Attack on Titan: Another way chapter two
A/N: I'm currently all set to continue on with this series, with the story being worked out and our scene set.
Now it's just a case of writing it! This should last at least 30+ chapters, which will be regularly made and updated as a part of the schedule. And I hope you don't mind, but I've given 'our man' his name back. But if it doesn't sound right then feel free to just ignore it.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, see you all on the flipside.
Also, a special thanks to Writer with bad grammar for helping with this story's plot.
"It only takes an instant to die outside the walls." The young soldier heard a voice state softly, though was feeling unsure about whether or not anything was real anymore. After presumably passing out, he could feel and see absolutely nothing. Time became lost to him, like sitting in an empty void for what felt like an eternity. But at that moment a strangers voice had captured all of his attention.
"Are you listening to me, Lucius?" He heard the voice call out again, though now it retained an element almost unfamiliar to him, one he once believed lost. A thousand memories soon emerged, all attached to that single voice, you could almost call it insane. But considering exactly whose distinct words he was hearing, it would make sense for those memories to flood in.
For the voice running through his mind, was that of his father. "The trick is to never reach that instant." At first, the soldier considered the thought of him being alive. However, as the long-dead man's words continued to flow the scout soon recognized the words and conversation, realizing that it was just a simple memory. One of his late father's last conversations with him prior to the breach of Maria.
It was one of his last moments of peace before it was ruptured along with the rest of Shiganshina's population.
"Most people think accidents and tragedies happen without any kind of warning." His father continued on, his warm and soft voice filling the soldier with an almost alien feel of happiness. "Everyday folk think they explode in a frenzy. Bam! Like a cannon. But if you look more closely at the details, what do you start to see?"
"A fuse..." He thought weakly, remembering the wise words once uttered from the lips of his maker. It was a lesson that soon proved true joining the survey corps, involving more unfortunate accidents and fuses lit than he could care to count.
"The trick is to never reach that instant." All at once, Lucius finally remembered how what was almost his final mistake had begun, to what felt like an eternity ago. A hard-fought and bloody battle, when the final fuse was sparked.
Lucius ran through the grey cobbled streets, not paying attention to anyone or anything nearby or in his way. The sights, the smells, they held no significance in his mind. All of it was simply ignorable, except for the clanging bells ringing in his ears.
He'd hear their ring every time the corps left to reclaim territory beyond the wall, and every time they returned. But now that bell held a very different meaning altogether, one he knew all too well. It meant that wall Sina, the last line of defense for humanity, would soon fall under attack.
Everyone was running, the civilians and merchants towards the gate for evacuation behind the walls. To the last safe place for humanity, following their simple fates of trapped birds in a cage. Though Lucius knew he'd never resign himself to such an undignified existence.
He is a soldier, a strong fighter for both the corps and all of Humanity. Defender to all of his kind and what was left of its territory.
With that statement in mind, he finally ran straight into the R&D department now panting to collect his gear, but to his dismay, it was simply lying on the cold hard floor. Earlier that day he'd left it there for an urgent repair, but it seemed no-one had even bothered to remove it from the floor. The scout was forced to discard his concerns and instead focused his mind on replacing its canisters and blades ready for the coming assault. Taking special care with the nozzles to ensure no excess gas would be lost in combat, as he knew every movement he'd come to make would hold more significance than any before.
Lucius was just finishing with the straps on the scabbards, securing them to his waist when Sasha ran in like a bat out of hell, gear half on half off and to no-one's surprise was clutching a half-eaten fresh potato, most likely 'liberated' from the storeroom.
"Lucius, are you ready to go yet?" She said frantically, running towards the blade and gas supply stations.
"Just strapping up. And... I'm... gone!" He responded as he tightened his final straps and ran straight towards the door.
"Wait! Your gear!" Sasha called after him while placing the blades in her scabbard.
"What about it?" He asked her, stopping by the doorway that separated him from solitude and certain death.
"You said it needed fixing last mission!" She says with a concerned and worried look in her eyes.
"Yeah I know, but this will have to do!" He said running through the doorway discarding Sasha's protests before stepping out into the glaring sunlight. In response, the scout raised his hand to block the rays of light. Had fate changed its course and given the world a fleeting chance of peace, Lucius would probably have spent his time basking in the warmth of the day. But there would be no chance for that.
Because that day would be guaranteed to go down in history as when humanity would stand its ground against the Titans. Once and for all, for what in their minds could be the last time if they were to fail.
