticipation. "Make the best strategy to beat the enemy… sir?"
…
"C'mon…" Ashley sighed with disappointment. "Surely, you could answer better than that."
He gazed among the others… till his eyes landed on Falco. "You."
"Me?" Falco felt cold instantly.
"Yes."
"Um…" Falco had to think quickly for the best one. "Training hard with the skill… to fight, sir?"
"Ugh…" Ashley shook his head even more. "Seriously…?"
"Uh, sir?" Zofia started to speak. "Maybe it's…"
"Cunning!" Gabi interjected, catching everyone's attention. "Even if one isn't trained enough or is standing at the worst part of the battle… there are other ways to win!" She composed herself instantly in a way Falco and the others barely could make in two seconds. The blonde boy could see the unwavering fire in her eyes.
The pride. The confidence.
"There are ways you can use the battlefield to fool the enemy. And while many say being cunning… or fighting a bit dirty is dishonorable… especially by our homeland's standards… we could use that…"
…
"WRONG!"
Gabi broke out of her composure instantly, as so were the others.
"Oh, good grief!" Ashley hung his head back in obvious frustration. "What kind of crap are they teaching you in school these days?! How can you go on to be Warriors if you don't know the real key to surviving?"
…
"Uh…" Falco nervously said, even as he glanced at Gabi's dumbfounded look with how the redhead practically shutting her down. "So… what is the real key, sir?"
"I'm so glad you asked…" Ashley turned his gaze back on him. "Falco, is it?"
"Uh, yes sir!" Falco composed himself quickly.
"I'll tell you what it is…" Ashley said… before aimed his golden revolver towards the boy.
They all gasped in shock.
"It's luck."
…
…
"Huh?!" Gabi was the first to drop her jaw, while the others stood back dumbfounded by that answer.
…
"Uh… Luck, sir?" Falco uttered.
"That's right," Ashley continued to grin. "It doesn't matter how much talent you have. Or how hard you train. Or how loyal you are to follow orders. Or even if you can come up with the best possible strategy. Or even if your cunning is equal to that as the sharpest fox. The fact remains… that it is luck! Unbiased! Unprejudiced! Chance if you normally would call it."
…
…
"That's it?!" Gabi exclaimed with a look of outrage. "That's the big thing you believe is what will keep us alive?! That we depend on chance?!"
"Why not?" Ashley chuckled as he turned his revolver away. "I mean… it's all thanks to luck that we are still here."
"Gabi, calm down!" Falco had to make sure Gabi didn't try to lunge towards the older redhead, but she shrugged his hands away.
"Sir…" Zofia stepped up. "If I may ask… what makes you so certain that luck is the answer? Where's the proof in that theory?"
…
Ashley paused at that… before he…
"HeHAHAHAHAHA!" The redhead bellowed a chilling laugh echoing from his throat. "What proof?! What proof?!"
Oh, boy. Falco paled, as did his friends at the sound of the man's hysterical laugh.
"Where is my proof?" Ashely's laugh died down… before composing himself. "It's me. I'm very lucky. Allow me to demonstrate it…"
He aimed the revolver… to his forehead.
…
"What are you doing?!" Gabi exclaimed.
"He's… He's… He's crazy…!" Udo stuttered.
Ashley grinned as he kept the gun's nozzle to his forehead… and his finger started to pull.
"Wait!" Falco cried out. "Sir, please don't…!"
…
CLICK!
…
…
Falco paused his intent to dash forward… when he heard the gun click… empty.
Ashley's grin softened.
There came a wave of relief flowing through the room.
"See?!" Ashley lowered his gun. "Luck's definitely on my side."
"You really believe that?"
…
Everyone, including Ashley turned to the tall, blonde man entering the room and staring right back at Ashley with a dull look in his eyes.
"Mr. Braun…" Falco made a whisper.
"Well, well, if this isn't exciting, kids," Ashley grinned as he turned to focus his attention on the Warrior standing across from him. "We are graced by the presence of the Wielder of the Armored Titan himself!"
"I couldn't help but overhear what you were preaching to our candidates," Reiner said. "I apologize, but I couldn't but feel uneasy about it."
"Uneasy?" Ashley said. "I thought to educate the next generation on how survive when the time comes."
