Soldier, you there, soldier! You, veteran who's seen a thousand battles. You, raw recruit who's only gotten a taste of war. You, fallen comrade resting within the grave, I have a question to ask. What makes a good death?
Men and monsters smashed together with the violence of rabid dogs. Swinging limbs and swinging blades drew forth crimson, crushing and cutting all in their way. Although, the former was dealing considerably more damage than the latter. One man, Devereaux might have been his name, was thrust whole in to a yawning titan's maw. Another, possibly Corporal Valero, was bit in half at the waist. His horse carried on with his legs still straddling the saddle. A third soldier, whose name Ctirad didn't know, rose up after being thrown, nursing a broken arm, only for someone else's frightened mount to trample them to death. Still others ended up colliding with their fellows, catapulting themselves right into a titan's waiting hand. Any semblance of order was long out the window, leaving chaos to take the conductor's stand and lead the orchestra.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Ctirad didn't waste effort concealing his panic. Not that it mattered either way; it was too loud for the others to hear him, not to mention everyone had their focus on dodging killing blows as they weaved their way to the heart of the maelstrom. He desperately wanted to close his eyes until he, if hemade it to the other side, but so immense was his terror, his eyelids themselves were retreating further into his skull. As he incidentally evaded death, he also wished it were possible to block out the screams of those less fortunate than himself. Good ears can be a horrifying feature to possess under certain circumstances. Try focusing on something else!
Only, the moment he attempted to do so, an especially loud, gurgling shriek erupted to his left. A spray of warm liquid splashed against his cheek, and something landed in his lap. It was a severed forearm with bits of uniform still attached. Ctirad immediately threw up; half from disgust, half from the overwhelming anxiety the last twenty-four hours had brought upon him. And this evening's excitement had only just begun. Although it was difficult to be certain with the blood from the discarded limb soaking his trousers, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd inadvertently pissed himself too. At least nobody's going to notice that.
He'd expected it to happen eventually. Ctirad was scared, and too young to be dancing so closely with demons. So, when it didn't happen in Trost, or on the reconnaissance mission beyond the wall, he'd assumed maybe he'd gotten past it. Maybe he wasn't one to soil himself out of sheer terror. What kind of man pisses himself in battle? No, not a man, just some dumb kid in over his head. Coward, I'm worse than a coward, completely useless. I've practically unraveled at the seams. Who is Erik kidding? I'm of no help to anyone here; I'm just going to end up dead, a waste of good tax-money. High time I accept that and let the cards fall where they may. Unremembered, without a tombstone to mark his passing. Just one of countless thousands torn to pieces on the killing fields. He deserved no better for his folly, for failing his comrades and his oath.
He bit into his lip and tilted his head as far back as he could. "Just get it over with already, you cock-suckers!" But his vision was not filled with the groping fingers of monsters, only sky. Ctirad jerked his head around and saw that he'd made it through the press of carnage to where Reiner and Bertolt themselves fought a small group of titans. This development left him stunned, bewildered, and even slightly annoyed. "Oh, come on! How many times are you going to dangle the noose above my head?!"
"Death's just hesitant to put it around your neck!" Erik galloped past. "Come on you lucky bastard; we're not done here!" The others were close behind him, with Mikasa surging to the fore. She was already prepared for a dismount.
"I better get a raise or a bottle of brandy or something after all this crap," he said exasperatedly under his breath. It's freaking exhausting.
As anticipated, Mikasa took off and immediately charged Bertolt at maximum speed. Her haste worked against her however, and she overshot him, missing his head with her blades by ten centimeters. That margin nearly caused her to strike Eren, who was still securely fastened to Bertolt's back. And she kept on flying, over Reiner's shoulder to where a fat, grinning titan waited with open arms to seize her. Mikasa didn't realize her mistake until the creature had already taken hold. Then, it started squeezing.
Jean reacted first, engaging with far more precision than she had. "Get your hands off her, you piece of shit!" He slammed steel deep into the titan's eyes, causing it to stagger. Mikasa fell free. Sasha followed up Jean's attack with a killing strike. One down…way too many to go.
While killing that one didn't free Reiner's titan enough to escape, it opened another window for them to get in close. Surround Bertolt, take Eren into their custody and then bolt out of there. It could be done quick and easy; they had the numbers for it. However, there were those among them who still naively hoped for a peaceful resolution to the situation. And among other things, Armin Arlert was most certainly naïve.
Aline looked over at him and scowled. "What in the hell is that jackass up to now?"
"Doing what those three always do," Albrecht grimaced, "trying to solve every issue without asking the rest of us for input."
(***)
"Bertolt!" The soft-faced recruit came to rest on the head of the Armored titan, a couple of meters above where the former stood. Their eyes met and Armin hesitated. He knew what was at stake here. He knew what their former comrades had done, how many they'd slaughtered, but he didn't want to kill them. It'd be far better for them to surrender willingly, to ply them for information, to talk things out. If only he could think of a way to coax them into doing so. What would convince two individuals so adept at murder to lay down their arms? After a hard moment of introspection, he arrived at a possible solution. Never before had he imagined something so twisted, so devoid of his usual appeals to decency and reason, but desperation can breed things within even the most light-hearted of men. A sort of hysterical quiver entered his voice and his eyes became alight with a sense of mania. "Hey, I've got a question for you…"
On the ground most of the others were keeping a moving perimeter, avoiding direct engagement as they bought time. "Let me get up there and snatch Jaeger; I can do it while bowl-cut is playing diplomat."
"There's too many titans and not enough room to maneuver."
"I don't need to maneuver. I fly in, cut the harness holding the jackass on his back and be back here before Bertolt realizes what happened. Not to mention, we can't exactly let a few titans stop us when we'll be rescuing Christa! So, how is this any different?" Although, Christa wasn't trapped as Eren was. Well, hopefully not… In the chaos, they'd lost sight of her again.
He grimaced. "…If we do this—"
"Shut your mouth, hell spawn; I'll kill you!" Bertolt's shouting cut him off mid-sentence. And out of the corner of Albrecht's eye, there was a blur of motion as a rider went past, fast enough for him to feel a rush of air. Flecks of blood drifted on the wind in their wake.
"What the…Is that…?"
"Shit…" And I thought Josh was stubborn.
Commander Erwin, steely-eyed and determined, charged in, the tattered remains of his right arm flailing uselessly at his side. With his good hand, he held his sword and engaged his ODM gear. Despite only having use of half of the functions, Erwin balanced perfectly. He left his mount, closing the distance between him and the titan shifters in the blink of an eye. Just when Bertolt was about to strike at Armin, Erwin rose up and slashed across the former's chest, cutting a deep gash and severing the straps that held Eren to his back. The boy fell, his limbs still restrained, until Mikasa came in to scoop him up, an expression of unmatched joy on her face. Erwin expertly fell back into the saddle of his horse without missing a beat and wheeled about.
"All soldiers, retreat!" Every nearby scout disengaged, rejoining the battalion as it moved to quit the field. Bertolt was left dangling by his wires as more titans piled on Reiner.
"Now what?" Erik shouted.
"Now? We grab Historia and get the hell out of here!" Albrecht answered. She'd be wherever Ymir was.
