Chapter 25.
Those scouts on the wall had two issues to deal with, one being the betrayal of Reiner and Bertholdt, the other being Gabriel's breakdown. Sasha, Hanji and Armin ran to Gabriel whose muscles had noticeably enlarged, ripping his tight clothes in several places. His skin was riddled in popped blood vessels and was red from the sheer anger and blood flow.
"Gabriel!" Armin called. He froze when Gabriel turned and showed his eyes which were that of a rageful machine. It was terrifying, Gabriel had never lost it this bad before to the point he appeared to have physical changes. "Just wait!"
"Calm down please!" Sasha pleaded. Gabriel merely growled as he looked down to where Eren and Reiner were fighting. Gabriel prepared his anchors to fly down as Armin ran and placed his hand on Gabriel's arm.
"Gabriel stop! I know you're mad but you'll get killed if you get caught between two Titans fighting like that-" Armin gagged as Gabriel grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up much to everyone's horror.
"HEIMER STOP!" Hanji screamed. Gabriel didn't listen as he continued to choke Armin before bringing his other fist back and then slamming it into Armin's face. The force of the blow immediately knocked him unconscious and shattered his nose and teeth. Sasha covered her mouth with her hands and cried, he actually HIT Armin! Gabriel wasted no time in descending down to face the monster that haunted him for so long.
"PIECE OF SHIT!" Eren yelled full of rage. His punches were useless against the titan shifters armor. God was he pissed off, this asshole actually pretended to give a shit about humanity when he was the one who doomed them. Making him even more angry was how fruitless his hits were, he wanted Reiner to hurt! Eren gasped when he saw a swirl of blades slice up and down Reiner's arm which exploded in a show of blood.
"What the hell??" Reiner yelled upon seeing his arm suddenly go limp.
"Die…" Reiner gulped. He had forgotten about Gabriel's grudge against him. He knew how skilled he was with ODM gear. He knew that even against a Titan shifter, Gabriel was not to be taken lightly. Reiner was distracted and didn't see Eren coming in for a tackle. Reiner fell to the ground as Eren pinned him. Gabriel flew up to Erens shoulder to avoid being crushed by the Titan fists.
"He's mine." Gabriel said to Eren who looked over to him. Eren wanted to destroy Reiner, especially since he had destroyed his home. Eren remembered the pact they made long ago. He reluctantly stopped punching Reiner and nodded to Gabriel who hopped off his shoulder onto Reiners face. Mikasa had come down as well in order to stop Eren from being captured and Gabriel from being killed. Her heart was shattered, Gabriel Actually hit Armin! Armin didn't seem to have any critical injury but his nose was broken and several of his teeth had been shattered. His entire face was purple and bloodied from the force of the punch. She needed to get him out of here!
"Tell me." Gabriel said, stabbing his blade through the cracks of Reiners armor. "Does this hurt?? You lied to me! Betrayed me! I will cut you out of there. It really is quite fortunate you can regenerate. 250,000 people died because of you, I will kill you just as many times before I end your life permanently!!" Gabriel was so focused on his anger he didn't see Reiners hand coming up behind him. Before he knew it, he was hoisted into the air as he saw Reiners hand slam down where he was standing. He yelled as he was dropped onto a nearby tree. He saw Mikasa stand next to him with tears rolling down her face.
"What did you do that for?!?!?" Gabriel angrily yelled, grabbing her. "I had him!!!!" Mikasa didn't fight back as Gabriel hoisted her into the air by the collar.
"You would have been crushed…" She whimpered. The sounds and echoes of Eren and Reiners' fight filled the atmosphere. "Gabriel don't you know me?"
"I dont give a shit!" Gabriel growled, bringing her to his face.
"Yes you do, that's why you haven't hit me, you know this isn't you, I promised you I would bring you back." Mikasa said tearfully. "Gabriel please don't do this, I love you so much, you know this isn't you."
