hopeless | jean kirstein

14 | city of corpses

Taryn and Armin dropped to the scene below, landing smoothly on the stone paved streets. They rushed towards the Female Titan's body that now lay helplessly ground, entangled with layers of wires that would make it quite difficult for any threat to escape. Its face looked dim and distraught, almost as if it had given up on the whole thing already.

"Okay!" The voice of Hange Zoe echoed throughout the place, and Taryn could see them standing on the roof with a satisfied smile on their face. "I thought there'd be a need for plan C, but nope! That's Commander Erwin for you!"

Hange made their way towards the defeated Titan, the rest of the soldiers watching with anticipation of what was to happen next. "Now be a good girl and stay put. You're too far in to get the Titans to devour you like before," She heard them say. "But don't worry...I'll be the one devouring you instead. I'll devour all the information we can drag out of you."

And as if their words acted like a switch, the Female Titan's eyes widened, before dragging out a single leg and destroying all the traps they had laid out for it. Taryn hurriedly jumped out of the way and landed on the roof above, fortunately escaping just in time. Jean and Armin followed shortly after, the two of them wide-eyed and their faces riddled with disbelief.

"It got away?" Jean muttered, cursing under his breath at the sight of the Titan fleeing from them and heading further into the heart of the district. "Shit."

"We didn't have enough traps. Honestly, it was foolish to think we could've captured her that easily." Armin said, pulling his hood over his head as a soldier barked out an order for them to chase after the target. "Let's go. We can't let her escape."

They took off at his words, the familiar feeling of adrenaline rushing through them as they zoomed in the air. Taryn accelerated her speed, the wind hitting her in the face harshly. She could hear the frightened cries of the people below her as the Female Titan continued to wreak havoc, stomping through the city as it attempted to escape.

Her eyes narrowed in determination. They've risked almost everything in this operation to capture it, and she wasn't going to let all of their efforts go to waste.

A sudden beam of light from the corner of her eye caught her attention, the vibrant green hue indicating the transformation of another Titan shifter. She could almost feel herself jumping in relief as she heard the familiar roar sounding out from a distance—Eren had transformed. And it's about time he did so.

Giant footsteps shook the ground, catching the attention of everyone, including the Female Titan, and Taryn saw how its eyes widened ever so slightly at the sight of Eren, his piercing stare meeting the Female's blue gaze. With another low growl, he raised his fist and hit his opponent directly in the face, causing it to fly backwards and land on a building, the whole structure reduced to nothing but dust and rubble at the impact.

Her heart dropped as she saw the spots of blood splattered on the ground, meaning that there had been more deaths, more innocent lives lost and forgotten, all because of this foolish game of cat and mouse.

But she knew the costs of this operation, and she knew what they had to sacrifice. Someone who can't sacrifice everything can never change anything. To overcome a monster, you must throw aside your humanity.

Gulping, she forced herself to look away, her feet stumbling upon a shingled roof. Jean, Armin and Hange took their places beside her, the four of them standing together as they all turned their attention to the two Titans fighting before them. Eren had begun to chase after Annie, wreaking havoc and destroying the city. The sight she was seeing almost made her feel like she was back at that day in Trost, with the anguished screams of people and Titans causing ruin with every step they take. Only this time, we're allowing it to happen.