"Found her," Aline said almost immediately. She gestured about two-hundred meters on, where Ymir was wrestling with a much larger titan. In the hardscrabble and confusion of the last few minutes, Ymir had managed to put a bit of distance between herself and the mob assailing her fellow titan shifters, but she struggled against the one whose attention she'd been unable to shake. It had her pinned to the ground, with jaws snapping, eager for sustenance. A small blur of movement cut across the air, and with a spray of blood, the titan toppled over.
"I need two riders!" Albrecht didn't wait for volunteers. "Connie, Ctirad, go get her!" The latter made a groaning noise, but complied nonetheless, and the two closed the distance as the column started to reform.
Elise came in alongside Albrecht and Aline. "That commanding presence is back in your voice, Alb." She allowed a small smile to flit over her lips.
"Don't start praising me; I haven't done much of anything so far and we're not done with the fight."
She laughed. "You can still take a compliment, can't you?"
He shrugged. "Maybe once we're back behind the walls, but not before."
"Fair enough I suppose," Elise sighed. As long as he wasn't down and depressed, things moved in the right direction.
"I said, put me down!" Several heads turned at the sound of a high-pitched voice. Ctirad and Connie were already returning with Historia in tow. Connie appeared to have swept her right off the ground, as he carried her under his left arm. Ymir wasn't too far behind.
"What, cueball, you couldn't be bothered to make some room on your saddle for her?" Aline scoffed.
"That's not the problem here," Ctirad replied.
Historia squirmed. "Connie, you put me on the ground, right now!"
"Are you crazy; in the middle of all this?! We're lucky you didn't get eaten during the first titan rush, with you clinging to Ymir's hair and whatnot!"
"Reiner and Bertolt are going to kill Ymir if I don't go with them!"
Aline scowled. "Oh, that is a load of bullshit." She hadn't believed it the first time Christa said it. Assuming Reiner and Bertolt planned to kill Ymir at all, they'd do it with or without anyone else's compliance. They were clearly stronger than her and far more adept at violence. She peered over her shoulder at Ymir's titan. "Stupid bitch is lying through her teeth." First, she's being forced to go along with the traitors, now Christa is suddenly part of the whole death bargain? She'd sooner believe that titans could sprout wings and fly.
"I've already made up my mind to stay. For her sake, I have to."
"That's completely ridiculous!" Sasha added. "After all this time, she decides that her only course of action is handing you off to the enemy to save her own hide?! Whatever she's told you is obviously a lie!"
"She wouldn't—"
"Regardless of what the truth is," Albrecht started, "we aren't letting you go and we're not stopping. For all we know, those two are planning on torturing you whenever they get back to wherever they're headed. That's not a risk any of us are willing to take. Not to mention all the titans between them and there. The actions Ymir takes from here on are her own to answer for, and I'll be damned if we sacrifice you or anyone else here for her benefit."
"Alb, she's—"
He clenched his fist and whipped his head around. His temper was lost. "And what the hell am I supposed to tell Josh when we come back without you, huh?! You don't get to make decisions like that! I will not see you taken from us on the words of two mass-murderers!"
"We can't stay here anyway. Ymir holds you in high regard, yes? So, certainly with that in mind, you'd be no good to her dead?" Giselle added in a mostly calm manner, trying to cut the tension.
"Even I know enough to see that," Ctirad muttered. He was simply glad to be heading home, where he might wash his hands of the last twenty-four hours. He granted himself a moment for a farewell glance at the battle behind them. He instantly regretted it. This has got to be the shittiest day of my life.
A dark mass sailed across the sky, casting a deep shadow over all beneath. It was a fifteen-meter titan of considerable girth, flying at least as many meters above the retreating force. The monstrosity crashed into earth about one-hundred meters to their front, kicking up rock, dirt, and dust in great quantities, obscuring the surroundings and bringing the cadre of soldiers to a sudden halt.
Jean reigned in his horse and looked back in the direction they'd come. Reiner was a kilometer back, lowering his arm as enemies continued to gnaw at him. "He's throwing titans now?! Where's that kind of power coming from?!" No sooner had he asked, then the muscle-bound demon threw another one.
"EVERYONE, SCATTER, EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Too late. This titan plowed into the ground at twice the speed, tearing itself apart as much as the landscape. Smoke and embers mixed with the dust, furthering decreasing visibility. The horses were spooked and their riders began milling around in uncertainty, calling out for comrades they could no longer see.
"Everybody, sound off!" Albrecht called out at the top of his lungs. He checked his compass to orient himself. Get organized again, get riding before the titans gain ground. We can't see, but that means Reiner can't see us either. In turn he heard the voices of all the other recruits respond. All of them except Mikasa, who had Eren on her saddle. Damn it all! Why is it always something with them?! "Does anyone have eyes on Eren or Mikasa?!"
"Lost them in the smoke!"
"Well, somebody find them for God's sake! They go down now and that's blood and lives spent for nothing!" High-value individuals for both parties involved. One of which would likely rather see them dead than remain in the other's hands. Fighting off titans and soldiers while attempting to recapture Eren would be nigh impossible for Reiner and Bertolt, so killing him was probably Plan B. The scouts could prevent this if they could continue putting distance between them and the enemy shifters.
"There! I think I see them." Sasha Braus, ever the eagle-eye. "They've been hit!"
Some of the haze was blowing aside, opening sight lines further out. Sure enough, Mikasa and Eren lay sprawled across the dirt. The horse they'd been riding on lay dead a few meters to the side. At this distance, the condition of the pair was far less discernable. The dark-haired girl attempted to gain her feet, only to collapse again, clutching at her ribcage. Eren remained still. In the smoke, a massive, lanky silhouette drew nearer.
Albrecht dug his heels into the flanks of his horse. "Move, now! The titans are already caught up! Looks like you'll get your chance to do some cutting after all." He added the last sentence in a low voice.
Aline stifled a malicious grin. "I'm going to savor the irony of being the one to save that arrogant bitch." That was almost as delicious of a situation as running her through. But, patience, the time to go at one another would come eventually.
As the relief party rode in however, a problem presented itself. The monsters so casually lobbed at them by Reiner were far from dead. This was made known to them when the second of the two staggered through the grey haze, less an arm and with its lower jaw broken off on one side. Still powerful to present a real threat to those who drew near it unawares. Albrecht veered off course, avoiding the sluggish grasp of its remaining arm.
"It's mine," Aline growled, leaping off before he could say anything. Without being able to clearly see any trees, she anchored herself directly to the shoulder above its severed arm. Aline used a spurt of extra gas to increase momentum before gunning the motor. Flinging herself in a sideways arc, she came around at the perfect height for speed to carry her right on through the attack. Metal met flesh, and she killed it in a single stroke. She moved so fast that not a drop of erupting vitae had the chance to mar her uniform. Well, look at that. My mood's already starting to improve.
(***)
Erwin Smith broke through the outer edge of the cloud. He quickly reestablished his bearings, taking stock of the location of impending threats. Three titans, ten-meter class, approaching from the east. He moved his mount directly into their path and chase was given. Every precious moment needed so the column can reorganize. Erwin loathed the increasingly myriad threats facing them today. The titan hordes, the traitors, sometimes the environment itself, and the fading sun. There'd only be another half-hour of daylight before the sun vanished behind the peaks. In the dark, there'd be hell to pay. The bloody stump of his arm throbbed, as if in concert with his mind's agitation. The bleeding was stopped and the wound sealed for the time being, but the danger hadn't passed. Despite it, there was still fighting for him to do. He momentarily considered the verbal lashing that awaited him from Hange and Sergeant Shevchenko upon their return to Wall Rose. Assuming of course these naked fiends hadn't made a meal of his bones beforehand.
