Chapter 5. Communication Breakdown
"Mikasa…
…did you ever experience a moment in your life when it felt as though a power suddenly awoke inside you?"
"…yes, I did."
"Kenny Ackerman told me he had a moment like that, too. One day, all at once, he felt a stupid amount of strength surge through his body, and he knew exactly what to do…
…I had a moment like that, too."
•••
The girl was brave, he'd give her that. Scrawny thing, and probably way too small for her age, but she held herself better than most adults.
The glare she gave him was unnerving, too.
Rikard looked away from her fierce gaze and resumed setting the triggers. He'd been doing this sort of thing since he was fifteen, could probably do it in his sleep. That was just as well, too, for it allowed him to focus on a more pressing matter.
He'd had the suspicion someone was approaching, and the girl's fleeting expression of surprise only confirmed it—for her part, though, she managed to school her features quickly.
Not quick enough.
He figured it'd be best to continue like he was oblivious, keep setting the wires. Occasionally, the girl's amber eyes would look toward the interloper, but mostly she kept them trained on him. He guessed the newcomer was about eight yards away now. His hearing had always been sharp—a rare thing for one who blew things up as frequently as he did. He listened again.
Ah, wait, two interlopers? Well.
He sent another glance to the girl, and her gaze shot back to meet his. He'd caught her looking away. He feigned a suspicious look, narrowing his eyes for effect, before huddling back over the wires so she wouldn't suspect him.
No, no, three.
He wondered if they were the ones who'd been sitting in the corner of the tavern. Probably not. Last he'd seen, Ulrich had been facing off with the dark-haired woman. She looked tough, but even that large, tattooed man in her party would have struggled to take on a giant like Ulrich. Most of those guys were just thick-headed lackeys, but they sure could hold their own in a fight.
His guests were quiet, he had to admit; Sometimes he had to pretend to inspect a wire just so he could listen for their footfalls. Definitely not Military Police, then. Those buffoons.
Four yards, now.
The main rig was set now and the wires all in place. It all blended in pretty well with the rocks—the rugged landscape of the cavern provided plenty of nooks and crevices to stuff with explosives. The trigger was located deeper inside the cave and a safe distance from the entrance. Everything was ready to go. He was just fidgeting now.
His guests had certainly thrown a wrench into the works—he'd wanted to be out of here by now. As much as he was a fan of watching his work light up, his mission wasn't to set off the trigger—get the girl, get out, don't get caught. Leave the fireworks for Cedric and his boys.
Well, they were late. Very late. And he had company to deal with or else the whole plan was gonna go to shit. Without looking up from the main rig, head down as if he were still assembling it, he slowly reached a hand inside his coat and felt the handle of his knife.
"That's far enough." The air stilled. He waited, sensing. The girl went rigid. "You follow me here?"
There was a long pause before the answer came—a man's voice, deep. Laconic, almost. "Rikard, is it?"
Did he know this man? He fought the urge to turn around—better if they thought he was at a disadvantage. "Turn around and walk away. You don't wanna be here when the others arrive. This doesn't concern you."
"How about you give us the girl?"
Well, now, that voice was distinctly feminine. Three people, one of them a woman. His gut sank. Maybe Ulrich wasn't as formidable as he'd thought.
He did turn then, if only to see the champion. His suspicions proved correct as he took in the sight of the three from the tavern. The woman was absolutely covered in blood, and he couldn't help but gawk at the sight.
"Give us the fucking kid, Rikard," the short man next to her spoke. He was the one who had been speaking before. The leader, probably.
"You really don't wanna get involved here." He meant his words; Despite the company he kept and his penchant for explosives, unnecessary bloodshed wasn't really his deal. The three before him were competent fighters, obviously. But that didn't mean he wouldn't give them a chance to turn back.
Because the others wouldn't be so lenient.
"Oh, I don't really think you're in the position to be bargaining, boyo," the tattooed man intoned in a rasping voice. Rikard could have laughed at his words; He was standing with his back to a shitload of explosives. If anything, he was in the prime position to bargain.
"I offered you a chance to go quietly. I suggest you do that. It's not too late." And it wasn't, though he could hear movement from behind him coming from the shadows of the cave. It was faint, and he was confident these three couldn't hear it, but he knew it was Cedric and the rest.
They were here. And they were waiting.
"Yeah, I remember that. You're expecting company?" The short man sounded bored. "Wouldn't be some of your cult friends, would it?"
That surprised him. "You know our name." It wasn't a question.
