Hope for the Damned Chapter 2

The distinct echo of cannon fire filled the night, followed by the sound of artillery impacting with the ground and the screams of Marleyan and Eldian men alike filling the air as they were blown to bits.

"Defend this fort down to ze' last man! Don't let a single one of those Marleyan bastards advance past our line!" General Vizier yelled, trying his best to maintain order and organisation, despite the true desperate nature of the situation they'd found themselves in.

Vizier knew that Chocoraton was likely to be annexed by Marley, just like several other neighbouring countries had been, but he was still determined to fight to the bitter end. Even if it meant having to face down the Titan powers Marley had taken from Eldia just fifteen short years ago.

Just thinking about the hypocrisy Marley had been displaying left a bad taste in his mouth. Eldia was a violent empire that was said to have conquered the whole globe, but he'd personally never been on the receiving end of their wrath. His country was, of course, under Eldia's thumb like the rest of the world, but he'd never seen a problem with being a part of the empire.

Having such close ties with Eldia gave the middle east a link to other countries which they could trade with. They had huge amounts of rare resources, such as silk and rare spices, and trading them for income allowed his nation's economy to grow.

However, when the empire fell Chocoraton felt huge repercussions as a result that destabilised their economy. It took years to rectify that mess, even now they were still recovering, and his people had suffered greatly as a result.

Meanwhile, Marley started to slowly grow more arrogant in the coming years, and eventually they got bold enough to attack outside the continent. They, unfortunately, won with little issue using the power of the Titans they'd stolen. Cannons had little affect on them, and spears weren't even thorns to those monsters hide, so it took Marley just years to conquer most of the west of an entire continent.

Eldians might have been descendants of devils, but Marleyans actively chose to be devils. The only thing that could beat a devil was another devil, so when a group of Eldians offered their aid his country accepted them. Vizier had his doubts, but knew that if Marley won this battle they'd advance into Chocoraton without resistance. He didn't want to think about how many innocents Marley would purge if that happened, so he'd much rather ally with Eldian remnants than have his family murdered and pillaged.

Marley had them trapped in a pincer formation, troops desperately charging at them in a fruitless effort to brute force their way past their lines, only to be shot into a bloody paste, either by the cannons or muskets that guarded the fort.

Still though, the troops were only unable to advance because of the field surrounding them. They had little cover, so the moment they poked their heads out and tried to make a break for the fort they'd be butchered.

This was Fort Malta, the last line of defence they had, and if it fell then Marley was free to advance past their borders and into Chocoraton's towns and populous. They had fortified it well, enough that Marley's brutish tactics wouldn't be able to overpower them, and cross the line, but if one of the nine Titans were to show up then there wasn't a way for them to fight back.

His second in command, a young man named Heidegger, held up his binoculars and yelled. "Sir, they're retreating"

"What?!" Vizier immediately snatched the hourglass out of his hands, staring around with increasing dread as the surrounding troops began to hastily and rapidly sprint backwards and away from the fort with immense vigour.

Heidegger, looking as though a weight had been lifted off his chest, spoke with relief. "It looks like they gave up, and they didn't even-"

Vizier grit his teeth, yelling in frustration as he grabbed Heidegger by the collar. "No, don't you see! They aren't retreating, they're-"

The sound of crashing lightning made Vizier freeze in place, hardly able to breathe, and he slowly turned around to have his hunch proven right.

Standing in the open field, steam leaking off their skin, were two Titans that were glaring at the fort with extreme prejudice.

The first was noticeably taller than the other one with slick back brown hair. It was definitely the Armoured Titan, seeing as it was covered in brown shell-like armour, with sharp elbows, and no noticeable lips to be seen. It was lean, with no noticeable armour on it's collarbone that revealed bright red skin, but it's shoulders seemed to be reinforced in a fashion that suggested it could charge through hell and back.

The second was smaller, but no less frightening with long flowing dark red hair. He wasn't as certain which Titan this was, but he was fairly sure it was the Jaw Titan he was looking at. It's face was reminiscent of a goblin, with teeth overly large and sharp that gaped out of it's mouth in an unnatural manner, yet a white substance also flowed down the digits on it's hands, making them end in claws that were so sharp he could tell from across the field how lethal they were.

Vizier tried to calm himself, knowing that their new allies were meant to deal with the enemy Titans, but that didn't stop his heart from pounding as the two Titans broke into a running sprint.

Heidegger sweated, clearly panicked, and yelled out loud. "Commander, the Titans are-"

"I see them! But remember, we have backup, so don't panic and make sure the other soldiers man their stations! Once the Titans are gone we'll continue to defend the fort!"

Heidegger's expression changed into horror for a moment, but he composed himself as much as he could before nodding. "I'll try, sir!"

