A/N: Thinking of making a big change to something pretty major I had planned that I will have to consider heavily, but writing out a potential scenario for how the changed aspect plays out proved to be very interesting and compelling. A bit early with this upload (which I'd prefer to be rather than LATE) since part of it was written for chapter 11. Anyway, the wild ride continues...
Chapter XII: Son of Perdition
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed..."
"YOU'RE AN UGLY MAN WITH AN UGLY TITAN!"
Poor Priscilla was on her hands and knees on top of the wall as she watched the Armored Titan and the Beast Titan face off. Her pretty face was twisted in despair – her eyes were red, cheeks were soaked with tears and her nose was running disgustingly. She was furious and upset over what she had caused, but mostly full of disdain for the leader of the Warriors. Her head fell and she beat her fist against the stone beneath her.
"I hate him! I hate that bastard! I hate him so fucking much!" She screamed like a child, then snapped her head back up to call out to Zeke once more, "Can't handle a little back talk you piece of shit?!"
"Knock it off!" Bertolt shouted at her from behind. He didn't want to get too close to her and risk her lashing out physically, he was extremely wary of this volatile woman. Bertolt was always a bit weird about her, mostly because of the distraction she posed to Reiner, but now he was truly starting to detest her – and he couldn't help but honestly believe she was some sort of dark enchantress set on ruining everything for them all, that was the level of paranoia he was operating at now as he had watch their group descend into chaos over just a few days. Back during training and their time in the military he had been able to keep himself civil and pleasant, but now things were far different.
"Why bother?" She growled without looking away from the two Titans, "It's not gonna stop them. I already tried saying I was sorry to him... So what does it matter if I keep telling him exactly what I think?"
"Why... Why are you so difficult?" He asked, but the wildly emotional girl no longer felt like responding to him. While she had strong feelings towards the other two Warriors – vastly different feelings of course – she felt nothing for Bertolt positively or negatively. He was more or less a non-entity to her, in fact Priscilla had barely spoken to him since she arrived. She didn't care to either because he was completely irrelevant in her life.
"What did she even do to start this?" Reiner asked himself within his Titan body, "They were so far away that I have no idea what they could have been talking about... What the hell happened between them?"
He felt conflicted blaming either of them. Questioning his boss seemed wrong, but he believed that Priss wouldn't do something to piss Zeke off without some sort of provocation. He didn't know what to think... and on top of all that...
"A baby..." He continued to himself.
It was impossible to put all these things out of his mind, but it was crucial for Reiner to focus right now. He had lost to Zeke previously and now the result of this duel could potentially be the end of him – but not only that, he wouldn't be able to fulfill the promises he made to Priss. Not only to be a good husband and father, but more importantly to give her a life without barricades. If he lost here, Reiner would never be able to make good on any of that.
The Beast Titan grinned as The Armored Titan stood still while Reiner was getting overwhelmed by his thoughts. Literally all Zeke had to do was pelt boulders at high velocity and it would be an easy win.
"Reiner!" The Beast roared.
This snapped Reiner back into the moment, but he didn't exactly start out thinking properly. He stupidly charged forward without a plan and easily telegraphed his attack, allowing the Beast to dodge him. The Armored Titan stumbled after his failed charging attack, giving Zeke an easy opening to strike. The Beast grabbed the nearest piece of rubble it could find and hurled it right at his opponent, aiming below the nape to give him a good shock but not a destructive one.
The Armored Titan fell to it's knees and Reiner winced. The Beast approached him from behind but The Armored Titan scrambled back to it's feet and went for another charge – however, this one was even more careless than the first, and the Beast managed to grab him and use The Armored Titan's own momentum to throw him to the ground. The Beast grabbed more rubble for his next attack to be ready when The Armored Titan rose to it's feet once more. It took longer than previously, but Reiner got his Titan body back on it's feet... However, when he turned to face off with his opponent once more, he was met with a more merciless volley of large rubble chunks right to the face.
Priscilla watched in agony as her love was getting swiftly taken down by that wretched beast. Her mind kept replaying the scene just before the battle started and she faded into that memory to escape from witnessing the carnage...
