Chapter Thirty-Seven

Fighting the Colossal Titan

A/N: I'm so thankful I could get this done on time. Please let me know what you loved or hated!

Disclaimer: Attack on Titan does not belong to me; I only own Emalina and other OCs. Attack on Titan rightfully belongs to Hajime Isayama. Occasionally, I will use reference material from the manga or the anime; I take no ownership of what I use. The new story picture does not belong to me; I hold no Copyright and found the image through Google Images.

~ oOo ~

JEAN

We watched as Emalina left our side. With just her back toward us, I could see everything from the last twenty-four hours. All that we had witnessed, all that we had experienced. Beating inside my chest, my heart stammered at the prospect that this could be it. This was to be the battle that determined everything. Knowing this was it, I took a deep breath, fully prepared for the worst, though I refused to accept such a fate. I was about to turn to the Scouts when Connie grabbed my arm, forcing me to face his direction.

Emalina had spun back around. Her movements were quick as her voice echoed in our ears. "I-I love you guys!" And just as quickly, she had placed her back to us and was running off in the opposite direction. Sasha and Connie's voices entered my ears as they screamed back at her.

I remained silent. My vow would stay with me, something I would only voice back to Emalina the moment we were free from this battle. But until that moment, I would force my attention to my comrades.

With the signal from Hange, Eren burst across the district, ready to face Reiner head-on. As soon as he was airborne, Hange instructed us to follow her. Now mounted with thunder spears, we dove into the shattered Shiganshina District, prepared to fight to the death. Before us, Hange and Mikasa split to the right as I led the others to the left to secure our positions as we hid amongst the buildings. Just as we landed on the rooftops, Eren transformed, quickly gaining the attention of Reiner; we fell from the wall in pursuit. From our positions, we all watched with bated breath, waiting for the opportune moment when we would strike and annihilate Reiner Braun.

"We've got this…right?" My eyes peered to my right at Sasha, who then tilted her head to me. "I mean, we will win this, right?"

"Not only will we win this," I stated, eyes moving to fixate on Eren as he battled the Armored Titan. "But we will kill Reiner and Bertholdt and take back what is rightfully ours."

"But…but…!"

Connie smashed his hand on her head. "There's no time for buts, Sasha! You know our job, so that's what we gotta do!"

She peered upward at me as my head shook. "He's not wrong."

Sasha swatted Connie's arm away. "It's just, what if we don't? There's always the prospect that we will lose. What then?"

Connie rolled his eyes. "Oh, god…" He muttered.

"Sasha…" Gently, I patted her arm. There were a handful of ways I could speak my mind. Instead, I wondered how Emalina would answer her best friend's question. "You can't think like that. We knew what we were getting into these past few weeks. Out here, it's kill or be killed. And I dunno about you, but Emalina and I have too many plans for the future, so this will not be my end." Gritting my teeth, I then added, "I will take down our enemies. It's the right thing to do."

"Ok," Sasha said. She was quicker with her statement as she straightened her back. "Yeah, you're right." Smacking her cheeks until they were red, she apologized, but I waved her off, Connie speaking before I could.

"We're all scared, Sasha. A lot is riding on our shoulders with this mission. As long as you have our backs, Jean and I have yours." Slapping her back, he asked, "So, you good?"

She smirked. "Yeah, I'm good."

She fell silent after that, and I was thankful. Sasha had the right to question everything at hand, but what was the point since we were already here? We knew what we were getting into; there's no going back. Not with everything that's at stake. So, I took another deep breath and focused on the fight before us.

From my perspective, Eren and Reiner were evenly matched. Eren was the one who scored higher in hand-to-hand combat during training, but Reiner was no laughing joke. Both knew what they were doing, and their fight only looked more ferocious in their titan forms. When Reiner threw a punch, Eren dodged. When Eren kicked, Reiner blocked. It was a never-ending mess of fighting back and forth. Then, out of nowhere, Reiner gained the upper hand.

Grasping Eren by the ankle, Reiner tossed him into the air, slamming him back and forth like a rag doll.

My head fell. Of course, Eren had to fall for such a trick. Tightening my hand on the ODM handhelds, I prepared to enter the battle at any moment. But it was then that Emalina decided it was her turn to join. The sky darkened slightly as it filled with a yellowish glow, reflecting the change into her titan form. The ground shook as her feet pounded into the earth.

"REINER!"

We could all hear her screech into the air. Sasha, Connie, and I all shared a side glance. Our bald friend stated, "Damn, she's pissed."

"She has her reasons to be," Sasha commented, our heads turning to find Emalina swiftly moving between the districts. The pounding of her feet stopped, and she bent her titan form to blend into the buildings.

So that's what she meant by zigzag, I thought, remembering what she had said to Hange. Emalina had been correct that she wouldn't head straight toward Reiner, who, at this point, had dropped Eren and was waiting for her. I could see Reiner glance all around. He knew Emalina was there; he couldn't pinpoint where. Good. We'll use that to our advantage.

Tapping my foot against the roof, I stared at my friend before glancing back at those behind us. "It's time," I called out. They knew what I meant, and we were off. Soaring across the district, we stayed as close to the dilapidated roofs as possible so as not to be seen by Reiner. We watched the battle from our position, and I saw that Emalina was winning. She had pinned Reiner several times, going so far as to create a spear-like weapon, and had the chance to stab Reiner in the neck with it. My hope momentarily lifted, thinking that this titan was finally dead.

Unfortunately, he was able to remove the weapon from his neck just as we had secured our position. Across the way, I could see Mikasa and Hange establish their position, the Squad Leader staring back to wave at us, making sure we were where we needed to be.

"Squad Leader!" I could hear Mikasa scream.

"Not yet! Surround him first!" Came Hange's fast reply. "Everything depends on this first attack! We need to be in the perfect position!"

