Attack on Titan: A Blacksmith's Tale

Chapter 12: A Chance to Strike Back

"Eren Yeager the Titan. And here I thought I was special, but low and behold, Yeager surpassed me in that regard. I can only wonder what the hell happened to make him turn into one of those things. According to Armin, he lost his leg and arm before he was devoured by a Titan, so he had regeneration abilities like a Titan. Wish I had regeneration. Would go well with my powers.

"Naturally, the whole event spooked the Garrison Troops, so they planned on "interrogating" Eren about whether he was human or not, and whether he was a threat to humanity or not. Honestly, I couldn't blame them. Over 100 years of Titans killing them and considering that the Invasion of Trost had been so recent, tensions were extremely high. That being said, their version of interrogation meant a bullet to Eren's head at the end, and that was something the human race couldn't afford to let happen.

"And it was out of my control."

There were certain situations Dillon never expected to be in. He didn't expect to rank five in the 104th. He didn't expect to be attacked by Titans just after graduation. Most of all, he didn't his friends to be literally up against the wall with several squads of Garrison Troops surrounding them.

After the cadets made it over the wall, the soldiers who witnessed the whole thing slapped a gag order on them all under threat of being charged with treason. As Dillon followed Annie, he knew that Eren was going to undergo a field interrogation. He didn't have to be a mind reader to sense the paranoia in the air. They were probably gonna find any excuse to kill him along with Mikasa and Armin, who stood by his side despite the odds. And if nobody stopped the Garrison...

"Annie," Dillon finally said, coming to a stop.

She turned and looked at him, her eyes cold. "What?"

He let out a sigh. "I... there's something I need to do, and you're not going to like it."

She continued to stare at him, waiting for him to get on with it.

"Those soldiers are going to look for any possible reason to kill Eren. Hell, the fact that he was... a Titan-" He still couldn't believe it. "-is probably going to be the reason." He stared at Annie. "I can't wait around, Annie. I... I need to make sure he and the others make it out alive."

"Don't be stupid," she replied bluntly. "They're scared, they're under attack, and they have guns."

"I know, but they're my friends."

"And how will you be helping them if you get yourself killed?" she asked, stepping up to him. "It's not like you can do anything anyway."

"Yes, I can. I'm strong enough to be able to hold off the cannon men." He looked down at her. "Annie, Eren is the best chance that we have at not only winning the battle but turning the tide of this war. Think about it: we have a better chance of surviving now than ever before. If Eren dies, that hope dies with him." Dillon closed his eyes. "He's my friend, and... someone who could save us all."

Annie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Hold off the cannon men? Are you thinking of fighting them? Don't be a fool. That's treason. Hell, if they tell you to stand aside and you don't, that's disobeying an order in a time of war. They'll kill you just for that."

"But Annie-."

"This isn't a courtroom and you are not a commanding officer," Annie interrupted without hesitance. "When you took an oath as a soldier, you promised to be a good little boy who nods his head when his superiors tell him to do something. You are a grunt." From her end, it looked like she was getting through. "Say you can hold off the cannon men. You've used a power no one understands because it'll be obvious it was you. What if he transforms and kills you all? Doesn't really matter, cause once they realize you've used force, you're dead."