Attack on Titan: Bloodline – Chapter 24 (March 10, 2021)

The young soldiers reached the top of the tower at last, only to find Nanaba and Gelgar laying down Lynne and Henning, both of whom were covered in blood. Lorraine and Krista rushed over, but Nanaba looked up and said, "I'm sorry. You're too late. They're dead." Connie shouted, pointing out towards the wall, "Look! Is that some kind of abn-"

"It was him...!"

Reiner and Bertholdt looked down at her. She had her amber eyes locked onto the beast as it lumbered slowly towards Wall Rose. Nanaba and Gelgar leaped back into action, slicing through Titans, taking down their numbers one by one. Reiner asked, "What do you mean?" Lorraine growled through gritted teeth, "He's the one who led the Titans here. He...he killed Miche. I'm sure of it." Bertholdt said calmly, "There's nothing we can do now. We don't have our 3D Maneuver Gear on."

"Damn. He's right. If we did, we could actually do something other than stand here and watch."

"Gelgar! Damn it! Gelgar, no!"

Reiner let go of Lorraine's hand and ran to the edge of the tower. He sneered as he looked down at the gruesome sight below. Lorraine stood firmly in her place, unable to do anything but stare as the Beast Titan scaled the wall. His long arms carried him up the 50-meter wall in mere minutes. Nanaba's screams were heard down below as she was grabbed and pulled to pieces by the Titans, her voice coming to an abrupt silence. Connie cursed, "Damn! What are we gonna do? Are we just gonna wait here until the tower falls and we're eaten alive!?" Ymir sighed and said under her breath, "This sucks ass..." Krista leaned over the edge, looking down as the Titans attempted to climb up the tower. Bertholdt and Reiner looked from each other to the Beast Titan. Ymir looked around her, then said sharply, "Hey, Connie. Gimme that knife you had." Connie gave her a quizzical look and she simply repeated, "Give me the knife." Connie asked skeptically, handing it to her, "What exactly do you plan to do with it?" Krista squeaked, "You can't fight them with that!" Ymir took the knife and patted Connie mockingly on the top of his head, much to his annoyance. Lorraine protested, "She's right, Ymir! You'll get killed!"

"I have to try."

She turned back to look at Krista. Her brown eyes were glimmering with a confidence that Lorraine had never seen from her. She gripped the small blade in her right hand. The sun finally peeked just over the horizon.

"Krista. You have probably forgotten all about it by now, but since this might be the end, try to remember the promise we made on that snowy mountain."

Lorraine looked back at Krista. The young blonde seemed to remember whatever it was Ymir was talking about. Lorraine's mind raced with possible solutions that didn't end with Ymir diving to her death off the tower. Ymir put a hand gently on Krista's shoulder and said, "Krista, I have no right to tell you how to live your life. Really, this is nothing more than a hope of mine. I want you to live a life you're proud of." With that, Ymir turned and walked to the other edge of the tower. She said, tightening her grip on the blade, "Krista. Remember our promise." She sprinted past Krista and leaped off the edge. Lorraine gasped. Krista called out to her, practically falling off the ledge herself. The world seemed to move in slow motion for a moment. Ymir was falling. Krista's shriek echoed through the air. Ymir brought the blade's edge to the palm of her hand and dragged it swiftly back, causing blood to erupt from the wound, followed by a loud, powerful, ever-familiar lightning bolt.

BOOM

The group shielded their eyes from the flash and the rubble. Lorraine caught Krista, who fell backwards into her arms from the blast. Reiner and Bertholdt looked afraid. Connie asked loudly, "Wh-what the hell!?" Suddenly, from down below, a screech was heard, followed by the sounds of ripping flesh and cracking bones. Finally, everyone peered over the ledge to see what Ymir had become. She had transformed into a small, speedy Titan with sharp teeth and claws, used to rip through the flesh of the other Titans around her. She darted around and hit them with rubble from around the tower. Her eyes were black and her proportions were odd, having long, thin arms and legs, but an enormous head covered in a dark brown mop of hair.

"Th-that Titan..."

Reiner was muttering under his breath. Lorraine looked up at him. He looked visibly shaken. Bertholdt looked equally terrified as he stammered unintelligably. Reiner looked at him and said in a low, trembling voice, "God...Marcel..." Lorraine asked, "Guys? What's-" Bertholdt asked, never taking his eyes off the small Titan below, "Krista. Did you know? Did you know that Ymir is a Titan?" Krista shook her head and said, staring in awe at the disgusting scene, "No...I-I had no idea. She never told me...but we were so close..." Connie asked, "Do you think she could be like Eren? I mean, Eren's a Titan, too, but he didn't know until it actually happened." Lorraine said, "No. She seemed like she was aware of her ability." Krista asked, "What are you saying? You can't be suggesting that she might be an enemy to humanity!" Connie suggested, "Look. That is one hell of a power to keep hidden for so long. Who even knows what she might have been thinking?"

"No, wait! Look!"