Ahead, he caught sight of another titan emerging from a cluster of trees. The crouching stance and animalistic grimace identified it quickly. The girl…Ymir, if I'm recalling her name. What is her goal in all this? It surprised him that he'd not given it much consideration, despite the unclear nature of her allegiances. So, when her titan form rushed at him, he found his thoughts intrigued. All the more so when she went right past him and tore into the nearest titan. He wasn't prepared for the resulting impact when she brought the titan to the ground. The shaking caused his horse to trip and fall, throwing him several meters. Erwin bit back a curse as he landed on his bad arm.
"Commander!" The shrill voice of a subordinate sounded in his ears.
He got up, pain granting a momentary blur to his vision. "I'm not…your objective. You're wasting time…Take Eren and go." Erwin's eyesight cleared, only to witness that self-same subordinate have his head bitten off. He blinked and panned his eyes across the field. The smoke drifted away into the sky. Titans swarmed in large numbers, with more streaming in from the surrounding land. Numerous members of his command were already heavily engaged. Everything was in disarray. No…no, no, no, no!
"How'd they catch up to us so fast?!" Jean thought aloud. "We're completely surrounded!"
"There's too many of them to even count!" Erik stopped trying after he passed sixty.
"So, we focus on the lesser ones and force a breakout!" Elise didn't particularly fancy the odds of that, but the blade wasn't to their throats yet. It'd be down to their coordination whether or not they could make a hole to slip through. And before that, they still had to get through to Eren and Mikasa. It'd be fantastic if those two could help in that regard, but at last glance, they'd remained frozen where they stood as a titan with a particularly disturbing visage bore down upon them. They must have lost their damn minds. "Run, get out of the way, or something you stupid bastards!" Neither reacted to the comment, meaning they either couldn't hear her, or they weren't paying attention. Both options amounted to the same thing.
"We're going to have to physically pick them up, aren't we?" Ctirad wondered aloud.
On their flanks, the line buckled where titans overwhelmed squads of Garrison and MP members. Albrecht suppressed a fatalistic chuckle. "Can't let the veterans do all the work." Even with so many others on the field with the same objective, he'd had a feeling it'd be coming down to the recruits. Ordinarily, that wouldn't bother him too much. They were as much soldiers as the others, albeit far greener. However, with mounting casualties and assailants and increasingly agitated horses…their prospects lost the shred of optimism they'd gleaned by separating Eren from his kidnappers.
"The question is, how many are we going to have to go through to get there?"
Aline again assumed a ready stance. "Until our blades shatter and we run out of gas, I'm not concerned about numbers, blondie." She eyed each of the foes encircling their cohort. "Alb, skirmish formation?"
At that point, Albrecht became aware that everyone else was looking at him to continue leading. It seemed like he'd been doing that since they left the wall. Or maybe that had happened sooner, somewhere along the line after Trost? It'd been decided that command of the group would fall to him in the absence of officers. Although, no one had deigned to ask his opinion on such a promotion. It remained a burden he didn't want, whether he was duty-bound to bear it or not.
He clenched his reins in his palm and nodded. "Keep teams tight; no solo takedowns. Advance in skirmish order." Two person cells, one acts as bait, the other strikes, then bait follows up. As with conflicts between the nations of men, skirmishing with titans involved small groups of soldiers with the potential, or in this case desire, to draw the enemy into engaging on the attacker's terms. It was swift, precise, efficient.
Something used many times before to great effect.
Albrecht kept Aline in his company. Elise with Giselle, Erik with Sasha, Ctirad with Jean, Connie with Historia. To her credit, despite her state of anxiety and agitation, Historia fell into the plan without complaint. That covered everyone outside of Armin, who he hadn't seen for several minutes now. He found himself untroubled by the youth's absence. Whether that was because he wasn't worried, or he was starting to share Aline's apathy about the lives of Eren's trio was up in the air. Those whose lives were of utmost importance to him were accounted for. The titans were also far less intimidating with such comrades beside him. Yes, even someone as jumpy and neurotic as Ctirad.
When the work started, everyone gave good account of themselves. They knew one another well after three years training together. Even those who operated in different squads previously were close enough to understand the fighting style of their partner. These bonds proved devastating to those they fought. Titans dropped like dominoes, shaking the earth as they toppled like so many trees. In their wake, a sizeable cloud of ash and embers formed. This did not change the fact that they were outnumbered more than six-to-one, a ratio that didn't seem to change regardless of how many titans went down.
Worse still, neither Eren or Mikasa had moved, remaining in the path of the titan, which was now upon them. Terror could grip even the most stoic of hearts in time, but this was something more. Though their faces weren't visible from this angle, their postures appeared indicative of some sensation buried deep within. A long-hidden darkness that had risen up to swallow them whole. It wasn't the titan's appearance, although that alone was disturbing. No, it seemed as if…they'd encountered this specific one before.
Shiganshina had made a great many orphans; thousands died when citizens fled to Wall Rose. Thousands more died in the attempt to reclaim what was lost. Eren and his friends were ten years old then, and he'd purportedly watched as the Colossal titan rose up over the edifice of Wall Maria. According to Connie however, Eren became noticeably stiff when someone would ask about what else he saw that day, playing it off with some crack about how he'd "kill them all" someday. Albrecht himself had seen both Eren and Mikasa fly off the handle, but never had he even heard of them crumpling in the face of a threat. They were far too single-minded for such things. Which begged the question: What in the hell did they see?
"Incoming!" Jean's voice came loud and shrill. A thunderous crash, a gouge out of the earth, another dust cloud. Then a second one close behind. "You've got to be shitting me!" Reiner still had numerous titans gnawing at him. Albeit with his thick armor, most of the fools were shattering their teeth in the attempt. And it was those hapless creatures he picked up and threw with increasing accuracy.
"Makes me wish they'd stop paying him so much attention!" Elise maneuvered her horse to avoid a smaller titan as it smashed into the ground. "Attacking is just giving him more ammo!" Fighting Reiner directly like at the wall would've been much more straightforward than this mess.
"That's like turning down between being stabbed in the gut in favor of being shot in the balls!" Ctirad shouted back.
"Never imagined I'd be on the receiving end of a mortar barrage, did you?!" Connie clearly struggled with keeping his horse calm.
"There's a lot of things I'd never imagined happening today," Historia said matter-of-factly. "Just keep it steady and we'll make it." With someone else steering the mount, she could free her eyes to search for Ymir in between fights. Where are you? There are questions I have to ask you; answers I need to know. Duty to the mission, or to one's self? Can it be possible to manage both? Every choice ends in a give-and-take. What do you gain for your sacrifice? Can one be selfless and selfish in the same moment?
I've made a good number of mistakes in my life. I've forsaken my name. I've deceived the ones I love. I've spent years lying to myself about almost everything. So how do I start living honestly; can I even do that? After so much deception, do I deserve that opportunity? As chaos and carnage raged around her, it felt surreal to be so deep in introspection. She could feel the sensation of air rushing over her ears, of little bits of earth raining down upon her, the scent of blood and death, but she couldn't hear any of it inside of her own little world. That is, except for a notably guttural howl that came from somewhere behind her. She didn't need to look to know. Ymir, after all, was always the one that found her.