Glancing down at the new appendage on my arm, I suddenly remembered the first-day Hange introduced us to the thunder spear. I was initially skeptical, but considering the inventions she had created in the past, I had to see the invention in action to believe it. But when she held the demonstration, I was floored. The damn thing was more explosion than she had initially stated. It was then I knew that, outside of Emalina and Eren, we had an advantage against the titans - especially Reiner and Bertholdt.

My attention turned back to the battle between my friends and Reiner. Emalina and Eren had cornered Reiner as they had backed him into the alley between Mikasa and Hange. When Reiner had placed enough distance between him and Emalina was the moment Mikasa and Hange flew down. Knowing what must be done, they flew straight toward the Armored Titan, angled their arms right into his eyes, and fired their thunder spears. The weapons connected straight into his eyes, and as they flew backward, they pulled the wires, immediately igniting the spear's power.

Both exploded, just as we had planned. The explosion was tumultuous, and it gave us the perfect diversion for us to infiltrate. Giving the signal, we jumped from our position and flew toward Reiner's back. With the seven of us, we all thrust our spears right into Reiner's back, directly into the nape of his neck, where he lay hidden. Fleeing just as the spears had left our hands, we flew backward, igniting the spears to cause an even louder explosion. The results of our effort resulted in creating an opening in the nape. From here, we could barely see Reiner's backside.

"We…we did it!" I cried, staring at the scene before me. "It worked! The Armor Titan's nape has been stripped!"

Beside me, Connie stared in disbelief. "It…it really…!"

Sasha finished his sentence. "The thunder spears worked!"

"One more time!" We glanced across the way to Hange, who was screaming our next orders. "Fire the thunder spears and finish him off!"

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the female, confused by her orders. Sasha was confused as she muttered, "Reiner…"

"Hey now," I squinted as I stared at her. "You were prepared for this moment to come, right?!" Screaming, I then said, "Let's do this!"

Everyone released a battle cry as we surged forward. Flying toward Reiner once more, we lifted our second arm and flung the last spears we held once more at his nape. One after the other, thunder spears were thrown at the Armored Titan, any and everything to bring this bastard down.

We fled just as the explosion ignited.

Flinging ourselves to the nearest building, we waited for the smoke to disperse. Watching for several moments, I swallowed the fear crawling up my throat. What if this didn't work? What if all our efforts were in vain and we failed? Sasha was right. There was always the 'what if,' and I didn't know how to respond, even to myself. What was I supposed to say to lift myself off the ground? That we would win? That everything would be fine? No. I knew we were going to lose lives today. I knew there would be casualties. In the back of my mind, I knew there was a chance that we would go home empty-handed.

It took several moments for the smoke to clear, but once it did, we weren't prepared for the image before us.

Reiner was exposed entirely from the nape of the Armored Titan. His back was straight, though his hands were still connected. The only gruesome aspect of this moment was that Reiner's head was almost completely blown off. Everything from the chin up was just…gone.

"We did it! We sent his head flying!"

"We took down the Armored Titan!"

Several Scout members were immediately cheering. However, some of us merely stood there and watched, almost as if we knew there was something we were missing. But still, I was one of those who wanted to celebrate.

"Heh…we did it." I was quiet with my words, wanting to celebrate this small victory. But as I continued to stare at Reiner's corpse, I was suddenly filled with regret and guilt. "You were a real pain to deal with. But look at you now, you evil bastard."

"Ugh…"

Staring beside me, Connie and Sasha collapsed onto the tile, tears streaming down their faces as they quietly cried at the prospect we had just killed someone who had once been an ally and a friend. We knew what we were supposed to do; why were they crying?!

Grabbing them by their cloaks, I yelled, "What the hell are you two crying for?! C'mon, get up! We're not done yet! All we've done is kill Reiner!" But they continued to cry, allowing the tears to fall. Seeing them cry formed several in my eyes; I would not let them fall.

"We're not finished yet! Prepare your equipment for the next one!" Hange screamed from her position across the road.

My head lifted at that. We weren't done? What else was there to do? Were we supposed to annihilate Reiner so there wasn't even a speck of him remaining? On the roof beside us, I could hear Armin and Mikasa talking. I ignored their conversation, focusing my attention on my friends so they could get a grip and stop crying. Now was not the time for that. We knew this was our mission! We had known that our objective was to kill both Reiner and Bertholdt if we were given the chance!

My head snapped upward to stare at the Armored Titan. I could've sworn…did it just move?

The Armored Titan suddenly belted a loud shriek more monstrous than any other titan roar I had heard. It was louder than Eren and sharper than Emalina.

Emalina!

Staring down the way, I could see Emalina in her titan form twitching at the noise. She slowly stepped toward Reiner, and even from my position, I could see the change in her eyes. It was swift, but for a moment, I could see the blackness swirl in her eyes. However, as I blinked, it was gone. As if she had known, Emalina stared from across the way towards me and shook her head.

But Reiner continued to roar. We all stared in disbelief, unsure what to do, having not expected something like this to occur. It was then Reiner's body began to explode in steam. Was he healing himself? Would he escape into his titan body and recuperate?

"Hey…" I could hear a veteran beside me speak as I turned to him. "Did we not hit it enough with thunder spears?!"

Another person bellowed, "Blow it to pieces!"

Everyone remained still. We waited to see what he was doing. There was no way to tell what this meant, but my gut screamed that it was not good.

"Hit it with the thunder spears!" Hange ordered as she pointed toward the titan. "We'll just have to blow its whole body apart!" Connie, Sasha, and I glanced at one another.

From my position, I saw Emalina snap her head toward the sky, her eyes seemingly following something she could see. Copying her, I followed her eyesight to see something had been propelled into the sky, probably from the Beast Titan on the outside of the wall.

"No! Please get away from Reiner!" Armin roared as he swiftly turned his head in our direction. "Above us!" He pointed to the object I had been staring at as well."The Colossal Titan is going to come down on us from above! This entire area is going to get blown away!"

