So I've made this chapter a bit longer than normal, because I feel kinda bad I can't post as often as I should, but with the semester over next week I should be able to finish up this story.
I also want to clarify a few things about the ending of this story, which is coming up in the next couple chapters or so. When I first started this story, nothing about the Founding Titan or the nine original titans was revealed nor was there anything about the memories from Eren's father, so I did not, and will not, take them into account with the end of this story. The breakout was meant to be the final climax to this and I intend to keep it like that.
I can't express how much I appreciate you guys who stick around with this story, I know I don't upload as often as I should, but I'm glad your all enjoying it and thank you to all my reviewers for taking the time to ask me questions and tell me what they think.
Now, onto Chapter 22!
Chapter 22: Soldiers Meet Shifters
The descent down the stairs was tense and quiet besides the sound of their boots on the stone steps. It was a miracle none of them had run into a guard but they didn't think this luck would hold out. This assumption was proven correct when the sound of shouting reached their ears and two guards came running up the steps, guns raised.
Armin was just about to try talking to them, trying to think of anything that would stop them from doing something rash, but in the next moment, the sound of gunfire echoed through the high-ceilinged stairway. Two loud shots rang through and the cadet's covered their ears. When they looked up, the two guards had fallen limply to the ground, blood oozing form their chests. In front of them, Reiner and Bertholdt still had their weapons raised, smoke curling up from the barrel.
"D-did you j-just…?" Jean stammered, hardly able to speak from the horror in front of them. Christa had her hands over her mouth, shock taking over her features while Ymir grabbed her and shielded her from the view.
Armin eased between the two boys and quickly approached the men. He bent and touched their necks, but wasn't surprised when he couldn't find a pulse.
"They're dead," said the blonde, standing up. He assumed this would happen and he'd been willing to take the guilt of knowing he was involved in killing someone, especially if it was between him and his friends and a random guard. Still, there was a lingering feeling of revulsion and regret at what his comrades had done to men who were only doing their jobs.
"You know they would have shot first without asking questions, especially when they saw our guns," Reiner said, blandly. "It was us or them."
"But did you have to kill them?!" exclaimed Connie, horrified. "Couldn't you have just wounded them or something? You didn't have to shoot them in the chest!"
"Enough, we can't worry about that now," Armin said, swallowing the vomit that wanted to rise in his throat. "It's happened and we can't change it. We need to hurry now, in case the gunfire alerted anymore guards."
Connie was about to argue when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking up, he found Marco shaking his head. There was a sadness in his usually cheerful gaze, but even the saint-like young man understood the need for their actions. Even if he didn't like it.
The shorter male huffed and started hurrying down the steps with the rest of them, their pace picking up in their haste to reach the bottom. Sasha and Mikasa were grim-faced, but said nothing. After the fall and retaking of Wall Rose, they'd witnessed enough tragedy and sacrifice to push past their own feelings of guilt.
When they reached the bottom they were relieved to find only a small, empty landing and a steel door. Armin tested the handled and sighed when it refused to turn.
"We'll need the keys from one of those guards," he said, looking back up the dark stairway where they'd left the bodies.
"I'll grab them," Reiner volunteered, making sure his gun was properly reloaded before trudging back up to the steps. He didn't feel guilty for killing the guards, but he did have some regret for having done it in front of his friends. It was obvious they were uncomfortable with murder, but the blonde saw it more as self-defense.
Reaching the bodies, the bulky boy quickly searched through their pockets and came up with a set of bronze keys. He was about to go back down when he heard footsteps further up.
From the bottom of the stairs, the cadets were waiting impatiently for Reiner's return. Mikasa was pacing in front of the door, anxious to be reunited with Eren.
Shots rang out again and many of them winced at the sound. They couldn't see what was happened, but they could assume Reiner had come across more armed men. Bert shifted worriedly, concerned for his best friend.
Moments later, Reiner came jogging down the stairs, blood spattered on his uniform but looking relatively unharmed.
"Couple more guards came to investigate the firing," he explained simply, pulling keys out and trying them on the door. After what felt like far too long, the door clicked open and they all rushed inside, locking the door behind them.
