Chapter 28
It takes a moment, but after Sasha recovers from her shock, she dashes towards the fire. As she gets closer, she notices that it had originated from the biggest and most important one of the handful of buildings that only the Marleyans were allowed to use. The fire was spreading to the other buildings fast, the barracks included, but judging from the amount of people outside, most had already gotten out, if not all. The only ones she worried about at this point were the ones who'd been unlucky enough to be in the main building when the explosion happened. She hoped there weren't many.
"What happened?" she asked the nearest Marleyan.
"I-I don't know, but the higher ups might" he said. He seemed really frightened; that told Sasha that he must be rather inexperienced. She supposed that shouldn't be a surprise; he looked to be at his late teens, early twenties at most, and she knew they started military training at later age in Marley than in Eldia. Well, the Marleyans did at least. The Eldians started out younger, she'd learned.
"Tell me what you do know" she said with as much authority as she could muster. She wasn't in her element giving orders; despite her position as an honored war veteran, she was more used to receiving them "What did you see?"
"There was an explosion, a smaller one at first, in the main building" he started "We started putting the fire out, but were ordered to secure everything important from close by, just in case we couldn't put it out. We were still working on it when the bigger explosion happened; I got out just in time."
Sasha frowned. If people were in the middle of carrying stuff out, it was highly likely that there were still some inside. This guy probably had no idea how many though; she should find someone of higher rank and hope that they'd done a headcount by now.
"Medic, now!" well, obviously they needed medics, but the urgency of the tone made Sasha realize that it wasn't just in case. Turning to look in the direction of the inferno, she saw a man kneeling on the ground, covered in ashes as his clothes still smoked, two others patting it out. At least one of the people who'd still been there had gotten out, it seemed.
And upon closer look, that person seemed to be someone she knew.
"Eric?" she muttered before she ran over "Eric? Where's Jonas?"
The glares shot at her by the other two didn't go unnoticed by her, neither was she surprised as she was still in her uniform that clearly showed she was a local, but she ignored them completely, waiting for the man's answer.
Eric coughed a little, having gotten smoke in to his lungs, but he eventually managed to choke out: "He… he was right behind me… has he not come out yet?"
Sasha knew that he hadn't, yet looked behind Eric on instinct. No sign of Jonas, or anyone else for that matter. He was still inside.
"C'mon, c'mon" she thought, waiting for the man to rush out at any moment. As the seconds passed, Sasha became convinced that he wouldn't come. Something had gone wrong.
"Alright" she thought, taking a deep, calming breath. How long had it been since she'd last been in an actual serious, life threatening situation? Some time before the war ended… and yet, her old instincts were kicking in now like they'd never been slumbering in the first place. Stopping a passing Marleyan, she took the water bucket from him despite the man's protests and dumbed the contents over her head.
"What are you doing?" Eric asks her. Handing the bucket back, Sasha answers: "I'm going in there."
She takes off before any of them can protest, not that it was likely that they would. After all, why would they want to keep an Eldian from endangering herself?
Sasha entered the burning building. It was hot, hotter than she had expected. She'd be in trouble if she stayed here too long.
"Jonas!?" she called out "Are you there!? Is anyone in there!?"
There was no answer, so she went forward, crouching down as the smoke got thicker. What if the lack of oxygen had knocked out the people who remained inside? It was getting harder to see by the second, too; she could pass by someone unconscious and not even notice. She coughed, blinking.
"Is anyone in here!?" her ears were sharp, but it was hard to hear anything past the raging fire "Hello!?"
Suddenly, she heard coughing. It was coming from deeper in the building, but she didn't hesitate to advance.
"Jonas! Is that you!?"
It wasn't, she realized when she reached the soldier, but the man was doubled over, violently coughing. He wouldn't make it out without help.
For a moment, Sasha hesitated. If she helped this guy, it would take time away from looking for Jonas.
"But he might have made it out already from some other exit" she reasoned, making up her mind. She needed to save the one she could help for sure.
"Can you stand?" she asked, as loudly as she could without actually yelling. The man nods, stumbling as he gets up, but with Sasha's support he manages to stay on his feet and they head outside. The smoke had gotten thicker, but thankfully, the path she'd taken to come in was otherwise still intact.
"Did you see anyone else still in there?" Sasha asks after they get out.
