The Titan sized fist demolished the house where Mikasa had stood barely even a moment ago. Had she not flung herself to the side, she would have been crushed to death in an instant. A piece of the roof tile was turned into shrapnel, and cut a deep scratch on her cheek as it hit her. She landed acceptably enough, rolling with the impact and getting to her feet in one smooth motion. She didn't hesitate before launching a pair of hooks into Erens' head, and pulling herself right up against his face.
"Ackermann! Hey! Stop, Ackermann! Get away from him!" Ian ordered from one of the other buildings, awkwardly forced to watch their plan self-destruct at the first hurdle. It was a pointless order though as Mikasa looked Erens' Titan form right in the eyes.
"Eren! Don't you recognize me?! I'm Mikasa! Part of your family! You have to seal the hole with that rock!"
A shadow appeared behind her, and Mikasa was suddenly shoved to the side as a body barrelled into her. Her second landing wasn't as good, crashing in a mess wrapped by Gohans arms. The monkey tailed boy had taken the brunt of the impact by rolling in the air and landing back first, but it had still managed to knock her breath away. With how they'd landed, Mikasa had a perfect view of Eren as the fist he'd moved to crush her with stopped just in front of his own face, and he once again turned to face her.
The glowing green eyes locked with hers, and she saw no trace of recognition in them.
Rico landed next to the other officers with her squad. "The operation's a failure. I knew there was no 'secret weapon'."
"What the hell?! He's just a regular, dumb Titan!" Mitabi moved to a flanking position with his squad, while Ian moved his own behind Eren.
"Son! Ackerman! Pull back now!" Ian ordered, this time heeded as the two scrambled to their feet and moved as Eren raised his foot and push kicked into the building. The building didn't stand a chance, disappearing behind a cloud of debris which hid Mikasa and Gohan from view as they moved around and re-joined the garrison officers.
When they landed, Mikasa had a pained look on her face as she watched steam rise from Erens' damaged foot, the creature he now was completely oblivious to anything but its attempt to kill them. Gohan stretched out with his Ki senses, his heart falling as all he felt was the disgusted, tainted Ki of a Titan.
"Captain Ian! Two Titans approaching from ahead! A 10-meter one and a 6-meter one!" One of the other soldiers called out, and Gohan felt the two that the man had pointed out. They were wandering around semi-aimlessly, but they were slowly being drawn towards them. Not only that, but there were even more around as well.
"One 12-meter Titan is closing in from the rear!" Another soldier pointed out, but Gohan paid no mind as he watched Erens Titan form begin to head down the street.
"Ian! We have to withdraw! There's no way that kid's sealing the hole!" Mitabi wasn't as quiet as Gohan was however, his tenuous faith in the plan now gone. Mikasa turned and growled as she gripped her swords, promising death if they tried to abandon Eren.
There was a loud bang as Rico fired a red smoke flare into the sky. "Agreed. We have no choice but to leave him here." Mikasa turned to face her too, but the woman dismissed her as she watched the Titans moving around them. Gohan wasn't watching the Titans though, he was focussed purely on Eren, clues connecting bit by bit.
"He's going after the Titans!" He raised his sword and pointed, drawing the eye of everyone around. Sure enough, they watched as Eren suddenly picked up his pace and charged one the 12-metre Titan, shoulder barging the creature as it began to roar at him.
"Dumbass is going for a wander. Fine, let's leave him to have his stroll then, we still need to leave." Rico looked to be on the verge of giving the order herself, but waited for Ians' order anyway.
"No no, he isn't completely mindless. He's going after Titans just like he did before! And that kick, I taught him that move during basic training, he shifted his body weight and everything." Mikasa gasped as she realised what Gohan was drawing to. "His memories and instincts are still there, so we can still communicate with him! We can get him focussed again!"
The two other officers were silent, looking to Ian for his decision. The man however, remained silent.
"Red smoke shell from the Elite Squad! It seems the mission to seal the hole has hit a serious snag." The staff soldier looking through the telescope reported with a frantic tone, unable to see exactly what had gone wrong.
