I was almost giving up on this. But screw it, here we go.
Chapter 13: Cornered.
A roar of pure fury cut through the forest, Eren's titan rising amidst the steam of his shifting. The massive body lunged forward, with the intention of killing the Female Titan driving every punch; the other quickly retrated to make distance between herself and the enraged shifter. Eren's fist hit a tree, a blast of steam followed by chunks of wood before the trunk bent, falling with a crashing noise. Jaeger's wrath was unrelenting, his attack unpaused; yet Nikolai could see him falling soon.
He's being careless, he's dominated by his anger. She's not, and even right now when she can do nothing but retreat she'll find an opening, sooner or later. She always does.
A faint whimper got the male's attention. Turning around he saw Petra moving weakly, trying to push herself up with one arm before collapsing against the ground, crying in pain. He crouched at her side, a finger softly moving the hair from her sweat covered forehead.
_Petra, don't move -he ordered with a flat voice. She cried softly, still trying to get up- I said don't move! Your left arm is broken, and some other bones may be.
He took his jacket off and began cutting it with the baldes, ingoring the sounds of battle nearby. Carefully he turned Petra on her back, his eyes scanning over and over. Both bones of her left forearm broken, as well as three ribs on that side. He looked at her apologetically while putting her hands around the injured arm.
_This is gonna fucking hurt. -he informed; Ral tried to focus her eyes on him, still dizzy.
_What do yo...? -her question turned into a scream when he realigned the bones in place, quickly tying straps of cloth to keep them still.
Whimpering, Petra felt his hands guiding her on her feet, wobbling from the pain and confusion. The woman felt something warm on her temple and realized she had a cut on her scalp. Swallowing, she held onto him to steady, blinking at the titans fighting in the background.
_What... how did this... wait, where is Oluo? And Eld? -he looked at her once briefly before shaking his head- No...
_Come. We must get up the trees. Now.
_But Eren...
_He's out of my reach now. -he answered with a shrug- My gear is too damaged too fight properly, but i hope it still works for this.
Slowly, to avoid hurting her more, he made his way up the tree. He stood there, Petra holding to him tightly with her good arm. They watched silently as the Female Titan drew Eren deeper within the forest, far from any curious eyes. Human eyes, that is.
Nikolai could still make the shapes of their bodies throwing and dodging punches, breaking trees and each other with every landed blow. Petra, unable to see, instead looking at the male next to her. Gone was the smug, smirking soldier. Instead, his features spoke of sadness, of resign. So unusual was to see him so serious that to Ral's eyes he seemed to age. Suddenly, a loud crashing sound reached them.
_Shit. -he said- Eren's down.
_Did she... did she...?
_Kill him? No -he said, focusing his gaze- She's taking him away. There's nothing we can... wait.
_What? -Petra, despite being on a not so wide branch, tried to stand on her tiptoes to see what cuaght his attention, only for Niko to held her in place.
_Listen.
The sound of the titan's footsteps neared them. For a second, Ral thought she was coming back to kill them. But in that moment, another sound was heard; the sound of 3DMG chasing after her. And then she appeared, enormous and steaming from the wounds and after her both Ackermans. Suddenly she spun, a punch thrown in Levi's direction. Petra gasped and Nikolai whistled as he proceeded to spin like mad all over her arm, slicing muscles and tendons until he jumped forward and stabbed both eyes, making her stumble backwards.
_YES! -Petra shouted, ignoring the pain in her arm- Captain Levi will kill her! He will kill her!
Completely focused on his prey, Levi continued to attack relentlessly, cutting and slicing all over her exposed zones even as she fell on her ass, back against a tree. His blades worked on her shoulders until her arm gave up, unable to cover her nape any longer. Then...
_NO! MIKASA!
Nikolai's shout caught Petra off guard, almost making her fall from the tree by the shock. She blinked and searched for said asian, to see her about to attack the helpless titan; why would Nikolai warn her? Did he still want her alive?
But before she could think a reasonable excuse, the creature's arm lifted. Mikasa was about to crash against it when Levi came fast as a bullet and pushed her out of the way; his momentary grimace seen only by the grey eyes of the soldier in the branch. In a blink, he lunged forward and took Eren from the limp jaws, leading his sister away and pointing her to the two on the tree. When she came to them, Nikolai helped Petra put her arm around her neck.
_My gear won't be enough to carry us both; in any case, i might still make it on foot.
His eyes went to the titan laying down, and he froze when he saw them.
The tears. She was crying. Nikolai inhaled sharply through his teeth, fists clenching.
Damn, no. Not Again. Not... Again!
They made their way through the forest with Niko falling behind, his gear leaking gas with every use. He had to run the last hundred meters to the charts, where he sat beside the crying Petra. He said nothing until Eren woke up, looking confused at them.
_Wha-what happened? Where's the female titan?
_She's gone, and we lost a lot of people -said the male, looking around. He couldn't look Jaeger in the eye.
