Chapter 4
The following morning the Cadets are lined up by the stables. They each take a horse and prepare themselves for their first expedition. Willow's mouth is dry, and she thinks about taking a drink, but then worries that she will need to go to the bathroom when she is needed most. Unreasonable worries flow through her mind as she tries to come to terms that today is the day she has been dreading.
She plays with her green cloak, for the first time wearing the official outfit of the Scouts around the others. She looks down at the sky-blue button-down shirt that Petra picked out for her, feeling more comfortable in clothes that fit her better. She pulls her long hair back in a ponytail so not to be distracted by it. Her eyes scan the other Cadets as they prepare their horses, and everyone looks so different in their uniforms; all blending into one unified operation.
Willow turns from them as her mind travels. When Commander Pyxis saw her take down the Titans and introduced her to Commander Erwin, she expected to be a part of a team, working together to kill Titans. She did not expect her actions to be publicized and exploited in front of everyone. Willow has never been quite good in crowds, and now with all eyes on her, she feels like she is drowning in the sea of eyes watching her every move.
Levi approaches her horse, seeing the look of dismay on her face. His eyes scan her up and down, noticing that she is wearing tighter clothes that fit her better. He smiles at the sight of her, looking more like a Scout and she is taken aback, seeing him smile genuinely for the first time. "Hange and I ride behind you. We will have a perfect view of the action and will be within range to assist you as needed," he says with a stern nod. She nods her head, still feeling uneasy about the entire situation.
Willow straightens her back on her horse as she prepares for what is to come. She watches as Captain Malik takes the front and first position, where he and his squad will take point on distracting the Titan. She looks at the back of each of Malik's soldiers. Her eyes land on the back of Hal's head and she feels a rush of emotions, remembering his harsh words to her. He will be the first line of defense for her, and she cannot help but reminisce on his harsh words as the idea of him protecting her breaches her mind. He turns his head slightly and she swallows hard, throwing her eyes down to her hands so he doesn't catch her looking at him.
Willow has been debriefed about the mission today, but Erwin has withheld the information from his Captains and Lieutenants. She questions his strategy in keeping the key factors of the board out of the plan and wonders how it will affect the mission. From what Erwin told Willow, Malik's main priority is to keep her safe from the Titan, Derrek's is to depart from them and lure more Titans towards them, and Hange and Levi are to only intervene as a contingency when both Captains are preoccupied, and their assistance is needed.
Willow swallows the growing lump in her throat as they ready for their ride. She looks behind her to see past Levi and Hange where all the Cadets within the Corps are waiting on her to perform. They are all counting on her to be this amazing showman; to demonstrate this wild power over the Titans, and Willow cannot help but feel the pressure as all eyes are on her.
She pulls her head forward as Erwin takes position right in front of her, behind his two Captains and their squads. She takes in a deep breath, and before she can exhale all the way, Erwin gives the command, and they all charge towards the Titan infested rubble that remains of Wall Maria.
She keeps her eyes forward, unable to look onto the decaying structures that remain of her home. They are quickly out of the crumbling city and into the open field beyond the walls. Willow allows her eyes to wonder, taking in the beautiful open scenery beyond the walls.
Willow takes hold of her horse tightly and charges behind Erwin, mesmerized by his green cloak that flows effortlessly in the wind. In this light as the sun begins to rise, the Wings of Freedom look like they are sailing into the horizon. And for a single moment, Willow feels peace. She pulls her head back, allowing the wind to flow through her hair, closing her eyes and imagining herself standing atop Wall Maria, arms extended to the sky as the wind kisses her skin. She feels free.
Willow comes crashing down from her daydream as Hal calls out, "Titan to the left! 14-meter class!" Her eyes shoot open, and she looks at the horrific Titan that waddles aimlessly towards them without purpose. She looks at its grotesque expression as its smile crawls from ear to ear, with dull dead eyes to accompany it. She holds onto the reins of her horse tightly, feeling the adrenaline pumping uncomfortably in her chest.
Derrek looks over his shoulder and Erwin nods at him. He deviates right and his squad follows him with glances shot at one another. It is clear that Derrek knows little of his role and did not discuss what little he has been told with his squad. They continue away from the Titan while the rest of the caravan heads left towards the target.
