A/N: This is a filler chapter of a random memory with Hange and Willow. I thought it was a cute moment between the two as they bond with one another a bit more. But with filler chapters comes... you guessed it! TWO CHAPTERS! Enjoy!
Chapter 29
Five Years Ago – Three Months as an Elite Scout
Dead brown eyes glance down at the blonde as she surveys the Titan with an unnerving gaze. The Titan watches her with what feels like intelligent recognition that just makes having it tied down and staring at her all the more unsettling.
"I think he likes you," she's nudged at the hip, causing her arms to uncross over her chest. She glares up at him with narrowed eyes and his lips turn upwards with a devious grin.
"Shut up, Hal," she says, not appreciating his tease of her. "This thing is looking at me like it recognizes me or something."
"It's a Titan, Willow," the black-haired Scout returns with a rolling of his icy eyes. "Just a mindless sack of meat. Probably has as many braincells as Colin," he chuckles and Willow simply rolls her eyes at him.
"If that's the case, then why is the Commander entertaining Hange's curiosity with them? There must be more to them."
He shrugs, "You figured out a way to weaponize Titans against other Titans. Now we just have to break it down to a science, and then we'll be the ones hunting these ugly fucks," he says looking up at the Titan with a wide smile. "It's a good time to be in the Scouts," he breathes with wonderment.
She turns to him, seeing the peacefulness in his eyes as he looks up at the Titan with the knowledge that Willow's trick will ensure their victory over these beasts.
His gaze turns down to her, seeing her eyes lingering on his. He blinks at her, smiling when he says, "You're going to do great things for the Scouts."
Willow's gaze falters from his and back to the beast that stares only at her and never once at him. "Do you really think Hange will figure out a way to get everyone trained to control these things?"
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" he questions as he nods to the approaching Scout. "I'm outta here, though. Last thing I need right now is a lecture about this shit," he grumbles as he leaves Willow with a lingering grin.
She turns from him and to the goggled Scout who approaches her with excited strides. "Can you believe it!" her voice bellows out in the courtyard. "Just look at how magnificent he is? Isn't he beautiful?"
"I don't think I would use any of those words to describe him," Willow winces as she looks up at the creature that just can't stop staring down at her.
"Commander Erwin's given me full permission to cut up our little guest! Oh, I can't wait!" she jumps with excitement as she claps happily. "Will you help me?" she asks with widening eyes so that all that's left are the whites of her eyes.
"That depends…" Willow hangs on the idea as Hange continues to jump with excitement.
"Why don't you go to its nape and dig into those receptors of his and we can test what movement's you've learned?"
Willow looks up at the Titan once more as it continues to watch her, feeling a sense of dread sinking her chest. "Alright," she begrudgingly murmurs.
She shoots her ODM gear towards the nape of the neck and lands on its back as she glances down for the base of the Titan's spinal cord. Hange shoots off her ODM gear and joins the girl at the back of the Titan's neck, curiously watching as the blonde works to locate the receptors.
Willow pulls out her right sword, holding it in both of her hands before driving it into the tight flesh of the Titan. Nothing happens and she frowns. She pulls the sword out and tries another area a bit towards the left.
"Looks like you need to pinpoint a precise location," Hange more murmurs to herself, rather than expecting a response from Willow.
The blonde grunts as she digs her sword into the flesh once more, only to have the Titan reel in retaliation. Hange and Willow instinctively fasten the hooks of their ODM gear into the flesh of the Titan, but it's already fastened down, that it hardly moves.
Willow drives her sword into the Titan once more and this time she's hit the receptors as the Titan grows limp under her strike. "Looks like roughly fifteen centimeters from the crook of the neck, interestingly as this doesn't appear to be at the base of the spinal cord as I had initially anticipated," Hange mumbles under her breath and Willow's unsure if she's meant to respond to the girl or not.
"Can you pull the sword out, wait three seconds and hit that exact same spot?" Hange asks and Willow does, hitting the receptor once more.
