Attack on Titan: Bloodline – Chapter 26 (March 10, 2021)
Lorraine heard muffled voices all around her as the world faded back into reality. She opened her eyes and above her, Armin was looking down at her, gently shaking her awake. Hanji stood over them both, barking orders to the other soldiers around them. Lorraine's eyes widened and she sat up, holding her head in her hands. She looked around and Armin said in a worried tone, "Lo! Are you okay?" Lorraine asked, staring at the Colossal Titan, who was emitting a constant, billowing cloud of steam, "This is...this is real, isn't it, Armin? They really...they caused all of this..." Armin stammered, "I-I wanted to tell you, but-" Lorraine cut him off, "R-Reiner's really a Titan...isn't he? Just like Annie...!" Armin looked down and said, his breath shaking, "Yes...I'm sorry." Lorraine bit her lip. She felt the sting of her teeth breaking the skin and she tasted blood in her mouth. Hanji, kneeling next to a soldier, shouted, "We need cold water! Where is our medical team!?" Another soldier, Nifa, said, "I-I'm sorry, Section Commander! The medical team is lost! Many flew off the wall or got injured in the blast!" Hanji cursed loudly. Armin grabbed Lorraine by the upper arm and said sternly, "Lorraine. We need you. You're the last person we've got right now who's trained for this." Lorraine looked up at Armin. His eyes glimmered with fear and sincerity.
"I-I...I can't..."
Armin said, "Yes, you can! Lorraine, stand up and fight! Fight against the traitors who destroyed our home!" Lorraine shook her head, tears filling her eyes again. Her mind was still racing with the events that had just taken place. The flashes of lightning, the sounds of Titans roaring, and the screams of her allies replayed over and over in her head. Armin said, "You can do this! I-I know they were our friends, but...but you have to!" Lorraine felt like her heart may just leap out of her chest. She wondered what Levi would do if he were here.
"He would fight. In any way that he could."
She took a deep breath, filling her stinging lungs with air, and stood up. She called out, giving a strong salute, "Section Commander!" Hanji turned.
"Lorraine Ackerman! I've been trained as a stand-in medic!"
Hanji nodded and said without a moment of hesitation, "Great! We need water and bandages, stat!" Armin nodded and stood up. He was still worried for her, but he knew that he had to try and fight, too. Lorraine and Armin ran in separate directions. As she ran, she looked over the wall, watching as the fight below raged on. Punches flew, blood spurted into the air, only to evaporate seconds later, and roars echoed far. Lorraine furrowed her brows and turned to focus on the task at hand, grabbing a medkit from one of the surviving supply crates and a canteen of water. She jogged back to the side of one of the injured soldiers.
"I-it's going to be okay. Just hold still."
She rummaged through the medkit, grabbing a soft cloth and pouring a little bit of water on it. She gently dabbed at the soldier's burned hand, taking note of the blisters forming on his knuckles as she swiftly and softly cleaned the burn before wrapping his hand in gauze. He winced as she wrapped the wound tightly.
"I have to do what I can. I have to."
She picked up her kit and moved onto another soldier, whose face was burned and whose arms were scuffed from a burst of steam and a rough tumble to the solid stone below. She dabbed at the soldier's injuries, cleaning them as gently as she could.
"I joined the Scouts to prove myself and to conquer my fear of the Titans. Friends or not, they're still...Titans. Yeah. I have to do this."
She glanced up out of the corner of her eyes to take a peek at Bertholdt. His Titan form was still emitting steam non-stop. "Listen up," Hanji shouted, "Squads three and four, take position behind the target. Rashad has command." The man with the newly bandaged, burned hand gave a salute and said, "Roger." Lorraine finished bandaging up the other soldier's forearm and looked up at Hanji. Hanji said, "Squad two, wait here. Lauda, I'm putting you in charge. We're going to abandon the capture plan. Our new objective is to kill them." Lorraine's heart sunk. Hanji growled, "Do not hesitate this time."
"Kill them. Kill Reiner and Bertholdt. Reiner. Kill Reiner."
Lorraine's lip quivered, but she stayed silent. She felt like her heart had just shattered into a million pieces, but she knew that she still had a duty to fulfill. She stood up. Hanji said, "Lorraine. I know this is going to be difficult for you, but I need you to stay up here and stand in for the medical team. We're going to be counting on you." Lorraine's gaze wandered out to where Eren and Reiner were locked in battle. Armin and Mikasa were down on the ground near the clashing Titans.
"U-understood."
Hanji noticed her hesitation. She placed a hand strongly on the young girl's shoulder and said, "I'm sorry. Truly. But it must be done." Lorraine felt the familiar lump in her throat forming and tears starting to sting her eyes, but she choked back her tears and nodded. She heard the loud snapping sound of trees being crushed, causing her to look up. Out in the field, she saw the limp body of Eren's Titan laying motionless in a pile of shattered wood and foliage, a cloud of both dust and steam billowed around him. Reiner slowly approached, his footsteps seeming to shake the ground with every second. Mikasa and Armin were helpless to do anything. Lorraine looked on in shock from the wall. As Eren stood up and growled loudly, Armin's shrill voice cut through the air.
"Eren! No!"
