The Female Titan arc

The Female Titan Arc is the fourth story arc of the Attack on Titan series. After the Battle of Trost District, Eren is assigned to the Levi Squad as a member of the Survey Corps. Along with some of his friends, he gets ready for an upcoming expedition. However, beyond the Walls, there is an unpredictable danger awaiting them.

Summary
While Eren is still imprisoned, the news of a Titan siding with humans is spreading. People inside Wall Sina, however, do not want to believe such rumors as they think that an operation to retake the Walls will fail and they will have to cope with refugees and food shortages. Some of them even go as far as to claim that the Titan may side with the refugees. On the other hand, the inhabitants of Wall Rose consider Eren to be their savior and believe that with him, they may even be able to retake Wall Maria.

Elsewhere, Mikasa and Armin learn of Eren's trial. Armin correctly deduces that it will decide whether Eren will live or die, much to Mikasa's shock. Both of them are then summoned to the trial as witnesses.

Zacklay informs Eren that he will be the one leading the trial which will decide his fate. Nile Dok of the Military Police then presents their proposal, which is Eren's immediate execution. As Nile tells Eren to reveal any information he may have, a person next to him, Pastor Nick, exclaims that there is no need for that as Eren should be executed right now.

Afterwards, Erwin states that they want Eren as an official member of the Survey Corps in order to use his power to reclaim Wall Maria. Erwin explains that due to the entrance to Trost District being completely sealed, his plan is to use an eastern route to reach Shiganshina District. Pastor Nick speaks up one more time, angered to see that they want to touch "the gift from God". Armin says that it's due to people like him that it took so long to mount weaponry on the Walls, with Rico Brzenska stating that these people have a lot of power and support.

As people in the room become afraid of the situation to the point when they also question whether Mikasa is human, Eren attempts to defend her and accuses them of making up theories that fit them. Even though he is not sure if it the right thing to speak his mind at the moment, Eren continues and states that they didn't even see a Titan with their own eyes. He then tells them that if they are cowards who don't want to fight, they should at least let him be the one to do it.

At that moment, Nile orders the soldier next to him to point his gun at Eren, but before anything happens, Eren finds himself to be kicked by Levi. Levi then continues brutally beating him up, even knocking out a tooth, all much to Mikasa's infuriation. Levi then states that pain is the best lesson. Nile tries to stop him in fear that Eren may transform into a Titan. Levi, however, replies that he is the only one capable of stopping Eren and asks them whether they would be able to kill him. Erwin then raises his hand and proposes that they take Eren with them on an upcoming mission, with the result of the mission deciding whether Eren is a friend or a foe of humanity. Zackly accepts this and concludes the trial.

At the HQ of Survey Corps, Mike Zacharius discusses the upcoming mission with Erwin. Erwin tells him that they have to quickly prove Eren's usefulness to the central, but Mike sees through this. Praising Mike for his 'smell', Erwin states that he will tell him everything when the time comes.

Later, Hange Zoë arrives to ask Eren to participate in tomorrow's experiment. When Eren asks about her experiments, the squad stands up to leave, knowing what is to come, while Hange is happy to have found someone who will listen to her.

Hange then begins explaining about the two Titans they have captured and the tests being done to them, including attempts to communicate. The Titans were named Sonny and Bean, after a human tribe that used to eat humans. The experiment continued as they tried to deprive the Titans of sunlight. Afterwards, they tested whether the Titans have any other vulnerabilities by directly damaging their bodies, which caused pain for Hange as well. Hearing her talking about the Titans like that, Eren questions how is it that she's able to stay so cheerful around the Titans. Hange explains that she used to hate them as well, but after a certain incident, she realized the mystery of Titans' bodies and tried to look at them from a different point of view since then. Seeing that not only Hange, but whole Survey Corps are people who desire change, Eren asks Hange to tell him more about her experiments, however, even after a whole night, he seemingly learns nothing new.

That is when a soldier arrives to report that both Titans were somehow killed. Everyone rushes to the place just to find evaporating skeletons of two Titans, much to Hange's agony. Apparently, the culprit is a soldier who then used 3D Maneuver Gear to escape, as Eld and Gunther note. Erwin then approaches Eren and asks him about what he can see there and who is the enemy. This leaves Eren confused, so Erwin apologizes for asking odd questions and leaves.