"Zeke, please..." She begged as she looked back over to him while still clinging to Reiner, "I said I was sorry. I mean it. Don't bring Reiner into our bullshit, find some other way to punish me that doesn't involve him!"
"Somehow I don't believe you're being sincere..." Zeke responded, "Your eyes always give your true feelings away. No matter what you say or do, you can't hide anything in those honest eyes. They tell me everything I need to know, for better or worse."
"Urgh!" She grunted in frustration, peeling away from Reiner to get in Zeke's face. She was only about three inches shorter than him so it wasn't difficult for her to literally get in his face, "And what are they saying right now?!"
"That you're full of hate and contempt for me – and that you're not sorry at all."
"Well fine, you're damn right! Don't forget disgust because you know what? I bet I'm a nice little jack off fantasy for you," She sneered, "Did you pop a boner earlier? Have you rubbed one out yet thinking of m-"
Zeke thrust his hand forward and grabbed her face tightly and glared at her.
"A pretty mouth like that shouldn't say such ugly words," Zeke sighed, trying to disguise the fury she was rousing in him, "You really do need to be taught a thing or two about respect. Maybe afte-"
Zeke's speech in an attempt to scold her was interrupted by Priscilla hocking a thick wad of spit right into his mouth mid-sentence. No matter what this man did to intimidate her, she always fired back. Now that Zeke had made it clear he and Reiner would do battle no matter what she said to try and put a stop to it, Priscilla had no reason to keep attempting to play nice after her apologies were disregarded.
"Damn it!" Priscilla wailed as she watched Zeke bully Reiner into defeat, "There's no way that hideous ape is better than Reiner!"
That certainly was the case though, as much as she didn't want to accept it. The Armored Titan laid on it's back with it's armor plates pierced by Zeke's brutal rock throwing, it's face was especially a mess with it's jaw fully unhinged.
"You've lost again, Reiner," The Beast Titan said, squatting down next to the Armored Titan's body, "I'm disappointed."
"REINERRRRRRR! GET UP! DON'T LET HIM BEAT YOU!" Priscilla screamed through her sobs.
"You know what that means..." The Beast paused, thinking for a moment, coming up with another idea, "Alright, here's another option for both of you to consider. You don't pass on your power, you accept your defeat here, but in exchange for your life you let me have the girl to satisfy my wild curiosities."
"What..." Suddenly her voice was low in disbelief, "What did he just say?"
"The things I could learn from having access the last female of her kind... That valuable creature is going to waste if she isn't being studied." The Titan said.
No movement came from The Armored Titan, but within it's heavily damaged body Reiner was hearing every word Zeke was saying. From making his twisted offer to him sickeningly referring to Priss as a "valuable creature" that he wanted to use for his "wild curiosities."
"Zeke, stop it!" Priscilla called, her voice ragged from her crying, "Please... Don't let him die... I'll..."
The words got caught in her throat, words to agree to something she very much didn't want to do, but she had to. If it was to save Reiner from the grim fate of being eaten and taken from her, she would have to submit.
"Oh?" The Beast said, looking up from the Armored Titan and to the Wall where the girl was, "You see, Reiner? She knows what's good for you. In fact, I'm no monster, the two of you have every right to go about your lives together, but I get my time so I can find the answers I seek that only she can provide."
"Not a monster..." Priscilla spat under her breath with utter contempt. She could feel the gaze of the Titan's beady eyes on her, waiting to get the confirmation of this agreement spoken. She didn't want to say those words, she didn't want to give Zeke the satisfaction of winning – but what else could she do now? She made her bed and now must lie in it. She had to save Reiner, even if it meant sacrificing a part of herself that she never would allow otherwise.
"uuuuuuuUUUUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE"
Before anything more could be said, The Armored Titan roared back to life. It's eyes burned bright and it's body was suddenly regenerating at a more rapid pace than ever before. Everyone stared in dumbfounded shock – this battle wasn't over just yet. There was still a chance not only for Reiner to save his life, but to protect his love from Zeke's degrading scheme.
He has the ranged advantage with his rock throwing... Reiner thought as his Titan body put it's fists up defensively in anticipation of a barrage of projectiles from Zeke, But if I don't let him get away from me, I can tear through that flesh.
