"We're all born with selfish desires, so we can all relate to those feelings in others. But kindness is something made individually by each person… so it's easy to misunderstand when others are trying to be kind to you" - Natsuki Takaya
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Miles south of Wall Rose, where the Titans had breached into Trost was a fairly large town situated in the middle of a large plain, with a moat surrounding it, the only access points were four large stone bridges.
Inside the town stone buildings covered the streets, before the fall of Maria was a very busy town called Altena, it had been very wealthy once with its prime location between Shiganshina and Trost, many traders and travellers would pass through and stay for a nights rest or buy supplies for the rest of their journey.
But now only two types came through this town, it's regular occupants were the Titans, some of whom lingered about in the town, these were the dubbed wandering Titans they never seemed interested in staying at the walls where the humans were trapped behind, they instead only wandered the fields and towns that the humans used to occupy though no one ever knew why, they acted the same as a regular Titan, intent of devouring anyone they saw but they would rarely ever come close to the walls almost as if they were instead patrolling the area's they had taken.
It could even be that these wandering Titans were a tiny bit smarter than the average ones, perhaps they knew that not all the humans remained inside the walls, and some ventured out into the open plains and destroyed towns, they might have been just smart enough to know to wait for the other visitors of Altena.
In this case, they had been right as in the centre of the town was a single large Titan, on the street below it laid two corpses of the other types of visitors to this town, the Survey Corps or Scouts for short, the bodies were chewed with large chunks taken out of them, above them the Titan stood still, it's eyes staring off into nothingness as it held onto one more Scout in its mouth.
This Scout was still alive, he'd been unfortunate enough to have been caught by this Titan and now he was held with his legs trapped in its mouth and the rest of his body hanging down allowing him to see the corpses of his comrades below, seeing them made him angry but he was still hopeless in this situation, the Titan had him in its teeth he couldn't kill it in any way.
He pulled his body up, his handles and blades were still in his grasp, and he gripped them firmly as he glared at the Titan that still stared off into the distance, he didn't want to give up he refused to give up, especially after what this Titan had done to his comrades and himself, he refused to go out without some sort of fight.
Mustering what strength, he had left he allowed a few words to reach his lips, "Fuck you monster!" he hissed at the Titan glaring at it all the while, "I swear by what little strength I have left, that someone will kill you, after everything you've done today, someone will slaughter you and I'll know who it'll be" he laughed.
"Captain Levi is coming, he's in this area I know, he's coming for you monster, and he'll cut you to pieces for all the suffering you've caused!" he continued readying one of his blades, "He's coming, I bet he sees you now and is already planning to slice you up and make you suffer, watch out you fucking monster".
"You hear me, you death is coming soon!" he exclaimed digging his blade deep into the cheek of the Titan that finally looked down at him with an unreadable expression, it didn't understand what he'd said but it did have a response.
In a shock, it sunk its teeth deep into the Scout's legs slicing through them but holding his still in its lips, the man let out a scream of agony and he gripped his handle tight knowing his end was about to approach.
Two hooks shot out from the building and attached behind the Titan, in an instant a blur shot out behind them and in one quick motion put a clean slice through the nape of the Titan a large spurt of blood fired out as the Titans eyes went wind then its body limp, the Scout fell from its mouth landing on the floor, the Titan's body following soon after.
The blur landed on the roof nearby, his clothes and cloak stained with Titan blood that had begun to steam already as four other figures landed around him all in Scout uniform, three males and one female "Captain Levi, your orders Sir!" a blond man with brown eyes who's hair was long and parted, tied back into a bun at the back which went along with a small beard on his chin, his name was Eld and he wore a white shirt under his Scout uniform that was marked as a lieutenant.
The short Captain Levi looked round to the street below where the solider who'd been held by the Titan was sprawled out, gasping for air, "Petra tend to the wounded!" he ordered looking to the shorter female in the group with shoulder-length light ginger hair that had bangs which swept to the left side of her sweet face matching her amber coloured eyes, she also wore a white shirt under her uniform.
"Yes sir!" she immediately rattled off and jumped down to the street.
"Gunther you stay with her and cover!" he looked to one of the taller men with short crop brown hair, dark eyes and slightly tanned skin which matched the light-coloured shirt he wore along with a serious expression on his face; he nodded and followed after Petra.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the town a lady with medium-length dark hair wearing goggles let out a scream of joy as she shot through the streets towards a large Titan before landing on a roof near it, "Oh my you're so handsome you!" she exclaimed placing her hands on her hips as she stared at the Titan that glanced at her.
"Come here you, I swear I won't hurt you at all!" she beamed extending her arms out towards it, it turned fully to her and extended its arms to grab her but as it got close its nape burst into blood with two members of her squad, the named Abel also wearing goggles and Keiji who had short brown hair, "See, I didn't do a thing!" She called to it as it collapsed.
"Section Commander Hange please be more careful" The Lieutenant of squad Hange exclaimed landing beside Hange, he was a younger man with smoothed short brown hair and a rather innocent-looking face, though now it was turned to one of concern, "You should be more cautious, there are still Titans!".
"It's fine Moblit!" she called back looking at him, "Abel and Keiji were here for support- Ooo that one looks interesting!" her attention was instantly grabbed towards another Titan moving in the distance and shooting off towards it being followed closely by her grumbling unit.
"Captain, two more Titans coming in!" Orou of Levi's squad called out, he was a man who looked far older than he was, his face was a little wrinkled while his hair was short and curly with a light brown tinge to it styled into an undercut, under his uniform he wore a white shirt along with a cravat styled like Levi's own.
"One more this side too" Eld called out eying one more approaching from the left.
"Eld, take Orou and handle the one on the left, those two are mine!" Levi muttered pulling a fresh blade out, as one of his had become blunted and shot off before the other two could get a word in to protest.
Levi glided over the streets before landing atop a roof and walked along it towards the two Titans that eyed him up with hunger, "You two, are disgusting, I'll make this quick" he grumbled as he glared at the nearest one who extended a handout to slam onto him, but Levi fired his hooks of into a nearby building and shot off as the hand crashed into nothing but the tiles.
