Attack on Titan: Bloodline – Chapter 22 (March 10, 2021)
As the sun rose over the horizon, the light casting long shadows over the ground, Lorraine and Fiona crested the last hill before reaching the outpost. She furrowed her brows and gripped the reins as they rode straight towards the large, brick building where, no doubt, Reiner was just waking up to see the morning sun. Lorraine felt the wind blowing through the shirt she was wearing, causing pockets of cool, morning air to form around her. She was glad that she'd made the choice to change out of her sweaty and dirty button-down at this point. She felt a few beads of sweat dripping down her back and forming on her forehead, but paid them no mind.
When she reached the outpost, she entered the stable, where she swiftly dismounted and tied up her beautiful palomino. She gave Fiona a loving stroke over her soft mane, taking a short moment to catch her breath, then turned and ran into the courtyard. She looked around until she finally spotted Commander Miche Zacharius. The tall, blonde man was walking briskly away from her, so she ran to catch up to him.
"Commander Miche!"
He stopped at the unfamiliar voice, turning his head to her inquisitively. He sniffed, leaning a little closer, a habit that Eren had mentioned after the trial. She gave a salute and said, "Commander. I'm Lorraine Ackerman. I was sent here by Captain Levi to inform you of a situation in Stohess." He nodded and said, "You smell familiar." She made a slightly confused sound, but he continued, "Levi. You're his daughter, aren't you?" She hesitated, then nodded.
"Yes, Sir."
He smirked and said, "Very well. What is the situation?" She cleared her throat and explained, "Well, Sir, we, the Scout Regiment, with the help of Eren Jaeger, were able to successfully take down the Female Titan, Annie Leonhardt." She clenched her fists subconsciously. "She was successfully taken into custody," with only a moment of hesitation, she continued, "b-but we soon discovered the presence of another Titan. One nearly as big as the Colossal Titan, embedded within Wall Sina." His eyes widened in surprise. She said finally, "I was sent here to tell you this and then to follow your orders from then on." He asked, "Is that everything?" She nodded and said, "That's what I know." He nodded and said, "Alright. I will pass on the news. You go inside and reunite with your comrades. Wait for further instructions. Do not disarm yourself. Just a precaution."
"Yes, Sir!"
She walked slowly through the halls, finally able to rest. The sun was higher in the sky now, the shadows on the world shortening. She finally reached the mess hall and pushed open the door. The soldiers inside all fell silent, looking her direction. Reiner stood up from his table across from Bertholdt. The two had been playing chess. Reiner walked over to her and asked, "Hey. What are you doing here, Lo?" Lorraine smiled and said, "I was given orders from Captain Levi to pass some information on to Commander Miche. I'll explain later." He smiled sweetly and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and kissing her on the lips. She giggled into his kiss and closed her eyes.
"How does he manage to do this? Even in the most unfavourable times, he can still make me smile."
As the kiss gently separated, they heard a scoff just a few tables away. The two looked over at Ymir, who rolled her eyes and continued to mess around with Krista. Lorraine bit her lip and looked sharply over at Ymir, but Reiner grabbed her hand and tugged.
"Don't worry about her. Come on, Lorraine."
She sighed and followed Reiner to the table. She sat on the bench between Reiner and Sasha. Connie and Bertholdt sat across from them. The recruits waited for hours and it wasn't too long before the boredom set in. Reiner and Bertholdt continued their chess game and Sasha and Connie began staring out the window absentmindedly. Lorraine leaned her head on Reiner's arm and closed her eyes. She heard Sasha and Connie talking about their hometowns being nearby.
"Ya know, my village happens to be just a little bit south of where we are now."