"He's up..." Priscilla marveled. Her reddened eyes stopped weeping and stayed fixed on The Armored Titan, "He can still fight!"
"Still have some fight left in you?" The Beast asked with a smile, plunging his hand down to pick up some rubble, "How 'bout that..."
"I'm more than strong enough to take this." Reiner said within his Titan, "But if I doubt myself for even a second, there's no way I'll win. I have to take him down, right here and now. I won't let Priss suffer for me being weak."
The anger and pain that filled his mind at the very thought of Zeke's ultimatum urged him forward. Reiner had never had a more dire or important reason to fight before this moment and he was going to make it count. The Beast crushed the larger chunks of rubble in it's fist unintentionally, which irked him but he just had to grab some more larger pieces again. He was taking his time because he was certain Reiner was no threat at this point. However, Zeke was proven quite wrong when The Armored Titan put it's fists down and started charging at full speed towards him. The Warchief stumbled back up to it's feet and tried to throw what he had, but the smaller projectiles did nothing to The Armored Titan. Just like when he broke through the wall years ago, he lead with his shoulder and collided with astounding force. The Beast was knocked down onto it's back.
The Armored Titan's mouth opened wide and let out a loud screech of fury as climbed on top of the Beast and raised it's fist.
"Reiner, wa-!" The Beast commanded.
But Reiner didn't hesitate. He brought down his punch with such force that it crushed the Beast Titan's skull with ease, narrowly missing the nape where Zeke's body was embedded.
"Look what you've done!" Bertolt shouted, grabbing Priscilla by the arm and yanking her onto her feet and towards him, "This is all your fault!"
"I didn't do anything!" She barked back at him, pulling her arm back and shoving him away, "It's Zeke's fault!"
"Before you showed up everything was fine... but whenever you're around there's always a problem!" Bertolt wailed, "You're doing something to them! To all of us! I don't know what or how, but it's something evil!"
"Evil?!" She shrieked in disbelief.
"You've placed a curse on all of us here! You're some kind of witch, I know it!"
Their argument was interrupted by another battle cry from The Armored Titan. The two looked back over to the fight and saw it raise it's fist up again, ready to smash the body of the Beast even further.
"Reiner, stop!" Bertolt shouted.
But Reiner's rage was untethered at this point. Any part of him that knew killing Zeke was wrong had vanished from his mind, he was consumed with a bloodlust like never before. The Beast's body below him was near motionless, save for a few twitches of it's limbs. Inside it, Zeke was weakened from his external form taking such massive damage to the head and all he could do was try to focus on regenerating, but it wasn't working. Reiner stared right down at the stump of neck that had remained unharmed, clenching his fist tightly and preparing to smash down knowing full well Zeke would be pulverized too.
"Tell him to stop, he'll listen to you!" Bertolt urged Priscilla.
"Why should I?" She sneered.
"If Reiner kills Zeke, he'll get the same punishment that he was promised. He'll be killed and his power passed on. That's exactly what you were trying to avoid, weren't you? So call him off!"
"Urgh..." She grunted. When she thought about it logically, she knew Bertolt was right. Killing Zeke would only result in major trouble for Reiner. She had no choice, despite how much she'd enjoy seeing her love take out Zeke right then and there, so she called out to him, "That's enough Reiner! You've won!"
The Armored Titan heard her loud and clear through it's anger. It lowered it's fist and started to back off. Her words brought him clarity, it was obvious now that him murdering the Warchief would be an offense worthy of the harshest punishment for him. The Titan turned and walked away from the still incapacitated Zeke, proceeding towards the wall before it knelt down to allow him to break out from it safely
Priscilla let out the biggest sigh of relief of her entire life. As she saw him reappear amidst the steam and sinew, but she could tell he looked weak. Reiner used the ODM to launch himself up the wall and back to their camp, and up close his weariness was even more apparent. He still of course had the markings from being in his Titan on his face and his eyes were dull and tired. He breathed heavily out of his mouth which hung open, chest heaving up and down as he did. He stumbled towards the other two and Priscilla ran to him, immediately offering herself to support him in his weakened state.
"Reiner, are you alright?" She asked softly.
"Better than I look... trust me..." He said with half a smile as he leaned on her, he couldn't manage on his own two feet for the moment, "I had to protect you, that's all I could think about after he said..."
