Chapter 41
The Battle
Kara was help make sure that the small Titans stayed towards the front of the Ruins. She landed on one of the roofs to save her gas. Kara pushed her blonde hair out of her face. She hated she was missing the action with the Armored Titan, but she wasn't gonna miss the chance to take out the Beast Titan with her father. The Beast seemed to be just sitting there.
'What is he waiting on?' Kara thought as she stood on one of the roofs. A roar fills the air behind her. Kara turned. 'Jean. Everyone. Please be safe.' A barrel goes flying over her head. 'Is that Bertholdt?' Levi landed next to her.
"Concentrate. The others will be fine. Don't need to worry." Levi said.
"I know, father, but did you see the barrel that flew over us. I think that was Bertholdt." Kara said.
"I know. Just.." A gold light lit up the sky behind the wall. Kara's eyes widen as an explosion rocks the sky and the roof shook under hers and Levi's feet.
"The Colossal. The others." Kara said, about to run. Levi stopped her.
"No. Your needed here. I know your friends are there. They'll be fine." Levi said. He saw her fighting back tears. Kara shook her head to get rid of them and nodded. "Good." Odm gear whirling came and the Section Commanders joined Kara and Levi on the roofs.
"This area's all mopped up. The only ones left for us to eliminate are way up at front. But I don't see how we're going to take down the Beast Titan." Kirk said. Kara looked towards the Beast Titan. He was just sitting on the ground still, picking his ear. "It doesn't seem like he's got any intention of budging from that spot."
"That's true. Looks like the big guy's a coward." Kara said.
"Not that he ever had any balls to begin with." Levi said.
"Save your energy, both of you. We can finish off the rest of the runts out there. Let's go!" The Section Commanders disappear to help the others. Kara looked towards the wall and saw smoke coming up over the wall.
'I don't like this. How many comrades did we loose? Is everyone alright.' Kara thought. Kara gasped as a rock flew by her face.
"GET DOWN!" Levi yelled as he grabbed Kara and both knelt on the roof as rocks hit the roofs.
"What's happening?" Kara said as screams fill the air. Kara looks and eyes widen as houses were destroyed and bodies flew in the air.
"Damnit. The hairy guy stood up." Levi growled. The Beast Titan was standing up and looked like he was in a throwing stance.
"He.. He did that?" Kara asked. Levi and her stood up. Kara was shaking. The Titan on all fours was bringing another rock that the Beast Titan split and stood up. "Dad. He's got another one." The Beast Titan took aim. "Damnit."
"Frontal bombardment! All troops, take cover now!" Erwin yelled as the Beast Titan threw his arm back.
"Damnit. Get down!" Levi yelled as Levi and Kara took off to get to the recruits to help them. More rocks were thrown and Kara and Levi land on the ground between two houses as the rocks hit more Scouts and destroyed houses. Kara flinched at the screams that fill the air. She knew that she would never forget the screams. "Let's get the Rookies closer ot the wall. Let's go before he throws more." Levi and Kara hurry to where the recruits and horses were.
"The Titan is throwing boulders." Kara said, landing in front of Marlo with Levi.
"Captain Levi! Kara!" Marlo said.
"Move now! Take the horses and retreat to the wall." Levi said. Recruits gasp.
"Yes, sir!" Marlo said. A rock hits the house behind the Recruits, making them gasp. Kara gritted her teeth.
"Move! Stay out of the line of fire!" Kara yelled as she started helping the Recruits gather the horses and they moved twoards the wall. Floch falls to the ground yelling as more buildings were destroyed. Levi grabbed Floch by the hood.
"You wanna die? Get up!" Levi said. Erwin landed on the ground as the recruits stop at the wall.
"Dad. It's the Commander." Kara called. Levi came up to Erwin.
"How's it looking?" Levi asked.
"Terrible. The front line of houses is gone. He decimated them. If he keeps throwing those, everything will be leveled. We won't have anything left to hide behind." Erwin said.
"And we can't retreat to the other side of the wall?" Kara asked, coming up to Erwin and Levi.
"No. The Colossal Titan is already heading this way, setting fire to everything in his path. Theoretically, we could scale the wall to evade the stones, but the horses can't. We retreat here, and there's no hope for victory." Erwin said.
"What happened to Hange's group? Is Eren alright?" Levi asked. Kara looked at Erwin.
