[IC] Shingeki no Kyojin: Cleansing Amongst Man { Jack & Angel }

[AngelBites15]

"Are we even sure that he should even be here? What's the point of even sparring him? Even if he seems to be an advantage, we won't be protected?"

These questions would have been asked by the people in the second Wall. If that weren't enough to prevent the gossip from passing, Wall Sina would have known everything, and the people in charge would have had him executed anyway. The last thing Sara needed to learn, was their need to put the boy on the bottom, because of himself harboring such an ability. Would such a need be motivated out of fear? It would have been an understandable factor, but then, Eren wasn't the only one here to feel outnumbered, in terms of possessing such an...inhumane trait. For the past few days, Sara couldn't quite place such thoughts on the side, especially whenever she had to put up with checking on his status. She wasn't alone in this - at least, to the people that were in-the-know.

As she had promised her, the Lieutenant had also put Katherine on her mind, and she added such a responsibility to look after her, to come to the forefront, whenever she had done her rounds. Most of the time, the girl would be in the workshop space of the fortress, checking on the device that the squad had managed to haul into the base for her. The white-haired woman would find the nerve to just lean in the doorway with silence, and study every move she made; take them into mental account, and make sure that the signals were all translated to that of positivity. The brunette's apparent fixation with her work told Sara that she was putting everything into account, and that made the woman whether if her words have made some sort of impact on the other.

Of how much she put Eren's wellbeing into account, Sara wanted to put his wellbeing on the forefront, like everybody else, regardless of whether if it was dangerous or not. Many have warned her, but then, knowing the lieutenant, nobody questioned her on making such a decision, considering of how many knew of her reputation on the battlefield - until at this time. The sudden reaction of the appendage making itself known, caused Sara to jump back, but didn't reach for her weapons, unlike everybody else of her cousin's squad: Shock, fear, and anger was apparent, regarding that they were desperately trying to make their superiors step away from the teen...but they didn't move a muscle. It was irrational and unnecessary, according to her cousin.

"Stay calm, Eren. Yet not one of you is permitted to move"

Stated the albino woman, considering that her aura resonated a certain protectiveness, as she stood with Levi, between his squad and the teen.

[FalloutJack]

The shock of having produced an arm almost without thinking was followed shortly by how much everybody changed around him so quickly. The Elite Squad had carried itself as professional, courteous, and even friendly when dealing with him, like he wasn't so much a monster but ust another person with just another set of skills they could add to their own. After the light and the steam, however, Eren witnessed a transformation so swift that all he could do was stare. Levi and Sara were keeping the others from practically pouncing and killing him on the spot, the look in their eyes almost frantic, like they were looking at a threat or an abomination.

Which he was.

The entire time, they had been using their training to keep calm in a threatening situation, when in reality they were ill-at-ease, tense and under pressure as they were to escort a Titan around. They thought they had been mentally prepared for this, but they hadn't, and it showed. Even Kate had flinched at all this, though she didn't remain violent. She was currently glaring at Hange, who was anything BUT freaked out, at this point. No, of course not. She wanted to touch it, and even if Eren had the resolve to say no, she was gonna do it anywway. The result? She drew back her hands in pain, shouting that it was hot without the skin on.

"Well, of course it's hot. You can see the steam rising."

Berratement towards Hange - which she ignored - followed as she rubbed her hands in the dirt, and then proceeded to ask Eren a slew of questions about the arm, what he could feel, if he could make it move, etc. Eren looked down at the thing he was attached to, realized what would happen if he pulled himself free, and did so. Naturally, Hange still wanted to test it first, which left her in a panic, but then she noticed the spoon. All that noise and mess, and yet the Titan arm had performed something so simple, yet requiring actual manual dexterity that no regular Titan had any hopes to perform. She pulled it out - Again, it was hot - and her eyes lit up with many thoughts regarding what this meant as people watched the arm dissolve.

Crisis averted, everyone could calm down...mostly.

