And now we have chapter 4.
Let me know how you like it, yeah? :)
Bertolt woke up that morning to the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
It was him.
"Yep, we're getting nothing but sun today." Comes Jean from somewhere in the room, and everyone laughs.
In the past they all did this whenever he woke up, but it never really caught Bertolt's attention until Jean pointed it out to him, something about his sleep position predicting the forecast.
Slowly he picked himself up and laughed it off with them, a forced smile. He couldn't exactly explain why, but there was something about today that seemed odd, and not just because he had to relive it again. Bertolt felt on edge, and it wasn't until he was given his daily assignment did he finally realize why.
Today was the day the Colossus returned.
He pauses for a moment, the horse he had started grooming bending down and taking another bite of it's hay. The day was warm and fresh, just how he remembered it. He had the opportunity again to sneak away, it was perfect. No one was around but him, and given that everyone else was too busy with their chores, it was probably why he decided to strike in the first place. Reiner didn't even know about the plan.
Bertolt shook his head and sighed, continuing to groom the animal. He wondered if he should do it again, break down the wall. What would happen if he did? Marcel was the one who would usually took charge, but in truth, no one could really tell each other what they could and couldn't do, Annie being a good example, so what was holding him back?
"Your either all incompetent or a spineless cowards..."
Bertolt paused again. Mikasa told him that. She told all of them that, right after...
He dryly swallows, thinking back on the mess he made. More lives were taken- countless lives were taken because he made this choice, but it needed to be done. If it weren't for the Colossus, Eren would never have found out he could shift, and if Eren never found out no one else would. That's why he needs to do this. Again.
Putting the brush down Bertolt runs his fingers through the soft mane, smiling. "...Your very pretty." He found it a little odd that he'd say something like that out of the blue, but at the moment, it didn't really seem to matter what he said or did. Not yet.
The horse snorts and shakes it's head a bit in response, refusing to look up from it's meal. He never expected a response, but he found it difficult to move, enjoying the peace and quiet. It never really occurred to him until now, but the day was beautiful, relaxing. Everything was calm and inviting, and for a moment, Bertolt had forgotten about the terror outside the walls, the horror that surrounded them all - for a moment, he had forgotten how it all started.
It takes another gentle shake to remind him otherwise.
*(*)*
No one could believe their eyes when the Colossus appeared before them again, eyeing the seven of them one by one before the wall comes down a second time.
The force sends the soldiers flying off the wall, and it was hard to tell who went where. Smoke and debris blinded their vision, forcing those who survived to fall back. It was Eren who went straight for the kill, and that's when the Titan made it's great escape once again, vanishing through thick smoke.
Everyone's called back to the front and ordered to fight. No one had a choice. Panic spread like wild fire, and it was only because of Krista and a few others nothing got out of control.
He's assigned with Reiner and Annie to take out the titans further north, the ones closest to the gate, while Marcel had been assigned with Eren's squad. Neither of them said anything to him about the incident, even Reiner stayed quiet, doing his best to encourage the rest of their team mates. He's forgotten again...
Before Bertolt knew it, he had become a defender of humanity, fighting for the lives of those he endangered. It was ironic really. He managed to take down a lot more titans then he did before, even saving the life of a women who had barley escaped because of a broken leg. She thanked him over and over again with tears in her eyes, latching on to him as if her life depended on it. (it kind of did)
He took down five, six, seven titans before meeting up with his squad again, what was left of them that is. Only Reiner and Annie had returned. Untouched.
"Come on guys! If we work together I know we can do this!" Sasha says, smiling. She was a terrible actor.
At some point those who survived met up with one another and relocated themselves somewhere safe, away from the chaos. Some came back alone, others with very few - it was heartbreaking.
"Come on, stand up! I'll be upfront, everything's going to be alright!"
No one listened to her. No one moved or even made an effort to stop her from spouting such nonsense, but even with that it didn't stop her. Her smile faltered a little, but it was still there, and it wasn't until she tried talking to Armin did she realize how useless her efforts were. Bertolt knows what happened to him- what he saw, what he went through, and yet, it was somewhat satisfying.
