Leo Simon
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Counterattack Chapter 2
🕑 Added 2023-11-23 22:04:54 +0000 UTCBertolt slowly and lazily opened his eyes, the heavy weight lying on his conscience weighing him down, urging him to just stay in bed and ignore everything. The world around him felt distant, even the sound of his 'comrades'- the devils of Paradis- beginning to wake up for the day, to fulfil their duties, wasn't enough to force him out of bed.
Bertolt felt disgusting good, strange considering the acts he'd commit today, and didn't want to get out of bed. Just like he didn't want to be a mass murderer, just like he didn't want to destroy Wall Rose. He wanted to run, he wanted to hide, he wanted everything just to stop.
But, he rarely got what he wanted.
"Morning Bertolt." Samuel spoke cheerily, though his lanky friend just gave a noncommittal grunt, hardly even acknowledging the devil he'd end up murdering. Bertolt might have entertained their presence, but he wasn't about to actively try and make conversation with them of his own accord. He wasn't Reiner.
"That was some speech Eren gave last night. I mean, he's a passionate guy, but that was just something else. Honestly, I'm kinda tempted to join the Scouts now."
Bertolt didn't respond, walking through the hallway and just praying that Samuel would leave him alone. He had no desire to speak with any of the peo- devils he'd end up massacring today.
Samuel sighed, putting his arms behind his head. "Look, it's not like Eren hasn't talked about the Titans before, everyone knows he was there in Shiganshina. It's just... he makes sense. Sure, we might be able to survive behind Wall Rose, but if the Colossal Titan can just appear at any time and destroy our homes... well we don't really have a choice but to fight. I mean, those monsters won't stop until we're dead, so maybe fighting them with everything we have is the only way to make sure we survive. Does that make sense?"
Bertolt's throat clenched, with him letting out a shuddered breath before looking away from Samuel. The shorter boy noticed this, and he instantly held his arms up in a placatory manner. "Sorry! I forgot you're from Maria, just like Eren. I'm sorry if I stirred up any bad memories!"
Bertolt just breathed out. "It's fine... I need to go though." Without even acknowledging Samuel's response, he hastily ran ahead with his breathes becoming shallow and quick.
Bertolt hated Paradis with all his being, never did he think that the Walls could be even worse than he was told. He was never given the privilege of rest, he was never allowed to enjoy himself, he was- he was always the victim, no matter where he went. In Marley he was Eldian scum, looked down upon for being a devil, and in Eldia he was an actual devil. So many times he'd heard them, the way they spoke about what he did... it was too much for him-
Bertolt slowed his running into a more leisurely pace, shaking his head and regaining his composure. He was a Warrior, not just any Titan either, he was the Colossal Titan. The God of Destruction, and Marley's most powerful soldier. He was stronger than this, he was better than this!
Bertolt finally looked upwards, renewed conviction to endure his next deed, but was instantly halted when the last person he wanted to lay eyes on knocked onto his shoulder, making his halt his advance.
Eren apologised almost immediately, a little too fast even. "Sorry Bertolt, just needed to get somewhere a little too fast."
"It's fine, just move along." Bertolt almost recoiled, surprised at how forceful his tone was, and Eren's expression twitched.
The shorter man, after an instant of hesitation, just shrugged it off. "Actually, whilst I have you, what military branch do you want to join?"
Bertolt felt some annoyance at Eren's insistence, not wanting to speak with his victim if he could help it, but swiftly answered. "Military Police."
However, much to his annoyance, Eren didn't stop there and asked with a more serious tone. "What's your reason for that?"
"The interior is safe, I won't need to fight." Bertolt tried to move past, but Eren blocked him abruptly. Bertolt was surprised at the action by his fellow graduate, but his thoughts on the matter were cut off.
"Will there even be an interior to hide behind after the Colossal destroys the Wall?" Eren remarked, as though his thoughts were fact.
