Clash of Titans(3)

"Mr Ksaver …"

Zeke wiped the glasses as he looked on at the endless plains in front of him atop the trees.

The destruction of a town he had passed by yesterday night only reaffirmed his own beliefs - that as Eldians, they should have never existed. They were a race cursed and doomed to suffering ever since they had fallen from their days of glory.

The Marley High Command had sent him and the Cart Titan on a secret mission to test one of their latest research in weaponizing Eldians into pure titans. The sudden urgency was driven by developments on the continent.

The leader of the nations in the Mid East Alliance - Duclaria, had been ascended by a new king a few years ago. The ruler proclaimed himself as the 1st Kaiser, declaring the start of a new Reich. He ignored the points of the Treaty of Einsburg, embarking brazenly on militarization and even re-annexing several of its original territories.

Under normal circumstances, the Marley Empire would have instantly sent in her forces to enforce the treaty. However, four of its seven precious titan shifters had long been deployed secretly to recover the Founding Titan from Paradis, leaving only three behind. The Cart and Beast Titan were not exactly the most ideal for a frontal assault in the absence of support from the other Titan Shifters - especially the Armored Titan.

As for the Warhammer Titan, it was unlikely for the Marley Empire to ever utilize it. The Guardian of Kensea was controlled by the true rulers of their nation - it was their trump card and what formed part of their legitimacy to be their motherland's highest authority. If the Tybur Family ever lost the Warhammer Titan; its noble standing would be challenged.

"Are you worried about how the other warriors are doing, Zeke?" Beside him, Pieck's voice derailed him from his train of thoughts. She was lying down on a huge tree branch, her posture mimicking that of a cat.

"Indeed. The Marley Top Brass never expected the Paradis Island Operation to take that long. Duclaria is already growing in strength as we speak. They've probably suspected something is going on given our inaction."

"Motherland should have stationed troops there when we defeated it six years ago." Pieck paused. "It was the strongest country in the Mid East then. Right now, she has already regained her former strength. If only we didn't take such an aggressive expansionist policy ..."

"Precisely. Marley was fighting on multiple theatres and needed all the troops she could get at the front lines." He nodded. The young girl had one of the sharpest minds among the warriors; an impressive feat for her age.

Pieck yawned, her long hair falling in her face. "But if we leave the country alone any longer, the other nations in the Mid-East will rally around it. Another war would be at our doorstep."

"General Magath has already traveled to Kensea."

"To request an audience with the Tyburs?"

"Exactly right." He shot an approving finger at her. "But, they've turned down his plea to use Kensea's Guardian. The Warhammer Titan won't pass its divine judgement on the Duclaria Reich."

"... so it rests on us to enforce the treaty once we return."

"There's no other option. I'm hoping for good news from Marcel and the other warriors. If they can secure the Founding Titan, Marley will have safe access to the fossil fuels beneath Paradis. It'll be a great boost to our future war efforts."

The lie slipped easily from his lips after years of pretense. He could be less than bothered about Marley's well-being. What was more important was his duty to save the Eldians from their wretched fate once and for all. He needed someone who held the Founding Titan, someone who shared his ideals in order for his plan to work.

"I hope they're fine ..." Pieck said.

He placed the glasses back on and adjusted them. "The sun will set in a few more hours. Inform our soldiers to be ready. We'll move out from the forest at night time and cross over Wall Rose."

"Understood. How about the criminals?"

"A country that sealed itself off for over 100 years. I doubt there's anything there capable of harming us. We'll keep them for a while longer. Have our men dispose of those treacherous Eldians once we leave. It'll be a burden to bring them along any longer."

He closed his eyes.

The sole salvation for them all …

… was Eldia's euthanasia.

=====

"That should have been where the fight took place … the ramparts looked damaged but the wall is still standing," Erwin uttered as he gave his horse a kick, making it speed up.

Upon hearing from Zachary about the roads that had been obstructed, he knew something was off - It was too coincidental. Their enemies were bold indeed, aiming to ambush them on their way back; it was a gamble for them and they had nothing to lose.

The administration they had was already corrupt to begin with; investing little in the development of the roads and infrastructure within the walls. The fall of Wall Maria made it worse. It wouldn't take a lot of effort for their enemies to seal off most of the roads so as to intentionally limit the ones available.

Poorly maintained roads would mean that the refugees from Wall Rose would have a harder time fleeing into Wall Sina. It was a viciously calculated decision by the nobles to prevent a repeat of what happened during the Fall of Wall Maria. The fewer people that managed to escape in such an event - the better. The government already knew that they wouldn't have enough to feed everyone in such a scenario.

As he closed in, he could make out a huge number of green cloaks standing atop the walls. There were also a number of garrison soldiers mixed in amongst it.

He triggered his gear, slammed the anchors onto the ramparts of the wall and pulled himself atop.

"Erwin!"

Hange's tone was not a good one.

Upon landing, he paced towards the edge of the wall - inspecting the devastated landscape right over the other side of it.

