Alright quick note before this starts. More a quick response to a Guest's review, but apparently, whenever you delete a chapter in a story, that's considered to be an update, and even though I didn't actually publish a new chapter, it'll show up as an actual update.
So to clear the waters, I did not publish a new update two days ago (at the time of me posting this). It was just me deleting an update chapter. Alright? Alright. Now that that's cleared up, onto the story.
Eren Jaeger's arrival onto the battlefield had been a bit of a shocker to the three Elites present, but for at least one of them, he couldn't help but find it to be… expected at this point, as that brat was always a bit of a loose cannon.
Well, he was many things, really. Petra called him a good kid, Eld called him a dedicated soldier. Gunther had called him a mishmash of contradictions at one point, and though Oruo had his reservations on the kid, he would still admit to liking Eren as a last resort 'weapon', for the lack of a better term. Levi, however, only really saw the Titan Shifter as one thing and one thing only… an undisciplined child.
Jaeger had the willpower to mold fate with his own two hands, to fight on even in the face of utter defeat and to stare death in the eyes on more occasions than one. Hell, if anything, the Titan Shifter was probably a more dedicated soldier than even Levi or Mike. With that being said, however, the junior's mindset was too narrow for his own good, and he supposed that explained why he was here right now, rather than retreating as he had been ordered to in the first place.
"Eren?! What's he doing here?!" was all Hanji could say at that point as the light from Eren's transformation lightning bolt died down, and by then, the aforementioned Titan Shifter had already landed a flying punch onto Annie's face, prompting her to stagger backwards all the while. As she did so, she flailed her arms around in shock, with her cauterised stump of an arm flailing about more intensely than her still mostly-intact arm all the while, and whilst the Elites shielded themselves from the shockwave that came with Jaeger's punch, Levi glanced over at Hanji and grit his teeth at her.
"Clearly that idiot thought it best to disobey our orders and attack," growled the Elite as the trio watched as Eren landed three good strikes on Annie, with them striking her jaw, lower abdomen and chest, before a fourth strike missed completely. Thereafter, Leonhardt, having acknowledged the new and more prudent threat to her wellbeing, began to focus solely on defending against Jaeger, who swung wildly at her as he roared in a rage. "Kh! He's not thinking straight…"
"Hm. He smells like shit. He's letting his Titan instincts take over, no doubt," grumbled Mike in annoyance after he took in a quick intake of air, with him grimacing all the while. He hasn't spent too much time with Eren prior, but even so, he's been with him just long enough to know what kind of scent he exudes specifically, and right now, his aforementioned scent was being mixed in with the disgusting pungent scent of an average Abnormal Titan. Zacharius took this as a bad sign at first, and not even a moment later, he saw this as a warning.
Hanji, however, saw this more as an opportunity than anything else.
"Titan instinct, huh?! I need to study this up close! I-" began the bespectacled maniac, only to pause when, without warning, Levi grabbed her by the waist and lunged off the building they were atop. Mike did the same as he jumped after them, and mere moments after, Annie's Titan body came soaring towards the spot they once stood by, crushing the structure all the while. Though the three Elites had managed to avoid being turned into a trio of red stains in the debris, they were still blown back by the shockwave of the impact, and as such, they ended up falling to the ground in a series of awkward rolls, with Levi and Hanji being tangled up awkwardly while Mike simply came to an awkward, uncomfortable stop on one knee.
"Was that close enough, Four Eyes?" groaned Levi as he got up and watched as Annie pulled herself out of the rubble, only to have to lean back to avoid being hit by Eren as he jumped at her yet again. The hand that Levi had slashed apart initially was still healing up, though it was nowhere near combat ready at the moment, and the cauterised stump that was made by Hanji still remained as is, with the regeneration doing its best to bypass the charred flesh to very little success, leaving Leonhardt at a very clear disadvantage as all she could really do was weave and kick her way around Jaeger, though for all it was worth, she was holding her own pretty decently.
Several punches and the occasional attempt at a bite were dodged as Annie ducked and weaved around Eren's advances, with her ducking under a punch before she jerked her head up to slam the top of her skull into the bottom of Jaeger's jaw. The opposing Titan Shifter felt his jaw cracking a little at its center as she did this, though he was able to get over it relatively quickly as he shook it off and jumped forwards at Leonhardt with very little remorse.
With his jaws opened and one arm outstretched, the male Titan Shifter had fully intended on biting down onto Annie's neck and ragdolling her into submission. However, thanks to Leonhardt's fast reflexes, she was able to lean backwards to avoid being grabbed by her opponent, though rather than pulling her body away from Jaeger's inbound maw, the Female Titan instead did something… unprecedented.
