Nothing much to say this week, darlings; just another really hot time. I really love summer, but at this point I can't wait for it to be over.
As always my lovelies, go ahead and enjoy this chapter and don't forget to toss me a little review, to let me know what you think~ ;)
P.S. All Attack on Titan characters belong to Isayama Hajime. I only own my OCs.
20. You don't have to choose
~ 850 ~
"What...? These guys are pathetic."
Sighing as she surveyed the ruins of the Military Police outpost they had attacked that evening, Natalie took account of Jean, Sasha and Conny to make sure they didn't have any injuries.
"This one was the last of them." Sasha reported, bringing her everyone's pass booklets. "I'll go check for any supplies we can take."
"Good job."
Scanning each pass briefly, she stopped at the fourth one and stalked off towards the highest ranking soldier while gesturing for Jean and Conny to follow her.
"This one... he's with the Interior Police." she said to them, watching as they moved to tie the man up and drag him back to the wagon.
Leaving the others where they had fallen during the scuffle, they headed back into the forest where Levi waited with Mikasa and Armin.
"Found one, Captain." she reported, offering him the booklet.
"Good. Let's move..."
By the time they had gotten far enough from the raided outpost the last of the daylight had turned to night. Hiding the wagon, the group moved a bit further on foot following Levi before he decided they had reached a good spot where he could interrogate their prisoner. Fortunately it didn't take much effort at all to break him in, however it didn't seem like he was willing to fully cooperate just yet.
"Where are Eren and Krista?" Levi inquired, when the man asked him to stop.
"Oh, you're so brave." he gasped in pain. "That post back there was just recruits who could barely wipe their own ass. You think you're some sort of heroes for beating down guys like that?"
At that he leveled a glare at Natalie whom he had recognized from the descriptions given of her.
"If you knew what was good for you, you'd turn yourself in. Instead you ran away in cahoots with these traitors. How many times did you let them fuck you, to get them all to be your little bitches? We'll see how well they defend you once we—"
His voice was cut short, however, by the boot that was suddenly shoved into his mouth.
"What an atrocious thing we've done." Levi retorted sarcastically, while his victim stared up at his ominous scowl. "But what's more atrocious is this filthy, shit-spitting mouth of yours. I suggest you start talking while you can still use it. Where are Eren and Krista?"
At last giving the man a chance to breathe and nurse his kicked in teeth, the Captain clenched his jaw to rein in the urge to beat him senseless; they needed information and if he bashed that idiot's skull in, they wouldn't get any answers.
"It's no use! All that's left for you now is to run and hide within these Walls! If you don't turn yourselves in, every last Scout we've caught will get the noose; starting with the most guilty one of all, Erwin Smith!"
When even Natalie scowled at that Levi stepped forth and turned him around, twisting his arm back until the bone snapped with a sickening crunch.
"Shut up." the young Captain ordered, when their prisoner screamed in pain. "That's for not answering my question. Some Scouts' lives are more important than others. Only those dumb enough to acknowledge that, join our ranks. Tell me where Eren and Krista are!"
"I-I don't know!" the man replied, the pain at last breaking him. "I'm telling the truth... I'm not allowed to know! Kenny Ackerman is a very cautious guy!"
"...Ackerman? I know Kenny... is that his last name?"
"It is..."
"It's true, he doesn't divulge a lot of things; especially the important ones. But you must have a rough idea. I suggest you try to remember. You still have plenty of bones left to break..."
"You... you're insane!" the man sobbed as Levi grabbed his other arm.
"Maybe I am."
"Someone's coming!" Sasha warned them, prompting everyone to drop to the ground so they could use the bush line to hide. "More than one!"
Leaving it to Armin to tie up their prisoner to the nearest tree, Levi crawled over to where Natalie had taken up positions behind a tree.
"It's just two..." she whispered, before blinking in surprise at the flash of light coming from beneath one of the hoods. "What... is that?"
The pair was only a few meters away when Levi at last spoke in her ear in the tense silence.
"It's Hange..."
As if on cue, the two pushed the hoods off to reveal the Section Commander and Moblit, and Natalie realized what she had seen must have been Hange's glasses reflecting the moonlight. And only when Levi stepped away from her did she notice he had been standing right behind her, using his body to cover her.
'Really... I appreciate the care, but you keep forgetting I'm the only one here who can heal quickly from a bullet.' she mused, unable to withhold a smile.
