𝚈/𝚗'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Attention!" Commander Pyxis yelled from the very top of the Wall. He does realize that he's like 50 meters up, right?!

He lays out the plan for the reconquest of Trost by sealing the hole made by the Colossal Titan.

The soldiers wonder how they will accomplish this amazing feat, and Pyxis introduces Eren to the soldiers as the one who will seal it.

Our comrades are shocked when they heard this, and Commander Pyxis continued to introduce Eren as a part of the government's 'top-secret experiment' to turn a human into a Titan.

He explained that Eren is capable of generating a Titan's body and moving it according to his will.

"Quite the introduction, huh?" I mumbled. Obviously, those who work with the government knew that information was fake.

So in his Titan form, he'll lift the large boulder in the vicinity of the front gate, carry it to the destroyed gate, and seal it.

Our duty, as soldiers, is to protect him from other Titans until he's moved the boulder.

"There's no need to fight the Titans?" I heard from behind me.

"I-I'm sorry. It's not my place as a recruit to say anything." Armin responded.

"Forget that. Continue explaining." our superior ordered.

Armin explained the plan in greater detail to two elite soldiers of the Garrison.

Placing my chin on top of my palm, I watched as Armin explained the plan thoroughly to the soldiers.

Using the information that Titans react to concentrations of humans, they will lure them to a corner of the Wall, on the other side of Trost.

Then, they will be able to keep direct contact to a minimum and take out Titans via the cannons mounted on the Walls.

A small group of elite soldiers will be assigned to protect Eren while he moves the boulder to plug the hole.

Well, that's what Armin told them. I just explained it based on what I understood from him.

"Okay, understood. Let's replan using that as a basis." the male elite soldier of the Garrison said.

Armin, of course, felt unsure about the plan. He's uncertain about carrying out the plan with uncertainty in his mind.

The soldier agreed, saying that there's something to be said about putting soldiers at risk when the foundation of a plan is anything but reliable.

"But Commander Pyxis's reason is valid as well." the male soldier mentioned.

"Right. We also need to worry about time. Even as we speak, the Titans continue to invade." the female elite soldier of the Garrison spoke up.

"As more make their way into the town, recapturing it will become impossible." she said.

"Not to mention, the chance that Wall Rose is breached increases." the male added.

"Don't forget, there's a limit to how long people can act with fear as their driving force." I finally decided to speak up.

On the ground, the plan seems to be met with resistance and disbelief. Large numbers of soldiers start to walk away.

As more and more start to follow these examples, Captain Woermann attempts to impose capital punishment, by killing the mutineers.

Before he starts, however, Commander Pyxis informs the group that whoever leaves will be pardoned, gaining the attention once again of the crowd.

He says they are free to go but then states that they are also putting their loved ones in the position of facing that fear themselves.

This causes them to give pause and after thinking about it further, they return to their positions.

"He's quite interesting, right, Armin?" I turned to Armin with a smile. He gave a small nod and a hesitant smile.

Commander Pyxis then talks about what happened four years ago at Wall Maria.

I clutched my stomach and tried not to remember the scene of my older sister fighting against the Titan.

The sound of reconquest had a nice ring to it, but it ended up having an ulterior motive.

"The only reason why everyone maintained their silence was because we managed to survive within these confined walls thanks to their sacrifices!" Commander Pyxis confessed.

It was a sin that all of humanity was guilty of, including himself. I glanced at Armin to see him sad. I don't blame him.

You just found out that your only family member got murdered for the sake of other people.

"Armin." I called out. He snapped out of it and turned to me with wide eyes. I gave him a sweet smile that would reassure him.

However, if Wall Rose was breached, humanity won't be able to get off with just 20% of the population being killed.

With only Wall Sina left for them to live in, less than half of the population would be sustained, which is why reclaiming territory this time is so important.

I'm not sure if Eren's Titan can carry a boulder that massive. He just discovered he can shift into a Titan and now he has to carry a large boulder?

That's quite a role if I do say so myself.

"This is quite exhilarating." I mumbled, gripping my jacket in excitement.

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"Eren, I'm sorry. In the end, I made you bear all the responsibility." Armin apologized.