Vizier tried his best not to lose his cool as the Titans made their way towards the fort, with the Jaws Titan going by the left, and the Armoured Titan choosing to go right in an effort to catch them in a pincer much like their soldiers just did. Neither of their movements gave away a hint of worry, in fact, their pace almost looked leisure.

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Sybil Cobalt idly tugged at her red armband as they walked towards the distant fighting, feeling remarkably bored as she watched the battle unfold from afar. "Why can't we just transform and rush in there? What's the point of waiting to go Titan when none of their weapons can do anything against us?"

Her question got an answer out of William Brent, the Armoured Titan, who pushed his glasses up his nose as he curtly responded. "Even if they aren't able to best us in battle, it is also true that our stamina is not infinite. Plus, we'd need to avoid killing soldiers on our side. Transforming in enemy lines is simply more practical."

Sybil's eyebrow twitched. "It was a rhetorical question. I know the reasons, it's just annoying. Is it so wrong to love being able to crush your enemies like bugs, knowing your untouchable to even the best weapons humans can throw at you."

William crinkled his nose, looking weirdly at the teenage girl. "No, and just you thinking that makes me wonder why you inherited the Jaw. Surely there were better candidates than a child like you."

Sybil frowned. She might have been the youngest of the Marleyan Warriors, but she was plenty capable, and had turned eighteen just months ago. "Shut up or I'll tear right through that armour of yours. You know I'll do it."

She would never tell William personally, but he wasn't half bad company. He was certainly preferrable to the Marleyans that usually ordered her around, though that wasn't a difficult task, and she was often lonely as a Titan shifter. Most didn't dare approach her, and those that did stared at her with paranoid eyes, so the only real company she found was with her other Titans.

William might have been upright, rigid, and slightly pompous, but he was preferrable to most of the the others. Brian especially, she might have enjoyed the power she got as a Titan a little, but he was an absolute madman when he wanted to be. Marley created a monster when they gave him the Colossal Titan.

Marley hadn't had any resistance when it came to conquering other nations, with the six Titans' the military used simply being too overwhelmingly powerful, however it could be exhausting at times. The constant fighting, the numbness that came with killing hundreds, or even thousands, of men at a time, and the feeling of being used as a weapon.

It was tiring, but then again this was what she signed up for. She couldn't exactly leave, besides, it wasn't all bad. She got to enjoy special privileges such as being able to come and go out of the internment zones, her red armband made Marleyans look at her with respect, and her mother was being taken care of.

The dark forest they were wandering through became less dense, and the ringing of cannons became more clear. Before long they were right at the edge of the fighting.

The base was positioned in the middle of a field, there wasn't a house or tree in sight, so the Marleyan soldiers just got shot whenever they made a feeble attempt to rush fort Malta down. A Titan didn't need to worry about that though, the Jaw was fast enough to avoid getting shot out, and the Armoured could just ignore a cannonball even if it did hit. They were fine.

William motioned to another soldier, who vaguely acknowledged them and ran in another direction. Likely to get the other troops running. Good, they didn't want to be near two rampaging Titans.

The older man brought out a knife, and she did the same. The sharp steel caught her eye, with her reflection making her do a double take at how much she'd changed since inheriting the Jaw Titan.

She was aware that she'd matured a good deal since becoming a Warrior for Marley, but seeing the woman in the image made her pause. Her red hair was longer and messy, as though it hadn't been washed in days, the bags under her eyes were telling of her wary state, and overall she just looked so old. Much older than she should have been anyway.

"Sybil, it's time." The bespectacled man's words made her daze break, and she merely sighed before nodding.

William turned towards the field, the soldiers passing them by in a panic to get away from two Titans. Even though they were monsters fighting for them, at the end of the day, a monster was still a monster.

The two of them stepped out together, perfectly calm, composed, and ready for a fight as they slashed their palms in tandem.

Sparks surrounded their skin as thunder crashed on them, making Sybil's eyes crack shut as the familiar rush of titanization took hold. Every atom in her body exploded with energy, wrapping around her face and arms until they were buried in flesh, and when she opened her eyes she was noticeably taller than before.

The heat she felt as a Titan was something she'd gotten used to, just as she did the tingling on her face, but the problem she had with focusing using her Titan never truly went away. It felt like, if she tried hard enough, she could see through her human eyes within her Titan's shell.

On all fours, Sybil glanced at William, before the two of them started to sprint towards the enemy base, the enemy screaming in horror in the distance. She'd gotten used to it, most soldiers did lose their voices when facing a Titan, but it still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

The plan for them was simple. She would go right, whilst William would go left. Their objective was primarily to destroy the enemy defences, and secondary to kill everybody they could. They'd catch fort Malta in a pincer attack, and finally, their soldiers would return once they'd wiped out the enemy's defences. Their final obstacle would be removed, so Marley could advance into Chocoraton without resistance and conquer the country.

