Chapter four

The Squad was quiet as they traveled. Starfire rode at the lead with Levi. The two didn't share any conversation, but a simple nod. They had to stop by the gate on the East side of wall Rose to drop off their horses. The specific cluster of Titans they were ordered to target congregated between the East and South gate, so they would have to do some traveling to get to their post. The others were sure to pack extra tanks for their maneuvering gear.

Once they arrived at the wall, everyone dismounted their horses. To get over the wall, they had to use their gear to climb to the top, and from their, they could get the greatest momentum to propel them toward their destination.

Once they were all off of their horses, which had been taken by some cadets, they awaited the signal from their squad leader. Levi took a look around, saw they were all prepared, and activated his 3DMG. Not a second after he was airborn, the others followed suit. Starfire started flying when the others took to the air and kept pace easily. Very soon, they had all reached the top. After waiting for the last of them to reach the top, they all walked to the other side, avoiding the canons, and stood behind Levi.

From this viewpiont, they could see the entirety of territory between Wall Rose and Wall Maria. This included the group of Titans in question. They were closer to Wall Maria, so the extra tanks of gas would definitely be put to use. No one really knew why they were all grouping there, or why there were so many of them. Which was why Squad Levi was selected for to lead mission with reinforcements coming as well.

"Listen up, idiots. When we get within a ten block radius of them, we'll stop to switch our tanks. To minimize the amount of attention we attract, do not stay in groups of more than two. Starfire, you're with me. Mikasa, stay with Eren, I don't think I'll have to tell you twice. I'll leave it to the rest of you to choose who to stay with. Once we're there, stay with your team and watch eachothers backs. And don't fucking die." He gestures to Starfire to stand next to him. "You won't pee your pants, now will you?"

Her face didn't move a millimeter. Not even a crack of a smile. "No, but if you do, I will refrain from judging you. Now, if you are ready to proceed, you may jump, and I will follow." The comrades that heard them held back their snickers behind smiles and acted like they didn't hear a thing. Levi's face turned serious again after being made the butt of the joke and jumped without hesitation over the edge of the wall. Starfire quickly did the same.

As Levi swung from building to building, Starfire flew gracefully above him, avoiding jutting roofs and chimneys. While they flew, Starfire's iron will began to shake a bit.

She begins to think in her mind, 'If I can't save my team members here, what makes me fit to be a teen titan?'

She didn't have time to finish that thought, however. Because a Titan came barreling down the street about two blocks ahead. It was just a 5 meter class, but it was the first one she encountered since her first day here. Had she really changed since then? Will she be able to kill them?

A voice shatters her thoughts from below her. It was Levi shouting, "Starfire, take care of this one! Don't forget, aim for the nape of the neck and make sure to cut deep!"

She nods and accelerates ahead. Her resolution resolves as she got closer. If she could do anything to help her teammates, she will. No questions asked. She approached the Titan, which attempted to grab at her from the air. She easily dodged the hand and flew under his arm and around to arrive at the back at his head. She thought back to her lessons and targeted the spot at the nape of the neck. She let loose two starbolts and flew away. She turned to see if she'd gotten it in time to see it crashing to the ground. She'd downed her first Titan! She let loose a victorious screech in the tongue of her native people and looked for Levi. He was switching his tanks on a roof a few buildings away.

She flew to him and landed next to him while he finished attaching the second tank. "Are you ready to continue?" She asked.

"Yes. Good job taking that one down. But prepare yourself, that one was a shorter one. There are others over there that are much larger. I'll help you take down a few of them at first. Then once I see you have the hang of it, we can start taking them out individually. Are you ok with this?"

She was glad he asked her instead of ordering her. "Yes, this is ok with me. Thank you," and she grabbed his shoulder, "and good luck, friend." He seemed shocked that she'd initiated contact with him. Others were too intimidated to do so, so he wasn't used to it.

He shook his head out of its daze and narrowed his concentration on the situation at hand. He looked around for his comrades and could see them popping up between buildings ahead of him. With a gesture to Starfire, the two set out to catch up with them.

The duo encountered another Titan, a 7 meter class, and he assisted Starfire in defeating it as he promised. He flew at it head on. He knew it would reach out to grab him, and when it did, he spun and unleashed his swords to amputate the giants hand at the wrist. While the monster was wailing, Starfire shot behind him and cut through his flesh at his weak spot. Levi attached his grappling wires to the buildings and they continued their journey.

They were just a few blocks away now, and encounters with Titans were more common now. Still, the two complimented eachother perfectly. They knew without speaking which of them will work on immobilising it while the other goes for a kill shot. Together, they'd already taken down four and they were in the thick of it now. Every where you turned there was another Titan.