Raising her cauterised stump of an arm up, Annie allowed Eren to clamp his jaws down onto the charred flesh of her severed arm, and when he did, his teeth went all the way down to bone as he growled and yanked on the flesh like some sort of animal. Leonhardt was pulled forwards as Jaeger attempted to inflict as much damage onto her as physically possible, though rather than pry his jaws open, the Female Titan instead clenched the still regenerating fingers of her other hand into a fist and rocketed it towards the opposing Titan Shifter's face.
On impact, a sickening crack and a revolting tear could be heard as Eren's face was caved inwards by Annie's fist, and at the same time, the Titan Shifter aligned with the soldiers tore a chunk of his opponent's arm off, with that remained of Leohardt's stump of an arm looking positively repulsive to the soldiers that could see it from where they stood. At first, they were… bewildered at the fact that the blonde had allowed Eren to inflict that much harm onto her… but before long, a good majority of the soldiers that had bore witness to that gruesome sight, namely the three Elites present, seemed to realize what she had been planning this whole time.
"That fucking…! She had Eren rip her cauterised arm out just to let it regenerate normally! Ingenious!" proclaimed Hanji, impressed as she observed from ground level, to which both Levi and Mike grimaced, with them wondering if their fellow Elite had her priorities straight as they watched Annie continue to dodge Eren's strikes. Now that her cauterised limb was no longer an issue, she was able to bob and weave with just a bit more dexterity, though she did get hit from time to time thanks to Jaeger's primitive yet unpredictable fighting style.
Levi did notice how Annie's once cauterised arm was healing at an accelerated rate, most likely thanks to her focusing her healing on the limb. He'd have to tell Hanji to catalogue that later, but for now, he moved to take a step forwards to help the brat deal with their traitor, though before he could launch himself into the fray, Mike was quick to stop him by holding his shoulder, prompting the Elite to glance back at him in confusion.
"While it would be easy to mix ourselves in with those two, I suggest we focus on clearing out the area. It is unlikely that Eren will be able to defeat her, but he can stall her until he arrives," stated Mike matter-of-factly as he eyed Levi stoically, to which the Elite nodded. Zacharius was right on that account, Ackerman thought. Their… insurance, for the lack of a better term, could arrive at any given second, and when he did, all Hell would break loose, and they didn't wish to lose any more lives unnecessarily when that happened.
"Hmph, point taken, Mike. Spread out and get the soldiers still present out of here, pronto. Tell them what's coming, and when they see purple, tell them to leave the immediate area, post haste," ordered Levi, with him frowning as he spoke, to which his fellow Elites nodded before departing. Ackerman was quick to follow, though not before he glanced back at Eren with a subdued look of annoyance.
'You wanna pull your weight, don't you, brat? Well, you can start off by holding her back for a minute. If you can handle this, then you can handle whatever else we throw at you… for the most part.'
Anger… that was all that Annie could feel at the moment as she ducked and weaved through Eren's attacks.
Anger was something that the blonde has been feeling for years at this point, but even so, said emotion has always been kept under wraps, one way or another. Annie's self control was always exemplary, after all, and her friends and family… Mina, Nac, Mrs Carolina and Mikazuki… they have all helped greatly in tempering her simmering fury. However, now that the source, or at least one of the sources, of her even being here in the first place was standing before her… attacking her no less, the young woman found her already simmering anger reach its boiling point.
Eren Jaeger… one of the two Titan Shifters that Annie and her fellow Warriors were tasked with retrieving… the cause of all her misfortune and the very reason as to why she was even here in the first place. Annie… hated him, and while hate may have been a rather strong word to use, the young woman still found it to be appropriate thanks to just how much pain the opposing Titan Shifter had caused her, be it intentional or not. She wanted nothing more than to grab onto his neck and squeeze the life out of him, but with that being said, she still… she still needed him to be alive, as without him, she would have nowhere to go.
She couldn't stay in Eldian territory, not when they knew about her true identity. She had to go back to Marley… and to do so, she needed Eren. Returning empty handed would only earn her the ire of her superiors and, subsequently, lead to her own demise, and as such, she needed that brat alive if she wished to live.
That was where things got… interesting, however, as Annie needed Eren Jaeger to be alive if she wished to continue living.
They never did specify his condition… and that one minute detail was almost enough to make Annie smile, especially as her once severed arm had finished regenerating.
By the time that had happened, Eren was upon her, with his fists raised and poised to strike. In response to this, Annie narrowed her eyes and launched her arms out as well, grabbing onto his fists and hardening her joints to brace herself. Jaeger's eyes seemed to widen a little at Annie's unexpected strength, though he still attempted to push her back to little success as the Warrior held her ground firmly.