"Yeah, I've heard a thing or two." The short man exchanged an indiscernible glance with the woman. "You really need to rethink your choice of name though, because The Redeemers is rather…unoriginal."
He wanted to get a rise out of him—attempt to provoke him into attacking, perhaps. That would certainly make their job easier; Rikard was not a poor fighter, but his specialty lay with lighting things on fire. Only a fool would engage these three alone in combat.
Rikard wasn't a fool. Or alone.
"Well, that just hurts my feelings," he said, mimicking the dark-haired man's blasé speech.
He turned his back to them, eyes searching the black expanse of the cave until he found what he was looking for. A grizzled face, half hidden in shadow, watched him steadily. The three behind him were silent, but he knew his actions must have perplexed them. He didn't have long before they'd figure it out, no doubt.
He nodded once at Cedric.
Freeing his blade from its sheath in one fluid motion, he spun on his heel and launched the weapon toward the woman.
She was fast, contorting her body away from the oncoming missile and nearly colliding into the short man. Despite her speed, the knife still ripped across her thigh, and the woman yelped in agony.
With her outcry, the clearing came alive.
Rikard didn't stop to watch the scene unfold. In two strides he reached the girl, hauling her once more over his shoulder. She thrashed and kicked against him, but she was just too small to do any serious damage. Getting over the rocks with her flailing around on him proved a slight challenge, however.
"Be still," he commanded, clamping her against him roughly. She didn't listen.
"Mia!" she called out, and he felt her reaching against him. Ah, so she knew these people. In what capacity, he didn't know, but they were obviously willing to risk their lives to get her back.
The image of her father flashed in his mind, and he felt a pang of regret. The Jones twins were fucking loose cannons, and he never should have agreed to bring them along. Hell, maybe a lot of this mess could have been avoided if Galen hadn't fired off his gun like a damned fool. But then, his brother had still stabbed the innkeeper to shit. What a mess.
"Quiet," he growled to the girl, but also to his whirring thoughts.
She was just sobbing against his back now, having finally exhausted herself, and he managed to clear the rockiest area of the cavern with relative ease. Only here did Rikard turn and look back.
The scene was similar to what had gone down back at the tavern, and it really did look like one giant bar fight. Except, everyone had a knife and was trained to kill.
He was dismayed to see how many of his own had fallen, their uniform red tunics turning brown with their blood. Where did these three come from? Even the woman–Mia, apparently–fought like the weeping wound on her leg was nothing but a scratch.
Cedric and another man–equally as tall, so probably Logan–were teaming up against the dark-haired man. He used his shorter height to his advantage, ducking and rolling under the strikes of the taller men.
Rikard didn't see the knife on the ground until the short man picked it up on another roll, following the movement through with the blade until it planted itself firmly in Logan's neck. Fuck.
"Levi! MPs!" the tattooed man bellowed, and Rikard watched in dismay as several soldiers emerged from the edge of the clearing. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
He turned then, not wasting another moment watching the battle unfold–as much as Cedric and his guys were struggling with this unprecedented threesome, the arrival of the MPs erased any chance they had for reclaiming the fight. Rikard needed to leave while he still had the chance.
"Rikard!" He halted at his name, whirling around. Cedric had his hands around the shorter man's neck, straddling him into the ground. "Blow it up!"
What? No, no, that's not…
Cedric seemed to understand his hesitation. "Do your duty and light the damned fuse!"
He was willing to sacrifice not just his life but the lives of his men. They all were–they needed to be–but the fact still struck Rikard like a fist to the stomach. Do your duty.
Without waiting for another command, Rikard spun around on his heel and beelined for the trigger. The girl, ever savvy, seemed to recover some of her vigor and began struggling again. He ignored her protests, her pleas, not stopping until he was right before the box.
He threw her onto the ground then, his shoulder screaming despite her diminutive weight. He wasn't worried about her running, anyway–his thumb was over the trigger and soon the entrance would be closed. She looked up at him with wide, amber eyes, and he saw her final plea in them.
"Cover your ears, kid."
She didn't. Just shifted her gaze back to the cave entrance. He pressed the button.
•••
Her leg wouldn't stop bleeding. She didn't have time to inspect how deep the cut was–these Redeemers fought like the best of the Corps, and she was brought back to the times she had ever sparred with Annie Leonhart. She rarely won those fights.
The one benefit of having a knife thrown at her was that she now had a weapon. She took down her first opponent within a few moves and snatched herself a second knife from his hand, holding both weapons like she would the blades of her gear. The familiarity of the position made taking on the next wave of Redeemers easier.
