*opening 2 plays*

The center command continues to run on horseback as they're gonna rendezvous outside of the forestry. While doing the task, Hange and Erwin talked about how the Titan wielder can escape from its transformed form as it melts away.

Erwin: When the Colossal Titan disappeared, a pre-equipped ODM gear ensured that the human inside could swiftly escape through the steam. Don't you think the same can be said about this case?

Hange: So then... Considering Eren's condition after reverting back, we can conclude that it isn't similar, right? His equipment was damaged and part of his uniform was gone. Most notably, he was so exhausted that he couldn't even stand or come back to his senses on its own. *sigh* Then we don't need a recap about Y/n's issue now, do we?

Erwin nodded as clear as day he can remember about Y/n's skills and personality.

Erwin: The Female Titan had the ability to call in other Titans. Because we didn't predict that, the plan failed. If powers as a Titan are commensurate with one's skill, then considering a novice like Eren as the norm has been a mistake. In order to outwit the enemy, we need to think outside the box.

Erwin then mentions Y/n's judgment and works while behind their backs.

Erwin: More likely to Y/n's judgements before. Even though he said it personally that we can't always rely on him, his mindful thinking has been giving us some ideas on how to outsmart the enemy we encountered.

Outside of the forests, Jean and the rest are riding up to meet at the rendezvous point.

Jean: Are we withdrawing because the plan was a success?

Armin: If it is, we may have already identified the one who was controlling the Female Titan.

Jean: Then I'd like to see that person, personally. But what made the commander so sure they would chase after Eren and Y/n once they left the walls?

Armin: I think it had to do with why the Titans suddenly stopped attacking during the last incident.

Jean was confused and Armin elaborated.

Armin: Despite managing to break through Trost district's gate, they didn't continue any further and stayed back when Eren sealed the gate with the help of Y/n. Could it have been because they had more pressing concerns?

Jean: Meaning?

Armin: Something even more important than destroying the walls. Remember the unexpected event that happened next.

Jean: *horrified* Eren's transformation and Y/n's Gundam's appearance?

Armin: That's the only thing I can think of.

Jean: So then...

Armin: Someone who was there who saw Eren transform into a Titan and Y/n's Gundam reveal, is the one inside the Titan.

Back in Levi Squad's position, they began to engage the hooded person Y/n faced with.

Y/n is now clashing blades against the person as both of them were just behind the Levi Squad themselves. The person tried to kill Y/n with its ODM skills by swinging side by side on multiple trees before landing a blow. 

Y/n countered it with his signature backspin blade block. Which stumbles him but tries to cut Y/n's mobility off when he detaches and throws the blades on his wires. He notices the blade's direction of the throw and detaches the grapples and uses his GN Drives to fly back to the team.

Petra: Who is it?!

Y/n: It's pretty obvious right now!!!

Eld: Protect Eren!

Gunther: Don't let him get through!

Oluo: Damn, what now?! Eld, which way should we go?!

Eld: There's no time to mount the horses! Head to HQ as quickly as possible!

They then moved faster as Y/n followed behind. The hooded person, which Y/n identified as the Female Titan wielder, began to increase its slipstream towards them.

Oluo: Is it the female Titan? Or were there others?

Petra: Damn... *faces the Female Titan wielder* Bring it on! I'll kill you at any cost!!

Eren was troubled when he heard her confirmation.

Eren: The female Titan? But... how?! Didn't we capture her?!

The Female Titan slowed down to make distance between them. The Levi Squad was now confused on what it was doing.

Then Erwin's and Y/n's thinking synced together about her transformation skill.

Erwin: If the enemy is able to conserve her strength, ...

Y/n: 'They can transform a 2nd time!'

A yellow thunder strikes down as the Female Titan rises and begins sprinting towards them.

Eld: Here she comes!

Eren is getting angry with her and begins to take the risk.

Eren: Why you... I'll do it this time! I'll kill it! *tries to bit his hand*

He tries to transform but Eld stops him.

Eld: Don't! The 5 of us will take down the Female Titan. You continue heading to HQ at full speed!

Eren's eyes can see hesitation as he looks back at the Titan.

Eren: Let me fight with you!

Oluo: No, Eren!

Gunther: This is for your own good!

Eld: Your power poses far too great of a risk!

Y/n: Remember, trust us! We signed up for this s***!

He grits his teeth in frustration of what to do. But he decided to put his trust in the five and left in full speed.

Eren: I believe my squad will be victorious! Good luck!

The Levi Squad just smiled knowing he did what he had to do. Y/n just remained focused on the enemy.