Opening his mouth, Eren began roaring at Annie, a sign of primal rage taking over. Leonhardt, in a fit of rage, did the same, with her screaming in his face as well as she tightened her grip on Jaeger's fists to match her tone. Neither Titan Shifter was willing to back down from this screaming contest, even as the ears of those around them began to bleed thanks to how much they were screaming at one another, though before long, Leonhardt seemed to grow tired of this unnecessary competition that she had unwittingly started and began to harden the skin of her right arm.
As she did so, the Female Titan took a step forwards and pushed her arm forwards. Normally, Eren would very easily overpower her, even with her ability to harden, but now, thanks to her anger and the adrenaline pumping itself through her veins, the traitor was feeling an excess amount of energy flowing through her, and with it, she was able to grasp onto Eren's fist with her hardened fingers and crush his hands in her own. His fist folded in on itself as Leonhardt crumpled it beneath her fingers, and Jaeger growled in pain as this happened.
Whilst he recovered from this attack, however, Annie took the liberty of launching her knee out towards the opposing Shifter's stomach. Hardening it at the last second, the traitor swung her limb up towards her opponent's abdomen with the force of a tidal wave, and on impact, Eren's stomach exploded in on itself, with his back exploding outwards as the force of the strike quite literally tore a hole in his center.
"?!" a pained roar was the only thing that managed to leave Eren's lips as he staggered backwards in shock, having not expected Annie to retaliate so suddenly, and especially not with such raw power. Before he could recover from the initial attack, however, Leonhardt charged forwards and slammed her knuckles into his abdomen. Her hardened fist impacted his side with the force of a tsunami as it sent Jaeger stumbling back from the force, though this time, he was able to recover fast enough to launch a counterpunch.
Said punch was easily dodged by Annie, who dodged under his strike before delivering a strong jab to the chest. Thereafter, she raised her arms up to her chest to defend herself from any possibly follow up attacks, and when Eren wound his still intact arm up for a haymaker, Leonhardt dodged away from it and faced her back towards her opponent, with her twirling towards him before she slammed her hardened elbow into the side of his head, bursting one of his eardrums and causing him to stagger to one side in shocked pain.
Before he could get out of range, however, Annie grabbed onto the opposing Titan Shifter's head, grasping onto a fistful of his hair, and yanked him towards her. As she did so, Leonhardt hardened the skin on her forehead before she bashed her skull straight into Eren's, caving it in whilst her own remained unharmed intact thanks to her unique ability. Once more, Jaeger staggered backwards in pain, though surprisingly enough, possibly because of the excess amount of adrenaline flowing through his system, coupled with his recent head injury, the opposing Shifter was able to recover remarkably quickly from the headbutt as he swung his fist towards Annie at an upward angle.
In response to this, the Female Titan narrowed her eyes and swung her own fist at her opponent's, with her swinging it down towards his own all the while. As to be expected, she hardened her own fist and forearm to give herself a leg up on the clash, and as with the previous few instances, Leonhardt won the power struggle, as, the moment their fists clashed with one another, Annie's diamond-hard limb managed to pulverise the flesh and bone of Eren's arm, with Jaeger widening his eyes in pain as his limb quite literally disappeared from existence.
Not to be deterred, however, Eren, despite his lack of arms, roared and swung his leg at his opponent. His primal instincts proved to be his downfall, however, as he ended up forgetting that Annie was no slouch when it came to any and all forms of combat, including kickboxing, and as soon as he swung her leg out at her, the Female Titan mirrored his attack and launched hers towards him as well. Her shin was hardened as she swung it towards Eren's, and on impact, unsurprisingly, Leonhardt's quite literally melted through her opponent's, causing Jaeger to lose half his leg as he roared in pain and did his absolute best to balance himself on his remaining limb.
With three out of his four limbs having been forcibly removed from his body, and with no way to defend himself from here on out, Eren was quite literally at Annie's mercy as she stomped towards him with malicious intent. Unlike her, the inexperienced Titan Shifter was unable to properly focus his regenerative capabilities into a single limb, leaving it to regenerate all his injuries at once at an incredibly slow rate, something that was less than ideal at the moment as he hobbled away from Leonhardt, who glared him down a gaze of pure hatred. Jaeger returned the glare in full, though his look of pure malice was quickly replaced with a pained expression after Annie struck him in the cheek, dislocating his jaw.