"Engage the target!" Erwin commands and the caravan begins travelling to the left. As they approach the Titan, Erwin calls out, "Malik Squad, keep the Titan busy, do not kill the titan!"
"Sir?" Malik questions looking back at his Commander with pressed brows.
"I repeat, keep the Titan busy, Willow will take him down. At all cost, do not allow the Titan to know of Willow's presence."
"Sir!" he yells with a trusting nod. "Let's go!" he calls out and effortlessly, Malik squad thrusts themselves from their horses and begin zipping in front of the Titan like pesty flies… waiting to be squashed.
The Titan slowly swats at the Elite soldiers, but they are far too quick moving for the creature to capture them. Willow watches in awe at their expert maneuvering with ODM gear as they zip effortlessly from side to side. They begin throwing insults at the dead eyed monster while Willow watches wide-eyed at their fearlessness in the face of such a terror.
Willow looks back at Levi and Hange who do not watch the fight, but rather keep their attention and focus forward as the caravan continues moving, so not to lay victim of a Titan that may approach the still group. Levi's eyes shift over to Willow's and he can see the hesitation in her face. He gives her a strong nod, reassuring her that he will be there to protect her if he needs to be.
"Willow, now!" Erwin calls out, and without hesitation, Willow lifts herself to stand on the back of the horse and pulls the trigger of her grapple, catching the shoulder of the Titan.
She propels herself off of her horse's back and shoots towards the Titan at a rapid speed. The Titan turns to look at her, and for a moment, time stands still as their eyes lock. Willow sees a glint in the Titan's eyes as he looks onto her, seeing the desire to devour her.
Willow's heart beats rapidly, but before she can even react, Hal comes flying in front of her, blocking the space between her and the Titan. "Don't look at her, ugly guy, look at me, I'm much more handsome!" Hal calls out to the Titan, slashing at its face and taking its attention off of her.
She inhales deeply, holding her breath as she crashes onto the back of the Titan, overshooting the timing of her break. Her grabbling hook detaches from the Titan's shoulder and she begins falling down its back. Levi straightens up, preparing himself to shoot himself to her, but Willow recovers and latches back onto the back of the Titan's head. She flies up the back of the Titan and plants herself at the nape of the neck.
"Malik Squad! Protect Willow at all cost!" Erwin yells as Willow is in position.
Levi glances over at Hange with pressed brows. She is at the nape of the neck, what could she possibly be doing that they have not done before?
Willow takes a deep breath as her hands shake at the thought of when she was last in this position. She reminds herself that she is not a scared little girl this time. She reminds herself that she has ODM gear that she knows how to use, she reminds herself that she is a Scout now, and she reminds herself that she is not scared.
She lifts her sword and drives it into the nape of the Titan's neck with as much force as she can muster. The Titan reels back at the attack and Willow holds onto her sword so not to go flying off of him. The Titan lifts his hand up to swat Willow. She looks up, frozen in fear as the hand comes crashing towards her.
Before she can think, Hal comes flying in, taking hold of her in his arms and pulling her away from the nape of the Titan's neck. She looks up at him as he holds her tightly in his arms, pressing her to his chest. "I don't know what the hell you are doing, Cadet," he calls out, flushed with frustration as his black hair blows wildly in the wind, "But whatever it is, do it quick!"
She looks up at his fierce icy eyes that look down at her expectantly for an answer. "I need to go back to the nape of the neck!" she calls out to him over the whistling wind.
He moves his eyes from hers and nods once, tightening his jaw and turning his weight to change their direction back to the Titan as the rest of his squad continues to keep the Titan from charging the caravan. He soars by and drops Willow down a few feet onto the Titan's back. Hal latches onto the back of the Titan's ear, watching Willow with curious eyes as she latches her hooks into his upper back and anxiously looks at the Titan's nape, trying to find the perfect spot. Her long unkept hair falls in her face as it came undone when Hal snatched her up. She frantically attempts to move the stray golden strands of hair out of her face with the back of her wrist, whilst still holding onto her swords. She figures she is wasting time trying to see and needs to locate the exact spot soon.
