Another really productive week, darlings! Keep your fingers crossed that my inspiration stays awake and active like this! So far I've had a blast writing this story (currently working on stuff around season 4 timeline-wise). It really helped to remind me why I loved reading and writing in the first place. Hope you're all enjoying the story so far and that you're looking forward for what's to come~
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 belongs to Isayama Hajime. I only own my OCs.
26. The Beast
~ 850 ~
She had no idea how long she had been standing in the hallway, waiting for Erwin to finish his meeting with the officers of the Survey Corps.
'There's no way I can let him go...' she gulped, still unsure of what she could say to convince the Commander otherwise. 'I don't ever want to see that look on Levi's face again.'
She had been nervous about it from the beginning, but when Levi had come to her the previous evening, pleading for her to help him talk Erwin out of it, she had decided that she could no longer stand aside. Having to look at the anguish in Levi's eyes when she had again assured him that what she had heard was true – that Erwin would die on that expedition – had been worse than any torture.
The sound of voices drew her attention to the office, to see Hange and the other officers leaving. Saluting them, she then stepped over just as Levi was preparing to close the door and slipped inside earning Erwin's attention.
"What is it, Natalie?" the Commander inquired, suspecting why she was there when the redhead looked over to Levi rather than offer an answer. "Levi...?"
"It's a bit hasty, but..." the Captain spoke up from where he was still leaning against the door. "What will you do after retaking Wall Maria? I'd guess a defense plan comes first, but after that?"
"Eliminating threats. Outside the Walls there seems to be someone hoping Titans will eat us all. Of course, the answer to who is in the basement, I imagine. Like I said earlier... we'll plan all that after the basement."
"I'm asking you this because you might not live that long. You can't exactly move like you used to... let Hange call the shots; you'll just be dead weight. Wait here for the good news to come to you. We'll tell the others I argued until you gave in – in fact, that's what I mean to do. Fine with that?"
Though she had yet to speak, Natalie could already see the shift in Erwin's expression; the dismay and disappointment – most likely in his handicap.
"Erwin..." she spoke up, startling both him and Levi by addressing the man informally for once. "If you go to Shiganshina, you will die; you'll never get to see that basement. You won't ever get to hear the truth of this world, if you go. You won't ever get to accomplish your dream. Stay here... just be selfish, this one time. Stay here and ensure that you will get to learn the truth you've been seeking your whole life."
In the heavy silence that blanketed the room after her words, Natalie could hear her other self whispering in her ear to let Erwin go with them. That he had an important part to play in that battle, that leaving him behind could very well have them fail the operation. But in that moment she didn't care about any of that... she only wanted Erwin to survive, no matter what. And then she saw his expression hardening back to its usual sharp look, and her heart picked up the pace because she could already guess his answer.
"I'm fine being food." the Commander at last replied, confirming all of her fears. "Use me as bait. The chain of command remains... if I'm gone, then Hange; if Hange's gone, then the next. It's true, this operation is very risky, but to humanity it's more important than anything else. This is all my plan; if I don't do it, the success rate will plummet."
"True, the operation might fail." Levi agreed. "But if you bite the dust in the process we'll all doomed. You should just sit at your desk and keep using your head; that's the best thing for humanity."
"No, you're wrong... the best thing is for me the gamble it all—"
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hold up." the young Captain cut him off. "Keep using that bluff around me and I'll break both your damn legs. I'll make it nice and easy to reattach them later; but the operation to retake Wall Maria will go on with you weeping here. It'll be a bitch getting to the toilet, though."
Having listened silently until the end, Erwin at last huffed and his lips painted a rare smile on his face.
"I'd like to avoid that..." he replied. "What you're both saying is true; a wounded soldier should stay off the battlefield. But... there will come a moment when we learn the truth of our world. And I must be there for it."
'Erwin... this is you being selfish, isn't it?' the redhead pondered, realizing that what she had asked him to do would have actually been the selfless way out.
"Is it that important to you?" Levi retorted, nearly startling her when he stepped into her peripheral vision. "...More than your damn legs?"
"Yes."
"More than humanity's victory?" he narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
He knew in that moment that there was no changing Erwin's mind anymore, and the way Natalie lowered her head only confirmed it for him.
'Very well... if you're that bent on suicide...' he mused, briefly grasping the woman's shoulder before walking over to the door. "Erwin... I'll trust your judgment."
~ oOo ~
"So... how long would you say we still have to go?" Natalie inquired, handing the map to Hannes.
"Let's see... I'd say we're about here." he replied, pointing their location while she used her lantern to provide him some light.
"We're not at the foot yet?" Levi chimed in. "It's almost dawn..."
"It's just beyond this mountain we're on right now. As soon as we get over it, Shiganshina's right there."
They had left Trost just before sunset and, as everyone had hoped, they were already close to Shiganshina. Fortunately they hadn't encountered any Titans before nightfall, and had kept a galloping pace for their horses pushing the beasts as fast as they could go. They had thus covered a great part of the distance before it had gotten too dark to safely ride anymore, and they had been forced to continue on foot.
"It was a good idea to do this on the new moon." Hange spoke up from behind them. "This way, even that new type of Titan that can move with just moonlight should be no threat."
Nodding to the researcher's words, the redhead turned back to Hannes who had just rolled up the map.
"Are you sure it was a good idea to come with us? How's your arm?"
"I'm perfectly fine now; don't you worry about this old man." he smiled. "More importantly, I want to help with this expedition. Shiganshina was my home and I want to take it back."
