𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"How about Y/n?! We have to go save her! I'm sure she's alive somewhere down there!" Eren argued with Erwin.

"Do you think anyone can survive a fall like that after getting skewered by a blade?" Erwin retorted.

"Commander, we can't leave her!" Mikasa shouted, anger boiling inside of her at the thought of leaving her only female friend.

"Like I said, we can't. We have no choice but to abandon her. Searching for her will only delay the operation." he pointed out.

"We can save her once we're finished plugging up the inner gate." Erwin told them.

"You're lying to yourself." Armin finally spoke up, trying to hold back his sobs at the thought of leaving Y/n behind.

"Excuse me?" Erwin turned around, surprised by what Armin just said to him.

"You're lying to yourself. You want to save her, too." Armin claimed.

"Of course, I want to save a fellow soldier of humanity, but we can't delay the operation." he admitted.

"You're lying again! Y/n isn't just a, 'fellow soldier of humanity', to you at all! She's more than that, isn't she? That's why you pay more attention to her! That's why you always scan our faces in search of her! Y/n is more than just a soldier to you!" Armin panted for air after yelling that out.

"I admit, she is more than just a soldier to me. But because of that, I will not allow my emotions to get in the way of reaching the basement." Erwin replied, nonchalantly.

"Hey, you brats. Do you really think that psycho won't go down without a fight? You think she didn't use her ODM gear to land safely in a house?" Levi walked up to them.

The three of them sighed, realizing that their superiors were right and that they had no choice but to hope for Y/n's safety.

It had already been an hour after Y/n's disappearance. This made the other soldiers worry, but they recalled Erwin and Levi's words.

The three childhood friends of Y/n even considered abandoning the mission to search for their friend, but they knew they'd be punished afterwards.

The three had to put their faith in Y/n's perseverance. They had to trust her.

Meanwhile...

Y/n fluttered her eyes open to be met with a ceiling that was not familiar to her.

"Where am I?" Y/n whispered, sitting up, only to wince at the sudden aching of her legs and arms, especially her back.

"Oh yeah...Reiner stabbed me. To think Armin was right about a person hiding inside the Walls...that man never fails to amuse me." Y/n mumbled to herself.

"Eren...Mikasa...Armin...how long had I been passed out? Are they still fighting?" Y/n tried to stand up, but her legs gave up on her.

"Not yet...not until I keep my promise...to see the ocean with Armin..." Y/n muttered, standing back up, stumbling a little.

She forgot about the wound as she focused on reuniting with the others to get rid of the people who ruined the place she once called 'home'.

"It's not over..." Y/n panted for air as she forced her body to move forward and find the others.

It felt like chains had been attached to her ankles to keep her from escaping the room that filled with the scent of dead animals and old plants.

Bertholdt asked if Armin tried talking to him about Annie because he thought it would work a second time, since Bertholdt is supposed to be meek and timid.

He understood that Armin is trying to buy time, letting the Survey Corps soldiers surround them and allowing others to finish off Reiner.

Armin asked why Bertholdt bothered talking with him if he knew what they were planning to do.

Bertholdt admitted that he needed to know whether he would break down and start whining and begging for forgiveness if he faced his old comrades again.

He discovered that he no longer feels conflicted about his duty, and told Armin that, though he still considered the Scouts his comrades, he has no qualms about killing them all.

"And that's because...we're demons to you?" Armin lowered his head, sweat trickling down his forehead.

"No. None of you have done anything wrong, and you're not demons either. But you all still have to die. That's all I have to say." Bertholdt replied.

Without warning, Y/n leaped up behind Bertholdt and tried to go for the killing blow. She was listening in to their conversation.

She had passed out in the building Armin and Bertholdt were standing on. What a lucky coincidence.

If Bertholdt didn't tell them that they had to die, Y/n wouldn't have ambushed Bertholdt and instead, she would've joined up with the rest.

Bertholdt got his blade up fast enough to block her, only losing an ear as he kicks her off the roof.

"Y/n!" Armin exclaimed, surprised to see her alive. Mikasa, who was standing on another building, was shocked but relieved.

Bertholdt tried to finish off Armin, but Y/n threw one of her blades at him. Unfortunately, the attack was blocked.

"Don't lay a hand on him!" Y/n yelled, using her ODM gear to force herself forward. This made Bertholdt retreat.

