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

edited on june 27th, 2021 @ 5:43am

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝙴𝙽,
𝓒𝚁𝚄𝚂𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙱𝙻𝙾𝚆, 𝟻𝟽𝚃𝙷 𝙴𝚇𝙿𝙴𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙱𝙴𝚈𝙾𝙽𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝙻𝚂, 𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴.

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ERWIN WAS STILL RIDING ALONG with his squad by his side. "When the Colossal Titan vanished, whoever was inside had been wearing Maneuver Gear, so that they could escape in the steam. Do you think the same possibility applies here?" He asked.

"But at the time... Based on what we saw when Eren emerged from the Titan, we concluded it would he impossible." Hange replied. "His equipment was destroyed, and his uniform was gone. Above all, Eren was so weak, he couldn't even stand unassisted."

"The Female Titan was able to attract other Titans with its cry. We failed to predict this, and the operation failed. If Titan abilities vary depending on skill, it was a mistake to use Eren, a total novice, as the basis for our assumptions. If we are to outwit our enemy, we'll need to think outside the box." Erwin explained.

"If we're withdrawing, does that mean the mission succeeded?" Jean asked.

"If so, then we may already know who was inside the Female Titan." Armin responded.

"I'd like to see who it is... But why was the Commander so sure that the enemy would come after Eren if he left the walls?" Jean questioned.

"I think it's because, for some reason, they suddenly stopped their advance in the midst of the last assault." Armin answered. "Even though they managed to break through Trost's gate, they didn't even try for the inner gate. And when Eren sealed the gate, they let him. It could mean that they now have bigger concerns..."

"Bigger concerns?" Jean asked.

"Something more important to them than breaching the walls. Something unexpected that happened." Armin responded.

Jean gasped. "Eren's transformation into a Titan?!" He exclaimed.

"I think it's the only answer." Armin stated.

"Then... That means..." Jean paused. "Wait... So..."

"Someone who was there, who saw Eren transform, is the Titan." Armin finished.

The unknown soldier went around the tree to avoid Squad Levi and Squad Julian.

"Gunther!" Eren screamed out as Oluo flew down and grabbed Eren by his cloak.

"Eren, don't stop! Onward!" He said.

"But Gunther..."

The unknown soldier reappeared in front of Eren. "Who's there?" He shouted.

"Protect Eren!"

"Damn it, what do we do?" Oluo questioned. "Eld, where should we go?"

"There isn't time to reach the horses! Head for HQ, as fast as you can!" Eld replied.

The two squads picked up the pace, causing the unknown soldier to move faster as they soon appeared right behind Eren.

"Is it from the Female Titan? Or is there more than one?" Oluo questioned, looking over his shoulder.

"Damn you... How dare you?!" Petra shouted as she turns around completely. "Come at me! I'll defeat you, even if it kills me!"

"The Female Titan? Impossible... Why? Didn't we catch it?!" Eren thought.

The unknown soldier went behind a tree to avoid being seen by the two squads.

"If the enemy has some way to retain its strength, it may be able to transform once more." Erwin said.

A flash of lightning was shown, shocking both Squad Levi and Squad Julian.

"I knew it... It's coming!" Eld commented as the Female Titan appeared. "The Female Titan!"

"Damn you... How dare you! This time, I will defeat it!" Eren exclaimed as he was about to bite into his hand.

"No!" Eld shouted, making Eren stop in his tracks. "The three of us will kill the Female Titan. You will continue to head straight for HQ at top speed with Squad Julian!"

"Here's what I gleaned from this battle... If we only focus on making the best moves, we will never get the better of our opponent. When necessary, we must be willing to take big risks, and be prepared to lose everything." Erwin explained.

"I'll fight, too!" Eren argued.

"No! This is the best move... Your power is too risky!" Eld said.

"What? Do you doubt us?" Oluo asked.

"Do you, Eren? Do you find it that hard to trust us?" Petra asked as well.

"Unless we change how we fight, humanity cannot win!" Erwin said.

Eren moved his hand down as he flew past the three of them.

"I believe my squad will be victorious. Good luck!"