He would never agree to it, but in truth she should have been the one acting as a shield for the others.
"I see you guys have been busy." Hange greeted them, eyeing their prisoner before taking out the latest issue of the newspaper and handing it to Levi to read. "So there you have it... the coup was a success. Premier Zackley has control of the capital and administrative district. For now the nobility has yet to rebel. Just like it's written there the charges were bogus, they abused their power, and King Fritz was a fake. All our actions were justified as self-defense; in other words, we're free people now."
"Looks like the gamble paid off." Levi commented while behind him the kids were celebrating their victory.
"Yeah..." Hange agreed. "It wasn't just Erwin, though. The small choices of many managed to change the world."
"And I managed to kill the three you lent me. I'm sorry."
Having just then stepped closer to take a look at the paper over Levi's shoulder, now that everyone wasn't bunched up around him, Natalie was startled to hear the young Captain addressing the issue with Hange who only offered him a bittersweet smile in return.
"So..." the redhead finally spoke up. "That just leaves that Interior Police squad and their leader out there somewhere, with Reiss and Historia and Eren."
"Yeah." Levi agreed. "And if we don't find them soon..."
When he hesitated to finish the phrase and shot her a side-eye look, the redhead smiled and playfully bumped her forehead against his temple.
"I appreciate the caution, but you don't need to tiptoe around me."
"Speaking of... how are you, Natalie?" Hange inquired, drawing the redhead's attention.
"I suppose... all I can do, is learn to live with it; like I learned to live with a lot of other things." she shrugged, straightening her posture. "More importantly, we should get to Reiss' lands and end this once and for all."
~ oOo ~
"So? What's that book you're carrying around?" Levi at last inquired, as they sat in the wagon with Hange and Mikasa.
With Armin driving for them, the others had taken to horseback to light up the way with torches as they hurried towards Reiss' lands.
"Erwin gave me this Scout Investigation report regarding Lord Reiss' lands." Hange replied. "It concerns an incident that happened five years ago; I'll try to summarize the important bits. At one point Lord Reiss had five children and popular opinion of his family wasn't too bad. Then five years ago on the day Wall Maria was breached, that night tragedy struck them. Some bandits raided and set fire to the only chapel on his lands. Sadly, that night the entire Reiss family was gathered there in prayer. And so the entire family, save for Rod Reiss, was massacred by the bandits. To top it off, this incident occurred only a few days before Historia's mother was killed by the Interior Police."
"That doesn't sound right..." Natalie pondered aloud. "That means that immediately after losing his family, Rod Reiss sought out Historia. But why...? What man who is supposed to be mourning his wife and five children, would even think of seeking out an illegitimate daughter only a few days later?"
"...The same bloodline?" Levi chimed in. "Is there some secret to their blood?"
"But why? Why Eren?" she mused, before gasping as she recalled what her other self had told her about the boy. "The Founder... that's it! That's what they want!"
"What's that?" Hange asked in clear confusion, seeing the growing horror on Natalie's face.
"It's the worst thing that could fall into their hands." the redhead replied, taking a deep breath to calm herself so she could speak.
There was no more way that she could keep things secret from them, if they wanted any chance at retrieving Eren. They needed to know just how urgent the situation was, and how imperative it was to keep the boy from being eaten.
"One of the nine Titan Powers is called the Founding Titan. It was the first ever Titan, the original power that Ymir Fritz held and which was later split into the nine shifters. But one part of it remained as the Founder, with all of the original's powers. One of its powers allowed it to control all other Titans with its roar. I should've known when Eren did that... that's why Reiner wanted to take him away. That's why he and Bertholdt and Annie were here; not to destroy humanity, but to take the Founding Titan."
"Is it really that powerful?" Armin asked, sounding concerned.
"The Founder's roar can do many things... one of which is to alter people's memories."
"What?!" Mikasa gasped.
"Still, what does that have to do with Historia?" Hange pondered.
"Royal blood."
Hearing her other self's whisper, Natalie instinctively glanced around before sighing in relief. If her 'twin' was there, it meant that her decision to reveal what she knew had been correct.
"Did she come to haunt you?" Levi inquired.