Later, Erwin Smith stands before the soldiers in order to have them join his branch. He explains about the future mission of the legion and even reveals the information about the basement of Eren's old house, much to Armin's surprise who wonders if Erwin has some hidden motive. However, Erwin also tells him about the grim future of a Survey Corps soldier - in the last 4 years, 60% have died. He ends his speech and then dismisses those who want to join other divisions and as many people begin leaving, Jean, Sasha and Connie state that they already saw how Titans eat people, but in the end, they stay and along with Mikasa, Armin, Reiner, Bertolt, Ymir, Krista and other soldiers salute, as Erwin praises them for overcoming their fears.

The new members then begin their training, however, it consists mostly of remembering Erwin's long-range scouting formation. Eren also learns of this strategy and him and the rest of Levi squad then wonder if Erwin has any other plan that he hasn't revealed to the soldiers. Later, as Eren finishes cleaning, he notices Armin and Mikasa and heads to them to greet them, with Mikasa questioning whether Eren was tortured and the stating that she will take revenge on Levi. Eren then meets up with the rest of his friends and is shocked to see that Jean is among the scouts, but not as much as when he finds out that Marco is dead. Eren then questions if they are joining the operation as well, with Mikasa confirming it. Jean then begins asking Eren about his Titan powers, wanting to know if it's true that he tried to kill Mikasa. Despite Mikasa's reluctance, Eren confirms this and also the fact that he cannot fully control his powers. Seeing how bleak the situation is, Jean states that he wants to know what he is dying for, but in the end, he decides to count on Eren. Some time later, the bell starts ringing as a sign of the gate opening and the beginning of the 57th expedition, as Erwin leads the soldiers outside the Walls.

During their expedition, the Survey Corps set up a formation where several scouts spread around the main group where they will report by flare gun if a Titan is nearby so the main group can steer to avoid them. After Armin's squad manages to kill an Abnormal Titan, a Titan with a feminine body, suddenly appears from the right flank at high speed. Much to Armin's shock, the Female Titan's body can withstand their blades and is intelligent enough to kill his seniors easily. The Female Titan captures Armin but after removing his hood and seeing his face, she leaves him alive and continues running. Armin is picked up by Reiner and Jean who reveals that their right flank was wiped out by the Titans, which makes Armin realize it was the Female Titan's work and she is possibly another Titan Shifter like Eren. When the three of them give conflicting sources on where Eren is in the formation, they realize the Female Titan's target is Eren and they must stop her. Despite their failed attempts to attack, she leaves them and heads to where Eren is: the center of the group. Armin, Reiner, and Jean are left stranded after their encounter with the Female Titan leaves them with only one horse, but they are soon saved by Krista who arrives with extra horses. They wait for the order to withdraw, but to their surprise, they discover their operation is continuing albeit heading in a different direction. Meanwhile, news reaches the center group about their right flank being annihilated by the Female Titan as the latter continues to wreak havoc within the formation. Soon, the whole formation reaches the Forest of Giant Trees with only the center row entering it while the rest defend the forest from Titans. Eren realizes something is wrong when his squad has no idea what Erwin's orders are and what Levi is doing. As the Female Titan chases them at their heels, the squad desperately await Levi's command to attack, but Levi instead tells his squad to cover their ears as he fires his flare gun.

Levi fires a noise round and tells the squad to keep moving forward. With more of the rearguard getting killed by the Female Titan, Eren begs his squad to let him fight but they tell him to trust Levi's decision. As he considers turning himself into his Titan form, Levi tells him to choose to be either a monster or a member of the Survey Corps. Eren starts remembering when Hange, Levi, and his squad had him try to transform into a Titan for experimental purposes but was unable to. During a break when he tried to pick up a teaspoon, Eren suddenly partially transformed, much to the squad's shock. They almost attacked him but Levi ordered them to stand down. Hange deduced that Eren is able to transform into a Titan not by solely injuring himself but also due to his desire to fulfill his goals.

The squad apologized to Eren and told him they should trust each other. Remembering this, Eren decides to trust his squad's plan. It is then revealed that Levi's squad is bait to lure the Female Titan into an ambush where Erwin and his men fire hundreds of grappling hooks at the Titan, trapping it. Levi leaves his squad to meet up with Erwin to find out who the Female Titan is.