"Eld, Oluo, Petra! I'll fight with you, too! You'll need all the help you can get!" Ida exclaimed.

"Ida, are you crazy?!" William argued.

"I'll prove to you I'm worthy enough to be on this squad! Just get Eren to HQ!" Ida yelled.

"You better come back alive, Claridge!" Melody shouted.

"Don't worry about me, Stark!" Ida shouted back as her squad carried onwards with Eren.

Eld, Oluo, Petra, and Ida turned around to face the Female Titan as the four of them headed towards her. Eren and Squad Julian could only watch.

Eld goes in to cut her hand but is almost grabbed. He was quick enough to get away, causing both Petra and Ida to go in a slice her eyes.

"We took its sight. For at least a minute, it'll be in total darkness!"

"Kill it during this time!"

"Screw capturing it..."

"Kill it now!"

"Die here without honor!"

"Make that bitch of a Titan pay!"

The Female Titan placed her hand over her nape as the four fly around her, making sure to keep a good distance.

"We won't let your eyes regenerate!" Eld thought. He held his arm up, and pointed to the tendon, signaling the other three that he wants them to cut there. Oluo, Petra, and Ida nodded as they attached their ODM gear to the ground, flying up and then bringing their blades down.

"We'll shear off so much muscle around your shoulders, you won't be able to keep your arms up!" Eld thinks to himself as he continued slicing at her arms while Oluo, Petra, and Ida followed.

"Shear it off..."

"Make it's arms..."

"...fall!"

Finally, the Female Titan's arms fell to her side. "They're down!" Eld announced as he goes closer to her nape. "Now the neck! Shear off the muscles that support its neck!"

"And we can strike its weak point!" Petra added.

Eren continued watching in amazement. "They're so strong. The Female Titan is totally on the defensive. How can they launch co-op attacks like that without even speaking to each other? I bet it's only possible because they believe in one another. They've overcome many hardships that way. That's why they're so strong, even right after losing Gunther." He thought.

"See that, Eren? You didn't have to worry about a thing." Lyon spoke up. "Looks like I didn't have to, either."

"Yeah." Eren replied.

"I'll go forward... If I go forward and believe in them, without turning back, then... I'm sure that's the right answer. I finally understand!"

Eren continues watching as Eld goes in for the kill. "Strike the neck, now!" He exclaimed, flying in closer.

Suddenly, the front part of his body is bitten off by the Female Titan, leaving his other half to fall on the ground. The Female Titan spits out anything that was left of him.

"Eld!" Petra exclaimed as he flew to the ground. "H-How? It can't possibly see! It hasn't even been thirty seconds..."

The Female Titan reveals that her left eye managed to regenerate.

"Only one eye? It prioritized one eye to accelerate the healing... Is that even possible?" Petra asked herself as the Female Titan got up and headed straight for her.

"Petra! We need to regroup!" Oluo shouted. "Petra, now!"

The Female Titan crushed Petra's body against a tree. "Petra! Damn you!" Ida shrieked, heading for the Female Titan with her blades drawn. However, the Female Titan grabbed her wire and threw her down on the ground, her head meeting the ground as her body became lifeless.

"Ida!" William shouted as the rest of his squad members went pale to see one of their own meet her death. Eren was also pale as he let out a scream.

Oluo clenched his jaw as he attached his ODM gear to her nape. "Hey... Die!" He exclaimed, going in to slice the Female Titan's nape but she hardened her neck, making his blades break.

"How? My blade can't pierce it..." Oluo mumbled as the Female Titan jumps and kicked Oluo against a tree. Eren stares down at his squad's dead bodies, his eyes widening.

"Ida..." Melody muttered, trying not to cry.

"I... I will..." Eren mumbled. "I'll kill it!"

Eren bites down on his hand, yellow lightning emerging from the sky as he transforms into his Titan.

Eren slid across the ground as he lets out a roar, alerting Commander Erwin, Levi, Julian, and Mikasa.

Eren sends a kick to the Female Titan but she dodged it.

