Present Day – The Retaking of Shiganshina
Willow uses her ODM gear to launch herself from building to building. She stays low within the lines of the rooftops so not to be spotted by the Scouts. She presses on her gas, getting her as quickly as she can to Reiner. She approaches the Armored Titan, launching herself to him as he lays on the ground facing upwards.
She climbs atop his chest, looking down at the giant Titan. "Reiner, can you hear me?" she asks, feeling strange as she looks down at the armored giant.
She drops to her knees, looking into his shut eyes. "Reiner, if you are alive in there, I need you to get out," she commands him. "Bertolt won't blow this place up until you get up," she informs him.
Willow grits her teeth at the still giant. "Get up, Reiner! We need to get out of here!" she yells at him. "The Scouts are coming with whatever cannons they took you out with. We need to go. Zeke is waiting for us," he does not move and she grunts in dissatisfaction.
She lifts herself to her feet, figuring she will have to find a way to slice him out. He is laying on his back, so a direct cut to the nape is out of the question. She begins slicing at tender parts of his flesh when she hears the deafening crackling of thunder.
Her eyes shoot up at the sky, wide and fearful as she sees Bertolt change above her. She quickly bites down on her hand, attempting to assume the Female Titan's form, but is unable to. She panics as she looks up in the sky, watching as the world ignites in flames around her. She crunches down into a fetal position, holding her head tightly in her hands as she awaits incineration.
But quickly, the bang is muffled and her surroundings blacken. She opens her eyes carefully when she notices that she is shielded by the Armored Titan's hands as he cups her in his grip against his neck. She looks up, seeing the orange flames of destruction peaking in past his hardened fingers as he shields her from cremation. "Reiner," she exhales with a shaky breath as he protects her.
Debris from the blast clears and the Armored's grip on her loosens as the sun shines through his fingers. She squeezes herself out of his cupped hands and looks onto his body. Besides minor damage to his armor, he is more or less unscathed, but he is still unmoving.
She clutches her swords, looking up at Bertolt who has now assumed the Colossal Titan's form. "I need to help Bertolt," Willow says looking up at the giant. "He will be their main priority," her eyes look down on the Titan at her feet. "Get up, Reiner and finish this," she tells him sternly. "You promised," she reminds him as her voice cracks.
She launches herself away from Reiner and stays low so any Scouts that may have survived the blast do not see her. Her ears perk up at the sound of what appears to be cannon fire and cries on the other side of the wall. Based on the cries, the cannon fire must be coming from Zeke's forces, but she did not see any cannons in his arsenal. She finds herself frowning at her last words to Erwin. They must be charging into battle, and the idea of countless lives uselessly falling to Erwin's grand dream makes her nauseous.
Willow encroaches on Bertolt, but as she approaches a closer proximity to the massive Titan, he sprays her general area with fiery debris. She backs off a bit, looking up at him as he lays waste to Shiganshina. She attempts to call out to him or land on him from a different angle, but his body is emitting raging hot steam that she cannot get anywhere near him.
She groans as she shields her eyes from the scorching vapor and figures that she will not be able to get anywhere near him. She watches as he levels the homes of Shiganshina with effortless ease, eyes widen at the destruction that he lays waste to. She has never seen Bertolt's Titan before, even when the Walls initially fell, and seeing the massive giant in person sinks her heart and brings her back to the day she lost her home.
She shakes the memories out of her head, reminding herself that this place is no longer her home. She figures that the mist emanating off of him will act as a sufficient defense and focuses on returning to Reiner.
She begins to launch herself back to where she left him lying down when she notices that he has finally moved. She watches from the distance as his Titan towers over the decaying homes. He begins charging and she notices a group of Scouts following him. She grits her teeth as she launches herself towards him, not fully prepared for a battle against all of them, but not really having a choice.
Willow turns the corner as she propels herself towards the Titan, hearing Jean call out Reiner's name with a deafening war cry. She watches as the Armored swats at him with no hesitation. She looks to see Sasha and Connie coming from each side of him and she pulls back her grapples and yanks herself away from them. She watches as one of the spears lands into the Armored's jaw, blowing it ajar.
So, this is what those noises were. A creation of Hange's no doubt, she thinks to herself.
She watches as the other side doesn't stick and her eyes land on Mikasa's who looks unto Reiner with wide fearful eyes. Willow staggers back a few steps watching their formation. It is the same move she, Hal, and Malik attempted with their swords. Hal took the left and Malik took the right, while she acted as Mikasa, going straight for the mouth. But they didn't have these types of weapons on them.
Her eyes look up as Mikasa contemplates their next move. His mouth is not open and she cannot shoot her final Thunder Spear at him. Willow watches with baited breath as her body will not move towards assisting the Armored, as she imagines the day that she was once in Mikasa's position.
She remembers the fear of that day as she looked onto the Armored Titan's open mouth. She remembers the death and destruction around her caused by him. Her legs don't move to aid him, and instead she stays frozen, with a deep part of her almost wanting them to succeed.