"By relying on luck?"
"Why not?" Ashley chuckled. "That's the truth about everything, my good man. Luck decides who has the chance to live. And it decides who dies."
…
"And also… it applies to all of us…"
"It sounds more like a curse." Reiner dryly said.
…
"A curse, you say?" the redhead chuckled before he eyed Reiner… almost very dangerously. "That's sounds very insulting."
…
Oh, no. Falco didn't like this.
…
"Why not I show it to you? Who's has more luck… me…?"
He aimed his golden gun at Reiner.
"Or you?"
All four candidates gasped.
…
Reiner stood perfectly still. Barely moved by the sight of the golden gun… aimed towards him.
…
A finger started to pull the trigger.
Ashley's grin widened.
Reiner's eyes stayed stoic.
…
…
…
CLICK!
…
Another shot at an empty barrel.
Falco and the others felt another wave of relief.
"Well, now…" Ashley glanced at his gun with awe. "It seems you as much luck as I do." He grinned at the man. "Would you really call that a curse?"
Reiner made no acknowledgement of that.
"You're pathetic."
…
The door opened, and another entered the room.
"You have a way of entertaining our guests, Ashley Ashra, with your impudent games" The woman Falco recognized as having been close with Lord Shaing. "You played long enough. Lord Shaing has been summoned by the Grand Duke. They want you and the rest of the Warrior Unit to meet with them."
"You mean... were going, too?" Gabi whispered.
"Oh? Something happening?" Ashley grinned, while Reiner turned his attention on the woman. "It took them long enough!" The redhead grin returned, wider than before. "It's about damn time!"
Orbit
"Capsule Separation Confirmed!" Leila made clear. "System is activated. All units show green!"
"Here goes nothing," Yukiya said.
"Time to free fall from 300 kilometers above Earth!" Ryo jousted.
"Don't remind me!" Ayano exclaimed.
…
The capsules started descending back towards the Earth. The faster they descended through the atmosphere, the hotter it got.
"Argh!" Eren felt the strain. "Don't tell this is it…"
CLAP!
The outliers surrounding the Alexanders came undone, thus breaking apart the capsule all five of them were on.
All five of them were now flying through the air., above the clouds.
"UGH!" Eren felt a second of panic as his Knightmare was freefalling… hundreds of kilometers in the sky… when…
He grunted when he felt his Knightmare pull back and realized the transparent glider wings attached at the back had unfolded.
"Wing Deployment successful!" Leila said.
But Eren realized.
"Wait… how are we supposed to land?!"
…
…
"Monsieur Kruger!" Leila called out.
"Argh!" Eren grunted as he tried swerving the controls right, to make sure the gliding Alexander could make it towards the opening of green grass when…
The wings came undone.
"SHIT!" Eren cursed.
The Alexander was at least twenty or thirty feet above when it lost its gliders, and fell…
And collided and rolled hard against the earth.
The monitors in the cockpit beeped loudly.
Eren grunted, almost having been shaken from seat from the fall. The man panted hard for a few moments, his head shaking as he now felt everything still.
He was back on the ground.
Back on the Earth.
Eren panted again, before straightening himself in his seat. He tugged at the seatbelts stretched across his chest. If it weren't for them, he was sure his head would have caved into the glass monitors in front of him…
Well, that was one headache he didn't need…
"Monsieur Kruger!" The Type 02 crawled next to the rising Alexander. "Are you alright? Are you injured at all?"
"Yeah… I'm…" Eren shifted back in his seat and pulled at the control to compose his KMF. "Sorry about that… but…"
"It's alright…" Leila said. "Let's all regroup…"
"WATCH OUT!"
Leila barely turned when she felt Kruger's Alexander bumped into her… to take a round of bullets to his Alexander's left arm… coming from the direction of Ryo's crawling Alexander.
"HEY, IN THE FOG OF WAR…!" Ryo yelled… before launching the rockets from his back towards them. "…WATCH OUT FOR FRIENDLY FIRE!"
Both Alexanders scrambled before the rockets exploded on the spot.
"Are you kidding me?!" Eren growled as he struggled to get his Alexander out of Ryo's range, even with the damage done to his KMF's arm.
"C'mon! You should have seen this coming since the start!"