"I… there was someone, he… he seemed to be stuck" the soldier muttered "I wanted to help, but the smoke was spreading! I- "
"Hey, it's fine, I get it" Sasha tries to calm him down. Small part of her is angry that he'd left a comrade behind, but a bigger part nags at her that she'd done so before, too, the memories from Trost burned permanently in her mind "Sometimes you have to minimalize the losses."
The guy was panicking so hard that he probably wouldn't have gotten anything done anyway and would've ended up getting himself stuck in there, too.
"In any case, it seems I need to go back there" she thought, sighing. Well, she'd been in worse places.
"Get yourself to safety" she told the man "I'm going back in there to see if I can find the man you saw."
She took off as soon as she saw the soldier nod. The water she'd dumbed on herself no longer did any good, and the flames were even closer now. She had to be quick, really quick. Good thing speed was one of her strengths.
"Hello!?" she yelled as she dived in to the burning building again "Anyone here!?"
She got no answer, but kept advancing, convinced that whoever the soldier had seen was still stuck here. She had to get the person out, especially since it could be Jonas. Leaving anyone to their fate would've been hard, but leaving someone she knew was impossible when it was likely that she actually might be able to help.
"Jonas! Are you in here!?" she called again, going in from a partially collapsed wall. That might have been a bad idea; she didn't know how long it would hold. If she didn't find anything soon, she'd go back and try to find another way… unless the fire spread too much. She was really starting to be short on time; the flames cracked louder, the smoke got thicker and she swore it was way hotter than when she'd first entered the burning building. She tried again: "Hello!?"
Suddenly, Sasha stilled. Did she just hear an answer to her call? She thought she heard a voice…
"Was it my imagination?" she wondered before yelling from the top of her lungs: "Is someone in there!?"
"Over here!"
Now, she definitely didn't imagine that. There was someone here.
"Keep yelling!" she called out "Keep yelling so that I can find you!"
He did, though he was interrupted by a coughing fit a few times. It was hard to see, and Sasha had to crouch down in order to be able to breath, but her sharp ears managed to follow the voice despite all the sounds of chaos around her.
"Jonas, is that you!?" she yelled.
"Yes!" she got a very clear answer; she could tell she was close "Sasha!?"
"Yup!" she called back. She could see him now, or at least she saw someone, stuck under debris. She doubted any vital organs had been damaged with how loud and long he'd been able to yell, but she wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if his legs were broken.
"Gotcha" she muttered as she finally reached him, noting that he was buried from the waist down. Uh-oh, if they were unlucky, both of his legs might be broken… or even completely smashed. She sure hoped not "Can you feel your legs!?"
"Yeah!" he confirmed, coughing "They hurt, but I don't think they're damaged too badly! I think I can walk if I can just get out!"
"Yeah, if" Sasha thought as she eyed the wreckage. It was heavy, that was for sure… but maybe she didn't really have to move it all that much; if Jonas was right and his legs were really okay, all she'd have to do was to lift it long enough for him to crawl out. That couldn't be so hard, could it? She was no Mikasa, but she was still a soldier!
"I'm gonna move this" she told him "As soon as you feel the weight come off of your feet, move!"
"Right!"
Sasha took a good hold of the fallen piece of… wall? Roof? She wasn't sure. She put all her strength in to lifting it up, but it didn't seem to budge. She tried again and again, feeling it moving a little on the third pull.
"Can you move!?" she yelled.
"Not yet!" was the answer "Lift it higher!"
She tried, but couldn't. It came crashing down, returning to where it had been "Damn it!"
Sasha coughed. The smoke was getting thicker; it was even harder to see and breath than before. She supposed they could somehow manage even without seeing their surroundings properly, but there was no way around the inability to breath. If the smoke got too thick, they'd be done for.
"Should I try to roll it away from him?" she thought, but quickly dismissed the idea. Jonas' legs didn't seem to be too damaged, but if she tried to move the debris in the wrong way, they might become so, or even get completely crushed if they were really unlucky.
"I'll try again; get ready!" she yelled. No results, or at least, not ones good enough. He was still stuck.
"What if I can't get him out" she thought, chastising the cold but logical side of her that was starting to surface "If we don't leave soon, we won't make it out in time. But if I left now…"
Sasha tried to lift it again, but her mind was in chaos. Should she just leave him there? She'd done her best; she wouldn't have to feel guilty even if she did. And he was a soldier; a sudden, unexpected death was a risk he had surely prepared for when he signed up for the military. And despite the nature of his current position, he was here for work, so this would count as falling in the line of duty, right?
"Stupid stupid stupid!" Sasha told herself as she coughed "You didn't come all the way here for nothing; you'll get him out!"
