eleven

"You don't have to say anything, I already know."

"I know."

Your body was slightly hunched as you rode your horse with high speed, consistent alongside the rest of your comrades. Your eyes focused forward though occasionally, your gaze would stray in search of any remaining Titans around the area. 

You all passed an abandoned ghost town, some houses wrecked with the trees scattering the area. Listening intently to Erwin's orders, you activated your ODM gear and followed along with Hange and the others. The green hood of your cloak stayed still neatly atop your head even as you zipped through the air. 

Landing on the top surface of the wall, you began running to complete the formation that had been decided for you. Not a single Titan could be seen within the demolished district of Shiganshina. It was an odd sighting, considering the fact that there should be at least a few Titans. Yet not a single one could be seen. 

Despite the strange occurrence, Hange shot out the greenlight as a sign of completion within the first stage of the strategy. Amidst the green hue from the pistols, a surge of lightning could be seen alongside strong wind that almost blew you away. A bright light blinded your eyes, a sign of Eren's transformation. Or so you were told. 

You've never had the chance to witness it beforehand. But just as the flash of lightning disappeared, it was replaced with heavy mist. When that dissipated, your eyes were in awe as you stared at the hardened Titan that covered the hole in the gate. Soon, Mikasa could be seen going down to the Titan to retrieve Eren. One gate down, another one to go. 

"Don't let your guard down!" Hange instructed, reminding you of it since you were slightly admiring the form of Eren's Titan. 

'Maybe Titans are quite the interesting creature,' you thought. 'Hange would be pleased to hear me say that.'

"Keep on the lookout!" Hange ordered once again, earning affirmations from the soldiers.

Not long after, Mikasa landed on the Wall surface, Eren right next to her. Ensuring Eren's health, Hange approached the boy. You watched from where you were standing as a breathless Eren checked his protective gear while Mikasa gently wrapped her green cloak around Eren's shoulders. 

The boy stood up, placing his hood gently atop his brown head. Green hues shot upwards into the sky as a sign of the success of plugging the outer gate of the district. With Hange's order, you began running to reach the opposite side of the wall to carry out the closing of the inner gate. 

While you were all making your way towards the inner gate, the Commander shot out red smoke, a sign to halt the mission. Landing your feet on the side of the Wall, you looked at Hange, awaiting their order. Hange instructed the same, earning similar affirmations. 

You all watched as the soldiers by the inner gate were tapping their blades against the side of the Wall. It was as though they were checking for something, searching for something. From atop the Wall, you watched with focus as those soldiers fulfilled their orders. 

Your eyes widened greatly upon seeing a soldier getting stabbed through his stomach by a blond figure from inside the Wall. Falling to his death, the soldier passed away. Panic flooded you but you remained your composure, denying its' wish to overwhelm you. 

From where you stood, you watched as another figure fell from the top of the Wall, his blade already brought out. Recognizing the figure, you saw that it was none other than Levi. You knew he'd always been fast but just how fast had he gotten? 

Levi stabbed his blade through the neck of the blond boy, the two falling victims to gravity's wish. Levi's feet rushed alongside the Wall, his hands making fast movements to detach his blade before clicking to another one to stab through the blond's chest. 

You noticed a slight shift in Levi's figure before he pushed off the blond and initiated his gear to bring him back atop the Wall. The fallen boy had his body squirming on the ground. Despite having two blades hitting him at vital spots, death did not take him. Instead, lightning emerged, blinding your eyes once again as the same strong wind blew the air. 

And thus, appeared the Armoured Titan. Awaiting Erwin's commands, the Commander was interrupted by more flashes of lightning from behind them. Turning around, you saw the Beast Titan alongside a row of Pure Titans. 

The Beast threw a huge boulder, aiming straight for the inner gate, causing the hole to be an obstacle, preventing the horses from passing anywhere to avoid the soldiers escaping or retreating. 

"Hange, orders to attack?" You asked, watching as the Armoured Titan begin to climb up the Wall. 

"Standby, Erwin is studying the enemies' movements," they replied. 

The ground slightly shook, chirping birds flying off into the peaceful sky, away from the war that was to begin. Over your shoulder, you saw multiple Titans, probably the 2 or 3 meters type, running towards the Wall. 

Meanwhile, the Armoured Titan was nearing the top of the Wall. Soon, the Commander gave out orders. And you were meant to assist in eliminating the Armoured Titan, usage of the new weapon, Thunder Spears allowed. 

"ONCE MORE FOR HUMANITY," Erwin shouted loud enough for all his soldiers to hear. "DEVOTE YOUR HEART!" 

"YES, SIR!" A chorus of affirmation traveled the air, tones of determination as everyone went to formation. 