"SHUT UP!" He yelled, throwing Mikasa against the tree. Mikasa yelped as she felt her head strike the wall causing a brief flash of white to over take her vision. Mikasa slowly got back up to see Gabriel was already rushing towards Reiner again. Her eyes leaked tears profusely, her sweet innocent adopted brother had finally lost it, forever she feared. She steeled herself as she wiped her lip which was bleeding slightly.
"Damn you Reiner!" She screamed. "This is your fault! He was so sweet! You did this to him!" Gabriel continued to attack Reiner as Eren was punched back. Reiner was in truth, terrified of Gabriel. Erens hits couldn't do anything to him but Gabriel could slice him to shreds rendering him unable to move giving Eren the chance to get his nape which was armored enough to protect from any ODM gear. Reiner saw Eren charging again and quickly brought his fist back to punch only to see his arm had been severed. Gabriel had sliced in between the plates of armor perfectly to hit the tissue in between. Reiner was so distracted by this he forgot about Eren who had tackled him and put him into a chokehold. While pound for pound Reiner was the stronger Titan, his strength didn't matter against proper grappling technique. He cursed Annie for teaching Eren these techniques as Eren roared with a mighty heave ripping Reiners left leg off from the knee. Now down two limbs, Reiner knew he didn't stand a chance against the combined force of Eren and Gabriel. He knew Bertholdt was still on the wall fighting off the other scouts. He let out a loud roar which hurt Gabriel's sensitive ears enough for the enraged boy to halt his attack. Eren quickly tackled him again, getting him in a chokehold which began to crack the armor on Reiners nape. Eren was going to rip his head off allowing for Gabriel to go in for the kill. Gabriel looked with glee as the armor finally gave out exposing the nape. He never got his chance to move in.
"LOOK OUT!" Gabriel looked up to see the massive colossal Titan falling down towards them. Gabriel yelled as he moved to get out of the way. Bertholdt impacted the ground with the force of a large bomb completely crippling Erens titan and the resulting shockwaves threw Gabriel hundreds of feet. The resulting cloud of steam and debris made it impossible for any of the scouts to do anything as visual contact was reduced to only a two foot range. Reiners Titan had also been crippled but used the last of his strength to bite Eren out of the nape before exiting his Titan. Bertholdt grabbed Ymir who he had also grabbed during his fight atop the wall. Reiner grabbed Eren's unconscious steaming body as they prepared to move.
"We got to go now." Reiner said, throwing Erens limbless and steaming body over his shoulder. "We can use the steam cloud for cover long enough for me to heal and transform again.
"REINNNER!" Reiner gulped hearing that voice. He and Bertholdt knew if Gabriel caught them unable to transform, they would be as good as dead.
"Damn you Gabriel." Reiner growled as they began running off into the distance using the ODM gear they salvaged off Eren and another fallen Scout. Up on the wall, Christa and Sasha tended to Armin who was wheezing severely from the concussive blow he sustained. His face now purple and yellow from the large bruise and swelling from the cracked bones in his face. He slowly opened his eyes and coughed as he spat out blood and chunks of teeth.
"Easy there." Christa said, wiping away the blood. Hange ran over and quickly assessed him.
"What is your name and birthday?" She asked him.
"Nnngnnn, w-what?" Armin weakly stuttered.
"He's concussed." Hange diagnosed. She was thankful he was still alive, a punch from Gabriel like that could have easily killed him, especially due to Armins more frail frame. She wondered if Gabriel had subconsciously held back his punch.
"Where's Eren!" Mikasa yelled coming to the top of the wall. There was too much steam for her to see where she was on the ground and was hoping they got a better view up top.
"He's not with you?" Hange asked fearfully. She had assumed Mikasa had been able to get him. Did they escape? Her question was answered when a very distant bolt of lightning lit up on the horizon indicating a Titan transformation. She took out her scope and zoomed in and saw the Armored Titan running away with three bodies holding on.
