12k isn't as much as the previous amounts you've been getting, but I think it's safe. Now, this is where things begin to go seriously down in terms of plot. From here on out, it will be thick story and serious stuff going on—I hope you enjoyed what happiness I gave you because until we reach the climax, our precious babies are going to take quite a lot of beatings, in all senses of the word. So. Prepare yourselves, ladies and gents. I hope you're ready.
Disclaimer: I don't own SnK. There. Read on.
Inspired tracks: The Traitor by Jesper Kyd and Lorne Balfe (Assassin's Creed Revelations) Ronin, by Hans Zimmer, Zai by Hiroyuki Sawano, Raein by Olafur Arnalds, Bratja by Michiru Oshima (The song Li sings) Watch the World Burn, Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)
Nimbus
-: IX :-
Let Chaos Fall
Chaos.
Everywhere…
Blood stained stone, flickered over wood and ran down skin in rivulets, casting contrasts of skin and dust so morbid it was almost beautiful. Wind and screams howled in ears while the confused and frightened scattered like mice caught within a hiding place. All she could see was them, running.
Not here. Not there… where?
Carefully, almost painstakingly, her hands searched through the rubble, searching… searching…
Not here… not here…
Bright brown eyes turned up and stared, horrified and frozen. Tears fell down those eyes, but she didn't care for them.
Lift the boulder, slap away the beams of metal… Not here… not here…
Where?
Where…?
WHERE?!
Something hard was squeezing him, pressing tighter and tighter to the ground. Why was everything upside down…? It hurt to breathe, but he had to get up… he had to move. What…happened?
"…!" He could hear now… like a faint buzzing in the background. He moved, blinking, trying to understand why the world was upside down, why there was so much light and why there was something crushing him…
Images blurred together until he saw a blob move through the space, it neared him but he could only groan when it shouted something. Amber eyes looked into his, frantic and tear-stained. Wake up… what's wrong with me?
He felt something grab him, recognized the eyes slowly and the mouth that moved in a cry that he couldn't hear but realized was his name. He tried to focus, the way the mouth parted and closed, looked stretched and so distressed…
"… N…!" He felt whatever was crushing him move, shift just slightly that air rushed into his chest and filled his boggled mind. Clarity burned up his nostrils like the dust curling in the air, making him let out a sharp groan and his body twitched, forcing him on his side and making the world-right side up again.
"… Ean… J…!" He heard, but couldn't seem to shake off that buzzing in the back of his ears, couldn't seem to shake off the desire to push away everyone and just curl and sleep. It hurt… God, everything hurts.
"Jean!" The word struck him like a bullet, jumping down his spine to collapse at the base of his hips and he could feel his body lift, gripping to stone and rubble. His knee was aching, his hands felt scathed, but he was turning and suddenly his lungs couldn't handle all the dust and pressure—a violent cough ripped through his throat and he felt pressure on his neck: a hand.
Everything assaulted his mind then, the horror, the violence, the fear when he realized that huge set of eyes they had seen over the window had belonged to a titan—no…Annie. Annie was here. Annie was alive… but why…? How…?
"Jean! Can you hear me, are you alright?!" Connie's voice hit him again, and he had to shake his head and nearly winced when his chest protested.
"I'm fine," He wheezed, and felt something sharp dig into his head. "Agh!"
"Careful," Connie exclaimed and his hand reached up to force Jean's head to duck before helping him to his feet, "You nearly impaled yourself on that beam there."
Jean frowned and glanced up, sure enough he saw the beam—saw how close it would've ripped him apart. His stomach gave a violent lurch, but Jean forced himself to straighten. He winced, lifting a hand to grip to his head and feeling blood stain his fingers where the metal had scratched him.
"What's going on?" Jean asked, turning wide eyes on Connie's. "Is Annie still here?"
Connie's face turned grim, "She's—"
Another crash sounded and they both glanced up, Jean noticed how they had ended up behind a large piece of rubble, and it obscured their vision to the gaping hole that had once been windows and walls of stone. A shriek broke through the air before it was suddenly silenced and they both scrambled out of the way of their current location.
Jean let out a slow gasp to Connie's grunt of despair. The immense shape of Annie's figure was crouched ahead, blue eyes wide as she looked at the body in her hands—it was one of the Military Policemen, a woman with bright brown hair and she thrashed and kicked, sobbing. Annie's face appeared disinterested before carelessly tossing the woman to the side. The woman's shriek's ended the moment her body hit the ground and out of sight.
"We've got to get out of here," Connie said, stepping out from behind the rubble in search for a route of escape, "I don't know where the others are."
"Where's Mikasa?" Jean asked, dropping a bloodstained hand to grip his side, grimacing when he felt the cloth of his suit had torn and skin was dripping with blood. It was a shallow cut, but it hurt like hell. Connie shook his head, looking battered and bruised, but alright.
"Last I saw, Commander Erwin had her in his arms… I haven't seen—," He stopped, gasping deeply, eyes widening with newfound horror. He was moving before Jean could try to stop him, "Oh my god, Historia!" Jean followed, feeling his chest constrict at the way Connie shouted. His eyes followed Connie has he rushed past their hiding place and to a large piece of wall that lay over the bloodstained ground. A panic lunged at his heart and made it burst into a gallop, upon seeing pale blonde hair and tossed hands beneath the stone.
"Jean, help me get this off of her, quick!" Connie shouted, yanking at his suit and hastily pressing it over the fallen bride's side. Jean moved, grateful his legs weren't injured aside from some bruising, and when he reached Connie, he nearly collapsed.
"Connie… Oh, God, no…" The officer wheezed, feeling a tremor begin in his hands as he saw the state of their beloved friend. Connie was pressing the suit to Historia's side tightly, hands stained with blood. Lilac and daisy petals were strewn around her, speckled with blood. Her white dress was a deep shape of crimson near her belly where a long metal beam protruded from her side, the beam supported a chunk of rock and stone away from the rest of her body. Had the beam hit anywhere else, the rest of the rubble would've completely crushed her. A thin stream of crimson was dribbling down the corner of her lip. Her eyes were still half-open—was she even conscious? Could she even be alive…?
"She's still breathing, Jean," Connie exclaimed, rubbing the back of his hand against his cheek, accidentally smearing gore on the skin as he did so, "Quick, we have to move this thing off of her before she bleeds to death! Jean!"
The shout seemed to have snapped him to his senses, forcing his eyes away from Historia's fallen body to approach the boulder above her. But, how? Where should they push?
"Jean!" Connie screamed again and he couldn't help but feel his own hysteria work against him.
"I can't move this fucking thing on my own, Connie!" Jean bellowed, feeling useless, "One wrong move and it can crush her!"
"I'm trying to stop her bleeding, figure something out!" Connie snapped back. Jean whirled around, his hands running through his hair in desperation, trying to find something—anything—big enough to move the immense piece of debris out of the way. Through the dust, he saw Annie's hand reach through the entrance push and lift rocks away. It confused him. Why isn't she just killing people? What is she doing? It was as if… she were searching for something… or someone…
An idea suddenly hit him in the back of the head, and before he could think, he was surging forward, feeling wind and dust hit his face and clothes as he tried to stand in plain sight.
Behind him, Connie screamed for him, "Jean, what are you doing?! Jean!"
"I'm finding a way to get that off her!" Jean shouted, and began to throw his arms up, waving them like a madman and screaming. "Annie! Hey, over here!"
