Rocks collided into buildings as the Beast Titan threw them across Shiganshina. A light gasp left my lips seeing a rock flinging right towards me. I dropped from my perch just as the rock penetrated the bricks. I shot my hooks forward as debris was falling above me. I put my arms up to shield my face. I felt part of my body suddenly turn left.
"Shit!" I cursed seeing a rock had freed one of my hooks. I pressed on the trigger and tightened the wire that was still connected. The ground was fast approaching.
I rolled on my side as I landed onto the ground. I let out a groan in pain as I lifted my head. The distant sound of rocks hitting echoed through the air. I could see Eren was limping his way towards Zeke on the wall. Just meters away from me I could see Reiner still laying on his back. He still hasn't gotten up yet from Zeke's attack? I let out a grunt as I stood back up. I sheathed both blades but with the handles still attached.
"Reiner! Get up!" I yelled out, hoping he could hear me. His Titan form stayed still. I began walking towards him until my legs started picking up pace.
The closer I got, the more extent of the damage that Eren did became apparent. The lower jaw of the Armored was facing a completely different direction than the upper jaw.
"Reiner!" I yelled out as I began to approach him.
I reached my left hand out as I made contact with him. I felt the smooth yet somehow also coarse face plate armor. I leaned my head down to stare into the hardened lens of the eye of the Armored. I could still make out the gold color eyes underneath the cover. The eye wasn't staring at me which meant Reiner's actual body got knocked around good from the rock.
"Reiner! You need to get up! Eren's heading to Zeke, we can't let them reunite!" I yelled once more.
I flinched and ducked my head out of reflex as large explosions sounded off around me. The hell was that?! I heard and felt a snap that made me jump back from Reiner. I stopped and watched as steam began to erupt from Reiner's face. His head shape was going back to normal. I stepped back as Reiner began to move. I held back a sigh of relief. He's not completely down yet. Reiner rolled onto his side and placed his hand flat on the ground near me.
He placed his other arm underneath him and began to lift himself up. He stopped part way through and stared down at me. I unsheathed both parry blades and pointed one up to Zeke.
"Good, you're back up! I'm not sure yet how we're going to stop Zeke's assault of rocks on us. I'm not going to be much help with my gear if he keeps flinging rocks. I can't stay airborne long enough. You're going to get pelted but you need to keep moving forward to stop Eren. Okay? Don't stop Reiner, you can't give up alright?" I told him.
I waited for a nod from him but he did something I didn't expect. I froze slightly and my breath caught in my chest. I stared at Reiner in shock as I felt one finger lightly pressed against me. Just above my chest, just like he did four years ago. Back then, I didn't know what Reiner meant by doing this. Now I knew what he meant. I had always wondered if Reiner had moved on from me or not. He just answered that question without even talking. This is his way of saying "I love you" without physically having to say it.
I had to hold in the joy I felt in that moment. I lifted my hand with the ODM handle still in it. I held it with my thumb and index as I pressed my hand against his finger.
"Good to know I wasn't the only one still holding on. It's even more of a reason why both of us need to make it through this. Now, go stop Eren." I told him. He gave a nod as he retracted back his hand.
I took a couple steps backwards before running off back to the safety of the buildings. I heard Reiner's roar and running heavy footsteps. Until it stopped and I could hear crashing. I looked up as I ran down an alleyway. A large dust cloud appeared overhead. Zeke must have thrown more rocks.
None of us will be able to get close enough to Eren with Zeke pelting us from above. I stopped against the side of the wall and peered out to the main street. I kept myself relatively hidden as Eren slowly made his way down the main stretch of road. My ears picked up the sound of distant ODM Gear. That's not good, reinforcements are being sent out now. Said reinforcements probably also had Thunder Spears. This doesn't spell out anything good for Reiner. With the angle that Zeke has, I can't even get close to him without risking getting shot down. Damnit, I really hate this oversized ape!
The sound of gunfire resumed in the air. I ducked back behind the wall as debris from Zeke was thrown again. I heard thundering footsteps above me. I looked up just as Porco ran across the rooftops. He lunged for Eren but Zeke struck him down with more rocks.
Boom!
My eyes widened as I heard the heavy artillery shot ring in the air. Closer to Wall Maria, I could feel the vibrations through my chest. I peaked over my cover. My jaw dropped slightly seeing Zeke falling to the ground. He had a chunk near his nape and back missing. The squad with Pieck managed to get a clean shot on him! I gave a smirk as I shot my hooks onto the roof above me. With him gone, I can finally get back to using my gear!