"Yes, she's here..." the redhead nodded with a faint smile, before leveling her gaze at Hange. "Reiss are the true royal family; that means Historia also has royal blood, even as an illegitimate child. The Founder's powers can only be activated by royal blood. That means... Rod Reiss plans to turn Historia into a Titan and have her eat Eren, then use the Founder through her. It's the only thing that makes any sense as to why he wanted both of them. If he gets his hands on that power, everything we've done will be for nothing. He'll have the Founder erase everyone's memories and we'll all be back at square one. The coup, the expeditions, all of the people who have died so far... none of it will matter anymore, because none of us will remember any of it."
"There's something else that seems odd to me." Hange added after a heavy silence. "Parts of the chapel were completely destroyed. But the building was made entirely of stone; it would take tremendous effort and lots of time to destroy it. Any bandits would just take what they could and make a quick escape. Also, the only one who ever saw those bandits was Rod Reiss himself. And soon after, he used his fortune to rebuild the chapel. But why? Even if I'm jumping to conclusions, I think this deserves us checking it out."
"...Underground?" Natalie pondered again.
"What?" Levi goaded her. "If you've got something to say, just say it."
"Could the place we're looking for be under the ground? Like... under the chapel, for example..."
"Before the night is over we'll have soldiers all over Reiss' lands." Hange replied. "But I doubt he'll wait that long; alright, we should investigate the possibility that there's something under that chapel. However, we need to stop by an outpost nearby and get some supplies before we head in for the fight."
Grateful for a chance to ensure that their gas and blades were full, upon arriving at the outpost, the group loaded part of the wagon with powder barrels and smoke rounds according to Hange's instructions.
"That's the last of it." Levi informed Natalie, handing her one last box to load onto the cart and turning to signal the others to get ready. "Let's go, guys!"
With Armin hurrying to sit on the coach box, the young Captain got back on with Hange and Mikasa following suit while the others retrieved their horses. This time, however, he took up the seat next to the redhead startling her by taking hold of her shoulder.
"Don't forget what you promised me. Don't try to be a hero... you just leave Kenny to me."
"It's nice seeing you so concerned for someone else, Levi." Hange stated with a measure of humor. "But try not to smother her, alright?"
"Hange... you've heard of Kenny the Ripper before." he retorted, prompting the Section Commander to furrow their brow and nod. "I lived with him for a while when I was a brat. You can say he taught me all I know, in regards to fighting humans. He's the one we're facing tonight; and Natalie has a bad habit of being stupidly kind and selfless."
While the redhead shrank into her cloak at his side-eye stare, Mikasa spoke up instead.
"Is he really that strong, Captain?"
"Equate him to me as an enemy. No... with those weapons of his, he's deadlier than me."
"Still, it's not like he has no weak points, right?" Armin interjected, sounding unsettled by that prospect. "I'm sure he's trained plenty, but having combat experience is something else entirely. Especially with using maneuver gear..."
"What if Natalie used her power?" Conny suggested. "She could take them out easily then, right?"
"You want her to transform... underground..." Levi replied. "Then we might as well offer her up without any fight."
"We don't know exactly how big the underground area is." Armin explained. "Natalie might not have enough space to move down there in her Titan form. Just like we were planning to immobilize Annie in Stohess... she might face the same problem."
"And if Kenny is there, then he'll have an advantage of speed over her." Levi concluded. "She might be too fast for the Interior Police, but to someone like Kenny she won't even be a challenge."
"Still... how is it that you lived with Kenny, but know almost nothing about him?" Hange inquired of the young Captain.
"Sorry, but I only found out his last name a few hours ago. Apparently it's Kenny Ackerman." he replied, turning his gaze on Mikasa. "He some relative of yours?"
Surprised that he would ask her about it so directly, the brunette pondered for a moment before giving an answer.
"When my parents were alive I heard that my dad's side, the Ackermans, was persecuted in the cities. My mom's family was Oriental, so being a different race meant they didn't fit in anywhere. They were both driven to the outskirts; that's how they met and got married. But I never found out why the Ackermans were persecuted. My dad didn't seem to be of a different race, like my mom."
At first Levi regarded her in silence, with a thoughtful stare, before speaking again and somewhat hoping that he was right.
"Have you ever had a moment where it felt like a sudden power awakened inside you?" he asked, drawing Natalie's gaze as well.
"...I have." Mikasa gasped, for once looking utterly caught off guard.
"Kenny Ackerman had a moment like that too. One time, out of nowhere, he felt tremendous strength coursing through him and he just knew what he had to do. And... I've felt moments like that too."
"So what does that mean?" Hange, ever the curious one, interjected.
"How should I know?" Levi retorted, making the researcher pout at the answer.
