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The morning air was sharp and cold, carrying the scents of damp earth, nervous horses, and hot steel. In the sprawling courtyard of the old castle, the Scout Regiment moved with a grim, practiced efficiency. There was no boisterous laughter now, only the rhythmic clink of ODM gear being tested, the soft whickering of horses, and the low, murmured words of soldiers checking each other's equipment one last time. Hope was a fragile, flickering candle against a hurricane of dread.
Akira stood by a plain, unmarked supply wagon near the rear of the formation, feeling like a ghost at his own funeral. He wore the simple, unadorned uniform of a supply guard, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his knuckles white. He was a sword locked in its sheath, a caged god forced to watch from the sidelines. Every instinct screamed at him to be out there, on a horse, ready to be the first line of defense. Instead, his only duty was to wait. It was a unique and exquisite form of torture.
His eyes scanned the courtyard, catching small, poignant moments.
He saw Erin, already mounted, her green eyes burning with a fierce determination he had helped her find. She caught his gaze and gave him a sharp, confident nod. I'm ready.
Not far from her, Armin was triple-checking the straps on his saddle, his face pale but his movements precise and focused. He was terrified, but he was ready to do his part.
A small commotion drew his attention. Sasha was trying to subtly stuff a stolen potato into her pack, only for Connie to smack her hand away, a frantic, whispered argument breaking out between them. Even on the brink of death, some things never changed. A faint, sad smile touched Akira's lips.
Then, he felt a familiar Ki signature. Cold, controlled, and laced with a profound, hidden turmoil. But it was different now. Stronger. Sharper. More refined than he remembered. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
She walked past his wagon, pulling on her fingerless gloves with a slow, deliberate grace. Her blonde hair was tied back neatly, and her face was a perfect, unreadable mask of stoicism. But her eyes, for a fraction of a second, flickered towards him.
Their gazes locked.
In that single, silent moment, an entire conversation passed between them. He didn't know if she knew that he knew her secret, but he could feel the conflict raging within her Ki. He saw the soldier, the warrior, and the scared girl underneath it all. His expression wasn't one of anger or accusation. It was one of deep, aching sorrow. Her eyes widened almost imperceptibly, a flicker of shock, before her mask slammed back into place and she continued on, disappearing into the sea of green capes.
"Akira."
He turned. Mikasa stood beside him, so close he hadn't heard her approach. She looked at him, her dark eyes searching his face, reading the conflict he couldn't hide. She didn't offer words of comfort or encouragement; she knew they would be useless.
Instead, she reached up, her movements small and intimate amidst the vast, military operation. She straightened the collar of his jacket, her fingers brushing against the skin of his neck for a fleeting moment. Her touch was a spark of warmth in the cold morning air. Her eyes held his, and in their depths, he saw her silent, desperate plea.
Come back to me.
He gave her a small, tight smile in return, a promise he wasn't sure he could keep. Then, she turned without a word, her blue scarf fluttering, and mounted her horse, her back straight and her resolve like steel.
A horn blew, sharp and clear.
At the head of the formation, magnificent on his white steed, Commander Erwin raised his arm. His voice, amplified by the sheer force of his will, boomed across the courtyard, across the hearts of every soldier present.
"We are now about to begin the 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls! Our objective is to set a course for the future of humanity! Show me the fruits of your training! Show me the power of mankind!" He swung his arm forward, his voice a roar that defied the very heavens. "ADVANCE!"
A sound like thunder erupted from a thousand throats as the soldiers roared back. The colossal gates of Karanes District began to groan open, revealing the sun-drenched, deceptively beautiful world beyond—a world that belonged to monsters.
With a final, earth-shaking cry, the Scout Regiment charged. Hooves pounded against the cobblestones, a cavalry of hope riding out against a tide of despair. The wind whipped their green capes, the Wings of Freedom soaring as they galloped towards their fate.
Akira watched them go, his heart a leaden weight in his chest. A soldier motioned to him. It was time. He climbed into the back of the rumbling, windowless wagon. The heavy wooden door slammed shut, and the world was plunged into near-darkness.
The roar of the charge became a muffled thunder. The brilliant morning sun was gone, replaced by the smell of hay and stale air. All he could hear was the rhythmic creak of the wagon wheels and the frantic, desperate pounding of his own heart. He was blind. He was helpless. He was caged.
---
For the first few hours, the plan worked.
The Long-Distance Scouting Formation spread out across the plains like a great, green fan. Red smoke flares bloomed in the distance, signaling Titan sightings on the flanks. Green flares would answer, and the entire formation would shift its course, a massive, living organism expertly avoiding the lumbering monsters. There was a tense, fragile sense of control.