Just as you were about to take your leave, you felt a hand holding your wrist. The touch was soft and gentle, a slight tremble round the corners. You glanced over your shoulder, eyes meeting Levi's grey ones. 

At the moment shared by the two of you, everything felt silent despite the commotion of your comrades running to formation. That silence was haunting yet peaceful at the same time. You wanted to leave yet stay there for the rest of your life. 

'I should say something,' Levi thought, trying to voice out the words he so dearly wanted to let out. 

'Someone should say something,' you thought the same. 

But any words you both wanted to say conversed perfectly in the small nod Levi gave you. And in the small nod you returned to Levi. Neither of you had to say a word to know what the other meant. 

Be careful. 

You too.

I love you.

I love you too. 

Don't die.

You too.

You stood beside Hange, the two of you waiting for Armin to join the group with new orders from the commander. When Armin told the others the new orders he received, you could hear the shock in Hange's voice.

"He wants to use Eren as bait?" 

"Yes, those were Commander Erwin's orders," Armin nodded. 

"He'd resort to using Eren as the bait just to protect the horses?" Hange frowned.

"The horses are our only way of getting away. Even if the mission was an easy success, we'd still need the horses to return. It only makes sense," you chirped in, earning a small nod from Armin and Hange. 

"You're kidding," Mikasa worried. "And what if Reiner chooses to kill the horses anyway?"

"No, he should choose Eren," you reasoned, making sense of things in the back of your mind. 

"If Reiner does go after the horses, Eren will keep going and wrap around behind the Beast Titan," Hange added, explaining in more detail. "With Levi, the Scouts, and Eren, they can pincer and fight the Beast Titan. Erwin must have said that, right?" 

"Yes," Armin answered. 

"If things don't go as initially planned and Eren ended up running away, it'll confuse the enemy enough to give us an opening," you mused, earning a nod from Hange. "It favors us either way."

"It all depends if Reiner can see that far ahead," Hange added. 

"Knowing him, I bet that he will," Eren chimed in. 

"Alright! We'll take on the Armoured Titan in Shiganshina!" 

"Hold on!" Armin stopped just as everyone was about to take their places. "There's one more thing I'm worried about. Bertholdt is still in hiding somewhere."

"The Colossal Titan?" You furrowed your brows, earning a silent nod from the blond boy. 

"The last time they fought, Eren had Reiner on the verge of defeat, but Bertholdt's attack caught him off-guard, and he ended up their captive," Armin reminded. "It's a simple counter-strategy but let's fight away from the Walls."

Once Hange had given their green light to heed Armin's advice, you went to take your place on a random rooftop nearby the two fighting Titans. You had your Thunder Spears attached to your sleeves, the weapon assured to be used later on in the attempt of assassinating the Armoured Titan. 

"Y/N!" Jean called, watching the scene of Reiner and Eren in horror. 

"Not yet," you shook your head. "We'll wait for Hange's orders."

"But-"

"I understand you're worried for Eren but you need to trust him," you said, eyes focusing on the fight. "He's your friend, right?" You glanced over your shoulder to look at Jean. "Trust your friend that he'll give us what we need."

Your heart was in a race against time, the sound growing louder and louder within your ears but you tried deafening it, ignoring your body's desire to leave the battlefield. You saw Hange turn and give a small nod. You replied with the same ministration, turning to Jean to signal him to begin moving. 

Zipping through the air, from houses to houses, you got ready to hit the Armoured titan with a Thunder Spear when you were allowed. Hange and Mikasa flew through the air, sending a long Thunder Spear to each of the Titan's eyes. 

Moving a distance away, the two ignited the spear with a pull of the string, causing an explosion in the Titan's eyes, its loud voice letting out a huge roar of pain. Before the Titan could settle with the pain in his eyes, you and Moblit led the others from the rooftops nearby. 

You all aimed your Thunder Spears by the Titan's nape, pushing the metals off your sleeves before pulling the string to ignite the thundering weapon. And just as quickly, you all made distance so as to not get caught up in the explosion. 

Midair, you glanced over your shoulder to confirm the effects of the deadly weapons. And just as suspected, the armor belonging to the Titan was beginning to peel off. 

"Do it again!" Hange ordered loudly so everyone could hear since you were all scattered on several neighboring rooftops. "Attack again with the Thunder Spears and finish him off!"

Nodding, you and the others activated your gears, jumping off the rooftops towards the center behind the Titan's nape. The Thunder Spears on your sleeves were thrown off towards the Titan, your target hitting where you aimed for it to be even while midair. 

Getting away as far as you could, your ears were then filled with the sounds of explosions, like fireworks. Well, if you could witness a firework display, that's what you assumed it would sound like. 

'Maybe after this is all over, he'd take me to look at fireworks,' you couldn't help but muse, a smile gracing your lips at the thought.