Levi and Julian were flying through the forest. Julian almost gasped when he saw Gunther hanging from the tree. He then saw Eld, Petra, and Oluo's bodies. He gasped out, seeing Ida's corpse on the ground.

"Ida!"

Julian flew down and saw blood coming from her head and her eyes opened. He kneeled down and closed her eyes, not wanting to see her face like that.

He reached under her cloak, taking off her Wings of Freedom badge from her jacket.

Julian looked over at Levi who had no signs of emotion in his face.

His remaining squad members flew down next to him. "Section Commander—" Zach began.

"Don't." Julian interrupted. "Get to HQ. That's an order. I'm not losing anymore of my squad members. I'm going to kill that bitch for what she did to Ida."

Lyon shivered at Julian's cold tone. "He really cared for Ida... Maybe not in a romantic way. But he still cared. It's all my fault. Ida died while I was in charge." He thought.

"Let's go." Lyon mumbled as Zach, William, and Melody nodded and they used their gear to fly away.

Eren then goes in for a punch but the Female Titan also dodged it. The Female Titan falls down and Eren gets on top of her, roaring in her face.

"I made the wrong choice... I wanted to believe in my companions... Because of that, everyone died!" Eren thought.

Eren goes to punch her but the Female Titan moves her head, his hand gets injured as blood drips down.

"If I had believed in myself from the start and fought... If I'd only killed it at the beginning!"

He tries to punch her again as steam appeared. "Back then, if I'd turned into a Titan... No... If I'd fought even before that... Captain Levi and Section Commander were there, too. We would have won. Maybe we could've captured it." He thinks to himself.

"I... I made a choice. And it killed everyone. It's my fault they died. But despite all that... It's still your fault!"

Eren roared in her face once more. "I'll tear you apart... Once my hand heals, I'll rip you apart... Tear you to shreds... Rip you into tiny pieces... And eat you!" He thought.

The Female Titan recovered from her injures and kicked Eren in the stomach, sending him flying. He gets up and goes to throw another punch but the Female Titan rolls on the ground, dodging it.

The Female Titan looks up as Eren stares at her, getting on top of her. He lets out a roar before going in for a punch. Eren charges at her but the Female Titan hardened her fist and punches off his jaw.

Eren managed to punch her in the stomach, sending her flying into the air. The Female Titan leans on a nearby tree to catch her breath.

Eren panted and got into a fighting stance. The Female Titan goes to run away but changed her mind as she approached Eren again, getting into a stance that seemed so familiar to him.

Eren freezes in place as he looks at the Female Titan's fighting stance. She punches the tree as well as his head.

The Female Titan walks towards Eren and kneels down, widening her mouth and biting the nape, revealing Eren.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted, finally arriving. She gasped as she witnessed The Female Titan pulling Eren into her mouth as she holds him under her tongue and running off.

"W-Wait... Eren..." Mikasa mumbled. "Don't go..."

She clenched her jaw as she headed towards the Female Titan.

"Give... Give Eren back!"

Mikasa started slashing The Female Titan, trying to stop her. "Give him back!" She shouted, finally slashing the back of her knees.

The Female Titan hardened her hand, breaking her blades as Mikasa landed on a tree. "Why won't my blade penetrate?" She asked herself. "I know that he's alive... I know that Eren's alive!" She exclaimed as she changed her blade.

"No matter where she goes, I'll kill her, rip her apart, and get you out of that filth. I'm sorry, Eren... Just wait a little longer..."

The Female Titan took off again but before Mikasa could get her, Levi stopped her with Julian flying next to him. "Wh-What are you..." Mikasa trailed off.

"Fall back for now."

Levi had finally let her go as him, Julian, and Mikasa headed for the Female Titan.

"Maintain this distance. It may be tired. It does not appear to be going very fast." Levi said. "He seems to have been bit right out of the neck. Is Eren dead?"

Julian clenched his blade. "You'll pay for slaughtering Ida, you bitch." He thinks to himself.

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A/N: Another chapter done! Also, Petra tree jokes will not be tolerated. If I see them, I will delete them with no questions asked.

Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2360 words.