"No! They have him!" Hange yelled.
"We have to get them!" Mikasa yelled drawing her swords once more.
"We can't!" Hange said. "Most of used up our gas and blades trying to take down the colossal, not to mention we need our full regiment for something like this!"
"I can't believe this is happening!" Mikasa yelled. Furious at the betrayal, Erens capture, Gabriel's-
Wait…
"Has anyone seen Gabriel?" She yelled. Sasha immediately felt her heart drop. Did he get killed?
"I thought he was with you!" Christa replied. Hange quickly grabbed her scope again to scan the area. Sure enough she saw a lone scout flying across the landscape.
"He's gone after them!" Hange yelled. Mikasa and Sasha immediately got up.
"We need to go get him!" Sasha cried. "He doesn't have enough gas to go that far!"
"I told you we can't right now, half of us are injured and down and our supplies are spent!" Hange argued. She knew how important Eren and Gabriel were but they would only have one shot at getting them back so it needed to be done right. "We do not have the manpower to defeat both the Armored and Colossal Titan! Not to mention the hundreds of others roaming the plains! You both need to understand this, going now will only get you killed!"
"But Gabriel doesn't have enough gas either! He'll die!" Sasha cried in protest.
"He's too far away now and none of us except Mikasa could match his speed but her gas is all but depleted." Hange said. "Right now our priority is assembling the regiment and launching a full scale assault. Reiner and Bertholdt need time to recover before they can make a long trek. That will buy some time. Let's get moving people!" The scouts began making their way down the wall carrying the wounded to the horses. Sasha looked out to the horizon, begging for Gabriel's safe return.
Xxx
Hours later, Eren had awoken to see Ymir, Reiner, and Bertholdt and himself all sitting on tree branches in the forest of giant trees. He looked down to see a horde of titans at the bottom fruitlessly trying to grab them. He saw his arms and legs were both still regenerating.
"Sorry bout that, we were in a hurry and I bit you from your nape." Eren looked up to see Reiner and was filled with rage.
"You…. YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Eren screamed at Reiner who seemed shocked at the outburst.
"Whoa, what's gotten into you?" Reiner said, holding his hands up. Eren flipped, was he seriously trying to play innocent right now??
"Reiner…." Bertholdt said calmly. "We are warriors, not soldiers." Reiner suddenly gasped as he clutched his head.
"Oh I see what's going on." Ymir said laughing. "Little bit of split personality going on I see. Isn't that right Bertholdt? Reiners so guilty for what he did he repressed his memories of breaking down the wall, going as far to actually trick himself into believing he's a different person?"
"Shut, up!" Reiner angrily said.
"Aw did I hit a nerve?" Ymir taunted.
"Where the fuck do you get off pretending to be the victim?" Eren asked. "Everyone who has died since Shiganshina has been YOUR FAULT!"
"You think I don't know that!" Reiner finally snapped. "I don't need you shoving it down my damn throat!"
"WE ARE LIVING IN A HELL YOU TWO CREATED! ARE YOU PROUD OF YOURSELVES? HAPPY WHAT YOU DID? HAPPY WITH YOU DID TO GABRIEL?" Eren yelled back. Before Reiner could retort, the familiar sound of whirring ODM cables echoed in the forest. Reiner looked to see Bertholdt still sitting where he was, they were the only two that had the gear meaning….
"No! It's too early! There's no way they got here this fast!" Reiner thought as prepared his gear. He looked down to see all the titans below them were dead.
"Going somewhere?" Reiners heart stopped upon hearing his. He slowly turned to see Gabriel, steaming and covered in Titan blood standing directly behind Bertholdt with a blade to his throat.
"Gabriel!" Eren cried out with joey.
"Don't even think about transforming, if you do, I'll kill him." Gabriel said to Reiner as Bertholdt let out a whimper of fear. "That goes for you too Colossal, I know when you're about to transform, I will have slit your neck before you can do it."
