//------------------------------// // The Defeated: The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Part 6 // Story: Attack on Titan // by Gojizilla54 //------------------------------// After making a comeback, the Female Titan took out the elites members of the Levi Squad one after another, leaving Petra and Eren. Blaming himself for trusting his comrades, Eren made a resolute decision. He fought in his transformation state, but the Female Titan defeated him and took him away. Levi, Petra, and Mikasa were pursuing the Female Titan from behind. "Maintain this distance," said Levi. "She must be worn out, too. She's not so fast anymore. It looked like she bit the entire nape off. Is Eren dead?" Mikasa grunted as she looked ahead towards her target. "He's alive," Mikasa answered. "I doubt that," said Petra. "Look, the target seems intelligent and intend on taking Eren away," explained Mikasa. "If she wanted Eren dead, could've just simply crushed him. Instead, it needs her hands to fight, so she's been holding him on her tongue." "Eating Eren could be her goal," suggested Levi. "If so, he's in her stomach, which would mean Eren's probably dead. "He's alive," assured Mikasa. "Let's hope so," said Levi. Mikasa grunted again, still pent up with her emotions from Levi beating up Eren in the trail. "This never would've happened in the first place if you just done your goddamn job of protecting him," scolded Mikasa. "I see, a childhood friend," said Levi, looking back at Mikasa. "Let's narrow our goals down to one. First, forget of taking her down. "She's killed too many of our comrades," Mikasa proclaimed. "It's impossible. She has the ability to harden her skin," stated Levi. "Do as I say. We're going to set all our hops on Eren being alive and rescue him before she leaves the forest. Me and Petra will handle the cutting. You distract her." "Right," responded Mikasa. "Petra, stay behind, you'll come in when I call you," said Levi. "Remember, don't lose focus, I'm not losing my last member to a foot." "Yes, sir," nodded Petra. With that, Mikasa got in front of the Female Titan, swinging low to the ground and zipped through the legs of the Female Titan, crisscrossing the Female Titan. trying to make her obvious. Behind, Petra started to fall back to get a safe distance, but had her swords, ready. Levi was carefully flew close to the Female, looking upon the Female's next move. Even with Mikasa's efforts, the Female Titan paid no attention to them, but was aware of Levi and Petra, who were hot on her trail. Levi, knowing a confrontation soon, he wielded one of his two swords in a reverse grip with the bladed pointing down from the bottom of his grasp. He was ready for the cutting. As quick as lightning, the Female Titan spun around and attempted to throw a punch at Levi. Levi reacted twice as quick, he used his signature spin technique to quickly spin his body around with the blades moving in the direction of his twirl. Blood trailed him as he sliced the Female Titan's arm. Levi stopped spinning and with great speed, he lunged at the Female Titan's face, catching her off-guard. Levi drove both of her blades into the Female Titan's eyes. Levi detached his blades from his control grip, leaving the blades stuck in the Female Titan's eyes. Levi then pushed himself off of the Female Titan's face and took out a fresh pair of new blades. "Petra!" called Levi. "Now!" "Yes, sir!" yelled Petra. Both Levi and Petra shot down towards the Female Titan with a strong burst of gas from their ODM gear. Knowing that its attacker was too fast to attack, the Female Titan put its right hand over her nape. Both of them aimed under the Female Titan's arm. Both of them whirred around and spun down the female's back, then front of thighs, and then the back on the calves. Using the Female Titan to get back up, both of them swung behind the Female Titan once again and slashed her wrist. The combination cause the Female Titan to fall on her bottom and against a tree. "They're fast!" thought Mikasa, watching at their synergy. "She can't even harden her skin in time!" Levi and Petra continued to to slice at every inch of the Female Titans. Petra then used Levi's signature spin technique to slice the Female Titan's arm, surprising Levi, knowing that he taught her well. Both of them continued to the slice at the arms, until both of the arms slide out, exposing her nape. "Her nape..." realized Mikasa. "It's wide open! She's worn down! I doubt she can move now! I can kill her!" Mikasa then latched onto the Female Titan's shoulder, swinging towards Female's nape. Levi and Petra saw what Mikasa was