"I've got it!"

I mean, there were some things - some people - would would never change. And while the phrase 'Eureka!' was never going to be uttered, due to nobody here knowing the cultural significance, Hange Zoe's declaration was about as close to it as they could possibly get. She had figured it out, and it all lay within the event that occurred just now.

"Titans need the sun's energy to move. They're not nearly as active during the night as day. For Eren to transform, he must have sufficient light to suddenly create that thunder and change his form around him."

This was as good an explanation for why he didn't transform inside the well as any. In fact, they'd practically proven the given limitation in his power by doing so. Likewise, their keeping him in a dark room so that if he transformed, he'd just be stuck where he was prevented him from doing so in the first place. They could try again at night and probably get the same results, and then they'd be positive. But this begged the question for just about anybody or everybody: Why now? To this, Hange simply turned to Eren.

"Eren, what were you doing before this occurred?"

"I was reaching for the spoon I'd dropped."

"Exactly. You were in pain and now you had sunlight, so you needed some kind of clear purpose, and then POW! A giant arm is grasping the spoon. It isn't even bent."

This further proved that not only could they predict and prevent unexpected transformation, but they could reliably know that Eren had actual control, that in fact he needed a reason to, or else it might not happen. So, it was kind of fortunate - to Kate's mind - that there was probably nobody more focused on killing the Titans as Eren Jaeger. It was an obsession, much like her own work, which reminded her...

"Aunt Hange, I think it's time to show them..."

"Show them? Oh, right! Yes, we should."

It was time for the demonstration, though first...Eren would be meeting an unexpected duo.

[AngelBites15]

Having to be standing between the team and Eren, the white-haired woman was giving each of them a piercing gaze, really to measure their movements, and be aware of any indication that would lead up to an assault. As much as she and Levi had an upper hand in arms of combat, their sense of awareness was also not to be tested in any situation. The savagery behind that of the Ackerman cousins were foretold to not be trifled with, and so, many opposing parties knew better than to get in between them and their charges, if any. The only thing that drew Sara out of her concentration in observation was the knack of Hange demanding to get up close and personal with the mysterious limb that came from the sky. The hot steam resonating from the appendage brushed against the figures of the albino woman; the scorching heat, having to be felt on her back through her brown jacket, only made Sara slightly flinch.

If she was, as so much as a triple threat, she was.

Looking back and forth, from the squad, the arm, and to Hange, the lieutenant took what she had to listen to her unexpected conclusion. Of course, to her, Sara wasn't entirely surprised, as something similar has happened, all those years ago, soon after she was picked by Levi and Erwin. It was a solo operation in a forest, with only her cousin, Erwin, and a few other Scouts. It wasn't a very dense spot, but she will never forget that time of picking up one of her blades, and getting struck by an Abnormal, forced her transformation, once again. Only a few handful of witnesses took upon the incident; some mistook her for the opposing species, and led for her to, at least, place herself in defense mode, before the Commander and Captain arrived to stop them.

From then and onward, Levi made it perfectly clear that she would be in his charge, until she was able to maneuver around by herself, and have complete reign over her mysterious power. It wasn't spoken of, again -- labeled a 'confidential mission', and the witnesses were either dead, or swore to keep their mouths shut, until retirement.

Time of the present dragged her back and, by the time, Kate spoke, hoping that the misdirection would distract the other members from their own fear.

"Take it easy, and disarm yourselves. Any upcoming action can, and will, place you upon further surveillance, in the presence of Eren Jaeger.
Is that clear?"

[FalloutJack]

A quick reminder that they were all definitely going to work alongside this Titan boy that they feared was given, so they'd better control themselves. They needed him, because he was an actual edge they had in battle, someone who had effectively turned disaster into potential recovery. That he wore the guise of the monsters they fought was irrelevent to the point, because what they needed and what they had was someone who could fight on their level, someone who would NEVER turn on the human race, since he hated the Titans with an unrivaled passion. If anyone in the entire Survey Corp or anyone else in service against the Titans was more singularly-fixated than Eren Jaeger, they had yet to make themselves known. The Elites would of course stand down, some of them actually looking a bit ashamed and apologetic.