"Jean, don't!" Connie cried, but Jean ignored him. Pushing himself up a piece of rubble, he scrambled up the broken piece of stone, grunting viciously when metal and glass bit and ripped into his hands and knees. When he managed to get himself high enough, he was waving again, screaming and hollering despite the agony in his side, the heat that poured down the wound beneath his ribs.
Annie's blue eyes turned and finally blinked up, landing on his figure before widening with surprise. Jean let out another shout, "Over here, you stupid bitch!" He roared before he turned and jumped off the stone, nearly twisting his ankle when he landed roughly on the ground. Running, he swerved around another piece of debris, exclaiming when he saw her hand land close to him with a crash before lifting again. When he rushed back to Connie, the soldier was screaming at him to stop.
"Why are you bringing her over here?!"
"Just shut up and hold on to Historia!" He exclaimed, before skidding behind the large piece of rubble that stuck to Historia's body, when he got close enough he could hear her wheezing.
"C-Con…nie…" her voice came out tiny through the crashes and screams around them. The soldier scrambled close to her when Annie's large fingers peeked over and curled around the stone. Jean crawled toward the blonde girl, holding on to her shoulders tightly and hoping against hope that this was a good idea. It was too late to go back. The piece of debris moved and began to pull away, Historia let out a gurgling scream, blood squirting from her side to hit Connie against his jaw and shirt. The massive beam was finally yanked out, and a bright stream of sunlight fell over them after it was tossed away.
Jean and Connie moved fast, pressing hands firmly against the open wounds and trying to staunch the bleeding.
"You idiot, what have you done?!" Connie shouted, shaking hands pressing his suit tighter against the hole in the young blonde's side. She was wailing softly now, tears and blood mingling beneath her face, fingers reaching behind where Connie knelt.
"…Min…Armin…" She sobbed, coughing up blood.
"You wanted to get the damn thing off!" Jean roared back, but was starting to regret bringing Annie's attention over.
"Well now you brought Annie's attention here, you idiot!" Connie snarled back. Suddenly, those fingers returned, moving slowly over to them and looming above them. "Quick, grab her and let's get out of here!" Jean nodded, moving quickly toward the crying woman's side, and tried to scoop her up as gently as he could. Almost immediately he could feel her blood run down his torso. Connie's jacket was doing very little to staunch the bleeding.
Historia let out another little wail, blinking up with wide blue eyes and skin so pale it sent jolts of fear down his core. "Armin…Ar…min…" She wheezed, appearing unresponsive.
"She's losing too much blood!" Jean exclaimed, before ducking under a finger. Swiftly, they escaped, dodging debris and fallen people. Bodies and limbs stuck out in awkward angles beneath pieces of stone and shards of glass, reminding them all too much of a past they had thought they had escaped. More crashes, more screams and Jean was squeezing Historia's body as tightly to his body as he could, hoping the added pressure would keep her from bleeding out.
"Where's the door?" Connie wheezed, footsteps landing next to Jean as they tried to move out of the way from Annie's reaching fingers. A sudden shout to Jean's left made him look to over his shoulder, nearly stumbling when he saw Sasha, leg caught under a wooden beam, dress torn and sobbing as she tried to push herself out.
"Sasha!" He screamed, feeling both relief and fear overwhelm him when he saw she couldn't get out from under the beam. Her eyes searched frantically around for him before landing on his eyes, she let out a loud cry of relief.
"Jean!" She exclaimed, waving bloodstained hands at him. He could see several cuts and gashes over her bare arms and shoulders, saw a thin sliver of glass protruding from her hip.
"Jean, don't!" Connie shouted, grabbing at his shoulders and pushing him on. "Don't attract Annie over to her!"
Jean tried to slow down, tried to shove Connie's hands away from his shoulders. "No—but, I can't just—Sasha!"
"Jean, please!" He heard before he lost sight of her behind a large beam and stone chunk of wall that looked like the top of the main entrance. Connie gave him a firm shove, forcing him ever faster.
"You take Historia out of here," Connie ordered behind him, panting heavily. "I'll worry about Sasha, but you have to hurry! Hurry or Historia could die!"
"What about Annie?"
Connie let out a sharp grunt, "Leave that to me, I'll distract her than get to Sasha. Just move! And try to find Captain Levi!" Just like that Connie was making a turn and leaving him to fend for himself, and Jean had to bite down on his lip to keep from breaking down—hating himself for not being able to go to the woman he loves. In his arms, Historia gave a little whimper, and when he looked down her eyelids were dropping, a red bubble bursting between her lips as she struggled to breathe.
"No, no nonono, no, Historia!" Jean shouted, trying not to shake her too roughly, "Stay with me. Stay awake, don't you dare fall asleep on me now!" Ahead he saw the door to the south side of the Dining hall, partly opened and partly closed as whoever survived the initial explosion tried to squeeze in. Soldiers behind the doors pulled people in as fast as they could, shouting orders amongst the screams and shouts for help.
"Move!" Jean shouted as he neared the door, "Get out of the way, this is an emergency!"
"Kirschstein!" He heard, and to his relief he saw Alex, blood oozing from a cut on his temple and from one of his nostrils, but the man was helping people through.
"Alex, help me get her to the infirmary," Jean ordered, but another crash shook the room, bursting a sharp gale of air and dust through the space and making people give shouts of panic. Alex had ducked instinctively, gray blue eyes jumping to the source of the crash and letting out a low gasp of horror. "Alex!"
The soldier snapped back to look into Jean's eyes before flicking down to the figure in his arms, lips parting through a low grunt and nodding swiftly. "What happened?"
"Metal beam went through her side, I think it may have ruptured something but I don't know…I'm not a medic."
Alex nodded, "She's bleeding too profusely, we can't get her to the infirmary in time. Everyone move, we've got a serious problem here! Cray! Kirschstein's got Historia Reiss, and she's badly wounded!"
The crowd parted reluctantly, wanting nothing more than to escape through the only exit they had, a huge burly soldier appeared behind the door, shoving people out of the way the second his small brown eyes landed on Jean and the bloodied Historia in his arms.
"Out of the way!" He bellowed, shoving people and making way for Jean and Alex to push through. The raven haired soldier reached up to Jean, grasping to Historia's limp wrist and pinching two fingers against the joint.
"Her heartbeat is too low," Alex muttered as they pushed through people and finally within the safety of the hallways. People were running, this way and that while soldiers rushed in, some of them already bearing their 3DMG on their hips as they ushered guests out of the ruined dining hall. So many people were wounded and were being rushed to the infirmary. Alex's narrow eyes tightened before looking back up, brightening when he saw another group of soldiers fast approaching. Jean recognized them as some of the doctors and staff that worked the infirmary, he could feel some relief knowing that they were here.
"Lieutenant Alfons!" Alex exclaimed, urging Jean quickly toward a man with dirty blond hair and deep-set green eyes. The man looked away from a soldier with a broken wrist, to meet their eyes. Once he saw Historia, he straightened and approached them immediately.
"What's the status?" He asked and Jean nearly shouted with exasperation. Alex beat him to it.
"She's been impaled, sir. Her heartbeat is dangerously low, I'm suspecting some massive hemorrhaging and even internal bleeding. She's non-responsive. If we don't get her to intensive care, she won't last long." The bowl-cut explained, voice shockingly calm despite the shaking in his hands. Jean threw him an impressed glance, but turned back to look at the Lieutenant.