"Remember what I said? You have the ability to seek out the right answers. I'll bet on that." Eren reassured him.

"Eren, I should come-" Mikasa got interrupted.

"Don't say you're coming with me. You were assigned to the luring unit, right?" Eren reminded.

"But...I can't leave you alone. If you're alone, you'll-" Mikasa got interrupted, once again.

"Cut it out already! I'm neither your little brother nor a kid! I've said this already." Eren groaned.

"Ackerman. You'll be part of the elite squad guarding Jaeger. We need your skills. Also, have you seen Voland?" a man asked.

"I'm over here." I announced with an irk mark. Am I really that invisible when I'm with the three of them?!

Actually, I haven't spoken in the conversation, so that makes sense, I guess.

"Voland. You'll also be joining the elite squad with Ackerman. Let's go. Time to move out!" he ordered.

"Fine..." I huffed.

"Anyways, see you later, Armin! Don't die!" I waved at Armin. Armin gave me a smile before the four of us separated.

Eren, Mikasa, and I head towards Captain Dietrich while Armin ran the opposite direction to join the other Scouts.

With the operation underway, Eren, Mikasa, a small group of soldiers, and I get into position.

We head for the shortest route and find no Titans on the way there. There are also no Titans surrounding the boulder. How convenient.

Captain Brzenska told Eren that soldiers are not pawns, because they all have names, families, and feelings.

She told Eren that he has the responsibility that their death will have meaning, and she advised him to never forget that.

As we reach the boulder, we all jumped down to land on the roofs instead of landing our butt on the ground.

I made sure to jump the farthest away from Eren since I didn't want him to transform right next to me.

Captain Brzenska shot up a green flare, signaling that our mission will begin. Eren bit his hand and transformed into his Titan form.

"From a human's standpoint, it's unthinkable to carry a boulder of that size." Mikasa stated, watching as Eren roared.

"That's only natural." I replied.

"But I'm sure Eren has power that can guide us." Mikasa said.

Things go horribly wrong when Eren took one look at the boulder and turned to Mikasa.

"Eren?" Mikasa called out to him. He threw a punch but I grabbed Mikasa and barely dodged his attack.

What's that reckless idiot doing?

Much to my surprise, Mikasa hung herself at Eren's face in an attempt to talk to him.

I warned Mikasa to get away from him. Eren punched his own head as Mikasa managed to evade the attack.

I hang myself on Eren's head this time and glared into his eyes. He didn't seem to attack, so I took this as my chance.

"Hey, Eren! Guess what? You're a Titan!" I joked. Eren hit his own face as a way to attack me, but I dodged it, like always.

I get away from him, giggling a little bit. I'm insane, aren't I? Making jokes and fooling around during a crisis.

The elite team stared at me in disbelief. Mikasa shook her head disapprovingly. I just rubbed my nape sheepishly.

The elite team then, much to our discontent, discuss leaving Eren there and retreating.

But in the end, they decide to follow the plan as Captain Brzenska stated that she will show them how dreadful humans can be.

Mikasa gave her thanks to Captain Dietrich, but he replied that there is no need and ordered her to defend her 'lover'.

This makes Mikasa blush and she quickly retorted, saying that Eren is only her family member.

"Oh, come on, it's pretty obvious you like him. You always talk about him before we go to sleep." I teased.

I turned back to Eren's Titan form and noticed something odd. His damaged parts aren't regenerating.

No, forget it. Just deal with the Titans and trust that Eren will get back on his feet. Have faith in him.

"I wonder how Armin's doing..." I thought to myself as I sliced the nape of a 10-meter Titan.

I nearly got bitten by a Titan who tried to bite me, but my body unwillingly dodged the attack.

It was weird really.

My mind is focused on Armin and Eren's Titan problem. My eyes were on the lookout for Titans. My body was moving on its own.

But I heard it runs in the family, so I have to get used to it whether I like it or not. But currently, it's pretty handy for situations like this.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a Titan running after something. It seemed like something or someone caught their attention.

I turned around and hooked myself to its nape, dodging buildings and reattaching myself to its nape over and over again.

I sliced out its nape and its body began to collapse. Before it did, I jumped onto a roof and saw Armin.