"I wonder..." she murmured, lowering her gaze. "Will we really be able to do it?"
"Of course we will. With your ideas and Commander Erwin's expertise in implementing them, we're prepared for anything they can throw at us."
At first she didn't reply, only startled out of her dark spiral of thoughts when Hannes weighed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be alright..." he smiled reassuringly. "We'll definitely win this, you'll see. Have more faith in yourself."
Turning back to follow him with her gaze as he went to check on Eren, she turned her eyes to Levi once the young Captain sidled up to her. For a moment he didn't speak and she was left wondering if he was about to tell her – again – to not be a hero, or to not go dying for anyone.
"I'm proud of you."
His words left her gawking at him like an idiot, knocking the breath out of her lungs, and she had to glance around to make sure he was talking to her.
"...What's with that reaction?" he retorted, half-amused and half-offended.
"It's just... I don't think you ever... said this to me before." she stammered.
"I am. Not just for how intelligent you are, or how far you've come since joining the Survey Corps. But for how dedicated you are to protecting our people, for how kind and gentle you are in a world that's becoming more and more cruel each day, for how you can see the good in people even when no one else does... for how you keep trying to make a better future even when everything is against you."
Turning his eyes back to her he startled the redhead upon reaching out to grasp her hand.
"Believe in yourself... when we win this battle, it'll be thanks to you."
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying them any mind, too busy watching out for any Titans, he took a step closer until they were walking almost shoulder to shoulder.
"No matter what happens... no matter the outcome of this fight... I love you." he said, lowering his tone and squeezing her hand. "I never once regretted my choice and if there really is a god, like Nick believed, then I can only be grateful that he let us meet. Having you in my life has been my greatest happiness."
She knew he was just being cautious as always, but damn it if his words didn't fill her with so many emotions that she couldn't even tell exactly what she was feeling. She loved him for his direct way of telling her all that, and yet she was angry at how it had made her refocus on her greatest fear – losing him.
"And it will keep being that, even after today." she at last replied, tightening her grasp on his hand with a determined frown. "I know you're saying all this just in case... but I would sooner see this whole world burn, than lose you."
Contrary to her expectations her words brought out one of his rare smiles, as short lived as it was. He knew she could never do that; that she was far too selfless for it. Still, he loved her for how she always sought to encourage him, to push him forward even in the rare moments when he wavered.
"We're here!" one of the Scouts called out from the front of the column, drawing both of them back into their current reality.
They were at the edge of the forest from where the open hilly area stretched all the way to the village and the wall. And when Hannes moved past them to join Erwin, she and Levi followed.
"It doesn't look like there are any traps from here to the wall." the Commander stated, examining the area through a spyglass. "However... Hannes-san, I would have you take a look as well. You know this area better than we do."
Handing him the spyglass, he turned to Natalie and gestured for her to approach.
"Huh...? What's that...?" Hannes muttered before Erwin could speak, instantly drawing his attention.
Immediately Natalie felt tension coursing her body, as Hannes handed her the spyglass asking for confirmation. Following his direction to where he was pointing, she frowned in confusion at what seemed to be an oddly straight line of mounds in the grass.
"Could it be a cemetery?" she inquired, puzzled by the sticks sticking out of each one.
"There's no cemetery all the way out here." Hannes replied, confirming her suspicions.
"He's hidden in plain sight." she heard Kasimir whispering in her ear, before she spoke up again turning her gaze to Erwin. "It's them! I'm sure of it..."
"So... they're out here, then. But why out in the open like this?"
"He'll try to trap us between his Titans and the wall." Natalie replied, recalling the memory she had watched with Eren. "While we go seal the gates, he'll aim for the horses and leave us stranded here."
Thinking it over for a moment, she abruptly turned to face the Commander.
"Let me go!"
"What are you thinking?" Erwin inquired, narrowing his eyes; he knew that look she was giving him – the one that said she was already forming a plan.
"I'll get as close to them as I can, then turn and attack them. We'll force him to shift on our terms, rather than his own. If we're going to beat him, we absolutely cannot give him any space; we have to force him into a close-ranged fight, to take away his throwing ability. That's the only way we'll gain the upper hand against him. Meanwhile, Eren and a small group can go on ahead. While we fight the Beast Titan, he can seal the gates."
"Who did you have in mind for his team?"
"Send the rest of our squad, along with Hange-san and their team." she said, glancing to Levi. "We still don't know where Reiner and Bertholdt are; we can't leave Eren unguarded. I expect at least one of them will be hidden somewhere inside the district, or at least very close to one of the gates. If that's true, then the spears will be the best surprise attack against them."
"I'll stay with you." Levi offered. "I'll take down that Beast Titan, first..."
So it seemed she had been right about the ambush, which told him she likely had been right about him being the only one who could take down that bastard.
"Please, Commander... trust me!" she beseeched him. 'Please let me do what I can, to keep you alive!'
"Very well." Erwin at last nodded, understanding from her eyes that this was their best chance.
Turning back to the others to relay his orders, he waited until Eren's group was ready to go before allowing Natalie to head out.
"Are you crazy?!" Eren argued. "If all of them turn into Titans, you'll be severely outnumbered! Let me help—"
"And you think we'll just sit here with our thumbs up our asses?" Levi cut him off. "You just focus on getting those gates sealed. We'll worry about Natalie."
"You can't worry about the whole world all the time, Eren." the redhead smiled encouragingly. "Leave these assholes to me... you go and fix the gates."
