Humanity's Savior (Attack on Titan)

The Beginning of the End

Narrator

Eren, Armin, and Mikasa lay out of breath and only partly shocked by Annie's course of action, at the bottom of the now-destroyed steps. Mikasa is the first to rise, checking over her two closest friends for any serious injuries as they both follow her lead.  Armin feels like he is going to be sick when he looks up and sees the bloodstains that litter the walls.  The capture team...  Any sign of the people who had tried to restrain Annie is erased, replaced only by the bright red blood staining the area.

"Oh my god." The three don't have time to mourn, however, because the Female Titan's hand comes shooting down the stairway, nearly grabbing Eren since he stands closest to the opening. Eren stumbles back, and Mikasa's hand closes around the back of his hood in order to pull him farther to safety.  The girl fixes a steel grip around Armin's bicep as well, and the three sprint deeper into the tunnels.  The Titan's arm continues to follow them, getting closer and closer– "Damn, that ring! She saw through my ruse from the start! She knew this was an ambush all along; there had to have been some other way!" Mikasa glances at Armin, her hair whipping around her face.

"Save your regrets for later! What do we do now?" Armin looks at Mikasa, and then fixes his gaze forward as the three continue to run.  Annie's arm has stopped– the passage becoming too long for her to continue.  Eren leads his friends to slow their pace, until eventually they stop at a point far away from where Annie can reach.  The brunette watches the Female Titan's hand move back and forth in shocked silence.  Her fingers stretch and seek, searching restlessly for her prey before she stills in defeat.  Eren stares listlessly at the hand as it slowly withdrawals from the tunnel.  Armin finally speaks up, after thinking through their options.

"We must join up with Squad Three and get above ground. After that, it's Plan Two. We fight Annie, the Female Titan!" Mikasa then turns to Eren, who has been silent during the conversation.  Her eyes shine with worry and some other indiscernible emotion.

"Eren, we need you to turn into a Titan as planned and help us capture her. You can do that, right?" Eren looks away from his two comrades, a look of uncertainty on his face. They wait patiently for his response.  Can I really... fight her?

   "Yeah."  Although he doesn't know if that is the truth, it will have to do.  I have to try, at least.

"Hey!"  A male's voice carries to the three, and they all look ahead to see a Survey Corps member waving to them, light from above shining on him from a medium-sized grate.  The signature green of their regiment's cloak is settled on his shoulders, rippling slightly at his movements.  The three see the 3D-maneuvering gear strapped securely around his waist.  Another man stands next to him, remaining quiet yet alert.

   "It's Squad Three!"  Armin shouts, filling with relief at seeing both men.

   "The first capture plan failed?"  The second man asks incredulously.

   "It failed!  Please proceed to Plan Two immedi–"  Armin is cut off when the earth starts to shake, causing him and Eren to lose their balance.  Mikasa grabs their collars, and drags them backward just as the Female Titan's foot comes crashing through the ceiling, right where the two men had just been standing. A small pile of debris collapses around the gigantic foot, and dust cascades down both sides of the tunnel.  A strong gust of wind whips through the small space, knocking Eren, Armin, and Mikasa backwards with its sudden force.

"She stomped right through?!" Eren looks forward in disbelief as Annie lifts her foot, leaving a gaping hole right where the vent had just been. Eren spots the smashed bodies of the two men, covered in blood and unrecognizable. He knows they are dead– there is absolutely no way anyone could have survived that– but a small part of him clings to the hope that they're still alive. "We have to rescue them!" Pulling his hood back, Mikasa calmly says,