Guess we'll find out a thing or two in a moment, won't we?
(***)
Erwin couldn't keep his feet. He was dizzy, tired, still losing blood. Adrenaline was finally all but gone from his veins. It'd been years since he'd felt weakness as potent as this. The pain too was getting harder and harder to dull. Even a shot of morphine wouldn't do much for him now. His body resisted all attempts he made to move it. In front of him, subordinates dearly sold their lives one after another in his defense. Despite his protestations, they continued to do so. Why? He was a soldier just like them, and an easily replaceable one at that. Logically speaking, he should be abandoned so the mission could succeed. He'd gone from being a partially effective, walking-wounded to being a complete liability so quickly.
And yet, even as they were devoured, his scouts called out to him. They told him to run, to flee while the enemy gorged upon their flesh. They bid honored farewell as their service came to a violent halt. Is this how it all ends? Me, my regiment, the hopes of mankind? Has everything been for naught? Must I die before I see my dream fulfilled? Erwin Smith does not fear death, no true soldier does. It comes with the territory. What terrifies him more than the myriad horrors he's faced in his life, is leaving work unfinished.
"Finally at a loss, are you?" A disembodied voice asked him.
"Looks to be that way."
"My men are dying in droves, so are yours. We'll be lucky to make the return trip with half the force we began with; if either of us make the trip back at all. Some retrieval operation you've led us on." The voice paused. "Parliament would surely have you hung for your failure."
"Have you come to kill me then?" Erwin's tone had become devoid of color.
Arkady Volgrimmer tightened his trembling hand around the hilt of his sword. "I'm not quite decided on the matter."
(***)
As for the recruits, the work continued to pile up. The titans weren't thinning out. In fact, with more and more of the Garrison and MP soldiers being slain, the scouts had evermore to deal with. Not to mention the additional attackers lobbed their way by Reiner. One or two actually died when they landed, but most had no fatal injuries. How much longer before they ran out of space to run?
"Do you think he planned this all out, or that he made it up on the spot?" Aline asked of Reiner.
"If he did it on a whim, it certainly couldn't work better if he had planned it." Albrecht checked his tanks. Down to a bit less than half. One more set of spare blades. "How's your gas?"
"Sitting at a bit more than a third of the way full. I've got plenty of steel left though." I could make both last until the moon rises if I have to.
"I hope the others aren't in any worse shape than we are."
"Might be able to scavenge some supplies from the dead; the ones that weren't eaten whole anyway."
Albrecht wasn't overly fond of picking corpses clean. The whole exercise, indelicate, cold, and disrespectful. The dead should be left well enough alone. In his experience, disquieted souls might just come back to pay you a visit. But the regiment was filled with patriots who no longer could make use of their supplies. One would imagine they'd be happy to be of some use to their comrades, even in death. Everything for the good of the cause. Yeah, that's right. He couldn't let apprehensions or apparitions trip him up in a situation like this one. Should they appear in the shadows tonight, what was a few more maimed faces amongst those he already saw?
"Aline, go join up with another team and I'll see what I can scrounge up. If we start getting overwhelmed, let the others know to fall back to the knoll west of our position. We'll have higher ground there."
"You're not going to get a titan dropped on your head without a second set of eyes, are you?"
He smiled. "I've got a fast horse. Unless Reiner really has our position locked, he'll have a hell of a time hitting me." It occurred to him after he said it how much that sounded like famous last words.
"Then go find us what we need to keep kicking ass." She dismounted. "I'll be close if you need backup." Albrecht nodded and she rendered a salute, proceeding to head for the nearest engagement.
Albrecht patted his horse on the neck. "You're doing great today, Blitz. Just a bit longer and we can go home, yeah?" Blitz snorted and stamped his hoof against the ground. "And I'll give you a whole bucket of oats when we get back." Blitz snorted again, bobbing his head up and down. It never ceased to amaze Albrecht how much his horse appeared to understand. These loyal beasts of burden, without whom they'd be lost. Following the animal's example, he shook himself and gave a hard flick to the reins. Blitz kicked up massive clods of grass and earth as he took off. Had Albrecht not had such a firm hold on the saddle, the momentum would've sent him over backwards.
"That's it, boy, come on!" What an incredible sensation. His horse lived up to its namesake and then some, carrying him forward like a mighty rush of wind. They couldn't have been going faster if they'd been on the wings of eagles.
Over to the right he spotted a fallen soldier beside a dead horse. He leaned into a turn, pulling the reins to guide Blitz in the proper direction. Barely a breath passed before they reached the body, with Albrecht sliding out of the saddle as they skidded to a stop. Up close, the scene was…messy. The corpse was that of a Garrison soldier, so evidenced by the gore-smattered rose crest on the tattered remains of her jacket. Based on the way her body contorted, she'd quite clearly been stepped on, denting her spine and spewing intestines out of her abdomen. The soldier's horse was missing everything in front of the saddle. However, the saddlebags and her equipment were in well enough shape.
"Apologies in advance for the intrusion," he said as he began fiddling with the dead woman's gear straps. The left-side holster still held all of her spare blades, giving him an additional three. The right side had only one, but the gas tank contained more fuel than the left one. A good start. Albrecht slid the tanks free and lashed them together with the woman's harness belts and secured them to the rear of his saddle. He took the bedroll from her dead horse and wrapped the blades in that. A leather sheath like the ones the supply teams used to transport them on wagons, would've been preferrable, but it'd do for the amount of time he needed.
He muttered a few words to send off the Garrison woman and hurriedly resumed his place atop Blitz. From where he was, he could see the right flank collapsing. The MPs were over there, he recalled. A lot of good their pride and mastery did for them now. Mankind's best, my ass. Some might've enjoyed the sadistic irony of that. He honestly found it tragic and shameful. His Majesty's officers had no business being here; they played at being real warriors, only to be slaughtered like chickens by a fox. "Damn it all…" He needed to work faster.
Blitz carried him on, Albrecht's eye's carefully scouring the thick grass for substantive remains. He saw pieces here and there, but nothing so whole as his first find. Titans were using the chaos to be as greedy with their prey as possible. Waste not, want not, as the saying goes. It infuriated him. Come on, at least give me one more. This isn't enough. It's not nearly enough!
There was an abrupt change in the direction of the wind. As opposed to coming from head on, it unexpectedly came from his left side and with far greater force. Next, the shadow came. The body of a titan, at least eight-meters in height came soaring over his head, so low that Albrecht reflexively ducked as it went past. He followed the line of trajectory directly to a position a couple hundred meters away, where Jean and Ctirad currently stood.
"GET OUT OF THERE!" He strained his throat in hopes the shout might reach them, but it was too late. An impact, a rush of displaced air, a cloud of dust, the sight of Jean being thrown from his horse and bouncing several times on hardened earth. The retching sound he made indicated he spit up blood, a possible rupture of vessels in his lungs. After rolling across the ground a few more meters, he was still.
"JEAN!" Ctirad jumped off of his horse and ran to his comrade's side. Out of the dust cloud, the titan came, not much worse for the wear. Ctirad let out a panicked yelp and drew his sword, dragging Jean with his other arm. That throw had been precisely aimed, like a marksman with his rifle. Reiner was intent on picking them off while Eren stayed out of either party's reach.