"Right here… while were in enemy territory!" Eren yelled back. "Real smart move, genius!"
"What better chance we'll get than this?! Yukiya! Take out Kruger from behind!"
…
Meters away… Yukiya propped his Alexander to pull out his sniper rifle.
…
"What are you waiting for?!"
"Do I have to?" Yukiya replied.
"Yukiya, what the hell does that mean?!" Ayano crawled in with her Alexander.
"I don't know…" Yukiya's Alexander stayed still with its positioned rifle. "I think it might be a waste. Besides… I was looking forward to…"
"Enough of this bullshit, and gun the bastard right now!" Ayano growled. "If you don't, then I'll…!"
BOOM!
"What the hell?!" Ayano exclaimed.
Then came another blast exploding nearby. Another second later, another came closer.
"Where's that coming from?!" Eren exclaimed.
"Bombardment!" Leila yelled. "The enemy knows we're here! They're using long-range cannons!"
"Up ahead!" Leila's voice warned. "Britannian Knightmare Squad!"
One headache after another.
Eren growled as he shifted his wounded Alexander around the trees to avoid the machine fire from the head turrets of walking green walkers.
The man pulled at the trigger and took control of the automated rifle attached to his back…
…and started returning fire at the approaching knightmares.
"Urgh!" Eren grunted when he felt the Alexander's balance fall out of place. The KMF started to wobble a bit. Red beeps came on the monitor, and Eren groaned when he saw a warning pop up to show critical damage his Alexander's left wrist.
"Ryo…" He hissed. "I'm going to gouge out both of your… AH!"
Eren was interrupted when he found himself being ambushed by a Britannian Sutherland.
Despite the damage, the white-knightmare crawled on all-fours towards the purple knightmare, who sought to zoom back and shoot with its own gun.
Eren switched from the quadrupedal mode to transforming to the two-leg mode. The bipedal form of the knightmare ran towards the Sutherland, before pulling back its fist.
The pilot yelled as the white-coated fist slugged into the chest of the Britannian Sutherland. He made to slug next at the enemy's head. He was losing himself as he kept letting loose the fists of his knightmare on the Sutherland.
Eren didn't have time to turn to another Sutherland coming behind him and aiming when…
BLAST!
Machine fire splattered across the enemy KMF before collapsing… courtesy done by the approaching Alexander.
"Hey there…" Ryo greeted. "Let's say we settle our business later… once we make it out of this mess?"
…
"Could have agreed on that earlier," Eren narrowed his eyes.
(X)
Not far… a kilometer away. Perched upon a forested hill… a strange being stood on all four limbs… glancing towards the southeast.
It shifted its elongated mouth, almost as if it was sniffing a foreign, yet dangerous scent crawling in her direction.
"Cart Titan to Base." It relayed. "The enemy unit is making their way towards Slonim."
(X)
Holy Order of Michael G1 Base
"It's apparent that they survived the bombardment and got past the Knightmare Squadron nearby."
The voice of Pieck Finger's Titan was being heard through the comm and relayed to everyone standing inside the main room of the G1 Base.
"From the look of their pace, they'll reach Slonim in less than a half hour."
"Astute as ever, Pieck," Zeke complimented as he adjusted his glasses. The man standing next to his appointed successor and the other candidates. "Keep being discreet for the time being."
"Very impressive," Lord Shaing said while sitting at the throne of the base. "So, this is one of the Cart Titan's advantages on the battlefield." He turned to his red-haired knight. "Jean, is Ashley's team in position in the city."
"Yes, sir," She nodded. "They are awaiting your orders, sir. We still have reinforcements nearby…"
"It would displease Ashley to no end, if I had allowed to make things to easy for him." Lord Shaing said, looking with anticipation.
…
Slonim
Grodno Region, Belarus, Euro-Britannia Territory
The Squadron finally came upon the front of the town that was their destination.
White buildings with brown-tiled roofs clustered and together round about.
The Alexanders kept crawling on all fours past the open gate. The unmanned open gate.
That led to the town… where no one was in sight.
Several cars parked in the middle of the streets; their drivers absent.
"Looks like no one's here to greet us…" Ryo said.
"Why does that not help at all?" Ayano asked.
"Look up ahead…" Yukiya gestured what was towards the group.