Krista leaned over the edge and pointed down at Ymir, who had dug her claws into the side of the tower. She struggled against several Titans who had grabbed onto her legs, but she suddenly let go, falling to the horde below and swinging back into action against them. Blood sprayed into the air and Ymir's shrieks were ever-present. Krista grinned and said, "She must be worried about the tower falling! Don't you see? If she really wanted to, she could easily use her powers and escape, leaving us here to fight for ourselves, but she's not! She's risking her life out there to protect us!" Lorraine bit her lip nervously, but said nothing. Suddenly, Krista climbed up onto the ledge. Lorraine and Connie reached up and grabbed her, holding her steady so she wouldn't fall.

"Ymir!" she cried out at the top of her lungs, "Don't you dare die in a place like this! Don't pretend to be a good person, you idiot! Do you really want to go out in a blaze of glory?! Are you stupid!? It's too late for you to try and get into heaven! Just live for yourself, God damn it!" Connie begged her, "Stop being an idiot and get down!" Krista yelled, "If you're planning on dying protecting this tower, just forget about it! Tear the damn thing down!" Ymir glanced up at Krista, then began ripping bricks out of the tower, throwing them at the Titans. Jaws cracked, chunks of flesh flew, and blood sprayed onto the ground below. Many Titans were left with holes in their bodies and some twitched, unable to stand without legs or arms to help themselves up. Steam filled the air, making it nearly impossible to see what was actually happening. The tower soon began to quake and tip. Lorraine gasped, "Sh-she's actually gonna tear it down!" Krista cheered, "That's my girl! Keep it up!" Ymir, scraped up, but overall okay, clawed her way to the top of the tower. Lorraine grasped Reiner's good arm while Bertholdt stood defensively in front of them both, shielding his own face from the rubble, steam, and dust. Ymir spoke, her voice gravelly and inhuman.

"Want live? Grab me!"

Krista jumped onto Ymir, grabbing a lock of her hair, without a moment's hesitation. The others followed suit one by one, clinging tightly to Ymir as the tower came crashing down. Ymir finally took a leap away as the tower hit the ground, finally crumbling to bits, crushing the Titans underneath the stones. Lorraine jumped down, coughing roughly.

"Is...is everyone alright?"

Bertholdt dusted himself off and said softly, "Yeah. You okay?" Lorraine nodded. Just as the dust finally began to settle, the rubble began to shake. From under the ruins, the Titans were still alive. Around six Titans remained. Connie cursed and snapped, "Hey, ugly! Go finish them off, why don't you?!" Ymir looked down, nodded, and took off running towards them, ready to fight. She let out a battle cry, but was cut short. A nearly 7-meter Titan had grabbed her hair, pulling her back and yanking out a large chunk of her scalp. Krista's eyes went glassy with horror. Another smaller Titan jumped on top of her, pinning her down. Soon, the others had her surrounded and were ripping her to pieces.

"Ymir...?"

Ymir cried out in pain as her arm was finally dislocated and ripped from her body. Lorraine brought her fingers up to her lips. She held back the urge to cry. Krista started running out into the ruins. She shouted, on the verge of tears, "Y-Ymir! Wait! Y-you can't go, yet! I-I still haven't told you my real name! I-I still-" She came to a full stop, staring into the hungry eyes of a medium Titan who had turned its attention to her voice. Lorraine called out to her, but before anyone could get near her, a green blur swooped down and took a chunk out of the Titan's neck. The piece of flesh fell wetly to the ground by Krista's feet, splattering her boots with tiny red dots that faded quickly. The unknown soldier landed on a large piece of the building. Lorraine's eyes widened.

"Mikasa!"

Mikasa assured the recruits, "Don't worry. We're here. You're all in safe hands, now." Almost instantly, the rest of the Scouts swung by, taking down the Titans one by one. Lorraine sighed with relief. Krista made her way past the other Titans and helped Ymir out of her Titan form, which was fading quickly. Mikasa lowered herself to the ground and Lorraine took off towards her.

"Mikasa!"

Mikasa turned and held open her arms. Lorraine hugged her sister tightly and said, her voice trembling, "Y-you're really here!" Mikasa held her tightly, rubbing her back and stroking her hair, which had, at some point, fallen out of its ponytail. She said gently, "Yes, Lorraine. It's okay. It's okay." She heard a voice behind her. Lorraine turned and saw Eren, beaming and running towards her. She hugged him as he exclaimed joyously, "Did you see that, Lo? I got my first ODM kill!" Lorraine snickered, "About time, Eren!" Eren frowned, but chuckled and said, "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I'm surprised to see you out here!" He glanced up and down at her and asked, "Are you...wearing Reiner's shirt?" She smirked and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?" He was about to retort, but Mikasa tapped Lorraine's shoulder and pointed at Krista and the injured Ymir.

"What's going on?"

Lorraine sighed sadly and explained as they walked closer, "Ymir...Ymir is a Titan shifter...she kept it a secret, we think, for a long time. She saved our lives." They stood with the other Scouts, gathered around the pair as Krista held her friend on her lap. She said gently, "Please, Ymir...wake up. I-I made you a promise...and I plan to keep it." Ymir shifted and opened her eyes. Her face was torn open where she was connected to her Titan form and she was missing a leg. She had a large chunk taken out of her side and there was little steam coming from her wounds.

"M-my real name..."

Krista took a deep breath. She looked into Ymirs eyes and smiled.

"My real name is Historia Reiss."