"Bullshit." Reiner replied. "You could have easily taken at least one of us out by surprise, why risk both of us transforming?"
"Yes I could have but then I'd be without a hostage. Both of you in your Titan forms are tough even for me to take out. So If i can keep you from doing that, youre just little bugs I can gut." Gabriel replied.
"D-don't-" Bertholdt pleaded as Gabriel dug his sword deeper against his neck.
"Isn't this just ironic? The one who killed thousands is now begging for mercy from his victim? You were always so pathetic Bertholdt! A coward! Hiding in your Titan form because you can't fight like a man!" Gabriel growled before looking at Reiner. "And you…… you have any idea what you took for me? That's right, you do cause I told you and you looked me square in the eyes and lied. Now I want to hear it from your filthy fucking mouth, tell me you lied! Tell me our friendship was bullshit! TELL ME!"
"I don't have to tell you shit!" Reiner yelled back. "And I can see you are on your last pair of swords since your reserve box is empty! Also the amount of distance you had to cover to get here as fast as you did means you're about to run out of gas if you haven't already!" Gabriel growled knowing he was right. "That's why you didn't attack outright! You knew you were out of gear to take us on in our Titan forms so you couldn't risk us transforming. So what was your grand plan here? Now you are stuck in a stalemate, we can't transform but you can't fight back! What a great idea Heimer!"
"Oh what's this? Getting all tough now huh? I don't know what's more pathetic, if this is who you really are and you put on a nice guy act to get into Christa's pants, or the fact you are scared shitless and trying to act tough like you're not afraid." Gabriel taunted. "You know what I think? I think you're just a coward, simple as that. Your whore mother should die for the sin of birthing you. You're no warrior, just a tool, I can see it in your eyes, you know I'm right. I can see the struggle in you right now trying to remember who you are, it's driving you crazy isn't it? I bet it hurts. I want to kill you yes but maybe it's better to let you live to watch you suffer, all alone living with the guilt of your betrayal, lying and sleeping calmly next to your victims. No one is coming to save you, the only thing you have left, is to SUFFER!" Reiner seemed to snap out of his warrior state back to his soldier state again. He fell to his knees crying and wailing remembering what he had done.
"Gabriel!" Reiner cried.
"Yes, writhe in the agony of your betrayal. Can you see them? My aunt and uncle? Crushed to death by you? Can you hear their cry of fear? Can you remember lying to me? Can you remember staring in the face of your victim pretending to be his friend? How does it feel to live with that?
"I-I'm s-sorry!" Reiner whimpered. Bertholdt himself felt tears rolling down his face as he too began to understand the weight of his crime. Eren and Ymir were shocked, The hot fiery anger Gabriel usually had was replaced with a cold rage and hatred.
"And now, you both, will SUFFER!" Gabriel said in a dark demonic voice. As he stabbed Bertholdt through the groin, severing his testicles. Gabriel had mentally broken them, leaving them unable to transform even with injury. Bertholdt let out a scream of pain as Gabriel laughed which greatly unsettled Eren as Ymir, it was said the biggest horror in the world was the wrath of a gentle man, that saying did not do Justice to the current situation. Gabriel maniacally laughed as he cleaved away slowly at Bertholdts body who was unable to find the willpower to transform anymore believing he deserved this as Reiner quietly whimpered. He was distracted by the sight of green smoke flares approaching the forest.
"So, the scouts have come to reclaim Eren." Upon hearing this and remembering his initial mission, Reiner snapped back to his warrior personality and sprinted at Gabriel. Gabriel was distracted and was found off the branch down to his death. He angrily used the last of his gas to land safely and was blinded by a bright light. He looked up and saw the Armored Titan begin to run with Eren, Bertholdt, and Ymir in tow. He was out of gas and would never catch up to them.
"No! No! Damn you REINNEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR!!" His scream of rage echoed in the forest.