A/N: Hello, readers! Another chapter is here! Enjoy!

edited on june 18th, 2021 @ 5:05am

»»————-　★　————-««

»»————-　★　————-««

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃,
𝓑𝙸𝚃𝙴, 𝟻𝟽𝚃𝙷 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙱𝙴𝚈𝙾𝙽𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚂, 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝚁𝙴𝙴.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

LEVI FIRED A SPECIAL SHELL that emitted a high-pitched noise as everyone covered their ears. "A noise grenade?" Eren questioned.

"What is your job?" Levi asked, turning to them. "To just let yourself be swayed by whatever you're feeling at the moment? No, it's not. Our squad's job is to keep the brat from getting a single scratch on him. Even if it costs our lives."

Everyone just went silent. "It wasn't to keep watch on me?" Eren thought.

"We keep going on our horses, got it?" Levi said.

"Roger!" Petra replied.

"Keep going? For how long?" Eren questioned before turning around. "And it's right on top of us..."

More reinforcements tried to slow down the Female Titan. "The reinforcements! If we don't help, they'll be wiped out again!" Eren exclaimed.

"Eren, eyes on the road!" Gunther ordered.

"Sir!"

"Keep your pace up... stay on top speed!" Lyon ordered.

"But, sir... Why?! If Squad Levi and Squad Julian don't defeat it, who will?" Eren asked as a scout from behind got crushed by the Female Titan.

"Another one's dead... And maybe we could've saved him!" Eren exclaimed as another scout appeared. "One's still fighting... we can still make it!"

"Eren, eyes back on the road! Keep going!" Petra demanded.

"Are you telling me to look away? To abandon my comrades and run?!" Eren asked.

"Yes, that's right! Obey the Captain's orders!" Petra replied.

"I don't understand why we're leaving them to die! Or why he won't explain! Why?!"

"That's because the Captain decided the reason should not be explained. You just don't understand because you're still green! If you get it, then shut up and obey!" Oluo shouted at him.

"No..." Eren thought, putting away his blade and raised his hand. "I can fight on my own. Why am I relying on others? I can just fight on my own."

Eren was about to bite his hand. "What are you doing, Eren?" Petra questioned, stopping him. "You're only allowed to do that if your life is in danger. You promised us!"

Eren ignored her and tried to bite into his hand again.

"Eren!"

"You aren't wrong."

Eren widened his eyes when he heard Levi spoke up. "If you want to, do it. I can tell. He's a real monster. And it has nothing to do with his Titan power. No matter what power you use to suppress him, no matter what cage you put him in, he will never submit to anyone." Levi said.

"Eren, the difference between your decision and ours is experience. But you don't have to rely on that. Choose. Believe in yourself. Or believe in the Survey Corps and me. I don't know... I never have. I can believe in my own abilities or the choices of companions I trust. But no one knows how it will turn out. So choose for yourself whichever decision you'll regret least." Levi finished.

Eren was speechless as he placed his hand down and they continued to ride on the path. Eren looked back and saw that the reinforcements were still fighting. He raised his hand up again and was about to bite into it.

"Eren! Have faith!" Petra spoke up once more. This made Eren remember a certain memory.

"I came up with a way that'd only half-kill you." Levi announced as his squad, Julian's squad, and Hange were in a classroom. Julian was sitting on a crate next to Hange.

"Sir?"

"I said I'd only be able to stop you as a Titan if I killed you. But this method would only badly wound you. Of course, it relies on the squad's skill." Levi explained as he drew on the whiteboard.

"Pfft, Levi, your drawing of a Titan is horrible." Julian snickered.

Levi just glared at him. "The idea is to cut you right out of the Titan's neck. We'd end up cutting the ends of your arms and legs off, but they'd just grow back like a lizard's... Creepy, really." He continued.

"Wait. I don't know how they grow back. Is there some other way..." Eren trailed off as Levi narrowed his eyes.

"So you're saying you don't want there to be any danger or sacrifice?" He questioned.

"N-No..."

"Then just resolve yourself. We will, too... The danger for us is that you might kill us. But that's why we have Jude's squad. So don't worry." Levi reassured him.

"Yes... Understood." Eren nodded in understanding.

"T-Then, I can do experiments?" Hange asked.

"It's very risky. But that doesn't mean that we can't use him to investigate." Levi answered.

"I can be in charge of planning this, right?" Hange questioned. "Eren, if there's something you don't understand, learn to understand it. It's well worth any risk to our lives."

Julian was standing near a well with Levi next to him as well as Hange. "Ready, Eren?" Hange asked. "When it's prepared, I'll use the smoke round to notify you. After that, any decisions are up to you."

"Roger!"