The tall, middle-aged man gave them a rapid series of nods before turning around, "This way," He ordered. "I need six medics with me now! Someone find Lieutenant Briggs and tell her we need space for an emergency operation! I need one-hundred milligrams of…!" Jean stopped paying attention then, looking down to meet Historia's struggling gaze.
"Hold on, Historia. Just hold on, okay?" He said softly, blinking back tears as she gazed off into the distance, unhearing. "Come on, 'Tori, just stay with me, okay? We're going to get you help… just hold on… please…"
Several minutes later the sound of crashes and explosions fell silent, and when Jean had placed Historia's body on a white cot, she had already passed out. Before he could do or say anything more, he was shoved out of a room alone with another soldier, whom held him back as he tried to stay with the blonde woman. In the end, the doors shut, and he could do nothing save collapse to his knees and sob.
"Please… please…" He wept, gripping to his pants and gritting his teeth. He had never felt so useless in all his life. "Please… someone… please…"
This world is so cruel…
There. It is there. I can hear him. He is close… not here.
Where?
Where?
I…
He is there. He is there. I can feel him (hear him? Taste him?) close… somewhere. Only way… must find…
Find…
Find…
Kill… ?—No! Can't, must not—Kill. Destroy… eat… eat…eateateat
Find him. That is the way. Kill—NO!—Eat
Find… him.
Must find him.
Him.
Him.
Him.
Eren…
Footsteps rushed up and down, cries and screams echoed everywhere. For a long moment all she could see was dust, all this dust and falling rocks and flying wood splinters. Someone had shoved her, or maybe it was something because when it hit, it hit her hard enough to send her sprawling to the ground. Something sharp bit into her back and shoulder, but she bit her lip to keep from screaming.
She tasted blood.
Green eyes flickered open, trying to see through the dust and smoke, to make sense of what had happened. Wind whipped and burst around her, shoving dirt and grit into her eyes and mouth, she turned and spit.
Li let out a hard grunt, noting the sharp pain in her shoulder didn't ebb, but further got worse and when she reached up to feel what was causing it, her fingers met a thick sliver of glass. Pain reverberated through her, inching through her side and stabbing her back. Swearing brutally under her breath, Li pushed herself up to her elbows, wincing when something caught on her hair and forced her to stay down.
Looking up, she saw that a thick strand of her auburn hair was caught within a huge beam of wood, just inches away and reminding her how close she came to certain death. Reaching with her good hand, she grabbed the strand and yanked against the wood, grunting when it ripped free to fall against her sweat drenched cheek. Fingers reached to wipe the sweat away, but when she saw them, they came back stained a fierce red.
"Great," She groaned, and tried to find the source—it was the throbbing pain above her brow and near her scalp. Hot and slippery, she tried to see how deep it was, but it didn't seem to be more than a flesh wound. "A flesh wound that fucking hurts."
Looking up and away from the beam of wood (it appeared like it had been a part of the main doors) Li felt her throat clench upon seeing the body of the priest, half of it crushed against the gazebo, blood pouring between his open mouth and wide unseeing eyes.
Her stomach dipped and she looked away, fighting the urge to retch when she saw more bodies crushed beneath the roof of the gazebo. The entire structure had been crushed by a huge piece of debris, killing all who were within it.
Glancing down, Li tried to think straight, trying to pick herself up and dust her ruined dress off. She couldn't, a fierce trembling rushed through her limbs, making the shard sticking through her shoulder feel like it was being dug deeper. A small cry of pain was yanked from her throat, and she was reaching again to grab the stabbing object. Once, twice, Li tried to pull but the pain was so strong she could do nothing but bite back screams and blink away tears.
Another crash sounded, more screams rose and she could feel the ground shake with every thunderous thud that echoed ahead of her. Auburn hair whipped around her cheeks, and grazed her collarbone where she felt a long gash bleed and stain the lilac of her bodice. Blinking up, Li tried to find someone, anyone else beside her. All she saw was debris, gore, and massive hands that could belong to no one else but a Titan rake through the chaos. Ahead, she could see large blue eyes and blonde hair, a small smile lifting the lips of the beast ahead.
Li felt her eyes well up. Hot, angry tears fell down her smoke covered cheeks and burning down to her neck, drying when another gust of wind blew through the cracks of the huge opening that was now the entrance. "Why…" She whispered, gritting her teeth as she clenched her fists over her skinned knees. "Why…"
She watched, helplessly, while the female titan plucked a woman in her grasp. The Military Police emblem stained with bright crimson on her back as she struggled in the Titan's grasp. As if tossing nothing else than a doll, the Titan threw the woman's body to the side. Li saw her body flail as it fell to the ground out of sight, her screams ending abruptly.
"Why can't you bastards just DIE?!" Li screeched, feeling her rage feed her bones life and she stood to her feet, grimacing when she felt the shard send white hot jolts of pain through her back. Never before did she wish she had her gear with her as much as she did now.
She took a step, feeling something in her spine pinch and the result ended up making her left leg feel numb. Li nearly collapsed, lifting her good arm to grab onto the nearest bit of rubble to steady herself. The broken stone bit at her palms, Li shoved herself back to her feet.
"… L… Li… Hanna…" The voice hit her with the force of a million knives, cold and disastrous. Li froze, disbelieving as she listened, hoping that it was a figment of her rage-muddled imagination. The wind howled before dying, screams and cries fading as she tried to focus.
No.
"Hanna… Hanna…" She heard again, and Li began to move, spurred by panic and fear, rage dying like the wind. Limping, she pushed on, trying to find the source of the voice and its quiet sobbing. No, no, God. Please, no…
"Li…" The voice came again, to the right! Li stumbled forward, feeling blood drip hot down her back. The pinch in her back only felt tighter, like someone were pulling her nerves harder, and harder. "Hanna…"
Another tremor and Li fell to her knees, crying out when her shin hit rock and felt the skin scrap against stone and splintered wood. Relentless, Li moved again, pushing herself and shoving herself passed pools of blood, shattered chairs and dust covered flower petals. Through the dust, Li searched frantically, green eyes scanning what she could in search of the source, hoping that it wasn't as bad.
She's going to be fine… When I see her, she's going to be okay. She's going to be alright. Please… please… please!
"Li…"
She heard again, and looked down before letting out a choked wail, "No!" Scrambling over uneven ground and loose stones, Li ignored the screams of her shoulder, hurrying to get to the crushed body of her sister. A huge piece of glass had sliced through Riza's chest, wood and stone crushing her body from the waist down. Blood was pooling beneath her and the pool spread slowly. The younger Dorinski was gazing up at the ceiling, blood bubbling against her lips, tears fell from her eyes in wet trails down her temples, mingling with blood from a cut on her cheek.
As soon as she was close, Li collapsed, feeling her body shake as she crawled closer to the auburn haired woman on the ground. "Hanna…" Riza wheezed in a tiny voice, broken with fear and sadness.
"I'm here," Li said, lifting bloodied fingers to part dust peppered auburn hair out of the girl's forehead, tears fell down her eyes without restraint. "I'm here, Ri', I'm here."
"It hurts, Hanna…" Riza whimpered, fingers slowly lifting from her bloodied chest, wavering. Li lifted a shaky hand to grip the girl's hand, it felt so cold beneath her rage-heated flesh. "Hanna… my chest hurts…"
Li bit back a sob, feeling the pressure of the tremors and her sister's grave wound send her chest rattling with numb pain. "I know, Ri'. I know it hurts. You're gonna be okay… I promise."