With that single thought in mind, among so many other worries and concerns, Lucius continued to run towards the stables ready to fight. And within minutes was saddled up on his ready steed, fully prepared for combat against the monsters lurking beyond their walls. Placing the hilts in their rightful position tucked under his arms, and draping the survey corps cloak over his shoulders and head, the now-ready soldier signaled his horse to gallop out to the fight, knowing within his heart that he had the resolve and skills to carry out the will of humanity.
But even with that, along with his fellow comrades, available resources and so much at stake, he couldn't shake the feeling as he rode that the coming battle could soon become his last. He'd seen soldiers fall in battle so many times, rookies and veterans alike had died more often then he cared to observe. Every fight they faced had the potential to end him, and everyone he knew or cared about. These horrifying fears and worries caused Lucius' mind to run in constant circles, running through thousands of horrifying worst-case scenarios.
His gear could break apart, some of his friends could die at a Titans' hand, wall Sina could fall to the Titans, Reiner could kill and devour Eren. So many things could go wrong, meaning that the soldier couldn't even come close to predicting his fate. Or anyone else's for that matter. Meaning that all guesses and theories would soon become pointless, doing nothing but drive him insane. In response the soldier pushed those concerns to the back of his mind, instead focusing on the open gate directly before him, riding through the exit to hell on earth.
Lucius continued to ride until coming to a small clearing. He looked at the soldiers within the group before recognizing several of his friends. Sasha, Connie, and others were standing together looking out beyond the walls protecting the majority of humanity. He stopped his horse and tied the leather reigns tightly around one of the several posts before walking over to his comrades waiting on standby. Ready for what would surely become the battle of the century.
Half an hour later the scout spotted the coming horde. Full of hulking Titans, with horrifying grins that could petrify any human being. Some stood at a mere three meters, while others towered to an astounding fifteen. And in the center of them all, the beast Titan lumbered slowly towards them, that hairy behemoth was responsible for so many souls lost. By the end of the day, Lucius knew it would definitely become responsible for so many more.
He retracted his gear's hooks, landing on the ground beside his readying brothers in arms. Armin, Jean, Connie, Sasha. Some of his dearest friends, almost like family to Lucius. The scout couldn't even begin to imagine a world without them. Though considering the bloody struggle that lay before them, it would take more than just one soldiers' wishful thinking to bring them all home.
"How many are we looking at? Actually, forget I asked." Jean asked, but soon withdrew, fearful of the resulting answer.
"Are we really going to be on the front lines?" Sasha inquired, a look of fear plastered on her face like a painting.
"How are we supposed to take on that many Titans?" Connie asked rhetorically, the melancholy tone prompting Lucius to walk towards him and gently pat his forehead. The strange display prompted his comrade to show a look of confusion towards the scout.
"We don't have a choice. If they breach us here, it's the end." Armin said grimly, his fellow comrades knowing he was far from wrong. If the Titans were to breach Sina, there would be nowhere left for them to run. Humanity would be forced into climbing the remnants of the walls. Even then, it would be far from a dignified existence. Food would be hard to come by, water even more so. And to run out of gas would leave you stranded.
But even being trapped upon the walls would soon result in all of the humans behind the wall soon perishing. No, the coming fight would either be known as Humanity's greatest stand or its final fall.
"Atteeen-TION!" A voice shouted, turning everyone's heads around. When their eyes fell upon the source of the sound, Dot Pyxis, years of military training and discipline took over bringing them to attention. Ready to hear the Commanders words of wisdom.
"We're about to engage the Titans in direct combat!" Pyxis began, everyone before him standing ready for said battle. "If wall Sina falls... it will spell the end of humanity as we know it! So there's only one option here! We fight to our last breaths! For our fellow man. For the ones we love... Troops, give it everything you've got! Dedicate your hearts!" He shouted, bringing his fist to rest upon his heart. The ones before him followed, bringing it to their chests with more force and determination than ever before. Realizing now would be the catalyst for humanity's future within the walls.
The soldiers then became a frenzy, running to their positions in the defense. Some used ODM, others rode on horses. But Lucius' mind was set on something else entirely, as he made his way towards Sasha with words in his mind that were clawing out towards her.
"Sasha?" The young soldier called out to her.
"Yes?" She responded, looking towards him.
"I need you to promise me something." The young man stated, and while this sounded more like a demand to others was for him a desperate plea.
"What?"
"Promise me... You won't die today." Lucius said, staring into her eyes with a deadly seriousness making Sasha's hairs on her neck stand on end.
"Come on, you know I won't die!" She replied, a small smile on her face. However, her friend maintained his stoic expression.