Then, on the right flank, everything went to hell.
A green flare went up, signaling the advance was clear. Moments later, a black flare shot into the sky. Abnormal Titan.
But this was no ordinary Abnormal.
It appeared over a hill, moving at a speed that defied belief. It wasn't just running; it was sprinting, its powerful legs churning, eating up the ground with a terrifying purpose. It was fifteen meters tall, with short, blonde hair, and a lean, muscular physique that was unmistakably female.
She was a weapon, a guided missile, and she carved through the right flank of the Scout Regiment like a scythe through wheat. But this was more than just Titan strength. Her movements were precise, predicted. She would pivot on a dime, her Ki Sense alerting her to a soldier attacking from behind. Her punches landed not with a dull thud, but with a sharp, explosive impact, a faint shimmer of Ki energy surrounding her fists. She was a perfect, horrifying fusion of Titan power and the advanced martial arts Akira himself had taught her.
Soldiers who flew in to attack were swatted from the sky like insects. Others were simply trampled underfoot, their screams cut short by the thunderous impact of her stride. Her eyes, cold and intelligent, were locked on a target deep within the formation. This wasn't a mindless monster. This was a hunter.
Armin, Jean, and Reiner, caught in her path, watched in horror as their comrades were annihilated.
"It's ignoring all the other soldiers!" Jean yelled, his face pale with terror. "It's heading straight for the center!"
"We have to stop it!" Armin cried, firing his ODM gear.
He flew towards her, a desperate, foolish attempt to distract her. She saw him coming. In a single, fluid motion, she swung her arm. Armin dodged, but the force of the wind sent him tumbling through the air. He crashed hard onto the wet grass, his head smacking against the ground.
He lay there, dazed, as the giant Titan stopped and loomed over him. This was it. He was dead.
The Female Titan crouched down, her massive face filling his vision. She reached out, not with a crushing fist, but with a surprisingly gentle hand. She reached for his head, for the green hood of his cape. She pulled it back, revealing his face, his wide, terrified blue eyes.
And she hesitated.
Her own blue eyes, so shockingly human, stared at his. There was a flicker of something in their depths. Recognition. Conflict. She sensed a massive, furious spike of Ki from the center of the formation—Akira. He knew.
She let Armin go. She stood up, turned, and continued her relentless sprint towards the center of the formation, leaving a stunned and terrified Armin alive in her wake.
---
Trapped in the suffocating darkness of the wagon, Akira felt it. The distant, sharp crack of a black smoke flare.
His head snapped up, his body instantly rigid. Abnormal.
His Ki Sense, which he had been suppressing to keep from going insane, flared to life. And what he felt made his blood run cold.
He could feel the life forces of the soldiers on the right flank, bright little flames of courage and fear, being snuffed out. One by one. Pop. Pop. Pop. Like candles in a gale.
And he could feel the Ki of the thing that was killing them.
It was immense. It was powerful. And it was agonizingly familiar. It was a raging inferno of duty, pain, and a desperate, hidden love. He could feel her using the very techniques he had taught her—the Ki enhancement in her strikes, the Ki sense in her dodges. He had sharpened the blade that was now cutting down his family.
The betrayal was a physical pain, a knife in his gut.
Annie.
The name was a blade in his heart. He could feel her, feel her every move, as she tore through their friends.
A scream, distant and muffled, reached his ears. Then another. The zipping of ODM gear. The thunderous, rhythmic thump-thump-thump of her running footsteps, getting closer. Always closer.
Erwin's voice echoed in his mind. Trust them. Wait for the signal.
Mikasa's voice whispered in his memory. You have to trust that we can live, too.
He slammed his fist against the wooden wall of the wagon. A loud CRACK echoed in the small space as the thick plank splintered under the force of the blow.
He could feel them dying. He could feel his students, his comrades, the people he had laughed with just this morning, being slaughtered. And he was sitting in a box, doing nothing.
Trust. Faith. Promises.
What good were they against a monster wearing the face of a friend?
He couldn't. He wouldn't.
The last thing he heard was the desperate, terrified scream of another soldier, cut short with sickening finality.
That was it. The promise was broken.
In the suffocating darkness of the wagon, two brilliant blue eyes snapped open, glowing with a furious, untamed cyan light.
CRACK. SPLINTER. ROAR.
The sound of the wagon door exploding off its hinges was the last thing to register before the world outside knew that a second, far more dangerous monster had just been unleashed.
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•To Be Continue•
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