Hey guys I am soooo sorry! I have been swamped with schoolwork and we also had a bunch of guests over. To anyone great enough to read this my apologies. The coming weekend should be better so I will 100% upload then. I was at least able to finish this chapter though. I really hope you like it and thanks again if you are reading! :)
Chapter 7
Sasha stopped, grabbing Connie's hand. The two had been running away from the fight but they were far enough away to be safe now. And Sasha was getting worried. By now everybody should have gotten away. The plan had been to scatter for a day and regroup at the original base the next day if the military had found them – which, blast everything, they had.
So, all in all, the gang should have dissipated into the shadows by now. But if she listened closely Sasha could hear the faint shouts of fighting still. – With less people around the sounds carried further.
His momentum halted Connie glanced back at her curiously. Then he too heard the noise. "They should have gotten away by now!" He growled, spinning around.
Sasha nodded. "There's been a problem. We're heading back." The pair darted back along the crumbling alleyways, heading back towards their friends.
…
Armin glanced across at Mikasa as he dodged yet another attack. The soldiers seemed to have figured out some way in which to move their swords freely in the limited space, the blond still wasn't quite sure how. That is not the point right now. Mikasa was clearly getting angrier at those around her, attack more often now. But her cold fury was cut short each time by Levi, whose rapid counterattacks forced the girl to retreat. We need some sort of confusion. No way will we win a fight. It wasn't that the teens weren't capable. They could all hold their own, though maybe not with the same level of skill as the military recruits. But the weapons the Wings wielded were far inferior. The heavy pole that Jean carried was beginning to look bent from blocking the swords. Amin's skateboards that he had been using as a shield was fragmented in areas. He was feeling very grateful that he had reinforced the plastic with metal. Even the good daggers they had were no much use – none of it could match the reach that the huge swords had.
Lost in thought Armin let out a short cry of surprise as an enemy bore down upon him. Eren shoved him out of the way, quickly blocking the swordsman.
Then everything went wrong, very, very rapidly.
…
The girl was already retreating again. Levi assessed the situation with a growing amount of frustration. These kids would be easy to kill – but capturing them alive and relatively unharmed was an entirely different matter. Then he saw an opening. The short blond teen had become distracted and the other criminal had quickly defended him. However in that position they were open to an attack from behind. Levi smirked. Be more careful next time. Spinning, swords carving through the air around him, the Corporal rushed in.
To his credit the blond kid did notice, and tried to defend. But a well-placed kick sent the skateboard-shield rocketing out of his hands. Another twirl and slash and the boy was rapidly stumbling away, only just missing receiving a gash from Levi's right sword. Panic in his eyes the gang member called out "Mikasa! Eren!" Mikasa is presumably the girl, but Eren…
The solider didn't have to wonder. The brown-haired teen who had been defending the strategist rapidly turned around, desperately trying to disengage from the soldier he was occupied with and come to his friend's aid. So it is the fool who challenged me. The girl also reacted instantly, flipping mid-air to turn around and came flying across the space, a strange calm fury in her eyes. Both of them stopped instantly. Levi was no fool, after all. His sword was over the fallen boy's neck. About time too. "Drop your weapons. Now."
The other two criminals had still been fighting, but both stopped, noticing that their friends were no longer beside them. When the saw the blond brat their eyes widened in panic. The Corporal noticed the kid with the eye patch tighten his hold in his blade. "I said DROP IT." Raising his voice Levi made eye contact with the five remaining Wings members. Then, slowly the weapons were lowered. First the eye patch and bond haired two. Then the girl, -Mikasa was what she was called- with a hiss of steam, landed on the ground. Glaring the whole time at the soldiers she set her two knives on the ground. At about the same moment the brown haired teen burst into violent movement. He stepped back, twisting toward the Survey Corps member behind him, slicing viciously at the man's arm, with another, smaller knife suddenly appearing from his dilapidated brown jacket. It was clear that he mean to take his opponent hostage. It would have worked – but the solider quickly used his 3D maneuver gear and shot up, backwards and up again, before changing direction and, ultimately, landing on the other side of the gang member and grabbing him from behind. Always remember the gear.