"Levi! MPs!"
Never did Mikasa remember feeling such relief upon seeing the arrival of the Military Police. She didn't bother to question how they'd found them, focusing instead on avoiding the striking jabs of the man she was currently fighting.
She was wearing out faster than usual due to her injury, and she barely avoided the uppercross of the man's blade. He could tell she was tiring and thus began taunting her, smiling wickedly as he brandished the knife between nimble fingers.
A bang echoed across the clearing, and his blood sprayed across her face. He hit the dirt, dead.
She didn't pause to see which MP had shot him, turning instead to find Efran and Levi in the fray. More Redeemers streamed from the corner of the cave's opening, their crimson attire billowing like bloody flags as they ran to meet the police headon.
She spotted Levi first just as a Redeemer struck him hard in the jaw, sending him sprawling. Her feet were carrying her to the cave before she'd even thought to move. She ignored the screaming wound in her leg as she sprinted closer to her captain. The Redeemer was over him now, bloody hands wrapped around his neck.
"Do your duty and light the damned fuse!"
Her leg gave out then, just meters from them. She yelled in frustration and agony, clutching at her spasming thigh and wrenching herself once more to standing, only to collapse again into the rocky ground. Her vision swam.
Fight! You must fight!
Eren.
You'll die if you don't.
She looked up then and made direct eye contact with Levi. His teeth were exposed, gritting in exertion as he tried to force the man off of him. He held her gaze, and she saw everything there–anger, fear...regret.
There was a familiar tightening sensation in the back of Mikasa's head, almost like her mind was a rubber band being stretched. The tighter it got, the more focused her senses became. She could feel everything: The boom of the MP rifles, the thud of bodies hitting the ground, men screaming and dying.
The hands around Levi's throat.
The band stretched and stretched, and just when she felt she couldn't take it no more, it snapped like a whip inside her head. And just like that day all those years ago–Eren dying before her, the man lifting him into the air, the knife in her hand–Mikasa Ackerman ignited.
All her awareness of the clamor around her focused in on one point directly ahead, and with a grunt she shot forward like one of Sasha's arrows and buried her blade in between the man's ribs.
He gasped, eyes finding hers in confusion as she lifted him to standing by the knife. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a bloody cough came out. Mikasa watched unblinking as the life drained from his eyes.
It was only when his body fell slack against the knife did she realize she had lifted the man completely off the ground. She tilted the knife and let his limp form slide off the blade.
"Mikasa," Levi breathed, still on his back and gaping up at her.
All the energy left her body then, just as quickly as it had rushed to her. The pain in her thigh was back in full force, and for a moment she wondered if she really would blackout as she crumpled to her knees. She was aware of Levi's calloused hand on her shoulder, jostling her roughly.
"Oi! Stay awake, Mikasa!" His voice sounded distant. "Efran, get her out of here." He didn't shout the command, and she realized Efran had come up beside them. Her vision swam again as the large man lifted her into his arms.
"Go now!" That was a shout. Desperate. She craned her neck and saw Levi's retreating form as he sprinted deeper into the cave. What was he…
"Captain…" she rasped, and Efran muttered something to her that she couldn't make out.
She caught sight of Dennard deep within the cave, her face dirty and streaked with tears. The man, Rikard, was standing beside her. Even in her delirious state she managed to put the scene together. She realized what her captain was going to do.
"N-no," she gasped, reaching in vain. He won't make it!
"Easy, lovely lass," Efran's voice rumbled in his chest. She tried fruitlessly to summon another wave of the energy she had felt before–the power. She lost sight of Levi as Efran carried her away from the cave, staggering through the battle.
"He's gonna blow the cave!" someone yelled in a panicked voice, and several MPs abandoned the fight to run back for the shadows.
"Efran," she gasped.
"I know, lass!" The anxiety was clear in his voice. He was running as fast as he could with her weight, clutching her to him roughly as he barreled toward the safety of the buildings. Almost there.
She felt the heat of the explosion before she heard it, and the force of its blow felt like getting battered aside by the sweeping hand of a Titan. She screamed as she was wrenched away from Efran, his body replaced by dirt and heat and noise. For a moment, it felt like flying.
•••
Armin listened to the shallow breaths of his friend as she slept, his blue gaze taking in the scrapes and bruises covering her arms and face. He'd helped Rubie wash most of the dirt and blood from her, but there still seemed to be several layers coating her skin. Her lips were chapped and broken, and her usually porcelain skin looked ashen.
Were it not for the gentle rise and fall of her ribcage, she would appear dead.
