SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 2 out, this is Chapter 3 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?
Pairings: Established Levi/Mavis. Hinted Eren/Misaka and whatever cannon pairings there are.
Disclaimers: I own absolutely nothing.
Chapter 3: The Defeated: 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls
"He's alive." Misaka insisted. "The target appeared intelligent, and its goal seems to be capturing Eren. If it wanted him dead, it would've crushed him. The target is fighting to escape after going through the trouble of putting him in its mouth."
"It's goal may have been to eat Eren." Levi argued. "If that's the case, he's in its stomach. It's more reasonable to assume that he's dead."
"He's alive." Misaka snapped.
"To be honest, I agree." Mavis concurred.
"I hope you both are right." Levi remarked.
"If you'd only protected Eren, this wouldn't have happened!" Misaka accused.
"I see..." Levi turned and gave Misaka a closer look. "You're the one from back then. Eren's close friend?"
"She's more than that." Mavis smiled knowingly. "She's his partner."
"Mavis-nee-san!" Misaka protested.
"Am I wrong?" Mavis blinked 'innocently'.
"We'll limit ourselves to a single goal." Levi stated. "First, give up on killing the Female Titan.
"It killed many of our comrades." Misaka argued.
"As long as it has the skin-hardening ability, there's no way to kill it." Mavis countered.
"Mavis is right." Levi added. "Do as we say. We'll pin our hopes on Eren still being alive and rescue him before it leaves the forest. Mavis and I will tear away at it; you draw its attention."
"Just like old times, huh?" Mavis remarked, the two older soldiers went into their standard attacking formation as Misaka circled around the Titan's legs. "Partner." she dodged the Titan's flying fist, Levi was already barreling up the Titan's arm like a circular saw. Using the Titan's upper arm as leverage, he plunged both his blades into the Titan's eyes.
"Ferrum Polaris," higher up in the air, Mavis brandished Genbu's Sacred Damascus blade as a wave of ice swords manifested behind her. "Typhon Sword Dance!" she shot past the Titan's torso, slicing the body with her blade, the wave of ice swords following their summoner's path and rained on their target dead-on.
They're fast... Misaka gaped as the pair continued their combined attacks on the Female Titan. So fast that it has no time to harden its skin.
"Ferrum Polaris," Mavis summoned a circle of freezing air around herself. "Icicle Spear Barrage!" she let loose the rain of icicle spears, skewering the Female Titan and causing cross-shaped wounds to appear on its arms.
Levi ended the fight with rapid slashes to the Titan's injured arms, causing the limbs to drop.
We can go for the neck. Misaka's eyes widened, spotting the Titan's exposed nape. It's tired. I bet it can't move. I can kill it. She anchored her wire onto one of the Titan's arms.
"Misaka, stop!" Mavis barked, realized what the younger girl had intended to do.
Levi knocked Misaka off course, preventing her from being grabbed by the Female Titan.
"Misaka, don't be reckless!" Mavis scolded, cushioning Misaka. "Oh no..." she breathed, seeing Levi wince when he landed wrong on the Titan's bony palm before jumping up to the Titan's mouth, slashing its jaw muscles and freeing Eren.
"Eren!" Misaka gasped.
"Hey!" Levi called, grabbing Eren and landing on a tree above the two girls. "We're getting out of here. I think he's okay. He's alive, but filthy. Forget about it.. We'll retreat. Don't lose sight of the core objective. Is it more important to get what you want?"
"No, I..." Misaka looked away.
"Hm, that's a surprise." Mavis noted, turning to see the tear stain rolling down the Female Titan's face. "You just injured you leg, didn't you?" she gave her partner a knowing look, to which Levi let out an affronted snort. "Do you really think you can fool my eyes?" she chided.
On the plains where the Survey Corps pulled over for a break, Levi watched silently as Mavis placed her intricately crafted ice bluebells into the hands on soldiers who had died on the expedition.
"Titans!" Pere warned, spotting two Titans chasing after the wagons. "That's..." he gaped when he saw Dieter and Jurgen running towards them on horseback, with Ivan's body strung behind Dieter. "That fool!" he fired off a red smoke round.
"The rear line has spotted Titans!" Erwin was alerted.
"Onward at full speed." Erwin instructed.
"I don't see any tall tree or buildings." Levi stated. "Fighting out here will be difficult."
"We'd better off outrunning them till we reach the walls." Erwin agreed and let Levi convey his message.
Seeing Dieter was about to get eaten, Misaka charged in, taking out the Titan and freeing him.
"I'll get behind them." Pere told his teammate. "I'll draw his attention, then you'll..."
"No." Levi cut in. "Just abandon the bodies. They'll reach us. In the past, many bodies haven't made it back. These guys aren't anything special. Damn it..." he cursed, looking down at his injured leg.
"You men give up quite easily, don't you?" a feminine voice scolded in mid-air. "Ferrum Polaris: Second Release," Mavis raised her blade to her side as ice glitter blew past. A large ice circle formed underneath the Titan's feet, freezing it in place. "White Lunar Pillar!" she ended the attack, the resulting pillar of freezing light breaking the Titan as the massive drop in temperature embrittled its skeleton.
"Keep going!" Pere shouted.
"Eren, are you awake?" Mavis looked down at her waking sibling.
"Mavis..." Eren blinked his dizziness off. "Nee-san?"
"You shouldn't get up." Misaka advised, beside the Yeager siblings. "Rest."
"The Female Titan?" Eren asked when Mavis propped him up.
"It got away." Mavis replied.
"Why?" Eren muttered. "What about the others? What about the plan?"
"It failed," Mavis supplied. "Miserably. Rest for the time being, baby brother."
SailorStar9: Any OOC-ness is regretted. *Sighs* Don't you just hate plot bunnies sometimes? Read and review.