Though reluctant, the boy nodded and watched as she walked out into the open while Erwin ordered everyone to mount their horses and ready their gear. Taking advantage of the fact that the forest on their right side stretched to just a few feet away from the row of grass mounds, Natalie switched to her gear. Making her way to their targets, she used the last tree to propel herself up into the air before using the knife she had on her to slice across her palm.
'What... what happened?' Reiner gasped from where he was hiding within the wall, hearing the thunder strike outside the district. 'Did the War Chief turn already? Why? They shouldn't have been aware of our plan... why aren't the Scouts coming into the district? Don't tell me... is it her?'
At first Zeke hadn't even believed that there was another shifter on the island; and – had they not seen her Titan with their own eyes – he and Bertholdt would have agreed. But according to him and based on their descriptions, it was most likely that Natalie held the Attack Titan that Marley had lost when the previous host had betrayed them by taking his own life. And if that was so, then she was the greatest danger to them besides Eren. To think the power had made its way inside the Walls! Still, she couldn't have known... she couldn't have known about the ambush! And what bothered him the most was that she shouldn't have even been alive anymore.
'...What the hell are you?!' he scowled, recognizing the sound of her roar as it echoed in the still morning air.
With her body fully formed in midair, Natalie made sure to fall right on top of one of the mounds. The blood that spurted from beneath her foot, as she slammed down, convinced her that she had been right; those were the hiding spots for their enemies! Immediately she took a step forth and stomped out another three, before leaning down to grab the next one over. Turning it upside, she spotted the man hidden beneath what looked like a blanket made of grass. For only a brief moment she hesitated upon realizing he was completely out of it, like he was drunk or dazed; it was like he couldn't even see her, though she was staring straight at him.
'I'm sorry...' she sighed, clenching her jaw to kill the pity taking root in her heart.
"I know you're here, Beast Titan!" she called out, her voice echoing over the empty district and confirming Reiner's fears. "Come out, you cowardly piece of shit! I'll smash every single one of these hideouts, until I find you!"
She was hoping her words and her presence there would be enough to bait him into revealing himself. At the same time she squeezed the man in her fist until his body burst open, his blood dripping onto the grass below. Turning her hand over she dropped the mangled corpse in a blatant display of defiance, having steeled her resolve to kill every single one of their enemies if she had to.
"I never imagined she could be so ruthless..." Eren murmured, staring in shock at the scene in front of them.
"I'm sure she feels horrible for it." Armin replied. "But there's no other way; she has to bait him into revealing himself somehow. If we're going to win this, she has to discard her humanity."
"Very well..." she stated when he didn't come out.
Left with no other choice, she moved forth and began tearing through the nearest hideouts until at last there was a flash from one of the mounds closer to the river. That drew her attention to the fur covered Titan which emerged from the dust clouds raised by the lightning strike.
"Clever girl." he retorted mockingly, startling her with his ability to speak. "However, what can you do alone? You're surrounded..."
'I have to somehow distract him, so Eren and the others can get past and into the district.' she pondered, staring down her opponent.
"So you finally showed up, huh?" she spat at him, slamming her foot down on yet another mound to crush the person hiding there.
It was unsettling, to say the least, that he was taller than even her Titan; and those abnormally long arms didn't give her much hope of winning even if she tried to stick to close combat.
'All victories come with risks, I suppose...' she mused, taking another step towards him. "Are you going to do anything, or will you wait until I crush all your allies?"
She didn't want to give him enough time to analyze what she was doing, and possibly figure out their plan. But then she saw him grinning just before he raised his arms and his roar echoed over the deathly silence. For a split second it looked like nothing would happen, before she was momentarily blinded by the dozens of lightning strikes all around her. Even before the dust had completely settled she could see the Titans surrounding them. A quick initial headcount got her as high as forty, but she was certain there were more than that.
'At least it seems most of them are small... but it's still going to be a pain in the ass for Erwin and the others.'
"What is it? Cat got your tongue?" he taunted.
"Bring it!" she spat back, hoping that if he believed she had succumbed to rage it would lull him into a false sense of control over the battle. "I'll tear you out of that nape and rip you to fucking shreds!"
In the ominous way his Titan's expression darkened she knew she'd gotten under his skin with that threat. All that was left now was for Erwin to order the attack, while she tried to stick close to him.
"And what do you think that will accomplish?" he replied, eerily calm despite the anger underlining his words. "This world has no future... you should know that already. What do you think us fighting to the death will achieve?!"
As he shouted the final words he brought his fist down, cracking the ground next to him and scaring away the birds from the forest.
"I don't care what it will do... I just want to kill all of you for what you did. For all the thousands of men, women and children who died horrible deaths because of you three."
At that she stepped forth again, the tips of her fingers twitching as she encased them in crystal to forge claws for herself. To her credit, the look in her Titan's eyes betrayed nothing of her bluff, only speaking of her murderous intent.
"Come on!" she goaded him with a snarl. "Come fight me, you fucking coward!"
'Damn you...' Zeke scowled, still fuming that his perfect plan to get rid of the Survey Corps had been ruined. 'How did you know? How?! More importantly, where the hell are they? There's no way they would have sent her alone.'
~ oOo ~
At the same time, Erwin hadn't sat idly by. Using the forest as cover, he had directed the Scouts to spread out along the edge as soon as the Titans had shifted, to try and surround them as much as possible. They had a long battle ahead of them with those numbers, although he couldn't help but feel that their expedition had been placed under the sign of some lucky star. Not only had Natalie's warnings turned out to be true, but with the new training they were so much better prepared for combat even on those terms.