"What if..." Natalie began, her voice dying out when Hange's cheerful tone echoed in her mind.
She saw a brief flash of their face sitting across a campfire with Levi, surrounded by some of their current squad.
"Man, it was such a surprise to find out these two were related! Although, with how similar they are, we probably should have guessed."
Was that... her other self's memory? Was she telling her to say it out loud?
"What is it, Natalie?" Hange asked, startling her back to reality. "Did the other host tell you anything else?"
"Tell them... they need to know."
With her twin's whisper confirming her own thoughts, the redhead heaved a long breath and looked over at Levi who had been watching her intently.
"It means you're an Ackerman as well."
In the deathly silence that followed she had to fight the urge of shrinking back into her cloak, looking from him to Mikasa's wide-eyed stare. For once she couldn't help thinking that the brunette looked so much like a young girl with that expression. She couldn't imagine what it was like for Mikasa to suddenly realize she wasn't alone in the world anymore; that she still had a blood relative so close to her. But she did hope that, in spite of her disdain for Levi, the girl would feel at least a little bit of happiness from that.
For Levi's part, he had reacted exactly as she had expected – with a silent stare and then withdrawing into his own thoughts – and in all honesty she was more concerned for him than for Mikasa. It couldn't be easy for him to learn that the man who had raised and then abandoned him was actually his relative. It likely made the abandonment feel even heavier on his shoulders and she hesitantly reached out to grasp his hand, hoping it would offer some bit of comfort.
"I'm sorry. I probably should have waited... until we were done with this."
"No." he replied, squeezing her hand in return despite not looking at her. "If it's his fate to die tonight, I'd rather it be by my hand."
~ oOo ~
"Try to stay close to me." Levi warned her as they walked up to the doors leading into the underground area. "If I'm right about this, Kenny should make at least one attempt to get to you."
"Captain..." Natalie scolded him. "I'm not a child—"
"I didn't mean it like that." he retorted, tousling her hair. "I'm going to use you as bait, to take him out as soon as I can. And if it comes to it, I expect you can watch my back. Leave the small fry to the others."
Unable to hold off a smile at that, she nodded and took a deep breath just as the young Captain kicked the doors open. More than anything, it made her happy to know Levi trusted her like that... that he had faith in her skills and her own strength. Waiting until Hange and Moblit pushed out the gunpowder barrels, she then followed him and Mikasa in, leaving it to the others to execute the rest of their plan.
'What's... this?' she blinked at the unexpected sight of a cavern made entirely of something that looked eerily similar to the crystal encasing Annie.
The sight of a smoke shell flying towards the ceiling, leaving a thick green trail behind, snapped her back to reality just in time for her to follow Levi when he went airborne. It was now that she felt nervousness setting in, and prayed that she would properly read his body language to be able to keep up with him. Following his directions, they did a quick route around half the chamber and Natalie could see him counting heads.
"Thirty-five enemies!" he at last called out. "They're gathered behind the pillars! Continue the plan; we'll take them all out right here!"
With Jean and Conny following Hange's lead and taking to the air, and Mikasa vanishing into the smoke as well, Natalie looked back to Levi who gestured for her to keep following him.
"No sign of him yet." he said, once she was within earshot. "Keep an eye out for the others and if you spot one wearing a stupid hat, that's Kenny."
She would have laughed at that description, however the three soldiers converging on them drew her focus back to the fight. Only after she had dodged the shots and looked around, did she realize their intention had never been to fight her.
'Shit... they were trying to separate us.' she scowled, realizing the trio had followed Levi instead.
She couldn't even begin to guess which direction he'd gone in, with all the smoke hiding everyone from view. But just as she was trying to double back and hope to run into him, she spotted a lone figure stalking her from behind the nearest row of pillars.
'It's him!' she gasped, spotting the hat he was wearing. 'Kenny!'
Her heart pounding, she tried to lose him in the smoke but he was locked onto her like a bloodhound.
"Didn't anyone teach ya to wait for old people?" he called out tauntingly, suddenly cutting her off. "Oh? Aintcha a cute one? Didn't think that little runt was yer type of man... but I suppose ya coulda done worse."
Gritting her teeth Natalie lunged forth even as he spoke, unwilling to wait until he decided to take a shot at her. Though she hadn't expected him to let her get up close and personal, she soon heard the scraping of her sword against the barrel of his gun. And when he grinned she gasped upon realizing he was simply toying with her.