Albrecht turned towards the origin of the living projectiles. Reiner had sloughed off most of the titans assailing him, with a few clinging to his legs. They weren't enough to hold him down any longer; he'd started moving this way. Albrecht found himself clenching his teeth together in a vicious snarl. "You're going to pay for this, you son of a bitch!" Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but you will. He kicked his heels into Blitz' sides and hurdled toward Ctirad and Jean. We're all going home, we're all going home, we're all going home. Every last one of us is going home!
Darkness enveloped him, a massive shadow blocking the sun's falling light. Albrecht didn't have the opportunity to look before the titan came crashing down less than three meters behind him. The wind was stronger than his grip this time. Its powerful gust sent him flying right out of his stirrups and into a spin. He attempted to use his gear to steady or right himself, but he stumbled when his feet sought something solid. He felt his ankle twist at an awkward angle and he fell hard, tumbling end over end a handful of times. The world flipped like a rolling die. His eyes fought vainly to hold onto a concrete sense of up and down. His brain couldn't keep up with either of them, so it surrendered to the newfound chaos.
Eventually, the world made up its mind about how it wished to be oriented. Albrecht came to a stop on his back, staring up at a sky with clouds that multiplied themselves. He did not like this sky and sat up so that he might be rid of it. A fool's errand, the rocks and trees were afflicted with the same malady. He tried closing his eyes, but he could still feel his brain swirling around, distorting his thoughts like it did his vision. Standing proved difficult, with his wobbly legs asking for his sensory organs to provide depth of field so they could be certain of where to plant themselves. This plea went unheeded.
"Get up…there's nothing wrong with you…you aren't wounded…you're just a little dizzy." He shakily drew his sword and stabbed into the dirt. He used it like a crutch, dragging himself to his feet. "There's no time for this shit…you have to fight…you're the one in command. Focus…come on…focus." He attempted to force his brain to tell his eyes to clear, but they resisted him. "Blitz! Blitz, where are you?!" Where was his horse? More importantly, where was he? Being thrown shouldn't have sent that far, right? So, why couldn't he recognize the distorted landscape? Now he considered it, multiple things weren't right. The sky wasn't the proper color for this time of day. Oscillating strands of…light streaked across it towards something beyond the horizon. Sand covered large portions of grass. The trees were gone as well.
Everything resolved itself to clarity over the next twenty or so seconds. Everything was wrong. He wasn't on the plains anymore. All the landmarks and vegetation had given way to an endless ocean of sand. Countless stars shimmered in a black void. There was nothing and no one anywhere in sight. No wind either, only silence. He wasn't just alone, he got the sense that no human beings existed in this place, alive or dead.
"What in the hell is this?" Did I…have I died? Did that titan's fall send rock shrapnel through his body? He'd felt no such thing, but…I'm definitely not…am I in hell? Sheol? Or maybe I'm nowhere at all? A chill went up his spine.
"aLbrEcHt…" A strange voice echoed in the nothingness. The sound scared him. "AlBReChT…" It called again, as though it was attempting to say his name underwater. He clung tighter to his weapon and dared not move or breathe.
"ALB, MOVE!" The voice came clear and recognizably feminine in tone. This startled him again and he blinked. He saw sunlight again, felt grass beneath him, and a titan's open mouth leaning in to devour him.
"Back off, you ugly bastard!" Elise came flying in from the side, raking her blades across the titan's eyes, blinding it. She glanced in his direction, clearly annoyed. "Don't just sit there, Alb, fall back!"
"Elise…what…?" Just as suddenly as he'd left it, he'd come back to recognizable reality. Fear was replaced by confusion, slowing his reaction.
"Have you gone crazy?! We need to regroup with the others and—" Eyes are not the only means of perceiving one's surroundings. In fact, many animals make use of sound to see and hunt. Bats, birds, and rodents to name a few categories. Sometimes, although research hadn't established patterns yet, this ability had been observed it titans as well. Blindness momentarily stunned it, but that's all it did. Elise didn't realize the danger until the titan closed its jaws firmly around her left leg. It had her. She flailed for a few seconds, slicing open more of the skin on its face in a hollow attempt to loosen the hold. A squeezing sensation, the sound of crunched bone, and it snapped the appendage off above the knee.
Elise Nadzieja tilted and fell, hitting the ground with a dull thud that made her spine vibrate. She groaned, endeavoring to sit up. She froze when she saw it. Where only moments ago there'd been a leg, now she saw a steady pooling of blood. She raised an eyebrow. Her fingers gingerly reached out to touch where the fabric ended, coming away with a rich, crimson hue. She blinked twice and looked up just in time to see the titan swallow. Her eyes went back to her own body. Elise's heart began pounding, her breaths quickening, then she started screaming.
Albrecht felt as though he'd been run through with a knife. The muscles in his chest tightened. A fresh hell had come to be visited upon him, filling him with despair as Elise writhed in agony. And it's my fault. Stupor robbed him of sense, forcing someone to rush to his aid. That should be me lying there…Another incident where he escaped injury while others bled. He still played the fool on someone else's stage. Why did things always— No, you don't get to give up yet. Stow the misery, so you can focus on saving her. First part of that was to get her out of harm's way.
He didn't bother trying to call Blitz again. He didn't concern himself with the blind titan. Albrecht took the signal pistol from his belt and fired off an emergency signal before discarding it. He rushed heedlessly to Elise's side, grabbing a bandage from the aid pouch he'd been given at the wall. Albrecht didn't have any mastery of field medicine, but he could staunch the flow of blood for a moment.
"Hang in there for me, alright?" He said softly as he wrapped the cloth around the grievous wound. Can't you think of something a little more meaningful to say?!
"It hurts…it hurts so Goddamn much!" It wasn't immediately clear if Elise was speaking to Albrecht or to herself.
He bit his lip. "I'm going to get you out of here; we'll find Giselle and get you patched up." He put both arms underneath her and lifted. Elise made a gut-wrenching sound when his hand touched her ruined limb. The knoll…I gotta head for the knoll! Carrying the extra weight slowed him down, but he implored his legs to take as much strength from the rest of his body as necessary. Though he didn't chance a look over his shoulder, he heard the sound of giant footfalls. The titan must be following Elise's cries. Come on, come on, come on! Can't you move any faster?! Albrecht cursed the limitations of mere humans.
"Alb…" She whimpered. "I don't want to die."
Another knife stabbed into his heart. "No, no, you're not going to die. This is nothing, you've pulled through worse things." You didn't survive a suicide attempt just to fall in this Godforsaken field. Footsteps grew louder in their wake. Without a second thought, he knew they'd be unable to outrun the titan. They'd have their backs against an entire wall of them even if they managed to. He'd need to face it if there was meant to be a chance for her. He had to do it now, while a chance remained to meet the foe on his own terms. Deep breath…he took the air in. I've got this. I have to; I don't have a choice. He found the least rocky patch of ground he could and beelined for it.
"I need to set you down for a moment, okay?" Elise might have intended to protest, but any words died as flares of pain shot through her. Albrecht knelt down and placed her on the ground. In between labored breaths, she tried again to speak, he shook his head. "Don't talk. Concentrate on your breathing. Concentrate on staying calm." Yeah, because that's easy to do when you're missing a limb! Although, it was of absolute importance if they wished to avoid an episode of some kind.
