A/N: Author's note at end of chapter.
CHAPTER 21 – THE BATTLE FOR TROST: PHYRRIC
The teen was barely able to muster the strength to open his eyes. Even with them more shut than opened, the afternoon light stung his eyes and the blunt force trauma to his head made his nauseous beyond belief. He could barely formulate a thought now and all he could remember was falling into the ground, the crack of his head hitting the cobblestone. It took him a few more spare moments, but he realized he was moving. At first his clouded mind figured that it was still the vertigo, but that dream was crushed as he focused in on the hand that had gripped around him.
He tried to scream as fear filled his entire being, but he found his voice muddled by the concussive fog still present in his mind. Why couldn't he scream? Better yet, why couldn't he move? So many questions, but all that seemed to pale in comparison as he caught sight of the giant maw that was quickly approaching.
"AAAHHHH…. AAAHHHHH!" he finally managed a scream though it felt as if his throat was on fire.
"MARCO!"
Not a second after he heard his name being screamed did Marco Bodt hear that sharp tune of blades carving through flesh and a blurry visage of someone with greyish hair speed by soon after. He could barely spare a thought though before he realized that the titans grip was loosening, and he was…falling. It was a short fall but as soon as he made contact with the ground, his body seemed lit aflame with pain.
"Marco!" the teen heard his name again as he stuttered in and out of consciousness, "Marco…are you ok?!"
Marco's eyes jolted open as he felt himself being propped up into a sitting position against a stone surface. The teen gasped a deep burning breath as he tried unsuccessfully to hold back a scream.
"Fuck…" he saw Lukas curse, his friend kneeling to his left, "Jean, this isn't good…his legs broken."
"Damn it…we can't keep him in the street like this." Jean spoke, kneeling to his right, "Connie, I need you to search the houses for something to brace Marco's leg. Sasha, keep a look out for any titans coming our way…"
"Heh…" Marco huffed out a labored breath, as his vision seemed to fade, "I…I told you…you're a good leader…"
The grey-haired teens voice betrayed his nervousness as Jean humored a response, "That's crazy talk buddy…still must be delirious…"
Marco managed a tiny smile before his eyes began to droop. They were about to close entirely before he felt a steady hand on his shoulder, "Hey…" Lukas spoke softly, "...stay with us Marco. Can't have you falling asleep now…"
The teen willed his eyes open once more, "Did…did Eren close the wall?" Marco murmured.
"He did buddy…he did." Lukas said with somber smile.
"Yeah…" Jean added, "…the maniac won it for us."
"Here…" it was Connie's voice this time, "I got it."
"Ok, Marco" Lukas said firmly, "deep breath…"
The teen couldn't process the information before…
CRACK!
"AAAHHHH!" Marco screamed as he felt Lukas set the bone back in place to brace it.
Between pained grunts Marco peered out to see what looked like a piece of an armchair being tied to his leg. Before long the teen felt what could only be his two friends grabbing on to him from beneath his armpits.
"Alright Marco, we're going to lift you up now…" Jean mentioned, "1…2…3…"
The black-haired teen felt his body lift, but it was almost immediately followed by the most intense pain flowing through his body.
"AAAHHHH!" Marco screamed in agony, as he felt himself grip his side, his two friend quickly putting him back on the ground. Suddenly he felt very lightheaded, and the tiredness seem to come back to him though he could see Lukas investigating the area which he'd grabbed.
"Jean…" Sasha's voice filled the air, "Marco's missing part of his rig…"
The grey-haired teen looked to the backside of his friend before facing the teen again, "Marco what happened?! Where's the rest of your rig?"
His eyes dropping, Marco began to recall what had happened…
…
Marco landed softly on the tile-laced rooftop finally catching up with his three comrades as they scanned the city. The black-haired teen had been lucky to find them, even though this part of Trost had been less infested with titans, Marco had already had a few close encounters. Reiner, Annie, and Berthold on the other hand seemed to have their eyes towards the gate to the district, the 15-meter titan form of their friend struggling to complete his mission in the distance.
" Eren might end up getting eaten…" Bertholdt spoke, the group seemingly not aware of Marco's presence, "…and if that happens, we still won't know a thing."
"Even if it comes to that…" Reiner responded, "…we've been given orders, we can't use our titans if we wanted too."