Eren watches from behind as they can see the 5 engaging the Titan. Eld and Gunther try to be the bait by attacking her head on. The Female Titan failed to see the feint on it as they blew the smoke brakes on her face. Suddenly two pairs of ODM hooks attached to her face and it was Petra and Oluo going for an attack run straight to the eyes, blinding her.

Eld: We blinded it. It won't be able to see for a minute!

Petra: We'll finish this before time's up!

Oluo: Screw capturing it!

Gunther: We'll kill it now!

Y/n: Sorry girl. You got owned!

Y/n began to change his armor to Barbatos mode as he uses his clawed knuckles to punch her midsection. After that, Eld signals them to attack its shoulder muscles to make sure the arms stay down. They both attacked the same spots with Y/n using the Arondight sword to slice it up enough to make her arms immobilized.

Eld: Her arms are down!

Gunther: This is our chance! Aim for the neck!

Oluo: Once the muscles supporting the neck are cut...

Petra: we can get its nape!

Eren watches in surprise as he sees the Levi team operate as a team and Y/n operate as a Gundam Pilot.

Eren: They're amazing. The female Titan is cornered and how they can coordinate their attacks without saying a word. It must be possible because they trust one another. That's how they overcome their hardships and why they're so strong. Y/n, even if he's a lone wolf, he operates as a teammate, captain and tactical soldier. No wonder he's so skilled.

But suddenly as he looked forward, the words of Levi about choices echoed to his head.

Levi: I don't know the right answer. I never have. Even if I believe in myself and the decisions of the comrades who've earned my trust, the result is always a complete mystery.

He then looked back and saw the team leaving the Y/n to deal the killing blow.

Y/n: Come out you-!

Time slows down and he sees the smoking right eye only and he looks at the rest of the body and is not smoking at all. So he made an emergency option.

He grabbed all four and held close to him to protect them as the Titan sent them flying with it's foot raising up and struck a blow on them and created a cloud of smoke.

Eren let out a worried and horrified scream. When he gets there, the smoke fades away as he sees the 00 Barbatos not moving and its eyes are not responding or glowing. The Female Titan keeps beating it up, assuming to destroy it completely with the pilot and the others might be inside.

Eren: I...

He saw horror and shock as the Female Titan is mercilessly stomping the lifeless Gundam to the ground.

Eren: I'll...!

Eren: I'll kill it!!!

https://youtu.be/MOJpYcOVnWg

He then bites his hand and transforms into his Titan with its vengeful slit eyes looking angry at the female Titan. He landed as he was completed transformed and roars loudly.

Eren Titan: RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!!!!

This didn't go unnoticed by everyone as Erwin was startled knowing he did it.

Mikasa on the other hand knows this roaring very well and who belongs to and starts to worry.

Mikasa: That's Eren...

Mikasa began to separate ways from Sasha as she tried to call her out but it was too late.

Levi heard this too and was bothered.

Levi: This roar... This is not good...

He then turns his ODM grapple to the left and finds it. The Female Titan just got up and looked at it with its teeth clenched at what she saw.

Eren Titan: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!!

Eren then tries to attack her with an upper cut but she easily dodges it and leaves the 00 alone in the process. She then lunged forward and kicked him with just one eye, making him spit out saliva. But Eren retaliates and stops her in place as he goes with a hook to her face. But she just gets away, making her collide with the tree behind her.

She's left with only one option as the damages on her shoulders and her left eye smoke and regenerate while Eren is breathing and still in his fighting stance. When Eren is recovered he tries to jab her multiple times and she begins running away and Eren chases her immediately.

Meanwhile in the Barbatos, a person woke up inside the cockpit.

Petra: W-What happened...?

Petra looks around and sees that all of the boys are unconscious and not waking up including Y/n. Petra then looks at the controls in front of her. 

Petra: What happened? What is...

She then saw the frame of the Gundam 00 Barbatos armor with colored bars representing each part. Blue is for armor and the Green is the main core dock, the 00 Core Gundam.

Her curiosity was cut off when he heard the roar of Eren's Titan.

Petra: Is that... Eren?

She needs to find a way to control this. The eye camera of the Gundam turned on with Levi suddenly arrives with a darkened expression on his face with no idea what's going on.

Levi: Hey, brat. Where's my squad

Petra: Wait how am I...

But then she saw an indicator of a button below the cone with soundwave icons on it and pressed it.

Petra: Captain Levi?

Levi: Petra, are you there inside the Gundam? Where's Y/n?

Petra: He's unconscious, sir! Without him there's no way to control this-

Levi: Then you control it.