Hobbling on one foot as he did his best to regain his footing, Eren turned back towards Annie, only for his vision to fail him as he was still dazed from that initial strike, giving Leonhardt just enough time to lash out at him once more. The second strike hit him right in the chest, caving it in and fracturing several of his bones in the process. A third strike aimed at his head sent his jaw flying straight off his face, where it landed atop a nearby building, crushing it a little on impact, and a fourth kick to the stomach sent Eren flying backwards, with him creating a mild crevasse all the while, before he came to a stop, crashing into a still intact building all the while.
Groaning as his vision began splintering in every which direction, Eren made a valiant attempt to get himself back into the right as he grimaced and snarled on instinct. At best, he could only really make out a vaguely humanoid figure approaching him as he huffed and tried to will his injuries to regenerate themselves faster, but after a few seconds of failure, the inexperienced Titan Shifter saw no success in that department, and before long, he felt pressure being put atop his remaining foot, something that made him growl and glare up at the culprit with bloodshot eyes.
Said eyes only narrowed further when they focused as best they could on the towering form of Annie Leonhardt, standing over him as though he was nothing more than her latest kill. Grimacing, Jaeger growled as he watched the more experienced Titan Shifter raise one of her arms up and flattening the fingers of her hand out, with her keeping her movements methodically slow all the while, and as soon as it stopped moving, in an act of defiance, Eren opened his mouth and roared.
His roar was promptly cut off when Annie swung the side of her hand at his head…
… and by the time Mikasa could make it to the battlefield alongside Sasha and Lauda, the trio were sent flying back when the wind pressure emitted by Annie's swing struck them at full force, even though they were well over half a kilometer away from her.
"Whoa!" yelled Lauda as she was sent spiralling towards the closest building thanks to the aftershock, and likewise, Sasha was sent out of control as well, though before she could land harshly like their senior did, Mikasa reached her arm out and hooked her elbow around Braus', effectively linking the two of them together before they descended down to the roof their superior had landed on and helped her up as well. "Shit… what the fuck was that?!"
"Some sorta shockwave, it looks like!" commented Sasha as she glanced over at the source, unsurprisingly the Female Titan, where they could see that their traitor had her arm outstretched. Whatever it was she had been hitting was covered by a thick layer of smoke, likely kicked up from the swing itself, though Braus didn't think too much of it for now as she continued to speak. "Shit… she's tough… why'd I agree to follow you, anyways…"
"I didn't ask you to. You simply followed," reminded Mikasa flatly as she glanced back at Sasha, who gulped as she realized that Ackerman was right, though nothing more was said between the two as the top graduate glanced back towards where Annie stood and watched as she lowered her arm to her side. Strange… why was no one attacking her? She was in a vulnerable position right now, and if they snuck up on her, then they could potentially just kill her in an instant…
What were her superiors planning…?
Her thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, when Lauda gasped and pointed towards the combat zone with widened eyes. Perking up at this, Mikasa glanced over at where she was pointing at, and thereafter, she widened her eyes as well when she saw that the traitor had just decapitated Eren with nothing more than the side of her hand. Eren's disembodied head fell to the ground with an unceremonious plop, with it rolling to a stop after quite some time, and as for the rest of his body, it slumped forwards, unmoving.
"No… no… n-no…"
That was all Mikasa could mutter out as she felt her knees quivering in panic. No… this couldn't be right… Eren couldn't be dead… her baby brother couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be! But even so… that attack… from where they stood at, it seemed as though it had passed straight through the nape, and Eren didn't seem to be regenerating whatsoever, leading the young woman to believe that… that…
"Mikasa…" muttered Sasha as she crouched down close to her fellow soldier, grasping onto her shoulder supportively as she gave her a sympathetic look. Ackerman couldn't say anything at the moment, with her allowing a small amount of tears to prick at her eyes as she grit her teeth in dismay, with her thinking that her baby brother was dead because of her. She should've done more to keep him from turning them around and going back to assist in containing the Female Titan. She should've been more forceful… she should have-
"Shit… k-kids… look alive! Eren… he's…!"
Once more, Lauda's words had snapped Mikasa out of her thoughts as she perked up and glanced over at her superior with a stupified gaze. Sasha, on the other hand, glanced back over at Annie and Eren, and when she did, she found herself widening her eyes in shock before she moved her hand up and grabbed onto the top of Ackerman's head. The top graduate was confused at first, though after Braus rotated her head to glance over at the combat zone, she too found herself widening her eyes in shock… and relief.
Eren… he was emerging from the nape of his Titan! It seemed as though Annie's attack had missed him by a fraction of an inch, as the young man was still very much alive, albeit in bad condition as he emerged from the nape with blood on his body and with a strange pattern around his eyes. Momentarily, Jaeger was confused as to where he currently was as he glanced around in an attempt to get a feel for his surroundings, though not long after, all eyes were diverted towards the Female Titan as she leaned down towards Eren and… opened her mouth.
