I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin
"Ymir?"
Ymir groggily opened her eyes. "What have I told you about waking me-"
"They got the woman you wanted," Sasha announced, behind her came the sounds of pained groaning and duct tape being stretched and pulled. A heavy thunk of a wooden chair brought Ymir to reluctantly pull away from Krista; she stretched and scratched her ear. She glanced down at the girl as she too woke up.
"Huh?"
Ymir shook her gently. "Get up."
Sasha retreated back into the hallway, she spoke but her voice was muffled, strangely enough. Ymir left the bed while putting on her shirt, she gave Krista her own and the two left the room together, closely.
In the kitchen she found Reiner sipping on a beer, he pointed one finger and told her,"Got you a gift in the corner."
Her eyes drifted about, then fell upon the woman, Petra, as she was tied to the chair, gagged and bound; her left eye was black and blue, her lip was busted, and her hair was disheveled as much as her once clean suit was. She wearily eyed Ymir, glared at her, and then found Krista; the madness receded as she perked up. Her words drowned away as Bertolt tapped the chair with his foot.
Petra grew silent.
"She's one of my guards," Krista gasped, she drew near her and got to one knee to examine her despite Ymir's protest. "Oh my god, Petra..."
"One of those guys killed Berwick, plus she wouldn't shut up," Reiner explained as he wiped the foam away from his lips. "She's important, thought I'd bring her to you."
"Good job," Ymir praised him, but he held up a hand to stop her.
"We'll give her up if you help us with Annie."
Ymir looked around. Come to think of it, Annie wasn't with them at all. "Where is she?"
"We dunno, she got a hold of Petra for us, said you needed her, then more smoke screens were tossed. Thought she left and we'd meet up, we waited for days but she didn't appear; she's gone now, we need her back. I'd go to Armin for resources, he ain't picking up his phone."
"Easy, I killed him," Ymir admitted with a shrug. "Bastard was working for Scouts. Next best thing is Marco, last I saw him he was hanging with Jean."
Reiner nodded, understanding of his new informant in the world. "We'll go pay him a visit. Here, take her anyway, she might have an idea on how to get Annie back too, use her or something-"
Krista spoke up. "If...if it helps, she's engaged to Levi."
Ymir raised a brow as she clapped hands with Reiner. "Perfect. We got our bait. Consider it done, man."
"Thank you," Bertolt said graciously,"should we get going?"
"Sure, Krista, stay here," Ymir said,"get anything out of Petra for us, anything helpful- don't kill her or hurt her." She turned to Sasha. "Watch them, or you'll wish you're back at Shiganshina's finest red light district."
Sasha feebly laughed. "I hate threats like that."
-...-
Ymir never particularly liked Reiner.
She saw him as a big dumbass, an idiot who can barely tell apart cocktails. His writing his shit, his car was shit, everything about him was shit. But man, he knew how to fight; he and the rest of the workers, Bertolt, Annie, and ex-boss Berwick, were all refugees from the other country, her former home. They kept their birth place quiet but the thirst for blood stemming from their years of fighting made them perfect mercenaries.
She had to respect his sheer strength though she held herself at a higher caliber than him. Before she had done a job with this particular crew, she was utterly surprised to find herself working with them in a tame job through Berwick- other than what she had seen from them, they were just another gang of gunslingers.
They arrived at Jean's dock to find that the door was kicked down. Ymir frowned and got out of the car, a sinking feeling settled in as she shouted,"JEAN! MARCO!"
No answer.
"Smells like a bomb," Bertolt said, grimacing. "You don't think Eren..."
"Sure hope not."
Both men reached for their M500s and followed her into the dock's warehouse.
Inside was a complete mess. Drawers were open, bullets scattered the ground, and Jean's proud collection of engines and guns were on the ground, battered and left to rust. She kicked away a shell casing and went into the open area to where the boats were often kept.
"What about Eren?" Ymir asked, tongue laced with acid.