"Don't follow him. He could transform any time." Y/n blocked Armin from chasing after him.

"We need to keep our distance if we don't wanna get caught in another explosion." Y/n reminded.

Eren suddenly let out a roar, startling everyone near him. Armin and Y/n turned around to see Eren charging at the two of them.

"H-Hold on, Eren! What are you doing?!" Armin yelled in surprise. Y/n just stared at him, confused.

Suddenly, Eren picked Y/n's body in his hand and just let out a roar, as if he was scolding her for scaring him.

"Yeah, yeah, I was just caught by surprise. You think I would just go down without a fight. Do you think of me as someone that weak?" Y/n grumbled.

Eren shook his head and let out one final roar before putting her down on the roof, where Armin was.

"That startled me..." Y/n mumbled, regaining her balance to stand steadily on the roof.

"Y/n, what happened after you were stabbed? Where did you go and where did you come from?" Armin questioned.

"I don't remember much, but I do recall crashing into one of the buildings when I forced myself to use my ODM gear. The building we're standing on is the house I crashed into." Y/n answered.

"How's your wound? The blade managed to-" Armin got cut off.

"Anyways, what happened to me doesn't matter. I'm fine, so we should focus on the operation." Y/n reminded.

"Fine, but I don't think Bertholdt plans to transform yet. If he did it here, the blast would be the killing blow to Reiner." Armin stated.

"If we used Reiner as hostage, I bet we could even fight him with our swords." Y/n pondered.

Soon, Mikasa decided to join the two of them. Upon her arrival, she quickly pulled Y/n into a hug.

"Don't ask." Mikasa told her before pulling away from the sudden embrace. Y/n just sweatdropped.

"Bertholdt looked like he had made up his mind to do something. But was that really Bertholdt just now?" Mikasa mumbled.

"He felt like a completely different person to me." Y/n admitted, rubbing the place that he had kicked her.

"I agree." Armin nodded.

As Bertholdt ascended high into the sky, he thought to himself that no matter how all this ends, he will be able to accept the outcome.

(A/N: Fly high, Marites)

No one was in the wrong, but there was nothing they could have done anyway, as the world is simply that cruel.

The sight of Bertholdt made Hanji order her squad to get away, but there was not enough time. Moblit moved to grab Hanji as Bertholdt finally transformed.

The Scouts could only watch as a massive explosion erupted from Bertholdt's transformation.

His transformation blew buildings and houses away and leveled the central portion of the district, leaving a mushroom cloud over Shiganshina.

Eren and the Levi Squad tried to recover as Armin, Mikasa, and Y/n rejoined them. They were perched on top of Eren's Titan.

"Mikasa! Y/n! Armin!" Jean exclaimed, surprised to see the three of them alive after that massive explosion.

"Y/n! You scared us. We really thought you died and we were even ready to go against the Captain's orders." Connie admitted.

"If you died, I don't think I would be able to eat dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow." Sasha confessed.

When Jean asked where Hanji's Squad was, Armin realized they were too close to Bertholdt's transformation.

The group watched in horror as the Colossal Titan loomed over the town, and realized that the only ones who survived the blast were the seven of them.

𝚈/𝚗'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Armin! What do we do? Wait around to be killed by burning debris?" Jean inquired.

"Armin, everyone hear is waiting for your orders. I'm sorry." I placed a hand on Armin's shoulder.

"We have to retreat. Meet up with the commander for new orders. Then we'll engage the Colossal Titan in a battle of attrition as originally planned." Armin stammered.

Jean pointed out that it'll be a disaster if Bertholdt approaches the wall, where the soldiers are. That's true...

If the Colossal Titan throws burning homes on the other side of the Wall it will trap the Scouts there between both fire and the Beast Titan.

"A-Are you saying we have no choice but to defeat Bertholdt right here? With only the people we have with us right now?" Armin realized, much to his horror.

Out of the blue, debris fell from the sky due to the ruckus that the Colossal Titan was creating as he destroyed houses and buildings in his way.

The Colossal Titan scooped up homes in Shiganshina District and hurled them into the air where they scattered across other parts of town as flaming pieces of debris.

"H-Hey...houses are falling from the sky. You think one of those houses he's throwing is Eren's?" Connie questioned.