Levi grimaced remembering when almost the exact same maneuver had been used on one of his own friends, back when he lived in these streets. The gear is too fast to dodge if you don't have some of your own. Shocked the Corporal scolded himself. Stop sympathizing with the brats! Since when have you ever cared much about the recruits – which is exactly who these people now are. It was true that, despite his actions, Levi did care about the lives of others. But that should not extend to being emotional about capturing a few criminals, even if they were part of his old gang.
…
Armin watched, horrified, as the Wings were rapidly beaten. Eren's move had been predictable, though Armin had been worried about his friend forgetting about the soldier's maneuver gear – which the other teen had. Feeling panic swell up inside him the blond quickly shut his eyes, forcing down the feeling. This was how he had felt when the titans attacked and he had been utterly useless then. My friends need me now. A moment later, now able to think rationally Armin opened his eyes. He looked around .Not good.
Eren was being held from behind, and the rest of the group had dropped their weapons when Levi brought a sword to his neck. Glancing at the face of the man who held him prisoner Armin wasn't sure what emotions he saw there. He's not as easy to read as Mikasa. Suddenly Armin was hit by a flash of desperation. He was no longer afraid of communicating his point to those around him, and he had even come to terms with the threat of titans around him. But, having his friends in danger was one thing that still left Armin cold with fear. So, before Levi could issue any orders Armin spoke up. "Let us negotiate."
The grey eyes flicked to him, betraying no emotion. "No. You are coming with us. Clearly you fools heard about why, or else you wouldn't have been in hiding."
Well, at least he replied. "And I think we can come to a middle ground." Armin sounded far more confided than he actually was, which was reliving. Maybe I actually have a chance at this.
"Such as?" The Corporal asked. The voice was still relatively emotionless but the bond got the distinct impression he was being mocked. "You are being recruited to help the Survey Corp because we are low on numbers. From now on you will spend you time training against monsters instead of stealing. That should not be too hard to go into your thick skull."
Armin hesitated, realized that he wasn't sure how to proceed from here. To his complete surprise, Eren saved him.
Growling the trapped gang member turned his head to face Levi. "What, you think we don't try to deal with Titans as best we can? The Wings have helped countless families when their sister, mothers, fathers, sons or daughters have been killed in battle with Titans. We have helped provide food for them when they had no one! And when the Titans attacked earlier we helped civilians evacuate the area! If you want us to help, you don't need to force us! We already are!" The last words were shouted, and Armin could tell that Eren was having trouble keeping his temper in place.
"Eren-"
He was cut off by Mikasa, who quickly joined in. "But don't think for a moment that if you recruit us we won't steal as much 3D maneuver gear as possible and make a run for it. If you want any of us to be useful then let us go." The last words snapped her tone out of the calm voice and into one with far more emotion.
Jean and Marco nodded their assent. "We have helped countless citizens against the Titans, not to mention stopping other gangs from stealing all of the 3D maneuver gear from the warehouses when the military police aren't looking." Marco added. This seemed to sway the soldiers more and Armin caught several unsure glances between them, even though he wasn't sure mentioning the 3Dmanuver gear was a good idea. No need to tell them how we were actually planning on grabbing a few sets ourselves.
Armin looked over and Levi once more. The Corporal gave him what looked almost like a smirk and shook his head. "Nice try brats. No."
Just then Armin heard an all too familiar voice. "Take them and you have to take us to." From his position Armin could only see part of her as the girl – accompanied by Connie, stepped out from the shadows. Then, suddenly about a dozen people seemed to be appearing around them.
…
Sasha stepped forward. It hadn't taken too long for she and Connie to find the others. When they had heard the sound of fighting everyone had turned back. So, as a result every single other person in the Wings of Wrath was stepping out of the alleyways.
Connie had pointed out that it was useless – none of them would attack, for fear of Armin being hurt. Sasha had said simply that she didn't care.
Levi raised an eyebrow. "We will you know. So I don't see why you bother coming back. Your gang's finished, being taken along with the leaders won't help you any. Foolish loyalty."
"If you think so then you have forgotten everything that the Wings of Wrath sand for!" Sasha shouted, furious.
It was Connie who added the last word. "Traitor."
…
Levi didn't move. Don't show them. And he didn't. His facial expression didn't change. Only Armin was close enough to see the calm in his eyes shatter and the pain well up beneath.