doing. "Wait!" yelled Petra. "Don't do it!" Levi yelled. The Female Titan hardened her nape and raised her hand to grab Mikasa. Seeing that she won't make it, Levi swooped in and pushed Mikasa out of the way. Levi landed on top of the Female Titan's hand, but the rescue made him unprepared for the weight of his left foot. With a loud and sickening pop, Levi had rolled his ankle and twisted it, causing Levi to wince in pain. Levi ignored the pain and pushed off of the Female Titan's hand. Petra and Levi sliced each of the Female Titan's cheeks. With her cheeks cut, the weight inside her mouth and the crippling fatigue, the bottom jaw dropped, revealing an unconscious Eren. “Eren!" called Mikasa. Levi quickly swooped in and landed on the side of the Female Titan's mouth, grabbing Eren and swinging off. Petra then followed Levi quickly to get out. Mikasaa swung to a nearby tree and landed on the side of it. "Hey!" called Levi. "Time to go!" "Eren," sighed Mikasa. "He's fine, disgusting, but alive," stated Levi. "What did I tell you about taking her down. We need to withdraw. Don't lose sight of what this operation is about. Don't screw this up by making this personal, you understand? He's a dear friend to you, isn't he?" "No... I'm..." Mikasa muttered. Levi, carrying Eren, Petra, and Mikasa zipped through the forest getting away from the Female Titan. Levi looked back at the Female Titan and was shocked at his sight. Tears started streaming down the Female Titan's eyes. Calaneth District Back in the Calaneth District, news of the Scout's return had spread around the town, sparking confusion and disbelief among the civilians. "They're coming back already?" asked a male civilian. "What happened?" "Dunno," answered another male civilian. "But I bet they're bringing back another load of corpse with them." Inside a house, a young woman looked outside the window. Then, an older woman comes behind behind her carrying tow buckets. "It sounds like Eld is on his way back," said the older woman. The younger woman turns around to the older woman. "Oh..." answered the younger woman with no emotion. Out along the side of another house, two young boys and two older boys were doing various things. Two of the young boys were washing clothes in a shallow, sudsy tub, while the other sat on one of the stone steps and read from his book. One of the bolder boys was drying the clothes on a drying rack, while the other older boy was helping the younger boy clean. As the boys were doing their thing, behind a man was peering into a window with a little boy on his head talking to his wife, as she was cooking. "Think ol' Oruo will have time to stop by home?" asked the man. "I'll set a plate for him just in case," said the wife. Inside another house, an old man with a thick mustache and balding was sitting in a rocking chair, idly enjoying his afternoon. "Gunther is coming back, you know," said a woman. The old man opened his eyes. "I see," said the old man. Outside the Calaneth District, several Scouts made it out of the forest. Several Scouts were on the lookout for any Titans wondering in their area. Mikasa walked over to the cart that had the unconscious Eren, his head banged, lying down on his back and wrapped up up in the Scout Legion cloak. Mikasa looked to her left and saw a line of cots with bodies, fully wrapped up. Several Scouts were carrying the dead carefully and placing them in wagons. Levi and Petra stood in front Lightning Dust's wrapped body. Petra wrapped her arm around Levi to comfort him. On the other side, Armin, Jean were helping to load the dead into the wagon. Armin, Twilight, Sunset, and Sunset placed the bodies onto the wagon with little emotion, while Jean was obviously distressed about it. "This is the one thing I'll never get used to," said Jean "I doubt anyone could," said Armin. "How my comrades are gonna die How I'm gonna die? That's all I started to think about," said Jean. "I try not to think about it at all," said Armin. "Because if I started picturing my own death, I'd probably lose the ability to fight." "Yeah, Jean silently agreed. "You're exactly right. Conny and Sasha were standing by their horses, feeding them. Neither of them were particularly sad, seeing as they had survived and would be going home, but Conny knew that their survival was really nothing to celebrate. "How long do you think we can survive?' asked Conny. "We've managed to survive so far, at least," said Sasha. "Yeah, so far," said Conny. "We should be glad that we're still alive," said Sasha. "Can you say that to the bodies of the guys who died?" asked Conny Sasha didn’t respond, finally understanding