"Perfect! It's the same spot each time! Though it's probably different on each of their nape's what with fifteen centimeters being too long on the more stubbier ones," she continues speaking to herself as Willow sits there with Titan blood staining her hands.
"Now from here, how would you move his legs?"
"I would pull back on the sword like a lever," Willow returns quietly. "To the left controls the right leg and to the right is the left leg."
"Can you demonstrate?"
Willow does so and the Titan's legs begin shaking under them, but remain unmoving from the restraints she has placed on the beast. Hange watches Willow's movements more so than worrying about the beast below them.
Hange's frantically scribbling her findings into a journal that she's keeping with everything that she's learning about them.
"And their arm's?"
"Same motions, just pushing forward rather than pulling back."
Hange instructs her to do so and she does, causing the Titan to thrash under its restraints.
"And these movement are the same for all Titans of all sizes?" Hange asks, eyes still fixated on her notebook and wild scribbles.
"Yeah," Willow says as she looks down at her sword.
"What about more comprehensive movements such as finger and hand movements? You were able to hold that Abnormal's hair when it was charging the caravan."
Willow looks down at the hilt of her sword with tangling brows, trying to remember how she managed to control the titan in that way, but only recalling on the panic she was feeling in that moment. "I don't remember how I got that granular with it."
Hange hums at this assessment with a hint of dissatisfaction at the information. "Without being inside the Titan, the likelihood that we can get that detailed with the movements is highly improbable," Hange speaks to herself, or at least Willow doesn't respond to her.
"Hange?" Willow begins with a soft tone, speaking over the muttering Scout. "How are you not afraid of these things?" she asks her, seeing how loose and comfortable the captain is within the reach of the Titan.
The goggled girl looks onto the blonde with soft eyes, seeing the questioning lacing in her eyes. "It's not that I'm not scared of them, I've seen far too many Scouts lose their lives to not be cautious of them," she informs the new soldier with a shrug of her shoulders.
"There was a time when I responded to Titans with rage and the desire to kill them all. I was surrounded by others with that same desire, and the more I was around it, the more I realized those were the Scouts that weren't returning home," she says with a glimmer of sadness reflecting in her goggles. "We continued to throw bodies at the problem, and among the corpses at my feet, no one was looking to solve the problem."
"What is the solution if not killing the Titans?" Willow asks, not understanding what they could do in their situation beyond reacting with violence.
"Understanding why they're here," Hange tells her simply. "They eat humans, but have no digestive track; so why do they eat humans? They sleep at night, but need no other nourishments, so why do they sleep?"
Hange looks down, seeing the dull brown eyes of the Titan that looks onto the two Scouts atop his shoulders. "Look at the way he's looking at us," she instructs the blonde and she does so. "It's recognition in his eyes, not hunger or need," she says as a shiver rolls down Willow's spine. "So why do they look at us like that?" she asks and the blonde doesn't have an answer for her.
"Do you think you'll ever get your answers?" Willow asks, eyes fixated on the beast below her.
"That's what I'm hoping from you," she says as she lifts herself to her feet and continuing her assessment on the Titan.
Willow glances around the courtyard, noticing a few other Scouts in the area training. Her eyes land on Petra and Oruo as they spar with one another, with Eld supervising. Willow hasn't spoken to them much since she became an Elite soldier on Malik's Squad, and finds herself missing their lighthearted presence at their table.
She has made a point to sit with Malik's Squad and develop relationships with them since they are her Squad, but she finds herself only really tolerating Hal out of the three of them, with Colin never being really impressed with her, and Laura indifferent with her joining the team.
"Willow?" Hange asks her, pulling her from her thoughts.
"Sorry," she murmurs, "What were you saying?"
"Are you able to control their mouth?"
"Umm… I did once…" she says looking down at her sword but not remembering how.
"Why don't you dig around, but make sure you don't press too deeply!" she requests and Willow does as she asks.
Meanwhile Petra and Oruo's eyes are more focused on the two Scouts atop the Titan rather than their sparring match. "How are they supposed to determine the movements when it's tied down like that?" Oruo protests as he watches the blonde struggle through the motions.