Riza's green eyes swiveled to meet Li's, faded green on painful green. A small smile quirked the dying girl's lips, "Liar."
Li felt a laugh burst through her lips, grief-stricken and hysterical. "I know, I know. I shouldn't lie…" She said, but Riza's eyes were looking away, up above.
"I'm sorry…" Riza whispered and Li's heart caved into the hole that was her stomach.
"No, no," Li begged, scooting closer and ignoring the harshness of stone, the cold wind that surrounded them and the blood that stained the bottom of her dress. Her blood. Her sister's blood. "Riza, don't. Just hang on, okay? We're going to get you help, you're gonna be fine. Please… don't—FITZ! CONNIE! SOMEONE PLEASE!" She screamed, looking up to see the Titan's hands reach through the entrance, grabbing stone and lifting it, a loud scream burst when the stone lifted.
"Someone!" Li screeched, gripping to her sister's hand and trying to find someone close by. Another crash and someone else screamed—nearby she heard Jean's voice, crowded by footsteps and screams of everyone else.
"Hanna…" Li heard again and she looked back down, to see Riza shaking her head slowly. "It's okay… Hanna…"
No. No, no. Please…
Riza coughed, blood flying from her lips, landing on Li's chest, her jaw. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I made you push us away…"
Is that what she thought? What she believed? "No, Ri', it's not—it wasn't your fault… please, just don't speak, save your breath. I'm going to get you out of here, little sister, so don't you dare leave now!"
But, Riza wasn't listening, she just kept shaking her head, blood dripping down her chin and smearing through her jaw before sinking behind her ear. Li inched closer, lifting her sister's head to cradle between her arms. More crashes, more tremors, more screaming… this was hell.
"Come on, Ri', I'm here. I'm not leaving you again. I'm going to save you, just like I promised mama. I'm going to keep you safe…" But the words came out shaking, torn by hiccups and sobs of grief. Li knew it was too late. Her sister was dying.
And there was nothing she could do.
"You haven't… called me that… since we were little… Hanna…" Riza was murmuring now, a soft gasp leaving her chest in what once would have been a chuckle, the light in her once vibrant green eyes fading. In her arms, Li didn't see the soldier she had trained in her squad, she didn't see the ridiculous woman who poured over romance books and sighed behind Fitz's back and stared longingly at his frame. Instead, Li saw the little girl whom had gasped so loudly, cheered with a squeal when she had brought her the basket of ribbons. Saw the little girl who spun in vibrant dresses and begged her to play dolls. She saw the girl who had cried when Li walked out the door, bag packed and hoisted behind her back. "Don't go, Hanna! Please, Papa didn't mean it! Please, don't leave me alone!"
"I'm not going anywhere…" Li whispered, lifting her sister's head to her chest, cradling her broken cheek and running trembling fingers through her auburn hair, now dirtied and stained with blood.
"…Don't tell… Lidi…" Riza's body gave a sudden violent lurch, and the heat of blood spread further and further. When Riza's body finally fell limp, her eyes were still open, gazing into the broken sky above them and the last remains of a smile faded with the breath that ended past crimson stained lips.
"Ri…?!" Li gasped, "Riza?!" She shook her trying to get her baby sister to look at her again, but Riza's eyes didn't move, her lips didn't mutter any more words. "Riza, don't stay quiet now! Please, Riza?! Riza?! Riza, say something! Anything!"
Nothing… and the realization that her sister had gone swelled her chest with such a horrid pain… no words could explain the length of this failure, the agony that flowed pins and needles, acid and ice through her soul.
"Riza, I'm sorry…! Riza, please… don't go…!" Tears fell like rain from her eyes, landing on Riza's cold cheek and landing in soft thuds against the corner of her lips. She felt so cold… no matter how hard she begged… Riza was gone.
"Riza!" Li sobbed, rocking back and forth as she held her sister's head in her arms, wishing to take back all the years she had treated her coldly, wishing to go back in time and run back into that little girl's arms and promise not to leave. She wished she could go back and sit next to her sister while she ate lunch alone, punch the lights out of all the soldiers that had teased her for her height. She had thought she had been doing her a favor… teaching her to be stronger… but she had only further caused her sister pain.
A low wail burst from her throat, filling her as she tossed her head back and screamed to the air above. Oh, mama… Please forgive me…
"Li?!" She heard, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered. Riza was gone. Her sister was dead. She had been powerless, she had done nothing… and because of that Riza would never come back, would never squeal or get on her nerves… Riza was gone… she was gone…
"Li, what's going on?!" She heard, and the voice made her want to die.
"Go away, Fitz!" Li screamed, shielding her sister's head away. Footsteps approached and she heard a gasp, before a thud. When she looked up, Fitz had fallen to his knees, his wide amber eyes staring at Riza's body—shocked.
"Get out of here," Li barked, "It's not safe! Get somewhere safe!"
"Li…" He breathed, staring at Riza's bloodied face with a look of profound agony. "Is she…? It can't be…"
"GO!" Li shrieked, reaching for anything to throw at him, but he was already looking into her eyes, filled with tears.
"But…Riza…" He protested, shaking his head, the wild brown locks of his hair shaking with the wind. He was cradling his arm, obviously broken. Li shook her head again, blinking away tears and baring her teeth at the idiot.
She snapped, "Riza is dead!" Fitz flinched, recoiling at her harsh tone. "Now get out of here."
"I can't leave you behin—,"
"That's an order, cadet!" she snarled, and Fitz let out a small exclamation when the ground beneath them shook again. "You can't help me even if you tried, not with that broken arm… now leave! Don't make me say it again!" Fitz's eyebrows knitted over his forehead, tears falling from his eyes as he looked back at the fallen woman in Li's lap before nodding once.
Squeezing amber eyes tight, he stood and ran off, not looking back once. Another breeze struck her as Li looked back down to her sister's face. Lifting a hand, she softly pushed away straying locks of hair from her baby sister's face, lifting bloody fingers to gently close her sister's eyes. Through the crashes and destruction, Li felt a small memory reach the front of her mind. It was one of their youth, when they had gone with their mother to the funeral of a young boy that died of disease. The boy's older brother had sang a song during the ceremony, soft and beautiful… the words never left her and as she gazed into her sister's pale face, felt it more appropriate now than ever…
"P…Prosti menya, myaldshiy sestrenka…" Li shuddered out the words, voice breaking over the notes as she tried to sing her sister goodbye. "Ya tak pred toboy vinovat. Pyitatsya vernut' nyelzya. Togo, chto vzyala zyemlya."
Another crash and dust fell over her head, but Li didn't care, didn't mind the pebbles that struck her shoulders and made her wound ache. That pain was nothing. That pain she could handle… that pain was nothing…
The words continued to fall from her lips, shuddering and tiny as she hiccupped, caressing Riza's head as she rocked back and forth, "Kto znayet zakon Byitiya, pomog byi mne nayti otvet. Zhestoko oshibsya ya; Ot smerti lekarstva nyet."
Footsteps rushed close, then faded as Li cried, feeling the pain settle within her throat where it refused to escape despite her cries. It's too late… It's too late…
"Li!" She heard. Her shoulder lifted in an uncaring shrug, but a fierce zing of agony ripped through the movement, making her cry out and clench fingers against Riza's face. Footsteps neared and she felt hands grab her around the ribs, pulling at her. Li shook off the hands, ignoring the biting pain of her shoulder.