"Once more!" she yelled "Try to push it!"
They tried to work together and while the thing did move, it didn't do so enough. Their combined strength just wasn't enough, at least not when Jonas couldn't but his full strength in to it.
Sasha let out a scream of frustration. If she was Mikasa or Levi, she'd certainly be strong enough. If she was Armin or even Jean, she'd be smart enough to come up with some plan. If she was Connie-
…
Well, maybe it was good that she wasn't Connie; she could already be dead. She let out a dry chuckle at the thought.
"Now's a bad time to be losing your sanity!" Jonas yelled at her "Try one more time!"
Sasha ignored the remark, now would have been a really bad time to waste on fighting, and pulled again.
"Can you move!?"
"No!" Jonas yelled, clearly frustrated, before he broke out in to a coughing fit. He wasn't the only one; Sasha followed suit soon after, the smoke making her eyes water as she did.
She needed to leave.
She couldn't just rush out without saying anything, though. That'd be too cruel… but what did one say in a situation like this!?
"Quit lazing around, brat!" definitely not that- wait.
Head snapping around sharply, Sasha could barely make out Levi's face through the smoke.
"Captain Levi!?"
"Clearly!" he barked back "What's the situation here?"
It took a second, two, before Sasha recovered from the surprise.
"He's stuck, but no in too much pain, so nothing seems to be broken, at least not badly!" she reported "If we can lift this thing just for a moment, he should be able to crawl out!"
"On third!" Levi says as he kneels next to Sasha "One"
They both take a tight hold of it.
"Two"
Sasha's grip tightens.
"Three!"
They manage to lift it properly, though Sasha can tell that they wouldn't be able to hold it for long. Fortunately, Jonas doesn't seem to be hurt too badly as he manages to crawl out on his own, rather fast even. Once he's out, both scouts let go in an unspoken agreement.
"Let's get the fuck out of here!" Levi commands, and Sasha doesn't need to be told twice. She helps Jonas to his feet, he seems to be dragging the left one a little, and they head for the exit. Their quick sprint comes to an abrupt stop as they're forced to crouch down thanks to the smoke, having to continue on all fours.
"Which way are we even supposed to go!?" Jonas yells.
"I remember the way out, don't worry!" Sasha calls out, but soon it turns out that there might be a reason to worry after all. The ceiling had crashed down; the way they had come from was blocked.
"What now!?" Jonas yelled. His breathing sounded pained to Sasha, but she had a feeling that it wasn't just due to the smoke; he was starting to panic.
"Quiet!" Levi snapped at him "Sasha, which way!?"
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to focus on her other senses. What did she hear besides the crackle of fire and crumbling of the building they were in? What did she smell besides the smoke? Those noises and smells would be ones coming from outside.
"Stay calm… concentrate…" she thought. Despite not being able to see it, she felt the smoke going clearly to one other direction along with up. There was a gap there, a wide one, hopefully wide enough for an adult to get through. That was their best bet as far as she could tell, so-
"This way!" she informed, starting to lead their little group. Keeping her eyes open started to be a struggle, but she was mostly operating on her other senses right now anyway, senses that she was confident in. The other two would be fine too, she told herself, as long as they didn't lose sight of her.
"No pressure Sasha, no pressure" she told herself. Fortunately, she could now feel the wind clearer. They were closer to an exit "Please be wide enough!"
"There!" she yelled as she noticed the place where the smoke was leaving from. It was smaller than she had hoped, but maybe they could widen it "If we can't, we're screwed."
"Help me out here!" she barked as she started to move the debris. The other two wasted no time in joining her.
"Don't let it collapse!" Levi barked. Sasha knew that without it being said, of course; she was being as careful as she could!
"The flames are reaching us; we're running out of time!" Jonas yelled. Sasha couldn't see his face, but she heard the panic in his voice. She knew she should stay calm, but now panic was starting to reach her, too "What do we do, captain!?"
"…We take a fucking gamble!" the man yelled "Throw yourselves against this wall as hard as you can and hope that the ceiling doesn't crumble on us!"
Sasha didn't like the idea; it was way too risky!
"But it's all we have" she thought "Okay, on third! One!"
"You two are crazy!" Jonas yelled, adding "Two!"
"Three!" Levi yelled, and they all hit the wall at once. Sasha could feel it give in under their weight. As she crashed on to the ground, she could see that they'd made it outside. They'd made it!