"You sell women? Boom. You sell meth? Boom. You sell guns? Bigger boom," Reiner explained huskily. "Lucky he didn't go after mercenaries, we aren't touched much since he took control of Berwick's bar."
She traveled to the dock area to find that the wooden wharf was blown to pieces, shattered and ruined. Her anger took over as the only other structure that was destroyed was her ketch. The bow was wrecked and it clung to the posts that protruded from the water, ropes tangled in the splintered structures kept it from drifting away. Fists clenched as she failed to see Jean's PT boat anywhere.
"Add yourselves to the list," she murmured hotly,"that little shit..."
Reiner stood by her for a moment, then turned away, his attention focused elsewhere.
"They probably sailed off," Bertolt speculated. "Rooms are cleared out, storage upstairs is gone too."
Their voices faded away as she drew close to the flotsam of a bow, her hand touched the bowspit; algae had accumulated at the tip. She brushed the green away with her glove and stood by quietly.
"...-mir."
Huh?
"Ymir!"
She glared at Reiner. "What?"
"There's a radio here, can you try to contact him?"
"...radio, yeah, sure," she uttered.
She stood in front of the old radio system, Bertolt handed her the headphone and she began turning nobs for the frequency.
"Dancing Titan to Warmblood. Warmblood, come in. Warmblood. Dancing Titan to Warmbood..."
A few minutes passed, her constant calling was nearly over until a voice popped in, Jean's. "Warmblood here."
"Jean, what the fuck happened to my boat!?"
"It was Eren, he did it. Did you bring the girl to Mitras?"
"...no, she's with me."
"I see...we had to leave after he blew up your boat. I saved the bow, sorry about that. We're gonna lay low for a while, not planning on dying any time soon- take what you can find from storage, it's on the house. Huh? What Marco? Oh, right. News has it that the thing the military is trying to contain is spreading fast- I suggest getting out of there soon."
"I would, but there's shit I gotta do."
"...y'know, I'm feeling generous today, maybe I'll feel generous the next week- we'll stick around here a bit longer, then we leave."
"Got it. But...we need Marco."
"No can do, we're not docking any time soon."
"Shit..."
"Good luck with whatever it is. Warmblood out."
"Well?" Reiner asked as she slammed the headphone onto the hook.
"We'll have to ask Petra," Ymir bitterly replied. "Take whatever supplies you can, Jean's not gonna come back."
-...-
They returned to Sasha's home to find that Krista was speaking to Petra, the duct tape was gone.
Upon entering, Petra grew silent.
"You're back!" Sasha exclaimed.
"Learn anything?"
"She knows how to access the labs, security stuff, everything you need about Reiss Company is right there."
Ymir rolled her eyes and sharply told her,"We're not targeting Reiss now are we?"
"I know how to access the Scouts," Petra tiredly blurted out as a last resort,"I worked as...as an informant for Erwin with Levi when spots couldn't be filled."
"Now we're talking," Ymir said, her mood slightly lightening up. As she pulled a chair up, the sound of a car pulling up outside caught their ears. Sasha craned her head in curiosity and went to the window to check who had come. She peeked between the blinds and her eyes grew wide. "Sasha-"
"Mikasa!" She gasped in fright. "Damn it, Ymir, were ya bein' followed?"
"Not that I knew of," she uttered behind gritted teeth. She glared at Reiner and Bertolt for an answer, each shook his head. She stared at the floor for a moment, trying to figure out how she could have found them. "...shit, the radio may have been wiretapped."
"Guns are out in the car," Reiner pointed out.
"I have a few shotties," Sasha suggested, she disappeared into the hallway as they quickly tried to arm themselves.
Ymir loaded her twin pistols and looked at Krista to find her untying Petra. "Ok, what the fuck are you doing?"
"She's agreed to help me," Krista said earnestly.
"She coulda helped you days ago but here you are!"
"I said I'll help her, not you!" Petra spat. "I wasn't there when they tried to dump her- they didn't let me know of it!"