The group stopped at the sight of the still figure they came upon.
A statue. A copper-formed statue atop a stone pedestal. It detailed that of an elderly yet large man in grand robes and attire. His hair and beard styled in tradition of the royals belonging to the past century. The man was displayed raising his fist with a look that spoke to every sense of pride and superiority.
…
"Well, at least there's one person who came to greet us," Yukiya said wryly. "His Majesty, himself."
Leila remained as she regarded the stone visage of the Britannian Emperor with an adamant expression.
The 94th Emperor, Charles zi Britannia.
Even though the Emperor was a half a globe away, behind the great build that is the capital of Pendragon… the stone visage of his likeness provoked more of the man's reign stretched far out…
"Pfff…" Ayano's voice scoffed with obvious disgust. "Why am I not surprised to see this pissant looking all high and mighty?"
"Heh! Good one, Ayano…" Ryo joked. "Add that to your… overwhelming big-ass list of names for his Royal Majesty…"
"Shut up."
"We're not getting anywhere with this," Leila spoke out. "We must spread out. Monsieur Kruger and I will take the easter route, while the rest of you continue up ahead."
"Just you and Kruger?" Ryo questioned, with obvious snark. "Right… well, I guess you wouldn't want us on different teams… considering how we pull our true intentions less than thirty minutes ago…"
"That doesn't matter now," Leila said. "What matters is that we complete mission in order to make it out of this alive. Regardless… I made a promise to all of you…"
…
…
"Okay, okay," Ryo snickered. "We get it. I meant what I said back there… we'll settle this later. For now, we'll play nice."
…
All Alexanders, including drones, started to disperse… except for one.
"Monsieur Kruger?"
"What?" Eren spoke, his Alexander still standing in front of the Emperor's statue. "Alright, I'm coming."
The commander wasn't aware of the dead look Eren was giving towards the statue before crawling away from the square.
"Gee, where is everyone?" Ryo commented.
"Aw, man." Yukiya groaned as he turned his Alexander on two feet, equipped with his sniper rifle. "I was really hoping for more fun than this."
"No offense, Yukiya, but your definition of 'fun' is… creepy…" Ayano admitted, feeling unnerved with the quiet feeling she was getting from the environment.
And it was too quiet.
"Monsieur Kruger…"
"What?" Eren glanced to see Leila's Type 02 crawling in front of him.
"Make sure you keep next to me for now."
"Look, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can keep my own," Eren said.
"Even still, your Alexander retained some damage not long ago…" She was pointing to the damage done to the left wrist of Eren's Alexander. "If something else happens then I fear for you."
"You don't have to worry so much for me…" Eren interjected. "This… this is just a scratch. I can handle this Knightmare all right."
Geeze. Not that Eren was annoyed with her presence, but he didn't want to let a damage wound on his mechanized ride let her worry for the possibility that he would be helpless. She was the commander of this mission, yet this, as he had learned so far, was really her first expedition out on the field.
It was the same feeling he had when… when she was around.
Eren remembered the constant annoyance of a raven-haired girl's concern for his well-being… most especially when they were out on the field. Where danger was constant around every corner.
This was supposed to be… different.
Yet, this mission… reminded him much of the regiment's expeditions. Even this town. With the way the houses and roofs were built… along with the cobblestone streets his KMF crawled upon… reminded him much of Trost…
…
Eren almost paused.
No. Don't think back to that. Because the first time… he started with his first squad… when the gate was broken… then came…
…
"You're the one who needs looking out for than me," Eren quipped. "You're the leader of this squad after all. And you're the one controlling those drones."
"Well, yes, but…"
"And if something were to happen to you…" Eren groaned. "Officer Hammel swore that he pay the consequences…"
…
"Uh!" Leila gasped a bit, before shaking her head. "Oh… Major Hammel." She turned to smile. "Everyone's safety is a priority here. Let's stay close together and make sure to get through this together."
Eren shrugged at her optimism. Easier said than done.
If they could do that.
The first drone was crawling around to the next block when…
SLASH!
"What?!" Leila was caught off guard by the red beeping surrounding one of the lists on her monitor.
"What is it?!" Kruger's voice immediately asked with concern.
"Variant 12 just went offline!"