"Fight me!" he heard Natalie again goading the Beast Titan into combat, and looked over to see him backing away as she advanced on him, to try and put distance between them.
'We're running out of time...' the Commander pondered. 'If he gets enough distance to throw a projectile at her, she won't stand a chance. No, wait...'
He wasn't just backing away, the Commander suddenly realized; he was drawing her into the very midst of the Titans.
"Levi..." he called out.
"We're finally going there to help her?" the Captain retorted. "I thought you were planning to wait until those Titans started ripping her apart."
"We'll take care of the Titans. You focus on getting to Natalie and help her take him down. Hange, as soon as you judge that he's distracted enough you'll ride to Shiganshina with Eren and the others. Get over the wall and seal the outer gate first."
"Understood." the Section Commander replied.
On that note Erwin retrieved the flare gun at his hip and raised it, the blast of a green smoke round echoing over the plains and at last drawing Zeke's attention to them.
"Advance!" he ordered, galloping out of the forest followed by the rest of the Scouts.
'What... they're trying to encircle my Titans?' Zeke scowled. 'And what good will that do? You have no trees or houses to use!'
His moment of distraction, as he watched the Scouts approaching the unmoving Titans, nearly cost him when Natalie lunged at him trying to claw his eyes out. Immediately after pulling back and narrowly avoiding her attack, he roared again prompting the Titans to turn on the Survey Corps.
'Fools... what was the point of coming here to die?' he sighed.
"All troops, switch to ODM gear!" Erwin ordered as the soldiers arrived within a few meters of the Titans. "Round them up one by one and take them down!"
Having halted outside the battlefield, he had to swallow his urge to join the fray and remind himself that with his handicap he would only be a liability in battle. Thus, his best option was to keep an eye on the fight and issue any orders if the need arose. On the left he saw Levi charging straight through the field, heading for Natalie, while the rest of the troops around him began the final test of their new training; though the Captain soon had to join the battle due to the large number of enemies. On the right he spotted Hange and their group riding as fast as they could towards the district gate. Fortunately it seemed the training was paying off, with the soldiers able to keep any Titans from following them.
In the heat of the battle Natalie was forced to lose sight of the Beast Titan, having to defend herself as the nearby creatures tried to swarm her. When one of the small ones latched onto her leg she used it as padding, pivoting to kick one of the larger ones in the back and send it flying off. With the smaller one weakened by the blow, she let it fall to the ground before stomping onto its nape to finish it off.
'Not yet...' she scowled when the creature tried to get up, stomping on it again and finally crushing the nape completely.
A second small one latched onto her leg immediately after, while she was distracted, this one instantly sinking its teeth into her calf. Gritting her teeth at the pain, she bent down and smacked it as hard as she could manage from that position. The blow sent its body flying off, leaving the head attached to her flesh. With the third one trying to grab her other calf she turned her focus to it, kicking it up into the air with enough force to split its head open. It was only sheer luck that she had gotten its nape in that blow, but now she was left struggling to pull the other Titan's head off her, being forced to tear the flesh in the process.
'Fuck... I need to be more careful...' she berated herself.
Halfway down the battlefield she spotted Levi tearing his way through the Titans, but with the sheer number of them there was no way she could count on him reaching her anytime soon. And now that she was injured, she couldn't afford to be reckless until her leg healed.
'At least they're doing well...' she mused, taking a moment to watch the Scouts.
Most of them had instinctively fallen back onto working in pairs, with one acting as bait while the other went for the ankles or the nape. But the training was definitely paying off, she could tell in their lack of hesitation as they rounded up Titans one after the other.
'We can win this! We will win this!'
The roar coming from behind her turned her focus back on her surroundings and she spotted one of the fifteen-meter Titans lunging at her. Recalling that she was still holding onto the smaller Titan's head she chose to avoid further risk of injury to her leg and used it as a projectile, chucking it at the creature's face.
'Well, it was worth a shot...' she mused, slipping into a defensive stance upon realizing it had done nothing to slow down the larger one. 'Fine... bring it!'
Focusing on timing it well, she jabbed the creature in the arm to divert it and then grabbed its opposite shoulder effectively stopping it in its tracks.
'You're mine!'
Reaching with her free hand she aimed a punch at its neck, putting her full force behind it to ensure it would blow clean through the nape. But the Titan caught her off guard when its jaw opened up to an abnormal degree and she saw her entire fist vanishing into its mouth, feeling the pain spiking up into her head when it bit down onto her arm.
'Shit...' she growled, before hearing the shouts coming up from her right side.
Looking over she spotted the two large Titans converging on two of the Scouts, but her attempt to move reminded her that her hand was still stuck in the other one's mouth. And then, as she watched its mindless – almost eerily blissful – expression while it tried to chew her arm off, she got an idea.
'Alright... you're coming with me!'
Using its own bite as leverage, she pushed the creature back just enough so she could bend over and slip her free arm between its legs, lifting it onto her shoulders. Even as light as Titans were, it still felt like the weight would snap her spine but she had no other choice if she wanted to save those two. Gritting her teeth, while her Titan body exhaled a breath of scalding steam, she took a step to balance herself... then another... and another, until at last she was able to break into a run.
'A little more... just a little more...' she goaded herself on, in her focused state failing to notice the crystal crawling along her flesh from the fingertips, until it had encased her forearms all the way to the elbows.