With the Female Titan restrained, Erwin and Levi try to figure out its identity with no success as it is able to harden its skin to prevent them from cutting out the human inside. Jean, Armin, and the rest of Levi's squad realize it was Erwin's plan to use Eren as bait to draw out the mole within the army who joined them after the Walls fell and only told his real plan to those who were part of the Survey Corps before the fall. Meanwhile, the others wonder about what is happening inside the forest, and Levi taunts the Female Titan prompting her to give a loud scream that draws all Titans in the vicinity to her. Despite the Survey Corps' attempt to stop them, the Titans ignore the humans and eat the Female Titan's body in a frenzy, which makes Erwin call off the expedition. However, knowing that there is no confirmation that the mole has also been eaten by the Titans, Erwin orders Levi to regroup with his squad while the mole, disguised as a cloaked Survey Corps member, attacks Levi's squad, killing Gunther.

Erwin tells Hange that it was a mistake to think all humans who can transform into Titans are like Eren when the Female Titan has unique abilities that are far beyond a novices, while elsewhere the mole transforms into the Female Titan and chases after Levi's squad. Armin theorizes the mole is someone who had seen Eren transform during the invasion of Trost. Eren wants to transform into his Titan form, but the squad tells him to trust in their skills and keep moving forward. Petra, Erd, and Oluo manage to blind the Female Titan and attempt to cut off her arms and kill her.

However, the Female Titan manages to quickly regenerate her right eye and kills Erd, Petra, and Oluo. Seeing his comrades dead, a grieving Eren transforms into his Titan form which gets Mikasa and Levi's attention. Believing his comrades and squad's death could have been avoided if he had transformed in the first place, Eren fights the Female Titan in a long battle. The Female Titan defeats Eren by taking off his head and swallowing Eren. Mikasa attempts to stop the Female Titan but to no avail. She is later joined by Levi who tells her to keep their distance, as the Female Titan is getting tired.

Levi orders Mikasa to distract the Female Titan in order to get Eren back. Levi launches a successful high-speed attack that debilitates the Female Titan, but Mikasa leaves herself vulnerable when she tries to finish the Female Titan. She's saved by Levi, who injures his leg in the process. They retreat with Eren, leaving the Female Titan badly wounded and slumped against a tree. As the Corps mourn, count their dead, and retrieve the bodies before returning home, Erwin orders that the fallen whose bodies were not retrieved be reported MIA. However, a Corps member, Dieter, against direct orders from Erwin, retrieves his dead friend Ivan's body, which draws the attention of two Titans to the retreating Corps. Mikasa kills one of the Titans to save Dieter, who loses both Ivan's body and another friend to a Titan.

In order to outrun the remaining Titan, Levi reluctantly orders some of the bodies to be disposed in order to lighten the wagon's load, including Petra's body. Later, Eren wakes up from a dream of his past to find himself and the Corps back at town, safely behind the Wall. He becomes angry upon hearing the townspeople berate the Corps' ineptitude, until he sees a boy who admires their bravery, which sends him into tears. All the while, a shocked Levi is questioned by Petra's father over his daughter's whereabouts, who reveals that Petra planned on devoting her life to Levi. The townspeople also become enraged and upset at Erwin over the failure of the mission and the casualties that were sustained. As a result of the failed expedition, Erwin and his subordinates are summoned to the capital, where it will be decided that Eren will be handed over.

In the Stohess District of Wall Sina, Annie awakes from a slumber, and news is spreading to the civilians of Eren's Titan powers and the decision of him to be handed over to the Military Police. A Wall Cultist harasses a civilian who hopes the events will lead to the eventual sealing of the breaches. Annie arrives at the Military Police station, where Hitch chides her for being late and slacking off on her duties. Boris warns Hitch to leave Annie alone, as she survived the battle of Trost District and it would take time for her to recover from what she'd experienced. They all are interrupted by a superior, Dennis Eibringer, who scolds them for being formal and saluting. He goes over their tasks for the day and Marlo questions what they're meant to protect the convey of, which prompts Dennis to leave all the responsibility to him and joins his colleagues in gambling. The Military Police are shown to be lazy and corrupt, and Hitch reveals she joined the police for that very reason. Marlo is disgusted, revealing he joined the Military Police so he could reform it and help it become a better organization, which Annie respects as he reminds her of Eren. After the convoy has entered Stohess, Annie is secretly called by Armin in the alleyways. Armin asks for her help as he is helping Eren escape the capital as the one riding in the convoy is actually Jean in disguise. She refuses at first but after Armin begs again, explaining that without her help Eren might be executed, and that he believes she is a good person. Slipping her ring on, she agrees to help.