"For nothing! Our friends have died for nothing!" One of the soldiers bawled. So many doubts had been allayed by the commanders' speech, and yet it all seemed for nought.
For the cadets of the 104th, the sentiment was shared as they waited on the wall, watching the red smoke flair slowly sink ominously in the air. Most of them had been placed on supply duty, and were stuck waiting with a rack of gas canisters on their backs. Others, like Mina, had been excused due to their injuries. While Mina had protested that she was fine, it was clear to all that she was wobbling whenever she tried to move anywhere. In ODM gear she'd kill herself in a crash before any Titan could grab her. Armin was the true exception, having been granted a spot with the other officers courtesy of his involvement with the planning of the operation, but in seeing that red flair he moved, leaping off the wall and disappearing off with a puff of gas.
"Cadet Artlert, get back here!" The officers had been too distracted to stop him, and were far from willing to jump down and go after him. So instead, they were stuck futilely watching as he disappeared. When he was gone, one of them turned to the commander.
"Commander Pixis. We should go back to defending the gate immediately. Just give the word, Sir."
"No." His declaration was clipped and firm, with no outward reaction the people around him could understand.
"Shall I order the Elite Squad to withdraw?"
"No. Continue to lure the Titans into the corner of town. As for the Elite Squad, I've left all on-site decision-making in their hands. They're more than just skilled. They're the best of the best, with the fate of humankind on their shoulders. Admitting defeat so easily is not an option. If we don't want our fallen soldiers' deaths to be in vain then we must struggle for as long as we live." He finally turned to face the soldier. "Besides, that boy Artlert has a good head on his shoulders. If there's a way to salvage this, he'll find it."
"Hey! This is no time to hesitate! Make the call! Ian!" Mitabi was practically begging as the man in question continued to silently watch Eren as he continued to beat down on the Titan he'd found. Other Titans in the area had begun to take notice, and had started to move towards him slowly. Both Gohan and Mikasa found themselves desperately wanting to move towards him, but they were stuck having to solve the crisis with their comrades.
"It isn't your fault! This whole mission was a long shot to begin with! We all understand! It was worth a shot, and we did the best that we could! So our teams are going back up the wall now!" Mitabi turned and began to walk away.
Mikasa growled, lifted her blades at the ready and moved forwards, before Ian outstretched his arm and blocked her path. "Wait! Wait. Calm down, Ackermann. Rico, take your team and take out the 8-metre approaching from the east! Mitabi, your team and mine will deal with the two ahead!"
A sense of relief washed over Mikasa and Gohan at the mans' words, in contrast to Mitabi who let out a loud "what?!"
"I was the one put in charge! Do as you're ordered! We can't leave Jaeger to run amok! Change of plans! Clear the outskirts of Titans and lead him back towards the boulder until we can either get him under control or out of action. He holds a precious chance for humanity. We can't abandon him just like that! Because unlike us, he can't be replaced."
Dispensable, that was they were in their minds, just bodies to be thrown at the Titans for even just the hope of victory. Gohan hated it. They shouldn't have to feel that way, or be treated as such. But, that's what was happening wasn't it? Even now, as Rico was also pointing out, hundreds of soldiers were being used as live bait to give them their chance to save Trost, and if some them died in the process then it changed nothing. He couldn't accept that.
He wouldn't accept that.
"Mikasa, can you handle that 8-metre?" Gohan interrupted, raising a sword and pointing to the east.
"I can."
"Then go and take it down, I'll deal with the other two and then we'll work on bringing Eren back to the boulder." Mikasa nodded in understanding and leapt off the rooftop confidently.
"Hey wait! What the hell do you think you're doing cadet?" Ian may have been in support of staying to help Eren, but he wasn't about to abide having his orders superseded by a cadet of all people.
"I'm saving lives." Gohan turned towards Rico and Mitabi, both looking just as angry as before. "If you don't want to fight here, then go, fall back and be safe, I don't want anyone else to die today. But if you want to make a difference, but you can't put your faith in Eren." He raised an open hand, a small ball of light shining brightly as he formed a ball of Ki, the soldiers around him stepping back in shock. "Then put your faith in me."