Lorraine saw another Scout fly down to where Mikasa and Armin stood. As the three retreated to the wall, she saw that Eren's eyes had that familiar, rage-fueled glow to them. His face and hands emitted steam as he let out a loud roar. Reiner growled, raising his fist up, winding it back, and slamming it into Eren's face, sending him flying back once again. Reiner's jaw opened and he let out a jet of steam. Lorraine remembered that day back in Shiganshina. She remembered the fear she had felt as he knelt at the edge of Shiganshina. She remembered feeling as though she had made eye contact with him. Her body felt like it might give out entirely, but she slammed her eyes shut and shook her head.
"Lo!"
She looked up, then grabbed her medkit and ran to the side of a soldier who had hit her head in the blast. Connie, who had dragged her to safety, said loudly, "We'll keep working to carry the other injured soldiers to safety!" Lorraine nodded and dug around for a bandage. She lightly cleaned up around the wound, which was still slowly oozing blood. As she wrapped the bandage tightly around her head, weaving it underneath her short tufts of hair that had been matted with blood, she heard the soldiers around her questioning how they would defeat Bertholdt. Others were wondering if they would manage to stay alive. Lorraine looked up at Bertholdt, who was still emitting a constant gust of steam.
"There's gotta be some way we can win. We have to win. We can't let them get away with this. Damn. I really wish I had my gear on. I could be doing so much more."
Her eyes trailed off to the field once more.
"Eren?"
Eren had stood up. He had returned to the wall and was facing off against Reiner, who was slowly approaching. She walked closer to the edge of the wall. Lorraine looked down into Reiner's glowing, golden eyes.
"All this time. Why didn't we ever see it? We shared such close quarters. It seems so unreal. How did he get away with this when we were so close?"
Reiner crouched down into his runner's stance, preparing to attack. Eren raised his fists.
"How did they trick us all? How could he lie to us? To me?"
Reiner sprinted towards Eren, but before his fist could make contact with Eren once again, Eren ducked under his arm, pivoting on his toes, and grappling Reiner, kicking his feet out from under him and toppling him to the ground in one very familiar maneuver. Lorraine's eyes widened and she felt like her legs might collapse beneath her again.
"Oh my God," she muttered, "That's...that's one of Annie's techniques!" Roars pierced through the air as the struggle for power escalated. Reiner growled, struggling to escape Eren's tight grip. Eren shrieked, his arms and legs holding Reiner tightly as he attempted to rip off Reiner's arm. Mikasa and Lorraine stared in shock. Armin stammered, unable to find words. Hanji called out to the soldiers above, "Prepare to attack!" Eren was shaking, straining as he used all of his strength. With a sudden, pained roar from Reiner, the severed arm of the Armoured Titan came crashing down onto the ground, painting the grass and dirt with bright red blood that evaporated quickly. Eren rolled away with ease as Reiner stood up slowly, his breathing heavy. Blood ran down his newly torn stump, dripping and pooling below him. Steam was starting to billow from the wound as he raised his good arm and prepared once again to charge. Hanji quickly flew down to Eren, landing on his shoulder, and said quietly, "Eren. You have to buy us some time if we're going to be able to get you out of here. Stop him dead in his tracks. Our blades aren't much good against him. Do you think you can break off his leg with another of those joint holds?" Lorraine sighed.
"I know he can do it. I just...I just can't help but fear for Reiner. I mean, I know he's the enemy, but we can't kill him. We just can't! But we have to. God, why did this have to happen?! It's not fair!"
With another loud roar, Eren and Reiner both charged. This time, it looked like Reiner might have the upper hand. Punches flew into the ground behind Eren, who dodged each one and ducked below him, grabbing his leg. With a hard shove, Eren fell off, but he bounced back and wrapped both arms and legs around the Armoured Titan, sending them both crashing back to the ground. Reiner struggled, but it was in vain. Eren had him locked. Lorraine grimaced and turned away. She returned to one of the soldiers, making sure she was okay.
"I can't watch this. It's over."
Shrieks and battle cries echoed over the wall from below, but Lorraine just moved on to the next wounded soldier, her thoughts blocking out the sounds.
"It's all over. Reiner is..."
Out of nowhere, a loud, ear-piercing cry rang out from below. This one didn't sound like Eren's Titan. No. It was Reiner's.
"That was different than before. Why? Why do you keep struggling?"
Hanji shouted, "Be wary! He's calling for backup!" Soldiers flew off the wall to search, but before anyone could react, the Colossal Titan moved. He jerked, then as bigger gusts of steam erupted from him, his ribcage cracked, sending him sailing down to the ground. Connie screamed, "No, no, no, no! Above you!" Lorraine stumbled to the edge of the wall, but it was too late to do anything. The Colossal Titan hit the ground on top of Eren and Reiner, causing a massive blast of steam and rubble. She shielded her eyes from the blast. Sasha leapt on top of Armin to protect him. Hanji, Mikasa, and many others were sent flying. As the steam started to clear, Lorraine looked out into the field. Reiner was running away with two small figures on his back. She clenched her hands and said, falling back to her knees once again, "Eren...? No..." She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Eren!" Tears fell from her eyes to the ground below her as the Armoured Titan's giant form faded away at last.
"Please...don't go...!"