"A feisty one, eh? I see why he likes ya." he jeered, before the humor vanished from his face as he moved back to avoid her second blade which she swept horizontally at his throat. "But I'm afraid this is the end of the line for ya, girlie... you're too slippery to catch, so you're a waste of effort for us."
With that he suddenly changed course in midair and lunged back at her, leveling a gun at her face. While everything slowed down in her head, she thought she spotted a figure far off to her left making a beeline for them just when she heard the blast of the gunshot. She was too late... there was no way her body would fall fast enough to duck under the bullet. And yet her reflex had her releasing the anchors, with the dying hope that the shot would still somehow miss her skull.
But then she blinked and suddenly her vision was blocked by the flat of a sword, and she felt an arm wrapping around her waist. As reality slowly wound back up to normal speed, she gasped at suddenly finding herself in Levi's hold as though he had simply materialized out of thin air next to her. If she had believed he'd moved fast back in Trost, this was ridiculously faster than even that. Only afterwards did she finally register that he had used the flat of his blade to parry the bullet, and her mind blanked at the thought that he had been fast enough to do that.
"What? I was right?" Kenny taunted them, and yet Natalie could have sworn she heard an undertone of pride in his voice. "Is this why ya came up here, Levi? For this pretty piece of ass?"
When the young Captain refused to give in to his provocations, instead making sure Natalie was anchored into the nearby pillar, he sighed and reloaded the gun he had emptied on the redhead.
"No choice... guess I'll have to play." he grinned. "Doncha go anywhere, girlie; I'll be back to play with ya in a bit."
Almost immediately he had to dodge and raise one of the weapons as defense against Levi's sword.
"You're a spunky one, damn ya..." he huffed, narrowly avoiding a slash to his chest.
It was clear to Natalie that Levi was angry, and for a moment she feared that would cloud his judgment, yet the way he moved was impeccably calculated.
'...Like he knows exactly what he has to do.' she mused, wondering if she was actually witnessing one of those moments he had described earlier.
However, Kenny was no pushover either and that was soon made apparent to her in how he eventually ambushed Levi, drawing his knife and leaving a shallow cut on the Captain's cheek.
"Idiot! Didn't I teach ya that when ya chase an enemy, ya shouldn't look only forward?" the older Ackerman chuckled.
Realizing that she had been stationary for far too long, the redhead quickly glanced around the chamber trying to do a headcount of their team as she took off following Levi and Kenny. She dearly hoped Levi wouldn't end up in a situation where he needed her help, because she was now certain that he was the only one who stood a chance against the older Ackerman.
'Forget training... he doesn't need it.' she pondered, recalling Armin's earlier theory. 'He's strong and quick enough already; and he's clearly more experienced than Levi.'
It was only when he rounded about to try and shoot Levi in the back, that the young Captain whipped around in midair throwing an oil bag at him. With Kenny already in the process of pulling the trigger, the bullet caused the oil to explode into flames giving Levi the cover he needed. Charging through the inferno, he once again clashed with Kenny who tried to parry with his knife this time. With one final effort, Levi pushed forth deflecting the dagger and slashed at the man's stomach forcing him to retreat further into the caverns.
Following suit, the others retreated as well leaving an injured Hange behind, whom Natalie rushed to check on once the threat was gone. The researcher fortunately didn't seem to have taken any internal damage from being thrown against one of the pillars.
"I need something to bind this shoulder." she said, eyeing the bleeding wound.
"Here!" Sasha called out, running over with a strip of cloth.
Opening a couple of buttons to pull the bloodied fabric aside, the redhead could only stare for a moment at the torn flesh.
"What happened? This doesn't look like a bullet wound."
"Hange-san got caught on one of their anchors." Armin replied.
"Yeah... that bitch got them good." Conny nodded.
"How is it?" Levi inquired, at last joining them.
"It doesn't look like it went through completely... but we need to get them to a doctor." the redhead sighed.
"...Do what you can. We need to get Eren and Historia back, first." he replied after thinking it over for a moment.
Doing the best she could on the spot, Natalie left it to Armin and Moblit to carry the unconscious researcher as they moved to follow their remaining opponents.
~ oOo ~
"That has to be a way through, if it's all blocked off." Levi spat, looking at the large hole in the ceiling covered with a wooden grate.
"That area looks large enough to fit a Titan." Natalie stated, carefully eyeing the chamber beyond the large entrance ahead of them. "We'd still need to get past that net, though."