As the Titan turned Levi shot past and took out both its eyes before swinging around pushing his ODM wire against its neck and clotheslining it as he got behind, he pulled his hooks in slicing the Titan's neck open as they shot past before boosting down with no hook support towards the nape putting a clean slice through it.
The other Titan was near, but Levi was too quick, he threw his blades from his handles sending his blades spinning into its vulnerable eyes blinding it then landing atop its head as it stumbled, "Oi calm down, or this will take longer" he muttered pulling out a new set of blades before shooting off, then coming back around and opening it's nape wide sending blood squirting everywhere, including over Levi.
He landed on a roof as the second Titan collapsed to the ground, looking down he saw the blood-stained over his hand, with a grimace he sheathed his blades, took a handkerchief from his pocket proceeded to wipe his hands clean from the blood, then did the same to his face before discarding the now bloodied item, "Disgusting, as I said" he muttered to himself.
Elsewhere Lynne shot out from over a building before spinning mid-air and firing a hook down the street she entered and shot herself down towards a pair of large Titans, but her keeping low made them too slow to reach down for her.
In a swift and well-executed move, Lynne released one hook and fired the second out into a Titan's leg before speeding up and little and slicing through its leg then repeated the manoeuvre with the second Titan, the action taking them both off balance and stumbling into the buildings either side.
In a split second two more figures shot out from the direction Lynne had come and in sync sliced through the napes of the Titans before they even knew what happened, they then landed on the roofs next to them before the bodies slid down.
"Nice kill Henning" Lynne cheered landing beside him on the roof before looking to the one across, "You too Tomas" she smiled and gave an arm pump in approval.
Tomas was a well-built man of average height. He had shaggy dark hair with a thin goatee and moustache; he wore the regular Scout uniform, but he also wore a green V-neck under his Sargent marked jacket and cape, "Thanks Lynne" he nodded in a proud tone.
Henning looked back to the way they had come, "Where'd the Section Commander go?" he asked the others not seeing him around to which they all did the same.
"Lynne, Henning behind you!" Thomas exclaimed, snapping around a medium-sized Titan had begun to rise beside the building but before they could shoot off to counter it, a tall figure shot past incredibly fast and sliced the nape open before skidding to a halt along the roof, as the body collapsed back to the ground.
"Good kill Mike" Lynne grinned looking over at him standing straight as if bracing up to him.
Slowly the man referred to as Mike stood to his full height, an easy 6'4; he was a well-built man who held a serious yet calm expression on his experienced and aged face, he too wore the Scout uniform, including a cape but wore a grey shirt beneath his jacket and wore the marking of a Section Commander of the Right Flank.
He gave an affirming grunt towards Lynne but didn't speak a word. Instead, he began sniffing around while glancing around, "That was the last one…" he trailed off in his rugged voice looking back to his squad.
"The last one?" Tomas exclaimed jumping over, "That's all? It can't be?" in continued in astonishment.
"It is odd indeed, where have the other ones gone…" Mike muttered.
Looking back to the way he had come Levi swiftly made his way back over; he landed back atop the roof, then swiftly jumped to the street below where Petra was consoling the injured Scout from earlier Gunther watched over unsure what to make of himself while Eld and Orou watched from above making idle conversation.
"How is he?" Levi asked walking up to Petra though he could already guess, the man's legs were crushed and covered in blood, all seeping from a large gash across his stomach where the Titan had bitten into him deeply, even a person who had no idea about medicine knew that the man was done for.
"I'm sorry Captain, there's nothing I can do for him" Petra responded, her hands stained with blood, she refused to give up on him, Levi could see with the hastily wrapped gauze around his abdomen and the stains of blood across the young girl.
The Scout looked over to Levi before reaching a handout towards him, "C-Captain…" he choked out, blood coming from his mouth, Levi quickly crouched down and grabbed the man's hand tightly while looking into his eyes, "S-Sir, w—was I an a-asset to h-h-humanity…" he begged to know.
"You were…" Levi answered gripping the man's arm with his free hand.
"P-please tell me, d-did my s-s-sacrifice b-bring us one s-step c-closer to b-being f-f-free…" he begged to know more.
"It did, thanks to you and the sacrifice of you and your squad mates we are one more step to ridding humanity of all the Titans and I swear to you I will not let your sacrifice be forgotten, I will slay all the Titans in your memories I promise you, soldier, we will be free one day, and will be thanks to you, I swear!" Levi promised him, keeping his grip tight but the man's eyes had become lidded.
"He's gone Captain" Petra muttered leaning over to close his eyes.
"Petra… did he hear what I said…" Levi asked coldly feeling guilty.
"I know he did sir" She tried to smile at him making him glance up, "Look at his face, it's the epitome of peace, I know he heard every word, every part he needed to hear" She slowly set his hand on his chest as Levi copied the action, "Thank you sir".
"Why?" he asked looking up to her.
"You let him die peacefully, knowing he did good, many don't get that chance, so thank you" She smiled again getting a nod in response to Levi before they both stood.
"Captain Levi!" a commanding voice called from behind, snapping around Levi saw the Commander of the Survey Corps standing on the roofs, Commander Erwin.
Erwin was a man who commanded much respect, he was a tall man, one of the tallest in the Scouts which gave him a commanding presence, his blond hair was kept neatly parted on the left side and when matched with his icy blue eyes gave him a look of sophistication but also one of calm and collection, under his uniform that had the golden wing he wore a white button up shirt with a small emerald bolo tie around his neck.
Levi quickly made his way up and gave a salute, "Commander?" he asked.
"I need you to ready your men for recall, we fear something may be amiss" he ordered to Levi who looked back shocked.
"Recall sir? I've lost ten men taking this area and we're just retreating, what the hell for!" he almost shouted feeling this was a punch in the gut.
"Levi…" Erwin stepped closer to him, "Miche cannot smell any Titans in the area anymore, it's as if they've all suddenly left" he informed the Captain which immediately changed his expression from one of frustration to confusion.