He let the energy dissipate as he leapt off the rooftop towards the two other Titans, now both distracted and moving towards Eren who had found another creature to crush. He let his gear do the work for him, leaning back to lower wind resistance as he squeezed the gas and picked up a blistering pace quickly.
'If I'm supposed to be a symbol, then they need to believe in me. So I'll show them that we can still win this.'
He approached the rear Titan from its side and down low, getting as close as he could before releasing a hook and flinging himself in an upwards curve, hitting just the perfect angle to slice the Titans nape clean off. He soared past, quicker than even the mighty blood spray that followed, and fired another hook into the lead Titans head. He used it to curve himself around, swinging in a mighty arc as he reeled himself in, going from behind the Titan to its front, and high in the air to down low once again. This time however, he went straight between the creatures legs, the wire into the Titans face now pointing straight down as it stared confused, before rocketing up into the sky as the wire snapped tight. He was flung up and past the nape straight into the sky, his hook returning as gravity slowed him to a hover in perfect view of his target.
Another bright light shone in one of his hands, this time much larger than the light show he'd done before, growing it to the size of a large baseball as he poured energy into it. He gave a shout as he hurled it, the yellow explosion incinerating the flesh of the Titans neck. It collapsed with a moan, charred bone and meat in plain view. As he landed, Gohan took the chance to glance over at the others. Mikasas' Titan was just dropping to the ground as well, while the rest of the Garrison Elite looked on in awe.
He made sure they didn't see how much he'd already begun to pant.
Armin soared high above the rooftops as he drew near the target area for the garrison elite squads. Even before he landed he could see that things were a mess. Mikasa was regrouping after seemingly taking out a Titan all by herself, and he could see Gohan was heading their way as well, probably having taken out a Titan as well or perhaps just scouting. Meanwhile, the garrison troops were all stood rigidly in shock, if he had to take a guess why then he felt pretty confident in his hunch.
Eren was on the warpath.
He was getting further and further away as he went after Titan after Titan, the dissipating bodies of a few of his victims still visible from Armins view from the air.
'Some of the buildings nearby are destroyed near the boulder as well. They must have had company when Eren transformed and then lost control of him.'
It was somewhat awkward, but Armin managed to land on a clear spot by the officers, swiftly followed by Mikasa and Gohan.
"I saw the red smoke, what happened?"
For some reason it wasn't the garrison soldiers that answered, too awestruck to answer as they awkwardly stared at Gohan for some reason, and so it was the boy himself who gave Armin the short version.
"Eren lost control quickly, he attacked Mikasa and I before being distracted by the Titans. He's still somewhat in control judging by his movements, but we need to get him back here and on track."
'Eren attacked them? But… that doesn't make any sense. Eren wouldn't attack his friends like that. Except, it isn't fully him is it…' Armin shook his head to clear his mind, he needed to focus on the here and now, he could dwell on his musings later. "Alright, so what's the plan?"
"Someone needs to act as bait to try and get Eren to follow them back to the boulder. It'll be the most dangerous job, so we should send only one person, which will be me." No-one protested, Gohans skills both heard and seen, even if some were still on their way to believing it. "When we get him here, we'll need some way of trying to get through to him, the real him."
Armin nodded along, following the plan quickly. "If we can partially separate him from his Titan form, then we might be able to communicate with him. So someone will have to go for his nape, and hit just the precise point to get his attention."
"That's right Armin." Gohan and Armin admittedly hadn't interacted much during the physical side of basic training beyond a few pointers here and there, Gohan usually having been separated off for additional training. But in the classroom, the two of them had been top of the class, if anyone could have predicted Gohans plan it would be him. "Since I'll be the one distracting him, someone else will have to get into position when I make an opening. Then, be precise enough to hit the perfect spot, as well as know just what to say to get through to him. That's why it should be you Armin."
"What? M-me?" Armin may have followed Gohans line of thinking, but he'd dismissed himself out of hand almost immediately.
"We don't actually know anything about where Eren is inside of his Titan, if anyone can figure that out its you, nobody else knows Titan physiology as well as you. Besides, if Eren is going to listen to anyone, it'll be his best friend."