I landed on the roof as Zeke crashed into the ground below. Eren was now ahead of me and by quiet a bit. He was still limping so his injury hasn't healed yet. Using the Warhammer's ability must be costly to use. Compared to Reiner's injuries which already healed vs Eren's which was a slow burn at this point. Speaking of Reiner, I turned my head to his direction. He still had holes in him from the blow he took earlier. He was kneeling down and I could see he was waiting for a leg to heal. Porco wasn't far away from him but was unmoving. Reiner can tank the rocks better than Porco can.
If you ask me, Porco's hotheadedness must have kicked in there. He would have had a better chance scaling up the wall and attacking Zeke. Not go blindly charging in at Eren. His Titan is built for speed and ambushing. Not straight frontal assaults. His style of fighting does not suit the Jaw Titan at all.
"Viv!" My eyes widened as I snapped from my thoughts. I heard the sound of ODM Gear and multiple sets of footsteps landing behind me. I took one step back to turn around.
In front of me was the rest of the Levi Squad. All of them were dressed in ODM Gear and had pain in their eyes. Connie was the first to walk up.
"Viv…tell us it isn't true. Yelena…she said you've been fighting but against Eren. Against us. Please tell us this isn't true. I'm so sick and tired of people betraying us. Please tell me this is just some bad joke." Connie pleaded with me.
I returned the same pained look, "I'm sorry." Was all I said. Connie's eyes widened as he took a step back.
"Why?" Jean's voice spoke up next. Hurt was evident in his soft tone. Even if I did say something. Would they even believe me?
"Damnit, Viv! I asked why!" Jean yelled at me. Anger now mixed with his hurt.
"Because of Eren's plan!" I shouted back. Their looks were replaced with ones filled with shock.
"You mean Zeke's plan?" Armin corrected me. He held a stern look in his blue eyes.
I raised a brow, "Zeke's plan? You mean the partial Rumbling joke of an idea?" Armin shook his head.
"That's not Zeke's plan, Viv. Zeke's true plan is a euthanization ploy of all Eldians." I turned to face them fully. My brows scrunched up in confusion. The hell was he talking about?
"What are you talking about?" I questioned Armin.
Armin gave a sigh of relief, "See guys? Viv had no idea about Zeke's true plan. She was tricked by Zeke, just like Eren was. Zeke is planning on using Eren's Founding Titan powers to make it so all Eldians will be unable to have children. Eren would never go along with that plan. He's got something else planned and I bet it's the small scale Rumbling. That way no one messes with Paradis for at least fifty years." For the first time since I've met Armin. He didn't appear to be more stupid than he ever has.
"You guys seriously think Eren would do this for just a small joke of a plan like that?" I asked them sternly. Armin's face dropped hearing my words.
"This is the first time I'm hearing of Zeke's plan but you're wrong about Eren's. He's not unleashing a small scale Rumbling, he's going to unleash all of them onto the world. Everywhere but Paradis will be flattened like the ground we walk on. Of course Paradis won't be messed with because it'll be the only nation left!" I yelled out harshly.
"You don't know that." My eyes glanced at Mikasa who spoke. Normally her tone of voice would be much harsher. But there was hesitancy in her voice this time. What Eren said before must have really gotten to her.
"Yes, I do. I heard it straight from the source himself. Think about it, what has Eren always told us since our cadet years? That he's going to do what?" I left the question open.
"To kill all the Titans." Jean answered. I gestured to Jean and looked at the others.
"Exactly. He's been saying this for years. The Titans are already gone but who's the enemy that sent Titans to Paradis? It's Marley and the rest of the world didn't care to see us disappear. As far as Eren is concerned, the entire rest of the world are enemies to Paradis. He's keeping his word. He's going to kill them all. Millions of people. Mass genocide on a scale never before seen in history. I can't just sit idly by and watch this destruction happen. Eren needs to be stopped, at any cost." I narrowed my eyes on the looks of doubt spread across their faces. They don't believe me.
"Sure Eren's always said that but think about what you just said, Viv. That's a mass genocide of millions of people. Innocent people. Eren would nev-"
"He already has, Armin! The Raid on Liberio! He murdered innocent people that night! Men, women, and children! He didn't discriminate, he just killed them in cold blood in order to get what he wanted! So don't tell me that Eren would never do that because he already did!" I yelled and cut off Armin.