Levi shouted to Starfire after they'd taken out another one. "Starfire, we're not making much of a dent like this, you know what to do now. Attack on your own and don't be stupid!" Just as he finished his sentence, he backflipped to dodge a bite from a Titan. Starfire nodded and turned back to the bloodshed.

In the corner of her eye she could see a figure laying on a roof seemingly immobile. Already, there was a Titan that noticed right before she had and already held intentions to devour them. Without a seconds thought, she shot through the air to intercept the beast. She was so close. She could see the outline of their face. It was a soldier she didn't recognise, one of the reinforcements. But before she could reach them, a ginormic hand smacked her down. She was sent crashing through a house below.

From the distance, Levi saw what had happened. He let out a roar of pure ire. The Titan he'd already been engaging paid no attention to his outburst and attempted to kick him out of the air. But he was too quick for the monster. He was already half way to his weak spot. Seconds later, the Titan crashed to the ground and he was rushing through the air towards Starfire.

He was unaware of Starfire's amazing pain tolerance and how strong her body actually was. Seconds after she was hit with enough force to kill a human, she flew up through the house she'd fallen through and emerged seemingly unharmed. The Titan, a 12 meter class, attempted again to take her down again. Her eyes blazed green now, and the large hand that was out stretched toward her was blown to pieces. She shot another green bolt at it's face and blinded it while she flew behind it and made mince meat of its neck.

Knowing she was all right, not even caring how this was possible, Levi quickly reroueted his couldn't afford to lose concentration like that again. Picking a nearby target who hadn't yet seen him, he shot through the air to do as he was ordered. To kill and eradicate.

By the time Starfire got to where she'd seen the person laying on the roof, they were gone. Not even a speck of blood left behind. She looked around her. There were others still fighting. In the distance, she could barely see someone being plucked from the air and snapped in half. In another ally, she saw a person crushed under the overbearing weight of a Titan. And again to her right was someone laying on the street. Just half of them actually. Where their legs were supposed to be was just a mess of blood and entrails. She could feel her pulse quickening and her eyes getting wider. But she wasn't afraid.

She was furious. These things had no reason to kill. They weren't predators. They were monsters fueled by blood lust. And they were killing these people just because they existed. She wouldn't let another person die infront of her eyes. She refused to see another person be ripped in half or crunched between the jaws of these beasts. She could feel her eyes raging.

The nearest monster to her, a 10 meter class, was about to make a meal of another soldier. Before it could raise its hand more than two feet from the roof it had just picled up the soldier from, she severed its wrist from it's arm. Then took it a step further and shot bolts at both of its shoulders, emitting a thunderous crash each time her bolts met with its flesh. Both of its limbs fell to the ground. The large thing wailed while steam gushed from the large openings left by the injuries. She didn't stop there of course. She threw more bolts aimed infront of the ear where the jaw was hinged. Her bolts hit home and the monsters jaw hung just by muscle tissue. Before it could scream again, she summoned two blades made of her green powers and created them like an extention from her hands. She flew by its neck and sliced the nape of its neck.

There were three more approaching her from the same direction. Still on an adrenaline high, she flew past them in a blur. Before they could lift their hefty arms to grab her, they were falling to the ground missing a chunk of flesh out of their neck. She downed all three of them in moments.

She didn't slow down though. So she didn't have enough time to react when a Titan's head popped out from behind a roof and swallowed her whole. She crashed into the back of its throat and slipped down its trachea. She screamed and scratched at the slimy edges of its throat but couldn't get a grasp. Quick reflexes activated the beams in her eyes and she burned a hole right through its throat from the inside. She stopped herself from falling by using her super strength in her legs and arms and continued burning through its throat until she'd turned a full 360 degrees. With a final push, she let go of the sides with her hands and shot a huge ray straight above her. Removing the head from the decapitated body. She knew better than to know she'd killed it the steam, she quickly flew out of it's throat and slashed furiously at the back of its neck.

It didn't faze her that she was covered in phlegm now. She put the events that had just unfolded in the back of her mind and kept fighting so she would keep true to her promise to herself.

It didn't take a second after she'd just killed the Titan to hear the fast, loud steps of another one. This time it wasn't even looking at her, but at a figure below her on the street. They stood ready to fight, activating their gear and swinging through the air. It was a huge one though. At least a 15 meter class, and unless it was Levi or Mikasa, which it didn't look like it was, they didn't have a chance of taking it on by themselves.