Armin was broken. Defenseless. Weak. It would have been easy to take him out, and he would never put up a fight.
The thought was enticing.
*(*)*
Mikasa shows up and is the first one to ask the blond what happened, and he tells her.
Eren was dead.
Her world had collapsed, and Bertolt had to listen to her give that same damn speech again because of it. He could hear it on repeat for the rest of his life, and it would still hit him close to home. It angered him, inferiated him, forcing him to take everything he had to suppress that feeling. She was spouting nonsense, and only he knew that, but it worked.
They all fell for her words, and because of that, only a handful survived.
It was Jean who lead the rest of them to safety, finding the supply team hiding under tables and desks. They were scolded, almost beaten if it hadn't been for Marco. Some started throwing out ideas for an escape plan until-
"GET DOWN!" Reiner calls out, and the room shook violently.
A titan - no, two titans broke in. Their eyeing all of them, hungrily, and everyone's screaming and running for their lives. Reiner has to tug at Bertolt to get him moving, and the both of them find themselves going along with the sea of panic, all the while Jean remained still, paralyzed with fear.
Marco's the one to call out for him, but he doesn't listen. Bertolt looks away, not wanting to see what happens next, because he knows. This is where Eren came in, taking the world by storm. Saving Jean, Marco - everyone. This is when his mission started, how it all slowly started piecing itself together.
But that didn't happen.
Something grabs both titans by the hair, pulling the both of them to the floor in a matter of seconds. It happened so fast it took a moment for Bertolt to realize what happened, an ear piercing growl ripping through the air, silencing everything.
It wasn't Eren's.
"The hell?" Jean says, voice shaken.
Everyone can hear the heavy stomp and low growl come from the beast bellow, steam rising as the two titans that attacked them before were now visibly dead. The scene was unsettling.
"What the hell!?" Jean repeats, louder, and as if on cue the window finally shatters and three more survivors arrive. Connie along with Armin and Mikasa had finally made their entrance, but this time the three of them looked more surprised then relieved.
"Damn, we barley made it!" Connie tapped on his now empty canister a few times before patting Armin on the back, rather a little to hard. "If it weren't for this guy we'd be dead for sure!"
Jean blinks once, twice. "Y-your alive?"
Connie smirks. "Damn straight! And look, we brought someone along with us to the party!" He points outside and everyone looks in it's direction, eyes widening when they notice another titan quickly approaching them, a much larger one with long dark brown hair and glowing green eyes. It definatley stood out more than any other abnormal titan they've seen. The Rogue titan, Eren Jeager.
"RRAAAAAAAWWWWRR!"
Everyone's covering their ears, and the ground begins to shake feverously. Large footsteps are heading their way, and it doesn't take long for the other abnormal to notice. It quickly embraces itself as the impact hit's him hard, the first punch sending him backwards into a small house. Eren lets out another monstrous growl and inches closer to his target, watching it slowly pick itself up. Bertolt can't look away this time, neither could Reiner. What's Marcel thinking!? Why did he transform?!
They all watch the two go into combat, The Jaw titan taking every single hit. It wasn't dodging, and no one could really explain why. Reiner was the one to ask.
"What the hell are these things?"
Bertolt fought back the urge to smack him over the head. Again. Nothing made sense. Marcel wasn't stupid, he knew the risks, so why here? Why now? Bertolt just couldn't wrap his head around it!
"We can finally get out of here while their distracted!" Connie mentions, and Jean practically scowls.
"You think we'll be saved by a titan?!"
"You think we... can make good use of a titan?" Stutters a soldier behind them.
Jean turns to him. "No way, that's far from delusional-"
"It doesn't matter what they are." Mikasa interrupts. "All we need is for them to continue their rampage."
And she was right. Like before Eren distracted the rest of the titans as they all made their escape, alive, but it was unclear what was about to happen now. It scared Bertolt a little bit.