Mikasa begins moving to make her attack when Connie calls out to her, telling her it is too risky. Willow's heart drops when she hears the raspy voice call out, "No it's perfect!"
From behind her, a bloodied Hange launches her spear into the left side of the Armored's jaw, blowing his mouth wide open. "Now's your chance! Get him!" Hange cries out wildly.
Without hesitation, Mikasa launches herself in the mouth of the Armored Titan, punching the Thunder Spear deep into his throat and pulling the pin.
His throat ignites and Reiner is blown out of the Armored's nape. Willow staggers back, with enlarged eyes as she watches Reiner's body crash to the ground. She hides behind a decaying home, surveying him carefully, only to notice that he is miraculously still alive.
She steps to aid him when the Scouts come in and surround him. She is in no shape to fight, let alone take down five Scouts on her own. She grinds her teeth, hiding back behind the structure to come up with a better plan.
She listens in as Hange and team approach the steaming body of Reiner. "Chop off his arms and legs," Hange commands them and Mikasa moves without hesitation. Reiner begins thrashing, frantically grabbing for a tin box that landed just out of arms reach from him. Mikasa pins his left arm down with her knee, while Jean takes his right. Hange goes for the tin box that Reiner desperately latches onto, prying it out of his hands.
Hange forcefully shoves a cloth in Reiner's mouth, gagging him and muffling his cries as Mikasa and Jean begin sawing off his arms. Willow turns away from the sight, looking up at the sky with labored breaths as she tries to bury the building nausea in her throat, while trying to silence the stifled screams of torture just meters away.
After they are finished chopping off his arms and legs, Willow follows them from afar to a courtyard where they blindfold the blonde and care to their wounds. Connie and Sasha separate from them to get Sasha some medical assistance, while Mikasa wraps Hange's bleeding eye, who sits fiddling with the tin box.
Once Mikasa is finished bandaging Hange, she moves to Jean, while the scientist goes to inquire on the small box. He tells her that inside the box is a letter for Krista from Ymir, and Hange is skeptical to believe him, figuring that it must be laced with poison to dethrone their newly implanted regal, but she takes it nonetheless.
Willow contemplates attacking now, with two less Scouts than before, but she is still in no condition to fight all three of them, especially not Mikasa. She groans to herself, tensing her jaw wondering how she will be able to get Reiner out of this mess.
"Now," Hange says lifting to her feet and pointing her sword at him. I've got a lot of questions that you could answer but, you're a tough one, and if you don't want to talk, I can't make you. So, I'll ask, will you cooperate and tell us everything we want to know?"
"I won't," he responds with a weakened voice.
"Thank you, Reiner," she says genuinely, "It helps to see that you are ready for death."
Willow and Jean gasp at Hange's eagerness to kill Reiner, both feeling the sting of guilt in their throats as she launches herself at him and pressing the sharpened edge of her blade against his throat, but it is Jean who speaks up for his friend.
"Hange wait!" he calls out, reaching for her. "We… need him alive. So that we can steal his power," he says quickly to mask the selfish reasons he wants to prolong his life.
Hange looks back at the golden eyed boy, seeing in his eyes his true intension for wanting to keep the blonde alive. Willow had held back her attacks from him when she was the Female Titan, and Jean can only imagine it was because Reiner begged her not to kill him. They were friends, and despite everything they have done, the memory stings in his throat and he feels a debt needs to be paid.
"We don't know the situation with Levi on the other side," Hange says looking back at him. "And we don't have the time to go and confirm it ourselves," she says keeping the blade on Reiner's throat as he spits up blood. "These Titan powers have exceeded our understanding too many times. We thought we had him before. I refuse to underestimate his power again!" she rasps as she presses the sword deeper into his throat, causing Willow to lift herself to her feet and tighten her grip on her swords. She cannot let him die like this. She cannot let them get the Armored's power for their own. "I'll start by beheading him, but that's not enough on its own."
"This isn't like you, Hange," Jean begins and Willow watches him carefully as she notices that Hange holds back for a moment. "If we back down from the chance to cure our ignorance, then what hope do we have of beating the Titans down the road?" he presses. "We need to find out everything that we can about the enemy. Or we'll lose."
Hange swallows hard, knowing Jean's words to be valid. "Mikasa," she speaks up, "How much gas do you have left?"
"Not enough to fight anything. I think I could reach Eren and Armin, but then I would be out," she responds.
"Well, that's more than I have," Hange returns. She looks at Reiner, closing her eyes and exhaling, knowing that Jean has a point. "Fine then. Mikasa, go and evaluate the situation. Refill your gas, retrieve the syringe from Levi and bring it back to me. If you are unable to do so, regardless of the reason, fire off a smoke signal. That will be my cue to end Reiner," she rasps as she releases her hold on his throat. Reiner coughs up blood and Willow takes a step back.