"No Titans, that can't be right, last month there were a minimum of eighty here, we should have barely made a dent in that number by now, even if they are wanderers, not that many would have just left," he remarked looking around.
"You're exactly right Levi, but my nose is never wrong, there are no more living Titans in Altena" Miche or the occasionally called Mike said stepping up with his squad, standing behind him.
"Well, this will be a fun new investigation" the cheery Hange said, bouncing up as she wiped away some dust and grit from her yellow button-up shirt, "I wonder where those Titans have gone, Ooo these could be a new type of Titan we haven't seen yet, who wander further than the regular wanderers do!" she exclaimed with joy while clapping her hands.
"Not the time four eyes!" Levi glared to Hange who quickly stopped her excitement remembering the situation they were in.
"She does have a valid point though" Erwin muttered walking to the edge of the roof, "Where have the others gone…" he pondered aloud.
"Commander!" a feminine voice called, looking around they could see an average-height woman with short blonde hair getting closer to them.
She landed on the roof they were on and stood to full height, her hair was an undercut but parted slightly to the right letting some small bangs cover her blue eyes, she wore a grey V-neck under her Lieutenant marked Scout uniform.
"Lieutenant Nanaba…" Erwin went to ask; she had been left with the supply cards to guard them along with the rest of Sky's squad, which was inactive without Sky to lead them.
But before the Commander could get a question out Nanaba cut him off "Sir, it's wall Rose, we saw smoke from that direction so Gelgar went to investigate, from a distance he could see thick smoke rising from inside the wall along with coloured flares inside Trost district; it's been breached sir!" she reported.
That was the answer they had been searching for, "Officers gather your units and form up by the supply carts, we are abandoning the expedition effective immediately and beginning a full retreat to wall Rose!" Erwin ordered without hesitation and the office immediately began as instructed calling all units in.
"I just hope we make it back in time…".
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Eren didn't know where he was, all he knew was darkness surrounding him, he wondered how he had got here, the last thing he remembered, well he wasn't quite sure, his mind was entirely blank to everything before now.
He felt he was lying on something hard, the floor if he could feel he knew he couldn't be dead then but otherwise, he wasn't sure, he couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not, if he was breathing or even if he was conscious, it very well may be a dream.
Nothing made sense to Eren no matter how hard he focused nothing came to him, no memories and no feeling other than the cold hard floor, until she came.
"Oh, who might you be…?" a soft female voice whispered into Eren's ear almost instantly the voice made the hairs on his neck stand on end, but he was almost immediately soothed by the feeling of a hand gently gliding over his forehead and through his hair.
Eren couldn't see the woman, he could only feel her hand, all he could see was the darkness around him and a small glow of light just above his head, "So young yet so full of conflict, your mind and heart follow two different paths" the soft voice continued to speak.
Eren wanted to open his mouth to speak, to ask a question but nothing would respond, his lips nor tongue would move.
"Your mind is full of thoughts regarding those you love and care for; friends, family and even a lover possibly, your mind wants them to be happy, to live long and fulfilled lives with no more suffering, a noble ideal but can lead one astray" the hand gently tapped his forehead a few moments before trailing down to his chest.
This was the closest Eren got to see this mysterious woman, the arm was slender and clean not a spec of dirt was upon it and the skin seemed to glow Eren was sure this was the glow he was seeing, and it gave the woman an angelic look.
Her hand stopped over his heart and gently rubbed over the area, "Your heart on the other hand is different; full of hate and malice towards what you perceive as your enemy, you want to destroy the things that took those you loved most but doing this may take you somewhere darker, that they even fear to tread" she brought her hand back to rubbing his forehead.
"I see why he chose you, you will be more than interesting to follow, but that choice may be his dream undoing, for the path you'll take is unsure and fraught with possibilities; the compassion for others and hopeful dreams of a peaceful future, lead to the path of the creator but the anger and pain in your heart takes the path of the destroyer" she gave one last stroke before seeming to leave.
"You will be more than interesting to observe but be warned…" her voice began to fade away, "…Neither path can be taken…" her voice was almost gone, "Without sacrifice… without death…"
"Death…" Eren gasped, control of his body had suddenly returned by the woman's words stuck with him, "Death…" he repeated unsure what he had just experienced or what she could have even meant.
"Death…" he repeated as the light began to return to his view, his eyelids had begun to open to show the world around him once more, "Death…" he repeated one last time as his eyes opened fully showing a blurry but horrified face of Armin looking over him.
Behind his blonde friend was the orange-tinted sky and light clouds floating through it, seeing this relieved Eren, he was alive and could be sure of it now but what had happened he wasn't sure and the strange dream he had only made things more confusing.
Looking back to Armin the terrified face hadn't left his expression and he stared right into the confused eyes of Eren; Armin must have been speechless but why, nothing was obvious to Eren why Armin would seem so scared, "Armin?" he croaked his throat dry as anything.
Armin did not respond to him his eyes only remained fixed on Eren, slowly from the corner of Eren's eye Mikasa leaned into view, she too held a terrified expression towards Eren, "Mikasa?" he croaked again wanting to know why they seemed so scared of him, as if he had done something while he was out, something horrid.
Eren felt his strength come back to him, so in frustration pulled himself up from the gaze of Armin, "Would somebody…" he tried to begin but was interrupted as he leaned to his right to get up.
Rifles, at least thirty of them all held by trained Garrison soldiers pointed right at him about 10 meters away, just behind each of those soldiers were their equal in number but equipped with ODM gear but focused solely on Eren.
In the middle of the group stood Captain Kitz and, to his right Sargent Rico both holding their own looks of concern towards Eren, but they were both partly blocked by two people standing in front, they had their backs to him seemingly guarding him, one was Lieutenant Ian the other was the last person Eren expected to see.
"Captain Sky explain that!" Kitz shouted for his position away from danger, "That Titan was repeating a mantra of death over and over, he plans to do it now you've let him inside!" he continued a small hint of fear in his voice, but he hid it well.