"Armin!" I called out, waving at him.

"Y/n...you're safe. But what's Eren doing? What's going on with the plan?" Armin panted for air. I happily stood next to him.

"Armin, as much as I'd love to answer that, it's quite dangerous here, so I recommend getting away." I suggested.

"But I guess I'll give you a little detail. Eren isn't in control of himself for some odd reason. He didn't respond to Mikasa and tried to attack her." I mentioned.

"In addition to this, I tried talking to him but he attacked me as well. It's pointless right now, so we're just waiting for him to get back to his senses." I added.

"And the plan?" Armin questioned. Armin hooked himself to Eren's nape and made his way over. I followed behind.

"It failed. We don't want to leave Eren, so everyone's fighting. It seems like Eren's attracting the Titans." I answered.

"And your opinion?" he asked me another question.

"At this rate, we're gonna fall prey to the Titans." I answered, once again. He was silent for a moment before he parted his lips.

"From the back of the head to the nape. 1-meter long and 10-centimeters-wide." he mumbled, taking out his swords.

"Armin?" I called out, staring at him curiously. He's planning to take matters into his own hands.

"I'm going to get Eren out of there! Y/n, keep the Titans away from here!" he ordered.

"Eh? Armin, what are you-" I got interrupted.

"Eren came out of the Titan's weak point last time. That's likely to be related to the mystery involving the true nature of the Titans." he cut me off.

"It's okay. As long as I avoid the center...he won't die. It'll just be a little...painful!" Armin stabs the nape of the Titan. The Titan screamed in agony.

Eren attempted to shake Armin away, but I grabbed onto him and hooked myself to Eren's Titan.

"Y/n, do what you can now. There are plenty of lives that could be saved, right? Leave this to me." Armin instructed.

"That's where you're wrong for once, Armin. I don't plan on saving lives. I plan to eradicate the species that murdered my only sister." I retorted.

"I honestly don't care about their lives. They could die for all I care." I scoffed. They joined the Scouts, they should've been prepared.

What did they think? Did they think that if you join the Scouts, you'll get special treatment?

"Y/n..." Armin stared at me with wide eyes. No, now's not the time to let your emotions out. Bottle it up and pretend.

Just bottle up that boiling anger inside of you. Just get through this day with a smile and fight.

"I wouldn't usually listen to other people, but since you're Armin, I'll gladly follow your orders, Captain." I playfully saluted.

I unhooked myself from Eren's nape and made my way to the tallest house I could find.

Soon, I found the perfect house,
I searched around for Titans that might pose a threat. I need to put my faith in Eren and Armin.

"What in the world is he doing?" I mumbled, staring at Jean who was running away from a Titan.

Why isn't he using his ODM gear? Isn't that what it's for? No, there has to be a reason.

Whatever. I'll just get rid of the Titan and find a way to deal with his ODM gear.

I sighed as I hooked myself to the Titan's nape. To my surprise, it turned around and stared at me.

It grabbed the string just as I was about to make my way over. Thinking quickly, I jumped over its head and sliced its nape.

I made sure to measure the amount of string that I needed to do that. The Titan let go of my string and collapsed.

I entered the house that Jean was in and stared at him as he stared back at me while panting.

"There's a dead person outside, who got squashed under a rock, go get their ODM gear. They won't be using it anyway." I instructed.

"Why do I always have no choice but to listen to you?" he sighed, following behind me as I pointed to the corpse.

"I'm following Armin's orderd right now, so I don't have time for you. Don't die, Jean-Boy." I told him before dashing out.

I'm sure Armin wouldn't mind it if I checked up on him. But wouldn't he get mad if I abandoned the mission he gave me?

Just as I pondered on top of a building, tremors brought me back to reality. It was the sound of a Titan's footsteps.

No, these aren't normal footsteps. They seem heavier. They sound heavier. No, they are heavier.

I turned around and my eyes widened when I saw Eren's Titan carrying the huge boulder that Armin was talking about.

"Y/n!" I heard someone call out. I turned to my left and saw him heading over to me.

"Armin!" I exclaimed. You did it...you really are amazing, Armin.

"Eren's in control! He's trying to fulfill his duty. Now, we can just escort him to the gate, victory will be ours!" Armin informed.