"Looks like it's go time," Ryo grimaced as he saw the explosion's from his position in the town.
"Ayano, heads up!" Yukiya yelled.
The girl in her Alexander turned and gasped. She draw her KMF back to avoid a caped Britannian Sutherland jumping and bringing his sword down, before raising his rifle to fire.
Ayano's KMF scurried back on all fours, jumping from the direction of the bullets down the street. Before long she got up on two legs, before unloading her KMF sword. Just in time to block the Gloucester's incoming strike.
Another caped Gloucester zoomed with his landspinners, avoiding an orange-plated Alexander shooting his way. There was not much difficulty as he swiped his sword to cut through the cockpit of the enemy, until…
"What?!" Franz looked back in shock at the damaged husk of the enemy he had just eviscerated. "This… This is a drone! There are drones mixed in with the enemy!"
"Master Ashley…" Joannes' voice came on the comm. "It appears most of the enemy's knightmares are drones!"
"Well, isn't disappointing…" Ashley scoffed as sat back in his cockpit, his legs crossed. "If that's the case this part of the mission isn't living up to the hype. They have no idea how much pissed that makes me."
"Master! Enemy units are heading your way!"
"Finally!" He grinned. "I'm sick of waiting!"
A block away, standing on the roof of the bell tower was a mechanical being colored in scarlet red with gold linings and dark cape.
"A red Gloucester!" Leila cried out.
On point, the red KMF pulled out two identical maser vibration blades and crossed them.
"Ah! So, there you are!" Ashley Ashra roared with jubilee as he activated the landspinners and spun his crimson KMF across the roofs… towards his intended prey.
"Damn it!" Eren cursed, knowing full well that this was not like the average Sutherland. "Get back!"
"Kruger!" Leila exclaimed.
Eren's Alexander took a combative stance, as it pulled out a retractable white sword.
"Ah! You accept the challenge then!" Ashley grinned even more as he set his Gloucester to mimic his opponent's stance with a salute. "En garde!"
…
Eren's Alexander made the first swing.
"Gah! Dammit!" Ryo brought up his axe to parry the strong blow from the Gloucester in front of him.
And he was proving to be a real pain in the ass.
Yukiya groaned as he had to duck behind the empty café again to avoid another round from the Gloucester's rifle. He struggled to find the opening to get a good shot on that caped bastard.
"Now this is not even proving fun anymore…" He gritted his teeth. "This is getting annoying…"
"Damn you!" Ayano cursed as she scraped her KMF sword hard against the Gloucester's sword. She reflexed it, before making another block that caused a pang to echo throughout the street. She didn't let it deter her, as she attempted to make a hard slash against the enemy's arm. The Gloucester, shifted and swiped to scratch his sword at her.
"What is this?!" Ashley exclaimed with frustration.
The red Gloucester swiped his sword to back another poorly executed blow from his opponent. The opponent tried to measly jump to get a better spot and strike, only for Ashley to parry the disappointing blow and give another scratch upon the enemy's white armor.
"PATHETIC! PATHETIC! PATHETIC!" Ashley screeched. "Is my luck cruel enough to put me up against some sort of amateur?! You don't know how that makes me angry!"
A foreign round scraped against the red Gloucester's shoulder.
"Huh?!" Ashley turned his attention on the other Alexander, firing their rifle towards him.
"What?" Ashley turned around. "Oh, you want a go, huh?!"
"Commander Malcal?!" Eren widened his eyes at the Gloucester turning his attention on Leila's Alexander.
"Kruger, retreat!" Leila contacted through the comm. "That Knightmare is too strong. You have to…"
"No, you have to run!" Eren started to panic. "Get out of here!"
"You should have waited for your turn!" Ashley yelled as he zoomed with both swords towards Leila's Alexander.
…
"Huh?!" Ashley gasped.
The red Gloucester halted… when its black cape was snagged… by the Alexander it had faced before.
"Stupid cape…" Eren made to grin, before he pulled the controls back to have the Alexander pull the cape back.
"Monsieur Kruger!" Leila cried out.
Eren used the cape to his advantage, and pulled out his sword to make a slash towards the Gloucester's back when…
…
Eren gasped.