Bertolt's frustration boiled, his normally timid voice becoming more audible than usual. "Who cares, maybe it's better if-" He stopped himself, but that wasn't enough to escape Eren's notice.
Eren's eyes narrowed, him pushing for answers. "Better if what, Bert?" His words had a slight of mock in them, as though he were daring Bertolt to speak his real thoughts.
Bertolt felt some anger, and his expression even morphed to emote those feelings, but when Eren's own expression overshadowed his own rage, so he wisely chose to withdraw. Not having a wish to anger the Shiganshina native.
Eren was terrifying, at least in Bertolt's eyes. There was just something so primal about him, as though his core was waiting for an excuse to erupt, and in short bursts Bertolt was unlucky enough to witness that anger. He obviously had a vicious and violent side, even if he hid it behind a façade of camaraderie and fortitude, and Bertolt was glad he wasn't born in Marley.
The thought of him ever becoming a Warrior, the idea of him being a shifter, of transforming and going on a rampage-
Bertolt let out an involuntary shiver, backing away as he answered the other boy hastily. "It's nothing, just a misplaced thought."
Eren hummed, unconvinced. "Good, that's no problem though. I mean, you would never kill humanity by letting the Titans in. The idea of you killing so many people, that's just silly."
The taller teen sweated, laughing nervously, before he quickly passed the other boy by and didn't look back. Not noticing the hatred in those green eyes, which reeled itself in as Eren walked away to achieve his own objective.
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"Hey, you guys know where Eren is?" Connie asked his comrades, cleaning a cannon at the top of Wall Rose, trying not to look behind him and towards the monsters that wanted to devour them all.
Mina, who'd finished her work, answered him with a thoughtful few words. "Who knows. Maybe he decided to skip work?"
Thomas shook his head in denial, not entertaining the idea. "Nope, he's not the type to skip work. Maybe his ODM gear is busted? You can't climb the Wall without it."
Samuel fidgeted slightly with his cleaning equipment before he suggested. "Well, don't tell him I said this, but last night I spotted him and Mikasa... they were totally making out!" He blurted out that last part, the others having varying degrees of reactions, but most were surprised by the news.
Mina was the sole exception, she practically had stars in her eyes. "That, amazing! Who was it that made the first move? It's obvious Mikasa has feelings for him, but Eren making those moves is definitely surprising."
Connie, who'd stopped cleaning the cannons, favouring the intriguing news over work. "How do you know he acted first?"
Mina easily refuted him. "Come on, I know Mikasa, and that girl had no idea how to handle her feelings. It's a little cute how oblivious she is, but apparently Eren is the less dense one in their relationship."
Thomas awkwardly suggested. "Hey, you don't think they went to a motel or something, do you?"
For a moment his words didn't set in, but when Samuel and Mina realised what he meant, they both blushed furiously. Connie though, cluelessly asked. "What do you mean, why would they be at a motel, staying at the barracks would save money."
Mina snorted, her own fluster fading, as she pointed out. "Connie, he means that they had se-"
The twin tailed girl was cut off as Sasha returned to them, her jobs complete, and a stupid grin on her face. "Hey guys, don't tell anyone, but I totally stole some meat from the officers pantry." The redheaded girl then revealed a large piece of meat she'd taken, and the other cadets reacted spontaneously, their conversation forgotten.
"Sasha, are you insane?!"
"Do you realise how expensive meat is since Maria fell?!"
"Are you asking to be locked up in solitary confinement?!"
In the face of these worries, the famed potato girl responded with an unsettling grin, drool leaking from her mouth. "Don't worry about that, there'll be no evidence if we just eat it all! Think of the sandwiches, I'm willing to share!"
The cadets were torn, their duty and desire for meat clashing, until Samuel broke first. "I'd really like some of that!"
Connie, seeing he wasn't the first to fall, deemed that enough to justify his answer. "Hey, I'll have some too! It's not fair if he's the only one!"
Thomas sighed, but his lips were slightly curled; giving away his excitement. "Well, I guess there's no harm."