"Sasha, you don't understand. You're... important to me." The soldier said, hesitating slightly. "If I were to lose you, it would hurt me. A lot."
"Don't worry." The potato girl responded, before wrapping her arms around Lucius in a warm embrace. "I'm not leaving anytime soon. But you need to promise that we stick together, help keep each other safe." She says, nuzzling her face against the scout's chest.
"I... I promise." He says, returning the embrace. He wraps her arms around her shoulders, for what in his mind could be the last time. They stay like that for what could have been an eternity, both knowing they were more than typical friends. Lucius had always known he had feelings for her, but couldn't bring himself to tell her. What if she felt differently? Or liked someone else? One wrong confession could end their friendship forever. And that was one of the worst things imaginable. Before he could ponder it anymore, they were both forced out of their embrace by a shout from a superior officer.
It almost seemed like fate was destined to keep them apart, Lucius was to lead a defense squad to guard the frontier bases against attack. While Sasha was stationed with Armin's squad to organize the regiments. This gave them little to no chance of meeting, by chance or design. They said their farewells hoping in their hearts that it wouldn't be the last time they saw each other alive. With that, Lucius set off to join his squad and began the final stand.
At last, the base was finally finished. Lucius and his now smaller squad had been fighting for a good half hour, losing two of the five soldier squad to the Titans. One had fallen to an abnormal able to lunge faster than he could react, and another from a shallow slash, resulting in her flying past the nape and soon swallowed by the monster she'd failed to kill. And after assisting a wounded MP to construct a base they were feeling exhausted. Kill after kill and not even a dent in the coming horde. The scout was just considering the squads' next move when a green flare shot up right towards the deep blue sky, contrasting against its bright azure glow. In response, he pulled the swords from their scabbards and was soon soaring through the air to its position.
Upon arriving at the signal three things soon became apparent; The local base was nearing destruction, abnormals were bearing down on the remnants of a squad, and said squad was partially comprised of his trusted comrades. With nerves of steel and a soul of platinum, Lucius thrust himself towards the monsters bearing down upon his friends just in time to stop a Titan gripping on one of his closest and well-known comrades like a vice. He thrust himself down on the monster's neck, taking a chunk of its nape with it. Furthermore, using the motion of his descent, the scout pivoted around his anchor point to catch the soldier in peril. He looked at the young man's close-cut hair and fairly short stature, in one instance recognizing him as his comrade Connie.
"You alright?" He asked, still swinging through the air, his brown hair flowing like water.
"Yeah, thanks for the save!" Connie replied as Lucius pushed him outwards to give him momentum. He knew with the bruises from the grab he'd need a few minutes to re-orientate himself and to swallow a few painkillers. Moving fast and striking true, Lucius felled Titan after Titan with the remnants of the two squads, eventually culling the horde down to one final target. A fifteen-meter muscular build with long grey hair and a dead look in its eyes. He looked around, surveying his remaining comrades, in an attempt to try and find one capable of making a certain maneuver with him.
Fights involving more muscle-based Titans, such as the one towering before them, required stronger slashes to cut enough of the nape out. Even with his gear and a few tricks up his sleeve wouldn't guarantee the kill. Meaning that for safety and assurance, it would be better to strike with someone by his side. He continued to look upon the remaining squad members until laying eyes upon a young, fit and capable soldier with a long face resembling that of a horse.
"Jean!" Lucius called out hoarsely, his breath dry from having to shout out maneuvers.
"Yeah?" Said teen replied, panting.
"We've gotta go for the nape, me and you!"
Jean nodded in response. "You got it Lucius!" He shouted, firing off his cables while Lucius did likewise.
They both moved past the Titan, avoiding his palms and teeth before swinging around to either side of its head. In one fluid motion, they both released a sudden burst of gas, flying right past the monsters weak spot moving mere inches away from each other. They sliced at the monster's flesh as they passed by, and with one last cry of pain, the Titan fell down to the ground giving a deafening thud, its motionless body already starting to emanate steam. Lucius soon landed on the ground, beside his brown-haired friend, panting profusely. Only to be approached by the two remaining rookies from the near-decimated squads. One from Lucius', the other from Jeans.
"How did you do that move?!"
"That was amazing!"
"Well... There's not much to say." Lucius began hesitantly "I learned that move from the old Levi squad, and afterward, I taught it to Jean. Simple as that."
"Could you teach us?" The blonde haired scout asked.
"Maybe another time, for now, focus on switching out your gas tanks and blades. And be ready to move out at a moments notice." Said Lucius, prompting the scouts to raise their hands to their hearts in a salute before running to what was left of the supply station.