Sasha hummed and said, "The town where I'm from is pretty close by, too. I wonder how long they'll keep us here?" Connie shrugged and said, "Why can't I go home to see my people? Maybe I'll just sneak out after dark." Sasha said boredly with a hint of disappointment in her voice, "My folks told me not to bother coming back until I'm normal, so there's that." Connie chuckled, "Well, folks where I'm from always tried to tell me I was too puny to be a soldier. No doubt, I had the brains for it. I mean, I was top ten." Lorraine laughed lightly, "Yeah. You were number ten." Connie growled, lifting his head, "Oi, shut it, Lorraine." Sasha snickered. Reiner said, changing the subject, "Connie, I'll help you get back if you really want to go home." Connie cocked his head to the side and asked, "Yeah? Why would you?" Reiner said sternly, "Doesn't this seem odd to you? We're on standby in our plain clothes. They won't let us wear our uniforms, with the exception of Lorraine, and we can't even train." He stood up and walked over to the window. He added, "What's even more suspicious: our superiors are armed to the teeth, ready for anything. We're inside the wall, though. We're not even at the front line, so who exactly are we fighting?" Connie leaned back on his hand and resumed staring out the window, suggesting, "Maybe they're worried about bears." Sasha sighed and rested her head on the wooden table. As Reiner sat back down, he returned his focus to the chessboard.
"Bears aren't that much of a threat, though. You only need guns to defend against bears. I wonder if they've got a lead on the Armoured and Colossal Titans?"
Sasha gasped, standing up quickly.
"Guys! I hear footsteps!"
Lorraine gasped, but Reiner said nonchalantly, "Knock it off, Sasha. You trying to tell us that Titans are here? Come on. That would only be possible if Wall Rose had fallen." Sasha shook her head and said frantically, "I-I don't know! Look, I'm not joking! I really do hear something!" A blonde woman with short hair landed on the window, her cables attached to the building, opening the window nearest Sasha and Connie, and asked breathily, "Is everyone here?" Krista stood up and asked, "What's wrong, Nanaba?" The woman, Nanaba, explained, "We've got company. Multiple Titans are heading straight for this outpost. Approximately 500 meters south and closing in. There's no time for you to suit up with your ODM Gear. I want everyone on a horse STAT. We are to evacuate every home and settlement in the area." As Nanaba departed, Connie went pale.
"The south...? But, that's...!"
Reiner muttered behind Lorraine, "Do we know if the wall's really been breached?" Lorraine stood up, ran to the door, and shouted, "You heard her! Let's move!"
The Scouts rode out into the large, grassy expanse. Lorraine rode next to Reiner, listening intently to Commander Miche's orders.
"Alright, everyone! Listen carefully! There are nine Titans that have broken through Wall Rose! As soon as they reach the woods, we will have to split up! I want four teams! When I give the signal, we'll scatter, each in different directions! Avoid combat wherever you can and focus on spreading the word and evacuating nearby villages! Is anyone here familiar with this region?"
Sasha immediately raised her hand and said, "I am, Sir! My town is north of here! I know the lay of the land well! S-so does Connie!" As everyone turned to Connie for confirmation, he appeared to have glazed over in shock. Sasha shouted at him, trying to get his attention, but he just said, "M-my village...my village is to the south...where the Titans are coming from. I-I can take you to the nearby villages. After that...please let me visit mine." Lorraine looked up at Miche, who nodded and said, "Alright. You go with the southern team." Reiner rode up next to Connie and said, "I'll go with you." Connie protested, "R-Reiner? The south will be crawling with Titans! It's going to be the most dangerous!" Reiner smirked and said, "Yeah, but I was going to help you sneak back anyway, remember?" Connie nodded. Reiner turned and asked, "Bertholdt? Are you coming?"
"Of course."
Miche sniffed the air and said confidently, "Alright. They've reached the woods. As you may already know, today marks the new darkest day in humanity's history! If humankind ever needed to give its all, now's the time. Gelgar! Nanaba! Lynne! Henning!" As the four Section Commanders looked up, he turned sharply. Nanaba said through gritted teeth, "Damn it! He's using himself as bait!?" Lorraine looked down at the gear around her waist. Gelgar grunted, "H-he won't make it alone!" Lorraine gritted her teeth and turned sharply to follow him. Nanaba shouted at her, "Wait, rookie!" Reiner called to her, "Lorraine! Wait! Don't go!" She ignored the protests from her superiors and her friends.
"I have to do this. Commander Miche will die if he fights alone. I may not be as strong or skilled as Mikasa or Captain Levi, but I can still fight!"
Lorraine rode after Miche, giving Fiona an encouraging shout. As she rode through the expanse, she was relieved to find that there were no other Titans around the area. She finally spotted Miche just over the hill, surrounded by all nine Titans, seemingly stranded on the rooftop of the small house just outside of the woods.