Hange just nodded. "This dried-up well could hold even a mindless Titan... Probably!" They exclaimed with excitement.

Hange fired the green smoke round once everything was ready.

Julian was sitting on his horse as he looked at the well to see that nothing was happening. "Uh, Hange, isn't he supposed to be a Titan right now?" Julian asked them.

"Did he not see the signal?" Hange wondered.

"No... His ability just isn't that reliable." Levi responded as the three of them headed towards the well.

"Hey, Eren! We're calling it quits for now." Levi informed.

"Did something happen?" Hange asked. They looked down and saw that Eren's mouth and hand was covered in blood.

"Hange... I can't become a Titan." Eren informed.

Julian was sitting with his squad with Levi's squad a few feet away. "So Eren can't become a Titan?" Lyon asked as Julian finished explaining what happened.

"Yeah. His wounds aren't healing as they would either." Julian replied.

"If he can't become a Titan, retaking back Wall Maria is toast." Melody muttered.

"And he becomes useless to us." William added bluntly while Zach used his fist to slam it on William's head.

"I'm sure he'll figure out what's wrong sooner or later." Julian sighed. "Hopefully it's soon. I do feel bad for him, however. I really do admire his de—"

Julian's sentence was interrupted by an explosion as he turned and widened his eyes to see Eren on top of a Titan hand corpse, trying to pull his hand out.

"Don't engage. That's an order." Julian told his squad who were on high alert. Julian placed his cup down and rushed towards Levi.

"Why now?!"

"Calm down."

Eren turned to see Levi and Julian in front of him. "Captain Levi! Section Commander! This is..." He exclaimed. He stopped and widened his eyes.

"I said to calm down. All of you." Levi told his squad who had their blades drawn.

"Eren... What's the meaning of this?!" Eld shouted.

"Sir?" Eren questioned in confusion.

"Why now? Without permission?" Eld asked. "Answer me!"

"Eld, wait." Levi said.

"Answer him, Eren!" Oluo ordered. "What are you thinking?"

"No, that can wait... Prove you're not our enemy, humanity's enemy! Prove it! Now! That is your responsibility!" Gunther shouted.

"I dare you to make a single move with that arm! I'll cut off your head!" Oluo yelled. "I can do it... I'm serious! Want to try me?"

"The question is, do you want to try me, Oluo? Lay a hand on Eren and see what happens, I dare you." Julian said, drawing out his blade and pointing it to Oluo in a threatening way.

"Oluo, I said to calm down." Levi informed. "Jude, put your blade away, you look ridiculous."

Julian sighed as he did so.

"Captain, get away from Eren! You're too close!" Petra said.

"No, you're the ones who should get back. Get back." Levi ordered.

"Why?!"

"My intuition."

"What's wrong, Eren? Say something!" Eld shouted.

"Like I said..."

"No sudden movements!"

"Prove it to me, Eren!"

"I said I don't understand."

"Answer us! You think we can't kill you?"

"I'm serious!"

"Do it now!"

"Are you even listening?"

"Okay, let's do this!"

"Are you humanity's—"

"Please shut up for a second!" Eren shouted as it went silent.

"Eren!" Hange exclaimed, pushing Gunther and Moblit aside. "Can I touch that arm?! It's okay, right? Right? Just let me touch it!"

"Hange... Wait a second!" Eren warned.

Hange ignored him and touched the Titan arm. As soon as they did, they backed away. "It's... hot! Without the skin, it's really damned hot! Unbelievably hot!" Hange exclaimed.

"Section Commander, you're too reckless!"

"Hey, don't you feel it's hot, Eren? How does it feel where the right hand connects?" Hange questioned. "I really want to see!"

Eren then tried to pull out his hand. "Hey, Eren... Don't do anything rash!" Oluo warned.

Eren was finally able to pull out his hand as he landed on the ground as the Titan hand began steaming.

"Wait, Eren... That was too fast!" Hange exclaimed. "I still wanted to investigate some things..."

They stopped ranting when they saw something. Eren was breathing heavily when Levi and Julian walked up to him.

"Captain... Section Commander..." Eren mumbled.

"How do you feel?" Levi asked.

Eren continued to breathe heavily. "Not... Not so good..." He replied.

Julian was in the dungeon with Levi. "Until I saw that they were actually ready to kill me, I didn't understand... That they doubted me so much." Eren stated.

"Of course they do. That's why I chose them. People say you only truly become a full member of the Survey Corps after making it back alive from a mission. But whenever you fight the Titans, you never have enough information. There are too many situations you just can't anticipate, no matter what. They've had to cultivate the ability to take quick action and to make ruthless decisions by assuming the worse case scenario. But that doesn't mean they've become heartless." Levi explained.