But with that all said and done, it was time for a bit of show-and-tell. Hange would lead them to another part of the castle area, where they would find a fairly-open area...with Titans. Naturally, Eren expressed immdiate confusion, even apprehension, asking "What're they doing here?", to which Hange explained "They're test subjects." before turning and addressing them as though the two voracious killers were children. One was blonde and in a sitting position, 4 meters tall and with a vacant happy expression that DID seem almost like a child. The other was 7 meters, brown haired, and almost seemed like it was laughing as it lay there, trying to snap off Hange's legs when she approached it. They were tied down, of course. Tied down, nailed and generally experimented on to learn more about their kind. It was from studying Titans like these that she learned all that they know about the strengths and weaknesses of their enemy, more-so than what is learned in the field. She refered to them as Sawney (the blonde) and Beane (the brunette).

About this time, you'd probably realize that Kate had split from the group before they even arrived here, and as Hange was explaining her tests upon the Titans' recovery abilities along with their need for the sun and their lack of the food necessity despite their so-called appetites, she would then return...driving in a familiar cart. This was the one she'd been riding in, keeping an eye on its contents. At the moment, it did not contain any of the gunpowder that had been brought with them. Hange brought attention to this as she said "And now, I think we're ready for the demonstration. This is something that Kate and I have been working on.". The tarp covering it all was thrown back, and young inventor held up...an unusual device. It seemed somewhat tubular, and appeared to have some sort of a trigger. Those who were aware of the harpoon launchers used to secure down Titans of course recognized this as something like that, but single-barreled instead of seven, and therefore light enough to be carried by one person. Hange was outlining the thing because she was simply a better talker, while Kate already knew how best to operate the device.

"The more experienced will note how similar it is to our harpoon launchers for use with Titan-capture wires. However, the purpose of this device is far more dangerous."

The other things in this wagon were a set of harpoons, but not the classic ones. They were purpose-built things, with a spearhead that was not flat, but was more like a Philips-head screwdriver. Following that was something like an inserted sphere with a kind of tab on the top of it, and the rest of metal shaft to be inserted into the launcher itself, which Katherine now did.

"Because the size of many Titans have made most firearms useless, except in groups, we have no effective long-range weapon against the Titans other than cannonshot. This is about to change. Everyone get out of the way!"

This sudden shout was full of such excitement that some of them would surely jump, and then Kate leveled the device squarely at Sawney's stomach. There was the loud report of a harpoon launcher firing as Kate braced herself and fired it, sending the spear device into the Titan's stomach, followed by a muffled but still potent POW! as the stomach blew open! Sawney reacted with...maybe a little distress? Or maybe that was Hange's imagination as she went up to him, apologizing profusely and examining his gorge-leaking stomach. Everyone downwind, meanwhile, would have to hold their noses. That was rank! Hange turned towards the others, unaffected by this and with a devious smile on her face.

"Imagine that happening at the nape of the Titan's neck. The spear cuts open the skin to allow a black powder bomb, which has been ignited by the release tab immediately at launch, to pass right into the flesh and blast it from the inside! With the nape of the neck destroyed, the Titan dissolves soon after, and the one using the launcher can simply move on to the next target."

This was a new level of engagement. The device looked a bit bulky, and naturally it would take some getting use to in order to fire these things properly, but think of the level of ease there is in being able to plant yourself on a roof or even on the ground a safe disance from a Titan, shooting this thing, watching it fall dead, and then going for another exploding spear? This is what Kate had been working on after the Titan-Shredder. She and Hange, apparently, though that only made sense. How could she possibly be able to design something for a launcher device without being able to see the existing ones and its specs? Maybe through careful calculation? Ah, but that would be from scratch. No, thanks to her aunt, the work was done much faster...