Annie opened her mouth to its absolute limits… and even then, she continued to open it, with it getting to the point where her cheek began to rip apart to allow her jaw to open beyond its preconceived limits, and shortly thereafter, Leonhardt brought her jaws down onto Eren's body… and without a second thought, she clamped them down onto the young man, trapping him within her maw all the while.
"NO!" cried Mikasa as she jolted up and, before anyone could stop her, she bolted straight for Annie, who had leaned back, away from the nape of Eren's limp Titan form. Hot on her tail was Sasha, though she wasn't fast enough to be stopped by Lauda, who grit her teeth as she stopped her from advancing.
"Sasha Braus! I was given express orders to keep the two of you off the battlefield! Do not engage!" ordered Lauda firmly, though her words were mostly ignored by Sasha as she turned towards her superior and gave her an uncertain glare, one that quickly became annoyance as she shook her head.
"Sorry ma'am, but I can't just let Mikasa go in like this, especially not without help! I'm going after her!" proclaimed the young woman as she held one of her blades up and slashed weakly at her superior. For her part, Lauda was taken aback by this as she pulled her hand back mere seconds before the blade could connect, though even if it did, it wouldn't have done much more than nick her skin a fair bit.
"SASHA BRAUS!" yelled Lauda as she the aforementioned soldier rushed after her comrade, and after it became very clear that she wasn't coming back any time soon, she grimaced and began pursuing them with reluctance. "You fucking kids are going to be the death of me!"
And though she had meant it as an attempt at dark humor… Lauda did sincerely hope that she didn't just jinx herself…
Annie… had done it. She had captured Eren Jaeger… and yet, things weren't done. Not yet, anyways.
Though she had the accursed Titan Shifter trapped within his maw, Annie still needed to escape this wretched Eldian prison and return to Marley with Eren in tow. It would not be easy… but even so, nothing easy would be worth doing anyways, and as such, she got herself ready to escape this Eldian stronghold as she turned towards the gates of Sina with a determined look on her face.
The gates were always a rather… weak spot within the gates, what with them being less structurally sound than the other areas of the wall in order to accommodate the gate's internal mechanisms. Though by no means flimsy, a single, well placed strike to the gates can and will bring it tumbling down, and if she could get a running start, she could very well tackle her way through it with a combination of her hardening ability and her own built up momentum.
With that in mind, Annie found herself rapidly sprinting towards the closest gate out of Sina, with her legs burning with the effort as she pushed herself to her limits and beyond. As she ran, however, the blonde took note of a trio of inbound soldiers behind her, though in her haste, she didn't think to look back as she ran.
On instinct, Annie's head jolted to the left right as one of the soldiers, Mikasa Ackerman, swung in to slash at her, fully intent on killing her in one fell swoop all the while. The top graduate was momentarily stunned to see that Leonhardt could dodge one of her swings with very little issue, though she thought nothing of it before she tilted her Maneuver Gear up towards the sky and boosted towards the ground, dodging downwards right as the Female Titan swung her arm at her.
"Kh!" was all Mikasa could really say as she watched Lauda and Sasha swing in as well, with the former aiming a slash at Annie's left (outstretched) and right arms, respectively. Once she was close enough, Lauda began slashing down Leonhardt's left arm, covering it in cuts as she slashed down its length, while Sasha made an attempt to sever a major artery in the traitor's right arm. Unfortunately for them, however, Annie was able to shake Lauda off before she could slash down the entire length of her arm, with her flicking the senior soldier towards a nearby house, where she crashed in through a window, and as for Sasha, she was caught in Leonhardt's grip before she could swing her blades.
"Gah!" cried the Dauper resident as Mikasa reoriented herself upright, and at that, the bumpkin gulped as she watched Annie glare down at her whilst running. Without wasting any time, however, Leonhardt simply… released Sasha by bringing her arm down behind herself and unclasping her fingers from around her body, and at that, Braus began to fall… only to be saved when Ackerman swung in and snatched her out of the air in a bridal-esc fashion. "W-Wha-"
"She… didn't kill you…" muttered Mikasa, just as shocked as Sasha was as she swung upwards and threw her fellow soldier back into the air, where she recovered relatively quickly and began boosting after their target.
"W-Why…" muttered Sasha as they closed in on Annie, who continued running as they pursued her, eliciting a grimace from Mikasa as she swung in to strike at Leonhardt's ankles, only for her to avoid the swing by jumping to one side and attempting to kick at Ackerman, who was able to weave her body out of range before it impacted her. The shockwave from the kick, however, did send her tumbling towards the ground in an awkward roll, though she was able to flip herself back up to her feet near the end of the roll, and as soon as she was back up, she turned and saw Sasha swinging towards her, and without much issue, she held her arm up to allow her fellow soldier to grab onto her and pull her back into the fight almost instantly.