The blonde recruit's response seemed to stop Marco in his tracks. What did he mean by 'our titans'?
"But if their plan works, it'll plug the hole we finally opened." Bertholdt retorted.
The hole we finally opened? Marco strained to process what they could mean. Had his comrades somehow broken down.?
"It doesn't matter." Reiner spoke, "Command gave X control of this operation and we've finally found a clue after these 5 years."
"We don't even know who X is…" Annie's voice finally spoke up, sounding skeptical, ", how do we even know the letter is legit?"
This had to be stress? Incoherent rambling? A mental breakdown?
"It's sensitive information, Command probably only wanted Marcel to know…" Reiner responded somewhat hesitantly, "besides no one else here would know about our…"
"Hey…you guys?" Marco spoke nervously, barely even registering that he had said anything at all, "What…were you just talking about?"
The three of them turned slowly towards the teen, each one of their faces sporting a shock or fear that Marco had not hoped to imagine.
"What did you mean by 'our titans' Reiner?" he questioned, "What's this about, 'the hole we opened,' Bertholdt?"
The trio stared him down for what seemed like an eternity before Reiner spoke, "Marco…" the large teen struggled, "that conversation just now…was a joke."
Marco forced part of a smile, "H-have you guys lost it? This isn't like you!" His instincts were telling him one thing right now…GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!
"Let's focus on the mission" Marco tried to fabricate an excuse, as he pointed out to the battle, "Look, the titans are coming! Let's go!"
As he jumped off the building and sped away, Marco looked back to see his three comrades giving the teen a bewildered look. He continued on though, he had to get away.
'If Eren transformed into a titan…then humans could become titans. So, if the Colossal Titan appeared out of nowhere and suddenly vanished…then that means it's probably a human, too.'
Marco landed on a nearby building, his head still racing.
'In other words, the enemy titans are hiding as humans somewhere. That means…'
Before he could finish that thought, Marco heard the gas of ODM gear approaching and a moment later the weight of a body crashing into him. As he hit the tiling of an outcrop of another roof, he look up to see the large blonde cadet holding him down…
"R-Reiner!" he screamed in shock, "What are you doing?!"
The teen pining him to the ground forced his captive's arms behind him, "Reiner?" Marco pleaded, "This is a joke, right?!"
Something in his gut though told Marco that this was all too serious.
"No, Marco…" Reiner seemed manic as he spoke, "The problem is you're too damn sharp."
Marco winced at that, his worst assumption having come to pass, "SOMEONE HELP!" he tried to scream before Reiner covered the teens mouth with his hand.
As Marco struggle underneath the weight, he then heard Annie above him, "Fuck…"she cursed sounding almost remorseful, "you've got to be shitting me…"
At that moment, the ground started to shake. Marco didn't have to force a guess to determine what it was, but he was quickly validated by a yell from Bertholdt, "A titan!" he screamed, "It's coming this way!"
Reiner then ripped the teen upwards, keeping him locked in place, "Annie!" the larger teen screamed, "Take off Marco's ODM gear!"
Marco paled at that, the ramification of what that meant becoming rapidly apparent, "Huh?" he muttered out horrified.
Annie for all her credit, looked equally so as Reiner barked the order again, "Why…do I have to?" the girl questioned.
"Back there, you risked your life for Connie, didn't you?" Reiner questioned the teen, "Why did you put yourself in danger? Have you become attached to this evil race or something?"
"If I'm wrong, prove it to me right now!" the hulking cadet continued to yell at their counterpart, "If you, and your father waiting for you to come home, are any different than this filthy race, then prove it right now!"
"Reiner!" Bertholdt yelled once more, the stomping of the titan drawing dangerously close, "It's almost on top of us!"
"Annie!" Reiner yelled one last time as the blonde female quickly knelt and started to unlatch Marco's equipment.
Marco let out a fearful scream, tears starting to run from his face, "Stop it, Annie!" he pleaded, "Don't do this!"
"Why?!Why?!Why would you do this?!" he frantically screamed at the girl near inches from her face as she finished unlatching a piece of his equipment, quickly tossing it through the window of the home whose roof they were on.
"This is what makes us warriors." Reiner responded matter of factly, "Annie, you did well."