…
He didn't register the blow coming behind his cockpit… or…
The Alexander's outer part of the cockpit exploded, causing to let go the red Gloucester and fall to the ground.
…
…
"EREN!" Leila cried out in horror.
"What the…?" Ashley balked, before looking over to the one who dealt the blow. "Joannes?!"
"Master! Forgive me!" Joannes' Gloucester came from behind. "He was going to attack from behind…!"
"…"
…
What?
Eren weakly
"Ugh… can't…"
He slowly put a hand over his stomach… he pulled it up… and it was full of blood.
"Ugh… damn… that really hurt…"
…
…
He felt his body tilting to the side. The monitors before him now in a haze and a complete mess.
"This really… wasn't like how the simulator put it." He scoffed as he spit out blood. "Useless… piece of tin…"
...
The foolishness in depending on these hunks of metal. When he more adapt with his ODM gear and his...
...
...
He felt a spark coming from his finger.
...
...
Was it time now?
Was this it?
...
This state. This was not unfamiliar to him.
It was no different when the building was crushed on top of him, a beam of wood impaled through him.
...
Even so...
He grunted, and he felt the wounds of the foreign KMF bullets bulge in his stomach and ribs.
More blood seeped out.
...
He knew that...
He grunted in pain.
That he would soon have to...
But if he were to do it now. Then he couldn't be guaranteed what will happen next... when they would find out...
...
The comm buzzed.
"M... Mon... KRU...!"
...
...
That buzzing.
"EREN!"
His eye widened.
"Eren, can you hear me!" Leila's voice was filling with despair and some part... anguish. "Please, respond. I'm taking fire. Please, tell me you are all right! Respond! We have to retre..."
...
The mission was a failure.
They were going to fail the mission. All that due to being bested by Britannians in their Knightmares.
The red Gloucester was not only strong... he was talented in a Knightmare Frame. Far more than Eren could aspire when piloting one. Even if hadn't had trouble with the Alexander's left arm... it made no excuse in the face of that crimson frame.
And now... Leila was in danger.
This was where he would move...
But he barely could lift himself out.
Harder. He had get up harder.
Did that attack from behind hit more than his guts inside... did it... hit his back?
...
The more he couldn't move. The more he hated this feeling.
He despised it.
To be helpless.
...
Helpless... when his comrades were...
His mind drew a blank.
A blank... back to a town.
...
Thomas... half his body already in the mouth of that disgusting filth climbing up a bell tower. Before long he was swallowed up.
...
He was helpless. Even when he tried to get back at the monster to took his friend. Even he repelled through the air just like they had practiced in training... he barely did... nothing against them.
It didn't help he felt one jumping from an alley he flew overhead... and snapped to chew up his leg.
And then... Mina... Dak...
...
All that training... all for nothing...
...
...
That feeling he hated came again... when he trusted his new comrades. When they were in the forest.
He left because he trusted that they could finish off their pursuer... they were the some of the best in the regiment. They were Levi Squad until...
He watched when their pursuer started to swat them off... like flies.
...
And he couldn't do anything... always the wrong moment... to be... helpless.
...
...
Not now! He wasn't going to let it happen again now!
Not now!
...
Now he felt it... what came after... the despair of... helplessness...
...
He coughed out a liter of blood, heaving himself up from the seat of the cockpit.
The thing made him go forward. That made feel... alive.
"Work... don't... let me down now... NOT NOW!"
He bit his lips. He even bit down on his tongue.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!"
Let it take over... the feeling... that he preferred over helplessness.
...
RAGE.
The Alexander had been lying still for a minute… until…
…
…
It twitched… before…
…
A spark crackled from it… and then it spiral out until…
…
BOOOOOOOOOM!
"What's going on?!" Sophie cried out. "Is Kruger's signal back online!"
"I thought we just lost him!" Chloe exclaimed.
"But he's back, but how..." Joe was erratically typing at the monitor, when... "What..." He saw Kruger's status.
"What is happening?!" Claus exclaimed.
"Let me see!" Sophie swiped the screen to take a look herself. "Kruger's heart rate and brain waves. This... It's going out of control."
"Oh, brother..." Claus facepalmed.
BEEP! BEEP!
"What's that?!" Anna exclaimed.
"What?!" Sophie looked over, with shock in her eyes. "The BRS system?!"