When they turned, they found a bare, cement room with twelve iron doors. Each door had a barred window at the top and a wooden plate on the side. Armin stepped up to investigate the closes plaque.
"Mariah Hart, Subject 2, Feline Titan," Armin read out. The sound of high-pitched cackling sounded from inside the cell and several of the cadets tried to peer inside, only to be greeted with a psychotic, sharp-toothed grin and a pair of glowing yellow eyes.
"Ooooh, looky at the little kiddies, sneaking into a place they don't belong," she giggled, head tilting to the side and revealing her disgusting, fleshy ears.
The soldiers were speechless at the sight of the deformed titan shifter. They'd heard about the horrifying results of the early experiments, but they never dreamed it would be something like this.
"Awww, what's the matter?" she purred, smashing her face against the bars. "Cat got your tongue? HA! GET IT?!"
She burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter that sent a chill down their spines.
"Shut the FUCK UP!" came a snarl from another cell.
They all whipped around and saw a furious face peeking through another cell door, violet eyes narrowed in unconcealed rage and resentment.
"Keep laughing like that and the next time we're in training, I'll rip your tongue out!" the angry girl growled.
This only seemed to amuse Mariah more, because in the next instant she had disappeared from the window, but her hysteric laughter continued to bounce off the stone walls of the prison.
"Who the fuck are you guys anyway?" asked the furious blonde in the window.
"We're here looking for Eren," Armin explained. He moved closer to her door, but froze when she started growling at him.
"I found his cell!" Connie informed them, peering into the cell across from the rude blonde.
Mikasa was on them in second, ripping the keys from Reiner's hands and trying to find the right one.
"He's not in there…" came a soft voice. By now, most of the doors had a subject standing at them, watching through their bars in curiosity and confusion. The one that spoke came from the door next to Eren's. A freckled-face girl with mousy brown hair watched them sadly.
"Angel, is that you?" asked Armin, stepping up to her cell, brows furrowed.
Angel smiled and nodded. She opened her mouth to greet the blonde but was interrupted by a loud snarl.
"Where is he then?!" snapped Mikasa, her patience wearing thin.
"They took him upstairs," said a young dark-haired man with glasses, his plate reading Gabrial Knowles. "He's probably in the laboratory section of the facility."
"Why would they take him there at this time of night?" asked Christa, frowning.
"He's been there most of the night," yawned a girl with dark tattoos across her face.
"Probably being punished since Wraith went missing," drawled the angry blonde, who was identified as Lily Drake.
"Punished?" Mikasa hissed, any control she had left, quickly vanished at those words.
"He was naughty, so he was punished," whispered a voice from one of the dark cells where a brown-haired girl was barely peeking over the window, too short to see any further.
"Can you give us any more directions?" Reiner asked, urgently.
"I could," Lily said lazily, growing bored with the conversation. "But you have to do something for us in return."
"We were planning on freeing you already," Armin stated. "Actually, if you give us the directions to Eren's location, a few of us will stay here and unlock your cells, while the other find Eren."
"We will?" asked Connie, looking less than pleased by the idea of splitting up.
"Yes, we will," Mikasa agreed, wanting to leave as soon as possible.
Lily looked them over, suspicious but having no other choice but to trust them.
"Fine, unlock me first, then I'll tell you."
Mikasa growled, but hastily unlocked the cell and swung the door open. Lily stepped out, hands on her hips and a blank expression on her face.
"He's usually kept in the sensory deprivation tank, down the lab hall, third door on your left," Lily instructed. "You'll need that silver key there if you want in, and I suggest you hurry…he's been in there awhile now."
Mikasa nodded and pulled the tiny silver key off the ring, handing the rest to Jean, who blinked at her in bewilderment.
"Stay here and free the rest of them," she instructed, strictly. "Armin, Reiner, you're with me. The rest of you get out of here as quickly as you can once all the cells open. We'll meet you near the horses."
"Hey, shouldn't you bring more people?" Sasha questioned.
"No, the less the better," replied Armin, firmly. "We can sneak around easier and get there and out faster."
Jean grunted an affirmative while the three of them left. He started for the nearest cell and began unlocking them. The others milled about, nervous for the safety of themselves and their friends.