"Slash his arms!" Malik calls out. "We need to keep him from swatting at Willow!" His squad nods in response and Hal moves from watching Willow to begin directing their attacks on the Titan's arms, while Willow locates the spot.
"Incoming!" Laura cries out as a group of four 10-meter class Titans come rushing towards them behind the tails of Derrek Squad.
"What the hell is he doing?" Malik grunts in frustration, looking at Derrek's Squad bringing in a group of Titans their way.
"Sir, what do we do?" Laura calls out while Colin and Hal focus on their coordinated attack on the Titan's arms.
"Stay on task keep the Titan off—" before he can finish, the Titan roars with a deafening cry, flinging its head back while Willow holds onto her sword. The Titan completely freezes, and the Elites stop their attack looking at it with incredulous eyes.
Willow lifts herself from a hanging position to her knees, covered in the blood of the Titan. She presses her sword into the Titan and his limbs jerk with her movement. Levi's eyes widen at the sight as Erwin smiles to himself, finally seeing it firsthand.
"Malik Squad, fall back!" Erwin calls out. "Derrek Squad move the Titans in on Willow!" he commands as Derrek Squad rides past the caravan. Malik's team falls back, but they stay within range to watch what Willow is about to do.
Willow twists the sword to the right and the Titan jerks to the left with heavy un-controlling steps. She continues to move the sword within the Titan's nape as it fights her, stomping wildly. She holds on tightly so not to lose her balance. She twists the sword to the right and back and the Titan begins moving towards the other Titans Derrek lures in. She pulls back on the sword farther, and the Titan begins running full speed towards her target.
"Oh my god!" Petra calls out in shock.
"She's controlling the Titan!" Eld says with unbelieving tone.
The group begins to erupt in exclamations of what they are seeing unravel before them and Levi finally realizes why Willow was stabbing the Titan's nape and not slashing at it. He wants to look at Hange and confirm she is seeing exactly what he is seeing, but he does not want to take his eyes off of Willow. His eyes search for Willow's, and he sees the fierceness he has always wanted to see in her. He sees the fight in her, and he can see the soldier in her.
Willow tugs on the sword, realizing that a tug to the right and a slight twist downwards to the left directs the Titan to swing its right arm in a punching motion. She plays with the motions that her swords give her over the Titan's movements, taking a moment to gather the groove of each movement.
One of the Titans approaches her, and she moves the sword to direct her Titan to punch the approaching one. Her Titan takes hold of the smaller one, grabbing it and decapitating it with a swift motion that she commands. She digs her sword in deeper and the Titan kicks its adversaries to the ground, slamming its foot into the nape of its neck and killing the Titan instantly.
"Holy shit, she is taking them out no problem!" Colin calls out while Hal watches her with wide incredulous eyes. He launches himself at a nearby tree branch next to Malik where they fall back and continue to watch with wide disbelieving eyes.
Willow grunts as another Titan bashes into the one she is controlling. She holds on tightly, so not to be knocked off. She gains control over the Titan again and punches the one attacking her in the face. She hits the Titan with such force that it's fist punches through the Titan's face and right through the nape of the neck. She turns to the final Titan standing before her. Willow snarls as she pulls the sword back with great force commanding the Titan to run at full speed towards his target. She lifts the sword at the last moment and the Titan kicks its adversary, sending it flying across the field. She runs towards the Titan at full speed, jumping up and smashing her knee into the ground, splatting its head over the field.
Everyone watches in awe at Willow's grasp on the Titan, feeling a sense of excitement that the tide is finally turning as she effortlessly took on four more Titans. Willow lifts the Titan to its feet and walks it carefully to the camp, when she hears someone call out. "Abnormal!" Colin yells as a Titan comes running full speed to Willow's Titan. She moves to turn around, but the Titan is too slow and the Abnormal comes rushing in, punching Willow's Titan in the face, sending her hurling off of its back.
Levi jumps without a second thought, flinging himself off of his horse and propelling himself to Willow. He catches her just before she hits the ground. They both come crashing in the field, rolling into the ground with heavy force as he narrowly catches her from disaster. Levi lifts himself quickly from the ground and runs towards Willow, who rolled a bit further than him. "Are you alright?" he yells at her as she slowly lifts herself up.