Hange quickly surveyed the situation, her eyes darting between what was in the sky and her comrades. Her vision fell on Eren and Emalina in the distance. "Dammit! Everyone! Get away from the Armored Titan! Armin's right! It's about to fall right on us!"

There was an unexpected pounding against the earth, and numerous heads turned to Emalina, who was running in our direction, soon followed by Eren. "Run away!" She screamed murderously. Reaching our position, she flung her hands out and, as gently as she could with her swiftness, she grasped as many soldiers as she could in her hands and ran in the opposite direction. Eren followed her lead and grabbed the remaining soldiers, following her as she moved toward the wall, trying to escape the blast zone as quickly as possible. From my position in her hand, I turned just in time to see someone push their way from the object. Even from where I was, I could tell that it was Bertholdt.

"It's Bertholdt!" I screamed, pointing at him in the sky. Several heads followed my direction.

Emalina stopped beside the wall and placed all the soldiers on the roof. Some fell onto the tile, not used to running as quickly as she had, whereas Connie, Sasha, and I remained on our feet. As we stood there, we waited for the inevitable.

But nothing happened.

We waited for the explosion, for something to blast away the area we had just occupied, but there was nothing. Instead, Bertholdt used his ODM gear to fall from the sky and land on Reiner, who spent several moments examining his friend.

To gain Emalina's position, I tapped her hand next to me; her face turned to me. "You almost lost it, didn't you?" She nodded slowly.

"Almost, but I didn't."

"Good," I patted her hand. I was still impressed with the way she had increased her ability to speak. "We still need you."

Hange appeared beside me. "Emalina, are you alright? Nothing we need to be concerned about?"

"Not right now," she said, causing Hange to nod as well.

"Perfect." Then she sighed, staring across the district toward Reiner and Bertholdt. "We're safe for now…It seems Bertholdt aborted his attack once he saw the state Reiner was in." As she rotated, all heads glanced at her, awaiting their next order as we were all confused about how to proceed. "In any case, our mission target was flown directly into our sights. We might even call this lucky."

Beside me, Emalina tapped her foot impatiently, her eyesight not once leaving Reiner's position. She was focused on ending their lives. But I was left wondering what she was feeling. When she was fighting Reiner, she was so close to snapping his neck, to killing him. Did she feel remorse? Was she also feeling guilt like I was? At the moment, all I wanted to do was end this. My earlier thought appeared in my mind again. Before the end of the day, we were going to lose countless lives. Would Emalina be one of them?

Would I?

Emalina suddenly inhaled sharply. "Target approaching from the front!" She planted her feet firmly into the ground, ready to take off at a moment's notice. "It's Bertholdt!" Heads snapped forward, seeing precisely what Emalina had seen. It was Bertholdt, and he was heading straight in our direction.

"Continue as planned!" From her position, Hange once again commanded her crew. "Squad Levi, follow Armin's command! Protect Eren and Emalina! Everyone else, work together to eliminate our two targets! Finish off the Armored Titan!" She took a deep breath as she and the others set off, though I could still hear her voice as they departed. "As for the Colossal Titan, continue as planned! Wear it down by forcing it to use its strength!"

Armin suddenly flew beside Hange with more force, pushing himself ahead of her. "Please wait!" He cried.

"What is it, Armin?!"

"This is it…our last chance to negotiate!"

Hange stopped in her tracks, processing Armin's words; so was I. After everything they had done, he wanted to negotiate? What was there to negotiate? Even I could tell what they wanted. They wanted Eren for whatever plans they had and everyone else to die.

I looked quickly at Emalina. And what about her? What did they want to do with her? When they captured her, they planned to take her back to their 'hometown.' Was that still the plan? And what for? How was she needed in their plan?

Armin flew forward until he connected his gear to the closet tower. Just as he stopped, Bertholdt did the same; a single road's space separated the two enemies. "BERTHOLDT! Stop where you are!"

They stared for a moment, silence the only sound that existed. Emalina's hand grew closer to my position as she moved her eyes to mine as if questioning what would happen. Patting her hand, I nodded. Knowing that if anyone could negotiate with the enemy now, it was Armin. She seemed to understand my facade. And yet, she still kept her footing tight, as if ready to begin fighting at any time.

"Bertholdt! Let's talk!"

The male was quiet for a moment, and he spoke so loud it was something I had never heard come from the male. "If we talk…will you all agree to DIE?!"

My back straightened. I was right.

"We only have two demands! We want you to give us Eren and Emalina! And we want all of humanity inside the walls to be wiped out! That's just how reality is, Armin! Everything has already been decided!"

"B-By who?! Who decided that?!"

Even though he was quiet, I could hear Bertholdt from where I stood. "…I did."

"What did you say?!"

"I decided it!" Our ex-friend screeched. "Your lives are coming to an end right here!"

Armin was quick with his retort, as usual. "Oh, that's too bad! I was hoping…that I wouldn't have to hear Annie's shrieks any longer!"

Bertholdt froze. Even though he was an enemy, that was a low blow. However, even though I had that thought, I believed it was effective. It demonstrated that, even though Bertholdt and his conspirators had a slight advantage against us, he still exhibited a weakness.

Armin continued without a beat of silence. "You know you're the only one left who can free Annie from the cruel monsters in the Military Police Brigade, right?! At this rate, Annie will end up as feed for livestock - "

"Then let her!" Bertholdt screamed, surprising me along with the others surrounding me. He flew himself into the air, moving toward Armin. "Let them feed her to the pigs! That is, if you've even captured her, of course!"

Armin began running back to us, where we had the artillery and means to take him out.

"Where are you going, Armin? Aren't we going to talk?" He landed on the same beam as Armin; their stare stated so many words as my eyes flew between them. "Did you think you could upset me by bringing up Annie again? Did you think that you'd be able to talk meek, obedient Bertholdt into letting his guard down?"