Sasha returned with two shotguns, she tossed them to Reiner and Bertolt, then proceeded to load her own. "Ya two better go to one side of the house, lay down a suppressive fire if anything happens. She probably got those bombs stored in the back, start somethin'!"
They swiftly sprinted to one end of the home, Bertolt disappeared into the lounge while Reiner took to the bedroom. Once in position, Ymir pointed to the back door. "Krista, I want you to bring Petra out there and stay there- here." She pulled the Glock out and handed it to her. "Only use it when you need it. Shoot to kill, and be sure to not miss this time. Got it?"
Krista nodded and pulled apart the last of the tape, allowing Petra to be relieved of her restraint. She let the woman lean against her and lead her out the back, now to deal with the woman outside.
Sasha stood at the front door, waiting for Ymir.
"She doesn't have Eren with her," Sasha relayed to her.
"She's more passive than him," Ymir recalled as she stepped out.
Mikasa was standing about twenty feet from where she was. Unlike before, she was armed with a Desert Eagle, though she hadn't drawn it. It was her who started,"We know you have the girl."
"And you'd have to get through me if you want her," Ymir goaded,"if you really want her, you shoulda sent the Scouts."
"They wanted me to reason with you."
Sasha stifled down a nervous laugh. Since when was Ymir ever reasonable?
"Blowing up my boat doesn't really help."
"I'm not apologizing for that."
A rush of anger coursed through her, the cheek of this woman! Ymir cocked both of her guns at her, instantly she retaliated by drawing her own. "Then you better start praying, you bitch!"
Instantly, a pair of shotguns rang, the two men from inside aimed at her car. While one shot blew up a tire, another aimed at the trunk, thus igniting a heavy explosion caused by the bombs stored there. Ymir behind a dumpster for cover as Sasha took to hiding behind a neat row of a dozen potato sacks, Ymir threw a glance at her and shouted,"Why the fuck-"
"Don't ask!" Sasha snapped at her.
Ymir shrugged and then peeked around the corner, Mikasa had disappeared after having the explosion divert their attention.
"Reiner! Bertolt!" Ymir yelled as the fire roared into an inferno from the car.
"She's behind the tree, to the right!" Reiner barked.
"Keep her pinned there!"
"Got it!"
Ymir readied herself to leap from her spot, though she wasn't sure how well of a shot Mikasa was. Sure, the girl set off explosions here and there, but then a thought crossed her mind. She froze, she couldn't get anywhere close to her, paranoia had set in. Shit. She could have trapped that area.
She banged her fist against the steel side of the dumpster.
"Scratch that, draw her out!" She exclaimed.
Sasha stood higher on her knee, she started firing, when her shotgun was out, Reiner followed, and the process went over with Bertolt and then back to Sasha. Eventually, from the thicket, Mikasa emerged, firing back at them in turn. She wove between the trees with a speed that nearly frightened all of them, it was almost inhuman to see her fly faster than their bullets.
At this rate, Ymir couldn't pick a clear shot. Trying to follow her was like trying to catch fish with her bare hands, she growled and opened fire anyway.
"Why's she moving too fast!?" Sasha cried.
"I don't know and I don't want to," Ymir huffed under her breath as she reloaded.
A fifth wave of bullets barraged the quick target, but then fire grew slack from the left, from Bertolt.
A groan followed, she shot him but she didn't know if he were dead. Reiner paused for a moment, shouting frantically of a sudden,"Bert-!" but was met by a round from the woman. He went down as well, though a splash of blood splattered over the windowsill.
Shit, she let them shoot to know where they were stationed.
"Sasha, stay down!" Ymir warned her, though the brunette already knew better, she was safely tucked behind a beaten, riddled sack. Ymir watched for Mikasa as she dove behind the inferno of her car, using the billowing black smoke to cover her. The roar of the fire echoed through their ears as metal screeched from within, pieces of it were melting and popping. She called to Sasha once more. "You don't think...she's on those steroids?"
