"Erwin, he's going to climb up" Levi says as he looks back at Reiner who hardens his fingers and toes as he starts to run for the wall.

"All troops, avoid clashing with the Armoured titan!" Erwin orders as he looks back at all his soldiers, "stay away from him!".

"Roger" his soldiers reply.

"Hange, why didn't he signal to attack? What's he doing?" Eren asks as he looks at Reiner.

"He's watching the enemy's movements" Hange explains as they look at Eren, "because Reiner and friends prepared some sort of grand welcome for us".

"Erwin, look at that titan next to the Beast titan" Evelyn says as she gestures her head to the four legged titan, "that quadruped type is carrying luggage on its saddle. It's wasn't one of those that was just transformed. In which case, is that the enemy's scout? If it took notice of our approach and informed Reiner, that must mean that the titan is an intelligent type. No, there might even be others".

The Beast titan shouts as the smaller titans within the group of normal titans start to run towards the walls. Evelyn feels a snap in her spine as she flinches, holding the back of her neck.

"Evelyn, what's the matter?" Levi asks as he looks at her.

"I'm not sure. But when that titan screamed, my entire back and neck seized up for a moment" Evelyn says worriedly.

"They're moving!" Hange yells as they look back, "multiple two to three metre titans approaching!".

It's just like the raid at Utgard Castle. They'll go after the horses first. Their primary objective is capture Eren and maybe Evelyn, but to achieve that, they'll take away our only escape option. With Wall Maria still being deep in titan territory, we have no means of getting back without the horses. Just by killing our horses, it completely blocks our escape and servers our supply line. Whether it takes one week or a month, they can simply wait until there's nobody who can move. Without any risks of battle, they can waltz in and take Evelyn and Eren once they're too weak to resist. Right now, the fact that all those larger titans are staying in formation is proof that their only purpose is to cage us in.

Erwin says as he scans the entire area.

"Commander Erwin! The Armoured titan is closing in!" Armin announces as he looks back at Erwin, "and we still don't know where Bertolt is!".

"Yeah, I know" Erwin says calmly.

At this point, what I fear the most is that Reiner and Bertolt slaughter our horses unchecked. Therefore...

Erwin says as he looks up.

"Are you finally ready to say something?" Levi asks as he looks at Erwin, "I could've had breakfast during the wait".

"Dirk Squad and Marlene Squad" Erwin says as he looks at the two squads, "protect the horses at the gate with Klaus Squad! Evelyn and Levi Squad and Hange Squad! Take down the Armoured titan! Employ the Thunder Spears at your own discretion! Achieve your objectives, whatever it takes! This moment! This battle! The survival of humanity depends on it! Once more, for humanity, give your hearts!".

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers shout as they all disperse.

"You hear that? Turn the tables on the titans coming for our horses!" Klaus says as he looks at his squad.

"Sir!" the soldiers reply.

Levi, Evelyn and Armin all start to run off.

"Wait, you three!" Erwin says as he looks back at the three of them, "I did say Levi and Evelyn squad but I need the two of you to stay!".

"To protect the horses and not Eren?" Evelyn questions, confused.

"That's right" Erwin says as he looks at the two of them, "and to strike down the Beast titan when the time comes! You are the only one I can trust to take down the Beast titan".

"Understood" the two of them say.

"Since I failed to kill that Armoured brat earlier, I'll make up for it with the Beast titan's head" Evelyn says confidently.

"No, not you, Evelyn. You'll in charge of making sure that your squad's and Hange's squad's horses are safe by moving them into a house away from the attack" Erwin says as he looks at her, "you are important to this mission and one of their targets. You mustn't engage in battle".

"Fine" Evelyn says as she and Levi dive down the side of the wall.

"Armin. I have a plan for the Armoured titan" Erwin says as he looks at Armin, "there are two halves in this battle for humanity's fate. And one, I'm putting on yours and Hange's shoulders".

The Armoured titan makes it to the top of the wall as he looks down on all of the soldiers below and the titans fighting them, just before he spots the horses.

There they are, all gathered in one place. I'll kill the horses and make a break for it. That's good enough. No matter how strong Captain Evelyn is, she's still no match for our War Chief. That stab in my neck was close. If I was any slower transferring my consciousness to my body, I would've died instantly. How did they even think to look inside the walls? Armin, was it you? No, it doesn't matter. With this, our long journey is finally coming to an end.

Reiner says as he looks to his left and he sees Commander Erwin looking directly at him.

Erwin Smith. Don't get distracted. I've got to kill the horses too.

Reiner says as he looks down, only to see that half of the horses have gone missing.

What the hell?

Reiner asks as there's a flash of lightning from behind him. Reiner turns around to look as he spots Eren standing on the ground as he looks up at Reiner.

Why did he show up unprovoked? They should be painfully aware that he's our main target, and then that sister of his. Evelyn's hidden well, but what about him? Why aren't they hiding him from us? What are you thinking?

Reiner asks as Eren starts running to the other side of Shiganshina.