"It's not like they felt nothing when they turned their swords on you."

"Captain Levi... Section Commander Hange wants to see you."

Julian followed Levi and Eren into the room where both of their squads and Hange waited.

"Take a long crap?" Levi questioned.

"Actually, it was pleasantly quick." Hange replied. "I wasn't sure what to tell the brass. Well, for now... Look at this."

They opened the napkin to reveal a teaspoon.

"A teaspoon?"

"Yes. The right Titan hand Eren created was holding this. Like this, between its index finger and thumb. It's hard to imagine that it was an accident... And for some reason, the heat and pressure didn't warp the spoon at all. Anything come to mind?" Hange asked.

"I was trying to pick it up... I transformed right after." Eren responded.

"I see... That may explain why you couldn't transform earlier. "Kill the Titans." "Block the cannon shell." "Lift the boulder." In each case, you had a clear goal before you transformed. My theory is that your self-inflicted injury probably isn't the sole trigger. You may need some goal, as well." Hange explained.

"It's true that when I turned into a Titan this time, it was like when I blocked that cannon shell. But... I turned into a Titan to pick up a spoon? What the hell is this?" Eren asked himself.

"In other words, you didn't deliberately change without permission?" Gunther questioned.

"No, sir." Eren answered.

"Of course, you would've known that if you weren't so quick to cut him down." William said bluntly as Zach kicked the back of his knee.

Gunther sighed, looking over at Eld who nodded at him. Petra and Oluo did the same. Petra raised her hand and bit into it as Oluo followed along with Gunther and Eld. Hange looked at them with confusion.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Eren asked.

"That hurt..."

"This isn't easy. I'm amazed you can bite through, Eren." Eld said.

"We made the wrong decision. This is a small price to pay. Not that it makes a difference." Gunther added.

"Keeping you under control is our job. And there's nothing wrong with that. So don't get cocky!"

"I'm sorry, Eren... We've been so jumpy. You must be disappointed in our stupidity." Petra said. "However, even so... We're going to rely on you. And we want you to rely on us."

Gunther, Eld, and Oluo looked at him as well. "So... Have faith in us..." Petra finished.

Eren snapped out of his trance, seeing the bite mark on Petra's hand from her teeth.

"Eren! You're taking too long! Decide!" Levi shouted. Eren closed his eyes.

"I'll go forward!"

Another reinforcement scout got killed as they were smashed to the tree as the Female Titan carried on towards them.

Eren turned back around and shut his eyes. "I'm sorry!" He thought.

The Female Titan kneeled down as she picked up speed.

"Target is accelerating! Go! We will outrun it."

"It's impossible to outrun it... If we keep running away, it'll stomp us all flat!" Eren thinks to himself before looking over to Levi.

"But... We might all die, but everyone chose to go on, even if it meant abandoning our comrades. Captain Levi has been looking forward this whole time. Same with Section Commander Julian. And the rest of their squads. Believe in him, and put all their trust in him. I'll believe in them, too..." Eren thought before looking up at the Female Titan.

"Like they believed in me!"

They went past the spot where they needed to head to. The Female Titan stopped as well.

"Fire!" Erwin's voice rang out as the scouts started firing the trap.

"Advance a bit farther, tether the horses, and switch to Maneuver Gear. You guys will be off on your own for a while. Eld, lead the squad." Levi ordered. "Once you're a good distance away from the Titan, hide Eren. Take my horse."

Levi used his gear to fly up. "You heard the man. Ly, I'm leaving the squad in your hands. Provide backup to Squad Levi if needed." Julian informed his second-in-command.

"You can trust me, Section Commander!" Lyon told him.

Julian switched to his Maneuver Gear as he flew up to follow Levi as Lyon grabbed the reins of his horse.

Eren looked back at the two and then at the Female Titan. "They can't intend to take that Titan alive?" He asked, looking at the two squads.

"Well, Eren? See that? We caught that Titan!" Gunther informed.

"This is the power of the Survey Corps! Don't underestimate us, fool! Well? Do you get it now?" Oluo questioned.

"Yes!"

Levi flew down next to Erwin with Julian right behind him.

"Looks like it's stopped moving..." Levi said.

"We can't lower our guard. But you did well, leading it here." Erwin told him.

"Men in the rearguard squads died buying us the time we needed. We couldn't have done it without them." Julian informed.

"Is that so?"

"It is."

"Thanks to them, we'll be able to see who's inside this thing. I hope they haven't pissed themselves..." Levi commented.

Julian looked over to the Female Titan who had a frightened face and was using her hands to cover her nape.

"Bitch looks terrified to me. Though, can't say I blame them." Julian stated.

»»————-　★　————-««

A/N: Another chapter done! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2653 words.