At the top of the stairs, Mikasa, Armin and Reiner were slipping through the door and into the still empty entrance room. The bodies on the stairs had been hard to maneuver around but Reiner had simply decided to drag them down and stash them away in the dark corridor next to the stairs.
"Shouldn't there be more guards? I'm surprised no one's been concerned about their missing buddies," the hulking blonde asked, gun ready.
"The guards you killed earlier were probably the only ones in that section, and no one would notice the outside guards unless they opened the doors to check," explained Armin in a whisper. He chewed his lower lip, worried for his closest friend.
"We're getting him back, Armin," Mikasa said, firmly but reassuringly.
"I-I know, I'm just worried about…what he'll be like now," he said, flashing back to what Wraith had said about him after coming here.
Mikasa couldn't reply to that, because she was worrying over the same thing, but no matter how much he changed, he'd still be Eren. That was what kept her moving.
When they opened the opposite door, they found two more guards standing on their side of it. Mikasa acted quickly, before they had a chance to look back, she dashed forward and slammed the hilt of her swords onto their heads, knocking them out.
"Great reflexes, Ackerman," praised Reiner, pulled the unconscious guards to the side.
The three soldiers started down the hall, counting doors, before they were interrupted by a yell down the hall.
"Hey! I think I heard something coming from the entrance!" came a voice from around the corner.
"Move!" Reiner hissed, shoving the other two into the closest door and slamming it shut. On the other side, they heard the heavy thump of boots on concrete and then the squeak of a door opening and closing.
"I think they're gone," muttered Mikasa, leaning against the door.
"You don't think they'll go downstairs, do you?" said Armin. Mikasa merely shrugged, having faith in her comrades should they run into trouble.
"Uh, guys?"
Armin and Mikasa turned to see Reiner standing in front of a massive metal container. It was about half the size of the room and looked like a steel box with a riveted metal door set with a thick, glass window. To the side was a strange pump-like contraption connected to the top of the box by a metal pipe.
"The hell is this thing?" Reiner muttered, peeking into the window. "It's dark in there but I think I see something inside…"
"I think this might be the tank the subjects were talking about," Armin said, looking over the door.
"Well, let's open the damn thing and find out!" Reiner remarked. He grabbed the circular handle and started turning it, cringing at the sound of screeching metal.
"Wait Reiner!"
Water flooded through the door, forcing it open and sending a tidal wave into the room. The three were knocked to the floor and after a few moments of sputtering, they looked up into the tank expectantly. The water had vanished down a drain in the center of the room.
From inside the tank there were sounds of shuffling and movement and while they stood frozen, too shocked to move, a head of white and brown appeared in the door. The figure was slumped against doorframe, body weak and head bowed.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the boy lifted his head and a smirk formed on his face, blue-green eyes flashing with recognition.
"Figured you'd find your way here," he said, chuckling weakly.
Mikasa took a step forward. Then another. And another. Her steps hesitant, almost fearful. Until she found herself in front of the figure, tears in her eyes and a dull ache in her chest.
"Eren?"
"And that's the last one!" Jean announced, swinging open the last door and stepping aside for a small blonde girl. At least, he thought they were a girl…
The…child stepped out without a word and joined the rest of them.
"Ah! Sweet semi-freedom!" shouted Riah, throwing out her arms and nearly clawing Hannah in the face.
"Hey, watch it pussy-cat!" sneered the tattooed girl, lips pulled into a snarl to rival the wolves on in her artwork.
"Wanna go, ink face?" she hissed in response.
"Cut it out!" snapped Ymir, effectively redirecting the dangerous glares to herself. "The only reason we're busting you out is for that suicidal bastard, so if you get us caught, I won't hesitate to lock your asses back in to those cells, got it?"
The girls glared but said nothing, preferring instead to whisper to each other quietly, though Jean could have sworn he heard insults directed toward his dark-haired comrade.
"Come on, we'll get up to the top level and get you all to safety for now," Jean instructed, making a beeline for the door. The sooner they were out the better.
"What about Mat?" asked Angel quietly, looking at one of the still locked doors.
"Who?" Connie asked.
"Just leave the psycho, he'll only try to kill us," Lily snapped, dragging an air-headed Dove toward the door.