"Why are they focusing their efforts on her?" Petra grumbles with a slight snideness in her tone. "Shouldn't we all be learning how to control these things if that's how the Commander is looking to fight against the Titans?"
"They're putting too much pressure on making Willow learn everything on her own," Oruo shakes his head disapprovingly.
Petra huffs at this, "She's an elite soldier," she says with disdain in her voice at the thought. "That's what's expected of her."
Oruo gives Petra a hard glare and she rolls her eyes at the love-struck puppy dog, never really understanding his infatuation with her beyond her saving him when no one else would.
Suddenly, a deafening roar captivates everyone in the camp. Petra and Oruo's eyes shoot towards the source of the yelling when they notice the Titan that Hange and Willow were standing atop has broken through its restraints and stands tall within their camp and within the walls.
Petra and Oruo panic as they see that Hange and Willow have been flung off of the beast as he begins stomping towards them. To their dismay, neither of them are in ODM gear, and as the Titan approaches them, they don't have enough time to suit up.
"Captain Levi!" Petra's voice wails in the open court of the training grounds, knowing the newly appointed Captain to never really take off his ODM gear as he's always ready for a fight.
Willow quickly lifts herself from the ground where she was tossed by the reeling Titan. She glances over to see that Hange is knocked out and bleeding from a wound in her hairline that she cannot fully assess the damage.
She bites down on her lip, knowing that she needs to take care of the Titan before checking if the Scout is alright. If she doesn't do anything, more Scouts will be hurt.
Willow quickly lifts herself to her feet as other soldiers begin crowding the area. "Get back!" Willow yells with a feral tone as she sees Hal approaching the scene with no gear on.
"Willow!" he calls out to her protectively, but she pushes past him, moving towards the threat without another thought other than defusing the situation.
She shoots her grapple into the shoulder of the Titan when it quickly moves to swat her, forcing her to retract her gear and grit her teeth in frustration.
She runs towards the Titan, trying to move closer to it and formulating an attack without using her ODM gear.
Within a blink of an eye, the Titan's arm is chopped into a limp mess of tendons. She looks up, seeing what could have caused the damage to the Titan when she notices that it's Captain Levi. Her heart races at the sight of him, suddenly feeling safer than a moment before now that he is here.
The black-haired Captain moves towards the back of the Titan's next, preparing himself for a deadly slash to the nape.
"Levi!" Commander Erwin's voice rings out in the courtyard. "The Titan must remain alive!" he orders him, knowing that Hange's experiments are more valuable than the destruction the Titan may cause. He trusts that they will be able to defuse the Titan, even within the tight confines of their base to work with.
Levi growls to himself in frustration and moves down the Titan's spine, digging his swords into the tight flesh in hopes to paralyze the Titan.
He lands harshly on his feet, his cape flowing in his face as he pushes it aside with frustration. His eyes search to see if the Titan is incapacitated by his hit but grits his teeth when he watches the beast move towards the Scouts on the ground.
Levi watches as Willow jumps into the fight without a moment of hesitation to move towards the beast that swats at the Scouts below. She is still not the greatest with her ODM gear and lands harshly on the back of the Titan.
His arm moves to reach for her and Levi springs into action, hearing the commotion of the other Captains and Elites suiting up in ODM gear, but keeping his eyes laser focused on Willow.
She digs her sword into the nape of the Titan, only to be returned with a wild retaliation from the Titan as it stomps its legs dangerously close to a few Scouts.
Levi tenses his jaw, knowing that he needs to focus his efforts on moving the Scouts out of the danger zone of the Titan, and not focus on taking the Titan out. He nods to himself, trusting that Willow will be able to hold her own over any other Scout.
He moves his attention to moving the Soldiers out of the immediate area. Willow will have to take down the Titan, and the last thing they need is the Titan crushing the Scouts below. So, all he can hope for is that Willow can manage holding back the Titan until he's cleared the field for her to take it down.