"Out of the question. You're not turning down here and risk getting stuck."
She would have protested, but the light coming from somewhere ahead blinded them all for a moment, followed by a gust of current that had them all crouch to avoid being blown back.
"A Titan transformation!" the redhead scowled, blinking in confusion at the roar that rumbled through the caverns like an earthquake. "That... sounds bigger than any Titan I've ever heard."
"Captain!" Armin called out from behind them, pointing at the ceiling. "It's open!"
"Armin, Moblit... take Hange and get the hell out of here!" the young Captain ordered. "The rest of you follow me!"
Taking to the air, the group found that the ceiling entrance allowed them to slip past the rest of Kenny's goons and head straight to the area farthest back. The sight however, left them all breathless for a moment. It was indeed a Titan transformation that the lightning had announced, but the creature that was still mid-turn looked insanely huge.
"That can't be Historia..." Natalie said, frantically glancing around until she spotted the girl and Eren. "Captain, over there!"
With Mikasa hurrying after her, they reached the two just in time for the brunette to catch Historia who had been flung back at the wall by a stronger current, while she had been struggling to free Eren from the chains holding him down.
"Give me the keys!" Natalie called out, grabbing the key ring from her.
"Natalie... Captain... everyone!" Eren sobbed, when Levi landed behind them along with the others. "Stop it! Just get out of here, forget about me!"
"Shut up, you topless wimp!" Jean scolded him while Natalie handed Levi the keys. "It's not just the Titan... there are dudes with guns coming after us!"
With her hands free, the redhead turned her eyes to the still forming Titan body which was starting to put strain on the chamber's walls and ceiling.
"That's... way bigger than anything I've ever seen." she pondered. "It might even be bigger than the Colossal Titan."
"The ceiling!" Mikasa called out, drawing Natalie's gaze to the cracking portion above them. "Watch out!"
"Get out of the way!" Levi ordered, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her back while Jean and Conny dragged Eren away.
"Shit! There's no way out!" Jean scowled, the ever growing Titan having by now blocked their only escape route.
"Eren!" Mikasa called to him. "Can you get us out of here somehow?"
"It's impossible..." he sobbed from where he had fallen onto his seat against the wall. "My Titan can't withstand all this! I'm sorry that I'm so useless... we can't escape!"
"So what do you want to do?" Historia scowled. "Stay here and hold hands until we're crushed or burned to a crisp?"
"I'll do—" Natalie replied.
"Don't even think about it." Levi cut her off, his arm tightening around her waist as if to keep her from disobeying him. "Your Titan can't harden its skin; you'll just get crushed when this all comes down on us. Eren... I hate doing this to you every single time, but... you have to make the choice."
"At this rate we'll all be dead!" she frowned a few moments later, when Eren couldn't decide.
Tearing herself free she rushed over to the boy and knelt in front of him, slapping her hands onto his cheeks as she cupped his face.
"Listen, Eren!" she frowned as he stared at her, wondering what on Earth she could say to get him back to his feet.
"Over here..."
The sharp whisper of the male shifter in her left ear drew her gaze that way, only for her eyes to fall onto an odd looking bottle near their feet.
'Armor...? Like... like Reiner's armor?' she pondered, picking it up to read the label.
"We'll do it together!" she at last stated, getting to her feet and taking hold of his hand. "Stand up!"
"But... you can't..."
"I'll do it somehow!" she retorted on a determined tone, tugging on his arm in spite of the sorrowful expression on her face. "I'm sorry that I left all of this on your shoulders for so long. You were right; I was selfish and cowardly, and I didn't want to bear the responsibilities of this power. Because I felt like it was pushed onto me against my will, because it was a power I never asked for or even wanted. So I left you to struggle alone instead of helping you, even when I knew you were the same as me. When I knew you never wanted this power either, that it's just as much a burden and a curse for you as it is for me. But... you don't have to choose anymore! I'll be right there with you; from now on I'll share your burden! So... stand up! Stand and keep fighting!"
Though at first he only stared at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, she knew she'd gotten a hold of him the moment his expression melted into his usual determined frown.
"Yeah... together." he said, at last getting back on his feet. "I have no idea how we're going to do this, but we'll do it."
"The same way you made those swords to fight Reiner." she replied. "Just... try making something that'll deflect the debris when this place falls apart. Maybe like a shield..."
