Chapter 14: Titan Slayers
"How did you do it? Live underground that long?" Scarlett asked with a weak voice.
Levi sat outside her prison cell. It had been two weeks since she'd been locked up. Levi reached his hands through the bars.
"I'll get you out of here. I promise,"
Levi looked at her worn body. She was now almost skin and bone. It reminded Levi of his dying mother.
"Levi, I'm alright. They'll come around soon, I know. They have right reason to doubt me… but, I want to gain their trust again… until then…"
"How can you be so calm… when everything about this is wrong?"
"I've been through a lot Levi… I understand how things work around here. They doubt me because they're good soldiers…. but I must say… back then I would be terrified. Scared out of my mind…."
"Back then?"
Scarlett nodded. "Back then, I put everything all my faith in the people around me… I was naive to think that everyone around me was perfect…"
"The attack hasn't come yet?" Scarlett asked.
Levi shook his head.
"...what are titan slayers?" Levi asked.
"Well, do you know anything about the Ackerman family?"
"King Fritz was afraid of us, because of our power… We were the results of titan experimentation,"
Scarlett's eyes narrowed.
"Just as I thought. I have a theory… about titan slayers. What if titan experimentation was really just titan genetic engineering,"
"What do you mean?"
"Titan slayers are not just strong human beings… they're both titan and human,"
Levi paused, though he didn't look surprised at all.
"How can there be other Ackerman's outside the island of Paradis?"
"Not Ackermans, Levi. The Marleyans have their own experiments to mimic the Ackerman gene. Can you imagine what they can do with that type of strength?"
Levi understood. "So there's a second generation of titan slayers,"
Scarlett looked at the ceiling above her. "And my guess is that I am one of them,"
Levi sat by Scarlett's prison cell, watching her sleep. Her breaths were labored. I will trust you to the very end, he thought. Even if the whole world says I'm wrong. The door of to the cells opened.
"Hange, what are you doing here?" he said.
"Who's Hange?" a young man's voice said.
Levi jumped up and drew his swords. A handsome young man stepped out from the shadows. Two other followed.
"We don't have time for this… that's the Ackerman," the woman chided.
"How did you get in here?" Levi scowled.
Scarlett started to speak. "Titan… slayers…" she muttered.
"...Scarlett.. what have they done to you?" the man said.
"Get out or I will have to slice you up into little pieces," Levi threatened.
"Is that a threat?" he replied.
"We need to get out of here! They'll find out what happened soon," the woman said.
"Alright, then. Let's do this quickly then,"
Levi flipped his sword and attacked. The young man dodged all his strikes. Levi's eyes widened. His arms were covered in spotted fur, and he had claws. He swiped Levi's chest.
Scarlett fell off her bed and crawled towards the edge of her cell.
"Levi…" she said.
The young man lifted his arm up, preparing to finish him off.
"Tups, no… not in front of Scarlett," the young woman said.
Tups nodded and broke down the cell door. He picked Scarlett up. Levi stood as they ran out the door. Levi yelled for the others to get up. As he stumbled out into the hallway, a trail of dead soldiers lay, their blood seeping into the floor. No matter what he could do, he wasn't fast enough to keep up with them. The three titan slayers took Scarlett inland on Paradis. The woman extended black wings that were bat-like, as the young girl jumped on her back. Tups ran carrying Scarlett. Levi jumped on a horse and chased after him. The horse was falling behind, as Tups and the other titan slayers disappeared with Scarlett. He had lost them. Levi gripped his reins and headed back to the throwing wall.
"They killed almost half of our soldiers while we were asleep!" Hange yelled.
"This is the power of titan slayers, Hange, we need to find them and rescue Scarlett," Levi said.
Hange's eyes narrowed. "Rescuing Scarlett isn't in our agenda right now,"
"What do you mean?"
"Levi, listen to yourself. Why would three titan slayers just waltz in and take our prisoner? For all we know this may be an escape plot of hers. Scarlett is in league with them,"
"Then why would she warn you that they were coming?"
Hange was infuriated. "Well, we were ready for about the first couple weeks… The attack came much later than anyone expected!"
"But it came didn't it!"
"Then why didn't she fight back? She let half of our soldiers die, and nearly you as well!"
Levi scowled and tightened his fists. Hange took a deep breath.
"From now on our mission is to kill the Marleyan infiltrators. That includes Scarlett,"
Scarlett woke up staring at the blue sky. She could breathe the fresh air again.
"Good morning," Tups said.
"I… know you…" she muttered.
"Of course you do," he said brushing the hair from her eyes.
Scarlett sat up. "Tups, Evie, and…. I don't think I remember who you are…" she said looking at a girl in her early teens.
"That's Zeri, she doesn't say much,"
"Are your memories coming back then?" Evie asked.
"Yes… I'm starting to remember…the fear and hurt but also… my first family…"
"Do you have a name?" A young Tups asked.
"No," Scarlett replied.
"Well that's no good!"
He picked up Scarlett's hair.
"Scarlett… that's what we'll call you,"
"Hey! You can't just name me like that!" she exclaimed.
"You don't like it?"
Scarlett blushed. "...no,"
"Leave her alone Tups… tomorrow is her first day…" Evie said.
"First day of what?" she asked.
Tups and Evie looked down.
"Of titan experimentation…"
Scarlett looked confused.
"There's no need to worry though. Once we get through this, we'll become the greatest warriors Marley has to offer! We might even be able to see the outside world!" Tups said.
"The outside.." Scarlett's eyes shimmered.
Scarlett opened her eyes.
"Come home, Scarlett," Evie said.
She sighed. "What is home?..."
"Where your family is," Tups replied. "We've been waiting for you to come home… please, Scarlett,"
"No. I will not. I cannot," she said standing. "You may have been my friend once but now you are my enemy,"
"Look around you Scarlett. We don't want to fight you.. Unlike your so called friends who imprisoned you because you were too perfect,"
"...Why… should we help the people who imprisoned and tortured us all those years?" Scarlett asked.
"Because we're devils! We need to pay them back for all the wrong our ancestors have caused them,"
"Our ancestors! That's not our fault! Don't you hear yourself? Just weeks ago the Marleyans sent ships of Eldian children to our harbor and- and they killed every single one of them! I would never help them for as long as I live!"
Scarlett gasped. Three metal claws stuck straight through her chest.
"Zeri!" Evie yelled.
"Don't worry… she's not going to die," she said.
Zeri retracted her claws. She took out a needle, and stabbed it into her back.