"I think so," she tells him rubbing her head as blood begins trickling down from a deep cut that Levi winces at. "But my gear is busted," she tells him, showing the large hole in her tanks.
Levi looks up to see Malik Squad jump into action, taking on the Abnormal and Willow's now recovered Titan. "Hold on to me," he commands her in a low tone, "They have it handled."
She nods once at him and he takes her in his hands, pressing her tightly to his chest and launching them towards the caravan. He lands her next to Erwin who looks at Levi with pressed brows as to why he wouldn't drop her on the Titan. "Her gear is busted," Levi answers his question before he can ask it.
"Levi, give Willow your gear," the Commander demands with wild eyes as his attention focuses on Malik Squad struggling with the Abnormal and now three Titans.
"What?" Levi says completely taken aback by the request.
"Now Lieutenant!" Erwin hisses as Malik Squad struggles. "Derrek Squad move in for assistance!" he calls out as Derrek rides his team into battle.
"No," Levi protests and Willow looks at him with shocked eyes. "Willow needs someone quick on ODM gear to provide emergency evacuation."
"Damnit, Levi! Give her your gear!" he calls out angrily with wide fiery eyes.
"She can have mine," Hange says dismounting her horse and stripping her ODM gear without hesitation, while Willow quickly does the same.
Once Willow is in her new gear, she quickly springs into action, not waiting for the Commander to give his orders. She zips past Derrek and Malik Squad as she approaches the now four Titans that have collected around the battling Elites.
"Willow!" Malik calls out, "Try to take over the Abnormal, we can handle the rest!"
"Sir!" she yells out with a single nod. Her heart races heavily as she looks over at the Abnormal. It is skinny, with limbs comically too long for its body. She worries the arms will be able to reach her at the nape easier than the other Titan she had controlled. She shakes her head of any concern she may have and moves her direction to the Abnormal.
She attaches onto its forehead, skyrocketing towards its face. The Abnormal's smile widens wickedly as it opens its mouth at the approaching girl. She pulls the trigger to release her gas and shoots upward before she can fling herself into its gapping mouth. Her heart races wildly as she stands on the Abnormal's head, looking down to see the Elites fighting.
She quickly darts to the nape of the Abnormal's neck, digging her grappling hooks into its shoulder blades and gaining her footing on the back of the Abnormal. She takes a deep breath and digs her sword into the nape of the Abnormal's neck. The Abnormal does not react to this and she figures she did not hit the perfect spot that renders them paralyzed to their own movements. She pulls out her sword and digs it into another spot. The Abnormal continues to swat at the zipping soldiers as Willow begins to panic. She continues to stab at different spots of the nape with no avail until her arms begin to burn.
She presses into the end of the cervical spine at the base of the Abnormal's neck and the Abnormal begins stomping wildly, charging towards three Scouts and a heard of horses. Willow looks down in horror as the Abnormal tramples the unsuspecting Scouts. She pulls out her sword from its nape and the Abnormal stops stomping on the mangled corpses.
"Captain!" she cries out to Malik. "It's not working!" she yells out in dismay, realizing that despite hitting the nape, she cannot take control of the Abnormal's actions, and rather drives them to move erratically.
"Abort the Abnormal, Cadet!" he instructs. "Return to the original Titan!" he says as Hal zips in front of him and kills a Titan approaching them.
She unhooks herself from the Abnormal and jumps from its back. The Abnormal reaches out for Willow and swats at her, misbalancing her direction and sending her falling down. She grapples onto the Abnormal's chest so not to be sent falling down. The Abnormal lifts its arms, entrapping Willow within its chest and keeping her from using her ODM gear to escape.
"Vanessa*, help Willow!" Derrek calls out to his squad mate. The brunette nods and changes her direction towards the Abnormal while everyone battles the four remaining Titans. Willow slashes at the hands of the Abnormal that reaches for her as she is pressed to its chest.
Vanessa comes flying by, grappling onto its abdomen, and launching herself upward to its chest. The Abnormal looks down and watches as Vanessa comes flying upward. Its hands move from trying to grab Willow to snatching Vanessa violently in its grip.