Sky grunted as he glanced back at Eren who now held his own terrified look, "You pick your moment's kid" he grumbled irritated before snapping back to Kitz, "That is nothing, Kitz, he is not a Titan!" he shouted back across the way.
Ian glanced back looking into the eyes of Eren but not speaking a word, before looking back at Kitz, Eren looked between the two officers before back to Armin and Mikasa, "W-What's going on, what did I do?!" he questioned them; his two closest friends looked to each other unsure how to answer, "Please tell me!".
"Well, Eren…" Armin began to say unable to find the words, "While you were fighting in Trost you were badly injured; a Titan bit your right leg off there was nothing left; we carried you out but when we reached the wall…"
Eren glanced down, both his legs were there, but his right one was completely bear of any clothing bar some torn and bloodied remains of his jeans on his upper thigh, "…W-What Armin, but I have both legs?".
Armin closed his eyes as he tried to figure out what to say next, but Mikasa beat him to it, "Eren… when we made it to safety your legs, I don't know how or why but… it had grown back like a Titan does…".
Eren's eyes went wide as he looked down at his leg, he couldn't quite believe it, but they couldn't be lying especially Mikasa and Armin in this situation they would never joke like that; looking across the courtyard now he understood the fear held in all the Garrison soldiers' eyes and the officers, for all purposes he was the enemy in their eyes.
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A little while away on the highstreets in front of the sealed gate leading to Trost the rest of the survivors had gathered; Annie leaned against a small shopfront and took a swig of water, down to her left a crouched Garrison Medic inspected the eyes of Mina who was still frozen in place.
"Sorry…" the female medic said standing back up and grabbing her bag, "She's just in shock like hundreds of others here, she'll snap out of it eventually" she said looking to Annie.
"Is there nothing we can do" Annie snapped stepping up to the Medic.
"There is nothing!" she snapped back before taking a deep sigh, "I'm sorry about your friend but her brain had sealed itself off to protect her from the fucking nightmares that went on in Trost when I said hundreds I mean hundreds of people are just like her here; there are no facilities to help her right now, she has to snap out of it herself, you can try talking to her, that might help but otherwise there's nothing" she finished before turning and running off into the crowd to find more injured she could treat.
Annie grunted in frustration before kicking the table she'd been leaning on making Mina jump back slightly, "Sorry Mina" she sighed knowing there wouldn't be a response as she gently rubbed her head in regret.
Annie looked around at the chaos surrounding them, medics ran about frantically while hundreds of Garrison soldiers sprawled around the street exclaimed in pain holding on to bandaged legs, arms and heads some just bloodied others missing the limb entirely leaving the horrible metallic smell and taste of blood in the air around them.
This however reminded Annie of one boy who was in a similar situation or rather used to be; Annie along with Reiner and Mina had been quickly dragged away from the group around Eren when they had witnessed his limb growing back before they could do anything.
Annie wasn't sure if she should be frustrated or happy, she was taken away on one hand, she couldn't help Eren in his current predicament, not that she could do much of anything, but on the other hand she was able to stay beside and support Mina though there wasn't much she could do on that front either.
Turning her mind back to Eren she couldn't believe what she had witnessed, she had seen his missing leg multiple times there was no way they could have mistaken it but yet there it had been as if nothing had gone wrong, his perfectly fine leg had just appeared.
"He can't be…" Annie muttered looking to the orange sky above as she thought back realising that what they had all assumed was simply Titan blood on his wound must have been the steam of him healing, it was the only answer, "It can't be Eren…" she continued to mutter a small stabbing pain in her chest beginning to swell, "He can't be- ".
"No luck?" Christa said walking up to Annie and making her jolt from her, before giving a swift head shake making the blonde sigh, "Oh I see" she muttered crouching down to move some of the bangs of hair from Mina's face.
"It's just pure shock, there are no facilities for her so she has to wear it off herself" Annie muttered looking down at them, "The medic said we can try talking to her but what good it'll do I have no idea" she shook her head before looking into the storefront she was leaning against seeing it was quiet.
"Christa help me move her inside and away from all this" she indicated before getting a nod in response both girls slowly lifted Mina, then dragged her inside and off the busy street
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"Eren Yeager!" Kitz exclaimed waving his hand in front of him, "As a senior officer of Trost district I declare you to be a Titan and an enemy of humanity!" he shouted from his position behind the firing line.
Eren stared awestruck at the comment, to be declared the thing he despised most of all dug deep into his heart, but he couldn't just move on, it wasn't some dumb insult it was true, to everyone around he was a Titan or at least he was alike to one.
But Eren couldn't just accept this, he refused to accept he'd become the very thing he'd sworn to destroy, he didn't know what had happened while he was out, he was sure there must have been some form of mistake, "I'm not a Titan!" he exclaimed back standing up slightly to look confident and strong.
Kitz grimaced at the response but stood firm in his position, "Eren Yeager, I will not compromise the safety of the wall or its citizens by allowing your continued existence, there is no choice but to destroy you unless you can prove you are not a Titan!"
"Prove it…" Eren muttered his mind racing with thoughts as to how he'd go about this feat, "I'm not look at me, I'm human!" he shouted.
"I witnessed with my own eyes the re-growing of your limb the way only a Titan does your statement proves nothing!" the Captain shouted his eyes narrowing.
"B-But…" Eren tried to think of any way to prove it but luckily help was on hand.
"Kitz don't be a fool no Titan would act as he does!" Sky snapped stepping forward, "For one he is nowhere near even the smallest Titans encountered, two how do you explain his ability to speak no Titan can do that, they haven't the ability to form words, but Eren here can speak fluently!"
"It all means nothing, we thought no Titans could be large until the Colossal Titan turned up, that monster there could be the other end of the scale for we know and as for speaking maybe it's intelligent enough to figure out how to copy words we don't fully know how the Titans work anymore!" he fired back.
"Then explain why he's not trying to rip us to pieces now, a Titan's sole purpose is to consume humanity they've never shown any difference, it's an insatiable hunger they have it would never be quenched!" Sky retorted.