Willow watches as Mikasa launches herself atop the roofs, propelling herself to Eren and Armin. She takes a moment to think. Jean is in worse shape than Willow, and will be unable to fight against her. Hange doesn't seem to be much better, so Willow imagines she would win against her as well. She can take them both on, but wonders what her plan of escape will be. Despite losing his limbs, Reiner is still heavier than Willow can handle with ODM gear. She will not be able to get them far, let alone over the Wall to rendezvous with Zeke.
She begins to sweat, wondering how she is going to get the two of them out of this, and considers leaving him here and rendezvousing with Zeke to tell him that he is a dead man. She admits that the idea is enticing, unable to shake the fact that Reiner is the catalyst that led to the death of everyone she's loved.
But she cannot help but consider that Reiner saved her from the blast when he didn't have to, and there is no guarantee that Zeke will welcome her back with open arms if she fails to bring Reiner back. But if Reiner is overcome with gratitude for saving him, she suddenly has a friend to vouch for her. The way she sees it, she does not have a choice but to save him.
She closes her eyes, releasing a labored shaky sigh as she grips onto her swords. The red smoke signal shoots off into the sky and Willow knows now is the only time she can do this.
Hange drops to her knees, pressing the sword to Reiner's neck, seconds from decapitating him when Willow turns the corner, placing her sword on the back of Hange's neck. Jean inhales sharply at the sight of her, eyes wide and fearful. "Let him go, Hange," she commands in a low tone. Reiner gasps at the sound of her voice, feeling his heart flutter at her presence.
"Willow," Hange scoffs as she stiffens at the cold blade to her neck. "You finally decided to wake up and join the rest of us," she teases.
"Let him go," she repeats between clenched teeth.
"I can't do that, Willow, you know that," she stresses.
"Everyone is dead out there, Hange," Willow tells her. "I heard their cries until there was nothing left. The Scouts are finished. The Commander has fallen. You have nothing left."
"That is where you are wrong," Hange continues, frozen under Willow's blade. "We still have Reiner to kill."
"You kill him and you will not hear about people outside the walls," she says and Hange and Jean gasp at her words. "I would have thought a woman of science would like to hear about their advances in their industry."
Hange exhales, closing her eyes and trying not to fall for Willow's trick. "They have outsmarted us far too many times," Hange presses her sword deeper in Reiner's throat and Willow presses hers deeper in Hange's nape.
"Hange," Willow's voice breaks as she speaks. "You were always nice to me. Don't make me do this to you."
"You will have to kill me, Willow. Because I will not let you take Reiner," she grunts as she moves to slice his throat.
Willow reacts quickly, flicking her wrist and smashing the handle of her sword in Hange's temple. She looks down to see the bloody wound as the woman slumps over unconscious. Willow swallows hard, unsure if she killed the woman or not. Jean moves to his feet, but Willow quickly turns her blade to him, threatening him with a sword to his throat.
"I have no problem killing you," she threatens him as he holds his sword out. "But he did," she says motioning to Reiner. "It was because of him that I did not kill you back then," she says referring to her Titan form.
Reiner coughs as Jean watches them with wide confused eyes, unsure what to do. "I heard it in your tone, Jean," she continues, "You don't want him dead either—because you owe him a debt. Let us leave, and considered it paid. Then you can kill him all you want if you cross paths again. I don't care. But if you get in my way of taking him alive here and now, I will kill you. So please, stand down." Willow watches him, holding her sword tightly in her hand at the impasse they have placed themselves in. "We've lost enough Scouts today."
He looks up at her with downturned lips as his chin quivers. He shuts his eyes, huffing at the hate building in his throat. A tear falls down his hot cheeks as he lowers his sword, keeping his eyes shut and unable to look at either of them.
Willow turns from him quickly and grabs hold of Reiner. She hoists him on her back as he grunts at her movements.
She runs from Jean, leaving him to fall to his knees and check Hange's vitals. "Son of a bitch!" she hears him yelling in anguish as they distance themselves from him and she isn't sure if he's crying out in the frustration of their loss, or if Hange is unresponsive.
Willow runs for a while towards the outer wall where she hopes Zeke will find them and get them out of here. She begins huffing at Reiner's weight, and puts him down for a moment. She breathes heavily as she leans him up against a structure. She leans in, pressing his face in her chest as she reaches around his head and unties the fabric from his eyes.
Reiner blinks rapidly as his golden eyes take a moment to adjust to the light. His eyes quickly find hers and he watches her with hard confusion. "You're here," his rough voice scratches. "You saved me," he says, not fully understanding her motives.
She swallows hard, kneeling down to him and looking into his conflicted eyes. She places her hand on his cheek and smiles at him softly. "You made me a promise," she reminds him. "You told me you would show me the Sea."
A tear falls down Reiner's cheek as his golden eyes dart back and forth to survey her blue beams. "I will," he smiles at her as she slumps down to her knees, waiting for Zeke to find them.
End of Part 4