"No!" Willow calls out as the Abnormal takes Vanessa in its grip. Derrek looks back to see his squad member in peril. He is too fixated in his own battle with the Titans, that he cannot move towards the Abnormal to assist her.
Willow latches onto the hand of the Abnormal and begins slashing at its fingers to release the screaming girl. Willow looks into the blue eyes of Vanessa, seeing the panic in them as the bloodshot of her watery eyes accentuates her blue eyes. Her face contorts in primal fear as the realization of her impending death cripples her. Willow swallows hard trying desperately to slash faster.
The Abnormal's head moves closer to its fist, as if it is watching the girls with intelligent curiosity. Vanessa's eyes widen at the sight of the Abnormal watching them. Willow shakes the fear out of her head and continues to slash at the thumb in hopes to weaken its grip and dislodge Vanessa. But Willow's arms begin burning from all the slashing, and with her lack of muscles, her arms drop, and she begins to hyperventilate as Vanessa begs her to continue slashing.
Willow sees the frantic fear in the girl and calls upon her strength. She begins slashing again with all her might. Beads of sweat accumulates on Willow's forehead and her heart beats wildly at her task. The fist begins moving and Willow loses her balance. She quickly regains her footing and focuses on slashing the thumb off, not willing to look at the Abnormal that now moves to swallow the two of them whole.
"No!" Vanessa yells as the Abnormal's mouth widens to its ears. "Please no! I don't want to die!" she shrieks out as Willow's eyes begin tearing with sheer terror.
She begins viciously slashing as the Abnormal's fist tilts towards its gaping mouth. Willow's attention is shifted from the fist to the Abnormal's mouth as the hot breath from the cavernous hole hits her skin with a sickening heat. Willow's body begins shaking in horror as she pushes to get the Elite out of the Abnormal's grip.
She closes her eyes as the heat surrounds her and the Abnormal tilts its head back, releasing its grip on the girls as they begin freefalling towards the Abnormal's mouth. Willow gasps when her body is thrusted forward and fresh air soars through her golden hair. Her eyes dart open and she sees that she is in the arms of Derrek who swooped in and saved her from being devoured at the last minute. She looks back to see that Vanessa was not as lucky, watching as the Abnormal feasts on her body as an ocean of blood sprays from the Abnormal's mouth while it chomps down on the poor girl, silencing her cries for help.
Willow releases a shocked whimper as she watches the last bits of the girl dripping from the Abnormal's mouth with tendons sticking between its teeth. Derrek drops down on the Titan that Willow originally took over and plants his hooks into its head. "Willow, you need to focus," Derrek says with a now pressed look in his eyes, but a faint smile still on his lips. "Take over this Titan and kill the Abnormal. Don't let her death be in vain," he commands her, and she nods, knowing that neither have time to mourn her death.
He nods when he sees the comprehension in her eyes and leaves her to continue the fight as seven more Titans swarm the Elites.
"Levi, Hange, Eld, Moblit!" Erwin calls out as he sees the hoard of Titans approaching them. "Protect Willow at all cost! Assist Squads Malik and Derrek!" he calls out and they all propel from their horses with new ODM gear.
"The rest of you," Erwin calls out, "Show these Titans what is means to be a Scout!" he yells in a battle cry as he leads the rest of the caravan into a charge towards the approaching Titans.
"Holy shit, this is it!" Gunther calls out as Petra holds onto the reins of her horse with wide eyes.
"About time!" Oruo grumbles with a smile crawling up his face.
Meanwhile, Willow looks down frantically at the nape of the Titan's neck, unable to find the location she pressed into before since the entrance has healed over. She begins desperately stabbing into the Titan's nape to locate the area with aching muscles that scream for relief.
"Hey Kid!" Levi yells in a stern voice to grab her attention. She looks up at him to see him attached to the Titan's head. "I can kill this thing in an instant if I need to, but there is a hoard of Titan's approaching us, and it would be nice if you could take control of this thing."