"Kh… she's slippery…" growled Mikasa as she watched Annie approach the gates of Sina, with the Female Titan hardening her arms as she seemingly got ready to tackle through the structure before her. The soldiers up top seemed to notice this as well, however, as the gate that Leonhardt was rushing towards began to gradually lift upwards, confusing the top graduate at first. "Why are they…?"
"They don't want her to break through the gate!" stated Sasha, with her narrowing her eyes at their fleeing traitor as they pursued her. "In their eyes, letting Annie escape into Stohess would be less of an issue down the line than to have her break through the gates. If she breaks through, we'll be short one line of defense against the Titans."
"But the civilians…" muttered Mikasa, to which Sasha frowned. That… was a good point, really, but even so…!
"We've had at least two days to plan this. I'm sure that Erwin has a contingency plan for when Annie somehow managed to get out of Sina!" said Sasha reassuringly, to which Mikasa reluctantly nodded. She… had a point there. Their Commander was nothing if not resourceful, and his experience outweighed their own. There was no one else that they could put their faith in more than him, and with that, the top graduate of the 104th nodded in appreciation towards Braus' assurance.
"That… would make sense, but let's try and make sure that she doesn't escape in the first place, alright?" muttered Mikasa, with her usually cold tone of voice sounding less so as she offered Sasha the faintest of smiles. To this, the bumpkin found her cheeks tinting pink as she nodded firmly, with her boosting forwards all the while. Without a single word, the duo instinctively locked onto the ankles of their target, with them ignoring how Lauda had retreated mere seconds before they launched forwards, with her having seen the purple flare that had been shot mere moments prior.
Ten
"He's close," stated Erwin as he stared back at Stohess, with one of his surbordiantes lowering their flare gun as they watched several of the soldiers present in the town closest to the walls begin ushering the remaining civilians out. Thereafter, the Commander frowned a little at what was to come. He was betting a lot on Mikazuki's fragile loyalty towards the Survey Corps and his ironclad one towards his family… but even so, he could only hope that he could bring an end to this issue in a… favourable manner.
Nine
"Is it really wise to let him in, though…?" asked Nile, with him gaining cold feet at the last possible moment as he glanced up at Erwin, who nodded.
"They are humanity's strongest, Nile. Though we have our doubts on his loyalty, when united, both Mikazuki and his Gundam are nigh unstoppable," assured Erwin as a massive plume of smoke became visible to the small group atop the wall of Sina. The soldiers present, predominantly MPBs, found themselves looking away from the sprinting Female Titan and stared out at the inbound figure in shock, shock that was very much warranted as none of them had seen the Gundam in person prior to now.
"It's… fast," stated an MPB absentmindedly, to which one of his fellow soldiers nodded.
"Can the gate rise any faster…?"
"No…"
"...shit."
Seven
Glancing up at the sky as the purple flare continued to rise, Levi, Hanji and Mike all frowned as they knew what was about to happen.
"Less than ten seconds," stated Mike as he turned towards the few soldiers that remained with them and motioned for them to leave. They were skeptical at first, but they otherwise followed his command as they fled the combat zone, much to Zacharius' relief. "We should leave the combat zone as well."
"Hm. Those brats are still going after her, though," stated Levi grouchily as he observed Mikasa and Sasha pursue Annie. Hanji snorted at this as she motioned for her short pal to let it go, with her knowing that, even with his speed, he wouldn't be able to swoop in and snatch those two out of there within ten seconds.
"Hmph, I hate to say it, but it's out of our control now. The best we can do now is to clear the area of any other soldiers and civilians. We'll be in deep shit if we let the operation fuck up more than it already has," stated Hanji seriously, with her sounding uncharacteristically cold as she spoke. Both Mike and Levi knew that this was the cause of the amount of lives that were lost in the initial battle, and with her being one of the primary planners for this plan in the first place, it came as no surprise to them that Zoe was currently blaming herself for letting so many die.
Six
"Four Eyes has a point," muttered Levi glumly, with him turning to stare at his fellow soldiers as he spoke. A fire burnt in his eyes as he grimaced and motioned for his fellow Elites to get a move on, surprising them at first, but they ended up nodding as they realized that, despite him not showing it, Ackerman was definitely upset about how this operation had turned out as he spoke. "We have just a few precious seconds. Let's not waste them. Spread out and search for any remaining people present and get them out of here. In the next ten seconds, the entire West side of Sina will be considered a Titan infested zone, and we'll have to quarantine it off, am I understood?"