For a moment, Armin didn't know how to respond. Flattered, but still uncertain, Armin finally nodded in acceptance. Gohan flashed him a reassuring smile, before Mikasa suddenly interrupted. "What about me? How can I help?"
Gohans winced as he turned to face her. "Mikasa, I need you to help the other garrison soldiers keep the Titans at bay."
"What? No! I can help, I'm not leaving him!" There was a desperation that made Gohans' heart break as he knew he couldn't allow it.
"I'm sorry Mikasa, but given that Eren went after you first, I don't know how he might react to you."
The refusal almost seemed to break her as she shifted from a stubborn refusal to visibly hurting at the memory. "But, why? Why would he do that? I just want to keep him safe… doesn't he understand that?"
It was too clear to see the pain on her face. Not just from the attack, but from every time Eren had lashed out at her over the years since they'd met each other, it happening so many more times after Shiganshina. Gohan pulled her in for a close hug. "Mikasa. I won't pretend to understand what it is you two have for each other, but I know Eren does still care about you. He loves you." A single muffled sob choked out of her. "After all this is over, you should talk to him. But until then, you know what Eren would want you to do."
She pulled back, her head still down and wiped at her eyes with her jacket sleeve. "The mission. He'd want me to complete the mission."
She looked up at him, eyes tinged red but clear of tears. He nodded to her, eyes silently asking a thousand questions, until finally she nodded back and stepped away to join the other garrison soldiers. Speaking of, Gohan awkwardly turned towards the officer he'd essentially snubbed and whose orders he'd effectively overrode. That was going to get him into trouble later.
"Captain Ian, permission to go and get Eren under control?"
It was a weak gesture admittedly, considering what he'd just done, but it seemed enough to get the man back into action.
"Permission granted cadet. All right everyone else listen up! Rico squad, secure our rear! Mitabi, take your team and cut down any Titans coming from the east. The distraction may still be up but I have a feeling we're about to make a lot more noise. Ackerman, you're coming with me to secure the northern approach for Jaegers' eventual advance."
Mikasa was clearly happy to be more directly helping Eren, and followed without complaint as the three teams split off from one another with a determined puff of gas. When they were gone, Gohan turned to his remaining comrade, his tailed squeezing tight around his waist as he flexed and stretched his muscles in preparation.
"Ok Armin, you ready? Remember, stay hidden and out of view until I give you the signal." Armins nod back was determined, confident even. "We've got this. Let's go."
"Here's the plan, we don't let a single one of these ugly S.O.B's wander out of this corner. Focus on luring them here and keeping them here understood? Do not, I repeat do not engage them in combat unless you absolutely have to. I want you to operate in three cadets per team, when you reach the wall, jump, that clear?"
In an alleyway near the centre of town, an officer stood huddled against a wall surrounded by a small group of cadets. They were stuck halfway between the Titan distraction and the boulder operation, being given the unenviable task of helping to coral whatever Titans they could. In jeans mind, this mission was the worst largely because he was stuck helping with it. No doubt some moron had blabbed about Jean having grown a conscience during the flight to the supply depot and figured yeah, he seemed like the right kind of nutjob for this task. His assumption was only reinforced as he looked around at his company, including Connie who had as many brain cells as he had hair, and Annie, a lady who made up for her short height by having the worlds biggest stick up her ass.
"Die, and you'll piss me off. If a Titan goes astray we'll put him down."
Oh yeah, and then there was his new CO. Like so many others he'd been simply thrown at whatever leaders were still alive, and had been stuck with one of those 'by the book to our glorious deaths' types. "What do you mean 'if', it's not like we can count on them to follow protocol."
"What if our situation gets risky?" It was Annie, still as stoic as ever but at least smart enough to ask a prudent question it seemed. "Are we free to act at our own discretion or what?"
"Whatever'll make it easier on you." Two massive explosions rocked the far side of the nearby building, sending ominous smoke clouds up into the air. Just like that, their mission was on. "Pick your sides, move it!"