how dire humanity’s situation was right now. Conny continued to look down at the ground, feeling worse and worse. "We might never get to see our hometowns again," Conny muttered. On the other side, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, and Lemon Zest were all sitting on a cart, waiting for orders to head back. "This whole journey was such a mistake," whimpered Fluttershy. "Death was in every corner, no one to help." "Said that to the dead," said Sunny Flare. "This is possibly the worst than the first battle," said Starlight Glimmer. "What now?" asked Lemon Zest. "We should be leaving until they get the dead," said Sunset Shimmer. Rainbow Dash then looked at a cart. "What is it Rainbow?" asked Indigo Zap. "Nothing, just Eren," responded Rainbow Dash. "I'm sure he's okay," said Applejack. "Let's hope so," said Twilight Sparkle. On the other side, Erwin was with other Scouts as they gathered, searched, and organized the dead and missing soldiers. "We're nearly finished, sir," said a Scout with wavy hair and the thin outline of a mustache. "However, five or so bodies were unrecoverable." "Not even pieces of them, Peer?" asked Erwin. "The Titans didn't leave much to recover," responded Peer. "I feel like it'd be better for the families if we didn't bring back what's left." "Put them down as "missing," said Erwin. "Yes, sir," said Peer. "We've spotted several Titans in the vicinity of the forest, but none are yet headed this way." "We move at once. Inform the squads," ordered Erwin, giving Peer a clipboard. "Yes, sir," said Peer. "I refuse to accept this, Commander Erwin!" yelled a Scout with shaggy blond hair and light bluish-gray eyes. "We should recover them! Ivan's body was right there in front of us! "There were Titans there too, Dieter!" stated Peer. "We could end up as casualties ourselves!" "Then we can just take them out if they attack!" suggested Dieter. "Ivan and I grew up in the same town," stated Jurgen. "I know his parents, too! I'd at least like to take him home!" "Quit being selfish!" demanded Peer. "A bunch of brats arguing," said Levi. "Captain Levi!" called Peer. "if you've confirmed his death, then that's enough," said Levi. "He's dead. Whether or not we have his body makes no difference." "You can't be serious," said Jurgen. "Ivan and the others will be put down as "missing," said Erwin. "the decision is final. Just let it go." Erwin, Levi started to walk away from the two Scouts and Petra followed Levi. "Do you neither of you have any human feelings at all?!" asked Dieter. 'Hey, dieter! Watch what you're saying!" scolded Peer. Dieter could only watch as Erwin walked further away, their chances of saving their friend had gone. The remaining soldiers of the Scouting Legion got back in formation and started to head back towards the Calaneth District. Mikasa rode next to the wagon, containing Eren. Mikasa watched him carefully so nothing could hurt him even more. "Hey, he's okay," assured Applejack. At the back, two wagons were carrying the dead in a cart. Two Scouts were sitting at the end of each cart, looking down. Then, one of the Scouts looked in the open and saw something that frightened him. "Titans!" called the Scout. Mikasa and Applejack looked back. Sure enough, behind them, two Titans were running towards them. In front of the two Titans, Jurgen and Dieter, carrying the dead Ivan on his back, galloped away to get away from two Titans chasing them. "That's Dieter!" realized Peer. "That retarded idiot!" Peer then shot a red signal flare in the air. "Titan spotted by the rear!" yelled a Scout. "Full speed!" yelled Erwin. "i don't see any large trees or buildings," observed Levi. "We can't fight freely out here." "Fleeing to the wall will be quicker," assured Erwin. Levi winced and started to fall back. Behind, the two Titans continued to chase. dieter looked back to see a Titan swiping at him. Dieter ducked down to dodge the swipe, but the ducking down caused Ivan's body to fall off. Dieter looked as his friend got further away while the Titan continued to chase them. He looked to his right to see Jurgen grabbed by a Titan. Dieter turned around and swung towards the Titan that grabbed Jurgen. The Titan that was chasing Dieter was now chasing the wagons. "It's about to catch up to us!" yelled Armin. "We're gonna have to fight!" yelled Jean. "ODM can't accomplish much on flat ground," said Twilight Sparkle. "Look, they just keep coming!" spotted Armin. Three more Titans started to run towards the Scouts. "Then what do you suggest we do?!" asked Jean. Armin looked at the wagon carrying the dead bodies. "We need to..." said Armin. Behind them, the Titan that grabbed Jurgen ate him like a noodle. The Titan then grabbed Dieter from the air. He screamed in fear as the Titan was about to devour him. Then, Mikasa swung up and sliced the Titan's nape, killing it. Dieter got out of the Titan's grasp with fear in his eyes. Back at the wagons, the Titan was now closer to them as it continued to chase them. "It's no use! It's catching up!' yelled a Scout. "I'll get it from behind and distract it!" planned the second Scout. "Use that chance." "Don't bother," said Levi. "Dump the bodies. Before it catches up." 