At the very last moment she lifted the beast above her head and brought it in front of her like a shield, leaping over the Scouts and barreling the other Titans to the ground. Hurrying to try and regain her footing, she at last noticed her crystallized arms and her moment of distraction gave the Titans the chance to try and pile onto her.
"Take those Titans out! Don't let them swarm her!" she heard a familiar voice echoing over the sounds of battle, and looked over to see Erwin at the edge of the field directing a few of the Scouts to her location.
Within moments she saw the men approaching and clenched her free hand to break the hardening, extending her arm for them to use as an anchoring point. While they took care of the other two, she at last turned her attention back to the Titan that still had her fist in its mouth. Well, if she couldn't pull her hand out then she would just give it more than it could swallow. Forging claws on her free hand again, she shoved her fingers between its teeth to pry them loose just enough so she could shove her other arm down its throat.
'There!' she gasped, feeling its spine against her fingertips.
Grabbing onto it and twisting, she gritted her teeth with a snarl that her Titan body echoed as a vicious roar, until her efforts paid off and she ripped out the spine all the way down to its nape. But then the lightning coming from within the district – followed by a second one shortly after – reminded her that she had lost the Beast Titan from her sight for far too long.
'Shit... where did he go?!' she panicked, frantically glancing around until she spotted him near the river along with a few of the Titans that had just crossed onto their bank.
There was no way she could bait him anymore; by now, after having so much time to analyze the situation, he most likely had figured out that she'd been trying to lure him into close combat. She had no other choice – she had to simply go at it and try to get close before he got any ideas of throwing rocks at them. On that note she took advantage of the fact that the rest of the Titans were focused on the Scouts, and sprinted across the battlefield towards her target.
"What are you guys waiting around for?" the shifter called out, frowning at the four fifteen-meter Titans next to him. "Go take out their leader!"
All of a sudden Natalie found herself staring down the creatures making a beeline for Erwin, and already she could picture in her head how they ripped him apart.
'Shit... he read me like an open book!' she scowled in the face of his mocking grin.
It was clear to her now; he knew she would never abandon Erwin and leave him to die. When she turned to locate the Commander, she realized he had yet to notice the danger he was in, being too focused on directing his troops. It was only the thuds of her feet as she planted herself between him and the Titans that drew his attention, when the tremors of the ground spooked his horse.
"Come on! I'll rip you to pieces if you touch him!" she roared, and her voice turned the creatures' focus from Erwin to her for a moment. 'That's it...'
At the very least, if she could keep them fixated on her, that meant they wouldn't try to get past and attack Erwin; and then she might have been able to find a way to kill them. But how the fuck was she supposed to take on four Titans her own size, and hope to win?
'It doesn't matter... I won't let you lay a finger on Erwin!' she clenched her jaw, turning all her anger from the Beast Titan to the four creatures running at her; in that moment nothing mattered to her other than keeping that man alive. 'I'll tear you all to pieces and eat you whole!'
Her Titan's lips pulled back to bare her teeth in a vicious snarl, the fury mixed with adrenaline coursing her veins like liquid fire and prompting another roar to erupt from her chest, drowning out all other sounds and startling the birds from the nearby forest. At that the four Titans finally focused entirely on her, and as she stared them down with a ferocious glare crystal rapidly crawled along her forearms as well as her calves. At her fingertips it extended into elongated claws before she instinctively hardened her nape as they drew closer.
The first Titan to come within range took the full brunt of her kick to the side of its knee, her hardened shin tearing through the joint – and then going through the second knee as well. However, due to its inertia from running at full speed, the creature still managed to leap at her and latch onto her torso. When it tried to bite her face she shoved her crystallized fingers in its mouth and ripped its jaw off, though the collision left her staggering to regain her balance. Even when the other three slammed into her, it was through sheer force of her will to protect Erwin that she managed to not budge, only her feet leaving trails in the ground as she dug her heels in.
'Shit! What do I do now?!' she gasped, realizing she was all but immobilized now.
To her great fortune the first bites were aimed at her hardened forearms, but then one of the Titans latched onto her shoulder biting off a mouthful of flesh. The pain that coursed her body paralyzed her for a heartbeat, and that coupled with her dwindling strength brought her down to one knee. As if sensing that they had subdued her, she felt their teeth sinking into her flesh over and over ripping everything they could get their mouths on. And with her healing kicking in to try and repair the damage, she felt her strength sapping even further.
'Levi...' Erwin scowled, turning his eyes from her to the battlefield to try and locate the young Captain.
Levi was the only one he could be certain would succeed in saving her. If she died out there, there was nothing to hold the Beast Titan at bay and the Scouts would be obliterated. Failing to see him, he clenched his jaw and spurred the horse into the midst of battle. Seeing him heading off, Natalie breathed a sigh of relief – at least he wasn't at risk of getting trampled if she made an attempt to get those Titans off of her. On that thought she gathered her remaining strength and made to stand, only for the weight to pull her back down.
At the same time her roar had also drawn the attention of several soldiers when it had echoed over the sounds of battle, one of them being Hannes who had just finished slicing the nape of his third Titan that day. Looking over to see the redhead's situation, he located the rest of his squad and gestured for them to gather around him.
"You guys! We have to go help Natalie!" he ordered, using his sword to point at the Titans swarming her.
Just as they had made their way to the edge of the battlefield, Erwin came galloping past them heading straight for the center where he had at last spotted Levi tearing his way through the Titans.