"Steroids? Them things Armin told ya'bout?"
"Yeah, those. Enhanced speed and whatnot, she's probably using them right now."
"And that oughtta help us now because...?"
"I just- SASHA!"
While they were conversing about their confusion, the proof of Armin's research showed it true colors. Mikasa had, within a blink of an eye, rushed to Sasha's spot and opened fire at her. Ymir whirled around the dumpster to get out of her line of sight, she didn't know if Sasha or the others were alive, she clutched her twin guns. It was just her and that bitch.
"Y-Ymir!" Sasha's straggled voice came about in the stilling deathly silence. Ymir froze, trying to see if she heard her voice at all. No use in running, Mikasa would catch her at any moment.
Staying like this any longer would mean Sasha would die- no, she'd die either way. She was waiting for the final shot that would end her. No, fuck it.
Ymir turned by the corner to find Sasha on the ground, blood bled into her shirt as she had taken a hit to her stomach; she was still alive and gasping for air. Pinning her down like a predator, Mikasa had her barrel pressed against the woman's forehead. Ymir's fingers automatically pulled her trigger, the kick of the gun reverberated through her shaking hand but, much to her frustration and growing fear, Mikasa swerved out of the way and dismounted the girl.
Ymir rushed over to Sasha's side, ensured she was still breathing, and ducked once more, unknowing where Mikasa had ran off to.
"You were experimented on by those guys, weren't you?" Ymir shouted. "Made you a speed freak and shit. That's not an easy playing field, y'know!"
No answer.
Ymir stood up.
"I hate it when it gets unfair," she admitted.
Hypocrite, she chuckled under her breath.
She started walking around the front yard. Why wasn't she killing her? She was out in the open, exposed.
She meandered here and there and finally stopped at the front door.
"Damn-fuck!"
A weight fell upon her from above, starting at both her shoulders. Her guns were dropped out of her hands from the collision and she found herself staring down the underbelly of a barrel; she wondered how the hell the woman got up to the roof without a sound, then again, everything was a mystery to her. She glanced to the right, her Beretta was too far from her.
Shit.
"Why?" Ymir let out, finally glaring up at her.
As she was about to answer her, a blond figure stepped up from behind her, Krista.
She looked like a goddess as the light shinned behind her through a broken window, almost like a savior of sorts.
How she sneaked up so quietly, she didn't know, and she prayed to whatever little faith she had left that Mikasa wouldn't turn on her. She bit her lip in anticipation, anxious and apprehensive.
A blast of light blinded her for a moment, that weight that once pinned her down grew limp and dead, unmoving. Mikasa slumped to the side, her arms became loose limbs that fell at her sides. Ymir used her knee to push her off, her breathing hitched as she watched the blood ooze from the back of her head, plastering her black locks to the ground and her face.
She shuddered, then looked up at Krista. She propped herself up by her elbows, her free hand motioned for her to help her up; there was no hesitation in her moves, Krista immediately left her spot and aided her to her feet. She expected the girl to burst into tears, though quite shockingly, she found her simply staring at Mikasa's body.
Ymir placed her hands on her shoulders and gently shook her so that she would look at her. Breathlessly, she called to her,"Krista?"
"Back at the hotel, you told me it's either us or them."
"...what about it?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Krista asked her, finally looking up at her.
Those eyes, brilliant blue and once pure with liveliness, held that sharp look.
She patted her on the shoulder, frowning. "At least you didn't miss."
Her heart tugged for some reason; the debt of pulling her out of the water was fulfilled at this. This was true payment. One other than money that Ymir understood. But at the cost of this came with the girl bloodying her hands.
"...Krista, don't ever-uh, ever, don't ever do that again," Ymir uttered as she regained her breath.
"Why not? Staying with you, we'll end up watching over each other, and it'll happen again and again."