Malik, Derrek, and Hal are quick to suit up themselves, and seeing the movements of Levi, they join in evacuating the general area. Word will soon spread outside of the training camp that a Titan is within the walls, and cause mass panic, so they will have to focus their efforts on maintaining the public and keeping them from getting into Willow's path.
Willow presses down on the receptors once more, only to have the Titan jerk back with a deafening roar. She begins to breathe erratically, trying desperately to gain her breathing and control as the terror of this thing crushing her fellow Scouts sinks in.
"Willow!" Levi yells out, seeing her panic at the lack of control she has with the Titan. "Get this ugly thing under control and don't worry about the rest! We have it handled!" he reassures her with strong stern eyes.
"Sir!" she returns with a firm nod as she moves her attention back to the Titan.
Before she can make another strike against the Titan, it moves down and grabs hold of someone from below. Willow looks around the corner to see the Titan lifting the stiff unconscious body of Hange into the sky.
Levi is quick to respond, shooting his grapples towards the Titan and moving to cut her out, but hesitates when he worries about cutting the Captain instead.
The Titan lifts the two Captains in the air, opening its mouth with stiff movements as it readies itself to devour the two.
Levi focuses his efforts on prying out the unconscious Captain, when he's hit with the hot air of the Titan's breath as it moves its hand closer to its mouth.
Levi tenses his jaw as he continues to pry the goggled brunette out of its grip. "Sir!" he calls out to the Commander. "I need to kill this thing! She's not budging!"
"Not yet, Levi!" the Commander returns with a stern order and Levi watches down at him with incredulous eyes.
"Willow can get us another one of these things… ugh," he groans closing his eyes and shielding his face as the hot air of the Titan's breath hits his face like a wall.
He glances down at the Commander, seeing the wide-eyed look in his eyes as he smiles at what transpires before them.
Levi hears Hange groaning as she comes to consciousness, but Levi's eyes are on what's captivated the Commander's gaze.
In the panic of trying to pull Hange out of the Titan's grip, he did not notice that he was no longer moving towards the Titan's throat and that in the wave of hot air hitting his face, the Titan actually shut its mouth and stands frozen and waiting.
He looks up to see Willow breathing heavily, her head hung lowly as she grasps onto the sword that's positioned upright in the Titan's nape.
Levi releases a wavering breath as a sudden wave of security overcomes him. The damned brat did it. She managed to control the Titan to her whim.
He watches as the blonde lifts herself from her knees and onto her shaking feet. She pulls and tugs on the sword harshly until the fist of the Titan ungrasps and the hold the Titan has on Hange is released. Levi quickly swipes up the Captain as she groggily watches the Scout atop the Titan and pulls her from the fist of the Titan.
Everyone's eyes are on Willow as she moves the sword within the nape of the Titan's neck, seemingly effortlessly. She commands the Titan to fall to its knees, and then lay down on the ground as Malik and Derrek quickly come in with a metal net to restrain the beast.
Willow releases a built-up breath when her eyes land on her blonde Captain who nods at her with a stern and proud gesture.
Once she's comfortable that the Titan is secured, she pulls her sword out of its nape and slides down its back to land on the ground with the rest of the Scouts.
"Wahoo!" Hange loudly cheers as her voice screeches out over the quiet courtyard. "That was amazing! You have full control over the most minuscule movements!" she excitedly celebrates when no one around her seems to share the same excitement, considering the carnage that could have been.
"Yeah," Willow responds wearily with little excitement over the findings as the idea that Hange and Levi could have died the same way that Vanessa lost her life because Willow failed her.
Commander Erwin places his hand firmly on Willow's shoulder with a reassuring gesture. "You did well," he tells her. "The casualties could have been crippling had you not sprung into action when you did," he reminds her.
She looks around the camp, seeing the devastation of the demolished buildings around her. Within those few seconds, the Titan managed to devastate so much. And she can't help but think about how much less destruction there would have been if the Commander allowed Levi to kill the Titan when he sprang into action.