Chaos engulfed the room, smoke and debris filling the air as Arya laid face down on the hard floor, having been knocked off her feet by the force of the explosion. Head pounding, she opened her burning eyes to the turmoil raging around her. Underneath the sound of the roaring fire, people were screaming. It seemed like fighting was going on outside somewhere, but the tortured cries of several burning noblemen flooded her already ringing ears. An explosion of this magnitude could only have been caused by a thunderspear, and Arya smiled painfully.
They came for us.
All she had to do was get herself to the lip on the crumbling balcony, close enough to the open sky beyond, and she might just make it out of this alive. Dragging herself across the soot-covered floor by her elbows she kept her head low; the last thing she needed right now was being caught by a stray bullet.
As Arya neared the far side of the room she was forced to skirt around a singed body, nearly unrecognizable save for a bundle of blonde corkscrew curls that stuck out from the side of its charred head.
Elise?
Before she could fully understand what she was seeing, a man rushed at her from the thick smoke clouds and pinned her to the ground.
"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Jaime screamed in Arya's ear, pulling one of her arms sharply up her back, and she screamed. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU FOR THIS!"
She coughed as the ash from the floor was sucked into her lungs, the tear in her shoulder causing her to cry out once more.
Suddenly the pain was gone, and the weight of Jaime kneeing her into the ground was ripped away by a powerful blast of air that soared over top of her. He was thrown back into a pile of rubble where he lay motionless and two black boots came skidding to a stop in front of her face. Strong arms deftly lifted her from the ground and held her tight as whoever they belonged to took off at a sprint, throwing the two of them from the edge of the broken terrace and into the clear night air.
"I got her!" Connie cried, swinging the two of them up the highest tower the castle had to offer. Arya clung to him as they came over the edge of the parapet and she was handed off to another set of waiting hands. Despite being free from the smoke she still couldn't her rescuers: it felt like her eyes had been seared by the flames, and she grasped at them, screaming in agony.
"Lean her forward, we need to get the ash out of her eyes before it damages her vision permanently." Armin's steady voice swam around her as the both of them tipped her at a 45-degree angle and poured a canteens' worth of water into her bloodshot eyes. The relief was instantaneous, and fast forming tears washed the remaining debris down her dusty cheeks. She could finally see them now, their blurry faces floating in front of her with anxious expressions.
"We got you, Arya. We made it." Armin said, holding her drenched head up with the palm of his hand. Exhaustion washing over her, she collapsed against Armin's chest and let out a single hacking snort.
"Cutting it kind of close, don't you think?"
She could feel his body shake as he laughed in return, leaning her back up to inspect her face again.
"How bad are your injuries, besides your eyes?"
Her vision was continuing to clear, so it looked like the blast hadn't done any significant damage. Armin and Connie pulled her to her feet at her request, and a minor assessment told her she was not so worse for wear besides an ache in her left shoulder. Double checking that all her gear was functional, Arya gave them a nod and leaned out over the edge of the building to the carnage below.
Jean, Orin and Quinn were putting up a hell of a fight within the walls of the castle, fending off dozens of soldiers that continued to storm out from the main doors of the complex. Tucked beside the neighboring spire Gabi and Pieck were laying down cover fire as support for them, dodging and weaving through the volley of projectiles being thrown their way.
Flying as impossible speeds atop the surrounding buildings of the castle she could make out the blurry shapes of Levi and Mikasa, cutting down as many Jaegerists as they could as more and more began to pour in from other sections of the city.
"I can't believe you made it here so fast; did you go the way I suggested?"
"Yeah, we used the Underground: great idea, by the way." Connie answered as he reloaded the magazine of his firearm. "The North entrance was far enough away from all the action that we were able to slip through all the way to city center."
Arya nodded her head appreciatively. "Where's Historia and Ymira?" She asked, loading another set of blades and letting her cracked ones fall to the ground below.
"Reiner and Mr. Braus have Historia; they took off during the explosion towards the North." Connie said. "But whatever Council members that were still alive pulled Ymira from the room before we could get to her." He gestured down to the line of infantry that was running out from between the gates. "There's no way we can get her now."
He gave her a grave look before leaping off the edge and into the fray, cutting through the abdomen of a distracted solider as he did.
"Armin, I need to get out there." Arya made to follow Connie but staggered slightly near the edge, and Armin grabbed her arm.
"You've just been blasted to hell, Arya; You're not even stable on your feet! We need to follow Reiner and make for the outskirts." He started to pull her back towards the opposite side of the tower, but Arya dug in her heals.
"I can't just sit here and watch from a distance while everyone else risks their lives!" She yelled, pulling out of Armin's grasp. "You need to get out of here; I can't watch you get hurt."
But he had certainly been right: Arya could feel her strength ebbing away, an overwhelming tiredness creeping into her bones. What good could she possibly do for them like this? More tears began to form in her eyes as she looked desperately between Armin and the battlefield below, desperation welling up in her chest. If only she could borrow the strength for just a little while, maybe she could-
Arya whipped around at once, searching frantically over the city until she caught sight of an impossibly fast figure, fending off several enemy soldiers at once on a tall roof to her right. An idea had popped into her head as a memory of the sparring match at the compound rushed back to her. Arya had no idea if it would work or not, but maybe if she couldn't summon up the strength herself, perhaps she could summon the strength to her.
Closing her eyes and focusing intently, feeling ridiculous as she tried to extend her mind out towards the place where Levi was locked in a heated fight across the courtyard. He had come to her aid before without her saying a word; could it possibly work now? Gathering up all the energy Arya had left, she let a wave of fear carry out her intense need and cried out in her mind.
HELP ME!
With a mighty swing she watched Levi cut down the last two remaining soldiers that had been on his tail, and his head snapped instantly to where she had fallen to one knee on the edge of the tower.
It worked?
Her chest gave a slight tug as he rocketed across the courtyard that divided them, slashing mercilessly through anyone that crossed his path and leaving a bloody trail behind him. It took only seconds before he crested the parapet, touching down in front of her.
He stared at her for a moment, drinking in the sight of her ashen face with a look of both relief and concern. Without a word he offered Arya his hand which she took, feeling the hum of energy travel down her arm as he pulled her to her feet.
"We need to evacuate, Armin." He said, looking passed her to their commander. "Orin is dead." Arya gave a stunned gasp and Armin swore loudly, but Levi continued. "No matter how hard we try there are just too many fucking soldiers coming in from the rest of the city. We can't hold them off for much longer, stubborn as we are."
"Shit, where the hell is Oz?" Armin said. "Come on Arya, we have to go… Arya?"
But Arya wasn't listening to him anymore. With one swift motion she placed both of her hands firmly on either side of Levi's neck, forcing him to look at her. Their eyes met and they both froze in place, locked in an endless stare.
"Help me, Captain." She whispered as jolts of energy passed between them. "I need to be strong enough to do this. I need you."