"Um, yeah, but you're not like me-"
Krista brushed off her hands; Ymir went to fetch her guns. "You're right, I'm not. And I can't be-"
An agonizing groan from the potato sacks brought their attention back to Sasha as she bled freely. She was sharply taking in air, her hand had torn into her shirt to create a makeshift cloth to stop the bleeding though she was failing miserably. As she struggled, Ymir knelt by her side and examined the wound.
"We need Connie for this," Ymir murmured.
"He's...he's in town, still doin' a run. Should be back soon- ah, damn it, this fuckin' hurts!"
She pressed the cloth deeper against her.
Ymir called to Krista,"Just try and keep the hole closed as best you can, I'll check on the guys."
She found Bertolt unconscious, his temple was merely grazed, nothing serious though she supposed he passed out from shock. On the other hand, Reiner had taken one to the shoulder, he was sitting against the wall, a towel wrapped around his forearm. Damn, they were alive after all. Part of her wished they were dead so that she wouldn't have to be burdened with fetching Annie- wait.
How would she go about explaining Mikasa's death?
Armin was just, well, Armin, but Mikasa was much more intimate with the Scouts.
Various scenarios rushed through her mind.
"Ymir," Reiner said, breaking her train of thought, she glanced at him,"put out the fire out there, it's a fucking smoke signal to everyone."
"And you?"
"Just do it," he urged her. "Is Bertolt alright?"
"Fine as ever," she replied. "Even if I put out that fire, they're gonna send people over here. You got a place we can hide at?"
He gave a curt nod. "West side, I got a trailer-"
"Some place more sanitary, please?"
He scoffed. "Bertolt's place, it's an apartment on that side too."
She helped him to his feet after wrapping another towel around his arm. She guided him to Sasha's truck, then went to haul Bertolt next to him in the back. Sasha, as well, had to be carried, she was still conscious but she needed attention more than the other two. Once they were loaded, she went to fetch the guns from Reiner's car, after doing so she turned to Krista to find her staring at Mikasa's body, Petra emerged into the light herself.
"You did this?" Petra asked quietly.
"...yeah, this was mine," Krista replied, Ymir stopped at the corner, listening to them.
"Krista...I can't say sorry enough to you about this, about what was happening to you. I want to make up for what I've done- if it comforts you, I always wished you lived a normal life."
Krista nodded it off. "Things happen."
"...I see, let's go then."
As they stepped off of the porch, Ymir walked ahead of them.
Once Petra was seated in the back, the bed of the truck, Ymir approached her. She made a gesture to lean over and she did; with a clenched fist, she threw a punch into Petra's jaw, causing her to cry out in shock and pain. She flew back, groaning.
"That is for Krista. She trusted you people and then you hurt her...damage's been done so quit apologizing," Ymir told her.
She sat in the driver's seat and started the car, amazingly Krista didn't protest. Instead, she swore she heard her utter,"Thank you."
"No problem, Blondie."
It was more for herself than for Krista, punishment brought down to traitors was a rare treasure in this life.
-...-
She returned in one piece. An AK-47 and five clips ready for use, she felt a bit more comfy in her hole. However, as she returned to her usual station before the computer screens, she found one flashing in red, an indication that someone had perished. She pressed the screen and witnessed the fight ensued between Mikasa and the others; this was valuable footage as test subjects were hardly observed in action.
She sat back, amazed at what the fruits of her labor had borne her.
Even without the virus, the steroids injected into her were just enough to create a human with amazing agility.
The woman with freckles, Ymir, she was just about ready to meet her end; seeing her face glaring up at the screen, to Hanji, sent shivers down her spine.
She was disarmed, helpless, what went wrong?
Why did the screen go black?
Hanji sat there, confounded.
Someone must have taken Mikasa down.
Could it have been Project Historia?
As her mind wracked over the possibilities, she reached for the phone and watched the reordered footage again from Mikasa's eyes.
The other end picked up within seconds.
"Levi...Project Prodigy has been eliminated, proceed with releasing Project Rogue, please collect the body at the following location..."