To flee South and escape over the wall? If he's alone, he could escape to Trost as a titan without a horse. And were that to happen, we'd have no reason to stay here and fight. Even if we did manage to annihilate the Scouts, we can't let someone who mastered hardening in two months back in the walls. If he learns how to master the coordinate's full power, it'll be too late. No, wait. This is weird. If he really was escaping, he would've transformed after using ODM gear to scale the wall. Why would he transform when Shiganshina is surrounded by walls? I get it! They're trying to change my target from the horses to Eren!

Reiner says as Erwin pulls his hood down, not taking his eyes off of Reiner.

"Not giving me time to think, are we?" Reiner asks with a smirk, "damn it, Commander Erwin. And I climbed all the way up here".

Reiner turns around as he slides down the inside of the wall, deciding to go after Eren.

Good! He took the bait!

Eren says as he looks back at Reiner.

--- a few minutes before ---

"He wants to use Eren as bait?" Hange asks as they look at Armin.

"Yes. Those were Commander Erwin's orders" Armin says as he looks at Hange.

"He'd resort to using Eren as bait in order to protect the horses?" Hange questions as they turn to look where Erwin is.

"You're kidding. And what if Reiner chooses to kill the horses?" Mikasa asks as she looks at Hange.

"No. He should chase Eren" Hange says as they look at their hand, "if Reiner does go after the horses, Eren will keep going and wrap around the Beast titan. With Levi, the Scouts and Eren, they can pincer and fight the Beast titan. Erwin must have said that, right? Even if it doesn't go as planned, by having Eren flee like that, it'll confuse the enemy enough to break their ranks. It all depends on if Reiner can see that far ahead".

"Knowing him, I bet that he will" Eren says as he looks at Hange.

"Alright. We take on the Armoured titan in Shiganshina!" Hange says confidently.

"Hold on!" Armin says as he looks at them all, "there's one more thing I'm worried about. Bertolt is still in hiding somewhere. The last time they fought, Eren had Reiner on the verge of defeat, but Bertolt's attack caught him off guard and he ended up their captive, alongside Evelyn. It's a simple counter-strategy, but let's fight away from the walls".

--- present day ---

Eren stops in the middle of the walls as Reiner slowly approaches him.

It might be a fluke, but I've beaten you once already. I had it in the bag. One on one, I can win. When it comes to hand to hand combat, Annie was a tougher opponent by far!

Eren says as he hardens his hands whilst Reiner runs at him, arms spread out to the side. Reiner goes to punch Eren dodges out of the way. Reiner turns and swoops for his legs but Eren moves out of the way. Eren pushes Reiner back which throws Reiner off balance for a moment. Reiner goes to punch Eren again but Eren moves his head out of the way, punching Reiner instead.

Do you have any idea where we're standing right now? This is the place where I, where we, once called home!

Eren says as he punches Reiner again, sending him flying as he screams loudly.

I'm taking it back. I'm not letting Evelyn be upset anymore. I'm going to give my big sister her old life back, even if it is without Mum and Dad. As long as I have Evelyn, Mikasa and Armin, I can start my life all over again. I'll slaughter you all and take back what you stole. All of it!

Eren says as he glares at Reiner. Meanwhile, on the inner wall, Erwin overlooks the operation on the ground as he watches Evelyn secretly move all of her and Levi's squad's horses, as well as Hange's squad's horses. The newer recruits also help move all of the other horses out of the way. He also watches as Levi helps the squad's defeat all of the smaller class titans.

"Shit, this is pathetic" Levi says as he lands on a roof of one of the houses as he looks around, "the weak ones die so fast. Should've kept them up there. Can they not use their ODM gear to take down titans whilst guiding the horses like Evelyn can?".

Struggling with three to four meter titans... casualties all over the place... the Scouts aren't nearly as strong enough as they once were. However, with all those sacrifices, we never would have made it this far. When I was a cadet, I told the other's about my Father's theory which I also believed. And that once I was a Scout, I would prove it. But after I joined the Scouts, I stopped talking about it for some reason. No, that's wrong. I had met Evelyn, a young girl, only ten years old. She believed in the same things I did, freedom amongst the walls, a bigger world. She listened to everything I had to say and wanted to learn more. The light in this girl was so blinding, I vowed to protect it so it wouldn't go out. I thought I was only fighting for myself, I thought my dream was only mine and no one else felt the same, but Evelyn was like me. And I told myself I had to fight for her too. And so I did that. After myself, the only people I care about in this world are my true friends and comrades. Before I knew it, I was giving people orders and inspiring my comrades. Saying they should give their hearts to humanity. Thus, I fooled my comrades, fooled myself, and upon a mountain of their corpses, I now stand. And yet, the basement lingers at the back of my mind. Even if this plan fails, I might be able to reach that basement before I die. The basement Grisha Jaeger left behind. The truth of our world.

Erwin says as he looks back at Eren and Reiner. Eren screams as he punches Reiner into a house behind him.