She hears the cracking of the burning and crumpling building, and knows that they need to move away as fast as possible. She knows this and yet, apparently, she isn't fast enough. She can hear Levi yell at her to move, and she looks up on instinct, seeing part of the building collapsing right above her.
She feels pain, and then everything goes black.
XXXXX
Nikolo sat with his back against his little brother's door, waiting for the young man to come home. He'd wondered if he should be subtle about this or just ask directly, and had decided on the later. He didn't know how good Viktor would be at dancing around the subject, so he might have a better chance at getting his answers by being direct.
Turning a page on his book that he wasn't all that focused on, the soldier found himself once more wondering what Sasha was doing at the moment.
"It's late; she's probably asleep by now" he thought "Unless she has night watch… or maybe she's spending a night off with her friends."
He chuckles.
"Or maybe she's raiding someone else's kitchen right about now for a late night's snack."
"Brother?"
Nikolo looks up, seeing that Viktor had arrived. He'd been too lost in his thoughts to notice. Oops.
"You're home quite late" he notes, getting up "A dragged out study session?"
His brother's face flushes and he avoids his eyes.
"Y-yes" he stutters "We- I lost a track of time."
"Wow, he's one of the worst liars I've ever seen, if not the worst" Nikolo thought with a small smile. And judging from the blush and how he corrected his words, the boy might've been somewhere with a special someone. If he didn't already have a subject he wanted to talk about, he would've definitely teased his little brother a little bit "But Nat's more important, so that'll have to wait."
"Is there something you need?" Viktor asks. Of course, he already knows the answer since Nikolo had been waiting at his door, but it was proper to ask.
"I wanted to talk with you" Nikolo says "If you don't mind, that is."
In a way it felt really weird to be so formal with his own little brother, but he just didn't know how else to act. He'd been so small when Nikolo had left, and they hadn't really spent any time together after he got back. Tied by blood as they were, Nikolo had been away from his younger brother's life almost as long as he'd been in it, and Viktor naturally couldn't even remember the first two or three years. They were basically strangers.
"Of course not, brother" he says and reaches out to open the door. Nikolo could've just waited for him at the front door or near it, but he'd chosen the door to Viktor's room on purpose, hoping that it'd make it clear that he wanted to have this conversation privately, away from their mother's prying ears. Clearly, the younger man had gotten the hint, for after they're inside he immediately closes the door, looking uncomfortable. He supposed that this was a habit that his siblings hadn't dropped along the years, either and had passed it down to the youngest of them as well.
"I'll just be direct here, hope you don't mind" Nikolo starts, but doesn't give Viktor a chance to reply, not that he believed he would've admitted to minding "Why are you avoiding Natalie?"
He couldn't get any blunter than that and he knew it, but that was the point; like this, he wouldn't give his brother time to come up with any excuses.
"Unless he already has some prepared" he thought. Fortunately, judging from the look on the younger man's face, he didn't.
"That… I…" he stuttered "She has made her choice, and now she has to live with it. That is all there is to it."
"He sounds like grandfather" Nikolo noted.
"And why was it such a bad choice?" he asks "Just because the man she chose happens to be poor?"
"Do you really think we're that superficial?" well yes, he did think that "We wouldn't turn our backs on a member of our family just for that!"
Nikolo's not convinced. Narrowing his eyes, he asks: "Why, then?"
Viktor is about to answer, but closes his mouth, looking away. Either there was no other reason than the man's social status, or it was something his little brother really didn't want to say.
"Should I just drop it?" the soldier briefly considers, but dismisses the idea. No, he wouldn't drop it; he was doing this for his sister. This was for the best "Viktor?"
"You're better off not knowing" the younger man finally says "Trust me, brother, sometimes ignorance is bliss."
He couldn't disagree with that. Life would be a lot simpler for him had he not learned certain things over the years. However, even if curiosity killed the cat-
"But it might not be so this time" Nikolo said "I want to know, for our sister's sake."
"…"
Raising an eyebrow, the soldier asks: "Or should I just ask grandfather?"
The way Viktor's gaze snaps to Nikolo in a heartbeat tells him he got him. The boy didn't want him to approach the old man.
"I take that as a no" he says "But if you're not telling, then I'm asking him."
Now all he had to do was wait. Any second now-
"You'd really be better off not hearing this" Viktor says with a sigh "But since you insist, I have no choice."
"Too easy" Nikolo thought with a sweat drop. It wouldn't have been this easy with any of his other siblings… but well, Viktor was the youngest of them.