"Let me go!" She shouted, lifting tear-stained eyes angrily into a pair of wide amber eyes, blood caked the side of his face. Connie looked down before his mouth set in a grim line, eyes finding Riza's head on her lap, much like Fitz had done just a moment ago… or was it hours? Li didn't care.
"Li, we have to leave," Connie spoke, voice soft but firm. Li shook her head, gripping tighter to her sister's head.
"I'm not going anywhere, I promised…" She snapped, hating the hysterical edge that shattered beneath her chest and made her tremble. "I promised her I wouldn't leave. I promised, Connie."
"I'm sorry," He said, grave. "I'm so sorry…"
Li felt a rage unlike any she had ever felt, fill her, making her blood feel like acid in her veins, forcing her limbs to move. Sharply, she tossed her wounded arm up to slap him, but the limb only barely rose before the pain was too much, "Shut up."
"It's too dangerous, here, Li." Connie said, looking into her eyes, calm… focused. It made her want to kill him.
"I said I am not leaving her!" To her surprise, Connie looked away and for a moment she thought he would get up and leave like Fitz did. Instead, he threw a hand up to her shoulder, grasped it around the thick piece of glass that was embedded in her skin and gave it a violent yank. Li let out a shriek of agony, feeling her arm go numb and feel like it had been lit on fire, blood ran down her arm and in this moment of weakness, Connie grabbed her round her waist and pulled her away from Riza's corpse.
"No!" She screamed, thrashing in his hold when he curled an arm under her legs. "Put me down! I'll kill you, I'll kill you!"
"I'm sorry," He said again, pressing her tight against his chest, forcing her head to rest between his shoulder and neck. "I'm so sorry…"
"Riza!" Li's shouts turned hysterical, crushing her throat as she tried and tried in vain to return to her sister. She sobbed, watching the unresponsive body of the auburn haired woman get further and further away. She was gone… I promised! I promised! "Riza—Riza… No, no… Riza!"
Another crash and she saw a piece of rubble from above fall, crushing the last of Riza out of sight, Li hid her face then, digging her nose against Connie's neck as she wailed, trembling with agony and failure…
It was too late.
Agonized and livid, Li looked up over Connie's shoulder, glowering hatefully at the hands that searched through the rubble, the blue eyes that stared without comprehensible expression and the small smile that enraged the blood in her veins. Suddenly, the Female Titan's hands stopped, her eyes widening before pulling away and looking somewhere outside the ruined dining hall. In the distance, they could both hear the whirring of gear and see several hooks fly into the air, latching against the Titan's skin as soldiers flew into the air.
Li's eyes watched, taking in with horrid rage how the Female Titan grasped at the lines and wire, yanking them off her skin and throwing the screaming soldiers out of the way, with the same attitude one would have for swatting flies.
"What is she…?!" She heard Connie exclaim, slowing to turn them around and watch. "Annie…"
Annie stood, massive body rising from her crouched position before turning around, sunlight bouncing off her hair and without another glance back, began to run off. Her footsteps shook the ground, sending tremors through the castle and making the weakest parts of the ceiling cave. Connie let out a yelp but turning around and ran as the roar of stones falling cast them in a plume of dust.
Li felt her fingers dig within his jacket, eyes averting as dust and dirt fell around them, holding back the urge to scream as the motions jostled her wounds and hurt her chest. Connie didn't stop running and they moved ever faster, jumping over beams and swerving around stone before finally reaching the door.
People were scarce now, wailing and crying as the castle walls shook. They didn't stop, Connie shoved his way past people while Li bit her lips, wishing this would all just end.
Seconds later, the roaring stopped, the walls remained standing and the cries soon faded. Connie panted heavily, but he didn't stop. Li kept her gaze covered against his shirt, shuddering as he slowed and trying to hold back her weeping once he set her down on what must've been a cot.
"Li…" Connie spoke softly after an eternity of silence between them. She didn't bother holding back.
"I'm going to kill her…! I swear to god, Connie… I'm going to kill her for this! I'll kill her!"
Connie said nothing as she ranted, kept his eyes downcast when she pushed him away and felt the hands of medics reach and press her flat on her stomach. Even so, Li cried, sobbing until she could feel no more tears, feel no more pain.
And in the chaos that surrounded her, Li cast her heart in vengeance, plotting and enduring the seconds that passed until she faded to the black of her mind, picturing her hands ripping swords into Annie's neck before she felt nothing more but the desire to avenge her sister's death.
"Why…?" The word was soft… a supplication. A need to understand… it fell on deaf ears and a deafening realization that the answer would not come on its own volition. Through the destruction, the rain of stone and dust, dodging hail of glass and piercing slivers of metal, Levi tore through the chaos. In his arms, he held Armin, firm against his chest while the youth succumbed to shock and grief.
"Why…?" The question came again, and the Captain had to squeeze his eyes shut at the pain of being unable to offer the answer his comrade and friend suffered the loss of his wife over. Only… she wasn't his wife. She had almost been his wife… they had been so close to marriage. So close.
Levi didn't know what was crueler, the fact that the wedding was cut so horribly short before they had become husband and wife… or the simple notice that Historia was most likely dead.
Dodging obstacles and scattering people, Levi tried to locate an exit, snarling under his breath when an immense piece of debris nearly killed them—forcing him to double back and find another route in the midst of metal and blood.
Armin had been difficult, though Levi couldn't possibly blame him. The raven haired man had honestly tried to pull attention away from the disaster. After the initial explosion and parting of dust through wind, Levi had been the first to see her… Historia pinned and impaled by a large beam of metal, bleeding and unconscious. He tried to see her, further, realizing that the steel had gone through her side and that even if he did have his equipment—there would be no way he would be able to get that piece of rubble off of her in time.
Levi had to make a call—he had to place the safety of Armin first, make sure he would survive and that the rest of his time would as well (Oh god, Mikasa… please be alright.) He wasn't too worried, however…
In the moments before the explosion, the very first tremor had been enough to alarm him. He had glanced up, listening to the howl of the wind as his eyes met Erwin's through the space, scowling when he saw the man's face contort into an expression of suspicion… then ultimately, horror.
The moment he did, Levi turned his attention to the windows above, he knew that there was possibly nothing else that could be wrong.
Stunned, he watched along with everyone else as the immense figure of the Female Titan peered through the glass—wide blue eyes looking over the congregation before pulling away. Years of training, of honing the ability to foresee disaster made him snap when the stare had been broken. He turned, and looked across the space to Erwin's eyes—he was looking right back, a fierce expression pushing the blue into razor sharp azure and they came to an instant understanding.
Save Historia.
But, the millisecond they looked away, Levi was confronted with the wide eyed gaze of his beloved. Mikasa looked like someone had punched her in the gut, pale, frightened—the plan fell apart then, Levi wanted nothing more than to rush to her side and make sure she got out safe… but time was against him and there were only a couple of people he could reach.
Screams rose in a cacophony of terror, people rose out of seats to escape when Annie's arm poised itself in a fist just above the windows.
Levi felt his stomach fall as his body careened through the mere couple of yards that separated him from the blond couple. He grabbed the arm nearest to him—Armin—and thought that he still held on to Historia.
He hadn't.
Over his shoulder, Levi saw Erwin, rushing to the nearest person he could get—Mikasa—and was grabbing her around the waist, eager to escape. That was all he saw before a cloud of dust, screeching metal and shattering glass assaulted them and the tremors of stone shaking swallowed the screams and howls from the people within the building.
It was too late.