"Tsk... Asking for new maneuvers in the middle of a battle, what idiots." Jean spat out.
"Really? Once upon a time, we were fresh-faced rookies like them, don't forget."
"Yeah I know, but still. You've gotta show some common sense."
"I know. I know. But they look up to us now, we need to set a good example by being fair but firm."
"Fine..." Jean said, defeated.
"Where's Connie?" Lucius asked, looking around.
"He's by the resupply station, grabbing painkillers for his bruises." Jean replied.
"Fair enough, we should probably get moving though. I've got a bad feeling about this."
"About what?"
"All of it." Lucius said. "The horde's big, but we haven't seen or even heard from the bizarre Titans."
"Bizarre Titans?" Jean asked, confused.
"You know, the colossal, armored and beast Titans. It's the section commander's idea to call them that."
"Oh please, another name change?" Jean responded annoyed. "First Eren's Titan, then the testing Titans, and now the..."
"Bizarre Titans?"
"I'm not calling them that. But what next? Will she start re-naming our rifles to 'rooty tooty point and shooty's?"
Lucius couldn't help but laugh, earning a glare from his friend. "You may as well get used to it, Jean."
"The way this battle's going, I won't have to." Jean said grimly. "By the time your group arrived, they'd taken out two of our squad, and in the process of our 'rescue', they took out one extra from both of our squads. We'll be lucky if any of us survive this." Jean looked at Lucius, expecting something optimistic like 'there's always a way' or 'keep your chin up', but instead he remained silent. "Lucius, are you okay?" The brown-haired teen asked, but received no reply.
He instead looked to where his gaze was cast and saw exactly what had gained his attention. A seventeen meter Titan, taller than all the rest. With black eyes and a horrifying grin. But what stood out the most was the dark brown fur all over his body, making Jean realize exactly what he was staring at.
He'd heard rumors of the beast Titan but was only in that moment casting his eyes upon it for the first time. This amazement caused a lag in the two soldiers' minds, causing them to completely miss what the beast Titan was clutching within its palm. Meaning they only identified the boulders as he was hurling them straight into the gate. The projectiles impacted upon the wall, creating a thousand tiny cracks before the wall fell under the unbearable strain.
The deafening bang that resonated through the area finally snapped them out their stupor, bringing every part of their body alive. Lucius whistled for his horse and rode back to the supply station for his squad, Jean following closely behind him. Said squad members were on their horses ready for their orders.
"Lucius! Jean! What was that bang!" Connie shouted, a mixture of confusion and fear in his voice.
"The wall. The Beast Titan threw rocks straight into the gate." Lucius told him, causing Connie's face to darken and his fearful look to shift towards that of rage. Most of the squad including Lucius knew why. As Connie's village, Ragako, were believed to have been turned into Titans by the beast. Connie had vowed revenge, and Lucius couldn't blame him. After all, he himself declared revenge five years ago. However, even he knew that an uncontrolled bloodlust could easily get them all killed.
"Was the gate destroyed?" One of the rookies asked.
"Not fully, just the upper section. But we'd better move fast if we want it to stay that way." Lucius said, before hastily turning his horse around in the direction of the beast Titan. Taking him down had become the scouts' number one priority, especially after the Utgard castle attack. It was more vital now more than ever they ended that threat to humanity. With his squad behind him and absolutely everything to lose, Lucius gathered all the breath within his lungs and the resolve in his soul, shouting out a single cry for battle.
"Advance!"
The ride took several minutes, but the squad was finally within view of the towering beast. Its brown fur catching the sunlight and all of their attention. Lucius and the others readied their gear, taking note of the elite squad already engaged in combat. Lucius gave his gear a quick blast of gas, thrusting him straight forwards. He, along with his squad, surged straight towards the monster. However, the beast Titan caught sight of their advance, resulting in a second volley of boulders being hurdled. This time aimed straight at them.
They all tried to dodge, and most were successful in their efforts. Most.
Unfortunately, the barrage came too fast and too strong for one of the rookies. One of the massive rocks slammed straight into her, most likely crushing her ribs and bones like a tin can. And before any of them could react, the boulder impacted against the ground. Crushing the young woman against the earth, spraying her red blood all across the grass.
This lit a fire within the remaining scouts, coursing anger through their veins. Lucius moved fast against the monsters leg, slashing its leg in an effort to cut through. But looking back, the soldier felt nothing but despair upon seeing that its damned hair had absorbed most of the blow.