"I don't know. Most of them are gone, caught up when the explosion occured." Erwin said. Kara felt like her heart was ripped in two as she bit down on her lip. She hoped she didn't loose Jean even after he proposed to her. "We've substained a great many casualties. The Beast Titan directed the Small Titans in such a way that our solders would group in one place. Dirk Squad, Marlene Squad, and Klaus Squad were engaging the Small Titans, which put them in the line of fire when he launched the bombardment. They were all wiped out. In other words, our remaining forces on this side of the gate consist of you new Scout Recruits, Captain Levi, Kara, and me." The Recruits look at Erwin in shock. Kara had her hand to her mouth. "No others." Rocks hit the wall as the Beast Titan sent more rocks flying. The Recruits scream. Kara felt rage fill her.
"We're doomed!"
'So many losses already. I'm gonna kill that bastard when I get my hands on him.' Kara thought.
"So what now? Do you have any kind of plan?" Levi asked. Erwin stood thinking. A crash came above them and Kara gasped.
"EREN!" Kara yelled. Eren was laying on top of the wall, unconsios.
"Damnit. That's Eren up there. There's only one Titan that could fling him like that." Levi said.
"The Colossal." Kara said. Kara watched him. "Damnit. He's not moving." Levi grit his teeth. Rocks came and destroyed more houses. Recruits were sobbing and looking scared. Kara was getting nervous.
"This place is gonna look like a honeycomb before long. The Beast Titan knows where we are." Levi said. He turned to Erwin. "Erwin. If there's no chance that we can turn this around then tell me, and we can still cut our losses. Take Kara and go shake the shit out of Eren till he wakes up. Have him run away with as many people as he can carry. Then we'll have at least some survivors."
"I'm not leaving you, dad, to fight the Beast Titan alone." Kara said. Levi sighed. He wondered where she got the stuborness from.
"It's our job to guard the horses!" Erwin and Kara looked at Marlo who was yelling at Floch. "Why did you let yours run away?!"
"Shut up! Like it even matters now." Floch said.
"What was that?" Marlo asked.
"Those other Scouts were insanely strong and all of them died in an instant! What chance do we have where they failed?" Floch said. He was crying. "There's no reason to guard the horses. Because there's not gonna be anyone left to ride them home!" The Recruits mumbled to themselves, and Marlo let go of Floch's arm. "There was a point when it all made sense. If everyone just cowered behind the walls and waited, then someday Titans would come out of nowhere and wipe us out. It was obvious that someone needed to bite the bullet and fight. It would be dangerous, yeah, but the soldiers who did it would be risking their lives to protect their loved ones. So when the Recruited asked us, "Which of you has the courage?" I actually thought I could do it. Thought I'd be some kinda hero. I didn't get it. I didn't know. I thought that if I died, it would at least have some meaning, but it won't. It didn't for the others. They're just gone. You know what? I bet almost everyone ends up having that same final thought. I was so stupid for coming here. Why did I think I'd be different?" Floch was now openly crying.
"You could tell what's left of the Recruits and Hange's group to run away on horseback. They won't have much of a chance, but they'll be decoys. They can give Eren a shot at escaping." Levi said.
"Tell me. How would you fit into this plan?" Erwin said.
"Kara and I will go after the Beast Titan. We'll draw him away somehow and.." Levi started.
"You can't. You both won't even make it near him." Erwin said.
"Probably not, but we can try." Kara said. Levi nodded.
"But, if you and Eren make it home alive, then there will still be hope. All things considered, I feel like that's the best we can ask for. We've been brutalized. To be honest, sir, it seems like this battle will be where the Scout Regiment gets finished off." Levi said.
"Yes. If we had no way to fight back, then you would be right." Erwin said. Levi and Kara gasp and look at Erwin.
"Is there a way?" Kara asked.
"There is." Erwin said.
"You could've mentioned that before. Care to explain why you kept you shitty mouth shut?" Levi asked.
"The plan could go a few ways. Best case, you'll have a decent chance of killing the Beast Titan. But for it to succeed.. the Recruits and I have to die." Erwin said. Kara's eyes widen. More rocks hit the wall and destroy buildings. The Recruits scream. The Rocks were getting closer.
'We're running out of time.' Kara thought.
