Attack on Titan: Bloodline (V2) -- Book One

by astinbryson

In the year 845, young Lorraine Ackerman, her sister Mikasa, and their friends Eren Jaeger and Armin Arlert are forced to leave their hometown of Shiganshina by two terrifying new breeds of Titan who breached Wall Maria: the Colossal and the Armoured. The four children flee to Trost where they soon sign up for the 104th Cadet Corps together. (This is NOT the final version)

35. Chapter 33

Attack on Titan: Bloodline – Chapter 33 (April 5, 2022)

Lorraine walked next to Mikasa as the fugitives made their way through the crowded streets of Trost District. She held her sister's hand for comfort, though everyone was understandably on edge, including Mikasa. The group wore dull, brown, green, or grey jackets over the top of their uniforms, though Lorraine was strictly delegated to medical duties and running information between them and Eren and Historia's cart, dressed as civilian as possible, as her injuries were still too severe to do any combative damage.

Levi said bluntly as they walked through a darkened alley, "Try not to walk all clustered together. We'll stand out." He turned around to Armin and Jean, who were dressed in disguises of Historia and Eren respectively, and said, "Eren and Historia, just act natural." Lorraine looked back and Armin nodded reassuringly at her. She turned back around to keep walking.

As the group walked, they looked around at the newly-decorated streets. There were brightly-coloured flags and pennants hung all over Trost, many bearing the crest of the Royal Fritz Family, and many store owners were dressed in their best clothes. There were people crowded around a rather large stage in the center of town where several Military Police soldiers stood, making announcements and barking orders to organize the people.

"What's going on," Connie asked, his brows furrowed.

Sasha said under her breath to the group, "Oh, wait, I remember! Today is the anniversary of the King's Coronation. Once a year, they hand out extra rations to celebrate the occasion. It's supposed to help raise morale within the community."

Connie wondered aloud, "Man, all that food and he's just giving it away, huh?" Levi stopped and turned to watch the crowd.

"It's not as if he needs it all. Besides, it's easier to control the people if they're not starving."

He turned to keep walking and said, "Let's keep moving. We're almost there." The group continued to make their way through the excited crowd. They continued to walk for a few minutes, when Levi stopped abruptly. He turned sharply and shouted, "Behind us! Look out!"

From a dark alley, a horse-drawn carriage came careening around the corner and towards the group. Two figures reached out and, brushing by them hurriedly, grabbed the disguised Armin and Jean. Mikasa yanked Lorraine out of the way and Sasha gasped.

"Armi- I-I mean, Krista and Eren," she unconvincingly shouted, "Those bastards are getting away with them!" Levi looked at Mikasa and Lorraine.

"Okay," he said, "Let's go." Mikasa and Levi jumped into action while Lorraine ran down a crowded street, hoisting her backpack over her good shoulder, her goal being to relay the mission's status to Eren and Historia's carriage.

Levi and Mikasa, using their concealed ODM gear, made their way to the rooftops where they could follow the kidnappers to their final destination. The two watched as five men roughly tied them up in a cramped warehouse. Mikasa used her ODM gear to lower herself to one of the windows, where she saw one of the men beginning to tease Armin. The perverted man ran his hands up and down Armin's body, causing him to whimper and plead silently with Jean, who simply had to turn his head away.

Lorraine ran through the crowd, pushing and ducking through the people. Finally, she spotted the cart where Eren and Historia were actually hiding. She watched as the cart drove past the stage, but just as she cursed under her breath, noting how thick the crowd was, she looked beside her.

"Perfect," she thought, "This should take me directly into the path of the carriage."

She then ducked under the crowd, crawling underneath the mass of people, then turned into the alley, looking behind her, only to bump into someone. It was a tall man, dressed in a long trenchcoat with a large-brimmed hat. His facial hair was dark and unkempt and his skin was weathered and lightly wrinkled. She apologized, but the man just laughed hoarsely.

"Woah, there. Where are you off to in such a hurry, missy?"

She backed up nervously. She thought quickly, then said, "I-I...I just saw my dad on the other side of this alley. I'm just on my way to catch up to him. Sorry." He smiled, looked back in the direction she was running, then reached down and patted the top of her head playfully.

He said, "Your dad, huh? Well, then I must've been mistaken. For a second there, you looked an awful lot like a little punk I used to know." He chuckled and said, "See ya around, kid." She watched as the man walked past her and into the crowd. She frowned, watching as the man disappeared around the corner.