Petra was confused about it and he ordered her

Levi: Since there's no more option left, you have to do it. Come on, you'll get used to the controls as we get there!

Levi then flies off as she just puts her hands on the ball sticks and she tries to move forward and backward as she can see the camera of the Gundam rising up the ground.

Petra then tries to find a way to get her weapons when she unintentionally turns her right ball stick to the right. She then saw the weapon select options.

Claw Bracers

Beam Sabers

GN Launcher (Long Rifle)

GN Arondight (Buster Sword)

Skill Power (Trans-Am)

Petra: Are these... its weapons?

She saw her fingers touching the buttons with the arrows < and >.

She then presses the right button two times and chooses the Beam Saber. The 00 then grabs them and turns it on. She then hears Eren's roars as a Titan and she gets the gist of what's happening now.

Petra: Is that, Eren?! Don't tell me... I have to find him!!!

Petra then pushes the ball controls to accelerate and hover towards where Eren could be.

Back in the fight between the two Titans. Eren keeps jabbing his fist towards her but she's just dodging them like nothing. Until eventually, she gets down to the ground from his aggressive fighting and can't find an opening.

Eren makes sure that she stays down to the ground so he can beat her to a juicy bloody pulp with his fist. He keeps reminding of why he becomes rageful again as he remembers his comrades who're "dead" to the ground.

Eren: Because I made the wrong decision... Because I wanted to believe in my comrades... everyone died because of me!!!

Eren tries to punch her face with a full blow but misses as she just leans her head to evade it. His punch is too strong; it now broke his shoulder and his hand as its bloody bone appeared and popped out of its skin and muscles.

Eren: If only I had believed in myself from the start and fought... If only I had killed her from the start!!!

Eren then uses his other fist to punch her again this time towards her chest. It's tougher than his muscle and it broke his hand and it was just hanging there with its remaining skin attached to it.

Both of them are in a completely damaged state. The female Titan healing her eye again and Eren still healing his hands and shoulder. He then remembers the time she was on their tails on horsebacks as he watches other Scouts trying to buy time for Erwin and the others to set a trap in exchange for their lives to be crushed by her hands.

Eren: Back then, if I'd transformed into a Titan... No, if I'd thought even before that time... Captain Levi was there too. We'd definitely have won. Maybe we could even capture it.

Levi's and Y/n's words still echoed inside his mind. His vengeful gaze at her with his mind swearing to pummel her good is appearing in his mind.

Eren: I... I made my decision, and everyone died because of it. Because of me... But, in the end... you're still responsible!

He starts to twitch and roar at her face as he's going crazy at beating her up really good and being violent to her just like she violently destroys his squadmates.

It made the Female Titan feel a little bit intimidated and faces away from his vengeful roars. His hands are slowly regenerating as the regeneration is slow because of what he will do to her.

Eren: I'll rip you apart. Once this hand heals... I'll split you wide open... tear you to shreds... Mangle every last chunk... and devour all of you!!!!!!!!!

His mind is going crazy as Eren, inside his Titan is grinning. A grin of someone wanting to beat the crap out of her badly and break her apart. The muscles connected to him are slowly assimilating him as the ones connected to his eyes moved into it.

However his uncontrollable rage gave her an opening as her left eye was completely healed and opened it. She then sweep kicks him but Eren didn't let it happen but she countered it with a horse kick to his midsection.

But suddenly a massive beam rises up and it's more destructive than ever as it destroyed a mountain from afar. It's screech can be heard from afar. Startling everyone including the Female Titan.

But when she turned around to get back her focus, Eren's already close to her. He uppercuts her but only grazes her cheek and tries for a hook but she rolls away and makes Eren spin from his missed attack.

She stands up and skids herself to balance. But then she saw Eren already take a big step up close to her and readied to punch her face. She jumps to the side and he misses her.

Their combat keeps going with Eren missing his attacks because the female Titan kept dodging his blows. When Eren growls to punch her straight on, she has a plan of attack.

By coating her arms with her crystallization ability she hooks Eren's cheek and dislocates his jaw, making its teeth get blown away from that punch. But she saw what someone would not do when their jaw is dislocated. His teeth slides towards her crystal coated arm as he returns a jab to her torso sending her flying.

His dislocated jaw is hanging but he ignores it and goes for a knee to her face, but she gets away from a fatal blow as his blow made a hole in the tree which it still stands despite its fatal damage.

Both of their damaged parts are regenerating. Her face began to darken as she faced Eren. He's still fighting her as he gets into a stance. But suddenly he stopped as he saw her fighting stance is now different and seemed familiar. Inside, Eren was shocked to the core about that stance. 