"Come again?" Claus asked.
"There's something wrong? Whatever is happening to Kruger... it's..."
"ARGH!" Ryo yelled as he held his head in pain.
"DARGH! Grrr...!" Yukiya growled as he felt some coursing through his head.
"RARRGH!" Ayano almost lost control when something... suddenly sparked over her brain.
Like it was... lightning?
What had been still and calm… had devolved into something that turned everyone's heads.
The Type-02 Alexander Knightmare Frame belonging to Warrant Officer Eren Kruger… erupted a sudden explosion of lightning. A phenomenon not caused by anything related to the weather or sky.
The strong force of it caused great bolts to shoot out towards the sky above. While from below at the source… the figure of the Alexander was blown and melted apart by something else beyond.
As the material of the Knightmare came apart… some could barely see as tendrils of red muscle and bone materialized and spread out into an incredible length…
This was barely witnessed by those nearby…
"EREN!" Leila cried out as she felt her Type-02 pushed back against the force of the horrifying phenomenon before her.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ashley had gone from mad excited to disappointed… to now feeling shock and confusion at the source of the insane explosion causing his Gloucester to fall through the air.
"MASTER ASHLEY!" Joannes cried out.
The unexplainable massive surge finally ceased… and its wake was a massive fog of smoke.
The smoke cleared at a slow pace… before those present noticed something bulking from behind.
For a long moment, Leila disregarded her surroundings, and the enemy knightmares that had survived the backlash of the sudden shockwave near her… and focused on where the Alexander Frame of her comrade… was…
"Uh…" She tapped the comm, trying to hope… at least… "Monsieur Kruger… are you…?"
…
"Eren…?"
…
…
A pair of green light glowed from the dissipating smoke.
Noticing it… Leila felt a twinge of hope at seeing the pair of emerald lights coming from Eren's knightmare… that it somehow remained intact… but…
…
But…
…
The pair of lights glowed even more… and the figure that should have been the Alexander Frame… rose. It rose higher that of the average height that an Alexander should be. Leila's eyes widened when the shadow lifted up near the height of the buildings around them.
The smoke finally dissipated… to reveal something… neither she… nor the enemies…
"Urgh?!" Ashley's eyes widened with absolute shock. "What the… it can't be… that's…?!"
The green lights being that glowing green eyes burst out of the smoke… along with a humanoid head covered in shaggy dark hair… and a mouth jagged and warped too much to considered close human likeness.
The moment it showed itself… it reared the head back to open its jaws and then…
"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!"
(X)
In that moment, nothing around the Beast mattered.
The moment the deafening roar was heard from this side of the mountain... to even what Pieck could project to the comm in the base... the Beast isolated himself from the environment.
Even the Britannian soldiers inside were going into a panic. Even Lord Shaing and his red-haired knight were even perplexed by the development. Even when his intended successor tried to keep his brother and the other kids calm by the shock they were feeling...
It didn't matter to him. Not at the moment.
Right at this moment... he was focusing on the source of the roar.
And where it came from.
There no doubt... when the golden bolt lit from afar and had initiated in abandoned town down the mountain... he put the pieces together in less than a second.
Pieck had already transformed, while Reiner and Porco were already miles away on the other front.
He knew it... it pinpointed to other valuable suspect.
One other who wielded the power... the very power the Empire had desired and lusted for long to inherit.
...
He was here.
...
Here on the same soil he stood on. Far away from the island. Far away from the walls.
He was here...
When nobody in the room glanced at him... Zeke Yeager curled the lips under his beard... and smiled.
As gleefully as the Beast would... with utter excitement and anticipation.
After three long years...
...
...
"Eren... at long last... our next reunion is finally upon us..."
There.
Not one of my best, but there was a lot to go through in getting through with this. And this just the first half of it!
A lot to consider... as this would be literally... Eren's first time... flying in space. And seeing the Earth from orbit... something that a very rare sight for many mortals who have lived and walked upon it. Far higher than any hot air balloon or contraption made within the civilization behind the walls. ;)
Ashley Asura really is a classic kind of man, with funny ideology surrounding luck. Something he attempts to teach to the Warrior Candidates (even shutting Gabi down of all people LOL) and testing it out on good, old, Reiner, who at this point is just feeling... uh...
