Yoroi no Kyojin

Humanity's Comeback

Commander Pyxis gave a speech to the soldiers explaining the details of the mission. The basic plan is to divert a large number of the titans to the corner of the town while Eren and I work together to pick up the boulder and block the entrance. Our time came. 

“I’m so sorry guys.” Armin says to me and Eren

“What do you mean? What are you apologizing for?” I ask

“I was just talking out of my head, it wasn’t my intention to get you both pulled into all of this.” Armin says

“Stop apologizing! The fact is, you have a gift for strategy and you know it. I believe in you, Armin.” Eren says

“Eren...Gabi...I really think I should…” Mikasa says before being cut of by Eren

“You’re not coming with us! You’re on the decoy squad! Period!” Eren says

I decide to turn away. I don’t care too much if Mikasa comes with us or not. Eren makes a big deal out of it. 

“No way! I’m not leaving you alone! I won’t take another chance!” Mikasa says

“Knock it the hell off! Get it through your head that we’re not your responsibility!” Eren says

“Ackerman! Schutz!” Ian says, referring to Mikasa and Fay, “I want you two on the squad that will be providing Schutz and Jaeger with backup! We’ll need your skill. Let’s get this started.”

We all start running to our spots. 

We run on top of the wall and come in range of the boulder. 

“Something I want you two to be aware of.” Rico says

Eren and I turn to her

“Make no mistake. More than a few of our comrades are going to die today trying to pull this off! Their blood’s on your hands. I’m talking friends, captains, lutenets, pions. Yes, they are soldiers. They are prepared to die. But remember, every one of them is a flesh and blood person. Every one of them has dreams, hopes, fears, every one of them has a name. Aliosha, Dominic, Fenae, Isabel, Ludvig, Martina, Guido, Hans. They’re not pawns, they’re people! Some of them have been living like family since their cadet years. This may well be the end of them. Whole families snuffed out in a moment.” Rico says

Fay and I look at each other. 

“Whatever you think your mission is, your first and foremost concern today is making sure their deaths mean something. Whatever happens, you two keep that lodged in your mind. Take everything that comes with deadly seriousness.” Rico says

“Right!” Eren says

“Of course!” I say

This is it. No turning back! EREN AND I WILL GET THIS DONE!!!

Eren and I engage ODM and fly towards the rock. We launch up and bite our hand. With a flash of light, we transform and crash into the buildings. 

Eren roars

This is our time. It’s finally gonna happen...now we just gotta…

Eren punches Mikasa

…

Luckily, Mikasa dodged just in time. 

Eren goes for another punch and Mikasa dodges again.

I can’t let this stand! I don’t know what’s gotten into Eren, but I’m gonna snap him out of it. I seem to be in full control of the titan body. Well…..kinda.

I get ready to punch him, but Mikasa gets on his face. 

“Eren! I know you’re in there somewhere. I know you recognize me! That’s right, come on! Snap the hell out of it! We’ve got a breach to seal up!” Mikasa says

Eren tries to hit Mikasa, but she dodges, in doing so, causing Eren to hit himself. Eren falls down, slumped over.

I just stand there, unsure of what to do.

“Gabi! The plan is resting on you now!” Fay says

I look at the soldiers sent to guard me and Eren. 

They’re looking at me, like they want….me to do it myself. 

I look at the rock. It’s massive! There’s no way I can lift it.

“Gabi!” Mikasa says

I turn to her

“You’re in control, right? Tell me you’re there!” Mikasa says

I nod

Mikasa tells the others something, I can’t quite make it out. But I think she may be telling them about how I’m in control. 

I look at Eren. I don’t know what’s going on with him. Why would he attack Mikasa? And why isn’t he in control, but I am? Eren has always been the stronger of us two. In terms of will and Physical strength. Did he not have it in him? 

I decide I have to at least try to lift the boulder. But….the problem is….I don’t know where to grip it from. I just….go for it. I place my hands in the underside of it, slide 'em a bit in, and begin lifting. It doesn’t go up. I don’t have enough area to grab from, but...I realize something. The boulder is surrounded by a bunch of smaller but still relatively large sized rocks. Maybe...if I move those, I can roll the thing. I quickly grab rock after rock and chuck them to the side. I look at the gate, it’s about a league away. I don’t know if I can do it, but I will try. I move the rest of the rocks out of the way and make it to the end of the boulder. 

It’s probably in some sort of small crater, so the first push will need some strength. I begin pushing, but the thing doesn’t move. I back up a bit, run at it with full force, and push it right out of the crater. Thing about this boulder is, I can forget about rolling it. It’s too rough and heavy. Not nearly round enough. It would need a LOT of momentum. So the only thing to do is to push it. 

I run at it full force and begin pushing. I push and push. It barely moves, but it moves nonetheless. Something has been gnawing at me, like...something with the titan body. It’s covered….in armor. Or...something sturdy. It makes it hard to move. Or maybe that’s just the titan body. Either way, it’s an inconvenience. But, when I ran at the boulder, I felt the armour give me a little extra strength. 

I look and see titans coming after me and Eren. Even though I’ve been pushing, I’m still relatively close to Eren. The soldiers guarding us are taking them out but...I know some of them will die. I continue and continue to push. Suddenly, Eren begins screaming. I turn around and see Armin on Eren’s nape. What is Armin doing here? I thought he was on the supply team. Nevermind, I gotta keep pushing this thing. I keep pushing and pushing. In all this time, I’ve probably only pushed it 10 Meters or so. 

So many people are dying, all cause this is taking too long. Then I hear stomps. I turn around. It’s Eren. He nods to me. And I nod back. I guess Armin snapped him out of it. This is it, time to plug this hole! I get on one side of the Boulder and Eren gets on the other side. We work together to lift it up. And we do it. We separate the weight equally...and make our way to the gate. It’s slow, but it’s faster than pushing it. MUCH faster. The soldiers clear the titans out of the way so we can get it done without problem. It happens slowly. It feels like we’re about to be crushed. We’re nearly to the gate. 

This is our time….to reclaim lost land. I want to be free. I don’t wanna hide from the titans anymore. I did want to help in the MPs. Of course I do. But...I know that deep down, part of me was scared. I knew that deep down, I wanted to run and hide from the titans. Not anymore. I’m done running. AND I’M DONE HIDING! I WILL GO OUT THERE AND RECLAIM OUR LOST LAND THAT WAS TAKEN FROM US!!!! As I always say, if Eren taught me anything. It’s to fight, Fight, FIGHT!!!! FIIIIGHT!!!!!!!!!!

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHGH!!!!!!!!!!” Eren and I roar as we shlap the boulder into the breach. We collapse from exhaustion and...

… 

To Be Continued...