"That man was odd," she thought, shrugging the encounter off before quickly returning to her mission. She sprinted out into the street, where, sure enough, the carriage carrying Eren and Historia was careening down the street. Lorraine ran towards them, catching the driver's attention. He slowed down a little bit and Eren opened the curtain behind the carriage, reaching out to grab her hand. She grabbed his hand and he hoisted her up onto the cart.

"Did it work?"

Lorraine nodded. She said, "Yes. Armin and Jean have been taken." She breathed heavily, reaching up and gripping her shoulder.

Eren said sharply, "Are you okay? Your arm-"

Lorraine snapped, "I'm fine! If Mikasa can do her part...so can I."

Eren said, "You're not Mikasa, though!"

Lorraine asked, "What the hell do you mean by that?! I'm not weak, Eren!"

Eren raised his voice, "I didn't say that-"

Historia said, "Cut it out, both of you! We have a mission at hand!"

Mikasa landed next to Levi and said, "We should hurry. If we don't, they're going to see through Armin's disguise. He's...getting pawed at." He sighed. She asked, "How's your leg? Any better?"

He said, "I can move well enough. Now, did you notice anything?" He looked back at her, then continued, "These kidnappers are obviously amateurs. Why wouldn't they use professionals for a job like this?" He stood up.

"You can handle the rest on your own. I'm going to make my way to Eren, Historia, and Lorraine. She should have made it to the carriage and relayed the mission's start to them by now. When you've finished here, come meet up with me."

Mikasa nodded.

"Yes, sir."

He walked to the edge of the building and said, "There's one more thing you should know. Just in case. Tell Armin and the others, too. As of now, it's not just Titans that we'll be fighting against. We're fighting humans, too."

Mikasa nodded and jumped into action, swiftly taking out the man standing guard and sneaking into the warehouse. She hid in the shadows between two crates and waited for the men to return. Armin and Jean both sat in anxious wait. Soon enough, the other four men involved came into the room. Mikasa recognized one of the men as Deemo Reeves, whom she had threatened back in the initial breach of Wall Rose. He had been attempting to move a large cart of goods through the gate and was, in turn, blocking the exit for a massive crowd of people who had been trying to escape. She grimaced and jumped out, kicking the two tallest men to the ground before attacking both Deemo and his other comrade. The red-haired comrade pulled a handgun out of his jacket pocket, but her foot had just then collided violently with his face, sending him reeling into a wooden box, which shattered, slicing through his jacket and his arm, a small pool of blood soaking his sleeve and the floor underneath him. She quickly grabbed Deemo's arm and twisted it behind him, rendering him unable to move. Jean and Armin, who had broken free of their ropes, ran to tie up the now-unconscious men.

Jean growled, "Don't you even think about moving. You hear me?"

Mikasa shouted, "Connie! Is this really all of them?"

Up in the rafters, Connie leaned out and said, "Yep! That's all of them!"

Deemo groaned and with his free hand reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a handgun, but before he could even aim, an arrow landed right next to the weapon. He gasped, letting go of it. Mikasa picked up the gun and gave it to Armin. She said, "Alright. First, we secure these guys, then we meet up with the Captain. His orders."

Armin nodded, taking his pink skirt and white shirt off to reveal a pair of light brown pants and a dark blue button-down. Jean removed his own disguise and Mikasa added, "He left us a message, too."

Lorraine and Eren sighed, the carriage coming to a sudden halt. The driver shouted, "Alright, everyone, move out of the way! Come on!"

Historia wondered aloud, "How do you think Mikasa and the others are doing?"

Eren said, "I'm sure everything's going fine."

Lorraine said, "Yeah. Mikasa and Captain Levi have everything under control...I'm sure."

On the nearby rooftops, Levi landed next to Nifa, who had been keeping a lookout over the carriage. She said, "The road's been crowded, but nothing unusual from what I've seen. From here, it's not far to Commander Pyxis', so I think we're good. How's the body-double mission?"

He said, "A success." She looked at him.

"You don't seem very pleased about that."

He said, not taking his eyes off the carriage, "I'm not." He thought to himself, "Something's wrong. The Military Police can't be behind this. They're too careful of their reputation to use amateurs."

She said, "Captain. The wagon's almost on the move again. The crowd's dissipating."

Levi nodded.

"Nifa," he said, "Have you heard of Kenny the Ripper?"

She asked, "Wasn't he that mass murderer in the Capital who slit the throats of over a hundred MPs? I thought he was just an urban legend."

