Humanity's Future

Destruction

Spark

Well, that was not a smart decision.

The Armored Titan– I still couldn't believe it was Reiner all this time– wasn't moving. My fist had impacted the place squarely where the human rested in his Titan form, and as I lifted my hand out of the corpse, it was stained in blood– human blood. Silence was met by my outburst of anger as I straightened and turned, tilting my head as I peered down at the Survey Corps members on the ground, observing their injuries. My thoughts reached out to Rachel, who I knew hid just beyond the tree line.

"Can you heal them?" There was a beat of silence before I heard her whispered reply.

"Yes, as long as the injury isn't life-threatening." I nodded and waited for Rachel to reveal herself, turning to Eren in greeting as he stood firmly on his feet.

"It's good to see you again, Eren." His Titan jaw dropped in surprise and he nodded, extending a hand in greeting. My shoulders shook in silent laughter as I gently hugged him– but only for a moment– before pulling away and scanning the trees for Rachel. Eren kneeled and ejected himself from his Titan form, just as a swooping noise filled the air.

The soldiers gasped as Rachel appeared, her wings pumping heavily as she glided to a smooth landing. The ones who had been injured badly by Reiner were approached by my friend, who comforted them and healed their wounds. Because of her own crippling situation, Rachel had found that she was able to heal without passing out, but she wasn't able to do anything for anyone who suffered life-threatening injuries.

I watched as she slowly made her rounds, and glanced over as four figures approached me. I recognized one as Armin and smiled at the blond, who smiled faintly in return. The other three were Levi, whose hair was a little lighter than I remembered; Eren, who looked to be calmer than I had ever seen him (though his excitement to see me was clear); and Mikasa, who had matured greatly. I kneeled and waved to them as they stopped right next to my knee.

"I'm happy we get to see you again, Guardian." Armin's voice had gotten a little deeper I noted, and nodded in return. I gestured to him and drew 'Health?' in the dirt. "I'm in fantastic condition, thank you." He smiled brightly at me, but masked his face once more. "We request your assistance once again, I'm afraid. Though we have not summoned you, there has been–"

His explanation was cut short by my raised hand. By now, Rachel finished her healing, and had limped over to me. I gently lifted her and tapped my ear, pointing in the direction of the wall. She nodded and turned, closing her eyes as she concentrated on a faint, unpleasant noise. She startled slightly and turned back towards me, frantically shaking her head.

"Is something the matter?" Mikasa asked, and Rachel and I nodded in sync as the winged girl spoke up.

"Trouble."

To me, it sounded nothing more than faint whistling sounds, but I could tell Rachel was hearing something different.

"Screaming." Rachel explained, gesturing to the wall. "And there's smoke rising from inside the wall." I nodded in understanding and straightened, setting her on my shoulder. Then, I gestured for the Corps members to follow us. "Come quickly! I fear there are people in danger." Rachel explained, and the soldiers fetched their horses from inside the tree line.

Heading into a full-on sprint, I periodically checked on Rachel as the Survey Corps followed close behind, Armin, Eren, Mikasa, and Levi in the lead. Once we got to our intended destination, my stomach dropped at the sound of loud screams and cries of panic coming from inside the wall.

I motioned for Rachel to hold on and then leapt toward the grey stone, digging my fingers into the wall as I quickly scampered upward, nearly falling back down to the earth on multiple occasions. Once I reached the top, I raised myself to my feet, standing firmly on the wall with Rachel perched steadily on my shoulder. Together, we observed the chaos below.

~~~~

The civilians were fleeing in different directions but were all ultimately heading to the same place– the inner gate. There was a large hole in the wall, far from our position but still greatly noticeable. I glanced over at Rachel as she spoke up in dismay.

"This must have been their original plan." She stated. "Draw the Corps away in order to mount an attack on humanity. Dishonorable, but clever."  Returning my attention to the town below, I crouched as I spotted an elderly man in danger.  When Rachel gasped, I turned my head to spot a young boy fleeing from a 10m Titan.  The winged girl turned towards me, her feathers ruffled in annoyance.  "I will save the boy– you take care of the man."  Nodding, I watched as Rachel dove off my shoulder, falling down until she spread her wings and soared towards her destination.

   Nodding to the Survey Corps, I jumped down into the city, landing with a loud thud that shook the earth.  When I reached the Titan, he had cornered the elderly man and my breath caught in anger.  'How dare this monster!'  Sprinting forward, I slammed into the side of the mindless beast, who fell without a fight as I punched in his nape.  Then, I turned towards the man.  He seemed fearful of me– for good reason– but I knelt and gently lifted him, cupping him in my hands as I raced to the inner gate.

   Once the man was safe, I let out a deep, booming call to let Rachel know I had finished my task before wandering around, beginning to kill any Titans I saw.  They fell fairly easily, but for every one I killed three more took its place– there were just too many.  That's when I heard it.

   The roar.