Moving away from Emalina as discreetly as possible, I maneuvered myself to land on Eren's shoulder, pulling on his hair. "Get back, Eren. You have to realize that you're at a disadvantage against him, right…? This isn't your time to take the stage."

Bertholdt continued to speak as he slowly stepped closer to Armin. "But really, you're not doing this for either reason. You're just buying time. So that you can surround me with soldiers…while the others can go and kill Reiner. It's all meaningless. I know. So long as you're standing there, shaking…you can't do a damned thing."

As usual, Armin knew precisely how to counteract. And, as usual, I sat on the sidelines beside Eren, watching the entire ordeal. "…if you've figured that much out…why did you agree to talk?"

"I wanted to make sure. I thought that when I showed up…you might start whining…and begging for mercy again. But…" Bertholdt's face turned angry. "It looks like you're fine now. Yeah. You're all cherished friends, and you're really trying to kill us."

Armin looked sick; I didn't blame him. "Is that because…we're 'descendants of devils?'"

"Oh, no. None of you have done anything wrong. And you're not devils." Mikasa was suddenly flying toward Bertholdt, her weapons raised to attack. "It's just that you all have to die. There's nothing you can do now."

But Bertholdt turned just as she struck, their blades clashing. They fought for several minutes. Mikasa struck him, Bertholdt kicked her, and she nearly sliced off his head before he ran away. Armin began running after him when Mikasa stopped him.

"Don't chase him, Armin! He's going to rescue the Armored Titan." The two of them returned to our position as we all stared off after our ex-friend. "We don't know when he's going to transform," she muttered. "If we don't get away from him, we'll be caught in that blast again."

"But…I don't think Bertholdt will cause a blast right now," Armin replied. "With Reiner exposed and on the verge of death, Bertholdt doing that would finish him off. This is our chance to use Reiner as a hostage and fight Bertholdt in close combat."

"…you'd think so, but…it seemed like he had…something planned. Actually…was that even really Bertholdt?" Mikasa sighed. "He nearly seemed like a different person."

"…I agree." The pair turned toward us.

"So…" Sasha babbled. "What should we do? Hange said we should follow you, Armin, and protect Eren and Emalina." She glanced at our titan friends.

"But…what exactly do they need protection from?" Connie asked as he scratched his head.

"Their capture," I said as all eyes turned toward me. "Eren obviously has something that they want. Maybe it has something to do with the incident several months ago. We just don't know what it is yet."

"And Emalina?" Armin asked as everyone's eyes glanced at her. But she wasn't paying attention to anyone. Her focus was following Bertholdt as he fled from our position back to Reiner.

Heaving a sigh, I shrugged. "That one…I don't know. I'm guessing Reiner wants her for whatever he's planning."

"Well, he won't have her," Sasha said directly, her expression fuming angrily. "They won't take either of them!"

"As long as we do our job," Connie glanced between Eren and Emalina. "You two will be safe."

We were all surprised when Emalina suddenly stepped forward, a rumbling coming from deep within her chest. And then, out of nowhere, to the point we had to cover our ears, she roared, her screams shaking everyone and all the buildings surrounding us. Without uttering a single word, she unexpectedly took off, running in the direction of Bertholdt as he made his way back toward Reiner.

"Emalina! What the hell are you doing?!"

She glanced back, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Saving you!"

~ oOo ~

EMALINA

I knew something was wrong.

Something about the way Bertholdt fled left me feeling uneasy. His look, his fight with Mikasa, something was just…off. And as I watched him fly away, I knew he would transform. My friends were all saying that he was going to wait, all because Reiner was incapacitated; I didn't believe that. Mikasa was right that it seemed he had a plan, and I could only guess he would transform. He probably wanted us to think he wouldn't, but the logical move would be for him to become the Colossal Titan.

But the question remaining was why? What was the point in transforming? Would it be like five years ago when they blew a hole into the wall? Were they wanting to get rid of the blockage Eren created? Considering the options hurt my head, but I had to think several steps ahead to beat our enemies.

All I knew was that I needed to get Bertholdt farther away than where he was.

As I ran, I flew by other Scouts, who all turned and stared at me.

"Emalina, what're you doing?!" One called.

Ignoring them, I continued running as I sped past Hange and Moblit. It had only been about one minute since I had left my friends, and I hoped it would be enough to catch Bertholdt. Pushing myself further, I could feel the tension in my legs as they pounded into the earth, creating small craters from my footprints.

Just ten more feet, I told myself. Push yourself ten more feet!

And it was ten more feet I ran. Just as Bertholdt was about to ascend, he turned his face, eyes widening at seeing it was me. Screaming at him, I threw my hand forward. His name fell past my lips in a rage. "BERTHOLDT!"

My grip tightened around his form, and I nearly crushed him. I could have crushed him and would have if it wasn't for the sudden heat burning my skin. I clenched my fist as tightly as possible, knowing that, with enough pressure, I could mangle my enemy. But the crushing never happened. The burning and stinging turned into something incomprehensible as my grip grew weaker and weaker after each passing second. Screaming, I knew this was it; Bertholdt was transforming, and I could do nothing. Knowing I would be caught in the blast, I tossed my hand back and threw Bertholdt away from our location, high into the sky. I put all my strength into that one toss to ensure that he wouldn't be anywhere near my friends and comrades. And yet, I knew it still wasn't enough.

As Bertholdt flew away, I could see the steam encompassing his entire body, as if he was mere seconds away from transforming. And just as his body left my hand, I could have sworn that the male was grinning from ear to ear.

Turning around with as much haste as I could muster, I roared again to my friends. "GET DOWN!"