"Don't stop!" Hannes ordered, scowling at the mess that awaited them. 'It's about time I paid my debt to you, Natalie... so just hold on a little longer.'
Again she tried to stand and her painful roar filled the air as the Titans kept tearing at her flesh. But then he saw her hardening her elbow and slamming it into a Titan's gut, causing it to lose balance and fall onto its ass.
'Perfect!' he gritted his teeth, realizing he was in range.
Anchoring into the creature's back he pulled himself up with a burst of gas and managed to slice its nape just as it was trying to get back to its feet. Meanwhile Erwin had at last approached Levi's position after retrieving one of the rider-less horses, calling out to him just as he had finished dispatching another Titan.
"What is it?" the young Captain retorted, heaving for breath. "I'm a little busy right now..."
"Get on, we don't have time. Natalie needs help!" he ordered, gesturing towards the squirming mass of Titans.
Seeing the realization dawning on Levi's face as the redhead's scream again reached their ears, he left him to mount the steed and watched him gallop towards them.
'Make it in time, Levi!'
On that note he turned his horse around and started making his way back to the outskirts of the battle, before he got in anyone's way. Spurring the horse on like a madman, the young Captain reached the battle just as Hannes' squad had managed to take out the legless Titan which had been tearing into the female shifter's thigh. With nigh a growl, he pulled his legs up onto the saddle and switched to his gear, just as the remaining two creatures had pinned her onto her back. Her painful scream as one Titan tore off chunks of her torso, while she tried to hold the other back from biting into her face, blinded him to anything else around as he leapt out of the saddle towards his targets.
'Levi...' she gasped, seeing the flash of steel passing behind the Titan that was trying to bite her face off, just before the creature collapsed onto her.
Using the last of her strength to push off the corpse, while Levi killed the other one, she tried to sit up only to collapse onto her side. She was getting dizzy from overexerting herself by still holding the transformation, especially now that the healing had kicked in to repair the extensive damage.
'I can't... I need to get out...' she realized, much to her dismay.
"Hey... are you alright?" Levi called out, approaching her face along with Hannes and his squad.
"I can't... breathe..." she heaved.
"Then get out of there!"
The roar echoing from within the city, however, drew their attention there and Natalie forced herself to sit up, her Titan body mimicking the way she was heaving for breath. She didn't know how much longer she could hold the transformation, but the sight of a barrel flying out of nowhere towards the district startled her. And then her worst fears came true, when she spotted Bertholdt emerging from within although it seemed like he wasn't yet planning to shift. But then Levi drew her focus when he landed on her shoulder, grabbing onto her hair to keep his balance.
"That's enough... just get out of there!" he ordered. "You're pushing yourself too much!"
She was clearly at her limit, even her Titan's face conveyed that much, and the injuries her body had to heal weren't helping in the least. They were dragging out the battle far longer than she could hold the transformation.
'At this rate she won't last to the end.' he scowled, unable to do anything but watch as she forced herself back to her feet.
He could feel the tremors of her body as she strained to keep herself upright, could see how she hunched under the weight of her exhaustion – and yet she stubbornly stood on her feet, even when she looked on the verge of falling apart.
"Not yet..." she growled, turning her eyes to the left side where the barrel had come from, to spot the quadruped Titan that had approached Zeke at the edge of the river. 'A boulder... shit, I wasn't paying attention to him!'
"Move!"
Her twin's shout in her ear made her jerk forward and she watched like in a trance as he picked up the boulder. She could already see what was coming and her body moved on pure reflex as she posted herself between the river and the soldiers. She had to somehow stop him, to protect everyone! And as she focused on that, her body started burning the last reserves of her strength leaving Levi to stare at the gusts of steam that erupted from her wounds, speeding up the healing process.
'Levi!' she panicked, suddenly realizing he was still standing on her shoulder as the sound of breaking rock reached her ears.
She had to do something to protect him... anything!
"I'm sure that's how the Walls were made..." Hange's words came to her mind and she knew what she had to do.
Before he had even finished crushing the boulder, she had taken to one knee and pressed her palms to the ground.
"Oh? Very well..." he mocked her, understanding what she was trying to do. "Let's see which one of us is faster."
"Get behind me!" she said to the young Captain.
Though reluctant to leave her in that state, he did as she told him, leaping off her to give her some space; and that gave Natalie the peace of mind to focus on her task. Then an idea struck her, as she stared down the shifter who was about to attack. Training was one thing, but in the heat of battle she didn't know if Levi could focus enough to trigger his power surge and take him down.
'But I know what will definitely help him do that...' she concluded, resolving to use herself as bait for it.
There was no other way; Levi was the only one who had a chance to take out the Beast Titan, and her intuition told her he could only do it with the edge given to him by that power surge. At that she gritted her teeth to try and drown out her fear of dying, feeling the very last of her strength being sapped as the ground beneath her crystallized.
At first Levi had to wonder what she could even do to stop the inevitable rock shower, but then he was suddenly left to stare at the crystal wall rising between Natalie and the rest of the battlefield.
'You idiot!' he scowled, all at once realizing why she had told him to get back. 'Are you trying to kill yourself?!'
His answer came in the following moments, when the drumming echo of pellets hitting the crystal wall filled the air, drowning out the sounds of battle. At the same time, due to the transparent nature of the material, he could clearly see her getting torn apart until the blood sprayed onto the wall hid her from view.
"Nat..." he gasped, feeling his hands clenching onto the hilts the same way his heart squeezed in him; there was no way she had died from just that!
