Friday, March 24, 2023

What if Zeke Won? (Part 3) [What if the Battle of Liberio went better for the Scouts?]

Previously, Eren was captured by the Warriors and met his half-brother, Zeke Yeager.  The two entered the Titan Realm where Zeke convinced Eren to go along with his Eldian euthanization plan.  The Survey Corps managed to catch up to the group and engaged them, only for Eren to choose to go with the Warriors to Marley.  4 years later, Eren has continuously served Marley, helping in the end of the Marley Mid-East War.  With Marley's focus no longer on the Mid-East Allied Forces, Marley is attempting to get the world to unite and destroy the island devils of Paradis, though secretly they wish to obtain the last person of royal blood so they can fully use the Founding Titan.  However, things go wrong just as Willy Tybur declares war on Paradis....

Right as Willy declared war on Paradis, Ymir transformed and broke through the stage, biting Willy in half.  The entire crowd was in shock as Ymir's Titan looked down at them.  Without a second thought, Ymir lunged towards the stands full of military officials, killing them all.  As she smashed the stands, Lara Tybur walked up, thanking her brother for his sacrifice as she transformed into the Warhammer Titan.  Ymir noticed this, and immediately lunged at Lara, attacking her before she could fully transform.

However, as Ymir continuously slashed Lara, she used the power of the Warhammer to create a spike.  Ymir noticed this, and managed to evade it just in time, grabbing onto it.  Lara got back up and managed to fully transform, preparing to fight.  The two clashed once again, with Ymir using her speed to land several blows on Lara's Titan.  Meanwhile, the nearby Marleyan soldiers used the anti-Titan artillery to try to kill Ymir, but she managed to evade their attacks.  However, while distracted by the artillery, Lara managed to create a spike that impaled Ymir's Titan, causing her to hang in the air.  Lara then created a large hammer, and asked Ymir if she had any last words.  Irritated, Ymir told her to just do it already.

As Lara raised the hammer, Mikasa flew in using her ODM gear and blasted Lara's nape with Thunder Spears.  This incapacitated Lara, and Mikasa made her way to Ymir.  Still irritated, Ymir told Mikasa that she didn't need her help, to which Mikasa scoffed, telling her they needed to hurry and steal the Warhammer.  Ymir agreed and emerged from her Titan.  Lara then created a crossbow and shot at the two, but Mikasa got them away.  Ymir asked Mikasa to distract her while she found a weakness, and Mikasa agreed.

Meanwhile, members of Pieck's Panzer unit found the group of Warriors, and got them out of the pit.  Pieck asked what the situation was, to which they explained that the Jaw Titan was fighting the Warhammer.  Shocked, Pieck demanded that they get the Panzer equipment ready, and told Reiner and Annie to go on first and help the Warhammer.  Bertolt asked what he should do, and Pieck said he needed to stay behind.  This wasn't just any random attack, and whatever their enemies are planning, they needed to be ready.  Bertolt would serve as the last line of defense.  Everyone agreed, and moved out.

As Mikasa distracted the Warhammer, Ymir finally found Lara's weakness; a cord that went under the stage.  Without a second thought, Ymir lunged towards the stage and transformed.  She then plunged her jaws into the debris, pulling out a crystal containing Lara.  Without hesitation, Ymir bit down on Lara's crystal and broke it, drinking her spinal fluid and gaining the Warhammer.  The rest of the Scouts sighed in relief, but it was short lived.  Just then, the Beast and Attack Titans made their way to the battlefield.

Zeke looked at what happened, and told Eren that they were too late to save the Warhammer, but could still win the battle.  He told Eren to deal with the Jaws, while he dealt with the soldiers.  Eren nodded, and made his way towards Ymir.  As the two met once again, Eren put his hands up, hardening them.  Ymir muttered "round two" as she lunged towards him.  Eren then punched Ymir in the face, throwing her back.