The explosion happened before I could move mere feet from his location. With the mere seconds I had, I managed to erect a crystal wall surrounding me, but that didn't stop the heat from his blast to encircle me. My skin was on fire; my flesh burned into my nostrils. I lost the ability to breathe. Debris flew around my position as all the buildings were incinerated from Bertholdt's heat. Lumber was tossed left and right while stone crashed into my body. Though I was protected from my crystal, there was only so much I had created, and I was hit with god knows what from all around me.

I withheld a scream. The pain, even as a titan, was excruciating, and I only hoped that my friends would survive.

Finally, after several minutes, the flames ceased, and the air became more accessible to breathe as the wind calmed until there was nothing but silence. No birds, no wind, there was just…nothing. Daring to take a peek, I glanced from around my crystal to find the center portion of the district had been completely wiped out, leaving a large, open area with nothing between it and the remaining buildings that were several streets away. Once the steam cleared, I could see Bertholdt in all his titan glory.

There stood the Colossal Titan. And I nearly had him in my grasp to kill.

Staring down at my hand, there was nothing but melted skin and bone. Clenching my eyes shut, I wanted to berate myself, thinking of the different options I could have had in those few moments to have ended his life. Was there still a part of me that wanted him to live?

I opened my eyes at that thought.

No. There's no fucking way I would let that happen. My opinion is damned because these two assholes deserved to die.

Taking a deep breath because there was nothing I could do then, I willed myself to heal, watching as my skin instantly flew back together. The muscles, tendons, and flesh all formed into one before my eyes, and within minutes, I had my titan hand back with no apparent injuries. Peering around the side of my crystal, I glanced upward at Bertholdt from his seat in the sky. Somehow, he must've sensed my presence as he rotated his ginormous head to me and narrowed his eyes. Slowly, or as quickly as his body would allow, Bertholdt faced me and steadily raised his foot.

I questioned what he would do until I saw the speed at which it was coming down, right in my direction.

Swallowing, I fled from my position. It was either stay there and get kicked across the district or move and make my way back to my friends. I decided the latter as I swiftly moved. Leaving my crystal barrier behind, I ran back through the district, looking for my veteran comrades to see who had survived. So far, I couldn't find anyone else.

There was a loud thud in my ears. Glancing back, I saw that the Colossal Titan had struck his foot against my barrier, but it had bounced the appendage back. My barrier had remained intact with not even a dent from the titan's enormous strength.

Oh, he can't break my crystal? That's good to know.

Hightailing it away from Bertholdt, I kept peering over my shoulder to see what he was doing. For the most part, he was standing there doing nothing. Why was he doing nothing? Did he anticipate the blast from his transformation to have killed everybody? Was he relying solely on that?

Maneuvering back through the district, I arrived at my friends to find they were huddled behind a building. Skidding to a halt, I knelt, moving my gaze across my friends to ensure they were alright. "Is anybody hurt?" I said.

Jean coughed as he moved from Eren's shoulder to mine. "No, thankfully."

"Just a little beat up," Connie added.

"Emalina…why did you do that?" Sasha asked as she glared at me. "That was fucking dangerous!"

"I second that. What the fuck were you thinking?" Jean pulled on my hair beside me as I growled.

"And what? Watch you burn from his attack?"

"But, Emalina…you knew he was going to turn. I didn't even see that coming. What made you think he would?"

"He knew what he was doing," I muttered. "He was…acting odd. He wanted us to think he wouldn't change, but how he fled. I can't explain." I huffed a heavy sigh.

"Emalina…were there any survivors?" Jean asked, his face having slightly fallen.

Mine fell slightly as well. "I…I looked but couldn't find any. I don't know where they're at."

My friends grew quiet, not sure how to respond. "They were near Bertholdt…" Armin said sadly. All heads turned in the direction of the Colossal Titan - our enemy.

Tightening his grip on my hair, Jean stuttered, "Could we be…the only ones…who survived…?"

We took a moment of silence for our comrades, not knowing what we should say. If we were the last of our comrades, what were we supposed to do? We should follow Hange's previous order to follow Armin's command.

Looking at the blonde, I asked, "What should we do, Armin? Hange said to follow your orders."

He wasn't given a moment to asl as the Colossal Titan was on the move. Rather than moving around the district, Bertholdt used his hands to cast a burning flame onto the surrounding buildings and fling them into the air, scattering the debris around the city. The chunks of houses fell in clumps as if he were trying to decide where we were hidden.

Connie pointed at it. "H-Hey…those houses…they're falling from the sky. All those homes…up so high…One of them might be yours, Eren…" He snickered, and I stared at him in disgust. "Tell me, how does it feel…to have your own roof above your head again?! AHAHAHA!"

The others refused to stare and acknowledge Connie. No one spoke except for Jean, who muttered, "Sasha, could you hit Connie for us?"

"Gladly." And she did. She smacked him right across the head as he winced.

I had to be careful in my titan form, but I placed my finger behind his knees and flicked slightly, causing the man to stumble as he almost fell. My bald friend stared at me with an open mouth. "You're a jerk."

Mikasa ignored what was happening behind her. "It doesn't seem to know our position."

"Yeah…it's trying to spread flaming wreckage everywhere." Armin took a deep breath. "It wants to turn Shiganshina…into a sea of fire."

Jean wasn't having any of that nonsense. "What now, Armin?!" He asked. "Are we just going to wait here until some burning houses fall on us?!"

Armin turned sharply to stare at Jean; his eyes were wide. Was he just now realizing that we were waiting for his command? My friend stalled. He was suddenly fearful of the power he held, and it was starting to eat him alive.

"Hey, what…but what about Hange?!" Connie exclaimed.

"Did they really all just die in that blast?!"

I shook my head, garnering their attention. "We don't know for certain," I said as calmly as I could. Even as a giant titan, I could hear my voice shaking. Hange was a dear friend, and I didn't want to pause to think about her sudden death. "But right now, Bertholdt's not giving us even a second to look for them."

