A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! The last chapter of season one! Enjoy!

edited on july 29th, 2021 @ 7:05am

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚁𝚃𝙴𝙴𝙽,
𝓣𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙻, 𝚁𝙰𝙸𝙳 𝙾𝙽 𝚂𝚃𝙾𝙷𝙴𝚂𝚂 𝙳𝙸𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙸𝙲𝚃, 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝚃𝚆𝙾.

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ANNIE HAD STOOD BACK UP after being punched by Eren as she headed towards the walls with Eren hot on her heels. The civilians of Stohess screamed as Eren was still chasing Annie. Hange, Armin and Jean flew down on a rooftop as Eren passed by them.

"This time, it seems he's retaining control." Hange pointed out.

"Yes. But Eren's never managed to beat the Female Titan." Armin said as Hange looked at him.

"Now that he's a Titan, he must be prepared to fight... He won't go down so easily—" Jean began.

"Willpower alone isn't enough in battle. You know that, Jean!" Armin interrupted him. "Defeating Annie will require far more..."

Eren and Annie were heading towards an open area. "An open area! The Female Titan's heading for an open area!"

"We can't use Maneuver Gear there!"

"Split up and work your way around the other side!" Hange ordered.

"Roger!"

All of them began splitting up as Eren continued chasing Annie.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"This doesn't make sense... What's a Titan doing here?"

The soldiers scattered to avoid being crushed by Annie, who suddenly stopped in her tracks as her and Eren had a stare down.

"Annie... You always acted like you found everything incredibly stupid. You always seemed bored." Eren thought as Annie raised her fists.

"But there were times when you looked alive... When you were showing off your martial arts. You said none of it mattered, but... To me, it didn't look like you really believed that. I just thought you were a terrible liar..." Eren continued in his head.

"Tell me, Annie... What are you fighting for? What could have been worth killing all those people?!"

Eren headed straight for her as Annie crystallized her elbow to dodge it. Eren picked her up and threw her to a building. Annie dodged him as Eren crashed into a building.

"What is this?"

"Section Commander, even if we can capture the Female Titan, they might destroy the whole city first!" Moblit explained.

"We do it, regardless. That was Erwin's decision. Be ready to capture her." Hange said.

"Yes, sir."

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"Titans fighting each other?" Nile questioned.

"Yes... The damage to the city is unbelievable! There are many casualties, both civilian and military."

Nile clenched his jaw and pointed his gun towards Erwin once more. "Erwin! Is this all due to your plan?!" He asked.

"That's correct." Erwin replied as debris was falling onto civilians. "All of this was my personal decision. I don't intend to make excuses."

Nile then grabbed onto Erwin's collar. "You must have known what would happen if you executed a plan like this in the city. How? How could you do this?" He questioned.

"To lead humanity to victory."

"Bullshit!" Nile pointed the gun at Erwin once more. "You're a traitor! I could execute you right here and now, and none of the brass would even care!"

"That's fine by me. But then you must assume command. You must not let the Female Titan escape.  Paehl's in charge of formation. Vyler oversees supply. Work with them to drive her to the east wall at all costs." Erwin explained.

"W-Wait... Wait! Are you... Are you really telling me that this will help humanity?" Nile asked.

"I believe it is a step forward." Erwin responded.

Nile finally lowered his gun. "Lower your guns, all of you. Handcuff him!" He ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"Deploy all of our men. Your priority is civilian rescue and evacuation!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Erwin, a trial will decide your punishment." Nile informed as Erwin was handcuffed.

"Once this is over, I'll submit to one with pleasure." Erwin said. "Levi, you stay put. You dislike pointless deaths."

"Yeah, you're right. I despise it, whether it be mine or my causing someone else's." Levi agreed.

"Julian go meet up with your squad." Erwin told him.

"Hear you loud and clear, Erwin." Julian replied as he used his gear to take off to join his squad.

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Armin and Jean landed on the rooftop to get a good look at Eren.

"Someone who can't sacrifice anything can never change anything! In order to overcome a monster, you must be willing to throw aside your humanity." Armin thought as Eren headed towards Annie, who crystallized her ankle to throw Eren down.

"Annie is certainly capable of doing that..."

Eren then threw a punch at Annie as he roared again. Annie was shoving her foot down Eren's throat.

Annie crystallized her fist as she punched Eren repeatedly. Eren seemed to be knocked out as Annie continued onwards.

"I'll... kill the Titans... Every last one of them!" Eren said in a distorted voice.