Marco had a surprising amount of clarity despite his morbid situation. It all made sense now, the way the three had all been talking earlier. Why they'd wanted all the titans to gather. Even now though, on the brink of his utter demise, Marco could notice how hesitant they were. Despite what all three of them had presumably did, he noticed they were all truly terrified, and oddly enough Marco Bodt felt sorry for them.
"Did you hear that!" Bertholdt broke the silence once more as the sound of multiple approaching ODM rigs could be heard.
"Fuck…" Reiner cursed, "we can't let anyone see us!"
"Reiner…what do we do?" the taller teen questioned, "That titan won't make it here in time…"
The larger teen pushed Marco back towards the ground, the blonde's boot still pining him to the tiling. From the corner of his vision Marco could see the fear and hesitancy in his former comrades face as it no doubt raced for options.
"Reiner!" Annie shouted out.
"They're getting closer!" Bertholdt added.
Marco could see the teens hands trembling, his blades he was now wielding shaking in their sockets. The black-haired cadet thought he almost saw tears come from Reiner's face as the teen with gritted teeth took his blade and stabbed it into Marco's left side. The teen didn't have long to register the pain though as he felt Reiner's boot as the hulking cadet kicked him off the roof, the last thing Marco remembering being his head smashing into the street below.
…
"Come on Marco…" Jean jolted his friend awake, "you gotta stay awake man. Tell us wha…"
Marco heard his friend stop, weakly looking up to see Lukas staring at him, his eyes full of defeat and sadness.
"What…what is it Lukas!?" Jean almost shouted angrily at the teen.
Lukas lifted one of his hand, the appendage absolutely soaked in blood sending Jean into silence, "The titan…one of his ribs broke skin…and his lung." The teen struggled to speak.
"What does that mean!?" Connie screamed almost manically.
Jean squeezed his eyes closed trying to curb tears and simply answered, "Collapsed lung…"
"WHAT DO WE DO THEN?!" Connie was on the onset of tears, "WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO!"
"We can't…" Sasha was already sobbing quietly, sniffling loudly as she spoke, "we can't do anything…"
The bald-headed teen fell to his knees, a single stream of tears flowing from his face. Marco felt himself spit out a dribble of blood. His eyes were growing heavier and heavier, and his breaths were more hurried, burning more and more with each successive one.
"No…" Marco was barely able to murmur out.
The teen looked to see Lukas put his clean hand on his shoulder, his friend giving a sad smile, "It's ok Marco…you did your duty wonderfully…you can rest now."
"No…" Marco managed once more, his eyes closing slowly "Annie…Reiner…Bert…"
"We'll find them bud…" Lukas said calmly, "you don't have to worry about that…"
"Dange…" Marco's voice trailed off as his eyes shut, "Tit….."
Lukas Schmidt put two fingers up to his friend's neck…nothing. Marco Bodt was dead.
Lukas's dry face stared for what seemed like ages at the still form in front of him. The teen then rose to his feet though, and as the rest of his friends grieved, he slowly scooped up the body, not much caring about the blood dripping from the open wound and quickly shot up to the top of the building. Lukas deposited the body softly on the tile roofing then turned back to his three comrades still on street level.
"Come on guys…" he said coldly, "there's still titans out there…"
…
Lukas Schmidt walked out into the moonlit courtyard. He was alone but the constant blast of cannons still sounded off in the distance, killing whatever titans still remained in Trost. The teen couldn't sleep, and as he paced, images of his dead friend raced through his mind. He felt the sting of tears well up in his eyes as he stopped in front of one of the stone pillars supporting the outside of the structure. He looked down at his hands, the one not having been completely washed of Marco's blood. He cringed.
Curling his fists, he struck the stone of the pillar. Then he did it again, then again, then again. He felt his knuckles scuff, then he felt them bruise, then he finally felt them crack and bleed. Looking at them again, he watched the blood slowly drip from them and fall to the ground for a moment before curling them up again. But as he tried to swing again, he felt something…someone catch it. The teen looked shockingly at the brunette, tears still streaming down his face. The shorter girl paying his tears no mind instead griped the teen tightly into a hug, as Lukas quietly wept into Sasha's shoulder.
A/N: Apologies for the shorter chapter this week, but honestly I felt that this really did need its own chapter. I knew it was going to hurt too but damn...anyways I won't bother you all any longer. Thank you for reading and see you in the next one. ~Scipias