He's nudged forward by Reiner into the basement of the building, and that's were they all come up with a new plan. Armin, of course, came up with one, however it was Marco who put the idea into action, and just like before Bertolt was once again assigned as one of the assailants to take down any incoming titans that had wandered inside.
As they begin to carry out the plan, he notices two things: Marco Bolt was no coward, and he admittedly had more balls then any other soldier Bertolt's known. He feared titans just as every Eldian should, but he hid it well, he had control over it, and that was his ultimate weapon. Like Armin he was smart, but his heart was kind and forgiving. He would have made a good friend to anyone, it was sort of a mystery though as to why he got so close with Jean.
The rest of the assailants are watching the group bellow go to work, using themselves as bait as titans curiously approach them. They ready their guns, and with Marco's orders they all fire at once, blinding every titan and giving Bertolt the chance to attack.
Connie and Sasha miss their targets, and again Mikasa and Annie save the both of them, but before Reiner got the chance to praise the females Bertolt had already made his way outside.
He maneuvers himself onto a roof close by, and is surprised to notice just how many had been slaughtered, Titan corpses scattered everywhere.
A handful of others approach the scene moments later, the rest of the group heading back up the wall. He's given an odd look from Annie, but she doesn't say anything, all of them watching in horror as the Rogue titan is outnumbered by other titans. It cries out in pain as it's slowly being eaten, no one knows how to react, let alone what to do, but then another problem comes along.
From what Bertolt could remember that was the titan that ate one of the members of Eren's squad. It approached them, and that's when Eren sprung into action again. He forcefully removed himself from the cannibals around him, ripping his arms off in the process as he makes his way over to it.
"Hey, that's the titan that ate Marcel!"
...
...
...
...what?
Reiner turns to Armin, surprised. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"That titan, i-it jumped on us while we were in the air, Marcel had pushed Thomas out of the way when it-"
Another scream came from the Rogue as it attacked Marcel's killer, putting it down in one swift move as he bit the nape and threw it's lifeless form at other approaching titans. It fought relentlessly for a while, a lot longer then it had the first time, almost as if it had energy to spare. By this point he would have passed out, collapsed and finally revealed who he really was, but that didn't happen. Instead more titans kept approaching the Rogue, and one by one they were slaughtered without mercy.
Annie is the first one to notice the sudden approach of the Jaw titan, and everyone watches as it takes down three titans before they could get to Eren. This was the first time anyone's seen it in action, including the warriors. Of course they've seen Marcel transform before and try out his new form, but they never really seen him use it for battle, it almost looked like he was dancing.
The two abnormal's...they were working together, taking down every titan that approached them, but it wasn't until all of them were cleared out did the Rogue titan finally turn. It attacked the Jaw titan again, and once again it did nothing to defend itself, hitting the ground with a loud thud. This time it didn't get up.
What was going on...
Without warning the Rogue lets out a final cry before finally going down, face planting onto the floor. It stopped moving, but something was coming out of it's neck. Bertolt watches Mikasa approach Eren; watches her embrace him, watches her check his heart beat, and finally, he watches her cry. This was probably the second time he's seen the female show weakness, after this he'll probably never get to see something like this again.
Armin immediately joines the two, and it was Jean who had finally broken the silence and asked. "...What about that one?" Their eyes fall on the Jaw titan, and it remained quiet as it watched the scene before it.
Jean cursed under his breath, blades out and ready before Reiner put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hold on."
"Hold on? To what!? We don't know what that thing might do!"
"It...could also be someone we know?" Reiner says, but he's not even sure if he believes himself.
Mikasa and Armin get Eren to safety before their doting all over him, Mikasa refusing to let go of him as she continues to cradle him. Bertolt wants to say something, but can't find the words. His focus is on Marcel, and he's mortified when steam slowly seeps off of it's limp form, another body emerging from the nape. No one went to find out who.
*dramatic music plays* And with this, I leave you.
Please comment and tell me what you think! Reviews give me hope~ 3
Also, remember, looks can be very deceiving. *winks*
(sorry I couldn't get to Marco this chapter. I forgot this happened, but I promise his arc comes next)