And yet, no matter how he reassured himself that she had to be alive still, in his mind's eye he could already see himself holding her lifeless corpse. He felt the tension rising in his muscles until he was shaking with rage, forcing his jaw to clench until he felt his teeth on the verge of crumbling. A searing blaze erupted in him as his drumming heartbeat drowned out all other sounds, except for the quivering breaths that escaped his heaving chest. He was staring wide-eyed at the bloodstained barrier in front of him, his lips pulled back into a beastly snarl and his hands trembling from how hard he was now gripping the hilts.
He was going to destroy that bastard... he would rip that man apart and shred him, just as he had done to Natalie! Each and every wound he and his Titans had inflicted onto her, he would return a hundredfold!
"I win!" the Beast Titan cheered mockingly, raising his arms in victory. "Well, I suppose you protected everyone for now... but to what end? Look at you; you can't even stand up anymore. As soon as I take you out of the nape, I can change positions and destroy the Scouts. What did you accomplish by sacrificing yourself for them?"
Walking over as he spoke, he reached to grab her by the head with the intention of squeezing it until it burst open to expose the nape. To think he could return not only the Founding Titan to Marley, but also the Attack Titan they had lost.
"What did he think he accomplished when he killed himself, I wond—" he pondered aloud to himself, recalling Xavier's story about how Kasimir had taken his own life.
His voice, however, died out in a gasp when he felt something sharp ramming into the underside of his jaw.
"You talk... too much..." Natalie growled, her voice strained from the toll it was taking on her to just maintain the transformation, now that the Titan body was so mangled and in need of healing.
With her last bit of strength she had reached up to shove her clawed fingers into his jaw, before she pulled as hard as she could, hearing the bone cracking and the flesh tearing when she ripped it off. As if on cue, she spotted the anchor hooking into his shoulder and followed the cable to see Levi diving in for the attack, his teeth bared in rage and a feral, bloodthirsty look in his eyes that frightened even her; heaven only knew what the other shifter was feeling in that moment.
'...These scheming scum!' Zeke scowled, trying his best to not succumb to the pang of fear he felt at the sight.
It annoyed him to no end that he had fallen for what he now perceived to have been a distraction from Natalie. And the fact that she had rendered him unable to speak through his Titan while also weakening him, now that his body was focused on healing the missing jaw, only further spurred his ire. He had seen many suicidal charges in his years of fighting for Marley, although one look into the Scout's eyes told him this man wasn't doing that. This insignificant ant really believed himself capable of taking him down! Single-handedly, to top it, given that the redhead didn't look like she would be getting up again.
'Fool...' he growled. 'Your pride will be your downfall!'
This had to be Levi – the soldier Reiner had warned him about. But it mattered not, and even now he didn't really believe this tiny man was as deadly as Reiner and Bertholdt thought. Still, he wouldn't take any chances; they were far too close to victory, to let it slip through their fingers. He only needed to make use of one of his hands to crush the female shifter's head, so as to ensure she wouldn't pull any more tricks on him... he had been careless with her, but he wouldn't repeat that mistake. At the same time, he just had to use his free arm to grab Levi out of the air and crush him like the annoying mosquito that he was!
'You two have interfered with my plans long enough!'
The growl rising in his throat at that thought turned into a threatening albeit grotesquely gargling roar, due to the missing jaw, as he thrust out his right arm. But in the very same instant when Natalie's Titan roared in pain, as he pressed her head back against the wall and squeezed her skull...
'...Huh?'
The thought of catching the man and crushing him had barely formed in his mind, before his entire arm – from fingers to shoulder – lit up in searing pain that coursed his veins like liquid fire. As soon as the sensation had struck him it had already vanished along with the arm that he now watched falling to the ground in pieces. His brain was registering that in slow motion, as well as the sprays of blood that had spurted from where Levi had hacked at his flesh. He hadn't even seen the man doing it... just a blur of green mixed with the glint of steel, flying past him at such an insane speed he couldn't even process it, leaving behind the mere echo of the Captain's grunt of effort.
'Shit, my nape!' he gasped, instinct alone driving him to reach with his remaining hand and cover it when he felt the anchor hooking into his back.
No sooner had he turned his head to look over his shoulder, catching only a tiny glimpse of that same blur of color and motion along with a burst of gas, before he was plunged into darkness as instantaneously as one would blow out a candle.
'Wha— I can't see anything... did he get my eyes?!' he choked, only after that thought his mind finally registering the pain coming from his Titan's eyeballs.
Again he wasn't given any time to properly formulate any of his thoughts – to maybe call for Pieck to help, or call on some of the nearby Titans – before the same kind of searing pain shot up from his Titan's ankles. He could only manage a ridiculous sounding grunt due to the missing jaw, his brain at last catching up to the realization that his tendons had been sliced, before the tremor coursing his body told him his Titan had been brought down.
'My nape!' he gasped again, instinct bringing him to that conclusion faster than his actual mind could.
Bringing his hand back up he tried a blind swing at his assailant, only to immediately lose all feeling in that arm as well after a brief flare of pain, hearing the chunks of flesh and blood sprays hitting the ground.
"You sure were enjoying smashing her to bits, weren't you?!" the young Captain snarled, his irate voice sending a shiver down his spine. "What happened to all that fun you were having?! Let me help you enjoy yourself some more!"