A growl escaped my lips as I pulled out both parry blades, "I never thought I'd see the day that you'd act so stupid, Armin. This is exactly why I never said anything earlier. If those words didn't come from Eren then none of you would believe me. Especially to Armin and Mikasa. You two have always worshiped the ground Eren walked on. Both of you are so blind when it comes to anything to do with him. Face the facts, Eren is the villain of this story now. Not Titans, not Reiner, not Marley but Eren is. If none of you believe me then there's nothing more I can say or do." I got into a fighting stance with both blades ready. This caused the others to tense up.
"There's no talking me out of this, Armin. Either you believe me or we start fighting." I gave them the ultimatum.
Armin gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut. He shook his head, "I refuse to believe it…I can't. Eren wouldn't do this…" My legs muscles tensed as I shot forward with my blades aimed for Armin.
"Armin!" The sound of hard steel clashing against each other filled the air. Mikasa stood in front of Armin with her own blades out. My steele gray eyes met Mikasa's coal black ones. Her eyes narrowed at me but they held hesitation in them. She didn't want to fight me as much I as I didn't want to fight her. Unlike Mikasa, I've always been the better between the two of us fighting without getting emotional. I can use that to my advantage.
"Shit…she really just tried to go for Armin." Connie said in disbelief.
"I warned you. I've said all that I needed to. It's all of your choices to believe me or not. You all chose not to. I can't let Eren get in contact with Zeke. All of you would help with that." I said. The sound of hard steel against hard steel sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Mikasa and I were locked in a strength match.
"Viv, you leave us with no choice of our own. We go back to the original plan, guys. Mikasa, you know what to do." Armin instructed. Their ODM Gear shot in different directions.
I shoved Mikasa away and turned to try and stop one of them. I didn't get a second to breathe before having to use my own ODM Gear to dodge a strike from Mikasa.
"I can't let you do that, Viv!" Mikasa yelled at me. So Armin had the same plan that I did. He knows Mikasa is the only one that can take me on one on one. Their plan is to have Mikasa focus solely on me and keep me occupied while they help Eren.
I started using my ODM Gear across the buildings. Mikasa was fast on my heels and made sure to keep up with me. I heard Eren's cry and could see that Porco was getting pulverized. Damnit, Porco! Stop charging in like that!
My eyes widened as I quickly turned my body mid air with my gear. I put up my blades and blocked the swing Mikasa aimed at me. Seriously, she went for a back strike? Another artillery shot was fired and Eren was suddenly down. Mikasa turned her head back with her eyes filled with worry seeing Eren go down.
"Pay attention to your opponent, Mikasa!" I yelled out. She gasped as she snapped her head back to me. She put up her blades just in time to block my initial slash. With both her arms in defensive stances, it left her mid section open. I quickly sent a kick to her abdomen. Mikasa lurched forward and struggled to breathe from the sudden kick. She could easily take a kick from a normal soldier but from another Ackerman? It'd be like she kicked herself.
I changed the direction of my hooks and watched her fall towards the ground. She was able to redirect her hooks and catch herself before hitting the ground. I turned my attention back onto Eren. I gritted my teeth seeing he was already getting up again.
"Reiner! Don't let him get any closer!" I yelled out as I passed overhead of the Armored. Reiner's head followed me as I passed over him. He got up from his kneeling position and finally began charging at Eren.
"What was that about paying attention to your opponent?!" I looked over my shoulder to see Mikasa speeding towards me.
"Shit, I can't dodge! I have to take it." I sneered quietly to myself.
I turned my body mid air and braced myself for the hit. Her knee hit me square in my gut. My body lurched forward as a cough was forced out. I felt my body get sent hurtling towards a roof. I refired my hooks and managed to catch myself before completely crashing. My boots skidded against the shingles. I came to a stop and stayed in a crouched position. I had one eye closed from the pain radiating through my abdomen.
Mikasa landed on the other side of the same roof. A pained look was worn on her face. Her teeth were clenched together as her mouth turned downward.
"We don't have to do this, Viv. We don't need to fight." Mikasa pleaded with me.
"You're right, we don't." I stood up and looked Mikasa in the eye. A shred of hope is now visible in her eyes.
"You could have made the other choice and we wouldn't be fighting now. Has your love for him really made you this blind, Mikasa? Even after the way he spoke to you?" I questioned her. Mikasa downcasted her eyes and relaxed her blades.
The sounds of gunfire, explosions and Titan roars echoed all around us. Neither of us paid attention to what was happening around us. We were focused on each other and our conversation.
"Eren was right about me." My eyes widened in anger.