"The Survey Corps may survive. But regardless, most of us will end up dead." Erwin said. Erwin started walking away from the Recruits and Levi and Kara follow. "Frankly, we're almost guaranteed to be defeated, no matter what. The Recruits and I will be staking our deaths on the slimmest chance of victory. For this to work to convince these youths to charge towards their deaths, it would take an expert con man and a whole slew of blatant lies. If I don't lead the vanguard myself, then none of them will have the courage. Which means I must be the first to charge. And the first to be slain as well. So I'll never learn the truth."
"Huh?" Levi asked. Erwin sighs as he sits down on a bench. Levi and Kara looked at the Commander. Kara didn't like the idea. Erwin was there when Levi took on the responsibility of guardian of her and saw her grow up. She wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Erwin and Levi.
"I just wanted to reach that cellar. Everything I've done up to this point, I did in the hopes that this chance would come. I dreamt that I'd get to prove I was right." Erwin said. He lifted his good arm up. "Many times, I thought that death would've been easier, but then I... I think of the questions I needed answered. They're what I lived for. And now those answers are no more than a coward's leap away." Erwin leaned down. "I'm so close, but..." He looked at Kara and Levi. "Can you see them, too? Our comrades. They're all standing around us." Kara felt a chill run down her spine. Like she could feel eyes on her, Levi, and Erwin. "They've been watching us all this time. They want to know what we did with the sacrifices that they made... What became of the hearts they gave..." Scouts scream as more rocks hit the houses. "But that's probably just in my head, right? Of no more import than a child's bad dream." Levi's eyes softened. Kara watched as Levi got in his knees in front of Erwin and bowed his head.
"You led us well. Fought hard. No one else could've gotten us this far. I'll make the choice for you." Levi said. He looked up at Erwin. "Give up on your dream and charge to your death. Lead those crying children straight to hell. Kara and I will reach the Beast Titan and tear him apart." Kara had to bite her lip from crying. Erwin's eyes seemed to water, but he nodded with a hint of a smile on his face.
It was all set. Kara and Levi would use the Titans that surrounded the ruins to get to the Beast Titan as Erwin led the Recruits to their deaths. Kara and Levi restocked on blades and gas quickly. Erwin stood in front of the Recruits with Kara and Levi on either side of him.
"I'm about to announce our final mission. All troops, line up!" Erwin said. Recruits gasp and quickly line up in front of Erwin, Levi, and Kara. "We're going to mount a cavalry charge, rushing the Beast Titan directly. Clearly, this will make us ideal targets for him. So we'll wait until the moment he's ready to throw, and then we'll fire our smoke signals together. That should somewhat reduce his accuracy. While we distract the Beast Titan, Captain Levi and Kara Ackerman will get in position to dispatch it. Does anyone have questions?" The Recruits stare at Erwin in horror. One of the girls falls to her knees and vomits. Kara felt bad for them. "There's no point standing around. We'll only be showered by more boulders. Ready your horses, on the double!"
"Be honest. Are all of us... riding to our deaths?" Floch asked. Marlo gasped.
"Yes, we are." Erwin said.
"And since we're dying anyway, you're saying that it's better if we at least die fighting?" Floch asked.
"I am." Erwin said.
"But wait, if we'll die anway, then who cares what we do? We could just disobey your orders and it wouldn't mean a thing, would it?" Floch said. His voice was breaking.
"Yes, you're precisely right." Erwin said. Floch gasped. "Everything that you thought had meaning, every hope, dream, or moment of happiness. None of it matters as you lie bleeding out on the battlefield. None of it changes what a speeding rock does to a body. We all die. But does that mean our lives are meaningless? Does that mean that there was no point in our being born? Would you say that of our slain comrades? What about their lives? Were they meaningless?" Erwin's eyes watered and his voice got louder as he spoke. "They were not! Their memory serves as an example to us all! The couragous fallen! The anguished fallen! Their lives have meaning because we, the living, refuse to forget them! And as we ride to certain death, we trust our successors to do the same for us." Erwin seemed to get them. "Get your horses." The Recruits got on their horses. "Good luck to you both." Levi and Kara put their hands over their hearts.
"Sir." Kara and Levi said. Kara and Levi got in position as Erwin led the charge.