"…scared." He managed to make out the word that slipped out of her quivering lips.
Albrecht tried to keep his own breathing in check to prevent her from seeing how scared he was. Leaders have to reassure those under them, especially under dire circumstances. He couldn't break in front of her; a shield must be strong in order to protect others.
"I'll take care of this asshole, then I'll be right back. Everything is going to be okay." He'd hoped that sounded more convincing to her than it did to him. Albrecht place a firm hand on Elise's shoulder before standing to face his opponent.
Fairly standard-size as far as titans went, but notably more misshapen than a lot of others. The legs were considerably less developed, while the arms appeared as those of a woodcutter. Its lower jaw stuck out from its upper to a degree which would almost prevent chewing. Almost. Fang-like teeth jutted up beyond the lips. It didn't have any hair on its head either, being completely bald aside from its forearms. The eyes yet smoldered, recovering slowly from the wound Elise dealt. He imagined they'd have been as unpleasant a sight as the rest of it. So hideous a monstrosity had gall enough to draw blood from them. The titan would fare better had it been unremarkable.
Horror turned to sorrow, sorrow into anger, anger into rage. That's where he'd ended up. Many would become erratic under the pressure of intense emotion. They'd lash out wildly, like beasts, but he knew better. Grappling with his own demons gave him a greater degree of constructive control over his state of mind. He would use this control to exact vengeance. Mindless monsters, devoid of any motivation beyond feeding. Bloodshed was the ultimate result of their singlemindedness and they excelled at turning rivers red. Albrecht would turn that back on them.
"I hope at least one of your eyes grew back; I want you to see this coming." Man and titan charged one another, roaring in defiance. At the close, both combatants swung to the right. Perfectly in sync, neither blow connected, going wide of the intended target. Maintaining that synchronicity, they pivoted and struck again. A narrower miss, but a miss nonetheless. He wasn't able to tell if its eyes had healed yet, as the smoke of regeneration continued to rise off its face. If they hadn't, its other senses were incredibly acute. Their reflexes matched up closely, with either of them being a millisecond faster than the other. Thus, they spun around one another like the moon around the earth, in congress, but always apart.
He dodged again, evading by the skin of his teeth. Albrecht detested this dance it made him go through. How many seconds were spent now, precious seconds? The creature likely knew no such thing as mockery, but it unconsciously toyed with him, compounding his fury. Delays were unaffordable here. As he struggled, Elise lost more and more blood. The dressing he'd applied would only slow that process by so much. Come on, guys, where are you?! It'd been plenty enough time since he fired the emergency flare. Unless of course, everyone is wounded. That thought didn't come with his own voice. No, they're stronger than that, he responded silently.
Strength is relative. Resources are the factor out here. Without sufficient supplies, the lot of you become snacks that squirm. And it appears I'm not far off the mark there.
Gas indeed became a problem. Once glance at the pressure gauge made his pulse quicken. He wished he'd the time to have topped off his tanks some. At this rate, a few more circles around the monster were all he could accomplish before running on fumes. That, again, delayed his attendance to more pressing matters. The loathsome voice in his head knew that.
Maybe it was high time he gambled? At the expense of a lot of fuel, he could increase his speed. That'd lose some of the maneuverability, but it might get him behind the titan. Anchor placement decided the rest. Why not take the chance? I've pulled off risky moves before. Although, not with so great a price riding on success or failure.
Today was a day which demanded he press his luck. A single chance, maybe two if his estimates on gas expenditure were off. Safer to assume only one in that case. God willing, this doesn't kill me. On the next pass, Albrecht abruptly changed direction, twisting his hips in a way which allowed him to move counter-clockwise before reorienting. In the corner of his vision, the arrow of the fuel gauge plummeted. Good thing then, the titan faltered in its pursuit of violence. Whatever thought processes went on between the titan's ears clearly went awry. This change violated the patterns it ascribed to the human engaging it. Insolence, to do something so unexpected, so inconsiderate! Thus, it reacted slower while processing the new development.
Serves you right, doesn't it? He pivoted after going forty-five degrees through the circle, drifting just so as to provide the opportune angle to send his hook onto target. Right launcher, a twitch of the finger, metal and wire let fly. He heard the satisfying noise of it biting deep into the meat of the shoulder-blade, and through to the bone. It would hold firm there. The titan understood his position now and its head started turning. When Albrecht shifted to place the second anchor, he saw that indeed one of the titan's eyes had grown back. That brought a surprising sense of elation to him.
Retribution, he'd dole it out in spades. He repeated the steps he'd taken, planting the left hook opposite its twin. His enemy stared at him quite clearly now. Another burst of gas saw Albrecht sliding on home, slamming the soles of his shoes against back muscle and spine. Hands came up at him. What he couldn't duck, he sliced apart, cleaving off fingers and cutting deep gashes into palms. The demon failed to comprehend its lot. It didn't know how to cope with being the prey. You're mine…
"BASTARD!" He dropped both swords all the way through the titan's neck at the center. A bloody spray erupted from where a man's Adam's apple would be, and Albrecht pulled his arms apart with all the strength he possessed. It writhed, it squirmed, it tried to swat him away, until he lopped its head clean off.
The visage of it bounced and rolled off into taller grass. Embers from the already dissolving tissue took to the greenery, starting a small fire. Ichor erupted forcefully from its now vacant shoulders, the body falling forward. Albrecht rode it all the way down, scarcely stumbling once it hit the ground. With the finality of that moment, his rage commenced its retreat from the surface, to prepare for when bloodlust should be called upon again. The imparted strength went with it, causing him to sway as he came down from his perch.
"Alb!" He looked to see Aline approaching with Erik in tow. "What happened?!"
"Took you guys long enough," he whispered, gesturing feebly to Elise.
"Sweet God, Almighty…" Erik nearly tripped.
"How did—"
"I don't know how, except that I fucked up."
"Not…fault…should've…" Came the pained reply.
"I thought I said to stop talking and focus on your breathing?" He admonished her.
Elise propped herself up on her elbows with considerable effort as the three of them came closer. "You've been…beating yourself up nonstop…for days now. Dammit, Alb, I'm…sick of it." Every little bump in the road, every setback, he lost the confidence he'd regained. If he wouldn't prop himself up, she had to. She's the only one who knew the darkness inside he fought against. In her current state, seeing him wallow in continual self-pity appeared as like flagellation, and her stomach churned at the notion of it continuing any longer.
"Lecture me all you want later. For now…don't do anything." Albrecht rubbed his hands at his temple. "Shit."
Erik held up his hands. "What're we doing then? Should we move her?"
Aline cocked her head. "And where would we move her to exactly?"
"I'm just making suggestions; don't talk to me like I'm stupid."
"I'd venture that we'll be making due precisely where we stand!" And there was Giselle, riding in atop her steed like something out of a storybook. Her incredibly proper manner of speaking added to the impression. Take away their dire straits and it'd be almost comical.
"You certainly know how to make a dramatic entrance, blondie."
Jean and Ctirad are fine, good of you to ask, Aline. Or so she'd like to say, but a lady must hold her tongue, even when feeling exasperation. Also, some risk that her quick-tempered comrade might strike her kept the seal on her lips tight. "Never mind all that. What's happened?"
"Elise…" Albrecht's breath caught in his throat, as though speaking of it might make things worse. "…a titan bit her leg off."