Mina grinned, her grey eyes gaining a daring glint. "You better save me some of that!"
Sasha smiles fondly, walking over to place the savoury meat in a crate, declaring. "It's a deal then. Don't worry about getting in trouble though, when we reclaim Maria we'll have all the room we need for livestock."
The weight of her words made Samuel freeze. "You're joining the Survey Corps?! What about the MP's, these past three years you wouldn't stop yelling about eating good when you got to the interior! What changed you?!"
Sasha sheepishly scratched her head, closing the chest and rising to meet his eyes and explain herself half-heartedly. "Well... I just changed my mind, what's so great about being an MP anyway?" Her fellow cadets weren't convinced, but Connie gave his own answer for her.
"It was Eren, wasn't it? You shouldn't be embarrassed anyway, that suicidal maniac's temper tantrum got to me too." His admittance surprised the other cadets, but the others were quick to admit they were much the same, surprising the two idiots of the 104th.
Connie sighed, a hand holding his shaved head as though he had a migraine. "Look, he- he has a couple of good points. I mean, the Colossal Titan could show up right now, and then the Titans have got Wall Rose too. It's dangerous, Eren's said that himself, but so is just lying down and letting them eat us all."
Thomas laughed at Connie's words, recognising them immediately. "You know, I could've sworn Eren said the exact same thing on the first day, maybe he'd had a bit of an impact on all of us-"
The sound of thunder cut the blonde boy off, and the cadets turned around on instinct. But their bodies locked up when they came face to face with a Titan. One taller than Wall Rose, it's skinless face glaring down on them in anger, and before their bodies caught up with them a wave of steam washed them away.
They were all blown off their feet, the burning hot steam brushing against their skin and sending them hurling through the air, only for the Cadets to stabilise themselves by latching onto the Wall with their ODM gear.
Once safe the group looked downwards and stared on with disbelief and horror. The Walls were breached with only rubble remaining.
Connie's fear showed as he yelled out. "Shit! They destroyed the Wall! They're gonna get in!"
Thomas stared above, steam still pouring over the Walls and helplessly stated. "We can't do anything, the steam will just blow us away! What do we do?!"
Sasha's expression was one of almost comical panic as she turned to Connie and hastily stated. "You jinxed it Connie, you've killed us all!"
The shaved boy was quick to defend himself, despite the situation. "How is this my fault?! All I did was-"
"What are the chance of the Colossal Titan showing up right after you were like 'the Colossal Titan could show up right now, and then the Titans have got Wall Rose too' how is this not your fault?!"
The sound of crashing drew their attention, and they gaped when supplies were sent flying over Wall Rose and into Trost. Along with the upgraded cannons that were just installed on the Walls!"
Connie grit his teeth, gaining a determined expression as he soared up the Walls and stopped next to his friends. "Guys, we have two options right now! We're the only ones between this thing and Trost! Either we sit here and do nothing, or you can follow me and do something really stupid!"
He didn't explain, just completing his route to above the Wall, a face full of determination ready to face down the monster looming above the city... only for that drive to turn into confusion when he was met with nothing. The destroyer was gone, just leaving steam and a few huge footprints as evidence he was even there to begin with.
"What the?" Connie landed, checking his surroundings out of reflex only to be met with nothing.
Connie's fellow soldiers landed behind him. "Connie, what happened to the Colossal Titan?!"
Thomas' question cut his daze short. "It's gone. It vanished, just like Eren said it could." The others were stunned silent, but the sound of ODM gear caught their ears, making them turn.
A Garrison soldier landed behind them, instantly ordering the group. "All of you, report back to HQ! This is Operation Colossal Titan response, and you need to give details about what you saw! Anything at all could be helpful!"
The recruits saluted the man before running past him and jumping off the Wall, but their eyes still analysed the fresh hole, anxious about what would walk through.
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Ymir, gazing wearily at the Wall, cursed out. "Shit."