Those experiments paid off! These fists are all I need to fight! By focusing the hardening on one stop, it gets stronger! Since his armour is spread across his whole body, I can smash it like thin ice!

Eren says as he repeatedly punches Reiner. Eren stops for a moment as Reiner manages to gain enough energy in order to stand up. Reiner runs at Eren but Eren pushes him away by his face. Eren turns around but Reiner grabs his ankle, throwing him over him into one of the many houses. Reiner lifts Eren up by his ankle again, only to punch him in his face. The steam clears as Reiner realises he only caught part of Eren's neck. Reiner growls as Eren grabs his arms.

"Hange!" Mikasa shouts as she watches from far away.

"Not yet!" Hange says as they fly up to Mikasa, "everything rides on the first attack! Wait and trust Eren will give up a good opening!".

Reiner growls as he leans into Eren who still holds him back.

--- the day before the operation to retake Wall Maria ---

"That metal rod is your new weapon?" Eren questions as he looks at Evelyn who stands at the front of the room, holding a large metal rod in her hands.

"You could at least call it a spear" Evelyn says with a smirk and a slight chuckle, "the Corps of Engineers really pulled through for me, following my design to the last detail. Using technology kept secret by the Interior Police, that is. I drew it all on a piece of paper and told them if they didn't follow my design, I'd use their new creation on them. Threats always scare people, that why I use them so often. This baby will work beautifully against the Armoured titan, even better on other titans".

"Against the Armoured titan?" Armin asks in shock.

"Our blades were all but useless against the Armoured titan" Evelyn says as she looks at the group in front of her, "as long as he didn't show an opening in his hardening, they'd just snap on contact with him. All you could do was watch me and Eren fight Reiner from the side lines".

"It's true. We couldn't even stop him from taking away Captain Evelyn and Eren even if we wanted to" Jean says as he looks down.

"Back then, if the Commander hadn't drawn a horde of titans to him..." Conny says as he remembers Commander Erwin's actions.

"Thus far, the only attacks effective against the Armoured titan have been Eren's strangles and locks against the titan, and my own uses from my powers, like strength" Evelyn says as she looks at the weapon in her hands, "also, we have high hopes for his 'hardened punch' from recent experiments. However, the mission won't succeed with only those as our weapon. While it's important we plug the wall, more so than that, we must kill Reiner and Bertolt, who are responsible for destroying the walls".

"So you're saying you want us to stab the Armoured titan with those spears?" Mikasa asks as she looks at Evelyn.

"It's easier just to show" Evelyn says as she cocks her brow, "let's step outside".

They all step outside as they line up ear the wall. Evelyn stands at the front as she throws one of the spears at a tree. She pulls on the wire as the tree is brought down within an instant.

"It's powerful as you can see" Evelyn says as she turns around to see the sheer shock and happiness on people's faces, also the amount of people who are scared of loud noises, "it's like a strike of lightning. Hence the name, 'Thunder Spear'. However, is it enough to bring down the Armoured titan? We won't know until we try. It's effective against normal titans, but to deal a blow to the Armoured titan, it'll take a little more work".

--- present day ---

Eren and Reiner continue to wrestle with each other when Eren kicks Reiner, flipping him off of him, Reiner getting knocked down, an opening being created for the squad.

I guess biting Eren out of there isn't something I can do myself. I've got to resort to that.

Reiner says as he sits up.

"Go now!" Hange yells as she flies around the corner onto the street where Eren and Reiner are.

They're making a move? I know they've been gradually surrounding me, but what can they do to me with their blades? I've got hardened armour covering every inch of my body. They can't even scratch me!

Reiner says as Hange and Mikasa fly in towards him. The two of them throw one spear each as each one lands in both of Reiner's eyes. The two of them fly behind Reiner, pulling on their wires as the spears explode, blinding Reiner.

We did it?

Eren asks in shock as Reiner screams.

No. Not yet. The Thunder Spears are so destructive, they're dangerous even to those who fire them. If you anchor to the titan as if to slash it like normal with your blade, you'll get caught up in the explosion. Which means the only chance to use Thunder Spears is when the target is surrounded by multiple standing objects. We can only attack with Thunder Spears in situations exactly like this. Right here and now, we've got to settle it.

Hange says as they close in on Reiner alongside Mikasa, Sasha, Conny and Jean, all of them armed with Thunder Spears. The five of them throw two spears each directly at Reiner's nape as they all land where they want them. The five of them pull the wires as they all fly away from the explosion as Reiner's nape explodes.

"We got him!" Conny yells as he looks back at Reiner.

"It worked! The armour on his neck is peeling off!" Jean says excitedly.

"The spears worked!" Sasha announces as they all land on the rooftops of the nearby houses.

"Do it again!" Hange says as they pass out more spears, "attack again with the Thunder Spears and finish him off!".

"You guys!" Jean yells, "I thought you were ready if it ever came to this! Let's do it!".

All of them fly in again as more soldiers join them, all of them throwing one spear each, all of them lodging in Reiner's nape. All of them fly away and pull the wires as the spears explode once more on Reiner's nape.