"So, that one's Razor, huh?" Ymir drawled, cautiously moving toward the door to peak inside. There was a distinct growling and shuffling but it was too dark to see.
"You know about Razor?" Angel squeaked, looking horrified.
"Yeah, Wraith told us about him," said Sasha, "or uh, its what we overheard anyway."
"Is he really that crazy?" Christa hesitantly asked, staring fearfully at the door where more hissing came from.
"Pretty much," sighed Gabriel, nonchalantly wiping his glasses on his shirt. "The only one who can control him is Eren."
"Great, so we'll meet up with them on the top level and if Eren wants to risk his neck to come back for him, he can," Jean mumbled, ignoring the looks of protest from Gwen and the little blonde child, Andy. No one voiced their objections though, so they decided it was time to leave.
Bertholdt was the first up the stairs with everyone else eagerly following behind. They stayed silent, but the tension and excitement were palpable. Riah and Hannah were practically shaking at the prospect of finally being free of their shackles. Gwen continued to glance back at the door, knowing full well Eren would go back for Mathias and she worried for the both of them. She wouldn't forgive herself if they ended up harmed.
At the top of the stairs, Bert slide the door open, only to quickly but quietly close it shut again.
"There's guards right past here," Bert muttered, hands sweating on his gun. "Looks like they might have found those guards."
"Or any other guard Mikasa, Armin, and Reiner fucked up," Ymir grumbled.
"Well, what do we do now?" whispered Sasha shakily.
Bert sighed, "I'll have to just take them out, but depending on how many there are, I might run out of ammo…"
"Or, we could sick Mathias on them," Gabriel offered. When he received odd looks, he elaborated, "Mat may not listen to us, but if two of us guide him through that door, he'll probably attack them and give us time to leave."
"And you don't think he'll go for us when we try to bolt for it?" Connie said, skeptically.
"Once Mathias gets his hands on someone he doesn't let up until he's satisfied," Gabriel assured. "We'll have more than enough time to get out the front door before he starts looking for a new target."
Jean growled and ran his hand through his hair. "Fine, fine. But who's going to restrain him long enough to get him through the door?"
There was silence while everyone traded looks before they all turned to stare at Jean and Gabriel. The dark-haired boy sighed, expecting this, but Jean wasn't having it.
"Hell no!" he snapped in harsh whisper. "There is no way in hell I'm risking getting mauled by some deranged human titan!"
"You're the leader right now, Kirstein, so suck it up and get to it!" hissed Ymir, shoving him back the way they came, nearly sending him tumbling down the steps.
"As long as we're careful, this should work out. We've done this before in one of our escape attempts," Gabriel said, hurrying down the steps with Jean reluctantly on his heels.
"How is knowing you did this before and failed going to me feel any better?"
"Hey, we failed to escape, but we did get Mathias to distract the guards as planned," Gabriel said, stiffly. "We just ran into some issues we weren't prepared for…"
Jean didn't look convinced but went along anyway.
When they found themselves back at the still locked cell door, the taller boy was quick to grab the keys from Jean and unlock it. Inside was the horrifying sight of Razor, still chained to the wall by a shackle around his neck, snarling and foaming at the mouth to get to the boys standing at the door.
Jean was frozen in shock, having never encountered something so disturbing. It was like the boy had gone rabid.
"Keep him distracted while I unlock his chains from the wall," Gabe said, moving quietly into the room and pressing himself as close to the wall as he could. Mathias' gaze followed him as the dark-haired boy drew closer. He stopped just before reaching Razor's chain length and nodded suggestively toward the growling boy.
Swallowing his fear, Jean stepped forward, instantly drawing Mat's attention again. Cautious gold met crazed blue-gray, as they stared each other down. Jean watched as the muscles on his back rippled and contracted, aching to launch forward and claim the manic boy's prey.
Gabriel hurried then, with Mat's focus centered on Jean, he unlocked the two sets of chains against the wall and held them tight.
"Jean, when I throw this to you, pull it as tight as you can and don't let it loosen even for a millisecond, got it?" Gabriel whispered, watching Mathia's for any signs of activity before looking up again.
The soldier nodded, eyes still locked with the monster in front of him.