Untying the string around the bottle she took a deep breath, hoping whatever was in there wouldn't have any negative effects on her.
"I'll go first... I don't know what effect this will have, but I'm relying on you to make the right call."
Popping off the cap and downing the liquid, she then crushed the bottle in her hand using the shards to draw blood before rushing to leap over the edge as the yellow light engulfed her. With her Titan body forming midair, she landed on her knees her mind still entirely focused on forming some kind of barrier that would protect the others from getting crushed.
'Come on... anything... anything will do!' she gritted her teeth, at last her mind going off to the fishing nets she had seen at the market as a child. 'That's it!'
Focusing all her thoughts on that, she at last saw the ground beneath her crystallizing mere moments before the diamond-like material expanded in all directions, forming thick branches. The sudden flash of light and the roar echoing behind her drew her attention to Eren just as he landed in front of her, kneeling and pressing his hands to the crystal. For a tick nothing happened, but then she saw the outer layer of his skin rippling faintly while translucent material began expanding from underneath his palms, to fill in the gaps of her structure and form a solid layer above their heads as well as in a half-circle around them, leaving only one side open for them to get out through.
"Everyone, get underneath them!" Levi ordered.
'A bit more... just a bit more...' Natalie goaded herself on, despite the pain and fatigue overtaking her body.
Looking up, the last thing she saw was the crystal skeleton merging with itself above them as Eren's own crystal crept along the structure to block any debris. And as the ceiling at last gave way completely, she abandoned herself to the darkness creeping in at the edges of her vision.
With the last pieces bouncing off their mixed cage, Eren half-emerged from his Titan his wide-eyed stare settling onto Natalie's Titan body which had become fully crystallized. And yet she wasn't coming out, leaving him to wonder if maybe she was stuck in there. He had just opened his mouth to tell the others, when he saw Levi anchoring into her shoulder and pulling himself up along with Mikasa. Recalling Reiss' Titan, he frantically glanced around for a moment before breathing in relief upon realizing it was crawling away seemingly taking no interest in them.
"What do we do?" the girl asked, blanking on how they could get the redhead out of the nape.
At first the young Captain didn't reply, taking a moment to assess the situation. It didn't look like the same kind of hardening the Female Titan had done... this one looked crystallized all the way through the flesh like a statue.
"Eren!" he at last called out. "Get back in that Titan and get over here."
"...Yes!" the boy replied, somewhat confused as to what the Captain planned to do.
With him moving to stand behind them, Levi gestured to one of the larger pieces of ceiling which had fallen through her netting before the gaps had been sealed. There was no way they were getting through that crystal with blades, and though he wasn't entirely sure his idea would work, he had no choice but to put his trust in Eren.
"Pick that up and crack open her nape so we can get her out." he ordered, seeing the hesitation in the Titan's eyes. "Just be careful not to crush her in there."
"Captain... are you sure...?" Mikasa inquired.
"Do you have any other idea?" he retorted, gesturing for her to get on the ground when she shook her head. "Then move away."
'What's he thinking?' Eren gasped. 'I could kill her if I hit that thing too hard.'
"I'm relying on you to make the right call."
With her words echoing in his mind, he clenched his jaw and swallowed the nervous knot in his throat before moving to pick up the crystal covered piece of rock.
'This will work... it has to work!'
Raising the rock above his head as he stood over the crystallized Titan, he brought it down onto her nape after Levi had moved out of the way. The clinking of crystals hitting each other echoed through the destroyed caverns, before the rock shattered in his hands after the third strike. At first it looked like nothing had happened, until the crystal on the nape cracked with a sound similar to breaking bones, a few pieces falling off to reveal a small patch of white fabric from the girl's shirt.
'It worked!'
With Levi and Mikasa moving back up and starting to chip away at the weakened crystal with the hilts of their swords, Eren was left to finally emerge fully from his Titan and catch his breath after Jean helped him down onto the floor.
"Natalie... wake up..." they heard Levi calling to the redhead as he and Mikasa pulled her out. "Hey... come on, snap out of it. Natalie... hey!"
"Is she alright?" Jean asked once the Captain had at last descended carrying the unconscious girl.
His voice caught in his throat, however, when he registered the man's frantic motions in setting the redhead down and pressing his ear to her chest. For a few seconds Levi stared fixedly at the ground, until he caught the sound of her heartbeat and overwhelming relief drove away all the tension from his body.
"Yeah... she's alive." he replied, holding her tightly to his chest.