He nodded.

"The stories are true. He's no legend. I lived with him back when I was a kid."

She chuckled, "Very funny, Sir, but this isn't exactly the best time to be making jokes."

He thought, "That's right. Kenny wouldn't care about using amateurs. The team would trail the wagon from both rear angles. They'd choose a spot high-up with a clear line of sight. Not to mention, what if they ran into Lorraine?" He gritted his teeth.

Behind them, Levi heard a soft metal-on-stone clanking and shouted, turning quickly, "Nifa! Watch-" In an instant, Levi heard the sound of a gunshot and saw red blood splattering onto the rooftop. Nifa fell to the ground below and Levi gasped, feeling her still-warm blood hit his face. He spun around to hide behind a nearby stone chimney.

"Yo, Levi," the man crawling up the rooftop drawled as more gunshots rang out around him, "Been a long time. You still a runt or have you grown some?" The man shot a cable into the stone in front of Levi, using it to flip himself to where he could see the Captain, and mockingly said, "Nope, don't look like you've changed much at all, boy!"

Levi growled, drawing his blades and throwing off his jacket, "Kenny!" He swung his blade forward, releasing it and sending it flying towards Kenny, who managed to use his gun, which was attached to some new form of the ODM gear, to knock it away. Levi snarled and flung himself into the streets below, flipping and dodging with his own ODM gear as Kenny and about ten others chased after him.

Lorraine stood up.

"Gunshots," she gasped.

Eren grabbed her arm and said, "Woah, hang on, Lo! You're not geared up!"

Historia said, standing up, too, "He's right."

Lorraine said, turning to look at the cloth wagon cover's entrance, "Yeah, but my dad-"

Eren said, smiling at her reassuringly, "Your dad is Captain Levi. He's going to be okay."

The carriage driver said, "Everyone, sit down! Now!" Before they could, a cable shot into the cloth covering and tore it off, revealing the trio. Eren stood defensively in front of the two girls as they watched two people flying around using their new ODM gear. Eren reached for the nearby shotgun, but before he could grab it, he and Historia were both hit in the neck with a small dart before collapsing. Lorraine then grabbed the shotgun and swung it in front of her, knocking the third dart out of the air, then ducked away from the fourth. A woman and a man landed on the cart and Lorraine stood up. The woman quickly shot the carriage driver and jumped into his seat while the man grabbed the shotgun, yanking it out of Lorraine's hands. She lost her balance and tripped over the edge of the wooden carriage, letting out a yelp of fear, but she felt arms wrap around her before she could hit the ground.

"Levi!"

Levi landed and set her roughly on the ground, saying, "Go find Mikasa! Tell her what you know!" He quickly shot back off into the street, leaving her alone in the alley. She watched as more people chased after him using this new ODM gear.

"Who are these people?" she thought, "Eren and Historia are knocked out. Levi's being targeted. I," She took a deep breath, "I have to go find the others." She turned and ran down the alleyway, making sure to stay as hidden as she could.

Levi crashed through the doors of a small bar, where folks were gathered for what they thought would surely be a normal day of fun and festivities. He jumped behind the bar and ducked down.

"Shit," he thought, wiping blood out of his eye, "If this keeps up, I'll lose my team, Eren, and Historia."

Kenny laughed, "You know, it's the damndest thing. I seem to be smellin' a rat in this fine establishment. Come on out, you little rodent." Levi grimaced.

"I know you're in here, Levi," Kenny shouted, "Now get your ass out here, boy!"

Levi said, still hiding behind the bar, "I'm right here, Kenny. It's been a while. I really thought you'd be dead by now, what with all the MPs you were butchering." He reached up and turned a bottle of liquor, looking into the reflection at Kenny. He taunted, "Now, you and the MPs are all buddy-buddy, huh?"

Kenny sneered, "Yeah, well, adults do plenty of things kids like you don't understand. Oh, right. You're supposed to be an adult, now."

Levi gritted his teeth.

Kenny said, aiming his weapons left and right, "But, you're still not much more than a runt, so it's sometimes a bit hard to tell. You know," he looked around, "I'd always kind of hoped I'd see you in action one day. Can't say I'm disappointed either. Seems like you still remember every trick I ever taught ya." He stepped forward.

"But didn't I ever tell ya what happens to a cornered rat? 'Cause if I had, you would know that wherever you tried to run, you'd find a bullet waitin' for ya."