"Emalina's right," Mikasa stated calmly. "For now, we take orders from you, Armin." She placed a caring hand on his shoulder. His eyes were screaming that he was scared. I could tell. Armin was fearful that he would give us the wrong command and we would fall to our deaths.

He soon found his voice. "B-Begin…retreating. We'll meet with the Commander's group and seek his orders." Gulping, he added, "We'll continue our original plan of fighting a war of attrition against the Colossal Titan. We'll keep trying to make him use his titan's strength…until our main target appears. His gigantic body won't be able to make it over the wall." Through my peripheral, I could see Jean weighing Armin's instructions. There were pros and cons to what Armin was saying, and Jean was judging the validity of what we were to do now. "So we just have to trap him inside this cage until he exhausts himself.

Jean soon found his voice. "Hold on, Armin. We can't let Bertholdt get near the wall where the Commander's group is…He's torching everything around him! Just because there's a wall between us and the horses on the other side, that doesn't mean they're safe. We still share the same sky!" He gripped my hair tighter, pulling on the strands for support, the support I willingly gave him. "Yes, a war of attrition is the best way to defeat the Colossal Titan…but we're limited too by the amount of gas in our maneuvering gear. We can't depend on time to save us. Does that mean we have to defeat…the Colossal Titan right now?! Relying on no one…but ourselves?"

The crackling of fire caught our attention, and there it was. About thirty feet to the left, a crash of a building landed on the house next to us, causing the burning of fire to creep its way in our direction.

"A-Armin! The fire's getting close!"

"C'mon! We need orders!" Both Sasha and Connie were speaking right after the other.

Swiveling his head between all of us, Armin kept his attention on me longer than the others, and I was left wondering why. What part of the plan could I help with? I was either expected to stay as a titan the entire time or leave this body and fight as a human with the ODM.

Then he adjusted his vision to stare at Jean. "Jean…could you take over for me…?"

"…what?!" Jean seemed incredulous at Armin's request.

It was then Armin was starting to break. The command we expected of him was weighing too heavily on his shoulders. "I-I don't know! What are we supposed to do?! We're in this mess to begin with because I misread Bertholdt earlier! If it weren't for Emalina, we'd all be dead. All because of me!" He pointed a finger at Jean before dropping it by his side. "Jean…you're more cut out for this than I am."

Casting his eyesight away, Jean surveyed the area around us, considering the time we had left before the fire reached our position. "The river! We'll move to the river! Everyone get on Eren or Emalina! Conserve your gas!" My fries gained their positions. Connie and Sasha stayed on Eren while Mikasa and Armin ran toward me and secured themselves on my shoulders, grappling my hair for support.

"At some point," Jean continued. "We'll have to get the Colossal Titan to chase after us. But until then, Eren, try not to let him find you." Tugging on my hair, he said explicitly to me, "You do what you think is right. They may be after you, but you won't listen to my orders anyway." I huffed. "You know it's true!" He replied, anger tinted in his voice.

"Do…you think that's a good idea, Jean?" Connie questioned.

"That Ema be on her own? No. But I'm right, and you know it. If Ema thinks there's a spot where she can make an attack, she'll go. Remember, we'd all be fried if it wasn't for her throwing Bertholdt away from our position. She made the correct call in moving him away."

"Still," he said. "I feel like we're relying too much on Ema. Are you alright with that?" He was asking me directly.

I could only nod in acceptance. "If need be, I'll use myself to distract Bertholdt away from you."

Jean grasped his nose. "I'd rather not think about it like that." Knowing this conversation was going nowhere, he sighed. "Armin…I may be able to get a good read on this situation…but I can't think of any sort of plan to get us out of it. In the end, I'm going to have to count on you…"

Taking a moment of silence, Armin considered Jean's words. "We need to get Bertholdt's attention. It's the only way to distract him, for now." Everyone gulped, unsure of the plan. But we knew that if Armin was thinking, he was already eight steps ahead of us.

"What then?" I bravely asked. "What are we supposed to do then?"

"We have to exploit his weakness," Armin said confidently. "Only then will we know how to take him down."

I could only nod; it was the most logical response. If Armin said that's what we needed to do, then that's the course of action we would take. Poking Eren's shoulder, I said, "You ready to be titan fodder?" He nodded as well, knowing this was the only plan.

So, Eren and I moved through the district, trying to find a large enough clearing to show both our titans to gain Bertholdt's attention. When we found it, Eren and I stood side by side, planting our feet, and bent backward to prepare our screams. Gulping a large breath, Eren roared, whereas I screamed into the open air. Our shrieks echoed across the district; there was no way Bertholdt couldn't hear our call.

"Yell as loud as you can, you two! Don't let Bertholdt get any closer to that wall!"

Then he saw Bertholdt's head move, and he pinpointed our position. His eyes narrowed in annoyance, but…he didn't do anything. Just when I thought he would turn toward us, the bastard rotated his head and continued moving toward the fucking wall! I gasped, just as did everyone else.

"Is that bastard ignoring us? He must know we don't want him going there!" Connie called out. "Now, what do we do, Jean?! At this rate - "

"I know that!" Jean roared. "Eren, we're gonna stop that beanpole from moving another step!"

"But how?!" Connie cried, staring at the monstrosity before us. "What could we do to stop him?!"

Sasha bounced off our friend's thought. "The hot steam he produces means we can't get close enough, right?!"

"I told you, I know that! But right now - "

"I can do it." Six pairs of eyes spiraled toward me as I focused on Bertholdt. "I can get close. And possibly Eren."

"Ema…" Jean said, his eyes wide with fear. "You just - you can't…!"

"Yes, I can," I answered firmly. "I'm not indestructible; I know that. His fire can hurt me." I stared down at my healed hand. "He already has. But…I might be able to harden my entire body in my crystal. I saw it; he can't break it. That might work."

"…can you do it?" Sasha asked, her head tilted. "Are you sure that's something you can do?"