"Go." Levi said. Kara latched on the wall and got in the air and headed fast towards the Titans. She looked off to the side to see the Recruits yelling as they rode towards the Beast Titan. Kara saw them starting to shoot the smoke signals. Kara turned her head to look ahead. She couldn't watch as she neared the Titans. Kara latched her hooks into the Titan. It's eyes seemed to follow her as she looped around and slashed into its neck. She continued the repeat, hearing the screams of the Recruits as the Beast Titan slaughtered them. Kara gritted her teeth as she spun in the air and slashed through another Titan.
The Beast Titan looked upon those he had finished. All were dead.
"How sad. Poor, pathetic things." The Beast Titan said. He looked on both sides at his titans and saw them all whiped out on both sides of him. "Huh? What's this? My Titans have fallen?" Two hooks came out of the smoke and landed on his left and right shoulder. Levi and Kara burst through the smoke with swords drawn. Both were covered in blood. Levi and Kara both had murderous looks on their faces. The Beast Titan roars and uses both hands to reach for the two. Kara and Levi retracted their hooks. They spun around the arms, slashing through as they go. The Beast Titan remembers something Reiner and Bertholdt warned him about.
"Huh? Two soldiers might pose a threat to me?" His human asked the two.
"Yes, Captain Levi is dangerous and his daughter, Kara is almost the mini version of him." Reiner said.
Back to the present. Both of Zeke's hands lost their fingers. Kara headed for the ground as Levi headed for the Beast Titan's neck. He slashed the eyes of the Beast Titan. Kara slid on the ground and yelled as she slashed through the legs. The Beast Titan fell to the ground. Kara stood up as Levi got above the Beast Titan as it laid on the ground.
"What's wrong? Not enjoying yourself so much anymore?" Levi asked. Levi heads for the Beast Titans neck.
"Go dad!" Kara yelled as he neared the Beast Titan. The neck started hardening, but Levi was quicker then that.
"Come on, let's have some fun!" Levi said. He landed on the neck and started slashing through the skin, faster then a blink of an eye. Kara ran towards Levi to help. Her eyes looked for the Titan that was on all fours. She didn't see it when they were heading for the Beast Titan so she knew it was still out there. Levi let out a yell as he did one last slash and a man burst from the neck of the Beast Titan. He had blonde hair and both hands were missing. Kara jumped on the corpse as the man turned and Levi put his sword through the mans mouth. Levi looked down at the man.
"Dad. There's still one Titan out there. The one on all fours." Kara said.
"Keep an eye out for it." Levi ordered. He looked at the man. "After transforming, if your body's severely damaged, it's to busy healing to you resume your Titan form. Isn't that right?" Levi said. The man glared at Levi and Kara. Levi pushed the sword deeper into the mans mouth. "Hey, I asked you a question. It's only polite to answer."
"Kind of hard to when you got a sword in his mouth, dad." Kara said. Levi shot her a glare. Levi was thinking.
'Hopefully there is someone out there still alive that we can have them turn into a Titan and eat this guy.' Kara thought. Thundering footsteps came.
"Dad!" Kara said as she tackled Levi off the Beast Titan as the Titan came burst out of the smoke. It grabbed the man in it's mouth. Kara and Levi hit the ground. The Titan was running for the wall. "Damnit. It got him." Levi and Kara stood up.
"Hey. Where are you going? Stop!" Levi yelled. The man looked towards the woods.
"Go, now! Rip him and the girl to pieces!" The man yelled. Titans came running out of the woods.
"Damnit. He had more hidden!" Kara said.
"It hurts. They were right about you and your daughter, Levi! You both are dangerous. But you must've used all your weapons up by now! You'll die like the rest of them! It may have been a hard-won fight, but victory is ours!" The Man shouted.
"Hold on. I made a promise to Commander Erwin that I would kill you no matter what it took." Levi said. The Titans were almost on them.
"Dad." Kara said, pulling out new blades.
"I promised." Levi said. Kara dodged out of a hand coming down and slid across the ground. She latched onto the neck and slashed through, killing it instantly. Levi and Kara were killing the Titans as they came, not stopping. Kara spun around and saw one heading straight to her fahter. Kara used gas to get to the Titan and slashed through it.
A hand came out of nowhere and smacked her out of the air. Kara cried out in pain as she felt her ribs break. Levi turned to see Kara hit the ground hard and roll.
"KARA!" Levi yelled as Kara let blackness take her.
AN: And I leave it there. Hope you liked. Did something different. Till next time.