"Eren's house...is eavesdropping!" Connie laughed, not failing to use this opportunity to make a joke.

"Sasha, could you smack Connie for me?" Jean requested, staring at Connie in disbelief.

"Oh, smack him for me as well. That joke was funny, but now's not the time." I requested as well.

Sasha bonked him in the head, causing Connie to stop laughing and rub his head from the impact.

"It looks like he doesn't know where we are." Mikasa remarked and Armin agreed with her.

"He's trying to scatter enough burning debris to turn Shiganshina District into a sea of flames." Armin explained.

Why you...you think you can just burn down the city I grew up in? No, the city the four of us grew up in?

"A-Armin! The fire's too close! Your orders?" Connie demanded, fearing the falling debris.

"We need them now!" Sasha exclaimed, pressuring Armin for orders.

"Y/n, can you take my place?" Armin turned to me and I stared back at him, my eyes widening at his sudden request.

"I just have no idea what we should do...I put us in this position by misreading Bertholdt." Armin elaborated.

"Y/n, you make a better leader than me. You always ordered others into doing the right thing when I couldn't speak up." Armin placed his hand over mine.

My heart skipped a beat as I stared into his round, blue eyes that never failed to amaze me to this day.

"Fine. Everyone, ride on Eren. We can't waste our gas. Eren, head to the river." I commanded.

This leadership thing was not made for me. Personally, I'm no good at leading. He should've told Jean to take his place.

I told Eren that we're going to have to get Bertholdt's attention eventually, but until then, Eren will have to stay hidden.

"Armin, I know you're nervous and I don't wanna pressure you...but to be honest, I don't know a way out of this situation." I admitted.

"We're still relying on you for a plan. I'm really sorry." I apologized. He gave me a reassuring smile before grabbing my hand in his.

"It's fine. Sorry for forcing you to take my position." he apologzied as well. Heat rose to my cheeks and I could hear my heart pounding.

That's when my vision changed into one of a bird. It was staring at us and it's just above us too.

I can't seem to move the bird from its place, meaning I'll have to abandon my consciousness in my body and focus on the bird.

"Armin, I'm going to watch us from above. I'll inform you if there's debris heading our way." I informed him, before leaving the consciousness in my body.

With the eyes of the bird, I scanned the area we were in. Houses were burnt and some were in ruins.

"Debris coming from the right. Eren, move forward!" I yelled, exiting my Eagle Vision.

It seems there is a limit to how much I use this Eagle Vision of mine. I can only use it for 5 seconds.

Well, I'm not too surprised since this is the first time I'm aware of this and I'm actually using it intentionally.

Eren dashed forward and the debris crashed down behind us. If I hadn't warned them...we could've all died then and there.

That would be the most pathetic death and I don't plan on dying in the most pathetic way.

"Eren, get his attention. We can't let the Colossal Titan get any closer to the wall." I instructed. Eren lets out a roar.

The Colossal Titan paused momentarily to look at us, before resuming his march towards the Wall.

"What? He's just going to ignore us?!" Jean scoffed.

"Hey, what do we do, Y/n?! If he keeps going that way..." Connie's voice trailed off. I know that already!

"Eren, do something to stop that thing from moving its legs!" I ordered. Eren chased after the Colossal Titan.

Sasha reminded us that our ODM gear is useless, thanks to the Colossal Titan's steam emissions.

As we approach, Mikasa asked for Connie's Thunder Spear, so she can attack while the rest of the squad distracted Bertholdt.

"Armin, I need you to stay back and observe him for me. Find out his weakness." I instructed as Armin nodded in reply.

"Everyone, scatter." I ordered. Everyone scattered and Eren grabbed onto the Titan's foot in an attempt to shove it back.

It initially seemed successful, but then the Colossal Titan pulls its leg further back into a kick that launched Eren to the top of Wall Maria.

"Eren! Eren's not moving..." Mikasa began to worry.

"Eren's not moving, but he isn't dead. If he was, he would be evaporating. We should focus on that thing that's still trying to kill us." I reminded, snapping Mikasa out of it.

I'm sorry, everyone. I'm not cut out to be a leader.

"Don't think about plans that are too rash, Y/n. Think properly, don't let it get to you." I scolded myself.

"I'm not fit to be a leader at all...but I don't plan to sit here and wait to be slaughtered." I stood up with my blades ready.