Together with Annie, Mikasa, and Eren, Armin walks with them to their desired destination. Eren says that the Military Police are infamous for not performing their jobs adequately, as they allowed a disguised Jean to pass as Eren. Annie asks them how without her help, they would manage to climb the Wall to escape, also wondering why they didn't choose to organize an escape outside Stohess. He responses that having Annie, as a Military Police soldier, it would loosen the guards of surrounding officers and allow their escape. The three reach the point, and Armin points out an underground passage that they will take. Eren and Armin revel in the fact that the tunnel had plans of an underground city that was unfinished as they climb down. Annie lingers behind, and Eren asks if she's afraid of dark, confined places. Annie compares her weakness to Eren's strength in seemingly hurrying for his death. Eren finds that someone who can flip someone in mid-air is not weak and ushers her to follow them, but she still refuses. She establishes that she won't follow them unless they stay above ground. Armin finally reveals his suspicion that Annie is the Female Titan since the Maneuver Gear she had after Sawney and Bean were killed is Marco's and the Female Titan did not kill him during the last expedition. Eren and Armin beg Annie to prove them wrong by following them, but knowing her identity is exposed, Annie laughs sadly and tries to transform. Despite the Corps' attempts to stop her, she succeeds in transforming using the spike in her ring.

Eren, Armin and Mikasa manage to escape the tunnel collapse while being hunted by the Female Titan. Armin acknowledges the ring Annie put on and dreads that she knew he was bluffing from the start. They prepare Plan B as they previously talked about, with Eren transforming and fighting Annie. They are confronted by Survey Corps members who ask if Plan A failed, but are soon after crushed by Annie's foot. Eren tries to save them but is stopped by Mikasa, and Armin says that Annie will now go to any length to kidnap Eren. They go deeper into the tunnel and Eren remembers the time he transformed to save Armin and Mikasa, and they all huddle around and he bites his hand, but fails to transform. Armin notes that Eren must have a specific goal in mind in order to transform, and Mikasa asks if it's because he doubts that Annie is the Female Titan despite seeing it happen with his own eyes. She reminds him of Annie's massacre of Levi's old squad, and he attempts to transform once more but fails again.

Eren thinks back to a couple of days earlier. He and Levi sit at a table together and after light conversation, Eren apologizes again for the decision he made. Levi tells him that there was no way they could have predicted that outcome. Soon after, Erwin walks in with Mikasa, Armin and few other scouts. He tells the two that they know who the female Titan is and states their plan to capture her. In order to draw her out, they will hand Eren over. Though the plan is risky, it's the only move they have left. Erwin tells Eren that it was Armin who discovered her identity. She was the one who killed the Titans used for research and she is a member of the 104th Trainees Squad. The information triggers a memory of fighting her in the Forest of Giant Trees and then of hand-to-hand combat training with Annie.

Shocked, Eren can't believe that Armin would accuse Annie. Armin solemnly gives his reasons: she knew what Eren's face looked like, as she was actively looking at people's faces before she killed them and she reacted to his nickname of "Death-Seeker," a name no one outside of their class would know; he states further that, when everyone's Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear was inspected after the Titan specimens were killed, Annie turned in Marco's instead of her own. Levi, seemingly unconvinced, asks for more proof. Mikasa says that their faces look similar, causing Eren to question the decision even more. In the end, Armin says that if they don't act on this information, Eren will just become a sacrifice for the Mitras. Still in disbelief, Mikasa tells Eren to think back to his fight with her and to note the similiarities causing Eren to finally concede.

Still trapped in the tunnel, Armin comes up with a plan. He and Mikasa will both leave the tunnel at the same time and head in different directions. This will cause Annie to have to choose one or the other and give Eren and the other survivor their chance to escape. When Eren asks how they can do this, Mikasa gives him the answer that he gave her the day he saved her from the kidnappers, "because the world is a cruel place". Eren, worried for his friends as they get in position, answers her back with, "it sure is". Now having the motivation he needs, he bites down on his hand and bursts through the tunnel to the surface. Catching Annie by surprise, he delivers an uppercut that sends her flying through the air.