She felt a pang of guilt, knowing that an innocent country was about to be conquered, but the tired and resigned part of her conscience just couldn't care enough to stop. She had a mother at home, one who was relying on her, so she didn't have a choice but to continue.

The Armoured Titan ran around the fort, not attacking quite yet, as cannon fire began to rain down on it's armour. The attempt was almost laughable, with William not even needing to raise his arms to block. Any shot that hit him shattered upon impact without leaving a dent.

Meanwhile, Sybil was having an easy enough time herself. There were less cannons on her side, but that hardly mattered. She was simply too fast, with every shot missing her entirely as she dodged and pounced on them with her prodding mouth open wide, prepared to devour everything.

The sound on hissing gas caught Sybil's attention only after she was already in mid-air, and when it did she felt a strange clog in her chest. She didn't know why, but she felt something that she hadn't felt for a long time, not since she inherited the Jaw Titan.

Fear.

In a flash her legs were sliced off, with the loss in momentum causing her to clumsily fall face first into the fort's wall.

She tried to process what happened. Afterall, she was a Titan. And Titans couldn't be hurt by-

The sound of lightning in the background made Sybil push herself up with her two remaining limbs, still bewildered, frightened, and confused, but in an instant two black flashes robbed her of both her arms.

How?

Sybil desperately tried to move, focusing her healing on her legs as she attempted to roll over and protect her weak spot, only for her thoughts to shut down when a sharp pain spasmed through her human body's shoulder.

How?

She screamed without thought, unable to keep her composure as the sword in her shoulder blade withdrew itself, making her feel a false sense of relief, only to instantly start howling in agony as a series of slashes cut through her nape and pierced her limbs.

In an instant all of them were cut off and she was forcefully removed from her Titan body. Limbless and surrounded by steam.

How?!

As she was ejected from her Titan body, Sybil caught sight of a dark haired man and woman staring at her coldly. She could only assume those monsters were the ones who'd torn her out of her Titan form, presumably using the blades which laid in their hands, and she wanted nothing more than to get away from them.

Sybil shrieked. "GET AWAY FROM-"

However, her shouting was silenced as a fist flew into her face and knocked her out cold.

Catching the unconscious girl, Cormac Ackerman sneered as he remarked. "She put up even less of a fight than I thought she would. I hope it's just her that's pathetic, no point in taking her power if it's that shitty."

Isabel paused for a moment, staring at her blades with slight awe at what they'd just done. "We took down a Titan. And it was so... easy. No wonder Jayce was going mad about getting this gear."

Cormac took the limbless shifter and tied her limbs over, ensuring that they wouldn't grow back, before pulling her over his shoulder with absolute ease. "We've been practicing with this stuff for years, it's not like learning to use ODM gear is easy."

A gesture from Noah above was enough to make him pull the trigger on his grip, releasing his grapple to ascend above the fortress. Many soldiers looked at him with fear, awe, or both. Either way, they'd done it.

They'd beaten the Jaw Titan.

Cormac caught sight of the Armoured Titan being toyed with and knocked down, before being grabbed by the leg, with the Attack Titan trying to snap the limb off.

And from the looks of it, the Armoured is next.

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William circled around Fort Malta, eyeing the cannons armed on the walls without much worry, and positioned himself to charge at the entrance and ram through it full force.

His Titan was more than capable of ramming into the base and tackling the walls down, but that wasn't the ideal move. Whilst he could definitely do it, his momentum would be killed and tearing through so much stone would slow him down. It was simply easier to enter via the fort's entrance and destroy the cannons from the inside.

Sprinting past the wall, William noticed the lack of soldiers manning weapons on the wall and felt slightly confused at the lack of resistance. He supposed it wasn't impossible for the enemy to have just given up when him and Sybil transformed. Humans can't do much against Titans afterall, but that didn't feel quite right for some reason.

The fort wasn't massive, especially in his Titan form, so William arrived at the gate within seconds and pushed his doubts towards the back of his mind as he positioned himself to charge through the fort and destroy everything and everyone inside.

He wasn't immune to the idea of killing so many men, but he was mostly numbed to the shock of taking life at this point. He took zero pride or pleasure in the act of murder, just grim satisfaction in the fact every battle he won was one fight closer to being able to come home to his family.

When he was offered the Armoured Titan he accepted the power in order to make life better for his wife and him. She was pregnant the last time they met, and she would have given birth by now, so he needed to head back north after Marley was finished with their fighting.

William shut down his feeling of guilt, pushing any emotions he felt away as he kicked off into a running sprint; his arms in a ramming position to demolish everything in his path.