Her comment was shared with her group, having been tasked simply to patrol the streets with a few other recruits, none of them were expecting hell to knock at their doorstep.
Ymir briefly glanced at Historia, grateful the girl was safe with her, and contemplated her next move. Eren had warned the two of them ahead of time, just before graduation, and she really did consider just taking Historia and running away. Her Titan was quite fast afterall, and Sina wasn't so far she couldn't get there in one go.
However, she dumped that thought. Eren was tough, and he said he'd deal with it, and she trusted his word enough to believe him. He hasn't given her a reason not too afterall.
Jean stepped backwards with wide eyes, looking as though he were crushed. "Oh god, it really happening. Trost is-" He didn't finish, trailing off as Marco placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. His friend wasn't doing much better though.
"It looks like Eren was right." Marco pointed out, trying to find humour in the situation, and Jean just scowled though notably didn't refute the boy.
Jean held a hand up to his face. "One day. One fucking more day and the interior was mine, why did it have to be today?"
Ymir dryly pointed out to him. "Dude, if Wall Rose is gone, there won't even be an interior. Can't have one when there's just one Wall." The freckled girl's words only served to make Jean angrier.
"I'm glad you can find some laughs in this, it's not like my hometown is about to be trampled like Shiganshina or anything!" Historia held her hands up, trying to placate the situation.
Her words were gentle, but firm. "Calm down. This is no time to fight, not when the Titans are coming for us. Maybe I'm being naïve, but this isn't like Shiganshina. We've learned about them, we've prepared for this. These past three years have been for this moment. It's like Eren said, we have to try and fight them. Maybe we will fail, but we won't just let them come in here and eat us all." Ymir smiled at her words and pulled the girl close.
Jean just grit his teeth, muttering to himself. "Eren this, Eren that. I swear, everything is about that guy these days. Whatever, I don't plan on letting myself get eaten if that's what you mean. You try and do the same." He proceeded to walk away with Marco following, calmer than before, though still uneasy.
Historia sighed wistfully, looking at Wall Rose. Seeing that they were alone, she asked slightly anxiously. "Do you really think he can do it? I mean, he's strong, but-" the blonde was cut off by a heavy pat to the head. She looked up, seeing an uncharacteristic smile on Ymir's face.
The taller of the two reassured her. "Don't worry that little head of yours. Eren said he could do it alone so who am I to stop him? He might be a bastard, but he's tough as they come. He's got this."
Historia smiled back at her, laughing mildly. "You're probably right. Still though, if he's gonna appear shouldn't he have done something by now-"
The two of them were silenced by a ball of light, one which appeared in a street near the gates, and Ymir grinned at what she saw.
"I told you, we'll be fine. If that crazy bastard doesn't fuck it up anyway." Her tone betrayed her interest though as a familiar green-eyed Titan came into view. It looks like she didn't need to step in afterall.
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Eren made sure to conceal his face using his cloak, hiding behind a few crates until the people of Trost finished clearing out away from the Walls, and peeked out to ensure he was alone. Hardening his expression, he ran out of the alley and hooked his ODM gear onto a nearby building and swung through the air towards the breach.
Eren's plan was simple, but the most effective. Carrying the boulder wouldn't cut it, given that he'd need to rely on support from other soldiers to distract and kill the Pure Titans. However, he didn't need to resort to lifting the stone, he had other options.
Titans were already starting to pool in, Eren could see a couple entering Trost via the ruined gate, and if he wanted to stop them in their tracks then he needed to use his hardening abilities.
Eren grimaced at the thought, wondering if he even could harden his whole body. He hadn't exactly had the opportunity to test his new abilities, so he'd have to learn it on the spot.
Grappling onto a bell tower, Eren shot himself forward as fast as the ODM gear would let him and bit his hand with a face full of rage.
It didn't matter either way. He would seal the gate, he would change fate, and he would save his friends!
The taste of iron landed on his tongue, but Eren didn't feel pain strangely enough, and every atom in his body overflowed with energy in a violent explosion of electricity!