She flew down toward them to help, flying next to them to give a smile before accelerating ahead of them. She shot the foot of the monster when it tried to stomp the soldier and shot it again in the chest to push it over. It quickly grabbed a building for balance, however, and refused to fall. It raised its knee that was connected to the injured foot and tried to hit her. She barely dodged and shot a retaliating starbolt, but she didn't have time to aim so she missed. Her comrade flew up past her and got up right in the monsters face, slashing at its eyes and moving barely in time to avoid its hand hitting him. Starfire took this chance to fly behind it and slice it at its weak spot. It came crashing down in a steaming heap.

Both she and the other soldier landed on a roof nearby for a breather. There were no Titans around them for a few blocks so they were safe for the moment.

Between gasps for air, the soldier, who Starfire could tell was actually female now with very short hair, managed to say "Thanks for helping me, I could have sworn I was a goner."

Starfire smiles, but doesn't say anything in reply. After taking a short break, she floats in the air a bit, looking around until she sees someone quickly approaching them. They had the green cloak that identified them as a part of the scout regiment. As they neared, she could see the distinct features of Levi's frown and black hair. Worried something had happened, she flew to meet him.

Once they met on a roof and both did a check for Titans around them, Levi finally uttered, "You need to see the very center. We see what it is, but we think it's what's making all of the Titan gather here. We need your help to get to it though."

Shocked, Starfire replies, "Of course I'll help, take me to it."

Neither of them waste another second. Starfire followed above him and kept a birds eye view of the streets below. They stopped a few times to assist others who were in peril much to Levi's dismay. He seemed to be in a hurry to get to the center. They had to defeat a few other Titans to get there: which took even more time. She could tell Levi was getting angry. She knew he wouldn't like her next move, but between moments when he shot his grappling cords, she plucked him up and held him bride style. He ejected his sword in his left hand from its handle to avoid cutting her.

"What the fuck are you doing? Why did you pick me up?" He yelled at her.

She was amused by his annoyed tone and explained to him "We can get there faster if I fly us there. Hold on tightly."

She waited till he had a good grip around her neck and propelled them forward. Some of the details around them became blurred while she sped through the air speeding past Titans, evading them easily. They arrived at the very center within seconds. She slowed down and stood on a roof where she could see a team mate already stood. Even after she'd stopped, he still held tight to her with his eyes closed. She giggled at the stern man she remembered who was currently in the fetal position in her arms.

He heard her giggle and realised they weren't flying anymore. He scrambled to stand and collect his dignity and looked around to get his bearings. Starfire looked around as well, nodded at Mikasa who was the other person who'd been on the roof when she arrived, and tried and figure out why they hadn't already had to defend their lives since they'd landed. It sure wasn't due to the lack of Titans, that's for sure.

It seemed all the Titans around them didn't even acknowledge them. They were preoccupied with something on the ground. There were too many of them to see what had their attention though.

"Starfire," he began, "with all of their attention focused on whatever's on the ground, their backs are facing us. If the three of us all attack at the same time, we have the skill to dismember them and thin them out to get a closer look to see what they see."

Both girls nodded an understanding. They all picked a side to focus all of their attacks on and spent no more time talking.

There was no way to organise a system to go about this. They each just hacked and slashed at each Titan. Not every blow was a killing blow though. For Levi, he made a cut just a few inches to shallow and almost died because of the fatal mistake. He regained his composure though and kept on fighting. Each of them fought their hardest. And those soldiers passing by were in awe of their stamina. A few of them even helped take down a few. They still couldn't count themselves in the same class as the three that fought above them. Left and right, while the giants weren't paying attention they were being slaughtered.

Even with their sheer power of and help from the others, it still took them over an hour of back to back fighting to thin them out. Levi and Mikasa's air tanks were getting close to empty. They still had two tanks each strapped to their backs but that would mean they would have to find safe ground to replace them. Which was not any where close by.

Fortunately for them, their work began to pay off, and they could see clearly what was on the ground. Starfire almost paid the ultimate price when she spotted it and forgot to pay attention to the Titan next to her. It almost had her in its grips but she flipped in the air and killed it quickly so she could rush to the ground.

Because infront of her was a large black dome. It didn't reflect any light or make any sound. It actually seemed to swallow light. It looked ominous and frightening, but it reminded her of home. She flew so she was right above it, dodging every hand and foot trying to crush the dome under her.

"Raven! It's me, Starfire, open up, I can get you out of here!" Precios seconds passed and a hole opened up, a human hand reached out and pulled her into the dome. Once she was inside, the hole closed behind her.