Something flew past his cheek, severing the skin of his face and the sting and heat nearly made him lose focus. Only, Levi was a veteran. He had survived all these years because he had seen horrors and had acted when everyone else froze… yet… on this day…
They received yet another grim reminder…
That no matter how much one could be prepared, physically, mentally… life was a damn fragile thing and it would break despite the strength they possessed. In their world, not everyone survived. Today, Levi saw that painted in the blood of Historia… the girl he had once berated for weakness, and watched her rise stronger than ever when they understood each other. It was Petra all over again.
"Why…? Annie…" Armin sounded so small, so much like the crying boy of his youth—broken by the loss of his friends and torn by the horrors he'd seen. Levi glanced down at him as he rushed them out of the room as fast as he could, and instantly regretted it.
His eyes had fallen, half-closed in an expression of such profound desolation it forced its way through Levi's throat and scratch at his lungs. He recognized it. He had seen it in his mirror after he had seen Petra's body roll off the cart, seen the way his comrades stared endlessly into the void.
He only hoped that Armin would not fall to the part that usually followed desolation.
"Armin," Levi said after they hid behind a large piece of wood, "Armin, look at me."
He did, and his expression was so wild, so overwhelmed it made the words threaten to cake against Levi's throat. The Captain let out a short cough, blaming dust when his own chest squeezed horribly at the reminder of yet another failure in protecting his family. "You have to run with me."
The boy said nothing, before looking down, eyes falling uselessly against the blood that fell down Levi's left thigh. Rivulets of red coursed down Armin's temple, the head wound looked shallow and so Levi wasn't too worried over it. The wound to his heart, however…
"Armin," Levi said, firmer, "I can't carry you all the way to the exits, you have to run."
Another crash, another screech. Armin looked at his lap, bringing his knees to his face and curling into a ball.
"Armin!"
"I can't... I…"
Levi bit his lip and another crash made dust rain over them, making it hard to see. He felt so tired all of a sudden… Reaching up, Levi grabbed the blond man's face into his hands, lifting his eyes back over to his—he didn't want to see this expression, but he had no choice. "Armin, you can weep for her later, but for now you have to live! She would want you to live!"
"…I'm already dead."
The words stunned him, made his hands nearly falter away as if Armin had burned him. Instead of pulling away, Levi felt rage swirl from the bottom of his stomach. It rose like bile, poison and something putrid that made him want to explode into violent action and when he glanced up, he saw her. Annie was raking large fingers through the hole, pushing debris away as she looked over the destruction.
He saw them. Saw their bodies. Saw her body.
Felt the same rage fill him. Make him see red. Make him want to rip blood into the air, sink blades into those wretched blue eyes of hers and keep the promises of torture he had pressed over her scalp so long ago into a more horrid reality than ever before.
Twice this bitch had taken his squad, his family, and left them in ruins.
Fool me once…
Twice, she had ripped his happiness apart and for all he knew—and wished most fervently against—Mikasa could be taken from him… just like Petra…
The rage rose, it rose like a hurricane. He wanted her blood. He would avenge his comrades, he would avenge Petra, Auruo, Erd, and Gunther. He would avenge Historia and all those she had killed with a smile. He would make her blood spill if it was the last thing he would do.
But he couldn't do this by abandoning Armin to the fate of despair.
I'll come back for you, Titan Whore. Levi thought loathingly and tore his narrowed eyes from the gaping hole and back toward Armin.
"I'm sorry for this," Levi said once. Armin glanced up, eyebrows furrowing before his eyes rolled to the back of his head. The strike was hard enough to knock him out, and it would bruise, but a bruise was better than certain death. Pushing him over his shoulder, Levi let out a sharp grunt (kid got heavy in the past few years) and set his jaw. Hoisting himself back on his feet, he secured Armin over his shoulders. One arm gripped the unconscious man's arm, the other held to his legs and with a determined huff of air, Levi began to move as quickly as he could around rubble and death.
As he ran, Levi listened.
He listened to each scream and wail that pierced the dirt covered air. He listened to each cry and supplication, each shout for help and each howl of pain. He counted each one.
He counted each body he saw, each puddle of blood, each pair of eyes that stared emptily into nothingness. He counted and kept count, kept the tally clear in his mind.
He kept counting long after he had finally made it through the exit of the escaping throngs of the injured and frightened. He counted each wound, each life taken. The number flew, kept flying and in the dark of Levi's mind, he gave that number swords, and prepped it for battle.
One way or another, Annie would taste his blade and vengeance.
It has long been overdue.
There was a vicious ringing in the back of his head. Some kind of pulsing and agonizing press of something on his arm and back… For a long and disorienting moment, he had no idea where he was. The ringing continued, spreading through his head and down his neck, tightening jaw muscles to such an extreme, the thought of his teeth shattering passed… and faded.
The air stunk of metal and rust. The scent of rock and dust shoved knives up his nostrils and made breathing feel like a brush with death, but something kept him from allowing himself to fade to the deep recesses of his mind. So tired… just sleep. But, he couldn't.
The ringing grew louder, his body vibrating in erratic rhythms and a sudden press against his spine made everything slam back into a reality he wasn't entirely prepared for. The sensation was not unlike being thrown in a pool of syrup only to be yanked out of its hold, and as Erwin struggled to right himself in the situation, his mind still felt like it was dripping with molasses. Sluggish, slow, muddled…
When he came too, his eyes were tearing up, blinking rapidly and feeling grit stab in tiny prickles. A fierce cough shook his chest, scraping at his throat and forcing his head forward. He winced, and when he looked down, realized why his arm was being squeezed in a vice of pins and needles.
A dark head of ink-black hair rested on the crook of his shoulder, further south he saw slanted eyes—closed—a thin, button nose and plump pink lips. The scar under her eye was bruised, while another cut (almost perfectly placed on the opposite side of her face) now marred the skin. Blood had once flowed freely, now oozed slowly and stained her cheek and dribbled into her hair.
Mikasa…
Erwin looked up and tried to see where they were, and gasped. Just hovering above them sat an immense piece of broken wall, a jagged edge of window hung above his head like a menacing stalactite. Blue eyes peered away and back down at the unconscious woman in his arms. Slowly, he rose an arm, hissing out in pain when his elbow sent jolts of white hot agony up his arm and neck. He could still move it, so it must've been bruised. Erwin began to seek out a pulse, not able to hear her breaths through the dust falling and crashes still moving around them.
Trembling fingers finally met the junction of her jaw and throat, seeking the soft spot of her pulse and when he found it, Erwin held his breath. A moment passed, then another…
Finally he sighed, relieved when he felt her heartbeat, steady and strong.
"You wouldn't let a disaster kill you even if you tried," He chuckled and let his hand roam down her collar and beneath her breasts. It was safe to bet her dress was ruined. The fabric was completely torn and filthy from top to bottom, ripped by her hip and legs. All over her open skin he could see numerous cuts and bruises, gashes that bled and stained her clothes and made her look close to death.
Her knees were skinned, her elbows and palms bleeding. There was a particularly long gash that spread on her back that worried him, but Erwin knew that they wouldn't do any better if they didn't get out from under this piece of rubble.
It was a miracle they even survived… but at this point, Erwin stopped counting miracles.
None of this should have occurred…
"Who could've done this…?" He muttered to himself, but let the thoughts perish as he looked ahead and tried to find a way out. When he moved, he felt the sting on his spine shoot back up and he let out a short cry of pain. The hell?