Jean picked what totally wasn't a random direction and started running, only slipping a glance behind him to see what team had formed up with him. Connie, and some random cadet whose name he didn't know. Figured that Ice Cold Annie would try and lone wolf it, but Jean couldn't find it in him to care enough to do anything more than roll his eyes. If she wanted to die trying to play hero she could be his guest, he'd had his fill already and didn't have anything more to prove to anyone. He was one of the top 10, and those skills were going to be used saving his own skin, not anyone else's.
While Gohan and Armin disappeared off to go after their main objective, the garrison teams had begun to make themselves busy with theirs. Namely, slaughtering any Titan that got too close.
One was currently dropping, its unflinching smile stuck rigidly still as it landed flat on its back in the street, courtesy of one of the elite soldiers who buzzed by wordlessly. There were no hollas or celebrations from these vets, who were professional enough to focus even if they weren't already up to their necks in Titans.
As soon as they had started making any kind of proper noise, the trickle of attention had become a nightmarish flood. Each Titan took careful coordination and manoeuvring to safely eliminate, and that was just for the normal ones, let alone any abnormals' they might come across. For all the time it took to kill one Titan, three more had taken notice of them. It was by freak luck that they hadn't taken any casualties yet, but it was getting closer by the second.
One of the elites landed tiredly and stumbled, not noticing the hand reaching out to him until he turned around and it was almost touching him already. Mikasa noticed though, and swooped down from above with deadly precision, the creature dead before it had even hit the floor. It gave them no reprieve however, as when Mikasa landed with the others Ian was already backing up.
"Son of a bitch, behind us." Mikasa turned to see a 13-metre Titan had managed to climb its way on to the rooftop, its massive size not translating into weight as the roof held strong, betraying the humans who had built it as it allowed the creature to fully climb up.
"Heads up, we got four mote coming through the gate, all of them 10 metres at least!" Mikasa whirled around again to see even more trouble heading there way, and they truly were heading there way. For all the help the distraction had down for the Titans in the city, more and more were still pouring in from outside, and thanks to all the commotion and their close proximity were consistently focussed on just them.
"Right, rear! Ackerman, yours!"
"Sir!" Ians orders were sharp and unwavering, a far cry from the initially hesitancy he'd shown when being thrust into the role. Once combat had truly started, he was actually a very capable leader.
She would have to be quick though, elite or not there was no way they could take on four Titans at once. She had to pray that Gohan and Armin would be able to get Eren under control soon, otherwise there wouldn't be a guard detail left for them. Luck did at least shine upon her now though, as the Titan to their rear had turned away despite having a prime shot at the soldiers, instead being distracted by the sight of Erens titan form off in the distance.
It gave her a perfect opening.
She didn't even bother to check it after she sliced through its nape, the abnormal dropping limp with a crash of noise against the roof tiles and a creepy stillness as it remained gripping on the building. Confident in her kill, she remained stood on the creatures head as she looked out over the city, and it was from there that she began to notice something.
'What's going on? Where are they coming from all of a sudden? There aren't enough of us to attract this many- unless… unless they're coming for Eren!' She followed the movements of several of the creatures, and saw the direct line they were making to him. Her legs tightened on their own, her body willing her to go to him, but she forced herself to remain.
She had to listen to what Gohan had told her, she had to believe in him to fix this. But, there were so many…
No. Gohan could do it. She knew he could. It had been him who'd bested her for as long as she'd known him. Every step of the way during their training, and even before that in Shiginashina. He'd been the one to lift that rock enough to save Mrs Jaeger, it had been he who had been grabbed by a Titan, escaped, and survived for two years in Titan territory. If anyone could do it, it would be him.
Erens Titan form pounded away at a Titans nape with his fists. For all the brutality and ruthlessness of his kill, the lead up had been a classic grapple and trip, throwing the beast onto its front and allowing Eren a perfect vantage point to rip his enemy to pieces. He was getting sloppy though, he hadn't noticed the small 5-metre Titan sneaking up from behind him, nor had he noticed the ball of light that blew its neck open.