While Zeke was throwing debris at the incoming Scouts, everyone stopped when they saw two more lightning bolts, signifying Titan transformations.  Not long after, Reiner and Annie appeared on the battlefield, to everyone's confusion.  Seeing Eren and Zeke fending off the Scouts, Reiner began charging in towards the soldiers.  Levi then ordered his new squad, consisting of Jean, Connie, and Sasha to use the new weapon.  The three then used their new Anti-Personnel ODM gear and fired strange rods at Reiner.  The rods launched and penetrated Reiner's leg, torso, and head, but didn't do anything else.  Reiner laughed, knowing the Scouts could do nothing to break his armor.  However, the strings connected to the rods detached, causing the rods to explode.  

These explosions caused Reiner to fall, shocking him.  Meanwhile, Annie tried making her way to Eren who was still fighting Ymir.  Zeke tried telling her that Eren could handle it, but Annie didn't listen.  Just then, she too was ambushed by the Scouts, launching more Thunder Spears at her.  She covered her nape, but it did little to stop the explosions.  Before the Scouts could finish the two off, they were attacked by machine guns.  It's then revealed that Pieck and her Panzer Unit finally arrived, providing the injured Warriors cover.  The Scout's then fled into nearby buildings dodging the powerful bullets. 

Ymir, being outnumbered, also escaped.  The rest of the Warriors made their way to Pieck, who was saying they needed to stay together.  Eren, Annie, and Reiner partially ejected from their Titans to talk, with Eren asking why they aren't fighting back.  Pieck explains that the enemy is now outnumbered, and will soon run out of ammunition and gas.  Zeke praised Pieck as he threw more rocks at the hiding Scouts.

Meanwhile, at the port, a soldier was brought by a sailor to inspect something suspicious.  The sailor explained that they found an abandoned cart at the harbor as they were coming in.  They weren't sure what it was, but it looked like a weapon, possibly a bomb.  As they walked up to the device, they heard a ticking noise.  Just then, the timer stopped, and a powerful explosion erupted, obliterating everyone in sight.  All the soldiers and Warriors looked in horror as a massive mushroom cloud formed, obliterating the port.  

Annie asked if that could of somehow been Bertolt, but Pieck said unlikely, and somehow, Paradis found a way to produce a weapon that mimicked Bertolt's Colossal explosion.  Reiner panicked, realizing that they needed to stop the Scouts before they could use more of these on the world.  Just then, multiple Scouts and the Jaw Titan appeared.  Gritting his teeth, Eren entered back into his Titan and rushed the Jaw, tackling her.  Zeke then told Annie and Reiner to help Eren, but Pieck said only Annie should go, otherwise they'd compromise their position.  Annie re-entered her Titan and followed after Eren.

Meanwhile, Reiner entered his Titan as well just as Levi thrusted a Thunder Spear into his Titan.  Realizing Levi was the second biggest threat besides the Jaw, Reiner tried attacking him, which left only Pieck and Zeke.  Telling Zeke that they had to come up with a plan, Zeke's nape was sliced by Miche.  As he fell to the ground, Commander Magath, Porco, Falco, and Gabi saw as Miche activated a bomb and blew the rest of the Beast.

Not too long after, the Scouts attacked the Cart, with Sasha using this opportunity to disable one of the machine gunners.  She was successful, and Jean and the other Scouts bombarded her with Thunder Spears.  With her Panzer Unit annihilated, Pieck scurried off the roof, falling to the ground.  Falco rushed to help Pieck, just as Connie came from the roof and tried launching another Thunder Spear.  However, before the Spear could kill Falco and Pieck, she released steam and drove the Spear off course.  Porco used a rifle to fend off the Scouts, and was ordered by Magath to take Pieck to safety along with Falco and Gabi.  He agreed, and covered Falco and Gabi as they escaped.  Connie noticed this, and went after them, with Sasha and Jean telling him to stop, but he didn't listen.   

Bertolt finally made his way to the destroyed port, confused what had happened.  As far as he knew, there was no weapon capable of creating as much destruction as his Titan's transformation.  Upon looking at the carnage, he spotted an airship flying past him.  Inside was Commander Erwin and Armin Arlert.  Erwin praised Armin for his cunning plan, though Armin wasn't sure if it would work.  If the Scouts failed to take out the enemy artillery, they could be shot out of the sky.  Not to mention they won't be able to come back around, so any stragglers will be stranded.  Erwin told him that it would just have to be another gamble, and to trust their comrades.  Suddenly, Onyankopoon spotted the signal lights, meaning they were close to the pickup.