"I-It must be its intelligence again, there's no other reason!" Kitz quickly fired back refusing to think more than a second about the reasons.
In truth all of these points were very good reasons for Eren's name to be cleared, if you'd think about it for two seconds, you'd start piecing it together that something wasn't didn't quite add up with the whole situation that was taking place but for Kitz thinking about it was a luxury he would never take.
Captain Kitz had served in the Garrison for many years and spent a good while of that time as an officer, in truth Kitz was a rather good commanding officer for the Garrison anyway, and he understood his troops more than most officers did even earning the respect of many under his command.
But all this came crashing down when it came to Titans, Kitz had never faced them, enjoying the best luxury a Garrison officer could get, command of a middle ring district, when they still held wall Maria the middle wall of wall Rose was the furthest a Garrison soldier could get from the Titans with the MP's guarding the innermost wall of Sina.
So, when Titans came into the equation Kitz could be in no way mentally prepared as other hardened officers were; he was the worse off for letting his paranoia take full hold of him and letting it dictate his actions and this was bad news for Eren, there would simply be no way to convince paranoia ridden Kitz of the boy's innocence.
Kitz gritted his teeth as he stared down the group, "If there is no other evidence to give in the boys' defence then he is to be branded a traitor and enemy of humanity that must be extinguished to ensure the further safety of the walls!"
Sky scowled at Kitz as he clenched his fists in frustration, "There can be no other evidence Kitz as you will refuse to accept anything valid in Eren's defence, you're guided only by your sense of selfishness and cowardice!" he retorted knowing there was no easy way out from this.
"I am pursuing humanity's best interests Captain Sky; no more threats can be allowed beyond that wall and any that pass must be stopped with extreme prejudice!" Kitz responded standing straight to maintain some form of senior stance.
"Without sufficient evidence provided that Eren Yeager is indeed human, I hereby declare him as a Titan and is to be executed immediately!" he screamed raising his left hand, "Soldiers prepare to fire on my command!"
The Garrison soldiers holding rifles tightened their grips on the heavy wooden rifles and pulled them into their shoulders as tight as they could not wanting to waste their shot missing the target in their sights, Eren.
"NO!" Mikasa exclaimed standing in front of Eren blocking all their shots, "I will not let you harm Eren!" she exclaimed drawing her blades to protect him, the sounds of stone clattering to the ground grabbed her attention as she looked back to the wall to see halfway up ODM gear Garrison soldiers attached to the wall having been trying to sneak up on them.
She looked between the front and above unable to predict where the attack would come from, there was no way she could defend Eren from two directions and once and was beginning to panic as the above soldier drew closer.
"Enough!" Sky snapped focusing all attention back to him, "Kitz, stand your men down and let Eren walk, I will ask you this one more time before you make me act…" he warned glaring down to Kitz.
Staring into the eye of Sky made Kitz pause a moment, he had known the man for a few years now and in that time, he had not grown to understand him at all, but there was one thing he did know, if Sky made a threat, he would back it up.
"No Captain Sky, I have to protect humanity; I only want to stop that monster behind you, you and the cadets are free to go, please just step aside" Kitz responded as calmly as he could hoping to reason to some degree with Sky and change his mind.
Sky took in a small breath before slowly unbuckling his grips, "Then I have no choice, I will not let you kill an innocent kid…" Slowly he attached both his blades and pulled them from his sheathes, all soldiers noticeably recoiled as fear spread around the Garrison.
"My name is Captain Sky, I have served in the Survey Corps for 11 years, and in that time I have solo killed over one hundred Titans, and this year alone my total already stands at seventeen solo kills with nine of them being taken in Trost alone" he held up his blade towards them, "No matter what I will not let any of you harm Eren so if any soldier here wants to try I will gladly show you why I'm the thing that makes Titan's fear humanity".
Looks of fear took over all the Garrison soldiers' faces as those holding the rifles slowly lowered them and stepped back too afraid to even try and take on Sky they didn't even want to try and call his bluff, it wouldn't be worth it to them.
"Hold your ground Soldiers!" Kitz exclaimed looking around at them all and making them stop in place, "Don't be fools, he wouldn't hurt anyone of you, he's bluffing!" he stated as a matter of fact, almost looking smug.
"Are you so sure Kitz…" Sky asked coldly tilting his blade slightly so Kitz could see his reflection.
He stepped back slightly and swallowed deeply, "Q-Quite sure!" he hastily got out, "Soldiers re-take positions!" he called out as quickly as he could to hide his fear, slowly The Garrison riflemen took back their positions, but none dared to raise their rifles looking between Sky and Kitz unsure what to do.
There was a cold silence as they all waited for the other to make the first move, even the Soldiers that had been sneaking down the wall had stopped in place waiting for someone else to make the call.
Slowly movement was made by Sargent Rico who decided it was her time for input, "Captain Kitz sir" she asked in a hushed tone, "Perhaps we should consult on where Lieutenant Ian stands so far, he seems to of taken neither side, if he's with us that will give us an opening" she smartly observed getting a nod in response.
"Lieutenant Ian!" Kitz called out to the man standing behind Sky but in front of the cadets who up to now had remained impartial, "What is your stance here, are you a loyal soldier or a traitor!" he barked out almost glad to not be staring down Sky.
All eyes were drawn to Ian now who remained silent but looked around, in truth a battle had been going on in his mind, on one hand, he knew what he'd seen, Eren's leg did grow back just like a Titan and his loyalty to the defence of innocents almost demanded him to take action against this, but on the other hand, he also knew the Titans attacked him like how they would anyone else, he'd also witnessed him before the incident acting as a normal human boy no evidence to suggest of him being a Titan, making him feel as if the duty to protect the innocent should be in the defence of Eren.
Through this ordeal he'd been swaying from both sides both Sky and Kitz made good points, Sky was right no Titan acted as Eren did, there was simply no other evidence of him wanting to devour them but Kitz's point on the intelligent Titans such as the Colossal and unmentioned Armoured also was valid, in the end, he wasn't sure where to stand.