It was a sloppy kill in Gohans opinion, and he was paying for it and the deep breaths he was taking, but he didn't have time to waste on the smart approach. Titans were coming in fast and relentlessly, he need Eren to move back to the boulder and do it now. And so he did the dumbest thing he could think of, and landing right in the middle of the street, blowing a whistle as powerfully as he could manage.
Had Piccolo heard it, Gohan was fairly certain the Namekian might have tried to kill him for how blisteringly high pitched it was, and it seemed to have a similar enough effect on Eren. With hands over misshapen ears, the Titan turned to face him, and Gohan looked back, a silent showdown as Gohan slowly moved his hands back to his blades.
Then, Eren charged.
He let out another roar as he sprinted at the half-saiyan, hands raised to snatch him and squish him into paste. Gohan wished he could use an afterimage or a solar flare in that moment, but he couldn't risk Eren losing him. So he launched himself towards him, skidding right between his legs as he raised his swords to cut a deep gash into them. It hit nothing of importance, Gohan made sure to avoid anything important like the tendons, but it was impossible not to notice.
Keeping his momentum up, Gohan launched another hook into the back of Eren, launching himself upwards as he set a course just past the boys left ear. He saw it twitch, rotate just slightly towards him, and then Eren raised his shoulder, catching Gohan in the legs and sending him into a flip. He managed to hit his target however, slicing off the top of the boys' ear and landing with both feet on the ground, trying to ignore the surge of pain that shot through his leg as he did so. Eren let out another roar, one more focused and angry, a hand coming up to grip at his wounded ear before he began to move towards his prey.
"Finally."
Gohan span on the spot and began the flight for his life as he rocketed down the street, squeezing off gas and pushing out as much Ki as he could to try and keep distance between him and his pursuer. Eren kept up with him the whole way, his massive strides and energy allowing his sprint to cover such incredible amounts of distance that Gohan was sure that if he let up for even a moment he would be squashed beneath his rampaging friends' feet.
Gohan cut every corner as tightly as he could, sparks flying as his gear ground against the rough stone floor while he glided as low as possible, keeping as far out of reach of Erens hands. He had to dodge and weave between alleyways and ruined homes in order to keep on a direct path back to the boulder, but every change in direction cost him speed. He had to give himself a surge of Ki to keep his speed up as he constantly jerked in one direction and then another, his stomach doing flips in protest. Such sudden zig zags were no problem for his pursuer though, who simply ploughed right through any object that got in his way, even cleaving off the corners of buildings he got a little too close to.
When Gohan turned the final corner and saw the boulder almost directly ahead of him, he'd gained no lead whatsoever on his friend. If anything, Eren had actually managed to get closer somewhat. He needed to get Eren to stop here, but unable to afford to stop himself, Gohan had to get inventive.
He rocketed straight towards the side of a house, firing off a hook to either side of a window as he pulled himself closer to his target. The window was on the second from the top floor, and the rise in height gave Eren the chance to swipe at him. As Gohan curled up and crashed through the window, Erens arm smashed through the entire wall in pursuit. The impact stopped Eren in his tracks, but not Gohan, who flew from one side of the building to the other, firing off another set of hooks to guide him back outside through another window, all without ever touching the ground.
And then, Eren pulled his arm up.
The entire floor above Gohan was suddenly ripped out, shredding itself apart from the force of it, as well as tearing apart Erens own Titan arm. Blood and debris filled the air as Gohan was flung into it, his hooks having been attached to a part of the structure that had been affected, and all of a sudden the young half breed found himself almost eye-level with Eren.
His right arm had been near ruined by his own attack, but his left was still as fresh as ever, using that to move and try to snatch Gohan out of the sky. For only the briefest of moments did Gohan flip through his options, checking escape routes and openings for attack before settling on his choice, a classic.
"Solar flare!"
The Ki from Gohans fingertips flashed brighter than the sun for only a mere instant, enough to blind Eren as the Titan suddenly roared and turned away with his eyes squeezed shut. It wasn't enough to stop Eren from continuing to move his hand however, as he grabbed Gohan in a tight grip, the air squeezed out of his lungs and leaving him gasping desperately. Had he not still had his natural genetic strength, Gohan wasn't sure he'd have survived it, as whether by impulse from the solar flare, or simply his clouded mental state, but Eren showed no hesitation towards his friend.
