Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 22: Titans Unleashed

As Eren dashed down the stairs, he stopped for a moment, watching a transformation take place for the first time. As the bodies of all the people that tried to restrain Annie scattered, bones and flesh began to form where she was standing, growing at an accelerating rate. He saw her dive into the nape of the Female Titan as it stood to its full height. Something in his gut told him that this time, she would not hesitate, she would not show restraint, and she would never stop until she captured him.

"Oh, God," Eren whispered.

His eyes widened as the Female Titan's hand plunged into the broken corridor, missing Eren by inches. Mikasa quickly grabbed him and pulled him away as Armin quickly followed. Annie tried to reach in further, but her arm wasn't long enough. Realizing that her quarry had vanished, her arm snaked out of the corridor.

"Damn it!" Armin swore as they continued making a run for it. "That ring! She must've known I was lying to her from the very beginning. She knew we were leading her into a trap. I could've... I should've tried a different approach. We should've used Dillon to stop her!"

"Save the should haves until we get out of this," Mikasa ordered. "The question is what do we do next?"

Gritting his teeth, Armin nodded. "Okay. First, we rendezvous with Squad 3. Then, we get the hell above ground. We... we fight her out in the open." He looked at his best friend. "That means we're switching to Plan B. She's all yours, Eren. Got it?"

"Yeah," he answered, still reeling from what just happened.

"Over here!" someone up ahead shouted, waving his hand. It was Squad Three as the other members came into view. "What happened? Was Plan A a no-go?"

Oh, it went just wonderful. Armin thought sarcastically before addressing them. "Afraid so, yes. As of now, we're going with the backup option."

The trio slid to a halt, take a moment to catch their breath.

Suddenly, a giant foot crashed through the ceiling, stomping on the entire squad. The force of the blow was so strong, it caused a dust storm that briefly covered the trio. Coughing, Armin opened his eyes to see the Female Titan's foot slowly rise back up, leaving behind crushed bodies.

"She caved in the ceiling," Armin said, horrified.

"We've got to pull them out of there," Eren said, taking a step for them before Mikasa grabbed his hood and pulled him back.

"Eren, get back," she told him, dragging him away.

"What? No, wait!" The Shifter tried to break free, but Mikasa wouldn't let him. Even if they were still alive underneath the rubble, it didn't matter. Top priority was keeping Eren out of her hands.

"What was that?" Mikasa demanded, trying not to start raging... yet. "Does she not care if she kills you, too?"

"She took a chance," Armin answered gravely. "It was risky, but she gambled on Eren being able to survive. We're dealing with someone who's been backed into a corner." He began running with the two trailing behind him. "She's desperate, which makes her all the more dangerous!"

They backtracked as quickly as they could, but they soon realized that what was left led straight back to Annie. Knowing her, she would keep stomping her way into the Underground if it meant getting what she wanted, what she needed.

"Damn it, we're cut off," Armin said, panting heavily. "If we try to get airborne with our ODM gear, she'll swat us like flies. If we-." He was cut off by another crashing sound and saw that she was getting closer to them. His voice started trembling. "If we stay here, it's only a matter of time before we're crushed."