He grabbed a chair and said, throwing it into the shelves behind the bar, "Yo, Levi. You must have become a Scout for a reason. I have a little hunch that I know what that is. See, we were forced to survive in that little hell hole, giving everything we had just to stay alive, and boy, did it hurt finding out how big the world really was. But you know what saved us? We both found something we enjoyed doing. It's just that simple. Every man needs himself a hobby."

Levi said, "Oh, I see. Is that why you blew off my people's heads, then? 'Cause it's fulfilling?"

Kenny said, aiming his weapon at the bar, "Bingo. To achieve my ultimate goal, I'll kill as many as get in my way." Levi let out a chuckle. Kenny said, "By the way, Levi, did you really think I wouldn't recognize that kid of yours? She's the spitting image of Ku-"

From behind the bar, Levi pulled out a shotgun and fired. Kenny grabbed another chair and held it up in front of him, slowing the impact of the bullet as it hit his metal chest plate. He flew backwards through the doors of the bar and Levi jumped up onto the bar. He handed the bartender the gun.

"Thanks for the help, old man."

He flung himself through a nearby window and shot off towards Eren and Historia's carriage.

"I-I hear shooting," Sasha said, pointing towards the center of town, "It's coming from over there!" Connie looked around, trying to listen, too. Sasha said, "I counted around a dozen or so shots!"

"Mika!"

Lorraine shouted from the ground below, "Guys! Change of plan! They found them!"

Armin jumped down to the ground. He asked, "Who? Are they okay?"

Lorraine explained, still breathing heavily from running, "I-I don't know who, but Eren and Historia have been tranquillized and the carriage has been hijacked! Captain Levi is fighting them alone!"

Mikasa dropped down to the street and said, putting her hand on her shoulder, "It's alright. Where did they go?" Lorraine pointed.

"They were headed towards the gate! I-I don't know about the Captain, but I know where the carriage was going!"

Jean said, "Then, let's go after them!"

Mikasa said, "Right. Lorraine, stay here and lay low. Please."

Lorraine nodded and said, "I'm sorry I'm of no use to you guys right now."

Sasha said, "You've been very useful, actually. Thank you."

Armin smiled and said, "We've tied up the goons who grabbed me and Jean in a warehouse a few streets that direction. If you want to go hide out near there, we'll meet back with you soon." Lorraine nodded and the group split off while she started to run quickly and cautiously to where Armin had pointed.

Mikasa, Connie, Jean, Armin, and Sasha soared through the skies and across the rooftops of Trost, searching the ground for any sign of Levi, Eren, or Historia. Connie called out, pointing down into the streets directly below them, "Look! There they are!" The carriage was speeding around the corner towards the gates, just as Lorraine had said, with Eren and Historia lying unconscious in the wagon. Following them closely was Captain Levi. As he sped around the corner, gaining on the wagon, a man dressed in the new ODM gear whipped around the corner and set his aim on Levi. Just as he fired his gun, Levi dodged and shot his ODM gear cable into the man's ribcage, sending blood into the air, then accelerated, slicing through the man with the greatest of ease using his Titan-rendering blades.

"Follow the wagon," Levi shouted, landing on the side of a building and wiping the man's blood off his cheek, "and listen up!" He joined the small group in the pursuit and explained, "These soldiers were trained to fight other people. They've already taken out three of ours. If you so much as hesitate for even a second, you will be killed. The moment you see an opening, go for the kill. Do you all understand me?"

"Yes, Sir," Mikasa said without a moment's thought. Jean gasped, staring at her in disbelief. Levi used a nearby tent to propel himself towards the wagon, shooting his cable into the man at the back and pulling him off the cart.

Levi shouted, "Armin, secure the wagon with Jean! We'll cover you two!" Armin nodded and accelerated towards the cart.

Jean muttered, "H-he killed them. He really-"

"Come on," Armin shouted. The two landed on the back of the wagon and the woman who was driving it turned around. She had pulled a gun out, but Mikasa quickly slammed her foot into the woman's face, sending her collapsing into the back of the wagon with Armin and Jean. Jean pointed his blade at her face, shouting at her in a threatening tone.

"Don't move," he shouted, trembling. She wiped the blood off her split lip and sat up, repositioning herself. She swung her gun into Jean's blade, sending the weapon flying into the streets. He fell backwards. Armin cried out to him. Jean's eyes widened in horror as he stared down the barrel of her gun.

He slammed his eyes shut, accepting his mistake of hesitation.

A gunshot rang out.