"…Erwin?!" the Commander's head shot up, nearly hitting his skull on stone before searching for the source of the voice. He glanced up and saw a pair of legs, shoeless and bloodied, but looking alright.
"Down here!" He croaked and let out another sharp cough, his back screamed in protest.
Those legs moved and appeared around the boulder pining him down. Craning his head up he felt his heart settle easily in his chest. "Rico…!" He breathed, happy to see she was alright. Bloodied, bruised and cradling her shoulder, but alright. Silver eyes met his, mirroring the relief he felt and saw a small smile light its way through her lips.
"Thank God," she muttered before moving closer. "I thought you died! I saw the boulder land on you and Mikasa. You should be dead."
Erwin shook his head, grimacing, "Nope, I'm very much alive. We both are."
Rico nodded, before ducking—another crash filled the room, someone screamed and suddenly the crashes shook the ground… then again… then again… each time fading with every passing moment.
"What's happening?" He asked, trying to lift himself to his elbow. The pain on his back intensified, narrowing to a specific point and making him bite down to hold back from screaming.
"The Titan," Rico spoke again, her voice coming out harsh and filled with venom. "It's leaving."
Erwin narrowed his gaze, feeling something drip down his forehead, whether it was blood or sweat, he didn't know. "Did she grab anyone, do you see her?"
Rico's eyebrows furrowed before she straightened and looked around the stone, after a moment she returned, shaking her head. "She got away. I can't tell, but… it looked like her hands weren't carrying anyone."
Erwin nodded, sighing while his brain worked to understand Rico's report. The pain was too much, making it hard to think, to breathe… he needed to get out from under the boulder. "How hurt are you?" Rico's voice came again. Erwin focused on his body for a second. Legs felt fine, as were his toes… his hips were aching and his back was seriously in pain… but all else… he was fine.
"Mild," Erwin grunted, trying to shift further, but stopped when the pain on his back shot up, shooting pain through his legs and making them feel strangely numb. "I think something happened to my back…"
Rico's eyes widened, "Can you move?"
He nodded, "Yes, I should be able to…"
The silver haired woman gave another sigh before glancing down at the woman in his arms, her eyes narrowed, "She's not…?"
"No, no," Erwin shook his head, feeling several strands of his hair fall over his forehead. "She's unconscious. I was able to shield her through most of it."
Rico nodded again before kneeling down and moving gingerly toward them. Erwin watched, strangely fascinated with the way her eyes gleamed, serious and determined, the way her silver hair fell around her cheeks. Up close, he could see her lower lip had been split, and made the bit of flesh burn an angry red. Rico's tongue darted out over the wound as she moved close enough to grab on to Mikasa.
"Alright, let's get you two out of here…" Rico said, her hand reaching over to them. Erwin extended his arm toward her, nudging at Mikasa's head as he tried to reach, but something must've happened because no sooner did their hands brush that a stream of dust fell over them. Rico flinched, glancing up at the rock that encompassed them when her eyes landed on the large bit of stone and glass that hung like the teeth of a guillotine.
She swore, urging a chuckle from Erwin's throat. Despite this, he reached again and their fingers brushed. Rico snapped out of it and looked back at Erwin, scowling. "Erwin, I don't think I can get you two out of here on my own."
He frowned, and looked back up. She was right.
"No…" He sighed after a moment. "No, I don't think so either. One of your shoulders is injured, right?"
"It got dislocated during the initial attack," She replied, sounding so mechanical despite nursing a wound. "I managed to get it back into place before I found you… it's still pretty useless. I don't think I'll be able to sustain much weight on it…"
"Can you get Mikasa?" He asked, glancing back down at the unconscious girl. Rico tightened her lips in a thin line before nodding, she lifted a hand to her glasses—one of the lenses harbored a long crack down the side—and pushed them up the bridge of her nose.
She leaned closer, pressing her weight on her knees before grabbing the nearest thing she could get to, which was Mikasa's arm, and gave a slow pull. "Probably not the best time to…tell you…" She panted as she pulled. The raven haired woman's body was slowly dragged off Erwin's arm and he gave a sigh of relief when he felt the circulation return over his limb. "But…I sent your… little message along to the Commander. Not a bad little stunt."
"Not the best time," Erwin agreed.
Rico smiled darkly, "Was that kiss of yours a stunt too or did you really mean it?"
The question made him look up at her, stumped. Rico didn't seem to want to look at him, "Major Harke approached me… said a few things that bothered me."
Erwin felt a surge of panic nearly fill him—there's no way she saw him and Hanji. The last thing he needed was Rico refusing to work with him because of his relationship with the scientist—schooling his features, Erwin let his eyebrows fall into a scowl. "What things?"
"I believed I asked a question first…" She said, and her lips turned into a smile that was both lovely and biting. He didn't think that was even possible…
Erwin bit down on his lip, feigning pain as he tried to gather his mind enough to give her a proper answer. Should I lie, or tell the truth? But… what was the truth?
He would be lying to Rico if he said that he had meant to kiss her, to demonstrate sentiment… but, he would be lying to himself if he said that it was merely a ruse. Perhaps, it had started off that way. But… after losing Hanji, was it so bad to have something to lean against? Rico hasn't been a bad support so far, in fact, she's been nearly exactly what Erwin needed to cope against the solitude and the loneliness.
That realization alone nearly made him feel sick to his stomach.
"I meant it," He said, and thought the words would come out monotonous, empty. Instead, they didn't, they carried some kind of emotional weight that actually sounded genuine. Rico didn't seem to expect this. He didn't either. "I wouldn't use you like that, Rico…" see that… that was the lie.
Rico paused for a moment, staring at his blue eyes as if she were trying to tell apart the truth from the lie. She kept going, dragging Mikasa's unconscious frame until she could wrap her arms beneath the girl's underarms. To his relief, the matter seemed to have been put to rest as she said nothing else.
That is… until she looked back into his eyes, "I sent your message within the book I had."
"Did you read it?"
"No."
He didn't expect her to, but something in the way she met his gaze made the word feel easy… too easy being spoken. He had no choice but to believe her, for now.
"Thank you, Rico." He said and just like that she pulled away enough to disappear out of sight for a moment. Several minutes later a large group of soldiers appeared at Rico's insistence. By then, Erwin had dozed off, his head aching while the soldiers hoisted and shoved the boulder up and away just enough for him to get dragged out. When his back met open ground, he breathed out a sigh of relief that turned into a cry of pain.
"What's wrong?!" One of them shouted and Rico was at his side in moments, pulling him to see. At that point, he was seeing in splotches and his breathing felt more laborious. All he saw was the way her face darkened.
"He's wounded." She stated. "We need to get him into the infirmary immediately. Get a stretcher, and one of you find me Captain Levi!"
"What about Ackerman?"
Ackerman… "Don't tell them, Erwin."
"You should tell her."
"I don't need that brat clinging to me like she clings to Eren."
"She'll find out sooner or later."
Levi's eyes narrowed, "Then let it be later."
So strange… of all memories to bring up… why that one? Erwin didn't know, finding it harder to stay away even as he felt Rico's hands hold to his shoulders, caressing his back in soothing strokes. She believed me.
"Her wounds are not as serious, but I'm not liking that bump on her head. One of you take her up, find the Lieutenant in charge of the infirmary and explain the situation… I'll wait here with the Commander, but we need that stretcher now."
"Yes, ma'am."
Footsteps came and went, and Erwin let his eyes fall close, feeling cold and numb and the way Rico's hands rubbed his skin even as he drifted. In the dark of his mind, Erwin could hear them. He could still hear the wailing. It reminded him of his mother.