"Let's try not think about that anymore..." Priscilla advised, "It's over now, so what he tried to do doesn't matter."
Reiner's exhaustion was quickly catching up with him since Priscilla could feel him resting more and more of his weight on her. Bertolt frantically adjusted his ODM gear to go retrieve Zeke's body from his Titan, but that mattered not one bit to the other two. Priss guided Reiner back to their tent where she carefully helped him lay down, sitting in a way so that he could lay his head on her lap.
Despite telling Reiner they shouldn't talk about it, Zeke's horrific "deal" lingered in her mind. She only just realized that even if Reiner were to have to pass on his power, once he was dead there would be nothing to stop Zeke from freely pursuing her and using her as he saw fit anyway. It was a no win situation for anyone but the Warchief if Reiner was defeated in that battle.
"When I heard him say those things," Reiner began, it was impossible for him not to think about it either, "I felt so angry. Like I never had before in my life. Bertolt had said something about the possibility of Zeke hurting or taking you away from me somehow, but I thought he was just paranoid... And the way he called you a creature."
"He's not even trying to hide that he doesn't see me as a person," Priscilla said, "The same way my father talked about me, just a useful tool."
Silence fell and hung in the air for several minutes, the only thing breaking it being the sound outside the tent of Bertolt returning – presumably with Zeke in tow. If anything truly bad had happened to him surely Bertolt would make it known. The sound drew their attention to where it was coming from, despite only being able to see vague shadows through the tent.
"Were you really going to kill him?" Priscilla asked in a near inaudible whisper. Her eyes shifted back down to the blonde, "If I didn't tell you to stop, would that fight have ended differently?"
Reiner's jaw tensed up and he swallowed hard. It was just like when Bertolt asked him a question in the same vein; the idea boiling down to: where does his loyalty lie? Of course he wouldn't tell Bertolt, although he suspected that withholding an answer lead his fellow Warrior to his own conclusion – silence can speak volumes. But his love deserved a proper answer as opposed to leaving her to assume, even if he was confident she'd come to the right thought.
"Nothing else in the world would have stopped me," He began in a voice just as hushed as hers, "If you stayed silent, I don't think I would have had a clear enough head to hold back."
It had been hot all day and it hadn't let up even a bit, and the stuffiness of the tents only made it worse, but Reiner had fallen asleep in her lap so she didn't want to move at all. Besides that fact, Priscilla didn't exactly want to venture out and risk running into Bertolt and Zeke. It wasn't something that could be avoided forever, but while the battle was still a fresh event she'd rather not see either of them. Still, the thought of the open air sounded like a great idea since her body was damp with sweat, as was Reiner's. She was more than damp, really. There were beads of sweat dotting her face – and it didn't take long for them to start running down.
Before she had a chance to react, a couple of droplets quickly fell from the tip of her nose and landed right on Reiner's face. She let out a tiny gasp when she noticed him stir and eventually open his eyes.
"Huh...?" He mumbled as he awoke.
"S-Sorry..." Priss apologized
"It's fine I-" He stopped mid sentence and Priscilla notice his nostrils flare a few times as he inhaled – he definitely noticed some kind of smell.
"Oh god," Priss said, her face turning red, "I-I must smell awful right now."
"No..." Reiner murmured, turning a bit red himself, "You smell... good."
"Wait, what?"
"I don't know what it is, but it's not just the sweat... You always smell nice, something else that's familiar is mixed in too."
Priscilla scrunched up her nose in confusion – if it wasn't just her sweat, what else about her could be providing the oddly appealing scent to him? It didn't take much thought for her to get an idea: he was laying on her lap, very close to a certain body part of hers...
"Uh, well..." She began, "I haven't had a change of clothes in a long time obviously... so my underwear..."
"...Oh... Oh..." Reiner responded having quickly gotten the idea, "Yeah, that's gotta be it."
For the first time in his life, Reiner was fully aroused by a scent – but not just any scent, the very essence exclusive to the female body – to put it bluntly: the scent of pussy, specifically coming from Priss not having any clean panties to change into. It just accumulated over the course of time until it was too present to be ignored. Somehow the fact that she was sweating only increased how arousing it all was, and what was particularly interesting was that the smell down there wasn't exactly the same as it's taste – both were exceptionally appealing though. She had kept appropriately clean otherwise though, in regards to staying fresh after relieving herself, but sweat and pussy were inevitable.