"Well Lieutenant, where do you stand?!" Kitz exclaimed trying to shake Ian from his thoughts.
Ian grimaced knowing he had to choose now, he looked around for any sort of guidance on the matter, but it was all the same faces until his eyes slowly fell upon Eren's face, what he saw took him aback from the little he knew of the boy he was always confident or aggressive, he wasn't one to back down and never ran away but right now the look he wore shook Ian to his core.
It was fear, Eren was scared, and this look bore right into Ian's soul, he was looking to him for help, he was powerless and needed support from others to defend him but so few would stand with him, he could see he was begging Ian for help just from a look, a look that pure and simply no Titan no matter how smart could replicate.
Ian toughened his gaze and turned back to Kitz before slowly walking to stand beside Sky, "I will ask you once Sky…" he muttered to him, "Are you willing to do this, are you sure?"
Sky looked at Ian, "With all my heart, what about you, where will you stand?" he asked.
Ian sighed, "I doubted you once before and I hurt a friend badly because of it" he looked over to Rico, "I swore then to never doubt you again" Ian nodded as he unclipped his grips, "But you'll seriously owe me for this one" he grunted.
"Sir I cannot stand by while you threaten an innocent, Eren Yeager has committed no act of treason or shown any threat to humanity in what I have witnessed, from my statement in his defence, Eren Yeager should be free to go and all charges you have put against him dropped!" he said using his body alongside Sky's to hide the soldiers' view of Eren, "If you do not, I too am left with no choice but to protect him" Ian drew his blades and took a ready stance.
"I see…" Kitz said lowering his head slightly, "Then you leave me no choice Lieutenant, I declare both you and Captain Sky of committing treason against humanity for your continued defence of that monster!" he called out.
"Damnit Ian…" Rico muttered gritting her teeth as a soldier on a nearby roof caught her eye, looking properly she saw the soldier waving a small orange flag, she turned to Kitz, "Cannon is ready sir" she relayed.
Kitz nodded and raised his right hand high in the air, he didn't want to resort to this but in his panicked and scared mind he felt there was no other choice, "Last warning officers, step away" he insisted.
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To the left of the group on a small jutting outlet from the wall a Cannon had been moved from the opposite side of the wall and positioned pointing directly at Eren and the others, this was to be used as a last resort as the damage of it would be catastrophic.
Manning the gun were three Garrison Soldiers being led by Sargent Mitabi who was watching the incident unfold through a spyglass, "Come on you lot, get out of the way…" he grimaced as his grip tightened on the spyglass not wanting to give the call.
"What is going on here?" Sargent Hannes asked walking over and seeing one of his cannons out of place, "What the hell are you doing men, you're going to get innocents killed!" he exclaimed walking over accompanied by a few other Garrison cannoneers.
"This is a security matter Hannes; you'll get your cannon back soon!" Mitabi snapped getting frustrated with the whole situation.
"You're the damn security matter as far as I'm concerned, aiming a damn cannon inside the wall, the Titans are out there dumbass!" he fired make not liking the situation there were in before looking along the cannon firing line.
"Where the hell are you even…" his eyes widened in shock before he pulled out his spyglass to confirm what he saw "EREN!" he exclaimed before seeing the situation he was in, "What the hell is going on Mitabi!" he shouted drawing the attention of nearby soldiers.
"Bah, it doesn't concern you Hannes just go check the cannons" Mitabi fired back getting in the man's face.
"It is my concern when you're aiming the cannon at an innocent child!" he fired back not backing down from the larger Mitabi.
"That is no child down there, there are reports of him being a Titan, and he is to be eliminated with extreme prejudice as ordered by Captain Kitz!" he answered rashly cursing himself internally for his outburst.
"A Titan, what the hell is wrong with you man!" Hannes snapped, "I've known Eren since he was a young child, he isn't some damn Titan, I think I would have noticed by now, I had to save him from one way back in Shiganshina!"
Mitabi gritted his teeth before hanging his head and letting out a sigh, "Kitz knows what he saw Hannes, we don't have a choice, I have my orders…" he lamented feeling guilty, the truth was Mitabi didn't know what he saw himself, he felt as if it should be investigated into more before any assumptions had been made.
But he had little choice in the matter, he knew first-hand what Captain Kitz could be like, he found him a good enough Officer but there was a level of paranoia he always carried around especially when it came to Titans and seeing something as bizarre as they had witnessed with Eren had set him off.
Mitabi wasn't what you called an independent thinker, he could dish out a command here or there, but he was more than content to let others handle to leadership aspect of things, he didn't like the idea of making the tough calls, and he'd much rather it was on somebody else's conscious than his own.
He even preferred just being told what to do, in his head it made his hands clean should the worse happen; this even extended to how he viewed his military career, it was surprising to many including himself that he even bothered to become a Sargent though regular nagging from Rico and Ian helped push him towards it.
In all Mitabi was a good soldier that didn't like to think for himself, so no matter what he thought of Eren, where his allegiances lie either for or against the boy it would be on Kitz's shoulders should it come to the worst.
This time however he did have pause for thought, this was a kid down the end of the barrel and while it was a nice thought that it wouldn't be his fault, it was still up to him to give the order to fire after Kitz's command.
Along with this was the thought of Ian and Sky, they were both still in the way, should he fire, there was no guarantee of them being missed, the shot could go astray, and the other Garrison soldiers when far enough that they'd be fine, but those two would be in the danger zone.
And then there was the last thought pondering in his mind, what if he was innocent, what if it was all just a big misunderstanding, it could easily happen, this wasn't a case of Mitabi just being relayed the order, he witnessed it with his own eyes, he was in some way involved in what was going on and he had no idea what he'd witnessed.
"Sargent!" one of Mitabi's men called out pointing down to Kitz.
Mitabi looked down to see his right hand raised in the air, the ready signal for the cannon, "Soldiers prepare to fire!" he called out to his men as they readied the canon, two on either side to keep its positioning and one behind to pull the firing string.
"Mitabi stop!" Hannes said, "This is madness, you can't kill those down there, they're innocent!" he snapped getting in the way of Mitabi.