I waited a moment before replying. "…we'll have to see."

"That idea doesn't make me feel very good," Armin muttered. "Come on, Ema, there's gotta be another way. I feel like we've been relying on you too much because we have to keep Eren hidden."

"Maybe so, but…you know I'm willing to sacrifice myself as long as we complete this mission." My eyes found Jean; he pleaded with me not to do this. "It's the only way." When no one said anything to counter, she added, "Besides, I have my own steam."

That clicked in their minds as their eyes lit briefly. "That's right," Armin muttered as he cupped his chin. "You have your new ability. We…we've never tested it in an actual fight. Can we even use that against Bertholdt?"

"What, fight fire with fire?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah. Except it'd be steam against steam." Armin curled his fist tighter. "It's worth a shot. Hell, that might even be his weakness; it might slow him down." Narrowing his vision, he said with venom, "Emalina - do your worst."

Jean hung his head, lost for words. He knew this mission wouldn't be easy, but I doubt no one in the Scouts could ever think this would be the outcome of this day. There would be trials and tribulations we'd have to face, but not to this extent. Never in our wildest dreams did we assume the enemy would be several steps ahead. Shame on us for not thinking so.

"…let Ema be," Jean said after silence.

"Jean…" Sasha cried.

All he did was shake his head. "It's the best plan. Ema can be indestructible with her crystal. For now, let's rely on that." He took his hand and smacked my cheek. The assault did not affect me, but I still winced. "You better come back alive. Don't you dare leave me by myself."

"I promise." Only he knew the power of those two words. Jean and I had promised each other so much. Nothing of the future we had planned together would happen unless we fought and lived through this day.

"Well then…" Jean accepted defeat, knowing I would not back down from this. Instead, he roared with such ferocity, "We just have to try whatever we can! We'll do something to figure out his weakness!"

"Emalina," Mikasa called as I spared her a glance. "You and Eren focus on distracting him, and I'll do it. Connie, give me the thunder spear."

"All right!"

"Armin, you observe from father back! And you'd better stop your crying! You just have to believe that we'll figure something out!" Jean showed his fist into the air. "Now! Everyone scatter!"

And they did. Everyone flew in their specific direction while Eren and I ran forward. We couldn't communicate, but I could guess what he would do. Heading straight for the leg, Eren attacked the Colossal Titan's ankle, considering that was all he could do. I, on the other hand, moved through the district and made my way around Bertholdt until I was behind me. I planned to use my crystal as leverage to climb up Bertholdt's back. The Colossal Titan was slow with his movements and was probably limited in the agility it held. Meaning he probably wouldn't have the capability to reach behind him and snag me from my spot.

Reaching the best destination, I stopped momentarily to see that Eren was shoving the tian backward, even if it was inch by inch. However, it didn't last long. Bertholdt swiftly lifted his leg and, within the blink of an eye, tossed Eren across the district as if he weighed nothing. Eren was flung from our position near the district's middle and landed atop the gate toward the inner wall. I winced, not knowing how Eren was faring. He might be awake, or he might be unconscious. Regardless, Bertholdt's attack was brutal.

Knowing what must be done, I initiated my attack.

I encased my entire fists in my crystal, forming a sharpened end that I would use to stab the Colossal Titan as I moved my way upward. The goal was to reach the nape, cut through the muscle, and snag Bertholdt out to end his life. This time, I would end his life. I would take back what he had taken from me; that started with his life.

Taking several deep breaths, I began my climb. Jumping as high as possible, I stabbed my tool into Bertholdt's leg, wasting no time as I set forth on climbing. I continuously stabbed Bertholdt as I moved upward. The heat was almost unbearable, but I managed. Breathing as slowly as possible, I ignored the burn. My skin hadn't started melting, so I assumed that was a good sign.

Just as I neared Bertholdt'a hip, he must have noticed I was there. Twisting as best he could, the Colossal Titan began moving his arms in my direction to try and reach me, but I maneuvered out of his way. His right arm swung at me; I gave him no other choice. Jumping from where I was, I locked onto his right arm and began my climbing journey again. Bertholdt was smart. He used his opposite hand to do the same. But I was smarter. I jumped and heaved, using my crystal tools as a purchase to gain the advantage.

I didn't understand where my stamina was coming from. How had I crawled this height up the Colossal Titan's body? How was I still alive?

From my peripheral, I could see Bertholdt's hand once again to try and attack me. And just like before, I never gave him the chance. Planning to jump one last time, I used this moment to move from the titan's chest to his shoulder and quickly, as much as I could, move around toward the nape.

I could see the position where Bertholdt lay underneath. Taking my crystal, I struck the thick flesh with as much power as I held. The muscle tore as I grit my teeth. I was right there. I just had to push more, to cut more. I just had to do more!

I was never given the chance.

Considering the mission, I hadn't paid attention to my surroundings and wasn't sure what was happening until I felt large fingers grasp my waist. As I was forced away, I swung one last time, trying to cause damage to Bertholdt within the nape as much as possible. And yet, despite my efforts, it didn't make a difference. The only win I had accomplished was creating a large enough gash to see Bertholdt's body underneath.

Shrieking with all my might, I twisted and rotated with ferocity. But it was no use; the titan's grip was too tight. What was worse, Bertholdt was squeezing his hand tighter so that I could feel my ribs crack. The sickening feeling of it wanting to protrude through my skin left me nauseous.

Moving me toward his face, the Colossal Titan stared at me, and I knew that, where he was located inside the nape, Bertholdt was smirking. I could see it on his titan's face. What I didn't anticipate for the smoldering to begin once more. I didn't need to glance down to know what Bertholdt was doing.

Ha! You wanna dance, Bertholdt? Let's fucking dance! Two can play at that game!

First, I used all my concentration to form a crystal bodysuit around my body. It didn't stop the flames that had already destroyed parts of my body, but it prevented more torture forced on my skin. Once I could feel a thin sheen of crystal encompass my entire body, I wielded my next attack.