"Must be really good," Priscilla commented with a giggle, "I see that dick getting hard, you can't hide it from me."
They grinned at each other, knowing exactly where this was going... well, no way to tell the specifics of what they were going to do – some things just happen in the moment. They didn't exactly plan out their sex, all they knew is that they wanted some form of erotic contact and they wanted it immediately. Reiner didn't need any suggestion for him to get his pants off and promptly got to it. He lifted his head off his lover's lap to both see what he was doing and allow her to start undressing as well.
"You must be exhausted, my love..." She murmured as she stripped the shirt of his that she had been wearing, tits on full display, "Just lay back and let me suck you off."
Now Priss was just down to her panties and was quickly ready to discard them, but she thought of a better way to use them once she had them off.
"Hey..." She said to Reiner, who looked up at her, "Enjoy."
With that, she tossed her panties straight onto his face. His cock was rock hard and it twitched multiple times once the fabric made contact with his face. He quickly brought his hand up and smothered her worn panties against his face to inhale that special female scent as much as he could.
Priscilla crawled down and grinned at Reiner's monster cock that was right in front of her face and ready for her mouth. She licked her lips, so eager to taste him again. Most of their sexual encounters ended with him cumming in her pussy, so her getting a dose of his cum to swallow wasn't something she had often got to enjoy. The girl was greatly looking forward to a hefty load shooting into her mouth and down her throat to say the least. Reiner peered at her, and he got an eyeful of that delectable view of her pussy from behind – he would love to fuck her, but she was right about him being exhausted, and to be blown wasn't something he'd say no to. Sit back, relax and then...
Her lips made contact and she gave him a hard suck on the head, but all things considered – his weakened will, the sight of her, the potent smell of her – his thick nut shot into her mouth with just the smallest amount of physical stimulation. He heard the sound of her gag and cough, he even noticed her raise her hands up to her mouth to prevent her from any of his cum getting away from her as she coughed from the unexpectedly quick blow. She wasn't prepared to have a mouthful of cum so quickly. Priscilla calmed down and made sure to swallow as much as she could.
"Reiner... I'm not complaining, I take it as a compliment honestly, but I have to ask..." Priss asked, looking over her shoulder to Reiner with his cum on her lips that were curled into a smile, "I thought the Armored Titan was supposed to grant increased endurance?"
"Then if anyone's to blame, it's clearly you getting that kind of... reaction out of me." Reiner replied.
"Hehe I can't help it..." Priss snickered, licking the remnants of his cum off her lips before going on, "Guess that makes me stronger than a Titan!"
She laughed even harder at the notion and Reiner joined in, albeit not as loud as her. Not only was he worn out from his battle but also having been swiftly sucked dry by his lady love.
There will come a day where you and I kill every last Titan that walks the earth
Part of her dream from the other night flashed into her mind and put an immediate stop to Priss's laughter.
For that is our purpose
Any and all levity that she felt had dissipated. A little joke of a comment for some reason hurled her thoughts back to a dream – no, not just a dream but rather a memory buried in her subconscious that left her with an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. She sat up with a blank look on her face, at that point Reiner had noticed her shift in demeanor.
"Something wrong?" He asked.
"Yeah... Something is wrong," She admitted, "But I don't know... why."
"But all you did was joke about being stronger than a Titan..." A puzzled Reiner said as he sat up to better talk with her, "I don't understand why that would make you feel bad."
"It made me think of the weird dream I had the other night... the night where you woke up and found my standing outside getting some air," She began to explain.
"I remember that night, yeah..."
"I don't think it was really a dream, but some kind of memory that was locked away until now. Part of it was my older brother saying he and I were going to kill all the Titans... for some reason my dumb joke made it pop into my head... and it made me so unsettled."
"Maybe you should talk to Zeke about it?" Reiner suggested.
"I don't want to talk to Zeke about anything!" She snapped, "I know I have to, but I don't want to do it. I don't like him."