Armin took her small hand in his own, tracing his thumb across the back of her scuffed knuckles. Eren had been here a moment ago practically tearing his hair out. It took much cajoling from both he and Hanji, but eventually the Titan-shifter left to eat some dinner with Rubie.
As distraught as Armin felt about seeing Mikasa like this, he could only imagine what Eren was feeling. She was practically his sister, he'd said it himself. Then there was the astonishing news of Captain Levi's death…
Armin shook his head, resting his forehead against Mikasa's hand.
"Please, wake up," he breathed, not trusting his voice to remain steady if he spoke any louder. "We can't lose you both."
The man who'd brought her here—the tattooed man—had been sequestered in Erwin's office all day, no doubt being debriefed by the commander. Armin had a million questions of his own, but he also felt bad for the man; Though not as bad as Mikasa, he was clearly injured and exhausted.
He seemed more concerned with Mikasa's wellbeing than his own, however, and Armin respected the man's stoicism. Armin had never been fully clear on all the details of Mikasa's mission to begin with, nor how this Efran fit into it all, but he seemed to be more important than just some good samaritan that had rescued one of humanity's strongest soldiers.
Pain clenched his heart once again as he thought of their dear heichou. The loss of Captain Levi was more than just a blow to everyone's spirits, but to the hope for humanity as well.
Mikasa's fingers twitched against his cheek, wrenching him from his thoughts.
Armin shot out of his chair, calling her name gently, hand coming to touch her face. She was still out, but her brow was knitted, and she stirred like she was uncomfortable. Or having a nightmare.
"Mikasa? Can you hear me?"
Hanji entered the room at that moment, eyes going wide as she saw Armin standing over Mikasa. "Is she waking up?" she breathed in excitement.
"I can't tell, but she's definitely stirring." He wasn't sure why they were whispering, but something about the medical ward, about the situation, made him want to keep his voice low. "Mikasa?" he tried again, a little firmer this time.
"She may just be having a nightmare. That sort of thing is natural during trauma—"
Mikasa bolted upright with a gasp, causing both Hanji and Armin to leap back in surprise. She heaved in large gulps of air, her eyes wide with panic and very much awake.
Armin stepped forward and gripped her shoulders gently, turning the frantic girl to him. "Mikasa, hey, calm down. You're safe." He spoke in a soothing tone while Hanji gently swept the strands of dark hair away from Mikasa's sweaty face.
"H-hey…" she began, eyes wild but unseeing of one thing in particular.
"Hey to you, too," Armin chuckled, thinking she was just getting her bearings.
"H-Heichou…" she stuttered again, grasping a fistful of his shirt.
Armin's heart sank. He met Hanji's eyes and saw his own despair mirrored there. "Mikasa…there was an explosion—"
"I saw him. I saw him!" She clawed at Armin's shirt in desperation.
"Mikasa," Hanji began, and the girl whipped her head to the section commander. "Captain Levi didn't make it out of the Underground." Gentle, but concise and direct to the point. That was always the best way to inform someone of a loss.
"No, I saw him just now!" Mikasa said again, shaking her head, frustration rising in her voice.
Armin closed his eyes, throat becoming tight again. He wished Eren was here. His friend would know what to do, how to talk about this. "Listen, I know this is hard to hear; You've just had a traumatic experience—"
"No, Armin. I know. I know, ok?" Mikasa tilted her face to his, and he was startled by the blatant lucidity in her gaze. "Look, I don't know how to explain this to you guys, but I saw him. Not like at the cave but…" she trailed off with a frustrated huff, gesturing around at the room, at her bed.
Armin looked at Hanji again, and the woman nodded—something was happening here, something difficult to put into words. But after witnessing humans transform into Titans, they were the last people to say that something which didn't make sense was therefore wrong.
Sensing Mikasa's frustration, Hanji bent down and captured her gaze. "It's ok, Mikasa, we're listening."
The dark-haired girl held the commander's gaze for a beat before sighing in relief. She looked down at her lap, seeming to gather her words. "It wasn't a dream. More like a vision. Like I was there," she said, voice thick with emotion. That alone was enough for Armin to believe her. Mikasa rarely got emotional.
"What did you see?" he asked, heart hammering in his chest. Mikasa inhaled a shaky breath and lifted her watery gaze to his.
"Levi is alive."
A/N: Hope you guys are enjoying the double-barrel update! I love hearing your opinions and thoughts, so feel free to comment/DM me. You can also find me on Tumblr under MoraLeeWright. :)