Snoo snoo is getting near... but not yet u.u
Chapter Eight: Counterattack (part 2)
Ian looked around, spotting at least four titans on their way. His hands gripped the blade's handles tightly, his heart rushing as every moment seemed to last an eternity, waiting for Nikolai to finally do something about...
"Eren!" said Mikasa, looking back.
Ian turned around. Anyone who wasn't dealing with a titan, turned around.
The ground shook, forced to bear the impossible weight of a being of gargantuan proportions. A titan, walking slowly down the street, his body steaming by the effort of carrying a no less huge rock.
As everyone gawked at him, a figure hopped onto a roof, running and jumping before shooting his grappling hooks. Swinging at full speed, he reached the zone where Ian and Mikasa stood in no time, and surpassed it, aiming for a six meter titan that roamed in the street. His left hook pierced its shoulder, making him circle around it until he planted his feet against a wall behind the creature. Leaping with all his strength, he landed on the beast's neck as he slashed his way into its nape. He then jumped down and stood in the middle of the paved road, smiling at the two people on the roofs.
"Hi, guys, i made it! Eren's gonna block the hole, finally!" he shouted, looking around "Where's Rico?" he asked
"She's over there... hey wait!" Ian shouted as the young soldier ran in the direction he pointed. "What's up with him? Mikasa, did you get to know him well in the training grounds?"
"I... well... i didn't get to know him very deeply, but we..." she blushed, unable to proceed.
"Sorry, my mistake. This is no time for such questions."
Meanwhile, Rico and her team had finally managed to get a ten meter titan down, losing one member in the process. They had spotted another one, a twelve meter monster, when the brunette woman beside her pointed at the street, where Nikolai was running.
"Nikolai!" Rico couldn't believe he dared to simply run among the titans "Get on a roof this instant! You're in great danger down there!" She watched in apprehension as the titan finally saw him, lumbering clumsily as it neared the soldier. He looked back at the creature, and ran towards it. With a gasp, Rico noticed the brunette soldier intended to run after him, and she stopped her. "Wait, Lillyan." she said, looking sharply at Nikolai "Ian said he is a fighter like no other. Let's find out if his statement is true."
Niko stopped at the titan's feet. When it bent to pick him, he leaped to the left. Running to the titan's side, he shot both hooks to the side of its leg and swung upwards diagonally at the height of its knee, slashing the tendons and making the titan fall on one knee. The impulse took him to the opposite wall of the street, where he planted his feet firmly to once again leap to the thing's back, taking advantage of its crouching position to run up to its nape and give a single, powerful slash with one blade. As it fell on its face, he saw Rico and other soldier watching wide eyed how he simply stood on the titan as it fell. He waved and swung back to the roof, but as he sprinted towards a trio of titans, he stopped and looked back at Rico. Then he pointed at the shape of Eren, carrying the stone, and when they looked back and noticed it, he shouted "IN YOUR FACE!" and ran again.
As Eren got closer to the breach, Nikolai noticed how more titans there seemed to come after him. He aimed for one going after Mitabi and hooked to the side of its neck, impulsing and spinning madly, cutting it down. He had taken a liking to this technique. It required gripping a handle downwards, which was a bit uncomfortable, but the spinning was undeniably much more lethal. Plus the impulse allowed him to save gas, he thought as he landed on a roof and ran without stopping to the edge, jumping over an oblivious titan head and hooking on its nape, coming from above to leave an X on its weak spot. His blades were now dull, so he took the last pair he had. He hurried to the gate, where two more titans were entering, and two more already stalked the zone. He had to think quickly. His personal blades were left for the last.
"Look, it's Nikolai!" shouted one of Ian's squad "He's running to face those titans, alone! He's mad!"
Ian watched in awe as Nikolai ducked under a titan's hand and shot his hooks into another's leg, boosting upwards. In mid air, he carefully aimed at the first of the two titans entering, the beast almost reaching out of the huge hole. Wishing his idea wasn't a complete screw-up, he shot his grappling hooks, which pierced one above and one under the creature's open mouth. He let the gas out without care, he needed all the possible speed, his eyes narrowing as the titan's face grew near...
Mikasa's thoughts froze when she saw Nikolai thrust himself into the beast's mouth. As soon as the young man entered it closed, teeth making a loud clack. But before anyone could think what was he trying, the monster stepped backwards, suddenly falling on top of the creature behind itself, throwing it down as well. And from the steaming mouth Nikolai emerged, unscathed and swearing as he pulled his own blades from his back and cut the 3DMG straps, the gear swords broken by the impact against the creature's spine from its very inside, while the gear itself had ran out of gas. He gave a moment's look at Eren, still walking towards the breach, and then ran in the opposite direction, screaming and insulting every creature he saw. In no time, at least five titans where after him.