"Gotcha."
"Yeah."
Five
Huffing in exhaustion, Armin found himself bringing his arm up and wiping the sweat off his brow as he dropped yet another injured soldier off at the medevac point, with him helping said soldier onto a cart filled with other injured men and women. The MPB Medic on duty nodded in thanks to him as he motioned for the cart driver to get a move on, and thereafter, he turned towards Arlert and nodded in thanks.
"Thanks for your help, kid. You've got some sharp instincts, for being able to help us get to those injured men and women," thanked the Medic with a smile, eliciting a blush from Armin as he waved his arms around, flattered.
"It's the least I could do, sir. In battle, I'm a hindrance, but I'll still do my best to help out on the battlefield," deflected Armin humbly, with him chuckling as he spoke. To this, the Medic simply nodded, with him unable to confirm or deny such a claim as he sighed and opened his mouth, wishing to dismiss Arlert for now as he felt as though he's done more than enough, though before that could happen, he heard something…
Four
"Do you… hear that?" asked the Medic, confused as he glanced over at Armin. The junior Survey Corp was equally as confused at first, though he was quick to widen his eyes in recognition moments later as he felt his stomach dropping several metres down into the abyss.
"No… Commander Erwin couldn't have…" muttered Armin in shock at first, though not even a second later, he realized that he wasn't hearing things as he acknowledged how, yes… their superior had just brought in the big guns…
Three
She was so close to the gates of Sina… and for as arrogant as it was for her to think this way, she believed that she would be out of the fire once she was past them.
It wasn't illogical to think as such, however, as the Female Titan's top sprint speed was very much beyond the speed of the Survey Corps' Maneuver Gear, and she could even outpace the best of their horses if she wished. She just needed to maintain her top speed for as long as humanly, or inhumanly if one wished to go there, possible.
She knew that Sasha and Mikasa were hot on her tails, but her focus was on the gates in front of her, so much so that she didn't care to even look back at them as she continued her sprint. She did, however, acknowledge the fact that the gates to Stohess were rising, and as such, she doubled her speed and quite literally left both Survey Corps in her dust.
Two
Just a bit more and she would be free… she wouldn't need to keep up this facade for any longer! She just wanted to go home… go home and live a possibly normal life for once, one where she didn't need to feel guilty about every day… one that didn't serve as a cover up for her treachery.
She would… miss Mina, Nac and… Hell, she'd miss Mikazuki too, but even so, she wouldn't stay here any longer, she needed to leave… she needed to… nay, she wanted to live… to live and see herself in a brighter tomorrow…
One. All weapon safeties disabled. ASW-G-08F6, Gundam Barbatos, exiting Fast Travel mode and now entering Combat mode.
… and yet, right as Annie Leonhardt got to the slowly rising gates of Sina, and right as it had reached its halfway point in rising, the aforementioned gate suddenly exploded inwards, sending debris soaring towards the Female Titan as she widened her eyes and brought her arms up to defend herself on instinct.
Behind her, both Sasha and Mikasa both gasped as they halted their charge, and without another word, the latter boosted towards the former and yanked her out of the way, with her bringing the two of them onto the top of a nearby building as they watched the gates of Sina be demolished by some outside force.
"W-What in the world was that?!" demanded Sasha as both she and Mikasa turned to face where the Female Titan was currently at, only to widen their eyes in shock when they saw a very familiar right arm unit burst out of the smoke caused by the inwards explosion and grab onto Annie's neck. Thereafter, Leonhardt was forced onto her back before she was dragged across the grounds of Sina with extreme prejudice, with the one dragging her along moving so quickly that they created a shockwave that not only launched dust and dirt high up into the sky, but it had also sent both Ackerman and Braus flying into the air from just how strong the aftershock was.
The newly arrived monster had quite literally dragged Annie a full quarter of the way back into Sina, and after it was satisfied with just how far back it had gotten them to, it dug its heeled feet into the ground and threw Leonhardt's body in front of itself. A handful of soldiers and the few civilians that were still present in the West side of Sina scattered and screamed as they saw the Female Titan's body being thrown in their direction, with it impacting a building shortly thereafter and demolishing it entirely.
With that done, the newcomer stood up to its maximum height and observed the Female Titan's impact point from afar. Its joints creaked and groaned as it did this, and as soon as it got up to its full height, the various golden vents present all around its body expelled no small amount of steam, with it doing so to regulate its incredibly high temperature thanks to its long journey here. The expelled steam was strong enough to dispel the smoke that once surrounded it, giving everyone present a good look at just what it was exactly.