"That's great. You certainly are amazing, Armin. I'll go inform Captain Dietrich." I told him.

"No need. We heard it all. Everyone, defend him!" Captain Dietrich instructed from behind me.

"Even if we have to die in the process, protect Eren until he reaches the gate! Keep the Titans away at all cost!" he commanded.

"You three, head over to Eren. That's an order!" Captain Dietrich ordered, referring to Armin, Mikasa, who had just arrived, and I.

"Understand?" he looked at us, sweat trickling down his forehead. I think we get it already.

"Yes, sir!" Armin and Mikasa both replied with energy while I didn't. To be honest, I'm really tired and I don't wanna waste my energy replying to someone.

For some reason, I'm losing a lot of energy than what was necessary. I didn't do that much to feel this tired.

As he was about to go into action himself, he suddenly stopped, surprised to see 'Mitabi's squad' approaching the Titans on the ground.

Armin claimed that staying on the ground is suicide, but Captain Dietrich stated that it is the only way they have left to keep the Titans distracted from Eren.

He headed down to successfully distract a Titan, creating a path for Eren. Mikasa followed after him.

"Armin, let's go." I ushered, jumping off the building. I didn't hear a response from him but I could hear footsteps behind me.

The soldiers continue luring the Titans, however, some of them are caught in the battle.

Meanwhile, the other soldiers keep getting eaten by the Titans with less than a handful of them remaining.

We witnessed Captain Dietrich sacrificing himself by grabbing a soldier out of a Titan's mouth, which in turn grabbed him and bit his head off.

"There's one more left!" Armin announced. One more Titan is standing in the way.

It's just standing there like a fool who had entered a room while also forgetting what they were planning to do in there.

As one more Titan stood in Eren's way, Captain Brzenska charged forward, cutting through one of its eyes.

"I'll be back." I informed them, charging at the Titan as well. I cut its other eye, finally losing its ability to see through both eyes.

Mikasa also charged in, finishing the job by slicing off the weak spot of the Titan, their nape.

"Go for it, Eren!" Armin and I both encouraged. Eren seemed to have heard it as he roared back in reply.

Eren dropped the boulder, successfully blocking the breach in Trost and sealing the hole.

I sighed in relief, a huge weight on my shoulders had finally been lifted off. We took it back. We took back Trost District.

Captain Brzenska shot a yellow signal flare as a message that the mission has been accomplished.

Today, for the first time, mankind defeated the Titans.

With more Titans approaching, Captain Brzenska exclaimed that we have to climb the Wall as soon as possible.

Mikasa, however, rushed over to Eren who is still partially attached to the Titan's body.

Captain Brzenska quickly decided that they have to cut him off, and she herself does the job.

I watched from below as Armin came tumbling down with Eren in his arms. Extending my arms out, I catch the two of them.

But since carrying two people at the same time was quite difficult, we all ended up falling on the floor.

At that moment, two Titans reach us and as they were about to attack, they are slain by a mysterious soldier.

I spotted the 'Wings of Freedom', the symbol of the Scout Regiment on the soldier's back.

As the soldier approached us, our savior turned out to be Lance Corporal Levi. I seriously thought he was Mikasa at first.

Standing atop of the killed Titan, he looked at us and questioned about the situation.

"Long story short, Eren Jaeger is a person who can transform into a Titan and we sealed up the hole." I raised my hand to show him that I am the one who answered his question.

After that, both Garrison Soldiers and Survey Corps kept eliminating the Titans trapped inside Trost.

Afterward, thanks to the Survey Corps and the Garrison engineers' quick response, Wall Rose had once again repelled the Titans' advance.

An entire day was required to eradicate the Titans from Trost District, with the Wall's fixed cannons firing around the clock.

High-explosive shells annihilated the majority of the Titans swarming the wall, and the Survey Corps eliminated the few that remained.

Furthermore, a 4-meter-class and 7-meter-class Titan were captured alive.

On the other hand, 207 soldiers were killed or missing in action and another 897 were injured.

I hadn't even realized...how tired I was before I had collapsed on the ground.

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My eyes slowly fluttered open to be met with a ceiling