"Ian!" Rico finally snapped out of the trance, startling everyone "We must help him! Hell, he's going to die if we don't create a diversion!" As her leader didn't answer, Rico felt more and more disturbed "Ian! Don't you hear me?"
"I do, Rico." Ian's voice was bitter as he looked at the soldier climbing outside a window, standing in the roof as he prepared to face the titans with nothing but his personal blades "But we aren't helping him." As the others looked at him in disbelief, he continued "Nikolai didn't do this without a reason. He's giving Eren time, he purposely put himself into the death zone when he neared the titans. Look!" He pointed at the roof where Niko stood on, now facing four titans. The white haired soldier made gestures, pointing at them, and then Eren "He wants us to keep an eye on our titan. He knows that no matter how good he is at combat, he's expendable. Just like any of us."
He then turned to look at Eren, who was almost about to reach the hole. "But he is not. He's precious, our only hope to reach victory for the first time. Since this war began, we've done nothing but retreat. That changes today. But only if we are willing to do any sacrifice, even if it means leaving a good comrade to die. Even if it means to cast aside that which we swore to defend till our very last breath... our very humanity."
In that moment, Eren stood in front of the broken gate. WIth a primal, savage roar, he lunged the huge rock into the hole, the impact shaking the ground and sending dust and pebbles everywhere. Immediatly, he collapsed, steam coming out of the body as it consumed after the titanic effort. Ian jumped down the roof and ran at Eren, quickly followed by the rest of the squad, some glancing every few steps at where Nikolai fought to catch the titan's attention, some of which -three of the now seven he attracted while Eren did his part- focused on the group of people surronding the steaming body.
"Remove Eren, now!" shouted Ian to the two people on top of Eren's nape -Mikasa and Rico-. Desperately, Rico cut the flesh joining the boy to the titan, before helping his sister hold him and speeding up to the upper zone of the wall. Looking behind, she saw in relief as everyone followed. Everyone but...
"Ian!? What are you doing!?"
Ian hung from the wall, scarcely a few meters above the three titans, the tallest one a twelve meters monster. He whistled and waved at Nikolai, urging him to get near the walls, in an attempt to attract the soldier's attention. Finally he managed to get his eye, and the grey eyed fighter made his move.
Nikolai jumped down as a massive arm swept right where he stood a moment ago. Falling and rolling on the street, he turned to see a huge chunk of debris flying right towards him. With a yelp, he stumbled and fell on his butt, the dark figure nearing him. In the last moment he instinctivelly split his legs, the lethal projectile landing between them, almost touching his crotch. He threw his head back and sighed in relief, before remembering the titans and standing up in a blink. Ian was waiting for him about sixteen meters above the ground. Nikolai's effort was beginning to take its toll as he took a stone and threw it at the smallest titan. Blinking stupidly, the creature turned to see who hit it, spotting the running man a few meters away. Three titans chasing him, Nikolai knew it was now or never. As it bent down to pick him, he lunged forward, passing under it and between its legs. The titans behind didn't stop, crashing against the small one. An amorphous mass of twisting limbs loomed over him as they fell forward. Jumping aside, Nikolai then frantically leaped over an arm, stomped on a huge cheek and dodged a hand on its way to the top of the pile, an arm miraculously still, lying against the second titan's back. Running as if devil itself chased him, Nikolai climbed the arm and the titan's back, reaching its head before it knew what happened. Taking his left blade , he leaped once more onto the biggest titan's right shoulder, feeling a chill as the monster eyed him while he climbed up its face and on top of its head. He was almost there! Suddenly, his legs felt as if made of jelly. Adrenaline itself wasn't going to keep him up much longer. He overestimated himself, and worse, underestimated his enemy. "Come on, damn it!" he whispered "One... last... fucking..."
Ian saw the huge hand reaching for Nikolai. The young soldier didn't seem to see it, his arms hanging limp at his sides. The commander of the elite squad yelled at him not to give up, to make a last effort. He watched hopelessly a few meters away as it slowly surrounded him, seconds away from squeezing the life out of the boy...
"TIME!" shouted Nikolai.
Jumping as the hand clenched into a fist, he avoided the deathly grasp by a hair's width. Crouching on the massive fist, he gathered all the strength he got left in his legs and impulsed upwards, his right hand meeting Ian's. He pulled Niko as hard as he could, trying to put him out of reach. But the titan's hand was too fast.