The light drew the eyes of every soldier in the city, confusion morphing their features, but that all disappeared as the discharge dissipated and a giant humanoid figure emerged from the cloud of steam.
Several soldiers on the fort's roof took notice, turning to gaze at the light and calling out with horror. "It's a Titan!"
Mikasa and Armin were the only one's not showing visible surprise, glancing at Reiner and Annie for a few seconds, however they both weren't exactly relaxed seeing the third member of their trio reveal his Titan form.
Mikasa whispered, an uncharacteristic worry in her voice. "Eren, be safe."
Reiner and Annie on the other hand weren't nearly as calm, with the normally stoic girl's face contorting with disbelief at the sight of a new Titan. "Reiner." She whispered, her voice holding a cautiousness not belonging in her usual tone.
But, Reiner didn't respond. He just gaped with open disbelief, him looking at the unexpected Titan as though it were a legend.
The Attack Titan rose up to it's full fifteen meter height, glaring ahead with determination, as it shifted into a sprint towards the destroyed gate. The Titans entering the city gazed at him with a greedy hunger, but he was undeterred as his hand began to steam whilst he raised his fist.
Eren felt his human hand tingle, but just dismissed it as an effect of the Titan hardening ability, and punched forward at a larger abnormal Titan which had locked onto him. The result was instant, the monster's head caving in like wet paper under the Attack Titan's assault. Blood sprayed everywhere, landing in the shifters hair.
The muscular Titan clawed right through the mindless Titan's nape, feeling guilt for the poor creature, before stomping a smaller Titan's nape into paste and moving onto the next.
Above the Wall, Garrison soldiers gaped at the scene unfolding before their eyes. They all paused, with a silver haired woman wearing glasses even muttering. "This is just..." She didn't finish though, noticing the number of other Titans heading towards the city and gritted her teeth.
With brief hesitation, she ordered her men. "All of you, continue fire on the other Titans! Our job is to hold them back as long as possible, and we'll do exactly that, so man your cannons and engage!"
The other soldiers hesitated, looking at the Titan which, quite frankly, looked far more intimidating than a regular one of it's kind. "But, Captain Rico, it-"
She raised her voice, frustration leaking into her tone. "I know! We'll deal with it when it turns hostile, right now it's fighting them for us! It's doing a good job of it too." She mumbled that last part, watching with morbid fascination as the Titan lifted a huge twenty meter class onto it's back and tore it apart with ease.
The other soldiers, though reluctant, followed her orders and locked their cannons onto the incoming Titans. Choosing to ignore the rogue Titan, at least for a moment.
Eren finished the last Titan, a twelve meter which he picked up by the legs and slammed into the ground multiple times until the limbs snapped like twigs, then he continued onto the gate, no Titans blocking his path.
The Attack Titan grunted as it crossed the bridge, standing in front of the gate which looked to be about half his size, and he was surprised at how small it looked next to him. Then again, most things looked small at fifteen meters tall.
Ducking, Eren placed himself within the Wall's hole, poking his torso out into the open, and concentrated for a moment. Hardened spots began to appear all over his body, but his focus was broken when a Titan latched onto him, breaking it's teeth like glass against a hard rock.
Eren gritted his teeth, forcing the Titan hardening to extend out of his body like tendrils, as a few more Titans clutched onto his chest and tried to bite down. With a face of rage, the Attack Titan gave a deafening roar as the giant turned to pure blue crystal that sealed Wall Rose shut!
Above the Titan, the Garrison gaped in astonishment, some even falling to their knees with relief and amazement. Captain Rico's legs also shook, but she didn't fall as she ordered. "Everyone withdraw! The Titans have been stopped, ensure there aren't any remaining in Trost and check the breach for stability!"
Her words got them moving, though the men and woman were all far less troubled looking than before. Rico glanced below, the Titans who'd latched onto the other Titan trapped by the jaw, yet she shook her head and allowed herself to revel in the fact the Titans were stopped.