"Are you seriously believing that bullshit that Eren pulled out of his ass?! Eren couldn't even answer my question as to why the Captain never had a "host" to protect and still unlocked his awakening. He knew the same information as much as we did from Zeke. The rest of it he clearly just made it up. Eren was trying to get into your head and it's working. I've never seen you filled with so much doubt about yourself before. Are you saying that all of your self-worth is only valid if Eren feels the same? Mikasa, you're better than that. You're better than him!" I snapped at her.
"No, I'm not. My blood-"
"Our blood! Ours, Mikasa! We share the same father. You don't see me blaming the blood of the Ackerman clan for the things I've done. All our blood does is it gives us powers of the Titans, that's all. It doesn't make us do anything. It doesn't control our free will. We are our own people and make our own decisions!" I cut her off from her sentence.
Mikasa stared at me in shock, "Make your own decision, Mikasa. You have your own free will. No one can take that away from you. Not even Eren." I said in a softer tone. A silence fell between us as Mikasa could stare at me.
Roar!
Both of our eyes widened hearing a roar and yellow lightning striking down all around. I whipped around to see Zeke was the one roaring. No…no! He's roaring to make Titans!
"His spinal fluid, all of the officers are about to turn into Titans!" Mikasa yelled out in alarm. The sky glowed a yellow hue as Titans everywhere began to appear. Steam raised up as the yellow light diminished. I could see silhouettes of dozens of Titans.
Both Mikasa and I readied our blades, "Here I thought we were done fighting mindless Pure Titans three years ago." I commented.
My eyes scanned the many Pure Titans running around in the distance. My eyes stopped seeing Reiner holding down Eren with one arm and another Pure Titan with another. Why hasn't Reiner killed that Pure Titan?
Eren took his chance and slipped free from Reiner's hold. He tried to flee but Reiner managed to grab his ankle. Eren fell to the ground but the Pure Titan now took its chance. My eyes widened seeing the Titan trying to bite through Reiner's nape. Eren began trying to kick Reiner's face without the use of hardening.
"Reiner!" I saw Mikasa snap her head towards me as I took off from the roof.
I glared at the Pure Titan that had its mouth around Reiner's nape. His nape is covered in armor but with Eren right there, I can't completely trust it to hold. I sunk my hooks into the flesh of the Titan. I let out a cry as I wound up my arms ready to slice through its nape.
"Vivien stop! That's Falco!" My eyes widened hearing Gabi's voice yell out. The Titan ceased its biting on Reiner's neck and looked right at me.
"What? Falco?" I muttered. The hazel eyes of the Titan stared back at me. It is Falco! How? When did he get Zeke's spinal fluid in his system?!
Falco lifted his hand and I felt myself come to a sudden stop as he grabbed hold of me. Shit! I let my guard down! My arms were pinned to my sides. I can't use my blades like this. Falco opened his mouth as he brought me closer to him. A roar from Reiner erupted below. He couldn't stop Falco without letting go of Eren.
I heard a familiar cry from above, "Let go of her!" I heard Mikasa's voice. Falco began to cry out as Mikasa sliced through his wrist. I felt Mikasa's arm go underneath my shoulders before she carried me back up to a roof.
I felt my feet make contact with the shingles. Mikasa released her grip on me. I looked at her in surprise.
"You saved me." I stated the obvious. Mikasa gave a small smile.
"Of course I did. I made my own decision. We're sisters. You're part of the only family I have left. I wasn't about to let a Titan eat you." Mikasa assured me.
I gave a light chuckle, "Good to know for future reference I guess." I lightly joked.
The moment was interrupted by a sudden artillery shell being fired. I looked back to see Zeke was shot again. This time, it looked like it made full contact with the nape. Did they get him? Steam began to come from Zeke and the Beast Titans body was evaporating. They got him, but why did that seem too easy?
A distant explosion sounded above us. Mikasa and I looked up to see Pieck fighting off more Scouts.
"That's Armin. He finally made it." I looked at Mikasa with confusion.
"So that was the plan. You distract me while they head for the main threat. That Anti-Titan artillery." I concluded. Mikasa said nothing but eyed me. That confirmed my theory.
I eyed back down at the streets below. Reiner was now sitting up but Falco had gone back to biting at his nape. Eren's ankle was still held by Reiner but none of them made a move. They were both staring at the Beast Titan corpse. My eyes also spotted Gabi standing below. That's where she was.
Falco suddenly stopped biting down on Reiner's nape. He lifted his head up and looked behind him.
"What are you looking at?" I muttered out loud. Mikasa followed my line of sight and stared into the dust and steam filled battlefield.