All at once his mind focused on two things: that was definitely the Levi that Reiner had warned him about, and... he had fucked up severely by underestimating the man. And then even those thoughts drowned in the tsunami of torture that suddenly hit him, even his human body being put through agony beyond anything he had ever felt, or even imagined. His mind was devoid of all thought except the pain and he could only hear his own screams, mingled with Levi's beastly howl of rage.
The few seconds that it lasted felt like an eternity to him, before he was violently forced out from within the mangled nape, all his limbs amputated with such frightening precision that his foe had to have known exactly where he had been located. No sooner had he fallen onto his back than he found himself staring at the bloodied demon looming over him, the blade of a sword filling his mouth.
"You won't ever lay a finger on her again!" the young Captain growled viciously, heaving for breath from the adrenaline still boiling in his veins. "You're finished. When you transform, if your body's severely damaged, it's too busy healing itself to let you turn again... am I right?"
Unable to fully restrain his rage, he pushed the blade through the roof of his victim's mouth and out through the cheek.
"You're lucky... I can't kill you just yet."
If they could finish the fight before he healed, they could decide who to inject with the Titan serum and have that person eat him to steal his power.
"We'll have one of our soldiers turn into a Titan and eat you alive... that sounds fun, right?" he taunted the man who was now shaking like a leaf in the face of his sadistic half-grin.
~ oOo ~
For Natalie's part, she had only heard the battle due to her foe having crushed her eyes just before Levi had gotten to him. But other than hearing the young Captain's grunts of effort and then the loud thud of the Beast Titan falling, she couldn't tell what was going on outside once the other shifter's screams had ceased. Had Levi killed him? Was he safe?
'Come on... come on, heal...' she clenched her jaw, focusing every bit of strength she could pull from herself to speed up the healing of her Titan's eyes.
At last the darkness began to clear until she was left staring at the horribly mangled corpse of the Beast Titan, and Levi holding the shifter down.
'He's alright...' she sighed in relief, seeing the young Ackerman unharmed.
"Don't move!" he called to her when she tried and failed to get the Titan back on its feet. "Just get out of there; I'll be with you in a minute."
His momentary distraction, however, was what gave the second shifter a chance to try and rescue Zeke. Had Natalie not been facing that way, she wouldn't have believed how fast that four-legged Titan could move when it leapt out of the river with the clear intention of killing Levi.
'Move...' she panicked, upon realizing her arms were still too injured to obey her commands. 'Please... move!'
Her hand twitched just as she saw the water flying up amidst the gust of steam her arm was emitting as she focused all her thoughts on healing it. Levi himself had noticed the threat at the last moment, but even with him dodging the shifter would have grabbed him when its mouth opened up to an abnormally wide angle.
'Shit!' he scowled, realizing it would bite down on his leg when the cables failed to pull him away fast enough.
Though he had braced himself for the pain, he heard a loud thud behind him before his vision suddenly darkened for a few moments. At first all he could focus on was that the quadruped Titan had grabbed his prey and dived back into the river to escape, before his brain registered the large fingers surrounding him. Looking up he found himself staring into the eyes of Natalie's Titan, and finally processed that she had managed to save him. But now he was torn between wanting to chase after that piece of shit, and the concern that gripped him when she set him down and he noticed she had collapsed onto her stomach.
'Fuck him...' he ultimately decided, brandishing a sword.
Natalie was more important in that moment, especially because it didn't look like her body was healing anymore.
"Hey... can you get out on your own?" he called up to her, resolved to cut her out of the nape even if it meant he had to slice off her hands and feet.
Without a reply the Titan's head fell onto the ground just before he saw the steam gust erupting from its nape. But when she failed to emerge he leapt onto the Titan's shoulder to find that, despite the flesh having parted to reveal her back, she was stuck in there. Sheathing the blades, he walked up to her and shoved his hands into the scalding muscle, gritting his teeth at the sensation that his flesh would melt off his bones from the heat. Feeling around until he could wrap his arms around her stomach, he planted his feet into the Titan's back and pulled out the redhead heaving for breath.
That bastard had done a serious number on her, dragging out the fight for so long and then injuring her so badly. He could see that in the blood that trickled from her nose, and the still healing skin on her face.
"Nat..." he called gently when she didn't open her eyes, using his hand to push back the hair that had stuck to her sweaty face.
Unable to fully withhold a smile when she nodded to let him know she was conscious, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and tightened his arms around her.
"You did well to hold out for so long on your own." he said.
"Erwin...?" she whispered.
"He's fine." Levi replied, sifting his fingers through her hair with a resigned note of amusement in his tone at how stubborn she was in worrying about everyone other than herself. "Thank you... for taking care of him; for protecting everyone."
At last she managed to open her eyes as her breathing started to settle, and his expression softened when relief flooded him.
"Eren... Hange... is everyone alright?"
"I don't know. We're still cleaning up out here, but it's been awfully quiet inside the district."
Looking up to the crystal wall, he did a quick head count – there were still plenty of Titans to round up, but he too was worried about the others. It was far too quiet inside Shiganshina and that was unsettling.
"I'll go... check on them..." Natalie heaved, forcing herself to sit up before at last noticing the burns on his hands. "What... what happened?!"
"It's nothing; I had to get you out somehow." he retorted, pulling his hand from hers and helping her to her feet.
No sooner had she regained her balance than the earth rumbled beneath them, forcing her to cling onto Levi for support. Along with that a flash of lightning overtook the light of day, drawing their eyes to the district. In the same instant that her eyes fell upon the massive explosion, the shockwave reached them nearly knocking them both down and cracking the crystal wall she had put up.
"Bertholdt..."