A familiar voice behind her shouted, "Starfire, is that you?! You're ok!" The only light in the dome was eminating from the person behind her with a blue hue.

"Cyborg, you're here too!" She turned around and hugged him back when he grabbed her and swung her in the air.

A womans deep, solemn voice from the middle of the dome inferuppted their reunion. "Starfire, what the hell are those things out there? And how the hell did you get here? Once we get out of this mess you're gonna tell me why I had to search through dozens of dimensions until I found you."

"I promise I will explain everything to you. But for now, you both have to follow me. When I say so, you have to lower your shield, Raven and follow me. Cyborg, I'll carry you. You can't run. Even you have no chance against the monsters on the ground." Starfire left Cyborgs arms and looked at both of them both somberly. "We are in a strange world here. I will explain it all later, but for now you need to trust me."

"Of course, Starfire, you just lead the way." Cyborg confirms confidently.

Raven felt unsure about letting her shield down, but knew they would be stuck there if she didn't listen to Starfire. "fine, I'll let it down in three, two," Starfire posed above Cyborg ready to carry him away, "one."

The shield was down and they all shot through the air. The hand of a Titan outstretched towards Raven, but she reacted calmly and avoided it with ease. They weaved through the throng of Titans which was much thinner thanks to the trio's earlier efforts. Starfire looked for Levi among the roofs and spotted him nearby. She changed her course to meet him and called to Raven to do the same.

Levi looked confused when she set Cyborg down and landed next to Raven.

"Levi, these are my friends. The Titans were trying to get past Ravens shield. It seemed something about it attracted them. Now that we know why there were so many of them over here and we have averted their attention, I suggest we make our retreat."

Levi spends less than a moment to gather what was happening in his head and nods his agreement. He knew now was not the time to ask questions. Before they made a move to leave, he shot a purple smoke signal in the air to let the soldiers know it was time to retreat back to Wall Rose. Levi got a running start on the roof and activated his gear again. While he propelled himself through the air, Starfire flew above him with Cyborg in her grips and Raven followng right behind her. They travelled in silence and as they neared the wall, the other members of squad Levi caught up. Soon, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and Jean all followed the others. They had an addition to their group, though. Starfire turned and recognized Connie from her second day. She wondered where his own squad was. Deeming it unimportant, she faced forward again.

A cry from behind her cut her short. She turned around again in time to see a Titan that none of them had noticed jump from around the corner of a building and grab the cords for Armin and Connie. It took a large, audible bite out of Connie's spine and devoured the lower half of his body. His piercing screams seemed to shock us all into action. Eren severed the monsters fingers, forcing it to release Armin. While Jean jumped from its shoulder and made the killing strike. Cyborg was yelling obscenities while the rest of them were re grouping. Armins 3DMG was damaged so one of the others had to carry him the rest of the way.

From then on, they all payed much closer attention to their surroundings. Starfire hushed Cyborg's incessant yelling and promised to talk to him later. They were all exhausted and the feeling seemed to worsen as they got closer to the wall. Nonetheless, they managed to get over the wall and back into safe territory. Starfire was able to set Cyborg down and finally have a word with Levi.

She walked to him a few feet away and held her hand on his shoulder. He turned his head calmly in her direction. "Would you have a word with me?" She requests.

"Of course."

They walk away from the group as they all set out to the East gate where thieir horses had been brought.

"My friends mean no harm. They only wish to see me home safely." She felt a need to explain this to him. But when she did, his face seemed to fall a bit. She wondered why for a second but continued. "But I don't intend to go with them just yet." He was surprised by this unexpected reaction after her first battle. Usually after someone's first fight with a Titan, all people ever wanted to do was go home and run away from all of the bloodshed and death. What was with this girl, he thought. But had to hide his excitement about her staying. This meant he had another chance with her. And he wouldn't let it go to waste.

He cleared his throat and replied calmly. "I'm glad you decided to stay. I'll be glad to talk about it later with you. But I think we'll all be thinking more clearly tomorrow after we've had some rest. Your friends are more than welcome to stay at the castle. You can tell them we will all talk together in the morning." He made a shifty attempt at a smile. But since his face wasn't used to it, it only looked frightening, She smiled nervously back and shuffled away toward Raven and Cyborg.

She thought again of how he resembled Robin and smiled to herself. He was stern with the others, but she could tell when he was around her he was different. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she had growing affections for the short, grumpy squad leader.

She joined her friends and explained to them all that will happen in the morning. The remaining waiting time for their horses and the ride back home was spent dreaming about her soft comfortable bed that awaited her back in her room.