"I told you I don't have a choice in the matter!" he snapped clenching his fists.
"You do Mitabi!" Hannes fired back, "For once in your life man up and make a decision on your own stop waiting for others to do it for you!"
"You…"
"Am I wrong, you never decide to do anything on your own, you always follow the orders of anyone else even if it might be wrong?" Hannes continued, "Realise this has gone too far Mitabi, stand your men down before you do something you'll regret forever, don't be a coward and hideaway it's not too late!".
"What do you know Hannes…?" Mitabi grimaced his head filled with questions as he gazed down to where his friend Ian still stood unmoving.
"Cause I made a similar decision once, I was a coward, who when the tough decision came, the chance to act on my own and show who I could be arrived, I became scared and ran away" Hannes muttered guilt wracking his face, "I have nightmares every night of that day, the day I ran away from everything I cared about… you can never let it go".
"It's the same now Mitabi if you give the order, Eren's, Mikasa's, Armin's and possibly the Lieutenant's and Captain's blood will be on your hands, not Kitz's; and that pain and guilt you feel it will never leave, and every time you close your eyes you'll see them, you'll have visions of what you should have done and you'll regret it, forever!".
"Please Mitabi, just stand down…" Hannes begged reaching out to grasp his shoulder.
Mitabi looked over to him with a conflicted look, "I- ".
"FIRE!" He heard Kitz scream from below, snapping his head down he saw the right-hand drop as the words echoed up to him, heads snapped from below and around Mitabi looking for him to give the confirming order.
Mitabi looked back and forth in seconds to everyone seeing mixed views on all their faces, it was all up to him, in this split second, five lives were in his hands, and he had to make the choice.
There was no one else to blame.
No one else to take the fall.
No one else to get blood on their hands.
No one else to take command.
No one else, except Mitabi.
He looked down one last time seeing Ian, Sky and everyone still firmly in place, no matter what, they would not move he knew this and understood, "Damnit…" he grunted.
He shot his right hand into the air and took a deep breath, "SOLDIERS!..."
All eyes remained unblinking wishing they knew what was going on in Mitabi's head, others glad they didn't, they all stood however with bated breath fearing what his next words would be.
"Ian… Sky… forgive me…" Mitabi whispered making Hannes's eyes go wide, "FIRE!"
The rear Garrison soldier yanked the cord back igniting the cannon Hannes thinking quickly knew they would be too late and instead using his superior knowledge of the cannons booted the crank to the side and adjusted the angle his foot connecting just as the cannon ignited.
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The cannon shot echoed loud around the interior as all snapped their heads up to it, Ian and Sky didn't expect Kitz to have gone to such an extreme, and for a brief moment stood shocked as the cannonball fired towards them.
But Sky swiftly snapped out of it, there was no choice now, he had no choice and hurtled himself into Ian gripping tightly onto his arm and yanked them both to the ground as the cannonball flew just over them but not much further.
The few Garrison soldiers dove, dropping their rifles in a hurried panic to get out of the way, the shot flew just above them landing with a heavy crash behind them sending them flying and shaking many others.
Kitz looked shocked as he was sure Mitabi would have sighted it perfectly, but was broken from this shock, however, when he realised that Sky and Ian were still on the ground, "Hurry someone fire, the shot is clear!" he exclaimed to his dazed troops.
Those on his right who'd been clear of the shot quickly re-focused and aimed directly at Eren, lining up all their shots before gently squeezing the trigger.
"NO!" the quiet Armin exclaimed from his position beside Eren jumping up and standing directly in the way of the shot his arms outstretched, "Don't hurt Eren!" he continued looking down at Kitz who stared the boy down as the other soldiers relaxed their fingers.
"Cadet Artelt move out of the way immediately!" Kitz ordered stepping forward slightly almost trying to intimidate the boy, but Armin didn't budge.
"Please Captain, I know it's hard to believe but Eren is no threat to you, he is innocent!" Armin exclaimed back to the Captain feeling all eyes settle upon him.
"The verdict has been made; Cadet Yeager is a Titan and is to be destroyed immediately…"
"Eren is not a Titan!" Armin exclaimed at the top of his lungs, "There is no way he could be, I've known Eren all my life, we grew up in Shiganshina together, we survived the first breach of the walls together there is simply no way that your accusations can be true!".
"I know what I saw Arlelt, he has the abilities of a Titan that is more than enough reason!" Kitz snapped becoming almost fully unhinged with this, "Enough, if you do not move immediately Cadet, I will have no choice but to order my men to fire through you to get to Eren!" he screamed.
All were taken off guard by this statement, as the soldiers looked at their Captain in disbelief, from their understanding Eren had been the only perceived threat but now a possibly innocent life was in danger.
Armin looked around to all those gathered, all focus was on him, Eren's life was in his hands now and to some degree his life was in Erens hands, Armin couldn't move, he'd lost too many people he cared for already and didn't want to lose any more, but he couldn't deny the feeling of wanting to run away, to get to safety but something compelled him to stand his ground.
He thought back to what felt like a lifetime ago, way back to when they were still learning to be soldiers, the choice he'd had to make when he'd been doubting his importance; Hennings's words were now echoing in his head.
"You're the smartest in the class, and I specifically angled the test towards you today to prove my point, likely only you would get the answers and everyone else would struggle, I was waiting for you to step in and help them and when you did…".
"We all passed, because of me…".
"Exactly, stop doubting yourself, you're strong in your own ways and in my eyes, you could be the strongest of them all"
"Could I be now…" Armin muttered in his head looking at all the rifles facing him down, feeling unsure of himself but there was no one else this time, Sky and Ian were recovering, Mikasa was keeping the soldiers above away, none of the others were here and Eren had no credibility to talk them down, it was only Armin this time, no one to protect him, no one to stand up for him, no one to fall for him.
"I refuse to be a coward!"