As Porco, Gabi, and Falco got Pieck to safety, they found an abandoned house.  Porco, stayed outside as Gabi and Falco brought an injured Pieck inside to heal.  While this was happening, Connie caught up to them, ready to strike.  Porco then walked outside, ready to go back to fighting.  Falco and Gabi wanted to help, but Porco told them to stay and watch Pieck.  As this was happening, Connie moved in, launching a Thunder Spear at the house.  Porco noticed this, pushing the two out of the way as he was caught in the explosion.  Gabi managed to grab the rifle and shoot Connie, hitting him in the stomach.  Injured and bleeding out, Connie escaped.  Gabi then looked in horror as Falco was also hit and knocked out.  

Gabi looked over at Porco's scorched body, not sure what to do.  In a desperate attempt to do something, she started screaming for help.  Just then, Falco's brother Colt made his way to them, asking what they were doing there.  She explained the situation, and Colt rushed to Falco.  He was still breathing, but wouldn't last long.  Worried, he decided to take Falco to find some help.  Gabi wanted to go too, but Colt needed her to watch over Pieck.  After pausing, she finally agreed as Colt took Falco to find some help.

Back at the battlefield, Reiner tried fighting off Levi, but couldn't dodge his Thunder Spear attacks.  Levi managed to incapacitate his legs, then his arms, then his body.  He wanted to make Reiner suffer for all the lives he took after storming the wall 9 years ago, and he was enjoying every second of it.  He then went for Reiner's eyes, causing the Armored Titan to scream in agony, before falling over.  Levi took this chance and launched eight thunder spears right into Reiner's nape, nearly killing him.  Reiner ejected from his Titan, only having a skull.  Before Levi could fully finish him off, Marleyan reinforcements made their way to protect Reiner.  Irritated, Levi left the Armored, not able to completely fulfill his revenge.  However, he knew there was no way Reiner could survive that much damage, meaning he would die anyways.

As this was happening, Mikasa saw the incoming airship, telling Ymir it was time.  She then launched a Thunder Spear at Eren's leg, causing him to fall over.  Annie saw this, and tried getting to him.  Just then, her nape exploded, revealing that Jean launched a Thunder Spear at her.  Injured from the blast, a semi-conscious Annie fell to the ground.  As this was happening, Annie had no choice but to watch as Eren kept getting hammered with Thunder Spears.  She reached out for him, yelling his name as multiple other Thunder Spears were launched at her.  Eren looked at Annie as her nape was blown away.  

Not too long after, Eren's Titan took so much damage he couldn't stand anymore.  Taking this chance, Ymir bit into his nape and ate him to the Marleyan soldier's horror.  Once this was done, Mikasa told her it was time to leave, and they escaped through the city.  As Scouts continued getting into the airship, Jean and Sasha couldn't find Connie.  Knowing they couldn't leave him behind, they went into the direction he did.  

Meanwhile, Ymir and Mikasa got onto a rooftop, where she opened her mouth, revealing Eren.  As she spit him out, Mikasa ran in and gave him a big hug, with a weak Eren hugging her back.  Ymir cringed as she exited her Titan, telling them that they could do that later.  Mikasa then grabbed Eren and took him to the airship while another Scout took Ymir.

As they got to the airship, Armin was there to greet his friends.  Eren and Armin's eyes interlocked, with both of them getting emotional.  Armin took Eren's hand and got him inside.  As he made his way inside, Levi welcomed him, then kicked him in the face.  While Mikasa and Armin were shocked, they knew he kind of deserved it.  Armin helped Eren back up, as Levi had Eren banded and sent into another room.  Just then, Jean and Sasha got onto the airship with a bleeding Connie, surprising everyone.

