Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 31: The Broken Psion

                           (A few minutes earlier)

Annie stared at the mirror, her eyes red and puffy. It had been quite some time since she cried as long and hard as she did. Her mission, her father, all the people she slaughtered, Dillon, Marco, Eren, the list went on and on. None of it would ever end no matter what she did. And now, she succeeded in causing the one person she gave up everything for to walk away. Damn him. Damn all of this.

The idea of escaping this wretched place grew more and more tempting by the second. All she had to do was keep running. The Scouts would be too surprised formulate an attack plan in time. She just needed to reach Wall Rose, climb the Wall, and she'd be safe in Titan territory. An odd paradox, all things considered, but she'd rather deal with mindless beasts than the only people capable of taking her on. Maybe she could get back to her father in time, find a way to protect him before the Marleyans knew of her betrayal. She'd never stop running, but she would live. At least she'd be out of one of the many hells she was in.

Slowly, she pulled out the boot knives, staring at them. A gift given to a girl that never existed. He just wanted to make her happy that day, and he did. She was truly touched by his gesture and always kept them with her even if she didn't need the knives. She only wished she had her falcata with her, but it was in the custody of the Military Police. On second thought, it was probably for the best. Last thing she needed was more reminders of the boy.

Then, Annie gasped as she felt something powerful and primal pulsating through the mental link. For a brief moment, she thought Dillon was able to figure out her plans and was starting to make good on his threat from the trial. However, she quickly realized that this wasn't an attack. This was raw emotion erupting from him. She could feel so much rage and despair pulsating through the link, and none of it was dying down.

Whatever plans Annie had were immediately tossed aside as she kicked open the door. She ignored the guards, ignored how this looked in the eyes of the Scouts, ignored everything. She already failed Dillon too many times to count, and she would be damned if she did it to him again. Unfortunately, she crashed into someone, both bodies hitting the ground. A quick look made Annie discover that it was the insane scientist herself, Hanji.

"Annie, what the hell are you doing?" the Section Commander demanded, slipping on her glasses that were knocked askew from the impact.

Clambering to her feet, Annie knew that every second would make the difference between life and death, but the last thing she needed was the wrath of the Scout Regiment coming for her. So, she took one of those seconds to say, "Dillon's in trouble," before running straight for the window. She nimbly dodged a Scout's attempt to grab her as she jumped through the glass. Her skin was lacerated by the shards, but for good measure, she sliced her hand open with the blade in her ring.

The castle shook as Annie was engulfed in light. Pieces of flesh swarmed her faster than they ever had before and by the time she landed, the Female Titan was fully formed. It was truly a miracle that she didn't land on anyone, but she had no time to dwell on that. She could feel the emotions coming from inside the forest, so that's where she ran. The trees that got in her way turned into giant splinters, her ears picking up the sounds of screams. His screams. She moved faster, every step leaving behind a crater that couldn't even be classified as a footprint.

In the distance, she could see three figures engaged in a fight. She recognized two of them as Matthew and Dillon, the latter punching the former, but the third one she didn't recognize. She could tell it was a woman, but she was more concerned with the fact that Dillon was attacking his own father. From what little she knew of him, Matthew parenting skills were about as good as the toilets found in the seediest bars, but it was beyond her why his son would be attacking him like that. Dillon's head, then, whipped in her direction, and Annie skidded to a halt in shock.