"Don't tell me, show me cadet, and show your comrades"
This was all Armin had left, how much had he lost by not standing up, by not being brave, he couldn't hide away, he couldn't run away, he had one choice left, the only option available to him, for once stand up for not only himself but for those he cared about, for those he loved, it was Armins time to be the one who protects his friends.
He looked back to Eren one last time as everything seemed to freeze around them, his friend was worried clearly, but Armin refused to let him down this time, "I won't run…" he muttered before looking ahead.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes then snapped them open staring Kitz down before pounding a balled fist into his chest and slamming an arm behind his back in a salute, "I am Cadet Armin Arlelt of the 1004th Cadet Training Corps graduating at seventeenth ranking, and I refuse to step aside sir!" he exclaimed puffing out his chest.
"I vouch with every part of my heart for Eren's innocence, I have known him all sixteen years of my life and never has he shown a support or alliance to the enemy Titans!" he continued not allowing Kitz the chance to speak over him.
"Cadet Eren Yeager has done nothing but shown defiance against the Titans every day he trains harder and harder to kill them, to bring an end to their rule of our lives, he goes out of his way pushing his body to limits that most men would break for the sole purpose of one-day freeing humanity and taking back our home of Shiganshina!".
"He doesn't give up, he keeps fighting and no matter what is thrown at him, I have seen with my own eyes his determination against the Titans, his willingness to do what is necessary to defeat them!" Armin took a quick but heavy breath.
"The Titans took everything from him, his home, his life, his parents! Eren loved his home, his mother and his father but the Titans came, and they stole it all from him does this seem like something a Titan would care for, would even be interested in, how can you accuse Eren of being the sworn enemy of humanity when he has done nothing to you and only sworn vengeance on the monsters that took it all from him!".
"I am a citizen of the walls, a defender of humanity and a loyal soldier but I will not move or back down when I believe with all my heart that Eren Yeager is innocent, he always has been and always will be an ally to humanity in our survival to the Titan menace and is not a traitor!" he exclaimed tightening his fists in the salute to show his resolve.
Not one word was spoken, everyone was shocked by the outburst, all the soldiers had lowered their weapons as they stared awestruck at the small boys' speech but none of their opinions mattered, only one man's view meant anything right now.
All eyes turned to Kitz as he lowered his head, "Kitz…" Sky muttered standing up, "Listen to him, just let it go…" he muttered trying to reason with him and make him actually listen to the boy.
Ian stood too, "Sir, all of us in Trost would vouch in his defence, he's done no wrong… please…".
Rico looked between the two men, cadets, then back to Kitz whose eyes had become shadowed by his messy and unruly hair, "Sir… There's no harm in simply arresting him, there could be a proper trial…".
Kitz raised his hand to silence them, "Cadet Armin Arlelt, is this truly where you stand…".
He asked the simple question, no malice or fear in his voice now, only a dull tone.
"Yes sir… with my heart and soul…" he answered truthfully fixing his feet unable to tell if his speech had moved the man or not, everyone now waited with bated breath for Kitz's response.
"I see…" he muttered his hand still raised not one person able to guess his next move, "Then I am left with no choice, but to do what is necessary for humanity…".
He looked up guilt in his features as he looked down at Armin, "Forgive me…" he muttered raising his hand slightly higher.
"Soldiers!" he called out closing his eyes.
Sky reacted almost immediately, angling his waist towards Kitz and beginning to depress his triggers in hopes of making it in time but there was no guarantee.
Ian began a sprint for the boys in hopes of pulling them out of the way in time, trying to ready his own equipment in time before Kitz could give the order.
Armin braced as he saw the men charging in different directions them both picking it up before anyone else, but he knew neither could be faster than a split second.
Mikasa had spun on her heels as she lunged for the boys, hoping to push one or both of them out of the way of the incoming shots but as stated, a split second, was too short of a time for a miracle.
"FIR…"
As Kitz's had descended was grasped tightly around his wrist stopping him completely as he took a sharp breath in surprise at the action.
"STAND DOWN!" A loud commanding voice echoed around the area.
Everyone froze in place, even Sky stopped mid-swing as he looked at the new arrival, Ian was stopped in stride as he eyed the new person up unsure if it was good news or not, while the cadets breathed a small sigh.
Kitz snapped to look at who had to guts to dare interrupt his orders and lay a finger on him, but his eyes stretched wide as he lay his eyes on the man with a tight grip on his arm.
He was fairly tall, and his presence was more than intimidating, he was a soldier of pound stature, he held his head high and kept his back straight, his face was one of age and experience, he was bald, only had a well-groomed moustache across his top lip giving him an air of nobility around whoever looked at him.
He wore the uniform of your average soldier, long brown boots, white jeans, harness with ODM gear attached and a jacket, but this man wore a red sash with gold trim across his chest above a white button-up shirt but none of these details mattered much to the emblem he wore on his jacket, it was the mark of the Garrison, but the roses were entirely gold.
"C-Commander Pyxis Sir" Kitz stammered in shock.
"Captain Kitz, care to explain why you've cornered three cadets, one of your own officers and one of the Scouts' best soldiers and aiming rifles at them!" he asked coldly looking down at Kitz who struggled to form words.
"Eren Y-Yeager is a suspected Titan sir…" he muttered still recovering from the man's sudden appearance.
"I've been informed, some soldiers who saw it thought best that I was informed of this situation immediately" he muttered releasing Kitz's arm who reeled back, "Soldiers return to your duties on the walls, you're needed on the defence!" he barked out with all the gather soldiers responding with an acknowledgement before running off or ascending back up the wall.
"Captain Kitz, I suggest you rally the troops for a defence, I'll speak to you later…" Pyxis said coldly getting a nod before he ran to follow orders.
"Lieutenant Ian and Sargent Rico, kindly go stand down Sargent Mitabi and return the cannon to position immediately" he then ordered.
"Yes sir" Rico said shooting off first.
Ian glanced to Sky giving a nod before following the orders himself knowing they'd be better off now.
"Now then, now it's just the seven of us" Pyxis indicated to his two assistants behind him, "I believe we need to talk about some things, let's not waste time" he smiled.
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Thank you and apologies for the delays.