"I'm putting a lot of trust in you here, Jean," the dark-haired boy said. "If either one of us lets these chains even slightly loose, he'll attack the other. Can I seriously trust you with this?"
"I wouldn't be here acting as titan bait if I wasn't certain about doing this," Jean hissed back, his nerves growing stronger by the second. "So yes, you can trust me to not get us killed."
Gabe nodded and tossed one of the chains and breathed a sigh of relief when Jean snatched it and pulled it taunt while Gabriel did the same with his.
Razor let out a howl of rage and tried to attack but the chains on either side of his neck kept him in place.
"Alright, start moving back toward the stairs, Mat will follow," instructed Gabriel, sweat forming on his forehead from the strain of holding the chains in place.
Jean nodded and slowly the three of them made their way through the room and up the steps, being careful to never let the chain fall limp. Mathias didn't fight and instead followed with only a few growls and hisses, apparently pleased to be away from his damp cell.
When they finally reached the rest of the group, many nervous glances were exchanged between the soldiers, while the subjects simple watched Razor with looks of wary, fear, and disgust. Eventually they all quickly stepped to the side and moved as far away from the center as possible. Razor tried to snap at them as they passed, but the boys yanked the chains whenever he tried. Christa clutched at Ymir harder, while the taller girl stood in front as a guard.
"Everyone get further down the staircase," Jean ordered. When they complied, he stepped to the door and looked back. "I'm going to throw the door open and jump out of the way. Gabe, let go of the chain when the doors completely open, got it."
Gabriel nodded and took a steadying breath. Jean did the same, before he grabbed the handle and threw it open. At the same time the chains dropped and Mathias bolted forward.
Jean barely managed to dodge out of the way and slam against the wall before Razor skidded into the next room.
The heavy door was slammed shut and held in place by Gabriel and Bertholdt. From the other side, shouts and howls of pain echoed through the chamber, accompanied by gun fire and terrifying snarls. Looks of horror and guilt spread across their faces after realizing what they'd done.
"Will he be okay?" Christa asked quietly, wincing at another round of shots that filled the room.
"Mat's crazy, but he ain't stupid," Riah commented, picking at her teeth nonchalantly. "Bastard knows how to get out of the way of bullets. Besides, anything that does hit him will just heal up almost instantly."
"Then why use bullets anyway?" Connie asked, jumping when there was a loud thud against the door but it remained closed.
"They may not do much damage to us, but they hurt like a bitch, especially if our muscle and skin heals over them," she replied.
"You should be more worried about the whole damn facility's being alerted now," Ymir grumbled.
"Come on, sound like a good time to rush out," Gabriel said, and ignoring the sounds of protest from the others, he ripped open the door, shoved the dead body aside, and bolted.
The rest of the subjects followed without hesitation, for them, it was now or never. The cadets followed after them, worry quickly turning to disgust and horror at the bloodied room before them. At least six guards had been present, but now, only two remained upright, though severely bloodied and beaten, with Mathias baring his teeth in front of them.
Gabriel, still holding the key ring, hurriedly slammed the key into the lock and flung the door open. Cold night air rushed into the room and alerted the guards, who looked up in time to see the last of the group rushing outside and disappearing among the trees. They made to go after them, but Razor lunged and sunk his teeth into one of their throats, returning their attention back to the bigger problem.
In the forest, Jean halted his movement and yelled at the rest, all of whom, froze where they were, some kneeled over to catch their breath.
"We'll wait here until the others come out," Jean instructed, moving to get a clear view of the front of the facility. "Connie! Sasha! Think you could grab the horses?"
The two nodded and quickly went to the location they stashed their horses, grateful they'd stayed put. When they returned, the subjects and soldiers were waiting impatiently behind the trees. Some resting at the bases and others pacing nervously. Riah and Hannah had sprawled out, seemingly taking a nap.
"If they don't come out in ten minutes, we need to go in," Bertholdt insisted firmly.
"I know, I know," snapped Jean, worrying even more for his friends, especially his black-haired comrade.
"All we can do is wait," sighed Gabriel, closing his eyes to rest against his tree.
Review Please~ even the smallest messages are appreciated.