"No..." thought Ian in desperation "It can't end like this..."
A blur passed in front of his eyes, a figure made of shadow and steel. In a blink, the hand reching for Nikolai fell as the titan collapsed, a deep cut on its nape. As Ian and Nikolai watched, the first wide eyed, the second barely processing it, titan after titan fell as humanity's strongest cut its way amidst them. Levi spun like a whirlwind of death, every move a display of perfection, every titan a mere slump on the road as he seemed to be everywhere, his blades shining darkly under the dying light of the sun. When he was finished, he looked up at Ian and Nikolai.
"You two, get your asses up there!" he said "After that, i hope anyone can explain what the fuck just happened."
Once on top of the wall, Nikolai looked around, standing against Ian for support. Mikasa was knelt on the ground, Eren's head resting on her knees as she carefully watched him sleep with relieved eyes. He saw the vanishing yellow smoke signalling the operation's success. It seemed he finally got a chance to rest now that...
"GODLY HEAVENS, IS IT TRUE!?"
The shout made him jump, almost giving him a heart attack. A middle aged woman was hopping beside him, her eyes darting between him and Eren.
"IS IT TRUE!?" she screamed again, holding Nikolai by the face and looking him right in the eye. For the first time in a long, long time, he gulped. What the heck?
"Who... who are you?" he asked, completely taken by surprise by the woman's ecstasic behaviour.
"My, oh my, where are my manners?" she said, shaking her head. Then she extended a hand, feverishly shaking Nikolai's. "Hanji Zoe, lead investigator of the Survey Corps. I am in charge of every research, experiment, data collection, file, record and everything else related to titans. So..." she looked at Eren again "Is it true? Is this kid a... a..."
"A titan? Yeah. Why...?" Nikolai was cut off as she screamed in excitement, just like a little girl. "God, stop it!"
"No can do!" she answered happily "Not with this... this... FASCINATING news! And you" she pointed at him, and both Ian and Niko gave a step back "Tell me E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! How did you meet? How did you communicate? How did he speak? Did he speak at all? I... Moblit, are you taking notes?" the blonde soldier behind her sighed and took a note pad "Excellent! Now, to begin with..."
"Enough, Hanji." A tall, statuesque man stepped forward. Unlike most people Nikolai'd seen, this individual radiated leadership. His blue eyes looked into his grey orbs almost as if he was reading his soul. A second later, he smiled and stretched his hand to Nikolai. "Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps." after Nikolai shook hands with him, he said "These soldiers have told me some of your exploits during this mission. I must admit, i am genuinely impressed." For some reason, Niko felt strangely proud. This man looked, or more exactly felt, like a true leader, a figure the white haired soldier had seldom seen since his arrival to this world.
Standing on the verge of the wall, Erwin looked down at the steaming bodies. "This day could possibly mark the end of an era of fear" said Erwin, although Nikolai wasn't sure if he talked to him, or to himself "But only if such fear is faced with courageous hearts. Right now, this young boy, Eren has become a symbol... of what, that depends on who you ask. And perhaps you too, Nikolai, have become a symbol." Surprised, the young man blinked as Commander Erwin turned to him. "Your deeds this day are a display of human strength and decision like no one has probably ever seen. The way you fought without fear, the way you challenged the very creatures that forced us to live in the mists of ignorance and terror even at the brink of extinction, will surely leave a mark in people's hearts. If it hasn't already." He finished with a smile.
Nikolai looked around. All the survivors of the expedition looked at him with a mixture of feelings -respect, awe, perhaps even admiration, as well as a slight, embarrassed confusion from Rico. He sighed and shook his head.
"Commander, i didn't join the military to become a celebrity." he answered, words coming lazily out of his mouth. Damn, he was tired. "All i wanted was to slice some napes, since it's fun, and challenging, and... well, you get the idea. I'm not a model to look up to. I'm a killing machine." everyone looked at him wide eyed as he let go of Ian and sat down, not even looking at Erwin "Yeah, titans are the enemy, blah blah blah. I was going to join the Corps anyway, you don't need to convince me." He yawned and laid on his back "Don't wake me up unless it's urgent. Like the Colossal showing again, that urgent." A few minutes later, he was snoring. Levi, who had just arrived to listen to his speech, raised an eyebrow.
"Tsk. I hope you now what you're doing, Erwin. Having these two brats in the Corps will be like holding a beehive and shaking it. Although this one..." he kicked softly at Niko's thigh, earning a whispered "fuck ya" from the sleeping soldier "He may not be so bad."
END of Chapter.
Snoo snoo with RIco, next chapt.