'But, sir!" called Levi. "There have been countless people before whose bodies were left behind," stated Levi. "These ones aren't somehow special." "Are we going to do that?" asked the Scout. "Are we really going to do it?!" "Damn," cringed Levi in pain, grabbing his leg. "We got no other choice!" yelled the second Scout. Both of them lowered the wagon's doors. They dumped the first body, as it rolled on the ground. The Titan behind them didn't bother about the body. Armin and Jean watched as the dumped a second body to the ground, but the body got crushed. They dumped a third body, Levi looked back to see his best soldier's body getting dumped. Levi looked forward, to ignore it. The body then started to slow down the Titan. "That's it!" yelled the Scout. "Keep moving!" With all the Titan distracted the Scouts continued to head towards the Calaneth District. The Scouts then stopped and took a break to look at the directions of where they are now and how far are they. "We leave as soon as we've confirmed our positions!" yelled a Scout. "Stay sharp!" "We need to make a slight course correction to the east," pointed another Scout. Dieter stood there in shock and with trauma. Then, Levi rode next to Dieter and got off his horse. "Captain Levi," called Dieter. Levi the walked up to Dieter. "This is proof that they once lived," said Levi. "That's how I see it, anyway." Levi then handed Dieter of the Scout's badge, shocking Dieter in the process. "It's Ivan's," stated Levi. Tears started to wield up in Dieter's eyes. They soon started to stream down his face. "Captain..." he cried. Levi started to walk away from Dieter and got on his horse and galloped away, leaving Dieter crying. He placed the badge on his forehead as he continued to cry. "Let's move out!" yelled a Scout. A purple flower was swaying in the wind in a sunny day. A young Eren and Mikasa walked up a path to their house on top of the hill. “Eren, maybe you should let the Scout Regiment thing go,” suggested Mikasa. Eren was shocked to hear that and turned around. “Seriously? Why does everyone think that they’re a joke?” asked Eren. “It’s not about what I think,” said Mikasa. Then in the distance, the town bell starts to ring across town. “They’re back! We can make it back when we hurry,” said Eren excitedly. “Come one get a move on, I want a good view.” Eren grabs Mikasa’s arm and both of them start to head towards the gate. Eren and Mikasa got on top of some boxes and saw the Scouts entering. Eren then looked back and saw and was in shock to see the injured. Many soldiers came back with no emotions on their faces. Others were badly wounded with missing limbs, eyes, and bandages over them. “Sure taken a hit haven’t they?” asked a civilian. “Yeah, the rest got eaten,” said another. “That’s what happens if pride takes you outside the walls." "Our taxes are basically going to feeding and fattening those things up now,” stated a thrid. Eren then grabbed a stick from the ground. "Eren!" called Mikasa. Just as he was about to hit him in the head with the stick, he stopped in his tracks. "What's wrong?" she asked. Eren lowered his stick, now present age started to shake. Eren continued to stand behind the civilians. Now, for all his childlike admiration of the Scouts, now that he was a soldier of their division, Eren could feel firsthand how badly he and the others had failed. Eren," called Mikasa. "Eren!" called Mikasa. Eren woke up in reality. He looked to see Mikasa standing next to him. "Eren?" called Mikasa once again. Eren got up and looked at Mikasa. "You shouldn't get up yet," she said. "You need to rest." "Where's the Female Titan?" he asked. "She got away," she answered. "Why? What about the operation?" asked Eren. "It failed," Mikasa responded. "What about the girls?" asked Eren. "They're fine," assured Mikasa. Eren lets out a sigh of relief, knowing that they're safe. "You need to rest for now," said Mikasa. "How did I get here?" he asked. "Did you save me again?" Mikasa didn't answer and fixed her scarf. "We're almost to the wall now," she