And off in the distance, Erwin couldn't help but smile, just a little, when he saw this, with that act on the pilot's part having proven to him that Mikazuki Augus was, indeed, still on their side…
… and within the cockpit of the Gundam, Mina Carolina found herself widening her eyes in shock at just how… violent Mikazuki could be whenever he wished for it. Glancing up at the young man whose lap she was sitting atop, the pigtailed girl paled a tiny bit as she saw the utterly enraged features that were present on his face, prompting her to wonder… why was he so angry…?
Her thoughts were quickly pulled back to the Titan before them, however, as she heard it standing back up from the rubble! How was that even possible…?! Barbatos had dragged it past a quarter of Sina! Nothing could've survived that… nothing natural, at least… and that was when Mina noticed the strange, crystalline like substance that was flaking off the Titan's neck… prompting her to widen her eyes in shock and recognition as she gasped in horror.
"That… t-that's the Female Titan…!" proclaimed Mina, shocked at the very sight of the aforementioned Titan Shifter as she instinctively clung onto Mikazuki just a tiny bit tighter, with her watching as the traitor staggered back up to her feet and focused her regeneration onto her injuries, namely her shoulders, back and hips.
In response to this, Mikazuki simply grimaced as he tightened his grip around Barbatos' arm controllers, with him getting himself ready, more so mentally than physically, to take this Titan down… and though he didn't wish to say such a thing, not now, at least, the words found themselves instinctively leaving his lips as the pilot's pupils dilated into pinpricks.
"No, that's not the Female Titan…" began Mikazuki coldly, with his tone of voice sounding oh so spine-tingling to Mina as she sweatdropped fearfully at it. Such was a normal reaction, honestly, as this wasn't the Mikazuki she knew. This was the Mikazuki that was a stone cold killer… the Mikazuki that considered himself the Ace of Tekkadan.
The Mikazuki that, in another world, would've been known as The Devil.
This was the pilot that was out for blood, and today, it was the traitor's blood that he craved more than anyone else's.
"That… is Annie Leonhardt."
And as Mina did her best to process what she was just told… Barbatos' optics began flashing an incredibly powerful green as it got itself ready for what was to come.
Y'know, in Iron Blooded Heroes, I said I was gonna take a break. Have a cool off before burnout. But I couldn't stop myself. I came back and wrote Tekketsu No Kyojin. And it was... fun. If a little stressful. Eren VS Annie was short but fun to write and imagine, though I have a feeling that not everyone is going to enjoy how I interpreted the battle. I'd like to think that, because he's got no prior experience with fighting her, Eren's unaware of the world of pain he was about to get himself into, and likewise, I just thought it would be neat if he didn't have full control of his Titan body just yet.
Between you and me, I doubt that Eren would have much time when it comes to training his Titan form... for obvious reasons.
Originally, this chapter and the next was meant to be a single one, but I decided to split it up to torment you guys further than I already have. The next chapter will mark the beginning of the end of the Female Titan arc... and as for the one after that... it's gonna be a doozy.
Review replies!
DojoYoyo: heh... it was me. I ordered the cannon fire because I... didn't really plan that out that well. That segment has been cut from the edited version of chapter 52 thankfully enough.
starscreamer11: well, here's another chapter!
Dead344156: well I believe the answer has been made abundantly clear...
Touhoufanatic: though it's not a three way cage match, it could hopefully be just as epic
Dancouga01-23: thanks man. I do strive to make as many changes despite my canon adherance. And in regards to Annie... well, only time will tell. In regards to Annie and Eren's relationship in this story, they're certainly not as... close as they were in canon, especially since she has a friend group here. If anything, they definitely barely interact since she already has friends here.
dietyoftheuniverse: nyehnyehnyeh. I could not resist!
Colliope (Guest): youch. Having one of my stories being read by someone who doesn't know I wrote it!
KidGoku15: Yes! That's how I'm trying to portray him... I don't know where I went so wrong with it...
Guest223: I'm sorry if this comes off as insensitive but I... do not understand what you're saying anymore. My proofreader and I are just confused at this point...
Mrwaitwhat: ...Levi isn't even the main focus here. I think I've put more focus on Hanji and, Hell, Mike than I did Levi...
SilentGentlemen: I'm glad you enjoyed whatever... this is! That's basically the only reason why I write what I write. Aside from the fact that I enjoy writing, anyways.
BTW, many thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday when I published the previous chapter. ian12091995, you might be a little late, but I appreciate your well wishes as well.
God... I feel like shit. Felt like shit for the entire day! I'm gonna head to bed after this is up.
See ya'll next chapter!