The rest of the squad tried but likewise produced unfruitful results, before landing beside each other with grim looks on their faces. "Damn it!" Jean cursed. "We can't even get a scratch past its fur!"
"Any ideas Lucius?" Connie asked, standing warily next to his squad-mates. Lucius racked his brain for any kind of a solution, before remembering that he'd planned for this eventuality with Hanji and the R&D department.
"Connie, take this!" Lucius said, throwing Connie what looked like a bottle with a rag and an unknown substance inside.
"What do you want me to do? Drink it?" Connie asked, confused.
"No." Lucius said, lighting a match before placing it upon the rag. "I want you to throw it. The fire will burn his fur, I've got just enough on me to take it down." He said, passing out the firebombs before placing the cloths within them. As they were all taking the bottles into their hands, placing a burning match against the makeshift fuses one of their fellow soldiers landed beside them. A garrison member, about in her twenties with grey hair and glasses.
"Rico?" Lucius said.
"Yes?" She panted. "If you've got an idea now would be a very good time. My squads stopping the beast from taking down the wall but that's about all we can do. It's too tough to kill, even for us."
"We've got a solution, but I'm not sure we have the numbers to pull it off." Lucius said. While the firebombs plan would definitely work, they'd require at least five of them to burn away enough fur. While he was carrying enough of them for the job, there were only four of them left to attack it. They'd have to burn in sync to work properly.
"Pass me one." Rico demanded, clearly catching onto his train of thought.
"Ok." Lucius replied, passing the garrison member his last remaining firebomb. "Rico, Connie, you two go for the legs. Immobilise the bastard before he has a chance to move. Jean, you and the rookie slice at its arms. Stop any more of those damned boulders from coming. Leave the nape to me, I'll strike when the time's right." He said before he and the squad started dashing straight towards the towering beast. And just in time as it seemed, the elite squad were all running dangerously low on gas and energy. Their sluggish movements would surely have gotten them killed.
The group dashed forward, giving their gear a quick flush of gas to propel themselves into the air. Before the beast could even react, they'd managed to completely surround it. Rico and Connie lobbed their firebombs, the flames singeing the monster's hair in seconds. He cried out, thrusting back most of the squad. Though it did little but slow them down. The next wave of firebombs landed on his arms, burning the fur and leaving his limbs hairless and exposed.
Lucius saw his chance and deploys the last firebomb, striking against the neck of the monster. It burnt away his hair but didn't destroy the nape or the human inside. The soldier realized that task had fallen upon him.
He moved towards the Titan, forcing it to thrust its left arm towards him in a futile defense. Lucius dodged it easily, seeing a golden opportunity as he moved. Using his forward momentum, the scout traveled along the beasts arm while spinning his blades at an inhuman speed, cutting along his arm like a human fan blade. The beast cried out in pain, prompting Lucas to swing around his body towards its exposed nape.
However, before he could land his final strike the monster spun around and, with its right hand, slapped him out of the sky like an insect. Lucius hadn't even hit the ground before the beast started running for the hills. There was no time to celebrate, however, as Lucius knew that falling to the ground at his current speed would prove fatal unless he acted fast.
He pressed his gear's stiff triggers inward, releasing a sudden burst of gas behind him. This slowed the soldiers' descent just in time. He hit the ground hard, moving into a roll that lasted a good few seconds. When he picked himself back off the ground the bruises already started making themselves known. The soldier winced sharply from the pain, falling onto his left knee.
"Lucius! You ok?" Connie called, running towards him.
"Yeah! I'm fine." Lucius said, before reaching his feet and pulling out a bottle of painkillers.
"That's good and all, but the beast ran off before you could kill it." Jean said, ever the pessimist.
"Fair point, sorry about that by the way."
"Come on man! You made the bastard run scared, that's an achievement by anyone's standard!" Connie said. While Lucius couldn't deny it, there was still the elephant in the room. He had a shot to kill the beast, only to miss it. The only positive he could think of was that they could now focus entirely on the wall's defense, instead of hunting the beast.
"Let's roll. There's probably gonna be another flare any minute now." Lucius said, before whistling for his horse.
"Mind if I come with you?" Rico asked. "It's obvious you're down a squad member, and it would probably help if I lent a hand."
"Sure." Lucius said. Knowing that missing a squad member left a huge hole in their capabilities, and Rico clearly held the skill to at least keep up with them. "Gear up, we've got a job to do."
A/N: Sorry if the build-up with the flashback seems slow, but this is the current way I'm trying to set the scene for the main story. Hope it's ok!