"What exactly is the deal with you two anyway?" Reiner asked, growing more concerned.
"I'm pretty sure he doesn't like someone standing up to him," Priscilla said, "But he's not my boss so I don't have to listen to anything he says. And I think it's obvious to everyone by now that he wants me."
"I..." Reiner began, "...I wish I could say you were being ridiculous, but after what he said during the fight..."
"That's what started the whole thing to begin with," Priss continued. She was starting to get teary eyed from the guilt she felt for getting Reiner pulled into the fight, "I called him out on it real hard and that's what pissed him off."
The girl buried her face in her hands. Tiny weeps could be heard, although muffled a bit. She meant every word she said to Zeke and the more she dwelt on that interaction the more resentful she grew towards him for being so petty over a girl. If he just took it out on her instead of involving Reiner then Priss wouldn't feel an ounce bad for not backing down against him. Suddenly she dropped her hands and looked to Reiner.
"Did you know he looked in on us this morning?" She said between sniffles, "He admitted it. There's no way it wasn't obvious what we were doing from outside the tent and he tried to play it off like he didn't know."
"Wait, really?" Reiner asked as his eyes went wide.
"Yes!" She wailed, "He said he just looked in briefly to see if we were still asleep, but for all we know he could have been watching like a real pervert... And now I can't stop thinking about it."
"Shit..." Reiner muttered, feeling awkward as all hell that he had been seen having sex by his boss. He leaned over and pulled Priss in for a hug.
"Before I didn't care all that much if anyone heard us a bit, it's not like we were screaming or anything... but he saw us," She whined into his chest, "And I just know he did it on purpose! Nothing he says will convince me he didn't..."
Reiner held his lady yet couldn't find any words to comfort her, but she didn't need him to say anything – just listening was all she could ask for. Reiner was now more conflicted than he already had been... he felt the desperate urge to just run away with her, but now his boss was involved... and in a way he didn't anticipate. Despite on their first night with her at the camp where Zeke gave her a casual compliment, Reiner didn't honestly believe he thought of her in that way. Now an intense amount of tension had arisen among the Warriors, and there was no way it would let up.
"Bertolt's terrible too... he blames me for that dirty ape being an uncivilized creep... he calls me an evil witch who's cursed you all..." She whimpered weakly as her rage completely sank down into sadness. She then pulled away to look into her lover's eyes, "Is he right? Am I some kind of witch casting evil spells on you all?"
"No, you're not evil and you're not a witch..." Reiner assured her, "And I know you better than anyone, right?"
"Y-Yeah..." She replied meekly, but still accepting what he said as truth. Her voice grew more powerful and certain as she continued, "You're right. I'm not the problem, we're not the problem. They are."
Zeke winced painfully as his body slowly recovered from the fight, gaining clarity from the haze he was previously in as Bertolt hovered over him nervously. He didn't hear what was going on in the other tent while he was still in his weakened, only semi-lucid state.
"Urgh..." The Warchief groaned, "Reiner... he tried to kill me, didn't he?"
"Y-Yes..." Bertolt responded quietly, "I had to convince that evil woman to make him stop. She wanted to see you die too, but I made her see reason."
"Heh... can't say I blame her really..." Zeke chuckled weakly, but then shifted to a dark tone, "Something needs to be done about her though."
"Should we kill her?!" Bertolt asked, an unhealthy amount of eagerness was in his voice but he was also able to keep his volume down, "She's a demon, possibly worse than the ones on this island."
"No... that is out of the question..." Zeke replied, "It's very important that she lives..."
"Why won't you tell us why? Why keep us in the dark?!" Bertolt whined childishly.
"I don't answer to you," Zeke murmured dangerously, "You don't need to know anything unless I say you do. You need to remember who's in charge."
"I-I'm sorry..." Bertolt said, "She's just so... enraging..."
"I know," Zeke agreed, "Her disobedience frustrates me, I want to grab her and tell her to shut her mouth, but at the same time I..." his voice trailed off.
"You what...?" Bertolt pressed. Zeke shot him a glare.
"That's not something you need to know," Zeke dismissed, immediately realizing he said too much, "Just try to control your wrath. Avoid her as much as you realistically can. Leave dealing with Miss Ziegler to me."