My steam.

This was a move I accidentally discovered while training with Hange just weeks ago. Eren and I had been sparring when he gained the upper hand, as he was better at hand-to-hand combat while in titan form. He had grabbed me by the neck as he was to throw me across the field when I grasped his arm and just…boiled him with steam. The burst of moisture escaped past my fingers as it embedded into Eren's skin. It quickly began melting his skin, and he had to pull away before I melted his entire arm off. Hange was highly impressed to the point she forced Eren to try the same attack. Needless to say, he could not replicate my new ability.

Since then, I have only used my ability on Eren, which was effective every time. However, I had not used my steam on anything more significant than Eren. Especially the Colossal Titan, which is its main attack was steam itself. Would it even work? I had no idea, but it was the only option I had.

Opening my mouth, I gave one last shriek toward the heavens. Igniting the power deep within, I exhaled, steam bursting through every pore in my body as I aimed it at Bertholdt's hand while it crept up his wrist. There didn't seem to be an effect at first, not that I could tell. But then I smelled it.

The rotting decay of flesh. The burning of the titan's skin that ruptured my nostrils. It was foul and disgusting. Breathing through it, I watched as the muscle instantly dissolved. Bertholdt raised his head toward the same heaven and released his howl. It was deep and frightening how the sound crept into my bones and forced me to shake. I never wanted to hear such a sound again, but he howled and roared. Was he feeling pain? He better!

I gasped. Bertholdt had squeezed his grip so tightly I knew my insides were crushed. Blood escaped from my mouth as I squeaked. Would he kill me now? Was this how it was to end? With everything we had been through, this is how I was to die.

And yet, the unexpected happened as I was sent flying. I was soaring high across the Shiganshina District. The wind pinched my ears, and I could only watch the decay and debris of the district pass me by as I flew. It felt like an eternity, but in all reality, it had only been several seconds before I collided into the stone. Bertholdt had been accurate with his toss as I landed almost on Eren. Instead of laying on top of the wall, I slowly fell into a heap of my crushed body and bones.

My body ached with pain the moment I landed. Luckily, my bones hadn't protruded from my body due to the crystal covering my body, but blood was still pouring from the wounds I received from Bertholdt's steam. My vision was growing dark, and I could hear the murmur of my name in the distance. But that couldn't be. No one would come looking for me. The importance of the mission was too great to come to my aid.

I lay against the bottom of the wall and tried stretching my limbs outward. It took several moments, but I was able to lean against the wall and survey my wounds. I dissolved the crystal from my body, the chunks falling to the ground before disintegrating into fragments and eventually dust. Taking a deep breath, I willed my healing to begin. For some reason, my healing was faster than Eren's. Usually, certain wounds would take Eren several hours to heal, whereas mine would take several minutes. And so, I sat there with my head held high as I could feel my bones reattaching themselves in the correct spot. My flesh from the titan's steam was sewing itself back together.

In the distance, I could hear screams and the explosion of a thunder spear.

Were my friends fighting against the Colossal Titan? Was Eren with them, or was he still stuck above me? Using the little amount of strength I had, I tilted my head upward.

Nope, Eren's still there. Then…My eyes blinked. My friends were fighting the Colossal Titan by themselves. Even as a titan, I could feel the tears in my eyes. I suddenly thought of my brother. "Levi…!" I muttered weakly. "Jean…!"

"No!" I screamed. I will not let this end me here! Putting in as much stamina as I could, I forced my healing to expand itself, to push itself to the limits of its powers, and to heal me as efficiently and as quickly as possible.

This will probably come back and bite me in the ass, but I have no other choice. My friends are probably out there. They were wounded or dying. There was no way to know unless I went out there and acted. I had to go back. I needed to go back!

Taking a moment to breathe, I dropped my hand to examine my wounds. The outer injuries had healed, though steam was still evaporating across my body. I had no idea about any internal injuries. Slowly standing, I stretched as best I could. I could feel there were still some broken bones, but I didn't know where they were or how fragile they were.

Regardless, I would let it be. There wasn't much I could do because I had to go out there and fight. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would stand in my way if it meant protecting my family and friends. I said I would fight to the death, and I meant it. Reiner be damned. Bertholdt be damned. And death be damned! These injuries wouldn't stop me as I forced myself to move.

Zigzagging between the remaining buildings, I moved back toward the central zone, where I found the Colossal Titan as he merely stood there. But then I suddenly stopped. Something was different. I narrowed my vision as I glanced at the Colossal. He looked…skinnier. Why was that? Was he…?

I blinked. It's just what Hange said! My titan's different than Eren's, but he could barely transform three times in one setting before we experienced battle fatigue. Maybe…was the Colossal Titan the same? Does he lose strength the longer he's in battle?!

Shaking my head, there was no time to dawdle, for there was another reason I stopped in my tracks. Across the way, I could see the Armored Titan standing.

Clenching my teeth, I said, "That bastard's back?!"

Stepping forward, I moved to my friend's position, their stares evident as several called out my name, though I stopped them as I raised my hand. Maneuvering my body until I stood between them and Reiner, I stared down the Armored Titan.

Maybe my friends would help; maybe they would focus more on the Colossal Titan. But there was one thing for certain. I would be the one to take down the Armored Titan. I, and only I, was capable of completing such a feat. I was willing to accept help from my hands, but I had to be the one to kill him. I wasn't sure where this murderous intent against Reiner came from, but…it was there. And I was willing to use my anger against him as long as he died. Planting my feet, there was only one thing I was prepared to say.

"This is where you die, Reiner!"

~ oOo ~

I was going for this chapter to be slightly longer, but I didn't want to extend it further than I did. I have to save some action for the next chapter!

Let me know what you liked or what you hated! What would you like to see next?

DragonGoddess629