"We just reached a few minutes ago as well. It's a long story … but thanks to Miche and Armin we were able to figure this out quickly." Hange's voice came from his side. "Weren't you supposed to be with Eren? I don't see him at all."

"I'll explain that later, I ordered him to return to the Levi Squad first."

"Wait … you are sayi-"

"Yes, we both arrived a step too late. Eren probably got captured."

"Squad Leader Hange!" Lauda ran towards them. "We found Mikasa near the bottom of the wall over at the other side. She's currently unconscious, the medical team is tending to her right now."

=====

Mikasa was in a dream.

In this dream, she saw Eren walking slowly away from her in the midst of shapeless darkness, and all she could see was his back. She laid on the ground, screaming helplessly for him to not leave her alone.

However Eren didn't seem to hear her; he was still taking step by step, walking further and further, further and further from her.

No. Eren … please … don't leave me. Don't …

"Eren!"

"Mikasa? You're awake!"

She looked up to see Armin amongst the other soldiers who were surrounding her. Ignoring the pain and aches in her body, she ran to the side of the wall as fast as her legs could carry her.

Eren was gone.

"You shouldn't be moving! We still don't know how badly you're injured, let the Medical team finish their check on you fir-"

She grabbed his friend by the collars. "Armin, where's Eren?"

Mikasa already knew the answer, but couldn't bring herself to accept it. Yesterday, Eren was still by her side, dancing together; and now he had left her.

"He's been taken away." Armin shook his head. "W-we should still have time to chase them. Judging from the reports we heard from the few people fleeing along the way, the enormous titan they spotted beyond the wall should have only appeared an hour ago."

She slumped down on the floor. Eren had left her again. It always seemed like Eren was trying to leave her, or something was trying to take him away. Was asking to stay by his side such a hard thing? He always ran off on his own when he was young, and now - there were people trying to snatch him away from her.

"Then why aren't we chasing after them!"

"We can't get the horses over the wall without the lifts besides … Erwin isn't around. Squad Leader Hange is just an acting commander, I don't think she has the authority to mobilize such an exped-"

"Mikasa."

A firm voice broke the discussion. Commander Erwin was walking towards them with Hange and Miche by his side.

Armin was startled. "C-commander!"

"I was a step too slow." Erwin shook his head. "Tell us what happened."

Mikasa nodded, explaining to the commander the events that had transpired in his absence.

"Erwin, there's a giant forest further down, we should head to it." Hange unfolded a map, pointing at a spot on it.

"Why is that so?"

"It's a gamble. Even if they have the strength to still transform. The outside titans might still be a threat, especially considering that they just fought Eren. And if we assume that their destination is someone outside of Wall Maria, they'll want to rest somewhere safe to recover their strength. At least until night time, where the titans can no longer move."

The commander's brows pinched together, then relaxed.

"Assemble the squad leaders, Hange. I will brief them on the plan for the emergency expedition." He raised a hand. "Miche, have the men double up with getting the horses over the wall."

"Roger." came two replies, followed by the sound of gears engaging.

"Mikasa, you're in pretty bad shape. You shouldn't come alon-"

"I'm fine, Commander Erwin! Please let me participate, I can still fight!"

"... Very well. Since the Levi Squad isn't around, you'll be under Miche's." The blonde man seemed to force back a smile, then turned and walked away; his green cloak fluttering in the wind.

"That's too reckless! Mikasa!"

"I'm coming to rescue and bring Eren back. He got captured because of me, it was my fault."

She brought both her legs close to her, wrapping her hands over them. Just like what happened with the bandits when she was young, Eren had saved her. He had shielded her from the Colossal Titan, but as a result, failed to escape the aftermath. She could faintly recall two silhouettes carrying Eren away from the steaming titan carcass before she passed out.

Mikasa shuffled slightly to the side of the wall, pulling her scarf up.

Her head throbbed with pain.

Please be safe … Eren.

"Looks like nothing has changed, eh? Still the both of you cleaning up the mess of that brat." A familiar voice sounded. "I bet both of you are hungry. Here, eat this."

It was Hannes.

He was standing by her side; the man passed her a bar of ration and another one to Armin.

Mikasa accepted it, but simply held the food in her hand. She had long lost her appetite since Eren's disappearance.

Hannes sat crossed-legged in front of them. "Eren … he would always get himself into fights with the neighborhood bullies back then. He wasn't even that good in fighting, and would always end up getting beaten to a pulp before Mikasa or the soldiers showed up."

Armin's voice turned low. "Those bullies and titans are a little different in size …"

"But I've never seen him get beat and give up easily. You can be sure even right now, he's giving our enemies one hell of a time," he said. "I'm coming too. I'm not the same old drunk soldier from before. I'll kill all the titans, and make up for what I failed to do at Shiganshina."

He raised his hands, patting both of them on the back.

"So y'all should eat up, get all the energy you can. We'll definitely save Eren."

(2k words)