And to clarify, Eren is many things, but he is not a complete ace when it comes to Knightmare piloting. He can be moderate enough to fight, but he is not the same league as Akito Hyuga, Suzaku Kururugi, or Kallen Kozuki. Just as he is not a complete ace with ODM gear like two... no make that... three certain Ackermann's.
It's one of the reasons his brief fight with Ashley is not as engaging or matched like Akito's (who was under the 'Die' command) and had his Alexander's left arm damaged, courtesy of Ryo's attempted stab-in-the-back-and-saved-until-later. And Ashley's trusted subordinate, Joannes Fabius, intervened, when Eren managed to get ahold of Ashley to prevent him from going after Leila.
But now... that has given way... to something that will explode in everyone's faces... as they will finally witness now... Eren's hidden power...
And it high time... for the Attack Titan... to attack.
And next time... a special reunion will take place... ;)
Warsaw Line
Area 24A
"Sutherland on your left!"
The leading Panzer unit dodged from his placed, and pulled up his aim on a silver-purple KMF taking cover on a husk that was tank.
The Sutherland pulled up to aim at the Panzer. Unfortunately, the Panzer was prepared as it jumped and kept aim, unleashing rounds from both his arms to take shots across the Sutherland's head.
"Got it!"
Another Brit out of the way. They'll mow through them one at a time if they have to.
Behind him, another round from the Land Battleship behind him, the shell speeding through the air before it exploded another unit of Sutherlands on the other side.
The air was filled with the sounds and trade of shrapnel and blasts between both sides.
The Brit pigs didn't prepare for the Republic's strength with its new Land-based Battleships plowing through.
It was music to their ears as another blast came from the battleships and a sight to see as an explosion of shrapnel exploded dozens of Britannians further away.
"Ober!" The Panzer pilot heard on his comm. "High command is giving us the right to advance."
"Right, this part is open! Let's get a move on and… huh?"
His monitor caught something appearing from up above him.
"What is that?"
He turned to zoom up what he was seeing high above.
It was the shape of a Britannian VTOL ship, and it was flying towards their direction.
Ober grinned. Just one VTOL? Did they think they can fly over and get past them undetected…?
His grin faded when he saw something else. Something fell out of the VTOL.
Soon, the object expanded into a different shape.
It was that of a… parachute?
Ober was confused, zooming as much as he could with the Panzer's scanners to detect a single person descending with a parachute. It was all he could before…
Before a spark of blinding light erupted from the center of the person.
"Gah!"
Spark erupted into a grenade of blinding light surged with lightning illuminating the center of the battlefield.
The shockwave causing Ober's Panzer unit to be pushed back.
"What the…?" Ober exclaimed. "What… HUH?!"
He gasped, as he glanced at the blinding light… and horror dawned upon… when he peaked at what was materializing.
The figuring bearing resemblance and materializing with a likeness with that of the standard human anatomy. Yet, it grew to a size even greater than that of the standard KMF. Red muscles were formed, before hard plates covered the mass, from the pair of the feet… to the head bearing blonde-white hair.
The transformation was complete, and the smoke dispersed… for Ober and his fellow soldiers to behold the monstrosity before them.
And the pair of gold eyes coming from the armored mask… lifting up to look… in their direction.
Ober had a few seconds to register exactly what it was…
…
…
Before he could utter the accursed word… the monstrosity suddenly lifted up from its kneeling position… and jogged straight towards them.
Every long step the armored monstrosity made caused a rumble even more terrifying than any earthquake in Ober's lifetime.
The panic started to ensue…
"OPEN FIRE!" Ober cried out as he pulled the triggers of his controls and emptied both guns towards the monster coming at them. Many other Panzer units repeated the action. The man leading them held unto unlikely hope that the monstrosity will waver from their bullets…
But it was for not…
The devilish giant did not waver as the rounds sprinkled off his armored physique.
He was coming closer.
Closer.
…
Closer.
…
CLOSER!
…
"RAAHHHH!" Ober yelled one last time as the giant foot of the Titan came over his view and fell down… before it crushed through his monitor screen… and the weight crushing his skull and brain flat…
His remains a flattened stain in the pile of the old Panzer Unit.
To be continued...