Several men screamed around him as he quickly approached, but much to his surprise, there was one man in the fort who wasn't screaming like a helpless child.

He was light skinned, different to the usually darker tone that a middle-eastern man would possess, and his pure blonde hair cast down his neck to the point where it was just above his shoulders. But, despite facing down a charging Titan, he was glaring defiantly with a pair of golden eyes that could cut through steel.

William found himself unable to ignore the blonde man, especially when he took to the air using a strange device on his hips, and held out his hand for the Armoured Titan to see.

A hand that was cut.

William froze, figuring out what the man in front of him was, and a moment later the man was engulfed in an explosion of yellow thunder so bright that he had to look away, his eyes stinging as though he'd stared into the sun for too long.

Steam filled his vision, and for a moment everything was quiet, but that ended when a fist flew through the mist and caught William right on his collarbone with enough force to throw him backwards and off his feet!

William groaned as he crashed onto the ground, picking himself up with the area under his neck burning like hell, as though he had a horrible bruise. If he wasn't a Titan then he certainly would after a punch like that.

He felt fear cloud his mind as his eyes shot upwards, meeting the eye of his opponent, and he slowly rose with cautious movements.

In front of him, on his level of height, was a new Titan. It's long flowing blonde hair, that was almost golden, swayed with each powerful step it took, and those piercing golden eyes had only gotten brighter and more fierce since transforming. It's body was filled to the brim with muscles, each one perfectly proportioned and carved into it's flesh as though it were made of marble, and it's mouth was full of teeth sharp enough to put a spear to shame. Finally, it had a pair of elven ears that pointed upwards.

William sweated slightly at the sight of such an intimidating foe, a primal dread rising inside of him. He was so used to battling hapless artillerymen, armed with cannons and swords, muskets and bows, that the appearance of such a powerful looking Titan made him do more than merely flinch.

The Attack Titan came to a halt, eyeing his Titan with distain as it breathed in, surprising him by speaking out loud with a deep and rough voice.

"Surrender without a fight... and you might live."

William growled in his Titan, feeling insulted at the idea, and merely raised his fists to guard his weak spot as a response. The Attack Titan, however, merely hummed in response, sounding almost amused.

"Well, I expected as much."

The Attack Titan dropped it's formalities, rushing at the Armoured Titan with surprising speed and ruthlessness, as it raised it's fist to strike at it's enemy.

William held his own fist up on reflex, aiming to strike back, but the Attack Titan managed to dodge at the last moment and respond with a barrage of quick jabs that, though not damaging him, made William fall backwards.

He tried to regain his balance, but a swift low kick sent him crashing onto his face.

The Attack Titan followed up by getting on William's back, not giving him a chance in the slightest, before grabbing him by the arm and yanking backwards at an unnatural angle. The grapple caused the Armoured Titan's skin to slowly crack, until it started to splinter off like glass!

William's human face became filled with panic as he tried to free his arm, but the Attack Titan proved to be very capable at wrestling. No matter how hard he struggled, he only seemed to get trapped deeper in the lock he'd been placed in.

The Armoured Titan roared with a mixture of anger and fear, unable to remain composed as it's supposedly unbreakable armour shattered like thin stone, with blood flying everywhere as the limb was torn off it's body and landed on a nearby rooftop.

In a desperate attempt to free himself William flailed wildly with his one remaining arm, only for the Attack Titan to snatch it harshly as the lock changed position to a hold that put pressure on his neck. The blonde Titan's muscles bulged almost unnaturally and, slowly, the armour on his nape started to crack.

William, helpless to do anything, could only push forward with his legs until the two of them were against the fort's wall. That failed to help him though, and within minutes he could feel his Titan's neck begin to snap like a twig.

Above them, both dark and light skinned soldiers started to cheer and taunt with vicious glee in their voices, and each one of them only added to William's frustrations and anxiety.

"You go Jayce, rip that dog's head off!"

"Snap the traitor's neck, expose him for the weak coward he is!"

"Not so tough without your armour, are you?"

William felt tears build up in his eyes as his nape finally started to cave in. Blood was gushing out, his armour was giving way, and he was going to be killed!

The Attack Titan roared with anger, hatred, and malice in it's voice as it used one finally piece of strength to reduce William's nape into splinters, with the bewildered and terrified man piloting the Titan being exposed to the world!

The Armoured Titan went limp and began to decay, without it's user it couldn't stay alive, and only then did the Attack Titan finally let go as it opted to eye the defeated and sobbing shifter with caution.

Grabbing William by the waist, ripping him out of his Titan's remains, the Attack Titan spoke with a voice that made him shiver.

"You will die tonight, William. It's not personal, but at least you won't have to serve your oppressors anymore."