She kept the horror from manifesting on her face. Or, if she didn't, nobody said anything. "Let me have a look." Giselle dropped on her knees, letting her clinical side take over everything. She had lots of opportunities to practice what she'd been taught lately. Regrettably, that meant working on her fellow recruits to a great degree. God, guide my hands in this matter. She'd never been a squeamish girl, but limbs…she didn't…working with them, she found particularly unpleasant.
Giselle touched the bandage, noting that the fabric had become completely saturated. "Blood loss is significant, more so than it should be after this short a time; was the leg elevated afterwards to keep blood going to her heart?"
"I…it didn't even cross my mind at the time," Albrecht admitted. An obvious mistake, one that'd be made by someone without the proper training.
"Don't worry!" She said, noting his crestfallen expression. "I can still keep shock from setting in, provided we can close off the artery and plug the larger veins. And, keep the leg elevated of course." I just…won't have as much time to work. Not a problem! There's plenty of hands here to assist me. It'd be better if Historia was here too, but I'll manage. As long as I stay calm, the others won't freak out either. The reassuring words of her conscience did little to loosen the knot in her stomach. "We need to give her some form of analgesic. Did anyone snag a morphine syringe before we left?"
"No," came the collective response.
She shook her head. "That's fine, not a big deal. A phial of laudanum or maybe some bitters? Anything is better than nothing."
Erik reached into his ration pouch. "I've got some bitters left. Not a whole bottle—"
"Give it to her." Erik nodded and scooted around to Elise's head. "It tastes terrible, but make sure she swallows it all," Giselle cautioned him. "Aline, get the peroxide, gauze, and a clean bandage." Both did as they were instructed. So far, so good. Giselle kept her nervousness in check.
"Can I do anything?" Albrecht asked.
"We could use some cover." She instantly worried that might sound dismissive. "Don't misunderstand," Giselle added with a twinge of apprehension. "The procedure requires one-hundred percent of our attentions. As such, we won't be able to keep any threats off our back."
He nodded. "Of course, I understand." Any further interference on his part might do more harm than good. Watching their surroundings for threats, he could do that better.
"To work then." Giselle rolled out her field kit, producing forceps, a magnifying glass, bandages, salve, all of it. She had the things Albrecht lacked, except a tourniquet. The last of which she improvised with a spare strap. She handed it to Erik to secure in place. As hoped, the bitters took quickly, dulling the senses, taking the edge off the pain. That'd be important when she clamped off the artery.
"That on there nice and tight?"
"As tight as I can make it without breaking skin," Erik answered.
"Perfect, I need you to hold the leg up for me." She placed the forceps in her mouth and rolled up her sleeves.
"How high?"
"Forty-five to sixty degrees would do it; gravity will siphon blood away from the ruptured veins." She held up a finger until Erik reached a satisfactory level, then tapped him on the shoulder. "Keep it right there. Aline, put a cloth in her mouth in case she tries to bite off her tongue."
"I thought the bitters dulled the pain?"
"I don't know by how much. Bitters typically are prescribed for post-operation pain-relief, not anesthesia during." Giselle unwrapped the dirty dressing from Elise's leg. A very even break on the bones, some coagulation around the edges here. That's good! She smiled. "Hang in there, friend. It won't be pleasant, but I'll get you taken care of." Her charge nodded slowly, making a muffled noise around the cloth Aline forced between her teeth.
She took a clean bandage and wiped the whole area down. Next, she watched a few seconds to determine the most significant source of bleeding. That'd be where the artery was. With so many little holes to leak out of, she'd imagined that locating it would be problematic, but no. The perimeter of dried blood stopped up many of the lesser capillaries, so finding the main one involved a faster process of elimination. There you are. Giselle picked up the forceps. But, for the briefest moment, she hesitated, afraid of what she might be about to inflict upon poor Elise Nadzieja. She had to remind herself: Pain will come to her whether or not you act. A brief, intense bout of it now saves her from the designs of fate. Okay then, whew…here goes.
No mental preparation made her ready to hear what came out of Elise's throat when she lodged her implements into the girl's ravaged flesh. Elise struggled against Erik's grip, the gag doing little to hold back the screams. "Erik, please, I need you to keep the leg still."
"It's not that easy; look at her!"
"Sedation is the normal condition under which these procedures are performed!"
"Well, we aren't that lucky, are we?!" Aline shouted at both of them. "You're the one who said we gotta make due!"
Albrecht turned. "Stop yelling. You get stressed, she gets worked up, so knock it off." His voice was stern, without hostility.
Giselle nodded. "Right, of course. I apologize." It's just my nerves aren't nearly as steady as I'd hoped. Deep, controlled breaths. Deep, controlled breaths. "Erik, take some gauze and pack it in a circle around this point here. Everything except the artery needs covering."
He applied pressure, placing thicker padding where the worst of the bleeding originated. The blood which had started drying acted as like glue to hold them there. "Got it."
"Elise, I'm going to try clamping off the artery again, understand? Power through the pain as much as you are able." Elise bobbed her head up and down and closed her eyes. Seven seconds was all she could manage before screams forced their way out of her mouth.
Albrecht fought the urge to look, knowing nothing came of his attentions. Now he considered it, he'd never been so near a surgery before. Even the dying people he'd seen didn't make such ear-splitting, heart-rending noises. Sounds of combat echoed in the distance, and he was able to listen, truly listen to a battle for the first time. Albrecht Johannes was terrified.
(***)
Reiner Braun took another step, dragging along the glutton gnawing at his calve. The second of three smaller ones, those he struggled most with shaking off. The largest ones were cast away, repurposed as weapons against his foes. Despite the energy expended in his fight against Eren, he had strength to spare. He stepped again, sloughing off pieces of a titan that held onto his foot as he did so. A fine illustration of his point. Monsters. They weren't unlike wolves, really. Alone, threatening, but far from insurmountable. In packs, they'd pick their prey clean in an instant, unless they faced something stronger. The food chain operated on this principle, for all beings, since time began. Strength determined one's place in the order of things.
The past haunted him. Always has, always will. If not the memory of his own deeds, the constant reminder of the deeds of others long since dead. Guilt was inescapable, bound in his veins, in all of theirs. To fight, to achieve the mission he began those years ago, was the means of atonement for that guilt. Many, considered it a noble undertaking, righteous. Why wouldn't they? Service promised redemption. It's not too dissimilar an ideal than those he once stood beside in the kingdom's defense.
He'd took the oath with them, broken bread with them, shared many a raucous evening and adventure in their company. He was grateful for those times, even as he threw off the shell of the man he'd pretended to be. The passage of years taught him that the life of a warrior was solitary, without mirth or joy. To be such was to sacrifice unto death, then hand the torch on. Fate is often the bitterest of pills.
The Armored titan: it wasn't meant to be his originally, though he'd proven worthy of it in time. Every struggle he'd endured, every hour of strife, every drop of sweat and blood, earned him what he had. This power, his will, it couldn't win every fight, but he'd damn well keep victory from his enemies. After all, you can crawl up from the mud as long as you have someone to step on. Childhood had him as the stepping stool. Now, he'd never be at the top of the pile, he knew that to be true. However, he'd leave an impression on this world when he left it. Savior to some, devil to most, but remembered all the same.