"Armin, now!"
Gohan didn't like the desperation in his voice as he called out, though with enough self-control not to scream it as much as he wanted to. Armin didn't falter though, no matter how much the tense situation might have thrown him, and Gohan heard the winding of hooks and wires as the boy flew straight for Erens nape.
As soon as he got into position, Eren began to react, twisting violently as if he could truly understand the danger he could be in. His arms came up as if to smack a bug on his skin, but his right arm was still steaming in recovery, leaving only the left available. As Gohan felt himself move through the air, he twirled the swords in his hands, rotating them downwards and stabbing them deep into the giant hand that encased him. One went right into the crook between his thumb and index finger, the other piercing down into both the index and middle finger.
Erens hand twitched open, the blades keeping Gohan gripped in Erens hand, but leaving his lower half free to rotate, and fire off a set of hooks into the ground. The tug was as sudden as it was brief, the power of Erens movement ripping the hooks free from their purchase, but Gohans own strong grip holding just long enough to stop Erens moving arm. With that short delay, Armin seized his chance and plunged his sword deep into Erens nape, aimed just off-centre enough to pierce the real Erens arm, and make the Titan let out a bloodcurdling scream.
He thrashed about wildly, the blades in his hand snapping in two and flinging Gohan free of danger and down to the ground. He landed hard, tucking and rolling to lessen the impact but only managing to do so clumsily, another surge of pain shooting through his body. When he looked up though, Armin was still in place, holding on for dear life before the hectic shaking finally stopped.
And Eren stopped completely, suddenly standing with arms slack and staring blankly at the building he'd destroyed, no sound escaping his lipless maw.
"Armin! Are you alright!"
"I'm fine!" The blonde boy pulled himself to his feet and held himself in place, awkwardly but acceptably enough that he clearly didn't think he was going to be fine. "Erens stopped rampaging, I'll try and get through to him now, so you go and rejoin with the others!"
Gohan couldn't stop the glance off towards the Titans he could feel approaching. The garrison was in danger, but he still couldn't just run off. He looked back skyward towards his friend. "Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm fine, just do what you can to keep the rest at bay! Trust me, there's tons of other people you should be worried about, now leave Eren to me and go and do what you do best!"
With a farewell nod, Gohan turned and moved towards the worst of the situation. Leaving Armin alone to complete the final stage of the plan. Armin moved his head closer to the slight gap he'd made when thrust his sword into Erens nape, and began to shout out to him.
"Eren! Can you hear me!? You've got to pull it together, if you stay like this we're all going to die!"
A scream tore through the air as Jean watched his new officer be lifted towards a Titans mouth. He was wailing, desperate for help but unable to form any words from sheer terror. Jean could only watch as he ran down another street further down, too far away to do anything at all even if he would. He thought briefly about earlier that day, how he'd come so damn close to dying by playing the hero and turned away in shame, screams cutting off quickly with a sickening crunch.
'At least it was quick.'
He felt a twinge through his leg as he remembered how his little stunt had ended up with him cracking it against the wall. At the time he'd managed to move on after resting for a bit, but now after sprinting again…
'Son of a bitch. Just another stupid prize I won for sticking my neck out like that.'
Connie and the other cadet were following behind him diligently as they sprinted away from the Titans slowly but insistently pursuing them. Rounding a corner, he was surprised to see Annie up by a chimney, eyes focused on something far off in the distance. Too focused, as she all but ignored the posse of freaks which were now heading her way as well.
"Hey! Annie! Snap out of it and move if you don't want to get eaten!"
Her eyes snapped over, and she hopped down to join them, falling in with the sprint without delay.
"Where's the sergeant?"
"Dead!" Jeans eyes narrowed at her, out of sight as she looked dead ahead. 'Just what the hell was she so concerned with that she missed that?'
"Well like it or not we're on our own now. What's the plan?"
"What!? Why the hell are you asking me?" To Jeans surprise it was Connie who spoke up next.