said. The cart passed over a hill, the walls of the Calaneth District were now visible. The Scouts were just a mile away from the district. As the defeated Scouts came marching in the Calanth District, the civilians were gathered to see the Scout's return. Just like Eren's past, multiple Scouts had missing limbs and bandages wrapped around their head. "Is it me, or are there fewer than this morning?" asked a male civilian. "A lot fewer," said a female civilian. "Another bad one," said a second male civilian. "They left this morning shouting and roaring, and now their back?!" asked a third civilian. "What did they leave for?!" asked a fourth. "Beats me," responded a fifth. "But from what brooding looks on their faces... I'd say they succeeded in pouring our tax money down the drain." Eren, with an angry expression tried to get up and give the civilian a piece of his mind, but Mikasa stopped him from doing it. "Eren. Endure it," said Mikasa. Eren looked over the cart in anger but, only to see the little boy and girl from earlier. The little boy was smiling at the Scout's return. Eren and Mikasa’s déjà vu was in fever pitch, almost imagining themselves back in Shiganshina. "The Scout Regiment is awesome!" shouted the boy. "Even when they're so beat-up they keep on fighting!" Eren got back down on the cart, now with a sadden look on his face. Jean, Reiner, Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Sunset Shimmer and Armin passed more citizens, bowing their heads or shielding their faces with their arms out of shame. Ymir, Christa, and Fluttershy looked down as they walked down the street. Bertholdt, Sasha, Rarity, Sunny Flare, and Sour Sweet all looked down in defeat. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Indigo Zap, and Lemon Zest looked down in shame, even Pinkie Pie had the feeling of sadness in her heart. "Captain Levi, sir!" called a man. "Thanks for looking after my daughter! I'm Petra's father! I'd like to discuss before she spots me." Petra's father took out an envelop from his vest. "She sent me a letter, you see, She said she was assigned to serve you because you recognized her skill. She said she wants to devote her all to you. Basically, the girl's so starry-eyed that she has no idea how worried her parents are! So, well, as her father, you see, I feel it's a bit too early to let her get married to you. She's still young and has so much experience." Levi listen to the words of Petra's father. He knew that she was alive, but didn't want to be rude and interrupt him as he spoke. "Mr. Rall, your daughter she's behind me," said Levi. "She is?" he asked. He looked behind Levi to see her daughter, alive. "Petra!" called her father. Petra smiled as she saw her father standing in front of her. "Dad!" called Petra, running to hug him. "How are you?," asked her father. "I'm fine, well minus the part where I almost died," said Petra. "Who saved you?' asked her father. She looked at her savior and locked her daze on Levi. "Levi," sighed Petra. His father was shocked to hear her answer. "So how is the Levi business?" asked his father. Petra looked at her father in shock, while Levi stopped and turned around as he heard his name. When Levi looked at Petra, she quickly turned her face around, hiding the massive blush on her face. Petra looked through her hair to see Levi turning away and walking away. "Dad! Do we even have to talk about this?!" asked Petra. "Hey, I was just asking," said his father. "Petra!" called Levi. "We need to go!" "Yes, sir!" shouted Petra. "i need to go, Dad." "Okay, bye sweetie take care," waved Petra's father. "Bye Dad!" Petra waved back. Petra caught up with Levi, this time she was closer to him. Even though she was alive she couldn't help to think about her comrades. Erwin passed by the angry crowd of civilians, who started to bombard him with questions. "Commander Erwin!" called a male civilian. "Please answer us!" "Were the gains from this expedition worth the number of lives lost?!" asked a female civilian. "Do you honestly believe the soldiers died without regrets?!" asked another male civilian. Erwin didn't answer a single question coming from the civilians. He continued to walk through the crowd of angry civilians. Inside Eren's wagon, Eren covered his eyes as he started to break down in tears and started to cry while Mikasa sat next to Eren, gripping his hand tightly. The cost and casualties incurred by this latest exterior expedition dealt a heavy blow enough to destroy the Scout Regiment's support. Erwin and the others in charge found themselves summoned to the capital with one simply order. To hand over Eren.