Reiner pulled the maimed titan from his foot and threw it to his side. Additional distractions made certain the scouts, and by extension that clever bastard, Smith off their backs. Eren, Mikasa, the others, required his undivided attention. Why couldn't you have made things easier and come along like we asked? Resisting won't stop what's coming, what's got to be done. All the soldiers and guns in the world couldn't stop it. Titan shifters couldn't stop it with their powers either. Hubris makes men think they're able to control the tides, but they're only ships upon the waters, imagining they're Aegir incarnate. Eren Jaeger always was that kind of man.
From afar, he saw what unfolded. A man in Garrison attire zooming about the titan's head like a fly, Eren and Mikasa just beyond. Eren bit repeatedly into the nubs of his as yet ungrown hands. Desperate, so desperate to transform, as if his raw strength solved every problem. You don't get it. More like you refuse to, blinded by your arrogance. Soon, Reiner would show him how impotent he really was.
(***)
"How are we looking down there?" Aline asked, working to maintain a level tone as she stroked Elise's hair.
"This is bad. We've packed the wound as tight as possible, but the bleeding won't stop." Giselle anxiously bit into her knuckle. Elise had a very strong heartbeat, which was working against the effort to staunch the arterial flow. The belt around her thigh wasn't holding tight enough to restrict it. Couldn't have picked a worse time to be without a tourniquet. "And I can't get my clamps to where the artery is. We've…probably got five minutes."
"Until what?!" Erik shouted.
"Until she bleeds to death." Giselle grimaced. She didn't have the equipment or supplies to attempt anything further. Despite her skill, she was helpless this time. How cruel and tragic to suffer the loss of a friend only a few hours after the relationship is formed? How twisted to have such a selfish thought as someone died…so this is what shame feels like.
Albrecht slowly turned. "Elise is dying?"
She nodded. "Yes, yes I'm afraid she is."
"Cut the crap, blondie; there's got to be something we can do, right?!" Giselle didn't meet Aline's eyes. She looked up. "Alb? Come on, you…"
Albrecht Johannes stared blankly at Elise as the color drained away from her face. Her body trembled and her eyes darted wildly back and forth. People spoke to her, but she didn't respond. Shock would soon set in, and she would expire thereafter. Was another comrade really going to die on his watch?
A dark twist of fate made it so that Elise would leave the world in almost the same manner as Jansen. Twice. That was twice in the last several weeks he'd fooled himself into believing he had any right or ability to lead troops into combat. The recruits hadn't been in any shape for a fight of this scale either. They should've rested, should've let the veterans handle it. That should've been at the front of his mind well before now. And because it hadn't been…He looked around at the unfolding massacre. This is what happens. Sure, the titan responsible lay dead and smoldering, but as in Trost, its death came too late.
Although it could've easily been his imagination, harsh whispers echoed in his ears and a ghastly, hooded figured appeared to move about the battlefield. It was her; he didn't need to confirm his suspicions, he felt it. A specter far more potent than any titan which haunted him at nearly every turn. She came to drag another off into the abyss.
WAIT.
He snapped back to the smoke and embers coming from the dead titan. Albrecht recalled the heat and burns suffered by the scouts on the wall. His eyes drifted to the blade in his hand. A slim chance is better than none at all. Albrecht briskly closed the distance between himself and the corpse and clambered onto its back.
Erik blinked. "Man, what are you doing?"
He looked down into the burning stump of the titan's neck. "Firing a shot in the dark." Albrecht thrust his sword fully into the fumes and held it where the heat felt most intense. He winced as flecks of scalding ash stuck to his hand. "Somebody hold Elise's head and give her something better to bite down on!" Forty-five seconds he kept the steel immersed, forty-five seconds he prayed would grant him the ability to save a life for once.
When he removed his weapon, heat waves rose off of it and the skin of his hand blistered. "I need two of you to hold her down and someone to keep the leg up." He dropped from the titan's back and slid onto his knees at Elise's feet. Nobody questioned his intentions. Aline placed a broken length of belt in Elise's mouth and held her wounded comrade's head. Giselle and Erik each held an arm and a leg. "Take the bandage away," Albrecht told them.
"There's no guarantee—" the former started.
"There's never any guarantees," Albrecht cut her off. He looked into Elise's eyes briefly. "I'm apologizing in advance, because this is really going to hurt. A lot more than what's already been done." He exhaled and firmly pressed the red-hot metal to the stump where her left leg had once been. The flesh sizzled, and muffled screams issued forth from Elise's mouth. She thrashed and contorted, but the others kept her steady enough for him to keep the blade against the wound. Little wisps of brown smoke accompanied the scent of charred meat. Albrecht counted the same number of seconds as he'd had the weapon in the fire, determined to seal every vein and capillary. He tried to block out Elise's frantic cries of pain. The ugliest work must fall to the leader, the most disgusting task to he who bears responsibility for the lives of others.
When the sword came away, everything beneath it had turned black. The river of vitae had stemmed with the dam sealed. Elise however, passed out during the last several seconds of the procedure, her senses overwhelmed by agony.
"Did it work?" Aline asked.
Giselle gasped, having held her breath the whole time. "We can't be sure until she has a proper examination." She poured a measure of peroxide onto a clean piece of gauze and a bandage and applied them to the site. "Cauterizing a wound of this severity isn't consistently effective, and there's risk of infection besides."
"But for the time-being…it's…it's one less thing we'll need to worry about." Albrecht wiped his brow.
Yeah, and only one. In the midst of the group's efforts, no more assailants came. They appeared singularly fortunate in that regard.
The situation deteriorated by the moment. Chaos and carnage replaced order and discipline. Their formation was gone, the assault force broken, and the chain of command lost. Inexperienced MPs fell in numbers, with Garrison troops offering greater resistance, but faltering all the same. Titans took large chunks out of the soldiers, swallowed them whole, and tore them asunder while vying with one another for shares of the evening's fare.
Beyond the forest, beyond the safety of the giant trees, ODM gear meant nothing. They had nothing to cling to, scrambling about on foot and on horseback as death descended on them from kilometers around. A fight could scarcely be more one-sided. How tenuous the rescue mission had been already? At this point, the outcome of that operation might be irrelevant. Win or lose, they might not survive to tell about it.
OKAY, so that's done! I must confess that this chapter has been one of the most difficult (and among the longest) I have written. I had the ending two pages completed at the time of the last chapter's uploading three months ago. It was the lead up that proved so daunting. I wrote, rewrote, and rearranged paragraphs so many times I can't count. It's been stressful and one hell of a process getting here, but I made it. In the last two weeks or so, I told myself I wasn't allowed to watch any anime until I finished this chapter. I held true to that (not even peering at the new season yet).
However, in the interval between last chapter and this one, I have managed to accomplish a few other things. I have finished the draft of a children's book I intend to publish this next year, as well as beginning the conversion of Winds of Promise into novels I can publish as my own (And that's a process that'll take a good while, given how much alteration is needed.) I'm not stopping work on this, here though. You can count on that.
I would like to thank the new fans: TheGamerMarine76, Possesive, AtomicGod666, Stan Bowden, timberwolf6626, TechnicalJoker, Goku275, Rito Fernandez, N, and Nancy is Bae. You guys, and those who've continued reading all this time, these past SIX years now, mean the world to me, and that's a lot in a year like 2020.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you fine folks. Until the next time, WIR SIND DIE JAEGER.