Eren's Titan body was on fire as he headed towards Annie once more, sending her sliding onto the ground.

"That's..."

Mikasa then flew down. "Eren!" She exclaimed, rushing forward.

"Don't! Right now, we don't know if Eren can recognize you..." Hange informed as Eren had Annie pinned down as she had a frightened look. Eren then grabbed onto her face as he crushed it, blood splatting everywhere as the Military Police appeared.

"H-Hey..." Nile trailed off as Erwin stayed silent.

Annie was screaming as if she was in pain until she elbowed Eren and then kicked him aside. Annie was once again heading towards the walls, using her fingers to jump onto it.

"The wall!" Jean exclaimed.

"Does she intend to climb over it?!" Hange questioned as Annie continued climbing. Eren grabbed ahold of her legs. Annie kicked him off as she continued on her way.

"No... She's going to get away!" Armin shouted.

Julian then flew up. "I don't think so!" He yelled as he sliced both of Annie's fingers off and then landed in front of her face.

"Greetings, Annie. I'm Section Commander Julian, and you and I are going to have a long chat. Starting with why the hell you thought killing Ida was necessary." Julian said.

Annie landed on the ground as Eren headed towards her as he continued to smash his fist onto her repeatedly.

"I'll destroy the entire world!"

Eren then headed for Annie's nape, as if he was going to devour her. Hange gasped.

"Crap... he'll eat the girl inside, too!" They informed.

"Don't, Eren!" Jean shouted.

"Eren!" Mikasa exclaimed.

"I am free..."

Eren then ripped her nape with his teeth as Annie appeared with tears down her face.

"What happened?" Hange questioned, wondering why Eren stopped.

A blue light then appeared, blinding everyone. Levi then appeared as he cut Eren out of his nape.

"Don't eat a valuable witness, you idiot." Levi informed as both of the Titan bodies started decaying.

When the smoke cleared, they saw Annie encased in a crystal.

Julian could only watch as Jean was clanging his sword onto the crystal.

"Damn it... What is this?! We've come this far, and you still won't say a word, Annie?!" Jean yelled. "Come out! Come out and finish what you started! Hey, this isn't fair... Annie! Annie!"

Jean raised his broken blade again. But stopped when Levi placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Stop it." Levi told him as Jean turned to look at him. "It's useless."

"Use the wires to make a net! We'll tie it up and carry it underground." Hange ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"If we can't get any information from Annie, what do we have to show for all this?" Hange wondered. "We have caused so many deaths. And yet, despite all those lives lost, so many mysteries remain. What did we accomplish?"

Julian was following Levi to where Erwin was with the Military Police.

"I don't suppose we can call this operation a success..." Levi informed.

"No. We have ensured the continued survival of the Survey Corps, most likely by the skin of our teeth." Erwin stated.

"I hope so." Levi said.

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Jean was in the medical room with Armin and Mikasa.

"Eren... are you doing okay?" Mikasa asked.

"Yeah..." Eren replied as he sat up. "I've healed so fast, it's almost creepy. I heard that Annie's still frozen."

"Yeah."

"Damn it! We got nothing from that massive operation!" Jean stated.

"She was willing to go that far to protect the information." Armin informed.

"Yeah, she got away from us." Jean agreed.

"Eren's the one who allowed it." Armin continued as everyone went silent. "Right, Eren? Without that one instant..."

"Yeah, you're right. I couldn't do it. When I saw Annie, I froze."

"Armin Arlert... Jean Kirstein. It's time for your questioning." A soldier informed.

"Yes, sir."

"They're starting with us?" Jean questioned.

"Okay, see you later." Armin said.

"Yeah."

Armin and Jean walked out of the infirmary.

"It's impossible for me to understand. Abandon your humanity to overcome a monster. That's the only way to win?" Jean asked as he was walking next to Armin.

"It's one possible way that humanity might defeat the Titans. I think Eren can do it." Armin answered.

"Tell me... Even if he did become that monster, and destroyed all the Titans... Would that really be a victory for humanity?" Jean questioned.

Armin said nothing as he looked out and saw birds flying in the sky.

"It won't be easy to overcome..." Armin finally replied.

The summons for Eren Yeager and the Survey Corps were suspended indefinitely. The custody of Annie Leonhart was granted to the Survey Corps, who kept her deep underground.

Julian was with Levi and Hange as the three of them were looking at Annie's crystal.

However, it would still take much sacrifice and time before humanity learned what it was that held them captive...

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A/N: And that's the end of season one! Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 1718 words.