A few minutes earlier

Jean and Sasha kept looking for Connie, not sure what could have happened.  As they went into the last direction he went, they stopped when Sasha heard something.  They landed on a building where a bleeding Connie was laying.  Shocked seeing Connie with a gunshot to the stomach, the two knew they had to get him help.  Sasha wrapped a bandage around Connie's stomach, hoping to stop the bleeding.  Connie, barely able to say words, begged them to leave him and escape.  Crying, Sasha said that wasn't an option.  Jean agreed, and carried Connie as the three tried making it back to the airship.  Connie kept muttering to himself, but Jean told him to save his strength, the airship was in reach.

As they got Connie onto the airship, everyone was in shock.  Jean yelled that they needed a medic, as Sasha held Connie up.  Connie kept muttering words, with Jean telling him to hold his strength.  Connie let out a faint message asking them to thank Eren for him, before collapsing.  

Eren was restrained as his brother laid along the wall without his limbs.  Erwin came into the room asking the bearded lady why she didn't keep the Warriors restrained?  As Yelena tore off her fake beard she apologized for letting the Warriors escape, and that the deaths that resulted.  Levi scoffed, saying she was damn right.

Meanwhile, the Marleyans were recovering from the battle.  Commander Magath walked up to the critically injured Reiner, knowing he was too injured to regenerate.  They needed to pass on his Titan before it was lost to them.  Suddenly, Colt came running in saying his brother needed a medic.  Commander Magath was shocked when he realized it was Falco, and knew they had to use this opportunity to pass on the Armored to a trained soldier.  They opened a vial of Titan serum and injected the boy.  As all personnel got out of the area, Falco transformed into a Pure Titan, eating Reiner and inheriting the Armored.  Relieved, Magath was happy they didn't lose another Titan.  However, this was short lived as a soldier ran up to the Commander telling him he needed to see something.   

Upon seeing the airship return, Bertolt was furious and transformed into the Colossal.  Erwin and the others saw the explosion, along with the 50 meter tall Titan blocking their path.  Erwin asked Onyankopoon if he could fly higher, but he responded that they didn't have enough time to do that.  Because they had to fly low enough so the Scouts could reach them, the airship wouldn't be able to get high enough to be out of the Colossal's reach.  Realizing they only had one choice, Erwin asked Levi if he could take it out.  Levi took a moment, then said he'll do it.  Refilling his gas and stocking up on Thunder Spears, Levi jumped out of the airship and used his ODM gear to fly through the empty streets, low enough that Bertolt couldn't see him.  Timing was crucial, and if at any point did Bertolt catch on, he could use his steam to make an attack impossible.  To prevent this, Erwin had Onyankopoon slowly ascend but have the machine gun turrets fire on Bertolt to make him think they're trying to escape and attack him head on.

Bertolt fell for this, marching towards the airship while Levi continued to maneuver through the streets.  Levi thought to moments earlier while preparing where he asked Erwin why they shouldn't just capture Bertolt, but Erwin says they won't need him.  Levi trusted Erwin's judgement, and finally got to Bertolt.  Just as he was about to reach out and try to grab the airship, Levi ascended the Titan until he flew above his head.  Without a second thought, Levi launched the four Thunder Spears from his right side, impaling a surprised Bertolt.  The Spears exploded, but didn't fully kill Bertolt.  Seconds later, Levi launched his four other Thunder Spears to finish him off.  As the Spears surrounded an injured Bertolt, his final thoughts were how he never got to tell Annie he loved---.  The Spears exploded, killing Bertolt mid thought.  

The Colossal then started collapsing, with Levi landing on its head.  The airship passed Levi, who grappled to it.  As they finally escaped Marley, Zeke tried lightening the mood saying despite the setbacks, they now have the Founding Titan and a Titan of royal blood, and could now go through with his plan.  However, Erwin turned to Zeke, telling him that the plan had changed, pointing out the window.  Suddenly, a loud boom erupted, and everyone looked out the window.  To their horror, four other Iceburst nukes detonated, obliterating Liberio.  Ewin continued looking at Zeke, telling him they were just getting started.  Eren was shocked as he saw four other airships coming from the sea.

To be continued...

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