"I am trying!" Willow cries as tears begin to obscure her vision. "But Vanessa—"
Levi sighs and drops down next to her. "Pull yourself together, Willow!" he commands her sternly. "You are no use to any of us under these hysterics," he says with eyes stern and focused on hers, no longer showing his lidded indifference. "Her death is not your fault. We do not have time to dwell on it." Willow's head drops and Levi grabs onto her arm with vicious force, bringing her back into the now. "More people will die if you do not focus," he tells her sternly. "The entire caravan is charging into the battle. We need you!" he tells her searching her eyes for a single trace of understanding.
Willow looks down seeing the base of the neck. She quickly kneels down, driving her sword into the Titan's nape. The Titan reals back with a roar, and Levi quickly fastens himself to its back so not to fly off of it. "Atta girl," Levi says under his breath with a sideways smile.
Willow tightens her stance on the Titan, moving it towards the Abnormal that begins charging full speed at the caravan of Cadets.
"Everyone, prepare to switch to evasive maneuvers!" Erwin calls out, looking up with narrowed determined eyes as the Abnormal approaches them with unmatched speed.
The Cadets look up with utter fear staining their eyes as the Abnormal rushes towards them, with every memory or decision plaguing them with unaccomplished regret. Tears strewn down their cheeks as the inevitable comes charging towards them.
Petra closes her eyes, unable to watch the unavoidable crash of the Titan to bodies, where Gunther freezes at the creature running towards them with purpose. Oruo prepares himself to jump from his horse while Kira and Luke shriek uncontrollably at the incoming monster.
Though all their fears come to a halt when the Abnormal freezes in its attack of the caravan, being held down by Willow's Titan. The Cadets look up with wild eyes as the blonde commands the Titan to grab and hold down the Abnormal by the hair.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Erwin calls out seeing Willow struggle to hold down the Abnormal. He watches as the scalp of the Abnormal begins to tear and lift as it attempts to push out of Willow's grip. The caravan quickly scatters from the war path as the Abnormal continues to rip its scalp to get out of Willow's hold.
Willow digs the sword in deep to the nape, holding down the Abnormal with her Titan's other hand on its shoulder. She twists her sword, and her Titan opens its mouth from ear to ear. She smiles to herself, feeling the sweet justice. She moves her Titan and forces the Abnormal's head in her Titan's mouth. With a satisfying pull of her sword, her Titan chomps down on the Abnormal's head, spraying Levi and Willow with hot Titan blood.
Titan steam lifts from the gaping hole left from the Abnormal as its body falls limp to the ground.
"I need to go help the others!" Levi yells as she commands the Titan to its next target. "Are you alright?"
"Yes! Go!" she tells him and he nods, zipping off her Titan and heading towards another one approaching her. Willow glances over to watch his sheer speed as Levi flies to the Titan, wizzes up its arm, slashing it along the way, and cuts its nape all before the Titan can turn its head towards him.
Willows eyes widen at the wonder that is Levi, completely in awe at his talents. She pulls her focus from Levi, unable to solely focus on him, and heads towards the hoard on the horizon. Willow pulls back on the sword, charging full speed at the hoards.
Levi turns to watch as Willow bravely charges into battle behind the Titan. He smiles for a moment, feeling proud of the once scared skinny little girl. He turns his focus on the three Titans she leaves behind in order to focus on the hoard approaching.
Levi and Hange team up to take down another Titan, with their eyes periodically checking Willow's progress to ensure she is safe. Malik and Derrek squad move forward to assist with any Titans retaliating against Willow, or any that she leaves behind. It is not long until the masses are trampled down and Willow returns, drenched in slowly evaporating Titan blood.
"All clear!" Derrek calls out with a wide smile as they join the caravan zipping down next Erwin, with Malik quick to follow.
Heavy stomps are heard as Willow approaches the camp with the Titan still in toe under her control. "Team, we've won a huge victory today!" Erwin shouts as he faces the crowd. "The Titans are no match with this new knowledge of their weakest position. With this knowledge, we will retake Wall Maria!" he shouts, and everyone cheers with the idea that they are one step closer to taking back the home that was once theirs.
A/N: Hope you all liked that action packed chapter! Please review and let me know what you think of Willow's power over Titans, and how you like the story so far! Thanks as always for the reviews, follows, and favs!