"There's a person down there." Mikasa stated. A person? I took a step or two closer to the edge of the roof. My eyes widened seeing Porco stumbling down the road. He left his Titan form and looked severely beaten down.
"Porco…what are you doing?" I questioned. Falco left Reiner and charged at Porco. Is Porco letting Falco…eat him? To pass on the Jaw Titan and turn Falco back to being human?
Reiner let out a mournful roar as he reached his hand out. Mikasa and I watched in mild shock as Falco lunged forward and bit down on Porco. In a second, Porco was devoured by Falco. Now it wouldn't be long for Falco to turn back into a human. It took Armin just mere minutes to sprout from his Titan form after devouring Bertholdt.
Reiner let out another roar and reared back a fist. He sent his punch towards Eren's head. Mikasa tensed and went to move forward but I stepped in between her.
"Not happening. I already told Reiner I'd keep you back while he fights Eren." Mikasa stopped and stared at me out of frustration. Mikasa's eyes suddenly widened as she stared behind me.
I looked back to see Eren used his hardening to freeze Reiner in place. Eren had gotten out of his Titan form and was running down the center street. Eren knows something that we don't. Did Zeke actually survive?!
Reiner managed to break through and reached to grab Eren. Jean and Connie appeared from the buildings and fired Thunder Spears at Reiner. Shit, they weren't with Armin after all. They had separated. The Thunder Spears caused Reiner to get thrown back. Eren continued to run towards Zeke's direction. He's getting away!
My eyes glanced back at Mikasa, she was distracted by looking at Eren. I took that opportunity and quickly swung my leg up. Mikasa's eyes darted towards me. She managed to put her arm up to block my kick. She wasn't able to withstand the full force of the kick and was sent flying.
I quickly turned around and shot my hooks to the ground below. I felt a delay to my gas as I sped down to Eren. I'm running out on gas now. This is my last chance, I need to stop Eren here and now!
"Eren!" I cried out. Eren's head looked over his shoulder as he ran. His green eyes widened seeing me fast approaching with my blades. I flipped my right handle backwards and got ready to swing as I started to draw closer and closer.
Bang!
Eren's head was suddenly decapitated from his body. What the hell was what?! I shook my head as I focused back onto Eren's falling headless body. Titan Shifters are hard to kill, so just to make sure.
I spun my blades and sliced through the middle of Eren's spine. His head went flying in the air from the shot. My feet planted on the ground and skidded to a stop. I looked down at Eren's headless and cut in half body. I turned to my right to see Gabi holding some type of gun. It was huge, was she the one who shot off Eren's head?
I looked back at where Eren's head was flying in the air. I stared in horror seeing Zeke had caught Eren's head with his hand. Some weird creature with tentacles suddenly sprouted from the base of Eren's spine in his head. It attached itself to Zeke and a large yellow lightning bolt shot down. I covered my eyes as a bright flash of yellow lit up the area around me. What the hell just happened?!
The light disappeared and I heard cracks come from up above. I looked up and felt my heart sink to my gut. Large cracks began to appear in Wall Maria. I stepped back as a huge Titan skeleton began to form. It let out a roar that I recognized to be Eren's. The wall completely fell to reveal the Wall Titans that made up the wall all along.
I gasped seeing a wall of debris heading straight where Gabi stood. Without a second thought I tried to use my ODM Gear but nothing happened when I pulled the trigger. My gas tanks are completely depleted.
"Gabi!" I yelled as I broke into a sprint. I felt the power in my veins push me through. If I ever needed the Titans power in my blood, it's now!
Gabi stood up and looked at me in surprise, "Vivi-" I didn't let her finish her sentence. I used both hands to grab a hold of her. I let out a cry as I used all of my strength and threw Gabi in between two buildings.
Gabi's brown eyes could only watch with terror in them. She reached her hand out to me as she flew backwards in the air.
"Vivien!" She screamed out.
I sent a smile in her direction as the shadow of the rubble hurtling towards me grew bigger. Gabi landed on the ground safely with the building protecting her from the rubble above. I stood still, knowing that I didn't have the time to get out. With both Gabi and I being under the wall when it crumbled, and being out of fuel. I could only save one of us. Gabi's just a kid, she has her whole life ahead of her. So I chose her.
I looked up to the rubble above me. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Memories of everything I've experienced up to now flooded my mind. I guess this is what they mean by when life flashes before your eyes? I heard Reiner's roar and thundering footsteps getting closer. I guess I won't get to have that talk with Reiner after all.
A single tear escaped down my cheek as I closed my eyes. I'm ready to accept death. Everything went dark as I heard crashes all around me.