*end theme*

Eren: A-

He's about to say something but she immediately sliced his head in half with just her hand including the tree.

Eren's Titan falls and she goes near him. She opens her mouth so wide that it tears off her skin on the cheeks. She bit the nape and he came out. Eren's real body is in shock and not doing anything.

Mikasa shouted at where he could be.

Mikasa: Eren!

Mikasa enters the scenario and was shocked as Eren was bitten out of its Titan body and swallowed whole into her mouth. She cleansed off the blood on her cheeks and left. Mikasa's eyes were in horror as she saw it left in a hurry.

Mikasa: Wait... Eren... Don't go...

Mikasa still looks at the fleeing female Titan. But something inside her awakened her wrath to give Eren back.

She grips her blades tight and her whole body has shown marks of green trails around her wrist and in some parts around her. She sets out quick as lightning to get Eren back from her.

Her eyes become green as well as her face. She's desperate to give Eren back as she gets close to her position.

Mikasa: Give Eren...

The Female Titan saw her and Mikasa said it as her voice became distorted.

Mikasa: Give Eren... back!

Her whole body is engulfed in bright green light and is covered in white armor and little changes from her ODM gear with her blades have a green blade.

She proceeds to slice her closed cheek with her blade but it was little damage as she sealed it tight and had a thick layer of muscle.

She then turned around to slice off her arm, then her thigh, then her nose with almost a close call on being grabbed by her as she left green particle trails behind her that leaked from her body.

Mikasa: Do you hear me?! Give him back!

She then turns around with her voice being distorted by her armor but it has its dark venom in her as she sliced her leg making her tumble in the process.

Mikasa: I said give him back!!!

Mikasa tries to slice her nape but her covered crystal hand protects it making her blades damaged.

Mikasa: Why the hell won't my sword get through?!

The Female Titan just gazed at her.

Mikasa: I know... he's alive. I know that Eren's alive!!

Mikasa then unsheathes another blade and swore to destroy her and get him out of her mouth.

Mikasa: Wherever she goes, I'll be sure to kill her, slice her apart, and get you out from that filthy place. I'm sorry Eren. Wait just a little longer!

She then dodges a fist from her as she sees it get away from her. She

Mikasa: Get back here!!!!

But then she was grabbed by Levi who he saw de-transformed back into human.

Mikasa: W-What are you-?!

Levi: Fall back for now.

She just glared at him and changed her gaze at the titan. He then lets go of her as they follow her up from behind.

Levi: Maintain this distance. She must be exhausted. Her pace seems to be slowing from that fight.

Levi then connects the dots on what's happening right now.

Levi: It looked like he was bitten out from the nape, so is Eren dead?

Mikasa just looked forward and answered him in a calming but serious manner.

Mikasa: He's alive. The target appears to be intelligent, and capturing Eren seems to be its goal. Otherwise, they would've crushed him. But the target deliberately stuffed him in its mouth before fighting to retreat.

Levi: It's goal may have been to eat Eren. In that case, he'd be in the stomach. Chances are, he's dead.

Mikasa: He's alive!

Levi: I I hope you're right.

Levi then heard MIkasa complain to him.

Mikasa: If you'd protect Eren, this wouldn't even have happened to begin with!

Levi then realized and remembered who he was speaking to.He can see it from her eyes. The same eyes he saw when he kicks Eren badly to get their trust from the court as well as trying to cope about Y/n's revelation.

Levi: I see. You're from back then... Eren's close friend?

Mikasa's eyes were soften a little bit and Levi breathes and thinks about a plan.

Levi: We'll stick to a single objective. First, we'll give up on killing the Female Titan.

Mikasa: But they've killed so many of our comrades!

Levi: As long as it can reinforce its skin, we have no chance.

Levi then looked from afar as he could see the approaching Gundam ready to face it.

Levi: But that can. Trust my judgment. We'll place our hopes on Eren being alive and rescue him before it gets out of the forest. I will hack away at it. Focus on supporting the Gundam as it plans to grab its attention.

Mikasa didn't hesitate as she went on and saw the Gundam making an entrance with a voice that seemed familiar to the two.

Petra: We're not finished yet!!!

Petra returns with strange rageful eyes on her as her eyes are glowing red lightning in response to her rage.

TBC

Next time

Chapter 23: The Defeated and the Retaliated

A/n: This story chapter is for honoring the Gundam Build Metaverse's 1st episode release today. Go watch it if you haven't already; along with it's Gundam Build series like the Build Fighters series and the Build Divers series.