"It's not really Natalie's husband we have a problem with; it's his family" he said "And I don't mean their social standing. At least, not in the way you think."
Nikolo frowned.
"What do you mean, then?" he asked "Are they involved in something illegal?"
"No, but it should be made illegal" Viktor said, taking a deep breath "They're Eldian sympathizers."
"…They what now?" Nikolo asks, blinking "What exactly do they do? Hold a soup kitchen for the Eldians?"
"That as well, apparently" Viktor said.
"Seriously? I meant it as a joke" Nikolo thought, mouth hanging open.
"But not just that. You might not know about it, but there are actually people, even ones who've been citizens of Marley for generations, holding up protests that say "Eldians are people just like the rest of us." They're involved with that stuff and have apparently even led them at some point" Viktor tells "Natalie's husband isn't involved in any of that, claims he hasn't once he'd become old enough to understand, but the fact is that it still puts a stain on his name."
"…Okay" Nikolo muttered. This was a lot to process, in a way. He had known some people did stuff like that, but he hadn't expected to be so closely connected to some that did, nor did he expect to find out about it so out of the blue "So the reason you stay away from Nat and her family is to… not get mistaken as an Eldian sympathizer?"
"Exactly" Viktor said "He says he's cut all ties with his family and I have no reason to doubt his word, but if any rumors got out about me associating with people like that… well, that'd cost me my plans for the future, at least. It's bad enough as it is with Natalie having married him. And besides, you- "
Viktor stops abruptly, catching himself before he can say more. However, Nikolo had already caught his mistake.
"I what?" he asks "What does any of this have to do with me?"
Viktor avoided his gaze.
"Speak, Viktor, or I'll ask grandfather" Nikolo threatened. It was petty, without a doubt, but it'd work.
"Well, it's just…" Viktor muttered, still not meeting his gaze "You… you spent so long surrounded by those island devils so…"
As his brother stuttered, dread started to build in Nikolo's stomach. Did he already have such a reputation as well? It would certainly be true if he did, but he'd rather not come out in the open like this, not when anything he said didn't really hold any weight. Even if he, a former prisoner of war, told everyone about his experiences, it wouldn't reach all that many people. He didn't have enough influence. It was better to try and spread the word to people one by one, carefully and silently trying to change their minds about Eldians. Had he not been careful enough? Were there already rumors going around?
"So I just… and not just me, we all… we thought it'd hit you hard if you found out that your family, even though indirectly, is associated with Eldian sympathizers" Viktor finally let out "That's why grandfather made us swear to keep it a secret. He even visited Natalie shortly after your return to make sure she wouldn't say anything, either."
Nikolo inhaled, then exhaled before saying: "So you've all abandoned Natalie because of me?"
"No" his brother said, and he sounded sincere "Us worrying about you was just one of the reasons."
"Good" Nikolo said, breathing out a sigh of relief "But don't you think this is a bit much just for the family reputation? Especially since it's not even sure that it would get ruined."
Viktor looks at him like he's stupid. It seems like he's trying to hide his disbelief, but his poker face was nothing to brag about. Nikolo snorts.
"Alright, point taken" he says "But there are other important things in this world than just reputation, you know."
"…Different people have different things important to them, I suppose" Viktor admits "And this is important to me, to us."
Nikolo's smile drops a little.
"I know" he says "Just make sure you won't abandon other important things for it."
"My mind is not so single tracked, brother"
"Let's hope not" Nikolo mutters as he opens the door to leave "Good night, Viktor."
"Good night, brother."
After Nikolo steps out and closes the door, he stills as he sees his older brother in the corridor. While he could have been just waiting for Viktor, the way he was leaning against the wall told the soldier that he certainly wasn't just passing by, Nikolo got the feeling that it wasn't the case.
He'd been eavesdropping.
"Well, if you have something you want to say, out with it" the soldier sighs "I have an early wake up tomorrow."
"Are you really okay?" when Nikolo raised a questioning eyebrow, Ulrich clarified: "Considering your circumstances, finding out something like that must've been a shock."
Nikolo couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm not made of glass, brother" he said "It was a surprise, but not one I'd lose sleep over. I'm fine."
He looks the other man in the eyes.
"Besides" he smiles "Some Eldians aren't all that bad."
A.N: My original plan was to make Ulrich a real asshole, but somehow, he danced around that… I tried to make an older sibling OC like that to another character as well once, and she too danced around that. I need to work on my character building.