"Those Titans...they look different than the ones we've encountered before. What's the deal with them?"
They seemed to be Abnormals, from what she could gather. She quickly turned her horse, circling around to the biggest of the nine Titans, jumped off Fiona's back, and zipped down to slice away the Titan's achilles tendon. Its leg collapsed and she climbed swiftly to the nape, flipping her right-hand blade around, holding it backwards, the blades digging through the flesh and cutting out a chunk. Blood sprayed into the air. Lorraine landed on the rooftop next to Miche, who growled at her, "What are you doing here, rookie?! You should be with the others!" She snapped, "I'm saving your ass!" She glanced down at her blades.
"Damn. That was too careless. I dulled my blade with one Titan. That was a bad angle. Come on, Lorraine, get it together!"
She clicked the button on the side of the handle, dropping her blades with a loud clang, then reloaded. Miche sighed, "Damn. You really are like Levi." She smiled a little, her cheeks pink with embarrassment, then turned to stand back-to-back with him. They both gripped their blades.
"Ready?" Miche asked. Lorraine responded, "Ready."
They fought hard for over an hour, managing to painstakingly whittle down the nine Titans to a measly four. Lorraine, standing on the rooftop, said in a breathy voice, "Four left." Miche grumbled, "I'm on my last set of blades. These Titans are different. They're harder to take down." Lorraine grunted, wiping the sweat from her brow. Miche turned to look behind him. He had been keeping his eye on one of the Titans for a while. It was huge, over 17 meters tall, and covered with thick, brown fur. Its arms were long and lanky, nearly dragging the ground. Lorraine had noticed it, too, but it didn't seem interested in them at all, so she had been focusing all her energy on the aggressive ones. Miche let out a long, loud whistle, calling the horses back.
"We've bought enough time for n- Lorraine?"
Lorraine had already taken a deep breath and sped off down below to attack the smallest Titan, whose head was significantly larger than its body. Just as she anchored her cables into a nearby tree to swoop down, she felt herself being yanked away from it. The cable yanked her sideways, jerking her about and twisting her spine painfully, her spine popping from the sharp movement. She shrieked and looked up. Her cable was being held by a larger Titan. She gasped, but in one swift move, Miche shot past her, cutting her cable and setting her free. She tumbled to the ground, feeling her knees and arms would surely bruise from the impact. She heard a loud clang from inside of her gear. She looked up and shook her head. Her vision blurry and hearing muffled, she watched as the small Titan she had aimed for grabbed Miche by the waist. He shouted at her, struggling against the grip of the Titan, "Go! Get out of here, Lorraine! Go now-" He suddenly cried out in pain. The Titan's teeth sunk into his flesh audibly, the moist sounds of teeth ripping his flesh and the crunching sounds of the bones in his legs mixing with his agonized screams.
"M-Miche...? Miche, no! I-I can help-"
He demanded, "No, Lorraine! Y-you...you have to go! Now!" She ignored his orders and, tears filling her eyes, pulled the triggers on her remaining ODM gear handle.
Her eyes widened. She stared at Miche for another moment. Behind her, Fiona whinnied, scared. She felt a tear fall down her face.
"Damn it! I was careless...and now...! Miche is dying because of me! There's nothing I can do!"
"GO!"
She sobbed loudly and jumped onto Fiona's back, riding away as fast as she possibly could. Fiona let out scared brays as the two escaped, Miche's screams fading into the distance. Lorraine could only cry as Fiona ran.
"It's my fault. If I had just listened to Nanaba and the others, Miche probably would have been fine. He wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself. Why do I feel like I need to prove myself when all it does is cause more damage? It happened on that snowy mountain...it was the whole reason I joined the Cadets...and the Scouts...to prove myself...now this...Miche..."
She looked back, seeing the large, fur-covered Titan squatting near where Miche was being ripped apart limb from limb.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Miche."
She gripped the reins with one hand and unhooked her broken gear with the other, letting it crash loudly to the ground to lose some of the extra weight. She continued to ride straight on until she was certain that the horde hadn't followed her, then turned towards Wall Rose. She knew that Reiner and the others were bound to end up there eventually and if not, she would find the breach and ride back to Levi.