There was a buzzing in her ears… like a roar of angry bees, or the sound of trees being whipped about in a flurry of wind and rage. Her skin didn't prickle with the stinging of pain, and her hair remained still beneath her scalp, nevertheless the roar did not cease. Despite all predisposition and evidence to the contrary, she could feel the urge to wave her arms around her to dispel the angry insects from tearing into her flesh. It seemed like the most sense of reasons as to why she kept hearing such a horrid sound.
It didn't occur to her until later, that she should've been concerned more about the fact she couldn't see… or that her body felt like it had been thrown several times against a cement wall.
When it did… All Mikasa could do was scream.
She didn't remember how long she screamed, only that her voice grated on her ears as much as the roaring in her head did, and when she did feel like her body was being touched, she tried very hard to fight back.
There was just… so… much… pain.
Voices came, and voices went, finally her body seemed to remember what hands felt like, and clothing.
"Get them off, please!" She howled, wondering why these bees seemed to care more about holding her down than stinging her. Voices… just voices… and suddenly, they weren't bees anymore. The bees were gone, the whipping was gone.
"Mikasa," She heard, clear as day and clear as everything that made sense and was right in this perfect, cruel little world. She could feel his hands on her skin—like a balm to a burn. Feel how they grasped at her face, her neck—lifting her head to press her forehead to his (because she knew it was his. Desperately, she let her hands do the searching for him, even if her eyes could not.
"Levi," Mikasa nearly sobbed with relief. "Levi, Levi… Levi…"
She could breathe his air, smell his scent, rough and bloodstained, but still refreshing and safe. He was close, breathing in slow patterns that lured her into following, like when her blood was rushing and he knew she needed to relax. In just moments, Mikasa could feel the pounding and the roar settle in her skin and cool down to a slow simmer—the only simmer that counted.
"It's alright," He spoke again, she trusted him. She couldn't see, and she trusted him.
"I can't see…why…?"
"Hanji's people…" He began, his thumb caressing the apples of her cheeks in rhythm with his words. "Some of the dust in the explosion got in your eyes, they said. They had to put a solution in your eyes to avoid infection and help them heal. They said this is normal. You'll be alright."
She believed him. It was all she could do.
"What… what happened, how long have I been out?" She spoke again, her throat expelling words with a fierce croak that made her wheeze. He pulled away for a moment and she missed his absence instantly, but when he returned, he was lifting her head and pressing a smooth surface to her lip and pressing water down her parted mouth. The liquid was as soothing as his presence, calming the last of her hysteria and granting a clarity she desperately needed.
It was a curious sensation; the way the water rushed from her mouth, down her throat and into her belly. It was soft, like cool fingers running down through each worn fiber and nerve ending.
"Annie hit and run our little wedding."
"…Wait, we…?"
"Armin's wedding, Mikasa."
She nodded, lifting a few digits to caress his face. With each lift of muscle, a sharp ache followed, but it didn't matter to her. She wanted to touch him.
"I know that. I meant…" She paused, scowling when her fingers met a long strip of gauze spread against his cheek. "You're hurt."
"A scratch," she could feel his breath hit her lips as he chuckled mirthlessly. "Hardly reason enough to get a cot all to myself. Besides, now we match." Her lips twitched in an amused quirk, more so when his index finger found the ridge of scar below her right eye and traced it softly. It was hard to ignore his twisted sense of humor, even now he could make her smile.
"I could scoot over if you want." Levi gave her a short grin; she knew, she could feel it in the way his fingers moved across her face and the way his nose brushed hers.
"You need to rest," he replied, his breath grazing closer to her lips when she felt him tilt his chin forward before her lips were being pressed against in a tight kiss. Warmth rushed through her body at velocities that rivaled and matched the high she got from flying through trees. When he pulled away, she wanted nothing more than to pull him back against her. "Besides," he added and she could feel the smirk growing against her mouth, "You're still mad at me."
"Not anymore…" She whispered in return, hands trembling. "God, I almost lost you…"
"It will take more than a simple building crumbling down to rip us apart," he kissed her again and effectively silencing the growing hysteria the revelation brought. "I didn't fight you and the rest of the world to lose to a flying piece of debris, got that? Anyway, what did you mean?"
Mikasa didn't say anything for a moment, just savored the feeling of his thumbs brushing away the stray tears that escaped her defenses and fell down her temples. His question confused her until she remembered the train of thought that had been derailed by the discovering of his new face wound. A breath filtered in her lips and he was pulling away. A wave of strange exhaustion flowed through her muscles, stopping any movements of protest, but his hand had found berth against hers and so her protests fell with a single sigh.
"I meant," She said, clearing her throat. "Annie—a woman we were convinced was dead—punched a hole through this wedding, my best friend's wedding, and we just…" his hand gave hers a soft squeeze, and even though she was still seeing dark, she shut her eyes. "…We're better than this and we froze. Now, we're stuck cleaning up bodies and rubble while she's…"
There was a moment of silence, pressed between their palms and hidden in every breath they shared. After a few seconds, Mikasa was able to fully recognize the roar that had bothered her previously; it was simply the chatter and far off cries of fellow victims of the attack, echoing behind the closed door of her current location… where was that anyway?
"We're going to get her," Levi swore, softly and almost inaudible over the distant cries of the physically and emotionally wounded. It was at this moment that Mikasa could feel a tingling in her eyes and when she blinked open, she could already begin to notice shapes, blurs, and the faint hint of color. Relief poured through her at gaining the slow grasp of sight, but the dark tone of Levi's declaration dampened whatever inkling to anything more may have brought. She turned her head, just slightly to face the direction of his voice, scent, and presence. Through the thick soup that was the slow return to her vision, Mikasa could distinguish him immediately.
His hair was skewed and sticking in odd angles, cheek covered in gauze while brushes of black and purple stained his temple, under side of his jaw, and deep into his collarbone. His clothes were worse for wear, ripped and dirtied to a state she knew would be driving him mad, yet he sat so still. Everything about him was statuesque, from his posture to the steadiness of his hands over hers. Mikasa blinked, letting eyelashes flutter against her cheeks as her eyes accepted with eager greediness what view her incoming sight was being given. While the sensation of blinking ached and even felt like she was rubbing sandpaper against her corneas, Mikasa dared not hesitate in seeing him, roaming as much as she could over his frame.
Each scratch, bruise and bandage further fed the anger already stirring in her chest. The reminder that not only was this momentous occasion ruined, but it had been done so while their pants were done and unprepared. Mikasa loathed it, loathed all of it. She knew Levi loathed it more. She could sense it in his stillness, breathe it in and let it coil violence through the strings of her muscles.
It was with a final blink that she was finally able to fully see the power of his gaze. It was not directed at her, but it faced down—this was no simple glare reflecting off the gray of his eyes. This was no look of loathing—one she had seen when they had faced off a certain Captain of Levi's past.
If there was any time to see a titan, or a beast, Mikasa was certain that they would have properly cowered at the sheer strength of ferocity hidden within layers of ice blue and steel gray. This was the man they called the Dragon—and only fools stroke the wrath of Dragons.
"I promise you, Mikasa," the promise was steady and spoken with the same calm she knew would only precede a terrible storm. Levi looked up into her eyes, his fingers tightening over hers as she met his gaze as seriously and as decidedly as she knew only she could give. "It is high time that bitch paid her debt in full."
TBC
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