I called the rest of the squad together and had them go on the attack.

Since the Colossal Titan doesn't know about the Thunder Spears, I had Connie and Sasha assist Jean in distracting Bertholdt.

Mikasa and I will try to land a critical blow on his nape, in hopes of finally getting rid of another obstacle.

However, it seemed like the Colossal Titan noticed us before the two of us could even attack it.

He emits a blast of steam which blew away the Thunder Spears, which exploded behind Mikasa and me.

We landed on the buildings below, Connie coughing due to inhaling some of the steam, and Mikasa and I bleeding due to shrapnel from the Thunder Spears.

It's no good. Even the Thunder Spears can't make it through the steam, but I hope this is enough to make Armin realize something.

Mikasa asked Armin if he has come up with a counterattack yet, but to his distress, he has not.

Worse, we noticed that the Armored Titan has recovered and is rejoining the fight.

"That bastard. He actually got back up. What'll it take to kill him for good?" Jean cursed under his breath.

"What the hell can we even do against an enemy like that? Hey, Y/n, I think we're gonna have to bet everything on saving Eren." Jean told me.

Before I was about to argue against his idea, Armin decided to speak up after staring at the Colossal Titan.

"He got thinner. The Colossal Titan got a little skinnier. Deputy Commander Hanji's theory was right! The Colossal Titan can't hold out in a battle of attrition." Armin mentioned.

"Remember the experiments with Eren?" Armin questioned, turning to face each one of us.

"Eren could only transform three times in a row and he's only a 15-meter-class Titan. A 60-meter Titan's transformation must use much more energy." I elaborated.

"When he blasts us with that steam, he must be using up his own flesh, everything but the skeleton." Armin continued.

"What are you getting at?" Jean inquired, standing up. Armin...

Armin asked the rest of us to draw the Armored Titan away while he and Eren handle the Colossal Titan themselves.

"Got it. You can trust us to handle Reiner." Mikasa reassured.

"Took you long enough. I really thought we were done for." Jean sighed in relief.

"Understood, Captain." I playfully saluted. After I noticed the confidence in his eyes, how can I refuse his plan?

I led the remaining members of Squad Levi towards the Armored Titan with a plan to fight conservatively and keep Reiner away from the battle with Bertholdt.

Much to our surprise, the Armored Titan completely ignored and ran passed us in pursuit of Eren.

"We have no choice but to kill him!" Mikasa declared before she crippled the Armored Titan with a Thunder Spear.

The Thunder Spear hit the back of its knee, making it fall to the ground as it stared back at us after we had landed on a building in front of it.

If we can't draw the Armored Titan away, we'll just have to kill it right here and now. We have to protect Armin and Eren.

I watched as Armin yelled at Eren to get up, but his efforts were in vain when Eren just stayed still.

The Colossal Titan lifted its right arm and swung it at Armin in an attempt to end it once and for all.

Armin dodged and grappled onto the Colossal Titan's body with his ODM, propelling himself up to its face.

The Colossal Titan emitted a blast of hot steam that caught Mikasa's attention as well. We watched in horror at the sight.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted.

"Armin..." I whispered, not knowing his plan or strategy to fight the Colossal Titan with Eren still knocked out.

"We have to believe in them. We need to stay focused on attacking that thing." I reminded. Mikasa nodded and the two of us faced the Titan.

If it's even possible to defeat it with only three Thunder Spears, this must be the way.

Unfortunately, I used up all of my Thunder Spears when I tried to blow the Colossal Titan's nape.

We have to finish it now, while he can't move. One way or the other, we have to end this now.

First, Jean acts as decoy. Then, Connie and Sasha take two of the Thunder Spears, get on either side of Reiner, and aim for his jaw.

If we blow up his jaw, his mouth should fall open. Then Mikasa will use the last Spear to get his nape from inside his mouth.

Meanwhile, I have to stay back and rescue everyone that gets injured, in case the plan fails.

Though it initially seemed to work, Sasha is knocked away by some of the debris from Reiner's attack against Jean, and only Connie's Thunder Spear hit.

I used my ODM gear to maneuver my way to Sasha's body. I carried her ajd rested her on one of the roofs of a building.

"Mikasa! Don't use it!" Jean yelled.

"It's too reckless!" I added.