It wasn't until night, when Erwin and his surviving superior officers returned from the capital that Niko finally met the rest. He'd been alone all the time, doing whatever he could to keep his mind from what he'd learnt that day; to keep himself from going insane with rage. Sharpening his gear blades, checking said gear to be sure it was working normally once more. Physical training and a cold shower. He went through his few manuals once and again, until the words became nothing but a blur to his fevered eyes. When someone knocked, his hand went to his personal blade next to him; for a few moments, he'd actually forgotten where he was. He gave a tired sigh.
_Come in.
Mike's head poked from the door. The man sniffed the air, and he felt a chill down his spine: Nikolai smelled like a caged animal.
_Erwin's calling for a meeting. Arlert has an idea of who...
_I know who it was.
The older male's eyebrows shot upwards, eyes widening in surprise before he regained his composture.
_Another reason for you to come.
He found himself then sitting in front of Armin and Mikasa and at Eren's side. The green eyed boy looked between his friends and his Commander.
_What's going on, Commander? Why...?
_It's Annie.
Eren looked at Niko with confused eyes, missing Mikasa's and Armin's widening orbs.
_What?
_The shifter who attacked us. It's Annie. Am i right Armin? -he said, and the blonde nodded.
_We... we think she might be the one...
_Wait, what? -Eren looked at everyone incredulously- You can't be serious! She's in the MP, how could she... what evidence do you have?
Arlert looked aside, as if ashamed of his thoughts but Mikasa beat him in speaking.
_She looked like Annie. -the girl said, and Niko snorted despite himself.
_Oh, come on!
_It's not only that, Eren! She... i know it sounds crazy, but the day our gear was checked, after the captured titans were killed... the gear she presented wasn't hers. It was Marco's. -Eren's eyes opened wide- I know it well, and i know it was his. We worked on it a lot together and it had the same marks and hits.
Jaeger was about to object when Niko's hand on his shoulder got his attention.
_Eren. You fought her. Do you remember her techniques?
_I... my memories are a bit blurry...
_Mine are not. Her fighting style was the same. And some of her moves... were mine. The ones i taught her and only her. And also... -he fell silent.
_What?
_When i surprised her, with the cloak thing... her eyes, her look. I know it sounds stupid, but that look... it was the same she gave me when i managed to truly surprise her in our... sparring sessions. It is her, Eren. I know it pains you to recognize it, but you must. She is the one who led the titans to our formation. She is one of the ones who attacked Wall Maria.
_But... why would she...?
_We can only guess...
You can only guess.
_...what she is after.
What THEY are after.
Eren still seemed unsure. He didn't want to believe it, that one of his former comrades, someone he'd gotten closer, who'd been like a mentor to him, was the enemy. The one ho took the life of his friends back in that cursed forest. One of them, who had killed his...
_There's still... a chance we may be wrong. That she may be innocent. -Niko added in a tired voice.
I wonder who am i actually trying to fool.
_But until we see if she's or not, you must regard her as an enemy.
_I still just don't...
_GODDAMNIT EREN! -he shouted, slamming both fists on the table.
Arlert and Jaeger jumped on their seats. The rest looked at Nikolai with surprise, having never expected such outburst. He blinked in surprise, looking at the now cracked surface of the table. He rubbed his eyes.
_I... we need you to understand, Eren. This is war. We can not allow mistakes, not if they... if the titans are in here. Right now, anyone out of the people in this room could be one of them. You must take the trust you have in each and everyone of them and shove it. Up. Your ass. Got it? -he turned to the boy, a cold, murderous gaze in his eyes- Got it?
_Nikolai?
Everyone turned to Hange, who looked at the young man unsurely, as if trying to decide how to proceed.
_Speaking of... mistakes and the like. Were you and Annie... involved? Rom...?
_No. -he cut her sharply- It's... it's not like that. The issue is a bit more... complicated. I see... -he closed his eyes and sighed- See her as someone... admirable. As a comrade, someone i could... trust, despite not being exactly close. I'm not good at this feeling stuff. But don't worry, i can and will control myself.
Control... when did you even do that?
_I hope so. -Erwin said gravely, looking at the gathered people- Because we need to think about a plan if we are to try and capture her. And the summoning to the capital has given us an unexpected chance. Now we must decide...
Minutes turned to hours. Ideas became plans. Suggestions led to decisions. And then, with time itself becoming a blur, Nikolai found himself looming from above a roof, on a house in the center district looking discreetly as Eren, Armin and Mikasa led Annie Leonhardt towards a trap. He saw the trio walk into the tunnel, and all his doubts died the moment the cold blonde hesitated on top of the stairs. It was her. Now it was time to see if she bit the bait, or they had to capture her by force, or...
_Fuck it. -he mumbled.
Ignoring the shocked look from the veteran at his side, he jumped down to the street. His fall echoed along the silent street, Annie spinning to face him. Her face went from hostile to surprised when she saw it was him. Then she smiled. She knew they'd caught her. But the male had other plans. It was time to play his hidden card, the strongest one he had. The one he'd avoided for so long.
The truth.
End of chapter.