Attack on Titan: Secrets of Marley (SNK x OC)

Chapter 6: The Fall of Shiganshina

The silence that followed the destruction of the wall lasted only an instant, a brief moment of stupefaction when the world seemed to hold its breath. Then all hell broke loose.

The sound of the collapsing wall echoed like thunder through the valley, shattering the morning's tranquillity. Pieces of stone flew through the air, accompanied by a cloud of dust and debris that obscured the horizon. Gray stood motionless, his gaze fixed on the Colossal, that immense silhouette that dominated the landscape, imposing and terrifying, while the wall, once a symbol of security for the inhabitants of Eldia, was now nothing but a pile of ruins.

The first cries began to rise in the distance, echoing off the remaining walls. Gray knew that this was only the beginning, that these cries of terror would only grow louder as the Titans rushed into the city, trampling everything in their path.

As the mass of Titans rushed through the wall, they waited in the distance. Suddenly, Reiner rushed towards the wall. Gray couldn't understand why, but he saw the reason after a few seconds. Bertolt had descended from the Colossal in a cloud of smoke and was standing on his back, untroubled. But at the same time, a pure Titan was heading in his direction to eat him.

- Shit, no, no, no... fuck... Reiner! Hurry up! shouted Gray.

Reiner was running at full speed, but nothing seemed to stop the Titan's advance. Bertolt was about to be devoured...

Then, suddenly, without understanding why, the pure Titan passed by Bertolt but didn't eat him. To the surprise of all 3 of them, it moved inside the wall, leaving Bertolt unharmed.

Reiner didn't bother, and as he reached Bertolt's level, he grabbed him by the hand too.

Reiner then began to climb the wall, an ascent that took him several minutes. Gray loved to hear the howls of the Eldians being devoured at the moment, but at the same time, he hated to hear howls of suffering. It was... disconcerting.

Finally, Reiner reached the height of the wall and set the three of them down. While still standing on the wall, he pulled halfway out of his Titan's neck.

- Gray! he shouted, trying to speak louder than the screams. You know what you have to do, don't you?! It's up to you, warrior!

- Watch yourself, he shouted, nodding.

Reiner re-entered his titan and nodded before finally turning towards the city in front of them and jumping off, causing a huge uproar as he blew up houses on landing.

Gray watched fearfully as Reiner charged towards the other entrance to the wall at the far end of town. The wall they'd just broken must have been some kind of outpost. When Reiner exploded the other one, the titans would finally be able to penetrate the wall.

- Bertolt! he shouted, looking up at him, who was carrying the exhausted Annie. Can you run?

- Only if you help me carry her! he replied, looking at her.

Quickly, Gray helped Bertolt carry Annie and they ran until they reached a corner of the wall. Gray placed Annie gently on the ground and looked out over the ruined city.

This was his moment. Turning to Bertolt, he said: - We're following the plan! You get on my back!

- Go ahead, I'm ready, he shouted. Transform yourself.

Sighing for a moment as he watched the massacre, he brought his hand to his mouth and bit into it with all his might. Yellowish energy formed around him as he metamorphosed.

And then, suddenly, he was a Titan. Turning to Bertolt and Annie, he bent down so that they could climb onto his back.

When he had done so, he half emerged from the back of his Titan's neck, looking down at them.

- Hold on tight! It's gonna shake!

Then, finally, returning to his Titan, he took a big leap and jumped with all his might inside the district.

He could clearly hear Bertolt screaming, who must have been freaking out at being up in the air. Finally, he landed in the corner of the city, an empty place with ravaged houses and not a soul to be seen. Sighing for a moment, and after checking that they were out of sight of the Eldians, he extricated himself from the neck and climbed down from the carcass of his Titan with Bertolt and Annie.

Deep down, he was tired, the transformation having exhausted him, but he had no choice. Bertolt wouldn't have the strength to carry Annie and himself, so he'd keep moving.

They ran through the city, currently in the same danger as the Eldians. Pure Titans wouldn't know the difference and would eat them up. They did their best to avoid the titan-filled streets and made their way through the narrow lanes.

After a while, as they neared the harbor where demons were shouting "Refugees, over here!", Gray was violently jostled by a kid followed by another girl. The kid must have been his age.

- Get the fuck out of my way! he shouted as he passed.

- Fuckin' hell, watch it, you little fucker, he replied, but the black-haired kid in a red vest didn't listen to him and ran towards the heart of town.

"Is he stupid? Why is he running to his death? What a bunch of fuckin' buffoons!

Unconcerned, Gray queued patiently with Annie and Bertolt waiting their turn to enter the boat.

Eventually, the three of them got through and sat down against the wooden planks that made up the "walls" of the boat.

After a while, Reiner finally got to the front of the queue and entered the boat. Exhausted, he collapsed next to Bertolt.

- Well done, buddy, Gray murmured, you've done a professional job.

- Thanks, he murmured in reply.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the boat left the harbor carrying a huge number of refugees. In a way, he was relieved to have made it out alive.

In the distance, he saw the same boy who had jostled him earlier shaking violently and crying. He looked at him as he stood up and moved closer to the edge, shouting: - I'M GONNA KILL 'EM ALL! ALL THOSE FUCKIN' BASTARDS! EVERY LAST ONE OF 'EM!

Pfft, what a stupid goal. The kid would end up dead in a few years' time anyway, just like all those damned demons.

As the boat continued its journey towards an unknown goal, however, Gray couldn't help wondering why the King hadn't reacted with the Founding during the attack. It was strange...

But gray let these thoughts pass, he didn't have time to think about all that. What mattered for now was that they had managed to infiltrate the walls. For the moment, they were Eldian children who had fled an invasion of Titans inside wall "Maria" , if Gray had understood the name correctly. That would be the lie he would use during his time on the island.

After a long time on the boat, they finally crossed another wall. " How many of these damn things do they have?" he wondered when he saw it. Finally, the boat docked and they were all taken in by soldiers wearing orange vests. Reiner and Bertolt, who were the least tired of the group, carried Annie while Gray stayed behind, also tired.

Later, they entered a building where they were all assigned to blankets on the floor. Reiner and Bertolt laid Annie on the comforter and for a long time the three waited for her to wake up.

Finally, after a while, she began to groan and opened her eyes. Sitting down on the blanket and looking around, she asked them:

- Where are we?

- Inside Wall Rose, Gray replied.

Indeed, he'd heard soldiers talking about a wall called Rose. Suddenly, Reiner caught the three of them in an embrace.

- Guys, I'm sorry... for getting upset. From now on, I promise I'll become a true warrior! he exclaimed.

Gray wasn't sure why Reiner was apologizing, but he was sure of one thing: their lives would change from that moment on...