"You're the one who helped save a bunch of people at the supply depot run, if anyone knows what to do it'd be you right?"
"Yeah" agreed the cadet from beside them, "you are the one who saved me from a Titan after all."
Jean suddenly recognised the face, this time not screaming in terror from inside the gripped hand of a Titan. 'That's who that idiot is? No wonder he was following me. God damn it Gohan, this is all your stupid fault!'
"Split up amongst the houses, get some distance and draw them off, then pull out!" To his credit, Jean didn't immediately take the first offshoot that came up, instead he left that to Annie. When he finally did take a shortcut, he found himself somehow doing some big complicated loop through gardens and small closed off playgrounds. He managed to break line of sight from the Titans at least thanks to the narrow passageways.
He briefly thought about trying to get some air, but one brief mental image of flying high right into the waiting hands of Titans looking for a buffet dissuaded that quickly. So instead, he stuck to the paths, dodging in and out of the urban maze. When he did finally reappear, it was back on another main road with Connie off in the distance, a Titan right on his tail and swiping at him.
He managed to make a successful, if panicked, flip over the swiping hand, and squeezed the trigger to let loose a hook. When it bounced off the wall however, the idiot suddenly stopped to curse his luck. The Titan made no such mistake, immediately seizing the opportunity to go again.
Jean hadn't even fully realised he'd moved until he was standing right behind the Titan, firing off his own hook right at the Titans hand and slicing a deep cut into it, the drops of crimson in the air managing to get its attention.
"Jean!"
"Get up the wall!"
Whirling about, Jean realised what a stupid idea it had all been as the creature began to follow him now, a hand smashing into the stone where he had so recently stood. He paid no mind to the dust that flew up behind him, sprinting directly down the street before turning the corner.
When it suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't actually heard any footsteps, he finally looked behind him, stopping when he saw the Titan still in the same spot as before, with his hand stuck in the ground. He chuckled at the ludicrousness of it all, and clicked his triggers.
Nothing. His cheer evaporated into confusion, then swiftly into anger as he pressed again and again. Something within the blades must have come loose or broken entirely, since every time he squeezed there was a click, followed by a whole load of nothing.
"You malfunction now?"
He finally heard footsteps, only this time not from the Titan with its hand stuck, this one came from behind. He turned to see a demented frown staring down at him, followed swiftly by a fearsome snatch. Only by the skin of his teeth did Jean manage to dodge it, quickly picking up his sprint again and singing his praises of Instructor Shadis for his sadistic love of making the cadets run all day.
He couldn't keep it up forever though, as every alleyway he passed and road he cut across could have held a Titan just waiting out of sight and ready to slowly devour him. He looked up towards the wall, already seeing a few of his comrades making their way up it to safety. From down below he cursed at their fortune, and was most definitely not being hypocritical about doing the same if their situations were reversed.
Cutting around another corner, he managed to get out of eye sight of the Titan behind him, sprinting straight for a partially trashed building and diving through the open door. When he was inside, he immediately dropped to the floor and hid behind the wall beneath the window.
'Alright Jean, think. Can't repair my gear without any tools, and can't get out without any gear.' He took the chance and peeked his head up, hoping to confirm what he thought he had glimpsed on the way in. 'Jackpot. That guy got crushed by a boulder but his gear looks intact at least. I may not die today.'
Heavy thuds resounded once more as the Titan headed his way. He dropped down quickly, squeezing himself tight against the wall and freezing, cursing every creak of wood and clang of metal from his gear. Bastard had caught up quicker than Jean thought, he must have been losing his speed, there was no way that thing was going for a hearty jog anytime soon, what with its fat belly and squat legs.
He waited in silence, not even daring to breathe as the steps drew closer and closer. All he had to do was wait until it passed him by, get the guys gear, and run until he found a new hiding spot to change at. Or perhaps he should just run first? Hope to find another set of intact gear and-
A mighty hand smashed through the window above him, shards of glass falling on the soldier and scoring a half dozen cuts. Such was the least of his problems however, as the hand curled down, wrapped around Jeans body, and ripped him out of the building as he screamed.